Church and Reform: Bishops, Theologians, and Canon Lawyers in the Thought of Pierre d'Ailly (1351-1420): 105 (Studies in Medieval & Reformation Thought) - Hardcover

'In this lucidly presented and coherent study of the theology and ecclesiology of Pierre d'Ailly (1351`-1420), Louis B. Pascoe S.J., has created a compelling intellectual portrait of one of the most important figures in the era of the Great Schism (1378-1418). The thesis is straightforward and novel...This is a book that only a seasoned and experienced scholar who has worked on his subject for many years could write. Its clarity of exposition, careful attention to primary sources, skillful delineation of where Pierre d'Ailly agreed or disagreed with others, and deep appreciation for the complex interplay between ideas and politics are among its greatest strengths.'
George Dameron, Renaissance Quarterly, 2005.

Louis Pascoe has now shown a completely different side of d'Ailly in terms of his teaching on the church, especially in relation to bishops, theologians and canon lawyers. In doing so, Pascoe has made a valuable contribution to our knowledge of late-medieval theological thinking aimed at reforming the Christian Church on the model of the Scriptures. (...) he has succeeded in providing a landmark work on d'Ailly's ecclesiology
Brian Patrick McGuire, Speculum

In the book under review, it is not so much d'Ailly's active role in these domains that is under scrutiny, as the ideas behind his activities. This book offers a detailed discussion of aspects of d'Ailly's ecclesiological thought which have often been neglected in studies focussing on his views on conciliar matters. The clearly structured study first discusses the impact of apocalyptic expectations on d'Ailly, and their specific contents in his writings. D'Ailly sees Church history in terms of a series of persecutions. He increasingly considers the crisis of the Church in his own time as part of these persecutions. (...)
Pascoe's book thus forms a welcome contribution to fill in the gap while at the same time illustrating important aspects of the thought of the multifaceted Pierre d'Ailly, at the crossroads of university and church, theology and philosophy.
Ineke van 't Spijker, Church History and Religious Culture

This work examines Pierre d'Ailly's (1351-1420) views on bishops, theologians, and canon lawyers, not primarily in their conciliar context but within the broader dimensions of their individual status, office, and authority within the Church.These views also unfold, in varying degrees, within the apocalyptic context of his thought and result in a call for both pastoral and personal reform, especially for the episcopacy.This call, moreover, reveals strongapostolic and evangelical influences, especially those of the Franciscans and the Brethren of the Common Life, and adds a distinctive dimension to the wide variety of late medieval reform ideologies which, while having some influence at the Council of Constance, contributed heavily to the reform decrees of Trent.