2-1-Q Chapter 7
LIL 120 A – Fall 2024
Professor Cripps
2 – Offer 2 Specific Details from the chapter. For each ID/quote add 3-8 sentences of your own explanation.
This chapter of the book talks a lot about the condemnation of the Church over the Pope’s impious nature behind closed doors. The Pope in the spotlight throughout this chapter is Baldassare Cossa, or John XXII, and I think that was because of his unusual way of ruling. I mean popes before Cossa also ruled impiously, but they were more sneaky about it, whereas Cossa seemed to not care, and rather did not hide his impious nature at all. “Cossa’s gifts were not limited to clever marketing schemes…he did not have a trace of a spiritual vocation.” (pg. 159, para 2). He constantly filled the public with doubts on his “righteous” ruling, but they never once spoke out against it. I couldn’t understand why until the end of the chapter where we see Cossa condemned with seventy charges, and then Greenblatt saying they suppressed the sixteen most scandalous charges. But then Greenblatt went on to list the ones that were not suppressed and I saw things such as torture, murder, and r*pe, and was completely baffled because what could be more scandalous than those?
As we can see within this time period, many people were condemned for speaking out against the ruling party’s way of living, and conducting state affairs. We see Poggio struggle with his morally alert yet compromised way of thinking and living, as he feels regret and frustration over the imprisonment of people like Jerome and Hus, who speak out against the improper and impious rulers. So he turns to saving books instead of people, and speaks to his books as if they were living. “It is not clear how conscious the link was in Poggio’s mind…not only from exile but from almost complete destruction.” (pg. 179, para 2). At first this confused me, until I read back over this section again, trying to understand why Poggio started speaking to books as Petrarch wrote letters to Cicero. Poggio needed an outlet for his feelings and thoughts on the condemnation of people like Jeromone and Hus, since Poggio understood and was admired by their preaching. Poggio worked under Cossa and Neapolitan Boniface IX and saw the unholy way of ruling, but he could not express these concerns to anyone, as society in this period in time held lots of skepticism. So the only available option that felt safe enough was to the books upon which Poggio also held admiration for.
1 – Make 1 Connection to Self, to World, or to Text – or Extended by offering a little detail about something mentioned in the text (some light research needed to Extend)
Connection to World: Ulrich Richental, mentioned on page 162, is a journalist in every sense of the word, even though that title wasn’t used for another couple hundred years. His account of the proceedings in Constance, and his interest in the parade of rulers reminded me a lot of a gossip journalist from Vanity Fair. A magazine that gives spotlight to the rich in famous, recounting events and individuals in positive or negative light. And that’s what Ulrich Richental does in the 1400’s during this meeting; going into detail about the fabrics the Pope and company are wearing, the cloth upon the horses, the gaudy umbrella, and the gross frogs and snails the Italians brought with them. He was ripping apart the Pope and his entourage, like fashion critics do to brands and celebrities today. I found it highly amusing.
Q – Give us a Good Question to chew on – 1-3 sentences
Cossa was an extravagant Pope, who liked materialistic things and his power. It is the reason why he did not want to go to Constance for the council meeting, as he knew that power would be most likely stripped from him, and added onto the fact that it was not being held in his own territory. But amongst all the shiny decor and materials Cossa brought to the council, why did he have to bring a jeweled casket that he said held the “body and blood of Christ”? The Roman Catholic believed Christ’s body is entombed in an ancient cave in Jerusalem’s church, so why bring an empty casket?
