much by his own valor as by that of Charles Martel, his father, and
Pepin his grandfather; for Charles Martel, being governor of the
kingdom, effected the memorable defeat of the Saracens near Tours,
upon the Loire, in which two hundred thousand of them are said to have
been left dead upon the field of battle. Hence, Pepin, by his father's
reputation and his own abilities, became afterward king of France. To
him Pope Gregory, as we have said, applied for assistance against the
Lombards, which Pepin promised to grant, but desired first to see him
and be honored with his presence. Gregory accordingly went to France,
passing uninjured through the country of his enemies, so great was the
respect they had for religion, and was treated honorably by Pepin, who
sent an army into Italy, and besieged the Lombards in Pavia. King
Astolphus, compelled by necessity, made proposals of peace to the
French, who agreed to them at the entreaty of the pope--for he did not
desire the death of his enemy, but that he should be converted and
live. In this treaty, Astolphus promised to give to the church all the
places he had taken from her; but the king's forces having returned to
France, he did not fulfill the agreement, and the pope again had
recourse to Pepin, who sent another army, conquered the Lombards, took
Ravenna, and, contrary to the wishes of the Greek emperor, gave it to
the pope, with all the places that belonged to the exarchate, and
added to them Urbino and the Marca. But Astolphus, while fulfilling
the terms of his agreement, died, and Desiderius, a Lombard, who was
duke of Tuscany, took up arms to occupy the kingdom, and demanded
assistance of the pope, promising him his friendship. The pope
acceding to his request, the other princes assented. Desiderius kept
faith at first, and proceeded to resign the districts to the pope,
according to the agreement made with Pepin, so that an exarch was no
longer sent from Constantinople to Ravenna, but it was governed
according to the will of the pope. Pepin soon after died, and was
succeeded by his son Charles, the same who, on account of the
magnitude and success of his enterprises, was called Charlemagne, or
Charles the Great. Theodore I. now succeeded to the papacy, and
discord arising between him and Desiderius, the latter besieged him in
Rome. The pope requested assistance of Charles, who, having crossed
the Alps, besieged Desiderius in Pavai, where he took both him and his
children, and sent them prisoners to France. He then went to visit the
pontiff at Rome, where he declared, THAT THE POPE, BEING VICAR OF GOD,
COULD NOT BE JUDGED BY MEN. The pope and the people of Rome made him
emperor; and thus Rome began to have an emperor of the west. And
whereas the popes used to be established by the emperors, the latter
now began to have need of the popes at their elections; the empire
continued to lose its powers, while the church acquired them; and, by
these means, she constantly extended her authority over temporal
princes.
The Lombards, having now been two hundred and thirty-two years in the
country, were strangers only in name, and Charles, wishing to
reorganize the states of Italy, consented that they should occupy the
places in which they had been brought up, and call the province after
their own name, Lombardy. That they might be led to respect the Roman
name, he ordered all that part of Italy adjoining to them, which had
been under the exarchate of Ravenna, to be called Romagna. Besides
this, he created his son Pepin, king of Italy, whose dominion extended
to Benevento; all the rest being possessed by the Greek emperor, with
whom Charles was in league. About this time Pascal I. occupied the
pontificate, and the priests of the churches of Rome, from being near
to the pope, and attending the elections of the pontiff, began to
dignify their own power with a title, by calling themselves cardinals,
and arrogated so great authority, that having excluded the people of
Rome from the election of pontiff, the appointment of a new pope was
scarcely ever made except from one of their own number: thus on the
death of Pascal, the cardinal of St. Sabina was created pope by the
title of Eugenius II. Italy having come into the hands of the French,
a change of form and order took place, the popes acquiring greater
temporal power, and the new authorities adopting the titles of count
and marquis, as that of duke had been introduced by Longinus, exarch
of Ravenna. After the deaths of some pontiffs, Osporco, a Roman,
succeeded to the papacy; but on account of his unseemly appellation,
he took the name of Sergius, and this was the origin of that change of
names which the popes adopt upon their election to the pontificate.
In the meantime, the Emperor Charles died and was succeeded by Lewis
(the Pious, after whose death so many disputes arose among his sons,
that at the time of his grandchildren, the house of France lost the
empire, which then came to the Germans; the first German emperor being
called Arnolfus. Nor did the Carlovingian family lose the empire only;
their discords also occasioned them the loss of Italy; for the
Lombards, gathering strength, offended the pope and the Romans, and
Arnolfo, not knowing where to seek relief, was compelled to create
Berengarius, duke of Fruili, king of Italy. These events induced the
Huns, who occupied Pannonia, to assail Italy; but, in an engagement
with Berengarius, they were compelled to return to Pannonia, which had
from them been named Hungary.
Romano was at this time emperor of Greece, having, while prefect of
the army, dethroned Constantine; and as Puglia and Calabria, which, as
before observed, were parts of the Greek empire, had revolted, he gave
permission to the Saracans to occupy them; and they having taken
possession of these provinces, besieged Rome. The Romans, Berengarius
being then engaged in defending himself against the Huns, appointed
Alberic, duke of Tuscany, their leader. By his valor Rome was saved
from the Saracens, who, withdrawing from the siege, erected a fortress
upon Mount Gargano, by means of which they governed Puglia and
Calabria, and harassed the whole country. Thus Italy was in those
times very grievously afflicted, being in constant warfare with the
Huns in the direction of the Alps, and, on the Neapolitan side,
suffering from the inroads of the Saracens. This state of things
continued many years, occupying the reigns of three Berengarii, who
succeeded each other; and during this time the pope and the church
were greatly disturbed; the impotence of the eastern, and the disunion
which prevailed among the western princes, leaving them without
defense. The city of Genoa, with all her territory upon the rivers,
having been overrun by the Saracens, an impulse was thus given to the
rising greatness of Pisa, in which city multitudes took refuge who had
been driven out of their own country. These events occurred in the
year 931, when Otho, duke of Saxony, the son of Henry and Matilda, a
man of great prudence
and reputation, being made emperor, the pope
Agapito, begged that he would come into Italy and relieve him from the
tyranny of the Berengarii.
The States of Italy were governed in this manner: Lombardy was under
Berengarius III. and Alfred his son; Tuscany and Romagna were governed
by a deputy of the western emperor; Puglia and Calabria were partly
under the Greek emperor, and partly under the Saracens; in Rome two
consuls were annually chosen from the nobility, who governed her
according to ancient custom; to these was added a prefect, who
dispensed justice among the people; and there was a council of twelve,
who each year appointed rectors for the places subject to them. The
popes had more or less authority in Rome and the rest of Italy, in
proportion as they were favorites of the emperor or of the most
powerful states. The Emperor Otho came into Italy, took the kingdom
from the Berengarii, in which they had reigned fifty-five years, and
reinstated the pontiff in his dignity. He had a son and a nephew, each
named Otho, who, one after the other, succeeded to the empire. In the
reign of Otho III., Pope Gregory V. was expelled by the Romans;
whereupon the emperor came into Italy and replaced him; and the pope,
to revenge himself on the Romans, took from them the right to create
an emperor, and gave it to three princes and three bishops of Germany;
the princes of Brandenburg, Palatine, and Saxony, and the bishops of
Magonza, Treveri, and Colonia. This occurred in the year 1002. After
the death of Otho III. the electors created Henry, duke of Bavaria,
emperor, who at the end of twelve years was crowned by Pope Stephen
VIII. Henry and his wife Simeonda were persons of very holy life, as
is seen by the many temples built and endowed by them, of which the
church of St. Miniato, near Florence, is one. Henry died in 1024, and
was succeeded by Conrad of Suabia; and the latter by Henry II., who
came to Rome; and as there was a schism in the church of three popes,
he set them all aside, and caused the election of Clement II., by whom
he was crowned emperor.
CHAPTER IV
Nicholas II. commits the election of the pope to the cardinals--
First example of a prince deprived of his dominions by the pope--
Guelphs and Ghibellines--Establishment of the kingdom of Naples--
Pope Urban II. goes to France--The first crusade--New orders of
knighthood--Saladin takes from the Christians their possessions in
the east--Death of the Countess Matilda--Character of Frederick
Barbarossa--Schism--Frederick creates an anti-pope--Building of
Alexandria in Puglia--Disgraceful conditions imposed by the pope
upon Henry, king of England--Reconciliation of Frederick with the
pope--The kingdom of Naples passes to the Germans--Orders of St.
Dominic and St. Francis.
Italy was at this time governed partly by the people, some districts
by their own princes, and others by the deputies of the emperor. The
highest in authority, and to whom the others referred, was called the
chancellor. Of the princes, the most powerful were Godfred and the
Countess Matilda his wife, who was daughter of Beatrice, the sister of
Henry II. She and her husband possessed Lucca, Parma, Reggio, Mantua,
and the whole of what is now called THE PATRIMONY OF THE CHURCH. The
ambition of the Roman people caused many wars between them and the
pontiffs, whose authority had previously been used to free them from
the emperors; but when they had taken the government of the city to
themselves, and regulated it according to their own pleasure, they at
once became at enmity with the popes, who received far more injuries
from them than from any Christian potentate. And while the popes
caused all the west to tremble with their censures, the people of Rome
were in open rebellion against them; nor had they or the popes any
other purpose, but to deprive each other of reputation and authority.
Nicholas II. now attained the papacy; and as Gregory V. had taken from
the Romans the right to create an emperor, he in the same manner
determined to deprive them of their share in the election of the pope;
and confined the creation to the cardinals alone. Nor did this satisfy
him; for, having agreed with the princes who governed Calabria and
Puglia, with methods which we shall presently relate, he compelled the
officers whom the Romans appointed to their different jurisdictions,
to render obedience to him; and some of them he even deprived of their
offices. After the death of Nicholas, there was a schism in the
church; the clergy of Lombardy refused obedience to Alexander II.,
created at Rome, and elected Cadolo of Parma anti-pope; and Henry, who
hated the power of the pontiffs, gave Alexander to understand that he
must renounce the pontificate, and ordered the cardinals to go into
Germany to appoint a new pope. He was the first who felt the
importance of spiritual weapons; for the pope called a council at
Rome, and deprived Henry of both the empire and the kingdom. Some of
the people of Italy took the part of the pope, others of Henry; and
hence arose the factions of the Guelphs and the Ghibellines; that
Italy, relieved from the inundations of barbarians, might be
distracted with intestine strife. Henry, being excommunicated, was
compelled by his people to come into Italy, and fall barefooted upon
his knees before the pope, and ask his pardon. This occurred in the
year 1082. Nevertheless, there shortly afterward arose new discords
between the pope and Henry; upon which the pope again excommunicated
him, and the emperor sent his son, also named Henry, with an army to
Rome, and he, with the assistance of the Romans, who hated the pope,
besieged him in the fortress. Robert Guiscard them came from Puglia to
his relief, but Henry had left before his arrival, and returned to
Germany. The Romans stood out alone, and the city was sacked by
Robert, and reduced to ruins. As from this Robert sprung the
establishment of the kingdom of Naples, it seems not superfluous to
relate particularly his actions and origin.
Disunion having arisen among the descendants of Charlemagne, occasion
was given to another northern people, called Normans, to assail France
and occupy that portion of the country which is now named Normandy. A
part of these people came into Italy at the time when the province was
infested with the Berengarii, the Saracans, and the Huns, and occupied
some places in Romagna, where, during the wars of that period, they
conducted themselves valiantly. Tancred, one of these Norman princes,
had many children; among the rest were William, surnamed Ferabac, and
Robert, called Guiscard. When the principality was governed by
William, the troubles of Italy were in some measure abated; but the
Saracens still held Sicily, and plundered the coasts of Italy daily.
On this account William arranged with the princes of Capua and
Salerno, and with Melorco, a Greek, who governed Puglia and Calabria
for the Greek emperor, to attack Sicily; and it was agreed that, if
/> they were victorious, each should have a fourth part of the booty and
the territory. They were fortunate in their enterprise, expelled the
Saracens, and took possession of the island; but, after the victory,
Melorco secretly caused forces to be brought from Greece, seized
Sicily in the name of the emperor, and appropriated the booty to
himself and his followers. William was much dissatisfied with this,
but reserved the exhibition of his displeasure for a suitable
opportunity, and left Sicily with the princes of Salerno and Capua.
But when they had parted from him to return to their homes, instead of
proceeding to Romagna he led his people towards Puglia, and took
Melfi; and from thence, in a short time, recovered from the Greek
emperor almost the whole of Puglia and Calabria, over which provinces,
in the time of pope Nicholas II. his brother Robert Guiscard was
sovereign. Robert having had many disputes with his nephews for the
inheritance of these states, requested the influence of the pope to
settle them; which his holiness was very willing to afford, being
anxious to make a friend of Robert, to defend himself against the
emperor of Germany and the insolence of the Roman people, which indeed
shortly followed, when, at the instance of Gregory, he drove Henry
from Rome, and subdued the people. Robert was succeeded by his sons
Roger and William, to whose dominion not only was Naples added, but
all the places interjacent as far as Rome, and afterward Sicily, of
which Roger became sovereign; but, upon William going to
Constantinople, to marry the daughter of the emperor, his dominions
were wrested from him by his brother Roger. Inflated with so great an
acquisition, Roger first took the title of king of Italy, but
afterward contented himself with that of king of Puglia and Sicily. He
was the first who established and gave that name to this kingdom,
which still retains its ancient boundaries, although its sovereigns
have been of many families and countries. Upon the failure of the
Normans, it came to the Germans, after these to the French, then to
the Aragonese, and it is now held by the Flemish.
About this time Urban II. became pope and excited the hatred of the
Romans. As he did not think himself safe even in Italy, on account of
the disunion which prevailed, he directed his thoughts to a generous
enterprise. With his whole clergy he went into France, and at Anvers,
having drawn together a vast multitude of people, delivered an oration
against the infidels, which so excited the minds of his audience, that
they determined to undertake the conquest of Asia from the Saracens;
which enterprise, with all those of a similar nature, were afterward
called crusades, because the people who joined in them bore upon their
armor and apparel the figure of a cross. The leaders were Godfrey,
Eustace, and Baldwin of Bouillon, counts of Boulogne, and Peter, a
hermit celebrated for his prudence and sagacity. Many kings and people
joined them, and contributed money; and many private persons fought
under them at their own expense; so great was the influence of
religion in those days upon the minds of men, excited by the example
of those who were its principal ministers. The proudest successes
attended the beginning of this enterprise; for the whole of Asia
Minor, Syria, and part of Egypt, fell under the power of the
Christians. To commemorate these events the order of the Knights of
Jerusalem was created, which still continues, and holds the island of
Rhodes--the only obstacle to the power of the Mohammedans. The same
events gave rise to the order of the Knights Templars, which, after a
short time, on account of their shameless practices, was dissolved.
Various fortunes attended the crusaders in the course of their
enterprises, and many nations and individuals became celebrated
accordingly. The kings of France and England joined them, and, with
the Venetians, Pisans, and Genoese, acquired great reputation, till
History of Florence and of the Affairs of Italy Page 4
