The Popes

Zusatztext

<p><b>John Julius Norwich expertly examines the history of the oldest continuing institution in the world, tracing the papal line down the centuries from St Peter to the present</b></p><p>Of the 280-odd holders of the supreme office, some have unquestionably been saints; others have wallowed in unspeakable immorality. One was said to have been a woman, her sex being revealed only when she improvidently gave birth to a baby during a papal procession. Almost as shocking was Formosus whose murdered corpse was exhumed, clothed in pontifical vestments, propped up on a throne and subjected to trial. From the glories of Byzantium to the decay of Rome, from the Albigensian Heresy to controversy within the Church today,<i>The Popes</i>is superbly written, witty and revealing.</p><p><b>Charming and learned...The prose is elegant, the witticisms are plentiful, and the volume's enthusiasm is addictive. Jonathan Wright,<i>BBC History Magazine</i></b></p>

Autorenportrait

John Julius Norwich is the author of histories of Norman Sicily, the Republic of Venice, the Byzantine Empire and, most recently,<i>The Middle Sea: A History of the Mediterranean</i>. He has also written on architecture, music and the history plays of Shakespeare, and has presented some thirty historical documentaries on BBC Television.

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