Period of corrupt papal appointments in early/mid 10th century
"Pornocracy" redirects here. For other uses, see Pornocracy (disambiguation).
1742 print of the corpse of John XII, one of the most infamous popes, being carried by a crowd
Saeculum obscurum (Ecclesiastical Latin:[ˈsɛː.ku.lu.mobsˈkuː.rum], "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 Pope Formosus in 896 which saw seven or eight papal elections in as many years. It began with the installation of Pope Sergius III in 904 and lasted for 60 years until the death of Pope John XII in 964. During this period, the popes were influenced strongly by a powerful and allegedly corrupt aristocratic family, the Theophylacti, and their relatives and allies. The era is seen as one of the lowest points of the history of the papal office.
Saeculumobscurum (Ecclesiastical Latin: [ˈsɛː.ku.lu.m obsˈkuː.rum], "the dark age/century"), also known as the Pornocracy or the Rule of the Harlots...
Papal States from 30 October 942 to his death. He ruled during the Saeculumobscurum. He was also erroneously called Martin III (Martinus III) leading...
Spoleto, his pontificate occurred during the period known as the Saeculumobscurum. Agapetus was born to a Roman father (a descendant of Consul Anicius...
His brief pontificate occurred at the end of a period known as the Saeculumobscurum. Benedict was the son of a Roman called John, and was born and raised...
Marozia, his pontificate occurred during the period known as the Saeculumobscurum. Stephen was a Roman by birth, the son of Germanic (Goth) Theodemundus/Theudemund...
his death. His pontificate occurred during the period known as the Saeculumobscurum. Leo VI was born into a Roman family, and his father was Christophorus...
from 14 July 939 to his death. His pontificate occurred during the Saeculumobscurum, when the power of popes was diminished by the ambitious counts of...
"obscurity" in Italian history during the 9th to 11th centuries, the saeculumobscurum or "Dark Age" of the Roman papacy as seen from the perspective of...
neighboring sovereigns was replaced by powerful Roman families during the saeculumobscurum, the Crescentii era, and the Tusculan Papacy. From 1048 to 1257, the...
murdered. John’s pontificate occurred during the period known as the Saeculumobscurum. John X, whose father’s name was also John, was born at Tossignano...
I, Leo VIII's pontificate occurred after the period known as the saeculumobscurum. Born in Rome in the region around the Clivus Argentarius, Leo came...
brother Alberic II. His pontificate occurred during the period known as Saeculumobscurum. John was the son of Marozia, the most powerful woman in Rome and...
February 904. He was pope immediately before the period known as the Saeculumobscurum, when popes wielded little temporal authority. Leo V was born at a...
retain influence in the emerging Holy Roman Empire, and during the saeculumobscurum, the population of Rome fell to as low as 30,000 inhabitants. Following...
this time was in a period of decline, in retrospect known as the saeculumobscurum ("Dark Age") or "pornocracy" ("rule of harlots"), a state of affairs...
been: Ioannes, son of Marozia, who became Pope John XI during the Saeculumobscurum Gabriele Condulmer who became Pope Eugene IV Giovanni Morone - played...
during an obscure period in papal and Roman history, the so-called Saeculumobscurum (904–964). According to the Liber pontificalis, Lando was born in...
Papacy (493–537) Byzantine Papacy (537–752) Frankish Papacy (756–857) Saeculumobscurum (904–964) Crescentii era (974–1012) High and Late Middle Ages Tusculan...
Papacy (493–537) Byzantine Papacy (537–752) Frankish Papacy (756–857) Saeculumobscurum (904–964) Crescentii era (974–1012) High and Late Middle Ages Tusculan...
States 44 / 51 Subject and later the sovereign of the Papal States. "Saeculumobscurum" begins. The first pope to be depicted with the Papal Tiara. 120 14...
the Annales, Baronio coined the term "Dark Age" in the Latin form saeculumobscurum, to refer to the period between the end of the Carolingian Empire...
aristocratic family, the Theophylacti. This period was later dubbed the Saeculumobscurum ("dark age"), and sometimes as the "rule by harlots". In practice...
mobile game Fate/Grand Order. Legends surrounding the papacy Marozia Saeculumobscurum Theodora (senatrix) The High Priestess the span is given as 855–857;...
control of Coimbra, this time for almost a century. Beginning of the Saeculumobscurum ('Dark Age'), a period of 60 years in which the papacy was heavily...
centuries), the centuries after the fall of the Western Roman Empire Saeculumobscurum ("dark age/century"), a period in the history of the papacy during...
historian Caesar Baronius in his Annales Ecclesiastici to call it the Saeculumobscurum, or dark century. Similarly 19th-century Protestant historians saw...
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