He sent his messengers into every part of Germany, with orders to collect half the revenues of all vacant benefices, and to reserve them for the use of the Holy See. The Emperor (Charles IV.) approved the resistance of his bishops †; but on the one hand he denounced, in the strongest language, their pride, their avarice, and luxurious indulgences; while, on the other, he warmly demanded of the Nuncio from Avignon, wherefore the pontiff was so forward in taxing the property of the clergy, so remiss and languid in the restoration of their discipline? We should add, however, that Innocent, on his side, did not disregard that appeal, but turned himself to restrain the vices of the German prelates; while the Emperor exerted his authority to protect them from the spoliations to which they were perpetually liable from powerful laymen. He was succeeded, in 1362, by Urban V., whose reign was distinguished by the first serious attempt to restore the pontifical court to Rome. On the solicitation of his Italian subjects, urged by the eloquence of Petrarch, and on an understanding of perfect friendship and mutual co-operation with the emperor, he abandoned the splendid security of Avignon, and departed, with his reluctant court, for Rome. On his way, a popular tumult at Viterbo dismayed and even endangered some of the cardinals; but no other impediment was offered; and in October, 1367, the pope once more occupied the half-dismantled palace of his predecessors. He divided a peaceful residence of about three years between Rome § and Montefiascone, where he passed the summer months; and his alliance with Charles IV. of Urban V. *Even the see of Avignon was left without a bishop during this and the preceding pontificate; it was reserved, and its revenues usurped by these popes at their own pleasure. Thus it would seem that the reforms of Innocent VI. were not more disinterested than those of Benedict. See Vita Urbani V. ap. Baluz. and Baluzius's Notes. In an assembly of the princes of the empire held on this subject in 1359, Conrad d'Alzeia, Count Palatine, who was charged with the defence of the clergy, addressed the meeting to this effect: The Romans have always considered Germany as a mine of gold, and have invented various methods to exhaust it. And what does the pope give in return, but epistles and speeches? Let him be master of all the benefices as to their collation, but let him leave the revenues to those who own them. We send abundance of money into Italy for divers manufactures, and to Avignon for our children who study there, and who there solicit, and let us not say purchase, benefices. No one is ignorant what sums are every year carried from Germany to the court of Rome, for the confirmation of prelates, the obtaining of benefices, the carrying on of suits and appeals before the Holy See-for dispensations, absolutions, indulgences, privileges and other favours. In all former days the archbishops used to confirm the elections of the bishops their suffragans; but in our time John XXII. violently usurped that right. And now another pope demands from his clergy a new and unheard-of subsidy, threatening his censures on all who shall refuse or oppose. Resist the beginning of this evil, and permit not the establishment of this degrading servitude.'-(Fleury, 1. xcvi. s. xxxviii.) It was in the same year that the Emperor addressed to the Archbishop of Mayence the following complaints respecting the secular habits of his Clergy:-De Christi Patrimonio ludos, hastiTudia et torneamenta exercent; habitum militarem cum prætextis aureis et argenteis gestant, et calceos militares; comam et barbam nutriunt, et nihil, quod ad vitam et ordinem Ecclesiasticum spectat, ostendunt. Militaribus se duntaxat et secularibus actibus, vita et moribus, in suæ salutis dispendium et generale populi scandalum, immiscent.-The passage is cited by Robertson, Hist. Charles V., B. ii. Cogita tecum' (says Petrarch) in die ultimi judicii an resurgere amas inter Avinionicos peccatores famosissimos nunc omnium qui sub cœlo sunt, an inter Petrum et Paulum, Stephanum et Laurentium, &c. &c. The same argument, which is the concluding one, may probably have been adopted a few years afterwards by Catharine of Sienna. Petrarch became a very ardent eulogist of this Pope. The Pope had the honour, during this period, of entertaining both the Emperors as his guests. Charles IV, visited him at Montefiascone in 1368; John Palæologus in the year following at Rome. Germany, whatever may have been the dispositions of his subjects, guaranteed him against any political outrage. Nevertheless, in 1370, probably on the persuasion of the French cardinals *, he returned to Avignon, where he died immediately afterwards. Gregory XI, Again was a Frenchman, Gregory XI., elected to the chair, and he professed his inclination to repeat the experiment which had been made by his predecessor; but his resolution was weakened and retarded by the intrigues of his countrymen. He listened, indeed, with attention to the prayer of a solemn deputation from the Roman people, in 1374; but he took no immediate steps to grant it. Two years afterwards he was still at Avignon, when he was again importuned on the same subject by a very different instrument of solicitation. There was one Catharine, the daughter of a citizen at Sienna, who had embraced the monastic life, and acquired extraordinary reputation for sanctity. In the rigour of her fastings and watchings, in the duties of seriousness and silence, in the fervency and continuance of her prayers, she far surpassed the merit of her holy sisters; and the austerities which she practised prepared people to believe the fables which she related † : for she professed to have derived her spiritual knowledge from no human instructor-from no humbler source, than the direct and personal communication of Christ himself. On one occasion especially she had been blessed by a vision, in which the Saviour appeared to her, Catharine of Sienna. accompanied by the Holy Mother and a numerous host of saints, and in their presence he solemnly espoused her, placing on her finger a golden ring, adorned with four pearls and a diamond. After the vision had vanished, the ring still remained, sensible and palpable to herself, though invisible to every other eye. Nor was this the only favour which she boasted to have received from the Lord Jesus: she had sucked the blood from the wound in His side; she had received His heart in exchange for her own; she bore on her body the marks of His wounds— though these too were imperceptible by any sight except her own ‡. We do not relate such disgusting impiety, either because it was uncommon in those days, or because it was crowned by the solemn approbation of the Roman Church; for the wretched fanatic was canonized, and occupies no despicable station in the Holy Calendar: but it is a more extraordinary circumstance, awakening a deeper astonishment, that Catharine of Sienna was invited from her cell by the messengers of the Florentine people, and officially charged, by the compatriots of Dante and the contemporaries of Petrarch, with an important commission at the Court of Rome; the office of mitigating the papal displeasure, and reconciling the Church with the Republic was confided to her enthusiasm. She was admitted to an early audience. Her arguments, which she delivered in the vulgar Tuscan, were explained by the interpreter who attended her; and in conclusion, the Pope (assured, no doubt, of her devoted attachment to the Church) expressed his willingness to leave the *Spondanus, Ann. 1370, s. iv. St. Brigida, who was at that time in Italy, is related to have assured the Pope, on the authority of an express revelation from the holy Virgin, that his return to Avignon would be immediately followed by his death-abiit nihilo-minus. Peter of Arragon likewise prophesied the Grand Schism from the same event. Fleury thinks that she believed them herself, and he may be right :-Une imagination vive, échauffée par les jeûnes et les veilles, pouvoit y avoir grande part: d'autant plus, qu'aucune occupation exterieure ne détournoit ces pensées.-Liv. xcvii. s. xl. On the body of St. Francis the wounds were visible-a distinction conferred, as his disciples assert, on him alone. See Spondanus, ann. 1376, s. iv. differences entirely to her decision. But the embassy of Catharine was not confined to that object only; for, whether in obedience to the wish of the Florentines or to the suggestions of her own spirit, she urged at the same time the duties, which the pontiff owed to his Italian subjects, to the tombs of the Apostles, to the chair of his mighty predecessors; and her reasons are said to have influenced a mind already predisposed to listen to them. Respecting the motives which created that disposition, it must be mentioned that the residence at Avignon was no longer recommended by that careless security which at first distinguished it from Rome. The open country had been invaded and the city menaced by one of those Companies of associated brigands who were the terror of the fourteenth century. During the pontificate of Innocent VI. the inhabitants and the court had been compelled to seek for safety sometimes in their arms †, sometimes in their riches; and though the danger might not be very pressing, yet being near at hand and fresh in recollection, it perhaps influenced beyond its importance the councils of Avignon. The Pope's resolution, however, still wavered; and was at length decided by a second embassy from Rome, which arrived about two months after the visit of St. Catharine. The envoys expressly assured him, that unless he returned to his See, the Romans would provide a Pope for themselves, who would reside among them; his cardinal legate at the city gave him the same assurance; and it afterwards appeared, that overtures had already been made to the Abbot of Monte Cassino to that effect. This was no moment for delay. Gregory immediately departed for his capital; and thence, whatever may have been his private intentions, he was not destined to return. The place of the death of a pope was at that time of more lasting importance to the Church than his living residence, because the election of a successor could scarcely fail to be affected by the local circumstances under which he might be chosen. There could be no security for the continuance of the papal residence at Rome, until the crown should be again placed upon the head of an Italian. At Avignon, the French cardinals, who were more numerous, were certain to elect a French pope; but the accident which should oblige the Conclave to assemble in an Italian city, might probably lead, through the operation of external influences, to the choice of an Italian. That accident at length occurred, and its consequences will be pursued in the following chapter. SECTION II. In the meantime, the account which has been given of the pontiffs of Avignon is sufficient to throw some light on their individual merits, and, what is of much more consequence, on the general character and principles of their government. But a deeper consideration of this important period, suggests some reflections which it is proper to express; while there are some facts, less closely connected with papal biography, but not less strictly appertaining to the history of the Church, which have not been noticed, but which cannot wholly be overlooked. Accordingly, we shall first observe the decline which took place, during these seventy years, in *Spondanus, ann. 1376, s. ii. It does not appear, by the way, that the Florentines were ready to extend the same deference to her judgment. See Sismondi, chap. xlix. Matt. Villan., lib. vii, cap. xcvi. the pontifical power, and point out some of its most efficient causes. We shall then inquire, whether any attempts were made to obviate that decay, by measures of reform or renovation. The heresies which divided the Church, and the efforts which aimed to extinguish them, will be the last, and not the least instructive, subject of our examination. Decline of the papal power. I. The various and desultory warfare, alike savage in its circumstances and fruitless in its results, which was waged in Italy by the legates and mercenaries of the Pope*, in defence of the patrimony of St. Peter, is described by the civil historians of those times; nor shall we descend to recount the intrigues which were employed in the same contest, or the bulls which were so repeatedly and vainly launched from Avignon. But the evil, which these measures were intended to repress, was deeply felt at the time, and was fatally pernicious in its consequences. We have observed that, even during his residence at Rome and in the fullness of his power, the Pope was seldom in undisputed possession of the apostolical domains. But, in the season of his emigration, he could place little reliance on the friends whom he had deserted, while the licence of his enemies and depredators increased without restraint. Cities and populous districts were thus separated from the ecclesiastical states, and several among the Roman barons, who were his feudatories, usurped in perpetuity the lands of the Church. The deficiency thus occasioned in the pontifical treasury must needs be supplied from some new source; since the change in nation and residence had abated nothing of the pomp and prodigality of the Vicars of Christ. The funds to which they had chiefly recourse for this purpose were twofold. By the more general and easy sale of indulgences, they levied a productive tax upon the superstition of the people; at the same time they made a dangerous experiment on the submission of the clergy by various imposts on all ecclesiastical property†. The right of presentation to all vacant sees appears to have been first usurped by the Popes of Avignon. It was abused as soon as usurped; and the system of reservation deprived the diocese of its pastor, while it carried away its revenues into the apostolical chancery. At the same time the frequent contribution of tenths and first-fruits, raised under crusading or other pretences, gave deeper offence to the sacred order, as it touched their interests more directly and personally. It was vain to imagine, that the monstrous * It is truly remarked by Sismondi, that the Avignon Popes prosecuted these wars with greater ardour, than they would have done, had they been resident in Italy, or than they could, had they drawn their resources only from Italy. They suffered no personal dangers, they saw nothing of the evils which they inflicted, and they derived their supplies from the contributions of the whole church. The complaints which the Florentines had against the papal Gubernatores are enumerated with great warmth by Leonardus Aretinus. Hist. Florent., lib. viii., 181, 2. + The following are mentioned as the sources of the papal exactions from England during the fourteenth century:-(1.) Peter's Pence; for the supposed support of the English pilgrims at Rome: it scarcely exceeded 2007. a-year. (2.) King John's census, of 1000 marks. This was tolerably well paid, till the time of Urban V., in 1366, when king, clergy, lords, and commons, proclaimed the payment illegal, and it ceased. (3.) The payment of First-fruits. The origin of this is referred to the presents which, in very early ages, a bishop at his consecration, or a priest at his ordination, paid to the officiating prelate. It was abolished by Gregory the Great, but soon grew up again, and insensibly came to be rated at a year's income. Presently, when prelates obtained their sees by provisions, those first-fruits flowed into the apostolical treasury. Those of smaller benefices were at first granted, seemingly in the thirteenth century, to bishops and archbishops. At length, Clement V. reserved for his own use all first-fruits, and John XXII. imitated his example. See Lingard's History. system of papacy could long subsist, unless supported by the attachment and almost unanimity of the ecclesiastical body; nor could such concord easily take place, unless the Pope could contrive to identify his interests with those of the clergy, or at least to persuade the clergy of such identity. But from the hour that his exigencies could only be supplied at their expense, that his dignity, his luxuries, his very vices, tended to impoverish, and no longer to enrich, them; from that hour a very powerful, though very sordid instrument of connexion began to give way, and the discontent, which might originate in pure selfishness, found abundant fuel, as well as ample justification, in the manifold abuses which disgraced the papal court. Rapacity of the Popes, Still there had been less danger from this disaffection, had the Popes pressed their impolitic exactions with any show of moderation; had they been contented to satisfy their necessities, or even to maintain with judicious liberality the ceremony and pomp of office. But so far were they removed from any such discretion, that it rather seemed their object so to reign, as to unite prodigality with avarice-to spend profusely and hoard insatiably. It was this spirit of rapacity which presided over the councils of Avignon. The lofty pretensions which animated and even dignified the Pontiffs of former days, were degraded into mere lifeless instruments to the lowest worldly purposes. We seek not now for the deep religious enthusiasm of the earliest Popes, for that had long been extinguished; but the exalted and magnanimous audacity of the Gregories and even the Innocents,-the settled ecclesiastical fanaticism (if we may use the expression), which so long dazzled the reason of man, these too had at length given place to baser principles and passions. The cloud of mystery, which had so long hung over the chair of St. Peter, filling the nations with awe for the invisible power and majesty residing there, was at length dispersed and broken away, and in its place was discovered the nakedness of human turpitude. The charm of opinion began gradually to dissolve; and whatsoever prejudices many still retained in favour of the papal government, they were weakened by the sordid motives which now directed it; and an unpopular vice became still more detested, when it was found engrafted upon the ecclesiastical character. Another cause, which materially assisted, during this period, in hastening the decline of papacy, was the shameless profligacy of the court of Avignon. There is no dispute as to this fact; and even moderate writers have strained their language, in order to present a just picture of that deformity. We refer not to the partial philippics of Petrarch; nor to the unholy name of Babylon, which may first have been affixed to the city of the Popes, from a similarity in crime. But when Denina assures us, that the licentiousness of the clergy became excessive and universal, from the time that the scandals of Avignon had removed all restraint and shame; and when Sismondi* declares, that that people and that court made themselves manners out of the vices of all other nations, those historians do not exceed the testimony of contemporary authorities. The causes and sources of this pestilence are disputed: it is ascribed by the French writers to the importation of Transalpine fashions and morals into their less corrupt climate; while the Italians retort the charge of greater impurity, and enlarge, perhaps with more justice, on the temptations * Denina, Delle Rivoluz. d'Italia, lib. xv., cap. vi. Sismondi, Rep. Ital., chap. xlviii, See Baluz., Pref, in Vitas Pontif, Avenionensium. |