Pope Lando (also known as Landus) was the

bishop of Rome A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

and the ruler of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

from around September 913 to his death around March 914.J. N. D. Kelly and Michael Walsh, "Lando", ''The Oxford Dictionary of Popes'', 2nd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2010), p. 120. His short pontificate fell during an obscure period in papal and Roman history, the so-called ''

Saeculum obscurum ''Saeculum obscurum'' (, "the dark age/century"), also known as the Pornocracy or the Rule of the Harlots, was a period in the history of the Papacy during the first two-thirds of the 10th century, following the chaos after the death of Formosu ...

'' (904–964). According to the '' Liber pontificalis'', Lando was born in the

Sabina Sabina may refer to: Places and jurisdictions * Sabina (region), region and place in Italy, and hence: * the now Suburbicarian Diocese of Sabina (-Poggio Mirteto), Italy * Magliano Sabina, city, Italy * Pozzaglia Sabina, city, Italy *Fara Sab ...

(

), and his father was a wealthy Lombard count named Taino from Fornovo.Umberto Longo
"Landone, papa"
''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'' 63 (2004).Harald Zimmerman, "Lando", in Philippe Levillain, ed., ''The Papacy: An Encyclopedia'', Vol. 2, Gaius–Proxies (New York: Routledge, 2002), p. 896. The ''Liber'' also claims that his pontificate lasted only four months and twenty-two days. A different list of popes, appended to a continuation of the ''Liber pontificalis'' at the Abbey of Farfa and quoted by

Gregory of Catino Gregory of Catino (1060 – aft. 1130) was a monk of the Abbey of Farfa and "one of the most accomplished monastic historians of his age."Marios Costambeys, ''Power and Patronage in the Early Medieval Italy: Local Society, Italian Politics, and t ...

in his ''Chronicon Farfense'' in the twelfth century, gives Lando a pontificate of six months and twenty-six days. This is closer to the duration recorded by

Flodoard of Reims Flodoard of Reims (; 893/4 – 28 March 966) was a Frankish chronicler and priest of the cathedral church of Reims in the West Frankish kingdom during the decades following the dissolution of the Carolingian Empire. His historical writings are ...

, writing in the tenth century, of six months and ten days. The end of his pontificate can be dated to between 5 February 914, when he is mentioned in a document of

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the ca ...

, and late March or early April, when his successor,

John X Pope John X ( la, Ioannes X; died 28 May 928) was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from March 914 to his death. A candidate of the counts of Tusculum, he attempted to unify Italy under the leadership of Berengar of Friuli ...

, was elected. Lando is thought to have been the candidate of Count Theophylact I of Tusculum and Senatrix

Theodora Theodora is a given name of Greek origin, meaning "God's gift". Theodora may also refer to: Historical figures known as Theodora Byzantine empresses * Theodora (wife of Justinian I) ( 500 – 548), saint by the Orthodox Church * Theodora o ...

, who were the most powerful couple in Rome at the time. The Theophylacti controlled papal finances through their monopoly of the office of ''

vestararius The ''vestararius'' was the manager of the medieval Roman Curia office of the ''vestiarium'' (cf. the Byzantine imperial wardrobe and treasury, the ''vestiarion''), responsible for the management of papal finances as well as the papal wardrobe.Lu ...

'', and also controlled the Roman militia and Senate. During Lando's reign, Arab raiders, operating from their stronghold on the

Garigliano The Garigliano () is a river in central Italy. It forms at the confluence of the rivers Gari (also known as the Rapido) and Liri. Garigliano is actually a deformation of "Gari-Lirano" (which in Italian means something like "Gari from the Liri") ...

river, destroyed the cathedral of San Salvatore in Vescovio in his native diocese.

Roger Collins Roger J. H. Collins (born September 2, 1949) is an English medievalist, currently an honorary fellow in history at the University of Edinburgh. Collins studied at the University of Oxford ( Queen's and Saint Cross Colleges) under Peter Bro ...

, ''Keepers of the Keys of Heaven: A History of the Papacy'', (Basic Books, 2009), 175. No document of Lando's chancery has survived. The only act of his reign that is recorded is a donation to the diocese of Sabina mentioned in a judicial act of 1431. Lando made the large personal gift in order to restore the cathedral of San Salvatore so that the clergy who were then living at

Toffia Toffia is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Rieti in the Italian region Latium, located about northeast of Rome and about southwest of Rieti. Toffia borders the following municipalities: Castelnuovo di Farfa, Fara in Sabina, Ne ...

could return.

Notes

References

External links

Catholic Forum:
Pope Lando

Pope Lando {{DEFAULTSORT:Lando Popes Italian popes People from Lazio 914 deaths Year of birth unknown 10th-century popes Burials at St. Peter's Basilica