Uberto Coconati (Cocconato, de Coconatis) (died 13 July 1276), a Roman Catholic Cardinal, was born at

Asti Asti ( , ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) of 74,348 inhabitants (1–1–2021) located in the Italy, Italian region of Piedmont, about east of Turin, in the plain of the Tanaro, Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and ...

in the

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

region of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, a member of the family of the Counts of Cocconato, who were

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

s of the Marchese di Monferrato. Thierry de Vaucouleurs, the author of the ''Johanneslegende'', Uberto was "''Lombardus nomine, stirpe potens''" ('Lombard in name, from a powerful family').

Family

Uberto had a brother named Manuel (Emmanuele). Two of his relatives became

Bishop of Asti The Diocese of Asti () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Piedmont, northern Italy, centered in the city of Asti. It has been a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Turin since 1515.holy orders In certain Christian denominations, holy orders are the ordination, ordained ministries of bishop, priest (presbyter), and deacon, and the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders. Churches recognizing these orders inclu ...

, Bonifacio di Cocconato and Alberto.

Career

Nothing is known about his education, beyond the fact that he held the title Master (Magister) when he first appears in historic sources. He had an advanced

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

education, therefore, and, considering his career, it must have been in law. For what it is worth, there was a fellow Piedmontese in the

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals (), also called the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. there are cardinals, of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Appointed by the pope, ...

, the influential

Henry of Segusio Henry of Segusio, usually called Hostiensis, (c. 1200 – 6 or 7 November 1271) was an Italian canonist of the thirteenth century, born at Susa (Segusio), in the ancient Diocese of Turin. He died at Lyon. Life He undertook the study of Roman la ...

, "Hostiensis", the most celebrated canon lawyer of his day, who had been a professor at Bologna and Paris.

Early career

In November, 1257, Uberto Coconati was present in Viterbo as a witness when Cardinal Stephanus ( Istvan Báncsa),

Bishop of Palestrina The Suburbicarian Diocese of Palestrina () is a Latin suburbicarian diocese centered on the comune of Palestrina in Italy. The current bishop of Palestrina is Mauro Parmeggiani, who was appointed by Pope Francis on 19 February 2019. Prior to h ...

, issued a final ruling in a dispute between the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

, Boniface of Savoy (1241-1270), and the Prior of the Convent of S. Trinity in London. He is called Magister Uberto de Coconato and is identified as a Papal Chaplain. On 23 December 1257,

Pope Alexander IV Pope Alexander IV (1199 or 1185 – 25 May 1261) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 December 1254 to his death. Early career He was born as Rinaldo di Jenne in Jenne, Italy, Jenne (now in the Province of Rome ...

granted to the Commune of Perugia the farmland (contado) in the neighborhood of Gubbio which belonged to the Roman Church for a period of five years, understanding that the Commune of Perugia would pay the annual assessment of 200 small Sienese pounds. Magister Uberto de Cocanato, Apostolic

Subdeacon Subdeacon is a minor orders, minor order of ministry for men or women in various branches of Christianity. The subdeacon has a specific liturgical role and is placed below the deacon and above the acolyte in the order of precedence. Subdeacons in ...

and papal chaplain, was appointed Executor on 28 December to convene a general assembly in Perugia to appoint a Syndic with appropriate powers to oversee the arrangement; he was also to swear the People of Perugia to obey the terms of the agreement under oath, with a penalty of 10,000 silver marks if they violated the agreement. Magister Uberto then appointed the Bishop of Perugia as his Executor Subdelegate to oversee the transfers.

Cardinal

Uberto Coconati was one of seven cardinals created by

Pope Urban IV Pope Urban IV (; c. 1195 – 2 October 1264), born Jacques Pantaléon, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1261 to his death three years later. He was elected pope without being a cardinal; he was the fi ...

in a Consistory of 17 (or 24) December 1261. He was assigned the Deaconry of

Sant'Eustachio Sant'Eustachio () is a Roman Catholic titular church and minor basilica in Rome, named for the martyr Saint Eustace. It is located on Via di Sant'Eustachio in the Sant'Eustachio (rione of Rome), rione Sant'Eustachio, a block west of the Pantheo ...

. Cardinal Uberto was able to benefit his nephew, Alberto, when Vivián, the bishop-elect of

Calahorra Calahorra (; ; ) is a municipality in the Spanish autonomous community and province of La Rioja. During Ancient Roman times, Calahorra was a municipium known as ''Calagurris Nassica Iulia''. Location The city is located on a hill at an altitude ...

presented himself at 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 ...

at Orvieto, and was obligated to resign his Archdeaconry of Guadalajara. Alberto also received a canonry and prebend in the Cathedral. But when he died at Asti in 1263, the benefices were handed on by papal favor to another of the Cardinal's nephews, Bonifacius de Coconato, ''clericus Verzellensis'' ('cleric of Vercelli'). Another nephew, Rainerius, was confirmed as a

prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Catholic Church, Catholic or Anglicanism , Anglican clergy, a form of canon (priest) , canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in part ...

of the Church of Leon in Spain, during a process ordered by Pope Urban IV to reduce the number of papal appointments in that Church from twelve, which had been granted by Alexander IV, to six. In 1265 Cardinal Uberto became the Protector of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Salamanca The Diocese of Salamanca () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church located in the city of Salamanca in the ecclesiastical province of Valladolid in Spain.Second Ecumenical Council of Lyon on 1 May 1274. Cardinal Uberto de Coconati was one of thirteen cardinals who attended a Consistory in Lyons on 6 June 1274, when the Pope and Cardinals received the Chancellor of Rudolf, King of the Romans, who had come to Lyons to arrange for papal recognition of Rudolf's election as Emperor. He was not, however, one of the cardinals who accompanied Pope Gregory X on his return journey to Italy; he was not present in Lausanne on 20 October 1275, when Pope Gregory received the Oath of Feudal Loyalty of Rudolf, King of the Romans. In 1275, while he was in Lyons, Cardinal Uberto became involved in the beginning phase of the long dispute between Tedisio de Camilla and his opponents, the Archbishops of Canterbury, first

Robert Kilwardby Robert Kilwardby ( c. 1215 – 11 September 1279) was an Archbishop of Canterbury in England and a cardinal. Kilwardby was the first member of a mendicant order to attain a high ecclesiastical office in the English Church. Life Kilwardby ...

(1273-1278) and then

John Peckham John Peckham (c. 1230 – 8 December 1292) was a Franciscan friar and Archbishop of Canterbury in the years 1279–1292. Peckham studied at the University of Paris under Bonaventure, where he later taught theology and became known as a co ...

(1279-1292). Both Primates of England disliked the idea of clergy holding multiple benefices which involved the care of souls at the same time, and particularly when they were foreigners appointed by the Roman Curia. Tedisio (Theodosius), an Italian from the territory of Genoa, was a cousin of Cardinal Ottobono Fieschi, who had been Apostolic Legate in England from 1265 to 1268. At the time the conflict began, Tedisio was Rector of Wingham (the King's Chapel) and Terringes as well as Dean of Wolverampton. He tenaciously refused to surrender his benefices and repeatedly appealed to the Pope. At one moment, Cardinal Uberto was appealed to, and he issued a letter advising Archbishop Kilwardby to desist. His letter is mentioned in a mandate of

Pope Gregory X Pope Gregory X (; – 10 January 1276), born Teobaldo Visconti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 September 1271 to his death and was a member of the Third Order of St. Francis. He was elected at the ...

to the Archbishop to do nothing further about Tedisio until the Pope sends him further instructions. Gregory X actually authorized Tedisio to found a college at Wingham. On 13 November 1276,

Pope John XXI Pope John XXI (, , ; – 20 May 1277), born Pedro Julião (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 September 1276 to his death in May 1277. He is the only ethnically Portuguese pope in history.Richard P. McBrien, ...

dispensed Tedisio with respect to his benefices. He was instructed, however, to resign the parish of Wistanestea and Frondingham in the diocese of Lincoln, and the parish of Archexea in the diocese of York. It is clear that Tedisio had powerful friends at the Roman Curia, and that the policy of the English Archbishops interfered with papal prerogatives. It also is revealed that Tedisio was not an ordained priest, and he was dispensed from that requirement as well. Cardinal Uberto and eleven or twelve other cardinals participated in the Conclave of 20–21 January 1276, which followed the death of Pope Gregory X and which elected Pierre de Tarantaise as

Pope Innocent V Pope Innocent V (; c. 1225 – 22 June 1276), born Pierre de Tarentaise, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 January to 22 June 1276. A member of the Order of Preachers, he acquired a reputation as an effective ...

. Cardinal Uberto also participated in the Conclave of 2–11 July 1276, which followed the death of Pope Innocent V and which elected Ottobono Fieschi as

Pope Adrian V Pope Adrian V (; – 18 August 1276), born Ottobuono de' Fieschi, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 July 1276 to his death on 18 August 1276. He was an envoy of Pope Clement IV sent to England in May 1 ...

. He ruled for thirty-nine days, was never ordained a priest, consecrated a bishop, or crowned as Pope. Cardinal Uberto Coconati was one of the cardinals who was present, according to Pope John XXI in his decree "Licet felicis", when Pope Adrian V suspended the Constitution of Pope Gregory X on conclaves, "

Ubi Periculum ''Ubi periculum'' is a papal bull promulgated by Pope Gregory X during the Second Council of Lyon on 7 July 1274 that established the papal conclave format as the method for selecting a pope, specifically the confinement and isolation of the c ...

". The Consistory could only have taken place in Rome on 11 July, the day of his election, or perhaps 12 July. Pope Adrian was already in Viterbo on 23 July, when he signed his only bull. This decision to suspend the Conclave regulations had dire consequences over the next thirty years, since it facilitated the manipulation of cardinals in Conclave by outside parties, especially King

Charles I of Naples Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou or Charles d'Anjou, was King of Sicily from 1266 to 1285. He was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the House of Anjou-Sicily. Between 1246 and ...

Death

Cardinal Uberto Coconati died in Rome on 13 July 1276, two days after the election of

.''Annales Veronenses'', in ''Antiche croniche Veronesi'' I, ed. C. Cipolla (Venezia 1890), p. 418.

References

Bibliography

* Antonio Franchi, ''Il conclave di Viterbo (1268-1271) e le sue origini: saggio con documenti inediti'' (Assisi: Porziuncola, 1993) 63, 96-113. * Andreas Fischer, ''Kardinäle im Konklave: die lange Sedisvakantz der Jahre 1268 bis 1271'' (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter 2008), pp. 165–171. * Jean-Daniel Morerod, "Aller à Lausanne pour une bulle. Papes, curialistes et solliciteurs (XIIe-XIIIe siècle)," ''Aspects diplomatiques des voyages pontificaux'' (ed. B. Barbiche, R. Grosse) (Paris 2008), 182-193. {{DEFAULTSORT:Coconato, Uberto 1276 deaths 13th-century Italian cardinals People from Asti