Donation of Sutri

The Donation of Sutri was an agreement reached at Sutri by Liutprand, King of the Lombards and Pope Gregory II in 728. At Sutri, the two reached an agreement by which the city and some hill towns in Latium (like Vetralla) were given to the Papacy, "as a gift to the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul" according to the Liber Pontificalis. The pact formed the first extension of papal territory beyond the confines of the Duchy of Rome.

History

Sutri held a strategic importance as a fortified place near the borders of the Duchy of Rome, which commanded the road into Tuscany.

In 728 the Lombard king Liutprand took the Castle of Sutri, which dominated the highway at Nepi on the road to Perugia. But Liutprand, softened by the entreaties of Pope Gregory II, restored Sutri "as a gift to the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul". According to Gustav Schnürer,

This expression of the "Liber pontificalis" was erroneously interpreted to mean that in this gift the beginning of the States of the Church was to be recognized. This is incorrect inasmuch as the popes continued to acknowledge the imperial Government, and Greek officials appear in Rome for some time longer. True it is, however, that here for the first time we meet the association of ideas on which the States of the Church were to be constructed. The pope asked the Lombards for the return of Sutri for the sake of the Princes of the Apostles and threatened punishment by these sainted protectors. The pious Liutprand was undoubtedly susceptible to such pleas, but never to any consideration for the Greeks. For this reason he gave Sutri to Peter and Paul, that he might not expose himself to their punishment. What the pope then did with it would be immaterial to him.[1]

The pact was the first extension of Papal territory beyond the confines of the Duchy of Rome.

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See also

References
  1. Schnürer, Gustav. "States of the Church." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 26 October 2017

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "States of the Church". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.


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