Nicholas III (Pope)

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Contemporary representation of Nicholas III. in the chapel of Sancta Sanctorum , on the Lateran.
Ivory medallion from Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral depicting Pope Nicholas III. (18th century)

Nicholas III , originally Giovanni Gaetano Orsini (* between 1210 and 1220 in Rome , † August 22, 1280 in Soriano nel Cimino ), was Pope from November 25, 1277 until his death in 1280 .

Life

Gian Gaetano Orsini was the son of the Roman senator Matteo Rosso Orsini and the Perna Gaetani from the influential Orsini family . He began his career in 1241 with his appointment as a Roman senator by Gregory IX. In 1244, it appointed Innocent IV. To cardinal deacon with the title Diakonie San Nicola in Carcere Tulliano . As a confidante of the Pope, he accompanied Innocent IV in his exile in Lyon on the escape from Emperor Friedrich II.

The cardinal played a key role in the college of cardinals for a long time until he was finally elected Pope in Viterbo in 1277 after a six-month conclave , as the first city Roman in 80 years.

Previously, Nicholas III. Since 1262 Urban IV. appointed head of the papal inquisition , shortly afterwards in 1263 at the request of Bonaventure and the Franciscan General Chapter also protector of the Franciscan order and the Poor Clares . He had previously negotiated the case of the Franciscan Minister General John of Parma . His Franciscan influence certainly came not least from his father, who was a Franciscan tertiary .

During his pontificate , Nicholas III. Orsini presented a definitive explanation of the Franciscan rule on usus pauper , which did not meet with approval from all Franciscans: The spiritual leader of the Franciscan spirituals, Petrus Johannis Olivi, refused to accept the definition of Nicholas III. to deviate; on the other hand, so-called Vaticinien were published at the turn of the 13th to the 14th century , which the Franciscans before the interpretations of Nicholas III. Orsini should warn.

Nicholas was an opponent of Charles I of Sicily and tried to reduce his influence on Italy. That is why he refused him the extension of the Roman senatorship. On September 16, 1278, after ten years, King Charles resigned from this senatorial position. The Pope himself took on this office first as a private person and then left it to his brother. Even Rudolf I of Habsburg broke him against a promise that he Gregory X had given, namely the renewal of all donations since the Emperor Louis the Pious . In addition, Pope Nicholas knew how to thwart King Charles's plans to conquer Byzantium during his pontificate.

The power and enrichment of his house Orsini were even more important to Pope Nicholas than church and religion. His main concern was to increase his fame and property. Also, he sought his many nephews in a consolidated Kirchenstaat knowing supplied. At the time of the death of this Pope, Dante was already fifteen years old and had therefore consciously witnessed his pontificate. Therefore, he dedicated the entire 19th Canto of the Inferno in his work Divine Comedy and condemned him in it.

In 1280 Nicholas III succumbed. a stroke and found his final resting place in St. Peter in Rome. His corpse did not come to rest, however; so his sarcophagus is only there in remains today. The Pope himself was reburied in an early Christian sarcophagus; the original lid now rests on another papal tomb.

Despite his only three-year pontificate, Nicholas III. Significant initiator of a series of restoration work on Roman churches and the creation of lines of images of the Popes in Saint Peter, Saint John Lateran and Saint Paul Outside the Walls , only the latter of which still exists today. He also had extensions to the Vatican palace built and founded the Vatican gardens . He also drove work on Santa Maria sopra Minerva . The only completely preserved work from his pontificate is the Sancta Sanctorum chapel . The Passetto di Borgo , the corridor that leads from the Vatican to Castel Sant'Angelo , was laid out under him .

In addition, he promoted the return of art to ancient Roman origins: He was a sponsor of Pietro Cavallini , whose painting prepared Giotto's art .

See also

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literature

Web links

Commons : Nicholas III.  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
predecessor Office successor
John XXI. Pope
1277-1280 		Martin IV.
personal data
SURNAME Nicholas III
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Giovanni Gaetano Orsini (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Pope
DATE OF BIRTH between 1210 and 1220
PLACE OF BIRTH Rome
DATE OF DEATH 22nd August 1280
Place of death Soriano nel Cimino