If one contention of this book is that the cloisters of the German Reformed Augustinians’ Province of Lower Germany served as the arena for a proxy battle between pope and emperor on the one side, and Luther and the hierarchy of the Congregation on the other, then by definition the Reformed Augustinians of Lower Germany are placed in a passive position. In such a version of events they come to Wittenberg, imbibe Luther's ideas, and are sent back to articulate them in their homeland. And while there can be no doubt that they acted as a persistent and forceful mouthpiece of religious dissent, a ‘Hauptherd of Luther's ideas’ as Aleander put it, such a simplistic narrative raises questions. Were they merely messengers or did they demonstrate some autonomy from Wittenberg by offering their own version of or putting their own particular emphases on Reformation doctrines? Or if they did merely serve as a conduit for Wittenberg's ideas, did they influence reform in other ways, with regard to its speed and intensity for example? And is there something essentially different about openly espousing the same ideas emanating from Wittenberg in the very different context of Brabant and the Low Countries?