A legatine council or legatine synod is an ecclesiastical council or

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

that is presided over by a

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Catho ...

.Robinson ''The Papacy'' p. 150 According to Pope Gregory VII, writing in the ''

Dictatus papae ''Dictatus papae'' is a compilation of 27 statements of authority claimed by the pope that was included in Pope Gregory VII's register under the year 1075. Principles The principles expressed in ''Dictatus Papae'' are mostly those expressed by ...

'', a papal legate "presides over all bishops in a council, even if he is inferior in rank, and he can pronounce sentence of deposition against them".Quoted in Robinson ''The Papacy'' p. 150 During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, a legatine council was the usual means by which a papal legate imposed his directives. Many councils in the Middle Ages were legatine councils, including the council held by Hugh of Die at

Autun Autun () is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Saône-et-Loire Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region of central-eastern France. It was founded during the Principate era of the e ...

in 1077.Robinson ''The Papacy'' p. 153 Another was a series of councils held by Cuno of Praeneste in 1114 and 1115, held respectively at Beauvais, Rheims and Chalon, which excommunicated

Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor Henry V (; probably 11 August 1081 or 1086 – 23 May 1125) was King of Germany (from 1099 to 1125) and Holy Roman Emperor (from 1111 to 1125), as the fourth and last ruler of the Salian dynasty. He was made co-ruler by his father, Henry IV, i ...

, although Pope

Paschal II Pope Paschal II (; 1050 1055 – 21 January 1118), born Raniero Raineri di Bleda, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 August 1099 to his death in 1118. A monk of the Abbey of Cluny, he was creat ...

eventually refused to ratify Cuno's actions. In 1116 Cuno demanded that Paschal either confirm or reject the legate's actions, but Paschal did neither.Robinson ''The Papacy'' p. 157 Early in the history of the

Crusader states The Crusader states, or Outremer, were four Catholic polities established in the Levant region and southeastern Anatolia from 1098 to 1291. Following the principles of feudalism, the foundation for these polities was laid by the First Crusade ...

, a number of legatine councils were held in the

Kingdom of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem, also known as the Crusader Kingdom, was one of the Crusader states established in the Levant immediately after the First Crusade. It lasted for almost two hundred years, from the accession of Godfrey of Bouillon in 1 ...

that not only appointed and deposed ecclesiastics, but also regulated the church government.Robinson ''The Papacy'' p. 357 Legatine councils were also held in the German Empire during the 12th-century.Robinson ''The Papacy'' p. 458 Legatine councils were held in medieval England, early examples being two held in short succession by King

Offa of Mercia Offa ( 29 July 796 AD) was King of Mercia, a kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, from 757 until his death in 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of ...

in the year 786 and known only by this generic term. One of the recorded two attending legates, George of Ostia, notes that the languages of communication were Latin and "theodisce" (Germanic) "for the better comprehension of all".König ''dtv-Atlas'' p. 59 Further such councils included the Council of Westminster in 1125,Barlow ''English Church'' p. 109 and a series of legatine councils held from 1139 to 1151, which unlike the 1125 council, were summoned by English ecclesiastics appointed as legates by the pope, rather than legates who had been sent to England by the papacy.Barlow ''English Church'' pp. 130–131

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* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Legatine council Catholic Church councils