A letter from Innocent III, pope (1200)

Translated letter:

We believe that you have known before and now perceive more fully how much sollicitude and diligence we have taken care to show in your business: how we first took care through letters and messengers to admonish our son in Christ Philip, illustrious king of the French, though very dear, to receive you according to the order of law, then with the oil nourishing to wounds, we infused wine with the Samaritan, imposing the sentence of interdict on the land of that king. And though the king, feeling himself wounded, raised his hands against clerics and churches, now with the Lord making a sign for good, from our command which we sent through the venerable minister our brother bishop of Ostia [Octavian], legate of the apostolic see whom we sent to France specially for this, he has inclined his heart to obey apostolic commands, so that satisfying clerics and ecclesiastics fully for the injuries and harms imposed on them, and having removed the extraneous one/concubine [Agnes], he would receive you as his wife and queen of the French, and swear on his soul that he will treat you royally and not remove you except by judgment of the church, as that legate and our venerable brothers, of Paris, Soissons, Troyes and certain other bishops who were present intimated by their letters to us. Wherefore, pace those who directed letters to us under your name and seal over this, they expressed much which they could have suppressed without offending truth. For never, and we believe this is certain, did the foresaid legate, who would not dare to transgress the form given to him by us, [never] did he pronounce that you should be wife of the king and queen of the French for seven months, nor did he accept as his oath whatever the king might have said, that the said king would not remove you for that space of time except by judgment of the church, but would treat you royally for that space of time. Those bishops, who do not easily suppress the truth or express falsehood about such a matter to us, make no mention of it in their letters. Besides, how can it be believed that you committed these and other things which are contained in them to be written by your clerics without arbiters deputed for this by the king, to whom you can not speak, which the royal serenity would discover in their presence. Truly, if what we ordered to be arranged by them has been omitted up to now, that, with the Lord’s help, we will faithfully fulfill, about which we have written to the king and the legate. We admonish your royal serenity, therefore, and exhort in the Lord that you strive to press him who, according to the Psalmist, is “our refuge and strength, our helper in tribulations” [Ps.45:2], so that the king will retain you in conjugal grace and treat you with marital affection. For who knows if asking you might receive, seeking you might find, knocking it might be opened? Ask therefore, seek, and knock, press persistently and at every opportunity [2Tim.4:2](1) that perhaps because of your insistent asking, the merciful Lord might look on your needs and tears and inspire pious affection in that king for you and deign to call him back from his hardness. Our dearest son Ca[Knut], illustrious king of the Danes, your brother, to whom we have written again about this, we have taken care to press with letters and messengers that for the defense of your case, he direct sufficient respondents/representatives with advocates and witnesses and other things which can expedite it, since he can not excuse himself by impotence [as Ingeborg can] and it may be equally easy or easier for him, while truth favors your assertion, to remove the obstacle of objected affinity through his people, than on the other side to prove [it] legitimately unless there is truth to the proposition. You should know, however, and be certain that we, the Lord allowing, will not ignore your argument even though, with the king asking for justice, we could not nor would we wish to deny him a hearing. Given at the Lateran, 11th kalends of November.

Original letter:

Intellexisse te credimus hactenus et nunc plenius percepisse quantam sollicitudinem et diligentiam in negotio tuo curaverimus exhibere; cum, etsi charissimum in Christo filium nostrum Philippum Francorum regem illustrem, ad receptionem tuam, juxta juris ordinem, prius curaverimus per litteras et nuntios, commonere, tandem vulneribus fotis oleo, vinum cum Samaritano duxerimus infundendum, in terram regis ipsius interdicti sententiam proferentes. Et, licet rex ipse, laesum se reputans, in clericos et ecclesias manus suas duxerit aggravandas, nunc tamen, faciente Domino signum in bonum, de mandato nostro per ministerium venerabilis fratris nostri Ostiensis episcopi, apostolicae sedis legati, quem, propter hoc specialiter, in regnum Francorum direximus, cor suum ad obediendum mandatis apostolicis inclinavit, ita quod tam clericis quam ecclesiasticis satisfaciens plene de injuriis et damnis illatis, et superinducta remota, te, velut uxorem suam et reginam Francorum, receperit, et jurari fecerit in animam suam, quod regaliter te tractabit et praeter Ecclesiae judicium non dimittet; sicut idem legatus, et venerabiles fratres nostri, NN . . . . . . . Parisiensis. . . . . Suessionensis. . . . . Trecensis, et alii quidam episcopi, qui praesentes fuerunt, per suas nobis litteras intimarunt. Unde, salva eorum pace, qui, super hoc, tam sub tuo nomine quam sigillo, ad nos litteras direxerunt, multa expresserunt in eis, quae sine veritatis offensa potuerant subticere. Nunquam, enim, sicut credimus pro constanti, praedictus legatus, qui formam sibi datam a nobis transgredi non auderet, te pronuntiavit, per septem menses et regis uxorem et Francorum reginam esse debere, nec in tenore juramenti recepit, quidquid rex dixerit, quod intra idem spatium praedictus rex te non dimitteret, praeter judicium Ecclesiae, sed regaliter intra idem spatium faceret pertractari; cum super hoc iidem episcopi, qui nobis non facile, in re tanta, veritatem supprimerent vel exprimerent falsitatem, nullam fecerint in suis litteris mentionem. Praeterea, qualiter sit credendum quod sine arbitris ad hoc deputatis a rege, cuiquam loqui non possis et haec et alia quae continebantur in ipsis, clericis tuis scribenda commiseris, coram illis regalis serenitas investiget. Verum, si quid ex his quae praemitti [Apogr. ex archiv. Vatic. primum] mandavimus, hactenus est omissum, illud, dante Domino, faciemus fideliter adimpleri. super quo, tam ipsi regi scribimus quam legato. Monemus igitur serenitatem regiam et exhortamur in Domino quatenus, apud eum, qui secundum Psalmistam, refugium nostrum et virtus, et in tribulationibus est adjutor (Psal. XLV, 2), piis orationibus instare procures, ut idem rex te in gratia retineat conjugali et maritali affectione pertractet. Quis enim scit, si petens accipias, invenias quaerens et aperiatur pulsanti? Pete igitur, quaere ac pulsa, insta opportune et importune, si forsan, propter tuae petitionis instantiam, necessitates et lacrymas tuas respiciat Dominus miseratus, et eidem regi circa te pium inspiret affectum et ipsum a sua dignetur duritia revocet [revocare]. Apud charissimum quoque filium nostrum, Ca . . . regem Danorum illustrem, fratrem tuum, cui etiam de novo nos super hoc scribimus, litteris et nuntiis instare procures, ut, ad defensionem causae tuae, cum advocatis et testibus, et aliis quae visa fuerint expedire, sufficientes dirigat responsales, cum se per impotentiam excusare non possit, sitque ipsi aeque facile vel facilius, dummodo assertioni tuae veritas suffragatur, obstaculum affinitatis objectae removere per suos, quam alteri parti, nisi propositioni ejus veritas subsit, legitime comprobare. Noveris autem et habeas pro constanti quod nos, dante Domino, in tua tibi non deerimus ratione, licet, regi postulanti justitiam, non potuerimus nec velimus audientiam denegare. Dat. Lat. XI Kal. Nov.

Historical context:

Innocent III became pope in January 1198, bringing new energy and hope to Ingeborg and her supporters. He let the king know, through French prelates and directly, that his new marriage was not legitimate and that unless the king put his concubine aside and took back his legitimate wife while the pope considered the validity of his divorce, he would take serious measures. When Philip continued to ignore him, he had his legate pronounce a sentence of interdict in January 1200 which closed the churches throughout the realm and allowed only baptism of infants and communion for the sick. The king’s immediate response was to remove the prelates who observed the interdicts from their positions. But he finally agreed to the terms provisionally, for six months until the hearing, though the pope as he says in this letter never agreed to Philip’s provisions. Though Philip received the queen and formally gave her his hand at St. Léger in Iveline, the papal legate was not able to enforce Innocent’s order that Philip resume marital relations with her. It is not clear if the pope at this point recognizes the obstinacy of Philip’s position, but he did write to his legate asking about the queen’s allegations (ep.3.16). Potthast lists three letters from Innocent to Ingeborg in 1200, one exhorting her to suffer heroicially (magnanimiter), one telling her what has been done, one about a reconciliation (Regista Pontificum Romanorum, v.1 (Graz: Akademische Druck, 1957 repr. of 1874, (#989, 1100, 1127).

Scholarly notes:

(1) This is a formula that popes use particularly in the early Middle Ages exhorting queens to put pressure on their husbands to convert to the faith or behave appropriately, but it only makes sense where there is either affection or mutual respect between husband and wife. It seems an empty if not callous phrase in this instance.

Printed source:

PL214 ep.3.11, c.881-83 and HGF19 p.398, same text except revocet/revocare

Date:

1200