This absorbing book takes us back to the busy, colorful world of a Netherlandish Catholic bishop and his flock from 1596 to 1620. Based upon the recently discovered daybook of Mathius Hovius, the book focuses not only on his life but also on key events and characters of the period. Episodes in the lives of monks, nuns, pilgrims, peasants, saints, and others bring to life the experience of religion during the Counterreformation.