Baldwin (died 6 October 1145) was a

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

and later

Archbishop of Pisa The Archdiocese of Pisa () is a Latin Church metropolitan see of the Catholic Church in Pisa, Italy.

, a correspondent of

Bernard of Clairvaux Bernard of Clairvaux, Cistercians, O.Cist. (; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, Mysticism, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templar, and a major leader in the reform of the Benedictines through the nascent Cistercia ...

, and a reformer of the

Republic of Pisa The Republic of Pisa () was an independent state existing from the 11th to the 15th century centered on the Tuscan city of Pisa. It rose to become an economic powerhouse, a commercial center whose merchants dominated Mediterranean and Italian t ...

. Throughout his episcopate, he greatly expanded the authority of his

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

, making it the most powerful institution in

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

and

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

, and notably increased its landholdings.

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 ...

named Baldwin a

cardinal-priest 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. ...

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 ...

no later than in 1137, when he appears for the first time in this dignity. Later that year, he was in the

Mezzogiorno Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or culture of the historic ...

, probably in the trail of the

Emperor Lothair II Lothair III, sometimes numbered Lothair II and also known as Lothair of Supplinburg ( June 1075 – 4 December 1137), was Holy Roman Emperor from 1133 until his death. He was appointed Duke of Saxony in 1106 and elected King of Germany in 1125 be ...

. According to

Peter the Deacon Peter the Deacon (fl. 1115–1159) was the librarian of the abbey of Montecassino and continuator of the ''Chronicon monasterii Casinensis'', usually called the Monte Cassino Chronicle in English. The chronicle was originally written by Leo o ...

, he and a son of

Pier Leoni Pier Leoni (or Pierleone) ( or ) (died 2 June 1128) was the son of the Jewish convert Leo de Benedicto and founder of the great and important medieval Roman family of the Pierleoni. He was called the Jewish Crassus by Gregorovius. Pierleone hi ...

(''filium Petri Leonis'') were at

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 ...

to pacify a revolt when, in July, he participated in a debate over the rule of Cassinese

monasticism Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Chr ...

in the presence of the emperor. He was then elected to succeed

Uberto Uberto is an Italian first name, the equivalent of Hubert; variations include Oberto, Ubertino and female forms are Uberta, Oberta, Ubertina. Notable people with this name include: * Uberto Allucingoli, Italian cardinal * Sante Uberto Barbieri, bi ...

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of his native city and, as the pope was then living there in exile, was consecrated by Innocent himself.According to Ganzer, 90, Baldwin's nomination as archbishop of Pisa took place in the middle of April 1138. Other sources give the year 113

In a letter of 22 April 1138, Innocent conferred on Baldwin the

apostolic legate An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is a ...

ship over

Porto Torres Porto Torres (; ) is a (municipality) and a city of the Province of Sassari in north-west of Sardinia, Italy. Founded during the 1st century BC as , it was the first Roman colony of the entire Sardinia, island. It is situated on the coast at abo ...

Populonia Populonia or Populonia Alta ( Etruscan: ''Pupluna'', ''Pufluna'' or ''Fufluna'', all pronounced ''Fufluna''; Latin: ''Populonium'', ''Populonia'', or ''Populonii'') today is a of the ''comune'' of Piombino (Tuscany, central Italy). As of 2009 its ...

, Galtelli, and Civita on Sardinia. On 19 July 1139, at the exhortation of Bernard of Clairvaux and

Otto of Freising Otto of Freising (; – 22 September 1158) was a German churchman of the Cistercian order and chronicled at least two texts which carry valuable information on the political history of his own time. He was the bishop of Freising from 1138. Ot ...

, the emperor-elect

Conrad III Conrad III (; ; 1093 or 1094 – 15 February 1152) of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was from 1116 to 1120 Duke of Franconia, from 1127 to 1135 anti-king of his predecessor Lothair III, and from 1138 until his death in 1152 King of the Romans in the ...

bestowed on him the countship of Pisa, making him the chief secular as well as ecclesiastical authority in the city and its countryside (''contado'', "county"). The whole of that year, however, he spent in

Logudoro The Logudoro (; ) is a large historical region Sardinia, Italy. It is the namesake of the Logudorese dialect of Sardinian language, Sardinian, which covers a large area of northern-central Sardinia. The first denomination of the area is contai ...

arranging matters on the island. From 1140 to 1142, Baldwin was in conflict over the comital rights in and around Pisa. From 1138, he had been in a war with the

Diocese of Lucca : The Archdiocese of Lucca () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Italy. The diocese dates back as a diocese to at least the 4th century; it became an archdiocese in 1726. The seat of the archbishop is ...

over jurisdiction. He was captured and freed, upon which he conquered the ''castrum Aghinolgum'' (

Montignoso Montignoso is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Massa and Carrara in the Italian region Tuscany, located about northwest of Florence and about southeast of Massa. Montignoso borders the following municipalities: Forte dei Marmi, ...

). On 10 November 1144, Baldwin sent aid to

Gonario II of Torres Gonario II (also spelled Gonnario and Gunnari; died between 1180 and 1190) was the '' giudice'' of the Sardinian kingdom of Logudoro from the death of his father in 1128 until his own abdication in 1154. He was a son of Constantine I and Marcusa d ...

in a war against

Comita II of Arborea Comita II or III (died 1147) was the '' giudice'' (judge) of the Judicate of Arborea from 1131 until his death. He was the son of Constantine I of Arborea, the first ruler of Arborea of the Lacon dynasty. He married Elena de Orrubu, mother of Bar ...

. In 1145, he was created apostolic legate over all

and

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

. He established the legatine seat in Torres, and excommunicating Comita – for oppressing the people and warring against Pisa – and transferring to Gonario the supreme secular authority on the island and personal authority in Arborea. Bernard of Clairvaux even weighed into island politics and sent a letter to

Pope Eugene III Pope Eugene III (; c. 1080 – 8 July 1153), born Bernardo Pignatelli, or possibly Paganelli, called Bernardo da Pisa, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1145 to his death in 1153. He was the first Cist ...

justifying Baldwin's actions. Baldwin died later that very year and Montignoso was returned to Lucca.

References

Sources

*Ghisalberti, Alberto M. (ed) ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: V Bacca – Baratta''. Rome, 1963. {{DEFAULTSORT:Baldwin, Archbishop of Pisa 1145 deaths Italian Cistercians Roman Catholic archbishops of Pisa 12th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops Year of birth unknown