A letter from Innocent IV (1244)

Translated letter:

Innocent, bishop, etc., to his dearest son in Christ the king of England, greetings and apostolic benediction. After the benevolence of God called our humility to the office of apostolic dignity, we conceived that faith in your serenity that shows itself prompt and alert to the things that pertain to the honor of the church. That is why, when we granted that our venerable brother once of Norwich be shepherd to the church of Winchester on the counsel of our brothers, we sent special prayers to you to show yourself benevolent in affection and serene in act towards him, out of reverence for the divinity and us and have assigned to him the castles and manors of that church with prompt benevolence. But you, as we heard in amazement and grief, did not wish by any means to give effect to such prayers, rather, what is more serious, you burst out in words showing no appropriate modesty or filial reverence, asserting that no request from the apostolic see could or should be admitted in the kingdom of England against your will, and that we have power in spiritual things, you in temporal, and that no one could request to obtain possession of temporal things without your consent. You added, moreover, that you considered the translation of that bishop invalid, as if it had been obtained by us through deceit. These things, dearest son, do not redound to the glory of God, nor the church, nor your sublimity, they do not savor of justice or equity, especially when the pious belief of all the faithful holds that the authority of the apostolic see has free power in all churches by the providence of God; nor by the judgment of princes is it compelled that their assent is required in the business of their elections or demands. In which, however, God must be kept in view, so one proceeds providently and cautiously to ensure that it neither detracts from anyone's honor nor derogates justice. So in the translation of that bishop it is known to have proceeded, which promoted a man known for his learning, customs and honesty, circumspect in spiritual and temporal things, once dear to you and worthy of your love, and always wishing to tend with all his strength to your pleasure after God, proven in his industry, by whom you could advance with many increases of honor and profit. But do not be aroused by the cleverness of rumor-mongers, who make the losses of the virtuous indifferent, while they follow their special benefits or private desires. With what affection we can, we urge your highness and pray in the Lord Jesus Christ, that averting the ear of royal piety from the impious suggestion of such [men], you attend the church of God with continuous honor, and strive to preserve the privilege of its granted liberty over itself unimpaired, and permit the prelates of your kingdom now and in the future to attain freely and to possess peacefully what pertain to their churches in spiritual or temporal things. Considering the rest with wise meditation, because we serve the honor of the divine name in carrying out the apostolic office, do not revoke in spirit or disturb with any impediment what we did with solemn deliberation about said bishop. But as we have stated from our heart, so that we may hold you special among other princes of the earth, give over and grant with benevolent kindness the castles and manors with those fruits received from the time of the translation, taking care to impart honor in that and having removed all difficulty, that the sollicitude owed to him can be carried out, with your special grace granting. Otherwise, however, since we do not wish ecclesiastical freedom to be diminished in our days, but to be increased, with God helping, we could in no way allow that we suffer such prejudicial injury over that bishop. Dated Lateran, third kalends of March [February 28], in the first year of our pontificate.

Original letter:

Innocentius episcopus, etc. carissimo in Christo filio regi Angliae, salutem et Apostolicam benedictionem. Postquam Dei benignitas humilitatem nostram ad Apostolicae vocavit officium dignitatis, illam concepimus de tua serenitate fiduciam, quod in his, quae sunt ad honorem ecclesiae, se promtam habere[t] et vigilem exhibere[t]. Provenit ex hoc, quod cum venerabilem fratrem nostrum quondam Norwicensem Wintoniensi ecclesiae de fratrum nostrorum consilio concessimus in pastorem, preces tibi direxerimus speciales, ut eidem pro divina et nostra reverentia te redderes affectu benivolum et effectu serenum, ac si castra et maneria ipsius ecclesiae promta benignitate ei faceres assignari. Tu vero, sicut mirantes audivimus et dolemus, nedum preces hujusmodi voluisti deducere ad effectum, immo, quod est gravius, in verba nihil debitae modestiae vel reverentiae filialis habentia prorupisti, asserens quod nulla postulatio in regno Angliae per sedem Apostolicam admitti possit vel debeat te invito, et quod illam quam nos in spiritualibus, tu in temporalibus habeas potestatem; nec quis postulatus possit absque tuo consensu possessionem temporalium optinere. Adjecisti praeterea, quod translationem ipsius episcopi reputares invalidam, tanquam a nobis per vitium surreptionis optentam. Haec siquidem, fili carissime, non Dei, non ecclesiae, non tuae resonant sublimitatis honorem, non sapiunt justitiam, non redolent aequitatem, praesertim cum teneat omnium credulitas pia fidelium, quod Apostolicae sedis auctoritas in ecclesiis universis liberam habeat potestatem a Dei providentia; nec arbitrio principum ipsa stare cogitur, ut eorum in electionum vel postulationum negotiis requirat assensum. In quibus tamen Deum habendo prae oculis, sic provide procedit et caute, quod per illam nullius possit honori detrahi, vel justitiae derogari. Sicut etiam in translatione ipsius episcopi dinoscitur processisse, in quo promovit hominem scientia, moribus, et honestate perspicuum, ac in spiritualibus et temporalibus circumspectum, olim tibi carum et amabilem, ac semper tuis beneplacitis secundum Deum totis viribus intendere cupientem, per cujus industriam probatam, in plurimis honoris et commodi proficere poteris incrementis. Sed tamen non suggerat astutia susurronum, a quibus parare dispendia virtuosis pro indifferenti ducitur, dummodo sua specialia commoda vel privata desideria consequantur. Tuam itaque celsitudinem affectione qua possumus exhortamur et obsecramus in Domino Jesu Christo, quantinus ab impia suggestione talium regiae pietatis avertens auditum, ecclesiam Dei continuo prosequaris honore, et indultae sibi desuper libertatis privilegium conservare studeas illibatum, nunc et in posterum tui regni praelatos ea, quae in spiritualibus seu temporalibus spectant ad ipsorum ecclesias, libere consequi et pacifice possidere permittas. Caeterum sollerti considerans meditatione, quod in Apostolici prosecutione officii divini nominis deservimus honori, quae de praefato episcopo cum sollempni deliberatione fecimus, non ad animum revoces, non aliquo impedimento perturbes; sed qui[a] cordi nostro statuimus, ut te specialem inter alios terrae principes habeamus, in ipso impertiri procurans honorem, sibi castra et maneria cum fructibus inde perceptis a tempore translationis hujusmodi, omni postposita difficultate, resignes, ac benivola benignitate concedas, quod sollicitudinem ei creditam possit cum effectu prosequi, tua favente gratia speciali. Alias autem, cum libertatem ecclesiasticam in diebus nostris velimus non minui, sed Deo propitio augeri cupiamus, nullatenus sustinere poterimus, quod nos in ipso episcopo tam praejudicalem injuriam patiamur. Datum Laterani, terio kalendas Martii, pontificatus nostri anno primo.

Historical context:

Henry III, who had his own candidate, obstinately opposed the election of William Raleigh to the bishopric of Winchester. The pope attempted to persuade the king to accept him and urged Eleanor to do the same, while Robert Grosseteste asked her uncle, Boniface of Savoy, archbishop of Canterbury, to exhort and induce Eleanor to "try to move the heart of the lord king according to the prudence bestowed on her by God, to a better position, to induce him to give up his purpose by any means" (ep.86). Matthew Paris cites the letter Innocent IV sent to Henry III, which is given here because we do not have the one he sent the queen, but Matthew says that the pope sent a similar letter to her: "The lord pope wrote an elegant letter in a similar mode to the queen of the English on the business of the bishop of Winchester, in the title of which letter the Pope asserted that the queen was a blood relation, though it is not known for what reason, unless perhaps that he considered her more inclined to his business and more favorable to his requests. He asks her therefore in most elegant words and urges her, knowing that "woman" (mulier) means "softening the lord" (molliens herum), that she try to soften the [spirit] of the king her husband in the rigidity and rancor he had conceived towards the bishop of Winchester." In fact, Innocent was distantly related to Eleanor, as the uncle of her aunt by marriage, Beatrice dei Fieschi.

Printed source:

Matthew of Paris, Chronica Majora, ed. HR Luard (London: Longman et al, 1877), 5.347-49

Date:

1244