At the risk of overstepping the bounds of a mere review, it seems reasonable to declare that the depth and breadth of scholarship regarding Theodore Beza is finally equal to the importance of the man in ecclesiastical history. The two publications reviewed here provide evidence for this. No longer can scholars justify laments that Beza is insufficiently researched. It is fitting that Librairie Droz published both books, since this publisher has been instrumental in making painstaking research and critical editions of primary sources available over the last several decades. Perhaps the only significant need remaining today is a critical edition of Beza's biblical annotations. Alain Dufour's general study fulfils the need for a survey of Beza's thought and life that takes recent scholarship into account. Dufour himself has worked for decades on the Genevan endeavour to publish Beza's Correspondance. His hands-on familiarity with all of the relevant material makes him eminently qualified for the task, and he develops an appropriately well-rounded portrayal. Dufour's narrative engages sixteenth-century perspectives, without ignoring the likely concerns of modern readers. All of this provides a compendium that will allow scholars to understand Beza in context. Despite the brevity of theological observations, their inclusion in the work will be helpful to many theologically concerned readers. Those who have kept up with recent Bezan research will find little that is new. None the less, Dufour's book is important because it incorporates the groundbreaking research conducted since Paul Geisendorf's Théodore de Bèze (1949). Moreover, Dufour's work surpasses previous projects because of its consideration of the various facets of Beza's life. His poetry, drama, political thought, theology, polemics and ecclesiology all find a place here. No genre of Beza's corpus is neglected in Dufour's research, though special attention is paid to the correspondence. From this broad perspective, Dufour shows that Beza was not bellicose by nature, despite his frequent polemic work, but instead followed Calvin's ‘esprit modéré’ (p. 46). He depicts a thinker whose true love was literary, yet one who picked up his pen in defence of Reformed orthodoxy when he perceived that the Church was in need. Due to his intimate familiarity with the primary sources, connection to contemporary Beza scholarship, and appreciation for the variety of genres engaged by his subject, scholars should now regard Dufour's work as the standard overview of Beza's thought and life. While this work provides an authoritative overview, the second presents in-depth analysis of special topics.

Théodore de Bèze (1519–1605), a collection of French, German and English essays edited by Irena Backus, is a copious harvest of the fruit produced by decades of critical editions and occasional monographs. This collection covers the span of Beza's life, as well as all aspects of his career. The scholarship is even, and the editorial work is consistently excellent. The authors probe several ignored primary sources. Perhaps the most fascinating of these are the handwritten marginalia in Beza's personal copy of Tertullian's work (reproductions of two pages are included). Since the book collects essays from at least thirty-five scholars, it will be impossible to do justice to each contribution. None the less, several highlights are worth mentioning. Irena Backus' introduction provides a helpful summary of the state of Beza research. Christophe Chazalon provides reproductions of various Icones editions, and compares true and mistaken portraits of reformers. Emidio Campi creates diagrams of the frequency of Beza's correspondence with Bullinger, demonstrating the importance of this relationship by showing that 52 per cent of Beza's correspondence was with the Zurich theologian. Campi also contends that Beza only became the chief spokesman for the Reformed movement after Bullinger's death, not immediately after Calvin's passing. Marianne Carbonnier-Burkard shows that Beza's early historiography of the Reformation depicts persecuted churches as the major heroes, rather than illustrious figures like Luther and Calvin. Donald Sinnema examines Beza's concept of predestination, showing that despite some continuity with Calvin, Beza's separation of the divine decree from its actual execution was a significant development in Reformed theology. Scott Manetsch pays due attention to Beza's pastoral theology, noting that many of his polemic treatises had pastoral themes like divorce, church discipline and care for plague victims. Peter Opitz reconsiders Walter Kickel's 1967 monograph which contended that Beza elevated the place of reason within theology; Opitz concedes that Kickel overstated his case, but argues that one can simultaneously respect Beza's self-understanding (which was that reason was subservient to revelation) while also recognising the enhanced place of reason in the theological trajectories that flowed from him. Opitz's call for scholars to widen their synchronous field of vision may be the most compelling historiographical insight of the collection. That said, the most significant observations for contemporary theology come from Jill Raitt, who suggests that ecumenical thinkers today should draw from Beza's use of metonymy and relation in eucharistic discourse in order to overcome the categories (such as ‘substance’) that have traditionally been obstacles to dialogue. Kirk Summer's essay on the classical foundations of Beza's thought is a gem, providing textual comparisons of the Reformer's writing and those of classical writers. Paul-Alexis Mellet, demonstrating similar sentiments in the Droit des magistrates, the Vindiciae contra tyrannos and the Francogallia, provides a helpful contrast between pamphleteers who portrayed wars of religion as signs of the end of the world with Beza's turn toward a future in which humans work to create just governments. Béatrice Nicollier rightly concludes the collection by noting that Beza's longevity and diversity of genres justify this lengthy and multifaceted collection. Indeed, no major aspect of the current conversation is neglected. The greatest service provided by both books is that they present Beza as more than either a mere epigone or the first in a line of stale Reformed scholastics. Instead, this research presents an even-handed perspective on Beza's transitional role within Christian history.