`Donation of Constantine` and the factors that led to the Crowning of

Student 's Name

Student 's Name

The Donation of Constantine has been considered a forgery , especially since 1440 A .D . by Lorenzo Valla in his Declamatio

So all these are yours , supreme pontiff ? And it is your purpose to recover them all ? To despoil all kings and princes of the West of their cities or compel them to pay you a yearly tribute , is that your plan (Valla , 27

The Donation ' is a very controversial document that became an instrument used by the Papacy to `officially justify ' its political power and

control . This fraudulent document has been thought to have been written 5 centuries later , between 750 and 800 A .D . The basis of the document itself was the transfer of power from Constantine to Pope Sylvester when Constantine converted to Christianity by baptism in 324 A .D

So the pontiffs , who are the representatives of that same chief of the apostles , should obtain from us and our empire the power of a supremacy greater than the earthly clemency of our imperial serenity is seen to have had conceded to it )And we ordain and decree that he shall have the supremacy as well over the four chief seats Antioch Alexandria , Constantinople and Jerusalem , as also over all the churches of God in the -whole world . And he who for the time being shall be pontiff of that holy Roman church shall be more exalted than , and chief over , all the priests of the whole world (Donatio Constantini

The reality , however , was that Constantine had been baptized later in 337 A .D , by the Bishop of Rome . The donation in question consisted in surrendering the imperial insignia , the Lateran Palace , and the Roman and Italian territories . Besides , Rome was the capital of the great Roman Empire and the seat of the Apostles . So , the idea was that these Bishops of Rome , the representatives of Christ , should inherit Rome and its seat . In the beginning , the Bishop of Rome at the time of Constantine was not a very powerful public figure . Nevertheless , he benefited from his closeness with Constantine who had been in Rome to quietly and gradually assert authority as the head of the Emperor 's religion (Williams , 522 ) The rise of the predominance of the Bishops of Rome `owning Rome and Christianity ' was subsequently supported by different rulers like Theodosius the Great who instituted a law that stated that any nation seeking the protection of the Pope in Rome would have to become a Christian nation (Williams , 523 ) Unfortunately numerous upheavals in power in the territories surrounding Rome became evident when pagan nations moved into Britain Arian Kings moved into the remaining West while the Lombards established their domination next door to Rome . They were not the only threat to the authority of the Pope of Rome . At the same time , the emperor of Constantinople had been an enemy of the Pope the emperor had even tried to assassinate him (Williams , 524 ) The only way for the Pope (Stephen...