Europe's inner demons

The pope expected his demons to involve themselves in his feud with the Colonna. He was often heard to exclaim furiously, “Where are the Colonna you promised to hand over to me? I gave myself to you, body and soul, for that purpose.” But the demons’ replies were unsatisfactory. They pointed out that whereas Boniface had the power to destroy the property of the Colonna, he was not permitted to harm their persons; so that the demons were not permitted to divulge their whereabouts. Yet in his hour of greatest need the demons did effectively oppose the Colonna: Boniface was supposed to have declared that neither God nor man, but the demons, had rescued him from the Colonna at Anagni.

Nogaret and his agents arranged for their accusations to be substantiated by witnesses. This presented no difficulties at all, for Boniface had made many enemies. A man of great abilities and energy, he had shown himself proud and arrogant, relentless towards those whom he regarded as standing in his way, abrupt and irascible even towards his adherents; a man who, with many of the qualities of a great ruler, failed to be one largely because he was less suited to gain than to forfeit loyalties. So during 1310 and 1311 a score of hostile witnesses, all selected or approved by Nogaret, offered their evidence to the pope and the papal commissioners. A first hearing took place at Groseau near Avignon in the summer of 1310; and there the witnesses, though they had some startling things to say about the late pope, made no mention of demons.⁽⁸⁾

But at a second hearing, held in Rome in the spring of 1311, three monks specifically charged Boniface with demon-worship.⁽⁹⁾

Most of the witnesses heard in Rome had previously appeared at Groseau; but these monks were added to the list only in Rome, as though to clinch the matter.

The evidence of Brother Berardus of Soriano is particularly instructive.⁽¹⁰⁾

The first episode he describes is set in the period 1277-80, i.e. at least thirty years before the trial itself. At that time the future Pope Boniface was still Benedict Caetani, a notary of Pope Nicholas III. The evidence reads as follows:

Once when witness, along with another man called Constantius of Foligno, who was the chamberlain of the said lord Benedict (Caetani), were loitering, at a late hour, at a window of the palace where he was staying (at Viterbo), he saw how the lord Benedict went out into a garden adjoining the palace, drew a circle with a sword, placed himself in the middle of the circle, sat down, and pulled out a rooster, and also fire in an earthen jar. He saw the lord Benedict kill the cock and throw its blood on the fire. Smoke came from the mixture of blood and fire, while the lord Benedict read from a book and conjured up demons. After this conjuration witness heard a great sound, which terrified him. At length he heard a voice begging: “Give us a part.” And the above-mentioned Constantius saw the lord Benedict take the cock and throw it out of the garden, saying: “Here is your part.” Then the lord Benedict left the garden and passed witness and his companion without speaking to them, or to any member of his household, and went into an unoccupied room. Witness with his companion Constantius slept next to the room of the lord Benedict; and all that night he heard the lord Benedict talking, and another voice answering. Yet there was nobody else in the room.