The Reformation: A History
Diarmaid MacCulloch
"The Reformation and the Counter-Reformation it provoked are one of the great discontinuities in European and world history. The dramatic changes that began when Martin Luther proclaimed his ninety-five theses in Wittenberg in 1517 were of a different order to anything that had gone before. In the following two hundred years, the Christian world broke apart and the nature not just of religion but also of politics, thought, society and culture all changed utterly. The course of history down to our own time has been decisively shaped by this revolution." "Diarmaid MacCulloch describes the changing late medieval world into which Luther, Calvin and the other reformers erupted.
Award History
1 wins · 1 total
| Award | Year | Result | Category / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Book Critics Circle Award for NonfictionMajor | 2004 | Winner | Secondary source |
Experimental book profileGenerated by GPT-5.4 nano · may contain inaccuracies
This is an unverified interpretation of the catalog description, offered as an opt-in discovery experiment—not as bibliographic fact.
01 Central figures
- Martin Luther84%
Show lower-confidence suggestions
These suggestions did not meet the normal display threshold and are more likely to be wrong.
- Calvin38%
02 Central places
- Wittenberg78%
03 Suggested argument
The Reformation and the Counter-Reformation it provoked constituted a major discontinuity, reshaping religion and also politics, thought, society, and culture over the following two centuries.
Model confidence 74%
04 Reading orientation
40 / 100 academicSerious trade
An estimate of intended readership and scholarly apparatus—not quality or importance.
Confidence percentages are the model's own estimates. Profile confidence: 70%.