Pivotal and Pithy Points in our Past
"That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history
is the most important of all the lessons of history."
-- Aldous Huxley --
is the most important of all the lessons of history."
-- Aldous Huxley --
I typically have not been much of a history buff (historically), but it seems of late that certain facts about the past have been making themselves available to me, and shall we say grabbing me by the gnarlies to get my attention. Back in high school, the history I was forced to study was on on the dry and boring side of the ledger. But perhaps that was just because it was the party line. The indoctrination into the basics of why we should be a good law-abiding citizen and obey our government. But I have been finding out there are many very important areas left out of my previous brief brush with history and many areas that actually might explain where we come from and why we are here. One example was the incredible minimizing of and Black PR about Genghis Khan, arguably the single most influential person affecting modern civilization since the ancients. There are many more examples, but I will approach just one more of these at present.
How many of you have heard of the Donation of Constantine? This document has been described as the greatest forgery in history, but it may also be the most influential document in history, since Biblical times at least. It was a power play by imperial Rome of the highest order. In a nutshell what this document did was enforce the power of the Emperor and proclaim that he could appoint a Pope who was Christ's elected representative on Earth. In addition the Pope could create kings, since kings the palace of the Pope was superior to palaces of the kings on Earth. The papal rule was above any rule on earth. He was the Vicar (same root word as vicarious) of the Son of God.
But before pursuing the purposes, implications and long term effects of this document further, let's take a look at its authenticity. The document was purportedly issued in the fourth century by Roman Emperor Constantine. But it didn't emerge until the eighth century, 400 years later. It was strangely never mentioned in the interim in between. It was put to use by the Vatican in 751 to dispose of the Merovingian bloodline of Kings in Gaul, France. In 1440, Lorenzo Valla wrote a treatise called De falso credita et ementita Constantini donatione that proved that the document was false (actually Emperor Otto III declared it false in 1001 previously). There were events mentioned that were inconsistent with dates, and words used, like 'fief' that didn't come into the language till much later. So the document was totally bogus.
Ironically, even though this document is false, it is what firmly established the power of the Pope over whole of the Christian religion, and its concepts are still honored today. But why was it invented in the first place.
Prior to 751, one of the greatest threats to the early Roman Church was the Merovingian dynasty of Gaul. The Merovingians claimed male-line ancestry to Fisher Kings, the family of Jesus and were called the Kings of Franks. They carried on a tradition of service to their kingdom and approach of guardianship rather than tyrannical rule. Meroveus, the name sake of the dynasty, had a son Childeric, who died in 481 A.D. Upon his death Clovis followed and became the most famous of the succession and founded the French Monarchy. The Roman Church at the time feared the rise in popularity of this Arian religion in Gaul, a branch of Christianity that did not believe in the divinity of Jesus. Not to get into the details of the involved intrigue, politics, marriages, plots and assassinations that followed, but let me summarize by saying the Roman Empire plotted for centuries to end the rule of the Merovingians, and the Donation was the final nail in the coffin to assume power over the provinces of Western Europe. Pope Zachary, by invoking this false document, put an end to the Christian Kings and Queens for all time. Now only the Church could decide who and what a king was.
This document of power set the Church up senior to any government or ruler. For example, it gave the church the power it needed to carry out such atrocities as the Inquisition, to force its will on King James and the wording of the Magna Carta. The far-reaching consequences of this document may never be fully assessed. Donation, indeed.
How many of you have heard of the Donation of Constantine? This document has been described as the greatest forgery in history, but it may also be the most influential document in history, since Biblical times at least. It was a power play by imperial Rome of the highest order. In a nutshell what this document did was enforce the power of the Emperor and proclaim that he could appoint a Pope who was Christ's elected representative on Earth. In addition the Pope could create kings, since kings the palace of the Pope was superior to palaces of the kings on Earth. The papal rule was above any rule on earth. He was the Vicar (same root word as vicarious) of the Son of God.
But before pursuing the purposes, implications and long term effects of this document further, let's take a look at its authenticity. The document was purportedly issued in the fourth century by Roman Emperor Constantine. But it didn't emerge until the eighth century, 400 years later. It was strangely never mentioned in the interim in between. It was put to use by the Vatican in 751 to dispose of the Merovingian bloodline of Kings in Gaul, France. In 1440, Lorenzo Valla wrote a treatise called De falso credita et ementita Constantini donatione that proved that the document was false (actually Emperor Otto III declared it false in 1001 previously). There were events mentioned that were inconsistent with dates, and words used, like 'fief' that didn't come into the language till much later. So the document was totally bogus.
Ironically, even though this document is false, it is what firmly established the power of the Pope over whole of the Christian religion, and its concepts are still honored today. But why was it invented in the first place.
Prior to 751, one of the greatest threats to the early Roman Church was the Merovingian dynasty of Gaul. The Merovingians claimed male-line ancestry to Fisher Kings, the family of Jesus and were called the Kings of Franks. They carried on a tradition of service to their kingdom and approach of guardianship rather than tyrannical rule. Meroveus, the name sake of the dynasty, had a son Childeric, who died in 481 A.D. Upon his death Clovis followed and became the most famous of the succession and founded the French Monarchy. The Roman Church at the time feared the rise in popularity of this Arian religion in Gaul, a branch of Christianity that did not believe in the divinity of Jesus. Not to get into the details of the involved intrigue, politics, marriages, plots and assassinations that followed, but let me summarize by saying the Roman Empire plotted for centuries to end the rule of the Merovingians, and the Donation was the final nail in the coffin to assume power over the provinces of Western Europe. Pope Zachary, by invoking this false document, put an end to the Christian Kings and Queens for all time. Now only the Church could decide who and what a king was.
This document of power set the Church up senior to any government or ruler. For example, it gave the church the power it needed to carry out such atrocities as the Inquisition, to force its will on King James and the wording of the Magna Carta. The far-reaching consequences of this document may never be fully assessed. Donation, indeed.
posted by Eclectricz at
3:03 PM
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