John VI, bishop of Ravenna from 726 to 744, had an eventful reign, which is recounted here from the Liber pontificalis ecclesiae Ravennatis — the Book of the Pontiffs of Ravenna — written around 840 by a local cleric, Agnello.

It was a time of sieges, sacking and pillaging, rebellions and imaginary bulls in battlefields.

King Liutprand of the Lombards besieged Ravenna, and sacked the nearby harbour city of Classe, around 724–726, and shortly after, following the iconoclast edict of emperor Leo III, the anti-iconoclast rebellion in Byzantine Italy broke out, with Ravenna as the natural centre, leading to open battle between the citizens and Byzantine reinforcements arriving by sea.

The Liber pontificalis ecclesiae Ravennatis, however, omitted other events which happened during the reign of John VI.

During a Lombard raid in the 730s, Hildeprand, nephew of king Liutprand, and Peredeo, duke of Vicenza, took Ravenna, and the exarch Eutychius fled to Venice. The Venetians retook the city, captured Hildeprand alive, and restored Eutychius to his position. This story was retold by both Paul the Deacon and John the Deacon, and supported by a papal letter, quoted in the latter.

The exile of John VI has been read in the context of this event, but it doesn’t seem to match, especially the way he returned to Ravenna.

The Liber pontificalis ecclesiae Ravennatis also omitted the later raids by Liutprand in 741–743, which are described in the Liber Pontificalis for Pope Zachary.

Source: Liber pontificalis ecclesiae Ravennatis (c.840), by Agnello Ravennate, from Waitz, Georg. Scriptores rerum Langobardicarum et Italicarum saec. 6.-9 in Monumenta Germaniae historica. Hannoverae : impensis Bibliopolii Hahniani, 1878. Translation by René Seindal.

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John XXXIX. He was very patient, humble, and gentle. In his time, the Petriana Church¹ fell during an earthquake after the Sunday mass celebrations had ended.

And under the rule of King Liutprand² of the Lombards, the aforementioned city³ was besieged and devastated by his army, deceived by its own citizens through a feigned trick at the gate called Vicus Salutaris,⁴ which was near the river Pantheus. All the citizens ran there. But one of them, hostile to his fellow citizens, having been promised money, brought keys, removed the bolts of the gate that leads to the Quarter of the Lepers, where there is a stone bridge on solid foundations, with all locks opened and gates unbarred, the enemies entered the city and destroyed it. For, by the judgment of God, he, who had ambushed his own citizens and opened the gates, perished by the first broken beam, did not receive the promised money, but gave his own blood before all, and was not honourably buried.

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Iohannes XXXIX. Hic patientissimus fuit, humilis et mansuetus. Istius temporibus ecclesia Petriana cecidit terraemotu post expleta solempnia missarum die dominico.

Et Liutprandi regis regnum Langobardorum regentes, ab ipsius exercitus praedicta civitas corona cincta et devastata est, a suis decepta civibus, simulata fraude, a porta quae dicitur Vicus Salutaris, quae erat iuxta fluvium Pantheum. Omnes cives cucurrerunt illuc. Unus autem ex illis, infensus suis civibus, promissa pecunia, allatis clavibus, subductis molchis portae, quae pergit ad vicum Leprosum, ubi est pons ex basibus factus, reseratis claustris omnibus patefactisque portis, inimici ingressi civitatem et eam subverterunt. Nam iudicio Dei ipse, qui insidiator suorum civium fuit et pilae claustra opperuit, quod primum tigni stipite perfossum interiit, promissam pecuniam non accepit, sed ante omnes suum sanguinem dedit nec terrae commenditus est.

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Therefore, the angry citizens of Ravenna sent this bishop into exile in Venetia,⁵ and he was an exile for one year. Then Epiphanius, the notary, seeing the destruction of this holy church and the father of the homeland distressed and enduring suffering, recalled him to this proper seat through the exarch of this city.

After, however, being restored to the pontifical throne, one day the aforementioned notary Epiphanius said to him: “Lord Father, do not be averse to going to the palace to the exarch and offering him a great amount of silver, and demand from him that he restrain those men who sent you into exile so that we may take vengeance on them. And whatever you give, I will return to you tenfold from them. You hold the pontifical authority, I will contend with them, and I know, with the help of the Lord, I will achieve triumph over the enemies.” And it happened as you heard above. And soon the aforementioned Bishop John returned within the maternal bosom of the church.

But on another day, the author of the council, the same Epiphanius the notary, standing in conflict with many individual men, said thus: “You have a command written from matters, that you never act or speak against this holy church or against the pontiff of this seat for any reason. Now tell me, what kind of sheep are you because you struck your shepherd, while he was tending to you and leading you through grassy fields, and wrote acrimonious letters against him?” Twenty times he brought people to judgment in court, and turned them over to the exarch. With these deeds done, all came humbly and unanimously to him, seeking mercy, and no one later led him into bitterness.

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Igitur irati Ravennenses cives cuntra pontificem hunc, in Venetiarum partibus eum exilio religaverunt, et fuit exul per annum unum. Tunc Epiphanius scriniarius, videns excidium sanctae istius ecclesiae et patrem patriae in angustia et matura detinere afflictionem, eum per huius civitatis exarchum ad hanc propriam revocavit sedem.

Post autem in pontificali solio restitutus, quadam die praedictus Epiphanius scriniarius ait ad eum: ‘Domine pater, non te pigeat in palatium ad exarchum ire et offerre illi ex argiriom palaream magnam; et postula ab eo, ut coartet viros illos ad iudicium, qui te in exilium miserunt, ut vindicemus nosmet de illis. Et hoc, quod das, decuplum ex eis restituam. Tu pontificalis tenes mores, ego cum eis litigabo, et scio iuvante Domino de hostibus reportabo triumphum’. Factumque est, ut superius audistis. Et ut mox recepit se praedictus Iohannis pontifex infra maternum ecclesiae sinum.

Alia vero die auctor cunsilii, idem Epiphanius scriniarius cum singulis hominibus in cunflictum stans, ita aiebat: ‘Praeceptum ex rebus exaratum habes, ut nunquam contra sanctam hanc ecclesiam aut contra huius sedis pontificem de quacumque causa agas aut oro mussites. Dic nunc, qualis ovis tu es, quia pastorem tuum, dum ille te foveret et per gramineos duceret campos, tu cornu percussisti et contra eum cirographa cunscripsisti?’ Convincti in iudicio, vigies collegit, quod exarcho dedit. His itaque gestis, venerunt humiliter omnes unanimes ad eum, petentes misericordiam; et nullus eum postmodum in amaritudinem deduxit.

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In the time of John, a general came again with a show of force to Ravenna, to lay it waste, thinking that he would escape as before. When the Ravennese learned of this, they went out to meet him in the manner of battle as at the field of Coriandrum.⁶ Those who pretended to flee, turning their backs, upon reaching the wooden stadium, where a stone marker was fixed as a sign, returned, and began to fight the Greeks bravely, and there was no rest from the cutting everywhere, with the Greeks suffering great slaughter from the sword. The priests indeed, together with the bishop and elders, prostrated on the ground, clothed in sackcloth, sprinkled with ashes on their heads, implored Almighty God. The elders, covered with sacks, with unruly and dirty hair, with tearful eyes, cried out to heaven; likewise all who were left in the city, men and women alike, awaited the help of the Almighty. The rest, armoured with iron, taking up the weapons of youth, cut down the enemies without pause.

Then, as we heard from those who narrated it, it appeared between the two armies like the image of a great bull, and it began to raise dust with its feet against the Greek army, and a voice soon sounded — from where it had come or to whom it belonged, no one knew — in the ears of all it exclaimed, saying: “Forward, Ravennese, fight bravely! Victory will be yours today.”

But the Pelasgians,⁷ seeing one of their flanks broken, began to flee to their ships, thinking they would escape. Then the Melisenses, that is, the citizens of Ravenna, surrounded them with boats and vessels, and rushing upon the Byzantines, killed them all and threw their bodies into the Eridanus.⁸ And so it was that for 6 years no one ever ate fish of the Paterenum⁹.

This, however, happened on the day of the saints John and Paul,¹⁰ and they began to celebrate this day as if it were the feast of Easter, decorating the streets of the city with various chaffs and fabrics as they went to their church, blessing God forever and ever, amen. This bishop, when he died, was buried in the basilica of Saint Apollinaris. You will find an epitaph over him containing thus: … He sat 8 years, months …, days … .

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Temporibus Iohannis venit iterum monstratico Ravennae, ut eam depopularet, putante, se ut antea evaderet. Quo cogniti Ravenniani egressi sunt ad eum more praeliandi ut in campum Coriandri. Qui simulata fuga terga dantes, cum pervenissent ad stadium tabulae, ubi pro signo terminus lapideus fixus est, reversi, Grecorum frontem coeperunt fortiter dimicare; et non erat requies undique caedentium, gladio strages maximas Grecorum peremptas. Sacerdotes vero una cum pontifice et senioribus prostrati humo, cilicium induti, asperso in capitibus eorum cinerem, omnipotentem Deum deprecabantur. Seniores vero saccis sunt cooperti, inculti capitibus et squallidis, lacrimosis oculis, in caelum clamabant; similiter et omnes, qui infra urbem relicti sunt, masculi et feminae Omnipotentis auxilium expectabant. Reliqui vero accincti ferro, sumpti iuvenilibus armis, caedebant hostes sine intermissione.

Tunc, sicut a narrantibus audivimus, apparuit inter utrosque exercitus quasi effigies magni tauri et coepit cuntra Grecorum exercitum pedibus pulvere exspargere, et vox mox insonuit – unde venisset aut cuius fuisset, nullus agnovit – in auribus omnium increpuit, dicens: ‘Eia Ravenniani, fortiter pugnate! Victoria vestra erit hodie’.

Videntes vero Pelasgi, cornu suum esse cunfractum, coeperunt fugere infra dromonibus, putantes se liberare. Tunc Melisenses, id est Ravenniani cives, circumdederunt eos cum cymbis et carabis, et irruentes super Bizanteos, omnes interfecerunt et corpora eorum in Eridanum praecipitaverunt. Et sic fuit, ut per annos 6 ex Patereno nullus inde unquam piscem comederet.

Hoc autem factum est in die sanctorum Iohannis et Pauli, et coeperunt agere diem istum quasi diem festum paschae, ornantes plateas civitatis cum diversis palleis et lethaneis ad eorum ecclesiam gradientes, benedicentes Deum in secula seculorum, amen. Mortuus et sepultus est in basilica beati Apolenaris. Epithaphium invenies super eum continens ita: … Sedit annos 8, menses …, dies …

Notes

1. The Petriana Church in Classe was founded by bishop Peter Chrysologus between 433 and 449. It was not reconstructed after the earthquare. ↩︎
2. Liutprand (c.680–744) was king of the Lombards from 712 to 744. During his reign, he fought wars with Byzantine over Ravenna, and donated lands at Sutri to the Pope, leading to the creation of the Papal State. ↩︎
3. Classe (Latin: Classis) was a harbour city near Ravenna, and an important naval base in Antiquity. ↩︎
4. In another entry, for bishop Peter Senior, it is explicit that the Vicus Salutaris was in Classe. ↩︎
5. Venetia as the Byzantine province, ruled from Ravenna. The text doesn’t state where John VI went, but the most like places are Grado, seat of the patriarch, or Heraclea, seat of the local Byzantine governor, the dux. ↩︎
6. A plain on the outskirts of the city. ↩︎
7. The Byzantine troops. ↩︎
8. The Eridanus was the southernmost branch of the delta of the river Po, which extended to Ravenna in Antiquity. ↩︎
9. The Paterenum was another name for the Eridanus, where it ran closest to the city. ↩︎
10. The feast day of SS Giovanni e Paolo is on June 26th. ↩︎

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