Giovanni of Crema

When Pope Honorius II wanted to resolve a dispute in England between the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, he sent Giovanni of Crema as his papal legate.

England had refused to allow papal legates on the island for a long time, preferring the relationship between the king and the Archbishop of Canterbury to manage religious decisions. During the reign of King Henry I (reigned 1100 - 1135) had refused eight papal legates prior to Giovanni.

Giovanni stopped at Rouen and sent a letter dated 1 June 1124 to Henry, asking permission to cross the English Channel. He did not receive the permission he sought until 1125. His first mission was to go to Scotland and hold a council to tell the Scottish bishops they were subject to the Archbishop of York. This mission was unsuccessful.

Giovanni held a council at Westminster Abbey (pictured above in its earlier days) on 9 September 1125. It was attended by Archbishop of Canterbury William of Corbeil, Archbishop of York Thurstan of Bayeaux, and about 20 bishops and 40 abbots. Many reforms were declared regarding simony and priestly celibacy, but the issue of primacy between the archbishops was avoided. Instead, Giovanni invited both William and Thurstan to return to Rome with him and meet with the pope.

The three traveled to Rome, but even then Honorius was wary about making a hard and fast decision about the two English offices. One decision Honorius made was that the Bishop of St. Andrews, which was the Roman Catholic diocese of Scotland, would be subject to the Archbishop of York.

Whether York or Canterbury could overrule the other as archbishops was avoided, but Honorius said York would be subject to Canterbury not because Canterbury was somehow more important thanYork but in Canterbury's role as papal legate to England and Scotland. On the other hand, Canterbury could not demand an oath of obedience from York.

Papal legates making demands did not sit well with England (possible not with anyone), and a rumor spread about Giovanni. Roger of Hoveden's history includes a story from historian Henry of Huntingdon (c.1088 - c.1157) that Giovanni was caught in bed with a woman. Giovanni was suspended from his cardinal position but then restored by Honorius. The rumor of the woman in his bed might explain that.

Why was Giovanni allowed into England after so many papal legates had been refused? Maybe the king wanted the archbishop rivalry resolved and didn't want to anger anyone by doing it himself. Some think it was a quid pro quo situation because of an action taken by the previous pope, Calixtus II. Let's look at that situation tomorrow.

Honorius and Conflicts, Part 4

Bernard of Clairvaux was concerned (as just about everyone for several centuries) about the relationship between religious and secular authority and the supremacy of one over the other. Bernard's preaching and devotion inspired the Bishop of Paris, Stephen of Senlis, to try to eliminate the influence of the French kings in the appointment of clergy.

The French king at the time was Louis VI (reigned 1108 - 1137), called "Le Gros" because over time he gained so much weight he could no longer ride into battle (see illustration). Louis was not against religion—his chief advisor was Abbot Suger—but he maintained the tradition of having some say over his bishops. In response to Stephen opposing Louis' authority, Louis seized Stephen's wealth.

Stephen's goal of Church reform (making it independent of the king) also motivated the Archbishop of Sens, Henri Sanglier. Louis in retaliation charged Henri with simony (selling clergy positions for money) and tried to remove him from his position. Bernard's letter to Honorius requested that the pope intercede with Louis on behalf of Stephen of Senlis and Henri Sanglier. Louis was trying to fill bishop and priest positions in Tours as well, after Honorius had just appointed Hildebert of Lavardin to be Archbishop of Tours.

Honorius did not take as hard a line with a king as he had with abbots (see here and here). When the French bishops banded together to place the diocese of Paris under interdict (denying all residents of the diocese from receiving any of the sacraments of the Church), Louis protested to Honorius. Honorius lifted the interdict to save the residents of Paris from this punishment. This took pressure off of Louis to change his ways.

This "soft on crime" approach disgusted Bernard of Clairvaux, who expressed himself to Honorius. Honorius stuck to his guns, however, advising Stephen of Senlis to reconcile with Louis. Honorius must have had some words with Louis, because Louis stopped interfering with Archbishop Henri.

Honorius was also involved in English affairs, particularly in the debate over the Archbishoprics of Canterbury and York: did one have supremacy, or did they have equal authority? Thurstan of Bayeaux in York was pushing his claim, and Honorius wrote to him saying that the pope would settle the matter personally.

By "personally" he meant he would send a papal legate with the authority to act on the pope's behalf. Cardinal Giovanni of Crema went to England and convened a council at Westminster and...you know, this is going to get complicated, because England had been denying entrance to papal legates for years, so why did Giovanni of Crema get in? And what about Scotland? Did York have jurisdiction over Scotland? Let's save all that for tomorrow.