John X, J\>pe, according to Liutprand (discredited by Milman, Latin Christianity, iii, 1G3), owed his pro- motion in ecclesiastical offices to the dissolute Theodora (q. v.), who, attracted by his handsome figure, made him successively archbishop of Bologna, Eavenna, and finally i)ope (May 15, 914). The profligacy of his times, especially in Rome, surpassed that of the most degener- ate |)eriod of paganism. The popes were merely the contem|)tible creatures of the Roman nobility. But, if the archbishop of Ravenna was not a fit example of pi- ety or lioliness to be selected for the spiritual head of Christendom, " he appears," says Milman {Latin Chris- tianity, iii, 161), " to have been highly qualified for the secular part of his office." He was a man of ability and daring, eminently needed at this juncture to save Rome from becoming the prey of Jlohammedan conquest. The Saracens from Africa, wlio had landed in Italy and fortified themselves near the banks of the Liris, had made frequent irruptions into the Roman territory'. At first Jolin contented liinisilf with inciting the neighbor- ing dukes to come t(» his defence; but, finding the aid of the two emperors necessary to comljat successfully the Mohammedans, he crowned Beniiucr ciiiinTDr of the West, March 24, 91G, and, after haviii-- united all forces j)reviously at his command with Berenger and the dukes of Benevento and Naples, he marciied in person against them, and completely routed and exterminated them. After a reign of fourteen years, this powerful prelate of Rome came to a miserable end by the legiti- mate consequences of the same vices that liad been in- strumental in raising liim to his high dignity. Maro- zia, the daughter of Theodora, anxious to secure for herself and her lover the government of Rome, and find- ing John too much in their way, surprised him in the I.ateraii palace, and thrust him into a prison, where, some months after, he died, cither of want or by some more summary means (A.U. 929). Comp. Bower, J/isf. of the J'ojies, V, 90 sq. ; Hofler, Die dcutschm Piibste, i, 18 ; iMilman, Ar//. 6'Am/. iii, 158 sq. (J. H.AV.)
John XI, I'ope, a natural son of jNIarozia, and, in all probability, of pope Sergius HI, was seated on St. Pe- ters chair by his mother, in whose hands rested at this tune (931) the power to supply any vacancies in the l)apal cliair. Of course spiritual government was by such people not in consideration; in fact, Rome was now by all Christendoin detested like a pestifen.us swamp. "Marozia, not content with having been the wife of a manpiis, the wife of a wealthy and powerful duke of liiscany, jierhai " Hie mistress of one. certainly the mother ,.f another pope, looked still higlier in her usilul ambition; she must wed a monarcli. To the kn.g .,f Italy her hand was offered, and bv liim accepted, i.ut. il the Jtomans had brooked the rille of a Roman >w.nian, they would not so readily consent for her para- mour, a foreigner, to ride over them, and, headed bv •Marozias own son Alberic, the nobles put an end to the government of :^Iarozia (an.l Hugh of Provence) and of
pope John XI by expelling the former and imprisoning the latter, who died of poison, as is generally supposed, in Jannarj', 93(5. See Milman, Lat. Christ, iii, 165 sq. ; Du Chesne, Hist, des Papes, ii, 460 ; Aschbach, Kirchen- Lex. iii. .".l.s : ]5,,wer, Hist, of the Popes, v, 96 sq.
John XII, Pope, a son of Alberic, and grandson of the profligate and ambitious Marozia, whose vices he seems to have inherited, succeeded to the dignity of Roman patrician ujion the death of his father Alberic, and in November, 955, after the death of Agapetus, was elevated to the papal see, though only about sixteen years olcL His t)wn name was Octavianus, but as pope he took that of John XII, thus inaugurating the prac- tice which has ever since been followed by the popes of assuming a pontifical name. Ambitious to extend the boimdaries of the States of the Church, he soon involved himself in a disastrous war with Berenger II, himself full of ambition, and anxious to become master of Rome. In this most extreme hoi-j of need the pope hesitated not to beseech help from one whom he had formerly declined to receive as worthy of the imperial crown, the emperor Otho I. Daring and in- domitable as was the spirit of Otho I, he was no sooner asked by Rome than we find him crossing the Alps with a large army, and, having entered Rome, he secured to the pope not only personal safety, but also confirm- ed his title to the States of the Church. The extent of these promises, however, has been subject to contro- versy, and it is not without a reason that the Vatican record, by which Pe]iin"s donation was confirmed and enlarged, is withheld from critical scrutiny. See Pa- pacy. At Pavia. already, Otho had been crowned king of Italy , here, at the Eternal City, he received from the pope himself the im] )erial diadem. " Never did a more important event in history take place, making less im- pression on those who witnessed it, and less commemo- rated by subsequent historians, than the coronation of Otho I at Rome in the year 962. By the coronation of Charles 162 years earUer the first foundations had been laid for the empire ; by the coronation of Otho that em- pire itself was founded afresh, and from that time for- wards it had an miuiterrupted existence" (Reichel. Ro- man See in the Middle Ages, p. 124). For a short period the spiritual and temporal heads of Christendom seemed to be happily united, but the fickle John, influenced either by mistrust or jealousy, soon again interrupted that happy concord by concocting anew intrigues with Alberia, the son of Berenger. Rumors of the treacher- ous conduct of John reached the ears of Otho I, but the noble German would hardly believe the reports until some trustworthy officers whom he had hastUy dis- patched to Italy pronounced them true. The profligacy and vices of the pope were also reported to Otho I, and the latter determined to return to Rome and depose the vicar, if found guilty of the charges preferred against him. A council composed of the first ecclesiastics of Germany, France, and Italy was quickly called by Otho I, he himself jjresiding, and the vicar of Christ, accused of the crimes of murder, adultery, and perjury, was sum- moned to appear in defence. Failing to comply with the emperor's request, judgment was pronomiced, and he was deposed and excommunicated Dec. 4, 963, and Leo Tin (q. y.) declared liis successor. Hardly had the emperor left Rome when John, supported by the Roman nobiUty, returned, convened another synod at St. Pe- ter's, and caused it to rescind the resolutions of the for- mer one. Otho I, informed of these outrages, was pre- paring for a return to Rome for the third time, when John suddenly died of apoplexy while he was engaged in an adulterous intrigue, IMay 14, 964. "He was a man of most licentious habits, associating with women of every station, and filling the Lateral! with the noisy profanity of a brothel." Panvinius, in a note to Plati- na's account of pope Joan, suggests that the licentious- ness of John XII, who, among his numerous mistresses, liad one called Joan, who exercised the chief mfluence at Rome during his pontificate, may have given rise to