Pope John XI
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Pope John XI ( la, Ioannes XI; c. 910 – December 935) was the
bishop of Rome A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...
and nominal ruler of the
Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...
from March 931 to his death. The true ruler of Rome at the time was his mother,
Marozia Marozia, born Maria and also known as Mariuccia or Mariozza ( 890 – 937), was a Roman noblewoman who was the alleged mistress of Pope Sergius III and was given the unprecedented titles ''senatrix'' ("senatoress") and ''patricia'' of Rome by ...
, followed by his brother Alberic II. His pontificate occurred during the period is known as ''
Saeculum obscurum ''Saeculum obscurum'' (, "the dark age/century"), also known as the Pornocracy or the Rule of the Harlots, was a period in the history of the Papacy during the first two-thirds of the 10th century, following the chaos after the death of Formosu ...
''.


Parentage

John was the son of
Marozia Marozia, born Maria and also known as Mariuccia or Mariozza ( 890 – 937), was a Roman noblewoman who was the alleged mistress of Pope Sergius III and was given the unprecedented titles ''senatrix'' ("senatoress") and ''patricia'' of Rome by ...
, the most powerful woman in Rome and the wife of Alberic I at the time of John's birth. According to hostile chronicler
Liutprand of Cremona Liutprand, also Liudprand, Liuprand, Lioutio, Liucius, Liuzo, and Lioutsios (c. 920 – 972),"LIUTPRAND OF CREMONA" in '' The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'', Oxford University Press, New York & Oxford, 1991, p. 1241. was a historian, diplomat, ...
and the '' Liber Pontificalis'', John's father was not Alberic but Marozia's lover
Pope Sergius III Pope Sergius III (c. 860 − 14 April 911) was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from 29 January 904 to his death. He was pope during a period of violence and disorder in central Italy, when warring aristocratic factions ...
. However, neither
Auxilius of Naples Auxilius of Naples (which has been considered a pseudonym) was an ecclesiastical writer. To him are attributed a series of writings that deal with the controversies concerning the succession and fate of Pope Formosus (891896), and especially the va ...
nor
Eugenius Vulgarius Eugenius Vulgarius (Italian ''Eugenio Vulgario''; ''fl. '' 887–928) was an Italian priest and poet. Eugenius' epithet may allude to a Bulgar heritage, and he may have been a descendant of the horde of Alzec that settled in the Molise in the ...
, both of whom were exact contemporaries of Sergius, and both of whom were hostile towards Sergius for his attacks on
Formosus Pope Formosus (896) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 6 October 891 until his death on 4 April 896. His reign as pope was troubled, marked by interventions in power struggles over the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the K ...
, mention this allegation at all. The highly reliable chronicler Flodoard also refers to John as the brother of Alberic II, and does not mention the allegation either. Ferdinand Gregorovius,
Ernst Dümmler Ernst Ludwig Dümmler (2 January 183011 September 1902) was a German historian. Biography Ernst Ludwig was born in Berlin, the son of (1777–1846), a Berlin bookseller. He studied law, classical philology and history, among other things, at ...
, Thomas Greenwood,
Philip Schaff Philip Schaff (January 1, 1819 – October 20, 1893) was a Swiss-born, German-educated Protestant theologian and ecclesiastical historian, who spent most of his adult life living and teaching in the United States. Biography Schaff was born ...
, and Rudolf Baxmann accept Liutprand's account. Horace Kinder Mann considers this story "highly doubtful", highlighting Liutprand's bias. Reginald L. Poole, Peter Llewelyn,
Karl Josef von Hefele Karl Josef von Hefele (March 15, 1809 – June 6, 1893) was a Roman Catholic bishop and theologian of Germany. Biography Hefele was born at Unterkochen in Württemberg and was educated at Tübingen, where in 1839 he became professor-ordinary o ...
, August Friedrich Gfrörer,
Ludovico Antonio Muratori Lodovico Antonio Muratori (21 October 1672 – 23 January 1750) was an Italian historian, notable as a leading scholar of his age, and for his discovery of the Muratorian fragment, the earliest known list of New Testament books. Biography Born ...
, and Francis Patrick Kenrick also maintain that Pope John XI was sired by Alberic I of Spoleto.


Pontificate

Marozia was the ''de facto'' ruler of Rome at the time and she used her power and influence to ensure that John, who held the ''titulus'' of
Santa Maria in Trastevere The Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere); en, Our Lady in Trastevere) is a titular minor basilica in the Trastevere district of Rome, and one of the oldest churches of Rome. The basic floor plan and ...
, was elected to the
papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
in March 931. Following the overthrow of Marozia and her husband
Hugh of Italy Hugh (c. 880–947), known as Hugh of Arles or Hugh of Provence, was the king of Italy from 926 until his death. He belonged to the Bosonid family. During his reign, he empowered his relatives at the expense of the aristocracy and tried to estab ...
around late 932, John XI fell under the control of his brother Alberic II. After being initially imprisoned, he was confined to the
Lateran Palace The Lateran Palace ( la, Palatium Lateranense), formally the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran ( la, Palatium Apostolicum Lateranense), is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main papal residence in southeast Rome. Located on St. ...
for the remainder of his pontificate. During this time only authority left to John was the exercise of his purely spiritual duties. All other jurisdiction was exercised through Alberic II. This was not only the case in secular, but also in ecclesiastical affairs. Following the deposition of the Patriarch of Constantinople
Tryphon Tryphon or Trypho ( el, Τρύφων, ''gen''.: Τρύφωνος; c. 60 BC – 10 BC) was a Greek grammarian who lived and worked in Alexandria. He was a contemporary of Didymus Chalcenterus. He wrote several specialized works on aspects of lan ...
in September 931, the
Byzantine emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, to Fall of Constantinople, its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. On ...
Romanos I Lekapenos Romanos I Lekapenos ( el, Ρωμανός Λεκαπηνός; 870 – 15 June 948), Latinized as Romanus I Lecapenus, was Byzantine emperor from 920 until his deposition in 944, serving as regent for the infant Constantine VII. Origin Romanos ...
attempted get his young son Theophylactus placed on the Patriarchal throne. Due to internal church resistance, Romanos approached John XI to seek the Pope's confirmation and to approve Theophylactus taking the
pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : ''pallia'') is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropol ...
. This was eventually granted by John in February 933. This delay of over a year is seen by Horace Mann as evidence of the Pope's initial reluctance to agree to the emperor's request, and was only forced to do it at his brother Alberic II's insistence following the fall of Marozia. However, as negotiations also involved a suggested marriage between a sister of Alberic and John's and one of Romanos's sons, such a delay would not be unusual, and in fact it is possible that these marriage negotiations were actually begun by Marozia herself and this policy was continued jointly by her sons. It was also at Alberic II's insistence that the pallium was also granted to Archbishop
Artold Artald of Reims (died October 1, 961) was twice Archbishop of Reims. He held the post first 931 to 940, when he was displaced by Hugh of Vermandois. He was restored, with the help of Louis IV of France, in 946. Biography In 931 he was imposed as b ...
of Reims in 933, setting up a conflict with the incumbent archbishop Hugh of Vermandois and his supporters.Mann, pgs. 202-203 John XI sat in the Chair of Peter during what some traditional Catholic sources consider its deepest humiliation, subjugated under the authority of the Prince of Rome, but it was also he who granted many privileges to the Congregation of
Cluny Cluny () is a commune in the eastern French department of Saône-et-Loire, in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is northwest of Mâcon. The town grew up around the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny, founded by Duke William I of Aquitaine in ...
, which was later on a powerful agent of Church reform.


References


Marozia


External links



{{DEFAULTSORT:John 11 Popes Italian popes 935 deaths Illegitimate children of popes 10th-century popes Burials at St. Peter's Basilica