The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Religion, War, Famine and Death in Reformation Europe

Description

Using the prism of DUrer's woodcut, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Andrew Cunningham and Ole Grell offer a new and exciting interpretation of European history in the period 1490 to 1648. DUrer's image came to characterize the outlook of most early modern Europeans, who saw repeated episodes of war, epidemics and famine as indicating the imminent end of the world. Lavishly illustrated with fascinating contemporary images, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse brings together religious, social, military and medical history, giving readers a unique insight into the early modern world. Andrew Cunningham is a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science in the University of Cambridge. His most recent book is The Anatomical Renaissance (1997). Ole Peter Grell is a Lecturer in Early Modern History at the Open University, Milton Keynes. Among his recent books are Calvinist Exiles in Tudor and Stuart England (Scolar Press, 1997) and Paracelsus: The Man and His Reputation (Brill Academic Publishers, 1998). Together the authors have published Health Care and Poor Relief in Protestant Europe 1500-1700 (Routledge, 1997) and Health Care and Poor Relief in Counter-Reformation Europe (Routledge, 1999). Since 1998 they have edited the series History of Medicine in Context published by Ashgate.

'The Four Horsemen is a well-constructed and eminently readable work.' Peter Taylor-Whiffen, The Independent 'The book should appeal not only to the general reader but also to specialist scholars, filled as it is with stimulating observations and insights.' The English Historical Review '... an ingenious and refreshing assessment of the Reformation ... a brave and lively textbook which produces a useful rapport between the interests of social history and the history of religion.' Journal of Ecclesiastical History 'What makes this book stand out from others is the attention the authors lavish on religious interpretations of this period of new disasters and epidemics. ... they have written an important book that stimulates even as it summarizes. The abundance of excellent illustrations also makes the book a joy to look at.' Medical History 'The result is a gripping and original study ...' The New York Review