Examines the four generations of Reformed pastors who served the church of Basel in the century after the Reformation. This work focuses on the evolution of pastoral training and Reformed theology, the theory and practice of preaching, and the performance of pastoral care in both urban and rural parishes.

"Impressively researched, clearly organized, well-written, and helpfully augmented by a number of graphs and tables. This important book will have an enduring impact on German Reformation studies."--Church History "Burnett's new book is a very helpful contribution to a much neglected subject. Drawing on archival as well as printed sources, this study of the development of the Protestant clergy of Basel provides a detailed picture of the training and career paths of the first four generations. One key strength of the book is the attention to obscure men, to the rank-and-file of pastors and preachers. It is particularly illuminating to see how both church and clergy shaped and were shaped by the process which led from reformers like Johannes Oecolampadius, through several cohorts of pastors who experienced different stages of the establishment of Protestant structures, to those whose entire formation was the fruit of a post-Reformation tradition." -- Elsie McKee, author of Elders and the Plural Ministry: The Role of Exegetical History in Illuminating Joh nCalvin's Theology "Amy Nelson Burnett's study of the clergy of Basel and its hinterland places her in the distinguished company of such colleagues as Bernard Vogler and Luise Schorn-Schütte in revealing what a complex task introducing the Reformation was. Without an informed, convinced, and energetic pastoratenot just in the earliest phase but beyond the sixteenth century the effort at religious reform might have failed. Because the clergy stood at the nexus between authority and society at large, Burnetts findings have implications for the social and political dimensions of religious change. She relates events in Basel to similar developments portrayed in the scholarly literature about other parts of Europe. I shall require all my graduate students to read this book!" --Susan Karant-Nunn, author of The Reformation of Ritual: An Interpretation of Early Modern Germany "Amy Nelson Burnett has produced a highly significant study of the culture of learning in Basel in the Reformation and post-Reformation eras that is sensitive both to the socio-political context and to the religious and theological backgrounds of the era. In other words, this is a study remarkable for its careful work in the realm of social and institutional history and for its grasp of currents in intellectual history as well. This is a finely documented work of superb scholarship." --Richard A. Muller, P.J. Zondervan Professor of Historical Theology, Calvin Theological Seminary