Difference between revisions of "Pope Leo IV" - New World Encyclopedia

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'''Pope Saint Leo IV''' was [[pope]] from April 10, 847 to July 17, 855.
 
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At a Roman synod in April 850, he crowned as co-emperor the Frankish emperor Lothar I’s son Louis II. In church affairs, Leo took a firm hand against abuses by important ecclesiastics. He censured the powerful archbishop Hincmar of Reims for excommunicating an imperial vassal without papal approval, and he excommunicated Cardinal Anastasius of San Marcello (later the antipope Anastasius Bibliothecarius), in 853, to enforce ecclesiastical obedience to Rome.
 
  
 +
'''Pope Saint Leo IV''' was [[pope]] from April 10, 847 to July 17, 855. A [[Rome|Roman]] by birth, Leo had been a [[Benedictine]] [[monk]] and served in the papal [[curia]] under Pope [[Gregory IV]]. He was later appointed a [[cardinal]] by Pope [[Sergius II]]. Upon Sergius' death, Leo was unanimously chosen to succeed him and was consecrated as pope on April 10, 847.
 +
 +
His pontificate was chiefly distinguished by his efforts to strengthen Rome's defenses and repair the damage done to the city by the [[Saracens]], who had attacked it during the reign of his predecessor. Leo supervised the restoration of several important churches of the city, especially those of [[St. Peter's Basilica|St. Peter]] and [[Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls|St. Paul]]. When the [[Muslim]] fleet again threatened, he rallied the leaders of the maritime cities of Italy—Rome, [[Naples]], [[Gaeta]] and [[Amalfi]]—to form a league. The subsequent [[Battle of Ostia]], in which the attacking Saracen force was destroyed, was one of the most famous in the history of the [[papacy]] during the [[Middle Ages]].
 +
 +
Leo held three [[synod]]s, including one in 850, that was distinguished by his crowning of the Holy Roman Emperor [[Louis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Louis II]]. He also reportedly anointed the young King [[Alfred the Great]] of [[England]].
 +
 +
Leo's papacy is also noted for his attempts to bring rebellious [[bishop]]s and political leaders into line with Rome. He excommunicated Cardinal Anastasius of San Marcello (later Antipope [[Anastasius Bibliothecarius]]) for disobedience and censured Archbishop [[Hincmar of Reims]] near the beginning of Hincmar's famous career.
 +
{{toc}}
 +
Leo IV died on July 17, 855, and was buried in St Peter's. He was succeeded by [[Pope Benedict III|Benedict III]]. Several [[miracle]]s are attributed to him. A medieval tradition claimed that a woman, [[Pope Joan]], succeeded him, disguising herself as a man. However, the supposed Pope Joan is generally believed to be fictitious.
 +
 +
==Biography==
 +
The son of a Roman named Radoald, Leo received his early education at Rome in the monastery of Saint Martin near [[St. Peter's Basilica]]. His reputation for piety and competence attracted the notice of [[Gregory IV]], who made him a subdeacon. Later, he was created [[cardinal priest]] of the church of the [[Santi Quattro Coronati]] by Pope [[Sergius II]].
 +
 +
===Defender and rebuilder===
 +
[[Image:Battle of Ostia.jpg|thumb|The Battle of Ostia in an 1829 engraving.]] 
 +
Leo was unanimously elected to succeed [[Sergius II]] after the alarming attack of the [[Saracen]] [[pirate]]s on Rome in 846, which severely damaged the city and many of its ancient churches. He was consecrated on April 10, 847. As soon as he became pope, Leo began to take precautions against a repetition of the Saracen raid. He entirely rebuilt 15 of the great towers of the city walls, putting these key defensive installations of the city into a thorough state of repair.
 +
 +
To do this, he received money from the emperor, as well as aid from the cities and agricultural colonies of the [[Duchy of Rome]]. The work took him four years to accomplish, and the newly fortified portion was called the "Leonine City," after him. In 852, the fortifications were completed, and were blessed by the pope with great solemnity.
  
 +
While the work of refortifying the city was in progress, a great fleet of the Saracens sailed for Rome from [[Sardinia]]. Leo succeeded in facilitating a coalition of Greek-Italian maritime city-states, including [[Rome]], [[Naples]], [[Amalfi]], and [[Gaeta]], to oppose the Saracen naval advance. The command of the unified fleet was given to [[Caesar of Naples|Cesarius]], son of Duke [[Sergius I of Naples]]. In 854 Leo fortified Civitavecchia, Italy, a popular Saracen target. Thereafter, the town was named Leopoli in his honor. The coalition, aided by a providential tempest in 849, completely destroyed the Muslim fleet off Ostia.
  
 +
When the rebuilding of the walls of Rome was accomplished, Leo rebuilt Portus, the ancient harbor town on the right bank of the mouth of the [[Tiber]], south of Rome. Its governance was given to a number of [[Corsica]]n exiles, who had been driven from their homes during the previous assaults of the Saracens. Other cities under the control of the Roman duchy were also fortified, either by the pope's own efforts or as a result of his encouragement.
  
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A [[Rome|Roman]] by birth, Leo had been a Benedictine monk and served in the papal [[curia]] under Pope [[Gregory IV]]. He was later appointed a [[cardinal]] by Pope [[Sergius II]]. Upon Sergius' death, Leo was unanimously chosen to succeed him on April 10, 847.
+
[[Image:Raphael Ostia.jpg|400px|thumb|left|''The Battle of Ostia,'' traditionally attributed to Raphael but now thought to be by one of his assistants c. 1514-1515. Pope Leo IV is pictured at the far left.]]
  
−
His pontificate was chiefly distinguished by his efforts to repair the damage done by the [[Saracens]], who had attacked Rome during the reign of his predecessor. Leo supervised the fortification the city to protect it against future attacks from the Muslim enemy and several important churches of the city, especially those of [[St. Peter's Basilica|St Peter]] and [[Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls|St Paul]], were rebuilt under his direction.
+
Leo also labored to restore the damage which the Muslim raid of 846 had done to the various churches in Rome. Saint Peter's itself had suffered very severely. The old church would never reach its former magnificence until it was entirely rebuilt during the [[Renaissance]], but Leo managed to make parts of it more beautiful than it had been before. Its [[altar]] received a new gold covering, which weighed 206 pounds and was studded with precious [[gem]]s.
  
−
[[Image:Battle of Ostia.jpg|thumb|left|220px|The Battle of Ostia in an 1829 engraving]]
+
Leo also restored Saint Martin's monastery, where he had been educated, and the church of the ''Quatuor Coronati'', of which he had been the priest. Other church buildings whose restoration he supported included the [[Lateran Palace]], [[Basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura|St. Paul]]'s, the [[Anglo-Saxon Borgo]], [[Subiaco]], and many other places both inside and outside of Rome. Leo also built the church of [[Santa Maria Nova]] to replace the decaying [[Santa Maria Antiqua]].
  
−
When the Muslims fleet again threatened, he summoned the leaders of the mariner cities of Italy—[[Naples]], [[Gaeta]] and [[Amalfi]]—to form a league. The subsequent [[Battle of Ostia]] was one of the most famous in the his of the papacy during the Middle Ages. It was celebrated in a famous fresco by [[Raphael]] and his pupils in his [[Raphael Rooms|rooms]] of the [[Vatican Palace]]. Another episode of Leo's life celebrated by the [[Urbino|Urbinate]] in his series of frescoes painter is the ''Incendio di Borgo'': it depicts the great burning of the Anglo-Saxon district of Rome (the "[[Borgo (rione of Rome)|Borgo]]") which, according to the legend, was stopped by Leo simply making the sign of the cross.
+
===Church and imperial politician===
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In 850, Leo crowned [[Louis II of Italy]], the son of [[Lothair I]] and great-grandson of [[Charlemagne]], as [[holy roman emperor]]. Three years later, according to the [[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]], he anointed and blessed the five-year-old King [[Alfred the Great]] of [[Wessex]]. Leo reportedly "hallowed the child Alfred to king by anointing; and receiving him for his own child by adoption, gave him confirmation, and sent him back [to England] with the blessing of [[Saint Peter]] the [[Apostle]]."
  
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Leo held three synods, one of them in 850, distinguished by the presence of the holy Roman emperor [[Louis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Louis II]]. He died on July 17, 855 and was buried in St. Peter's. [[Pope Benedict III|Benedict III]] was Leo's immediate successor. A medieval tradition claimed that a woman, [[Pope Joan]], succeeded him, disguising herself as a man; Joan is generally believed to be fictitious.
+
[[Image:Pope St. Leo IV.jpg|thumb|Fresco of Leo IV in the basilica of San Clemente, Rome.]]
  
−
==Biography==
+
The same year (853), he held an important [[synod]] in Rome, in which various decrees were passed for the enforcement of ecclesiastical discipline and learning. The council condemned Cardinal Anastasius of St. Marcellus, who had previously been the [[librarian]] of the Roman church and would later be better known as Antipope [[Anastasius Bibliothecarius]]. It also censured Archbishop John of Ravenna, and Leo went personally to Ravenna to enforce the decree.
−
Radoald
+
 
−
was unanimously elected to succeed Sergius II, and as the alarming attack of the Saracens on Rome in 846 caused the people to fear for the safety of the city, he was consecrated (10 April, 847) without the consent of the emperor. Leo received his early education at Rome in the monastery of St. Martin, near St. Peter's. His pious behaviour attracted the notice of Gregory IV, who made him a subdeacon; and he was created Cardinal-Priest of the church of the Quatuor Coronati by Sergius II. As soon as Leo, much against his will, became pope, he began to take precautions against a repetition of the Saracen raid of 846. He put the walls of the city into a thorough state of repair, entirely rebuilding fifteen of the great towers. He was the first to enclose theVatican hill by a wall. To do this, he received money from the emperor, and help from all the cities and agricultural colonies ( domus cultae) of the Duchy of Rome. The work took him four years to accomplish, and the newly fortified portion was called the Leonine City, after him. In 852 the fortifications were completed, and were blessed by the pope with great solemnity.
+
Another man who defied the authority of the pope was Duke [[Nomenoe of Brittany]]. Nomenoe sought independence both from Leo and [[Charles the Bald]], then king of [[West Francia]]. Nomenoe deposed a number of bishops and appointed new ones, placing them under the jurisdiction of a [[archbishop|metropolitan see]] of his own creation. This independence would continue until the thirteenth century, when the bishops of [[Breton]] were once again subjected to the authority of the archbishop of [[Tours]].
  
−
Whilst the work of refortifying the city was in progress, a great fleet of the Saracens sailed for Rome, seemingly from Sardinia, but it was completely destroyed off Ostia by the allied fleets of Rome, Naples, Amalfi, and Gaeta, and by a tempest (849). When the rebuilding of the walls of Rome was accomplished, Leo rebuilt Portus, and handed it over to a number of Corsican exiles, whom the ravages of the Saracens had driven from their homes. Other cities too in the Roman duchy were fortified, either by the pope himself or in consequence of his exhortations. Leo also endeavoured to make good the damage which the Saracen raid of 846 had done to the different churches. St. Peter's had suffered very severely, and though as a whole it never again reached its former magnificence, Leo managed to make it in parts at least more beautiful than it had been before. St. Martin's, where he had been educated, the Quatuor Coronati, of which he had been the priest, the Lateran Palace, the Anglo-Saxon Borgo, Subiaco, and many other places both in Rome and out of it were renovated by the energetic Leo. It was by this pope that the church of S. Maria Nova was built, to replace S. Maria Antiqua, which the decaying Palace of the Caesars threatened to engulf, and of which the ruins have recently been brought to light. In 850Leo associated with Lothair in the empire his son Louis, by imposing on him the imperial crown. Three years later "he hallowed the child Alfred to king [says an old English historian] by anointing; and receiving him for his own child by adoption, gave him confirmation, and sent him back [to England] with the blessing of St. Peter the Apostle."
+
Leo was also involved in attempting to secure the obedience of one of the most famous churchmen of the era, Archbishop [[Hincmar]] of Reims. In 847, Leo had supported Hincmar's accession at Reims and granted him the [[pallium]] as a symbol of Rome's support. One of Hincmar's first concerns was to restore to his metropolitan see the domains that had been alienated under his predecessor, Ebbo, had given to laymen. Hincmar was in constant conflict with the ecclesiastical clerks who had been ordained by his predecessor, and he excommunicated one of them, who was an imperial vassal. Having exceeded his ecclesiastical authority, and also having caused political problems for Rome, Hincmar was condemned in 853 at the council of Soissons. He would go on to have one of the most remarkable careers in ecclesiastical history of the Carolingian period.
  
−
The same year (853) he held an important synod in Rome, in which various decrees were passed for the furtherance of ecclesiastical discipline and learning, and for the condemnation of the refractory Anastasius, Cardinal of St. Marcellus, and sometime librarian of the Roman Church. Equally rebellious conduct on the part of John, Archbishop of Ravenna, forced Leo to undertake a journey to that city to inspire John and his accomplices with respect for the law. It was while engaged in endeavouring to inspire another archbishop, Hincmar of Reims, with this same reverence, that Leo died. Another man who, till his death (851), defied the authority of the pope was Nomenoe, Duke of Brittany. Anxious to be independent of the imperial authority Nomenoe, in defiance both of Leo and Charles the Bald, not only deposed a number of bishops, but made new ones, and subjected them to a metropolitan see (Dol) of his own creation. It was not till the thirteenth century that the Archbishop of Tours recovered his jurisdiction over the Breton bishops. For consecrating a bishop outside his own diocese, St. Methodius, Patriarch of Constantinople, had suspended Gregory Asbestas, Bishop of Syracuse. St. Ignatius, who succeeded St. Methodius, in consequence forbade Gregory to be present at his consecration. This led Gregory to break all bounds. St. Ignatius accordingly caused him to be deposed, and begged the pope to confirm the deposition. This, however, Leo would not do, because, as he said, Ignatius had assembled bishops and deposed others without his knowledge, whereas he ought not to have done so "in the absence of our legates or of letters from us". Despite the fact that Leo was then in opposition to the Patriarch of Constantinople, one of his dependents, Daniel, a magister militum, accused him to the Frankish Emperor Louis of wishing to overthrow the domination of the Franks by a Greek alliance. Leo had, however, no difficulty in convincing Louis that the charge was absolutely groundless. Daniel was condemned to death and only escaped it by the intercession of the emperor. Shortly after this Leo died, and was buried in St. Peter's (17 July, 855). He is credited with being a worker of miracles both by his biographer and by the Patriarch Photius. His name is found in the Roman Martyrology.
+
It was while Leo was involved with the controversy with Hincmar that he died. He was buried in [[Saint Peter's Basilica]] on July 17, 855. He is credited with being a worker of [[miracle]]s both by his church biographer and by the eastern Patriarch [[Saint Photius]].
  
 
==Legacy==
 
==Legacy==
−
In order to definitively counter the Saracen menace, Leo ordered a new line of walls encompassing the suburb on the right bank of the [[Tiber]] to be built, including the till now undefended [[St. Peter's Basilica]]. The district enclosed by the walls is still known as the [[Leonine City|''Civitas Leonina'']], namely the City of Leo. He also embellished the damaged churches of [[Basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura|St. Paul]] and St. Peter's: the latter's altar received again (after the former had been stolen) his gold covering, which weighed 206 lb. and was studded with precious gems.
+
[[Image:Giulio Romano 001.jpg|thumb|350px|''The Fire in the Borgo'' (Leo IV is pictured in the distant window.)]]
  
−
The command of the unified fleet was given to [[Caesar of Naples|Cesarius]], son of Duke [[Sergius I of Naples]]. In 854 Leo fortified Civitavecchia, Italy, a popular Saracen target. Thereafter, the town was named Leopoli in his honour.  
+
While few facts are known of his spiritual life, Leo IV was a skillful organizer, administrator, and fundraiser who did much to protect Rome from the very real [[Mulsim]] threat of the ninth century. His greatest contribution was in strengthening the defenses of Rome, rebuilding many of the city's beautiful churches that had been damaged in the war with the Muslims, and forging alliances with other Italian city-states to join forces against the impending Saracen naval invasion.
  
−
==References==
+
The Battle of Ostia, in which Leo's coalition-building skills were instrumental, was celebrated in a famous fresco by [[Raphael]] and his pupils in his [[Raphael Rooms|rooms]] of the [[Vatican Palace]]. ''The Fire in the Borgo,'' designed by Raphael and thought to be painted by his assistant [[Giulio Romano]], shows one of the miracles attributed to Leo IV. When a fire that broke out in the Borgo in Rome in 847, Leo IV, shown in the distance in his window, reportedly turned back the flames by making the sign of the Cross.
−
*Cheetham, Nicolas, ''Keepers of the Keys'', New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1983. ISBN 0-684-1863-X
 
  
−
==External links==
+
Leo is perhaps even more famous for being supposedly succeeded by a woman, [[Pope Joan]], who reportedly reigned for three years between Leo IV and [[Benedict III]], disguising herself as a man. However, the supposed Pope Joan is generally believed to be fictitious.
−
*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09159a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: ''Pope St. Leo IV'']
 
−
*[http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/01_01_0847-0855-_Leo_IV,_Sanctus.html Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina with analytical indexes]
 
  
 
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==References==
 +
* Cheetham, Nicolas, Sir. ''Keepers of the Keys: A History of the Popes from St. Peter to John Paul II.'' New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1983. ISBN 9780684178639.
 +
* Coppa, Frank J. ''The Great Popes Through History: An Encyclopedia''. Westport, CN: Greenwood Press, 2002. ISBN 9780313324185.
 +
* Davis, Raymond. ''The Lives of the Ninth-Century Popes (Liber Pontificalis): The Ancient Biographies of Ten Popes from C.E. 817-891''. Translated texts for historians, v. 20. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1995. ISBN 9780853234791.
 +
* Morrison, Karl Frederick. ''Tradition and Authority in the Western Church.'' Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1969. ISBN 9780691071558.
 +
 +
==External links==
 +
All links retrieved November 24, 2022.
 +
*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09159a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: ''Pope St. Leo IV'']
 +
*[http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/01_01_0847-0855-_Leo_IV,_Sanctus.html Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina with analytical indexes]
  
 
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Latest revision as of 09:41, 24 November 2022


Saint Leo IV
Pope Leo IV.jpg
Birth name ???
Papacy began April 10, 847
Papacy ended July 17, 855
Predecessor Sergius II
Successor Benedict III
Born ???
Rome, Italy
Died July 17 855
???
Other popes named Leo

Pope Saint Leo IV was pope from April 10, 847 to July 17, 855. A Roman by birth, Leo had been a Benedictine monk and served in the papal curia under Pope Gregory IV. He was later appointed a cardinal by Pope Sergius II. Upon Sergius' death, Leo was unanimously chosen to succeed him and was consecrated as pope on April 10, 847.

His pontificate was chiefly distinguished by his efforts to strengthen Rome's defenses and repair the damage done to the city by the Saracens, who had attacked it during the reign of his predecessor. Leo supervised the restoration of several important churches of the city, especially those of St. Peter and St. Paul. When the Muslim fleet again threatened, he rallied the leaders of the maritime cities of Italy—Rome, Naples, Gaeta and Amalfi—to form a league. The subsequent Battle of Ostia, in which the attacking Saracen force was destroyed, was one of the most famous in the history of the papacy during the Middle Ages.

Leo held three synods, including one in 850, that was distinguished by his crowning of the Holy Roman Emperor Louis II. He also reportedly anointed the young King Alfred the Great of England.

Leo's papacy is also noted for his attempts to bring rebellious bishops and political leaders into line with Rome. He excommunicated Cardinal Anastasius of San Marcello (later Antipope Anastasius Bibliothecarius) for disobedience and censured Archbishop Hincmar of Reims near the beginning of Hincmar's famous career.

Leo IV died on July 17, 855, and was buried in St Peter's. He was succeeded by Benedict III. Several miracles are attributed to him. A medieval tradition claimed that a woman, Pope Joan, succeeded him, disguising herself as a man. However, the supposed Pope Joan is generally believed to be fictitious.

Biography

The son of a Roman named Radoald, Leo received his early education at Rome in the monastery of Saint Martin near St. Peter's Basilica. His reputation for piety and competence attracted the notice of Gregory IV, who made him a subdeacon. Later, he was created cardinal priest of the church of the Santi Quattro Coronati by Pope Sergius II.

Defender and rebuilder

The Battle of Ostia in an 1829 engraving.

Leo was unanimously elected to succeed Sergius II after the alarming attack of the Saracen pirates on Rome in 846, which severely damaged the city and many of its ancient churches. He was consecrated on April 10, 847. As soon as he became pope, Leo began to take precautions against a repetition of the Saracen raid. He entirely rebuilt 15 of the great towers of the city walls, putting these key defensive installations of the city into a thorough state of repair.

To do this, he received money from the emperor, as well as aid from the cities and agricultural colonies of the Duchy of Rome. The work took him four years to accomplish, and the newly fortified portion was called the "Leonine City," after him. In 852, the fortifications were completed, and were blessed by the pope with great solemnity.

While the work of refortifying the city was in progress, a great fleet of the Saracens sailed for Rome from Sardinia. Leo succeeded in facilitating a coalition of Greek-Italian maritime city-states, including Rome, Naples, Amalfi, and Gaeta, to oppose the Saracen naval advance. The command of the unified fleet was given to Cesarius, son of Duke Sergius I of Naples. In 854 Leo fortified Civitavecchia, Italy, a popular Saracen target. Thereafter, the town was named Leopoli in his honor. The coalition, aided by a providential tempest in 849, completely destroyed the Muslim fleet off Ostia.

When the rebuilding of the walls of Rome was accomplished, Leo rebuilt Portus, the ancient harbor town on the right bank of the mouth of the Tiber, south of Rome. Its governance was given to a number of Corsican exiles, who had been driven from their homes during the previous assaults of the Saracens. Other cities under the control of the Roman duchy were also fortified, either by the pope's own efforts or as a result of his encouragement.

The Battle of Ostia, traditionally attributed to Raphael but now thought to be by one of his assistants c. 1514-1515. Pope Leo IV is pictured at the far left.

Leo also labored to restore the damage which the Muslim raid of 846 had done to the various churches in Rome. Saint Peter's itself had suffered very severely. The old church would never reach its former magnificence until it was entirely rebuilt during the Renaissance, but Leo managed to make parts of it more beautiful than it had been before. Its altar received a new gold covering, which weighed 206 pounds and was studded with precious gems.

Leo also restored Saint Martin's monastery, where he had been educated, and the church of the Quatuor Coronati, of which he had been the priest. Other church buildings whose restoration he supported included the Lateran Palace, St. Paul's, the Anglo-Saxon Borgo, Subiaco, and many other places both inside and outside of Rome. Leo also built the church of Santa Maria Nova to replace the decaying Santa Maria Antiqua.

Church and imperial politician

In 850, Leo crowned Louis II of Italy, the son of Lothair I and great-grandson of Charlemagne, as holy roman emperor. Three years later, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, he anointed and blessed the five-year-old King Alfred the Great of Wessex. Leo reportedly "hallowed the child Alfred to king by anointing; and receiving him for his own child by adoption, gave him confirmation, and sent him back [to England] with the blessing of Saint Peter the Apostle."

Fresco of Leo IV in the basilica of San Clemente, Rome.

The same year (853), he held an important synod in Rome, in which various decrees were passed for the enforcement of ecclesiastical discipline and learning. The council condemned Cardinal Anastasius of St. Marcellus, who had previously been the librarian of the Roman church and would later be better known as Antipope Anastasius Bibliothecarius. It also censured Archbishop John of Ravenna, and Leo went personally to Ravenna to enforce the decree.

Another man who defied the authority of the pope was Duke Nomenoe of Brittany. Nomenoe sought independence both from Leo and Charles the Bald, then king of West Francia. Nomenoe deposed a number of bishops and appointed new ones, placing them under the jurisdiction of a metropolitan see of his own creation. This independence would continue until the thirteenth century, when the bishops of Breton were once again subjected to the authority of the archbishop of Tours.

Leo was also involved in attempting to secure the obedience of one of the most famous churchmen of the era, Archbishop Hincmar of Reims. In 847, Leo had supported Hincmar's accession at Reims and granted him the pallium as a symbol of Rome's support. One of Hincmar's first concerns was to restore to his metropolitan see the domains that had been alienated under his predecessor, Ebbo, had given to laymen. Hincmar was in constant conflict with the ecclesiastical clerks who had been ordained by his predecessor, and he excommunicated one of them, who was an imperial vassal. Having exceeded his ecclesiastical authority, and also having caused political problems for Rome, Hincmar was condemned in 853 at the council of Soissons. He would go on to have one of the most remarkable careers in ecclesiastical history of the Carolingian period.

It was while Leo was involved with the controversy with Hincmar that he died. He was buried in Saint Peter's Basilica on July 17, 855. He is credited with being a worker of miracles both by his church biographer and by the eastern Patriarch Saint Photius.

Legacy

The Fire in the Borgo (Leo IV is pictured in the distant window.)

While few facts are known of his spiritual life, Leo IV was a skillful organizer, administrator, and fundraiser who did much to protect Rome from the very real Mulsim threat of the ninth century. His greatest contribution was in strengthening the defenses of Rome, rebuilding many of the city's beautiful churches that had been damaged in the war with the Muslims, and forging alliances with other Italian city-states to join forces against the impending Saracen naval invasion.

The Battle of Ostia, in which Leo's coalition-building skills were instrumental, was celebrated in a famous fresco by Raphael and his pupils in his rooms of the Vatican Palace. The Fire in the Borgo, designed by Raphael and thought to be painted by his assistant Giulio Romano, shows one of the miracles attributed to Leo IV. When a fire that broke out in the Borgo in Rome in 847, Leo IV, shown in the distance in his window, reportedly turned back the flames by making the sign of the Cross.

Leo is perhaps even more famous for being supposedly succeeded by a woman, Pope Joan, who reportedly reigned for three years between Leo IV and Benedict III, disguising herself as a man. However, the supposed Pope Joan is generally believed to be fictitious.


Roman Catholic Popes
Preceded by:
Sergius II 		Pope
847–855 		Succeeded by: Benedict III

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Cheetham, Nicolas, Sir. Keepers of the Keys: A History of the Popes from St. Peter to John Paul II. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1983. ISBN 9780684178639.
  • Coppa, Frank J. The Great Popes Through History: An Encyclopedia. Westport, CN: Greenwood Press, 2002. ISBN 9780313324185.
  • Davis, Raymond. The Lives of the Ninth-Century Popes (Liber Pontificalis): The Ancient Biographies of Ten Popes from C.E. 817-891. Translated texts for historians, v. 20. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1995. ISBN 9780853234791.
  • Morrison, Karl Frederick. Tradition and Authority in the Western Church. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1969. ISBN 9780691071558.

External links

All links retrieved November 24, 2022.

Credits

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