Book contents
- The cambridge history of the Papacy
- The Cambridge History of the Papacy
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- General Introduction
- Part I Christendom and Empire
- Part II Crises, Schisms, and Dissent
- Part III Reformations and Revolutions
- Part IV Theopolitics and Religious Diplomacy
- 18 Papal Elections and Renunciations
- 19 The Military Papacy
- 20 Benedict XV (r. 1914–1922) and the Legacy of a Wartime Papacy
- 21 The Papacy and Slavery in Early Modern Europe, 1500–1800
- 22 The Papacy and the Decolonization of Africa
- 23 The Rise of Liberation Theology
- 24 Papal Diplomacy during and since the Ancien Régime
- Part V Inter-Faith Relations: Confrontation and Dialogue
- Select Bibliography
- Index
19 - The Military Papacy
from Part IV - Theopolitics and Religious Diplomacy
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 February 2025
- The cambridge history of the Papacy
- The Cambridge History of the Papacy
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- General Introduction
- Part I Christendom and Empire
- Part II Crises, Schisms, and Dissent
- Part III Reformations and Revolutions
- Part IV Theopolitics and Religious Diplomacy
- 18 Papal Elections and Renunciations
- 19 The Military Papacy
- 20 Benedict XV (r. 1914–1922) and the Legacy of a Wartime Papacy
- 21 The Papacy and Slavery in Early Modern Europe, 1500–1800
- 22 The Papacy and the Decolonization of Africa
- 23 The Rise of Liberation Theology
- 24 Papal Diplomacy during and since the Ancien Régime
- Part V Inter-Faith Relations: Confrontation and Dialogue
- Select Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Violent conflict was a feature of the early papacy as theological factions or Roman families contested the Throne of Saint Peter and as popes responded to the collapse of Roman authority by assuming responsibility for the defense of Rome. By 1000 CE, popes were temporal rulers, and like their secular counterparts they considered military force a legitimate instrument. The papacy participated in the Crusades, principally as propagandist and financier, and engaged militarily in the “Italian Wars” (1494–1559). Subsequently, papal military capabilities declined and during the Napoleonic Wars the papacy offered little resistance against French armies that twice seized Rome. Under Pius IX, serious efforts to improve the papal military were insufficient to prevent the absorption of Rome and the Papal States into the kingdom of Italy. Reduced to a handful of palace guards, subsequent pontiffs abandoned any martial posture, although these household guards protected the Vatican during World Wars I and II.
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- The Cambridge History of the Papacy , pp. 499 - 518Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025