And (finally), there is a version related to "hard times make hard men"; superfluous power abets carelessness, while challenges inspire severity and piety Note that Acton's examples are not what we would call "absolute monarchs" (e.g., William III)
The papism of the Church caused problems of this type, not just in England but in every Western country, all through the Middle Ages. That a minor Italian prince arrogated the right to decide which of Henry VIII's children were legitimate was only the last straw
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That a princeling who was at the mercy of Charles V had authority to annul his niece's marriage was unfortunate, ofc. But even at pts where bishop of Rome could stand on its own two feet, he still intervened in power politics like this
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I've never seen a papist who was both (a) committed (i.e. not just ethnically RCC) and (b) able to give a complete account of his understanding of medieval papal mischief
End of conversation
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