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An Ultramontane Jansenist? Charles Hersent's Panegyric of St Louis (1650)
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 May 2018
Abstract
Viewed with hindsight, the link between Jansenism and Gallican resistance to papal pronouncements can seem inevitable. Before 1653, however, Rome's reluctance to commit itself unambiguously to condemning Jansen's ideas of grace made the idea of gaining papal support conceivable to some of his supporters. This article examines one hitherto ignored moment: the panegyric delivered in Rome by Charles Hersent, whose career in controversy combined ultramontane views with Jansenist theology. The episode reveals the broader volatility of these years, often missing from accounts that present the condemnation of Jansenism as inevitable, and the fact that Jansenism was not yet fused with Gallicanism.
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- Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018
Footnotes
I would like to thank Joseph Bergin, Guy Rowlands, Emily Michelson, Marc Jaffré, Daniel Ponziani and the anonymous reviewer for assisting me substantially with the researching, writing and revision of this article. All faults, of course, remain my own.
References
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