''Renovatio imperii Romanorum'' ("renewal of the empire of the Romans") was a

formula In science, a formula is a concise way of expressing information symbolically, as in a mathematical formula or a ''chemical formula''. The informal use of the term ''formula'' in science refers to the general construct of a relationship betwe ...

declaring an intention to restore or revive the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. The formula (and variations) was used by several emperors of the Carolingian and Ottonian dynasties, but the idea was common during

Late Antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...

and the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

Late Antiquity

The phrases ''renovatio Romanorum'' ("renewal of the Romans") and ''renovatio urbis Romae'' ("renewal of the city of Rome") had been used already during Antiquity. The word ''renovatio'' ("renewal") and its relatives, ''restitutio'' ("restitution") and ''reparatio'' ("restoration"), appeared on some Roman coins from the reign of

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

onward, usually signifying the restoration of peace after a rebellion. The formula seems favoured especially by usurpers, such as Carausius, Magnentius and Decentius. Even Theoderic the Great, the king of the

Ostrogoths The Ostrogoths () were a Roman-era Germanic peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Western Roman Empire, drawing upon the large Gothic populatio ...

in Italy (), made use of the language of Roman renewal. The records of his reign in the writings of

Cassiodorus Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (c. 485 – c. 585), commonly known as Cassiodorus (), was a Christian Roman statesman, a renowned scholar and writer who served in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. ''Senato ...

, Ennodius and the '' Anonymus Valesianus'' are replete with reference to renewing, repairing and rejuvenating. During the reign of Emperor

Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

(), renewal was associated with the restoration of the empire's frontiers by reconquest. This policy appealed to the Roman aristocracy and to such writers as

Procopius Procopius of Caesarea (; ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; ; – 565) was a prominent Late antiquity, late antique Byzantine Greeks, Greek scholar and historian from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman general Belisarius in Justinian I, Empe ...

and John Lydus, who wrote in his ''De magistratibus'': "To Rome Justinian restored what was Rome's". This was not enough for the poet Corippus, who considered the end of Justinian's reign as a period of reckless spending and neglect. His poem ''In Laudem Iustini Augusti Minoris'' has as its theme the renewal of the empire by Justin II.

Middle Ages

The form ''renovatio Romanorum imperii'' was used first in a diploma issued by

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

, who was crowned emperor in 800. He was probably inspired, at least partly, by Roman coins. Evidence for the "renewal" of the city of Rome by Charlemagne comes largely from the ''

Liber pontificalis The ''Liber Pontificalis'' (Latin for 'pontifical book' or ''Book of the Popes'') is a book of biography, biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the ''Liber Pontificalis'' stopped with Pope Adr ...

''. There were major building and renovation programmes by Popes Hadrian I and Leo III, and there is also evidence for population growth and an increase of

Christian pilgrimage Christianity has a strong tradition of pilgrimages, both to sites relevant to the New Testament narrative (especially in the Holy Land) and to sites associated with later saints or miracles. History Christian pilgrimages were first made to sit ...

. Charlemagne's successor,

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...

, omitted the formula in favour of a new one: '' renovatio regni Francorum'' ("renewal of the kingdom of the Franks"). When Louis's younger son,

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as CharlesII, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), King of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a series of civil wars during t ...

, became emperor in 875 he adopted the combined formula ''renovatio imperii Romani et Francorum'' for his seal. The formula ''renovatio imperii Romanorum'' reappears on a lead seal of the Emperor Otto III in August 998. This seal was replaced in January 1001 by one bearing the legend ''aurea Roma'' ("golden Rome"). Otto III also built a palace in Rome, which none of his predecessors had done. Otto III's use of the formula has been assigned great weight in light of his enigmatic career and politics. The historian Percy Ernst Schramm argued that the formula represented a coherent programme for the restoration of the Roman Empire on a secular and universal basis. Knut Görich has written a riposte to Schramm's thesis, arguing instead that Otto III and Pope Gregory V were attempting a renewal of the papacy only. The idea of the renewal of Rome the city (''renovatio Romae''), of the empire (''renovatio imperii'') and of

Roman virtue A virtue () is a trait of excellence, including traits that may be moral, social, or intellectual. The cultivation and refinement of virtue is held to be the " good of humanity" and thus is valued as an end purpose of life or a foundational pr ...

(''renovatio morum'') were related in early Italian humanist thinking. The Roman popular leader Cola di Rienzo believed that the renewal of the empire would be brought about by popular sovereignty and not the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

s. Most humanists, like

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

and

Petrarch Francis Petrarch (; 20 July 1304 – 19 July 1374; ; modern ), born Francesco di Petracco, was a scholar from Arezzo and poet of the early Italian Renaissance, as well as one of the earliest Renaissance humanism, humanists. Petrarch's redis ...

, believed that the renewal of imperial authority in Italy would precede the renewal of the city and encouraged kings Henry VII and Charles IV to make the journey to Rome for imperial coronation.

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{refend Latin mottos Legacy of the Roman Empire Carolingian Empire Holy Roman Empire Charlemagne Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor