Customer Reviews

Innocent III: Vicar of Christ or Lord of the World?

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While reading a Jonathan Phillips book on the 4th crusade, I became interested in Innocent III, so I looked up books on him. There was only one review of this book and while the reviewer may be right about the book (Innocent III did indeed have his short comings), he does have some facts wrong.

Innocent did NOT have the Knights Templar 'summarily massacred' but in fact saved them from being excommunicated. The Templars then returned the favor by helping Innocent III in his extermination of the Cathars. Pope Innocent III launched the 4th crusade which went totally array, and instead of slaughtering the Saracens, the crusaders took it out on the Greek Orthodox at Constantinople. And while you might argue that 'Butchery is Butchery' even Innocent III had a problem with killing Christians (the Cathars weren't considered 'Christians')

I'll get back to you all with a review when I do actually read this book..

PS It was Clement V who sent the Knights Templar into oblivion (unless you believe that some of them survived and buried their treasure in modern day Nova Scotia) nearly 100 years later.

Innocent III was one of the most dynamic, influential and catholic (in the sense of hardline) popes in the history of the Church. His Bulls and decrees were sweeping in their scope and lasting in their influence, making him one of the most celebrated Bishops of Rome...as Mr. Powell so often points out.

Unfortunately, this book is only the Catholic Church's official word on Lothar of Segni (his birth name). As such, it presumes that its reader is a Catholic and willing to accept what Powell has taken from the annals of the Vatican as gospel. The true fact of the matter is that, while the contents of this volume are (presumably) accurate, the other side of Innocent III was darker. His reign was fraught with corruption, dissent and massacre. It was, notably, this pope who declared the Templar Knights to be categorically unholy and it was he who ordered them summarily massacred after they had defended Christendom in his name during the Crusade, for the very reason that influential politicians were jealous of the Templars' landholdings throughout Europe. It was also Innocent who called for some of the most bloody actions of those conflicts.

The take away from this volume is that it is written, sanctioned and released by the Catholic Church, and as such must be taken with a grain of salt.