Editing Pope Nicholas I (section)

==Legacy==
Nicholas encouraged the missionary activity of the Church. He sanctioned the union of the sees of [[Archdiocese of Bremen|Bremen and Hamburg]], and confirmed to Archbishop [[Ansgar]] of Bremen and his successors the office of papal legate to the Danes, Swedes, and Slavs. In many other ecclesiastical matters, he issued letters and decisions, and he took active measures against bishops who neglected their duties.

In Rome, Nicholas rebuilt and endowed several churches, and constantly sought to encourage religious life. He led a pious personal life guided by a spirit of Christian asceticism. [[Regino of Prüm]] reports that Nicholas was highly esteemed by the citizens of Rome and by his contemporaries generally (''Chronicon'', "ad annum 868," in "[[Mon. Germ. Hist.]]" Script.", I.579). After his death he was regarded as a saint. His cult was re-affirmed in 1630 by [[Pope Urban VIII]]. His feast day is observed on 13 November.

A question that is important in judging the integrity of this pope is whether he made use of the forged [[Pseudo-Isidore|pseudo-Isidorian]] papal decretals. After exhaustive investigation, [[Heinrich Schrörs]] concluded that the pope was neither acquainted with the pseudo-Isidorian collection in its entire extent, nor did he make use of its individual parts. He perhaps had a general knowledge of the false decretals, but did not base his view of the law upon them and owed his knowledge of them solely to documents that came to him from the Frankish Empire.<ref>Schrörs, Johann Heinrich. "''Papst Nikolaus I. und Pseudo-Isidor''" in ''Historisches Jahrbuch'', XXV (1904), 1 sqq.; Idem, "''Die pseudoisidorische 'Exceptio spolii' bei Papst Nikolaus I''" in ''Historisches Jahrbuch'', XXVI (1905), 275 sqq.</ref>

Nicholas decreed that the figure of the rooster should be placed on every church. The rooster has served as a religious [[icon]] and reminder of [[Peter's denial]] of Christ since that time, with some churches still having the rooster on the steeple today.<ref name="Smithsonian">{{cite web | last1= Adler  | first1= Jerry | last2= Lawler | first2= Andrew |title=How the Chicken Conquered the World |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-the-chicken-conquered-the-world-87583657/ |website=Smithsonian |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |access-date=2012-06-01}}</ref>

Perhaps the most impactful act of Pope Nicholas was, in the year 866, he ordered that all Christians should abstain from eating the "flesh, blood, or marrow"<ref>{{cite news|title=Beyond the Trivia-Fish Fridays|url=https://krcgtv.com/features/beyond-the-trivia/beyond-the-trivia-fish-fridays#:~:text=It%20was%20Pope%20Nicolas%20I,in%20memory%20of%20Christ's%20death.|first=Preston|last=Dick|publisher=[[KRCG]]|date=February 24, 2023|access-date=March 1, 2023}}</ref> of warm-blooded animals on Wednesdays and Fridays.<ref name="Knights of Columbus">{{cite web|title=How Did the Roman Catholic Tradition of Eating Fish on Fridays Begin?|date=15 March 2019 |url=https://kofc5357.org/2019/03/15/how-did-the-roman-catholic-tradition-of-eating-fish-on-fridays-begin/|access-date=March 1, 2023}}</ref> This led to the tradition still widely followed by Roman Catholics in the modern day of abstaining from eating meat on Fridays during the liturgical season of [[Lent]], but the meat of cold-blooded animals (such as fish) still being eaten. While there is a theory that this tradition was instituted solely to benefit the fishermen of Europe, there is no evidence for this.<ref>{{cite news|title=Lust, lies and empire: The fishy tale behind eating fish on Friday|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2012/04/05/150061991/lust-lies-and-empire-the-fishy-tale-behind-eating-fish-on-friday|first=Maria|last=Godoy|publisher=[[National Public Radio]]|date=April 6, 2012|access-date=March 1, 2023}}</ref>