Dei Gratia, Dominus Urbis - A House of Tusculum AAR

[Rakdar]

Dei Gratia,

Dominus Urbis

THE MOST EMINENT

HOUSE OF TUSCULUM
DEFENDERS OF THE HOLY ROMAN CHURCH

Mole Sua Stat

Rome had lost its brilliance. A pale shadow of its former self stood where the City of the Caesars once reigned over the entire world. Rome the Eternal had become Rome the Ruin. The Greeks had left a century before. Charlemagne had been dead for fifty years. All that remained were squabbling nobles, riotous mobs and sinful Popes - and all the monuments of yesteryear, consumed by time and debility, constant reminders of past glories lost. Under the colossal dome of the Pantheon, built by the vanished wisdom of the ancients, a man prayed. Theophylactus of Tusculum made a vow before God. Dei Gratia, Dominus Urbis. In a land of corruption and sin, he would unify and purify the Mother Church. He would honor God. He would restore Rome to eternity.

No matter the cost.

***​

Welcome to Dei Gratia, Dominus Urbis, an AAR which will narrate the deeds and misfortunes of the House of Tusculum as they strive to restore the Universal Church and serve God - in their own unique way. Our starting characters is Theophylact, Count of Tusculum, in the Old Gods bookmark. We will be using all DLCs and the Historical Immersion Project (HIP) mod, with all modules enabled (including mini-SWMH). Cheats will be used occasionally, but for narrative purpose only and never to accomplish a set goal or give boosts to the player. I intend to play for as long as my (not exactly stellar) PC and real life allow me to. I am a master's student and I am also pursuing a degree in History, so things will be tough in a couple of weeks.

The main inspiration for this playthrough was the TV show Medici: Masters of Florence, which I binge-watched in two days. Naturally, the Borgias, as later Tusculani imitators, are also a source of inspiration. When I started the campaign, I never thought I would make an AAR out of it, but the story took me to some fascinating places that I yearned to share with all the CK2 community. Due to this reason, the first two chapters, covering Theophylactus de' Tusculana and his successor, are quite short, but the story picks up when we get to our third ruler (Edit: on review, I have decided to fully flesh out our first two characters due to the narrative potential of their stories. I did not want them to be wasted).

This will not be a religious AAR. As a disclaimer, I mean no disrespect to the Catholic faith whatsoever - it's just the CK2 experience we are all used to.

With no further ado, I hope you will enjoy the story! Comments are always welcome!

 

[Rakdar]

Prologue, Part I:
The Apostle
867-907
​

His Beatitude
SAINT THEOPHYLACTUS THE APOSTLE
846 - 907


Comes Tusculanensis
Senator, Glorissimus Dux, Dominus Urbis
Sacri Palatii Vestararius et Consul Romanorum
Cancelarii Sancta Romanae Ecclesiae​

A man larger than life, ahead of his time. Theophylact, Count and Duke of Tusculum, was the first of his glorious line. From an early age one of the most prominent nobles of Rome, Theophylactus distinguished himself for his unrelenting piety and service to the Holy Roman Church, whether as diplomat, general or administrator. In the dark times of the late ninth century, it was Theophylactus who rose to defend the Church against those corrupt philistines who would do her harm to unify Christendom and purify the Curia. At his ever faithful side stood his holy wife Teodora Bonifazi, a brilliant daughter of the Duke of Florence, and the first woman to be created senatrix in her own right. Together, they imposed their will from the Alban hills over the city of Rome and the fields of Latium, saving the Mother Church from itself by their combined aptitude and sanctity. The Pope's champion and Captain-General, Theophylactus extended the Supreme Pontiff's reach as far south as the fair city of Naples, ridding the land of impious tyrants in the name of the Church. He raised cities and castles, took uncountable artists under his patronage and explored the architectural mysteries of the ancients. He commissioned and consecrated churches in all the land in the honor of God and the House of Tusculum, whose devoted service and pious success was an honor to God by itself.

Senatrix Theodora of Tusculum (850-916)​

By his wife Theodora, Theophylactus was the father of five children who would inherit his legacy of piety, service and the arts:

Ercole de' Tusculana (870-923), Count and Duke of Tusculum, his firstborn son and successor, who wed Angelina Guideschi, a daughter of the Duke of Spoleto, and produced issue by her. He ruled Tusculum from his father's death in 907 to his own in 923.

Maria de' Tusculana (873-936), who resided at Tusculum for all her life and served as an important adviser to her family. A woman skilled with numbers and the art of governance, she proved invaluable to the Tusculani in the management of their lands, holdings and estates. She became the patroness of several nunneries and churches paid for by the Tusculani treasury, which remained full at all times given the godly wealth of Duke Theophylactus. She married Prince Eosterwine of Wessex at the behest of the Pope to bind the English kingdom closer to the Universal Church than ever. They had offspring:

Contessina de' Tusculana (888-930), who followed in her mother's footsteps and skills. She married Prince Godcild of Wessex, but ended her tragic days murdered by an unknown assailant. They had two daughters: Maria de' Tusculana (b. 911), who became the Duchess of Aragon and mother to six Tusculani children; and Simonetta de' Tusculana, briefly Queen of Bulgaria by marriage to Grgur of Bulgaria, by whom she had issue.

Cardinal Teofilatto de' Tusculana (b. 898), named after his grandfather, Prince-Bishop of Tusculum, a remarkable man who was for a time considered Duke Ercole's heir and married Princess Judita of the Holy Roman Empire, joining the clergy after her premature death.

Tiziana de' Tusculana (b. 905), a woman afflicted with madness, shut away in a convent at Salerno.
​

Teodora de' Tusculana (882-896), who tragically died young of rabies.

Addolarata de' Tusculana (884-931), Mistress of Naupaktos, who married Photeinos Skleros and had two children: the famed condottiero Basilio de' Tusculana, known as Basilio the Fearless.

Cardinal Giovanni de' Tusculana (b. 886), Prince-Bishop of Tusculum, who would serve the Church more than any other man in his family.
​

Duke Theophylactus died at age 61 in his sleep. He had served four Popes in his lifetime. He was immediately beatified upon death and canonized by Pope Sixtus II three years later, having his feast day on November 18th. He is celebrated as a godly and holy man, one who even acquired the greatest relic of Christendom - a nail of the True Cross - and became its devoted custodian. He was buried at Tusculum, and his tomb would become a pilgrimage site for all pilgrims approaching Rome from the south.

​

 

[Rakdar]

Prologue, Part II:
The Architect
907-923
​

His Magnificence
ERCOLE DE' TUSCULANA
870 - 923


Comes Tusculanensis
Senator, Glorissimus Dux, Dominus Urbis
Sacri Palatii Vestararius et Consul Romanorum
Cancelarii Sancta Romanae Ecclesiae
​

Firstborn son of St. Theophylactus of Tusculum and a worthy successor to his legacy. Although vastly overshadowed by his father, Duke Ercole was a very successful and accomplished ruler in his own right, as Count and Duke of Tusculum from 907 to 923. A patron of the arts as his father was before him, Duke Ercole gave patronage to several new churches and monasteries during his rule. A gifted steward, he studied with the wise and learned men of his father's lettered court and became an outstanding architect himself. Until the construction of the Duomo di Tusculo centuries later, the Palazzo Ercolino, a magnificent and decorated grand tower, was the highest structure at Tusculum and served as the principal seat and palace of the Tusculani dukes for centuries. He was an affable and god-fearing man, but also a martial one indeed. He defended the city of Rome and the Vatican multiple times from Norse raiders, come to kill and plunder, but who only found death at the hand of the Lion of Tusculum. A champion of the Church as his father before him, Duke Ercole extended the Papacy's reach as far south as Salerno and Lucania by the might of the sword. Following the mysterious death of the child Count of Salerno, for which Ercole in his magnanimity did penance, he raised a magnificent church at Salerno to lay the child to rest (and, some say, his conscience).

The Grand Tower of the Palazzo Ercolino at Tusculum​

Duke Ercole had two children by his wife: the eldest, Teodora de' Tusculana, and his heir Ermanno de' Tusculana, who died in childhood. For many years, given Teodora's apparent lack of skill for ruling, Ercole considered his heir to be his nephew Teofilatto. However, he had a change of heart towards the end of his life, coincidentally shortly after the death of the Child of Salerno. Ercole de' Tusculana passed away at age 53 on August 14th, 923, only days after the completion of his palazzo. His daughter's reign would surpass even his wildest expectations.

 

[stnylan]

A saintly progenitor, and a daughter (by the sounds of it) due to do great things.

 

[!Peel]

Man that CoA is awesome! I confess, I hadn’t heard of this family before, and then I looked them up. My goodness, the amount of popes they produced. Is this the same family that produced that Pornography (no, not in that sense of the word!) Papacy thingy??

 

[Bullfilter]

Off to an interesting start - subbed.

 

[Rakdar]

Thanks for the positive feedback! I’m thinking of doing narrative snippets of key moments of Theophylact’s and Ercole’s lives before moving on to the next ruler. Hopefully I’ll have some old saves still lying around. The family chronicle has already bugged out, unsurprisingly.

Man that CoA is awesome! I confess, I hadn’t heard of this family before, and then I looked them up. My goodness, the amount of popes they produced. Is this the same family that produced that Pornography (no, not in that sense of the word!) Papacy thingy??

Yes, the very same! I love the Borgias (as interesting characters), so the historical Tusculani quickly became my favorite Western European medieval family when I found out about them. It’s a nice coincidence that CK2 allows us to play as their founder, Theophylact.

I also fell in love with that CoA as soon as I saw it available in the customizer. I think it’s very fitting for them, representing both sides/ambitions of the family. The eagle for imperial ambition, the key for Papal ambition.

 

[Jokerang]

A good start to an AAR on an Italian family that doesn't get the same limelight as the Borgias or Medici. Will all the updates be overviews of each ruler?

 

[JSB217118]

This is a nice little history AAR. Out of curiosity what does CoA mean and how do I get a version of the historical immersion project compatible with the latest version of CK2.

 

[High King Peredain]

This is a nice little history AAR. Out of curiosity what does CoA mean and how do I get a version of the historical immersion project compatible with the latest version of CK2.

Coat of Arms. You can find the mod in the user modifications portion of the CK2 forum. The latest version (Frosty1) is compatible with the current version of CK2. On another note, to the AARuthor, good to see you started this AAR.

 

[Rakdar]

Chapter I
Dominus Urbis

​

Rome, December 14th, 867

"The Pope is dead."

Theophylact opened his eyes. He was met by the sight of glory. No matter how many times he visited and prayed at the Pantheon, the marvel never wore off. The Count of Tusculum picked himself up from his knees and bowed in submission before the splendid golden altar, inhaling the sweet scent of incense in the air. It brought him peace, and God only knew how much peace he would need in the months to come.

He made the sign of the cross before turning to face his wife.

"May God rest his soul."

"He will know no rest until he knows a worthy successor seats St. Peter's throne," the young woman stated, and Theophylact had to admit he did not appreciate the nonchalant tone of her delivery. "My lord, we must act fast."

"Madonna," he said warily, regarding his newly-made wife with caution. Theodora was a beautiful woman, four years his junior at the yet nubile age of seventeen. She wore the finest silks her lord father the Margrave of Tuscany had afforded in her dowry, and the expression she carried imprinted upon her face suggested a sort of wisdom beyond her years. No, not wisdom, Theophylact thought. Astutia. "The Vicar of Christ has just passed this plane. Now is the time for mourning. We must go to the Lateran and pay our respects."

The nobles and aristocrats of Rome disagreed on many things, but if there was one common point among them all was that Pope Nicholas had been great. He had sat St. Peter's throne for nearly a decade and, when the Franks and Saracens had dared to march against Rome, he had risen to the occasion and become David himself to defend the City from all Goliaths who would have done her harm. His loss was not only a loss for Christendom, but for all the Romans. Daggers had remained sheathed in the Eternal City for nine years. Now, they would be wielded again.

To her credit, Theodora looked chastised. But the moment, her husband noted, was merely fleeting. The Margrave had warned me she was opinionated, but not stubborn, mused the Count in the safety of his inner thoughts, where his words could do no harm. A marriage was built upon more than politics, Cardinal de' Subiaco had taught him after his father, Count Gregorius, had passed away. It was a lifelong practice of love and devotion to God.

God only knew how difficult it was to be devoted with Theodora Bonifazi for a wife, and how easy it was too, at the same time.

"Theophylact, your enemies won't stand idle while we mourn the dead Pope," Theodora warned him carefully, although her tone was urgent. She slid forwards in quick steps which resonated beneath the Pantheon's fabled dome, taking his rough warrior's hands into her soft ones. "Our enemies won't stand idle. The Pope was great, and so was his peace. But now he is dead, and so is the peace."

The Count of Tusculum sighed. He stepped away from her, pushing her fingers away, and took a deep breath. Incense filled his lungs. There was no scent so sweet, except, perhaps, Theodora's hair in the flowering of spring. He pushed those lustful thoughts away. He struggled with sin whenever Theodora was in his company, and yet inexplicably he could not dismiss her presence. He had grown attached to her. She was his cross to carry.

"Do you know how the ancients built this place?" Theophylact asked her suddenly, marveling at the impossible dome. His face, full of wonder, was illuminated by the white moonlight which flooded into the temple from the Eye of the Pantheon above. Theodora joined her husband's side and gazed at the ancients' present to Rome. Her green eyes were colored with skepticism.

"With an awful lot of gold?"

"With faith," Theophylact interjected, offering her a smile. He could not help it. Under the Eye of the Pantheon, she looked as if Venus herself. He wrapped an arm around her waist, damning himself for touching flesh with flesh in this holy place. "Faith," Theophylact repeated, "faith not only in God, but in themselves. Faith in the righteousness of their cause. Faith in the virtue of their labor. Faith in the essence of their knowledge. Faith in the quality of their instruments. Above all, faith. Only through faith could they have envisioned such a building, and only through faith did they complete God's work and raised this temple from nothing. You must also have faith that our cause is just, madonna. You must have faith that God will elect the new Pope from among the virtuous."

"Faith," Theodora repeated, tight-lipped. She turned her eyes away from the starlit sky and set her penetrating gaze on her husband instead. "You say faith built places like this. Why do you figure, then, that the ancients could build this place, when we cannot? Did heathens have more faith than the followers of Christ do?"

She disentangled herself from him, moving towards the golden altar with determination. She set her eyes on Constantine's cross, and then on Jesus hanging from his destiny.

"I have often heard that a heathen is more virtuous than a heretic," she said darkly. "The nobles of this city have no small amount of faith. They lack it entirely. They are corrupt, and spread corruption wherever they venture. Even to St. Peter's throne. Don't deny it, you know it," she pressed, as Theophylact had opened his mouth to argue. "While we pray, faithless men draw their knives and prepare to usurp what is not theirs. You ask why we can longer build this?" She opened her arms, as if embracing the Pantheon. "It is because faithless men rule here. Is it not, by your own account? They have corrupted Rome. They have corrupted us."

The metal scales in Theophylact's armor clattered together as he walked forward, away from the moonlight, a frown on his face. His father had not raised him to be a naive man. Gregorius had been many things in life, but an idealist he had not been. When he died, he had named his son too intoxicated with youth and zealotry to see clearly. He had reminded him of his duty to the folk of Tusculum, to the Senators, to the Pope, to the City and, most of all, to his family. A blind man was one who could not see. And yet...

"We are all sinners, Theodora."

"Some sin more than others," she pointed out in turn, and he could not fault her reason. "Can you not see, my lord? Ah, sì, the Ottaviani, the Albani, the Lunghezzi, all have faith, yes, in themselves. Not in God. And that is not enough." She paced towards Theophylact, gently cupping his face, her irresistibly soft skin embracing his auburn beard, adoration reflected in the green of her eyes. "You are the Warrior of Christ, you are the Champion of the Church. You are a man of faith, my love. So much more than the corrupt nobles of this city. You cannot entrust the Papacy to their tainted hands. God cannot act alone. Pope Nicholas is dead. Only you can protect all that he stood for. Only you can keep the vultures away. It is you who must rule this city. By the Grace of God, you must rule this city."

All men needed a purpose. That much had always been clear to Theophylact. Purpose was sacred. His mind drifted to Tusculum, to the lush Alban hills, where he would sit with Cardinal de' Subiaco amidst orchards and vines, studying the holy text while his father was away in business at Rome. Purpose was saintly. Jeremiah 32:19, great are your purposes and mighty are yours deeds. Your eyes are open to the ways of all mankind; you reward each person according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve. Purpose was holy. Job 42:2, I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. For the longest time, he had struggled with his purpose. Like Job, he had been challenged, but he had never lost his faith. His faith in God, and in God's plan for him. For the longest time he had thought that his purpose was to serve the Church. Servitude was simple. All men served others. There were no questions. That was all the answer he needed. He had never asked himself how he could serve, and perhaps that had been his mistake, Theophylact realized now. Despite all his prayers, he had felt hollow after his father's death. Disoriented. Lost. He had not understood how he could honor his father's teachings of service to his family and the Church's teachings of service to God at the same time. He looked down at Theodora, brushing a hand against her temple, coming to rest at the nip of her neck. He could not help but be in awe. God had revealed his true purpose to him; not from the word of the scriptures, the prayers of a priest or the revelation of introspection... but from the mouth of a woman.

"Dei Gratia," Theophylact repeated his wife's words, enthralled by her voice, enthralled by her presence, enthralled by her scent, "dominus urbis."

He did not push her away when she raised her head and pressed her lips against his own. She tasted right, and wrong, and of virtue and vice, but she tasted most of all of Theodora, his wife. She was his, and he lost himself in her.

"Come, my lord," she whispered, taking his hand in hers again, pulling him across the empty rotunda towards the exit and the city of vice that laid beyond. "We must not linger. There is much to do."

When he breathed in the winter night sky, amidst the Pantheon's imposing columns, he thought that Rome had never looked more beautiful and more terrible at once.

​

 

[Rakdar]

To all: update above. I could not resist revisiting Theophylact and Theodora. I think they are such interesting characters that they also deserve their place in the sun. It felt wrong to just gloss over them because I don't have as detailed notes or many screenshots of their lives and deeds. All the merrier, since it gives me more poetic license to present their story to you. Consider the above update the first chapter of the AAR. The two previous snippets of Dukes Theophylact and Ercole will be rebranded as the Prologue.

I hope you'll enjoy!

A good start to an AAR on an Italian family that doesn't get the same limelight as the Borgias or Medici. Will all the updates be overviews of each ruler?

That was my original intention, but I think I will do a mix of both narrative and historical style text, depending on my inspiration and on what I have to say about each character. I honestly just wanted to start off with my third ruler, but I was pulled back by the narrative potential that is the first generation Theophylact x Theodora power couple, although they have long been dead in my game.

This is a nice little history AAR. Out of curiosity what does CoA mean and how do I get a version of the historical immersion project compatible with the latest version of CK2.

Thank you. While I was writing this AAR I found out that this is the actual COA of Geneve in Switzerland. The COA in this story, however, represents both faces of the House of Tusculum. The eagle represents their imperial ambitions and their connections to Imperial Rome, most of all the Renaissance-like fascination of the Tusculani with the lost arts of the ancients, which will definitely be a recurring theme. The key, on the other hand, represents the Papacy and the religious side of the Tusculani.

Coat of Arms. You can find the mod in the user modifications portion of the CK2 forum. The latest version (Frosty1) is compatible with the current version of CK2. On another note, to the AARuthor, good to see you started this AAR.

We all do crazy things.

 

[guillec87]

suubed

 

[stnylan]

"The nobles of this city have no small amount of faith. They lack it entirely."

I rather liked this line

 

[Rakdar]

"The nobles of this city have no small amount of faith. They lack it entirely."

I rather liked this line

Glad you enjoyed it. The line itself was inspired by Tyrion Lannister, specifically when he tells Janos Slynt "I do not question your honor. I deny its existence", or something along those lines.

Chapter II going up shortly! It's a big one.

 

[Jokerang]

"The nobles of this city have no small amount of faith. They lack it entirely."

I rather liked this line

There are probably a dozen quotes from ancient times denouncing Rome in one form or fashion.

 

[stnylan]

Glad you enjoyed it. The line itself was inspired by Tyrion Lannister, specifically when he tells Janos Slynt "I do not question your honor. I deny its existence", or something along those lines.

I did wonder if that was the inspiration.

 

[Rakdar]

Chapter II
Election
December 867

​

The death of Nicholas I, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, plunged Rome into disarray in the closing weeks of 867. The Pope had breathed his last on December 14th, only ten days before Christmas Eve. At sixty-seven years of age, his passing had not been unexpected, but no man could ever be truly prepared to face the aftermath of the demise of a Pope who had brought the Catholic Church to its pinnacle from the brink of collapse.

Pope Nicholas had been, by all accounts, one of the most capable men to ever sit the Petrine throne. Staunch and stubborn, he had led an ascetic lifestyle of piety and genuine devotion to the Church’s teachings in spite of his Roman noble upbringing. At his election, he had met a Church that was held hostage by the Carolingian rulers, a mere plaything in their game of thrones. Indeed, Louis II of Italy had been present at Rome to authorize his election. The Pope, throughout his decade-long pontificate, came several times into conflict with the Carolingians, chiefly when he refused to grant Lothaire V a non-canonical divorce. The Carolingians marched against Rome and laid siege to the city, but Pope Nicholas was unrelenting. He held out in the Vatican and eventually the siege was lifted, and Lothaire was left empty-handed. To prevent further Carolingian interference in the Curia, Nicholas decreed that only the Roman community would have a voice in future Papal elections, vying for the independence of Rome and the autonomy of the Church. For this reason, as well as for his piety and the defensive campaigns he promoted against the Saracens in Southern Italy, Pope Nicholas was well loved in Rome, by the nobility and the common people alike.

Therefore, when he died, the Pope was mourned by all. Thousands of cittadini escorted his funeral procession, demanding his immediate canonization. At their head rode Theophylact, Count of Tusculum, who watched the Papal election that would follow with concern. Theophylact was a man with a simple goal: to protect and defend the independence of the Roman Church and the glorious legacy of the late Pope, whom he had greatly admired in his time. When a Pope died, however, Rome became a dangerous place. The Ottaviani family had always been rivals to the House of Tusculum and now flexed their muscles, arriving at Rome shortly after the Pope’s passing. The other Roman noble families were wildcards, though it would be safe to assume that each had a candidate of their own in mind. To the north, word of Nicholas’ death would reach the Carolingian courts sooner rather than later, and they would surely rejoice at the fall of their enemy. They would march down to Rome, bypass Nicholas’ ban on outsiders and impose their will on the Papacy again.

Theophylact, it seemed, was running short on time.

At the time of Nicholas I’s death, the College of Cardinals contained nine members. One, Cardinal Silva Candida, was a scion of old Roman and Lombard nobility, and had served the former Pope as his personal confessor. Another, Cardinal Verdun, was the only Frenchman to sit the Consistorium, and served the King of Lotharingia in the field as a military commander. Two, Cardinals Subiaco and Piperno, had received their red hats under the patronage of Theophylact’s father, Count Gregorius, while another two, erudite Cardinal Jesi and slow Cardinal Ortona, were on the payroll of the Dukes of Spoleto. The College was completed by two lonely cardinals, Sulci and San Marco, respectively Sardinian and Venetian, who lacked strong patrons and found themselves solitary in the cutthroat politics of Rome.

When Pope Nicholas passed away, all but one of the Cardinals were present at Rome, but the absent one was the one who troubled Theophylact the most. By all accounts, Cardinal Verdun was a faithful servant of the King of Lotharingia who had been spurned by Nicholas. Married childlessly to the barren Queen Teutberga, Lothaire V had sired four bastard children with his mistress Waldrada. To secure his dynasty, his best bet was to place his own Cardinal on St. Peter’s throne and gain the divorce he had long yearned for. Theophylact did not underestimate Lothaire. In his adolescence he had seen the Carolingian hosts descend upon Rome at his behest. Even though the Franks had ultimately retreated, they had shown what they were capable of. He had to ensure that Verdun was not imposed on the Petrine throne.

Unfortunately, that was easier said than done. The Roman nobles were notorious for their constant quarreling, and now that the Pope was dead there was no one to stop them from scheming against each other. Some, Theophylact guessed, could even be cowered by Carolingian arms if (when, in the Count’s mind) Lothaire marched on Rome. Time, again, was of the essence, but the College of Cardinals was divided and the nobility was far from reaching a consensus on Nicholas’ successor. He had to act, and to act fast.

At the time, many would have considered Theophylact’s support of one of the Tusculan Cardinals to be a given. His father, Gregorius of Tusculum, had in the past meticulously engineered and arranged for their appointments as Cardinals, in the hope that his voice would carry more weight in the Curia and with Pope Nicholas, against other nobles from Rome. Theophylact, however, was not his father, and he was not blinded by ambition. Despite Gregorius’ best efforts, the Tusculan Cardinals stood isolated in the Curia. If Theophylact tried to push for either of them, he would find himself isolated as well. Worse, he would be no different from the Roman philistines who dared to call themselves nobles if he placed the interests of his family above the well-being of the Holy Mother Church. He had no choice but to seek an alternative candidate, one who could win over the support of the Italian families before it was too late and a Carolingian candidate was forced down their throats.

The man Theophylact decided to put his weight behind eventually turned out to be Cardinal Silva Candida, the Roman Lombard. A respected citizen and ordained priest, Maurizio della Silva Candida could rally the necessary support of the noble families and the common people. Silva Candida was not only known for his charity and humility, but also as a close associate of the late Pope Nicholas who could uphold and carry on his legacy of independence. The Cardinal appeased Theophylact on a personal level as well, being of martial inclination. As a child, he had witnessed the Arab raid against Rome in 846 and the sacking of St. Peter’s Basilica by the Mohametan forces, a sacrilege he had vowed he would never suffer to witness again. Although Tusculum was not on the coast and had not been hit as hard by the Arabs, the Tusculani stronghold sat to the south of Rome next to the Appian Way. If the Arabs in Sicily and Calabria were allowed to consolidate, Tusculum would fall before Rome did.

Men and gold were sent for from Tusculum. Envoys were dispatched to the court of Lamberto Guideschi, Duke of Spoleto, who held sway over the two Spoletan cardinals in the Curia. Theodora, Countess of Tusculum, penned a letter to her father, the Margrave of Tuscany, warning him of the impending Carolingian incursion and imploring for his aid. At Rome, Theophylact conversed with the common people, giving out alms and grain with Cardinal Silva Candida by his side. While Theophylact engaged with the pleb and drilled the Papal guard, Theodora took to herself the tasks her husband considered too unwieldy. She caroused with the Roman nobles of the city and negotiated with Cardinals their support. Gold and the word of her father appeased the Tuscan cardinal. The Sardinian, on the other hand, gave in under well placed threats. A declaration of support did not linger to arrive from Spoleto; Duke Lamberto, who controlled the entire Apennines from north to south, had no wish to see Carolingian rule strengthened in Italy. The Venetian, isolated in the Curia, followed suit.

Not all were convinced, however. It was said that no man could force Tusculani and Ottaviani to work together. “Certainly not a woman,” the young Giuseppe Ottaviani had said with a sneer, “and much less a putana.” Theodora of Tusculum, who had come to secure the noble’s allegiance, was expelled from the Ottaviani Tower next to the ancient forum, where the family had made their seat. Ottaviani’s cries followed her out. “Tell your coglione of a husband that he should have sent me a prettier whore!”

Cardinal Subiaco recalls that when Theophylact of Tusculum learned of his wife’s humiliation, he was consumed by rage. The Ottaviani were old enemies of his family. To Theodora, Theophylact accused them of being in league with the Franks to subjugate Rome and rule the city as tyrants. When Theodora pointed out that his accusation was baseless, Theophylact said that he did not care.

“Ottaviani!” the Count of Tusculum shouted, clad from head to toe in black scale armor, with the Eagle of Tusculum imprinted on a badge upon his armored chest. He turned his barded stallion in circles before Ottaviani’s tower, counting twenty armed men-at-arms flying the Tusculan banner at his back. “Ottaviani! Come out and die!”

“Tusculani!” Giuseppe Ottaviani shouted back from a high window, safe behind the reinforced gates of his tower-keep in the heart of Rome. “I cornuto tuscolani…” he sneered, “what are you going to do, throw your pretty horse against my castellum?”

“I’ll kill you!” the Count of Tusculum cried, unsheathing the sword he kept at his belt. “You insult my honor, you insult my family’s honor, you insult my wife’s honor, and now you hide behind a wall? Come out, codardo, and die!”

“Do you see, people of Roma, the face of the beast?” Ottaviani declared from his tower, addressing the unruly mob that had been gathering around the small Tusculani force. The Forum was home to traders and vagrants, and all had paused their duties to watch the spectacle of their confrontation. “Teofilatto de’ Tusculana brandishes his sword like a bitch in the heat and threatens to spill blood in the streets so close to Christmas Day! He sends out his whore to do his bidding and makes a joke of our late Pope! Heed my words, he means to make himself our tyrant!”

“LIAR!” cried Theophylact in fury. “Did your mother give birth to a man or a rat, bastardo? If you will not face me like a man, I’ll pluck you from your tower and, I swear to God, I’ll throw you into the Tiber!”

“ENOUGH!” bellowed a loud voice, belonging to a man Theophylact had not expected to see here. I should have known. “Peace, Theophylactus. Qui est testis!”

The Tusculan knew Latin as well as his mother’s womb. The people stand witness. Indeed, nearly all of the Forum had gathered around Torre Ottaviani to watch the confrontation. Some sneered in disgust, others looked excited, others fearful. Theophylact could not tell if their sneer was directed at him, who had brought violence and armed thugs openly to the street, in broad daylight, or the coward Ottaviani. Perhaps he would not have faltered only under Cardinal Silva Candida’s stern gaze, had Theodora of Tusculum not been riding to his right. The look in her green eyes was worse than anger. It was disappointment. He sheathed his sword.

“This doesn’t end here, Ottaviani,” he warned the sorry excuse of a man in the window.

Giuseppe Ottaviani laughed.

“You can bet it doesn’t, cornuto.”

***

Villa Tusculanensis
Rome

***​

“He called you a whore, Theodora!”

“And now everybody knows he did!”

“He said you’ve been unfaithful!”

“Who cares?!”

The discussion raged on throughout the night at Villa Tusculanensis in the shadow of the Porta San Sebastiano. The villa was a large fortified townhouse, raised high and crenellated, put up by Theophylact’s grandfather next to the gate where the Appian Way intercepted the Aurelian walls. Marble capitals and other decorations had been scavenged from the Forum and stone quarried from the ruined Baths of Caracalla to construct the stronghold of the Counts of Tusculum at Rome. Tonight, however, neither the Count or the Countess could stop to appreciate the beauty of their scavenged home.

“You let your emotions control you!”

“You went after Candida!”

“You didn’t listen to me!”

“No, Theodora, you didn’t obey me!”

“What, obey the Cuckold of Tuscolano?”

With a rage that had yet to subdue, Theophylact raised his hand to strike the rebellious woman across the face. Order, honor and discipline are the foundations of this world, Teofilatto, he heard his father’s voice say, if disturbed, you must set it right again. All it took was a flash of her bright green eyes and a moment’s hesitation for his father’s words to turn into dust. He stopped himself just shy off her face, an inch between his calloused hand and Theodora’s pink cheek.

Immediately overtaken with embarrassment and overwhelming shame, Theophylact withdrew his hand. “Mi dispiace, madonna mia,” he apologized in a voice marred with regret. “I should not have done this. It was unchristian of me.”

Theodora’s infamous temper would not relent so easily. Fuming, he grabbed her husband’s offending hand by the wrist and shook it angrily in the air. “This is exactly what I mean, Teofilatto!” she cried, her long fingernails biting down on his wrist, drawing droplets of blood. “This is the proof!”

“Proof of what?” challenged Theophylact, feebly trying to overcome his shame.

“That you let vile lies and slander get under your skin! That you allow your emotions to rule you, cazzo!”

“That is not true at all, woman,” he argued, forcefully pulling his hand back to himself and turning his back to Theodora. He stared through the eagle-crested window, into the Roman night. “Ottaviani makes a mockery of my family’s honor. This has nothing to do with emotion. It is reason.”

“Was it reasonable for you to lay siege to the Ottaviani Tower in full sight of the city?” challenged Theodora. “There is only one thing Rome hates more than corrupt popes, Teofilatto. Tyrants.”

“Tyrants,” Theophylact scoffed. “You said we should rule this city, for its own good. To protect the Pope from nobles such as Ottaviani. Have you changed your mind?”

“No,” the Countess said firmly. “But you most of all know the difference between a prince and a tyrant. The difference is in our actions, and the people’s perception of our actions. The people saw you march across the streets with armed men at your back and threaten a noble in his home. You’ve risked everything, Teofilatto.” She sneered. “For honor.”

“For you,” he corrected, “and Rome.”

“Ottaviani baited you, and you fell for it,” she growled. “If we wish to crown Silva Candida and resist Lothaire and Verdun when they come, the people must stand with us. Only then will we be able to defend Rome. Ottaviani is trying to put the people against us. He does not wish us to succeed. The fate of the Church doesn’t matter to him, only that of his own family. He is vassal to the Iron Crown. He would not begrudge the Karlings their Pope, if they kept the Tusculani out of Rome. And you helped him. You must think before you act, Teofilatto!”

She was right. Ottaviani deserved justice, but the scales of God’s justice were patient and timeless. He would get his reckoning, one day. In his anger, Theophylact had endangered all that they had fought for. Ottaviani was on the verge of winning the sympathy of the crowds, and Theophylact was not blind to the shift in power that it could represent if the wound was allowed to fester. The cardinals would hesitate in uncertainty, the noble families would sit and wait to see who would be the last man standing, and the election would be delayed. Perhaps long enough for Lothaire to reach Rome.

That was inadmissible.

He took a deep breath in, to steady and calm himself. When he was ready, he turned away from the window to face Theodora. An idea had sprouted in his mind.

“Acclamatio,” he said, in almost a whisper.

There was a moment of silence, only broken by the crackling fire in the winter hearth.

“Election by acclamation?” his wife eventually asked astutely, stroking her chin with her long fingers, a thoughtful look on her face. “We force the election to happen. Now, not later. We force our allies’ hand. Either they are with us, or against us. That… that could work.”

“We deny Ottaviani time to scheme,” Theophylact stated carefully, watching for her reaction. “All the pieces are set in the board, Theodora. You made sure of that. The cardinals don’t need to convene in Conclave. The people are still behind us. If we wait, Ottaviani might convince them otherwise, and our allies would follow the new tide.”

“That is… unorthodox,” Theodora noted with a frown, staring past her husband in a gaze that meant she was deep in thought. “The last papal acclamation took place over a hundred years ago.”

“Gregorius Tertius,” Theophylact confirmed. Of course, he had been taught the story of how Pope Gregory III had been universally acclaimed the Vicar of Christ while he was accompanying the funeral procession of his predecessor. It was a touching and inspiring story of faith. Acclamations were rare, and had not happened ever since. “It happened before. It can happen again. Silva Candida defused the situation at Torre Ottaviani. The people saw him do it. Perhaps this election can still be salvaged.”

“Acclamation it is,” said Theodora firmly, jogging towards the desk where ink and parchment lied, starting to furiously scribble messages in her fine and elegant script, signing with her husband’s seal. “I will alert our allies.”

“I’ll prepare the men, the alms and the grain,” he replied, once again burning with sacred purpose. “We move at dawn.”

Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum;
HABEMUS PAPAM!

Eminentissimum ac Reverendissimum Dominum
Dominum Mauricium
Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalem Silva Candida
Qui sibi nomen imposuit Stephanum Quintum​

The acclamation of Maurizio della Silva Candida took place at the ancient Forum of Nerva, in the heart of Rome. The early hours of dawn graced the urban mass that crowded the old forum in greeting. The papabile was seated on a splendid golden litter, carried by the patriarchs of the Tusculani, Albani and Lunghezzi families, among half a dozen other Roman families who had seen the sense in a speedy election to keep Frankish influence well at bay. The seven cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, all except for Verdun, followed behind on foot, garbed in their crimson coats and episcopal hats, none having dared to challenge the wave. Noblewomen distributed alms to the poor, while men-at-arms bearing the Eagle of Tusculum on their badges distributed grain to the cheering poor. They chanted.

“PAPA CANDIDA!”

“PAPA CANDIDA!”

“PAPA CANDIDA!”

​

Pope Stephen V was crowned on Christmas Eve, 867, in St. Peter’s Basilica, donning the Papal tiara that had been Nicholas’ before. His predecessor had been the first Pope to be crowned in the history of the Church. That Stephen V chose to continue the new tradition spelled fortune for the defense and promotion of Nicholas the Great’s vast legacy. The procession that had started in the Forum of Nerva at sunrise had marched on the Vatican and taken the basilica as if by storm. There was nothing anyone could do against the mob, led into the temple by the ecclesiastical and secular princes of Rome at once. The people had spoken. No scar remained of the Sack of St. Peter’s by Arab raiders twenty years before. Stephen V vowed to keep his Church scarless, unified and pure, for the glory of God.

Theophylactus of Tusculum knelt before St. Peter’s throne and kissed the Fisherman’s Ring, pledging his loyalty, faith and fealty to Pope Stephen. When the Pope bade him to rise, His Holiness invested him, for his faith and service, with the titles, offices and honors of Senator, magister militum and sacri palatii vestararius, and named him to his council as Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church. Although Theophylact would return to Tusculum to winter there and put a dozen miles between himself and the city he had pushed to its limit, he was the man who collected the most honors that day. By the time word of Pope Nicholas’ death reached the Lotharingian court at Nancy, Stephen V already sat the Petrine throne as Pope of Rome. It was the start of a long and prosperous relationship between Stephen and Theophylact that would bring much joy to the Roman Church in the decades to come.

St. Peter's Basilica, enclosed by the Leonine wall built after the Arab sack​

 

[Jokerang]

Seems like a normal day in the married life of Theophylact. Let us hope the new pope is to his liking in the future.

 

[High King Peredain]

Written wonderfully. I learned several things by reading this, mostly the name of the Papal ring and the traditional kissing of it.

Also some Italian .

I take it you chose the option to make the names and titles anglicized in the installation process?