Probatus
Encyclopedia
Probatus was the Abbot of Farfa from 770 until 781, and the first abbot native to the Sabina. He steered the abbey through the fall of the Kingdom of the Lombards
, trying to prevent the disastrous aggression of its last king, and kept it from falling under the jurisdiction of either the Papacy or the Papal States
. With the benefit of his local connections he oversaw a great expansion of the abbey's properties through grants and purchases, and also rationalised its holdings to create a robust base for an early medieval monastic community.
, a late ninth-century source, Probatus was "born in the Sabine province" and "fully educated from childhood in the chant of the holy Roman Church", that is, the Old Roman chant
. He was a deacon of Farfa in 769, when Abbot Alan
died and was replaced by his chosen successor, Guicpert
. The latter's abbacy was opposed by the monks, who petitioned King Desiderius
to intervene. The king expelled the interloper and confirmed the abbey's right to elect its abbots. In late February or early March 770 the community chose one of their own: Probatus.
Probatus' familiarity with local politics made him a superior choice compared with the foreigners who had served as Farfa's abbots prior. He immediately attracted royal patronage: by 772 the abbey had received three curtes (some type of house) and one monasteria (a church with a monastic community) that had previously belonged to Queen Ansa, a gift to her from her son, Adelchis. Probatus also succeeded in attracting private donors (that is, not the Dukes of Spoleto). During his tenure Farfa secured thirty donations, more than three quarters of which were gifts outright. He also received from private citizens one confirmatio (confirmation of a prior acquisition) and one promissio (promise of a future donation in land), and increased Farfa's lands by purchasing private property on one occasion and exchanging it on four others to rationalise the abbey's holdings. In 772 Desiderius, who had up to that point been acting as Duke of Spoleto, bestowed that office on Theodicius
, who proceeded to make a grant to Farfa.
to procure divine favour or vouchsafe his land to God by donating it to the abbey. The charters of three grants the duke made to Farfa credit the monks with suggesting them, a sign of Probatus' gift for diplomacy.
In 773, before April, Desiderius was pressuring Rome with his army when Pope Hadrian I sent a delegation led by Probatus and twenty of his senior monks to deal with the king. The purpose of this expedition was to procure the return of some cities which had been captured from the Duchy of Rome
(which lay outside Desiderius' kingdom); it was the purpose of another papal delegation later that year to receive the cities, which, however, Desiderius did not agree to return. Probatus' embassy can be viewed as an effort, ultimately unsuccessful, to preserve the political order and its peace ("to save Desiderius from himself [since] many in the duchy [of Spoleto] did not share the Lombard king's confidence in his own military strength"). In 774 Italy fell to Charlemagne
, king of the Franks
, after a successful siege of the capital, Pavia
, and Desiderius was taken into captivity.
The confirmation of spiritual immunity was important at the time, since Farfa was dealing with its first recorded jurisdictional dispute with the Papacy. According to the Libellus constructionis Farfensis, Pope Hadrian had ordered that disputes between Farfa and some men from Rome be settled by his prior vestiarius, Miccio. This was a secular official pertaining to the secular offices the Papacy had acquired in the Duchy of Rome. The pope's letter to Probatus of 22 April 772, referring to the abbot's allegations of "many evils" (plura mala) committed against Farfa by some Romans, admits that the infractors hailed from "our Roman republic" (nostra Romanorum reipublica, lit. “republic of the Romans”) and is dated by the joint reign of the Byzantine emperors Constantine V
and Leo IV
.
In 777–78 Probatus was able to construct a three-kilometre aqueduct
for the abbey by convincing landowners to make pro anima gifts (for the sake of the soul) of the requisite land.
Kingdom of the Lombards
The Kingdom of the Lombards or Lombard Kingdom was an early medieval state, with its capital in Pavia, established by the Lombards on the Italian Peninsula between 568-569 and 774 .Effective control by the rulers of both the major areas that constituted the...
, trying to prevent the disastrous aggression of its last king, and kept it from falling under the jurisdiction of either the Papacy or the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
. With the benefit of his local connections he oversaw a great expansion of the abbey's properties through grants and purchases, and also rationalised its holdings to create a robust base for an early medieval monastic community.
Early abbacy (770–72)
According to the Libellus constructionis FarfensisLibellus constructionis Farfensis
The Libellus constructionis Farfensis , often referred to simply as the Constructio in context, is a written history of the Abbey of Farfa from its foundation by Thomas of Maurienne circa 700 until the death of Abbot Hilderic in 857. It is about the "construction" of a powerful abbey with vast...
, a late ninth-century source, Probatus was "born in the Sabine province" and "fully educated from childhood in the chant of the holy Roman Church", that is, the Old Roman chant
Old Roman chant
Old Roman chant is the liturgical plainchant repertory of the Roman rite of the Roman Catholic Church formerly performed in Rome, closely related to but distinct from the Gregorian chant, which gradually supplanted it between the 11th century and the 13th century...
. He was a deacon of Farfa in 769, when Abbot Alan
Alan of Farfa
Alan was an Aquitanian scholar, hermit and homilist who served as the sixth Abbot of Farfa in central Italy from 761. Before taking over at Farfa, Alan composed "one of the most successful homiliaries of the late eighth and early ninth centuries", traces of which may be found in the liturgical...
died and was replaced by his chosen successor, Guicpert
Guicpert
Guicpert or Wigbert was the Abbot of Farfa for eleven months in 769–70 and probably also the Bishop of Rieti in 778. According to the twelfth-century chronicler of the abbey, Gregory of Catino, Wigbert was an Englishman and already a bishop when he convinced the dying Abbot Alan of Farfa to name...
. The latter's abbacy was opposed by the monks, who petitioned King Desiderius
Desiderius
Desiderius was the last king of the Lombard Kingdom of northern Italy...
to intervene. The king expelled the interloper and confirmed the abbey's right to elect its abbots. In late February or early March 770 the community chose one of their own: Probatus.
Probatus' familiarity with local politics made him a superior choice compared with the foreigners who had served as Farfa's abbots prior. He immediately attracted royal patronage: by 772 the abbey had received three curtes (some type of house) and one monasteria (a church with a monastic community) that had previously belonged to Queen Ansa, a gift to her from her son, Adelchis. Probatus also succeeded in attracting private donors (that is, not the Dukes of Spoleto). During his tenure Farfa secured thirty donations, more than three quarters of which were gifts outright. He also received from private citizens one confirmatio (confirmation of a prior acquisition) and one promissio (promise of a future donation in land), and increased Farfa's lands by purchasing private property on one occasion and exchanging it on four others to rationalise the abbey's holdings. In 772 Desiderius, who had up to that point been acting as Duke of Spoleto, bestowed that office on Theodicius
Theodicius of Spoleto
Theodicius was the Duke of Spoleto from 763 to 773. Though it is often stated that he died at the Siege of Pavia , he was still alive on 9 June 776, when Charlemagne confirmed the properties of the monastery of Farfa and Abbot Ingoald in the reign of his successor Hildeprand.-Sources:*Hodgkin,...
, who proceeded to make a grant to Farfa.
Farfa and the fall of the Lombard kingdom (773–74)
Probatus may also have been the beneficiary of a famine that struck Italy in 774–75, and caused an increase in the charitable donations. Likewise the threat of war may have influenced Duke Hildeprand of SpoletoHildeprand of Spoleto
Hildeprand was the Duke of Spoleto from 774 to 789.When Theodicius of Spoleto died fighting at the Siege of Pavia in 774, the Lombards of the Duchy of Spoleto elected Hildeprand their duke and quickly submitted to the Franks. Hildeprand fled to Rome before the Frankish host and did homage to Pope...
to procure divine favour or vouchsafe his land to God by donating it to the abbey. The charters of three grants the duke made to Farfa credit the monks with suggesting them, a sign of Probatus' gift for diplomacy.
In 773, before April, Desiderius was pressuring Rome with his army when Pope Hadrian I sent a delegation led by Probatus and twenty of his senior monks to deal with the king. The purpose of this expedition was to procure the return of some cities which had been captured from the Duchy of Rome
Duchy of Rome
The Duchy of Rome was a Byzantine district in the Exarchate of Ravenna. Like other Byzantine states in Italy, it was ruled by an imperial functionary with the title dux...
(which lay outside Desiderius' kingdom); it was the purpose of another papal delegation later that year to receive the cities, which, however, Desiderius did not agree to return. Probatus' embassy can be viewed as an effort, ultimately unsuccessful, to preserve the political order and its peace ("to save Desiderius from himself [since] many in the duchy [of Spoleto] did not share the Lombard king's confidence in his own military strength"). In 774 Italy fell to Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
, king of the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
, after a successful siege of the capital, Pavia
Siege of Pavia
The Siege or Battle of Pavia was fought in 773–774 in what is now northern Italy, near Ticinum , and resulted the victory of Franks under Charlemagne against the Lombards under king Desiderius.-Background:...
, and Desiderius was taken into captivity.
Securing immunity and independence (775–78)
Probatus was the first Italian abbot to get confirmation of his abbey's holdings and of its spiritual immunity (from secular and prelatical authority) from the Frankish king. In order to obtain these privileges it was necessary for Probatus to travel to the Frankish court at Quierzy in 775. There, in his royal villa, Charlemagne issued his first privilege for Farfa on 22 May, exempting it from episcopal jurisdiction and confirming its freedom of abbatial election. A second privilege was issued on 29 May granting it spiritual immunities. Probatus returned to Farfa in January 776 and a flood of donations to the abbey, now patronised by the most powerful ruler in western Europe, followed. The years 776–78 were the most fruitful in the early development of Farfa's territory. In those years Farfa received seven grants from Duke Hildeprand, who had been confirmed in his position by Charlemagne.The confirmation of spiritual immunity was important at the time, since Farfa was dealing with its first recorded jurisdictional dispute with the Papacy. According to the Libellus constructionis Farfensis, Pope Hadrian had ordered that disputes between Farfa and some men from Rome be settled by his prior vestiarius, Miccio. This was a secular official pertaining to the secular offices the Papacy had acquired in the Duchy of Rome. The pope's letter to Probatus of 22 April 772, referring to the abbot's allegations of "many evils" (plura mala) committed against Farfa by some Romans, admits that the infractors hailed from "our Roman republic" (nostra Romanorum reipublica, lit. “republic of the Romans”) and is dated by the joint reign of the Byzantine emperors Constantine V
Constantine V
Constantine V was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775; ); .-Early life:...
and Leo IV
Leo IV the Khazar
Leo IV the Khazar was Byzantine Emperor from 775 to 780 CE.Leo was the son of Emperor Constantine V by his first wife, Irene of Khazaria , the daughter of a Khagan of the Khazars...
.
In 777–78 Probatus was able to construct a three-kilometre aqueduct
Aqueduct
An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
for the abbey by convincing landowners to make pro anima gifts (for the sake of the soul) of the requisite land.