Boniface IX

Monument to Boniface IX in San Paolo Fuori le Mura

Boniface IX (originally Pietro Tomacelli ; * 1350 in Naples ; † October 1, 1404 in Rome ) was Pope from November 2, 1389 to 1404.

Life

Before his pontificate, Pietro Tomacelli was cardinal deacon of San Giorgio in Velabro from 1381 , and in 1385 he became cardinal priest of Santa Anastasia . He ruled during the Western Schism in Rome , while in Avignon Clement VII. Officiated. Pope Boniface ended the policy of his predecessor Urban VI. and was more diplomatic than this. Among other things, he made peace with the Kingdom of Naples and recognized Ladislaus , son of the murdered Charles III of Naples , as ruler of Naples. Nevertheless, he did not succeed in overcoming the schism. From 1390 he also had to deal with the Visconti , who conquered large parts of the Papal States. The resulting war lasted until 1392.

After the death of antipope Clemens, Benedict (XIII) was elected a successor. Despite all the contradictions, the two pretenders agreed on the need for a crusade. The Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I had reached the Hungarian border with the conquest of Bulgaria. The last and largest crusade army was now to defeat Bayezid I under the leadership of King Sigismund of Hungary , the later German Emperor, and then advance to Jerusalem . But the crusade army was already defeated in the battle of Nicopolis .

In the following years Boniface failed in his attempt to bring the German King Wenzel to Rome for the imperial coronation. In 1400 Wenzel was deposed and Ruprecht von der Pfalz was elected as his successor. His plan to crown King Ruprecht in Rome as emperor was also unsuccessful. In the holy year 1400 Boniface also tried to convince the arriving pilgrims for his claims against Benedict.

He died in Rome on October 1, 1404 .

literature

• Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz :  Boniface IX. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 1, Bautz, Hamm 1975. 2nd, unchanged edition Hamm 1990, ISBN 3-88309-013-1 , Sp. 692-692.
• Arnold Esch : Boniface IX. and the Papal States (= library of the German Historical Institute in Rome. Volume XXIX). Max Niemeyer, Tübingen 1969.
• Arnold Esch:  Bonifacio IX. In: Alberto M. Ghisalberti (Ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 12:  Bonfadini – Borrello. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 1970, pp. 170-183.
• Arnold Esch:  Bonifacio IX. In: Massimo Bray (ed.): Enciclopedia dei Papi. Volume 2:  Niccolò I, santo, Sisto IV. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 2000, pp. 570-581 ( treccani.it ).
• Georg Schwaiger: Boniface IX . In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages (LexMA). Volume 2, Artemis & Winkler, Munich / Zurich 1983, ISBN 3-7608-8902-6 , column 416 f.

Web links

Commons : Boniface IX.  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Boniface IX .. In: Salvador Miranda : The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. ( Florida International University website), accessed November 28, 2011.

predecessor	Office	successor
Urban VI.	Pope 1389-1404	Innocent VII