Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2019 with funding from Kahle/Austin Foundation https://archive.0rg/details/livestimesofpopeOOOOmont ROMANORVM PONTIFICVM E F F I G I E S.. loaimisBap de CanaL Imis op era et lludi o 2EJieis. tabuLts^incisx, ROMiE^MDlXXX EDITION DE LUXE Limited to one thousand numbered and registered sets Set No. 77Q ^ I BENEDICTVnS^-XI^PP-TREWO ® 1910 CArMOlIC coc THE LIVES AND TIMES OF THE POPES \ INCLUDING THE COMPLETE GALLERY OF THE PORTRAITS OF THE PONTIFFS REPRODUCED FROM “EFFIGIES PONTIFICUM ROMANORUM DOMINICI BASAE” BEING A SERIES OF VOLUMES GIVING THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD DURING THE CHRISTIAN ERA RETRANSLATED, REVISED, AND WRITTEN UP TO DATE FROM LES VIES DES PAPES BY THE CHEVALIER ARTAUD DE MONTOR IN TEN VOLUMES NEW YORK THE CATHOLIC PUBLICATION SOCIETY OF AMERICA r-i M///7 Obstat REMIGIUS LAFORT, S.T.L. CENSOR Imprimatur 9B SB JOHN M. FARLEY, D.D. ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK New York, February i, igii Copyright, 1911, by THE CATHOLIC PUBLICATION SOCIETY OF AMERICA THE LIVES AND TIMES OF THE POPES '^53337 THE LIVES AND TIMES OF THE POPES 196 BLESSED BENEDICT XI—A.D. 1303 Blessed benedict XI was bom in 1240, at Tre- visa, and his original name was Nicholas Bonasio Bonasini. He is said to have been the son of a notary. In his early youth Nicholas went to Florence, and, being almost without resources, he became preceptor to the chil¬ dren of a knight of the Quirini family. He subsequently took the Dominican habit (he was the second pontiff of that order), steadfastly devoted himself to study during fourteen years, and became reader and general of the order. In the second year of his generalship, notwithstanding his opposi¬ tion, he was created cardinal of Saint Sabina by Boniface VHI. Having become Bishop of Ostia and Velletri, he stood firmly by the pope during the day of the terrible assault on Anagni, standing unmoved on the right hand of the pontiff and gazing upon him with admiration. The pope deemed him qualified for affairs and gave him many marks of con¬ fidence. As it was settled that all usurpations were amenable to Rome, the pope sent Nicholas, as his legate, into Hungary 3 4 LIVES AND TIMES OF THE POPES to oppose the civil wars. A part of that country had elected, as king, Charles, son of Charles Martel and nephew of Charles II, King of Naples. Another faction elected Wen- ceslas, son of the King of Bohemia. Boniface having died in the Vatican Palace, the law of Gregory X, confirmed by Boniface, was observed. The fu¬ neral ceremonies were celebrated during nine days (the same custom still obtains), and then the Mass of the Holy Ghost was sung. The sacred electors met on the 21st of October, 1303, and on the following day Nicholas was unanimously elected pope on the first ballot. He represented to the cardinals that he was not worthy of that honor, but his objections were repelled, and he ac¬ cepted the tiara. Nicholas took the name of Benedict, the baptismal name of his benefactor, Boniface VIH, and he was crowned on the 27th of October by Napoleon Orsini, first of the order of deacons. Frederic, King of Sicily, not having paid this year the accustomed tribute of three thousand ounces of gold, the pope declared that prince threatened with excommunication, and his kingdom was laid under interdict. But Frederic hav¬ ing protested and given satisfactory explanations, the pope immediately reconciled him with the Church. The pope then issued a bull of excommunication against those who had stolen the treasure of Boniface VIH. In 1304 Benedict, whose disposition was gentle and full of placability, restored to his good graces James Colonna, and Peter, his nephew, who had asked his pardon. Their property was restored to them at the same time. Philip the Fair desired to be absolved from the censures that he had incurred. A bull of the 2d of April, 1304, granted him entire absolution. On that subject Benedict said: “The BLESSED BENEDICT XI 5 guilty are so numerous! Where the multitude sins, rigor must be moderated.” He wrote to Philip, and in his letter he made no mention of the censure, the interdict, or the ex- communication. He simply resumed a friendly correspon¬ dence as though it had never been interrupted. Sciarra Colonna and Nogaret persisted in their rebellion, and their excommunication was continued. War ravaged Tuscany; the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, the Whites and the Blacks, all the parties that Dante so elo¬ quently describes, declared a Carthaginian hate against each other. Benedict sent to them a Dominican cardinal, Nicho¬ las di Prato; but he was obliged to issue an interdict against the Guelphs and the Blacks, and the inhabitants of Lucca and Prato. The ambassadors of James of Aragon swore faith and did homage for the kingdoms of Corsica and Sardinia, which James had received in fief from the Holy See, in virtue of a diploma of Boniface, dated on the 3d of April, 1297. Fred¬ eric, King of Sicily, also swore faith and homage for that kingdom. Boniface had given it to him by naming him King of Trinacria. Sicily was anciently called Trinacria on ac¬ count of the three promontories which terminate it. Tri¬ nacria comes from the Greek words tria and akra; the letter “n” is added for the sake of euphony. While the Holy Father continued his apostolical labors in the convent of the Dominicans of Perugia, he was presented with some figs, of which he was very fond. They were brought by a young man disguised as a woman, who was supposed to come from the nuns of Saint Petronilla. The fruit was poisoned. No doubt the senders were enemies of Benedict, and perhaps to the Holy See. The consequences of so dastardly and horrible a crime remain to be seen. The pope died shortly after eating the fruit. He had 6 LIVES AND TIMES OF THE POPES governed the Church one year, eight months, and a few days. Benedict was at once holy and learned. He would not make his nephew a cardinal, though deserving of the honor. Moreover, his mother was one day presented to him, sumptu¬ ously dressed. He pretended not to recognize her, and said: “This person cannot be our mother, for our mother is poor and cannot dress in silks.” She returned more humbly dressed, and was received with the most lively tokens of love and tenderness. This pontiff was beatified by Benedict XIV. The Roman pontificate was vacant ten months and twenty-eight days, because the cardinals in the conclave of Perugia were divided into two parties. 197 CLEMENT V—A.D. 1305 CLEMENT V, known previously as Bertrand de Got, was born at Villandraut, in the diocese of Bor¬ deaux. His father was a knight of the first nobility of the country. Bertrand de Got, having been made Bishop of Comminges in 1295, was promoted to the archbishopric of Bordeaux in 1299. The conclave assembled after the death of Benedict had already lasted nearly ten months, when the heads of the two parties adopted a measure which they believed calculated to put an end to the uncertainty. The Colonnas, persecuted by Boniface VIH, were interested in making an election that would be acceptable to France, and they proposed to the Orsini to make their own selection of three candidates, from OLE]MEN^S^ ^VAsS^OO - c ■ > •• CLEMENT V 7 among whom the opposite party should definitely select a pope. The Orsini named those candidates, among whom was Bertrand de Got, upon whom they thought they could rely most, because he was opposed to the King of France, who had greatly wronged the archbishop’s family. Mention is made of a courier sent to the king, and of advice given to that prince to ingratiate himself beforehand with Bertrand de Got. Six conditions are stated to have been imposed by the king and accepted by Bertrand. Those anecdotes are given on the authority of Villani, the Florentine author, much in¬ terested in decrying the French popes, but whose statements later writers have copied without much examination. Fleury remarks that the decree of election mentions none of the facts stated by that author. On the whole, it seems to be proven that the cardinals, be¬ ing divided into two nearly equal factions, and being unable to agree upon a candidate among themselves, preferred to make choice of a foreigner. When Bertrand de Got accepted the tiara, he set out for Lyons, at the end of August, and was crowned on the 14th of November, in the Church of Saint Juste, that hospitable church which was nobly generous to Gregory X at the time of the council of the year 1275. Cardinal Theodoric Ranieri had himself brought from Rome the papal crown which was placed on the head of Bertrand, who was recognized as pope under the name of Clement V. The ceremony was very brilliant. King James of Aragon was present, as was also the King of France, accompanied by Charles of Valois, and Louis, Count of Evreux, his broth¬ ers, and John, Duke of Brittany. During the ceremony of the cavalcade, which took place in imitation of the Roman custom, an accident occurred. A wall fell down, and the 8 LIVES AND TIMES OF THE POPES pope’s horse took fright. Clement fell, the tiara rolled upon the ground, and a ruby of great value was detached from it, and vainly searched for after the accident. John of Brit¬ tany, who held the bridle of the pope’s horse, was knocked down and perished during the tumult.