Counts of Tusculum

The counts of Tusculum or Tuscolo, also known as the Theophylacti, were a family of secular noblemen from <a href="/facts/Latium/BNslyoU0">Latium</a> that maintained a powerful position in <a href="/facts/Rome/bh1Ttx3T">Rome</a> between the 10th and 12th centuries. Several <a href="/facts/Pope/9zVokNjn">popes</a> and <a href="/facts/Antipope/aYCDyln2">antipopes</a> during the 11th century came from their ranks. They created and perfected the political formula of noble-papacy, wherein the pope was arranged to be elected only from the ranks of the Roman nobles. The <a href="/facts/Pornocracy/JUKUHgym">Pornocracy</a>, the period of influence by powerful female courtesans of the family, also influenced papal history.
The counts of <a href="/facts/Tusculum/36Ax6gMG">Tusculum</a> remained arbiters of Roman politics and religion for more than a century. In addition to the papal influence, they held lay power through consulships and senatorial membership. Traditionally they were pro-<a href="/facts/Byzantine_Empire/njEELXWF">Byzantine</a> and anti-Germanic in their political affiliation.
After 1049, the <a href="/facts/Tusculan_Papacy/ahuYnN6k">Tusculan Papacy</a> came to an end with the election of <a href="/facts/Pope_Leo_IX/UMYbcQu0">Pope Leo IX</a>. In fact, the Tusculan papacy was largely responsible for the reaction known as the <a href="/facts/Gregorian_reform/4LoWQKEp">Gregorian reform</a>. Subsequent events (from 1062 onwards) confirmed a shift in regional politics as the counts came to side with the <a href="/facts/Holy_Roman_Emperors/RYrqYynl">Holy Roman Emperors</a> against the Rome of the reformers. In 1059, the papal-decree of <a href="/facts/Pope_Nicholas_II/Lbgc2maW">Pope Nicholas II</a> established new rules for the papal election, therefore putting an end to the noble-papacy formula.

Counts of Tusculum open-in-new

Counts of Tusculum