The status quaestionis on the tenth-century Papacy highlights a historiographical tradition strongly influenced by negative sources such as Liutprand of Cremona, which have contributed to portraying this period as one of darkness and decline. The scarcity and fragmentary nature of the sources—partly due to the interruption of the Liber Pontificalis and the loss of original documents—hinders a comprehensive reconstruction. Nevertheless, recent scholarship has demonstrated a renewed interest in themes such as the political role of the papacy in Rome, its relationships with local churches, ecclesiastical discipline, and synodal activity. Many unresolved issues remain, however, particularly concerning documentation and the actual authority of the papacy within the Ottonian context. Modern historiography has begun to move beyond the traditional narrative, yet much remains to be explored in order to fully grasp the complexity of the tenth-century papacy. The narrative of tenth-tentury Rome tends to marginalize the popes, focusing instead on the emergence of the urban aristocracy as the central political and social actor. Unlike previous centuries—where historiography has successfully integrated the papacy with the urban context—the tenth century is often described as a period marked by a crisis of papal authority and aristocratic domination, in line with the concept of Adelpapsttum. However, recent studies have offered less negative interpretations: aristocratic control did not necessarily lead to chaos, but rather to new forms of governance and local stability. The crisis in papal historiography, along with the relative abundance of documentary sources concerning secular power, contributes to this perspective. A rebalancing of scholarly focus has been proposed, aiming to rediscover the institutional role of the popes and the complex relationships they maintained with the aristocracy—interactions that were crucial for the mutual prestige and influence of both parties. The interplay between elite groups and the papacy was a determining factor in the political, religious, and territorial dynamics of the period.
SISMEL – International Society for the study of Medieval Latin culture, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0003-3666-598X
Institut de recherche et d’histoire des textes – CNRS Paris, France - ORCID: 0000-0001-8540-8141
Chapter Title
Il papato nel X secolo: uno status quaestionis e un affondo
Authors
Maddalena Betti, François Bougard
Language
Italian
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-1094-2.07
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2026
Copyright Information
© 2026 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Book Title
Repenser le Xe siècle. États des lieux et perspectives / Ripensare il X secolo. Bilanci e prospettive
Editors
Gianmarco De Angelis, Tiziana Lazzari
Peer Reviewed
Number of Pages
490
Publication Year
2026
Copyright Information
© 2026 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-1094-2
ISBN Print
979-12-215-1093-5
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-1094-2
eISBN (xml)
979-12-215-1096-6
Series Title
Reti Medievali E-Book
Series ISSN
2704-6362
Series E-ISSN
2704-6079