en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bad_Popes
1 correction found
The Bad Popes is a 1969 book by E. R. Chamberlin documenting the lives of eight of the most controversial popes (papal years in parentheses):
The book does not profile eight popes. Contemporary and bibliographic sources describe it as a book about seven pontiffs, and the published table of contents lists seven papal profiles.
Full reasoning
Multiple independent sources contradict the claim that The Bad Popes documents eight popes.
- A bookseller page reproducing the book-jacket summary says it is "the colorful, panoramic story of seven men who ruled the Church of Rome at seven critical periods," and then lists the featured popes. Its table of contents likewise names only seven papal profiles: John XII, Benedict IX, Boniface VIII, Urban VI, Alexander VI, Leo X, and Clement VII.
- Google Books gives the same summary: "the colorful, panoramic story of seven men who ruled the Church of Rome," again listing those seven popes.
- A contemporary 1969 Kirkus Reviews review also refers to "the seven pontiffs about whom he writes."
So the article's statement that the book documents the lives of eight popes is contradicted by the book's own summary, table of contents, and a contemporary review.
3 sources
- The Bad Popes
Summary: "Here is the colorful, panoramic story of seven men who ruled the Church of Rome at seven critical periods..." Table of contents lists John XII, Benedict IX, Boniface VIII, Urban VI, Alexander VI, Leo X, and Clement VII.
- The Bad Popes - Eric Russell Chamberlin - Google Books
Google Books summary: "Here is the colorful, panoramic story of seven men who ruled the Church of Rome at seven critical periods..." It then lists John XII, Benedict IX, Boniface VIII, Urban VI, Alexander VI, Leo X, and Clement VII.
- THE BAD POPES | Kirkus Reviews
The 1969 review says: "A few of the seven pontiffs about whom he writes were indeed 'bad' by any standards..."