The Anabaptists were at the radical, utopian edge of the Reformation, ruthlessly repressed by Catholic, Lutheran and secular authorities alike. Hans-Jurgen Goertz gives a comprehensive account of their political and religious significance, their views, and their social setting within the wider context of the Reformation. Particular attention is paid to the role and experience of women and of 'ordinary' Anabaptists in addition to those of the educated elite. Whilst the focus of the book is on Germany, extensive coverage is also given to Anabaptism in England, Switzerland, the Netherlands and elsewhere.
This English edition includes a new introduction which considers the historiographical context of the book. The opening chapter has also been expanded to include a section on the emergence of Anabaptism in England.
The Anabaptists has been fully revised since its publication in German, and takes account of the most recent historiography on the subject. It also includes a selection of primary sources together with a full listing of important Anabaptist works.

The Anabaptists were at the radical, utopian edge of the Reformation, ruthlessly repressed by Catholic, Lutheran and secular authorities alike. Hans-Jurgen Goertz gives a comprehensive account of their political and religious significance, their views, and their social setting within the wider context of the Reformation. Particular attention is paid to the role and experience of women and of 'ordinary' Anabaptists in addition to those of the educated elite. Whilst the focus of the book is on Germany, extensive coverage is also given to Anabaptism in England, Switzerland, the Netherlands and elsewhere.
This English edition includes a new introduction which considers the historiographical context of the book. The opening chapter has also been expanded to include a section on the emergence of Anabaptism in England.
The Anabaptists has been fully revised since its publication in German, and takes account of the most recent historiography on the subject. It also includes a selection of primary sources together with a full listing of important Anabaptist works.

Die Bewegungen, die hier beschrieben werden, entstanden im Ubergang vom Mittelalter zur Neuzeit. Mit den mittelalterlichen Ketzerbewegungen verbindet sie die religiose Nonkonformitat und der Mut zum Martyrium; mit den sozialen Bewegungen, die fur Burger- und Menschenrechte eintraten, verbindet sie die revolutionare Agitation und das Ziel gesellschaftlicher Neugestaltung. Goertz beachtet besonders die Bewegungen, die im Aufbruch der Reformation im 16. Jahrhundert entstanden sind und gewohnlich unter dem Sammelnamen "radikale Reformation" zusammengefasst sind, sodann Gestalten, Gruppen und Bewegungen, die im Pietismus des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts in Erscheinung traten: der sogenannte "radikale Pietismus." Zwischen diesen bewegten sich singulare Gestalten wie Paracelsus, Valentin Weigel und Jakob Bohme. "Goertz hat eine fundierte, gut lesbare und auch fur Nicht-Fachleute zugangliche Ubersicht vorgelegt, die den Stand der Forschung bei aller gebotenen Kurze ohne vereinfachende oder verzerrende Pauschalierungen vermittelt." (Christoph Wiebe in Mennonithische Geschichtsschreibung)"