Book Review: Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy

Over the last 2000 years there have 265 popes, plus anti-popes and pretenders. Some were good, some were bad. In Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy, John Julius Norwich covers the history of the papacy from Peter to now. He does so eruditely and fairly, and the result is a highly readable book. But Norwich has set himself a nearly impossible task in a book of this length, and Absolute Monarchs at times gets extremely confusing because of its attempt to cover so much, and to cover it for the layperson.

Of course, not all of the 265 popes are discussed at length in Absolute Monarchs. There were quite a few, especially in the early days of the church, about whom we know very little. Many were pope for only a very brief period. Between 1250 and 1300 there were 15 popes; in the year 1276 alone there were no less than four different popes: (Gregory X, Innocent V, Hadrian V and John XXI). It would be silly of Norwich to equally divide the 450 pages of Absolute Monarchs into 1 1/2 pages per pope. Norwich deftly manages the task of not slighting any of the popes, while nonetheless spending most of his time discussing the popes (good or bad) who made a bigger difference in world affairs.

It may not be possible to do what John Julius Norwich attempts; at least it would be very difficult to do it much better. This is because covering the papacy requires covering a lot of European history as well. In a book written to appeal to a general audience (as Absolute Monarchs is) I think it is safe to assume that many readers will not be highly familiar with all of the history of Europe. Norwich makes an excellent attempt to cover what needs to be covered, but sometimes Absolute Monarchs reads too much like a list of what happened - this is made more confusing by the fact that not only the popes but most of the rulers of European countries for much of this period were known by a first name and a number. There is little that Norwich could do about this.

Nonetheless, I can think of a few ways this book could be improved: There could be more maps (there are only three) and they could be placed near the beginning, where they are obvious, rather than at the end, where they are hard to find (also, Norwich could refer to the maps in the text). There is a list of popes, also at the end; but there could be some genealogy of the leaders of European countries; there could also be a glossary).

Despite these flaws, Absolute Monarchs will appeal to anyone who is interested in European history, and particularly the history of the papacy and the Catholic church.