The implementation of the Council of Trent: the provincial councils of Granada and Toledo, 1565-1566

Thesis

In 1565, Philip II of Spain announced that five provincial councils would meet in five cities to implement the Tridentine decrees. The five cities were: Granada, Toledo, Valencia, Zaragoza and Salamanca. In this thesis, I focus exclusively on the provincial councils held in Granada and Toledo. These two gatherings offer a unique chance to examine how the Tridentine decrees were implemented at the local level. In this regard, these two councils also offer unique chances to examine how the Spanish patronato functioned. The Tridentine decrees, while universal, needed to be tailored to reflect the king’s rights and the problems facing the Church at the local level.

Both the councils in Granada and Toledo worked diligently from 1565 until 1566 to draft their own decrees, which would become the manual for governing the Church in each province according to the Tridentine decrees. With this in mind, the topic uniformity of doctrinal belief among the laity was the most important topics at both councils. However, at Toledo and Granada problems arose which threatened to derail the proceedings, reinforcing the awareness that the Tridentine decrees had to be adapted to deal with the specific problems of the Church in Spain and in these two kingdoms.

However, abiding by the king’s rules and protecting his rights according to the patronato were also necessary. The prelates at Toledo consulted the king and requested his guidance on several occasions. The bishops there had to tread a thin line between royal policy and Tridentine reform. The prelates at Granada in contrast resisted Philip’s insistence that royal approval was needed for the council’s decrees, instead deferring to their own experiences and training. In the end, one council would have a successful conclusion while the other would be suspended indefinitely.

Authors: Parham, A

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-jnpvkoj8m
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English