Title Page
Sons of the Harlot Empress
(Or, "A Bowl of Water Unspilled")
A Biographical History of Early Medieval Italy and the Royal House of Tusculum
The modern ruins of Roman Tusculum
(Or, "A Bowl of Water Unspilled")
A Biographical History of Early Medieval Italy and the Royal House of Tusculum
The modern ruins of Roman Tusculum
“Italy was dismembered and powerless. In civilization and culture, however,
far surpassing the half barbarian Germans, had she in the middle of the tenth
century been able to put forward as her king a great native prince, such as
Alberic, the expedition of Otto would never have succeeded.”
- Ferdinand Gregorovius, History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages
far surpassing the half barbarian Germans, had she in the middle of the tenth
century been able to put forward as her king a great native prince, such as
Alberic, the expedition of Otto would never have succeeded.”
- Ferdinand Gregorovius, History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages
Between the breakup of Charlemagne's empire and the reform of the system of papal election in 1059, the nobility of Rome had great power in the selection of Christ's Vicar on Earth. No family exploited this more successfully than the Tusculani, the house of the Counts of Tusculum, who (with a few periods of interruption) were the dominant force in Rome from the early 10th century to the middle 11th century. For much of this time, the men upon Saint Peter's chair were either hand picked by the Tusculani counts or Tusculani counts themselves.
History has been harsh to the Tusculani. Their period of papal domination is often considered the nadir of the papacy, when the throne was sat upon by debauched, petty, and occasionally murderous noblemen who had little interest in spiritual affairs. The early Tusculan period, when several popes were the progeny of (or had affairs with) prominent Tusculan noblewomen, was infamously labeled the “Pornocracy” or "Rule of Harlots/Whores" by Protestant historians.
One Tusculan lord stands head and shoulders above the others: Alberic, sometimes called “Alberic II” to distinguish him from his father. He had a rather dubious pedigree for a prince: His father was an up-jumped page who murdered a duke and usurped his duchy, and his mother was the most notorious of Tusculan noblewomen who was the teenage mistress of a pope and had a bastard son with him who would also become pope. Alberic would go on to become the prince and absolute master of Rome, able to thwart the plans of Hugh, King of Italy and even Otto the Great. Neither could manage to lay a hand on the imperial crown as long as he lived.
The Tusculani have always been a great favorite of mine, but recently I read the above quote by Gregorovius and decided to see if I could expand the reach of the Tusculani beyond just Rome to Italy itself, and make Alberic and his descendents not merely princes and counts (and popes), but kings and emperors.
That might be burying the lede a bit, because a timeline with a Tusculani Italy is also necessarily a timeline in which the Holy Roman Empire as we know it never forms. Obviously, that itself will have broad implications that will have to be dealt with. In the main, however, this is a story about medieval Italy, and the style of writing will be more biographical, written in the manner of a narrative or somewhat “pop” history book. Butterflies will not be ignored, but the focus of our alternate universe author is principally on Italy and its royal house.
This timeline diverges from our own in 932, when King Hugh of Italy arrives in Rome to receive both a bride and the imperial crown. According to legend, at the wedding feast of Hugh and Marozia, Alberic’s twice-widowed and much-maligned mother, the young Alberic spilled a bowl of washing-water on Hugh, causing the king to slap his new stepson for his clumsiness. Alberic immediately fled the feast, rallied the Romans against the foreigner, drove Hugh from the city (he escaped through a window), and imprisoned his own mother. Marozia would die in her son’s dungeon, Hugh would never possess either Rome or the imperial crown, and Alberic would be Rome’s sovereign for the rest of his life.
In this timeline, however, there is no falling out – perhaps Marozia convinces her son to cooperate, or perhaps it’s as simple as Alberic being a little more careful with a bowl of water. Marozia shall be empress, Hugh shall be emperor, and Alberic shall be the founder of a dynasty.
Though I've lurked a lot and commented a bit, this is my first time posting a timeline of my own. While I do have some events and characters sketched out in advance, I'm largely making it up as I go along. I'm flexible, and I welcome any comments, criticisms, or insights into plausible and interesting ways in which the story could unfold.
Please note that the dates and family relationships of the early Tusculani (and 10th century Europeans in general) are highly uncertain and reliant on vague, contradictory, and often very partisan primary sources (looking at you Liutprand). For the most part I've settled on dates and lineages that seem most likely to me, but I sometimes interpret things in ways that are more useful to my story.
Some historical background, and the first act of Alberic's rise, will be posted in the next few days.
A note on footnotes:
1: Footnotes in regular type are “in-character” footnotes, written by the same alternate timeline author as the main text.
2: Footnotes in italics are “out-of-character” footnotes, commenting on key differences from our own timeline.
History has been harsh to the Tusculani. Their period of papal domination is often considered the nadir of the papacy, when the throne was sat upon by debauched, petty, and occasionally murderous noblemen who had little interest in spiritual affairs. The early Tusculan period, when several popes were the progeny of (or had affairs with) prominent Tusculan noblewomen, was infamously labeled the “Pornocracy” or "Rule of Harlots/Whores" by Protestant historians.
One Tusculan lord stands head and shoulders above the others: Alberic, sometimes called “Alberic II” to distinguish him from his father. He had a rather dubious pedigree for a prince: His father was an up-jumped page who murdered a duke and usurped his duchy, and his mother was the most notorious of Tusculan noblewomen who was the teenage mistress of a pope and had a bastard son with him who would also become pope. Alberic would go on to become the prince and absolute master of Rome, able to thwart the plans of Hugh, King of Italy and even Otto the Great. Neither could manage to lay a hand on the imperial crown as long as he lived.
***
The Tusculani have always been a great favorite of mine, but recently I read the above quote by Gregorovius and decided to see if I could expand the reach of the Tusculani beyond just Rome to Italy itself, and make Alberic and his descendents not merely princes and counts (and popes), but kings and emperors.
That might be burying the lede a bit, because a timeline with a Tusculani Italy is also necessarily a timeline in which the Holy Roman Empire as we know it never forms. Obviously, that itself will have broad implications that will have to be dealt with. In the main, however, this is a story about medieval Italy, and the style of writing will be more biographical, written in the manner of a narrative or somewhat “pop” history book. Butterflies will not be ignored, but the focus of our alternate universe author is principally on Italy and its royal house.
This timeline diverges from our own in 932, when King Hugh of Italy arrives in Rome to receive both a bride and the imperial crown. According to legend, at the wedding feast of Hugh and Marozia, Alberic’s twice-widowed and much-maligned mother, the young Alberic spilled a bowl of washing-water on Hugh, causing the king to slap his new stepson for his clumsiness. Alberic immediately fled the feast, rallied the Romans against the foreigner, drove Hugh from the city (he escaped through a window), and imprisoned his own mother. Marozia would die in her son’s dungeon, Hugh would never possess either Rome or the imperial crown, and Alberic would be Rome’s sovereign for the rest of his life.
In this timeline, however, there is no falling out – perhaps Marozia convinces her son to cooperate, or perhaps it’s as simple as Alberic being a little more careful with a bowl of water. Marozia shall be empress, Hugh shall be emperor, and Alberic shall be the founder of a dynasty.
***
Though I've lurked a lot and commented a bit, this is my first time posting a timeline of my own. While I do have some events and characters sketched out in advance, I'm largely making it up as I go along. I'm flexible, and I welcome any comments, criticisms, or insights into plausible and interesting ways in which the story could unfold.
Please note that the dates and family relationships of the early Tusculani (and 10th century Europeans in general) are highly uncertain and reliant on vague, contradictory, and often very partisan primary sources (looking at you Liutprand). For the most part I've settled on dates and lineages that seem most likely to me, but I sometimes interpret things in ways that are more useful to my story.
Some historical background, and the first act of Alberic's rise, will be posted in the next few days.
A note on footnotes:
1: Footnotes in regular type are “in-character” footnotes, written by the same alternate timeline author as the main text.
2: Footnotes in italics are “out-of-character” footnotes, commenting on key differences from our own timeline.