Rome 'Caput Mundi': Curia, Cardinals and Courtesans from 1300 to 1590 (10 credit points)

Pre-requisites for enrolment

No previous knowledge required.

Content of Course

1. The Jubilee of 1300; the Roman Barons; Popeless Rome and Cola di Rienzo and Petrarch.

2. The Great Schism, John XXII and the Council of Constance; Martin V up to 1430; Papal bureaucracy and finance.

3. Mid 15th century: Renovatio Romae, Nicholas V, Alberti, Lorenzo Valla and the Humanists.

4. The High Renaissance: Sixtus IV (library); Borgia Rome and the Papal States; Nepotism; Vannozza Cattanei and libertine mores; Pilgrims, Indulgences and Jubilees.

5. The Golden Years: Julius II and Leo X; politics, war and society. Urban developments and papal finances. The expansion of the College of Cardinals: princely courts, the growth of patronage, the benefice system, titular churches and palaces. The Greeks and Humanism at the Curia.

6. Art, Architecture and Society in High Renaissance Rome: the rediscovery of Classical Rome; Bramante, Michelangelo and Raphael: the Belvedere; Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Stanze; other palaces and villas; Courtesans and Foreigners in Rome; Rome as Teatro Mundi and a peculiarly Roman tradition: Pasquino.

7. Clement VII: Italian politics, the Colonna and the Sack of Rome; the aftermath of the Sack, and an assessment of Clement’s pontificate. Papal foreign policy and the growing crisis in the north. An overview of the position of women in High Renaissance Rome.

8. Paul III and The Catholic Reformation (Pole, Vittoria Colonna, Michelangelo and the Spirituali); Florentine exiles; Farnese intrigues; the Jesuits and the Inquisition; Foreign relations.

9. The 1550s and 1560s: Counter-Reformation Rome; Carafa, the Great Inquisitor and the Index; the downfall of the Carafa. Counter-Reformation art and architecture: short analysis of the artistic issues discussed by the Council of Trent (representations of female sanctity). New architectural patterns for new religious orders: The Jesuits and the Oratorians.

10. Sistine Rome: Urban remodelling and Domenico Fontana. The Vatican: completion of the Dome, the Library and Obelisks. Church administration and foreign relations. Conclusion.

Teaching method(s)

Lecture-based with class discussion.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Understand the renovation of Rome and re-establishment of the Papal States and the role of the Papal Prince, the Curia and the cardinal’s courts;

• Demonstrate knowledge of the Counter Reformation during the sixteenth century;

• Identify certain works of art and architecture in Rome during the early and High Renaissance and early Baroque;

• Demonstrate the acquired knowledge and skills in the assessment.

Sources

Core Readings

Essential:

• Partner, Peter, 1976. Renaissance Rome, 1500-1559: a portrait of a society. Berkeley: University of California Press.

• Stinger, Charles L., 1998. The Renaissance in Rome. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

• Partridge, Loren, 2006. The Art of Renaissance Rome. London: Prentice Hall.

Recommended:

• Bamji, Alexandra, Janssen, Geert H., Laven, Mary (eds), 2013. The Ashgate Research Companion to the Counter-Reformation. London: Ashgate.

• Black, Christopher F., 2009. The Italian inquisition. New Haven: Yale University Press.

• Black, Christopher F., 2004. Church, religion, and society in early modern Italy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

• Burke, Jill and Bury, Michael, (eds.), 2008. Art and Identity in Early Modern Rome. London: Ashgate.

• Chambers, David, 1997. Renaissance cardinals and their worldly problems. Aldershot: Variorum..

• Cohen, Thomas V., 1993. Words and deeds in Renaissance Rome: trials before the papal magistrates. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

• Hall, M.B. (ed), 2005. Rome. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

• Hollingsworth, Mary, 1994. Patronage in Renaissance Italy from 1400 to the Early Sixteenth Century. John Murray. (Especially Part Four: Rome).

• Hollingsworth, Mary and Richardson, Carol M., 2010. The possessions of a Cardinal: politics, piety, and art, 1450-1700. Philadelphia: Pennsylvania State University Press.

• Hook, Judith, 1972. The Sack of Rome, 1527. London: Macmillan.

• Richardson, Carol M., 2009. Reclaiming Rome: cardinals in the fifteenth century. Leiden: Brill.

• Shaw, Christine, 1993. Julius II: The Warrior Pope. London: Blackwell.

• Partner, Peter, 1972. The lands of St. Peter: the Papal State in the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance. Berkeley : University of California Press.

Class Handouts

Handouts will be provided.

Assessments

10 credit courses have one assessment. Normally, the assessment is a 2000 word essay, worth 100% of the total mark, submitted by week 12. To pass, students must achieve a minimum of 40%. There are a small number of exceptions to this model which are identified in the Studying for Credit Guide.

Studying for Credit

If you choose to study for credit you will need to allocate significant time outwith classes for coursework and assessment preparation. Credit points gained from this course can count towards the Certificate of Higher Education.

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email COL@ed.ac.uk or by phone 0131 650 4400.

Student support

If you have a disability, learning difficulty or health condition which may affect your studies, please let us know by ticking the 'specific support needs' box on your course application form. This will allow us to make appropriate adjustments in advance and in accordance with your rights under the Equality Act 2010. For more information please visit the Student Support section of our website.