With 1,200 articles, and more than 1.3 million words available in four print volumes or as an e-reference text from Oxford's Digital Reference Shelf, the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation is the ultimate reference work on this tumultuous period of European History. Drawing on the most recent research in the field, it focuses on the entire range of religious and social changes wrought by the Reformation, including not only issues of church polity and theology but also related developments in politics, economics, demographics, art, and literature. This unique breadth of coverage makes it an unparalleled source of information on the personalities and events of the era. Written by more than 450 distinguished scholars, under the guidance of an international board of experts, the entries are arranged alphabetically and range from brief biographical sketches to magisterial essays on major topics and people of the sixteenth century. An index and extensive system of cross-references give the reader easy access to the network of interrelated articles throughout the encyclopedia. Includes: the Eucharist * Lutheranism * cities * Calvinism * women * * law * education * Jews * humanism * the Bible * art * saints and sainthood * literacy * the French Wars of Religion * the Augsburg Confession * the Council of Trent * music * the Holy Roman Empire * persecution * apocalypticism * peasants