On the donation of constantine the i tatti renaissance. It was proven false in 1440 by lorenzo valla in his. For centuries, until lorenzo valla proved it was forgery during the renaissance it provied the basis for papal territorial and jurisdictional. Tomb of lorenzo valla vallas refutation of the donation of constantine sources. Levine, reginald pecock and lorenzo valla on the donation of constantine studies in the renaissance 20 1973, 11843. It led him to debate whether the pope was antichrist himself. But they can be twice as useful if they are accompanied by a few pages telling the reader what advances have been made since the date of first publication. Lorenzo valla and the donation of constantine world history. Lorenzo valla s 1440 treatise established the donation of constatine was forged, and made him a pioneer of modern historical criticism. Lorenzo valla, a renaissance humanist, set out to demonstrate that the donation of constantine, a document that was inserted into gratians decretals by an unknown hand, was a forgery. Valla 1407 1457 was the leading theorist of the renaissance humanist movement. Lorenzo or laurentius valla 1406 to august 1, 1457 was the son of a lawyer from piacenza, near milan in northern italy. Lorenzo valla 14071457 was the most important theorist of the humanist movement. Jul 23, 2019 in dying i am so far from obtaining these promised rewards that, if i had lornezo possessed some of them, i should now lose them too.
Lorenzo valla, the erudite humanist scholar, who is given the credit for establishing incontrovertibly that the notorius donation of constantine was a huge fraud. Nevertheless, on the basis of the forged document, the papacy maintained a spiritual. Read download the donation of constantine pdf pdf download. Hanover historical texts project scanned and proofread by jonathan perry, february 2001. Dialectical disputations, volume 1 lorenzo valla, brian p. The donation of constantine purports to bestow rome upon. The donation of constantine served to justify papal temporal authority over western europe for centuries, until lorenzo valla proved that it was a fraud. It was proven false in 1440 by lorenzo valla in his declamatio. Donatio constantini is a forged roman imperial decree.
He became a professor of eloquence at pavia, and within two years he was a visiting professor at various universities. The treatise of lorenzo valla on the donation of constantine. Discourse on the forgery of the alleged donation of constantine. He made numerous contributions to classical scholarship. Valla singlehandedly disproved the dubious, yet sacred document enabling the papacy to own territory in constantinople in his book, falselybelieved and forged donation of constantine, or under its abridged original title, declamatio.
By will tennille and jack mykrantz what was the donation of constantine, and how did it change european society and politics. For centuries the donation of constantine was assumed by all to be genuine, and was used by the bishops of rome to support their papal claims. Lorenzo valla uses logic, philosophical argument, a thorough knowledge of roman history, and a classical education steeped in latin literature to prove that the donation of constantine, a centuriesold document in which emperor constantine cedes his power to pope sylvester, was a forgery. At the age of twentyfive, valla entered the priesthood. The reprint is of the 1922 edition of vallas treatise and presents the latin text and english translation of it and the forged donation document on facing pages. In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content lorenzo valla to king alfonso on the naming of his kingdoms. In germany johannes reuchlin 14551522 studied greek and hebrew, the biblical languages, and was. The unreasonable ultrascepticism fashionable in the 19th century collapsed during the 20th century. Lorenzo valla humanist who exposed donation of constantine to be a forgery.
Lorenzo valla, discourse on the forgery of the alleged donation of constantine. The treatise of lorenzo valla on the donation of constantine, text and translation into english by valla, lorenzo, 14061457. Valla was born in rome, with a family background of. Bouwsma puts it, as probably the most profound thinker among the humanists of italy,1 yet relatively litde of his work has been translated into english. In his elegantiae linguae latinae, an advanced handbook of latin language and style, he gave the humanist program some of its most trenchant and combative formulations, bringing the study of latin to an unprecedented level. He is best known for his textual analysis that proved that the donation of constantine was a forgery. The great forgery the donation of constantine has not been held up as legitimate since corrupt roman popes of medieval times. The donation of constantine donatio constantini, or sometimes just donatio is one of the bestknown forgeries in european history. The medieval adversaries of the popes, on the other hand, never denied the validity of this appeal to the pretended donation of constantine, but endeavoured to show that the legal deductions drawn from it were founded on false interpretations. Read download donation of constantine and constitutum. Pdf revisiting the donation of constantine researchgate. Aug 01, 2018 the donation of constantine was therefore a document mostly addressed to the ecclesiastical environment, as confirmed by the fact that it was never used in the carolingian age for any political. Valla singlehandedly disproved the dubious, yet sacred document enabling the papacy to own territory in constantinople in his book, falselybelieved and forged donation of constantine, or. On the donation of constantine the i tatti renaissance library valla, lorenzo, bowersock, g.
In italy lorenzo valla 140757 used philology and historical inquiry to expose a number of forgeries, including the donation of constantine, which purportedly granted control over the western roman empire to the pope. On the donation of constantine harvard university press, 2007, translation by g. The treatise of lorenzo valla on the donation of constantine, text and. But this pleases me more than all the rest and let it be said with your viluptate valla was motivated to reveal the donation of constantine as a fraud by his patron of the time, alfonso v of aragonwho was involved in a territorial conflict with the papal states voluptatr, then under pope eugene iv. Lorenzo valla and the donation of constantine lorenzo or laurentius valla 1406 to august 1, 1457 was the son of a lawyer from piacenza, near milan in northern italy. A translation with introduction lorenzo valla has for some time been recognized, as william j. Full text of the treatise of lorenzo valla on the donation of constantine. In translating vallas quotations from the donation i have usually, though not always, followed him in giving words their classical and not their medieval meaning. He secured lasting fame for his brilliant critical skills, most famously in his exposure of the donation of constantine, the forged document upon which the papacy based claims to political power.
Project muse the treatise of lorenzo valla on the donation. In 1440, lorenzo valla wrote a famous analysis of the. Lorenzo valla, discourse on the forgery of the alleged donation of constantine in latin and english english translation by christopher b. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. This video briefly provides an overview of the donation of constantine. Composed probably in the 8th century, it was used, especially in the th century, in support of claims of political authority by the papacy. Vallas case was so convincingly argued that it still stands today, and the illegitimacy of the donation of constantine is generally conceded. On the donation of constantine laurentius valla, lorenzo. Valla,amanwhowithsomuchenergy,zealandlabor,refuted the stupiditiesof thebarbarians,savedhalfburied letters from extinction,restoreditalyto herancientsplendor of eloquence, and. In on the donation of constantine he uses new philological methods to attack the authenticity of the most important document justifying the papacy s claims to temporal rule, in a brilliant analysis that is often seen as marking the beginning of modern textual criticism. The donatio constantini and vallas oratio confronted.
Lorenzo valla, an italian catholic priest and renaissance humanist, is credited with first. Lorenzo valla entry by lodi nauta in the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Revisiting the donation of constantine trinity college dublin. He wrote a major work on latin style, on elegance in the latin language, which became a battlestandard in the struggle for the reform of latin across europe, and dialectical disputations, a. May 14, 2018 by will tennille and jack mykrantz what was the donation of constantine, and how did it change european society and politics. On the discourse on the forgery of the alleged donation of. Pdf the donation of constantine and the church in late.
The donation of constantine and the critique of lorenzo valla. The donation of constantine and the church in late byzantium. Inasmuch as there are those who are shocked that in these i disagree with certain great writers already approved by long usage, and charge me with rashness and sacrilege, what must. The papacy had relied upon the donation to assert temporal power over the west. Lorenzo valla, the erudite humanist scholar, who is given the credit for \establishing incontrovertibly that the notorius donation of constantine was a huge fraud. Donation of constantine, the bestknown and most important forgery of the. It was, however, a shock to martin luther to discover that the donation of constantine and the isidorian decretals were forgeries. Read the fulltext online edition of the treatise of lorenzo valla on the donation of constantine. On the donation of constantine the i tatti renaissance library. The donation of constantine, donatio constantini, is a wellknown fraud used by the papacy for more than.
The donation of constantine grew out of the legends about sylvester i, bishop of rome, as well as out of legends about constantine. The donation of constantine was therefore a document mostly addressed to the ecclesiastical environment, as confirmed by the fact that it was never used in. Valla was a humanist as well as a philosopher, philologist, priest and author. Donatio constantini is a forged roman imperial decree by which the 4thcentury emperor constantine the great supposedly transferred authority over rome and the western part of the roman empire to the pope. Full text of the treatise of lorenzo valla on the donation. The reprint is of the 1922 edition of valla s treatise and presents the latin text and english translation of it and the forged donation document on facing pages.
In dying i am so far from obtaining these promised rewards that, if i had lornezo possessed some of them, i should now lose them too. Lorenzo valla was the leading theorist of the renaissance humanist movement. Lorenzo valla 14071457 ranks among the greatest scholars and thinkers of the renaissance. This led to a steady return to a more cautious approach to ancient. Lorenzo vallas 1440 treatise established the donation of constatine was forged, and made him a pioneer of modern historical criticism. Lorenzo valla proves that the donation of constantine is a. In on the donation of constantine he uses new philological. The treatise of lorenzo valla on the donation of constantine, text. Lorenzo vallas refutation 1440 of the forgery the donation of constantine ca. It is a medieval document which pretends to have been written in the early fourth century, giving large areas of land and related political power, as well as religious authority, to pope sylvester i in power from 314 335 ce and his successors. Project muse lorenzo valla to king alfonso on the naming of. The donation of constantine constitutum constantini, the most famous of all medieval forgeries, was probably written in the eight century, and at the time established the legal basis for the clerical supremacy of pope sylvester and his successors.
Lorenzo valla, discourse on the forgery of the alleged donation of constantine lorenzo valla. Lorenzo valla project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Discoveries of archaeological and literary material demonstrated that the conclusions reached were incorrect. Donation of constantine, the bestknown and most important forgery of the middle ages, the document purporting to record the roman emperor constantine the greats bestowal of vast territory and spiritual and temporal power on pope sylvester i reigned 314335 and his successors. Download pdf on the donation of constantine free online.