Print and Protestantism in Early Modern England

Book: Print and Protestantism in Early Modern England by Ian Green.This summary explores the production, circulation, and reception of religious publications from the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries. It meticulously details the formats and typefaces of English Bibles and New Testaments, using tables to illustrate shifts in popularity for different sizes (like folio, quarto, and octavo) and types of print (roman vs. black-letter). Beyond scripture, the sources examine a wide array of printed religious material, including sermons, treatises, catechisms, devotional aids, and metrical psalms, assessing their commercial success as "best-sellers and steady sellers." Crucially, the analysis distinguishes between officially sanctioned works and cheaper, often more sensational "godly chapbooks," revealing that commercial publishing interests played a significant role alongside clerical and scholarly efforts to spread Protestant piety among diverse segments of the population.