Geology is the study of the history of the earth as recorded in its rocks. This study explains why certain types of rocks and minerals occur at one place and not another, why the forms of the land differ from one region to another, and why particular animal and plant remains are sometimes preserved as fossils in certain kinds of rocks. The professional geologist makes these studies his business; the amateur finds these studies a fascinating hobby; but the uninitiated person misses much of ...

On 1 July 1523, Johann van den Esschen and Hendrik Voes, two Augustinian friars from Antwerp, were burned on the Grand Plaza in Brussels, thereby becoming the first victims of the Reformation. Despite being well-known, the event barely registers in most Reformation histories. By tracing its origins and examining the impact of the executions on Martin Luther, on the Reformed Augustinian world, and on the early Reformation in the Low Countries and the German speaking lands, this study defini...