Cadaver Synod
Encyclopedia
Pope Formosus
Pope Formosus was Pope of the Catholic Church from 891 to 896. His brief reign as Pope was troubled, and his remains were exhumed and put on trial in the notorious Cadaver Synod.-Biography:...
, held in the Basilica of St. John Lateran
Basilica of St. John Lateran
The Papal Archbasilica of St. John Lateran , commonly known as St. John Lateran's Archbasilica and St. John Lateran's Basilica, is the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome and the official ecclesiastical seat of the Bishop of Rome, who is the Pope...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
during January of 897.
Before the proceedings the body of Formosus was exhumed and, according to some sources, seated on a throne while his successor, Pope Stephen (VI) VII, read the charges against him (of which Formosus was found guilty) and conducted the trial. The Cadaver Synod is remembered as one of the most bizarre episodes in the history of the medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
papacy
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
.
Remote context
The Cadaver Synod and related events took place during a period of political instability in Italy. This period, which lasted from the middle of the 9th century to the middle of the 10th century, was marked by a rapid succession of pontiffs. In the years surrounding the Cadaver Synod (872–965) there were 24 popes. Often, these brief papal reigns were the result of the political machinations of local Roman factions, about which few sources survive.Formosus
Pope Formosus
Pope Formosus was Pope of the Catholic Church from 891 to 896. His brief reign as Pope was troubled, and his remains were exhumed and put on trial in the notorious Cadaver Synod.-Biography:...
became bishop of Porto in 864 during the pontificate of Pope Nicholas I
Pope Nicholas I
Pope Nicholas I, , or Saint Nicholas the Great, reigned from April 24, 858 until his death. He is remembered as a consolidator of papal authority and power, exerting decisive influence upon the historical development of the papacy and its position among the Christian nations of Western Europe.He...
. He carried out missionary activity among the Bulgarians, and was so successful that they requested him for their bishop. Nicholas refused his permission, because an appointment in Bulgaria would require Formosus to leave his see in Porto, and the fifteenth canon of the Second Council of Nicaea
Second Council of Nicaea
The Second Council of Nicaea is regarded as the Seventh Ecumenical Council by Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Catholic Churches and various other Western Christian groups...
forbade a bishop to leave his own see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
to administer another.
In 875, shortly after Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald , Holy Roman Emperor and King of West Francia , was the youngest son of the Emperor Louis the Pious by his second wife Judith.-Struggle against his brothers:He was born on 13 June 823 in Frankfurt, when his elder...
's imperial coronation, Formosus fled Rome in fear of then-pope John VIII
Pope John VIII
Pope John VIII was pope from December 13, 872 to December 16, 882. He is often considered one of the ablest pontiffs of the ninth century and the last bright spot on the papacy until Leo IX two centuries later....
, for reasons that are not entirely clear. A few months later in 876, at a synod in Santa Maria Rotunda, John VIII issued a series of accusations against Formosus and some of his associates. He asserted that Formosus had corrupted the mind of the Bulgarians "so that, so long as [Formosus] was alive, [they] would not accept any other bishop from the apostolic see," that he and his fellow conspirators had attempted to usurp the papacy from John, and finally that he had deserted his see in Porto and was conspiring "against the salvation of the republic and of our beloved Charles [the Bald]." Formosus and his associates were excommunicated. In 878, at another council held at Troyes, John may have confirmed the excommunications. He also legislated more generally against those who "plunder" ecclesiastical goods. According to the tenth-century author Auxilius of Naples
Auxilius of Naples
Auxilius of Naples was an ecclesiastical writer. To him are attributed a series of writings that deal with the controversies concerning the succession and fate of Pope Formosus , and especially the validity of the orders conferred by him...
, Formosus was also present at this council. Auxilius says he begged the bishops for their forgiveness, and in return for the lifting of the excommunication, swore an oath to remain a layman for the rest of his life, to never again enter Rome, and to make no attempts to reassume his former see at Porto. This story is doubtful: another description of the synod does not mention Formosus’ presence and says instead that John confirmed his excommunication.
After the death of John VIII in December 882, Formosus' troubles ended. He reassumed his bishopric at Porto, where he remained until elected pope on 6 October 891. Yet this earlier quarrel with John VIII formed the basis of the accusations made at the Cadaver Synod. According to the tenth-century historian Liutprand of Cremona
Liutprand of Cremona
Liutprand, also Liudprand, Liuprand, Lioutio, Liucius, Liuzo, and Lioutsios was a Lombard historian and author, and Bishop of Cremona....
, Stephen (VI) VII asked Formosus' corpse why he "usurped the universal Roman See in such a spirit of ambition" after the death of John VIII, echoing John VIII's own assertion that Formosus had tried to seize the papal throne while he was alive. Two further accusations were also made against Formosus at the Cadaver Synod: that he had committed perjury, and that he had attempted to exercise the office of bishop as a layman. These are related to the oath Formosus is said to have sworn before the council at Troyes in 878.
Immediate context
The Cadaver Synod is generally presumed to have been politically motivated. Formosus crowned Lambert of Spoleto co-ruler of the Holy Roman EmpireHoly Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
in 892; Lambert's father, Guy III of Spoleto
Guy III of Spoleto
Guy of Spoleto , sometimes known by the Italian version of his name, Guido, or by the German version, Wido, was the Margrave of Camerino from 880 and then Duke of Spoleto and Camerino from 883. He was crowned King of Italy in 889 and Holy Roman Emperor in 891...
, had earlier been crowned by John VIII. In 893 Formosus, apparently nervous about Guy's aggression, invited the Carolingian Arnulf of Carinthia
Arnulf of Carinthia
Arnulf of Carinthia was the Carolingian King of East Francia from 887, the disputed King of Italy from 894 and the disputed Holy Roman Emperor from February 22, 896 until his death.-Birth and Illegitimacy:...
to invade Italy and receive the imperial crown. Arnulf's invasion failed, and Guy III died shortly afterwards. Yet Formosus renewed his invitation to Arnulf in 895, and early the next year Arnulf crossed the Alps and entered Rome, where Formosus crowned him Holy Roman Emperor. Afterwards the Frankish army departed, and Arnulf and Formosus died within months of each other in 896. Formosus was succeeded by Pope Boniface VI
Pope Boniface VI
Pope Boniface VI, pope, a native of Rome, was elected in April 896 as a result of riots soon after the death of Pope Formosus. Prior to his reign, he had twice incurred a sentence of deprivation of orders, as a subdeacon and as a priest...
, who himself died two weeks later. Lambert and his mother, the empress Angiltrude, entered Rome around the time that Stephen (VI) VII became pope, and the Cadaver Synod was conducted directly afterwards, at the beginning of 897.
The dominant interpretation of these events until the early twentieth century was straightforward: Formosus had always been a pro-Carolingian, and his crowning of Lambert in 892 was coerced. After the death of Arnulf and the collapse of Carolingian authority in Rome, Lambert entered the city and forced Stephen to convene the Cadaver Synod, both to re-assert his claim to the imperial crown, and perhaps also to exact posthumous revenge upon Formosus.
This view is now considered obsolete, following the arguments put forth by Joseph Duhr in 1932. Duhr pointed out that Lambert was in attendance at the Ravenna Council of 898, convened under John IX
Pope John IX
-Early life:Little is known about John IX before he became Pope. Born in Tivoli in an unknown year, he was ordained as a Benedictine priest by Pope Formosus...
. It was at this proceeding that the decrees of the Cadaver Synod were revoked. According to the written acta of the council, Lambert actively approved of the nullification. If Lambert and Angiltrude had been the architects of Formosus’ degradation, Duhr asked, “how...was John IX able to submit to the canons which condemned the odious synod for approbation of the emperor [i.e., Lambert] and his bishops? How could John IX have dared to broach the matter...before the guilty parties, without even making the least allusion to the emperor’s participation?” This position has been accepted by another scholar: Girolamo Arnaldi argued Formosus did not pursue an exclusively pro-Carolingian policy, and that he even had friendly relations with Lambert as late as 895. Their relations only soured when Lambert's cousin, Guy IV
Guy IV of Spoleto
Guy IV was the Duke of Spoleto and Camerino from 889 and Prince of Benevento from 895. He was the son of Guy II of Spoleto....
, marched on Benevento
Benevento
Benevento is a town and comune of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 50 km northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill 130 m above sea-level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino and Sabato...
and expelled the Byzantines there. Formosus panicked at the aggression and sent emissaries into Bavaria seeking Arnulf's help. Arnaldi argues that it was Guy IV, who had entered Rome along with Lambert and his mother Angiltrude in January of 897, who provided the impetus for the synod.
The synod
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
was appointed to answer for the deceased pontiff.
Formosus was accused of transmigrating sees in violation of canon law, of perjury, and of serving as a bishop while actually a layman. Eventually, the corpse was found guilty.
Liutprand and other sources say that Stephen had the corpse stripped of its papal vestments, cut off the three fingers of his right hand used for benediction
Benediction
A benediction is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service.-Judaism:...
s, and declared all of his acts and ordinations (including his ordination of Stephen (VI) VII as bishop of Anagni
Roman Catholic Diocese of Anagni-Alatri
The Italian Catholic diocese of Anagni, in Lazio, has existed since 1986. In that year the diocese of Alatri was united to the historical diocese of Anagni. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Rome.-History:...
) invalid. The body was finally interred in a graveyard for foreigners, only to be dug up once again, tied to weights, and cast into the Tiber River
Tiber
The Tiber is the third-longest river in Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Umbria and Lazio to the Tyrrhenian Sea. It drains a basin estimated at...
.
According to Liutprand’s version of the story, Stephen (VI) VII said: "When you were bishop of Porto, why did you usurp the universal Roman See in such a spirit of ambition?”
Aftermath
The macabre spectacle turned public opinion in Rome against Stephen. Rumors circulated that Formosus' body, after washing up on the banks of the Tiber, had begun to perform miracleMiracle
A miracle often denotes an event attributed to divine intervention. Alternatively, it may be an event attributed to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that a god may work with the laws...
s. A public uprising led to Stephen being deposed and imprisoned. While in prison, in July or August of 897, he was strangled
Strangling
Strangling is compression of the neck that may lead to unconsciousness or death by causing an increasingly hypoxic state in the brain. Fatal strangling typically occurs in cases of violence, accidents, and as the auxiliary lethal mechanism in hangings in the event the neck does not break...
.
In December 897, Pope Theodore II
Pope Theodore II
Pope Theodore II was ordained as a priest by Pope Stephen V; also his brother Theotius was a bishop. He was pope for twenty days during December 897 before he died. He reinstated the clerics who had been forced from office by Pope Stephen VI, recognizing the validity of the ordinations of Pope...
(897) convened a synod that annulled the Cadaver Synod, rehabilitated Formosus, and ordered that his body, which had been recovered from the Tiber, be reburied in Saint Peter's Basilica in pontifical vestments
Pontifical vestments
Pontifical vestments, also referred to as episcopal vestments or pontificals, are the liturgical vestments worn by bishops in the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Catholic, Anglican, and some Lutheran churches, in addition to the usual priestly vestments for the celebration of the Mass...
. In 898, John IX
Pope John IX
-Early life:Little is known about John IX before he became Pope. Born in Tivoli in an unknown year, he was ordained as a Benedictine priest by Pope Formosus...
(898—900) also nullified the Cadaver Synod, convening two synods (one in Rome, one in Ravenna) which confirmed the findings of Theodore II's synod, ordered the acta of the Cadaver Synod destroyed, and prohibited any future trial of a dead person.
However, Pope Sergius III
Pope Sergius III
Pope Sergius III was a pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 29 January 904 to 14 April 911. Because Sergius III was possibly the only pope known to have ordered the murder of another pope and the only pope to have fathered an illegitimate son who later became pope , his reign has been described...
(904–911), who as bishop had taken part in the Cadaver Synod as a co-judge, overturned the rulings of Theodore II and John IX, reaffirming Formosus' conviction, and had a laudatory epitaph inscribed on the tomb of Stephen (VI) VII.
Further reading
- Cummins, Joseph. 2006. History's great untold stories. pp. 10–19.
- Girolamo Arnaldi, “Papa Formoso e gli imperatori della casa di Spoleto,” Annali della facoltà di lettere e filosofia di Napoli 1 (1951), discusses the political circumstances of the synod, and argues that Stephen (VI) VII may have convened it at the impetus of Guido IV.
- Robert BrowningRobert BrowningRobert Browning was an English poet and playwright whose mastery of dramatic verse, especially dramatic monologues, made him one of the foremost Victorian poets.-Early years:...
's lengthy poem, The Ring and the BookThe Ring and the BookThe Ring and the Book is a long dramatic narrative poem, and, more specifically, a verse novel, of 21,000 lines, written by Robert Browning...
, devotes 134 lines to the Cadaver Synod, in the chapter called The Pope. - Joseph Duhr, “La concile de Ravenne in 898: la réhabilitation du pape Formose,” Recherches de science religieuse 22 (1932), pp. 541ff, discusses Ravenna council acta of 898, an important source and political circumstances; argues Lambert could not have been its architect
- Ernst Ludwig Dümmler, Auxilius und Vulgarius (Leipzig, 1866), edits the works of two tenth-century Italian clerics who provide important evidence for the Synod, its circumstances and aftermath. Also includes an important historical discussion of the synod in his introduction.
- Peter Llewellyn, Rome in the Dark Ages (London, 1970), narrates the history of Rome at the end of the ninth and the beginning of the tenth centuries. Llewellyn discusses both Formosus and the Cadaver Synod.
- Démètre Pop, La défense du pape Formose (Paris, 1933), analyzes posthumous defense of Formosus put forth by Auxilius and Vulgarius
- Donald E. Wilkes, Jr., The Cadaver Synod: The Strangest Trial in History (2001).