Research Catalog

Title

Marcello Cervini and ecclesiastical government in Tridentine Italy / William V. Hudon.

Author

Hudon, William V., 1956-

Publication

DeKalb : Northern Illinois University Press, 1992.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

ix, 261 pages : portrait; 23 cm

Summary

Marcello Cervini (1501-1555) was involved in virtually every aspect of ecclesiastical life in sixteenth-century Italy. He administered three dioceses, traveled widely on ambassadorial assignments, organized the agenda for the Council of Trent, presided over a curial reform commission, occupied a position of leadership in the Roman Inquisition, and served briefly as Pope Marcellus II. In this biography of Cervini, Hudon offers a revisionist portrait that reveals the reformer and his works. He shows how Cervini, long regarded as one of the most important ecclesiastical figures in the Tridentine reformation, profoundly influenced reform before, during, and after the Council of Trent. In the course of his reassessment, Hudon illuminates the politics and culture of the sixteenth century. A product of the Renaissance culture of early modern Italy, Cervini lived and worked during a time of theological, political, and ecclesiastical upheaval. These forces of change, along with his work within an administration that maintained the legacy of the corrupt Renaissance papacy, were crucial in shaping Cervini's reformist attitude toward ecclesiastical government and its exercise. As a leader of the curia and ultimately the church at large, Hudon shows, Cervini demonstrated the commitment to undertake real reform, although in a manner different from his immediate predecessors and successors. A valuable contribution to the history of early modern Italy, this study offers a reassessment of traditional scholarly interpretations, especially those that make distinctions between prelates on the basis of "spiritual" or "intransigent" attitudes, which Hudon claims are misleading and do not adequately account for the careers of individuals such as Cervini. Hudon draws extensively from archival sources, including Cervini's personal figures. The result is a thorough, human depiction of the man and his times.

Subject

• Marcellus II, Pope, 1501-1555
• Marcellus II. Papst 1501-1555
• Marcellus (Papst, II.)
• 1500-1599
• Popes > Biography
• Popes
• Popes > 16th century
• Italy > Church history > 16th century
• Italy

Genre/Form

• Biographies.
• Church history.

Note

• Revision of author's thesis--University of Chicago.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. [239]-252) and index.

Contents

Ch. 1. Cervini in History -- Ch. 2. Preparation as Humanist and Curialist -- Ch. 3. At the Council of Trent -- Ch. 4. Sixteenth-Century Ecclesiastical Authority -- Ch. 5. Episcopal and Inquisitorial Activity to 1550 -- Ch. 6. Episcopal and Inquisitorial Activity after 1550.

ISBN

• 0875801692
• 9780875801698

LCCN

92001301

OCLC

• ocm25282162
• 25282162
• SCSB-1952466

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library