"The Renaissance Popes were statesmen, warriors and patrons of the arts, as well as churchmen. These were earthly times and the reputations of popes like Alexander VI, the infamous Borgia patriarch, and Julius 'Il Terribile' II for murder, poison, sodomy and simony vary only in degree. Meanwhile, the sin of heresy, which threatens the very core of the Catholic soul, was tirelessly targeted by two other lasting innovations of the period: the Inquisition and witch-hunts." "Alexander VI, father of the ruthless Cesare and jezebel Lucrezia, is seen to this day as the embodiment of this iniquity. But Gerard Noel shows this is injust, based on false confessions and unanswered historical myth. What's more, Alexander created the blueprint for reform - the first of its kind - that would eventually lead to the Counter-Reformation." "In his survey of the colourful reigns of these seventeen popes, set against the spectacular backdrop of the Renaissance, Noel brings to light the true legacy - artistic, political, religious - of an extraordinary time."--Jacket.