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II. The Social Origins of French and English Bishops in the Eighteenth Century

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 December 2010

Norman Ravitch
Norman Ravitch
Affiliation:
University of California, Riverside
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Extract

The increasing emphasis of historians of the eighteenth century on the role of aristocracy under the old régime justifies looking once again, more carefully, at the upper clergy of the established religious cults. The leaders of the established churches were ex officio, if not also by birth, always members of the aristocracy. No comprehension of the membership, organization, or objectives of the eighteenth-century aristocracy is possible without consideration of its ecclesiastical wing—in the case of episcopal churches, of its bishops.

Type
Articles
Information
The Historical Journal , Volume 8 , Issue 3 , 1965 , pp. 309 - 325
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1965

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References

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8 Documentation of the role of Roche-Aymon, Marbeuf, and Le Franc de Pompignan may be found in the following manuscript sources: Archives du ministère des affaires étrangères, Correspondance politique, Rome, vol. 885, fo. 45; Archives nationales, 01 473, pp. 219 and 378; and Archives du ministère des affaires étrangères, Correspondance politique, Rome, vol. 911, fo. 97.

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15 The phrase ‘by birth’ denotes born in England rather than of English ethnic origin. If one were to consider those whose families were relatively new to Ireland, the non-Irish proportion would be even larger.

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18 The sources for the family backgrounds of the Irish bishops are the same as those for the English, with the addition of Burtchaell, George Dames and Sadleir, Thomas Ulick (eds.), Alumni Dublinenses (London, 1924)Google Scholar.

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