Popes have bestowed golden roses on warriors, rulers, women – and, increasingly in recent decades, shrines.
- Professor Emerita of Medieval History, University of Rhode Island
The English Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 wasn’t an isolated outburst. Across medieval Europe, ordinary people challenged the authority of rulers who failed to live up to their end of the bargain.
Quand Donald Trump mobilise le religieux et que le pape Léon XIV lui répond, c’est toute une histoire des rapports entre foi et pouvoir qui refait surface.
From its earliest centuries, Christianity was bound up with politics, with frequent tensions between government power and religious authority.
L’Europe médiévale savait déjà dénoncer la tyrannie et poser des limites aux dirigeants – rois, évêques et autres dignitaires – considérés comme injustes.
Dans les villes européennes du début du Moyen Âge, les droits des femmes se sont étendus. Les testaments sont parmi les rares documents que les femmes ont quelquefois dictés elles-mêmes au notaire.
Le pape François a valorisé la pratique de la lecture comme outil d’émancipation et d’ouverture au monde, loin de toute prescription normative.
Quelle place avaient les femmes à la cour papale, au Moyen Âge ? Une étude historiographique montre que si elles n’étaient pas des figures de pouvoir, elles étaient indispensables au quotidien de la cour papale.
The pope’s embrace of literature and history is a sharp contrast to some of his predecessors, a medievalist explains.
Le conclave pour élire un nouveau pape s'ouvre au Vatican. L’élection du pape par 133 cardinaux peut paraître étonnante. Mais ce système résulte de siècles d’ingérences extérieures.
O sistema de conclave pode parecer dramático, mas foi desenvolvido após séculos de interferência externa e saques contra a Igreja Católica
Women’s work may not have been glamorous, but it was vital to the workings of the pope’s court and surrounding city.
The conclave system may seem dramatic, but it was developed after centuries of outside interference and looting.
Medieval Europeans thought about politics in terms of leadership and often criticized rulers for ‘tyranny’ − both in government and in the church.
European women’s rights expanded in early medieval cities, though they were still limited. Last wills and testaments were some of the few documents women could dictate themselves.
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