John Bossy.

Christians are supposed to love their neighbours, including their enemies. This is never easy. When feud and honour are common realities, it is even harder than usual

This book sketches the history of peacemaking between people (not countries) as an activity of churches or of Christianity between the Reformation and the eighteenth century. The story is recounted in four countries (Italy, France, Germany and England) and in several religious settings (including Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Church of England and Calvinist). Each version is a variation upon a theme what the author calls a 'moral tradition' which contrasts, as a continuing imperative, with the novelties of theory and practice introduced by the sixteenth-century reformers. In general the topic has much to say about the destinies of Christianity in each country, and more widely, and strikes a chord which will resonate in both the social and the religious history of the West.

JOHN BOSSY is Professor of History, University of York. His many publications include The English Catholic Community, 1570-1850 (1975), Christianity in the West, 1400-1700 (1985) and Giordano Bruno and the Embassy Affair (1991) which shared the Wolfson Prize.