Guido Pisano
Encyclopedia
Guido Pisano was a prelate and diplomat from Pisa
. He probably belonged to the family of the counts of Caprona
, and was promoted to the College of Cardinals
and appointed to the deaconry of Santi Cosma e Damiano
by Pope Innocent II
on 4 March 1132. Between 10 and 11 December 1146 he was created Papal chancellor by the Pisan Pope Eugene III
. He was widely travelled, intervening in Spain, Portugal, France and Germany, and well-connected, to Wibald
, to Anselm of Havelberg
and to a succession of popes as well as several emperors and kings.
Guido served as a Papal legate
to the Spains on three occasions. His first visit probably took place in 1133–34, his second in 1135–37 and his third and final in 1143. During the first he went to León (before August 1134), there to either preside over a synod or attend the royal court, to resolve in favour of Bernardo of Compostela a dispute with his archbishop, Diego Gelmírez
, and to confirm the election of Berengar as Bishop of Salamanca, also against Diego's wishes. During the second he presided over a synod in Burgos
, which granted an indulgence to the Confraternity of Belchite
, and on 26 November 1143 during the third he held a council at Girona
, where Count Raymond Berengar IV of Barcelona granted of fifth of the territory he had conquered from the Moors
to the Knights Templar
. On his way through southern France on his first legation, he resolved in favour of the abbey of Saint-Thibéry
a dispute over the church of Bessan
with the monastery of La Chaise-Dieu
.
Guido had returned to Rome from his first Spanish expedition by December 1134. In 1135 he attended the council of Pisa, and then, with Bernard of Clairvaux
and Geoffrey of Chartres, led an embassy to Milan
to reconcile the revolting populace, which had declared for the Antipope Anacletus II
and deposed Bishop Anselmo della Pusterla, with Innocent II. In June 1139 Guido was again in France as legate, holding a council at Uzès
, where he resolved a dispute between the church of Lyons and the abbey of Cluny about which know nothing, and also revised his decision on the matter Bessan, forcing Saint-Thibéry to make an annual payment to La Chaise-Dieu as compensation.
Guido returned to Rome by mid-November 1139, and he was still there in 1141, when the Papal curia deposed in absentia Abbot Ariulf of Saint-Riquier from the monstery of Oudenburg
. He joined the curia in June 1145, before he was made chancellor. In April 1146 he left the curia to help prepare the regency of Germany
during the absence of Conrad III
, who was about to leave on the Second Crusade
. Either on 20 April, Easter, at Bamberg
, or else on 23 April, at an imperial diet held in Nuremberg
, he had a personal audience with Conrad. At the end of the month he met Wibald, a friend with whom he had corresponded by letters for over twenty years, in Würzburg
. Guido joined Pope Eugene when the latter took ship from Pisa to France in 1147, there to hold several reforming councils and encourage the Second Crusade. Guido was with the Papal entourage when it entered Trier
on 30 November. They returned to Rome in April 1148.
Guido last subscribes to a document dated 16 May 1149, and his successor, Boso, was cardinal-deacon in November. The Gesta Adalberonis
records that he was "a very wise man and notably eloquent" (virum prudentissimum et breviloquio notabilem) and Otto of Freising
singles him out: "many great and learned men [come] out of the Roman part of the Church, one of whom was Guido the Pisan, who was a cardinal and chancellor of [the Roman] court" (ex parte Romanae ecclesiae viros magnos et claros, quorum unus Guido Pisanus, eiusdem curiae cardinalis et cancellarius erat).
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
. He probably belonged to the family of the counts of Caprona
Vicopisano
Vicopisano is a comune in the Province of Pisa in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 50 km west of Florence and about 15 km east of Pisa...
, and was promoted to the College of Cardinals
College of Cardinals
The College of Cardinals is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church.A function of the college is to advise the pope about church matters when he summons them to an ordinary consistory. It also convenes on the death or abdication of a pope as a papal conclave to elect a successor...
and appointed to the deaconry of Santi Cosma e Damiano
Santi Cosma e Damiano
The basilica of Santi Cosma e Damiano is a church in Rome, Italy, located in the Roman Forum. It is one of the ancient churches called tituli, of which cardinals are patrons as deacons: the Cardinal Deacon of the Titulus Ss. Cosmae et Damiani is Giovanni Cheli...
by Pope Innocent II
Pope Innocent II
Pope Innocent II , born Gregorio Papareschi, was pope from 1130 to 1143, and was probably one of the clergy in personal attendance on the antipope Clement III .-Early years:...
on 4 March 1132. Between 10 and 11 December 1146 he was created Papal chancellor by the Pisan Pope Eugene III
Pope Eugene III
Pope Blessed Eugene III , born Bernardo da Pisa, was Pope from 1145 to 1153. He was the first Cistercian to become Pope.-Early life:...
. He was widely travelled, intervening in Spain, Portugal, France and Germany, and well-connected, to Wibald
Wibald
Wibald was a 12th century Abbot of Stavelot and Malmedy, both in present-day Belgium, and of Corvey in Germany.-Biography:...
, to Anselm of Havelberg
Anselm of Havelberg
Anselm of Havelberg was a German bishop and statesman, and a secular and religious ambassador to Constantinople. He was a Premonstratensian, a defender of his order and a critic of the monastic life of his time, and a theorist of Christian history...
and to a succession of popes as well as several emperors and kings.
Guido served as a 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....
to the Spains on three occasions. His first visit probably took place in 1133–34, his second in 1135–37 and his third and final in 1143. During the first he went to León (before August 1134), there to either preside over a synod or attend the royal court, to resolve in favour of Bernardo of Compostela a dispute with his archbishop, Diego Gelmírez
Diego Gelmírez
Diego Gelmírez was the second bishop and first archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. He is a prominent figure in the history of Galicia and an important historiographer of the Spain of his day...
, and to confirm the election of Berengar as Bishop of Salamanca, also against Diego's wishes. During the second he presided over a synod in Burgos
Burgos
Burgos is a city of northern Spain, historic capital of Castile. It is situated at the edge of the central plateau, with about 178,966 inhabitants in the city proper and another 20,000 in its suburbs. It is the capital of the province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León...
, which granted an indulgence to the Confraternity of Belchite
Confraternity of Belchite
The Confraternity of Belchite was an "experimental" community of knights founded in 1122 by Alfonso the Battler, king of Aragon and Navarre, and lasting until shortly after 1136. Members could enlist permanently or for a set time, vowing "never to live at peace with the pagans but to devote all...
, and on 26 November 1143 during the third he held a council at Girona
Girona
Girona is a city in the northeast of Catalonia, Spain at the confluence of the rivers Ter, Onyar, Galligants and Güell, with an official population of 96,236 in January 2009. It is the capital of the province of the same name and of the comarca of the Gironès...
, where Count Raymond Berengar IV of Barcelona granted of fifth of the territory he had conquered from the Moors
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
to the Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
. On his way through southern France on his first legation, he resolved in favour of the abbey of Saint-Thibéry
Saint-Thibéry
Saint-Thibéry is a commune in the Hérault department in Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France.-See also:* Roman Bridge* Via Domitia* Communes of the Hérault department-References:*...
a dispute over the church of Bessan
Bessan
Bessan is a commune in the Hérault department in the region of Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France.-Geography:Built in the midst of vineyards in the heart of the department in the Monts Ramus, and on the banks of the Hérault river, Bessan is a mainly agricultural village, known for its wine...
with the monastery of La Chaise-Dieu
La Chaise-Dieu
La Chaise-Dieu is commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France.-Geography:La Chaise-Dieu occupies a 1082 m butte which dominates a plain between the mounts of Livradois and Velay...
.
Guido had returned to Rome from his first Spanish expedition by December 1134. In 1135 he attended the council of Pisa, and then, with Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard of Clairvaux, O.Cist was a French abbot and the primary builder of the reforming Cistercian order.After the death of his mother, Bernard sought admission into the Cistercian order. Three years later, he was sent to found a new abbey at an isolated clearing in a glen known as the Val...
and Geoffrey of Chartres, led an embassy to Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
to reconcile the revolting populace, which had declared for the Antipope Anacletus II
Antipope Anacletus II
Anacletus II , born Pietro Pierleoni, was an Antipope who ruled from 1130 to his death, in a schism against the contested, hasty election of Pope Innocent II....
and deposed Bishop Anselmo della Pusterla, with Innocent II. In June 1139 Guido was again in France as legate, holding a council at Uzès
Uzès
Uzès is a commune in the Gard department in southern France.It lies about 25 km north-northeast of Nîmes.-History:Originally Ucetia, Uzès was a small Gallo-Roman oppidum, or administrative settlement. The town lies at the source of the Eure, from where a Roman aqueduct was built in the first...
, where he resolved a dispute between the church of Lyons and the abbey of Cluny about which know nothing, and also revised his decision on the matter Bessan, forcing Saint-Thibéry to make an annual payment to La Chaise-Dieu as compensation.
Guido returned to Rome by mid-November 1139, and he was still there in 1141, when the Papal curia deposed in absentia Abbot Ariulf of Saint-Riquier from the monstery of Oudenburg
Oudenburg
Oudenburg Latin: Aldenburgensis is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Oudenburg itself and the towns of Ettelgem, Roksem and Westkerke. On January 1, 2006 Oudenburg had a total population of 8,929...
. He joined the curia in June 1145, before he was made chancellor. In April 1146 he left the curia to help prepare the regency of Germany
Kingdom of Germany
The Kingdom of Germany developed out of the eastern half of the former Carolingian Empire....
during the absence of Conrad III
Conrad III of Germany
Conrad III was the first King of Germany of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. He was the son of Frederick I, Duke of Swabia, and Agnes, a daughter of the Salian Emperor Henry IV.-Life and reign:...
, who was about to leave on the Second Crusade
Second Crusade
The Second Crusade was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa the previous year to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crusade by Baldwin of Boulogne in 1098...
. Either on 20 April, Easter, at Bamberg
Bamberg
Bamberg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from...
, or else on 23 April, at an imperial diet held in Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
, he had a personal audience with Conrad. At the end of the month he met Wibald, a friend with whom he had corresponded by letters for over twenty years, in Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
. Guido joined Pope Eugene when the latter took ship from Pisa to France in 1147, there to hold several reforming councils and encourage the Second Crusade. Guido was with the Papal entourage when it entered Trier
Trier
Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
on 30 November. They returned to Rome in April 1148.
Guido last subscribes to a document dated 16 May 1149, and his successor, Boso, was cardinal-deacon in November. The Gesta Adalberonis
Gesta Adalberonis
The Gesta Adalberonis or Gesta Alberonis is a biography of Adalbero, Archbishop of Trier , written in medieval Latin prose by Balderic of Florennes...
records that he was "a very wise man and notably eloquent" (virum prudentissimum et breviloquio notabilem) and Otto of Freising
Otto of Freising
Otto von Freising was a German bishop and chronicler.-Life:He was the fifth son of Leopold III, margrave of Austria, by his wife Agnes, daughter of the emperor Henry IV...
singles him out: "many great and learned men [come] out of the Roman part of the Church, one of whom was Guido the Pisan, who was a cardinal and chancellor of [the Roman] court" (ex parte Romanae ecclesiae viros magnos et claros, quorum unus Guido Pisanus, eiusdem curiae cardinalis et cancellarius erat).