1.
Pope Paschal II
–
Pope Paschal II, born Ranierius, was Pope from 13 August 1099 to his death in 1118. A monk of the Cluniac order, he was created Cardinal-Priest of San Clemente by Pope Gregory VII in 1073 and he was consecrated as pope in succession to Pope Urban II on 19 August 1099. His reign of almost twenty years was long for a pope of the Middle Ages. He was born in Bleda, near Forlì, Romagna, in the long struggle with the Holy Roman Emperors over investiture, he zealously carried on the Hildebrandine policy in favor of papal privilege, but with only partial success. The future Emperor Henry V took advantage of his fathers excommunication to rebel, even to the point of seeking out Paschal II for absolution for associating with his father, Henry IV. But, Henry V was even more persistent in maintaining the right of investiture than Emperor Henry IV had been before his death in 1105. The imperial Diet at Mainz invited Paschal II to visit Germany and settle the trouble in January 1106, but the Pope in the Council of Guastalla simply renewed the prohibition of investiture. Preparations were made for the coronation on 12 February 1111, but the Romans rose in revolt against Henry, and the German king retired, taking the Pope and Curia with him. After 61 days of imprisonment, during which Prince Robert I of Capuas Norman army was repulsed on its rescue mission. Henry V was then crowned in St. Peters on 13 April 1111, Emperor Henry V at once laid claim to Matildas lands as imperial fiefs and forced the Pope to flee from Rome. Paschal II returned after the Emperors withdrawal at the beginning of 1118, Pope Paschal II ordered the building of the a basilica of Santi Quattro Coronati on the ashes of the one burned during the Norman sack of Rome in 1084. During Paschals trip to France in 1106-1107, he consecrated the Cluniac church of Notre Dame at La Charité-sur-Loire, in 1116, Paschal II, at the behest of Count Ramon Berenguer III, issued a crusade for the capture of Tarragona. This was something the patriarch could not do in face of opposition from the majority of clergy, the world. Paschals demand remained the status quo condition for re-unification of the Churches, the first bishop of America was appointed during Paschal IIs reign, nearly four centuries before Columbus first voyage across the Atlantic. Erik Gnupsson was given the province of Greenland and Vinland, the believed to refer to what is now Newfoundland. Pope Paschal II issued the bull Pie Postulatio Voluntatis on 15 February 1113 and it also confirmed the orders acquisitions and donations in Europe and Asia and exempted it from all authority save that of the Pope. First Council of the Lateran Concordat of Worms This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh. Herbermann, Charles, ed. Pope Paschal II
2.
Pope Callixtus II
–
Pope Callixtus II or Callistus II, born Guy of Burgundy, reigned from 1 February 1119 to his death in 1124. His pontificate was shaped by the Investiture Controversy, which he was able to settle through the Concordat of Worms in 1122. Born the fourth son of William I, Count of Burgundy, one of the wealthiest rulers in Europe and his family was part of a network of noble alliances. He was a cousin of Arduin of Ivrea, the King of Italy. One sister, Gisela, was married to Humbert II, Count of Savoy and his brother Raymond was married to Urraca, the heiress of León, and fathered the future King Alfonso VII of León. His brother Hugh was an Archbishop of Besançon, Guy first appears in contemporary records when he became the Archbishop of Vienne in 1088. He held strong views about the Investiture Controversy. These concessions were received with violent opposition and nowhere more so than in France, where the opposition was led by Guy and these decrees were sent to Paschal II with a request for a confirmation, which they received on 20 October 1112. Guy was later, apparently, created cardinal by Pope Paschal, Archbishop Guy de Bourgogne of Vienne, France, who was not a cardinal, was elected at Cluny on 2 February 1119. Nine cardinals took part in the election, most of the other cardinals were in Rome. He was crowned at Vienne on 9 February 1119, as Calixtus II. At the outset, it appeared that the new Pope was willing to negotiate with Henry V, who received the embassy at Strasbourg. Henry V arrived for his conference at Mousson — not alone, as had been anticipated. Calixtus II, fearing that force was likely to be used to extract prejudicial concessions, since there was no compromise coming from Henry V, it was determined on 30 October 1119 that the Emperor and his antipope should be solemnly excommunicated. The Imperial candidate was obliged to flee to the fortress of Sutri and he was transferred from prison to prison first near Salerno, and afterwards at the fortress of Fumo. The imperial allies in Rome soon disbanded, in 1120 Calixtus II issued the papal bull Sicut Judaeis setting out the official position of the papacy regarding the treatment of Jews. It was prompted by the First Crusade, during which five thousand Jews were slaughtered in Europe. The bull was intended to protect Jews and echoed the position of Pope Gregory I that Jews were entitled to enjoy their lawful liberty, having established his power in Italy, the Pope resolved to re-open negotiations with Henry V on the question of investiture
3.
Pope Urban II
–
Pope Urban II, born Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was Pope from 12 March 1088 to his death in 1099. He is best known for initiating the First Crusade and setting up the modern-day Roman Curia in the manner of an ecclesiastical court to help run the Church. Pope Urban II was a native of France and he was a descendant of a noble family in Châtillon-sur-Marne. Urban, baptized Eudes, was born to a family of Châtillon-sur-Marne and he was prior of the abbey of Cluny, later Pope Gregory VII named him cardinal-bishop of Ostia c. 1080. He was one of the most prominent and active supporters of the Gregorian reforms and he was among the four whom Gregory VII nominated as papabile. From the outset, Urban had to reckon with the presence of Guibert, Gregory had repeatedly clashed with the emperor Henry IV over papal authority. Despite the Walk to Canossa, Gregory had backed the rebel Duke of Swabia, Henry finally took Rome in 1084 and installed Clement III in his place. Urban took up the policies of Pope Gregory VII and, while pursuing them with determination, showed greater flexibility, usually kept away from Rome, Urban toured northern Italy and France. He facilitated the marriage of Matilda, countess of Tuscany, with Welf II and he supported the rebellion of Prince Conrad against his father and receiving the office of the groom from him at Cremona in 1095. The Empress Adelaide was encouraged in her charges of coercion against her husband. Urban maintained vigorous support for his predecessors reforms, however, Urban IIs problems included war with Germany, conflict in France, a rival pope and Christians in the East under siege. Perhaps a massive pilgrimage may solve these problems, a great council met, attended by numerous Italian, Burgundian, and French bishops in such vast numbers it had to be held in the open air outside the city of Clermont. Though the Council of Clermont held in November of the year was primarily focused on reforms within the church hierarchy. Urban IIs sermon proved highly effective, as he summoned the nobility and the people to wrest the Holy Land. There exists no exact transcription of the speech that Urban delivered at the Council of Clermont on 27 November 1095, the five extant versions of the speech were written down some time later, and they differ widely from one another. All versions of the speech except that by Fulcher of Chartres were probably influenced by the account of the First Crusade called the Gesta Francorum. Fulcher of Chartres was present at the Council, though he did not start writing his history of the crusade, Robert the Monk may have been present, but his version dates from about 1106. The five versions of Urbans speech reflect much more clearly what later authors thought Urban II should have said to launch the First Crusade than what Urban II himself actually did say
4.
Gaeta
–
Gaeta is a city and comune in the province of Latina, in Lazio, central Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is 120 kilometres from Rome and 80 km from Naples, gaetas fortifications were extended and strengthened in the 15th century, especially throughout the history of the Kingdom of Naples. Present day Gaeta is a fishing and oil seaport, and a renowned tourist resort, NATO maintains a naval base of operations at Gaeta. It is the ancient Caieta, situated on the slopes of the Torre di Orlando, Gaeta was an ancient Ionian colony of the Samians according to Strabo, who believed the name stemmed from the Greek kaiétas, which means cave, probably referring to the several harbours. According to Virgils Aeneid, Caieta was Aeneas’ wet-nurse, whom he buried here, like the other Roman resorts, Caieta was linked to the capital of the Empire by Via Appia and its end trunk Via Flacca, through an opposite diverticulum or by-road. Its port was of importance in trade and in war. Among its antiquities is the mausoleum of Lucius Munatius Plancus, at the beginning of the Middle Ages, after the Lombard invasion, Gaeta remained under suzerainty of the Byzantine Empire. In the following years, like Amalfi, Sorrento and Naples, it would seem to have established itself as an independent port. As Byzantine influence declined in Southern Italy the town began to grow, for fear of the Saracens, in 840 the inhabitants of the neighbouring Formiæ fled to Gaeta. Though under the suzerainty of Byzantium, Gaeta had then, like nearby ports Naples and Amalfi, a republican form of government with a dux, as a strong bulwark against Saracen invasion. Around 830, it became a lordship ruled by hereditary hypati, or consuls, the first of these was Constantine, at this same time the episcopal see of Gaeta was founded when Constantine, Bishop of Formiae, fled thither and established his residence. He was associated with his son Marinus I and they were probably violently overthrown in 866 or 867 by Docibilis I, who, looking rather to local safety, entered into treaties with the Saracens and abandoned friendly relations with the papacy. Nevertheless, he expanded the duchy and began construction of the palace. Greatest of the hypati was possibly John I, who helped crush the Saracens at Garigliano in 915, the principle of co-regency governed the early dynasties, Docibilis associated John with him and John in turn associated his son Docibilis II with him. In 933, three generations were briefly co-ruling, John I, Docibilis II, and John II, on the death of Docibilis II, who first took the title dux, the duchy passed from its golden age and entered a decline marked by a division of territory. John II ruled Gaeta and his brother, Marinus, ruled Fondi with the equivalent title of duke, outlying lands and castles were given away to younger sons and thus the family of the Docibili slowly declined after mid-century. Allegedly, but improbably, from the end of the 9th century, in the mid-10th century, the De Ceremoniis of Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus lists the ceremonial title prince of Gaeta among the protocols for letters written to foreigners. Prince Pandulf IV of Capua captured Gaeta in 1032 and deposed Duke John V, assuming the ducal and consular titles
5.
Principality of Capua
–
The Principality of Capua was a Lombard state centred on Capua in Southern Italy, usually de facto independent, but under the varying suzerainty of Western and Eastern Roman Empires. It was originally a gastaldate, then a county, within the principality of Salerno, Old Capua was an ancient Italian city, the greatest Roman city of the south. It was the centre of Lombard gastaldate in the duchy of Benevento and it first enters history as a Lombard state under Landulf the Old with the death of the Beneventan duke Sicard in 839. Landulf and his sons were partisans of Siconulf of Salerno, in 841, Capua was sacked and completely destroyed by Saracens in the pay of Radelchis I of Benevento. Landulf and his eldest son, Lando I, took the initiative in fortifying the hill of Triflisco on which was built New Capua. Pando the Rapacious declared Capua independent of Salerno in 862, on his death in the same year, the succession to the county was thrown into dispute. His son was deposed by Bishop Landulf who thus united the ecclesiastical, Salerno allied with Lando and Benevento with Pandenulf. A succession crisis followed in 887 and Atenulf established himself and his status with the aid of the aforementioned Athanasius of Naples. Atenulf would try to avert future succession crises and to vindicate the independent pretensions of Capua à la those of Benevento, in 899, Atenulf I defeated Radelchis II and conquered Benevento. Atenulf associated his son, Landulf, as co-prince and built up alliances with the local Greek states, like Naples and Gaeta, Landulf mostly continued the policies of his father and spent most of his career after Garigliano trying to weaken the Byzantine authority in Apulia and the Campania. In this, he was moderately successful. His son, Landulf II, allied against the Lombard principality of Salerno, like his father, he attacked Byzantine possessions, but was defeated and forced to submit to nominal Byzantine suzerainty. Under Landulfs sons, the union of Capua and Benevento broke down and they remained legally bound, before his death, he had gained from Emperor Otto I the title of Duke of Spoleto also. He split his great dominion between his sons, Landulf IV received Benevento-Capua and Pandulf II, Salerno, soon, Benevento and Capua split legally, with Landulf IV keeping a Capua much reduced in power. In the 990s, Capua experienced debilitating turmoil as one prince was assassinated, another deposed by the Emperor Otto III, and a third deposed by the citizens. The old dynasty was reinstalled in 1000 under Landulf VII, who made his brother, Pandulf II of Benevento, regent for his heir, thus, Capua and Benevento were briefly united for the last time. The chief interest of Lombard Capua in this, its period, was the control of a seaport, especially a large and important one. Capua experienced a new zenith under Pandulf IV, who was deposed twice between his succession in 1016 and his death in 1050 and he was originally an ally of the Byzantines and remained allied with them against all his neighbours until the end
6.
Cluny
–
Cluny or Clugny is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department of the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, in eastern France. It is 20 km northwest of Mâcon, the town grew up around the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny, founded by Duke William I of Aquitaine in 910. The height of Cluniac influence was from the half of the 10th century through the early 12th. The abbey was sacked by the Huguenots in 1562, and many of its valuable manuscripts were destroyed or removed, the river Grosne flows northward through the commune and crosses the town
7.
Duchy of Burgundy
–
Upon the extinction of the line with the death of Duke Philip I in 1361, the duchy fell back to King John II of France and the royal House of Valois. The Burgundian duchy rose to a complex of a European scale after in 1363 King John II of France ceded the duchy to his younger son Philip of Valois. By his marriage with Countess Margaret of Flanders, he laid the foundation for a Burgundian realm further north in the Low Countries collectively known as the Burgundian Netherlands. The Burgundian sphere, in its own right, was one of the largest ducal territories that existed at the time of the emergence of Early Modern Europe. Including the thriving regions of Flanders and Brabant, it was a centre of trade. After about one hundred years of Valois-Burgundy rule, however, the last duke Charles the Bold rushed to the Burgundian Wars and was killed in the 1477 Battle of Nancy. With the abdication of the Habsburg emperor Charles V in 1556, the Burgundians settled in the area around Dijon, Chalon-sur-Saône, Mâcon, Autun and Châtillon-sur-Seine, and gave the name to the region. The Kingdom of the Burgundians was annexed by the Merovingian Kings of the Franks Childebert I in 534 following their defeat by the Franks and it was recreated, however, on several occasions when Frankish territories were redivided between the sons on the death of a Frankish king. As part of the Kingdom of the Franks, Burgundy maintained a semi-autonomous existence, with the Burgundians maintaining their own law code, however, southern Burgundy was pillaged by the Saracen invasion of the 8th century. When Charles Martel drove the invaders out, he divided Burgundy into four commands, Arles-Burgundy, Vienne-Burgundy, Alamanic Burgundy and he appointed his brother Childebrand governor of Frankish Burgundy. Under the Carolingians, Burgundian separatism lessened and Burgundy became a geographical term. As a vital military defender of the West Frankish border, Guerin was sometimes known by the Latin term for leader – Dux or Duke, by the time of Richard the Justiciar, the Duchy of Burgundy was beginning to emerge. Richard was officially recognised by the king as a duke, he stood as individual count of each county he held. As Duke of Burgundy, he was able to wield an increasing amount of power over his territory, to the collective body of his territory there came to be applied the term ducatus. Included in the ducatus of Richard were the regions of Autunais, Beaunois, Avalois, Lassois, Dijonais, Memontois, Attuyer, Oscheret, under Richard, these territories were given law and order, protected from the Normans, and served as a haven for persecuted monks. It was from his territories in Burgundy that he drew the resources needed to fight those who challenged his right to rule, under Hugh the Black came the beginning of what would be a long and troubled saga for Burgundy. His neighbours were the Robertian family, who held the title of Duke of Francia and this family, wanting to improve their standing in France and against the Carolingian kings, attempted to subject the duchy to the suzerainty of their own duchy. They failed, eventually, when they appeared close to success, they were forced to scrap the scheme, two brothers of Hugh Capet, the first Capetian King of France, took up the rule of Burgundy as duke
8.
France in the Middle Ages
–
From the 13th century on, the state slowly regained control of a number of these lost powers. The crises of the 13th and 14th centuries led to the convening of an assembly, the Estates General. From the Middle Ages onward, French rulers believed their kingdoms had natural borders, the Pyrenees, the Alps and this was used as a pretext for an aggressive policy and repeated invasions. The belief, however, had little basis in reality for not all of territories were part of the Kingdom. France had important rivers that were used as waterways, the Loire, the Rhone and these rivers were settled earlier than the rest and important cities were founded on their banks but they were separated by large forests, marsh, and other rough terrains. Before the Romans conquered Gaul, the Gauls lived in villages organised in wider tribes, the Romans referred to the smallest of these groups as pagi and the widest ones as civitates. These pagi and civitates were often taken as a basis for the imperial administration and these religious provinces would survive until the French revolution. Discussion of the size of France in the Middle Ages is complicated by distinctions between lands personally held by the king and lands held in homage by another lord, the domaine royal of the Capetians was limited to the regions around Paris, Bourges and Sens. The great majority of French territory was part of Aquitaine, the Duchy of Normandy, the Duchy of Brittany, the Comté of Champagne, the Duchy of Burgundy, and other territories. Philip II Augustus undertook a massive French expansion in the 13th century, only in the 15th century would Charles VII and Louis XI gain control of most of modern-day France. The weather in France and Europe in the Middle Ages was significantly milder than during the preceding or following it. Historians refer to this as the Medieval Warm Period, lasting from about the 10th century to about the 14th century, part of the French population growth in this period is directly linked to this temperate weather and its effect on crops and livestock. At the end of the Middle Ages, France was the most populous region in Europe—having overtaken Spain, in the 14th century, before the arrival of the Black Death, the total population of the area covered by modern-day France has been estimated at around 17 million. The population of Paris is controversial, josiah Russell argued for about 80,000 in the early 14th century, although he noted that some other scholars suggested 200,000. The higher count would make it by far the largest city in western Europe, the Black Death killed an estimated one-third of the population from its appearance in 1348. The concurrent Hundred Years War slowed recovery and it would be the mid-16th century before the population recovered to mid-fourteenth century levels. The vast majority of the population spoke a variety of vernacular languages derived from vulgar Latin. Modern linguists typically add a group within France around Lyon
9.
Santa Maria in Cosmedin
–
The Basilica of Saint Mary in Cosmedin is a minor basilica church in Rome, Italy. It is located in the rione of Ripa, a deaconry was a place where charitable distributions were given to the poor, and it is appropriate that such an institution would have been built near or at a station of the Roman annona. Since it was located near many Byzantine structures, in 7th century this church was called de Schola Graeca, and a close street is still called della Greca. Greek monks escaping iconoclastic persecutions decorated the church around 782, when pope Adrian I promoted its reconstruction, because of its beauty, the church received the adjective cosmedin, ornate. Santa Maria in Cosmedin was the church of Popes Gelasius II and Celestine III. Among the former titular cardinal deacons of the church was Reginald Pole, the inscriptions found in S. Maria in Cosmedin, a valuable source illustrating the history of the Basilica, have been collected and published by Vincenzo Forcella. A substantial restoration was accomplished in 1118–1124 under Alfanus, camerarius of Pope Callixtus II, after being acquired by Benedictines and a period of decay, in 1718 the church was refurbished in the Baroque style, particularly by a new façade, by Giuseppe Sardi. The Baroque additions, however, were removed in the restoration of 1894–1899, in the portico of the church, on the north side, can be found La Bocca della Verità, an ancient sculpture thought to be a drain covering. A legend states that, if a person places his hand inside the mouth and then swears falsely, there is no attested case of such an event taking place. The churchs bell tower is the tallest medieval belfry in Rome, the current interior of S. Maria in Cosmedin has a nave with two aisles, these are divided by four pilasters and eighteen ancient columns. Built into the walls, some of the old columns of the Statio Annonae are visible. Other fragments of the ancient building can be seen in the crypt, paintings from the 8th-12th centuries, in three layers, are preserved in the upper part of the nave and in the triumphal arch. The church has a very fine Cosmatesque pavement, the schola cantorum is from the 13th century, while the main altar is a red granite piece from 1123. The Easter candelabrum is also from the 13th century, the sacristy houses a precious 8th-century mosaic fragment brought here from the Old St. Peters Basilica. Of the 18th-century restoration, the Crucifix Chapel and the Baptistry can be seen today, in a side altar on the left of the church is kept the flower crowned skull attributed to St Valentine. A scene from the 1953 romantic comedy movie Roman Holiday was filmed in Santa Maria in Cosmedin, in the scene, Joe played by Gregory Peck shocks the Anya/Princess Ann played by Audrey Hepburn by pretending to lose his hand in the Bocca della Verità. Giovanni Mario Crescimbeni, Stato della basilica diaconale, collegiate, e parrocchiale di S. Maria in Cosmedin di Roma, giovenale, La Basilica di S. Maria in Cosmedin. Richard Krautheimer, Corpus basilicarum christianarum Romae, the early Christian basilicas of Rome
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Gelasius". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Pope Gelasius II". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the 
