The Translation of St Sylvester’s Relics from Rome to Nonantola
Itineraries of corpora sacra at the Crossroads between Devotion and Identity in Eighth-Tenth-Century Italy
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22135485 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Edoardo Manarini (0000-0002-7796-0742, University of Turin, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | medieval worlds |
| Issue | 13. 2021 |
| Pages | 76-103 |
| Publication date | 2021-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Medieval Worlds (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2412-3196 • E-ISSN: 2412-3196 |
| Publisher | Osterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Verlag (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1553/medievalworlds_no13_2021s76 |
| OpenAlex | W3174037288 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 7 |
Pope Sylvester I (314-335) became an important figure in the political history of early medieval Italy. His legendary relationship with Constantine I (306-337), the first Christian emperor, played a significant role in establishing his ideological prominence. Declared a saint of the early Roman Church, Sylvesterâ s relics did not gain much attention until the middle of the eighth century, when they became a source of competition. On the one hand, Roman popes venerated his body in the monastery of St Stephen and St Sylvester, founded by Pope Paul I around 760 inside the Eternal City; on the other hand, the Lombard king Aistulf and his brother-in-law, Abbot Anselm, claimed to have brought Sylvesterâ s relics north, in order to have them buried in Anselmâ s newly founded monastery of Nonantola in the Po Valley. Scholars would appear to have overlooked this major issue when investigating the relationship between Lombard elite society and Roman popes in the eighth century. This article will therefore consider the dates, forms, and narratives of the translatio of St Sylvester in order to evaluate Nonantolaâ s political and ideological involvement in this »holy« movement. The main argument is that through the »journey« of Sylvesterâ s relics within the Lombard kingdom, King Aistulf was able to increase his prestige and political influence. For its part, Nonantola rewrote the history of its origins by centring it on the relics of the Constantinian pontiff and those of Pope Hadrian I, in order to claim political and spiritual primacy throughout the medieval period
Aesthetics · Ancient history · Art · Art history · Byzantine architecture · Emperor · Ideology · Literature · Politics · Prestige · Sculpture · Byzantine Studies and History · Classics · Historical and Religious Studies of Rome · History · Law · Medieval Literature and History · Philosophy
| Citations per year | 0.2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2021 - 2021 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |