Crescentius to Gerard

This is part 21 in a series on Daniel Farlati’s Illyricum Sacrum.

The following Bishops all sat in Spalato during the 12th century. Their surviving acts sometimes being no more than one or two paragraphs, I consolidate them here.

Crescentius

Spalato had difficulty picking a successor to Lawrence. They called upon Pope Paschal II to elect someone for them, and Crescentius was chosen. Farlati finds in the Archives of Split a letter from Pope Paschal II confirming Crescentius. The following is the opening of the letter:

Paschalis Episcopus servus servorum Dei Venerabili Fratri Crescentio Salonitano Archiepiscopo salutem et Apostolicam benedictionem. Apostolicae Sedis benignitas consuevit sua cuique jura Servare, et fic honoris a Domino contributi privilegium custodire, ut fratribus dignis consortium non deneget dignitatis. Idcirco, Venerabilis frater Crescenti Salonitane Archiepiscope, præsentis decreti pagina Fraternitati tuae tuisque successoribus confirmamus civitatis Salonitane Diaecesim, cum omnibus suis appendicitiis, et Parochiam Maronie , et quidquid Episcopali, vel Metropolitano jure ad Silonitanam Ecclesiam cognoscitur pertinere…

Crescentius served for 12 years. During that time it is said that he opened the tomb of St. Domnius and found the body intact and undiminished. He dealt with the Hungarian king Coloman, negotiating peace for the city while he was invading Dalmatia. Like the diplomas of Trpimir, Pincius, and Cresimir, Farlati publishes a diploma from Coloman confirming the territories of the Church of Spalato. Not much else is known of Crescentius. A small fragment found in the Split Archives suggests he attended two councils in Zadar, but the acts of those councils have been lost.

Manasses

Thomas the Archdeacon writes that he was a native hungarian in good favor with king Coloman. He conspired with a certain Duke to have Spalato plundered, but his plot was foiled. Humiliated, He left the city and never returned.

Gregory, Archbishop Elect

Gregory was elected but died before he could take office.

Gaudius

Gaudius held favor in the Hungarian courts. He was improperly consecrated by the Archbishop of Strygon, resulting in a stern letter from Pope Innocent II. According to the letter, King Béla II intervened on Gaudius’ behalf, sparing him from punishment. According to a diploma found in the Split archives, Béla also donated two flower mills and the church of Saint Mary to The Spalatan church.

when Béla died, he was succeeded by his son Géza II. A letter from Géza is preserved in the Split archives. It is his response to the city noblemen who had written toe express their grief at the passing of his father. Three diploma’s from Géza are published confirming the privileges of Spalato and the church.

Gaudius himself improperly consecrated the bishop of Trogir, and was deprived of his priesthood.

During this time, Zadar was made in to an archdiosece.

Absalon

Absalon replaced Gaudius. He also held favor with the Hungarian king. He spent so much time in the kings court that he wrote a letter to Spalato to defend his absence. He is mentioned in a letter by Pope Alexander III to Lampridius, archbishop of Zadar, when discussing the law that Spalato had passed banning the donation of property to the church.

Peter VI Lombard

He lived at the time and shared the same name as the famous theologian Peter Lombard. He was originally bishop of Narni, Italy. Pope Alexander III confirms him in a letter to the people of Salona.

Alexander Episcopus servus servorum Dei dilectis filiis universo Clero, et Populo Salonitano salutem et Apostolicam benedictionem… et vos diligentes, P. Abbat em S. Stephani F. O. et VV. nuncios vestros debita benignitate suscipimus, et ad petitionem illorum super electione vobis et Ecclesiae vestrae volentes utiliter providere, Ven. fratrem nostrum quondam Narniensem Episcopum, virum si quidem litteratum, honestum, providum, et discretum in Archiepiscopum vobis concessimus, et patram spiritualem, atque animarum vestrarum pastorem duximus statuendum;

Alexander also wrote a letter to Peter concerning Gaudius, who was still alive at the time. According to Thomas the Archdeacon, Peter visited the now deposed Gaudius and saw that he still wore his episcopal ring. He rebuked Gaudius and took the ring from his finger.

when Géza II died, he was succeeded by his son Stephan III. Farlati publishes a diploma from Stephen confirming the diplomas of his forefathers.

A letter from Peter is preservered in MS. Membranaceo Privilegiorum Monasterii Belgradensis S. Joannis Evangelistae. Peter upholds the property rights of the St. Thomas Monastery in Belgrade, which king Krešimir had donated in his diploma a century earlier.

Peter died of an illness while traveling through Székesfehérvár, Hungary

Albert De Mora, Archbishop Elect

According to Thomas the Archdeacon, Albert was a papal legate who spent time in Dalmatia and became popular in Spalato. He was elected as the next archbishop, but received opposition from a certain Count in the city. To appease the local population, he declined the election and left the city. 20 years later, he would be elected Pope Gregory VIII.

Gerard

Gerard was a native of Verona, Italy. Confirmed to Spalato by Alexander III, they traded a hand full of letters mainly pertaining to local ecclesiastical matters. In 1771 Gerard traveled to Veroli (lt. Verulae), Italy to meet with Alexander. Gerard had been feeling pressure from the local laity to go to Constantinople, and asked to Alexander to intervene. Alexander wrote a letter to the clergy at Spalato that year, but it seems Gerard’s anxieties persisted. He was ultimately transferred to be the bishop of Siponto, Italy.