SEDE VACANTE

August 18 , 1276—September 8, 1276

Death of Pope Adrian V

Ottobono Fieschi, who had been a cardinal for twenty-five years, and who had recently helped bring an end to the civil strife in Genoa, was elected pope on July 11, 1276. He took the name Adrian V, and ruled the Church for 39 days. According to Bernardo di Guidone, nondum promotus in sacerdotem nec coronatus nec consecratus Viterbi moritur (He was never ordained priest, consecrated bishop or crowned pope.) (Muratori, Rerum Italicarum Scriptores III, 605; Novaes, 261).

In August he travelled to Viterbo, partly for the climate and partly to attend to some differences between the Church and Emperor Rudolph of Habsburg. The ten days he and the other cardinals spent in the conclave under the rules of Gregory X must have had their effect; at the request of the cardinals in consistory, he suspended the operation of Gregory X's constitution on conclaves, Ubi Periculum, intending to make some alterations and improvements. Death supervened on August 18, 1276, while he was at Viterbo. He had created no cardinals. He was buried in the Church of S. Francesco—not in the Cathedral or in the Convent of the Friars Minor (Cristofori, 180).

Negotiations with King Charles I over the oath of fealty

On August 27, the College of Cardinals wrote to the Emperor Rudolph (Cristofori, 175. Reg. Vat. 29 B, Epistola CXXI):

Miseratione divina etc..... (Cardinales)... Excellenti et magnifice Principi Domino Rudolfo Regi Romanorum illustri carissimo ipsius ecclesiae filio salutem in Domino. Quamquam de vacatione . . . . Insuper pie recordationes Adrianus PP V, eidem Pontifici Innocentio in apostolatus succedens officio, voluit ut idem Rex (Carolus Siciliae) se conferret Viterbum pro memoratis tractatibus prosequentis ubi Ven(erabiles) fratres Sabinensem Episcopum Ioannem S(an)c(t)i Nicolai in Carcere Tulliano et Iacobum S(an)c(ta)e Mari(a)e in Cosmydin Diac(onym) Card(inalem) super prosecutionem huiusmodi deputavit, sed quia predictus pontifex Adrianus post promotionem suam brevissimo tempore supervixit assumpta prosecutio ad id quod prosequentium intendebat instantia non pervenit . . . Datum Viterbii VI Kal. Aug. An(no) D(omi)ni MCCLXXVI apostolica Sede vacante.

Shortly after his accession Pope Adrian V had wanted King Charles I of Sicily to come to Viterbo to carry out the usual business (fealty), and sent the Suburbicarian Bishop of Sabina [Bertrand de Saint Martin]; Cardinal Giovanni (Orsini), Cardinal Deacon of Saint Nicholas in Carcere Tulliano; and Cardinal Giacomo (Savelli), Cardinal Deacon of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, to effect his wishes. Charles arrived from Rome on July 24. Unfortunately, as the letter of the cardinals indicates, Adrian died, on August 15, leaving his negotiations with King Charles unfinished. Charles finally swore fealty to Pope John XXI on October 7.

In the oath of King Charles, it is mentioned that some previous arrangements had been reached between the Papacy and the King, in instrumento seu litteris bo(nae) mem(oriae) A(nnibaldi) Basilic(a)e XII Ap(osto)lorum, P(res)b(yte)ri R(icardi) S(an)c(t)i Angeli, et venerabilium patrum Ioannis Sci Nicolai in Carcere Tulliano et Iacobi Sce Mariae in Cosmedin Diaconorum Cardinalium. The remark that Cardinal Annibaldo Annibaldi was dead seems to imply that Cardinal Riccardo Annibaldi was still alive; Cardinal Giovanni Orsini and Cardinal Jacopo Savelli certainly were alive. But in a letter of October 18, 1276, the new Pope, John XXI, writes, Qui nuper in eadem Basilica per obitum bon(a)e memori(a)e Richardi S. Angeli c. d. archipresbyteri Basilicae supradictae vacavit... (Bullarium Vaticanum I, 154; P. 21171). His death, therefore, took place between October 7 and October 18, 1276. His epitaph (quoted by Ciacconius), however, seems to give the date of death as September 4, 1276.

The Cardinals

.At the time of Pope Adrian's death, there were, therefore, twelve or thirteen 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). 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." Bernard's non-attendance at the Conclave in Arezzo in January, suspicious as it is, is nothing to his non-appearance in Rome for the July conclave on 1276.. Was Bernard ever a cardinal? What is the evidence?.
  
  
• 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. 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; Adolphe-Charles Peltier, Dictionnaire universel des conciles I, 358) on September 13, 1276 (Hefele, 176). Panvinio (174-175), however, states (as so often) in error that he was present both in January and in June.
  

There were, therefore, twelve electors present at the Conclave in Viterbo::

1. 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 XXI (1276-1277).
2. 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)
3. 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)
   
   
4. Ancherius Pantaleoni, nephew of Pope Urban IV, Cardinal (1261) priest of Santa Prassede †1288 or 1286
5. Guilelmus (Guillaume) de Bray (or Brie), diocese of Reims, Cardinal (1262-1282) priest of S. Marco †1282
6. Simon Paltanieri, from Monselice near Padua, Cardinal (1261-1276) Priest of S. Silvestro e S. Martino ai Monti †1276 or the beginning of 1277, before February 12 (Sternfeld, 287, citing E. Cadier, Les registres de Jean XXI [1898] no. 80).
   
   
7. Ricardus Hannibaldi (Riccardo Annibaldi, a Roman, Cardinal Deacon of Sancti Angeli in Pescheria (1237-1276). Archpriest of the Lateran Basilica. Ghibelline leader. Opponent of the Orsini.
8. Ioannes (Giovanni Gaetano Orsini), Cardinal (1244-1277) Deacon of S. Niccolo in Carcere, future Pope Nicholas III (1277-1280).
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 Gian Gaetano Orsini (future 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).