Empire of Souls: Robert Bellarmine and the Christian Commonwealth (Oxford Studies in Historical Theology) - Hardcover

Book 26 of 70: Oxford Studies in Historical Theology

Tutino, Stefania

 
9780199740536: Empire of Souls: Robert Bellarmine and the Christian Commonwealth (Oxford Studies in Historical Theology)
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 0199740534 ISBN 13: 9780199740536
Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2010

Synopsis

Robert Bellarmine was one of the pillars of post-Reformation Catholicism: he was a celebrated theologian and a highly ranked member of the Congregations of the Inquisition and of the Index, the censor in charge of the Galileo affair. Bellarmine was also one of the most original political theorists of his time, and he participated directly in many of the political conflicts that agitated Europe between the end of the sixteenth and the beginning of the seventeenth century.

Stefania Tutino offers the first full-length study of the impact of Bellarmine's theory of the potestas indirecta in early modern Europe. Following the reactions to Bellarmine's theory across national and confessional boundaries, this book explores some of the most crucial political and theological knots in the history of post-Reformation Europe, from the controversy over the Oath of Allegiance to the battle over the Interdetto in Venice. The book sets those political and religious controversies against the background of the theological and institutional developments of the post-Tridentine Catholic Church. By examining the violent and at times surprising controversies originated by Bellarmine's theory, this book challenges some of the traditional assumptions regarding the theological shape of post-Tridentine Catholicism; it offers a fresh perspective on the centrality of the links between confessional affiliation and political allegiance in the development of the modern nation-states; and it contributes to our understanding of the development of 'modern' notions of power and authority.

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About the Author

Stefania Tutino completed her Ph. D. in early modern history at the Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, in 2003. She has been an Andrew W. Mellon postdoctoral fellow at UCLA, and she was previously at UCSB, where she held a joint appointment in the Departments of History and Religious Studies. She is now a Professor of Early Modern History at UCLA.

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Publisher
Oxford University Press
Publication date
2010
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0199740534
ISBN 13 
9780199740536
Binding
Hardcover
Edition number
1
Number of pages
416