La porpora o la vita: il «De sua calamitate» di Adam Easton

The life and works of Adam Easton can be divided into two parts. He spent the first part of his career as a renowned curialist and theologian; he was also created a cardinal by Pope Urban VI in 1381. However, after being accused of being a traitor by the same pope in 1385, he was forced to renounce the cardinal’s hat in exchange for life. In addition to other texts written in the first part of his life, the memoir of his disgrace is considered lost. This essay traces Easton’s literary activity and places it in his time’s religious and historical frame. He was a key figure in many respects, both for England and the spiritual circles active in the late Trecento Rome. Curiously enough, although he was a key figure in many respects, the date of his death also appears to be lost, despite the still surviving monumental sepulcher in S. Cecilia in Rome. The appendix includes an update of the bibliographical information about this important medieval author and his works.