In the first decades of the sixteenth century, humanists such as Erasmus and the Reformers such as Luther and Calvin subjected to a fierce critique the doctrine and practices of sacramental confession. The sacrament of penance and the hearing of confessions were scheduled for debate in each of the three periods of the council: during the first period in the context of the discussions on justiification and indulgences and in the draft canons on purgatory that were not promulgated; in the second period where the traditional teaching and related practices were affirmed in the doctrinal decree on the most holy sacraments of penance and extreme unction approved at that time; and in the third period where the rushed closure of the council prevented a deeper investigation, resting with a merely jurisdictional treatment of the topic.

The printed difusion of the conciliar decrees had a dogmatic character that assured the circulation of the teaching of the Roman Church, approved by the council and promulated by the pontiff, on the basis of which were updated the penitential summas and manuals of the confessors inherited and revised in the last centuries of the Middle Ages and now revised again.

In the pastoral practice after Trent, the effort to establish a control over the observance of the ecclesiastical precept of an annual confession with its registration in an appropriate book failed. Instead, a new ecclesiastical furnishing, the confessional box, appeared that assured at thesame time the making public and the secrecy of the administration of the sacrament.

This contribution focuses upon the Fourth Session of the Council (1546), discussing the important issue of scripture and tradition(s), the definition of the biblical canon, the authenticity of the Vulgate, next to the question of the interpretation and diffusion of scriptural books. The subsequent, humanist-minded Fifth Session continued dealing with scriptural matters, and decreed lectureships on the scriptures being established in institutions for the education of the clergy, as a precondition for a qualitative Bible-based preaching.

Most of the schools of theology present at the Council of Trent arose after the middle of the thirteenth century and late medieval theology attributed a certain theological authority to these schools. This chapter examines the way in which these schools contributed positively to the development of the council’s doctrinal decrees where there was consensus among them. While the council fathers generally avoided favoring one Catholic school of theology over another, there were occasions when the view of a particular school was rejected. This chapter also examines some of the various schools at Trent, such as Scotism and Thomism, and their prominent members.

The Tridentine Decree on the religious life reflected long-standing ecclesial disaffection and aspirations for reform. The product of a lively conciliar debate, it was neither innovative nor theologically sophisticated but narrowly disciplinary. In the aftermath of the Council, several of its prescriptions concerning male religious went unheeded.

On July 15, 1563, the bishops gathered in Trent unanimously approved the decree Cum adolescentium aetas that recommended the erection of a seminary in each diocese. It was a provision of epochal significance that endowed the Church with an instrument for the care of vocations to the ordained priesthood, according to the pastoral ideal of cura animarum. For the first time, referring to previous experiences and responding to the challenges raised by Protestants, a council laid the foundations for the creation of a specific educational institution for the spiritual, intellectual, and human preparation of its pastors. The Tridentine decree on priestly formation influenced, according to different rhythms, all the territories of the Roman Church. In many dioceses the institution took off only after decades (centuries, in some cases) of unsuccessful attempts, but certainly the decree of the twenty-third session had suggested a stable and uniform model of ecclesiastical formation, partly perfectible and adaptable, but now essential.

The Council of Trent addressed the topics of original sin and justification in two decrees, developed in succession. The Decree on Original Sin reaffirms a broadly Augustinian understanding of original sin, its effects, and its remedy in baptism. What remains after baptism is not sin in the strict sense. The Decree on Justification lays out the path from sin to grace to glory. Emphasis lies on both the constant and decisive role of grace and on the way grace engages rather than nullifies the agency of the justified. The Decree on Justification in particular not only rejected errors, but expounded Catholic teaching.

This chapter seeks to identify the doctrinal content of Trent’s decrees on the Eucharist, and to understand its engagement with Protestant teaching, in three areas: Christ’s presence in the Eucharist; communion in both kinds; and the Eucharist as sacrifice.

The chapter reviews the models – ideal and actual – of the ‘good bishop’ put forward at the beginning of the sixteenth century, models which inspired those conciliar fathers most inclined to reform. It also looks at the debate pursued throughout the three phases of the council over the source of episcopal authority, focusing on the disputes about the theological basis of the obligation of residence. Finally, it will analyse what was new about the regulations regarding the clergy and the reforming decrees issued above all in the last sessions of the assembly, when the discord between the Curia party and the reformers threatened to wreck the council altogether. Without actually embracing the episcopalian position, the council did at least restate the importance of the care of souls, which was the responsibility of the pastors of the diocese, but failed to curtail the scope for curial intervention, the secular authorities’ nomination rights or the privileges enjoyed by the male religious orders.

The council’s principal ruling on sacred music, its condemnation of the “intermingling of anything wanton or impure,” took aim at immoderate practices such as self-indulgent virtuosity, complex counterpoint that obscured verbal texts, and the incorporation of music originally associated with lascivious lyrics. Other rulings, although they make no explicit reference to music, also affected its production and consumption. Recent research has focused especially on changes in convent music following the council’s call for the strict claustration of nuns, and on the publication of the Tridentine missal and breviary, which inspired revisions to Gregorian chant that remained authoritative until the beginning of the twentieth century.

Pius IV confirmed the decrees of the Council of Trent by his bull Benedictus Deus, reserving to himself all interpretations of the decrees and appointing a congregatation of cardinals to see to their implementation. He and his successor, Pius V, completed the tasks assigned to them by the council of composing the Roman Catechism, formulating a profession of faith, and revising the index of prohibited books and the Roman missal and breviary.

This chapter explores the reception of Thucydides in later Greek and Roman historiography. It identifies three key themes in this reception. First, the tendency to avoid naming Thucydides, making him an ‘absent presence’ in later historical writing. Second, the adaptation and redeployment of Thucydidean themes in subsequent work. Third, the importance allotted to Thucydides’ Athenian context. These themes are discussed with reference to a number of ancient historical writers, including Xenophon, Appian and Sallust.

As the popularity of K-pop has grown around the globe, the number and scope of K-pop studies have also expanded. While many have provided important insights into socioeconomic aspects of K-pop, the music itself has rarely been at the center of discussion. The purpose of this chapter is to help fill the gap by examining the sound of K-pop, focusing on its musical elements such as melody, rhythm, and instrumentation. This approach involves close listening and reading of select songs covering various stylistic genres and analyzing their sound using the language of music theory. By so doing, this study will identify and offer an understanding of common musical structures used in K-pop songs. Furthermore, the chapter attempts to respond to the question asked most frequently in the author’s K-pop class: How is K-pop different from popular music of the West? To that end, a comparative analysis is conducted between K-pop songs and Western pop music. Among the styles of songs examined are bubblegum popular music, ballads, and songs that quote Korean traditional music, the types of music that are most revealing in addressing the question of distinctiveness of K-pop songs.

After briefly surveying what is known of Thucydides’ life and work, this introductory chapter outlines some of the key themes in Thucydidean scholarship, which will also be important in this volume: the nature of the History (including its language, style and organization), its reception by both historians and theorists and the key methodological questions and strategies that have been applied to the text.