Antipope Constantine II

, where Constantine II was born Constantine was born into a noble Roman family in Nepi near Viterbo. He was one of four brothers, of which the most prominent was Toto of Nepi. Toto, the papal governor and self-styled "Duke" of Nepi, began to position himself to take advantage of the expected death of Pope Paul I, and elevate his own candidate onto the papal throne. Christophorus, the primicerius of the notaries, forced Toto to take an oath to respect the traditional clerical method of papal elections. Toto, however, having retired to his estates in Nepi, with the help of Constantine and his other brothers collected troops from his duchy and other parts of Tuscany, in addition to arming a group of peasants to swell the numbers. ==Election==

On 28 June, hearing that Pope Paul was on the verge of dying, Toto and his armed men forced their way into the city through the Gate of St. Pancratius. Since Constantine was still a layperson, he needed to be ordained deacon and priest and then consecrated as bishop in rapid succession. Although frowned upon by canon law, this approach was far from unknown at the time. Therefore, accompanied by a group of armed men, he was escorted to the Lateran Palace, where they attempted to force George, the Bishop of Praeneste, to ordain Constantine as a monk. George threw himself at Constantine’s feet, begging Constantine not to make him do this. However, Constantine and his supporters made it clear that he would be forced to, one way or another. Noting, however, that their lives were in danger, they fled for sanctuary to St. Peter’s Basilica, where they remained until April 768. ==Reign==

One of Constantine’s first acts was to give notice to the Frankish King, Pepin the Short of his election, to secure the king’s approval of his actions. Constantine’s letter to Pepin declared that, against his wishes, he had been raised to the Apostolic See by "the people of Rome and the cities adjoining it", and that he hoped for the continuation of the friendship Pepin had shown to both his predecessors, Paul I and Stephen II. Pepin ignored this letter; Constantine wrote another, in which he declared that only the actions of the people had compelled him to take on the burdensome office. He begged Pepin to bestow his friendship, promising that he would be even more in his debt than his predecessors were, and to pay no attention to any slanderous accusations regarding him or his election. Pepin refused to reply to either letter. Constantine had the letter read before the Roman people, after which he forwarded it to King Pepin. Meanwhile, Christophorus and Sergius had hatched a plot with key supporters in the city. As soon as word came through that the Lombards had entered the city, Toto came out to confront them with his own forces. During a battle in the streets of Rome, Toto was killed, and his brother Passivus rushed to warn Constantine to flee. The two brothers finally shut themselves within the oratory of St. Cesarius, managing to hide for a few hours before they were discovered and thrown into prison by Roman army officers. ==Deposition and mutilation==

Whilst Constantine was in prison, there was an attempt to install another antipope, Philip, followed by the election of Pope Stephen III. After his election, followers of the new pope began attacking key members of Constantine’s regime, including Bishop Theodore, the Vice-dominus and Constantine’s brother, Passivus, both of whom were blinded. Constantine was taken from prison, put on a horse and driven through the city on top of a woman’s saddle, with heavy weights attached to his feet, among jeering crowds. There was still support for Constantine, however. The town of Alatri, under the leadership of its governor, Gracilis, who held the title of a Tribune, They prohibited anyone from giving him aid; after 24 hours, however, complaints from the people prompted the monks to re-imprison him in the monastery. In April 769, Pope Stephen III opened a new Lateran Council; a major topic for discussion was the elevation of Constantine. The blinded prisoner was brought before the council, where they questioned his elevation to the Apostolic See when he was still a layman. Constantine responded that he had been forced to take on the role, as the Roman people had been looking for someone to fix the problems left behind by Pope Paul I. He then confessed to the charges, and threw himself on the mercy of the synod. ==Notes==