A legatine council or legatine synod is an ecclesiastical council or
synod that is presided over by a
papal legate.
[Robinson ''The Papacy'' p. 150]
According to Pope
Gregory VII, writing in the ''
Dictatus papae
''Dictatus papae'' is a compilation of 27 statements of authority claimed by the pope that was included in Pope Gregory VII's register under the year 1075.
Principles
The principles expressed in ''Dictatus Papae'' are mostly those expressed b ...
'', a papal legate "presides over all bishops in a council, even if he is inferior in rank, and he can pronounce sentence of deposition against them".
[Quoted in Robinson ''The Papacy'' p. 150] During the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, a legatine council was the usual means by which a papal legate imposed his directives.
[
Many councils in the Middle Ages were legatine councils, including the council held by ]Hugh of Die
Hugh of Die ( 1040 – October 7, 1106) was a French Catholic bishop.
Biography
Hugh was prior of the monastery of Saint-Marcel in Chalon-sur-Saône. On October 19, 1073, he became bishop of Die, Drôme and on March 9, 1074 received his episcopal ...
at Autun
Autun () is a subprefecture of the Saône-et-Loire department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of central-eastern France. It was founded during the Principate era of the early Roman Empire by Emperor Augustus as Augustodunum to give a Ro ...
in 1077.[Robinson ''The Papacy'' p. 153] Another was a series of councils held by Cuno of Praeneste
Cuno of Praeneste (died 9 August 1122) was a German Cardinal and papal legate, an influential diplomatic figure of the early 12th century, active in France and Germany. He held numerous synods throughout Europe, and excommunicated the Emperor Hen ...
in 1114 and 1115, held respectively at Beauvais, Rheims and Chalon, which excommunicated Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, although Pope Paschal II
Pope Paschal II ( la, Paschalis II; 1050 1055 – 21 January 1118), born Ranierius, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 August 1099 to his death in 1118. A monk of the Abbey of Cluny, he was cre ...
eventually refused to ratify Cuno's actions. In 1116 Cuno demanded that Paschal either confirm or reject the legate's actions, but Paschal did neither.[Robinson ''The Papacy'' p. 157] Early in the history of the Crusader states, a number of legatine councils were held in the Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem ( la, Regnum Hierosolymitanum; fro, Roiaume de Jherusalem), officially known as the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem or the Frankish Kingdom of Palestine,Example (title of works): was a Crusader state that was establish ...
that not only appointed and deposed ecclesiastics, but also regulated the church government.[Robinson ''The Papacy'' p. 357] Legatine councils were also held in the German Empire during the 12th-century.[Robinson ''The Papacy'' p. 458]George of Ostia George was a Franco-papal diplomat who served as the bishop of Ostia (753–798) in the Papal State and bishop of Amiens (767–798) in Francia. He moved extensively between Italy and Francia, but his best recorded mission is the one he made to E ...
, notes that the languages of communication were Latin and "theodisce" (Germanic) "for the better comprehension of all".[König ''dtv-Atlas'' p. 59] Further such councils included the Council of Westminster in 1125,[Barlow ''English Church'' p. 109] and a series of legatine councils held from 1139 to 1151, which unlike the 1125 council, were summoned by English ecclesiastics appointed as legates by the pope, rather than legates who had been sent to England by the papacy.[Barlow ''English Church'' pp. 130–131]
Citations
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Legatine council
Catholic Church councils