Matilda of Tuscany

Matilda of Tuscany (c.1046 - 1115) was one of the most important figures in Italy in the second half of the 11th century. After the deaths of her father and brother, she ruled from the Castle of Canossa in northern Italy. She was said to be literate in Latin, French, and German; some believe she was taught military strategy as well, along with riding and weaponry.

As a strong female, she had a role model in her mother, Beatrice of Lorraine, who managed the regency of Matilda's brother Frederick and made alliances with other important political and religious figures. Beatrice was supportive of church and papal reforms, such as those proposed by Pope Gregory VII. Beatrice re-married; her choice of second husband was Godfrey the Bearded, Duke of Upper Lorraine, who had openly rebelled against Holy Roman Emperor Henry III. Henry, angered by her choice of his enemy as her husband, had Beatrice and Matilda arrested in 1055 and taken to Germany (Godfrey evaded capture). Henry died a year later, and the regency of his successor, the very young Henry IV, saw Godfrey reconciled with Henry's family and the women released. Upon their return to Italy, the pope (now Victor II) made clear that he valued the House of Canossa.

Matilda was understandably not inclined to look kindly on the family of her German captors. She supported Pope Gregory and his reform movement over Henry IV's choice of the Antipope Clement III. This led at a later date to Henry's forces ravaging parts of Tuscany.

Matilda was betrothed to Godfrey the Bearded's son from an earlier marriage, Godfrey the Hunchback. The elder Godfrey died on 30 December 1069 in Verdun, and records of the event tell us that Matilda was present and describe her as the wife of Godfrey the Hunchback.

The marriage was a way to consolidate Tuscany and Lorraine, but it was otherwise not typical. The two had a daughter, Beatrice, who died within a year, and the couple lived apart. Godfrey, perhaps because he learned from family history the dangers of crossing the Holy Roman Emperor, chose to support Henry IV in the Investiture Controversy, despite his wife's feelings and public stand on the matter.

By this time Beatrice—still co-regent with her daughter—was preparing her daughter for sole rule, encouraging her to be in charge of decisions and charters. When Beatrice died in 1076, Matilda became sole ruler of her parents' real estate possessions. Life was not simple, however. Godfrey had been assassinated (while relieving himself) two months earlier; if Beatrice had died first, Matilda's husband would have taken possession of her estates. As it happens, the deaths happened within a couple months in just the right order to make Matilda more powerful.

Suspicion fell on her for their deaths, as well as another accusation regarding her relationship to the pope. Let's dig into that, and into her career as ruler, next time.

Antipope Clement III

The awkwardness about antipopes is that they take names that are later taken by official popes. One has to keep them straight in the historical record, because antipopes often rule for a time because they have a faction of cardinals (and rulers) and the general populace that supports them and carries out their rulings and policies. Today I want to take a look at Antipope Clement III (seen here supporting the election of Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, from a chronicle by Otto of Freising).

He was born Guibert of Ravenna in the 1020s. Family connections helped get him appointed to the Imperial chancellorship of Italy in 1058. The appointment came from Holy Roman Empress Agnes, mother and regent for the young Henry IV. In 1061, he supported Honorius II as pope instead of Alexander II. When Germany and Empress Agnes decided to support Alexander II as the one true pope, Guibert's support of Honorius was condemned and he was dismissed from the chancellorship.

Guibert was not completely out of favor: he kept contact with the German court, and when Henry IV became Holy Roman Emperor, he made Guibert Archbishop of Ravenna. Pope Alexander II was a little reluctant to confirm to a high position in the church a man who had opposed his papacy, but to keep peace with Germany he confirmed Guibert in 1073.

In that same year, Alexander died and Gregory VII became pope. Gregory tried instituting several reforms, among which were eliminating simony (purchasing appointments), making the clergy independent of secular courts and influence, and denying secular authorities the right to appoint clergy. Archbishop Guibert spoke out against these reforms, no doubt endearing him to Henry IV. Guibert refused to attend Gregory's Synod on these matters in 1075, so Gregory suspended him.

Emperor Henry IV was opposed to Gregory's reforms; his Synod of Worms in 1076 resolved that Gregory was deposed; several Transalpine bishops agreed. Gregory excommunicated them, including Guibert. The Transalpine bishops and prelates gathered in April 1076 with Guibert presiding and declared pope Gregory himself excommunicated.

In 1080, at a further synod in June, Henry declared Gregory deposed (again) and Guibert elected as Pope Clement III. Henry promised his new pope that he would march with his army to Rome and make the papal election official. He failed at first, but ... well, let's continue this tomorrow.

Pope Urban II

The reign of Pope Urban II was barely more than a decade, but he made some decisions with profound effects for centuries. He was born Odo of Chatillon c.1035, and began studies at the Cathedral school of Reims in 1050. He progressed rapidly and became the grand prior at Cluny. Pope Gregory VII named him the Bishop of Ostia (a suburb of Rome) about 1080. He was a champion of the Gregorian reforms involving moral integrity of clerics and their independence from secular courts.

Pope Gregory VII died in 1085, having named three potential successors. The first, Desiderius, was a pious man who had devoted his life to not being in the public eye, and remained in the office as Victor III for a mere 130 days, after which Odo of Chatillon was made pope by acclamation, taking the name Urban II.

Urban's first challenge was the antipope Clement III, who had been installed by Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV in 1085 after Henry's clash with Gregory over the Investiture Controversy (see Gregory's link above). Urban had to avoid Rome because of Clement, but he traveled around northern Italy and France, holding synods to promote reforms against simony, clerical marriages, and issues of the Holy Roman Emperor and the antipope. (Clerical marriages—rather, the practice of keeping mistresses—were dealt with in England and France simply by instituting a heavy tax on mistresses.)

He became involved in political issues when he supported the rebellion of Prince Conrad against his father, Henry IV. He helped arrange the marriage of Conrad to Maximilian, the daughter of Count Roger I of Sicily (she brought a large dowry that helped Conrad in the fight against Henry).

He also negotiated a compromise between Anselm of Bec and William II of England, which brought him England's support against the antipope.

Urban's most profound undertaking was to preach the Crusade in 1095 (see illustration), starting a papal policy of trying to assert control over the Holy Land that lasted for centuries. He was motivated by a request from the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Comnenos, asking for help against the Turks. Urban offered remission of all sins for those who "took up the Cross."

He also gave Roger of Sicily the authority to appoint bishops, to forward the church revenues to Urban, and to sit in judgment over ecclesiastical issues—the exact opposite of what the Investiture Controversy with Henry IV was supposed to resolve! Other secular rulers did not get these privileges, which led to problems later with Roger's heirs.

Urban died in 1099, in Rome. Had he, then, eliminated the antipope Clement? Not really. Clement outlived and (in some sense) out-reigned Urban. Let's look at the anti-papacy of Clement II tomorrow.

The Frangipani Family

There are a number of families in the 21st century who have become wealthy through commerce and use that wealth to exert their influence on politicians through massive donations. The Middle Ages was no different, except that some times they simply eliminated the middle man and managed things directly.

The Frangipani family in Rome, for instance, possessed the Colosseum from 1200 and fortified it as a castle, using it to control approaches to the Lateran Palace, and therefore could protect (or imprison) the pope and papal offices. They lost control of it to the growing Annibaldi family in the mid-13th century (who had popes Gregory IX and Alexander IV on their side). When the papacy moved to Avignon (1309 - 1377), access to the Lateran wasn't so important, Roman population declined, and the Colosseum was abandoned.

The Frangipani were Guelphs, more interested in supporting the pope's power, rather than Ghibellines, who supported more authority for the Holy Roman Emperor. They claimed ancient roots, but they do not appear in records prior to 1014. They involved themselves in many papal conflicts, such as the Investiture Controversy between Gregory VII and Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV. They reached their peak of influence when they got Pope Honorius II elected.

There were many branches of the family—such as in Friuli and Dalmatia—but the Roman branch ended in 1654 with the death of Mario Frangipani.

One of the least admirable actions by a Frangipani was in 1268 when Giovanni Frangipane betrayed the last of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, the teenage Duke of Swabia. I'll tell you about poor Conradin tomorrow.