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106BOOK REVIEWS rise of anti-Calvinism (Armiriianism). WhUe the EngUsh Church had remained basicaUy unchanged for decades, MUton maintains, the Laudian reforms forced Protestants of aU stripes to confront the issue of precisely what kind of church should prevaU in England, and how they might sort out theU differences in defense of a unified Protestant "cause" that in the end never developed. By 1640, this protracted debate within the English Church and with Roman CathoUcs at home and abroad left EngUsh Protestants more deeply divided than at any time since the EUzabethan Settlement (1559). Many scholars have argued that Charles I faced a united reUgious opposition on the eve ofthe CivUWar. But MUton has shown that the rise of the Laudians left EngUshmen fatally divided over reUgion and therefore incapable of uniting the forces ranged against the royal government on the basis of religion alone. In view of a widespread conviction that reUgion was a basic cause ofthe war (some would argue that it was the basic cause), MUton's conclusion is Uttle short of startling. MartinJ. Havran University of Virginia Le clergé du Grand Siècle en ses assemblées (1615-1717). By Pierre Blet, SJ. [Histoire reUgieuse de la France, 7.] (Paris: Les Éditions du Cerf. 1995. Pp. 529. 240 F.) The assembly of the French Clergy was a coUegial institution that originated (1561) with the objective of negotiating with the Crown the First Estate's 'free contribution' to the finances of the kingdom. Deputies were elected for that purpose every ten years from each ecclesiastical province, two bishops and two members of the second order; a minor assembly, half the size, also convened in the middle of the period for accounting purposes. General extraordinary meetings could also be summoned by the king,as in the case ofthe famous assembly of 1682. Through its Agency that prepared the meetings and saw to the implementation of their decisions, the French clergy had a permanent organization that prefigured in many ways our modern conferences of bishops. Since his doctoral dissertation under the direction ofVictor L. Tapié,Father Blet has devoted the greater part ofhis research to a chronological study ofthese assembUes , pubUshed respectively in 1959, 1972, and 1989. In this new book he presents what he sees as the substance ofthe previous investigations. The work is divided in four parts. The first, "The Order of the Clergy," considers financial matters, principaUy this 'free gift' that was the center ofharsh negotiations with the Crown, as it aUowed the clerics to put some pressure on issues of importance . As the matter of Protestantism was certainly a major concern in these bargaining sessions, the author is correct to include them in this part. The second part,"At the time of Cardinal Ministers," teUs of the significant actions taken by the body under the strict control of RicheUeu and Mazarin. The third part is devoted to the preambles and results of the most famous of these assembUes, BOOK REVIEWS107 that of 1682, which proclaimed the four GaUican Articles. The fourth is centered on theJansenist conflict that culminated with the buU Unigenitus (1713); it also includes an important chapter on the censure of Fénelon Ui 1699Being rather famiUar with the meticulous research contained in the previous four books pubUshed by Blet, I must confess anticipatory reservations to such an abridged edition, which lacks the scholarly apparatus that made the original volumes so precious and useful. These reservations receded as I read a very interesting and stimulating book that iUustrates and confirms the importance in French history of this singular institution. In this compact format, it appears indubitably that "episcopal GalUcanism," that is, the conception that French bishops had of their authority and responsibUity, was strong and coherent, in their dealing both with the papacy and with civil authorities, Crown and ParUament. Unable to obtain an official reception of the CouncU ofTrent,the bishops managed to secure its implementation at the local level, the assembUes providing them with a way to co-ordinate their efforts; they also helped to define common poUcies, e.g., regarding exempt reUgious orders. The issues ofJansenism and of Quietism soon offered the assembUes an occasion to exercise an authority that...

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