Crown, church, and episcopate under Louis XIV / Joseph Bergin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bergin, Joseph, 1948-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Louis XIV, King of France, 1638-1715.

Louis.

Catholic Church--France--Bishops--Appointment, call, and election--History.

Catholic Church.

Patronage, Ecclesiastical--France--History.

Patronage, Ecclesiastical.

Church and state--France--History.

Church and state.

History.

Bishops.

France.

Physical Description:

ix, 526 pages : maps ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, [2004]

Summary:

This book presents an eloquent account of the power, character, and mentalite of the French church under Louis XIV and of its relationship to the crown and other elite institutions as well as its critics and congregations. Prominent historian Joseph Bergin investigates the background, recruitment, and management of the episcopate, illuminating the process of trial and error by which the king developed a flexible and effective system for appointing qualified and worthy men as bishops.Bergin shows how bishops were appointed and promoted, how no single set of rules ever obtained, and what the inherent limitations of the system were. With balanced judgment throughout, he relates the evolution of the bishops' selection process to a range of issues, bolstering the story with well-chosen examples and many details of human interest. Joseph Bergin is professor of history at the University of Manchester.

Contents:

The French church in the age of the pré carré

Points of departure

College, university, and seminary

Paths to preferment

The context of episcopal patronage

A new dispensation?

A decade of crisis

New for old?

Full circle.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [490]-507) and index.

ISBN:

0300103565

OCLC:

53901469