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| {{Short description|Letter from Pope Innocent IV to convert the Mongols}} | |||
| {{disputed}} | |||
| {{italic title}} | |||
| '''''Viam agnoscere veritatis''''' is a name used to refer to several letters written by ] to the Khan of the Mongols. Two of the letters, also known as ], are sometimes referred to as '''''Dei patris immensa''''' (written on March 5, 1245) and '''''Cum non Solum''''' (March 13, 1245), both of which have been published in the "MGH", the '']''. These first two letters were written slightly before the ] in 1245. A third letter, a reply to a message from ], was sent on November 22, 1248. | |||
| '''''Viam agnoscere veritatis''''' is the name of a letter written by ] to the ]. It was written on November 22, 1248, and was Pope Innocent's reply to a message from Mongol commander ].<ref name=registres/> Innocent IV had previously sent two letters to the Mongols in 1245, '']'' and '']''. | |||
| ⚫ | The letter was probably transmitted from the Pope via Mongol envoys ], was dated November 22, 1248, and was the Pope's reply to a letter from Baiju.<ref>Roux, Histoire de l'Empire Mongol, p.316: "Sergis et Aibeg were finally sent back on November 22, 1248, with an answer, known as ''Viam agnoscere veritatis''" (Original French quote: "Serbeg et Aibeg furent finalement congédiés le 22 Novembre 1248 avec une réponse, la lettre connue comme ''Viam agnoscere veritatis''").</ref><ref name="setton-522">Sinor, in Setton, p.522 "The Pope's reply to Baidju's letter, ''Viam agnoscere veritatis'', dated November 22, 1248, and probably carried back by Aibeg and Sargis" Note that Setton refers to the letter as "Viam agnoscere" though the actual letter uses the text "Viam cognoscere"</ref> Some historians refer to it as "Viam agnoscere veritatis" and some as "Viam cognoscere veritatis" (both "agnoscere" and "cognoscere" are Latin for "to know"). According to historian Denis Sinor, the letter "stated that Innocent IV had acted out of a sense of duty to let the true religion be known to the Mongols, and that he regretted the Mongols' perseverance in their errors and adjured them to cease their menaces."<ref name=setton-522/> | ||
| ===''Dei patris immensa''=== | |||
| The first bull, written on ], 1245, was an exposition of the Christian faith, and urged Mongols to accept baptism.<ref name=jackson-88/> It was designed to be carried by the ] papal envoy Brother Laurentius of Portugal.<ref>http://mdz10.bib-bvb.de/~db/bsb00000516/images/index.html?id=00000516&fip=24.217.151.203&no=11&seite=91</ref>, although it is unclear whether the latter's embassy ever left.<ref>Roux, p.313, "Of the first mission, of which Laurent of Portugal was put in charge, nothing is known, and it is not impossible that it never left". Original French: "De la première mission, confiée à Laurent de Portugal, on ne sait rien et il n'est pas impossible qu'elle ne partit jamais."</ref> | |||
| {{quote|"Better that you humble yourself before , face to face, and recognize His great forbearance, Who for so long has endured your destructive actions: that in waiting obligingly, you may be turned from errors to truth, and be able to fear Him, lest He provoked for too long a time should threaten you with the lash of His anger, since you do not recognize His omnipotence."|Excerpt of letter from ] to ], 1248.<ref name=registres>''Les registres d'Innocent IV publiés ou analysés d'après les manuscrits originaux du Vatican et de la Bibliothèque nationale'', ed. ], II (Paris, 1887), no. 4682, p. 114, ]. Original Latin: "sed potius coram eo humiliare vos ipsos, et recognoscere multam patientiam ejus, qui tamdiu in vestris noxiis desideriis et actibus toleravit, expectando benigne ut errorum semitas relinquentes ad tramitem convertamini veritatis, propter quod recte formidare potestis ne in vos, si suam non agnoscatis omnipotentiam, sue flagellum iracundie tanquam nimium provocatus immittat."</ref>}} | |||
| Excerpt of the letter: | |||
| {{quotation|"... regi et populo Tartarorum viam agnoscere veritatis. Humana enim natura, cum esset rationalis, erat eterna | |||
| veritate tanquam optimo suo cibo pascenda; set pena peccati mortalibus detenta vinculis ad hoc est diminutionis redacta, ut per coniecturas rerum visibilium ad intelligenda invisibilia niteretur cibi rationalis. Pro humani ergo redemptione generis se hostiam exhibens, et demum resurgens a mortuis ac in celum ascendens, vicarium sibi reliquit in terris, cui animarum curam commisit, tradens sibi claves regni celorum, per quas ipse suique per eum successores potestatem aperiendi omnibus et claudendi eiusdem regni ianuam obtinerent. Unde predicti vicarii disponente Domino nos licet inmeriti successores effecti, ad vestram aliorumque salutem nostre intentionis dirigimus aciem, ut errantes in viam veritatis educere omnesque lucrifacere Deo valeamus. propter quod ad vos dilectum filium fratrem Laurentium de Protugal et socios eius latores presentium ordinis fratrum Minorum, ut ipsum Dei filium Iesum Christum salutaribus eorum eruditionibus agnoscentes, suum gloriosum nomen Christinae fidei observatione colatis, duxmius destinando. “|] Epp. Saec. XIII 2, No. 102 (Lyon, 5. March 1245)}} | |||
| ===''Cum non Solum''=== | |||
| In ''Cum non Solum'', written on March 13, 1245, Pope Innocent appeals to the Mongols to desist from attacking Christians and other nations, and inquires as to the Mongols' future intentions.<ref name=jackson-88>Jackson, p. 88</ref> Innocent also expresses a desire for peace (possibly unaware that in the Mongol vocabulary, "peace" is a synonym for "subjection").<ref>Jackson, p. 90</ref> This message was carried by the Franciscan ],<ref>http://mdz10.bib-bvb.de/~db/bsb00000516/images/index.html?id=00000516&fip=24.217.151.203&no=8&seite=94</ref> who succesfully reached the Mongol capital of ], where he attended the election of the new Khan ]. The new Mongol khan ] was installed at ] on April 8, 1246<ref name=ce></ref> and received numerous personalities and ambassadors from foreign countries including John of Plano Carpini: the Grand Duc of Moscow ], the incumbents for the throne of ], the brother of the king of Armenia ], the future ] ], ambassadors of the Baghdad Califate and of the emperor of ].<ref>Jean-Paul Roux, ''L'Asie Centrale'', p.312</ref>. | |||
| Guyuk replied to the Pope's letter with a demand for his submission and a visit from the rulers of the West in homage to Mongol power:<ref>David Wilkinson, Studying the History of Intercivilizational Dialogues </ref> | |||
| {{quote|"You must say with a sincere heart: "We will be your subjects; we will give you our strength". You must in person come with your kings, all together, without exception, to render us service and pay us homage. Only then will we acknowledge your submission. And if you do not follow the order of God, and go against our orders, we will know you as our enemy."|Letter from ] to ], 1246.<ref>Quoted in Michaud, Yahia (Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies) (2002). Ibn Taymiyya, Textes Spirituels I-XVI". Chap XI</ref><ref>Also quoted in Roux, ''Histoire de l'Empire Mongol'', p.315</ref>}} | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| The envoys Aïbeg and Serkis had stayed at Lyon for about a year, before returning to the Mongol realm on November 22, 1248.<ref>Runciman, p.259</ref><ref>Roux, ''Histoire de l'Empire Mongol'', p.316</ref> In his communications to the envoys, the Pope appealed to the Mongols to stop their killing of Christians,<ref>"Reaching Innocent in 1248, they were given his final communication, an appeal to the Mongols to end their slaughters, especially of Christians (Rachewiltz, 87, 115-118)." in David Wilkinson, Studying the History of Intercivilizational Dialogues </ref> and in the response he remitted to them deplored the delays in establishing a general alliance between the Christians and the Mongols.<ref>"Histoire des Croisades", René Grousset, p523: Grousset mentions the "response remitted to Aibag and Sargis" in which "he deplored the delays to the general agreement between Mongols and Christiandom" ("Innocent IV congédia Aibag and Sargis en leur remettant pour Baiju une réponse dans laquelle il déplorait les retards apportés à une entente générale des Mongols et de la Chrétienté.").</ref> Runciman also states that Aibeg and Sarkis returned to the Mongol realm in November 1248, "with complaints that nothing further was happening about the alliance".<ref>Runciman, p.259</ref> | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| * ] | |||
| ==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
| {{Wikisourcelang|la|Viam agnoscere veritatis}} | |||
| ⚫ | {{wikisource|Viam agnoscere veritatis}} | ||
| {{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
| ⚫ | * ], ''Histoire des Croisades, III'', Tempus, 2006 edition, {{ISBN|2-262-02569-X}} | ||
| * Sandra Brand-Pierach, Ungläubige im Kirchenrecht, Text of the letter p.174 | |||
| *{{citation|title=The Mongols and the West, 1221-1410|first=Peter |last=Jackson|authorlink=Peter Jackson (historian)|year=2005|publisher=Pearson Education|isbn=0-582-36896-0}} | |||
| * Jackson, Peter, ''Mongols and the West'' | |||
| * Rachewiltz, I, ''Papal Envoys to the Great Khans'', Stanford University Press, 1971. | |||
| * Roux, Jean-Paul, ''Histoire de l'Empire Mongol'', 1993, Fayard, ISBN |
* Roux, Jean-Paul, ''Histoire de l'Empire Mongol'', 1993, Fayard, {{ISBN|2-213-03164-9}} | ||
| ⚫ | * Kenneth Meyer Setton, "A History of the Crusades" | ||
| ⚫ | * ], ''History of the Crusades, III'', Penguin Books, 2002 edition, {{ISBN|0-14-013705-X}} | ||
| * ] Epp. Saec. XIII, Volume 2, pp. 72-75 (original source documents) | |||
| ⚫ | * ], "A History of the Crusades" | ||
| ⚫ | ] | ||
| ⚫ | * Grousset, |
||
| ⚫ | ] | ||
| ⚫ | * Runciman, Steven, ''History of the Crusades, III'', Penguin Books, 2002 edition, ISBN |
||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
Latest revision as of 05:42, 3 September 2023
Letter from Pope Innocent IV to convert the MongolsViam agnoscere veritatis is the name of a letter written by Pope Innocent IV to the Mongols. It was written on November 22, 1248, and was Pope Innocent's reply to a message from Mongol commander Baiju. Innocent IV had previously sent two letters to the Mongols in 1245, Cum non solum and Dei patris immensa.
The letter was probably transmitted from the Pope via Mongol envoys Aïbeg and Serkis, was dated November 22, 1248, and was the Pope's reply to a letter from Baiju. Some historians refer to it as "Viam agnoscere veritatis" and some as "Viam cognoscere veritatis" (both "agnoscere" and "cognoscere" are Latin for "to know"). According to historian Denis Sinor, the letter "stated that Innocent IV had acted out of a sense of duty to let the true religion be known to the Mongols, and that he regretted the Mongols' perseverance in their errors and adjured them to cease their menaces."
"Better that you humble yourself before , face to face, and recognize His great forbearance, Who for so long has endured your destructive actions: that in waiting obligingly, you may be turned from errors to truth, and be able to fear Him, lest He provoked for too long a time should threaten you with the lash of His anger, since you do not recognize His omnipotence."
— Excerpt of letter from Pope Innocent IV to Baiju, 1248.
Notes
- ^ Les registres d'Innocent IV publiés ou analysés d'après les manuscrits originaux du Vatican et de la Bibliothèque nationale, ed. Élie Berger, II (Paris, 1887), no. 4682, p. 114, Bibliothèque des Ecoles françaises d'Athènes et de Rome. Original Latin: "sed potius coram eo humiliare vos ipsos, et recognoscere multam patientiam ejus, qui tamdiu in vestris noxiis desideriis et actibus toleravit, expectando benigne ut errorum semitas relinquentes ad tramitem convertamini veritatis, propter quod recte formidare potestis ne in vos, si suam non agnoscatis omnipotentiam, sue flagellum iracundie tanquam nimium provocatus immittat."
- Roux, Histoire de l'Empire Mongol, p.316: "Sergis et Aibeg were finally sent back on November 22, 1248, with an answer, known as Viam agnoscere veritatis" (Original French quote: "Serbeg et Aibeg furent finalement congédiés le 22 Novembre 1248 avec une réponse, la lettre connue comme Viam agnoscere veritatis").
- ^ Sinor, in Setton, p.522 "The Pope's reply to Baidju's letter, Viam agnoscere veritatis, dated November 22, 1248, and probably carried back by Aibeg and Sargis" Note that Setton refers to the letter as "Viam agnoscere" though the actual letter uses the text "Viam cognoscere"
References
- Grousset, René, Histoire des Croisades, III, Tempus, 2006 edition, ISBN 2-262-02569-X
- Jackson, Peter (2005), The Mongols and the West, 1221-1410, Pearson Education, ISBN 0-582-36896-0
- Rachewiltz, I, Papal Envoys to the Great Khans, Stanford University Press, 1971.
- Roux, Jean-Paul, Histoire de l'Empire Mongol, 1993, Fayard, ISBN 2-213-03164-9
- Runciman, Steven, History of the Crusades, III, Penguin Books, 2002 edition, ISBN 0-14-013705-X
- Kenneth Meyer Setton, "A History of the Crusades"