Sara T. Nalle is a professor of history at William Paterson University and the author of Mad for God: Bartolome Sanchez, the Secret Messiah of Cardenete.

A persuasive and nuanced account... There is little doubt that this carefully researched work will become one of the standards in the religious history of Spain. American Historical Review Nalle succeeds in truly writing a solid cultural history. She is devoted to an understanding of the material base without being a reductionist, and is able to explore ideas without losing sight of commonalities and realities. Her book blends the best of microhistory with a certain Rankean meticulousness. Sixteenth Century Journal Until the middle of the seventeenth century, when complacency got the better of the good intentions of the 1560s, the Counter-Reformation triumphed in Spain. In this process, Nalle shows in her thorough study, persuasion was more effective than coercion. The Inquisition served as a means of spreading the Tridentine doctrine, and of registering the good results, rather than as an instrument of terror. Times Literary Supplement

• List of Tables and IllustrationsAcknowledgementsIntroductionPart I: Cuenca on the Eve of the Council of TrentChapter 1. The Diocese of Cuenca — A SketchChapter 2. Mixed Messages: The Pre-Reform in Cuenca, 1482-1518Chapter 3. Ramírez's Reform ProgramPart II: The Tridentine Movement in Cuenca, 1545-1600Chapter 4. The Impetus to Reform, 1545-1566Chapter 5. Forging a Common Purpose: The Reports from Requena, Ribatajada, and UclésChapter 6. "Seven Hundred Sixty Legions of Devils": The 1566 Diocesan SynodChapter 7. The Bishop's Recourse: The Episcopal Curia and the CongregationChapter 8. Inquisitors into Missionaries: The Holy Office in Cuenca, 1547-1600Part III: Reform of the Secular Clergy, 1545-1600Chapter 9. The Structure of the Diocesan ClergyChapter 10. The Minimum Training of Priests before TrentChapter 11. The Jesuits in CuencaChapter 12. The Conciliar Seminary of San JuliánChapter 13. Universities and the Reform of the ClergyChapter 14. The Sacerdotal VocationChapter 15. The Geography of ReformPart IV: Teaching a Lesson and Learning OneChapter 15: Teaching Doctrine in the ParishesChapter 16: Schools for Doctrine and MissionsChapter 17: Religious Pamphleteering and IndoctrinationChapter 18: The Lesson LearnedChapter 19: Towards Practicing CatholicsPart V: God in La ManchaChapter 20: Private DevotionsChapter 21: Collective FaithPart VI: Empire of the DeadChapter 22: Demographic and Economic Trends, 1591-1654The Search for ProtectionAlone before GodThe Country DeadEmpire of the DeadEpilogueAppendixNotesBibliographyIndex