Donation of Constantine
Topic: Renaissance, Reformation and the Scientific Revolution · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 5 "Changing Cultural Traditions"
Meaning
The Donation of Constantine was a document said to have been issued by the Roman emperor Constantine. It gave the clergy wide judicial powers (powers to judge cases) and fiscal powers (powers to collect money). The Church used it to back its claims. Renaissance humanists studied its language closely and showed it was a forgery written much later. This weakened the Church, and princes who disliked Church interference were pleased.
Example
Around 1440 the Italian humanist Lorenzo Valla proved by textual study that the Donation of Constantine was a later forgery.
Don't confuse with
- Indulgences: these were papers sold to ordinary believers that claimed to free them from sins. The Donation was a single forged document behind the clergy's claims to power.
Related concepts
- Christian humanism
- Thomas More
- Erasmus
- Indulgences
- Martin Luther
- Ninety-Five Theses
- Protestant Reformation
- John Calvin
- English Reformation
- Anglican Church