Counts of Tusculum

Common card · No. 290456

The Counts of Tusculum (Italian: Conti di Tuscolo, Latin: Comites de Tusculana), whose earliest members were also known as the Theophylacti (Italian: Teofilatti), were a powerful noble family from Latium that dominated Roman politics between the 10th and 12th centuries. Their principal stronghold was the ancient city of Tusculum, while their influence in Rome centered near the Church of the Twelve Holy Apostles. The family’s rise to prominence began with their control of important secular and ecclesiastical offices in Rome. The title “Count” appears to have derived initially less from feudal authority over Tusculum itself than from the office of Count Palatine of the Sacred Lateran Palace (Latin: Comes sacri Lateranensis palatii). During the 10th and early 11th centuries, the Tusculan family became the dominant political force in Rome and developed what modern historiography has termed the "noble-papacy", in which the popes were effectively chosen from among the Roman nobility. Several...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Ddurbmonnejg, CC BY-SA 4.0