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  • Venetiis in Rivo alto:Letters for English Recipients issued from Venice in mid-1177
  • Anne J. Duggan

There is little doubt that Alexander III's sojourn in Venice was a significant European event.*1 Not only did the reconciliation with the emperor Frederick I end the schism that had divided Catholic Christendom for almost eighteen years, but it set the stage for the making of peace (at Constance, July 1183) with the league of sixteen Lombard cities which had opposed Frederick's political ambitions in northern Italy and also with the Norman kingdom in southern Italy and Sicily,2 even though the working out of the territorial and jurisdictional details led to serious tensions, including another German invasion of northern Italy (1186), led by Henry (VI), Frederick's heir.3 For those five months, between 11 May and 16 October 1177, Jaffé lists 121 letters issued Venetiis, in Rivo alto – at Venice, on the Rialto (JL 12836–12956). This unique address designated the new palace of Patriarch Enrico Dandalo of Grado, where Alexander resided, near the church of San Silvestro and close to the heart of Venice's thriving commercial district.4 Only eight of these 121 letters were [End Page 145] addressed to recipients in England, but other sources allow us to add a further eight to the tally (and there may be more to be recovered). Two of this sixteen were issued on papal initiative, but the remaining fourteen offer a fascinating snapshot of the range of petitioners prepared to send envoys, or even travel themselves, more than one thousand miles, to seek justice, confirmation of privileges, reinforcement of their own authority, or authoritative advice on intricate points of canon law.

Acta dated in Rivo alto in Jaffé's register: Papal initiative

The letters issued on papal initiative record two stages in the making of the Peace of Venice. The first, Exigunt gratissime (26 July),5 notifies Archbishop Roger of York and Bishop Hugh of Durham about Frederick I's renunciation of the schism in the church of San Nicolò on the Lido, his solemn acknowledgement of Alexander's papacy, 'ante ecclesiam Beati Marci', and the celebratory Mass in the basilica of St Mark, all of which had been conducted with considerable ceremony on the preceding Sunday, 24 July 1177.6 This announcement was very similar to that issued on the following day to Abbot Peter of Montecassino and Archbishop Alphano of Capua; and similar letters were sent to other prelates across Europe.7 The second, Immensas laudes, issued on 6 August to Archbishop Richard of Canterbury, his suffragans, and 'abbots within the archbishopric of Canterbury with a particular attachment to the Roman Church (dilectis filiis abbatibus specialiter ad Romanam Ecclesiam pertinentibus in archiepiscopatu Cantuariensi constitutis)', reports the final [End Page 146] solemnization of the peace on 1 August.8

The remaining six English acta in Jaffé's rivo alto list comprise three privileges for monastic foundations; a papal mandate for the execution of a judge-delegate determination; confirmation of an earlier settlement; and an assertion of the full exemption from tithes for two Cistercian nunneries, respectively in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. All were replies to reports, petitions, or appeals from interested parties.

Privileges

The three indults are fairly standard products of the papal Curia. Iustis petentium (3 June 1177) for St Augustine's abbey, Canterbury, confirms its prebends in St Martin's Dover, Lenham, and Fordwich, 'sicut eas rationabiliter possidetis', at the request of Abbot-elect Roger;9 Quotiens illud (4 July 1177) is the great privilege listing all properties of the alien priory of St Nicholas at Spalding (Lincolnshire), at the request of its prior, Reginald;10 and Iustis petentium (13 Oct. 1177), for Evesham Abbey, confirms its possession of the church of St Michael in London.11 Although [End Page 147] these are routine products of the papal chancery, their impetration enables us to add the unnamed representatives of St Augustine's, St Nicholas, and Evesham Abbey to the list of English petitioners at Venice during these days.

Other letters

The final three acta, however, are more interesting for the legal historian, although they left no trace in collections of canon law.

1. Ex litteris dilectorum...

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