The Catholic Historical
Review
VOL.LXXXVlJANUARY, 2000No. 1

GOING GREGORIAN, 1582-1752:
ASUMMARYVIEW

Malcolm Freiberg*

In 1582 the papal decree of Gregory XIII dropped ten days from the
Julian calendar then in use, thus synchronizing the year and its seasons.
Western Europe's Catholic countries rapidly adopted the "New Stile"
calendar, so-called; Protestant ones did so more slowly. Among the latter,
Great Britain was a long-term holdout. She clung to the "Old Stile"Julian
calendar until 1752, when she and her dominions finally abandoned it
in favor of the Catholic construct of 170 years before. Some hostility accompanied the change in Britain; adoption was not contentious in colonial America.

For civil purposes, most nations of the world now use the calendar
that Pope Gregory had promulgated for religious purposes, the incidence of the Resurrection being at the core of Christianity. As we leave
one millennium and enter another, a brief look at 1582 and 1752 and

the years before, between, and after may be of more than antiquarian interest.

In 46 B.C. (as we now reckon time) Julius Caesar by decree imposed

the calendar that bears his name. To achieve seasonal harmony, it
lengthened the year to 445 days, began 45 B.C. and succeeding years on
January 1 , and, on the advice of the Greco-Alexandrian astronomer Sosi*Dr. Freiberg is Editor of Publications, Emeritus, of the Massachusetts Historical Society,
Boston. After this article was accepted in June, 1998, for publication in the year 2000, the
William and Mary Quarterly published in October, 1998 (3rd series, Vol. Ly pp.
557-584), Mark M. Smith's article on "Culture, Commerce, and Calendar Reform in Colonial America." (To that point neither was aware of the other's interest in aspects of calendrical history.) Professor Smith's excellent essay is highly recommended.

I

GOING GREGORIAN, 1582-1752: A SUMMARY VIEW

genes, set a year's duration at 365 days and six hours, with common

years to run 365 days and with every fourth year to contain an extra

day. Its year-length estimate was eleven minutes and fourteen seconds
greater than a natural year, a difference adding up to an entire day every
128 years. In addition, the Julian rule resulted in three too many leap

years about every 400 years.

As the centuries advanced, the spring equinox receded. By the time

of the Council of Nicaea1 in 325 A.D., it had drifted from March 25 to

March 21. The council set March 21 as the date of the spring equinox.
In addition, it mandated that Easter should fall on the Sunday after the
full moon following the spring equinox and avoid coinciding with the
Jewish Passover. By the sixteenth century, the spring equinox was back

at March 1 1 , the autumnal at September 1 1 , the longest day of the year

was June 1 1 , and the shortest, December 1 1 .

In short, the calendar was ready for revision.
Ready, that is, after a long interval of sixteen centuries from the imposition of the Julian calendar. In that interval, there were numerous attempts, all undertaken in the name of religion, to purge Caesar's

calendar of its errors.2 In 625 A.D. a monk in Rome named Dionysius Ex-

iguus postulated Christ's date of conception as March 25 (when a year
should begin) and date of birth as December 25. Also, the monk abandoned reckoning time from the foundation of Rome ("a& urbe condita") and opted for the year of Christ's birth, which he assumed
occurred in 1 A.D. (^Anno Domini" "in the year of the Lord"). The lack
of a Year Zero in the Dionysian scheme still troubles those who insist
that the new millennium properly begins on January 1, 2001.3
By the sixteenth century, movements for calendar reform were accelerating, mostly at various ecumenical councils—Constance, Basle, and
'Nicaea, today's Iznik, at the eastern end of Lake Iznik, in northwest Anatolia, Turkey.
On some of these attempts, see Bertha M. Frick, with the collaboration of S. A. Ives,
"Calendar Reform across Eighteen Centuries,"/oMrae/ of Calendar Reform, Third Quar-

ter, 1943, pp. 130-138, and Elizabeth L. Eisenstein, The Printing Press as an Agent of
Change: Communications and cultural transformations in early-modern Europe (2

vols; Cambridge, England, 1979), II, 606-61 3.

5On Dionysius Exiguus (Dennis the Short) and his calendar reforms, see The Catholic
Encyclopedia (15 vols.; New York, 1907-1922),V, 10-11; Hillel Schwartz, Century's End:
A Cultural History of the Fin de Siècle from the 990s through the 1990s (New York,

1990), pp. 26-27; Stephen Jay Gould, Dinosaur in a Haystack: Reflections in Natural

History (New York, 1995), pp. 11-23; and Gould, Questioning the Millennium:A Ratio-

nalist's Guide to a PreciselyArbitrary Countdown (New York, 1997), pp. 106-1 12.

BY MALCOLM FREIBERG

Fifth Lateran, 1512-1517; and Trent, in its final session (the twentyfifth), December, 1563- At this last Trent gathering, the council fathers
turned over to the pope the reform of the Breviary and Missal, an undertaking that would necessarily involve the calendar. For the "calendar
problem . . . was a church matter," and "all the fuss in the middle ages

about calendar reform . . . was the desire to celebrate Easter at the cor-

rect' time," as "it was of central importance to every Christian, for
whom the death and resurrection of Christ were the most important
events in human history."4 The times were ready for the papacy of Gregory XIII and his reform ofJulius Caesar's calendar of so long before.
Born Ugo Boncampagni in Bologna, the future Gregory XIII was a
professor of law at its university until called to Rome in 1539, partici-

pated as a bishop at the Council of Trent, became a cardinal in 1565 and
pope in 1572 at age 70, was 80 when the calendar was reformed, and
died in office in 1585.5

Advised by the leading scientists of his day, Gregory altered the Julian
scheme enough to assure the revised calendar's continuation to the

present day and beyond. His papal bull of February 24, 1582, Inter
gravissimas . . . ("In the gravest concern . . ."), set the spring equinox
at March 21 (where it had been at the time of the Council of Nicaea),

like Caesar set January 1 as the year's start, decreed only centurial years
divisible by 400 without remainder to be leap years, and dropped ten

days from the calendar in October, 1 582 , Thursday, the fourth, being fol-

lowed by Friday, the fifteenth, that month containing the fewest religious feasts and having only twenty-one days,6 thus:
OCTOBER, 1582
Su

MoTuWeThFrSa

17

181920212223

24

252627282930

1

2

3

4

1516

31
J. D. North, "The Western Calendar— 'Intolerabilis, Horribilis, et Derisibilis'; Four Centuries of Discontent," in Gregorian Reform of the Calendar: Proceedings of the Vatican
Conference to Commemorate Its 400th Anniversary, 1582-1982, ed. G. V Coyne, S.J.,

M. A. Hoskin, and O. Pedersen (Vatican City, 1983), pp. 99, 101, 75, 76.

'August Ziggelaar, S.J.,"The Papal Bull of 1582 Promulgating a Reform of the Calendar,"
in Gregorian Reform of the Calendar, pp. 201-202.

6Ibid., pp. 220-224; Gordon Moyer,"The Gregorian Calendar," ScientificAmerican, 246

(May, 1982), 147.

4

GOING GREGORIAN, 1582-1752: A SUMMARY VIEW

In Western Europe, Roman Catholic countries were quick to adopt
the new calendar, among them Italy, Spain, Portugal, and much of
Poland, which dropped the required ten days in October, 1582. France,
Belgium, and the Catholic states of the Netherlands followed before the
end of that year. (In Flanders and southern Belgium, the timing of the
omission left those areas without Christmas in 1582.7^ Because news

traveled slowly, Gregory's bull permitted dropping the ten days in October, 1 583, "or of another year, namely when these our letters shall first
reach them."8 Elsewhere in Europe, acceptance of the new calendar
was anything but uniform; its Protestant regions initially resisted it.
But in Protestant England, Queen Elizabeth, herself excommunicated
in 1570 from the Church of Rome, was quite willing to consider adopting Pope Gregory's calendar, requesting her scientists and clerics to
assess the feasibility of its use in her kingdom. Despite minor reservations, the scientists favored it as a mathematically correct formulation
and so advised the queen. She then had her leading clerics examine it.
As their deliberations lagged, she prodded them, at the end of March,
1583, wanting the "said callendar . . . published by the first of May."
Stonewalling, the Archbishop of Canterbury and his bishops advised
Elizabeth they could not possibly counsel acceptance of the Gregorian
calendar, product as it was of the "Antichrist" in Rome. Their view prevailed. A bill introduced into the House of Lords on March 16, 1584/85,
entitled "An Act giving Her Majesty authority to alter and new make a
Calendar according to the Calendar used in other countries," received
its first reading that day and its second two days later. And that was all.
Nothing else was heard of this early attempt to yoke the old calendar of
England to the new one out of Rome.9 For the next century and a half
and more, the failure would endure as talisman of Protestant English
suspicion of Roman Catholicism. Another failure of sorts would soon reinforce that distrust.

A recent observer has opined that the English Catholic world was
"essentially loyal despite harassment, peace-loving despite suffering,
Owen Gingerich, "The Civil Reception of the Gregorian Calendar," in Gregorian Re-

form ofthe Calendar, pp. 265-266. On later adoptions, see The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th edn.,Vol. 15 (Chicago, 1995), p. 432.
""Bull of Gregory XIII," in Act and Bull; or, FixedAnniversaries—a Paper submitted to

the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia, Nov. 4, 1880, by Lewis A.
Scott, with an Appendix containing the Bull of Gregory XIIL, translated, and the body
of the Act ofParliament, p. 23.

'Historical Notice of the attempt made by the English Government to rectify the Calendar, A.D. 1584-5,"7ifre Gentleman's Magazine, November, 1851, pp. 451-459.

BY MALCOLM FREIBERG5

and where persecution was concerned, submissive to the will of God."10

On November 5, 1605, in the Gunpowder Treason, a small band of fa-

natical Catholic plotters blew that world apart instead of Parliament,
the intended victim. What came to be known in the folklore of perfidy
as Pope Day or Guy Fawkes Day (Fawkes was discovered before he
could ignite the gunpowder stored beneath the House of Lords) horri-

fied the great majority of honest English Catholics and blackened both
their cause and their future.

If you were a Protestant in seventeenth- or eighteenth-century England, you measured potential Catholic subversion against that of the

failed plot of November 5, 1605. Through all the ups and downs of pol-

itics and the tergiversations of the monarchy in that period, the suspicion of Catholics lingered if not always understood. In recounting
significant events in the history of England, her almanac-makers often
referred to November 5 as the day of the "Hellish Popish PowderTreason" or the "horrid design of the Gun-Powder Plot" or the "hellhatched Popish Powder Plot." (American almanac-makers later did
much the same.) Similarly, English almanacs occasionally included a
"Two-fold KALENDAR; Viz. TheJulian, English, or old Account, and the
Roundheads, Fanaticks, Paper-skull'd, or Maggot-headed New Account, with their several Saints-days, and Observations upon every
Month." Since 1582, "several proposals" had been made "in his
Majesty's Dominions, in order to reduce our Stile to the Gregorian,
hut to no purpose" as the sponsors had been "unable to bring their
proposals into Parliament"" At the end of the seventeenth century,
the eminent English mathematician John Wallis successfully argued
that to adopt the Gregorian calendar would be to toady to Rome.12
In regarding January 1 (start of the calendar year) as New Year's Day
and not March 25 (Lady Day or the Annunciation and start of England's
legal year), Protestant practice was already akin to Catholic usage. Because January 1 came so soon after the winter solstice on December
22, England had regarded the former as the beginning of a New Year.
January 1 was also the time of Christ's circumcision, eight days after His
birth, Mary's conception having been announced to her nine months
earlier. As one scholar has slyly written, "the Annunciation naturally
"Antonia Fraser, Faith and Treason: The Story of the Gunpowder Plot (New York,

1996), p. 162.

"Aaron Hawkins, The Gregorian and Julian Calendars, or the New and Old Stiles
Arithmetically explained (London, 1751), p. iii.
"Michael Hoskin, "The Reception of the Calendar by Other Churches," in Gregorian
Reform of the Calendar, p. 258.

6

GOING GREGORIAN, 1582-1752: A SUMMARY VIEW

came to be regarded as the commencement ab ovo of the Christian
era."1'

In the seventeenth century and well into the eighteenth, educated
Englishmen had two different New Year's Days to contend with, and
two different calendars as well. Diarists like Ralph Josselin, John Evelyn,
Samuel Pepys, and John Wesley, among others, all used January 1 as the
start of the calendar year, even though the English legal year began on

March 25. Dates between January 1 and March 24 belonged to the pre-

vious year, with January the eleventh month and February the twelfth,
and with all of March being counted the first month of the next year.
(Their Latin names indicated that September, October, November, and
December were the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth months; we retain
those names today but count their sequence as ninth, tenth, eleventh,
and twelfth.)

In writing from most of Europe to ? correspondent in England, you
had to specify which year you meant when dating your letter between
the two New Year's options. The convention soon came to be double-

dating of years, as February 20, 1662-3 or 1662/3 or 1662/63 or 1^. If

you did not specify, your English recijlient would have to assume that

your 1663 was his 1662. (Pity the poor historian or documentary editor
adrift today in such a chronological sea so full of"calendrical complexities."14)

If you had correspondents in Catholic countries (and in some Protestant ones), your English calendar was i:en days behind theirs in the seventeenth century and eleven days behind in the eighteenth until 1752.
By the same token, those European correspondents had to remember
that your calendar was different from theirs. Thus, when Oliver
Cromwell wrote Queen Christina of Sweden, his letter from Whitehall
was dated "23 December (old style), 1653"; another, to the Protestant
Cantons of Switzerland, was dated, also from Whitehall," 10/20 January
1654"; and yet another, to King Charles Gustavus of Sweden, "Dabantur

e Palatio Westmonasterij Io. Martij Ano°. 165^." Other examples of cal-

endar specificity are from Henry Oldenburg's correspondence: to
Samuel Hartlib, "Lyon the 18/28 Octob 1658"; from Johann Hevelius,
"Gedani [Danzig] Anno I666 die 5 Novembris stfilo] n[ovo]."; from
Stanislas Lubienietzki, "Hamburgi xcvi Jan. Juliani MDCLXVÏÏ"; to
15A. F. Pollard.'New Year's Day and Leap Year in English History," English Historical Review, LV (April, 1940), 177, 178.
HThe Correspondence ofHenry Oldenburg, cd. A. Rupert Hall and Marie Boas HaIl1VoL

I (Madison and Milwaukee, 1965), p. xxiv.

BY MALCOLM FREIBERG7

Joseph Williamson, "De Paris Ie1^ Oct. 67"; from Laurens Foss, "Patavij
[Padua] 28 Aug. Anno 1670. aevi Gregoriani" ; from Pall Bjornsson,"Anno
1671 13 Julij; stylo veteri."
The eighteenth-century correspondence ofJohn Russell, fourth duke
of Bedford, provides other examples: from a Mr. Villiers, "Berlin, August

6. N.S. 1746. ... I was yesterday honoured with your . . . letter of the
13th inst. O.S."; to the duke of Newcastle, "August 2, 1748. ... I have

your
. . . Letter of %^-as
likewise of äü
." The "classic instance," R. C.
J
Aug. 4
Aug. 7

Cheney and John J. McCusker remind us, is that in the Glorious Revolution of William of Orange, who left Holland on November 1 1 , 1688, and

reached England on November 5, 1688, in theory if not in fact arriving
at his destination before leaving home.15

Colonial American practice reflected Protestant English usage. New
Year's Day was January 1; that month, February, and most of March were
identified by double-dating, with foreign correspondents usually being
apprised of any calendar differences. So it was in the diary and letterbooks of Samuel Sewall and in the diary of Cotton Mather, although
Mather paid more attention to his February 12 birthday as a milestone
than to January 1 . And so it was, too, with William Byrd of Westover,
Virginia, who began his New Year on January 1 (and occasionally celebrated it with spousal congress). Massachusetts and New Hampshire
commissioners to Maine Indians in 1725 carefully noted their different
calendars, writing to the Indians on July 10 that their letter of July 20
had been received. The variations were, of course, those between Old

Style (the commissioners) and New Style (the Indians).16

The ultimately successful British calendar-change movement began
in the mid-1730's. Initially, the emphasis was on "reducing the new Stile
to the old in the Calculation of Days and by conforming with all other
Nations in beginning the Year on the first of January." According to a
later commentator, the change would get rid of "two different Beginnings of the same Year, January and March . . . certainly a ridiculous
Custom" "never practis'd in any foreign Country whatever."17 (In the
"Handbook ofDatesfor Students ofEnglish History, ed. C. R. Cheney (London, 1945;

repr.with corrections, Cambridge, England, 1996),p. 1 1;John J.McCusker, Money and Exchange in Europe andAmerica, 1600-1775 (Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 1978), p. 25.
"•The Secret Diary of William Byrd of Westover, 1709-1712, ed. Louis B. Wright and

Marion Tinling (Richmond, 1941), pp. 125, 463; Documentary History of the State of
Maine, Vol. 10, containing the Baxter Manuscripts, ed. James Phinney Baxter (Portland,
1907), pp. 308-309.
"Gentleman 's Magazine, January, 1735,p.4;March, 1744,p. 140.

8

GOLNG GREGORIAN, 1582-1752: A SUMMARY VIEW

mid-1 740's, an Anglican clergyman in faraway Maryland proposed a radically different scheme, the Universal Georgian Calendar, named for
George II. A historical oddity, it failed of acceptance.18) Early in 1747,
one William Chappie proposed outright adoption of the Gregorian calendar, thus prefiguring Parliament's doing exactly that in the next
decade. Chappie was pleased to find 'there has been some talk of reforming our calendar this session of Parliament," a "long wish'd for reformation." Confirmation of potential reformation came the next month,
when another observer noted that a design was afoot "of correcting our
Kalendar, or of changing the Reckoning of the Year from the Old Stile
into the New"; in the same issue of the same periodical, "S. W urged

dumping the Julian in favor of the Gregorian reckoning.19 Over

1749-1750, the Gentleman's Magazine published extracts from an
anonymously edited 1749 publication entitled Free and candid disqui-

sitions relating to the Church ofEngland, and the means of advancing religion therein, a volume of short passages culled from the
writings of eminent Anglican ministers that advocated liturgical alterations. The book and abstracts aroused controversy but none aimed at
that item which growled, "Our calendar, every man of judgment will
allow, does greatly need revising, and reforming."20
The time had come to test the waters.

Such occurred on May 10, 1750, when certain "Remarks" by George
Parker, the second earl of Macclesfield, were communicated to the

Royal Society. They were at once quite scientific, as befitted a distinguished mathematician, astronomer, and future Royal Society president,
as well as felicitously phrased, as became a persuasive advocate for
adoption of the Gregorian calendar. Macclesfield's remarks were published the next year and in 1752 reprinted in the Royal Society's Philosophical Transactions.21 Although there is no direct evidence that links
18On the Rev. Hugh Jones and his calendar, see Hugh Jones, The Present State of Vir-

ginia, ed. Richard L. Morton (Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 1956), pp. 34-38, and John D.

Neville, "Science, Genesis, and Apocalyptic Visions," Historical Magazine of the Protestant Episcopal Church, L (March, 1981), 19-27.
^Gentleman's Magazine, March, 1747, pp. 125-128; The London Magazine, April,
1747, pp. 162, 173-174 ("S.W).

"Gentleman's Magazine, April, 1750, p. 165.
"Remarks upon the Solar and the Lunar Years, The Cycle of 19 Years, commonly
called the Golden Number, the Epact, And a Method offinding the Time ofEaster, as it
is now observed in most Parts of Europe. Being Part of a Letter from The Right Honourable George Earl of Macclesfield to Martin Folkes; President of the Royal Society,
and by him communicated to the same, May 10, 1750 (London, 1751); reprinted in

BY MALCOLM FREIBERG9

Macclesfield to Philip Dormer Stanhope, fourth earl of Chesterfield,

close collaboration between the two soon thereafter suggests some

foreknowledge on Chesterfield's part of Macclesfield's venture into
Royal Society waters.
For it was Chesterfield who, on Monday, February 25, 1750/51, introduced into the House of Lords the bill that would the next year take
Britain and her dominions off the Julian calendar and finally put her and
them onto the Gregorian calendar. A former ambassador at The Hague,
a former lord-lieutenant of Ireland, and a former secretary of state,
Chesterfield, now in his late fifties, had by mid-century virtually given
up politics. But not completely. Long bothered by calendar disparities,
he determined to attempt a reformation, consulted the "best lawyers,
and the most skilful astronomers, and we cooked up a bill for that purpose." He readily admitted that Macclesfield had the "greatest share" in
forming the bill. His lengthy speech in its favor at its second reading
was printed soon thereafter.22
Others consulted or involved with this legislation included Thomas
Pelham Holies, the first duke of Newcastle and a principal secretary of
state, the chancellor of France, Henri-François d'Aguesseau, the secretary of the Royal Society, Peter Davall, its president, Martin Folkes, and
the astronomer-royal, James Bradley. Another helpful contemporary
was Charles Walmesley, astronomer, mathematician, recently elected fellow of the Royal Society, and a Roman Catholic monk and priest (and
soon to be a bishop), whom the framers of the bill, for obvious reasons,
did not at the time mention having consulted. Ironically, Chesterfield
was no lover of Rome, writing to a French correspondent, "Comme bon
Protestant je ne voulais avoir rien à faire avec un Pape, mais c'était votre
style, qui est bien le meilleur que je connaisse, que je voulais adopter."23
Philosophical Transactions, 46 (1749-1750; London, 1752), 417-434. On Macclesfield,
see Dictionary ofNational Biography, under George Parker.
"Chesterfield to his son, London, March, 18 O.S., 1751, The Letters of Philip Dormer

Stanhope, 4th Earl ofChesterfield, ed. Bonamy Dobrée (6 vols.; n.p., 1932), G?? 1698, 1699.
The Earl of Macclesfield's Speech in the House of Peers on Monday, the 18th Day of
March 1750[/5\] (London, 1751); reprinted in The Parliamentary History of England
from the Earliest Period to... 1803NoI. 14 (London, 1813), pp. 982-992.
"Bonamy Dobrée thought Newcastle a "clucking old hen" who "was in an agony of
funk" that the calendar reform bill "would upset the people, who hated new-fangled
things.' "Dobrée, in Chesterfield, Letters, 1, 180.On Charles Walmesley, see Charles Richard

WeId1^i History of the Royal Society (2 vols.; London, 1848), I, 516, nn. 39, 40, 517; Gentleman's Magazine, December 1797, p. 1071;ZWß; and The Catholic Encyclopedia, XV,

10GOING GREGORIAN, 1582-1752: A SUMMARY VIEW

Chesterfield's bill became law easily, going through Lords and Commons and receiving the king's signature on May 22, 1751, less than three
months after its introduction. Its title was "An Act for Regulating the
Commencement of the Year; and for Correcting the Calendar now in
Use, 24 George II, c. 23"24
Beginning in 1752 and continuing annually thereafter, it changed the
start of the legal year from March 25 to January 1 in all of Great Britain
(except Scotland, which had used the latter date since 1600) and
throughout all British "dominions and countries in Europe, Asia, Africa
and America'.' In addition, eleven days would in 1752 be omitted from
Britain's calendar, Wednesday, September 2, to be followed by Thursday,
September 14, that month having but nineteen days, thus:
SEPTEMBER, 1752
Su

17

24

Mo

18

25

TuWeThFrSa
1
2
141516

1920212223

2627282930

Further, only those centennial years divisible by 400 without remainder were to be counted leap years, "whereof the year of our Lord two

thousand shall be the first." Easter, other movable feasts, and fasts would

be observed, after September, 1752, according to the new rules. Certain
Scottish courts, and markets and fairs elsewhere were to be held on the
"same natural Days" as before. In no way, the act concluded, could it be
construed to accelerate payment of rents, annuities, or other moneys,
including interest, due before September 14, or to accelerate times and
terms of leases, rentals, contracts, apprenticeships, such to continue on
the "same respective natural days and times" as if "this act had not been
made."25

539-540. Chesterfield to Madame la Marquise de Monconseil, À Londres, ce 1 1 avril VS.
1751, Chesterfield, Letters, YN, 1713.
2<For passage of Chesterfield's bill through the House of Lords, February 25,
1750/51-May 17, 1751, see its Journals, XXVII (n.p., n.d.), 496, 497, 512, 513, 516, 518,

522, 560, 567, 572; for that through the House of Commons, March 27-May 20, 1751, see
as, Journals . . . From January the 17th 1750 . . to April the 6th 1754 (n.p., n.d), pp.
152, 153-154, 154, 171, 173, 195, 209, 21 1, 216, 219, 221, 223, 225, 227, 238, 242.

^Statutes at Large, XX (1765), 186-192; most of the act is reprinted in English Historical Documents, 1714-1783, ed. D. B. Horn and Mary Ransome (n.p., 1957; repr. New

York, 1969), pp. 238-241.

BY MALCOLM FREIBERG1 1

Thus did Great Britain adopt the Gregorian calendar in a statute26 that
never once mentioned that calendar by name. Indirectly, it alluded to it
as"« method of correcting" the Julian calendar that"hath been received
and established, and is now generally practised by almost all other
nations of Europe." Why the circumlocution? We may never know. We
do know that Britain's going Gregorian in 1752 evoked reactions.
During and after passage of the calendar act, British monthlies took
note of it, gave its background, summarized its contents, published
pieces poking fun at it and others defending or attacking it, reprinted
items from each other and elsewhere, commented on the time of dropping eleven days as involving fewest changes and giving Britain adequate opportunity to inform her dominions, and noted the latest
literature bearing on the new calendar. For the most part, comments in
the monthlies were good-natured. Other reactions were otherwise.
According to one anonymous screed, "The common cry is, why must
we differ from all, or the greatest part of Europe? . . . may we not as
justly say, Why are we not all Roman Catholics?" "Pope Gregory might
have had many reasons for his New Stile," it continued,"perhaps That of
Shewing his absolute Catholic Power . . . consequently always was, and
ever will be no small Objection to such an Innovation with us." By omitting eleven days, it warned, the "Ignorant Vulgar may justly think it not
only a Confirmation of the Pope's universal Supremacy, but also a Proof
of his Infallibility too." If so, they might in a few years become "many
Thousand Proselytes to the Roman Catholic Religion." The business of
a "Protestant Parliament" should be "rather to check than coincide, in all

absurd Cases at least, with every assumed Popish Authority." In any
event,"The British Empire is a world of itself, every Way independent of
the Customs of the Continent."27

Now that the new calendar was in effect, another anonymous tract
warned, you had to be wary of being imposed on by "other Persons to
2'And amended it in 1752 with the passage on March 26 of "An Act to Amend An Act
made in the last Session of Parliament intituled An Act for regulating the Commencement
of the Year and for Correcting the Calendar now in Use, 25 George II, c. 30." Its first section related to elections and entrance into offices between September 2 and 14 in 1752
only, such to be made on the "same natural day or days" as if the 1751 "act had not been
made." The second concerned openings, closings, and rents of certain lands, for which the
new calendar was to obtain after September 2, 1752. The last section changed the date of
the annual swearing in of the mayor of London from late October to early November.

Statutes at Large, XX, 368.

27A Defence ofthe Old-Stile, orJulian Account ofTime. InA Letter to a Member ofParliament (London, 1751), pp. 9-10, 10, 1 1, 12, 17.

12GOING GREGORIAN, 1582-1752: A SUMMARY VIEW

effect sinister Purposes." They were of two sorts, "dispersed through
this Nation; Romanists, who . . . will be secretly imployed on every publick Occasion, to sow Sedition, and plant Divisions, amongst us: And
some Jacobites, who . . . are publicly prepared, to water their Fields:
Whereby . . . there is not an Act of Parliament passed, but they set
about ... to render it in every Light that Sophistry . . . and empty Wit
can invent, odious to the People."28 The watchword, in short, was caution.

To country folk, its Catholic origin made the new calendar odious. As
a popular contemporary ballad put it:
In seventeen hundred and fifty-three
The style it was chang'd to Popery
But that it is lik'd we don't all agree.
Which nobody can deny.2'

Rural folklore bolstered the belief thai: omission of those eleven days
was ill-advised. Such local superstition centered on the so-called Glastonbury thorn, a bush said to have been planted by Joseph of Arimathea
in 31 A.D. at Glastonbury, near Bath, and to flower only on Christmas.
One account related, "A vast concourse attended the noted thorns" in

Glastonbury on Christmas Eve, New Stile, in 1752, "but to their great disappointment, there was no appearance of its blowing [i.e., blooming],
which made them watch it narrowly the 5th offan. the Christmas-Day,
Old Stile, when it blow'd as usual." January 5 now being the correct
Christmas Day, the anti-Gregorians were confirmed in their own eyes as
the true believers. Others doubted the legend, hooted down the credulous, and insisted that Joseph of Arimathea had never even been in England.30

The genius of the eighteenth-centuiy British artist William Hogarth
immortalized the lost eleven days in a series of four paintings, soon
made into engravings, that depicted the April, 1754, Oxfordshire elec2"An Appeal to the People, for the Reasonableness of the New-Stile: with some Observations on the Umbrage taken, at the Naturalization Bill. And an Appendix To the
Whole ([London], 1753), p. 6.
2"'The Jews' Triumph. A Ballad to be Said or Sung to the Children of Israel, on all Popular Occasions, by all Christian People," in Political Ballads of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, annotated by W Walker Wilkins (2 vols.; London, 1860), II, 311-314.
(Seventeen fifty-three was the firstfull year of the statute's operation.) On the legislation
that occasioned this ballad, see Thomas W Perry, Public Opinion, Propaganda, and Politics in Eighteenth-Century England:A Study of the Jew Bill of 1753 (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1962).

'"Gentleman's Magazine,January, 1753, p. 49; December, 1753, pp. 578-579-

BY MALCOLM FREIBERG1 3

tion, made notorious because its ruling Tory members were facing a
contested Parliamentary campaign for the first time in more than four
decades. "An Election Entertainment," first in Hogarth's paintings of "An
Election: Four Pictures," depicts a crowded room in a country inn at a
feast the two opposition Whig candidates are giving their supporters.
The candidates are visible—along with gluttony, drunkenness, knavery,
thievery, and much else besides—in this crowded Hogarthian scene,
whose composition betokens a profane version of Leonardo's Last Supper. In the center foreground, closest to the viewer, are a butcher and an
election bully. The butcher pours gin onto the bully's wounded head
while the latter holds a glass to his lips, grasps his club with his other
hand, while his foot rests on a captured flag whose motto reads, "Give
us our Eleven Days," rallying cry of the Tories, unsuccessful opponents
of calendar reform. The prints, engraved later in the decade, enlarged
Hogarth's audience then; the paintings that were their source may still
be seen at Sir John Soane's Museum in London, the first of them a reminder of a change in their lives that not all Britons were ready to accept.31

Great Britain's North American colonies more readily accepted calendar reform, presumably because it was a.fait accompli in the Mother
Country and because it affected all her dominions similarly and simultaneously. The few reactions that have surfaced appear minor and personal.

Britain sent printed copies of the calendar legislation to the colonies
scandalously late, on April 15, 1752,32 by which time its contents were
already known in America. In January, 1 752, three months earlier, Massachusetts ordered that the 1751 calendar act "be printed & bound up
"All four paintings are reproduced, with commentary, in Ronald Paulson, Hogarth: His

Life, Art, andTimes (2 vols.; New Haven and London, 1971),II, 192-195, 191, 196-206.An
extended description of the first engraving is in Catalogue of Prints and Drawings in
the British Museum. Division I. Political and Personal Satires (No. 3117 to No. 3804),

prepared by Frederic George Stephens and Edward Hawkins, Vol. 3, Part II: 175 1 to c. 1760
([London] , 1877), pp. 932-940 (No. 3285).
On the reluctance of some Britons to accept calendar reform, Voltaire had written,
"Those idiots 'prefer to disagree with the sun than to agree with the Pope.'" Quoted in

Sarton on the History ofScience, ed. Dorothy Stimson (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1 962),
p. 109.
'The circular letter from Thomas Hill, secretary of the Board of Trade, to Connecticut
and Maryland enclosing copies of the 1751 and 1752 calendar acts is in The Wolcott Pa-

pers. . .1750-1754, Collections of the Connecticut Historical Society, Vol. 16 (Hartford,
1916), pp. 161-162, and in Proceedings of the Council of Maryland, 1732-1753, ed.
William Hand Browne, Archives of Maryland, Vol. 28 (Baltimore, 1908),p. 550.

14GOING GREGORIAN, 1582-1752: A SUMMARY VIEW
with the Laws of this Province for the better Information of the Inhab-

itants thereof."33 Copying from the sarnie sources or from one another,
colonial newspapers kept their readers informed in 1751 and 1752 of

impending calendar legislation, its progress, passage, enactment, and
contents; a few even reprinted the 1751 statute in whole or in part. In
the apparent absence early on of official notification, such an informal
knowledge network served Americans well.
Chesterfield had but to submit his calendar bill to the House of Lords

late in February, 1750/51, and Americans soon knew of it. Shortly thereafter, they learned of its contents in a paragraph, widely reprinted in
North America, from an early March London source. "We are assured," it
read,"that the Alteration of the Stile of the Year will take place the 1st of

next January, and that will be the first Day of the Year 1752; that eleven
Days will be taken out of that Year at Michaelmas following; that all
State Holidays will be observed on the same Day of the Month they are

at present; that Payments will be made according to the Number of
Days, counting from their Date. ... We are to reckon by the Gregorian
Stile, and all Quarterly Payments are to be made at the four great Feasts,
as usual."34 When George II assented to the statute in late May, 1751,

colonial Americans were soon made aware of that, too. And the same

was true the next year, when the 1752 act that amended the 1751
statute passed through Parliament and into law.35
It remained for much of the colonial press to print a summary or the
text itself of the calendar act. The Virginia Gazette printed its "Substance" on August 16, 1751, leaving blanks for dates to be filled in and
merely noting "The TABLES at the End of the Calendar" nine in all. So
did the New-York Evening Post ten days later, using the same source

(the London Evening-Post). On December 16, 1751, the Boston

Evening-Post printed "Some Account" of the act from a recent London
Magazine. Other colonial newspapers, however, included the full text
"The Massachusetts enabling order is in The Acts and Resolves, Public and Private, of

the Province of the Massachusetts Bay,\o\. 14 (Boston, 1907), p. 590; the statute, minus

the tables at its end, is reprinted in Acts and Laws, Of. . . Massachusetts-Bay in New-

England (Boston, [1751]), pp. 41 5-420. Connecticut reprinted the 1751 act in its entirety
separately at New London in 1752; see A Checklist of New London, Connecticut Im-

prints, 1709-1800, comp. Hazel A.Johnson (Charlottesville, 1978), pp. I6O-I6I.
^Boston Evening-Post, May 6, PennsylvaniaJournal,May 16, Boston Gazette, May 28,
Virginia Gazette,June 20, Maryland Gazette, June 26, 1751.
"Pennsylvania Gazette and Pennsylvania Journal, both July 25, New-York Evening
Post,Jviy 29, Maryland Gazette, August 14, South-Carolina Gazette, August 19-26, 1751.
South-Carolina Gazette, April 20, Pennsylvania Gazette, May 7, 28, Virginia Gazette,
June 18, 1752.

BY MALCOLM FREIBERG1 5

of the act, the Boston Post-Boy on December 23 and 30, 1751, the
South-Carolina Gazette on January 1, 1752, the Maryland Gazette on
January 2, 1752, and the fledgling Halifax Gazette on December 2 and
9,1752.

By January 1, 1752, the calendar act was in partial operation. How
would the colonial press handle September, when eleven days would
be dropped and the act be in full operation? Some newspapers did
comment on the omission; others ignored it. Among the former were
the Boston Evening-Post, which on August 31 alerted its readers that
"next Thursday, which would have been the 3d of September" would

instead be the 14th,"andfrom thenceforward the Days are to be reck-

oned in numerical order, as before" and the South-Carolina Gazette,
which on September 1 , in a full-width line of type beneath its page-one
masthead, warned, "Readers observe, that Thursday next will be the

\4th of September, N.S."The Boston Weekly News-Letter noted that its

Thursday, September 14, issue was "New Stile, (according to the late Act
of Parliament)", while the Pennsylvania Gazette alerted readers that on
that same day "begins the New Stile" For the Boston Post-Boy, its Monday, September 18, number was "New Stile, 1752."
But of them all, the September 1 4 Maryland Gazette was the most informative: "This DAY, by the late act of Parliament ... is to be reckoned
throughout all his Majesty's Dominions, as the Fourteenth Day of September, [although Yesterday was the Second] and all succeeding Time
is to be reckoned in the same Order as formerly; only that the Year is
ever hereafter to begin absolutely on the First Day ofJanuary yearly,
and the absurd Method of beginning it on the Twenty-fifth Day of a
Month exploded; and that Month,January, is for ever to be called the
First Month, February the Second, and the rest in their Order. . . . And,
there is this further Alteration . . . every fourth Year, is to be a Leap Year,

as usual, and contain 366 Days; except . . . every Hundredth Year

(whereof the Year 2000 is to be the first) is to be a Leap Year. . . . [Reader,
If the Distance of Time last mentioned (when you and I shall certainly have return'd to our Mother Earth and be forgotten here, as
tho'we had never been) to you seem Long, consider the Contrast, and
you will find, 'tis far less than a Moment, when compar'd to that
ETERNITY to which we are hastening.] "
Colonial almanacs reached a far wider audience than newspapers.
Annuals rather than weeklies, cheaper in unit price than newspapers,
and widely available because printed in large editions—Benjamin
Franklin's Poor Richard series sold some 10,000 copies yearly, while

16GOING GREGORIAN, 1582-1752: A SUMMARY VIEW

the compilations of Nathaniel Ames, father and son, had an annual distribution of 60,000 in New England—almanacs served admirably to diffuse throughout the American colonies knowledge of the calendar
change. Alone of all the almanac publishers, Benjamin Franklin printed
the complete text of the calendar act (but not its tables) in his Poor
Richard improved almanac for 1752, advertised as "Just publish'd" on
November 7, 1751. Other almanac-makers contented themselves with
printing only summaries or abstracts of the statute. In Massachusetts,
poor Nathaniel Ames,père, was left behind, alerting his 1752 customers,

"When thisAlmanack was sent to the Press, I had no certain Account

of the Act ofParliamentfor reducing the Year to the New Stile" A year
later, he provided his readers a summary of the act. Thenceforward,
Ames Usted both old and new style dates for each year until his famous
series concluded in 1775. So did Franklin until his Poor Richard im-

proved series ended in 1758. And so did numerous other almanac-makers, some well into the 1780's, including those publishing in German,
where the columns of old-style dates were headed "Alter," or, less often,
"Alter Zeit."

Of the September, 1752, transition, with its omitted eleven days, one
almanac-maker advised: "low have now such a Year as you never saw
before, nor will see hereafter. . . . Be not much astonished, nor look
with Concern, dear Reader, at such a Deduction of Days, nor regret
as for the Loss of so much Time, but take this for your Consolation,
That your Expences will perhaps appear lighter, and your Mind be
more at Ease: And, what an Indulgence is here, for those who love
their Pillows, to lie down in Peace on the 2d of this Month, and not
perhaps awake, or be disturbed, till the 14th in the Morning!"16
As time went forward, some almanacs included the 1752 calendar ac-

commodation in their chronological tables of "remarkable" or "memorable" events since the creation of the world. The next century
appeared to approve such iconic status when a national newspaper
compared the adoption of standard time in 1883 as "scarcely second to
the reformation of the calendar by JuIi us Caesar, and later by Pope Gregory XIII"37 (and, by extension, Britain's 1752 adoption).
Whatever its iconic status later, it was uncertain at the start that all

were aware what the 1752 alteration was about, one almanac noting
"Job Shepherd, Poor Job, 1752. An Almanack for . . . 1752 (Newport, 1751); also
printed in the Boston Evening-Post, November 25, 1751 .
^Washington Post, November 18, 1883, quoted in Michael O'Malley, Keeping Watch:A
History ofAmerican Time (New York, 1990), pp. 124, 342.

BY MALCOLM FREIBERG1 7

then," The Old Stile and New Stile, are Terms by many unknown"38; or
that those who did know wanted to know or were willing to abandon

old habits for new procedures. While many a diary-keeper noted the

eleven-day omission either by a comment or a blank space in his journal, there were a few diehards. One was the Baptist minister, Isaac
Backus, who could not be bothered changing from old style to new
until the end of the year 1752.35 Another was one William Smith, of
Sable Island, Nova Scotia, who clung to the Julian calendar for a full year,
noting on Friday, September 17, 1753: "I have kept my Journal hetherto
According to the old stile but now Conclude to proseed in new stile
wherein I find this to be Sep 28.'M0
Calendar forgetfulness complicated a situation already awkward for a
petitioner to a Massachusetts county court sometime in the early
1750's:

To the Honourable Judges of the Inferior Court for the County of Bristoll.
May it Please your Honours.
That whereas Complaint hath been made to Colli: Samuel Willis Esqr.
Concerning my being with Child by John Griffeth, And his Honour upon
Examining of me About the time when the Child was begotten, Which I
then Said was about the middle of Last March, But not being Acquainted
with New Stile, my meaning in my Sd. Examination & Oath was Old Stile, it
being the way I was allways Us'd to reckon. And his Honour may remember
that he did not ask me which I Intended, the Old or New Stile. I must therefore pray your honours favourable Construction upon the Words of my
Oath.

I should have been Personally at Court, but my weak Circumstances &
the Season of the Year being Such that I dare not venture. I must therefore
pray your Honours to Indulge me, till a more favourable Oppertunity, In the
hope of which I rest your most Dutifull Unworthy & Humble Servant.
Thankfull Androwes41

Newspapers and almanacs spread the word to mid-eighteenthcentury Americans about the calendar change. No person, no organization, no entity was exempt from this massive and radical shift. It was
a reversion to a Catholic construct, engineered by a pope in 1582.
"Thomas More, The American Country Almanack, for .. . 1752 (New York, 1751),
title-page verso.
'"'The Diary of Isaac Backus, ed. William G. McLoughlin (3 vols.; Providence, 1979), I,
241,261.
"William Smithjournaljune 22, 1751-November 10, 1753,in A.H.Hoyt Papers, I/C/8,
New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston.
''Bristol County Court of General Sessions Papers, Suffolk County Court House,
Boston, a reference kindly supplied by Catherine Menand.

18GOING GREGORIAN, 1582-1752: A SUMMARY VIEW

Some Britons protested its adoption 170 years later; Americans were
virtually silent then. Not that anti-Catholicism had suddenly vanished
from eighteenth-century America. For whatever reasons, such prejudice
was irrelevant to colonial acceptance of the Gregorian calendar. Indeed, the pope's calendar, once you got to know it, seemed welcome in

America, with Julius Caesar's being derided. Thus a 1767 almanac could
declare that "OLD STILE being disused for fourteen years, and never like
to be in Vogue again, is Omitted."42

Yet, for long after 1752 and well into the twentieth century, calendar

conservatives in Great Britain and the United States hankered for the

Julian calendar. Mostly, their disaffection related to the time of celebrating the birth of Christ. Under the new calendar, that date was December
25, later regarded as the man-made P^ew Christmas. Under the same
new calendar, Old Christmas fell on January 5 New Style, for you had to
add back those eleven days dropped in September, 1752 (in the nineteenth century, the count was twelve days, and in the twentieth, thirteen days). Some in Western England kept Old Christmas for numerous
generations after 1752 and into the early portion of the twentieth century. Exactly when the British celebration of Old Christmas crossed the
Atlantic into the United States is unknown, "but its observance became

well ensconced during the nineteenth century in the fastnesses of the
Southern highlands," becoming over time a "mixture of both the sacred
and the secular." Celebration of Old Christmas in Southern Appalachia
involved singing carols, a festive meal, and belief in the superstition that
domestic animals genuflected at the stroke of midnight of the Savior's
birth and that certain plants blossomed on that holiest of days.43 According to friends who grew up in Tennessee, Old Christmas was still
celebrated there little more than a generation ago.
For civil purposes, most nations of the world today use the calendar
that Gregory XIII promulgated for religious purposes. Despite a few imperfections, it has worked, and worked well, for more than four centuries. To quarrel with its success would appear unseemly. Yet that is
exactly what the remote Shetland Island of Foula, of seventy-five souls
on five square miles, has done: it is the only place in all of the United
<2"Philopatria,"AnAstronomical Diary; OrAlmanack, For. . . 1 767 (Portsmouth, New
Hampshire, 1766), Preface.
"Chester Raymond Young, "The Observance of Old Christmas in Southern Appalachia," in An Appalachian Symposium, Appalachian Journal, 4 (1977), 147-158, quo-

tation at p. 149. See also Jean Thomas, Blue Ridge Country (New York, 1942), pp.
158-161.

BY MALCOLM FREIBERG1 9

Kingdom and in all of Western Europe that still reckons by Julian time,
in 1997 celebrating Old Christmas at the end of the first week of January.44 Her calendar singularity provides an ironic terminus to this summary account of going Gregorian, a terminus that would have brought
a smile to the shade of that pagan, Julius Caesar, and a frown to the
papal brow of that man of the cloth, Gregory XIII.

""Undated Reuters dispatch from Edinburgh, in the Boston Globe, January, 1997.

"KNOWLEDGE IS POWER"

THE BORROMÄUSVEREIN AND CATHOLIC READING
HABITS IN IMPERIAL GERMANY
BY

Jeffrey T. Zalar*

The history of Catholicism in Imperial Germany (1871-1918) features the intellectual and spiritual difficulties of coming to terms with
the modern world. Beginning with the foundation of the new Reich on
the Kleindeutsch model, Catholics assumed pariah status. Thus commenced a long-enduring struggle for acceptance by their fellow citizens who, moved by a spirit that was Liberal and Protestant in political,
social, and cultural outlook, discriminated against their Catholic neighbors. Stock-in-trade stereotypes of Catholics as intellectually inferior,
economically backward, culturally incompetent, and politically treacherous reinforced the institutional bias. A satirical poem entitled "No

Peace!" captured these sentiments in 1871: "It must become light,

where it was dark./Even in this year we must/do away with the Army of
Darkness./No peace with the lingering riff-raff,/no peace with the
pride of the narrow-minded./Attack! Attack! Through darkness to the
light." The image of the medieval, retrograde Catholic was a painful
stigma for Catholics to bear, and its effects influenced the trajectory of
their history in the Imperial era.

An important turn in this history came around 1900, when a group of

intellectuals concerned with Catholic literary culture launched a move-

*Mr. Zalar is a doctoral candidate in history at Georgetown University. He wishes to
thank his advisor, Professor Roger Chickering, for directing this piece of research, as well
as Professors Ellen Evans, Margaret Lavinia Anderson, Helena Waddy, Raymond Sun, and
Rüdiger vom Bruch and this journal's referees for their helpful comments on earlier
drafts.

'Taken from the December, 1871, issue of the Kladderadatsch and reproduced in
Friedhelm Jürgenmeister, Die katholische Kirche im Spiegel der Karikatur der deutschen

satirischen Tendenzschriften von 1848 bis 1900 (Trier, 1969), p. 141.

20

BY JEFFREY T. ZALAR21

ment associated with Reform Catholicism. Their flagship journal,
Hochland, edited by the young journalist Karl Muth, began publication
in 1903. The contributors to this journal, through critical reviews of art,
history, literature, society, and politics, attempted to lead Catholics out
of their perceived "Ghetto" and into the mainstream of German intellectual life. Many scholars begin and end their discussion of Reform
Catholicism with Karl Muth and Hochland.2 But the history of the massive Association of Saint Charles Borromeo shows that Catholic contact

with "modern" literature was not confined to university-educated elites
and the Hochland circle. Rather, in the thousands of libraries and read-

ing rooms that were sponsored by the Association, large numbers of
Catholics from an expanding middle class appropriated through "modernized" reading habits the dominant values of German cultural superiority,
nationalism, and scientific awareness. On the basis of the BorromäusBlätter, the Association's journal of book reviews and literary criticism,
which also began publication in 1903,3 1 shall analyze a concerted effort
by its contributors to negotiate a compromise between the Catholic
faith and the canon of German national literature. This effort, led by a
faction in an ongoing debate within German Catholicism over the best
way to meet the challenges posed by modern life and thinking, represented a confessionally informed adoption of the tradition of German
self-cultivation or Bildung. After introducing the Borromäusverein and
its activities in the German Empire, I shall examine the idea of Bildung
and its implications for Catholics. Then I shall turn to the strategies the
Borromäusverein employed to promote Bildung among the Catholic
reading population, to "cultivate cultivation," and to insist upon the
obligation of Catholics to be well-versed in the German cultural canon.4
For in the opinion of the Association's leadership, exposing Catholics to
German art and letters meant more than expanding their field of cul-

tural experience. In adopting the idiom of the dominant cultural dis-

2Summaries oí Hochland are ubiquitous. Of especial interest is Thomas Nipperdey's ar-

ticle "Religion und Gesellschaft: Deutschland um 1900," Historische Zeitschrift, 246

(1988), 591-615, and Victor Conzemius and Régis Ladous, "Allemagne," in Jean-Marie
Mayeur et al. (eds), Libéralisme, Industrialisation, Expansion Européenne
(1830- 1914), Vol. 11 oí Histoire du Christianisme: des Origines à nos Jours (Paris,

1995), p. 670.
'The journal changed its name in October, 1906, to Die Bücherwelt, Zeitschrift für

Bibliotheks- und Bücherwesen with "keineswegs eine Programmänderung " Borromäus-Blätter, 3 (1906), 229 (hereafter cited as BB or BW).
Catholics' alienation from the German cultural and literary canon during the nineteenth century is skillfully explained by Helmut Walser Smith in his German National-

ism and Religious Conflict: Culture, Ideology, Politics, 1870-1914 (Princeton, 1995),

pp. 20-37.

22THE BORROMÄUSVEREIN AND CATHOLIC READING HABITS IN IMPERIAL GERMANY

course, Catholics would come into possession of the codes that deciphered German culture. This acquisition would allow them to move up
the hierarchy of cultural tastes in order to enjoy the prestige with

which these tastes were associated.5 Through the consumption—and

even the mere possession—of the "right" books, the Association believed that Catholics could acquire cultural competence and thereby
reach full participation in German society.

?

Devoted to promoting popular education, the Borromäusverein was

founded in 1844. In co-ordination with the German hierarchy throughout the rest of the nineteenth century, it helped formulate the relationship between faith, culture, and pedagogy at a time of rapid social
change. Information media were expanding in both type and volume,
and the Borromäusverein, with its growing number of local chapters,

gradually achieved a position of prominence in the campaign to safe-

guard Catholic readers from the bad effects of "trashy and dirty literature" (Schund- und Schmutzliteratur).6 Its chief objective was to
"promote, encourage, and diffuse" the best writing to the Catholic reading population by establishing libraries and reading rooms across
Catholic Germany, and to advertise and review books that it regarded as
suitable for the Catholic home.7 Despite early controversy over its place
in the Catholic literary community, the Borromäusverein was highly
successful on this score. By 1914, over 260,000 active members organized, stocked, and staffed some 4,400 libraries, which boasted a lend-

ing rate of over 4,000,000 books annually.8 The amazing growth of the

Verein—in 1902 there were 97,261 members and 2,359 libraries—and
its rising influence increasingly caught the attention of participants at
the annual general assemblies of Catholic leaders, who passed a series
'Pierre Bourdieu, Distinction. A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste, trans.

Richard Nice (Cambridge, 1984), p. 2.
6TlIe only region in which the Association did not secure a foothold was Bavaria,
where the Preßverein für Bayern, founded in 1901, was most influential. See Wilhelm
Spael, Das Buch im Geisteskampf. 100 Jahre Borromäusverein (Bonn, 1950), pp.
192-193.

7See the Association's revised Statutes of 1900 ibid., p. 355. The Borromäusverein's
goal to establish "eine kleine gute Hausbücherei" in every Catholic household was for-

mally articulated by Hermann Herz in 1909. Bericht über die Verhandlungen der 56.
Generalversammlung der Katholiken Deutschlands in Breslau (Breslau, 1909), p. 317.
•BW,\l (1913), 74.

BY JEFFREY T. ZALAR23

of resolutions beginning in the early 1890's to advance Borromäusverein
activities/ The General Secretary of the 1910 assembly in Augsburg
praised the Association as one of the most important Catholic Vereine,
and urged the continued support of all believers.10
Contemporaries noted the youthful, optimistic, and open-minded editor of the Association's journal, Hermann Herz, a Swabian priest, as
most responsible for the remarkable growth in Borromäusverein membership and presence after 1900. Barely twenty-nine years old in 1903
when he took over the Borromäus-Blätter, he was described by his
Benedictine mentor as "a clever speaker, practical worker, cultivated in
literature and introduced to the business of editing."11 Herz moved
rapidly to co-ordinate and streamline the efforts of the journal staff and

the executive committee of the Association in order more effectively to

oversee the establishment of new libraries and to promote the Verein
through activity reports and editorial commentary. He enlisted significant figures in the Catholic literary world to collaborate in the direction
of the journal, including Dr. Philipp Huppert, editor of the Kölnische
Volkszeitung, Leo Tepe van Heemstede, editor oí Dichterstimmen, Father Adam Josef Cüppers, editor of the Katholische Zeitschrift für
Erziehung und Unterricht, the prominent pedagogue Karl Macke from
Siegburg, the writer and church historian Father Augustin Wibbelt from
Duisburg in the Ruhr, the essayist Heinrich Falkenberg from Mehlem,
and many other intellectuals and teachers.12 Under Herz's leadership,
the Borromäus-Blätter increased its circulation every year. It began in
1903 with 3,500 subscribers, but that number quickly grew to well over
5,000." By 1910, it had published some 2,000 book reviews on literature, history, art, science, philosophy, and religion, along with reports
from Catholic librarians and booksellers across Germany, who used the

journal as a catalogue for purchases. Inspired by a philosophy of open'See especially the Verhandlungen der Generalversammlung der Katholiken

Deutschlands for 1900, pp. 146-147 and 469; 1902, pp. 352-353; 1903, p. 268; and 1905,

pp. 550-551.
10Bericht über die Verhandlungen der 57. Generalversammlung der Katholiken

Deutschlands in Augsburg (Augsburg, 1910), pp. 438-439.
"Spael.op.cíí.pp. 162-163.
"Ibid.,pA66.

nBW, 7 (1910), 225. The journal does not mention subscription rates beyond the figure
of "well-over 5,000." Secondary literature is similarly silent. Still, a rate surpassing that of

Hochland—estimated at 10,000 in 1914—is very probable, given the number of libraries
using the journal (4,400 in 1913), the rate of growth of Verein chapters (53 percent for
the period 1903-1914, from 2,519 to 4,735), and the rate of growth of total membership
(40 percent for the period 1903-1914, from 106, 170 to 261 ,81 5). See Spael, op. cit.,p. 372.

24THE BORROMÄUSVEREIN AND CATHOUC READING HABITS IN IMPERIAL GERMANY

ness to wide learning, the contributors to the journal recommended to
their readers a unique "canon" of literature for consumption in libraries
and in the household. They encouraged liberal and varied reading in
order to expand the Catholic mental ambit, to promote Bildung, and to
cultivate modern knowledge in Catholic circles. The progressive reading habits of those influenced by the journal indicate that the discourse
of Bildung among Catholics in Imperial Germany was broader than
historians have acknowledged. Catholics associated with the Borromäusverein clearly appropriated and fostered this discourse. Their
appropriation took place within the context of acrimonious confessional relations, which I shall briefly describe.

m

The organization of the German state and the ideas that men and
women held about it were inextricably linked with perceptions of
Catholicism and Protestantism. When Bismarck said in 1847, "I believe
that the realization of Christian doctrine is the goal of the state," he
meant Protestant doctrine.14 German unification in 1871 was thus a

confession-specific event. It was a sign from God of Protestant religious
renewal and evidence of God's favor upon the course of German history.15 Important intellectual figures, such as Adolf von Harnack, Heinrich von Treitschke, and Ernst Troeltsch, reinforced this view by uniting
German idealism and Protestant theology in a way that encouraged a
middle-class, historicist understanding of German identity.16 A concerted process of cultural socialization followed unification, in which
the institutions of the Reich, along with corresponding ethical norms,
styles of life, expectations, and attitudes toward the past, breathed the
spirit of Liberal Protestantism. Protestants benefited most from this
hegemony, exercising control over the bureaucracy, the economy, the
military, universities, and other cultural institutions.
"Quoted in Ludwig Jacobowski, Der christliche Staat und seine Zukunft (Berlin,
1894), p. 219.
''See Smith, op. cit. , p. 34, and M. Greschat, Das Zeitalter der Industriellen Revolution.
Das Christentum vor der Moderne (Stuttgart, 1980),p. 209.
"Smith, op. cit., p. 32, and, especially, Gangolf Hübinger, Kulturprotestantismus und
Politik. Zum Verhältnis von Liberalismus und Protestantismus in Wilhelminischen

Deutschland (Tübingen, 1994), pp. 176-177.

BY JEFFREY T. ZALAR2 5

Knitting Protestants together was a powerful anti-Catholicism.
Catholics, who comprised roughly 37% of the population in 1871,
seemed to stand in the way of Germany's national destiny. They threat-

ened, in the words of one Protestant observer, "the destruction of all

progress of civilization, and a return to a feudal world."17 Catholics and
Protestants were thus separated by a broad socio-cultural cleavage.
Catholics espoused an ethos of decline and ignorance, their critics
maintained, not the ethos of progress and Bildung. Their vision of the

world included the 1864 Syllabus of Errors and the heavy hand of an
infallible pope; it was therefore hierarchical and authoritative, clerical
and traditional, and suspicious of scientific knowledge and modern values. In contrast, the New German Man was supposed to be individualistic, a servant of progress and the national state, a slave to no orthodoxies.

The consequence of this socio-cultural divide was that Catholics
were a disadvantaged community in the new Germany. They suffered
the derision of their Protestant neighbors and were excluded from
many aspects of the Reich's institutional life.18 Against the general attack on their faith, which reached peak intensity during the foundation
of the Reich and the Kulturkampf Catholics built a fortress mentality.
They increasingly mistrusted the society that locked them out. As one
Catholic contemporary, Georg von Hertling, explained, "It is a wholly
natural law of all minorities that they close up tightly together and," in
order to meet their collective needs, "stand up one for all and all for
one."1' This closed mentality continued trends begun during the German Enlightenment, when many Catholics responded with hostility to
rationalism and secularization.20 During their self-imposed exile from

nineteenth-century German learning and culture, they took up the defensive behind the ramparts of clerical authority and traditional faith.

Inside this "milieu" Catholics built a subculture. They organized their
own institutions to strengthen social cohesion and community. They
"Quoted in Franz Müller and Wilhelm Schwer (eds.),Z>er deutsche Katholizismus im
Zeitalter des Kapitalismus (Augsburg, 1932), p. 195.

"Martin Baumeister has explored this exclusion in Parität und katholische Inferior-

ität. Untersuchungen zur Stellung des Katholizismus im deutschen Kaiserreich (Paderborn, 1987).

"Tbid.,p.52.

20This notion has been well researched and established. See, for example, Paul Konrad
Kurz,"Katholizismus und Literatur," Stimmen der Zeit,2l2 (1994), 330-335; Thomas Nipperdey, Deutsche Geschichte, 1866-1918 (Munich, 1983), p. 436, Conzemius and Ladous,
op. cit., ?. 670; and Clemens Bauer, Deutscher Katholizismus. Entwicklungslinien und
Profile (Frankfurt am Main, 1964), pp. 28-30.

26THE BORROMÄUSVEREIN AND CATHOUC READING HABITS IN IMPERIAL GERMANY

ran their own presses for their own authors, most notably at the HerderVerlag in Freiburg (1801), the Pustet and Manz publishing houses in Regensburg (1826, 1830), the Bachern press in Cologne (1823), and
Schöningh in Paderborn (1847).21 Pursuing literary life in isolation from
the rest of literate Germany, Catholics lost touch with the high intellectual debates of the day. In the opinion of many contemporary observers, Catholics and Protestants alike, their power of expression in
the areas of poetry and prose became enfeebled.22 They made negligible contributions to painting, architecture, and music.23 They were
silent in the great conversation over scientific advance and discovery.
They solved none of the philosophical problems posed by idealism, materialism, or positivism. Indeed, German Catholics in the nineteenth

century suffered from collective intellectual impoverishment. One

Catholic observer characterized the Catholic literary situation at the
end of the century as "dumb, narrow-minded, parochial, clerical."24 This
situation only fed Protestant disparagement of ignorant, uneducated
Catholics, who were ill-equipped for full participation in the Reich. But
it also highlighted the need for Catholics to address their lack of cultural literacy and their''Bildungsdefizit."
The problem was that for many German intellectuals, Catholicism
and the idea of Bildung were mutually exclusive propositions, a conviction which requires a brief explanation here. As Georg Bollenbeck
has shown, the notion of German Kultur played an integral role in Ger-

man political unification.25 It provided symbolic compensation for the

lack of a unified political consciousness and the basis for German national identity. Kultur was expressed through the all-embracing concept of Bildung, which had two fundamental dimensions. First, as a
product of the mystical-pietistic tradition of Protestant thought and
German idealistic philosophy, Bildung represented a neo-humanist
mode of personal cultivation. Roger Chickering writes that it implied
"the shaping and development of the whole personality by means of
"Jutta Osinski, Katholizismus und deutsche Literatur im 19. Jahrhundert (Paderborn, 1993), p. 258.
22Anton Rauscher (ed.), Entwicklungslinien des deutschen Katholizismus (Pader-

born, 1973), p. 48.

2,Albrecht Langner (ed.), Säkularisation und Säkularisierung im 19. Jahrhundert

(Munich, 1978), p. 69.

"Kurz, op. «f., p. 334.
"Georg Bollenbeck, Bildung und Kultur. Glanz und Elend eines deutschen Deu-

tungsmusters (Frankfurt am Main, 1994), p. 220.

BYJEFFREY T. ZALAR27

exposure to the great achievements of human cultural endeavor . . .
[and] a body of knowledge and refined taste that one could acquire and
display and that entitled one to reward."26 As an educational postulate
that stressed the primacy of the individual conscience, personal intellectual and moral development, and the grooming of one's higher aesthetic tastes, Bildung was a cultural articulation of the German middle
class. Second, the possession of Bildung or the practice of its cult was
the criterion for establishing one's credentials as a "cultivated" German,
the basis for asserting a claim to the rights and privileges of inclusion
in the national community.27 To have Bildung was to have Kultur, and
to have Kultur, in its special sense conveyed here, was to enjoy full citizenship. As it was propagated by its bourgeois devotees,Bildung therefore imparted shape and form to a collective sense of what it was to be
German. This Protestant-informed, philosophically one-sided interpretation of the German cultural tradition excluded Catholics by definition.
Catholic thought in the era was Aristotelian and Neo-Thomist; Bildung
was a product of Kantian and post-Kantian idealism. Catholicism was
sacramental; it therefore opposed the "internal" emphasis of Protestant
piety. Above all, the Catholic Church was clerical; its religiosity was defined and controlled, which the individualistic thrust of Bildung could
not tolerate.28 Thus, Catholics experienced a deep cultural estrangement by virtue of their spiritual constitution.
In order to cross the divide that separated Protestants and Catholics,
in order to demand broader access to German citizenship, Catholics
had to acquire Bildung. That is, by modeling themselves on the reigning
cultural elites and in acquiring their cultural tastes, Catholics hoped to
find acceptance at the upper reaches of German society. By playing by
the rules of contemporary intellectual development and aesthetic cultivation, Catholics could invoke the integrative powers of Bildung as a
mechanism of national assimilation. They could thus come into full possession of their social and political destiny. This was at least the attitude
of Germany's Catholic scholars. It was also the guiding spirit of the
Catholic folk education movement that emerged after 1900, as well as
the conceptual framework of avant-garde Catholic poetry. It was finally
26Roger Chickering, Karl Lamprecht. A German Academic Life (Atlantic Highlands,
New Jersey, 1993), p. 12.
27The notion of a cult of Bildung among the German middle class is well established.
See, for instance, Bollenbeck, op. cit. , p. 22 1 , and Bernhard Giesen, Die Intellektuellen und
die Nation. Eine deutsche Achsenzeit (Frankfurt am Main, 1993), p. 233.
2eBollenbeck, op. cit., pp. 106-107.

28THE BORROMÄUSVEREIN AND CATHOUC READING HABITS IN IMPERIAL GERMANY

the driving force behind Reform Catholicism, of which the BorromäusBlätter 'was an exponent.
The editors of the Borromäus-Blätter employed several strategies to
transmit German Bildung, albeit in a confessional package, to the
Catholic reading population.29 First, in their view, a minority group suffering from social, cultural, and educational deprivation needed a fresh
perspective on literature and a plan for acquiring essential knowledge.
The plan espoused by the Borromäus-Blätter involved evaluating
books according to the Catholic system of belief in order to present the
"good" ones to the Catholic readership.30 "Filthy" or "trashy"31 volumes
that contributed to the moral "spoilage" of the faithful were excluded.32
But the journal's cleansing function was by no means priggish. The editors rejected many of the apologetic, moralistic assumptions of Catholic
education. Such an approach, such an "all too hermetic seal," was not
"up to date."33 The "understanding, cultivated reader" would not be discouraged by challenging ideas. He or she would be too "sensible" to be
disturbed by such things and would glean from the texts whatever was
of merit in them.3' By projecting this image of the well-read, well-bred
Catholic, the editors of the Borromäus-Blätter sought to synchronize
Catholics with the pulse of the times, to get them into the mental
rhythm. The journal thus advocated a system of reading and learning in
the humanistic mode, in which "all areas of human knowledge should
be considered."35 The object was to inspire the proper sentiments and
inculcate the most effective values in Catholics to enhance their upward mobility. "Knowledge is power,' Catholics were told, and "an enlightening power, because ignorance is a reef upon which so many
ships run aground."36
The second strategy the editors adopted was to emphasize the dogmas of the Church, personal ethics, and aesthetic cultivation as the
2Thomas Nipperdey has suggested that Catholic traditionalism and modernization
were not necessarily inconsistent notions; "Im Vereinskatholizismus steckt, das ist meine
Pointe, nicht nur Zementierung und Abgrenzung einer Tradition, sondern ein kräftiger
Modernisierungsschub ' See Nipperdey, Deutsche Geschichte, p. 593.
"The goal of bringing "good" books to the Catholic Folk was a Jesuit idea born in the
seventeenth century. See Anton Rauscher (ed.), Katholizismus, Bildung und Wissenschaft im 19- und 20.Jahrhundert (Paderborn, 1973), p. 107.
"BW,7 (1910X91.
i2Bß,3(1905),2.
"BB, 1(1903), 3.
"Ibid.

"BB, 1(1 904), 70.
'6AB, 3 (1905), 17.

BY JEFFREY T. ZALAR29

criteria by which "good" books were identified.37 Books that openly opposed specific points of Catholic dogma were beyond the pale. With respect to ethics, however, the editors argued that Catholics were in the

final analysis responsible for their own moral lives. Therefore, they were

to read widely and be exposed to all sorts of ideas in order to make the
right choices. Self-discipline, not mental isolation, and not clerical oversight, was the only requirement.38
This spirit of openness was most necessary in the fields of art, painting, sculpture, and other aesthetic pastimes. In the eyes of the editors, it
was not enough to defend dogma and an ethical life. The principle of
beauty,"too often neglected" by Catholics in the past, also had to be cultivated.39 The reviewer of a book called Art and Nature effectively

made this point in 1906. It was important, he wrote, for Catholics to in-

ternalize the psychological foundations of aesthetics. They could then
join the "lively pursuit" of the intimate understanding of art that had
seized contemporary Germany.40
The third strategy the journal employed to re-orient Catholic thinking was to affix a sense of duty and obligation to the notion of selfcultivation. Reading for enjoyment was futile (vergeblich), Catholics
were told. It was a waste of time, a self-deception (Selbsttrug). One's
leisure time ought to be spent constructively and instructively, in order
to develop a "cultivated, productive character."41 This principle recommended the German classics in particular. To read them was to perform
"a duty of gratitude," an act of mental genuflection, to the great minds of
Germany's literary past, whose contributions were the "proven classics
that history listens to." Catholics must read and know them, especially

the works of German poets, "because knowledge of them belongs to

general Bildung"42 These three strategies, particularly the last, represented significant alterations in the idea, purpose, and content of
Catholic self-education. In the opinion of the journal's editors, Catholics
were to pursue knowledge and culture according to a new criterion, ac-

cording to the spirit and inner logic of Protestant Bildung.

^BB, 1 (1903), 3. See also Leo Koep, "Die Stellung des Erzbischofs von Köln in den
Statuten des Borromäusvereins," in W. Corsten, A. Frotz, and P. Linden (eds), Die Kirche

und Ihre Ämter und Stände (Cologne, I960), p. 170.
XBW, 4 (1906), 31-34.
i9BB, 1 (1903), 4.
"ßfl7,4(1906),75.

"BB, 1 (1903), 2-4. This was the guiding principle of German Bildung. See Walter Horace Bruford, The German Tradition of Self-Cultivation. Bildung from Humboldt to
Thomas Mann (London and New York, 1975), p. 73.
"BB, 1 (1903), 4.

30THE BORROMÄUSVEREIN AND CATHOUC READING HABITS IN IMPERIAL GERMANY

The Borromäus-Blätter and Karl Muth's Hochland, the most recognized reformist journal, thus shared the same progressive vision for the
future of German Catholicism.43 They even reviewed the same books,
such as the 1911 study Philosophical Questions of the Present, 'which
dealt with the thought of Darwin and Spencer.44 Yet Hochland felt the
lash of episcopal censure. It was condemned by Cardinal Georg von
Kopp, the head of the Fulda bishops conference, as educated Catholicism gone awry.45 Its influence, therefore, was circumscribed by clerical
disapproval. Clerical support for the Borromäus-Blätter, on the other
hand, was full-throated, despite the fact that Herz strongly supported
Karl Muth. As a priest, Herz did not alarm a hierarchy used to a close and
manifold relationship with the Catholic press.46 More importantly, however, his journal avoided the rancor and polemics of an emerging
Catholic pluralism. It steered clear of the wreckage of the conflict between Reform Catholicism and its key journals Hochland, Die Renaissance, and Das Zwanzigste Jahrhundert, on the one side, and the
conservative reaction found in the pages oí Der Gral and Stimmen aus
Maria Laach, on the other. By taking a stand for Catholic doctrine,
maintaining a positive view of things,47 and avoiding controversy,48 the
Borromäus-Blätter enjoyed semi-official sanction from the bishops, the
respect of the Reformers, and the admiration of an array of Catholic
periodicals.49 Thus the Borromäus-Blätter achieved something that
Hochland never could achieve—the representation of progressive
Catholic opinion without attracting the scorn of the hierarchy. This was
perhaps the reason for its popularity and success among Catholic read"The Borromäus-Blätter thus praised Hochland in 1905: "Diese vornehme Revue ist
zweifelsohne die erfreulichste und bedeutendste Errungenschaft der deutschen Katholiken auf literarischem Gebiete . . rBB, 3 (1905), 32.

"BW, 10 (1913), 86.
"Wilfried Loth, Katholiken im Kaiserreich. Derpolitische Katholizismus in der Krise

des Wilhelminischen Deutschlands (Düsseldorf, 1984), p. 236.

<6Otto Groth, Die Zeitung: Ein System der Zeitungskunde (Journalistik), Vol. 2
(Mannheim, 1929), p. 562.
''Maintaining a positive outlook was essential in order to reach the widest possible
reading circles. Despite the fact that the index of banned books was refined and enlarged
under Pope Leo XIII and that Pius X added some 150 texts during his reign, a list of indexed books was never published in the Borromäus-Blätter or in Die Bücherwelt.
"Significantly, Pius X's infamous 1910 Borromäusenzyklika, which condemned the
Protestant Reformation as "inimici Cruets Christi" was never even mentioned in the jour-

nal. See Pope Pius X,"Editae saepe Dei"Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 2 (1910), 362.

"Praise came from all quarters: Hochland, Katholische Seelsorger, Gottesminne,
Literarischer Anzeiger, Immergrün, Kölnische Volkszeitung, Essener Volkszeitung,
Allgemeine Rundschau, Der Bücher-Markt, Oberrheinisches Pastoralblatt, Echo der

Gegenwart,and Welt und Wissen.BB,5 (1905), 1, and BW,4 (1906), 21-22.

BY JEFFREY T. ZALAR31

ers. Catholics sought public acceptance of their community as citizens
of the nation. But they did not want to give up what they felt to be the
truths of Catholicism. They did not want to lose their sense of identity.
Catholics wanted to be, in the words of Thomas Mergel, "katholisch"
and "bürgerlich" at the same time.50 Most Catholics, however, did not
consider this a contradictory position. For in the Lesehallen and, presumably, in Catholic Hausbibliotheken, the poetry of Goethe and
Schiller mingled with biographies of Saint Ignatius and Pius X. The most

complicated studies of evolutionary theory stood next to the most sim-

plistic devotional literature on first communion. And the philosophy of
Friedrich Nietzsche rested quietly—if not comfortably—alongside the
metaphysics of Thomas Aquinas.

IV

In order to enjoy the benefits promised by inclusion in the bourgeois
ambit, in order to cultivate respectability among one's neighbors, a
Catholic had to show that he embraced bourgeois values. This effort
meant regular reading in the spirit of German Bildung. Catholic libraries and reading rooms facilitated this goal. Although the indices provided by the Borromäus-Blätter are inconsistent, reports from the
reading rooms show that a significant proportion of Catholics were
likely to have had contact with literature and natural science there, and
that they were asked to consider what knowledge and cultivation
meant for the modern believer. As in the reading room in Heidelberg,
Catholics gathered in small buildings with fifty to one hundred places
to sit.51 Tables were situated in separated parts, one side for men, the
other for women and children between the ages of fourteen and eighteen. (Many Lesehallen added an annex with books for younger readers
between 1903 and 1914.) Hours of operation varied, but most reading
rooms were open during late morning and early afternoon, evenings
until ten, and on Sundays until dusk. The number of visitors—Protestants and Jews as well as Catholics—increased every year. From April 1,
1905, to March 31, 1906, the three Catholic Libraries in Düsseldorf registered an increase of 91 1 visitors, each of whom borrowed an average
of sixteen books per year.52 In Würzburg, near Heinsberg in the
Thomas Mergel, Zwischen Klasse und Konfession: Katholisches Bürgertum im

Rheinland, 1794-1914 (Göttingen, 1994), p. 308.
nBW, 5 (1908), 78-79.
"BW, 4 (1906), 35.

32THE BORROMÄUSVEREIN AND CATHOUC READING HABITS IN IMPERIAL GERMANY

Rhineland, the number of visitors increased by 772, for a total of 5,052
in 1910."

In order to attract Catholics who possessed higher levels of education, the Borromäusverein gradually shifted its attention from the
lower to the middle class.54 As in the state lending libraries, most visitors
to Catholic Lesehallen read for recreation, despite the injunction
against reading for enjoyment: how-to books, short stories, adventure
novels and mysteries, picture and song sheets, books on ceramics,
needlework, and the theater, collections of humorous anecdotes, and
memoirs. Careful study of the Borromäus-Blätter shows, however, that
its editors increasingly chose to review books dealing with history, science, and German culture and the classics. This change in emphasis was
reflected in the type of books purchased by the reading rooms, although these purchases also responded to the changing demands of
Catholic readers. In 1907, in Darmstadt, among the books most often

borrowed were the novel Germinal by Emile Zola, whose novels had

been considered "unclean" by a reviewer in 1903, studies on Darwinian
theory, the works of Schiller, Goethe, and Heinrich Heine, and texts on
natural science and modern philosopihy.55 Elsewhere, Thomas Mann's
Buddenbrooks enjoyed wide popularity in Catholic circles, according
to a survey carried out in 107 of the largest Catholic lending libraries.56
Also of high interest were books like The Modern Speaker, which its reviewer thought would be appropriate for Catholics seeking greater participation in public life, and The Middle-Class Rule Book for those of
social ambition.57 Catholic Lesehallen responded in this way to a shift in
the Catholic mindset, which was increasingly informed not only by confession but also by the dominant values of the German middle class. The
editors of the Borromäus-Blätter hoped that as these values worked
their way into the fabric of Catholic life, Catholics would be able to participate in conversations about ideas from which they had been excluded. In this way, they could engage the good opinions of their
Protestant neighbors. The acquisition of knowledge was thus the key to
new social powers, and the first step toward social ascent.58
"^7(191O), 193.

MSee the BW, 6 (1909), 105-108, and Osinski, op. cit. ,p. 279.
"BIT, 6 (1908), 22-23.
VBB,\ (1904), 66-70.
'7BW, 4 (1907), 106.
'"The editors of the Borromäus-Blätter frequently lamented claims made by some
Protestants that Catholics were backward, inferior, and culturally incompetent. See, for

example,^, 3 (1906), 105-109, and BW, 4 (1907), 131. They hoped that by cultivating literary tastes among Catholic readers— "die Bildung des literarischen Geschmacks" —

BY JEFFREY T. ZALAR33
The books that the Borromäus-Blätter recommended for the read-

ing rooms were also meant for the Catholic home library. Bildung was

to occupy one's leisure time, in the tradition of bourgeois domestic

comfort and the quiet of private life . A good home library, therefore , was
essential to attain intellectual and aesthetic refinement and to develop
one's mental endowment to the full. In addition, expensive, well-bound
books on one's shelf were signs of distinction and taste. An advertise-

ment in the journal in 1905 suggested a lovely new history of Frederick

the Great containing no less than twelve page-length pictures. This
made it "the most handsome decoration for every home."59 Marian Kaplan writes of the German Jewish community that it was "in the household and family where people tried to live decently,' that the most
marked embourgeoisement took place."60 Many Catholics, it seems, also
did what income would allow in order to achieve an atmosphere of
middle-class decorum.

The acquisition of aesthetic taste was a step in this direction. Art and
art books were expensive, and many Catholics did not have the money
to purchase them. Nor did they have the interest. If a Catholic home had

any art at all, it was probably religious in nature, such as the folk glass
paintings and iconography popular in Catholic Bavaria.61 But the Bor-

romäus-Blätter proposed a different attitude toward art. Art humanized
human nature. It was a window through which the world could be experienced. Whatever their class, occupation, or station in life, Catholics
ought to look on art "for art's sake."62 With this kind of attitude,
Catholics would join the "gebildete Welt"

The journal accordingly recommended books that "schooled" the

eyes and the tastes and generated an "understanding of natural
beauty."63 Such books included the 1902 tome, The Cultivation of the

Sense of Color, and The Care ofHouseholdArt. Certain books were imCatholics would attain a voice, credibility, and respectability in German society. See Wilhelm Spael, Das Katholische Deutschland im 20. Jahrhundert. Seine Pionier- und
Krisenzeiten, 1890-1945 (Würzburg, 1964), p. 123. For example, one contributor to the
journal noted the lack of Catholic participation in natural science. He therefore called for
the results of scientific research to be carried to the widest Catholic circles in order to re-

pair a deficiency that lent proof to such damaging claims. See BW, 4 (1907), 240.
VBB, 3 (1905), preliminary p. 2.
"See Marian Kaplan's splendid book, The Making of theJewish Middle Class: Women,

Family, and Identity in Imperial Germany (New York, 1991), p. 4.
"Helena Waddy Lepovitz, Images ofFaith. Expressionism, Catholic Folk Art and the
Industrial Revolution (Athens, Georgia, 1991).
''2BB, 3 (1905), 1.
"5BB1I (1903), 9.

34THE BORROMÄUSVEREIN AND CATHOLIC REiX)ING HABITS IN IMPERIAL GERMANY

portant for Catholic children, who were to develop a sense of aesthetic
comprehension in order to meet the general requirements of polite society.64 Under parental auspices, children were to read The Meaning of
Art for Upbringing, Education for Art Appreciation, or The Child as
Artist. Other books for "aesthetic self-education," included studies of

graphic arts, works on art history, pamphlets on drawing proficiency,
and books teaching the fine observation skills needed for the depiction
of nature.65 In addition, musical taste was to be developed by studying
Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, and the other giants of music. "Next to the
book library of each average citizen's house," one reviewer proclaimed,
"belongs a musical classics library!"66
The possession of music, art, and art books according to the standards of the dominant culture, then, was an important technique of
cultural assimilation. By developing and advertising their aesthetic sensibilities, Catholics could exhibit the virtues and refinement expected of
the ideal bourgeois. Visitors to the Catholic home would see the cultural competence of its inhabitants. The advantages were worth the

costs, the journal suggested, and Catholics should not be afraid to pay

them. "One must not forget," one contributor wrote in 1905, "that all
good things are expensive."67

A tantalizing notion is that Catholic women, as the primary agents in
an increasingly consumer-oriented economy, bought these books for
their families. "Mothers," after all, "were responsible for the behavioral
and cultural attainment of the family, for its Bildung"68 The Borromäusverein and other Catholic leaders recognized this fact as the
campaign for the spread of "good" literature took off in the late 1890's.
During his address at the 1904 Catholic meeting in Regensburg, for example, Dr. Philipp Huppert, the editor from Cologne, after calling for the
increased dissemination of good books to Catholic libraries, said,
"Women especially have a great duty to fulfill. For: Who reads more than
women do? (applause); Who provides the family with more reading
material than women?"6" But whatever they may have purchased for intellectual consumption in the home, many of these women visited
"Fretting over the artistic instruction of children was a common bourgeois concern.
See the BB, 1 (1903), 6.
"BB, 1 (1903),6-10.
"BW, 10 (1913), 74-78.
6'BB, 3 (1905), 3.
"Kaplan, op. cit., p. 25.
'"Verhandlungen der 51. Generalversammlung der Katholiken Deutschlands in Regensburg (Regensburg, 1904), pp. 371-372.

BY JEFFREY T. ZALAR3 5

Catholic reading rooms, and in ever-increasing numbers. At the Catholic
Volksbibliothek in Freiburg in 1901, for example, 225 women paid a

visit. A year later the number stood at 521 . In 1903 it jumped to 719, and
in 1907, 1,956 women were roaming the stacks.70 While this number
represents a small proportion of the town's Catholic population, the
growth in percentage of female readership—in this case 869 percent in
six years—was significant. The number of Catholic women visiting the
reading rooms increased generally—in places like Düsseldorf, Bremen,
Bonn, Charlottenburg, Eberfeld, and hundreds of other localities. In fact,

in 1913, 54.4% of the patrons in Görlitz were women. Women usually

brought their children with them and deposited them in the increasingly numerous children's annexes.
The books these women read varied. Many were consistent with traditional gender definitions, reinforcing the image of the modest, emo-

tional, and pregnant Catholic woman.71 One book, The Family Pratt, for

example, portrayed a Boston family that related its "cozy, funny, domestic family scenes."72 The work of a Swiss author, Johanna Spyri, was also
recommended for women. Her happy stories, set in pastoral scenery in
the Alps, offered a "child's paradise" to be re-created by the conscientious mother. But moral perfection and charm of manner were not the
only virtues that reading was to inspire in women. The BorromäusBlätter defended Catholic feminists, including Elizabeth GnauckKühne, Emy Gordon, Agnes Neuhaus, and Hedwig Dransfeld—later the
first women deputies of the Center Party—and promoted their publications. Elizabeth Gnauck-Kühne's book, Introduction to the Question of
Female Workers, was considered a "pioneering force (bahnbrechende
Kraft) in the area of the woman question," and was recommended to
the "gebildete Frauenwelt?^ In 1907, her work called The German
Woman at the Turn of the Century, a statistical study of the status of
women in society, was also "warmly recommended." A book entitled
Old Christian and Modern Thoughts About Women's Occupation was
an apology for the "goals of the women's movement," and a book called
Hintsfor the Catholic Women's Movement counseled -women on how
to balance their duties to family and society.74 The journal also recommended Essays on Truth: Thoughts About Bildung, Science and Religionfor Educated Women by F. Baernreither (1904). This book stressed
™BIF,5(1908),212.
71Kaplan, op. cit. ,pp. 16-18.
'1BW, 4 (1906), 20.
7,BW, 4 (1907), 263.
7iBW, 5 (1907), 39;BW, 4 (1906), 14-15; and BB, 2 (1904), 57.

36THE BORROMÄUSVEREIN AND CATHOLIC READING HABITS IN IMPERIAL GERMANY

the need to re-orient the reading and conversation habits of Catholic
women, so that they could take advantage of the openings for women
in society and culture. With this end in view, the book attempted to
summarize areas of knowledge to which women had had little or no exposure. Essays in the volume covered religion, philosophy, anthropology, geology, ethics, and biblical exegesis. There was even a section on
idealism and the materialism of Feuerbach. The only weakness of the
book, the reviewer stated, was that it did not go "deep enough." Nonetheless, this book was recommended for "the private reading of cultivated ladies."'5

The vision of the Catholic woman in the Borromäus-Blätter was pro-

gressive, even if it emphasized the traditional virtues of virginity,
spousal responsibility, and childbearing. As the women's movement
blossomed in Germany, the journal espoused female participation in
and leadership of it. The journal also saw a role for women in the crusade for Catholic reading. The fine print of one contribution to the February, 1910, issue reported that the "zealous personal recruitment"
tactics of the wives of members oí' local Borromäusvereine were

"meeting with excellent results" in the establishment of new reading
circles and literary discussion groups. 6
Clearly, Catholic women who read were not uncommon, especially in
the German middle class. Women were responsible for the cultural disposition of the household. By encouraging leisure reading in the home
as well as outside it, a significant transformation of the social space
Catholics occupied could take place under their aegis. Women in this
way translated modern modes of life and forms of thought into the
Catholic habitus, or at least authorized the discourse of learning and
Bildung. A review in the journal of the works of a controversial female
author, Enrica von Handel-Mazzetti, which helped provoke the Literaturstreit, gaye this model of the Catholic mother.77 Background material
on Handel-Mazzetti revealed that her education had been supervised by
her mother, who was described as "highly educated" (hochgebildet) and
"knowledgeable in art" (kunstverständig). She inspired in her daughters a "sense of the beautiful" early in life by exposing them to the best
painting and literature, including the poetry of Shakespeare and
Schiller. Such mental refinement paid dividends in Handel-Mazzetti's
novels, which won the highest praise in sophisticated circles for stress"BB, 1 (1904), 100.
16BW, 7 (1910), 91.
11BW, 3 (I9O6), 199-201. For Handel-Mazzetti's role in the Literaturstreit, see

Conzemius and Ladous, op. cit. ,p. 670.

BY JEFFREY T. ZALAR37

ing "the ideals of humanity." The reviewer who wrote the piece on

Handel-Mazzetti considered her "one of the best talents" of literate Catholicism.

Both men and women, then, comprised the active Catholic reading
population in Imperial Germany. These readers developed many new
tastes, like history. Statistics for the Lesehallen show increasing numbers of history books lent, and advertisements in the journal announced new monographs covering all aspects of the past. Catholics'
sensitivity to history was not without institutional support. In 1883
Pope Leo XIII opened the Vatican Archives to researchers of all countries, declaring that the Church had nothing to fear from history and
that the Church herself would offer interpretations of it in the future. In
a spirit of openness that broke with the tradition of the Syllabus, Rome
quickly became a center of historical research. But Catholics in Germany had another, more immediate reason for their interest in history.
Many Protestant Germans discerned a historical telos in the events of
1871, which realized God's will in the form of a unified German state.

This state was Protestant in the interpretation of a majority of Germans.
History thus became a powerful religious concept, especially for historians, who were the most ardent devotees of German "statolatry."78
These sacralizers of history believed that the German self-image
evolved from the history of Protestantism, an image with which
Catholics could not identify.
In order to reclaim the past from which they had been severed, many

Catholic scholars declared that civilization in the West was based on

Catholicism to begin with, so that even German history had a Catholic
referent.79 The approach of the Borromäus-Blätter, however, was
twofold: first, to adopt the prevailing methodological practices of modern historical analysis; and, second, to explore areas of inquiry beyond
the limits of church history. The journal recommended books that contained both of these approaches. Of distinct interest to Catholics were
pre-histories of the great world civilizations, an interest consistent with
the contemporary fascination with anthropology and philology. A representative text of this kind was a study published in 1909 called Universal Cultural History. This book described ancient China, Babylonia,
Assyria, Persia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome.80 A similar book, entitled Illustrated World History, claimed to uncover the Greek and Latin foundations of German history in a way that would expand the historical
7"Chickering, op. cit., p. 34.
"Baumeister, op. cit. , p. 9 1 .
"BW, 6 (1909), 141.

38THE BORROMÄUSVEREIN AND CATHOUC READING HABITS IN IMPERIAL GERMANY

awareness of the average Catholic reader. "This is especially to be welcomed," the reviewer noted.81 The Borromäus-Blätter praised both
Catholic and non-Catholic historians for their objectivity, strength of
perception, and freshness of style. The author of The Culture of the Ancient Celts and Germans, wrote the reviewer, set a new standard for
Catholic participation in historical scholarship.82 The author of a book

called The Study ofLegends received similar praise for his careful schol-

arship and dispassion, which represented "a great advance in hagio-

graphie research."83 Similarly, a participant at the 1908 international
historians' congress in Berlin offered a study called The CatholicJudg-

ment of the Enlightenment Era, which favorably viewed the thought

and personalities of the Enlightenment while it regretted the era's antiChristian tone.84 Biographies of modern figures were popular as well,

including Napoleon Bonaparte, Metternich, Bismarck, and Richard Wagner.

While these and other studies were undoubtedly directed at a popular audience, they illustrated the Catholic approach to modern scholarship. By their inclusive, broad-minded interests and the objective
manner of their investigations, Catholic historians sought to produce
historical studies that could stand on their own as writing of the first
rank. The wide popular consumption of their work reflected a Catholic
claim to share in Germany's past. For by learning their history and interpreting it in a way that demonstrated their inclusion, Catholics enhanced their intellectual standing and cultural reputation. In so doing,
the boundaries and meaning of German citizenship could be redefined
to encompass the Catholic population.
As in the case of music, history, and art, Germany did not produce
Catholic natural scientists of renown in the nineteenth century. This
failure was due in part to the reluctance of Catholic researchers to confront ecclesiastical authorities, whose opposition to the claims of science was traditional. It had more to do with the fact that Catholics were

largely shut out of the science departments in German universities. Because of their lack of fluency in science, Catholics were easily depicted
as its enemies. But the Catholic effort in German science, beginning in

1876 with the Gôrresgesellschaft,m was no mere foray. It was a surren81BlF, 6 (1908X55.
82BlF, 3 (1906), 189-190.
85BIF, 4 (1906), 15-16.
84BVF, 7 (1910), 196-197.

"The Gbrresgesellschaft was dedicated to more than scientific pursuits. It was initially

divided into the four sections of philosophy, history, political rights and social analysis,

BY JEFFREY T. ZALAR39

der to the force of the age, which demanded the independence of science and the free inquiry of inductive reason. Catholics proved a voracious audience. The Borromäus-Blätter reported growing interest in

matters of natural science and scientific discovery from 1903 to 1914.

In 1912, 35 percent of the books lent out by the Catholic reading room
in Leverkusen were devoted to natural science in response to increasing demand.86 Similarly, 40 percent of books on the shelves at Heidelberg's Catholic library in 1913 were scientific in nature.87 The reviewer
of a 1907 journal called Nature and Culture expressed the opinion of
many contemporary Catholics when he explained that it was "very, very
necessary" for anyone who would comprehend the times to possess
some scientific education.88

Catholic appetites were many and varied. General studies like The
Meaning ofNatural Sciencefor the Modern World-View and its Popularization were recommended as introductory texts. "Science rightly
has many interesting things to tell us about this world," and so Catholics
should waste no time catching up.89 An annual arrival at the Lesehallen
for this purpose was the Yearbook for Natural Science, which attempted to summarize the "remarkable achievements in all areas of science during the past year."90 Here Catholics read about the latest
advances in radioactivity, magnetism, electricity, anthropology, mineralogy, geology, zoology, botany, and other disciplines . Catholic eyes turned
in other directions as well. The Borromäus-Blätter devoted sections to

physics, chemistry, atmospherics, and meteorology. Home laboratories
were also encouraged. One book, Microscopic Pictures from the
Higher-Organized Animal World, gave directions for using the microscope at home. Another, Benziger's Natural Science Library, traced the
progress in botany for consultation by domestic dabblers.91 Astronomy
was a third area of interest. One book that was both reviewed and ad-

vertised was The Moon as Star and World and Lts Influence on Our
Earth. Its simple mathematical formulae and nomenclature made it accessible for the "entertainment and enlightenment" of everyone.92 Even
the Jesuits got into the spirit of things. The Galileo Trial, by Adolf
and natural science. It was warmly greeted by the German bishops, and was even blessed

by Pius LX. See Osinski, op. cit., p. 324.
86BIF, 10 (1912), 38.

"7BW, 10 (1913), 93.

"BW, 4 (1907), 240.
89BIF1O (1909), 144-145.
50BlF, 10 (1913), 256.
91BW, 4 (1906), 57, and BIF, 4 (1907), 82.
'2BIF, 3 (1906), 210.

40THE BORROMÄUSVEREIN AND CATHOUC RE.U5ING HABITS IN IMPERIAL GERMANY

Müller, SJ. , was recommended for its frank conclusion that Galileo's silencing in I6l6 was wrong: the ecclesiastical authorities had failed to

appreciate the "really important meaning of Galileo's work as a physi-

cist."93 Other science books in the Catholic canon included Physical Geography, The Appearance of Volcanoes, Our Body: Handbook of
Anatomy, Bacteria, and The Wonders of the Animal World. Catholics

were particularly interested in Darwin and the theory of evolution, and
they read his basic works.94 Secondary sources on the man, his research,
and the controversy surrounding it abounded. These included Darwin

and Development Theory, which was recommended as a "very instructive" explanation, Man: An Anthropological Outline, which consulted
the "facts of science" to illustrate the theory, The Development Theory
and Man, a small work that showed "in clear language . . . what science
knows about the evolution theory of mankind," The Development Doc-

trine and the Facts ofPaleontology, and Darwin and His School."*

In adopting the scientific outlook of their era, Catholics plotted a return from their intellectual exile. They also widened the theater for dis-

playing their devotion to progress and discovery. Here we see the line

of connection that ran from confession to knowledge to respectability,
which helps to explain the Catholic dilemma in Wilhelmine Germany.
Scientific awareness, as a key ingredient in the contemporary definition
of "modern," was needed in order to lay claim to German national identity.96 To share this identity, Catholics first had to undergo an intellectual
re-orientation from what was perceived as superstition and myth to
positive fact. The Borromäus-Blätter drew its readers in this direction
carefully, without disparaging the legitimate domain of religion. As a result, the reviewer of the Görresgesellschaft's annual Staatslexikon

could confidently report, "When I have placed the five volumes of the

"BIF, 7 (1910), 94.
»•Although most German Catholics accepted God's dominion over nature without

question, their interpretation of Scripture was not literal in the manner of many Protestants, who found it difficult to reconcile the hand of divinity in creation with the theory
of evolution. A summary of the contemporary German Catholic approach to Darwin may
be found in Georg von Hertling's important speech to the 1897 Catholic meeting at

Landshut. Verhandlungen der 44. General-Versammlung der Katholiken Deutschlands

zu Landshut (Landshut, 1897), pp. 136-145.
"Catholic interest in Darwin was so strong, in fact, that one reporter to the journal referred to a whole category of books as "Darwiniana," with 182 volumes on the topic of
evolution in eleven libraries. See BB, 1 (1904), 66-70.
"One reviewer claimed that the dogmatic, apologetic approach to natural science of

the past had led to an attitude of"prudery" among German Catholics, leaving them intellectually undernourished and socially alienated. He recommended quick, if cautious, absorption of scientific material. See BB, 2 (1905), 150.

BY JEFFREY T. ZALAR4 1

Staatslexikon in my house library, I possess a treasury."97 And the worth
of this treasury, in the hopes of many Catholics, was convertible to cultural capital for negotiating social acceptance.
If Catholics were to possess Bildung, they had to be well-read in the
German classics. This was the sine qua non for German cultural competence. The problem for Catholics was that the classics attained a
deep identification with German national sentiment in 1871, and the
canon of German literature had become encrusted with a large Protestant deposit. As a result, Catholics were apportioned little share in Germany's literary past. German humanism was Protestant, and that was
that.98 Catholics had responded to their rejection by retreating into the
safe and sure confines of apologetic literature. In 1882, for example, a
priest named Franz Hülskamp compiled a list of "1,000 good books" for
German Catholics.99 Included were prayer and devotional books, a catechism, some bible stories, a life of Jesus and Mary, a handbook of the
saints, an atlas, a dictionary, and other basic texts. Near the bottom of
the list was a spare collection of twenty-one "carefully chosen" German
classics. Father Hülskamp permitted Catholics to read Schiller's Wilhelm Tell, for example, and Goethe's Hermann und Dorothea. There
was also a book by Lessing, and a few by Karl Immermann. Most of
these texts were abridged, however, the most shocking elements to
Catholic sensibilities, excised. Thus the poor relationship between
Catholics and the national literary canon only worsened.
The Borromäusverein was poised to change all this. The very first ar-

ticle of volume one of the Borromäus-Blätter in 1903 was entitled
"German Classics."100 These texts were not Protestant documents, the

author declared. They were the common patrimony of all Germans regardless of confession. Catholics had to realize this fact or forfeit the
best fruits of their inheritance. Again there was a calculating element at
work here. It was essential for Catholic readers to be exposed to the

classics in order to increase their cultivation, in order to achieve a

"broader enlightenment" (weitere Aufklärung). Knowledge of the classics was a requirement for inclusion in the culture. Catholics, therefore,
had to read all the classics, unabridged, as an act of cultural exertion. "It

is indispensable," the author wrote, to have contact with great literature, "if one wants to reach the top level of educational status." This sta-

"7BIF, 6 (1909), 161.
''8Smith, op. cit., pp. 21 -23, and Anton Rauscher (ed.), Probleme des Konfessionalismus
in Deutschland seit 1800 (Paderborn, 1984), p. 27.
"Osinski, op. cit. ,pp. 277-280.
""BB, 1 (1903), 2.

42THE BORROMÄUSVEREIN AND CATHOUC READING HABITS IN IMPERIAL GERMANY

tus was a fillip to patriotism, a way to clothe oneself in the honor and
prestige of the past, and to affirm one's superior qualities for citizenship.

The objective excellence of the German classics made it easy to work

them into the world-view of progressive Catholicism. Of high importance were the works of the classical German poets and literary heroes
such as Goethe, Schiller, Heinrich von Kleist, Heinrich Heine, and
Friedrich Schlegel. Catholics were to read all of their major works.101
The case of Schiller illustrâtes the altered feelings, assumptions, and
tastes of Catholic readers. In 1859 many Catholics refused to participate
in the celebration of the centenary jubilee of Schiller's birth. 102 The hero
for Catholics was instead the poet Joseph Görres, whose centenary was

feted in 1876 by the foundation of the Gorresgesellschaft.m But in the

Borromäus-Blätter Schiller was rehabilitated as a national hero, who
was not to be neglected just because some of his poetry was not entirely "clean."All of his works were recommended through the massive
Golden Classics Library for those who had an "especial, understanding
love" for the classics and wanted to be "cultivated."104 Schiller's letters

and notes were likewise available, often through the Swäbischer
Schillerverein, founded in 1895 by the Kaiser. An article entitled "To the
Schiller Jubilee" by a priest in 1905 conveyed the enthusiasm. "Let us

take joy in Schiller as he was," Father Schnitzler wrote, "as he happily
lived and passionately suffered."105

The works of Goethe, "the father of all Germans," were also essential

holdings in the Catholic home library. The journal declared Goethe's
era the most fruitful of literary epochs and welcomed the contemporary interest in his poetry and letters, which was making such "happy
progress" among Catholics.106 Commentary on Goethe's poetry could
be found in another important tool for self-education, the Illustrated
History of German Literature. Here one could read not only about
Goethe, but also about the life, character, and works of Heinrich Heine

and could examine the contents of Adalbert Stifter's letters.107 The an-

cient classics of Homer and Vergil were required reading, as were the
101BB, 1(1903), 9.

102Osinski, op. cit., p. 279.
10äAnton Rauscher, Religiös-kulturelle Bewegungen im deutschen Katholizismus seit

1800 (Paderborn, 1986), pp. 9-10.
104BlF, 7 (1910), 195.
105BB, 2 (1905), 141-144.
106BIF, 4 (1907), 161-162.
107BlF, 5 (1908), 118.

BY JEFFREY T. ZALAR43

medieval works of Chaucer, Dante, and Cervantes. The writings of

Herder, Lessing, and Schleiermacher—the greatest German Protestant

theologian of the nineteenth century—also belonged in the new
Catholic canon, along with those of foreign authors like Dickens,
Longfellow, Thackery, Poe, Shakespeare, Keats, Doyle, Twain, Defoe, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Zola, and Ibsen.

These books represented the best of the Western literary tradition.

They also made up the German national canon. By seeking these books
out, by borrowing them from the libraries, by purchasing them, and by
decorating their homes with them, Catholics asserted their status as
guardians of culture at several levels. The German classics were public
property over which Catholics felt they had rightful ownership. This
act of personal cultural consumption—making public goods one's private possessions—was an important strategy for invoking Bildung as
an integrating force. Not only was possession of the classics a declaration of national participation; it was also a claim to partake in Germany's grandeur and repute. The classics stood in the Catholic home as
proudly as the national colors, and they represented the same patriotic

feeling. The poetry of Theodor Körner, who had been seriously injured

during the Napoleonic Wars, for example, was recommended, not only
because he was "noble, pure and good," but because he was "ideal and
patriotic," a "valiant hero (tapferer Held) . . . who shed his blood for the
Fatherland in the most difficult time of distress."108

This Catholic nationalism was more overt in books dealing with Imperial German missionary and colonial activities. Despite the difficulties they encountered in winning approval for a mission under
Bismarck, Catholics in the Kaiserreich saw the propagation of their
faith in Africa and the East as an integral part of German imperialism.
The Borromäus-Blätter reviewed books that addressed missionary life

in this imperialist context. Titles of interest included In Southwest
Africa Against the Hereros and Hottentots, Among the Blacks of the

Congo, The Care ofMenfor God's Kingdom: Thoughts about Missions
to the Heathen, and Visit to the Cannibals of Sumatra, a book that
was, not surprisingly, "not for the young."109 Every good Catholic home
and reading room was to have a large atlas for following the exploits of
German imperialist heroes.110 Catholics also read openly nationalist
tracts. Kaiser Wilhelm's Land: Observations and Experiences in the
™BB, 1 (1903), 23.
109BB, 3 (1905), 5.
""Ibid.

44THE BORROMÄUSVEREIN AND CATHOUC READING HABITS IN IMPERIAL GERMANY

Jungles of New Guinea by Dr. Eugen Werner, for example, was recommended not only because it addressed deficiencies in Catholic geographic recognition, but because it explained the economic value of
New Guinea to the Reich.111 Similarly, /ra InnerAfrica, which was about
a German hunting caravan in Central Africa in 1907-08, was to inspire
nationalist feeling among the Catholic population. "This book is wellsuited to deepen the knowledge of this part of our Protectorate and to
arouse and promote the interest in our colonies," the reviewer noted.112
Other books emphasized the wealth promised by imperialist expansion, like Africa and Its Meaning for Gold Production and On the Diamond and Gold Fields of South Africa.
In celebrating the achievements of German imperialism, Catholics
demonstrated the compatibility between German national identifica-

tion and their confessional commitments.113 This attitude confronted

the popular Protestant conviction that it was impossible for Catholics
loyal to a foreign pope to exhibit the virtues of nationalism. The ideology promoted by the Borromäus-Blätter, however, was both Catholic
and national. It reflected the fact that in the most important colonial
and world-political questions, the Catholic population, led by the Center Party, was on the side of the government.114 Catholic reading tastes
also reflected this view.In May, 1913, for example, the Catholic library in
Paderborn reported a marked increase in the consumption of patriotic
and war literature (Kriegsliteratur)."'' !Furthermore, many books on foreign lands contained disparaging ethnographic information, which contributed to a sense of German national superiority.116 As World War I
approached, the journal encouraged Catholics to read jingoistic speeches,
like those found in the published proceedings of the increasingly nationalistic meetings for Catholic leaders (Katholikentage). The reviewer of the proceedings in 1911 quoted a remarkable passage from a
speech delivered by a representative from Deidesheim:
111BIF, 10 (1913), 186.
"1BW, 7 (1910), 235.

111As patriots, in fact, Catholics hoped to prove they were good or even better Germans
than their Protestant counterparts. See Rudolf Morsey," Die deutschen Katholiken und der
Nationalstaat zwischen Kulturkampf und Erstem Weltkrieg," Historisches Jahrbuch, 90
(1970), 63.
1 "Antonius Liedhegener, "Der deutsche Katholizismus um die Jahrhundertwende
(1890-1914): Ein Literaturbericht," Jahrbuch für christliche Sozialwissenschaften, 32
(1991), 382.
'"BIF, 10(1913), 190.

1 "Books of this kind included works on Egypt, the Sudan, the Amazons and equatorial
South America, Australia, Tasmania, the Balkans, the Orient, Korea, and Tibet. See the BB, 3
(1905), 3-4.

BY JEFFREY T. ZALAR45

And if the Fatherland should call us to the struggle against foreign enemies,
if the Church should call us to the defense of the highest ideals of life
(Lebensideale)—we will be on hand, ready to fight, full of courage; and if
the trumpet of battle sounds, my dear friends, then will our Army shine in
the golden sun, then let the call to arms ring out powerfully: with God for
King, Church, and Fatherland!117
Readers of the Borromäus-Blätter/Bücherwelt and those who visited

the Catholic reading rooms were coaxed along the path of nationalism.
This nationalism was not inconsistent with the faith, in so far as it was

expressed in theological formulae and draped in the prestige of religion. This aspect of Catholic reading was openly "German.'It was oriented
toward cementing the loyalty of Catholics to government-approved initiatives and policies and toward achieving the füll participation of
Catholics in the German national community. The history of German
Catholicism from 1871 to 1914, for weal or for woe, can be seen as a history of its progressive nationalization.118
In this article I have tried to show that in and through the books
Catholics read, they gave to themselves a German identity. The pursuit
of this identity altered Catholic aspirations from preserving the purity
of their subculture to establishing a modus vivendi with the modern
world. Catholics in Imperial Germany, especially after 1900, were determined to keep pace with the times.119 Their canon of reading material
suggests the extent to which modern values had penetrated their ethos.
No longer as prohibitive and censorious, this ethos advocated the general extension of freedom and personal indulgence in accumulating the
cultural capital necessary for inclusion in German society. Through
their training in the best literary, historical, and scientific writing of the
day, Catholics showed that culturally as well as politically they were no
"creatures of any clerical milieu'."120 Even the work of Friedrich Nie117See also Osinski, op. cit., p. 399.
118For Thomas Nipperdey, there was a Gordion knot between the acquisition of German culture by Catholics and their nationalization: "... die Wendung zur modernen Kultur war immer Wendung zur nationalen Kultur." See Nipperdey,"Religion und Gesellschaft,"
p. 596.
"'Roger Aubert denned "Liberal Catholicism" during the reign of Pius X as "an attitude
of mind" rather than a "well-defined doctrine" and the "development of the liberal spirit in
all domains." See Aubert, The Church in a Secularized Society (New York, 1978), p. 53.
¦"Margaret Lavinia Anderson, "The Kulturkampf and the Course of German History,"

Central European History, 19 (1986), 87. This attitude of openness to even anti-Christian

literature suggests that the Borromäusverein was not so "closely tied to Church concerns," especially after 1900, as has been traditionally understood. See, for example, David
Blackbourn, Populists and Patricians. Essays in Modern German History (London and

46THE BORROMÄUSVEREIN AND CATHOUC READING HABITS IN IMPERIAL GERMANY

tzsche was considered of "thorough value," if it only taught how to effectively respond.121
Catholics hoped that by embracing the dominant culture they would

prove themselves patriots, true sons and daughters of the Fatherland.
Despite the evidence of a fervent popular piety, Catholics engaged in

a process of intense cultural negotiation with German society. The
Borromäus-Blätter/Bücherwelt was an important forum for these negotiations, where Catholic doctrine came face to face with the claims of
modern science and the pretensions of German cultural forms. Contributors to the journal conceded a lot in the interest of Catholic assimilation, and they recommended books to their readers that reflected a
settlement on the latter's terms. Perhaps, then, we should not be sur-

prised that when hostilities broke out in August, 1914, the Bücherwelt
proudly reported that many of its own writers had gone out to fight the
"holy war" not only with a uniform and a gun, but with "a good book in
hand."122 The new Catholic canon of literature and the increasing con-

sumption of it played no small role in fomenting this Catholic nationalism. The Bücherwelt recognized this fact as early as 1913, saying,
"Whoever writes the cultural history of Catholic Germany, will not be
able to ignore the powerful Kulturarbeit of the Borromäusvereine . . .
or the Catholic library movement."123

Boston, 1987),p. 154,andAubert,op.«'f.,p.95.1t also challenges Jutta Osinski's claim that
Catholics were not integrated into German literary life in the early twentieth century and
her assertion that "das katholische literarische Leben von den 50er Jahren bis zum Ausbruch des Ersten Weltkriegs" saw "keine nennenswerten Veränderungen . . ." Osinski, op.
cit. ,?. 277.
121BlF, 6 (1909), 213-215.
122BlF, 12 (1914), 1.
125BlF, 10 (1913), 215-218.

CATHOLIC RELIGIOUS IDENTITY AND SOCIAL
INTEGRATION IN INTERWAR NEW ZEALAND

Christopher van der Krogt*

Comparing the history of the Catholic Church in Australia and the
United States, John Tracy Ellis noted, "In both communities an environment unfriendly to their religious faith nurtured a separatist spirit
which varied according to time and place but which in general bred a
so-called ghetto mentality."1 The Catholic "ghetto" was sustained to a
considerable extent by the establishment of denominationally-based organizations and institutions which reinforced the Catholic worldview
and reduced the need for Catholics to associate with non-Catholics in

their daily Uves. Moreover, as Martin Marty has pointed out, it was not
only Catholics who developed intellectual ghettos and denominational
institutions which distinguished them from the dominant culture of the
United States.2 Similar patterns developed in central and north-western
Europe, finding their most extreme expression in the "pillarization"
(verzuiling) of Belgium and the Netherlands. From the later nineteenth

century until the 1960's, Catholics, Protestants, and Socialists developed

more or less self-sufficient parallel societies or "pillars." Each pillar maintained its own cultural associations, sports clubs, educational institutions,
social security organizations, trade unions, political parties, newspapers,
and broadcasting networks. Collectively, the pillars were thought of as
supporting the nation, and governments encouraged their development
(for example, by subsidizing denominational schools) because it was assumed that minimizing the contact between antagonistic communities

like Catholics and Calvinists was necessary to avoid social conflict.3

*Dr. van der Krogt has lectured in history at Massey University, Palmerston North, and
in religious studies at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. This article summarizes a section of his Ph.D. thesis, "More a Part than Apart: The Catholic Community in
New Zealand Society, 1918-1940" (Massey University, 1994).

'John Tracy Ellis, "Australian Catholicism: An American Perspective,"Journal of Reli-

gious History, 10 (June, 1979), 314.
2Martin E. Marty, "The Catholic Ghetto and All the Other Ghettos," Catholic Historical
Review, LXVIII (April, 1982), 185-205.
'Hugh McLeod, "Building the Catholic Ghetto': Catholic Organisations 1870-1914," in

47

48

CATHOLIC REUGIOUS IDENTITY AND SOCIAL INTEGRATION IN INTERWAR NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand Catholics, as a minority group, needed to maintain their
religious integrity without unduly antagonizing the Protestant majority.

At 164,133 in 1921 and 195,261 in 1936, Catholics made up just over

thirteen percent of the non-Maori population of interwar New Zealand.
In 1921 seventy-six per cent of the population were either Anglicans,
Presbyterians, or Methodists.4 Catholics' religious beliefs and practices,
based on the evolving patterns of contemporary European (and North
American) Catholic spirituality, marked them out as quite different from
Protestants, including Anglicans whose church was overwhelmingly
evangelical in tone. Moreover, the Catholic population as a whole was
neither wealthy nor well-educated although some Catholics achieved

prominence in business or politics, including Sir Joseph Ward (Prime
Minister, 1906-1912, 1928-1930) and Michael Joseph Savage (Prime
Minister, 1935-1940), who died in office, having recently returned to
the faith of his childhood.

As in other countries, the maintenance of Catholic identity by means
of numerous lay organizations and religious institutions, especially during the interwar years, constitutes a prima-facie case for supposing that
there was at least a Catholic ghetto in New Zealand. Catholics in
Timara, for example, had a particularly well-organized parish of 2,350
souls in 1926.5 Lay organizations listed in 1928 included the Children of
Mary, the Sacred Heart Sodality (for women), St. Anne's Guild (a
women's charitable society), an Altar Society, the Hibernian Australasian
Catholic Benefit Society, a Girls' Club for former pupils of the school, a
choir, and the Catholic Club. Affiliated to the latter were St. John's Tennis Club, the Celtic Cricket and Football Club, St. Patrick's Rifle Club, the

Catholic Choral Society, the Literary and Debating Club, the Dramatic
Club, and the Swimming Club.6
W.J. Sheils and Diana Wood (eds.), Voluntary Religion ("Studies in Church History" Volume 23 [Oxford, 1986]), pp. 411-412; Ernst H. Kossmann, The Low Countries,

1 780-1940 (Oxford, 1978), pp. 304, 568-569; John A. Coleman, The Evolution ofDutch
Catholicism, 1958-1974 (Berkeley, 1978), pp. 58-68; Karel Dobbelaere, "Secularization,

Pillarization, Religious Involvement, and Religious Change in the Low Countries," in
Thomas M. Gannon, SJ. (ed.), World Catholicism in Transition (New York, 1988), pp.
82-90.

'Dominion ofNew Zealand. Population Census, 1936,VoLNl (Wellington, 1940),p. 1.

^Dominion of New Zealand. Population Census, 1926, Vol. VIII (Wellington, 1928),

p. 16.

6Year Book (published for 1928 by the Society of Mary in New Zealand and Australia),
pp. 1 36- 1 37; cf. Month, April 1 , 193 1 , pp. 6-7, and Barbara Harper, The Harvest: History of
the Catholic Church in Timaru, 1869-1969 (Timaru, 1969),p. 87 andpassim.

BY CHRISTOPHER VAN DER KROGT

A review by B. J. Barnao of Catholic organizations in Wellington in

1936—when the Catholic population was 22,6797—discussed a number of pious and charitable associations: the Holy Name Society, the

Children of Mary Sodality, the Sacred Heart Sodality for women at St.
Joseph's parish, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Seamen's Institute,
the Third Order of St. Francis, and the Third Order of Mary. Barnao also
referred to Catholic Scouting, the Hibernian Benefit Society, the
Catholic Readers' Club, the Catholic Sociology classes, and the Catholic
Students' Guild. Former pupils' organizations included the Marist Brothers'Old Boys' Association, which sponsored a Debating Club and a num-

ber of sports teams, St. Patrick's College Old Boys, which included a

Junior Social Club, and St. Mary's Old Girls, as well as Wellington
branches of associations for former pupils of Catholic schools in other
cities. Individual parishes had their own tennis clubs as well as other
cultural groups and sports teams, such as the Variety Vagabonds of St.
Anne's and the hockey and basketball teams at St. Joseph's. There was
an annual Debutante Charity Ball and a Catholic women's hostel.8 The
most notable omission from Barnao's list was the Catholic Women's

League, which was established only in Auckland and Christchurch before World War II, but Wellington, like the other larger centers, also had
a Catholic hospital and several charitable institutions for orphans, the
sick, and old people.9
Quite different interpretations have been placed upon this proliferation of Catholic organizations and institutions. Ernest Simmons argued
that, during the 1920's and the subsequent generation, efforts to establish denominational associations turned the Catholic community "inwards on itself" so that it avoided participation in the wider community

and developed "a sort of parallel society."10 Erik Olssen has character-

ized the Catholic community as closing ranks "behind a strategy of institutional separatism" in response to Protestant hostility, but observed
that, simultaneously, "Catholics continued to work for acceptance by
the community."1' After reviewing evidence before 1930 (and mostly
from Australia), Hugh Jackson concluded, "There was never a Catholic
'Census, 1936, Vol. VI, pp. 7-8.
"NZ Tablet, March 1 1 , 1936, pp. 9, 1 1 .
'For a listing of Catholic institutions, including some lay associations, see Australasian

Catholic Directory, 1941 (Sydney, 1940), pp. 331-332, 343, 351, 356.
'0E. R. Simmons, A Brief History of the Catholic Church in New Zealand (Auckland,

1978), pp. 100-101.
"E. Olssen, "Towards a New Society," in Geoffrey W Rice (ed), The Oxford History of
New Zealand (2nd edition; Auckland, 1992), p. 271 .

50

CATHOUC REUGIOUS IDENTITY AND SOCIAL INITGRATION IN INTERWAR NEW ZEALAND

ghetto in the nineteenth century and this century did not see one come
into being."12
Only by scrutinizing the organization of the Catholic community in

interwar New Zealand in some detail can these claims be assessed. This

paper investigates the extent of and the reasons for Catholic separatism
during the interwar period, concentrating on lay organizations for charitable, social, cultural, educational, and sporting purposes. The reasons
for duplicating the efforts of other groups by establishing an array of
Catholic institutions and associations will be considered, and the extent
to which Catholics thereby isolated themselves from the rest of New

Zealand society will be evaluated. Deriving most of its evidence from
the Catholic press, the paper presents an overall view of the Catholic
community and how it saw itself. Elsewhere I have argued that although
Catholic spirituality was very different from that of the Protestant
churches, it was usually viewed respectfully; the lack of shared religious
experience did not necessarily lead to isolation in other domains.13 At
the same time, however, New Zealand Catholics frequently asserted the
moral and doctrinal superiority of their Church over all others, for example, by exaggerating the distinctiveness of Catholic teaching on birth
control.14 Although resembling in some respects the ghettos or pillars
built up by Catholics overseas, the New Zealand Catholic community, it
will be argued, sought to maintain a distinctive identity while at the
same time participating fully in the wider society. The Church was
more preoccupied with defending its own interests than with seeking
to transform society at large but did endeavor to promote Catholic values while avoiding unnecessary confrontation with the government or
the other churches.

By sponsoring "secular" activities and organizations, the Church competed for members with comparable non-Catholic organizations like
overseas Catholic ghettos or pillars. When Father Frederick Walls of
Hamilton presided over the inauguration of a Social and Dramatic Club
in 1937, he expressed the hope that "the new club would cater for the
many young people in the parish who hitherto had been obliged to join
non-Catholic bodies for their social entertainment."15 Only after "a large
12H. R. Jackson, Churches and People in Australia and New Zealand, 1860-1930
(Wellington, 1987), p. 103.
"Van der Krogt,"More a Part than Apart," pp. 132-155.
ulbid., pp. 258-294; Christopher van der Krogt," 'Pleasure Without Maternity' : Catholic
and Protestant Attitudes to Contraception in Interwar New Zealand," Colloquium, 29
(1997), 3-17.

nZealandia, April 8, 1937,p. 3.

BY CHRISTOPHER VAN DER KROGT5 1

percentage of their pupils" had already joined existing Scout troops did

the Christian Brothers decide to establish the first Catholic troop in

Dunedin.16 Catholic groups like former pupils' associations and the Hibernians organized sports teams and promoted cultural activities, such
as drama, debating, and public speaking, which could have been undertaken in a religiously neutral context. St. Catherine's Ex-Pupils' Association in Invercargill formed Bridge, Play-Reading, and Musical Circles in

I936.17 Moreover, membership of former pupils' organizations, like the

Christian Brothers' Old Boys' Association in Dunedin, was open to
Catholics who had not attended the school concerned.18

To build and maintain their churches, presbyteries, schools, convents,
hospitals, orphanages, and other institutions, Catholics were inevitably
committed to incessant fund-raising activities, especially bazaars, queen
carnivals, lotteries, socials, dances, and card tournaments. Organized en-

tertainments—some of which were disapproved of by Protestant contemporaries—were invariably intended to generate revenue, but they
also served to promote a sense of community identity. While the winter
euchre evenings in aid of the rebuilding fund of St. Joseph's parish,
Wellington, were "a great success financially as well as socially," they
were considered "primarily social gatherings."19 After the Invercargill
Children of Mary had organized four socials and dances in 1927, the
New Zealand Tablet's correspondent remarked,
No doubt exists that these functions have fostered a social Catholic atmo-

sphere among the young men and women of the parish, and parents in the

future can surely do no better than to encourage their boys and girls to attend these socials, where they will come into contact with those of their
own Faith. Apart from the social point of view, the financial results have exceeded all expectations.20

As this quotation implies, one of the most important functions of
such entertainments, and of many Catholic associations, was to encourage marriage within the Catholic community. The family was one of the
principal strongholds of Catholic identity; intermarriage, it was feared,
endangered not only the religious integrity of the Catholic spouse, but
also that of the children. A Tablet article warned, "What great hope can
you have of a happy married life in this world, and a happy eternity in
'6NZ Tablet, July 12, 1933,p. 29.

'7NZ Tablet, August 12, 1936,p.7;Zealandia,Aprü22, 1937, p. 3.
1WZ Tablet, May 6, 1920, p. 39.
"St.Joseph's parish notices, April 26, 1931, Wellington Catholic Archdiocesan Archive.
2WZ Tablet, August 31, 1927,p. 31.

52

CATHOUC RELIGIOUS IDENTITY AND SOCIAL INTEGRATION IN INTERWAR NEW ZEALAND

the next, when sad experience shows that the vast majority of mixed
marriages bring shipwreck to the Faith of the Catholic party and the
children?"21 Priests were instructed to do all they could to discourage
mixed marriage and to preach on the subject at least annually, on the
second Sunday after Epiphany (when the gospel reading concerned the
wedding feast at Cana).22 To demonstrate their disapproval, the bishops
required mixed marriages to be solemnized in the sacristy rather than
in the body of the church. To limit the damage, they required the nonCatholic spouse to promise in writing that the children would be
brought up Catholic. More positively, they agreed that "well conducted
Catholic dances . . . served a useful purpose and might well continue."23
Similarly, tennis clubs, which attracted young Catholics of both sexes
and arranged socials and dances as well as providing sports facilities,
were a very successful means of promoting Catholic marriages. It was
observed in 1938 that at least one Catholic tennis club in Wellington
could claim "a record of Catholic marriages of which any matrimonial
agency would be envious."24
Catholic lay organizations whose primary functions were charitable,
social, sporting, or cultural were intended to inculcate and sustain a distinctive worldview and religious practices. In meetings of Catholics, the
Church's teachings were unlikely to be challenged or dismissed, as they
could be in religiously mixed gatherings. The Catholic Women's League
counted among its aims the reinforcing of Catholic attitudes to issues
like birth control.25 In Auckland and Christchurch, the Grail Girls organized fashion parades to demonstrate: that young women could select

tennis and beachwear which conformed to Catholic standards of

dress.26 According to Joseph Hayward, President of the Christchurch
Catholic Club (whose activities included debating and billiards), the
club offered young men a venue for discussing topical issues or any
other matters in a Catholic atmosphere among their fellow-Catholics.27

At breakfast after an annual Mass and Communion of the Marist Broth-

ers' Old Boys' Association in Christchurch, Brother Phelan Hansen "congratulated the association on the splendid display of Faith witnessed
2WZ Tablet, November 24, 1937, p. 8.
22Bishop Liston to clergy, January 26, 1922, CLE 76-13/5, Auckland Catholic Diocesan
Archive; Minutes of bishops' meeting, May 6, 1925, CLE 1-5.
"Minutes of bishops' meeting, April 24, 1929, Christchurch Catholic Diocesan Archive.
"Catholic News (newspaper of St. Joseph's parish, Wellington), February, 1938, p. 6.
"Zealandia, August 1 , 1935, p. 7.

xZealandia,July 20, 1939,p.2;August 24, 1939,p.2;November 2, 1939, ?-9; NZ Tablet,
November 1 , 1939, p. 6.
17NZ Tablet, September 19, 1918, p. 17; March 4, 1920, p. 28.

BY CHRISTOPHER VAN DER KROGT5 3

that morning" and recalled that the association's "principal object . . .
was the keeping of the boys to their duties as Catholics."28 Church organizations offered wholesome alternatives to the immoral entertainment offered in the cinema and elsewhere. After the final performance
by the Catholic Repertory Society of James Matthew Barrie's Mary
Rose, in the Auckland Town HaU Concert Chamber, Gaston Mervale, the

producer, declared that people were "tired of the rubbish and suggestive entertainment that is so often placed before them" and that it was
the duty of societies like his to offer more acceptable productions.29
Nowhere was the establishment of organizations to inculcate
Catholic values and promote religious practices considered more critical than among the young, a view which led Catholics to establish a
comprehensive network of private schools. Condemning the state education system for its exclusion of religious training, and unwilling to
support the Protestant churches' demand for Bible reading in schools,
Catholics argued that "unless we secure for our children the priceless
boon of a Christian education they will become poisoned by [the] environment and demoralised by the lax atmosphere in which they live."
It was "only in youth that sound moral principles can be impressed on
the plastic souls of the people."30 Bishop James Whyte argued that building Catholic schools took precedence over churches since without the
schools, the churches would soon be empty.31
Because of the danger that young Catholics would drift away from
the Church and fall under non-Catholic influences, the work of the
schools was complemented by that of other organizations, activities,
and institutions. Archbishop Francis Redwood, S.M., declared in 1922
that the great problem of the day was "to discover and adopt the most
efficient means to preserve in true faith and sound morality our
Catholic youth, by keeping them together after they have left school or
college."32 The Marist Brothers in Christchurch were invited by Bishop
Matthew Brodie to establish a Scout troop in order to "supplement materially the religious training the boys received in our Catholic
schools."33 Whyte urged that young men be encouraged to join the Hi2WZ Tablet, June 7, 1923, p. 45.

29MoMh, August 1, 1933, p. 15; NZTablet, July 26, 1933, p. 7.; cf. Zealandia, September
24, 1936, p. 4, for an expression of similar sentiments on the part of John Bartholomew
Callan, a Catholic judge, in association with the Wellington Catholic Players.
5WZ Tablet, February 5, 1920, p. 15.

"NZ Tablet, April 21, 1926, p. 19.

3WZ Tablet, August 3, 1922,p. 21.
5WZ Tablet, December 27, 1933, p. 27.

54

CATHOUC REUGIOUS IDENTITY AND SOCIAL INTEGRATION IN INTERWAR NEW ZEALAND

bernian Society, "where their morals will be guarded," since they might

otherwise fall into the company of "evil companions."34 In the larger
cities there were hostels where young Catholic women who came to
town for employment could live "in a Catholic atmosphere" where they
were "immune from the evils which might result from being housed in
ordinary accommodation houses."35 The rationale for establishing
Catholic youth organizations was explained in a St. Vincent de Paul Society report which discussed Catholic Scouting:
The Catholic population of the Dominion is one-seventh of the total, consequently the Catholic youth or maiden has to move and work in an atmosphere which is largely non-Catholic. It is essential, therefore, that our
Catholic youth be strengthened and fortified by creating for them movements which will keep them in an atmosphere which is essentially
Catholic, especially in their most impressionable years.36

Drawing Catholics into Church-sponsored activities and associations,

then, was not an end in itself but a preparation for participation, as

Catholics, in the wider society. To provide Catholics with wholesome
entertainment or edification, it was not necessary to avoid all things
Protestant: Catholic libraries, such as the Sacred Heart Library in

Timaru, which had three or four thousand books in 1933, included in

their collections carefully selected fiction by non-Catholic authors.37
Andrew Lysaght, S.M., advised an audience of Hibernians not to limit

their reading to Catholic authors or publishers lest they become intel-

lectually isolated and incapable of exercising any influence among nonCatholics.38 At the opening of a new convent school in the Auckland
suburb of Mount Albert, Bernard Gondringer, S.M., explained, "It is not
competition or rivalry that prompts the erection of our schools, for we
wish to live always in complete harmony with those about us."39
Catholic schools followed the same syllabus as their state-run counter-

parts, supplementing it with religious teaching and devotions. They,

too, sought to inculcate a sense of patriotism and expected their pupils
to take their places in New Zealand society.40 The lectures arranged by
14NZ Tablet, March 23, 1922, p. 19.

'¦'Month, April 16, 1929, p. 31; NZ Tablet, May 8, 1929, p. 47.
16NZ Tablet, December 7, 1 932, p. 35.

5WZ Tablet, December 6, 1933, p. 39.
'"NZ Tablet, March 31, 1937,p.6.
wMonth, February 15, 1927, p. 43.

^Christopher van der Krogt,"Good Catholics and Good Citizens," in Bryan Gilling (ed.),
Godly Schools? Some Approaches to Christian Education in New Zealand ("Waikato

Studies in Religion,"Volume 4 [Hamilton, 19931), pp. 20-23.

BY CHRISTOPHER VAN DER KROGT5 5

Catholic student guilds not only served to defend the students' faith but
also prepared them, according to John Higgins, S.M., to defend publicly

the Church's position on contentious issues.41 One of the chief aims of
Catholic cultural clubs, such as St. Joseph's Literary and Debating Society in Waimate, was to promote the cultural development of their mem-

bers and to train them "for the battle of life."42 St. Patrick's Young Men's
Club in Auckland decided in 1939 that each member would conduct

the meetings for a month in turn, in order to gain experience useful for
"business life later on."43

Charitable activities undertaken by Catholics were also oriented, to a
significant extent, toward the wider society beyond the Catholic community. Opening St. Joseph's Orphanage for girls in Halswell (near
Christchurch), Brodie explained that, "while primarily the orphanage

was for Catholic children, children of other denominations could be ad-

mitted."44 Nearly half the residents (orphans and chronically ill patients)
at the Home of Compassion in Island Bay, Wellington, were nonCatholics.45 During the Depression, Catholic sewing guilds affiliated to
the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Wellington contributed to the work of
local relief depots organized by inter-church committees, while St.
Joseph's Sewing Guild established a depot for distributing clothing
from the Red Cross.46 Dunedin's Catholic orphanages shared the profits
of the annual Catholic Debutante Ball with the Otago Branch of the

Crippled Children Society from 1935 to 1937 and with the Plunket So-

ciety (officially the Royal New Zealand Society for the Health of Women
and Children) in the next two years.47 In the first year of its existence,
the Christchurch Catholic Women's League assisted such community
organizations as the Sanatorium Service Society and the Friends of St.
Helen's Hospital (a state institution), and collected money for the King
George V Hospital fund and the Red Cross appeal for Spanish children.48
The community at large usually expressed approval of Catholic charitable institutions, cultural activities, and educational efforts. At a public
meeting to organize fund-raising to rebuild St. Joseph's Orphanage in
"NZ Tablet,Aprü 18, 1934, p. 21.

4WZ Tablet, May 20, 1936, p. 6.

«Zealandia, March 2, 1939, p. 6.
44NZ Tablet, March 4, 1936, p. 9.
"Pat Rafter, Never Let Go! The Remarkable Story of Mother Aubert (Wellington,

1972), pp. 105-106, 19946NZ Tablet, August 5, 1931, p. 46.
47NZ Tablet,July 3, 1935, p. 6;July 10, 1935, pp. 3, 6;June 23, 1937, p. 5;June 22, 1938, p.
5;July 19, 1939, p. 5; July 26, 1939, p. 6.
"Zealandia, August 12, 1937, p. 10; cf. December 30, 1937, pp. 3,6.

56

CATHOUC REUGIOUS IDENTITY AND SOCIAL INT EGRATION IN INTERWAR NEW ZEALAND

Takapuna, Auckland, after it burnt down in 1923, the Reverend William
Monckton, an Anglican, argued that "the orphanage had a right of appeal on the whole community, as it opened its doors to all irrespective
of faith."49 The following year, the new building, blessed by the Apostolic
Delegate, Archbishop Bartholomew Cattaneo, was opened by the
Governor-General, Viscount Jellicoe, in the presence of Mayor A. Gould,

who spoke briefly, and a number of parliamentarians; Bishop James

Michael Liston acknowledged the generous support of members of
other denominations.50 Performances by Catholic dramatic societies
were not staged simply for Catholic audiences; for example, Mary Rose
'was -well publicized in the New Zealand Herald.71 Mervale's com-

ments, already noted, were endorsed by the Governor-General, Lord
Bledisloe, who was in the audience.2 Even though Catholic schools
catered overwhelmingly for Catholics themselves, they were often commended by public figures. At the opening of St. Joseph's School in New
Plymouth, Education Minister Robert Wright declared that "Catholics
were deserving of congratulations for the manner in which they provided for their children" and P.J. H. White expressed similar sentiments
on behalf of the regional Education Board.53
Catholic institutions and associations typically had good relations
with parallel non-Catholic interests, to which they were often linked by
umbrella organizations. Among those present at the opening of the orphanage in Halswell were representatives of similar Anglican, Presbyterian, and Methodist institutions.54 Like the YMCA, the Catholic Church
in Auckland organized a Big Brother Movement to assist the Child Welfare Department by supervising juvenile delinquents (or potential
delinquents). Catholic Big Brothers co-operated with their non-Catholic
counterparts but encouraged their young charges to join Catholic clubs
and to attend Mass.55 Representatives of other friendly societies often
«Mora«?, March 15, 1923,p. 11.
'"Month, March 18, 1924,p. 53.

"NZ Herald, July 20, 1933, p. 16 (entertainment page); July 21, 1933, p. 3 (women's
page), p. 12 (review), p. 18 (advertisement); July 22, 1933, p. 9 (entertainment page).
"Month, August 1, 1933,p. 15; NZ Tablet, July 26, 1933, p. 7.
'Worn*, November 16, 1926, p. 34; NZ Tablet, November 17, 1926, p. 27.

"4NZ Tablet, March 4, 1936, p. 9; Zealandia, February 27, 1936,p. 5.
"Month, February 19, 1924,p.34;May 19, 1925, p. 13; September 20, 1927, p. 7;January
1, 1931, P- 20; August 1, 1931, p. 21; Appendices to the Journals of the House of Representatives (AJHR), 1927, Vol. II, E.-4, pp. 4-5. The Catholic Big Brothers were inspired by
their co-religionists in Chicago (Month, May I"7, 1927, p. 7; February 21, 1928, pp. 17, 19;
March 20, 1928, p. 19).

BY CHRISTOPHER VAN DER KROGT57

attended Hibernian gatherings, especially jubilee celebrations, where
they responded to the toast to "kindred societies."56 James Marlow, the
St. Joseph's Branch delegate, was re-elected for a second term as President of the Dunedin United Friendly Societies' Council in 193 157
Catholic Scouting and Guiding were organized in close co-operation
with the appropriate authorities in the wider movement.58 Soon after its
inauguration in 1936, the Catholic Women's League in Christchurch invited representatives from about thirty-five other women's organizations to a reception in order that they might all become more familiar
with each other's aims and activities. This initiative led to an invitation

to appoint delegates to the National Council of Women.59
Cultural and sporting competitions were the most common vehicle
for interaction between Catholic and non-Catholic organizations. In
1923 the Ashburton Catholic Literary and Debating Club defeated St.
Stephen's (Anglican) Club at cards and in a debate over the relative merits of state control and private enterprise.60 St. Mary's Literary and Debating Society hosted the Christchurch Federated Debating and Public
Speaking Classes' 1935 annual competition, in which the YMCA and
several secular community organizations were represented.61 The Children of Mary Sodality at St. Joseph's Parish formed a basketball team in
1933 which entered the Wellington basketball competition.62 St. Patrick's
Table Tennis Club, South Dunedin, was formed the same year and entered two teams in the local competition.63 By organizing their own
teams and clubs on the basis of religious affiliation (and, to a lesser extent, ethnicity) the Catholic community maintained a distinct identity
while still being integrated into wider sporting networks. Given its importance in New Zealand society, success in rugby was an especially important means of demonstrating that good Catholics were true New
Zealanders. Speaking at a farewell function hosted by the Marist Brothers' Old Boys' Association in Wellington before an overseas tour in
1935, two Catholic All Blacks promised they woukT'always keep up their
"NZTablet, September 20, 1923,pp.23,25;Zealandia, September 1, 1938,p.8.
5WZ Tablet, April 8, 1931, p. 39.
"NZ Tablet, August 25, 1933, p. 7; November 8, 1933, p. 7.

"»Zealandia, August 13, 1936,p.7;December 31, 1936,p.7;Josephine van Montfort,iei
Your Light Shine: Catholic Women's League, Diocese of Christchurch, 1936-1986
(Christchurch, 1 986), p. 2 1 .
60JVZ Tablet, October 1 1 , 1923, p. 31 ; October 25, 1923, p. 27.
"Zealandia, September 12, 1935, p. 3; NZ Tablet, September 18, 1935, p. 7.
"Catholic News,Ju\y, 1933, p. 2; August, 1933, p. 5.
&NZ Tablet,Msy 31, 1933, p. 33.

58

CATHOUC REUGIOUS IDENTITY AND SOCIAL INTEGRATION IN INTERWAR NEW ZEALAND

religion."64 A later report noted that the Catholic All Blacks "went to
Mass at St. Mary's, Bradford, on a recent Sunday."65
It was not always easy for sports teams to combine a distinct Catholic
identity with participation in the wider society, but whenever Catholic
teams were excluded from a competition, they entered another.
Catholic schools usually entered local sports competitions as a matter
of course, although, during the early 1 920's, primary school teams were
sometimes excluded. There was considerable antagonism on the part of
some state primary teachers toward all private schools, most of which
were Catholic. At the annual meeting of the Auckland Primary Schools'
Rugby Union in May, 1921, it was urged that the Marist Brothers' Ver-

mont Street School be excluded from the rugby competition because
the Brothers were employing "underhand tactics" to win games and

thereby entice boys away from the public schools.66 Teams excluded
from official competitions turned to other sports or, with the help of
rugby administrators who rejected the state school teachers' policy, organized alternative competitions.67 After a dispute with the Canterbury
Rugby Union in 1923, the Marist Brothers' Old Boys' Association in
Christchurch decided to play rugby league and soccer.68 At issue was
the Rugby Union's concern to assert its authority over an independentlyminded club, rather than sectarianism.69

By emphasizing the considerable range of religious and secular activities carried out under the auspices of the Catholic community, this discussion has inevitably given the misleading impression that most
Catholics were actively involved. It was primarily the more pious
Catholics who determined the character of the community, but there

were, of course, thousands of nominal Catholics as well as observant

Catholics who felt no need to join their Church's social, cultural, or
sporting associations. There were frequent complaints about parents
who ignored the Church's demand that children be educated in
64NZ Tablet, August 7, 1935,p.34.
6WZ Tablet, November 6, 1935, p. 5.
6WZ Tablet, May 12, 1921, p. 21.
"7NZ Tablet, April 20, 1922, p. 23, and June 22, 1922, p. 31 (Dunedin); Press, April 18,
1923, p. 11, and AfZ Tablet, November 2, 1922, p. 39, and May 10, 1923, p. 33

(Christchurch); Pat Gallagher, The Marist Brothers in New Zealand, Fiji and Samoa,

1876-1976 (Tuakau, 1976),p. 114 (Wellington).
""Press, April 8, 1924, p. 10.
"Conflicting interpretations are given in van der Krogt, "More a Part than Apart," pp.

196-202, and William Brown,"The Payne Trophy Dispute," in Another Harvest, a New Be-

ginning: The Marist Rugby Football Club, Christchurch, 1945-1995 (Christchurch,

1995;no editor named), pp. 63-70.

BY CHRISTOPHER VAN DER KROGT59

Catholic schools, thereby risking their moral development for the dubious benefits of social advancement.70 During a presentation at the end

of the 1933 tennis season, Father Daniel Buckley expressed regret that

"there were so many Catholic players in Dunedin who thought it beneath their dignity to play for a Catholic club."71 It was noted in 1936
that membership of the Timaru Catholic Club had been declining for
several years.72 A correspondent to the Tablet complained in 1929 that,
in his district, "large numbers" of Catholic men belonged to the Oddfellows rather than the Hibernians.73 Encouraged by Archbishop Thomas
O 'Shea, the Hibernians adopted in 1934 a five-year plan to increase

their membership from about 4,000 to ??,???.74 By the end of this period, however, the total membership of the New Zealand District of the
Society was only about 4,500, while the break-away Northern District,

formed in 1934 despite clerical opposition, had perhaps another 400
members.75

If lay Catholics did not participate as fully in Church-sponsored asso-

ciations as the clergy wanted them to, warnings about mixed marriage
were also frequently unheeded. In the year ending March 1 , 1926, there
were sixty-one weddings in St. Joseph's Cathedral, Dunedin, of which

twenty-two (36 per cent) were mixed.76 Of forty-three weddings in St.

Joseph's Church, Wellington, during the year ending June 30, 1935,
twenty-three (53 per cent) were mixed—a proportion only slightly
higher than for the archdiocese as a whole.77 Moreover, while a few
Catholics persuaded their prospective spouses to "turn," others avoided
the humiliations imposed on mixed weddings by seeking the ministrations of Protestant clergymen—or of the Registry Office. The frequency
of mixed marriage not only indicates that Catholics of marriageable age
interacted socially with non-Catholics but also ensured that numerous
Catholic spouses and their children had non-Catholic relatives.
71WZ Tablet, November 8, 1923, p. 29; Mora«?, February 2, 1931, p. 14.
7WZ Tablet, May 24, 1933, p. 6.

7WZ Tablet, May 6, 1936, p. 23.
73"Pater Familias" to the editor, NZ Tablet, March 6, 1929, pp. 43-44.
74NZ Tablet, June 13, 1934, p. 34; June 12, 1935, p. 11; June 24, 1936, p. 13.
75Membership figures for the previous year (based on the most recently submitted reports by local branches) were published in the government's annual reports on Friendly
Societies and Trade Unions (AJHR, 1939, Vol. Ill, H.-l, pp.27- 28; 1940,Vol. ??,?.-l, pp.8, 10).
''Quinquennial report, Diocese of Dunedin, May, 1927, item 70, pp. 30, 45, Dunedin
Catholic Diocesan Archive.

^Catholic News, August, 1935, p. 2; cf."Caritas"to the editor, NZ Tablet,July 12, 1939, p.
7, citing a diocesan authority "than whom there is none higher" to the effect that nearly
50 per cent of marriages were mixed.

60

CATHOLIC REUGIOUS IDENTITY AND SOCIAL INTEGRATION IN INTERWAR NEW ZEALAND

The extent of mixed marriage is a reminder that the Catholic population was geographically integrated into the larger society and herein
lies one of the reasons for the lack of a Catholic ghetto in New Zealand.

Only in the country's two smallest provinces (each accounting for 1.24

per cent of the national population in the 1936 census), were Catholics
(thirteen per cent of the national population) notably over-represented,
namely, Westland (nearly thirty per cent) and Marlborough (about seventeen per cent).78 In the cities and larger towns, the proportion of
Catholics was similar to the national average, although they were likely
to be more concentrated in the older, more central—and poorer—suburbs.79

At the turn of the century, the French visitor André Siegfried observed that although Catholics acted together when the interests of
their Church were threatened, they had not attempted—so far—to
form a political party, but contented themselves with "obstinate demands" for educational change.80 New Zealand Catholics were never in
a position to establish their own political party or trade union; but neither did sectarian politics force them into defensive isolation.81 In imitation of developments in Europe and Australia, a New Zealand Catholic
Federation was initiated in 1912-13 to lobby for Catholic interests, notably to oppose the Protestant-inspired Bible in Schools campaign and
to seek aid for Catholic schools. This ;ind other evidence of Catholic as-

sertiveness—not least the advocacy of Sinn Fein by the Reverend Dr.
James Kelly, editor of the New Zealand Tablet—inspired a countermovement, the Protestant Political Association (PPA), founded in 1917

under the auspices of the Orange Lodge by the Reverend Howard Elliott, a Baptist. For several years, feeding on wartime pressures, Elliott
gained a large following and exerted some influence over the Reform
Government led by an Ulster-born Protestant, William Massey. However,
with the end of the war, the settlement in Ireland, the Government's ful-

fillment of some militant Protestant demands, and the quiet dissolution
of the Catholic Federation (in 1923), sectarian strife abated. Most
Protestants, including Elliott's own church, were embarrassed by his
more extreme antics, while Catholics henceforth refrained from pro7"Census, 1936, Vol. VI, p. iii.
"Olssen, op. cit. ,p. 270; van der Krogt,"More a Part than Apart," pp. 21-22.
"0A. Siegfried, Democracy in New Zealand, translated by E. V. Burns (2nd edition;
Wellington, 1982), pp. 317-318.
81For the following, see especially Paul O'Connor, "Sectarian Conflict in New Zealand,

1911-1920,"Political Science, 19 (July, 1967), 3- 16, and the relevant entries in Claudia Or-

ange (ed.), The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Vols. 2 and 3 (Wellington and
Auckland, 1993 and 1996).

BY CHRISTOPHER VAN DER KROGT6 1

voking Protestant antagonism. In large measure, sectarian tension had
been aroused by external forces, but by the time world war broke out
again, Catholics enjoyed warm relations with the leading Protestant denominations and the Labour Government.

Olssen suggests that this sectarian conflict forced Catholics to close
ranks, but the development of Catholic institutions and associations
began long before the rise of the PPA and continued long after its decline into obscurity during the later 1920's.82 Back in 1905, for example,
Redwood had reported to the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation
of the Faith that the most effective means of sustaining the faith and

morals of Catholics was to provide entertainment and instruction in a

Catholic environment for young people who had left school.83 Catholic
schools and lay organizations were less a response to occasional outbreaks of sectarianism than to the threat of religious assimilation or indifference. A member of the Catholic Social Guild in Wellington,
concerned that young Catholics usually socialized in non-Catholic environments, commended for local imitation the organization of lay
Catholics in Scotland. There, allegedly, the Church had to struggle
against "anti-Catholic influence" which was far more "open and rampant" than in New Zealand: "What we have to contend with is a subtle,
penetrative [,] materialistic influence, wholly anti-Christian; religious indifferentism permeating the entire social life of New Zealand, daily undermining the Catholic defences of our youth who participate therein."84
Since the rationale for lay associations in New Zealand differed from
that of other countries, the extent and character of such organizations
also differed. In contrast to the United States and much of Europe, New
Zealand has been a remarkably secular society, more inclined to understate than to emphasize religious differences; a similar attitude has prevailed in regard to ethnic distinctions.
Unlike the United States or Australia, religious motives for establishing separate organizations and institutions were not usually reinforced
much by ethnic differences from the rest of the population in New
Zealand.85 It is extremely difficult to determine the exact proportions of
ethnic groups within the Catholic community, but the overwhelming
majority was of Irish descent—although the flow of Irish immigrants
"Olssen,o/>.«f.,p.271.
"'"Rapport à la Sacrée Congrégation de la Propagande sur l'archidiocèse de Wellington
(Nouvelle-Zélande) pour l'an 1905," Wellington Catholic Archdiocesan Archive. Note the
quotation above (p. 53) expressing the same view in 1922.
"WZ Tablet, July 6, 1938, p. 9.
"'For this paragraph and the next, see van der Krogt,"More a Part than Apart," pp. 3-17.

62

CATHOUC REUGIOUS IDENTITY AND SOCIAL INTEGRATION IN INTERWAR NEW ZEALAND

had declined to a trickle by the interwar period.86 At the time of the

1936 census, there were 25,865 Irish-born residents, including Protes-

tants.87 There were also small numbers of French, German, Polish,
Dalmatian, Italian, Lebanese—and English—Catholics. Among the Dalmatians, Italians, and Lebanese, ethnic identity was reinforced by continued immigration. A 1928 estimate gave the number of Dalmatians— the
largest of the non-British groups—as 4,000, presumably including those
born in New Zealand; over one thousand arrived in the interwar period.88 Members of some ethnic groups lived in close proximity, but
they were almost invariably outnumbered not only by their AngloSaxon Protestant neighbors but also by Catholics of Irish descent. The
largest population of Italians and their descendants was in the Wellington suburb of Island Bay, where they constituted perhaps one-third of

the local parish. Although certain saints' and feast days held special sig-

nificance for them, Italian Catholics maintained few distinctive religious
practices.89 Italian and Dalmatian men, who outnumbered women from
their respective countries, reputedly showed little interest in religion,
and Dalmatian men were sometimes hostile toward it. By contrast, the
Lebanese were regarded as very religious, but despite their Maronite
origins, their religious observances were seldom distinguishable from
those of other Catholics. There was a Dalmatian priest in Auckland from
1928 to 1937, but Italian and Lebanese Catholics only occasionally received the ministrations of visiting priests from their homelands.
Irish Catholics, according to Siegfried, formed "a distinct population"
(characterized by a love of politics and employment in the army or police force) but had already, "in a general way . . . become merged with
the general population." Having "spread all over the country," they were
"too scattered" to have "given their stamp to any of the towns in the
Colony."90 Despite the presence of many Irish priests and nuns, Irish
sentiment in New Zealand declined rapidly in the 1920's and 1930s
and did little to reinforce any sense of Catholic isolation from the rest of
Tor a recent discussion of Irish immigration to New Zealand, see Donald Harman
Akenson, Half the World from Home: Perspectives on the Irish in New Zealand,

1860-1950 (Wellington, 1990), chapters 1 and 2 and appendices.
"•Census, 1936,\o\.Nll (Wellington, 1945), p. 3.

""Month,May 15, 1928,p. 18; Census, 1936, Vol. VII,p. 3.
"'Ian Harry Burnley,"The Greek, Italian and Polish Communities in New Zealand: A Ge-

ographical Contribution to the Study of Ethnic Migration, Settlement and Adjustment"
(Ph.D. thesis in geography, Victoria University of Wellington, 1969), p. 336; Paul Elenio,
"Italia," in Pat Hutchison (ed), St. Francis de Sales, Island Bay, Parish History, 1906,

1920-1990 (Wellington, 1990), pp. 33-36.
"Siegfried, op. cit., p. 317.

BY CHRISTOPHER VAN DER KROGT63

the population.91 Once drained of their political significance by the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, St. Patrick's Day celebrations
languished, although they survived longer in some parts of the country
than in others. The annual procession and sports in Wellington were re-

placed by celebrations to mark Redwood's episcopal jubilee in 1924,

and they were not revived the next year.92 An annual Irish concert continued to be held in honor of St. Patrick, but, as the prominent lawyer
Patrick Joseph O'Regan noted in his diary, most attended the "annual ordeal," with its "monotonous repetition of the same songs," as a "matter of
duty" —not toward Ireland, in which interest was declining—but because the profits were used for Catholic education.93 Catholic schools,
keen to compete with their state rivals, promoted rugby, cricket, and
basketball rather than Irish games like handball or hurling. Where
names like "Irish" and "Celtic" continued to be used, they had largely lost
their nationalist meaning. The "Celtic Literary, Social, Debating, and Dramatic Club," formed in a Christchurch parish in 1938, spent its inaugural
meeting debating equal pay for women, the encyclicals of Pope Pius LX,
trotting, and tennis.94 While even the more exotic Catholic ethnic
groups tended to be assimilated into the Irish-Catholic majority, the latter were more Catholic than Irish. Thus, even Lebanese children wore

green ribbons on St. Patrick's Day in the 1920's—since Patrick was a
Catholic saint, not just the patron of Ireland—but that practice itself
was dying out.95 Religious observances and lay religious organizations
found in interwar New Zealand were overwhelmingly derived from
continental Europe rather than Ireland, even if they had sometimes
been brought to New Zealand via Ireland.96
As a religious minority, the Catholic community in interwar New
Zealand existed in a state of tension between wanting to preserve and
"Religious sentiment was more likely to sustain Irish identity than vice versa. Siegfried
(p. 317) claimed that at the time of his visit the Church itself continued "to preserve the
unity" which was "lacking in the Irish race in New Zealand."

92MoMh, April 15, 1924, p. 21; NZ Tablet, February 4, 1925, p. 30. Ironically, Redwood

had had himself consecrated on St. Patrick's Day (1874) because he was about to serve a
predominantly Irish flock; see Francis Redwood, Reminiscences of Early Days in New
Zealand (Wellington, 1922), p. 9.

'5R J. O'Regan diary, March 17, 1932, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, 076-165-

2/5. Similar entries were made in other years.
94NZ Tabletjune 1, 1938, p. 44; probably a typographical error for"Pius XI."
"Jamelie Joseph, interview with the author, Dunedin, May 30, 1991 (for the wearing of
ribbons); NZ Tablet, March 25, 1925, p. 31 (for the decline in the practice).
"Van der Krogt, "More a Part than Apart," pp. 73-131; cf. Patrick O'Farrell, Vanished
Kingdoms: Irish in Australia and New Zealand (Kensington, New South Wales, 1990),
pp. 71-95, 290-298.

64

CATHOUC RELIGIOUS IDENTITY AND SOCIAL INTEGRATION IN INTERWAR NEW ZEALAND

pass on its distinctive religious beliefs and practices while at the same
time participating as fully as possible in the wider society. The Catholic
attitude was expressed in an address to Wellington Hibernians by Cecil
Crocker, S.M.: "We have been placed by God in the world and we cannot fly from it; but we must so live in that world that the sacred gifts we
have received are preserved intact."97 Church organizations were intended to safeguard the faith of their members on the assumption that
they were full participants in the society of which they formed a part.
Isolation was not an end in itself but a means of minimizing the "leakage" which inevitably occurred from a religious minority. It was hoped
that a Catholic education and participation in other Church-sponsored
activities would fortify Catholics, especially the young, against the allurements of the world. While Catholic organizations often brought
their members into direct contact—whether co-operatively or competitively—with parallel non-Catholic associations, Catholic charitable,
sporting, and cultural activities usually earned the approval and even
admiration of the rest of the community. The Church could not, and did
not attempt, to monopolize its members' time, and the high rate of
mixed marriage—despite vehement clerical opposition—is a very
telling indicator of time spent beyond reach of the Church's influence.
During the interwar years the Catholic: community in New Zealand was
well integrated into the wider society; it did not constitute a pillar or
even a ghetto, despite the profusion of lay associations and Churchsponsored activities and institutions.
Maintaining the balance between Catholic identity and social participation, however, implied a further tension—between upholding
Catholic values and avoiding conflict with the wider society. Once sectarian tensions had abated in the early 1920's, Catholics were usually
careful not to antagonize their Protestant neighbors through political
agitation although that did not mean keeping silent over issues which
concerned them. At every school opening, clerical speakers pointedly
recalled (often in the presence of politicians) that Catholics were unfairly taxed for state schools without being reimbursed for the cost of
their own—but there was no sustained campaign for state aid in the interwar period.98 The Catholic press reprinted apologetic articles such as
Hilaire Belloc's serial "A Companion to Mr. H.G. Wells's 'Outline of History,'" but it would have been unduly provocative to proclaim Catholic
teaching in the manner of England's Catholic Evidence Guild—established in Sydney in 1924—or of Dr. Leslie Rumble, M. S.Cs apologetic
rNZ Tablet, March 23, 1932, p. 39.
""Van der Krogt, "More a Part than Apart," pp. 445-451.

BY CHRISTOPHER VAN DER KROGT65

Radio 2SM "Question Box" broadcasts in that city.99 In New Zealand
public triumphalist rhetoric usually concerned ethical issues, but this
served primarily to warn the faithful against moral decline. Thus,

Catholics proclaimed their support for the traditional values endorsed

by other respectable interests, for example, by demanding stricter film
censorship or the prevention of abortion. Amidst the widespread questioning caused by the Depression, however, it was safe for Catholic
clergy to join representatives of other denominations in openly criticizing the government's inadequate policies and demanding reform of the
capitalist system, but such an exception only proved the rule. Catholic
endeavors to promote positive social reform were usually left to individuals inspired perhaps by Father Higgins' classes on Catholic social
teaching or by Father Francis Bennett's Catholic Action groups organized in 1939 on the Belgian Jocist model pioneered by Joseph
Cardijn.100 While the more committed Catholics saw themselves as a
leaven in society, most of their Church's energies and resources were
consumed in the effort to maintain their religion while retaining the respect of their fellow citizens.

"Month, March 16, 1926, pp. 22-25, and subsequent issues; Patrick O'Farrell, The

Catholic Church and Community: An Australian History (Kensington, New South
Wales, 1985), p. 373.
""Van der Krogt, "More a Part than Apart," pp. 94-95, 275-277, 305-308, 399-401,
407-412.

"LAUNCH OUT INTO THE DEEP AND LET DOWN

YOUR NETS": FATHER JOHN CORRIDAN, SJ.,
AND NEW YORK LONGSHOREMEN
IN THE POST-WORLD WAR II ERA
BY

Colin J. Davis*

Labor priests have long held an important position in the American

labor movement and a vital role in Catholic working-class communities.
Such prominence was accelerated during the Great Depression as their
parishioners endured increasing hardship and unemployment. In addition to economic issues, the labor priests were concerned by the rise of

the Communist Party. Catholic Labor Schools were developed to

counter such influences among the laity. One such school was the
Xavier Institute of Industrial Relations, run by Jesuit priests. Father John
Corridan, S.J., was Associate Director of the School and became a visible

figure along the New York waterfront. He was eventually portrayed by
Karl Maiden in the Oscar-winning film, On The Waterfront.
Organizing on the docks along the west side of Manhattan, Father
Corridan represented the dual crusade for improved working conditions for the downtrodden New York City longshoremen and opposition to Communism. He then fought simultaneously against corrupt
union bosses and shipper employers and Communist agitators along

the waterfront. How successful Father Corridan was in placing the

issue of atrocious working conditions and mob control of the International Association of Longshoremen (ILA) before the country is the subject of this paper. Corridan successfully increased public awareness of
his deep fear of communist opportunism on the New York waterfront
and of the acute corruption of the ILA. Though he increased the visibility of these problems, he was bitterly disappointed in his efforts to
counter criminal control of the ILA.

The establishment of the Xavier School was symptomatic of the

Catholic Church's "Social Action "crusade of the 1930's.The catalyst for
*Dr. Davis is an associate professor of history in the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

66

BY COUN J. DAVIS67

such a movement was of course the Great Depression and the rising
strength of the Communist Party. A series of papal encyclicals formed
the basis for the Catholic attack. In 1931, Pope Pius XI issued his encyclical Quadragesimo Anno calling for "social justice" and stating that
"riches . . . ought to be distributed among individual persons and
classes that the common advantage of all . . . will be safeguarded." Important to promoting "social justice "was the role of the State. Although
taking a "subsidiary function," the state nonetheless was expected to
encourage responsible trade unionism and employer associations.1 The
American priesthood and Catholics were quick to respond to the encyclical. Although there were significant differences between many of
the groups and their leaders ranging from Father Charles Coughlin, the
Association of Catholic Trade Unionists, and Dorothy Day, the Jesuits
quickly established Labor Schools to educate Catholics about the twin
evils of capitalist exploitation and communist infiltration of the American labor movement. The Xavier School was one of the schools that

emerged during the period of 1932-1945.2
Founded in 1936 as the Xavier School of Social Studies, it soon

switched its attention to the labor movement. Changing its name to the
Xavier Labor School, it concentrated its efforts on organizing Catholic
workers in New York City. The growing influence of the Communist
Party in New York City, particularly with transit workers, stimulated the
change in direction. As Father Philip E. Dobson, S.J., a Xavier priest, explained, "What prompted the decision . . . was the fact that the Communists seemed to be spending most of their money and their energies
on the unions. . . ."' Xavier established courses to counter the Commu-

'David J. O'Brien,/! merican Catholics and Social Reform: The New Deal Years (New

York, 1968), pp. 17, 19-20.
2For studies that examine Coughlin and Day see David Brinkley, Voices ofProtest:Huey
Long, Father Coughlin &the Great Depression (New York, 1983); Dorothy Day, The Long
Loneliness: The Autobiography of Dorothy Day (New York, 1952); William D. Miller,
Dorothy Day: A Biography (New York, 1982); Aaron I. Abell estimated that twenty-four
labor schools had been formed by Jesuits, while diocesan authorities established thirtytwo: American Catholicism and Social Reform: A Search for Social Justice (Notre

Dame, Indiana, 1963), pp. 278-279- The more radical anti-communist organization was

the Association of Catholic Trade Unionists; see, Douglas Seaton, Catholics and Radicals:
The Association of Catholic Trade Unionists and the American Labor Movement, from
Depression to Cold War (East Brunswick, New Jersey, 1981); Neil Betten, Catholic Ac-

tivism and the Industrial Worker (Gainsville, Florida, 1976); Philip Taft, "The Association
of Catholic Trade Unionists," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 2 (January, 1949),
210-218.

'Philip E. Dobson, "The Xavier Labor School, 1938-39" (n.p., undated). I would like to
thank Joshua Freeman for providing me with this source.

68"LAUNCH OUT INTO THE DEEP AND LET DOWN YOUR NETS"

nist influence. One of the courses taught was an understanding of parliamentary procedure. As Dobson pointed out, most workmen would
"not recognize Communists or Communism in their unions unless Earl

Browder rose to speak. . . . Thus the courses were designed to train

constructive, well-informed, Catholic, American, union men, who knew

what to say or do, how to go about it, and who could handle themselves
under any circumstances."4 Throughout the late 1930's and World War
II, the target union for the Xavier School was the Transport Workers'
Union (TWU). The TWUs Communist leadership and overwhelmingly
Catholic membership made it an obvious choice for labor priests.5
Although the battle over control of the TWU would continue, after

World War II the School shifted more of its attention to New York City's
waterfront workers. By 1948 the Communists were in rapid retreat in

the TWU, thus allowing the School to turn its attention to the waterfront. The shift also coincided with the arrival at Xavier of Father John

Corridan in 1946. Corridan was born in New York City in 1911, the son

of Irish-born parents. Corridan's father died in 1921, forcing the family
to struggle on. Although taking part-time jobs, Corridan managed to finish high school and enroll at New York University, eventually finding a
job on Wall Street as a "correspondent." At the age of twenty he read

Rene Fullop Miller's The Power and Secret of the Jesuits and, consequently, joined the order. After fifteen years "of intensive training" he

was assigned to Xavier.6

Corridan was no stranger to Catholic labor schools. In 1941 he had
been assigned to the Crown Heights Labor School in Brooklyn.7 As with
other labor priests, Corridan viewed his work at Xavier as a recruiter of
Catholic activists. He related his vocation to that of Christ's calling as a
fisher of men. The words in the Gospel of St. Luke (5:4), "Launch out
into the deep, and let down your nets," held a special resonance for him.
As he explained, "That's part of the job of any priest. He is looking for
good men—and women too—who will truly serve God. "8 The appointment of Corridan as Associate Director galvanized the school to reach
those Catholic workers laboring at the bottom of the pile, namely, the
Irish and Italian-American longshoremen on the west side of Manhat4IbId.

sFor Communist influence in the transit industry and the Catholic Church's antagonistic response see, Joshua Freeman,/« Transit: The Transport Workers Union in New York

City, 1933-1966 (New York, 1989).

'Allen Raymond, Waterfront Priest (New York, 1955), pp. 4-5.
7Ibid. ,p. 59.
"Ibid, p.259.

BY COLIN J. DAVIS69

tan. Such a group of workers seemed ripe for organization and salvation.

From the early twentieth century on, New York longshoremen had
experienced little fundamental change in their work conditions. Much
of the work still required a strong back and the skillful use of the hook
to move cargo in and out of the ship's hold. Basic machinery such as
winches still transferred cargo by sling from dock to hold or vice versa.
What had changed since World War II was the sling load (a standard
measure of cargo in the sling) which increased with the introduction of
heavier bearing winches. As one longshoreman complained: "Before

the war we worked with a one-ton draft—2,240 pounds. Today the sky

is the limit.'' The problem for the longshoremen was that the heavier
sling loads increased the threat of serious injury. As the same longshoreman commented, "[There are] Lots of accidents because there are

no safety provisions and often the gear is rotten, the ropes frayed." The
longshoremen's work environment was extremely hazardous with hernias, falls, and cuts common. Indeed, other than the lumbering and mining industry, dock work had the highest accident rate. When factoring
in the severity of injuries, longshoring held the dubious distinction of
being the most dangerous occupation in the nation.9
Beyond the constant danger of accidents and their disabling potential, workers also suffered from the exploitative system of the shape-up.
Standing in a horseshoe shape around the hiring foreman, the longshoreman waited to be picked from the crowd. Unlike their brothers on
the west coast, the New York longshoremen continued to shape-up for
work. Through strike action in 1945 the men had at least obtained the

partial victory of two rather than three shapes per day, one at 6:55 a.m.

and the other at 12:55 p.m.10 The continuation of the practice can be laid
at the door of the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA), the
9DaHy Worker, November 19, 1948, p. 4; "Work Injuries in the United States, 1948,"

Monthly Labor Review, 69 (October, 1949), 385-386, 388. A special study discovered that
"70 to 75 percent of all longshore accidents occur aboard ship." Longshore Safety Survey:
A Survey of Occupational Hazards in the Stevedoring Industry, National Academy of

Sciences—National Research Council (Washington, D.C, 1956), p. l.The New York Ship-

ping Association, the employer organization, shifted the blame for the high accident rate

onto the prior physical condition of the longshoremen: "These longshoremen subject
themselves and their fellow workers to definite risks not concomitant with their employment, and in doing so subject the employer to extra occupational risk." Senate Committee
on Labor Public Welfare, Longshoremen and Harbor Workers Act—Amendments, 80th
Congress, 2nd session, 1948,S.2237,p. 55.
'"Howard Kimeldorf, Reds or Rackets: The Making of Radical and Conservative
Unions on the Waterfront (Berkeley, California, 1988), pp. 154-155.

70"LAUNCH OUT INTO THE DEEP AND LET DOWN YOUR NETS"

union that represented dock workers on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.
Under the leadership of Joe Ryan, the ILA accepted the system due to
its power-giving potential. The ILA controlled the system by choosing
the hiring boss or having a union official present at the shape-up. The
advantages for the union officials were twofold: control of who got
work and a lucrative kickback scheme. By appearing for work twice a
day the workmen fully realized the necessity for compliance with
union demands. Anyone who questioned the union's actions could easily be overlooked for employment. An attorney representing rank-andfile longshoremen testified in 1948 to the Senate Committee of Labor
and Public Welfare that a union leader successfully maintained his
power "because he is able to discipline any man who dares to raise his
voice in a union meeting. . . . That man does not work anymore." The
power of hiring then ensured that so-called "troublemakers" were kept
"off the waterfront simply by not picking them in the shape-up."11 The
shape-up system and its corresponding surplus of labor guaranteed sub-

servience and made for an insecure work existence. Even the Chief

Counsel for the ILA, Louis Waldman, was forced to conclude, "I think

this is one of the rare exceptions in modern industrial relations to have
men come to the employer's establishment [each day] and make themselves ready and willing to work with no obligation on the part of the
employer whatever to take them."12
Aligned with the insecurity and discrimination of employment was
the opportunity for union officials to line their pockets with kickbacks.
It was standard practice to pay a bribe to either the hiring foreman or a
union official to get picked from the shape-up. The form it took depended upon the system established on each pier. In some cases it was
an individual activity, a straight money payment, buying of drinks before
or after the shape, or purposely losing at a game of cards. One longshoreman identified only as "John Doe" testified to the 1952 New York
State Crime Commission (NYSCC) that he paid the hiring foreman two
dollars per week and "once in a while on Fridays—buy him a pint of
whiskey." The kickback and whiskey were expensive. As John Doe ex""Testimony of Julius E. Bagley," Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, Fair
Labor StandardsAct, Amendments, Part 1,80th Congress, 2nd session, p. 994. The second
quotation is from Charles P. Larrowe, Shape-Up and Hiring Hall: A Comparison of Hir-

ing Methods on the New York and Seattle Waterfronts (Westport, Connecticut, 1976), p.

74.

12"Excerpt from Testimony of Louis Waldman in Arbitration Proceedings before
William H. Davis, November 21, 1945," International Longshoremen's Association, Box 3,
Folder Hiring Hall, 1942-54, Tamiment Library New York University. Hereafter cited as
"ILA-TAM."

BY COUNJ. DAVIS71

plained, "[It was] more than I could afford, but in order to keep the job
and support my family you got to do those things."13
Another observer testified, "You will find that 99 out of a hundred

times . . . names were submitted to that hiring boss before the men go
to the shape-up." One longshoreman pointed out, "You pretend to
shape-up . . . and the other fellows waiting there think they have a
chance. But they don't."14 Union officials used the shape-up system to
line their pockets in other ways. Known as "phantoms" or "carried," fictitious names were given the hiring boss and each week the wages
were collected. Thomas Maher, a Stevedoring Superintendent for the
Huron Stevedoring Corporation, testified that Timmy O'Mara, a boss

loader, regularly collected the wages of a Mr. Ross that totalled $25,000

for the period 1943-1951. Maher explained that Huron Corporation
continued the payments to O'Mara to guarantee "labor peace, he settled
strikes."15

Little wonder that gangsters were attracted to the New York waterfront. Thugs and members of organized crime fought each other for
control of the ports' piers. Not only were kickbacks at stake but also
loan sharking, bookmaking, payroll padding, and contributions to 'charitable' causes or testimonial dinners. Loan sharking was a common practice, forcing the men to borrow heavily in order to obtain a job. One
longshoreman explained that a loan shark approached him and asked if

he needed money, and "if I refused, I didn't get the job." Even those

workers fortunate enough to pay off the loan discovered once again
that they could not obtain work, "unless they borrow some more and
get into debt again." The system was a lucrative one for the loan shark;
after paying off the hiring boss for the privilege of working his dock, the
10% weekly interest charge made for a profitable enterprise. Local
union leaders used a more direct method for obtaining cash; they demanded cash contributions for testimonial dinners or for a sick worker.

The longshoremen felt obliged to buy the five-dollar tickets or kick in
the odd dollar or two. In some cases up to fifteen thousand tickets
would be sold,' even though the hall for the event would hold only one

hundred people. Obviously, the longshoremen were not expected to at""Testimony ofJohn Doe," New York State Crime Commission—Public Hearing, No.

5, Port of New York (Waterfront), Vol. 3, pp. 1802-1803. Hereafter cited as ??5 Crime
Commission.

""Testimony of Ross J. DiLorenzo," Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, To
Clarify the Overtime Compensation Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of
1938, As Amended, 81st Congress, 1st session, 1949, p. 272; Larrowe, op. cit., p. 55.

''"Testimony of Thomas Maher," NYS Crime Commission,NoI. l,pp. 257-260.

72"LAUNCH OUT INTO THE DEEP AND LET DOWN YOUR NETS"

tend the "dance." When propositioned for a cash contribution, the man
who refused "might find he couldn't get work, or he might get kicked
around. A man soon gets the idea; he doesn't refuse more than once."16
The criminal exploitation of the longshoremen could not have occurred without a critical alliance between the ILA and gangsters. In
many cases the line between the two was blurred. Malcolm Johnson, a
crusading journalist for the New York Sun, described the Port of New
York as "an outlaw frontier," and although the structure of the industry
played a role in criminal activity, to a large extent the assimilation of
gangsters corresponded with Joe Ryan's presidency of the ILA.17
The presence of tough guys throughout the port menaced the longshoremen's work existence. Beyond the numerous criminal schemes,
the gangsters were also on the docks to maintain order. The criminals
and ex-convicts were hired by the shipping companies not only to guarantee peace but, just as important, to ensure the maximum amount of
work from the intimidated longshoremen. The employment of gangsters as hiring bosses was explicitly affirmed by one company official
who revealed, "... if I had the choice of hiring a tough ex-convict or a
man without a criminal record I am more inclined to take the ex-con.

Know why? Because if he is in a boss job he'll keep the men in line and
get the maximum work out of them. They'll be afraid of him." After
Frank Nolan, president of the Jarka Stevedoring Corporation, was
pressed for an explanation why the notorious Anthony Anastasia,
brother of Albert Anastasia, the reputed head of"Murder Incorporated,"
was hired by his company, Nolan replied, "He is resourceful and tireless
on the job. He preserves discipline and good order on the part of the
men."18 The longshoremen both obtained employment and worked in
an atmosphere of fear and intimidation. Their daily lives were marked
by the twin anxieties of job insecurity and unsafe working conditions.
Under the tutelage of Father Philip Carey, Father Corridan reached
out to these longshoremen. Xavier had established classes in econom"¦Malcolm M.Johnson, Crime on the Labor Front (New York, 1950), pp. 113-115;"Testimony of Julius E. Bagley," Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, Fair Labor
Standards Act, Amendments, Part 1, 80th Congress, 1st session, p. 995; Larrowe, op. cit.,

pp. 56-57. In some cases the loan shark had direct access to the payroll department and

would obtain the money owed directly from the payroll clerk. Citizens Waterfront Committee, The New York Waterfront: A Report to the Public ofNew York City by the Citizens

Waterfront Committee Setting Forth Our Oldest and Most Urgent Civic Problem— The
Condition of the Waterfront (New York, 1946), p. 28.
"Johnson, op. cit., p. 91.
"Larrowe, op. cit. ,pp. 19 and 63.

BY COLIN J. DAVIS73

ics, sociology, labor law, public speaking, and labor history. The purpose

of the classes was to create a cadre of activists that could confront and

challenge both the corrupt ILA leaders and Communist militants. Such
a tactic held large risks for activists and priests alike. The organizing had
to be achieved in a painstakingly slow fashion—the dangers of physical
violence or inability to obtain work were a constant feature of such organizing. On one occasion shots were fired into the front room of one
activist, Joe Cuerro. Cuerro was an army veteran and experienced in
being under fire, but as he related to Father Carey,"When you have your
little fellow of nine in bed with you and see him shivering with fright
then you know -what fear really meant." Xavier eventually banned
Cuerro from the meetings to protect him from further harm.19
Most contacts with longshoremen were made away from the prying
eyes of mobsters and union officials. Corridan related the common experience of meeting sympathizers "in basements and alleyways." Innovative tactics were used to get information out to the rank-and-file.
Leaflets advertising the classes were left in locales frequented by longshoremen. Father Philip Carey claimed that leaving leaflets in toilets
"served a double purpose, it gave a man freedom from fear while he
was reading it and number two it gave him sufficient time to reflect on
its contents."20

At first, Corridan appeared at the docks also, but such a tactic, he discovered, was of little use. Sympathetic longshoremen avoided being
publicly seen with Corridan because of fear that the hiring bosses
would later refuse them work. Cognizant of this reluctance, Corridan instead concentrated on making the public aware of the working conditions of the longshoremen and the corruption of the ILA. His opportunity
to challenge the existing conditions came after a series of wildcat
strikes on the waterfront in 1948 and 1951. In this period the New York

docks were plagued by unrest and instability. As Howard Kimeldorf has

found, starting in 1945 the longshoremen voiced their frustration with
the union leadership with the only weapon at hand—the wildcat
strike.21

""Interview, Father Philip Carey," New Yorkers at Work, Wagner Labor Archives Oral
History Control Record, New York University.
""Letter to Hon. Christopher C. McGrath, House of Representatives, from John Corridan," June 6, 1949, Records of the Xavier Institute of Industrial Relations, Series 2: Father
John M. Corridan, SJ, Box 10, Folder 15 , Fordham University Archives. (Hereafter cited as
"XIIR"). "Interview, Father Philip Carey," New Yorkers at Work, Wagner Labor Archives Oral
History Control Record, New York University.
"Kimeldorf, op. cit.

74"LAUNCH OUT INTO THE DEEP AND LET DOWN YOUR NETS"

The 1948 strike specifically rallied Corridan to the cause of the longshoremen and affirmed his belief that the federal government should
clean up the waterfront. Joe Ryan, president of ILA, had signed a contract which he perceived as a "good one"; however, the men thought
otherwise. The issues involved sling loads, the shape-up, and overtime
payments. It was the overtime issue that galvanized the longshoremen.
Throughout 1947 rank-and-file longshoremen and their attorney allies
inaugurated a series of suits demanding back pay owed through the auspices of the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act. Since 1916, contracts negotiated between the ILA and shippers had established the regular work
day as from 8.00 a.m. to 12 m. and from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Anyone
working outside those hours was considered to be working overtime at
time-and-one-half. Longshoremen commonly worked outside of the regular hours, in some cases working twelve to fourteen hours at a stretch.
The Back-Pay attorneys showed that men who had worked through the
night into the daytime hours were not paid overtime. For example, if a
longshoreman worked from 5 p.m. through to 8:00 a.m., he was paid
time-and-one-half, but if he continued working after 8:00 a.m. he would
be paid the same rate. The longshoremen's attorneys, therefore, argued,
using the provisions of the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act, that work
during the evenings was shift work, and the longshoremen should be
paid overtime on top of the time-and-one-half payment.22
The lawyers were supplied by either the American Labor Party or the
Communist Party. These lawyers saw the overtime issue as one to undercut support for the ILA and an opportunity to create an oppositional
movement along the docks. Back Pay Committees were formed in
Brooklyn and Hoboken, New Jersey, and also in Baltimore. According to
William Glazier, Washington, D.C, representative of the International
Longshoremen's & Warehousemen's Union, the Brooklyn Back Pay
Committee was the "strongest" with meetings of over 1,800. Brooklyn
blacks formed their own Committee closely associated with all-black

Local 968. The "back pay movement" according to Glazier had become
the "first mass anti-Ryan development" since the 1945 strike.23 This

amalgam of rank-and-file action and legal collaborators made for a potentially strong bond that would culminate in the 1948 strike.

""Testimony of Julius Bagley," House Committee on Education and Labor, Amend-

ments to the Fair Labor StandardsAct of 1938,VoI. 1,81st Congress, 1st session, 1949, p.
621;Vernon H.Jensen, Strife on the Waterfront- The Port ofNew York since 1945 (Ithaca,
New York, 1974), pp. 54-59.
"Report to Harry Bridges from William Gla2ier, August 19, 1948, ILA-TAM, Box 1.

BY COUN J. DAVIS75

Ryan, however, supported the shippers' contention that the overtime
issue should be appealed to Congress and thereafter the Supreme Court

decision should be dismissed. This blatant alliance with the shippers, in

tandem with a small raise and no changes in the sling load and the
shape-up, led to the strike. Such a boiling over of sentiment was clearly
identified by Father Carey. As Carey pointed out, "The waterfront was
very, very much like Mount Etna or like Mount St. Helens—they [the
longshoremen] had no real way to get their grievances answered . . .

building up a head of steam more and more until it would blow up all

over."24 Carey had not always supported the longshoremen's independent fight for better conditions, however. During the 1945 strike he had
labeled the strike leaders as communists and encouraged the men to go
back to work.25

Just before the 1948 strike broke out, Corridan traveled to Washing-

ton, D.C, where he warned Cyrus Ching, Director of the Federal Media-

tion and Conciliation Service, of the tense situation on the docks.26 One

day later the strike erupted on the waterfront. Starting on November
10, the strike quickly tied up the port and spread to Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Ryan, given a black eye by the unofficial walkout,
embarked on a path to master the explosive situation. In an effort to
overpower opposition within the strikers' ranks, Ryan did a complete

volte-face and declared the strike legal for all east coast ports. Ryan's dec-

laration meant that the city and nation witnessed the first official east
coast longshoremen's strike since 191927 The rank-and-file, however,
were relegated to meeting in bars and on street corners throughout the
port to discuss strike events. Scattered, they were unable to organize

and formulate their own demands. By November 26 Cyrus Ching had

secured an agreement giving the men a thirteen-cent raise, vacation
time, and a welfare fund. The longshoremen reluctantly accepted the
agreement and returned to work the following day.28
"Interview, Carey, New Yorkers at Work.
"Steve Rosswurm, "The Catholic Church and the Left-Led Unions: Labor Priests, Labor
Schools, and the ACTU," in The CIO's Left-Led Unions, ed. Steve Rosswurm (New
Brunswick, New Jersey, 1992),p. 129.
»"Memo- 'My Visit to Washington, 1948,'John Corridan," XIIR, Box 10,Folder 18.

27NeW York Times, November 13, 1948, p. 1; New York ton, November 12, 1948, pp. 1
and 10; New York Times, November 17, 1948,p.3.

2811CyHIS Stewart Ching," Columbia University Oral History Collection, Part ?, No. 35,
Card 7 of 9, 575 and 577; "Report, William N. Margolis," December 8, 1 948, Records of the

Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service, Regional Dispute Files (Nationally Significant),
1948-1950, Category 1 , National Archives, RG 280,Box 2522.

76"LAUNCH OUT INTO THE DEEP ANE' LET DOWN YOUR NETS"

Throughout the strike Corridan remained very active. On his return
from Washington, D.C, he quickly produced a pamphlet entitled "The
Longshoremen's Case." While the New York newspapers were reporting that the men would accept the agreement, Corridan argued otherwise. He successfully gauged the rising temper of the men and their
determination to strike. "The Longshoremen's Case" was distributed
along the waterfront on the first day of the strike. "The Longshoremen's
Case" detailed criminal control of the docks and Communist efforts to

infiltrate the union. The target of his attack, and one he would continue
to voice, was the shape-up. As Corridan pointed out,"Men are hired as if
they were beasts of burden, part of a slave market of a pagan era." Mixing well the Catholic critique of capitalism's innate unfairness, Corridan
described the shape-up as "pure Adam Smith laissez-faire. It's free enterprise with a vengeance." The supposed ungodly nature of the hiring system would lead, Corridan continued, to a destruction of moral and

Christian character. Through the inequities of the shape-up,"it is easy to
understand the corrosion of the man's character. . . . Living from hand
to mouth can do something to man's ideas of fairness. One's ideas of justice fade where injustice is rampant." Such a system and dangerous
work conditions also led to a form of martyrdom. Corridan exclaimed,
"If John L. Lewis could say that the nation's coal is stained with blood,
then the docks are spattered with the blood of longshoremen." Corri-

dan called on the Federal Government to establish a "Commission of

Inquiry to investigate and solve this cancerous condition in a free society."29
The theme of Christian justice would continue to frame Corridan's
call for reform of waterfront working conditions. Just as important, Corridan reflected well the "Social Action" component of the Catholic
Church with its call on the central state to alleviate economic injustice.
Although looking to the federal government, Corridan also looked to
the state government for help in his fight against gangsterism along the
New York waterfront. Corridan used the encyclicals Rerum Novarum
of 1891 and Quadragesimo Anno of 1931 as his standards, but a more
pragmatic reason was also evident.30 The lack of political will by employers, local politicians, and ILA officials to reform conditions forced
2'Father John Corridan,"The Longshoremen's. Case," XIIR, Box 11, Folder 33.
"'Much of the "social action" movement stemmed from Pope Leo XIH's Rerum Novarum, which reconciled the Catholic Church with the modern state: "Whenever the
general interests of any particular class suffers . . . the public authority must step in to

deal with it." O'Brien, op. cit., p. 14; Aaron Ignatius Abell, American Catholicism and SocialAction (Garden City, New York, I960).

BY COUN J. DAVIS77
Corridan to look to state and federal authorities for action. As he ex-

plained to the Reverend Raymond A. McGowan of the Social Action Department of the National Catholic Welfare Conference, "If ever a
situation called for government intervention, the Port of New York
does. Neither employers nor the union have the slightest intention of
correcting the present abuses. Everyone admits the situation is dangerous, but no one will take the lead because of the vast political ramifications."31

Just as important as Corridan's disdain for gangsters was his intense
dislike for the Communist Party. The 1948 strike intensified Corridan's
concern that if conditions on the waterfront did not improve, then the
Communists would take advantage. Corridan had earlier publicly ex-

pressed his fear in a Labor Day speech in 1948. Corridan described

"Communist control" as "stench" rising out of the waterfront.32 The Back
Pay Committees fueled Corridan's fear of the spread of communism
among the longshoremen. In a letter to U.S. Senator Wayne Morse, Corridan explained that the "Communist Party" was "given a ready-made
issue when the union leadership failed to press for the men's just
claims." "The vast majority of the men," Corridan continued, were "unaware that their lawyers were pro-Communist."33 Corridan was concerned that some Brooklyn longshoremen had gravitated to the
Communist Party. As Corridan explained to the Reverend George G.
Higgins of the Social Action Department of the National Catholic Welfare Conference on December 2, 1948, "Unfortunately the Commies
made some headway in the strike among the Italian locals . . . we'll do
our best to get some opening before these men are permanently captured."34

To counter the growing influence of the Communist Party and align
himself with the economic concerns of the longshoremen, Corridan
embarked on a campaign to support their overtime case. The case was
''Letter to Rev. R. A. McGowan, Director, Department of Social Action, National Catholic
Welfare Conference, from John Corridanjune 29, 1949,XIIR, Box 10,4.
52Letter to Hon. Christopher C. McGrath, House of Representatives, from John Corri-

danjune 6, 1949,XIIR, Box 10,Folder 15;"Labor Day Speech, 1948, FatherJohn Corridan,"
XIIR, Box 1 1 , Folder 30. For the anti-communism of labor priests see, Joshua Freeman and
Steve Rosswurm,"The Education of an Anti-Communist: Father John E Cronin and the Bal-

timore Labor Movement," Labor History, 33 (Spring, 1992), 217-247, and Charles Owen
Rice, "Confessions of an Anti-Communist," Labor History, 30 (Summer, 1989), 449-462.
""Letter to Hon. Wayne Morse, U.S. Senator, from John Corridan, Undated, 1949," XIIR,
Box 10, Folder 15.
""Letter to George G. Higgins, National Catholic Welfare Conference, from John Corridan," December 2, 1948,XIIR, Box 10,Folder 4.

78"LAUNCH OUT INTO THE DEEP AND IiT DOWN YOUR NETS"

a ready-made issue. The Supreme Court had ruled that the men were entitled to back pay because of the overtime case, but the IIA in alliance
with the shippers appealed to Congress to exempt the shipping industry from the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The blatant attack on the men's claims fueled Corridan's assault. In an

article/Overtime on Overtime: Longshoremen's Case," Corridan spelled
out the issue to the general public. Corridan also used the opportunity
to publicize the poor working conditions along the waterfront and the
role played by the ILA in keeping its membership in line through violence and intimidation.35 He found important allies in the journalistic
field. The New York Sun journalist, Malcolm Johnson, had dramatically

highlighted the criminal control of loading, the shape-up, and, of
course, the ILA, with a series of Pulitzer Prize-winning articles. Such
treatment brought to the public eye the subterranean world of the New
York longshoremen. Corridan provided Johnson a great deal of information and introduced him to longshoremen who anonymously agreed

to provide information detailing kickbacks, threats, and theft on the waterfront.36

Corridan also urged Congress and the State of New York to investigate the conditions. Appearing before the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor on June 15, 1949, Corridan contended that reform
could "be brought only by a Federal and State investigation resulting in
remedial action."37 Much to Corridan's annoyance, he had to share the
Congressional stage with Communist activists such as Mitch Berenson
and the labor lawyer Julius Bagley. Both men had testified on the "overtime on overtime "issue in early 1949.38 These rank-and-file militants had
long been in the struggle against ILA domination. They had become particularly visible during the 1945 strike and subsequent rank-and-file
campaigns.

The concern for New York longshoremen shared by the two groups
led to an extraordinary meeting on January 24, 1950. Corridan met with
Mitch Berenson among others and discussed the West Coast hiring halls
""Overtime on Overtime: Longshoremen's dse"America, April 2, 1949;"'Overtime on

Overtime'—Conclusion,"America,July 28, 1949.
36MaIcOIm Johnson, "Father Gangbuster—Mystery Man of the Waterfront," Argosy,
March, 1952.

57John Corridan,"The New York Longshoremen's Problem," XIIR, Box 10,Folder 4.
""Testimony of Julius Bagley & Mitch Berenson," House Committee on Education and
Labor, Amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938,VoI. 1, 81st Congress, 1st

session, 1949, pp. 600-625. One of the best sources that describe Berenson is Arthur
Miller's autobiography, Timebends.A Life (New York, 1987).

BY COUN J. DAVIS79

for longshoremen. Berenson explained he was in favor of three hiring
halls in New York, Brooklyn, and New Jersey. In a memorandum of the
meeting Corridan asserted that he "Refused to cooperate with them in
any way." Although dismissive of the militants, Corridan did acknowledge that "it would be OK if they wanted to drop in from time to time
and talk things over."3' Although obviously attempting to alleviate the
same conditions, both groups eyed each other warily and refused to
overcome their mutual disdain for each other.

Corridan's bitter feelings toward Communists at times clouded his
judgment, as was the case with black longshoremen. African-American
longshoremen in Brooklyn had long complained of discrimination. Although belonging to Jim Crow Local 968, they were unable to have
their own pier. This was a strategic disadvantage forcing them to go to

work along the Brooklyn waterfront as extras. The leader of Local 968,

Cleophas Jacobs, had appealed to Joe Ryan to ensure that his members
have steady work as regular gangs. After Ryan ignored this entreaty, Jacobs turned to the Protestant Council of New York for support and
arranged hearings with the New York State Commission against Discrimination.40

After the Protestant Council invited George Hunton of the Catholic
Interracial Council of New York to attend an organizing meeting,
Hunton turned to Corridan for advice. Although sympathizing with the
plight of the black longshoremen, Corridan was somewhat dismissive
of their concerns. Fueling this antipathy was his belief that Jacobs had
communist sympathies. As Corridan pointed out, "Jacobs had been
palling around with the Commies." What also concerned Corridan was
Joe Ryan's inability to resolve the problem of discrimination and his

threats to remove Local 968's charter. Such action could only lead to
Communist penetration: "If he [Ryan] should revoke 968's charter, the

negro longshoremen . . . may fall into the hands of the party." Corridan
remained aloof from the controversy, partly because of Jacobs' supposed Communist attachment, and also he directed his efforts to the
west side of Manhattan and only rarely delved into the Brooklyn longshoremen's world, whether white or black. In any event, Corridan was
convinced that the issue was one of a congested labor market. Recog""Memorandum— 1? hour talk with longshore commies," XIIR, Box 10, Folder 7.
'"New York Times, April 2, 1949; New York Sun, March 30, 1949, p. 2. Jacobs also appeared before the U.S. Senate to state his members' concerns over discrimination. "Testi-

mony of Cleophas Jacobs," Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, To Clarify the
Overtime Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, As Amended, 81st Congress, 1st session, 1949, pp. 488-491.

80"LAUNCH OUT INTO THE DEEP AKD LET DOWN YOUR NETS"

nizing that "race prejudice" was being used, nonetheless, Corridan
pointed out to Hunton that "the disturbance has its roots in the overcrowded supply of men in relation to work opportunities in which
both white and colored suffer."41

Corridan, instead, concentrated his efforts on constructing an oppositional movement within the ILA. Through a long period of agitation
Corridan strove to build up momentum to challenge the ILA and end
the shape-up. Such efforts, however, were slow-going. Corridan was unable to penetrate the longshoremen's traditional suspicion of outsiders
purporting to represent their interests. Again, it was a wildcat strike that

brought to the public's attention the conditions of the New York long-

shoremen and the need for reform. The 1951 strike mirrored that of

1948. The ILA leadership negotiated an agreement but the rank-and-file
rejected it by walking out on October 15- Starting on the west side of
Manhattan, the strike quickly spread to the Brooklyn docks. The strike
created an anti-Ryan movement including a group of Xavier insurgents
led by Johnny Dwyer, and Ryan's chief ILA rivals Gene Sampson of Local

791 in Manhattan and Salvatore Broceo in Brooklyn.42

Ryan tried to use his tactic of red-smearing the opposition. As one FBI
informant reported, "Joe Ryan, whenever he is confronted with internal
union difficulties, usually blames it on the Communists." Although
Communist Party members handed out leaflets of the Docker's News,
an FBI report testified, "The consensus of all well-informed sources is
that the Communist influence in connection with this strike is negligible and that Communist activity so far has been limited to disseminating literature designed to the spread of the strike."43 Ryan's charge of
Communist influence on the strike further inflamed the situation. Gene

Sampson angrily remarked, "I'm sick and tired of these references to
Communism that emanate from Ryan's headquarters. . . . These men
who refuse to work are more patriotic than any of their critics."44
At last, Ryan confronted institutional opposition within the ILA. A
fact-finding Board of Enquiry was established under the auspices of the
'"'Letter to George K. Hunton, Catholic Interracial Council, from Paul W Rishell, Chairman, Economic Justice Commission, Brooklyn Division of the Protestant Council," June 8,
1949, XIIR, Box 11, Folder ll;"Letter to Hunton from Corridan," June 10, 1949, ibid.
""Interview with Johnnie Dwyer," New Yorkers at Work, Wagner Labor Archives, New

York University;Jensen, op. cit., pp. 68-70.

«"FBI Report—Longshoremen's Strike at the Port of New York, October 25, 1951,"Mar-

itime Folder, Box 168, Papers of Harry Truman , Harry S. Truman Library.
"Jensen, op. cit., p. 70.

BY COLIN J. DAVIS81

Taft-Hartley Act. Although it called for acceptance of the agreement, it
nonetheless blasted the undemocratic IIA.45 The strike had a two-

pronged effect. First, the shippers became increasingly disillusioned
with the ILA leadership. The shippers had traditionally paid large sums

to ILA officials to keep the peace. The strikes in 1945, 1948, and 1951

highlighted the inability of Ryan to control the rank-and-file, and in turn
the shippers began to lose confidence in him. The disruptive effect of
the strikes also captured the attention of Governor Thomas Dewey of
New York. The New York waterfront seemed to be the ideal setting for
a high profile investigation. Consequently, Dewey set up a Crime Commission and held hearings in 1951-1952. The hearings became a sensation in New York City and the country as a whole. A string of ILA
officials were cross-examined, and they expressed a universal absence
of memory or knowledge concerning membership figures, payments
from shippers, and criminal activity on the waterfront. Joseph Ryan
when asked about 30% of the ILA officers having criminal records,
replied disingenuously, "No, sir, I don't know that." Commissioners
asked Ryan about his payments to politicians, hiring of general organizers with criminal records, lack of Local democracy, and payments for vacations and golf club memberships. Throughout his testimony Ryan
either feigned ignorance or stated his right to certain expenses from
the ILA's general fund.46
Although asked, John Corridan refused to testify before the Commission. He believed too much of the information he had garnered of waterfront conditions had been in confidence. As he explained, "any
testimony" he would give "would weaken the belief of people around
the waterfront in my trustworthiness." More consequential, Corridan
was wary of his superiors. Cardinal Francis Spellman in particular had

questioned Corridan's role in the 1951 strike, and Corridan was forced

to defend his actions during the conflict. Although he did not testify,
Corridan provided the Commission members information off-the-record.
He also privately shared his plans for reforming the waterfront which
included a hiring hall, registration of all longshoremen, and institution
of a seniority system.47
4???a? Report—Board of inquiry on Longshore Industry Work Stoppage, OctoberNovember, 1951, Port ofNew York, New York State, Department of Labor.
«"'Testimony ofJoseph Ryan," ??Stete Crime Commission, Public Hearing No. 5, Port

ofNew York (Waterfront), pp. 3606-3730.

47Raymond, op. cit., pp. 195-197. Cardinal Spellman had summoned Corridan to a private meeting on November 4, to answer charges that he had started the 1951 strike. Corridan denied the charge, but Spellman persisted by asking/demanding why Corridan had

82"LAUNCH OUT INTO THE DEEP AND LET DOWN YOUR NETS"

Corridan was pleased by the turn of events. The overwhelming evi-

dence of corruption on the waterfront and the critical role played by

the ILA in furthering such activity brought to the public eye the need
for reform. Such reform followed quickly. Governor Dewey released a
scathing report and called for a joint authority with the state of New
Jersey to oversee the New York harbor. The creation of a bi-state agency

required Congressional approval. At the July 22, 1953, hearing of the
House Committee on the Judiciary, Corridan laid out once again the in-

sidious criminal control of the shape-up and urged for "national security" purposes to have "racket-free handling of cargo out of the world's
greatest port. . . ." Corridan had planned his attack well. Earlier, in front
of the Senate Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, Corri-

dan stated that no reform could "be accomplished without Government

intervention. . . . There is no will within the industry; there is no will
within the union." In August, Congress ratified the bi-state compact providing at last for the end of the hated shape-up, and the establishment of
a Waterfront Commission to oversee hiring. Many of the militants who

were Communist or had Communist sympathies were barred by the
Commission from the waterfront.48

Further encouraging Corridan was the initiative by the American
Federation of Labor (AFL) to expel the ILA. Embarrassed by the public

revelations of criminal control of the ILA, the AFL executive board was

determined to eject the union of Ryan and his criminal supporters. The

AFL used the tactic of creating a rival union to battle the ILA. Corridan
worked hard to garner support for the new union and the up-coming
representation elections overseen by the National Labor Relations
Board. A supporter of the Xavier Labor School, Johnny Dwyer, acted as
the local leader of the AFL group. Unfortunately for Corridan and the
said a prayer for the strikers asking that God grant that our government may order us
back to work in honor." Corridan replied that the strike was coming to an end, and to
allow the men to "return to work with their heads up" and not by "crawling on their bellies in front of a victory of the mob element within the port," the government should provide a way for the men to return to work. Such a way was found after the rebels agreed

with the Board of Inquiry to return to work. Spellman accepted Corridan's argument, and
no action was taken against the labor priest. Ib id., pp. 148, 154-157.
""Testimony of Father John Corridan," House Committee on Judiciary, NewJersey-New
York Waterfront Commission Compact, 83rd Congress, 1st session, 1953, p. 99; "Testimony of Father John Corridan," Senate Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce,
Waterfront Investigation, Part 1: New York-NeivJersey Waterfront, 83t? Congress, 1st session, 1953,p. 565.

BY COUN J. DAVIS83

AFL, in an extremely tight race the longshoremen voted for the ILA
9,110 to 8,791.49

The election defeat stunned Corridan. The apparent victory of the establishment of the Waterfront Commission had been dashed by a vote
against the AFL. There were many reasons for the ILA victory, including
intimidation, intemperate actions by AFL leaders, and support for the
ILA by the miners' leader John L. Lewis. But for Corridan, the lack of
support by the rank-and-file hurt the most. As he explained later, "The
rank-and-file have lost this fight, and they won't make another for a long
time to come." Corridan took the defeat personally by equating his position with that of the men: "I've lost. The mobsters won. They're still on
the docks."

Corridan had reason to be depressed. The ILA had survived and
would continue to control the membership through intimidation. In a

I960 report, the Waterfront Commission found extensive criminal con-

trol within the union and continuing pilferage of union funds. Such a
state of affairs left Corridan further demoralized, and his heavy drinking
degenerated into alcoholism. No longer able to gather momentum for
further reform, Corridan moved away from his dock work and eventually died in 1984 at the age of seventy-three.50
Although unable to rid the ILA of criminal control, Father Corridan
had been extremely successful in bringing to the public's attention the
atrocious working conditions of New York's longshoremen. A slew of
Congressional and State committees and commissions had investigated
the longshoremen's world. Just as important, the abusive shape-up had
been abolished. A hiring hall had been established and the longshoremen were no longer victims of kickback demands and loan sharks. Corridan had also been successful in ridding the waterfront of Communists.

But the victory was hollow. The eradication of any oppositional move-

ment could only strengthen the conservative forces within the IIA.

The Xavier School continued with its classes, but the momentum had

been lost after the ILA's electoral victory. To one wandering the west
side of Manhattan today, the world of the labor priest appears as a phan"Jensen, op. cit., pp. 105-136; idem,"Biiiag Practices and Employment Experience in
the Port of New York," International Labor Review, 77 (April, 1958), 345-348; Raymond,

op. cit., pp. 214-250.
'"Special Report ofthe Waterfront Commission ofNew York Harbor to the Governors

and the Legislatures of the States ofNew York and NewJersey, December 1960; Interview with Father Philip Dobson, July, 1994, Fordham University Infirmary.

84"LAUNCH OUT INTO THE DEEP AND LET DOWN YOUR NETS"

torn, while the piers have all but disappeared. The legacy of Father Corridan is still evident as retired longshoremen lounge along the avenues
of the west side, sharing their stories, and thankful for having survived
such a turbulent and dangerous occupation. The longshoremen's medical centers in Manhattan and Brooklyn testify to a union leadership
forced by a small cadre of Catholic and Communist activists to listen to
the longshoremen. But having said that, one must also recognize that

the men themselves stood up in 1948 and 1951 and confronted the ILA
leadership. Wildcat action was the only weapon they possessed, symbolizing both power and powerlessness.

MISCELLANY

THE FIRSTJUBILEES CELEBRATED
IN THE UNITED STATES

Robert Trisco*

When on Christmas of 1775 Pope Pius VI extended the Jubilee to the following year for the entire Catholic world,1 the thirteen British colonies of North
America had already begun the Revolutionary War, and communications
between the American clergy and their ordinary, the Vicar Apostolic of the London District, were interrupted. The priests, all ex-Jesuits, continued, nevertheless, to labor under their local superior, who had been appointed by the Vicar
Apostolic. After the Peace of Paris was signed, five of the priests, designated by
the first General Chapter of the Clergy, met in November, 1783, and wrote a
letter to the Pope, stating that they could no longer have recourse for their spiritual jurisdiction to a bishop or vicar apostolic living under a foreign government, and they requested not only that their ecclesiastical superior, John Lewis,
be confirmed in office but also that the indulgences of the Jubilee of 1775 be
granted to the American mission, "as well as such extension of faculties, as may
seem good, to the missionaries in this extensive and very remote region,
plagued by a long and bitter war with concurrent and continuing disturbances." For that reason the Jubilee could not be promulgated here; still less
could it be celebrated or benefited from.2

"Monsignor Trisco is the Kelly-Quinn Distinguished Professor of Church History in the
Catholic University of America. He read an abridged version of this article in Italian at an
international conference on "Jubilees in the History of the Church," which was sponsored
by the Pontifical Committee on Historical Sciences and held in Rome on June 23-26,
1999. The addition of pages to the January issue of the Catholic Historical Review to permit publication of this article has been financed by a subvention from the Anne M. Wolf
Fund. The author expresses his gratitude to the referees for their helpful criticisms and
suggestions.
'Bullarii Romani Continuatio, Vol. V, edd. Andrea Barberi and Alessandro Spetia

(Rome, 1842), Const. LXXIII, pp. 180-185; Ludwig von Pastor, The History of the Popes,

Vol. XXXLX: Pius VI. (1775-1799), trans. E. F. Peeler (reprinted Nendeln, Liechtenstein,

1969), p. 330.

2Peter Guilday, The Life and Times of John Caroll, Archbishop of Baltimore
(1735-1815) (reprinted Westminster, Maryland, 1954), pp. 170-171; Thomas O'Brien
Hanley, S.J. (ed), TheJohn Carroll Papers (3 vols; Notre Dame, Indiana, 1976), 1, 68-69.

85

86THE FIRST JUBILEES CELEBRATED IN THE UNITED STATES

Instead of Lewis the Holy See in 1784 appointed John Carroll superior of the
missions. The prefect of the Congregation de Propaganda Fide, Cardinal
Leonardo Antonelli, replied to Carroll that the Holy Father had extended the induit of the Jubilee to the thirteen states and that the time allowed to gain it was
one year from the day on which Carroll would receive the letter.3 He received it

on November 26, 1784.4 In the following January he sent the clergy a circular

announcing the Jubilee and asking that the priests give the faithful under their
care "such instruction, as may render them well acquainted with the nature, &
advantage of a Jubilee, and of the necessary conditions for obtaining the benefit of it." The Holy Father had empowered him "to exchange the enjoined exercises of piety into other good works." Therefore, since the circumstances of the
country did not permit the faithful to visit four different churches, Carroll directed (1) that the inhabitants of towns in which there was a chapel convenient
for the purpose, with the Blessed Sacrament reserved in it, had to visit the said
chapel on fifteen successive or interrupted days and there devoutly recite either the Litany of the Saints or seven "Our Fathers" and seven "Hail Marys," etc.,
for the intention stated by the Pope; (2) that those who lived in the country or
other places not having the convenience of a chapel with the Blessed Sacra-

ment kept in it, or who lived in towns having such a chapel but were "deprived

of all opportunity of visiting it, being servants or slaves," had likewise to recite
the Litany of the Saints and the aforementioned prayers "for the space of fifteen
days, either continued or interrupted"; and (3) that on two Fridays occurring
within the term of performing these devotions all persons who were obliged to
keep the usual fasts of the Church had also to fast, and those whose health, age,
or other lawful cause exempted them from fasting at other times had to recite
the seven penitential psalms and twice seven "Our Fathers" and "Hail Marys."
Confession and communion were also prescribed. Carroll also advised the
priests to appoint a time for their several congregations to commence the devotions for gaining the Jubilee and to remain several days among them.' Obviously, Carroll wished to facilitate the fruition of the Jubilee for all the faithful.
Unfortunately, we do not seem to have other sources regarding the observance
of this first Jubilee in the United States.
The celebration of the so-called Jubilee of 1800 was also delayed. In a pastoral letter dated November 23, 1804, Carroll, now bishop of Baltimore, promulgated the concession of indulgences granted by Pius VII on May 24, 1800.
Carroll explained that at that time the situation of Rome "and of a great portion
of the Christian world presented . . . many discouragements to the free exercise of those religious duties, and works of penance, so much recommended in
the time of a Jubilee . . ." He continued:
'Antonelli to Carroll, Rome, June 26, 1784, Archives of the Archdiocese of Baltimore
(hereafter "AAB"), Sp BA 5.
4Carroll to Ferdinand Farmer, December, 1784, in Hanley, op. cit., I, 155. Carroll pro-

posed "shortly transmitting directions for publishing the Jubilee" (ibid.,p. 157). A copy of
the Extensio universalisJubilaei (Rome, 1776), in AAB, Sp BA 5.1.
sCarroll to the Clergy,January 12, 1785, in Hanley, op. cit., 1, 161-162.

BY ROBERT TRISCO87

Our holy Father knew, that, if he had indited the general Centenary Jubilee
in the first year of his pontificate, the edifying spectacle would be lost, of
Christians going from every Christian country, to carry to the shrines
of the Apostles at Rome the profession of their veneration, of their faith, and
adherence to the Apostolic See. These considerations induced him to
suspend, to a more propitious season, the publication of that great solemnity. . . .

In the meantime, "not to leave his beloved children altogether unprovided of
those extraordinary means and inducements to repentance," Pius published an
induit, "the transmission of which into the United States, was, by various accidents, prevented 'till very lately." Carroll incorporated the text of the "induit"
into his letter and ordered his clergy to make it known to their respective congregations and to "teach them to understand and make great account of the

heavenly benefits offered to them." Carroll admitted "the impracticability ... of

visiting Catholic churches, chapels, or oratories, during the fortnight allotted for
the Jubilee."Therefore, he left it to the discretion of the priests "to assign for the

exercises of prayer, prescribed by his Holiness, other suitable places, or even
their own homes," whenever people were subject to the inconvenience just

stated, "and to require of them more frequent repetition of the exercises of
prayer, to compensate for their absence from the house of God." Pastors of congregations in cities, towns, and elsewhere, contiguous to one or more churches,

chapels, etc., were to designate one or more to be visited by their respective

flocks for obtaining the indulgences and benefits of the Jubilee. In order that
the Jubilee might be celebrated at the same time throughout the vast diocese,
Carroll assigned Septuagésima Sunday, February 10, 1805, "for giving notice of
the commencement, on the following day, of the Fortnight, during which special prayer, fasting, and acts of charity" were to be performed, and the sacraments of penance and the Holy Eucharist were to be received. The fortnight
was to terminate on Sunday, February 24, Quinquagesima Sunday. Pastors who
had several and distant congregations under their charge, however, were empowered to assign to each a different term, as circumstances might require. He
added a fervent exhortation to his "dear children in Christ" not to neglect this
call to repentance and to a change of heart and life.6
It seems that his words were not heeded everywhere. In an address without

indication of place or date Carroll said that he was "deeply and sorely affected
to be informed, that of this numerous Congregation, few, in comparison, availed

themselves of that time of mercy, of those days of salvation." He bitterly rebuked

them for their negligence and reminded them that in the "important business"
of their salvation, next to divine grace, their co-operation was "principally nec-

essary." He hoped that they would make use of the approaching Lent for their
improvement.7
'Pastoral letter, November 23, 1804, in Hanley, op. cit., II, 458-460.
'"Jubilee Year," in Hanley, op. cit.. Ill, 462-463.

88THE FIRST JUBILEES CELEBRATED IN THE UNITED STATES

By the time that Leo XII promulgated the Jubilee of 1825 there were one
archdiocese and eight dioceses in the United States. The secretary of the Congregation de Propaganda Fide, Archbishop Pietro Caprano, sent to the Archbishop of Baltimore, Ambrose Maréchal, several copies of the apostolic letter in
which the Pope extended the Jubilee to the entire Catholic world, and he attached a rescript in which the Pontiff removed the difficulties that in various
places could prevent the Catholics from gaining the benefits of the Jubilee.

Maréchal was to transmit these copies to the other bishops and to whoever was
handling the business of the vacant see of New York.8

In effect, the full Latin text of the encyclical letter "De Jubilaei extensione ad
Universum catholicum gregem"' was published in August, 1826, in three numbers of the United States Catholic Miscellany, the organ of the bishop of
Charleston and the first American Catholic weekly newspaper as well as the
only one that existed in the United States at that time;10 an English translation
followed in the next three numbers.11 The encyclical was also published in English in the same year at Philadelphia as a pamphlet that contained in addition
both a "mandate" of the bishop of that see, Henry Conwell, and, in the appendix,
"General Regulations for the Jubilee" and, in ten pages,"General Instructions on
the Jubilee by Way of Question and Answer."12 According to the regulations, the

Jubilee was to begin in the Diocese of Philadelphia on July 9, 1826, and to continue until the end of the same year. Each pastor was to give a spiritual retreat

to the members of his flock "for the course of a week," during which the faithful were to confess their sins "to a priest approved by the Bishop" (a provision
reflecting the troubled state of the diocese) and receive the Holy Eucharist
worthily. The faithful were also to "visit certain churches a certain number of
times, according to the direction of the pastors, and there pray devoutly before
the altar in a kneeling posture, and recite five times Our Father, and five times
Hail Mary, with the intention of his Holiness, for the peace and prosperity of the
Church." The pastors were authorized "to add to the week of the Retreat" as
many days as they might deem necessary for the convenience and accommodation of their penitents. Lastly, the faithful were "exhorted to add other prayers

"Caprano to Maréchal, January 15, 1826,AAEi, 22Ql.
'Printed copy in the University of Notre Dame Archives, Collection of the Archdiocese
of New Orleans, V-4-d-l .

"United States Catholic Miscellany,,Vol. VI, Nos. 3, 4, and 5 (August 5, 12, and 19, 1826),
always on the first page.

"Ibid., Vol. VI, Nos. 6, 7, and 8 (August 26 and September 2 and 9, 1826), again always

on the first page.
12"The Brief of His Holiness Pope Leo XII. on Proclaiming the Extension of the Jubilee

to the Whole World in 1826, ... to which is prefixed the Mandate of the Bishop of
Philadelphia, with an Appendix on the subject of this Plenary Indulgence—denominated
the Jubilee, with Regulations for its Observance, and Catechetical Instructions," copy in
the Archives of Propaganda Fide (hereafter "Al3F"), Scritture riferite nei congressi, America Centrale.Vol.VII (1823-1826), fols. 702r-713v.

BY ROBERT TRISCO89

found in their prayer-books"; those who could not read were to recite the
rosary; all were to "fast and give alms according to their abilities respectively."13
In the Diocese of Charleston, which comprised the three States of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia but counted few Catholics in its parishes, the

United States Catholic Miscellany reported, when in July, 1826, it announced

the extension of the Jubilee, that the bishop, John England, intended to delay
the publication until after the extreme heat of the summer would have subsided.'4 Consequently, in November Bishop England published in his weekly a
long letter on the Jubilee. Inter alia he wrote that Pope Leo XII on January 8 of
that year had "granted to the prelates of churches in those places where the
Catholic religion was not fully and extensively established power to dispense
with the fulfillment of several of the conditions prescribed [in his apostolic letter of December 25, 1825] and also power to extend the period of the Jubilee

to any time not exceeding two years from the day of its publication." Then Eng-

land explained the Catholic doctrine of indulgences and defended it against the
calumnies of the Protestants. For example, the Protestants thought that an indulgence was either a "leave to commit sin" in the future or a "remission of a sin,
or of the penalty of a sin, without due antecedent repentance." The bishop emphasized the necessity for "true repentance for sin" and declared: "The principal, indeed the only object of the Jubilee is the conversion of sinners to God." 15
The translation of Leo XII's apostolic letter and Bishop England's pastoral letter
were later published in the form of a pamphlet that was for sale in the office of
the United States Catholic Miscellany at the price of twelve and a half cents. 1<s
One week after the pastoral letter, the "conditions to be fulfilled in order to
obtain the benefits of the Indulgence of the Jubilee" in the city of Charleston
were published. They were (1) to make a good confession and communion; (2)
to visit at least four times within the space of one week each of three altars—
one in the church on Hassell Street and two in the cathedral—repeating at each
of them the Lord's Prayer and the Hail Mary five times and the creed once, and
to beseech God for the conversion of all those who were in error of faith or in

habits of immorality; (3) and to attend during the said week at least three
Masses and three instructions, or, if one could not attend the Masses, to substitute either the five decades of the Rosary or the Litany of the Saints; and (4) if a
person because of sickness or infirmity could not fulfill the second and third
conditions, the confessor was empowered to substitute some other condition.17
The exercises of the Jubilee began in the cathedral of Charleston after ves-

pers on Sunday, December 26, 1826, and continued throughout the following

week at half past six and ten o'clock in the morning and at half past six in the
"?»«/., fol. 708".

"United States Catholic Miscellany, Vol.VI, No. 1 (July 22, 1826), p. 6.
"7W«i.,Vol.VI,No. 16 (November 4, 1826), pp. 121-124.
167b<d.,Vol.VI, No. 21 (December 9, 1826), p. 166.
"Ibid., Vol. VI, No. 17 (November 11, 1826), p. 134.

90THE FIRST JUBILEES CELEBRATED IN THE UNITED STATES

evening. During the new year Bishop England preached the exercises in other
cities such as Savannah18 and Augusta, both in the State of Georgia. In the latter
city he confirmed seventeen persons, and others, still more numerous, requested confirmation, which they were preparing to receive.19 Accordingly, the
celebration of the Jubilee was often the occasion for the administering of this
sacrament.

More abundant information is available on the celebration of the Jubilee in
the two dioceses of the West than in those of the East. The Diocese of Bards-

town, one of the first four suffragan sees of Baltimore, erected in 1808, and the
Diocese of Cincinnati, separated from Bardstown in 1821, were still near the
frontier. The Jubilee of 1826-1827 was the first celebrated in these vast regions
and was an occasion of a spiritual renewal.20
In the Diocese of Bardstown, which comprised the States of Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, and Illinois, the bishop, Benedict Joseph Flaget, intended to visit

every congregation, accompanied by one or two priests, who would give in-

structions and administer the sacraments for an entire week, but in the end he
had to limit his own efforts to the State of Kentucky.

A priest who assisted in these missionary journeys wrote a series of letters, a

sort of reports, which were published in the United States Catholic Miscellany;
he did not sign them except with the initials J.M.21 To prepare the clergy to
"Ibid., Vol. VI, No. 26 (January 20, 1827), p. 206.

"Ibid., Vol. VI, No. 36 (March 31, 1827), p. 286.
20Martin J. Spalding (at that time a priest of the Diocese of Bardstown) wrote:". . . the
date of the Jubilee . . . marks an epoch in the church history of Kentucky." Sketches ofthe
Early Catholic Missions ofKentucky:from their Commencement in 1 787, to theJubilee

of 1826- 7 (Louisville, Kentucky; Baltimore, 1844), p. 288. The same Spalding (then bishop
of Louisville) wrote eight years later: "It [the Jubilee] was the first occasion on which the

Catholics of the West were ever called upon to unite with their brethren throughout
Christendom in solemn thanksgiving and prayer." "This season of benediction," he con-

tinued, "marked an epoch in the history of the flock committed to the charge of Bishop
Flaget." Sketches of the Life, Times, and Character of the Rt. Rev. BenedictJoseph Flaget,

First Bishop of Louisville (Louisville, Kentucky, 1852), pp. 256-257. And an anonymous
writer, whose account was published in the Annales de l'Association de la Propagation

de la Fol (Vol. III [Lyon, Paris, 1828] , p. 206), said:"La promulgation du jubilé a été pour le
diocèse de Bardstown l'époque des bénédictions les plus abondantes."

21 United States Catholic Miscellany,,VoLVI, No. 13 (October 14, 1826), p. 7: letter dated
Bardstown, September 11, 1826; No. 18 (November 18, 1826), pp. 141-142: letter dated
Louisville, September 30, 1826; No. 22 (December 16, 1826), p. 174: letter dated Bardstown, October 26, 1826; and No. 41 (May 5, 1827),p. 327: letter dated March 26, 1827;Vol.
VII, No. 4 (July 28, 1827), p. 31: letter dated Bardstown, June 26, 1827; No. 19 (November
10, 1827), pp. 150-151: letter dated Bardstown, October 1, 1827; No. 21 (November 24,
1827), p. 167: letter dated Bardstown, October 5, 1827; No. 24 (December 15, 1827), pp.
190-191: letter dated Bardstown, October 12, 1827; No. 25 (December 22, 1827), p. 199:
letter dated Bardstown, October 20, 1827; No. 35 (March 8, 1828), p. 278: undated letter
(after November 10, 1827). "Lettre de Mgr. Flaget à M. Badin, ancien missionnaire du Ken-

tucky, Louisville, le 29 septembre,"Annales de l'Association de la Propagation de la Foi,

BY ROBERT TRISCO91

bring the exercises of the Jubilee to the congregations, Bishop Flaget gathered

in the cathedral on September 1 , 1826, fifteen priests, fifteen seminarians, seven

aspirants to tonsure, and others who wished to explore their vocation to the
priesthood. He himself led them in the week of prayer. Afterwards, at the
solemn Mass of Sunday, September 10, he promulgated the Jubilee in the cathedral with the reading of the papal bull, followed by the sermon and the recitation of the necessary prayers. At three o'clock in the afternoon an instruction
on some doctrinal points was given; it was conducted by two priests, one of

whom asked questions and posed objections, while the other replied. At sixthirty in the evening another sermon was preached. This program was followed
for eight days. A sermon was preached each morning, after Mass, at half past ten,
and another at half past six in the evening. The conference took place at three
o'clock, and the Stations of the Cross "with some other pious exercises" were

performed at appropriate times. From half past four in the morning to half past

six in the evening "the concourse of penitents" was uninterrupted; some remained the whole day and even waited several days to have the opportunity of
going to confession. The bishop, the coadjutor (John Baptist David), and four
priests were engaged in this ministry almost constantly, and yet they could not
hear the confessions of all who wished to confess. However, the parish had six
months to gain the indulgences of the Jubilee.
To Francis Patrick Kenrick, who was an expert theologian, was assigned the
main role in replying during these staged debates, which were a new form of instruction in Kentucky. At the will of Bishop Flaget, Kenrick (who later became
bishop of Philadelphia and still later archbishop of Baltimore) was to go to each
parish in which the Jubilee was celebrated, and he was occupied in this task for
two years less a few months when he became seriously ill.22 Although these
conferences were rather long (they often lasted about two hours), they were
very well attended, and the majority of the listeners were Protestants.23 To accommodate the large crowds, in some towns the conferences had to be held in

Vol. Ill (Lyon, Paris, 1828), pp. 183-184; and "Promulgation du jubilé," ibid., pp. 206-21 1.
See also Spalding, Sketches of the Early Catholic Missions, pp. 291-299; idem, Sketches of

the Life, Times, and Character of the Rt. Rev. BenedictJoseph Flaget, pp. 256-260; J. Herman Schauinger, Cathedrals in the Wilderness (Milwaukee, 1952), pp. 234-236; Clyde F.

Crews, An American Holy Land:A History of theArchdiocese ofLouisville (Wilmington,
Delaware, 1987), p. 100; and Charles Lemarié, C.S.C, A Biography of Msgr. Benedict

Joseph Flaget, b. 1763-d. 1850, First Bishop of the Dioceses of Bardstown and
Louisville, Kentucky, 1811-1850, trans. Mary Wedding, S.C.N. (Bardstown, 1992), pp.
266-272.

22Spalding, Sketches of the £¿/é,p.258;Lemarié,o£,«f.,pp.270-271.

"Flaget, in a letter dated September 26, 1826, wrote: "It is impossible for me to tell you

of all the good which results from these conferences: Protestants relish them even more
than Catholics. . . . Many Protestants are deeply impressed." Quoted by Spalding in
Sketches of the Early Catholic Missions, p. 292; translated from the French in Annales,
Vol. Ill, pp. 183-184.

92THE FIRST JUBILEES CELEBRATED IN THE UNITED STATES

the courthouse.21 The Protestant ministers, naturally, watched these gatherings
with hostility, and some of them proposed subjects that they expected to cause
the priests difficulty or embarrassment, such as Purgatory, the reading of the

Bible, and the Inquisition; others tried to refute the priests' assertions in their
own pulpits and newspapers. In Louisville, Lexington, and other cities the conferences aroused the hatred and rage of the Protestants; some, nevertheless,

were converted to Catholicism.

When the exercises were finished in Bardstown, they were begun anew in a
neighboring congregation. Subsequently they were repeated in other congregations until "a continued and most intense frost25 and various other kinds of inclement weather" necessitated their suspension until the beginning of March.
The priests marveled that so many of the faithful remained in church the whole
day, without taking nourishment, absenting themselves from their farms and
their businesses, neglecting their worldly occupations, and returning home
after five o'clock in the evening. The missionaries carefully counted those who
received the sacraments. In every parish there was a great concourse of people;
some went to confession for the first time in twenty or more years; others had
entirely abandoned the practice of the faith or had concealed or denied their religion. Some converts were baptized, and others, already baptized as Protestants, were received into the Church.26 Moreover, some Catholics who had
married outside the Church had their marriages regularized. In the course of

the Jubilee Bishop Flaget confirmed 1,216 persons; according to the account

of the missionaries, at least six thousand persons received the sacraments of

penance and the Eucharist during these days. At that time the Catholic popu-

24At Springfield and Lebanon the courthouses were not large enough to hold the
throngs who wished to hear the discourses; therefore, the priests had to speak in the
open air, as the Protestants did in their camp meetings. At Springfield, moreover, where
many of the Protestants had expressed their eagerness "to hear these instructive discus-

sions" of Catholic doctrine, two priests came en Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. "The

citizens manifested their gratitude for this attention by causing the three bells of the public taverns to ring as the clergymen entered the town." United States Catholic Miscellany,
Vol. VIII, No. 19 (November 10, 1827), pp. 150-151, and No. 21 (November 24, 1827), p.
167.

2,In December, when it was very cold, many people arrived at the church of St. Charles,
after traveling several miles, at four o'clock and even at two o'clock in the morning to
queue up in front of the confessionals. Spalding, Sketches of the Early Catholic Missions,
p. 295.
2'Flaget wrote to the bishop of Cincinnati, Edward Dominic Fenwick, O.P (Bardstown,
October 10, 1827):"Je ne vous parle pas des protestants convertisse crois qu'il y en a eu
plus de vingt-quatre dans ces trois paroisses." St. Joseph Province Archives, Providence
College, Providence, Rhode Island.
Flaget also wrote to Didier Petit of the Association for the Propagation of the Faith
(Bardstown, November 1, 1827) that in the twelve Jubilee exercises at which he had
presided more than forty Protestants entered the Church and many others were preparing to enter; at that time he had scarcely traversed one-half of the State of Kentucky. Annales,\olM\,pA92.

BY ROBERT TRISCO93

lation of Kentucky was estimated to be 18,000 souls, but this figure included
children who were not admitted to the sacraments of the Eucharist and confirmation.27

In 1827 Bishop Flaget submitted to the Holy Father a petition to extend the

time for gaining the indulgence of the Jubilee to three years because of the
great size of his diocese, the paucity of priests, and the difficulty of gathering
the Catholics in the winter and when they were busy cultivating their fields.
Leo XII granted the request pro gratia on May 20, 1827.2*
Besides the reports on the Diocese of Bardstown, the United States Catholic

Miscellany published two anonymous reports on the Diocese of Cincinnati,
which comprised the State of Ohio, the Territory of Michigan, and the Indian

Territory (later the State of Wisconsin).29 The promulgation of the Jubilee was
deferred until Christmas, 1826, because the new cathedral was opened only on
the third Sunday of Advent. The bishop, Edward Dominic Fenwick, O.P,
presided at the exercises the whole week long. Two sermons, one in English
and the other in German, were delivered every day and were well attended
"notwithstanding the extreme rigor of the season." As soon as the inclemency of
the weather and the high waters permitted the missionaries to resume their
labors, they set out from Cincinnati by different routes to visit the several congregations in Ohio. Fenwick ascended the Ohio River in a steamboat to Wheeling, Virginia, where he took a stagecoach to Somerset, Ohio. At St. Joseph's

Church near Somerset many of the congregation came every day from a distance of eight to ten miles, and mostly on foot, and others remained the whole

week in the neighborhood. Besides the cities, the bishop and his two companions visited several small congregations, consisting of twenty or thirty families.
At St. Paul's, in Columbiana County, one of the priests preached in the court-

house before an audience composed almost exclusively of non-Catholics. His
discourse removed much prejudice; some non-Catholics were converted.
Bishop Fenwick administered confirmation in every parish and spent almost
six months on this first tour.

Having returned home, Fenwick wrote a letter to the Central Council of the
Association for the Propagation of the Faith at Lyons.30 In it he recalled the fre2TThe reporter for the Annales wrote proudly: "Perhaps the fruits of the Jubilee were
more abundant here [in Kentucky] than in any other part of the Christian world, if we
take into the account the small number of Catholics. Scarcely was there to be found one

in twenty, who proved recreant to the voice of God, and to the call of the church." Quoted
by Spalding in Sketches of the Early Catholic Missions, p. 296.
28APF, Facultates Extraordinariae, 1817-1827, fol. 360T.

"United States Catholic Miscellany, Vol.Nl, No. 3 1 (February 24, 1827), p. 246, and No.
49 (June 30, 1827), pp. 390-391. See also Victor F. O'Daniel, O.P, The Right Rev. Edward
Dominic Fenwick, O.P., Founder of the Dominicans in the United States, Pioneer Mis-

sionary in Kentucky, Apostle of Ohio, First Bishop of Cincinnati, 2nd and emended edition (Washington, D.C., 1921), pp. 320-327.

»September 8, 1827, Annales,No\. Ill, No. 16 (1829), pp. 293-294.

94THE FIRST JUBILEES CELEBRATED IN THE UNITED STATES

quent conversions, the innumerable baptisms, the return of sinners to their duties, and the increase in the number of churches, and he considered himself
thrice blessed during this mission. After the conclusion of the Jubilee Fenwick's
secretary, John Baptist Clicteur, wrote to the same council in Lyons, saying that
the fruits of the Jubilee had been much more abundant than one had dared to

hope, whether in regard to the conversion of bad Catholics or in regard to the
reception of a large number of heretics into the Church. When the Jubilee was
preached at Lancaster, he recounted, a Protestant minister, highly esteemed in
his sect, came with his wife and his whole household and threw himself at the
feet of Bishop Fenwick, asking to be admitted to his communion. After appropriate instruction he publicly, in the church, abjured and recanted his errors, exhorted his former co-religionists to follow his example, professed the whole
creed of the Catholic Church, and received baptism with his entire family. The

secretary concluded that the salutary shock produced by the Jubilee was not
only of passing effect; the missionaries continued to see the good results of
their efforts, especially in the form of new conversions.31

It can be said, therefore, that in the nascent American Church, particularly in
those dioceses for which historical sources can be found in sufficient quantity,
the celebration of the Jubilee of Leo XII was a religious event of great importance. It furnished the occasion of a revivil32 with lasting effects.

"Cincinnati, February 17, 1829, Annales,Voi. FV, No. 23 (1831), pp. 508-509.
52Jay R Dolan considers the preaching of Leo XII's Jubilee an early form of Catholic revivals in the United States; see Catholic Revivalism: The American Experience,
1830-1900 (Notre Dame, Indiana, 1978),pp. 17-18.

BOOK REVIEWS

General and Miscellaneous

Apocalypses: Prophecies, Cults, and Millennial Beliefs through the Ages. By
Eugen Weber. (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 1999.
Pp. vii, 294. $24.95.)
Eugen Weber first came to the attention of this reviewer in the pages of Ac-

tion Française (1962), and he has been his prophet (see p. 87) ever since. In

this case the author denies research in original sources to prove a point but
rather proclaims his effort as a journey through the morass of materials that
have accumulated under the name in the title. As interesting as the material is

in itself, the author adds his special touch to make it all the more appetizing.
Léon Bloy becomes "the bizarre Christian writer who expected a Second Com-

ing any day after the 1870's." As might be expected in such a book, Nostradamus
has the most entries, if the (excellent) index is to be believed. There is no entry
for "pyramid," except in a note on Nostradamus in which it is stated, "Numerological interpretations of the great pyramid suggest the end of the world in
2001."

The journey is not altogether haphazard. After some numerology about hundreds and thousands there are mini-courses in Scripture Studies, Patrology Medieval Studies, and Renaissance-Reformation. The reform of the calendar by
Pope Gregory XIII brings the delightful remark of Voltaire that Protestant mobs
preferred their calendars to disagree with the sun than to agree with the Pope.
At about mid-book the author's area of specialty takes over with a plethora of
French, and especially English, manifestations of MiUenarian, apocalyptic, and
Utopian urges. As often as not, it was the oppressed who followed these movements because they saw in them the only hope for relief from their burdens.
Weber puts it all in one paragraph on page 150:
Medieval history, modern history, Jewish history, and Christian history are full of expectant, credulous, turbulent hewers of wood and drawers of water; husbandmen,
tillers, shepherds, cowherds, swineherds, peddlers, 'weavers,pastoureaux, tafurs, flagellants, free spirits, beghards.bégM^s. Hussites, Taboritesjohannites, vessels of the
Holy Spirit, incarnations of Elias, Enoch, the Messiah, and God himself, jostling toward
apocalyptic emancipation.

95

96BOOK REVIEWS

As often as not the solution is found in the annihilation of the clergy and/or the
Jews. The book is as up-to-date as Pat Robertson, Waco, Texas, and the thirtynine suicides at Rancho Santa Fe near San Diego in 1997. As for useful practical
information it has been discovered (p. 205) that if one adds the nine-digit zip
codes that the U.S. Post Office used to the nine-digit numbers of the Social Security Administration, the total is eighteen , which when divided by three is six,

i.e. 666, the number of the beast of the Apocalypse.

All in all the book is a gem for readers and a gold mine for theft by students
writing papers and preachers preparing sermons.
John R. McCarthy
Cleveland, Ohio

Celtic Christianity: Making Myths and Chasing Dreams. By Ian Bradley. (New
York: St. Martin's Press. 1999. Pp. x,246. $45.00.)
Celtic Christianity, regardless of how one defines it, plays an important role in
the spiritual life and thinking of many English-speaking people. The main question is: does it have some objective reality, even when mixed with various accretions and imaginings, or is it entirely a figment? (Celtic should always be
understood here as if in inverted commas.) Ian Bradley, whose previous writings promoted Celtic Christianity for its spiritual benefits, now takes a long,
cool look at its history and its validity.
There is immense erudition in the book. It covers six periods from the seventh century to the present day, pointing out how in each the supposed golden
age of a Celtic Church has been exalted above its prosaic reality. There are just
short of 600 footnotes. In post-Reformation times, many writers have taken a
denominational stance, the commonest being to assert the Celtic Church's independence and to contrast its freedom of spirit with the authoritarian and legalistic Church of Rome. On the whole, however, Catholics and Protestants
have not reacted very differently. Differences, though by no means clear-cut, are
now rather between scholars, or the more hard-headed, and the devotees. Sur-

prisingly, devotees abound in England more than in the Celtic fringe: Wales,
Scotland, and Ireland.
One's background, as Bradley shows, is relevant. My own ancestry is at least
three-quarters Celtic and since my teenage years I have lived in the Scottish
Highlands, in a spot hallowed by a seventh-century abbot of lona. For over fifty
years I have spoken and read Gaelic and been familiar with Carmina Gadelica,
a magnificent collection of Gaelic folk prayers. I consider the traditional
prayers, even in translation, to be remarkable for their vivid language, their imagery, their awareness of God in the natutal world, their integration of the ageold tasks of peasants and fisherfolk. This Celtic spirituality, however, is not a
separate entity but merely a very attractive expression of Christianity integrated

BOOK REVIEWS97

into a simple society. Its charm for the harassed city-dweller and the devout
Christian disenchanted with church administration is obvious.

Dr. Bradley does not differentiate enough between a reasonable re-creation
of the past and a total figment. Man does not live by facts alone; there are always
elements of creation and imagination. It was natural to choose hallowed sites
when founding monasteries, natural to promote some saints at the expense of
other saints or of historical fact, natural to adapt ancient prayers and devotions
to suit modern tastes and needs. Precisely the same happened in secular affairs.
No doubt the prayers in Carmina Gadelica were adapted or edited, but so too
were the Gaelic folk-songs. That does not make them spurious.
Scottish Catholics have their local saints and holy places dating from ancient
times but have hardly been touched by any Celtic revival, though St. Columba's
centenary in 1997 stirred great interest. Others, however, including New Age
people and some charismatics in England, have taken up Celtic spirituality. This
book provides an excellent scholarly introduction to modern Celtic revivals
and the present-day cult of Celtic Christianity.
Mark Dilworth, O.S.B.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Sisters in Arms: Catholic Nuns through Two Millennia. ByJo Ann Kay McNa-

mara. (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 1996. Pp. xiii,
751. $35.00 hardcover; $18.95 paperback.)

This monumental study explores the history of Catholic sisterhood from the
first century to the end of the twentieth century. It provides Catholic women

religious with a much-needed and long-overdue distinct historical identity

which they have been denied in traditional histories of monasticism.

The title of this work, Sisters in Arms, is taken from the military metaphor of

nuns as soldiers of Christ. As part of that elite army, women religious were subjected to rigorous training and discipline; they shared a special comradeship.

Over the centuries these militia Christi found themselves in the forefront of

the Church's battles against enemies of religion; many also fought against
misogynist elements within the Church which denigrated and constrained their
efforts. Despite their invaluable participation, some churchmen maintained that
these virgin troops had no place on the battlefield among the militia Christi.
This impressive survey begins with the Apostolic period and the first communities of celibate women found in the early house churches, and concludes
with a look at the difficulties of female monasticism in the late-twentieth cen-

tury. The first half of the study focuses on women religious from the Roman period through the high Middle Ages. The second half surveys the period from the
fifteenth century through the twentieth century, with a final chapter, "Toward a
Third Millennium." McNamara examines patterns of continuity and change in

98BOOK REVIEWS

the opportunities and roles of female religious and their institutional affiliations, against the complex social and ecclesiastical backgrounds of this twothousand-year period. She discusses the involvement of women religious across
the centuries in missionary work, their major commitment to charity, and their
work in hospitals. She notes the special opportunities which prophecy and
mysticism provided female religious. The author also furnishes fascinating insights into the religious lives of women along with specific contributions of a
number of extraordinary abbesses and nuns. She has singled out figures from
Thecla, the companion of St. Paul, to Sister Mary Thérèse Kane, who, in 1979,
urged Pope John Paul II to consider the recognition of women as full members
of the Church and their ordination as priests. As noted by McNamara, the book
calls "attention to foremothers who, for two millennia, have broken new paths
for women in a hostile and forbidden world. They served their god and their
church and in doing so they fulfilled themselves and laid a foundation for all
women. Without the daring and sacrifice of these nuns, it is impossible to imagine the feminist movements of modern times finding any purchase in the pubhe world. They created the image and reality of the autonomous woman. They
formed the professions through which that autonomy was activated. They still
devote their lives to the care and development of human beings everywhere"

(P- 6).

One of the major themes of Sisters in Arms, and also treated by McNamara
in other works, is that of syneisactism, namely, the ideal and practice of chaste
cohabitation by religious men and religious women with a basic recognition of
equal spiritual capacities. McNamara notes that during the first millennium the
gender system was essentially syneisactic. Thus this relationship which minimized gender differences encouraged the success of women religious. For example, in the early medieval frontier outposts, these women were indispensable
in the missionary work of the Church: they acted as partners and even surrogates in many areas of religious life. However, in general, this ideal and practice
began to decline in the second millennium with the introduction of the Gregorian Reform. With the reformers' exaggerated fear and distrust of female sexuality—which developed into a full-blown misogyny—women were systematically
excluded from institutions and professions that were controlled by the celibate
clergy. Conceptually, churchmen found a world without women to be more
hospitable to their own aspirations—there was a growing sense of the Church
as a male club. McNamara, however, notes that one can find a renewal of the

syneisactic ideal at various times in the second millennium. She also optimistically suggests that an answer to the present ills which women religious face in
the Church might be solved by a revival of the old syneisactic ministry.
Another major thread which McNamara traces in this tome is that of economics and women religious. She argues against the underlying misconception
of the financial incompetence of women religious. She examines the basic
gender-specific problem of the cura monialis, or the care (and control) of
nuns, which was frequently seen as the clergyman's burden, problems of oversubscribed houses, and the financial security of women religious. Many of the

BOOK REVIEWS99

particular difficulties which the women religious faced were predicated on the
gender-based policy of strict enclosure or claustration. This policy encouraged

an institutional invisibility and inaccessibility: it had a deleterious effect on the
nuns' ability to solicit donations or to promote the cult of saints. McNamara also
discusses problems associated with the women religious' lack of sacramental
power and gendered policies of patronage.

A medieval historian, McNamara is especially qualified to undertake this

rather daunting project. She has spent her career teaching and writing on
women in early Christianity, medieval women and the Church, female sanctity,
and women religious. Moreover, on a personal level, she was introduced by
nuns into the world of learning and into the world of female religious. McNamara has noted: "I must concede that all I am I owe to my Catholic education"
(p. x).
Sisters in Arms is an extremely accessible book, written for historians as well
as for a broadly educated public interested in history, women's history, and the
history of the Church. The author writes with great verve; she uses dramatic,
colorful language and interesting words such as "monkery," "castimony," and

"pornocrat." While the book contains a substantial bibliography on women reli-

gious, the abbreviated footnotes cause some difficulty for the reader who is in-

terested in further pursuing some of the fascinating details described in the
text. As a pioneering study, this work is truly an impressive achievement and
will encourage further questions, debate, and additional research in this area. It

is an amazingly comprehensive study and constitutes an invaluable contribution to the field of the history of women and religion.
Jane Tibbetts Schulenburg
University of Wisconsin-Madison

The Holy See and the United Nations, 1945-1995. By Edward J. Grätsch. (New
York: Vantage Press. 1997. Pp. xiii, 305. $19.95 cloth.)
The aim of The Holy See and the United Nations is the documentation of
the "collaboration of the Holy See and the United Nations," in order to make it
"more understandable and promote the noble objectives of both." According to
the author, Edward Grätsch, such co-operation can exist because "the objectives
of the two international entities are, to a considerable degree, the same." To be

sure, the author avers, the Holy See pursues another objective as well, "the eter-

nal salvation of men and women as revealed byJesus Christ, the Founder of the
Catholic Church."

The term "Holy See" is defined by the author in a narrow, albeit perfectly accurate, sense. It refers to "the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, and his representatives
in the Vatican and elsewhere who assist him in carrying out the mission of the
universal Church." Gratsch's methodical book is, nonetheless, an invaluable reference work on the authoritative documents that comprise the corpus of the

100BOOK REVIEWS

Church's explicit utterances on the work of the UN. The book scrutinizes the

declarations made by the Holy See on tin: UN, both before 1964, the year of
the establishment of the Office of Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the
United Nations, and subsequently, and emphasizes certain recurrent ideas.
Briefly, these are that the nations of the world should never again resort to war
to settle their differences; that men and women of all nations should regard
themselves as one family standing in solidarity with other human beings; that
every plan and program put forth by the UN should aim at safeguarding and
promoting human dignity; that human beings have both a material and spiritual
dimension that includes a profound need for truth, love, justice, beauty, and
brotherhood; that the resources of the earch belong to all men and women and
should be used for the benefit of all; and finally, that all nations are becoming increasingly interdependent and one may not act without consideration for the
rights of others.
The volume is divided up informally into several sections: an introduction, in
which terms such as Acta Apostolicae Sedis are explained. Also included in this
section is the author's rationale for the selection of representative documents.
The next section considers the teachings cfJesus and the establishment and development of the structures and canon law of the Roman Catholic Church. A
survey of the nineteenth-century antecedents to the United Nations and the
history of the League of Nations follows. The establishment of the UN itself, and
a brief overview of its specialized agencies is also provided. Several subsequent
chapters deal with "the Catholic Church and the International Organization."
This reference to "the International Organization" does not refer strictly to the
UN; rather, it indicates everything from the term "nations" in the Old and New
Testaments and the Christian relationship to the Roman and Holy Roman Empires to the rise of nationalism beginning in the fourteenth century, eventually

leading up to the settlement of the "Roman Question" by the Lateran Treaty in

1929. Then Grätsch surveys the Church's systematic reflection upon developments in international organization beginning with Thomas Aquinas in the thirteenth century and culminating with the popes of the modern era up to Pius
XI. Chapter Five presents the teachings of Pius XII to John Paul II on the UN,
bringing in as well the documents of the Second Vatican Council that refer to
world peace and the relations between states.
The remaining two-thirds of the book deal with international issues to which

the UN and the Holy See have addressed themselves over the previous fifty

years. Three chapters are fittingly devoted to the UN's long and difficult struggles with issues associated with human rights. Succeeding chapters are given
over to discussions on culture and education, disarmament and peace, development, food and agriculture, justice and law, and population and the environment. Chapter Fifteen is a grab bag of everything from atomic energy to
disaster relief.

The format of all these chapters is invariable. First, a history of the UN's efforts on a particular issue is surveyed, followed immediately by a presentation

BOOK REVIEWS101

of the Catholic moral principles involved. The survey then concludes with a detailed exposition of papal messages on the matter. Most interesting of all, I

found, were the addresses at UN gatherings by officials of the Holy See, many of

which have been designated official UN documents.

Throughout the book, Grätsch expresses the hope that the Holy See and the

UN will continue "to promote the welfare of the entire human race" through
lasting mutual collaboration. At times his reading of that collaboration strikes
one as excessively optimistic, especially because it is difficult to find in more

than three hundred pages of text evidence that the co-operation he lauds is anything more than UN toleration for the occasional, if thought-provoking, Vatican
commentary.
Joseph S. Rossi, SJ.

Loyola College
Baltimore, Maryland
Medieval

Christian Dualist Heresies in the Byzantine World, c. 650-c. 1450. Selected
sources translated and annotated by Janet Hamilton and Bernard Hamilton, assisted with the translation of Old Slavonic texts by Yuri Stoyanov.
[Manchester Medieval Sources Series.] (Manchester University Press. Distributed by St. Martin's Press, New York. 1998. Pp. xvii, 327. $8995 cloth-

bound; $27.95 paperback.)

The heresies in the translations are two in number: Paulicianism and Bo-

gomilism. The Latin, Greek, and Old Slavonic sources are arranged under fifty
headings in a fine array of material; fifteen concern Paulicians, the remaining
thirty-five Bogomils. A crisp and decisive historical introduction explains the
wider ambience of the two heresies, distinguishes them and dismisses the hy-

pothesis of F. C. Conybeare, given a more sophisticated form by Nina Garsoian,
that Paulicians were originally Adoptionists and followers of Paul of Samosata
(see in detail appendix two, pp. 292-297). On the tricky question of the au-

thenticity of reports of the heretics' beliefs, Bernard Hamilton believes with
Lemerle that we can trust Peter of Sicily's account of the Paulicians; for the Bogomils and their history the position is easier because of the survival of some of
their literary work and the acts of the Cathar council of S. Félix de Caraman,
with its insight into Eastern Churches, rescued for the use of all future historians in a knock-out piece of research by Hamilton in 1978. The line between

Paulicianism and Bogomilism is thin: Hamilton concedes a background push

toward dualism through Paulician missionizing in Bulgaria before the emergence of the Bogomils and some subconscious interpénétration, for instance in
Western Anatolia. Bogomil himself was deeply indebted to the Orthodox,
monastic concept of holiness; his dualism may have been given impetus by
Paulicians but has an interesting likeness to the beliefs of Zurvanite Zoroastri-

ans. The Bogomils' relationship to Cathars and their origins, their continued in-

102BOOK REVIEWS

fluence, and their separate histories are a central theme providing, as intended,
an excellent parallel to the classic Wakefield and Evans source-book on Western
heresies. The authors weave their way through Western and Eastern sources,
denunciations and expositions, and score a bull's-eye with the full translation,
for the very first time, from two MSS of Hugh Eteriano's treatise against the Bogomils sponsored by the Emperor Manuel, touched on but not transcribed by
Dondaine. Bernard Hamilton is surely unduly skeptical about Euthymius of the
Periblepton on ostentatious blasphemies of Bogomils which have parallels in

Catharism, and one misses the opportunity of seeing him encounter Gerhard

Rottenwöhrer's idiosyncratic exposition of Bogomil and Cathar history in Die
Herkunft der Katharer of 1 990. He has, nonetheless, a sure touch on Byzantine
history and theology—witness his illumiri ating explanation of the relation between Basil the Doctor's influence and contemporary demonology (p. 43);

texts are conscientiously handled (see especially Euthymius of the Periblepton): in sum, this book is a fine contribution.

M. D. Lambert

Eastcombe, Stroud, Gloucestershire

Power & Purity: Cathar Heresy in Medieval Italy. By Carol Lansing. (NewYork:

Oxford University Press. 1998. Pp. x, 267. $45.00.)

Carol Lansing pursues two ends in this book, a case study of Catharism in a
particular community, Orvieto, and a broader examination of Cathar religious
practice. Despite some discontinuities between these tasks, the book makes
valuable contributions to our understanding of the social context of Catharism
in Orvieto and also to the place of Catharism in the popular religiosity of the
High Middle Ages.
Fragmentary records, all written by opponents of Catharism, make a connected narrative of Cathar history in Orvieto impossible. The efforts of a papal
rector, Pietro Parenzo, to suppress Catharism and his subsequent murder in
1199 first illuminate the Cathar presence: in Orvieto. The pro-papal faction in
Orvieto attributed his assassination to Cathar sympathizers, and Master John, a

cathedral canon, composed an account of his life, martyrdom, and subsequent

miracles. Lansing interprets this episode largely in political terms, arguing that
Parenzo's local reputation as a saint served the city's bishop in his struggle with
the communal government and the pro-papal faction in their struggle with
their rivals.

The next significant references to Catharism in Orvieto appear in the midthirteenth century, but there were Cathars there in the intervening decades.

Lansing uses the list of inquisitorial sentences from 1268 in conjunction with

tax records, wills, and other documents to delineate the social milieu of Orviétan Cathars. Catharism was not tied exclusively to a single class, though it appeared especially in certain families over two or three generations. Cathars

BOOK REVIEWS103

came from a variety of groups, including merchants, moneylenders, minor nobles, furriers, and other artisans. Orviétans proved largely tolerant of local

Cathars. A Dominican inquisition foundered for lack of local support in 1239,

and during the 1240's several Cathars held civic offices. A more thorough Franciscan inquisition in 1267-68 marked the end of toleration and the beginning
of the end of Orviétan Catharism.

Lansing devotes much attention to the place of Catharism in the spirituality
of thirteenth-century Italy. Catharism was not an isolated, fringe phenomenon;

rather "... Cathar beliefs existed within a general climate of religious skepti-

cism in thirteenth-century towns" (p. 83). Many people venerated both Cathar
and Catholic holy persons, and some Cathars went to confession and took communion in Catholic churches. For many, theological subtleties counted for less
than devotion and reverence for ascetic individuals. Some Cathars, to be sure,
challenged Catholic dogma. Pointed divergences came over issues surrounding
gender (a creation of Satan or the evil god), marriage (not a sacrament for

Cathars), and the bodies of the dead (denial of miracles associated with a holy

person's remains).

This book makes a significant contribution to our understanding of Italian

Catharism. Lansing's examination of Catharism in Orvieto provides a valuable

study of heresy in a specific, local context. Her discussion of Cathar beliefs pro-

vides several worthwhile insights into the spiritual landscape of thirteenthcentury Italy. Some shortcomings mar the book. Lansing's discussion of the
Orviétan inquisition would have benefited from a more thorough grounding in
canon law. The book's subtitle overstates the work's actual coverage. It has little
to say about Lombardy or other areas in northern Italy. More attention to those

regions would have enriched the analysis of Cathar thought. These points
notwithstanding, the book remains a worthy addition to scholarship on
Catharism and medieval Italy.

Peter D. Diehl

Western Washington University

Papal Reform and Canon Law in the IV and 12'" Centuries. By Uta-Renate
Blumenthal. [Variorum Collected Studies Series CS 618.] (Brookfield, Vermont: Ashgate Publishing Company. 1998. Pp. xii, 334. $9995.)
This recent volume in the "Variorum Collected Studies Series" brings together eighteen essays written by the distinguished historian of medieval
canon law, Professor Uta-Renate Blumenthal of the Catholic University of America. Focusing on the eleventh and twelfth centuries, her period of specializa-

tion, these are based on extensive manuscript research and offer the reader
insights into jurisprudence, theology, and political theory and practice. The pa-

pacy's increasingly centralized, normalized control of the law is the connecting
theme.

104BOOK REVIEWS

The essays may be divided, roughly, into four groups. The first treats the transmission of non-conciliar, non papal-texts. These detailed studies shed light on
key events in the ecclesiastical reform movement from the pontificate of Leo LX
to that of Honorius III. Key moments in the reform, as well as in the crisis of
church and state that ensued under Gregory VII, are treated in essays such
as "Canossa and Royal Ideology in 1077 Two Unknown Manuscripts of De
penitentia regis Salomonis" a brief, but detailed, study of a pro-imperialist treatise written shortly after Henry's submission to Gregory VII. Professor Blumenthal provides a provisional edition of the text with full apparatus. A bishop's
engagement with canon law is examined in "An Episcopal Handbook from
Twelfth-Century Southern Italy: Codex Rome, Bibl. Vallicelliana F. 54/??." Her
analysis of the collection's formal sources, among them the Collectio of Cardinal Deusdedit, Ivo of Chartres' Decretum, and the (likely pseudo-Ivonian) Collectio Tripartita, demonstrates both the influence of these canonical collections
in southern Italy and how they were exploited by a skillful compiler to meet
the needs of a bishop concerned principally with administrative and jurisdictional matters. Here is an excellent illustration of canon law in action on the
diocesan level.

A second group of essays treats conciliar canons and papal decretals. From
the pontificate of Leo G? ("Ein neuer Text für das Reimser Konzil Leos G?.
[1049]") to "Opposition to Pope Paschal II: Some Comments on the Lateran
Council of 1112," Professor Blumenthal considers the interaction of pope and
council as witnessed by the transmission of conciliar canons. Paschal II receives
by far the greatest attention in these articles, as is also true in "Bemerkungen
zum Register Paschalis II," "The Correspondence of Pope Paschal II and Guido

of Vienne, 1111-1116," and "Decrees and Decretals of Pope Paschal II in

Twelfth-Century Canonical Collections." Taken together, these studies extend
Professor Blumenthal's earlier monograph , The Early Councils ofPope Paschal
II: 1100-1110.

Several essays provide a more synthetic: approach to the study of canon law.
Her essay on "Fälschungen bei Kanonisten der Kirchenreform des 11. Jahrhunderts" offers a valuable survey of the variety, and intent, of canonistic forgeries in the late eleventh century, with an emphasis on those found in Cardinal
Deusdedit's Collectio. "Conciliar Canons and Manuscripts: The Implications
of their Transmission in the Eleventh Century," and "Papal Registers in the
Twelfth Century" are welcome English-language additions to contemporary
scholarship.
Finally, Rome and papal primacy receive detailed examination. Two essays in
particular, "Rom in der Kanonistik" and, especially, "History and Tradition in
Eleventh-Century Rome," give the reader a clear sense of the climate of scholarship and commitment to ecclesiastical reform from the pontificate of Leo IX
down to the mid-1070's. The latter provides an especially useful corrective to
those who would still label the entire reform movement as Gregorian.

BOOK REVIEWS105

Addenda and Corrigenda follow the essays, thus bringing notes and bibliography up to 1998. A detailed index, including citations of manuscripts examined, then concludes the work. This feature makes it valuable for scholars who
wish to compile manuscript lists for their own researches.
The price of Papal Reform and Canon Law in the 11"' and 12"' Centuries
($9995) will make the work prohibitively expensive for many readers. The collection is, however, immensely valuable, not only for the specialist but for any
scholar working in the period. Its overview essays such as "History and Tradition" also make it useful for teaching purposes. It belongs in any university library supporting programs in medieval history, historical theology, or law.
Bruce C. Brasington

West Texas A&M University
Canyon, Texas

Santa Maria di Vallombrosa. Patrimonio e vita económica di un grande
monastero médiévale. By Francesco Salvestrini. [Biblioteca Storica Toscana a cura della Deputazione di Storia Patria per la Toscana, 33] (Florence: Leo S. Olschki Editore. 1998. Pp. xiv, 347. Lire 59000 paperback.)
It was once said that the abbot of Santa Maria di Vallombrosa could journey
down the Arno from his isolated abbey to Florence without leaving his
monastery's property. Salvestrini has thoroughly studied the formation and administration of this vast patrimony from the foundation of the monastery to the
fifteenth century. In this exemplary piece of economic history, he studies the
administrative styles of the monks, how their holdings compared to those of
other religious houses and more especially the laity. The book is a collection of
tightly focused studies of the formation of the patrimony, the style of adminis-

tration, the organization of production, and, finally, a short, but fascinating study
of the Vallombrone's woodlands. In the eleventh and early twelfth century, the
monks were part of the religious reform circle and found support from the
Countess Matilda, the Guidi counts, and other rural aristocrats. Later in the late

twelfth and thirteenth century, significant gifts came from newly arrived residents of Florence, not the older urban aristocrats. The popularity of the monks

was clearly related to the position of the monks in the religious world of the

upper Arno Valley, but, unfortunately, Salvestrini's tight focus on economic matters has left unanswered the question of why the laity supported the monks.
The most interesting and informative chapters of the book are those that
highlight the organization of the monastery's lands. Vallombrone did maintain
some demesne lands, almost exclusively woods and meadows. They seem to
have done no direct farming with laborers or lay brothers (conversi). Their
arable lands were most often let as complete farms (podert) to local farmers or
as simple "pieces of land" —which were often leased to the monastery's own

106BOOK REVIIWS

conversi. In this respect, Salvestrini finds that the monks followed the same economic strategies as lay landlords. Both tended in the late fourteenth and fifteenth century to let more and more of their farms by sharecropping contracts.
In the past, scholars have spent almost too much time on the nature and extension of such contracts. Salvestrini, however, follows a more recent trend among
Italian historians and looks at the entire environment of the monks and their

farmers. Thus he notes the significant role that grazing, timber farming, and the
sale of chestnuts played in the economic life of the monks and their tenants.

Perhaps 43% of the lands surrounding the monastery were wooded. Tenants

gathered firewood, burned charcoal, and gathered chestnuts from some portion
of this land while the monks harvested lumber of varying grades from much of
the rest of the area. The picture that emerges from this careful study is of a com-

plex economic system very much connected to the social and economic life of
the upper Arno Valley.
In spite of the fruitful observations that: fill this book, the reader is left a bit
flat. The monks themselves and their connections to this complex world are
largely absent. The author suggests that many were Florentine, but we never get
numbers. We learn little about when or where they would have been seen. This
seems to be an economic administration without administrators. There is a

short chapter on the servants and lay brothers and sisters of the monastery, but

it is perhaps the least satisfactory of his chapters. He notes several times that

some of the monks were popularly venerated in the district, but he never helps
us to understand why. It is, as his title suggests, a study of a patrimony and not a

monastery.
Duane Osheim

University ofVirginia

Medieval Bishops' Houses in England and Wales. By Michael Thompson.
(Brookfield, Vermont: Ashgate. 1998. Pp. xvi, 207. $59.95.)
Michael Thompson, who has produced many studies of medieval casües,

here offers a useful inquiry into the architecture of English and Welsh bishops'
palaces. The term "palace" includes not only the bishops' main domiciles near
their cathedrals, but also their London residences, that is, the "inns" or town
houses where they served as ministers of the Crown, lived after the thirteenth
century while attending parliament, and the places from which they carried out

legal and social business in the capital. For the medieval scribe, a palace differed

from a castle in that the former was intended for domestic purposes, a castle for
defensive ones. Twenty bishops and twenty-two abbots maintained London
town houses; most were situated west of the city walls along the Thames, for

the convenience of travel. Rents and revenues from the bishops' manors, which
at the Reformation numbered 640, supported the London residences. One hundred sixty-eight manor houses contained chapels, suggesting that the bishops

occasionally lived there. Probably, the most famous surviving manor house is

BOOK REVIEWS107

the vast and magnificent Knole near Sevenoaks in Kent which was bought and

expanded by Archbishop Bourchier in 1456 and further extended by the

Sackville family over four centuries.1 The 108 illustrations provide sketches of
ground plans, photographs of architectural ruins, and aerial views. Appendix 1

surveys the palace at Canterbury shortly after Archbishop Laud's death; Appendix 2 gives a list of the palaces whose bishops were licensed to crenellate between 1200 and 1523; and Appendix 3 lists bishops' manor houses.

After the Norman conquest, designs for bishops' palaces predictably derived
from the continent, especially France. "Without exception they are two-storied
blocks vaulted at the ground level and subdivided for a smaller room at each
level" (p. 31). As the number of a bishop's officials and household servants increased in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, a main hall was superseded
by a larger one. The site of the palace vis-à-vis the cathedral varied from place
to place. Some palaces, Durham being the best example, were castles, and most

palaces in design and layout were indistinguishable from those of the laity of
the same social level. In the later fourteenth century, as bishops pressed
seigneurial rights on the peasantry, they responded with violence, rioting, and
in four cases the murder of the bishops. Thus, for reasons of security, bishops

secured royal licenses to crenellate, or fortify, their palaces against the rustics.

This lucidly written but somewhat old-fashioned study rests on a sure knowledge of recent archaeological evidence and careful reading of primary and secondary sources, though the author seems innocent of some valuable American
research, such as C. M. Radding and W W Clark, Medieval Architecture, Medieval Learning (1992). Students seeking an explanation of the palace and
manor as aspects of medieval material culture might consult N. J. G. Pound,
Hearth and Home. A History ofMaterial Culture (1989).
Bennett Hill, OSB

Georgetown University

Pilgrims and Pilgrimage in the Medieval West. By Diana Webb. [The International Library of Historical Studies, 12.] (London: I. B. Tauris, Publishers.

Distributed by St. Martin's Press, NewYork. 1999. Pp. viii, 290. $59.50.)

This is a compendium of about 400 excerpts from western European medieval records illuminating various aspects of pilgrimage from c. 1000 to c.
1500. Twelve chapters, arranged in four parts, deal inter alia with penitential
pilgrimage, indulgences and jubilees, problems encountered en route, pilgrim
badges and souvenirs, wills, and criticisms of pilgrimage; there is one chapter
on Pistoia. The excerpts, taken from a broad range of medieval documentation
(private letters, charters, chronicles, royal passports, saints' lives, episcopal and
papal letters, statutes, etc.) are arranged chronologically within each chapter.
Part three, devoted to English pilgrimage, includes information on Englishmen
¦See V Sackville-West, Knole and the Sackvilles (London, 1969).

108BOOK REVIEWS

abroad, foreigners in England, and pilgrimage within England and Scotland, with
some excellent, lively material. Webb introduces each chapter with a helpful
summary, setting the scene and referring to some of the excerpts to follow.

Chapter 4, "Help and Hazard: The Pilgrims' Experience," is particularly inter-

esting, touching upon some often-ignored aspects of this commonplace of medieval life, including one case that resembles a modern lawsuit for false
advertising (pilgrims who had unwisely relied upon Rome's "proclamation of

safe-conduct" [p. 106]). The next brief chapter, too, is one of the more engag-

ing: "Remembering Pilgrimage: Souvenirs," contains apposite authorial comments, and sources, for the trinket business in its technical as well as tawdry
aspects.

The professional medievalist will probably enjoy this collection, which is a
convenient teaching tool, as a stimulus to reflection rather than research.
(Though most of the excerpts are in print, Webb includes some unpublished
material from Italian archives.) Since the iutended audience seems to be the
student interested in this facet of medieval life, one hopes that a paperback edition will be forthcoming, given the price of the hardback. One might add, to
Webb's extensive bibliography of sources, source collections, and secondary
works, Brian Spencer's Pilgrim Souvenirs & Secular Badges: Salisbury & South
Wiltshire Museum Medieval Catalogue, Part 2 (Salisbury, 1990), and Linda
Davidson and Maryjane Dunn-Wood's Pilgrimage in the Middle Ages: A Research Guide (New York, 1993).

Diana Webb is to be thanked for combing a great deal of printed (and some
archival) materials in an imaginative fashion with an eye to the ordinary as well
as the unusual, and in providing succinct, well-crafted introductions to each of
the chapters in her enjoyable, and useful, book.
R. C. Finucane

Oakland University, Michigan

Chronicle of the Third Crusade. A Translation of the Itinerarium Peregrinorum et Gesta Regis Ricardi. By Helen J. Nicolson. [Crusade Texts in Translation 3] (Brookfield, Vermont: Ashgate Publishing. 1997. Pp. Lx, 409.
$72.95.)
This excellent translation of Stubbs's Rolls Series edition (1864) of the most
comprehensive, near-contemporary history of the Third Crusade will be an immense boon to all students of the crusade and of the crusading movement in
general. It has long been accepted that the history, though strictly speaking
anonymous, was compiled c. 1220 by Richard de Templo, prior of the Augus-

tinian priory of Holy Trinity, London. In 1962 Hans Eberhard Mayer showed that

it was an amalgam of two eyewitness narratives: the first a Latin history, which
Mayer called IP 1 (Itinerarium Peregrinorum T) of events up to the death of
Archbishop Baldwin of Canterbury (November 19, 1 190)—a date which, curi-

BOOK REVIEWS109

ously, is nowhere mentioned by Dr. Nicolson in her otherwise very helpful
notes—and the second, IP 2, based on the Anglo-Norman Estoire de la Guerre
Sainte by Ambroise. In deciding to translate Stubbs's edition she took the simplest and most sensible course since he had taken as his base manuscript an expanded text, including some matter from Howden and Diceto which was
tacked on later in the thirteenth century. Here then we have the most complete
version of the chronicle in readily accessible form. Dr. Nicolson has successfully
achieved her aim of producing readable modern English while staying close to
the original Latin. Just occasionally she has amplified in ways which could mislead. For example, the addition of the word 'Europe' when it is not there in the
Latin (Book I, cc. 10 and 11) might deceive those studying ideas of Europe in
the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. My one regret is that the opportunity to
provide a full translation of IP 1 , as well as of Richard de Templo's text, was not
quite grasped. This would have required no more than to give the former in the
footnotes on those rare occasions, as in Book I, cc. 11, 25, 33, and 40, when
Richard de Templo altered IPl 's words.
Dr. Nicolson has provided an admirably lucid introduction, discussing the relationship between Richard de Templo's text and its sources—though without
considering Hannes Möhring's suggestion that IPl could have been written as
late as early 1 194, nor using the discussion in his Saladin und der Dritte Kreuzzug (Wiesbaden, 1980). Given the importance of naval matters, another surprising omission from her bibliography is J. H. Pryor, Geography, Technology
and War. Studies in the Maritime History of the Mediterranean 649-1571
(Cambridge, 1988). She suggests that Richard de Templo may himself have participated in the crusade as a young man—he died in 1248 or later—and thus
that what he added to IPl and Ambroise may have been based on his own memories. But despite the fact that he was a great enthusiast for the crusader-king,
his only additions of substance are a description of Richard at his coronation
and details of his itinerary from Tours to Marseille. Given that itineraries sometimes circulated separately, her suggestion, though not impossible, seems unlikely. However it would be wrong to end on a skeptical note. Thanks to Dr.
Nicolson, students can now read an enthralling account of the dramatic five
years between Saladin's victory at Hattin in 1187 and the truce negotiated by
Richard I in 1 192, that fierce conflict which Richard de Templo saw as an intercontinental struggle, Christian Europe taking on the combined forces of Muslim
Asia and Africa.

John Gillingham

London School ofEconomics and Political Science

Pope Innocent III and His World. Edited by John C. Moore. (Brookfield, Vermont: Ashgate. 1999. Pp. xix, 389. $86.95.)
Pope Innocent III and his World is the product of the Hofstra Conference of
May 1997, which jumped the gun on the celebrations for the 800"1 anniversary

110BOOK REVIEWS

of the accession of Lotario dei Conti di Segni to the papal chair. Hence the swift
appearance in print of twenty-three papers fitted into a four-part structure:
firstly, "Innocent III and his Milieu"; secondly, "Shepherding the Flock"; thirdly,
"Denning and Using Papal Power"; and finally, "Encountering the Muslim
World." Professor Moore is a scholar well known for past studies on Innocent
Ill's pontificate. Among a string of influential articles, his "Lotario dei Conti di
Segni in the 1180s" (Archivum Historiae Pontiflciae, Vol. 29, 1991) looked
closely at the pope's career before his elevation, and by deft redating produced
arguments which could extend the time of Lotario's legal studies; and more re-

cently, in 1994 (Römische Historische Mitteilungen,Vol. 36), another important

article examined the Pope's sermons, emphasizing his remarkable knowledge
of the Bible. He has thus added substantially to two particular areas of investigation, to which we shall return in a moment. As editor of this volume he has
done a remarkable job in shaping a structure, and, in explaining this, he has provided an overview of the contents of each of the papers. Edward Peters, distinguished conference scholar, then provides a suitably wide-ranging article, "The
Man and the Pope."
Debate on Innocent's intellectual credentials, whether he was theologian or
lawyer, has been rumbling on for more than a decade. At times it has seemed to
be growing out of proportion to the points at issue. It is not after all as a theologian or as a lawyer in a 'professional' sense—I use a modern term, for want of
a better, but it will be understood what I mean—that we should be assessing a
pope and his work. Sometimes it has seemed as though Lotario is being put

through an examination for a doctorate in both disciplines. That said, there are

articles here that examine the pope's practical application of law and theology
and re-examine some of the important decretals, moving toward a broader canvas of operation, away from emphasis on the person of this extraordinary pope
and toward those who constituted his curia, his bishops, and his delegates. As
one contributor says, "The role of the pope's agents cannot always be clearly
distinguished from that of the pope himself." As Egger remarks in an article
here, and others have stated before, we cannot be sure how far the opinions
(and knowledge) expressed in letters were Innocent's own. In section two,
Frances Andrews, in discussing the new religious movements of the period,
shows the Pope using the knowledge and expertise of local bishops and clergy,
being, as she puts it, "happy to leave detail to others." Another essay (Ronquist)
draws attention to the cultural and intellectual interests of the curia at this

time. Already Werner Maleczek and Agostino Paravicini Bagliani have done
much on the individuals involved in and around the curia. The search needs

now extending in terms of provisees, abbots of monasteries, the episcopate (in
more detail), papal chaplains, and so forth.
Given that there are unlikely to be further discoveries of major central
sources, we need more on the provinces, and it would also be helpful if David
Gress-Wright's doctoral thesis, "The Gesta innocenta III. Text, Introduction and
Commentary" (Ph.D. dissertation, Bryn Mawr, 1981) were made more accessible—a text going begging! Such a basic work discussed and used by many of

BOOK REVIEWS111

the contributors here (Bolton, Powell) deserves a wider audience. The suggestion by James Powell that Peter Beneventanus Collivaccinus may have been its

author, worked out in a contribution here, deserves a special mention. The
other major source, the papal registers, for which many of the contributors

have had to rely on the often faulty texts of Migne, will in the course of time be
completed by the Austrian Institute and will doubtless move much study into
new directions.

The contributions on Spain (O'Callaghan and García y García), which has
been sadly neglected in the past, are particularly welcome, as is the article on In-

nocent's attitude to the Jews. So far as I know, this is the first time it has been
treated exclusively for this pontificate. The whole crusading ethos—so important to the medieval papacy—receives attention, though there is nothing on the
disastrous Fourth Crusade. Particularly interesting are the liturgical events in
Rome, described by Maier and by Garcia, that took place at the same time as the
Spanish Crusade in 1212. The pastoral pope, balanced against the crusading
pope, has his place in section 2. 1 have somewhat jumped the gun on him. Canning, who professes a conversion to the 'pastoral' Innocent, attempts a reconciliation between the 'shepherding pope' and the pope whose duty it was to

weed out and correct, the approver of a vengeance that might fall upon the just
as well as the unjust. The implications of precisely that situation, as expressed
in the canonical censure of the interdict, is explored subtly and crisply by
Clarke.

Reviewing a collection of essays of this kind is always difficult, because it presents no progression of argument, as does a monograph. So one should have no
expectation of fitting the parts into a progressive historical theme. Vistas are
opened up, but often in different directions and then the shutters close. This is
not a book for those wanting to assess Innocent's influence on the institution of

the papacy and in the Europe of the Middle Ages. But for those who know
about before and after, there is much that is interesting, informative, and a pleasure to read. Perhaps, too, we can now get away from the labels 'pastoral' pope
and 'political' pope. Will the present pope, one wonders, be remembered exclu-

sively for his pastoral activities and not at all for his role in the collapse of communism?

Jane Sayers

University College London

Art and Crusade in the Age ofSaint Louis. By Daniel H.Weiss. (NewYork: Cambridge University Press. 1998. Pp. xiv, 279; col. pis. 8. $85.00.)
This book examines successively some of the works of art that have been associated with the patronage of the Capetian king, Louis EK. Best known is the
Sainte-Chapelle or Palatine Chapel in Paris, consecrated in 1248 before Louis departed on crusade; its unusual companion here is the Arsenal Old Testament,

112BOOK REVIEWS

that had been assigned by other scholars to Louis' sojourn in Acre, 1250-1254

(Paris, Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal MS 5211, with selected illustrated books in
abridged French translation). The author concludes that the two are linked to
the king's crusading ambitions: "The monumental achievement of the SainteChapelle, dedicated only weeks before the king departed for the Levant, and the
illuminated miniatures of the Arsenal Old Testament, created soon after his arrival in Acre, must be seen as comparable expressions of this [i.e., the king's]
singular political, religious, and artistic vision" (p. 206). Attractively laid out, eminently readable though erudite, this is a study well worth critical perusal.
Both works of art are treated somewhat abstractly, perhaps because the author relies on a large and authoritative secondary literature for matters such as
dating, authorship, and iconography. On the program of the windows of the
Sainte-Chapelle, which have been the subject of a more probing recent study
by Alyse Jordan, the author sounds at times superficial; for instance, he skirts issues such as that the rose window was rebuilt in the fifteenth century when he

states that its Apocalypse belongs to the original program (p. 46, n. 45 not with-

standing). A comparison of the figure styles in the glass, the Vienna Bible Moralisée, and the Arsenal Old Testament only draws attention to one of those extremely common poses (perhaps of Byzantine origin) that probably circulated
in motif books—a stick figure to be fleshed out and draped in the specific style
of the practitioner (pp. 84-88). The horn used for the chrism in the anointing
of David and Solomon in the manuscript does not resemble the Sainte Ampoule

in Remois images (p. 203), which eliminates the specific reference to French
coronations. David is prominent in the windows, but the author's argument for
a marked Solomonic presence is marred by mistakes of fact: Jordan had indicated that much of the relics window (which he wrongly situates on the north
side) dates from the nineteenth century, including the image of St. Louis that he
compares with the fragmentary Solomon in the tracery of another window

(pp. 51-56).

Despite some acknowledgement that the Knights Templar could have commissioned the Arsenal Old Testament as a gift for the king (p. 203), the author
eventually makes an unequivocal claim for the king's personal role as patron. By
patron he seems to mean not only the person who controlled the means of production, but also the programmer and the principal user. But if both these cycles were "highly effective visual sermons, crafted by the monarchy," who was

the audience for them (p. 2 1 2)? Weiss's saintíy king is oddly isolated—from his

mother (with the approval of the other good old boys who had cheered Louis
on in his "emancipation from his mother," pp. 1,3), and from his confessors and
bishops who may in fact have chosen the texts if not also the programs of pictures. This Louis becomes personally responsible for ideology in his realm; in
this historical construction there are no impersonal forces—no hegemonies
that are perpetuated by ideologies, no social practices to curb free choice, no
economic base. Summary statements, such as "Paris had become a new Holy

BOOK REVIEWS113

Land," remain unsubstantiated in the text that follows, but neither is a theoreti-

cal framework provided that might test them (p. 15).

Madeline H. Caviness

Tufts University

Early Modern European
The Refashioning of Catholicism, 1450- 1700.A Reassessment of the Counter
Reformation. By Robert Bireley. (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic Univer-

sity of America Press. 1999. Pp. vii, 231. $39.95 clothbound; $19.95 paper-

back.)

The learned Jesuit author of this concise textbook is well known for his stud-

ies, in English and German, on the relations of Catholic counsellors, especially

members of the Society ofJesus, and statesmen of early modern Europe, and on
Catholic statecraft at that time more generally. In this work he explicitly refers
to the influence of another great scholar of the Society,John O'Malley, not least
in the precise choice of title. For the relegation to the subtitle of the idea of
Counter-Reformation well reflects this volume's relationship to the famous
essay of Henry Outram Evennett on the spirit of the Counter-Reformation. Like
Evennett, Bireley argues for a period of Catholic renewal which, for all its special intensity, was not in any sense a mere reaction to or product of the Protestant challenge. As in Evennett's work too, there is stress here on institutional
change, involving popes, bishops, and clergy, on new forms of spirituality, both
in more traditional regular communities and in innovative groups pursuing a
more active form of religious commitment, and on advances in Catholic education, for laity as well as clergy, females as well as males. But Bireley extends his
review beyond the Council of Trent and Europe to the further achievements of
internal Catholic mission and overseas missions, while it is not surprising that
this author devotes a chapter to Church-State relations in the period of religious
wars yet puts the new religious orders in first place after the introduction. In

the latter he explains clearly the evolution in understanding of the subject

prompted by the work ofJean Delumeau and John Bossy, and the chronological
span of this volume, of course, offers an implicit comparison with Bossy's book
on Christianity in the West. The problems with aspects of the interpretations
put forward by Delumeau and Bossy are fairly noted before a distinction is suggested, which should help students, between confessionalism, as the formation
of competing religious confessions, and confessionalization in a socio-political
context. The select bibliography should also be of benefit to undergraduates,
and throughout, the author's judgments are reliably balanced and unlikely to
mislead such readers. The only danger is rather of students overlooking the au-

thor's initial admission that the coverage is intentionally, because necessarily,
partial. Thus, though this work is vastly superior to the old volume by Pierre

Janelle on Catholic Reformation, it too certainly does not fail to accentuate the

114BOOK REVIEWS

positive. In the introduction five changes marking the transition from medieval
to early modern times are surveyed, changes in which religion was caught up
but did not simply or solely produce, of which the Reformation is merely the
last. The emphasis throughout on the centrality of lay piety is an excellent corrective to versions of confessionalization theory which remain too institutionally concerned with the state's direction of its subjects. Instead both casuistry
and Jansenism are admirably approached with a properly Jesuit sensitivity. For
undergraduate use this volume certainly avoids the many formulations likely,
however unintentionally, to mislead which can be found in the alternative, recent textbook by R. Po-Chia Hsia on Catholic Renewal between 1540 and 1770.
A. D. Wright

University ofLeeds

Heresy and Orthodoxy in Sixteenth-Century Paris: François Le Picart and the
Beginnings of the Catholic Reformation. By Larissa Juliet Taylor. [Studies
in Medieval and Reformation Thought, Volume LXXVIL] (Leiden: Brill.

1999. Pp. xvii, 332. $120.00.)

The origins of the Protestant Reformation in France is today a mature, if still
controversial, subject of historical inquiry. The Catholic response to this challenge is less well understood. Recent work by James K. Farge, Marc Venard, Barbara Diefendorf, and Denis Crouzet has helped scholars to begin to understand
the Catholic perspective more clearly. Larissa Juliet Taylor's work marks yet a
further important step toward comprehending the roots of the Catholic Reformation in France.

Taylor attempts to map the contours of Catholic spirituality in the crucial period 1520-1560 through an examination of the life and works of the most celebrated Catholic preacher of the period, the Parisian cleric François Le Picart.
Basing her study on a systematic analysis of the collected and posthumously
printed sermons of the Sorbonnist doctor, Taylor attempts to delineate the characteristic features of orthodox Catholic religiosity as it reacted to the crisis of
the Reformation. Her earlier study of late medieval preaching in France has eminently qualified her for the task.
As described by Taylor, Le Picart emerges as solidly a part of the judicial and
ecclesiastical elite of Paris as well as a product of the Paris Faculty of Theology.
Likewise, as a popular defender of orthodoxy, he appears to have early attracted
the support of the Guise family. The dramatic highlight of his life was his engagement alongside Noël Beda and Nicolas Le Clerc against the subversive
evangelical influence of Marguerite of Navarre and Gérard Roussel in 1533-34,
for which he suffered temporary exile ami imprisonment. The punishment he
endured at this time only enhanced his subsequent reputation as Paris' most

popular preacher. Le Picart exceptionally was a supporter of the Jesuits from

their early days, and the relationship between him and the founding members

BOOK REVIEWS115

of the Society constitutes one of the most interesting chapters on Taylor's
work.

The heart of Taylor's book is a scrupulously complete study of the 6000

pages of Le Picart's 269 extant sermons. Through exhaustive and careful analy-

sis she demonstrates that Le Picart pioneered a new simple, direct, and coher-

ent mode of Catholic preaching which was infused with an emotional warmth
that had deep appeal to the urban populace. Founding his homilies overwhelmingly on the texts of the Gospels and Pauline Epistles, Le Picart was able
effectively to attach the principal positions of Protestant theology and to call
for Catholic Reformation. Taylor thus demonstrates that the Catholic party

work was far from ideologically disarmed by the Protestants on the eve of the
wars of religion.

In contrast to Le Picart's Sorbonnist orthodoxy there existed an evangelical
party in France closely dependent on the royal court and the Gallican tradition.
Its beliefs cannot be reduced to Calvinism or crypto-Calvinism. For many years
it pursued an eirenic policy in relation to Protestants at home and abroad. If
there is a defect in Taylor's admirable work it is her failure to delineate clearly
the relationship between this group and the orthodox Catholic party. As a result
of this lack of clarity, Roussel whether intentionally or not is erroneously misrepresented as a secret Protestant, while Rabelais is pictured distortedly as
close to Le Picart. On the other hand, Taylor effectively utilizes her analysis of Le
Picart's warm religiosity to show that Crouzet's notion of an increasingly punishing and apocalyptic Catholicism prior to the religious wars is overdrawn.
Henry Heller

University ofManitoba
Winnipeg, Canada

A Social History of the Domestic Chaplain, 1530-1840. By William Gibson.

(Leicester: Leicester University Press. Distributed by Books International,

Inc., RO. Box 605, Herndon, VA 20172-0605. 1997. Pp. vi, 250. $65.00.)

"Chaplains buttressed much of the mental landscape upon which the elite
drew for its self-assurance." This sentence sums up the thesis of William Gib-

son's book: that chaplains were and remained a client group of the landed

classes and that their prime contribution lay in increasing the independence
and privacy of the elite household, featuring in the "polarization of [their] public and private life." Historians will find the monograph tremendously useful, filling as it does a gap in the literature concerning the religious life of early
modern England. A chapter fleshes out the position of chaplains prior to the
Act of 1530, which regulated their employment and gave rise to one of the
abuses of the system—permitted pluralism by chaplains; the Puritan and episcopal campaigns against chaplains; the position of chaplains during the Civil
War, Interregnum, and Restoration. Other sections discuss the status and roles
of chaplains, their preferment, and the decline of the office.

116BOOK REVIEWS

Lest the reader go away with the impression that this book is only for those
concerned with the history of religion, it should be noted that Gibson, through
its pages, tells us a good deal about the mechanics of early modern noble family
life and about the relationships between the elite and their servants, amongst

whom chaplains loomed large. For example, we read that in 1632 it was noted

of chaplains that "if they come single it's a thousand to one but they will either
be in love or married before they go away," thus underlining the way in which

chaplains used the situation in which they found themselves to improve their
own future. Similarly, in an account of the application made by Roger Williams,
chaplain to Sir William Masham, to marry the niece of his former patroness,
Lady Joan Barrington, and of Lady Joan's response, we gain an insight into the
contrasting views of chaplain and patron regarding the appropriateness of the

request. The author has achieved a good balance between treating the subject
from the patron's and the recipient's points of view.
Perhaps the most serious fault in the book is that it does not go far enough in
exploring the colonization of the domestic chaplaincy by the gentry and the
"middling sort." Gibson asserts, I think with little proof, that merchants and
commercial classes did not appoint chaplains. That they were not permitted
legally so to do is one thing, but there are suggestions that informal arrangements sometimes existed in such households. The author profitably could have
stood back a little from his mechanistic treatment of the subject in order to ask

some more imaginative questions about the implications of the surviving

sources. It would have been worth discussing, for example, the extent to which
various positions (for example in the episcopal households that of the bishop's
secretary or, in a gentleman's household, that of a tutor) merged into or differed
from that of the chaplain. As chaplains were clearly extremely important within
recusant households and recusancy, rather more detail about this aspect would
have been very welcome.
The book is straightforward in its approach and style—a refreshing feature at
a time when so many books are jargon-ridden and obscure. William Gibson's
monograph, moreover, represents an extremely valuable addition to the literature, which reminds us that one of the purposes of the historical discipline
is that of explaining the previously unexplained and thus enhancing our

prospects of understanding the actions of our forefathers and mothers.

Rosemary O 'Day

The Open University
Milton Keynes

Eretici esuli e indemoniati nell'età moderna. Edited by Mario Rosa. [Biblioteca della Rivista di Storia e Letteratura Religiosa, Studi IX.] (Florence:
Leo S. Olschki. 1998. Pp. 205. Lire 38,000 paperback.)
The volume contains four articles unrelated to one another. The first by SaIvatore Lo Re mostly notes references to the movements and associations in the

BOOK REVIEWS117

1540's and 1550's of the Dominican theologian and controversialist Ambrogio
Catarino Politi, known for his books against Italian and other heretics, found in
the Il processo inquisitoriale del Cardinal Giovanni Morone, edited by Mas-

simo Firpo and Dario Marcatto (6 vols, in 7 parts; Rome, 1981-1995). Lo Re de-

scribes Politi as particularly hostile to the "spirituali" in the circles of cardinals
Morone and Reginald Pole. He sees Politi as a facile persecutor of new heretical
doctrines and a profound biblicist who rejected Scholastic theology and
Thomism. But the article is an incomplete work in progress.

The second article by Simonetta Adorni-Braccesi is a good outline of the collective lives in northern Europe of the approximately 300 Luccans who left for
Geneva between 1555 and the early seventeenth century. About eighty came
from the upper classes of wealthy merchants and bankers, the rest from trades
and crafts, especially the silk industry. Some went on to Lyon, Paris, and La
Rochelle, where they contributed to the Calvinist cause in the religious struggles. Those who remained in Geneva only slowly integrated into Calvinist society, because they maintained economic and personal contacts with Italy and
other Catholic countries in the hope of return.
The third article, by Vincenzo Lávenla, tells the story of accusations of demonic possession in a convent in Carpi and the subsequent investigations by
the local inquisition and the Roman congregations of the Holy Office and Reg-

ular Clergy, 1636-1639. Investigation uncovered sexual solicitation, outside

interference, conflicting jurisdiction, exorcisms, and conflicting medical testimony about diabolic possession in Santa Chiara, a convent for nuns from upperclass families led by a mother superior with ties to the ruling Este family. The
skeptical Congregation of the Holy Office decided that the possessions were
only "melancholy humors." It transferred the mother superior and some of the
nuns, and brought in a Jesuit confessor to minister to the rest. The case confirms, once again, that Italian inquisitions and the Roman Congregation viewed
claims of demonic possession with skepticism. It also shows the high level of

intrigue that resulted when a convent with members from the local aristocracy
came under suspicion.

Andrea Del Col and Marisa Milani (the latter dying before the article appeared) present information about previously unknown inquisition executions
in the Republic of Venice. The first was in Brescia in 1 550, then three in Venice
(two relapsed Anabaptists, one relapsed "heretic") in 1570. This brings the
known Venetian executions for the period 1550 to 1600 to nineteen, still a tiny
figure compared to Renaissance civil courts or the State of Texas (thirty-three
in 1999). The authors also found references to executions in Padua of two cler-

ics who celebrated Mass without ordination in 1611 and 1631, another clergyman executed for the same reason in Verona in 1704, and two executions in
Venice for blasphemy involving consecrated particles of the host, magic, and
demonology in 1705. The executions were carried out, usually secretly, by strangulation, drowning, decapitation, and gunfire . The harsh sentences meted out to
clerics who said Mass without being priests are surprising. As the authors point

118BOOK REVIEWS

out, the inquisitions in the Venetian state were not so mild or inactive in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries as historians have believed. This excellent study includes documents.
Paul E Grendler

University ofToronto (Emeritus)

I Religiosi a Corte: Teología, política e diplomazia in Antico regime. (Atti del
seminario di studi Georgetown University a Villa "Le Balze," Fiesole, 20 ottobre 1995.) Edited by Flavio Rurale. [Europa delle Corti; Biblioteca del
Cinquecento, 85.] (Rome: Bulzoni Editore. 1998. Pp. 353. Lire 48.000 paperback.)
This volume is a collection of nine essays presented in October, 1995, at a
conference in Fiesole, Italy. The essays focus on the "varied and complex social
and political relations and transversal alliances" that characterize ecclesiastics

at the courts of Catholic Europe in the ancien régime, with emphasis on Spain.

The essays reveal an intermingling of theology and politics, evident in both theory and practice: in the theoretical realm in the sacralization of the king and the

divine origin of his sovereignty, eventually leading to politics emancipated from
theology in Hobbes and Spinoza; and in the daily practice of government where

the civil Catholic authority "functioned alongside the priestly power of bishopjudges, inquisitors, theologians, and confessors" (p. 14).

In the introduction, Rurale, who has published extensively on the theme, provides an insightful, well-referenced essay defining the roles of the "the religious
at court." In these courts of the princes, the roles of the Religious (clerics of
Regular Orders) and secular administrators intermingled, and their legitimacy
and power depended on the ability of each group to gain close proximity to the
princes—the major patrons of the orders—and their favorites. Further, Rurale
shows how the blurring of the categories of clergy and laity—owing to shared
mentalities, values, and lifestyles of nobles and prelates at court—render the

designation "Church and State" inadequate and outmoded in describing political strategies and motivations during the period.

Neither the Church and its orders, nor the state and its bureaucracy, repre-

sented monolithic centers of power; instead, both exhibited a plurality of jurisdictions, disagreements, and factions. Conflict and compromise characterized
relations between and among various groups such as the Roman Curia and the
bishops, the bishops and the Regulars, and the old and new orders. This reduces
to cliché the tendency to associate papal interests with strategies of a single religious order. For example, the presumed homogeneity in the intervention of

the Regulars—usually the case of the Jesuits—as though they were a unified

troupe of the Pope after the Tridentine censure, fails to take into account the
often-conflicting ideas and motivations of the Curia, superiors (Case Generalizie), sovereigns, and individuals at court.

BOOK REVIEWS119

The essays in this volume describe the relations, intrigues, and conflicts in selected cases of heretofore "neglected places of power and protagonists of political action." For example, Gianvittorio Signorotto shows in his essay that in
the seventeenth century Regulars—usually Capuchins chosen for their poverty,
religious devotion, and impartiality—served as legates representing the political interests of the patriciate of Milan at the court of Spain. Further, these religious effectively sought relief from the disastrous effects of war, pestilence, and
famine on the populace; and the presence of these legates at court served to assuage the concerns of the monarchy, notably in the case of Philip TV, who
viewed the crises in his realm as a sign of God's disapproval.
Other topics covered in the essays include the Neapolitan court in the midsixteenth century (Carlos José Hernando Sánchez); transformation and crisis in
the Company of Jesus during the last thirty years of the sixteenth century (José

Martínez MiMn); the role of Diego de Chaves, confessor of Philip II (Carlos

Javier de Carlos Morales); the adept influence of Luis de Aliaga III, the Inquisitor
General and confessor of Philip III (Bernardo J. García Garcia); the missions and
politics of Regular Orders in the Antilles during the seventeenth century (Giovanni Pizzorusso); and the Jesuits in French North America in the seventeenth

and eighteenth centuries (Matteo Sanfilippo).
Finally, this volume abounds with references and notes, and it concludes with
a helpful index of names. The sound scholarship in these essays warrants translation from the Spanish and Italian into English. Reading this volume written
from two cultural perspectives suggests a book that complements the theme of
the élite at court—Riforma protestante ed eresie nell'Italia del Cinquecento,
by Massimo Firpo, which traces a range of attitudes and reactions of Italians
across social classes, pertaining to the crisis of authority that plagued both
"Church and State" in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries.
L. Chris Curry

Louisiana State University

Confraternities & Catholic Reform in Italy, France, & Spain. Edited by John
Patrick Donnelly, S. J., and Michael W. Maher, SJ. [Sixteenth Century Essays
& Studies, Vol. XLIV] (Kirksville, Missouri: Thomas Jefferson University
Press, Truman State University. 1999. Pp. x, 262. $40.00.)

In the preface to this volume entitled Confraternities & Catholic Reform the

editors recount that they had asked the contributors specific questions on the

effects of the Council of Trent on the confraternities of Italy, France, and Spain

in the period 1500 to 1650. Though the editors note that the contributors had
not always answered these queries, the volume does possess a unity deriving
from the focus on confraternities as they passed through the attempts of
church and state authorities to implement the Tridentine reforms. The editors'
contention that "Trent had little direct effect on confraternities" (p. vii) under-

120BOOK reviews

estimates the persuasive and substantial authority of church officials in executing the decrees of Trent. The essays make evident that confraternities were
vastly different in 1600 from what they had been in 1500. This transformation
resulted from several factors, including Tridentine reforms, as the essays of Maureen Flynn on Spain, Konrad Eisenbichler on Florence, and Susan Dinan on

France demonstrate. The editors' position doubdess privileged Christopher

Black's excellent essay that shows Italian confraternities often resisting attempts of parish priests to implement Trent. My only other criticism of the volume is that it would have been highly useful had the editors added to their
preface a summary of the decrees of the Council of Trent pertinent to confraternities.

The volume contains six essays on Italian confraternities and four and two essays on French and Spanish confraternities respectively, but there are reoccurring themes in the three national contexts. Ecclesiastical officials encouraged

the formation of three types of confraternities: those of the rosary, the holy
sacrament, and Christian doctrine. To implement the decrees of Trent ecclesi-

astical authorities exhorted the confraternities to teach Christian doctrine and

respect for the sacrament. Most of the twelve contributors document the growing authority of Catholic elites in the confraternal organizations and the attempts of bishops and parish priests to implement Tridentine decrees to
supervise the lay groups more closely. The twelve also note or show the growing power of local elites and that ecclesiastical supervision began prior to the
convening of the Council of Trent. It has been widely recognized that confraternities were highly adaptive and often integrated diverse impulses into their
members' purposes. These essays amply demonstrate the point that in the three
national traditions and within each of the: traditions confraternities responded
to Tridentine reforms according to local traditions and purposes.
Though the writers seldom directly address the historiographie problems
of relating social to religious history, some subsume religious change under
broader problems of social transformations. Paul Murphy, for example, demon-

strates that in Mantua the relative loss of independence of the confraternities

resulted from ecclesiastical sources but even more from the political and social
policies of the ruling Gonzaga family as well as from the increased importance
of the social elite of Mantua. Ann Ramsey's discussion of how the Catholic
League and the political magistrates of Paris called the Sixteen used the Sacrament confraternity of Paris to resist the political aspirations of the Protestant
Henry LV raises profound questions on the meaning of confraternal practices.
Catholic clerics and political leaders recruited followers by claiming that
Protestants attacked ideas on the immanence of the sacred in this world. Ram-

sey interprets the Sacrament confraternities' focus on the body of Christ as part
of a Catholic defense of immanence that was integral to the cohesiveness of the
Catholic League and the Sixteen. The studies of Murphy and Ramsey are models for those who would integrate social, political, and religious history. The majority of the other contributors, however, remain within the framework of

BOOK REVIEWS121

religious history and neglect pertinent European-wide changes that shaped
confraternal aspirations and behavior.
There are many jewels among these excellent essays, though this brief review can include mention of only two others. Konrad Eisenbichler traces the
history of Florentine youth confraternities from their origins in the fifteenth
century through Savonarola's reorganization of the youth and finally to clerical
limits on the young laymen's independence; these clerical controls are most evident in prohibitions against lay doctrinal instruction, including presentation of
any sacred dramas without explicit clerical permission. Nicholas Terpstra provides a method to study confraternities and charity that widens the focus from
a single confraternity or city to broader and more complex problems of charity.
With a comparative study of cities from Venice to Rome, Terpstra identifies
three varieties of confraternal civic welfare in the sixteenth century: reforms
that simply followed confraternal institutional models, a second type in which
charity was institutionalized through existing confraternities, and thirdly charitable institutions that "expropriated" confraternities.
Despite the large number of recent studies on European confraternities there
remains significant problems that are still not fully researched. In this volume
there is only one essay that focuses on women in confraternities. Other remaining problems include the art patronage of the confraternities, the brotherhoods' role in recruiting support for social and political programs, and finally
the role of confraternities in structuring the emotional and intellectual formations of early modern women and men. Maureen Flynn and Ann Ramsey offer
provocative hints that this last problem will become a fruitful area of future research.

James R. Banker

North Carolina State University

Prayer Book and People in Elizabethan and Early Stuart England. By Judith
Maltby [Cambridge Studies in Early Modern British History] (New York:
Cambridge University Press. 1998. Pp. xvii, 310. $64.95.)
Here is a subject of immense importance, yet one which is exceedingly difficult to write. Those men and women who quietly conformed to the Elizabethan
settlement and embraced its liturgy and ceremonies were often dismissed by
godly preachers as "cold statute protestants," a dismissal which, Maltby argues,
historians have tended unconsciously to accept, relegating conformity to the
margins of historical inquiry. This is surely right, and Maltby's exploration of the

evidence for "prayer book Protestants" between 1560 and 1640 is an important

and welcome discussion. In truth, however, the title is misleading as the heart of
the work (chapters 3, 4, and 5) centers upon an analysis of nearly thirty petitions produced in defense of the established church in the heady months of
1641-42. She focuses attention upon the activities of Sir Thomas Aston, an Lm-

122BOOKREviirws

portant gentleman of the Cheshire county community, who failed to secure
election to the Long Parliament and spent the following two years in "petitioning, writing and publishing on behalf of the established church." The fifth chapter attempts a detailed social analysis of the subscribers to the two Cheshire
petitions in support first of episcopacy and then of the liturgy in February and

December, 1641, respectively. Maltby is at pains to emphasize the "free expres-

sion" of "ordinary parishioners," and her discussion tends to gloss over the influence that might have been exercised by local gentry or leading parishioners.
From Cheshire and the politics on the eve of the Civil war, an earlier chapter
moves back in time, seeking evidence of conformist sentiments in church court
cases of dispute between parishioners and clerics for failure, whether from
nonconformist scruples or neglect, to conduct the services as enjoined by law.

A brief conclusion returns to the lay-clerical relationship, repeats the concern

that historians be more careful about categorizing past religious experiences,
and touches on contemporary Anglican definitions of its own past. The appendices very helpfully lay out much of the data gathered and analyzed in chapters 3-5.

The decision to attempt an impressionistic survey of conformity from 1570

to 1642 in only fifty-two pages almost undermines the case for taking parish
conformists seriously before 1640-42. Perhaps most problematic here is
Maltby's use of church court material. Some of the cases brought by parishioners against their incumbents for failing to serve the cure as required by law
must disclose a desire for "sincere" conformity, but can one strain out this motivation and how much weight can a complaint support? Were those parishioners who complained that their minister neglected to read parts of the Book
of Common Prayer actually desirous to have the service read? Students of
church court records will know that it served the interests of the plaintiff to
point out all the faults of the defendant and that all too often, a multiplicity of
influences and motivations, social, personal, and financial, prompted parishioners to bring their minister to the attention of the church courts. And it seems
telling that Maltby's search for 'prayer book Protestants' tends to discount the
presence of church papists or conservatives in her reading of clerical-lay conflicts over services and ceremonies. Despite the weaknesses of this survey, it
makes a positive contribution in pointing out important lacunae. Two areas
seem vital if further progress is to be made in understanding the influence of
the prayer book in particular. There is a great need for an exhaustive study of
the prayer books issued from the presses from the reign of Edward VI onwards.
We know that some of these were unauthorized 'puritan' prayer books which
had changed the language and removed some of the passages objected to by
the more zealous. Just what were parishioners hearing and using in their parish
churches? And although excellent work on preaching continues apace, it is remarkable that historians have attended so little to the theological, social, and
cultural importance of prayer.
John Craig

Simon Eraser University

BOOK REVIEWS123

fohn Knox and the British Reformations. Edited by Roger A. Mason. [St Andrews Studies in Reformation History.] (Brookfield, Vermont: Ashgate.

1998. Pp. xvi, 297. $86.95.)

The essays in this volume are the product of a conference held at St. Andrews
University in 1997 to mark the 450th anniversary ofJohn Knox's first public appearance as a Protestant preacher. The collection is uneven, as almost all such
collections are. The major problem the contributors faced is that historians
over the years have written a great deal about Knox, almost as much as they
have about that Jezebel with whom he so famously argued during her brief and
troubled reign in Scotland. Furthermore, as James Kirk points out in his excellent introductory piece on Knox and the historians, no significant new evidence on Knox has been unearthed since 1875. So the contributors either

provide new interpretations of familiar evidence or use Knox's career as a peg

on which to hang a discussion of a problem that interests them—Michael Gra-

ham's analysts of the records of early kirk sessions, for example. There is little
connection between the essays. Roger Mason, the editor, has divided them into
three general groups: Early Years and Exile, Political and Theological Thought,
and The Scottish Reformation—a gallant attempt to impose a pattern that is not
there. No matter: each essay stands on its own merits, and some are very interesting indeed.
Knox's great gifts were those of the preacher and polemicist. He was not much
interested in theology. David Wright argues that he got his knowledge of the
ideas of the early Church fathers from compilations rather than from reading
the originals. On the other hand J. H. Burns argues that he did have firsthand
knowledge of canon law, probably from his training as a notary. Knox was vehemently anti-Papal from the beginning—or at least from the time of the martyrdom of his hero, George Wishart—but the nature of his Protestantism
changed over the years. Carol Edington points out the Lutheran elements in his
thought in the 1540's. According to Euen Cameron, the famous quarrel between Knoxians and Coxians during the Marian exile was tactical rather than
substantive. They were all loyal adherents of the defunct Edwardian church,
and they all wanted to alter the Prayer Book; Cox was a gradualist and Knox was
not. Not until his immersion in Calvin's Geneva after his departure from Frankfurt did Knox become a thoroughgoing Calvinist. Even then, however, he retained his independence of mind; as is well known, he broke with Calvin on the
issue of the legitimacy—nay, the necessity—of resistance to idolatrous rulers.
Jane Dawson, drawing on her unrivaled knowledge of the views of Knox's
friend and colleague Christopher Goodman, shows very clearly that Goodman's
resistance theory was developed earlier than Knox's, and was more radical;
Knox got the attention of contemporaries—and historians—because of the vehemence of his rhetoric. Roger Mason argues that Knox also adopted, as a
corollary of his resistance theory, the doctrine of the "two kingdoms" normally
associated with Andrew Melville. Knox experienced great difficulty in his attempts to implement his theories during the personal rule of the idolatrous
Mary, however. Mary resolutely refused to persecute; so his attempts to portray

124BOOK REVIEWS

her as a Popish tyrant fell flat. As both Jenny Wormald and Michael Lynch point
out, in those years Knox was a liability to his cause. There was a Catholic resurgence in Edinburgh in the mid-1 560's, while Protestant politicians like Moray
and Lethington regarded him as a counter-productive nuisance. In a very real
sense Knox's work was done by the end of 1560. What was left for him was to
write his wonderful History, telling the story of the Reformation in Scotland,
and his role in it, as he wished the world to see it. It is one of the most success-

ful Advertisements for Myself ever written. Because of it there will, I am sure,
be another Knox conference in St. Andrews in 2047. I'm sorry I'll miss it.
Maurice LeeJr.
Rutgers University

Noble Power during the French Wars ofReligion: The Guise Affinity and the
Catholic Cause in Normandy. By Stuart Carroll. [Cambridge Studies in
Early Modern History.] (New York: Cambridge University Press. 1998. Pp.
xv, 298. $59.95.)
Stuart Carroll proposes that historians rethink the structure of politics in
later sixteenth-century France. Neither underlying social causes, which fascinated scholars between the 1930's and the 1970's,nor the workings of religious
conviction, which contemporary scholars have tended to emphasize, adequately explain the French religious wars. Instead, he argues, more attention
needs to go to aristocratic interest groups, those collections of friends, relatives,
clients, tenants, and servants that clustered around leading nobles. By focussing
on the greatest of these, the Catholic Guise family, and on one province in
which they were especially powerful, Carroll tries to show that such groupings
decisively shaped sixteenth-century political life. Aristocratic affinities extended far beyond the nobility itself, into seigneurial farms and urban lawcourts
and businesses, and they supplied some of the motive forces of sixteenthcentury politics, as well as its customary forms.
These concerns place Carroll within a vigorous tradition of British historical
thought, that founded by Lewis Namier and Ronald Syme, and his work exhibits
both strengths and problems associated with that tradition. His book rests on a
remarkable body of archival research and on an unmatched reconstruction of
specific political happenings; and it gives unusually close attention to the lesser
lights among the Guise, alongside the acknowledged stars. This very impressive
research permits a more balanced appreciation of the Guise than we usually
get, as well as numerous corrections of other historians' errors of detail. Rather
than the Catholic fanatics of tradition, the Guise appear here as relatively open
in matters of religious politics. Nor did they play the large role in shaping royal
policy that most accounts suggest. On the contrary, the very weakness of their
position at court required that they expand and mobilize their provincial fol-

BOOK REVIEWS125

lowings, thus demonstrating to the crown the need for placating gestures, both
financial and honorific. Not religious orthodoxy, then, but aristocratic honor
drove Guise political decisions. They could not allow themselves to be pushed
to the margins of political life, and they reacted bitterly to other families (notably the Montmorency) who sought to push them.
But together with these virtues come some serious limitations. Like other
works in the Namier-Syme tradition, Carroll's narrative frequently crumbles into

long and detailed accounts of specific relationships and events, whose signifi-

cance even specialists may have difficulty appreciating. More serious, his methods tend to magnify the force and scope of the Guise affinity. He considers it
mainly at points of peak effectiveness, without establishing what share of the
provincial elite attached itself to the Guise, or managed to combine occasional
service with a larger independence. This matters, because Jean-Marie Constant
has shown that most nobles in fact steered clear of ligueur involvements, either
joining the royalists or remaining neutral, despite the power and prominence of
families like the Guise. Carroll perhaps misses this fact because he tends to assume the unvarying force of some basic nobiliar values, such as honor and
provincial community; he does not give much thought to other values, or ask
how nobles' value systems worked as a whole. This book thus teaches us much
about how sixteenth-century politics happened, but what that politics meant
remains an open historical question.
Jonathan Dewald

State University ofNew York at Buffalo

Chiese del Sud. Nuove ricerche per la storia religiosa della società méridionale in età moderna e contemporánea. By Luciano Orabona. [Chiesa e
Società, 1.] (Cassino: Editrice Garigliano. 1998. Pp. 233. 35,000 Italian lire.)
This volume gathers seven essays on topics relating to the history of the

Catholic Church and of Catholic spirituality in the sixteenth through twentieth

centuries. The geographic focus is on southern Italy, and especially on the area
near Casería, northwest of Naples. Although this is not clearly explained, at least
six of the essays were written as journal articles, conference papers, or prefaces
to other volumes. The author teaches church history at the University of
Cassino, near the region here studied, and he is the director of the series, also
published in Cassino, in which the present volume appears. The volume is thus
somewhat of a vanity publication, and its broader interest is limited.
The first two essays are centered on two Relationes ad limina,the reports to
Rome that were required of bishops after the Council of Trent. These two examples, published here as appendices to the essays, were written by the bishops of Aversa in 1589 and 1600. They, and Orabona's introductory remarks to

126BOOK REV IEWS

the texts, reflect the usual concerns of Counter-Reformation prelates for the improvement of church administration and in the quality of the clergy. The next
two essays focus on the nineteenth century. One, on Bishop Mancinelli of

Caserta (1831-1848), discusses the prelate's spiritual work alongside his ad-

ministrative activity. The fourth essay, on the bishops of Capua in the 1850's to
1870's, deals with church administration and with the political context of postUnification Italy. The fifth essay is a study of Paolo Manna (1872-1952), a priest
noted for his ecumenical and missionary activities and writings. The sixth essay,
written on the centennial of Rerum Novarum, the 1891 papal encyclical on
the social question, examines its limited effect on the work of the bishops of
the Caserta area. The final essay surveys recent studies on Catholicism in southern Italy in the modern era; again, the focus is on the Caserta area, though the
selection of the works reviewed is rather haphazard.
The volume has no index, no bibliography, and no conclusion. The essays by
and large do not go beyond local erudition, and the writing is fairly prolix. References to broader, comparative, or methodological issues are scarce. Some essays do not even seem to have been revised prior to their republication (see,
e.g., pp. 118 and 120). Overall, then, the volume is not useful to those not already well versed in its specific topics.
Tommaso Astarita

Georgetown University

Four Hundred Years: Union of Brest (1596- 1996). A Critical Re-evaluation.
Edited by Bert Groen and WiI van den Bercken. [Eastern Christian Studies,
Volume 1.] (Leuven: Peeters. 1998. Pp. x, 269. BEF 1850 paperback.)

This volume, containing nearly all the papers presented at an international
congress held at Hernen Castle in the Netherlands in March, 1996, is the first in
a series inaugurated by the Institute of Eastern Christian Studies at Nijmegen.
The symposium marked the four hundredth anniversary of the Union of Brest,
by which the Orthodox Metropolitanate of Kiev, whose Ruthenian jurisdiction
roughly encompassed today's Belarus and Ukraine, joined with the Roman
Church. Evidently, the two sides had different ecclesiological conceptions and
expectations, and the resulting conflict between Orthodox and Uniates (today's
Greek-Catholics) continues.
Half of the dozen articles in this volume, constituting approximately twothirds of the material, are historical. Sophia Senyk's sensitive, balanced evaluation of the Union makes several often overlooked points, such as the fact that
Rome never could (or did) formally approve the much-cited Articles of Union,
since it viewed them as purported conditions precedent and therefore unacceptable. She also contends that, contrat*;/' to a widespread view, Brest was not a

BOOK REVIEWS127

union of Churches, but merely a union of individuals with the Roman Church.
In an elegantly written essay, Borys Gudziak details the various synods and doc-

uments leading up to the union of 1595- 1596, carefully exploring the different

views and motives of the Roman, Greek, and Ruthenian hierarchs. Francis J.
Thomson's erudite and meticulously documented study of Meletius Smotritsky
untangles the skeins of the life and works of this seventeenth-century Ruthenian churchman and polemicist. He shows how the struggles to reunite the

Kievan metropolitanate in the turbulent wake of the Brest Union foundered, in
no small part due to Ottoman pressure and the ruinous role of the Cossacks.

Cultural context is provided by William R. Veder's concise philological com-

ment on the Catholic and Slavic Orthodox intellectual traditions as seen in the

polemics between Lev Krevza and Zacharija Kopystens'kyj, and by Arno Langeler's essay on Starec Artemij, a sixteenth-century Muscovite defender of Or-

thodoxy. Springing forward three centuries, Alexey Yudin outlines the history
of the Russian pro-Union movement in the first decades of the twentieth century initiated by Metropolitan Andrei (Sheptyts'kyi).

The six remaining articles examine the contemporary legacy of the Brest
Union. The first two concern the current state of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic

Church. Bishop Michael Hrynchyshyn calls for an ecumenical ecclesiology that
would enable his Church to play a significant role in reuniting the Churches of
Rome and Constantinople—a role reportedly endorsed by the Ecumenical Patriarch himself. While critical of a Church that has been "growing away from its
own tradition" (p. 177), becoming more Roman than the Romans,Johan Meijer
offers hope that it will evolve from a Church stranded between East and West to
one at the center of a reunited Catholic-Orthodox communion.

Recent ecumenical advances by the Kievan Church Study Group, which includes Ukrainian Greek-Catholics and various Orthodox, are traced by its secretary, Serge Keleher. By contrast, the paper on "Uniatism" as an ecclesiological

problem, by the late Georgi Zyablitsev of the Moscow Patriarchate's Depart-

ment of External Church Relations, is discouraging. While his opposition of

papal primacy and the sister-church concept as mutually exclusive is logical

enough, his simplistic historical account, and the implication that GreekCatholics have no right to found parishes in "traditionally" Orthodox areas, are
all too typical of the absolutist thinking of the Moscow Patriarchate. Even more
disturbing are the highly polemical views, frequently unsophisticated and occa-

sionally hysterical, of several Greek Orthodox scholars and churchmen related
by the volume's co-editor Bert Groen. While noting that far from all Greek theologians regard the Union as a Roman "Trojan Horse," Groen does raise intriguing questions of Russian influence and Greek state interests. Finally, in his

illuminating paper on "Uniatism and Models of Unity in the Ecumenical Move-

ment," Anton Houtepen boldly proposes that far from representing an outmoded ecclesiology, the Articles of Union of 1 595 can serve as a "perfect model
of a provisional and growing koinonia between two sister Churches" (p. 252).

128BOOK REVIEWS

This volume contributes significantly to our appreciation of a much-maligned
and little-understood ecumenical tradition.
Andrew Sorokowski

Assumption College
Worcester, Massachusetts

Kepler's Tübingen: Stimulus to a Theological Mathematics. By Charlotte
Methuen. [St. Andrews Studies in Reformation History.] (Brookfield, Ver-

mont: Ashgate. 1998. Pp. xii, 280. $76.95.)

In the biography of the German mathematician and astronomerJohannes Kep-

ler (I57I-I63O), a gap has long existed in a knowledge of his education at the

University of Tübingen. Charlotte Methuen illuminates the principal responses
within the university to the natural sciences. A fuller understanding of their
place and role at Tübingen in the second balf of the sixteenth century requires,
she writes, interdisciplinary studies, drawing upon at least the history of science, church history, and the history of education. Such work can provide a better grasp of the complex relations between science and theology, as well as the
role of the culture in shaping, guiding, or impeding the growth of scientific
knowledge. Unlike Peter Dear, Allen Debus, Paolo Mancosu, and Robert Westman, who begin their interdisciplinary research with the history of science,
Charlotte Methuen commences her investigation of the intellectual context of
the sciences in church history.

In a skillful study of primary sources and leading secondary authors, includ-

ing Friedrich Seek, Methuen examines the Stift, theological scholarship system,
at Tübingen when Kepler was a student. She analyzes trends in the teaching of
logic, theology, Aristotelian natural philosophy, and astronomy. A Lutheran university, Tübingen was strongly influenced by Martin Luther's approach to nature and his disciple Philip Melanchthon's educational reforms. Luther viewed
nature as a second, limited book (liber naturae) important to recognizing God
as creator, but the first and higher book was the Scriptures (liber scripturae).
Melanchthon's Loci communes had students study languages, logic, ethics,
rhetoric, mathematics, and Aristotelian natural philosophy. Both men required
textual exegesis to establish the accuracy of texts. Unusual was Melanchthon's
emphasis on mathematics for its utility and the power of its proofs. Since it
plumbed the vestigia Dei in the cosmos, astronomy was his chief mathematical
science. Melanchthon also accepted Ptolemy's astrology as a good source for a
knowledge of God.
Among the Tübingen faculty, Methuen identifies many who encouraged
greater study of mathematics. These go from Peter Apian to Simon Grynaeus, an
editor of Euclid and commentator on Proclus, who stressed the beauty and clarity of mathematics and the power of its proofs in pursuing certain knowledge.
They also include the theologian Jacob Heerbrand, a pupil of Melanchthon and
teacher of Kepler, who taught that the structure and order of the cosmos, not

book reviews129

Platonic Forms, indicate God's presence. Heerbrand's treatment of the book of
nature as a text encouraged more questioning of ancient authorities. This suggests an openness to innovation in the mathematical sciences at Tübingen,
rather than a simple Kuhnian revolutionary interpretation of the scientific
change of that time.
Dr. Methuen clarifies the thought of Michael Maestlin, a student of Apian and

perhaps the teacher who most influenced Kepler. His tripartite method joined

exact observations with hypotheses and mathematical proofs. These can lead,
Maestlin asserted, to a greater admiration of God's glory. Of necessity, geometrical proofs are correct. The nova of 1572, which Maestlin placed above the
sphere of the moon, contrary to Ptolemaic astronomy, and the comets of
1 577-78 and 1 580 undercut the Aristotelian notion that the heavens are perfect
and immutable. The search for more correct interpretations in the sciences,
such as the Copernican system, demanded reliable and improved observations.
Maestlin thought that there can be only one truth, and he sought to make his
findings consistent with biblical authority.
While Kepler is clearly an heir of Ptolemy, as J. V Field notes, Methuen adds
that the teaching of most Lutheran professors at Tübingen did not deter but encouraged his research. He surpassed them in rejecting ancient authorities and,
after reading Tycho Brahe, later gave greater weight to exact observation.
Methuen's term "theological mathematics" to describe Kepler's work, however,
seems a misnomer. His conception of the divine structure of the universe is religiously inspired, and he derives some methods from his Tübingen teachers,
but the authority for his mathematics is independent of theology.
Ronald Calinger

The Catholic University ofAmerica

Regulating the People: The Catholic Reformation in Seventeenth-Century
Spain. By Allyson M. Poska. [Cultures, Beliefs and Traditions: Medieval and
Early Modern Peoples, Volume 5.] (Leiden: Brill. 1998. Pp. ix, 178. $82.50.)
The diocese of Ourense, located in the ancient Celtic region of Galicia, does
not figure in many guidebooks of Spain. Remote, poor, and landlocked, the area
boasts few attractions. In the seventeenth century, ambitious ecclesiastics
avoided the bishopric, for an assignment in Ourense was a ticket to nowhere. In
Poska's study, Ourense's marginality for once becomes an asset, as the author's
purpose is to evaluate the success of the Catholic Reformation in a peripheral
area of Spain. To that end, the author has studied the parish record books from
twenty-six localities and 187 testaments drawn randomly from all over the diocese. She concludes that on the whole, the Church's reform program made little difference in the region. In looking for the causes of the reformation's
mediocre impact, Poska cites the region's location and cultural distinctiveness
from the metropolis. Most Galicians lived in tiny parishes of seven to ninety

130BOOK REVIEWS

households scattered across the hilly countryside, were illiterate, and were
known (even today) for their distinctive folk culture. More than anything else,
officials were defeated by the region's geography and demography.
Poska presents her findings in six chapters. The first three chapters are based
largely on the libros de visita which were maintained by each parish, supplemented by references to Ourense's synodal constitutions and modern studies
by Spanish historians and anthropologists. Once every few years, the bishop's
representative would conduct a whirlwind investigation of every aspect of the
parish's administrative and religious life. Poska has organized the visitors' directives to cover the sacred geography of the diocese, reform of the clergy, and reform of popular religious customs. The remaining three chapters examine the
customs surrounding the three life-cycle sacraments of baptism, marriage, and
extreme unction. Here, parish record books and testaments are used for several
studies of name-giving, seasonality of marriages and conceptions, and death rituals and pious bequests. Throughout, Poska discusses her findings in relation to
findings from recent studies of the Catholic Reformation and local religious life
in other Spanish dioceses and around Europe.
It is not difficult to believe that the Catholic Reformation made little headway
in this remote diocese. At the top, bishops came and went all too frequently, and
at the bottom, parishes were too poor to attract a qualified clergy. The Galicians' own cultural, economic, and geographic isolation ensured that changes of
any sort came slowly to the region. One wishes, however, that the author had
provided more historical background, as the region is little known even inside
of Spain, paid closer attention to mstitutional structures that could affect the
outcome of reform efforts, and employed a larger variety of sources, such as trials from the Inquisitorial and episcopal courts, and local literature, which could
add depth and color to her findings.
SaraT. Nalle

William Paterson University

Catholicism in the English Protestant Imagination: Nationalism, Religion,
and Literature, 1600-1745. By Raymond D. Tumbleson. (New York: Cam-

bridge University Press. 1998. Pp. Lx, 254. $54.95.)

This book, developed from a dissertation by an English professor at Kutztown
University, examines anti-Catholic rhetoric during its heyday in England. Tumbleson had already published versions of substantial portions of this study in
five essays or articles. Among his six chapters, Chapter 2, concerning Milton,
Marvell, and Popery, and Chapter 4, called "The Science of Anglicanism," carry
exactly, or nearly exactly, the titles of earlier publications. On this account, literary scholars familiar with them likely would not have found his useful multidisciplinary approach (Harry Dickinson of Edinburgh was among the first to

BOOK REVIEWS131

employ it in the 1970's) as innovative as I did. The reading was tough-going for
me, mainly because of Tumbleson's elaborately constructed prose, but nevertheless, quite rewarding.
Tumbleson's theme is hardly unknown or unexpected. Every student of the
period knows the degree to which English Protestants (Anglicans and Dissenters alike) wallowed in anti-Catholic sentiment and how that engine drove
the nation toward mercantilism, heightened nationalism that was fed by a conviction that Catholicism was foreign and tyrannical (France, Italy, and the Papacy), provided a justification for some reconfiguration of Anglicanism, helped
to precipitate the Glorious Revolution, and led English Protestants to equate
Protestantism with freedom from foreign domination and relief from autocratic, centralized government. What began essentially with the publication of
the Elizabethan Foxe's Book ofMartyrs, which commanded attention for centuries and had two fundamental themes—the satanic evil of Rome and the sa-

credness of monarchy—was promoted by strenuous Calvinists under the early
Stuarts and became a national obsession during the Restoration and Augustan
ages. The likelihood, and then the reality of the Catholic James II's succession
galvanized Protestants to such a degree that the doctrinal differences among
them became secondary to their common hatred of Catholicism.
We realize today (the late John Kenyon convinced me of its truth) that the
unconstitutionality of James II's reign played as much a role in his deposition as
fears of a Catholic dynasty and Catholic religious pre-eminence. But in their irrational promotion of anti-Catholicism it mattered nothing to the enemies of
Rome that the English Catholic community had been reduced long since to an
insignificant sect of 70,000 communicants who understood, as the Papacy and
Louis XFV did, that a Catholic take-over was a ludicrous idea in a nation of some
six million Protestants. Anti-Catholicism became a crutch for the transformation

of English government and society suitable to the merchant gentry, the Church
of England, and the high politicians. Anti-Catholicism had become a Trojan
horse which concealed the true intentions of reformists of all stripes long after

the issue ceased to be of any real importance in the nation. And in the end, fear
of Popery became a principal guarantor of the Hanoverian oligarchy.
I enjoyed Tumbleson's analyses of Milton, Marvell, Swift, Defoe, and Fielding
respecting their views of Catholicism, but I especially appreciated the attention
he lavished on long-neglected polemicists such as Elkanah Settle, a writer for
three decades of theatrical and controversial works who played a central role in
the pamphlet and stage wars of the Exclusion Crisis and the moral reform program of the l690's. I congratulate the author for being as good an historian of
the period as he is a student of anti-Catholic rhetoric.
Martin J. Havran

University ofVirginia

132BOOK REVIEWS

Visitation Articles and Injunctions of the Early Stuart Church, Vol. 2. Edited
by Kenneth Fincham. [Church of England Record Society, Vol. 5.] (Ro-

chester, New York: The Boydell Press. 1998. Pp. xxx, 295. $63.00/£35.00.)

This is the second volume of a two-part edition of visitation documents from

early Stuart England. Volume one, published in 1994, concentrated on the

Church ofJames I for the years 1603 to 1625, and in this companion volume the

editor expands his collation of visitation records for the years 1625 to 1642.

The historical value of these documents is clear, not only in what they have to

say about particular visitations, but also what they reveal about the larger Stuart

church when viewed in relationship to one another.

Visitation articles set out the areas of inquiry anticipated in an ecclesiastical
visitation for any level of church life, from metropolitical jurisdictions to the

lesser ones of bishopric, archdeaconry, and cathedral chapter. As such, these articles could be tailored in any way the visitor deemed meaningful for the effec-

tiveness of an upcoming visitation. At the end of the process the visitor could
issue injunctions to the region visited which contained moral adjurations or
even disciplinary statements regarding what was discovered on visitation. In
between, of course, lay the substance of the tour, the sworn depositions of
clergy and laity who were called upon to answer the articles and testify to the
moral, liturgical, and material condition of their church and community.
With this second volume in his collation of articles and injunctions, Dr. Fincham has given us a trove of materials fot early seventeenth-century religious
history. Finchman's aim is to be comprehensive and although the bulk of these
documents survive in greater number for diocesan visitations, he presents
where he can like materials from visitations of archdeaconries, cathedrals, and

royal peculiars in an attempt "to assemble a collection of texts which extends
across the entire ecclesiastical hierarchy" (Vol. I, p. xvi).

These records yield much regarding ecclesiastical administration, ritual, and
pastoral care in the Stuart church, more by way of the visitors than those visited. To this extent, the reader can observe the shifting tides of Calvinist and
Laudian sentiments in the years covered. To assist in this observation, Fincham
has worked out a textual genealogy of these documents, finding seven families
or lines from which the vast majority of these materials can be traced. For instance, the set belonging to the anti-Calviriist bishop of Norwich, John Overall

in 1619, was later picked up and used largely unaltered by like-minded bishops

in the l620's. However, a Calvinist bishop of Salisbury preferred the structure
of Overall's articles to their content and changed the substance to reflect his

own puritan values. In a similar way, articles from the 1630's tend to reveal the

ritualistic concerns of Laudian bishops while those a decade later reflect the
restorationist ideals of Calvinist sympathizers.
Fincham often provides the text of these articles and injunctions in full, but

where he cannot he offers useful abbreviations and summaries of their con-

BOOK REVIEWS133
tents. The whole of the edition is fortified with cross-references and notes and

an appendix of articles from 1603 to 1642 along with a thorough index. This is
an impressive and valuable collection of records for the early Stuart church.

William J. Dohar, C. S. C.

University ofSan Francisco

Mutua Christianorum Tolerantia: Irenicism and Toleration in the Nether-

lands: The Stinstra Affair, 1 740-1745. By Joris Van Eijnatten. [Studi e Testi
per la Storia della Tolleranza in Europa nei secoli XVI-XVIII, Vol. 2.] (Florence: Leo S. Olschki Editore. 1998. Pp. viii, 335. Lire 64,000 paperback.)
This book contains as appendices two important early eighteenth-century
Dutch works on religious toleration. The first work is the Deductie voor Het
Regt van de Vrijheid van Geloove, Godsdienst, en Conscientie (Argument For
The Right of Freedom of Faith, Worship, and Conscience) published in Leeuwarden in 1740 byJohannes Stinstra (1708-1790), a Mennonite minister in Harlingen who was accused by the Reformed church of antitrinitarian leanings.
This work appears both in the original Dutch and in an English translation
made by Eijnatten. The second work is the Oratio de Mutua Christianorum
Tolerantia (Oration on Mutual Christian Toleration) ,the: rectoral address of

the professor of theology Johannes van den Honert (1693-1758), held at Leiden
University on February 8, 1745. The two writings are preceded by an introductory text of 213 pages that provides background and context for reading the
works by discussing the life and ideas of both Stinstra and van den Honert. The
introductory text also explores the sources and inspiration behind the differing
views on toleration presented by the two men, puts their ideas within the context of larger traditions of Christian toleration, and examines the controversy
that arose around Stinstra's views.

Stinstra was educated at Franeker before becoming a minister in Harlingen in
Friesland in 1735. In 1738 he became involved in a dispute defending two Mennonite rninisters who had refused a request by city magistrates to sign articles
subscribing to the doctrines of the Trinity, the divinity of Christ, and Christ's satisfaction. In 1739-1740 Stinstra prepared an official request to the States of
Friesland asking that the obligation to sign these anti-Socinian articles be withdrawn, and to this request he appended his Deductie. In this work he put forward his ideas defending freedom of faith, worship, and conscience and
attacking religious confessions and constraint of conscience. Van den Honert
was the mam opponent of Stinstra's ideas on toleration, defending the confessions of the Reformed church as well as the orthodoxy and unity of the church.
In the Oratio van den Honert stressed the need for mutual Christian toleration

as a step toward unity among the churches, but he did not extend his plea for
toleration to an unlimited freedom of prophecy as Stinstra did. Instead van den
Honert called for an interconfessional and social toleration among Christians,

134book reviews

and he upheld the need for religious confessions, arguing that they were a way
to make religious views public and that they did not constrain consciences.
Van Eijnatten holds that van den Honert's views represented a confessional
irenicism while Stinstra propounded a radical or spiritualist irenicism. Stinstra
had a broad view of freedom of conscience that included the complete freedom to publicly express and teach the beliefs that one held. Stinstra, in particular, defended each individual's freedom to make public his own interpretation
of the Bible. The importance of van den Honert's Oratio, on the other hand,
was that it extended ecclesiastical and confessional toleration into the civil

sphere and saw all Christians as brothers in Christ and fellow Christian citizens.
Thus Stinstra's views on toleration fell within the Christian tradition of free

prophecy, while van den Honert's views were a part of the tradition of Christian colloquy that encouraged rational discussion of the points made by various
confessions. Among the influences on the thought of both men van Eijnatten
points to the Remonstrant theologians Philip van Limborch, Jean Leclerc,
and Johannes Drieberge, as well as to John Locke, the Dutch humanist and
legal scholar Gerard Noodt (l647-1725),Hugenot exiles Jean Barbeyrac (1647-

1744) and Pierre Coste (1668-1747), and Benjamin Hoadly (1676-1761), lati-

tudinarian Bishop of Bangor.

Van Eijnatten has performed a great service by making these irenic texts available and by providing such a helpful as well as insightful introduction to them.
Andrew Fix

Lafayette College
Late Modern European
Mansex Fine: Religion, Manliness and Imperialism in Nineteenth-Century
British Culture. By David Alderson. (Manchester: Manchester University Press. Distributed by St. Martin's Press, New York. 1998. Pp. Lx, 207.
$79.95.)
The subject of Alderson's book is very broad, but the texts used to support
his thesis are mainly literary works of the Romantic and Victorian periods. He
starts with Burke and ends with Wilde, but I believe it is Wilde's work and trial
that provide the paradigm for this study. Alderson states his thesis on the last
page of his text:
Grounded in an Anglican ethico-political sensibility which claimed to reconcile
(Protestant) autonomy and (Catholic) submissiveness, ideals of manly self-possession
became integral to a national/racial character which was believed to possess a historical and global purpose and was defined in opposition to its unstable and feminised European others, the Celts. The 'naturalness' of manly values resided in their
largely undogmatic anathematisation of a generalisable atavistic principle of 'excess' —political, emotional, sexual—manifestations which were indicative of a lack
of self-control which required quasi-patriarchal or even coercive correction, (p. 170)

BOOK REVIEWS135

If I read this correctly, it means that Catholics were suspect of being effeminate.
I wonder that anyone besides Alderson would view the Irish in such a way. The
portrayal of the Irish in Punch, which Alderson uses, is of a simian type, one
notch above the apes (they wore clothes and smoked). Kingsley who is central
to Alderson's thesis, described them as "wild" but chaste since they were married off as teenagers.
Poor Newman comes in for some familiar abuse, but historians will have a

hard time with appeals to the unconscious and the dreams of others applied to
Newman. The charge that he was effeminate has been scotched every time it
has been stated, most recently by Pope John Paul II, who declared him to be
Venerable. A possible clue to Alderson's confusion is his using charges against
Anglo-Catholics to bolster his case against Catholics, and the case against the
"Puseyites," as they were known, is tentative. Protestants feared for the honor of
their women because the Catholic clergy were believed to be sexual predators
(p. 82), but all of this undermines Alderson's thesis.
Kingsley did have an attitude toward the celibate. Even St. Paul does not escape his censure. But James Froude, a primary source for Kingsley's attack on
Newman's integrity, praised Newman for his manliness, as would anyone who
has studied his life and work.

The author lists a host of friends and authors as his guide to a complex period. I wonder that none of them suggested that many, many sentences be revised for the sake of clarity.
John R. Griffin

University of Southern Colorado

The Changing Shape ofEnglish Nonconformity, 1825-1925. By Dale A.John-

son. (New York: Oxford University Press. 1999. Pp. x, 248. $45.00.)

Dale A. Johnson, professor of church history at the Divinity School of Vanderbilt University, writers that in the nineteenth century, "English Nonconformity was transformed" (p. 3). At the beginning of the century, Nonconformists
were known by the label of "Dissent," and defined by their exclusion from public life and by the disabilities they had endured since the Restoration. By the
end of the century, "Dissent" had been replaced by the positive label "Free
Churches," and the older Nonconformist denominations—Congregationalists,
Baptists, Presbyterians, and Methodists—had claimed a larger part in the
broader culture. In the course of this transformation, Nonconformist ministers
and theologians grappled with new questions concerning the foundations of
Christian truth and the grounds for certainty in their faith as well as the central
question of what it meant to be an evangelical. Johnson argues that the leadership in the reassessment of both the position and beliefs of Nonconformity
came from the theological colleges, their faculties, and their graduates. In sup-

136book reviews

port of this argument he considers two related questions: how did organized
institutions for theology develop among the denominations, and what consequences did their emergence have for an understanding of the ministry, theology, and Nonconformist identity?
The first efforts among Nonconformists to provide training for their ministers emerged in response to eighteenth-century rationalism and religious decline. The academies hoped to provide a committed evangelical ministry for the
conversion of the nation, and in the process, raise the capacities of their ministerial candidates; goals that Johnson concedes were not always compatible. The
first "colleges" were small, poorly-funded, and ill-equipped to offer the general
education that many of their students required. In addition, the idea of advanced training for the ministry met opposition from many evangelicals who
saw it at odds with inspiration. Two external events occurred which altered the
history of the colleges—in 1828 the University of London became the first English university to open without statutes barring the admission of Nonconformists, and in 1871 religious tests were abolished at Oxford and Cambridge.
With general education open to Nonconformists, the colleges were free to concentrate on theological studies. Many of the colleges affiliated with London, and
later Nonconformist colleges were established at Oxford and Cambridge. These
developments proved "a major factor in the emergence of Nonconformity into
the mainstream of English religious life and culture" (p. 23).
The second part of the book considers the consequences these changes had
for the ministry, the churches, and the colleges, as evangelicals confronted the
challenges to authority and doctrine posed by the new biblical scholarship and
the Darwinian revolution. While noting the contributions made by Nonconformist ministers, Johnson gives the most prominent place in the task of reconstruction to professors of theology. His work is particularly original and
enlightening in the chapters which discuss the work of these men. Although
the perspectives of the professors often differed, what was significant was "the
broad shift to a Christological focus . . . and the range of increasingly acceptive
angles into this particular focus" (p. 155). A consequence of the concentration
of theologians within colleges was to widen the gap between the Church's
scholarship and the Church's ministry-—by the twentieth century, the roles of
minister and academic theologian had become virtually separate, as professors
took their model of scholarship from the university, and the ministers, burdened by pastoral responsibilities, had little time for scholarship.
Johnson's analysis of this complex subject is lucid, persuasive, and well documented. He has made a notable and original contribution to the history of
English Nonconformity. AU of those concerned with the role of academic
theologians within the university as well as their importance to the body of believers at large will find this work timely and compelling reading.
Patricia S. Kruppa

University of Texas at Austin

BOOK REVIEWS137

Alexander Forbes of Brechin. The First Tractarian Bishop. By Rowan Strong.
(New York: Clarendon Press, Oxford University Press. 1995. Pp. xii, 281.
$56.00.)
One durable feature of the historiography of the Church of England is the
celebratory narrative of the achievements of the Oxford Movement. In this
story, a church dominated by a somnolent, self-satisfied, socially conservative

High Church establishment was revived by the Oxford Apostles—John Henry
Newman, John Keble, and Hurfell Froude. Having recovered the vital truth of
the Catholic tradition inside the Church of England, they launched the Tractarian movement which helped restore the Church to a central position in Victorian English life.
The celebratory narrative provides the basis for the never-ending revisionism
that is at the heart of the historian's craft. Rowan Strong modifies and complicates the narrative in two ways. First, he puts Scotland in the story. The subtitle
almost tells it all: the first Tractarian bishop in the British Isles was consecrated

in 1847, not in England, but in the Scottish Episcopal Church. A dissenting
church under a Presbyterian establishment, the Scottish Episcopal Church was
no mere annex of the Church of England. It had its own complex history, its own
episcopal and Catholic traditions, and its own tradition of internecine conflict.
Strong struggles throughout to overcome the fact that Alexander Forbes,
Bishop of Brechin from 1847 to 1875, was apart from his Tractarian views not a
very interesting person. Asserting that Forbes's sacrificial work among the poor
of Dundee was distinctive, Strong is never able to explain what was sacrificial
about the work or even what was distinctive about it in a century when all the
churches engaged in extensive urban social work. But Forbes's life does contribute to a second revisionist agenda, the elucidation of the complicated history of the relationship between High Church Anglicanism and Tractarianism.
In Scotland as in England, the old High Church tradition did not merely give
way to the new Tractarianism, but participated on its own terms in the broader
Victorian revival of institutional religion.
Among the institutions revived by Tractarianism, according to the celebratory narrative of Tractarian progress, was the Scottish Episcopal Church.
Strong's account of the importation of Tractarian ideas into the Scottish church
by the dour Forbes, who was predictably reactionary on almost all matters social and political, demonstrates that the effect of the Oxford Movement north of
the border was almost entirely disruptive. Forbes caused nothing but trouble
for the tiny church, setting off bitter disputes with High Churchmen who occasionally agreed, but often disagreed, with Forbes over eucharistie theology, the
status of the Scottish Common Office, reunion with Rome, and lay representation on diocesan bodies. In reading Strong's well-written accounts of these controversies (far more extensive than his account of Forbes's sacrificial work

among the poor), it is easy to forget the broader issues at stake and treat them
as deservedly forgotten examples of a lack of any sense of proportion among

138BOOK REVIEWS

bishops and theologians. But Strong shows clearly that the passions aroused by
the Oxford Movement had complicated and unpredictable consequences that
do not fit easily into a straightforward narrative of religious revival.
Jeffrey Cox

University ofIowa
Methodism and Education, 1849- 1902:J. H Rigg, Romanism, and Wesleyan
Schools. By John T. Smith. (New York: Clarendon Press, Oxford University

Press. 1998. Pp. xii, 258. $75.00.)

This study of Wesleyan Methodism and education in England and Wales in
the second half of the nineteenth century illuminates many aspects of the intricate and fractious history of religious denominations in connection with
educational development. Anti-Catholicism and anti-Anglicanism are clearly
displayed as defining points of the Wesleyan attitude to education. Even though
many Wesleyans were still quite respectful toward the Church of England as
their "mother Church," and even though a number of leading Wesleyans were
Conservative in politics, Wesleyanism was becoming more clearly Nonconformist and more radical during the period covered by this book. Wesleyans
were suspicious of the educational claims and policies of the Established
Church, especially on account of the partial influence of Tractarianism and Ritualism in the latter. Wesleyans tried to retain their own denominational dayschools, which commenced in the late 1830's and grew rapidly until the 1870's.
But the schools declined in number from a peak of 912 in 1873 to 849 in 1880.
There was stability for a time after this, but Wesleyan schools appeared as an increasingly small contingent in comparison with the growing numbers of Anglican and Roman Catholic schools. In 1877 it was noted with concern that the

number of pupils at Catholic day-schools had exceeded those at Wesleyan ones.
Rather than remain exclusively attached to denominational education, many
Wesleyans preferred to support the Board Schools which were inaugurated by
the State in 1870 and were undenominational in their religious teaching. These
only extended the religious rivalry over education. Many representatives of different denominations were elected to the local School Boards which ran the

new schools, and used their positions to defend their denominational interests
against others in the running of the Board Schools. Wesleyans never achieved
more than a small minority voice in these controversies, though they usually
managed to make their voice heard.
Dr. Smith uses the life and career of the Revd. Dr. James Harrison Rigg as the
focus of his study. Rigg was twice President of the Wesleyan Conference. A prolific writer and controversialist, he was Principal of Westminster Training College (for Wesleyan teachers) from 1868 to 1903, and a prominent member of

the London School Board from 1870 to 1876. He was a leading champion of
Wesleyan denominational education over a variety of issues. Amongst his many

book reviews139

activities he was a negotiator with government ministers and a member of a
Royal Commission. But the period of his efforts to defend Wesleyan education
saw also the contraction of this type of schooling. On the question of maintaining Wesleyan schools, Rigg clashed with Hugh Price Hughes and some other
leading Wesleyans.
At a few points in the book more explanation would have been a benefit, but
this is a well-researched study which clearly charts the complex story of Wesleyan education in relation to rival developments. It forms a very useful addition to the growing literature on nineteenth-century Methodism.
Ian Machin

University ofDundee

Carnets duJournaliste Catholique Alexandre Delmer (1860- 1889), Tome IV:
1870-1872. Edited by Marie-Thérèse Delmer. [Bibliothèque de la Revue
d'Histoire Ecclésiastique, Fascicule 81.] (Brussels: Editions Nauwelaerts;
Louvain-la-Neuve: Collège Erasme. 1998. Pp. 944. Fr.b. 1800 paperback.)
This final volume of the notebooks of the hard-working Belgian journalist,
Alexandre Delmer (1835-1915), covers three years of momentous political and
religious events which range from the Vatican Council's declaration of papal infallibility to the Franco-Prussian War and Paris Commune. The central event in
Delmer's professional life during these years is his decision to transform a
weekly, Courrier de Bruxelles, into a daily Catholic newspaper to counteract
the liberalism of his former employer,/owraij/ de Bruxelles. The volume concludes with an appendix covering the brief entries of November and December, 1889, in which Delmer resigns from the Courrier over a difference of
opinion and becomes a librarian at the University of Liège.
As in the earlier volumes, Delmer reveals not only his views on the political
questions of the day but also his personal worries and everyday activities. He
supported universal suffrage, distrusted liberal politicians, and was troubled by
rumors of the activities of King Leopold II. The reader also learns of his religious practices (e.g., confessions and communions, charitable works), of his
occasional leisure activities (e.g., riding horseback, reading classical and contemporary works), of the difficulties in his professional life (e.g. , long hours, disagreements with others, starting and financing a daily) and in his personal life
(e.g., the unsuccessful search for a wife, the insanity and death of his brother
Louis, the fidelity to a friend who was in legal trouble).
Delmer is sympathetic toward the French and comments on the political situation in France as well as on French leaders (both Catholic and political). Unfortunately, there is nothing in this volume about the siege of Paris, probably
because he received no information during those months but possibly because
there are missing entries dating from December, 1870, and January, 1871. In

140bookrevipjcs

commenting on the events of May, 1871 (Paris Commune and aftermath), he labeled the Communards "monstres" (p. 379) who killed Archbishop Darboy He
opposed the militarism of the government and wrote that France would be
saved by the Church and Catholic education rather than by military action.
Catholicism is the essential element in Delmer's life, and he is conscious of

his vocation as a Catholic journalist. He opposed Belgian separation of Church
and State as being detrimental to Catholic interests. The Italian question convinced him of the necessity of a second daily Catholic newspaper in Brussels
which would more ardently support the Pope. The description and narration of
Delmer's securing financing and collaborators show him to be a determined
and persevering man of principle. His seeking the active approbation of the

Belgian bishops and papal nuncio reveals the close connection between the
press and the Belgian hierarchy.

In this volume as in the previous three, there are extensive indices (about

ninety pages). These research aids include brief identifications and references

to all four volumes. Since there is no introduction to this volume, the introduc-

tory biography in Volume I is indispensable for providing a context for this volume. Delmer's granddaughter's editing is once again meticulous; she inserts
relevant letters mentioned in the notebooks to provide a fuller picture of
Delmer's ideas and activities.

The four volumes published over the past decade provide a useful source for
understanding the life and views of a Catholic journalist in the second half of

the nineteenth century. It will be of special interest to students of nineteenthcentury Catholicism and to those of the press because of its important but
often difficult-to-find information (e.g., subscriptions, salaries, costs).

M. Patricia Dougherty, O.P.

Dominican College of San Rafael

The Irish and the Spanish Civil War, 1936-39: Crusades in Conflict. By Robert
A. Stradling. (Manchester: Manchester University Press. Distributed by St.
Martins Press, Scholarly and Reference Division, New York. 1999. Pp. xvi,
288. $79.95.)

This is, simply speaking, a marvelous book, a fascinating account of a little-

noted part of the Spanish Civil war and of Irish domestic history, written with
the flashes of wit commensurate with the people the author is writing about. It
is a narration and analysis of the two groups of Irishmen who went to Spain to
fight for the contending factions in the Spanish Civil War. One group, the XV
Bandera, led by the fascist Blueshirt leader Eoin O'Duffy, fought for the Nationalists; most of the 670 men of the Bandera, enraged by the anticlerical violence
in Spam, enlisted to fight for the Faith. The other group—about 200 men—led

book reviews141

by the practicing Catholic, Frank Ryan, joined the International Brigades to fight
for the Republic.
Robert Stradling, of Cardiff University of Wales, has based his research solidly
on interviews with survivors and the archives in Spain, England, and Ireland. He
places the two groups within the context of both Spanish and Irish politics.
The divisiveness of Irish politics surfaced among the volunteers of both crusades. O'Duffy's leadership was contested by others in the Irish fascist movement. De Valera was not anxious to get involved in the Spanish war; so his
government remained neutral and tried to block the volunteers, so that both

factions had to use subterfuge to get passports to go to Spain.
The roles of the Irish clergy and traditional Irish Catholicism were important
elements among both groups. Priests whipped up support for O'Duffy; some
promised a martyr's reward for those killed in the war, and others suggested volunteering to fight for the Faith as a form of penance. Some appealed to the aid
Spaniards had given the Irish in the sixteenth century, and now called for a repayment of that debt. But not all the clergy supported the effort: a Jesuit periodical "commented acidly . . . that if there is a fight going on, 'the fighting race'
should join in," and some said the volunteers should fight in Belfast rather than
Madrid. But, "with an armory of rosaries" they went off to fight; one Irish wit remarked that "O'Duffy was taking 2,000 [sic] Irishmen to help the Moors to
Christianize Spain." In Spain they were caught in a skirmish with a faction from
their own side, and eventually were disbanded by mutual agreement between
Franco and O'Duffy largely because of indiscipline among the troops.
Ryan and his International Brigadiers fared somewhat better. Most were inspired by dislike of O'Duffy as much as by sympathy for the Republican cause.
Ryan, a practicing Catholic, was angered by Cardinal MacRory's support of
O'Duffy's group. The clergy reacted violently to Ryan's group; they portrayed

them as "Irish Reds, prevented from doing so by a virtuous majority in their

own country, were going to Spain to join in the slaughter of the clergy." When
they got to Spain, a number refused to fight in the battalion assigned because it
was commanded by British officers, and they went off to join the American Lincoln Battalion. Many were sincere Catholics, "though not loaded up with miraculous medals and rosaries . . . they publicly respected their cradle religion even
where privately they did not practice it."
Stradling concludes with an epilogue that is a masterpiece of insight into all
aspects of the Spanish war, observing that the propaganda of the last sixty years
has obscured the motivation of O'Duffy's Bandera (for which he has no ideological sympathy). He concludes, "The men of [O'Duffy's] Irish Brigade were
overwhelmingly motivated by a cause which was no less genuinely felt and no
less morally valid than that of the Internationalists."
José M. Sánchez

Saint Louis University

142BOOKREVIEVfS

Nothing Sacred: Nazi Espionage against the Vatican, 1939- 1945. By David Alvarez and Robert A. Graham, SJ. (London: Frank Cass; distributed by ISBS,

Portland, Oregon. 1997. Pp. 190. $42.50 clothbound; $19.50 paperback.)

"No one knows more about the wartime Vatican," Peter Hebblethwaite wrote

in 1993, "than Father Robert Graham." In Nothing Sacred, the late Reverend
Robert A. Graham, SJ. , and his co-author, David J. Alvarez, lead us on an iUuminating detective investigation through the halls of the Vatican during World War II.
This work is the first to critically examine the veil of espionage surrounding the
Holy See during one of its most historiographically controversial periods. As our
authors take us on their rounds, they introduce us to a wealth of new material
concerning the Third Reich's attempts to infiltrate the Roman Curia. German
efforts to penetrate the walls of the Vatican ranged from savvy and smooth to confusing and comical. At the end of their investigation, Graham and Alvarez conclude that despite some spirited attempts to collect curial intelligence, no secret
information was gleaned and no "hard targets" of Vatican diplomacy were ever
compromised to the Reich. In short, Nazi attempts to infiltrate the most confidential echelons of the Holy See's diplomatic corps met with umitigated failure.
The most compelling portions of the book are devoted to describing
"HUMINT" that is to say, the human intelligence gathering techniques directed
by the Nazis against the Vatican. Such techniques included the recruitment of
Catholic university professors, the targeting of curial clerks, and even the introduction of ersatz German "seminarians" into the German College in Rome. Our
authors contend that these efforts were unsuccessful because "with the onset

of war, the secrecy which normally characterized the internal affairs of the
Papal Secretariat of State became even stricter" (p. 3). Vatican security, it seems,
thwarted the best attempts of the Nazi intelligence system.
Yet, regardless of their disappointments in Rome, the Germans did make a
great deal of headway on the home front. One of the major revelations of the
book is its examination of Nazi infiltration of the German Bishops' Conference,
the German Catholic Press, and the Catholic university system. What the
Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA) failed to do internationally, it brilliantly succeeded in doing domestically. Its major coup included the collection of the internal memoranda of the German national episcopal conference.
The newest and most important contribution that this book makes to the literature of wartime Vatican diplomacy is its exposition of Vatican cryptology
Here, David J. Alvarez masterfully presents the sophisticated themes of GermanVatican wartime codes. And it is here where Nazi efforts were most fruitful.

While the Vatican considered its most sophisticated codes invulnerable
throughout the war, by May of 1940 the Nazis were reading more than half of
the Holy See's signal traffic. More importantly, by 1943 the Reich Security Administration had compromised all of the Vatican codes. The Vatican, for its part,
surmised that at least some of its codes had been broken, but trusted that its

newest codes were inviolate. The Secretariat was disabused of this notion by

book reviews143

late 1944 and came to the realization that "all governments" were able to read

their codes "with great facility" (p. 166). Ironically, this new information has se-

rious ramifications for the argument advanced by Father Graham in the first
portion of the book.
Specifically, it seems reasonable to conclude that the RSHA might deem it unnecessary to devote valuable human intelligence resources against the Holy See
if it were already reading its most sensitive diplomatic cables. Moreover, since
the Holy See's military and geo-strategic importance is negligible at best, it is
precisely the concession of its diplomatic correspondence that might be considered the "golden nugget" of anti-Vatican intelligence. Most historians of Vatican diplomacy during this era agree that the primary intelligence function of
foreign missions to the Vatican was that of the "listening post." Given that the
Holy See's codes were "hopelessly compromised" early on, Nazi intelligence efforts against the Vatican might be considered a sound success. Barring these observations, the study remains essential reading for any researcher or graduate
student interested in Vatican diplomacy, Nazi intelligence techniques, and
broader surveys of church and state during World War II.
Charles R. Gallagher
Archives

Diocese ofSt. Augustine
German Churches and the Holocaust: Betrayal. Edited by Robert P. Ericksen

and Susannah Heschel. (Minneapolis: Fortress Press. 1999- Pp. vi, 224.
$22.00 paperback.)

The essays, each with an excellent scholarly set of endnotes, explore how the
Christian Churches betrayed their heritage. Ericksen's and Heschel's introduction offers the reader a good summary of the state of the question. They contend that the German churches, in their support of anti-Semitic values, played a
far more important role in the Shoah than has previously been assumed. Since
religious leaders supported so many Nazi policies, ordinary Germans seemed to
feel that the racist policies of the state did not really violate traditional Christian
tenets and actually supported the scholarly attempts of Liberal Protestantism
to discover the historical Jesus. Micha Brumlik's concluding essay on postHolocaust theology is, therefore, very important, since he effectively surveys
the current attempts to reorient Christian theology back to its Jewish roots.
Two essays deal with Catholic attempts to verify their nationalism. Guenter
Lewy has contributed a brief analysis of Pius XII and the German Catholic
Church, which summarizes the themes of his earlier and seminal scholarship
on this issue. Michael Lukens' essay on Joseph Lortz shows how anti-Semitism
could be rooted in the nature-supernature tension in Catholic theology.
Essays on Protestant theologians also reveal their attachments to nationalism
and anti-Semitism. Paul Althus, Emanuel Hirsch, and Gerhard Kittel, according to

144BOOK REVIEWS

Ericksen, articulated the conservative, antidemocratic, and anticommunist

views of their contemporaries. All of these "ordinary men" were willing to exe-

cute orders from the Nazi leadership. Doris Bergen's essay on the German
Christian Movement and Heschel's essay on the 1939 establishment of the antiSemitic Institute for the Study and Eradication of Jewish Influence on German
Religious Life support Ericksen's conclusion that many Christians were enthusiastically anti-Semitic and not merely latently attached to this corrupting bias.
Shelley Baranowski's essay offers an analysis of the entrenched anti-Semitism

in the ranks of the Confessing Church, which helps to clarify why these political resistors never rigorously questioned the racist axioms of the Nazis. These
bystanders nurtured Nazi anti-Semitic policies. Additionally, to help illuminate

the problem of Christian anti-Semitism, Kenneth Barnes has explored Dietrich

Bonhoeffer's varied reactions to the persecution of die Jews. Bonhoeffer's own
family utterly disregarded racial origin as long as the Jewish person embraced

Christian German culture, and that seems to be part of the general Christian

problem during this era. Bonhoeffer initially in 1933 felt that the state had a
right to enact measures dealing with the Jews within its political realm, thus
seeming to condone the Nuremberg Laws.. From 1935 to 1939, he tried to persuade the Confessing Church to take a strong stand against the persecution of
the Jews. Unsuccessful in this approach, Bonhoeffer returned to direct political
resistance, but said little explicitly about the Jews.

This collection of essays has been designed to illuminate the complexities of

the relationship between the Christian churches and the Third Reich. In the
process of focusing on their themes, each of the authors points to the problematic responses to Nazism of a Christianity that had deserted its original impetus and values. This book is also valuable, since the essays refuse to offer

simplistic solutions to the problems of Christian responses to Nazism.

Donald J. Dietrich

Boston College

Hans Küng: Breaking Through. The Work and Legacy. By Hermann Häring.
Translated by John Bowden. (New York: Continuum. 1998. Pp. xv, 377.

$29.95 paperback.)

The Swiss-born theologian Hans Küng has been a major figure in twentieth-

century theology since his appointment in I960 as professor of systematic
theology at the University of Tübingen. He retired in 1996 and turned seventyone in 1999. An assessment of his theological contributions is welcome. Häring
has undertaken a formidable task, however, since Küng has published some
1 2,000 pages of text over more than forty years on a wide variety of topics, and
he is encyclopedic in his bibliographical references.

BOOK REVIEWS145

The book begins with an introductory chapter that is a general orientation of
the significant themes and influences in Küng's theology. The nine chapters

that follow deal with Küng's major works in some detail. In each chapter Häring

presents the main lines of Küng's position, comments on them, and points out
the hermeneutical and methodological framework. He discreetly uses references and an occasional direct quotation. One chapter of special interest deals
with Küng's "Roman troubles." The book ends with a brief conclusion and a
bibliography.

Häring divides Küng's theological career into three periods—with some inevitable overlapping—around which he organizes his chapters. The first or
early period, from the late 1950's through the 1970's, deals with Kiing the ecclesiologist and ecumenist. At that time, Küng concentrated on intra-ecclesial or
"domestic" issues: justification (Justification: The Doctrine of Karl Barth and
a Catholic Reflection, 1957);reform and reunion (The Council: Reform and Reunion, I96I); the nature of the Church (The Church, 1967); and infallibility (Infallible?An Inquiry, 1970). In addition, Küng also wrote two large works on the
nature of Christianity (On Being a Christian, 1974) and on God (Does God
Exist?, 1978).

The second period, which began in the 1980's, was prompted by Rome's
withdrawal of Küng's missio canónica in December, 1979, which meant that
he could no longer teach in the Catholic faculty at Tübingen. As a result, Küng
turned his attention to broader issues, namely, a dialogue with world religions.
His two major books at that time were Christianity and the World Religions
(1984) and Theologyfor the Third Millennium (1987).
The third period for Küng, which began in the 1990's, focuses on universal
questions such as global ethics, the future of the world, and the role of religion
for mankind. His books on these topics include: Global Responsibility: In
Search ofaNew World Ethic (1990) and/1 Global Ethicfor Global Politics and
Economics (1997).

Häring writes clearly and with some passion, but he is not a totally disinterested party. He was a student of Küng's at Tübingen, worked with him for ten
years at the Institute for Ecumenical Research, where Küng was the director,
and edited several books dealing with his theology. Presently, Häring is professor of systematic theology at the Catholic University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands.

Häring is a strong defender of Küng's theological positions. He describes
Küng as a brilliant, committed, and consistent theologian who is admittedly intense and controversial. He mentions in passing some of the critics of Küng—
such as Karl Lehmann, Walter Kasper, and Joseph Ratzinger—but he is not
convinced by their arguments. He offers relatively little critique of his own.
This book is described by the author as a "theological biography" as opposed
to a personal biography. Yet two additions would be helpful: a chronological

146BOOK REVIEWS

summary of the more important dates and events in Küng's life and a thorough
index. The selected bibliography with English translations is useful.
There is, of course, no substitute for reading Küng's works themselves. But
given the great amount of material that Küng has produced, Häring's work is

certainly beneficial. It is well ordered and readable and provides a good introduction to the thought of Hans Küng.

Patrick Granfield

The Catholic University ofAmerica

Il Laico cristiano nel magistero di Paolo VI all'Azione Cattolica Italiana. By

Dario Busolini. (Rome: Edizioni Studium. 1998. Pp. 268. Lire 30,000 paperback.)

The publicist Dario Busolini, contributor to Vatican Radio and author of
Catholic magazine articles, probes how Pope Paul VI (1963-1978) enunciated
the concept of laity emanating from Vatican Council II when dealing with Ital-

ian Catholic Action. His book is based on theological works, papal statements,
and press reports.

Busolini first cites critics who believe that the Council was ambiguous in
dealing with the laity. Both clergy and laity were the People of God, but the laity
were expected to carry the ideas of the clergy to civil society. The Council ig-

nored the proper role of the laity as seen in the early Church where laity participated in councils, administered church properties, and helped elect bishops.
Nor has the role of the laity in the medieval and modern Church ever been fully
studied, for after all, St. Benedict and St. Francis were not priests.

According to the author, Pope Paul would have disagreed with these critics.
The pope believed that the laity were the bridge between the hierarchy and the
secular, and that the laity made Christ real in the world. He sought to contribute
to this crucial theological matter through discourse with Catholic Action, because he saw the close interdependence between the theoretical discussion
and the practical application which impaeted secular society.
As early as 1921 the future pope was concerned about the lay apostolate and
the need for social justice. Priest-intellectuals and pious laity shared the same
mission through baptism, and their co-operation was the key to effectiveness.

As archbishop of Milan he sponsored conferences on the role of the laity, and in
1966 he established the Council on the Laity to co-ordinate the Vatican's efforts
toward lay spirituality.

Catholic Action had been in ferment for decades, its membership dropping

from three million (1 954) to 1 ,600,000 (1970). A continued point of contention
was Pope Paul's stress on lay responsibility while proponents of church authority emphasized lay obedience. So the issue of regeneration in the Christian

BOOK REVIEWS147

community was complicated by preconciliar views, Pope Paul's discourse, and
the peculiarities of Catholic Action leadership.
The author admits that Pope Paul was not successful in formulating a theology of laity during the era of conflict and change unleashed by Vatican Council
II. The pope had insufficient time to clarify the theoretical, and so uncertainty
over how exactly hierarchy related to laity and vice versa led to dispute in the
Italian Church and many resignations from Catholic Action. Add to this the con-

ditions in Italy outside the Church during the late 1960's and 1970's. Social tensions and secularization produced external change in the country, as seen in the
successful referenda on divorce and abortion.

The new role of the laity, revised liturgy, and an ecumenical outlook are
viewed as the fruits of Vatican Council II. Busolini's book reveals that the con-

ceptualization of the role of the laity, in its Italian case study, was halting, and
the ongoing process stretches into the new millennium.
James J. Divita

Marian College, Indianapolis
American

A Voyage to California, the Sandwich Islands, & Around the World in the
Years 1826-1829- By Auguste Duhaut-Cilly. Translated and edited by August Frugé and Neal Harlow. (Berkeley: University of California Press. 1999.
Pp. xxxii, 254. $29.95.)
The eyewitness accounts of visitors and travelers are a significant source of
historical understanding and perspective. This volume is a wonderful example
of this genre of historical observation, both in its subject matter and in the perceptive commentary of its author. While this work has been known in the original French, as well as in other translations, including one quite literal and

abbreviated English version published in the California Historical Society

Quarterly in 1929, this new English translation presents Duhaut-Cilly's narrative with freshness and cogency.
August Duhaut-Cilly was born at the dawn of the French Revolution in 1790
and began service in the French navy shortly before his seventeenth birthday.

For seven years, from 1807 until 1814, he sailed on French ships and fought in

sea battles off the coast of Europe and in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, ultimately being made a knight of the Legion of Honor. With the advent of peace,
he left naval service and spent the next five years applying his maritime experience to various voyages for the merchant marine, including the journey around
the world which he chronicled in this volume. He spent the final twenty years
of his life in France as a private citizen until his death in 1849.
This work contains the author's preface and introduction followed by
twenty-three chapters which narrate the journey from France around Cape

148BOOK REVIEWS

Horn to the west coast of South America, Mexico, and Baja California, along the
length of Alta California as far as the Russian settlement at Fort Ross, across the

Pacific to the Hawaiian Islands, to the south coast of China, and finally home to

France. Much of the narrative treats Duhaut-Cilly's experiences and observations in Mexican California at a complex and crucial moment in the region's history. Accompanying the text are eleven black-and-white illustrations, four by
Duhaut-Cilly, which add to the authentic tone of the eyewitness account. This

rich primary source material is preceded by an editors' introduction which pro-

vides textual history and criticism, a review of the cast of characters and the
context of the voyage, and reflections on Duhaut-Cilly's unique perspective on
the experience of Mexican California, both secular and ecclesiastical, on the
eve of the secularization of the Franciscan missions. This introduction is

thoughtful and balanced so as to whet the reader's appetite for the adventure to

come. The volume concludes with a selected bibliography and a very helpful
index.

The editors, August Frugé and Neal Harlow, bring a combined expertise of
publishing and history to the conception and mounting of their work, as well as
an engaging translation which accomplishes their goal of restoring "life to an
excellent book." Any notes that Duhaut-Cilly included in his original text they

mark with an asterisk at the bottom of the page, while presenting their own
notes with the traditional numerical sequence in each chapter.

Duhaut-Cilly's tale runs on two levels. There is the drama of the voyage itself,
including its commercial reverses and trials, its population of colleagues and
rogues, and even subtle hints at domestic and personal dynamics. Then, there is
the world of Hispanic America, Hawaii, and China, the challenges of navigating
friendly and hostile seas, and the sweep of natural and human ecology to be observed. Duhaut-Cilly asserts his intentions in these words: "My sole ambition is
to be useful to those who will follow me to the distant shores whose descrip-

tion is the principal purpose of this account" (p. 1). He accomplishes this and

more by bringing insightful commentary to a transitional moment in California
history, expressing understanding of the pain and betrayal felt by Spanish Franciscan missionaries caught in a nascent Mexican province on the verge of secularizing the missions, as well as compassion for the plight of California Indians
caught in the monotony of mission life.
The editors provide a valuable running commentary on the text for both
scholars and lay readers in their footnotes, which range from background information on individuals, technical definitions, geographical descriptions, and references to the impressions of other visitors, to opinions on word definition or
the probable intentions of the author. With the exception of an error regarding
the date of the expulsion of the Jesuits from Mexico (p. 5, note 23), these notes
seem dependable and accurate.Yet, only rarely are sources cited for the content
of these footnotes. Granted this minor inconvenience, this volume is recommended enthusiastically as an engaging, enlightening, and entertaining window

BOOK REVIEWS149

on the worlds of Hispanic America, the Hawaiian Islands, and China in the early
nineteenth century.
Michael Charles Neri

Saint Patrick's Seminary
Menlo Park, California
Catholics and American Culture: Fulton Sheen, Dorothy Day, and the Notre
Dame Football Team. By Mark S. Massa. (New York: The Crossroad Pub-

lishing Company. 1999. Pp. x, 278. $24.95.)

This is an attempt to explore the American Catholic experience during the
past fifty years, describing through a series of essays the movement of most
church members into the mainstream of American culture. Biographical essays

are on Leonard Feeney, Thomas Merton, Joseph McCarthy, Fulton J. Sheen,

Dorothy Day, and John F. Kennedy. There are also accounts of the introduction
of new liturgy, the struggle between the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters and
Francis Cardinal Mclntyre, and the evolution of the University of Notre Dame
into a major-league academic institution.
Mark S. Massa, S.J., is associate professor of church history and director of the
American Studies Program at Fordham University. His keen interest in social science results in a formula seen in each essay: there is an historical account, followed by an extended reference to one or more social scientists on the topic,
and then a general historical conclusion. The idea is promising, and the topics
chosen by the author are excellent. Unfortunately, however, this book fails in
every way to enlighten or even entertain its readers.
The essay on Feeney is the best, as it sheds much-needed light on the state of
the Church prior to Vatican Council II. The shock of liturgical reform is described well. On the other hand, Massa tells us nothing new about Joe McCarthy
(who died "reportedly of alcohol-related ailments"), Dorothy Day, Fulton J.
Sheen, or Notre Dame, and he reveals an embarrassing innocence about John F.
Kennedy. The account of the revolt by the IHM nuns fails to explore the impact
of feminist dogma and ignores the major studies on the topic by Donna Steichen and Ann Carey. Thomas Merton is presented as a hero, for reasons that are

far from clear.

The writing is often riddled with jargon and features such words as "valorized" and "abirthing." (At one point we read about "the ghostly life of undergraduates" at Notre Dame.) The pages devoted to the alleged insights of social
scientists rarely reveal anything of interest. Massa's interpretations are generally
liberal. His sources are more often than not secondary. (He leans very heavily on
my biography of Joe McCarthy. The story of Fulton J. Sheen,yet to be told in full,
is based largely on an unpublished doctoral dissertation.) And the brief and
poorly written conclusion leaves one wondering about the point of the entire
book.

150BOOK REVIEWS

Much work needs to be done in this field. Few topics seem more relevant to
Catholic scholars. This book, alas, is useful only to the extent that it calls attention to a biographical approach that might well prove fruitful in the future.
Thomas C. Reeves

University of Wisconsin-Parkside
Canadian

The Cross in the Dark Valley: The Canadian Protestant Missionary Movement
in the Japanese Empire, 1931-1945. ByA. Hamish Ion. (Walterloo, Ontario, Canada: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. 1999. Pp. xvi, 428. $54.95.)

This book is a continuation and ultimately the third volume to Ion's previous
publications, The Cross and the Rising Sun, Volumes 1 and 2 (Wilfrid Laurier

University Press, 1990, 1993), which study the Canadian and British Protestant
movements in the prewar Japanese Empire. This supplementary volume to the
first, one which traces the Canadian Protestant missionary movement in the
Japanese Empire, 1872-1931, investigates the last stage of the "missionary age"
covering the history of Canadian-Japanese international relations as well as
Canada's relations with Japan's two major colonies, Korea and Taiwan, and with
Japan's client state of Manchukuo, 1931-1945.

This refined, academic study by far outshines Ion's previous studies. His acquisition of rare documents and oral histories in Japan as well as the extensive
collection and utilization of Canadian and British materials provides the reader
with a well-balanced historical overview of missionary work in Japan. Ion's fine
point is that he focuses not only on the missionary movement from Canada,
but the Japanese receptivity to Canadian missionary activities. Ion focuses extensively on the experiences of Canadian United Church missionaries in the
Japanese Empire starting in 1931, including the missionaries' educational and

medical works in addition to their evangelical and social works. Of particular

importance were the missionary struggles with the Shrine question, the problems of church union in Japan, and the missionaries' attitudes on Japanese
political developments from the Manchurian Incident to the Anglo-JapaneseAmerican War. As a scholar of the history of international relations, I find that
this work certainly achieves its purpose—to investigate the Canadian-Japanese
informal international and personal relations, that is, the reciprocal influence of
cultural interaction between Canada and japan.
Apart from these accolades, this critic would like to encourage future investigation on the Japanese internal history termed "the Dark Valley." Ion's view coinciding with the postwar Japanese enlightened thoughts at times misses the
continuity, hence the transition, between the prewar Japanese matters and the
postwar. His conclusion that, "The missionary age died in failure" with the Pacific War as a turning point, sets Ion's next task as that of reviewing the causes

BOOK REVIEWS151

of failure that developed up to that point. Consequently, how to ascertain the
continuity or discontinuity between the prewar and the postwar conditions in
Japan deserves further investigation. Unfortunately many history books leave
the impression that changes occurred at sharp static intervals when in fact
gradual transitions existed.

Furthermore, Ion emphasizes that the Canadian missionaries are generally

more egalitarian and democratic and less identified with imperial political and
cultural expansion than their British colleagues, and additionally, more tolerant
and less patronizing than the American. I am sure that, in time, he would not

only trace the legacy of the missionary connection between Canada and Japan,

but bridge the gap between the end of Canada's Victorian missionary age and
the postwar survival of its legacy. So, it is to be expected that Ion's next study
should investigate the Canadian-Japanese international and personal relations
from the postwar period.
Hiroaki Shiozaki

Nagasakifunshin Catholic University
Nagasaki, fapan
Latin American

Colonial Habits. Convents and the Spiritual Economy of Cuzco, Peru. By
Kathryn Burns. (Durham: University of North Carolina Press. 1999. Pp. xi,

307. $49.95 clothbound; $17.95 paperback.)

After the Inca capital of Cuzco became Spanish in the early 1530's, it lost its
paramount political place in the Andean world, but it remained an important
urban center in which the ancient traditions mixed with the cultural, economic, and social imports from the "Old World." In this setting, the three nun-

neries founded in that city stand as institutions in which the two peoples,

Spaniards and indigenous, negotiated their worldly interests and their beliefs, and
created a new space for women. This space was multilayered, including the redefinition of worship, the creation of a new understanding of economic transactions sustaining the spiritual world, and the dilemma of assimilating native
women into institutions that reluctantly acknowledged their presence but
could not embrace a philosophy of multiculturalism.
Burns begins with the foundation of the convent of Santa Clara, which had a
unique mission: the acceptance of the mestizo daughters of Spanish men and indigenous women. Spanish male relatives hoped that the convent would educate

them in Spanish ways, making them links between the two peoples and convey-

ors of the European culture. This goal was achieved only in part, as the history of
the convents proved that while Christianity offered a port of security for the first
generation, those in charge held back complete endorsement of mestizas as the
brides of Christ, relegating them to second-class citizenship as nuns.

152BOOK REVIEWS

In the secular world, Indians and Spaniards continued to influence the fate of
the three convents. The complex web of pious deeds, credit, and property holding that sustained the spiritual worship in the nunneries involved them in economic and social negotiations which affected the convents, their patrons, and
the interests of the indigenous communities. Economic and social obligations
forged networks of mutual interests carefully delineated in this work. The symbiosis between rural and urban, Spanish and indigenous, forms a central core of
the history of Cuzco, here "engendered" for the new social history.
Women emerge forcefully in the history of these convents, as founders and as
religious. True, the main actors of this story remained encloistered or were secular widows. In neither case did their physical lack of visibility or their "unprotected" female condition lessen their ability to become a vital and dynamic part
of the city. As creditors the nunneries reached a zenith of economic influence

in the seventeenth century, while holding important properties and benefiting

from the patronage of powerful families. Inside the cloisters, there was a fascinating world in which Indians, mestizas, whites, and Africans rubbed elbows as

mistresses and servants, as seculars and religious, as first- and second-class nuns.
Mestizas as well as full-blooded Indians in the two key convents of Santa Clara
and Santa Catarina were relegated to wearing the white veil, a sign of social "minority" that vitiated the intent of equality envisioned by the first Spanish father
who interned his mestiza daughter in the first foundation.
In engaging prose, Burns leads the reader through the internal rituals of convent life, the relations of local families with the social and economic politics of
the convents, and the eventual decline of these institutions as the city suffered
the ravages of disease and political rebellion in the late eighteenth century. The
independence of Peru led the convents in to a disastrous path that would render them shadows of their former selves by the end of the nineteenth century.
Losses in properties, imposed loans, a new secular world view, and a precipitate
drop in the number of professed nuns close the story that overarches four centuries in a veritable account of "rise and fall" of a way of life and the sui generis
presence of women in the urban ambit of an Andean city.
Richly textured, this work is well anchored in archival research and fulfills the
ambition of its author to create a new historical locus for the institutions as well

as for the women who created and managed them, and created a world which
was central and logical to the people of colonial Peru. The limitations observed
in this work by the author herself, such as the absence of creative works by the
nuns that would open for us the world of their spirituality, are less her fault than
that of the poverty of archival sources on those topics. This deficiency is compensated by the seamless narrative, the astute analysis of social and economic
ties of convents and local communities, and by the boost given to the study of
female religious institutions in the Andean world.
Asunción Lavrin

Arizona State University

BRIEF NOTICES

Alberigo, Giuseppe (Ed.). Giuseppe Dossetti. Prime prospettive e ipotesi di
ricerca. [Istituto per Ie scienze religiose—Bologna, Testi e ricerche di
scienze religiose, nuova serie, 22.] (Bologna: Società éditrice il Mulino.
1998. Pp. 145. Lire 20,000 paperback.)
The three essays contained in this short book deal with the life and work of
Giuseppe Dossetti. Included as well are some transcripts of talks that he gave to
young Catholics in the early 1950's. For the fifty or so years before his death in
December, 1 996, Giuseppe Dossetti served as one of the most important voices
of Italian Catholicism. His roles as a scholar, a maverick, and an irritant made

him all the more valuable to that world. A young canon law professor during
the waning years of Benito Mussolini's regime, he joined the anti-Fascist resistance and assumed command of the Committee of National Liberation (C.L.N.)

in Reggio nell'Emilla. The C.L.N.'s political ecumenism, however, dissolved after
the war when the Communists turned anti-Fascist popular justice into a
broader violent attack on conservatives and Catholics. This prompted the idealistic Dossetti to delay his desire to enter the Church and to take up politics as a
Christian Democrat. Dossetti made his mark in the Christian Democratic Party
(or D.C.) as the leader of an ill-fated left-wing faction of intellectuals, theprofessorini (or dossettiani), which included Giorgio La Pira, Giuseppe Lazzati, and
Amintore Fanfani. The faction reached a dead end at the D.C.'s 1949 Congress in
Venice, and the defeated Dossetti retired from politics. His departure was inter-

rupted briefly in 1956 when he ran without success for the Bologna mayor's office against the popular Communist, Giuseppe Dozza.

Dossetti became convinced that the limitations of Catholic politics rose from
the failings of the Italian Church. His earlier intention to join the Church was
now inflamed by the desire to reform it. Dossetti settled and worked in the Diocese of Bologna and developed a close relationship with its activist archbishop
Giacomo Lercaro. He soon founded one of Italy's most important organizations
for the study of the Church, the Centro di documentazione (later the Istituto
per Ie Scienze Religiose). Dossetti was ordained in 1959, and Lercaro brought
him as a perito to the sessions of the Second Vatican Council. Emboldened by
the Council, Lercaro and Dossetti assaulted the Bolognese church with reformist passion during the mid-1960's until they ran afoul of Rome and, some
believe, the Americans, who probably questioned their loyalty to the Cold War
alliance. That Dossetti met with some U.S. diplomats shortly before resigning

153

154BRIEF NOTICES

his administrative position in the Bologna diocese (and before Lercaro was

pushed out in February, 1968), certainly raises the possibility.
Giuseppe Alberigo's small but valuable book accomplishes what its title proclaims: an examination of where we stand in the study of Don Giuseppe Dossetti. The bulk of the work consists of two essays, one by Giovanni Miccoli on

Dossetti's politics, the other by Alberigo on his activity in the Catholic Church.
The essays are followed by the transcripts of three talks that Dossetti gave to
Catholic youth in the early 1950's. It concludes with Enzo Bianchi's account of
Dossetti's spiritual road. Particularly interesting here is the discussion of the
monastic association, the "Rule of the Little Family" that Dossetti launched in

1956. Roy R Domenico (The University of Scranton)

Cornwelljohn. Hitler's Pope.The Secret History ofPius XII. (NewYork: Viking.
1999. Pp. xiv, 430. $29.95.)
John Cornwell, an English journalist, holds that Eugenio Pacelli, who became
Pope Pius XII, subordinated his diplomatic actions to the aggrandizement of

papal power. This, in Cornwell's view, explains why the pope remained neutral
and did not speak out against the Nazis in defense of the Jews in World War II.
For this alleged failure, Cornwell holds that Pius XII was "Hitler's Pope" (p. 297).

Claiming that his work is based on documents used for the first time, Cornwell relies on dubious secondary sources and fails to make adequate use of the

eleven volumes of documents published by the Holy See, especially those (6, 8,

9, and 10) dealing with the Jews and the other victims of the war. That the author even fabricates his evidence to fit his preconception emerges in his treatment of Pacelli's letter of April 18, 1919, about Jewish revolutionaries in
Germany, and in his analysis of the deportation ofJews from Rome in October

of 1943- Clearly, his tendency to accept uncritically testimony from Carlo FaI-

coni for his views of the Catholic Church in Serbia during the World War ? indicates that Cornwell's work is not trustworthy.

Actually, the book reflects a distorted understanding of the Vatican's relations
with Germany and a lack of sympathy for the views of scholars, both Christian
and Jewish ones, who find that Pius XII helped the Jews. Although Cornwell is
persistent in his refusal to recognize that Pius spoke out effectively against the
Nazis in his Christmas message of 1942 (pp. 291-295), his grudging admiration
of the pope's involvement, earlier in his papacy, in the plot to remove Adolf
Hitler really contradicts the book's thesis.
Of course, this book might serve as a substitute for an advocatus diaboli in
the investigation of the fitness of Pius XII for canonization. But, at the same

time, one must realize that it is a deliberate attempt to sidetrack the pope's be-

atification and a conscious attack on the papacy ofJohn Paul II who reflects, in
Cornwell's view, the same absolutist concept of his office as did Pius. If John
Paul II is "Pius XII Redivivus" (chapter 21), Cornwell is at least "Rolf Hochhuth
Redivivus." Vincent A. Lafomarda (College of the Holy Cross)

NOTES AND COMMENTS

Conferences, Symposia, Meetings, and Lectures
Sponsored by the Istituto per Ie Ricerche di Storia Sociale e Religiosa, an international conference on "Il ruolo del Papato nella formazione dell'Europa nell'età moderna e contemporánea" was held in Vicenza on October 13-15, 1999.

Copies of the program and of the papers presented may be obtained from the
headquarters of the Institute at Contra Mure S. Rocco, 28, 36100 Vicenza, Italy;
telephone: 0444544350; fax: 0444326236.

One of the sessions held during the fall conference of the New England His-

torical Association at Suffolk University, Boston, Massachusetts, on October 16,

1999, was entitled "Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement." Papers
were read by Michael Boover of Andover Newton Theological Seminary, "Still
Sowing: The Long Journey of the Catholic Worker in Worcester"; by Nicholas
Lund-Moltese of Salve Regina University, "Peter Maurin: The Humble Power of

Ideas"; and by Carol Jablonski of the University of Southern Florida, "Catholic

Workers Respond to John Cardinal O'Connor's 1997 Announcement Regarding
the Canonization of Dorothy Day." In another session Jessica Matthews of Pace
University read a paper on "Crusaders for Social Justice: Film Nuns in the
1960s."

At the twentieth annual Illinois History Symposium, held in Springfield on
December 3-4, 1999, one of the seventeen sessions was devoted to the study of

"Expressions of Faith in Illinois Communities." Papers were read by Lloyd H. Ef-

flandt of Moline on "Trinity Lutheran Church, Moline: The First Seventy-Five
Years, 1912-1987"; by John K. Dobbins of Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, "At Worship in Southern Illinois"; and by Richard Chrisman of Bloomington, "'Take these sinners and hold them over hell': Methodist Camp Meetings in
Central Illinois."

The Renaissance Society of America will hold its annual meeting in Florence
on March 21-24, 2000. Among the numerous sessions will be ten on Clement
VII and many more on other religious topics.
"Education in the Middle Ages" will be the theme of the twentieth annual Medieval Studies Conference, which will be held at Fordham University on March
24-25, 2000. Full information may be obtained from Maryanne Kowaleski in
care of the Center for Medieval Studies, Fordham University, Bronx, New York
10458; e-mail: medievals@murray.fordham.edu.
155

156NOTES AND COMMENTS

Francis J. Murphy of Boston College will deliver a lecture on Père Jacques at
the Catholic University of America on April 11, 2000. Peggy Obrecht of the
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum will be the respondent.
The twenty-first Medieval Forum, which will be held at Plymouth State College, on April 14-15, 2000, will be focused on "Millennium Studies." Copies of
the program may be requested of the director of the Medieval Studies Council,
Eleanor A. Congdon, at Plymouth State College, MSC #39, Plymouth, New Hamp-

shire 03264; e-mail: econgdon@mail.plymouth.edu.

The annual meeting of the American Cusanus Society will take place in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on May 4-7, 2000. Copies of the program may be obtained
from the president of the Society, Morimichi Watanabe, in care of Long Island

University, C. W Post Campus, Brookville, NewYork 1 1 548-1 300.

The Canadian Catholic Historical Association will hold its annual meeting in
conjunction with the Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities at the
University of Alberta in Edmonton on May 25-26, 2000. Papers are solicited on
topics dealing with or related to the history of Catholicism in Canada, especially
Western and First Nations studies. Proposals should include a 250-word abstract
of each paper and a single-page curriculum vitae of the intended speaker; they
should be sent by e-mail to either Vicki Bennett at vbennett@uottawa.ca or Elizabeth Smyth at esmyth@oise.utoronto.ca.
An interdisciplinary conference on "Pilgrimage: Jerusalem, Rome, Santiago,

Ireland" will be held at University College Cork on July 26-29, 2000. It will em-

brace all aspects of pilgrimages through the ages. OnJuIy 30 there will be an optional excursion to pilgrimage sites in the vicinity of Cork. The Cork civic
museum will stage an exhibition to coincide with the conference. Proposals of
papers and inquiries should be directed to the conference coordinator, Dagmar
? Riain-Raedel, at Pilgrimage 2000, Department of History, University College,
Cork, Ireland; telephone: 353 21 902918; fax: 353 21 903118; e-mail:
pilgrim@ucc.ie.
The thirty-second Kölner Mediaevistentagung will be devoted to the theme
"Ende und Vollendung: Eschatologische Perspektiven im Mittelalter" and will be
held on September 12-15. The person in charge is Jan A. Aertsen, ThomasInstitut, Universität zu Köln, 50923 Köln, Germany; e-mail: alth6@pop.rrz.unikoeln.de.

Siena College will sponsor its sixteenth annual international, interdisciplinary
conference on World War II on May 3 1 and June 1 , 200 1 . The focus will be on
the year 1941 in a sixty-year perspective. Inquiries should be addressed to
Thomas O. Kelly, II, in care of the Department of History, Siena College, 515
Loudon Road, Loudonville, NewYork 1221 1-1462; telephone: 518-783-2512;fax:
518-786-5052; e-mail: Iegendziewic@siena.edu.
An international conference on Thomas More will be held at the Royal Abbey
of Fontevraud (in the heart of the Loire Valley) on July 5-12, 2001. The call for

NOTES AND COMMENTS157

papers may be found in the issue of Moreana for December, 1999 (numbers
139-140).
Beatifications

On September 19, 1999, during his second pastoral visit to Slovenia, Pope
John Paul II went to Maribor to beatify Bishop Anton Martin Slomsek in an open
field near Betnava Castle. He was born in Slom to a Styrian peasant family on

November 26, 1800, ordained priest on September 8, 1824, and consecrated
bishop in Salzburg on July 5, 1846, for the then Diocese of Lavant; he resided in
Sankt Andrä in Lavantal, Austria, until 1859, when he transferred the see to Mari-

bor. He promoted publication of high quality in the Slovenian language and
preservation of the Slovenian culture when his country was part of the Austrian
Empire. He was considered a great pedagogue and catechist and was also a
writer and poet in his native language. He worked for good relations with nonCatholic Christians along the lines of Saints Cyril and Methodius, opened various Slovenian schools for youth, and founded several confraternities. Having
been charged by Pius LX with the renewal of religious life in the Benedictine
monasteries of Central Europe, he made many apostolic visitations. He fostered
the continuing formation of the clergy and the inculturation of the Gospel in
Slovenian society. Above all, he was a pastor of souls and preacher, conducting
popular missions and spiritual exercises. He died at Maribor on September

24, 1862. The Holy Father in his homily called Bishop Slomsek "a model of au-

thentic patriotism" and "one of the first in Central Europe to be committed to
Christian unity." He also mentioned among other Slovenians distinguished for
their virtues Frederick Baraga, Bishop of Sault Sainte-Marie and Marquette
(Michigan).
Among the six men (priests and religious) beatified by Pope John Paul II
on October 3, 1999, in front of St. Peter's Basilica was Arcangelo Tadini

(1846-1912), a priest of the Diocese of Brescia and for the last twenty-five years

of his life pastor of the parish of Botticino Sera. There he founded the Workers'
Mutual Aid Association to help laborers suffering from illness, accidents, disabilities, or old age. He also used his own inheritance to build a spinning factory, which he outfitted with the latest equipment; next to it he later erected a
residence for women. To educate young working women he founded the Congregation of Worker Sisters of the Holy House of Nazareth, who went into the
factories to work alongside the other women, sharing their toil and tensions
while teaching them by example.
New Society
Tentatively called the Society for Early Modern Catholic Studies, a new entity
is being organized which will promote nonconfessional, interdisciplinary research into the history of Catholicism in the early modern period and in any
part of the world, not merely in Europe. The organizers hope to present five ses-

158NOTES AND COMMENTS

sions at the Sixteenth Century Studies Conference at Cleveland in October,
2000. Anyone wishing to become a member should notify either Michelle
Fontaine or Thomas Mayer at their e-mail addresses: mfontaine@facstaff.wisc.
edu and himayer@augustana.edu.
Web Site

Those interested in Recusant history should be aware of the web site
"Catholic History," of which Anselm Cramer, O.S.B., Monastery Librarian of Ampleforth Abbey,York, is editor. It is a partnership between several small historical societies in Great Britain. Its address is www.catholic-history.org.uk.
Publications

The theme of most of the articles published in the issue of Annales for
July-August, 1999 (Volume 54, No. 4), is "Conversions religieuses." Following a
présentation by Pierre-Antoine Fabre entitled "Conversions religieuses: His-

toires et récits," are "La 'conversion' de l'Empire romain selon Peter Brown (note

critique)" by Éric Rebillard (pp. 813-823); "Embrasser l'état monastique à l'âge

adulte (1050-1200). Étude sur la conversion tardive," by Charles de Miramon

(pp. 825-849); "La conversion infinie des conversos. Des 'nouveaux-chrétiens'
dans la Compagnie de Jésus au 16e siècle," by Pierre-Antoine Fabre (pp.
875-893); and "Francisco Maldonado de Silva. 'Le ciel face à face,'" by Nathan
Wachtel (pp. 895-914).

A conference on the bishops of the HcIy Roman Empire from 1198 to 1448

was held in Rome from February 26 to 28, 1998, under the direction of Erwin
Gatz. Most of the papers read on those days have now been published in a dou-

ble number of the Römische Quartalschrift for 1999 (Band 94, Heft 1-2), as fol-

lows: Christian Radtke, "Haithabu, Jelling und das neue 'Jenseits' —Skizzen zur
skandinavischen Missionsgeschichte" (pp. 3-34); Josef Riedmann, "Die Besetzung der Bischofsstühle von Brixen und Trient 1198-1448" (pp. 35-54); Alois
Schmid, "Die Bistumspolitik Ludwigs des Bayern" (pp. 55-81); Mario Glauert,
"Die Bischofswahlen in den altpreussischen Bistümern Kulm, Pomesanien,

Ermland und Samland im 14. Jahrhundert1' (pp. 82-130); Thomas Vogtherr, "Das

Bistum Verden und seine Bischöfe im Grossen Schisma" (pp. 131- 148); Ludwig
Vones, "Papsttum und Episkopat im 14. Jahrhundert" (pp. 149-182); and Elke
Freifrau von Boeselager, "Henricus Steinhoff und sein Kreis—Karrieren zwischen Köln und Kurie" (pp. 183-201).
Pietro di Giovanni Olivi is the subject of all the articles in the issue of the
Archivum Franciscanum Historicum for July-December, 1998 (Volume 91,
Fascicle 3-4), as follows: David Burr, "L'opera di Pietro di Giovanni Olivi"

(pp. 327-334); Antonio Ciceri, O.F.M., "Pietro di Giovanni Olivi: censimentoinventario dei manoscritti" (pp. 335-356); Sylvain Pirón, "Les oeuvres perdues
d'Olivi: essai de reconstitution" (pp. 357-394); Paolo Vian, "L'opéra esegetica di

NOTES AND COMMENTS159

Pietro di Giovanni Olivi: uno status quaestionis" (pp. 395-454); Marco Bartoli,

"Opere teologiche e filosofiche di Pietro di Giovanni Olivi" (pp. 455-467);

David Flood, O.F.M., "The Franciscan and Spiritual Writings of Peter Olivi" (pp.

469-473); Stefano Recchia, O.F.M. , "Opera 'Sancti' Petri Joannis Olivi ab admiratore transcripta" (pp. 475-504); Josep Perarnau i Espelt, "Opera 'Sancti' Petri

Joannis in processi catalani d'inquisizione della prima meta del XTV secólo" (pp.

505-516); Johannes Schlageter, O.F.M. , "Von göttlicher in menschlicher Liebe.

Petrus Johannis Olivi: Expositio in Canticum Canticorum" (pp. 517-532);
Marco Bartoli, "Il Tractatus de septem sentimentis Christi Iesu de Pietro di Giovanni Olivi" (pp. 533-549); and Francesca Borzumato,"Spunti di ricerca cMVExpositio in Canticum Canticorum di Pietro di Giovanni Olivi" (pp. 531-570).

A symposium was held at the Major Seminary of Padua on April 15, 1999, in

which philosophers, historians, sociologists, and theologians discussed the

theme "Il giubileo tra storia delle idee e teología" from their respective points of

view. The papers presented on that occasion have now been published in the
second number (May-August) of Studia Patavina for 1999 (Volume XLVT), as
follows: Riccardo Battocchio, "Presentazione" (pp. 311-312); Gregorio Piaia,"La

folia, U rito, le idee. Il perché di una ricerca" (pp. 313-316); Riccardo Quinto,

"L'idea del giubileo in alcuni commenti medievali al Levitico e nella letteratura
teológica fino al 1250" (pp. 317-343); Francesco Bottin, "Premesse teoriche del

giubileo del 1300: indulgenze e plénitude potestatis" (pp. 345-362); Elvio Ancona, "La glossa del cardinale Jean Lemoine aü'Antiquorum habet e l'eccle-

siologia del Corpus Mysticum" (pp. 363-377); R. Battocchio, "Niccolô Cusano e
Martin Lutero: due tedeschi 'riformatori' e il giubileo" (pp. 379-415); G. Piaia,
"Modelli di approccio al giubileo nelToratoria sacra francese" (pp. 417-431);

AchLUe Olivieri, "Il giubileo e !'enciclopedismo del Settecento: idea religiosa,

festa taumaturica" (pp. 433-439); G. Piaia, "Il dibattito sul giubileo al tempo
delle Lumières" (pp. 441-457); idem, "Intellettuali dell'Otto-Novecento di

fronte all'Anno Santo" (pp. 459-490); Giuseppe Toffanello, "Sette secoli di giubilei. Una lettura teologico-spirituale" (pp. 491-510); Ermanno Roberto Tura,

"Due osservazioni sul simposio" (pp. 511-512); Carlo Prandi, "Il giubileo, pelle-

grinaggio 'par excellence'" (pp. 513-520); Giovanni Leonardi, "Il pellegrinaggio
giubilare in prospettiva cristiana" (pp. 521-525).
The issue of Missiology for October, 1999 (Volume XXVII, Number 4), is devoted to the theme "Missionary Biography as Missiology." It contains the follow-

ing articles: Ruth A. Tucker, "Biography as Missiology: Mining the Lives of
Missionaries for Cross-Cultural Effectiveness" (pp. 429-440); Alan Neely, "Saints

Who Sometimes Were: Utilizing Missionary Hagiography"(pp. 441-457); Gerald
H. Anderson, "Missionary Biography: A Select Annotated Bibliography" (pp.

459-465); David Bundy, "Songs of Ascents: Autobiographical Reflection and the
Development of the Mission Theory of E. Stanley Jones" (pp. 467-473); Lydia
Huffman Hoyle, "Teacher of Preachers: Sue McBeth and Her Mission to die Nez

Perce" (pp. 475-480); Allan K. Davidson, "Semisi Nau—A Pacific Islander Missionary" (pp. 481-486); James A. Scherer, "Bartholomew Ziegenbalg" (pp.
487-494); Angelyn Dries, O.S.F., "'Fire and Flame': Anna Dengel and the Medical

1 60NOTES AND COMMENTS

Mission to Women and Children" (pp. 495-501); Andrew C. Ross, "Alessandro
Valignano, SJ." (pp. 503-513); Gary B. McGee, "'Baptism of the Holy Ghost &
Fire!' The Mission Legacy of Minnie F. Abtams" (pp. 515-522); and George R.
Hunsberger, "Biography as Missiology: The Case of Lesslie Newbigin" (pp.
523-531).

"A Typology of Baptist Theological Education" is the theme of the issue of the
American Baptist Quarterly for June, 1999 (Volume XVIII, Number 2). Following an introduction by William H. Brackney, "The Development of Baptist Theological Education in Europe and North America: A Representative Overview"
(pp. 86-93), there are brief articles on thirteen institutions: "Northern Baptist
College," by Richard Kydd (pp. 94-105); "Regent's Park College, Oxford," by Paul
Fiddes (pp. 106-117); "Spurgeon's College," by Michael J. Quicke and Ian M.
Randall (pp. 1 18-130); "Andover Newton Theological School," by Mark S. Bur-

rows, Richard E. Haleyand Elizabeth C. Nordbeck (pp. 131-l43);"Southeastern

Baptist Theological Seminary," by L. Russ Bush (pp. 144-153); "Denver Conservative Baptist Seminary," by Kermit A. Ecklebarger (pp. 154-162); "American

Baptist Seminary of the West," by Eldon G. Ernst (pp. 163-167); "Baptist Bible
College: Springfield, Missouri," by the staff (pp. 168-171); "McMaster University:
McMaster Divinity College," by William H. Brackney (pp. 172-177); "Edmonton

Baptist Seminary," by David T. Priestley (pp. 178-186); "Theologisches Seminar
Elstal," by Edwin Brandt, Gunter Balders, Stefan Stiegler, and Wiard Popkes (pp.
187-190); "The International Baptist Theological Seminary of the European

Baptist Federation," by Keith G. Jones (pp. 191-200); and "Baptist Theological
Seminary in Poland," by Gustaw Cieslar et al. (pp. 201-206).

Catholicism in California is the theme oí' the articles published in the issue of
the Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia for

spring and summer, 1999 (Volume 109, Numbers 1 and 2). Following an intro-

duction by the guest editor, Steven M. Avella, they are: Francis J. Weber, "California's Catholic Historiography: A Personal Memoir" (pp. 3-17); Jeffrey M.
Burns, "Transitions in Catholicism in San Francisco, 1950-1970: The Seminary
and the Eclipse of Authority" (pp. 19-37); Steven M. Avella, "The Catholic
Church as Urban Booster in Sacramento, California, 1886-1928" (pp. 39-79);
William Issel and James Collins, "The Catholic Church and Organized Labor in
San Francisco, 1932-1958" (pp. 81-112); Michael E. Engh,S.J., "Female, Catholic,
and Progressive: The Women of the Brownson Settlement House of Los Ange-

les, 1901-1920" (pp. 113-126); and David Godby, "Catholic Schools in Sacramento: Recollections of the 1950s" (pp. 127-149).

"The Catholic Imagination" is the theme: of the articles published in the issue
of U.S. Catholic Historian for summer, 1999 (Volume 17, Number 3), as follows:
Paul Giles, "American Catholic Arts and Fictions and the New Catholic Scholar-

ship" (pp. 1 -8); Ross Labrie, "The Catholic Literary Imagination" (pp. 9-20); Una
Cadegan, "The Cultural Work of Catholic Literature: An Exploratory Analysis"
(pp. 21-34);Patrick Samway, S.J., "Grappling with the Philosophy and Theology
of Walker Percy" (pp. 35-50); Anthony Burke Smith, "The Nationalization of the

NOTES AND COMMENTS1 6 1

Catholic Imagination: The Westerns of John Ford" (pp. 51-66); and Mary Ann

Janosik, "'Do You Take Sinners Here?' Family, Community Ritual, and the Cath-

olic Imagination in the Films of Frank Sinatra" (pp. 67-92).
Personal Notices

Astrik L. Gabriel, director of the Ambrosiana Collection and professor emeritus of the University of Notre Dame, has become dean of the Foreign Corresponding Fellows (forty in number) of the Académie Française des Inscriptions
et Belles-Lettres.

Daniel F. Tanzone of Yonkers, New York, editor of the Slovak Catholic Sokol,

was presented with the SS. Cyril and Methodius Award for Evangelization and
Inculturation of Peoples by the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius at their
mother house in Danville, Pennsylvania, on the occasion of the ninetieth anniversary of the official approbation of their congregation.

PERIODICAL LITERATURE

GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS

The Significance of the Pope's Proposed Apologies for Errors by the Church.
Bruce Duncan. Australasian Catholic Record, LXXVI (Oct., 1999), 462-479.
A Journey to the Interior: The Monasteries of Saint Antony and Saint Paul by the
Red Sea. Tim Vivian. American Benedictine Review, 50 (Sept., 1999),
277-310.

God's Disputed Acre. David Dymond. fournal of Ecclesiastical History, 50
(July 1999), 464-497.
Die Inquisition als Chiffre für das Böse in der Kirche. Victor Conzemius. Stimmen derzeit, 217 (Oct., 1999), 651-668.
A familia Franciscana na Madeira (no passado e no presente). Henrique Pinto
Rema. Itinerarium, XLV (May-Aug., 1999), 283-309.
" It Is Better to Marry Than to Burn" : Anglo-American Attitudes toward Celibacy,

1600-1800. Eric R. Seeman. fournal of Family History, 24 (Oct., 1999),

397-419.

La contribution des Ballerini à la connaissance des conciles africains (a.
345-525). Charles Munier. Annuarium Historiae Conciliorum, 30 (1/2,
1990), 31 1-327.
Von der Handschrift zum Druck: Die Aktern des Nicaenum Il in der Editio Ro-

mana von 1612. Erich Lamberz. Annuarium Historiae Conciliorum, 30
(1/2, 1998), 328-370.

Die Quellen des Konstanzer Konzils in den Sammlungen des 17. und 18.
Jahrhunderts. Ansgar Frenken. Annuarium Historiae Conciliorum, 30
(1/2, 1998), 416-439.
Die Collectio canonum ecclesiae hispanae des Francisco Antonio González
von 1808. Die Vorgeschichte der Sammlung. Domingo Ramos-Lissón. Annuarium Historiae Conciliorum, 30 (1/2, 1998), 440-455.
Erler, Finke, Schmitz-Kallenberg, Vincke. Materialsammlungen zum Pisaner
Konzil von 1409. Dieter Girgensohn..4««««nww Historiae Conciliorum,
30 (1/2, 1998), 456-519.
Catálogo del Archivo Histórico de la Catedral de Burgos. Matías Vicario Santa-

maría. Burgense, 40 (1, 1999), 307-31 7.

162

PERIODICAL uterature

163

ANCIENT

Christian Grave-Inscriptions from the Familia Caesaris. Paul McKechnie./owr-

nal ofEcclesiastical History, 50 (July, 1999), 427-441.
Prophet, Zeuge, and Märtyrer. Zur Entstehung des Märtyrerbegriffs im frühesten

Christentum. Anna Maria Schwemer. Zeitschriftfür Theologie und Kirche,
96 (Sept., 1999), 320-350.
"Mary Needs Martha": The Purposes of Manual Labor in Early Egyptian Monas-

ticism. Charles A. Metteer. St. Vladimir's Theological Quarterly, 43 (2,

1999), 163-207.
Paul of Tamma and the Monastic Priesthood. L. S. B. Maccoull. Vigiliae Christianae, LIII (Aug., 1999), 316-320.
Constantinopolitan Women in Chrysostom's Circle. Wendy Mayer. Vigiliae
Christianae, UII (Aug., 1999), 265-288.
El hispano Teodosio y la cristianización del Imperio. Florencio Hubeñak. Hís-

panla Sacra, LI (Jan. -June, 1999), 5-42.
Building a New City: The Cappadocian Fathers and the Rhetoric of Philanthropy. Brian E. Daley, SJ. fournal of Early Christian Studies, 7 (Fall,
1999X431-461.

Proof and Reproof: The Judicial Component of Episcopal Confrontation. Kevin
Vhalde. Early Medieval Europe, 8 (1, 1999), 1-11.
La Vita Sancti Exuperantii. Aspetti agiografici, storici, filologici (seguito). Gianluca Orsola. Salesianum, LXI (Apr. -June, 1999), 257-278.

MEDIEVAL

El vino en los Concilios Hispanovisigodos: su contexto socioeconómico y cultural. Henar Gallego Vranco. Hispania Sacra,U (Jan. -June, 1999), 43-53.
The Angelic Salutation in Early Byzantine and Medieval Annunciation Imagery.

Ann Van Dijk. Art Bulletin, LXXXI (Sept. 1999), 420-436.

Shapes of Early Sculptured Crosses of Ireland. Robert D. Stevick. Gesta, XXXVIII
(1,1999X3-21.

The Pulpit of Sant'Ambrogio at Milan. Anat Tcherikover. Gesta, XXXVIII (1,
1999)35-66.
Some Churches of the Anglo-Saxon Missionaries in Southern Germany: A Review of the Evidence. David Parsons. Early Medieval Europe, 8 (1, 1999),
31-67.
El relato del traslado de los santos mártires Jorge, Aurelio y Natalia: un valioso
escrito hagiográfico y documental histórico de mediados de siglo LX. Juan
Carlos Lara Olmo. Hispania Sacra, LI (Jan.-June, 1999), 55-89.

164periodical literature

Monjes y profecías cristianas próximo-orientales en Al-Andalus del siglo IX. Luis
A. García Moreno. Hispania Sacra, LI (Jan.-June, 1999X91-100.

The Development of the Peace of God in Aquitaine (970-1005). Thomas Head.
Speculum,74 (July, 1999), 656-686.
Councils, Memory and Mills: The Early Development of the Peace of God in
Catalonia. Jeffery A.Bowman. Early Medieval Europe, 8 (1, 1999X99-129.
Bischof Friedrich und Thangbrand. Sächsische Glaubensboten im Hohen Nor-

den. Ekkehard Eickhoff HistorischesJahrbuch, 119 (l999),4l-51.

Late and Peaceful: Iceland's Conversion through Arbitration in 1000. Jenny
Jochens. Speculum, 74 (July, 1999), 62 1-655.
La prima Crociata: nove secoli dopo. Carmelo Capizzi. Civiltà Cattolica, 1 50, III
(July 17, 1999), 120-134.

Reform als institutionelle Krise. Überlegungen zur irischen Kirchenreform des
12. Jahrhunderts am Beispiel des Klosters Clonmacnois. Annette Kehnel.
Historischesfahrbuch, 1 19 (1999), 84- 1 19Royal Eloquence, Royal Propaganda and the Use of the Sermon in the Medieval
Crown of Aragon, c. 1200-1410. Suzanne F. Cawsey.Journal ofEcclesiasti-

cal History, 50 (July, 1999), 442-463.

La vie des Frères Mineurs de 1216. Le texte. Bernard Vollot, O.F.M.Cap. Miscellanea Francescana, 99 (Jan.-June, 1999), 265-319.
Das Fresco des "Frater Franciscus" in Subiaco: Gegensätzliche Datierungen und
Interpretationen in kritischer Zusammenschau. Nikiaus Küster, O.F.M.Cap.

Wissenschaft und Weisheit, 62 (1 , 1999), 49-77.

Entre défiance et amitié . . . Des relations politiques, diplomatiques et militaires

tourmentées entre le roi de France et le prince-évêque de Liège au bas

moyen âge (XIIF-XV' s.). Alain Marchandisse. Bulletin de la Commission
Royale d'Histoire (Brussels), CLXIV (1-2, 1998), 31-127.
Cosmopolitanism and Campanilismo: Gothic and Romanesque in the Siena
Duomo Facade. David M. Gillerman. Art Bulletin, LXXXI (Sept., 1999),
437-455.

The Artistic Patronage of Pope Nicholas IV Julian Gardner. Annali della
Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, Serie IV Quaderni 2 (1997), 1-8.
Des druides aux clercs: quelques lectures françaises de Jules César aux XIIIe et
XTV' siècles. Serge Lusignan and Audrée-Isabelle Tardif: Revue Historique,

CCCI (July-Sept., 1999), 435-461.

Il patriarca Giovanni Beccos: un Uomo "ecumenista" (t 1 297). Demetrio Cidone:
un teólogo bizantino "tomista" (ti 398). Yannis Spiteris. Lateranum, LXV
(1,1999X41-80.
Das "Baphomet-Idol." Ein Beitrag zur Provenienz der Hauptvorwürfe gegen den
Templerorden. Anke Krüger. HistorischesJahrbuch, 119 (1999), 120-133.

PERIODICAL literature165

Le géographie paroissiale de la partie méridionale du diocèse de Cambrai à Ia
fin du Moyen Age. Nicolas Cammas. Revue du Nord, LXXXI (July-Sept.,

1999), 489-513.
Giovanni dalle Celle Sf i Fraticelli. Clara Gennaro. Rivista di Storia e Letter-

atura Religiosa, XXXV (1, 1999), 31-69.
Trial Procedures against Wyclif and Wycliffites in England and at the Council of

Constance. Henry Ansgar Kelly. Huntington Library Quarterly, 61 (1,
1999), 1-28.

Die Grundzüge der Konzilstheologie des Johannes von Ragusa. Petar Vrankic.
Annuarium Historiae Conciliorum, 30 (1/2, 1998), 287-310.

Il Minorita Inglese Giovanni Foxholes, Maestro Scotista e Arcivescovo (ca.
1415-1475). Lorenzo Di Fonzo, O.EM.Cap. Miscellanea Francescana, 99

(Jan.-June, 1999), 320-346.

Bruges and the Burgundian "Theatre-state": Charles the Bold and Our Lady of

the Snow. Andrew Brown. History, 84 (Oct., 1999), 573-589El Dialogas de Fide de Jorge Ameruzes de Trebisonda. Un mensaje político en
el proemio. Óscar de la Cruz Palma. Hispania Sacra, LI (Jan.-June, 1999),
101-118.

SIXTEENTH CENTURY

Conversos musulmanes en la Berbería cristiana: el infortunio de la Cruzada Pací-

fica contra el Islam. Beatriz Alonso Acero. Hispania Sacra, LI (Jan.-June,
1999), 119-141.
El modelo sociológico del hidalgo cristiano viejo en la España Moderna. Vincent

Paretto. Hispania Sacra, LI (Jan.-June, 1999), 143-158.

For Reasoned Faith or Embattled Creed. Religion for the People in Early Modern
Europe. Euan Cameron. Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, VIII
(1998), 165-187.

Le serment de la confrérie des archers de Saint-Sébastien à Soignies (6 juin
1517). Philippe Desmette. Bulletin de la Commission Royale d'Histoire
(Brussels), CLXIV (1-2, 1998), 129-142.
Genesis, Holy Saturday, and the Sistine Ceiling. Lynette M. F. Bosch. Sixteenth

Century Journal, XXX (FaU, 1999), 643-652.

Katharina von Bora through Five Centuries: A Historiography. Jeanette C. Smith.

Sixteenth CenturyJournal, XXX (Fall, 1999), 745-774.

Iñigo de Loyola y los mercaderes castellanos del Norte de Europa. La financiación de sus estudios en la Universidad de París. Francisco de Borja Me-

dina. Hispania Sacra,\l (Jan.-June, 1999), 159-206.

International Politics and the Establishment of Presbyterianism in the Channel
Islands: The Coutances Connection. C. S. L. Davies. fournal of Ecclesiastical History, 50 (July, 1999), 498-522.

1 66periodical literature

The Jesuits and the Evangelization of the Kingdom of Congo (1548-1759). Luka
Lusala lu ne Nkuka. Neue Zeitschrift für Missionswissenschaft, 55 (3,
1999), 229-233.

The Widow's Mite and Other Strategies: Funding the Catholic Reformation.
Olwen Hufton. Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, VIII (1998),
117-137.

A Hearty Meal? The Prison Diets of Cranmer and Latimer. Carl I. Hammer. Six-

teenth Centuryfournal,XXX (FaU, 1999), 653-680.

Les Miracles de saint Quirin de Malmedy un Uvret hagiographique médiéval au
coeur du XVT siècle. Philippe George. Bulletin de la Commission Royale
d'Histoire (Brussels), CLXTV (1-2, 1998), 1-29.

Tredici lettere medite del P. Stefano Tüccio, SJ. (1540-1597). Mirena Saulini.
Archivum Historicum Societatis Iesu, LXVIII (Jan.-June, 1999), 47-78.
Di un dialogo trentino e di san Carlo. Gino Benzoni. Studi Veneziani, XXXVIII
(1999), 37-54.
Altering the Agenda, Shifting the Strategy: The Grundfest of 1571 as PhUippist
Program for Lutheran Concord. Robert KoIb. Sixteenth Century Journal,
XXX (FaU, 1999), 705-726.

The Family Background of Robert NobUi, SJ. Gearóid Ó Broin. Archivum Historicum Societatis Iesu, LXVlII (Jan.-June, 1999), 3-46.
Robert Parsons and Claudio Acquaviva: Correspondence. Thomas M. McCoog,
SJ. Archivum Historicum Societatis Iesu, LXVIII (Jan.-June, 1999),
79-182.

GuiUaume Ranchin (1559-1605), érudit protestant et gallican. Mathieu Lescuyer. Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire du Protestantisme Français,
145 (July-Sept., 1999), 509-571.

The 1 596 Union of Brest: How the Ukrainian Church Rejoined the CathoUc

Communion. Andriy Chirovski. Australasian Catholic Record, LXXVI
(July, 1999), 318-327.
DaU'assistenza al crédito. L'esperienza dei Monti di Pietà e delle Case Sante nel
Regno di NapoU ira XVI e XVIII secólo. Paola AvaUone and RaffaeUa Salvemini. Nuova Rivista Stone«, LXXXIII ( Jan.-Apr, 1999), 67-90.
SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES

L'"immunitas" ecclesiastica neUa Corona di Castiglia nel Seicento: ragione
giuridica, ragione poUtica. Beatriz Cárceles de Gea. Annali dell'Istituto
storico italo-germanico in Trento,XXTV (1998), 17-51.
Zur Entstehung und Eigenart der Konziliensarnmlung des Severin Binius (1 . Auf-

lage, Köln 1606). Hermann-Josef Sieben. Annuarium Historae Conciliorum, 30 (1/2, 1998), 387-415.

PERIODICAL UTERATURE167

La "Dissertazione" di Bartolomeo Melchiori. Liliana De Venuto. Studi Veneziani,
XXXVII (1999), 207-263.
Scoperta deU'anabattismo: Io stupore arnmirato di Gregorio Barbarigo ambasciatore véneto. Gaetano Cozzi. Studi Veneziani, XXXVIII (1999), 55-66.

Johannes de Laet (1581-1649) and the Synod of Dort, 1618- 1619- Henk Florijn.
Lias, 25 (2, 1998), 165-176.

Le procès de Gaulée et les Archives du Saint-Office. Aspects judiciaires et
théologiques d'une condamnation célèbre. Francesco Beretta. Revue des
Sciences philosophiques et théologiques, 83 (July, 1999), 441-490.
Nascoste in piena vista: un'antologia di testi scritti da donne quacchere tra il

1650 e U 1700. Stefano VUlani. Rivista di Storia e Letteratura Religiosa,

XXXV (1,1999), 119-133.

The Restoration Bishops and the Royal Supremacy. Jeffrey R. Collins. Church
History, 68 (Sept., 1999), 549-580.
The Golden Autumn of Gallicanism? ReUgious History and Its Place in Current

Writing on Eighteenth-Century France. Nigel Aston. French History, 13
(June, 1999), 187-222.

The Report of KUian Stumpf about the Case of Father Joachim Bouvet. Claudia
von Collani. Zeitschrift für Missionswissenschaft und Religionswissenschaft, 83 (3, 1999), 231-251.
L'intéresse per la storia dei concUi nel Settecento napoletano e Ie ricerche di
Tommaso Maria Alfani. Michèle Miele. Annuarium Historiae Concilio-

rum, 30 (1/2, 1998), 371-386.
L. A. Muratori negU Archivi del Sant'Officio Romano. La censura dei "Rerum Italicarum Scriptores." Giuseppe Orlandi. Lateranum, LXV (1 , 1999), 7-39.
Matrimonio e celibato nel pensiero di Jean Barbeyrac. Graziano Garavaglia.

Nuova Rivista Storica, LXXXIII (Jan.-Apr, 1999), 67-90.
Publizität und Intrige. Eine antikathoUsche Pressekampagne in der Zeit der Spätaufklärung. Thomas Nicklas. Historischesfahrbuch, 119 (1999), 134-158.

Rivoluzione e "insorgenza" a NapoU nel 1799. Giovanni Sale. Civiltà Cattolica,
150,11 (June 5, 1999), 450-463.

NINETEENTH AND TWENTIETH CENTURIES

L'ÉgUse dans la viUe. Les processions à Limoges au XLXe siècle. Paul D'HoUander.

Revue d'histoire moderne et contemporaine, 46 (July-Sept., 1999),
478-513.

NationaUsierung trotz Ultramontanisierung oder: "AUes für Deutschland.
Deutschland aber für Christus." Mentalitätsleitende Wertorientierung

168PERIODICAL UTIRATURE

deutscher Katholiken im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert. Barbara Stambolis. His-

torische Zeitschrift, 269 (Aug., 1999), 57-97.

Tra fede e política: Niccolö Tommaseo e i cattolici francesi negli anni del "primo
esilio" (1834-1839). Jacopo Fasano. Rivista di Storia e Letteratura ReIigtos«,XXXV (1,1999X71-117.
"Why should we be always looking back?" "Christian Art" in the NineteenthCentury Historiography in Britain. Adele M. Ernstrom. Art History, 22
(Sept., 1999), 421-435.
Antonio Rosmini-Serbati: un grande pensatore per U nostro tempo. Xavier TiUiette. Civiltà Cattolica, 150, II (June 19, 1999), 544-588.
Das katholisch-konservative GeschichtsbUd im Jahre des VerfassungsjubUäums

von 1848. Einige Abklärungen am Beispiel des Kantons Luzern. Claude
Spiller. Schweizerische Zeitschriftfür Geschichte, 48 (4, 1998), 471-493.

Riflessi deüa crisi del 1848 suUa Cassa di Risparmio di Roma in due Autografi di
Pio LX. Franco Onorati. Studi Romani, XLVl (July-Dec, 1998), 412-419.

La aprobación civil del Colegio de Misioneros del Padre Claret: 1859 y 1867,
conforme al artículo 29 del Concordato de 1851. Eutimio Sastre Santos.

Hispania Sacra, LI (Jan.-June, 1999), 229-295.
The Relationship of Reugious Practice to Linguistic Culture: Language, Religion,

and Education in Alsace and the RoussiUon, 1860-1890. Joseph E Byrnes.
Church History, 68 (Sept., 1999), 598-626.
Das Wormser Lutherfest von 1868. Martin Friedrich. Zeitschrift für Theologie
und Kirche, 96 (Sept., 1999), 384-404.

L'intransigentismo politico della "Civiltà Cattolica" ai tempi di Leone XIII e Pio

X. Giovanni Sale. Civiltà Cattolica, 150, III (Aug. 7-21, 1999), 238-246.
"Jesus the sans-culotte": Marxism and Religion during the Frenchfin de siècle.
Robert Stuart. HistoricalJournal, 42 (Sept., 1999), 705-727.
Koloniale Mission und kirchenpolitische Entwicklung im Deutschen Reich.
Horst Gründer. Annali dell'Istituto storico italo-germanico in Trento,
XXTV (1998), 239-256.
La Santa Sede tra attività missionaria e interessi coloniali deUe potenze europee
in Estremo Oriente. Luciano Trincia. Annali dell'Istituto storico italo-

germanico in Trento,XXW (1998), 257-286.
Fray José Hevia Campomanes, obispo de Nueva Segovia, durante la revolución e
independencia de Filipinas. Manual González Pola, O.P. Studium, XXXLX (2,
1999), 289-332.

Franciscanos Portugueses na Galiza. O Cardeal Neto e a manutencäo do culto
em Vilarinho da Ramalhosa. Antonio de Sousa Araújo, O.EM. Itinerarium,
XLV (May-Aug., 1999), 233-248.
"Latter Rain" FaUing in the East: EarlyTwentieth Century Pentecostalism in
India and the Debate over Speaking in Tongues. Gary B. McGee. Church
History, 68 (Sept., 1999), 648-665.

PERIODICAL UTERATUREl69

"Il Santo" modernista di Antonio Fogazzaro. Giovanni Sale. Civiltà Cattolica,

150,HI (July 3, 1999), 41-54.

II giuramento anti-modernista del 1910 a Perugia. Mario CaseUa. Rassegna Sto-

rica del Risorgimento, LXXXVI (Apr. -June, 1999), 249-286.

Eclesiásticos entre los pensionados y científicos de la Junta para Ampliación de
Estudios. Justo Formentín Ibáñez and María José VUlegas Sanz. Hispania
Sacra, LI (Jan.-June, 1999), 333-354.
Kirche und Demokratie. Zur Rolle Joseph Mausbachs in der Weimarer Nationalversammlung 1919. Wilhelm Ribhegge. Stimmen der Zeit, 217 (Sept.,
1999X611-622.
Die Wiedererrichtung der Kölnischen Franziskanerordensprovinz von den
Heiligen Drei Königen im Jahre 1929. Gisela Fleckenstein. Wissenschaft
und Weisheit, 62 (1, 1999), 79-102.
The Conversion of Weakebo: A Big Man of the Me Community in the 1930s.
Benny Giay. Journal ofPacific History, XXXIV (Sept., 1999), 181-189.
Karl Adam, National Socialism, and Christian Tradition. Robert A. Krieg, C.S.C.

Theological Studies, 60 (Sept., 1999), 432-456.

The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit: Resistance and Abuse in the Life of Solomon Lion (1908-1987). CoIm Murray, fournal of Religion in Africa,
XXLX (3, 1999), 341-386.
Nomadelfia: una risposta. Nel centenario della nascita di don Zeno Saltini. Giuliano Raffo. Civiltà Cattolica, 150,111 (Sept. 4, 1999), 393-402.
The German Democratic Repubic and the State Churches, 1958-1989· Gerhard

Besier. fournal ofEcclesiastical History, 50 (July, 1999), 523-547.

African Inculturation of the Catholic Church in Zimbabwe, 1958-1977.

Nicholas M. Creary. The Historian, 61 (Summer, 1999), 765-781.

Le costume des diaconesses (1960-1980). Rosine Lambin. Bulletin de la So-

ciété de l'Histoire du Protestantisme Français, 145 (July-Sept, 1999),
597-619.

La historiografía eclesiástica española contemporánea. Balance provisional a finales del siglo (1976-1999). José Manuel Cuenca Toribio. Hispania Sacra,
LI (Jan.-June, 1999), 355-383.
AMERICAN

"A Constant Attendance on God's Alter": Death, Disease, and the Anglican
Church in Colonial South Carolina, 1706-1750. Bradford J. Wood. South

Carolina Historical Magazine, 100 (July 1999), 204-220.

"And Let the People Say Amen": Priests, Presbyters, and the Arminian Uprising
in Massachusetts, 1717-1724. Lawrence R. Jannuzzi. Historicalfournal of
Massachusetts, 27 (Winter, 1999), 1-27.

170PERIODICAL LITERATURE

A Mission Report from Frederica, Georgia, to Gotthilf August Francke (July 30,

1744)—Life in Frederica, St. Simons Island. George F.Jones, Trans, and Ed.

Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly, 72 (Summer, 1999), 92- 1 10.

John Witherspoon and "The Public Interest of Religion." Jeffrey Hays Morrison.
fournal of Church and State, 41 (Summer, 1999), 551-573.
A Declaration of Dependence: Robert Smith's 1775 Humiliation Sermon. C. P.
Seabrook Wilkinson, Ed. South Carolina Historical Magazine, 100 (July,
1999X221-240.

The Connecticut Missionary Society and Book Distribution in the Early Republic. James R.Rohrer.Zi&reri'es & Culture,$4 (Winter, 1999), 17-26.

Fray Estevan Tapis, O.F.M., 1754-1825: A Biographical Sketch. Maynard J. Geiger

and Francis J. Weber. Southern California Quarterly, 80 (4, 1998),
377-398.

Early Protestant-CathoUc Relations in Southern Indiana and the 1842 Case of
Roman Weinzaepfel. C. Walker GoUar. Indiana Magazine ofHistory, XCV
(Sept., 1999), 232-254.
The Church of the Nativity and the Frank Wills Connection. Lennart Pearson.
South Carolina Historical Magazine, 100 (July, 1999), 241-254.
The Growth of a Catholic Educational System in Providence and the Protestant

Reaction, 1848-1876. David Gartner. Rhode Island History, 55 (Nov.,
1997), 133-145.

Romanists in the Land of Roger WiUiams: The Diocese of Providence Observes
Its 1 25th Anniversary. Robert W Hayraan. Rhode Island History, 55 (Nov. ,
1997), 119-132.

Rum, Romanism, and Evangelism: Protestants and Catholics in Late-Nineteenth-

Century Boston. Margaret Bendroth. Church History, 68 (Sept., 1999),
627-647.

Holy Family Parish: The Genesis of an African-American Catholic Community in
Natchez, Mississippi. Richard M. Tristano. fournal of Negro History,
LXXXIII (Fall, 1998), 258-283.

Ambassador on the Yangtse: Max Henry Zschiegner (1897-1940)— 1929-40.

Max Christian EmU Zschiegner. Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly,
72 (Summer, 1999), 66-91.

Peacemakers in China: American Missionaries and the Sino-Japanese War,

1937-1941. Stephen G. Craft.Journal of Church and State, 41 (Summer,
1999), 575-591.

Reclaiming ReUgion: New Historiographie ChaUenges in the Relationship of Re-

Ugion and American Higher Education. Linda Eisenmann. History of Education Quarterly, 39 (FaU, 1999), 295-306.

PERIODICAL UTERATURE171

Crowded Pulpits: Observations and Explanations of the Clergy Oversupply in
the Protestant Churches, 1950-1993. Patricia M. Y. Chang and Viviana Bom-

padre. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 38 (Sept., 1999),
398-410.

LATIN AMERICAN

The "Liberal" Cristero: Ladislao Molina and the Cristero RebeUion in Michoacán,
1927-9. Matthew Butler, fournal of Latin American Studies, 31 (Oct.,
1999), 645-671.

La Iglesia CatóUca en Guatemala frente a la década revolucionaria y la liberalización (1944-1954). Francisco Javier Gómez Diez. Hispania Sacra, LI
(Jan.-June, 1999), 297-332.

OTHER BOOKS RECEIVED

[Books that were sent to scholars to be reviewed but of which no review has

been received are indicated by an asterisk]
Appleby, R. Scott. The Ambivalence of the Sacred: Religion, Violence, and Reconciliation. (Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Sponsored by the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict. 2000.

Pp. xiii, 428. Paperback)

Arraj,James. From St.John of the Cross to Us: The Story ofa 400 Year Long Misunderstanding and What It Meansfor the Future ofChristian Mysticism.

(Chiloquin, Oreg.: Inner Growth Books. 1999. Pp. 263. $18.00 paperback.)
Bibliographie der Schweizergeschichte, 1996. (Bern: Schweizerische Landes-

bibliothek. 1999- Pp. xxvii, 237. Paperback.)
Black, Chad T. "The Making of an Indigenous Movement: Culture, Ethnicity, and
Post-Marxist Social Praxis in Ecuador." [Research Paper Series No. 132, May,
1999] (Albuquerque: Latin American and Iberian Institute; University of
New Mexico. 1999. Pp. vii, 42. Paperback.)
"Bociurkiw, Bohdan Rostyslav. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the
Soviet State (1939-1950). (Edmonton, Alberta: Canadian Institute of

Ukrainian Studies Press. 1996. Pp. xvi, 5.10. $3995.)

Brandstetter, Alois. TheAbbey:A Novel. Trans. Peter and Evelyn Firchow. [Studies
in Austrian Literature, Culture, and Thought, Translation Series.] (Riverside,
Calif.: Ariadne Press. 1998. Pp. v, 224. Paperback.)
Briggs, Charles F. Giles of Rome's De regimine principum: Reading and Writings at Court and University, c. 1275-c. 1525- [Cambridge Studies in
Palaeography and Codicology, 5.] (New York: Cambridge University Press.
1999. Pp. xiv, 207. $69.95.)
*Bryer, Anthony, and Mary Cunningham (Eds.). Mount Athos and Byzantine
Monasticism: Papers from the Twenty-eighth Spring Symposium of
Byzantine Studies, Birmingham, March 1994. [Society for the Promotion
of Byzantine Studies, Publications 4.] (Brookfield, Vt.: Variorum, Ashgate

Publishing Company. 1996. Pp. xvi, 278. $67.95.)

Bukey, Evan Burr. Hitler's Austria: Popular Sentiment in the Nazi Era, 19381945. (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. 2000. Pp. xvi,
320. $39.95.) Chapter 5 is entitled "Austrian Catholicism: Antipathy and Accommodation."

172

OTHER BOOKS RECEIVED173

Carpenter, Joel A. Revive Us Again: The Reawakening of American Funda-

mentalism. (New York: Oxford University Press. 1999. Pp. xiv, 335. $16.95

paperback.) Originally published in 1997.
Ciceri, Antonio. Petri Iohannis Olivi Opera: Censimento dei manoscritti. [Collectio Oliviana, Tomus L] (Grottaferrata [Rome]: Frati Editori di Quaracchi,

Fondazione Collegio San Bonaventura. 1999. Pp. 248. Paperback.)

Clark, Mary, Yvonne Desmond and Nodlaig P Hardiman (Eds.). Sir John T.
Gilbert (1829-1898): Historian, Archivist and Librarian. (Dublin: Four

Courts Press. Distributed in North America by ISBS, 5804 N.E. Hassalo St.,
Portland OR 97213. 1999.Pp. 157. $35.00.)

Clogan, Paul Maurice (Ed.). Civil Strife and National Identity in the Middle

Ages. [Medievalia et Humanística: Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Culture, New Series: Number 26.] (Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. 1999. Pp. xiii, 224. $75.00.) One of the nine articles is "Gender and
Martyrdom," by Evelyn Birge Vitz (pp. 79-99).
Cohn, Norman. Noah's Flood: The Genesis Story in Western Thought. (New
Haven: Yale University Press. 1999. Pp. xiv, 154. $35.00 cloth; $16.00 paper-

back.) Originally published in 1996 and reviewed by Alexander A. Di Leila,
O.F.M., ante, LXXXIII (October, 1997), 726-728.

Conferenza Nazionale degli Archivi. Roma, Archivio céntrale dello Stato 1-3
luglio 1998. [Pubblicazioni degli Archivi di Stato, Saggi 50.] (Rome: Ministero per i beni culturali e ambientali, Ufficio centrale per i béni archivistici.

1999. Pp. 635. Paperback.)
Corbett, Katharine T. In Her Place: A Guide to St. Louis Women's History. (St.

Louis: Missouri Historical Society Press. Distributed by the University of

Missouri Press. 1999. Pp. xv, 304. $39.95 cloth; $22.50 paperback.)

Courtois, Stéphane, et al. (Eds.). The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression. Trans. Jonathan Murphy and Mark Kramer. (Cambridge,

Mass.: Harvard University Press. 1999. Pp. xxi, 858. $37.50.)

^Cristianesimo (II) nel mondo atlántico nel secólo XVII: Atteggiamenti dei
Cristiani nei confronti dei popoli e délie culture indigent. Atti della
Tavola rotonda tenutasi a Montréal (martedt 29 agosto 1995) al XVIII
Congresso Internazionale di Scienze Storiche. [Pontificio Comitato di

Scienze Storiche, Atti e documenti, 6.] (Vatican City: Librería éditrice Vaticana. 1997.Pp. 382.)

Cuneo, Michael W The Smoke of Satan: Conservative and Traditionalist Dissent in ContemporaryAmerican Catholicism. (Baltimore: The Johns Hop-

kins University Press. 1999. Pp. x, 214. $16.95 paperback.) The original

hardcover edition was published by Oxford University Press, New York, in
1997. This edition has a new preface.
Currier, John W Clovis, King of the Franks. (Milwaukee: Marquette University
Press. 1997. Pp. xii, 332. $20.00 paperback.)

1 74OTHER BOOKS RECEIVED

de les Gavarres, Angel. Thérèse, the Little Child of God's Mercy: Her Spiritual
Itinerary in the Light of Her Autobiographical Manuscripts. (Washington, D.C.: ICS Publications, Institute of Carmelite Studies. 1999. Pp. xxiii,

355. $20.00 paperback.)

DuBois, Thomas A. Nordic Religions in the Viking Age. [The Middle Ages Series.] (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. 1999. Pp. x, 271.

$45.00 cloth; $19.95 paperback.)

Ovües,Avery,S.J. Church Membership as a Catholic and Ecumenical Problem.

The 1974 Pere Marquette Theology Lecture. (Milwaukee: Marquette Uni-

versity Press. 1974, 1981. Pp. 4, 112.)
Evergates, Theodore (Ed.). Aristocratic Women in Medieval France. [The Middle Ages Series.] (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. 1999. Pp-

Lx, 272. $45.00 cloth; $19-95 paperback.)

Faierstein, Morris M. ÇÎràns.).fewish MysticalAutobiographies. [The Classics of
Western Spirituality.] (Mahwah, N.J.: Paukst Press. 1999. Pp. xii, 258. $24.95
paperback.)
Ferguson, Everett. Early Christians Speak: Faith and Life in the First Three
Centuries. Third Edition. (Abilene, Texas: A.C.U. [Abilene Christian Univer-

sity] Press. 1999. Pp. 266. Paperback.) Originally published in 1981 .

Flori, Jean. Richard Cœur de Lion: Le roi<hevalier. (Paris: Payot. 1999· Pp. 598.
195 F paperback.)
Games, Alison. Migration and the Origins of the English Atlantic World. [Harvard Historical Studies, 133.] (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
1999. Pp. xiii, 322. $45.00.)
Grant, Robert M. Early Christians and Animals. (New York: Routledge. 1999.

Pp. Lx, 214. $75.00.)

Guntzelman,Joan.^4 Retreat with Mother Teresa and Damien ofMolokai: Caring for Those Who Suffer. [A Retreat with . . . Series.] (Cincinnati: St. Anthony Messenger Press. 1999.Pp- v, 122. $8.95 paperback.)
Hastings, Adrian (Ed.). A World History of Christianity. (Grand Rapids, Mich.:

William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. 1999. Pp. xiv, 594. $45.00.)

*Hayman, Robert W Catholicism in Rhode Island and the Diocese of Providence, 1886-1921. Volume Two. (Providence: Diocese of Providence.
1995. Pp. xvi, 766.)
Heilke, Thomas W EricVoegelin: In Quest ofReality. [Twentieth-Century Political Thinkers.] (Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. 1999.
Pp. x, 193. $60.00 cloth; $22.95 paperback.)
Holy Rome:A Millennium Guide to the Christian Sights. (New York: Fodor's

Travel Publications. 1999- Pp. 180. $21.00 paperback.)

Howarth, Sam, and Enrique R. Lamadrid. Pilgrimage to Chimayó: Contemporary Portrait of a Living Tradition. (Santa Fe: Museum of New Mex-

OTHER BOOKS RECEIVED175

ico Press. 1999. Pp. 24 and unpaginated photographs. $1995 paperback.)

Howe Alyssa Cymene."Nicaraguan Gay and Lesbian Rights and the Sex of PostSandinismo." [Research Paper Series No. 33, May, 1999] (Albuquerque:
Latin American and Iberian Institute; University of New Mexico. 1999. Pp.
vi, 33- Paperback.)

Jenkins, Philip. The Cold War at Home: The Red Scare in Pennsylvania,
1945-1960. (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. 1999Pp.
XV, 271. $49.95 cloth; $18.95 paperback.) Chapter 8, "Constructing the
Beast," deals with "The Churches and Anti-Communism" (pp. 166-183).
Jones, Frederick M., C.SS.R. (Hà.).Alpbonsus de Liguori: Selected Writings. [The
Classics of Western Spirituality.] (Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press. 1999.Pp.xlii,

423. $24.95 paperback.)

Jordan, Patrick, and Paul Baumann (Eds.). Commonweal Confronts the Century: Liberal Convictions, Catholic Tradition. (New York: A Touchstone

Book. Published by Simon & Schuster. 1999. Pp. 41 1. $ 18.00 paperback.) As

Peter Steinfels explains in the introduction, "the anthology has been organized around certain themes, political, social, cultural, theological, that not
only have preoccupied the magazine throughout its life but remain of
pressing concern today" (p. 26).
"Keen, Ralph.fohannes Cochlaeus, Philippicae I-VH. Volume I: Text; Volume II:
Introduction, Commentary, Bibliography, Appendices. [Bibliotheca Humanística & Reformatorica, Volume LIV] (Nieuwkoop, Netherlands: De
Graaf Publishers. 1995.Pp.xxiii,375;vii,297.Hfl. 180.—.)

Kirk, James (Ed.). The Church in the Highlands. (Edinburgh: Scottish Church
History Society. 1998. Pp. vii, 176.) The papers presented at a conference
which the Scottish Church History Society held at the University of Edinburgh in April, 1998, are here published as follows: Martin MacGregor,

"Church and Culture in the Late Medieval Highlands" (pp. 1-36); Donald E.

Meek, "The Reformation and Gaelic Culture: Perspectives on Patronage,
Language and Literature in John Carswell's Translation of "The Book of
Common Order' "(pp. 37-62); Alasdair Roberts,"Roman Catholicism in the

Highlands" (pp. 63-88); Douglas Ansdell,"Disruptions and Controversies in
the Highland Church" (pp. 89-1 13); Donald E. Meek, "Gaelic Bible, Revival
and Mission: The Spiritual Rebirth of the Nineteenth-Century Highlands"

(pp. 114-145); Donald Macleod, "The Highland Churches Today" (pp.
146-176).

Kretzmann, Norman. The Metaphysics of Creation: Aquinas's Natural Theology in Summa contra gentiles //. (New York: Oxford University Press.

1999. Pp. xüi, 483. $65.00.)

Kuic, Vukan. Yves R. Simon: Real Democracy. [Twentieth-Century Political
Thinkers.] (Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. 1999. Pp.

vii, 168. $60.00 cloth; $22.95 paperback.)

176OTHER BOOKS RECEIVED

Kuklick, Bruce, and D. G. Hart (Eds.). Religious Advocacy and American History. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
1997. Pp. xx, 233. $24.00 paperback.)
Lamberigts, M., Cl. Soetens, and J. Grootaers (Eds.). Les Commissions Conciliaires à Vatican II. [Instrumenta Theologica, 18.] (Leuven: Bibliotheek van

de Faculteit Godgeleerdheid. 1996. Pp. Lx, 370. Paperback.) Contents:
Maria Paiano, "Les travaux de la commission liturgique conciliaire" (pp.

1-26); Riccardo Burigana, "La commissione 'De Divina Revelatione'" (pp.
27-61); Denis Pelletier, "Une marginalité engagée: le groupe 'Jésus, l'Église

et les Pauvres'" (pp. 63-89); Alberto Melloni,"Ecclesiologie al Vaticano (au-

tunno 1962 - estate 1963)" (pp. 91 -179); Mauro Velati,"Le Secrétariat pour

l'Unité des Chrétiens et l'origine du décret sur l'œcuménisme (1962-

1963)" (pp. 181-203); Dominique Gönnet, "L'apport de John Courtney
Murray au schéma sur la liberté religieuse" (pp. 205-215); Giovani Turbanti, "La commissione mista per Io schema XVII-XIII" (pp. 217-250); E.
Louchez, "La commission De Missionibus" (pp. 251-277); Joachim
Schmiedl, "Erneuerung im Widerstreit:: das Ringen der Commissio de ReIigiosis und der Commissio de Concilii laboribus coordinandis um das

Dekret zur zeitgemäßen Erneuerung des Ordenslebens" (pp. 279-3l6);Jan

Grootaers, "Le crayon rouge de Paul VI: les interventions du pape dans le
travail des commissions conciliaires" (pp. 317-352); J. M. Heuschen,
"Gaudium et spes: les modi pontificaux" (pp. 353-358).
LaPerchia, Alexander. Satan and the Saint: Chronicles ofthe Life ofSaintJeanMarie Baptiste Vianney. (Pittsburgh: Sterling House Publisher, Inc. 1999.

Pp.iii, 149. $17.95 paperback.)

Lapomarda, Vincent A. The Boston Mayor Who Became Truman's Secretary of
Labor: Maurice J. Tobin and the Democratic Party. [American University
Studies, Series LX: History, Vol. 159.] (New York: Peter Lang. 1995. Pp. xvi,
342. $58.95.)
Larner, John. Marco Polo and the Discovery of the World. (New Haven: Yale

University Press. 1999. Pp. xiii, 250. $29.95.)

Laursen.John Christian (Ed.). Religious Toleration: "The Variety of Rites"from

Cyrus to Defoe. (New York: St. Martin's Press. 1999- Pp. xx, 252. $45.00.)

Among the eleven essays are: 4. Cary J . Nederman/'Afafr'o and the 'Variety of
Rites': Foundations of Religious Toleration in Nicholas of Cusa" (pp.

59-74); 5. Gerardo López Sastre, "National Prejudice and Religion in the

Toleration Debate between Bartolomé de Las Casas and Juan Ginés de

Sepúlveda" (pp. 75-92); 6. Kevin Terraciano,"The Spanish Struggle for Jus-

tification in the Conquest of America: Tolerance and Intolerance in Early
Writings on Spanish America" (pp. 93- 1 26); 8. Sammy Basu," 'Woe unto you
that laugh now!': Humor and Toleration in Overton and Shaftesbury" (pp.
147-172); 9- Sally L. Jenkinson,"Bayle and Leibniz:Two Paradigms of Tolerance and Some Reflections on Goodness without God" (pp. 173-190);
10. Simone Zurbuchen, "From Denominationalism to Enlightenment:
Pufendorf, Le Clerc, and Thomasius on Toleration" (pp. 191-210).

OTHER BOOKS RECEIVED177

Leoni, Valeria (Ed.). Repertorium Iurium Comunis Crémone (1350). [Pubblicazioni degli Archivi di Stato, Quaderni della Rassegna degli Archivi di
Stato, 87.] (Rome: Ministero peri béni e le attività culturali,Ufficio centrale
per i beni archivistici. 1999. Pp. iii, 99. Paperback.)

Lubieniecki, Stanislas. History of the Polish Reformation and Nine Related

Documents. Trans. George Huntston Williams. [Harvard Theological Studies, 37.] (Minneapolis: Fortress Press. 1995. Pp. xx, 995.)

Luebke, David M. (Ed.). The Counter-Reformation: The Essential Readings.

[Blackwell Essential Readings in History] (Maiden, Mass.: Blackwell Publishers. 1999. Pp. vi, 234. $27.95 paperback.) Contents: Part I: Definitions: 1. Hubert Jedin, "Catholic Reformation or Counter-Reformation?"

(pp. 19-45);2.H.Outram Evennett,"Counter-Reformation Spirituality" (pp.
47-63); 3. John W O'Malley, S.J.,"Was Ignatius Loyola a Church Reformer?
How to Look at Early Modern Catholicism"(pp.65-82);Part 2: Outcomes:
4. John Bossy, "The Counter-Reformation and the People of Catholic Eu-

rope" (pp. 85-104); 5. Wolfgang Reinhard,"Reformation, Counter-Reforma-

tion, and the Early Modern State: A Reassessment" (pp. 105-128); 6. Peter
Burke, "How to Become a Counter-Reformation Saint" (pp. 129-142); 7. Alison Weber,"Little Women: Counter-Reformation Misogyny" (pp. 143-162);
8. Marc R. Forster,"The Thirty Years' War and the Failure of Catholicization"
(pp. 163-197); 9. Sabine MacCormack, '"The Heart Has Its Reasons': Predicaments of Missionary Christianity in Early Colonial Peru" (pp. 199-225).

Majérus, Pascal. Cesfemmes qu'on dit béguines: Guide des béguinages de Belgique; Bibliographie et sources d'archives. 2 vols. [Introduction bibliographique à l'histoire des couvents belges antérieure à 1796, 9.] (Brussels:
Archives générales du Royaume. 1997. Pp. 436; 437-935. Paperback.)

Maldonado David, Jr. (Ed.). Protestantes/Protestants: Hispanic Christianity
within Mainline Traditions. (Nashville: Abingdon Press. 1999. Pp. 351.

$30.00 paperback.)
Man, John. Atlas of the Year 1000. (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
1999.Pp. 144. $26.00.)

Mclnerny Ralph. Grave Undertakings. (New York: St. Martin's Minotaur. 2000.
Pp. vi, 374. $24.95.)
Medrano, Feliza."'Ni chicha ni limonada": Depictions of the Mulatto Woman in

Cuban Tobacco Art." [Research Paper Series No. 34, May, 1999] (Albuquerque: Latin American and Iberian Institute; University of New Mexico.
1999. Pp. iv, 20; 37 black and white figure plates. Paperback.)

Miller, Randall M. , and Jon L. Wakelyn (Eds.). Catholics in the Old South: Essays
on Church and Culture. (Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press. 1999. Pp.

xxvii, 260. $18.95 paperback.) Originally published in 1983 and reviewed
by James J. Pillar, O.M.I., ante, LXXI (January, 1985), 94-96.
Morneau, Robert F. A Retreat with C. S. Lewis: Yielding to a Pursuing God. [A
Retreat with . . . Series.] (Cincinnati: St. Anthony Messenger Press. 1999. Pp.
vii, 95. $8.95 paperback.)

178OTHER BOOKS RECEIVED

O'Conaill, Sean. Scattering the Proud: Christianity Beyond 2000. (Blackrock,

Co. Dublin: The Columba Press. 1999. Pp. 104. Paperback.)

Parkinson, Richard. Cracking Codes: The Rosetta Stone and Decipherment.

(Berkeley: University of California Press. 1999. Pp. 208. $50.00 cloth;
$27.50 paperback.)

Pelikan, Jaroslav./esws through the Centuries: His Place in the History of Cul-

ture. (New Haven: Yale University Press. 1999. Pp. xxi, 270. $13.95 paper-

back.) Originally published in 1985.

Pentkovsky, Aleksei (Ed.). The Pilgrim's Tale. Trans. T. Allan Smith. [The Classics

of Western Spirituality] (Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press. 1999. Pp. xii, 233.
$1995 paperback.)
Pernoud, Régine, and Marie-Véronique Clin./o«w ofArc: Her Story. Trans. Jeremy duQuesnay Adams; Ed. Bonnie Wheeler. (New York: St. Martin's Grif-

fin. 1999. Pp- xxiii, 304. $14.95 paperback.) This translation was originally

published in 1998 and was reviewed by Christopher Bellitto ante, LXXXV
(October, 1999), 620-621.
Pesiri, Giovanni, et al. (Eds.). Archivi di famiglie e di persone: materiali per
una guida. II: Lombardia-Sicilia. [Ihibblicazioni degli Archivi di Stato,
Strumenti CXXXIII.] (Rome: Ministero per i beni culturali e ambientali, Uf-

ficio centrale per i beni archivistici. 1998. Pp. xviii, 404.)

Pétrie, Roderic, O.F.M. Brother Leo Remembers Francis. [Companions of Saint
Francis of Assist.] (Cincinnati: St. Anthony Messenger Press. 1999· Pp. iv,
115. $7.95 paperback.)
Pierce, Joanne M., and Michael Downey (Eds.). Source and Summit: Commem-

orating JosefA. Jungmann, SJ. (Collegeville, Minn.: The Liturgical Press.

1999. Pp. x, 275. $24.95 paperback.) Among the seventeen articles published in this volume commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary ofJungmann's death are (1) "Important Features of Jungmann's 'The Defeat of
Teutonic Arianism and the Revolution in Religious Culture in the Early Middle Ages,'" by Joanne M. Pierce (pp. 7-20); (2) "Jungmann's Influence on
Vatican II," by Kathleen Hughes, R.S.C.J. (pp. 21-32); and (3) "Litugical History: Restoring Equilibrium after the Struggle with Heresy," by Gerard

Austin, O.P. (pp. 35-47).

Pilarczyk, Daniel E. Believing Catholic. (Cincinnati: St. Anthony Messenger

Press. 2000. Pp. xi, 82. $6.95 paperback.)

Rocca, Giancarlo. X'Adversus Helvidium di san Girolamo nel contesto della let-

teratura ascetico-mariana del secólo IV. [European University Studies, Se-

ries XXIII: Theology, Vol. 646.] (Bern: Peter Lang. 1998.Pp. 111. Paperback.)

Ross, Leslie. MedievalArt:A Topical Dictionary. (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood

Press. 1996. Pp. xxiv, 292. $75.00.)
Ryan, W F. The Bathhouse at Midnight:An Historical Survey ofMagic and Div-

ination in Russia. [Magic in History.] (University Park: The Pennsylvania

State University Press. 1999- Pp. viii, 504. $65.00 cloth; $22.50 paperback.)

OTHER BOOKS RECEIVED1 79

Schlageter, Johannes, O.F.M. (Ed.). Petri Iohannis Olivi: Expositio in Canticum
Canticorum. Kritische Edition von Olivis Hoheliedkommentar. [Collectio

Oliviana, Tomus IL] (Grottaferrata [Rome]: Frati Editori di Quaracchi, Fon-

dazione Collegio San Bonaventura. 1999. Pp. 345. Paperback.)

"Schmidt, Stjepan, SJ. Augustin Bea: The Cardinal of Unity. Trans. Leslie
Wearne. (New Rochelle, N.Y: New City Press. 1992. Pp. 806.)
Shenk, David W, and Linford Stutzman (Eds.). Practicing Truth: Confident Witness in Our Pluralistic World. (Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press. 1999. Pp. 262.

$15.99 paperback.)

Slavitt, David R. (Trans.). The Book of the Twelve Prophets. (New York: Oxford

University Press. 2000. Pp. xv, 133. $19.95 paperback.)

Stroll, Mary. The Jewish Pope: Ideology and Politics in the Papal Schism of
1130. [Brill's Studies in Intellectual History, Volume 8.] (Leiden: E.J. Brill.

1987. Pp. xviii, 205. $54.00.)

Suydam, Mary A., and Joanna E. Ziegler (Eds.). Performance and Transformation: New Approaches to Late Medieval Spirituality. (New York: St. Mar-

tin's Press. 1999. Pp. xxi, 361. $49.95.)

Swanson, R. N. The Twelfth-Century Renaissance. (Manchester University
Press. Distributed in the U.S.A. by St. Martin's Press, New York. 1999. Pp. Lx,

240. $79.95 cloth; $29.95 paperback.)

Toulouse, Mark G. , and James O. Duke (Eds.). Makers of Christian Theology in

America. (Nashville: Abingdon Press. 1997. Pp. 568. $35.00 paperback.)

Toulouse, Mark G., and James O. Duke (Eds.). Sources of Christian Theology in

America. (Nashville: Abingdon Press. 1999. Pp- 605. $40.00 paperback.)

Underbill, Frances A.. For Her Good Estate: The Life ofElizabeth de Burgh. [The

New Middle Ages.] (New York: St. Martin's Press. 1999. Pp. Lx, 221 . $45.00.)
Vallée, Gérard. The Shaping of Christianity: The History and Literature of Its
Formative Centuries (100-800). (Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press. 1999. Pp.
xiii, 265. $21.95 paperback.)
Van Kley, Dale K. The Religious Origins of the French Revolution: From Calvin
to the Civil Constitution, 1560-1791. (New Haven: Yale University Press.

1999. Pp. x, 390. $45.00 cloth; $19.00 paperback.) Originally published in
1996 and reviewed by Jacques M. Gres-Gayer ante, LXXXIV (July, 1998),

558-560.

van OortJ., and D. Wyrwa (Eds.). Heiden und Christen im 5Jahrhundert. [Studien der Patristischen Arbeitsgemeinschaft (SPA), 5.] (Leuven: Peeters.
1998. Pp. vüi, 193. 1250 BEF paperback.) Contents: Karl Leo Noethlichs,
"Kaisertum und Heidentum im 5. Jahrhundert" (pp. 1-31); Markus Vin-

zent, "Das 'heidnische' Ägypten im 5. Jahrhundert" (pp. 32-65); Gerlinde

Huber-Rebenich and Michael Chronz, "Cyrill von Alexandrien. Ein For-

schungsvorhaben" (pp. 66-87); Wolfgang Wischmeyer, "Magische Texte.

Vorüberlegungen und Materialien zum Verständnis christlicher spätantiker

1 80OTHER BOOKS RECEIVED

Texte" (pp. 88-122); Friedhelm Winkelmann,"Heiden und Christen in den
Werken der oströmischen Historiker des 5. Jahrhunderts" (pp. 123-159);
Hans Armin Gärtner, "Der Fall Roms. literarische Verarbeitung bei Heiden
und Christen" (pp. 160-179).
Vance, Laurence M. The Other Side of Calvinism. Revised Edition. (Pensacola,

FIa.: Vance Publications. 1999. Pp. xii, "788. $27.95.) Originally published in
1991.

Ward,JuIe Dejager. La Leche League:At the Crossroads ofMedicine, Feminism,
and Religion. (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. 2000.
Pp. xiii, 227. $39.95 cloth; $15.95 paperback.)
Wheeler, Michael. Ruskin 's God. [Cambridge Studies in Nineteenth Century Literature and Culture 24.] (New York: Cambridge University Press. 1999. Pp.
xviii, 302. $64.95.)
Williams, D. H. Retrieving the Tradition and Renewing Evangelicalism: A
Primerfor Suspicious Protestants. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. 1999. Pp. Lx, 243. $16.00 paperback.)
Williams, Peter W (Ed.). Perspectives on American Religion and Culture.

(Maiden, Mass.: Blackwell Publishers. 1999. Pp. xii, 418. $64.95.) This vol-

ume is intended "to acquaint a variety of readers . . . with the state of the
study of America's religious experience today" (p. xiii). Contents: I. Religious Diversity and Pluralism: Laurie Maffly-Kipp, "Historicizing Religion in the American West" (pp. 11-21); Stephen J. Stein, "Religious
Innovation at the Edges" (pp. 22-34); William R. Hutchison, "Diversity and
the Pluralist Ideal" (pp. 34-47); Charles H. Lippy, "Pluralism and American

Religious Life in the Later Twentieth Century" (pp. 48-60); ?. Religious

Roots of American Culture: David L. Holmes, "The Anglican Tradition in

Colonial Virginia" (pp. 66-79); Amanda Porterfield, "The Puritan Legacy in

American Religion and Culture" (pp. 80-91); Mark Valeri, "Religion and the
Culture of the Market in Early New England" (pp. 92-104); m. Religious

Cultures in Transition: Russell E. Richey, "Early American Methodism"

(pp. 109-123); Mary Jo Weaver, "American Catholics in the Twentieth Cen-

tury" (pp. 154-168); IV. Popular and Material Culture: Jeanne Halgren

Kilde, "Architecture and Urban Revivalism in Nineteenth-century America"
(pp. 174-186); Leonard Norman Primiano, "Postmodern Sites of Catholic
Sacred Materiality" (pp. 187-102); Daniel Sack, "Food and Eating in Ameri-

can Religious Cultures" (pp. 203-216); R. Marie Griffith, "Fasting, Dieting,

and the Body in American Christianity" (pp. 216-227); V. Race and Ethnicity: Joan L. Bryant, "Race and Religion in Nineteenth-century America"

(pp. 246-258); Albert G. Miller, "The Rise of African-American Evangelism
in American Culture" (pp. 259-269); Michael D. McNally,"Religion and Culture Change in Native North America" (pp. 270-286); VI. Gender and
Family: Carolyn Haynes, "Women and Protestantism in Nineteenthcentury America" (pp. 300-318); Anne C. Rose, "Religious Individualism in

Nineteenth-century American Families" (pp. 3139-330); VTI. Intellectual

OTHER BOOKS RECEIVED181

and Literary Culture: Ava Chamberlain, "Jonathan Edwards on the Rela-

tion between Hypocrisy and the Religious Life" (pp. 336-352); Mary Kupiec Cayton,"The Connecticut Culture of Revivalism" (pp. 353-365); Leigh
Eric Schmidt, "Trust and Confidence in American Religious History" (pp.
366-377); Paula M. Kane,"American Catholic Culture in the Twentieth Century" (pp. 390-404).
Wormald, Patrick. Legal Culture in the Early Medieval West: Law as Text,
Image and Experience. (Rio Grande, Ohio: The Hambledon Press. 1999.

Pp. xxii, 401. $70.00.) Among the fourteen collected essays in this volume

is "Archbishop Wulfstan and the Holiness of Society" (pp. 225-251).