John XII was one of a long line of popes elected in the period called by Church historian, Cardinal Baronius, the Saeculum Obscurum ("the Dark Age") of the Papacy, when the Holy See was dominated by two courtesans of the family of the Counts of Tusculum, Theodora and Marozia. These two courtesans effectively ruled papal Rome and the Papal States and dominated papal elections ensuring that only their lovers, family and allies were elected pope.
Marozia, born Maria and also known as Mariuccia or Mariozza (c.890 – 937), was a Roman noblewoman who was the alleged mistress of Pope Sergius III and was given the unprecedented titles senatrix ("senatoress") and patricia of Rome by Pope John X.
Edward Gibbon wrote that the "influence of two sister prostitutes, Marozia and Theodora, was founded on their wealth and beauty, their political and amorous intrigues: the most strenuous of their lovers were rewarded with the Roman tiara, and their reign may have suggested to darker ages the fable of a female pope. The bastard son, two grandsons, two great grandsons, and one great great grandson of Marozia — a rare genealogy — were seated in the Chair of St Peter."[This quote needs a citation] Pope John XII was her grandson. From this description, the term "pornocracy" has become associated with the effective rule in Rome of Theodora and Marozia, through their male surrogates.
Marozia was born about 890. She was the daughter of the Roman consul Theophylact, Count of Tusculum, and of Theodora, the real power in Rome, whom Liutprand of Cremona characterized as a "shameless whore... [who] exercised power on the Roman citizenry like a man."[This quote needs a citation]
Pope John XII, in imitation, also led a shameless and corrupt life, according to Liutprand of Cremona who records that he "turned the papal court into a brothel".[This quote needs a citation] According to Liutprand, Pope John XII was eventually murdered by his mistress's husband in flagranto delicto.
Pope John was repeatedly warned about his corrupt misuse of papal power and his misconduct of the Papacy by the Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I the Great, who threatened to bring his army to Rome from Frankfurt, then the imperial headquarters, and rectify the situation.
In the middle of 963, Pope John XII had been in communication with Emperor Otto regarding the emperor's concerns over John's pontificate, and the pope's meddling in the conflict between Otto and Berengar II, King of Italy. When Otto learned that John had allowed Berengar's son Adalbert into Rome, he marched on the city. After defending Rome and driving Otto back to the Tiber River, John fled the city and took refuge in Tibur. Otto then entered Rome on 2 November 963.[1] After reminding the clergy and nobility that they were not canonically permitted to ordain, or even elect, a pope without the imperial consent, and compelling them to renew that oath, on 6 November 963 Otto convened a synod in St Peter's to deal with the irregularity of Pope John XII and his misconduct of the Papacy.[2]
It was the special pre-rogative of the Roman Emperor to convoke, set the agenda of, and preside over, councils of the Church and the first eight Ecumenical Councils of the Church were so convoked and presided over by the Roman Emperor. Thus Otto's claim to call a Synod to deal with the crisis was entirely legal and canonical. The real issue, subsequently, for the theologians was not his right so to call a Synod but whether such a Synod could declare a pope self-deposed for crime alone or whether, as later Doctors of the Church have held, the self-deposition should arise from heresy. There is consensus among the Doctors that a pope may be declared self-deposed for heresy but whether he can be declared self-deposed solely for crime is an open question. The Synod of Rome of 963 declared Pope John XII self-deposed for crime.
Acts of the Synod
After convening the Synod, Otto appointed John, the Bishop of Narni and John, the Cardinal-Deacon to act as the pope's accusers, while Liutprand of Cremona, the emperor's secretary, responded to the Romans on behalf of the emperor.
Firstly, Pope John XII was called forth to present himself before the council. As he was not present, Emperor Otto declared: “It appears to us just that the accusations should be set forth one by one; then what we should do can be decided on by common advice.”[3]
At this point John of Narni declared that he had seen Pope John XII ordain a deacon in a stable, and out of the appointed times. Another cardinal-priest bore witness that he had seen him celebrate Mass without communicating. Others accused him of murder and perjury, of sacrilege, of incest with members of his own family, including his sisters. They accused him of simony, of consecrating a ten-year-old child as Bishop of Todi, of converting the Lateran Palace into a brothel, of a life mostly spent hunting, of unjustly ordering men to be mutilated, of arson and of wearing armour and training for war and battle. Finally, they declared that he drank a toast to the Devil, and while playing at dice invoked the name of Jupiter, Venus and other pagan gods.[4]
The Synod then drafted a letter to John XII, detailing the charges against him, and asking him to come to Rome to answer the accusations. The letter promised that nothing would be done that was contrary to canon law. John responded by threatening to excommunicate anyone involved in raising a new pope while he still lived. The Synod met again on 22 November and drafted a new letter to the pope, declaring that if he did not present himself to the Synod, he himself would be excommunicated.[5] But the bearers of this letter could not locate John XII who had gone into hiding.
According to canon law, an accused bishop must be summoned three times; the Emperor satisfied himself with two citations. Therefore, on 4 December, the Synod met for the final time. In the absence of John XII (who was apparently hunting in the Catanian hills), the emperor recited the arraignment that the pope was a criminal and a traitor. He then turned to the Synod and announced, “Now let the holy Synod pronounce what it decides upon the matter.” The Synod responded by declaring “We therefore beg your Imperial Highness to drive away from the Holy Roman Church this monster, unredeemed from his vices by any virtue, and to allow another to be put in his place, who may merit by the example of a good conversation to preside over us.” Otto then proposed Leo the Protonotary as a possible successor to John XII, and, no other candidate being put forward, the Synod voted and elected him.[6] The Synod was then closed by the Emperor.
The 963 Synod of Rome was, in all respects, conducted in accordance with canon law. Attempts to call it a "show trial" are without foundation and are based upon a false understanding of the imperial power which, from the very earliest days of the Church, since the days of the Emperor Theodosius, had the power, recognised by popes for centuries, to convoke and preside over Church councils. This, in turn, had been encapsulated into theological terms by the teaching of Pope Gelasius I on the "Two Swords" or Dyarchy, set out in his letter, Famuli vestrae pietatis, also known by the Latin mnemonic Duo sunt ("there are two"), written in 494 to Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I Dicorus. This set out, in general terms, the boundaries of power of the popes and emperors.
Still less can the Synod merely be dismissed as a political manoeuvre of the emperor, as secularist and Protestant historians are apt to do not only with imperial interventions but also with the acts of popes and bishops. Emperor Otto and the Synod of Rome in effect saved the Church and the Papacy from a corrupt pope and, indeed, a long line of corrupt popes. The successor pope, chosen by the Synod, Pope Leo VIII is recognised by the Church as a valid pope.
The validity of the Synod continues to be debated over the issue of papal self-deposition for crime. However, papal self-deposition for heresy is commonly recognised by the Doctors of the Church such as St Robert Bellarmine and St Alphonsus Liguori.
Some still ignorantly claim that a layman could not convene the Synod but only a bishop which, if true, would invalidate the first eight Ecumenical Councils of the Church among others, all of which were convened and presided over by the emperor, not the pope.
It is also claimed that Pope John XII was not accorded a defence, but that claim, too, fails since he was given three opportunities to attend the Synod and arrogantly refused even to recognise there was a problem, preferring to go hunting in the Catanian hills instead.
It is also suggested that the election of a layman to the Papacy was illegal but that, too, is unsustainable since it has been done more than once validly and the candidate was simply ordained prior to coronation. Leo was ordained to the Holy Orders of Porter, Lector, Acolyte, Subdeacon, Deacon and Priest by Sico, the cardinal-bishop of Ostia, who then proceeded to consecrate him as Bishop on 6 December 963. These ordinations were all canonical. He was then consecrated pope in proper form.
It is unsurprising that the acts of the Synod were condemned at a new synod held the following year, since, after Emperor Otto had left Rome to return to Frankfurt with his army, Pope John XII, with his remaining supporters, returned to Rome, overthrew Pope Leo VIII, excommunicated all involved in the Synod, ordering many of them to be mutilated, and Pope John XII held his own synod to declare the acts of the Synod invalid. However, since he was no longer the true and valid pope, his acts and new synod were therefore themselves invalid. Shortly thereafter Pope John XII died on 14 May 964, at the age of 27, seemingly in the manner described by Liutprand of Cremona.
Some, nevertheless, continue to argue that some of the acts of the Synod were invalid.[7]
There were 13 cardinal priests who attended the synod, one of whom was the future Pope Benedict V. An unknown number had fled with Pope John XII. Their Titular churches were:
Present were all of the officers of the papal court, as well as deacons, Regionarii, notaries and the Primicerius of the Schola cantorum. Also present were a gathering of Roman nobles, who were aligned to the imperial party. These included:
The Roman plebeians were represented by the heads of the Roman militia, led by Peter Imperiola. The emperor himself was also accompanied by a number of dukes and counts of Germany and Italy.[9]
Pope Benedict V was the pope and ruler of the Papal States from 22 May to 23 June 964, in opposition to Leo VIII. He was overthrown by Emperor Otto I. His brief pontificate occurred at the end of a period known as the Saeculum obscurum.
Pope Benedict VI was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 19 January 973 to his death in 974. His brief pontificate occurred in the political context of the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire, during the transition between the reigns of Otto I and Otto II, incorporating the struggle for power of Roman aristocratic families such as the Crescentii.
Pope Sergius III was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from 29 January 904 to his death. He was pope during a period of violence and disorder in central Italy, when warring aristocratic factions sought to use the material and military resources of the papacy. At the behest of Theophylact I of Tusculum, Sergius seized the papal throne from Antipope Christopher, who in turn had deposed Pope Leo V. Sergius' reign was subsequently marked by Theophylact's influence. As pope, Sergius continued many ecclesiastical controversies of his predecessors, including conflict over Pope Formosus' legacy, annulling all ordinations made by the late pope, and the filioque controversy with eastern patriarchs. His pontificate was similarly marked by temporal conflicts, with Sergius' refusal to crown Berengar I of Italy as Holy Roman Emperor, and his support of Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the Wise's fourth marriage. Sergius also saw the restoration of the Lateran Palace.
Pope Leo VIII was a Roman prelate who claimed the Holy See from 963 until 964 in opposition to John XII and Benedict V and again from 23 June 964 to his death. Today, he is considered by the Catholic Church to have been an antipope during the first period and the legitimate Pope during the second. An appointee of Holy Roman Emperor Otto I, Leo VIII's pontificate occurred after the period known as the saeculum obscurum.
Marozia, born Maria and also known as Mariuccia or Mariozza, was a Roman noblewoman who was the alleged mistress of Pope Sergius III and was given the unprecedented titles senatrix ("senatoress") and patricia of Rome by Pope John X.
Pope John XIII was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 1 October 965 to his death. His pontificate was caught up in the continuing conflict between the Holy Roman emperor, Otto I, and the Roman nobility. After long and arduous negotiations, he succeeded in arranging a Byzantine marriage for Otto II, in an effort to legitimize the Ottonian claim to imperial dignity. He also established church hierarchy in Poland and Bohemia.
Liutprand, also Liudprand, Liuprand, Lioutio, Liucius, Liuzo, and Lioutsios, was a historian, diplomat, and Bishop of Cremona born in northern Italy, whose works are an important source for the politics of the 10th century Byzantine court.
Pope John XII, born Octavian, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 16 December 955 to his death in 964. He was related to the counts of Tusculum, a powerful Roman family which had dominated papal politics for over half a century. He became pope in his late teenage years or early twenties. In 960, he clashed with the Lombards to the south. Unable to control Rome easily, he sought help from King Otto I of Germany and crowned him emperor. John XII's pontificate became infamous for the alleged depravity and worldliness with which he conducted his office. He soon fell out with Otto, but died before Otto could succeed in his attempt to depose him.
Pope John XI was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from March 931 to his death. The true ruler of Rome at the time was his mother, Marozia, followed by his brother Alberic II. His pontificate occurred during the period known as Saeculum obscurum.
Pope John X was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from March 914 to his death. A candidate of the counts of Tusculum, he attempted to unify Italy under the leadership of Berengar of Friuli, and was instrumental in the defeat of the Saracens at the Battle of Garigliano. He eventually fell out with Marozia, who had him deposed, imprisoned, and finally murdered. John’s pontificate occurred during the period known as the Saeculum obscurum.
Saeculum obscurum, also known as the Pornocracy or the Rule of the Harlots, was a period in the history of the papacy during the first two thirds of the 10th century, following the chaos after the death of Pope Formosus in 896 which saw seven or eight papal elections in as many years. It began with the installation of Pope Sergius III in 904 and lasted for 60 years until the death of Pope John XII in 964. During this period, the popes were influenced strongly by a powerful and allegedly corrupt aristocratic family, the Theophylacti, and their relatives and allies. The era is seen as one of the lowest points of the history of the papal office.
The Duchy of Spoleto was a Lombard territory founded about 570 in central Italy by the Lombard dux Faroald. Its capital was the city of Spoleto.
Theophylact I was a medieval count of Tusculum who was the effective ruler of Rome from around 905 through to his death in 924. His descendants controlled the papacy for the next 100 years.
Theodora was a senatrix and serenissima vestaratrix of Rome. Theodora was married to Theophylact I, Count of Tusculum. The couple shared effective rulership of Rome between 905 and her death in 916.
The Diploma Ottonianum was an 962 agreement between Pope John XII and Otto I, King of Germany and Italy. It confirmed the earlier Donation of Pepin, granting control of the Papal States to the Popes, regularizing Papal elections, and clarifying the relationship between the Popes and the Holy Roman Emperors.
Crescentius the Elder, also known as Crescenzio de Theodora, was a politician and aristocrat in Rome who played a part in the papal appointment.
The selection of the Pope, the Bishop of Rome and Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church, prior to the promulgation of In Nomine Domini in AD 1059 varied throughout history. Popes were often putatively appointed by their predecessors or by political rulers. While some kind of election often characterized the procedure, an election that included meaningful participation of the laity was rare, especially as the Popes' claims to temporal power solidified into the Papal States. The practice of Papal appointment during this period would later result in the putative jus exclusivae, i.e., the claimed but invalid right to veto the selection that Catholic monarchs exercised into the twentieth century.
The Tusculan Papacy was a period of papal history from 1012 to 1048 where three successive relatives of the counts of Tusculum were installed as pope.
The Synod of Rome (964) was a synod held in St. Peter’s Basilica from 26 to 28 February 964, for the purpose of condemning the Synod of Rome (963) and to depose Pope Leo VIII.
The Lateran Council (964) was a synod held in the Lateran Palace on 23 June 964, for the purpose of deposing Pope Benedict V.
References
Gregorovius, Ferdinand, The History of Rome in the Middle Ages, Vol. III (1895)
Mann, Horace K., The Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages, Vol. IV: The Popes in the Days of Feudal Anarchy, 891–999 (1910)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
