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The Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages, Vol. 1: In Two Parts; The Pope Under the Lombard Rule, St. Gregory I. The Great to Leo III., 590-795; Part II. 657-795
Excerpt from The Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages
Considering the fact that Vitalian reigned for fourteen years and a half, we know but little of his doings.
Considering the fact that Vitalian reigned for fourteen years and a half, we know but little of his doings.
517 pages, Paperback
First published June 6, 2014
About the author
Horace K. Mann
76 books2 followersPriest, educator, and historian of the medieval papacy. Mann devoted his intellectual activity to the medieval papacy and became the outstanding English historian in this field in the 20th century.
His major work is the Lives of the Popes in the (Early) Middle Ages (18 v. in 19, London 1902–32), treating the popes from Gregory I through Benedict XI; the last four volumes were issued posthumously. Although still valuable, the Lives has been largely superseded by later research. Mann wrote also an independent biography of Nicholas Breakspear (HadrianIV) A.D. 1154–1159 (London 1914), Tombs and Portraits of the Popes of the Middle Ages (London 1929), articles for the Catholic Encyclopedia, and numerous essays and reviews.
His major work is the Lives of the Popes in the (Early) Middle Ages (18 v. in 19, London 1902–32), treating the popes from Gregory I through Benedict XI; the last four volumes were issued posthumously. Although still valuable, the Lives has been largely superseded by later research. Mann wrote also an independent biography of Nicholas Breakspear (HadrianIV) A.D. 1154–1159 (London 1914), Tombs and Portraits of the Popes of the Middle Ages (London 1929), articles for the Catholic Encyclopedia, and numerous essays and reviews.
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July 16, 2026
An interesting read. Between Mann and Ludwig Pastor, there are something like 60 volumes on the history of the Papacy, and I've gotten through two of them. Probably should have started earlier in life. As is, Mann is a little less objective, though perhaps more readable for it. He also has less material to work with than Pastor, as time has done its thing to a great many documents. I found this book enlightening and that it helped fill in some large gaps of my historical knowledge, namely of the 6th and 7th Centuries.
Of particular note:
1. St. Gregory the Great was surprisingly well connected with the world, keeping his eye on Britain, Spain, Africa, Constantinople, and pretty much anywhere in between. Given how war torn Italy was at this time, that's rather surprising. That man truly deserves the epithet of Great.
2. The Roman Catholic Church was fully fledged by this time, and not because it imposed itself by physical force. Quite the opposite; it had no physical force to impose upon anyone.
3. There is an unfortunate gap in the historical record for a few decades after the death of St. Gregory. One of the reasons I picked this book up was to see how the Church could rise to such spiritual heights under this great Pope and then descend into madness later on. For what it is worth, that descent does not seem to have happened here, as when the record picks up again, we have saintly men still sitting on the throne of St. Peter.
4. Pope Honorius...hardly a bad man. I wish Mann had gone more into the issue of the First Vatican Council and him (Mann kind of turns on the "objective historian" label and turns if off again at will, I'm afraid). As is, it shows how high a standard a Pope was held to. Hard to say he actively engaged in heresy, but he was condemned more for not actively opposing it. Just about every pope of my lifetime would catch an anathema by those standards, and perhaps they should.
5. Mann fills the gaps with various other important church events, including the mission of St. Boniface in Germany. It's pretty amazing how the Church was able to go about evangelizing pagan nations at this time period. This was not a "we have solidified matters at home, and so can safely send people out to the wild with a solid base of operations" type event. The Iconoclast heresy took off, with imperial support, while St. Boniface was actively engaged in his mission, and Rome was trying to ward off a Lombard invasion that threatened her very existence. Indeed, during the entire span of this book, Rome is caught between an Imperial outclave of the Exarch in Ravenna and the barbarian force of Lombards, neither of which as Rome's good in view.
6. That leads to Mann's big point: Rome gained temporal power more as an accident than anything else. As time passed, the Empire simply could not provide security to Italy; the Lombards could not quite conquer the peninsula either. A power vacuum occurred, and the only individual with the respect of the people in the area ends up being the Bishop of Rome. Mann does a good job of establishing this temporal rule long before the "Donation of Constantine" makes any appearance. The Donation of Charlemagne is far more important, historical, and makes no mention of the previous donation. Rome had temporal power thrust upon her, rather than her seeking it out. Such a power is a double edged sword: without it, Rome was threatened by temporal powers to change her doctrine (see good St. Martin, Pope and Martyr or St. Maximus the Confessor). With it, she was free of the physical threat to change doctrine, but then became threatened by men desiring that very temporal power with no regard to the spiritual.
I have the next volume already.
Of particular note:
1. St. Gregory the Great was surprisingly well connected with the world, keeping his eye on Britain, Spain, Africa, Constantinople, and pretty much anywhere in between. Given how war torn Italy was at this time, that's rather surprising. That man truly deserves the epithet of Great.
2. The Roman Catholic Church was fully fledged by this time, and not because it imposed itself by physical force. Quite the opposite; it had no physical force to impose upon anyone.
3. There is an unfortunate gap in the historical record for a few decades after the death of St. Gregory. One of the reasons I picked this book up was to see how the Church could rise to such spiritual heights under this great Pope and then descend into madness later on. For what it is worth, that descent does not seem to have happened here, as when the record picks up again, we have saintly men still sitting on the throne of St. Peter.
4. Pope Honorius...hardly a bad man. I wish Mann had gone more into the issue of the First Vatican Council and him (Mann kind of turns on the "objective historian" label and turns if off again at will, I'm afraid). As is, it shows how high a standard a Pope was held to. Hard to say he actively engaged in heresy, but he was condemned more for not actively opposing it. Just about every pope of my lifetime would catch an anathema by those standards, and perhaps they should.
5. Mann fills the gaps with various other important church events, including the mission of St. Boniface in Germany. It's pretty amazing how the Church was able to go about evangelizing pagan nations at this time period. This was not a "we have solidified matters at home, and so can safely send people out to the wild with a solid base of operations" type event. The Iconoclast heresy took off, with imperial support, while St. Boniface was actively engaged in his mission, and Rome was trying to ward off a Lombard invasion that threatened her very existence. Indeed, during the entire span of this book, Rome is caught between an Imperial outclave of the Exarch in Ravenna and the barbarian force of Lombards, neither of which as Rome's good in view.
6. That leads to Mann's big point: Rome gained temporal power more as an accident than anything else. As time passed, the Empire simply could not provide security to Italy; the Lombards could not quite conquer the peninsula either. A power vacuum occurred, and the only individual with the respect of the people in the area ends up being the Bishop of Rome. Mann does a good job of establishing this temporal rule long before the "Donation of Constantine" makes any appearance. The Donation of Charlemagne is far more important, historical, and makes no mention of the previous donation. Rome had temporal power thrust upon her, rather than her seeking it out. Such a power is a double edged sword: without it, Rome was threatened by temporal powers to change her doctrine (see good St. Martin, Pope and Martyr or St. Maximus the Confessor). With it, she was free of the physical threat to change doctrine, but then became threatened by men desiring that very temporal power with no regard to the spiritual.
I have the next volume already.
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