The Reformation has traditionally been explained in terms of theology, the corruption of the church and the role of princes. R.W. Scribner, while not denying the importance of these, shifts the context of study of the German Reformation to an examination of popular beliefs and behaviour, and of the reactions of local authorities to the problems and opportunities for social as well as religious reform. This book brings together a coherent body of work that has appeared since 1975, including two entirely new essays and two previously published only in German.

R.W. Scribner's pioneering work analyzes the forms of popular propaganda aimed at the illiterate and semi-literate during the German Reformation and reproduces many of the prints which still survive in Germany. A new Introduction and an additional chapter in this edition advance original interpretations of these illustrations, revealing how visual propaganda both exploited and participated in popular belief and the coarser aspects of popular culture.