Editing Pope Alexander III (section)

===Efforts at reform===
[[File:B alexander III2 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|Alexander III depicted in a fresco by [[Spinello Aretino]] <small>(before 1410, [[Palazzo Pubblico]] in [[Siena]])</small>]]
Even as a fugitive, Alexander enjoyed the favour and protection of [[Louis VII of France]].{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

In 1163 Alexander summoned clergy and prelates from England, France, Italy, and Spain to the Council of Tours to address, among other things, the unlawful division of ecclesiastical benefices, clerical usury, and lay possession of tithes.<ref name=Pennington/>

In March 1179, Alexander III held the [[Third Council of the Lateran]], one of the most important mediaeval church councils, reckoned by the Catholic Church as the eleventh [[ecumenical council]]. Its acts embodied several of the Pope's proposals for the betterment of the condition of the Church, among them the law requiring that no one could be elected pope without the votes of two-thirds of the cardinals.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Joseph F.|last1=Kelly|title=The Ecumenical Councils of the Catholic Church: A History|publisher=Liturgical Press|year=2009|page=83|isbn=9780814657034}}</ref> The rule was altered slightly in 1996, but was restored in 2007. The period from 1177, which saw the submission of both emperor Frederick and anti-pope Calixtus III, and this synod/council marked the summit of Alexander III's power.<ref>{{cite book|first1=P.C.|last1=Thomas|title=General Councils of the Church: A Compact History|location=Mumbai|publisher=Bombay St. Paul Society|year=1993|pages=75–78|isbn=8171091814}}</ref>

Nevertheless, soon after the close of the synod, the [[Commune of Rome|Roman Republic]] forced Alexander III to leave the city, which he never re-entered, and on 29 September 1179, some nobles set up the [[Antipope Innocent III]]. By the judicious use of money, however, Alexander III got him into his power, so that he was deposed in January 1180. In 1181, Alexander III [[excommunication|excommunicated]] King [[William I of Scotland]] and put the kingdom under an [[interdict]].<ref>{{cite book|first1=Philip J.|last1=Potter|title=Gothic Kings of Britain: The Lives of 31 Medieval Rulers, 1016-1399|publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc.|year=2009|page=148|isbn=978-0786440382}}</ref>