The Cellars of Notre Dame
Page 28
Ausculta fili
(December 5, 1301). A bull of Pope Boniface VIII addressed to the king of France Philip IV, known as “The Fair”, and containing a warning not to deviate from the norm of sanctity and obedience to the Supreme Pontiff which had always been observed by his predecessors. It is traditionally cited by historians as the first act of the conflict which would lead two years later to the famous “Slap of Anagni”, a struggle for power between the theocratic conception of Boniface VIII’s own papacy and the claims of the king of France, a staunch supporter of autonomy of the secular State with respect to the interference of the Church. At the origin of the dispute there was the arrest by Philip IV of Bernard Saisset who, as bishop of Pamiers, it was not possible for a sovereign to legally prosecute by virtue of the ancient freedoms enjoyed by the clergy. The document was cleverly exploited by the functionaries of France Pietro Flotte, who concealed it and replaced it with a fake bull entitled , in which the pope used inadmissible tones towards Philip IV.
Boniface VIII
(Benedetto Caetani. Anagni, 1230 – Rome, 11th of October, 1303). 193rd pontiff of the Church of Rome, according to the order of known succession. Skilled connoisseur of canon law, he was a proud supporter of the theocratic doctrines professed a century before him by Innocent III, who sanctioned the supremacy of the pope , or rather the superiority of the pope not only spiritually but also politically over all the rulers of the earth, and , because of the sins they commit and which only the heir of Peter is able to absolve. Despite this, however, Boniface VIII did not lead a rigorous and ascetic lifestyle like Innocent III, and his passion for worldliness, as well as some political errors committed during the pontificate, caused him the enmity of prominent personalities such as Jacopone da Todi and Dante Alighieri, who bequeathed a gloomy image of him to posterity. Much of the creation of the “black legend” around the figure of the pontiff is due to the trial brought against him by the king of France, Philip the Fair, who engaged in a bitter diplomatic war to have Boniface VIII, even after the his death, openly declared a false pope, a heretic and devoted to witchcraft, as well as guilty of having deceived Celestino V in order to persuade him to abdicate, and having manipulated the conclave to obtain the papal tiara. A careful examination of the historical sources shows that the principal fault of this pontiff consists in having given to his own family, the Caetani, the possibility to damage the other noble families of Rome and Lazio. Certain of remaining unpunished because they were protected by the authority of the Pontiff, the relatives committed a number of abuses, which over the years caused increasingly widespread and aggressive hatred against Boniface VIII.
The Colonna Family
A noble house belonging to the most ancient and powerful aristocracy of Rome, deriving from the Counts of Tusculum who dominated Rome and a good part of Lazio in the high Middle Ages. Their primacy began to falter with the rise of Benedetto Caetani in the Roman Curia; when he became pope (December 1295), the Caetani, taking advantage of the immunity guaranteed by their powerful relative, began a strategy of territorial and real estate acquisitions conducted with threats and intimidation against other noble families of the territory, and of the Colonnas in particular. The consequent hatred between the two families resulted in a clamourous event: in 1297, at the head of a host of brigands, Stefano Colonna attacked the convoy carrying the treasure of Boniface VIII and plundered it. In reaction, the Pope summoned the two family members who belonged to the Sacred College, Cardinals Giacomo (around 1250 – 1318, Archpriest of the Lateran Basilica) and Pietro (1260 – 1326, cardinal deacon of Sant’Eustachio) to answer in the name of their relative. The two cardinals, however, had fled to their castle in Lunghezza, initiating the political feud with Boniface VIII. The pontiff excommunicated the cardinals and sentenced many members of the family to exile, including Agapito Colonna, who had married Mabilia Savelli in 1280.
Crescenzio da Paliano
In the documents of the trial filed by the lawyers of the French king Philip IV against the memory of Boniface VIII, which lasted until 1311, a – identified with the castle of Paliano, located in the Roman countryside, which Boniface VIII had as a gift from Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the Templars, and which the pontiff later assigned to his relatives – played a prominent role; this Crescenzio, with every likelihood related to the pontiff, worked alongside Cardinal Francesco Caetani in the college of the defence of Boniface VIII, to gather evidence that lawyers in the service of the king of France had amassed a quantity of false or unreliable testimonies. Among the harshest accusations, which do not seem to be upheld by any kind of evidence, was the one which claimed Boniface VIII was guilty of having committed incest with two of his young nieces, whose names are not recorded.
The Manifesto of Lunghezza
A famous proclamation that opened direct hostilities between the Colonna family and Boniface VIII. Having retired to this family castle after refusing to appear before the Pope to answer for the theft of the Apostolic Treasure by their relative Stefano Colonna, on May 9, 1297 the two cardinals Pietro and Giacomo wrote a dossier in which they divulged the direct responsibilities of Benedetto Caetani, then cardinal, in the abdication of Celestine V. Taking advantage of the complicity of many Roman nobles who took the Colonnas’ side because they had been harmed by the Caetani, the document of denunciation was left for the pontiff to find on the high altar of the basilica of San Pietro, and spread throughout Rome. In it, Boniface was called a false pope and usurper of the throne of Peter; he was openly accused of having deceived the naive Celestine V and having persuaded him to resign, and of having then manipulated the conclave to obtain the papal tiara.
Philip IV, called Philip the Fair
(Castle of Fontainebleau, 1268 – Castle of Fontainebleau, November 29, 1314). Heir and head of the oldest Royal House of the Christian West, son of Philip III and grandson of Louis IX the Saint, whom Boniface VIII canonized in 1296. Like his predecessors of the Capetian dynasty, he was consecrated in the cathedral of Reims (6 January 1286 ) with a miraculous ointment that a dove had brought down from heaven centuries before. To these sovereigns, anointed by the Lord like the ancient kings of the Bible, it was believed God had granted the power to heal the sick with the touch of their hands, as long as they kept themselves clean of all sorts of sin. Famous for his uncommon physical attractiveness, so much so that the chronicler Giovanni Villani says he was, together with his sons, among the most beautiful men on earth, Philip IV was also known for the cold and inflexible character that earned him the nickname “the King of Iron.” On August the 16th, 1284 he married his cousin Joan of Navarre, and by her had four sons (Louis the Quarrelsome, Philip the Tall, Charles the Fair and Robert) and three daughters (Isabella, Blanche and Margaret).
An object of fierce satire but also much loved by his people, and the protagonist of epochal events such as the war against Boniface VIII and the attack on the Templars, this sovereign was so jealous of his private life and so careful never to let others know his thoughts that historians have defined his personality as “an enigma”.
Joan I of Navarre
(Bar-sur-Seine 1271 – castle of Vincennes, Paris, 2 April 1305). Queen consort of France from 1284, she was also heiress of the county of Champagne and Brie, one of the richest feuds among those gravitating in the political orbit of the French crown due to the vast tax revenue generated by its fairs, which were famed throughout Europe. When she was only two years old, the death of her father Henry I of Navarre made her condition precarious, so her mother Blanche, niece of the king of France Louis IX, took refuge in Paris under the protection of his cousin Philip III, king of France. Joan therefore grew up in the French court together with the children of the royal family. Her bond with her husband Philip IV, whom she had known since her earliest childhood, was so strong that she used to follow him even on his military campaigns, although the chronicles also provide evidence of clashes between the royal couple for political reasons. After t Joan’s death, for which some spoke
of poisoning, Philip the Fair’s character grew much worse, and the king fell prey to a severe depression from which he probably never recovered.
Thanks
Collecting the materials gathered together in this book required painstaking work that lasted about twenty years; yet it feels fairly easy compared to the effort required to turn thousands of pages of notes into a narrative text: what makes an essay work can prove catastrophic in a novel.
Looking at the complexity of the past, I tried to show its most important events as well as I could; where necessary – using the filter of fantasy and what we know about the Middle Ages – I also integrated what once existed but is now irretrievably lost to us. In some cases, I also gave the characters little glimpses of an alternative life, almost a second chance that they seemed to me to deserve. I hope I have given at least an idea of what happened in the dawn of modern Europe; and if by chance I have succeeded, the merit is also of several people who have helped made it possible.
My sincerest gratitude therefore goes to Franco Cardini, a master of history and humanity; Andrea Frediani, from whom I received powerful encouragement; Alessandra Penna, for her very accurate editing and her great patience with me; Silvia Donzelli, my agent, for her beneficial injections of optimism; and a special thanks to Raffaello Avanzini, for believing that this book had potential.
About the Author
BARBARA FRALE is a medieval historian of the Vatican's Secret Archive. An expert in ancient scripture and documents, she has published several non-fiction books on the Templars, the Shroud of Turin and Celestine V's controversial resignation as pope.
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