Who Wrote the Lives of the Popes? Permutations of a Renaissance Myth
Since the fifteenth century, scholars have wondered about the authorship of the anonymous series of papal biographies from St. Peter onwards, now known as the Liber pontificalis. Bartolomeo Platina (ca. 1421-81) and Onofrio Panvinio (1530-68) were responsible for the false notion that “Anastasius th...
| Published in: | The catholic historical review |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
The Catholic University of America Press
[2021]
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| In: |
The catholic historical review
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Liber pontificalis
/ Authorship
/ Anastasius, Bibliothecarius 811-879
/ Myth
/ Platina, Bartholomaeus 1421-1481
/ Panvinio, Onofrio 1530-1568
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| IxTheo Classification: | KAD Church history 500-900; early Middle Ages KAF Church history 1300-1500; late Middle Ages KAH Church history 1648-1913; modern history KCB Papacy |
| Further subjects: | B
Anastasius Bibliothecarius
B Liber Pontificalis B Papacy B Onofrio Panvinio B Bartolomeo Platina |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Since the fifteenth century, scholars have wondered about the authorship of the anonymous series of papal biographies from St. Peter onwards, now known as the Liber pontificalis. Bartolomeo Platina (ca. 1421-81) and Onofrio Panvinio (1530-68) were responsible for the false notion that “Anastasius the Librarian” was the book’s principal author. This article reconsiders why the myth of Anastasius was created and how it was passed on. It rejects the thesis by Girolamo Arnaldi that Platina created this myth on purpose, with the intention of furthering his own career. Rather, Platina produced the myth more or less accidentally. Yet this myth proved so powerful that it was not completely dispelled until the late nineteenth century. |
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| ISSN: | 1534-0708 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The catholic historical review
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/cat.2021.0001 |