1181 papal election

The contested papal election, 1159, which resulted in the election of Pope Alexander III and Antipope Victor IV (1159-1164), created a schism in the Catholic Church that lasted almost twenty years (until 1178). In 1159 the cardinals were unable to achieve consensus, though an electoral compact had set that as its goal.[1] The cardinals had been divided into two parties, those who favored the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and those who favored William I of Sicily, and each of them elected their own pope. In August 1178 Antipope Callixtus III, the successor of Victor IV, finally submitted to Alexander III.[2] In the following year Alexander III celebrated the Third Lateran Council, which promulgated the decree Licet de evitanda discordia.[3] To avoid schism in the future, the decree established that the pope is elected with the majority of two thirds of the cardinals, if unanimity cannot be achieved.[4] It confirmed also that the cardinals are the sole electors of the pope.[5]

Pope Alexander III died on August 30, 1181, in Civita Castellana.[6] Two days later, on September 1, 1181, the cardinals assembled at Rome (probably at Lateran or Vatican Basilica)[7] and unanimously elected the senior member of the Sacred College, Cardinal Ubaldo of Lucca, Bishop of Ostia. He took the name Lucius III. On September 6, 1181, he was crowned by Cardinal Teodino of Porto at Velletri.[8]

There were probably 27 cardinals in the Sacred College of Cardinals in 1181.[9] Based on the examination of the subscriptions of the papal bulls in 1181[10] and the available data about the external missions of the cardinals it is possible to establish that no more than 19 cardinals participated in the election:

Thirteen electors were created by Pope Alexander III, four by Pope Adrian IV, one by Pope Innocent II and one by Lucius II.

• Adams, John Paul (2011). "Sede Vacante 1181". California State University Northridge. Retrieved: 10 February 2022.
• Brixius, Johannes Matthias (1912). Die Mitglieder des Kardinalkollegiums von 1130-1181 (in German). Berlin: R. Trenkel.

• Ganzer, Klaus (1963). Die Entwicklung des auswärtigen Kardinalats im hohen Mittelalter. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des Kardinalkollegiums vom 11.bis 13. Jahrhundert. Bibliothek des Deutschen Historischen Instituts in Rom (in German). Tübingen: Max Niemeyer Verlag.

• Gregorovius, Ferdinand (1905). The History of Rome in the Middle Ages Vol. IV, part 2. 2nd ed. London: George Bell 1905.

• Jaffé, Phillipp (1888). Regesta pontificum Romanorum ab condita Ecclesia ad annum post Christum natum MCXCVIII, vol. II (in Latin). Leipzig: Veit et comp.

• Kartusch, Elfriede (1948). Das Kardinalskollegium in der Zeit von 1181–1227 (in German). Wien.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

• Regesta Imperii (in German). Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, Mainz. 2006–2009.

• Robinson, Ian Stuart (1990). The Papacy 1073–1198. Continuity and Innovation. Cambridge Medieval Textbooks. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-31922-6.