Thesis (J.C.L.)--Catholic University of America, 1987. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 48-52).

Thesis (M.T.S.)--Catholic Theological Union, 1987. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 65).

Thesis--Paris. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [ix]-xxviii) and index. Also issued online.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Portland, 1945. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 127-130).

Thesis (J.C.L.)--Catholic University of America, 1985. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 54-56).

This thesis seeks to provide a comprehensive study of the origins and early careers of the bishops consecrated to five dioceses – Greenland, the Faeroes, Orkney, and Skálholt and Hólar in Iceland – during the period 1230–1470. All five of these bishoprics belonged to the Norwegian ecclesiastical province, and all were situated in the skattlönd, the overseas territories of the Norwegian crown. The particular aim of this study is to apply methods of prosopographical analysis to establish what the 'profile' of a typical bishop was in these five dioceses, and what the standard career path was for an aspiring bishop. It does this by analysing various attributes of these prelates, such as their family backgrounds, social position, education, career path within the church, affiliations to monastic orders, and royal and papal service. Moreover it explores how the profile of a typical bishop evolved over time and how it varies both among these five bishoprics and between them as a group on the one hand and the five Norwegian mainland dioceses on the other. In addition the thesis also considers if and how these developments relate to the ways in which the system for the appointment of bishops changed during the Late Middle Ages, and also relate them to contemporary political developments in Scandinavia areas. Foremost among these phenomena were the staðamál conflict in Iceland, which permanently changed the balance of power between church and state in the country, the formation of the Kalmar Union and the irruption of English merchants and fishermen into Icelandic waters, all of which had drastic effects upon the Church in these far-flung territories of Latin Christendom.

This thesis considers the financial development of the Catholic Church in Scotland between 1772 and circa 1890. In 1772, the Church was heavily reliant on external, normally insufficient sources of income. The dangers of this over-reliance became clear when the progress of the French Revolution destroyed the Church's foreign financial bases and saw the loss of its continental colleges. Consequently, and for the first time, the Church turned to the Catholic laity for financial support. This represented a significant cultural shift for a community which was unaccustomed to providing such support. But recognising the Church's financial needs, the laity responded generously to this appeal and in many places raised additional funds to support their priests. Very quickly this financial necessity was subsumed into a larger narrative of religious duty and idealism, so that to financially support the Church was now also crucial to an individual's spiritual and temporal well-being. By the early decades of the nineteenth century, financial voluntarism was well embedded in the Catholic community and ordinary Catholics had assumed responsibility for financing many of the Church's activities. As the century progressed, and as the Church responded to new pressures caused by famine migration, the bishops began to exert greater control over the Church's financial life. The rise of ultramontanism within the Church, with its focus on the parish church, ensured that the local church also became the locus for many of these new fundraising efforts. A sign of the Church's increasing maturation came in 1878 when Rome restored the episcopal hierarchy, which had a number of financial implications as the bishops sought to come to terms with ordinary ecclesiastical government - something that had been lacking for nearly three centuries. By c. 1890, most of the difficulties of these years had been resolved and the Church had put in place financial infrastructures that, in many ways, remain in place even today.

with Sr. Rosemary Mulvihill, RSM, Regis College / Boston College

with Professor Helen Alvare, Catholic University Law School / McGuinn Hall 121 / A portion of the middle of the tape has low audio due to a technical error.

No description available.