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Mediaeval Rome: From Hildebrand To Clement VIII, 1073-1600
Mediaeval Rome From Hildebrand To Clement VIII 10731600 Author:William Miller Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: ARNOLD OF BRESCIA THE death of Hildebrand, followed as it was by that of Robert Guiscard, weakened the influence of the Papacy, and the condition of the ... more »Roman Church was not such as to attract candidates for the chair of St. Peter. Desiderius, Abbot of Monte Cassino, the magnificent monastery between Rome and Naples, which still bears the marks of his influence, was elected Pope, against his will, under the title of Victor III., and the next two years witnessed the deplorable spectacle of a struggle for the possession of the Papal chair, between the adherents of this reluctant Pontiff and the opposition-Pope, Clement III., who was still supported by German influence. St. Peter's was besieged by the Norman allies of Victor's party, and their nominee installed there. But death removed the Pope from a position for which he was utterly unsuited, and, leaving the Eternal City once more in the hands of his rival, he expired at his beloved Monte Cassino, which he should never have left. In 1088, Otto, Bishop of Ostia, was chosen as his successor, with the name of Urban II. Urban was the first Frenchman ever made Pope, and is famous in European history as one of the chief instigators of the first Crusade. But his memorable speech at Clermont, which kindled such enthusiasm for that cause, and the deeds of the Crusaders, had merely an indirect influence on the fate of Rome. One of the incidental results of the first Crusade was to restore Rome to the control of the lawful Pope. The effects of that great movement upon the seat of the Papacy were only secondary. Though the Popes found a new source of income in the Crusading movement, and were able to consolidate their power,' while other sovereigns became exhausted, the Romans, themselves, showed no enthusiasm for the liberation of...« less