Toto of Nepi
Encyclopedia
Toto was the self-styled duke of Nepi
, the leading magnate of Etruria
, who staged a coup d'état in Rome
in 767. He became Duke of Rome for a year until his death. The principal sources documenting his takeover are the vita
of Pope Stephen III
in the Liber Pontificalis
and a surviving deposition of the primicerius Christopher from 769, preserved in a ninth-century manuscript of Verona
, the Depositio Christophori.
Toto's origins are obscure. His name is Germanic
, probably Lombard
, but Nepi lay within the Duchy of Rome
on the frontier with the Duchy of Tuscia. The Liber Pontificalis calls him "Toto quidam dux, Nepesinae civitatis dudum habitator", a certain duke long resident at Nepi. The Depositio Christophori refers to him as "quidam Nempesini oppidi ortus, Toto nomine", a man born in the fortress of Nepi, Toto by name. Thomas Hodgkin
refers to him as a "citizen of doubtful nationality ... who had by means unknown to us acquired the dignity of a dukedom", meaning a Roman citizen, but a native and resident of Nepi, who employed the title dux, but with or without legal justification is uncertain.
In 767 Pope Paul I
fell ill. Toto, with his brothers Constantine
, Passivus (Passibo) and Paschal, gathered a large army from Nepi, the other Etrurian towns, and the rustici or contadini (agricultural levy), and entered Rome by the gate of Saint Pancras (San Pancrazio). He then settled down in his townhouse to wait things out, intending probably to influence the election of a papal successor. The primicerius Christopher drew an oath from Toto that he would not interfere in the coming election, but when Paul died on 28 June, he seized the Lateran Palace
and declared his lay brother Constantine pope. The following day, George of Palestrina, the vicedominus, who was in the palace at the time of the coup, was forced to ordain Constantine a subdeacon and deacon in the chapel of Saint Lawrence. The population of Rome was ordered to swear allegiance to Constantine and, six days later, he was consecrated bishop by George, Eustratius of Albano, and Citonatus of Porto.
Christopher and his son Sergius, the sacellarius, avoided swearing loyalty to the new pope. Threatened in their home by a notary named Constantine, they took refuge in the Basilica of Saint Peter. A relative (or possibly friend) of theirs, the old duke of Rome, Gregory, then living in Campania
, was murdered; but despite the threats the two remained safe in Saint Peter's. They eventually offered to become monks at San Salvatore in Rieti
not far from Rome; Pope Constantine met them in the Basilica and agreed to their safe conduct from the city after Easter (which they would be allowed to celebrate in the city under house arrest). Once the two entered the Lombard Kingdom they went to Theodicius
, Duke of Spoleto, and begged his help. He escorted them to King Desiderius
in Pavia
. Desiderius appointed as his representative a priest named Waldipert. In July 768 Sergius began recruiting troops in the Sabine
area, while Waldipert recruited in the region of Furcone and Rieti and in the duchy of Spoleto. On 29 July the bridge over the Aniene
was taken, then the Ponte Milvio
, and finally they arrived at the Saint Pancras gate of Rome itself, which their allies in the city opened to them. They encamped on the Gianiculo, uncertain of popular feeling.
Toto and his brother Passivus, with the papal secundicerius Demetrius and the chartularius Gratiosus, marched to the gate to intercept them. A small battle took place at the foot of the Gianiculo. After the famous Lombard warrior Racipert was killed in a confrontation with Toto, the Lombard troops retreated. At this moment the Roman and papal officers Demetrius and Gratiosus, who had been in contact with the Lombards' and Sergius's allies in the city, stabbed Toto from behind with their lances, killing him. Passivus escaped to the Lateran, and he and Constantine fled to the security of San Cesario with bishop Theodore of Palestrina. They were soon arrested by the urban militia.
Toto had made no attempt to overthrow the papal bureaucracy or replace the leaders of the urban militia, but besides naming himself duke, he appointed an ally, Gracilis, to be tribune
of Alatri
. After Rome was retaken by Christopher and Sergius with Lombard aid, military contingents had to be sent into the countryside and the Campania to quell the vestiges of Toto's revolt. Gracilis suffered imprisonment at Roman hands.
Toto's seizure of power marks the first indication that the military aristocracy believed that supreme power in Rome rested with the papal office. Immediately after securing the papacy, Constantine and Toto sent a letter to Pepin the Short, King of the Franks, requesting the continuation of their friendship, but he got no response. In allowing Christopher and Sergius to leave Rome freely, Constantine and Toto may have been relying on expected Frankish support, or on the past antipathy between the Romans and the Lombards to prevent a Lombard alliance against them.
The events of 767–8 prompted a synod
of forty-nine bishops, including twelve from Francia, to meet on 12 August 769. Predictably, the synod condemned Constantine and his election. It also closed the papacy to all but a select few clergymen and limited the papal electorate to the clergy, excluding even the Roman laity.
Nepi
Nepi is a town and comune in Italy in the province of Viterbo, region of Lazio. The town lies 30 km southeast of the city of Viterbo and about 13 km southwest from Civita Castellana....
, the leading magnate of Etruria
Etruria
Etruria—usually referred to in Greek and Latin source texts as Tyrrhenia—was a region of Central Italy, an area that covered part of what now are Tuscany, Latium, Emilia-Romagna, and Umbria. A particularly noteworthy work dealing with Etruscan locations is D. H...
, who staged a coup d'état in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in 767. He became Duke of Rome for a year until his death. The principal sources documenting his takeover are the vita
Hagiography
Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...
of Pope Stephen III
Pope Stephen III
Pope Stephen III was pope from August 1 or August 7, 768 to January 24, 772. He was a native of Sicily.He came to Rome during the pontificate of Gregory III and gradually rose to high office in the service of successive popes....
in the Liber Pontificalis
Liber Pontificalis
The Liber Pontificalis is a book of biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the Liber Pontificalis stopped with Pope Adrian II or Pope Stephen V , but it was later supplemented in a different style until Pope Eugene IV and then Pope Pius II...
and a surviving deposition of the primicerius Christopher from 769, preserved in a ninth-century manuscript of Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
, the Depositio Christophori.
Toto's origins are obscure. His name is Germanic
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
, probably Lombard
Lombardic language
Lombardic or Langobardic is the extinct language of the Lombards , the Germanic speaking people who settled in Italy in the 6th century. The language declined rapidly already in the 7th century as the invaders quickly adopted the Latin vernacular spoken by the local Roman population. E.g...
, but Nepi lay within the Duchy of Rome
Duchy of Rome
The Duchy of Rome was a Byzantine district in the Exarchate of Ravenna. Like other Byzantine states in Italy, it was ruled by an imperial functionary with the title dux...
on the frontier with the Duchy of Tuscia. The Liber Pontificalis calls him "Toto quidam dux, Nepesinae civitatis dudum habitator", a certain duke long resident at Nepi. The Depositio Christophori refers to him as "quidam Nempesini oppidi ortus, Toto nomine", a man born in the fortress of Nepi, Toto by name. Thomas Hodgkin
Thomas Hodgkin (historian)
Thomas Hodgkin , British historian, son of John Hodgkin , barrister and Quaker minister, and Elizabeth Howard ....
refers to him as a "citizen of doubtful nationality ... who had by means unknown to us acquired the dignity of a dukedom", meaning a Roman citizen, but a native and resident of Nepi, who employed the title dux, but with or without legal justification is uncertain.
In 767 Pope Paul I
Pope Paul I
Pope Paul I was pope from May 29, 757 to June 28, 767. He first served as a Roman deacon and was frequently employed by his brother, Pope Stephen II, in negotiations with the Lombard kings....
fell ill. Toto, with his brothers Constantine
Antipope Constantine II
Antipope Constantine II was an antipope in 767 and 768.He was born in Nepi near Viterbo, a scion, along with his three brothers, of noble Roman family....
, Passivus (Passibo) and Paschal, gathered a large army from Nepi, the other Etrurian towns, and the rustici or contadini (agricultural levy), and entered Rome by the gate of Saint Pancras (San Pancrazio). He then settled down in his townhouse to wait things out, intending probably to influence the election of a papal successor. The primicerius Christopher drew an oath from Toto that he would not interfere in the coming election, but when Paul died on 28 June, he seized the Lateran Palace
Lateran Palace
The Lateran Palace , formally the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran , is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main Papal residence....
and declared his lay brother Constantine pope. The following day, George of Palestrina, the vicedominus, who was in the palace at the time of the coup, was forced to ordain Constantine a subdeacon and deacon in the chapel of Saint Lawrence. The population of Rome was ordered to swear allegiance to Constantine and, six days later, he was consecrated bishop by George, Eustratius of Albano, and Citonatus of Porto.
Christopher and his son Sergius, the sacellarius, avoided swearing loyalty to the new pope. Threatened in their home by a notary named Constantine, they took refuge in the Basilica of Saint Peter. A relative (or possibly friend) of theirs, the old duke of Rome, Gregory, then living in Campania
Campania
Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
, was murdered; but despite the threats the two remained safe in Saint Peter's. They eventually offered to become monks at San Salvatore in Rieti
Rieti
Rieti is a city and comune in Lazio, central Italy, with a population of c. 47,700. It is the capital of province of Rieti.The town centre rests on a small hilltop, commanding a wide plain at the southern edge of an ancient lake. The area is now the fertile basin of the Velino River...
not far from Rome; Pope Constantine met them in the Basilica and agreed to their safe conduct from the city after Easter (which they would be allowed to celebrate in the city under house arrest). Once the two entered the Lombard Kingdom they went to Theodicius
Theodicius of Spoleto
Theodicius was the Duke of Spoleto from 763 to 773. Though it is often stated that he died at the Siege of Pavia , he was still alive on 9 June 776, when Charlemagne confirmed the properties of the monastery of Farfa and Abbot Ingoald in the reign of his successor Hildeprand.-Sources:*Hodgkin,...
, Duke of Spoleto, and begged his help. He escorted them to King Desiderius
Desiderius
Desiderius was the last king of the Lombard Kingdom of northern Italy...
in Pavia
Pavia
Pavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000...
. Desiderius appointed as his representative a priest named Waldipert. In July 768 Sergius began recruiting troops in the Sabine
Sabine
The Sabines were an Italic tribe that lived in the central Appennines of ancient Italy, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome...
area, while Waldipert recruited in the region of Furcone and Rieti and in the duchy of Spoleto. On 29 July the bridge over the Aniene
Aniene
-External links:* http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/humnet/horaces-villa/glossary/Anio.gloss.html*...
was taken, then the Ponte Milvio
Ponte Milvio
The Milvian Bridge is a bridge over the Tiber in northern Rome, Italy. It was an economically and strategically important bridge in the era of the Roman Empire and was the site of the famous Battle of Milvian Bridge....
, and finally they arrived at the Saint Pancras gate of Rome itself, which their allies in the city opened to them. They encamped on the Gianiculo, uncertain of popular feeling.
Toto and his brother Passivus, with the papal secundicerius Demetrius and the chartularius Gratiosus, marched to the gate to intercept them. A small battle took place at the foot of the Gianiculo. After the famous Lombard warrior Racipert was killed in a confrontation with Toto, the Lombard troops retreated. At this moment the Roman and papal officers Demetrius and Gratiosus, who had been in contact with the Lombards' and Sergius's allies in the city, stabbed Toto from behind with their lances, killing him. Passivus escaped to the Lateran, and he and Constantine fled to the security of San Cesario with bishop Theodore of Palestrina. They were soon arrested by the urban militia.
Toto had made no attempt to overthrow the papal bureaucracy or replace the leaders of the urban militia, but besides naming himself duke, he appointed an ally, Gracilis, to be tribune
Tribune
Tribune was a title shared by elected officials in the Roman Republic. Tribunes had the power to convene the Plebeian Council and to act as its president, which also gave them the right to propose legislation before it. They were sacrosanct, in the sense that any assault on their person was...
of Alatri
Alatri
Alatri is a town and comune of province of Frosinone in the Italian region of the Lazio, with c. 30,000 inhabitants. A part of the traditional region of Ciociaria, it is famous for its megalithic acropolis.-History:...
. After Rome was retaken by Christopher and Sergius with Lombard aid, military contingents had to be sent into the countryside and the Campania to quell the vestiges of Toto's revolt. Gracilis suffered imprisonment at Roman hands.
Toto's seizure of power marks the first indication that the military aristocracy believed that supreme power in Rome rested with the papal office. Immediately after securing the papacy, Constantine and Toto sent a letter to Pepin the Short, King of the Franks, requesting the continuation of their friendship, but he got no response. In allowing Christopher and Sergius to leave Rome freely, Constantine and Toto may have been relying on expected Frankish support, or on the past antipathy between the Romans and the Lombards to prevent a Lombard alliance against them.
The events of 767–8 prompted a synod
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
of forty-nine bishops, including twelve from Francia, to meet on 12 August 769. Predictably, the synod condemned Constantine and his election. It also closed the papacy to all but a select few clergymen and limited the papal electorate to the clergy, excluding even the Roman laity.