The Jesuits and the Thirty Years War
Kings, Courts, and Confessors

This book brings to light the extent to which the Thirty Years War was a religious war.

Robert Bireley (Author)

9780521099325, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 8 January 2009

320 pages, 10 b/w illus. 1 map
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm, 0.47 kg

"...a work that will be consulted in the years to come as a definitive account on the subject, one that will be repeatedly referenced when new studies come out about the Jesuits and other religious orders in other areas of Europe. It is extremely well written and succinct." - The Journal of Religion, James R. Palmitessa, Western Michigan University

From 1618 to 1648 Christian princes waged the first pan-European war. Brought about in part by the entrenched passions of the Reformation and Counter Reformation, the Thirty Years War inevitably drew in the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, who stood at the vanguard of Catholic reform. This book investigates the Jesuits' role during the war at the four Catholic courts of Vienna, Munich, Paris and Madrid and the challenge to the Jesuit superior general in Rome to lead a truly international organisation through a period of rising international conflict. War goals varied and changed at the courts as the conflict progressed. Advocates of 'holy war' contended with moderates, or politiques. This book brings to light the extent to which the Thirty Years War was a religious war and it shows how ideas about the proper relationship between religion and politics shifted under the pressure of events.

Abbreviations
Preface
1. Setting the scene
2. The Bohemian rebellion and its aftermath, 1618–24
3. The triumph of militance, 1624–9
4. The clash of Catholic interests, 1629–31
5. Collapse and recovery in Germany, 1631–5
6. France and Spain until the demise of Richelieu and Olivares, 1635–42/43
7. The Empire after the Peace of Prague, 1635–45
8. Carafa and the struggle over the peace of Westphalia, 1645–9
9. Conclusion
Bibliography and sources
Index.

Subject Areas: History of religion [HRAX], Religious intolerance, persecution & conflict [HRAM9], Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700 [HBLH], European history [HBJD]