Talk:Pope Sisinnius

Additional sources that might be useful
I've decided to keep tabs on this article now that has successfully brought it to GA status. I see they intend to bring it to FA status (with a peer review along the way!). Since I'm not at that level of expertise yet, I'm going to simply offer additional sources and descriptions of their utility when I encounter them. The first of these is "The Papacy and Byzantium in the Seventh- and Early Eighth-Century Sections of the Liber Pontificalis" by Rosamond McKitterick (accessible at ). Page 256 references Sisinnius's entry in the Liber Pontificalis as "Life 89" and notes that the length of the vacancy following his death is recorded, a fact not currently mentioned in the article. It's minor, but it's something. ~ Pbritti (talk) 22:00, 8 June 2023 (UTC)

Sisinnius was Syrian and his father was named John - Really?
This is very strange. Can anyone explain how a Syrian of the time can have acquired the English name John? Barefoot through the chollas (talk) 20:34, 25 December 2023 (UTC)
 * It is not uncommon for persons who lived long ago to possess anglicized names they never used. For example, Alexander the Great. ~ Pbritti (talk) 22:25, 25 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Sure: "Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, known in English as Pompey" and innumerable examples similar. However, a statement that he "was named Pompey" would be absurd, and as false as an article in Italian declaring that Julian Lennon's father was named Giovanni, or an article in Spanish claiming that the lead singer of the Stones is named Miguel. In the specific case of Sisinnius's father, if enough is known to report (spuriously) that his father "was named John", a more likely genuine name is available for citation. Barefoot through the chollas (talk) 16:01, 26 December 2023 (UTC)
 * It really depends on a number of factors. John Lennon marketed himself under that name both in Britain and worldwide, so it would be unusual for someone to know him by a different name. In German, the common name for George III is Georg III.; Italians call him Giorgio III. It depends on what is commonly used in reliable sources. In the case of this article, the anglicized name is preferred by academic publications, hence "John". ~ Pbritti (talk) 16:34, 26 December 2023 (UTC)
 * For what it's worth, the Liber Pontificalis says his father was Iohannes.
 * Philologick (talk) 04:07, 12 January 2024 (UTC)
 * I've now tweaked it just enough that the mention of his father's name isn't outright silly. Barefoot through the chollas (talk) 02:30, 18 May 2024 (UTC)
 * Again, ancient names that take modern English spellings in modern reliable sources are presented as such. ~ Pbritti (talk) 03:03, 18 May 2024 (UTC)
 * Obviously it's not a question of spelling. His father is not well known historically, such as Alexander the Great or Christopher Columbus. He earned precious little mention in anglophone historical writings, and it's absurd, as well as untrue, that he was named John. It's similar to the principle of oft-mentioned historically important towns and cities vs. those seldom mentioned: Florence but Scandicci, Turin but Carignano, etc., etc. -- even with that, no one, no matter how militantly anglophone, would ever claim that Firenze was ever actually named Florence. Barefoot through the chollas (talk) 04:35, 18 May 2024 (UTC)
 * We use the anglophone spelling because the reliable sources do. You even demonstrate the futility of your argument: no one claims that because we call Florence as such in the article that its native name isn's Firenze. Please don't return to this article again in 4 months to try this again. ~ Pbritti (talk) 04:43, 18 May 2024 (UTC)
 * Exactly. No one writing of Firenze would come up with the nonsense of "the city being named Florence", parallel to the absurdity (magnified by the dates in question) "his father being named John" of a Syrian who died in the year 708.
 * Re your parting comment, you might want to take note that this is not your private article. Barefoot through the chollas (talk) 05:07, 18 May 2024 (UTC)