The first Pope to receive the honorific ‘Great’, Leo I is described by the Catholic Encyclopedia as one of the most significant and important Popes in antiquity. Born in 400, by the time he became Pope Leo I in 440 he had already become renowned for his zeal in combating the many heterodox Christians who continued to aggravate the Church hierarchy by clinging to or even promulgating unapproved beliefs. Leo I was notable in particular for his campaigns against the followers of Pelagius (a very British heretic, Pelagius rejected original sin), and against Manicheans and Priscillians (see 385: Maximus executes Priscillian for his beliefs).
The 5th century was a time of great upheaval for the Roman Empire: Rome itself had been captured in 410 by Alaric, leader of the Visigoths. and territory was continuingly slipping from Roman control as the supposed barbarians moved in (the taking of Rome by Alaric used to be described as a ‘sack’, but in fact Alaric, who was an Arian Christian, and his army, behaved very moderately, especially compared to Roman armies). Despite all this turmoil of people and armies, Leo I was unstinting in his efforts to give dissident Christians a hard time. Earthly powers rose and fell, but what really mattered was making sure that it was one’s own theological interpretation that survived.
In 452, however, Leo I had to face up to a very pressing temporal matter: Attila the Hun and his forces had been wreaking havoc in Northern Italy, razing at least one city to the ground. Attila was dubbed the ‘Scourge of God’ by the Romans, and was undoubtedly a fearsome opponent, though it seems possible that he was not quite the monster he has been portrayed as in European culture. A reliable description of the man by the Greek historian Priscus portrays a man of moderate tastes: ‘In everything. . .he showed himself temperate; his cup was of wood, while to the guests were given goblets of gold and silver. His dress, too, was quite simple, affecting only to be clean. The sword he carried at his side, the latchets of his Scythian shoes, the bridle of his horse were not adorned, like those of the other Scythians, with gold or gems or anything costly’.
Leo I was part of an embassy sent, at the request of Rome’s feeble emperor Valentinian III, to meet with Attila (whose empire was actually the largest in Europe). near Mantua, and plead for an end to the invasion. The Roman Catholic church has always given the Pope sole credit for Attila’s surprising agreement to spare Rome (with the help of Saints Peter and Paul who Raphael depicts in a 1512 Vatican fresco as hovering menacingly above the meeting). There is no consensus among secular historians as to why Attila left. There is little doubt that Leo I was by far the most significant figure on the Roman side, yet it seems implausible that he could have had any really persuasive arguments to put forward to a man who had calmly watched as towns and cities were burned at his command. Alaric had died shortly after taking Rome, and it has been suggested that Attila feared some sort of curse coming upon him if he attacked Rome, but fear of more natural horrors such as plague, famine were likely more persuasive factors. More recently, it has been suggested that Rome’s eastern emperor at Constantinople, Marcian, whom historians have tended to portray as being a largely aloof observer of the trouble in the west, may in fact at this time have posed more problems for Attila than has formerly seemed to be the case.
What Happened Next
For whatever reason, Attila withdrew and died the following year, dying after (says Priscus) a nosebleed caused by a wedding night drinking session (he was not much of a drinker, but something about the new wife seems to have caused him to over-indulge). A less unusual account of his death is that it was engineered by Marcian in some way. The Hun empire subsequently fell in discord and Attila became a figure of legend in medieval epics. Leo II carried on enthusiastically pursuing heretics until his death in 461. He is buried in the Vatican, whose power he did so much to consolidate and expand.