Papal election, 1268–1271

The papal election from November 1268 to September 1, 1271, following the death of Pope Clement IV, was the longest papal election in the history of the Roman Catholic Church.Wright, David. 2005, April 18. " [http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Pope/story?id=681429 Inside Longest Papal Conclave in History] ." "ABC News".] [McWhirter, Norris. 1983. "Guinness Book of World Records". Bantam Books. p. 464.] The election of Tebaldo Visconti as Pope Gregory X was the first example of a papal election by "Compromise." [Trollope, Thomas Adolphus. 1876. "The Papal Conclaves, as They Were and as They are". Chapman and Hall. p. 54.] The election was effected by a Committee of six cardinals agreed to by the other remaining ten. The election occurred more than a year after the magistrates of Viterbo locked the cardinals in, reduced their rations to bread and water, and legendarily removed the roof of the Palazzo dei Papi di Viterbo.Bower, Archibald. 1766. "The History of the Popes: From the Foundation of the See of Rome to the Present Time". p. 283-284.]

As a result of the length of the election, during which three of the twenty cardinal-electors died and one resigned, Gregory X promulgated the apostolic constitution, "Ubi periculum", on July 7, 1274 (or 16), during the Second Council of Lyon, establishing the papal conclave, whose rules were based on the tactics employed against the cardinals in Viterbo. The election itself is sometimes viewed as the first conclave.Levillain, Philippe, "The Papacy: An Encyclopedia". Routledge. ISBN 0415922283. p. 392.]

Cardinal electors

The dynamic of the conclave was divided between the French Angevin cardinals, mostly created by Pope Urban IV, who were amenable to an invasion of Italy by Charles of Anjou, and the non-French mostly Italian cardinals whose numbers were just sufficient to prevent a French pope from being elected.Miranda, Salvator. 1998. " [http://www.fiu.edu/~mirandas/conclave-xiii.htm Papal elections and conclaves of the XIII Century (1216-1294)] ."] Clement IV's crowning of Charles of Anjou as King of Naples and Sicily, previously a papal fief,Baumgartner, Frederic J. 2003. "Behind Locked Doors: A History of the Papal Elections". Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0312294638. p. 41.] had cemented the influence of the French monarchy in the Italian peninsula and created an intense division within the College of Cardinals between those who opposed and supported French influence, and by extension: ultramontanism. [Trollope, 1876, p. 59.] Conradin, the last ruler of the House of Hohenstaufen had been beheaded in Naples just a month before the death of Clement IV.Trollope, 1876, p. 60.]

Some sources say there were only nineteen cardinal electors; others eighteen or seventeen. In any event, after August 11, 1270, there were only sixteen remaining cardinal electors.

According to the account of Onofrio Panvinio, Cardinal John of Toledo suggested that the roof be removed ("Let us uncover the Room, else the Holy Ghost will never get at us"—the first recorded reference to the notion that the Holy Spirit should guide cardinal electors), which the two magistrates readily obliged. Other sources say it was Charles of Anjou who orchestrated the reduction of the diet of the cardinals to bread and water and removal the roof of the Papal Palace.Sladen, Douglas Brooke Wheelton, and Bourne, Francis. 1907. "The Secrets of the Vatican". Hurst and Blackett Limited. p. 48-50.]

The Committee

Under pressure from Philip III of France and other rulers, on September 1, 1271, the cardinals agreed to cede their authority to a committee of six, drawn equally from the French and Italian cardinals, which chose Tebaldo Visconti, a non-cardinal, who was currently in Acre with the retinue of Edward, Prince of Wales (the eldest-son of Henry III of England) as papal legate to the Ninth Crusade. Having been informed of his election, Visconti departed on November 19, 1271 and reached Viterbo on February 12, 1272, where he took the name Gregory X, entered Rome on March 13, 1272 and was crowned on March 27, 1272. During the final leg of his journey, from Brindisi on January 11, 1272, Visconti was accompanied by Charles of Anjou.

Legacy

The techniques employed against the dilatory cardinals in Viterbo formed the basis for the canonical laws of papal conclaves as laid out in the apostolic constitution, "Ubi periculum", of Pope Gregory X, promulgated during the Second Council of Lyon on July 7, 1274 (or 16). Popular accounts of the conclave, as early as those of French historian Georges Goyau, neglect to mention the political intrigue of Charles of Anjou or his nephew, Philip III of France, as the masterminds of the hardships employed by the "citizens of Viterbo."

Designed both to accelerate future elections and reduce outside interference, the rules of "Ubi periculum" provide for the cardinal electors to be secluded for the entirety of the conclave, including having their meals passed through a small opening, and for their rations to be reduced to a single meal at the end of three days, or bread and water (with a little wine) after eight days. Cardinals also do not collect from the Apostolic Camera any payments they might otherwise receive during the conclave.

The stringent rules of "Ubi periculum" were used in the conclaves that elected Pope Innocent V (January 1276) and Pope Adrian V (July 1276), lasting one and nine days respectively. However, at the urgings of the College, the newly-elected Adrian V suspended the constitution on July 12, 1276—indicating that he wished to revise it—and died on August 18, without having promulgated a revised version.

Therefore, the election of Pope John XXI (August-September 1276) did not follow "Ubi periculum", and—once elected—John XXI promulgated a bull, "Licet felicis recordationis", formally revoking "Ubi periculum". The next five papal elections—1277 (Pope Nicholas III), 1280—1281 (Pope Martin IV), 1285 (Pope Honorius IV), 1287—1288 (Pope Nicholas IV), and 1292—1294 (Pope Celestine V)—occurred "sans" conclave, often at great length. Celestine V, whose election took two years and three months, reinstated the conclave with a series of three decrees, and his successor, Pope Boniface VIII restored the conclave into the Code of Canon Law.

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