Description: This study of the role of popular song in the Protestant Reformation in Germany reveals that, like woodcuts, songs were a significant means of spreading Reformation ideas to the illiterate, up to 90 per cent of the population.
Review Quotes: Prize: Winner of the 2001 Bainton Book Prize in Art and Music History '... a valuable addition to the history of the Reformation... clear, concise, and engaging...Rebecca Wagner Oettinger has opened the door to a relatively unexamined area of Reformation scholarship, and her study will prove to be a starting point for future explorations of Reformation musical and social history. In her introduction, Oettinger states that she hopes to "fill one of the gaps in the history of popular culture, that of music and role it played in the lives of German Christians during the early Reformation". With Music as Propaganda in the German Reformation, she not only has successfully filled this particular gap but also has provided a framework for other scholars to join in her work.' Journal of Musicological Research ' Rebecca Oettinger has written a stimulating contribution to the discussion of popular religion in the Reformation... In all [...] instances Oettinger shows considerable skill in knitting together historical material and detailed musicological insights. The musical evidence is deftly treated with a judicious sense of what is required to lead the non-specialist through the argument... This is interdisciplinary scholarship at its best.' Journal of Ecclesiastical History '... compelling... a gold mine for those interested in further analysis of the nature of the powerful impact popular music had on the German reformation... One of the many attractive features of this well-documented study is that Oettinger regularly places the reader in the context of the songs discussed... The encyclopedic "catalogue of songs", in the original and in English translation, makes this volume a gold mine for those interested in further analysis of the nature of the powerful impact popular music had on the German Reformation.' German Studies Review '... a pioneering study. Oettinger has uncovered a treasure trove of invaluable material... Rebecca Oettinger has done a great service in