Pope Gregory IX

Gregory IX
Gregory IX
Birth name	Ugolino di Conti
Papacy began	March 19, 1227
Papacy ended	August 22, 1241
Predecessor	Honorius III
Successor	Celestine IV
Born	between 1145 and 1170; Anagni, Italy
Died	August 22 1241; Rome, Italy

Latest revision as of 21:25, 17 July 2017

Pope Gregory IX, born Ugolino di Conti, was pope from March 19, 1227 to August 22, 1241. A nephew of Pope Innocent III, he was educated at the University of Paris and came to prominence under Honorius III.

A man of unquestioned personal piety, he was a supporter of the new monastic orders led by Saint Francis and Saint Dominic. However, his papacy is most remembered for his bitter and often violent power struggle against Emperor Frederick II, whom he considered lax in his duty as a crusader.

Gregory was also a harsh opponent of all kinds of heresy, and it was he who created the papal Inquisition under the supervision of the Dominicans. Intellectually, his promulgation of a new collection of papal decretals laid an important foundation for Catholic legal tradition which lasted for more than six centuries, and he restored the right of Catholic scholars to use Aristotelean physics and metaphysics in academic discourse.

Biography

Early years

Illustrated manuscript depicting Pope Gregory IX

Ugolino was born in Anagni around 1145. He received his education at the universities of Paris and Bologna. After his uncle Innocent III's accession to the papal throne in January 1198, Ugolino was appointed papal chaplain, then archpriest of Saint Peter's Basilica, and finally cardinal-deacon of the Roman church of Sant Eustachio in 1198. In May, 1206, he was promoted to cardinal bishop of Ostia. A year later he became a papal ambassador to Germany during the succession struggle following the death of Emperor Henry VI.

After the death of Innocent III in 1216, Ugolino was instrumental in the election of Pope Honorius III. During Honorius' papacy, Ugolino became a leading preacher of the Fifth Crusade. In January, 1217, Honorius III made Ugolino plenipotentiary legate for Lombardy and Tuscia and entrusted him with preaching the crusade in those territories. He became dean of the College of Cardinals in 1219 and was also archpriest of the Vatican Basilica. Ugolino appreciated the role of the emerging mendicant orders, and at the request of the future Saint Francis, Pope Honorius appointed Ugolino protector of the Franciscan order in 1220.

At the coronation of Emperor Frederick II in Rome in 1220, the emperor accepted the cross from Ugolino and made the vow to embark soon for the Holy Land on crusade. On March 14, 1221, Honorius commissioned Ugolino to preach the crusade also in Central and Upper Italy.

After the death of Honorius III on March 18, 1227, the cardinals could not immediately reach a decision on a new pope and decided on a compromise procedure empowering three cardinals to act as electors. Two of the three were Ugolino and Conrad of Urach. The other two cardinals apparently nominated Conrad, but he refused to accept since it might appear that he had elected himself. After this, on March 19, Ugolino was elected unanimously, although he was already more than 80 years of age. He took the name of Gregory IX.

Papacy

Struggles with Frederick II

Frederick II negotiates with Sultan Al-Kamil of Egypt

One of Gregory IX's first acts as pope was to move against Frederick II for failing to fulfill his vow to involve himself personally in the Crusades. Frederick and his army had set sail from Brindisi for Acre in the Holy Land, but an epidemic forced Frederick to return to Italy. Gregory, sensing the same lack of resolve that kept Frederick from fulfilling his earlier vow to go on crusade, placed him under a ban of excommunication.

Frederick II appealed to the sovereigns of Europe concerning Gregory's harsh treatment of him. His imperial manifesto was read publicly by his Ghibelline allies in Rome, and the imperial party in Rome rose in protest against the pope. Gregory IX now publicly declared the emperor to be excommunicated on March 23, 1228. In reaction, a pro-imperial mob openly insulted the pope and forced him to flee from Rome to Perugia. In Germany, the pope's actions had little effect. Only one bishop published his decree of excommunication against the emperor, and nearly all the princes and bishops remained faithful to the Frederick.

Determined to prove that he had intended to go on crusade all along, Frederick now embarked for the Holy Land with a small army. The pope, however, denied that an excommunicated emperor had a right to undertake a holy war. He refused his blessing and released the crusaders from their oath of allegiance to Frederick. Despite dwindling support, Frederick was able to conquer Cyprus and successfully negotiated with Sultan Al-Kamil of Egypt for Jerusalem, resulting in his temporary recognition as king of the Holy City.

Meanwhile, a violent dispute with Rainald of Urslingen, the imperial governor of Spoleto, had caused Gregory to further suspect the emperor. Gregory sent his own forces to invade imperial territory in Sicily. In June, 1229, Frederick II returned from the Holy Land, routed the papal army in Sicily, and made new overtures of peace to the pope. Gregory, still a fugitive in Perugia since 1228, returned to Rome in February, 1230. A treaty was concluded at San Germano between the pope and the emperor, and on August 28 the two leaders met at Anagni and completed their reconciliation, at least temporarily.

Gregory IX excommunicates a heretic

In the long term, however, the papacy as conceived by Gregory IX and the empire as conceived by Frederick II could not exist together in peace. Moreover, the struggle between the Guelphs, supporting the papacy, and the Ghibellines, supporting the emperor, was intensifying. Consequently, the pope was again driven from his own capital by a pro-imperial revolt in June 1232. He was compelled to take refuge at Anagni and beg for the aid of Frederick II. A truce was arranged and there was peace between pope and emperor for several years. However, when Frederick II defeated the Lombard League in 1239, the possibility that he might dominate all of Italy became a very real threat. A new outbreak of hostility led to a fresh excommunication of the emperor and to a prolonged war.

Gregory IX now denounced Frederick II as a heretic and summoned a council at Rome to give point to his anathema. To frustrate these plans, Frederick II attempted to capture or sink as many ships carrying prelates to the synod as he could. The struggle was only terminated by the death of Gregory IX on August 22, 1241. It would be his successor, Innocent IV who finally brought an end to the Hohenstaufen threat by declaring a crusade against the emperor.

Other activities

Cathars burned at the stake during the Albigensian Crusade.

Against 'heretics' and 'schismatics'

Gregory IX believed the problem of heresy needed serious attention and was not content with leaving it to the local bishops. He thus extended central control over the suppression of heresy, and in 1231, he established the papal Inquisition to deal with it, placing the Dominicans in charge of the process.

Gregory IX's policy toward heretics was a severe one. Those who opposed Church tradition, in those times, were looked upon as traitors and punished accordingly. Upon the request of King Louis IX of France, Gregory sent Cardinal Romanus as legate to assist the king in his crusade against the Albigenses (also known as the Cathars). During his papacy a number of the members of the reformist Pataria sect were arrested in Rome and burned at the stake in 1231, with others imprisoned in the Benedictine monasteries of Monte Cassino and Cava.

Gregory also endorsed the Northern Crusades and the Teutonic Order's attempts to conquer Orthodox Russia. Unlike some other popes, however, he did not approve of the use of torture as a tool for the investigation of heresy or for penance.

Legal and intellectual reforms

A remarkably skillful and learned lawyer, Gregory IX initiated the Nova Compilatio decretalium (New Compilation of Decretals), which was promulgated in numerous copies in 1234. This work was the culmination of a long process of systematizing the mass of papal pronouncements that had accumulated since the early Middle Ages, a process that had been under way since the first half of the twelfth century and had come to fruition in the Decretum, compiled by Gratian and published in 1140. Gregory's supplement completed Gratian's work, and helped provide the foundation for the mature papal legal theory.

His bull Parens scientiarum of 1231 resolved differences between the philosophically minded professors of his alma mater, the University of Paris, and more conservative local authorities. He warned the professors against the growing tendency of subjecting theology to philosophy by making the truth of the mysteries of faith dependent on philosophical proofs. On the other hand, he removed the prohibition of Aristotelean physics and metaphysics as the basis of scholastic philosophy.

Support for saints and new orders

Hermann von Salza Painting, grand master of the Teutonic Order under Gregory IX

Gregory IX had been a personal friend and supporter of the future saints Francis and Dominic. Among the ten cardinals he appointed were several members of these new orders, who rejected personal wealth and brought a reforming spirit to the College of Cardinals. Gregory canonized saints Elisabeth of Hungary, Dominic, Anthony of Padua, and Francis of Assisi.

For Gregory, the mendicant orders constituted an excellent means of counteracting the love of luxury that had affected many clerics, and were also a powerful weapon for suppressing heresy among the masses. His support of the rising mendicant orders did not, however, cause him to neglect the older ones. In 1227, he approved the old privileges of the Camaldolese, in the same year he introduced the Premonstratensians into Livonia and Courland. In April, 1229, he gave new statutes to the Carmelites. He financially and otherwise assisted the Cistercians and the Teutonic Order. In January, 1235, he approved the Order of Our Lady of Mercy for the redemption of non-Christian captives. He also sent missionaries to Tunis, Morocco, and other places, where some suffered martyrdom. He also worked to alleviate the hard lot of the Christians in the Holy Land.

Relations with the Orthodox Churches

For a time Gregory IX lived in hope that he might effect a reunion of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. Germanos, Patriarch of Constantinople, had written a letter to Gregory, in which he acknowledged the papal primacy, but also complained of the persecution of the Greeks by the Catholic crusaders. Gregory IX sent him a cordial answer and commissioned four learned monks (two Franciscans and two Dominicans) to discuss the possibility of reunion.

The papal messengers were kindly received both by the Eastern Emperor Vatatzes and by Germanos. However, the patriarch indicated that he could make no concessions on matters of faith consulting of the patriarchs of Jerusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria. A synod of the patriarchs was held at Nympha in Bithynia, to which the papal messengers were invited. The filioque clause proved an insurmountable obstacle, however, and the patriarchs also insisted that the Roman practice of consecrating unleavened bread was unacceptable. Thus Gregory IX failed, like many other popes before and after him, in his efforts to reunite the two churches.

Legacy

Gregory IX's power struggle against the secular power of the emperor was nothing new for the papacy, but his open warfare against Frederick II created an ugly spectacle. His creation of the papal Inquisition under the leadership of the Dominicans likewise left an unfortunate legacy, in which the papacy would forever be linked with heresy-hunting and the deaths of thousands who dared to disagree with Rome on matters of doctrine and practice.

On the other hand, his standards of person piety were beyond reproach, and his support of the mendicant orders constituted a step toward reforming the luxurious culture of the Catholic Church's upper echelons. His restoration of the right of scholars to use Aristotle as an authority was an important and progressive intellectual reform. Finally, his promulgation of a new collection of papal decretals in 1234 constituted an important foundation for Catholic ecclesiastical law which lasted well into the twentieth century.

Roman Catholic Popes
Preceded by: Honorius III	Bishop of Rome 1227–41	Succeeded by: Celestine IV

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Abulafia, David. Frederick II: A Medieval Emperor. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. ISBN 9780195080407
Christiansen, Eric H. The Northern Crusade: The Baltic and the Catholic Frontier, 1100-1525. New studies in medieval history. London: Macmillan, 1980. ISBN 9780333263952
Hartmann, Wilfried, and Kenneth Pennington. The History of Medieval Canon Law in the Classical Period, 1140-1234: From Gratian to the Decretals of Pope Gregory IX. History of medieval canon law. Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 2008. ISBN 9780813214917
Hinnebusch, William A. The History of the Dominican Order. Alba House, 1966. ISBN 9780818902666
Pennington, Kenneth. Popes, Canonists, and Texts, 1150-1550. Aldershot, Hampshire, Great Britain: Variorum, 1993. ISBN 9780860783879
Proctor, David J. Imperial Christ: Perceptions of Authority in Medieval Western Europe. Thesis (M.A.)—Tufts University, 2001. OCLC 190834105

External links

All links retrieved July 17, 2017.

Pope Gregory IX Catholic Encyclopedia.

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-<!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: [[Image:Gregor IX1.gif|thumb|right|Papal Arms of Pope Gregory IX.]] —>
+'''Pope Gregory IX''', born '''Ugolino di Conti''', was [[pope]] from March 19, 1227 to August 22, 1241. A nephew of Pope [[Innocent III]], he was educated at the [[University of Paris]] and came to prominence under [[Honorius III]].
-'''Pope Gregory IX''', born '''Ugolino di Conti''', was [[pope]] from March 19, 1227 to August 22, 1241.
+A man of unquestioned personal piety, he was a supporter of the new monastic orders led by [[Saint Francis]] and [[Saint Dominic]]. However, his [[papacy]] is most remembered for his bitter and often violent power struggle against Emperor [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]], whom he considered lax in his duty as a [[crusades|crusader]].
+{{toc}}
-The successor of [[Pope Honorius III]] (1216&ndash;27), he fully inherited the traditions of [[Pope Gregory VII]] (1073&ndash;85) and of his cousin [[Pope Innocent III]] (1198-1216), and zealously continued their policy of [[Papal supremacy]].
+Gregory was also a harsh opponent of all kinds of [[heresy]], and it was he who created the papal [[Inquisition]] under the supervision of the [[Dominicans]]. Intellectually, his promulgation of a new collection of papal decretals laid an important foundation for Catholic legal tradition which lasted for more than six centuries, and he restored the right of Catholic scholars to use [[Aristotle|Aristotelean]] [[physics]] and [[metaphysics]] in academic discourse.
 ==Biography==
 ===Early years===
-[[Image:Gregory IX.jpg|thumb|Illustrated manuscript of Gregory IX]]
+[[Image:Gregory IX.jpg|thumb|left|Illustrated manuscript depicting Pope Gregory IX]]
-Ugolino was born in [[Anagni]] around 1145 and was the nephew of the future Pope [[Innocent III]]. He received his education at the universities of [[Paris]] and [[Bologna]].  After Innocent's accession to the papal throne in January 1198, Ugolino was appointed papal chaplain, then archpriest of Saint [[Peter's Basilica]], and finally Cardinal Deacon of the Roman church of Sant Eustachio in 1198. In May, 1206, he was promoted to Cardinal Bishop of Ostia. A year later he became a papal ambassador to Germany during the succession struggle following the death of Emperor [[Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry VI]].
+Ugolino was born in [[Anagni]] around 1145. He received his education at the universities of [[Paris]] and [[Bologna]]. After his uncle [[Innocent III]]'s accession to the papal throne in January 1198, Ugolino was appointed papal chaplain, then archpriest of Saint [[Peter's Basilica]], and finally cardinal-[[deacon]] of the Roman church of Sant Eustachio in 1198. In May, 1206, he was promoted to [[cardinal bishop]] of Ostia. A year later he became a papal ambassador to Germany during the succession struggle following the death of Emperor [[Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry VI]].
-After the death of Innocent III in 1216, Ugolino was instrumental in the election of Pope [[Honorius III]]. He became dean of the [[College of Cardinals]] in 1219 and was also archpriest of the [[Vatican Basilica]] and the first [[Cardinal Protector]] of the Order of [[Franciscans]].
+After the death of Innocent III in 1216, Ugolino was instrumental in the election of Pope [[Honorius III]]. During Honorius' papacy, Ugolino became a leading preacher of the [[Crusades|Fifth Crusade]]. In January, 1217, Honorius III made Ugolino plenipotentiary legate for [[Lombardy]] and [[Tuscia]] and entrusted him with preaching the crusade in those territories. He became dean of the [[College of Cardinals]] in 1219 and was also archpriest of the [[Vatican Basilica]]. Ugolino appreciated the role of the emerging mendicant orders, and at the request of the future [[Saint Francis]], Pope Honorius appointed Ugolino protector of the Franciscan order in 1220.
-During Honorius' papacy, Ugolino became a leading preacher of the [[Crusade]]. In January, 1217, Honorius III made Ugolino plenipotentiary legate for [[Lombardy]] and [[Tuscia]] and entrusted him with preaching the Crusade in those territories.
+At the coronation of Emperor [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]] in Rome in 1220, the emperor accepted the cross from Ugolino and made the vow to embark soon for the Holy Land on crusade. On March 14, 1221, Honorius commissioned Ugolino to preach the crusade also in Central and Upper Italy.
-At the coronation of Emperor [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]] in Rome in 1220, the emperor accept the cross from Ugolino and made the vow to embark soon for the Holy Land. On  March 14, 1221, Honorius commissioned Ugolino to preach the Crusade also in Central and Upper Italy.
-After the death of Honorius III on March 18, 1227, the cardinals could not immediately reach a decision on a new pope and decided on a compromise procedure empowering three cardinals to act as electors. Two of the three were Ugolino and Conrad of Urach. The other two cardinals apparently nominated Conrad, but he refused to accept since it might appear that he had elected himself. After this, on March 19, the cardinals unanimously elected Ugolino, alhough he was already more than 80 years of age. He took the name of Gregory IX.
+After the death of Honorius III on March 18, 1227, the cardinals could not immediately reach a decision on a new pope and decided on a compromise procedure empowering three cardinals to act as electors. Two of the three were Ugolino and Conrad of Urach. The other two cardinals apparently nominated Conrad, but he refused to accept since it might appear that he had elected himself. After this, on March 19, Ugolino was elected unanimously, although he was already more than 80 years of age. He took the name of Gregory IX.
-===Papacy===
+==Papacy==
+===Struggles with Frederick II===
+[[Image:Al-Kamil Muhammad al-Malik and Frederick II Holy Roman Emperor.jpg|thumb|180px|[[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]] negotiates with Sultan Al-Kamil of Egypt]]
+One of Gregory IX's first acts as pope was to move against [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]] for failing to fulfill his vow to involve himself personally in the [[Crusades]]. Frederick and his army had set sail from Brindisi for [[Acre]] in the Holy Land, but an epidemic forced Frederick to return to Italy. Gregory, sensing the same lack of resolve that kept Frederick from fulfilling his earlier vow to go on crusade, placed him under a ban of [[excommunication]].
-On of Gregory IX's first acts as pope was to move against Frederick II for failing to fulfill his vow to lead the [[Sixth Crusade]]. The emperor was lying sick at [[Otranto]], for dilatoriness in carrying out the promised. Gregory first suspended the emperor's authority, then [[excommunication|excommicated him]] and—as deeper rifts appeared—threatened to depose him. Frederick II publicly appealed to the sovereigns of Europe concerning Gregory's harsh treatment of him. However, he did go to the [[Holy Land]] and skirmished with the [[Saracen]]s to fulfill his vow. He was soon back in Italy, where Gregory had taken advantage of his absence by invading his territories with his own forces. A consequent invasion of the [[papal states]] by Frederick in 1228 proved unsuccessful. The emperor was thus forced to submit to the pope and beg for absolution.
+Frederick II appealed to the sovereigns of Europe concerning Gregory's harsh treatment of him. His imperial manifesto was read publicly by his [[Ghibelline]] allies in Rome, and the imperial party in Rome rose in protest against the [[pope]]. Gregory IX now publicly declared the emperor to be excommunicated on March 23, 1228. In reaction, a pro-imperial mob openly insulted the pope and forced him to flee from Rome to [[Perugia]]. In [[Germany]], the pope's actions had little effect. Only one bishop published his decree of excommunication against the emperor, and nearly all the princes and bishops remained faithful to the Frederick.
-Although peace was thus secured (August 1230) for a season, the Roman people were far from satisfied. The pope was driven from his own capital by a revolt in June 1232 and compelled to take refuge at [[Anagni]] and beg for the mercy of Frederick II. A truce was arranged, but when Frederick II defeated the [[Lombard League]] in 1239, the possibility that he might dominate all of Italy became a very real threat. A new outbreak of hostility led to a fresh excommunication of the emperor in 1239, and to a prolonged war.
+Determined to prove that he had intended to go on crusade all along, Frederick now embarked for the [[Holy Land]] with a small army. The pope, however, denied that an excommunicated emperor had a right to undertake a [[holy war]]. He refused his blessing and released the crusaders from their oath of allegiance to Frederick. Despite dwindling support, Frederick was able to conquer [[Cyprus]] and successfully negotiated with Sultan [[Al-Kamil]] of [[Egypt]] for [[Jerusalem]], resulting in his temporary recognition as king of the Holy City.
-Gregory IX denounced Frederick II as a [[Christian heresy|heretic]] and summoned a council at Rome to give point to his [[anathema]], at which Frederick II attempted to capture or sink as many ships carrying [[prelates]] to the synod as he could. The struggle was only terminated by the death of Gregory IX on August 22, 1241. He died before events could reach their climax; it was his successor, aptly named [[Pope Innocent IV]] (1243-54) who declared a [[crusade]] in 1245 that would finish the Hohenstaufen threat.
+Meanwhile, a violent dispute with Rainald of Urslingen, the imperial governor of Spoleto, had caused Gregory to further suspect the emperor. Gregory sent his own forces to invade imperial territory in [[Sicily]]. In June, 1229, Frederick II returned from the Holy Land, routed the papal army in Sicily, and made new overtures of peace to the pope. Gregory, still a fugitive in Perugia since 1228, returned to Rome in February, 1230. A treaty was concluded at [[San Germano]] between the pope and the emperor, and on August 28 the two leaders met at Anagni and completed their reconciliation, at least temporarily.
-This pope, being a remarkably skillful and learned lawyer, caused to be prepared ''Nova Compilatio decretalium'', which was promulgated in numerous copies in 1234. (It was first printed at [[Mainz]] in 1473). This ''New Compilation of Decretals'' was the culmination of a long process of systematising the  mass of pronouncements that had accumulated since the [[Early Middle Ages]], a process that had been under way since the first half of the [[12th century]] and had come to fruition in the ''[[Decretum]]'' compiled and edited by the papally-commissioned legist [[Gratian (jurist)|Gratian]] and published in 1140. The supplement completed the work, which provided the foundation for papal legal theory.
+[[Image:B Gregor IX2.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Gregory IX excommunicates a heretic]]
+In the long term, however, the papacy as conceived by Gregory IX and the empire as conceived by Frederick II could not exist together in peace. Moreover, the struggle between the [[Guelphs]], supporting the papacy, and the [[Ghibellines]], supporting the emperor, was intensifying. Consequently, the pope was again driven from his own capital by a pro-imperial revolt in June 1232. He was compelled to take refuge at [[Anagni]] and beg for the aid of Frederick II. A truce was arranged and there was peace between pope and emperor for several years. However, when Frederick II defeated the [[Lombard League]] in 1239, the possibility that he might dominate all of Italy became a very real threat. A new outbreak of hostility led to a fresh excommunication of the emperor and to a prolonged war.
-His Bull ''[[University of Paris strike of 1229|Parens scientiarum]]'' of 1231 resolved differences between the unruly [[University of Paris|university scholars of Paris]] and the local authorities, who had precipitated this crisis by high-handed actions. His solution was in the manner of a true follower of Innocent III: he issued what in retrospect has been viewed as the ''magna carta'' of the University, assuming direct control by extending papal patronage: his Bull allowed future suspension of lectures over a flexible range of provocations, from "monstrous injury or offense" to squabbles over "the right to assesss the rents of lodgings."
+Gregory IX now denounced Frederick II as a [[heresy|heretic]] and summoned a council at Rome to give point to his [[anathema]]. To frustrate these plans, Frederick II attempted to capture or sink as many ships carrying [[prelates]] to the synod as he could. The struggle was only terminated by the death of Gregory IX on August 22, 1241. It would be his successor, [[Innocent IV]] who finally brought an end to the [[Hohenstaufen]] threat by declaring a [[crusade]] against the emperor.
-Gregory IX believed the problem of heresy needed serious attention and was not content with leaving it to the bishops, who might have been lax, but extended central control in this essential area as well. In 1231, he established the [[Papal Inquisition]] to deal with it, although he did not approve the use of torture as a tool of investigation or for penance.
+==Other activities==
+[[Image:People burned as heretics.jpg|thumb|250px|Cathars burned at the stake during the [[Albigensian Crusade]].]]
+===Against 'heretics' and 'schismatics'===
+Gregory IX believed the problem of [[heresy]] needed serious attention and was not content with leaving it to the local [[bishop]]s. He thus extended central control over the suppression of heresy, and in 1231, he established the papal [[Inquisition]] to deal with it, placing the [[Dominicans]] in charge of the process.
-He appointed ten cardinals<ref>Agostino Paravicini Bagliani, ''Cardinali di Curia e "Familiae" cardinalizie dal 1227 al 1254'' 2 vols. (series "Italia Sacra," Padua: Antenori) 1972. A [[prosopography]] that includes Gergory's ten cardinals and their ''familiae'' or official households, both clerical and lay.</ref> and [[canonization|canonized]] Saints [[Elisabeth of Hungary|Elizabeth]], [[Saint Dominic|Dominic de Guzmán]], and [[Anthony of Padua]], and also [[Francis of Assisi]], of whom he had been a personal friend and early patron. His encroachments upon the rights of the [[England|English]] Church during the reign of [[Henry III of England]] (1216-72) are well known; similar attempts against the liberties of the national church of [[France]] were supposedly the occasion of the [[Pragmatic Sanction]] of [[Louis IX of France]] (1226-70), now generally thought to be a 14th-century [[forgery]].
+Gregory IX's policy toward heretics was a severe one. Those who opposed Church tradition, in those times, were looked upon as traitors and punished accordingly. Upon the request of King [[Louis IX]] of France, Gregory sent Cardinal Romanus as legate to assist the king in his crusade against the [[Albigensian Crusade|Albigenses]] (also known as the Cathars). During his papacy a number of the members of the reformist [[Pataria]] sect were arrested in Rome and burned at the stake in 1231, with others imprisoned in the Benedictine monasteries of [[Monte Cassino]] and Cava.
-Gregory IX transformed a chapel to Our Lady in the church of [[Santa Maria del Popolo]] in Rome.
+Gregory also endorsed the [[Northern Crusades]] and the [[Teutonic Order]]'s attempts to conquer [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] [[Russia]]. Unlike some other popes, however, he did not approve of the use of [[torture]] as a tool for the investigation of heresy or for [[penance]].
-Gregory IX endorsed the [[Northern Crusades]] and [[Teutonic Order]]'s attempts to conquer [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] [[Russia]] (particularly the [[Pskov Republic]] and the [[Novgorod Republic]]).<ref name=Christiansen>Christiansen, Eric. ''The Northern Crusades.'' New York: Penguin Books, 1997. ISBN 0-14-026653-4</ref>  In the year 1232, Gregory IX requested the [[Livonian Brothers of the Sword]] to send troops to protect [[Finland]], whose semi-[[Pagan]] people were fighting against
+===Legal and intellectual reforms===
-Novgorod Republic in the [[Finnish-Novgorodian wars]]<ref>[http://193.184.161.234/DF/detail.php?id=80 Letter by Pope Gregory IX]. In Latin.</ref>, however, there is no known information if any ever arrived to assist.
+A remarkably skillful and learned lawyer, Gregory IX initiated the ''Nova Compilatio decretalium'' (New Compilation of Decretals), which was promulgated in numerous copies in 1234. This work was the culmination of a long process of systematizing the mass of papal pronouncements that had accumulated since the early [[Middle Ages]], a process that had been under way since the first half of the twelfth century and had come to fruition in the ''[[Decretum]]'', compiled by [[Gratian (jurist)|Gratian]] and published in 1140. Gregory's supplement completed Gratian's work, and helped provide the foundation for the mature papal legal theory.
-==CE material==
+His [[Papal bull|bull]] ''[[University of Paris strike of 1229|Parens scientiarum]]'' of 1231 resolved differences between the philosophically minded professors of his alma mater, the [[University of Paris]], and more conservative local authorities. He warned the professors against the growing tendency of subjecting theology to philosophy by making the truth of the mysteries of faith dependent on philosophical proofs. On the other hand, he removed the prohibition of Aristotelean [[physics]] and [[metaphysics]] as the basis of [[scholasticism|scholastic philosophy]].
-The important diplomatic positions which Gregory IX had held before he became pope had acquainted him thoroughly with the political situation of Europe, and especially with the guileful and dishonest tactics of Emperor Frederick II. Three days after his installation he sternly ordered the emperor at last to fulfill his long delayed vow to embark for the Holy Land. Apparently obedient to the papal mandate, Frederick II set sail from Brindial on 8 September, 1227, but returned three days later under the plea that the Landgrave of Thuringia, who was accompanying him, was on the point of death, and that he himself was seriously ill. Gregory IX, knowing that Frederick II had on eight or nine previous occasions postponed his departure for the East, distrusted the emperor's sincerity, and on 20 September, 1227, placed him under the ban of the Church. He tried to justify his severe measures towards the emperor in a Brief to the Christian princes, while, on the other hand, the emperor addressed a manifesto to the princes in which he condemns the actions of the pope in very bitter terms. The imperial manifesto was read publicly on the steps of the Capitol in Rome, whereupon the imperial party in Rome, under the leadership of the Frangipam, stirred up an insurrection, so that when the pope published the emperor's excommunication in the basilica of St. Peter, 23 March, 1228, he was openly insulted and threatened by a Ghibelline mob, and fled first to Viterbo, and then to Perugia.
+===Support for saints and new orders===
+[[Image:Hermann von Salza Painting.jpg|thumb|150px|Hermann von Salza Painting, grand master of the [[Teutonic Order]] under Gregory IX]]
+Gregory IX had been a personal friend and supporter of the future saints [[Francis of Assisi|Francis]] and [[Saint Dominic|Dominic]]. Among the ten cardinals he appointed were several members of these new orders, who rejected personal wealth and brought a reforming spirit to the College of Cardinals. Gregory [[canonization|canonized]] saints [[Elisabeth of Hungary]], Dominic, [[Anthony of Padua]], and Francis of Assisi.
-In order to prove to the Christian world that the pope was too hasty in placing him under the ban, the emperor resolved to proceed to the Holy Land and embarked from Brindial with a small army on 28 June, 1228, having previously asked the blessing of Gregory IX upon his enterprise. The pope, however, denying that an excommunicated emperor had a right to undertake a holy war, not only refused his blessing, but put him under the ban a second time and released the crusaders from their oath of allegiance to him. While in the Holy Land the emperor, seeing that he could accomplish nothing as long as he was under the ban, changed his tactics toward the pope. He now acknowledged the justice of his excommunication and began to take steps towards a reconciliation. Gregory IX distrusted the advances of the emperor, especially since Rainald, the imperial Governor of Spoleto, had invaded the Pontifical States during the emperor's absence. But the papal anathema did not have the effect which Gregory IX had hoped for. In Germany only one bishop, Berthold of Strasburg, published the Bull of excommunication, and nearly all the princes and bishops remained faithful to the emperor. Cardinal Otto of San Nicolo, whom Gregory IX had sent to Germany to publish the emperor's excommunication, was entirely unsuccessful, because Frederick's son Henry, his representative in Germany, forbade the bishops and abbots to appear at the synods which the cardinal attempted to convene. Equally futile were Gregory's efforts to put Duke Otto of Brunswick on the German throne. In June, 1229, Frederick II returned from the Holy Land, routed the papal army which Gregory IX had sent to invade Sicily, and made new overtures of peace to the pope. Gregory IX, who had been a fugitive at Perugia since 1228, returned to Rome in February, 1230, upon the urgent request of the Romans, who connected an overwhelming flood of the Tiber with their harsh treatment of the pontiff. He now opened negotiations with Hermann of Salza, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, whom the emperor had sent as his representative. On 20 July, 1230, a treaty was concluded at San Germano between the pope and the emperor, by force of which that part of the Pontifical States which was occupied by imperial troops and the papal possessions in Sicily were restored to the pope. After the ban was removed from the emperor by Cardinals John of Sabina and Thomas of Capua in the imperial camp near Ceperano on 28 August, 1230, pope and emperor met at Anagni and completed their reconciliation during the first three days of September.
+For Gregory, the mendicant orders constituted an excellent means of counteracting the love of luxury that had affected many clerics, and were also a powerful weapon for suppressing [[heresy]] among the masses. His support of the rising mendicant orders did not, however, cause him to neglect the older ones. In 1227, he approved the old privileges of the Camaldolese, in the same year he introduced the Premonstratensians into Livonia and Courland. In April, 1229, he gave new statutes to the [[Carmelites]]. He financially and otherwise assisted the [[Cistercians]] and the [[Teutonic Order]]. In January, 1235, he approved the [[Order of Our Lady of Mercy]] for the redemption of non-Christian captives. He also sent missionaries to Tunis, Morocco, and other places, where some suffered martyrdom. He also worked to alleviate the hard lot of the Christians in the Holy Land.
-The peace concluded between the pope and the emperor was, however, to be only temporary. The papacy as conceived by Gregory IX and the empire as conceived by Frederick II could not exist together in peace. The emperor aimed at supreme temporal power with which the pope should have no right to interfere. At least in Italy he tried to establish a rule of absolutism by suppressing all municipal liberty and holding the cities in subjection by a revived sort of feudalism. The pope, on the other hand, citing the example of Constantine, who exchanged Rome for Constantinople in deference to the pope, thought that the pope should be the supreme ruler in Italy and by force of his spiritual authority over the whole Christian world the papacy should in all things hold the supremacy over the empire. For a time the emperor assisted the pope in suppressing a few minor revolts in the Pontifical States, as was stipulated in the conditions of peace. Soon, however, he began again to disturb the peace by impeding the liberty of the Church in Sicily and by making war upon Lombardy. The freedom of the Lombard cities was a strong and necessary bulwark for the safety of the Pontifical States and it was only natural that the pope should use all his influence to protect these cities against the imperial designs. As arbiter between the emperor and the Lombard cities the pope had a few times decided in favour of the latter. The emperor, therefore, no longer desired the services of the pope as mediator and began open hostilities against the Lombard League. He gained a signal victory at Cortenuova on 27 November, 1237. To save Lombardy from the despotic rule of the emperor and to protect the Pontifical States, the pope entered into an alliance with the Tuscans, Umbrians, and Lombards to impede the imperial progress. The continuous victories of the emperor spurred his pride to further action. He declared his intention to unite with the empire not only Lombardy and Tuscany, but also the Patrimony of St. Peter and practically the whole of Italy. On 12 March, 1239, the pope again excommunicated the emperor and another disasterous struggle between the papacy and the empire ensued. Henceforth the pope was convinced that as long as Frederick was emperor there was no possibility of peace between the papacy and the empire, and he left nothing undone to bring about his disposition. He ordered a crusade to be preached against him in Germany, instructed his Germna legate Albert of Behaim, the Archdeacon of Passau, to urge the election of a new king upon the princes, and to place under the ban all those that continued to side with the excommunicated emperor. Despite papal anathemas many bishops and princes remained loyal to the emperor who, encouraged by his large following, decided to humiliate the pope by making himself master of the Pontifical States. In this great distress the pope ordered all bishops to assemble in Rome for a general council at Easter (31 March), 1241. But the emperor prevented the meeting of the council by forbidding the bishops to travel to Rome and by capturing all those that undertook the journey despite his prohibition. He himself marched towards Rome with an army and lay encamped near the city, when Gregory IX suddenly died at the age of almost one hundred years.
+===Relations with the Orthodox Churches===
+For a time Gregory IX lived in hope that he might effect a reunion of the [[Roman Catholic|Roman Catholic]] and [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]es. Germanos, Patriarch of Constantinople, had written a letter to Gregory, in which he acknowledged the papal primacy, but also complained of the persecution of the Greeks by the Catholic crusaders. Gregory IX sent him a cordial answer and commissioned four learned monks (two Franciscans and two Dominicans) to discuss the possibility of reunion.
-The mendicant orders which began to shed great lustre over the Christian Church in the first half of the thirteenth century found a devoted friend and liberal patron in Gregory IX. In them he saw an excellent means for counteracting by voluntary poverty the love of luxury and splendour which was possessing many ecclesiastics; a powerful weapon for suppressing heresy within the Church; and an army of brave soldiers of Christ who were ready to preach His Gospel to the pagans even at the risk of their life. When still Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia, Gregory IX would often don the dress of St. Francis, walk about barefoot with the saint and his disciples, and talk of holy things. Saint Francis loved him as his father and in a prophetic spirit addressed him at times as "the bishop of the whole world and the father of all nations". Upon the special request of Saint Francis, Pope Honorius III appointed him protector of the order in 1220. He was also a devoted friend of St. Dominic and promoted the interests of his order in many ways. At the death of St. Dominic he held the funeral services and buried the saint at Bologna in 1221. St. Clare and her order stood likewise under the protection of Gregory IX, as is attested by the convents he founded for the order in Rome, Lombardy, and Tuscia. However, despite his great liberality towards the rising mendicant orders he did not neglect the older ones. On 28 June, 1227, he approved the old privileges of the Camaldolese, in the same year he introduced the Premonstratensians into Livonia and Courland, and on 6 April, 1229, he gave new statutes to the Carmelites. He financially and otherwise assisted the Cistercians and the Teutonic Order in the Christianization of Prussia and the neighboring countries of the North. On 17 January, 1235, he approved the Order of Our Lady of Mercy for the redemption of captives. With the help of the religious orders he planned the conversion of Asia and Africa and sent missionaries out of their ranks to Tunis, Morocco, and other places, where not a few suffered martyrdom. He also did much to alleviate the hard lot of the Christians in the Holy Land, and would have done still more, if his plans to recover the Holy Land for the Christians had not been frustrated by the indifference of Frederick II. The calendar of saints was enriched with some of the most popular names by Gregory IX. On 16 July, 1228, he canonized St. Francis of Assisi, and on the next day he laid the cornerstone of the church and monastery which were erected in honour of the saint. He took part in the composition of the Office of St. Francis and also wrote some hymns in his honour. It was also at his command that Thomas of Celano wrote a biography of the saint (latest and best edition by d'Alencon, Rome, 1906). On 30 May, 1232, he canonized St. Anthony of Padua, at Spoleto; on 10 June, 1233, St. Virgil, Bishop of Salzburg and Apostle of Carinthia; on 8 July, 1234, St. Dominic, at Rieti; and on 27 May, 1235, St. Elizabeth of Thuringia, at Perugia.
+The papal messengers were kindly received both by the Eastern Emperor Vatatzes and by Germanos. However, the patriarch indicated that he could make no concessions on matters of faith consulting of the patriarchs of [[Jerusalem]], [[Antioch]], and [[Alexandria]]. A [[synod]] of the patriarchs was held at Nympha in Bithynia, to which the papal messengers were invited. The [[filioque clause]] proved an insurmountable obstacle, however, and the patriarchs also insisted that the Roman practice of consecrating unleavened bread was unacceptable. Thus Gregory IX failed, like many other popes before and after him, in his efforts to reunite the two churches.
-Gregory IX was very severe towards heretics, who in those times were universally looked upon as traitors and punished accordingly. Upon the request of King Louis IX of France, he sent Cardinal Romanus as legate to assist the king in his crusade against the Albigenses. At the synod which the papal legate convened at Toulouse in November, 1229, it was decreed that all heretics and their abettors should be delivered to the nobles and magistrates for their due punishment, which, in case of obstinacy, was usually death. When in 1224 Frederick II ordered that heretics in Lombardy should be burnt at the stake, Gregory IX, who was then papal legate for Lombardy, approved and published the imperial law. During his enforced absence from Rome (1228-1231) the heretics remained unmolested and became very numerous in the city. In February, 1231, therefore, the pope enacted a law for Rome that heretics condemned by an ecclesiastical court should be delivered to the secular power to receive their "due punishment". This "due punishment" was death by fire for the obstinate and imprisonment for life for the penitent. In pursuance of this law a number of Patarini were arrested in Rome in 1231, the obstinate were burned at the stake, the others were imprisoned in the Benedictine monasteries of Monte Cassino and Cava (Ryccardus de S. Germano, ad annum 1231, in Mon. Germ. SS., XIX, 363). It must not be thought, however, that Gregory IX dealt more severely with heretics than other rulers did. Death by fire was the common punishment for heretics and traitors in those times. Up to the time of Gregory IX, the duty of searching out heretics belonged to the bishops in their respective dioceses. The so-called Monastic Inquisition was established by Gregory IX, who in his Bulls of 13, 20, and 22 April, 1233, appointed the Dominicans as the official inquisitors for all dioceses of France (Ripoil and Bremond, "Bullarium Ordinia Fratrum Praedicatorum", Rome, 1729, I, 47).
+==Legacy==
+Gregory IX's power struggle against the secular power of the emperor was nothing new for the [[papacy]], but his open warfare against Frederick II created an ugly spectacle. His creation of the papal [[Inquisition]] under the leadership of the [[Dominicans]] likewise left an unfortunate legacy, in which the papacy would forever be linked with [[heresy]]-hunting and the deaths of thousands who dared to disagree with [[Rome]] on matters of doctrine and practice.
-For a time Gregory IX lived in hope that he might effect a reunion of the Latin and Greek Churches. Germanos, Patriarch of Constantinople, after a conversation on the religious differences between the Greeks and the Latins, which he had with some Franciscans at Nice, in 1232, addressed a letter to Gregory IX, in which he acknowledged the papal primacy, but complained of the persecution of the Greeks by the Latins. Gregory IX sent him a cordial answer and commissioned four learned monks (two Franciscans and two Dominicans) to treat with the patriarch concerning the reunion. The papal messengers were kindly received both by the Emperor Vatatzes and by Germanos, but the patriarchs said that he could make no concessions on matters of faith without the consent of the Patriarchs of Jersusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria. A synod of the patriarchs was held at Nympha in Bithynia, to which the papal messengers were invited. But the Greeks stubbornly adhered to their doctrine concerning the procession of the Holy Ghost and asserted that the Latins could not validly consecrate unleavened bread. Thus Gregory IX failed, like many other popes before and after him, in his efforts to reunite the two Churches. In 1237 the Patriarch of the Syrian Monophysites and many of his bishops and monks renounced their heresy and submitted to the pope (Raynaldus ad annum 1237, n. 87 sq.), but their conversion was only temporary.
+On the other hand, his standards of person piety were beyond reproach, and his support of the mendicant orders constituted a step toward reforming the luxurious culture of the [[Catholic Church]]'s upper echelons. His restoration of the right of scholars to use [[Aristotle]] as an authority was an important and progressive intellectual reform. Finally, his promulgation of a new collection of papal decretals in 1234 constituted an important foundation for Catholic ecclesiastical law which lasted well into the twentieth century.
-During the thirteen years and four months of his pontificate he created about fourteen cardinals, many of whom were members of religious orders. The best known among them are Sinibald of Fiesco, a learned canonist, who afterwards ascended the papal throne as Innocent IV; Raynald of Segni, a nephew of Gregory IX, who succeeded Innocent IV as Alexander IV; Otto of Montferrat, who spent over three years (1237-1240) as papal legate in England; Jacob of Vitry, an author, confessor of St. Mary of Oignies, whose life he wrote (Acta SS., June, IV, 636-66); St. Francis Nonatus; and the learned and pious Englishman, Robert of Somercote, who, it is said, would have succeeded Gregory IX on the papal throne had he not died during the conclave (26 Sept., 1241). Gregory IX was also a man of learning, which he encouraged in various ways. He bestowed many privileges on the University of Paris, his Alma Mater, but also watched carefully over its professors, whom he warned repeatedly against the growing tendency of subjecting theology to philosophy by making the truth of the mysteries of faith dependent on philosophical proofs. He also possesses the great merit of having again made Aristotelianism the basis of scholastic philosophy, after the Physics of Aristotle had been prohibited in 1210; and his Metaphysics in 1215. The prohibition of Aristotle was meant only for the perverted Latin translation of his works and their Averroistic commentaries. Gregory IX commissioned William of Auvergne and other learned men to purge the works of Aristotle of their errors and thus made them again accessible to students. Among the greatest achievements of Gregory IX must be counted the collection of papal decretals, a work with which he entrusted Raymond of Pennaforte and which was completed in 1234 (see DECRETALS). The numerous letters of Gregory IX were first collected and published by Pamelius (Antwerp, 1572). Rodenburg edited 485 letters of Gregory IX, selected by Perts from the papal registers of the thirteenth century, and published them in "Mon. Germ. Epist. Rom. Pontif." (Berlin, 1883), I, 261-728. Lucian Auvray began (Paris, 1890) to edit "Les Registres de Gregoire IX, recueil des bulles de ce pape, publiées ou analysées d'après les manuscrits originaux du Vatican", of which the eleventhfasccle appeared in 1908.
+{{Pope|
+Predecessor=[[Pope Honorius III|Honorius III]]|
+Successor=[[Pope Celestine IV|Celestine IV]]|Dates=1227&ndash;41}}
 ==See also==
-*[[Papacy]]
+*[[Crusades]]
+*[[Albigensian Crusade]]
-==Notes==
+*[[Dominicans]]
-{{reflist}}
 ==References==
+*Abulafia, David. ''Frederick II: A Medieval Emperor''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. ISBN 9780195080407
+*Christiansen, Eric H. ''The Northern Crusade: The Baltic and the Catholic Frontier, 1100-1525''. New studies in medieval history. London: Macmillan, 1980. ISBN 9780333263952
+*Hartmann, Wilfried, and Kenneth Pennington. ''The History of Medieval Canon Law in the Classical Period, 1140-1234: From Gratian to the Decretals of Pope Gregory IX''. History of medieval canon law. Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 2008. ISBN 9780813214917
+* Hinnebusch, William A. ''The History of the Dominican Order''. Alba House, 1966. ISBN 9780818902666
+*Pennington, Kenneth. ''Popes, Canonists, and Texts, 1150-1550''. Aldershot, Hampshire, Great Britain: Variorum, 1993. ISBN 9780860783879
+*Proctor, David J. ''Imperial Christ: Perceptions of Authority in Medieval Western Europe''. Thesis (M.A.)—Tufts University, 2001. {{OCLC|190834105}}
 ==External links==
-*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06796a.htm ''Catholic Encyclopedia'':] Pope Gregory IX
+All links retrieved July 17, 2017.
+*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06796a.htm Pope Gregory IX] ''Catholic Encyclopedia''.
-{{Pope|
-Predecessor=[[Pope Honorius III|Honorius III]]|
-Successor=[[Pope Celestine IV|Celestine IV]]|Dates=1227&ndash;41}}
 {{Popes}}
-{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory 09}}
 [[Category:religion]]
-[[Category:catholic church]]
+[[Category:popes]]
-[[[[Category:popes]]
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 [[Category:history]]
 [[Category:religious figures]]
+[[Category:Christianity]]
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