Excommunication was the greatest moral power in all history and effective simply because the Christian opinion of the age responded to it and enforced it. By its use the Pope subjected to his will such powerful personages as Henry IV. of Germany, Henry II. of England, Philip (IV.) Augustus of France, Frederick II. of Germany, John of England, and countless lesser persons all over Christendom.[577:1] The power of excommunication was exercised by the Pope for the whole Church, by the bishop for his diocese, and even by subordinate Church officials. The formula and ceremony for excommunication were not uniform either in time or place but varied greatly.[577:2]
The interdict was directed against a city, a region, or a kingdom. It was used for the purpose of forcing a city or a ruler to obedience, as for example the interdict laid on Rome in 1155, and that on England, which lasted six years three months and fourteen days, to subdue the obstinate King John; or to enforce the ban of excommunication[577:3]; or to collect debts[577:4]; or to wreak vengeance for the death or maltreatment of a son of the Church.[577:5] The interdict was proclaimed in a papal bull and read by the clergy of the region affected to the congregations every Sunday for some weeks before it went into operation. Then all religious rites and sacraments ceased except baptism, confession, and the viaticum.[577:6] All the faithful were ordered to dress like penitents and to pray for the removal of the cause
of the curse. Thus the interdict resembled a raging pestilence and made a deep impression on the ignorant masses. It practically stopped all civil government, for the courts of justice were closed, wills could not be made, and public officials of all kinds were forbidden to act. Naturally it led to many very superstitious tales. For instance, the valley of Aspe in Béarn was cursed for seven years and during that time it was said that women bore no children, cattle gave no increase, and the land produced no crops or fruit.[578:1]
The use of such powerful weapons as excommunication and interdict was soon greatly abused. Popes and bishops employed this power out of spite, or hatred or for ambitious ends.[578:2] Scheming rulers enlisted papal, or episcopal, help of this sort to humble political rivals and for purely secular ends such as enforcing laws and collecting obligations.[578:3] In fact so wide-spread was the employment of these powers that by the fourteenth century half of the Christians in Europe were under the ban.[578:4] It was taught, moreover, that however illicit or apparently unfair or unwarranted, still the ecclesiastical mandates were to be obeyed. Hence Popes even granted the right not to be excommunicated without good cause.[578:5] Before long these religious curses degenerated to the point where they were applied to animals and inanimate objects, of which there are many illustrations. For instance two of St. Bernard's monks cursed the vineyard of a rival monk and it became
sterile until St. Bernard himself removed the blight.[579:1] A certain priest, noticing that the fruit of a neighbouring orchard had a stronger attraction for the children of his congregation than the divine service, excommunicated the orchard, whereupon it remained barren until the ban was taken off.[579:2] At the request of the farmers, the Bishop of Comminges cursed the weeds in their fields with the desired result.[579:3] St. Bernard, however, capped the climax of these absurdities when he solemnly excommunicated the devil.[579:4] After the thirteenth century the same weapons were used against leeches, rats, grasshoppers, snails, bugs, and pests of all kinds. In fact as late as 1648 a similar formula was given based on the forty-ninth psalm and the eleventh chapter of Luke.[579:5]
The efficacy of excommunication was likewise brought into service to protect property. For instance the Archbishop of Campostella in the twelfth century excommunicated any one who should steal or mutilate the manuscript history of his diocese. The Abbot of Sens in 1123 cursed on his death-bed any successor who should sell, lend, or lose any of the twenty volumes in the abbey library. Clement III. encouraged Bologna University by anathematising any person who should offer a higher rent for rooms used by students or teachers. Later, copyrights were protected by the same power and stolen property was recovered.[579:6] Letters bestowing the power of excommunication were soon purchased and used for all sorts of mercenary purposes.[579:7] John
Gerson of the University of Paris denounced Pope Martin V. for saying that as Pope he congratulated himself because he was no longer in danger of excommunication.[580:1] Gradually there came to be drawn up a list of no less than one hundred sins which were ipso facto followed by excommunication. Many of these are of the most trifling character, like that of collecting toll from a priest on crossing a bridge.[580:2] But this evil was offset by the ease with which one could purchase absolution.
The papal court, or curia, by the thirteenth century included an enormous number of persons both secular and ecclesiastic with all kinds of duties. The financial section was in many ways the most important one.[580:3] All members of the curia, which resembled the court of an Emperor, were directly responsible to the Pope. The cardinals were the most dignified and powerful members. Papal legates from the court swarmed over all Europe commissioned with unlimited authority to execute papal commands and to uphold papal claims. They ranged from primates to petty priests and monks, were directly subject to the Pope, and were feared and hated by the clergy and laity alike.
The College of Cardinals created in 1059 had come to play a marked rôle in ecclesiastical affairs in addition to their original duties. Their office ranked next to that of the Pope and they were called the "Holy and Sacred College." Foreigners were first appointed as cardinals in the thirteenth century. A distinct dress was assumed. The red hat was given by Innocent IV. (1245); the purple robe was bestowed by Boniface
VIII. (1297); the white horse, red cover, and golden bridle were added by Paul II. (1464); and the title of "Eminence" was created by Urban VIII. (1630). These cardinals were shrewd politicians for the most part and hence divided into French, German, and Italian parties. They secured their appointments ofttimes through favouritism or nepotism, hence were not always men of the most sterling worth. As members of the papal court they lived at Rome and were supposed to be occupied with ecclesiastical affairs in the capital or busy on important diplomatic missions. They were easily won away, however, from their lofty duties by secular princes and became involved in all sorts of questionable intrigues. It is not a matter of surprise, therefore, to find the best men of the day like Dante and Petrarch denouncing them in unmeasured terms.