Antipope Anacletus II

Anacletus II (died January 25, 1138), born Pietro Pierleoni, was an Antipope who ruled from 1130 to his death, in a schism against the contested, hasty election of Pope Innocent II.^[1]

Life

Pietro was born to the powerful Roman family of the Pierleoni, the son of the Consul Pier Leoni. One of his great-great grandparents, Benedictus, maybe Baruch in Hebrew, was a Jew who converted into Christianity.^[2] As a second son with ambitions, Pietro was destined for an ecclesiastical career. He studied in Paris and entered the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny. Later he went to Rome and occupied several important positions.

Election

In 1130, Pope Honorius II lay dying and the cardinals decided that they would entrust the election to a commission of eight men, led by papal chancellor Haimeric, who had his candidate Cardinal Gregory Papareschi hastily elected as Pope Innocent II. He was consecrated on February 14, the day after Honorius' death.

On the same day, the other cardinals, led by the senior Cardinal Bishop, Pietro of Porto, met with the leaders of Rome in the Basilica of S. Marco, and announced that Innocent had not been canonically elected. He nominated Cardinal Pietro Pierleoni, a Roman whose family were the enemy of Haimeric's supporters the Frangipani, who was elected by the Cardinals, clergy, nobility and People of Rome. Anacletus' supporters included the entire Roman aristocracy, with the exception of the Frangipani, and the majority of the Cardinals. With the support of the People, and in opposition to the French Haimeric, the Pierleoni were powerful enough to take control of Rome, while Innocent was forced to flee north of the Alps.

Conflict

However, north of the Alps, Innocent gained the crucial support of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Peter the Venerable, and other prominent reformers who personally helped him to gain recognition from European rulers such as Emperor Lothar III, leaving Anacletus with few patrons. Anacletus had been a relatively acceptable candidate for the Papacy, being well-respected, so rumors centering on his descent from a Jewish convert were spread to blacken his reputation. Among Anacletus' supporters were duke William X of Aquitaine, who decided for Anacletus against the will of his own bishops, and the powerful Roger II of Sicily, whose title of "King of Sicily" Anacletus had approved by papal bull after his accession.^[3]

By 1135 Anacletus' position was weak despite their aid, but the schism only ended with his death in 1138, after which Gregorio Conti as elected as Victor IV but submitted to Innocent within a month. Innocent returned to Rome and ruled without opposition. Innocent II quickly convened the Second Lateran Council in 1139 and reinforced the Church's teachings against usury, clerical marriage, and other problems.

Though the Pierleoni family mostly submitted to Innocent and his successors, Anacletus' brother Giordano, who was then leader of the Commune of Rome, actively opposed Innocent's successors in the following decade.

See also

References

1. George L. Williams, Papal Genealogy: The Families and Descendants of the Popes, (McFarland & Company, Inc., 1998), 24.
2. http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/pierleoni/
3. Marjorie Chibnall, The Normans, (Wiley & Sons, 2006), 86.

Bibliography

• Arnulfi Sagiensis, Episcopus Sexoviensis, "Tractatus de schismate orto post Honorii II papae decessum," Ludovico Antonio Muratori (editor), Rerum Italicarum Scriptores Tomus III, pars 1(Milano 1723), pp. 423–432.
• Anastasio, Lodovico Agnello (1754). Istoria degli Antipapi di Lodovico Agnello Anastasio arcivescovo di Sorrento. Tomo primo. Napoli: Stamperia Muziana.
• Zigarelli, Daniello Maria (1859). Storia degli antipapi e di taluni memorabili avvenimenti delle epoche rispettive dello scisma. Napoli: Tipografico di G. Gioja.
• Zöpffel, Richard. Die Papstwahlen und die mit ihnen im Zusammenhange stehenden Ceremonien von 11.-14. Jahrhunderts (Göttingen 1871), 267-395.
• Fedele, Pietro (1904). Le famiglie di Anacleto II e di Gelasio II. Roma. [Archivio della Real Società Romana di Storia Patria 27, 1904, pp. 399–440].
• Brixius, J. M. Die Mitglieder des Kardinalkollegiums von 1130-1181 (Berlin 1912).
• Mann, Horace K. The Lives of the Popes in the Middle Ages Volume IX. 1130-1159 (London 1914), 1-66.
• Bloch, Herbert (1952). The Schism of Anacletus II and the Glanfeuil Forgeries of Peter the Deacon of Monte Cassino. New York: Fordham University Press.
• Zenker, Barbara. Die Mitglieder des Kardinalcollegiums von 1130 bis 1159 (Würzburg 1964).
• Hüls, Rudolf. Kardinäle, Klerus und Kirchen Roms: 1049-1130 (Tübingen 1977) [Bibliothek des Deutschen Historischen Instituts in Rom, Band 48].
• Stroll, Mary (1987). The Jewish Pope: Ideology and Politics in the Papal Schism of 1130. New York: E. J. Brill. ISBN 9004085904.
• Stroll, Mary (1991). Symbols As Power: The Papacy Following the Investiture Contest. New York-Leiden: BRILL. ISBN 90-04-09374-5.
• Houben, Herbert (2002). Roger II of Sicily: A Ruler Between East and West. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-65573-6.

External links

• Catholic Encyclopaedia account of Anacletus II