Christians are supposed to love their neighbors, including their enemies. This is never easy. When feud and honor are common realities, it is even harder than usual. This book sketches the history of human (not political) peace-making in four countries of western Europe (Italy, France, Germany, and England) between the Reformation and the eighteenth century, and in their various religious institutions. The stories are variations on a theme: a "moral tradition" finding its way between the Scylla of reforming zeal and the Charybdis of civil society.

Christians are supposed to love their neighbors, including their enemies. This is never easy. When feud and honor are common realities, it is even harder than usual. This book sketches the history of human (not political) peace-making in four countries of western Europe (Italy, France, Germany, and England) between the Reformation and the eighteenth century, and in their various religious institutions. The stories are variations on a theme: a "moral tradition" finding its way between the Scylla of reforming zeal and the Charybdis of civil society.