Antipope Boniface VII

Antipope Boniface VII (Franco Ferrucci, died July 20, 985), was an antipope (974, 984–985). He is supposed to have put Pope Benedict VI to death. A popular tumult compelled him to flee to Constantinople in 974; he carried off a vast treasure, and returned in 984 and removed Pope John XIV (983–984) from office. After a brief rule from 984 to 985, he died under suspicious circumstances.

Boniface VII was not yet considered an antipope when the next pope of that same regnal name was elected.

Early life

Boniface VII was the son of Ferrucius^[1] and was originally named Franco. He was born in Italy in the late 920s or early 930s AD, although the exact date is not known. Since his surname was Franco, it has been supposed that he belonged to a family of the name which is frequently mentioned in the documents of the tenth century, and which may have been of French origin. In 972 he became a Cardinal Deacon, a position which he held until he began his papacy in 974. However, little else is known about his early life simply due to the lack of documents available from this period of Rome as a whole.

Papacy

Benedict VI

Pope John XIII, born Giovanni Crescentius, of the powerful Roman Crescentii family, died on 6 September 972. Benedictus was the proposed candidate of the Imperial party, while the Nationalist party, led by the Crescentii, supported Franco. Benedictus was consecrated as Pope Benedict VI on January 19, 973, even though he lacked the support of much of the Roman aristocracy.^[1] On May 7, 973, Otto the Great died, and the youthful Otto II took over. Otto II's preoccupation with events in Germany created an opportunity for the Roman aristocracy to rebel against the imperial administration.

Boniface VII

Crescentius, brother of the late Pope John XIII, led an insurrection and with the help of many unhappy Romans, kidnapped Pope Benedict VI. They imprisoned him in Castel Sant’Angelo^[1] for nearly two months. In July 974 Franco assumed the papacy as Boniface VII. Although Otto II, who supported Pope Benedict VI, was still fighting in Bavaria, and could not make it to Rome, he sent Count Sicco, an imperial envoy from Spoleto, to demand the pope’s release. When Sicco arrived at Castel Sant’Angelo, a priest named Stephen strangled Benedict VI.^[2] There is a chance that Franco could have made the demand of having Benedict strangled, but it is not known for certain.

Boniface VII's first papal reign was a short one. In one month and twelve days, the imperial representative Count Sicco had taken possession of the city. As riots and chaos ensued, Boniface VII took refuge in Castel Sant’Angelo where he robbed the treasury of the Vatican Basilica and fled to Byzantine territory in southern Italy. The fact that he fled to Constantinople, where he received protection, makes it probable that his rise to papacy might have been associated with the policy of the Greek Emperor, who at this time was pushing to displace the German influence in Salerno. The banishment of the antipope must have been the work of the German party, which were again triumphant in Rome, led by Pandulf the Ironhead. Boniface VII is described as a monster by contemporaries, who stated that he was stained by the blood of Benedict VI. The events of this period in Rome are unfortunately only known to us through the insufficient notices, and we are barely aware of the rise of Boniface VII before we hear of his overthrow.

Benedict VII

Under the influence of Sicco, Benedict, Bishop of Sutri, was elected by the Roman clergy and people, as a compromise candidate in October 974. He took the name of Benedict VII. He was from the noble family of the Counts of Tusculum, and connected to the Crescentii family. Benedict VII immediately held a synod where he excommunicated Boniface. The Emperor celebrated the Easter of 981 in Rome and so overawed the factions that Benedict was able to finish his pontificate in peace.^[2] Benedict died on 10 July 983.

John XIV

Peter of Pavia, Otto II's imperial chancellor for the Kingdom of Italy, was elected pope, taking the name of John XIV. However, shortly after the election, the Emperor fell seriously ill and died on December 7, 983. With Otto II's heir being only age three, the people of Rome finally felt free from the hated emperor and desired a Roman Pope. To this point, Boniface VII saw his opportunity and in league with Greeks and Saracens and headed for Rome in April 984. With the help of both the treasury he had stolen from his first attempt at the papacy as well as the gold of his Greek followers, he was able to strike relationships with several powerful people. With the help of Crescentius’ sons, John and Crescentius II, Boniface had Pope John XIV imprisoned in Castel Sant’Angelo. Four months later, on August 20 984, John XIV died in Sant’Angelo either due to starvation, poison, or by the order of Boniface.^[2]

The death of Pope John XIV meant that Boniface was the only remaining pope, and so he once again took a hold of the papal throne. He still believed himself to be the only rightful pope, and dated back his reign to 974.

Final days

Little is known of the reign of Boniface VII, however, on July 20, 985, he suddenly died. It is possible that he was murdered, but it cannot be confirmed by any known sources. It is clear that there was certainly a sense from the public of disgust at his reign, as his body was dragged through the streets, stripped naked until it was left beneath Marcus Aurelius’s statue in front of the Lateran Palace. There were undoubtedly many atrocities that Boniface committed in the eleven months he was in power in 984–985, most of which were probably acts of revenge due to his previous exile. It is obvious he had become a stranger to the Roman people, and had most likely even become an inconvenience to his own followers. He was referred to as “Malefatius” instead of Bonifatius, and also “horrendum monstrum” by many, showing the turn of feelings the people of Rome had had. The Nationalist faction, previously headed by Crescentius and now headed by his two sons, that had helped him rise to his papal status was now not so much Byzantine as it was national-Roman. They likely overthrew Boniface VII in hopes of seizing control of vulnerable Rome. After a reign spanning eleven years, in which he overthrew two popes, allowing both to die in Castel Sant’Angelo, Boniface VII was finally dead. The following morning compassionate clerics removed the corpse and gave it Christian burial.

References

This article uses text from the 9th edition (1880s) of an unnamed encyclopedia.