The Porous Boundaries of Dissent

Dissent was not a variant of Protestantism in the early modern period, but its life blood. The recent anniversaries marking the European Reformation after five hundred years have almost exclusively focused on the major reformers, their lives, writings, and legacies. In 2009 it was the birth of John Calvin, followed by 2017 with Martin Luther’s ninety-five theses (widely taken to mark the beginning of the Reformation), and in 2019 the beginning of Huldrych Zwingli’s preaching in Zurich. In both academic and public spheres, the narratives provided of the sixteenth century remained almost entirely dominated by those regarded as the titans of a movement that shattered the unity of the Western church and birthed Protestantism. Perhaps most striking was how the Reformation was presented with a sense of inevitability. Our historical memories have been shaped by how events turned out and directed by a clear-eyed sense of progress toward the establishment of Protestant orders. Little attention was given to how it might have been otherwise. In this respect, it will be fascinating to observe the planned commemorations of the 1525 Peasants’ War.