CSCH.3110 Saints and Sinners: Renaissance Papacy
The exploits of the Renaissance Papacy from the late 14th to mid 16th centuries have inspired movies (Irving Stone, The Agony and the Ecstasy), television (Showtime/Netflix, The Borgias), and video games (Assassin's Creed II). But sometimes, fact is even more unbelievable than fiction. This class will explore the true and often scandalous history of this period, when Popes ruled like Kings, engaged in warfare, diplomacy and murderous conspiracies. Together with their lovers, mistresses and children, many Popes lived lives of great luxury and abandon-paid for by the sale of "indulgences" (forgiveness of sin) or ecclesiastical office. As Pope Leo X (de' Medici) is reported to have said, "God gave us the Papacy. Let us enjoy it." Critics were silenced by excommunication, or worse. The Borgia, della Rovere, and Medici Popes amassed enormous personal fortunes, and spent exorbitant sums of money on lavish feasts and entertainment, collecting art and antiquities, and patronizing monumental building projects. The names of the artists who were summoned to work-Perugino, Botticelli, Pinturrichio, Bramante, Raphael and Michelangelo-resonate still as some of the greatest artists in history. The excesses of this period moved German priest Martin Luther to call for reform, forever changing the course of religious history. When Rome was invaded by French and German troops in 1527 and Pope Clement VII imprisoned, all hope seemed lost. But like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the papacy of Paul III (Farnese) promised a rebirth of Rome, and a period of renewal and reform was ushered in.
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