The Stripping of the Altars : Traditional Religion in England, 1400-1580 Paperback / softback

This prize-winning account of the pre-Reformation church recreates lay people's experience of religion in fifteenth-century England.

Eamon Duffy shows that late medieval Catholicism was neither decadent nor decayed, but was a strong and vigorous tradition, and that the Reformation represented a violent rupture from a popular and theologically respectable religious system.

For this edition, Duffy has written a new Preface reflecting on recent developments in our understanding of the period. From reviews of the first edition:"A magnificent scholarly achievement [and] a compelling read."-Patricia Morrison, Financial Times"Deeply imaginative, movingly written, and splendidly illustrated. . . . Duffy's analysis . . . carries conviction."-Maurice Keen, New York Review of Books"This book will afford enjoyment and enlightenment to layman and specialist alike."-Peter Heath, Times Literary Supplement"[An] astonishing and magnificent piece of work."-Edward T.

Oakes, Commonweal