Peripateticus Palatinus (13)
The upshot of Bernard's epistolary zeal was that several of Abelard's
propositions were condemned at the Council of Sens in 1140. Abelard, by now
an old man, set out for Rome to challenge the condemnation. He did not
stand a cat in hell's chance of succeeding in his challenge. To understand
why not, it may be helpful to have some knowledge of papal politics during
the period. Pope Honorius II died during the night of 13/14th February
1130. There were at the time two factions among the Cardinals; a minority
of younger ones, mostly from North Italy and France, interested in the
reform of the Church, and a majority of older ones, mostly from Rome and
southern Italy, whose interest was not in internal reform but in asserting
the rights of the papacy against the emperor.
The younger faction, led by Aimeric, Chancellor of Rome, who was a friend of
Bernard's, hastily buried the dead pope, held a clandestine election and
elected one Gregorio Papareschi as Pope Innocent II at daybreak. Later that
morning the majority of cardinals met and elected Pietro Pierleoni, a former
monk of Cluny, as Pope Anacletus II. There followed an eight-year schism.
Anacletus held Rome, and Innocent had to flee to France, but his claim was
soon recognised everywhere except in Scotland, Aquitaine and South Italy.
Innocent's most effective advocates were Bernard, who won over to his cause
Louis VI of France and Henry I of England, and Archbishop Norbert of
Magdeburg, who secured the support of Germany. Anacletus obligingly ended
the schism by dying on 25th January 1138. His adherents elected Victor IV
as his successor, but he resigned on 29th May, whereupon his faction made
their submission to Innocent. In April 1139 Innocent held the Second
Lateran Council, which anulled all the decisions, acts and ordinations of
Anacletus. In 1140 Innocent confirmed the condemnation of the teaching of
Peter Abelard made by the council of Sens in June of that year.
Abelard was travelling to Rome to appeal against this decision when Peter
the Venerable persuaded him to give up the fight and stay at Cluny. Bernard
was the Pope-maker; no appeal to the Pope against a council of Bernard had
any chance of success. Peter, together with the Abbot of Citeaux, now
effected a reconciliation between Abelard and Bernard and allowed Abelard to
die in the peace of the Church.
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Oriens
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