Martin Bucer (1491-1551) is regarded as the central figure of the Reformation in the southwest of the Holy Roman Empire. The contributors to this volume examine the environments in which his early work unfolded and shed light on the regional diversity of the Reformation. The focus is on the early years, 1520-1523/1524. A description of the political and intellectual-historical contexts of the Reformation and a characterization of Bucer's theology based on his early writings lay the groundwork for the subsequent focus on Alsace and the surrounding regions. Baden and the Electoral Palatinate, Huldrych Zwingli's Zurich, and the Erasmus-influenced Basel were influential zones of contact that shaped and influenced the Reformation championed by Bucer in various ways. At the same time, Bucer's work was accompanied by other factors that either fostered or hindered the Reformation: The impetus provided by Imperial Diets or city councils created favorable conditions, while the traditional clergy opposed the innovations. Women's initiatives supported the changes brought about by the Reformation, and in popular reception, Anabaptist positions also gained ground, revealing a potential for dissent. Early on, centers of the Reformation began to emerge in Alsace; this section will focus on those that best illustrate the region's diverse manifestations of the Reformation: Strasbourg, Sélestat, and Mulhouse. The channels and media through which Reformation ideas spread were - as elsewhere - book printing, correspondence, catechetical instruction, preaching, and singing. In the regional contexts of the southwest and within Bucer's sphere of influence, however, these too took on distinctive characteristics.