Thomas Wallnig, "Early Modern Catholic Theology in German-Speaking Lands", in: The Oxford History of Modern German Theology, Vol. 1: 1781–1848, edited by Grant Kaplan and Kevin M. Vander Schel, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2023, pp. 38–55.

This chapter outlines the early modern history of the Holy Roman Empire, viewed from the perspective of Catholic theology. The introductory part discusses the position of the problem by way of its medieval antecedents, like the antagonism between pope and emperor, and by introducing some pertinent research debates, like that about Konfessionalisierung. The following parts are organized in chronological order and roughly correspond to the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries. Each section sets the stage with a political summary of the period, and then provides a characterization of its Catholic theology, first in general terms, and then by way of three exemplary theologians (the Jesuit Jakob Gretser, the Benedictine Paul Mezger, and the Augustinian Canon Eusebius Amort). Major political developments, like the Thirty Years’ War, are discussed along with their theological repercussions, while major ecclesiastical events, like the Council of Trent, are viewed with respect to their consequences for Catholic Germany.