Pope Gregory VIII, born Alberto di Morra, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States for two months in 1187. Becoming Pope after a long diplomatic career as Apostolic Chancellor, he was notable in his brief reign for reconciling the Papacy with the estranged Holy Roman Empire and for initiating the Third Crusade.
Pope Innocent III, born Lotario dei Conti di Segni, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216.
The Avignon Papacy was the period from 1309 to 1376 during which seven successive popes resided in Avignon rather than in Rome. The situation arose from the conflict between the papacy and the French crown, culminating in the death of Pope Boniface VIII after his arrest and maltreatment by Philip IV of France. Following the subsequent death of Pope Benedict XI, Philip forced a deadlocked conclave to elect the French Clement V as pope in 1305. Clement refused to move to Rome, and in 1309 he moved his court to the papal enclave at Avignon, where it remained for the next 67 years. This absence from Rome is sometimes referred to as the "Babylonian captivity of the Papacy".
Louis VIII, nicknamed The Lion, was King of France from 1223 to 1226. As prince, he invaded England on 21 May 1216 and was excommunicated by a papal legate on 29 May 1216. On 2 June 1216, Louis was proclaimed "King of England" by rebellious barons in London, though never crowned. He soon seized half the English kingdom but was eventually defeated by the English and after the Treaty of Lambeth, was paid 10,000 marks, pledged never to invade England again, and was absolved of his excommunication.
The Albigensian Crusade or the Cathar Crusade was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, what is now southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted primarily by the French crown and promptly took on a political aspect. It resulted in the significant reduction of practicing Cathars and a realignment of the County of Toulouse with the French crown. The distinct regional culture of Languedoc was also diminished.
The Crusading movement was a framework of ideologies and institutions that described, regulated, and promoted the Crusades. Members of the Church defined the movement in legal and theological terms based on the concepts of holy war and pilgrimage. Theologically, the movement merged ideas of Old Testament wars that were instigated and assisted by God with New Testament ideas of forming personal relationships with Christ. The concept of crusading as holy war was based on the ancient idea of just war, in which an authority initiates the war, there is just cause, and the war is waged with pureness of intention. Adherents saw Crusades as special pilgrimages—a physical and spiritual journey under the authority and protection of the Church. Pilgrimage and crusade were penitent acts and they considered participants part of Christ's army. While this was only metaphorical before the First Crusade, the concept transferred from the clergy to the wider world. Crusaders attached crosses of cloth to their outfits, marking them as followers and devotees of Christ, responding to the biblical passage in Luke 9:23 which instructed them to carry one's cross and follow Christ. Anyone could be involved and the church considered those who died campaigning martyrs. After the First Crusade the movement became an important part of late-medieval western culture, impacting politics, the economy and society.
Raymond VI was Count of Toulouse and Marquis of Provence from 1194 to 1222. He was also Count of Melgueil from 1173 to 1190.
Conrad of Urach was a Cistercian monk and abbot, and Cardinal Bishop of Porto and Santa Rufina; he declined the papacy.
Arnaud Amalric was a Cistercian abbot who played a prominent role in the Albigensian Crusade. It is reported that prior to the massacre of Béziers, Amalric, when asked how to distinguish Cathars from Catholics, responded, "Kill them [all], for God knows which are His own."
Robert of Courson or Courçon was a scholar at the University of Paris and later a cardinal and papal legate.
Council of Avignon may refer to one of a number of councils of the Roman Catholic Church which were held in Avignon in France. The first reported council met in the 11th century and the final council on record was in the mid-19th century.
John Halgren of Abbeville was a French scholastic theologian and cleric. He served successively as a university professor, priest, prior, archbishop, cardinal, apostolic legate and diplomat.
Tomier and Palaizi were two knights and troubadours from Tarascon, possibly brothers, and frequent comrades and co-composers.
Otto of Tonengo was an Italian papal diplomat and cardinal, first as deacon of San Nicola in Carcere from 1227 and then as bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina from 1244.
Romano Bonaventura was a Catholic Christian prelate, Cardinal deacon of Sant'Angelo in Pescheria, his titulus (1216–1234), bishop of Porto-Santa Rufina (1231–1243), a cardinal-legate to the court of France.
Papal income tax was first levied in 1199 by Pope Innocent III, originally requiring all Catholic clergy to pay one-fortieth of their ecclesiastical income annually in support of the Crusades. The second income tax was not levied until the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215, and constituted only a triennial twentieth.
Robert was a French-born prelate in the Kingdom of Hungary in the first decades of the 13th century. He was Archbishop of Esztergom between 1226 and 1239 and Bishop of Veszprém from 1209 till 1226. He played a decisive role in the establishment of the short-lived Diocese of Cumania. He was sharply opposed to the employment of Jews and Muslims in the administration of the royal revenues. He even put Hungary under interdict to force Andrew II of Hungary to dismiss his non-Christian officials.
The siege of Avignon was the principal military action of the Albigensian Crusade of 1226. King Louis VIII of France besieged the town of Avignon, which lay within the Holy Roman Empire, from 10 June until 9 September, when it surrendered on terms.
The War of the Keys (1228–1230) was the first military conflict between Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, and the Papacy. Fighting took place in central and southern Italy. The Papacy made strong gains at first, securing the Papal States and invading the Kingdom of Sicily, while Frederick was away on the Sixth Crusade. Upon his return, he defeated the papal forces, forcing Pope Gregory IX to begin peace talks. After drawn-out negotiations, the treaty of San Germano terminated the conflict with no territorial changes.
Enrico da Settala, sometimes anglicized Henry of Settala, was the archbishop of Milan from 1213 until his death.