Pope Alexander III

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Pope Alexander III (c. 1105 – August 30, 1181), born Orlando Bandinelli, was Pope from 1159 to 1181.

He was born in Siena. For a long time, scholars believed him to be identical with the twelfth-century canon lawyer and theologian, Master Roland of Bologna, who composed the "Stroma" or "Summa Rolandi" – one of the earliest commentaries on the Decretum of Gratian – and the "Sententiae Rolandi", a sentence collection displaying the influence of Pierre Abélard. (See John T. Noonan, “Who was Rolandus?” in Law, Church, and Society: Essays in Honor of Stephan Kuttner, ed. Kenneth Pennington and Robert Somerville [Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1977], pp. 21–48; Rudolph Weigand, “Magister Rolandus und Papst Alexander III,” Archiv für katholisches Kirchenrecht 149 [1980]: 3–44; reprinted in idem, Glossatoren des Dekrets Gratians [Goldbach: Keip, 1997], pp. 73*–114*.)

In October 1150 Pope Eugene III (1145–53) created him Cardinal Deacon of the Title of Santi Cosma e Damiano; later he became Cardinal Priest of the Title of St Mark. In 1153 he became papal chancellor, and was the leader of the cardinals opposed to Frederick I Barbarossa (1152–90).

Frederick Barbarossa submits to the authority of Pope Alexander III (fresco in the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena, by Spinello Aretino).

On September 7, 1159 he was chosen the successor of Pope Adrian IV (1154–59), a minority of the cardinals, however, electing the cardinal-priest Octavian, who assumed the name of Victor IV (1159–64). This antipope, and his successors antipope Paschal III (1164–68) and antipope Calixtus III (1168–78), had the imperial support; but after the defeat of Legnano (1176), Barbarossa finally (in the peace of Venice, 1177) recognized Alexander III as Pope. On the 12th of March 1178 Alexander III returned to Rome, which he had been compelled to leave twice, namely, from 1162 until the 23rd of November 1165, and again in 1167. The first period he spent in France, the latter chiefly in Gaeta, Benevento, Anagni, and Venice.

In March 1179 Alexander III held the Third Council of the Lateran, a brilliant assemblage, reckoned by the Roman Church as the eleventh ecumenical council; its acts embody several of the Pope's proposals for the betterment of the condition of the Church, among them the law requiring that no one may be elected Pope without the votes of two-thirds of the cardinals, a rule only slightly altered in 1996 – allowing a simple majority vote after thirty indecisive ballots. This synod marks the summit of Alexander III's power. Besides checkmating Barbarossa, he had humbled Henry II of England (1154–89) in the affair of Thomas à Becket, (who he was unusally close to), he had confirmed the right of Afonso I of Portugal (1139–85) to the crown, and even as a fugitive had enjoyed the favour and protection of Louis VII of France (1137–80). Nevertheless, soon after the close of the synod the Roman republic forced Alexander III to leave the city, which he never re-entered; and on September 29, 1179, some nobles set up the antipope Innocent III (1179–80). By the judicious use of money, however, Alexander III got him into his power, so that he was deposed in January 1180. In 1181 Alexander III excommunicated William I of Scotland (1165–1214) and put the kingdom under the interdict. The Pope died at Civita Castellana on 30 August 1181.

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