The Donation of Constantine (Latin: Donatio Constantini) is a forged medieval document purportedly issued by the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great in the early 4th century (dated to March 30, 315 or 317 CE). It claims to record Constantine’s gratitude to Pope Sylvester I for curing him of leprosy through baptism and Christian instruction. In exchange, Constantine allegedly granted the pope and his successors vast spiritual and temporal powers, including supremacy over the Western Roman Empire’s territories (such as the city of Rome, Italy, and provinces in Europe, North Africa, and Asia), control over the four major patriarchal sees (Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and even Constantinople), the Lateran Palace, imperial regalia (like the tiara and purple robes), and the right to appoint secular rulers in the West.
Historical Context and Forgery
- Origins: The document was actually composed in the mid-to-late 8th century (likely between 750 and 800 CE), during a period of political upheaval in Italy. The papacy sought independence from the Byzantine Empire and protection from Lombard invasions. It drew from earlier legends, such as the 5th-century Legenda S. Silvestri (Legend of St. Sylvester), which embellished Constantine’s conversion to Christianity.
- Purpose: It was used to legitimize papal claims to temporal authority, particularly in negotiations with Frankish kings like Pepin the Short (r. 751–768 CE). For instance, it may have influenced Pepin’s Donation of Pepin (756 CE), which granted the papacy real lands in central Italy (the Papal States). The forgery was included in the 9th-century Pseudo-Isidorean Decretals, a collection of fabricated church laws that bolstered clerical power.
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Exposure as a Forgery: Doubts arose in the 15th century. Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa (c. 1401–1464) called it “apocryphal,” and Italian humanist Lorenzo Valla definitively proved its falsity in 1440 through his treatise De falso credita et ementita Constantini donatione (On the False Donation of Constantine). Evidence included:
- Anachronistic Latin phrasing and references (e.g., to the Iconoclast Synod of 754 CE, over 400 years after Constantine).
- Historical inaccuracies, such as naming consuls who never served together and describing a medieval-style papal tiara unknown in the 4th century.
- No contemporary records of such a grant exist; Constantine’s actual Edict of Milan (313 CE) promoted religious tolerance but did not cede imperial power.
Impact
The Donation was cited by popes (e.g., Leo IX in the 11th century) to justify their political influence, contributing to conflicts like the Investiture Controversy and the East-West Schism of 1054. It symbolized the medieval ideal of the pope’s dual spiritual and secular dominion (potestas directa et indirecta). Even after its debunking, it influenced Renaissance thought on textual criticism and the separation of church and state. Today, it’s a key example of medieval pseudepigrapha and the papacy’s evolving role in European politics.