Book contents
- Old Saint Peter's, Rome
- Series page
- Old Saint Peter's, Rome
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Plates
- Tables
- Contributors
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Saint Peter's and the city of Rome between Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages
- 2 From Constantine to Constans
- 3 Spoliain the fourth-century basilica
- 4 The Early Christian baptisteryof Saint Peter's
- 5 The representation of Old Saint Peter's basilica in theLiber Pontificalis
- 6 The mausoleum of Honorius
- 7 Popes, emperors and clergyat Old Saint Peter's from the fourth to the eighth century
- 8 Theearly liturgy of Saint Peter's and the Roman liturgical year
- 9 Interactions between liturgy and politics in Old Saint Peter's, 670–741
- 10 A reconstruction of the oratory of John VII (705–7)
- 11 Old Saint Peter's and the Iconoclastic Controversy
- 12 The Veronica, theVultus Christiand the veneration oficons in medieval Rome
- 13 The Carolingiansand the oratoryof Saint Peter the Shepherd
- 14 Plus Caesare Petrus
- 15 The Legendary of Saint Peter's basilica
- 16 The stucco crucifix of Saint Peter's reconsidered
- 17 Saint Peter's in the fifteenth century
- 18 Filarete's renovation of the Porta Argenteaat Old Saint Peter's
- 19 The altarof Saint Maurice and the invention of tradition in Saint Peter's
- 20 Epilogue. A hybrid history:
- Appendix Letter of the canons of Saint Peter's to Paul V concerning the demolition of the old basilica, 1605
- Bibliography
- Index
14 - Plus Caesare Petrus
TheVatican obelisk and the approach to Saint Peter's
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 December 2013
Book contents
- Old Saint Peter's, Rome
- Series page
- Old Saint Peter's, Rome
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Plates
- Tables
- Contributors
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Saint Peter's and the city of Rome between Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages
- 2 From Constantine to Constans
- 3 Spoliain the fourth-century basilica
- 4 The Early Christian baptisteryof Saint Peter's
- 5 The representation of Old Saint Peter's basilica in theLiber Pontificalis
- 6 The mausoleum of Honorius
- 7 Popes, emperors and clergyat Old Saint Peter's from the fourth to the eighth century
- 8 Theearly liturgy of Saint Peter's and the Roman liturgical year
- 9 Interactions between liturgy and politics in Old Saint Peter's, 670–741
- 10 A reconstruction of the oratory of John VII (705–7)
- 11 Old Saint Peter's and the Iconoclastic Controversy
- 12 The Veronica, theVultus Christiand the veneration oficons in medieval Rome
- 13 The Carolingiansand the oratoryof Saint Peter the Shepherd
- 14 Plus Caesare Petrus
- 15 The Legendary of Saint Peter's basilica
- 16 The stucco crucifix of Saint Peter's reconsidered
- 17 Saint Peter's in the fifteenth century
- 18 Filarete's renovation of the Porta Argenteaat Old Saint Peter's
- 19 The altarof Saint Maurice and the invention of tradition in Saint Peter's
- 20 Epilogue. A hybrid history:
- Appendix Letter of the canons of Saint Peter's to Paul V concerning the demolition of the old basilica, 1605
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
When medieval visitors to Rome conjured up an image of Old Saint Peter's, it was not only the interior of the basilica that they envisaged. The capital of the emperors may have ruled an enormous earthly empire, but the Rome of the popes commands the Kingdom of Heaven. The critical verse is this one: 'Plus aquilis vexilla crucis, plus Caesare Petrus'. There may be no more succinct statement of papal ideology concerning their relationship to the ancient glory of the city of Rome, a glory that served in large measure as the justification for papal claims to broader authority, both spiritual and temporal. While not stated explicitly in any surviving text, it may be postulated that this memorial landscape traversed by the medieval pilgrim had its meaning deliberately constructed to embody a similar thought: 'Plus aquilis vexilla crucis, plus Caesare Petrus'.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Old Saint Peter's, Rome , pp. 274 - 286Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2013
- 1
- Cited by