Epochs Of The Papacy

There has been a tendency to the view the history of the early medieval papacy predominantly in ideological terms, which has resulted in the over-exaggeration of the idea of the papal monarchy. In this study, first published in 1979, Jeffrey Richards questions this view, arguing that whilst the papacy’s power and responsibility grew during the period under discussion, it did so by a series of historical accidents rather than a coherent radical design. The title redresses the imbalance implicit in the monarchical interpretation, and emphasizes other important political, administrative and social aspects of papal history. As such it will be of particular value to students interested in the history of the Church; in particular, the development of the early medieval papacy, and the shifting policies and characteristics of the popes themselves.

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Excerpt from Epochs of the Papacy: From Its Rise to the Death of Pope Pius IX. In 1878 The title of this book, "Epochs of the Papacy," expresses, I trust, accurately, its nature and object. I propose to describe the rise, growth, and decline of the Papacy in successive epochs, every one of them representing some phase in her marvellous history from the earliest ages to the present time. The reader will observe that I am strongly opposed to the Papal claims. I do not mean to deny that occasionally the Popes have displayed virtues and excellences, or that during the dark ages the Papacy may have sometimes restrained the savage violence of the kingly or baronial aggressor. Sometimes, too, circumstances have rendered her less pernicious and less formidable than she was in former ages of her history. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.