In The Reformation of Historical Thought, Mark Lotito re-examines the development of Western historiography by concentrating on Philipp Melanchthon (1497–1560) and his universal history, Carion’s Chronicle (1532). With the Chronicle, Melanchthon overturned the medieval papal view of history, and he offered a distinctly Wittenberg perspective on the foundations of the “modern” European world. Through its immense popularity, the Chronicle assumed extraordinary significance across the divides of language, geography and confession. Indeed, Melanchthon’s intervention would become the point of departure for theologians, historians and jurists to debate the past, present and future of the Holy Roman Empire. Through the Chronicle, the Wittenberg reformation of historical thought became an integral aspect of European intellectual culture for the centuries that followed.

The idea that history repeats itself has a long and intriguing history. This volume is concerned with the period of time in the Western tradition when its expressions were most numerous and fervent. The author shows that this idea should not be confined to its cyclical version, for such notions as reenactment, retribution, and renaissance also belong under the wide umbrella of "recurrence." He argues, moreover, that not only the Greco-Roman but also the biblical tradition contributed to the history of this idea. The old contrast between Judeo-Christian linear views of history and Greco-Roman cyclical views is brought into question. Beginning with Polybius, Trompf examines the manifold forms of recurrence thinking in Greek and Roman historiography, then turns his attention to biblical views of historical change, arguing that in Luke-Acts and in earlier Jewish writings an interest in the idea of history repeating itself was clearly demonstrated. Jewish and early Christian writers initiated and foreshadowed an extensive synthesizing of recurrence notions and models from both traditions, although the syntheses could vary with the context and dogmatic considerations. The Renaissance and Reformation intertwine classical and biblical notions of recurrence most closely, yet even in the sixteenth century some ideas distinct to each tradition, such as the Polybian conception of a "cycle of governments" and hte biblical notion of the "reenactment of significant events," were revived in stark separation from each other. The Idea of Historical Recurrence in Western Thought deals with a continuing but not always fruitful "dialogue" between the two great traditions of Western thought, a dialogue that did not stop short in the days of Machiavelli, but has been carried on to the present day. This study is the first half of a long story to be continued in a second volume on the idea of historical recurrence from Giambattista Vico to Arnold Toynbee. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1979.

Reformation Thought, 4th edition offers an ideal introduction to the central ideas of the European reformations for students of theology and history. Written by the bestselling author and renowned theologian, Alister McGrath, this engaging guide is accessible to students with no prior knowledge of Christian theology. This new edition of a classic text has been updated throughout with the very latest scholarship Includes greater coverage of the Catholic reformation, the counter-reformation, and the impact of women on the reformation Explores the core ideas and issues of the reformation in terms that can be easily understood by those new to the field Student-friendly features include images, updated bibliographies, a glossary, and a chronology of political and historical ideas This latest edition retains all the features which made the previous editions so popular with readers, while McGrath's revisions have ensured it remains the essential student guide to the subject.

The Protestant Reformation of the 16th century has traditionally been viewed as marking the onset of modernity in Europe. It finally broke up the federal Christendom of the middle ages, under the leadership of the papacy and substituted for it a continent of autonomous and national states, independent of Rome. The Historical Dictionary of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation provides a comprehensive account of two chains of events_the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter-Reformation_that have left an enduring imprint on Europe, America, and the world at large. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and over 300 cross-referenced dictionary entries on persons, places, countries, institutions, doctrines, ideas, and events.

Tudor Historical Thought is a revealing account of vital changes in intellectual orientation. Originally published in 1967, F.J. Levy's seminal work explores the factors ? humanism, theology, antiquarianism, Machiavellianism ? that brought about the changes in historical thinking from the time of Caxton to that of Bacon, Raleigh, and Camden. Earlier, the study of the past was justified on utilitarian grounds, and the purpose of history writing was didactic. At the beginning of the sixteenth century, chroniclers exemplified the workings of Providence and taught personal morality; a hundred years later, however, the idea of teaching practical statecraft had been introduced. The Italian humanists emphasized the political aspects of man, and made the active citizen rather than the cloistered monk their ideal. That citizen needed guidance, and it was the duty of the historian to supply it. Questions of politics, which had been important for nearly half a century, suddenly were placed at the centre, and with that a new kind of history writing appeared in England. An essential text in Renaissance historiography, Tudor Historical Thought will now be available to a new generation of scholars.