Donation of Constantine
Preserved but no longer current.
See DECRETALS. Donation of Pepin, The. When Pepin con- quered Ataulf (755) the exarchate of Ravenna fell into his hands. Pepin gave it, with the surrounding country and the Republic of Rome, to the Pope (Stephen II), and thus founded the Papal States and the whole fabric of the temporal power of the Popes.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Donation of Constantine” mean?
See DECRETALS. Donation of Pepin, The. When Pepin con- quered Ataulf (755) the exarchate of Ravenna fell into his hands. Pepin gave it, with the surrounding country and the Republic of Rome, to the Pope (Stephen II), and thus founded the Papal States and the whole fabric of the temporal power of the Popes.
Is “Donation of Constantine” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.