The Growth of Papal Government in the Middle Ages. By
Walter Ullmann. (Methuen, 42s.) THE greatest success story of the early Middle. Ages is not that of any secular ruler; not of William the Conqueror or Pepin; not even o the Emperor Charlemagne himself. It is the emergence of the Papacy to a position of ad- ministrative and judicial control over an inter-
national body of clergy, and also within limits—of theocratic rule over the secular Princes of Eurdpe. It is the philosophical and legal aspects of this extraordinary development which engage Dr. Ullmann's attention, and lie traces in detail the construction of the theoretical supports to the grandiose Papal edifice Ti-ts is an im- mensely learned work, supporte by a forest of footnotes that at times seems near to en- gulfing the text itself. Not infrequently the jungle edge is over half-way up the page. In his fierce concentration upon the theoretical aspect Dr. Ullmann tends to neglect the more prosaic factors, political, administrative and economic, which assisted the Papacy in its struggle. Ideas can be of immense impor- tance in history; but their practical success depends more on the favourable concurrence of a host of ancillary circumstances than, on the ingenuity or logic of their begetters. But within the limits that Dr. Ullmann has deliber- ately set himself, he has achieved an admir- ably documented study of a complex subject.
LAWRENCE STONE
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