INNOCENT III. 



INNOCENT III 



:. 



able to dulodg* him from thrncc, 1, ft ROOM, followed bj Innocent, 

 who withdrew to 1'iu. where ha held council, at which St Bernard 

 was prvaont, ud m which Anacletu> ami hi* partisans were excom- 

 municated. In September 11S>>, Lothsrius marched again into Italy 

 with numerous troop*, followed by a number of Uerman biihopi and 

 arebbUhop*, aii>l after having held hi* court in the plaint of Rouoaglia, 

 when ho published a law concerning the tenure of fief*, he fought his 

 way in tba following spring into Lower Italy, defeated Roger, and 

 obliged him to withdraw to Sicily, took Capua, Beiievcuto, Ban, and 

 other towns, while luuocent entered Roma and again took possession 

 of the Lalerau. Lothariui however soon after died, and in 1188 

 Anaeletu* died aUo. The party of the Utter, supported by Roger, 

 slsotnl another tntipope ityled Victor IV., who wai Boon after 

 persuaded by St. Bernard to resign his claims, and thus restore peace 

 to the church. Roger however coutinuod hostile to Innocent, for 

 which he was excommunicated iu the second council of tbe Lateran, 

 but Inuocent, having gone, as far as San Qermano with a body of troops 

 to meet Roger, was surprised and taken prisoner by him. This led to 

 a peace, by which Innocent acknowledged Roger as king and his son 

 as duke of Apulia. It was then that the city of Naples first acknow- 

 ledged Itoger as its sovereign. In 1139 Arualilo da Brescia began to 

 preach at Roma, but bring banished from that city, he repaired to 

 France. [AB*AUK> DA BRESCIA.] The remaining years of Innocent's 

 pontificate were disturbed by a war between the Romans and tba 

 people of Tibur, and by a revolt in Home itself, when the people, 

 excited perhaps by the partisans of Arnaldo, assembled on the capitul, 

 re-established the senate, and asserted their independence. In the 

 midst of these troubles Innocent died, in September 1143, and was 

 succeeded by Celeatino II. 



INNOCENT IIL, CARDINAL LOTIIARIUS, son of Trasimund, count 

 of Segni and of Claricia, of a noble family of Home, was unanimouily 

 elected in 1193, after the death of Celestiue III. Ue ascended the 

 papal throne at the vigorous age of thirty-seven, possessed of very 

 great abilities, indefatigable industry, aud a firm resolve to raise the 

 papal power, both temporal and spiritual, above all the churches, 

 principalities, and powers of the earth ; and he very nearly accom- 

 plished liU purpose during the eighteen y< aro of his pontificate. He 

 had distinguished himself while at the universities of Paris and 

 Bologna in the studies of philosophy, theology, aud the canon law, 

 and al-o by several written compositions, especially by bis treatise 

 'De Miseria Couditiouis Humsnao.' The gloomy ascetic views which 

 be took in this work of the world and of human nature show a mind 

 filled with contempt for all worldly motives of action, and not likely 

 to be restrained iu forwarding what he considered to be his paramount 

 duty by any of the common feelings of leniency, conciliation, or con- 

 cession, which to a man in his situation mutt have appeared sinful 

 weaknesses. His ambition and haughtiness were evidently not per- 

 sonal ; he was in this respect more disinterested thu hU prototype, 

 Gregory VIL His interest was totally merged in what he considered 

 tbe sacred right of his see, ' universal supremacy,' and the sincerity of 

 bis conviction is shown by the steady uncompromising tenor of his 

 conduct, and by a like uniformity of sentiments and tone throughout 

 his writings, and especially his numerous letters. ('Innoceutii III., 

 Opera,' and his Epistles ' and ' Decretals,' published separately by 

 Balu/e, in 2 vols. fol., Paris, 1632, with a fairly written biography of 

 Innocent by an anonymous contemporary.) 



External circumstances favoured Innocent's views. The Emperor 

 Henry VI., king of Italy, and also of Sicily, had lately died, and 

 rival candidates were disputing for tbe crown of Germany ; whilst 

 Constance of Sicily, Henry's widow, was left regent of Sicily aud 

 Apulia in tbe name of her infant son Frederick II. Innocent, assert- 

 ing his claim of suzerainety over the kingdom of Sicily, continued the 

 regency to Constance, but at the same time obtained from her a 

 surrender of all disputed points concerning the pontifical pretensions 

 over those fine territories. Constance dying shortly after, Inuocent 

 himself assumed the regency during Frederick's minority. 



At Rome, availing himeclf of tbe vacancy of the imperial throne, 

 be bestowed the investiture on the prefect of Home, whom he made 

 to swear allegiance to himself, thus putting an rod to the former 

 though often eluded claim of the imperial authority over that city. 

 In like manner, being favoured by the people, ever jealous of the 

 dominion of foreigners, he drove away the imperial feudatories, such 

 as Conrad duke of Spoleti and count of Atsisi, snd ilarcusldus 

 marquis of Ancona, and took possession of those provinces in the 

 name of the Roman see. He likewise claimed the exarchate of 

 Ravenna ; but tbe archbishop of that city arserted his own prior 

 right*, and Innocent, any a tho anonymous biographer, " prudently 

 deferred the enforcement of his claims to a more fitting opportunity. 

 The towns of Tuscany, with the exception ot Pisa, threw off their 

 allegiance to the empire, and formed a league with Innocent for their 

 mutual support It was on this occasion tlmt Innocent wrote that 

 famous letter, in which be asserts that " as Ood created two lumi- 

 naries, one superior for tbe day, aud the other inferior for the night, 

 which last owes its splendour entirely to tbe first, so be has disposed 

 that the regal dignity should be but a reflection of the splendour of 

 tbe papal authority, and entirely subordinate to it" 



In Germany, Innocent, acting as supreme arbitrator between the 

 rival aspirants to the imperial crown, decided at first in favour of 



Otbo, a Welf, on condition of his giving up to the Roman see the 

 disputed succession of tbe Countess Mathilda ; but some time after 

 he agreed to an arrangement between Utho and his rival Philip, whom 

 he acknowledged as emperor. Philip being murdered iu l.u.i, Utho 

 resumed bis claims, and was crowned by tha pope at Rome; but 

 having displeased Innocent in the bin-menu of the Countess Mathilda's 

 succession, tbe pope quarrelled with him ; and Utho having invaded 

 part of Apulia aud of the papal territory, Innocent excommunicated 

 and deposed him, and proposed to the electors in his place his own 

 ward Frederick of Sicily, who repaired to Oermauy, and after a 

 gallant struggle obtained the crown shortly before the death of his 

 late guardian the pope. 



Innocent, at tbe beginning of his pontificate, wrote a long epistle 

 (20U of B. 11) to the Patriarch of Constantinople, and other letters to 

 the Emperor Alexius, with the view of inducing the former to acknow- 

 ledge the supremacy of the see of Rome ; and although he failed in 

 this, he hod soon after, by an unexpected turn of events, the satis- 

 faction of consecrating a prelate of the Western Church a* patriarch 

 of Constantinople. 



The Crusaders, whom Inuocent had sent forth, as he thought, for 

 the re-conquest of the Holy Laud, after taking Zara from the King of 

 Hungary, for which they were severely censured by the pope, pro- 

 ceeded to attack Constantinople, and overthrew the Oreek empire. 

 [BALDWIN I., Emperor.] All this was done without Innocent's 

 sanction; but when Baldwin wrote to him acquainting him with the 

 full success of the expedition, Innocent, iu his answer to the Marquis 

 of Montferrat, forgave the Crusaders in consideration of their having 

 brought sbout the triumph of tbe holy church over the Eastern 

 empire. Innocent sent also legates to Calo Johannes, prince of tha 

 Bulgarians, who acknowledged his allegiance to the Roman see. 

 ('Inuoceiitii IIL, Epistolto.') 



Leo, king of Armenia, received likewise Innocent's legates, who 

 bestowed upon him the investiture of his kingdom. Innocent also 

 excommunicated Svercum, who bad usurped the kingdom of Norway. 



Innocent was very strict nnd uncompromising iu his notions of 

 morality and discipline. He repressed venality and irregularity when- 

 ever he discovered them. He excommunicated Philippe Auguste of 

 France because hu had repudiated hia wife Ingerburga of Denmark 

 and had married Agues de Merauie, and after a long controversy the 

 pope obliged the king to dismiss Agues aud to take Ingerburga back. 

 The King of Leon, having married his cousin, tho daughter of the 

 King of Portugal, was likewise excommunicated; and as he would 

 not submit, and was supported in his resolution by his father-in-law, 

 Innocent, by means of his legate*, laid both kingdoms under an 

 interdict 



John of England having appointed John de Gray, bishop of Nor- 

 wich, to the vacant see of Canterbury, Inuocent would not approve of 

 him, and bestowed the canonical investiture upon Stephen Laugton, 

 and the monks of Canterbury would receive no other archbishop, iu 

 a lit of rage John drove uuay the monks and seized their property, 

 for which the whole kingdom was laid under an iuteruict ; aud as 

 John continued refractory, the pope pronounced his deposition, 

 released his vassals from their oath of allegiance, and called upou all 

 Christian princes and borons to invade England and dethrone the 

 impious tyrant, promising them the remission of their sins. The 

 consequent preparation of Philippe Augusta to carry out the pope's 

 invitation, and John's dastardly submission, will be found related at 

 length under Jons. The king, as will be remembered, not only 

 agreed to submit to the pope's will in all things for which he had been 

 excommunicated, and pay damages to tha banished clergy, but took 

 an oath of fealty to the pope, and at the same time delivered to the 

 papal envoy a charter testifying that he surrendered to Pope Innocent 

 and hia successors for ever the kingdom of England and lordship of 

 Ireland, to be held aa fiefs of the Holy See by John aud his successors, 

 on condition of their paying nn annual tribute of 700 marks of silver 

 for England aud SOU for Ireland. Pandulpu, tbe papal legate, then 

 undertook to forbid Philippe of France attempting anything against a 

 faithful vassal of the Church. 



Against those who separated themselves from the body of tha 

 Roman Church, Innocent was stern and uncompromising. He con- 

 sidered heresy as tha deadliest of Bins, and its extirpation as the first 

 of his duties. He sent two legates, with the title of inquisitors,, to 

 extirpate heresy in France. Une of them, Casteluau, having l> 

 odious by his severities, was murdered near Toulouse, upou winch 

 Inuocent prescribed a crusade against the Albigenses, excommunicated 

 Raymond count of Toulouse for abetting them, and bestowed his 

 domains on Simon count of Montfort He addressed himself to all 

 the faithful, exhorting them "to fight strenuously agaiu.it the ministers 

 of the old serpent," and promising them the kingdom of Heaven in 

 reward. He vent two legate* to attend the crusade, and their letters 

 or reports to him are contained in the collection of his 'Epistles,' 

 especially ' Kpistola 108 of B. xii.,' in which the legate Arualdus 

 relates the taking of Beziers and the massacre of 30,UOO individuals 

 of every age, sex, and condition. Innocent however did not live to 

 nee the end of tho conflagration he bad kindled. He held a general 

 council at the Lateran iu 1215, in which he inculcated the necessity of 

 a new crusade, launched fresh anathemas against heretics, determined 

 several points of doctrine and discipline, especially concerning the 



