Huldreich Zwingli: The Reformer of German Switzerland

by Samuel Macauley Jackson

Publishers:

G. P. Putnam’s Sons; Knickerbocker Press

, 1901

Overview

“This is the gospel, that sins are remitted in the name of Christ; and no heart ever received tidings more glad.” Huldrych Zwingli's contribution to the Reformation may have been just as important as Luther and Calvin's, yet many still don't know much about him, let alone read his powerful works. Zwingli preached against ecclesial corruption, fasting, the requirement of celibacy on the clergy, the veneration of saints, excommunication, and more—setting the stage for the Swiss Reformation.

Huldreich Zwingli: The Reformer of German Switzerland is filled with rich insight into the life and theology of Zwingli and contains numerous illustrations and photographs. Zwingli expert and historian Samuel Jackson provides an in-depth biography of one of the Reformation's unsung heroes. Also included in this edition is John Martin Vincent's essay “An Historical Survey of Switzerland before the Reformation” and an additional chapter on Zwingli's theology by Frank Hugh Foster.

Key Features

• Important biographical work on Zwingli
• Completely searchable and linked to your preferred Bible translation and other books in your library

Contents

• “An Historical Survey,” by J. M. Vincent
• Childhood and Youth
• Reply to Emser
• At Glarus
• At Eisiedeln
• Opening Year in Zurich
• Preparing for the Reformation
• The Reformation Begins
• The Reformation Defended
• The Reformation Established
• Gerold Meyer von Knonau, Hutten, and Erasmus
• The Reformation in Zurich Completed
• Public Marriage and Letters
• The Inner Course of the Zurich Reformation
• The Final Stage of the Zwinglian Reformation
• The First Cappel War and the Colloquy of Marburg
• Zwingli's Political Activity in His Closing Years
• The Last Year of Zwingli's Life
• “Zwingli's Theology, Philosophy, and Ethics,” by F. H. Foster

Top Highlights

“The great arena of political action was the federal congress, called the Diet” (Page 6)

“Christ, who has once offered Himself, is to all eternity the perpetual and redeeming sacrifice for the sins of all believers; therefore it follows that the Mass is not a sacrifice, only the commemoration of the sacrifice and the assurance of the redemption which Christ has shown us.” (Page 183)

“Greek, and this enabled him to go to the sources of much information which in a more or less imperfect form had been brought to his attention in Latin translation.” (Page 158)

“To have held fast to the purpose of the Lord is to conquer all adversaries.” (Page 338)

“each State determined for itself the form of worship in its own territory” (Page 6)

Praise for the Print Edition

Professor Jackson has made a noteworthy contribution to the material readily available for the study of the Swiss Reformation; a contribution the more to be welcomed from the fact that it does not merely consist of the conclusions of a single investigator, however scholarly and well-informed, but affords as well a large and comprehensive group of documents, bearing upon the life and work of Huldreich Zwingli, bringing the reader into a closer and more sympathetic contact with Swiss affairs, and enabling him in many particulars to corroborate or criticize the conclusions of the author and editor.

—The American Historical Review

The literary style of the writer is clear and delightful. The work is thorough and presents a new phase of Zwingli's many-sided life. In a masterly way he gathers from Zwingli's various works the Reformer's views on various subjects connected with education, such as the study of language, history, natural science, astronomy, mathematics, Hebrew, music. He closes with an interesting exposition of Zwingli's views on the education of women.

—The Presbyterian and Reformed Review

We are taken pleasantly and persuasively through the story of Zwingli's childhood and youth, his life at Glarus and Einsiedeln, his work in Zurich in its various stages, the first Cappel war and the Marburg Colloquy, the strenuousness of the later years, and the tragic close. The inner course of the Reformation movement is ably dealt with as well as its external incidents. The narration is made brighter and better by the numerous illustrations.

—The Critical Review of Theological and Philosophical Literature

The story gives us a strong man of thought and of actions, a man of strong loves and keen resentments, a clear-sighted patriot, a preacher of righteousness who was ready to face death for his preaching, a radical reformer who knew how to accommodate his unflinching purpose to the needs of practical prudence.

—The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science, and Art

Every student of the Reformation period will find use for this volume.

—Wooster Bulletin

Dr. Jackson was uncommonly well equipped for writing Zwingli's life, by a critical and minute study of the original sources. He has produced a work which is at once erudite and brilliant.

—The Critic

Product Details

• Title: Huldreich Zwingli: The Reformer of German Switzerland
• Authors: Samuel Macauley Jackson, John Martin Vincent, and Frank Hugh Foster
• Publisher: G. P. Putman's Sons
• Publication Date: 1901
• Pages: 519

About Samuel Macauley Jackson

Samuel Macauley Jackson (1851–1912) was educated at Princeton Theological Seminary and Union Seminary. He then studied for two years at the University of Leipzig, and then earned his DD from New York University, where he became professor of church history. He served as an editor and author for numerous prestigious projects, including The American Church History Series, The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Thought, The Encyclopedia of Living Divines, and The Concise Dictionary of Religious Knowledge. He also edited The Heroes of the Reformation, and wrote one volume in that series on the life of Zwingli.