A quiz question · hard
When did Lorenzo Valla's textual analysis of Latin vocabulary prove the Donation of Constantine was a medieval forgery?
Valla completed his treatise in 1440 in Naples, working under King Alfonso V of Aragon. The document — which had justified papal temporal rule over Western Europe for six centuries — used Latin terms (satrap, feudum) that did not exist in the fourth century.
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The Eighth-Century Forgery That Gave the Pope Temporal Rule Over Western Europe and Was Exposed in 1440 by Linguistic Analysis The Donation of Constantine purported to be a fourth-century imperial decree granting Pope Sylvester I sovereignty over Rome, Italy, and the Western provinces of the Roman Empire. It was forged in the papal chancery around 750-800 CE. The Italian humanist Lorenzo Valla proved it a forgery in 1440 by analysing its Latin vocabulary, which contained terms that did not exist in the fourth century.
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