The first part of this series briefly explores the dissolution of the Western Roman imperial jurisdiction until the inception of the Carolingian period.
Got my BA in Ancient & Medieval History years ago. It is SO good to have vague popular impressions peddled by so many 'experts' corrected by the sheer weight of narrated fact.
Not sure I would go as far as saying historians dismiss the translatio imperii as fiction. It was (is) a legal act by Pope Leo III.
That said, I am thoroughly enjoying these articles. I finished my PhD forty years ago (concentration on Italian painting 1300-1550) and your essays are both review and a broadening for my largely Italian and Netherlandish background.
Thank you for your comment! The empire certainly continued on, but the historical literature of the past 50 years (in particular) has dismissed the possibility as Catholic propaganda. It is, in essence, an attempt to paint pagan Rome as an idyllic yet lost empire that fell to beligerant Christians.
However, as soon as you read the primary sources (as you clearly have) and analyze the archaeological and architectural record, you realize that how wrong they are!
I will touch on the translatio imperii often in future articles!
Got my BA in Ancient & Medieval History years ago. It is SO good to have vague popular impressions peddled by so many 'experts' corrected by the sheer weight of narrated fact.
I'm happy to help!
Ha! Ha! Good Job! Keep going.....
Thanks for this !
Not sure I would go as far as saying historians dismiss the translatio imperii as fiction. It was (is) a legal act by Pope Leo III.
That said, I am thoroughly enjoying these articles. I finished my PhD forty years ago (concentration on Italian painting 1300-1550) and your essays are both review and a broadening for my largely Italian and Netherlandish background.
Thank you for your comment! The empire certainly continued on, but the historical literature of the past 50 years (in particular) has dismissed the possibility as Catholic propaganda. It is, in essence, an attempt to paint pagan Rome as an idyllic yet lost empire that fell to beligerant Christians.
However, as soon as you read the primary sources (as you clearly have) and analyze the archaeological and architectural record, you realize that how wrong they are!
I will touch on the translatio imperii often in future articles!