Because of our love for you we graciously concede this land on the same conditions to your son-in-law, Henry, duke of Bavaria, and his wife, your daughter. It is further stipulated that the duke shall do homage to us and take an oath of fidelity to St. Peter and to the pope; and that after their death the land shall revert to the possession of the Roman church, as said above. In all this there shall be no derogation of the rights and ultimate ownership of the holy Roman church.
91. Letter of Bernard of Clairvaux to Lothar II, 1134.
Migne, 182, cols. 293 ff; Doeberl, IV, no. 7.
In 1130 there was a disputed papal election. Innocent II, on being driven from Rome by his rival, Anaclete II, went to France, where he enlisted Bernard of Clairvaux in his favor. Through the efforts of Bernard the kings of France and Germany were persuaded to support him. Lothar led an army into Italy, established Innocent in Rome, and received the imperial crown. He failed, however, to conquer Roger, who had been made king of Sicily by the antipope, Anaclete II (see [no. 88]). Bernard wrote this letter to congratulate Lothar on his success in Italy, to urge him to renew the war on Roger because he was still supporting the antipope, and to rebuke Lothar for opposing some decision of the pope in regard to a trouble that had arisen in the church at Toul.
To Lothar, by the grace of God emperor of the Romans, Augustus, Bernard, called abbot of Clairvaux, sends his blessing, if the prayer of a sinner is of any avail.
Blessed be God, who has chosen you and exalted you for a horn of salvation unto us, to the glory of his name, the restoration of the empire, the preservation of his church in this evil time, and the working of his salvation in the midst of the earth. For it is by his will that you are daily growing in strength, in honor, and in glory. And when you recently undertook the hazardous expedition to Rome to secure the peace of the empire and the liberty of the church, it was by his aid that you were able to carry it through successfully, obtaining the crown of the empire without the aid of a large army. But if the earth trembled and was silent before that little band, think what great terror will strike the hearts of the enemy when the king shall proceed against him in the greatness of his power. Moreover, the justice of your cause, nay, more, a double necessity, will inspire you. It is not my duty to incite princes to war; but it is the duty of the defender of the church to ward off all danger of schism; it is the duty of the emperor to recover his crown from the Sicilian usurper. Just as that Jew [that is, Anaclete II] rebelled against Christ when he seized the papal chair, so anyone who would make himself king in Sicily rebels against Cæsar.
But if we are commanded to render unto Cæsar the things which are Cæsar’s and unto God the things which are God’s, why is it that you have permitted the church of God in Toul to be robbed, especially as Cæsar profits not thereby? ... For it is said that you have interfered with the pope in his efforts to bring the oppressors of that church to justice. I beseech you to act more circumspectly and to recall your intercession and let justice take its course, before that church be destroyed to its foundations. I am a poor person, but a faithful subject, and if I seem importunate it is because of my fidelity. Greet my lady the empress for me in the love of Christ.
92. Letter of Bernard to Conrad III, 1140.
Migne, 182, no. 183; Doeberl, IV, no. 11.
Because Roger of Sicily had supported the antipope, Bernard had urged Lothar to make war on him. [See [no. 91].] But Innocent had, in the meantime, without consulting the emperor, made a treaty with Roger and won his support by also granting him the royal title (1139). Conrad III was offended by this and protested against it. Conrad declared that the kingdom which Roger held, that is, Sicily and southern Italy, was a part of the empire, and therefore the pope had no right to recognize Roger as king there. Conrad regarded Roger as a usurper. He wrote a letter to Bernard complaining of the action of the pope. But Bernard had changed his sentiments since Roger had espoused the cause of Innocent and had received papal confirmation. In a somewhat curt manner he tells Conrad to obey the pope.