Pope Alexander III (1159-81): The Art of Survival

by Peter D. Clarke, Anne J Duggan

Overview

Alexander III was one of the most important popes of the Middle Ages and his papacy (1159-81) marked a significant watershed in the history of the Western Church and society. This book provides a long overdue reassessment of his papacy and his achievements, bringing together thirteen essays which review existing scholarship and present the latest research and new perspectives. Individual chapters cover topics such as Alexander's many contributions to the law of the Church, which had a major impact upon Western society, notably on marriage, his relations with Byzantium, and the extension of papal authority at the peripheries of the West, in Spain, Northern Europe and the Holy Land. But dominant are the major clashes between secular and spiritual authority: the confrontation between Henry II of England and Thomas Becket after which Alexander eventually secured the king's co-operation and the pope's eighteen-year conflict with the German emperor, Frederick I. Both the papacy and the Western Church emerged as stronger institutions from this struggle, largely owing to Alexander's leadership and resilience: he truly mastered the art of survival.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781409483052
Publisher:	Ashgate Publishing Ltd
Publication date:	07/28/2013
Series:	Church, Faith and Culture in the Medieval West
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	18 MB
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About the Author

Peter D. Clarke is Reader in Medieval History, University of Southampton, UK; Anne J. Duggan is Emeritus Professor of Medieval History at King's College London, UK.

Peter D. Clarke, Anne J. Duggan, John Doran, Jochen Johrendt, Edward Coleman, Brenda Bolton, Myriam Soria, Damian J. Smith, Katherine Christensen, Nicholas Vincent, Jonathan Harris, Dmitri Tolstoy, Thomas F. Madden, Iben Fonnesberg-Schmidt, Anne J. Duggan.

Table of Contents

Contents: Preface; Introduction, Peter D. Clarke; Alexander ille meus: the papacy of Alexander III, Anne J. Duggan; 'At last we reached the port of salvation': the Roman context of the schism of 1159, John Doran; The empire and the schism, Jochen Johrendt; 'A city to be built for the glory of God, St Peter and then whole of Lombardy': Alexander III, Alessandria, and the Lombard League in contemporary sources, Edward Coleman; The absentee lord? Alexander III and the patrimony, Brenda Bolton; Alexander III and France: exile, diplomacy and the new order, Myriam Soria; Alexander III and Spain, Damian J. Smith; The curious case of Becket's pallium: Guernes de Pont-Ste-Maxence and the court of Alexander III, Katherine Christensen; Beyond Becket: King Henry II and the papacy (1154–1189), Nicholas Vincent; Alexander III and Byzantium, Jonathan Harris and Dmitri Tolstoy; Alexander III and Venice, Thomas F. Madden; Alexander III and the crusades, Iben Fonnesberg-Schmidt; The master of the decretals: a reassessment of Alexander III's contribution to canon law, Anne J. Duggan; Index.