The Power Of The Popes

ival pontiffs, are the two leading circumstances of the ecclesiastical history of the fourteenth century; both have contributed to the decline of the pontifical empire. It is

enlightened country of Europe; it was to desert the post where they had obtained so many victories, the centre in which were united all the radii of the power they had achieved; it was to renounce the ascendancy which the very name of Rome conveyed, whose ancient glory was reflected on the modem pontificates that seemed to continue it; it was, in fine, to discontent the Italians, to deprive them of the last remains of their ancient consequence, and, by private rivalries

city could become the seat of the first pastor of the church. To fix the papacy to a geographical point would be, to cut it off from the number of institutions necessary to Christianit

tropolis of Christianity. There is no spot upon earth, where one may not be, a Christian, bishop, patriarch, or po

for the details which would occupy too much space here, we shall present in the f

Valdemar, taught by adversity, did honour to, and established the throne. Under his daughter Margaret, Sweden and Norway, formed with Denmark, but one monarchy. Poland, agitated for a long time by the Teutonic knights, respired under Casimir III. The English deposed Edward II., seconded the activity of Edward III,, and condemned and banished the proscriber Richard. In Spain, Peter the Cruel perished at the age of thirty-five, the victim of Henry Transtamare who succeeded him. In France, Philip th

on: he thus preserved a more immediate influence over the Guelphs, over Florence, over Genoa, and the other cities which belonged to this faction. The Holy See had clothed Robert with the title of vicar imperial in Italy during the vacancy of the empire; and, when the emperors Henry VII. and Louis of Bavaria restored once m

ckle as ever: we behold her obeying in succession a captain, two captains, sometimes Genoese, sometimes foreigners; a council of twelve, of twenty-four; a mayor; a doge: and, in the intervals of these ephemeral governments, receive or reject the yoke of the emperor, of the pope, of the king of France, or of the lord of Milan. This last title at this time belonged to the family of Visconti. From the thirteenth century, an archbishop of Milan, Otho Visconti, had become lord of this city, and had obtained for his nephew Matthew the title of vicar imperial of Lombardy. Matthew, at the beginning of the fourteenth c

eign of five years, began to shed some lustre on the imperial crown; Louis of Bavaria, the restless enemy of the popes; Charles IV. or of Luxe

iefs; the pope was as little regarded by the Guelphs, as the emperor by the Ghibelines; even the latter were seen in arms against the emperor, Charles IV., when he suffered himself to be drawn by the pope into the Guelphic party; and against Robert, when he had declared war against the Visconti. On their side, the Guelphs, whom the weakness of their chiefs, pontiffs, kings of France, or of Naple

y, which preserved till near 1300, the management of the Ghibeline faction; France, which protected

IV. devoted himself to the Holy See, to direct against the Visconti, the thunders of the church. Such were, in Avignon, the cares of t

to the preponderance; connected at first, with the Ghibeline party by the anathemas of Boniface, absolved subsequently by Benedict XI., he little dissembled his intention of ruling the Holy See. Benedict became uneasy in consequence, and directed enquiries to be made after the authors of the outrages w

pontiff excused himself from condemning the memory of Boniface VIII.; and, when the empire became vacant by the decease of Albert I., the king of France, who canvassed for this place for a French prince, vainly counted on the services of the holy father: whilst seconding by a public letter the claims of this candidate, Clement transmitted to the electors a secret brief, in order to exclude him256 It is certain that there needed only this accession to assure to th

hen he decreed to the same Robert the title of Vicar of the empire, he erected himse

ays, as well in v

acy which we ho

e full power that

vide for the sove

ncy of the im

house of Este, he excommunicated them; declared the doge and all the citizens infamous, deprived of every rig

mas were no long

" as a cardina

n

excommunicatio

ith contempt tho

, the Bolognese

ilanese those

piritual sword te

al one does no

s: this very Cardinal Pellagrue led an army against them

ohn. Thus the canon law of the middle age is composed of, the decretals forged by Isidore in the eighth century, the decree by Gratian in the twelfth, the decretals of Gregory IX., compiled by Raymond de Pennafort, in the thirteenth, of the "Sexte of Boniface VIII.," of the "Clementines," of the "Extravagantes" of John XXII., and of the "Extravagantes communes:" to which may be added the collections which comprize the bulls pub

f Burgundy, he conceived a hope that he could subject by degrees a government which sought compliances of him. But Philip de Valois, who perceived his ambitious designs, threatened to have him burned,261 and provoked a celebrated discussion on the bounds of the two powers. The king's advocate, Peter de Cugnieres, supported the rights of the civil power by arguments, not always of the best description, though much less wretched than those made by the prelates t

it appeals as of abuse or error sprung, that is to say, ap

imperial government should immediately revert to the Holy See, from whence it emanated263 The pope reproached Louis with protecting the Visconti, excommunicated as heretics; their heresy, we have seen, was the supporting and directing the Ghibeline party. Louis resisted, he kept no bounds in the invectives with which he loaded John. While John was deposing the emperor, t

is

says Fleury, wa

try, who, from th

ation of the benef

s of Christendom

to do away simo

reservation, the

ection of any pr

hop to a bishopri

his place; whenc

op's see, or patr

es six promotio

of large sums o

lic tre

e emperors; that the plurality of suffrages of the electoral college conferred the empire without the consent of the Holy See, and, that to assert the contrary would be a crime of high treason.265 The Germans gave to their decree, the name of "Pragmatic Sanction," and, at the same time, it was forbidden to pay any respect to the censures fulminated against the head of the empire, to receive bulls from Avignon, or keep up any correspondence wit

XXII. against Louis of Bavaria; he a

divine

vengeance of S

Louis in this w

earth swallow h

s combine agains

before the eyes o

s of his

uld be brought to acknowledge and sue to the pontifical authority. To accelerate this event, and second the plague, Clement employed money, stratagem, and force, in order to conquer the insubordination of the cities and nobles of Romagna; in particular, he menaced the Visconti, cited them before the consistory of cardinals, and summoned them to restore Bologna to the church; but, when he heard speak of twelve thousand horse, and six thousand infantry, who were to make their appearance at the court of Avignon with the lords of Milan, he took the course of negociation with this powerful house, and for one hundred thousand florins, sold it

been drawn by Matteo Villani, a contemporary historian,

up a re

tables magnificen

ts and equerrie

which he often

reat pleasure in

urchased extensi

made many of th

re too young, an

also made some

ance, who were

these promotion

ning nor virtue.

e of learning;

and unbecoming

shop, he preser

went further th

n pope, he nei

ect his conduct i

as prelates, visi

Countess of T

numerous favou

ladies who waite

take care o

ter written, they say, by the archbishop of Milan, Jo

nce of darkness

.Your mother, the

Lewdness, and

you for your goo

em to thri

puted to Clement VI., to invite him to return to Rome, and not being able to prevail on him, Rienzi returned to plant the stan

endence of the temporal power of the popes, and swore never to put his foot in Rome, nor on any spot belonging to the Holy See, without the permission of the holy father, annulling all the contrary acts of his predecessors, and obliging his successors, under penalty of deposition, to the maint

he was ambitious, was commonly su

n," Petrarch

ed with an oath

ame for an emper

power or rather

such a renuncia

deprive a sovere

rty itself! And w

niverse should

aster, and ob

too nearly the court of

inth in

casts into the fa

e bellows a rap

a lascivious V

; to chain the mon

there is no mea

s heaven, gold i

and, in this im

, immortality, th

are placed with

n the class of f

ssest cr

in the city of Rome, which kept innocent VI. at Avignon, which compelled Urban V. to return to it272 and which would have sent Gregory XI. back, when he died; finally

published in England a crusade against France. Urban died in 1389, and the cardinals of his party supplied his place by Peter Tomacelli or Boniface IX. On the other hand, Clement being deceased in 1394, the French cardinals raised to the pontificate Peter de Lune, a Spaniard, who was called Benedict XIII. Modes of reconciliation were proposed from all quarters; France especially evinced her anxiety to extinguish the schism: but neither of the pontiffs would lis-ten to relinquishing the tiara; and the spiritua

ays Cha

port

our blood, and b

urch of our kin

ople, we, altoget

pe Benedict XIII

. We desire th

enedict, his col

clesiastical reve

forbid all our su

icers in any ma

im in order to substitute a pope of their own nation, the king to do away such suspicions, declared, in his letters, that any pope

favour of being examined; how Boniface in the second and third year of his pontificate, dated as of the first the bulls for benefices; how he exacted compensation for this antedate; how he extended to prelacies the right of first fruits, that is, the reservation of the revenue of each benefice for the first year; how he kept couriers throughout Italy, to be apprised, without delay, of the sickness or death of prelates or other dignitaries, and in order to sell twice, or thrice, th

le wishes; and more than twenty years before their renunciation of Benedict XIII. as of Boniface IX. they had, under Charles V. enquired into the limits of ecclesiastical authority. A monument of this discussion has been preserved to us under the title of "The Verger's dream, or Disputation between the clerk and the squire:"276 a work the author of which is not well known; but which we would attribute to John de Lignano, or to Charles de Louvieres, rather than to any other. The clerk in it claims for the successor of St. Peter, the title of Vicar-Genera