In a preface written for the paperback edition, Professor Hay examines some of the changes in Renaissance scholarship since the first publication of this volume

This second edition describes the open conflicts of the Reformation from Luther's first challenge to the uneasy peace of the 1560's.

During the Cold War, nationalism fell from favour among theorists as an explanatory factor in history, as Marxists and liberals looked to class and individualis

V.1 The renaissance 1493-1520 -- V.2 The reformation 1520-1559 -- V.5 The ascendancy of France 1648-88. -- V.7 The old regime 1713-63. -- V.8 The American and F