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Loading... Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy (2011)by John Julius Norwich
   Best Biographies (105) Books Read in 2015 (3,145) No current Talk conversations about this book.   ) nmele | Nov 30, 2023 |   ) Autolycus21 | Oct 10, 2023 | Mixed in with the statistics of each Pope's reign are nuggets of biographical gold, stories that make each Pope human. At times, some of the history could get a bit stale. However, if you press on, you'll be rewarded. Recommended for those interested in Popes, the history of Catholicism, and history in general. ( ) briandrewz | Mar 23, 2023 | - The author takes sides and makes clear where he stands on some issues. It's funny but not very impartial. - This book also serves as a history of Italy post-Roman Empire. (  ) ladyars | Jan 4, 2021 | Understanding how power was established via the catholic church in rome is integral to understanding the rise of Europe and the tyranny, oppression and genocide that followed. This has subtle and annoying sexist, xenophobic and racist undercurrents. Western Europeans are described more favorably than Eastern Europeans, Asians and the ever present and ever generic 'Muslims'. At one point the author goes into great detail describing an asian nation as unwashed, eating uncooked meat, etc. I laughed out loud. Europeans during this period and for the next THOUSAND years are famously unwashed and their food is shit. A major driver of colonialism is the hunt for cheaper spices with which to help their nasty ass food. This continues into colonization where in addition to how to swim, grow cash crops for trade and eventually inoculate against illness West Africans and the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas will teach Europeans to wash their nasty asses. In fact we are living out the effects of the carelessness and nastiness of Europeans. As global warming continues to be driven to by colonialism: which equates to theft and genocide. By Europeans of all flavors. Just don't be an asshole dude🤷🏽‍♀️ (  ) LoisSusan | Dec 10, 2020 |
 If you were raised Catholic, you may find it disconcerting to see an institution you were taught to think of as the repository of the faith so thoroughly deconsecrated. Norwich says little about theology and treats doctrinal disputes as matters of diplomacy. As he points out, this is in keeping with many of the popes themselves, “a surprising number of whom seem to have been far more interested in their own temporal power than in their spiritual well-Âbeing.” For most of their two millenniums, the popes were rulers of a large sectarian state, managers of a civil service, military strategists, occasionally battlefield generals, sometimes patrons of the arts and humanities, and, importantly, diplomats. They were indeed monarchs. (But not, it should be said, “absolute monarchs.” Whichever editor persuaded Norwich to change his British title, “The Popes: A History,” may have done the book a marketing favor but at the cost of accuracy: the popes’ power was invariably shared with or subordinated to emperors and kings of various stripes. In more recent times, the popes have had no civil power outside the 110 acres of Vatican City, no military at all, and even their moral authority has been flouted by legions of the faithful.) Distinctions
History.
Religion & Spirituality.
Nonfiction.
HTML:NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In a chronicle that captures nearly two thousand years of inspiration and intrigue, John Julius Norwich recounts in riveting detail the histories of the most significant popes and what they meant politically, culturally, and socially to Rome and to the world. Norwich presents such popes as Innocent I, who in the fifth century successfully negotiated with Alaric the Goth, an invader civil authorities could not defeat; Leo I, who two decades later tamed (and perhaps paid off) Attila the Hun; the infamous “pornocracy”—the five libertines who were descendants or lovers of Marozia, debauched daughter of one of Rome’s most powerful families; Pope Paul III, “the greatest pontiff of the sixteenth century,” who reinterpreted the Church’s teaching and discipline; John XXIII, who in five short years starting in 1958 instituted reforms that led to Vatican II; and Benedict XVI, who is coping with today’s global priest sex scandal. Epic and compelling, Absolute Monarchs is an enthralling history from “an enchanting and satisfying raconteur” (The Washington Post). No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)262.13Religion Christian organization, social work & worship Ecclesiology Ministry Papacy; PrimacyLC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.52)
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