Pope Urban III (; died 20 October 1187), born Uberto Crivelli, reigned from 25 November 1185 to his death in 1187.

Early career

Crivelli was born in

Cuggiono Cuggiono ( ) is a small Italian town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Milan, west of Milan on the Motorway A4 to Turin, gate of Marcallo-Mesero. American baseball player Yogi Berra's parents were from Malvaglio, just outside Cuggiono. ...

, Italy as the son of Guala Crivelli and had four brothers: Pietro, Domenico, Pastore and Guala. It is often said that the future

Pope Celestine IV Pope Celestine IV (; c. 1180/1187 − 10 November 1241), born Goffredo da Castiglione, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 October 1241 to his death on 10 November 1241. History Born in Milan, Goffredo or Godf ...

was the son of Urban's sister, but this claim is without foundation. He studied in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. In 1173, Crivelli was made a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a Papal election, ...

. His original title is unknown, but he opted to be the Cardinal-Priest of San Lorenzo in Lucina in 1182. Lucius appointed him

Archbishop of Milan The Archdiocese of Milan (; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Italy which covers the areas of Milan, Monza, Lecco and Varese. It has long maintained its own Latin liturgical rite usage, the Amb ...

in 1185. Lucius III died on 25 November 1185; Cardinal Crivelli was elected that same day. The haste was probably due to fear of imperial interference.

Pontificate

Urban III vigorously took up his predecessor's quarrels with

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

Frederick I Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aa ...

, including the standing dispute about the disposal of the territories of the countess

Matilda of Tuscany Matilda of Tuscany (; or ; – 24 July 1115), or Matilda of Canossa ( ), also referred to as ("the Great Countess"), was a member of the House of Canossa (also known as the Attonids) in the second half of the eleventh century. Matilda was on ...

. This was embittered by personal enmity, for at the sack of Milan in 1162 the emperor had caused several of the pope's relatives to be proscribed or mutilated. Even after his elevation to the papacy, Urban III continued to hold the archbishopric of Milan, and in this capacity refused to crown as King of Italy Frederick I's son

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

, who had married

Constance Constance may refer to: Places * Constance, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * Constance, Minnesota, United States, an unincorporated community * Mount Constance, Washington State, United States * Lake Constance (disambiguat ...

, the heiress of the

kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily (; ; ) was a state that existed in Sicily and the southern Italian peninsula, Italian Peninsula as well as, for a time, in Kingdom of Africa, Northern Africa, from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 until 1816. It was ...

. By this marriage/bond the papacy lost that Norman support on which it had so long relied in its contests with the emperor. Urban exerted himself to bring about peace between England and France, and on 23 June 1187, his legates by threats of

excommunication 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 Koinonia, communion with other members o ...

prevented a

pitched battle A pitched battle or set-piece battle is a battle in which opposing forces each anticipate the setting of the battle, and each chooses to commit to it. Either side may have the option to disengage before the battle starts or shortly thereafter. A ...

between the armies of the rival kings near

Châteauroux Châteauroux ( ; ; ) is the capital city of the French department of Indre, central France and the second-largest town in the province of Berry, after Bourges. Its residents are called ''Castelroussins'' () in French. Climate Châteauroux te ...

, and brought about a two years' truce. While Henry in the south cooperated with the rebel

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

of Rome, his father Frederick blocked the passes of the Alps and cut off all communication between the Pope, then living in

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

, and his German adherents. Urban III now resolved on

excommunicating 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 ...

Frederick I, but the Veronese protested against such a proceeding being resorted to within their walls. He accordingly withdrew to

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

, but died before he could give effect to his intentions. He was succeeded by

Gregory VIII Pope Gregory VIII (; c. 1100/1105 – 17 December 1187), born Alberto di Morra, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States for two months in 1187. Becoming Pope after a long diplomatic career as Apostolic Chancellor, he ...

. According to the chroniclers

Ernoul Ernoul was a squire of Balian of Ibelin who wrote an eyewitness account of the fall of Jerusalem in 1187. This was later incorporated into an Old French history of Crusader states">Crusader Palestine now known as the ''Chronicle of Ernoul and Berna ...

and

Benedict of Peterborough Benedict, sometimes known as Benedictus Abbas (Latin for "Benedict the Abbot"; died 29 September 1193), was abbot of Peterborough. His name was formerly erroneously associated with the ''Gesta Henrici Regis Secundi'' and ''Gesta Regis Ricardi'', En ...

, Urban III died of shock and grief after

Joscius, Archbishop of Tyre Joscius (also Josce or Josias) (died 1202) was archbishop of Tyre in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the late 12th century. Background He was a canon and subdeacon of the church of Acre, and became bishop of Acre on November 23, 1172. He was ...

brought him news of the Christian defeat at the

Battle of Hattin The Battle of Hattin took place on 4 July 1187, between the Crusader states of the Levant and the forces of the Ayyubid sultan Saladin. It is also known as the Battle of the Horns of Hattin, due to the shape of the nearby extinct volcano of ...

. It is also commonly stated that Urban's death was caused by the news of the fall of Jerusalem, but

William of Newburgh William of Newburgh or Newbury (, ''Wilhelmus Neubrigensis'', or ''Willelmus de Novoburgo''. 1136 – 1198), also known as William Parvus, was a 12th-century English historian and Augustinian canon of Anglo-Saxon descent from Bridlington, Eas ...

assures us that the report of the disaster of Hattin (3-4 July) did not even reach the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

till after the election of Gregory VIII, so it is hardly probable that Urban III ever heard of the surrender of the Holy City, which took place on 2 October.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urban 03 1187 deaths People from Cuggiono Popes Italian popes Cardinals created by Pope Alexander III Archbishops of Milan 12th-century popes 12th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops 1120 births

Early career

Pontificate

See also

Notes