This chapter documents the precipitous collapse of the fortunes of the papacy, and the Roman Church more generally, following the murder of John VIII in 882. A series of short-lived pontiffs must devote their energy to attempts to protect the city of Rome from physical assault, but the loss of any semblance of security in the surrounding hinterland leads to an economic collapse reflected in the archaeological record, the apparent absence of new building projects or significant gifts of precious objects, and also the discontinuation of the series of papal biographies (Liber pontificalis). The one exception is the Life of Stephen V (885–891), and this reveals the complete impoverishment of the papal treasury. The pope is reduced to making gifts of books, and this leads to a substantial discussion of what is known about book culture in Rome in the ninth century.

The Introduction sets out the methodological approach of the book, and the major themes to be addressed. It is a ‘history in art’, a notion that provides for a primary focus on the evidence adduced from material culture (archaeology, standing remains and their decoration, surviving objects including manuscripts) integrated with information derived from written sources (in this instance primarily the series of papal biographies known as the Liber pontificalis, supplemented by other documents such as the Ordines Romani and the chronicles of Frankish and Italian historians). The two other overarching themes are the gradual decline of the Roman economy, and the resulting impoverishment of the Roman Church over the course of the ninth century and its effects on papal patronage, and the continuing adherence of Roman artistic production to the broader context of Mediterranean Christian visual culture. A historiographical survey/analysis is also included.

Spanning much of the third quarter of the century, the pontificates of Benedict III (855–858), Nicholas I (858–867) and Hadrian II (867–872) reveal a declining papal involvement in the patronage of architecture, though also considerable engagement with ecclesiastical issues of the day, including dramatically renewed contacts with Constantinople and the eastern Mediterranean in the aftermath of the definitive end of Byzantine Iconoclasm and the ‘Triumph of Orthodoxy’. In addition to the growing importance of the Roman secular aristocracy, whose domestic housing has been rediscovered in recent archaeology, evidence is surveyed for the continuing presence of a substantial Greek community in Rome, and for interest in the translation of Greek texts in the circle of the papal librarian, Anastasius. Among the most prominent survivals from these years is the tomb of St Cyril, the Byzantine missionary to the Slavs, in the lower church of San Clemente.

This chapter surveys the engagement with material culture of three popes in the second quarter of the ninth century – Eugenius II, Gregory IV and Sergius II – spanning the years 824 through to 847. Although not as prolific as Paschal I in terms of patronage, all have left at least one significant project to have survived to the present day. Eugenius II’s marble clerical enclosure at Santa Sabina initiates a discussion of stone furnishings in Rome’s early medieval churches; Gregory IV’s apse mosaic in San Marco provides interesting insights into his participation in contemporary ecclesiastic politics in northern Italy, and other initiatives testify to continuing preoccupations with urban infrastructure and the cult of relics; and Sergius II’s newly reconstructed church of San Martino ai Monti attests to the continuing presence in Rome of significant teams of builders and decorators.

This brief ‘afterword’ draws together the various themes set out in the book, concluding that over the course of the ninth century the Roman Church goes from one of its highest points to what is arguably its medieval nadir. Some analysis is provided of the various factors which contributed to this dramatic decline.

This chapter is devoted entirely to the Roman church of Santa Prassede, the principal surviving architectural project of Pope Paschal I (817–824). Its function as a major urban repository for the relics of the city’s Early Christian saints and martyrs, more than 2000 of which were brought here from the extramural catacombs, determines both the architectural model (Saint Peter’s) and many aspects of the decoration in mosaic, mural painting and sculpture. Special attention is devoted to the San Zeno chapel, the burial site of Paschal’s mother, Theodora, whose mosaic programme, including her portrait, is completely preserved and reflects that function. Consideration is given to Richard Krautheimer’s suggestion that this church constitutes evidence for a ‘Carolingian renascence’ of architectural forms associated with the first Christian emperor, Constantine.

This chapter establishes the political and cultural context for what follows through an examination of the reign of Pope Leo III (795–816) and his alliance with the Franks, notably Charlemagne, whom he crowned as Roman emperor on 25 December 800. A primary focus is the political and other messages implicit or explicit in the construction and decoration of new reception spaces at the Lateran patriarchate and Saint Peter’s, aimed at reinforcing the new role of the papacy in temporal as well as spiritual matters, and the mosaic decorations for which Leo was responsible in the churches of Santa Susanna and Santi Nereo ed Achilleo. An analysis is provided of the exceptionally detailed list of papal gifts to Roman churches, known as the ‘Donation of 807’, and the chapter concludes with an analysis of the possible sources of papal wealth necessary to make such extravagant largesse possible.

This chapter provides a broader context for the achievement represented by Santa Prassede through an examination of what is known about Paschal’s numerous other building projects and patronage of material culture. Some of these survive (mosaics in the churches of Santa Maria in Domnica and Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, enamel and gilded silver reliquaries in the Sancta Sanctorum) and some are recorded in contemporary and subsequent antiquarian descriptions (funerary chapel in Saint Peter’s, restructuring of the presbytery at Santa Maria Maggiore). All can be related to papal concerns regarding relics, liturgy and the pope’s personal salvation.

This chapter is devoted to the pontificate of John VIII (872–882) and the significant physical threat to the city of Rome posed principally although not exclusively by Muslim marauders from North Africa, particularly in the aftermath of the death of Emperor Louis II in 875. Papal efforts to find new military champions were largely unsuccessful, although a significant victory was scored by the Byzantine imperial fleet at the mouth of the Tiber in 880. John VIII also constructed fortifications to defend the church and monastery of San Paolo fuori le mura, hoping to present a repeat of the sack of 846. Although the papal court is known to have been a hotbed of intellectual activity, little has survived from this era in the way of material culture except for the conversion of the temple of Portunus into the church of Santa Maria de Secundicerio by a senior lay official, Stephen secundicerius. Surviving fragments of its mural decorations reveal the influence of both apocryphal texts about the life of Mary as well as contemporary Byzantine hagiographic literature. This leads to a discussion of the place of origin of certain contemporaneous Byzantine manuscripts which share the same style as the murals, most notably the Paris Sacra Parallela (BnF gr. 923).

The shock occasioned by the Arab sack of Saint Peter’s and San Paolo fuori le mura in August 846 serves as the backdrop for the unprecedented building activities of Pope Leo IV (847–855), best known for his construction of fortifications to enclose the entire area around Saint Peter’s in what subsequently came to be known as the ‘Leonine city’. This was the only extension ever made to Rome’s Aurelian walls of the late third century. Considerable resources were also expended on making good the losses of gold and silver liturgical vessels, silk textiles and other furnishings. New church projects included Santi Quattro Coronati and Santa Maria Nova. Also dating from his reign, and signalling a shift in patronage to become more evident in the years to follow, is a subsidiary chapel in the excavated lower church of San Clemente, which includes the pope’s portrait. Consideration is given to the rationale for the installation of this chapel, possibly with a relic from the site of Christ’s Ascension prominently displayed above its altar.