The Cambridge Companion to Counter-Reformation Sanctity

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Jan Machielsen (Cardiff University) Emily Michelson (University of St. Andrews, Scotland)

The Cambridge Companion to Counter-Reformation Sanctity

Jan Machielsen (Cardiff University), Emily Michelson (University of St. Andrews, Scotland), Katrina B. Olds (University of San Francisco)

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Forthcoming
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English

Cambridge University Press
01 December 2025

European history; Early modern history: c 1450 to c 1700; Religion & beliefs; Christian life & practice

Series: Cambridge Companions to Religion

This groundbreaking Companion explores how Counter-Reformation sanctity reshaped religious identities, sacred traditions, and devotional practices that transformed Catholicism into the first global religion. Offering a fresh perspective on early modern Catholicism, it moves beyond traditional debates about Reformation and Reform and presents sanctity as the defining lens through which to view the period's transformative changes. By examining the lives, representations, and global impact of saints, the Companion demonstrates how sanctity countered the Protestant challenge and also transformed the very fabric of Catholicism between 1500 and 1750. Organized into four thematic sections – models of sanctity, the creation and contestation of sanctity, the representation of saints, and everyday interactions with saints – the volume also provides insight into the role of holiness during this pivotal period in Church history. Connecting history, theology, art history, and material culture, this interdisciplinary Companion serves as an indispensable resource for scholars and students seeking a comprehensive understanding of early modern Catholicism's influence on European and global history.

Edited by: Jan Machielsen (Cardiff University), Emily Michelson (University of St. Andrews, Scotland), Katrina B. Olds (University of San Francisco)
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Weight: 250g
ISBN: 9781009199575
ISBN 10: 1009199579
Series: Cambridge Companions to Religion
Pages: 350
Publication Date: 01 December 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Jan Machielsen is Reader in Early Modern History at Cardiff University. He is the author of The Basque Witch Hunt (2024) and The Science of Demons (2020). Emily Michelson is Professor of History at the University of St Andrews. She is the author of Catholic Spectacle and Rome's Jews: Early Modern Conversion and Resistance (2022). Katrina Olds is Professor of History at the University of San Francisco and the author of Forging the Past: Invented Histories in Counter-Reformation Spain (2015).