rosary 631population fell to a few tens of thousands, yet it was still
one of the most populous cities in Europe. In the sec-
ond half of the eighth and in the ninth century, public
building was resumed, both religious and secular. The
population for this period cannot even be estimated.
The Vatican region underwent remarkable growth at
this time with the development of accommodations for
pilgrims, and a new palace near Old Saint Peter’s built
by CHARLEMAGNE. This area was sacked in 846 by Arab
raiders, who pillaged the basilica. The quarter was
enclosed by a wall under Pope Leo IV (847–855), form-
ing the Leonine City, a new religious and political cen-
ter. This affirmation of the city as a religious capital did
not support much economic or population growth in
the rest of the city. By then the city had broken down
into scattered villages within the Aurelian walls. The
largest ones were in the forum, on the Campus Martius,
in the Leonine City, and in Trastevere, the area across
the Tiber. There were also numerous scattered monas-
teries and churches with large holdings of land through-
out the area of the classical city.
CYCLICAL REBIRTHThe population had started to grow again by the 11th
century, but the sack of the city by the NORMANSunder
Robert GUISCARDin 1085 did tremendous damage. In the
meantime the GREGORIAN REFORMmovement tied the
government of the popes more closely to the prestigious
city of Rome and its surrounding territory. The Holy See
also sought to impose its will much more thoroughly on
the city and its people. The city recovered again as the
PAPACYgained more income and prestige. The population
may have risen to some 30,000 in the 13th century. This
growth probably lasted until about 1300, peaking during
the jubilee of 1300 proclaimed by Pope BONIFACEVIII.
After the disasters of the end of Boniface’s pontificate,
the popes departed for AVIGNON, to the great detriment
of the city.
In the meantime a COMMUNEhad arisen in the mid-
12th century. Strongly opposed by the Holy See, it had few
moments of independence from the temporal rule of the
popes, though the popes did not always live in the city in
the 12th and 13th centuries. They frequently moved
around central Italy, usually trying to assert control over
the Patrimony of Saint Peter and opposing the ambitions
of FREDERICKII and CHARLESI OFANJOUto control cen-
tral Italy and Rome. When they returned to Rome in the
15th century, the popes had much more control over the
city than ever before. That control led to a new era of
growth, population expansion, building, and prosperity.
See alsoALBORNOZ,GIL,CARDINAL;ALEXANDERVI,
POPE; BELISARIO;CARDINALS,COLLEGE OF;CLEMENTV,
POPE; GREGORYI THEGREAT, POPE; GREGORYVII, POPE;
HOLY YEAR; INNOCENT III, POPE; PAPAL STATES; LIBER
PONTIFICALIS;PETRARCH,FRANCESCO; PILGRIMAGE;URBAN
VI, POPE.
Further reading:Debra J. Birch, Pilgrimage to Rome
in the Middle Ages: Continuity and Change(Woodbridge,
England: Boydell Press, 1998; Robert Brentano, Rome
before Avignon: A Social History of Thirteenth-Century
Rome(New York: Basic Books, 1974); Ferdinand A. Gre-
gorovius, History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages,
trans. Annie Hamilton, 8 vols. (London: G. Bell,
1894–1902); Richard Krautheimer, Rome, Profile of a City,
312–1308(Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press,
1980); Peter Llewellyn, Rome in the Dark Ages(London:
Faber, 1971).Roncevaux, Battle of(Roncesvalles) Roncevaux was
a historic battle immortalized but somewhat altered in
the epic La Chanson de Roland.In it the hero Roland, the
prefect or warden of the Breton march for the emperor
CHARLEMAGNE, was killed in a titanic fight with Muslims,
which historically was actually a battle with BASQUES.In
charge of the rear guard of a retreating army led by
Charlemagne, Roland was trapped in 778 in a valley
between FRANCEand SPAIN. He and his great army fought
gloriously until he and many of them were killed. In the
epic, much bravery was demonstrated. In the real battle
numerous Carolingian dignitaries were actually killed.
This extremely popular epic poem, some 4,000 lines, was
written in the 11th century. It drew on elements of the
real battle to tell a story highlighting feudal values of loy-
alty among lords, vassals, and knights.
See alsoEPIC LITERATURE.
Further reading:Frances F. Beer, trans., The Chanson
de Roland(Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press,
1969); Robert Francis Cook, The Sense of the Song of
Roland (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1987);
Barton Sholod, Charlemagne in Spain: The Cultural Legacy
of Roncesvalles(Geneva: Droz, 1966).rosary The term rosarywas attached in the 15th cen-
tury to an exercise of PRAYERpreviously known as the
“psalter of the Virgin,” which had consisted of reciting
either the Ave Maria, as many as 150 times or the same
number of psalms. This “psalter of the Virgin” had origi-
nated in the eighth century, when those who could not
recite psalms from memory instead said a series of
prayers. The development of the cult of MARYfrom the
12th and 13th centuries introduced specific prayers
addressed to her, other than the old Ave Maria. The regu-
lar recitation was begun by the CISTERCIANS, well known
for their devotion to the Blessed Virgin. The Carthusians
suggested that Mary would collect these prayers as if
gathering roses, and the name rosarythus evolved.
The rosary was much practiced in the Rhineland,
COLOGNE, and eventually ITALY. It was particularly culti-
vated by the DOMINICANS, who turned it into meditations
on the five joyful mysteries of the life of the Virgin, such
as the ANNUNCIATIONand Nativity of Christ, and the five