Crescentius

Crescentius is the name of several personality of the Roman aristocracy which at the 10th century opposed the imperial government.

Crescentius the Old one

With the disappearance of the Carolingian dynasty the pontifical government had lost in Rome its most powerful guard and the Romans had taken in hand their own businesses. Local aristocracy emerges a powerful family, which practically seized in Rome all the governmental businesses, controlled the nominations with the papal throne and held the capacity during many years. At the beginning of the tenth century the family was represented by Théophylacte, vestararius i.e. dignitary of the palate and the pontifical government, by his wife Théodora and their two daughters Marozia and Théodora. Théophylacte carried the titles of consul and senator of the Romans. Crescentius the Old one belonged to this family, being wire of Théodora, the girl of Théophylacte.

According to the files, it interfered into the Roman businesses for the first time into 974. With died of the Pope Jean XIII (965-72), which was a brother of Crescentius, the emperor Otton Ier (936-73) gave him like successor the cardinal Benoît deacon, who took the name of Benoît VI (972-74). The Romans supported with a badly dissimulated indignation the constant interference of the emperor in the pontifical elections. Approximately one year after the death of Otton Ier, whereas its successor Otton II (973-83) was retained in his country by wars, they revolted against the imperial mode under the control of Crescentius. The unhappy pope Benoît VI was détrôné, locked up brutally with the Castle of Saint-Angel where he was strangled in July 974. The deacon Free, a Romain, wire of Ferrucius, was selected to succeed to him and took the name of Boniface VII (974). The protests of the imperial envoy Sicco did not have any success against this demonstration of national aspirations among Romans. Soon, however, the imperial party took again the capacity; the pope Boniface VII was constrained to flee in Constantinople; Benoît VII (974-83) was selected to replace it and Crescentius disappeared but for little time. According to any probability it took an active share with the restoration of Boniface VII into 984. After the death of the Emperor Otton II (December, 983) the party antiimpérial believed time come to show itself again. In April, 984, Boniface VII returned from Constantinople and took again possession of Rome. The pope Jean XIV (983-84), which had been named by the emperor Otton II, was imprisoned with the Castle Saint-Angel, where he perishes after four months approximately then and Boniface VII (984-85) controlled again like pope until his in July death, 985. Its Crescentius guard towards the end of his life (it is not known if it is before or after the restoration of Boniface VII) took the dress monacal with the monastery Saint-Alexis on Aventin, where it died on July 7th, 984 and was buried. The epitaph on its tomb (Armellini, Chiese di Roma, 586) is always visible.

Crescentius the Young person

The aspirations of the Roman aristocracy did not disappear with death from Crescentius the Old one. It had left a son, named him also Crescentius, which after the death of Boniface VII seizes between its hands the reins of the capacity. The circumstances seemed particularly favorable. The Emperor Otto III (985-96) was still a child and the empress mother, Théophano, were an energetic princess but it was absent from Rome. Crescentius the Young person took the title of Patrice of the Romans, demonstrator as he was the chief in Rome, even if he were not entirely independent of the imperial authority; he regarded himself as the lieutenant of the emperor. It is completely probable that the election of the Pope Jean XV (985-96), which succeeded Boniface VII, was done with the participation of Crescentius, although the details of this election are unknown. In some of the official documents of the time, published by the pope, the name of Crescentius and its title of Patrice appear at the same time as the name of Jean XV; and during a certain number of years Crescentius exerted its authority without opposition apparently. When the Théophano empress came to Rome into 989, it appeared like empress and sovereign, leaving Crescentius in its subordinate position.

During this time the young Emperor Otton III held the reins of government; in 996 it made its first voyage in Italy, encouraged with that by various considerations, especially by the calls of the pope Jean XV. But death carried the pope at the beginning of April 996, before Otton had reached Rome; it is in Pavia that the emperor was informed of the fact. Like the Romans and their chief, Crescentius, then did not dare to name the successor of the late pope, they sent a delegation to the emperor requiring of him to designate a suitable candidate with the head office of Rome. Otton III was in Ravenne when the delegates of Rome arrived. Having consulted its advisers it chooses his own cousin, Bruno, a young ecclesiastic, old only of twenty-three years, who seemed to him to have necessary qualities. At the beginning of May it was devoted to Rome under the name of Gregoire V (996-99), being the first pope of German nationality. A few weeks later (on May 21st) Otton III itself was crowned in Rome by the new pope in the Saint-Pierre basilica. The 25 of the same month the pope and the emperor held in Saint-Pierre a synod, which was at the same time a supreme court of justice. The rebellious Romans, including Crescentius, who had plotted during last years of the pontificate of the pope Jean XV, were convened to give an account of their actions. The result was that a certain number, and among them Crescentius, were condemned to the banishment. The pope Gregoire V, who wanted to inaugurate his pontificate by acts of leniency, interceded for the culprit and the emperor withdrew his sentence of exile. Crescentius was private of its title of Patrice, but authorized with living in Rome in the retirement.

Crescentius paid of a renewal of violence the leniency which the pope towards him had had. A few months hardly after the return of the emperor in Germany a revolt burst in Rome under the control of Crescentius. This foreign pope, these many foreign dignitaries installed everywhere in the Papal States offended the sight of the Romans. The rebellion had such a success that in September 996, the pope was obliged to flee with only some assistants. In February 996 it held a synod in Pavia, and pronounced there excommunication against Crescentius, usurper and invader of the Church of Rome. Crescentius, far from being moved by these measurements against him, put the roof at its rebellion by naming a antipape, Philagathus, bishop of Pleasure, which hardly returned from an embassy to Constantinople in the name of the emperor Otton III. Born in Calabria, Philagathus was a Greek, and it is with the Théophano empress and her son that it owed his rise with the episcopate, but it did not hesitate to betray its Master. In April 997, it took the name of Jean XVI (996-98). In February 998, Otton III returned to Rome with the pope Gregoire V and took again possession of the city without much difficulty. The antipape sought its safety in the escape, while Crescentius was locked up with the castle Saint-Angel. The unfortunate Jean XVI was captured soon by the emissary of the emperor; one cut the nose to him and the ears, one burst the eyes to him and sliced the language to him, and it is in this pitiful state that one forced it to overlap with back an ass. On the intervention of saint the Nile, one of its compatriots, one left him the life, and he lived until 1013. At the end of April the castle Saint-Angel was carried; Crescentius was made prisoner and carried out, its corpse was hung with a gibet set up on Assembles Mario. After which its remainders were buried in the Saint-Pancrace church on Janicule.

Jean Crescentius

Wire of Crescentius the Young person. At the beginning of 1001 a revolt burst in Rome against Otton III, which now resided permanently in the Eternal City. The emperor and the pope Sylvestre II (999-1003), the first pope of French nationality, were obliged to flee; it is more probable than Jean Crescentius was the instigator of the rebellion. In any case, it is him which assumed then the supreme authority in Rome, and after the death of the emperor Otton III (January 24th, 1002) it took the title of Patrice of the Romans. The pope Sylvestre II was authorized to go back to Rome, but mixed only little with the temporal government. The same applied to its three immediate successors: Jean XVII (1003), Jean XVIII (1003-09), and Serge IV (1009-12), which lasts all their choices with the influence of Jean Crescentius. The Patrice himself died in spring of the year 1012, and with him Crescentii disappeared from the history of Rome.

Sources

Random links: