Cencio I Frangipane (also ''Cencius'' or ''Centius'') was a Roman nobleman of the

Frangipani family The Frangipani family was a powerful Roman patrician clan in the Middle Ages. The family was firmly Guelph in sympathy. The name has many spellings, which include Frangipane, Freiapane, Fricapane and Fresapane. In his '' Trattatello in laud ...

of the latter half of the eleventh century. He was a Roman consul His parentage is cited first in 1066, when he appeared as ''Cencio vir magnificus filio quondam Johannes de Imperator''. His father was Giovanni Sardo ''de Imperator''. In 1039, three siblings, Leo, Bernard, and Bona made a donation to

Santa Maria Novella Santa Maria Novella is a church in Florence, Italy, situated opposite, and lending its name to, the city's main railway station. Chronologically, it is the first great basilica in Florence, and is the city's principal Dominican church. The ch ...

as ''filii quondam Petri Frajapane de Imperator''.Translation: "children of Peter Frangipane de Imperator." Peter was the first known member of the family and he clearly carried two surnames. Leo, his son, had two sons, Robert and John, the latter being the father of Cencius. John and Robert were only known by their Imperator name, though Cencius used Frangipane. Cencius began his career as a follower of the

Gregorian reform The Gregorian Reforms were a series of reforms initiated by Pope Gregory VII and the circle he formed in the papal curia, c. 1050–80, which dealt with the moral integrity and independence of the clergy. The reforms are considered to be na ...

. His seal appears on a document of

Pope Nicholas II Pope Nicholas II ( la, Nicholaus II; c. 990/995 – 27 July 1061), otherwise known as Gerard of Burgundy, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 January 1059 until his death in 27 July 1061. At the time of his ...

investing Abbot Bernard of Farfa with the castles of Tribuco and

Arce Arce may refer to: Places * Arce, Lazio, a municipality in the province of Frosinone, in the region of Lazio, Italy * Arce, Spain, a municipality of autonomous community of Navarre, Spain * Ciudad Arce, El Salvador * Rocca d'Arce, Italy Other * A ...

. The militantly imperialist Benzone, Bishop of Alba, recorded in his ''Ad Heinricum imperatorem libri VII'' that Cencius worked to influence the election of Alexander II in 1061. However, despite all this, on 25 December 1075, Pope Gregory VII was kidnapped and imprisoned by Cencius while he was officiating in

Santa Maria Maggiore The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the larges ...

. The pope was liberated by the people, but he accused the

Emperor Henry IV Henry IV (german: Heinrich IV; 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105, King of Germany from 1054 to 1105, King of Italy and Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was the s ...

of being behind the attempt. The event is often cited as the beginning of

Investiture Controversy The Investiture Controversy, also called Investiture Contest ( German: ''Investiturstreit''; ), was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops (investiture) and abbots of monas ...

. In the 1080s, the ''Chronica'' of

Monte Cassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first ho ...

referred to Cencius as ''consul Romanorum'' or "consul of the Romans." In 1084, when Henry besieged the Eternal City, Cencius sustained Gregory in the Leonine City and negotiated with the

Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. T ...

Robert Guiscard Robert Guiscard (; Modern ; – 17 July 1085) was a Norman adventurer remembered for the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily. Robert was born into the Hauteville family in Normandy, went on to become count and then duke of Apulia and Calab ...

, allowing the sack of the city as a reward for rescuing it from Henry, but preserving the pope's liberty and the papal city. In the election of 1085, Cencius advanced Odo of Lagery, the

cardinal-bishop of Ostia The Roman Catholic Suburbicarian Diocese of Ostia is an ecclesiastical territory located within the Metropolitan City of Rome in Italy. It is one of the seven suburbicarian dioceses. The incumbent Bishop is cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. Since ...

and future

Pope Urban II Pope Urban II ( la, Urbanus II; – 29 July 1099), otherwise known as Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He is best known for convening th ...

, as a candidate. However, the electors selected Desiderius of Benevento as Victor III. Cencius and Victor had strained relations, but he participated in the Council of Capua, at which Victor was confirmed as pope, in March 1087 with the Normans. Cencius was last mentioned in November 1102 assisting

Matilda of Canossa 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 th ...

with the distribution of her property.

Notes

Sources

*Caravale, Mario (ed). ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: L Francesco I Sforza – Gabbi''. Rome, 1998. * Gregorovius, Ferdinand. ''Rome in the Middle Ages Vol. II''. trans. Annie Hamilton. 1905. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cencio 01 Frangipane 11th-century births 12th-century deaths Italian untitled nobility Centius Frajapanis