I T A L y. 45b 
all their cities; and, having fortified a town on the Ga- 
rigliano, they abandoned the reft, and retired hither. 
Thus they became much more formidable than before; 
which alarming the pope, he confulted with Arnulphus 
prince of Benevento and Capua, fending at the fame time 
ambafladors to Conftantine the Greek emperor, inviting 
him to an alliance againft the infidels. The Saracens, 
unable to withftand luch a powerful combination, were 
befieged in their city; where being reduced to great 
ftraits, they at laft let fire to it, and fallied out into the 
woods; but, being purfued by the Italians, they were all 
cut off to a man. 
In this expedition it is probable that Berengarius gave 
great afliftance; for this very year, 915, he was crowned 
emperor by the pope. This gave difpleafure to many of 
the ambitious nobles; confpiracies were repeatedly form¬ 
ed againft him ; in 922, Rodolphus king of Burgundy 
was crowned alfo king of Italy ; and, in 924., Berengarius 
was treacheroufly afiaffinated at Verona; of which dif- 
turbances the Hungarians taking the advantage, plunder¬ 
ed the cities of Mantua, Brefcia, and Bergamo. March¬ 
ing afterwards to Pavia, they invelted it clofely on all 
fides; and about the middle of March, 925, taking ad¬ 
vantage of the wind, they fet fire to the houfes next the 
walls, and during the confufion broke open the gates, 
and, getting pofleflion of the city, treated the inhabitants 
with the greateft barbarity. Having burnt the capital of 
the kingdom, they, next proceeded to Piacenza, where 
they plundered the fuburbs; and then returned to Pan- 
nonia laden with booty. 
The affairs of Italy now fell into the utmoft confufion. 
A faction was formed againft Rodolphus in favour of 
Hugh count of Aries. The latter prevailed, and was 
crowned king at Pavia in 927. The Italians, however, 
foon repented of their choice. The Romans firft invited 
him to be their governor, and then drove him out with 
difgrace; at the fame time choofing a conful, tribunes. 
See. as if they had defigned to affert their ancient liberty. 
One faction, in the mean time, offered the crown to Ro¬ 
dolphus, and the other to Arnold duke of Bavaria, while 
the Saracens took this opportunity to plunder the city of 
Genoa. 
Hugh, in the mean time, was not inactive. Having 
collected an army, he marched directly againft Arnold, 
and entirely defeated him. Rodolphus delivered him 
from all apprehenfions on his part, by entering into an al¬ 
liance with him, and giving his daughter Adelaide in 
marriage to Lotharius, Hugh’s fon. Being thus free from 
all danger from foreign enemies, he marched againft the 
Romans; but with them he alfo came to an agreement, 
and even gave his daughter in marriage to Alberic, whom 
they had chofen conful. In the mean time the country 
was infefted by the Hungarians and Saracens, and at the 
fame time depopulated by a plague. Endlefs confpiracies 
were formed againft Hugh himfelf; and at laft, in 947, he 
was totally deprived of the regal power by Berengarius, 
grandfon to the firft king of that name; foon after which 
he retired into Burgundy, and became a monk. 
Though Berengarius was thus poflefled of the fupreme 
power, he did not aflume the title of king till after the 
death of Lotharius, which happened in 950 ; but in the 
mean time, Italy was invaded by Henry duke of Bavaria, 
and the Hungarians. The former took and plundered 
the city of Aquileia, and ravaged the neighbouring coun¬ 
try ; after which he returned without moleftation into 
Germany ; the latter made a furious irruption ; and Be¬ 
rengarius, being unable to oppofe them, was at laft obliged 
to purchafe their departure by money. In raifing the 
fum agreed upon, however, Berengarius is faid to have 
been more oppreflive than even the Hungarians them- 
felves. Every individual, without diftinftion of age or 
fex, was obliged to pay fo much for his head, not ex¬ 
cepting even the poor. The churches were likewife 
lobbed; by which means the king raifed an immenfe fum 
of money, ten bufhels of which he gave to the Hunga¬ 
rians, but kept the much greater part to himfelf. 
Berengarius, not yet fatisfied, wanted to be put in pof- 
feffion of Pavia, which was held by Adelaide, the wi¬ 
dow of Lotharius. In order to obtain his purpefe, he 
propofed a marriage between her and his fon Adelbert. 
This propofal was rejected ; upon which Berengarius be¬ 
fieged and took the city. The queen was confined in a 
neighbouring caftle, from whence (he made her efcape by 
a contrivance of her confefTor. With him and one female 
attendant ftie concealed herfelf for feme days in a wood ; 
but, being obliged to remove from thence for want of 
food, fne applied for protection to Adelard bifhop of 
Reggio. By him fhe was recommended to his uncle Atho, 
who had a ftrong caftle in the neighbourhood of Canoza. 
Here file was quickly befieged by Berengarius; upon 
which mefiengers were difpatched to Otho king of Ger¬ 
many, acquainting him, that, by expelling Berengarius, 
and marrying Adelaide, he might eafily obtain the king¬ 
dom of Italy. This propofal he readily accepted, and 
married Adelaide; but allowed Berengarius to retain the 
greateft part of his dominions, upon condition of his do¬ 
ing homage for them to the kings of Germany. He de¬ 
prived him, however, of the dukedom of Friuli and mar- 
quifate of Verona, which he gave to Henry duke of 
Bavaria. 
Berengarius, thus freed from all apprelienfion, not only 
opprefied his fubjefts in a moft tyrannical manner, but 
revolted againft Otho himfelf. This at laft procured his 
ruin; for, in 961, Otho returned with an army into Italy, 
where he was crowned king by the archbiihop of Milan ; 
and the year following was crowned emperor by the 
pope. On this occafion he received the imperial crown 
from his holinefs, and killed his feet with great humility; 
after which they both went to the altar of St. Peter, and 
bound themlelves by a folemn oath, the pope to be al¬ 
ways faithful to the emperor, and to give no afliftance to 
Berengarius or Adelbert his enemies ; and Otho, to con- 
fult the welfare of the church, and to reftore to it all its 
patrimony granted by former emperors. Otho, befides 
this, bellowed very rich prefents on the church of St. Pe¬ 
ter. He ordained that the eledion of popes llrould be 
according to the canons; that the ele< 51 ed pope fbould not 
be confecrated till he had publicly promifed, in prefence 
of the emperor’s commiflaries, to obl'erve every thing for¬ 
merly fpecified with regard to the rights of the emperors; 
that thefe commiflaries lhould conftantly relide at Rome, 
and make a report every year how juftice was adminiftered 
by the judges; and, in cafe of any complaints, the com- 
miliarias lhould lay them before the pope; but, if he ne- 
glefted to intimate them, the imperial commiflaries might 
then do what they pleafed. 
Thus we fee that Otho, however much he might allow 
the pope’s fupremacy in fpiritual matters, plainly alTumed 
the fovereignty in temporals to himfelf; and thus Italy 
was for upwards of 300 years accounted a part of the Ger¬ 
man empire. The popes, however, by no means reiilhed 
this fuperiorily of the emperor. The latter was hardly 
departed, when the pope (John XII.) broke the oath 
which he had juft before fworn with fo much folemnity ; 
and entered firft into an alliance with Adelbert count of 
Tufcany to expel the Germans, and then folicited the 
Hungarians to invade Italy. This treachery was foon 
» punillied by Otho- He returned with part of his army, 
and aflembled a council of bilhops. As the pope did not 
appear, Otho pretended great concern for his abfence. 
The bilhops replied, that the confcioufnefs of his guilt 
made him afraid to Ihow himfelf. The emperor then in¬ 
quired particularly into his crimes ; upon which the bi¬ 
llions accufed him of filling the palace with lewd women, 
of ordaining a bifhop in a ftabie, caftrating a cardinal, 
drinking the devil’s health, See. As the pope ftill refilled 
to appear in order to jultify himfelf from thefe charges, 
he was formally depofed; and Leo the chief fecretary, 
though 
