Naphy, Consolidation of the Genevan Reformation - II

'Willian G. Naphy, Calvin and the consolidation of the Genevan Reformation, ''Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1994. '''

Historian William G. Naphy’s 1994 Calvin and the consolidation of the Genevan Reformation traces Calvin’s assent to power after his return from exile in 1541. From the beginning of the monograph Naphy differentiates his work from previous scholars by explaining that earlier works, while valuable, does not include an adequate amount of primary sources. According to Naphy this has lead to contradictory conclusions of Calvin’s Geneva in the mid sixteenth century. His books as an attempt to break with the established cannon that he explains fails to even examine such crucial sources as Calvin’s sermons, testimonies of his contemporaries and previously un-mined court and voting records.

At first glance it becomes apparent that Calvin and the consolidation of the Genevan Reformation is a meticulously researched monograph. Naphy draws on a large pool of sources to prove his thesis, that Calvin’s rise to power in 1555 was anything but inevitable. He was only able to accomplish such as task because the Genevan political, social and economical atmospheres were incredibly unstable during the 1540s and 1550s. Naphy’s critical social history of Geneva cites familial relationships, mass bourgeois migrations from France and even riots as catalysts for Calvin to amass power. Naphy is also carful to distinguish his book from other studies of Calvin within the canon as a study of Geneva first, and Calvin second, “Closer analysis seems to suggest that Calvin was not the epicenter of the contest but was, in fact, almost incidental to the crisis.”27. This new approach robs Calvin of his previous position as the sole instigator of change within the Genevan Reformation and instead, much like Oberman within Martin Luther: the Man between God and the Devil, shows the reader that above all else these reformers were ambitious men with agendas that they were trying to fulfill.

Naphy’s book, which is arranged chronologically, traces the many different lucky breaks if you will, that Calvin experienced on his road to consolidation. Along the way Naphy dazzles his readers with copious amounts of charts and statistics. His through work is appreciated, but at times I feel that he goes overboard with the amount of information that he give the reader. For example, when Naphy is explaining to the reader that the Genevan council was politically divided (page 36) is statistics were helpful; his decision to include every member by name and their political affiliation goes overboard.

His tendency to include an abundant amount of information ties into his other purpose for wring this book, “The obvious contradictions in the secondary literature demands a thorough re-examination of the sources normally used as well as all the unpublished primary source documents from the period of Calvin’s ministry in Geneva,” (1) (emphasis added). While I am not sure that it would even be possible to include all previously unpublished documents in one book, he certainly comes close.

Minor grips about amount of detail should not deter someone from reading such a well written and insightful book. The monograph paints a picture of Geneva as a thriving city caught in the middle of several key political and social battles that were unfolding in Europe during this era, the Protestants vs. the Catholics, the Holy Roman Empire vs. the Turks and on a more local level Savoy vs. Berne, and of course the threat of France and Italy always lay in the background threatening to strip Geneva of her power. Above all else Naphy has restarted the debate on Calvin, and challenges others to respond to his conclusions. He has giving future scholars much to work with from his research, and I anticipate a rich dialogue to ensue.