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Pope Innocent III

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Religious Figure

The Resume

    (circa 1160-July 16, 1216)
    Born in Gavignano, Italy
    Birth name was Lotario di Segni (Lothar of Segni)
    Pope of the Roman Catholic Church (1198-1216)
    Nephew of Pope Clement III

Why he might be annoying:

    He was named a Cardinal by his papal uncle.
    He was not at all shy about intervening in the affairs of other countries to assert the supremacy of the Papacy.
    He instigated the Fourth Crusade (1202-04), during which the Crusaders, instead of attacking Muslims in the Middle East, conquered Constantinople, capital of the Christian Byzantine Empire.
    He ordered the Albigensian Crusade in France (1209), resulting in the massacres of not just the targeted Cathars, but also plenty of Catholics who lived in the same towns.
    At the request of King John, he annulled the Magna Carta, triggering a rebellion by English barons (1215).
    He ordered that Jews not be appointed to public offices.
    He decreed that Jews should wear a special form of dress to distinguish them from Christians, which has been described as ‘the precursor of the infamous yellow badge.’

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was elected Pope within 24 hours of his predecessor’s death.
    He founded the hospital in Rome.
    At the start of the Fourth Crusade, he forbade any attacks on Christians.
    He excommunicated the Crusaders who sacked Constantinople.
    He authorized St. Francis of Assisi to found a religious order (1210).
    He convened the Fourth Lateran Council (1215), considered the most important Church council of the Middle Ages.
    He brought the Papacy to a new pinnacle of power and prestige.

Credit: C. Fishel


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