The 'Commentaries' of Pope Pius II (1458-1464) and the Crisis of the Fifteenth-Century Papacy

by Emily O'Brien

Written in the mid-fifteenth century, Pope Pius II's Commentaries are the only known autobiography of a reigning pontiff and a fundamental text in the history of Renaissance humanism.

In this book, Emily O'Brien positions Pius' expansive autobiographical text within that century's contentious debate over ecclesiastical sovereignty. Presenting the Commentaries as Pius' response to the crisis of authority, legitimacy, and relevance that was...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1442647639
• ISBN13: 9781442647633
• Release Date: September 2015
• Publisher: University of Toronto Press
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.9" x 9.1"