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Worship in Medieval and Early Modern Europe:  Change and Continuity in Religious Practice (University of Notre Dame Press, 2004)

Description
Worship in Medieval and Early Modern Europe offers readers a chance to understand better the societal and confessional norms that motivated late medieval and early modern Christians to maintain or change traditional Catholic worship practices. Featuring some of the most outstanding scholars in the field, this volume will be invaluable to academics interested in the Reformation, early modern studies, theology, and liturgical studies, as well as to general readers who wish to learn how their worship life was shaped in the sixteenth century.

Editors
Karin Maag is director of the H. Henry Meeter Center and associate professor of history at Calvin College.
John D. Witvliet is director of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and serves as professor of worship, theology, and music at Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary.

Contributors: Kent J. Burreson, Margo Fassler, Susan M. Felch, Robert Kingdon, Robin A. Leaver, Henry Luttikhuizen, Karin Maag, Bodo Nischan, Frank C. Senn, Bryan D. Spinks, Katherine Elliot van Liere, John D. Witvliet.

Endorsements
"This is a fine collection of essays that significantly enriches our knowledge of a crucial period in liturgical history."
—Paul Bradshaw, Professor of Liturgy, University of Notre Dame

"The authors do a remarkably fine job of taking seriously the continuities between late medieval and early modern practices, especially in the Protestant world.  They pay as much attention to subtle transformations of the medieval liturgical inheritance as they do to the dramatic changes in worship  initiated by Protestant reforms.  The authors also clarify the often murky, dynamic relationship between text and practice, and explain the ways in which practices of worship were rooted in local politics and culture.  The primary sources accompanying each essay bring to light liturgical texts that deserve to be better known."
—Virginia Reinburg, Boston College

"This original and useful compilation of essays demonstrates a commendable ecumenical breadth and sensitivity."
—Randall Zachman, University of Notre Dame

Reviews
"The authors' sustained attention to continuity and change helps to unify the essays. Atypically for an edited volume, these pieces work together to advance a central argument: Protestant Reformation and Catholic Renewal altered much, but central practices endured. ... While the essays are uniformly readable and informative, a number of them do a particularly good job at opening up the worshiping lives of 16th- and 17th-century Christians."
—Mary Noll Venables, Books & Culture

"Continuity and discontinuity at the Reformation continues to be an area attracting scholarly attention, and seldom do the issues surface more colourfully in terms of belief and practice than in worship. In this interesting collection of essays, Maag and Witvliet bring together a series of 11 studies of particular
areas that provide specific points of focus, which are light years away from the world of generalizations."
—Kenneth Stevenson, Journal of Theological Studies

Book description from University of Notre Dame Press