Barbarossa; An Historical Novel of the XII Century.
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_CHAPTER XLIV_.
_POPE ALEXANDER III_.
Two noblemen were on their way towards the modest dwelling of the HolyFather: they were the Archbishop Peter of Tarantasia and CountDietrich, the envoy of the primate of France. Peter had been in Clunyfor the last two days. The message had been calmly received, but theform did not deceive His Holiness for a moment as to its true import.Alexander guessed everything; he knew that Louis would not dare toresist Frederic, and that Peter had brought him not an invitation, butan order. On the other hand, Count Dietrich conveyed to the Pope theassurance of the entire and perfect devotion to him of the Archbishopof Rheims.
As soon as the Primate had discovered the intentions of his royalbrother, and the orders given by him to the Count of Champagne, hehastened to his presence, with the hope of effecting a change ofpolicy. But either through fear of Barbarossa's violence, or influencedby the demands of his own vassals, Louis, instead of listening to hisbrother's arguments and representations, broke out into bitteraccusations against the Pope. Convinced of the fruitlessness of hisattempts, the Primate at once dispatched Count Dietrich to Cluny, toinform the Pontiff of the danger with which he was threatened.
They were received, upon their arrival, by a steward who showed them toa room in the upper story, where they found the celebrated founder ofNotre Dame, the Archbishop Maurice of Paris, and three cardinals. Whilethe chamberlain repaired to Alexander's private apartment, the news wascommunicated to the prelates, who were thunder-struck.
Alexander was standing before a desk covered with parchment, which hewas examining attentively; dictating at the same time to a deacon whotook down his words, for the Pope possessed the rare talent of beingable to do several things at once.
The Pontiff's exterior indicated the energy of his mind, and his strongphysical constitution enabled him to support the fatigues which thecares of the Church rendered necessary. His features were stronglymarked and displayed great firmness tempered by benevolence. His eyewas calm and decided; a gracious smile was playing around his mouth;but his brow was furrowed by the afflictions he had experienced. He hadbeen formerly a professor in the University of Bologna and shone, byhis great attainments, in all branches of learning. Although theuntiring champion of the rights and liberties of the Church, he waspersonally humble and modest. He hated no one, not even Barbarossa, hissuccessful and implacable adversary.
Alexander's costume was of the most simple description: a long whitegarment reached to his feet; above he wore a short red tunic, with fullsleeves, the dalmatica of that age: from his shoulders a white woollenpallium, with a black cross, folded over on his breast, whence it hungalmost to the ground, after the manner of the ancient stole. On hisfinger the Pontiff wore the pastoral ring, and his head was coveredwith a round mitre ornamented with a number of small crosses.
As soon as he had been informed of the arrival of the French envoy, heleft his work and repaired to the hall of audience, where CountDietrich and the cardinals were in waiting.
All knelt at the entrance of the Head of Christendom, who advancedtowards the Count and extended to him his hand which the latter kissedreverently, and then took his seat with the cardinals, on chairs placedin a semicircle around the Papal throne.
"Most Holy Father," he said, "your devoted son, Henry, Archbishop ofRheims and Primate of France, has sent me to give warning of the dangerwhich threatens your personal safety. A short time after the departureof the Archbishop of Tarantasia, a partisan of the Emperor, the CountHenry of Champagne presented himself before the king, and so alarmedhim that His Majesty has promised to abandon your holy cause in orderto avoid the danger of a quarrel with Barbarossa. The Count ofChampagne, uniting his forces with those of William of Nevers, theBishop of Orleans, and other enemies of your Holiness, is now marchingtowards Cluny, with the intention of arresting your Holiness, andgiving you over to Barbarossa. My revered lord has sent me to you, nowto advise, that you avoid this captivity by seeking refuge on Englishsoil."
During this speech the features of the cardinals indicated theirconsternation, but the Pope never lost his coolness for one instant,although his face gave signs of the pain he inwardly experienced.
"I thank you, Count," said the Pontiff, calmly. "Be so kind as toassure our worthy son, the primate of France, of our paternal andsincere affection; but we cannot follow his advice. We shall remainhere, although we may be led into captivity, if such be the design ofGod. It is not the first time that the head of the Church has beenforced to yield to violence. If God in his infinite wisdom; and in theinterest of His holy name, judges me worthy to suffer even deathitself, let His will be done."
"Permit me, Holy Father," said the cardinal, John of Naples; "yourresolution does not appear to me to be prudent. As soon as you havefallen into the power of the tyrant, your enemies will drag you beforethe council and throw you into a dungeon. Octavian, who styles himselfVictor, would then rule in the name and according to the wishes of theEmperor, while the successor of St. Peter would be in a prison. Avoidthis peril and the whole Catholic world will rise to resist theschismatical Emperor and his bishops. Did not St. Paul fly from dangerin order to be able to spread more widely the divine word?"
"Worthy brother," replied the Pope, "in this particular we have beenlong a zealous disciple of St. Paul; we have fled from Rome, we havefled from Genoa. Where, hereafter, could we hope to avoid theinveterate pursuit of Barbarossa?"
"The Greek Emperor Manuel," replied John of Naples, "has, on severaloccasions, offered you men and money to defend Rome and drive theGermans from Italy!--Your Holiness cannot be ignorant of the fact thatVenice and other powerful cities will give strenuous aid to thisenterprise."
"But, my lord Cardinal, what conditions did Manuel exact in return,"said Alexander.
"He demands the guaranty of the Imperial crown to him and hissuccessors. Now, as this crown belongs to the Pope, he can dispose ofit as he pleases."
"Very true!" said Alexander; "but, in that case, would we not seem todeprive the German princes of their rights in order to gratify our ownpersonal spite? The wisdom of our predecessors has for ages placed thecrown on German princes, and should we from purely personal motivespresume to abrogate the acts of their wisdom? No, my lord Cardinal! mayGod preserve, keep, and enlighten the Emperor Frederic."
"Perhaps it would be well," said the Cardinal William of Pavia, "torequest aid from the English king. His Camp is only ten miles fromhere, and a simple request from your Holiness will be sufficient tohave his troops put at your orders."
This proposal awakened the Pope's astonishment; his irritated glancewas fixed upon the Cardinal.
"We take refuge at the English Court!--we trust to a man who hasviolated the bonds of matrimony, and whose cruelty never hesitates inshedding innocent blood!--We put ourself in the power of one whoacknowledges no laws, who has nothing of human in his constitution, whotramples underfoot divine and ecclesiastical laws and precepts!--But weshould be in a position still more degraded than that which poor Victoroccupies with the Emperor."
The Cardinal had nothing to reply to this and bent his head in silence.
"Perhaps Spain is the only country in which your Holiness can find anasylum?" said Maurice of Pavia.
But Alexander interrupted him at once.
"Spain!---oh! poor Spain," said the Pope sadly. "You have not yetlearned, my dear brothers, the news which reached me yesterday. TheMoors have mustered all their forces; they have summoned from thedeserts of Africa their countless hordes of savage bandits, who willthrow themselves upon Spain like the sands of the desert. And tothink," continued the Pope, "that the Emperor, instead of fightingagainst the Crescent, encourages the enemies of our holy religion byhis own impious struggles against the Apostolic See. My brethren, theseare bitter trials!--May God preserve the faithful from persecution,prison, and death!--May Christendom be not divided by schism!--May weremain at the helm to guide our bark through the troubled sea."
> He was silent and with bent head forgot his own situation in reflectingon that of the Church. On their part, the prelates remained speechlesswith emotion.
At last Alexander raised his head, and his look was calm thoughdejected, as he declared his unalterable determination not to seek toescape by flight from the danger which now threatened him.
"You will be good enough, Cardinal," he said to William of Pavia, "totake care that all the archbishops, bishops, and prelates whom we haveadmitted to the reception of the royal envoy be invited to the reunion.Our intention is, perhaps for the last time, to speak openly in orderto defend the rights and the liberties of the Church."
He rose as a signal that the audience was at an end. All who werepresent knelt piously, received the Pontiff's blessing, and bowingrespectfully, left the room.
"Oh, my Lord and my God!" said Alexander to himself, as he sought thelittle oratory in which he usually said mass.
He knelt devoutly before the altar, where a golden dove contained theBody of his Redeemer. The vicar of Christ had come to implore the aidof his divine Master. He prayed long and fervently; his features byturns assumed the expression of grief, consolation, and resignation;and when the rays of the setting sun shone through the red windows ofthe chapel, they shed a halo of glory around the head of the stillkneeling Pope.