Election of the Pope in 1277
The papal election of 1277 (May 30th - November 25th), which took place after the death of Pope John XXI. The Papi di Viterbo was convened in the Palazzo was the smallest papal election since the extension of the right to vote to cardinal priests and cardinal deacons with only seven cardinals voting. Because John XXI Ubi periculum , the papal bull of Pope Gregory X , who founded the papal conclave , had revoked with his own bull Licet felicis recordationis , the cardinal voters could take their time. After six months of deliberation, they finally elected their highest-ranking member Giovanni Gaetano Orsini as Pope Nicholas III. From the end of the election to the first consistory of Nicholas III. on March 12, 1278, the number of cardinals alive - seven - was the lowest in the history of the Roman Catholic Church.
method
Initially, the cardinals met only once a day to vote and returned to their respective apartments after the ballot. For two months the vote was uneventful, with the French and Roman cardinals evenly divided. Cardinal Alatri, the only non-Roman Italian, voted with the French, while the French Bertrand de Saint-Martin remained neutral.
After six months, the impatient magistrates of Viterbo locked the cardinals in the town hall. After his election, Nicholas III. with his administration back to Rome.
Eligible voters
The seven cardinals were evenly divided between three followers of Charles of Anjou and three cardinals from prominent Roman families who opposed Charles's interests in Italy, plus there was an undetermined cardinal.
cardinal | origin | fraction | Rank and cardinal title | Appointed on | by | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bertrand de Saint-Martin | France | neutral | Cardinal Bishop of Sabina | June 3, 1273 | Gregor X. | Cardinal Dean |
Anchero Pantaleone | France | Anjou | Cardinal Priest of Santa Prassede | May 22, 1262 | Urban IV. | Cardinal proto-priests ; Cardinal deposit |
Guillaume de Bray | France | Anjou | Cardinal Priest of San Marco | May 22, 1262 | Urban IV. | Chamberlain of the Holy College of Cardinals |
Giovanni Gaetano Orsini | Rome | Rome | Cardinal Deacon of San Nicola in Carcere | May 28, 1244 | Innocent IV. |
Cardinal Protodeacon , Inquisitor General, Cardinal Protector of the Franciscan Order , Pope Nicholas III. |
Giacomo Savelli | Rome | Rome | Cardinal Deacon of Santa Maria in Cosmedin | December 17, 1261 | Urban IV. | later Pope Honorius IV. |
Goffredo da Alatri | Italy | Anjou | Cardinal Deacon of San Giorgio in Velabro | December 17, 1261 | Urban IV. | |
Matteo Rubeo Orsini | Rome | Rome | Cardinal Deacon of Santa Maria in Portico | May 22, 1262 | Urban IV. | Nephew of Giovanni Orsini |
One cardinal did not vote:
cardinal | origin | Rank in cardinal title | Appointed on | by | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Simon Monpitie de Brie | France | Cardinal priest of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere | December 17, 1261 | Urban IV. | Papal legate in France, later Pope Martin IV. |
literature
- Archibald Bower : The History of the Popes. 1766.
- Konrad Eubel : Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volume 1. Leipzig 1913, p. 9.
- DJ Medley: The Church and the Empire. Kessinger Publishing, 2004, p. 171.
- John-Peter Pham: Heirs of the Fisherman: Behind the scenes of Papal Death and Succession. Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 24.
- Philipp Smith: The History of the Christian Church During the Middle Ages. Haper & Bros., 1885, p. 92.
Web links
- Election of May 30 - November 25, 1277. In: Salvador Miranda : The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. ( Florida International University website, English). See the correction by John Adams Sede Vacante 1277 regarding Bertrand de Saint-Martin ( online )