Book contents
- Rome and the Invention of the Papacy
- The James Lydon Lectures in Medieval History and Culture
- Rome and the Invention of the Papacy
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Maps
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- 1 The Liber pontificalis
- 2 The Liber pontificalis and the City of Rome
- 3 Apostolic Succession
- 4 Establishing Visible Power
- 5 Bishop and Pope
- 6 Transmission, Reception, and Audiences
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index of Manuscripts
- General Index
Conclusion
The Power of a Text
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 June 2020
- Rome and the Invention of the Papacy
- The James Lydon Lectures in Medieval History and Culture
- Rome and the Invention of the Papacy
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Maps
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- 1 The Liber pontificalis
- 2 The Liber pontificalis and the City of Rome
- 3 Apostolic Succession
- 4 Establishing Visible Power
- 5 Bishop and Pope
- 6 Transmission, Reception, and Audiences
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index of Manuscripts
- General Index
Summary
I have argued in this book that the Liber pontificalis constructed a distinctive image of the popes and a particular representation of their history, of their role as successors to St Peter, and of the city of Rome itself as a holy city of Christian saints and martyrs. The city of Rome was transformed in the imagination as well as in the text. I have shown how the Liber pontificalis acts as a prism through which we can observe the politics and ideology of Rome’s transformation from imperial city to Christian capital, the way the Bishop of Rome is represented as establishing a visible display of power within the city, and how the text reiterates the spiritual and ministerial role of the bishop both within Rome and for the wider Christian community.
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- Rome and the Invention of the PapacyThe <I>Liber Pontificalis</I>, pp. 224 - 228Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020