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Theodora (senatrix)

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Papal mistress (c. 870 – 916)

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Theodora (alsoTeodora) (c. 870 – 916) was asenatrix^[1]^[2] andserenissimavestaratrix ofRome.^[3] Theodora, a Byzantine princess, was married toTheophylact I, Count of Tusculum, of the incredibly powerful Theophylact family.^[3] Theophylact I was appointed both commander of the Roman militia and head of the papal chapel.^[3] The couple shared effective rulership of Rome between 905 and her death in 916.

As heads of the most powerful family in Rome, Theodora and her husband held great sway over the papacy.^[3]Liutprand of Cremona, a critic of Theodora and her family, claimed thatPope John X rose to the papacy due to him being the lover of Theodora. Liutprand called her a "shameless harlot".^[4]

With her husband Theophylact I, Theodora had at least three children:Marozia, Theodora II, and Sergia.^[5] Her daughters Marozia and Theodora II adopted the titlesenatrix omnium Romanorum.^[6]Alberic II of Spoleto was her grandson and he ruled over Rome from 932 to 954.^[7]

Her daughter,Marozia, was the alleged lover ofPope Sergius III, and mother ofPope John XI.^[3] The latter, according toLiutprand of Cremona and theLiber Pontificalis, was fathered by Sergius.^[8] However, the annalistFlodoard (c. 894–966), a direct contemporary of Theodora's, says John XI was the brother of CountAlberic II of Spoleto. Because Alberic II was Marozia's son by her husband CountAlberic I of Spoleto, John was likely the son of Marozia and Alberic I.

Theodora was characterized by the aforementioned Liutprand as a "shameless whore ... [who] exercised power on the Roman citizenry like a man".^[9] Liutprand, a bishop of Cremona, was known to his contemporaries and modern historians as being unfair to adversaries.

References

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^"Front Matter".Papers of the British School at Rome.24. 1956.ISSN 0068-2462.
^Gray, Nicolete (1956)."The Filocalian Letter".Papers of the British School at Rome.24:5–13.ISSN 0068-2462.
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^ePham, John-Peter (2004-11-30).Heirs of the Fisherman: Behind the Scenes of Papal Death and Succession. Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19-933482-7.
^Osborne 2025, p. 34.
^Williams, George L. (2024-10-14).Papal Genealogy: The Families and Descendants of the Popes. McFarland.ISBN 978-1-4766-3227-8.
^Osborne 2025, p. 35.
^Osborne 2025, pp. 39–40.
^Abbott, Elizabeth (2010).A history of mistresses. London: Duckworth.ISBN 978-1590208762.
^McCabe, Joseph (200u).Crises in the history of the papacy: a study of twenty famous popes whose careers and whose influence were important in the development of the church and in the history of the world. [Whitefish, Mont.]: Kessinger Publishing.ISBN 0766179044.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)