Dr. Christian is . . . To be congratulated for bringing these reports [of Philip II's chroniclers] to our attention. By targeting what he describes as the religion actually practiced by thousands of ordinary Spaniards, he has succeeded in opening a new and important chapter in the history of sixteenth-century Spain. . . . The originality of the subject and the wealth of detail that Christian has uncovered make this study mandatory reading for anyone seriously interested in the religious history of early modem Europe.