believed, out of anger at being plundered, he set out on a journey to Tuscany, planning to crown and lead his brother back to Rome, and from there march against the Normans. Before he departed Rome, the pope summoned a meeting of the bishops, clergy, and people of Rome, and strictly commanded them (sub districta nimis interdictione constituit) that if he should die before the return of the subdeacon Hildebrand from the imperial court, they should on no account proceed to the election of a pope, but await his return. As he was travelling up the road from Rome to Florence, by way of Arezzo, Pope Stephen conceived of the idea of visiting Abbot John Gualbert at the monastery of Vallombrosa. He sent to ask for an interview, and John replied with a refusal, naming illness as his excuse. The pope sent a second time, and received a second refusal. He then moved on to Florence without the two ever having come face to face. Death and burial Stephen IX died at Florence on 29 March 1058. He was attended at his deathbed by Abbot Hugh of Cluny. The Roman annals report that he was given poison on the journey to Florence by an agent of the Romans. The Romans also asserted that Duke Godfrey, the pope's brother, had dispatched 500 troops and money to regain control of Rome, which motivated the Romans to act. Stephen was buried in the Church of Santa Reparata, which was demolished in 1357 to make way for the construction of the new cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore. During the excavations his tomb was discovered next to the altar of S. Zenobio, and identified by an inscription as well as pontifical insignia with which he had been clothed. The present whereabouts of the remains is unknown. Members of his chapel, which he had brought along from Montecassino, were afraid to return through Rome, and were therefore escorted back to their monastery by Florentine soldiers. Stephen IX is considered by the modern Roman Catholic Church to have been succeeded by Nicholas II, though others consider his successor to be Benedict X, who came to be regarded as an antipope by some, in the 14th century. Those who rejected the papacy of Benedict X reported a vacancy of the papal throne of nine months and eight days after the death of Stephen IX. Notes and references Sources