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Durham University

Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies (IMEMS)

Members

The list below shows Durham University research staff who are members of IMEMS. Click the member's name to see a more detailed biography and department.

We also welcome anyone from outside the University with an interest in our work to join. Membership is free of charge. You will receive invitations to our programme of events, with a weekly emails digest about what is happening in the Insitute and further afield. To join IMEMS contact: admin.imems@durham.ac.uk

Publication details for Professor Nicole Reinhardt

Reinhardt, Nicole (2017). Hernando de Mendoça (1562–1617), General Acquaviva and the Controversy over Confession, Counsel, and Obedience. Journal of Jesuit Studies 4(2): 209-229.

Author(s) from Durham

Abstract

This article examines the clash between Superior General Claudio Acquaviva and the Spanish Jesuit Hernando de Mendoça, briefly confessor to the viceroy of Naples count of Lemos (1599–1601). It argues that Mendoça’s activities in Naples and the scandal that followed were an important influence on Acquaviva’s determination to formalize and push forward the regulations for princely confessors in 1602. It situates the confrontation within the context of the discontent amongst Spanish Jesuits, and their criticism of Acquaviva’s generalate. While Jesuit historiography has generally considered Mendoça’s case as an example of individual folly and disobedience, the essay elucidates the significance of his agency by taking into account his overlooked writings, which offer new insights into the controversy over the role of confession for just government within and without the Society of Jesus.