The Body Broken: The Calvinist Doctrine of the Eucharist and the Symbolization of Power in Sixteenth-Century France

by Christopher Elwood

Overview

This book examines the disputes about the eucharist that were carried out in the popular press in 16th-century France. Elwood's focus is on the way in which power is symbolized in eucharist doctrine, and how representations of power in the context of theological discussion influenced understandings of power in other spheres of life. By concentrating on writings that were accessible to and likely read by a popular lay audience, Elwood seeks to discover what ideas concerning the eucharist were actually conveyed by readers. His central argument is that the Calvinist eucharist theory propounded in the 16th century included a way on construing power and the relation between the sacred and society that contributed in a very significant way to the ideological social, and political unrest that characterized the Reformation period.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195121339
Publisher:	Oxford University Press, USA
Publication date:	12/28/1999
Series:	Oxford Studies in Historical Theology Series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.10(d)

Table of Contents

Abbreviations		xi
Introduction		3	(9)
1 Immanent Majesty The Eucharist and the Body of Christ in Late Medieval Society		12	(15)
2 Heavenly Things in Heaven The First Wave of French Protestant Propaganda, 1533-1535		27	(29)
3 Specifying Power Sacramental Signification in Calvin's Theology of the Eucharist		56	(21)
4 Seeds of Discord The Diffusion of the Refromed Doctrine, 1540-1560		77	(36)
5 The Catholic Riposte Defenses of the Real Presence at the Beginning of the Religious Wars		113	(32)
6 The Eucharist, Reformed Social Formation, and the Ideology of Resistance		145	(18)
Conclusion		163	(10)
Notes		173	(50)
Bibliography		223	(22)
Index		245

Editorial Reviews

"This theological and sociological study will also be of interest to those concerned with inculturation, communications media and political development."—Worship

"In a masterpiece of concise exposition, Elwood demonstrates how Calvin's fundamental re-ordering of the sacraments was elaborated and expanded by a tight circle of friends and followers whose writings quickly became normative for French evangelism. Closely written and based on a wide-ranging survey of contemporary literature, this work is likely to become the definitive study of a subject of central importance in understanding why evangelical reform in France could not be accomplished without striking at the heart of the established system of belief."—Andrew Pettegree, Director, St. Andrews Reformation Studies Institute.

From the Publisher