Product Description

The Roman Catholic Church has been in existence for two millennia and has withstood assaults from all manner of secular enemies. And she may still stand when, as Macaulay wrote, "some traveller from New Zealand shall stand upon a broken arch of London Bridge to sketch the ruins of St Paul's". This institutional longevity is all the more remarkable given that a number of its leaders were, frankly, bad. In this book, E.R. Chamberlin examines the dark side of the papacy, concentrating on seven pontiffs whose reigns were marked by scandal, mayhem and corruption. They include John XII, who was elected Pope before he was 20. This sensual youth died, probably murdered, in the act of adultery. There is Urban VI who was responsible for the Great Schism and Alexander VI, the father of Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia. And the two Medici Popes who were responsible for the division of the Church under Lutheran assault the Epicurean Leo X ("since God has given us the Papacy, let us enjoy it") and Clement VII.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #316458 in Books
• Published on: 2003-05-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

About the Author
Eric Russell Chamberlain was born in 1927 and is the author of over thirty books, many of them translated, on European history, culture and travel. He has also written television series on historical conservation. He has been awarded the Regione Sicilia Travel Writing Award and was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Surrey. He has written widely.

Customer Reviews

Entertaining and very informative history
Chamberlin's "Bad Popes" is a very readable and entertaining account of one of the most colourful areas of medieval history. The attention to detail and the range of sources if very impressive and helps to create a very solid and rich narrative.

I would thoroughly recommend this book to any reader. It provides fascinating insights into the workings of the Italian city states, the Holy Roman Empire and the Roman Catholic church over 600 years while telling the astonishing and thrilling personal stories of some of the most extraordinary characters in European history.