Lived Reformation

This book examines one of the main centres of the European Reformation, theSwiss city of Zurich, to explore the impact of the reformatory processes on allaspects 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 Reformationemphasises that the Reformation was for most a longlasting challenge, evidentin church worship, pastoral care, policies for the poor, the spreading of literacyand implementing sexual norms. What did it take to turn from a Catholic to a Protestant? What did it meanfor a Catholic priest to become a Protestant pastor and how did they relateto their flock? What did nuns and monks do when evicted from dissolvedconvents? How was the visual and acoustic culture of the city altered? Whatabout brothels or the belief in ghosts? What impact did the new theologicalconception of sexuality have on hetero- and homosexual couples? How muchdid the population cling to their religious habits or welcome or even ask forreligious changes? Was magical healing to be tolerated or did it go against thenew faith? Through careful examination of Zurich’s rich archival sources, thisvolume answers these questions and brings to life the diverse experiences of men and women in the time of the Long Reformation.