Reti Medievali Rivista, 13, 1 (2012)

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Reti Medievali Rivista, 13, 1 (2012) Reti Medievali Rivista 13, 1 (2012) http://rivista.retimedievali.it FIRENZE UNIVERSITY PRESS Reti Medievali Rivista è presente nei cataloghi di centinaia di biblioteche nel mondo e nelle principali banche dati di periodici, tra cui Arts and Humanities Citation Index® e Current Contents®/Arts & Humanities di Thomson Reuters (già ISI). Reti Medievali – Firenze University Press ISSN 1593-2214 DOI 10.6092/1593-2214/344 Indice Interventi 1. Alma Poloni Il comune di popolo e le sue istituzioni tra Due e Trecento. Alcune riflessioni a partire dalla storiografia dell’ultimo quindicennio 3 Saggi 2. Marco Aimone Romani e Ostrogoti fra integrazione e separazione. Il con- tributo dell’archeologia a un dibattito storiografico 31 3. Alessia Francone Giordano da Pisa e il linguaggio degli angeli 97 Saggi - Sezione monografica Framing Clement III, (Anti)Pope, 1080-1100 Umberto Longo, Lila Yawn (eds.) 4. Umberto Longo e Lila Yawn Preface 115 5. Tommaso di Carpegna Falconieri Popes through the Looking Glass, or «Ceci n’est pas un pape» 121 6. Umberto Longo A Saint of Damned Memory. Clement III, (Anti)Pope 136 7. Kai-Michael Sprenger The Tiara in the Tiber. An Essay on the damnatio in memo- ria of Clement III (1084-1100) and Rome’s River as a Place of Oblivion and Memory 153 8. Lila Yawn Clement’s New Clothes. The Destruction of Old S. Clemente in Rome, the Eleventh-Century Frescoes, and the Cult of (Anti)Pope Clement III 175 Materiali e note 9. Marina Gazzini Ospedali nell’Italia medievale 211 10. Antonella Venezia Giuseppe De Blasiis (1832-1914) 239 Abstracts e Keywords 249 Presentazione, Redazione, Referees 259 Interventi Reti Medievali Rivista, 13, 1 (2012) <http://rivista.retimedievali.it> ISSN 1593-2214 © 2012 Firenze University Press DOI 10.6092/1593-2214/352 Il comune di popolo e le sue istituzioni tra Due e Trecento. Alcune riflessioni a partire dalla storiografia dell’ultimo quindicennio* di Alma Poloni Negli ultimi anni il periodo che potremmo definire tardo-comunale, com- preso grosso modo tra gli ultimi decenni del Duecento e la metà del Trecento, 1 ha attirato un crescente interesse da parte degli storici del Medioevo italiano . È la fase che fino agli anni Settanta del Novecento veniva inquadrata come quella della “crisi” del comune, inesorabilmente spinto dalle sue contraddi- zioni interne, dall’insufficiente sviluppo dei suoi apparati istituzionali e dalle lotte intestine verso la concentrazione del potere nelle mani di oligarchie 2 chiuse, oppure, più spesso, verso l’affermazione delle signorie . Chi si accosta a quel periodo è costretto a confrontarsi non solo con il paradigma della crisi, datato ma tenace, ma anche con l’immagine della fase precedente, la cosiddetta età podestarile, uscita fortemente rinnovata da una stagione di studi cominciata negli anni Ottanta. I decenni compresi tra la fine del XII e la metà del XIII secolo sono apparsi caratterizzati da uno straordi- nario dinamismo in tutti gli ambiti della vita cittadina. La vivace crescita eco- nomica e l’accentuata mobilità sociale sfociarono in un forte ampliamento * Questo saggio è una versione parzialmente rielaborata di una lezione tenuta nell’ambito dell’VIII Corso della Scuola di alti studi dottorali sulla civiltà comunale Comuni e signori nelle città italiane (secoli XIII-XIV), San Gimignano 20-24 giugno 2011. Ringrazio Andrea Zorzi e i partecipanti al Corso per gli stimoli e i suggerimenti ricevuti in quell’occasione. 1 Come osservato recentemente da G. Chittolini, «Crisi» e «lunga durata» delle istituzioni comu- nali in alcuni dibattiti recenti, in Penale, giustizia, potere. Metodi, ricerche, storiografie: per ricordare Mario Sbriccoli, a cura di L. Lacchè, C. Latini, P. Marchetta e M. Meccarelli, Macerata 2007, pp. 125-154. 2 M. Vallerani, Modelli di comune e modelli di stato nella medievistica italiana fra Otto e Novecento, in «Scienza e politica», 17 (1997), pp. 65-86; M. Vallerani, La città e le sue istituzio- ni. Ceti dirigenti, oligarchia e politica nella medievistica italiana del Novecento, in «Annali dell’Istituto storico italo-germanico», 20 (1994), pp. 165-230. Reti Medievali Rivista, 13, 1 (2012) <http://rivista.retimedievali.it> 3 [2] Alma Poloni della partecipazione politica, accompagnato e reso possibile dalla creazione di nuovi spazi istituzionali, e più in generale dalla definizione di un sistema politico aperto alle istanze di una società in rapida trasformazione e dotato di 3 grande flessibilità . Il tratto distintivo di questa fase della storia comunale è stato infatti individuato nella tendenza di ogni gruppo fondato sulla condivi- sione di interessi – economici, sociali, familiari, politici – a darsi una forma istituzionalizzata attraverso lo strumento associativo, e ad agire sul piano politico. Allo stesso tempo, è stata messa in luce la produzione di una cultu- ra politica originale e di una letteratura pedagogica finalizzata all’educazione del cittadino – pensato come soggetto politico – alla convivenza nello spazio 4 pubblico . Le ricerche sull’età podestarile hanno insomma elaborato un modello interpretativo particolarmente persuasivo, coerente, capace di spiegare numerosi aspetti dell’evoluzione politica e sociale delle realtà comunali. Proprio l’efficacia di questo modello ha contribuito a indirizzare l’interesse degli studiosi verso la fase successiva, nella quale il sistema podestarile fu indubbiamente sottoposto a sollecitazioni e deformazioni che in qualche modo ne mutarono gli equilibri. Che una “crisi” ci sia stata, insomma, nei decenni a cavallo tra Due e Trecento, sembra difficilmente contestabile, anche se i paradigmi accettati fino agli anni Settanta del Novecento, quando il tema della crisi conobbe una caduta di tensione, appaiono oggi insoddisfa- centi. Questo contributo ripercorrerà alcune delle riflessioni più recenti sulla fase della storia comunale coincidente con gli ultimi decenni del Duecento e i primi del Trecento. In questa sede verranno presi in considerazione soltanto gli studi sui maggiori comuni di popolo, restringendo in pratica il campo alle 3 Illuminanti riflessioni in questo senso si trovano già in G. Tabacco, La storia politica e sociale. Dal tramonto dell’Impero alle prime formazioni di Stati regionali, in Storia d’Italia Einaudi, a cura di R. Romano e C. Vivanti, II, Dalla caduta dell’Impero romano al sec. XVIIII, Torino 1974, poi anche in G. Tabacco, Egemonie sociali e strutture del potere nel Medioevo italiano, Torino 1979, in particolare pp. 275 sgg. di quest’ultima edizione. Il contributo maggiore alla valorizza- zione dell’età podestarile è venuto senza dubbio dagli studi di Enrico Artifoni. Si vedano alme- no: E. Artifoni, I podestà professionali e la fondazione retorica della politica comunale, in «Quaderni storici», 21 (1986), 63, pp. 687-719; E. Artifoni, Tensioni sociali e istituzioni nel mondo comunale, in La Storia. I grandi problemi dal Medioevo all’età contemporanea, a cura di N. Tranfaglia e M. Firpo, Torino 1986, pp. 461-491; E. Artifoni, Città e comuni, in Storia Medievale, Roma 1998. Nella stessa direzione, ma con uno sguardo concentrato sulla questione del ricambio dei ceti dirigenti, P. Cammarosano, Il ricambio e l’evoluzione dei ceti dirigenti nel corso del XIII secolo, in Magnati e popolani nell’Italia comunale, Atti del XV Convegno inter- nazionale di studi del Centro italiano di studi di storia e d’arte, Pistoia 15-18 maggio 1995, Pistoia 1997, pp. 17-40. 4 Anche su questi aspetti risultano essenziali le ricerche di Artifoni: E. Artifoni, Sull’eloquenza politica nel Duecento italiano, in «Quaderni medievali», 18 (1993), fasc. 35, pp. 57-78; E. Artifoni, Retorica e organizzazione del linguaggio politico nel Duecento italiano, in Le forme della propaganda politica nel Due e nel Trecento, a cura di P. Cammarosano, Roma 1994, pp. 157-182; E. Artifoni, Gli uomini dell’assemblea. L’oratoria civile, i concionatori e i predicatori nella società comunale, in La predicazione dei Frati dalla metà del ’200 alla fine del ’300, Spoleto 1995, pp. 141-188. 4 Reti Medievali Rivista, 13, 1 (2012) <http://rivista.retimedievali.it> Il comune di popolo e le sue istituzioni tra Due e Trecento [3] città toscane e a Bologna. Si tratta di una scelta per molti versi arbitraria, det- tata soprattutto da ragioni di spazio, oltre che di competenza personale. Ci si può chiedere in effetti se queste realtà abbiano caratteristiche distintive che ne giustifichino una trattazione come oggetto d’indagine a sé stante. Una con- trapposizione netta tra una Toscana “popolare”, con le appendici di Bologna e Perugia, e un’Italia settentrionale “signorile” non regge alla prova di ricerche ormai numerose, che hanno messo in luce sia la presenza di importanti espe- rimenti signorili nei maggiori comuni di popolo, sia, al contrario, la persisten- za di logiche istituzionali, istanze politiche e discorsi di matrice chiaramente 5 popolare nelle città padane rette a signoria . Mi pare tuttavia si possa ritenere ancora legittima una prospettiva che consideri i grandi comuni di popolo come esperienze storiche dai tratti per molti versi originali, anche se non certo sle- gate dall’evoluzione più generale del fenomeno comunale. Nel periodo che qui interessa, compreso più o meno tra il 1280 e il 1330, sia le città del Nord sia quelle del Centro conobbero un’alternarsi di regimi signorili, di origine, natu- ra e grado di formalizzazione diversi, e forme di governo collegiali, tanto che 6 l’idea di un’incompatibilità tra comune e signoria appare ormai insostenibile . Tuttavia, al Nord questa alternanza si presentò in molti casi come un susse- guirsi quasi ininterrotto di esperienze signorili, intervallate da brevi ritorni a regimi comunali autonomi, per lo più di stampo popolare, che dimostrano una scarsa capacità di resistenza ai progetti egemonici portati avanti da famiglie 7 locali dotate di grandi risorse economiche e relazionali e da poteri esterni . Nei maggiori comuni di popolo il dosaggio tra i due ingredienti, signoria e governi 5 Sulle esperienze signorili nei grandi comuni di popolo nella fase qui considerata, si vedano per esempio A.
Recommended publications
  • Dositheos Notaras, the Patriarch of Jerusalem (1669-1707), Confronts the Challenges of Modernity
    IN SEARCH OF A CONFESSIONAL IDENTITY: DOSITHEOS NOTARAS, THE PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM (1669-1707), CONFRONTS THE CHALLENGES OF MODERNITY A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY Christopher George Rene IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Adviser Theofanis G. Stavrou SEPTEMBER 2020 © Christopher G Rene, September 2020 i Acknowledgements Without the steadfast support of my teachers, family and friends this dissertation would not have been possible, and I am pleased to have the opportunity to express my deep debt of gratitude and thank them all. I would like to thank the members of my dissertation committee, who together guided me through to the completion of this dissertation. My adviser Professor Theofanis G. Stavrou provided a resourceful outlet by helping me navigate through administrative channels and stay on course academically. Moreover, he fostered an inviting space for parrhesia with vigorous dialogue and intellectual tenacity on the ideas of identity, modernity, and the role of Patriarch Dositheos. It was in fact Professor Stavrou who many years ago at a Slavic conference broached the idea of an Orthodox Commonwealth that inspired other academics and myself to pursue the topic. Professor Carla Phillips impressed upon me the significance of daily life among the people of Europe during the early modern period (1450-1800). As Professor Phillips’ teaching assistant for a number of years, I witnessed lectures that animated the historical narrative and inspired students to question their own unique sense of historical continuity and discontinuities. Thank you, Professor Phillips, for such a pedagogical example.
    [Show full text]
  • Fifteenth International Congress of Medieval Canon Law
    Fifteenth International Congress of Medieval Canon Law PROGRAM —— Sunday 17 July 5 : 00 pm Opening Mass Saint-Étienne-du-Mont Church, place du Panthéon, Paris Ve 6 : 00 pm Registration and Opening Reception Saint-Étienne-du-Mont Parish, 20, rue Clovis, Paris Ve Monday 18 July 9 : 00 Welcome Faculté de droit, 12, place du Panthéon, Paris Ve (Ampithéâtre 4, Ground Floor) Guillaume LEYTE, President of the university Paris II, Panthéon-Assas Jacques BITTOUN, Emeritus President of the university Paris-Sud Franck ROUMY, Professor at the university Paris II, Panthéon-Assas 9 : 30 Plenary Session I (Amphi. 4, Ground Floor) Chair : Peter LANDAU Anne LEFEBVRE-TEILLARD, La diffusion de la collection de Gilbert l’Anglais dans la France du Nord 10 : 30 Coffee Break Great Gallery (First Floor) 11 : 00 Plenary Session II (Amphi. 4, Ground Floor) Chair : Sophie DÉMARE-LAFONT Kathleen G. CUSHING, Readers and compilers ? Monks and canon law in eleventh- and early twelfth-century Italy 12 : 00 Free Lunch Concurrent Sessions 1–4 Session 1 : 1 : 30 pm – 3 : 30 pm (Amphi. 4, Ground Floor) S PECIAL S ESSION Chair : Anne LEFEBVRE-TEILLARD Peter LANDAU, Die Anfänge der französischen Dekretalensammlungen im 12. Jahr- hundert. Die Collectio Cantabrigensis in Rouen und die Collectio Pari- siensis I in Reims. Maria Gigliola DI RENZO VILLATA, Théologie morale et droit : l’homicidium dans les Summae confessorum italiennes du bas Moyen Âge Session 2 : 1 : 30 pm – 3 : 30 pm (Amphi. 1, Ground Floor) G ENERAL T HEORY OF L AW I Chair : Stephan DUSIL Cyrille DOUNOT, La prise en compte de l’urgence par le droit canonique médiéval Wouter DRUWÉ, Scandalum in the early decretistic (ca.
    [Show full text]
  • Popes from St. Peter
    POPES FROM ST. PETER (Chronological list of popes from St. Peter to Benedict XVI) Sl. No. Papal Name Photo Elected Date Died Date Place of birth Notes 1st Centuary Disciple of Jesus from whom he received the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, according to Matthew 16:18–19 . Executed by crucifixion upside-down; feast day (Feast Bethsaida, of Saints Peter and Paul) 29 June, (Chair of 1 St Peter - 67 Galilea Saint Peter) 22 February. Recognized as the first Bishop of Rome (Pope) appointed by Christ, by the Catholic Church. Also revered as saint in Eastern Christianity, with a feast day of 29 June. Pope Saint Linus was, according to several early sources, Bishop of the diocese of Rome after Saint Peter. This makes Linus Tuscia (Central the second Pope. Linus is the only person 2t S Linus 67 76 Tuscany) specifically mentioned in the New Testament, other than Peter, considered by the Catholic Church to have held the position of Pope. Martyred; feast day 26 April. Once Probably Greece 3t S Anacletus 76 88 erroneously split into Cletus and Anacletus. Feast day 23 November. Also revered as a 4t S Clement I 88 97 Rome saint inEastern Christianity, with a feast day of 25 November. 5 St Evaristus 97 105 Bethlehem, Judea Feast day 26 October 2nd Century Also revered as a saint in Eastern Rome 6t S Alexander I 105 115 Christianity, with a feast day of 16 March. Also revered as a saint in Eastern Rome or Greece 7 St Sixtus I 115 125 Christianity, with a feast day of 10 August.
    [Show full text]
  • THE POCKET GUIDE to the Popes 
    THE POCKET GUIDE TO the Popes RICHARD P. McBRIEN Contents Introduction 1 The Popes 11 Index of Names 339 About the Author Other Books by Richard P. McBrien Credits Cover Copyright About the Publisher introduction This book contains the abridged profiles of all of the popes of the Catholic Church organized chronologically according to the dates of their respective terms of office. For the complete profiles, readers should consult the full edition, originally published in hard cover by HarperSanFrancisco in 1997, subsequently released in paperback in 2000, and finally issued in an updated edi- tion that includes Pope Benedict XVI in 2006. The full edition contains many original features; this abridged edition is limited to profiles of individual popes that rely upon secondary source material for their factual and historical content. For a listing of these sources and an explanation of how they were incorporated into the pro- files, the reader should consult the Preface and the Select Bibliography of the full edition. WHAT IS A POPE? The offi ce occupied by the pope is known as the papacy. The pope’s principal title is Bishop of Rome. In addition to his immediate pastoral responsibilities as Bishop of Rome, the pope also exercises a special ministry on be- half of the universal Church. It is called the Petrine min- istry, because the Catholic Church considers the pope to be the successor of the Apostle Peter. As such, he has the 2 the pocket guide to the popes duty to preserve the unity of the worldwide Church and to support all of his brother bishops in the service of their own respective dioceses.
    [Show full text]
  • Medieval Church
    Medieval Church • Dr. Cameron MacKenzie • We have a love/hate relationship with the Middle Ages • Necessary to see clearly where we’ve been, and where we’re going • This period covers • 1000 years • Ways of understanding and systematizing theology that are still with us • The papacy, the split between East and West, piety, prayer, liturgy • Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Innocent III • Course aims to provide a nodding acquaintance with this period and its developments • 3 book reports, a midterm and a final exam • The Medieval Experience • Popular Religion in the Middle Ages • The Christian Tradition • www.ctsfw.edu/library/index MARCH 6, 2001: CLASS • Recommended Books • Gonzalez: “A History of Christian Thought”, vol. 2 • Southern, “Western Society and the Church in the Middle Ages” • Test material: • Will be based on class material • Readings should be done to clarify names, concepts and developments • Study questions: • Are there to provide assistance for “guided reading” • Don’t lead into the book report • Book reports: • DON’T summarize the book • THINK about what’s in the book, and write according to your thinking • A question is raised that may not immediately be obvious • Parenthetical references are fine – but show that you’ve used the book • Use of reviews of the book are fine, but not necessary ORGANIZATION • Medieval: Latin for “Middle Ages” • Why Middle Ages? • Comes out of the Renaissance / Reformation Period • Two high points: Ancient Rome and Ren / Ref • 1500s wanted to return to the high civilization of “Ancient Rome” • What
    [Show full text]
  • Duke University Dissertation Template
    The Aristocratic Body and the Memory Politics of Church Reform, 900-1300 C.E. by Jonathan T. Sapp Department of History Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Jehangir Malegam, Advisor ___________________________ Constance Bouchard ___________________________ Marcus Bull ___________________________ Bruce Hall ___________________________ Kristen Neuschel Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History in the Graduate School of Duke University 2021 ABSTRACT The Aristocratic Body and the Memory Politics of Church Reform, 900-1300 C.E. by Jonathan Sapp Department of History Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Jehangir Malegam, Advisor ___________________________ Constance Bouchard ___________________________ Marcus Bull ___________________________ Bruce Hall ___________________________ Kristen Neuschel An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History in the Graduate School of Duke University 2021 Copyright by Jonathan Sapp 2021 Abstract This dissertation examines the tools of memory creation in the context of church reform from the late ninth through thirteenth centuries. It argues that monastic communities and aristocratic households of the period used the human body as a touchstone for the discussion of memory as a key stake in the social and political life of the
    [Show full text]
  • The Bad Popes and Schisms
    # 32 The Bad Popes and Schisms Catholics may be asked about the bad Popes and it is true that there were a few. The only reason we know about them is because the Catholic Church has preserved all of her history. What is remarkable is that these bad Pope s never changed any dogmas of the Church thus fulfilling Christ’s promise that the gates of hell would not prevail against His Church. Patrick Madrid, in his book, Pope Fiction offers this summary: “Clearly, Christ entrusted the role of Apostle to weak, even at times wicked men, but does that fact somehow disqualify them from fulfilling the purpose for which He called them? Of course not. God's grace is more powerful than man's sin, and the same is true when it comes to the papacy……Yes, there have been some wicked popes. Corruptions, immorality, even murder, were sins committed by some bishops of Rome. But what does that prove, except that they, like the Apostles, were not always faithful to the graces God gave them? This is true of all of us, to one extent or another. The fact that there have been bad popes -- and that's a fact no Catholic disputes -- does not disprove the doctrine of the papacy….. The fact is, most of the popes have been good -- even heroically good -- men. They have been, on the whole, good examples of Christian virtue and perseverance in the apostolate. That fact is very easily forgotten by critics of the papacy.” One of the most bizarre events in the history of the Papacy occurred under Pope Stephen VI (896 -897), who had his predecessor Pope Formosus exhumed and put on trial.
    [Show full text]
  • PAPAL COINAGE to 1605 NOTES on PAPAL COINAGE the Papal Mint Is the Pope's Institute for the Production of Hard Cash
    PAPAL COINAGE To 1605 NOTES ON PAPAL COINAGE The Papal Mint is the pope's institute for the production of hard cash. Papal Mint may also refer to the buildings in Avignon, Rome and elsewhere which used to house the mint. (The Italian word for mint is Zecca). The right to coin money being one of the regalia (sovereign prerogatives), there can be no papal coins of earlier date than that of the temporal power of the popes. Nevertheless, there are coins of Pope Zacharias (741-52), of Gregory III (Ficoroni, "Museo Kircheriano"), and possibly of Gregory II (715-741). There is no doubt that these pieces, two of which are of silver, are true coins, and not merely a species of medals, like those which were distributed as "presbyterium" at the coronation of the popes since the time of Valentine (827). Their stamp resembles that of the Byzantine and Merovingian coins of the seventh and eighth centuries, and their square shape is also found in Byzantine pieces. Those that bear the inscription GREII PAPE — SCI PTR (Gregorii Papæ — Sancti Petri) cannot be attributed to Pope Gregory IV (827-44), because of the peculiarity of minting. The existence of these coins, while the popes yet recognized the Byzantine domination, is explained by Hartmann (Das Königreich Italien, Vol. III), who believes that, in the eighth century, the popes received from the emperors the attributes of "Præfectus Urbis". Under the empire, coins that were struck in the provinces bore the name of some local magistrate, and those coins of Gregory and of Zacharias are simply imperial Byzantine pieces, bearing the name of the first civil magistrate of the City of Rome.
    [Show full text]
  • The Cadaver Synod 500-Year-Old Shipwreck Prostitution in the Middle a Guide to Dover Castle Discovered Ages
    MEDIEVAL STUDIES MAGAZINE FROM MEDIEVALISTS.NET The Medieval Magazine Volume 2 Number 8 March 21, 2016 The Cadaver Synod 500-Year-Old Shipwreck Prostitution in the Middle A Guide to Dover Castle Discovered Ages 4 20 26 The Life and Death of King Erik IX of Sweden The Medieval Magazine March 21, 2016 Page 4 500-Year-Old Shipwreck Discovered off the Coast of Oman Archaeologists believe this is the remains of one of the ships in the fleet of explorer Vasco de Gama Page 16 The Cadaver Synod: Low Point in the History of the Papacy Why did one Pope put the corpse of another on trial in 897? Page 20 The Medieval Ladies of the Night Daniele Cybulskie takes a look at prostitution in the Middle Ages. Page 26 A Guide to Dover Castle Sandra Alvarez explores one of the great castles of England. Table of Contents 4 500-Year-Old Shipwreck Discovered off the Coast of Oman 8 Historian uncovers secrets of the Reformation hidden in England's oldest printed Bible 10 The Life and Death of King Erik IX of Sweden 13 From Pulp to Fiction: Our Love Affair with Paper 16 The Cadever Synod: Low Point in the History of the Papacy 20 The Medieval Ladies of the Night 23 The medieval power struggles that helped forge today's universities 26 A Guide to Dover Castle 32 V lva ~ Scandinavian Practitioner of Prophecy and Magical Medicine 34 Interview: Michael H. Roffer, author of The Law Book 38 Book Excerpt: On the Trail of the Yorks 40 Tales from Sacchetti: The Bean in the Ear THE MEDIEVAL MAGAZINE Edited by: Peter Konieczny Website: www.medievalists.net This digital magazine is published each Monday.
    [Show full text]
  • The Body of Pope Formosus
    The Body of Pope Formosus Michael Edward Moore Let us cover, oh Silent One, with a sheet of fine linen, the stiff, dead profile of our Imperfection. – F. Pessoa1 Since the times of Cesare Baronius, the papacy of Pope Formosus (891–896) and the events of the Cadaver Synod have been considered emblematic of the decadence of the late Carolingian world, and the arrival of an age of darkness and iron.2 The trial evinced a level of hatred and political vengeance that seems excessive, going beyond the boundaries of political behavior even for an age in which contemporaries saw increasing violence and transgression as signs of a world in decline.3 In the course of the trial, the body of Formosus was exhumed from the tomb where it had lain for less than a year. His corpse, still dressed in papal regalia, was propped up on the papal throne, and placed on trial, with a deacon answering the charges on behalf of the dead pontiff. Formosus was convicted, and all his ordinations declared invalid. The three fingers used to form the sign of blessing were cut from his right hand, and the corpse stripped of its papal garments and put into laymans clothing.4 It is possible that the body was first 1 This article was written with the assistance of fellowships at the Max-Planck-Institut fr europische Rechtsgeschichte, Frankfurt, and Trinity College Library, Dublin. The epigram is from F. Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet, Composed by Bernardo Soares, Assistant Bookkeeper in the City of Lisbon, trans. A.
    [Show full text]
  • The Old English Translation of Bede´S Historia Ecclesiastica
    Entstand die altenglische Übersetzung der Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum des Beda Venerabilis, des wohl bedeutendsten anglo-lateinischen Werkes des Andreas Lemke Mittelalters, auf Bestreben König Alfreds ‚des Großen‘ als Teil seines Übersetzungs- und Bildungsprogrammes? War die altenglische Historia vielleicht ein Gründungs- The Old English Translation of Bede’s manifest des Königreichs der Angelsachsen? Dieses Königreich formierte sich Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum schließlich in einer Zeit, als England sich eines äußeren Feindes zu erwehren hatte, der die politische Ordnung der angelsächsischen Königreiche bedrohte: der in its Historical and Cultural Context Wikinger. Um diese Frage zu beantworten, präsentiert Andreas Lemke ein in dieser Form einzigartiges Kompendium interdisziplinärer Ansätze und wirft ein neues Licht auf die altenglische Beda-Übersetzung, das Literatur- und Sprachwissenschaftler, Philologen und Historiker gleichermaßen anspricht. Göttinger Schriften zur Englischen Philologie Band 8 Did King Alfred the Great commission the Old English translation of Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum, probably the masterpiece of medieval Anglo-Latin Literature, as part of his famous program of translation to educate the Anglo- Saxons? Was the Old English Historia, by any chance, a political and religious 2015 manifesto for the emerging ‘Kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons’? Do we deal with the literary cornerstone of a nascent English identity at a time when the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were threatened by a common enemy: the Vikings? Andreas Lemke seeks to answer these questions – among others – in his recent publication. He presents us with a unique compendium of interdisciplinary approaches to the subject and sheds new light on the Old English translation of the Historia in a way that will Historia Ecclesiastica fascinate scholars of Literature, Language, Philology and History.
    [Show full text]
  • The Cadaver Synod: Strangest Trial in History
    Masthead Logo Digital Commons @ Georgia Law Popular Media Faculty Scholarship 10-31-2001 The aC daver Synod: Strangest Trial in History Donald E. Wilkes Jr. University of Georgia School of Law, [email protected] Repository Citation Wilkes, Donald E. Jr., "The aC daver Synod: Strangest Trial in History" (2001). Popular Media. 42. https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/fac_pm/42 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Scholarship at Digital Commons @ Georgia Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Popular Media by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Georgia Law. Please share how you have benefited from this access For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE CADAVER SYNOD: STRANGEST TRIAL IN HISTORY Published in Flagpole Magazine, p. 8 (October 31, 2001). One thousand one hundred and four years ago a criminal trial took place in Italy, a trial so macabre, so gruesome, so frightful that it easily qualifies as the strangest and most terrible trial in human history. At this trial, called the Cadaver Synod, a dead pope wrenched from the grave was brought into a Rome courtroom, tried in the presence of a successor pope, found guilty, and then, in the words of Horace K. Mann's The Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages (1925), "subjected to the most barbarous violence." For the past several centuries the papacy has enjoyed enormous respect in every quarter of the globe, partly because most 19th and 20th century popes have stood for and publicly defended basic principles of liberty, justice and humanity in a tumultuous world often beset by war and revolution, and partly because with a few exceptions these popes have been extraordinarily admirable human beings.
    [Show full text]