A Source Book of Mediaeval History Part 48

[531] Certain periods of the day, set apart by the laws of the Church, for the duties of prayer and devotion; also certain portions of the Breviary to be used at stated hours. The seven canonical hours are matins and lauds, the first, third, sixth, and ninth hours, vespers, and compline.

[532] That is, infant baptism and the _viatic.u.m_ (the Lord's Supper when administered to persons in immediate danger of death).

[533] Extreme unction is the sacrament of anointing in the last hours,--the application of consecrated oil by a priest to all the senses, i.e., to eyes, ears, nostrils, etc., of a person when in immediate danger of death. The sacrament is performed for the remission of sins.

[534] St. Dionysius was bishop of Alexandria about the middle of the third century. He was a pupil of the great theologian Origen and himself a writer of no small ability on the doctrinal questions which vexed the early Church.

[535] Manichaeus was a learned Persian who, in the third century, worked out a system of doctrine which sought to combine the principles of Christianity with others taken over from the Persian and kindred Oriental religions. The most prominent feature of the resulting creed was the conception of an absolute dualism running throughout the universe--light and darkness, good and evil, soul and body--which existed from the beginning and should exist forever. The Manichaean sect spread from Persia into Asia Minor North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. Though persecuted by Diocletian, and afterwards by some of the Christian emperors, it had many adherents as late as the sixth century, and certain of its ideas appeared under new names at still later times, notably among the Albigenses in southern France in the twelfth century.

[536] Annates were payments made to the pope by newly elected or appointed ecclesiastical officials of the higher sort. They were supposed to comprise the first year's income from the bishop's or abbot's benefice.

[537] The _decime_ was an extraordinary royal revenue derived from the payment by the clergy of a tenth of the annual income from their benefices. Its prototype was the Saladin t.i.the, imposed by Philip Augustus (1180-1223) for the financing of his crusade. In the latter half of the thirteenth century, and throughout the fourteenth, the _decime_ was called for by the kings with considerable frequency, often ostensibly for crusading purposes, and it was generally obtained by a more or less compulsory vote of the clergy, or without their consent at all.

[538] Pragmatic, in the general sense, means any sort of decree of public importance; in its more special usage it denotes an ordinance of the crown regulating the relations of the national clergy with the papacy. The modern equivalent is "concordat."

[539] When the Council of Constance came to an end, in April, 1418, it was agreed between this body and Pope Martin V. that a similar council should be convened at Pavia in 1423. When the time arrived, conditions were far from favorable, but the University of Paris pressed the Pope to observe his pledge in the matter and the council was duly convened.

Very few members appeared at Pavia, and, the plague soon breaking out there, the meeting was transferred to Siena. Even there only five German prelates were present, six French, and not one Spanish. Small though it was, the council entered upon a course so independent and self-a.s.sertive that in the following year the Pope was glad to take advantage of its paucity of numbers to declare it dissolved.

[540] The Dauphine was a region on the east side of the Rhone which, in 1349, was purchased of Humbert, Dauphin of Vienne, by Philip VI., and ceded by the latter to his grandson Charles, the later Charles V.

(1364-1380). Charles a.s.sumed the t.i.tle of "the Dauphin," which became the established designation of the heir-apparent to the French throne.

[541] Under the _grace expectative_ the pope conferred upon a prelate a benefice which at the time was filled, to be a.s.sumed as soon as it should fall vacant. Benefices of larger importance, such as the offices of bishop and abbot, were often subject to the _reserve_; that is, the pope regularly reserved to himself the right of filling them, sometimes before, sometimes after, the vacancy occurred. These acts const.i.tuted clear a.s.sumptions by the popes of power which under the law of the Church was not theirs, and, though the framers of the Pragmatic Sanction had motives which were more or less selfish for combatting the _reserve_ and the _grace expectative_, there can be no question that the abuses aimed at were as real as they were represented to be.

[542] Those who presented and installed men in benefices.

[543] These first two chapters reproduce without change the decrees of the Council of Basel. The second reiterates, in substance, the declaration of the Council of Constance [see p. 393].

[544] That is, the "canonical" system of election of bishops by the chapters and of abbots by the monks. The Pragmatic differs in this clause from the decree of the Council of Basel in allowing temporal princes to recommend persons for election.

[545] This means that the pope is not to add to the number of canons in any cathedral chapter as a means of influencing the composition and deliberations of that body.

[546] Annates were ordinarily the first year's revenues of a benefice which, under the prevailing system, were supposed to be paid by the inc.u.mbent to the pope. The Pragmatic goes on to provide that during the lifetime of Pope Eugene one-fifth of the accustomed annates should continue to be paid.

CHAPTER XXIV.

THE EMPIRE IN THE TWELFTH, THIRTEENTH, AND FOURTEENTH CENTURIES

70. The Peace of Constance (1183)

With the election of Frederick Barbarossa as emperor, in 1152, a new stage of the great papal-imperial combat was entered upon, though under conditions quite different from those surrounding the contest in the preceding century [see Chap. XVI]. The Empire was destined to succ.u.mb in the end to the papacy, but with a sovereign of Frederick's energy and ability at its head it was able at least to make a stubborn fight and to meet defeat with honor. The new reign was inaugurated by a definite announcement of the Emperor's intention to consolidate and strengthen the imperial government throughout all Germany and Italy.

The task in Germany was far from simple; in Italy it was the most formidable that could have been conceived, and this for the reason that the Italian population was largely gathered in cities with strong political and military organization, with all the traditions of practical independence, and with no thought of submitting to the government of an emperor or any other claimant to more than merely nominal sovereignty.

Trouble began almost at once between Frederick and the free commune of Milan, though war was averted for a time by the oaths taken to the Emperor on the occasion of his first expedition across the Alps in 1154. Between that date and 1158 the consuls of the city were detected in treacherous conduct and, the people refusing to disavow them, in the latter year the Emperor again crossed the Alps, bent on nothing less than the annihilation of the commune and the dispersion of its inhabitants. He carried with him a larger army than a head of the Holy Roman Empire had ever led into Italy. The Milanese submitted, under conditions extremely humiliating, and Frederick, after being a.s.sured by the doctors of law at the new university of Bologna that he was acting quite within the letter of the Roman law, proceeded to lay claim to the _regalia_ (royal rights, such as tolls from roads and rivers, products of mines, and the estates of criminals), to the right to levy an extraordinary war tax, and to that of appointing the chief civic magistrates. Disaffection broke out at once in many of the communes, but chiefly at Milan; whereupon Frederick came promptly to the conclusion that the time had arrived to rid himself of this irreconcilable opponent of his measures. The city was besieged and, after its inhabitants had been starved into surrender, almost completely destroyed (1162).

Only temporarily did the barbarous act have its intended effect; the net result was a widespread revival of the communal spirit, which expressed itself in the formation of a st.u.r.dy confederacy known as the Lombard League. One of the League's first acts was to rebuild Milan, under whose leadership the struggle with the Emperor was actively renewed. In 1168 a new city was founded at the foot of the Alps near Pavia to serve as a base of operations in the campaign which the League proposed to wage against the common enemy. It was given the name Alessandria (or Alexandria) in honor of Pope Alexander III., who was friendly to the cause of the cities. In 1174 Frederick began an open attack on the League, but in 1176, at Legnano, he suffered an overwhelming defeat, due largely to his failure to receive reinforcements from Germany. The adjustment of peace was intrusted to an a.s.sembly at Venice in which all parties were represented. The result was the treaty of Venice (1177), the advantages of which were wholly against the Empire. A truce of six years was granted the cities, with the understanding that all details were to be arranged within, or at the expiration of, that time.

When the close of the period arrived, in 1183, Frederick no longer dreamed of subduing and punishing the rebellious Italians, but instead was quite ready to agree to a permanent peace. The result was the Peace of Constance, which has been described as the earliest international agreement of the kind in modern history. By this instrument the theoretical overlordship of the Emperor in Italy was rea.s.serted, though in fact it had never been denied. Beyond this, however, the communes were recognized as essentially independent.

Those who had enjoyed the right to choose their own magistrates retained it; their financial obligations to the Emperor were clearly defined; and the League was conceded to be a legitimate and permanent organization. By yielding on numerous vital points the Empire had vindicated its right to exist, but its administrative machinery, so far as Italy was concerned, was still further impaired. This machinery, it must be said, had never been conspicuously effective south of the Alps. As for Frederick, he set out in 1189 upon the Third Crusade, during the course of which he met his death in Asia Minor without being permitted to see the Holy Land.

Source--Text in _Monumenta Germaniae Historica_, Legum Sectio IV. (Weiland ed.), Vol. I., pp. 411-418. Adapted from translation in Oliver J. Thatcher and Edgar H. McNeal, _Source Book for Mediaeval History_ (New York, 1905,) pp. 199-202.

[Sidenote: Concessions to the cities of the League]

=1.= We, Frederick, emperor of the Romans, and our son Henry, king of the Romans,[547] hereby grant to you, the cities, territories, and persons of the League, the _regalia_ and other rights within and without the cities, as you have been accustomed to hold them; that is, each member of the League shall have the same rights as the city of Verona has had in the past, or has now.

=2.= The members of the League shall exercise freely and without interference from us all the rights which they have exercised of old.

=3.= These are the rights which are guaranteed to you: the _fodrum_,[548] forests, pastures, bridges, streams, mills, fortifications of the cities, criminal and civil jurisdiction, and all other rights which concern the welfare of the city.

[Sidenote: How the regalia remaining to the Emperor were to be determined]

=4.= The _regalia_ which are not to be granted to the members of the League shall be determined in the following manner: in the case of each city, certain men shall be chosen for this purpose from both the bishopric and the city; these men shall be of good repute, capable of deciding these questions, and such as are not prejudiced against either party. Acting with the bishop of the diocese, they shall swear to inquire into the questions of the _regalia_ and to set aside those that by right belong to us. If, however, the cities do not wish to submit to this inquisition, they shall pay to us an annual tribute of 2,000 marks in silver as compensation for our _regalia_. If this sum seems excessive, it may be reduced.

=5.= If anyone appeals to us in regard to matters which are by this treaty admitted to be under your jurisdiction, we agree not to hear such an appeal.

=8.= All privileges, gifts, and concessions made in the time of the war by us or our representatives to the prejudice or injury of the cities, territories, or members of the League are to be null and void.

[Sidenote: The consuls]

=9.= Consuls[549] of cities where the bishop holds the position of count from the king or emperor shall receive their office from the bishop, if this has been the custom before. In all other cities the consuls shall receive their office from us, in the following manner: after they have been elected by the city they shall be invested with office by our representative in the city or bishopric, unless we are ourselves in Lombardy, in which case they shall be invested by us. At the end of every five years each city shall send its representative to us to receive the invest.i.ture.

=10.= This arrangement shall be observed by our successor, and all such invest.i.tures shall be free.

=11.= After our death, the cities shall receive invest.i.ture in the same way from our son and from his successors.

[Sidenote: Appeals to the Emperor]

=12.= The Emperor shall have the right of hearing appeals in cases involving more than 25 pounds, saving the right of the church of Brescia to hear appeals. The appellant shall not, however, be compelled to come to Germany, but he shall appeal to the representative of the Emperor in the city or bishopric. This representative shall examine the case fairly and shall give judgment according to the laws and customs of that city. The decision shall be given within two months from the time of appeal, unless the case shall have been deferred by reason of some legal hindrance or by the consent of both parties.

=13.= The consuls of cities shall take the oath of allegiance to the Emperor before they are invested with office.

[Sidenote: The oath of fidelity]

=14.= Our va.s.sals shall receive invest.i.ture from us and shall take the va.s.sal's oath of fidelity. All other persons between the ages of 15 and 70 shall take the ordinary oath of fidelity to the Emperor unless there be some good reason why this oath should be omitted.

=17.= All injuries, losses, and damages which we or our followers have sustained from the League, or any of its members or allies, are hereby pardoned, and all such transgressors are hereby received back into our favor.

=18.= We will not remain longer than is necessary in any city or bishopric.

=19.= It shall be permitted to the cities to erect fortifications within or without their boundaries.

[Sidenote: Recognition of the League's right to exist]

=20.= It shall be permitted to the League to maintain its organization as it now is, or to renew it as often as it desires.