The Rome of Pope Paschal I
Papal Power, Urban Renovation, Church Rebuilding and Relic Translation, 817–824

A exploration of Paschal I's building campaign that illuminates the relationship between the material world and political power in medieval Rome.

Caroline J. Goodson (Author)

9781107669772, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 6 March 2014

408 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.3 cm, 0.6 kg

"...a welcom contribution to the new historiography on the last century of the Carolingians. It will appeal to a wide ranges of scholars, from specialists in religion and culture to historians of art and architecture." -Scott G. Bruce, Canadian Journal of History

In the early ninth century, a critical time in Rome's transformation from ancient capital to powerful bishopric to new state capital, Pope Paschal I undertook a building campaign to communicate his authority and Rome's importance as an ancient and contemporary seat of power. Combining analysis of contemporary chronicles and documents, architecture, mosaics and new archaeology of medieval Rome, Caroline J. Goodson examines Paschal's urban project, revealing new patterns of popular saint veneration in resplendent new churches built using traditional architectural vocabularies. These transformations connect the city and the pope to the past and the present, in the same league as the Byzantine and Carolingian capitals and their emperors. By examining the relationships between the material world and political power in early medieval Rome, this innovative study reveals the importance of Rome's sacred and urban landscape in constructing papal rule and influence both in the city and beyond.

1. Paschal I and the history of Rome
2. Building in Rome
3. Constructing the Papal City
4. Beyond the basilica
5. Building the home of the saints
6. Transformations
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: Church history [HRCC2], Medieval history [HBLC1], Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500 [HBLC], European history [HBJD]