In this pioneering work Roland Bainton surveys the contribution to the church of women of the sixteenth century in Germany and Italy. Along the way, he assesses the effect of the Reformation on the role of women in society in general. For example, the dropping of monasticism in Protestant lands made for the exaltation of the home, the special domain of the wife, as the sphere for the cultivation of the finer virtues. Overview : the Reformation in Germany -- Katherine von Bora -- Ursula of Münsterberg -- Katherine Zell -- Wibrandis Rosenblatt -- Argula von Grumbach -- Elisabeth of Brandenburg -- Elisabeth of Braunschweig -- Women of the Anabaptists -- Minor sketches : Katherine Melanchthon and Anna Zwingli -- Overview : the Reformation in Italy -- Giulia Gonzaga -- Caterina Cibo -- Vittoria Colonna -- Isabella Bresegna -- Renée of Ferrara -- Olympia Morata.