Pope John XIII (Latin:Ioannes XIII; ca. 930 – 6 September 972) was thebishop of Rome and ruler of thePapal States from 1 October 965 to his death.[1] His pontificate was caught up in the continuing conflict between theHoly Roman emperor,Otto I, and the Roman nobility. After long and arduous negotiations, he succeeded in arranging a Byzantine marriage forOtto II, in an effort to legitimize theOttonian claim to imperial dignity. He also established church hierarchy in Poland and Bohemia.
Born inRome, John was the son of another John, who was abishop. It has been conjectured that his father was the Roman noble John Crescentius, a member of theCrescentii family who had married into the family of CountTheophylact I of Tusculum. If so, his father had previously been a duke, and possibly even appointed consul, prior to his ordination as bishop.[2] Consequently, John was probably the brother ofCrescentius the Elder (thepatricius romanorum), as well as Stephania, lady ofPalestrina (who married Count Benedict, rector of theSabina) and Marozia, who married CountGregory I of Tusculum.[3]
After the death of Leo VIII, the Roman nobility asked theHoly Roman emperor,Otto I, for the reinstatement ofPope Benedict V. When this was not possible, Bishop John Crescentius was suggested as a compromise candidate by Otto's envoys, the bishops Otger of Spiers andLiutprand of Cremona.[7][8] Elected unanimously, John was consecrated on Sunday, 1 October 965, five months after the death of Leo VIII.
John immediately took on the task of curbing the power of the Roman nobility. He gave members of theCrescentii family important positions to shore up his support, while he also sought closer ties with the emperor.[9] However, with the emperor back in Germany, various local powers decided to take advantage of his absence to intrigue against John XIII. The former kingAdalbert of Italy had appeared in front of an army inLombardy, whilst the Roman nobility, disliking John's behaviour, and resenting his imposition by a foreign power, staged a revolt. Under the leadership of Peter, thePrefect of the city, together with Rofred, the Count ofRoman Campagna and theVestararius Stephen, they roused the Roman nobility by declaring that
”The Saxon kings were going to destroy their power and influence, and were going to lead their children into captivity.”[2]
The leaders of the Roman militia captured the pope on December 16, 965, and imprisoned him inCastel Sant'Angelo. However, fearing John's presence there would inspire resistance from his followers, the pope was moved to one of Rofred's castles in the Campagna.[10] Word eventually reached Otto of all these disturbances, and he entered Italy in late summer of 966 at the head of an enormous army. In the meantime, John had managed to escape from Campagna, and made his way toCapua, placing himself under the protection ofPandulf Ironhead.[11] In thanks for Pandulf's aid, John converted Capua into aMetropolitan see, and consecrated as its firstarchbishop Pandulf's brother John, on August 14, 966.[12] In Rome, the pope's supporters rose up, and Rofred and Stephen were killed by John Crescentius, the pope's nephew. Pope John left Capua, and crossed intoSabina, where he was met by his brother-in-law, Benedict, who also offered John his support. With Rome effectively back in his hands, John returned and was welcomed back into the city on November 14, 966.[13] Although he was initially lenient towards the rebels, the arrival of Otto saw a change in approach. The emperor banished to Germany the two men appointed consul; the twelve principal militia leaders (theDecarcones, one appointed to each of the city'stwelve regions) were hanged. Other plotters were either executed or blinded. The Prefect of the city, Peter, was handed over to John, who ordered him to be hung by his hair from theEquestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius, after which he was taken down, placed naked and backwards on an ass. A bag of feathers was placed upon his head and two more at his thighs. With a bell fastened round its neck, Peter was driven through the city, and after being thus exposed to the ridicule of the people, Peter was cast into a dungeon before finally being sent by the emperor into Germany.[14][15] In gratitude for the emperor's intervention, John lauded him by declaring him to be the liberator and restorer of the Church, the illustrious guest, and three times blessed emperor.[16]
In 969, he met Gerbert d'Aurillac, the futurePope Sylvester II, and was so impressed by his scholarly brilliance that he kept him on in Rome in order to learn from him.[17]
After John XIII's restoration, he worked with the Emperor on ecclesiastical improvements. It was decided in a council held at Rome in the beginning of 967 in the emperor's presence thatGrado was to be the patriarchal and metropolitan church of the whole of theVeneto. At another council atRavenna in April 967, Otto again "restored to the apostolic Pope John the city and territory of Ravenna and many other possessions which had for some time been lost to the Popes."[18] At around this time he also created, at Otto's request, theArchbishopric of Magdeburg.[19][20]
Then, on Christmas Day in 967, John XIII crowned Otto I's sonOtto II as co-emperor.[21] Various synods were held before the emperors left Rome for the south of Italy, in which, sometimes at their request, John XIII took several German monasteries under his special protection, or decided that in some cases they were to remain forever "under the patronage (mundiburdium) of the kings or emperors."[22] With Otto I seeking a marriage alliance with theByzantine Empire through his son and a Byzantine princess, John XIII lent his support to Otto's cause. He wrote a letter to the Eastern emperor,Nikephoros II Phokas, but ended up insulting him by referring to him, not as "emperor of theRomans", but as "emperor of the Greeks".[23] As his price for the marriage, Otto demanded a dowry from the Eastern Empire, that of thethemes ofLongobardia andCalabria. Nikephoros retorted by instead demanding the restitution of theExarchate of Ravenna, which included Rome and the Papal States, as the price for the imperial marriage.[24] When negotiations broke down, Nikephoros refused to write to John XIII in his own hand, instead sending him a threatening letter written by his brother,Leo Phokas the Younger.[25]
After the failure of negotiations, Nikephoros attempted to extend the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of thepatriarch of Constantinople into the pope's jurisdiction in southern Italy. The eastern emperor ordered the patriarch to transform the bishopric ofOtranto into a metropolitan see, and to ensure that services were no longer said in Latin, but in Greek only.Patriarch Polyeuctus of Constantinople quickly addressed an order to the head of the Church of Otranto giving him authority to consecrate bishops in the churches ofAcerenza,Tursi,Gravina,Matera, andTricarico, all previously dependent on the Church of Rome.[26] In response, and at the request of the Western emperor, John convened asynod in 969, which elevated the bishopric ofBenevento into a metropolitan see, thus reducing the influence of the Byzantine Empire andEastern Orthodox Church there.[27]
The death of Nikephoros Phokas in 969 saw the elevation ofJohn I Tzimiskes. He entered into negotiations with Otto I, and soon Otto II was betrothed toTheophanu, the niece of Tzimiskes. The marriage was performed by John XIII at Rome on 14 April 972.[28]
John was also involved in the development of ecclesiastical structures across Europe. In 968, John appointed the first bishop in Poland,Jordan.[29] In 973, John appointedMlada, a sister of DukeBoleslaus II of Bohemia, as anabbess of theBenedictine Order. He gave her apapal bull which authorised the foundation of theBishopric of Prague in accordance with the wishes of Boleslaus, which had been made through Mlada. John decreed that the church ofSaints Vitus and Wenceslaus should be the new cathedral church. At the church of St. George, a convent of nuns was to be established, over which Mlada was to preside. Finally, theLatin rite and not theByzantine rite was to be followed, and someone who was well instructed in Latin literature had to be chosen as the first bishop.[30]
In 971, John XIII published a bull supporting the action of the English kingEdgar the Peaceful andArchbishop Dunstan against thecanons ofWinchester Cathedral, who refused to give up their wives and concubines.[31] In that same year, John confirmed the privileges which King Edgar had granted the monks ofGlastonbury Abbey, and declared that it was under papal protection.[32] Further, John sent a letter to anealdorman named Aelfric, commanding him to cease taking money from Glastonbury.[33]
InTrier, John appointed thearchbishop of Trier as thepapal vicar, responsible for promoting the decrees of any synods held in Germany orWest Francia.[34] He also granted numerous privileges across Europe. In one case, dated September 29, 970, for the monastery of St. Vincent ofMetz, we find the first recorded grant of thePontificals. Its abbot was granted the use, under certain conditions, of theDalmatic andEpiscopal sandals. John was also the recipient of many requests for help. In one case, the monks of the monastery of St. Peter at Novalisa, asked for the pope to intervene to help protect them against a local count named Ardoin.[35] In another case, in November 971, ArchbishopAdalberon of Reims went to Rome to ask the pope to confirm the archbishop's decision to leave some property to the monks of Mouzon Abbey, thereby protecting his donation from KingLouis IV of France.[36]
In 970, John bestowed the town ofPraeneste as a hereditary lease to Senatrix Stephania, who was probably his sister. Praeneste was to belong to her, her children, and her grandchildren, for a yearly rent of ten goldsolidi, but it was afterwards to return to the Church. It is one of the first examples of the introduction of the system offeudalism into Roman territory.[37]
John XIII died on 6 September 972, and was buried in theBasilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls.[38] He was succeeded byBenedict VI. The earliest surviving written mention of the ancient practice of the blessing of church bells comes from his reign.[39]
Referred to by one chronicler after his death as "The Good",[38] John was noted for his reverence and piety, as well as being highly learned in both scripture andcanon law.[40] From childhood he carried the nickname of "the White Hen", due to his light colored hair.[5] His epitaph used to be in the basilica where he was buried, between the front door and the first column, and it read:
"Here, where in death the good pastor would have them placed, are the remains of Pope John. By the mercy of God and the merits of St. Paul, freed from the bonds of death, may he hence ascend into heaven, and share in the happiness of the blessed above. Do you who piously read this epitaph pray that Christ, who with His sacred Blood redeemed the world, may have pity on His servant and free him from his sins."[41]
There is a legend which attached itself to the reign of John XIII. According toDietrich I of Metz, one of the nobles attached to the court of the emperor Otto I was possessed by an evil spirit, resulting in his tearing at his own face, and biting his hands and arms. The emperor ordered that the nobleman be taken to Pope John XIII, with instructions that theChains of Saint Peter be placed upon him, and so cure him. According to the legend, John placed several chains on the afflicted man, each of which were copies, but to no effect. However, when John placed the true chain ofSaint Peter on him, a thick smoke issued from the nobleman's body, cries were heard in the air, and the evil spirit left the nobleman.[42]
^”Roma caput totius mundi et ecclesia universalis ab inquis pene pessum data, a Domno Ottone aug. Imp., a Deo coronato Caesare, et magno, et ter benedicto—erecta est et in pristinum honorem omni reverentia redacta.” Gregorovius, pp. 364–365
^Paul Collins (2014).The Birth of the West: Rome, Germany, France, and the Creation of Europe in the Tenth Century (illustrated, reprint ed.). PublicAffairs. p. 369.ISBN978-1610393683.
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