Antipope Gregory VIII
Encyclopedia
Gregory VIII born Mauritius Burdinus (Maurice Bourdin), was antipope
from 10 March 1118 until 22 April 1121.
He was born in the Limousin
, part of Aquitaine
, Occitania
, France
. He was educated at Cluny
, at Limoges
, and in Castile
, where he was a deacon at Toledo
. In 1098/1099 his Cluniac connections recommended him as Bishop
of Coimbra
. After a four year pilgrimage to the Holy Land
, he was made Archbishop
of Braga
in 1111. There he was one of the principal agents of the Burgundian Henry, Count of Portugal
, in his reorganization of the Portuguese
church.
Portugal was then a fief of León
, and the ambitious Count Henry pursued a vigorous program of ecclesiastical and political autonomy. By 1114, Mauritius had become embroiled in a dispute with the Spanish
primate
and papal legate
in Castile, Bernard of Toledo
, to the extent that he was called to Rome and suspended by Pope Paschal II
(1099–1118). Nevertheless, he found favor at the papal court, and in 1116, when Emperor Henry V
(1105–25) invaded Italy during the ongoing confrontations over the Emperor's rights of investiture of clerics
, Paschal II sent Mauritius on an embassy to him, while the Pope and the Curia
fled south to Benevento
. Mauritius defected to the Emperor's side. Henry V went to Rome, and on Easter Sunday, March 23, 1117, was crowned Holy Roman Emperor
by Mauritius. Paschal II deposed and excommunicated Henry V and removed Mauritius from office.
When Paschal II died on 24 January 1118, he was succeeded by Pope Gelasius II
(1118–19). Henry V went to Rome but Gelasius II escaped to Gaeta
and refused to meet the Emperor to discuss German affairs. Partly in reprisal the imperial party among the cardinals then annulled Gelasius II's election, and on March 1, 1118 Mauritius was proclaimed Pope, taking the name Gregory VIII. Gelasius II, at Capua
, proceeded to excommunicate both Gregory VIII and Henry V on April 7, 1118.
After Gelasius II's death, when Calixtus II had been elected Pope in 1119, Henry V was induced to change papal allegiance, in the Concordat of Worms
of 1122. Calixtus II entered Rome, and Gregory VIII left, going to Sutri
, where he was in April 1121, when papal troops of Calixtus II closed up the city for eight days until its citizens surrendered antipope Gregory VIII. He was taken to Rome and imprisoned in the Septizonium. After having been moved in confinement from monastery to monastery, he finally died at La Cava
, Salerno
, some time after August 1137.
(1080/84-1100) joined his obedience and formed his own Sacred College:
Antipope
An antipope is a person who opposes a legitimately elected or sitting Pope and makes a significantly accepted competing claim to be the Pope, the Bishop of Rome and leader of the Roman Catholic Church. At times between the 3rd and mid-15th century, antipopes were typically those supported by a...
from 10 March 1118 until 22 April 1121.
He was born in the Limousin
Limousin (province)
Limousin is one of the traditional provinces of France around the city of Limoges. Limousin lies in the foothills of the western edge of the Massif Central, with cold weather in the winter...
, part of Aquitaine
Aquitaine
Aquitaine , archaic Guyenne/Guienne , is one of the 27 regions of France, in the south-western part of metropolitan France, along the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees mountain range on the border with Spain. It comprises the 5 departments of Dordogne, :Lot et Garonne, :Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Landes...
, Occitania
Occitania
Occitania , also sometimes lo País d'Òc, "the Oc Country"), is the region in southern Europe where Occitan was historically the main language spoken, and where it is sometimes still used, for the most part as a second language...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He was educated at Cluny
Cluny
Cluny or Clungy is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne in eastern France. It is 20 km northwest of Mâcon.The town grew up around the Benedictine Cluny Abbey, founded by Duke William I of Aquitaine in 910...
, at Limoges
Limoges
Limoges |Limousin]] dialect of Occitan) is a city and commune, the capital of the Haute-Vienne department and the administrative capital of the Limousin région in west-central France....
, and in Castile
Castile (historical region)
A former kingdom, Castile gradually merged with its neighbours to become the Crown of Castile and later the Kingdom of Spain when united with the Crown of Aragon and the Kingdom of Navarre...
, where he was a deacon at Toledo
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
. In 1098/1099 his Cluniac connections recommended him as Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of Coimbra
Coimbra
Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...
. After a four year pilgrimage to the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
, he was made Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
of Braga
Braga
Braga , a city in the Braga Municipality in northwestern Portugal, is the capital of the Braga District, the oldest archdiocese and the third major city of the country. Braga is the oldest Portuguese city and one of the oldest Christian cities in the World...
in 1111. There he was one of the principal agents of the Burgundian Henry, Count of Portugal
Henry, Count of Portugal
Henry of Burgundy, Count of Portugal was Count of Portugal from 1093 to his death. He was brother of Hugh I, Duke of Burgundy, and Odo I, Duke of Burgundy, all sons of Henry, the heir of Robert I, Duke of Burgundy. His name is Henri in modern French, Henricus in Latin, Enrique in modern Spanish...
, in his reorganization of the Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
church.
Portugal was then a fief of León
Kingdom of León
The Kingdom of León was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in AD 910 when the Christian princes of Asturias along the northern coast of the peninsula shifted their capital from Oviedo to the city of León...
, and the ambitious Count Henry pursued a vigorous program of ecclesiastical and political autonomy. By 1114, Mauritius had become embroiled in a dispute with the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
primate
Primate (religion)
Primate is a title or rank bestowed on some bishops in certain Christian churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority or ceremonial precedence ....
and papal legate
Papal legate
A papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....
in Castile, Bernard of Toledo
Bernard of Toledo
Bernard de Sedirac, sometimes called Bernard of Agen or Bernard d'Agen, was the metropolitan archbishop of Toledo from 1086 and first primate of Spain from 1088 to his death...
, to the extent that he was called to Rome and suspended by Pope Paschal II
Pope Paschal II
Pope Paschal II , born Ranierius, was Pope from August 13, 1099, until his death. A monk of the Cluniac order, he was created cardinal priest of the Titulus S...
(1099–1118). Nevertheless, he found favor at the papal court, and in 1116, when Emperor Henry V
Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry V was King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor , the fourth and last ruler of the Salian dynasty. Henry's reign coincided with the final phase of the great Investiture Controversy, which had pitted pope against emperor...
(1105–25) invaded Italy during the ongoing confrontations over the Emperor's rights of investiture of clerics
Investiture Controversy
The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest was the most significant conflict between Church and state in medieval Europe. In the 11th and 12th centuries, a series of Popes challenged the authority of European monarchies over control of appointments, or investitures, of church officials such...
, Paschal II sent Mauritius on an embassy to him, while the Pope and the Curia
Curia
A curia in early Roman times was a subdivision of the people, i.e. more or less a tribe, and with a metonymy it came to mean also the meeting place where the tribe discussed its affairs...
fled south to Benevento
Benevento
Benevento is a town and comune of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 50 km northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill 130 m above sea-level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino and Sabato...
. Mauritius defected to the Emperor's side. Henry V went to Rome, and on Easter Sunday, March 23, 1117, was crowned Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
by Mauritius. Paschal II deposed and excommunicated Henry V and removed Mauritius from office.
When Paschal II died on 24 January 1118, he was succeeded by Pope Gelasius II
Pope Gelasius II
Pope Gelasius II , born Giovanni Caetani , was pope from January 24, 1118 to January 29, 1119.-Biography:He was born between 1060 and 1064 at Gaeta into the Pisan branch of the Caetani family....
(1118–19). Henry V went to Rome but Gelasius II escaped to Gaeta
Gaeta
Gaeta is a city and comune in the province of Latina, in Lazio, central Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is 120 km from Rome and 80 km from Naples....
and refused to meet the Emperor to discuss German affairs. Partly in reprisal the imperial party among the cardinals then annulled Gelasius II's election, and on March 1, 1118 Mauritius was proclaimed Pope, taking the name Gregory VIII. Gelasius II, at Capua
Capua
Capua is a city and comune in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, situated 25 km north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. Ancient Capua was situated where Santa Maria Capua Vetere is now...
, proceeded to excommunicate both Gregory VIII and Henry V on April 7, 1118.
After Gelasius II's death, when Calixtus II had been elected Pope in 1119, Henry V was induced to change papal allegiance, in the Concordat of Worms
Concordat of Worms
The Concordat of Worms, sometimes called the Pactum Calixtinum by papal historians, was an agreement between Pope Calixtus II and Holy Roman Emperor Henry V on September 23, 1122 near the city of Worms...
of 1122. Calixtus II entered Rome, and Gregory VIII left, going to Sutri
Sutri
Sutri is a town and comune in the province of Viterbo, about 50 km from Rome, and about 30 km south of Viterbo. It is picturesquely situated on a narrow tuff hill, surrounded by ravines, a narrow neck on the west alone connecting it with the surrounding country.thumb|220px|Entrance to the...
, where he was in April 1121, when papal troops of Calixtus II closed up the city for eight days until its citizens surrendered antipope Gregory VIII. He was taken to Rome and imprisoned in the Septizonium. After having been moved in confinement from monastery to monastery, he finally died at La Cava
La Trinità della Cava
La Trinità della Cava is a Benedictine abbey located near Cava de' Tirreni, in the province of Salerno, southern Italy. It stands in a gorge of the Finestre Hills.-History:...
, Salerno
Principality of Salerno
The Lombard Principality of Salerno was a South Italian state, centered on the port city of Salerno, formed in 851 out of the Principality of Benevento after a decade-long civil war....
, some time after August 1137.
Cardinals
No information has been found about the cardinals created by Gregory VIII, but it is known that in March 1118 three cardinals created by Antipope Clement IIIAntipope Clement III
Guibert or Wibert of Ravenna was a cleric made antipope in 1080 due to perceived abuses of Pope Gregory VII during the Investiture Controversy, a title that lasted to his death....
(1080/84-1100) joined his obedience and formed his own Sacred College:
- Romanus — cardinal-priest of S. Marco and provost of the titular church of S. Marcello
- Cinthius — cardinal-priest of S. Crisogono
- Teuzo — cardinal-priest, former legate of Clement III in Hungary
External links
- Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church: Election of March 8, 1118
- The Catholic Encyclopedia