Anger and Authority in the Letters of Pope Innocent III (1198–1216)

This article examines how Pope Innocent III (1198–1216) and his curia employed expressions of anger as a rhetorical tool in papal letters, using a variety of anger terms and Biblical quotations. Emotions such as anger were culturally and historically specific, and we argue that, when expressing anger, the papal curia followed the contemporary norms for angry expression that governed society in general and rulers specifically. At the time, expressions of anger were acceptable when used for a righteous cause, but unacceptable when exploited in order to further self-interest. Rulers were expected to respond to injustices with anger, but to exercise restraint when doing so. Pope Innocent and his curia not only employed expressions of the pope’s anger but also on occasion referred to divine anger. We argue that expressions of papal anger were primarily reserved for those who were directly subject to papal authority but who had disobeyed that authority. In contrast, the curia used expressions of divine anger more broadly; they are found in letters to a wider range of recipients—both lay and ecclesiastical—who had committed severe transgressions that challenged ecclesiastical liberty or endangered the Church. The careful and considered use of these expressions of papal or divine anger reflects a papal curia that was keenly aware of both the potential and the limits of papal authority.

Anger · Order (exchange) · Rhetorical question · Subject (documents) · Historical and Religious Studies of Rome · History of Emotions Research · Medieval Literature and History