Pope Innocent III

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Not to be confused with Antipope Innocent III.

Clement III
Personal details
Born
Lotario de' Conti di Segni

22 February 1161
Gavignano, Papal States
Died16 July 1216(1216-07-16) (aged 55)
Perugia, Papal States
NationalityItalian
ParentsCount Trasimund of Segni and Claricia Scotti
Previous post(s)
Coat of armsInnocent III's coat of arms
Ordination history
History
Episcopal consecration
Consecrated byOttaviano di Paoli
Date22 February 1198
Place
Filippo of Troia
October 1214
Christian to the Prussians1215
Bonfigli of Siena10 April 1216
Silvester of Evesham3 July 1216
Other popes named Innocent

Pope Innocent III (

Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States
from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216.

Pope Innocent was one of the most powerful and influential of the medieval popes. He exerted a wide influence over the Christian states of Europe, claiming supremacy over all of Europe's kings. He was central in supporting the

Fourth Lateran Council. This resulted in a considerable refinement of Western canon law. He is furthermore notable for using interdict
and other censures to compel princes to obey his decisions, although these measures were not uniformly successful.

Innocent greatly extended the scope of the

Cathars in southern France. He organized the Fourth Crusade of 1202–1204, which ended in the sack of Constantinople. Although the attack on Constantinople went against his explicit orders, and the Crusaders were subsequently excommunicated, Innocent reluctantly accepted this result, seeing it as the will of God to reunite the Latin and Eastern Orthodox Churches. In the event, the sack of Constantinople and the subsequent period of Frankokratia heightened the hostility between the Latin and Greek churches; the Byzantine Empire was restored in 1261, albeit much weaker.[2]

Biography

Early life

Lotario de' Conti was born in

Innocent XIII. Lotario was the nephew of Pope Clement III; his mother, Clarissa Scotti (Romani de Scotti), was from the same noble Roman family.[4]

Lotario received his early education in

Benedictine abbey of St Andrea al Celio, under Peter Ismael;[5] he studied theology in Paris under the theologians Peter of Poitiers, Melior of Pisa, and Peter of Corbeil,[6] and (possibly) jurisprudence in Bologna, according to the Gesta (between 1187 and 1189).[7] As pope, Lotario was to play a major role in the shaping of canon law through conciliar canons and decretal letters.[3]

Shortly after the death of

Cardinal-Priest
under Clement III in 1191.

As a cardinal, Lotario wrote

De miseria humanae conditionis (On the Misery of the Human Condition).[8][9] The work was very popular for centuries, surviving in more than 700 manuscripts.[10] Although he never returned to the complementary work he intended to write, On the Dignity of Human Nature, Bartolomeo Facio (1400–1457) took up the task writing De excellentia ac praestantia hominis.[11]

Election to the papacy

Main article: 1198 papal election
Arms of Innocent III at Santo Spirito in Sassia, Rome

Celestine III's recent policy).[12]

Reassertion of papal power

Bulla of Innocent III

As pope, Innocent III began with a very wide sense of his responsibility and of his authority. During Innocent III's reign, the papacy was at the height of its powers. He was considered to be the most powerful person in Europe at the time.

theory of the sun and the moon.[14] His papacy asserted the absolute spiritual authority of his office, while still respecting the temporal authority of kings.[15]

There was scarcely a country in Europe over which Innocent III did not in some way or other assert the supremacy which he claimed for the papacy. He

Pedro II of Aragon he received that kingdom in vassalage and crowned him king at Rome in 1204.[3]

The Muslim recapture of

Emperor Henry VI expected his infant son Frederick to bring Germany, Italy, and Sicily under a single ruler, which would leave the Papal States exceedingly vulnerable.[3]

Henry's early death left his 3-year-old son, Frederick, as king of Sicily. Henry VI's widow,

Emeric of Hungary, in 1209.[3]

Involvement in Imperial elections

Innocent was concerned that the marriage of Henry VI and Constance of Sicily gave the Hohenstaufens a claim to all the Italian peninsula with the exception of the Papal States, which would be surrounded by Imperial territory.[15]

After the death of

Philip, Duke of Swabia, king in March 1198, whereas the princes opposed to the Staufen dynasty elected Otto, Duke of Brunswick, of the House of Welf. King Philip II of France supported Philip's claim, whereas King Richard I of England supported his nephew Otto.[16]

In 1201, the pope openly espoused the side of Otto IV, whose family had always been opposed to the house of Hohenstaufen.[17]

It is the business of the pope to look after the interests of the Roman empire, since the empire derives its origin and its final authority from the papacy; its origin, because it was originally transferred from Greece by and for the sake of the papacy; ... its final authority, because the emperor is raised to his position by the pope who blesses him, crowns him and invests him with the empire. ...Therefore, since three persons have lately been elected king by different parties, namely the youth [Frederick, son of Henry VI], Philip [of Hohenstaufen, brother of Henry VI], and Otto [of Brunswick, of the Welf family], so also three things must be taken into account in regard to each one, namely: the legality, the suitability and the expediency of his election. ...Far be it from us that we should defer to man rather than to God, or that we should fear the countenance of the powerful. ...On the foregoing grounds, then, we decide that the youth should not at present be given the empire; we utterly reject Philip for his manifest unfitness and we order his usurpation to be resisted by all ... since Otto is not only himself devoted to the church, but comes from devout ancestors on both sides, ... therefore we decree that he ought to be accepted and supported as king, and ought to be given the crown of empire, after the rights of the Roman church have been secured. "Papal Decree on the choice of a German King, 1201"[18]

The confusion in the Empire allowed Innocent to drive out the imperial feudal lords from

League of San Genesio against German imperial interests in Italy, and they placed themselves under Innocent's protection.[19]

In May 1202, Innocent issued the decree Venerabilem, addressed to the

Duke of Zähringen, in which he explained his thinking on the relation between the papacy and the Empire. This decree was afterwards embodied in the Corpus Juris Canonici
and contained the following items:

Despite papal support, Otto could not oust his rival Philip before the latter was murdered in a private feud. His rule now undisputed, Otto reneged on his earlier promises and set his sights on reestablishing Imperial power in Italy and claiming even the Kingdom of Sicily. Given the papal interest to keep Germany and Sicily apart, Innocent now supported his ward, King Frederick of Sicily, to resist Otto's advances and restore the Staufen dynasty to the Holy Roman Empire. Frederick was duly elected by the Staufen partisans.[20]

The conflict was decided by the

John of England against Philip II Augustus. Otto was defeated by the French and thereafter lost all influence. He died on 19 May 1218, leaving Frederick II the undisputed emperor. Meanwhile, King John was forced to acknowledge the Pope as his feudal lord and accept Stephen Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury.[21]
In his turn, Frederick II would later become a bitter opponent of the papacy once his empire was secure.

Feudal power over Europe

Innocent III played further roles in the politics of Norway,[22] France, Sweden, Bulgaria, Spain and England.[21] At the request of England's King John, Pope Innocent III declared Magna Carta annulled, which resulted in a rebellion by the English barons who rejected the disenfranchisement.[23]

Crusades and suppression of heresy

Fourth Crusade

Pope Innocent III spent a majority of his tenure as Pope (1198–1216) preparing for a great crusade on the

Post miserabile in 1198.[24][25] Unlike past popes, Innocent III displayed interest in leading the crusade himself, rather than simply instigating it and allowing secular leaders to organize the expedition according to their own aspirations.[26]

Innocent III's first order of business in preaching the crusade was to send missionaries to every Catholic state to endorse the campaign. He sent

Boniface, marquis of Montferrat. The pope's calls to action were not received with as much enthusiasm in England or Germany, and the expedition became mainly a French affair.[27]

The Fourth Crusade was an expensive endeavor. Innocent III chose to raise funds with a new approach: requiring all clergy to donate one fortieth of their income. This marked the first time a pope ever imposed a direct tax on the clergy. He faced many difficulties in collecting this tax, including corrupt tax collectors and disregard in England. He also sent envoys to King John of England and King Philip of France, who pledged to contribute to the campaign,[citation needed] and John also declared his support for the clerical tax in his kingdom. The crusaders too contributed funds: Innocent declared that those who took the crusader's vow, but could no longer fulfill it, could be released by a contribution of funds. The pope put Archbishop Hubert Walter in charge of collecting these dues.[26][28]

At the onset of the crusade, the intended destination was Egypt, as the Christians and Muslims were under a truce at the time.

Alexios IV. This diversion was taken without any knowledge by Innocent III, and he did not learn of it until after the city had been plundered.[30]

Innocent III was heavily opposed to the attack on Constantinople and sent many letters warning the crusaders to not sack the city. Innocent III excommunicated the crusaders who attacked Byzantine cities, but was unable to physically halt or overturn their actions. The attack on Constantinople led to the start of the Latin Empire's rule of Constantinople, which lasted for the next sixty years.[31]

Albigensian Crusade

Innocent launched the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars.

Pope Innocent III was also a zealous protector of the Catholic faith and a strenuous opponent of heresy. His chief activity was turned against the

Peter of Castelnau
and Raoul.

When, however, these missionaries were ridiculed and despised by the Albigenses, and the papal legate Castelnau was assassinated in 1208, Innocent resorted to force. He ordered the bishops of Southern France to put under interdict the participants in the murder and all the towns that gave shelter to them. He was especially incensed against

Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius",[33][34]
which translates as: "Slay them all, God will recognize his own." This statement is often cited as "Kill them all and let God sort them out."

The Albigensian Crusade led to the deaths of approximately 20,000 men, women and children, Cathar and Catholic alike, decimating the number of practising Cathars and diminishing the region's distinct culture.[26] The conflict took on a political flavor, directed not only against the heretics, but also the nobility of Toulouse and vassals of the Crown of Aragon, and finally brought the region firmly under the control of the king of France. King Peter II of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, was directly involved in the conflict, and was killed in the course of the Battle of Muret in 1213. The conflict largely ended with the Treaty of Paris of 1229, in which the integration of the Occitan territory in the French crown was agreed upon.

Francis of Assisi

In 1209,

Franciscan Order. The group, then the "Lesser Brothers" (Order of Friars Minor also known as the Franciscan Order), preached on the streets and had no possessions. They were centered in Porziuncola and preached first in Umbria, before expanding throughout Italy.[37]

Other religious orders

The lesser religious orders which Pope Innocent III approved are the Hospitallers of the Holy Ghost on 23 April 1198, the Trinitarians on 17 December 1198, and the Humiliati, in June 1201.

Fourth Council of the Lateran

Tomb of Pope Innocent III at Saint John Lateran basilica

On 15 November 1215, Pope Innocent III convened the Fourth Lateran Council which was considered to be the most important Church council of the Middle Ages. By its conclusion, it issued seventy reformatory decrees. Among other things, it encouraged creating schools and holding clergy to a higher standard than the laity. Canon 18 forbade clergymen to participate in the practice of the judicial ordeal, effectively banning its use.[38]

In order to define fundamental doctrines, the council reviewed the nature of the

Holy Eucharist, the ordered annual confession of sins, and prescribed detailed procedures for the election of bishops. The council also mandated a strict lifestyle for clergy. Canon 68 states: Jews and Muslims shall wear a special dress to enable them to be distinguished from Christians so that no Christian shall come to marry them ignorant of who they are.[39] Canon 69 forbade "that Jews be given preferment in public office since this offers them the pretext to vent their wrath against the Christians."[40] It assumes that Jews blaspheme Christ, and therefore, as it would be "too absurd for a blasphemer of Christ to exercise power over Christians",[41]
Jews should not be appointed to public offices.

Death and legacy

U.S. House of Representatives

The Council had set the beginning of the Fifth Crusade for 1217, under the direct leadership of the Church. After the Council, in the spring of 1216, Innocent moved to northern Italy in an attempt to reconcile the maritime cities of Pisa and Genoa by removing the excommunication cast over Pisa by his predecessor Celestine III and concluding a pact with Genoa.[42]

Innocent III, however, died suddenly at

cathedral of Perugia, where his body remained until Pope Leo XIII had it transferred to the Lateran in December 1891.[3]

Innocent is one of two popes (the other being

U.S. House of Representatives in honor of their influence on the development of American law.[44] Polish–American sculptor Joseph Kiselewski created the likeness of Innocent in the House in 1951.[45]

Works

His Latin works include De miseria humanae conditionis, a tract on asceticism that Innocent III wrote before becoming pope, and De sacro altaris mysterio, a description and exegesis of the liturgy.[9]

  • "On Heresy: Letter to the Archbishop of Auch, 1198"
  • "On Usury: Letter to the French bishops, 1198"
  • "On Church Independence/Tithes: Letter to a bishop, 1198"
  • "On the crusade and Trade with Saracens: Letter to the Venetians, 1198"
  • "On Jews: Decree of 1199"[18]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Pope Innocent III (Lotario dei conti di Segni) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  2. ^ Moore 2003, pp. 102–134.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Ott, Michael (1910). "Pope Innocent III". Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 6 January 2021 – via New Advent.
  4. ^ Williams 1998, p. 25.
  5. ^ Jane Sayers, Innocent III: Leader of Europe 1199–1216 London 1994, p. 17
  6. ^ Jane Sayers, Innocent III: Leader of Europe 1199–1216 London 1994, p. 18
  7. ^ Jane Sayers, Innocent III: Leader of Europe 1199–1216 London 1994, p. 21
  8. OL 21246851M
    .
  9. ^
    JSTOR 25021212
    .
  10. ^ "Lotario Dei Continue Dei Segni [Pope Innocent III], De miseria humanae conditionis [On the Misery of Human Condition] In Latin, manuscript on parchment likely Italy, c. 1250" (PDF). Les Enluminures, Ltd. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
  11. ISBN 978-0521397483
    . Retrieved 17 February 2010 – via Google Books.
  12. ^ See Julien Théry-Astruc, "Introduction", in Innocent III et le Midi (Cahiers de Fanjeaux, 50), Toulouse, Privat, 2015, pp. 11–35, at pp. 13–14.
  13. ^ Civilization in the West, Kishlansky, Geary, O'Brien, Volume A to 1500, Seventh Edition, p. 278
  14. ^ Medieval Sourcebook: Innocent III: Letters on Papal Polices. Fordham.edu
  15. ^
    ISBN 978-0230512238
  16. ^ Comyn, p. 275
  17. ^ Bryce, p. 206
  18. ^ a b Medieval Sourcebook: Innocent III: Letters on Papal Polices. Fordham.edu
  19. ^ a b Comyn, p. 277
  20. ^ "Innocent, III". Encyclopedia of World Biography. 1998 – via Gale. (registration required)
  21. ^
    ISBN 0-8132-0783-5
  22. ^ "Diplomatarium Norvegicum". www.dokpro.uio.no.
  23. ^ "Magna Carta: people and society". British Library. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  24. ^ Packard, Sidney Raymond (1927). Europe and the Church under Innocent III. New York: H. Holt.
  25. ^ Innocent III, Pope (1969). On the Misery of the Human Condition. De Miseria Humane Conditionis, trans. Donald Roy Howard. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill.
  26. ^ a b c d Cheney, Christopher R. (1976). Innocent III and England. Stuttgart: Anton Hiersemann.
  27. ^ a b Clayton, Joseph (1941). Pope Innocent III and His Times. Milwaukee: Bruce Pub.
  28. ^ Migne, Jacques Paul (1849–1855). Patrologia Latina. Vol. 214–217. Paris: S.I.
  29. ^ Villhardouin, Geoffrey De (1908). Memoirs or Chronicle of the Fourth Crusade and The Conquest of Constantinople, trans. Frank T. Marzials. London: J.M. Dent.
  30. ^ Elliott-Binns, Leonard (1931). Innocent III. Hamden, Conn: Archon.
  31. ^ Roscher, Helmut (1969). Papst Innocenz III. Und Die Kreuzzuge. Gottingen: Vandenhoeck U. Ruprecht.
  32. ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Pope Innocent III". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  33. ^ "Dialogus Miraculorum". Archived from the original on 20 February 2012.
  34. ^ Berlioz, Jacques (1994). "Tuez-les tous, Dieu reconnaîtra les siens" – La croisade contre les Albigeois vue par Césaire de Heisterbach. Portet-sur-Garonne: Éditions Loubatières.
  35. ^ St. Francis of Assisi by G.K. Chesterton (1924), pp. 107–108
  36. ^ Galli (2002), pp. 74–80
  37. ^ Robinson, Paschal. "St. Francis of Assisi." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 16 December 2018
  38. ^ "Pennington, Kenneth. "The Fourth Lateran Council, its Legislation, and the Development of Legal Procedure", CUA" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  39. ^ "Church Councils – JewishEncyclopedia.com". www.jewishencyclopedia.com. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  40. ^ "Medieval Sourcebook: Twelfth Ecumenical Council: Lateran IV 1215". Fordham.edu. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  41. ^ "Lateran 4 – 1215". Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  42. ^ "School of Theology". Sthweb.bu.edu. 2 September 2009. Archived from the original on 3 July 2009. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  43. ^ Moore 2003, p. 288.
  44. ^ "Innocent III". Architect of the Capitol. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  45. ^ "Sculpture". Joseph Kiselewski. Retrieved 19 April 2023.

Sources

Further reading

  • Kendall, Keith. "'Mute Dogs, Unable to Bark': Innocent III's Call to Combat Heresy." In Medieval Church Law and the Origins of the Western Legal Tradition: A Tribute to Kenneth Pennington, edited by Wolfgang P. Müller and Mary E. Sommar, 170–178. Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 2006.
  • Kendall, Keith. "Sermons of Pope Innocent III: The 'Moral Theology' of a Pastor and Pope." PhD diss., University of Syracuse, 2003.
  • Phillips, Walter Alison (1911). "Innocent/Innocent III" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 14 (11th ed.). pp. 578–579.

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Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Celestine III
 Pope
1198–1216 		Succeeded by
Honorius III
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