Abstract

Aspiring to deal with the full complexity of the Catholic reformation, the May 2012 workshop in Bologna placed a particular focus on the reform of religious orders in the first half of the sixteenth century. While it is true that internal reform initiatives instigated by the Church or highly placed Church officials were important and should be considered, this, in my view, is an issue that should not only be addressed from a narrow institutional perspective. For this reason, the Libellus ad Leonem X provides a good example of the reformist aspirations cutting across the Church in this particular period. However, it would be a mistake to assume that the reform impulse came solely from the Church. We should also..