SEDE VACANTE

January 10, 1276—January 21, 1276

In 1276 and 1277 there were five popes and four conclaves. Pope Gregory X (Tedaldo/Teobaldo Visconti) died in Arezzo on January 10, 1276. At the moment of his death there were only three cardinals in Arezzo, the three cardinal-bishops Peter of Tarantaise, Peter Juliani and Bertrand de St. Martin; the rest were in Rome or elsewhere. King Charles of Anjou, Senator of Rome, was in Rome as well, engaging in business with the Curia. He heard of the Pope's death by the 15th (Sternfeld, 243 n. 16). The Conclave opened (and ended) on January 21. The vacancy in the Holy See lasted eleven days. The late pope's regulations for the conduct of a conclave  Ubi Periculum, promulgated at the Second Council of Lyons, worked successfully, if somewhat brutally. Eleven of the cardinals who had elected Gregory were still alive and very experienced at lengthy proceedings. That fact no doubt played a part as well in the single day conclave.

The Cardinals

.Gregory X had created five cardinals: (Giovanni) Pietro Giuliani, Vicedomino de Vicedomini, Bonaventura, Peter of Tarantaise, and Bertrand de Saint-Martin. At the time of Gregory's death, there were fourteen (or fifteen) cardinals, though

• Bernard Ayglier, OSB, former abbot of Lerins and current Abbot of Monte Cassino (1263-1282), once Papal Legate to Constantinople, the only creation of Clement IV, did not attend (†1282). The notion that he was in retirement is fatuous. He was a strong partisan of King Charles of Anjou, and his brother was Archbishop of Naples. After the reunion of the eastern and western churches at the Lateran Council, he was sent by Gregory X as legate to the Emperor Michael Paleologus (Tosti, 30-31). He died on April 3, 1282 (Tosti, 32). Neither Tosti himself, nor the documents written by Bernard which he cites, ever refer to Bernard as a cardinal; indeed the letter from Viterbo says, "Sani sumus per Dei gratiam, et opera nostra in oculis Domini papae sunt et omnium dominorum nostrorum cardinalium gratiosa, bene procedunt, scilicet negotia, et procedent." There is even less excuse than in 1268-1271 for Bernard's non-attendance at the Conclave in Arezzo. Perhaps Bernard was not a cardinal after all.
  
  
• Simon Mompitié de Brie, Cardinal (1262-1281) priest of Santa Cecilia, future Pope Martin IV (1281-1285), did not attend. He was in France as Papal Legate (Sternfeld, 241; Ciacconius says he was present at the Conclave). In September 1274, his mission to organize the crusade had been expanded to solicit aid in every country for the Holy Land; the Pope was asking for a tenth of ecclesiastical revenures for a term of six years (O. Posse, Analecta Vaticana p. 64, # 795, 806; 65, #808.). He was still in France in 1276, and presided over a synod at Bourges (Cardella, 304). It is reasonable to think, however, that the swiftness of the election of Peter of Tarantaise did not allow him time to hear of, let alone attend, the Conclave.
  
  
• Ioannes (Giovanni Gaetano Orsini), Cardinal (1244-1277) Deacon of S. Niccolo in Carcere, future Pope Nicholas III (1277-1280), did not attend.

There were, therefore, twelve electors present in Arezzo (Sternfeld, 241; Novaes, 258, says ten):

1. Pietro de Tarentaise, OP, of Savoy, Archbishop of Lyon, Cardinal Bishop of Ostia, Grand Penitentiary of the Holy Roman Church. He was elected pope by the Conclave.
2. Peter Julian (Giampietro Giuliani, or di Giuliano), of a noble family of Lisbon. He studied in Paris, and was adept in Aristotelianism, Astronomy and Medicine. On his return to Portugal, he was made canon and then Archbishop of Braga; Gregory X made him Cardinal Bishop of Tusculum. He participated in the Second Council of Lyon. He was the future Pope John XXII (1276-1277).
3. Vicedomino de Vicedomini, of Piacenza, Archbishop of Aix, he was in the suite of Charles of Anjou when he first came to Italy. He was the nephew of Pope Gregory X, who made him a Cardinal (December, 1273) and Bishop of Palestrina. He died in Viterbo on September 6, 1276 (Cardella, 2-3; Cristofori, 201, from the Annales of Piacenza) His family had old connections with the Fieschi of Genoa, one of his ancestors having been Podestà of Genoa in 1144 (Muratori Annali 18, 119)
4. Bertrand de Saint Martin, born in Arles, Benedictine, Archbishop of Arles in 1266, Cardinal Bishop of Sabina in 1273. He participated as cardinal in the Second Council of Lyons. †March 28, 1277 at Avignon. (Cardella, 8, says 1275)
   
   
5. Ancherius Pantaleoni, nephew of Pope Urban IV, Cardinal (1261) priest of Santa Prassede †1288 or 1286
6. Guilelmus (Guillaume) de Bray (or Brie), diocese of Reims, Cardinal (1262-1282) priest of S. Marco †1282
7. Simon Paltanieri, from Monselice near Padua, Cardinal (1261-1276) Priest of S. Silvestro e S. Martino ai Monti †1276
   
   
8. Ottobonus (Ottobono, Ottoboni) Fieschi, of Genoa, Cardinal (1251-1276) deacon of S. Adriano, nephew of Innocent IV and future Pope Adrian V (1276). Strongly Guelf, in opposition to the Doria and Spinola. Acceptable to King Charles.
9. Godefridus (Geoffroy, Goffredo da Alatri in Lazio), Cardinal (1261-1287) Deacon of S. Giorgio in Velabro †1287.
10. Hubertus (Uberto D' Elci, of Siena), Cardinal (1261-1276) Deacon of S. Eustachius †1276
11. Iacobus (Giacomo Savelli), Cardinal (1261-1285) Deacon of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, future Pope Honorius IV (1285-1287)
12. Matteo Rosso Orsini, nephew of Nicholas III, Cardinal (1262-1305) Deacon of Santa Maria in Portico †1305 The Orsini had turned to supporting the claims of Rudolf of Austria to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor (Sternfeld, 225-228).