Throughout the history of Christianity, men and women have wrestled with the challenge of how to interpret, and how to follow, the Gospels. Intrinsic to this process is the concept of "reform", a recognition that changes is necessary in order to return to a more authentic Christian life.

Throughout the history of Christianity, men and women have wrestled with the challenge of how to interpret, and how to follow, the Gospels. Intrinsic to this process is the concept of reform, a recognition that changes is necessary in order to return to a more authentic Christian life. The approximately thirty-five manuscripts presented here trace this process from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries through the texts that inspired reform movements and communicated their ideas to others.