John Jewel

The Parker Society was the London-based Anglican society that printed in fifty-four volumes the works of the leading English Reformers of the sixteenth century. It was formed in 1840 and disbanded in 1855 when its work was completed. Named after Matthew Parker -- the first Elizabethan Archbishop of Canterbury, who was known as a great collector of books -- the stimulus for the foundation of the society was provided by the Tractarian movement, led by John Henry Newman and Edward B. Pusey. Some members of this movement spoke disparagingly of the English Reformation, and so some members of the Church of England felt the need to make available in an attractive form the works of the leaders of that Reformation.

John Jewel's classic defense of Reformation principles is again available in this specially re-issued edition with an introductory essay by John E. Booty. Written after Elizabeth's accession to the throne upon the death of Mary Tudor, Jewel's Apology was a major literary contribution toward England's struggle with the papacy and influenced the development of Anglicanism. John Booty's brilliant introduction places Jewel's work in its historical context and highlights its documentary importance in the English Reformation.