''Grandi non immerito'' was a

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

issued by

Pope Innocent IV Pope Innocent IV (; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254. Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universities of Parma and Bolo ...

on 24 July 1245, that effectively removed

Sancho II of Portugal Sancho II (; 8 September 1207 – 4 January 1248), nicknamed Afonso the Cowled or Afonso the Capuched (), alternatively, Afonso the Pious (), was King of Portugal from 1223 to 1248. Sancho was born in Coimbra, the eldest son of Afonso II of ...

from the throne, replacing him with his brother and heir Afonso, Count of Boulogne, in the capacity of

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

. The King's administrative negligence and frequent conflicts with the clergy (which had gotten him

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

already by that point), along with his unwillingness to listen to the

Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...

, led to

issuing the bull ''Inter alia desiderabilia'' in March 1245, which severely crippled Sancho's authority by charging him with the responsibility for the kingdom's near-anarchical state. Following the

First Council of Lyon The First Council of Lyon (Lyon I) was the thirteenth ecumenical council, as numbered by the Catholic Church, taking place in 1245. This was the first ecumenical council to be held outside Rome's Lateran Palace after the Great Schism of 1054. ...

, that same year, Innocent IV issued ''Grandi non immerito'' urging the people and nobility of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

to receive the

Count of Boulogne Count of Boulogne was a historical title in the Kingdom of France. The city of Boulogne-sur-Mer became the centre of the County of Boulogne during the ninth century. Little is known of the early counts, but the first holder of the title is rec ...

and to pay him "fidelity, homage, allegiance, and accordance", under threat of ecclesiastical censure. The bull did not, however, nominally depose King Sancho or remove any descendants he would beget from the succession (though he would go on to die with no legitimate children). The Count of Boulogne ruled the kingdom using the styles of ''Visitador, Curador e Defensor do Reino'' ("Visitor, Caretaker and Defender of the Realm") until his brother's death and his own eventual acclamation as

Afonso III of Portugal Afonso IIIrare English alternatives: ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', or ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese), ''Alfonso'' or ''Alphonso'' (Portuguese-Galician languages, Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin). (; 5 May 121016 February 1279), ca ...

References

{{Reflist 1245 works 13th-century papal bulls Documents of Pope Innocent IV

See also

References