Introduction

In the period from 1420 to 1800 some 1,200 men rose within the Roman Catholic Church to the dignity of cardinal – and many others, of course, aspired to it. The men who became early modern cardinals hailed from diverse backgrounds, enjoyed varied careers, and achieved different things on account of their august office. A few became saints, but more were pastors, inquisitors, diplomats, bureaucrats, and patrons of the arts, of music, literature, or science. Several cardinals in this period were statesmen; some were prince-bishops and two – Dom Henrique of Portugal and John Casimir Wasa – even found themselves crowned as king (though only the former retained his cardinal’s dignity in the process). All cardinals needed to harness entrepreneurial qualities in order to manage the, often complex, economic activities of their private households and, in many cases, also of their extended families. How they did that,
and what the impacts of their actions were on the Catholic Church (and on Rome) are key focuses of this book, which explores the common denominator within this large group: their position near the apex of the church hierarchy, as porporati.