Stripping of the Altars

This prize-winning account of the pre-Reformation church recreates lay people's experience of religion, showing that late-medieval Catholicism was neither decadent nor decayed, but a strong and vigorous tradition. For this edition, Duffy has written a new introduction reflecting on recent developments in our understanding of the period. "e;A mighty and momentous book: a book to be read and re-read, pondered and revered; a subtle, profound book written with passion and eloquence, and with masterly control."e;-J. J. Scarisbrick, The Tablet "e;Revisionist history at its most imaginative and exciting. . . . [An] astonishing and magnificent piece of work."e;-Edward T. Oakes, Commonweal "e;A magnificent scholarly achievement, a compelling read, and not a page too long to defend a thesis which will provoke passionate debate."e;-Patricia Morison, Financial Times "e;Deeply imaginative, movingly written, and splendidly illustrated."e;-Maurice Keen, New York Review of Books Winner of the Longman-History Today Book of the Year Award