Matilda, Countess of Tuscany CHAPTER I "We need another Hildebrand to shake H. W. LONGfellow. IN the year 962 the German Emperor, Otto the Great, who had married Adelaide, widow of Lothair, King of Italy, was, by the elective voice of the Roman nobles and patricians, chosen as their King. From that time, therefore, the Italian dynasty was ended. Henceforth the country knew no other sovereigns than German princes who, following the policy of Charlemagne, treated the kingdom as a conquered province. On their coronation at Rome they assumed the imperial dignity, and, as historians assure us, "made repeated but ineffectual attempts to revive the ancient laws and customs of the city." Under the title of "Pontifex Maximus," or "Upholder of Ecclesiastical Rights," they constituted themselves "Defenders of the Church" against all men, although they thought lightly of violating her authority when it was pronounced against them. The closing of the tenth century, however, became the epoch of a marked change in the constitution of Italy. In the north, Lombardy, headed by Milan, became to a certain degree independent, though still more or less swayed by the Imperial Court. Other important cities, including Rome, threw off allegiance to the Emperor, and having thus asserted their independence, “passed under the control of the people themselves, who made and repealed their own laws as necessity or caprice dictated." Those living in the other provinces, such as the extensive marquisate of Tuscany, which afterwards formed the nucleus of the Republics of Florence, Lucca, Pisa and Sienna, were content to commit the reins of government to abler hands than those of the populace. "The cities of Tuscany," remarks the historian, "are placed as rocks in the subsidiary waste of unsettled power." Their rulers were, for the most part, native princes, who, under the various titles of Margraves, Dukes, Counts, etc., domineered over the towns and cities which comprised their principalities without any protest from the inhabitants. Probably this despotism would not have been tolerated had it not been tempered by a gracious condescension which secured the ready obedience and loyalty of the willing vassals. These dignitaries, independent of each other and of Germany, were, in point of fact, so many petty sovereigns whose power became both absolute and hereditary. They not only imposed taxes upon their subjects, but exacted labour from them without remuneration, and not infrequently demanded their time and strength in carrying out works of defence or utility. In return for this forced service, the Castle doors were open to relieve the needy. The ladies of the household voluntarily undertook to care for the sick peasants, for whom they prepared medicines and nourishing food with their own hands. In addition to this personal assistance and sympathy, the tyranny of the princes was further mitigated by the erection and endowment of monasteries which afforded sustenance and shelter for the aged and . infirm. Military service was required at the hands of the vassals whenever their lords were disposed to enter upon the war Tuscany path in order to acquire fresh territory, or to repel the incursions of native or foreign princes. At the same time it must be confessed the Margraves constituted themselves the recognised protectors of their dependants, and were ever ready to take their part against the attacks and annoyances of their jealous neighbours. Amongst those most to be feared were the Normans, who about this period began to acquire considerable territory in Italy, and whose mailed hand fell heavily upon the natives whose land they appropriated. A band composed of forty of these valiant sons of Mars had on their return from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land proceeded by way of the Tyrrhenian Sea and landed at Salerno. The inhabitants of that city were engaged at the time in resisting with varying success the attacks of a horde of Saracens who came in vast numbers and over-ran most of the southern portion of Italy. The Normans offered their services to the citizens, and with that daring which is associated with their name drove back the infidels and settled as allies in the country they had so gallantly rescued. By conquest and frequent annexations these enterprising settlers gradually but surely extended their territories until they formed themselves into a number of self-controlled and formidable colonies. These provinces at a later date were recognised as fiefs of the Church and held in trust for the Pontiffs, whose temporal power was thereby considerably augmented. The Holy See, however, though thus aided by the secular arm, was not yet sufficiently strong to resist the imperial control of the tiara. Unfortunately, the choice and election of the Popes remained exclusively in the hands of the Emperors, who had arrogated to themselves the privilege of choosing the successors to the chair of St Peter and of placing thereon persons devoted to the empire. The men selected were generally the relatives or Chancellors of the German monarch, and were consequently bound by ties of family interest or policy to uphold the constitution. This custom could not fail to be pernicious in its results to the Church, upon whom it inflicted Pontiffs who were incapable of fulfilling their holy trust, and whose obligations to their patrons made them hesitate to reprove their vices. To add to the troubles by which the Holy See was afflicted, the sin of simony had insidiously corrupted the elections, and the way to the throne was assured by generous contributions to the imperial exchequer. The prize, as a natural consequence, fell to the highest bidder, and "there ensued a succession of anti-Popes whose elevation was a scandal to the whole Catholic world." Spiritual qualifications or personal fitness, we learn, were entirely dispensed with in the false Pontiffs, and it was this omission which made their identification so unmistakable. In vain, we are told, did earnest Christians seek in them the administrative ability and purity of life which should distinguish the temporal head of the Church. Nor did they find in these usurpers that devotion to the interests of the Holy See which demanded her Vicar to be continuously on the alert to detect and resist encroachments on her civil and religious rights. Corruption having thus crept to the very footstool of St Peter, what wonder that much laxity of morals prevailed among the flock committed to the charge of such hireling shepherds. St Peter Damian, who lived at the time, thus describes the sad state of society, both religious and secular:"Ecclesiastical discipline is almost gone, the holy canons are despised and the ardour due to God's service is shown only in the pursuit of earthly goods. The lawful order of marriage is disregarded. We have long since renounced all virtue. Laymen seize the rights, the revenues, the possessions of the Church, and seize the substance of the poor as they would the spoils of their enemies. In our days the world is but a theatre of intemperance, avarice and lust." But a new era of life and enthusiasm was about to dawn for the oppressed Church, and the first ripples of the mighty Hildebrand wave of freedom began to stir the stagnant waters of sloth and indifference. Her long-neglected canons were restored and the smouldering embers of faith were quickened in the hearts of her children, whose lives had long ceased to respond to the teachings of her Divine founder. “Like a giant arising from sleep, she awoke once and for ever from the lethargy which had numbed her vitality, and an impulse of life and action thrilled her dormant fibres. Casting off the chains which had bound her to earthly interests, she shook herself free and stood forth the Champion of Virtue and the Denouncer of Vice." "1 At this crisis of the Church's history a Pontiff was needed who with a stern purpose and an inflexible will joined to a profound sense of duty should undertake the control of ecclesiastical affairs. Hildebrand, a humble monk of Cluny, responded to this Divine call, and his was the hand which "kindled the torch of reform and bore it aloft with clear and steady brilliancy to the gaze of the Christian world." 2 While the pioneer of Church liberty yet lay in his cradle events were passing around him which laid the foundation of the corrective measures which were to constitute his life's work. Benedict VIII., who had been restored to the Papal chair by Henry II. of Germany, had in the Council summoned for the purpose of crowning that monarch issued a decree that the election of the Pontiffs should be freely made by the clergy and the Roman people. This rule was a confirmation of those already drawn up by Popes Eugene and Leo IV. as far back as 824 and 847. The passing of the decrees just at that time, remarks the historian, derived singular significance from the fact that the Emperor, who was afterwards canonised, not only gave his tacit consent to their enactment, but also at the same Council confirmed the Church in all its rights and privileges conferred by Charlemagne. 1 Ecclesiastical Biography, by the Right Hon. Sir James Stephen. 2 Ibid. |