- Listenly
- Public Library
- All Authors
- Preserved Smith
author
Preserved Smith
1880–1941
A leading American historian of the Reformation, he wrote lively, deeply researched books on Martin Luther, Erasmus, and the religious upheavals that reshaped Europe. His work helped bring a complicated era of church history to a broad modern audience.
1 Audiobook
The Age of the Reformation
by Preserved Smith
About the author
Born in 1880, Preserved Smith was an American historian best known for his studies of the Protestant Reformation and its major figures. He taught history at Cornell University and became especially respected for writing clear, substantial works on Martin Luther, Erasmus, and the wider intellectual and religious world of early modern Europe.
His books include The Age of the Reformation, Erasmus: A Study of His Life, Ideals and Place in History, and The Life and Letters of Martin Luther. Readers and scholars have valued his ability to combine careful scholarship with an approachable style, making a turbulent period of European history easier to understand.
Smith died in 1941, but his work has remained useful for readers interested in church history, Renaissance thought, and the personalities behind the Reformation. His writing still reflects the curiosity of a historian who wanted big ideas to feel vivid and human.