Gerson, Jean | Louis B. Pascoe (essay date 1974)
Louis B. Pascoe (essay date 1974)
SOURCE: Pascoe, Louis B. “Gerson and the Donation of Constantine: Growth and Development within the Church.” Viator 5 (1974): 469-85.
[In the essay that follows, Pascoe examines Gerson's views of the early Church, particularly regarding the enormous changes brought about the Donation of Constantine, a document long believed legitimate but ultimately proved a forgery, in which the Emperor granted great power and possessions to the Pope.]
In the Middle Ages, few documents received the attention given to the Donation of Constantine.1 Although lawyers and royal publicists frequently doubted its validity, its authenticity was generally accepted. Not until the time of Reginald Pecock (ca. 1393-1461), Nicholas of Cusa (ca. 1400-1464), and Lorenzo Valla (ca. 1406-1457) was the document exposed as a forgery.2 The successful challenge of men such as Pecock, Cusa, and Valla, however, does...
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