The Pope's Forgery

The Romans murder Waldipert, the personal representative of the Lombard King Desiderius, and Desiderius blames Chrisopher the Primicerius. Pepin, king of the Franks, dies and his kingdom passes to two sons, Carloman and Charles (Charlemagne) who immediately begin feuding. Their mother Bertrada arranges for a marriage between Charles and a Lombard princess, sending the papacy into a panic. Desideri...

Now a temporal power in Italy, the papacy meddles in the Lombard election and helps get Desiderius elected king of the Lombards. After the death of Pope Paul I, Toto and his brother Constantine seize the papal throne, and drive out of the city their rival, the primicerius Christopher. Christopher allies with Desiderius to retake the city and sets off a week of chaos in Rome marked by no less than...

Pope Stephen II plays his hole card by producing the famous forgery, The Donation of Constantine, "proving" that the Lombards have stolen Ravenna not from the Emperor but from St. Peter. The reluctant Frankish warriors at last agree to make war on the Lombards, and, under the command of King Pepin, do so twice in a year's time. The end result is the creation of the Republic of St. Pe...

The Lombards choose a new king, Aistulf, who renews their aggression and captures Ravenna. Pope Stephen II decides it's time to call in his marker with King Pepin and travels north of the Alps to make his appeal in person.

In 750 A.D. the Frankish royal throne was occupied by an ancient dynasty called the Merovingians, famous for their long hair. The Merovingians reigned but did not rule. Real power was exercised by a royal officer called the mayor of the palace. Mayor Pepin, facing threats to his rule from his own relatives, decides to take the revolutionary step of becoming king himself, and turns to the only powe...

In this episode, we set the scene for the events that will result in the creation of what would become the Papal States and, later, Vatican City. Specifically, we describe Italy in 750 A.D., a tiny sliver of which is still part of the Roman Empire (aka the Byzantine Empire) but is surrounded by a hostile barbarian people called the Lombards. The Romans, led by their bishop (whom we call the pope),...

This episode serves as a teaser for those who might be on the fence about whether a podcast about the papacy in the eighth century could be interesting. Welcome to the blood-stained world of the medieval popes!