This handy ‘Companion’ does what it promises. It works well as a companion to a survey of Reformation history for a large audience of students with some, or little, background in Reformation studies. It also helps students and teachers of the subject to focus their attention on significant theologians, pertinent theological conversations and competing and complementing theological traditions of the late medieval and early modern period. Furthermore, the articles are sure to stimulate further conversation among those in more specialised conversations as each writer, being a specialist in his or her field, is equipped and motivated to offer fresh perspectives and to ‘correct’ earlier misconceptions and simplifications of their subjects.

The book as a whole offers a multi-faceted interpretation of how theologies developed in the decisive period between 1400 and 1650. While the central theological challenges of Luther and his collaborators can be seen as the touch point in the work, the book does not present a hierarchy of doctrinal validity among the voices presented. The articles show the pluralistic, contextual nature and the chronological fluidity of Reformation theology (or theologies, rather, as the title of the book could better indicate with the use of the plural). To its merit, the book includes a broad spectrum of representatives of reforming theologies: articles discuss late medieval theology (Denis R. Janz) and the Lollards (Wendy Scase); the Hussites (Thomas A. Fudge) and Erasmus (Erika Rummel); Martin Luther (Scott Hendrix), Philip Melanchthon (Sachiko Kusukawa) and Martin Bucer (Ian Hazlett); Ulrich Zwingli (W. Peter Stephens) and Jean Calvin (David C. Steinmetz); Lutheran confessional theology (Robert Kolb) and later Calvinism (Richard A. Muller); Thomas Cranmer (Peter Newman Brooks), the English reformers (Carl R. Trueman) and the Scottish reformers (David F. Wright); as well as Anabaptist theology (Werner O. Packull) and Catholic theology (David Bagchi) leading up to and resulting from the Council of Trent (David C. Steinmetz).

The bibliographies provided on each topic are focused and carefully selected, primarily including studies from the last fifty or so years. Research done in English is predominantly highlighted, with the inclusion of some works in German, French and Czech, for instance. Readers should also be aware of significant research being published in other languages, such as Finnish, the Scandinavian languages, Italian and Spanish.

Individual chapters offer refreshing points of argument, with an ecumenical spirit, wanting to reinstate the importance of the study of theology in Reformation scholarship and projecting topics of interest for future research, such as the history of biblical interpretation in the sixteenth century, the study of sermons and catechetical materials, and the role of women in the Reformation. Apart from briefly mentioning in the Conclusions the emerging interest in the study of women as recipients and agents of the Reformation, the book appears to remain uninterested in the perspectives of women – in terms both of women as participants in the Reformation and of women as interpreters of the Reformation. Foundational questions arising from feminist scholarship would have offered constructive perspectives for a more original re-evaluation of the relevance of reformation theologies.

In the end, the book proposes an important path for the future study of Reformation theology: no longer is it in demand or fashionable to try to explain the Reformation and its theologies as something of a neat ‘whole’. As past research has shown, such attempts do not do justice to the richness of the traditions and often lead to embarrassing generalisations and oversimplifications. Future research will be more valuable and fruitful by recognising the complexity and peculiar developments of each theologian and theological tradition in the sixteenth century, and by focusing one's research on one specific issue at a time, without overly ambitious agendas to smooth out the edges. By letting the theologians speak their own language, by examining their ways of dealing with issues important to them, and by seeking to understand their context to the fullest, this book models the most fruitful starting points for future research on Reformation theologies. Inclusion of female voices in this future work will be a most needed development.

The book will be usable in the classroom and will make its contribution as one of the convincing efforts to rehabilitate the study of theology within Reformation scholarship. The immense information flow from the social studies has significantly helped to make sense of the sixteenth-century theological context and the ramifications of Reformation theologies in ‘real’ life. One could project that the excitement in the future study of Reformation theologies lies in the integration of the findings of social studies, new critical theological perspectives (such as ones arising from gender studies), and new sources that will expand the pool of materials for theological reflection, whether on issues pertinent to sixteenth-century men and women, or to thinkers today.

I used this book in a seminary course on ‘Luther and the Reformations’ as a recommended work, together with Carter Lindberg's European Reformations textbook and sourcebook, and the combination worked well.