The ''Constitutio Romana'' (or “Roman Constitution”) was drawn up between King Lothair I of Italy (818–855), co-emperor with his father,

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqui ...

, since 817, and

Pope Eugene II Pope Eugene II ( la, Eugenius II; died 27 August 827) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 6 June 824 to his death. A native of Rome, he was chosen by nobles to succeed Paschal I as pope despite the clergy and the people fav ...

(824–827) and confirmed on 11 November 824. At the time the election of Eugene was being challenged by Zinzinnus, the candidate of the Roman populace. Eugene agreed to several concessions to imperial power in central Italy in return for receiving the military and juridical support of Lothair. The ''Constitutio'' was divided into nine articles. It introduced the earliest known Papal Oath, which the Pope-elect was to give to an imperial legate before receiving consecration. It also restored the custom established by

Pope Stephen III Pope Stephen III ( la, Stephanus III; died 1 February 772) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 7 August 768 to his death. Stephen was a Benedictine monk who worked in the Lateran Palace during the reign of Pope Zachary. I ...

in 769 whereby both the laity and clergy of Rome would participate in

Papal election A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the Apostolic succession, apostolic successor of Saint ...

s. There has been some debate between modern scholars whether the ''Constitutio'' was a "

dead letter Dead letter mail or undeliverable mail is mail that cannot be delivered to the addressee or returned to the sender. This is usually due to lack of compliance with postal regulations, an incomplete address and return address, or the inability to ...

" with little practical impact, or marked a stage of the road to imperial domination of the Papacy.

The constitution advanced the imperial pretensions in the city of Rome, but also established a system to check the power of the nobles. It decreed that those who were under the special protection of the pope or emperor were to be inviolable, and that proper obedience be rendered to the pope and his officials; that church property was not to be plundered after the death of a pope; that only those to whom the right had been given by the deceased Pope Stephen III, in 769, should take part in papal elections; that two commissioners were to be appointed, one by the pope and the other by the emperor, who should report to them how justice was administered, so that any failure in the administration might be corrected by the pope, or, in the event of his not doing so, by the emperor; that the people should be judged according to the relevant law (

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

, Salic, or Lombard) under which they had elected to live; that the Church's property be restored to it; that robbery with violence be put down; that when the emperor was in Rome the chief officials should appear before him to be admonished to do their duty; and, finally, that all must obey the Roman pontiff. By command of the pope and Lothair, the people had to swear that, saving the fidelity they had promised the pope, they would obey the Emperors Louis and Lothair; would not allow a papal election to be made contrary to the canons; and would not suffer the pope-elect to be consecrated save in the presence of the emperor's envoys and an oath of homage from the newly elected Pope.

Revocation

Sixty years later, the Constitutio Romana was temporarily revoked by

Pope Marinus I Pope Marinus I (; died 15 May 884) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 882 until his death. Controversially at the time, he was already a bishop when he became pope, and had served as papal legate to Constantinople. He was ...

when he issued a decree stating that the emperors would not interfere, either directly or through their ambassadors, in the election of a pope. However, in 962, many of the clauses of the Constitutio Romana were reintroduced into the

Diploma Ottonianum The ''Diploma Ottonianum'' (also called the ''Pactum Ottonianum'', ''Privilegium Ottonianum'' or simply ''Ottonianum'') was an agreement between Pope John XII and Otto I, King of Germany and Italy. It confirmed the earlier Donation of Pepin, gra ...

.Mann, Horace K., ''The Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages, Vol. IV: The Popes in the Days of Feudal Anarchy, 891–999'' (1910), p. 252

References

{{reflist

External links

The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Guide to documents and events
Roman law Medieval legal codes 824 Medieval Rome 9th century in law

Contents

Revocation

References

Further reading

External links