The Conclave: A Sometimes Secret and Occasionally Bloody History of Papal Elections by Michael Walsh Page A
Authors: Michael Walsh
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pope elected outside the city was unable, for whatever reason, to enter it, he still, said the decree, had full power. The emperor was to retain the right, for what it was worth, of confirming any elections made to the papacy, but only as a privilege conceded by the pope himself; it was not to be regarded, the decree made clear, as a right inherent in the imperial o ffi ce. It was the chief concern of the reforming group within the cardinals to free papal election from the intervention of the laity, and especially from intervention by the German emperors on the one hand, and the nobility of Rome on the other.
66 The Conclave
This election decree, which provided a post factum justification for what had happened in the election of Nicholas, was drafted by Hildebrand. Its purpose was to remove papal elections from the control of the noble families of Rome, such as the Crescentii and Tusculani, who had for so long dominated the city, and also from the vagaries of the Roman crowd. It was henceforth to be in the hands of Rome’s senior clergy, the cardinal bishops. As Peter Damian later wrote in a letter, the cardinal bishops do the electing, other clergy give their assent, and the people are able to give their applause.
Later the same year, on 23 August, there was another synod, held this time at Melfi. In the course of it Nicholas recognized the rights of the Norman conquerors of Sicily and Southern Italy to the lands they had gained by conquest. The Normans in their turn accepted the pope as their liege lord and undertook to guarantee the succes- sion to the papacy of whoever was the candidate of the reform group of cardinals. The Normans then proceeded to besiege Benedict, capture him, and hand him over to Nicholas, who had him degraded from his o ffi ce of bishop.
Of itself, however, the decree of 1059 did not guarantee a peaceful transition of the papal o ffi ce. On Nicholas’s death Alexander II was elected in accordance with its terms – though only after a six-week delay occasioned by an uprising in Rome. Although he had the support of Norman troops, Alexander was unable to hold his installation in the Lateran; it had to take place instead in the church of St. Peter in Chains. He did not seek the approval of the German court, which proved to be a mistake because it gave his enemies, the Roman nobility, a chance to travel to the German court and propose an alternative candi- date, one thought to be more sympathetic to the imperial cause. The name the Germans put forward was that of Cadalus, Bishop of Parma, who assumed the title of Honorius II; he was formally elected by his Roman supporters in a ceremony at Basel. His pontifi lasted some two and a half years, though he was never
Attempting Reform 67
able to install himself formally in either the Lateran or the Vatican, and he was eventually dumped by the German court when the Archbishop of Cologne replaced the king’s mother as regent to Henry IV. Honorius simply went back to being Bishop of Parma, and remained so for the rest of his life, though he never abandoned his claim to the papacy.
Alexander died on 21 April 1073. He was buried the following day, the ceremony taking place in the church where he had been installed, St. Peter in Chains. But at the church the crowd started to shout out that they wanted Hildebrand, the man who had for three decades been at the center of the reform movement, as their bishop. This election by acclamation was clearly contrary to the rules so carefully formulated by Nicholas II under the guidance of Hildebrand himself. Cardinal Hugo the White, who may well have orchestrated the whole event, gathered together the cardinals and proceeded immediately to a proper election, so that all due formal- ities should be observed. Hildebrand accepted on the spot and, like his predecessor, was enthroned in the church of St. Peter in Chains. He took the title of Gregory VII, and so gave his name to the movement of which he had long been the
66 The Conclave
This election decree, which provided a post factum justification for what had happened in the election of Nicholas, was drafted by Hildebrand. Its purpose was to remove papal elections from the control of the noble families of Rome, such as the Crescentii and Tusculani, who had for so long dominated the city, and also from the vagaries of the Roman crowd. It was henceforth to be in the hands of Rome’s senior clergy, the cardinal bishops. As Peter Damian later wrote in a letter, the cardinal bishops do the electing, other clergy give their assent, and the people are able to give their applause.
Later the same year, on 23 August, there was another synod, held this time at Melfi. In the course of it Nicholas recognized the rights of the Norman conquerors of Sicily and Southern Italy to the lands they had gained by conquest. The Normans in their turn accepted the pope as their liege lord and undertook to guarantee the succes- sion to the papacy of whoever was the candidate of the reform group of cardinals. The Normans then proceeded to besiege Benedict, capture him, and hand him over to Nicholas, who had him degraded from his o ffi ce of bishop.
Of itself, however, the decree of 1059 did not guarantee a peaceful transition of the papal o ffi ce. On Nicholas’s death Alexander II was elected in accordance with its terms – though only after a six-week delay occasioned by an uprising in Rome. Although he had the support of Norman troops, Alexander was unable to hold his installation in the Lateran; it had to take place instead in the church of St. Peter in Chains. He did not seek the approval of the German court, which proved to be a mistake because it gave his enemies, the Roman nobility, a chance to travel to the German court and propose an alternative candi- date, one thought to be more sympathetic to the imperial cause. The name the Germans put forward was that of Cadalus, Bishop of Parma, who assumed the title of Honorius II; he was formally elected by his Roman supporters in a ceremony at Basel. His pontifi lasted some two and a half years, though he was never
Attempting Reform 67
able to install himself formally in either the Lateran or the Vatican, and he was eventually dumped by the German court when the Archbishop of Cologne replaced the king’s mother as regent to Henry IV. Honorius simply went back to being Bishop of Parma, and remained so for the rest of his life, though he never abandoned his claim to the papacy.
Alexander died on 21 April 1073. He was buried the following day, the ceremony taking place in the church where he had been installed, St. Peter in Chains. But at the church the crowd started to shout out that they wanted Hildebrand, the man who had for three decades been at the center of the reform movement, as their bishop. This election by acclamation was clearly contrary to the rules so carefully formulated by Nicholas II under the guidance of Hildebrand himself. Cardinal Hugo the White, who may well have orchestrated the whole event, gathered together the cardinals and proceeded immediately to a proper election, so that all due formal- ities should be observed. Hildebrand accepted on the spot and, like his predecessor, was enthroned in the church of St. Peter in Chains. He took the title of Gregory VII, and so gave his name to the movement of which he had long been the
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