Customer Reviews

The Papacy

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This book is a phenomenal resource for any inquisitive mind desiring to delve into the brilliant panoply of the history of the Roman Catholic Church, and in specific that of its greatest and founding institution: The Papacy. The author's narrative and flowing literary style makes it a joy to read and indeed this book needs no pictures or illustrations whatsoever, so vibrant is the written word. I highly recommend it to any and all who are looking for a thorough, well-written and researched, and easily-digested history. One of the best books available today in the area of papal history.

This treatment of the early Roman church is deeply informed by the skeptical presuppositions of the German schools of the 19th and early 20th Century. Fortunately, the writing is so mechanical that you can see this develop right before your eyes. Likewise, the translation is sufficiently literal that you can actually hear the German accent as you read.

This gives the book more interest than it otherwise would have. While it tells us less than we might like about the development of the papacy, it gives us a very fascinating look at a very representative academician. The unsupported assumptions land softly where they are needed to provide extra leverage. The leaps of illogic are not at all disguised. There is nothing exercised or defensive. It is all dispensed calmly as the "assured results of modern scholarship."

Of course, it is unfair to ask a popular survey to build its case carefully and show all of its work; there simply isn't the space. Still, one gets the overwhelming impression from Schimmelpfennig's pat catechetical style that he is entirely unaware that any thinking and informed person could find his account even controversial.

In sum, for the reader with a rich sense of irony and an interest in the historiography of Christian History, this is golden. If, on the other hand, you're looking for an introduction to the history of the papacy, keep looking.

Schimmelpfennig provides the lay reader - and the historian - with a guide that is both accessible and relatively detailed on what is to most an obscure subject. At his best when discussing the political interactions between the papacy and the Carolingian/Holy Roman empires, this book opened up my interest in a host of contemporary issues, from the schism to the Cathar heresy. Good reading.

PS - A must if you are a fan of Umberto Eco