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Servetus and Calvin: A Study of the Early Reformation

Robert Willis

A book by Robert Willis, a later historical study centred on John Calvin and the trial of Michael Servetus. It is a secondary account rather than a document from the period.

This later study is centred on Calvin and the trial of Servetus, so it shows how a later writer interpreted Calvin's role in that episode.

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Full text (public-domain edition)

About this source

What it is

Servetus and Calvin: A Study of the Early Reformation is a book by Robert Willis. It is a historical study centred on John Calvin and the trial of Michael Servetus. Its listed subjects are Calvin and Servetus. The copy used here is a digital text of the book.

Why it matters

Books like this one were written long after the events they describe. They show how a later writer understood the early Reformation and the people who shaped it, and they help students see how historians build their accounts from earlier evidence.

Look closer

  • What does Willis choose to emphasise about Calvin, and what does he leave out?
  • Which earlier sources does the author rely on, and how close are they to the events?
  • How might a book written long after the trial change the way readers judge Calvin?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of John Calvin on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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