Olympia Morata – a Proto-Feminist?
A simple Google search of “Olympia Morata” and “feminist” yields 6,530 results. Some call her “a forgotten, feminist voice” or “a feminist in Renaissance Italy.” These definitions would have…
Simonetta Carr
Simonetta Carr is a wife, mother, home school educator, and writer of many books and articles. Check out her Alliance podcast Kids Talk Church History.
Six Johns and a Confession
On 17 August 1560, the Scottish Parliament read twice and with great care a newly drafted Confession of Faith. It was an important document for a transformed nation…
Caspar Olevianus and the Birthday Sermon That Split a Town in Half
On his 23rd birthday, 10 August 1559, Caspar Olevianus had a chance to preach his first sermon in German in a lecture hall at Trier, Germany (his birthplace). He…
GIULIA GONZAGA and the Comfort of the Gospel
Giulia Gonzaga’s early life sounds like a fairy tale. At age 20, she was already one of the most envied women in Italy. She owned large properties and her…
More on the Benefit of Christ
More on the Benefit of Christ My earlier post on the 16th-century booklet The Benefit of Christ has elicited many responses. Several people have pointed me to this…
Heinrich Bullinger and His Influence on the European Reformations
Heinrich Bullinger’s early life was studded with dangers. At the time of his birth, July 18, 1504, his family was still frequently on the move to escape the wrath of…
Marie Durand and the French Commitment to Reformed Orthodoxy
Marie Durand was born on July 15, 1711 in in the French village of Bouschet de Pranles. Largely unknown outside of France, she is remembered for her faithfulness to her…
Happy Birthday, Calvin!
Happy birthday, John Calvin! It’s been 508 years since you were born in your beloved France. How should we celebrate? If you were here, would you join us? …
The Benefit of Christ – The Most Influential Book You Have Never Read
It was 1543. North of the Alps, Protestant reformers were busy publishing books. In Rome, the papacy was busy banning them. Still, the publishers in Venice, a proudly independent republic…
Primož Trubar – The Protestant Reformer Who Fashioned a Language
On June 28, 1586, the Slovenian Reformer Primož Trubar died in Derendingen, in the Holy Roman Empire. Almost unknown in the US, he is a national hero in Slovenia.…
Lady Jane Grey and a Letter that Shocked Victorians
By the 19th century, the story of Lady Jane Grey, the young queen who succeeded Edward VI for less than two weeks, had already been heavily fictionalized, romanticized, politicized, and…
From Gardens to Shoes – Being a Father During the Reformation
In occasion of Father’s Day, I diverge from the usual mini-bios to peek into the lives of some fathers who lived during the Reformation, with all the struggles and joys…