J O 
emperor. He had no- fcroner left the city, than the pope 
afiembled a council, in which he declared the coronation 
of Berenger null and illegal, as having been extorted by- 
force, and acknowledged Lambert, who had all'o been 
crowned king of Italy, as the only lawful emperor. Since 
by this act he virtually acknowledged Formqfus, who had 
crowned Lambert, for lawful pope, he caufed all the a£ts 
of the council held under Stephen again ft that pontiff, to 
be annulled and Condemned to the flames; and thofe 
whom Formofus had ordained were reftored to their ranks 
In the church, as having been unjuftly degraded. In the 
fame year John convened a council to meet at Ravenna, 
which confirmed the afts of the council of Rome, and ap¬ 
proved of the coronation of Lambert, who was prefent in 
perfon. Mention is made of a third council afiembled by 
this pope ; but no particulars concerning it have reached 
our times. John died in the year 900, after having filled, 
the papal chair two years and fome days. 
JOHN X. pope, was a Roman by birth, the fon of a 
perfon of the fame name, and became deacon to Peter, 
archbifhop of Ravenna. That prelate frequently lent him 
to Rome, to pay his obeifance to his holinefs ; and, as he 
was a handfome man, the famous proftitute Theodora, 
who governed every thing at that infamous court, falling 
pnflionately in love with him, engaged him to maintain a 
criminal intercourfe with her. While they lived toge¬ 
ther in this manner, the bilhop of Bologna died, and The¬ 
odora procured that fee for her paramour; but, as the 
archbifhop of Ravenna died before he was confecrated, 
lhe prevailed on pope Lando to ordain John archbifhop 
of that city. -Not long afterwards, Lando himfelf dying, 
in the year 914, Theodora by her intereft got John pre¬ 
ferred to the pontifical chair. But, fcandalous as was 
the channel of his promotion to the popedom, and vi¬ 
cious as were his morals, Rome and Italy were indebted 
to his policy and vigorous exertions, for deliverance from 
the barbarous and oppreflive Saracens. As he poffeffed 
an uncommon addrefs and great abilities, he found means 
to engage the Italian dukes, Berenger king of Lombard)', 
and even Conftantine emperor of the Eaft, in a league 
againft thofe infidels as a common enemy. Berenger was 
tempted to join this alliance by the pope’s offer to crown 
him anew', and get him acknowledged by all for lawful 
emperor; and, in purluance of his engagement, he marched 
to .Rome at the head of a numerous and powerful army, 
where he was entertained by the pope with the utmoft 
f'plendour and magnificence, and crowned emperor in St. 
Peter’s church in the year 916. In the mean time, the 
expefted fuccours having arrived from the Eaft, the pope 
was determined himfelf to take the field, as generaliffimo 
of the forces raifed by the Italian lords. Having put 
himfelf at their head, the armies of the allies advanced 
from three different quarters againft the Itrong fortrefs on 
the Garigliano, where the Saracens had concentrated their 
forces, and began to batter it on all fides. The Saracens 
held out for three months againft their fpirited and incef- 
fant attacks, till their provifions were all confumed ; when, 
by fetting the fortrefs on fire, they deftroyed the immenfe 
wealth which was the plunder of the Italian provinces, 
and, fallying out, cut themfelves a paffage to the neigh¬ 
bouring woods and mountains. Being clofely purfued, 
however, they were to a man either captured or cut to 
pieces. Thus was that power deftroyed, (chiefly through 
the means of pope John,) which during the (pace of forty 
years had been the terror of ail Italy. 
In the year 920, the pope terminated the mifunder- 
ftanding which had fubfifted between the churches of 
Rome and Conftantinople fince the pontificate of Ser¬ 
gius III. and, in the year 921, he prefided in a council at 
Rome, fummoned to decide on the rival claims of Hil- 
duin, and Richerius abbot of Trom, to the bifhopric of 
Tongres. The latter, it feems, had been elected by a ma¬ 
jority of the people and clergy; but Heriman, archbifhop 
of Cologne, had neverthelei’s ordained Hilduin. The 
jk>£e in council decreed, that Richerius was lawfully 
H N. art 
defied, and not only pronounced Hilduin an intruder, 
but excommunicated and diverted him of the epifcopal 
dignity. In the year 925, John fhowed what little regard 
he paid to the difcipline and canons of the church, by 
confirming the nomination of Hugh, a child fcarcely five 
years old, and fon of count Herbert, one of the moll pow¬ 
erful lords in France, to the archbifhopric of Rheims. 
As John was indebted for his elevation to the papal, 
chair to the intrigues of one infamous woman, fo he loft> 
his dignity and life through the intrigues of another, 
equally infamous. This was Marozia, the daughter of 
Theodora, who was now' dead. Marozia had prollituted 
herfelf to pope Sergius III. by whom fhe had a fon ; and 
was afterwards married, firft to Alberic, and upon his 
death to Gu)', fucceflively marquifes of Tufcany. On the 
death of her mother, expefling to fucceed to the influ¬ 
ence which fhe had poffeffed over the pontiff, fhe was 
highly provoked at perceiving that John placed greater 
confidence in his own brother Peter than in her or her 
hufband, and formed the bloody defign of cutting them' 
both off. This defign fhe communicated to her hufband, 
and prevailed upon him not only to approve of it, but to 
be the inftrument of carrying it into execution. Accord¬ 
ingly Guy, one day, when the pope and his brother were 
together at the Lateran palace, broke into it at the head' 
of a band of ruffians; killed Peter before his brother’s 
face; and then, feizing the pope, dragged him to prifion,. 
where he foon afterwards died, fome fay fmothered with 
a pillow, in the year 928. He had held the papal fee more, 
than fpurteen years. 
JOHN XI. pope, was the offspring of the lawlefs amount 
of pope Sergius III. with the libidinous Marozia, and was- 
placed on the papal throne when very young, by the in¬ 
fluence of his mother and his father-in-law Guy marquis, 
of Tufcany, upon the death of Stephen VII. in 931. Guy 
did not long furvive the promotion of John ; and, after 
his death, Marozia lent word to his brother Hugh, king- 
of Lombardy, that lhe would make him mafter of Rome,, 
upon the condition of his marrying her. To this propo- 
fal Hugh readily acceded, and took poffeffion of his bride 
and the caftle of St. Angelo. He foon rendered himfelf 
hateful to the Romans, how'ever, by treating them more: 
like flaves than vaflals; and he provoked the deep refent- 
ment of Alberic, the fon of Marozia by her firft hufband,, 
by grofsly affronting him, when, one day, at the command 
of his mother, he prefented to the king either fome wine 
or fome water. As he performed the office awkwardly,, 
the haughty prince (truck him in a paffion. Indignant 
at fuch ufage, Alberic put himfelf at the head of the dif- 
contented Romans, and, attacking the caftle of St. An¬ 
gelo, made himfelf mafter of the fortrefs before the king: 
could affemble his troops for its defence. In the con- 
fufion of the affault, Hugh made his elcape; but Marozia,. 
as well as his brother pope John, fell into Alberic’s hands, , 
who kept them both in clofe confinement during the re¬ 
mainder of their lives. Upon the expulfion of Hugh, Al¬ 
beric obtained poffefiion of the fnpreme power at Rome, 
under the title of conful and patrician. John died in 936, 
after a pontificate of four years and not quite ten months,. 
JOHN XII. pope,.whole original name was Octavian, 
was the fon of Alberic, who had obtained poffeffion of 
the fovereignty of Rome in the manner related in the pre¬ 
ceding article. On the death of Alberic in 954, Oiilavian,. 
though only fixteen years of age, fucceeded to his father’s 
dignity; and, not fatisfied with his temporal power, when 
the papal throne became vacant by the death of Agape- 
tus II. in the .year 956, he fecured the poffeffion of it to 
himfelf. On this occafion he affumed the name of John 
XII. and thus introduced the cuftom, which was after¬ 
wards adopted by his fucceflors, of changing their ufual 
names for others, upon their acceffion.to the pontificate. 
So far from being diftinguifhed by the qualities requifite- 
for the proper difcharge of the duties of that office, he is 
univerfally reprefented to have been a monfter of perfidy, 
cruelty, rapacity, impudence,.debauchery, and impiety. 
One 
