A document claiming Constantine gave the pope rule over Rome and the western empire is composed, probably in the 8th century. Popes and canonists cited it for centuries.
Contested history
Consensus: The Donation of Constantine is a forgery, not a grant by Constantine; Lorenzo Valla demonstrated this in 1440 and no serious scholar defends it.
Genuine fourth-century grant by ConstantineDebunked
Its Latin, titles and references belong to centuries after Constantine, as Valla and later philologists showed.
Composed in Rome in the mid-8th century, around the papal turn to the FranksDebated
Many historians link it to the 750s to 770s papal chancery, but the oldest copy is 9th century and dating estimates range widely.
Composed in the Frankish kingdom in the 9th centuryMinority view
Some scholars point to Frankish manuscript transmission and context, but most still favor a Roman origin.