Imágenes de página
PDF
ePub

In the month of April, on the fourth day before the ides of the said month, being the fourth day of the week, pope Clement the Third departed this life, and was succeeded by Jacinto, 16 cardinal deacon of the church of Saint Mary in Cosmedim; and on the vigil of Easter he was ordained priest, and on Easter day, which fell on the eighteenth day before the calends of May, was consecrated Pontiff of Rome, by Octavianus, bishop of Ostia, being called pope Celestinus the Third. On the day after his consecration, our lord the pope went from the Lateran to the church of Saint Peter, where he was met by Henry, king of Germany, with his wife Constance, and a large body of men-at-arms. The Romans, however, shut the city gates, and guarded them with a strong hand, and in arms, and would not allow them to enter.

Accordingly, our lord the pope, before the door of the church of Saint Peter, upon the steps, received the oath of the said king of the Germans, that he would faithfully preserve the Church of God, and the rights of the Church inviolate, and would observe strict justice, and would, if anything should be taken thence, replace the patrimony of Saint Peter in its former integrity, and would restore to him Tusculanum." Our lord the pope then led them into the church, and anointed him emperor, and his wife empress. The pope sat in the pontifical chair, holding the imperial crown of gold between his feet, and the emperor, baring his head, received the crown, and in like manner the empress received her crown, at the feet of our lord the pope. Our lord the pope also suddenly struck the crown of the emperor with his foot, and overturned it on the ground, signifying thereby that he possessed the power of casting him down from his throne if he should show himself unworthy; but the cardinals, immediately picking up the crown, placed it on the head of the emperor.

In order that the reason may be known why our lord the pope Celestinus restored to the Romans their city of Tusculanum, we must repeat a few circumstances that had previously transpired. When the lord Clement, the bishop of Palestrina, was elected and consecrated Supreme Pontiff, according to custom, at Pisa, where Gregory the Eighth, of pious memory, had departed from this world unto the Lord, the said lord Clement, without delay, sent his envoys to the citizens of Rome, repre16 The Italian form of the Latin name "Hyacinthus." 17 Now Frascati.

senting that a most strict treaty of peace ought again to be entered into between them. For a dispute had arisen with reference to Tusculanum, which is a city that belongs to our lord the pope, about ten miles distant from Rome, and which the Romans were attacking incessantly in war, that they might render it subject to themselves. By means, also, of these conflicts that took place between Rome and Tusculanum, more than five thousand Romans had in one day fallen by the sword, and, from the time of pope Alexander to that of the said Clement, these disputes had lasted between the Church and the Romans. The envoys, on coming to the city, entreated the Romans, like affectionate sons, to turn their hearts to their spiritual father, and most dutifully make it their care to receive him, on his return to them, as a kind father, and represented that it was befitting that they should be, as it were, but one for the future. To this the Romans made answer, to the following effect: "This, inasmuch as it is holy and becoming, with ardent desire we greatly wish to be done, without any delay whatever, even more than our lord and father does, and like true and humble sons; but still, only on condition that, equally with ourselves, he shall wish reparation to be made for our losses, and our injuries and affronts to be avenged, which, in consequence of the war with Tusculanum, we have in the times of our fathers endured, and do still endure; and shall be ready, if there shall be necessity for so doing, to send his soldiers at his own expense, if peace cannot be made between us on terms honorable to this city, for the subjection of Tusculanum; an agreement being entered into in writing for a yearly tribute to be paid by Tusculanum to our city. He must also promise that, in case there is a refusal on their part to make peace with us on the terms before-mentioned, if at any future time he shall be able to get Tusculanum into his power, he will be ready to give it up to us, for the purpose of our wishes already expressed being complied with."

Accordingly, on these and some other liberties being at length conceded by that said pope Clement to the Romans, the said Clement came to the city, of which he was a native; and as the lord Clement did not find himself able, in conformity with the above-stated request made by the Romans, to render Tusculanum subject to them, he made severe attacks upon that place, exposing it to the assaults of the Romans. Yet, although he enjoyed the papacy for nearly four years, he was unable to

bring this war with the Romans to a conclusion; although the Romans, posting themselves in ambush, took nearly the greater portion of the people of Tusculanum prisoners, outside of their fortifications, and slew them with various pains and tortures. For some of those whom they took prisoners they put to death at once, while others, first deprived of their feet, others with their eyes put out, and others with their hands cut off and hung from their necks, they sent back home: yet all these evils they most resolutely affirmed they would endure, in preference to being subjected to the severity of the Romans.

After the death of Clement, when the lord Jacinto, the cardinal priest of Saint Mary in Cosmedim, afterwards called Celestinus, was elected Supreme Pontiff in his stead, and Henry, the then king, was hastening to Rome, having been invited by pope Clement for that purpose, to receive the crown of the empire, the Romans, before the said king had arrived at the city, entreated the lord Celestinus, before he anointed the said king emperor, to prevail upon him to restore to them the city of Tusculanum, which was under his control; (for its people had betaken themselves to him, and had entreated his protection, from the time that the above-named Clement had, as already mentioned, left them to the mercy of the Romans). They asserted to the said pope, with the greatest energy, that this was the method by which Tusculanum would fall again into their hands, and that he was bound by the compact already mentioned so to do; and this was accordingly conceded to them.

Upon this, envoys from our lord the pope were sent to the king, and most strongly urged him that, as the treaty beforementioned had been made relative to Tusculanum between the Supreme Pontiff and the Romans, necessity consequently demanded that Tusculanum should be given up to our lord the pope. Upon the king finding this to be the case, and perceiving that, otherwise, great difficulties might easily be thrown in the way of his coronation, he freely granted the request of our lord the pope as to the delivery up to him of Tusculanum; and, accordingly, the king having been crowned emperor, on the following day Tusculanum was delivered by the said emperor to our lord the pope, and, on the third day after, was, by the said pope and the citizens of Rome, levelled with the ground; so much so, that not one stone remained standing upon another.

[ocr errors]

In the meantime, in the month of April, Richard, king of England, destroyed and levelled with the ground his castle called Mate Griffon, before departing from Messina, in conformity with the promise he had made to king Tancred: and on the fourth day of the week, before the Supper of our Lord, he, with the whole of his army, and his fleet, sailed out of the harbour of Messina, with a hundred and fifty large ships and fifty-three galleys, well armed; but, on the day of the Preparation of our Lord, about the ninth hour of the day, a dreadful wind arose from the south, and dispersed his fleet. The king, with a portion of the fleet, arrived at the island of Crete, and afterwards at the island of Rhodes. A large buss, however, in which were the queen of Sicily and the daughter of the king of Navarre, with many of the king's household, and two other busses, while the tempest was raging, reached the island of Cyprus, the king being ignorant as to what had been the fate of these busses.

After the tempest had abated, the king sent some galleys in search of the busses on board of which was the queen, his sister, and the daughter of the king of Navarre, and they found them outside of the harbour of Limezun; but the other two busses which had accompanied them, and had arrived before the harbour of Limezun, had gone down, having on board many knights and men-at-arms of the king's household; among whom, sad to tell! Master Roger Malchen, the king's vicechancellor, was drowned; the king's seal, however, which he wore suspended from his neck, was found. Upon this, Isaac, emperor of Cyprus, laid hands upon the property of those who were wrecked, and took and threw into prison all the persons who had escaped from the shipwreck, and seized their money; and, in a spirit of more than diabolical cruelty, he would not allow the buss on board of which were the queen of Sicily and the daughter of the king of Navarre to enter the harbour.

On the king of England being informed of this, he came with all haste to their assistance, with a great number of galleys and a vast fleet of ships, and found them outside the harbour of Limezun, exposed to the winds and waves. Being greatly enraged at this, he sent messengers to the emperor of Cyprus, a first, second, and third time, begging and asking with humble entreaties that, out of regard for the love of God, 18" Parasceues Domini." The day after Good Friday.

and respect for the Cross, the giver of life, he would allow His pilgrims, whom he was keeping captive in chains, to depart unhurt, and restore to them their property, and give up to him the property of such of his subjects as had been drowned, that with the same he might perform service to God for their souls: to which, however, the emperor haughtily made answer, and said that he would neither give up the pilgrims nor the property of the drowned.

The king, upon hearing that this wicked emperor would do nothing for him unless forced so to do, commanded the whole of his army to take up their arms, and, being fully armed, to follow him, saying to them: "Follow me, that we may avenge the injuries which this perfidious emperor has done to God and to ourselves, who thus, against the justice and equity of God, keeps our pilgrims in chains; and fear them not, for they are without arms, and better prepared for flight than for battle; whereas we are well armed, and to him who wields arms, he yields up everything who denies him what is his right. We are also bound to fight manfully against him, in order to deliver the people of God from perdition, knowing that we must either conquer or die. But I have full confidence in God, that He will this day grant us the victory over this perfidious emperor and his people."

In the meantime, the emperor with his people had taken up their position in every direction on the sea-shore; but a few only of them were armed, and they were nearly all utterly unskilled in the art of warfare; however, they stood on the shore, armed with swords, and lances, and staves; and having in front of them logs and beams, and benches and chests, as a defence. When the king of England and his people had armed themselves, they disembarked from the great ships into boats and galleys, and, rowing on, made for shore with exceeding swiftness; on which the archers, landing first, made way for the others. After landing, the king leading the way, with one accord they made an attack upon the emperor and his Griffons," and like a shower upon the grass did the arrows fall upon those who fought; but after the combat had lasted a considerable time, the emperor and his people took to flight: upon which the king of England pursued them with the edge of the sword, and, making a great slaughter of them, took pri

19 This seems to have been the name given by the people of the west of Europe to the Greeks of Byzantium.

« AnteriorContinuar »