Why in the Middle Ages the pontiff was cursed and his corpse executed

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Ancient customs sometimes amaze modern people with sophisticated cruelty and at the same time rich imagination. The execution of criminals, for example, a thousand years ago was considered an entertaining and instructive spectacle, quite suitable for children's eyes. At times, even the death of a criminal that occurred in advance was not a sufficient justification for canceling the bloody show expected by the people.

Perhaps the most famous such case, preserved in historical documents, is the "Corpse Synod". This controversial event took place in January 897 in Rome. The church tribunal tried and then executed the former pope. The uniqueness of the event was that Pontiff Formosus had died nine months earlier. In order for him to stand trial, the body of the former Roman ruler was exhumed and placed on the throne. The successor, Pope Stephen VI, interrogated his predecessor, while the corpse, oddly enough, answered him (though in the voice of a deacon who stood behind the chair with the deceased).

Formosa was accused of very serious transgressions: treachery, transferring from one episcopal see to another, bypassing the ban established by the Council of Nicaea, performing by him, a layman, religious sacraments and crowning the king in Rome, the "illegitimate" King Arnulf. The last accusation was precisely the reason for this whole eerie comedy - during his lifetime, the Pope "played a little", supporting the representative of the Carolingian dynasty, but did not have time to bring this matter to an end. Therefore, after his death, the new claimants to the Roman throne required an official confirmation of their rights. For this, the court found Formosa guilty, his election as pope was declared invalid, the decrees were canceled, and the fingers with which he made the sign of the cross were cut off.

Further, the body of the unfortunate pope was repeatedly subjected to various executions: he was dragged through the city, buried in a common grave for strangers, and then also drowned in the Tiber. However, it was at this moment that an earthquake occurred in the city, some of the temples were destroyed, and the people, who decided that this was punishment for insulting the remains, rebelled. For Pope Stephen, this cost the throne and his life, and his successor to the unfortunate Formosa not only rehabilitated, but allegedly buried the body with all the honors (historical sources do not describe in detail where and how these remains were found again).

The "Corpse Synod" was far from the only such trial. Interrogations and executions of people who have already died in the Middle Ages sometimes happened in different countries and cities. For example, judges were adamant about suicides. Society and the church condemned them so much that the corpses were not only not buried in consecrated ground, but they could also be subjected to posthumous trials. So, on February 20, 1598, a trial was held in Edinburgh with the city dweller Thomas Dobby. The unfortunate man drowned himself in the quarry, and after the body was taken out of the water, he was first dragged to court. There, the defendant was interrogated with partiality, after which he, apparently, confessed to conspiracy with the devil (at the Inquisition, as you know, the dead could also start talking). As a result, he was sentenced to be hanged and carried out the next day. Probably for the edification of others, so that they do not think that in the next world it is possible to hide from responsibility.

The case of the scientist and philosopher John Wycliffe became very high-profile. This famous public figure managed to annoy the churches very much during his life, demanding reforms. He, incidentally, is considered the predecessor of Protestantism. All this was recalled to him already 40 years after his death, in May 1415. By the decision of the Cathedral of Constance, the remains of the philosopher were exhumed and publicly burned:

Another classic example of the death penalty was the execution of the body of Oliver Cromwell in London in May 1659. A gloomy tradition says that during his lifetime the leader of the English Revolution, driving triumphantly into London through a crowd of jubilant people, uttered a phrase that became prophetic:. When the wheel of history turned around and a year after the death of Cromwell and the son of the executed King Charles II ascended the throne of England, it was decided to publicly condemn the former hero. The bodies of Oliver Cromwell and two of his associates were exhumed, transported across London, and hanged at Tyburn. The heads of the regicides were then put on public display near Westminster Palace. It is interesting that Cromwell's skull was stolen at the same time, for several centuries this rarity wandered through private collections, until finally it was buried, but this happened only in 1960.

Surprisingly, similar massacres of bodies happened in later times. One of the last such cases was recorded already in 1811, also in London. John Williams is a criminal who murderously destroyed two families, deceived the expectations of the townspeople and hanged himself in prison the night before his execution. The authorities decided not to deprive the people of the long-awaited entertainment, especially since it threatened with unrest, and carried out the prescribed execution of the murderer's body. He was first hanged, then an aspen stake was driven into his heart, and then, for safety, they were still burned. Thus, this wild tradition lasted until the "enlightened" 19th century.

The mores of the Russian Middle Ages, as well as of the European, often outrage modern people. For example, the famous a book about Russian life Domostroy earned a negative reputation among descendants