"I Have Neither Silver Nor Gold": An Explanation of a Medieval Papal Ritual

The Catholic Historical Review VOL. LXXXVOCTOBER, 1999No. 4 "I HAVE NEITHER SILVER NOR GOLD": AN EXPLANATION OF A MEDIEVAL PAPAL RITUAL BY Robert T. Ingogiia* Introduction A medieval pope's post-coronation ceremonies usually included two forms of coin tosses.1 One type, performed for the pope by a member of his cavalcade, took place during the procession to the Lateran Palace. The pope, on the other hand, personally performed the second type of toss: at the Lateran during his ritual possession (possessio) of the palace .2 During his possessio a pope cast coins once at the marble seat *Dr. Ingogiia is an assistant professor of history in Felician College, Lodi, New Jersey. 'See Reginald Maxwell Woolley, Coronation Rites (Cambridge, 1915), pp. 159-164,for the general aspects of papal coronations. The new bishop of Rome's possessio (or introduction—a ritual act performed by his walking into and through the Lateran—proclaimed its new owner. Since only the pope could take possession of the palace, the possessio usually followed his consecration. See Eduard Eichmann, Weihe und Krönung des Papstes im Mittelalter ("Münchener theologische Studien," Vol. 3 [Munich, 1951]), pp. 4, 14; Nikolaus Gussone, Thron und Inthronisation des Papstes von denAnfängen bis zum 12.Jahrhundert:zur Beziehung zwischen Herrschaftszeichen und bildhaften Begriffen, Recht und Liturgie im christlichen Verst ändnis von Wort und Wirklichkeit ("Bonner historische Forschungen," Vol. 41 [Bonn, 1978]),pp. 144-145,and n.20 (for a good bibliography on thepossessio);and Gaetano Moroni ,"Possesso de'Papi," in Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica,Vol. 54 (1852), pp. 294-297. The twelfth-century prescriptions ofAlbinus, Cencius, and the Basel ordo—in, respectively , P Fabre, L. Duchesne, and G. Mollat (eds.), Le Liber censuum de l'église romaine, Vol. 2 (Paris, 1905), pp. 123 (col. 1)-124 (col. 1); ibid.,Vol. 1 (Paris, 1889), pp. 311 (col. 2)-312 (col. 1); and Bernhard Schimmelpfennig, "Ein bisher unbekannter Text zur Wahl, Konsekration und Krönung des Papstes im 12.Jiihrhunden"Archivum historiaepontifl531 532 "I HAVE NEITHER SILVER NOR GOIX)": AN EXPLANATION OF A MEDIEVAL PAPAL RITUAL (sedes stercorarid) located at the palace's entrance, and again at the two porphyry seats located at the door of the basilica Sancti Silvestri? All of the liturgical prescriptions (ordinesy for the conduct of the possessio (twelfth to fifteenth century) mention coin tosses at these two locations.5 Ceremonies extra Roman—for example, the consecration of Popes John XXII and Martin V (at Lyons and Constance, respectively)—did not duplicate the casts connected with the sedes of the Lateran palace.6 ciae, 6 (1968) 60-63—mention thepossessio taking place after the election but prior to the consecration. References to the Liber Censuum will hereafter be cited as LC. 3The sedesporphyreticae were actually made of rosso antico, a stone often confused with (and thus, substituted for) porphyry. Both seats (still extant): are absolutely identical and unmistakably antique works of unique quality. They were taken from the ruins of the city, . . . [and] had not been thrones originally, but—as analogies in the British Museum from Ostia and the Terme of Caracalla clearly show—Roman toilet seats or stools from the baths. It was their symbolic color and beautiful execution that induced the papal court to employ them for ceremonial purposes. . . . See Josef Deér, The Dynastic Porphyry Tombs of the Norman Period in Sicily ("Dumbarton Oaks Studies," No. 5 [Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1959]), p- 144 (especially 142146 , "The 'Porphyry' Thrones of the Lateran Palace"). The connection of the porphyry thrones with the Pope Joan legend is explained inJohann J. I. Döllinger,Die Papst-Fabeln des Mittelalters: Ein Beitrag zur Kirchengeschichte (Munich, 1863), pp. 29-34, as well as in Cesare D'Onofrio, La Papessa Giovanna: Roma e Papato tra Storia e Leggenda (Rome, 1979), pp. 140-162. 'Succinctly defined,"An ordo is a compilation of the prayers, hymns, and anthems used in a religious ceremony; it is almost exclusively liturgical, its rubrics are as brief as possible , and it is usually prescriptive." See Richard A. Jackson, "A Little-Known Description of Charles LX's Coronation,"Renaissance Quarterly, 25 (1972), 290 (note T). 'Albinus Ordo in LC, II, 123 (col. I)- 124 (col. l);Cencius...