Editing Antipope Boniface VII (section)

===First Reign===
Crescentius, brother of the late Pope John XIII, led an insurrection and with the help of many Roman malcontents, kidnapped Pope Benedict VI. They imprisoned him in [[Castel Sant’Angelo]]<ref name=oester/> for nearly two months. In July 974 Franco assumed the papacy as Boniface VII. Although Otto II, who supported Pope Benedict VI, was still fighting in Bavaria, and could not make it to Rome, he sent Count Sicco, an imperial envoy from [[Spoleto]], to demand the pope's release. When Sicco arrived at Castel Sant’Angelo, a priest named Stephen strangled Benedict VI, possibly on orders of Boniface VII.<ref name=Brusher>{{cite web| url = http://www.stsmarthaandmary.org/popes/Benedict%20VI.htm| title = Brusher SJ, Joseph. ''Popes Through the Ages''}}</ref>

Boniface VII's reign was short. In one month and twelve days, the imperial representative Count Sicco had taken possession of the city. As riots and chaos ensued, Boniface VII took refuge in Castel Sant’Angelo where he robbed the treasury of the [[Vatican Basilica]] and fled to [[Byzantine]] territory in southern Italy.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=C3qvU0-tatkC&dq=Antipope+Boniface+VII&pg=PT166 Collins, Roger. ''Keepers of the Keys of Heaven'', Basic Books, 2009], {{ISBN|9780786744183}}</ref> The banishment of the antipope must have been the work of the imperial faction, which were again triumphant in Rome, led by [[Pandulf_Ironhead|Pandulf the Ironhead]]. Boniface VII is described as a monster by contemporaries, who stated that he was stained by the blood of Benedict VI. The events of this period in Rome are unfortunately only known to us through the insufficient notes, and we are barely aware of the rise of Boniface VII before we hear of his overthrow.