In their thoughtful introduction to this volume, Natasha Hodgson and Amy Fuller persuasively argue that one can see new dimensions of historical cases of religious conflict when such cases are lifted out of the early modern subject areas within which they have traditionally been studied (i.e., the conquest of the New World, the history of the Reformations, and Crusade history) and are considered in ways that break down “traditional limits of discipline, perspective, and periodisation” (1–2). This is an apt general plaidoyer for thematic collections, whose centrifugal drive so often threatens editorial aspirations for cohesion. It is also a valuable motto for the volume at hand. The fifteen chapters are delightfully diverse in focus, approach, and scope. They straddle the period from the late seventh to the late eighteenth century, and while the bulk deal with English cases, the volume also covers Byzantium, France, Italy, Malta, and Mexico. Each chapter delves into a particular case or cluster of cases. Some go into archival material; some deal with printed texts; Liao's chapter stands out as an elegantly structured argument based on a synthesis of existing research. These three strategies yield different results and will appeal to different readers.

In part 1, “Propaganda, Polemic, and Religious Identities,” Elizabeth Tingle illuminatingly combines longue durée history; the interaction of cultural, political, and religious factors; and specific examples and cases. Her study of pilgrimage in early modern France fruitfully brings together Catholic and Protestant perspectives. Sara Bradley presents late sixteenth-century anti-Spanish texts printed in London; Georgia Michael dives deep into the Byzantine conflict over icons with some rich close reading of texts from both factions. Part 2, “Religious Conflict in Local Contexts,” zooms in on English and Scottish conflicts. Jonathan Healey presents a case from 1604 Lancashire, working from this local focus toward more general political dimensions, in a cautiously tentative way. Alfred Johnson covers a century of Scottish incidents in churches. Fiona McCall adds English and Welsh cases to the range of specific cases listed in this section.

In part 3, “Religion, Gender, and Authority,” Kristianna Polder presents the case of the Quaker Margaret Fell, while Martin Roberts scrutinizes matrimonial litigation in early sixteenth-century Lincoln. Amy Fuller engages wider cultural and imperial dimensions, as well as detailed terminological arguments, in her analysis of Mexican Franciscan morality plays; she examines tensions between Franciscan and Nahua views of morals, showing that Franciscan authors sought to preserve what they considered morally valuable in Nahua culture. Part 4, “Religion and Conflict in the City,” offers an urban perspective on religious conflict. Samuel Lane traces conflicts between citizens and the local church in Salisbury from the late medieval period through the Reformation. Katharine Fellows examines the conflicts arising in Rome during pontifical interims in the period 1433–1533, presenting an abundant gallery of figures. Finally, Beatrice Saletti offers a welcome nuancing of the textbook view of the ever-looming conflict between secular and ecclesiastical powers in her study of late medieval Ferrara.

The fifth, and last, part, “Legitimising Religious Warfare,” focuses on general and theoretical stances on religious conflict. Matthias Ebejer presents a rich overview of the Knights of Malta's view of spiritual warfare from the mid-sixteenth century to the late eighteenth century. Ping Liao approaches the role of the army in religious persecution in late seventeenth-century Britain, viewed against the foil of the part played by the French dragonnades in the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Finally, Matthew Rowley discusses Puritan definitions of just war and holy war. The volume is concluded by an epilogue by Martyn Bennett, who sums up the chapters and ponders the nature of external and internal motivations for religious conflict. Among the former he lists Reformations, papal demises, or civil war; the latter he finds in the ever-looming early modern discord that was—or was described as—religiously motivated.