A Source Book of Mediaeval History Part 46

And let the brothers not say, "This is a new Rule"; for this is only a reminder, a warning, an exhortation. It is my last will and testament, that I, little Brother Francis, make for you, my blessed brothers, in order that we may observe in a more Catholic way the Rule which we promised the Lord to keep.

[Sidenote: No additions to be made to the Rule or the Will]

Let the ministers-general, all the other ministers, and the custodians be held by obedience to add nothing to and take nothing away from these words. Let them always keep this writing near them beside the Rule; and in all the a.s.semblies which shall be held, when the Rule is read, let these words be read also.

I absolutely forbid all the brothers, clerics and laymen, to introduce comments in the Rule, or in this Will, under pretext of explaining it. But since the Lord has given me to speak and to write the Rule and these words in a clear and simple manner, so do you understand them in the same way without commentary, and put them in practice until the end.

And whoever shall have observed these things, may he be crowned in heaven with the blessings of the heavenly Father, and on earth with those of his well-beloved Son and of the Holy Spirit, the Consoler, with the a.s.sistance of all the heavenly virtues and all the saints.

And I, little Brother Francis, your servant, confirm to you, so far as I am able, this most holy benediction. Amen.

FOOTNOTES:

[517] The father's name was Pietro Bernardone. As a cloth-merchant he was probably accustomed to make frequent journeys to northern France, particularly Champagne, which was the princ.i.p.al seat of commercial exchange between northern and southern Europe.

[518] Aspiring to become a knight and to win distinction on the field of battle, Francis had gone to Spoleto with the intention of joining an expedition about to set out for Apulia. While there he was stricken with fever and compelled to abandon his purpose. Returning to a.s.sisi, he redoubled his works of charity and sought to keep aloof from the people of the town. His old companions, however, flocked around him, expecting still to profit by his prodigality, and for a time, being himself uncertain as to the course he would take, he acceded to their desires.

[519] See p. 376.

[520] Brief portions of this testament, or will, are given on p. 376.

[521] This was in the latter part of 1210 and the early part of 1211.

Rivo-Torto was an abandoned cottage in the plain of a.s.sisi, an hour's walk from the town and near the highway between Perugia and Rome. The building had once served as a leper hospital. Francis and his companions selected it as a temporary place of abode, probably because of its proximity to the _carceri_, or natural grottoes, of Mount Subasio to which the friars resorted for solitude, and because it was at the same time sufficiently near the Umbrian towns to permit of frequent trips thither for preaching and charity.

[522] Practically, St. Francis's successor in the headship of the order. With the idea of realizing entire humility in his own life, St.

Francis had resigned his position of authority into the hands of Brother Peter and had pledged the implicit obedience of himself and the others to the new prelate.

[523] That is, the sovereign of the Holy Roman Empire.

[524] The pa.s.sage (Luke ix. 1-6) is as follows: "Jesus, having called to Him the Twelve, gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases. And He sent them to preach the Kingdom of G.o.d and to heal the sick. And He said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece. And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart. And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them. And they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere."

[525] Honorius III., 1216-1227.

[526] That is, abandoned the worldly manner of living.

[527] Despite the willingness of St. Francis here expressed to get on peaceably with the secular clergy, i.e., the bishops and priests, the history of the mendicant orders is filled with the records of strife between the seculars and friars. This was inevitable, since such friars as had taken priestly orders were accustomed to hear confessions, preside at ma.s.ses, preach in parish churchyards, bury the dead, and collect alms--all the proper functions of the parish priests but permitted to the friars by special papal dispensations. The priests very naturally regarded the friars as usurpers.

[528] That is, in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper.

[529] The Rule of 1210, approved by Innocent III., is here meant [see p. 374].

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE PAPACY AND THE TEMPORAL POWERS IN THE LATER MIDDLE AGES

66. The Interdict Laid on France by Innocent III. (1200)

Two of the most effective weapons at the service of the mediaeval Church were excommunication and the interdict. By the ban of excommunication the proper ecclesiastical authorities could exclude a heretic or otherwise objectionable person from all religious privileges, thereby cutting him off from a.s.sociation with the faithful and consigning him irrevocably (unless he repented) to Satan. The interdict differed from excommunication in being less sweeping in its condemnatory character, and also in being applied to towns, provinces, or countries rather than to individuals. As a rule the interdict undertook to deprive the inhabitants of a specified region of the use of certain of the sacraments, of partic.i.p.ation in the usual religious services, and of the right of Christian burial. It did not expel men from church membership, as did excommunication, but it suspended most of the privileges and rights flowing from such membership. The interdict was first employed by the clergy of north France in the tenth and eleventh centuries. In the twelfth it was adopted by the papacy on account of its obvious value as a means of disciplining the monarchs of western Europe. Because of its effectiveness in stirring up popular indignation against sovereigns who incurred the papal displeasure, by the time of Innocent III. (1198-1216) it had come to be employed for political as well as for purely religious purposes, though generally the two considerations were closely intertwined. A famous and typical instance of its use was that of the year 1200, described below.

In August, 1193, Philip Augustus, king of France, married Ingeborg, second sister of King Knut VI. of Denmark. At the time Philip was contemplating an invasion of England and hoped through the marriage to a.s.sure himself of Danish aid. Circ.u.mstances soon changed his plans, however, and almost immediately he began to treat his new wife coldly, with the obvious purpose of forcing her to return to her brother's court. Failing in this, he convened his n.o.bles and bishops at Compiegne and got from them a decree of divorce, on the flimsy pretext that the marriage with Ingeborg had been illegal on account of the latter's distant relationship to Elizabeth of Hainault, Philip's first wife. Ingeborg and her brother appealed to Rome, and Pope Celestine III. dispatched letter after letter and legate after legate to the French court, but without result. Indeed, after three years, Philip, to clinch the matter, as he thought, married Agnes of Meran, daughter of a Bavarian n.o.bleman, and shut up Ingeborg in a convent at Soissons.

In 1198, while the affair stood thus, Celestine died and was succeeded by Innocent III., under whom the papal power was destined to attain a height hitherto unknown. Innocent flatly refused to sanction the divorce or to recognize the second marriage, although he was not pope, of course, until some years after both had occurred. On the ground that the whole subject of marriage lay properly within the jurisdiction of the Church, Innocent demanded that Philip cast off the beautiful Agnes and restore Ingeborg to her rightful place. This Philip promptly refused to do.

The threat of an interdict failing to move him, the Pope proceeded to put his threat into execution. In January, 1200, the interdict was p.r.o.nounced and, though the king's power over the French clergy was so strong that many refused to heed the voice from Rome, gradually the discontent and indignation of the people grew until after nine months it became apparent that the king must yield. He did so as gracefully as he could, promising to take back Ingeborg and submit the question of a divorce to a council presided over by the papal legate. This council, convened in 1201 at Soissons, decided against the king and in favor of Ingeborg; but Philip had no intention to submit in good faith and, until the death of Agnes in 1204, he maintained his policy of procrastination and double-dealing. Even in the later years of the reign the unfortunate Ingeborg had frequent cause to complain of harshness and neglect at the hand of her royal husband.

The following are the princ.i.p.al portions of Innocent's interdict.

Source--Martene, Edmond, and Durand, Ursin, _Thesaurus novus Anecdotorum_ ["New Collection of Unpublished Doc.u.ments"], Paris, 1717, Vol. IV., p. 147. Adapted from translation by Arthur C. Howland in _Univ. of Pa. Translations and Reprints_, Vol. IV., No. 4, pp. 29-30.

[Sidenote: Partial suspension of the services and offices of the Church]

Let all the churches be closed; let no one be admitted to them, except to baptize infants; let them not be otherwise opened, except for the purpose of lighting the lamps, or when the priest shall come for the Eucharist and holy water for the use of the sick. We permit Ma.s.s to be celebrated once a week, on Friday, early in the morning, to consecrate the Host[530] for the use of the sick, but only one clerk is to be admitted to a.s.sist the priest. Let the clergy preach on Sunday in the vestibules of the churches, and in place of the Ma.s.s let them deliver the word of G.o.d. Let them recite the canonical hours[531] outside the churches, where the people do not hear them; if they recite an epistle or a gospel, let them beware lest the laity hear them; and let them not permit the dead to be interred, nor their bodies to be placed unburied in the cemeteries. Let them, moreover, say to the laity that they sin and transgress grievously by burying bodies in the earth, even in unconsecrated ground, for in so doing they a.s.sume to themselves an office pertaining to others.

[Sidenote: How Easter should be observed]

[Sidenote: Arrangements for confession]

Let them forbid their parishioners to enter churches that may be open in the king's territory, and let them not bless the wallets of pilgrims, except outside the churches. Let them not celebrate the offices in Pa.s.sion week, but refrain even until Easter day, and then let them celebrate in private, no one being admitted except the a.s.sisting priest, as above directed; let no one communicate, even at Easter, unless he be sick and in danger of death. During the same week, or on Palm Sunday, let them announce to their parishioners that they may a.s.semble on Easter morning before the church and there have permission to eat flesh and consecrated bread.... Let the priest confess all who desire it in the portico of the church; if the church have no portico, we direct that in bad or rainy weather, and not otherwise, the nearest door of the church may be opened and confessions heard on its threshold (all being excluded except the one who is to confess), so that the priest and the penitent can be heard by those who are outside the church. If, however, the weather be fair, let the confession be heard in front of the closed doors. Let no vessels of holy water be placed outside the church, nor shall the priests carry them anywhere; for all the sacraments of the Church beyond these two which are reserved[532]

are absolutely prohibited. Extreme unction, which is a holy sacrament, may not be given.[533]

67. The Bull "Unam Sanctam" of Boniface VIII. (1302)

In the history of the mediaeval Church at least three great periods of conflict between the papacy and the temporal powers can be distinguished. The first was the era of Gregory VII. and Henry IV. of Germany [see p. 261]; the second was that of Innocent III. and John of England and Philip Augustus of France [see p. 380]; the third was that of Boniface VIII. and Philip the Fair of France. In many respects the most significant doc.u.ment pertaining to the last of these struggles is the papal bull, given below, commonly designated by its opening words, _Unam Sanctam_.

The question at issue in the conflict of Boniface VIII. and Philip the Fair was the old one as to whether the papacy should be allowed to dominate European states in temporal as well as in spiritual matters.

The Franconian emperors, in the eleventh century, made stubborn resistance to such domination, but the immediate result was only partial success, while later efforts to keep up the contest practically ruined the power of the house of Hohenstaufen. Even Philip Augustus, at the opening of the thirteenth century, had been compelled to yield, at least outwardly, to the demands of the papacy respecting his marriages and his national policies. With the revival of the issue under Boniface and Philip, however, the tide turned, for at last there had arisen a nation whose sovereign had so firm a grip upon the loyalty of his subjects that he could defy even the power of Rome with impunity.

The quarrel between Boniface and Philip first a.s.sumed importance in 1296--two years after the accession of the former and eleven after that of the latter. The immediate subject of dispute was the heavy taxes which Philip was levying upon the clergy of France and the revenues from which he was using in the prosecution of his wars with Edward I. of England; but royal and papal interests were fundamentally at variance and as both king and pope were of a combative temper, a conflict was inevitable, irrespective of taxes or any other particular cause of controversy. In 1096 Boniface issued the famous bull _Clericis Laicos_, forbidding laymen (including monarchs) to levy subsidies on the clergy without papal consent and prohibiting the clergy to pay subsidies so levied. Philip the Fair was not mentioned in the bull, but the measure was clearly directed primarily at him. He retaliated by prohibiting the export of money, plate, etc., from the realm, thereby cutting off the accustomed papal revenues from France.

In 1297 an apparent reconciliation was effected, the Pope practically suspending the bull so far as France was concerned, though only to secure relief from the conflict with Philip while engaged in a struggle with the rival Colonna family at Rome.

In 1301 the contest was renewed, mainly because of the indiscretion of a papal legate, Bernard Saisset, bishop of Pamiers, who vilified the king and was promptly imprisoned for his violent language. Boniface took up the cause of Saisset and called an ecclesiastical council to regulate the affairs of church and state in France and to rectify the injuries wrought by King Philip. The claim to papal supremacy in temporal as well as spiritual affairs, which Boniface proposed thus to make good, was boldly stated in a new bull--that of _Ausculta Fili_--in 1301. At the same time the bull _Clericis Laicos_ was renewed for France. Philip knew that the Franconians and his own Capetian predecessors had failed in their struggles with Rome chiefly for the reason that they had been lacking in consistent popular support. National feeling was unquestionably stronger in the France of 1301 than in the Germany of 1077, or even in the France of 1200; but to make doubly sure, Philip, in 1302, caused the first meeting of a complete States General to be held, and from this body, representing the various elements of the French people, he got reliable pledges of support in his efforts to resist the temporal aggressions of the papacy. It was at this juncture that Boniface issued the bull _Unam Sanctam_, which has well been termed the cla.s.sic mediaeval expression of the papal claims to universal temporal sovereignty.

In 1303 an a.s.sembly of French prelates and magnates, under the inspiration of Philip, brought charges of heresy and misconduct against Boniface and called for a meeting of a general ecclesiastical council to depose him. Boniface decided to issue a bull excommunicating and deposing Philip. But before the date set for this step (September, 1303) a catastrophe befell the papacy which resulted in an unexpected termination of the episode. On the day before the bull of deposition was to be issued William of Nogaret, whom Philip had sent to Rome to force Boniface to call a general council to try the charges against himself, led a band of troops to Anagni and took the Pope prisoner with the intention of carrying him to France for trial. After three days the inhabitants of Anagni attacked the Frenchmen and drove them out and Boniface, who had barely escaped death, returned to Rome. The unfortunate Pope never recovered, however, from the effects of the outrage and his death in October (1303) left Philip, by however unworthy means, a victor. From this point the papacy pa.s.ses under the domination of the French court and in 1309 began the dark period of the so-called Babylonian Captivity, during most of which the popes dwelt at Avignon under conditions precisely the reverse of the ideal which Boniface so clearly a.s.serted in _Unam Sanctam_.

Source--Text based upon the papal register published by P.

Mury in _Revue des Questions Historiques_, Vol. XLVI. (July, 1889), pp. 255-256. Translated in Oliver J. Thatcher and Edgar H. McNeal, _Source Book for Mediaeval History_ (New York), 1905, pp. 314-317.

[Sidenote: An a.s.sertion of the unity of the Church]

The true faith compels us to believe that there is one holy Catholic Apostolic Church, and this we firmly believe and plainly confess. And outside of her there is no salvation or remission of sins, as the Bridegroom says in the Song of Solomon: "My dove, my undefiled, is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her" [Song of Sol., vi. 9]; which represents the one mystical body, whose head is Christ, but the head of Christ is G.o.d [1 Cor., xi. 3]. In this Church there is "one Lord, one faith, one baptism" [Eph., iv. 5]. For in the time of the flood there was only one ark, that of Noah, prefiguring the one Church, and it was "finished above in one cubit" [Gen., vi. 16], and had but one helmsman and master, namely, Noah. And we read that all things on the earth outside of this ark were destroyed. This Church we venerate as the only one, since the Lord said by the prophet: "Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog" [Ps., xxii. 20]. He prayed for his soul, that is, for himself, the head; and at the same time for the body, and he named his body, that is, the one Church, because there is but one Bridegroom [John, iii. 29], and because of the unity of the faith, of the sacraments, and of his love for the Church. This is the seamless robe of the Lord which was not rent but parted by lot [John, xix. 23].

[Sidenote: An allusion to the Petrine Supremacy]

[Sidenote: The proper relation of spiritual and temporal powers]