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Journal ArticleDOI

The Rituals of Renaissance: Liturgy and Mythic History in The Marvels of Rome

01 Jan 2011-Medieval Encounters (Brill)-Vol. 17, Iss: 4, pp 417-438
TL;DR: The Mirabilia urbis romae as mentioned in this paper offers us an insight into the symbolic meaning of the streetscape of Rome from the perspective of a canon of St. Peter's in the twelfth century.
Abstract: The Mirabilia urbis romae offers us insight into the symbolic meaning of the streetscape of Rome from the perspective of a canon of St. Peter’s. It should be read alongside the contemporary Roman Ordo with which it was certainly associated in the twelfth century. When read in that context, the Mirabilia serves as a kind of direct and indirect commentary on the papal liturgy. The papal liturgies at Easter and Christmas moved through an environment that was “re-written” by the Mirabilia as a narrative of Christian Roman renewal and of triumph throughout the Mediterranean world. The Mirabilia celebrates both Roman renewal and hegemony in the eastern Mediterranean, giving heightened significance to the liturgical life of the twelfth-century papacy. The papal liturgy, at these most triumphant processional moments, celebrated that historic and, ultimately, eschatological triumph.
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31 Aug 2018
TL;DR: This article explored how and what Romans learnt from these moral exempla, arguing that they disseminated widely not only core values such as courage and loyalty, but also key ethical debates and controversies which are still relevant for us today.
Abstract: This ground-breaking study conveys the thrill and moral power of the ancient Roman story-world and its ancestral tales of bloody heroism. Its account of 'exemplary ethics' explores how and what Romans learnt from these moral exempla, arguing that they disseminated widely not only core values such as courage and loyalty, but also key ethical debates and controversies which are still relevant for us today. Exemplary ethics encouraged controversial thinking, creative imitation, and a critical perspective on moral issues, and it plays an important role in Western philosophical thought. The model of exemplary ethics developed here is based on a comprehensive survey of Latin literature, and its innovative approach also synthesizes methodologies from disciplines such as contemporary philosophy, educational theory, and cultural memory studies. It offers a new and robust framework for the study of Roman exempla that will also be valuable for the study of moral exempla in other settings.

39 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
Wim Verbaal1
TL;DR: Benedict's Liber politicus (around 1140) was used by Innocent II to install his own imperial papacy as discussed by the authors, and the Liber will prove to be much more than a liturgical manual or a strange collection of disparate writings, behind it lies a strong view of the political role of the pope and of liturgy as a means to achieve and express papal supremacy.
Abstract: Liturgy is one of the more underestimated entries of the Gregorian reform. Surely, this is due to the difficulty of getting a clear view of concrete and detailed liturgical evolutions and renewals. It seems, however, to have been one of the more important elements at stake during the short period of the bitter and hard confrontations between the leading layers of the Church around 1100. Besides, between about 1050 and 1150, Rome saw an intense building activity of new churches according to new plans that seem to have been partly dictated by liturgical renovations. Notably, Pope Innocent II seems to have realized the importance of liturgy as a weapon to be used against his ecclesiastical and secular opponents. Thanks to the remarkable Liber politicus by Benedict the Canon (around 1140), we can have some ideas of the way innocent II used liturgy as a means to install his own imperial papacy. My contribution will have a closer look at Benedict's Liber politicus in its literary context as a means to reimagine Rome. The Liber will prove to be much more than a liturgical manual or a strange collection of disparate writings. Behind it lies a strong view of the political role of the papacy and of liturgy as a means to achieve and express papal supremacy. On cover:Monks singing the Office and decorated initial A[sperges me.]. Gradual Olivetan Master (Use of the Olivetan Benedictines), illuminated manuscript on parchment ca. 1430-1439. Italy, Monastero di Santa Maria di Baggio near Milan, Ca 1400-1775.Beinecke Ms1184: The olivetan Gradual. Gradual. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.

10 citations


Cites background from "The Rituals of Renaissance: Liturgy..."

  • ...Their position is discussed largely by Hamilton 2011, 419-421 and by Accame, Dell-Oro 2004, 18-22....

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Book ChapterDOI
15 May 2017

7 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
14 Sep 2020-Speculum
TL;DR: Soissons was an episcopal city in Picardy, about ninety kilometers northeast of Paris as mentioned in this paper, and its cathedral, dedicated to Saints Gervais and Protais, was begun at the height of the Gothic building craze at the end of the twelfth century, and its construction continued throughout the thirteenth century (Fig. 1).
Abstract: Soissonswas an episcopal city in Picardy, about ninety kilometers northeast of Paris. Its cathedral, dedicated to Saints Gervais and Protais, was begun at the height of the Gothic building craze at the end of the twelfth century, and its construction continued throughout the thirteenth century (Fig. 1). The bishop responsible for the building program, Nivelon de Quierzy, was raised to the episcopal seat of Soissons in 1176. Nivelon, a local nobleman and a familiar of the crown, is known primarily

2 citations