Introduction; 1. Varieties of belief: late medieval religion and the people; 2. Internal reform 1480¿1542; 3. Countering the Reformation 1517¿45; 4. The Council of Trent; 5. Structural reform; 6. Reformation in the parishes: clergy and people; 7. The impact of reform: three problems; 8. Fire and sword: four studies in Counter Reformation; Suggestions for further reading.

Modern research has so transformed our understanding of the Catholic world between 1400 and 1700 that the term 'Counter Reformation' cannot now be used without major qualification. How did Catholicism survive the Reformation onslaught, regenerate itself and even recover lost ground? In the long term, how successful were the campaigns to reform the church and counter Protestantism-and why was the latter less important than the former?