Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of a key concepts discussed in this book. The book suggests that established Steven Ozment's reputation as a leader among Reformation historians is The Reformation in the Cities. In the early 1980s, Ozment's interests took a decisive turn away from intellectual history toward the history of the family. The book examines the relationship between piety and family life in Reformation Europe. Lance Lazar and Laura Smoller address the ways people in the past used the language of family as a way to promote certain religious programmes. Ozment's scholarship demonstrates that the variety of experiences within families cannot be understood through the statistics provided by demographic historians. Like his work, the essays in the book draw on the words and actions of people to bring nuance to broad generalizations about pre-modern families. That humanity is abundantly evident whenever one penetrates the intimate spheres of early modern religious and family life.