Pope Urban III ( la, Urbanus III; died 20 October 1187), born Uberto Crivelli, reigned from 25 November 1185 to his death in 1187.

Early career

Crivelli was born in Cuggiono, Italy as the son of Guala Crivelli and had four brothers: Pietro, Domenico, Pastore and Guala. It is often said that the future Pope Celestine IV was the son of Urban's sister, but this claim is without foundation. He studied in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different na ...

. In 1173, Crivelli was made a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland ( it, Rolando), 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 con ...

. His original title is unknown, but he opted to be the Cardinal-Priest of San Lorenzo in Lucina in 1182. Lucius appointed him Archbishop of Milan in 1185. Lucius III died on 25 November 1185; Cardinal Crivelli was elected that same day. The haste was probably due to fear of imperial interference.

Pontificate

The 'verso' side of a cast lead papal bulla of Urban III dating from 1185-7 AD

Urban III vigorously took up his predecessor's quarrels with

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

Frederick I Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt o ...

, including the standing dispute about the disposal of the territories of the countess

Matilda of Tuscany Matilda of Tuscany ( it, Matilde di Canossa , la, Matilda, ; 1046 – 24 July 1115 or Matilda of Canossa after her ancestral castle of Canossa), also referred to as ("the Great Countess"), was a member of the House of Canossa (also known as ...

. This was embittered by personal enmity, for at the sack of Milan in 1162 the emperor had caused several of the pope's relatives to be proscribed or mutilated. Even after his elevation to the papacy, Urban III continued to hold the archbishopric of Milan, and in this capacity refused to crown as King of Italy Frederick I's son Henry, who had married Constance, the heiress of the

kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily ( la, Regnum Siciliae; it, Regno di Sicilia; scn, Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 un ...

. By this marriage/bond the papacy lost that Norman support on which it had so long relied in its contests with the emperor. Urban exerted himself to bring about peace between England and France, and on 23 June 1187, his legates by threats of

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

prevented a

pitched battle A pitched battle or set-piece battle is a battle in which opposing forces each anticipate the setting of the battle, and each chooses to commit to it. Either side may have the option to disengage before the battle starts or shortly thereafter. A ...

between the armies of the rival kings near Châteauroux, and brought about a two years' truce. While Henry in the south cooperated with the rebel

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

of Rome, his father Frederick blocked the passes of the Alps and cut off all communication between the Pope, then living in

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

, and his German adherents. Urban III now resolved on excommunicating Frederick I, but the Veronese protested against such a proceeding being resorted to within their walls. He accordingly withdrew to

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

, but died before he could give effect to his intentions. He was succeeded by Gregory VIII. According to the chroniclers Ernoul and

Benedict of Peterborough Benedict, sometimes known as Benedictus Abbas (Latin for "Benedict the Abbot"; died 29 September 1193), was abbot of Peterborough. His name was formerly erroneously associated with the ''Gesta Henrici Regis Secundi'' and ''Gesta Regis Ricardi'', En ...

, Urban III died of shock and grief after Joscius, Archbishop of Tyre brought him news of the Christian defeat at the

Battle of Hattin The Battle of Hattin took place on 4 July 1187, between the Crusader states of the Levant and the forces of the Ayyubid sultan Saladin. It is also known as the Battle of the Horns of Hattin, due to the shape of the nearby extinct volcano of ...

. It is also commonly stated that Urban's death was caused by the news of the fall of Jerusalem, but

William of Newburgh William of Newburgh or Newbury ( la, Guilelmus Neubrigensis, ''Wilhelmus Neubrigensis'', or ''Willelmus de Novoburgo''. 1136 – 1198), also known as William Parvus, was a 12th-century English historian and Augustinian canon of Anglo-Saxon de ...

assures us that the report of the disaster of Hattin (3-4 July) did not even reach the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

till after the election of Gregory VIII, so it is hardly probable that Urban III ever heard of the surrender of the Holy City, which took place on 2 October.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urban 03 1187 deaths People from Cuggiono Popes Italian popes Cardinals created by Pope Alexander III Archbishops of Milan 12th-century popes 12th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops 1120 births

Early career

Pontificate

See also

Notes