JOHN XV.

john xv., pope from 985 to 996, generally recognized as the successor of boniface vii., the pope john who was said to have ruled for four months after john xiv., being now omitted by the best authorities. john xv. was the son of leo, a roman presbyter. at the time he mounted the papal chair crescentius was patrician of rome, but, although his influence was on this account very much hampered, the presence of the empress theophano in rome from 989 to 991 restrained also the ambition of crescentius. on her departure the pope, whose venality and nepotism had made him very unpopular with the citizens, died of fever before the arrival of otto iii., who elevated his own kinsman bruno to the papal dignity under the name of gregory v. john xvi.,, pope or antipope from 997 to 998, was a calabrian greek by birth, and a favourite of the empress theophano, from whom he had received the bishopric of placentia. his original name was philagathus. in 995 he was sent by otto iii. on an embassy to constantinople to negotiate a marriage with a greek princess. on his way back he either accidentally or at the special request of crescentius visited rome. a little before this gregory v., at the end of 996, had been compelled to flee from the city; and the wily and ambitious greek had now no scruple in accepting the papal tiara from the hands of crescentius. the arrival of otto at rome in the spring of 998 put a sudden end to the treacherous compact. john sought safety in flight, but was discovered in his place of hiding and brought back to rome, where after enduring cruel and ignominious tortures he was immured in a dungeon.