Court and Politics in Papal Rome, 1492–1700 (Cambridge Studies in Italian History and Culture)

This 2002 book attempts to overcome the traditional historiographical approach to the role of the early modern papacy by focusing on the actual mechanisms of power in the papal court. The period covered extends from the Renaissance to the aftermath of the peace of Westphalia in 1648 - after which the papacy was reduced to a mainly spiritual role. Based on research in Italian and other European archives, the book concentrates on the factions at the Roman court and in the college of cardinals. The sacred college came under great international pressure during the election of a new pope, and consequently such figures as foreign ambassadors and foreign cardinals are examined, as well as political liaisons and social contacts at court. Finally, the book includes an analysis of the ambiguous nature of Roman ceremonial, which was both religious and secular: a reflection of the power struggle both in Rome and in Europe. Half-title......Page 3 Series-title......Page 4 Title......Page 5 Copyright......Page 6 CONTENTS......Page 7 AB B REVIATIONS......Page 9 INTRODUCTION......Page 11 A TURNING-POINT IN THE HISTORY OF THE FACTIONAL SYSTEM IN THE SACRED COLLEGE: THE POWER OF POPE AND CARDINALS IN THE AGE OF.........Page 18 INTRODUCTION......Page 41 THE MOMENTS OF PAPAL ENTHRONEMENT: CORONATION AND POSSESSO......Page 45 A MILITARY TRIUMPH: THE POSSESSO OF JULIUS II (1503 – 1513)......Page 50 LEO X: THE TRIUMPH OF THE AGE OF GOLD (1513 – 1521)......Page 53 FESTE FOR A ROMAN POPE: PAUL III (1536 – 1549)......Page 56 THE TRIUMPH OF ORDER: SIXTUS V (1585 – 1590)......Page 58 ‘ROME, WORKSHOP OF ALL THE PRACTICES OF THE WORLD’: FROM THE LETTERS OF CARDINAL FERDINANDO DE’ MEDICI TO COSIMO I AND.........Page 63 THE 'WORLD'S THEATRE'......Page 88 'REASON OF STATE' AND THE SCRIPTURES......Page 91 TO 'KEEP FUTURE TURNS OF FORTUNE WELL IN MIND...'......Page 101 FACTIONS IN THE SACRED COLLEGE IN THE SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES......Page 109 THE SPECIFICITY OF THE ROMAN COURT......Page 113 Outside the court: ambassadors and agents of the European powers......Page 119 Inside the court: the cardinal-nephew, the papabili and the conclavists......Page 124 THE PRACTICE OF FACTIONS......Page 131 METHODOLOGICAL PROBLEMS......Page 142 CARDINAL – NEPHEW AND SECRETARY OF STATE......Page 144 The nephew and the pope’s secretary......Page 145 SECRETARY OF STATE AND CARDINAL – NEPHEW......Page 149 THE TIDE TURNS IN THE SECRETARY'S FAVOUR......Page 160 THE CARDINAL-PROTECTORS OF THE CROWNS IN THE ROMAN CURIA DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY: THE CASE OF FRANCE......Page 168 THE SQUADRONE VOLANTE : ‘INDEPENDENT’ CARDINALS AND EUROPEAN POLITICS IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY......Page 187 THE BEGINNING......Page 190 THE YEARS OF UNCERTAINTY......Page 197 'COMPRAR LOS CARDINALES'......Page 200 THE CRISIS OF NEPOTISM......Page 204 APPROACHING FRANCE......Page 208 THE DISSOLUTION......Page 211 THE INNOCENTIAN REFORM......Page 216 ROMAN AVVISI : INFORMATION AND POLITICS IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY......Page 222 HEGEMONY OVER THE SOCIAL SCENE AND ZEALOUS POPES (1676 – 1700)......Page 239 INDEX......Page 257 "This book attempts to overcome the traditional historiographical approach to the role of the early modern papacy by focusing on the actual mechanisms of power in the papal court. The period covered extends from the Renaissance to the aftermath of the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, after which the papacy was reduced to a mainly spiritual role." "Based on new research in Italian and other European archives, the book concentrates on the factions at the Roman court and in the College of Cardinals. The Sacred College came under great international pressure during the election of a new pope, and consequently such figures as foreign ambassadors and foreign cardinals are examined, as well as political liaisons and social contacts at court. Finally, the book includes an analysis of the ambiguous nature of Roman ceremonial, which was both religious and secular: a reflection of the power struggle both in Rome and in Europe."--Jacket. "This book attempts to overcome the traditional historical approach to the role of the early modern papacy by focusing on the actual mechanisms of power in the papal court. The period covered extends from the Renaissance to the aftermath of the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, after which the papcy was reduced to a mainly spiritual role. Based on intensive research in Italian and other European archives, the book concentrates on the factions at the Roman court and in the College of Cardinals. The Sacred College came under great international pressure during the election of a new pope, and consequently such figures as foreign ambassadors and foreign cardinals are examined, as well as political liasons and social contacts at court. Finally, the book includes an analysis of the ambiguous nature of Roman ceremonial, which was both religious and secular: a reflection of the power struggle both in Rome and in Europe."--Cover

This study describes power and politics in Rome and the role of the papacy in European politics during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It attempts to overcome the traditional historiographical approach to the role of the papacy during this period by focusing on the actual mechanisms of power in the papal court—political, personal, spiritual, and ceremonial. Based on new research in Italian and other European archives, it charts the transition from a political to a primarily spiritual power between the Renaissance and the Peace of Westphalia.

Recently it has been suggested that we need to reconsider the ethos of the Renaissance cardinalate, taking that concept not so much in terms of generic morality but more narrowly in the sense in which it was used in the later fifteenth century, that is to say as the necessary point of intersection between legal officium and ethical onus. This book describes power and politics in Rome and the role of the papacy in early modern European politics. It attempts to overcome the traditional historiographical approach to the papacy during this period by focusing on the actual mechanisms of power in the papal court - political, personal, spiritual and ceremonial