Converting Bohemia: Force and Persuasion in the Catholic Reformation

Description

Prior to the Thirty Years War, almost all of Bohemia's population lay outside the Catholic fold, yet by the beginning of the eighteenth century the kingdom was clearly under Rome's influence. Few regions in Europe's history have ever experienced such a complete religious transformation; because of this, Bohemia offers a unique window for examining the Counter-Reformation and the nature of early modern Catholicism. Converting Bohemia presents a full assessment of the Catholic Church's re-establishment in the Czech lands, arguing that this complex phenomenon was less a product of violence and force than of negotiation and persuasion. Ranging from art, architecture and literature to music, philosophy and hagiography, Howard Louthan's study reintegrates the region into the broader European world where it played such a prominent role in the early modern period. It will be of particular interest to scholars of early modern European history, religion, and Reformation studies.

Howard Louthan is Associate Professor in the History Department, University of Florida. He is the author of The Quest for Compromise: Peacemakers in Counter-Reformation Vienna (1997).

Review of the hardback: 'Any scholar of the Reformation, or of early modern Europe in general, should read this book, not only out of obligation to know something about what transpired in this small kingdom in the heart of Europe, but to better understand European history as a whole.' Journal of Ecclesiastical History ' ... [the author's] monograph gives important issues a welcome airing, provides a distinctive viewpoint on some well-known events, and adds new detail to our knowledge of this century of transition.' The Journal of Austrian History Yearbook 'the breadth of vision behind this book will ensure its enduring significance among those interested in the history of Bohemia, in early modern Catholicism, and in the history of mission.' The Journal of Church History