Monarchia Sicula
Encyclopedia
The Monarchia Sicula was a right exercised from the beginning of the sixteenth century by the secular rulers of Sicily
, according to which they had final jurisdiction in purely religious matters, independent of the Holy See
.
This right they claimed on the ground of a papal
privilege. The oldest document advanced in support of their claim is a Papal Bull
of 5 July 1098, addressed by Urban II to Count Roger I of Sicily
. The pope agreed not to appoint a papal legate
for Sicily against the count's will, and declared his intention of getting executed by the count the ecclesiastical acts, usually performed by a legate (quinimmo quæ per legatum acturi sumus, per vestram industriam legati vice exhiberi volumus). Pope Paschal II
in a Bull of 1 October 1117, addressed to Count Roger II of Sicily
, confirmed this privilege and defined it more clearly. He bestowed upon Roger II the same power, "in the sense that if a papal legate be sent thither, that is a representative of the pope, you in your zeal shall secure the execution of what the legate is to perform" (ea videlicet ratione, ut si quando illuc ex latere nostro legatus dirigitur, quem profecto vicarium intelligimus, quæ ab eo gerenda sunt, per tuam industriam effectui mancipentur).
Urban II had thus granted Apostolic legatine power to the secular rulers; according to the Bull of Paschal II this meant that, when a papal legate was sent to Sicily to exercise jurisdiction in certain ecclesiastical matters as the pope's representative, he must communicate the nature of his commission to the secular ruler, who would then execute in person the pope's order in place of the legate (legati vice). In both instances it was a question not of a jurisdiction of the princes of Sicily independent of the Holy See, but only of the privilege of the secular rulers to execute the precepts of the supreme Church authorities; in other words, the sovereign of Sicily was privileged, but also bound, to carry out papal regulations in his land.
As a result of the feudal
relationship between the princes of Sicily and the pope, ecclesiastical matters here took on a more pronouncedly political character than elsewhere, and the Church in Sicily was reduced to the greatest dependence upon the secular power. However, up to the beginning of the sixteenth century, the privilege bestowed by Urban II was never invoked or even mentioned. When Ferdinand II of Aragon
became King of Sicily, his secretary, Giovanni Luca Barberi
of Noto
in Sicily, undertook to collect the official documents by which the rights of the kings of Sicily, both in ecclesiastical and in secular matters, were clearly determined. To this collection (Capibrevio) was joined a collection of documents under the title Liber Monarchiæ, meant to prove that the secular rulers of Sicily had always exercised the spiritual power. In this Liber Monarchiæ the privilege conferred by Urban II in regard to the legatine power was first published.
The kings urged it to give a legal basis to the authority they had long exercised over the local Church. They also used it to extend their pretensions that, by virtue of an old papal privilege, they possessed ecclesiastical authority in spiritual matters to be exercised independently of the pope. Despite doubts expressed concerning the genuineness of the Urban document, Ferdinand declared on 22 January 1515: "As for the Kingdom of Sicily, where we exercise the supervision of spiritual as well as of secular affairs, we have made sure that we do so legitimately". In consequence of such exorbitant demands, disputes arose between the popes and the rulers of the island. Clement VII negotiated with Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
concerning the Monarchia Sicula, but without success. In 1578 Philip II of Spain
tried vainly to obtain a formal confirmation of the right from Pius V. In 1597 the king appointed a special permanent judge (Judex Monarchiœ Siculœ), who was to give final decisions in the highest ecclesiastical causes, an appeal from his judgment to the pope's being forbidden. The Judex Monarchiœ Siculœ claimed the general right to visit the convents, supreme jurisdiction over the bishops and the clergy, and the exercise of a number of ecclesiastical rights belonging to the bishops, so that papal jurisdiction was almost wholly excluded.
When Caesar Baronius
, in an excursus on the year 1097 in the eleventh volume of his Annales ecclesiastici
(Rome, 1605), produced solid reasons against the genuineness of Urban II's Bull and especially against the legality of the Monarchia Sicula, a violent feud arose, and the Court of Madrid
prohibited the eleventh volume from all countries of the Spanish Empire. Baronius omitted the excursus in the second edition of the "Annales" (Antwerp, 1608), but published instead a special Tractatus de Monarchia Sicula. During the War of the Spanish Succession
another serious conflict arose between the Papal Curia and the Spanish court in regard to this alleged legatine power. The occasion of the dispute was a question of ecclesiastical immunity, and the differences continued after Count Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia
had been made King of Sicily by the Treaty of Utrecht
and had been crowned in Palermo
(1713).
On 20 February 1715, Clement XI declared the Monarchia Sicula null and void, and revoked the privileges attached to it. This edict was not recognized by the monarchs of Sicily, and, when a few years later the island came under the rule of Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
, Benedict XIII
entered into negotiations with him with the result that the Decree of Clement XI was withdrawn, and the Monarchia Sicula restored, but in an altered form. The king, through the concession of the pope could now appoint the Judex Monarchiœ Siculœ, who was at the same time to be the delegate of the Holy See and empowered to decide in the last instance upon religious matters. On the basis of this concession the kings of Sicily demanded more and more far reaching rights in ecclesiastical affairs, so that fresh struggles with the Holy See constantly arose. The situation grew ever more unbearable.
Pius IX tried in vain by amicable adjustments to enforce the essential rights of the Holy See in Sicily. Giuseppe Garibaldi
, as "Dictator" of Sicily, claimed the rights of the papal legate, and, during the service in Palermo Cathedral, caused legatine honours to be shown him. In the Bull "Suprema" of 28 January 1864, which was not published with the prescriptions for its execution until 10 October 1867, Pius IX revoked the Monarchia Sicula finally and forever. The government of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy
protested, and the Judex Monarchiœ Siculœ, Rinaldi, refused to submit, for which he was excommunicated in 1868. Article 15 of the Italian law of guarantees (13 May 1871) explicitly revoked the Monarchia Sicula, and the question was thus finally disposed of.
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, according to which they had final jurisdiction in purely religious matters, independent of the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
.
This right they claimed on the ground of a papal
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
privilege. The oldest document advanced in support of their claim is a Papal Bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
of 5 July 1098, addressed by Urban II to Count Roger I of Sicily
Roger I of Sicily
Roger I , called Bosso and the Great Count, was the Norman Count of Sicily from 1071 to 1101. He was the last great leader of the Norman conquest of southern Italy.-Conquest of Calabria and Sicily:...
. The pope agreed not to appoint a papal legate
Papal legate
A papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....
for Sicily against the count's will, and declared his intention of getting executed by the count the ecclesiastical acts, usually performed by a legate (quinimmo quæ per legatum acturi sumus, per vestram industriam legati vice exhiberi volumus). Pope Paschal II
Pope Paschal II
Pope Paschal II , born Ranierius, was Pope from August 13, 1099, until his death. A monk of the Cluniac order, he was created cardinal priest of the Titulus S...
in a Bull of 1 October 1117, addressed to Count Roger II of Sicily
Roger II of Sicily
Roger II was King of Sicily, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his brother Simon. He began his rule as Count of Sicily in 1105, later became Duke of Apulia and Calabria , then King of Sicily...
, confirmed this privilege and defined it more clearly. He bestowed upon Roger II the same power, "in the sense that if a papal legate be sent thither, that is a representative of the pope, you in your zeal shall secure the execution of what the legate is to perform" (ea videlicet ratione, ut si quando illuc ex latere nostro legatus dirigitur, quem profecto vicarium intelligimus, quæ ab eo gerenda sunt, per tuam industriam effectui mancipentur).
Urban II had thus granted Apostolic legatine power to the secular rulers; according to the Bull of Paschal II this meant that, when a papal legate was sent to Sicily to exercise jurisdiction in certain ecclesiastical matters as the pope's representative, he must communicate the nature of his commission to the secular ruler, who would then execute in person the pope's order in place of the legate (legati vice). In both instances it was a question not of a jurisdiction of the princes of Sicily independent of the Holy See, but only of the privilege of the secular rulers to execute the precepts of the supreme Church authorities; in other words, the sovereign of Sicily was privileged, but also bound, to carry out papal regulations in his land.
As a result of the feudal
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
relationship between the princes of Sicily and the pope, ecclesiastical matters here took on a more pronouncedly political character than elsewhere, and the Church in Sicily was reduced to the greatest dependence upon the secular power. However, up to the beginning of the sixteenth century, the privilege bestowed by Urban II was never invoked or even mentioned. When Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand the Catholic was King of Aragon , Sicily , Naples , Valencia, Sardinia, and Navarre, Count of Barcelona, jure uxoris King of Castile and then regent of that country also from 1508 to his death, in the name of...
became King of Sicily, his secretary, Giovanni Luca Barberi
Giovanni Luca Barberi
Giovanni Luca Barberi was an Italian historian. He was born and lived in Sicily all of his life.His writing was particularly important in compiling the list of feudal and noble titles in Sicilian history.-See also:*Monarchia Sicula...
of Noto
Noto
Noto is a city and comune in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily . Its located 32 km southwest of the city of Syracuse at the foot of the Iblean Mountains and gives its name to the surrounding valley, Val di Noto...
in Sicily, undertook to collect the official documents by which the rights of the kings of Sicily, both in ecclesiastical and in secular matters, were clearly determined. To this collection (Capibrevio) was joined a collection of documents under the title Liber Monarchiæ, meant to prove that the secular rulers of Sicily had always exercised the spiritual power. In this Liber Monarchiæ the privilege conferred by Urban II in regard to the legatine power was first published.
The kings urged it to give a legal basis to the authority they had long exercised over the local Church. They also used it to extend their pretensions that, by virtue of an old papal privilege, they possessed ecclesiastical authority in spiritual matters to be exercised independently of the pope. Despite doubts expressed concerning the genuineness of the Urban document, Ferdinand declared on 22 January 1515: "As for the Kingdom of Sicily, where we exercise the supervision of spiritual as well as of secular affairs, we have made sure that we do so legitimately". In consequence of such exorbitant demands, disputes arose between the popes and the rulers of the island. Clement VII negotiated with Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
concerning the Monarchia Sicula, but without success. In 1578 Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
tried vainly to obtain a formal confirmation of the right from Pius V. In 1597 the king appointed a special permanent judge (Judex Monarchiœ Siculœ), who was to give final decisions in the highest ecclesiastical causes, an appeal from his judgment to the pope's being forbidden. The Judex Monarchiœ Siculœ claimed the general right to visit the convents, supreme jurisdiction over the bishops and the clergy, and the exercise of a number of ecclesiastical rights belonging to the bishops, so that papal jurisdiction was almost wholly excluded.
When Caesar Baronius
Caesar Baronius
Cesare Baronio was an Italian Cardinal and ecclesiastical historian...
, in an excursus on the year 1097 in the eleventh volume of his Annales ecclesiastici
Annales ecclesiastici
Annales Ecclesiastici , consisting of twelve folio volumes, is a history of the first 12 centuries of the Christian Church, written by Cardinal Caesar Baronius...
(Rome, 1605), produced solid reasons against the genuineness of Urban II's Bull and especially against the legality of the Monarchia Sicula, a violent feud arose, and the Court of Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
prohibited the eleventh volume from all countries of the Spanish Empire. Baronius omitted the excursus in the second edition of the "Annales" (Antwerp, 1608), but published instead a special Tractatus de Monarchia Sicula. During the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
another serious conflict arose between the Papal Curia and the Spanish court in regard to this alleged legatine power. The occasion of the dispute was a question of ecclesiastical immunity, and the differences continued after Count Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia
Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia
Victor Amadeus II was Duke of Savoy from 1675 to 1730. He also held the titles of marquis of Saluzzo, duke of Montferrat, prince of Piedmont, count of Aosta, Moriana and Nizza. Louis XIV organised his marriage in order to maintain French influence in the Duchy but Victor Amadeus soon broke away...
had been made King of Sicily by the Treaty of Utrecht
Treaty of Utrecht
The Treaty of Utrecht, which established the Peace of Utrecht, comprises a series of individual peace treaties, rather than a single document, signed by the belligerents in the War of Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht in March and April 1713...
and had been crowned in Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
(1713).
On 20 February 1715, Clement XI declared the Monarchia Sicula null and void, and revoked the privileges attached to it. This edict was not recognized by the monarchs of Sicily, and, when a few years later the island came under the rule of Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles VI was the penultimate Habsburg sovereign of the Habsburg Empire. He succeeded his elder brother, Joseph I, as Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia , Hungary and Croatia , Archduke of Austria, etc., in 1711...
, Benedict XIII
Pope Benedict XIII
-Footnotes:...
entered into negotiations with him with the result that the Decree of Clement XI was withdrawn, and the Monarchia Sicula restored, but in an altered form. The king, through the concession of the pope could now appoint the Judex Monarchiœ Siculœ, who was at the same time to be the delegate of the Holy See and empowered to decide in the last instance upon religious matters. On the basis of this concession the kings of Sicily demanded more and more far reaching rights in ecclesiastical affairs, so that fresh struggles with the Holy See constantly arose. The situation grew ever more unbearable.
Pius IX tried in vain by amicable adjustments to enforce the essential rights of the Holy See in Sicily. Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian military and political figure. In his twenties, he joined the Carbonari Italian patriot revolutionaries, and fled Italy after a failed insurrection. Garibaldi took part in the War of the Farrapos and the Uruguayan Civil War leading the Italian Legion, and...
, as "Dictator" of Sicily, claimed the rights of the papal legate, and, during the service in Palermo Cathedral, caused legatine honours to be shown him. In the Bull "Suprema" of 28 January 1864, which was not published with the prescriptions for its execution until 10 October 1867, Pius IX revoked the Monarchia Sicula finally and forever. The government of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy
Victor Emmanuel II of Italy
Victor Emanuel II was king of Sardinia from 1849 and, on 17 March 1861, he assumed the title King of Italy to become the first king of a united Italy since the 6th century, a title he held until his death in 1878...
protested, and the Judex Monarchiœ Siculœ, Rinaldi, refused to submit, for which he was excommunicated in 1868. Article 15 of the Italian law of guarantees (13 May 1871) explicitly revoked the Monarchia Sicula, and the question was thus finally disposed of.