The 1181

papal election A conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Concerns around po ...

followed the death of

Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a Papal election, ...

and resulted in the election of

Pope Lucius III Pope Lucius III ( – 25 November 1185), born Ubaldo Allucingoli, reigned as head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 September 1181 to his death in 1185. Born to an aristocratic family in Lucca, prior to being elected p ...

. This was the first papal election celebrated in accordance with the decree '' Licet de evitanda discordia'', promulgated in the Third Lateran Council in 1179, which established that the pope is elected by a majority of two thirds votes.

''Licet de evitanda discordia''

The contested papal election, 1159, which resulted in the election of Pope Alexander III and Antipope Victor IV (1159–1164), created a schism in the Catholic Church that lasted almost twenty years (until 1178). In 1159 the cardinals were unable to achieve consensus, though an electoral compact had set that as its goal. The cardinals had been divided into two parties, those who favored the Emperor

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

and those who favored

William I of Sicily William I (1120 or 1121 7 May 1166), called the Bad or the Wicked (), was the second king of Sicily, ruling from his father's death in 1154 to his own in 1166. He was the fourth son of Roger II and Elvira of Castile. William's title "the Bad" ...

, and each of them elected their own pope. In August 1178

Antipope Callixtus III Callixtus III (also Calixtus III or Callistus III; died between 1180 and 1184) was an antipope from September 1168 until his resignation in August 1178. He was the third antipope elected in opposition to Pope Alexander III during the latter's stru ...

, the successor of Victor IV, finally submitted to Alexander III. In the following year Alexander III celebrated the

Third Lateran Council The Third Council of the Lateran met in Rome in March 1179. Pope Alexander III presided and 302 bishops attended. The Catholic Church regards it as the eleventh ecumenical council. By agreement reached at the Peace of Venice in 1177 the bitter ...

, which promulgated the decree ''Licet de evitanda discordia''. To avoid schism in the future, the decree established that the pope is elected with the majority of two thirds of the cardinals, if unanimity cannot be achieved. It confirmed also that the cardinals are the sole electors of the pope.

Election of Lucius III

Pope Alexander III died on August 30, 1181, in

Civita Castellana Civita Castellana is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Viterbo, north of Rome. Mount Soracte lies about to the south-east. History Civita Castellana was settled during the Iron Age by the Italic Falisci, who called it " Falerii". Afte ...

. Two days later, on September 1, 1181, the cardinals assembled at Rome (probably at Lateran or Vatican Basilica) and unanimously elected the senior member of the Sacred College, Cardinal Ubaldo of Lucca, Bishop of Ostia. He took the name Lucius III. On September 6, 1181, he was crowned by Cardinal Teodino of Porto at

Velletri Velletri (; ; ) is an Italian ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, approximately 40 km to the southeast of the city centre, located in the Alban Hills, in the region of Lazio, central Italy. Neighbouring communes are Rocca di Papa, Lar ...

Cardinal-electors

There were probably 27 cardinals in the Sacred College of Cardinals in 1181. Based on the examination of the subscriptions of the papal bulls in 1181Jaffé, pp. 145-146 and 431-432
Regesta Imperii – Liste der Kardinalsunterschriften unter Lucius III.
/ref> and the available data about the external missions of the cardinals it is possible to establish that no more than 19 cardinals participated in the election: Thirteen electors were created by

, four by

Pope Adrian IV Pope Adrian (or Hadrian) IV (; born Nicholas Breakspear (or Brekespear); 1 September 1159) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 4 December 1154 until his death in 1159. Born in England, Adrian IV was the first Pope ...

, one by

Pope Innocent II Pope Innocent II (; died 24 September 1143), born Gregorio Papareschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 February 1130 to his death in 1143. His election as Pope was controversial, and the first eight years o ...

and one by

Lucius II Pope Lucius II (died 15 February 1145), born Gherardo Caccianemici dal Orso, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1144 to his death in 1145. His pontificate was notable for the unrest in Rome associated with ...

Absentee cardinals

Notes

Sources

*Adams, John Paul (2011)
"Sede Vacante 1181"
California State University Northridge. Retrieved: 10 February 2022. * * * Gregorovius, Ferdinand (1905)
''The History of Rome in the Middle Ages'' Vol. IV, part 2.
2nd ed. London: George Bell 1905. * * * * {{Subject bar , portal1= Catholicism , portal2= Christianity , portal3= Vatican City , b=y, b-search=Biblical Studies/Christianity/Roman Catholicism/History , commons=y, commons-search=Papal conclave , n=y, n-search=Roman Catholic Church , q=y, q-search=Popes , s=y, s-search=Popes , v=y, v-search=Christian History , wikt=y, wikt-search=Pope , d=y 12th-century elections 1181 12th-century Catholicism 1181 in Europe 12th century in the Papal States