Lived Reformation: Zurich, 1500-1800

This book examines one of the main centres of the European Reformation, the
Swiss city of Zurich, to explore the impact of the reformatory processes on all
aspects of everyday life. It looks at how, for the early modern (non-)believers,
new visions of Christian living were mediated through law, preaching, teaching,
singing, reading, rumours, and heated debates in taverns. Lived Reformation
emphasises that the Reformation was for most a longlasting challenge, evident
in church worship, pastoral care, policies for the poor, the spreading of literacy
and implementing sexual norms.

What did it take to turn from a Catholic to a Protestant? What did it mean
for a Catholic priest to become a Protestant pastor and how did they relate
to their flock? What did nuns and monks do when evicted from dissolved
convents? How was the visual and acoustic culture of the city altered? What
about brothels or the belief in ghosts? What impact did the new theological
conception of sexuality have on hetero- and homosexual couples? How much
did the population cling to their religious habits or welcome or even ask for
religious changes? Was magical healing to be tolerated or did it go against the
new faith? Through careful examination of Zurich's rich archival sources, this
volume answers these questions and brings to life the diverse experiences of men and women in the time of the Long Reformation.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 135046063X
• ISBN13: 9781350460638
• Release Date: September 2026
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.1" x 9.2"