SEDE VACANTE 1280-1281

August 22, 1280 —February 22, 1281

Nicholas III (Orsini) had spent his entire reign attempting to limit and diminish the influence of the French on Italy and the Papacy, and attempting to avert a confrontation between the Emperor Rudolf and King Charles. He was even able to persuade King Charles I of Naples and Sicily to give up his position as Roman Senator in 1278, at the conclusion of ten years of tenure [Olivieri, Il senato romano I, p. 198-199], as well as the position of Papal Vicar for Tuscany (Chronicon p. 370):

De mense vero Augusti Dominus Rex Karolus volens observare pacta et conventiones qu(a)e sunt inter Ecclesiam Romanam et ipsum dominum regem facta per dominum papam Urbanum felicis memoria, in manibus domini Nicholay tercii Roman(a)e Ecclesi(a)e summi pontificis repudiavit et senatoriam et dominatum urbis Rom(a)e et quicquid habet a ponte Zeperani citra. Qui dominus papa posuit pro se senatorem in urbe ad suam voluntatem unum suum parentem et unum vicarium pro Ecclesia in Tuscia, et die XXII septembris in manibus fratris Latini per suos procuratores in Viterbo praedicta repudiavit.

Nicholas had also added nine new cardinals on March 12, 1278, most of whom were not of the French party, and among whom were five members of religious orders. He died at Castro Soriano in the diocese of Viterbo on August 22, 1280 of an apoplectic stroke which had left him without speech [Bernardus Guidonis, "Vita Nicolai III" in RIC III. 1, p. 606, 607; Baronius-Theiner, sub anno 1281, no. 7 p. 480; Chronicon, 374; Demski, 347-348]:

Die jovis XXII mensis augusti dominus Nicholaus papa tercius in castro serariani [Castel Soriano] ab hac luce transmigravit. Vixit autem iste papa per duos annos et VIII menses et XXVIII dies.

The story was nonetheless circulated that he died of poisoning [Annales S. Rudiberti Salisburgensis, in MGH IX, 806: toxico ut dicitur interemptus]. His body was returned to Rome and buried in the Capella S. Nicolae in the Vatican Basilica, of which he had once been Archpriest and which he had done a great deal to restore, spending a vast amount of money (Bernardus Guidonis, "Vita Nicolai III" in RIC III. 1, p. 607; Novaes, III 272).

In anticipation of his death there were serious troubles in Rome between the Orsini and the Annibaldi. The people of Rome, who had had too much of the nepotism, arrogance and greed of the Orsini, chose the side of the Annibaldi and forced the Orsini into exile. And the news of Nicholas' death ignited central Italy (Chronicon, 374), especially the Romagna:

Audito in Romagna de morte domini pape incontinenti pars Gibilinorum de Faentia, Furlini, Furnipopuli, Cesene, Crevie et plurium aliarum civitatum de Romagna partes Guelforum de ipsis civitatibus expulserunt. Die Martis XXII mensis novembris Bononienses cum eorum amicis intraverunt in civitatem Faentie, multos de parte Gibilinorum occidendo et capiendo. De menso vero septembris pars Advocatorum de Vercellis de civitate expulsit partem Tizonorum, multos occidendo et capiendo. De mense vero decembris Gibilini de Senegalia expulserunt partem Guelforum de dicta civitate occidendo Palmerolum de Fano et multos alios....

The Electors

.At the time of Pope Nicholas' death, there were thirteen cardinals. A list is given by Conrad Eubel, Hierarchia catholica I, p. 10 note 3.

It is alleged that Bernard Ayglier, OSB, former abbot of Lerins and current Abbot of Monte Cassino (1263-1282), once Papal Legate to Constantinople, the only (alleged) creation of Clement IV, was a cardinal, but that he did not attend this conclave (†1282). The statement is sometimes encountered that he was "living in retirement", a notion for which there is no documentary evidence. He was a strong partisan of King Charles of Anjou, and his brother was Archbishop of Naples. After the reunion of the eastern and western churches at the Lateran Council, he was sent by Gregory X as legate to the Emperor Michael Paleologus (Tosti, 30-31). He died on April 3, 1282 (Tosti, 32). Neither Tosti himself, nor the documents written by Bernard which he cites, ever refer to Bernard as a cardinal; indeed the letter from Viterbo says, "Sani sumus per Dei gratiam, et opera nostra in oculis Domini papae sunt et omnium dominorum nostrorum cardinalium gratiosa, bene procedunt, scilicet negotia, et procedent.". If he were a cardinal, there is no evidence that he ever functioned as such, nor even what his title was. His name should not be included in the list of cardinals. His name is not on Eubel's list for the Conclave of 1280-1281 nor for those of 1277 (p. 9 n. 7), the three of 1276 (p. 9 n 4), nor that of 1268-1271 (p. 8, nn. 11 and 14).

There were, therefore, thirteen electors present at the Conclave in Viterbo:

Bentivegna de Bentivegnis, OFM [Acquasparta, Tudertinus (Todi)], Cardinal Bishop of Albano. In 1255 he is attested as being the director of the hospital in Todi, and custos of the Franciscan province of Umbria. In 1264 he was personal chaplain of Cardinal Stephen Bancsa, Bishop of Palestrina [Eubel, "Registerband", p. 3—though Eubel believed at the time that Cardinal Stephen had died in 1266, rather than 1271]. He had then been a chaplain, confessor [Wadding, Annales Minorum V, p. 49], and an "intimus amicus" (according to Fra Salimbene) of Cardinal Johannes Orsini, a fellow Franciscan, who became Nicholas III (This could have been between 1271 and 1276). On December 18, 1276, he was named Bishop of Todi [Eubel Hierarchia p. 501 and n. 2]. He was created Cardinal Bishop of Albano on March 12 or 13, 1278. Major Penitentiary [Cardella II, p. 13; though this seems to have been only a special appointment: Sägmüller, Die Thätigkeit, p. 107. The cardinalatial office of Major Penitentiarius as such may have not yet existed. Eubel ("Der Registerband", p. 20) quotes an entry in the register: "Memorandum, quod sanctissimus pater dominus Nicolaus, summus pontifex, mandavit venerabili B. Alban. episcopo Viterbii in camera sua, ut usque ad festum dominicae Resurrectionis proximae futurae adsisteret et iuvaret poenitentiarios in his, quae essent cum ipso domino expedienda contingentia officium poenitentiariae." (September 26, 1279)]. He continued to function as Penitentiary during the Sede Vacante of 1280-1281, and his powers were renewed under Martin IV [Eubel, "Der Registerband", p. 21 (March 3, 1281)]. Magister in Theologia. Fra Salimbene calls him Frater Beneceven (sub anno 1277, p. 272). He was present at the General Chapter of the Franciscans in June, 1289, along with Pope Nicholas IV. He was granted the right to make a Will and dispose of his property as he saw fit by Martin IV on August 5, 1281 [Potthast no. 21776]. He died at Todi on March 25, 1289 [that is, 1290: see "Chronica Generalium Ministrorum" in Analecta Franciscana III (1897), p. 369 n. 6 and 420; and Olduin in Ciaconius-Olduin II, column 223], and was buried there in the Franciscan Church of S. Fortunato.
Latino Frangipani Malabranca, OP [Romanus] (son of Angelo Malabranca; Nicholas III's nephew by his sister Mabilia Orsini. She was sister of the Matteo Rosso Orsini 'di Montegiordano', who was Roman Senator in 1279), Cardinal Bishop of Ostia and Velletri. He also held the Deaconry of S. Maria in via lata in commendam [V. Forcella, Catalogo dei manoscritti relativi alla storia di Roma I (Roma 1879), p. 35 no. 117], until March 28, 1278. He had been deputed by Nicholas to manage the elections for Senator in August, 1278 (Kaltenbrunner, Actenstücke 120; Posse 916), and then, in September, been appointed Legate for Tuscany and the Romagna [Actenstücke 131; Posse 931; his instructions: Actenstücke 145], a post which he exercised throughout the reign. In October 1278, he arranged peace in Florence and the Romandiola [Giovanni Villani Cronica VII. lvi]. But it is reported that he fled in the wake of the earthquake of May 1, 1279, which was centered in the neighborhood of Ancona [Fra Salimbene, Chronica p. 273-274 ed. Parma 1857]. Bologna and the people of the Romandiola were frightened into making a peace, arranged by Cardinal Latino [Potthast 21588 (May 29, 1279)]. He also excommunicated the people of Parma for turning on the Dominicans in the city because they burned a woman at the stake [Fra Salimbene, Chronica p. 273-274 ed. Parma 1857]. He died on August 9, 1294 ["Note Necrologiche di S. Sabina," in P. Egidi, Necrologie e libri affini della provincia Romana (Roma 1908), p. 296; Santa Sabina was a Dominican convent]. It is said, by St. Antoninus of Florence, that he was one of the Orsini cardinals who were kidnapped from the Conclave, but that he was allowed to return.
Ordoño (Ordeonio) Álvarez [Lusitanus], Cardinal Bishop of Tusculum (Frascati) (d. 1285), former Abbot of Fussellense (Palencia), then Archbishop of Braga [Eubel I, p. 144]. On September 6 and December 1, 1181, at Orvieto, he gave judgment in a case involving a Canon of S. Maria Maggiore and the church of S. Maria in Monsterio and the Monastery of S. Agnete [Fedele, Archivio della Societa romana di storia patria 29 (1906), no. ii, pp. 205-209].
Ancherius Pantaleoni [Gallus], nephew of Pope Urban IV, Cardinal priest of Santa Prassede (1261) † November 1, 1286, according to his memorial inscription in Santa Prassede [P. Fedele, Archivio della Societa romanà di storia patria 27 (1904), 31]. He was Provost of the Church of S. Martin in Chablis [Max. Quantin, Recueil de pieces pour faire suite au Cartulaire general de l'Yonne (Paris 1873), p. 359 no. 703 (September 15, 1279)]. Panvinio, in a hilarious mistake, makes him an Englishman from London; he misreads the fact that Ancher had been Archdiaconus Laudunensis (Laon) [Eubel, p. 8 n.8].
Guilelmus (Guillaume) de Bray (or Brie) [Gallus, diocese of Reims], Cardinal priest of S. Marco (1262-1282). According to Thierry of Vaucouleurs he had been Dean of the Cathedral of Laon and Archdeacon of Reims. (First known) Chamberlain of the College of Cardinals since 1272. He died at Orvieto on April 29, 1282, and he is commemorated on that day in the Church of Laon [Roy IV, p.3], the Church of Notre Dame de Paris, and the Royal Abbey of S. Denis [A. Molinier & A. Lognon, Obituaires de la province de Sens Tome I (Diocese de Sens) (Paris 1902), 125 and 340], and the Church of Notre Dame de Chartres [A. Molinier & A. Lognon, Obituaires de la province de Sens. Tome II (Diocese de Chartres) (Paris 1906) p. 140]. [Kirsch, p. 44]
Simon Mompitié [Meinpincien] de Brion [Simon de Turso] [Champagne], Cardinal priest of Santa Cecilia (1262-1281), elected as Pope Martin IV (1281-1285). Former Treasurer of S. Martin de Tours, Chancellor of Louis IX (1260-1261), in succession to Cardinal Raoul de Grosparmy. He was appointed Legate to France by Gregory X on August 1, 1274 [Baronius-Theiner 22, p. 334 no. 35-36; Sternfeld, 241]. He was still serving as Legate in France on May 7 of 1279, when the Pope asked him to get the Queen of France to make peace with King Charles of Sicily [Posse #972; Actenstücke 157, 217]. He was still Legate on June 9, 1279 [Actenstücke, p. 235]. Nicholas III is said to have recalled him as Legate to France (Cardella, 304). In a letter of October 19, 1279, he notes that he had been summoned to the Papal Court [Denifle, Cartularium Universitatis Parisiensis I, p. 578]
Gerardo Bianchi [Gainaco, diocese of Parma], Cardinal Priest of Santi XII Apostoli, Cardinal Bishop of Sabina on March 23 or April 12, 1281. d. 1302. Doctor in laws (Parma). Protonotary Apostolic. He was appointed Legate to Sicily by Pope Martin IV on June 5, 1282 [Potthast, 21912]. He was legate in Sicily at the time of the death of King Charles I (January 7, 1285), and was appointed administrator [Regni Ballius], along with Count Robert of Artois (Arras). Fra Salimbene of Parma speaks of him sub anno 1282 ( p. 281) as Legate in Sicily at the time of the Sicilian Vespers (1282).
Girolamo Masci d' Ascoli, OFM [Lisciano, near Ascoli], Cardinal Priest of Santa Pudenziana (1278-1281). Cardinal Bishop of Palestrina (1281). (future Pope Nicholas IV, 1288-1292). Former Minister General of the Franciscans (1274-1279) [Fra Salimbene, sub anno 1277, p. 272; Wadding, Annales Minorum V, 48]. He was the associate of John of Vercellae, OP, sent to arrange a peace between Philip of France and Alfonso of Spain on October 15 [Potthast 21165; and see Baronius-Theiner 22, sub anno 1277, no. 47, p. 402]. He and John were again appointed to the same task on April 4, 1278 [Potthast 21294-21295; 21310]. Girolamo was ordered to continue on as Minister General of the Franciscans until otherwise provided [Potthast 21356]. On May 16, 1279, Pope Nicholas III wrote to the General Chapter of the Franciscans, meeting at Assisi, that Cardinal Girolamo could not attend propter corporis infirmitatem [Potthast 21582]. In 1283 he and Cardinal Giacomo Colonna were sent as legates to the Romagna to compose the differences between Guelfs and Ghibellines. Doctor in Theology (Perugia).
Iacobus (Giacomo Savelli) [Romanus], Cardinal Deacon of Santa Maria in Cosmedin (1261-1285), future Pope Honorius IV (1285-1287) He received an annual subsidy of 60 marks from the King of England [Rymer Foedera II (1725), p 289 (22 October 1284)].
Godefridus (Gottifridus, Geoffroy, Goffredo di Alatri in Lazio), Cardinal Deacon of S. Giorgio in Velabro (1261-1287). Canon of the Cathedral of Alatri (by 1229). In 1251 he is mentioned as a chaplain of Cardinal Stefano de Normandis of the titulus of S. Maria in Trastevere, and granted the privilege of being Decanus Olensis and pastor of the church of S. Stefano in Alatri at the same time [Registres d' Innocent IV, Tome III, no. 5462, p. 5]. Chaplain of Alexander IV and judge in a case between the Bishop of Ascoli and a certain Rinaldo [G. Mazzatinti, Gli archivi della storia d' Italia III (Rocca S. Casciano 1900-1901), p. 96 (Ascoli, Archivio capitolare, 1257)]. He countersigned two letters of Nicholas III [Registres de Nicolas III no. 458 and 459 and 475 (St Peter's, March 18, 1279; May 7, 1279)]. He signed a bull for Nicholas III, regulating the statutes of the clergy of St. Peter's Basilica [Registres de Nicolas III no. 517 (February 3, 1279)]. In February, 1281, before a coronation could be arranged for Martin IV, he and Cardinal Latino Malabranca Orsini were sent to Rome 'velut pacis angelis'. The mission was a failure [Martène-Durand, Veterum scriptorum II, 1284-1285; Potthast 21738] † 1287 (cf. Sternfeld, 289 n.3). [Cardella I. 2, p. 302-303, records no achievements except that he was a cardinal for twenty-six years, and crowned Pope Honorius IV. He participated in seven conclaves]. [He possessed fifty-two books at his death, of which twenty-three were juridical in nature: M. Prou, "Inventaire des meubles du Cardinal Geoffroy d' Alatri (1287)," Melanges d' archeologie et d' histoire 5 (1885), 382 ff.; a list of the books in: Neuer Anzeiger für Bibliographie und Bibliothekwissenschaft 47 (1886), pp. 105-107].
Matteo Rosso Orsini [Romanus], grandson of Matteo Rosso “il Grande” (born 1178, died October 13, 1246), son of Gentile Orsini, Signore di Mugnano, Penna, Nettuno e Pitigliano e Nobile Romano; nephew of Gian Gaetano Orsini (elected Nicholas III). Cardinal Deacon of Santa Maria in Porticu (1262-1305). He became Archpriest of the Vatican Basilica under Nicholas III, before May 25, 1278 [Huyskens, Historisches Jahrbuch 27 (1906) 266 n.1; Registres de Nicolas III no. 517 (February 3, 1279)]. He received an annual stipend of 60 silver marks from the King of England [Rymer Foedera II, p. 257 (September 2, 1283). Died September 4, 1305. The Orsini had turned to supporting the claims of Rudolf of Austria to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor (Sternfeld, 225-228). Kidnapped from the Conclave in 1281 by Riccardo de Annibaldi and the Viterbians.
Giordano Orsini [Romanus], son of Matteo Rosso Orsini 'Il Grande' and brother of Pope Nicholas III, Cardinal Deacon of S. Eustachio. d. 1287. Kidnapped from the Conclave by Riccardo de Annibaldi and the Viterbians.
Giacomo Colonna [Romanus], son of Giordano Colonna, Signore di Colonna, Monteporzio, Zagarolo, Gallicano e Palestrina; and Francesca, daughter of Paolo Conti. Brother of Giovanni Colonna, Senatore di Roma, 1279-1280. Uncle of Cardinal Pietro Colonna and Stefano Colonna. Archdeacon of Pisa. Cardinal Deacon of S. Maria in Via Lata (March 12, 1278; deposed May 10, 1297; restored February 2, 1306). On July 12, 1278, Pope Nicholas III sent him to Rome as one of a three-cardinal Commission pro ejus statu pacificoet prospero, and to conduct the election of a Senator of Rome [Registres de Nicolas III no. 703-705, p. 320]. d. August 14, 1318 in Avignon. An opponent of the Orsini.

John of Vercellae, OP: not a pope

It might also be noted that around the time of the Conclave of 1281 a Dominican, Fra Giovanni da Vercelli, OP, the sixth Master General of the Order of Preachers, was allegedly elected pope. The text says that this was in 1283, but Master John died before he received notification (Mortier, II 37 n.1, quoting unpublished material from the Archives of the Dominican Order):

dum esset ultra montes, electus est in Papam a D(omi)nis Cardinalibus; sed antequam electio ei fuisset presentata, apud Montempessulanum diem clausit supremum, anno Domini 1283 (Jacques de Soest)

There was no election in 1283, however. Pope Martin IV (Simon de Brie) was in the middle of his reign (1281-1285). Efforts to repair the date, making it read 1280, must fail. There actually was a General Chapter of the Order of Preachers in 1283 at Montepulciano, and John of Vercellae was present; if the election had been announced to him, it would have been then and there. The meeting place for the next Chapter was fixed for Bologna, but the Acta Capitulorum Generalium (Reichert, 226) has the following note:

Isto anno, scilicet .mo.cco.lxxxiiiio [1284], non fuit celebratum generale capitulum, quia magister ordinis felicis ac dulcis memorie venerabilis pater frater Johannes de Uerzellis, verus Israelita, migravit ad dominum Ihesum Christum in conventu Montispessulani. Vir fuit magne perfectionis atque sanctitatis, et rexit ordinem per magnum tempus, scilicet per decem et novem annos et dimidium in magna sanctitate.

Despite efforts to repair the date, then, and to suggest that Giovanni da Vercelli was the recipient of votes in 1280, but not elected, the story must be considered a complete fiction. Though such a scenario is presented in Volume 13 of Cardinal Baronius' Annales Ecclesiastici, edited by Abraham Bzovius, a member of the Order of Preachers (sub anno 1281, no. 1, column 918), it is rejected by Cristofori (Tombe, 191); by Novaes IV 3 note c; and by all responsible authors. It is a Dominican monastic fantasy.

Another version of the same story can be found in the Brevis historia Ordinis Praedicatorum [sub anno 1281, in Martène-Durand, Veterum scriptorum et monumentorum amplissima collectio VI (Paris 1729), p. 369]:

Anno MCCLXXXI electus est in papam Martinus IV. Ante istum Martinum reor magistrum Johannem Vercellensem magistrum ordinis nostri sextum fuisse electum in papam.

This story puts the election in 1281, not in 1283, but the word reor says so very much about what even the Chronicler was prepared to accept. It is another version of the same fantasy presented by Mortier.

Conclave

The Conclave met in Viterbo, in the Episcopal Palace [letter of Pope Honorius IV (who was present at the time, as Cardinal Giacomo Savelli)]. King Charles of Sicily-Anjou, who arrived personally in Tuscany in April, 1281 [Durrieu, II, p. 187], was eager to advance his own interests, which the Orsini pope had done so much to limit. An understanding had been reached between Charles and Riccardo Annibaldi, the leader of the Roman opposition to the Orsini. Riccardo prepared and led a coup, which resulted in the expulsion of Orso Orsini, the dead pope's nephew, from the office of Podestà of Viterbo, and the installation of Riccardo in his place. This placed the management of the papal election in the hands of the French party and those hostile to the Orsini. But nine cardinals were needed to elect a pope, while the three Orsini cardinals and as few as two of the seven surviving cardinals of Nicholas III (Orsini) — i cardinali Orsini e loro seguaci, in Giovanni VIllani's phrase— might well be able to block Charles of Anjou's wishes.

The famous Cronica of Giovanni Villani (Book VII chapter 58) provides some important details:

[Il Re Carlo] incontanente fu a Viterbo per procacciare d' avere papa che fosse sup amico, e trovò il collegio de'cardinali in grande dissensione e partiti; che l'una parte erano i cardinali Orsini e loro seguaci, e voleano papa a loro volontà; e tutti gli altri cardinali erano col re Carlo contrari; e durò la tira e vacazione più di cinque mesi. Essendo i cardinali rinchiusi e distretti per gli Viterbesi, alla fine non avendo concordia, i Viterbesi, a petizione, si disse, del re Carlo, trassono del collegio de' cardinali messere Matteo Rosso e messere Giordano cardinali degli Orsini, i quali erano capo della loro setta, e villanamente fuorono messi in prigione; per la quale cosa gli altri cardinali s' accordarono d' eleggere, e elessono papa messer Simone dal Torso di Francia cardinale, e fu chiamato papa Martino quarto; il quale di vile nazione, ma molto fu magnanimo e di grande cuore ne' fatti della Chiesa, ma per se proprio e per suoi parenti nulla cuvidigia ebbe; e quando il fratello il venne a vedere papa, incontanente il rimando in Francia con piccoli doni e colle spese, dicendo ch' e' beni erano della Chiesa e non suoi. Questi fu molto amico del re Carlo...

Though the Conclave was in force, it is again apparent that this did not impede the Cardinals from receiving information or sending instuctions. Two letters written by the Cardinals survive. One of these advises all of the lay officials in Church territories not to do anything to impede the journey of Clementia, daughter of the King of the Romans, who was on her way to marry Charles, the son of King Charles. The other letter advises the Doge and Council of the Venetians, not to take advantage of the Sede Vacante and cause trouble by involving themselves in attempts to seize territory in Romagnola or the Marches of Ancona. [Martène, Veterum scriptorum II, 1278-1280]. The stalemate between the Orsini faction and the French faction continued for more than five months.

Then Riccardo Annibaldi and his followers, six of whom are named, intervened (Cardinal Giacomo Savelli, later Honorius IV, who was present, puts the blame on all the people of Viterbo). The date, according to Cardinal Simon de Brion's own recollection, was February 2, 1281, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The mob attacked the Episcopal Palace, broke into the Conclave, and abducted two of the Orsini cardinals: Matteo Rosso Orsini, Giordano Orsini (the late pope's brother). Antoninus of Florence states in his history that Latino Frangipani Malabranca (Nicholas III's nephew), the senior Cardinal Bishop, was also abducted, but released shortly afterwards; but this seems to be in contradiction to Cardinal Savelli, who clearly states that two Orsini cardinals were seized. In fact, Cardinal Giordano Orsini was released after three days of incarceration, having agreed to some terms imposed upon him by his captors, according to Cardinal Simon de Brion, while Cardinal Matteo Rosso Orsini was held until the Election was concluded. This outrage brought upon the perpetrators, and all of Viterbo, excommunication and the Interdict. It was also a powerful message to the rest of the Sacred College to get on with the business of electing a pope, who had better be one of the Anjou faction. Nonetheless, it took more than two weeks after the return of Giordano Orsini for the Cardinals to come to an agreement on a French candidate. The Sede Vacante lasted six months and six days.

The Chronicon de rebus in Italia gestis (p. 374) notes:

Die sabbati XXII mensis februarii in civitate Viterbii cardinales in concordia ellegerunt in summum pontificem dominum Symonem de Turso cardinalem francigenam et vocatum est nomen ejus Martinus quartus. cessavit autem appostolatus per VI menses.

Simon de Brion himself, electus episcopus servus servorum Dei, wrote immediately to his friend King Philip of France, although (as he admits in the letter) it was contrary to papal etiquette to send letters, especially to monarchs, before one's coronation. But Philip III was a personal friend of long standing, since Simon had been Chancellor of Louis IX and longtime Legate in France [Martène-Durand, Veterum scriptorum II, 1282; Potthast 21736]:

exigit a nobis, ut quo ad te, filium praedilectum apud nos dilectionis praerogitavi gaudentem, hujusmodi observantia non servata, nec praedictis solemnibus expectatis, nostrae promotionis singularis nuntatio praeveniret, nostri spiritus humilitate denuntians, nos tunc tituli S. Ceciliae presbyterum cardinalem in festo cathedrae spostolorum principis, concordi fratrum nostrorum electione, promotum in sui pontificis successorem.

On Saturday, February 22, 1281, the Feast of St. Peter's Chair, Cardinal Simon de Brion was elected pope. He took the name Martin IV. In his announcement of his election, Incomprehensibilia Dei iudicia, he protests that he was most unwilling to assume the papal office until compelled by the requests of the cardinals, but that is conventional rhetorical decoration, not history [Bullarium Romanum Turin edition 4 (1859), p. 48].

Coronation of Martin IV

Almost immediately—as he related later in a letter addressed to King Charles of Sicily—Pope Martin sent two cardinals, Latino Orsini and Goffredo da Alatri, to Rome, in an attempt to come to a peaceful understanding with his subjects. He proposed Quadragesima as the time for his consecration, in a letter [Martène-Durand, Veterum scriptorum II, 1281; Potthast 21738] addressed to the Romans that accompanied the two Cardinals [Baronius-Theiner 22, pp. 483-484 no. 5; Martène-Durand, Veterum scriptorum II, 1285; Potthast 21737]:

Hinc ut saluti tam spiritualium filiorum provisio paterna succurreret, damnis occurreret, et tantae ipsius nostrae devotionis instantiae desiderata satisfactio proveniret, nostrae consecrationis solemnia, non sine multorum persuasione contraria, non absque negotiorum nobis imminentium ad retardatae ipsorum expeditionis accelerationem instantium impedimento distulimus, ad Urbem eamdem venerabili fratri L. Ostiensi episcopo et dilecto filio G(offredo da Alatri) S. Georgii ad Velum aureum diacono cardinali, velut pacis angelis destinatis, ut inibi statum reformando pacificum, sopirent odia, concordarent corda discordia, et in unitate caritatis unirent, nobisque ad eundi Urbem eamdem ad prosequenda praesertim eadem solemnia, opportunitatem curiae nostrae, eamque sequentibus necessaria praepararent. Quibus diligenter sollicitudini eis comissae vacantibus, licet in illius executione ipsis non solum principalium partium aperta discordia, verun etiam dissensiones particulares, quae inimico homine superseminante zizania quotidie multiplicabantur obstiterent, tandem faciente, ut credulitas devota supponit, pacis actore, illa sola via remedii ad obtinendum ipsius Urbis tranquillitatem, quam per hoc spec verisimilis promittebat, et eventus exsolvit huc usque praeter intentionem mittentis occurrit, ut vobis regimen Urbis committeretur ejusdem.

but the Romans refused him permission to come to Rome to be crowned at the Vatican Basilica. On Monday, March 10, 1281, however, the two senators of Rome, Gentile di Bertoldo de' Figli d'Orso and Pietro del Conte, held a general assembly on the Capitol, at which they elected Martin IV in his personal capacity (non ratione Papatus vel Pontificalis dignitatis, sed ratione suae personae) to the regimen senatus Urbis, that is they named him Senator of Rome, and they authorized him to elect anyone he pleased as Senator in his place [Baronius-Theiner 22, sub anno 1281, no. 15, p. 487; Olivieri, Il senato romano, p. 201].

Pope Martin, however, turned over the rule of the city to King Charles, as Senator of Rome, Rector of the Campagna, of the Duchy of Spoleto, and of the Patrimony of S. Peter [Muratori, RIS III. 1, p. 609; Potthast 21744]. Martin himself positively refused to be crowned in Viterbo [Bernardus Guidonis, "Vita Nicolai III" in RIC III. 1, p. 606, 608], and therefore was crowned instead in the Cathedral of S. Pietro in Orvieto, on Sunday, March 23, 1281. He was consecrated Bishop of Rome by his Orsini cousin, Cardinal Latinus Malabranca, Bishop of Ostia.

New Cardinals

On Holy Saturday, April 12, 1281, Martin IV (Simon de Brion) created new cardinals, including four Frenchmen, severely diluting thereby the influence of the Roman element, and specifically the Orsini element in the Sacred College; it may also be noted that there were no regular clergy among the appointees [Bernardus Guidonis, "Vita Nicolai III" in RIC III. 1, p. 608 and a ms. from the Ambrosian Library, p. 609; Eubel. p. 10; cf. Potthast II, p. 1768, for other dates. Baronius-Theiner 22, sub anno 1281, no. 11, p. 485:

Bernardus de Languissello [of Nîmes; his uncle had been Provost of Nîmes], Cardinal Bishop of Porto [See the letter of Pope Martin, announcing Bernard's appointment as Cardinal, in Martène-Durand, Veterum scriptorum II, 1283-1284; Potthast 21829]. He administered the titulus of S. Prassede from November 5, 1286 to 1288 [Prou, Registres de Honorius IV, no. 812]. He had been Archdeacon of Lanta in the Diocese of Toulouse and papal chaplain (by 1266) [Potthast 19692]. On November 13, 1267, he was a nuncio from Pope Clement IV to Charles I of Sicily [Potthast 20163 and 20168]. As Archbishop-elect of Arles (February 1274) he carried out part of the restoration of the Comtat Venaissin to the Pope, at Malaucène. Archbishop of Arles (1273-1281). On June 17, 1283, Cardinal Bernard was named Legate in Lombardy, the Veneto, the Romandiola and Tuscia [Potthst 22038-22040]. [In general, U. Chevalier, Gallia christiana novissima. Arles (Valence 1901), 504-529]. died September 19, 1291.
Hugh of Evesham [English], Cardinal Priest of S. Lorenzo in Lucina. A physician [Marini, Degli archiatri pontifici I, p. 27]. According to the manuscript of John Bale's mid-16th century Index Britanniae Scriptorum [Anecdota Oxoniensia 9 (Oxford 1902), pp. 170 (edited by Reginald Lane Poole)], he was a Doctor of Medicine and the author of Quaestiones on Isaac's liber febrium. [A. Paravicini Bagliani, "A proposito dell' insegnamento di medicina allo studium curiae," Studi sul XIV secolo in memoria di Anneliese Maier  (ed. Alfonso Maierù and Agostino Paravicini Bagliani) (Roma 1981), at pp. 400-405]   He was Rector of Welton and Hemingbrough in the Diocese of York, appointed by Archbishop Giffard (1266-1279) [Register of Walter Giffard, Archbishop of York , 56, 57]. At the time of his death, according to his Will, he was also possessed of Goxhill and Spofforth [Brentano, Two Churches, p. 54]. In 1269, Master Hugh of Evesham was one of the professors at Oxford who became drawn into the controversy between the Dominicans and Franciscans [A. Little, The Grey Friars at Oxford (Oxford 1892), Appendix C, pp. 76-77 and 331, 333]. Archdeacon of Worcester in 1275 [Le Neve, Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae III, p. 74; the appointment was made by Bishop Godfrey Giffard (1268-1302), brother of Archbishop Walter Gifford of York. It may be noted that Evesham is in Worcestershire, in the Blackenhurst Hundred. Is there perhaps a connection with Hugh's sometime sobriquet Atratus? One of the two parish churches at Evesham was St. Lawrence]. On June 9,1275, Archdeacon Hugh was granted permission by Bishop Gifford to go to "parts beyond the sea" for the purpose of study [Register of Bishop Godfrey Gifford II, p. 74]. But on September 16, 1275 he was in the Diocese of Worcester, for he received a mandate from the Bishop to proclaim the intended purgation of a criminal of his crime [Register of Bishop Godfrey Gifford II, p. 85].
He is the "Magister Hugo de Ewesan", canon of York, who participated in the election of William Wickwane, Chancellor of York, as Archbishop of York, on June 22, 1279. Chancellor William voted for Hugh [Registres de Nicolas III, 559; Bliss, Calendar of Papal Registers I, p. 459; Le Neve Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae III, p. 103]. Wickwane, it may be noted, is only five miles from Evesham. The Archbishop-elect travelled to Italy (the pope being at Castro Suriano and Viterbo that summer), in expectation of confirmation and the pallium. After examination, however, his election was suppressed on technical grounds by Nicholas III and then granted to him by the Pope by way of preferment (the documents are dated on September 19, 1279 [W. Brown (ed.), The Register of William Wickwane, Lord Archbishop of York (1279-1285) (Surtees Society 1907), p. 305]). William was consecrated at Viterbo by Pope Nicholas III [Stubbs, Registrum sacrum Anglicanum, p. 65], on the same date, September 19, and the pallium presented to him by Cardinal Giacomo Savelli of S. Maria in Cosmedin. On the next day, September 20, 1281, the Pope issued a bull to John Peckham, Archbishop of Canterbury, ordering him to ease up on the Archbishop of York in the matter of the primatial cross [Potthast 21635; cf. Register of Bishop Godfrey Gifford II, p. 209]. The temporal administration of Archbishop William's domains was granted by King Edward I on October 28, 1279. The Archbishop is attested at Westminster on October 30. There is no evidence to suggest that Hugh accompanied his friend Archbishop William to Italy.
   Canon Hugh was granted the Prebendary of Bugthorpe in the Church of York, by November 11, 1279 [J. Le Neve, Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae III, p. 178: "Henry, a Roman Cardinal, held it at his death in 1287." There was no Cardinal Henry. The letter H(ugh) is wrongly expanded by an English copyist]. On December 17, 1279, Master Hugh of Evesham, Canon of York, was one of the examiners of candidates for ordination in the Diocese of York, on appointment of Archbishop Wickwane [The Register of William Wickwane, p. 22]. He was called to Rome, due to his medical skills, it is said, by Nicholas III.   On September 12, 1280, Archbishop Wickwane named Master Hugh of Evesham, Canon of York, and Stephen Patringtone his proctors at the Papal Curia, and so notified Cardinals Giacomo Savelli and Matteo Rosso Orsini [The Register of William Wickwane, p. 183]. On April 12, 1281, Hugh of Evesham was named a cardinal. Archbishop Wickwane sent him a joyous letter of congratulations.
On April 13, 1282, Cardinal Hugh's chaplain Alan was named Bishop of Caithness by provision of Martin IV [Registres de Martin IV, no. 132, p. 50; Bliss, Calendar of Papal Registers I, p. 464]. Cardinal Hugh had a relative (consanguineus), Richard of Duiard, for whom he procured a canonry at the Cathedral of Lichfield [Registres d' Honorius IV, no. 342, p. 253 (February 23, 1286)]. Hugh of Evesham died in 1287, in the last week of July. It is alleged in the Annales Wigorniae [Annales Monastici IV ed. Luard, pp. 493-494] that he was poisoned.   Robert Brentano deduces a great number of Cardinal Hugh's personal relationships and attitudes from the contents of his Last Will and Testament, of November 15, 1286, the "shadow biography of his bequests" [Brentano, 53-56, derived from Bishop Giffard's Register]; a considerable number of Brentano's conjectures as to motive, however, are dubious or unsupported by other evidence. He makes no conjecture at all, however, as to Hugh's gift of money to every house of lepers in Yorkshire.
Gervasius de Glincamp (Gervasius de Clinio Campo) [diocese of Mans, Cenomanensis], son of Eudes, chevalier and seigneur de Groestel. Cardinal Priest of S. Martino in Monte, tit. Equitii. Doctor of Theology (Paris). Formerly Archdeacon of Le Mans [Denifle, Chartularium Universitatis Parisiensis I, no. 490 (August 5, 1279), p. 575; no. 493 (October 19, 1279), p. 577], Archdeacon of Paris [Duchesne, Cardinaux françois, p. 303], or Dean of Paris [du Boulay, Historia Universitatis Parisiensis III, p. 680]. He died on September 24, 1287 [Eubel, Hierarchia catholica I, p. 8]. The Church of Paris, however, commemorated him on September 16 [Guérard, Cartulaire de Notre Dame de Paris IV (1850), 148]
Comes Giusianus, Conte de Casate [Mediolanensis], Cardinal Priest of SS. Marcellinus and Petrus, formerly Archdeacon of Milan, Auditor of the Rota (under Nicolaus III). He subscribes as "Comes".
Gaufridus (Geoffroy) de Barro or Barbeau, of Burgundy, Cardinal Priest of S. Susanna, formerly Dean of the Church of S. Quentin en Vermandois [Roy, p.1, 5, and 23; in 1268], Chaplain of the Bishop of Paris (according to Duchesne; Roy, 5-8, 21, in 1263) On September 29, 1270, as Canon of Paris, he was named heir of Robert de Sorbon, Canon of Paris, in his Will. In November, 1274, when he was Dean of the Cathedral of Paris, he in turn gave all the property he inherited from Robert de Sorbon to the Congregatio pauperum Magistrorum Parisius studentium in Theologica Facultate [Luca d' Achery, Veterum aliquot scriptorum Spicilegium IX (Paris 1668), 247-248 and 249]. His Deanship is also mentioned by Martin IV [Registres de Martin IV, no. 384, p. 157]. He was created cardinal on Holy Saturday, April 12, 1281. He served as papal Auditor in examination of episcopal and abbatial elections. On April 30, 1283, he was granted control over the Hospice of S. Andrew next to S. Maria Maggiore [Registres de Martin IV, no. 324, p. 139]. He died in 1287, Sede Vacante. Ciaconius-Olduin (II, 243) states that he is commemorated in the Necrologium Ecclesiae Parisiensis on August 21; however, in the Obituarium of the Church of Paris on August 21, the commemoration is that of Geoffrey, Count of Brittany, son of King Henry II of England [Guérard, Cartulaire de Notre Dame de Paris IV (1850), 133]. The Abbey of S. Victor commemorates him on September 19. There were three men in the 13th century who were called Gaufridus and who were archdeacons of Paris, one in the 1230's, one in the 1250's and 1260's, and one in the 1270's; sometimes three archdeacons of Paris act at the same time; not all of their documents are properly sorted or dated.
Johannes Chauleti (Cholet) [from the village of Nointre in the diocese of Beauvais], Doctor utriusque iure [du Boulay, Historia Universitatis Parisiensis III, p. 696]. He is called Ioannes de Noentel in contemporary documents. A familiaris of Cardinal Simon de Brion [Martin IV]. Friend of Philip the Bold and Philip the Fair. Cardinal Priest of S. Cecilia (1281-1292). Legate in France (1282) to preach the crusade against the King of Aragon. Legate in England (1283). In accordance with a bull of Honorius IV, he settled the differences between the scholars of the University and the Chancellor of Paris [Denifle, Chartularium Universitatis Parisiensis I, no. 528, pp. 639-642 (February 1, 1286); Prou, Registres d' Honorius IV, no. 267]. He died of fever on August 2, 1292, during the Sede Vacante, when a Conclave had not yet assembled [Baronius-Theiner 23, sub anno 1292, no. 20 p. 124]: unoque e patribus Gallo febribus deficiente.
Benedictus Gaetano de Anagnia, Cardinal Deacon of S. Nicolai in Carcere [later Pope Boniface VIII]

and promoted one cardinal to the rank of Suburbicarian Bishop:

Gerardus Bianchi, Cardinal Bishop of Sabina, formerly Cardinal Priest of Basilica XII Apostolorum

Martin IV remained at Orvieto from the day of his election until June 24, 1282. The Sicilian Vespers had begun on March 31, 1282, and there was great disorder in southern Italy [Ricordi e documenti del Vespro Siciliano (Palermo: "Lo Statuto" 1892; Muratori, Annali d'Italia sub anno 1282, Vol. 19, pp. 41 ff. (ed. Firenze 1827)]. At the same time, the Orsini raised an army of Romans and headed for Palestrina, intending to do battle with Annibale Annibaldi; they were being helped by the Vicar of Rome. The Roman army also attacked Corneto in June, causing the Pope to move to Montefiascone, but they paid no attention to him, and devastated the territory anyway. The people of Perugia also paid no attention to the Pope's commands and attacked the surrounding territory [Continuator of Martinus Polonus: MGH SS XXII, 478]. The Pope remained in Montefiascone until mid-December, when he returned to Orvieto. On June 27, 1284, Martin IV left Orvieto because of the hostility of Raynerius, the Captain of the People. On October 4, 1284, he arrived in Perugia, where he died on March 28, 1285. He never saw Rome and never sat on his own episcopal throne.

Bibliography

Chronicon Placentinum et Chronicon de rebus in Italia gestis (edited by J.L.A. Huillard-Bréholles (Paris: Plon 1856). Giovanni Villani, Cronica VII. 54-58. A. Bertani, Monumenta historica ad provincias Parmensem et Placentinam pertinentia. Chronica Fr. Salimbene Parmensis, Ordinis Minorum (Parmae: Petrus Fiaccadori 1857) S. Antoninus of Florence ( † 1459 ) Tertii Pars Historialis, seu Cronice (Basel: Nicolaus Kesler, 1502).

Edmundus Martène & Ursinus Durand, Veterum scriptorum et monumentorum amplissima collectio Tomus II (Parisiis: apud Franciscum Montalant, 1724).

Francesco Cristofori, Il conclave del MCCLXX in Viterbo (Roma-Siena-Viterbo 1888).

Augustinus Theiner (Editor), Caesaris S. R. E. Cardinalis Baronii, Od. Raynaldi et Jac. Laderchii Annales Ecclesiastici Tomus Vigesimus Secundus 1257-1285 (Barri-Ducis: Ludovicus Guerin 1870) [Baronius-Theiner] (letter of Honorius IV)

Lorenzo Cardella, Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa Tomo primo Parte secondo (Roma: Pagliarini 1792) 303-305. Ludovico Antonio Muratori, Annali d' Italia Volume 19 (Firenze 1827), 30-31. Giuseppe de Novaes, Elementi per la storia de' Sommi Pontefici terza edizione Volume III (Roma 1821) 266-273; Volume IV (Roma 1821) 3-9. G. Moroni, Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica Volume 48 (Venezia 1848) 9. Paul Durrieu, Étude sur les registres angevines du Roi Charles Ier Tome second (Paris 1888), 179-180. Augustin Demski, Papst Nikolaus III, Eine Monographie (Münster 1903). F. Gregorovius, History of Rome in the Middle Ages, Volume V.2 second edition, revised (London: George Bell, 1906) 491-495. M. Backes, Kardinal Simon de Brion (Breslau 1910).

Actenstücke: A. Fanta, F. Kaltenbrunner, E.v. Ottenthal (editors), Actenstücke zur Geschichte des Deutschen Reiches unter den Königen Rudolf I. und Albrecht I. (Wien 1889). Johann Peter Kirsch, Die FInanzverwaltung des Kardinalkollegiums im XIII. und XIV. Jahrhundert (Münster 1895).

S. Sägmüller, Die Thätigkeit und Stellung der Kardinäle bis Papst Bonifaz VIII., historisch und canonistisch untersucht und dargestellt (Freiburg i. B. 1896) [reviewed by Wenck in Theologische Litteraturzeitung 23 (Leipzig 1891), 113-116]. S. Sägmüller, "Zur Thätigkeit und Stellung der Kardinäle bis Papst Bonifaz VIII," Theologische Quartalschrift 80 (Ravensburg 1898) 596-614 [reviewed by Wenck in Göttingische gelehrte Anzeigen 162. 1 (Berlin 1900) 139-175]. S. Sägmüller, "Die oligarchischen Tendenzen des Kardinalkollegs bis Bonifaz VIII," Theologische Quartalschrift (Ravensburg 1901) 45-93. R. Sternfeld, "Das Konklave von 1280 und die Wahl Martins IV. (1281)," Mitteilungen des Instituts für Österreichische Geschichtsforschung 21 (1910), pp. 1-53.

C. Eubel, "Der Registerband des Cardinalgrossponitentiars Bentevenga," Archiv fur katholischen Kirchenrecht 64 (1890), 3-69.

On the Annibaldi: Fedele Savio, SJ, "Gli Annibaldi di Roma nel secolo XIII," Studi e documenti di storia e diritto 17 (1896) 353-363. M. Dikmans, "D' Innocent III à Boniface VIII. Histoire des Conti et des Annibaldi," Bulletin de l' Institut historique belge de Rome 45 (1975) 19-211.

On Bernard Ayglier, OSB, abbot of Montecassino, see: Luigi Tosti, OSB, Storia della Badia di Monte-cassino Tomo III (Napoli 1843) 6-32; 65-89 On Ayglerio, Bernard's brother, also a Benedictine of Montecassino, the Archbishop of Naples (1267-November 6, 1281), see: F. M. Zigarelli, Biografie dei Vescovi e Arcivescovi della Chiesa di Napoli (Napoli: G. Gioja 1861) 60-63.

On the Orsini, and the Basilica Vaticana: Albert Huyskens, "Das Kapitel von St. Peter in Rom unter dem Einflusse der Orsini (1276-1342)," Historisches Jahrbuch 27 (1906) 266-290. R. Morghen, "Il cardinale Matteo Rosso Orsini," Archvio della R. Società romana di storia patria 46 (1922), pp. 271 ff.

On Cardinal Hugh of Evesham: Robert Brentano, Two Churches: England and Italy in the Thirteenth Century (Princeton 1968). W. Brown (ed.), The Register of William Wickwane, Lord Archbishop of York (1279-1285) (Surtees Society 1907). J. W. Willis Bund (editor), Episcopal Registers, Diocese of Worcester. Register of Bishop Godfrey Giffard, September 23rd, 1268 to August 15th, 1301 Volume II (Oxford 1902).

F. Delle Donne, "Goffredo di Alatri", Dizionario biografico degli italiani LVII (Roma 2001), pp. 531-533.

Edith Pasztor, "Per la storia dell'amministrazione dello stato pontificio sotto Martino IV." Miscellanea in onore di Monsignor Martino Giusti, Vol. 2 (Vatican City, 1978), pp. 181-194.