The Pope's army
Subtitle: 500 years of the papal Swiss Guard
By: Robert Royal.
Publisher: Crossroad Pub.
Published: 2006
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 210
Subjects: Vatican City. Guardia svizzera pontificia -- History
Description: With the recent elections of Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, the world witnessed the pomp and honor of the Swiss Guard, the "Pope's Army." Now Robert Royal takes us through the colorful 500-year history of the military guard that has witnessed every major Vatican event for half a millennium. Topics include the guard's origins, the Medici Popes, the sack of Rome, the Napoleonic War, the unification of Italy, the Pope's imprisonment; World Wars I and II; and the Nazi occupation of Rome.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Hundred years of fortitude; title: A modern corps; title: The long papacy and the 2005 conclave; title: The modernized conclave; title: Becoming a Swiss Guard; title: Legal status in the Vatican; title: Die vereidigung (swearing in ceremony); title: "Defenders of the church's liberty" : Pope Julius II and the origins of the guard; title: A weakened papacy; title: Swiss independence and papal independence; title: The rise of mercenaries; title: Julius calls on the Swiss; title: The first recruits; title: The Swiss and papal politics; title: Consolidation and trial : the Medici Popes, the guards, and the sack of Rome; title: Years of turmoil; title: Changes in Swiss policies at home and abroad; title: Renewed Swiss commitment to the Pope; title: Kaspar Roist and the reform of the guards; title: Leo X's death and its consequences; title: Pope Adrian VI and early Reformation politics; title: Clement VII and the first threats to Rome; title: Charles V and the initial imperial moves in Italy; title: The Colonna and the first sack of Rome; title: Zurich's recall of the Swiss; title: The 1527 sack of Rome, siege, dissolution, rebirth; title: A renaissance fortress and palace; title: The atmosphere during the siege; title: The spectacle of Benvenuto Cellini; title: Imperial fury unleashed; title: Damage to Charles V's reputation; title: The disbanding of the Swiss Guard; title: Silence about the sack in Switzerland; title: Renewed spirit in Switzerland; title: Commandant Jost von Meggen; title: Reforming popes; title: Von Meggen as diplomat; title: Years of peace; title: and Napoleonic war; title: Kaspar Leo von Silenen's command; title: The talented Jost Segesser; title: The Swiss and the Battle of Lepanto; title: A long, uneventful period; title: Years of pace and the Altishoffen dynasty; title: The popes, the Swiss guards, and the French Revolution; title: Another restoration; title: The guards during the unification of Italy and the Pope's imprisonment in the Vatican; title: The Pope's escape to Gaeta; title: Meyer and the guards prior to 1849; title: Commandant Martin Pfyffer; title: Meyer's appointment to command; title: The end of the papal states; title: The Swiss and the "prisoner of the Vatican"; title: The close of the nineteenth century; title: The guards during the two world wars, the Nazi Occupation of Rome and after World War I and two Swiss anniversaries; title: The new legal situation; title: The Swiss under the concordat; title: The German Occupation of Rome; title: A Swiss guard's first-hand account; title: Kidnaping the pope?; title: The final assault and the liberation of Rome; title: The guards after the war; title: Contemporary threats; title: An unfortunate interlude; title: New directions.