Avignon and Its Papacy, 13091417 Popes, Institutions, and Society [Paperback]

Jo?lle Rollo-Koster, an eminent specialist of medieval Avignon and its papacy, has successfully managed to compress the history of the seven Avignon popes in their complex political and religious environment into just over three hundred pages. One of the stars of this study is the city of Avignon itself, which Rollo-Koster brings to vibrant life, especially in chapter five, based almost entirely on her own archival research. After a very useful overview of previous scholarship, the first three chapters offer a chronological account of the three phases of the Avignon papacy, each section highlighting particular controversies. . . . [A]n impressive achievement, a lively and accessible study that will undoubtedly become the standard work on the Avignon papacy.A fresh, accessible, single-volume overview is long overdue. Jo?lle Rollo-Koster has provided just that.... She has written a lively, engaging, thorough, and richly-researched history of the Avignon papacy for the twenty-first century. Avignon and Its Papacy will be of particular use to students looking for a concise, readable guide to the fourteenth-century papacy.[Jo?lle Rollo-Kosters] book fills a gap in providing an English narrative of the illegitimate popes in Provence from 1378 until 1417, as well as bringing some new perspectives on the legitimate Avignon papacy to 1378. Written in an accessible style, Avignon and Its Papacy will likely become the standard introduction to the subject for twenty-first century students.History is such a wonderful tool for relativizing the present and norming the future. Rollo-Koster provides us with such a tool for understanding the functions of the papacy. . . .The Great Western Schism (13781417) ended the Avignon papacy through the Ecumenical Council of Constance (14141418). The power of the Emperor was needed to sustain the power of the pope; the power of an ecumenical council provided the Catholic Church with a popewho, with time, became the absolute monarch refllã{