As we have seen, Frederick's attack on the wealth of the
Church, and on its interference in secular matters, found an
immediate response among the French nobles, and though
the agitation against the Church died away after Frederick's
death, it was a bad omen for the future.
Church, and on its interference in secular matters, found an
immediate response among the French nobles, and though
the agitation against the Church died away after Frederick's
death, it was a bad omen for the future.
Thomas Carlyle
, vol.
ti.
395, 17th
June 1247. Innocent thanks Louis IX.
and his mother and brothers for their
offer of military help, but asks them
not to take action " quousque super
hoc per nostrum nuncium vel speciales
litteras votum Apostolice Sedis agnos-
cae. "
>> L. c. , 159, 21st April 1246. Inno-
cent " Archiepiscopis et nobilibus viris
aliis principibus Theutonie habentibus
potestatem eligendi Romanorum re gem,
in imperatorem postmodum promo-
vendum. Quia inter ceteros orbis
principes honorem ecclesie ac imperii
Romani tenemini specialiter procurare
. . . eo oonfidentius vos ad id requirimus
et hortamur, quo nostris in hac parte
beneplacitis libentius et promptius vos
credimus parituros. " Hence, as the
Landgraf of Thuringia was willing to
accept " universitatem vestram mone-
mus, rogamus et hortamur attente
mandantes in remissionem peccaminum
iniungendo, quatinus de gratia spiritus
sancti confisi eundem landtgravium in
Romanorum regem in imperatorem
postmodum promovendum, cum pre-
fatum imperium ad presens vacare
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? 312
[PART II.
TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS.
Henry was accordingly elected, but none of the more im-
portant secular princes attended. Henry died in less than
a year, and many princes, including Eichard of Cornwall and
the Duke of Brabant, were unsuccessfully approached. Fin-
ally, on the recommendation of the Duke of Brabant, his
nephew Count William of Holland was selected to succeed
Henry. Very extensive powers had been given to the legate
in Germany to deal with recalcitrant clerics. 1 William was
elected, but again none of the greater secular princes, saving
the Duke of Brabant, took part.
Frederick, during the period between his deposition and
his death, met with one great disaster, the defeat of his forces
at Parma in 1248, and a serious loss in the capture of his son
Enzio early in 1249. After this he seems to have improved
his position considerably in Italy, and not to have lost ground
in Germany. The Pope, on the other hand, appears at the
time of Frederick's death to have been losing ground. Intense
dissatisfaction was caused by the heavy financial exactions
necessitated by the expenditure entailed by bis struggle with
Frederick, and especially by the very extensive use he made
of provisions and dispensations to strengthen his party. The
intense feeling roused against the curia is shown by Bishop
Grosseteste's famous " sermo " before the Pope at Lyons in
May 1250. 2 Another striking example of the stir caused by
noscatur, unanimiter absque dilationis
dispendio eligatis. . . . " In his letter
to the King of Bohemia (1. e. , 160 of
same date) and certain other lay princes
individually (also one bishop), Innocent
does not lay down whom they are to
elect.
1 L. c. , 303, letter of instructions
given by Innocent to his legate in
Germany, 15th March 1247. "IV.
discretioni tue ammovendi perpetuo
tam archiepiscopos et episcopos quam
alios eccleaiarum prelatos tue legationis,
qui fuerint inobedientes ecclesie . . .
ab amministratione spiritualium et
temporalium suarum ecclesiarum, et
contradictores super hoc per censuram
ecclesiastieam appellations postposita
compescendi . . . liberam concedimus
tenore presentium potestatem. "
3 Sermo Roberti Linconiensis Epis-
copi, propositus coram Papa et Cardi-
nalibus, &c. , 13th May 1250, vol. ii. p.
250 f. of E. Brown's Fasciculus Rerum
Expetendarum et Fugiendarum. This
was not a sermon, but a written state-
ment, of which the bishop gave copies
to the Pope and several of the
cardinals, and which was read out,
not publicly, but before the Pope and
the cardinals.
After enumerating a number of the
evils due to bad pastors, he wrote
(p. 252): " causa ; fons et origo
hujus est hfflc OUBIA ; non solum
eo quod hseo mala non dissipat,
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? CHAP. IV. ] FREDERICK H. AND INNOCENT IV.
313
the struggle between the Pope and the emperor is afforded
us by the proceedings of a league of French barons formed in
November 1246 to oppose the encroachments of the Church.
The members of the league pledged themselves not to allow
clerics to try any cases saving where heresy, marriage, and
usury were concerned, and they expressed their desire to see
the Church restored to its primitive state. It is evident that
such attacks as that of Frederick on the wealth of the Church
had not been without effect. 1
et has abominationes non purgat,
cum ea sola hac maxime possit,
et ad hoc summe teneatur, sed et
eo amplius, quod ipsa quoque per
suas dispensationes et provisioned et
collationes curse pastoralis, tales, quales
prsetacti sunt, pas to res, immo mundi
perditores, in oculis solum constituit
hoc ut provideat vitro alicujus tem-
poral, multa millia animarum pro
q u arum qualibet sempiterna vivifi-
carda, Filius Dei morto turpiasima
voluit condemnari, devorationi summi
bestiarum agri tradit et sompitenwe
morti. . . . (p. 253. ) Nec dicat quis
quod talia facit hsec Curia propter
Ecclesise communem utilitatom. Com-
munem utilitatem operati sunt sancti
patres per mali suSerentiam, et nullo
modo, quia et hoo modo illicitum, per
mali actionem ; vse onim his qui dicunt,
faciamus mala ut eveniant bona, quo-
rum damnatio justa est. . . . (p. 255. )
Potestas autem pastoralis, quse in
virtute et potestate data est Apostolis
super omnia dsemonia . . . data est
etiam pastoribus . . . plurimum est
hodie, et maxime in Anglia, coarctata
et ligata. Primo, per exemptiones . . .
Secundo. Per potestatem secularem
. . . Tertio. Per Apellationum licitiones.
. . . (p. 257. ) Hujus quoque curise
. . . mundum replevit inconstantia
mentiendi, fugavit verecundiam, adhi-
bendi fidem chartis omnem abstulit,
et non observandi fidem omnem con-
tulit audaciam. Clam at enim mundus,
quod hsec curia, contra praceptum
Evangelicum, quo dictum est Petro,
Converte gladium tuum in locum
suum, manu propria educit gladium
materialem etsi a solicitis de salute
hujus sacrse sedis vehentisime timetur,
ne, quod absit, veniat super eam ilia
terribilis subjuncta Domini comminatio,
Omnes enim qui acceperint gladium,
gladio peribunt Et omnino timen-
dum, imo magis pro certo tenendum
est huic sacra sedi quod illam quam
nunc sentit pcenarum prsesentiam et
bonorum absentiam induxerint super
eam prediotse actiones male et con-
similes ut evenirent ei bona j et quod
nisi in his et consimilibus absque mora
se corrigat, cito profecto privabitur
bonis : "
1 H. -B. , vol. vi. 467, November
1246. The magnates declared that
? ? clerics " jurisdictionem secularium prin-
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? 314
TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS. [PABT H.
The death of Frederick marks an important stage in the
contest between the Papacy and the empire, which had begun
nearly two hundred years before between Gregory VII. and
Henry IV.
Gregory had claimed very large powers as vicar of St Peter,
not only over the empire but also over secular rulers generally,
but they were extraordinary powers. Gregory was not con-
tent with this, and endeavoured to obtain some secular control
also, by extending to as many countries as possible a claim
to feudal superiority by the Church of Eome.
Innocent III. , while careful to assert his powers as vicar,
not of Peter, but of Christ or of God, also sought to bring
the relations between the Papacy and the empire under
definite rules. He maintained any subsisting feudal claims
in other countries, and in the case of Sicily and England the
exercise of his powers as feudal overlord played a consider-
able part in his policy, but on the whole he generally depended
on his extraordinary powers as vicar of Christ. In the case
of the empire he claimed a special position, inasmuch as the
Western empire was the creation of the Papacy, which had
transferred the seat of empire from Constantinople--a transfer
to which the German princes owed the right to elect a king
who became emperor when crowned by the Pope. He held
that in virtue of this transfer the Papacy had the first and
ostendant miracula que dudum a
seculo receeserunt . . . "
Innocent answered the attack of
the barons by a letter to his legate
in France (l. c. , 483 f. , 4th February
1247), in which he directed his legate
to point out to the barons how Charle-
magne had confirmed the statute of
Theodosius (p. 485) " videlicet ut
quicumque litem habens (sivo possessor)
sive petitor fuerit, vel inito lites vel
decursis temporum curriculis, sive cum
negotium peroratur sive cum jam ceperit
promi sententia, si judicium elegerit
sacrosancte sedis antistitis, illico sine
aliqua dubitatione etiam si pars altera
refragatur, ad episcoporum judicium
cum sermone litigantium dirigatur, et
omnes cum cause que pretorio et etiam
civili jure tractantur, episooporum
terminate sententiis perpetuo robur
obtineant firmitatis et negotio quod
judicio eorum deciditur, nequaquam
ulterius ab aliquo retractetur ; ex quo
manifesta potest ratione perpendi
quam iniquum videatur et absonum
si honor Ecclesie que tam grandia
libertatis privilegio dotata dinoscitur,
in illis immunitatibus que multo pre-
diotis dinoscuntur esse minores, hiia
temporibus decurtetur. "
For this supposed edict of Theodosius
cf. vol. ii. p. 222.
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? CHAP. IV. ] FBEDERICK H. AND INNOCENT IV.
315
last word in such elections. They were of vital importance
to the Church, and it was for the Pope to decide whether the
person elected by the princes was fit for empire and to settle
disputed elections. He also appears to have assumed that
certain rules apparently derived from ecclesiastical law were
applicable to the election proceedings. The majority of the
princes, on the other hand, denied that the Pope had any
voice in determining whether the prince elected by them was
fit for empire, and they also contended that electoral disputes
could only be decided by the electors themselves. It was
no doubt Innocent's desire to conciliate as far as possible these
opponents that made him so carefully avoid the use of the
word " confirmation " in connection with his declaration in
favour of Otto, and attempt to convince the princes that he
was merely setting his seal on the legitimate and valid elec-
tion of Otto, and was not tampering with their electoral
rights.
No new questions of principle appear to have been raised
by Honorius III. , but Gregory IX. went a step beyond Inno-
cent in claiming that in virtue of Constantine's donation the
empire had been transferred to the Papacy, and that when it
made it over to the Germans it still retained its overriding
power. He also claimed the two swords--i. e. , the supreme
authority in temporal and spiritual matters. While, however,
the Church kept in its own hands the exercise of the spiritual
power, it made over the sword of temporal power to secular
rulers, to be exercised under its control.
Innocent IV. again went a step further. According to him
the donation of Constantine was not in the true sense of the
word a donation, it was a recognition by Constantine that the
empire (and apparently all temporal power) belonged to the
Church, and that Constantine had up till then exercised a
usurped and unlawful power. Though Innocent put forward
such far-reaching claims, his contest with the Hohenstauffen
made it impossible for him to attempt in practice any such
authority over temporal rulers generally, whatever may have
been his theoretical views.
Innocent also went a step beyond any previous Pope since
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? 316
TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS. [PABT II.
Gregory VII. , by practically ordering some of the German
princes to elect Henry Easpe in the vacancy created by
Frederick's deposition. As we have pointed out, however, he
did not give such a direction to all the princes, and possibly
his action in this case may be interpreted as an example
of the Pope's claim to the obedience of the clergy even in
secular matters.
While the papal claims were not acceptable to the majority
of the German princes, a minority could generally be found,
even among the secular princes, willing for reasons of imme-
diate self-interest to support the Church, while increasingly,
from the time of Innocent III. , the Papacy insisted on the
obedience of the great prince bishops, even in secular matters.
The real mind of the princes has often to be gathered from
their acts rather than from their writings, but Frederick had
a chancery as efficient as that of the Papacy, and was well
able to develop his views of the proper relations between the
Papacy and the empire, and probably these views were gener-
ally shared by the majority, at all events of the secular
German princes. It is perhaps doubtful whether they would
have formally accepted Frederick's argument that Gregory's
excommunication was invalid, because he was unworthy of
his great office. Frederick at all events did not use this
argument against Innocent IV. but pleaded in his case
that the Pope had no authority to inflict temporal punish-
ments, and that his proceedings were vitiated by grave
irregularities. Whatever the cause, Frederick's excom-
munication and deposition were not in practice effective in
the case of a large number of the German princes, nor
indeed in the case of the kings of other countries such as
France and England. Both Henry IH. and Louis IX. in
their correspondence treat Frederick as still emperor, not-
withstanding his excommunication and deposition.
As we have seen, Frederick's attack on the wealth of the
Church, and on its interference in secular matters, found an
immediate response among the French nobles, and though
the agitation against the Church died away after Frederick's
death, it was a bad omen for the future.
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? CHAP. IV. ] FREDERICK II. AND INNOCENT IV.
317
The death of Frederick destroyed all chance of a united
German empire strong in its German armies and the pecuniary
resources of its Italian kingdom. It is impossible to say what
might have happened had Frederick lived some time longer,
but two important factors in the situation were that Frederick
was not a beaten man at the time of his death, and that the
unsparing use by Innocent IV. of all the ecclesiastical means
at his disposal had stirred up strong feeling in Europe.
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? 318
CHAPTER V.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE THEORY OF THE TEMPORAL
AUTHORITY OF THE PAPACY IN THE CANONISTS
OF THE LATER THIRTEENTH CENTURY.
It was with the pontificate of Innocent III. , as we have seen,
that the question of the relation of the temporal and spiritual
powers again assumed something of the same importance as
had belonged to it in the great conflict between Hildebrand
and Henry IV. ; and it is in the Decretal letters of Innocent
III. that we must look for the ultimate sources of the extreme
view of the papal authority in temporal matters which was
developed in the second half of the thirteenth century.
It must, however, be observed that while Innocent III.
often used phrases which were capable of this development,
he was himself careful, at least in his strictly public utterances,
to refrain from drawing out these conclusions. It was Innocent
IV. , especially in his 'Commentaries on the Decretals,' who
did this, and it is to him that must in the main be traced
the principles set out by the great Canonists of the later
thirteenth century, like Hostiensis and William Durandus.
They may indeed, with regard to this matter, be called the
pupils and followers of Innocent IV.
It is, as has just been said, in his 'Commentaries,' much
more than in the actual Decretals, that we must look for
Innocent IV. 's theory of the relations of the temporal and
spiritual powers. It is, indeed, a curious and rare spectacle
to see a great Pope acting in two capacities, sometimes as a
legislator and sometimes as a commentator upon the laws,
and even upon his own judgments, and we should venture
to say that Innocent IV. was quite conscious of the difference.
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? CHAP. V. ] TEMPORAL AUTHORITY OF THE PAPACY. 319
In his decrees he is issuing judgments and dogmatic state-
ments, while in his ' Commentaries ' he is giving his opinions
as a Canonist.
We must therefore begin our consideration of the extreme
theory of the later thirteenth century by an examination
of the principles set out by Innocent IV.
The Pope, he says in one passage, has received his power
of making canons from Christ Himself, while the emperor
draws his authority as a legislator from the Eoman people;1
this is only a particular statement of the more general
principle that the source and nature of the papal authority
was very different from those of the temporal rulers.
In his comment on his own decree deposing Frederick II.
he draws out and generalises the significance of his own
action, and asserts that, inasmuch as Christ, even when
he was in this world, was from all eternity the natural lord,
and could by natural law have deposed emperors and kings,
so also his vicars--that is, Peter and his successors--could
do the same; for he would not have been a wise lord if he
had not left a vicar who should exercise his authority. 2 Again,
1 Innocent IV. , * Apparatus ad quin-
que libros dccretalium,' i. 7, 1 (cum
ex illo privilegio). Tu ea Petrus etc. ,
usque, tibi dabo claves regni celorum :
quo privilegio Romanam ecclesiam
omnibus ecclesiis pretulit, et ei ligandi
atque solvendi potestatem contulit 21.
Di. in novo et c. quamvis (Decretum,
D. 21, c. 2 and 3). Propter illud speciale
privilegium potestatem habet condendi
canones per quos majores eoclesise
causse referantur ad cum. (Dominus
nostra) Imperator autem habet a
populo Romano. Insti. de jure nat.
sed qui (Institutes, i. 2, 2).
? Id. id. , ii. 2, H. in VI. , c. 7. ' Ad
apostolicse Sedis ' (VI. , ii. 14, 2) (p. 130):
" Nam Christus filius Dei, dum fuit
in hoc seculo, et ab eterno Dominus
naturalis fuit, et de jure naturse in
imperatores et quoscunque alios sen-
tential depositionis ferre potuisset et
damnationis et quascunque alias ut
pote in personas quas creaverat et
donis naturalibus et gratuitis donaverat
et in esse conservaverat: eadem
ratione et vicarius ejus potest hoc,
nam non videretur discretus dominus
fuisse, ut cum reverentia ejus loquar,
nisi unicum post se, talem vicarium
reliquisset, qui hsec omnia posset: fuit
autem iste vicarius ejus Petrua, Matt. :
XVI. , ultra medium, et idem dicendum
est de successoribus Petri, cum eadem
absurdital sequeretur si post mortem
Petri humanam naturam a se creatam
sine regimine unius persona! reliquisset,
et arg. ad hoc s. qui 61. sint legi. Per
venerabilem (Decretals, iv. 17, 13) ultra
me. de hoc not. ff. de foro competenti.
licet (Decretals, ii. 2, 10). "
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? 320 TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS. [PAKT II.
in commenting on the famous Decretal of Innocent III. ,
'Per Venerabilem,' where Innocent ELL had said that the
King of France did not recognise any superior in temporal
matters, Innocent IV. says that this may be so " de facto,"
but while some say that " de jure" he was subject to
the Eoman emperor, he himself says he is subject to the
Pope. 1
It is apparently on a similar principle that Innocent IV.
justified his action in requiring the Portuguese barons to
accept his appointment of a guardian or " curator " of the
kingdom, on account of the king's incapacity. He maintains
that in such a case it is for the superior to appoint a
" curator," and if there is no other superior the Pope should
do this. 2
Innocent IV. is clearly developing the position that he is
the final superior, even in temporal matters, of all secular
authorities, and we should conjecture that this is the meaning
of his assertion that the Pope is the " judex ordinarius "
of all men,3 though this interpretation might be disputed.
Again he draws out a statement of Innocent III. about
the election of the emperor, to a conclusion which may be
suggested by the words, but is certainly not asserted. In-
nocent III. in a well-known Decretal letter had defended
1 Id. id. , iv. 17, 13 (Recognoscat).
De facto, nam de jure subest Impera-
tori Romano, ut qui dam dicunt, nos
contra, immo Papse ; cf. ii. 27, 23:
Alii tamen dicunt quod reges omnes
in integrum restituunt, quia non
aunt sic Imperatoribus subditi, sed
Papse soli in dubiis et gravibus
articulis.
* Innocent IV. , ' Apparatus,' i. 10,
o. H. in VI. ' Orandi' (VI. , i. 8, 2)
(Utilitate) no. causas justas dandi
curatores regibus, scilicet si nesciunt
suum regnum defendere, vel in eo
justitiam et pacem servare, et ma xime
religiosis personis, locis, et pauperibus,
et etiam, quod plus est, si nesciunt
perdita recuperare, et idem quod
diximus in re gibus, servandum est in
ducibus, comitibus, et aliis qui habent
jurisdictionem super alios. Aliis autem
non datur curator, nisi sint furiosi,
vel prodigi C. de cur. fur. (Cod. , v. 70)
(Assumptus) bene dicit, sit assumptus,
q. per alios est enim hoc ordinarium,
quod curatorem regibus et similibus
personis petant subditi, et superior
proximus debet ipsum concedere, et
si non habct alium superiorem. Papa
hoc facere debet arg. i. qui fil. sint
legi. Per venerabilem (Decretals, iv.
17, 13) ft. de tu. et cu. da. divi (Dig. ,
26, 5, 24).
>> Id. id. , ii. 2, 17. Sol. Hie non
consentit in alium judioem nisi suum,
quia papa judex ordinarius est om-
nium, 9, q. 3. Cuncta (Decretum,
C. 9, 3, 17).
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? CHAP, v. ] TEMPORAL AUTHORITY OF THE PAPACY. 321
his interposition in the election of Philip of Swabia; he re-
pudiated the claim " to elect" the emperor himself, but
asserted his right to declare a candidate unfit for the office,
and, in the case of a disputed election, to recognise the candi-
date whom he preferred. Innocent IV. in his comment
develops this into the assertion that if the electors were
negligent in carrying out their function, the Pope had the
right to appoint the emperor. 1
The most comprehensive statement of Innocent IV. 's
conception of the authority of the Pope in temporal matters
is to be found in his observations on that Decretal letter in
which Innocent HI. , while instructing the bishop of Vercelli
to declare null and void any letters which might be produced
from the Holy See dealing with matters which belonged
to the secular courts of Vercelli, asserted that if the secular
court failed to do justice, an appeal could be made to the
bishop, or to the Pope himself, especially at a time when
the empire was vacant. 2 Innocent IV. admits that the
prohibition of the interference of the ecclesiastical authority
with the normal jurisdiction of the secular court is right,
but he draws out the significance of the right to intervene
in the case of defect of justice in great detail, and especially
lays stress upon the authority of the Pope during a vacancy
of the empire. There is a special relation between the Pope
and the emperor, he is " advocatus " of the Pope and takes
an oath to him, and holds the empire from him, and therefore
the Pope takes the emperor's place during a vacancy. (If
Innocent rv. does not actually say that the emperor is a
vassal of the Pope, he seems plainly to imply it. )
If other kings or princes who have no superior are neg-
ligent, the Pope succeeds to their jurisdiction, not because
they hold the kingdom from him, but in virtue of that fulness
of power (plenitudo potestatis) which he possesses as vicar
of Christ. Some say that the Pope must not interfere in
1 Id. id. , i. 6, 34. Sed eis negli-
gentibus eligere, imperatorem Papa
eliget, et si plures elegerunt, Papa de
jure oognosoet inter eos, et diffiniet et
VOL. V.
si aliqua partium erit contumax, nihi-
lominus parte altera absente potest
procedere.
* Decretals, ii. 2, 10.
X
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? 322
[past n.
TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS.
June 1247. Innocent thanks Louis IX.
and his mother and brothers for their
offer of military help, but asks them
not to take action " quousque super
hoc per nostrum nuncium vel speciales
litteras votum Apostolice Sedis agnos-
cae. "
>> L. c. , 159, 21st April 1246. Inno-
cent " Archiepiscopis et nobilibus viris
aliis principibus Theutonie habentibus
potestatem eligendi Romanorum re gem,
in imperatorem postmodum promo-
vendum. Quia inter ceteros orbis
principes honorem ecclesie ac imperii
Romani tenemini specialiter procurare
. . . eo oonfidentius vos ad id requirimus
et hortamur, quo nostris in hac parte
beneplacitis libentius et promptius vos
credimus parituros. " Hence, as the
Landgraf of Thuringia was willing to
accept " universitatem vestram mone-
mus, rogamus et hortamur attente
mandantes in remissionem peccaminum
iniungendo, quatinus de gratia spiritus
sancti confisi eundem landtgravium in
Romanorum regem in imperatorem
postmodum promovendum, cum pre-
fatum imperium ad presens vacare
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? 312
[PART II.
TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS.
Henry was accordingly elected, but none of the more im-
portant secular princes attended. Henry died in less than
a year, and many princes, including Eichard of Cornwall and
the Duke of Brabant, were unsuccessfully approached. Fin-
ally, on the recommendation of the Duke of Brabant, his
nephew Count William of Holland was selected to succeed
Henry. Very extensive powers had been given to the legate
in Germany to deal with recalcitrant clerics. 1 William was
elected, but again none of the greater secular princes, saving
the Duke of Brabant, took part.
Frederick, during the period between his deposition and
his death, met with one great disaster, the defeat of his forces
at Parma in 1248, and a serious loss in the capture of his son
Enzio early in 1249. After this he seems to have improved
his position considerably in Italy, and not to have lost ground
in Germany. The Pope, on the other hand, appears at the
time of Frederick's death to have been losing ground. Intense
dissatisfaction was caused by the heavy financial exactions
necessitated by the expenditure entailed by bis struggle with
Frederick, and especially by the very extensive use he made
of provisions and dispensations to strengthen his party. The
intense feeling roused against the curia is shown by Bishop
Grosseteste's famous " sermo " before the Pope at Lyons in
May 1250. 2 Another striking example of the stir caused by
noscatur, unanimiter absque dilationis
dispendio eligatis. . . . " In his letter
to the King of Bohemia (1. e. , 160 of
same date) and certain other lay princes
individually (also one bishop), Innocent
does not lay down whom they are to
elect.
1 L. c. , 303, letter of instructions
given by Innocent to his legate in
Germany, 15th March 1247. "IV.
discretioni tue ammovendi perpetuo
tam archiepiscopos et episcopos quam
alios eccleaiarum prelatos tue legationis,
qui fuerint inobedientes ecclesie . . .
ab amministratione spiritualium et
temporalium suarum ecclesiarum, et
contradictores super hoc per censuram
ecclesiastieam appellations postposita
compescendi . . . liberam concedimus
tenore presentium potestatem. "
3 Sermo Roberti Linconiensis Epis-
copi, propositus coram Papa et Cardi-
nalibus, &c. , 13th May 1250, vol. ii. p.
250 f. of E. Brown's Fasciculus Rerum
Expetendarum et Fugiendarum. This
was not a sermon, but a written state-
ment, of which the bishop gave copies
to the Pope and several of the
cardinals, and which was read out,
not publicly, but before the Pope and
the cardinals.
After enumerating a number of the
evils due to bad pastors, he wrote
(p. 252): " causa ; fons et origo
hujus est hfflc OUBIA ; non solum
eo quod hseo mala non dissipat,
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? CHAP. IV. ] FREDERICK H. AND INNOCENT IV.
313
the struggle between the Pope and the emperor is afforded
us by the proceedings of a league of French barons formed in
November 1246 to oppose the encroachments of the Church.
The members of the league pledged themselves not to allow
clerics to try any cases saving where heresy, marriage, and
usury were concerned, and they expressed their desire to see
the Church restored to its primitive state. It is evident that
such attacks as that of Frederick on the wealth of the Church
had not been without effect. 1
et has abominationes non purgat,
cum ea sola hac maxime possit,
et ad hoc summe teneatur, sed et
eo amplius, quod ipsa quoque per
suas dispensationes et provisioned et
collationes curse pastoralis, tales, quales
prsetacti sunt, pas to res, immo mundi
perditores, in oculis solum constituit
hoc ut provideat vitro alicujus tem-
poral, multa millia animarum pro
q u arum qualibet sempiterna vivifi-
carda, Filius Dei morto turpiasima
voluit condemnari, devorationi summi
bestiarum agri tradit et sompitenwe
morti. . . . (p. 253. ) Nec dicat quis
quod talia facit hsec Curia propter
Ecclesise communem utilitatom. Com-
munem utilitatem operati sunt sancti
patres per mali suSerentiam, et nullo
modo, quia et hoo modo illicitum, per
mali actionem ; vse onim his qui dicunt,
faciamus mala ut eveniant bona, quo-
rum damnatio justa est. . . . (p. 255. )
Potestas autem pastoralis, quse in
virtute et potestate data est Apostolis
super omnia dsemonia . . . data est
etiam pastoribus . . . plurimum est
hodie, et maxime in Anglia, coarctata
et ligata. Primo, per exemptiones . . .
Secundo. Per potestatem secularem
. . . Tertio. Per Apellationum licitiones.
. . . (p. 257. ) Hujus quoque curise
. . . mundum replevit inconstantia
mentiendi, fugavit verecundiam, adhi-
bendi fidem chartis omnem abstulit,
et non observandi fidem omnem con-
tulit audaciam. Clam at enim mundus,
quod hsec curia, contra praceptum
Evangelicum, quo dictum est Petro,
Converte gladium tuum in locum
suum, manu propria educit gladium
materialem etsi a solicitis de salute
hujus sacrse sedis vehentisime timetur,
ne, quod absit, veniat super eam ilia
terribilis subjuncta Domini comminatio,
Omnes enim qui acceperint gladium,
gladio peribunt Et omnino timen-
dum, imo magis pro certo tenendum
est huic sacra sedi quod illam quam
nunc sentit pcenarum prsesentiam et
bonorum absentiam induxerint super
eam prediotse actiones male et con-
similes ut evenirent ei bona j et quod
nisi in his et consimilibus absque mora
se corrigat, cito profecto privabitur
bonis : "
1 H. -B. , vol. vi. 467, November
1246. The magnates declared that
? ? clerics " jurisdictionem secularium prin-
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? 314
TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS. [PABT H.
The death of Frederick marks an important stage in the
contest between the Papacy and the empire, which had begun
nearly two hundred years before between Gregory VII. and
Henry IV.
Gregory had claimed very large powers as vicar of St Peter,
not only over the empire but also over secular rulers generally,
but they were extraordinary powers. Gregory was not con-
tent with this, and endeavoured to obtain some secular control
also, by extending to as many countries as possible a claim
to feudal superiority by the Church of Eome.
Innocent III. , while careful to assert his powers as vicar,
not of Peter, but of Christ or of God, also sought to bring
the relations between the Papacy and the empire under
definite rules. He maintained any subsisting feudal claims
in other countries, and in the case of Sicily and England the
exercise of his powers as feudal overlord played a consider-
able part in his policy, but on the whole he generally depended
on his extraordinary powers as vicar of Christ. In the case
of the empire he claimed a special position, inasmuch as the
Western empire was the creation of the Papacy, which had
transferred the seat of empire from Constantinople--a transfer
to which the German princes owed the right to elect a king
who became emperor when crowned by the Pope. He held
that in virtue of this transfer the Papacy had the first and
ostendant miracula que dudum a
seculo receeserunt . . . "
Innocent answered the attack of
the barons by a letter to his legate
in France (l. c. , 483 f. , 4th February
1247), in which he directed his legate
to point out to the barons how Charle-
magne had confirmed the statute of
Theodosius (p. 485) " videlicet ut
quicumque litem habens (sivo possessor)
sive petitor fuerit, vel inito lites vel
decursis temporum curriculis, sive cum
negotium peroratur sive cum jam ceperit
promi sententia, si judicium elegerit
sacrosancte sedis antistitis, illico sine
aliqua dubitatione etiam si pars altera
refragatur, ad episcoporum judicium
cum sermone litigantium dirigatur, et
omnes cum cause que pretorio et etiam
civili jure tractantur, episooporum
terminate sententiis perpetuo robur
obtineant firmitatis et negotio quod
judicio eorum deciditur, nequaquam
ulterius ab aliquo retractetur ; ex quo
manifesta potest ratione perpendi
quam iniquum videatur et absonum
si honor Ecclesie que tam grandia
libertatis privilegio dotata dinoscitur,
in illis immunitatibus que multo pre-
diotis dinoscuntur esse minores, hiia
temporibus decurtetur. "
For this supposed edict of Theodosius
cf. vol. ii. p. 222.
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? CHAP. IV. ] FBEDERICK H. AND INNOCENT IV.
315
last word in such elections. They were of vital importance
to the Church, and it was for the Pope to decide whether the
person elected by the princes was fit for empire and to settle
disputed elections. He also appears to have assumed that
certain rules apparently derived from ecclesiastical law were
applicable to the election proceedings. The majority of the
princes, on the other hand, denied that the Pope had any
voice in determining whether the prince elected by them was
fit for empire, and they also contended that electoral disputes
could only be decided by the electors themselves. It was
no doubt Innocent's desire to conciliate as far as possible these
opponents that made him so carefully avoid the use of the
word " confirmation " in connection with his declaration in
favour of Otto, and attempt to convince the princes that he
was merely setting his seal on the legitimate and valid elec-
tion of Otto, and was not tampering with their electoral
rights.
No new questions of principle appear to have been raised
by Honorius III. , but Gregory IX. went a step beyond Inno-
cent in claiming that in virtue of Constantine's donation the
empire had been transferred to the Papacy, and that when it
made it over to the Germans it still retained its overriding
power. He also claimed the two swords--i. e. , the supreme
authority in temporal and spiritual matters. While, however,
the Church kept in its own hands the exercise of the spiritual
power, it made over the sword of temporal power to secular
rulers, to be exercised under its control.
Innocent IV. again went a step further. According to him
the donation of Constantine was not in the true sense of the
word a donation, it was a recognition by Constantine that the
empire (and apparently all temporal power) belonged to the
Church, and that Constantine had up till then exercised a
usurped and unlawful power. Though Innocent put forward
such far-reaching claims, his contest with the Hohenstauffen
made it impossible for him to attempt in practice any such
authority over temporal rulers generally, whatever may have
been his theoretical views.
Innocent also went a step beyond any previous Pope since
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? 316
TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS. [PABT II.
Gregory VII. , by practically ordering some of the German
princes to elect Henry Easpe in the vacancy created by
Frederick's deposition. As we have pointed out, however, he
did not give such a direction to all the princes, and possibly
his action in this case may be interpreted as an example
of the Pope's claim to the obedience of the clergy even in
secular matters.
While the papal claims were not acceptable to the majority
of the German princes, a minority could generally be found,
even among the secular princes, willing for reasons of imme-
diate self-interest to support the Church, while increasingly,
from the time of Innocent III. , the Papacy insisted on the
obedience of the great prince bishops, even in secular matters.
The real mind of the princes has often to be gathered from
their acts rather than from their writings, but Frederick had
a chancery as efficient as that of the Papacy, and was well
able to develop his views of the proper relations between the
Papacy and the empire, and probably these views were gener-
ally shared by the majority, at all events of the secular
German princes. It is perhaps doubtful whether they would
have formally accepted Frederick's argument that Gregory's
excommunication was invalid, because he was unworthy of
his great office. Frederick at all events did not use this
argument against Innocent IV. but pleaded in his case
that the Pope had no authority to inflict temporal punish-
ments, and that his proceedings were vitiated by grave
irregularities. Whatever the cause, Frederick's excom-
munication and deposition were not in practice effective in
the case of a large number of the German princes, nor
indeed in the case of the kings of other countries such as
France and England. Both Henry IH. and Louis IX. in
their correspondence treat Frederick as still emperor, not-
withstanding his excommunication and deposition.
As we have seen, Frederick's attack on the wealth of the
Church, and on its interference in secular matters, found an
immediate response among the French nobles, and though
the agitation against the Church died away after Frederick's
death, it was a bad omen for the future.
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? CHAP. IV. ] FREDERICK II. AND INNOCENT IV.
317
The death of Frederick destroyed all chance of a united
German empire strong in its German armies and the pecuniary
resources of its Italian kingdom. It is impossible to say what
might have happened had Frederick lived some time longer,
but two important factors in the situation were that Frederick
was not a beaten man at the time of his death, and that the
unsparing use by Innocent IV. of all the ecclesiastical means
at his disposal had stirred up strong feeling in Europe.
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? 318
CHAPTER V.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE THEORY OF THE TEMPORAL
AUTHORITY OF THE PAPACY IN THE CANONISTS
OF THE LATER THIRTEENTH CENTURY.
It was with the pontificate of Innocent III. , as we have seen,
that the question of the relation of the temporal and spiritual
powers again assumed something of the same importance as
had belonged to it in the great conflict between Hildebrand
and Henry IV. ; and it is in the Decretal letters of Innocent
III. that we must look for the ultimate sources of the extreme
view of the papal authority in temporal matters which was
developed in the second half of the thirteenth century.
It must, however, be observed that while Innocent III.
often used phrases which were capable of this development,
he was himself careful, at least in his strictly public utterances,
to refrain from drawing out these conclusions. It was Innocent
IV. , especially in his 'Commentaries on the Decretals,' who
did this, and it is to him that must in the main be traced
the principles set out by the great Canonists of the later
thirteenth century, like Hostiensis and William Durandus.
They may indeed, with regard to this matter, be called the
pupils and followers of Innocent IV.
It is, as has just been said, in his 'Commentaries,' much
more than in the actual Decretals, that we must look for
Innocent IV. 's theory of the relations of the temporal and
spiritual powers. It is, indeed, a curious and rare spectacle
to see a great Pope acting in two capacities, sometimes as a
legislator and sometimes as a commentator upon the laws,
and even upon his own judgments, and we should venture
to say that Innocent IV. was quite conscious of the difference.
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? CHAP. V. ] TEMPORAL AUTHORITY OF THE PAPACY. 319
In his decrees he is issuing judgments and dogmatic state-
ments, while in his ' Commentaries ' he is giving his opinions
as a Canonist.
We must therefore begin our consideration of the extreme
theory of the later thirteenth century by an examination
of the principles set out by Innocent IV.
The Pope, he says in one passage, has received his power
of making canons from Christ Himself, while the emperor
draws his authority as a legislator from the Eoman people;1
this is only a particular statement of the more general
principle that the source and nature of the papal authority
was very different from those of the temporal rulers.
In his comment on his own decree deposing Frederick II.
he draws out and generalises the significance of his own
action, and asserts that, inasmuch as Christ, even when
he was in this world, was from all eternity the natural lord,
and could by natural law have deposed emperors and kings,
so also his vicars--that is, Peter and his successors--could
do the same; for he would not have been a wise lord if he
had not left a vicar who should exercise his authority. 2 Again,
1 Innocent IV. , * Apparatus ad quin-
que libros dccretalium,' i. 7, 1 (cum
ex illo privilegio). Tu ea Petrus etc. ,
usque, tibi dabo claves regni celorum :
quo privilegio Romanam ecclesiam
omnibus ecclesiis pretulit, et ei ligandi
atque solvendi potestatem contulit 21.
Di. in novo et c. quamvis (Decretum,
D. 21, c. 2 and 3). Propter illud speciale
privilegium potestatem habet condendi
canones per quos majores eoclesise
causse referantur ad cum. (Dominus
nostra) Imperator autem habet a
populo Romano. Insti. de jure nat.
sed qui (Institutes, i. 2, 2).
? Id. id. , ii. 2, H. in VI. , c. 7. ' Ad
apostolicse Sedis ' (VI. , ii. 14, 2) (p. 130):
" Nam Christus filius Dei, dum fuit
in hoc seculo, et ab eterno Dominus
naturalis fuit, et de jure naturse in
imperatores et quoscunque alios sen-
tential depositionis ferre potuisset et
damnationis et quascunque alias ut
pote in personas quas creaverat et
donis naturalibus et gratuitis donaverat
et in esse conservaverat: eadem
ratione et vicarius ejus potest hoc,
nam non videretur discretus dominus
fuisse, ut cum reverentia ejus loquar,
nisi unicum post se, talem vicarium
reliquisset, qui hsec omnia posset: fuit
autem iste vicarius ejus Petrua, Matt. :
XVI. , ultra medium, et idem dicendum
est de successoribus Petri, cum eadem
absurdital sequeretur si post mortem
Petri humanam naturam a se creatam
sine regimine unius persona! reliquisset,
et arg. ad hoc s. qui 61. sint legi. Per
venerabilem (Decretals, iv. 17, 13) ultra
me. de hoc not. ff. de foro competenti.
licet (Decretals, ii. 2, 10). "
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? 320 TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS. [PAKT II.
in commenting on the famous Decretal of Innocent III. ,
'Per Venerabilem,' where Innocent ELL had said that the
King of France did not recognise any superior in temporal
matters, Innocent IV. says that this may be so " de facto,"
but while some say that " de jure" he was subject to
the Eoman emperor, he himself says he is subject to the
Pope. 1
It is apparently on a similar principle that Innocent IV.
justified his action in requiring the Portuguese barons to
accept his appointment of a guardian or " curator " of the
kingdom, on account of the king's incapacity. He maintains
that in such a case it is for the superior to appoint a
" curator," and if there is no other superior the Pope should
do this. 2
Innocent IV. is clearly developing the position that he is
the final superior, even in temporal matters, of all secular
authorities, and we should conjecture that this is the meaning
of his assertion that the Pope is the " judex ordinarius "
of all men,3 though this interpretation might be disputed.
Again he draws out a statement of Innocent III. about
the election of the emperor, to a conclusion which may be
suggested by the words, but is certainly not asserted. In-
nocent III. in a well-known Decretal letter had defended
1 Id. id. , iv. 17, 13 (Recognoscat).
De facto, nam de jure subest Impera-
tori Romano, ut qui dam dicunt, nos
contra, immo Papse ; cf. ii. 27, 23:
Alii tamen dicunt quod reges omnes
in integrum restituunt, quia non
aunt sic Imperatoribus subditi, sed
Papse soli in dubiis et gravibus
articulis.
* Innocent IV. , ' Apparatus,' i. 10,
o. H. in VI. ' Orandi' (VI. , i. 8, 2)
(Utilitate) no. causas justas dandi
curatores regibus, scilicet si nesciunt
suum regnum defendere, vel in eo
justitiam et pacem servare, et ma xime
religiosis personis, locis, et pauperibus,
et etiam, quod plus est, si nesciunt
perdita recuperare, et idem quod
diximus in re gibus, servandum est in
ducibus, comitibus, et aliis qui habent
jurisdictionem super alios. Aliis autem
non datur curator, nisi sint furiosi,
vel prodigi C. de cur. fur. (Cod. , v. 70)
(Assumptus) bene dicit, sit assumptus,
q. per alios est enim hoc ordinarium,
quod curatorem regibus et similibus
personis petant subditi, et superior
proximus debet ipsum concedere, et
si non habct alium superiorem. Papa
hoc facere debet arg. i. qui fil. sint
legi. Per venerabilem (Decretals, iv.
17, 13) ft. de tu. et cu. da. divi (Dig. ,
26, 5, 24).
>> Id. id. , ii. 2, 17. Sol. Hie non
consentit in alium judioem nisi suum,
quia papa judex ordinarius est om-
nium, 9, q. 3. Cuncta (Decretum,
C. 9, 3, 17).
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? CHAP, v. ] TEMPORAL AUTHORITY OF THE PAPACY. 321
his interposition in the election of Philip of Swabia; he re-
pudiated the claim " to elect" the emperor himself, but
asserted his right to declare a candidate unfit for the office,
and, in the case of a disputed election, to recognise the candi-
date whom he preferred. Innocent IV. in his comment
develops this into the assertion that if the electors were
negligent in carrying out their function, the Pope had the
right to appoint the emperor. 1
The most comprehensive statement of Innocent IV. 's
conception of the authority of the Pope in temporal matters
is to be found in his observations on that Decretal letter in
which Innocent HI. , while instructing the bishop of Vercelli
to declare null and void any letters which might be produced
from the Holy See dealing with matters which belonged
to the secular courts of Vercelli, asserted that if the secular
court failed to do justice, an appeal could be made to the
bishop, or to the Pope himself, especially at a time when
the empire was vacant. 2 Innocent IV. admits that the
prohibition of the interference of the ecclesiastical authority
with the normal jurisdiction of the secular court is right,
but he draws out the significance of the right to intervene
in the case of defect of justice in great detail, and especially
lays stress upon the authority of the Pope during a vacancy
of the empire. There is a special relation between the Pope
and the emperor, he is " advocatus " of the Pope and takes
an oath to him, and holds the empire from him, and therefore
the Pope takes the emperor's place during a vacancy. (If
Innocent rv. does not actually say that the emperor is a
vassal of the Pope, he seems plainly to imply it. )
If other kings or princes who have no superior are neg-
ligent, the Pope succeeds to their jurisdiction, not because
they hold the kingdom from him, but in virtue of that fulness
of power (plenitudo potestatis) which he possesses as vicar
of Christ. Some say that the Pope must not interfere in
1 Id. id. , i. 6, 34. Sed eis negli-
gentibus eligere, imperatorem Papa
eliget, et si plures elegerunt, Papa de
jure oognosoet inter eos, et diffiniet et
VOL. V.
si aliqua partium erit contumax, nihi-
lominus parte altera absente potest
procedere.
* Decretals, ii. 2, 10.
X
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? 322
[past n.
TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS.
