Reformers
English Reformers (9) European Reformers (8) Forerunners (9) French Reformers (6) Friends of the Reformation (8) German Reformers (13) Major Reformers (7) Reformation Martyrs (12) Scottish Reformers (2) Swiss Reformers (7) Women of the Reformation (7)
Other Reformers
Many were the hands and hearts that contributed to the Reformation. Here are a few other prominent reformers, arranged by the lands where they chiefly labored.
Reformers
Profiles of the Reformers, a Reformation larger than any one man, group, or movement.
English Reformers
Hugh Latimer
A short biography of Hugh Latimer (c. 1485–1555), converted through Thomas Bilney, Bishop of Worcester, preacher to Edward VI, and martyr at Oxford with Nicholas Ridley.
John Hooper
A brief biographical sketch of John Hooper (c. 1495–1555), Bishop of Gloucester and Worcester, burned at Gloucester under Queen Mary.
John Jewel
A short biography of John Jewel (1522–1571), Bishop of Salisbury, disciple of Peter Martyr Vermigli, and author of the Apology of the Church of England.
Matthew Parker
A brief biographical sketch of Matthew Parker (1504–1575), Archbishop of Canterbury under Elizabeth I.
Myles Coverdale
Miles Coverdale, who gave the English-speaking world its first complete printed Bible.
Nicholas Ridley
A short biography of Nicholas Ridley (c. 1500–1555), Master of Pembroke Hall, Bishop of London, and martyr at Oxford with Hugh Latimer.
Thomas Cranmer
A biography of Thomas Cranmer (1489–1556), Archbishop of Canterbury, author of the Book of Common Prayer and the Forty-Two Articles, burned at Oxford under Queen Mary.
Thomas Cromwell
A short biography of Thomas Cromwell (c. 1485–1540), Henry VIII’s chief minister and vicegerent, patron of Tyndale’s cause and of the English Bible in every parish church.
William Whittingham
A short biography of William Whittingham (c. 1524–1579), Marian exile, Knox’s successor at Geneva, chief editor of the Geneva Bible, and Dean of Durham.
European Reformers
Casiodoro de Reina
A short biography of Casiodoro de Reina (c. 1520–1594), monk of San Isidoro del Campo, exile, pastor, and translator of the Bear Bible of 1569, the first complete Spanish Bible from the original languages.
Cipriano de Valera
A short biography of Cipriano de Valera (c. 1531–after 1602), monk of San Isidoro del Campo, exile in England, translator of Calvin’s Institutes, and reviser of the Reina-Valera Bible of 1602.
Guido de Brès
A short biography of Guido de Brès (1522–1567), Reformed pastor of the Low Countries, author of the Belgic Confession, and martyr at Valenciennes.
Hans Tausen
A short biography of Hans Tausen (1494–1561), “the Luther of Denmark,” preacher at Viborg and Copenhagen and bishop of Ribe.
Jan Łaski (John à Lasco)
A short biography of Jan Łaski, or John à Lasco (1499–1560), Polish nobleman, reformer of East Friesland, superintendent of the Strangers’ Church in London, and reformer of Poland.
Olaus and Laurentius Petri
A short account of the brothers Olaus Petri (d. 1552) and Laurentius Petri (1499–1573), Wittenberg-trained reformers of Sweden, translators of the Swedish Bible, and first Lutheran archbishop of Uppsala.
Peter Martyr Vermigli
A short biography of Peter Martyr Vermigli (1499–1562), the Florentine prior who fled the Inquisition and taught Reformed theology at Strasbourg, Oxford, and Zurich.
Primož Trubar
A short biography of Primož Trubar (1508–1586), reformer of Carniola and father of the Slovene written language.
Forerunners
Anne of Bohemia
Anne of Bohemia (c. 1366 - 1394), was a queen adorned not only with royal dignity but with the radiance of a soul devoted to God's truth.
Forerunners of Reform
Key individuals who proclaimed principles of reform before the Reformation.
Girolamo Savonarola
Girolamo Savonarola (1452–1498), the Florentine preacher who called the Renaissance city to repentance.
Jan Hus
Jan Hus (1372 - 1415), a faithful servant of Christ raised in Bohemia, stood in the power of God’s truth against the corruptions of the Roman Church in the early 15th century.
John Wycliffe
John Wycliffe, the Oxford scholar known as the Morning Star of the Reformation, and his translation of the Bible into English.
Peter Waldo
Peter Waldo (c. 1140 - c. 1217) a man once rich in the world’s goods was awakened to his spiritual poverty through a tragic providence.
The Hussites
A history of Jan Hus and the Hussite movement, its teaching, factions, the Unity of the Brethren, and its connection to the Protestant Reformation.
The Lollards
A history of Wycliffe’s Lollards, their preaching and English Scriptures, persecution, leading witnesses, and survival into the English Reformation.
The Waldensians
A history of Peter Waldo and the Waldensians, their preaching, persecution, doctrine, Alpine refuge, and union with the Reformation in 1532.
French Reformers
Clément Marot
A short biography of Clément Marot (c. 1496–1544), court poet of Francis I and Margaret of Navarre, whose metrical psalms began the Huguenot Psalter completed by Beza.
Louis de Berquin
A short biography of Louis de Berquin (c. 1490–1529), “the most learned of the nobles,” translator of Luther and Erasmus, and martyr at Paris.
Pierre Robert Olivétan
A short biography of Pierre Robert Olivétan (d. 1538), Calvin’s cousin, the first evangelist of Geneva, and translator of the first French Protestant Bible of 1535.
Pierre Viret
A short biography of Pierre Viret (1511–1571), the gentle reformer of Lausanne, friend of Farel and Calvin, and the most sought-after Protestant preacher of the Huguenot churches of southern France.
Theodore Beza
A short biography of Theodore Beza (1519–1605), rector of the Academy of Geneva, biographer and successor of John Calvin, and counselor of the Huguenots.
William Farel
A short biography of William Farel (1489–1565), the fiery evangelist of French-speaking Switzerland who won Neuchâtel and Geneva for the Reformation and held John Calvin in Geneva in 1536.
Friends of the Reformation
Elector John
John Frederick I of Saxony, the Lutheran elector who defended the Reformation after Frederick the Wise.
Frederick the Wise
Prince Frederick III (Frederick the Wise) of Saxony protected Martin Luther during the early days of the Reformation.
Friends of the Reformation
Several magistrates and political leaders supported the Reformation and played significant roles in its advancement. Some of the most notable figures are listed below.
Humphrey Monmouth
Humphrey Monmouth, the London merchant who sheltered and supported William Tyndale as he translated the New Testament into English.
John of Gaunt
A son of King Edward III of England, John of Gaunt opposed the political power of the Catholic clergy.
King Edward VI
King Edward VI was only nine years old when he succeeded his father, Henry VIII, to the throne of England.
Philip of Hesse
As a seventeen-year-old, Philip heard Luther defend his teachings at the Diet of Worms.
William of Orange
A short biography of William of Orange (1533–1584), leader of the Dutch Revolt against Philip II, convert to the Reformed faith, and protector of the Reformed churches of the Netherlands.
German Reformers
Andreas Carlstadt
A short biography of Andreas Bodenstein von Carlstadt (1486–1541), Luther’s senior colleague at Wittenberg, leader of the Wittenberg reforms of 1521–22, and later professor at Basel.
Caspar Olevianus
A short biography of Caspar Olevianus (1536–1587), the preacher of Trier and Heidelberg who shared in the making of the Heidelberg Catechism and ended his days at Herborn.
Johannes Brenz
A short biography of Johannes Brenz (1499–1570), Luther’s hearer at Heidelberg, reformer of Schwäbisch Hall and Württemberg, author of the Württemberg Confession, and catechist.
Johannes Bugenhagen
A short biography of Johannes Bugenhagen (1485–1558), “Doctor Pomeranus,” Luther’s pastor at Wittenberg and the organizer of the Lutheran churches of northern Germany and Denmark.
Justus Jonas
A short biography of Justus Jonas (1493–1555), Luther’s colleague at Wittenberg, translator, preacher, reformer of Halle, and witness of Luther’s death.
Martin Bucer
A short biography of Martin Bucer (1491–1551), reformer of Strasbourg, peacemaker among the Protestants, mentor of John Calvin, and Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge.
Martin Chemnitz
A short biography of Martin Chemnitz (1522–1586), Lutheran theologian of Brunswick, author of the Examination of the Council of Trent and a chief architect of the Formula of Concord.
Mikael Agricola
A short biography of Mikael Agricola (c. 1509–1557), Luther’s student, translator of the Finnish New Testament, first Protestant bishop of Turku, and father of Finnish literature.
Nikolaus von Amsdorf
A short biography of Nikolaus von Amsdorf (1483–1565), Luther’s friend at Leipzig and Worms, reformer of Magdeburg, first Protestant bishop of Naumburg, and strict defender of Luther’s teaching.
Philip Melanchthon
A short biography of Philip Melanchthon (1497–1560), Luther’s colleague at Wittenberg, author of the Loci Communes and the Augsburg Confession, and the Preceptor of Germany.
Urbanus Rhegius
A short biography of Urbanus Rhegius (1489–1541), preacher at Augsburg, superintendent of Lüneburg, and author of a handbook for preachers.
Wolfgang Capito
A short biography of Wolfgang Capito (1478–1541), Hebraist, preacher at Basel and Mainz, and Bucer’s colleague in the Reformation of Strasbourg.
Zacharias Ursinus
A short biography of Zacharias Ursinus (1534–1583), pupil of Melanchthon and Vermigli, professor at Heidelberg, and principal author of the Heidelberg Catechism.
John Calvin
John Calvin
A biography of John Calvin, the Genevan Reformer, drawn from his life and writings.
John Knox
John Knox
A biographical sketch of John Knox (c. 1514–1572): Wishart’s bodyguard, galley slave, chaplain to Edward VI, pastor in Geneva, and reformer of Scotland.
Martin Luther
Martin Luther
A biography of Martin Luther (1483–1546): the troubled monk of Erfurt, the gate of paradise in Romans 1:17, the Ninety-Five Theses, Leipzig, Worms, the Wartburg and the German Bible, Katie and the hymns, and the gospel of justification by faith alone.
NINETY-FIVE THESES
The Ninety-Five Theses of Martin Luther, posted at Wittenberg in 1517 to debate indulgences.
Ulrich Zwingli
Ulrich Zwingli
A biographical sketch of Ulrich Zwingli (1484–1531), the reformer of Zurich: Glarus, Einsiedeln, the expository preaching of Matthew, the Sixty-Seven Articles, Marburg, and his death at Kappel.
William Tyndale
Scripture Unsilenced
Five hundred years after the first printed English New Testament (1526): William Tyndale’s consuming conviction, Bibles in bales, the Word before the congregation, the cost, the prayer answered, and our stewardship today.
William Tyndale
A biography of William Tyndale (1494–1536): the plowboy vow at Little Sodbury, the first printed English New Testament, Bibles in bales, the burning of God’s Word, a bare text, betrayal at Antwerp, Vilvoorde, and the prayer answered.
Reformation Martyrs
Andrew Hewet
A short biography of Andrew Hewet (d. 1533), a young London tailor’s apprentice who confessed that he believed as John Frith did concerning the Lord’s Supper and was burned with him at Smithfield.
George Wishart
A short biography of George Wishart (c. 1513–1546), Scottish preacher and martyr, the teacher of John Knox, burned at St. Andrews by Cardinal David Beaton.
Hendrik Voes and Johann van Esschen
A short account of Hendrik Voes and Johann van Esschen, Augustinian friars of Antwerp burned at Brussels on July 1, 1523, the first martyrs of the Reformation.
James Bainham
A short biography of James Bainham (d. 1532), London lawyer of the Middle Temple who recanted under pressure, publicly repented with Tyndale’s New Testament in hand, and was burned at Smithfield.
John Bradford
A short biography of John Bradford (c. 1520–1555), chaplain to Bishop Ridley, preacher of Lancashire, and martyr at Smithfield.
John Frith
A biographical sketch of John Frith (1503–1533), Tyndale’s friend and fellow laborer, burned at Smithfield.
John Rogers
A brief biographical sketch of John Rogers (c. 1500–1555), Tyndale’s friend, editor of the Matthew Bible, and the first martyr of Queen Mary’s reign.
Patrick Hamilton
A brief biographical sketch of Patrick Hamilton (c. 1504–1528), author of Patrick’s Places and the first martyr of the Scottish Reformation.
Richard Bayfield
A short biography of Richard Bayfield (d. 1531), Benedictine monk of Bury St. Edmunds who became one of the boldest smugglers of Tyndale’s New Testaments into England and was burned at Smithfield.
Robert Barnes
A short biography of Robert Barnes (d. 1540), Augustinian prior of Cambridge, exile with Luther, envoy of Henry VIII, and martyr at Smithfield.
Rowland Taylor
A short biography of Rowland Taylor (d. 1555), Rector of Hadleigh in Suffolk, friend of Cranmer, and martyr on Aldham Common.
Thomas Bilney
A brief biographical sketch of Thomas Bilney (c. 1495–1531), converted through Erasmus’s New Testament, the means of Hugh Latimer’s conversion, burned at Norwich.
Scottish Reformers
Andrew Melville
A short biography of Andrew Melville (1545–1622), Scottish Reformer and educator, father of Scottish Presbyterianism, who told James VI that Christ alone is King of the church.
The Scottish Reformation
A history of the Scottish Reformation and the Church of Scotland from Knox and 1560 through the Covenanters, secessions, unions, and settlement of 1929.
Swiss Reformers
Berchtold Haller
A short biography of Berchtold Haller (1492–1536), the gentle reformer of Bern and author of the Ten Theses of the Bern Disputation of 1528.
Heinrich Bullinger
A brief biographical sketch of Heinrich Bullinger (1504–1575), Zwingli’s successor at Zurich and author of the Second Helvetic Confession.
Joachim Vadian
A short biography of Joachim Vadian (1484–1551), humanist, physician, and burgomaster who led the Reformation of St. Gall.
Johannes Oecolampadius
A short biography of Johannes Oecolampadius (1482–1531), reformer of Basel, friend of Zwingli, and defender of the Reformed doctrine of the Lord’s Supper at Marburg.
Leo Jud
A short biography of Leo Jud (1482–1542), Zwingli’s friend and colleague at Zurich, translator for the Zurich Bible, and catechist.
Oswald Myconius
A short biography of Oswald Myconius (1488–1552), schoolmaster, Zwingli’s friend and first biographer, and chief pastor of Basel after Oecolampadius.
Wolfgang Musculus
A short biography of Wolfgang Musculus (1497–1563), Benedictine monk turned reformer, pastor at Augsburg, and professor of theology at Bern.
Women of the Reformation
Anna Reinhard
A biography of Anna Reinhard, wife of Ulrich Zwingli, whose faith and endurance sustained her family through the hardships of the Swiss Reformation.
Anne Askew
A biography of Anne Askew, the English Bible student whose evangelical faith, examinations, torture, and martyrdom testified to the Reformation gospel.
Anne of Bohemia
A biography of Anne of Bohemia, queen of Richard II, whose devotion to Scripture encouraged biblical learning and connections between England and Bohemia.
Catherine Parr
A biography of Catherine Parr, sixth wife of Henry VIII, evangelical author, student of Scripture, and protector of reform at the English court.
Katarina von Bora
A biography of Katarina von Bora, the former nun who married Martin Luther and shaped the Reformation household through faith, work, and hospitality.
Lady Jane Grey
A biography of Lady Jane Grey, the nine-day queen of England whose biblical learning and Protestant faith remained steadfast through imprisonment and death.
Women of the Reformation
An introduction to women whose faith, writing, courage, family life, and public influence helped advance the Protestant Reformation.
