Gregory VIII (antipope)

Gregory VIII., Depiction in Schedel's world chronicle

Maurice Bourdin (also Mauritius Burdinus ) († 1137 in La Cava / Lower Italy ) was from 1118 to 1121 as Gregory VIII. Antipope to the Popes Gelasius II. And Calixt II. He is from the eponymous Gregory VIII. (Albertus de Morra) to differ, who briefly officiated as regular Pope from October 25, 1187 to December 17, 1187. The name Gregory means: the vigilant (Greek / Latin.). His opponents ridiculed him as Burdinus , the "little donkey".

Life

Maurice, whose year of birth is not known, was a monk in the Cluniac order under the Latinized form of his name Mauritius . In 1099 he became Bishop of Coimbra in Portugal , and in 1109 Archbishop of Braga . He lost a power struggle against Bernardo von Cluny, the powerful Archbishop of Toledo , and then traveled to Rome to protect his rights. There he got into a dispute with Pope Paschal II , which is why he joined the imperial party, although Emperor Heinrich V was banned at the time .

After the death of Paschal II, Gelasius II was elected without prior notice to the emperor. Henry V, who refused to accept this, hurried to Rome and forced Gelasius II to flee. An understanding between the emperor and Gelasius II failed, especially in the investiture dispute , which was at its height at the time . Then Henry V had Maurice elected Pope on March 8, 1118, who took the name Gregory VIII. Gelasius II died the following year on January 29, 1119 in the French Abbey of Cluny . The curial party chose Calixt II as his successor, who renewed the curse against the emperor and the antipope and was able to move into Rome in 1120 . Gregory VIII fled, but was imprisoned in Sutri in April 1121 and extradited to Calixt II on April 22nd. He had Gregor led through Rome in a shameful procession , sitting backwards on a camel and clad in only one skin, in order to humiliate him.

Maurice Bourdin spent the rest of his life in varying dungeons, including in the Septasolium . He died a prisoner in 1137.

literature

• Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz :  Gregor VIII. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 2, Bautz, Hamm 1990, ISBN 3-88309-032-8 , Sp. 315-316.
• Maria Teresa Nobre Veloso: D. Maurício, monge de Cluny, bispo de Coimbra, peregrino na Terra Santa . In: Estudos em Homenagem ao Professor Doutor José Marques . Universade do Porto, Porto 2006, ISBN 972-8932-07-3 , Vol. 4, pp. 125-136.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Maria Teresa Nobre Veloso: D. Maurício, monge de Cluny, bispo de Coimbra, peregrino na Terra Santa . In: Estudos em Homenagem ao Professor Doutor José Marques . Porto 2006, Vol. 4, pp. 125-136, here p. 126.
2. ^ Gregorovius: History of the city of Rome in the Middle Ages
3. ↑ Johannes Laudage : Rome and the papacy in the early 12th century . In: Klaus Herbers (ed.): Europe at the turn of the 11th to the 12th century. Contributions in honor of Werner Goez . Steiner, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-515-07752-9 , S, 23-53, here p. 34.