Pope Benedict VIII
| Pope Benedict VIII | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Rome | |
Benedict (fifth from right) crowning Henry II Holy Roman Emperor, c. 1400
| |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Papacy began | 18 May 1012 |
| Papacy ended | 9 April 1024 |
| Predecessor | Sergius IV |
| Successor | John XIX |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Theophylact of Tusculum (Italian: Teofilatto di Toscolo) c. 980 Rome, Papal States |
| Died | 9 April 1024 Rome, Papal States |
| Other popes named Benedict | |
Pope Benedict VIII (Latin: Benedictus VIII; c. 980[1] – 9 April 1024[2]) was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 18 May 1012 until 1024. He was born Theophylact of Tusculum to the noble family of the counts of Tusculum. Unusually for a medieval pope, he had strong authority both in Rome and abroad.
Theophylact was born to Count Gregory I of Tusculum.[3] The family had already produced three popes: John XI (r. 931–935), John XII (r. 955–964), and Benedict VII (r. 973–974). Theophylact became pope on 18 May 1012 and took the name Benedict VIII.[2]
Pontificate
Benedict VIII was opposed by an antipope, Gregory VI, who compelled him to flee Rome.[4] He was restored by King Henry II of Germany, whom he crowned emperor on 14 February 1014. He remained on good terms with Henry for his entire pontificate.[5] In Benedict VIII's pontificate, the Saracens renewed their attacks on the southern coasts of Italy. They affected a settlement in Sardinia and sacked Pisa.[6] The Normans also then began to settle in Italy. The Pope promoted peace in Italy by allying himself with the Normans, orchestrating the defeat of the Saracens in Sardinia[7] and subjugating the Crescentii. In 1022, he held a synod at Pavia with the Emperor to restrain simony and incontinence of the clergy.[8] The reformation sponsored by Cluny Abbey was supported by him, and he was a friend of its abbot, St. Odilo.
In 1020, Benedict VIII travelled to Germany to confer with Henry II about the renewed Byzantine menace in the Mezzogiorno. Arriving at Bamberg at Eastertide, he consecrated the new cathedral there, obtained a charter from Henry II confirming the donations of Charlemagne and Otto the Great, and visited the monastery of Fulda.[9] In 1022, Benedict received Archbishop Æthelnoth of Canterbury, who had traveled to Rome to obtain the pallium.[10]
To further the interest of peace, Benedict VIII encouraged the Truce of God.[2] He convinced the Holy Roman emperor to lead an expedition into the south of Italy and subordinate his vassals who had defected to Byzantine authority. Horace Mann considered him "...one of the few popes of the Middle Ages who was at once powerful at home and great abroad." He was succeeded by his brother, John XIX.[2]
Family tree
Benedict VIII was closely related to five other popes who reigned in the 10th and 11th centuries, as well as some of the most powerful rulers of Italy at the time.[11]
| Theophylact I, Count of Tusculum | Theodora | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hugh of Italy | Marozia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alda of Vienne | Alberic II of Spoleto 905–954 |
Pope John XI r. 931–935 |
David or Deodatus | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pope John XII r. 955–964 |
Gregory I, Count of Tusculum | Pope Benedict VII r. 974–983 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pope Benedict VIII r. 1012–1024 |
Alberic III, Count of Tusculum | Pope John XIX r. 1024–1032 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peter, Duke of the Romans | Pope Benedict IX r. 1032–1044, 1045, 1047–1048 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
See also
From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia
Pope Benedict VIII — Date of birth unknown; d. 9 April, 1024. The first of the Tusculan popes, being the son of Gregory, Count of Tusculum, and Maria, and brother of John XIX, he was, though a layman, imposed on the chair of Peter by force (18 May, 1012). Nevertheless, dislodging a rival, he became a good and strong ruler. On the 14th of February, 1014, he crowned the German king, Henry II, emperor (Thietmar, Chron., VI, 61), and ever kept friendly with him. The peace of Italy was promoted by his subjugating the Crescentii, defeating the Saracens, and allying himself with the Normans, who appeared in its southern parts in his time. Going to Germany, he consecrated the cathedral of Bamberg (Ann. Altahen. Majores, 1020; Chron. Cass., II, 47), visited the monastery of Fulda, and obtained from Henry a charter confirmatory of the donations of Charlemagne and Otho. To restrain the vices of clerical incontinence and simony, he held, with the emperor, an important synod at Pavia (1022 -Labbe, Concilia, IX, 819), and supported the reformation which was being effected by the great monastery of Cluny. To further the interest of peace, he encouraged the "Truce of God" and countenanced the ecclesiastical advancement of Gauzlin, the natural brother of Robert the Pious, King of France. This he did because, though illegitimate, Gauzlin was a good man, and his loyal brother was very desirous of his promotion (cf. life of Gauzlin, in "Neues Archiv.", III). Benedict VIII was one of the many popes who were called upon to intervene in the interminable strife for precedence between the Patriarchs of Grado and of Aquileia (Dandolo, Chron., IX, 2, n. 2). In 1022 he received Ethelnoth of Canterbury "with great worship and very honourably hallowed him archbishop", and reinstated in his position Leofwine, Abbot of Ely (A.S. Chron., 125, 6, R.S.). A friend of St. Odilo, Abbot of Cluny, and one of the few popes of the Middle Ages who was at once powerful at home and great abroad, Benedict VIII has, on seemingly insufficient grounds, been accused of avarice.
The most important source for the history of the first nine popes who bore the name of Benedict is the biographies in the Liber Pontificalis, of which the most useful edition is that of Duchesne, Le Liber Pontificalis (Paris, 1886-92), and the latest that of Mommsen, Gesta Pontif. Roman. (to the end of the reign of Constantine only, Berlin, 1898). Jaffé, Regesta Pont. Rom. (2d ed., Leipzig, 1885), gives a summary of the letters of each pope and tells where they may be read at length. Modern accounts of these popes will be found in any large Church history, or history of the City of Rome. The fullest account in English of most of them is to be read in Mann, Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages (London, 1902, passim).
References
- Back to citation "Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church". Archived from the original on 29 June 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
- Back to citation occurrence 2.0 Back to citation occurrence 2.1 Back to citation occurrence 2.2 Back to citation occurrence 2.3 Mann, Horace (1907). "Pope Benedict VIII". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- Back to citation Logan 2013, p. 95.
- Back to citation Mosheim, Johann Lorenz; Murdock, James (1867). Institutes of Ecclesiastical History Ancient and Modern, Vol. II (5th ed.). A. H. Maltby. p. 356.
- Back to citation Lasko, Peter (1994). Ars Sacra: 800–1200. Yale University Press. p. 111. ISBN 978-0300060485.
- Back to citation Gregorovius, Ferdinand; Hamilton, Annie (2010). History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages. Cambridge University Press. p. 25.
- Back to citation Collins, Roger (2012). Caliphs and Kings: Spain 796–1031. Blackwell Publishing. p. 201. ISBN 9780631181842.
- Back to citation Walker, Williston (1921). A History of the Christian Church. Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 218.
- Back to citation Ottosen, Knud (2008). The Responsories and Versicles of the Latin Office of the Dead. Books on Demand. p. 263.
- Back to citation Ortenberg "Anglo-Saxon Church and the Papacy" English Church and the Papacy p. 49
- Back to citation Mann, Horace K. (1902). The lives of the popes in the early middle ages. London, K. Paul, Trench, Trübner, & co. p. 66.
Bibliography
- Logan, F. Donald (2013). A History of the Church in the Middle Ages. Routledge. ISBN 9780415669948.