Marozia

The daughter of Theophylact I and Theodora, Marozia, was wedded to Alberic I of Spoleto in 909. Alberic's link to the counts of Tusculum (who were the chief power in Rome) was advantageous for him. With the death of Theophylact in 924 or 925, Alberic (via Marozia) became the ruler of Rome.

Their first child, John, was born in 910, shortly after they were married, but Liudprand of Cremona claimed John was the result of an affair between Marozia and Pope Sergius III, whom Alberic and Theophylact had put on the throne after ousting an antipope.

Marozia would have known Sergius for years as her father's cousin, and the story of the affair is found not only in Liudprand but also in the Liber Pontificalis ("Book of the Popes"). Another historian of the time, Floduard, refers to John as the brother of Alberic II, another of Marozia's sons (but that to me does not mean they could not have different fathers).

After Alberic I died in 924, Marozia married Guy of Tuscany, who was an enemy of the then-Pope John X. John had been supported by the counts of Tusculum, especially Marozia's mother, Theodora. John's dream of a unified Italy meant supporting powerful lords who might assume that role. This did not sit well with Marozia and Guy. They imprisoned Pope John in 928. He either died in a dungeon due to its horrible conditions, or was smothered with a pillow.

Marozia made sure the next two popes were under her control, Leo VI and Stephen VII.

Guy of Tuscany died in 929, and Marozia planned to marry Guy's half-brother Hugh of Arles (seen in the illustration). Hugh was considered King of Italy (which at the time was the northern part of the Italian Peninsula and Corsica). This marriage would be illegal under canon law because of their affinity.* The teenaged Alberic II was opposed to this. There are two stories that explain his hostility to Hugh. One is that during the wedding banquet Alberic spilled some water on Hugh, who slapped the boy in public. The other is that Alberic discovered a plot by Hugh to have him blinded and therefore disqualify him from ruling when his time came. In either case, Alberic raised troops and prevented the wedding, causing Hugh to flee and imprisoning Marozia.

Marozia spent five years in prison. In 931, Marozia's son became Pope John XI. Several more popes were descended from her. Alberic II's son Octavian became Pope John XII in 955. Popes Benedict VIII, John XIX, and Benedict IX, and antipope Benedict X were also descended from her.

We should probably take a closer look at Liudprand of Cremona, from whom we may be getting lots of (mis?)information. But that's for tomorrow.

*This was the same case as Henry VII and Catherine of Aragon, who was his brother's widow.

Alberic II of Spoleto

The House of Theophylact (the counts of Tusculum) ruled Rome for four generations. A grandson of the founding Theophylact I was Alberic II of Spoleto.

His parents were Alberic I and Marozia (Theophylact's daughter). Their eldest son, John, was Pope John XI as of 931. (According to Liudprand of Cremona, John was the son of Marozia and her lover, Pope Sergius III.)

Alberic I died when Alberic was young, and Marozia retained power in Rome, marrying a couple more times. According to one historian, Benedict of Soracte, Marozia's third husband (seen here between the young Alberic and Marozia) intended to have Alberic blinded (disqualifying him from being a ruler). When Alberic found out, he raised a mob that stormed the palace, drove the man out of Rome and imprisoned Marozia, allowing him to rule unencumbered.

His reign from 932 to 954 was peaceful. He styled himself princeps ("prince") of Rome, a title that was twice used in official documents by Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII. He controlled Rome firmly, and the popes. When his brother Pope John XI died, Alberic pressured Leo VII to become pope. Leo did not want the position, but Alberic wanted someone pliable. After Leo died (in 939), Pope Stephen VIII succeeded him.

After a number of bishops were involved in an assassination attempt against Alberic, he (it is reported) imprisoned and tortured Stephen. Stephen was succeeded by Pope Marinus II (sometimes called Martin III) on 30 October 942. Marinus supported many monasteries. Alberic was also in favor of restoring monasteries that had been devastated by Muslim attacks. The two got along, but it was said Marinus did nothing without Alberic's approval.

After Marinus came Pope Agapetus II. Alberic's hold on the papacy was so complete that in 951 he was able to prevent the coronation of Otto the Great as Holy Roman Emperor (which needed a pope as celebrant) until after Alberic died.

Before Alberic died in 954, he had made the nobles of Rome promise to make his son the next pope. Agapetus was succeeded in 955 by Alberic's son Octavian, who took the name John XII. Otto the Great was finally crowned Holy Roman Emperor by John in 964.

Several more popes were descended from or related to Alberic, which means they were descended from Marozia, and we really ought to find out more about her and her family before perhaps exploring her descendants. See you tomorrow.

Pope Agapetus II

In 946, Rome was an independent republic ruled by Alberic II of Spoleto (and we'll be taking a closer look at his whole family soon), who prevented the popes from exercising any secular power. This was during a period called the Saeculum obscurum ("the Dark Age"), which was also known by less-polite names.

At the death of Pope Marinus II, Albert nominated Agapetus (born c.901) as Bishop of Rome. Agapetus II had very little authority in anything other than religious matters. The See of Reims was being fought over by two bishops, so he sent a legate, Marinus of Bomarzo, to oversee a synod there. Agapetus showed his support for King Louis IV of France by appointing Louis' favorite to Reims.

Agapetus also intervened in a dispute between an archbishop and a bishop who each wanted to declare himself the metropolitan of Pannonia, a province of the old Roman Empire that includes the modern regions of western Hungary, western Slovakia, eastern Austria, northern Croatia, north-western Serbia, northern Slovenia, and northern Bosnia and Herzegovina. Agapetus pointed out that, because of historical invasions and subsequent divisions, Pannonia was logically split into two regions, and each man could be metropolitan of his own half of old Pannonia.

He argued with dukes of Beneventum and Capua to turn over possession of monasteries to the monks who lived there. He also wanted to revive one of the monasteries outside the Vatican walls and requested for some monks from the Gorze Abbey in the Lorraine to come and live there. Even this needed the support of Alberic, however.

When Agapetus died in 955, he was succeeded by John XII, who began life as Octavian, the son of (drum roll) Alberic II of Spoleto. It sounds like we really ought to look at Alberic and his influence on the papacy.Turns out it was very much a family affair for him. I'll explain next time.

Pope John XII

After the story of Gregorius by Hartmann von Aue, I became curious if there ever was a pope who was the product of incest. The only pope I could find with any connection to incest was John XII, who was called Octavian at birth and probably should never have become pope.

His father was Alberic II of Spoleto (912 - 954). Alberic styled himself Prince of Rome, and for all intents and purposes, he controlled Rome politically after a quarrel with the actual King of Rome, Hugh, when Alberic incited a mob that drove Hugh out of the city. Alberic married his step-sister Alda, which would (sort of) make their son the product of incest. But their son was Gregory I of Tusculum. Octavian's mother was actually Alberic's concubine. On Alberic's deathbed, he had the nobles and clergy of Rome swear to make Octavian the next pope (Gregory was a count, and didn't need anything else).

This idea was not completely out of the blue. Octavian had entered holy orders and was a cardinal deacon of a basilica in Rome. Pope Agapetus II died in November 955, and the 25-year-old Octavian was elected his successor one month later, taking the name John XII.

A note about the name: for centuries, popes used their own names when elected; they rarely took a new name when they became pope. When Octavian chose to call himself "John" it was only the third time that a pope took a new name. This is called a "regnal name"; that is, the name used when one starts a reign or pontificate. The only other times prior to this when a pope used a different name were John II (born Mercurius, reigned 533-535) and John III (born Catelinus, reigned 561-574). Octavian would use 'Octavian" when issuing directives on secular matters, and "John XII" when issuing papal bulls.

There were plenty of secular issues. In 960 he personally led an attack on some Lombard duchies to reclaim part of the Papal States. He did not achieve that goal, and in fact had to agree to relinquish a claim on certain territories. He was equally ineffective in controlling Rome the way his father had. When King Berengar II of Italy began to attack papal territory, John appealed to Otto I "the Great" of Germany. For his help, John crowned Otto Holy Roman Emperor.

At home, John was considered coarse and immoral; the Lateran Palace was described as a brothel. At a Synod of Rome in 963, charges of corruption were brought against him. The contemporary priest and historian Liudprand of Cremona offers us this (hearsay) account:

Then, rising up, the cardinal priest Peter testified that he himself had seen John XII celebrate Mass without taking communion. John, bishop of Narni, and John, a cardinal deacon, professed that they themselves saw that a deacon had been ordained in a horse stable, but were unsure of the time. Benedict, cardinal deacon, with other co-deacons and priests, said they knew that he had been paid for ordaining bishops, specifically that he had ordained a ten-year-old bishop in the city of Todi ... They testified about his adultery, which they did not see with their own eyes, but nonetheless knew with certainty: he had fornicated with the widow of Rainier, with Stephana his father's concubine, with the widow Anna, and with his own niece, and he made the sacred palace into a whorehouse.

I have italicized the relevant phrase. (I promised an incestuous pope, after all.)

It was his deal with Otto that ultimately caused him trouble. Otto wanted John to abandon his worldly ways. As Otto did what John wanted—subduing Berengar—John feared Otto's hold in Italy and sent for help from the Magyars and the Byzantines. Seeing John turn on him, Otto besieged Rome. John fled Rome, taking papal treasure with him. A council summoned in Rome by Otto deposed John and elected Pope Leo VIII in his place.

After Otto left Rome, John re-entered (Leo fled) and summoned his own synod to declare his deposition invalid. Before he could negotiate with Otto, he died on 14 May 964. The cause of his death is uncertain. All accounts say it involved an adulterous encounter, but some say he died of apoplexy and some say he was caught and killed by the husband.

His very worldly behavior may explain a papal legend that won't go away. A medieval writer claims that among John's concubines was one named Joan who wielded great authority during John's pontificate. It has been suggested that this gave rise to the legend of "Pope Joan," that supposedly there was a pope who was secretly a woman—a claim for which no evidence exists. But I suppose that legend is worth examining next time.