The Tumultuous 16th Century: Habsburgs, Witches, Heretics, Bloody Rebellions

The book by the well-known historian Francis Waine is dedicated to a turning point in European history—the extraordinarily long and eventful 16th century. This is a crucial milestone that encompasses the features of the waning Middle Ages with its witch hunts, the Reformation, brutal wars, and the Modern Era, an age of change and scientific discoveries. War follows war, uprisings flare up across Europe, and witches are burned at the stakes. Ottoman troops invade Europe. Martin Luther writes the "95 Theses," for which he will be excommunicated from the church. The borders of the Habsburg holdings stretch so far that they will later be called an empire "where the sun never sets."
The author unfolds a colorful tapestry before the reader, where there is room for Emperor Charles V and William of Orange, great artists and the severe Inquisition. In one mesmerizing book, Waine managed to capture the entire 16th century, which laid the foundations of modern society. Not a single famous monarch or ordinary person escaped the historian's attention.
"This century is sometimes considered transitional: a historical bridge to the Age of Enlightenment, the cradle of our present worldview. But the starting point for the society of knowledge as we know it today was indeed set in the 16th century… Starting from this century, people look resolutely forward, not backward" (Francis Waine).