I thought I'd draw to the attention of the History Forum crowd an infamous incident in history recently mentioned in the Off Topic pit.
It concerns a good and holy man of the late ninth century by the name of Formosus, whose achievements in life have rather unfortunately been overshadowed in history by his career after his death. Formosus became cardinal bishop of Porto in 864. He was, it seems, a nice chap but not the canniest of politicians, which was something of a black mark in the confused times of the late ninth century. In 872 he left Rome, causing Pope John VIII to convene a synod ordering him to return since he had left without permission. Formosus, however, seems not to have made it back, and so he was excommunicated in his absence. It seems that the charges against him - which included consorting with people of dubious character - were really a mask for the true charge, which was that Formosus was connected to factions that disliked John. Formosus had been meddling in politics and it would come back to haunt him.
In 883, Pope Marinus, who favoured the faction that Formosus had consorted with, restored the cardinal back to his see and let him back into Rome. In 891, he became Pope himself.
Now things really began to go downhill. As Pope, Formosus found himself having to deal with an apparently unending stream of crises. The archbishops of Cologne and Hamburg were not on speaking terms. Photius, patriarch of Constantinople, had been ejected from his holy seat and replaced by the Emperor's son, which was decidedly irregular. And the rule of Italy was contested by a number of bigwigs with very big swords, such as Guido of Spoleto and Arnulf of Carinthia.
Formosus sided with Guido in that one, an apparently wise choice since Guido had been crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Formosus' predecessor. Unfortunately it quickly became apparent that he'd backed the wrong horse, because Guido was, frankly, an absolute nutter who spent half his time fighting the Saracens and the rest of the time fighting everyone else in Europe. There's a story of Guido conquering Benevento and demanding the surrender of its general, Apolaffar. Benevento's ruler woke Apolaffar up, but could not find his shoes, for which he was very apologetic. "Why are you worried about my feet?" demanded Apolaffar. "What about my head?"
Formosus, unable to get on with Guido and frightened for the future of Europe, especially that small part of it that he was standing on, decided that Arnulf of Carinthia might be a more reasonable overlord. He therefore asked him if he'd had any ideas about invading Italy recently. Arnulf turned up right on cue with an extremely large army saying something about how he'd only lent Italy to Guido and he'd like it back. Just as he was conquering the country, Guido fortuitously died. Formosus therefore crowned Arnulf Holy Roman Emperor. Problem solved. Shortly afterwards, in April 896, Formosus himself died, at the age of around 80, and deeply dissatisfied by how things had turned out.
Unfortunately, they turned out even worse for Formosus than he might have thought - pretty impressive given that he was now dead. He was succeeded by Boniface VI, who made little impact on the Papacy given that he occupied it for a grand total of 15 days - supposedly murdered by his successor, Stephen VI (VII). (Stephens are numbered strangely because no-one agrees on whether Stephen II really counted as Pope, given that he lasted only three days and never had a chance to be consecrated.) Stephen was the tool of Guido's son Lambert, who understandably didn't like Formosus very much. In January 897, under pressure from Lambert, Stephen therefore convened a synod to consider a number of charges against Formosus - mainly all the same ones that John VIII had condemned him for.
However, for some reason known only to himself, Stephen decided that Formosus needed to be there to answer the charges in person. Ignoring the minor detail that Formosus had been dead for about nine months, Stephen had him disinterred and propped up in a chair at the synod. Formosus was expected to defend himself, although to be fair Stephen did take the defendant's non-vital condition into account and gave him a rather scared deacon to stand behind his chair and answer on his behalf. Lambert, who clearly believed that revenge was best served not only cold but well past the best-before date, presided over the council. The proceedings consisted mainly of everyone else keeping quiet whilst Stephen shouted at the rotting corpse, who, it seems, admirably avoided rising to his successor's taunts.
To no-one's surprise, Formosus was found guilty of all charges (including, ironically, perjury). It was decided that he had not been a valid Pope, and that all his decisions and ordinations were therefore invalid (a conclusion that contradicted the theology of St Augustine, but no-one was paying much attention to that by this stage). Formosus was stripped of his Papal robes (revealing a hair shirt underneath) and the three fingers of his right hand that he would have used to bless people with were cut off. The corpse was then dragged through the streets and deposited in a common grave. However, a couple of days later, persons unknown dug him up for a second time and threw him into the Tiber.
Not unnatually, these proceedings were a little controversial, and the unhappy Stephen was deposed and strangled not long after, by people who eitiher supported Formosus, hated Guido and Lambert, liked to know what number to put after the Pope's name or simply wanted to be able to enter a courtroom without a hanky over their noses. His successor, Romanus, lasted only a few months before being forced to retire.
Meanwhile, Formosus - or what was left of him - had been dredged out of the Tiber by a monk and decently reburied. However, the next Pope, Theodore II, had him dug up for a third time and reburied in St Peter's. He also managed to rescind the decrees of the "Cadaver Synod", as it has become known, and restored all those ordained by Formosus. Theodore conked out after 20 days (Popes didn't, it seems, last long in those days) but his successor, John IX, who managed a very impressive couple of years, confirmed the decision. Unfortunately, Sergius III (904-11) reversed it and forced all those who had been ordained by Formosus to be re-ordained.
Thankfully, he left Formosus where he was, in St Peter's. And as far as I know, he's still there.
It concerns a good and holy man of the late ninth century by the name of Formosus, whose achievements in life have rather unfortunately been overshadowed in history by his career after his death. Formosus became cardinal bishop of Porto in 864. He was, it seems, a nice chap but not the canniest of politicians, which was something of a black mark in the confused times of the late ninth century. In 872 he left Rome, causing Pope John VIII to convene a synod ordering him to return since he had left without permission. Formosus, however, seems not to have made it back, and so he was excommunicated in his absence. It seems that the charges against him - which included consorting with people of dubious character - were really a mask for the true charge, which was that Formosus was connected to factions that disliked John. Formosus had been meddling in politics and it would come back to haunt him.
In 883, Pope Marinus, who favoured the faction that Formosus had consorted with, restored the cardinal back to his see and let him back into Rome. In 891, he became Pope himself.
Now things really began to go downhill. As Pope, Formosus found himself having to deal with an apparently unending stream of crises. The archbishops of Cologne and Hamburg were not on speaking terms. Photius, patriarch of Constantinople, had been ejected from his holy seat and replaced by the Emperor's son, which was decidedly irregular. And the rule of Italy was contested by a number of bigwigs with very big swords, such as Guido of Spoleto and Arnulf of Carinthia.
Formosus sided with Guido in that one, an apparently wise choice since Guido had been crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Formosus' predecessor. Unfortunately it quickly became apparent that he'd backed the wrong horse, because Guido was, frankly, an absolute nutter who spent half his time fighting the Saracens and the rest of the time fighting everyone else in Europe. There's a story of Guido conquering Benevento and demanding the surrender of its general, Apolaffar. Benevento's ruler woke Apolaffar up, but could not find his shoes, for which he was very apologetic. "Why are you worried about my feet?" demanded Apolaffar. "What about my head?"
Formosus, unable to get on with Guido and frightened for the future of Europe, especially that small part of it that he was standing on, decided that Arnulf of Carinthia might be a more reasonable overlord. He therefore asked him if he'd had any ideas about invading Italy recently. Arnulf turned up right on cue with an extremely large army saying something about how he'd only lent Italy to Guido and he'd like it back. Just as he was conquering the country, Guido fortuitously died. Formosus therefore crowned Arnulf Holy Roman Emperor. Problem solved. Shortly afterwards, in April 896, Formosus himself died, at the age of around 80, and deeply dissatisfied by how things had turned out.
Unfortunately, they turned out even worse for Formosus than he might have thought - pretty impressive given that he was now dead. He was succeeded by Boniface VI, who made little impact on the Papacy given that he occupied it for a grand total of 15 days - supposedly murdered by his successor, Stephen VI (VII). (Stephens are numbered strangely because no-one agrees on whether Stephen II really counted as Pope, given that he lasted only three days and never had a chance to be consecrated.) Stephen was the tool of Guido's son Lambert, who understandably didn't like Formosus very much. In January 897, under pressure from Lambert, Stephen therefore convened a synod to consider a number of charges against Formosus - mainly all the same ones that John VIII had condemned him for.
However, for some reason known only to himself, Stephen decided that Formosus needed to be there to answer the charges in person. Ignoring the minor detail that Formosus had been dead for about nine months, Stephen had him disinterred and propped up in a chair at the synod. Formosus was expected to defend himself, although to be fair Stephen did take the defendant's non-vital condition into account and gave him a rather scared deacon to stand behind his chair and answer on his behalf. Lambert, who clearly believed that revenge was best served not only cold but well past the best-before date, presided over the council. The proceedings consisted mainly of everyone else keeping quiet whilst Stephen shouted at the rotting corpse, who, it seems, admirably avoided rising to his successor's taunts.
To no-one's surprise, Formosus was found guilty of all charges (including, ironically, perjury). It was decided that he had not been a valid Pope, and that all his decisions and ordinations were therefore invalid (a conclusion that contradicted the theology of St Augustine, but no-one was paying much attention to that by this stage). Formosus was stripped of his Papal robes (revealing a hair shirt underneath) and the three fingers of his right hand that he would have used to bless people with were cut off. The corpse was then dragged through the streets and deposited in a common grave. However, a couple of days later, persons unknown dug him up for a second time and threw him into the Tiber.
Not unnatually, these proceedings were a little controversial, and the unhappy Stephen was deposed and strangled not long after, by people who eitiher supported Formosus, hated Guido and Lambert, liked to know what number to put after the Pope's name or simply wanted to be able to enter a courtroom without a hanky over their noses. His successor, Romanus, lasted only a few months before being forced to retire.
Meanwhile, Formosus - or what was left of him - had been dredged out of the Tiber by a monk and decently reburied. However, the next Pope, Theodore II, had him dug up for a third time and reburied in St Peter's. He also managed to rescind the decrees of the "Cadaver Synod", as it has become known, and restored all those ordained by Formosus. Theodore conked out after 20 days (Popes didn't, it seems, last long in those days) but his successor, John IX, who managed a very impressive couple of years, confirmed the decision. Unfortunately, Sergius III (904-11) reversed it and forced all those who had been ordained by Formosus to be re-ordained.
Thankfully, he left Formosus where he was, in St Peter's. And as far as I know, he's still there.
Retreats back into the stinking pit of O.T. to wait for the.....next time.
(at Cumulative History Quiz thread, 4 july):
