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BOOK II.
GREGORY'S PONTIFICATE.
CHAPTER III.
THE PATRIMONY OF ST. PETER AND THE DIALOGUES
ONE of the most surprising of Gregory's qualities is
his remarkable power of absorbing himself in the most divergent interests and
concerns, and of acting at the same time different parts, which in a single
individual seem usually to be incompatible. His character, simple though it is
in some respects, is nevertheless many-sided, and he puts forth his energies in
many diverse directions. Indeed, the facility with which he passes from one
sphere of activity into another quite opposite one is sometimes positively
bewildering. He appears before us now as a simple-hearted priest, again as an
accomplished courtier, again as a military expert, again as an eloquent
preacher of penitence, again as a lawyer of singular acumen. At one moment he
is the ardent patriot, scheming, planning, treating with kings and Emperors,
shaping affairs with the skill and judgment of a veteran politician; the next
he is metamorphosed into the shy recluse, engrossed in tracing out the mystic
meanings which lurk beneath the text of Scripture. Now he appears as the shrewd
man of business, the practical man with a knowledge of finance and a talent for
the management of estates, a man whom neither dishonest agents nor plausible
tenants can take in or deceive; again we see in him the superstitious monk, the
collector of relics, the devout compiler of the legends of Italian saints, the
firm believer in miracles and portents and diabolic apparitions. The
combination in this one man of such diverse and even contradictory qualities is
not a little remarkable; and it is in order to emphasize and illustrate the
peculiarity that I propose to deal in the present chapter with two such
disconnected subjects as the Patrimony and the Dialogues. We shall thus
have an opportunity of contrasting two sides of Gregory's character. First, we
shall see him as the landlord and manager of the vast estates of the Papacy;
and afterwards we shall see him in the part of a credulous compiler of
miracle-tales and legends. The combination is interesting, and eminently characteristic
both of the man and of the age in which he lived.
The Patrimony of St. Peter.
In the time of Gregory's pontificate the revenues of
the Roman Church were very considerable. They were derived through various
channels, partly from Imperial grants, partly from legacies, partly from
occasional sources (such as the property accumulated by bishops during their
episcopate, the property of freedmen of the Church who died childless,
ecclesiastical fines and the like), and partly from lands presented to the
Church at various periods by the faithful. The recent disturbances in Italy
had, on the whole, been beneficial to the Church, since many wealthy Italians
had been driven away to the East or into monasteries, and in many cases the
Church had inherited their estates. Hence about the year 600 the domains of the
Fisherman had swelled to great dimensions. An Italian estimate puts the landed
property of the Roman See at 1360 square miles, and the revenue derived
therefrom at £120,000 in money and £300,000 in kind. A German calculation gives
the land as 1800 square miles, and the revenue as about £300,000 a year. But
however this may be—and it is impossible to prove the accuracy of such
computations—it is at least quite certain that at the beginning of the seventh
century the Roman Church owned many hundreds of square miles of land, and drew
an annual revenue amounting to hundreds of thousands of pounds.
The estates of the Church were scattered over several
districts, and went by the name of Patrimonies. Thus we hear of patrimonies in
Campania, Sicily, Africa, and elsewhere. Each local patrimony was composed of
large tracts of land lying in the district, which were called Massae; and each massa in
turn consisted of an aggregation of allotments, termed Fundi. Thus a number of
fundi constituted a massa, and
several massae formed a patrimony,
and the whole body of the patrimonies together was known as the Patrimony of
St. Peter.
For convenience of enumeration, the patrimonial
estates may be distinguished into three groups—the Italian patrimonies; those
in the islands of Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica; and the extra-Italian
patrimonies in Dalmatia, Gaul, and Africa.
(a) The Italian patrimonies. In the north
the Roman Church owned lands in the neighborhood of Ravenna, together with some
trifling possessions in Liguria. Formerly she had also possessed territory in
the Cottian Alps, but this had been lost at the time of the Lombard invasions.
In Central Italy there were estates in the province of
Samnium, and in the old Sabine country near Norcia, and in the region of
Tivoli. In Rome itself the Pope was landlord of extensive house and garden
property, which, even in the seventh century, must have been valuable. The
district between the Via Appia and the sea, as far as the Via Latina, which
went by the name of the Patrimonium Appiae, and a tract on the right bank of the Tiber,
called the Patrimonium Tusciae,
also belonged to the Roman Church. These estates in the neighborhood of Rome
were mostly cultivated as olive plantations, and we have already noticed how a
portion of the Patrimonium Appiae—the massa called Aquae Salviae—was granted by Gregory to
the Basilica of St. Paul to maintain the lights.
In Latium, again, there was some territory near Minturnae. But the most important of the Italian
patrimonies was undoubtedly that of Campania, where the Roman Church had large
possessions in the neighborhood of Naples. A letter of Gregory's to the troops
in Naples has even led to the conjecture that this town itself belonged to the
Campanian Patrimony; but this is most improbable. It seems, however, that the
little islands off the coast—the Isole di Ponza—were owned by the Roman Church; and if, as we have reason
to believe, one or more of them contained lead-mines, they must have been a
valuable asset.
Finally, in the south, the Church possessed estates in
the richly wooded country of Lucania and Bruttii.
Hence wood was shipped off to Alexandria as a present to the Patriarch Eulogius, and more was ordered to be sent to Rome for the
repair of the Basilicas of St. Peter and St. Paul. In the heel of Italy, again,
there were extensive possessions, particularly in the neighborhood of Otranto
and Gallipoli. Of these, however, we know little.
(b) Of the Apostolic patrimonies in the islands,
that of Sicily was by far the most valuable and important. It was divided into
two large domains—one in the neighborhood of Syracuse, and the other close to
Palermo—which were sometimes united under the management of a single rector,
sometimes entrusted each to a separate official. The soil was exceptionally
rich and fertile, and from it came the corn which filled the granaries of the
Roman Church and kept the Roman people from starvation. St. Peter, it should be
remarked, was not the only saint who owned estates in the land of Demeter: St.
Ambrose and St. Apollinaris also had their share. But the lands belonging to
the Churches of Milan and Ravenna were not to be compared in size or value with
those belonging to the Church of Rome.
(c) Besides estates in Italy and the islands, the
Roman Church possessed "a tiny little patrimony" in Dalmatia, and
some small domains in Gau1, in the territories of Marseilles and Arles. The
largest patrimony of this group lay in Africa—in Germanicia,
a region in the neighborhood of Hippo. Here the estates were in a flourishing
condition, thanks greatly to the friendly interest taken in them by the
Government officials. Gennadius the Exarch of Africa, among other services,
restored to cultivation large tracts of waste Church land, by settling on them
numbers of captives whom he had taken in his wars on the Roman frontier;
Innocent the Prefect of Africa likewise showed himself friendly; and Gregory
wrote to thank them both for their zeal in "feeding the flock of the
blessed Apostle Peter." These three patrimonies seem to have been the only
ones outside of Italy and the islands. In Spain and in the East the Roman
Church at this time appears to have owned no possessions.
This vast property was not all of it cultivated
directly by the Church. Portions of it were leased by a contract called
emphyteusis, by which the beneficial ownership of the property was transferred
to another in consideration of a fixed rent. The term of such leases was
usually for the life of one tenant and two specified heirs; though
occasionally, when the property was worthless and incapable of improvement, the
lease was granted in perpetuity. Gregory tells us that many people came to Rome
desiring to secure leases of estates and islands belonging to the Church; but
they were only granted under severe restrictions, and when such grant was
clearly for the benefit of the Church. To the Imperial recruiting officers (scribones), on account of their bad reputation, such leases
were invariably refused.
The greater part of the Patrimony, however, was
cultivated in the direct interests of the Church and by her own agents. The
general supervision devolved upon the Pope, and the management of the separate
patrimonies in Sicily, Campania, and elsewhere was confided to officials who
were appointed by him and could be removed at his pleasure. A closer
examination of the organization of the patrimonies will show how great was the
responsibility which rested upon the Papal landlord, and how unceasing and
severe was the tax imposed thereby on his time and patience.
The management of each patrimony was carried on
through agents of various grades of rank and distinct duties and functions. The
supreme government of each was committed to an official specially commissioned
for the purpose, who bore the title of Rector of the Patrimony. Such, for
instance, was the famous Peter the Subdeacon, of Sicily, to whom many of
Gregory's letters were addressed, and who held the most important post in the
most important patrimony of the Roman Church. But sometimes the management of a
patrimony or of part of a patrimony was entrusted to an agent
called Defensor of the Church, who either acted as rector independently or
managed certain districts under a rector's supervision. These agents, both
rectors and defensors, had usually been laymen before
the time of Gregory; afterwards, however, though laymen were still in rare
instances employed, the posts were generally given to ecclesiastics. In the
smaller and more distant patrimonies, resident bishops sometimes undertook the
administration of the estates; but in the greater patrimonies an ecclesiastical
overseer—often a deacon or subdeacon—was sent direct from Rome. These officials
were regularly invested with their office "before the most sacred body of
St. Peter", where they took an oath to maintain the interests of the
Church, to protect the poor and oppressed, and to carry out with fidelity the
directions of the Pope. They then received letters of appointment under the
Pope's own hand, of which the following is an example:—"With a view to promoting
the interests of the Church, we have determined to appoint you to the office of
Defensor of the Church, provided that you are free from all official and
servile obligations, and that you have not held office in any other Church, and
that your appointment is in no way contrary to the canons. Whatever commands
you receive from us for the benefit of the poor, you must carry out justly and
vigorously. You are to use this privilege which after due deliberation we have
conferred upon you, so as to show your zeal by faithfully performing whatever
work we may give you to do, knowing that you will have to give an account of
all your actions at the judgment-seat of God". A formal notification of
the appointment was also sent to the tenants of the estates concerned, and also
usually to the bishops, officials, and prominent people of the neighborhood.
One specimen-letter to the coloni of the Syracusan Patrimony is worth quoting, as indicating the extent of the
administrative powers of the Roman agent: "We would have you know that we
have thought fit to place you under the care of our defensor.
We therefore charge you to yield an ungrudging obedience to such commands as he
shall see fit to give you for promoting the interests of the Church. If any
attempt to be disobedient or contumacious, we have given him the power of
punishing them severely. We have also directed him to recover for the property
of the Church, carefully, vigorously, and promptly, all runaway slaves and all
land which has been unjustly occupied by any one. We further inform you that he
has been charged upon his peril not to venture, on any pretext whatsoever, to
seize unjustly or by force the property of others". The agents were
compelled to keep strict accounts of all payments and receipts, which were
brought or sent to Rome for inspection at the end of each indiction. When these accounts proved unsatisfactory, the
stewards themselves were sometimes summoned in person to explain matters.
Besides managing the estates, dispensing charity, and
protecting the poor and oppressed, the Papal rectors and defensors were often charged by Gregory with a variety
of duties connected with the maintenance of ecclesiastical discipline. Thus we
find them commissioned to take measures for the filling up of vacant
bishoprics, to provide for the welfare of the churches and monasteries, to
rectify abuses in churches, monasteries, and hospitals, to act against
heretics, to arrange for the holding of local synods, to enforce discipline and
punish offenders. Even bishops themselves were subject to their supervision.
"We are sending our Chartulary Hadrian,"
writes Gregory, on one occasion, "to manage the Patrimony of our Church in
the district of Syracuse ... and we have charged him, if he hears of any
irregularities committed by our most reverend brethren the bishops, first of
all to reprove them privately and modestly, and then, if the offences are not
corrected, to report the matter to us at once."
But while he found it convenient on some occasions to
use his rectors and defensors to spy upon
the bishops and keep them in order, Gregory had no intention of lessening the
bishop's authority over his own clergy, or in any way diminishing his
privileges. Thus he wrote to Romanus, Rector of the Syracusae Patrimony: "We have been informed that if any one brings an action against
any of the clergy, you set aside the bishops and compel the clergy to appear
before your tribunal. If this is really the case, such conduct is highly
improper, and we therefore charge you, by the authority of this document, not
to venture to do such a thing again. If anyone brings an action against any
ecclesiastic, he should go to the bishop and ask him either to try the matter
himself or else to appoint judges to try it, or, if it is a case for
arbitration, to make such arrangements as will compel the parties interested to
choose arbitrators. If, however, any ecclesiastic or layman has a suit against
a bishop, then you ought to interpose with a view to either trying the case
yourself or inducing them to choose arbitrators. If you do not respect the
rightful jurisdiction of every bishop, you are doing nothing but destroy that
ecclesiastical order which it is your special duty to maintain."
Similarly the Pope was most anxious that his agents
should not interfere to defeat the interests of public justice as administered
by the secular officers. "We have been informed"—so he wrote to
Romanus—"that certain persons of very little discretion desire to involve
us in the dangers to which their own pride has exposed them, and to obtain such
protection from the officials of the Church as would make the officials
themselves responsible for their offences. I therefore admonish you by this
present document, and through you I admonish our brother and fellow-bishop, the
Lord John (of Syracuse), and all others whom it may concern, that whether
letters come from us on the subject or not, the assistance of the Church should
be vouchsafed to people with great precaution, so that, if any persons be
involved in charges of peculation against the State, we may not seem to be
defending them in defiance of justice; lest, by indiscreetly endeavoring to
protect them, we should transfer to ourselves the ill fame of the culprits. So
far as is consistent with the duty of the Church, succor those you can by
advice and intercessions; but do it in such a way that, while you help them,
you may not defile the reputation of the Holy Church."
To reward the defensors for
their services and to increase their dignity, Gregory formed them into a
College, and bestowed upon the first seven, whose services to the Church had
been pre-eminent, the title of Regionarii,
which was also borne by the seven chief members of the Colleges of Notaries and
Sub-deacons. The title carried with it the privilege of sitting in the assembly
of the clergy when the Pope was not present, besides other honors. The head of
the seven was called the Primicerius Defensorum. To him and to the other Regionarii was
committed the administration of the property in the fourteen regions of Rome;
although, if any of them went to live in the provinces, they retained their
privilege of precedence over the other defensors.
Both the Regionarii and the other members
of the College received formal letters of appointment from the Pope.
That the office of defensor was
one alike of power and emolument may be gathered from the fact that certain
imposters who impudently claimed to be defensors,
were in the habit of levying oppressive exactions on the bishops of Sicily.
Gregory wrote to warn the bishops against these frauds, and he ordered that
even genuine defensors, unless they could
produce letters of authorization under his own hand or that of the rector of
the patrimony, were to journey at their own expense and exact no toll from the
bishops. It seems, however, that, despite this letter, the frauds of the pseudo-defensors still continued.
Below the governors of the patrimonies, and subject to
their directions, was a class of agents, called Actores or Actionarii, who served as the
subordinate assistants of the rectors and defensors.
They were obliged to receive the tonsure, and were appointed by diploma. The
office seems to have been permanent. In some cases, moreover, where the work
was heavy, we find Notaries or Chartularies attached to patrimonies to assist the governors. These notaries, however, seem
to have been appointed for emergencies, and they took a position nearly equal
to that of the governors, whom they sometimes succeeded in the office.
Below the actionarii came
the Conductores or farmers, who
leased the lands of the Church, saw that they were properly cultivated,
collected the produce, and were responsible to the Roman agents for the rents,
which were partly in money and partly in kind. As a class they were an
unprincipled and dishonest set of men, and their cruel and oppressive exactions
on the tenants called forth, as we shall see, on more than one occasion, the
hot indignation of Gregory.
Lastly, there was the Familia of the Church,
consisting of two classes—the Coloni or
Rustici, who cultivated the soil; and the Slaves of the Church. The coloni were serfs attached to the soil. They
could not remove from the estate on which they were settled without permission
of the landlord, nor could they marry outside it. They possessed private
property, but, since that property was regarded by the landlord as security for
the rent, they could not alienate any portion of it without his consent. In
legal actions, moreover, they could only be represented by the landlord; and
they could be punished in person or property by the landlord at his own discretion.
Of the sufferings of this class we shall hear more immediately.
Such, then, was the machinery for managing the estates
of the Roman Church. The manner of its working will best be seen by means of
some quotations from Gregory's letters, which throw considerable light on this
very obscure subject.
I have already had occasion to refer incidentally to
Peter the Subdeacon, the Rector of the wealthy and important Patrimony in
Sicily. To this man, who seems on the whole to have been a person of somewhat
feeble character, Gregory, in March 591, wrote a letter, laying down clear
principles for his guidance in the discharge of his rectorial duties. It seems that the last rector but one—a layman named Antoninus—had been
guilty of very sharp practice in his dealings both with the serfs of the Church
and with neighboring landowners. Gregory, therefore, wrote to caution Peter
against all such dishonest proceedings, and to point out the general line of
action which he wished him to pursue.
"It has come to our knowledge that during the
last ten years, from the time of Antoninus the Defensor to the present day,
many persons have been unjustly treated by the Roman Church—so much so, that
some of them publicly complain that their land has been forcibly occupied,
their slaves taken away, and their property removed, not in consequence of any
judicial decision, but by violence. I wish you to inquire diligently into all
these matters, and whatever you find has been forcibly taken away or unjustly
detained on behalf of our Church during these ten years, I charge you by the
authority of this present order to restore it to its proper owner, lest he who
has been wronged shall be compelled to come to me, and to undertake so long and
troublesome a journey, when, moreover, it is impossible to decide here whether
his statement is true or not. Consider well, then, the majesty of the Judge
that is coming, and restore everything that has been unlawfully taken away;
knowing that you win for me a great gain, if you seek to accumulate the rewards
of heaven, rather than the riches of the earth."
I may here remark that the violent and unjust
procedure of Antoninus was by no means singular. As we know from Gregory's
letters, other agents of the Roman Church were as bad or worse. Thus Candidus,
a deputy-defensor in Sicily, seized the ship and
property of a Jew in liquidation of a debt, but yet, though the debt was thus
discharged, refused to return him his note-of-hand. Complaints reached Gregory
also from the Church of Taormina, that certain properties had been unjustly
seized by the Roman bailiffs; from a monastery of Campania, that slaves
belonging to it were detained; from a certain Gaudiosus,
that his sons had been unlawfully seized as slaves; from a lady named Herene,
that some of her people were detained by force. And in this respect the agents
of other Churches followed the bad example of the agents of Rome. In all such
cases Gregory insisted on strict justice being done: "I will not have the
purse of the Church defiled by base gains", he said. And again: "As
we ought not to allow property belonging to the Church to be lost, so we
consider it a breach of law to try and get hold of what belongs to
others". In cases of doubt he considered it "better to incline to
kindness than to press the letter of the law, especially when, by surrendering
a small matter, we give merciful assistance to the poor and orphan without
burdening the Church". For, as he says elsewhere: "If with compassion
and kindness we help our neighbors in their distress, we shall without doubt
find the Lord merciful to our prayers." But to continue: "We know
that many persons complain of the loss of slaves. They say that if any man's
slave runs away from his master and claims to belong to the Church, the rectors
of the Church at once receive him as a Church slave, not obtaining any legal
decision on the subject, but supporting the assertion of the slave by force.
Now this is as displeasing to me as it is abhorrent to true justice. Wherefore
I desire your Experience to redress the wrong without delay, wherever you find
that anything of the sort has happened. And if there are any slaves now
belonging to the Church who were taken from their former masters without legal
trial, they must be given back before the trial takes place, so that if the
Church can establish a legal claim to them, they may be taken from their
masters by a regular action at law.
"Correct all these grievances without fail. For
you will be a true soldier of the Apostle St. Peter if, in the management of
his affairs, you are a zealous guardian of the truth, even when he gains
nothing by your being so.
"If you see that anything rightfully belongs to
the Church, never attempt to protect the possession of it by force, especially
as I have made a decree, and confirmed it by an anathema, that no titles of
ownership are ever to be affixed by our Church to any land in the city or in
the country. Whatever belongs rightfully to the poor ought to be maintained by
righteousness, lest, if a good object be pursued in a bad way, our just claims
be convicted of injustice by Almighty God.
"I pray that the nobles and the Praetor (of
Sicily) may love you for your humility, not dread you for your pride. And yet,
if by any chance you learn that they are acting unjustly to the poor, at once
exchange your humility for resoluteness. Be always submissive to them when they
act aright, but oppose them boldly when they act amiss. Take care, however,
that there be no weakness in your humility, and no harshness in the exercise of
your dignity. But let justice season your humility, and let humility temper
your justice."
The wrongs here complained of were wrongs inflicted by
the Roman agents on neighboring proprietors. Two months later, however, Gregory
sent another long letter to Peter, containing a list of abuses from which the
tenants on the lands of the Church were suffering. This letter, while it
illustrates Gregory's conscientious anxiety to deal equitably and kindly with
those who labored on the Church estates, and also his determination to acquaint
himself with every detail connected with the management of the patrimonies, at
the same time proves how easily frauds crept in, and how defenseless the
peasants were under ordinary circumstances, when the landlord was grasping, or
indifferent, or non-resident. It is clear, indeed, that the management of the
Church property was by no means free from the scandals which had long brought
discredit on the Imperial administration, and the reasons in both cases were
substantially the same. It was almost impossible for the central authority,
removed at such a distance, to exercise an efficient supervision over the
actions of its agents. Moreover, these agents were often badly appointed, badly
paid, and badly staffed. Thus an unscrupulous governor, entrusted with almost
unlimited powers, and having in his pay a crew of subordinates as rascally as
himself, had every opportunity for oppressing those who were placed in his
charge. We know that even people of position, such as the bishops of Sicily,
were subject to vexatious demands from persons professing to be defensors of the Roman Church. Much more, then, were
the peasants of the Church exposed to the rapacity of their temporary masters.
These coloni, indeed, possessed the right of
appeal from the agent to the landlord—the Pope himself; but such an appeal
could only be made at great expense and with great difficulty, and, even when
it was made, could hardly be supported at Rome with satisfactory evidence.
Hence the coloni were almost entirely
defenseless, and were obliged to suffer in silence the oppressions of the
nefarious agents.
The following are some of the most glaring of the
corrupt practices which are referred to by Gregory in his letter to Peter, and
which he did all in his power to remedy.
The peasants were accustomed to pay an annual
corn-rent. Instead of supplying so many pecks of corn, however, they in many
cases compounded for paying the value of the rent in money. This had been the
general custom under the Roman Empire, and it was not abandoned by the Roman
Church. But unfortunately for the peasants, the corruption of the old Roman
officials survived in their ecclesiastical descendants. Thus Gregory learned
that in times of plenty, when corn was cheap, the peasants were compelled to pay
down more than the value of the peck according to the market price. He
accordingly directed that in future the market price should always be the basis
of assessment, thereby giving the peasants the benefit of the low prices
occasioned by abundant harvests. There was, moreover, a special tax to cover
loss of corn sent to Rome in the course of transhipment.
With regard to this Gregory ordered that if the loss occurred through
accidental causes, the peasants were to pay, but if it occurred through the
neglect or delay of the Roman agents, whose business it was to provide for the transhipment, the peasants were not to be held liable for
the loss, but should have their money returned.
Another iniquitous practice was reported. On some
estates of the Sicilian Patrimony, as we have seen, the corn-rent was commuted
for a money payment. But on other estates the peasants were required to supply
in kind a prescribed number of modii of corn. Now,
the modius normally contained 16 sextarii.
The conductores, however, on the pretext
of allowing for short measurement, exacted more; and in one instance we hear of
as many as 25 sextarii being reckoned to
the modius, i.e. half as much again over and above the correct measure.
This extortion Gregory stopped by fixing the modius at 18 sextarii, or only 2 sextarii above
the normal measure. He permitted, however, that an additional trifle might be
demanded for the provision of the sailors who brought the corn to Rome.
Again, for every golden pound, which by the rescripts
of Constantine and Valentinian III had been fixed at 72 solidi, the conductores were in the habit of exacting from
the peasants 73 solidi. "This practice", writes Gregory, "we
utterly detest, and we desire that it may be altogether suppressed in the
Patrimony". The Pope further ordered that all the small extra taxes,
tributes, and imposts which the peasants were accustomed to pay separately,
should be lumped together and the total value should be handed over in a single
payment. And lest, after his own death, these extra taxes, once reckoned
additional to, but now included in, the general rent-roll, should be again
imposed (the peasants thus being compelled to pay twice over), he ordered that
the peasants should be given charters of security, signed by the rector, and
declaring that each was to pay a certain amount to the exclusion of all extra
duties. Whatever of the original small payments was reckoned as the perquisite
of the rector, might be deducted from the lump sum and appropriated by that
official as before.
In addition to the above-mentioned exactions,
the conductores were in the habit of using
false weights. Servus-Dei, who preceded Peter as
Rector of Sicily, had remarked on this practice, but had not been able to put a
stop to it. Gregory now ordered Peter to break all the false weights and have
true ones substituted. With the exception of some few small fees, nothing was
to be exacted from the peasants above the tribute according to the just weight.
Gregory's kind consideration for the coloni is displayed in several other matters. For
instance, there was a certain tax on land, called burdatio,
which was paid by the peasants to the Imperial Government, but was apparently
collected by the ecclesiastical officials. These payments became due three
times in the year—in January, May, and September. Now, Gregory heard that the
first payment seriously inconvenienced the peasants, because it was made before
they were able to sell their produce. Hence, to meet their liabilities, they
were compelled to borrow at an exorbitant rate of interest—sometimes as much as
25 per cent. Gregory accordingly gave orders that the rector should advance the
money due to the Imperial Treasury, allowing the peasants to repay him by
installments at their convenience. Again, the excessive fees paid by the
peasants for permission to marry were reduced to the sum of one solidus,
or, in the case of poor persons, to even less. This nuptiale commodum was not to be credited to the
Church, but was to be a perquisite of the conductores.
Again, any colonus who committed a fault
was to be punished in future, not in his property (for then others would suffer
for his wrongdoing), but in his person. No present was to be received from
him, unless he chose to give a small fee to the officer sent to execute his
punishment. Again, if anything were unjustly taken from a peasant by a
conductor, it was not only to be reclaimed from the conductor, but also (as was
not usually done) restored to the peasant. Again, if any special supplies were
necessary beyond what was usual, they were to be procured, not from the
peasants, but from strangers. Thus in this very year 591, bad harvests in Italy
made it necessary to order an extra supply of corn from Sicily. Gregory
directed, however, that this was to be bought from the merchants, and that
the coloni were not to be annoyed by being
forced to sell against their will. Another small regulation, made at a later
time, illustrates Gregory's thoughtfulness. Some of the revenues of the
Sicilian Patrimony were collected by the Bishop of Syracuse, who had made it a
rule to receive the payments only in the neighborhood of Syracuse and in the
estate called Gelas, thus putting those who had to pay it to considerable
inconvenience. Gregory accordingly requested him to receive the debts both in
the Syracusan district and in that of Palermo, not being pedantic as to the
place of payment, provided that the money was forthcoming.
But while Gregory provided for the welfare of the
peasants, he did not overlook the interests even of the conductores. "We have learnt", he continues,
"that when some conductores die, their relatives
are not allowed to succeed them, but their property is appropriated for the
benefit of the Church. We therefore decree that the relatives of the deceased,
being themselves settled on Church estates, shall succeed as their heirs, and
that no portion of the property of the deceased shall be withdrawn. But if any leave
very young children, discreet persons must be chosen to look after the goods,
until the children are of age to manage for themselves". Gregory also
abolished the fees paid to the rector by the conductores on
their appointment, for he found that for the sake of the fee the conductores were often changed, and that the farms
were badly cultivated in consequence.
After dealing at length with these abuses, Gregory
goes on in his letter to issue minute instructions about a variety of minor
matters.
"It has come to our ears that three pounds of
gold have been unjustly taken away from Peter, the conductor of Subpatriana. On this matter examine carefully Fantinus the Defensor; and if it is clear that they have
been unjustly and improperly taken, restore them without delay.
"We have also learnt that the peasants have paid
a second time the Government land-tax, which Theodosius collected from them but
failed to pay into the Treasury, because his substance was insufficient for
meeting his debt to the Church. Therefore the peasants have had to pay the
Government tax twice over. But our son Servus-Dei has
informed us that the debt to the Church can be made good out of the effects of
the deceased Theodosius; and therefore we desire that the sum of
57 solidi be handed over to the peasants in full, that they may not
be found to have paid their tax twice. Moreover, if it be the ease that
40 solidi of his effects remain over and above what will indemnify
the peasants (which sum you are also said to have by you), we direct that they
be given to his daughter, to enable her to recover her property that she has
pawned. We direct also that her father's goblet be restored to her.
"The Glorious Magister Militum Campanianus has bequeathed 12 solidi a
year out of the Varonian estate to his notary John.
This we order you to pay every year without any hesitation to the granddaughter
of Euplus the conductor, although she has received
all the movable goods of the said Euplus, with the
exception of his money. We direct you also to give her 25 solidi of
his money.
"A silver saucer is said to have been pawned for
one solidus and a cup for 6 solidi. Question Dominicus, the secretary, or
others who may know about it, and redeem the pledge and restore the aforesaid
small vessels.
"We have to thank your Solicitude", Gregory
continues, ironically, "for that, in the business of my brother, after I
directed you to send him back his money, you have forgotten the matter as
completely as if the order had proceeded from the meanest of your slaves. But
now, let—I will not say your Experience, but—your Negligence take the trouble
to get this done. Anything of his which you may find to have been lodged with
Antoninus, send back with all speed."
The letter concludes with these emphatic words:
"Read all these things carefully, and lay aside that cherished negligence
of yours. Cause my writings which I have addressed to the peasants to be read
in all the estates, that they may know how to protect themselves by my
authority against injustice, and let the originals or copies thereof be given
them. See that you carry out all my injunctions to the full; for as concerns
what I have written to you for the preservation of justice my conscience is clear;
you are responsible if you neglect my words. Fix your thoughts on the terrible
Judge who is coming, and let that thought make you tremble now before His
Advent; lest hereafter you fear Him without avail, when at His presence heaven
and earth shall tremble. You have heard what I wish: take care that you do
it."
This remarkable letter, the composition of which must
have cost Gregory many hours of anxious thought, seems to indicate clearly that
the troubles of the coloni arose mainly
from two causes—the flagrant dishonesty of the agents and bailiffs, and the
system of fees. The former abuse, as we have seen, Gregory made every effort to
entirely suppress. The latter, the system of fees, he was unable to do away with
altogether, but he endeavored to cut it down and to render it as little
burdensome as possible. At the same time, he took care to compensate his
agents for any loss which they might sustain in this direction, by paying them
liberally for their services. In the case of Fantinus,
a defensor in Sicily, Gregory laid down the principle
which he wished to be observed: "Fix what he is to receive for his work,
and let him remember that a man who is supported from the Church funds is not
to be looking to his own private enrichment. If anything is acquired for the
Church by the agents of the Church, without sin and without grasping, it is
right that they should be rewarded for their toil; but it must be left to us to
decide how they shall be remunerated."
The difficulty which Gregory found in securing a
righteous administration may be illustrated from another letter written a year
later to the same Peter in Sicily. "I have learnt", says the Pope,
"that certain properties and several farms do not rightfully belong to us,
and that you know it, but, on account of the vehement entreaties of certain
persons, or through timidity, you are afraid to restore them to their proper
owners. But if you were really a Christian, you would fear the judgment of God
more than the voices of men. Take notice that on this matter I admonish you
unceasingly. If you fail to carry out my directions, you will have my words
also as a testimony against you at the last day."
The same letter gives us further insight into
Gregory's astonishing grasp of detail, and his thorough knowledge of the
management of the estates of which he was the landlord. "The cows which
are barren from age and the bulls which are not wanted should be sold, so that
their price at all events may be of some benefit to us. The herds of mares,
which are utterly unprofitable to us, I wish to be sold in lots, and only four
hundred of the younger ones kept for breeding. These four hundred should be given
to the conductores, one to each of them; and let
some payment be made on behalf of them every year. For it is very hard that we
should spend 60 solidi annually on the herdsmen, and should not
receive 60 denarii from the herds themselves. Distribute then, as we
have said, some of the mares among the conductores,
and turn the rest into money. As for the herdsmen, place them on the different
farms, that they may be of some use in the cultivation of the land. All the
brazen vessels and utensils, the property of the Church, at Syracuse and
Palermo, should be sold before they are entirely destroyed from age."
So again, on another occasion, Gregory sent to
Pantaleo the notary some elaborate directions how to dispose of monies
accumulated by the fraudulent practices of the conductores:
"We desire your Experience with all faithfulness and integrity—having the
fear of God before your eyes, and remembering the strictness of the blessed
Apostle Peter—to make a list throughout each estate of poor and indigent
peasants, and with the money accumulated by fraud to buy and distribute among
them cows, sheep, and swine. Whatever the common fund may amount to, first, as
I have said, draw up a list, and afterwards take pains to distribute to each
according to his degree of poverty. For I, as the Teacher of the Gentiles doth
testify, have all and abound; nor do I seek money, but reward. So act,
therefore, that in the day of judgment you may show me the fruit of your labor
in the service committed to you."
To agents who were negligent in the discharge of their
duties Gregory did not scruple to send very sharp rebukes. Thus he wrote to
one: "We charged you at your departure and afterwards reminded you by
letter to look after the poor, and send us information about any in your parts
whom you should learn to be in want. But in scarcely any case have you troubled
yourself to do this." Even to his favorite Peter, the Pope sent more than
one cutting reproof. "I have learnt from the Abbat Martinianus that the
building in the Praetorian Monastery is not yet even half completed. If this is
the case, I can only praise the great diligence of your Experience! But now at
least be admonished; rouse up, and devote all the energy you have to the
building of this monastery."
A large proportion of the revenues of the Roman Church
was expended by Gregory's direction in charity. The patrimonies, according to
his view, were the estates of the poor, and must be administered primarily for
their advantage. This he was never weary of impressing upon his agents. "I
remember", he wrote to one, "that I have frequently charged you, both
by letter and by word of mouth, to act as my representative, not so much to
promote the worldly interests of the Church, as to relieve the poor in their distress,
and especially to protect them from oppression". His own pleasure in
relieving the necessities of the deserving is well expressed in a very
characteristic letter which he sent to a certain Julianus, who had diffidently
asked for a subvention for his monastery.
"When I received your letter I opened it with
pleasure, but after I had read it through I folded it up with sorrow. For I
learnt from it that through modesty you had for long concealed from me a
circumstance of which you ought to have informed me. Now it is certain that you
can feel but little love for a man with whom you are so bashful, and I am much
grieved to find that you love me less than I thought. But indeed you really
help me greatly when you take care to provide me with opportunities for doing a
kindness. Nor ought you to be ashamed of being importunate for alms when you
are addressing one who has no property of his own, but only administers the
property of the poor. You ought rather to have pleaded boldly with me in the
matter, because I am a bishop, even if you did not know the love I bear towards
you. For seeing that I love you deeply, and that I hold the office of steward
to the property of the poor, I must own that your bashfulness was very
blamable. And I reprove you thus strongly, that I may drive away utterly this
false modesty from your heart, so that in future I may be greatly helped by
your suggestions in doing acts of kindness. We have therefore sent an order to
Adrian, Notary and Rector of our Patrimony (in Sicily), to pay 10 solidi a
year to the monastery built by you in the city of Catania; and we trust you
will not be offended, because this is not a present bestowed on you by us, but
a gift from St. Peter the chief of the Apostles."
A complete list of all Gregory's charities and
benefactions would fill a moderate-sized volume. The following selection,
however, will give some idea of their extent and variety; and will also show
with what care the Pope acquainted himself with the necessities, and took
measures for the relief, of even the humblest claimants on his bounty.
A person named Filimuth, who
was blind and poor, was awarded an annual allowance of 24 pecks of wheat, 12
pecks of beans, and 20 decimatae of wine; two ladies, Palatina and Viviana, who had fallen on evil days,
were given each 20 solidi and 300 pecks of wheat; a certain Pastor, "who labours under exceeding weakness of sight, having a wife
and two slaves", was presented with 300 pecks of wheat and 300 of beans.
To an ex-Praetor, Libertinus, who had lost his
fortune, Gregory sent twenty suits of clothing for his servants—a gift offered
with the most delicate consideration for the feelings of the ruined man:
"I beg that you will not take the present amiss. For anything, however
trifling, which is offered from the property of St. Peter should be regarded as
a great blessing, seeing that he will have power both to bestow on you greater
things, and to hold out to you eternal benefits with Almighty God". A
bishop named Ecclesius complained that he suffered
from cold because he had no winter clothing. So Gregory sent him "a cloak
with a double nap". One Marcellus, who was doing penance in a monastery at
Palermo, was supplied with money for food, clothes, and bedding, and also with
a provision for his servant. An annual pension was awarded to John, a monk, who
had formerly belonged to the Istrian schismatics; to three converted Jews; to a
decayed provincial governor, "who is suffering from great poverty in
Sicily"; to an ex-defensor of the
Church; to the son of a deceased serf of the Church, who had become blind; to
some nuns of Nola, "who are so poor that they cannot afford food and
clothes", and others. The confiscated property of a Church defensor who had died in debt to the Church, was given
back to his three surviving sons. One Adeodatus, who had built a house on
Church land in Campania, and had afterwards suffered losses, had his rent
reduced by half. To Theodore, his consiliarius,
who had no servants, Gregory made a present of a Sicilian slave named Acosimus. A Syrian merchant, whose sons had been seized for
his debts, was relieved. Argentius, a serf of the
Church, was excused rent for the rest of his life, that he might continue to
exercise his famous hospitality.
Nor was Gregory's munificence confined to individuals.
Churches, monasteries, public institutions of all kinds, were liberally
assisted. To Peter, abbat of St. Peter's in the
island of Eumorphiana, 1500 pounds of lead were given
for building purposes; the Monastery of St. Archangel in Brutal was relieved of
four-fifths of the rent paid for an adjoining field belonging to the Church;
estates in Rome were handed over to two nunneries, and no less than three
thousand Roman nuns were supported by the Church; to celebrate the dedication
of an oratory at Palermo, a grant was made of 10 gold solidi, 30 amphorae
of wine, 200 loaves, 2 orcae of oil, 12 wethers, and 100 hens; even in distant Jerusalem, a
hospital was founded, and money, together with 15 cloaks, 30 blankets, and 15
beds, was sent to the monks of Mount Sinai. A hospital in Sicily, again,
received a present of 10 mares and a stallion. A monastery in Tuscany was given
some land to be enjoyed free of rent for thirty years. To Bishop Zeno in Epirus
Gregory sent 1000 pecks of wheat for the relief of his people; and
150 solidi were forwarded to Corsica, to purchase baptismal robes for
converted Jews. Nothing could be more graceful than the manner in which Gregory
responded to an appeal for help from Elias, the abbat of a monastery in Isauria. The old man had made a
request for 50 solidi for the needs of his monks, but fearing he had
asked too much, he reduced his demand to 40, and suggested that even this sum
was more than he ought perhaps to beg. Gregory wrote in answer: "Since you
have been so considerate of our property, we must not be less considerate
towards you. We have sent you, therefore, 50 solidi; and for fear this
should not be enough, we have added 10 more; and lest even that should not suffice,
we have sent you 12 more in addition. And herein we recognize your love for us,
that you place full confidence in us, as you ought to do."
There was one special form of charity, however, in
which Gregory, as a patriotic Italian and as chief bishop in Italy, was
particularly interested. This was the redemption of captives taken in the
Lombard wars and held to ransom. In Gregory's letters we find frequent
allusions to such redemption. He urged the duty upon bishops, especially with
reference to their own clergy. He received with gratitude sums of money sent to
him for this purpose by wealthy friends at Constantinople. He even authorized
the sale of Church plate to obtain cash to carry on the work. He was often
applied to for help by persons who had been redeemed, but afterwards found
themselves unable to repay the money which had been advanced for their ransom.
He himself expended large sums upon this good object, and sent an agent even as
far as Barce in Libya, to redeem Italians who were offered for sale in the
great slave-mart there. A careful business letter on the subject, which Gregory
sent in 595 to Anthemius, Rector of the Patrimony in Campania, is worth
quoting.''
"How great is our grief and how great the trouble
of our heart concerning what has happened in Campania, we cannot express. You
yourself can imagine what it is, knowing, as you do, the greatness of the
disaster. In regard to this matter we have forwarded to your Experience, by the
Magnificent Stephen, bearer of these presents, a sum of money for the
redemption of the captives who have been taken; and we admonish you to act with
all possible carefulness and zeal, and to hasten to redeem such freemen as to
your knowledge lack means sufficient to ransom themselves. Moreover, do not
hesitate to ransom also any slaves whose masters are too poor to come forward
and redeem them. Likewise you will make it your business to redeem the slaves
of the Church who have been lost by your neglect. And in the case of all
persons thus redeemed you must be very careful to make out a list (specifying
their names, where each is, what he is doing, and where he came from), which
you can bring with you when you come. Hasten to show yourself zealous in this
matter, that those who are to be redeemed may incur no risk through any
negligence of yours—in which case you would become highly blamable in our eyes.
But work especially for this also, that these captives may be recovered, if possible,
at a low price."
In this, as indeed in all the financial and other
business connected with the Patrimony, we remark in Gregory a sound business
instinct, a talent for organization, and a wonderful grasp of detail. He issues
his orders to his agents as though he had spent his whole life in studying how
to manage estates. He is at home in every department of the subject. Whence he
derived his practical knowledge, and how he found time to acquaint himself so
thoroughly with the working of each individual patrimony, is a mystery. But
somehow or other he managed to learn all that it was necessary for him to know,
and he was always ready to apply his knowledge with excellent effect. Gregory
was one of the best of the Papal landlords. Under his rule the estates of the
Church increased in value, the tenants were prosperous and contented, and the
revenues poured into the treasury. His only fault, as a business man, was that
he was too lavish of these revenues when they came, so that he was even said to
have depleted the treasury of his Church by his unlimited charities. This
excessive liberality, however, must be ascribed, not to any carelessness or
extravagance on Gregory's part, but to his view of his duty as administrator of
the property of the poor. The fault, if fault it was, was one of conscience,
not of intellect or practical intelligence. In respect of the last we can find
no flaw. In no department of his life and work, indeed, does Gregory so well
deserve his title of the Great, as in that connected with the management of the
Patrimony of St. Peter.
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