Patriarch John of Grado writes to Pope Stephan III, lamenting over the Lombard treatment of his subjects in Istria, the newly imposed levies, and the diminishing influence of his metropolitan see, asking the pope to send aid to Istria and reinforce the jurisdiction of his church to the detriment of the “perfidious Lombards”.
Domino sanctissimo ac ter beatissimo apostolico atque coangelico patri, domino Stefano universali pappęa Ioannesb servorum Dei servus, humilimus episcopus.
Si omnes capilli capitisc nostrid ignise exuerint omnisque virtus nostra odore farciaturf suavitatis, nec sic digne laudes et gratias referre valeremus effectibus apostolicig nostręh dominationis de tot agonibusi quae dignati estis pro totius populi conglabationej nostraque salute impendere, de quibus digne et merito ink vestrę coangelicę coronę diffinitus est Dominicusl sermo: “Quoniam pastor bonus animam suam pro errantibus ovibus et in perditione sucumbentibus posuit redempturus.”1 Obinde, totiusm sacerdotalium pastorum summe pastor et domine, qui, apostolorum principis Petri beati satis dignam contines fidem et vices seu omnium apostolorum patule effectus es consors, acsi tam tuasn pręsentaliter conangelicis vestigiiso prostratus humo apostolatus atque ter beatissimip sanctissimi domini, exiguitate atque fragilitate mea cum his qui [mihi]q commissi sunt vestro pastorali regimini salubriter dispensandam committo, ut et ego, qui licet valde dissimilis, animarum tamen dispensationem suscepi – institutionibus doctrinisque de spiritali matre omnium Apostolica Sede, percepi –, anxius magna immitandum, secundumr deinde proferre prestoler et tamquam in fundamentum firmissimis edificii speciali construere ad gloriam obsecrationibus apostolici nostri, sanctissimi domini, solidatum possuit surgere; per vestram enim Apostolicam Sedem utpote per luminare magnum inextinguibili fulgore splendificus Dei filius, qui sol est iustitię, omnium hominum corda lustravit cunctaque catholica eius Ecclesiau membra per totum orbem difusa, in fideiv christianę rectitudinisw una grexx, unoque pastore perseverare disposuit, ne in alicuius erroris caligine labefacta sucumbit, sed in fide capianty rectitudinis per animi cultum pastoralem grex dispersa reducatur ad caulam salutis.
Ergo, pastor pastorum et omnium sacerdotalium caput et benignissime domine, spes, insuadibilis claritasz et redemptio sperandorum, iamdudum apostolicis pro nostris humillimis syllabis pręcabimus almis obtutibus de tam crudele et importabilea' ingerente malitia, quod gens perfida Langobardorum sanctę nostrę ecclesię invaserunt hereditatem, insuper et fidem pastoralem rectitudinis in ipsa Histriensi provincia abdicarunt et providentię suę nuper usque ordinationes ecclesiasticas non distollunt perficere. Nunc quidem oportunum nobis fuit, et valde cum lamentatione cordis atque iterum omnia non solum postulare pro nostra redemptione apostolicis obtutibus nostri domini, verum etiam et declarare, quidquid nobis ipsi sevissimi Langobardi perb' iussione regis sui exercent, quia, dum vestra coangelica iussio et auctoritas fuit apud regem nobis, ecclesię nostrę omni in re contradicere de hereditu, ut mos erat antiquusc', factum est; sed, qualiter humiliter sugeramus de eorum illusione, plenius ignoramus.
Imprimis ipsum in parvo quod est dilaniatum, qualiter ipsi volunt, relaxant nec permittunt actores sanctę ecclesię nostrę ex nostra preceptione aliquid ibidem viresd' exhibere; sed ipsi protervi praevaricatores episcopi magis magisque contumaces consistunt et contraria gerunt. Unde die noctuque proclamantes, terra prostrati acsi pręsentaliter ante apostolici nostri domini obtutibus erimus propter redemptionem omnium nostrae'; unde noster pius egregius solertissimus dominus agone preceptif' suę auctoritatis sibi a beato concessę Petro iam enituit nunc deposci [et]g' perlustrari, ut sęviente mercenarii morsu oppiletur os et dispersęh' grex innocens Istriensis provincia[e]i' per vigore apicibus vestris apostolicis certaminibus merita revocetur ad caulasj' salutis, ut, sicut a priscis temporibus sub uno pastorali gubernaculo fuit grex adscitak', conscia ovili, precamus, de manibus gentis eripiatur Langobardorum, ut vigor et dignitas beati Petri et vestra pollulet satis, ut iam amplius ab ipsis perfidis Langobardis sanctorum patrum non prevaricetur canonica norma nec sanctarum ecclesiarum Dei obscurentur luminaria nec pauperes populi, qui magnam vinl' sub eorum Deom' horribile iugum assidue sustentant, amplius iam dilanieturn' eorum opressionibus, sed, redempti a Domino et a beato Petro per magni et benigni pastoris agonem, pro vita et incolumitate nostri apostolici domini incessanter Christi Dei nostri misericordiam ingemiscentes valeant exorare; quia et – ut certum sit potestati vestrę plenissime – sicuti qui sitiens in ardore ad fontem vivum velocius concurrit, ita et populus Istrię provincię redemptionem et protectionem a Deo et beato Petro per vestram apostolicam dispositionem desiderant et exposcunto', cognoscentes magnam et ineffabilem Dei nostri misericordiam quam erga Ravennatium civitatem eiusque pertinentibus oppidis et finibus per vestra apostolica auctoritate et defensione ostendere dignatus est; quia iam non sufferuntp' pauperes illi quotiadianisq' diebus collectas faciendo Longobardorumr', tam milites quamque famuli omnium ecclesiarum necnon et quae prima est Dominica nostra sancta Romana ecclesia – sine reverentia et de eius servientibus sicut et de nostra et aliis ecclesiis aequales collectas ex tritico et singula animalias' assiduam consuetudinem faciunt; quod numquam auditum est in provincia illa quamque nec potest quispiam duobus servire dominis.
Nostra autem parvitas, proxime manens et haec omnia veraciter perscrutans, clamorem pauperum, que subvenire nequeo, vestris mitissimis auribus intimare presumo, confidentes in magna misericordia omnipotentis Dei nostri pro beati Petri intercessionibus dignis, quod vester apostolicus apex haec cuncta superius adscriptat' forteu' citius valebit eicere et perpetua securitate condonare. Ob his enim omnibus superius insertis capitulis cunctarum omnium nostrarum importabilem tribulationemv' et nimia oppressione coacti absolvere festinavimus unacum consensu sanctorum Dei filio Mauricio consuli et imperiali duci huius Venetiarum provincięw'. Presentes viros, humilimos vestros, Magnox' presbitero et scrinario nostro, sed et Constantioy' tribuno, gerolis nostris, quos quasi presentaliter domino nostro osculantes vestigia, quessoz' commendatos habere; ad quorum et nostrę iniunctionis eloquium meus apostolicus dominus dignas lubeat inclinare aures tam verbotinus quamque et per capitulare designato: plenissima eorum adsit apostolicę vestręa'' potestatis credulitas, commendantes nostram fragilitatem vestris apostolicis atque coangelicis optutibus nunc et semper.
a) pappe ed. Cessi. b) Iohannes em. Gundlach. c) capiti ed. Cessi. d) nostro ed. Gundlach. e) ignes ed. Cessi. f) sic T. g) apostolicae ed. Cessi. h) nostrae em. Gundlach; vestrae em. Cessi; saepe sic -ę in -ae mutaverunt Gundlach et Cessi. i) tot agonibus] ex orthagonibus corr. T. j) sic T; consolatione em. Gundlach. k) om. Gundlach. l) om. Gundlach. m) omnium em. Gundlach. n) tam tuas] ante tuis em. Cessi. o) vestigii ed. Gundlach. p) ex boatissimi corr. T. q) om. T; em. Gundlach. r) nisi secundare; secundare ed. Cessi. s) ex firmissimę corr. T. t) ex possit corr. in marg. sin. T; possit ed. Gundlach. u) cunctaque catholica—Ecclesia] cunctaeque catholicae Ecclesiae ed. Cessi. v) fide ed. Cessi. w) sic T; rectitudine em. Gundlach. x) grege em. Cessi. y) sic T. z) ex claritatis corr. T. a') crudele et importabile] crudeli et importabili ed. Cessi. b') pro ed. Cessi. c') antiquitus ed. Cessi. d') sic T; iuris em. Gundlach. e') sic T; nostrum ed. Gundlach; nostrorum em. Cessi. f') preceptionis ed. Cessi. g') om. T; em. Cessi. h') sic T; dispersus em. Gundlach; dispersa ed. Cessi. i') provincia T; provinciae em. Gundlach. j') seq. salutis canc. T. k') lect. dub. T. l') sic T; vim em. Gundlach. m') eorum Deo] sic T; eorundem em. Gundlach. n') sic T; dilanientur ed. Cessi. o') expectant ed. Cessi. p') nisi suffere T. q') sic T; quotidianis em. Gundlach. r') Langobardorum ed. Cessi. s') seq. et em. Cessi. t') seq. iun subsignavit pro del. T. u') lect. dub. T. v') importabilem tribulationem] importabili tribulatione ed. Cessi. w') sanctorum Dei—Venetiarum provincię] subsignavit T. x') subsignavit T. y') subsignavit T. z') sic T; quaeso em. Gundlach. a'') apostolicę vestrę] apostolicae vestre ed. Gundlach.
1) Vulg, Iob. 10, 11.
“Sed et populi Polensis, quę civitas caput est Histrię, decretum ab universo clero et cuncto populo missum ad Sigvaldum patriarcham Aquileiensem, qui usque ad Francorum tempora vixit, verum et probatissimum invenimus, ut electum ab eis episcopum ordinaret.” – Decrees of the Synod of Mantua, edited here.
“Huic pape Iohanes patriarcha de rege Longobardorum, qui clerum et populum Ystriensem personaliter et realiter affligebat, et de episcopis Ystrie, qui eiusdem favore a iurisdictione sua se subtraxerant mutuo se consecrantes, per suas literas querelam deposuit, et oportunum requirit remedium.” [...] “Hiis diebus Mauricius dux Venecie et imperialis consul iam effectus, conpaciens Ystriensi populo et dolens de mi'noracione Gradenais ecclesie, intolerabilem Longobardorum seviciam per suos legatos: Magnum presbiterum et scrinearium et Constantinum tribunum unna (!) cum patriarcha Stephano pape insinuat; sed papa, superveniente obitu, ut optabat plene providere non potuit.” – Andrea Dandolo, Chronica per extensum descripta, ed. Ester Pastorello, Rerum Italicarum scriptores, 2 ser., 12/1 (Bologna 1958), pp. 120–121.
The letter dispatched by John, the archbishop/patriarch of Grado to Pope Stephen III has garnered much attention from historians. The key question over which much ink has been spilled is the nature of the Lombard rule in Istria.
The letter certainly attests to the growing Lombard influence in Istria, one conceptualized as detrimental to the church of Grado, the de iure metropolitan of all Istrian bishoprics. However, the question remains: was this Lombard influence merely an outgrowth of the rule that had been established in Istria by Lombard King Aistulf already in 751, as reported by the Salernitan Chronicle (edited here), or was this a product of another, more recent military invasion undertaken by King Desiderius?
Bernardo Benussi (cited above) argued for the former interpretation, claiming that the Lombard rule established by King Aistulf in Istria lasted without interruption until the Frankish conquest of 774, this letter merely testifying to the growing Lombard influence in ecclesiastical matters to the detriment of the Byzantine Patriarchate of Grado.
Giovanni De Vergottini modified this thesis by arguing that Aistulf’s conquest of Istria did not result in a stable, lasting lordship over the peninsula and that the region returned under the potestas of Byzantium soon thereafter. The Lombards would then conquer Istria a second time during the age of King Desiderius, but even this Lombard lordship would not last long due to Charlemagne’s conquest of 774 when Istria would return to Byzantine jurisdiction.
Roberto Cessi (cited above) argued fervently against this, disregarding the Salernitan Chronicle as an unreliable source, and reading the hereby edited letter as the definitive evidence that the Lombards conquered Istria only during King Desiderius’ age, precisely in 770. Moreover, the passage from the Life of Pope Hadrian, (edited in Duchesne’s Liber pontificalis, vol. 1, p. 491), where it is said that King Desiderius held Doge Mauricius’ son hostage, was taken as evidence of warfare between Venice and the Lombards over Istria, a military campaign that the Venetians eventually lost. This interpretation would be taken over by Gherardo Ortalli and Daniela Rando (both cited above).
Cessi’s reading of the letter is not without problems. Namely, Patriarch John does not lament the military takeover of Istria by the Lombards, but merely the newly instituted Lombard taxes and their influence over the local bishops who were swayed, one would suppose, towards the Lombard patriarch of Aquileia to the detriment of the patriarch of Grado. Thus, the letter ought to be decoded primarily in this, ecclesiastical context. Benussi’s interpretation, that this Lombard meddling into Istrian ecclesiastical affairs was simply an organic outgrowth of their, at this point nearly two decades of rulership, is not as unconvincing as Cessi would have it. For a more detailed discussion on the nature of Lombard rule in Istria, see doc. 751_CS.
The letter has been variously dated: MGH editors proposed the most conservative relative dating: the years of Pope Stephen III’s pontificate (August 768–February 772). Bernardo Benussi (cited above, p. 97) and Walter Lenel (cited above) dated it to 770, and Cessi gives it a relative dating of 770–772. This dating rests on Pope Stephan III’s consecration of Leo III as the archbishop of Ravenna (done in 770), a move openly contrary to King Desiderius who sought to place his own candidate, a certain Michel, as the next archbishop (see more in Noble, cited above, pp. 119, 123–124). Since Patriarch John of Grado refers to the papal help in Ravenna, it has been traditionally argued that this is what he had in mind, hence the relative dating 770–772 which was subsequently accepted by many, including Rando and Bratož (cited above). Margetić (cited above), went a step further. King Desiderius would, according to Margetić, use the opening provided by the pro-Lombard Paul Afiarta’s successful rise to power in the Roman curia (in March of 771; see Jan T. Hallenbeck, “Paul Afiarta and the Papacy: An Analysis of Politics in Eighth-century Rome,” Archivum Historiae Pontificiae 12 (1974): pp. 36–37), and he would thus “exert strong pressure on the patriarch of Grado and the Istrian bishops”, aiming to increase the influence of the patriarch of Aquileia (cited above, p. 8). Thus, the “recently” (nuper) in the letter would refer to this period of mid-771. The patriarch of Grado, continues Margetić, would not dare to call the Lombards “perfidious” and “savage” before the death of Carloman I (December 4, 771), an event that marked the breakup of the Lombard-Bavarian-Frankish coalition. Carloman’s death would provide the opening for direct anti-Lombard sentiment, as mirrored in Patriarch John’s letter, who thus “picked his side” in the clash that was inevitably ensuing. For these reasons, Margetić dates the letter to December 771, following Carloman I’s death and the papal reply (edited here) to January 772.
These elections and consecrations of Istrian bishops that completely bypassed the authority of the metropolitan see of Grado are also attested in the acts of the Synod of Mantua (doc. 827_SM, relevant passage cited above). As Patriarch Siguald reigned as the patriarch of Aquileia between c. 756 and 786, coinciding perfectly with the date of this letter, it becomes clear that the Istrian bishops began replacing one metropolitan (John of Grado) with another - the patriarch of Aquileia.
The letter attests to the ongoing competition between the patriarchs of Aquileia and Grado over the ecclesiastical jurisdictions in Istria and as such forms part of a long series of sources stretching back to 607 (edited here) and ending only in 1180, following the definitive treaty that officially recognized the patriarchs of Aquileia as the metropolitans of all Istrian bishoprics. See more on that conflict here and Štih’s account cited above.
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