Pope Innocent II confirms the rights and privileges of the incumbent Aquileian patriarch: the metropolitan jurisdiction over sixteen bishoprics, including all the disputed Istrian dioceses, and seven monasteries, grants him the pallium, and corroborates all the possessions and titles of the Aquileian Church, including the "County, the March, the Duchy," the regalian rights and imperial privileges.
‡Innocentius episcopus servus servorum Dei venerabili fratri Peregrino Aquileiensi patriarchea eisuque successoribus canonice substituendis in perpetuum‡
Domus Domini decora circumamicta varietate columnas habet alias in summo splendore positas, alias in medio, alias in ultimo collocatas. Sancta namque Romana ecclesia, que ab ipso Salvatore per beatum Petrum principatum optinuit, opifices suos alios episcopos instituit qui clero preessent et populo etb curam animarum gererent, alios archiepiscopos qui episcopis manum consecrationis imponerent et iura dantes potestate metropolitica concilia celebrarent, alios primates qui soli Romano subessent pontifici et super archiepiscopos et provincias potestatemc haberent.
Eapropter, dilecte frater in Christo ‡Peregrine‡ Aquileiensis patriarcha, tibi et per te sanctę Aquileiensi ecclesię, cui auctore Deo preesse dinosceris, potestatem super sedecimd episcopatus, videlicet Polensem, Tergestinum, Parentinum, Pet[en]ensem, Emonensem, Concordiensem, Tarvisiensem, Cenitenseme, Belonensem, Feltrensem, Paduanum, Vincentinumf, Tridentinum, Mantuanum, Veronensem, Cuman[um], metropolitico iure concedimus. Abbatias quoque, scilicet Oscia[censem, Mosice]nsem, Rosaciensem, B[e]liniensem, S[exte]nsem, P[irensem], sanctam Mariam [ad Organum], tibi tuisqueg successoribus duximus roborandas.
Pallei vero usum [ra]tionalis atque nacci, qui predecessoribus tuis pro ipsius eccle[sie dig]nitate a nostris antecessoribus est concessus, nos tam tibi quam tuis successoribus confirmamus, hish vid[elic]et diebus qui in ecclesię tuę privilegiis continentur. Sane, quocumque perrexeris crucem ante te et tuos sucessores deferendi licentiam, auctoritate beati Petri et nostra largimur.
Porro Co[mi]tatus, Marchiam et Ducatum, regalibus seu imperialibus privilegiis ecclesię tuę concessa nos quoque presentis decreti sanctione nichilominusi roboramus.
Statuimus etiam, ut quascumque possessiones, quęcumque bona Aquileiensis ecclesia in presentiarum iuste et legitime possidet, aut in futurum, prestante Domino, poterit adipisci, firma vobis et illibata permaneant, salvo nimirum in omnibus sanctę Rom[anę] ecclesię iure ac reverentia.
Decernimus ergo quodj nulli omninok hominum liceat prefatam ecclesiam temere, perturbare aut eius [pos]sessiones auferre vel ablatas retinere, minuere aut aliquibus vexationibus fatigare, sed omnia integral conserventur eorum pro quorum gubernatione et sustentatione concessa sun[t], usibus omnimodis profutura.
Si qua igitur in futurum e[cc]l[e]siastica, secularisve persona hanc n[os]trę constitutionis paginam sciens, contra eam te[mere venire] temptaverit, secundo tertiove commonita, si non satisfactione congruam emendaverit, potes[tat]is honorisque sui dignitate careat r[ea]mque se divino iudicio exist[ere]n de perpetrata iniquitate cognoscat et a sac[ra]tis[simo co]rpore et sanguine Dei ac domini redemptoris nostri Iesu Christi aliena fiat atque in extremo examine districtę ultioni subiaceat.
Cunctis [autem] eidem ecclesię iusta servantibus [s]it pax domini nostri Iesu Christi quatenus et hic fructum bonę [a]ctionis percipiant et apud districtum iudicem premia eternę pacis inveniant. Amen. Amen. ‡Amen‡
(R) Ego Innocentius Catholicę Ecclesię episcopus subscripsi. (BV)
(SC) Ego Ubertus presbyter cardinalis tituli sancti Clementis subscripsi.
(SC) Ego Anselmus presbyter cardinalis tituli sancti Laurencii in Lucina subscripsi.
(SC) Ego Sozilinus presbyter cardinalis tituli sancte Cecilie subscripsi.
(SC) Ego Lucas presbyter cardinalis tituli sanctorum Ioannis et Pauli subscripsi.
[(SC) Ego R]omanus diaconus cardinalis [sanctę Marię in Porticu subscripsi.]
[(SC) Ego] Gregorius diaconus cardinalis sanctorum Sergii et Bachio subscripsi.
[(SC) Ego Steph]anus diaconus cardinalis sanctę Lucię in Orphenp subscripsi.
[(SC)] Ego Otto diaconus cardinalis sancti Georgii ad Velum Aureum subscripsi.
Datum Placentie per manum ‡Almerici‡ sanctę R[om]anę ecclesię diaconi cardinalis et cancellarii III kalendas iulii, indictione [Xma], indictionisq Dominicę anno MoCXXXIIIr, pontificatus vero domni Inocentii pape II anno III.
a) patriarchae et saepe -ae loco -e ed. Ughelli. b) populo et] populorum ed. Ughelli. c) primatum ed. Ughelli. d) sexdecim ed. Ughelli. e) sic A nisi Ceritensem: pro Cenetensem, sicut ed. Ughelli. f) Vicentinum ed. Ughelli. g) et tuis ed. Ughelli. h) bis ed. Ughelli. i) nihilominus ed. Ughelli. j) ut ed. Ughelli. k) om. Ughelli. l) integre ed. Ughelli. m) congrue ed. Ughelli. n) om. Ughelli. o) Bacchi ed. Ughelli. p) Orphea ed. Ughelli. q) sic indict cum sign. abbr. A: pro incarnationis, sicut ed. Ughelli. r) 1132 ed. Ughelli.
The papal privilege of Innocent II, whose election as pope was at the time still contested by Antipope Anacletus, is universally interpreted as a “reward” for Patriarch Peregrine I’s support and his desire to rule over the Patriarchate of Aquileia as a supporter of King Lothair III and Pope Innocent II.
It should be known that the two letters, one purportedly issued by Patriarch-elect Peregrine I to Pope Innocent II and the pope’s subsequent letter of response from the 24th of April, 1132, confirming his election and granting him the pallium, are fictitious documents with no traces of authenticity, composed (as demonstrated by Wilhelm Wattenbach, “Iter Austriacum 1853,” Archiv für Kunde österreichischer Geschichts-Quellen 15 (1855): pp. 41, 70–71) as a school exercise (cf. Paschini, cited above, who interprets them as authentic documents).
The 1132 privilege is of seminal importance for the history of the Patriarchate of Aquileia as it essentially overruled Pope Leo IX’s 1053 privilege to Grado (whereby this Church was pronounced Aquileia nova and recognized as having metropolitan jurisdictions over Istrian bishoprics, soon to be edited here) and re-confirmed the decisions of the 827 Synod of Mantua (see it edited here). In the centuries-long dispute between the patriarchates of Aquileia and Grado for the metropolitan jurisdiction over Istrian dioceses, Innocent II’s 1132 privilege marks a drastic turning point, basically pronouncing the Church of Aquileia as the winner. This papal privilege would then be confirmed by Pope Adrian IV (deperditum) and Pope Alexander III in 1177 (edited here as doc. 1177_PA) and the entire dispute ended soon thereafter with the signing of the 1180 treaty between Patriarch Enrico Dandolo of Grado and Patriarch Ulrich II of Aquileia (soon to be edited here).
The phrase “Comitatus, Marchia et Ducatus” has drawn considerable attention from historians. It was already Lenel (cited above) who proposed that all three terms refer to Friuli, basically meaning that no count, margrave, or duke may exercise jurisdictions in Friuli, a region wholly under the temporal jurisdictions of Aquileian patriarchs. Paschini (cited above) followed Lenel’s interpretation. Hauptmann (cited above), however, rightly claimed that even though the terms “comitatus” and “ducatus” indeed refer to Friuli, the term “marchia” was never used for this region, but it was used for Istria and Carniola. Since Istria was not under the Church of Aquileia at the time, the term “Marchia” could only refer to Carniola, indeed re-donated to the Patriarchate of Aquileia by King Henry IV in 1093 (see the charter edited here). Peter Štih (cited above), acknowledges Hauptmann’s interpretation and this is also seen as the most logical explanation by the author of these lines.