Pope Martin IV
Pope Martin IV, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1281 until his death on 22 March 1285. He was the last French pope to hold his court in Rome before the papacy moved to Avignon.
Before his election, Simon de Brion was a prominent French cleric who served as chancellor to Louis IX of France and was made a cardinal by Pope Urban IV in 1261. His papacy was marked by close dependence on Charles of Anjou, whom he appointed Senator of Rome, and by significant political conflicts, including the excommunication of the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, which ended the fragile union between the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches established at the Second Council of Lyon in 1274. Martin IV also faced the Sicilian Vespers uprising and excommunicated Peter III of Aragon, declaring a crusade against him in an unsuccessful attempt to maintain Angevin control over Sicily.
Due to political instability and hostility in Rome and Orvieto, Martin IV spent much of his pontificate outside the city and died in Perugia in 1285.
Early life
Simon de Brion, son of Jean, sieur de Brion, was born at the château of Meinpincien, Île-de-France, France, in the decade following 1210. He had a brother named Gilo, who was a knight in the Diocese of Sens. The seigneurial family of Brion, who took their name from Brion near Joigny, flourished in the Brie français. He spent time at the University of Paris, and is said to have then studied law at Padua and Bologna. Through papal favour he received a canonry at Saint-Quentin in 1238 and spent the period 1248–1259 as a canon of the cathedral chapter in Rouen, finally as archdeacon. At the same time he was appointed treasurer of the church of St. Martin in Tours by King Louis IX of France, an office he held until he was elected pope in 1281. In 1255–1259, King Louis IX founded the French royal convent at Longchamps for the Poor Clares ; the King's sister Isabelle was the patroness, and Simon de Brion was the Guardian. In 1259, he was appointed to the council of the king, who made him keeper of the great seal, chancellor of France, one of the great officers in the household of the king. He became Chancellor of Louis IX of France.Cardinal Simon de Brion
On 17 December 1261, the new French Pope, Urban IV, made Chancellor de Brion cardinal-priest, with the titulus of the church of St. Cecilia. This would have entailed Simon de Brion's residence in Rome, but the affairs of Pope Urban required that he send a representative of the highest level to France to deal personally with King Louis IX and his brother Charles of Anjou and Provence. Simon's previous experience at the French Court made him the perfect choice as Legate.Cardinal Simon therefore returned to France as Papal Legate for Urban IV and also for his successor Pope Clement IV in 1264–1268. In 1264, on the eve of S. Bartholomew, he held a general synod at Paris. He was appointed again, by Pope Gregory X on 1 August 1274, and he served continuously in France until 1279. His first task was to raise support and money for a Crusade against Manfred, the Hohenstaufen candidate for the Imperial Crown. He immediately became deeply involved in the negotiations for papal support for the assumption of the crown of Sicily by Charles of Anjou. As Legate he presided over several synods on reform, and on the raising of funds for Pope Gregory's crusade. The most important of these was held at Bourges on 13 September 1276.
Signatures on papal bulls indicate that Cardinal Simon was back in Viterbo by 11 January 1268. In a letter of 14 or 15 January 1268, Pope Clement IV wrote to Cardinal Simon de Brion that he had heard that the Cardinal had fallen from his horse and in the accident had injured his leg. He also wrote that Conradin and Ludwig Duke of Bavaria were at Verona, and were pressing for Pavia. A general war was likely. Cardinal Simon's injury must not have been severe, since, on 3 April 1268, the Pope wrote to him with the request that he undertake a legation to Germany, if he wished and if it were possible. The Pope needed a prudent and faithful man, who had clean hands and eyes wide open, who could stay centered on the business and let himself stray neither right nor left, who could preserve the Empire, keep the Apostolic See free from scandal, and the neighboring kingdoms free from danger. In vetting names, Simon seemed the most suitable.
Pope Clement IV fell ill on the Feast of S. Cecilia, and died at Viterbo on 29 November 1268. He had governed the Church for three years, nine months, and twenty-four days. The See of Peter was vacant for two years and nine months. Cardinal Simon de Brion came from France to attend the Conclave, which took place in the Episcopal Palace, next to the Cathedral of S. Lorenzo in Viterbo. He was the senior cardinal-priest. Around Pentecost of 1270, Cardinal Simon and Cardinal Riccardo Annibaldi of S. Angelo had to leave the Conclave and retire to their residences for the sake of their health. On 22 August 1270, he was one of the signatories to the letter of protest sent by the Cardinals to Raynerius Gatti, Captain of the City of Viterbo, to cease and desist from their harassment of the Cardinals and their suites. He was one of the cardinals who signed the electoral compact on September, 1270, to leave the election of a new pope to a committee of six, promising to accept the committee's decision. He was not, however, one of the six cardinals elected to the Compromise Committee that selected Archdeacon Teobaldo Visconti as pope on 1 September 1270. The newly elected pope was not present in Viterbo, but was serving on Crusade with King Edward I of England. He arrived in Italy on 1 January 1271, and travelled to Viterbo, where he arrived early in February. He accepted the election, and chose to be called Gregory X. He and the Curia travelled to Rome, arriving on 13 March. On 19 March he was ordained a priest, and on 27 March he was consecrated bishop, and then crowned by Cardinal Giovanni Gaetano Orsini.
Three Conclaves of 1276
Simon de Brion's appointment as Legate in France, made by Pope Gregory on 1 August 1274 continued throughout 1276. He was unable to be present for the Conclave of 1 January 1276, which elected Peter of Tarantaise as Pope Innocent V. Nor was he present for the Conclave of 2–11 July, which elected Ottobono Fieschi as Pope Adrian V. Nor was he present at the September Conclave, which, on 8 September, elected Peter Julian as Pope John XXI. In each case the election was completed before he could have been notified, and before he could have travelled from France to central Italy. This was one of the defects of Gregory X's regulations on the holding of a Conclave.Election of Nicholas III
Pope John XXI was in contact with Cardinal Simon. He had written to him on 3 March 1277, ordering him to speak with the king of France about matters connected with Alfonso of Castile. But the Pope died rather suddenly, after a reign of only eight months. He was still living in the Episcopal Palace in Viterbo, where Adrian V had died and where he had been elected. The palace was still under construction, when suddenly the roof of one of the chambers collapsed. The Pope was in the room at the time, and he was severely injured. He died three days later, on 20 May 1277. Cardinal Simon de Brion was still in France when the Conclave began, but he was unable to predict that the Conclave would last until 25 November, and therefore he was not present. There were only seven cardinals in Viterbo, since neither Innocent V, nor Adrian V, nor John XXI had named any new cardinals. They argued on and on, trying to choose a pope. There were three cardinals who favored the Angevin Charles I and his designs. There were three who opposed him. Cardinal Bertrand de Saint Martin, Bishop of Sabina, the only surviving Cardinal Bishop, held a middle course, or perhaps one should say he saw too clearly to be willing to commit to either party. Finally, they chose Cardinal Giovanni Gaetani, a native Roman, the Deacon of S. Nicola in Carcere and senior Deacon, and Archpriest of the Vatican Basilica.Nicholas III immediately set out for Rome, where he was ordained a priest on 18 December 1277, and consecrated Bishop of Rome on 19 December. He was crowned on the Feast of S. Stephen, 26 December 1277 at the Vatican Basilica. One person, at least, was deeply unhappy about the outcome of this Conclave, King Charles I of Sicily. The new Orsini pope was an enemy of the Angevins, and Charles knew he would have nothing but trouble from Nicholas III.
A week after the election of Nicholas III, the new pope wrote to Simon, who was still Legate in France, urging him to effect a reconciliation between the King of France, Philip III, and the King of Leon and Castile, Alfonso the Wise. Since the King of Aragon, Peter III was involved in the struggle over Sicily with Charles I, this peace initiative threatened King Charles directly. On 22 April 1279, Pope Nicholas wrote to Cardinal Simon about King Philip. The Pope had issued a prohibition on tournaments, and King Philip and his barons were flagrantly violating the prohibition. Cardinal Simon was ordered to excommunicate the King of France.
To ensure that his victory against the Angevins would stand, Nicholas III decided to go forward with a much needed addition to the Sacred College of Cardinals. At his first opportunity, on 12 March 1278, he created ten cardinals. Five cardinal bishops were named: Latino Frangipani Malabranca, OP, of Rome ; Erhard de Lessines, of Langres, son of Guillaume, Marshal of Champagne; Bentivenga de Bentivengis, O.Min., of Aquasparta; Robert Kilwardby, OP, Archbishop of Canterbury; and Ordoño Álvarez, Bishop of Braga. Two cardinal-priests were named: Gerardo Bianchi of Parma, and Girolamo Masci d' Ascoli, O.Min., of Picenum. He also appointed three cardinal-deacons: Giordano Orsini, brother of Pope Nicholas III, of Rome; Giacomo Colonna of Rome; and Gerardo Cupalates, O.Min., of Piacenza. The effect of these creations was to seriously dilute the Angevin influence in the Sacred College, and to considerably increase the monastic element, especially the Franciscan one. It needs to be recalled that Nicholas III was the Governor, Corrector, and Protector of the Franciscans. The Roman influence was also strengthened. The inevitable consequence would be that the next pope too would not be a creature of Charles I of Sicily.
Eventually, though, by 19 October 1279, Pope Nicholas recalled Cardinal Simon de Brion.