PAUL
57'8
PAUL
some time before, at the time of his second victory
over the Lombard King Aistulf. If Paul would not
do this, Desiderius threatened to go to war with him.
The pope was in great straits. He found it diffi-
cult oven to get the Frankish king informed of his
position. He gave two letters to Bishop George of
Ostia and the Roman priest Stephen, his ambassadors
to Pepin, who made the journey with the Frankish
messenger Huodpertus. In the one letter that was
to secure the en\oys a safe passage through Lombard
territory, he agreed to the demands of Desiderius and
begged Pepin to accede to the wishes of the Lombards
by making a treaty of peace and returning the hos-
tages. At the same time the envoys were to give the
Frankish king a second secret letter, in which the pope
communicated to him the latest occurrences, in-
formed him of the agreement of Desiderius with the
Byzantines for the conquest of Ravenna, and im-
plored Pepin to come to the aid of the pope, to punish
the Lombard king, and to force him to yield the towns
retained by him. Towards the close of 759 another
envoy was sent to Pepin. Early in 760 two Frankish
envoys. Bishop Remidius of Rouen, brother to Pepin,
and Duke Antschar, came to Desiderius, who prom-
ised to return its patrimony to the Roman Church in
April, and also to yield the towns demanded by the
pope. But he again refused to carry out his promises,
dallied, and even forced his way into Roman territory.
Once more Paul implored the Frankish king's help.
The position of affairs was made even more threaten-
ing by Byzantine action. Georgios had gone from
southern Italy to the court of Pepin and had here
won over a papal envoy, Marinus. With all his efforts
Georgios could not move Pepin. In 700 a report
spread through Italy that a large Byzantine fleet was
under sail for Rome and the Frankish kingdom. Later
it was reported that the Byzantines intended to send
an army to Rome and Ravenna. The Archbishop
Sergius of Ravenna received a letter from the Byzan-
tine emperor, in which the latter sought to obtain the
voluntary submission of the inhabitants of Ravenna.
The same attempt was also made in Venice. Sergius
sent the letter of the emperor to the pope, and the pope
notified Pepin. In case of a war with the Eastern
Empire it w-as important to make sure of the support
of the Lombards, consequently Pepin desired to come
to an agreement with Desiderius. Thereupon the
Lombard king showed more complaisance in the ques-
tion of the Roman patrimony included in the Lom-
bard territory, and when he visited Rome in 765, the
boundarj' disputes between him and the pope were ar-
ranged. The Frankish king now directed Desiderius
to aid the pope in recovering the Roman patrimony
in the regions in southern Italy under Byzantine rule,
and to support the ecclesiastical rights of the pope
against the bishops of these districts. Paul's opposi-
tion to the schemes of the Emperor Constantino
Copronymus had no real political basis. The pope's
aim was to defend ecclesiastical orthodoxy regarding
the doctrine of the Trinity and the veneration of
images against the Eastern emperor. Paul repeat-
edly dispatched legates and letters in regard to the
veneration of images to the emperor at Byzantium.
Constantino sent envoys to western Europe who in
coming to King Pepin did not disguise their intention
to negotiate with him concerning dogmatic questions,
also about the submission of t he Exarchate of Ravenna
to Byzantine suzerainty. Papal legates also came to
Pepin in regard to these matters. On their return
the legates were able to reassure the pope as to the
views of the Frankish ruler, who kept two of the papal
envoys, Bishop George and the priest Peter, near him.
In 767 a Frankish synod was held at Gentilly, near
Paris, at which the Church doctrines concerning the
Trinity and the veneration of images were maintained.
Paul showed great activity and zeal in encouraging re-
ligious life at Rome. He turned his paternal home
into a monastery, and near it built the church of San
Silvestro in Capite. The founding of this church led
to his holding a synod at Rome in 761. To this church
and other churches of Rome, Paul transferred the
bones of numerous martyrs from the decayed sanc-
tuaries in the catacombs devastated by the Loinliarda
in 756. He transferred the relics of St. Petronilla
(q. V.) from the catacomb of St. Domitilla to a chapel
in St. Peter's erected by his predecessor for this pur-
pose. The legend of St. Petronilla caused her at that
era to be regarded as a daughter of St. Peter, and as
such she became the special Roman patroness of the
Frankish rulers. Paul also built an oratory of the
Blfssi'd \irgin in St. Peter's, and a church in honour
of the Ape I.St les on the Via Sacra beyond the Roman
Forum. He died near the church of San Paolo fuori
le mura, where he had gone during the heat of sum-
mer. He was buried in this church, but after three
months his body was transferreil to St. Peter's. The
"Liber Pontificalis " also praises the Christian charity
and benevolence of the pope which he united with
firmness. Paul is venerated as a saint. His feast
is celebrated on the twenty-eighth of June.
Liber Pontificalis, ed. Ddchesne, I. 463-467; Liber Carolines, ed. Mon, Germ. Hint.: Epist,, III. 507 sqq.: Kehr in Nachrichten der Gesetlschaft der Wiss. zu Gdttingen (1896), 103 sqq.; jAFn6. Regesta Rom. Pont., I, 277 sqq.; Lanoen. Geschichte der rOmischen Kirche, II (Bonn, 1885), 668 sqq.; Hefele, Komiliengeschichte, 2nd ed., Ill, 431 sqq., 602; Schnurer, Die Bntstehung des Kirchen- staates (Cologne, 1S94) ; Ditchesne, Les premiers temps de VEtat pontifical C2nd ed., Paris, 1904); de Rosbi, Insigni scoperte nel cimitero de Domitilla in Bull, di archeol. crist., ser. II. an. VI (1875), 5 aqq., 45 sqq.; Idem, Sepolcro di S. Petronilla nelta basilica in via Ardeatina e sua traslazione al Vaticano, ibid,, ser. Ill, an. Ill (1878), 125 sqq.; an. IV (1879), 5 sqq., 139 sqq.; Marocchi, Basi- liques et iglises de Rome (2nd ed., Rome, 1909); Mann, Lives of the Popes (London, 1902).
J. P. KiRSCH.
Paul II, Pope (Pietro Barbo), b. at Venice, 1417; elected 30 August, 1464; d. 26 July, 1471; son of Niecolo Barbo and Polixena Condulmer, sister of
y.rn~-^
Eugene IV. Although he studied for a business career
he received an excellent religious education and, at
the elevation of his uncle to the papacy, entered the
ecclesiastical state. He became Archdeacon of Bo-
logna, Bishop of Cervia and of Vicenza, and in 1440
cardinal-deacon. Noted for his generosity and im-
posing appearance, the Cardinal of Venice, as he was
called, was very influential under Eugene IV, Nicho-
las V, and Catixtus III, less so under Pius II. He be-
came the latter's successor, and owed his election
partly to the dissatisfaction of some of the cardinals
with the policy of his predecessor. To this could be
traced the oath which Barbo swore to at the conclave,
but which he rightfully set aside after election, since
it was ojjpo.sed to the monarchial constitution of the
Church. Paul II delighted in display. He intro-