ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book argues that the confessional and religious divide was a key element in the diplomatic affairs of premodern Europe. It illustrates the confessional politics of papal diplomats in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth during the periods of interregna in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The book examines the way the papal and the imperial diplomatic networks interacted in this complex situation: how the victories over the Ottomans influenced decisions in Rome and how the Ottoman Empire tried to hinder financial support, and how confessional concerns appear in the argument. It discusses how Robert Barnes qualified in ways that outweighed the specific shortcoming of being regarded as a heretic, exploring how contemporary writings on diplomacy dealt with heresy. The book also examines the problems attached to being a Catholic ambassador at the Protestant English court during the reign of James VI & I.
