Editing Pope Adrian I (section)

===Epitaph===

Adrian's epitaph was originally located in his burial chapel in [[St. Peter's Basilica]], which was demolished in the mid-15th century as reconstruction works were initiated by [[Pope Nicholas V]]; since 1619 it has been preserved in the [[Narthex|portico]] as rebuilt by [[Carlo Maderno]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Charlemagne's black marble: the origin of the epitaph of Pope Hadrian I |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date={{date|2013/08/09}} |author1=Joanna Story |author2=Judith Bunbury |author3=Anna Candida Felici |author4=Gabriele Fronterotta |author5=Mario Piacentini |author6=Chiara Nicolais |author7=Daria Scacciatelli |author8=Sebastiano Sciuti |author9=Margherita Vendittelli |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/papers-of-the-british-school-at-rome/article/abs/charlemagnes-black-marble-the-origin-of-the-epitaph-of-pope-hadrian-i/135C42520D99CB281326B1A59C955FD8 |journal=Papers of the British School at Rome|volume=73 |pages=157–190 |doi=10.1017/S0068246200003019 |s2cid=191454077 |hdl=2381/2532 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> It is placed high on the wall between the [[Door of the Dead in St. Peter's Basilica|Door of the Dead]] and the Door of Good and Evil.<ref>{{cite web|website=St Peter's Basilica.info |url=http://stpetersbasilica.info/Interior/Portico/Portico.htm |title=The Portico}}</ref> [[Charlemagne]] commissioned it in 796 and organized a literary competition for the text, won by [[Alcuin]]; a competing entry by [[Theodulf of Orléans]] also survives.<ref name=Nelson>{{cite book|author=Janet L. Nelson |title=King and Emperor: A New Life of Charlemagne|date=2019 |location=Oakland CA |publisher=University of California Press}}</ref>{{rp|347–351}} Alcuin's text,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Vatican-St-Peter-epitaph-of-pope-Hadrian-I-taken-from-Silvagni-1943-pl-II-fig-6_fig1_319009882|title=Vatican, St. Peter, epitaph of pope Hadrian I (taken from Silvagni 1943, pl. II, fig. 6). |website=ResearchGate}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lIW9EAAAQBAJ |title=Charlemagne and Rome: Alcuin and the Epitaph of Pope Hadrian I |pages=xxii-xxiii |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2023 |author=Joanna Story |isbn=978-0-19-920634-6 |doi=10.1093/oso/9780199206346.001.0001}}</ref> in which Charlemagne speaks affectionately of Adrian as his lost (spiritual) father, was carved in [[Roman square capitals]] on [[Noir Belge|black limestone]] from [[Sclayn]] in the [[Meuse]] valley, now in [[Belgium]].{{R|Nelson|page=350}} Its lettering has been described as "perfect and sharp" and is a notable exemplar of Carolingian monumental script.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Alcuin's Epitaph of Hadrian I: A Study In Carolingian Epigraphy |author=Luitpold Wallach |journal=The American Journal of Philology |date=1951 |volume=72 |issue=2 |pages=128–144 |publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press |doi=10.2307/292542 |jstor=292542}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=The Carolingian Graphic Reform in Italy: Effects on Epigraphy |author=Flavia Frauzel |date=2014 |url=https://www.academia.edu/11944940 |website=Academia.edu}}</ref> The contemporaneous [[Annales laureshamenses|Annals of Lorsch]] refer to Adrian's epitaph being made in [[Francia]] and transported to Rome on Charlemagne's orders, and describe it as "written in gold letters on marble."{{R|Nelson|page=349}}