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Creative Pranks and Hoaxes in History

Khalid Elhassan February 2, 2020 33 min

32. A Hoax That Shaped History

Perhaps no single hoax has had a greater impact in shaping history than the one perpetrated by now-anonymous medieval monks, and known as the “Donation of Constantine”. The monks made up a document recording a generous gift from Roman emperor Constantine the Great, transferring authority over Rome and the entire Western Roman Empire to Pope Sylvester I (reigned 314 – 315) and his successors.

The text described how Sylvester I miraculously cured Constantine from leprosy, which convinced the emperor to convert to Christianity. The emperor showed his gratitude by making the Pope supreme over all other bishops, and “over all the churches of God in the whole earth“. Vast landed estates throughout the Roman Empire are also granted, for the upkeep and maintenance of the churches of Saint Paul and Saint Peter. To top it off, the Pope and his successors were granted imperial regalia, a crown, the city of Rome, and all of the Western Roman Empire.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.