The Liber pontificalis in the Renaissance

Abstract

This article deals with aspects of the reception of the Liber pontificalis in the fifteenth century. The Liber pontificalis, an anonymous series of biographies of popes from St Peter onwards, was one of the principal sources for the Lives of the Popes (Liber de vita Christi ac omnium pontificum, 1475) by the humanist Platina. I address Platina’s use of sources and some of his (limited) attempts at historical criticism. I also review his attitude towards the Latin he found in the Liber pontificalis and give a few examples of how he transformed the language and style of the original text.