Gibbon's The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire
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Chapter LXIX: State Of Rome From The Twelfth Century. -- Part IV.
After his decease, the tedious and equal suspense of the conclave was
fixed by the dexterity of the French faction. A specious offer was made
and accepted, that, in the term of forty days, they would elect one of
the three candidates who should be named by their opponents. The
archbishop of Bourdeaux, a furious enemy of his king and country, was
the first on the list; but his ambition was known; and his conscience
obeyed the calls of fortune and the commands of a benefactor, who had
been informed by a swift messenger that the choice of a pope was now in
his hands. The terms were regulated in a private interview; and with
such speed and secrecy was the business transacted, that the unanimous
conclave applauded the elevation of Clement the Fifth. ^79 The cardinals
of both parties were soon astonished by a summons to attend him beyond
the Alps; from whence, as they soon discovered, they must never hope to
return. He was engaged, by promise and affection, to prefer the
residence of France; and, after dragging his court through Poitou and
Gascony, and devouring, by his expense, the cities and convents on the
road, he finally reposed at Avignon, ^80 which flourished above seventy
years ^81 the seat of the Roman pontiff and the metropolis of
Christendom. By land, by sea, by the Rhône, the position of Avignon was
on all sides accessible; the southern provinces of France do not yield
to Italy itself; new palaces arose for the accommodation of the pope and
cardinals; and the arts of luxury were soon attracted by the treasures
of the church. They were already possessed of the adjacent territory,
the Venaissin county, ^82 a populous and fertile spot; and the
sovereignty of Avignon was afterwards purchased from the youth and
distress of Jane, the first queen of Naples and countess of Provence,
for the inadequate price of fourscore thousand florins. ^83 Under the
shadow of a French monarchy, amidst an obedient people, the popes
enjoyed an honorable and tranquil state, to which they long had been
strangers: but Italy deplored their absence; and Rome, in solitude and
poverty, might repent of the ungovernable freedom which had driven from
the Vatican the successor of St. Peter. Her repentance was tardy and
fruitless: after the death of the old members, the sacred college was
filled with French cardinals, ^84 who beheld Rome and Italy with
abhorrence and contempt, and perpetuated a series of national, and even
provincial, popes, attached by the most indissoluble ties to their
native country.
[Footnote 79: See, in the Chronicle of Giovanni Villani, (l. viii. c.
63, 64, 80, in Muratori, tom. xiii.,) the imprisonment of Boniface
VIII., and the election of Clement V., the last of which, like most
anecdotes, is embarrassed with some difficulties.]
[Footnote 80: The original lives of the eight popes of Avignon, Clement
V., John XXII., Benedict XI., Clement VI., Innocent VI., Urban V.,
Gregory XI., and Clement VII., are published by Stephen Baluze, (Vitæ
Paparum Avenionensium; Paris, 1693, 2 vols. in 4to.,) with copious and
elaborate notes, and a second volume of acts and documents. With the
true zeal of an editor and a patriot, he devoutly justifies or excuses
the characters of his countrymen.]
[Footnote 81: The exile of Avignon is compared by the Italians with
Babylon, and the Babylonish captivity. Such furious metaphors, more
suitable to the ardor of Petrarch than to the judgment of Muratori, are
gravely refuted in Baluze's preface. The abbé de Sade is distracted
between the love of Petrarch and of his country. Yet he modestly pleads,
that many of the local inconveniences of Avignon are now removed; and
many of the vices against which the poet declaims, had been imported
with the Roman court by the strangers of Italy, (tom. i. p. 23--28.)]
[Footnote 82: The comtat Venaissin was ceded to the popes in 1273 by
Philip III. king of France, after he had inherited the dominions of the
count of Thoulouse. Forty years before, the heresy of Count Raymond had
given them a pretence of seizure, and they derived some obscure claim
from the xith century to some lands citra Rhodanum, (Valesii Notitia
Galliarum, p. 495, 610. Longuerue, Description de la France, tom. i. p.
376--381.)]
[Footnote 83: If a possession of four centuries were not itself a title,
such objections might annul the bargain; but the purchase money must be
refunded, for indeed it was paid. Civitatem Avenionem emit . . . . per
ejusmodi venditionem pecuniâ redundates, &c., (iida Vita Clement. VI. in
Baluz. tom. i. p. 272. Muratori, Script. tom. iii. P. ii. p. 565.) The
only temptation for Jane and her second husband was ready money, and
without it they could not have returned to the throne of Naples.]
[Footnote 84: Clement V immediately promoted ten cardinals, nine French
and one English, (Vita ivta, p. 63, et Baluz. p. 625, &c.) In 1331, the
pope refused two candidates recommended by the king of France, quod xx.
Cardinales, de quibus xvii. de regno Franciæ originem traxisse noscuntur
in memorato collegio existant, (Thomassin, Discipline de l'Eglise, tom.
-
p. 1281.)]
The progress of industry had produced and enriched the Italian
republics: the æra of their liberty is the most flourishing period of
population and agriculture, of manufactures and commerce; and their
mechanic labors were gradually refined into the arts of elegance and
genius. But the position of Rome was less favorable, the territory less
fruitful: the character of the inhabitants was debased by indolence and
elated by pride; and they fondly conceived that the tribute of subjects
must forever nourish the metropolis of the church and empire. This
prejudice was encouraged in some degree by the resort of pilgrims to the
shrines of the apostles; and the last legacy of the popes, the
institution of the holy year, ^85 was not less beneficial to the people
than to the clergy. Since the loss of Palestine, the gift of plenary
indulgences, which had been applied to the crusades, remained without an
object; and the most valuable treasure of the church was sequestered
above eight years from public circulation. A new channel was opened by
the diligence of Boniface the Eighth, who reconciled the vices of
ambition and avarice; and the pope had sufficient learning to recollect
and revive the secular games which were celebrated in Rome at the
conclusion of every century. To sound without danger the depth of
popular credulity, a sermon was seasonably pronounced, a report was
artfully scattered, some aged witnesses were produced; and on the first
of January of the year thirteen hundred, the church of St. Peter was
crowded with the faithful, who demanded the customary indulgence of the
holy time. The pontiff, who watched and irritated their devout
impatience, was soon persuaded by ancient testimony of the justice of
their claim; and he proclaimed a plenary absolution to all Catholics
who, in the course of that year, and at every similar period, should
respectfully visit the apostolic churches of St. Peter and St. Paul. The
welcome sound was propagated through Christendom; and at first from the
nearest provinces of Italy, and at length from the remote kingdoms of
Hungary and Britain, the highways were thronged with a swarm of pilgrims
who sought to expiate their sins in a journey, however costly or
laborious, which was exempt from the perils of military service. All
exceptions of rank or sex, of age or infirmity, were forgotten in the
common transport; and in the streets and churches many persons were
trampled to death by the eagerness of devotion. The calculation of their
numbers could not be easy nor accurate; and they have probably been
magnified by a dexterous clergy, well apprised of the contagion of
example: yet we are assured by a judicious historian, who assisted at
the ceremony, that Rome was never replenished with less than two hundred
thousand strangers; and another spectator has fixed at two millions the
total concourse of the year. A trifling oblation from each individual
would accumulate a royal treasure; and two priests stood night and day,
with rakes in their hands, to collect, without counting, the heaps of
gold and silver that were poured on the altar of St. Paul. ^86 It was
fortunately a season of peace and plenty; and if forage was scarce, if
inns and lodgings were extravagantly dear, an inexhaustible supply of
bread and wine, of meat and fish, was provided by the policy of Boniface
and the venal hospitality of the Romans. From a city without trade or
industry, all casual riches will speedily evaporate: but the avarice and
envy of the next generation solicited Clement the Sixth ^87 to
anticipate the distant period of the century. The gracious pontiff
complied with their wishes; afforded Rome this poor consolation for his
loss; and justified the change by the name and practice of the Mosaic
Jubilee. ^88 His summons was obeyed; and the number, zeal, and
liberality of the pilgrims did not yield to the primitive festival. But
they encountered the triple scourge of war, pestilence, and famine: many
wives and virgins were violated in the castles of Italy; and many
strangers were pillaged or murdered by the savage Romans, no longer
moderated by the presence of their bishops. ^89 To the impatience of the
popes we may ascribe the successive reduction to fifty, thirty-three,
and twenty-five years; although the second of these terms is
commensurate with the life of Christ. The profusion of indulgences, the
revolt of the Protestants, and the decline of superstition, have much
diminished the value of the jubilee; yet even the nineteenth and last
festival was a year of pleasure and profit to the Romans; and a
philosophic smile will not disturb the triumph of the priest or the
happiness of the people. ^90
[Footnote 85: Our primitive account is from Cardinal James Caietan,
(Maxima Bibliot. Patrum, tom. xxv.;) and I am at a loss to determine
whether the nephew of Boniface VIII. be a fool or a knave: the uncle is
a much clearer character.]
[Footnote 86: See John Villani (l. viii. c. 36) in the xiith, and the
Chronicon Astense, in the xith volume (p. 191, 192) of Muratori's
Collection Papa innumerabilem pecuniam ab eisdem accepit, nam duo
clerici, cum rastris, &c.]
[Footnote 87: The two bulls of Boniface VIII. and Clement VI. are
inserted on the Corpus Juris Canonici, Extravagant. Commun. l. v. tit.
ix c 1, 2.)]
[Footnote 88: The sabbatic years and jubilees of the Mosaic law, (Car.
Sigon. de Republica Hebræorum, Opp. tom. iv. l. iii. c. 14, 14, p. 151,
152,) the suspension of all care and labor, the periodical release of
lands, debts, servitude, &c., may seem a noble idea, but the execution
would be impracticable in a profane republic; and I should be glad to
learn that this ruinous festival was observed by the Jewish people.]
[Footnote 89: See the Chronicle of Matteo Villani, (l. i. c. 56,) in the
xivth vol. of Muratori, and the Mémoires sur la Vie de Pétrarque, tom.
-
p. 75--89.]
[Footnote 90: The subject is exhausted by M. Chais, a French minister at
the Hague, in his Lettres Historiques et Dogmatiques, sur les Jubilés et
es Indulgences; la Haye, 1751, 3 vols. in 12mo.; an elaborate and
pleasing work, had not the author preferred the character of a polemic
to that of a philosopher.]
In the beginning of the eleventh century, Italy was exposed to the
feudal tyranny, alike oppressive to the sovereign and the people. The
rights of human nature were vindicated by her numerous republics, who
soon extended their liberty and dominion from the city to the adjacent
country. The sword of the nobles was broken; their slaves were
enfranchised; their castles were demolished; they assumed the habits of
society and obedience; their ambition was confined to municipal honors,
and in the proudest aristocracy of Venice on Genoa, each patrician was
subject to the laws. ^91 But the feeble and disorderly government of
Rome was unequal to the task of curbing her rebellious sons, who scorned
the authority of the magistrate within and without the walls. It was no
longer a civil contention between the nobles and plebeians for the
government of the state: the barons asserted in arms their personal
independence; their palaces and castles were fortified against a siege;
and their private quarrels were maintained by the numbers of their
vassals and retainers. In origin and affection, they were aliens to
their country: ^92 and a genuine Roman, could such have been produced,
might have renounced these haughty strangers, who disdained the
appellation of citizens, and proudly styled themselves the princes, of
Rome. ^93 After a dark series of revolutions, all records of pedigree
were lost; the distinction of surnames was abolished; the blood of the
nations was mingled in a thousand channels; and the Goths and Lombards,
the Greeks and Franks, the Germans and Normans, had obtained the fairest
possessions by royal bounty, or the prerogative of valor. These examples
might be readily presumed; but the elevation of a Hebrew race to the
rank of senators and consuls is an event without a parallel in the long
captivity of these miserable exiles. ^94 In the time of Leo the Ninth, a
wealthy and learned Jew was converted to Christianity, and honored at
his baptism with the name of his godfather, the reigning Pope. The zeal
and courage of Peter the son of Leo were signalized in the cause of
Gregory the Seventh, who intrusted his faithful adherent with the
government of Adrian's mole, the tower of Crescentius, or, as it is now
called, the castle of St. Angelo. Both the father and the son were the
parents of a numerous progeny: their riches, the fruits of usury, were
shared with the noblest families of the city; and so extensive was their
alliance, that the grandson of the proselyte was exalted by the weight
of his kindred to the throne of St. Peter. A majority of the clergy and
people supported his cause: he reigned several years in the Vatican; and
it is only the eloquence of St. Bernard, and the final triumph of
Innocence the Second, that has branded Anacletus with the epithet of
antipope. After his defeat and death, the posterity of Leo is no longer
conspicuous; and none will be found of the modern nobles ambitious of
descending from a Jewish stock. It is not my design to enumerate the
Roman families which have failed at different periods, or those which
are continued in different degrees of splendor to the present time. ^95
The old consular line of the Frangipani discover their name in the
generous act of breaking or dividing bread in a time of famine; and such
benevolence is more truly glorious than to have enclosed, with their
allies the Corsi, a spacious quarter of the city in the chains of their
fortifications; the Savelli, as it should seem a Sabine race, have
maintained their original dignity; the obsolete surname of the
Capizucchi is inscribed on the coins of the first senators; the Conti
preserve the honor, without the estate, of the counts of Signia; and the
Annibaldi must have been very ignorant, or very modest, if they had not
descended from the Carthaginian hero. ^96
[Footnote 91: Muratori (Dissert. xlvii.) alleges the Annals of Florence,
Padua, Genoa, &c., the analogy of the rest, the evidence of Otho of
Frisingen, (de Gest. Fred. I. l. ii. c. 13,) and the submission of the
marquis of Este.]
[Footnote 92: As early as the year 824, the emperor Lothaire I. found it
expedient to interrogate the Roman people, to learn from each individual
by what national law he chose to be governed. (Muratori, Dissertat
-
]
[Footnote 93: Petrarch attacks these foreigners, the tyrants of Rome, in
a declamation or epistle, full of bold truths and absurd pedantry, in
which he applies the maxims, and even prejudices, of the old republic to
the state of the xivth century, (Mémoires, tom. iii. p. 157--169.)]
[Footnote 94: The origin and adventures of the Jewish family are noticed
by Pagi, (Critica, tom. iv. p. 435, A.D. 1124, No. 3, 4,) who draws his
information from the Chronographus Maurigniacensis, and Arnulphus
Sagiensis de Schismate, (in Muratori, Script. Ital. tom. iii. P. i. p.
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