The 1181 papal election followed the death of Pope Alexander III and resulted in the election of Pope Lucius III. This was the first papal election celebrated in accordance with the decree Licet de evitanda discordia, promulgated in the Third Lateran Council in 1179, which established that the pope is elected by a majority of two thirds votes.

Papal election
1181
Dates and location
1 September 1181
Rome
Key officials
DeanUbaldo Allucingoli
Sub-deanKonrad von Wittelsbach
ProtopriestAlberto di Morra
ProtodeaconGiacinto Bobone Orsini
Elected pope
Ubaldo Allucingoli
Name taken: Lucius III
← 1159
1185 →

Licet de evitanda discordia

edit

The contested papal election, 1159, which resulted in the election of Pope Alexander III and Antipope Victor IV (1159–1164), created a schism in the Catholic Church that lasted almost twenty years (until 1178). In 1159 the cardinals were unable to achieve consensus, though an electoral compact had set that as its goal.[1] The cardinals had been divided into two parties, those who favored the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and those who favored William I of Sicily, and each of them elected their own pope. In August 1178 Antipope Callixtus III, the successor of Victor IV, finally submitted to Alexander III.[2] In the following year Alexander III celebrated the Third Lateran Council, which promulgated the decree Licet de evitanda discordia.[3] To avoid schism in the future, the decree established that the pope is elected with the majority of two thirds of the cardinals, if unanimity cannot be achieved.[4] It confirmed also that the cardinals are the sole electors of the pope.[5]

Election of Lucius III

edit

Pope Alexander III died on August 30, 1181, in Civita Castellana.[6] Two days later, on September 1, 1181, the cardinals assembled at Rome (probably at Lateran or Vatican Basilica)[7] and unanimously elected the senior member of the Sacred College, Cardinal Ubaldo of Lucca, Bishop of Ostia. He took the name Lucius III. On September 6, 1181, he was crowned by Cardinal Teodino of Porto at Velletri.[8]

Cardinal-electors

edit

There were probably 27 cardinals in the Sacred College of Cardinals in 1181.[9] Based on the examination of the subscriptions of the papal bulls in 1181[10] and the available data about the external missions of the cardinals it is possible to establish that no more than 19 cardinals participated in the election:

Elector Place of birth Cardinalatial title Elevated Elevator Notes
Ubaldo Allucingoli Lucca Bishop of Ostia December 16, 1138 Innocent II Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals
Theodinus Arrone, Tuscany Bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina December 18, 1165 Alexander III
Paolo Scolari Rome Bishop of Palestrina September 21, 1179 Alexander III Archpriest of the patriarchal Liberian Basilica; future Pope Clement III (1187–1191)
Alberto di Morra, C.R. Benevento Priest of S. Lorenzo in Lucina
and Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church
December 21, 1156 Adrian IV Protopriest; future Pope Gregory VIII (1187)
Joannes Anagninus
(Giovanni dei Conti di Anagni)
Anagni Priest of S. Marco 1158/1159 Adrian IV Future bishop of Palestrina (1190–1196)
Cinthius Capellus[11] Rome (?) Priest of S. Cecilia March 14, 1158 Adrian IV nephew of Innocent II
Pietro de Bono, Can.Reg. Rome Priest of S. Susanna March 18, 1166 Alexander III
Uguccione Pierleoni Rome Priest of S. Clemente March 2, 1173 Alexander III Relative of Anacletus II (1130–1138)
Laborans de Pontormo Pontormo near Florence Priest of S. Maria in Trastevere September 21, 1173 Alexander III
Viviano Orvieto (?) Priest of S. Stefano in Monte Celio March 7, 1175 Alexander III
Ardoino da Piacenza, Can.Reg. Piacenza Priest of S. Croce in Gerusalemme June 2, 1178 Alexander III
Matthieu d’Anjou Angers Priest of S. Marcello December 22, 1178 Alexander III
Giacinto Bobone Rome Deacon of S. Maria in Cosmedin December 22, 1144 Lucius II Protodeacon; future Pope Celestine III (1191–1198)
Ardicio Rivoltella Piadena (Platina) near Cremona Deacon of S. Teodoro December 21, 1156 Adrian IV
Rainiero da Pavia Pavia Deacon of S. Giorgio in Velabro June 6, 1175 Alexander III
Matteo, Can.Reg. Unknown (possibly Rome) Deacon of S. Maria Nuova March 4, 1178 Alexander III
Graziano da Pisa Pisa Deacon of SS. Sergio e Bacco March 4, 1178 Alexander III Nephew of Pope Eugene III
Rainier Unknown Deacon of S. Adriano September 22, 1178 Alexander III
Giovanni Unknown Deacon of S. Angelo in Pescheria September 22, 1178 Alexander III

Thirteen electors were created by Pope Alexander III, four by Pope Adrian IV, one by Pope Innocent II and one by Lucius II.

Absentee cardinals

edit
Elector Place of birth Cardinalatial title Elevated Elevator Notes
Konrad von Wittelsbach Bavaria Bishop of Sabina and Archbishop of Salzburg December 18, 1165 Alexander III Subdean of the Sacred College of Cardinals; external cardinal[12]
Henri de Marsiac, O.Cist. Château de Marcy, France Bishop of Albano March 1179 Alexander III Papal legate in France[13]
Pietro da Pavia, Can.Reg. Pavia or France Bishop of Tusculum September 21, 1173 Aleksander III Papal legate in France and Germany; archbishop-elect of Bourges[14]
Giovanni da Napoli, Can.Reg. Naples Priest of S. Anastasia September 21, 1150 Eugenius III Papal legate in Constantinople[15]
Ruggiero di San Severino, O.S.B.Cas. San Severino Priest of S. Eusebio and Archbishop of Benevento Circa 1178-1180 Alexander III External cardinal[16]
Guillaume aux Blanches Mains France Priest of S. Sabina and Archbishop of Reims March 1179 Alexander III External cardinal[17]
Simeone Borelli, O.S.B.Cas. Campagna Deacon of S. Maria in Domnica Circa 1157 Adrian IV Abbot of Subiaco (external cardinal)[18]
Leonato de Manoppello, O.S.B. Manoppello (?) Deacon of the Holy Roman Church March 21, 1170 Alexander III Abbot of S. Clemente in Casauria; external cardinal[19]

Notes

edit
  1. ^ This, at any rate, is what Cardinal Ymarus, the leader of the imperial party wrote (Watterich II, pp. 462–463): "In nomine Domini Amen. Convenerunt episcopi, presbyteri, diaconi cardinales sanctae Romanae ecclesiae et promiserunt sibi invicem in verbo veritatis, quod de electione futuri Pontificis tractabunt secundum consuetudinem istius ecclesiae, scilicet quod segregentur aliquae personae de eisdem fratribus, qui audiant voluntatem singulorum et diligenter inquirant et fideliter describant, et, si Deus dederit, quod concorditer possimus convenire, bene; sin autem, nullus procedat sine communi consensu et hoc observetur sine fraude et malo ingenio."
  2. ^ Antipope Innocent III, elected in September 1179 and deposed in January 1180, was of little importance; cf. Jaffé, p. 431.
  3. ^ Latin text in: J.D. Mansi (ed.), Sacrorum conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, editio novissima, Tomus XXII (Venice: A. Zatta 1778), pp. 217-218.
  4. ^ Robinson, pp. 84-85
  5. ^ Robinson, pp. 40-41. Carl Joseph Hefele, Histoire des conciles (in French) Tome V, deuxième partie (Paris: Letouzey 1913), pp. 1087-1089.
  6. ^ Jaffé, p. 418
  7. ^ Gregorovius, p. 609: "Lucius III, Ubaldo Allucingoli of Lucca, hitherto Cardinal-bishop of Ostia and Velletri, was not even elected in Rome, but was raised to the Papacy by the College of Cardinals assembled at Velletri, and was ordained on September 6, 1181. After an agreement with the Romans he came to the city in November, and was allowed to remain some months."
  8. ^ Jaffé, p. 432; Regesta Imperii: Abteilung IV. Band 4, 1 – Papstregesten 1181–1184, no. 1 Archived 2009-07-17 at the Wayback Machine [dead link]
  9. ^ Reconstruction of the membership of the Sacred College is based on Brixius, p. 26 note 8. Brixius listed only 25 cardinals, but two additional are mentioned by Ganzer, pp. 102-104 no. 42 and pp. 119-121 no. 48
  10. ^ Jaffé, pp. 145-146 and 431-432; Regesta Imperii – Liste der Kardinalsunterschriften unter Lucius III.
  11. ^ Kartusch, p. 118.
  12. ^ Ganzer, pp. 104-114 no. 43
  13. ^ Robinson, pp. 165 and 242; he did not subscribe any papal bulls between December 8, 1179 and November 20, 1182. Jaffé, p. 145; Regesta Imperii – Liste der Kardinalsunterschriften unter Lucius III.
  14. ^ Ganzer, pp. 123-125 no. 50
  15. ^ Brixius, pp. 55-56 no. 15; he did not subscribe any papal bulls after July 3, 1179.
  16. ^ Ganzer, pp. 129-131 no. 52
  17. ^ Ganzer, pp. 125-129 no. 51
  18. ^ Ganzer, pp.102-104 no. 42
  19. ^ Ganzer, pp. 119-121 no. 48

Sources

edit
  • Adams, John Paul (2011). "Sede Vacante 1181". California State University Northridge. Retrieved: 10 February 2022.
  • Brixius, Johannes Matthias (1912). Die Mitglieder des Kardinalkollegiums von 1130-1181 (in German). Berlin: R. Trenkel.
  • Ganzer, Klaus (1963). Die Entwicklung des auswärtigen Kardinalats im hohen Mittelalter. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des Kardinalkollegiums vom 11.bis 13. Jahrhundert. Bibliothek des Deutschen Historischen Instituts in Rom (in German). Tübingen: Max Niemeyer Verlag.
  • Kartusch, Elfriede (1948). Das Kardinalskollegium in der Zeit von 1181–1227 (in German). Wien.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Regesta Imperii (in German). Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, Mainz. 2006–2009.