Public Authority and Private Constraints: Eugenius III and the Council of Reims

Abstract

Amid the range of concerns that fill his De consideratione (c. 1150)- the influx of litigation appealed to the court, bribery, the threat of envy and ambition throughout the ecclesiastical hierarchy- bernard of clairvaux took time to look back to the council of Reims that had taken place in 1148. the council, called by Pope eugenius iii (1145- 53), had issued reforming canons, debated episcopal primacy, resolved disputed marriages, and addressed cases of heresy (see figure 1). but bernard did not cast it-or eugenius's role in it-in a positive light:Did you not promulgate with your own mouth the laws proposed at the council of Reims? who keeps them? who has kept them? you deceive yourself if you think they are observed. if you do not think this, then you have sinned either by decreeing what cannot be observed or by neglecting the fact that your decrees are not observed. . . . these are your words, you have sanctioned them. what effect have they had?1This retrospective assessment of the council paints a bleak picture of its importance: it is depicted as a failure on eugenius's part to translate reform from page to practice.Yhe actual impact of the council of Reims in 1148 was not as minimal as bernard suggested.2 yet that bernard chose to focus on this tension between the aspirations of the council and its tangible accomplishments raises a series of questions concerning the development of the twelfth-century church and the papacy at its head. the council of Reims illustrates the contradictions that defined authority in the twelfth century, and an illustration of the limitations of the term papal monarchy. eugenius's role at Reims placed him at the forefront of the church: he led grand processions, clarified canons, and settled disputes over ecclesiastical discipline. but Reims also demonstrates the limits and constraints placed on this power. for every instance that eugenius stood at the forefront of the church, there is another instance of him being constrained by the web of concurrent powers and influences that surrounded him. the council of Reims is a valuable example of the exercise of ecclesiastical authority in the twelfth century. it addressed issues of ecclesiastical primacy, marriage, heresy, and reform. it was attended by some of the most prominent clerics of the age. and it demonstrates the balancing act of authority: eugenius iii did not act like a monarch but a careful diplomat, steadying the swirl of factions and often-contradicting authorities that defined the twelfth century.Uhe Council of ReimsIn october 1147-seven months into his fourteen-month itineration through the kingdom of france-Pope eugenius iii sent out letters to prelates from diverse parts of the world summoning them to the council that would ultimately be held in Reims.3 the letter that survives opens with an arenga that underlined the fundamental importance of authority. Having received its authority from christ and from Peter, the church, rising up just like a remarkable structure on the most solid foundation, directed its efforts towards reform. eugenius declared this to be his own responsibility, and called the council based upon the obligation of his apostolic authority.4 the arenga is a strong assertion of eugenius's vision for the council and his own position within the church. as outlined in eugenius's summons, the council aimed at ecclesiastical reform and unity, objectives that were to be translated into reality by authority derived from christ himself.Eugenius's summons also demonstrated that he took attendance at the council seriously: he ordered recipients of his letters to attend.5 as was common for councils of the period, those absent were suspended from their offices, a fate that awaited a range of prelates. despite a sizeable contingent of iberian clergy-including archbishop Raimundo of toledo, archbishop bernat tort of tarragona, and the bishops of coria, segovia, and oviedo-alfonso Vii of leon-castile had to appeal to the pope to liftthe suspension from the bishops who did not attend. …