The C arolingian afterlife of the D amasan inscriptions

This paper investigates the multiple impulses that contributed to the early medieval interest in Pope D amasus's inscriptions. In part, D amasus's verses were read as guides to Rome's martyrial topography; in part, they served as models of a classicizing C hristian style. Above all, the appeal of these verses derived from their association with D amasus himself, who came to be seen as a secure mediator of the early C hristian past. Concurrently, the figure of D amasus grew in stature, as a saint marked by his solicitude for the C hristian community, whether living or dead.