22:
131:. 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 was alive, 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 state and of our beloved Charles ." Formosus and his associates were
154:, Stephen VI 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. Formosus, being several months dead, could not answer. 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
803:"Quo constituto...formosum e sepulcro extrahere atque in sedem Romani...collocare praecepit. Cui et ait: 'Cum Portuensis esses episcopus, cur ambitionis spiritu Romanam universalem usurpasti sedem?" Liutprand, Antapodosis, I.30 (CCCM 156, p. 23, ll. 639-43). Liutprand of Cremona's is perhaps the most convenient account of synod, though many additional details are furnished by the pro-Formosan Auxilius. Cf. DĂĽmmler's edition, Auxilius und Vulgarius (Leipzig, 1866), chs. IV (p. 63ff) and X (p. 70ff) especially.
146:, Formosus was also present at this council. According to Auxilius, Formosus begged the bishops for their forgiveness, and in return for removal 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 resume his former see at Porto. This story is dubious: another description of the synod does not mention Formosus's presence, and says instead that John confirmed his excommunication.
248:
1014:
226:
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 that 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,
225:
of the council, Lambert actively approved of the nullification. If
Lambert and Angiltrude had been the architects of Formosus's degradation, Duhr asked, "how was John IX able to submit to the canons which condemned the odious synod for approbation of the emperor and his bishops? How could John IX
205:
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
149:
After the death of John VIII in
December 882, Formosus' troubles ended. He resumed 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
275:
and other sources say that, after having the corpse stripped of its papal vestments, Stephen then cut off the three fingers of the right hand that it had used in life for blessings, next formally invalidating all of
Formosus' acts and ordinations (including his ordination of Stephen VI as
964:
Michael Edward Moore, "The Attack on Pope
Formosus Papal History in an Age of Resentment (875-897)", Ecclesia et Violentia: Violence Against the Church and Violence Within the Church, eds. Michael E. Moore, Jacek Maciejewski and Radoslav Kotecki (Cambridge Scholars Publishing,
185:
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 as
85:. Between 872 and 965, two dozen popes were appointed, and between 896 and 904 there was a new pope every year. Often, these brief papal reigns were the result of the political machinations of local Roman factions, about which few sources survive.
951:(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.
80:
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
349:(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's conviction, and had a laudatory epitaph inscribed on the tomb of Stephen VI.
115:
forbade a bishop from administering more than one see — "a law that was supposed to prevent bishops from building up their own little fiefdoms." He also travelled to
Constantinople, and the Carolingian court, where he met
487:"In 897, the corpse of a pope was exhumed—to be put on trial: Known as the 'Cadaver Synod,' the posthumous trial of Pope Formosus resulted from the chaos of the ninth century as factions battled for control of the church"
234:
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
72:, of having acceded to the papacy illegally, and illegally presiding over more than one diocese at the same time. At the end of the trial, Formosus was pronounced guilty, and his papacy retroactively declared null.
263:
Probably around January 897, Stephen VI ordered that the corpse of his predecessor Formosus be removed from its tomb and brought to the papal court for judgment. With the corpse propped up on a throne, a
556:
271:
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.
868:
142:, John may have confirmed the excommunications. He also legislated more generally against those who "plunder" ecclesiastical goods. According to the tenth-century author
958:(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.
486:
288:
92:
314:(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
214:
335:
961:
William S. Monroe, "The Cadaver Synod and the End of the Carolingian Empire", Paper given at the Medieval Academy of America Annual Meeting on 27 February 2016
370:
375:
206:
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.
815:"The Cadaver Synod: Putting a Dead Pope on Trial: Why did Pope Stephen VI go to such great lengths to destroy an enemy who was already dead?"
210:
918:
1 (1951), discusses the political circumstances of the synod, and argues that Stephen VI may have convened it at the impetus of Guido IV.
190:. Afterwards the Frankish army departed, and Arnulf and Formosus died within months of each other in 896. Formosus was succeeded by
1054:
280:). The body was finally interred in a graveyard for foreigners, only to be dug up once again, tied to weights, and cast into the
277:
999:
568:
490:
982:
454:
851:
1034:
733:
975:
The Complete Works of Liudprand of Cremona, trans. By Paolo Squatriti (Catholic University Press of America, 2007)
299:
The macabre spectacle turned public opinion in Rome against Stephen. Formosus' body washed up on the banks of the
1039:
178:, had earlier been crowned by John VIII. In 893 Formosus, apparently nervous about Guy's aggression, invited the
107:
asked the pope to appoint him archbishop of Bulgaria. Nicholas refused to give permission, because the fifteenth
1074:
1044:
1018:
563:, The New Cambridge Medieval History, vol. 2, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 561–586,
68:. Stephen had Formosus' corpse exhumed and brought to the papal court for judgment. He accused Formosus of
57:
814:
221:. It was at this proceeding that the decrees of the Cadaver Synod were revoked. According to the written
1064:
944:
of 898, an important source and political circumstances; argues Lambert could not have been its architect
513:
108:
670:
Geschichtsschreibung und Geistiges Leben im Mittelalter: Festschrift für Heinz Löwe zum 65. Geburtstag,
21:
307:. A public uprising deposed and imprisoned Stephen. He was strangled in prison in July or August 897.
591:
315:
252:
541:
1049:
428:
112:
410:
For the date cf. Joseph Duhr, "Le concile de Ravenne in 898: la réhabilitation du pape Formose",
1059:
202:
became pope, and the Cadaver Synod was conducted directly afterwards, at the beginning of 897.
100:
988:
926:
528:
391:
166:
The Cadaver Synod is generally presumed to have been politically motivated. Formosus crowned
155:
841:
695:
380:
319:
272:
151:
972:(Paris, 1933), analyzes posthumous defense of Formosus put forth by Auxilius and Vulgarius
8:
978:
365:
182:
179:
117:
668:
Hubert Mordek and Gerhard Schmitz, "Papst Johannes VIII. und das Konzil von Troyes," in
523:(1): 5–21 – via Foundations: The Journal of the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy.
326:(898–900) also nullified the Cadaver Synod, convening one synod in Rome, and another in
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143:
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25:
346:
311:
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124:
65:
921:
330:. The two synods which affirmed the findings of Theodore II's synod, ordered the
199:
132:
96:
61:
936:
Joseph Duhr, "La concile de Ravenne in 898: la réhabilitation du pape Formose",
764:
Joseph Duhr, "La concile de Ravenne in 898: la réhabilitation du pape Formose",
781:
1 (1951), p. 85ff. Portions of this view had been argued earlier by G. Fasoli,
128:
45:
1028:
753:
256:
88:
53:
303:, and rumor had it that his waterlogged rotting corpse was still performing
1069:
323:
291:, why did you usurp the universal Roman See in such a spirit of ambition?"
218:
209:
This view is now considered obsolete, following the arguments put forth by
914:
Girolamo Arnaldi, "Papa Formoso e gli imperatori della casa di Spoleto",
777:
Girolamo Arnaldi, "Papa Formoso e gli imperatori della casa di Spoleto",
300:
194:, who himself died two weeks later. Lambert and his mother, the empress
236:
195:
231:
843:
History's Great Untold Stories: Obscure Events of Lasting Importance
338:
involved in the Cadaver Synod, and prohibited any future trial of a
287:
According to Liutprand, Stephen VI said: "When you were bishop of
120:, a Frankish Carolingian king who aspired to the throne of Italy.
103:, and was so successful in this position that the Bulgarian ruler
339:
327:
304:
104:
82:
69:
930:, devotes 134 lines to the Cadaver Synod, in the chapter called
672:
ed. Karl Hauck and Hubert Mordeck (Cologne, 1978), p. 212, n 22.
247:
213:
in 1932. Duhr pointed out that Lambert was in attendance at the
127:'s imperial coronation, Formosus fled Rome in fear of then-pope
1013:
265:
139:
634:
do not survive, but the proceedings are described by Hincmar,
281:
52:) is the name commonly given to the ecclesiastical trial of
749:(Paris, 1904), p. 301; and the detailed account in the old
726:
Papal Genealogy: The Families and Descendants of the Popes
653:
Auxilius, In defensionem sacrae ordinationis papae Formosi
592:"The Cadaver Synod: When a Pope's Corpse Was Put on Trial"
429:"The Cadaver Synod: When a Pope's Corpse Was Put on Trial"
561:
The New Cambridge Medieval History: Volume 2: c.700–c.900
239:
in January 897, who provided the impetus for the synod.
698:: Continuatio Medievalis, vol 156, p. 23, lines 639-43.
484:
60:
in Rome during January 897. The trial was conducted by
638:, entry for 878, ed. in Monumenta Germaniae Historica
371:
List of excommunicable offences in the Catholic Church
940:
22 (1932), pp. 541ff, discusses Ravenna council
916:
Annali della facoltĂ di lettere e filosofia di Napoli
779:
Annali della facoltĂ di lettere e filosofia di Napoli
514:"Popes and ***ocrats: Rome in the Early Middle Ages"
376:
List of people excommunicated by the Catholic Church
713:
Sacrorum conciliorum, nova, et amplissima collectio
681:
DĂĽmmler, Auxilius und Vulgarius, p. 6, nn. 5 and 6.
555:Noble, Thomas (1995), McKitterick, Rosamond (ed.),
56:, who had been dead for about seven months, in the
268:was appointed to answer for the deceased pontiff.
991:, Le Synode du Cadavre, Les Indes Savantes, 2012.
983:The Cadaver Synod: The Strangest Trial in History
1026:
589:
16:Posthumous ecclesiastical trial of Pope Formosus
869:"The Cadaver Synod: Strangest Trial in History"
455:"The Cadaver Synod: Strangest Trial in History"
839:
557:"The papacy in the eighth and ninth centuries"
812:
885:– via Digital Commons @ Georgia Law.
877:. Athens, GA: Pete McCommons. pp. 8–9
866:
485:Alberto Reche Ontillera (20 August 2019).
452:
867:Wilkes Jr., Donald E. (31 October 2001).
604:John VIII, JE 3041, ed. E. L. E. Caspar,
453:Wilkes Jr., Donald E. (31 October 2001).
480:
478:
246:
64:, the successor to Formosus' successor,
20:
747:Les premiers temps de l'Ă©tat pontifical
1027:
1000:New York International Fringe Festival
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32:("Pope Formosus and Stephen VI"), 1870
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511:
489:. National Geographic. Archived from
475:
422:
420:
198:, entered Rome around the time that
161:
99:. In 866 he was sent as a legate to
138:In 879, at another council held at
13:
901:
427:Harper, Elizabeth (3 March 2014).
14:
1086:
1006:
590:Elizabeth Harper (3 March 2014).
417:
95:in 864 during the pontificate of
1012:
938:Recherches de science religieuse
794:Arnaldi, "Papa Formoso", p. 103.
766:Recherches de science religieuse
412:Recherches de science religieuse
334:of the Cadaver Synod destroyed,
1055:9th century in the Papal States
889:
860:
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813:Amelia Soth (7 February 2019).
806:
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771:
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255:includes the recovered body of
998:, which premiered at the 2013
909:History's great untold stories
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598:
583:
548:
505:
446:
404:
336:excommunicated seven cardinals
1:
1002:, features the Cadaver Synod.
30:Le Pape Formose et Étienne VI
745:Cf., for example, Duchesne,
398:
294:
251:The list of popes buried in
58:Basilica of St. John Lateran
7:
728:. McFarland & Company.
707:Council of Ravenna in 898,
606:MGH Epistolae Karolini Aevi
352:
10:
1091:
970:La défense du pape Formose
724:Williams, George L. 2004.
414:22 (1932), p. 541, note 1.
174:in 892; Lambert's father,
75:
856:– via Google Books.
1035:9th-century Christianity
463:. Athens, Georgia, US: 8
242:
113:Second Council of Nicaea
907:Cummins, Joseph. 2006.
840:Joseph Cummins (2011).
785:(Florence, 1949), 32ff.
659:(Leipzig, 1866), p. 64.
512:Brook, Lindsay (2003).
1040:Christianity and death
949:Auxilius und Vulgarius
947:Ernst Ludwig DĂĽmmler,
895:Williams, 2004, p. 11.
819:CABINET OF CURIOSITIES
657:Auxilius und Vulgarius
536:Cite journal requires
316:Saint Peter's Basilica
260:
253:Saint Peter's Basilica
215:Ravenna Council of 898
123:In 875, shortly after
49:
33:
1075:Posthumous executions
1045:History of the papacy
956:Rome in the Dark Ages
927:The Ring and the Book
846:. Allen & Unwin.
751:Catholic Encyclopedia
711:edited by J.D. Mansi,
655:, I. 4, ed. DĂĽmmler,
621:, ed. Caspar, p. 327.
392:The Ring and the Book
250:
24:
1021:at Wikimedia Commons
715:, vol. 18, col. 221.
696:Corpus Christianorum
381:Posthumous execution
320:pontifical vestments
273:Liutprand of Cremona
152:Liutprand of Cremona
979:Donald E. Wilkes Jr
183:Arnulf of Carinthia
118:Arnulf of Carinthia
1065:9th century in law
768:22 (1932), p. 546.
386:Pope Boniface VIII
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188:Holy Roman Emperor
176:Guy III of Spoleto
168:Lambert of Spoleto
144:Auxilius of Naples
93:Porto-Santa Rufina
34:
1017:Media related to
954:Peter Llewellyn,
924:'s lengthy poem,
911:. pp. 10–19.
608:, vol. 5, p. 327.
570:978-0-521-36292-4
493:on 1 October 2019
460:Flagpole Magazine
360:Damnatio memoriae
228:Guy IV of Spoleto
217:, convened under
172:Holy Roman Empire
162:Immediate context
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91:became bishop of
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35:
29:
18:
692:Antapodosis
690:Liutprand,
617:John VIII,
438:13 December
282:Tiber River
211:Joseph Duhr
180:Carolingian
1029:Categories
651:Auxilius,
640:Scriptores
576:23 October
322:. In 898,
237:Angiltrude
200:Stephen VI
196:Angiltrude
150:historian
994:The play
932:The Pope.
881:29 August
825:29 August
619:Epistolae
467:8 October
399:Footnotes
345:However,
295:Aftermath
232:Benevento
129:John VIII
874:Flagpole
736:. p. 10.
497:29 April
353:See also
305:miracles
158:in 878.
101:Bulgaria
89:Formosus
83:pontiffs
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821:. JStor
636:Annales
328:Ravenna
324:John IX
111:of the
105:Boris I
76:Context
70:perjury
850:
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340:corpse
266:deacon
140:Troyes
965:2014)
517:(PDF)
301:Tiber
289:Porto
243:Synod
109:canon
46:Latin
942:acta
883:2020
848:ISBN
827:2020
730:ISBN
709:acta
632:acta
578:2022
565:ISBN
542:help
499:2019
469:2010
440:2021
332:acta
223:acta
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1070:897
318:in
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