Justinian and his entourage, including Archbishop Maximian. The shield carrier on the far left is thought to be Belisarius.
Contemporary mosaic, sixth century, San Vitale, Ravenna. (Illustration Credit i1.4)
The Empress Theodora and her court.
Contemporary mosaic, sixth century, Church of San Vitale, Ravenna. (Illustration Credit i1.5)
St. Gregory the Great (590–604) in his study. The Holy Ghost whispers in his ear. Below, scribes are busy copying his work. Tenth-century ivory, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. (Illustration Credit i1.6)
Constantine the Great (708–715) presents Pope Sylvester with the tiara. Behind him is the pope’s horse; when Sylvester mounts it, the emperor will hold his stirrup as the traditional mark of respect. Thirteenth-century fresco, Church of the Santi Quattro Coronati, Rome. (Illustration Credit i1.7)
Pope Joan (?855–857) gives birth. Engraving, F. Spanheim, Histoire de la Papesse Jeanne, The Hague, 1721. (Illustration Credit i1.8)
The coronation of Charles the Bald by Pope John VIII (872–882) in 875. Musée Condé, Chantilly. (Illustration Credit i1.9)
The Emperor Otto III, enthroned between representatives of the Church and laity. The Munich Gospels, Staatsbibliothek, Munich. (Illustration Credit i1.10)
Equestrian statue of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. It stood outside the Lateran Palace in the Middle Ages, when it was believed to represent Constantine the Great. Piazza del Campidoglio, Rome. (Illustration Credit i1.11)
The greatest pope of the Middle Ages, Innocent III (1198–1216). Thirteenth-century fresco, Monastery of Sacro Speco, Subiaco. (Illustration Credit i1.12)
Pope Boniface VIII (1294–1303) inaugurates, from the benediction balcony of the Lateran Palace, the first Jubilee in 1300. Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan. (Illustration Credit i1.13)
Christ presents the keys to St. Peter. Fresco by Pietro Perugino, Sistine Chapel, Rome. (Illustration Credit i1.14)
Pope Alexander VI (1492–1503) at prayer. Detail from Resurrection fresco by Pinturicchio, Borgia Apartments, Vatican Palace, Rome. (Illustration Credit i1.15)
Pope Julius II (1503–1513) toward the end of his life. Raphael, National Gallery, London. (Illustration Credit i1.16)
Pope Pius II (1458–1464) at Ancona, awaiting the arrival of the princes of Europe for a Crusade. Pinturicchio, Piccolomini Library, Siena Cathedral. (Illustration Credit i1.17)
Pope Leo X (de’ Medici, 1513–1521) and his nephews. Painted by Raphael in 1518, soon after Leo had appointed him architect of the new St. Peter’s. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence. (Illustration Credit i1.18)
Pope Clement VII (de’ Medici, 1523–1534). It was he who refused to allow the annulment of Henry VIII’s first marriage and endured the sack of Rome in 1527. Sebastiano del Piombo, Museo di Capodimonte, Naples. (Illustration Credit i1.19)
Pope Paul III (Farnese, 1534–1549). Father of four illegitimate children before his election. One of two portraits by Titian, Museo di Capodimonte, Naples. (Illustration Credit i1.20)
Pope Paul V (Borghese, 1605–1621). An arch-reactionary, he first took issue with Galileo for his espousal of Copernicus’s theory that the sun, rather than the earth, was the center of the universe. Gianlorenzo Bernini, Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen. (Illustration Credit i1.21)
Pope Innocent X (Pamfili, 1644–1655). Dominated through most of his reign by his reputed mistress, the sinister and corrupt Olimpia Maidalchini. Velazquez, Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome. (Illustration Credit i1.22)
Pope Pius VII (Chiaramonti, 1800–1823). Obliged to deal as best he could with Napoleon, who treated him abominably. Jacques-Louis David, Musée du Louvre, Paris. (Illustration Credit i1.23)
December 2, 1804: The Emperor Napoleon crowns himself and the Empress Josephine in Notre Dame, watched by Pope Pius VII on right, seated. Jacques-Louis David, Musée du Louvre, Paris. (Illustration Credit i1.24)
Pope Pius IX (1846–1878) and King Victor Emmanuel II. Popular print. (Illustration Credit i1.25)
Pope Leo XIII (1878–1903). Mass-produced popular print, Museo del Risorgimento, Milan. (Illustration Credit i1.26)
Pope Pius XII (1939–1958) at his coronation in 1939, seated on the sedia gestatoria. (Illustration Credit i1.27)
Pope John Paul I (1978): his first blessing from the balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square. (Illustration Credit i1.28)
Pope John Paul II (1978–2005), obliged to use his Popemobile after an attempt on his life in 1981. (Illustration Credit i1.29)
Illustration Credits
i1.1 St. Peter and St. Paul embracing. Mosaic, Byzantine school. Duomo, Monreale, Sicily/Giraudon/The Bridgeman Art Library.
i1.2 The Crypt of the Popes, third century. Catacomb of San Callisto, Rome, © 2011 Photo Scala, Florence.
i1.3 The Mausoleum of Theodoric. Ravenna, © 2011 Photo Scala, Florence.
i1.4 Justinian and his entourage, including Archbishop Maximian. Apse mosaic. San Vitale, Ravenna, © 2011 Photo Scala, Florence.
i1.5 Theodora and her entourage. Apse mosaic. San Vitale, Ravenna, © 2011 Photo Scala, Florence.
i1.6 St. Gregory the Great in his study. Tenth-century ivory. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, © akg-images.
i1.7 Constantine the Great presents Pope Sylvester with the tiara. Thirteenth-century fresco. Church of the Santi Quattro Coronati, Rome, © 2011 Photo Scala, Florence.
i1.8 Pope Joan gives birth. Engraving, F. Spanheim, Histoire de la Papesse Jeanne, The Hague, 1721.
i1.9 The coronation of Charles the Bald by Pope John VIII in 875. Musée Condé, Chantilly, France/Giraudon/The Bridgeman Art Library.
i1.10 The Emperor Otto III. The Munich Gospels. Staatsbibliothek, Munich, © akg-images.
i1.11 Statue of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Piazza del Campidoglio, Rome, © 2011 Photo Scala, Florence.
i1.12 Pope Innocent III. Fresco. Monastery of Sacro Speco, Subiaco, © 2011 Photo Scala, Florence—courtesy of the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali.
i1.13 Pope Boniface VIII inaugurates, from the benediction balcony of the Lateran, the first Jubilee in 1300. Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan, © 2011 Photo Scala, Florence.
i1.14 Christ presents the keys to St. Peter. Fresco by Pietro Perugino. Sistine Chapel, Rome, © 2011 Photo Scala, Florence.
i1.15 Pope Alexander VI at prayer. Detail from Resurrection fresco by Pinturicchio. Borgia Apartments, Vatican Palace, Rome, © 2011 Photo Scala, Florence.
i1.16 Pope Julius II. Raphael. National Gallery, London, © akg-images/Rabatti-Domingie.
i1.17 Pope Pius II at Ancona. Pinturicchio. Piccolomini Library, Siena Cathedral, © 2011 Photo Scala, Florence.
i1.18 Pope Leo X and his nephews. Raphael. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, © 2011 Photo Scala, Florence—courtesy of the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali.
i1.19 Pope Clement VII. Sebastiano del Piombo. Museo di Capodimonte, Naples/Giraudon/The Bridgeman Art Library.
i1.20 Pope Paul III. Titian. Museo di Capodimonte, Naples, © 2011 Photo Scala, Florence—courtesy of the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali.
i1.21 Bust of Pope Paul V. Gianlorenzo Bernini. Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, © akg-images/Erich Lessing.
i1.22 Pope Innocent X. Velázquez. Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome, © V&A Images/Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
i1.23 Pope Pius VII. Jacques-Louis David. Musée du Louvre, Paris, © RMN/Géard Blot.
i1.24 Coronation of the Emperor Napoleon and the Empress Josephine in Notre Dame, December 2, 1804. Jacques-Louis David. Musée du Louvre, Paris, © RMN/Hervé Lewandowski.
i1.25 Pope Pius IX and King Victor Emmanuel II. Popular print. © Mary Evans Picture Library.
i1.26 Pope Leo XIII. Mass-produced popular print. Museo del Risorgimento, Milan, © 2011 Photo Scala, Florence.
i1.27 Pope Pius XII at his coronation in 1939. © Mary Evans Picture Library.
i1.28 Pope John Paul I, 1978. © Getty Images/Hulton Archive.
i1.29
Pope John Paul II, 1981. © Press Association.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JOHN JULIUS NORWICH is one of Britain’s preeminent historians and travel writers. He has written the histories of Norman Sicily, Byzantium, Venice, and the Mediterranean. His other books have been on Shakespeare’s history plays, on music, and on architecture.
Absolute Monarchs Page 60