Military and religious life in the Middle Ages and at the period of the Renaissance

by P. L. Jacob

Fig. 227.—Ceremony of robing a Bishop for his consecration.—From the “Rationale Divinorum Officiorum” of William Durand (Manuscript of the Fourteenth Century), Library of M. Ambroise Firmin-Didot.

History has handed down to us the form of oath of allegiance to the pope taken by the apostle of Germany in the eighth century, Wilfred, better known by the name of Boniface, who, in the course of a few years, made more than a hundred thousand converts. So far from being exalted with pride at the success of his mission, he continued to go for advice to Pope Gregory II., and to submit to his decision any intricate matters which might occur in the course of his ministry. The following translation of the form which he signed when raised to the dignity of bishop, will give an idea of his deference and spirit of submissiveness; it forcibly exhibits the power of the hierarchy at this epoch:—“In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, who has saved us, Leo the Great being Emperor, the seventh year of his consulate, and the fourth of his son Constantine the Great, Emperor,—I, Boniface, by the grace of God bishop, promise to thee, blessed St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and to thy vicar, the blessed Gregory, as well as to his successors, in the name of the indivisible Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and by his most holy body here present, to observe in purity and fidelity the Catholic Faith, and, with God’s assistance, to persevere in the unity of this same Faith upon which indubitably depends the salvation of all Christians. I also promise never to yield to any instigation contrary to the unity of the common and universal Church, but faithfully and sincerely to devote all my strength to thee and to the interests of thy Church, which has received from the Lord the power of binding and loosing, and also to thy Vicar and his successors. If I find any prelate living in disobedience to the ordinances of the holy Fathers, I undertake not to hold any kind of communion with him, but to win him back if I can; if not, to send a faithful report of his conduct to my lord the successor of the Apostle. And if (which may God forfend!) I should attempt to infringe the terms of this declaration, at any time or in any manner whatsoever, I acknowledge myself guilty of eternal punishment, and deserving the fate of Ananias and Sapphira, who were guilty of fraud in the declaration of their goods. I, Boniface, a humble bishop, have written with my own hand the text of this oath, which I lay upon the most holy body of St. Peter, in the presence of God who is my witness and judge; I have taken, as is herein stated, the oath which I undertake to observe.” It is worthy of notice that this formula was already in use in the time of Pope Gelasius, in the fifth century.

Fig. 228.—Solemn Reception of a Bishop. Arrival of St. Gêry at Cambrai, where he was appointed bishop, in 589. View of the city, the ramparts, and the church dedicated to St. Médard, and founded by St. Gêry.—Miniature from the “Chroniques du Hainaut” (Manuscript of the Fifteenth Century), Burgundian Library, Brussels.

Fig. 229.—St. Wulfram, Bishop of Sens, clad in his pallium; died in 720 at the Abbey of St. Wandrille.—From a Miniature in the “Chronicon Fontinellense” (Manuscript of the Ninth Century), Havre Library.

From the sixth century, the influence which the bishops enjoyed under the Roman empire went on increasing. Chilperic I. was alarmed at its progress, declaring that “the bishops alone were supreme in the cities.” Each one administered the affairs of his diocese with sovereign authority (Fig. 228), and, by means of the councils convoked by the kings, they governed the whole of the kingdom. In Gaul, there were twenty-five councils during the fifth century, fifty-four in the sixth, and twenty in the seventh, all of which were composed of bishops, supplemented by a few abbots and priests who were either well-known masters of ecclesiastical law, or eligible upon other grounds. From the diminution in the number of councils dates the decline of the authoritative influence of the French episcopacy; during the eighth century, in the first half of which there were only two councils, it declined still further, because the intrusion of the leudes in several bishoprics had brought about a great change in the austere morals of the ancient Church, replacing the cultivated spirit, the orderly conduct, and the charitable habits of the first prelates (Fig. 229) by a display of gross ignorance and unbridled barbarism. Three successive councils, held respectively in Germany, Belgium, and at Soissons (742, 743, 744), aimed at a reformation of the morals of the clergy, which were thoroughly perverted, as is evident from the decrees of these councils, forbidding the priests to follow the chase with hounds, falcons, and sparrowhawks. Other provincial councils of the same epoch condemned simony, the traffic in the immunities and privileges of the Church, and the plurality of benefices. This last abuse went beyond all bounds; the same prelate would hold three or four bishoprics at once, several abbeys, and the revenues of numerous parishes left without a pastor. On the other hand, many lay lords, who had usurped the property of the Church, and appropriated to themselves benefices, monasteries, and episcopal revenues, especially since the days of Charles Martel, created great confusion in the temporal economy of each diocese.

Charlemagne applied himself to the reformation of these abuses. That illustrious monarch at all times displayed the most respectful deference for the clergy, from amongst whom he selected his principal ministers and most trusted councillors. Two-thirds of his Palatine Academy were ecclesiastics; the missi dominici, the official inspectors appointed to visit the provinces, the churches, the presbyteries, and the hospitals, to render justice upon appeal, to suspend or dismiss the fiscal agents, were all, or nearly all, bishops and priests. Royalty was looked upon by Charlemagne as a kind of priesthood, and his mission was to give the people greater facility for practising the Gospel, and to bring it within the reach of the idolatrous nations. The capitulars say, “The king must walk uprightly, as his name signifies (‘Rex a recte agendo vocatur’). If he acts with piety, justice, and clemency, he deserves the name of king; otherwise he is not a king, but a tyrant. The special duty of royalty is to govern the people of God, but to govern them with equity and justice; for the king is above all the defender of the churches, of the servants of God, of the widows, the other poor, and all who are in distress.” These rules, laid down in the time of Charlemagne, were adopted by all Europe. The king who did not observe them was to be deposed; his judges were the bishops, the councils, and the pope, as head of the Church (Charlemagne, in a capitular from Thionville, in 805, submitted his own sons to be judged by the bishops). If they refused obedience, they were condemned to be driven from their palaces, deprived of their dignities and goods, declared infamous, and sent into exile. This is why, during the unhappy dissensions that broke out between the sons of Louis the Good-natured, each one endeavoured to procure the deposition of his rival by sentence of the council.

Fig. 230.—Bas-relief on the Tomb of Hincmar, Archbishop of Rheims, in the Church of St. Remigius in that city. Monument of the Tenth or Eleventh Century.—Hincmar, upon his knees, and followed by the Abbot of St. Remigius, is thanking Charles the Bald for his pious donations; the king holds in his hand a model of the church on which he bestowed his largesses.