Summus Senator
Summus Senator (Latin for "Highest Senator") is a medieval title briefly used to denote the head of the civil government of Rome.
History
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Background
[edit]After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in AD 476, the Roman Senate continued to function, but it became increasingly irrelevant and seems to have disappeared in the seventh century.[1][2][3] Usage of the "senator" title was eventually revived in 1144, when the Commune of Rome attempted to establish a new 56-member senate in opposition to the temporal power of the nobles and the pope. In 1191, however, a popular uprising overthrew the senate in favor of a single individual, styled Summus Senator, who subsequently became the head of the civil government of Rome.[4]
Municipal role
[edit]The first Summus Senator, a man named Benedetto Carushomo. Carushomo was politically opposed to Pope Celestine III, and he prevented the pope from appointing provincial judges or raising revenue. The pope, initially having viewed Carushomo's power as illegitimate, was soon forced to recognize his municipal authority.[5] After two years in power, however, Carushomo was overthrown in the second half of 1193 and imprisoned. Power returned to the 56-person senate. Then power went to the Summus Senator again in early 1194, which was a noble named Giovanni Capocci.[4][6][7][8]
After Capocci, a senate of 56 members was briefly restored in 1194, power was quickly seized by Giovanni Pierleone, who ruled until 1197.[5][9] Pierleone was briefly succeeded by Scottus Paparone, but when Innocent III was elected to the papacy, the new pope convinced Paparone to resign. This ultimately brought the senate under the authority of the pope.[10] Within a few years, the multi-member senate would be restored, but by this point, the institution would come to be composed largely of nobles.[5]
References
[edit]- ↑ Richards, Jeffrey (1979). The Popes and the Papacy in the Early Middle Ages, 476–752. Routledge. p. 246. ISBN 978-0710000989.
- ↑ Levillain, Philippe (2002). The Papacy: Gaius-Proxies. Psychology Press. p. 1047. ISBN 978-0-415-92230-2.
- ↑ Kaegi, Walter Emil (27 March 2003). Heraclius, Emperor of Byzantium. Cambridge University Press. p. 196. ISBN 978-0-521-81459-1.
- 1 2 Hemans, Charles I (1869). A History of Mediaeval Christianity and Sacred Art in Italy (A.D. 900-1550). M. Cellini. p. 204. Retrieved August 5, 2025 – via Google Books.
- 1 2 3 Gregorovius, Ferdinand (1905). History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages. Vol. 2. Translated by Hamilton, Annie. London: George Bell & Sons. pp. 633–635. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
- ↑ Baynes, T. S.; Smith, W. R., eds. (1886). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (9th ed.). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
- ↑ Brentano, Robert (1990). Rome Before Avignon. University of California Press. p. 96. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
- ↑ F. Bartoloni, Per la storia del Senato Romano nei secc. XII e XIII, in Bull. dell'Ist. stor. ital. per il Medio Evo, LX (1946), pp. 50-55
- ↑ Halphen, Louis (1907). Études sur l'administration de Rome au Moyen Âge (751-1252). Paris: Librarie Honoré Champion. p. 161. Retrieved August 6, 2025 – via Google Books.
- ↑ Gregorovius, Ferdinand (1905). History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages. Vol. 2. Translated by Hamilton, Annie. London: George Bell & Sons. pp. 22–23. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
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