Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book. The book aims to study how Jean Crespin incorporated stranger groups into the Livre des Martyrs, with a particular interest in his editorial interventions, helping to construct an image of the church, its background, and its members. Crespin was well-connected, and theologically aware, and his presentation of these groups reflects important trends within Protestant, and especially Genevan, thought. Groups like the Vaudois and the Hussites presented the Reformed Church with a history that extended back centuries, while the close ties that Crespin advertised with the Lutherans and Anglicans helped to preserve an idea of Protestant unity. Jean Crespin's life, and career as a publisher in Geneva, have been extensively studied by Jean-Francois Gilmont. Crespin's interest in doctrinal matters, and his willingness to intervene in the text of his martyrs, can be examined by studying the portrayal of outside groups within Livre des Martyrs.