which had been "conceded in a written deed of donation" to the Pope by the latter monarch, and certain specified cities and provinces in Lombardian Tuscany, together with the islands of Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily, and all the patrimonies of the Church, "under her power and jurisdiction," in all parts of the Empire. Louis further confirmed to the Pope certain tributes and pensions, which used formerly to be paid every year out of the Duchies of Lombardian Tuscany and Spoleto into the palace of the king of the Lombards; but, in doing so, he expressly reserved to himself his sovereignty over the said two duchies, thus proving that he did not aim at the least shadow of power or jurisdiction over all the other territories conveyed and confirmed in his diploma, no reservation whatever having been made with regard to them.

This is further expressed in the clause, "And we do not claim for ourselves any part in them (the said territories, cities, etc.), nor any power of governing, judging, taking from, or diminishing the same, unless when we shall have been invited by him who, at any time, shall hold the government of this holy Church."

Next follow stringent provisions against any subjects of the Empire in any way interfering with the Romans, in the free and canonical election of the Pope-a topic which will be treated of fully in a future chapter.

To the same effect are the diplomas, or deeds of confirmation, of the Emperors Otho I. to Pope John XII., and Henry II. to Pope Benedict VIII., executed respectively in the years 962 and 1020. In these, as in that of Louis, we find the clause, “saving our rule in all

Ravenna and the Pentapolis, as having been restored to the Popes by Pepin and Charlemagne in a deed of donation, whilst he alludes to Rome and its duchy and territories, as having been "held under their power and jurisdiction down to the present time" by Pascal and his predecessors on the Pontifical throne, and governed by them.

1 "Eo scilicet modo ut annis singulis prædictus census Ecclesiæ Beati Petri Apostoli persolvatur, salva super eosdem ducatus nostra in omnibus dominatione, et illorum ad nostram partem subjectione."

things over these duchies and their subjection to us," applied only to the Duchies of Lombardian Tuscany and Spoleto, the tributes annually paid by which are confirmed to the Popes; while, with this sole exception, "all the provinces, cities and states, towns and fortresses, villages and territories, together with the patrimonies of the said Church," are confirmed to "the Sovereign Pontiff and Universal Pope, and to his successors, to the end of the world, to be held by them in their right, princedom, and jurisdiction." 1

1 Theiner, "Codex Diplomaticus Dominii Temporalis S. Sedis," tom. i. p. 2-8, Romæ, 1861; Baronius, "Annales Ecclesiastici," ix. 670; Cenni, "Esame del Diploma di Ludovico Pio," parte prima, and "Esáme de' diplomi d'Ottone e S. Arrigo," parte terza. The authenticity of the diploma of Louis le Débonnaire has been questioned by some writers, while admitted by the majority. It appears however to be conclusively established, as an authentic document, by the Abbate Cenni, in his learned treatise just named. Of the diplomas of Otho I. and Henry II., to the same purport, the authenticity is universally admitted.

CHAPTER XV.

RELATIONS OF THE POPES AND THE EMPERORS.

"Il ne faut jamais perdre de vue cette grande et incontestable vérité historique, que tous les souverains regardaient le Pape comme leur supérieur même temporel, mais surtout comme le suzerain des empereurs électifs. Les Papes étaient censés, dans l'opinion universelle, donner l'empire en couronnant l'empereur. Celui-ci recevoit d'eux le droit de se nommer un successeur. Les électeurs Allemands recevait de lui celui de nommer un roi des Teutons, qui était ainsi destiné à l'empire. L'empereur élu lui prêtait serment, etc. Les prétentions des Papes ne sauraient donc paraître étranges qu'à ceux qui refusent absolument de se transporter dans ces temps reculés."-DE MAISTRE.

THERE has been considerable discussion amongst the learned as to the degree of power or jurisdiction exercised by the Frankish or German Emperors and the Popes, respectively, in Rome and its dependencies, after the grants of Pepin and Charlemagne. Some writers assert that all through down to the reign of Pope Julius II., A.D. 1503, and some, that, at particular periods specified, the Pontiffs exercised only the proprietary dominion, dominium utile, under the supreme dominion, or suzerainty, dominium altum, of the Emperors; some again hold, that they exercised supreme power conjointly and equally with the Emperors, consortes et socii ejusdem dominii; whilst several are strongly of opinion, with Cardinal Orsi and the learned Fr. Theiner of our day, that, from A.D. 754, the year of Pepin's donation, the successors of Saint Peter continuously exercised the supreme as well as the proprietary dominion of the extensive territories of the Holy See.1 One fact is un

1 See Cardinal Orsi's able work, "Della origine del Dominio de' Romani Pontefici," with which is published, as an appendix, the Abbate Cenni's "Esáme del Diploma di Ludovico Pio, e de' Diplome

deniable, and it goes far towards reconciling these various opinions; namely, that, even although the grants were made and confirmed to them by the French and German monarchs, in a manner full and complete, the Popes, in many an instance, were unable to enforce their authority, in several of the provinces, or, again, were powerless to resist attacks from outside; and, consequently, were obliged to request the Emperors' interference and exercise of jurisdiction within their States; whether to defend and protect them against foreign invasion, on the one hand, or domestic faction, unhallowed conspiracies, and sacrilegious outrage, on the other. In all probability, it was with reference to this necessity of the Holy See, rather than with the intent of arrogating supreme authority, that the Emperors used to send, from time to time, into the Papal States their envoys, missi, who appear to have partaken of the character of inspectors, or overseers, as much as of ambassadors. On the whole, the view that the Pontiffs exercised supreme dominion within their own territories, at the period in question, is fully borne out by the tenor of the diplomas of the Emperors, Louis, Otho, and Saint Henry, above referred to, as well as by the solemn acts of their successors.

Whilst, with the Pope's permission, the Roman people took an oath of fidelity to the Emperor, expressly reserving however their allegiance to their sovereign lord, the Pope, the Emperor, on his coronation, bound himd'Ottone e S. Arrigo;" Rome, 1789: also Father Theiner's "Codex Diplomaticus Dominii Temporalis S. Sedis," tom. i. preface. Rome, 1861.

1 A notable instance of the latter, was the gross outrage perpetrated on Pope Leo III., and Charlemagne's intervention, at his request; A.D. 799, as above narrated.

2 In the oath of fidelity to the Emperor, which Pope Eugenius II. prescribed, to be taken by all the Roman clergy (A.D. 824), we find the clause, "saving the fealty which I have promised to the Apostolic Lord" (the Pope)-salvâ fide quam repromisi Domino Apostolico ("Supplementum Longobardicorum," attributed to Paul the Deacon, and recited in the end of his book, "Gesta Episcoporum Metensium." See Pagi, Breviarium, etc., ii. 29).

self by oath to act as the Protector and Defender of the Church; thereby undertaking to enforce the obedience, to the Holy Father, of all the subjects of the Papal dominions, and to defend those dominions from all foreign aggression. Again, the Emperor was actually indebted for his authority and title to the Successor of Saint Peter, at whose hands he received the sacred unction and the Imperial crown.

In this interchange of privileges and services, created by the necessities of the times, originated the office of Patrician conferred by the Pontiffs of the day on Pepin and Charlemagne-an office subsequently amplified and exalted in the Imperial dignity.

The coronation of Charlemagne as Emperor of the West by Pope Leo III., A.D. 800, was really the commencement of the "Holy Roman Empire," although the Empire was not generally so called until the change from the Carlovingian to the German line of Emperors, in 962. As was the case with Charlemagne himself, his lineal descendants were indebted for the Imperial rank and power to their coronation by the Supreme Pontiff, who, moreover, in cases of conflicting claims, named the Carlovingian prince to be promoted to the Imperial throne. For instance, three years after the deposition of Charles le Gros, the sixth Emperor of the Carlovingian line, Pope Stephen VI., A.D. 891, nominated to the Empire, not Charles's nephew, Arnulph, who had succeeded him as King of Germany, but Guido, Duke of Spoleto, who was descended from Charlemagne in the female line only, but who was the better able to protect and defend the dominions of the Holy See.

Another illustration of the power of the Popes in this regard, in the tenth century, is furnished by the transference of the Empire from the French to the German princes by Pope John XII., in 962.1 Not

1 This important event will be more fully referred to in the next chapter.