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Translatio imperii

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Translatio imperii (Latin for 'transfer of rule') is a historiographical concept that was prominent in the Middle Ages in the thinking and writing of elite groups of the population in Europe, but was the reception of a concept from antiquity.[1][2] In this concept the process of decline and fall of an empire theoretically is being replaced by a natural succession from one empire to another. Translatio implies that an empire metahistorically can be transferred from hand to hand and place to place, from Troy to Romans and Greeks to Franks (both remaining Romans) and further on to Spain, and has therefore survived.[3]

In classic antiquity, an authoritative user of this scheme was Virgil, who has been traditionally ranked as one of Rome's greatest poets. In his work Aeneid, that has been considered the national epic of ancient Rome, he linked the Rome in which he lived, reigned by its first emperor Caesar Augustus, with Troy. The discourse of translatio imperii may be traced from the ninth century to the fourteenth, and may be carried on into the sixteenth century or even further.[3] In the Early modern period, the translatio scheme was used by many authors who wished to legitimate their new centre of power and to provide it with prestige. In Renaissance Florence, humanists wrote Latin poems fashioning their city as the new Rome, and members of the Medici family as Roman rulers.[2]

More generally speaking, history is in this concept viewed as a linear succession of transfers of an imperium that invests supreme power in a singular ruler, an "emperor", or sometimes even several emperors, e.g., the Eastern Roman Empire and the Western Holy Roman Empire.[citation needed] The concept is closely linked to translatio studii, the geographic movement of learning. Both terms are thought to have their origins in the second chapter of the Book of Daniel in the Hebrew Bible (verses 39–40).[4]

Definitions

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French historian Jacques Le Goff (1924–2014) did describe the translatio imperii concept as "typical" for the Middle Ages for several reasons:[5]

  • The idea of linearity of time and history was typical for the Middle Ages;
  • The translatio imperii idea typically also neglected simultaneous developments in other parts of the world (of no importance to medieval Europeans);
  • The translatio imperii idea didn't separate "divine" history from the history of "worldly power": medieval Europeans considered divine (supernatural) and material things as part of the same continuum, which was their reality. Also the causality of one reign necessarily leading to its successor was often detailed by the medieval chroniclers, and is seen as a typical medieval approach.

To be noted is that Le Goff in saying that, did refer to a very small group of rich and prosperous people living during the Middle Ages. For the largest part of the citizens, translatio imperii was unknown.[3]

Different medieval high-class authors described the translatio imperii as a succession leaving the supreme power in the hands of the monarch ruling the region of the author's provenance:

Later, continued and reinterpreted by modern and contemporary movements and authors (some known examples):

Medieval and Renaissance authors often linked this transfer of power by genealogically attaching a ruling family to an ancient Greek or Trojan hero; this schema was modeled on Virgil's use of Aeneas (a Trojan hero) as progenitor of the city of Rome in his Aeneid. Continuing with this tradition, the twelfth-century Anglo-Norman authors Geoffrey of Monmouth (in his Historia Regum Britanniae) and Wace (in his Brut) linked the founding of Britain to the arrival of Brutus of Troy, son of Aeneas.[11]

In a similar way, the French Renaissance author Jean Lemaire de Belges (in his Les Illustrations de Gaule et Singularités de Troie) linked the founding of Celtic Gaul to the arrival of the Trojan Francus (i.e. Astyanax), the son of Hector; and of Celtic Germany to the arrival of Bavo, the cousin of Priam; in this way he established an illustrious genealogy for Pepin and Charlemagne (the legend of Francus would also serve as the basis for Ronsard's epic poem, "La Franciade").

From the Roman Empire/Byzantine Empire to the Holy Roman Empire

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Famous and very successful was the use of the idea of the translatio imperii in establishing a link between the Western Roman Empire after its downfall in the fifth century, and the possessions ruled by ruler Charlemagne between 768 and 814. Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and King of the Lombards from 774 and negotiated an agreement with Pope Leo III to be crowned as Roman emperor in 800, reviving that title in Western Central Europe more than three centuries later. The title lapsed in 924, but was revived in 962 after negotiations between Otto I and Pope John XII, where Otto had his troops positioned near Rome. As a result, the Pope accepted Otto fashioning himself as Charlemagne's and the Carolingian Empire's successor, and beginning a continuous existence of the empire for over eight centuries. From 962 until the 12th century, the empire was one of the most powerful monarchies in Europe, as the Holy Roman Empire.

From the Inca Empire to the Spanish Empire

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Sayri Túpac, second Inca of Vilcabamba, after negotiating with the viceroy Andrés Hurtado de Mendoza on January 5, 1558, in Lima ceded the rights of his crown to the King of Castile, renouncing his claims as sovereign of the Inca Empire and converting to Catholicism; in exchange, he received a pardon from the "superior government", obtained titles to land and income, recognition of the primogeniture of his lineage, and obtaining the Encomienda del Valle de Yucay [Mayorazgo de Oropesa].[13][14] Later, his successor Titu Cusi Yupanqui, would ratify this transfer with the signing of the treaty of Acobamba [es].

One of the Efigies de los incas o reyes del Perú, in which the Kings of Spain are portrayed as heirs to the rights of the Inca Emperors.

This application of the Translatio Imperii, for the Kingdoms of Peru, was invoked as the legitimacy tool, by the Spanish Empire, for its domain in the Viceroyalty of Peru, while, from these treaties, the incorporation of the Tahuantinsuyo in the Spanish Monarchy, with the official recognition of the Inca royal House [es], which consider the Monarchs of Spain as Kings of Peru, which would encourage the loyalty and fidelity of the Peruvian Monarchists [es] (especially the royalists from the Royal Army of Peru) towards the Spanish monarchy and its promotion of miscegenation.[15]

Given this, the Kings of Spain would be the legitimate successors of the Sapa Incas, therefore, Carlos I of Spain would be succeeding Atahualpa as Emperor of the Kingdoms of Peru, not only in fact, but also in law.[16] Which was referenced in multiple paintings of viceregal art (especially from the School of Cuzco and the Cathedral of Lima), such as the iconic Efigies de los incas o reyes del Perú,[17] present in the Museum of Art of Lima, in which Atahualpa bestows his Scepter of Power to the Spanish Habsburgs (marked with a cross),[18] or the painting by Juan Núñez Vela y Ribera, in the Copacabana monastery, where reference is made to the "poderosissimo Inga D. Carlos II Augustissimo Emperador de la América".[19] Meanwhile, the King of Spain would flaunt his rights as Sapa Inca, through the title King of the West Indies, which is the sum of the rights of the Inca and Aztec crowns, which has been commemorated with the statues of the Aztec and Inca Emperors at the main entrance of the Royal Palace of Madrid.[20]

This in turn gave guarantees to the Inca Nobility to have recognition of their titles (and traditions of their peoples) in Spanish law, considering themselves twinned with the Spanish Nobility, the indigenous nobility receiving multiple shields and privileges from the Crown. Authors like the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega would make a lot of reference to this Translatio imperii in his works.[21]

The claims of Spanish rights in the Kingdoms of Peru is in this way: Pre-Inca Kingdoms and Andean civilizations → Incan Empire/Tahuantinsuyo → Christianity → Spanish Empire

The Rus' land from the Middle Dnieper to Suzdalia

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Further information: Trinity Chronicle § Value for historical and textual criticism; and Names of Rus', Russia and Ruthenia

A long-standing problem in the historiography of the medieval history of Kievan Rus', Vladimir-Suzdal and Muscovy, preceding the modern republics of Russia and Ukraine,[22] is when usage of the term "Rus' land" (Old East Slavic: ро́усьскаѧ землѧ́, romanized: rusĭskaę zemlę; Russian: Русская земля, romanized: Russkaia zemlia[23]),[24] which was initially associated with the Middle Dnieper (Dnipro) river valley around Kiev (modern Kyiv), shifted towards Vladimir-Suzdal, also known as "Suzdal land" or "Suzdalia".[25][26] There is scholarly agreement that by the late 15th century, and perhaps earlier, the Daniilovichi princes of Moscow were presenting themselves as the legitimate dynastic successors to Kievan Rus', and the true representatives of the "Rus' land".[27] The question is how much earlier this translatio can be dated, because the evidence is ambiguous.[25] In 2016, Charles J. Halperin summarised the scholarly debate so far:

Application of the term "Rus" to Muscovy has always been a bone of contention, especially to Ukrainian historiography. Nasonov and others noted that in Kievan Rus' "Rus" originally meant the Dnieper (Dniepr', Dnipro) River triangle of Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Pereslavl', not Vladimir–Suzdal'. [...] Rus'" was not an ethnic term, it was a political term. By the late fourteenth century Rus' meant Moscow, Kolomna, and Serpukhov.[22]

Several scholars including Halperin previously used the 1950 Priselkov reconstruction of the Trinity Chronicle as evidence to date the translatio (variously from the 1320s to the mid-14th century[28]), but – by 2001 – Halperin changed his position (confirmed in 2010 after Serhii Plokhy (2006) explored the question) due to the unreliability of Priselkov's reconstruction.[25][26][29] In his 2022 updated bundle of all previous articles about the Rus' land (published at Plokhy's suggestion[30]), Halperin posited that the last time "Rus' land" meant the region around Kiev was in c. 1240, when the Tale of the Destruction of the Rus' Land was written (probably in Kiev) during the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus'.[31] Conversely, by c. 1340, at the accession of Ivan I Kalita as Prince of Moscow in 1340, "the translatio of the Rus' Land to the Muscovite principality itself, or at the very least to the Northeast, was a fait accompli."[31] Plokhy (2006) had argued this was too early, and the translatio could not have taken place before the mid-15th century due to Donald Ostrowski in 1998 re-dating of the works of the Kulikovo cycle to after the 1440s,[32] which Halperin (1999) rejected.[33] Instead, Plokhy suggested tracing it to the Muscovite Codex of 1472, wherein an entry sub anno 1471 "may be regarded as one of the first expressions of the translatio theory that postulated the transfer of power in the Rus' lands from Kyiv to Vladimir on the Kliazma and then to Moscow."[34][33]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Oellig 2023.
  2. ^ a b Verreth, Louis. "Claiming Ancient Rome's Heritage: Translatio imperii as an Anchoring Device in the Neo-Latin Poetry of Florence in the Age of Lorenzo de' Medici (1469-1492)". Leiden University. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  3. ^ a b c Pocock, J.G.A. (2003) Barbarism and Religion, Cambridge University Press | Chapter 7 - The historiography of the translatio imperii (pp. 127-150) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511490675.009
  4. ^ Carol Ann Newsom and Brennan W. Breed, Daniel: A Commentary, Westminster John Knox Press, 2014, p. 89.
  5. ^ Le Goff, Jacques. La civilisation de l'Occident médieval. Paris. 1964; English translation (1988): Medieval Civilization, ISBN 0-631-17566-0 – "translatio imperii" is discussed in Part II, Chapter VI, section on "Time, eternity and history".
  6. ^ Latowsky, Anne A. (2013). Emperor of the World: Charlemagne and the Construction of Imperial Authority, 800–1229. Cornell UP. p. 71. ISBN 9780801451485.
  7. ^ De Troyes, Chrétien. Cligès. Circa 1176.
  8. ^ Prose Edda Prologue
  9. ^ a b Verreth, Louis. "Claiming Ancient Rome's Heritage: Translatio imperii as an Anchoring Device in the Neo-Latin Poetry of Florence in the Age of Lorenzo de' Medici (1469-1492)". Leiden University. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  10. ^ Cipa, H. Erdem; Fetvaci, Emine (2013). Writing History at the Ottoman Court: Editing the Past, Fashioning the Future. Indiana University Press. pp. 86–89. ISBN 978-0253008749.
  11. ^ Bratu, Cristian. "Translatio, autorité et affirmation de soi chez Gaimar, Wace et Benoît de Sainte-Maure." The Medieval Chronicle 8 (2013): 135–164.
  12. ^ See Garland, p. 89, who explains that Aetios was attempting to usurp power on behalf of his brother Leo.
  13. ^ Incas, virreyes y presidentes del Perú, Gustavo Siles (1970).
  14. ^ Juan de Betanzos y el Tahuantinsuyo. Nueva edición de la Suma y Narración de los Incas, Rodolfo Cerrón-Palomino (2016).
  15. ^ Calvo, Thomas (2022-05-11), Gaudin, Guillaume; Stumpf, Roberta (eds.), "La omnipresencia de un rey ausente", Las distancias en el gobierno de los imperios ibéricos : Concepciones, experiencias y vínculos, Collection de la Casa de Velázquez, Madrid: Casa de Velázquez, pp. 145–166, ISBN 978-84-9096-345-6, retrieved 2023-02-16
  16. ^ "En busca del Inca, por Rafael Aita – Revista Cocktail" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  17. ^ "Efigies de los incas, la legitimación dinástica de la conquista a través del arte". Efigies de los incas, la legitimación dinástica de la conquista a través del arte. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  18. ^ EFIGIE DE LOS INCAS O REYES DEL PERÚ RETRATO
  19. ^ «Efigie de los Incas o Reyes». Cusco School. Century XVIII. Collection of the Carmen Museum of Maipú, Chile.
  20. ^ "¿Qué pintan Moctezuma y Atahualpa en el Palacio Real?". abc (in Spanish). 2014-12-13. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  21. ^ Travelling Concepts, Transformation of Values, Opening of New Ways – The Inca Garcilaso de la Vega as Transcultural Translator-_eleonore_zapf.pdf
  22. ^ a b Halperin 2016, p. 16.
  23. ^ Halperin 2022, p. vii–viii.
  24. ^ Kloss 2012, p. 3.
  25. ^ a b c Plokhy 2006, pp. 67–68.
  26. ^ a b Halperin 2010, pp. 281–282.
  27. ^ Plokhy 2006, p. 49.
  28. ^ Plokhy 2006, p. 69.
  29. ^ Halperin 2022, p. 11.
  30. ^ Halperin 2022, p. vii.
  31. ^ a b Halperin 2022, pp. 11–12.
  32. ^ Plokhy 2006, p. 70.
  33. ^ a b Halperin 2010, p. 282.
  34. ^ Plokhy 2006, p. 137.

Bibliography

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