Villani's Chronicle: Being Selections from the First Nine Books of the Croniche Fiorentine of Giovanni VillaniVillani, Giovanni
History
Villani's Chronicle: Being Selections from the First Nine Books of the Croniche Fiorentine of Giovanni Villani
Villani, Giovanni
Florence (Italy) -- History
Emperor or king. And the said sentence was passed at the said council
at Lyons on the Rhone, the year of Christ 1245, the 17th of July. The
principal causes why Frederick was condemned were four: first,
forasmuch as when the Church invested him with the realm of Sicily and
of Apulia, and afterwards with the Empire, he swore to the Church
before his barons, and before the Emperor Baldwin of Constantinople,
and before all the court of Rome, to defend Holy Church in all her
honours and rights against all men, and to pay the rightful tribute,
and to restore all the possessions and jurisdictions of Holy Church,
of the which things he had done the contrary, and was perjured, and
treacherous, and had vilely and wrongfully defamed Pope Gregory IX.
and his cardinals by his letters throughout the whole world. The
second thing was, that he broke the peace made by him with the Church,
not remembering the pardons granted to him by withdrawal of the
excommunications, and with respect to all the misdeeds done by him
against Holy Church; and in that peace he had sworn and promised never
to injure those who had been with the Church against him; but he had
done quite the contrary, seeing that he had scattered them all, either
by death or by exile, them and their families, taking away their
possessions, and had not restored either to the Templars or to the
Hospitallers their mansions which he had occupied, the which by the
articles of the peace he had promised to restore and give back; and
by force he had kept vacant eleven archbishoprics, with many
bishoprics and abbeys in the Empire and in the Kingdom, not suffering
those who were duly elected by the Pope to hold or to till them; doing
violence and extortions on sacred persons, constraining them to appear
and plead before his bailiffs and secular lords. The third cause was
the sacrilege he had done, when by the galleys of Pisa, and by his son
King Enzo, he had taken the cardinals and many prelates at sea, as we
afore told, and caused some to be drowned in the sea, and kept some
dying in cruel and harsh prisons. The fourth cause was, because he was
found and convicted in many articles of heresy in the faith; and
certainly he was no Christian Catholic, living always more after his
delight and pleasure than according to reason or just law; and in
fellowship with the Saracens. Likewise he used the Church and her
offices but little or not at all, and did no alms; so that not without
great and evident causes he was deposed and condemned; and albeit he
did much injury and persecution to Holy Church after that he was
condemned, yet in a short time every honour and state and power and
greatness God took from him, and showed him His wrath, as we shall
make mention hereafter. And because many have made question, who was
to blame in the quarrel, whether the Church or the Emperor, hearing
his excuses in his letters, therefore to this I make answer and say,
that manifestly not by one divine miracle but by many was it shown
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