History and Rhetoric in the Liber Pontificalis of the Twelfth Century

Abstract

This article considers the twelfth-century redaction of the Liber Pontificalis, ascribed to Cardinal Pandulphus Romanus, within a broader context than the narrow political perspective of the papal Schism of 1130, within which it has been traditionally discussed. It argues that the resumption of the writing of the ancient papal chronicle that had been interrupted in the late ninth century ought to be seen as expressing the ideal of “renovatio” in the written culture of Rome in the late eleventh and twelfth century, a parallel to the better-known revivals in architecture and the figurative arts, the liturgy, the law, and political thought. Its nature as a work of literary history is shown to reflect significant trends in Roman culture of this period of renaissance, and in particular the revival of interest in antiquity, both classical and Christian, including a renewed fascination with the ancient monuments of Rome, and a return to the primitive traditions of the Church of Rome, a major goal of the Reform Papacy.