The Makers of Modern Rome, in Four BooksOliphant, Mrs. (Margaret)
History
The Makers of Modern Rome, in Four Books
Oliphant, Mrs. (Margaret)
Rome (Italy) -- History -- 476-1420
give him the title of Honorius II.: but he is generally called the
anti-pope Cadalous in history.
A conflict immediately arose between the two parties. Cadalous, at the
head of an army appeared before Rome, but not till after Hildebrand
had placed his Pope, who was for the moment less strong than the
Emperor's Pope, in Tuscany under the protection of Beatrice and her
husband Godfried. Then followed a stormy time of marches and
countermarches round and about the city, in which sometimes the
invaders were successful and sometimes the defenders. At length the
Tuscans came to the rescue with the two Countesses in their midst who
were always so faithful in their devotion to Hildebrand, Beatrice in
the maturity of her beauty and influence, and the young Matilda, the
real sovereign of the Tuscan states, fifteen years old, radiant in
hope and enthusiasm and stirring up the spirits of the Florentines and
Tuscan men at arms. Cadalous withdrew from that encounter making such
terms as he could with Godfried, with many prayers and large presents,
so that he was allowed to escape to Parma his bishopric, _testa
bassa_. Yet the records are not very clear on these points, Muratori
tells us. Doubts are thrown on the loyalty of Duke Godfried. He is
said to have invited the Normans to come to the help of the Pope, and
then invaded their territories, which was not a very knightly
proceeding: but there is no appearance at this particular moment of
the Normans, or any force but that of the Tuscan army with young
Countess Matilda and her mother flashing light and courage into the
ranks.
The anti-pope, if he deserved that title, did not trouble the
legitimate authorities long. He was suddenly dropped by the Germans in
the excitement of a revolution, originating in the theft of little
Henry the boy-monarch, whom the Bishop of Cologne stole from his
mother Agnes, as it became long afterwards a pleasant device of state
to carry off from their mothers the young fatherless Jameses of Scots
history. Young Henry was run away with in the same way, and Agnes
humiliated and cast off by the Teutonic nobility, who forgot all about
such a trifle as a Pope in the heat of their own affairs. It was only
when this matter was settled that a council was held in Cologne by the
archbishop who had been the chief agent in the abduction of Henry, and
was now first in power. Of this council there seems no authoritative
record. It is only by the answer to its deliberations published by
Peter Damian in which, as is natural, that able controversialist has
an easy victory over the other side--that anything is known of it.
Whether Cadalous was formerly deposed by this council is not known:
but he was dropped by the authorities of the Empire which had a
similar result.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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