As the seat of the Pope, the city of Rome continued to hold significance despite the fall of the Western Roman Empire and sack of the city by both the Visigoths and the Vandals.
Although the glorious past of Rome was remembered in medieval times, whatever power Rome had once held was completely overshadowed by the city being the seat of the Papal see.
In the 6th century writings of Gregory of Tours, Rome is always described as a Christian city, first being mentioned once St. Peter arrives there.
The longest discussion on Rome is about the election of Pope Gregory the Great and Gregory of Tours appears indifferent to Rome at one point having been the capital of a great empire.

Through the early Middle Ages, the term Romani became more and more heavily associated by authors in Western Europe with the population of the city itself, or the population of the larger Duchy of Rome.
The change from an identity applied to people throughout Italy to an identity applied to the city itself can be pinpointed to the 6th century; Cassiodorus, who served the Gothic kings, use the term Romani to describe Roman people across Italy and Pope Gregory the Great, at the end of the 6th century, uses Romani almost exclusively for the people in the city.
The Historia Langobardorum, written by Paul the Deacon in the 8th century, postulates that the term civis Romanus ("Roman citizen") is applied solely to someone who either lived in, or was born in, the city of Rome and it could for instance be applied to the Archbishop of Ravenna, Marinianus, only because he had originally been born in Rome.
This indicates that the term at some point ceased to generally refer to all the Latin-speaking subjects of the Lombard kings and became restricted to the city itself.

After the Byzantine Empire restored imperial control over Rome, the city had become a peripheral city within the empire.
Its importance stemmed from being the seat of the Pope, the first in order among five foremost Patriarchs of the Church, and the city's population was not specially administered and lacked political participation in wider imperial affairs except for its interactions with the papacy.
Under Byzantine rule, the Popes often used the fact that they had the backing of the "people of Rome" as a legitimizing factor when clashing with the emperors.
The political implications of the name and citizenry of Rome thus remained somewhat important, at least in the eyes of the westerners.

When the temporal power of the popes was established through the foundation of the Papal States (established through the Frankish king Pepin granting control of former Byzantine provinces conquered from the Lombards to the Pope), the population of the city of Rome became a constitutional identity which accompanied and supported the sovereignty of the popes.
In the minds of the contemporary popes, the sovereign of the Papal States was St. Peter, who delegated control to his vicars on Earth, the popes.
However, the popes were too deeply rooted in the Roman imperial system to imagine a worldly government established only on religious relationships.
As such, the "Romans" became the political body of this new state and the term, once used for all the inhabitants of Byzantine Italy, became increasingly used to exclusively refer to the inhabitants of the city.
After Pepin's donations the Popes also revived the concept of respublica Romanorum as something associated with, but distinct from, the Church.
In the new version of the idea, the Pope was the lord of the Romans but the Romans themselves, as citizens of Rome, had a share in the public rights connected to the sovereignty of the city.

Medieval sources on the "Romans" as the people living in Rome are generally quite hostile.
The Romans are frequently described as being "as proud as they are helpless" and as speaking the ugliest of all the Italian dialects.
Because they repeatedly attempted to take a position independent from the Papacy and/or the Holy Roman emperors (both of whom were considered as more universal rulers whose policies extended much further than t
As the seat of the Pope, the city of Rome continued to hold significance despite the fall of the Western Roman Empire and sack of the city by both the Visigoths and the Vandals. Although the glorious past of Rome was remembered in medieval times, whatever power Rome had once held was completely overshadowed by the city being the seat of the Papal see. In the 6th century writings of Gregory of Tours, Rome is always described as a Christian city, first being mentioned once St. Peter arrives there. The longest discussion on Rome is about the election of Pope Gregory the Great and Gregory of Tours appears indifferent to Rome at one point having been the capital of a great empire.
Through the early Middle Ages, the term Romani became more and more heavily associated by authors in Western Europe with the population of the city itself, or the population of the larger Duchy of Rome. The change from an identity applied to people throughout Italy to an identity applied to the city itself can be pinpointed to the 6th century; Cassiodorus, who served the Gothic kings, use the term Romani to describe Roman people across Italy and Pope Gregory the Great, at the end of the 6th century, uses Romani almost exclusively for the people in the city. The Historia Langobardorum, written by Paul the Deacon in the 8th century, postulates that the term civis Romanus ("Roman citizen") is applied solely to someone who either lived in, or was born in, the city of Rome and it could for instance be applied to the Archbishop of Ravenna, Marinianus, only because he had originally been born in Rome. This indicates that the term at some point ceased to generally refer to all the Latin-speaking subjects of the Lombard kings and became restricted to the city itself.
After the Byzantine Empire restored imperial control over Rome, the city had become a peripheral city within the empire. Its importance stemmed from being the seat of the Pope, the first in order among five foremost Patriarchs of the Church, and the city's population was not specially administered and lacked political participation in wider imperial affairs except for its interactions with the papacy. Under Byzantine rule, the Popes often used the fact that they had the backing of the "people of Rome" as a legitimizing factor when clashing with the emperors. The political implications of the name and citizenry of Rome thus remained somewhat important, at least in the eyes of the westerners.
When the temporal power of the popes was established through the foundation of the Papal States (established through the Frankish king Pepin granting control of former Byzantine provinces conquered from the Lombards to the Pope), the population of the city of Rome became a constitutional identity which accompanied and supported the sovereignty of the popes. In the minds of the contemporary popes, the sovereign of the Papal States was St. Peter, who delegated control to his vicars on Earth, the popes. However, the popes were too deeply rooted in the Roman imperial system to imagine a worldly government established only on religious relationships. As such, the "Romans" became the political body of this new state and the term, once used for all the inhabitants of Byzantine Italy, became increasingly used to exclusively refer to the inhabitants of the city. After Pepin's donations the Popes also revived the concept of respublica Romanorum as something associated with, but distinct from, the Church. In the new version of the idea, the Pope was the lord of the Romans but the Romans themselves, as citizens of Rome, had a share in the public rights connected to the sovereignty of the city.
Medieval sources on the "Romans" as the people living in Rome are generally quite hostile. The Romans are frequently described as being "as proud as they are helpless" and as speaking the ugliest of all the Italian dialects. Because they repeatedly attempted to take a position independent from the Papacy and/or the Holy Roman emperors (both of whom were considered as more universal rulers whose policies extended much further than t
Roman people