Salvation at Stake

Brad S. Gregory is Dorothy G. Griffin Professor of Early Modern European History at the University of Notre Dame.

In Salvation at Stake, Brad Gregory tries to ground the motives of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century martyrs in their sense of Christian doctrine. And though his scholarship is impeccable, Gregory's achievement lies as much in the defense of a historical method as in explaining why these believers chose to die rather than deny their faith. He rises to occasional eloquence--and more frequent elegance--while arguing for a study of martyrs which will take these individuals on their own terms, not those of modern critics. At crucial points throughout his book, Gregory properly condemns the historical arrogance that ignores religion's hold upon the faithful.

• A Note on Translations and Orthography A Complex of Martyrs On Understanding Early Modern Christianity The Nature of the Martyrological Sources The Course of Exposition The Late Medieval Inheritance The Absence and Presence of Martyrs in the Late Middle Ages Suffering Patiently, Dying Well, and the Passion of Christ Christian Martyrs outside the Church in the Late Middle Ages The Willingness to Kill Prosecuting Religious Criminals The Duty of Intolerance The Trajectory of Argumentation Laws, Institutions, and the Contingencies of Practice The Willingness to Die The Poverty of Theory Foundations: Faith and Scripture Contemporary Communities: Social Support and Sustenance Historical Communities: Pedigrees of the Persecuted Prison Activities: Practicing the Beliefs The Art of Dying Well Witnesses for the Gospel: Protestants and Martyrdom The Early Evangelical Martyrs and Emergent Protestant Identity Avoiding Idolatry, Following Christ: Convictions to Die For The Midcentury Martyrologies The Protestant Martyrologies in National Contexts Nachfolge Christi: Anabaptists and Martyrdom Muntzer to Munster: Forging an Anabaptist Martyrological Mentality Anabaptist Martyrs in the Low Countries The Transformation of the Dutch Mennonite Martyrological Tradition The New Saints: Roman Catholics and Martyrdom Defensive Martyrdom: The Henrician Catholics The Passion for Passion in Post-Tridentine Catholicism The Role of the Martyrs in Catholic Devotional Life The Conflict of Interpretations The Weaknesses of Nondoctrinal Criteria "Not the Punishment, but the Cause, Makes a Martyr" Implications and Conclusions Conclusion: A Shared and Shattered Worldview Appendix Notes Index