Alternative Account
According to the late 13th century chronicler Martin of Opava, Stephen VIII was described as being a German, who was elected pope due to the power and influence of his royal relative, the German king Otto I. Martin states that Otto ignored the will of the cardinals in imposing Stephen upon them, and because Stephen was hated for being a German, he was taken by supporters of Alberic II, who proceeded to maim and disfigure him to such an extent that Stephen was unable to appear in public again. This version of events has largely been discredited; contemporary and near-contemporary catalogues state that Stephen was a Roman. Further, Otto’s intervention in and influence over Italian affairs was still over a decade away, and during this period Otto was still trying to consolidate his hold on power in Germany, with major rebellions by the German dukes. Consequently, Otto would have been too preoccupied to concern himself over the papal succession at this juncture. Finally, Stephen’s intervention on behalf of the Frankish king Louis IV (who was in conflict with Otto) would not have occurred had Stephen been a relative of the German king, and had Stephen received the papal throne through Otto’s intervention. The maiming of Stephen may have occurred, however, in the aftermath of the conspiracy against Alberic in the middle of 942.
Read more about this topic: Pope Stephen VIII
Famous quotes containing the words alternative and/or account:
“Our mother gives us our earliest lessons in love—and its partner, hate. Our father—our “second other”Melaborates on them. Offering us an alternative to the mother-baby relationship . . . presenting a masculine model which can supplement and contrast with the feminine. And providing us with further and perhaps quite different meanings of lovable and loving and being loved.”
—Judith Viorst (20th century)
“One cannot be a good historian of the outward, visible world without giving some thought to the hidden, private life of ordinary people; and on the other hand one cannot be a good historian of this inner life without taking into account outward events where these are relevant. They are two orders of fact which reflect each other, which are always linked and which sometimes provoke each other.”
—Victor Hugo (1802–1885)