Pope Leo V
| Pope Leo V | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Rome | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Papacy began | Second half of 903 |
| Papacy ended | Second half of 903 |
| Predecessor | Benedict IV |
| Successor | Sergius III |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Priapi, near Ardea, Papal States |
| Died | 903/904 Rome, Papal States |
| Other popes named Leo | |
Pope Leo V (died 903/904) was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States in 903. He was pope immediately before the period known as the Saeculum obscurum, when popes wielded little temporal authority. His papacy occurred in the second half of 903, with exact months being difficult to discern.[1]
Leo V was born at a place called Priapi, near Ardea. Although he was a priest when he was elected pope following the death of Pope Benedict IV (900–903),[2] he was not a cardinal priest of Rome.[3]
During his brief pontificate, Leo granted the canons of Bologna a special bull (epistola tuitionis) where he exempted them from the payment of taxes. However, after a reign of a little over two months, Leo was captured by Christopher, the cardinal-priest of San Lorenzo in Damaso, and thrown into prison. Christopher then had himself elected pope (903–904); until the 19th century he was often considered to have been a legitimate pope.[4] Papal scholar Horace Kinder Mann on the other hand, argued in 1910 that Christopher was likely an antipope.[1]
Leo died shortly after being deposed.[5] He was either murdered on the orders of Christopher in 903, who was in turn executed by Sergius III (904–911) in 904, or, possibly, both were ordered to be killed at the beginning of Sergius’ pontificate, either on the orders of Sergius himself, or by the direction of Sergius' patron, Theophylact I of Tusculum.[6] According to Mann, it is more likely that Leo died a natural death in prison or in a monastery.[7]
From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia
Pope Leo V — Very little is known of him. We have no certainty either as to when he was elected or as to exactly how long he reigned. It is highly probable that he was pope during August, 903. He was a native of Priapi, a small place in the district of Ardea. When chosen he was not one of the cardinal-priests of Rome, but was attached to some church outside the City. Hence, in contemporary catalogues of the popes he is called a presbiter forensis. Auxilius, a writer of the time, says that he held "the rudder of the Holy Roman Church" for thirty days, and that "he was a man of God and of praiseworthy life and holiness." Except that he issued a Bull exempting the canons of Bologna from the payment of taxes, we know of nothing that he did as pope. The circumstances of his death are as obscure as those of his life. After a pontificate of somewhat over a month he was seized by Christopher, Cardinal-Priest of St. Damasus, and cast into prison. The intruder promptly seated himself in the chair of Peter, but was soon after displaced by Sergius III. According to one authority, Sergius took "pity" on the two imprisoned pontiffs, and caused them both to be put to death. However, it seems more likely that Leo died a natural death in prison or in a monastery.
Liber Pontificalis, ed. DUCHESNE, II (Paris, 1892), 234; JAFFE, Reg. Pontif., II (Leipzig, 1888), 746. Cf. MANN, Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages, IV (London, 1906), 111 sqq.
References
- Back to citation occurrence 1.0 Back to citation occurrence 1.1 Mann, pg. 112-115
- Back to citation Platina, Bartolomeo (1479), The Lives of the Popes From The Time Of Our Saviour Jesus Christ to the Accession of Gregory VII, vol. I, London: Griffith Farran & Co., p. 242, retrieved 2013-04-25
- Back to citation Mann, pg. 111
- Back to citation Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Pope Christopher". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- Back to citation O'Malley, John W., A History of the Popes, New York, Sheed & Ward, 2010
- Back to citation Mann, pgs. 114-116
- Back to citation Mann, Horace. "Pope Leo V." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 21 September 2017
Bibliography
- 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)
- 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)
- Norwich, John Julius, The Popes: A History (2011) ISBN 0099565870