Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Note on currencies
- List of abbreviations
- Map 1 Northern England: dioceses, collegiate churches and major peculiar jurisdictions in the fourteenth century
- Map 2 Northern England, showing some of the more significant places mentioned in the text
- Map 3 Scotland: dioceses and archdeaconries in the fourteenth century
- Map 4 Scotland, showing some of the more significant places mentioned in the text
- Introduction
- 1 Papal taxation and its collection
- 2 Papal provisions
- 3 Opposition to the Papacy
- 4 Judicial aspects of the Papacy
- 5 The Papacy and the bishops
- 6 The Papacy and the regulars
- 7 Papal licences, dispensations and favours
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
- Titles in the series
Conclusion
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 May 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Note on currencies
- List of abbreviations
- Map 1 Northern England: dioceses, collegiate churches and major peculiar jurisdictions in the fourteenth century
- Map 2 Northern England, showing some of the more significant places mentioned in the text
- Map 3 Scotland: dioceses and archdeaconries in the fourteenth century
- Map 4 Scotland, showing some of the more significant places mentioned in the text
- Introduction
- 1 Papal taxation and its collection
- 2 Papal provisions
- 3 Opposition to the Papacy
- 4 Judicial aspects of the Papacy
- 5 The Papacy and the bishops
- 6 The Papacy and the regulars
- 7 Papal licences, dispensations and favours
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
- Titles in the series
Summary
Writing in 1935, Barraclough observed, ‘Like all bureaucracies, the centralized Church of the fourteenth century was built up on rules and regulations; its strength as well as its weakness was system; its life-breath was order and method.’ The historian who seeks to examine the impact of papal policies in particular localities comes to realise the implications of the powerful force exercised by the curial bureaucracy. Under the Avignon popes, at least at levels below those of political ambition and high diplomacy, it was the system itself which held sway. Those who wished to avail themselves of its opportunities had to play by its rules; those who abided by the rules could expect at least a fair hearing and a fair chance of success.
In its broad outline, the system was universal. But its application was not. What the Papacy could do was partly influenced by political considerations, for the executive actions of the curia and its agents could be performed only with the consent of the secular authorities. The power of the English crown was sufficient to deter the popes from levying regular tenths, as too great a proportion of the proceeds went to the king as the price for the levy. In 1366 Edward III was strong enough to reject, once and for all, the demand for the arrears of the tribute. Intercalary fruits were collected only rarely in England after 1342.
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- Information
- The Papacy, Scotland and Northern England, 1342–1378 , pp. 253 - 257Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1995