History of the Catholic Church from the Renaissance to the French Revolution — Volume 1

by James MacCaffrey

HISTORY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

FROM THE RENAISSANCE TO THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

VOLUME I

BY

Rev. JAMES MacCAFFREY
Lic. Theol. (Maynooth), Ph.D. (Freiburg i. B.)
Professor of Ecclesiastical History, St. Patrick's College, Maynooth

Nihil Obstat:
Thomas O'Donnell, C.M.
Censor Theol. Deput.

Imprimi Potest:
Guilielmus,
Archiep. Dublinen.,
Hiberniae Primas.

Dublini, 16 Decembris, 1914.

PREFACE

The fifteenth century may be regarded as a period of transition from the ideals of the Middle Ages to those of modern times. The world was fast becoming more secular in its tendencies, and, as a necessary result, theories and principles that had met till then with almost universal acceptance in literature, in art, in education, and in government, were challenged by many as untenable.