A House Divided: San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro in Pavia and the Politics of Pope John XXII.

'In 1327 Pope John XXII issued a bull granting the Hermits of Saint Augustine shared possession of S. Pietro in Ciel d'Oro, that had been controlled solely by the Canons Regular for over 100 years. The purpose of the bull was to "reunite" the Hermits with their putative founder S. Augustine. This article traces the process which the Hermits' long and actually rewarding relationship with the papacy shaped the order's distinctive theological focus on papal supremacy. The A. proposes that this unprecedented bull was part of a carefully crafted policy of political action and retribution by the Pope in his battle with the Visconti and the Empire for temporal control of northern Italy. The struggle is elucidated as is overtly political activity with both religious orders at S. Pietro in Ciel d'Oro, the Canons Regular allied with the Empire, the Hermits with the papacy'.