This new volume in the Brill series dedicated to the Christian Tradition – following related titles like A companion to Anabaptism and spiritualism, 1521–1700 (2006) and A companion to the Reformation in central Europe (2015) – is very welcome. Following substantial new work on numerous aspects, not least Huldrych Zwingli's influence on the Upper German Reformation and the international stature of Heinrich Bullinger, this weighty tome complements Bruce Gordon's monographic survey on The Swiss Reformation (2002) with sixteen regional and thematic essays written by Swiss, German and North American scholars at various career stages. The two co-editors, who introduce the project with a concise historiographical account and some methodological reflections (about problems relating to start and end dates – here effectively coinciding with the sixteenth century – and the complex socio-political framework), personify the linking of theological and historical approaches as well as Germanic and Anglophone traditions to provide a common base for future research (a translated version appeared as Die Schweizerische Reformation: ein Handbuch in 2017). With seventy-six illustrations and eight clearly-drawn maps, the book also pays due attention to the visual presentation of its findings, while an extensive index facilitates orientation.

One of the great strengths of this collection is the detailed examination of regional settings other than the powerful city states of Zurich, Basel and Bern (lucidly surveyed by Campi, Burnett and Martin Sallmann respectively). Following a scene-setting panorama of the highly complex matrix of the late medieval Confederation (by Regula Schmid), there are dedicated chapters on Schaffhausen (a ‘Reformation without a reformer’, p. 225) and St Gall/Appenzell (both by Erich Bryner), the Grisons (Jan-Andrea Bernhard), Francophone territories (Michael W. Bruening) as well as areas with a strong Anabaptist presence (Andrea Strübind) and failed Reformations (Sundar Henny). Taken together, they illuminate a number of key features: the exceptionally close fusion of Church and State concerns in the Zurich model, albeit with ultimate power allocated to the latter (in contrast to Geneva, where ecclesiastical bodies attained independent powers over religious discipline inclusive of excommunication); the fact that there was no one Swiss movement but a complex interplay of multiple theological/ecclesiastical/political forces (with Basel, for example, strongly engaging with Strasbourg and Wittenberg reformers for most of the sixteenth century); and the existence of several watershed moments, especially the Catholic victory in the civil war of 1531 (resulting not only in the Second Peace of Kappel, the first institutionalised cuius regio, eius religio settlement in Europe, but – as several contributions emphasise – a halt to further evangelical expansion within and beyond the confederate boundaries). Problematic issues such as the ruthless quashing of resistance (as in the Bernese Oberland) and the violent prosecution of dissenters (starting with the execution of Felix Manz at Zurich in 1527) are also addressed.

The second section offers six thematic overviews: ‘Theology’, where Campi identifies the commemorative character of the Lord's Supper and the freedom of each cantonal Church to evolve its own profile as distinctive elements; ‘Polity and worship’, revealing – according to Bruce Gordon – continuities in terms of parish structure and patronage rights as well as tangible change in the new Word-based liturgies; ‘Educational provision’, substantially enhanced, in Karin Maag's view, from elementary to academy level by the late sixteenth century (in both Reformed and Catholic areas); ‘Family and gender relations’, for Kaspar von Greyerz ultimately reflecting an increasing emphasis on social control; ‘Cultural developments’ aspiring, in Irena Backus's analysis, to a scripturally-informed eradication of ‘all remnants of former “superstitions”’ (p. 589); and the ‘Religious stalemate’ emerging in the political sphere, which Thomas Maissen credits with ambivalent implications: an effective inability to practise foreign policy on the one hand, but also confessional realignments helping to moderate pre-existing urban/rural divisions within the Confederation on the other.

No one companion can hope for comprehensive coverage, of course, but three areas would merit further consideration. First, abstracting from some cursory remarks by Schmid, Campi and Sallmann, there is no sustained engagement with pre-Reformation religion, which leaves the vexing ‘why?’ question somewhat dangling, especially as many Swiss polities exercised exceptionally strong lay influence in the late Middle Ages (a decisive factor in the Forest Cantons’ rejection of fundamental change). Second, while constitutionally correct (Geneva not being a full confederate until modern times), it seems regrettable that the ‘other’ Swiss Reformation, advanced by John Calvin/Theodor Beza in an often delicate dialogue with Bern as western Switzerland's dominant power and eventually able to achieve wider European/global impact, is not examined in its own right but only ‘in relation to [that] in the German-speaking cantons’ (p. 362). Finally, with exceptions such as Strübind and von Greyerz, many authors tend to concentrate on programmatic texts, notable figures and general trends in the capitals rather than the (admittedly often evasive) impact on the population at large. The fascinating Wickiana collection of broadsheets and ‘popular’ print, for example, makes a sole appearance (p. 573), while Ludwig Lavater's normative Rites and institutions of the Zurich Church (1559) serves as the basis of discussion of cultural shifts in the period as a whole. One or two chapters, furthermore, focus almost exclusively on secondary sources.

Overall, though, readers gain up-to-date insights into classic scholarly concerns (like the divisive political issue of mercenary service, the contested character of urban Reformations and the key role of – lay-assessed – disputations in the chronology of religious change) as well as new priorities (such as the study of communication networks, with some 12,000 letters involving 1,000 correspondents documented for Bullinger alone, or the fascinating phenomenon of Simultankirchen, shared places of worship in the bi-confessional condominia of the confederates). This Companion can thus be recommended as a succinct point of orientation for all students and researchers with interests in the Swiss Reformation.