The prelate in England and Europe

摘要

The vast majority of the essays presented in Martin Heale s latest volume have their origins in papers presented to a conference at the University of Liverpool in 2011 concerning 'The Prelate in Late Medieval and Reformation England'. The contributions are divided into four thematic sections: part one covers 'Prelates and Power', part two concerns 'Patronage and Learning', part three treats upon 'Identity and Display' and part four focuses on 'Attitudes towards Prelacy'. Gwilym Dodd looks at prelates through the prism of the office of chancellor in fourteenth and fifteenth century England. He makes clear that there was uncertainty during the fourteenth century about who might be the best type of candidate for the office, as clerics came with their drawbacks and the alternatives, high-ranking nobles and other men, brought their own problems. Dodd concludes that it would not be until the fifteenth century that clerics would be considered the preferred candidate for the position. In his contribution, Benjamin Thompson notes that the reaction from the myriad actors involved in the circumstances surrounding the alien priories 'were far from monolithic' (51). Cedric Michon's study of cardinals at the court of Francis Ⅰ (1515-47) is one of only two papers providing a European perspective. In so doing, and by employing archival material from the likes of Rome, Modena and Paris, he describes three major groups of cardinal. There were those who came to attend court for no obvious reason or function, other than the fact they were members of families who already held influential positions at court. Others found their way to the court by taking up ecclesiastical missions. There were also those who held notable positions within the administration of the state.