There are many general surveys of the Reformation available, and they all typically devote some space to how theologians such as Martin Luther and John Calvin understood the Lord's Supper and Christ's presence in the bread and wine. However, they usually do not provide a great deal of detail about the development of the Reformers' thoughts or the finer elements of their respective opinions.

This volume by Thomas Davis fills these gaps with a more narrowly focused study. He devotes several chapters to Luther and to Calvin, examining their use of language and their understanding of the...