The Popes Av Viscount John Julius Norwich

<p><b>John Julius Norwich expertly examines the history of the oldest continuing institution in the world, tracing the papal line down the centuries from St Peter to the present</b><br><br>Of the 280-odd holders of the supreme office, some have unquestionably been saints; others have wallowed in unspeakable immorality. One was said to have been a woman, her sex being revealed only when she improvidently gave birth to a baby during a papal procession. Almost as shocking was Formosus whose murdered corpse was exhumed, clothed in pontifical vestments, propped up on a throne and subjected to trial. From the glories of Byzantium to the decay of Rome, from the Albigensian Heresy to controversy within the Church today, <i>The Popes</i> is superbly written, witty and revealing. <br><br><b>¿Charming and learned...The prose is elegant, the witticisms are plentiful, and the volume''s enthusiasm is addictive.¿ Jonathan Wright, <i>BBC History Magazine</i></b></p>