The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England, 1400-1580;

This prize-winning account of the pre-Reformation church recreates lay people€s experience of religion in fifteenth-century England. Eamon Duffy shows that late medieval Catholicism was neither decadent nor decayed, but was a strong and vigorous tradition, and that the Reformation represented a violent rupture from a popular and theologically respectable religious system. For this edition, Duffy has written a new Preface reflecting on recent developments in our understanding of the period.
From reviews of the first edition:
€œA magnificent scholarly achievement [and] a compelling read.€€•Patricia Morrison, Financial Times
€œDeeply imaginative, movingly written, and splendidly illustrated. . . . Duffy€s analysis . . . carries conviction.€€•Maurice Keen, New York Review of Books
€œThis book will afford enjoyment and enlightenment to layman and specialist alike.€€•Peter Heath, Times Literary Supplement
€œ[An] astonishing and magnificent piece of work.€€•Edward T. Oakes, Commonweal