John, known as canon of the Lateran or deacon of the Lateran (''

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

'' 12th century), was a medieval

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 ...

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

, canon and religious chronicler. John lived in the second half of the 12th century, and served as a deacon and canon of the

Basilica of St. John Lateran The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran ( it, Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e dei Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano), also known as the Papa ...

. He compiled a work on this papal

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

, and dedicated it, in the preface, to

Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland ( it, Rolando), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a con ...

(c. 1100/1105 – 1181),Debra J. Birch, ''Pilgrimage to Rome in the Middle Ages: Continuity and Change'', (Boydell Press, 1998), 111. thereby indicating the date of its composition. It was obviously a secondary object of the author in composing this work to support the canons of the Lateran in their dispute for precedence with the canons of St. Peter's Basilica.

References

*{{catholic *Mabillon, ed. ''Iter Italicum'', II, 560-76; ''P.L.'', CXCIV, 1543–50 Clergy from Rome 12th-century Italian writers 12th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests Deacons