The Order of Preachers had a marked presence at the court of the Habsburgs, enjoying full hegemony as royal confessors in the 17th century. This position of great social prestige was the goal of so many years dedicated to the ecclesiastical career, even exceeding, when it was held, the goals of their ecclesiastical work, acquiring in many cases an enormous political weight that should be outside all their legal attributions.
The post of confessor to the king represented one of the most influential positions, since, compared to other members of the court, one had full access to the sovereign. At that time, there were doubts about the way in which the services rendered to the monarch were to be recognised, which was also linked to the role of the royal valides and the consideration that was held between the two positions.
Although the Order of Preachers was present in a wide variety of important positions within the court of the Habsburgs, in the 17th century they occupied almost exclusively the position of confessor to the king. It was during the reigns of Philip III and Charles II when these attributions became an element of friction between the great power groups of the court, essentially due to the continuous dismissal and promotion of confessors, thus affecting broad groups of power.

Collection: Statistics

Project: 10. Churches and religions in Europe.

Chronology: XVI, XVII

Scope: Secondary Education, Baccalaureate, University, Postgraduate

Link: http://www.tiemposmodernos.org/tm3/index.php/tm/article/view/218

Resource type: Statistics

Format: Table

Source: López, M. A. (2010). "Dominicos en la corte de los Austrias: el confesor del rey", en Negredo, F. (Coord.), Estudios sobre la Iglesia en la Monarquía Hispánica, Tiempos modernos, nº 20, p. 3.

Language: Spanish

Date: 2010

Owner: Roberto José Alcalde López (Modernalia)

Copyright: ©Tiempos Modernos ©María Amparo López Arandia

Abstract: The table lists the different royal confessors between 1592 and 1700, covering the reigns of Philip III, Philip IV and Charles II

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