Life writing in Reformation Europe: lives of reformers by friends, disciples and foes

The Reformation period witnessed an explosion in the number of biographies of contemporary religious figures being published.

Whether lives of reformers worthy of emulation, or heretics deserving condemnation, the genre of biography became a key element in the confessional rivalries that raged across Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Offering more than a general survey of Life writing, this volume examines key issues and questions about how this trend developed among different confessions and how it helped shape lasting images of reformers, particularly Luther and Calvin up to the modern period.