Storia della città di Roma nel medio evo, vol. 3/8 : dal secolo V al XVI

"How to speak with the dead" by Sciens is a historical study written in the late 19th century. It appears to chart the political, religious, and cultural history of medieval Rome—especially under the Carolingians—examining the evolving balance between emperor and pope, Rome’s claim to universal moral authority, and the city’s legal structures, institutions, and church-building. The opening of the work traces Rome’s altered status after Charlemagne’s coronation, stressing the fusion of Germanic and Roman elements, the ideal of a universal Christian commonwealth, and Rome’s role as a neutral, sacred center. It explains why Charlemagne avoided making Rome his political capital, outlines the imperial missus and judicial authority in the city, and notes how the civic constitution remains obscure. The narrative then follows diplomacy with Byzantium (Irene and Nicephorus), Pope Leo III’s journey to Charlemagne, and the appeal of Ardulf of Northumbria. It sketches the succession from Pippin’s death to Louis’s coronation at Aachen, Charlemagne’s passing, and an appraisal of his legacy and limited Roman remembrance. After Charlemagne, unrest returns to Rome; Leo III represses nobles, then dies, and his era’s vigorous church restorations and mosaics are described. Stephen IV crowns Louis in Reims and soon dies; Paschal I is hastily elected, amid debate over a much-embellished “donation” of Louis the Pious. Next come Lothair’s elevation, Bernard of Italy’s failed revolt and blinding, Lothair’s Roman coronation and tribunal (including the Farfa case against the papacy), the violent blinding and beheading of two Lateran officials, Paschal’s oath of purgation to avoid imperial judgment, his death, and the enduring mosaics in the churches he rebuilt (Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, Santa Prassede, and Santa Maria in Domnica). (This is an automatically generated summary.)