Pope Blessed Victor III

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(DAUFERIUS or DAUFAR).

Born in 1026 or 1027 of a non-regnant branch of the Lombard dukes ofBenevento; died inRome, 16 Sept., 1087. Being an only son his desire to embrace themonastic state was strenuously opposed by both hisparents. After hisfather's death in battle with the Normans, 1047, he fled from the marriage which had been arranged for him and though brought back byforce, eventually after a second flight to Cava obtained permission to enter themonastery of S. Sophia atBenevento where he received the name of Desiderius. The life at S. Sophia was not strict enough for the youngmonk who betook himself first to the islandmonastery of Tremite in the Adriatic and in 1053 to somehermits at Majella in the Abruzzi. About this time he was brought to the notice ofSt. Leo IX and it is probable that thepope employed him atBenevento to negotiate peace with the Normans after the fatal battle of Civitate. Somewhat later Desiderius attached himself to the Court of Victor II at Florence and there met twomonks ofMonte Cassino, with whom he returned to theirmonastery in 1055. He joined the community, and was shortly afterwards appointed superior of the dependent house atCapua. In 1057Stephen IX (X) who had retained the abbacy ofMonte Cassino came thither and atChristmas,believing himself to be dying, ordered themonks to elect a newabbot. Their choice fell on Desiderius. Thepope recovered, and, desiring to retain the abbacy during his lifetime, appointed the abbot-designate hislegate for Constantinople. It was atBari, when about to sail for the East, that the news of thepope's death reached Desiderius. Having obtained a safe-conduct fromRobert Guiscard, the Norman Count (later Duke) of Apulia, he returned to hismonastery and was duly installed by Cardinal Humbert onEaster Day, 1058. A year later he wasordainedcardinal-priest of the title of S. Cecilia and received the abbatial blessing.

Desiderius was the greatest of all theabbots ofMonte Cassino with the exception of the founder, and as such won for himself "imperishable fame" (Gregorovius). He rebuilt the church and conventual buildings, establishedschools of art and re-established monastic discipline so that there were 200monks in themonastery in his day (seeMONTE CASSINO). On 1 Oct., 1071, the new and magnificent Basilica ofMonte Cassino wasconsecrated byAlexander II. Desiderius's great reputation brough to theabbey many gifts and exemptions. The money was spent on church ornaments of which the most notable were a great golden altar front from Constantinople, adorned with gems and enamels and "nearly all the church ornaments of Victor II which had been pawned here and there throughout the city" [Chron. Cass., III, 18 (20)]. The bronze and silver doors of the Cassinese Basilica which Desiderius erected remain, and in the Church of S. Angelo in Formis nearCapua some of the frescoes executed by his orders may still be seen.Peter the Deacon gives (op. cit., III, 63) a list of some seventy books which Desiderius caused to be copied atMonte Cassino; they include works of Sts. Augustine,Ambrose,Bede, Basil,Jerome,Gregory of Nazianzus, and Cassian, the registers of Popes Feliz and Leo, the histories ofJosephus, Paul Warnfrid, Jordanus, andGregory of Tours, the "Institutes" and "Novels" of Justinian, the works of Terence, Virgil, and Seneca, Cicero's "De natura deorum", and Ovid's "Fasti".

Desiderius had been appointedpapal vicar for Campania, Apulia, Calabria, and the Principality ofBeneventum with special powers for the reform ofmonasteries; so great was hisreputation with theHoly See that he "was allowed by theRoman Pontiff to appoint Bishops and Abbots from among his brethren in whatever churches ormonasteries he desired of those which had beenwidowed of their patron" (Chron. Cas., III, 34).

Within two years of theconsecration of the Cassinese Basilica, Pope Alexander died and was succeeded byHildebrand. Undoubtedly the chief importance of Desiderius inpapalhistory lies in his influence with the Normans, an influence which he was able repeatedly to exert in favour of theHoly See. Already in 1059 he had persuadedRobert Guiscard and Richard ofCapua to become vassals of St. Peter for their newly conquered territories: nowGregory VII immediately after his election sent for him to give an account of the state of NormanItaly and entrusted him with the negotiation of an interview withRobert Guiscard. This took place on 2 Aug., 1073, atBenevento. In 1074 and 1075 he acted as intermediary, probably asGregory's agent, between the Norman princes themselves, and even when the latter were at openwar with thepope, they still maintained the best relations withMonte Cassino (end of 1076). At the end of 1080 it was Desiderius who obtained Norman troops forGregory. In 1082 he visited the emperor atAlbano, while the troops of the Imperialistantipope were harassing thepope fromTivoli. In 1083 the peace-lovingabbot joined Hugh of Cluny in an attempt to reconcilepope and emperor, and his proceedings seem to have aroused some suspicion inGregory's entourage. In 1084 whenRome was in Henry's hands and thepope besieged in Sant' Angelo, Desiderius announced the approach of Guiscard's army to both emperor andpope.

Though certainly a strong partisan of theHildebrandine reform the gentler Desiderius belonged to the moderate party and could not always see eye to eye withGregory in his most intransigent proceedings. Yet when the latter lay dying atSalerno (25 May, 1085) theAbbot ofMonte Cassino was one of those whom he named as fittest to succeed him. Desiderius was by no means willing to assume the mantle ofGregory VII, experience had taught him that his power and utility lay in being a middleman, yet at a time when theChurch was surrounded by powerful enemies his influence with the Normans made him the most obvious candidate. The Romans had expelled theantipope from the city, and hither Desiderius hastened to consult with thecardinals on the approaching election; finding, however, that they were bent on forcing thepapal dignity upon him he fled toMonte Cassino, where he busied himself in exhorting the Normans and Lombards to rally to the support of theHoly See. When autumn came Desiderius accompanied the Norman army in its march towardsRome, but becoming aware of the plot which was on foot between thecardinals and the Norman princes to force thetiara upon him, he would not enterRome unless theyswore to abandon their design; this they refused to do, and the election was postponed. At aboutEaster (Chron. Cass., III, 66) thebishops andcardinals assembled atRome summoned Desiderius and thecardinals who were with him atMonte Cassino to come toRome to treat concerning the election. On 23 May a great meeting was held in the deaconry of St. Lucy, and Desiderius was again importuned to accept thepapacy but persisted in his refusal, threatening to return to hismonastery in case ofviolence. Next day, the feast of Pentecost, very early in the morning the same scene was repeated. The consul Cencius now suggested the election of Odo,Cardinal-Bishop ofOstia (afterwardsUrban II), but this was rejected by some of thecardinals on the grounds that the translation of abishop was contrary to the canons. The assembly now lost all patience; Desiderius was seized and dragged to the Church of St. Lucy where he was forcibly vested in the red cope and given the name of Victor (24 May, 1086). The church had been without a head for twelve months all but a day. Four days laterpope andcardinals had to flee fromRome before the imperial prefect of the city, and atTerracina, in spite of all protests, Victor laid aside thepapal insignia and once more retired toMonte Cassino where he remained nearly a whole year. In the middle ofLent, 1087, a council ofcardinals andbishops was held atCapua at which thepope-elect assisted as "Papal vicar of those parts" (letter of Hugh ofLyons) together with the Norman princes, Cencius the Consul, and the Roman nobles; here Victor finally yielded and "by the assumption of the cross and purple confirmed the past election" (Chron. Cass., III, 68). How much his obstinacy had irritated some of theprelates is evidenced in the letter of Hugh ofLyons preserved by Hugh of Flavigny (Mon. Germ. Hist.: Script. VIII, 466-8).

After celebratingEaster in hismonastery Victor proceeded toRome, and when the Normans had driven the soldiers of theAntipope Clement III (Guibert of Ravenna) out of St. Peter's, was thereconsecrated andenthroned (9 May, 1087). He only remained eight days inRome and then returned toMonte Cassino. Before May was out he was once more inRome in answer to a summons for the Countess Matilda, whose troops held the Leonine City and Trastevere, but when at the end of June theantipope once more gained possession of St. Peter's, Victor again retired to hisabbey. In August a council was held atBenevento, at which he renewed theexcommunication of theantipope and the condemnation of lay-investiture, andanathematised Hugh ofLyons and Richard,Abbot ofMarseilles. When the council had lasted three days Victor became seriously ill and retired toMonte Cassino to die. He had himself carried into thechapter-house, issued various decrees for the benefit of theabbey, appointed with the consent of themonks the prior, Cardinal Oderisius, to succeed him in the Abbacy, just as he himself had been appointed byStephen IX (X), and proposed Odo ofOstia to the assembledcardinals andbishops as the nextpope. He died 16 Sept., 1087, and was buried in thetomb he had prepared for himself in thechapter-house. In the sixteenth century his body was removed to the church, and again translated in 1890. The cultus of Blessed Victor seems to have begun not later than the pontificate of Anastasius IV, about 60 years after his death (Acta SS. Loc. cit.). In 1727 theAbbot ofMonte Cassino obtained fromBenedict III permission to keep his feast (Tosti, I, 393).

Pope Victor III is a far less impressive figure in history than Desiderius the greatAbbot ofMonte Cassino, but there is abundant evidence that it was largely his failing health that made him so reluctant to accept the great position which was thrust upon him, indeedOrdericus tells us that he was taken ill when saying the first Mass after hisconsecration, so that during hispapacy "he hardly got through a single Mass",vix una tantum missa perfunctus (P.L., CLXXXVIII, p. 578). On 5 Aug., 1087, when Victor was holding the Council atBenevento, an army consisting of Roman,Genoese, Pisan, and Amalfitan troops sent by him to Africa under the Banner of St. Peter captured the town of El Mahadia, and forced theMohammedan ruler ofTunis to promise tribute to theHoly See and to free allChristian slaves. This event may perhaps be considered as the beginning of theCrusades. The only literary work of Victor which we possess is his "Dialogues" on themiracles wrought by St. Benedict and othersaints atMonte Cassino. There is also a letter to thebishops ofSardinia to which country he had sentmonks while stillAbbot ofMonte Cassino. In his "De Viris illustribus Casinensibus",Peter the Deacon ascribes to him the composition of a "Cantus ad B. Maurum" and letters to Philip ofFrance and Hugh of Cluny which no longer exist.

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