Pope John XII - Early Reign

Early Reign

In around 960, John personally led an attack against the Lombard duchies of Beneventum and Capua, presumably to reclaim parts of the papal states which had been lost to them. Confronted by the sight of John marching at the head of an army of men from Tusculum and Spoleto, the dukes of Beneventum and Capua appealed for help from Gisulf I of Salerno, who came to their aid. John retreated north and entered into negotiations with Gisulf at Terracina. A treaty was secured between the two parties, and the price for Gisulf’s non-interference was John agreeing that the papacy would no longer claim Salerno as a Papal patrimony.

John soon found that he was unable to control the powerful Roman nobility as his father had so effortlessly done. At around the same time, Berengar II, King of Italy, began to attack the territory of the pope. In order to protect himself against political intrigues in Rome and the power of Berengar II,in 960 John sent papal legates to the King of Germany Otto I, who had previously been granted the rank of Patrician, asking for his aid. Agreeing to John’s invitation, Otto entered Italy in 961. Berengar quickly retreated to his strongholds, and Otto proceeded to enter Rome on 31 January 962. There he met with John and proceeded to swear under oath that he would do everything to defend the pope:

"To thee, the Lord Pope John, I, King Otto, promise and swear, by the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, by the wood of the life-giving cross, and by these relics of the saints, that, if by the will of God I come to Rome, I will exalt to the best of my ability the Holy Roman Church and you its ruler ; and never with my will or at my instigation shall you lose life or limb or the honour which you possess. And without your consent never, within the city of Rome, will I hold a placitum (plea) or make any regulation which affects you or the Romans. Whatever territory of St. Peter comes within my grasp, I will give up to you. And to whomsoever I shall entrust the kingdom of Italy, I will make him swear to help you as far as he can to defend the lands of St. Peter."

John then proceeded to crown Otto as Roman Emperor, the first in the west since the death of Berengar I of Italy almost 40 years before. In return, John and the rest of the Roman nobility swore an oath over the buried remains of Saint Peter to be faithful to Otto, and not to provide aid to Berengar II or his son Adalbert. Eleven days later, the pope and emperor ratified the Diploma Ottonianum, under which the emperor became the guarantor of the independence of the Papal States, which ran from Naples and Capua in the south to La Spezia and Venice in the north. This was the first effective guarantee of such protection since the collapse of the Carolingian Empire nearly 100 years before. He also confirmed the freedom of papal elections, but retained the imperial right to agree to the election before the papal consecration, whilst at the same time retaining the clauses of the Constitutio Romana which restricted temporal papal power.