Showing posts with label Otto of Friesling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Otto of Friesling. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

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.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Prester John, Part 1

That "inaccessible area" in Asia mentioned in the Finding Paradise entry fascinated Europeans. Knowledge of the lands to the east was rare, and accounts of travels in that direction were devoured. Marco Polo's tales were only one example.

The 3rd century apocryphal text Acts of Thomas tells of St. Thomas and his attempts to convert India to Christianity. Although not included in the definitive collection of books of the Bible, it was still copied and read (Gregory of Tours made a copy), and sparked the imagination: what if there were a thriving community of Christians in exotic India, cut off from Europe and desirous of contact?

In the 12th century, a German chronicler and bishop called Otto of Friesling recorded that in 1144 he had met a bishop from Syria at the court of Pope Eugene III. Bishop Hugh's request for aid in fighting Saracens resulted in the Second Crusade. During the conversation, however, Bishop Hugh mentioned a Nestorian Christian (Nestorians and their origin were briefly mentioned here) who was a priest and a king, named Prester John, tried to help free Jerusalem from infidels, bringing help from further east. He had an emerald scepter, and was a descendant of one of the Three Magi who brought gifts at Jesus' birth.

The idea of Prester John, a fabulously wealthy and well-connected Christian potentate poised to help bridge the gap between West and East, captured the imagination. A letter purporting to be from Prester John appeared in 1165. The internal details of the letter suggest that the author knew the Acts of Thomas as well as the 3rd century Romance of Alexander.

The letter became enormously popular; almost a hundred copies still exist. It was copied and embellished and translated over and over. Modern analysis of the evolution of the letter and its vocabulary suggest an origin in Northern Italy, possibly by a Jewish author.

At the time, however, no analysis was needed for people to act. Pope Alexander III decided to write a letter to Prester John and sent it on 27 September 1177 via his physician, Philip. Philip was not heard from again, but that did not deter the belief in Prester John  at all.