The papal tiara in sacred historiography
This article sets out historiographical engagement with the papal tiara since the late sixteenth century, examining the range of questions asked about the object and the motivations behind them. Early Modern Catholic writers developed a consistent line of inquiry into the tiara based on an evolving...
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
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Catholic University of America Press
2024
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| Summary: | This article sets out historiographical engagement with the papal tiara since the late
sixteenth century, examining the range of questions asked about the object and the motivations
behind them. Early Modern Catholic writers developed a consistent line of inquiry into the tiara
based on an evolving agenda to affirm the pope’s majesty. More recent scholars, though
motivated by very different concerns, have nevertheless retained many of their lines of
questioning. Indifference to practical questions about exactly how the tiara was used as a
ceremonial object has sometimes been a feature of this discourse. However, contemporary
discussion of the tiara medieval origins now integrates it. The oddity that tiaras have still been
produced for late twentieth- and twenty-first century popes needs to be included in the story told. |
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