The 1191 papal election took place after the death of
Pope Clement III. Pope Clement, according to differing and irreconcilable reports, died in March 1191, in the last third of the month, on the 20th, the 25th, the 26th, the 28th, or perhaps 2 April or 4 April, or 10 April. The election was conducted during the march of
King Henry VI
Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English throne at the age of eight months, upon ...
and his army toward Rome. The 85-year-old Cardinal Giacinto Bobone, a member of the
Orsini family
The House of Orsini is an Nobility of Italy, Italian noble family that was one of the most influential princely families in Middle Ages, medieval Italy and Renaissance Rome. Members of the Orsini family include five popes: Pope Stephen II, Step ...
, was chosen after some extreme reluctance. He took the name
Celestine III. Pressed by the Romans, however, he agreed to negotiate with King Henry about his coronation as emperor and about the possession of the city of
Tusculum
Tusculum is a ruined Classical Rome, Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable dist ...
. Celestine postponed his own consecration in order to buy time to negotiate. He was finally crowned on Easter Sunday, 14 April 1191.
Death of Clement III
King Henry crossed into Italy in mid-winter, and was in Bologna by 11 February 1191; on 22 February he was at Lucca, and on the 26th at Pisa. He had sent representatives (''nuntios'') to Pope Clement, and to the cardinals and the senators of Rome, requesting his coronation and promising that he would in all matters preserve unharmed the laws and dignities of the Roman people. Henry intended to march into south Italy and claim the kingdom of William II of Sicily for his wife and himself, and, since the kingdom of Sicily was a papal fief, Henry needed the active cooperation of the pope.
In March 1191, Henry and his army were in Tuscany. Two cardinals had been sent by the pope to negotiate with him, Petrus Gallocia the Bishop of Porto and Petrus the Cardinal priest of S. Pietro in Vincoli. Before he died, Clement had agreed to the demand of Henry VI for an imperial coronation in Rome at Easter. The Roman leaders were not impressed by Clement's promises, since he had promised them at the beginning of his reign that he would hand over Tusculum to them, and had yet to do so.
Clement's latest known dated bull was signed on 20 March 1191.
Pope Clement III died on 20 March 1191.
Cardinals
The sources do not mention any of the cardinals who elected Cardinal Giacinto of S. Maria in Cosmedin. A list must be constructed by deduction and inference. The cardinals who subscribed documents for Clement III is far smaller than the total number of cardinals alive at his death.
New cardinals
Pope Clement III (1187–1191) had appointed 25 or 26 cardinals:
*Joannes of
San Clemente, Bishop of
Viterbo and Tuscanella.
*Aegidius Pierleoni of
S. Nicola in Carcere.
*
Bobo of
San Giorgio in Velabro (died 1189)
*Cinthius of
S. Lorenzo in Lucina
*Gregorius of
S. Angelo in Pescheria
*Gregorius de Caballo of
Santa Maria in Aquiro
Santa Maria in Aquiro is a church in Rome, Italy. It is dedicated in honor of Mary, mother of Jesus, and is located on Piazza Capranica.
The church is ancient—it was restored by Pope Gregory III in the 8th century, and thus must have existed ...
.
*
Guido de Papa, cardinal priest of
Santa Maria in Trastevere
The Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere () or Our Lady in Trastevere is a titulus (Roman Catholic), titular minor basilica in the Trastevere district of Rome, and one of the oldest churches of Rome. The basic floor plan and wall structure of the ...
.
*Hugo Pirovano (or ''Bobone'') of
S. Silvestro e Martino.
*Joannes Felix of
Sant'Eustachio
Sant'Eustachio () is a Roman Catholic titular church and minor basilica in Rome, named for the martyr Saint Eustace. It is located on Via di Sant'Eustachio in the Sant'Eustachio (rione of Rome), rione Sant'Eustachio, a block west of the Pantheo ...
*Joannes de Malabranca of
S. Teodoro.
*
Petrus Gallocia of
Porto
Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
.
*
Lothar di Segni of
Ss. Sergio e Baccho.
*Gregorius de Monte Carello of
S. Giorgio in Velabro
*Alexius de Arcipetris of
Santa Susanna (1188–1189; died under Clement III).
*
Jordanus de Ceccano of
Santa Pudenziana.
*Joannes de Salerno of
Santo Stefano al Monte Celio
*Goffredus (Roffredo) de Insula of
Ss. Marcellino e Pietro, Abbot of
Montecassino
The Abbey of Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a Catholic, Benedictine monastery on a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley. Located on the site of the ancient Roman town of Casinum, it is the first house ...
(1188–1210).
*Rufinus of
Santa Prassede
The Basilica of Saint Praxedes (, ), commonly known in Italian as Santa Prassede, is an early medieval titulus (Roman Catholic), titular church and minor basilica located near the papal basilica of Saint Mary Major, on Via di Santa Prassede, Mont ...
, Bishop of Rimini.
*Barnardus of
S. Maria Nuova
*Gregorius de S. Apostolo of
S. Maria in Porticu.
*Petrus of
S. Clemente (died under Clement III).
*Petrus of
San Lorenzo in Damaso
The Minor Basilica of St. Lawrence in Damaso (Basilica Minore di San Lorenzo in Damaso) or simply San Lorenzo in Damaso is a parish and titular church in central Rome, Italy that is dedicated to St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr. It is incorporate ...
(died under Clement III ?).
*
Niccolò Scolari
Niccolo Scolari (died 1200) was an Italian cardinal.
He was cardinal-nephew of Pope Clement III, his uncle, who elevated him in September 1190. In older historiography he is erroneously listed as Niccolo Boboni and nephew of Pope Celestine III. He ...
, cardinal deacon of
Santa Lucia in Selci
The Church of Saint Lucy in Selci (, also known as ' or ') is an ancient Roman Catholic church, located in Rome, dedicated to Saint Lucy, a 4th-century virgin and martyr.
History
The church was built no later than the 8th century above the rui ...
.
*Romanus, cardinal deacon.
At least 18 of Pope Clement's appointees were Italians, and 11 of the appointees were native Romans.
Likely attendees
A beginning on the list of cardinals who may have attended the election of March or April 1191, in addition to some or all of the new cardinals, may be derived from a privilege granted by Pope Clement III to the monastery of Compiègne on 17 February 1191, about five weeks before his death. Eighteen cardinals who subscribed the document were:
*
Octavianus
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
,
Cardinal Bishop of Ostia and Velletri.
*
Joannes Anagninus (Giovanni dei Conti di Anagni),
Cardinal Bishop of Palestrina
The Suburbicarian Diocese of Palestrina () is a Latin suburbicarian diocese centered on the comune of Palestrina in Italy.
The current bishop of Palestrina is Mauro Parmeggiani, who was appointed by Pope Francis on 19 February 2019. Prior to hi ...
.
*
Pandolfo da Lucca
Pandolfo da Lucca (ca. 1140s–1201), erroneously Pandolfo Masca, was an Italian cardinal of the late 12th century. His name is sometimes given in the anglicised form Pandulf or Pandulph.
Pandolfo was born in Lucca in the early 1140s. He was the s ...
, Cardinal Priest of
XII Santi Apostoli.
*Petrus, Cardinal Priest of
Sancti Petri ad Vincula, tituli Eudoxie.
*Aegidius Pierleoni (Egidio di Anagni), Cardinal Deacon of
San Nicola in Carcere Tulliano.
*Cinthius, Cardinal Priest of
S. Lorenzo in Lucina
*Gregorius, Cardinal Deacon of
Sant'Angelo in Pescheria
Sant'Angelo in Pescheria or in Piscaria is a churches of Rome, church in Rome. Dating from the 8th century, it is now used as the conventual church of the General Curia of the Clerics Regular Minor, the orders global headquarters. "In Pescheria" r ...
.
*
Guido de Papa, cardinal priest of
Santa Maria in Trastevere
The Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere () or Our Lady in Trastevere is a titulus (Roman Catholic), titular minor basilica in the Trastevere district of Rome, and one of the oldest churches of Rome. The basic floor plan and wall structure of the ...
, tituli Calixti.
*Hugo Pirovano (or ''Bobone''), Cardinal Priest of
S. Silvestro e Martino, tituli Equitii.
*Johannes Felix, Cardinal Priest of
Santa Susanna, Rome
The Church of Saint Susanna at the Baths of Diocletian () is a Catholic parish and Cistercian conventual church located on the Quirinal Hill in Rome, Italy. There has been a titular church associated to its site as far back as AD 280. The current ...
.
*
Pietro Gallocia
Pietro Gallocia or Galluzzi (c. 1120/30, in Rome – 14 March 1211, in Rome) was a Roman cardinal.
He was apostolic subdeacon and governor of Campagna in the pontificate of Pope Alexander III (1159-1181). Pope Clement III created him Cardinal-D ...
,
Cardinal-Bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina
A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Ca ...
.
*
Lothar di Segni, Cardinal Deacon of
Santi Sergio e Bacco
Santi Sergio e Bacco (Катедральний храм Святих мучеників Сергія і Вакха та Жировицької ікони Пресвятої Богородиці (Katedralnyi khram Sviatykh muchenykіv Serhіia і Va ...
.
*Gregorius de Monte Carello, Cardinal Deacon of
S. Giorgio in Velabro.
*Joannes de Salerno, Cardinal Priest of
Santo Stefano al Monte Celio.
*Rufinus, Cardinal Priest of
Santa Prassede
The Basilica of Saint Praxedes (, ), commonly known in Italian as Santa Prassede, is an early medieval titulus (Roman Catholic), titular church and minor basilica located near the papal basilica of Saint Mary Major, on Via di Santa Prassede, Mont ...
,
Bishop of Rimini
The Diocese of Rimini () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Emilia Romagna, Italy. From earliest times, it was a suffragan to the Holy See, despite repeated attempts by the Diocese of Ravenna to claim ...
.
*Barnardus, Cardinal Deacon of
S. Maria Nuova.
*
Niccolò Scolari
Niccolo Scolari (died 1200) was an Italian cardinal.
He was cardinal-nephew of Pope Clement III, his uncle, who elevated him in September 1190. In older historiography he is erroneously listed as Niccolo Boboni and nephew of Pope Celestine III. He ...
, Cardinal Deacon of
Santa Lucia in Selci
The Church of Saint Lucy in Selci (, also known as ' or ') is an ancient Roman Catholic church, located in Rome, dedicated to Saint Lucy, a 4th-century virgin and martyr.
History
The church was built no later than the 8th century above the rui ...
.
*Romanus, Cardinal Priest of
Sant'Anastasia al Palatino
Sant'Anastasia is a minor basilica and titular church for cardinal-priests in Rome, Italy owned by the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church.
Basilica
Sant'Anastasia was built in the late 3rd century - early 4th century, possibly by a Roman woman nam ...
.
In addition,
*
Albinus, Bishop of Albano, Vicar of Rome.
*
Jacintus, Cardinal Deacon of
Santa Maria in Cosmedin
The Basilica of Saint Mary in Cosmedin (; Latin: Santa Maria ''de Schola Graeca'') is a minor basilica, minor basilican churches of Rome, church in Rome, Italy, dedicated to the Mary, mother of Jesus, Virgin Mary. It is located in the rione (neig ...
.
*
Gerardus Allucingoli, Cardinal Deacon of
Sant'Adriano al Foro
Sant'Adriano al Foro was a church in Rome, formerly in the Curia Julia in the ''Forum Romanum'' and a cardinal-deaconry (a titular church for a Cardinal-deacon).
The church
The Church of Sant'Adriano al Foro (Italian for St. (H)Adrian at ...
.
*Gratianus de Pisa, Cardinal deacon of
Ss. Cosma e Damiano.
*
Soffredus, Cardinal Deacon of
Santa Maria in Via Lata
Santa Maria in Via Lata is a church on the Via del Corso (the ancient Via Lata), in Rome, Italy. It stands diagonal from the church of San Marcello al Corso. It is the stational church for Tuesday in the fifth week of lent.
History
The first ...
.
Cardinals not attending
*?
Conrad of Wittelsbach
Conrad of Wittelsbach (c. 1120/1125 – 25 October 1200) was the Archbishop of Mainz (as Conrad I) and Archchancellor of Germany from 20 June 1161 to 1165 and again from 1183 to his death. He was also a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.
The ...
,
Bishop of Sabina
A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
and
Archbishop of Mainz
The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The Archb ...
.
*
Guillaume aux Blanches Mains, Archbishop of Reims, papal legate, uncle and principal advisor of King
Philip II of France
Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), also known as Philip Augustus (), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks (Latin: ''rex Francorum''), but from 1190 onward, Philip became the firs ...
*
Rogerius Rogerius can refer to the following things:
It is the Latin form of the given name Roger, and was the name of several medieval figures.
*Rogerius (physician) (also called Rogerius Salernitanus, Roger Frugard, Roger Frugardi, Roggerio Frugardo, and ...
, OSB Cas., Cardinal Priest of
Sant'Eusebio
Sant'Eusebio is a titular church in Rome, devoted to Saint Eusebius of Rome, a 4th-century martyr, and built in the Esquilino rione. One of the oldest churches in Rome, it is a titular church and the station church for the Friday after the f ...
.
Archbishop of Benevento
The Archdiocese of Benevento () is a Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church. It currently has five suffragan dioceses: the diocese of Ariano Irpino-Lacedonia, the diocese of Avellino, the diocese of Cerreto Sannita-Telese-Sant'Agata de' Goti ...
(1179–1221).
*
Adelardus Cattaneus, Cardinal Priest of
S. Marcello. In August 1190, Adelardus was papal legate in the Holy Land. On 16 July 1191, he and other bishops consecrated the church at Akko.
*
Petrus Dianus, Cardinal-priest of S. Cecilia, was papal legate in Lombardy until June 1193.
*Goffredus (Roffredo) de Insula of
Ss. Marcellino e Pietro, Abbot of Montecassino (1188–1210).
*
Melior of
Ss. Giovanni e Paolo, Bishop of Massa Maritima.
Election
Ralph of Diceto, Dean of London, indicates that there was dissension among the cardinals: The fear was that it might lead to schism among them, and it was only with that consideration that the senior cardinal deacon, Iacintus, agreed to his election to the papal throne. The disagreement was undoubtedly over the agreement made by Henry VI and Clement III, that Tusculum would be handed over to the Romans, an abandonment of longstanding papal policy fortified by treaty. The Continuator of Sigebert of Gembloux remarks on both the dissension and the duplicity among the Romans and the cardinals.
Cardinal Iacintus took the name
Celestine III
Pope Celestine III (; c. 1105 – 8 January 1198), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 March or 10 April 1191 to his death in 1198. He had a tense relationship with several monarchs, including Emperor ...
.
When Pope Celestine saw King Henry approaching, he put off his own consecration in order to postpone Henry's.
After the election, and before King Henry could draw near Rome, the Roman leaders petitioned Pope Celestine not to anoint and crown Henry emperor until the Pope should obtain agreement from him that the city of Tusculum would be turned over to them. The city had been placed in Pope Clement's custody, but the Tusculans had turned to the king and invoked his ''patrocinia''. The Romans vigorously pressed (''instantissime proponentes'') on the pope that this was the way to get Tusculum into Roman hands, as the previous agreement had specified. Celestine agreed to their proposal. He immediately sent negotiators (''nuntios'') to the king, who firmly proposed to him that, in the light of the previous agreement between the pope and the Romans (at the beginning of Clement's reign), it was necessary for Tusculum to be handed over to the pope by the king.
On Holy Saturday, 13 April, Celestine III was proceeding from the Lateran palace to St. Peter's, where he would be consecrated the next day. He came face to face with King Henry and Queen Constanza and an armed group of people. The Romans had closed the gates of the city and were heavily guarding them, keeping the imperial party from entering.
Celestine III (Giacinto Bobone) was ordained a priest on Holy Saturday, 13 April 1191; he was consecrated a bishop and enthroned on Easter Sunday, 14 April 1191. His consecrator was Cardinal Octavianus de Poli, Bishop of Ostia.
Thanks to the pact made between Henry VI and Celestine III, the city of Tusculum was attacked by the Romans, and completely destroyed on 17 April 1191.
[Gregorovius IV. 2, p. 628.]
References
Sources
* Baaken, Katrin (1985). "Zu Wahl, Weihe und Krönung Papst Cölestins III.," In: ''Deutsches Archiv für Erforschung des Mittelalters'' 41 (1985), 203-211.
*Ganzer, Klaus (1963). ''Die Entwicklung des auswärtigen Kardinalats im hohen Mittelalter. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des Kardinalkollegiums vom 11.bis 13. Jahrhundert.'' Bibliothek des Deutschen Historischen Instituts in Rom . Tübingen: Max Niemeyer Verlag.
* Gregorovius, Ferdinand (1896). ''The History of Rome in the Middle Ages'' Vol. IV, part 2. London: George Bell 1896.
*
*Kartusch, Elfriede (1948). ''Das Kardinalskollegium in der Zeit von 1181–1227''. Wien: Max Niemeyer.
*
External links
* Adams, John Paul
Sede Vacante 1191 California State University Northridge. Retrieved: 27 December 2021.
* Capitani, Ottavio
"Celestino III." ''Federiciana'' (Treccani 2005); retrieved 27 December 2021.
* Miranda, Salvador
list, incomplete with numerous errors* Pfaff, Volkert
"Celestino III." ''Enciclopedia dei Papi'' (Treccani 2000). Retrieved: 27 December 2021.
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12th-century elections
1191
Year 1191 ( MCXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* April 10 – King Richard I (the Lionheart) leaves Messina for Palestina, but a storm drives his fleet apart. Ri ...
1191 in Europe
12th-century Catholicism
Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor
12th century in the Papal States