The City of Rome 233
inheritance of biblical Judaism, not just theologically but also physically.46 Papal
emphasis on the physical remains of the spoils of the Jewish Temple in Rome,
otherwise known as the ‘Temple Treasures’, increased during the pontificate of
Eugenius iii and continued during that of Alexander iii.47 The idea that the
papacy possessed these treasures drew on a long history—from their creation by
the ancient israelites to their loss in the destruction of the Temple—and reflected
the reverence and awe still accorded their memory by both Christians and Jews.48
What exactly were these ‘Temple Treasures’? since the time of Constantine i the
Lateran basilica and palace had been the cathedra, or seat, of the bishop of Rome—
the centre of papal authority and of the curia.49 Benjamin of Tudela’s Itinerarium,
which described Rome during his visit there around the year 1161, revealed that
not only Christians but also Jews believed that the Lateran held holy Jewish
relics.50 The belief that the ‘Temple Treasures’ had remained in Rome persisted
well into the twelfth century.51 Many Christians held that these were kept in the
Lateran, and popes emphasized this heritage of the Jews as an intrinsic component
of the Catholic Church and as part of its claim to fulfil both the old and new
Covenants.
in two twelfth-century texts we find direct references to these ‘Temple Treasures’.52
The first, De sacra imagine SS Salvatoris in Palatio Lateranensi, was, as we have
noted, composed about 1145 by the Cistercian monk nicolaus Maniacutius, a
protégé of Abbot Bernard, the future Eugenius iii, himself also a protégé of
Bernard of Clairvaux. following his election in 1145 Eugenius probably brought
nicolaus with him to the Lateran.53 Like other Christian Hebraists, nicolaus took
a great interest in the treasures.54 The second text is the Descriptio Lateranensis
Ecclesiae, which under the direction of Alexander iii was revised by John the
Deacon, a canon of the Lateran.55
so popes encouraged the association of the Lateran basilica, which dated back
to the building programme of Constantine i, with biblical Judaism.56 Through
the construction, probably in the late 1180s, of narrative mosaics on the
46 Champagne, The Relationship between the Papacy and the Jews in Twelfth-Century Rome, p.18. for
nicolaus Maniacutius’ suffraganea, see Nicolai Maniacoria Suffraganeus bibliothece, ed. C. Linde
(Turnhout, 2013).
47 Champagne, The Relationship between the Papacy and the Jews in Twelfth-Century Rome, p.42.
48 Champagne, The Relationship between the Papacy and the Jews in Twelfth-Century Rome, pp.56–7.
49 Champagne, ‘“Treasures of the Temple” and Claims to Authority in Twelfth-Century Rome’,
p.109.
50 Champagne, ‘“Treasures of the Temple” and Claims to Authority in Twelfth-Century Rome’,
p.109; Champagne, ‘Walking in the shadows of the Past’, p.468.
51 Champagne, ‘Walking in the shadows of the Past’, p.470.
52 Champagne, ‘“Treasures of the Temple” and Claims to Authority in Twelfth-Century Rome’,
pp.109–10.
53 Champagne, ‘“Treasures of the Temple” and Claims to Authority in Twelfth-Century Rome’,
p.111.
54 Champagne, ‘“Treasures of the Temple” and Claims to Authority in Twelfth-Century Rome’,
p.112.
55 Champagne, ‘“Treasures of the Temple” and Claims to Authority in Twelfth-Century Rome’,
p.113.
56 Champagne, ‘Walking in the shadows of the Past’, p.478.