SEDE VACANTE 1198

January 8, 1198

Background

The struggle between England and France continued to impair the good order of the Church in northeastern Europe, and papal plans for a crusade as well. The fighting between Henry II and Louis VII was continued in their children, Richard and John and Philip II. When on crusade, Richard and Philip (who left Messana on March 30, 1191) were competitive rather than cooperative, and Philip eventually returned to Europe (arriving back in Paris on December 27, 1191), rather than endure Richard's obviously superior personal prowess as a warrior. The German Emperor angered Pope Celestine and many others by imprisoning King Richard of England as he was returning from Crusade. In Europe, war between France and England was more or less endemic, with Flanders playing an important and treacherous role. Celestine and his cardinals had no idea that Richard would soon be dead (1199), and that England would have an even more troublesome monarch from the ecclesiastical and political viewpoint. In France, King Philip's marital situation disturbed several monarchs as well as the Pope. After the death of his first wife, he had married Ingeborg of Denmark, the sister of King Knut VI, but she had immediately proved unacceptable to King Philip. His uncanonical marriage to a third "wife" provoked crisis after crisis, much in the fashion of Henry VIII and his illegal divorce from Catherine of Aragon and illicit and uncanonical marriage to Anne Boleyn (with a dash of the horrible surprise of meeting Anne of Cleves in the flesh). Cardinal Guillaume de Reims played the role of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey.

The German Emperor Henry VI died at Messana on September 28, 1197 [Annales Marbacenses, in Watterich II, pp. 746-747], some fourteen weeks before Pope Celestine. He had been trying to win back his wife's inheritance, the Kingdom of Sicily, from Tancred of Lecce (who died in 1194), with the ambitious plan of uniting his German acquisitions, imperial territories in north and central Italy, and the Kingdom of Sicily in one grand domain. When Henry had arrived in Italy in 1196, he attempted an approachement with Celestine, suggesting yet another Crusade. Intending to keep the lands he was winning back, Henry offered the Church a financial settlement in exchange for the quit-claim on the lands in question (cf. the Lateran Pacts of 1929). None of these issues was resolved when the Emperor died, and Henry's death left the Empire without an obvious successor. The imperial crown was elective, and his son was still a child. Suddenly the political situation became dangerously fluid. Both Otto of Brunswick (son of Henry the Lion and Matilda Plantagenet) and Philip of Swabia claimed the inheritance, and the popes became involved in a complicated struggle. Otto was supported by England, and Philip by France. And no one wanted another Hohenstaufen. But in Sicily (which was claimed by the popes as part of the patrimony of St. Peter) the child Frederick, son of Henry VI, inherited the Kingdom from his mother.

Celestine III, who had been working to reclaim lands which had been lost from Church territory (Perugia, Ancona, Spoleto), immediately began to demand back, on behalf of the Patrimony of St. Peter, large parts of Tuscany, which had been conquered by various German leaders. This brought him into conflict with every Germanic leader who had been brought into Italy as a result of the Empire's reclaiming of its lands in the peninsula.

He died on January 8, 1198, and was buried in the Lateran Basilica [Innocent III, Ep. 1, 8, 11]

 

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The Cardinals

Ciaconius-Olduin [Tomus II, (Roma 1677) columns 2-3] provides a list of twenty-eight Cardinals who were living at the time of the Election of Innocent III. Also see F. Hurter, Storia di Papa Innocenzo III, pp. 69-73, who also states that there were twenty-eight cardinals; three were nephews of Celestine, and two were cousins (His explanations of why certain cardinals voted for Lothar are, however, the stuff of which cloud-capped towers are made).

1. Octavianus di Paolo dei Conti [Romanus], Bishop of Ostia e Velletri (1189-1206). Previously Cardinal Deacon of SS. Sergio e Baccho (1182-1189). Earlier, as Deacon of the S.R.E., he ws sent to France in 1179 to invite prelates to the Lateran Council of 1179..Legate to England for Urban III. Sent by Celestine III (1191-1198) as Legate to Normandy along with Cardinal Giordano da Ceccano, to deal with a disagreement between Walter of Rouen and William of Ely. Failing to get cooperation, they placed Normandy under edict and retired to Paris. On his way back to Rome Cardinal Ottaviano was captured by Duke Corrado of Spoleto and held in captivity for a year. As Cardinal Deacon he was sent with Cardinal Gerardo of S. Adriano to Spoleto to deal with the defection of Duke Corrado (Konrad Lutzen von Urslingen) and to absolve Count Markwald of Annweiler (Marquardt) of his excommunication. This was before 1197, since Konrad returned permanently to Germany in that year (A. Sansi, Storia del commune di Spoleto I, pp. 16-17). His latest subscription for Celestine III is on December 3, 1197. His earliest subscription for Innocent III is on March 13, 1198. His latest known subscription is on February 28, 1206.
2. Petrus Galluzzi (Gallocia) [Romanus], Bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina (1190-1211). He may have been the Petrus S. Nicolai in Carcere Tulliano Diaconus Cardinals of the second half of the 1180s. Rector Campaniae before becoming a Cardinal. He was present as Cardinal Bishop of S. Rufina at Christmas Mass in St. Peter's in 1190 [Schiaparelli, Archivio della r. società della storia patria 25 (1902) no. 77, p. 344: Cardinal Petrus Gallocia Sancte Rufine episcopus in nocte Nativitatis Domini interesset officiis (December 25, 1190). He served as Legatus a latere in Constantinople (1192-1193; he has returned by January 27,1193: JL 16950 (10407)] He assisted at the dediation of the high altar in S. Eustachio by Celestine III [Inscriptiones Romanae infimi aevi  I, p. xlii-xliii no. 54: Celestine III, Octavianus Hostiensis, Petrus Gallocia Portuensis, and Iohannes Albanensis (1196)]. His latest subscription for Celestine III is on December 3, 1197. His earliest subscription for Innocent III is on March 13, 1198. He subscribed for Innocent III on March 23, 1198 [G. Canboni, in N. D'Acunto (editor), Papato e monachesimo esente nei secoli centrali del medioevo (Firenze 2003), 102]. His latest known subscription is on February 25, 1211. Annibale Hari, "Gallozia (Gallocia, Gallucia), Pietro," Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani 51 (1998) (retrieved 2/27/2013).
   
   
3. Soffredus ["of Pisa", or rather Pistoia: see Beani, 10-12], Cardinal Priest in the title of S. Prassede, and before that Cardinal Deacon of S. Maria in Via Lata.. Former Canon in the cathedral of Pistoia [Beani, 11;   Acta Sanctorum Julii Tomus Tertius (Antwerp 1723), p. 337 column 2]. Soffredus was promoted by Celestine III to the titulus of S. Prassede in 1193, after February 27 [Migne, Patrologiae 206 column 977] and before March 5 [Migne Patrologiae 206, column 980]. He was present at the Canonization of St. John Gualbert, the founder of the Vallombrosian monks in October of 1193. He subscribed for Innocent III on March 23, 1198 [G. Canboni, in N. D'Acunto (editor), Papato e monachesimo esente nei secoli centrali del medioevo (Firenze 2003), 102]. In place of an order of monks who had proven unworthy, Soffredus (Siphredus) obtained from Innocent III permission to install Vallombrosian Benedictine monks at S. Prassede [P. Fedele, Archivio della r. Società romana di storia patria 28 (1905), 79-81 (June 30, 1198); Bullarium Vallumbrosanum (Florentiae 1729), pp. 83-86]. His latest subscription for Celestine III is on October 7, 1197. His earliest subscription for Innocent III is on March 13, 1198.Cardinal Soffredus continues to subscribe documents as late as July 25, 1208 [Potthast 3470, 3472] and December 2, 1208 [Maleczek, p. 387]. He died on December 14, 1210 [Beani, 22-23 and n. 1]. Franciscus Antonius Zacharias, Bibliotheca Pistoriensis (Augustae Taurinorum 1752), p. 97: Calendarium alterum Pistoriense: December 14: Soffredus tt. S. Praxedis presbiter card. qui dedit huic Ecclesiae altare viaticum, in quo sunt 44 Capilli B.M.V., anno 1210. [In general, Maleczek, 73-76]
         Beani, 10-13, argues that Soffredo of S. Prassede of Pistoia was not related to the Gaetani of Pisa, but that that was a different Soffredus, and that it was Soffredus of Pisa who was made Cardinal Deacon of S. Maria in Via Lata by Lucius III [Cardella, 148-149]. This other Soffredus (or Goffredus) of Pisa, he argues, was the Cardinal Deacon of S. Maria in Via Lata (1182-1193), where he was succeeded by Petrus Capuanus, who in 1205 became Cardinal Priest of S. Marcello [Cavazzi, S. Maria in Via Lata (1908) , p. 401]. It was Soffredus of Pisa who was sent to Pisa and Genoa (May 6, 1188: JL 16238; JL 16314) along with Cardinal Petrus Diani of S. Cecilia to settle a dispute; their mediation was successful (JL 16363). But it was certainly Soffredus of Pistoia, Cardinal Priest of S. Prassede, who may have participated in the Election of 1198.
4. (Magister) Pandulphus [Lucca], Cardinal Priest in the title of Ss. XII Apostoli (1182-1210). Legate in Genoa in 1196. Legate in Tuscany, 1197. Pandulphus had not subscribed for Celestine III since April 24, 1196, and did not subscribe for Innocent III until March 17, 1199. In the Spring of 1197, he was one of the Cardinals who were conducting negotiations with the Emperor Henry V. There may have been a conspiracy against the Emperor, and the Pope is said to have been involved [Annales Marbacenses, MGH SS 17, 168] Appointed Legatus a latere in Tuscany shortly after the Election (Innocentius III Epp. I. 15 (ca. February 6, 1198), 25, 35; Baluzius p. 9, p. 17 [Potthast 21]) [Cardella, 143-144]. He subscribed his latest bull on November 23, 1201; he then retired to Lucca. Cardinal Pandulfus mentions his father and brothers in a grant to the canonry of S. Maria in Lucca signed on May 4, 1208. He died in Lucca in 1210. He is not the same person as Pandulfus Masca of Pisa [Memorie e documenti per servire all' istoria del principato di Lucca V. 1 (Lucca; Domenico Bertini 1844), pp. 493-497]. [Maleczek, Papst und Kardinalskolleg, 79-80].
5. Petrus Diani [quem docta Placentia mundo edidit, according to his tombstone in S. Cecilia], Cardinal Priest in the title of S. Cecilia (1188-1208); previously Cardinal Deacon of S. Niccolo in Carcere Tulliano (1185-1188). Sent to Pisa and Genoa (May 6, 1188: JL 16238; JL 16314) along with Cardinal Soffredo of S. Maria in Via lata to settle a dispute; their mediation was successful (JL 16363) [and see Kehr Italia Pontificia 5, p. 428 no.4 and no. 5 (Parma, January 1, 1189)]. He continued as legate in Lombardy until 1193. He then served as Legate in Sicily for Celestine III [Cardella, 154]. In 1195 he was legate in Lombardy [Kehr, Italia Pontificia 5, p. 425 no. 3 and no. 5]. He had been sent, along with Cardinal Gratianus of SS. Cosma e Damiano, as Legate to Emperor Henry VI [JL 17226 (April 27, 1195); Watterich II, p. 743]. He was at Milan on August 9, 1196 [Kehr, Italia Pontificia VI. 2, p. 60 no. 9]. and was reported by Pope Celestine as being on his way back to the Curia on September 4, 1196 [JL 17426]. While in Germany he preached an Easter sermon (April 2, 1195) for the Crusade [Annales Marbacenses, in Watterich II, p. 743]. His latest subscription for Celestine III is on December 3, 1197. His earliest subscription for Innocent III is on March 13, 1198. He subscribed for Innocent III on March 23, 1198 [G. Canboni, in N. D'Acunto (editor), Papato e monachesimo esente nei secoli centrali del medioevo (Firenze 2003), 102]. His latest real subscription appears to be that of November 2, 1206 [Maleczek, 85-86]. It is said that he died in 1208, based on a subscription reported by Potthast [Potthast 3472 (July 25, 1208)]. But the document in question [E. Gattola, Historia Abbatiae Cassinensis Pars prima (Venetiis 1733) 419] does not in fact contain the subscription of Petrus tit. S. Ceciliae. See Werner Malaczek, "Diani, Pietro " in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani 39 (1991).
6. Bernardus, Can. Reg. of S. Frediano di Lucca, Cardinal Priest in the tite of S. Pietro in Vincoli.  Appointed Legatus a latere in Tuscany (Innocentius III Epp. I. 25, 35; Baluzius p. 9, p. 17). His earliest subscription as Cardinal Priest is on March 5, 1193. He had previously been Cardinal Deacon of S. Maria Nova (1188-1193). His latest known subscription is on April 19, 1204. [Kartusch, 95-99; in general, see Maleczek, Papst und Kardinalskolleg, 89-90].
7. Johannes [Lombardus], Bishop of Viterbo e Toscanella (1188-1199), Cardinal Priest in the title of S. Clemente. Later Cardinal Bishop of Albano (1199-1210) [Eubel I, p. 35]. He and Cardinal Gregory a S. Apostolo of S. Maria in porticu settled a dispute between the Archbishop of Spalato (Split in Dalmatia) and his clergy on June 15, 1196 [JL 17404]. [Cappelletti, Chiese d'Italia 6, pp. 96-106]. His latest subscription for Celestine III is on December 3, 1197. His earliest subscription for Innocent III is on March 13, 1198. He subscribed for Innocent III on March 23, 1198 [G. Canboni, in N. D'Acunto (editor), Papato e monachesimo esente nei secoli centrali del medioevo (Firenze 2003), 102]. His latest known subscription is on November 26, 1199. [Cardella I. 2, pp. 165-166]
8. Guido Papareschi (de Papa) [Romanus] Cardinal Priest of S. Maria in Trastevere. He was a relative of Innocent II. He was apparently appointed by Clement III in his last Consistory (1190) to succeed Cardinal Laborans (who last subscribes on June 26, 1189). Guido subscribes on February 17, 1191 [Jaffe-Loewenfeld, p. 535]. His latest subscription for Celestine III is on December 3, 1197. His earliest subscription for Innocent III is on March 13, 1198. He subscribed for Innocent III on March 23, 1198 [G. Canboni, in N. D'Acunto (editor), Papato e monachesimo esente nei secoli centrali del medioevo (Firenze 2003), 102] . The Guido of S. Maria in Trastevere continues to subscribe with that title until May 6, 1206, which is exactly when Guido Papareschi was appointed Cardinal Bishop of Palestrina (1206-1217) [Cf. Eubel, Hierarchia catholica I editio altera, p. 37 n.2; cf. p. 3 n.4; and an electoral letter of Honorius III] [Cardella I. 2, pp. 168-171.  See Hurter, Storia di Papa Innocenzo III, p. 72 and n. 492: "Ciacconio ed altri anco accurati scrittori confondono questo Guido con Guido De la Poirée legato in Germania. Guido de Papa portava il titolo di Santa Maria Transtiberim."].
         There is apparently another Guido, a Cardinal Deacon whose Deaconry is unknown, who subscribes for Clement III on December 7, 1190—hence the confusion between the careers of Guido Papareschi and Guy Paré. The Cardinal Deacon Guido does not subscribe documents at all under Celestine III (1191-1198), which is probably why Jaffe has him die on February 17, 1191 [Jaffe-Loewenfeld, p. 535]. If one chooses to make Guy Paré the Cardinal Priest of S. Maria in Trastevere, then Guido Papareschi was not a Cardinal until he was named Bishop of Palestrina in 1206. To complicate matters further, Potthast makes Cardinal Guy Paré subscribe a document in 1200 as Bishop of Palestrina [Potthast , p. 462 and no. 1159].
9. Hugo [Romanus}. He first appears in a bull of February 17, 1191 [JL II, p. 536; Kartusch p. 201 n.3]. He subscribed for Celestine III on July 24, 1191 [Nachrichten...Gottingen (1911), Beiheft, pp. 103 ff., nr. 65].  He subscribed until January 1206. [Kartusch, pp. 200-202; cf. Ciaconius-Olduin I, 1159, who make him a creation of Celestine III, as did Onuphrio Panvinio].
10. Cynthius (Cencius) de Cinciis [Romanus], Cardinal Deacon S.R.E. in 1190. Cardinal Priest in the title of S. Lorenzo in Lucina (1191-1217) [Eubel I, p. 3 n. 1 and p. 43], His earliest subscription for Honorius III is at St. Peter's on May 20, 1191. He assisted Celestine III at the consecration of the high altar at S. Lorenzo on March 26, 1196 [Pflugk-Harttung, Iter Italicum, p. 508 nr. 89]. He was promoted to Bishop of Porto (1217-1218) [Eubel I, p. 36]. The latest subscription recorded by Potthast [no. 5583] is on July 24, 1217. He was Legate to Sweden in 1191-1192 (JL 16781). [Maleczek, Papst und Kardinalskolleg, pp. 104-106].
11. Ovicio (Ugo) (Bobone) [Romanus], Cardinal Priest in the title of SS. Silvestro e Martino ai Monti. [Schiaparelli, Archivio della r. società della storia patria 25 (1902) no. 78, p. 345 (January 12, 1191): Ovicio quondam noster concanonicus cardinalis presbiter Sancti Martini]. He subscribed as Hugo for Innocent III on March 23, 1198 [G. Canboni, in N. D'Acunto (editor), Papato e monachesimo esente nei secoli centrali del medioevo (Firenze 2003), 102]. His latest known subscription is on February 28, 1206.
12. Joannes de Salerno, OSBCas., Cardinal Priest in the title of S. Stefano al Monte Celio (from December, 1190).  Formerly Cardinal Deacon S.R.E. (September-December, 1190).  Legate in Germany 1195-1196 (e.g. JL 17274; H. Finke, Die Papsturkunden Westfalens bis zum Jahre 1378, Erster Teil: Die Papsturkunden bis zum Jahre 1304, Münster 1888 (Westfälisches Urkundenbuch, V/1), p. 66 nr.160], preaching the Crusade.   He subscribed for Innocent III on March 23, 1198 [G. Canboni, in N. D'Acunto (editor), Papato e monachesimo esente nei secoli centrali del medioevo (Firenze 2003), 102]. Legate in Scotland 1201-1202. Roger of Hoveden criticizes him for his greed for money. The Chronicle of Melrose, sub anno 1202, accuses him of judicial corruption: Apud Melros honorifice susceptus, per 50 noctes et amplius commoratus est; maxime ut controversiam inter monachos de Kelcon et monachos de Melros pacificaret: qui utrique parti bene pollicitans, nulli satisfaciens, quamplurima dona, scilicet auri et argenti, necnon equorum plurimorum, ab utraque parte auferens, nulli quicquam commoditatis conferens, litem penitus indeterminatam reliquit. His latest known subscription is on April 22, 1208.
13. Jordanus (Giordano) di Ceccano, OCist. [Hernician], Cardinal Priest in the title of S. Pudenziana. [Cardella, 162-163]. His latest subscription for Celestine III is on December 3, 1197. His earliest subscription for Innocent III is on March 13, 1198. He subscribed for Innocent III on March 23, 1198 [G. Canboni, in N. D'Acunto (editor), Papato e monachesimo esente nei secoli centrali del medioevo (Firenze 2003), 102]. His latest known subscription is on February 13, 1206.
14. Joannes de Sancto Paulo, OSB., Cardinal Priest in the title of S. Prisca (1193-1204). Later Bishop of Sabina (1204-1214) [Cardella, 281-282] [He was not a Colonna: Helene Tillmann, "Ricerche sull'origine dei membri del collegio cardenalizio nel XII secolo. II/2. Identificazione dei cardinali del secolo XII di provenienza Romana", Rivista di Storia della Chiesa in Italia 1975, p. 401-402] His latest subscription for Celestine III is on December 3, 1197. Right at the beginning of his Pontificate, Innocent III sent Cardinal Johannes and Cardinal Cinthius into the Marches, to counter Count Markward and assert papal suzereinty in those areas. His earliest subscription for Innocent III, therefore, is on March 17, 1199 [Maleczek, Papst und Kardinalskolleg, 114-117]..
    
    
15. Gratianus (Graziano) [Pisanus], Cardinal Deacon of SS. Cosma e Damiano (1178-1203). Nephew of Pope Eugenius III (reigned 1145-1153). A survivor, with Konrad of Wittelsbach, of the creature of Alexander III. Twice sent as Legate to England, to deal with the conflict between Henry II and Thomas Becket, the first time as Apostolic Subdeacon and Vice-Chancellor, the second as Cardinal Deacon and Legatus a latere. It was he who placed England under Interdict because of the assassination of Archbishop Becket [Cardella, 127-128]. In 1187 and 1188 he was Clement III's legate in northern Italy; he is attested at Ferrara, Piacenza and Padua. In the summer of 1195, he and Cardinal Pietro Diani were sent by Celestine III to negotiate with the Emperor Henry VI. His latest subscription for Celestine III is on December 3, 1197. His earliest subscription for Innocent III is on March 13, 1198. He subscribed for Innocent III on March 23, 1198 [G. Canboni, in N. D'Acunto (editor), Papato e monachesimo esente nei secoli centrali del medioevo (Firenze 2003), 102]. His latest known subscription is on May 30, 1205. His successor was in place by February 25, 1206. In general see Tommaso di Carpegna Falconieri, "Graziano da Pisa," Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani 59 (2003) (retrieved 3/1/2013).
16. Gerardo [Lucca], Cardinal Deacon of S. Adriano (1182–after April 1204). Rector of Benevento early in the reign of Celestine III. His latest subscription for Celestine III is on December 3, 1197. His earliest subscription for Innocent III is on March 13, 1198. Legate in Sicily, 1204 [Potthast, 2165]. He died in the second half of 1208, while on a legation in Sicily [Maleczek, Papst und Kardinalskolleg, p. 387 n.].
17. Gregorio, Cardinal Deacon of S. Angelo in Pescheria. Nephew of Pope Celestine III. His latest subscription for Celestine III is on December 3, 1197. His earliest subscription for Innocent III is on March 13, 1198. He subscribed for Innocent III on March 23, 1198 [G. Canboni, in N. D'Acunto (editor), Papato e monachesimo esente nei secoli centrali del medioevo (Firenze 2003), 102]. His latest known subscription is on July 15, 1202.
18. Gregorio Carelli (di Monte Carello) [Tuscan], Cardinal Deacon of S. Giorgio in Velabro (1190-1211). His latest subscription for Celestine III is on December 3, 1197. His earliest subscription for Innocent III is on March 13, 1198. He subscribed for Innocent III on March 23, 1198 [G. Canboni, in N. D'Acunto (editor), Papato e monachesimo esente nei secoli centrali del medioevo (Firenze 2003), 102]. His latest known subscription is on February 25, 1211.
19. Lotharius dei Conti di Segni (aged 37; born 1171 or 1172), son of Count Thrasmund, Conte di Segni. He studied Theology in Paris (with Pierre de Corbeil) and Law in Bologna (with Uguccione da Pisa). Ordained Apostolic Subdeacon by Gregory VIII (1187). Made Cardinal Deacon of SS. Sergio e Bacco by Clement III at the age of 29 (1190). Over the next two years he restored the Church of his Deaconry; after he became pope, he added the colonnaded portico in front of the church. The deaconry was passed on to his relative Ottaviano de' Conti di Segni in 1205. He was a regular signatory of documents during the reign of Celestine III, indicating that his principal occupation was in conducting the regular business of the Church in the Curia (died July 16, 1216)
20. Bobo (Orsini ?) [Romanus], Cardinal Deacon of S. Teodoro. Archpriest of the Vatican Basilica [Cardella, 186]. Created in a Consistory in March, 1193, he first subscribed on March 4, 1193. His latest known subscription is on June 19, 1199.
21. Gregorio de San Apostolo (1188- ca. 1202), Cardinal Deacon of S. Maria in Porticu. [Cardella, pp. 159-160]. His latest subscription for Celestine III is on October 7, 1197. His earliest subscription for Innocent III is on May 30, 1198. His latest subscription is on January 1, 1202. [Kartusch, pp. 159-163; Maleczek, 93-94]. [N.B. Salvador Miranda confuses him with Gregorio Galgano, Cardinal Deacon of S. Teodoro (1206-1216) (Malaczek, p. 65), who was promoted to Cardinal Priest of S. Anastasia (1216-1224) by Innocent III in February,1216)].
22. Gregorio Crescenzi, Cardinal Deacon of S. Maria in Aquiro. [Cardella, pp. 164-165]. His latest subscription for Celestine III is on November 4, 1197. His earliest subscription for Innocent III is on March 13, 1198. He had been a negotiator, along with Cardinal Albinus Bishop of Albano, in the matter of the privileges of King Tancred [MGH Legum 4, Constitutiones 1 (Hannoverae 1893), no. 417, pp. 593-594 (June 1192). The Necrologio Renano (ed. Trombelli), p. 338, records his death on May 11, 1208, as a Cardinal Priest (of SS. Vitalis et Vestina, subscribed 1202-1207) His earliest subscription as Cardinal Priest is on February 3, 1201 [W.Hauthaller & F.Martin, Salzurger Urkundenbuch III (Salzurg 1918), 4]. [cf. Eubel I, p. 3, n.1, no. 23]. [Maleczek, 90-92].
23. Cencius Savelli [Romanus], son of Aimeric Savelli [St. Antoninus of Florence, Chronica, in Baronius-Theiner, sub anno 1216, no. 17, p. 355; Gregorovius V, p. 119 n.]. Created in a Consistory in March, 1193, he first subscribed on March 4, 1193. Cardinal Deacon of S. Lucia in Orthea on the Esquiline (1193-1201). Formerly he had been Chamberlain of Clement III, Chamberlain of Celestine III, Canon of the Liberian Basilica (S. Maria Maggiore). Vice-Chancellor. He was Camerarius Cardinalium [Urspurgensis Chronicon  MGH 23, p. 378], or rather S. R. E. Camerarius (from 1194). In 1196, the bronze door of the Lateran Baptistry was dedicated: Cencio cardinali sancte Lucie eiusdem Domini Pape camerario iubente [Pflugk-Harttung, Iter Italicum, p. 510 nr. 88]. His latest subscription for Celestine III is on December 3, 1197. His earliest subscription for Innocent III is on March 13, 1198. Cardinal Priest in the titulus of SS. Joannis et Pauli (1201-1216).   He was author of the Liber censuum Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae (See Fabre, 1-5). [Maleczek, Papst und Kardinalskolleg, pp. 111-113].
24. Nicolaus (Niccolò) [Romanus], nephew of Celestine III (according to Panvinio and Hurter, p. 72), Cardinal Deacon of S. Maria in Cosmedin. His latest subscription for Celestine III is on December 3, 1197. His earliest subscription for Innocent III is on March 13, 1198. He subscribed for Innocent III on March 23, 1198 [G. Canboni, in N. D'Acunto (editor), Papato e monachesimo esente nei secoli centrali del medioevo (Firenze 2003), 102]. His latest known subscription is on August 4, 1200. [A. Pratese, Carte latine di abbazue calabresi (Citta del Vaticano 1958), 152; Maleczek, Papst und Kardinalskolleg, p. 98]]

Those not present at the Election:

25. Konrad von Wittelsbach, Count Palatine of the Rheinland. Bishop of Sabina, Archbishop of Mainz (November 1163-October 25, 1200) and Salzburg. In the early part of his career he was embroiled in the schism between Alexander III and "Victor IV" and his Imperial supporters in Germany. When Henry VI died, he went to Germany again and became involved in the struggle between Otto and Philip of Swabia, supporting Otto, as did Pope Celestine. In 1177 he was appointed Archbishop of Salzburg by Alexander III [A. v. Meiler, Regesta archiepiscoporum Salisburgensium (Wien 1866), p. 127-129]. In 1190 he was with Henry VI during his journey to Apulia. He was back in Germany in 1191. He remained in Germany until February of 1195, doing episcopal and imperial business, sometimes travelling with Henry VI. By April, 1195, he was in Rome at the Lateran, though in August he was travelling again with Henry VI in Germany. He was in Rome from January 31, 1197 to February 9, 1197, as subscriptions indicate. He was sent by Celestine III on an embassy to Syria in 1197 [Böhmer, Regesta archiepiscoporum maguntiniensium pp. 107-111], and on January 6, 1198, crowned Leo King of the Armenians. In 1199 he returned to Italy from the East, landing in Apulia on July 15. He was in Rome and subscribed a bull on October 20, 1199, another on November 6, and a third on November 26. He travelled to Germany from Italy in March, 1200 [Annales Colon. Max. in MGH SS 17, p. 809; Böhmer, Regesta archiepiscoporum maguntiniensium p. 115]. He died at the end of 1200 [cf. Innocent III, Epistolae III. 4: Migne, PL 214, columns 873-876 (mid-October, 1200) (Potthast 1148); Potthast 1179 (November, 1200)]; and Theiner (editor), Vetera monumenta Slavorum I, no. 246 (Potthast 1225)], and is remembered by Innocent III in a letter of March 23, 1202, during the struggle over the election of his successor in Mainz after Archbishop Leopold of Worms had intruded himself [Cf. Innocent III, Epistolae V. 14: Migne, PL 214, columns 964-969 (Potthast 1647)]. See Böhmer, Regesta archiepiscoporum maguntiniensium pp. 119-120. [Salvador Miranda erroneously lists Cardinal Konrad as present at the Conclave of 1198].
26. Pietro Capuano [Amalfitanus], Cardinal Deacon of S. Maria in Via Lata (from 1192-1201). Made Cardinal Priest of S. Marcello by Innocent III (1201- 1214) [Cardella, p. 183-184; Eubel, I, p. 43, 52]. Shortly after his appointment as Cardinal, he was made Legate in Naples by Celestine III, then Legate in Lombardy, then Legate in Poland (where the clergy did not accept the Roman demand for celebacy. Dmitry Tolstoy, Le Catholocisme romaine en Russie I (Paris 1863), 413-414). Cardinal Petrus held a reforming synod at Lanciski in Poland in 1197 [cf. Mansi, Sacrorum Conciliorum 22, 673-674; A.D. 1197]. Federico Hurter, Storia di Papa Innocenzo III, p. 70, points out that Cardinal Pietro had been in Poland, had suffered an attempt on his life in Bohemia, and during his return to Rome had fallen prisoner to a Lombard knight and bandit, Gulielmo Pallavicini, and been robbed [Letter of Innocent III, Book I, no. 122 (April 21, 1198); Potthast 91; Migne, Patrologiae 214, 111-113; Pietro Maria Campi, Dell' istoria ecclesiastica di Piacenza (Piacenza 1651), p. 81; Cardella, 184]   He was certainly back at the Curia by March 23, 1198 . Legate to France and England 1198-1200 [Migne Patrologiae 216, 1202; Epistolae Cantuarienses ( ), no. 454, p. 415; no. 500, Archbishop Hubert of Canterbury (January 1199), p. 468]. Legate to Cilicia 1203 [Potthast, 2093]. Legate on the Fourth Crusade. along with Cardinal Soffredus of S. Prassede. He received a tart letter from Innocent III, written on February 17, 1205, chastising him and Cardinal Soffredo for leaving the Holy Land and going to Constantinople [Potthast, 2419]. See in general W. Kamp, "Capuano, Pietro," Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani 19 (1976) (retrieved 2/27/2013). Kartusch, 330-338. [In general, see Maleczek, Papst und Kardinalskolleg, 117-124]
27. Guillaume de Champagne (ca. 1135-1202), "Blanches-Mains", fourth son of Thibault Comte de Champagne and Maude (Mahaud) de Flandre. Former Bishop of Chartres (1164-1176). Archbishop of Reims (1176-1202). Cardinal Priest in the title of S. Sabina since 1179 [JL 13369 (April 6, 1179)] [Migne, PL 200, 1228 (JL 13371, April 8, 1179)] [JL 13383 (April 14, 1179)]). He participated in the III Lateran Council of March 5-19, 1179 [Mansi, Sacrorum Conciliorum 22, 239 and 464], and was made Cardinal on the second day, March 7 [JL, p. 339]. Governor of the State in France (1183). When Pope Lucius expressed a desire to meet with him, King Philip II replied that there was no one in his kingdom dearer to him than his uncle the Cardinal, who was his vigilant eye in his Councils, and the Cardinal was not allowed to go. He did finally go in 1184 (not in 1185, as Duchesne reports; subscriptions show him in Rome in the last three months of 1184). The Cardinal and his sister the Queen Mother Adela of Champagne were regents of France when Philip II went on Crusade in 1190 (Rigordus, de Gestis Philippi Regis, in: Recueil des historiens des Gaules 17, p. 30). Cardinal William of Reims was leader of the Royal Council at Compiègne which approved the removal of Ingeborg of Denmark as queen and wife of Philip Augustus. On February 25, 1198, Innocent III wrote to the Cardinal Archbishop of Reims, the Archbishop of Sens, and the Bishop of Meaux with a mandate to console the Countess Marie of Champagne on the loss of her son, Henri, the Cardinal's nephew (died September 10, 1197) [Migne, Patrologiae 214, no. 28, col. 22; Potthast 25]. This letter suggests that the Cardinal was in France, not in Rome—where the Coronation of the Pope had taken place three days before the letter was written. As the senior cardinal priest, had he been in Rome on January 8 for the Election, he would surely have remained for the episcopal consecration and coronation on February 22, 1198. [François Duchesne, Histoire de tous les Cardinaux françois de naissance (Paris 1660), p. 165-168]. He was in Rome, however, at the end of 1201: he signed a bull on December 23, 1201, and on January 1, 1202. [In general, see Maleczek, Papst und Kardinalskolleg, 64-68]
28. Adelardo "Cattaneo", of Verona, cardinalis sancte Romane ecclesie, bishop of Verona, and, according to Miranda, retired from the titulus of S. Marcello [cf. Eubel I, p. 3. n. 1]. He signed bulls for Lucius III in 1185 [Jaffé, Regesta pontificum II, p. 431; Lucius died on November 21, 1185], for Urban III [Jaffé, p. 493; Urban died on October 20, 1187], for Gregory VIII [October-December 17, 1187], and Clement III, until October 29, 1188 [Jaffé, 536].
          By 1193, the Cardinal Priest of S. Marcello was Cardinal Fidantius [Jaffé, p. 577; Julius von Pflugk-Harttung, Acta pontificum Romanorum inedita I (1880), no. 435, pp. 374 [JL 17341]. His earliest subscription is on March 5, 1193. In fact, on August 15, 1193, Cardinal Fidantius of S. Marcello, who has the title of Apostolicae Sedis Legatus, grants an indulgence on the Feast of the Assumption, with Cardinal Adelardo, Bishop of Verona, being present [Kehr, Italia Pontificia 7.1, p. 244, no. 44]. On June 14, 1195, Fidantius was legatus of Celestine III in Lombardy [Kehr, Italia Pontificia 5, p. 422 no. 8]. Fidantius subscribed for the last time on June 25, 1196; he died on February 2, 1197, while on a legation in Scandanavia [Maleczek, Papst und Kardinalskolleg, pp. 113-114].
          In 1192, Pope Celestine III assigned Cardinal Adelardo, Bishop of Verona, to deal with a matrimony case, and likewise in 1194 a conflict between the Archdeacon of Verona and a priest [Kehr, Italia Pontificia 7.1, p. 228 no. 49 and p. 264 no. 19; p. 229 no. 51]   Innocent III wrote four letters on May 10, 1202, to A(delardo) Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinali, Veronensi Episcopo [Migne, Patrologiae 214, columns 985-988; Potthast nr. 1674]. In 1204, Innocent III directs a mandate to him and two other bishops [Potthast, 2079]. In his biographical notice of Raoul de Neuville, Salvador Miranda explains at n. 1 that "the practice of resigning the cardinalatial title when appointed to a diocese was followed by some cardinals in the 12th and 13th centuries", citing the Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1928 for Cardinal Adelardo Cattaneo in 1888 (The "practice" was not followed by Stephen Langton of Canterbury or Guy Paré of Rheims, Bishop of Palestrina [Gallia Christiana 10 (1717), Instrumenta cols. 53-56 (July 6, 1204) = Potthast 2269]). Note that, according to the evidence cited, Adelardus continues to be a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church; it is only his titulus that he resigns. Migne remarks [column 985 n. 109] that Cardinal Adelard died in 1211 or 1212. The latest document with his subscription seems to be one of July 17, 1212 [Ganzer, 140]. Kartusch [p. 65 and n. 38] states, "Adelard soll ende1211 oder Anfang 1112 gestorben sein." And, as Eubel points out on p. 522, Cardinal Adelardus' successor, Bishop Norandinus, was already bishop-elect of Verona on October 13, 1214, and held it until September 22, 1224 On January 8, 1198, there is every reason to expect that Adelardo was in his diocese at Verona, no longer involved in the affairs of the Roman Curia. An inscription on Cardinal Adelardus' tomb in the Basilica of S. Zeno in Verona, to which his remains were transferred in 1642, states that he died in 1225; this inscription is not contemporary with Cardinal Adelardus. He was originally buried simply, and then his body was transferred to an appropriate marble monument, from which it was re-transferred in 1642; concerning the inscription Ciaconius states (column 1119): "eo enim anno non obiit Adelardus, sed eo anno ac die in eo tumulo ejus cadaver reclusum fuisse indicat". It should be noted that Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica I, p. 3 n.1, leaves the date of Adelard's death an open question.
29. Roffredo dell'Isola, OSB, Cardinal Priest in the title of Ss. Marcellino e Pietro [1191–ca. 1200, according to Eubel, 44, who is clearly wrong); cf. Potthast 2076 (January 1, 1204) and Potthast 3471 a letter to Roffredo from Innocent III (July 25, 1208)]. He was Abbot of Montecassino (1188-1210) [e.g. JL 16648, where the cardinalate is also mentioned], and was likely at Montecassino on the day of the death and burial of Celestine III and election of Innocent III. Roffridus was, in fact, more of a general than a priest. He was a principal commander in the south for Emperor Henry VI, whose death on September 28, 1197, brought on a crisis in the south. It would have been positively dangerous for Roffridus' interests to be in Rome in January of 1198 (See Tosti, Storia della Badia di Monte-Cassino, I, pp.219-228) . Then, on the death of the Empress Constanza (November, 1198), the protection of her only son, Frederick of Sicily, fell to the Abbot as representative on the spot of Pope Innocent III, who had been named guardian of Frederick in the Empress' will. Ryccardus of S. Germano [MGH 19, p. 330; p. 69 ed. A. Gaudenzi (Napoli 1888)] says that in 1198 Pope Innocent sent two cardinals south to Roffredo with a troop of soldiers to be used against Markward of Annweiler, Count of the Abruzzi, agent of Philip of Swabia. In 1202 he and Cardinal Petrus Galloze were legates in Apulia [Ryccardus de S. Germano sub anno 1202; p. 70 ed. Gaudenzi]. In January, 1208, Cardinal Roffredo and an army reduced the city of Sora to obedience to Pope Innocent III; later that year, on June 23, Innocent visited S. Germano, and was received by the Cardinal [Ryccardus de S. Germano sub anno 1208; p. 73-74 ed. Gaudenzi]. Ryccardus of S. Germano states that Cardinal Abbot Roffredo died on May 30, 1209 [Ryccardus de S. Germano sub anno 1202; p. 75-76 ed. Gaudenzi], but this is not possible. He actually died on May 30, 1210 [Ganzer, 141-145]. [In general, see Maleczek, Papst und Kardinalskolleg, 68]
    
    
30. Rogerius, OSB Cas., Cardinal Priest in the title of S. Eusebio. Aappointed Archbishop of Benevento in 1179 by Alexander III [F. Ughelli, Italia sacra VIII (Venetiis 1721), 126]; he held the post until December 25, 1221 [cf. G. Cappelletti, Le chiese d' Italia III (1844), pp. 82-87]. His predecessor was Lombardus, who was appointed in 1171 and resigned before July 27, 1179 [Ughelli, Italia sacra VIII, 121-123]. He did not subscribe any papal documents. [Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica I, p. 3 n.1, and p. 5 n.2, does not consider him as one of the Cardinals alive at the time of the Election of 1198, or as one of the Cardinals alive at the time of the Election of 1216—though he survives until 1121; cf. Brixius, p. 66]. Ganzer, pp. 129-131, believes that he was not a cardinal during his archbishopric. He is called Cardinal of S. Eusebio is in E. Gattula, Historia Abbatiae Cassiniensis Pars prima (Venetiis 1733). 399, which Gattula quotes from the Register of Petrus Diaconus, and notes that the document is in a later hand, quamquam recentiori charactere [text also in Ughelli VIII, 126]. Ughelli [Italia Sacra VIII, 126] also mentions the existence of a second text, which was later published by Stefano Borgia, in Memorie istoriche della pontificia città di Benevento Parte III (Roma 1769) 185-187. [My thanks to Tomasz Karlikowske for drawing this to my attention]. A letter of Philippus, Bishop of Troia and Rector of Benevento notes that, in accordance with a papal mandate, Pater noster d(omi)nus Roggerius dei gratia sancti Eusebii Cardinalis Beneventanus Episcopus suspenderat ab officio iudicatus [Petrum Malaina]. The document was found by Norbert Kamp, Kirche und Monarchie im staufischen Konigreich Sizilien (1973), p. 206. There is no question, therefore, that Rogerius was a Cardinal of S. Eusebio from 1180 to his death in 1221. Ughelli mentions a third document, dated 1220, but it has not been located. In any case, there is no evidence that Cardinal Rogerius attended the Election of 1216, or 1198, or 1187, or 1187, or 1181.

 

In addition, Salvador Miranda lists three cardinals who were not present at the Election of 1198:

• Simeone Paltinieri, title not known. Olduin points out, in Ciaconius-Olduin Volume I, column 1122, that the knowledge of this "cardinal" comes entirely from one Bernardinus Scardeonius, an author from Padua. But where Scardeonius got the story, Olduin does not know: "at unde Scardeonius id acceperit, notum nobis non est." When Andrea Victorelli revised Ciaconius, he identified this Simon Paltinieri with the real cardinal of the same name, who had been a Canon of Padua, and who was Cardinal Priest of SS. Silvestri e Martini (1261-1277). There is no evidence to support the existence of the Simeone Paltinieri under Lucius III. [See Cardella I. 2, p. 155] Simeone Paltinieri was not a Cardinal in 1198.
  
  
• Henri de Sully, OCist., son of Archambault III Comte de Bourbon; nephew of Thibault the Great, Comte de Champagne. His brother was Eudes (some say Maurice), Bishop of Paris. [See Plongeron et Pietri, Le Diocèse de Paris I (Paris 1987), 102]. He had been Abbot of Chalis in the Diocese of Sens. In 1183, he was elected Archbishop of Bourges, and consecrated by the Legate, Lamberto Crivelli, Archbishop of Milan (who became Pope Urban III in 1185). The confirmation of his privileges as archbishop and primate is made in a bull of Lucius III, dated January 3, 1184 (Pflugk-Harttung, Acta pontificum Romanorum inedita I, no. 355, pp. 311-313); he is addressed as: venerabili fratri Henrico, Bituricensis ecclesiae archiepiscopo.(There were two other bulls of the same date: Catalogue général des manuscrits des bibliothèques publiques de France, Tome XXXVII. seconde partie [Paris 1905], p. 826)   Urban III allegedly made Henri a Cardinal in 1186 and Legatus in Aquitaine, but his alleged title as cardinal, if any, is unknown, and indeed most authorities never speak of him as a cardinal.
        Antoine Touron, OP, Histoire des hommes illustres de l'Ordre de Saint Dominique (Paris 1743) p. 405, states that Henri de Sully was named Bishop of Albano by Urban III. There was indeed an Henricus Albanensis under Urban III, and he had been Legate in France, but he had been subscribing bulls since the time of Alexander III in 1179, and continued to do so until 1187; he was succeeded as Bishop of Albano by Albinus Albanensis in 1189. Clearly, Henricus Albanensis is a different person from Henri de Sully. Is it possible, however, that this casual mistake (not originally Touron's, but part of the Cistercian tradition) brought about the assignment of the title of cardinal to Henri de Sully?
        In papal letters and bulls addressed to him, Henri de Sully is never called Cardinal, only archbishop, primate, and legate. This is in constrast to the habit of the papal chancery with reference to Cardinal Guillaume, Archbishop of Reims: venerabilis fratris nostri W(illelmi) Remensis archiepiscopi, S. Sabinae cardinali, apostolicae sedis legati, where the title of Cardinal is always mentioned.  Panvinius and Ciaconius have no knowledge of Henri's cardinalate; but cf. François Duchesne, Histoire de tous les Cardinaux françois de naissance (Paris 1660), pp. 183-184. Ciaconius-Olduin I, column 1128, traces the information about the cardinalate to the Cistercian writer, Gaspare Iongelino [Purpura Sancti Bernardi (Cologne 1644)].   It seems that Sully never came to Rome. He did not participate in the Election of 1198, or any papal election. His name should be deleted from any list of cardinals. Henri de Sully died on September 13, 1199 [not 1200].
  
  
• Guido de Papa (Papareschi) was a Cardinal and was probably present at the Election of 1198.
  

But this third "Cardinal" who was not present was not Guido Papareschi. It was Guido Paré (Guy Paré), who was not present likely because he was not yet a cardinal, and because he was occupied with his duties as Abbot of Citeaux and Master General of the Cistercians:

• Guido (Guy Paré or Poré), OCist., fifteenth Abbot of Citeaux (1194-1200). Miranda lists him as Abbot and Abbot General in 1190, when he was allegedly named Cardinal. He was neither. The abbot of Clairvaux from 1190-1194 was Abbot William III. And thus, there is little logical reason why he should be picked out by Clement III to be a cardinal. His achievements, except as a preacher of crusade, were still in the future. Salvador Miranda makes Paré the Cardinal who subscribes that bull on February 17, 1191 (see above under Guido Papareschi) [Jaffe-Loewenfeld, p. 535] and the Cardinal of S. Maria in Trastevere. Legate in France in 1199. Legate in Germany in 1201 [Cf. Migne, PL 214, columns 957-958 n. 19]. He died on July 30, 1206 [Eubel I, p. 37]. He died at Gand of the plague and was buried in the Church in his monastery of Citeaux.
        It may be suspected that Guy is one of those French cardinals who do not come to Rome for many years after their appointments and thus do not receive their cardinalatial title, in this case a Deaconry. This would explain why no Cardinal Deacon named Guido subscribed at all during the reign of Celestine III. When Guy did finally come to Rome, after the conclusion of his Generalate, in the reign of Innocent III, he was appointed Bishop of Palestrina [Gallia Christiana 10 (1717), Instrumenta cols. 53-56 (July 6, 1204) = Potthast 2269] (The See of Palestrina had been occupied by Cardinal Johannes [Giovanni de' Conti di Segni] until after March 22, 1196). Davidsohn (p. 58, 61) apparently does not consider him a Cardinal in 1196. But when he was appointed Archbishop of Reims in 1204, he is again conspicuous by his absence in France. [In general see: François Duchesne, Histoire de tous les Cardinaux françois de naissance (Paris 1660), p. 185-188; Cardella, pp. 174-176: Cardella notes an attractive alternate view of Oudin, in which Guy was made a cardinal by Innocent III in 1198, while, rather than before, he was Abbot of Citeaux. Cardinal Guy could not have been subscribing documents in Rome throughout the 1190s while also being the Abbot General of the Cistercians and Abbot of Citeaux].
  
  The inscriptions on his tomb read:
  
  Nobis donatus de culmine pontificatus Rhemis translatus jacet hic vir Guido beatus.
  
  CORPUS B. Guidonis de Paré, quondam Cardinalis et Legati in Germania ex monacho et abbate hujus coenobii assumpti in archiepiscopum Rhemensem; obiit Gandavi anno M. CCVI.
  
  I pass over the "B. tituli Sancte Marie trans Tiberim presbiterum" mentioned in a letter of Celestine III to the Bishop of Arras (Atrebatensis) in M. Giraud (ed.) Cartulaire de l' Église Nôtre Dame de Paris I (Paris 1850), no. lxvii, p. 66 (November 23, 1196) [= Migne PL 206, p. 1185; JL 17447]. That cardinal (who was actually Cardinal Guido) sat as assessor along with "G(regorium) Sancte Marie in Porticu diaconum", in a case which was handled in Rome in the presence of Pope Celestine.
  

• It is not known whether (Magister) Melior, Cardinal Priest of SS. Ioannis et Pauli, was alive or dead on January 8, 1198. Archdeacon of Laon and Archdeacon of Reims, he had been made a Cardinal by Lucius III in 1185 [Th. Lejeune, Documents et rapports de la Société paléontologique et archéologique de Charleroi 12 (1883), no. xxvi, 335-339 (November 11, 1185)]. He was sent as Legate to France by Celestine III, escorting Queen Berengaria of England and Joanna, widow of King William of Sicily (March or April, 1193). In 1194 he arranged a truce between Richard I of England and Philip Augustus of France. He had been sent again as Legate to France in the Spring of 1195 with his associate the Subdeacon and Papal Notary Centius who was special Papal Legate [Letter of Celestine III to Archbishop Walter of Rouen, March 13, 1195 (Recueil des historiens des Gaules 19, p. 340)] to deal with King Philip Augustus' embarassing marital situation. Melior was back in Rome in 1196: he subscribed bulls on February 9 and 13, 1196 [Migne Patrologiae 206, 1141 and 1146], March 7, 1196 [JL 17341], on May 11 [Migne Patrologiae 206, 1168], and again at the beginning of summer, on June 24, 1196 [J. Courtois, Chartes de l' Abbaye de Saint-Étienne de Dijon   Tome 1.1 (Paris 1908), p. 126], and again on December 13, 1196 [Migne Patrologiae 206, 1192] . The Council which apparently took place in Paris on May 7, 1196, which Celestine III had ordered convoked [Mansi 22, 671-672, Hefele, Conciliengeschichte 5, 759], could not have been presided over by Cardinal Melior. Others therefore date that council to April of the following year, 1197. Meanwhile, despite the most serious warnings from Cardinal Melior, Subdeacon Centius, and a number of French bishops, in June 1196 King Philip married Agnes, daughter of Count Berthold de Méranie, despite the fact that the Church still considered him legally married to Ingeborg of Denmark—despite the 'dissolution' arranged by the complaisant Cardinal Guillaume, Archbishop of Reims, the King's uncle, on November 5, 1193 [R. Davidsohn, Philipp II August, pp. 55-63]. Cardinal Melior was in Rome in the winter of 1196/7, and subscribed two bulls on February 1, 1197 [Migne PL 206, nos. 292 and 293, columns 1199 and 1200; JL 17488]. Sent to France again in 1197, he excommunicated Count Baldwin of Flanders and laid the Interdict on his lands [Lettres d' Étienne de Tournai (ed. Jules de Silve) no. 242, pp. 298-300 and 468 (1197, before July 1)]. Stephen of Tournai in obedience to the Pope and to Cardinal William of Champagne also placed an interdict on the lands of Count Baldwin and excommunicated him [Lettres d' Étienne de Tournai (ed. Jules de Silve) no. 14]. Baldwin of Flanders had just entered into a treaty of alliance with King Richard I of England (Recueil des historiens des Gaules 17, pp. 46-49; Rymer Foedera I, p. 30). In the summer of 1197, Baldwin was invading northeastern France; Arras and Tournai were under siege [Lettres d' Étienne de Tournai (ed. Jules de Silve) nos. 265-267]. In a letter to King Philip of May 17, 1198 (Ep. I, 171; Migne Patrologiae Latinae 214, column 149), Innocent III speaks of Cardinal Melior as bonae memoriae M. sanctor. Ioannis et Pauli presbyterum cardinalem, tunc apostolicae sedis legatus. There is a lamentable tendency among scholars to declare a person dead the day after he signs his latest extant document.

 

---

Election

The chronicler Roger Hoveden [ed. Stubbs, Volume IV,, pp. 32-33; Winkelmann I, pp. 92-93] reports that the negotiations for the election of a new pope began before Christmas of 1197, while Pope Celestine was still alive but seriously ill, and that the initiator of the discussions was Celestine himself. He summoned all of the Cardinals to a meeting in his presence.

Deinde dominus papa Coelestinus ante Natale Domini paulatim coepit aegrotare, et convocatis coram se cardinalibus universis, praecepit ut tractarent de successore suo eligendo. Ipse enim nitebatur modis omnibus, ut dominus Johannes de Sancto Paulo, presbyter cardinalis tituli Sanctae Priscae Virginis, ei succederet in papatu: de cujus sapientia, sanctitate, et justitia plurimum confidebat. Adeo enim ipsum prae caeteris diligebat, quod illum loco sui constituerat ad omne officium suum exsequendum, nisi in consecratione episcoporum, quod pertinebat ad officium episcopi Hostiensis cardinalis. Praeterea praefatus papa obtulit, quod ipse seipsum deponeret a papatu, si cardinales consentirent in electione praefati Johannis de Sancto Paulo. Sed omnes cardinales una voce responderunt, quod illum conditionaliter non eligerent; dicentes, quod inauditum erat quod summus pontifex se deponeret; et sic erat schisma inter illos. Dominus enim Hostiensis episcopus cardinalis [Ottaviano dei Conti] nitebatur, ut ipsemet papa fieret, similiter dominus Portuensis, episcopus cardinalis, similiter dominus Jordanus de Fossa Nova, similiter dominus Gratianus, et caeteri omnes nitebantur, unusquisque pro posse suo, ut ipse fieret summus pontifex.

The Pope had a candidate in mind, and he was attempting to designate his successor. This was nothing new. Gregory VII had done it; Urban II had done it. Victor III had done it. Honorius II had done it. Adrian IV and others had done it. All of them had limited success, twice bringing about a schism in the Church [Holder, Die Designation der Nachfolger durch die Päpste, 51-68]. Celestine had a candidate in mind—Cardinal Joannes de Sancto Paulo, one of his own creature, made Cardinal Priest of S. Prisca in 1193. Joannes was a sort of factotum for the Pope in everything but the consecration of bishops. The Pope even offered to resign the papacy [ipse seipsum deponeret a papatu] if the cardinals would agree to elect Cardinal Joannes. The Cardinals unanimously replied that they would not elect him under those conditions, since it was unheard of for a pope to "depose himself". Since the time of Gregory VII, the cardinals had become more aware of themselves as a corporate body, and more sensitive of their position and powers as individual cardinals. They would not conduct an election with conditions attached to it; they would not rubber-stamp Celestine's choice; they demanded freedom of action. And it was one thing for a pope to designate a successor, and quite another to resign in favor of a specific candidate. Four of the cardinals began their own campaigns for the Chair of Peter: Ottaviano dei Conti, Pietro Gallozia, Jordanus de Fossanova, and Gratianus of SS. Cosma e Damiano.

One may note that the interpretation of Ciaconius-Olduin (II, column 1) makes this Cardinal John, who was so favored by Celestine III, into Joannes Lotharius Cardinal Deacon of SS. Sergius and Bacchus. This is done in the teeth of the one source that exists for the story: Roger of Hoveden.

Pope Celestine died on January 8, 1198. Some of the Cardinals immediately assembled at the Monastery of Septa solis at the Clivus Scaurus, for the sake of electoral security. This monastery was next to the Deaconry of S. Lucia in Septa solis, and it was likely in that church that the election was conducted. Lothar and some others, however, went to S. Giovanni Laterano, where the funeral of Pope Celestine was held. On the return of these cardinals to the Monastery, a Mass of the Holy Spirit was sung and the voting began. First there was a vote, in which the scrutators took down the vote of each cardinal in writing. They counted up the votes and reported that Cardinal Lotharius had the most votes, but that there were votes for three other candidates [Gesta Innocentii III Papae, v.]:

Defuncto igitur Coelestino, cum quidam cardinalium se contulissent ad Septa Solis monasterii Clivi scauri, ut liberius et securius ibi possent de successoris electione tractare, ipse [Lotharius cardinalis] cum quibusdam aliis apud basilicam Constantinianam voluit decessoris exsequiis interesse. Quibus honorifice celebratis, ipse cum illis ad praefatum locum accessit. Missarum solemniis in honore sancti Spiritus a solis ibidem cardinalibus celebratis, cum ad tractandum de substitutione pontificis consedissent, placuit omnibus in communi, ut ad terram humiliter inclinati, singuli pacis osculum sibi darent. Et, exhortatione praemissa, examinatores fuerunt secundum morem electi, qui, sigillatim votis omnium perscrutatis, et in scriptis redactis, examinationem factam retulerunt ad fratres, et quoniam in eum plurimi convenerunt, licet tres alii fuissent ab aliquibus nominati...

Roger of Hoveden, however, has a different story and adds the following information, now about another candidate named John, not John de Sancto Paulo, OSB, but John of Salerno, OSB, a Benedictine monk from Monte Cassino [ed. Stubbs, Volume IV, p. 174-175]:

Eodem anno [A.D. 1201] Johannes Salernitanus, tituli Sancti Stephani in monte Celio presbyter cardinalis, apostolicae sedis legatus in Scotia, et in Hibernia, et in insulis adjacentibus, venit Eboracum. Qui cum esset unus de duobus electis in Romanum pontificem proximo post decessum Coelestini papae, electioni suae renunciavit, licet decem cardinales in electione sua consensissent: et ipse cum caeteris cardinalibus elegit Lotarium diaconum cardinalem in Romanum pontificem, qui vocatus est Papa Innocentius Tertius.

This suggests that Cardinal Joannes of Salerno, OSBCasin., had sufficient votes with his ten supporters to block any other candidate from becoming pope. But if the report in the "Gesta Innocentii III Papae" is to be reconciled with the testimony of Roger of Hoveden, it would have to be assumed that Cardinal John of Salerno had only the second highest number of votes after Cardinal Lotharius (in eum plurimi convenerunt) but that there were two other candidates named (electi) by the voters [Luchaire, 14]. During the discussion after the vote, it must have become obvious that Cardinal John's support was not going to increase to the point where he would have the necessary two-thirds, and so he did the gracious and constructive thing, and decided to support Cardinal Lotharius—who did have a chance. What stood in Lothar's way was concern about his relative youth.

After a lengthy discussion (reluctatio diuturna) about the age of Cardinal Lotharius—he was thirty-seven—the Cardinals reached agreement on him and elected him Pope Innocent III. Whether this agreement constituted a second vote, or a vote and an accession, or just one process, is a matter of interpretation [Gesta Innocentii III Papae, v.]:

Et, exhortatione praemissa, examinatores fuerunt secundum morem electi, qui, sigillatim votis omnium perscrutatis, et in scriptis redactis, examinationem factam retulerunt ad fratres, et quoniam in eum plurimi convenerunt, licet tres alii fuissent ab aliquibus nominati, post disputationem super aetate habitam inter eos, quia tunc erat annorum triginta septem, omnes tandem consenserunt in ipsum, propter honestatem morum et scientiam litterarum, eum in summum pontificem eligentes, flentem, ejulantem et renitentem, vocantes ipsum Innocentium, cum prius Lotharius vocaretur. Et publicata electione, cum laudibus ductus est a multitudine cleri ac populi, qui inferius exspectabant, ad Constantiniam Basilicam, et inde ad patriarchium Lateranense perductus, peractis omnibus secundum morem solitum et antiquum.... Celebrata est ejus electio sexto Idus Januarii, anno Incarnationis Dominicae millesimo centesimo nonagesimo septimo [January 8, 1198].

Innocent himself wrote to the Patriarch of Jerusalem (Epp. I, 11; Baluzius p. 6): tanta fuit inter fratres nostros super Pontificis substitutione concordia, ... omnes universaliter unum saperent, et idem singulariter postularent nos.... He was doubtlessly speaking about the final result. The motive for unanimity was also addressed in his: Electoral Manifesto (ep. I. 1: Ineffabilis sapientia Conditoris): fratrum nostrorum acquiescentes instantiae, ne reluctatio diuturna disidii pareret detrimentum aut dispositioni divinae videretur aliquatenus obviare. The memory of two schisms in the Church in the twelfth century may well have been on the minds of all of the Cardinals, most of whom could remember vividly the reign of Alexander III (1159-1181) and his three successive opponents.

 

Investiture and Coronation

Since Innocent III (Lotharius dei Conti) was neither a priest nor a bishop, he was ordained a priest on Saturday, February 21, 1198 ["Gesta Innocentii PP III", vii, Migne column xx]. Nonetheless there is a story that, while he was celebrating Mass on January 28 (the Feast of St. Agnes) in the Lateran Basilica, at the elevation of the Host, an angel in a shining garment and carrying a cross appeared to him {Baronius-Theiner, sub anno 1198 no. 5, p. 690, on the authority of Ralph Diceto). Anachronistic rubbish.

Innocent III was consecrated a bishop by Cardinal Octavianus, Bishop of Ostia, and immediately thereafter crowned as Pope at the Vatican Basilica on February 22, 1198, the Feast of St. Peter's Chair. It is assumed that he was crowned by Cardinal Graziano, Cardinal Deacon of SS. Cosma e Damiano. On the following day, February 23, he received the fealty of Petrus, Prefect of the City of Rome, and invested him in a mantle which the Pope gave him. In return Peter gave the Pope a silver cup. (on the significance, see Gregorovius V, pp. 19-25)