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Documents: 4. 4 277
the Camera Apostolica (as opposed to the Cancellaria Apostolica): see M.
Giusti, Studi sui Registri di bolle papali (Collectanea Archivi Vaticani, 1;
Vatican City, 1979), 27–8, 130, 139.
On the Vatican Registers of this period see K. A. Fink, Das vatikanische
Archiv: Einf•uhring in die Best•ande und ihre Erforschung, 2nd enlarged edn.
(Rome, 1951), 36–7, one good guide among several.
The background to these extracts from the uncalendared papal register
is elucidated by documents printed in Vatikanische Akten zur deutschen
Geschichte in der Zeit Kaiser Ludwigs des Bayern, auf Veranlassung seiner
Majest•at des K•onigs von Bayern herausgegeben durch die historische Commission
bei der k•oniglichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, ed. S. von Riezler
(Innsbruck, 1891): no. 785, p. 311; no. 864, p. 331; no. 890, p. 338; no. 911,
p. 347; no. 943a, p. 357; no. 1000, p. 374.
Pope John XXII was in the middle of a struggle ›a l’outrance with Ludwig
of Bavaria. John refused to recognize Ludwig as Holy Roman Emperor
elect. Ludwig countered by leading an army into Italy, allying with the papacy’s
Ghibelline opponents, capturing Rome, installing an antipope, and
declaring John a heretic and no pope. Ludwig controlled Rome from 7
January to 4 August 1328. Historians have perhaps tended to underestimate
the degree of danger to John XXII as pope. At any rate, it would have
taken a clairvoyant to be sure in 1327 that Ludwig was certain to lose.
Stefano da Colonna was on the papal side—more or less. In fact, John
XXII seems to have been far from confident of his loyalty. In January
1327 John wrote to Stefano about news that the latter had received rebels
against the Roman Church, ‘which we can scarcely believe’; on 16 June
of the same year he provided Jacopo son of Stefano with a canonry at
the Lateran church, presumably to keep him sweet; on 28 November
1327 he wrote to tell Stefano of his trust in him despite the rumours, but
exhorted him to think of his good name; in a letter of 24 September to
the legate of Tuscany John expresses what sounds like genuine confidence
in Stefano; on 17 April 1328 he expresses surprise at Stefano’s apparent
pape Jean XXII (1316–1334) relatives ›a la France, publi‹ees ou analys‹ees d’apr›es les
registres du Vatican, ed. A. Coulon and S. Cl‹emencet, fasc. 8 (Paris, 1965), 3 n. 1).
For a convenient summary of these events and their context see H. Thomas,
Deutsche Geschichte des Mittelalters 1250–1500 (Stuttgart etc., 1983), 177–80, or the
old but good G. Mollat, Les Papes d’Avignon 1305–1378 (Paris, 1949), 330–46.
Vatikanische Akten, no. 785, p. 311.
Ibid, no. 864, pp. 331–2.
Ibid., no. 943a, p. 357.
‘Et ut melius et utilius procedere valeas ad premissa, datis in oblivionem preteritis,
que tuis possent in hac parte processibus multipliciter obviare, te cum dilecto
filio, nobili viro, Stephano de Columpna, quem circa ea, que honorem ecclesie
ac regium respiciunt, promptum reperies, (ut) credimus, et devotum, amicabiliter
habeas et . . . favorabiliter prosequaris’ (ibid., no. 911, p. 347).