Sarpi, Paolo (päˈōlō särˈpē) [key], 1552–1623, Venetian
councillor, theologian, and historian. In 1565 he became a
Servite friar and later theologian and adviser to the republic.
In the conflict that developed in 1606 between Venice and Pope
Paul V he staunchly defended in his writings the right of the
state to control ecclesiastic matters. In 1607 his prestige was
increased when he was wounded in an attempt, said to be
sponsored by the pope, to seize him by force. His most important
work is his history of the Council of Trent (published in London
in 1719), in which he viewed the council as the triumph of papal
absolutism and centralization. The Columbia Electronic
Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University
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