This collection of important primary sources pertaining to the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century has had an amazingly persistent history. Originally published some 40 years ago, it still enjoys the confidence of students of the Reformation. In contrast to most other source collections, The Protestant Reformation offered lengthy excerpts from important primary sources, rather than short snippets, so as to provide the reader with an understanding of the broader cogency and dynamic of an author's arguments. However, since the time of the original publication, the study of the Reformation of the sixteenth century has taken several important turns that have revised or changed the traditional understanding. Accordingly, these new perspectives need to be noted. This new edition seeks to accommodate these new trends and perspectives while retaining the basic orientation of the original edition. It includes texts written by women as well as texts dealing with popular religion. Its basic assumption, however, continues to be that religion - no matter how variously dependent on societal forces--must be seen as the pivotal element in the story of the sixteenth century.