Reformation iconoclasm as negotiation: Protestant rhetoric, action, and policy regarding religious images in early modern Europe

Fierce debate concerning the legitimacy of religious images accompanied the outbreak of confessional turmoil in early modern Europe. Some people continued to accept images' educational and inspirational value, but others became convinced of their inherent idolatrousness and wastefulness. Thus, violence against images frequently coincided with reception of the Protestant message.;Reformation historiography traditionally privileges the role of ecclesiastical and political elites. Recent research examines evidence of lower-class beliefs, thereby restoring agency to rest of society. However, most historical interpretations continue to assume a primarily downward transmission of ideas. The influence of popular actions on elite rhetoric and government policy remains largely unexplored.;An analysis of the content and context of sixteenth-century sermons, tracts, letters, creeds, and governmental decrees reveals that popular iconoclasm affected leaders from Martin Luther to Henry VIII. Almost all elites opposed the unlawful violence, but it forced theologians to articulate divisive doctrinal positions and established patterns of words and actions that some magistrates ultimately co-opted in order to legitimize their own usurpation of church property. Therefore, illicit lower- and middle-class iconoclasm constituted a significant voice in the Reformation discourse concerning religious images.