Lentorama 2025: Perfunctory Popes

Day 24: Leo VI

As with Leo V, this Leo was elected during a period of time where the papacy was under the control of local nobles. Or their wives.

In this case, it was Marozia, wife of the Margrave of Tuscany, who got Leo onto the throne. Marioza was powerful in her own right, and used her relationships with powerful men to build her own power base. She was reputed to be the lover of Pope Sergius III, and that their son was Pope John XI.  Marioza is thought to have been directly related to six popes - one son, two grandsons, two great grandsons, and one great great grandson. The description of this period as the "pornocracy" is related to how Marioza and her sister Theodora used sex to gain power and influence in Rome.

All of that is much more interesting than the actual reign of Leo VI. He spent a fair amount of time trying to get the church in Dalmatia under papal control, and he banned castrati from marrying. He died after about seven months in office