A Revenge Spectacle.

“Pope Formosus and Stephen VII” – Jean-Paul Laurens’ depiction of the Cadaver Synod in 1870.

Revenge, it’s a popular topic in literature. Personally, I have no use for it, I tend towards the “the best revenge is living well” side of things. I don’t much care for giving nasty people rent free space in my head, so I don’t concern myself with them. Pettiness can eat you alive if you let it. All that said, one of the most spectacular incidences involving revenge was the Cadaver Synod in 897. There were various reasons for this spectacle, the most likely being politics, what else?

“And thereafter Stephan put Pope Formosus out of his tomb, and placed him in the Apostolic throne, and a deacon was delegated to answer for him, and his apostolic vestment was stripped off, and dragged across the basilica; and blood was flowing from his mouth, and he was thrown into the river.” ~ the Annales Alamannici describing the events in Rome for the year 897.

[…]

On April 4, 896, Formosus died and was buried in a Roman church. His immediate successor was Boniface VI, but he only last 15 days on the Papal throne before dying of gout. He would be replaced by Stephen VI, a longtime rival of Formosus.

As this was happening, Emperor Arnulf suffered a stroke and returned home north across the Alps. His health would never recover and he died on 8 December 899.

In January of 897, Pope Stephen VI ordered that the tomb of Formosus be opened up and his body exhumed. He wanted the former Pope put on trial, allegedly for supporting King Arnulf in becoming Emperor, and for coveting the Papacy years before. He was charged with breaking canon law, as well as of perjury, and of illegally serving as a bishop. Even if Formosus had been dead for several months, Stephen was eager to have his revenge on his corpse.

The decaying body was propped up onto a throne, and a trial was held with Pope Stephen acting as prosecutor. Meanwhile a young deacon was given the responsibility of defending Formosus, while a stunned audience watched the gross spectacle. According to various sources, Pope Stephen shouted at his dead predecessor, demanding he answer his charges. One chronicler, Liutprand of Cremona, noted that Stephen asked, “When you were bishop of Porto, why did you usurp the universal Roman See in such a spirit of ambition?”

The macabre and bizarre spectacle would soon reach its foregone conclusion – Formosus was found guilty. His body was stripped of its Papal vestments and three of his fingers were cut off from his right hand – those that he used to bless people. Finally, the body was tossed in the Tiber River, however the next day it was recovered by some monks and secretly buried in a monastery.

I can’t help but wonder if this mess actually made Stephen feel better. It’s difficult for me to imagine any satisfaction in all this, after all, Formosus was well beyond answering any charges or having any cares at all. Seems Stephen mostly wanted an excuse to desecrate a corpse, and felt this ‘trial’ justified his doing so. Of course, there was also the attempt to desecrate the memory of Formosus, but in the end, that resulted in a spectacular backfire. The most memorable thing about Stephen was his putting a corpse on trial, so I think Formosus won this one in the end.

You can read all about the surrounding political situation at Medievalists.

Unnecessary Swearing.

Jim Bakker, the disgraced former televangelist who reinvented himself as an End Times prepper pitchman following his time in prison, was among the dozens of evangelical leaders who were brought to the White House recently to meet with members of President Trump’s administration.

Bakker revealed on his program today that he and his wife Lori were in the White House on the day that Anthony Scaramucci was fired from his short stint as White House communications director, noting that it was not a coincidence that Scaramucci was let go at the moment when George O. Wood, who heads the General Council of the Assemblies of God, spoke out against “unnecessary swearing” during a meeting with White House staff.

Not a coincidence. Right. In any other facet of life, magical thinking is a symptom which notes that your mental health may be in decline. But not in religion, oh no. That gets a free pass. I’m damn tired of it, too. There isn’t one small thing these assholes won’t manage to hook up to their mythical psychopath.

According to the Bakkers, Trump is eager to hear from right-wing Christian leaders and hopes to use them to spread his message to their audiences.

“The president has asked for the pastors, the leaders of Christianity, to come and advise them,” Baker said, as Lori explained that “the reason for the meeting was so that he can get the group of Christian leaders that have a platform to share the truth of what’s really going on that you don’t get to hear in the media.”

Media doesn’t need to report this fucking nonsense, you all never shut the fuck up.

Lori noted that the members of the meeting they attended were able to write a letter to Trump that was hand delivered to him by his primary spiritual adviser, Paula White, and they were told by White House staff how much receiving letters means to the president.

“People think that their letters aren’t going to get to the president,” she said. “Well, guess what? They get to this president … so leaders need to say thank you.”

Actually, the letters got to Minister Money Grubber. I have no doubt they did make it to Donny, though, where he could pore over the praise and use it as a balm for that massive ego.

Bakker said that pastors and Christian leaders must send letters of support to Trump, who “will read every word of it because he’s looking for the pulse of what God is doing in our country.”

Well, no, that’s not what the Tiny Tyrant is looking for, Jim. He’s looking for food for that endless black hole of an ego. Food which you relentless assholes never tire of shoveling into the maw.

Via RWW.

Birth of a Dinosaur.

These are wonderful! From Kestrel, click for full size.

So, first pic: the eggs, which has been pipped, and some sections of the shell have broken away. The inmate has made a little tear in the membrane. The other items you can see in there are hatched chicks, and in the left lower part of the incubator, that square thing is the hygrometer.

Now the beak emerges from the tear.

One of the siblings has come by and is about to trip and fall over the new hatchling, and then fall asleep, delaying things a bit.

Almost out, after the sibling has staggered off somewhere else!

Finally the creature emerges, ready to eat Tokyo. Or some chick crumbles, anyway.

© Kestrel, all rights reserved.