Pope Benedict V (; died 4 July 965) was the

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

and ruler of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

from 22 May to 23 June 964, in opposition to Leo VIII. He was overthrown by Emperor Otto I. His brief pontificate occurred at the end of a period known as the ''

Saeculum obscurum (, "the dark age/century"), also known as the Rule of the Harlots or the Pornocracy, was a period in the history of the papacy during the first two thirds of the 10th century, following the chaos after the death of Pope Formosus in 896, which ...

''.

Early career

Benedict was the son of a Roman called John, and was born and raised in Rome around the vicinity of the Theatre of Marcellus. As

cardinal-deacon A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Ca ...

, Benedict was renowned for his learning, for which his contemporaries gave him the additional name of Grammaticus. He was also a

notarius A notarius is a public secretary who is appointed by competent authority to draw up official or authentic documents (compare English "notary"). In the Roman Catholic Church there have been apostolic notaries and even episcopal notaries. Document ...

and took part in the deposition of

Pope John XII Pope John XII (; 14 May 964), born Octavian, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 16 December 955 to his death in 964. He was related to the counts of Tusculum, a powerful Roman family which had dominated papal politics for ...

by the

Holy Roman emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Francia, East Frankish (Kingdom of Germany, German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son o ...

, and the subsequent election of Otto's candidate,

Pope Leo VIII Pope Leo VIII ( 915 – 1 March 965) was a Roman prelate who claimed the Holy See from 963 until 964 in opposition to John XII and Benedict V and again from 23 June 964 to his death. Today, he is considered by the Catholic Church to have b ...

Election

The Roman people, unhappy with the election of Leo VIII as

, recalled John XII. John convened a

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

which condemned Leo, in which Benedict took part. However, with John's death, the Roman people again rejected Leo, who fled from Rome and joined Otto at

Rieti Rieti (; , Sabino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, with a population of 47,700. It is the administrative seat of the province of Rieti and see of the diocese of Rieti, as well as the modern capital of the Sabina region. T ...

in central Italy. After a violent struggle between rival factions, the Romans elected Benedict instead, who was acclaimed by the city militia. Prior to his coronation as pope, envoys were sent to Otto, informing them of their decision. The emperor rejected their decision out of hand and warned them not to proceed. Returning to Rome, they decided to ignore Otto; Benedict was consecrated bishop and crowned pope on 22 May 964. The Romans swore an oath to Benedict that they would not abandon him and would protect him against Otto. Otto however, upon hearing the news, resolved to restore his candidate as pope. He marched and proceeded to besiege Rome, blockading it so that no one was able to leave the city. The result was famine, as the land around the city was ravaged, and a single modius of

bran Bran, also known as miller's bran, is the component of a Cereal, cereal grain consisting of the hard layersthe combined aleurone and Fruit anatomy#Pericarp layers, pericarpsurrounding the endosperm. Maize, Corn (maize) bran also includes the p ...

cost thirty denarii. Although Benedict tried to bolster morale by encouraging the defenders from the walls of the city, as well as threatening to

excommunicate Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the co ...

the emperor and his army, the Romans soon decided to capitulate. Opening the gates to Otto, they handed Benedict over to him on 23 June 964.

Overthrow

Together with his clerical and lay supporters, and clad in his pontifical robes, Benedict was brought before a

which Leo had convened. Benedict was asked by the archdeacon how he dared to assume the chair of

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

while Leo was still alive. He was also accused of having broken his oath to the emperor, where he promised never to elect a pope without the emperor's consent. Benedict responded: “If I have sinned, have mercy on me.” Having received a promise from the emperor that his life would be spared if he submitted, Benedict threw himself at Leo's feet and acknowledged his guilt. The synod revoked his episcopal consecration, his

pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : pallia) is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolitan bish ...

was torn from him, and his pastoral staff was broken over him by Leo. However, through the intercession of Otto, he was allowed to retain the rank of

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

. Otto left Rome sometime after 29 June 964, taking Benedict with him. After some delay, he was taken to Germany in early 965. The ex-Pope was moved to

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

and placed under the care of Adaldag,

Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen This list records the bishops of the Archdiocese of Bremen, Roman Catholic diocese of Bremen (), supposedly a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Cologne, Archbishopric of Cologne, then of the bishops of Bremen, who were in personal union archbishops ...

. His period of exile was brief;

Adam of Bremen Adam of Bremen (; ; before 1050 – 12 October 1081/1085) was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the second half of the eleventh century. Adam is most famous for his chronicle '' Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum'' ('' ...

noted:

”The archbishop daldagkept him with great honour till his death; for he is said to have been both holy and learned and worthy of the Apostolic See. . . . And so living a holy life with us, and teaching others how to live well, he at length died a happy death just when the Romans had come to ask the emperor that he might be restored.”

Although he was treated well by Archbishop Adaldag, many others considered him an

antipope An antipope () is a person who claims to be Bishop of Rome and leader of the Roman Catholic Church in opposition to the officially elected pope. Between the 3rd and mid-15th centuries, antipopes were supported by factions within the Church its ...

, and attempted to keep him ostracised. Archbishop Libentius I (the successor of Adaldag) commented:

”When the Lord Pope Benedict was an exile in these parts, I sought him out; and though every effort was made to prevent my going to him, I would never allow myself to be influenced against the Pope. But, as long as he lived, I closely adhered to him.”

Death and burial

Benedict died on 4 July 965 and was buried in the cathedral in Hamburg. Then sometime before the year 988, his remains were transferred to Rome, but where they were interred is unknown. A legend has it that Benedict prophesied his relocation to Rome, and the devastation of Hamburg by King Mstivoj of the Obodrites in 983:

"Here must my frail body return to dust. After my death all this country will be devastated by the sword of the heathen and be abandoned to wild beasts. Nor will the land experience solid peace till my translation. But when I am taken home, I trust that, by the intercession of the apostle, the pagan ravages will cease."Mann, pg. 279

References

* Gregorovius, Ferdinand, ''The History of Rome in the Middle Ages, Vol. III'' (1895) * Mann, Horace K., ''The Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages, Vol. IV: The Popes in the Days of Feudal Anarchy, 891-999'' (1910)

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Benedict 05, Pope Popes 10th-century popes Italian popes 965 deaths Year of birth unknown