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Ganz Italien, seine Teile – und Rom

Der ‚Liber Pontificalis‘ und die topographische Verortung des Eigenen im Angesicht von Eroberung
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Eroberte im Mittelalter
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Abstract

The paper looks at the ‚Liber Pontificalis‘ to ask for Roman-papal selfpositioning in narratives of conquest, where topographical terms appear prominently. In the late 6th / early 7th century, „the whole of Italy“ is in danger, while Rome stands pars pro toto for it. Italy, in contrast, disappears as a label for victims of conquest in the second half of the 7th century. Events are described at a local level, while interior crises prevail, and Italy more often denotes aggressors. In the 8th century, topographical terms address both local and Italian levels. Rome is something different now, with the pope as the shepherd of Italy. The topographical language of conquest narratives therefore reflects the role that papal Rome assigned to itself on the Italian scene and shows the respective adaptations of contemporary Italian events into a Roman-papal ‚identity‘.

Abstract

The paper looks at the ‚Liber Pontificalis‘ to ask for Roman-papal selfpositioning in narratives of conquest, where topographical terms appear prominently. In the late 6th / early 7th century, „the whole of Italy“ is in danger, while Rome stands pars pro toto for it. Italy, in contrast, disappears as a label for victims of conquest in the second half of the 7th century. Events are described at a local level, while interior crises prevail, and Italy more often denotes aggressors. In the 8th century, topographical terms address both local and Italian levels. Rome is something different now, with the pope as the shepherd of Italy. The topographical language of conquest narratives therefore reflects the role that papal Rome assigned to itself on the Italian scene and shows the respective adaptations of contemporary Italian events into a Roman-papal ‚identity‘.

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