CHAP. II A. D. 500-800 Stephen's journey to Pavia The Franco Faithful to his orders from the Emperor, Stephen, in company with the imperial ambassadors and the envoys of Pippin, on October 14, 753, set out on his mission to Astolf. Before he reached Pavia, Astolf sent him word that it would be useless to ask for the restitution of the conquered territory, but Stephen continued on his way. When his efforts as mediator had completely failed, departing from Pavia on November 15, Stephen boldly turned his face toward the Alps. It was a journey fraught with the most far reaching consequences for the Papacy, the dynasty of Pippin, and the future of all Europe. The reception accorded to Stephen in the realm of the papal alliance Franks was one of the greatest honor. Charles, the elevenyear-old son of Pippin, afterward to become king and emperor, was sent out with an escort to meet the papal cortége at a distance of a hundred miles from Ponthion, near Barle-Duc, where Pippin was to receive him. Three miles from the journey's end, on January 6, 754, Pippin himself appeared, to welcome his venerable guest. Dismounting from his horse, and having first paid homage by kneeling in the snow, it is said, the King led by the bridle the palfrey of the Holy Father in the manner of a simple squire. At Ponthion in the chapel of the royal palace, Stephen besought the King with tears to restore to St. Peter his rights in Italy. The Treaty of Carisiacus, of April 14, ratified by a general assembly of the Franks, provided for the restoration of the papal possessions when retaken from the Lombards, but the solemn compact between the Pope and the Frankish king was of far wider scope and significance. Pippin became the defender of the Church, and the Pope in return promised to the house of Pippin perpetual confirmation in the kingship of the Franks.1 1 If the so-called "Fragmentum Fantuzzianum" is a genuine document, the Treaty of Carisiacus ceded to the Papacy all the cities, duchies, and castles in the Exarchate of Ravenna which Pippin might be able to take from the Lombards. This document is, therefore, considered by Catholic writers to be of great importance. See A. D. 500-800 At Paris, in the Church of St. Denis, on July 28, impos- CHAP. II ing ceremonies were held by which the new dynasty, the first to receive this distinction, was solemnly consecrated by the Pope. The Franks, whose imagination was deeply impressed by this unprecedented act, thenceforth regarded their monarch as chosen by heaven to rule over them. A new element was thus brought into the constitution of the Frankish state; for, although the new royalty was based upon election, it now seemed to possess also a divine authority. The conflict with the Lombards, therefore, assumed the character of a holy war, and made of the Frankish king the champion of Christendom. With a view to breaking up the alliance which had been formed against him, Astolf drew the monk Carloman out of his cell at Monte Casino and sent him as an ambassador to his brother Pippin. It was in vain, however, that the monk pleaded with the King not to bring down the horrors of on this point, Brunengo, Le origini, p. 143 et seq. The fragment in question was published for the first time by Count Marco Fantuzzi, in 1804, in his Monumenti Ravennati, vol. VI, pp. 264, 267; and was afterward reprinted by Troya in his Codex Diplomaticus, No. DCLXXXI. The text, copied also by Brunengo, Le origini, pp. 144, 145, who regards it as genuine, is as follows: "Statuimus cum consensu et clamore omnium, ut tertio Kalendas Maiarum in Christi nomine hostilitatem Longombardiam adissemus; sub hoc, quod pro pactionis foedere per quod pollicimus et spondemus tibi Beatissimo Petro Clavigero Regni Coelestis et Principi Apostolorum, et pro te huic almo Vicario tuo Stephano, egregioque Papae Summoque Pontifici, eiusque precibus, successoribus usque in finem saeculi, per consensum et voluntatem omnium infrascriptorum Abbatum, Ducum, Comitum Francorum, quod si Dominus Deus noster pro suis meritis sacrisque precibus Victores nos in gente et regno Longombardorum esse constituerit, omnes Civitates, atque Ducata seu Castra, sicque insimul cum Exarchatu Ravennatum nec non et omnia quae pridem tot per Imperatorum largitionem subsistebant ditioni, quod specialiter inferius per adnotatos fines fuerit declaratum, omnia quae infra ipsos fines fuerint ullo modo constituta, vel reperta, quae iniquissima Longombardorum generatione devastata, invasa, subtracta ullatenus alienata sunt, tibi tuisque Vicariis sub omni integritate aeternaliter concedimus, nullam nobis nostrisque successoribus infra ipsas termi Negotiations between Pippin and Astolf СНАР. ІІ A. D. 500-800 war upon Italy. Treated as if he were a sentimental imbecile, or a terrorized tool of Astolf, he was sent away to a monastery at Vienne in Burgundy, where he soon afterward died. Pippin, in turn, sent envoys to the Lombard king, offering him a large reward if he would abandon his designs; but Astolf, whose unbending nature yielded neither to threats nor persuasion, remained as obstinate as before. Returning to Rome with a strong Frankish escort, Stephen re-entered the city amid the jubilations of the people, who hailed him as their deliverer. On his journey the news had reached him of the death of Boniface. The aged archbishop had started on a journey into East Friesland, the very heart of paganism, and there, at Dokkum, a wild host had fallen upon him and his companions, and the great apostle to the Germans had been slain. Buried at Fulda, his tomb became a sacred shrine in the splendid abbey that was built over it, nationes potestatem reservatam, nisi solummodo ut orationibus et animae requiem profiteamur, et a Vobis populoque vestro Patritii Romanorum vocemur." "Frag W. Martens, Beleuchtung, p. 143, rejects as unauthentic the " mentum Fantuzzianum." The obligations incurred by the Treaty of Carisiacus are thus described by W. Sickel: "Das Fränkische Reich war verpflichtet, das Land der Römischen Kirche zu vertheidigen, eine Pflicht, die sich nicht auf bestimmte Ansprüche und bestimmte Gegner beschränkte, sondern auf jeweiligen Besitz sich erstreckte und sich richtete gegen jeden, der ihn angriff. Es bedurfte nur des Nachweises, dass ein Gebiet der Römischen Kirche verloren oder gefährdet sei um den Rechtsanspruch auf Hilfeleistung zu begründen." Die Verträge der Päpste mit den Karolingern; in the Deutsche Zeitschrift für Geschichtswissenschaft, Band XI, 1894, p. 333. It was as "papal possessions" that the Exarchate of Ravenna and other imperial territories were to be reclaimed and restored; although, in fact, most of them had never been ruled by the Pope. This was Pippin's understanding in his treaty with Stephen II, and he faithfully kept his word. On the ambiguity of the transaction, see W. Sickel, as cited above, pp. 322-324. On the form and terms of the treaty, see also Jaffé, Codex Carolinus, p. 497 et seq., especially pp. 525, 534, 715. from whose cloisters went forth a vast army of monks to carry on his work. Pippin, following his promise with prompt execution, in July, 754, led his army over the Alps, and Astolf, unable to resist him, promised to surrender Ravenna and the other imperial cities. In the treaty signed by Astolf it was the "Republic of the Romans" which was to be the beneficiary of his restitution; but whether this expression was intended to mean the Eastern Empire or the Duchy of Rome was left in obscurity. No sooner had Pippin's army disappeared over the Alps, however, than the faithless Lombard, repenting of his promise, not only refused to deliver the territory he had taken, but marched directly upon Rome, demanding the surrender of the Pope into his hands. Loyal to their bishop, who was now the only head of the Roman government, the Romans bravely withstood the long and trying siege. But all the old barbarian instincts of the Lombards were aroused, and not only was the campagna ruthlessly plundered, even the churches outside the walls were both robbed and desecrated. Gregory III had prudently renewed the walls of Rome, and for more than three months Astolf's fierce army was held at bay. In the meantime, Stephen, sending his messengers by sea, wrote urgent letters to the King of the Franks, plying him with every form of inducement, - blessings, reproaches, appeals, and fears for his salvation, to come immediately to the relief of the beleaguered city. At the height of his mental exaltation, Stephen imagines himself the mere amanuensis of St. Peter, through whom the Holy Apostle, in his own name, and in the name of the Mother of God and of all saints, martyrs, and angels, dictates his invitation and command to the King to fulfil his pledges without delay, and march to the rescue of the holy city. However Pippin may have regarded these pathetic importunities, he had the strongest reasons for taking them to heart. His kingship was, in a certain sense, the result of the papal sanction, and his solemn pledge had been given to de CHAP. II A. D. 500-800 The illu sions of the Emperor The temporal sovereignty of the Pope fend the Papacy. He could not, therefore, without humiliation and self-reproach permit the Vicar of God, whose sanctity was the very foundation of his throne, to suffer violence at the hands of the barbarian king who was threatening him with destruction. Hearing of Pippin's approach over the Alps, in March, 755, Astolf suddenly raised the siege of Rome, to march against the Frankish army in the North. The obscurity in which the Eastern Emperor was groping in the midst of these events, is shown by the appearance of three imperial ambassadors at Rome, at the time when Pippin's army was marching to its rescue. Without even suspecting the policy of Stephen, the Emperor had conceived the idea that he could use Pippin against Astolf for the restoration of his Italian possessions; and with that end in view, the embassy, on its mission to the King of the Franks, had passed by way of Rome, in order to obtain the support and assistance of the Pope. At Rome, the astonished envoys discovered with alarm that Pippin was on his way to invade Italy, and hastened to go by sea to find him, taking with them an envoy of Stephen's, who was sent as if to aid them. Arriving at Marseilles, they learned that Pippin had already crossed the Alps at the solicitation of the Pope. Thrown into consternation by the sudden revelation of the papal policy, the misguided embassy endeavored to detain the Pope's envoy, while one of their number made haste to reach the King. Overtaken in the course of his victorious march to Pavia, Pippin, when urged to restore to the Emperor his lost cities, announced to the imperial envoy that he was bound by a solemn oath to Stephen, and that he had not come to Italy to do the will of men but for the love of the Holy Apostle, to whom alone he would restore them. In what precise form the donation of Pippin was made, we have no records to testify; but it is certain that the transaction laid the foundation of the temporal sovereignty of the |