Pope Benedict V
?-964
Before Benedict was elected in May of 964, Emperor Otto I had forcibly removed Pope John XII from the papal chair and put Leo VIII in his place. When Otto discovered that the Romans had expelled Leo and, upon the death of John, elected their own candidate, he was infuriated. Otto marched on Rome and convoked his own synod, which degraded Benedict to deacon and restored Leo to the papacy.
Otto took Benedict back to Hamburg with him, where he was placed in the care of Adaldag, the Archbishop there. He was known as Grammaticus or the Grammarian because he was so learned. Some of the German clergy even acknowledged Benedict as pope, though others saw him as an interloper. He died the following summer.
Both Benedict and Leo could be considered antipopes, depending on which one is considered the rightful pope. However, neither is officially regarded as an antiopoe by the Catholic Church. Benedict and Leo both died in 965 and were succeeded by John XIII.
Important Dates
Died: July 4, 965
On the Web
Pope Benedict V
Very brief bio by Horace K. Mann at the Catholic Encyclopedia.Benedict V
Admiring biography at Christ's Faithful People.
In Print
The links below will take you to a site where you can compare prices at booksellers across the web. More in-depth info about the book may be found by clicking on to the book's page at one of the online merchants.
Lives of the Popes: The Pontiffs from St. Peter to John Paul II
by Richard P. McBrienChronicle of the Popes: The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Papacy over 2000 Years
by P. G. Maxwell-Stuart
Related Resources
The Papacy
Index of sites regarding the Popes and the political entity of the Papal States, their impact on medieval culture, and the schisms they endured and overcame.Early Europe
Directory of sites that offer useful resources for the study of Europe in Late Antiquty, or shortly after the fall of Rome.
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