Zwingli: God's Armed Prophet

by F. Bruce Gordon

Overview

A major new biography of Huldrych Zwingli—the warrior preacher who shaped the early Reformation
 
Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1531) was the most significant early reformer after Martin Luther. As the architect of the Reformation in Switzerland, he created the Reformed tradition later inherited by John Calvin. His movement ultimately became a global religion. A visionary of a new society, Zwingli was also a divisive and fiercely radical figure.
 
Bruce Gordon presents a fresh interpretation of the early Reformation and the key role played by Zwingli. A charismatic preacher and politician, Zwingli transformed church and society in Zurich and inspired supporters throughout Europe. Yet, Gordon shows, he was seen as an agitator and heretic by many and his bellicose, unyielding efforts to realize his vision would prove his undoing. Unable to control the movement he had launched, Zwingli died on the battlefield fighting his Catholic opponents.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300235975
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	11/30/2021
Pages:	376
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Bruce Gordon is Titus Street Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Yale University. He has written widely on early modern history and religion. He is the author of Calvin, The Swiss Reformation, and John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations viii

Acknowledgements x

Author's Note xv

Chronology xvi

Maps xix

Introduction 1

1 Mountain Valley 11

2 Humanist Priest 26

3 Disruptive: 1519-1522 45

4 Divergent Visions: 1523-1524 88

5 Reformation 115

6 'We wish to learn out His own mouth who God is': True and False Religion 147

7 Broken Body: Zwingli and Luther 164

8 Expansion and Conflict 182

9 Alliances and Confrontations 212

10 End 232

11 'It is certain that Zwingli died in great sin and blasphemy': Remembered and Forgotten 253

12 Legacies 275

Afterword 299

Notes 303

Select Bibliography 334

Index 342

Editorial Reviews

Uncovers and examines the complexities of Zwingli’s life and legacy. . . . Gordon is sensitive to the challenges of explaining Zwingli’s sixteenth-century world to modern readers.”—Amy Nelson Burnett, Times Literary Supplement

“This book deserves slow, thorough, and reflective engagement. . . . [Gordon’s] prose is engaging. . . . It will certainly be my first recommendation to those interested in the man standing at the forefront of the Swiss Reformation.”—Andrew Ballitch, Gospel Coalition

“A deeply convincing portrait.”—Mennonite Quarterly Review

“Meticulously researched, cogently argued, and beautifully written. A necessary volume for Reformation scholars.”—W. T. Lindley, Choice

“The strength of Gordon’s biography lies in his meticulous research, drawing extensively from primary sources. . . . Beautifully written, . . . offering a nuanced and comprehensive understanding of this pivotal figure.”—Andrew A. Chibi, Reading Religion

“Zwingli shaped the reformed tradition just as much as the better-known Calvin, and yet we know so much less about him. The first of the Reformers to marry, he famously died on the battlefield—as Luther gloated, a man of God slain by the sword. This powerful biography brings Zwingli to life. It sets him amongst his contemporaries, placing us alongside the dilemmas he faced. Gordon shows us a remarkable man and a Reformation driven by friendships, yet riven by hatreds.”—Lyndal Roper, author of Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet

“Gordon’s absorbing portrait of Huldrych Zwingli successfully removes the varnish of centuries to reveal the contrasting colours of the often-ignored Swiss Reformer. God’s Armed Prophet, he fought his opponents and found the arguments for religious changes whose radicality would indelibly mark the Protestant Reformation, with lessons for our own age.”—Mark Greengrass, author of Christendom Destroyed

“This brilliant biography makes Zwingli come alive, and sets his life in the larger context of the Protestant Reformation with verve, highlighting his larger significance while never losing sight of the details that make him unique. A masterful blend of narrative and analysis, based on painstaking research, especially in Zwingli’s correspondence, this biography breaks new ground expanding and deepening our understanding of one of the most significant figures in early modern history.”—Carlos Eire, author of Reformations

“Many of us have waited a long time for a new biography of Zwingli and this book by Bruce Gordon has made it well worth the wait. It is both a sensitive and informative telling of his life and work but it is more than that. It is full of details that enliven the story and bring out the humanity and commitments of the Swiss Reformer. His importance for the reformation can no longer play second fiddle to Calvin.”—Scott H. Hendrix, author of Martin Luther

From the Publisher