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The October 1187 papal election (held October 21) was convoked after the death of Pope Urban III. He and the papal court had escaped from the imperial blockade of Verona only the month before, and had taken refuge in Ferrara. The election, held in Ferrara the day after the pope's death, resulted in the election of Cardinal Alberto Sartori di Morra, who took the name of Gregory VIII. He was a partisan of the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, whose election delighted him. Gregory VIII reigned only two months.

Popes at Verona

Lucius III was elected on 1 September 1181, but had to be consecrated and enthroned at Velletri, due to the hostility of the Romans. He was only allowed back to Rome at the end of October, but in mid-March 1182, having refused to grant the consuetudines conceded by earlier popes, he was forced to retreat to Velletri. In the meantime, refugees from Tusculum, which had been destroyed earlier in the century by the Roman commune, began to rebuild their fortifications. Annoyed by the challenge, the Roman commune reopened the war. Pope Lucius took the part of the Tusculans, but as the Romans had one success after another, he called for aid from the imperial Vicar in Italy, Archbishop Christian of Mainz, who managed to drive the Romans back. The Romans renewed their offensive, devastated the territory of Tusculum in April 1184, and then turned their wrath against Latium. The pope then fled to the Emperor Frederick, who was at Verona. The pope wanted aid against the Romans, of course, but there was also the issue of the inheritance of Countess Mathilda of Tuscany, which had been willed to Saint Peter, but which was occupied by the emperor, on the grounds that it was part of the empire and Mathilda and her husbands had been his vassals. Frederick wanted the pope to preside at an imperial coronation for his son Henry. When the pope adamantly refused, Henry invaded and ravaged the Roman campagna; Frederick besieged the pope in Verona, forbidding appeals to the pope from anyone in his domains, and obstructing appeals from elsewhere. Anyone apprehended in an attempt to reach the papal curia or returning from it was imprisoned and subjected to torture.

Lucius died on 25 November 1185, still residing in Verona, while an angry and uncooperative emperor resided at the imperial headquarters in Pavia. The election of his successor, which was brief and unanimous, took place on the next day. The successful candidate was Humbertus Crivelli, the Archbishop of Milan and Cardinal of S. Lorenzo in Damaso, " a violent and unyielding spirit, and a strong opponent of Frederick (Barbarossa)," in the words of Ferdinand Gregorovius. He took the name Urban III, and maintained all of the uncompromising policies of Lucius III. Frederick continued his policy of blockading the pope and cardinals inside Verona into 1187. Urban had reached the decision to excommunicate the emperor, for usurpation of spiritualities, but he was dissuaded by the pleas of the inhabitants of Verona. Shortly after 22 September 1187, Urban and the cardinals escaped from Verona, and by 3 October had found refuge in Ferrara, where Urban died on 20 October.

List of participants

At the death of Pope Urban III there were probably 23 cardinals. Basing on the countersigning of the papal bulls in October 1187 it is possible to establish that probably 13 of them participated in the election of successor of Urban III. According to the rules established by Pope Alexander III, 9 votes would be necessary to elect.

Six electors were created by Pope Lucius III, five by Pope Alexander III, one by Pope Lucius II and one by Pope Adrian IV.

Absentee cardinals

Probably ten cardinals were absent:

Six absentees were created by Lucius III, three by Alexander III, and one by Adrian IV.

Death of Urban III and the election of Pope Gregory VIII

Pope Urban III died at Ferrara on 20 October 1187, grieving over the disasters in the Holy Land. On the following day thirteen cardinals who had been present in Ferrara began the proceedings to elect his successor. They operated according to the rules promulgated by Pope Alexander III at the Third Lateran Council in March 1179.

One of the cardinals under consideration was Henri de Marsiac, the former abbot of Clairvaux. He was aware that he did not have sufficient votes, and foreseeing and fearing the danger of dissension, he stood up and announced that, as a servant of the cross of Christ, he was prepared to preach the crusade in various kingdoms and peoples. He was obviously reacting to recent reports of disaster in the Holy Land.

Paolo Scolari and Alberto di Morra, the senior cardinal-priest, were also considered. Paolo Scolari was at a disadvantage because he was seriously ill at that time, and was not up to the burden, according to a remark attributed to Cardinal Henri de Marsiac. The cardinals were aware that the papal chancellor, Albert di Morra, was in great favor with the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, because he was a member of the imperial party in the curia, and because he reported to the emperor all the confidential activities of the Roman curia. But there remained only the old papal chancellor Alberto di Morra. On 21 October 1187 he was unanimously elected pope and took the name Gregory VIII.

Shortly after the election, the two proctors of the archbishop of Canterbury met with Cardinal Henri de Marsiac. It was Henri who told them of the three candidates, of the indisposition of Cardinal Scolari, and of the election of Cardinal Alberto di Morra, faute de mieux.

He was consecrated a bishop and enthroned on 25 October. He reigned for one month and twenty-eight days.

It is reported by Robert of Auxerre in his Chronicon that the Emperor Frederick was delighted by the choice of Albert, since he was a favorer of justice and would be favorable to him.

Notes

1. Watterich II, p. 682.
2. Jaffé, p. 432. Gregorovius, p. 609.
3. Gregorovius, p. 609 with note 2 (from Roger of Hoveden, citing Benedict of Peterborough): "grave dissidium ortum est inter Romanos et Papam Lucium super consuetudinibus quibusdam, quas praedecessores Papae Lucii facere solebant, quas Papa Lucius se nunquam facturum iuravit. Unde Romani indignati sunt it frequenter rapinas et iniquas combustiones facerunt in terra domini Papae. Dominus vero Papa, de loco in locum fugiens, castella sua et munitiones et civitates munitas adiit."
4. Gregorovius, pp. 609-611. Jaffé, pp. 465-466.
5. Gregorovius IV. 2, p. 611.
6. "Chronicon Fossae Novae", in: Watterich II, p. 681. Gregorovius IV. 2, p. 614.
7. Gervase of Canterbury and the "Gesta Trevirorum", in: Watterich II, p. 668.
8. Ralph of Diceto, in: J. Watterich, Pontificum Romanorum... Vitae, p. 663. Horace Kinder Mann, The Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages, Volume 10 (London: Kegan Paul 1914), pp. 286-289.
9. F. Gregorovius, The History of Rome in the Middle Ages Vol. IV, part 2 (London: George Bell 1896), pp. 610-612.
10. "Annales Romani", in: Watterich II, p. 682: "Erat enim maxima discordia inter imperatorem Fridericum et Papam, ita ut nullo modo dicto Pape et cardinalibus et qui cum ipso erant, extra ipsam civitatem exiendi erat licentiam."
11. Watterich II, pp. 678, 681 (Arnold of Lübeck)
12. Jaffé, pp. 527-528.
13. Cf. I.S. Robinson, p. 44 and 86-87; Kartusch, p. 30; Jaffé, Regesta..., p. 492–493, 528
14. Jaffé, Regesta..., p. 492–493, 528
15. Kartusch, pp. 190-196.
16. Gervase of Canterbury, "Chronica", in: William Stubbs (ed.), The Chronicle of the Reigns of Stephen, Henry II, and Richard, Vol. I (London: Longman, Trübner 1879), p. 388: Interea rumor ille miserabilis de destructione scilicet orientalis ecclesiae, de civitatum captione, de captivitate regis et crucis Dominicae, in curia Romana dispersus, aures et corda cardinalium summi pontificis mira contrivit miseratione, unde dominus papa Urbanus jam senio confectus, prae nimio dolore cncomparabiliter gravatus, ad extrema perductus est. Obiit... xiiii kalendas Novembris, et Ferrariae sepultus est."
17. J.P. Migne (ed.), Patrologiae Latinae Collectio, Tomus CCII (Paris 1855), p. 1537, Pope Gregory VIII, in his electoral message, Inter Divinae Dispentionis: "Praedecessore siquidem nostro Urbano XIII Kal. Novemb. in bona confessione viam universae carnis ingresso, et tradito solemniter sepulturae, convenimus sequenti die in unum, et missa in honorem Sancti Spiritus, sicut moris est, celebrata, processimus seorsum in unum locum, nos episcopi, presbyteri et diaconi canonibus, et, postpositis diversis ecclesiasticis negotiis, et praecipue calamitatis Orientalis Ecclesiae, quae diebus illis audita fuerat, ad electionem pontificis visum est procedendum, ne, si forte dilationem acciperet, detrimentum ex tarditate per diversas partes Christiano populo proveniret."
18. Watterich II, p. 684, quoting Albericus of Trois Fontaines, "Ibidem sanior pars cardinalium voluit dominum Henricum Albanensem quondam Clarevallis abbatem eligere, sed timens et praecavens dissensionis periculum prosiliit in medium, dicens: se crucis Domini servum ad praedicandam crucem per gentes et regna praeparatum.
19. William Stubbs (ed.), Epistolae Cantuarienses (London 1865) , letter CXXXV, p. 108. And yet, Scolari was present and voted; he began subscribing for Gregory VIII on 31 October; and he travelled to Pisa and was elected pope on 19 December 1187.
20. Gervase of Canterbury, "Chronica", in: William Stubbs (ed.), p. 388: "Sciebant enim cardinales quod idem Albertus multam imperatoris haberet gratiam, eo quod, ipsius semper fovens partem, eidem omnia Romanae curiae revelaret secreta."
21. This is according to Peter of Blois, the Archdeacon of Bath, and William de S. Fide, Precentor of Wells, in a letter to Archbishop Baldwin. Stubbs, p. 198: "Dominus Papa Gregorius nominatus est, et dominus Albanensis injunxit nobis, ut vobis ex parte ejus significaremus, quod cuncta de caetero ad honorem et voluntatem vestram procedent.... Adhuc noveritis quod cum universi cardinales tres personas nominassent, videlicet Albanensem, Praenestinum et cancellarium, et eis injunxissent ut secederent quousque deliberassent quem illorum reciperent, dominus Albanensis incontinenti respondit, "Ad quid secederemus? Ego in verbo veritatis dico, quod nunquam hanc administrationem suscipiam. Dominus quoque Praenestinus infirmatur gravissimo et ad onus tantum insufficiens est. Reliquum ergo est ut dictum cancellarium recipiamus; quia non est inter nos aliquis ita idoneus, et qui ita consuetudines et jura ecclesiae Romanae pernoverit, et adeo principibus terrae complaceat."
22. I.S.Robinson, p. 87. "Chronicle of Melros", in Watterich II, p. 684, n. 4: "XII kalendas eiusdem (novembris) electus Gregorius VIII, et VIII kalendas eiusdem consecratus est."
23. "Chronicon Fossae Novae", in: Watterich, p. 683. Gregorovius IV. 2, p. 615.
24. Monumenta Germaniae Historica. Scriptorum Vol. XXVI (Leipzig: K Hiersemann 1926), p. 252: "Post eum Albertus cancellarius substituitur et Gregorius octavus vocatur, vir litteratura facundiaque clarus, sed puritate vitae et animi integritate praeclarior suique corporis vehemens castigator. Audita eius promotione laetatus est admodum Fredericus Augustus, eo quod virum discretum et justiciae zelatorem cognosceret sibique benivolum et omnibus, si diu viveret, profuturum."

Sources

• Gregorovius, Ferdinand (1896). The History of Rome in the Middle Ages Vol. IV, part 2. London: George Bell 1896.
• Jaffé, Philipp (1888). Regesta pontificum Romanorum ab condita Ecclesia ad annum post Christum natum MCXCVIII. Vol. II. Leipzig.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Kartusch, Elfriede (1948). Das Kardinalskollegium in der Zeit von 1181–1227. Wien.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Robinson, Ian Stuart (1990). The Papacy, 1073–1198: Continuity and Innovation. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521264987.
• Watterich, J. B. M. (1862). Pontificum Romanorum qui fuerunt inde ab exeunte saeculo IX usque ad finem saeculi XIII vitae: ab aequalibus conscriptae (in Latin). Vol. Tomus II. Leipzig: G. Engelmann.

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