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Ruggieri degli Ubaldini (

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

1271 – 15 September 1295,

Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early histor ...

) was an Italian archbishop.

Life

Born in

Mugello The Mugello is a historic region and valley in northern Tuscany, in Italy, corresponding to the course of the River Sieve. It is located to the north of the city of Florence and includes the northernmost portion of the Metropolitan City of Flo ...

to the powerful family of the counts of Pila, Ruggieri was the son of Ubaldino and the nephew of cardinal

Ottaviano degli Ubaldini Ottaviano or Attaviano degli Ubaldini (1214 – 1273) was an Italian cardinal, often known in his own time as simply ''Il Cardinale'' (''The Cardinal''). Life Born at Florence into a noble local Ghibelline family, he was appointed Archbishop of Bo ...

. He began his clerical career in the archepiscopal curia of the archdiocese of Bologna, then in 1271 the

Ghibelline The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, ri ...

(in general, partisans of the Holy Roman Empire) inhabitants of Ravenna made him archbishop of Ravenna-Cervia, in rivalry to another prelate appointed by the

Guelphs The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, riva ...

(partisans of the papacy). The conflicts between them convinced the pope to exclude them both from the office. In 1278 he became

archbishop of Pisa The Archdiocese of Pisa ( la, Archidioecesis Pisana) is a metropolitan see of the Catholic Church in Pisa, Italy.

, a city then governed by the Guelphs

Ugolino della Gherardesca Ugolino della Gherardesca (March 1289), Count of Donoratico, was an Italian nobleman, politician and naval commander. He was frequently accused of treason and features prominently in Dante's ''Divine Comedy''. Biography In the 13th century, the ...

and

Nino Visconti Ugolino Visconti (died 1296), better known as Nino, was the Giudice of Gallura from 1275 or 1276 to his death. He was a son of Giovanni Visconti and grandson of Ugolino della Gherardesca. He was the first husband of Beatrice d'Este, daughter of ...

. Ruggieri initially tried to settle the conflict between Guelphs and Ghibellines in favour of the latter, but soon (posing as Nino's friend) played them off against each other in an attempt to finish off them both. He led the revolt which finally deposed count Ugolino and the Gualandi, Sismondi and Lanfranchi families. According to contemporary chroniclers, followed by

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His '' Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ...

, he captured Ugolino by deception - it is definite that he imprisoned him, his two sons and his two grandsons in the Torre della Muda, where they died. Probably for this reason, or for betraying the Visconti, Dante places Ruggieri in the lowest circle of hell. Even

Pope Nicholas IV Pope Nicholas IV ( la, Nicolaus IV; 30 September 1227 – 4 April 1292), born Girolamo Masci, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1288 to his death on 4 April 1292. He was the first Franciscan to be ele ...

rebuked Ruggieri for his behaviour and sent him a condemnation of his treatment of Ugolino and the Guelphs, but the pope's death prevented him acting on these and saved Ruggieri from punishment. After Ugolino's death in 1289, Ruggieri had himself nominated as

podestà Podestà (, English: Potestate, Podesta) was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of Central and Northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a city ...

of Pisa, but was unable to sustain the conflict with the Visconti and had to forfeit the office. He continued to live in his archdiocese, retaining the title until his death in 1295 in Viterbo, where he had recently moved. His tomb was once in the cloister of the monastery attached to the church of Santa Maria in Gradi Viterbo (now the headquarters of the

Tuscia University University of Tuscia ( it, Università degli Studi della Tuscia, UNITUS) is a university located in Viterbo, Italy. It was founded in 1979 and comprises 6 faculties. On 26 February 2019, the President of Republic Sergio Mattarella inaugurated th ...

), but now lost.

Ruggieri in Dante

Ruggieri appears in canto XXXIII of Dante's ''Inferno'', in the second band of the ninth circle, in Antenora, where traitors are punished. Dante portrays Ugolino gnawing at Ruggieri's skull for all eternity—his punishment for sentencing four innocents to die alongside the guilty. Although Ugolino makes a long speech, Ruggieri says nothing.

References

Bibliography

* Giovan Battista Ubaldini, ''Istoria della casa degli Ubaldini e de' fatti d'alcuni di quella famiglia'', Firenze, Sermartelli, 1588. * Antonio Munoz, ''Roma di Dante'', Milano-Roma, Bestetti e Tumminelli, 1921. *Vittorio Sermonti, ''Inferno'', Rizzoli 2001. *Umberto Bosco and Giovanni Reggio, ''La Divina Commedia - Inferno'', Le Monnier 1988. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ubaldini, Ruggieri degli 13th-century Italian cardinals 1295 deaths Clergy from Tuscany Year of birth unknown Bishops of Ravenna 13th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops