Christianity and Power in Medieval Italy

Abstract

As Maureen Miller notes in the introduction to this thought-provok ing volume, buildings erected by the civic communes of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries still dominate the central squares of most Italian cities. These symbols of secular governmental power over shadow another civic edifice with a long history: the bishop's palace. As other structures overshadowed episcopal residences, so has a scholarly focus on the commune and the papacy adumbrated study of the bishop's role in the development of medieval urban society. But in The Bishop's Palace, a study of the relationship between Chris tianity and power in medieval Italy, Miller figuratively excavates this important ecclesiastical building and examines it as a symbol of changing episcopal authority over the thousand years between 300 and 1300. She claims that during this period bishops exercised more meaningful power in both the secular and ecclesiastical spheres than historians have recognized, and thus her work challenges established scholarship on Italian ecclesiastical life. Miller studies individual bishops' residences throughout northern and central Italy to draw conclusions about the changing nature of episcopal and secular authority in the Middle Ages. Her pan-penin sular view is particularly unusual for an historian of medieval Italy, since most scholars engage in case studies of individual communities. Her study is also novel in that it brings together the conclusions of local Italian scholars and broader theoretical and historical perspec tives. Furthermore, she synthesizes several historical methods, com bining the study of material history, especially fresco cycles and ar chitectural plans, with readings of documentary sources, such as charters and chronicles, and a theoretical approach informed by cul tural studies. Through this approach, Miller's investigation provides a revisionist perspective on the role of the bishop and the structure of the medieval Christian church as a whole.