Benedict IX (ca. 1021-ca. 1054)
Benedict IX (ca. 1021-ca. 1054)
During the tenth and eleventh centuries, when the papacy was much abused, the papal crown was more than once offered for sale. Thus the office fell into the hands of a high and ambitious family who held it for a boy of 12—Benedict IX—who became pope from 1033 to 1048. As he grew older the boy lost no opportunity to disgrace his position by his depraved mode of life.
But, according to legends, he excelled in sorcery and various forms of magic. One story tells how he made the Roman matrons follow him over hill and dale, through forests and across rivers, by the charm of his magic, as though he were a sort of Pied Piper.
Benedict was finally driven from Rome by the Marquis of Tuscany in July 1048. He died a few years later.
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Benedict IX (ca. 1021-ca. 1054)
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Benedict IX (ca. 1021-ca. 1054)