On February 11, 2013, Pope Benedict XVI surprised the world when he announced his plans to abdicate from his position as pope, leader of the Roman Catholic Church. Although he is not the first to do so, a papal abdication has not occurred since Pope Gregory XII in 1415, almost 600 years. In this Carleton Connects presentation, “Uncharted Waters or a Remembrance of Things Past? Medieval Perspectives on Papal Abdication”, Associate Professor of History Bill North offers a historical vantage point from which to consider these recent events. Please join us as he explores the reactions and reflections of medieval observers as they tried to make sense of the first time the vicar of St Peter handed back the keys.
This program took place on Thursday, March 7, 2013
About the Speaker
Professor North came to Carleton in 1999 as a medieval historian. In addition to being an Associate Professor of History, he is also the Co-director of the Medieval and Renaissance Studies Program (MARS) and Coordinator of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program. He offers a wide variety of seminar and survey courses in European Studies and History. He has a strong command of Latin and medieval and classical Greek. Fluent in Italian, he is also comfortable with French, German and Spanish. He has included a number of his translations as source materials for students to refer to on his MARS website.