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''Renovatio imperii Romanorum'' ("renewal of the empire of the Romans") was a
formula
In science, a formula is a concise way of expressing information symbolically, as in a mathematical formula or a ''chemical formula''. The informal use of the term ''formula'' in science refers to the general construct of a relationship betwee ...
declaring an intention to restore or revive the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
. The formula (and variations) was used by several emperors of the
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...
and
Ottonian dynasties, but the idea was common in
Late Antiquity
Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English ha ...
and the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
.
Late Antiquity
The phrases ''renovatio Romanorum'' ("renewal of the Romans") and ''renovatio urbis Romae'' ("renewal of the city of Rome") had already been used in
Antiquity
Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to:
Historical objects or periods Artifacts
*Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures
Eras
Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...
. The word ''renovatio'' ("renewal") and its relatives, ''resitutio'' ("restitution") and ''reparatio'' ("restoration"), occasionally appeared on
Roman coins from the reign of
Hadrian
Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...
onward, usually signifying the restoration of peace following rebellion. The formula seems especially favoured by
usurpers, such as
Carausius
Marcus Aurelius Mausaeus Carausius (died 293) was a military commander of the Roman Empire in the 3rd century. He was a Menapian from Belgic Gaul, who usurped power in 286, during the Carausian Revolt, declaring himself emperor in Britain and no ...
,
Magnentius and
Decentius.
Even
Theoderic the Great
Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal ( got, , *Þiudareiks; Greek: , romanized: ; Latin: ), was king of the Ostrogoths (471–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy b ...
, the king of the
Ostrogoths
The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the larg ...
in Italy (), made use of the language of Roman renewal. The records of his reign in
Cassiodorus
Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (c. 485 – c. 585), commonly known as Cassiodorus (), was a Roman statesman, renowned scholar of antiquity, and writer serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. ''Senator'' w ...
,
Ennodius and the ''
Anonymus Valesianus ''Anonymus Valesianus'' (or ''Excerpta Valesiana'') is the conventional title of a compilation of two fragmentary vulgar Latin chronicles, named for its modern editor, Henricus Valesius, who published the texts for the first time in 1636, together ...
'' are replete with reference to renewing, repairing and rejuvenating.
Under the Emperor
Justinian I
Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...
(), renewal was closely linked with the restoration of the empire's frontiers by reconquest. This policy appealed to the Roman aristocracy and to such writers as
Procopius and
John Lydus
John the Lydian or John Lydus ( el, ; la, Ioannes Laurentius Lydus) (ca. AD 490 – ca. 565) was a Byzantine administrator and writer on antiquarian subjects.
Life and career
He was born in 490 AD at Philadelphia in Lydia, whence his cognomen ...
, who wrote in his ''De magistratibus'': "To Rome Justinian restored what was Rome's." This was not enough for the poet
Corippus Flavius Cresconius Corippus was a late Berber-Roman epic poet of the 6th century, who flourished under East Roman Emperors Justinian I and Justin II. His major works are the epic poem '' Iohannis'' and the panegyric ''In laudem Iustini minoris''. ...
, who saw the end of Justinian's reign as a period of reckless spending and neglect. His poem ''In Laudem Iustini Augusti Minoris'' takes as its theme the renewal of the empire under
Justin II.
Middle Ages
The form ''renovatio Romanorum imperii'' was first used in a diploma issued by
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...
, who was crowned emperor in 800. He was probably inspired, at least in part, by Roman coins. Evidence for the "renewal" of the city of Rome under Charlemagne comes largely from the ''
Liber pontificalis
The ''Liber Pontificalis'' (Latin for 'pontifical book' or ''Book of the Popes'') is a book of biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the ''Liber Pontificalis'' stopped with Pope Adrian II (867 ...
''. There were major building and renovation programmes under Popes
Hadrian I and
Leo III Leo III, Leon III, or Levon III may refer to:
; People
* Leo III the Isaurian (685-741), Byzantine emperor 717-741
* Pope Leo III (d. 816), Pope 795-816
* Leon III of Abkhazia, King of Abkhazia 960–969
* Leo II, King of Armenia (c. 1236–1289), ...
, and there is also evidence for population growth and an increase in
Christian pilgrimage traffic. Charlemagne's successor,
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 ...
, dropped the formula in favour of a new one: ''
renovatio regni Francorum The motto ''Renovatio regni Francorum'' ("renewal of the kingdom of the Franks") was used by several monarchs of the Carolingian, Widonid and Ottonian dynasties in the 9th through 11th centuries. It served to emphasise the importance of the ethnic ...
'' ("renewal of the kingdom of the Franks"). When Louis's younger son,
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ser ...
, became emperor in 875 he adopted the combined formula ''renovatio imperii Romani et Francorum'' for his
seal.
The formula ''renovatio imperii Romanorum'' reappears on a lead seal of the Emperor
Otto III
Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was Holy Roman Emperor from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of the Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu.
Otto III was crowned as King of ...
in August 998. This seal was replaced in January 1001 by one bearing the legend ''aurea Roma'' ("golden Rome"). Otto III also built a palace in Rome, which none of his predecessors had done. Otto III's use of the formula has been made to bear much historical weight in light of his enigmatic career and politics. The historian
Percy Ernst Schramm argued that the formula represented a coherent programme for the restoration of the Roman Empire along secular and universal lines. Knut Görich has written a riposte to Schramm's thesis, arguing instead that Otto III and Pope
Gregory V
Gregory may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Gregory (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Gregory (surname), a surname
Places Australia
* Gregory, Queensland, a town in the Shire o ...
were embarking on a renewal of the papacy only.
The idea of the renewal of Rome the city (''renovatio Romae''), of the empire (''renovatio imperii'') and of
Roman virtue
Virtue ( la, virtus) is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that shows high moral standar ...
(''renovatio morum'') were intertwined in early
Italian humanist
Renaissance humanism was a revival in the study of classical antiquity, at first in Italy and then spreading across Western Europe in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. During the period, the term ''humanist'' ( it, umanista) referred to teache ...
thinking. The Roman popular leader
Cola di Rienzo believed that the renewal of the empire would be brought about through popular sovereignty and not the
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
s. Most humanists, like
Dante
Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...
and
Petrarch
Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists.
Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited w ...
, believed that the renewal of
imperial authority in Italy would precede the renewal of the city and encouraged Kings
Henry VII and
Charles IV to make the
journey to Rome for
imperial coronation.
Notes
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{{refend
Latin mottos
Roman Empire
Carolingian Empire
Holy Roman Empire
Charlemagne