The life of Leo IV included in the Liber pontificalis is a valuable text for reflecting on the Roman aristocracy during the years of the Emperors Lothar I and Louis II. It contains numerous episodes in which Roman proceres appear alongside the pontiff or are depicted as the main protagonists of the events. In this paper, I have analysed the possible targets of these representations by highlighting the “aristocratic” involvement in the process of writing papal biographies. The study led to a consideration of the role played by the superista Gratian as the focus of the network constituted by elite papal officials. Hence, it provides evidence on the relations maintained by Gratian’s elite with emperors and pontiffs; the ways in which the elite was formed, and the strategies deployed to ensure its social pre-eminence in spite the succession of pontiffs.
Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0003-3666-598X
Titolo del capitolo
Who wrote the life of Leo IV? Gratian, the superista, and his network
Autori
Maddalena Betti
Lingua
English
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0771-3.15
Opera sottoposta a peer review
Anno di pubblicazione
2025
Copyright
© 2025 Author(s)
Licenza d'uso
Licenza dei metadati
Titolo del libro
Aristocratic networks. Elites and social dynamics in Italy in the age of Lothar I
Curatori
Giuseppe Albertoni, Manuel Fauliri, Leonardo Sernagiotto
Opera sottoposta a peer review
Numero di pagine
350
Anno di pubblicazione
2025
Copyright
© 2025 Author(s)
Licenza d'uso
Licenza dei metadati
Editore
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0771-3
ISBN Print
979-12-215-0770-6
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-0771-3
eISBN (xml)
979-12-215-0773-7
Collana
Reti Medievali E-Book
ISSN della collana
2704-6362
e-ISSN della collana
2704-6079