New York, New York

Two essays, however, warrant special attention because of their intrinsic importance and particularly since (to my mind) they most nearly conform to the rubric of social history. Gottfried Seebass insightfully analyzes "The Reformation in Niirnberg" by probing the basic issues of what strata of society initially supported the Reformation there, how the reform was then implemented ca. 1520-1533 and what fundamental religious and secular changes, if any, it occasioned. He shows in some detail and depth that the Niirnberg Reformation was at once a "popular" and "conciliar" movement, and contends that although it entailed a socially significant "freeing of consciences from church laws" it effected "no basic transformations in the [newly liberated] secular sphere" (pp. 38-39). Hans Hillerbrand manages the improbable feat of shedding new light on "The Reformation and the German Peasants' War". From his scrutiny of some ninety peasant grievance documents he concludes that, apart from the famous and misleading Twelve Articles with their explicit citation of the new "Lutheran" teaching, "the incidence of juxtaposition of religion and secular grievances is virtually nonexistent" (p. 123). While conceding that possible connections truly existed between peasant grievances and the Lutheran message, he suggests that the Reformation was at most a "catalyst" not a "cause" of the Peasants' War (p. 126).