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Article: Selling the Church: The English Parish in Law, Commerce, and Religion, 1350-1550.(Book Review)
- Article from:
- Journal of Church and State
- Article date:
- June 22, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 J.M. Dawson Studies in Church and State. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Selling the Church: The English Parish in Law, Commerce, and Religion, 1350-1550. By Robert C. Palmer. Chapel Hill, N.C.: The University of North Carolina Press, 2002. 300 pp. $49.95.
Robert Palmer begins this book by stating that Henry VIII, between 1529 and 1540, "reformed the English parish from a commercial enterprise into a pastoral institution," and in the process transformed English society. Though I believe this statement exaggerates both Henry's achievements and the significance of Palmer's findings, this book nonetheless provides a noteworthy contribution to the study of the Reformation in England. Overall, Palmer shows the great importance of legal ...