The first Protestants of the Low Countries: faith and heroism

Gripping account of the reform movement in the Netherlands. The overwhelming sixteenth century in a compilation of stories.

Johan Decavele
The first Protestants in the Low Countries. Faith and heroism

'Orthodox believers' and 'heretics' diametrically opposed... In the Low Countries, too, Luther's actions brought division and discord. Protestantism continued to advance strongly and thoroughly disrupted the traditional unity of the Catholic faith. Decavele unravels this great history of the sixteenth century, but also the 'petite histoire'... How did the believers experience that time? How did they themselves play an often heroic role in it?

Fifteen shocking, sometimes 'funny' stories provide a lively overview of the turbulent history of the reform movement. An overwhelming account, based on reports of raids, interrogations, trials and sentences. A new light also on the driving role of Flemish Lutherans, Mennonites, Reformed and Calvinists in an international network of contacts. Through that network, the Protestantism of the southern regions left a strong mark on the reformatory development of the entire Netherlands. A synthesis work.

JOHAN DECAVELE, PhD in history and head of the Culture Department of the city of Ghent, is the expert on the religious history of the Netherlands in the sixteenth century.