History of the Popes During the Last Four Centuries, Volume 1

Leopold von Ranke invented modern history. In this landmark work, he introduced a revolutionary principle: tell the past "as it actually happened" by rigorously interrogating primary sources. The result is both a foundational work of historiography and an electrifying narrative of Renaissance and Counter-Reformation power. Here are the popes of the 16th century, not as saints or symbols but as ruthlessly political figures. Pope Clement VII's fatal French alliance brings the imperial army to Rome's gates. Pope Paul III elevates his grandsons, only to be betrayed by their ambition. The ferocious inquisitor Gian Pietro Carafa becomes Pope Paul IV, so consumed by hatred of Spain that he courts Protestant and Turkish allies. And in the background, Ignatius Loyola builds the Jesuits, a military-religious order that will reclaim much of Protestant Europe for Rome. More than a chronicle of individual pontificates, this book coined the term Counter-Reformation and forever changed how we understand the past.