The St Andrews Centre for French History and Culture is pleased to announce the publication of Thomas A. Donlan, The Reform of Zeal: François de Sales and Militant French Catholicism, the most recent title in the Centre’s Studies in French History and Culture series.
The Reform of Zeal explores the origins, nature, and impact of François de Sales’s vision of Catholic douceur (gentleness) in the era of the French Wars of Religion. Since Natalie Zemon Davis’s pioneering work on the ‘rites of violence’, scholarship has focused on the militant Catholic cultures of early modern France. Taking a fresh approach to de Sales’s work as a missionary, spiritual director, and founder of the Order of Visitation, this volume documents the evolution of de Sales’s spirituality and his championing of religious cultures of nonviolence within French Catholicism. The Reform of Zeal argues that Salesian douceur not only constituted one of the most effective critiques of French Catholic militancy in the period, but also a unique source of religious renewal in the seventeenth century, independent of Leaguer and early dévot fervour.
An electronic copy may be downloaded from the Centre’s web site at http://cfhc.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/publications/. A paperback copy is available free of cost by emailing the Centre at cffhc@st-andrews.ac.uk.
The Studies in French History and Culture series publishes a range of shorter monographs and studies, between 25,000 and 50,000 words long, which illuminate the history of this community of peoples between the end of the Middle Ages and the late twentieth century. The series covers the full span of historical themes relating to France: from political history, through military/naval, diplomatic, religious, social, financial, cultural and intellectual history, art and architectural history, to literary culture. Titles in the series are rigorously peer-reviewed through the editorial board and external assessors and are published as both e-books and paperbacks. In keeping with the mission of the Centre to enhance public understanding of the Francophone world, these publications are free at the point of delivery and come with no charge for consultation, downloading, printing or circulation, either for private use or for educational purposes.
For further details of this series or to enquire about publishing within it, please contact the editor-in-chief, Dr Justine Firnhaber-Baker (jmfb@st-andrews.ac.uk).