How the Reformation Happened

Rating:
Summary: Belloc: bold thresher of the grain of history
Review: "Read history books, my son, there is the true philosophy to be found." Napoleon to his son

In my reading of history books there is a pre-Hilaire Belloc period and a post-Hilaire Belloc period. This is because what Belloc writes and how he writes it is so novel, refreshing, clear and shocking that you simply cannot be the same man after reading his works.

Don't expect a book full of quotes and references to primary sources with an imposing bibliography at the back. There isn't a single quote or reference to a primary or secondary source in any of the books by Belloc that I've read.

Briefly, you will have to take Belloc's word for it that things really happened the way he says they did. The man doesn't really put forward arguments, he simply states his case. And it works! For some, specially people who don't have a conservative mindset or who take methodology very seriously, this will probably be considered a major flaw and they will dismiss Belloc's works as mere propaganda but I didn't bother: I was completely absorbed by his quick and fascinating narrative and mind-blowing historical analysis.

Belloc is not a historian who likes to recreate a historical period by giving the reader a wealth of details about clothing, dietary habits and what not. No, his view is a tend thousand feet view: the main events, the underlying causes, the far-reaching consequences. Everything is said with utmost clarity and almost bluntly: the Reformation was a catastrophe for European civilization and its main driving force was rapacity.

In How the Reformation Happened, Belloc covers the whole period from immediately before AD 1517, when Luther published his theses, to the reign of Louis XIV. This is a long period for a book of less than 150 pages but as I said above Belloc is only interested in the quintessence of history. He leaves aside all the chaff and gives you only the grain.

This book deals only with events and does not go into the doctrinal issues. For this read Belloc's short book on heresies "The Great Heresies" and on the enemies of the Church "Survivals and New Arrivals".

The pace of the narrative is breathtaking but always crystal clear and studded with thought-provoking reflections. Since most of us have been spoon-fed a Protestant and anti-Catholic version of history, most of what he says will appear quite novel but his writing is so cogent that you will end up being convinced. I was for example completely taken aback by his explanation of the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre in AD 1572 .

This book is an eye-opener and a page-turner. And a source of true philosophy...

Rating:
Summary: Belloc: bold thresher of the grain of history
Review: "Read history books, my son, there is the true philosophy to be found." Napoleon to his son

In my reading of history books there is a pre-Hilaire Belloc period and a post-Hilaire Belloc period. This is because what Belloc writes and how he writes it is so novel, refreshing, clear and shocking that you simply cannot be the same man after reading his works.

Don't expect a book full of quotes and references to primary sources with an imposing bibliography at the back. There isn't a single quote or reference to a primary or secondary source in any of the books by Belloc that I've read.

Briefly, you will have to take Belloc's word for it that things really happened the way he says they did. The man doesn't really put forward arguments, he simply states his case. And it works! For some, specially people who don't have a conservative mindset or who take methodology very seriously, this will probably be considered a major flaw and they will dismiss Belloc's works as mere propaganda but I didn't bother: I was completely absorbed by his quick and fascinating narrative and mind-blowing historical analysis.

Belloc is not a historian who likes to recreate a historical period by giving the reader a wealth of details about clothing, dietary habits and what not. No, his view is a tend thousand feet view: the main events, the underlying causes, the far-reaching consequences. Everything is said with utmost clarity and almost bluntly: the Reformation was a catastrophe for European civilization and its main driving force was rapacity.

In How the Reformation Happened, Belloc covers the whole period from immediately before AD 1517, when Luther published his theses, to the reign of Louis XIV. This is a long period for a book of less than 150 pages but as I said above Belloc is only interested in the quintessence of history. He leaves aside all the chaff and gives you only the grain.

This book deals only with events and does not go into the doctrinal issues. For this read Belloc's short book on heresies "The Great Heresies" and on the enemies of the Church "Survivals and New Arrivals".

The pace of the narrative is breathtaking but always crystal clear and studded with thought-provoking reflections. Since most of us have been spoon-fed a Protestant and anti-Catholic version of history, most of what he says will appear quite novel but his writing is so cogent that you will end up being convinced. I was for example completely taken aback by his explanation of the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre in AD 1572 .

This book is an eye-opener and a page-turner. And a source of true philosophy...

Rating:
Summary: A Balanced Thesis
Review: Belloc has issued several histories of the Reformation and of those persons at the forefront of the Reformation. This history takes a broad brush to these common themes but, perhaps, in a more abbreviated manner.

Belloc lays the blame for the Reformation on five factors. These five theses have been set forth in other reviews, so I won't repeat them here. Needless to say, the book is ordered on defending Belloc's theses from beginning to end.

Note also, that I use the word "blame" for the Reformation. To those unaware, Belloc was a staunch Catholic. It would be error to say that he wrote Catholic history (Belloc does not fabricate his facts), rather he writes with a Catholic perspective. That perspective is simply that the Reformation was definitevely NOT good for Christianity.

Belloc's balance is that he does put a great deal of the blame for the Reformation on the shoulder's of those within the Church. However, Belloc rightfully makes the distinction between a poor witness to Christ and the personal sin of those within the Church (matters in need of reform) and a wholesale rethinking of Christian doctrine. Without coming out and bluntly stating the fact, Belloc is arguing that the Reformation was not a reform, reform is a cure of the thing that is ill. Rather, the ultimate objective was a schism - a very split in the fabric of Christianity largely occasioned by motives far removed from dispute regarding doctrine.

Because of this approach, the student of the Reformation may be exposed to a different view than the somewhat romantic view of the Reformation as is presented in our history books. In fact, a good reading of this book should provide some balance. Lastly, Belloc does not speak in rhymes - he is a straight shooter and his point is made manifestly clear.

To that end, I highly recommend this book to any person who is interested in the facts and circumstances of the Reformation. If you have not read a Catholic perspective on this momentous time in history, please purchase this book and do so now. This history will not leave you disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: A Balanced Thesis
Review: Belloc has issued several histories of the Reformation and of those persons at the forefront of the Reformation. This history takes a broad brush to these common themes but, perhaps, in a more abbreviated manner.

Belloc lays the blame for the Reformation on five factors. These five theses have been set forth in other reviews, so I won't repeat them here. Needless to say, the book is ordered on defending Belloc's theses from beginning to end.

Note also, that I use the word "blame" for the Reformation. To those unaware, Belloc was a staunch Catholic. It would be error to say that he wrote Catholic history (Belloc does not fabricate his facts), rather he writes with a Catholic perspective. That perspective is simply that the Reformation was definitevely NOT good for Christianity.

Belloc's balance is that he does put a great deal of the blame for the Reformation on the shoulder's of those within the Church. However, Belloc rightfully makes the distinction between a poor witness to Christ and the personal sin of those within the Church (matters in need of reform) and a wholesale rethinking of Christian doctrine. Without coming out and bluntly stating the fact, Belloc is arguing that the Reformation was not a reform, reform is a cure of the thing that is ill. Rather, the ultimate objective was a schism - a very split in the fabric of Christianity largely occasioned by motives far removed from dispute regarding doctrine.

Because of this approach, the student of the Reformation may be exposed to a different view than the somewhat romantic view of the Reformation as is presented in our history books. In fact, a good reading of this book should provide some balance. Lastly, Belloc does not speak in rhymes - he is a straight shooter and his point is made manifestly clear.

To that end, I highly recommend this book to any person who is interested in the facts and circumstances of the Reformation. If you have not read a Catholic perspective on this momentous time in history, please purchase this book and do so now. This history will not leave you disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: The Tide has turned
Review: Belloc's books are prophetic. In this history of the wreck of European Civilization, commonly known as the Reformation, Belloc predicts the end of the Reformation as a historically significant phenomenon. He also predicts that the final conflict will be a struggle between the one true Church and the forces of the new Paganism. The leftovers of the Reformed "Churches" may join the fight (on either side), but they will not be determinant.

This seems a bold prediction today (and it was even bolder in 1928, when this book was written), but only from an American perspective. If you travel trough Europe, especially the "New Europe", you will find that the Reformation has lost the final battle. With very few exceptions, the "New Europe" is Catholic or Orthodox, not reformed. In each country, only a minority of the people goes to church, but the ones who do are welcomed by the sweet smell of incense.

The reasons for the defeat of the Reformation are not principally moral and theological, but historical and economic. Europe has always been mostly Catholic or Orthodox, but the centers of power and wealth were in Protestant hands. The main center was, until the end of WW2, Prussia.

It was the destruction of Prussia that sealed the fate of the Reformation in Europe. Excluding Prussia, even German-speaking Europe has always been largely Catholic, but the ruling class, after the German unification (in 1870), was Prussian and Protestant. This has been completely changed by the two World Wars.

Prussia has been smashed to pieces. Formerly Prussian territories have been taken over by (Catholic) Poland and (Orthodox) Russia. When Germany was unified again (in 1989), the Protestant East was taken over by the mostly Catholic Southwest: the opposite of what happened in 1870.

Because of the destruction of Prussia (a Very Good Thing), there is little chance that the situation will ever change: the centers of power and wealth in the EU will be in Catholic areas for the foreseeable future. For example, Airbus planes are built in Toulouse (a Catholic city, thanks to St. Dominic); BMW cars are made in Catholic Bavaria, etc.

England has been in economic decline for the last century: France is ahead in GNP and formerly backward Italy and Spain have caught up with her. The most buoyant economy of Europe is a Catholic country: Ireland, free less than a century now from genocidal Protestant rule. And on the eastern border of Europe are the future EU members; they are mostly Orthodox countries: Protestants will be a small minority in the future Europe.

Rating:
Summary: GOOD BOOK, HARD READ
Review: Hilaire Belloc fills this book with facinating facts and gives a good balanced perspective on how the Reformation happened. My only complaint is that the book reads like it was written in 1928....well, it was written in 1928! It's not a super easy read, but I must say it was very informative and quite interesting. I found it to be a challenge well worth the effort.

Rating:
Summary: A different look at the Reformation
Review: I'll admit that I don't agree with some of his opinions. However, if you have some sense of history, this book offers some very compelling views on how people and events tied together to produce a significant event in Western culture. Other books can give you more on fine details; this book will give you a broad overview to keep in mind as you study the Reformation.

Rating:
Summary: Required reading for the student of Western Civilization!
Review: This book is a must-read for anyone who wishes to hear a truly Catholic perspective of the Reformation. I dare say, one will not hear this in any typical American Western Civ class--yet how tragic this is! Belloc's position is that the Reformation would have gone down as but one of the many uprisings in the Catholic Church over the centuries, akin to the Arian, Nestorian, and Albegensian heresies before it, were it not for the certain economic and socio-political forces at work at the time, which allowed the Protestant movement to achieve its lasting foothold upon much of Northern Europe. It is from this political perspective that Belloc brilliantly explains nation by nation how Europe was prevented from returning in unity to the Catholic Church. A truly fascinating and illuminating read, of which no true scholar of western civ can afford to deprive himself!

Rating:
Summary: Required reading for the student of Western Civilization!
Review: This book is a must-read for anyone who wishes to hear a truly Catholic perspective of the Reformation. I dare say, one will not hear this in any typical American Western Civ class--yet how tragic this is! Belloc's position is that the Reformation would have gone down as but one of the many uprisings in the Catholic Church over the centuries, akin to the Arian, Nestorian, and Albegensian heresies before it, were it not for certain socio-political forces at work, which allowed the Protestant movement to achieve its lasting foothold upon much of Northern Europe. It is from this political perspective that Belloc brilliantly explains nation by nation how Europe was prevented from returning in unity to the Catholic Church. A truly fascinating and illuminating read, of which no true scholar of western civ can afford to deprive himself!

Rating:
Summary: Well written and interesting
Review: This is a blazing, gloves off history of the Reformation! Belloc highlights the political and military struggles of the period (almost leaving the religious turmoil as an afterthought). Belloc uses this as a device to show the reader that the events surrounding this period were far more than a religious quarrel, it involved conspiracies between zealots who allowed church lands to be looted and people who favored the absolute power of the monarchy over and above any temporal papal power. It's a good and quick read that engages the intellect.