Ii Imperial Period

Victor III. was elected only after an interval of a year and reigned only a short time. He was consecrated in St. Peter's but was unable to maintain his position in Rome. Urban II. (1088-99), the next pope elected, also had little power in Rome, as the city was usually in the hands of the supporters of the anti pope. It was not until 1096, when he had won prestige by preach ing the crusade, that he could enter the city as its master, and even then the castle of St. Angelo was held by the followers of the anti-pope, until 1098.

Revolt Under Paschal II.

Pope Paschal II. (1099-1118) tried to rule the city through the faction of nobles who favoured him, but with little success, as the imperial party frequently had the upper hand. When Henry V. seized the pope in i i II the people rose in his defence and forced Henry to leave the city; but under ordinary circumstances Paschal could not count on any hearty support. In '116, when he wished to make one of the Pierleoni prefect, there was a bloody revolt and a rival was put in as prefect by the imperial partisans. Soon after this Henry V. came to Rome and Paschal had to flee. Later he returned with Norman troops but could not put down the revolt, and the opposition still held the capitol when Paschal died.

The cardinals met in haste and secretly elected Gelasius II. The election had scarcely been completed when Cencius Frangipani broke into the assembly, seized the pope and carried him bleeding to one of the Frangipani towers. As they had done when another Cencius had seized Gregory VII., the people of the 12 districts rose in their wrath and, led by the prefect (whose election Pas chal had opposed), forced the Frangipani to give up their prisoner. The Frangipani fled to the emperor and he came to Rome. Gelasius had to flee to his native city of Gaeta, where he was safe under Norman protection. An anti-pope was chosen by the im perial party; but when Henry left Rome Gelasius was able to return, although the anti-pope was also in Rome and a new revolt threatened the life of Gelasius. Consequently he fled to France, where he died in 1119, having been pope a year and a few days.

Calixtus was next chosen and restored peace. The Frangipani succeeded in electing his successor Honorius II. (1124-30), who was quietly accepted by the Roman people. At his death some of the cardinals chose Innocent II. ; others, and the more numerous part, elected one of the Pierleoni, who took the name of Anaclete II. The greater part of the people now favoured the Pierleoni,

and his rival, who was supported by the Frangipani, had to flee. He secured support in France and Germany, especially through the aid of Bernard of Clairvaux, and was finally recognized as pope almost everywhere except in Rome and among the Normans in Italy. Anaclete II. retained the upper hand in the city almost until the time of his death in 1138. In the following year Innocent attempted a military campaign against Roger of Sicily, but was captured by him and compelled to acknowledge his kingship, with which he had been invested by Anaclete. Humiliated, Innocent returned to Rome and there he was to suffer further humiliation.

Rise of the Commune.

Throughout upper and central Italy the cities were being organized as free and independent com munes on a democratic basis. Their example was followed in the ancient duchy of Rome and almost in the immediate neighbour hood of the city. The same tendencies were at work in Rome. Gradually in the troubled times when the factions of the nobles were contending together and the papal rule was so weak, a lesser nobility had grown into power in the city, in alliance with the people, with whose interests they had much in common. They were irritated against the pope by his submission to the Normans and this irritation was greatly increased by his attitude toward Tivoli. In 1142 this city openly rebelled against the mother city, and the pope sent tht Romans to subdue it. They were not only repulsed, but ignominiously pursued to their own gates. After wards, returning to the assault in greater numbers, they conquered the hostile town. Its defenders surrendered to the pope, and he immediately concluded a treaty of peace without consulting the people. The soldiery, still flushed with victory, were furious at this slight. They demanded the submission of Tivoli to the Roman people, as well as permission to demolish its walls and dwellings and expel its population. Innocent II. refused his consent and a revolution ensued. In 1143 the rebellious people rushed to the capitol, proclaimed the republic, reconstituted the senate, with the almost entire exclusion of the nobles, and declared the abolition of the temporal power. Just after this Innocent died.