Sources

Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes

Citation Formats

General Reference

Divinity Atlas. "Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/saints-and-sinners-a-history-of-the-popes.

APA Style

Divinity Atlas. (n.d.). Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/saints-and-sinners-a-history-of-the-popes

BibTeX

@misc{divinityatlas-saints-and-sinners-a-history-of-the-pope,
  author = {Divinity Atlas},
  title = {Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/saints-and-sinners-a-history-of-the-popes},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

Eamon Duffy's history is now in its third edition, each revision incorporating scholarship that has appeared since the previous one, which this atlas treats as real evidence the book keeps being judged worth updating rather than left as a fixed, dated account. It traces the documented development of the papal office itself, the conclave and the college of cardinals, and how the content of papal claims has actually changed over the centuries, working from the historical record of specific elections and disputes. This record has not independently traced scholarly response to any one of Duffy's specific readings. Use it for the historical development of the papacy, the conclave and papal claims; a claim about current canon law governing these offices needs the Church's own current legal text alongside it.

Facts

Assessment

Reliability Tier

Eamon Duffy's history, now in its third edition, each revision incorporating scholarship published since the last; it traces the documented development of the papal office, the conclave and how papal claims have changed over the centuries from the historical record of specific elections and disputes.

Notes

Third edition. The standard single-volume history of the papal office, useful here for the development of the conclave, the college of cardinals and the changing content of papal claims.

Citation

Author

Eamon Duffy

Publisher

Yale University Press

Publication Year

2006

URL

https://archive.org/details/saints-sinners-history-of-popes-eamon-duffy

Source Type

academic monograph

Claims Backed By This Source (341 claims)

This source backs 341 claims across the atlas. As facts: 232 well-attested, 8 scholarly debate, 1 popular myth - corrected. As cited relationships: 57 holds, 2 connected. Plus 41 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.

Disposition By Topic

Figures, 219 claims: 144 well-attested, 6 scholarly debate, 1 popular myth - corrected, 46 holds, 22 general references.
Articles, 49 claims: 45 well-attested, 2 connected, 2 general references.
Religious Events, 26 claims: 15 well-attested, 4 holds, 7 general references.
Religious Roles & Titles, 14 claims: 10 well-attested, 2 holds, 2 general references.
Councils and Synods, 13 claims: 5 well-attested, 2 scholarly debate, 3 holds, 3 general references.
Sources, 8 claims: 8 well-attested.
Religious Organization & Structure, 7 claims: 5 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 general references.
Sacred Objects & Ritual Items, 2 claims: 1 holds, 1 general references.
Doctrines, 1 claims: 1 general references.
Empires & Polities, 1 claims: 1 general references.
Regions, 1 claims: 1 general references.