Product Description

According to Pope Innocent III, 'Nothing which happens in the world should escape the notice of the supreme pontiff', and for two millennia little has. Since its emergence from the ruins of the Roman Empire, the Papacy has represented the most extraordinary continuation of earthly power from the decline of the Roman empire to the collapse of Communism in the late twentieth century and beyond. The Papacy has faced many crises - dangers from within and assaults from without. For many centuries it only survived by timely alliances and clandestine pacts with Europe's kings and princes. But it did survive - to organize the Crusades and the Counter-Reformation and send papal missions and missionaries throughout the world. After 1870 it lost the Papal States and became a spiritual institution rather than a temporal power. This single-volume history of the Papacy is a rare achievement. The narrative describes the character and policies of individual popes, the development of the Curia, the administration of the Papal States, issues of theology and canon law, the papacy's relationship with the city of Rome, the long tradition of artistic patronage, and much more. Roger Collins has mastered the vast literature on papal history and used the riches of the Vatican Library in Rome, as well as accounts by such outsiders as ambassadors and spies, to chronicle two thousand years of ambition, scandal, persecution, faith and glory. This is a vivid and revealing history of one of the most enduring and influential or human institutions.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #164533 in Books
• Published on: 2009-03-26
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 592 pages

Review
"Few historians write as engagingly and wittily as Roger Collins. This is a wonderful, magnificent account of an institution that has touched the lives of millions and still does." (Alexander McCall Smith - pre-publication quote )

"Always accessible, the pages are broken into bite-size sections that mix the ecclesiastical with the political and social. Collins shows admirable restraint for our cynical and salcious times in recounting the sometimes downright hypocritical failures of individuals to live up the lofty ideals of their office... impeccably fair and even detached when it comes to analysing controversial actions... vast and admirable tome." (Peter Stanford THE SUNDAY TIMES 12.04.09 )

About the Author
Roger Collins was born in London and educated at Oxford. A distinguished religious scholar who has published widely on medieval Europe, he is an Honorary Fellow at Edinburgh University and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He lives in Edinburgh.

Customer Reviews

Theological History of the everyday Joe Bloggs
I am about half way through reading this book and have been very impressed by the manner of writing. A lot of theology / history is dry, academic and somewhat difficult to access, but Mr Collins' book is written in such a way that, even though it is quite academic, it is by no means over complicated or filled with jargon and is accessible by every Joe Bloggs or Jane Doe, not just highly intellectual academics.

The subject matter is of huge interest and there is a certain element, that is often found in fiction books, of conspiracy theories and excitement. Anyone who has read books (whether fictional or non-fictional) involving the Vatican/Catholic heirarchy/Papacy will appreciate this element even though it is a purely historical piece of work. This may sound incongruous, but read it and see what I mean! Well worth it!