CHAP. I.— RELATION OF THE PAPACY TO GENERAL AFFAIRS.
Mart. Piilonus. (at the head of § 171.) Bernardus Guido, Dominic. Bishop of Lofleve, d. 1331.
& Amalricim Augei ii, Augustinian, about 1305, both until John XXII. {Jfurat vol. III. P. I, II.)
Platinit (Biirthol. Sdcchi), Abbreviutor, d. 14>il, Vitae Pontificum Rom. Ven. 1479. f. L.ater cditt.
altered; the Dutcli editt, without the name of the place of pub. are correct according to the ed. prin-
ceiis. 140n. 1G45. & 1664. 12. 7/ieodoricus de Kiem, abbrcviator, iL about 1417, named as tiie author
of Vitae Pontitf. Rom. 12sS-141S. additis Imperatt gestis. {Eccard vol. I. p. 1461.) Leon. Aretinua.
papal Secretarj', d. 1444, rcrum suo temp, in Ital. gestar. Commtr. 137S-1440. (Muratori vol. XIX. p.
909.) Vitae Paparum Avenioncnsium, ed. Steph. Baluzius, Par. 1693. 2 vols. 4. to be corrected by
reference to: Ilist. des souverains Pontifes dans Avignon, Avign. 1777. 4. Lives of particular Popes
in 3fnr(it. vol. III. P. I, II. Orig Docc. in Haynald. J. Voigt, Stimmen a. Rom. ii. d. papstl. Ilof
im 1,5. -Tahrh. {lidtimey'is hist Taschenb. 1832. N. 2.)—Boehme)\ Regcsta Imperii. 119S-12M. Lately-
revised. Stuttg. 1849. 4. Regesta Imp. 1246-1313. Lately revised. Stuttg. 1S44. 4.
§ 239. Frederic II. (1194-Z>ec. 13, 1250.
I. Pt'tri de Vineis, (d. 1249.) Epp. 1. VI. ed. Iselin. Basil. 1740. 2 vols. Boeltmer, Reg. Imp. p.
66ss. Pertz vol. IV. p. 223s.s Extracts from the Regcstis Honor. JIT. et Greg. IX. in Raynold &
Raumcr. Ttircnrdi de S. Gennano Chron. 11S9-124.3. {Murat. vol. VII. p. 963.) Contin. by it^ic.
deJamKilla till 125S. {Ih. vol. VIII. p. 489.)
II. (Funk) Geschichte Triedr. II. Ziill. 1792. Raumer, vols. III-IV. p. 211. W. Zimmennann, dio
Hohenst. o. Kampf d. ^lonarchle gtgen Papst n. republ. Freih. Stuttg. 1838. 2 vols. — C. Hbfler, K.
Friedr. II. Munich 1844.
The most enlarged mental endowments and the highest earthly powers
were possessed by Frederic II. for the accomjilishment of the destiny of the
house of Ilohenstaufen. By means of the Stiracen population of Sicily, a
part of whom he had induced to settle in Apulia, he always had an army
ready with which to terrify the states of the Church. Hence the mild dis-
position of Ilonoriua III. (after 121G) was satisfied when the inheritance
â– bequeathed by the Countess Matilda was secured to him, and he made no
resistance when the emperor's oldest son, already heir apparent to the throne
266 MEDIAEVAL CHURCH HISTORY. PER. IV. A. D. 1216-1517.
of Sicily, was elected to be the next successor in the empire, and when all
the privileges of the Sicilian monarchy were re-established. On his corona-
tion at Aix-la-Chapelle, Frederic had taken the vow of the cross, and had
subsequently renewed it at Rome. By his marriage with lolante, the heiress
of the kingdom of Jerusalem, the obligation to perform this vow seemed to
have become more imperious. But the emperor, occupied with the care of
establishing his power in Italy, always pleaded for a longer delay. The last
period fixed upon expired just as Honorius died (March 18, 1227), and was
succeeded by Gregory IX. This pope was a nephew of Innocent III., and
like that prince possessed much skill in law, and an inflexible resolution. In
his obstinate old age he Avas even less restrained by a regard to the conse-
quences of what he regarded as right, {a) On the 15th August, 1227, the em-
pei'or set sail from Brundusium, but in three days returned, on account of a
pretended or at least a very convenient sickness. Gregory then issued against
him a sentence of excommunication, and was consequently driven from Rome
by the emperor's adherents. Frederic now appealed to the Christian world
with severe accusations against the pope, and without troubling himself to
obtain a release from a papal ban which he regarded as unjust and invalid,
he again embarked for Palestine, August, 1228. But the anathema preceded
him, and induced his natural allies in the East to arm themselves against
him. At the same time a great host of ecclesiastical emissaries fell upon his
Italian inheritance. In this extremity, from the personal favor of his oppo-
nent. Camel, Sultan of Egypt, a truce of ten years was obtained, during
which it was agreed that he should retain possession of the kingdom of Jeru-
salem. He entered the holy city in triumph (March 17, 1229), placed upon
his head the crown of Jerusalem, hastened back to Italy, and drove the papal
soldiers before him. Many disapproved of the violent measures of the pope
against a crusader, and after vainly using his utmost efforts in every place, to
stir up enemies against the greatest hero of that century, Gregory obtained
from his policy or piety an honorable peace at St. Germano (Aug. 28, 1230).
The pope was obliged to submit to the overwhelming power of the emperor,
and to accept of the code of laws edited by Peter of Vinea (1231), by which
the law of the two SiciHes was firmly established, and though heretics Avere
surrendered to the hands of the Church, the secular power of the Church was
made strictly subordinate to the State, (i) But when Frederic again prose-
cuted the struggle his family were always obliged to maintain with the Lom-
bards, the pope once more formed an alliance with the friends of popular
freedom, and in a sentence of excommunication pronounced against him
on Palm Sunday, 1239, released all his subjects from their oath of alle-
giance, and surrendered his body to the devil for the salvation of his
soul. Each party now sought by written manifestoes to gain over to its side
the favorable judgment of the people, and the two great heads of Christen-
dom confronted each other with charges of heresy. In their controversial
writings the specifications against each other are clothed sometimes in the
a) Vita Greg, by persons near him. (Murat vol. III. p. 575.)
I) Constitutiones Eegum Siciliae. Neap. 17S6. f. liaumer, vol. Ill p. 316ss.
CMAP. I. r.VPACY. § 239. INNOCENT IV. § 240. CONUAD IV. 267
most common lanfrnajie of ordinary life, and at other times with the poetic
imagery of the aj)()ealyi)se. Frederic interpreted the favor which tlio pope
showed toward the Lombards as an evidence of his partiality for the Cathar-
ists living in their midst. Gregory accused the emperor of being the author
of the profane remark respecting the three impostors who had deceived the
world, and justilied tlie imputation by a I'eference to the impartial justice
with which he had treated the Saracens, the relish with which he had en-
tered into oriental pleasures, and several insolent expressions with regard to
the miracles of the Church, (r) Frederic, who certainly liad more faitli in
astrology than in priests, not only proved his orthodoxy but conquered the
territories of the Church until he sat down under the very walls of Rome.
The pope called a general council of the Church. The emperor gave orders
that the fleet which conveyed the bishops to Eome should be captured.
Gregory died unavenged (Aug. 21, 1241), and after many tedious dissen-
sions among the cardinals, Innocent IV. (Fiesco of Lavagna) was chosen in
his stead (June 24, 1243). The new jiope had been the friend of the empe-
ror, but after various ineffectual efforts to conclude a i)eace he became a mor-
tal enemy. By the aid of his countrymen the Genoese, he escaped from
Italy, and at the general council of Lyons (1245), {d) he once more hurled
forth all the curses of the Church against the emperor, as a heretic and a
sacrilegious robber. The contest was waged not only Avith spiritual but with
carnnl weapons, for the pope endeavored to secure as-sistance by exciting
insurrections in Germany and in Sicily. Frederic died Avitliout yielding to
the papal claims, U) but among tlie people many believed that his body would
see no corruption, and at the proper time that he would return and over-
throw the exorbitant power of the priesthood.
§ 240. Ocerthroic of the House of UoJienstavfen.
L Boehmer, Reg. p. 255ss. JamsUla, cont by an unknown hand till 1265. (ATurat. vol. VIII. p.
5SG.) and by the Guulph Saba Malaspina, rer. Sicul. 1. VI. 1250-T6. {lb. p. 78!.)
II. If. Jdg(i\ Gcsch. Coi.rads II. Nuremb. 1787. Pfster, Gesch. v. Schwaben. Ilcilb. 1803. vol.
II. liaiimei; vol. IV. p. 52Sss.
Inno(^c:it IV. now proclaimed that the sacrilegious house of Hohenstaufeu
had for ever forfeited all title to sovereignty, and he hastened to take posses-
sion of Sicily as a vacant fief of tlie Church. But Conrad IV. abandoned
Germany to its own dissensions and conquered his Italian patrimony. Italy,
however, was fatal to him, and at his early death (1254) he left nothing for
bis son Conradin but the remnant of his paternal inheritance in Suabia. The
German crown was purchased by foreigners from the imperial princes, who
were controlled by papal influence. The Two Sicihcs were seized upon by
Manfred, a natural son of Frederic, and in them he established a popular
government, against which Innocent preached a crusade in vain. The popes,
c) The remark w.as first made by Simon de Tournay, 1201, & the treati.se de tribiis impostoribuB
(ed. pr. ."3^9. 8.) belongs to the IGtli cent. Rosenkranz, d. Zwt-ifel am glaiibcn. Kriiik d. Scrr. di^ trib.
Impost. Hal. u. L. 1S30. De impostura rel. breve compend. s. L. de trib. impost, edit, with lit. Introd-
by Gentli^. Lps. 1S33.
d) Vita Inn. by his Confessor, Nic. dc Ciirbio. {Murat. vol. III. p. 592.) Hoehmer, Keg. p. 812sa.
e) His Will Murutori Th. IX. p. CGls. Boehmer, p. 810.
268 MEDIAEVAL CIIUKCII IIISTOKY. PER. IV. A. D. 1216-151T.
perceiving that their power was insufficient to keep possession of the two
Sicilies, sold their title, first to England and then to France. Finally Charles
of Anjou, by the aid of Clement IV. (1265-68), became king of the Two
Sicilies after the death of Manfred in the battle of Benevento (1266). But
Conradin felt called upon by the spirits of his ancestors to leave the circle
of his youthful associates in Suabia, and attempt the conquest of his patri-
monial possessions beyond the Alps. He no sooner made his appearance there
than he was hailed as a deliverer by all disaffected persons. But being de-
feated at the battle of Tagliacozzo, he was taken prisoner while flying from
his pursuers, and having passed through the miserable farce of a legal trial,
the last of the Hohenstaufens closed his life on the scaffold on the 29th Octo-
ber, 1268. The popes now had the satisfaction of having utterly destroyed
the family of their most powerful enemy, and their triumph was purchased
by the complete distraction of Germany, the dismemberment of Italy, and
the ascendency of France.
§ 241. St. Louis. (1215.) V22Q.—Avg. 25, 1270.
I. Jomville, (Senesclial to Louis) Hist, de S. Lr.uis, p. Oh. du Freane, Par. 1668. f. 1761. f. Lu-
dovici, Vita et Conversatio per Gaufredum de Belloloeo, Coiifessorein, et Guil. Carnotenxem, Ca-
pellanuQi ejus. {Du Chesne vol. V. p. 444) Ltidovici Ep. de captione et liberatione sua. {lb. p.
S95ss.)
II. Wilken, 7tb vol. : Die Kreuzziige Liid. dcs Ileil. u. der Verlust. des h. Landes. Lps. 1832.
Louis IX. was, in his pious conscientiousness, a sincere Christian ; in his
scrupulous austerities and saintly humility, a rigid monk ; and in the energy
and equity of his transactions, even with the hierarchy, a noble prince. On
his recovery from a dangerous illness he assumed the vow of the cross, and
maintained his resolution against all France with such success that by his
policy and enthusiasm the whole nation was induced to co-operate in the
sacred struggle. The Holy Land had been devastated by the incursions of
the wild tribe of the Chowaresmians, and had once more fallen into the
hands of the Sultan of Egypt (1247). Palestine could be conquered only in
Egypt. Damietta was taken by Louis in the spring of the year 1249, but
when the crusaders advanced into the interior of the country, between the
dykes of the Nile which had been cut through, they were attacked by famine
and pestilence. Louis was at last obliged to purchase a return to his own
land with the wealth of his kingdom. But in the midst of his misfortunes he
was still unsubdued in spirit and unseduced to evil. By the encouragement
•which he showed to the third estate, and by the record which he made of
the established usages of the nation he gave a firm legal basis to the state, and
by the pragmatic sanction (1269) gave stability to the national church.* In
heart he was not unmindful of his vow, and even when advanced in age, with
Christ's crown of thorns in his hand he called upon the nobility of France
by their love and honor to prosecute the crusades. "When the expedition
accordingly set out, it was induced, by the hope either of an easier conquest
or of the conversion of their enemies, or by the influence of Charles of An-
* Leibnitii Mantissa. P. I. p. 15T. Comp. Haunter, vol. VI. p. 1198.
CHAP. I. PAPACY. § 241. ST. LOUIS. § 24.3. UUDOLPII OF IIAPSBUKG. 2G9
jou, to turn aside for the invasion of Tunis. The plan of establishing a
French colony there was frustrated hj the carelessness of the king, and the
unfavorahle character of the climate. Louis died of the plague before Tuni.s,
and witli him as with the Emperor Frederic, perished the work to which he
had dedicated his life. Louis belonged rather to a former age, while Fred-
eric labored for results which could be attained only in the distant future.
Hence both of them seemed to toil in vain, but both were illustrious in their
lives.
§ 242. The Termination of the Crusades.
The Latin empire in Constantinople continued still, but it was perpetually
torn by internal divisions, and regarded by the people as a foreign yoke. Its
capital therefore fell an easy prey even to the feeble arms of the Greeks
under Michael Palaeologus (1261). Palestine and Syria, though frequently
reconquered, were always again lost in consequence of the divisions in the
Christian host. God seemed to have forsaken his own cause, (a) The ro-
mantic enthusiasm which had exhibited so many interesting forms had now
given place to a more sober, but more selfish spirit, and Mount Calvaries were
constructed nearer home. Gregory X. (1271-70) exerted all the influence
which a pope possessed, to obtain possession of the East by a new crusade,
and thus preserve it for Christianity, but his efforts were entirely vain, (b)
Ptolemais (Acre), the last fortress of the crusaders, was stormed by the Egyp-
tian host on the 18th May, 1291. (c) The only benefit which the crusades
could accomplish was for the spiritual and commercial interests of the West-
ern nations, and this office they had now fulfilled, {d)
§ 243. Iiudol2)h of Hapsburg. 1273-91, The Sicilian Vespers.
The German throne had been for a long time vacant when the Count of
Ilapsburg became king by the choice of the more powerful princes of the
empire. lie now endeavored to obtain the papal acknowledgment, and took
the oath which had been customary ever since the time of Otho IV., because
Alphonso of Castile, a rival king, whom Gregory X. had persuaded to re-
nounce all claims upon the crown, was yet living. "With the moderation of
a mind powerful in its proper sphere, Rudolph abandoned all the rights of
the empire to its Italian dependencies, and confined his attention to the
establishment of a legal government in Germany, and to the attainment
of the power which his family needed for its maintenance. He therefore
succeeded in living on terms of honorable peace with the pope, who needed
a powerful support against the influence of France in Lower Italy, and he
had opportunity to pave the way for the future independence of the empire, {a)
a) Comp. Sirventes des Templers in Dietz, Leben u. Werke fl. Troubad. Zvvick. 1829. \\ 5S!).
h) JIumherUiH de Rornariis (in tlie service of the pope,) do his, quae tractanda vidcbantiir in Cone.
gon. Liigd. (J/i/nsi vol. XXIV. p. lOOss.)
c) Marinus Sunutus, Secretoruni fuleliiitn criicis 1. III. P. XII. c. 21ss. {liongars vol. II.) Ahiil-
fcda (himself present.) Annal. Moslem, vol. V. p. 95ss.
d) Ileeren, Entwickl. d. Fol^en d. Krcuzz. f. Europa. Gott. ISOS. (Ilist. W. vol. II.) Regenbogen,
do fructibus quos bumanita.s, libertas, mercatara etc. perceperint e bello sacro. Amst. 1S09.
a) Codex epistolaris Rud. I. ed. Gerhert, 8. Blasii. 1722. f. nux. Bodmann, Lps 1806. Jioehmer,
270 MEDIAKVAL CIIUKCn IIISTOUY. PER. IV. A. D. 121C-1517.
Clement IV. liad reason to doubt the wisdom of his policy with respect to
the Sicilies, for instead of deriving any pecuniary aid from Charles of Aujou,
that prince was continually exacting money from him. (Ji) So intolerable
were the oppressions of the Frencli in Sicily that even Gregory X. predicted
that a day of vengeance would soon arrive against his royal vassal, (c) But
when Martin IV. (1281-85) a Frenchman, and subservient to French inter-
ests, was seated in the papal chair, (d) at the ringing of the vesper bells on
the third day in Easter, 1282, an insurrection broke forth, and every French-
man on the island was slain. Peter of Aragon, on account of his marriage
with Constantia, the daughter of Manfred, was proclaimed King of Sicily, and
was immediately excommunicated by the pope. Charles of Anjou retained
possession only of Naples, and the popes lost all influence in Sicily until new
relations were formed with France in the beginning of the next century,
when a reconciliation was etfected. (e)
§ 224. The Hermit in the Papal Chair. July ^.—Dec. 13, 1294.
Boehmer, Regest. p. 388. Ptolemaei Luc. (an eye-witness) H. ecc. XXIV, 29ss, Eaynald. ad
ann. 1294. Jacolii Cardinalis Carmen de vita, and de caiionisatione Coel. {Murai. vol. III. P. I. p.
613ss. 655ss.) Pelrm de Alliaco. Vita Coel. (Acta RS. Maj. vol. IV. p. ^S:b.)—Coelestini 0pp. (asce-
tic) ed. Telera, Neap. 1640. 4. (Bibl. PP. Lugd. vol. XXV.)
The French influence in Naples had gained over a party among the cardi-
nals, which was oppo.sed by another, embracing various shades of distinction,
called the papal, the Italian, and the German. But when neither of these
parties was found strong enough to elect one of its own number to the papal
chair, at the suggestion of the name of Peter de Murrhone^ a hermit and a
popular saint, residing at Abruzzo, all agreed to bestow their votes on him,
each party hoping to find in him an instrument for its own puri)Oses. He
assumed the name of Celestine F., and never renounced his saintly poverty
and his former simplicity of life. But with the exception of the King of
Kaples, to whose influence he surrendered himself, and whose favorites he
appointed cardinals, all parties soon perceived his utter unfltness for the oflice
of government. Hence, when he had confirmed the rigid regulations of
Gregory X. with respect to the limitation and seclusion of the conclave, («)
he was induced by Cardinal Cajetanns, who acted in behalf of the older car-
dinals, although with the view of himself becoming pope, voluntarily to
resign his oflSce. Instead of the solitude of the mountain for which he had
longed, his successor consigned him to the solitude of a prison, in which he
died (1296). By his third successor he had assigned to him (1313) a place
among the saints, and by Dante a place in hell, (b)
Reg. p. 51ss. Pertz vol. IV. p. 3S2ss.— Ze Bret, de prud. Eud. in rebus cum Curia peraetis. Tub.
1783. 4
b) Martene, Tlies. nov. vol. II. p. 174. 179. c) Saha Malaspina VI. 4. d) Boehmer, Reg. 385ss.
e) Mich. Amari, la guerra del Vespro Siciliano. Palermo. 1842. ed. 4. Fir. 1851.
a) Proclaimed at Lyons, 1274. Manni vol. XXIV. p. Slss. h) Inferno III, 5Ss8.
CHAP. I. P.VrACV. §24'5. BONIFACE VIIL IMIILir AUGUSTUS. 271
§ 245. Boniface VIII. Dec. 24, 1294.— a-c'. 11, 1303.
Plol. Luc. ir. ecc. XXIV, 86. (Comp. Cod. Patav. in Marat, vol. XI. p. 121Sss.) For Hist. &
orig. documents, (P. dn I'uy) Ili.st du diflferend entro le Pape Boniface ct Pliil. lo Bel. Par. 1G55. f.
Baillet, Hist, dcs dcnu'lcz du P. Bonif. avec Phil. od. 2. Par. 171S. n.—Ritheua, Bonif. ct fainilia Ca-
jetanorum. Pom. 1051. T^os^', Storia di Bon. VIII. e de' suoi tempi. Pom. 1S40.— H' Drumann,
Gesch. Bon. d. VIII. Konigsb. 1S52. 2 Th.
Cajetanus of Aiiagni, a jurist and a priest, Avho had grown old while
employed in the aftairs of the Roman court, ascended the papal chair under
the name oi Boniface VIII. This distinction he attained through the recom-
mendation of his enemy the King of Naples. Actuated by a frantic hatred
to the Giiibellinc party lie sent into banishment the powerful family of tlio
Colonna wlio now declared Cclestine's resignation invalid, and drove the
plough over Palestrina the town in wliicli they resided. lie reproved Philip
of France for having seized upon the property of the Church, and for an
adulteration of the coin, and according to a riglit then conceded to the hier-
archy, he proposed to act as a mediator (1295) in the sanguinary war between
that prince and Edward I. of England. Philip the Fair forbade his inter-
ference, and when Boniface forbade all taxation of Church property, (a) the
king prohibited any exportation of the precious metals. That he might not
lose all liis revenues from France, and as he was already forsaken by a por-
tion of the French clergy, the pope sought to become reconciled to Philip by
giving the mildest construction to his own prohibition. Both kings now con-
sented that he should decide their difficidties, not, however, as the pope, but
as one selected by the parties for tliat special purpose. No sooner, however,
was his decision made known in a Bull (.Tune 30, 1298), than Philip refused
to com[)ly Avith its requisitions, because it did not properly respect tlie right
of prior possession against that of recent conquest. Reproaches of royal
oppression, and papal treachery to the Church, were exchanged between
them, and the legate in France, as a French bishop, was thrown into prison
for high treason. Angry edicts were proclaimed by Boniface on the 5th of
December, 1301, summoning the French prelates to Rome for the purjjose of
reforming tiie king and the empire. The king, whose ordinary government
was eminently despotic, now appealed to his people, and convened a general
Diet of his kingdom. The three estates were unanimous in maintaining the
independence of the French kingdom (1302). An extract from the papal
decrees Avliich had been so falsified as to make it in the highest degree olfen-
sive to the royal feelings, declared every one a heretic who did not beUeve
that the king in temporal as well as in spiritual matters was subject to the
pope. To this the king replied by declaring every one a fool who did not
believe that the King of France was in temporal things subject to no one. (h)
Boniface now commenced a contest with the whole French nation, and al-
though he denied that he had ever claimed France as a papal fief, he never-
theless maintained that every creature, under peril of his final perdition, was
a) Clericis laicos : Sext. Decretal, lib. 8. tit 23. c. 3.
I) Tlic genuine: Ausculta flli. The spurious: Dcum time. Baillet, p. 103,111s. Drumann,
ToL II. p. 19.
272 MEDIxVEVAL CIIITUCII HISTORY. PER. IV. A. D. 1-216-151T.
bound to obey the Roman bishop, (c) lie then proceeded to excommunicate
the king, who appealed once more to a general Diet of his empire (June,
1303). Before that body he had the pope accused of the most monstrou3
crimes, and demanded that a general council should be summoned to adjudi-
cate upon them. The pope pronounced an interdict upon the whole of
Franco, abrogated the privileges of the universities, and bestowed the French
crown upon the Emperor of Germany. Philip's chancellor, William of Xo-
garet, and Sciarra Colonna, the expelled cardinal, surprised and imprisoned
the pope (Sept. 7) in his own city of Anagni. In the hands of his enemies
he row resolved to die like Ilim, whose earthly vicar he professed to be.
After a confinement of three days he was liberated by his own countrymen,
but grief for the dishonor he had suffered had broken his lieart. It is possi-
ble that Boniface thought more of himself and of his treasures than of the
general welfare, but he was impelled forward by his idea of the pontificate,
his conduct was in the very spirit of Gregory, he only mistook in some cases
the proper hour for action, and in general had not observed the great changes
which had taken place since the time of his predecessor. Subsequent ages
have held him responsible for his misfortunes. But kings had learned the
secret of repelling papal assumptions, the universal dominion of the hierarchy