Routledge Westminster Abbey Reformed: 1540–1640 (Routledge Revivals)

Title first published in 2003. Westminster Abbey occupies a unique position in the religious and royal landscape of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. As the scene of coronations and other great public occasions, it has been the continuing focus of the nation's religious life for half the Christian era. Yet the building itself would not have survived the upheavals of the Protestant Reformation had the institution running it not been itself 'reformed' from monastery into collegiate church. These nine studies discuss ways in which Westminster's new corporate structure evolved in the first century of its existence, and look at some of the personalities who played a part in that process. New research, much of it in the Abbey's own rich archive, opens up previously unseen views of this great church's internal affairs, its relationship with the Crown, and its place in its own locality. Review 'These are efficient and scholarly essays, packed with interesting detail, with important implications for national history as well as for the corporate history of the great Abbey from the Reformation to the Civil War.' Christopher Haigh, University of Oxford '... this is a collection of outstanding essays based on careful and exhaustive research in the abbey's muniments, or archives... Ashgate has published some of the best monographs on early modern British religious history. Westminster Abbey Reformed: 1540-1640 will further cement this reputation for excellence, and will be a welcome addition to the library of anyone who values top-notch scholarship.' Anglican and Episcopal History 'As might be expected, the standard of editing and presentation throughout the volume reaches the highest standards. Despite its rather specialist appeal, it shoud be emphasized that many of the essays it contains throw very useful sidelights on many aspects of the broader religious history of the sixteenth and seventeeth centuries, and it is therefore a volume that no serious student of the religious history of this period can afford to overlook.' Albion