Gesta Innocentii III - autobiographical elements in medieval papal biography?

Marek Škybraha

doi:10.5817/GLB2025-2-6

Gesta Innocentii III - autobiographical elements in medieval papal biography?

Roč.30,č.2(2025)

Marek Škybraha

https://doi.org/10.5817/GLB2025-2-6

Trvalý odkaz (handle):
http://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/digilib.82834

PDF (angličtina)

Abstrakt

Autobiography in the Middle Ages is still a much debated concept. Several autobiographical writings of medieval secular rulers as well as biographies of high church dignitaries and prominent theologians have survived. The Gesta Innocentii III, written around 1209–1210, occupies a distinctive place in papal historiography. While its authorship has long been debated, the text has not been systematically studied from the perspective of autobiography. For this reason, the present study analyses the autobiographical elements in the Gesta Innocentii III by comparing selected passages from this text with the literary works authored by Innocent III. The analysis identifies strong thematic and lexical parallels with Innocent's genuine writings and therefore suggests Innocent's active role in shaping his biography, even if parts of the work derive from curial compilation. The Gesta thus emerges as a hybrid text, positioned between biography and autobiography, which reshapes our understanding of Innocent's self-representation and contributes to broader discussions of authority and subjectivity in medieval literature.

Klíčová slova:
subjectivity; individualism; autobiographical elements; Gesta Innocentii III; medieval papacy

Stránky:
109–123

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