Title XX: On the Crime of Forgery

Latin source headnote: A false witness injures three: God, the judge, and the party; and not only one who tells a lie is false, but also one who conceals the truth.

Augustine.

A false witness is liable to three persons: first to God, whose presence he contemns; then to the judge, whom he deceives by lying; lastly to the innocent person, whom he injures by false testimony. Each is guilty, both he who conceals the truth and he who tells a lie, because the former does not wish to benefit and the latter desires to harm.

Latin source headnote: A sentence rendered through false letters ought not to be committed to execution.

Lucius III, to the Bishop of Worcester.

Concerning the fact that you were unwilling to commit to execution a sentence rendered by authority of false letters, we commend your prudence very greatly, commanding that, whenever any writings sent under our name appear to you liable to be refuted as false, you place no faith in them and do not observe what shall have been commanded through them, but cause the one who presented them to be carefully detained.

Latin source headnote: A cleric who forges a prince's seal is deposed. Likewise, a mark is impressed upon him, and he is sent into exile.

Urban III.

It came to our hearing, through your report, that, when you had committed to imprisonment certain perverse clerics who had forged the seal of our dearest son in Christ, Philip, the illustrious King of the French, you decided to seek counsel from the Apostolic See as to what ought to be done by you concerning them. Wherefore we, on the counsel of our brothers, respond thus to your fraternity: you are not to cause a member to be removed from them or a corporal penalty to be inflicted upon them through which they might incur danger of death; but, after they have first been degraded from their own orders, you are to cause some mark to be impressed upon them as a sign of the crime, by which they may be known among others, and, compelling them to abjure that province, permit them to depart.

Latin source headnote: One present at the Curia is not to receive apostolic letters except from the hands of the Pope or of officials deputed by him; nevertheless, persons of distinction will be able to receive them through messengers, but from the hands of the aforesaid persons. One acting contrary to this, if a layman, is subject to excommunication; if a cleric, he is deposed from office and benefice. It says this as far as § Adding. — § 1. By the penalty of excommunication it provides against those who do not surrender or destroy false letters within twenty days; and absolution is reserved to the Pope, and one made contrary to this is not valid. It says this. Abbas.

Innocent III.

Harsh commands [and sometimes unjust appointments are asserted and wondered at by many to issue from the Apostolic See, and they place blame upon it in this, in which its sincerity, wholly ignorant of blame, is excused by innocence. For we, more frequently occupied with greater affairs and bearing by virtue of our office the care of all, through which we are debtors to all, since we cannot satisfy immediately all those pressing upon us, certain persons, because they cannot be heard—straying from the path of justice or extending the license of their petition beyond what uprightness permits—burst forth into the impulse of their own will; and, recurring with the studied malice of their mind to their devices of falsehood and arts of perdition, they endeavor through the cunning of a false appearance to blacken and deform the brightness of apostolic purity. How many and how great evils arise from the device of this falsehood, since through it both innocent persons are sometimes condemned and guilty persons are absolved from the crimes charged, and also the authority of the Apostolic See is injured, the evident malice of the matter itself declares. Although falsehood of this kind can for some time be hidden with the works of darkness, nevertheless, because through it an injury is especially inflicted upon the blessed Apostles, he from whom, in their person, the Roman Church received authority over all churches—whence also our bull, through which the business of the whole Christian body is conducted, is marked beforehand with the image of their heads—does not permit the destruction caused by so great a crime to be concealed any longer to their so great prejudice.] For it recently happened in the City that certain persons, practicing the cunning of falsehood more perniciously, were detected in their iniquities, so that we found among them both bulls under our name and under that of Pope Celestine, our predecessor of good memory, which they had falsely fashioned, and very many letters marked with bulls, [and, having captured them, we still detain them in prison.] But we, always wishing with paternal solicitude to provide for the honor of the Roman Church and the utility of all, on the common counsel of our brothers, Decree, and under penalty of excommunication and suspension from order and benefice more strictly prohibit, that henceforth no one at the Apostolic See receive our letters except from us or from the hands of those who by our mandate are deputed to that office. But if a person shall have been of such authority that it is fitting for him to receive our letters through a messenger, let him send a suitable messenger himself to our chancery or to us ourselves, through whom he is to receive apostolic letters according to the prescribed form. But if anyone shall have been a transgressor of our mandate in this respect, if he is a layman, let him be subject to excommunication; if a cleric, let him be condemned to suspension from his office and benefice. [But because, as we learned from the forgers themselves, the falsehood of their wickedness has been spread in many ways, through letters transmitted by them both to your regions and to other regions, by apostolic writings we command your fraternity and strictly enjoin upon you that you summon a provincial council, in which you are solemnly and generally to establish that it be publicly declared throughout the individual parishes that, if anyone shall have obtained letters from the Apostolic See whose tenor could be suspect and wishes to use them, in order that he may escape the established penalty, first a comparison of the false bull with a true one is to be made; and, if he shall find it to be marked by falsehood, he is not to delay presenting those same letters to the diocesan bishop, abbot, or archdeacon of the place, who, after the truth has been ascertained, is to subject the person who brought back such letters, if a layman, to excommunication; but if a cleric, is to suspend him from office and benefice.]

§ 1. To these things Adding, we decree that you promulgate a general sentence of excommunication, which you are to cause to be renewed frequently throughout the individual parishes: that, if anyone knows himself to possess false letters, within twenty days he is either to destroy those letters or surrender them, if he wishes to escape the penalty of excommunication; and we do not wish that penalty to be relaxed by anyone without our special mandate, except perhaps at the point of death. Nor, even if absolution shall have been presumed contrary to this, is it to have any validity, lest perhaps, after our time, falsehood meanwhile concealed may be able to generate prejudice for anyone. [But concerning the rest, etc. Given at Rome at Saint Peter's on the fourteenth day before the Kalends of June, in the first year of our pontificate, 1198.]

Latin source headnote: It lays down nine methods of falsifying papal letters.

The same, to the Archbishop and Canons of Milan.

Although we consider ourselves insufficient in life and knowledge for the governance of the Apostolic See, which by the Lord's gift is the mother and teacher of all churches, nevertheless, insofar as the Lord shall have granted us in his mercy, we have proposed to abstain from those things through which derogation could deservedly be made against us; although, because of the defect of human weakness, we cannot always and in all things imitate the form of perfection in such a way that something does not at some time creep into our works that can be imputed to less circumspect providence—something that nevertheless happens not deliberately or with certain knowledge, but sometimes from ignorance or excessive occupation. [You indeed informed us through your letters that, when certain letters had been presented to you through which we appeared strictly to command you to receive I. of Cimilian., a cleric of your church, as canon and brother, and not to call anyone else as canon until he had fully obtained the benefit of a prebend, after the tenor of those letters had been diligently inspected, you scarcely believed that they had proceeded with our knowledge, or, if they had proceeded, that they had been obtained through excessive importunity.]

But when, as provident and discreet men, you sent those same letters back to our presence so that from their inspection we might know more fully whether they had proceeded with our knowledge, we found more in them than your discretion had suspected. For although we began to doubt somewhat concerning the style of composition and the form of the writing, nevertheless we found the bull to be genuine, which at first led us into vehement wonder, since we knew that the letters themselves had by no means issued with our knowledge. Therefore, examining the bull more diligently on each side, we found it somewhat swollen in the upper part, which adheres to the cord. And when we caused the cord to be drawn a little, without any violence, from the swollen side, the bull remaining on the other cord, the cord on that side was torn away from it without any difficulty; at its end an indication of cutting was still apparent. Through this we plainly detected that the bull itself had been extracted from other letters and inserted into these through the vice of falsehood, as you will recognize more fully from the letters themselves, which for greater certainty we have decided to send back to you.

[Since, therefore, so great an offense ought not to be left in any way unpunished, by apostolic writings we command your discretion and strictly enjoin upon you that, unless within twenty days after receipt of these letters, having been admonished by you, the said I. shall come to our presence to make satisfaction with the testimony of your letters, from that time you suspend him from every ecclesiastical benefice and clerical office, with the obstacle of any contradiction and appeal removed, or, if he lacks a benefice, bind him with a sentence of anathema; since he is not easily to be believed immune from this fault, because neither through his brothers nor his blood relatives could he induce us, although frequently entreated, to send you our letters concerning this. From this he could have recognized sufficiently the fraud of the author, even if he himself was not the principal forger, especially since he is said to have been present at the time when, on the common counsel of our brothers, we publicly established against forgers, among other things firmly prohibiting under penalty of excommunication that anyone receive apostolic letters except from our hand or from that of our bullator, with the sole exception of those to whom, on account of the eminence of their dignity, we granted that they could accomplish the same thing through faithful and known messengers.]

But in order that you yourselves may henceforth be able to detect the varieties of falsehood of this kind concerning our letters, which we have detected thus far, we have decided to express them to you in the present letters.

The first kind of falsehood is this: that a false bull is attached to false letters.

The second: that the cord is drawn entirely out of a genuine bull and, after another cord is inserted, is attached to false letters.

The third: that the cord, cut from the side on which the parchment is folded, is inserted with the genuine bull into false letters, and is restored beneath the same fold with a cord of similar hemp.

The fourth: when from the upper part of the bull one part of the cord is cut beneath the lead and, after being attached to false letters through the same cord, is carried back beneath the lead.

The fifth: when, after sealed letters have been delivered, something in them is altered by a fine erasure.

The sixth: when the writing of letters to which a genuine bull had been attached is wholly effaced or erased with water or wine, and the same parchment, whitened anew with lime and other things according to the customary craft, is rewritten.

The seventh: when, to a parchment to which a genuine bull had been attached and which has been wholly effaced or scraped, another exceedingly thin written parchment of the same size is joined with very strong glue.

We also do not consider immune from the crime of falsehood those who, contrary to our constitution, knowingly receive our letters not from our hand or that of our bullator.

Likewise, those who, approaching the bull, carefully cast in false letters so that they may be sealed with a genuine bull along with the others.

But these two kinds of falsehood cannot easily be detected unless the falsehood is recognized either in the manner of composition, the form of the writing, or the quality of the parchment. In the other cases, however, a diligent investigator will be able to observe the falsehood more diligently either in the joining of the cords, the comparison of the bull, or its movement or bluntness, especially if the bull is not level, but is more swollen in one place and more depressed in another. [But if, etc. Given at Spoleto on the fourth day before the Nones of September, 1198.]

Latin source headnote: Papal letters are false in which a bishop is called a son, or an inferior a brother, or one person is addressed in the plural.

The same, to the Bishop of Antivari.

To how grave a penalty [those are subject who do not fear to falsify apostolic letters, and who, concealing genuine letters obtained from us, do not fear to use false letters, we believe is not hidden from your fraternity.] You should know that it came to our hearing from the letters of our dearest son in Christ, Vulcan, illustrious King of Dioclea, and also from the tenor of your letters that you sent to our beloved son John, our chaplain, at Dyrrachium, that, when Dominicus, formerly Bishop of Suacium, who before the same chaplain and our beloved son S., our subdeacon, then exercising the office of legation in those parts, had been accused of homicide and in the council at Antivari had resigned the pontifical dignity, had formerly come to our presence, returning from us he presented certain letters to you, [which we saw to be contained word for word in the letters already sent on your behalf to our aforesaid chaplain,] through which he asserted that the pontifical office had been restored to him by us. But you, placing faith in those letters, removed from that same church our venerable brother whom you are said canonically to have consecrated as bishop-elect of Suacium, and restored the aforesaid Dominicus in that church on the occasion of the false letters. But the aforesaid king, as he informed us by his letters, not believing that those letters had issued with our knowledge, commanded both Dominicus himself and the aforesaid bishop to be presented before us, humbly petitioning to be instructed by an apostolic rescript as to whatever we should decide was to be established concerning that business.

But we, examining more diligently the letters that were presented to you under our name, manifestly detected falsehood in them both in their contents and in their composition. And in this we were not a little amazed that you had believed such letters to have issued from us, since especially you ought to know that the Apostolic See observes this custom in its letters: that we call all patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops “brothers” in our letters, but all others, whether they are kings or princes or other men of whatever order, “sons.” And when our letters are directed to one person alone, we never speak to him in the plural so as to place “you” or “your” in the plural, and things similar to these, in the letters themselves. But in the false letters presented to you, in the salutation you were called “beloved son in Christ,” although in all the letters that we ever sent to you, you could have seen yourself called by us “venerable brother.” On account of this, we wish you to be so circumspect in similar matters that through false letters you cannot again be circumvented or deceived; rather, you are to take care to examine apostolic letters more diligently, both in the bull, cord, and parchment and in the style, so that in no way do you admit genuine letters as false or false letters as genuine. [For you are to know, etc. Given at the Lateran on the Nones of December, in the third year of our pontificate, 1200.]

Latin source headnote: Those who by themselves or through others falsify letters of the Pope are excommunicated together with their supporters, and clerics are deprived of offices and benefices and are to be degraded and delivered to the secular court, by which a layman is lawfully punished. But one who uses false letters, if a cleric, is deprived of office and benefice; if a layman, he is excommunicated. It says this.

The same.

For confounding the malice of forgers, we recall that on another occasion we sent apostolic letters in which we remember that we distinguished more fully the methods of falsehood, lest anyone be able to excuse himself through ignorance. But because it sometimes happens that those presenting false letters, after they have been refuted concerning them, say in their excuse that they obtained letters of this kind through others, On the common counsel of our brothers we have decided to decree that those who wish to use our letters first examine them diligently, because, if they say that they used false letters in ignorance, their late repentance will not be able to avoid the penalties noted below. For we decree that all forgers of our letters who by themselves or through others practice the vice of falsehood are bound by the bond of anathema together with their supporters and defenders, establishing that clerics who shall have been detected as forgers are perpetually deprived of all ecclesiastical offices and benefices, in such a manner that those who practiced the vice of falsehood by themselves, after they have been degraded by an ecclesiastical judge, are to be delivered to the secular power to be punished according to lawful constitutions, by which also laymen who shall have been convicted of falsehood are to be lawfully punished. But those who use false letters under our name, if they are clerics, are to be despoiled of ecclesiastical offices and benefices; if laymen, they are to remain subject to excommunication until they make suitable satisfaction, yet in such a manner that in the former and in the latter malice is punished more gravely than negligence; and we decree that this is also to be observed concerning those who obtain false letters.

Latin source headnote: A person is not presumed to falsify letters concerning simple justice, nor is he punished if, upon discovering this, he desisted from using them.

The same.

Coming [to our presence, P., the priest bearing the present letters, showed us by his statement that, when formerly he had been sent by the archpriest and clerics of Casale Nuovo concerning certain cases in which they confessed that they were unduly burdened by you, and had come to our presence, he could not obtain his letters because at that time we were burdened by illness; and after he had remained at the Apostolic See for a few days, it happened that he too became ill. But while he was confined to a bed of sickness, a certain cleric of Casale Nuovo named Azo, who at that time was staying in the City, came to him and, under the hope of affection and favor, promised him that he would obtain from us the letters that he sought. He believed the man's word and furnished the expenses that the aforesaid cleric proposed that he would spend for the letters themselves. At length he brought to him certain letters of commission addressed to our venerable brother the Archbishop of Trani and the beloved son the Abbot of Coronata. The aforesaid priest, believing them to be genuine and to have issued with our knowledge, brought them to the delegated judges. And when in the presence of those judges you impugned the letters as false, and the priest himself and the other clerics of Casale Nuovo proposed that they were genuine, you sent those letters under the seal of the aforesaid judges to our presence; we manifestly detected that they were false. On account of this we commanded you by our writings that you send to our presence for punishment the one who obtained the aforesaid letters, suspended from office and benefice. But because his conscience rendered the aforesaid priest innocent, after you suspended him from office and benefice he hastened to our presence to excuse his innocence. But when he remained with us for a longer time and sought mercy from us, alleging complete ignorance of the aforesaid falsehood, we nevertheless decided that he should be sent back to you with our letters so that he might find the mercy for which he prays. Wherefore,] by apostolic writings we command your fraternity that, if the apostolic letters in which falsehood was detected contain a form of simple justice, since it ought not to be presumed that anyone committed the fraud of falsehood for such letters, which can easily be obtained by anyone, [after canonical purgation has been received from the priest himself that he was not aware of the falsehood,] and he did not use [those] letters after he knew them to be false, you, restoring to him [in consideration of divine piety] his office and benefice, are not to trouble him further concerning this, [because just as it is just, etc.]

Latin source headnote: On account of the erasure of a few letters in an unsuspected place, a rescript is not proved false.

The same.

From the contents [of the letters of the beloved sons, the Abbot of Holy Cross of Waltham and Master Simon of Svelle, it became known to us that, when formerly the question pending between the beloved sons M. Phil. of Ludeleve on the one side and the clerics Robert and Vincent on the other concerning the church of Streton had been committed to them and to the late Abbot of Stratford by Pope C. of good memory, our predecessor, and that same abbot and the aforesaid Vincent had alike been taken from this light, the two aforementioned judges, proceeding according to the tenor of the apostolic rescript, heard more diligently the attestations and allegations of each party. At length, when each party had renounced further proof before them and a definitive sentence was to be promulgated according to the allegations against Master P., the opposing party impugned the apostolic letters as false and steadfastly asserted that it would prove them false at the peril of the case, imposing the law upon itself that it would fall from the case unless it proved the falsehood more evidently; and, lest the judges proceed further in the case, it appealed to the Apostolic See. But when the often-mentioned Phil. produced the man through whom he had obtained the letters and firmly promised that he would prove them genuine, the aforesaid R., having been required by the same judges to express some mark of falsehood on account of which he alleged that the letters were false, wished to specify nothing else except that he called them false and asserted that they had by no means issued from our chancery. But the aforesaid judges, after receiving from R. himself sworn security that he would prosecute the accusation of falsehood as was expressed above, fixed for each party, as the term for prosecuting before us the appeal interposed, the day following the recently past Sunday on which “Rejoice, Jerusalem” is sung. But the aforesaid Robert, coming to our presence at the appointed term, after suppressing the truth concerning the falsehood of the letters and the course of the business (as is said), obtained letters from us addressed to the aforesaid judges and, proposing absolutely nothing concerning the accusation of falsehood, furtively withdrew from the Apostolic See.]

But we, examining more diligently the letters themselves that had been impugned as false, found in them no sign of falsehood or of suspicion except the erasures of a few letters, which ought by no means to have turned the mind of a wise man to doubt. Wherefore [by apostolic writings we command your discretion that you inquire more diligently into the truth concerning these matters, and,] if it shall be established to you [that the already-mentioned letters were obtained from us with the truth suppressed, and] that the aforesaid R. bound himself at the peril of the case to prove that those letters were false, since [a personal question is litigated between him and his adversary and] anyone has free faculty to renounce his right, you are to impose silence upon that R. concerning the said church. [Otherwise, after the parties have been summoned, etc. Given at the Lateran on the thirteenth day before the Kalends of November, 1198.]