Laval University

From the SelectedWorks of Fathi Habashi

March, 2020

Emperors and Popes: Accords and Conflict Fathi Habashi

Available at: https://works.bepress.com/fathi_habashi/612/ Emperors and Popes: Accords and Conflict

Introduction In the 8th century popes were greatly honored by emperors, and popes used to crown emperors. This was reversed later in the 10th century when emperors challenged popes and they were subsequently excommunicated. Emperors considered that they have authority over all matters including popes. In modern times popes are limited to the Vatican in Rome.

Emperor Pepin and the Papal States Pepin the Short (c. 714 –768) was the King of the Franks from 751 till his death. He was the younger son of the Frankish prince Charles Martel (688-741) who stopped the Arabs in 732 at Poitiers in France. He succeeded his father as the Mayor of the Palace in 741. Being well disposed towards the church and papacy, Pepin continued their father's work in reforming the Frankish Church, and christening the Saxons. He intervened in favor of the papacy of Stephen II against the Lombards in Italy and was able to secure several cities, which he then gave to the Pope. This formed the legal basis for the Papal States in the Middle Ages. Pepin was succeeded by his sons Charlemagne and Carloman. He was crowned in 751 by Boniface, Archbishop of Mainz and died at the age of 54.

Pepin the Short Coronation in 751 of Pepin the Short by Boniface, Archbishop of Mainz 1

Papal States in Italy donated by Pepin the Short

Emperor Charlemagne Coronation

Charlemagne (748-814) may be born in Aachen in modern-day Germany, or in Liège, the eldest son of Pepin the Short and the grandson of Charles Martel. Charlemagne united much of western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages and was in contact with Harun al-Rashid the caliph of Baghdad. At first, the Franks were divided into separate groups until they were unified by king Clovis in 481; they then practiced farming and adopted Christianity. Charlemagne defeated the Lombards in northern Italy, the Saxons on the east of the Rhine, and extended his domain to the Pyrenees Mountains and to the Danube where he founded the border at Ost Mark that became later known as Österreich or Austria. He founded schools and encouraged the arts. He ruled his empire from Aachen, also known as Aix-la-Chapelle, a Roman town famous for its hot springs 2

Charlemagne’s Empire

Pope Leo III (died 816) ruler of the Papal States was assaulted in Rome by partisans of the late Pope Adrian I, and fled to Charlemagne. The King of the Franks arbitrated the dispute and restored Leo to his office. Leo subsequently crowned Charlemagne as the Head of the Holy Roman Empire on Christmas Day in 800 at Rome.

Crowning of Charlemagne by Leo III in 800 as the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire 3

When Charlemagne died, his son Louis the Pious (778-840) succeeded him but the empire became weak because each ruler of a province became increasingly independent. Finally in 843 the empire was divided between Charlemagne's living grandsons into three kingdoms: Kingdom of Lothair (a narrow strip of land that stretched from the North Sea down into the Italian peninsula parts of it became known later as Lothringia or Lorraine), Kingdom of Charles (the territory to the west of Lothair's), and Kingdom of Ludwig (the territory to the east).

Division of the Empire after Charlemagne’s death

By this time, a separation of language was apparent in the empire of Charlemagne. The people to the west of the Rhine were speaking a language which would become modern French. The people to the east of the Rhine were speaking a language that would become modern German.

Vikings and Papacy Vikings were Scandinavians, who from the late 8th to late 11th centuries, raided and traded from their Northern European homelands across wide areas of Europe. Facilitated by advanced sailing and navigational skills, Viking activities at times also extended into the Mediterranean, North Africa, and the Middle East. The period beginning with the installation of Pope Sergius III in 904 until the death of Pope John XII in 964 is sometimes referred to as the "dark age." During this chaotic period, the popes were controlled by a powerful and corrupt aristocratic family in Rome.

4

Viking invasion of Europe Otto the Great Otto I (912-937) was the oldest son of Heinrich I the Fowler (876-936) duke of Saxony and the elected king of East Francia. He inherited the Duchy of Saxony and the kingship of Germany upon his father's death. He continued his father's work of unifying all German tribes into a single kingdom. He conquered the rebels in Italy, was crowned King of Italy in 961 and Holy Roman Emperor of the German Nation in 962 by Pope John XII in Rome. Before him the Holy Roman Empire was created by Charlemagne (742-814) but collapsed after his death. Otto the Great subjected the clergy to his personal control. Those who supported the Emperor were called Ghibellines [Italian pronunciation of Waiblingen the German name of a Hohenstaufen village] and those who supported the Popes were called Guelphs [from Welf]. Popes considered that emperors received their authority from God through the popes while emperors considered that they have authority over all matters.

Otto endowed the bishoprics and abbeys of his kingdom with numerous gifts, including land and viewed himself as the protector of the Church. Popes thought they had the power to depose kings. Otto had needed the support of bishops and abbots while Pope John XII needed Otto's military. 5

Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation at time of Otto the Great

Reform of Pope Gregory VII When Pope Gregory VII (1015 –1085) took office in 1073, he was determined to reform the Church and place the rulers under his authority. He decreed that only the Pope could appoint or depose bishops, that no Church office should be purchased, and that no Catholic priest should marry. He claimed that he was the representative of God on Earth and has the right to depose Emperors. Since the death of Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich III, the strength of the German monarchy had been seriously weakened, and his son Heinrich IV (1056 - 1106) was only six years of age. During the rule of Heinrich IV a few religious leaders took advantage of his weakness and thereby worked to assert their independence from the state, something which he came to resent as he grew older. In 1075 the Pope forbade any further lay investiture. Moreover, he declared that any secular leaders who tried to invest someone with a clerical office would suffer excommunication. Heinrich IV refused to accept this change. Heinrich IV deposed the bishop of Milan and invested someone else with the office. In response, Gregory demanded that Heinrich appear in Rome to repent of his sins, which he refused to do. Instead, he convened a meeting in Worms where German bishops loyal to him labeled Gregory a "false monk" who was no longer worthy of the office of pope. Gregory, in turn, excommunicated Heinrich. this had the effect of making all of the oaths sworn to Heinrich no longer valid. Enemies at home because of his bad character would use this to ensure his removal from power but he asked for forgiveness from the Pope who was at Canossa. Pope Gregory made Emperor Heinrich stand barefoot in the snow for three days until he allowed him in. The Pope effectively demonstrated to the world that he had granted religious leaders authority over secular leaders.

6

Heinrich IV repenting to Pope Gregory VII at Canossa

Gregory VII in 1075, accused Heinrich of breaching his word and his enormous crimes rendered him liable to the deprivation of his crown. On the following day February 22, 1076, the Pope excommunicated him again and absolved his subjects from the oaths they had sworn to him. Rome surrendered to the German king in 1084, and Gregory thereupon retired into the exile of the Castel Sant'Angelo. The pope was liberated and was compelled to withdraw to Monte Cassino, and later to the castle of Salerno by the sea, where he died on 25 May 1085.

William the Conqueror and the Papacy William the Conqueror (1027?-1087) obtained the blessings of Pope Alexander II when he invaded England under the influence of Hildebrand, who himself succeeded to the papacy as Gregory VII in 1073. William the Conqueror maintained the independence of his churches and his ability to appoint men to the posts of Bishops and Abbots. It was forbidden to write to the Pope until the King had read the letter and approved the contents. Similarly visits by English clerics to the Pope were forbidden unless permission had been granted by the King.

7

Philip IV and Pope Boniface VIII Philip IV (1268-1314) of France was determined to drive Edward I (1239-1307) of England out of his country. He wanted money and as a result, he taxed the clergy. Pope Boniface VIII (1235- 1303) protested. The conflict escalated when the French arrested and convicted papal legate. The pope issued a bull in which he declared that both spiritual and temporal power were under the pope's jurisdiction, and that kings were subordinate to the power of the Roman pontiff. Philip disobeyed and had the bull publicly burnt in Paris in 1302. Pope Boniface excommunicated Philip and all others who prevented French clergy from travelling to the Holy See. The king sent his troops to attack the pope's residence on September 7, 1303 and capture him. Pope Boniface was held a prisoner for three days. Boniface died a month later.

Philip IV

Edward I English possession Guyenne [Aquitaine] in southwest of France

8

Pope Boniface VIII

Pope Boniface was followed by Pope Benedict XI who died a year later in 1304. Philip then forced to elect his friend the French Clement V as pope in 1305. Pope Clement refused to move to Rome, and in 1309 he moved his court to Avignon, then in the Kingdom of Arles, part of the Holy Roman Empire, (now in France). In 1370, Pierre Roger de Beaufort was elected as Pope Gregory XI in December 30, 1370. He was the seventh and last French Avignon pope, all under the influence of the French Crown. In 1377, he returned the Papal court to Rome, ending nearly 70 years of papal residency in Avignon but he died a year later in 1378.

Avignon The relations between his successor Urban VI and a faction of French cardinals who made up the majority of the College of Cardinals deteriorated and wanted the Papacy returned to Avignon but Pope Urban made it clear that intended to stay in Rome. The French cardinals now elected another pope - - Pope Clement VII. This became known as the Great Schism. This started a second line of Avignon popes, subsequently regarded as illegitimate. The last Avignon antipope, Benedict XIII, lost most of his support in 1398, including that of France; after five years besieged by the French, he fled to Perpignan in 1403. The schism ended in 1417 at the Council of Constance, after two popes had reigned in opposition to the papacy in Rome. This absence from Rome is sometimes referred to as the "Babylonian captivity of the Papacy".

9

Henry the Eighth and the Papacy

Henry VIII (1491- 1547) was King of England from 1509 until his death succeeding his father, Henry VII. His disagreement with the Pope on the question of an annulment of marriage with Catherine of Aragon whom he married after the death of her husband who was his brother, led him to separate the Church of England from papal authority. He appointed himself the Supreme Head of the Church of England and dissolved convents and monasteries, for which he was excommunicated. He established a new political theology of obedience to the crown that was continued for the next decade. All adults in the Kingdom were required to acknowledge Henry's marriage to Anne legitimate and his marriage to Catherine illegitimate. Those who refused were subject to imprisonment for life. He declared that the King was "the only Supreme Head on Earth of the Church of England" it is high treason, punishable by death, to refuse the Oath of Supremacy acknowledging the King as such. Although the figure of 72,000 executions during his reign is inflated, Henry VIII did undoubtedly execute at will, burning or beheading two of his wives, twenty peers, four leading public servants, six close attendants and friends, one cardinal (John Fisher) and numerous abbots.

Charles V and the Pope

The growing power of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (1500-1558) of Habsburg alarmed Pope Clement VII, who perceived Charles as attempting to dominate the Catholic Church and Italy. The Pope formed an alliance with Charles V's enemy, King Francis I of France. The army of Charles V defeated the French army in Italy, but funds were not available to pay the soldiers. The troops mutinied and forced their commander, to lead them towards Rome. On May 6, 1527 churches and monasteries, as well as the palaces of prelates and cardinals, were looted and destroyed. In the meantime, Pope Clement VII remained a prisoner in Castel Sant'Angelo. On June 6, Clement VII surrendered, and agreed to pay a ransom in exchange for his life

10

Napoleon and the Papacy

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) born in Corsica, officer in the French army, attracted attention when he put down an insurrection at Paris in 1795 against the Directory after the Revolution. In 1796, French Republican troops under his command invaded Italy, defeated the papal troops and marched to Rome, entered it unopposed on February 10, 1798, proclaiming a Roman Republic, demanded of the Pope Pius VI (1717-1799) the renunciation of his temporal power. Upon his refusal he was taken prisoner to France where he died on August 29, 1799.

His plan to strike at England through India led to his expedition to Egypt in 1798. The overthrow of the Directory in 1799 established Napoleon as First Consul. One of Napoleon’s first acts as consul was to bring religion back to France after the atheistic years of the Revolution.

By a series of measures, which resulted in his election consul for life in 1802. He brought to Europe the spirit of the French Revolution but when he was coronated he lost his admiration by many. Towards the close of 1804, Napoleon entrusted a Cardinal the difficult task of securing the presence of Pope Pius VII (1740-1823) at his forthcoming coronation at Notre Dame in Paris. Pius VII travelled to Paris but Napoleon had placed the crown on his head himself, sparing the Pope's intent to do the same.

Coronation of Napoleon in 1804

11

On May 17, 1809, Napoleon issued decrees in which he declared the territories which were still under the direct control of the Papal State were to be annexed to the French empire. Pius VII subsequently excommunicated him. Napoleon answered by sending a French detachment to the Pope’s palace in Rome and arrested the Pope. They took him away at night to Savona near Genoa. He would not return to Rome for another five years after Napoleon’s abdication.

Arresting of Pope Pius VII on orders of Napoleon

After a series of successful battles on the continent, he was defeated at sea at Trafalgar in 1805. In 1812 his campaign to Russia to punish her for not boycotting England was a failure. Of his Grand Armée of 500,000 only 40,000 returned in 1813 – the remaining perished mainly from exhaustion

12 and starvation. He is responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, not only in battle but also during his ambitious campaigns. He lost at Waterloo in 1815 and was exiled in Saint Helena where he died.

The Vatican For over a thousand years popes ruled the Papal States as sovereign over an amalgam of territories on the Italian peninsula from the capital Rome. Upon the unification of Italy, the new Kingdom of Italy invaded and occupied the Papal States in 1860 and Rome itself in 1870. For the following years, relations between the Papacy and the Italian Government were hostile and the Popes considered themselves prisoners in the palace. It was the Prime Minister Benito Mussolini who solved the problem by recognizing the Pope as the ruler of the Vatican. An agreement was signed in the Lateral Palace by the representative of Pope Pius XI and the Government of Italy in 1929. The agreement created the State of the Vatican and guaranteed full and independent sovereignty to the Holy See.

The Papal States reduced to the Vatican in 1929

13