Pope Alexander III

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Cardinal-Priest of San Marco (1151–59)
Other popes named Alexander

Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland (Italian: Rolando), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181.

A native of

Frederick I Barbarossa, claimed the papacy. Alexander rejected Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos' offer to end the East–West Schism, sanctioned the Northern Crusades, and held the Third Council of the Lateran. The city of Alessandria in Piedmont
is named after him.

Early life and career

Rolando was born in

Pierre Abélard, but John T. Noonan and Rudolf Weigand have shown this to be another Rolandus.[2][3]

Rolando probably studied at Bologna, where

papal vassal, resulting in a serious diplomatic incident.[8]

Disputed election

Main article: 1159 papal election

Pope Adrian IV died 1 September 1159.

Victor IV and became Frederick's antipope.[10]

By 1160, faced with a papal schism, Alexander, and Victor, were summoned by Emperor Frederick to a council in Pavia.[11] Alexander refused, stating a pope can only be judged by God.[12] The council of Pavia met from 5 to 11 February and recognized Victor IV's election as pope.[13] On 13 February, Victor IV excommunicated Alexander.[14] Upon receiving the news on 24 March 1160, Alexander, who was at Anagni, excommunicated both Victor and Frederick.[14]

In 1161, King Géza II of Hungary signed an agreement and recognised Alexander III as the rightful pope and declared that the supreme spiritual leader was the only one who could exercise the rite of investiture.[15] This meant that Alexander's legitimacy was gaining strength, as soon proved by the fact that other monarchs, such as the king of France and King Henry II of England, recognized his authority. Because of imperial strength in Italy, Alexander was forced to reside outside Rome for a large part of his pontificate.[4] When news reached him of the death of Victor in 1164, he openly wept, and scolded the cardinals in his company for rejoicing at the end of the rival antipope.[16]

However, the dispute between Alexander III,

Victor IV, he was freed by Oddone Frangipane, who sent him to safety in the Campania. Alexander again left Rome in 1167, travelling first to Benevento and later moving to various strongholds such as those of Anagni, Palestrina, Ferentino, Tusculum, and Veroli.[4]

Pontificate

Politics

Bulla of Alexander III.

Alexander III was the first pope known to have paid direct attention to missionary activities east of the Baltic Sea. He had created the

Fulco as a bishop in Estonia. In 1171, Alexander became the first pope to address the situation of the Church in Finland, with Finns allegedly harassing priests and only relying on God in time of war.[18] In the bull Non parum animus noster, in 1171 or 1172, he gave papal sanction to ongoing crusades against pagans in northern Europe, promising remission of sin for those who fought there. In doing so, he legitimized the widespread use of forced conversion as a tactic by those fighting in the Baltic.[19]

In 1166, Alexander received an embassy from the

Great Schism of the eastern and western churches if Alexander would recognize him as emperor. As emperor, Manuel would supply the pope with men and money to restore his authority in Italy. Alexander gave an evasive answer, but in 1168 he rejected outright the same proposal from a second Byzantine embassy. His stated reason amounted to it being too difficult. He appears to have feared Byzantine domination of Italy if the pope owed his position to its support.[20][21]

Besides checkmating Barbarossa, Alexander humbled King Henry II of England for the murder of

canonizing Becket in 1173.[22] This was the second English saint canonized by Alexander, the first being Edward the Confessor in 1161.[22] Nonetheless, he confirmed the position of Henry as Lord of Ireland
in 1172.

Manifestis Probatum.

Through the

King of Portugal – an important step in the process of Portugal becoming a recognized independent kingdom. Afonso had been using the title of king since 1139.[23]

Efforts at reform

Alexander III depicted in a fresco by Spinello Aretino (before 1410, Palazzo Pubblico in Siena)

Even as a fugitive, Alexander enjoyed the favour and protection of Louis VII of France.[citation needed]

In 1163 Alexander summoned clergy and prelates from England, France, Italy, and Spain to the Council of Tours to address, among other things, the unlawful division of ecclesiastical benefices, clerical usury, and lay possession of tithes.[4]

In March 1179, Alexander III held the Third Council of the Lateran, one of the most important mediaeval church councils, reckoned by the Catholic Church as the eleventh ecumenical council. Its acts embodied several of the Pope's proposals for the betterment of the condition of the Church, among them the law requiring that no one could be elected pope without the votes of two-thirds of the cardinals.[24] The rule was altered slightly in 1996, but was restored in 2007. The period from 1177, which saw the submission of both emperor Frederick and anti-pope Calixtus III, and this synod/council marked the summit of Alexander III's power.[25]

Nevertheless, soon after the close of the synod, the

William I of Scotland and put the kingdom under an interdict.[26]

Ecclesial activities

Main article: Cardinals created by Alexander III
The tomb of Pope Alexander III in the Basilica of Saint John Lateran

Throughout his pontificate, Alexander III elevated 68 cardinals in fifteen consistories which included two of his successors,

a cardinal
whom he would later canonize as a saint.

Alexander III beatified no one during his papacy but he did canonize ten saints which included notable figures of the age such as Bernard of Clairvaux and Thomas Becket.

Death

He died at Civita Castellana on 30 August 1181. It was one week short of twenty-two years since his election, the longest papacy since Adrian I in the 8th century.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ He was an exiled son of Prince Robert II of Capua and was the namesake of his grandfather, Prince Jordan II.

References

  • Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Pope Alexander III" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  •  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Alexander (popes)". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  1. ISBN 978-3-7001-0660-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )
  2. ISBN 978-0-8122-7726-5
    .
  3. ISBN 3-8051-0272-0
    .
  4. ^ a b c d Pennington, Kenneth. "Pope Alexander III", The Great Popes through History: An Encyclopedia, (Frank J. Coppa, ed.), Westport: Greenwood Press, (2002) 1.113-122 Archived 5 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ a b Loughlin, James. "Pope Alexander III." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 27 July 2015
  6. ^ J. P. Adams, Sede Vacante 1159, retrieved: 18 March 2017.
  7. ISBN 978-0521319225
    .
  8. ^ John B. Freed (2016), Frederick Barbarossa: The Prince and the Myth, Yale University Press, pp. 201–214.
  9. ^ Duggan 2016, p. 17.
  10. ^ a b Logan 2002, p. 135.
  11. ^ Morris 1989, p. 194.
  12. ^ Suger 2018, p. 178.
  13. ^ Freed 2016, p. 266.
  14. ^ a b Freed 2016, p. 267.
  15. ^ Bodri Ferenc: Lukács érsek és kora. Kossuth, 2003
  16. ^ The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church-Momticelli; S. Miranda
  17. ISBN 9780888448170
    .
  18. ^ "Letter by Pope Alexander III to the Archbishop of Uppsala" (in Latin). National Archives of Finland. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
  19. ISBN 978-0140266535
    .
  20. ISBN 978-0-7546-6288-4
    .
  21. ISBN 978-90-04-09777-3
    .
  22. ^
    ISBN 978-1-903153-17-8
    .
  23. ISBN 9780415302340
    .
  24. ISBN 9780814657034
    .
  25. ISBN 8171091814
    .
  26. ISBN 978-0786440382
    .

Sources

  • Duggan, Anne J. (2016). "Alexander ille meus: The Papacy of Alexander III". In Duggan, Anne J.; Clarke, Peter D. (eds.). Pope Alexander III (1159–81): The Art of Survival. Routledge. pp. 13–50.
  • Freed, John (2016). Frederick Barbarossa: The Prince and the Myth. Yale University Press.
  • Logan, F Donald (2002). A History of the Church in the Middle Ages. Routledge.
  • Morris, Colin (1989). The Papal Monarchy: The Western Church from 1050 to 1250. Oxford University Press.
  • Suger (2018). Selected Works of Abbot Suger of Saint Denis. Translated by Cusimano, Richard; Whitmore, Eric. The Catholic University of America Press.


Further reading

Wikisource has original works by or about:
Alexander III
Wikiquote has quotations related to Pope Alexander III.
  • Myriam Soria Audebert, "Pontifical Propaganda during the Schisms: Alexander III to the reconquest of Church Unity", in Convaincre et persuader: Communication et propagande aux XII et XIIIe siècles. Ed. par Martin Aurell. Poitiers: Université de Poitiers-centre d'études supérieures de civilisation médiévale, 2007,
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Adrian IV
 Pope
1159–1181 		Succeeded by
Lucius III
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