The Church in the Republic: Gallicanism and Political Ideology in Renaissance France (review)

This deft analysis of Gallicanism and its intersection with constitutional theory and practice addresses a much neglected element in the history of early modern France. Jotham Parsons adds measurably to our appreciation of the evolution of church-state relations and the clergy's place in the bureaucratic state. Although the liberties associated with the Gallican church may have eluded precise definition in the age, political theorists were inexorably drawn to the subject. The concept, in turn, exerted considerable influence over the architecture of the increasingly centralized monarchy. Recent investigations of Gallicanism are meager and few among the handful of studies have undertaken to explore its political dynamics within the sixteenth-century French kingdom. Most scholars have focused on the struggle with Rome rather than the internal French situation. Parsons certainly redirects our attention to events in France. His investigation also emphasizes the intellectual principles that served as the foundation of Gallicanism and, accordingly, moves away from the institutional concerns of an earlier generation. Altogether, the author rekindles debate over the nature and place of the Gallican church through his systematic and precise investigation of a strategic yet encompassing group of jurists, political theorists, and theologians.

The book adopts a chronological approach as it examines Gallican politics in a series of discrete yet tightly interconnected chapters. Parsons moves from the late medieval church and monarchy, through the constitutional reconsiderations of the Renaissance and Reformation, and into the early seventeenth century. While medieval Gallicanism may have been primarily a religious struggle between the French church and the Roman papacy, the early modern variant acquired more strident political tones and was as much a domestic French quarrel as an external tussle with the papacy. Mid-sixteenth-century events, notably the Council of Trent and the Wars of Religion, entirely transformed the discussion. The election of bishops and financial payments to Rome were no longer the sole or even the paramount issues. By 1600, the conflict was between the Gallican tribunals, above all the sovereign court of the Parlement of Paris, and ultramontanist bishops, new religious orders such as the Jesuits, and former Leaguers. These parties engaged in an increasingly sharp exchange over the competing jurisdictions of church and civil government. Specific disputes turned on such explosive subjects as theories of political assassination and tyrannicide or whether the French monarch could be excommunicated.

An intellectual dialogue simultaneously unfolded in the effort to further an erudite Gallican ideology. This development occurred within the contextof Renaissance humanism and, to a lesser extent, the rivalry of Catholic andProtestant. Prominent scholars and jurists such as Antoine Loisel, Jean du Tillet, Etienne Pasquier, and Jacques-Auguste de Thou drew upon their understanding of ancient custom, the weight of history, and the prescriptions of law as they sought to elucidate the relationship between church and state and to define closely, perhaps even redefine, the Gallican liberties. A shrill conflict ultimately settled on Gallican resentment of Tridentine reform. At the same time, many French prelates were understandably anxious that their political power not slip away. In this vein, the gradual emergence of the Assemblies of the Clergy offered the bishops and other church officials a powerful voice in the governance of the realm. Still, there were splits and rifts as some embraced this revitalized form of Gallicanism, while others vehemently rejected it.

This book and its intricate argument can be demanding; it is also highly rewarding. Parsons nicely explicates the complex array of Gallican tendencies and the many competing ideological assertions. In addition, he challenges historians, who for several generations have largely concentrated their research efforts on understanding the character and influence of the French parlementaires. Parsons now makes the importance of the clergy's place, energy, and capacity in the reformulation of the French political constitution after mid-sixteenth century strikingly plain. He endeavors in the present volume to illuminate intellectual developments, but...