D. L. d’Avray, The Power of Protocol: Diplomatics and the Dynamics of Papal Government, c. 400 ‒ c. 1600. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 2023, 266 non pp., 6 plates.

This book considers the historical problem of explaining papal power in Europe from late antiquity into the years immediately following the Council of Trent, given the relatively weak state of papal bureaucracy during much of this time compared to secular governments. A secondary goal of the study is to encourage a wider use of the field of diplomatics in historical research.