Nicholas III (Orsini) had spent his entire reign attempting to limit and diminish the influence of the French on Italy and the Papacy, and attempting to avert a confrontation between the Emperor Rudolf and King Charles. He was even able to persuade King Charles I of Naples and Sicily to give up his position as Roman Senator in 1278, at the conclusion of ten years of tenure, as well as the position of Papal Vicar for Tuscany (Chronicon p. 370):
De mense vero Augusti Dominus Rex Karolus volens observare pacta et conventiones qu(a)e sunt inter Ecclesiam Romanam et ipsum dominum regem facta per dominum papam Urbanum felicis memoria, in manibus domini Nicholay tercii Roman(a)e Ecclesi(a)e summi pontificis repudiavit et senatoriam et dominatum urbis Rom(a)e et quicquid habet a ponte Zeperani citra. Qui dominus papa posuit pro se senatorem in urbe ad suam voluntatem unum suum parentem et unum vicarium pro Ecclesia in Tuscia, et die XXII septembris in manibus fratris Latini per suos procuratores in Viterbo praedicta repudiavit.
Nicholas had also added ten new cardinals on March 12, 1278, most of whom were not of the French party. He died in Viterbo on August 22, 1280 of an apoplectic stroke which had left him without speech (Chronicon, 374; Demski, 347-348):
Die jovis XXII mensis augusti dominus Nicholaus papa tercius in castro serariani [Castel Soriano] ab hac luce transmigravit. Vixit autem iste papa per duos annos et VIII menses et XXVIII dies.
His body was returned to Rome and buried in the Capella S. Nicolae in the Vatican Basilica, of which he had once been Archpriest and which he had done a great deal to restore, spending a vast amount of money (Novaes, III 272).
In anticipation of his death there were serious troubles in Rome between the Orsini and the Annibaldi. The people of Rome, who had had too much of the nepotism, arrogance and greed of the Orsini, chose the side of the Annibaldi and forced the Orsini into exile. And the news of Nicholas' death ignited central Italy (Chronicon, 374), especially the Romagna:
Audito in Romagna de morte domini pape incontinenti pars Gibilinorum de Faentia, Furlini, Furnipopuli, Cesene, Crevie et plurium aliarum civitatum de Romagna partes Guelforum de ipsis civitatibus expulserunt. Die Martis XXII mensis novembris Bononienses cum eorum amicis intraverunt in civitatem Faentie, multos de parte Gibilinorum occidendo et capiendo. De menso vero septembris pars Advocatorum de Vercellis de civitate expulsit partem Tizonorum, multos occidendo et capiendo. De mense vero decembris Gibilini de Senegalia expulserunt partem Guelforum de dicta civitate occidendo Palmerolum de Fano et multos alios....
.At the time of Pope Nicholas' death, there were thirteen cardinals. However:
There were, therefore, thirteen electors present at the Conclave in Viterbo:
The Conclave met in Viterbo. King Charles, who was already in Tuscany, was eager to be present and advance his own interests, which the Orsini pope had done so much to limit. An understanding had been reached between Charles and Riccardo Annibaldi, which resulted in the expulsion of Orso Orsini, the dead pope's nephew, from the office of Podestà of Viterbo and the installation of Riccardo in his place. The famous Cronica of Giovanni Villani (Book VII chapter 58) provides some important details:
[Il Re Carlo] incontanente fu a Viterbo per procacciare d' avere papa che fosse sup amico, e trovò il collegio de'cardinali in grande dissensione e partiti; che l'una parte erano i cardinali Orsini e loro seguaci, e voleano papa a loro volontà; e tutti gli altri cardinali erano col re Carlo contrari; e durò la tira e vacazione più di cinque mesi. Essendo i cardinali rinchiusi e distretti per gli Viterbesi, alla fine non avendo concordia, i Viterbesi, a petizione, si disse, del re Carlo, trassono del collegio de' cardinali messere Matteo Rosso e messere Giordano cardinali degli Orsini, i quali erano capo della loro setta, e villanamente fuorono messi in prigione; per la quale cosa gli altri cardinali s' accordarono d' eleggere, e elessono papa messer Simone dal Torso di Francia cardinale, e fu chiamato papa Martino quarto; il quale di vile nazione, ma molto fu magnanimo e di grande cuore ne' fatti della Chiesa, ma per se proprio e per suoi parenti nulla cuvidigia ebbe; e quando il fratello il venne a vedere papa, incontanente il rimando in Francia con piccoli doni e colle spese, dicendo ch' e' beni erano della Chiesa e non suoi. Questi fu molto amico del re Carlo...
The Chronicon de rebus in Italia gestis (p. 374) notes:
Die sabbati XXII mensis februarii in civitate Viterbii cardinales in concordia ellegerunt in summum pontificem dominum Symonem de Turso cardinalem francigenam et vocatum est nomen ejus Martinus quartus. cessavit autem appostolatus per VI menses.
Cardinal Simon de Brie was elected pope. In his announcement of his election to the powers of Europe, he protests that he was most unwilling to assume the papal office until compelled by the requests of the cardinals, but that is conventional rhetorical decoration, not history. He sent two cardinals to Rome, attempting to come to a peaceful understanding with his subjects, but the Romans refused him permission to come to Rome to be crowned in the Vatican Basilica. He was crowned instead in Orvieto, on March 23, 1281.
Chronicon Placentinum et Chronicon de rebus in Italia gestis (edited by J.L.A. Huillard-Bréholles (Paris: Plon 1856). Giovanni Villani, Cronica VII. 54-58.
Lorenzo Cardella, Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa Tomo primo Parte secondo (Roma: Pagliarini 1792) 303-305. Ludovico Antonio Muratori, Annali d' Italia Volume 19 (Firenze 1827), 30-31. Giuseppe de Novaes, Elementi per la storia de' Sommi Pontefici terza edizione Volume III (Roma 1821) 266-273; Volume IV (Roma 1821) 3-9. G. Moroni, Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica Volume 48 (Venezia 1848) 9. Paul Durrieu, Étude sur les registres angevines du Roi Charles Ier Tome second (Paris 1888), 179-180. Augustin Demski, Papst Nikolaus III, Eine Monographie (Münster 1903). F. Gregorovius, History of Rome in the Middle Ages, Volume V.2 second edition, revised (London: George Bell, 1906) 491-495. M. Backes, Kardinal Simon de Brion (Breslau 1910).
On the Annibaldi: Fedele Savio, SJ, "Gli Annibaldi di Roma nel secolo XIII," Studi e documenti di storia e diritto 17 (1896) 353-363. M. Dikmans, "D' Innocent III à Boniface VIII. Histoire des Conti et des Annibaldi," Bulletin de l' Institut historique belge de Rome 45 (1975) 19-211.
On Bernard Ayglier, OSB, abbot of Montecassino, see: Luigi Tosti, OSB, Storia della Badia di Monte-cassino Tomo III (Napoli 1843) 6-32; 65-89 On Ayglerio, Bernard's brother, also a Benedictine of Montecassino, the Archbishop of Naples (1267-November 6, 1281), see: F. M. Zigarelli, Biografie dei Vescovi e Arcivescovi della Chiesa di Napoli (Napoli: G. Gioja 1861) 60-63.
©John Paul Adams, CSUN
john.p.adams@csun.edu