This Medieval Document Has Been Identified As A Forgery From The 18th Century
A medieval document held in the collection of Göttingen University’s Faculty of Humanities has been identified as a forgery from the 18th century. The document was supposedly from 1266, but it mentions a church in Pisa that had not yet been built at that time.
Italian researchers and historians from the University of Göttingen in Germany made the discovery while looking for exhibits for the Forum Wissen, a knowledge museum at the university. The document stood out among the Göttingen collection because the text was written in Italian, not Latin.
The document described a married couple from Pisa who promised their son to a religious order that was said to have owned a church in Pisa. But that church was not built until the 14th century.
Upon closer examination, the research team detected other inconsistencies in the text, leading them to the conclusion that it was a forgery created by the Italian counterfeiter Domenico Cicci.
During the late 18th century, Cicci forged around 200 documents between 1763 and 1769. All of them claimed to date back to the Middle Ages.
In the documents, he presented his ancestors as notaries, bishops, knights, crusaders, and heirs to land as an attempt to boost his family into the ranks of nobility. His efforts to raise his family’s social status were actually successful.
According to Dr. Boris Gübele, a historian at the University of Göttingen who specializes in medieval and modern history, these forgeries had the potential to significantly mislead historians.
“This 18th-century forgery by an Italian counterfeiter almost led historians down the wrong track: it could have resulted in the church being re-dated, for instance,” said Dr. Gübele. “In fact, many of his forgeries could still be lying undetected in various archives.”
The forged document is historically significant and is now a great subject of interest among experts due to it being a counterfeit. It will likely be featured in the Forum Wissen museum’s exhibitions.
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Cicci was not the only one to forge documents in ancient times. One of the most well-known examples of a forged document is the Donation of Constantine. Since the 8th century, it has been copied and recopied.
It claims that Roman Emperor Constantine the Great granted Pope Sylvester I and all his successors authority over lands controlled by the Roman Empire.
Historians believe the forgery bolstered the power of the papacy and strengthened the Church’s political influence.
Italian scholar Lorenzo Valla denounced the document in the 15th century. He published a long, detailed book about why it was a forgery.
He drew a lot of negativity to himself but was able to find support from European rulers who were tired of the document being used to justify the pope’s power.
It’s truly amazing how one false document can change the entire course of history.
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