A period in European history marked by efforts to reform the Christian Church
The political maneuvering of Paul III between emperor and French king, the pleasure-loving Julius III, the brief reign of Marcellus II, and the stern Paul IV, whose war against Spain ended in defeat and whose last years were given to reform.
The history of Church censorship from Ephesus to the first Index of 1559, the revival of the Roman Inquisition under Cardinal Carafa, and the climate of fear during Paul IV's reign.
The mild reign of Pius IV, the long delay in calling a general council, the troubled opening of the Council of Trent in 1545, how it was constituted, and its first doctrinal decrees on authority, Scripture and tradition.
The Council's removal to Bologna, its suspension and revival under Julius III, the Protestant delegations, the second suspension of 1552, its final sessions under Pius IV, and the doctrinal and disciplinary decrees that closed it in December 1563.
The balance sheet of the Catholic reform movement after Trent, and the opening of Durant's closing essay on Renaissance and Reformation as two contrasting streams that shaped modern thought.
In his closing essay Durant states the best case a believing Catholic and then a Protestant would make about the Reformation, setting authority and unity against conscience and moral renewal.
The Protestant reply concludes, the humanist objection to both churches follows, and Durant ends the book by asking what the Renaissance, the Reformation and the Catholic reform left behind, and why religious competition may be their greatest gift.
