The Crescentii

Yesterday I talked about the end of Crescentius II at the hands of Otto III, because he caused too much trouble in Rome even after having been pardoned for earlier offenses. His family had been a force in Rome for awhile. He was often called "the Younger" and his father called "Crescentius the Elder." The family was the same that started with Theophylact I.

The Elder Crescentius saw an opportunity to become more prominent in Rome after the Carolingian dynasty lost power through their own fraternal wars between Charlemagne's grandsons. Crescentius was around during the time of Otto I when a synod removed Pope John XII. Pope John XIII was Crescentius' brother, which helped support the Elder's grasp on Roman politics.

But when John XIII died and Otto I designated a successor (Benedict VI), Romans resented the outside interference from the emperor. When Otto II became emperor and was involved in foreign wars, the Romans under Crescentius took over, imprisoning Benedict VI into the Castel Sant'Angelo, where he was killed in 974.

The Romans then chose Boniface VII, against the advice of the emperor's envoy. When members of the imperial faction reasserted their authority, Boniface fled Rome, going to Constantinople and being replaced by Benedict VII, who was then succeeded by John XIV.

When Otto II died, Boniface returned from Constantinople in 984, supported by Crescentii the Younger. Pope John XIV was imprisoned in the Castel Sant'Angelo and died four months later. Otto III eventually (and brutally) dealt with the matter of who controlled Rome and the papacy.

By this time, however, Crescentius the Elder had changed his lifestyle. He chose to join the monastery of St. Alexius on the Aventine Hill in Rome, taking up monastic habit and dropping out of public life.

Now, Alexius was a 4th-century saint who has been mentioned before, but the monastery was only a few years old. I'll tell you a little more tomorrow.

Crescentius the Younger

After Otto III's coronation, he and Pope Gregory V (his cousin Bruno) summoned all the Roman nobility who had created such difficulties for the previous pope, John XV. While Otto declared exile for them, Pope Gregory requested mercy. The leader of these Romans, who had styled himself Patrician, was Crescentius II. Instead of banishment, Crescentius was allowed to remain in Rome.

Crescentius was not chastened. A few months after Otto had returned to Germany, Crescentius started trouble. Romans did not like their new German pope, or the foreigners that had been placed in administrative positions in Rome by the emperor. The resulting rebellion caused Gregory to flee to Pavia.

In Pavia, Gregory called a synod and declared Crescentius an excommunicate. Crescentius did not care. He chose the Bishop of Piacenza, Johannes Philagathos, who had recently returned from Constantinople, to be pope. Johannes became the antipope John XVI.

Otto marched back to Rome in February 998 with Gregory. The antipope fled, but was soon caught. He was sent to the monastery of Fulda in Germany, but only after his nose and ears were cut off and his eyes and tongue ripped out. He died in 1001.

Crescentius barricaded himself in the Castel Sant'Angelo (pictured above) where he was safe until the castle was taken in April. After execution, his corpse was hanged on one of the hills northwest of Rome, the Monte Mario.

Yesterday's post shared a theory that Otto's death was caused by Crescentius' widow, Stephania. A 1906 historical work has this passage:

Stephania, his widow, concealing her affliction and her resentment for the insults to which she had been exposed, secretly resolved to revenge her husband and herself. On the return of Otho from a pilgrimage to Mount Gargano, which, perhaps, a feeling of remorse had induced him to undertake, she found means to be introduced to him, and to gain his confidence; and a poison administered by her was soon afterwards the cause of his painful death. [Sismondi, History of the Italian Republics, vol. i]

Why was Crescentius so determined to ignore the will of the emperor and try to rule Rome? Turns out it was a family trait. I'll explain next time.

Otto III's Coronation

The latest scion of the Crescentius family was lording it over Rome and dominating the pope, John XV, who had been forced to flee Rome. Otto III needed a pope to confirm him as Holy Roman Emperor, and he was just recently old enough to step out of the regency period overseen by his mother and grandmother.

He assembled an army to march toward Rome. Stopping in Verona he formed a good relationship with the future Doge of Venice (also named Otto), which helped make relations with Venice better than they had been under Otto's father. Stopping in Pavia at Easter 996, he was formally declared King of Italy and crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy.

Before he reached Rome, Crescentius decided he should make peace with the about-to-be-crowned emperor. Pope John XV died before Otto reached Rome. Otto nominated his chaplain, Bruno of Carinthia, who happened to be Otto's cousin (Otto I was the grandfather of both men). He sent Bruno to Rome (Otto was still in Ravenna) with Archbishop Willigis. Crescentius, fearing potential retribution, locked himself away in the Tomb of Hadrian, also known as the Castel Sant'Angelo.

Bruno was confirmed and took the papal regnal name of Gregory V. He crowned Otto as Holy Roman Emperor on 21 May 996 at St. Peter's Basilica (the crown itself shown above). Emperor and pope held a synod a few days later. The Roman nobles that had imprisoned John XV were summoned and banished for their actions, including Crescentius. The new pope, however, did not want to start his reign making enemies; he pleaded for mercy from the emperor. Many were pardoned, and Crescentius was allowed to live in Rome, but he was stripped of the self-given title Patrician of the Romans.

Otto then sent out to restore the glory of the Roman Empire, but he only had six years to do it before his death in January 1002 of a sudden fever while traveling to Rome again to quell unrest against his rule. Malaria was one theory about his illness. Another theory at the time was that the widow of Crescentius had seduced Otto and then poisoned him.

Crescentius? Why would there be hostility from his widow toward Otto? Crescentius was pardoned and lived out his life peacefully in Rome, right? If only that were true. Crescentius continued to cause trouble. I'll go into that tomorrow.

Otto III's Regency, Part 3

After the death of his mother, Holy Roman Empress Theophanu, the responsibility for the regency of Otto III (still only 11 years old) passed to his grandmother, Holy Roman Empress Adelaide. Each of these women had been heavily involved in her husband's administration and was quite capable of managing important affairs.

Adelaide helped govern during the 992 war between Bohemia and Poland, in which the Ottonian regime supported Poland.

Her regency lasted only a few years, since in 994 Otto turned 14. In September of that year he was granted the right to govern Germany without the need of a regent. A letter from Otto to his grandmother suggests that she was happy to give up the responsibility:

According to your wishes and desires, the divinity has conferred the rights of an empire on us with a happy outcome.

Otto now became King of Italy as well as King of Germany, but was not yet crowned Holy Roman Emperor. That was coming soon.

At this point, Adelaide was active in charity work, founding and restoring monasteries and churches. A nunnery she had founded in 991 was her final residence, retiring there when Otto no longer needed her at court. She died there on 16 December 999 and was buried in the abbey. Pope Urban II canonized her in 1097 for her service to the Church.

On his own now, Otto faced and put down a Slavic rebellion. He then had trouble in Italy; he mounted an expedition to support Pope John XIV (a Lombard who had been Otto's father's chancellor), but was being beset by a Roman faction who wanted their own Italian pope put in place. A leader of the Roman aristocracy, Crescentius II, was calling himself Patrician of the Romans and trying to rule the place. They imprisoned John XIV in the Tomb of Hadrian and put antipope Boniface VII in his place. (The clan of the Crescentii figured largely in papal positions for several generations.)

Pope John XIV died in his prison. When Boniface VII died, Pope John XV succeeded him, but Crescentius had too much influence over him to satisfy Otto. John XV actually fled Rome to get away from Crescentius. Otto's goal was to restore proper order as well as the pope. This would be the greatest challenge of his reign, and I'll tell you about it tomorrow.