Pope Stephen II's Letter To King Pippin III

1346 Words3 Pages

In the two years of 755 and 756, Pope Stephen II, inside of what is now known as Italy, was found to be under violent and malicious attack by King Aistulf of the Lombards. Because of this, Pope Stephen II wrote a series of letters to King Pippin III that begged for immediate aid to bring an end to that attack. This series of letters later became known as Letters to King Pippin III. In these letters, Pope Stephen II described horrible interactions between the Lombards and those within the town, and begged that King Pippin III send immediate aid to save the land and those within it. While this is a brief summary, I leave out an important detail—Pope Stephen II uses minuscular blackmail and several manipulative statements in order to get what …show more content…

However, it is not so evident to see because the layout is slightly change. The second letter opens with a cry for guidance and aid because there are hardships that “lie upon our every side and we do not know what to do” (130). With this, it is then that Stephen begs Pippin to “present here even for even the space of a single hour so that you might behold the miserable and mournful hardships and tribulations” that were caused by Aistulf (130). After this, Stephen makes it clear that he and the others around him believe that “everything is already known to [his] nobility” but then proceeds to tell Pippin everything that Aistulf has done since Stephen’s last letter. This is done to make Pippin appear more knowledgeable and informed than he is. Hence, another thing that Stephen is saying to build Pippin up just to try and manipulate him yet …show more content…

In an act of begging for aid, Stephen begs that Pippin comes “to our assistance with all possible haste and the greatest speed” so that they will not die because it was Pippin’s “hands that [they] placed all [their] souls” (131). This is done so that Pippin will be held accountable for their lives and souls if he chose to not answer their calls for help. The manipulation continues as Stephen then begs that Pippin does not delay to come to their aid because that would risk Pippin becoming “a stranger from the kingdom of God and be cut off by force from your dearest wife” (132). This is a manipulative statement because it brings Pippin’s family into the matters between himself and Stephen. Anytime that family is brought into matters, it is more likely the person will work in the manipulator’s favor. Stephen continues this manipulation by speaking about the possibility that Pippin will be denied entrance into the gates of heaven. Stephen begs that Pippin come to their aid so that the Lord may not “shut his ear from hearing [his] prayers and may he not turn his face from [him] on that day of judgment to come” (132). This points towards what could happen on Pippin’s judgment day. This is manipulative because it holds Pippin’s soul accountable for what he did and did not do. While the fate of Pippin’s soul is not up to Stephen, this is still a perfect reminder to throw in. Stephen states in

Open Document