The Bad Popes Rome AD 900, The Lord of Rome, Donation of Constantine -- The house of theophylact Marzola, Senatrix of Rome (926-932), The rise of the theophylact, Pope Joan -- Pope John XII (955-93) : The Pope-King, The coming of the emperor -- Theophylact, Pope Benedict IX (1032-1046): The rule of the magician, Sale of thepapacy -- The Lord of Europe: Benedict Gaetani Pope Boniface VIII (1294-1303): The great refusal, Consolidation, The High-Souled Sinner, Challenge and response -- The lord of Empire -- Wandering pope, Bartolomeo Prignano Pope Urban (1378-1389): Avignon September 1376, Schism Rome 1378, The long march -- The Spanish bull, Rodrigo Borgia Pope Alexander VI (1493-1503): Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, The Borgia family]

1986 Dorset ed. ; 310 pages, 32 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; ISBN 1028656574 ; OCLC 889900173 ; yellow-gold and black cloth in color pictorial dustjacket ; Contents: The golden city : Rome AD 900, The Lord of Rome, Donation of Constantine -- The house of theophylact Marzola, Senatrix of Rome (926-932), The rise of the theophylact, Pope Joan -- Pope John XII (955-93) : The Pope-King, The coming of the emperor -- Theophylact, Pope Benedict IX (1032-1046): The rule of the magician, Sale of thepapacy -- The Lord of Europe: Benedict Gaetani Pope Boniface VIII (1294-1303): The great refusal, Consolidation, The High-Souled Sinner, Challenge and response -- The lord of Empire -- Wandering pope, Bartolomeo Prignano Pope Urban (1378-1389): Avignon September 1376, Schism Rome 1378, The long march -- The Spanish bull, Rodrigo Borgia Pope Alexander VI (1493-1503): Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, The Borgia family, Invasion 1494, Murder of the Duke of Gandia, Cesare Borgia -- The Golden Age Giovanni de' Medici ope Leo X (1513-1521): The High Renaissance, Triumph of t he Medici, Conspiracy of cardinals, Luther -- The Last Day of Italy Giulio de' Medici Pope Clement VII (1521-1534): Giulio de' Medici, The gathering storm, The sack of Rome -- Appendix -- The Sources ; names on front endpapers ; A dramatic account of some of the most notorious figures of medieval and Renaissance history who ruled from the Eternal City. It is sure to grip readers of John Julius Norwich, Tom Holland and Peter Ackroyd. ; The papal tiara has been worn by a number of infamous men through the course of its history. ; Some have been accused of murder, many have had mistresses, while others sold positions in the church to their followers or gave land and wealth to their illegitimate children. ; E. R. Chamberlin examines the lives of eight of the most controversial popes to have ruled over the Holy See, from the reign of Pope Stephen VI, who had his predecessor exhumed, put on trial and thrown in the Tiber, in the ninth century, through to Pope Clement VII, the second Medici pope, whose failed international policy led to the Sack of Rome in 1527. ; The Bad Popes explains how during these six centuries the papal monarchy rose to its greatest heights, as popes attempted to assert not only their spiritual authority but also their temporal power, only for it to come crashing down. ; "A magnificent piece of historic research and description" Los Angeles Times ; "A vital and important book" Washington Post ; "[Chamberlin] writes well, even elegantly. One fancies echoes now and then of Tacitus and Gibbon . an interesting historical essay" Daily Telegraph ; "One is sincerely grateful to Mr Chamberlin for a vivid book" Catholic Herald ; "Mr Chamberlin's book strikes me as being as near to the ideal as is reasonably possible: scrupulously fair, meticulously documented and written with style, liveliness and wit" The Bulletin ; FINE/FINE.