Trent and All That

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This book is “meta.” It is a book of history on the subject of historians plying their historical craft.

In this case, the subject is the term that historians use for the Catholic historical experience during the Protestant Reformation. The author, John W. O'Malley, SJ, is a Jesuit historian specializing in Catholic conciliar history. He has books on the councils of Trent, Vatican I, and Vatican II. The term used for the Catholic experience between 1500 and 1650 matters a great deal to him.

For example, the term “the Counter-Reformation” implies that all of Catholic history during that period was reducible to a response to Protestantism. Can this be true of Catholic art and music during this time? Unlikely. There was something intrinsically and enduringly Catholic about such things. Similarly, the term “Catholic Reformation” implies that everything in the period was tied up with “reform,” which was not the case.

O'Malley traces the positions of the historians on what to call this part of the “Age of Reformation” which was not Protestant. The arguments are technical and require a great deal of attention to the players and their followers and opponents. These passages are really quite tedious for the lay reader. Ultimately, O'Malley suggests that the period should be called “Early Modern Catholicism.” To me, it seems that this term is quite appropriate. Also, it fits in with similar descriptions such as Late Antiquity or the Early Medieval period.

Like one of the other reviewers, I was looking for a book that spent more time on Trent, its doctrines, and its legacy. Obviously, the author is not responsible for not writing the book I expected, and it would be uncharitable for me to rate his book on that basis. Nonetheless, forewarned is forearmed, so be aware of the book you are actually getting. If you are looking for the “inside game” of history, then this is your book. If not, then give it a miss.