The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England, 1400-1580 | 
 enlarge | Author: Eamon Duffy
Publisher: Yale University Press
Category: Book
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Rating:  18 reviews
Sales Rank: 155428
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2nd
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 700
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.6
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.7
ISBN: 0300108281
Dewey Decimal Number: 274.205
EAN: 9780300108286
ASIN: 0300108281
Publication Date: May 10, 2005
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Product Description
This prize-winning account of the pre-Reformation church recreates lay people’s experience of religion in fifteenth-century England. Eamon Duffy shows that late medieval Catholicism was neither decadent nor decayed, but was a strong and vigorous tradition, and that the Reformation represented a violent rupture from a popular and theologically respectable religious system. For this edition, Duffy has written a new Preface reflecting on recent developments in our understanding of the period.
From reviews of the first edition:
“A magnificent scholarly achievement [and] a compelling read.”—Patricia Morrison, Financial Times
“Deeply imaginative, movingly written, and splendidly illustrated. . . . Duffy’s analysis . . . carries conviction.”—Maurice Keen, New York Review of Books
“This book will afford enjoyment and enlightenment to layman and specialist alike.”—Peter Heath, Times Literary Supplement
“[An] astonishing and magnificent piece of work.”—Edward T. Oakes, Commonweal
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| Customer Reviews: Read 13 more reviews...
 The Stripping Away of 400 Years of Propaganda July 12, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Through careful evaluation of primary sources Eamon Duffy develops the thesis and affirms the reality that the Reformation in England was no reformation at all, but a top-down cultural genocide led by a conspiracy of unhappy radicals whose motivations and techniques anticipated Stalinism. Duffy details pre-Reformation faith in its cultural complexity and how it worked not only as a vehicle of religious observance but as the very core of English culture and identity. He does not show us kings and courts; he shows us how the machinations of their odious creatures like Cromwell affected people like us on the parish (and thus secular) level of daily work, study, and prayer. A brilliant book -- as P. G. Wodehouse might have said, Mao Tse Tung could have taken Henry VIII's correspondence course.
A Different Perspective on the English Reformation November 9, 2006
26 out of 26 found this review helpful
"The Stripping of the Altars", Eamon Duffy's erudite, meticulous yet flowing analysis of what he refers to as "traditional religion" in England in the years from 1400 to 1580 is a masterpiece of scholarship and also of presentation. Professor of the History of Christianity at Cambridge University, he states in his preface to the second edition (the book was originally published in 1992) that his intentions were academic and that he was himself surprised to find that it developed an audience among the general public. He should not have been so shocked. Leavened with anecdotes, storytelling, humor and engaging descriptions of the thoughts, customs and nature of life in those times, his work, while painstaking -- painfully so at times -- reads comfortably and absorbingly throughout most of its highly approachable 593 pages (plus bibliography and index).
Duffy's thesis is that, contrary to what has been taught and generally believed about the Protestant Reformation in England, satisfaction with the Roman Catholic "traditional" religion, its fetes, rituals and observances was almost universal at the time of the Reformation and that the Reformation, itself, was imposed upon the people by royal and civil authority, not popular will. Early on and fairly enough, Duffy describes his irish Catholic background, yet while that outlook must be constantly borne in mind while reading his book, the fact is that he makes a convincing case.
He does so systematically, painting the nature of English existence at the time, largely rural, generally peaceful in the wake of the Hundred Year's War, isolated, provincial and soaked in pervasive religiosity. Suggesting that the abuses, indulgences and corruption of the Continental church had few echoes in England, Duffy works through the nature of categories of traditional practice -- liturgy, catechesis, mass, gild, prayers, primers (in preference to Bible study), and the sometimes cultish fixations on death and purgatory -- and in doing so creates an image of an idyllic world, cohesive, communal and warmly and constantly involved with its faith. In the process he uses plentiful plates and illustrations that correlate with specifics in the text and which, themselves, are a pleasure to review.
Voices around Henry VIII, who despite his quarrels with the papacy remained ambivalent about his religious identification, radicalized his policies in the persons of ranting Hugh Latimer and Machiavellian Thomas Cromwell and Thomas Cranmer, culminating in 1533 in the ultimate break with the Roman church and, in the name of removing idolatrous objects, the subsequent eponymous stripping of the altars, art, and statuary of the churches and the destruction of abbeys and monasteries, a sad price to pay for the concepts of religious individualism and personal responsibility for salvation.
The reaction of the traditionalists was varied. Some resisted while others went underground or accommodated and accepted the new authority; however, given the opportunity, Duffy emphasizes, the "vast majority" of the people quickly reverted to traditional religion after the deaths of Henry in 1547 and of the young King Edward VI in 1553 and the brief accession to the throne of Catholic Mary Tudor. As the reign of Elizabeth I began in 1558 and the Protestant Church of England was reinstated, many quickly changed sides of the aisle again, but, Duffy asserts, the ultimate defeat of the traditionalists was the result only of lengthy systematic repression, an effort that finally subverted the true will of the people. (There is some irony in the fact that in two brief paragraphs Duffy passes over, almost with a "boys will be boys" flippancy, the burnings of "heretics" under the Marian regime.)
So be it. Duffy's is an interesting concept. Yet questions remain: Why if the dedication to traditional religion was so deep, did it virtually disappear in well less than a century as a significant factor in English life? Were the Protestant propagandists that convincing or their "draconian" measures that intimidating? To what extent was the acceptance of traditional religion itself, as opposed to deep faith, an accommodation to existing authority, its methods and its mores, and a reflection of humanity's characteristic inclination to adapt to surroundings and make the joyful best of them?
Those last are comments, not criticisms, issues that should not detract from appreciation of this work. "The Stripping of the Altars" is a magnificent book.
Of Medievalists and Monarchs February 8, 2006
34 out of 39 found this review helpful
The 600+ pages of THE STRIPPING OF THE ALTARS lie beside me now, their once-smooth softbound spine wrinkled and creased, its bends evidencing my progress from cover to cover. Books of this scope (and length) really ought to be produced only in quality bindings. I regret the obvious wear and tear that even a single reading leaves on such an otherwise fine object. But then perhaps I'm reverencing the object rather than its contents. Of course, in so doing, I'm in the company of many 15th century Christians who, though incapable of understanding the Latin in their Primers (Books of Hours or Horae), nevertheless revered their treasured copies as being themselves sacred objects.
Beyond reverence for Primers, 15th and early 16th century Christianity is fascinating for its cults of the saints, its cult of the five wounds of Jesus, and especially its observances such as the annual Rogationtide processions, during which fields were blessed and demons were driven from the parish boundaries. The evolutionary links from Christianity back to Pagan religions are starkly evident in many of the practices and devotions of the period examined by Duffy.
The author's goal in the writing of this book was to demonstrate that, contrary to some historians' assertions, popular adherence to traditional religion, i.e., Roman Catholicism as then practiced, was alive and strong until its forced abandonment by successive monarchs during the Protestant Reformation. Consequently, its title notwithstanding, THE STRIPPING OF THE ALTARS is primarily a study of English religious practices in late medieval times preceding and culminating with the Reformation, and these practices are most interesting indeed. In fact, although Duffy does not speculate on this, I thought that I saw several such practices that have endured, more or less transformed, of course, into today's cultural norms. As one example, I wonder if the modern practice of bringing food to the family of one newly deceased does not have ties to the soul-saving practice of giving food to the poor of the parish who came to help pray for the soul of the dying 15th century Englishman?
As I hope this single example illustrates, it would be an error to consider this book "ancient history," for the beliefs and practices that it studies underlie today's Christianity, whether it be practiced according to Catholic or to Protestant customs. At the very least, Duffy's book should leave the reader with a heightened appreciation of the continuity that we share with our English ancestors of 450 years ago (assuming, obviously, that "we" equate to Caucasian European Christian immigrants to the New World, although converts to Christianity from other ethnic and religious ancestry should also find the history of their chosen religion to be of interest).
In speaking of Duffy's book, I have used the word "study" several times, and that is a most intentional word choice. Duffy has not written a popular history but a scholarly examination of his topic. In so doing, he assumes that his reader is knowledgeable of many items used in religious observances. In this regard, let us say that I often had recourse to a dictionary. He also includes frequent quotations that are written in English of the Late Middle and Early Modern periods. If one reads Chaucer with ease, this will not be a challenge; otherwise, reading such passages aloud, usually more than once, may help the reader "translate" them into Modern English. Still, this makes for occasional slow going. Duffy's own use of (modern) English is precise and erudite, yet not what I would describe as scintillating and is the reason that I have given his book four stars rather than the five that its detail and excellent research would otherwise deserve.
For the reader interested in this period of history and in the evolution of modern Christianity, THE STRIPPING OF THE ALTARS is a valuable resource. I also recommend WIDE AS THE WATERS by Benson Bobrick, IN THE BEGINNING, THE STORY OF THE KING JAMES BIBLE by McGrath and GOD'S SECRET AGENTS by Alice Hogge. May you enjoy your studies!
Great post-revisionist history of the English Reformation April 28, 2005
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
In historiography, it is sometimes difficult to say where revisionism ends and post-revisionism begins. Eamon Duffy's The Stripping of the Altars is written as a revision of an earlier thesis regarding the English Protestant Reformation, which was itself a revision of earlier models. For the sake of simplicity, and due to the fact that works beyond Duffy's argument have begun to appear (post-post-revisionism?), it will be easier to call Duffy's work in The Stripping of the Altars revisionism. One of the central debates on the topic of the English Reformation is the consideration of how quickly Protestant ideals "took." The consensus prior to Duffy pointed to an early acceptance of the Reformation's ideals, roughly coinciding with the Edwardine transformations. Championed by A.G. Dickens, scholars in the "early Reformation" camp directed attention to the rapidity of iconoclastic movements, the failure of the Marian reconstruction, and other factors justifying belief in a public already primed and ready to embrace heterodox theology. Duffy, on the other hand, uses his research to argue for a "late Reformation" thesis. Personal memoirs, churchwarden accounts, wills, and ecclesiastical texts provide his evidence to support the contention that the spread of the English Reformation proceeded in fits and starts, and its success was hardly guaranteed.
Duffy builds his book by first demonstrating the depth and vitality of Roman Catholic faith among the laity in late medieval England. Owing a great deal to John Bossy, Duffy's objective is to show the reader how influential the religious and spiritual worlds were in the life of the average believer. For example, the commanding authority of the liturgical calendar is illustrated to have been closely intertwined with the secular rhythms of life. Duffy also stresses that the celebration of Mass was a participatory, not passive act on the part of the laity. Here we see the usual description of fraternal orders, guilds, public processions for feast days such as Corpus Christi, and other signs of an active religious life among lay believers. Duffy is careful to stress that this is a story of "traditional religion," not "popular religion." Besides being an obvious nod to Bossy, this distinction also avoids the implication that "popular religion" can only be the spirituality of select lower classes.
The second part of The Stripping of the Altars is primarily a chronological assessment of the events of the English Protestant Reformation. Duffy takes a break after the death of Edward to assess the impact of the various changes thrust upon the English church, specifically on parochial life and wills. Here, the use of the primary sources mentioned above bears out Duffy's assertion that the creation of the Anglican Church out of the English Roman Catholic body of believers was a gradual, asymmetric process. Of course, the author makes a salient point when he mentions that even outward signs of conformity and orthodoxy were no guarantee of inward subservience. The book ends in 1580 with a chapter on Elizabeth. Duffy adequately makes his point that it took over fifty years for the English Reformation to establish a firm Anglican faith. Doubtless, the next round of revisionism is close at hand.
 Mixed Feelings December 27, 2004
6 out of 15 found this review helpful
I have mixed feelings about Stripping of the Altars. There's no question it's painstakingly well researched. But I wish more effort would have gone into editing. Frankly, I spent too much time wading through wills and untranslated pre-Elizabethan English. This is a 600 page book that could have been a more readable 450 page book. Much of what Duffy included in the body of his book should have been put in an appendix instead.
Also, I wonder if Duffy had an axe to grind. His book clearly has an anti-Protestant slant to it. Now I don't have the academic background to make a judgement on how fair he is. And there's no question both Protestants and Catholics often conducted themselves poorly in 16th century England.
The book does give an excellent and detailed picture of what pre-Reformation English religion was like. That was probably the biggest benefit to me.
I would suggest English Reformations by Christopher Haigh as a more readable, more balanced overview of the same years Duffy looks at. But if you want to learn about pre-Reformation English religion or if the only English histories you've read make it sound like Jolly Old England merrily cast off popery, then Duffy is well worth the time.
And reading Stripping of the Altars will take time. If you skim through the wills and the unreadable Medieval English and such, I won't tell anyone.
Mark Marshall is the author of God Knows What It's Like to be a Teenager.
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