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'''Arnold of Brescia''', (c. 1090–c.1155), also known as '''Arnaldus''' ([[Italian language|Italian]]: '''Arnaldo da Brescia'''), was a [[monk]] from [[Italy]] who called on the Church to renounce ownership of property, participated in the [[Commune of Rome]], and was hanged by the Church.
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[[Image:Arnold-of-Brescia.jpg|thumb|200px|Monument to Arnold at Brescia]]
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'''Arnold of Brescia''' (c. 1090 – c.1155), also known as '''Arnaldus''' ([[Italian language|Italian]]: '''Arnaldo da Brescia'''), was a [[monk]] from [[Italy]] who called on the Catholic church to renounce ownership of property, led the [[Commune of Rome]]'s temporary overthrow of papal rule, and was later hanged by the Church for [[treason]].
  
Born in [[Brescia]], Arnold became an [[Augustinian canon]] and then prior of a monastery in Brescia. He became very critical of the temporal powers of [[Catholic Church]] that involved it in a land struggle in Brescia against the [[count-bishop of Brescia]]. He called on the Church to renounce ownership of the property and return it to the city government, so as not to be tainted by possession, one aspect of a renunciation of worldliness that he preached. He was condemned at the [[Second Lateran Council]], in 1139, and forced from Italy.
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Born in Italy, Arnold became an [[Augustinians|Augustinian monk]] and then prior of a monastery in Brescia, possibly studying at some point with [[Peter Abelard]] in Paris. Witnessing the corrupting influence of wealth on the clergy, he became critical of the temporal powers of the [[Catholic Church]], calling on his local bishop to renounce property ownership and return church lands to the city government. Arnold was condemned for this at the [[Second Lateran Council]] 1139. He soon stood trial with Abelard at Sens, where both men were sentenced to silence and exile as a result of the accusations of Saint [[Bernard of Clairvaux]].
  
Though as a religious reformer no less than a political leader Arnold failed,<ref>Greenaway 1931:162.</ref> his teachings on [[apostolic poverty]] continued potent after his death, among "Arnoldists" and more widely among [[Waldensians]] and the [[Spiritual Franciscans]], though no written word of his has survived the official condemnation.<ref>Arnold's life depends for its sources on [[Otto of Freising]] and a chapter in [[John of Salisbury]]'s ''Historia Pontificalis''.</ref> Protestants rank him among the precursors of the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]].<ref>Rosalind B. Brooke. ''The Coming of the Friars'' (1974) sets Arnold in the broader intellectual history that culminated in the thirteenth-century institutions of the [[Mendicant orders|mendicant friars]].</ref> 
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Disregarding his sentence, Arnold continued to teach, but eventually came to Rome to seek reconciliation with [[Pope Eugene III]]. There, he found the city in turmoil and joined the cause of the [[Commune of Rome]]. His leadership was crucial in forcing Eugene to leave the city and restoring Roman democracy for several years.
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Although his political cause ultimately failed, Arnold's teachings on [[apostolic poverty]] continued to be influential after his death among the [[Waldensians]] and the [[Spiritual Franciscans]]. Catholic tradition condemns him as a rebel and sometimes as a heretic, but Protestants rank him among the precursors of the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]].  
  
 
== Life ==
 
== Life ==
Born at Brescia toward the end of the eleventh century aspired to a perfect life from his youth. Before reaching adulthood, he entered a convent of canons regular in his native city, where he was ordained a priest and appointed provost of his community. Arnold reportedly completed his studies under the direction of [[Peter Abelard]]. If the report is accurate, he must have gone to Paris about 1115. Arnold did express admiration for the French pioneer of scholasticism later in life, and Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Abelard's accuser, intimates that Abelard summoned Arnold to his side after the [[Lateran Council]] of 1139. In the judgment of some critics, however, there is insufficient evidence for this first sojourn of Arnold in France.
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Born at Brescia, toward the end of the eleventh century, Arnold aspired to a perfect life from his youth. Before reaching adulthood, he entered a [[monastery]] in his native city, where he was ordained a [[priest]] and later appointed prior of his community. Arnold reportedly completed his studies at some point under the direction of [[Peter Abelard]]. If the report is accurate, he must have gone to Paris around 1115. Whether or not he actually studied with Abelard, it seems clear that Arnold was influenced by his ideas.
  
Whether or not he studied with Abelard, it seems clear that Arnold was influenced by his philosophy and desire for reform. Even his detractors admit that he was qualified for for the high office of provost at Brecia by his detachment from earthly things, his love of religious discipline, and the clearness of his intellect. Arnold also possessed and originality and charm of expression that he brought to the service of a lofty ideal. Brescia yielded to his influence, and in the course of several years Arnold advanced to be the unrivaled head of the reform movement then stirring the city.
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[[Image:Abelard.heloise.jpg|thumb|Peter Abelard, shown after his retirement from teaching with the Abbess Heloise, his former lover]]
  
Brescia, like most other Lombard cities, was beginning to exercise its municipal rights. The government was in the hands of two consuls elected annually. Checking their authority was the local bishop, who was also as principal landowner. Inevitable conflicts arose between the rival forces, involving not only political issues, but also religious passions. These conditions grieved Arnold. He pointed out the evils which afflicted both the city the Catholic Church, concluding that the chief causes of these sins were the corrupting wealth of the clergy and the temporal power of the bishop. He suggested taking the immediate and drastic measure stripping the monasteries and bishoprics of their wealth, and transfering it to laity. This, he held, was the surest and quickest method of satisfying the civil authorities and of bringing back the clergy to the practice of the apostles.
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Even his detractors admit that Arnold was qualified for the high office of provost/prior at Brescia by his detachment from earthly things, his love of religious discipline, and the clearness of his intellect. Arnold also possessed an originality and charm of expression that he brought to the service of a lofty ideal. Brescia yielded to his influence, and in the course of several years Arnold advanced to be the unrivaled head of the reform movement then stirring the city.
  
To reduce this to a working theory, Arnold reportedly formulated the following propositions: "Clerics who own property, bishops who hold ''regalia'' [land tenures by royal grant], and monks who have possessions cannot possibly be saved. All these things belong to the [temporal] prince, who cannot dispose of them except in favor of laymen."
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Brescia, like most other [[Lombard]] cities, was beginning to exercise its municipal rights. The government was in the hands of two consuls elected annually. Checking their authority was the local bishop, who was also a principal landowner. Inevitable conflicts arose between the rival forces, involving not only political and economic issues, but also religious passions. These conditions grieved Arnold. He pointed out the evils which afflicted both the city and the Church, concluding that the chief causes of these sins were the corrupting wealth of the clergy and the temporal power of the bishop. He hoped for the Church to return to a more purely spiritual tradition, which would also give it the moral power it lacked as a major landowner with powerful political interests. He advised taking the immediate and drastic measure of stripping the monasteries and bishoprics of their wealth, and transferring it to the laity. This, he held, was the surest and quickest method of satisfying the civil authorities and of bringing back the clergy to the practice of the [[apostle]]s.
  
The higher clergy, of course, vehemently rejected Arnold's teachings, but elements in the growing middle class of merchants and artisans welcomed them. Brescia was apparently thrown into crisis, although its details are not clear due to the scarcity of documents. From the testimony such men as Otto of Freisingen, Saint Bernard, and John of Salisbury, some facts seem clear. First, a journey was made by the local bishop, Manfred, to Rome about 1138. An insurrection arose during his absence. Arnold allegedly attempt to seize the bishop's temporal power when he returned. Arnold sought to justify his revolt and appealed to Rome, but was condemned by Innocent II at the Lateran Council, in 1139. The pope command Arnold to keep silence and sent him into exile. He was forbidden to return to Brescia without the express permission of the pontiff.
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To reduce this to a working theory, Arnold reportedly formulated the following propositions: "Clerics who own property, bishops who hold ''regalia'' [royal land grants], and monks who have possessions cannot possibly be saved. All these things belong to the [temporal] prince, who cannot dispose of them except in favor of laymen."
  
The issue came before the [[Synod of Sens]] in 1140. There, we find Arnold by the side of the famous [[Abelard]], who was about to make his final struggle in defense of his own views. Opposing them both was the equally famous [[Bernard of Clairvaux]], whose intellect matched Abelard's and whose piety outshone even that of the ascetic Arnold. Accounts written by the victors portray the debate as a utter rout in favor of the conservative Bernard.  
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The higher clergy, of course, vehemently rejected Arnold's teachings, but elements in the growing middle class welcomed them. Brescia was thrown into crisis, although the details are not clear, due to the scarcity of documents. Some facts, however, seem certain. First, a journey was made by the local bishop, Manfred, to Rome about 1138. Then, an insurrection arose at Brescia during his absence. Finally, Arnold allegedly attempted to prevent the bishop's exercise of temporal power when he returned.
  
Both men were condemned to perpetual confinement in separate monasteries, a sentence that was confirmed by Innocent II in his bull dated July, 16 1140. Arnold's writings were also [[Book burning|condemned to be burned]] as a further measure. None of his writings survive, and we know of his teachings only through the reports of his enemies.
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===Condemnation===
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Arnold sought to justify his revolt and appealed to Rome, but was condemned by [[Innocent II]] at the [[Lateran Council]], in 1139. The pope commanded Arnold to keep silent and sent him into [[exile]]. He was forbidden to return to Brescia without the express permission of the pontiff.
  
Abelard publicly recanted his views and took refuge with [[Peter the Venerable]], Abbot of Cluny. The younger and more rebellious Arnold was less compliant. He retired temporarily to Mont Sainte-Geneviève at Paris, where he soon opened public courses of moral theology, continuing to preach his radical ideas concerning [[apostolic poverty]].According to John of Salisbury, he attracted disciples mainly for the impoverished people of the city who were so needy that they had to beg their daily bread. This state of affairs, however, accorded very well with Arnold's teachings which sharply censured the luxury of bishops and the worldly possessions of monks. Wealth, Arnold insisted was the real virus that was infecting the Church. Arnold's attacks did not stop here, however. His condemnation was reportedly never far from his mind, and he engaged his harsh diatribes against those who had condemned Abelard and himself. Since Abelard himself had capitulated, however, Arnold stood virtually alone.  
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The issue of Arnold's teachings also came before the [[Synod of Sens]] in 1140. There, Arnold could be found by the side of the famous [[Abelard]], who was about to make his final struggle in defense of his own views. Opposing them both was the equally famous [[Bernard of Clairvaux]], whose intellect matched Abelard's and whose piety out-shone even that of the ascetic Arnold. Accounts written by the victors portray the debate as an utter rout in favor of the conservative Bernard.  
  
Arnold was particularly harsh in is criticism of the Abbot of Clairvaux as a man "puffed up with vainglory, and jealous of all those who have won fame in letters or religion, if they are not of his school." Bernard, on the other hand, denounced Arnold to Louis VII as "the incorrigible schismatic, the sower of discord, the disturber of the peace, the destroyer of unity." Bernard, having succeeding in forcing Arnold out of Italy took satisfaction in reporting to his readers that "The most Christian King drove (him) from the kingdom of France."
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Both men were condemned to perpetual confinement in separate monasteries, a sentence that was confirmed by Innocent II in his bull dated July 16, 1140. Arnold's writings were also [[Book burning|condemned to be burned]], as were Abelard's, as a further measure. None of Arnold's writings survive, and his teachings are known only through the reports of his enemies.
  
Thus compelled to flee, Arnold took refuge in Switzerland. The tireless Bernard continued active in pursuit of his foe, however. By 1143 Arnold had left for Bohemia where her begged protection from a papal legate named Guy, who was touched by his misfortunes and treated him with friendliness. This attitude vexed Saint Bernard, although it may be that Arnold had given his host pledges of submission to the pope's will.
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===On the run===
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Abelard publicly recanted his views and took refuge with [[Peter the Venerable]], the abbot of [[Cluny]]. The younger and more rebellious Arnold was less compliant. He retired temporarily to the Abbey of Sainte-Geneviève in Paris, where he soon opened public courses of moral theology, continuing to preach his radical ideas concerning [[apostolic poverty]]. According to [[John of Salisbury]], he attracted disciples mainly from the impoverished people of the city who were so needy that they had to beg their daily bread. This, however, accorded very well with Arnold's teachings, which sharply censured the luxury of [[bishop]]s and the worldly possessions of [[monk]]s. Wealth, Arnold insisted, was the real virus that was infecting the Church.
  
== Life and death in Rome ==
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Arnold's attacks did not stop here, however. He engaged his harsh diatribes against those who had condemned Abelard and himself. Arnold was particularly harsh in is criticism of Bernard of Clairvaux as a man "puffed up with vainglory, and jealous of all those who have won fame in letters or religion, if they are not of his school." Bernard, on the other hand, denounced Arnold to [[Louis VII]] as "the incorrigible schismatic, the sower of discord, the disturber of the peace, the destroyer of unity." Bernard, having succeeded in forcing Arnold out of Italy earlier, took satisfaction in reporting to his readers that, "The most Christian King drove (him) from the kingdom of France."
[[Image:Arnoldofbrescia.jpg|thumb|right|Arnold of Brescia burned at the stake at the hands of the Papal guards.]]
 
Arnold soon returned to Italy to make his peace in 1145 with [[Pope Eugene III]]. The pontiff, on reconciling him with the Church, imposed a form of penance then customary: fasts, vigils, and pilgrimages to the principal shrines of Rome.
 
  
Rome itself, however, was now in the throes of its own secularizing reform. When Arnold arrived, he found that the followers of [[Giordano Pierleoni]] had asserted the ancient rights of the [[Medieval commune|commune of Rome]], taken control of the city from papal forces, and founded a [[republic]], the [[Commune of Rome]]. Arnold, no doubt seeing God's providence at work, sided with the commune and soon rose to its intellectual leadership, calling for liberty and democratic rights. Arnold reportedly went so far as to declare that clergy who owned property had no power to perform the [[Sacraments]]. His preaching and the support of the commune succeeded in driving Pope Eugene into exile in 1146. For this, was [[excommunicate]]d, on July 15, 1148. However, when Pope Eugene returned to the city later that year, Arnold continued to lead the blossoming republic, despite his excommunication.
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Thus compelled to flee again, Arnold took refuge in Switzerland. The tireless Bernard continued in pursuit of his foe. By 1143, Arnold had left for Bohemia, where he begged protection from a papal legate, Cardinal Guido, who was touched by his misfortunes and treated him with friendliness. This attitude vexed Saint Bernard, although it may be that Arnold had given Guido pledges of submission to the pope's will.
  
After Eugene's death, [[Pope Adrian IV]] swiftly took steps to regain control of [[Rome]], inviting the military aid [[Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick Barbarossa]], who took Rome by force in 1155 and forced Arnold again into exile. He was seized by imperial forces and was finally tried by the [[Roman Curia]] as a rebel, though not for [[heresy]]. As a result of his conviction for treason against the papal state, he was [[Execution (legal)|hanged]] and his body burnt.
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=== Career and death in Rome ===
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Arnold soon returned to Italy to make his peace, in 1145, with [[Pope Eugene III]]. The pontiff, on reconciling him with the Church, imposed a form of penance then customary: [[fasting|Fasts]], [[vigil]]s, and [[pilgrimage]]s to the principal shrines of Rome.
  
To the end, Arnold refused to recant any of his positions. As he remained a hero to large sections of the Roman people and the minor clergy, his ashes were cast into the [[Tiber]] to prevent his burial place becoming venerated as the [[shrine]] of a [[martyr]].
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[[Image:B Eugen III.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Pope Eugene III]]
  
In summing up these events, [[Caesar Baronius]] called Arnold "the father of political heresies," while the Protestant view is expressed by [[Edward Gibbon]], who found that "the trumpet of Roman liberty was first sounded by Arnold."
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Rome itself, however, was now in the throes of its own secularizing reform. When Arnold arrived, he found that the followers of [[Giordano Pierleoni]] had asserted the ancient rights of the Roman republic. They took control of the city from papal forces and founded a [[republic]], the [[Commune of Rome]].
  
In 1882, after the collapse of Papal temporal powers, the city of Brescia erected a monument to its native son.
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Arnold, no doubt seeing God's providence at work, sided with the commune and soon rose to its intellectual leadership, calling for liberty and democratic rights. Arnold reportedly went so far as to declare that clergy who owned property had no power to perform the [[sacraments]]. The [[Curia]] became the chief object of his attacks; he depicted the cardinals as vile hypocrites. He accused Eugenius himself of being more concerned "with pampering his own body and filling his own purse than with imitating the zeal of the Apostles whose place he filled." Arnold especially reproached the pope for relying on physical force, and for "defending with homicide" his own power. His preaching and the support of the commune succeeded in driving Pope Eugene into exile in 1146. From 1146-49, Roman democracy triumphed under Arnold of Brescia.
  
He did not even spare the pope. Eugenius III, whose gentle moderation this terrible reformer had but recently acknowledged, was suddenly transformed into the executioner of the Church, more concerned "with pampering his own body, and filling his own purse than with imitating the zeal of the Apostles whose place he filled." In particular, Arnold reproached the pope for relying on physical force, and for "defending with homicide" his rights when contested. Eugenius III was forced to leave the Eternal City, and for some time (1146-49) Roman democracy triumphed under Arnold of Brescia. Though excommunicated by the pope (15 July, 1148), Arnold did not despair of his position. By degrees, however, his revolutionary programme took on another character. The abolition of the temporal power of the papacy was now only the first of his demands; the second contemplated the subordination of the spiritual to the civil power. Wetzel, one of his disciples presumed to offer to King Conrad III the keys of the Castle of Sant' Angelo, so that the German emperors might have the future disposal of the tiara and the government of Rome. Arnold's policy, at first republican, thus ended in downright imperialism. Frederick Barbarossa, however, Conrad's successor, refused to support the schemes of the Roman agitators. With much cleverness and tact, Eugenius III won over the emperor to the cause of the papacy. Arnold was thus rendered helpless. The senatorial elections of November, 1152, had turned against him, and marked the beginning of his fall.
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For this, Arnold was [[excommunicate]]d, on July 15, 1148. However, when Pope Eugene returned to the city later that year, Arnold continued to lead the blossoming republic, despite his excommunication. Meanwhile, Arnold's reform took on an increasingly secularizing character. He demanded not only the abolition of the temporal power of the papacy but also the subordination of the church to the state.
  
Little is known of Arnold during the brief reign of Anastasius IV (July, 1153 - December, 1154), but the election of Adrian IV was fatal to his cause. He had fallen into the hands of Odo, Cardinal-Deacon of St. Nicholas in carcere Tulliano, but was freed by the Viscounts of Campagnatico, and found for some years a safe refuge in their territory. They "looked on him as a prophet" inspired by God. However, as in an agreement between Adrian and Frederick Barbarossa, the pope obtained the emperor's promise that he would seize the person of Arnold and remove him, willing or unwilling, from the custody of the Viscounts of Campagnatico. Frederick did not hesitate to make and keep this promise, and accordingly Arnold was handed over to the Curia. It is quite difficult to give an exact account of the trial of Arnold. According to the story recorded by Gerhoh de Reichersperg, he was secretly removed from the ecclesiastical prison and put to death by the servants of the prefect of Rome, who had suffered great injuries from the revolution fomented by Arnold. It is very probable, however, that the Curia had a larger share in his condemnation. One analyst goes so far as to say that the pope personally ordered him to be hanged. Another writer affirms, with more semblance of truth, that Adrian confined himself to demanding Arnold's degradation, so that he might be delivered over to the secular power. According to the author of a poem recently discovered (and he seems to be well informed), Arnold when brought in sight of the gallows faced his death courageously. When urged to recant his teachings, he answered that he had nothing to withdraw, and was ready to suffer death for them. He asked only for a brief respite to pray and beg Christ's pardon for his sins. After a short mental prayer he gave himself up to the executioner, and offered his head to the noose. After hanging from the gallows for a short time, his body was burned, and the ashes thrown into the Tiber, "for fear", says one chronicler, "lest the people might collect them and honour them as the ashes of a martyr."
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Eugenius III used his own powers of persuasion to win a key ally in the Holy Roman Emperor, [[Frederick Barbarossa]]. Then, the senatorial elections of November, 1152 turned against Arnold, marking the beginning of his fall.
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[[Image:Arnoldofbrescia.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Arnold of Brescia burned at the stake in Rome after being hanged for treason.]]
  
"Forger of heresies," "sower of schisms," "enemy of the Catholic Faith," "schismatic," "heretic," such are the terms used by Otto of Freisingen, by the author of the "Historia Pontificalis," by the Abbot of Clairvaux, by Eugenius III, and Adrian IV to stigmatize Arnold. Given the vagueness of these characterizations, it is not easy to specify the dogmatic errors into which the innovator fell. Otto of Freisingen echoes a rumour according to which Arnold held offensive views on baptism and the Eucharist. His contemporaries (notably St. Bernard, who pursued so bitterly the "squire" of Abelard) lay nothing of the kind to his charge. The abbot of Clairvaux in one of his letters accuses Arnold of being "an enemy of the Cross of Christ." But must we conclude from this that Arnold was a follower of Pierre de Bruys, who condemned the adoration of the Cross? It is much more probable that the words of St. Bernard are to be taken broadly or in a metaphorical sense. In reality it was in practical matters that Arnold showed himself inimical to the teachings accepted at his time. He began by condemning the abuses occasioned by the wealth of the churchmen, an act which in itself placed him in the class of true reformers; St. Bernard and Gerhoh de Reichersperg said the same thing. But Arnold did not stop at this; he went so far as to deny the very principle of proprietary right as claimed by the Church, and thereby assailed the temporal power of the papacy. "All earthly possessions belong to the prince, the pope should relinquish the government of Rome; bishops, priests, and monks can own nothing without incurring the penalty of eternal damnation." On all these various points the innovator, to say the least, was plainly guilty of temerity. And since he clashed with a hierarchy that was not prepared to sanction his views, he ended by questioning its authority. According to him, the Church had become corrupt in the persons of covetouss and simoniacal priests, bishops, and cardinals, and was no longer the true Church. "The pope," he says, "is no longer the real Apostolicus, and, as he does not exemplify in his life the teachings of the Apostles, there is no obligation of reverence and obedience towards him." The unworthy clergy lose the right of administering the sacraments, and the faithful need no longer confess" to them. It is sufficient that they confess to one another. If it be true, as stated by the anonymous author of the poem above quoted, that Arnold had fallen into these errors, the schismatical and heretical character of his teachings remains no longer doubtful. His disciples, i.e. those whom the thirteenth-century documents call the Arnoldists, or Arnaldists, taught other errors no less serious, for which, however, Arnold cannot justly be held responsible.
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After Eugene's death, [[Pope Adrian IV]] took steps to regain control of [[Rome]]. In 1155, he placed the city under papal [[interdict]], and Frederick Barbarossa, at the pope's invitation, took Rome by force. Arnold was seized by imperial forces and was finally tried by the [[Roman Curia]] as a rebel, though not for [[heresy]]. As a result of his conviction for treason against the papal state, he was [[Execution (legal)|hanged]] and his body burned.
  
== See also ==
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At his trial, and even facing his death, Arnold refused to recant any of his positions. As he remained a hero to large sections of the Roman people and the minor clergy, his ashes were cast into the [[Tiber]] to prevent his burial place becoming venerated as the [[shrine]] of a [[martyr]].
*[[Arnoldist]]
 
*[[History of Rome#Medieval Rome|History of Rome in the Middle Ages]]
 
  
==Notes==
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==Legacy==
{{reflist|2}}
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"Forger of heresies," "sower of schisms," "enemy of the Catholic Faith," "schismatic," "heretic"—such are the terms used by Arnold's contemporary opponents and other early critics. Others saw him as a pious and holy man, even a [[prophet]]. Arnold's direct followers, known as Arnoldists, were eventually condemned in 1184, at the Synod of Verona. Others, such as the [[Waldensians]] and [[Spiritual Franciscans]], adopted his teachings on the importance of [[apostolic poverty]], though not always insisting on its application throughout the church.
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The basic points of Arnold's criticism of wealth in the Catholic Church remained powerful influences in the pre-Reformation period. [[Martin Luther]] himself was animated in part by Arnold's spirit. In 1882, after the collapse of papal temporal powers, the city of Brescia erected a monument to its native son.
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In summing up his life, the sixteenth century Catholic writer, Cardinal [[Caesar Baronius]], called Arnold "the father of political heresies." The Protestant view was expressed by [[Edward Gibbon]], who found that "the trumpet of Roman liberty was first sounded by Arnold."
  
 
== References ==
 
== References ==
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01747b.htm ''Catholic Encyclopedia'': ] "Arnold of Brescia"
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* Greenaway, George William. ''Arnold of Brescia''. Cambridge: The University Press, 1931.  
* [http://www.bookrags.com/biography-arnold-of-brescia/index.html (Bookrags) "Arnold of Brescia"]
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* Lambert, Malcolm. ''Medieval Heresy: Popular Movements from the Gregorian Reform to the Reformation''. Oxford: B. Blackwell, 1992. ISBN 9780631174325.
* Romedio Schmitz-Esser, ''Arnold von Brescia im Spiegel von acht Jahrhunderten Rezeption. Ein Beispiel für Europas Umgang mit der mittelalterlichen Geschichte vom Humanismus bis heute'', Vienna-Berlin-Münster 2007.
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* Russell, Jeffrey Burton. ''Dissent and Reform in the Early Middle Ages''. Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2005. ISBN 978-1597520867.
* Romedio Schmitz-Esser, ''Arnold of Brescia in Exile: April 1139 to December 1143 – His Role as a Reformer, Reviewed'', in: ''Exile in the Middle Ages. Selected Proceedings from the International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds, 8-11 July 2002'', ed. by Laura Napran and Elisabeth van Houts, Turnhout 2004, p. 213-231.
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* Wakefield, Walter L., and Austin P. Evans. ''Heresies of the High Middle Ages''. New York: Columbia University Press, 1991. ISBN 9780231096324.
* Grado Giovanni Merlo, ''La storia e la memoria di Arnaldo da Brescia'', in: ''Studi Storici'' 32/4 (1991) p. 943-952.
 
* Maurizio Pegrari (ed.), ''Arnaldo da Brescia e il suo tempo'', Brescia 1991.
 
* George William Greenaway, ''Arnold of Brescia'', (Cambridge University Press) 1931. The first biography in English.
 
* Pasquale Villari, ''Mediaeval Italy from Charlemagne to Henry VII'', 1910.
 
* [[Ferdinand A. Gregorovius]], ''History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages'' 6th ed. 1953-1957.
 
  
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*This article incorporates text from the 1917 Catholic Encyclopedia, a work in the public domain.
  
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnold of Brescia}}
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==External links==
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All links retrieved November 7, 2021.
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* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01747b.htm ''Catholic Encyclopedia'': "Arnold of Brescia"] ''www.newadvent.org''
  
 
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Revision as of 12:00, 7 November 2021

Monument to Arnold at Brescia

Arnold of Brescia (c. 1090 – c.1155), also known as Arnaldus (Italian: Arnaldo da Brescia), was a monk from Italy who called on the Catholic church to renounce ownership of property, led the Commune of Rome's temporary overthrow of papal rule, and was later hanged by the Church for treason.

Born in Italy, Arnold became an Augustinian monk and then prior of a monastery in Brescia, possibly studying at some point with Peter Abelard in Paris. Witnessing the corrupting influence of wealth on the clergy, he became critical of the temporal powers of the Catholic Church, calling on his local bishop to renounce property ownership and return church lands to the city government. Arnold was condemned for this at the Second Lateran Council 1139. He soon stood trial with Abelard at Sens, where both men were sentenced to silence and exile as a result of the accusations of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux.

Disregarding his sentence, Arnold continued to teach, but eventually came to Rome to seek reconciliation with Pope Eugene III. There, he found the city in turmoil and joined the cause of the Commune of Rome. His leadership was crucial in forcing Eugene to leave the city and restoring Roman democracy for several years.

Although his political cause ultimately failed, Arnold's teachings on apostolic poverty continued to be influential after his death among the Waldensians and the Spiritual Franciscans. Catholic tradition condemns him as a rebel and sometimes as a heretic, but Protestants rank him among the precursors of the Reformation.

Life

Born at Brescia, toward the end of the eleventh century, Arnold aspired to a perfect life from his youth. Before reaching adulthood, he entered a monastery in his native city, where he was ordained a priest and later appointed prior of his community. Arnold reportedly completed his studies at some point under the direction of Peter Abelard. If the report is accurate, he must have gone to Paris around 1115. Whether or not he actually studied with Abelard, it seems clear that Arnold was influenced by his ideas.

Peter Abelard, shown after his retirement from teaching with the Abbess Heloise, his former lover

Even his detractors admit that Arnold was qualified for the high office of provost/prior at Brescia by his detachment from earthly things, his love of religious discipline, and the clearness of his intellect. Arnold also possessed an originality and charm of expression that he brought to the service of a lofty ideal. Brescia yielded to his influence, and in the course of several years Arnold advanced to be the unrivaled head of the reform movement then stirring the city.

Brescia, like most other Lombard cities, was beginning to exercise its municipal rights. The government was in the hands of two consuls elected annually. Checking their authority was the local bishop, who was also a principal landowner. Inevitable conflicts arose between the rival forces, involving not only political and economic issues, but also religious passions. These conditions grieved Arnold. He pointed out the evils which afflicted both the city and the Church, concluding that the chief causes of these sins were the corrupting wealth of the clergy and the temporal power of the bishop. He hoped for the Church to return to a more purely spiritual tradition, which would also give it the moral power it lacked as a major landowner with powerful political interests. He advised taking the immediate and drastic measure of stripping the monasteries and bishoprics of their wealth, and transferring it to the laity. This, he held, was the surest and quickest method of satisfying the civil authorities and of bringing back the clergy to the practice of the apostles.

To reduce this to a working theory, Arnold reportedly formulated the following propositions: "Clerics who own property, bishops who hold regalia [royal land grants], and monks who have possessions cannot possibly be saved. All these things belong to the [temporal] prince, who cannot dispose of them except in favor of laymen."

The higher clergy, of course, vehemently rejected Arnold's teachings, but elements in the growing middle class welcomed them. Brescia was thrown into crisis, although the details are not clear, due to the scarcity of documents. Some facts, however, seem certain. First, a journey was made by the local bishop, Manfred, to Rome about 1138. Then, an insurrection arose at Brescia during his absence. Finally, Arnold allegedly attempted to prevent the bishop's exercise of temporal power when he returned.

Condemnation

Arnold sought to justify his revolt and appealed to Rome, but was condemned by Innocent II at the Lateran Council, in 1139. The pope commanded Arnold to keep silent and sent him into exile. He was forbidden to return to Brescia without the express permission of the pontiff.

The issue of Arnold's teachings also came before the Synod of Sens in 1140. There, Arnold could be found by the side of the famous Abelard, who was about to make his final struggle in defense of his own views. Opposing them both was the equally famous Bernard of Clairvaux, whose intellect matched Abelard's and whose piety out-shone even that of the ascetic Arnold. Accounts written by the victors portray the debate as an utter rout in favor of the conservative Bernard.

Both men were condemned to perpetual confinement in separate monasteries, a sentence that was confirmed by Innocent II in his bull dated July 16, 1140. Arnold's writings were also condemned to be burned, as were Abelard's, as a further measure. None of Arnold's writings survive, and his teachings are known only through the reports of his enemies.

On the run

Abelard publicly recanted his views and took refuge with Peter the Venerable, the abbot of Cluny. The younger and more rebellious Arnold was less compliant. He retired temporarily to the Abbey of Sainte-Geneviève in Paris, where he soon opened public courses of moral theology, continuing to preach his radical ideas concerning apostolic poverty. According to John of Salisbury, he attracted disciples mainly from the impoverished people of the city who were so needy that they had to beg their daily bread. This, however, accorded very well with Arnold's teachings, which sharply censured the luxury of bishops and the worldly possessions of monks. Wealth, Arnold insisted, was the real virus that was infecting the Church.

Arnold's attacks did not stop here, however. He engaged his harsh diatribes against those who had condemned Abelard and himself. Arnold was particularly harsh in is criticism of Bernard of Clairvaux as a man "puffed up with vainglory, and jealous of all those who have won fame in letters or religion, if they are not of his school." Bernard, on the other hand, denounced Arnold to Louis VII as "the incorrigible schismatic, the sower of discord, the disturber of the peace, the destroyer of unity." Bernard, having succeeded in forcing Arnold out of Italy earlier, took satisfaction in reporting to his readers that, "The most Christian King drove (him) from the kingdom of France."

Thus compelled to flee again, Arnold took refuge in Switzerland. The tireless Bernard continued in pursuit of his foe. By 1143, Arnold had left for Bohemia, where he begged protection from a papal legate, Cardinal Guido, who was touched by his misfortunes and treated him with friendliness. This attitude vexed Saint Bernard, although it may be that Arnold had given Guido pledges of submission to the pope's will.

Career and death in Rome

Arnold soon returned to Italy to make his peace, in 1145, with Pope Eugene III. The pontiff, on reconciling him with the Church, imposed a form of penance then customary: Fasts, vigils, and pilgrimages to the principal shrines of Rome.

Pope Eugene III

Rome itself, however, was now in the throes of its own secularizing reform. When Arnold arrived, he found that the followers of Giordano Pierleoni had asserted the ancient rights of the Roman republic. They took control of the city from papal forces and founded a republic, the Commune of Rome.

Arnold, no doubt seeing God's providence at work, sided with the commune and soon rose to its intellectual leadership, calling for liberty and democratic rights. Arnold reportedly went so far as to declare that clergy who owned property had no power to perform the sacraments. The Curia became the chief object of his attacks; he depicted the cardinals as vile hypocrites. He accused Eugenius himself of being more concerned "with pampering his own body and filling his own purse than with imitating the zeal of the Apostles whose place he filled." Arnold especially reproached the pope for relying on physical force, and for "defending with homicide" his own power. His preaching and the support of the commune succeeded in driving Pope Eugene into exile in 1146. From 1146-49, Roman democracy triumphed under Arnold of Brescia.

For this, Arnold was excommunicated, on July 15, 1148. However, when Pope Eugene returned to the city later that year, Arnold continued to lead the blossoming republic, despite his excommunication. Meanwhile, Arnold's reform took on an increasingly secularizing character. He demanded not only the abolition of the temporal power of the papacy but also the subordination of the church to the state.

Eugenius III used his own powers of persuasion to win a key ally in the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa. Then, the senatorial elections of November, 1152 turned against Arnold, marking the beginning of his fall.

Arnold of Brescia burned at the stake in Rome after being hanged for treason.

After Eugene's death, Pope Adrian IV took steps to regain control of Rome. In 1155, he placed the city under papal interdict, and Frederick Barbarossa, at the pope's invitation, took Rome by force. Arnold was seized by imperial forces and was finally tried by the Roman Curia as a rebel, though not for heresy. As a result of his conviction for treason against the papal state, he was hanged and his body burned.

At his trial, and even facing his death, Arnold refused to recant any of his positions. As he remained a hero to large sections of the Roman people and the minor clergy, his ashes were cast into the Tiber to prevent his burial place becoming venerated as the shrine of a martyr.

Legacy

"Forger of heresies," "sower of schisms," "enemy of the Catholic Faith," "schismatic," "heretic"—such are the terms used by Arnold's contemporary opponents and other early critics. Others saw him as a pious and holy man, even a prophet. Arnold's direct followers, known as Arnoldists, were eventually condemned in 1184, at the Synod of Verona. Others, such as the Waldensians and Spiritual Franciscans, adopted his teachings on the importance of apostolic poverty, though not always insisting on its application throughout the church.

The basic points of Arnold's criticism of wealth in the Catholic Church remained powerful influences in the pre-Reformation period. Martin Luther himself was animated in part by Arnold's spirit. In 1882, after the collapse of papal temporal powers, the city of Brescia erected a monument to its native son.

In summing up his life, the sixteenth century Catholic writer, Cardinal Caesar Baronius, called Arnold "the father of political heresies." The Protestant view was expressed by Edward Gibbon, who found that "the trumpet of Roman liberty was first sounded by Arnold."

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Greenaway, George William. Arnold of Brescia. Cambridge: The University Press, 1931.
  • Lambert, Malcolm. Medieval Heresy: Popular Movements from the Gregorian Reform to the Reformation. Oxford: B. Blackwell, 1992. ISBN 9780631174325.
  • Russell, Jeffrey Burton. Dissent and Reform in the Early Middle Ages. Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2005. ISBN 978-1597520867.
  • Wakefield, Walter L., and Austin P. Evans. Heresies of the High Middle Ages. New York: Columbia University Press, 1991. ISBN 9780231096324.
  • This article incorporates text from the 1917 Catholic Encyclopedia, a work in the public domain.

External links

All links retrieved November 7, 2021.

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