Flamboyant Figure Stands Out in 14 Century History
He was the subject of a Richard Wagner opera
Rome and the Papacy: Urban V’s Return to Italy
The commune of Rome had achieved its independence in 1144. During the fourteenth century, its relations with the papacy were affected by repercussions of contemporary events. In the hope, no doubt, of bringing Clement V back to the city, the Romans made him a senator for life; but he carried out his duties, indirectly, through chosen intermediaries. After Henry VII’s expedition to Italy, the pope, unable by himself to restore order to the city which had been much disturbed by bloody street fighting between Guelph’s and Ghibellines, delegated his authority on 14 March 1314, together with his office of imperial vicar-general during the interregnum, to King Robert of Naples. But the title of captain-general of the Papal States did not increase that prince’s reputation. Robert’s authority was not sufficient to impose itself both on a turbulent nobility and upon the people. Violent brawls were constantly breaking out between the Orsini, Colonna, Caetani and Savelli. The situation grew worse when the populace, displeased that John XXII was continuing to evade the question of returning to their city, greeted Louis of Bavaria with transports of joy in 1328. But when six months had elapsed, the Romans realized their mistake, and having driven the Bavarian out with shouts and jeers, they humbly presented the pope, in his private capacity, not only with the office of senator, but with ‘the syndicate’ (i.e. the control of the administrative tribunal whose members were called syndics and had the task of supervising municipal officers of all grades), the captaincy and the ‘rectorate’ of Rome, with permission to have third parties act for him.2 When he received the same honours,J Benedict XII considered that he was strong enough not to have recourse to the good offices of the king of Naples, as his immediate predecessors had done: henceforth the municipal officials were directly appointed by the Holy See. Thus, on the ruins of the democratic regime set up in the twelfth century and organized in the thirteenth by Brancaleone degli Andalo, was established seigniorial rule.
Liberty raised its head again in 1339, when the people drove out the papal senators and divided the rectorate between an Orsini and a Colonna. But Benedict XII annulled all the revolutionary acts they had formulated, and became even more authoritarian. It was a sign of the times that in 1340 the city militia was fighting under the banner of the Church. The capitulation of the Romans followed inevitably from their inability to remedy their unfortunate financial position and to provide their fellow-citizens with the means oflivelihood.4 Nevertheless, internal unrest continued; disturbances occurred more frequently; the tyranny of the lords became more intolerable, and their palaces became dens for bandits who attacked passers-by, stripped peasants and pilgrims of their goods and committed the worst acts of brigandage. In short, Rome was in a state of complete anarchy.
The plight of his fellow-citizens so moved a man of obscure birth, the son of an innkeeper and a laundress, that he determined to free his native city from the despotism of the nobles, and to restore order. We may well wonder whether he was a statesman or a fool, a hero or an impostor, a mountebank or a charlatan. Clement VI, while recognizing his intellectual gifts, his powers of oratory and his skill in warfare, described him in November I348 as ‘a madman and insane,’ suspect of schism and heresy, who had committed against Church, Emperor, nobles and common people a series of acts so impertinent and full of ‘conceit’ that ‘never in the course of history have we read of such folly.’ 1 The pope was an orator himself, and may have been exaggerating. According to one of his latest biographers,2 Cola di Rienzo was by no means unbalanced, but a precursor of modem times, a man who, unlike the humanists and artists of the Renaissance, formed opinions on the state, the church, society and human personality based on a mystic inner sense of renewal, which ultimately derived from a religious ideal and the cult of antiquity.
From Cola’s correspondence, written in a vivid, incisive and pungent style, we undoubtedly gain the impression of a man inspired, absolutely convinced of his mission and the part he had to play. He declares that he acts only with the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, who. directs him, comforts him in all he does and gives him invincible courage, that he may bring back to Rome her vanished splendors. So guided, he declares that no fear can appall him the future was to give the lie to this-though the whole world, Christians, unbelieving Jews and pagans, should oppose him. His one dream is to die for the love of justice and the honor of God and the Church.3 When he was solemnly given the insignia of a tribune, he ordered that five crowns of leaves and one of silver should each in tum be placed on his brow, to denote the gifts of the Holy Ghost.” Cola also had visions. Two days before the bloodthirsty fighting that took place on 20 November I347 outside Rome, near the gate of San Lorenzo, Boniface VIII appeared to him, urged him to engage in battle against the Colonna and assured him of victory.
The pious sentiments displayed by Cola di Rienzo and his belief that the Holy Ghost reigned within him were the result of his connections with that off-shoot of the Friars Minor who, calling themselves fraticelli, or Spirituals, proclaimed that the era of the Holy Ghost had come, and the age of the official church was over. Cola had let himself be carried away by the apocalyptic dreams of these aberrant monks, who were in love with a strange mysticism and passionate admirers of the ideas of Joachim of Flora. Yet he had no desire to practice the absolute poverty so vigorously professed by these visionaries: on the contrary, he lived in an atmosphere of dazzling luxury, calculated to impress the Romans who loved ostentation. His gifts of oratory, his resonant voice, attractive smile and fine presence won him the favor of the populace. Assiduous reading of Livy, Seneca, Cicero and Valerius Maximus, together with a knowledge of the monuments of the ancient world, had given him a lively admiration for classical Rome: he resolved to bring her to life again, and cherished the hope of creating an Italy freed from the Empire and from the temporal power of the papacy.
There is something of the miracle in the rise to power of such a man. Sent by his compatriots on an embassy to Clement VI, Cola di Rienzo so impressed the pope that the latter conferred on him the office of notary to the City Chamber, on 13 April 1344.2 This office placed him in the limelight, and Rienzo increased his popularity by making virulent speeches against the nobility, and by having allegories painted on public monuments, thereby rousing public opinion to a frenzy. At the same time he was secretly preparing for the day of revolution by clandestine meetings which took place on the Aventine Hill.
A chance happening hastened the execution of his plans. Stefano Colonna, not realizing the danger that threatened his party, had led the city militia outside the walls of Cometo to get provisions. Thanks to his absence revolution broke out, on 20 May 1347, in a strange manner, under the guise of a procession. An impressive cortege led Cola di Rienzo to the Capitol. There, before the populace who had been summoned by the tocsin, this skillful orator gave one of his most eloquent speeches and roused the enthusiasm of his hearers. Decrees were read out and submitted to the approval of the crowd, and were greeted with wild applause. By agreement with the Apostolic vicar, Raimond de Chameyrac, bishop of Orvieto, the over lordship of Rome was conferred on Rienzo; his authority was everywhere recognized, without a drop of blood having been shed. The Roman lords left the city in haste. Stefano Colonna, when he came back from Corneto, did not even try to launch an offensive.
The government of the new master of Rome began under the most favorable auspices. Justice and equity reigned; the reorganization of the city militia was accomplished without conflict; the wise administration of finance and the suppression of crime succeeded in spreading well-being and security throughout the city.
Clement VI was alarmed by the revolution of 20 May 1347. The numerous letters which the tribune addressed to him, in which he unblushingly boasted of his almost divine mission, aroused the pope’s fears still more. In vain did Cola show himself increasingly respectfu1; I Clement was not to be deceived. He doubtless approved of the new constitution which the Roman people had established without his consent/ but he played his part cleverly: his correspondence shows that though he made skillful use of Cola di Rienzo to put down the tyranny of the prefect of Rome, Giovanni di Vico, and the influence of the nobility, he feared the authority that this same Rienzo had acquired, and was secretly undermining it by means of his lieutenants who had remained in Rome.
His victory over Giovanni di Vico in 1347 filled the tribune with pride. In his mad vanity he called himself ‘Nicolas, by the authority of our most merciful Lord Jesus Christ, stem yet merciful tribune of liberty, peace and justice, liberator of the holy Roman republic.’ The official acts were dated thus: ‘Given at the Capitol, where we live with an upright heart, under the reign of justice,’ or again, ‘ … since justice has once more come down from heaven.’ 3 Cola di Rienzo struck a new coinage, surrounded himself with regal splendor and harried the nobility. His u1timate object was to unite all the cities of Italy into a single state with Rome as its center. To this end, he asked them to send him ambassadors.
On 1 August 1347, the delegates of twenty-five cities appeared before the tribune. Instead of discussing questions of Italian politics with them, he did nothing more than provide them with the spectacle of imposing ceremonies. A magnificent procession accompanied him to the baptistery of St John Lateran, where he bathed in the font where, according to legend, Constantine was baptized. This strange ceremony was not a sign of madness: Rienzo had conceived it as a symbol of the rebirth that he hoped to bring about in Italy. Afterwards he had the arms of knighthood conferred upon himself, and, through a notary, published a series of extravagant decrees, which in their execution would have been injurious to the Holy See. Since Rome, he said, was once again possessed of world jurisdiction, all privileges contrary to this conception were annulled. He summoned Louis of Bavaria and Charles of Bohemia, as well as all the electors of the Empire, to appear before the tribune on the following Whitsunday 1 thereby openly questioning the election at Rense on II July 1346. To emphasize the full extent of his authority, Cola di Rienzo brandished a naked sword, and thrust it alternately in three different directions, shouting ‘This is mine!’ The Apostolic vicar, Raimond de Chameyrac, immediately perceived the serious implications of these gestures and protested, but the voice of the notary who read his hastily composed manifesto was drowned by the noise of trumpets. Moreover, the tribune made no secret of his future intentions, and told the papal representative that he would govern Rome without any help from him.
These events in Italy caused some anxiety at the papal court. Anxiety there was redoubled when it was learned that Cola di Rienzo had come to an understanding with the king of Hungary to drive the queen of Naples out of her states, and to place her kingdom, as well as the county of Provence, in subjection to the Roman people. On 12 October 1347, Clement VI sent orders to Bertrand de Deaulx, the legate in Italy, to go to Rome and persuade the tribune to give up these plans, which would be disastrous for ‘the rights of the Church. If he refused, the cardinal was to excommunicate him, urge the Romans to reject his authority and put their city under an interdict.
Bertrand de Deaulx took up residence in the Vatican without delay and summoned Cola, who appeared before him clad in armour, with a silver crown on his head and a steel sceptre in his hand. ‘You summoned me: said the tribune arrogantly; ‘what do you want of me?’ The legate replied, ‘I bring you instructions from our lord the pope.’ ‘What are they?’ asked Cola. Bertrand felt his courage fail, and was silent. Quite at ease, the tribune turned on his heel and walked away with a contemptuous smile. As for the timid cardinal, he fled with all haste to Montefiascone.
The Roman nobility, who had felt themselves ill-treated since the revolution of May 1347, had not been inactive: they were conspiring to bring about the downfall of their enemy, and were stirring up public opinion against him. Cola di Rienzo felt that his authority was threatened; instead of acting prudently, he aroused the enmity of the people by his despotism, his luxurious way of life and his eccentric behavior. Bertrand de Deaulx, plucking up courage again, declared him excommunicate and encouraged the count of Minervino to attempt a counter-revolution. On IS December 1347, cries rang out, of ‘Popolo! Popolo! Down with the tribune!’ The bell of the Capitol was tolled. No one came forward to defend the government. Cola di Rienzo feared that the populace was in revolt; he removed his insignia of power and retired within the walls of the castle of Sant’ Angelo, from which he soon set out in the direction of Civita. Vecchia. The nobles at once came back to Rome and Bertrand de Deaulx, who also reappeared, rescinded all the decrees of the fugitive leader, re-established the old form of government and appointed Luca Savelli and Bertoldo Orsini as senators.
As soon as the nobles returned to the city, disturbances broke out. The safety that had existed in the streets for several months rapidly disappeared. Internal dissension between noble families and their supporters broke out with unprecedented violence. Weary of the quarrels that caused daily bloodshed in their city, a group of Romans met on 26 December 1351 at Santa Maria Maggiore and decided to confer authority on a respected plebeian, Giovanni Cerroni by name, who was immediately summoned from his home and brought in triumph to the Capitol. The populace, flocking to the sound of the tocsin, ratified Cerroni’s election without more ado. Thus a revolution was again accomplished, as it had been in May 1347, as though by magic, without the least opposition from the aristocracy and without bloodshed.
Clement VI, glad to be rid of the danger created for him by Cola di Rienzo’s pretentions, confirmed Cerroni in his offices of senator and captain until Christmas 1353, and even made him a gift of 14,000 gold florins.
But Cerroni had no statesmanlike qualities. Though he brought peace to the Romans for a while, he lacked firmness and had no knowledge of the art of war. His prestige disappeared after a disastrous campaign against Giovanni di Vico, and he resigned in September 1352 and prudently withdrew to the Abruzzi.
Terrible disorder again broke out in Rome, and the streets ran with blood. The people rose against the nobility, whose constant turbulence was again disturbing the city, and, on 14 September 1353, elected Francesco Baroncelli as ‘second tribune and august consul.’ Innocent VI had no liking for innovation, and decided to oppose Baroncelli with Cola di Rienzo, who was being held in semi-captivity on the first floor of the Tour de Trouillas at Avignon.
Since his fall from power, Cola di Rienzo had many times tried to regain control of Rome. The few seditious risings fomented by him had been easily suppressed. Pursued by the papal officers sent to arrest him, he fled into the Apennines, to Monte Majella, on whose precipitous slopes some of the fraticelli had taken refuge. There he lived for nearly two years with these aberrant friars and came under their influence, delighting to read the Oraculum angelicum, which had been drawn up in the thirteenth century by the followers of Joachim of Flora. Fra Angelo, a pious hermit, revealed to Cola God’s supposed intentions for him. The time, he said, was drawing near when the Holy Ghost would begin to reign in this world. Cola di Rienzo was the chosen one, destined to assist in the reform of the Church and to regenerate the world with the help of Charles IV the Emperor. Rienzo lost no time in crossing the Alps and, disguised as a Franciscan, arrived without difficulty at Prague where the imperial court was residing. In July 1350, he appeared before Charles IV and warmly urged him to come over to Italy, begging that he himself might receive the tide of imperial vicar of Rome. The Emperor asked to have his plan in writing, and Cola made out an elaborate statement full of the apocalyptic visions of the hermits of Monte Maje1la. The effect of this memorandum was to land Rienzo in gaol, and later Charles IV handed him over to the pope, who in turn sent him to Cardinal Albomoz on 24 September 1353. The latter thought it unwise to allow Rienzo to return to Rome, where a rising had deposed Francesco Baroncelli, and only authorized him to come as far as Perugia.
In this city lived Brettone and Arimbaldo, the brothers of the condottiere known as Fra Moriale. Cola di Rienzo persuaded them to lend him money, which enabled him to hire five hundred mercenaries and to march on Rome, armed with the tide of senator, which had been granted him by Albornoz. The expedition was successful, and he entered the city on I August 1354, amid the acclamations of the populace.
Their enthusiasm was short-lived. Instead of governing with wisdom and moderation, Cola di Rienzo behaved like a tyrant. The beheading of Fra Moriale, who had helped him to regain power, alienated public opinion, and a series of arbitrary arrests brought about his downfall. On 8 October 1354, the Roman populace made an assault on his palace in the Capitol and set it on fire. Cola di Rienzo escaped from the blaze and, disguised as a peasant, mingled with the throng. But he was recognized, seized and dragged off to the Lion’s Cage, half-way up the staircase of the Capitol. Cecco del Vecchio thrust a sword into his heart, a notary cut off his head and the populace mutilated his corpse.
After the tragic end of Cola di Rienzo, the government was taken over by a council of thirteen citizens, although the pope as a private ‘ individual had been granted the office of senator for life. But Albornoz intervened, forbade the introduction of a new regime and appointed Orso Andrea Orsini and Giovanni Tebaldi di Sant’ Eustachio as senators. From this time, the Romans enjoyed an era of comparative peace, The legate’s presence in Italy had the effect of subduing the aristocracy, who dared not stir up trouble as they had done in the past. Moreover, Innocent VI greatly reduced their influence by abolishing the custom by which, for more than a century, the dignity of senator had been especially reserved for the Roman nobles. From the autumn of 1358 only one senator was appointed and he was a non-Roman. The pope hoped in this way to keep the Church lands intact from the depredations of the Roman militia which was again active. The people were willing to welcome these reforms, but set up an organization known as ‘The Seven: reformers who took over the municipal government; thus they hoped to safeguard their independence and prevent the decay of democratic principles.
Ever since 1305 the Romans had constantly urged-at more or less frequent intervals-the return of the papacy to their city. Major obstacles prevented Clement V and his successors from granting their wishes: apart from other reasons, the almost constant warfare in Italy was sufficient to explain their protracted stay in Avignon. When Albornoz had restored order in the Papal States and succeeded in overawing the Roman nobility, everything conspired to invite the pope to return to the banks of the Tiber. His presence was necessary to consolidate the peace so painfully achieved, for there was still a risk that Rome might fall prey to revolution. Innocent VI realized that a return should be made, but his age and infirmity made it impossible for him to attempt such a journey.) Urban V, on 23 May 1363, wrote to the senator and the people of Rome: ‘As to our coming, we have expressed our inmost desire, in all sincerity, to your ambassadors. Weighty obstacles, which we have told them of, have prevented us from achieving it; let us hope that the Almighty will dispose of them.
Foremost among the impediments which the pope invoked, without mentioning them specifically, was undoubtedly the war against Bernabo Visconti, then at its height and depleting his financial resources. An overland journey would be dangerous, and the sea voyage could not be arranged overnight: to charter a fleet involved long and complex negotiations, while the problem of providing the transport necessary to bring sufficient supplies to Rome for the papal court was almost insoluble. The surrounding countryside had almost nothing to offer, and barrels of wine, cheese and salt fish (cod, herring and eels) had to be brought from France. Moreover, the palace of the Vatican was unfit for habitation: extensive repairs were needed to the roof; doors and windows were either missing or crumbling away. A team of carpenters, locksmiths, masons and marble-cutters had still not completed their task when the pope did finally disembark at Corneto. Judging by the vast cost of the repairs 15,569 gold florins-the papal palace must have been in a lamentable state.
But the material difficulties were as nothing compared with the problem of overcoming the hostility of almost all the members of the Sacred College. We need not attach much importance to the slanders spread abroad by Petrarch, who depicts the cardinals as concerned at the prospect of no longer being able to enjoy the Beaune wines; 3 but it is true, nevertheless, that those who had lived in Avignon had little enthusiasm for leaving the charms of that country, the sunny skies of Provence, the green countryside of the Comtat-Venaissin and their luxurious dwellings, for a desolated land subject to miasma, an inclement climate, makeshift living quarters and a city that only a few years before had been given over to revolutionary disturbances. In vain had Petrarch disparaged Avignon which he described as ‘unholy Babylon, Hell on earth, a sink of iniquity, the cesspool of the world. There is neither faith, nor charity, nor religion, nor fear of God, nor shame, nor truth, nor holiness, albeit the residence within its walls of the supreme pontiff should have made of it a shrine and the very stronghold of religion…. Of all the cities I know, its stench is the worst. From THE POPES AT AVIGNON by G. MOLLAT