This ambitious study presents the findings of a detailed and perceptive investigation of the most common and most numerous types of Danish church structures, interiors, and uses, by comparing what is known about them on the eve of the Reformation to the apparent changes occurring over the first century of adaptation to new demands of Protestant theory and practice. The establishments in focus are in rural locations, so they embody a different array of data from that presented about more widely investigated and more familiar urban structures.

The approach, described by Wangsgard-Jürgensen as interdisciplinary, using art history, theology, and archaeology as tools for analysis, was amplified to develop a clearer picture by mining certain historical records, most notably records of parish visitations, regional meetings, and commentary addressing assessment and corrections of local conditions. Probing adaptation patterns for structures, furniture, decoration, and use, he scrutinizes changes from Romanesque Catholic expressions as they responded to Protestant notions and needs. Because rural sites were less prominent, with likely more limited resources, changes were apt to be slower, simpler, and less well-documented. In certain parishes, alterations were obscured both by undocumented accretions over time and by indeterminate data about prior conditions. Sparse data sometimes confounded discernment of precisely why, when, and how changes had been affected. Most importantly, the adaptations evolved gradually, since assimilation of the new into old settings was accomplished step by step and varied from site to site. Revolutionary though the conceptual basis might be, physical change took time.

Nonetheless, the author has woven into his analysis a substantial number of specifics—observations from visual examination of a wide range of structures and from records showing shifts in ritual and other uses, making note of the numerous challenges and adaptations for both local community needs and customs and for evolving liturgical demands. Although we have a far-from-complete picture of how sites were altered, he has gathered a rich array of insights into the changing arrangements. Very carefully distinguishing among documented fact, implications of appearance and use, and the remaining questions, he developed a systematic and productive extrapolation of possibilities, along with some freer conjecture for which he invites more scholarship, creating a manifold overlay of the states of structure, functions, and practices. Discussing the discernible changes in physical form and use as reflective of the ideological climate and its practical effects as well as the obvious and possible alterations, and the apparent feasibility of responses in various rural locales, he cites such features as pulpits, pews, side altars that reflected new ideas and uses. The potential for adaptation in some places was likely restrained both by lingering attachments to familiar older forms and customs and by the means or resources to make extensive changes.

A basic premise rests in the notion that new emphasis on inner attitudes, rather than iconographic expression, was more clearly understood than might be apparent in visible changes in structures and décor. Existing popular adornments, like altarpieces, might be retained and simply moved to nearby walls, whereby their significance would be altered, reflecting the revised emphasis on central theological truths, in keeping with Luther's concepts as they were being promulgated. Such disassociation with traditional implications would have been a clear statement of detachment from the trappings that had become objectionable as being too visually effusive. Still, it was clear that efforts had been made in many churches to revise use of space and decoration to purge superfluous accretions and return to the central Christian truths and personal interiority that Luther proposed.

The volume is profusely illustrated, but the visuals are not always deeply mined in the textual discussion. Since many of the village churches are not depicted in other studies, the copious pictures are welcome for expanded visual familiarity. However, they are often not deeply explored; those of décor are often used in more illustrative fashion than for art historical analysis. Still, quite a few are accompanied by a measure of iconographic scrutiny, in view of the Protestant shift away from such motifs as the hagiography so popular in medieval Catholic churches, which necessitated revisions of décor to express new ideas. So the emphasis is placed somewhat more on art as material culture or used simply to exemplify general lines of discussion of layout, floor pans, and (re)assignment of spaces to address functional shifts.

In addition to the many text illustrations, there is a set of specialized maps with legends that show locations of a variety of features discussed. But those maps are, as the author notes at the outset, very difficult to see and read clearly in the volume, so that a link is provided to a set of online versions where the data can be magnified and better explored. However, there is no general map of Denmark—the areas and sites included—a serious shortcoming, in my estimation. The many regions and cities, and especially the villages, are likely to be unfamiliar to the reader, perhaps even to the scholars of Danish churches, since many of the sites are small and remote.

One would also like a glossary of terms that could be consulted by readers, presumably grounded in various disciplines, and needing explanation of features and concepts beyond their own expertise or knowledge. Throughout, there are references to art, architecture, liturgy, ritual, and theology that one might wish to have defined.

The writing is very clear, ideas simply explained in straightforward language, making the information and concepts accessible to diverse readers, although the study belongs in the stream of scholarly investigation of both Danish rural churches and the effects of Protestantism on their physical and cultural forms. Through careful research and good systematic organization, Wangsgard-Jürgensen created a valuable survey—an essential basis for further investigation. He generously acknowledged a wide selection of previous studies, carefully assessing each for its focus, shortcomings, and contributions to his own work—inviting others to further systematize and substantiate the data, especially through broader and deeper use of interdisciplinary materials and methods.