From Icons to Idols: Documents on the Image Debate in Reformation England

This title is printed to order. This book may have been self-published. If so, we cannot guarantee the quality of the content. In the main most books will have gone through the editing process however some may not. We therefore suggest that you be aware of this before ordering this book. If in doubt check either the author or publisher’s details as we are unable to accept any returns unless they are faulty. Please contact us if you have any questions.

The debate over religious images was fundamental to the development of the Reformation. Even before the Reformation, iconoclasm and the critique of image devotion were marks of religious radicalism. Protestant reformers embraced iconoclasm as a means of condemning Catholic corruption and illustrating their war against idolatry. From Icons to Idols provides an accessible, important edition of primary sources on this critical aspect of the Reformation in England. The documents in this collection track the image debate across the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, highlighting the complexities and diversity of arguments and positions held by both Protestants and Catholics. The documents also demonstrate the variety of individuals who engaged in the debate over images. Included here are bishops and theologians, printers and inquisitors, cardinals and artists, suggesting that the question of idolatry was no mere academic exercise.