|
Tusculan
The counts of Tusculum, also known as the Theophylacti, were a family of secular noblemen from Latium that maintained a powerful position in Rome between the 10th and 12th centuries. Several popes and an antipope during the 11th century came from their ranks. They created and perfected the political formula of noble-papacy, wherein the pope was arranged to be elected only from the ranks of the Roman nobles. The Pornocracy, the period of influence by powerful female courtesans of the family, also influenced papal history. The counts of Tusculum remained arbiters of Roman politics and religion for more than a century. In addition to the papal influence, they held lay power through consulships and senatorial membership. Traditionally they were pro-Byzantine and anti-Germanic in their political affiliation. After 1049, the Tusculan Papacy came to an end with the appointment of Pope Leo IX. In fact, the Tusculan papacy was largely responsible for the reaction known as the Gregorian r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tusculan Papacy
The Tusculan Papacy was a period of papal history from 1012 to 1048 where three successive relatives of the counts of Tusculum were installed as pope. Background Count Theophylact I of Tusculum, his wife Theodora, and daughter Marozia held great sway over the appointment of popes from 904 to 964. The lovers of Theodora and Marozia, as well as the son and grandson of Marozia, rose to the papacy during this period. However, a Count of Tusculum had not yet attempted to appoint ''himself'' as pope until 1012. Their rivals, the Crescentii had taken over the papacy from 974 to 1012. According to Cushing, "in many ways, increasing respect for papal authority from the mid-tenth century to mid-eleventh centuries can be best viewed through the spectrum of two Roman families: the Crescentians and the Tusculans, whose control of the papacy would have important ramifications for both the control and direction of reform."Cushing, 2005, p. 61. Both the Crescentii and the Counts of Tusculum were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Counts Of Tusculum
The counts of Tusculum, also known as the Theophylacti, were a family of secular noblemen from Latium that maintained a powerful position in Rome between the 10th and 12th centuries. Several popes and an antipope during the 11th century came from their ranks. They created and perfected the political formula of noble-papacy, wherein the pope was arranged to be elected only from the ranks of the Roman nobles. The Pornocracy, the period of influence by powerful female courtesans of the family, also influenced papal history. The counts of Tusculum remained arbiters of Roman politics and religion for more than a century. In addition to the papal influence, they held lay power through consulships and senatorial membership. Traditionally they were pro-Byzantine and anti-Germanic in their political affiliation. After 1049, the Tusculan Papacy came to an end with the appointment of Pope Leo IX. In fact, the Tusculan papacy was largely responsible for the reaction known as the Gregorian re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gregory III, Count Of Tusculum
Gregory III (died about 1108) was the son of Gregory II. He was the Count of Tusculum from 1058, when his father died. He is usually considered to stand at the fore of the family of the Colonna. Unlike his father, he did not bear the ducal and senatorial titles, nor any title to Rome, but simply was ''patricius et consul'', (''Comes Tusculanensis, Consul, illustris''). Gregory was succeeded by his eldest son, Ptolemy I. He had sons named: *Ptolemy I (1099–1129)-(''Consul comes Tusculanus''); *Gregory IV (1109–1128)-(''Iudex Tusculanensis''); *Peter de Columpna (1099–1151) - (Colonna family The House of Colonna, also known as ''Sciarrillo'' or ''Sciarra'', is an Italian noble family, forming part of the papal nobility. It was powerful in Middle Ages, medieval and Roman Renaissance, Renaissance Rome, supplying one pope (Pope Martin ...); *Egidius (1128–1137); *Iadara (daughter). SourcesFoundation of Medieval Genealogy: Northern Italy — 21. Counts of Tusculum. 110 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pornocracy
''Saeculum obscurum'' (, "the dark age/century"), also known as the Pornocracy or the Rule of the Harlots, was a period in the history of the Papacy during the first two-thirds of the 10th century, following the chaos after the death of Formosus in 896 which saw seven or eight papal elections in as many years. It began with the installation of Pope Sergius III in 904 and lasted for sixty years until the death of Pope John XII in 964. During this period, the popes were influenced strongly by a powerful and allegedly corrupt aristocratic family, the Theophylacti, and their relatives and allies. The era is seen as one of the lowest points of the history of the Papal office. Periodisation The ''saeculum obscurum'' was first named and identified as a period of papal immorality by the Italian cardinal and historian Caesar Baronius in his ''Annales Ecclesiastici'' in the sixteenth century. Baronius's primary source for his history of this period was a contemporaneous writer, Bishop L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pope Benedict IX
Pope Benedict IX ( la, Benedictus IX; c. 1012 – c. 1056), born Theophylactus of Tusculum in Rome, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States on three occasions between October 1032 and July 1048. Aged approximately 20 at his first election, he is one of the youngest popes in history. He is the only man to have been Pope on more than one occasion and the only man ever to have sold the papacy. He was the nephew of his immediate predecessor, John XIX. In October 1032, Benedict's father obtained his election through bribery. However, his reputed dissolute activities provoked a revolt on the part of the Romans. Benedict was driven out of Rome and Sylvester III elected to succeed him. Some months later, Benedict and his supporters managed to expel Sylvester. Benedict then decided to resign in favor of his godfather, Gregory VI, provided he was reimbursed for his expenses. Benedict subsequently had second thoughts and returned, and attempted to depose Gregory VI. A number o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tusculum
Tusculum is a ruined Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable distance from Rome (notably the villas of Cicero and Lucullus). Location Tusculum is located on Tuscolo hill on the northern edge of the outer crater rim of the Alban volcano. The volcano itself is located in the Alban Hills south of the present-day town of Frascati. The summit of the hill is above sea level and affords a view of the Roman Campagna, with Rome lying to the north-west. It had a strategic position controlling the route from the territory of the Aequi and the Volsci to Rome which was important in earlier times. Later Rome was reached by the Via Latina (from which a branch road ascended to Tusculum, while the main road passed through the valley to the south of it), or by the Via Labicana to the north. Most of the ancient city and the acropol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alberic I Of Spoleto
Alberic I (died c. 925) was the Lombard Duke of Spoleto from between 896 and 900 until 920, 922, or thereabouts. He was also Margrave of Camerino, and the son-in-law of Theophylact I, Count of Tusculum, the most powerful man in Rome. Life He first appears as a page to Guy III of Spoleto at the Battle on the Trebbia in 889. He may have later been the count of Fermo, but whatever the case, he succeeded to Spoleto after murdering Duke Guy IV. He was recognised soon by King Berengar I, with whom he fought the Magyars in 899 or 900. Theophylact, Count of Tusculum, in the Alban Hills southeast of Rome served as '' palatine iudex'' (or leader of the militia) for Emperor Louis III. He remained in Rome, commanding a group of soldiers after the emperor’s return to Provence in 902, and was prominent in the overthrow of Antipope Christopher in January 904. Together with Alberic, they secured the succession of Pope Sergius III. Under Sergius, Theophylact became both ''sacri palatii vesta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theophylact I, Count Of Tusculum
Theophylact I (before 864 – 924/925) was a medieval count of Tusculum who was the effective ruler of Rome from around 905 through to his death in 924. His descendants controlled the papacy for the next 100 years. Biography Theophylact was the hereditary count of Tusculum, a small hill town near the vicinity of Rome. He is mentioned for the first time in a document of 901 as '' palatine iudex'' (''palace judge'', or leader of the militia) of Emperor Louis the Blind. He remained in Rome, commanding a group of soldiers after the emperor's return to Provence in 902, and was prominent in the overthrow of Antipope Christopher in January 904, whom he very likely ordered to be killed whilst in prison later that year. Theophylact formed an alliance with Duke Alberic I of Spoleto, and with their combined backing, Pope Sergius III was elected in Christopher's place. During his pontificate, Theophylact became Sergius’ '' sacri palatii vestararius'' and ''magister militum'', effectively ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raino, Count Of Tusculum
Raino, also ''Rayno'', ''Ranulf'', or ''Reginulf'' (died after 1179), was the last count of Tusculum from an unknown date when he was first associated with his elder brother, Jonathan, to his own death. His father, Ptolemy II, died in 1153. His mother was Bertha, illegitimate daughter of Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor. He appears first in 1147, mortgaging Castrum Algidi to Pope Eugene III for 200 pounds. Pope Adrian IV granted the fortress of Tusculum, which mortgage had bought from Oddo Frangipani, who in turn had purchased it from Oddo Colonna after Ptolemy was forced to mortgage it, to Jonathan in 1155. The Senate of Rome, however, refused to ratify the grant of the fortress to the count. In 1167, Raino appears for the first time as sole count. Pope Alexander III tried at that time to dissuade the citizens from attacking Tusculum, but to no avail. Raino called in the aid of Rainald of Dassel, the archchancellor of Italy and archbishop of Cologne. Raino and Rainald were besiege ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gregory II, Count Of Tusculum
Gregory II (died 1058) was the son of Alberic III, Count of Tusculum and Ermelina. He was the Count of Tusculum and the Lateran (''Lateranensis et Tusculanensis comes'') from 1044 to his death. The ''Chronicon Monasterii Casinensis'' of Leo of Ostia records him as ''Gregorius de Alberico''. The placement of this passage implies his death around 1058. Like his many forefathers, he carried the illustrious title of ''Romanorum patricius, consul, dux et senator'' ("Patrician, consul, duke, and senator of the Romans"), implying his secular command over Rome and its militia. His dual comital title implied his land- and fortress-holding power in both Rome itself and Tusculum, as supported by his alliance with the Papacy. In 1044, he led the expedition to restore his brother, Pope Benedict IX. Before 1054, when he is last attested, Gregory had three sons and a daughter. His daughter, Theodora, married Pandulf (or Landulf), lord of Capaccio (1040–1052), son of Guaimar III of Salerno and G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Popes
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Catholic Church, and has also served as the head of state or sovereign of the Papal States and later the Vatican City State since the eighth century. From a Catholic viewpoint, the primacy of the bishop of Rome is largely derived from his role as the apostolic successor to Saint Peter, to whom primacy was conferred by Jesus, who gave Peter the Keys of Heaven and the powers of "binding and loosing", naming him as the "rock" upon which the Church would be built. The current pope is Francis, who was elected on 13 March 2013. While his office is called the papacy, the jurisdiction of the episcopal see is called the Holy See. It is the Holy See that is the sovereign entity by international law headquartered in the distinctively independent Vatican Ci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pope John XII
Pope John XII ( la, Ioannes XII; c. 930/93714 May 964), born Octavian, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 16 December 955 to his death in 964. He was related to the counts of Tusculum, a powerful Roman family which had dominated papal politics for over half a century. He became pope in his late teenage years or early twenties. In 960, he clashed with the Lombards to the south. Unable to control Rome easily, he sought help from King Otto I of Germany and crowned him emperor. John XII's pontificate became infamous for the alleged depravity and worldliness with which he conducted his office. He soon fell out with Otto, but died before Otto succeeded in his attempt to depose him. Family and election Octavianus was the son of Alberic II of Spoleto, patrician and self-styled prince of Rome. His mother is believed to have been Alda of Vienne, Alberic's stepsister and the daughter of King Hugh of Italy. However, there is some doubt about this. Benedict of Soract ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
