Pope Stephen VIII
Cardinal-Priest of Santi Silvestre e Martino ai Monti (5 April 938-14 July 939) | |
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Other popes named Stephen |
Pope Stephen VIII (
Background
Stephen VIII was born of a Roman family, and prior to becoming pope was attached to the church of Saints Silvester and Martin.[1]
Pontificate
Frankish conflicts
After becoming
Emboldened, Stephen sought to break up the alliance against Louis by offering Herbert's son,
Domestic difficulties
The continuing domination of the counts of Tusculum was evident throughout Stephen's pontificate, and the period is thus known as Saeculum obscurum. Although Stephen was subject to Alberic II of Spoleto and did not in reality rule the Papal States, Stephen himself was not a member of that family, nor had he any relationship with Alberic's mother, Marozia, who had dominated Roman and papal politics during the preceding decades.[6] Stephen was, however, caught up in the ongoing conflict between Alberic and King Hugh of Italy, with Hugh besieging Rome in 940.[7] After a failed attempt to assassinate him, which involved a number of bishops, Alberic cracked down on any potential dissent in Rome, with his enemies either scourged, beheaded or imprisoned. If there is any truth to Martin of Opava’s account of the torture and maiming of Stephen VIII by supporters of Alberic, it must have occurred at this juncture, in the aftermath of the conspiracy, and just prior to Stephen's death.[8]
On 17 August 942, Alberic summoned a council in Rome, where he demonstrated his control over the papacy by making use of various papal officials, such as the
Historiography
According to the late 13th century chronicler Martin of Opava, Stephen VIII was described as being a German, who was elected pope due to the power and influence of relative Otto I. Martin states that Otto ignored the will of the cardinals in imposing Stephen upon them, and because Stephen was hated for being a German, he was taken by supporters of Alberic II, who proceeded to maim and disfigure him to such an extent that Stephen was unable to appear in public again.[10] This version of events has largely been discredited;[11] contemporary and near-contemporary catalogues state that Stephen was a Roman. Further, Otto's intervention in and influence over Italian affairs was still over a decade away, and during this period Otto was still trying to consolidate his hold on power in Germany, with major rebellions by the German dukes. Consequently, Otto would have been too preoccupied to concern himself over the papal succession at this juncture. Finally, Stephen's intervention on behalf of the Frankish king Louis IV (who was in conflict with Otto) would not have occurred had Stephen been a relative of the German king, and had Stephen received the papal throne through Otto's intervention.[1] The maiming of Stephen may have occurred, however, in the aftermath of the conspiracy against Alberic in the middle of 942.
References
- Mann, Horace K., The Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages, Vol. IV: The Popes in the Days of Feudal Anarchy, 891-999 (1910)
Notes
- ^ a b Mann, pg. 213
- ^ Mann, pgs. 213-214
- ^ a b c Mann, pg. 214
- ^ DeCormenin, Louis Marie; Gihon, James L., A Complete History of the Popes of Rome, from Saint Peter, the First Bishop to Pius the Ninth (1857), pg. 290
- ^ Mann, pgs. 214-215
- ^ Mann, pg. 217
- ^ Mann, pg. 215
- ^ Norwich, John Julius, The Popes: A History (2011), pg. 76
- ^ Mann, pgs. 215-216
- ^ Mann, pgs. 212-213
- ^ Gregorovius, Ferdinand, The History of Rome in the Middle Ages, Vol. VI, pg. 633
External links
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. .