The Oxford Treatise and Disputation on the Eucharist, 1549

Book excerpt: Among the most polemical of Martyr's works, the texts presented here are part of the turbulent period in England during the times of Edward VI and Archbishop Cranmer. Along with his account of the Disputation, Martyr published a Treatise that provides systematic treatment of the arguments, biblical and patristic in source, with transubstantiation the target. There is a wealth of information about the state of the realm, the choice of patristic authorities, the nature of Martyr's objections to the traditional doctrine, and his proposed alternative. Peter Martyr Vermigli (1499-1562) is considered to be one of the most important Italian reformers of the early modern period. Martyr is the subject of renewed interest for historical and theological scholars. The Peter Martyr Library, a series of critical English translations of the chief works of Peter Martyr Vermigli, allows his own words in context to speak for themselves.