Joel Van Amberg, Ph.D. (2004) in History, The University of Arizona is Associate Professor of History at Tusculum College.

“[Van Amberg] posits a new, dynamic definition of the commune. This is a daring and imaginative book; it’s impact should be felt for some time.”Geoffrey Dipple, Augustana College. In: The Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Vol. 64, No. 3 (July 2013), pp. 625-626.“[Van Amberg’s] book offers a new way of approaching the Eucharistic controversy in one particular geographic and socioeconomic location and helps explain the popular appeal of a Zwinglian/sacramentarian understanding of the Lord’s Supper.”Amy Nelson Burnett, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In: Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 66, No. 1 (Spring 2013), pp. 282-283.

• FOREWORD INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1 — AUGSBURG, THE REFORMATION, AND THE DEBATE OVER THE EUCHARIST Political Developments in Late Medieval and Early Modern Augsburg Economic Developments in Late Medieval and Early Modern Augsburg Religion and Religious Developments in Augsburg through the Sixteenth Century A Synopsis of the Eucharistic Debates in the Empire up to the Marburg Colloquy CHAPTER 2 — THE SCHILLING AFFAIR: POPULISM, REVOLT, AND THE EUCHARIST Church and City: The Development of “Zu den Barfüßern” in Augsburg The Preaching and Program of Brother Johann Schilling Schilling, Hhis Supporters, and the Eucharist as an Interpretive Center Lay Communion and Rebellion: The Death of Hans Speyser CHAPTER 3 — MICHAEL KELLER: THE BUILDER OF THE SACRAMENTARIAN CHURCH IN AUGSBURG Keller’s Preparation for the Eucharistic Conflicts The Growth of Early Sacramentarianism in Augsburg, 1524 Keller’s Early Church- Building Endeavors Keller’s Polemical Program CHAPTER 4 — SACRAMENTARIAN SECTS IN AUGSBURG AND THEIR TRANSITION TO ANABAPTISM Linking the Argument for Moral Improvement with a Symbolic View of the Eucharist Urbanus Rhegius: The Merchant Preacher of Augsburg Developments among the Sectarians in 1526 The Transition to Anabaptism as Displayed in the Writings of Hans Langenmantel CHAPTER 5 — THE COMMUNAL DIMENSION OF THE EUCHARISTIC CONFLICT IN AUGSBURG The Theological Debate over the Canon Anthropological Perspectives on Sacrifice Sacrifice and Community in the Medieval Mass Reforms in the Eucharistic Service Michael Keller’s Eucharistic Service and the Fraternity of the Common Man Zwinglianism, Communalism, and the South German Reformation CONCLUSION BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX