--that is, he
draws out all the possible significance of phrases used by
Innocent III.
draws out all the possible significance of phrases used by
Innocent III.
Thomas Carlyle
Nemo.
etc.
c.
aliorum (Decretum, C. 9, 3, 13), excepto
crimine hereseos, XL. D. si Papa
(Decretum, D. 40, 6).
3 Hostiensis, * Summa super titulis
Decretalium,' i. xv. 8. Nam ab illo
(Papa) omnis dignitas ecclosiastica
originem sumit. XXH. , di. c. , I.
(Decretum, D. xxii. 1), et utrumque
gladium habet, XXI. , dist. c. I. (De-
cretum, D. xxi. 1), LXTII. , dist. tibi
domino (Docretum, D. 63, 33); unde
et reges deponit, ut XV. , q. VI. , alius,
et c. nos sanctorum et c. curatos
(Decretum, C. xv. , 6, 3, 4, 6), 1 q. IV. ,
quia prsesulatus (Decretum, C. i. 4, 5),
96, dist. duo sunt (Decretum, D. 96,
c. 10); et non solum regnum con-
stituit, immo transfert. s. , de ele.
? ? venerabilem (Decretals, i. 6, 34) . . .
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? 330 TEMPORAL AND SPDUTTJAL POWERS. [PABT II.
In another passage in the " Commentary" he discusses
that Decretal letter of Innocent III. in which, while forbidding
an appeal in ordinary circumstances from the secular courts
at Vercelli to the papal, he allows this in cases of a failure
of justice, especially in the vacancy of the empire, and where
there was no superior to whom appeal could be made.
Hostiensis founds upon this the conclusion that if a king
or other prince, who has no superior, dies, or is negligent in
administering justice, the Pope succeeds to his jurisdiction,
and this is founded not on the " jus commune," but on the
" plenitudo potestatis" which the Pope possesses as the
vicar of Christ. Hostiensis, however, admits that there is
a difference of opinion about this. 1
Perhaps the most remarkable illustration of the position
of Hostiensis is to be found in another passage in his ' Summa,'
where he discusses that well-known Decretal letter of In-
et quod (Romanus pontifex) a solo
Deo recipit potestatem terreni simul
et cralestis imperii, 21, dist. omnes
(Deeretum, xxii. 1).
1 Hostiensis, * Commentarii,' ii. 2,
10, 4 (vacante). Hoo est propter defec-
tum imperatoris in cujus jure tamen
papa succedit, unde et si alius rector,
alii superiori quam imperatori subditus,
mortuus esset, vel vivus negligens
reperiretur in reddenda justitia ; tunc
non devolvetur jurisdictio ad Papam
sed ad primum superiorem. Si quseras
rationem diversitatis, hsec est, quia
sicut alias in consimili casu legitur,
non est tanta communio inter papam
et inferiores quanta in eundem et
imperatorem . . . nam specialis est
conjunctio inter papam et impera-
torem, quia ipsum examinat, appro bat
et inungit, et imperator ei jurat tam-
quam domino, et ab eo tenet imporium
et ejus est advocatus ut colligitur,
elec. venerabilem (Decretals, i. 6, 34)
et 63 Dist. ego Ludovicus, et c. tibi
domino (Decretum, D. 63, 30, 33). Et
inde est quia, de jure imperii quod
ab ecclesia Romana tenet imperator,
succedat Papa imperio vacante. . . .
Quid si rex vel alius prince pa qui
superiorem non habet, mortuus est,
vel in reddenda justitia negligens re pe-
ri tur ? Rcspondeo tunc dicendum est
idem, quia in jurisdictione succedit, ax.
XV. , q. 6, alius (Decretum, C. 15,
6, 3), 8. , de elections, cum interuniversas
ad fi. (Decretals, i. 6, 18). Sed si
principatus non tenetur ab eo, non
facit hoc de jure communi, sed de pleni-
tudine potestatis, quam habet, quia
vicarius est Jesu Christi, s. tit. I.
novit. versi. non enim et sequenti
(Decretals, ii. 1, 13). Vel die, quia
vacantibus regnis non habet se intro-
mittere papa, nisi in modum denun-
ciationis ut in eo. i. novit, secundum
d. n. cujus est hseo tota glo. (Innocent
rv. , Apparatus, in c. 13, Decretals,
ii. 1). Tu vero dicas quia vacantibus
regnis et principatibus quibuscunque
judex etiam secularis negligens est in
justitia exhibenda. Papa non solum
? ? de plenitudine potestates, sed etiam
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? OHAP. V. ] TEMPORAL AUTHORITY OF THE PAPACY.
331
nocent III. in which he repudiated all intention of interfering
with the jurisdiction of the King of France, or with the feudal
court, but claimed the right to intervene on the ground that
the King of England had complained that the King of France
had " sinned " against him ; for questions concerning sin
belonged to his jurisdiction, and especially if they involved
the maintenance of peace and the sanctity of an oath. Hos-
tiensis seems, as we understand him, to be alarmed lest the
letter of Innocent III. should be interpreted as meaning that
the Pope did not possess both swords, that the temporal and
spiritual jurisdictions are distinct, that the " Sacerdotium "
and the "Imperium " proceeded from the same source, and
that therefore the Pope should not interfere in temporal
matters except in such special cases as when the secular
judge was negligent, or when the "Imperium " was vacant.
As we understand him, Hostiensis himself contends that
the Pope is greater than the emperor, for Christ gave to
Peter the laws both of the heavenly and the earthly empire,
and he holds both the swords, although he entrusts the
exercise of the temporal sword to emperors and kings. It
is the proper function of the Church to maintain peace, and
to cause it to be kept. He concludes by saying that all causes
which involve the question of an oath, or the defect of justice,
or of peace, or of sin, can be brought before the Church. 1
1 Hostiensis, ' Commentarii,' ii. 1,
13, 1: Per hoc quod dicitur, hie patet,
quod Papa non ha bet utrumque gla-
dium, et quod jurisdictiones sunt dis-
tincte. Ad idem, 96. di. cum ad verum
(Decretum, D. 96, 6), i. de appel. si
duobus (Decretals, ii. 28, 7). Immo
sacerdotium et imperium ab eodem
principio processerunt, in authent.
quomodo o. e. in principio. coll. I.
(Nov. I. , VI. , Pref. ). Ideoque Papa
non ha bet se intromittere de tempo-
ralibus, >>. qui fil. sint legi. causam
(Decretals, iv. 17, 7). Nisi in sub-
sidium, puta cum judex secularis
negligens est, vel cum vacat imperium.
. . . Sed videtur quod Papa sit major im-
peratore. . . . Petro enim jura ccelestis
et terreni imperii a domino sunt com-
missa. 22 Dist. c. I. (Decretum, D,
xxii. 1), et utrumque gladium ipse
habuit. Unde et ipse ait Luc. , XXII. :
" Ecce gladii duo hie. " Quem potes-
tatem ad suos successores transmisit
XL. , D. c. 1 (Decretum, D. 40, 1),
executionem tamen gladii temporalis
impcratoribus et regibus dimisit. Qnse-
dam enim aliis possumus committere
quse nobis non possumus retinere, ut
patet, i. , de Inst. , c. fin, et XII. , q. 2,
quatuor (Decretals, iii. 7, 7 : Decretum,
C. xii. 2, 27, 28) (contra pacem) Ad
ecclesiam enim spectat pacem ser-
vare, et facere observari ut 1. et no.
de tre, et pac. , c. f et 2 (Decretals,
i. 34, 1, 2) >>. de transa. c. fi. (Decretals,
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? 332
TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS. [PABT II.
If we endeavour to put together the various aspects of the
theory of Hostiensis on the relations of the temporal and
spiritual powers, the first thing that seems to us obvious is
that he continues the method of Innocent IV.
--that is, he
draws out all the possible significance of phrases used by
Innocent III. into large general principles. It should be
observed that he is quite clear that the secular power is
divine in its origin and nature. There is no trace of the
supposed conception that secular authority was in its own
nature evil.
While, however, he conceived of it as coming from God,
he was also clear that it was not only inferior to the spiritual
power in dignity, but that it was derived from God through
the spiritual power. For both swords belong to the Pope,
and it is from him, and subject to his control, that emperors
and kings wield the temporal sword. The Pope retains the
right to reclaim the direct authority even in temporal matters,
in virtue of the " plenitudo potestatis " which he possesses
as the vicar of Christ, in such cases as the vacancy of the
empire or of any kingdom, or of incompetence or defect of
justice in the ruler, and in all cases of sin.
These principles apply to all political societies, but he
looks upon the empire as being even more strictly subor-
dinated to the papacy. He maintains that the Pope has
the right to hear and determine all cases of disputed elections,
and while he does not actually say that the emperor was a
vassal of the Pope, he holds that he may properly be called
an " officialis " and vicar of the Holy See.
How far then do these judgments of Hostiensis correspond
with those of other canonical writers of the middle and end
of the thirteenth century 1 We shall find some interesting
parallels in earlier as well as later writers.
One of the earliest commentators on the Decretals was
Godfrey of Trano, and while we have not found in his work
i. 36, 11), XXIV. , q. TII. , Bi quis siam ratione juramenti, defectus jus-
romipetas, et c. paternarum (Deeretum, titise, pacis et peccati, ut ex premissii
C. 24, 3, 23, 24). . . . No. ergo quod colligi potest,
quselibet causa potest deferri ad eccle-
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? CHAP. V. ] TEMPORAL AUTHORITY OF THE PAPACY.
333
any direct discussion of the relation of the papacy itself
to the temporal authority, it is significant that in concluding
the discussion of the first title of the second book of the
Decretals, ' De Judiciis,' he lays down very emphatically
the principle that in all cases of defect of justice in the secular
court, the aggrieved person has the right to turn to the
ecclesiastical court, and he contends that there is nothing
unreasonable in this, for originally all cases whether of the
clergy or the laity were taken to the priest for judgment,
and the layman is only returning to his original court. In-
cidentally he asserts that there was no such process for lack
of justice from the ecclesiastical court to the secular. 1
There was no doubt nothing new in this contention of
Godfrey of Trano. We have pointed out elsewhere that this
principle had been maintained by almost all the Canonists,2
but Godfrey's contention is no doubt immediately related
to the claim of Innocent III. ,3 that he had the right to receive
the complaint of the King of England that the King of
France had transgressed against him. Innocent is careful
to say that he had no intention to dispute the authority of
the feudal court, but he claims the right to interfere in
any case of alleged sin--this belongs to his jurisdiction.
(How far this claim was effective either in the case of
Innocent III. or in the later and parallel case of Boniface
VTII. is another matter, with which we deal elsewhere. )
The contention of Hostiensis that the emperor may properly
be called the offlcialis or vicar of the Pope may be naturally
1 Goflrodus de Trano, ' Summa super
titulos Decretalium,' ii. 1 (fol. 28). In
summa notandum est quod quamvis
deficiento judice seculari succedat
ecclesiasticus, ut >>. , ti. pr. cum sit
generale et c. licet in fine (Decretals,
8, 10) neo tamen hoc convertitur, ut
i. , e. ti. qualiter (Decretals, ii. 1, 17).
Neo obstat autem, ut clerici apud
proprios episcopos (nov. VI. ) et XI.
q. si quis cum clerico (Decretum, C.
xi. 1, 45). Nam puto illis juribus
derogatum. Nec de diveraitate supe-
rioris mireris. Nam olim omnes causse
clericorum et laicorum deferebantur
ad sacerdotes ut i. qui fi. sunt legi.
per venerabilom (Decretals, iv. 17, 13),
XI. , q. 1. Sacerdotibus, et c. relatum
(Decretum, C. xi. 1, 41, 4). H. q. V. ,
si quis presbyter (Decretum, C. 2, 5, 4).
Et ideo si laicus redeat ad suum
primarium forum, non videtur ejus
conditio deterior fieri.
>> Cf. ' History of Mediseval Political
Theory,' vol. ii. p. 238-292.
3 Decretals, ii. 1, 13.
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? 336
TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS. [PABT II.
The Pope is the " ordinarius " of all believers, and therefore
acts in the place of the emperor or of any king or prince who
has no superior, in the case of a vacancy ; he admits, however,
that there was some difference of opinion about this. The
Pope has also power to intervene in any question of special
difficulty or doubt, and in any question of peace. Eome is
the " communis patria " of any " qui non babet jus revocandi
forum. " 1 These are notable phrases, especially the claim
that the Pope is " ordinarius " not only of the clergy but of
the laity. We have seen that Innocent IV. had used the
phrase " iudex ordinarius. " In other places again Durandua
maintains that the emperor can be accused before the Pope,
not only of heresy and sacrilege, but of any great crime,
and that the Pope can depose the emperor or king who is
convicted of any of these crimes; and that if they are not
guilty but only incapable of ruling, he can give them guardians
or " curatores. " 2 This last clause is founded, as the text
will show, on a Decretal letter of Innocent IV. , afterwards
embodied in the text. It should, however, be observed that
Durandus held that the Pope also can be accused of heresy
1 Id. , ii. De competentis judicia
aditione (p. 397). Vacante imperio, cog-
noscit Papa vel ejus delegatus de feudo,
extra, de fo. compe. beet. (Decretals,
ii. 2, 10), vel etiam regno, vel principatu
superiorem non habentibus, ut. XV. ,
q. VI. alius (Decretum, C. 15, 6, 3).
Item et extra de eleo. cum inter
universes, in fi. (Decretals, i. 6, 18).
Quod ideo est, quia est ordinarius
omnium fidelium, ut i. ? proxi. Vel
die quod regnis vacantibus Papa se
non intromittet nisi quando in modum
denuntiationis petetur secundum Pa-
pam . . . cum quid imminet difficile
vel ambiguum inter judices, recurritur
ad ecclesiasticum, ut extra qui filii sint
legiti. per venerabilem ? Rationibus
(Decretals, iv. 17, 13) . . . Rations
pacis, quia tunc intromittit se ecclesia
de qualibet causa, extra de judi. novit.
(Decretals, ii. 1, 13). . . . Ratione loci,
unde Roma: quia communis patria
est. convenitur quilibet, qui non habet
jus revocandi forum, ft. ad munici.
Roma (Dig. , 60, 1, 33), V. q. H. vocatos
(Decretum, C. v. ii. 1), extra de foro
compe. c. fin (Decretals, ii. 2, 20), de
dil. c. fi. (Decretals, ii. 8, 4), 9 q. IV.
Cuncta (Decretum, C. ix. 3, 7), ff. de
judi, si is qui Rome (Dig. , v. 1, 34).
9 Id. id. , i. De accusato (p. 200):
Sed dio quod imperator accusetur
coram Papa de heresi, sacrilegio, et
perjurio, et quolibet gravi crimine, et
ab eo judicatur.
Id. id. , i. De Legato (p. 46):
(Papa) deponit imperii to rem propter
ipsius iniquitatem, ut extra de re judi.
ad Apostolice, lib. VI. (Decretals, VI. ,
2, 14, 2), etiam reges ut XV. , q. VL
Alius (Decretum, C. xv. 6, 3): et dat
eis curatores, ubi ipsi sunt inutiles
ad regendum, ut extra de sup. neg.
prelat. grandi, li. VI. (Decretals, VI. ,
? ? i. 8, 2).
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? CHAP, v.
aliorum (Decretum, C. 9, 3, 13), excepto
crimine hereseos, XL. D. si Papa
(Decretum, D. 40, 6).
3 Hostiensis, * Summa super titulis
Decretalium,' i. xv. 8. Nam ab illo
(Papa) omnis dignitas ecclosiastica
originem sumit. XXH. , di. c. , I.
(Decretum, D. xxii. 1), et utrumque
gladium habet, XXI. , dist. c. I. (De-
cretum, D. xxi. 1), LXTII. , dist. tibi
domino (Docretum, D. 63, 33); unde
et reges deponit, ut XV. , q. VI. , alius,
et c. nos sanctorum et c. curatos
(Decretum, C. xv. , 6, 3, 4, 6), 1 q. IV. ,
quia prsesulatus (Decretum, C. i. 4, 5),
96, dist. duo sunt (Decretum, D. 96,
c. 10); et non solum regnum con-
stituit, immo transfert. s. , de ele.
? ? venerabilem (Decretals, i. 6, 34) . . .
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? 330 TEMPORAL AND SPDUTTJAL POWERS. [PABT II.
In another passage in the " Commentary" he discusses
that Decretal letter of Innocent III. in which, while forbidding
an appeal in ordinary circumstances from the secular courts
at Vercelli to the papal, he allows this in cases of a failure
of justice, especially in the vacancy of the empire, and where
there was no superior to whom appeal could be made.
Hostiensis founds upon this the conclusion that if a king
or other prince, who has no superior, dies, or is negligent in
administering justice, the Pope succeeds to his jurisdiction,
and this is founded not on the " jus commune," but on the
" plenitudo potestatis" which the Pope possesses as the
vicar of Christ. Hostiensis, however, admits that there is
a difference of opinion about this. 1
Perhaps the most remarkable illustration of the position
of Hostiensis is to be found in another passage in his ' Summa,'
where he discusses that well-known Decretal letter of In-
et quod (Romanus pontifex) a solo
Deo recipit potestatem terreni simul
et cralestis imperii, 21, dist. omnes
(Deeretum, xxii. 1).
1 Hostiensis, * Commentarii,' ii. 2,
10, 4 (vacante). Hoo est propter defec-
tum imperatoris in cujus jure tamen
papa succedit, unde et si alius rector,
alii superiori quam imperatori subditus,
mortuus esset, vel vivus negligens
reperiretur in reddenda justitia ; tunc
non devolvetur jurisdictio ad Papam
sed ad primum superiorem. Si quseras
rationem diversitatis, hsec est, quia
sicut alias in consimili casu legitur,
non est tanta communio inter papam
et inferiores quanta in eundem et
imperatorem . . . nam specialis est
conjunctio inter papam et impera-
torem, quia ipsum examinat, appro bat
et inungit, et imperator ei jurat tam-
quam domino, et ab eo tenet imporium
et ejus est advocatus ut colligitur,
elec. venerabilem (Decretals, i. 6, 34)
et 63 Dist. ego Ludovicus, et c. tibi
domino (Decretum, D. 63, 30, 33). Et
inde est quia, de jure imperii quod
ab ecclesia Romana tenet imperator,
succedat Papa imperio vacante. . . .
Quid si rex vel alius prince pa qui
superiorem non habet, mortuus est,
vel in reddenda justitia negligens re pe-
ri tur ? Rcspondeo tunc dicendum est
idem, quia in jurisdictione succedit, ax.
XV. , q. 6, alius (Decretum, C. 15,
6, 3), 8. , de elections, cum interuniversas
ad fi. (Decretals, i. 6, 18). Sed si
principatus non tenetur ab eo, non
facit hoc de jure communi, sed de pleni-
tudine potestatis, quam habet, quia
vicarius est Jesu Christi, s. tit. I.
novit. versi. non enim et sequenti
(Decretals, ii. 1, 13). Vel die, quia
vacantibus regnis non habet se intro-
mittere papa, nisi in modum denun-
ciationis ut in eo. i. novit, secundum
d. n. cujus est hseo tota glo. (Innocent
rv. , Apparatus, in c. 13, Decretals,
ii. 1). Tu vero dicas quia vacantibus
regnis et principatibus quibuscunque
judex etiam secularis negligens est in
justitia exhibenda. Papa non solum
? ? de plenitudine potestates, sed etiam
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? OHAP. V. ] TEMPORAL AUTHORITY OF THE PAPACY.
331
nocent III. in which he repudiated all intention of interfering
with the jurisdiction of the King of France, or with the feudal
court, but claimed the right to intervene on the ground that
the King of England had complained that the King of France
had " sinned " against him ; for questions concerning sin
belonged to his jurisdiction, and especially if they involved
the maintenance of peace and the sanctity of an oath. Hos-
tiensis seems, as we understand him, to be alarmed lest the
letter of Innocent III. should be interpreted as meaning that
the Pope did not possess both swords, that the temporal and
spiritual jurisdictions are distinct, that the " Sacerdotium "
and the "Imperium " proceeded from the same source, and
that therefore the Pope should not interfere in temporal
matters except in such special cases as when the secular
judge was negligent, or when the "Imperium " was vacant.
As we understand him, Hostiensis himself contends that
the Pope is greater than the emperor, for Christ gave to
Peter the laws both of the heavenly and the earthly empire,
and he holds both the swords, although he entrusts the
exercise of the temporal sword to emperors and kings. It
is the proper function of the Church to maintain peace, and
to cause it to be kept. He concludes by saying that all causes
which involve the question of an oath, or the defect of justice,
or of peace, or of sin, can be brought before the Church. 1
1 Hostiensis, ' Commentarii,' ii. 1,
13, 1: Per hoc quod dicitur, hie patet,
quod Papa non ha bet utrumque gla-
dium, et quod jurisdictiones sunt dis-
tincte. Ad idem, 96. di. cum ad verum
(Decretum, D. 96, 6), i. de appel. si
duobus (Decretals, ii. 28, 7). Immo
sacerdotium et imperium ab eodem
principio processerunt, in authent.
quomodo o. e. in principio. coll. I.
(Nov. I. , VI. , Pref. ). Ideoque Papa
non ha bet se intromittere de tempo-
ralibus, >>. qui fil. sint legi. causam
(Decretals, iv. 17, 7). Nisi in sub-
sidium, puta cum judex secularis
negligens est, vel cum vacat imperium.
. . . Sed videtur quod Papa sit major im-
peratore. . . . Petro enim jura ccelestis
et terreni imperii a domino sunt com-
missa. 22 Dist. c. I. (Decretum, D,
xxii. 1), et utrumque gladium ipse
habuit. Unde et ipse ait Luc. , XXII. :
" Ecce gladii duo hie. " Quem potes-
tatem ad suos successores transmisit
XL. , D. c. 1 (Decretum, D. 40, 1),
executionem tamen gladii temporalis
impcratoribus et regibus dimisit. Qnse-
dam enim aliis possumus committere
quse nobis non possumus retinere, ut
patet, i. , de Inst. , c. fin, et XII. , q. 2,
quatuor (Decretals, iii. 7, 7 : Decretum,
C. xii. 2, 27, 28) (contra pacem) Ad
ecclesiam enim spectat pacem ser-
vare, et facere observari ut 1. et no.
de tre, et pac. , c. f et 2 (Decretals,
i. 34, 1, 2) >>. de transa. c. fi. (Decretals,
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? 332
TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS. [PABT II.
If we endeavour to put together the various aspects of the
theory of Hostiensis on the relations of the temporal and
spiritual powers, the first thing that seems to us obvious is
that he continues the method of Innocent IV.
--that is, he
draws out all the possible significance of phrases used by
Innocent III. into large general principles. It should be
observed that he is quite clear that the secular power is
divine in its origin and nature. There is no trace of the
supposed conception that secular authority was in its own
nature evil.
While, however, he conceived of it as coming from God,
he was also clear that it was not only inferior to the spiritual
power in dignity, but that it was derived from God through
the spiritual power. For both swords belong to the Pope,
and it is from him, and subject to his control, that emperors
and kings wield the temporal sword. The Pope retains the
right to reclaim the direct authority even in temporal matters,
in virtue of the " plenitudo potestatis " which he possesses
as the vicar of Christ, in such cases as the vacancy of the
empire or of any kingdom, or of incompetence or defect of
justice in the ruler, and in all cases of sin.
These principles apply to all political societies, but he
looks upon the empire as being even more strictly subor-
dinated to the papacy. He maintains that the Pope has
the right to hear and determine all cases of disputed elections,
and while he does not actually say that the emperor was a
vassal of the Pope, he holds that he may properly be called
an " officialis " and vicar of the Holy See.
How far then do these judgments of Hostiensis correspond
with those of other canonical writers of the middle and end
of the thirteenth century 1 We shall find some interesting
parallels in earlier as well as later writers.
One of the earliest commentators on the Decretals was
Godfrey of Trano, and while we have not found in his work
i. 36, 11), XXIV. , q. TII. , Bi quis siam ratione juramenti, defectus jus-
romipetas, et c. paternarum (Deeretum, titise, pacis et peccati, ut ex premissii
C. 24, 3, 23, 24). . . . No. ergo quod colligi potest,
quselibet causa potest deferri ad eccle-
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? CHAP. V. ] TEMPORAL AUTHORITY OF THE PAPACY.
333
any direct discussion of the relation of the papacy itself
to the temporal authority, it is significant that in concluding
the discussion of the first title of the second book of the
Decretals, ' De Judiciis,' he lays down very emphatically
the principle that in all cases of defect of justice in the secular
court, the aggrieved person has the right to turn to the
ecclesiastical court, and he contends that there is nothing
unreasonable in this, for originally all cases whether of the
clergy or the laity were taken to the priest for judgment,
and the layman is only returning to his original court. In-
cidentally he asserts that there was no such process for lack
of justice from the ecclesiastical court to the secular. 1
There was no doubt nothing new in this contention of
Godfrey of Trano. We have pointed out elsewhere that this
principle had been maintained by almost all the Canonists,2
but Godfrey's contention is no doubt immediately related
to the claim of Innocent III. ,3 that he had the right to receive
the complaint of the King of England that the King of
France had transgressed against him. Innocent is careful
to say that he had no intention to dispute the authority of
the feudal court, but he claims the right to interfere in
any case of alleged sin--this belongs to his jurisdiction.
(How far this claim was effective either in the case of
Innocent III. or in the later and parallel case of Boniface
VTII. is another matter, with which we deal elsewhere. )
The contention of Hostiensis that the emperor may properly
be called the offlcialis or vicar of the Pope may be naturally
1 Goflrodus de Trano, ' Summa super
titulos Decretalium,' ii. 1 (fol. 28). In
summa notandum est quod quamvis
deficiento judice seculari succedat
ecclesiasticus, ut >>. , ti. pr. cum sit
generale et c. licet in fine (Decretals,
8, 10) neo tamen hoc convertitur, ut
i. , e. ti. qualiter (Decretals, ii. 1, 17).
Neo obstat autem, ut clerici apud
proprios episcopos (nov. VI. ) et XI.
q. si quis cum clerico (Decretum, C.
xi. 1, 45). Nam puto illis juribus
derogatum. Nec de diveraitate supe-
rioris mireris. Nam olim omnes causse
clericorum et laicorum deferebantur
ad sacerdotes ut i. qui fi. sunt legi.
per venerabilom (Decretals, iv. 17, 13),
XI. , q. 1. Sacerdotibus, et c. relatum
(Decretum, C. xi. 1, 41, 4). H. q. V. ,
si quis presbyter (Decretum, C. 2, 5, 4).
Et ideo si laicus redeat ad suum
primarium forum, non videtur ejus
conditio deterior fieri.
>> Cf. ' History of Mediseval Political
Theory,' vol. ii. p. 238-292.
3 Decretals, ii. 1, 13.
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? 336
TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS. [PABT II.
The Pope is the " ordinarius " of all believers, and therefore
acts in the place of the emperor or of any king or prince who
has no superior, in the case of a vacancy ; he admits, however,
that there was some difference of opinion about this. The
Pope has also power to intervene in any question of special
difficulty or doubt, and in any question of peace. Eome is
the " communis patria " of any " qui non babet jus revocandi
forum. " 1 These are notable phrases, especially the claim
that the Pope is " ordinarius " not only of the clergy but of
the laity. We have seen that Innocent IV. had used the
phrase " iudex ordinarius. " In other places again Durandua
maintains that the emperor can be accused before the Pope,
not only of heresy and sacrilege, but of any great crime,
and that the Pope can depose the emperor or king who is
convicted of any of these crimes; and that if they are not
guilty but only incapable of ruling, he can give them guardians
or " curatores. " 2 This last clause is founded, as the text
will show, on a Decretal letter of Innocent IV. , afterwards
embodied in the text. It should, however, be observed that
Durandus held that the Pope also can be accused of heresy
1 Id. , ii. De competentis judicia
aditione (p. 397). Vacante imperio, cog-
noscit Papa vel ejus delegatus de feudo,
extra, de fo. compe. beet. (Decretals,
ii. 2, 10), vel etiam regno, vel principatu
superiorem non habentibus, ut. XV. ,
q. VI. alius (Decretum, C. 15, 6, 3).
Item et extra de eleo. cum inter
universes, in fi. (Decretals, i. 6, 18).
Quod ideo est, quia est ordinarius
omnium fidelium, ut i. ? proxi. Vel
die quod regnis vacantibus Papa se
non intromittet nisi quando in modum
denuntiationis petetur secundum Pa-
pam . . . cum quid imminet difficile
vel ambiguum inter judices, recurritur
ad ecclesiasticum, ut extra qui filii sint
legiti. per venerabilem ? Rationibus
(Decretals, iv. 17, 13) . . . Rations
pacis, quia tunc intromittit se ecclesia
de qualibet causa, extra de judi. novit.
(Decretals, ii. 1, 13). . . . Ratione loci,
unde Roma: quia communis patria
est. convenitur quilibet, qui non habet
jus revocandi forum, ft. ad munici.
Roma (Dig. , 60, 1, 33), V. q. H. vocatos
(Decretum, C. v. ii. 1), extra de foro
compe. c. fin (Decretals, ii. 2, 20), de
dil. c. fi. (Decretals, ii. 8, 4), 9 q. IV.
Cuncta (Decretum, C. ix. 3, 7), ff. de
judi, si is qui Rome (Dig. , v. 1, 34).
9 Id. id. , i. De accusato (p. 200):
Sed dio quod imperator accusetur
coram Papa de heresi, sacrilegio, et
perjurio, et quolibet gravi crimine, et
ab eo judicatur.
Id. id. , i. De Legato (p. 46):
(Papa) deponit imperii to rem propter
ipsius iniquitatem, ut extra de re judi.
ad Apostolice, lib. VI. (Decretals, VI. ,
2, 14, 2), etiam reges ut XV. , q. VL
Alius (Decretum, C. xv. 6, 3): et dat
eis curatores, ubi ipsi sunt inutiles
ad regendum, ut extra de sup. neg.
prelat. grandi, li. VI. (Decretals, VI. ,
? ? i. 8, 2).
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? CHAP, v.
