Editing Pope Alexander III

{{Short description|Head of the Catholic Church from 1159 to 1181}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = Pope
| honorific-prefix = [[List of popes|Pope]]
| name = Alexander III
| title = [[Bishop of Rome]]
| church = [[Catholic Church]]
| image = Becket bids farewell to the Pope - Becket Leaves (c.1220-1240), f. 1v - BL Loan MS 88 (cropped).jpg
| caption = Alexander III bidding farewell to [[Thomas Becket]] <small>(13th century miniature attributed to [[Matthew Paris]], [[British Library]])</small>
| birth_name = Rolando
| term_start = 7 September 1159
| term_end = 30 August 1181
| predecessor = [[Adrian IV]]
| successor = [[Lucius III]]
| consecration = 20 September 1159
| consecrated_by = [[Ubaldo Allucingoli]]
| cardinal = October 1150
| created_cardinal_by = [[Eugene III]]
| birth_date = c. 1100–05
| birth_place = [[Siena]], [[March of Tuscany]], [[Holy Roman Empire]]
| death_date = 30 August 1181
| death_place = [[Civita Castellana]], [[Papal States]]
| previous_post = {{unbulleted list|[[Santi Cosma e Damiano, Rome|Cardinal-Deacon of Santi Cosma e Damiano]] (1150–51)|[[Basilica di San Marco (Rome)|Cardinal-Priest of San Marco]] (1151–59)}}
| other = Alexander
}}

'''Pope Alexander III''' (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born '''Roland''' ({{langx|it|Rolando}}), was head of the [[Catholic Church]] and ruler of the [[Papal States]] from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181.

A native of [[Siena]], Alexander became [[pope]] after a [[Papal election, 1159|contested election]], but had to spend much of his pontificate outside [[Rome]] while several rivals, supported by Holy Roman Emperor [[Frederick I Barbarossa]], claimed the papacy. Alexander rejected Byzantine Emperor [[Manuel I Komnenos]]' offer to end the [[East–West Schism]], sanctioned the [[Northern Crusades]], and held the [[Third Council of the Lateran]].  He canonized [[Thomas Becket]] and [[Bernard of Clairvaux]]. The city of [[Alessandria]] in [[Piedmont]] is named after him.

==Early life and career==
Rolando was born in [[Siena]]. From the 14th century, he was referred to as a member of the aristocratic family of '''Bandinelli''', although this has not been proven.<ref>{{cite book |first=W. |last=Maleczek |title=Papst und Kardinalskolleg von 1191 bis 1216 |language=de |location=Wien |isbn=978-3-7001-0660-9 |year=1984 |page=233 note 168 }}</ref> He was long thought to be the 12th-century canon lawyer and theologian Master Roland of Bologna, who composed the "Stroma" or "Summa Rolandi"—one of the earliest commentaries on the ''[[Decretum Gratiani|Decretum]]'' of [[Gratian (jurist)|Gratian]]—and the "Sententiae Rolandi", a sentence collection displaying the influence of [[Pierre Abélard]], but John T. Noonan and Rudolf Weigand have shown this to be another Rolandus.<ref>See {{cite book |author-link=John T. Noonan |first=John T. |last=Noonan |chapter=Who was Rolandus? |title=Law, Church, and Society: Essays in Honor of Stephan Kuttner |editor1-first=Kenneth |editor1-last=Pennington |editor2-first=Robert |editor2-last=Somerville |location=Philadelphia |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |year=1977 |pages=21–48 |isbn=978-0-8122-7726-5 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first=Rudolph |last=Weigand |title=Magister Rolandus und Papst Alexander III |journal=Archiv für Katholisches Kirchenrecht |volume=149 |year=1980 |pages=3–44 }} Reprinted in idem, ''Glossatoren des Dekrets Gratians'' [Goldbach: Keip, 1997], pp. 73*–114*, {{ISBN|3-8051-0272-0}}.</ref>

Rolando probably studied at Bologna, where [[Robert of Torigni]] notes that he taught theology.<ref name=Pennington>[http://faculty.cua.edu/pennington/Medieval%20Papacy/AlexanderIIIKP.html Pennington, Kenneth. "Pope Alexander III", ''The Great Popes through History: An Encyclopedia'', (Frank J. Coppa, ed.), Westport: Greenwood Press, (2002) 1.113-122] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005012332/http://faculty.cua.edu/pennington/Medieval%20Papacy/AlexanderIIIKP.html |date=5 October 2013 }}</ref> In October 1150, [[Pope Eugene III]] created him [[Cardinal-Deacon]] of [[Santi Cosma e Damiano (Rome)|Santi Cosma e Damiano]]. Later he became [[Cardinal-Priest]] of [[Basilica di San Marco (Rome)|St Mark]].<ref name=Loughlin>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01287a.htm Loughlin, James. "Pope Alexander III." The Catholic Encyclopedia] Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 27 July 2015</ref> In 1153, he became papal [[chancellor]] and was the leader of the cardinals opposed to Emperor [[Frederick I Barbarossa]].<ref>J. P. Adams, [http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/SV1159.html Sede Vacante 1159], retrieved: 18 March 2017.</ref> In 1156, he negotiated the [[Treaty of Benevento]], which restored peaceful relations between Rome and the [[Kingdom of Sicily]].<ref>{{cite book|first1=I. S.|last1=Robinson|title=The Papacy, 1073-1198: Continuity and Innovation|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1990|page=147|isbn=978-0521319225}}</ref> At the [[diet of Besançon]] in October 1157, he and Cardinal [[Bernard of San Clemente]] delivered a papal message that seemed to claim that Frederick I was a [[Papal fief|papal vassal]], resulting in a serious diplomatic incident.<ref>{{citation |author=John B. Freed |year=2016 |title=Frederick Barbarossa: The Prince and the Myth |publisher=Yale University Press |pages=201–214}}.</ref>

==Disputed election==
{{main|1159 papal election}}
Pope Adrian IV died 1 September 1159.{{sfn|Duggan|2016|p=17}} On 7 September 1159, Rolando Bandinelli was [[1159 papal election|elected]] pope and took the name Alexander III.{{sfn|Logan|2002|p=135}} A minority of the cardinals, however, elected the cardinal priest Octavian, who assumed the name of [[Antipope Victor IV (1159-1164)|Victor IV]] and became Frederick's [[antipope]].{{sfn|Logan|2002|p=135}}

By 1160, faced with a papal schism, Alexander, and Victor, were summoned by Emperor Frederick to a council in Pavia.{{sfn|Morris|1989|p=194}} Alexander refused, stating a pope can only be judged by God.{{sfn|Suger|2018|p=178}} The council of Pavia met from 5 to 11 February and recognized Victor IV's election as pope.{{sfn|Freed|2016|p=266}} On 13 February, Victor IV excommunicated Alexander.{{sfn|Freed|2016|p=267}} Upon receiving the news on 24 March 1160, Alexander, who was at Anagni, excommunicated both Victor and Frederick.{{sfn|Freed|2016|p=267}}

In 1161, King [[Géza II of Hungary]] [[Concordat of 1161|signed an agreement]] and recognised Alexander III as the rightful pope and declared that the supreme spiritual leader was the only one who could exercise the rite of [[investiture]].<ref>Bodri Ferenc: Lukács érsek és kora. Kossuth, 2003</ref> This meant that Alexander's legitimacy was gaining strength, as soon proved by the fact that other monarchs, such as the king of France and King [[Henry II of England]], recognized his authority. Because of imperial strength in Italy, Alexander was forced to reside outside Rome for a large part of his pontificate.<ref name=Pennington/> When news reached him of the death of Victor in 1164, he openly wept, and scolded the cardinals in his company for rejoicing at the end of the rival antipope.<ref name="mir">[http://www2.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios1138.htm#Monticelli The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church-Momticelli]; S. Miranda</ref>

However, the dispute between Alexander III, [[Antipope Victor IV (1159-1164)|Victor IV]] and Victor's successors [[Paschal III]] and [[Antipope Calixtus III|Calixtus III]] (who had the German imperial support) continued until Frederick Barbarossa's defeat at the [[Battle of Legnano|Legnano]] in 1176, after which Barbarossa finally (in the [[Peace of Venice]] of 1177) recognized Alexander III as pope.<ref name=Loughlin/> On 12 March 1178, Alexander III returned to Rome, which he had been compelled to leave twice: the first time between 1162 and 23 November 1165. When Alexander was arrested by supporters of the imperialist [[Antipope Victor IV (1159-1164)|Victor IV]], he was freed by [[Oddone Frangipane]], who sent him to safety in the [[Campania]].  Alexander again left Rome in 1167, travelling first to [[Benevento]] and later moving to various strongholds such as those of [[Anagni]], [[Palestrina]], [[Ferentino]], [[Tusculum]], and [[Veroli]].<ref name=Pennington/>

==Pontificate==
===Politics===
[[File:Medieval Papal Bull of Pope Alexander III (FindID 227560).jpg|thumb|[[Bulla (seal)|Bulla]] of Alexander III]]
Alexander III was the first pope known to have paid direct attention to missionary activities east of the Baltic Sea. He had created the [[Archbishopric of Uppsala]] in Sweden in 1164,<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Papal Letters to Scandinavia and their Preservation|first1=Anders|last1=Winroth|title=Charters, Cartularies and Archives: The Preservation and Transmission of Documents in the Medieval West|editor1=Adam J. Kosto|editor2=Anders Winroth|publisher=Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies|year=2002|page=178|isbn=9780888448170}}</ref> probably at the suggestion of his close friend Archbishop [[Eskil of Lund]] – exiled in [[Ville-sous-la-Ferté|Clairvaux]], France, due to a conflict with the Danish king. The latter appointed a Benedictine monk [[Bishop Fulco|Fulco]] as a bishop in [[Estonia]]. In 1171, Alexander became the first pope to address the situation of the Church in [[Finland]], with Finns allegedly harassing priests and only relying on God in time of war.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://193.184.161.234/DF/detail.php?id=24|title=Letter by Pope Alexander III to the Archbishop of Uppsala|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927051438/http://193.184.161.234/DF/detail.php?id=24|archive-date=27 September 2007|language=la|publisher=National Archives of Finland}}</ref> In the bull ''[[Non parum animus noster]]'', in 1171 or 1172, he gave papal sanction to ongoing [[Northern Crusades|crusades against pagans in northern Europe]],{{sfn|Fonnesberg-Schmidt|2007|p=58}} promising remission of sin for those who fought there. In doing so, he legitimized the widespread use of [[forced conversion]] as a tactic by those fighting in the Baltic.{{sfn|Christiansen|1997|p=71}}

In 1166, Alexander received an embassy from the [[Byzantine emperor]] [[Manuel I Komnenos|Manuel I]]. The Byzantine ambassador, the ''[[sebastos]]'' [[Jordan of Capua (sebastos)|Jordan]] relayed that Manuel would end the [[Great Schism of 1054|Great Schism]] of the eastern and western churches if Alexander would recognize him as emperor. As emperor, Manuel would supply the pope with men and money to restore his authority in Italy. Alexander gave an evasive answer, but in 1168 he rejected outright the same proposal from a second Byzantine embassy. His stated reason amounted to it being too difficult. He appears to have feared Byzantine domination of Italy if the pope owed his position to its support.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Jonathan Harris Dmitri|last1=Tolstoy|chapter=Alexander III and Byzantium|editor1=Anne J. Duggan|editor2=Peter D. Clarke|title=Pope Alexander III (1159–81): The Art of Survival|publisher=Ashgate|year=2012|pages=301–314|isbn=978-0-7546-6288-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first1=John G.|last1=Rowe|chapter=Alexander III and the Jerusalem Crusade: An Overview of Problems and Failures|editor=Maya Shatzmiller|title=Crusaders and Muslims in Twelfth-Century Syria|publisher=Brill|year=1993|page=122|isbn=978-90-04-09777-3}}</ref>

Besides checkmating Barbarossa, Alexander humbled King Henry II of England for the murder of [[Thomas Becket]] in 1170, to whom he was unusually close, later [[canonizing]] Becket in 1173.<ref name="Norton2006p193">{{cite book |first=Christopher |last=Norton |title=St. William of York |location=Rochester, NY |publisher=Boydell Press |year=2006 |page=193 |isbn=978-1-903153-17-8 }}</ref> This was the second English saint canonized by Alexander, the first being [[Edward the Confessor]] in 1161.<ref name="Norton2006p193" /> Nonetheless, he confirmed the position of Henry as [[Lordship of Ireland|Lord of Ireland]] in 1172.
 
[[File:ManifestisProbatum.jpg|thumb|upright|''Manifestis Probatum''.]]
Through the [[papal bull]] ''[[Manifestis Probatum]]'', issued on 23 May 1179, Alexander recognized the right of Count [[Afonso Henriques]] to proclaim himself [[king of Portugal]] – an important step in the process of Portugal becoming a recognized independent kingdom. Afonso had been using the title of king since 1139.<ref name="Janet Laughland Nelson 2001">{{cite book|author1-link=Peter Linehan|first1=Peter|last1=Linehan|first2=Janet|last2=Laughland Nelson|title=The Medieval World|volume=10|publisher=Routledge|year=2001|page=524|isbn=9780415302340}}</ref>

===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>

===Ecclesial activities===
{{main|Cardinals created by Alexander III}}
Throughout his pontificate, Alexander III elevated [[Cardinals created by Alexander III|68 cardinals]] in fifteen consistories which included two of his successors, [[Urban III]] and [[Clement III]], and [[Galdino della Sala|a cardinal]] whom he would later canonize as a saint.

Alexander III beatified no one during his papacy but he did canonize ten saints which included notable figures of the age such as [[Bernard of Clairvaux]] and [[Thomas Becket]].

===Death===
<!--- [[File:San giovanni in laterano, interno, navata interna dx, sepolcro di alessandro III con scultura di domenico guidi, 1658-59.jpg|thumb|The tomb of Pope Alexander III in the Basilica of Saint John Lateran]] The image messes up the layout of the reference section --->
He died at [[Civita Castellana]] on 30 August 1181. It was one week short of twenty-two years since his election, the longest papacy since [[Pope Adrian I|Adrian I]] in the 8th century.

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
*{{Cite CE1913|wstitle=Pope Alexander III}}
*{{EB1911|wstitle=Alexander (popes)}}
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book|last1=Christiansen|first1=Eric|title=The Northern Crusades|location=London|publisher=Penguin Books|page=71|year=1997|isbn=978-0140266535}}
*{{cite book |chapter=Alexander ille meus: The Papacy of Alexander III |first=Anne J. |last=Duggan |pages=13–50 |title=Pope Alexander III (1159–81): The Art of Survival |editor-first1=Anne J. |editor-last1=Duggan |editor-first2=Peter D. |editor-last2=Clarke |publisher=Routledge |year=2016 }}
*{{cite book |title=Frederick Barbarossa: The Prince and the Myth |first=John |last=Freed |publisher=Yale University Press  |year=2016  }}
*{{cite book |title=The Popes and the Baltic Crusades: 1147-1254 |first=Iben |last=Fonnesberg-Schmidt |publisher=Brill |year=2007 |page=58}}
*{{cite book |title=A History of the Church in the Middle Ages |first=F Donald |last=Logan |publisher=Routledge |year=2002 }}
*{{cite book |title=The Papal Monarchy: The Western Church from 1050 to 1250 |first=Colin |last=Morris |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1989 }}
*{{cite book |last=Suger |title=Selected Works of Abbot Suger of Saint Denis |translator-first1=Richard |translator-last1=Cusimano |translator-first2=Eric |translator-last2=Whitmore |publisher=The Catholic University of America Press |year=2018 }}

==Further reading==
{{wikisource author}}
{{wikiquote}}
* Myriam Soria Audebert, "Pontifical Propaganda during the Schisms: Alexander III to the reconquest of Church Unity", in ''Convaincre et persuader: Communication et propagande aux XII et XIIIe siècles''. Ed. par Martin Aurell. Poitiers: Université de Poitiers-centre d'études supérieures de civilisation médiévale, 2007,

{{S-start}}
{{S-rel|ca}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Adrian IV]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[Pope]]|years=1159–1181}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Lucius III]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Popes}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander 03}}
[[Category:Pope Alexander III| ]]
[[Category:Italian popes]]
[[Category:Clergy from Siena]]
[[Category:1100s births]]
[[Category:1181 deaths]]
[[Category:Popes]]
[[Category:12th-century popes]]
[[Category:Ambassadors to the Kingdom of Sicily]]
[[Category:Burials at the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran]]