CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Pope Honorius III

CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Pope Honorius III
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Pope Honorius III
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(Cencio Savelli)
Born at
Rome
date
of birth unknown; died at
Rome
, 18 March, 1227. For a time he was canon at the
church
of
Santa Maria
Maggiore, then he became
papal
chamberlain in 1188 and
Cardinal-Deacon
of Santa Lucia in Silice in 1193. Under
Pope Innocent III
he became
Cardinal-Priest
of Santi Giovanni et Paolo and, in 1197, tutor of the future
Emperor Frederick II
, who had been given as ward to
Innocent III
by the Empress-widow Constantia. On 18 July, 1216, nineteen
cardinals
assembled at
Perugia
(where
Innocent
had died two days previously) with the purpose of electing a new
pope
. The troublous state of affairs in
Italy
, the threatening attitude of the Tatars, and the fear of a
schism
, induced the
cardinals
to agree to an election by compromise. Cardinals Ugolino of
Ostia
(afterwards
Gregory IX
) and Guido of
Praeneste
were empowered to appoint the new
pope
. Their choice fell upon Cencio Savelli, who accepted the
tiara
with reluctance and took the name of Honorius III. He was
consecrated
at
Perugia
24 July, was
crowned
at
Rome
31 August, and took possession of the Lateran 3 September. The Roman people were greatly elated at the election, for Honorius III was himself a Roman and by his extreme kindness had endeared himself to the hearts of all.
Though already far advanced in age, his pontificate was one of strenuous activity. Like his famous predecessor Innocent III, he had set his mind on the achievement of two great things, the recovery of the Holy Land and a spiritual reform of the entire Church; but quite in contrast with him he sought these achievements by kindness and indulgence rather than by force and severity. Immediately upon his accession to the
papal
throne he sent letters to the
ecclesiastical
and the temporal rulers of
Europe
in which he admonishes and encourages them to continue in their preparation for the general
crusade
which, as had been provided at the Lateran Council of 1215, was to be undertaken in 1217. To procure the means
necessary
for this colossal undertaking, the
pope
and the
cardinals
were to contribute the tenth part, and all other
ecclesiastics
the twentieth part, of their income for three years. The
bishops
under the supervision of the
papal legates
in the various countries were entrusted with the collection of these moneys. Honorius III ordered the
crusade
to be preached in all the churches of
Christendom
. Though the money thus collected was considerable, it was by no means sufficient for a general
crusade
as planned by Honorius III. Moreover, in preaching the
crusade
the great mistake was made of trying to gather as many
crusaders
as possible, without considering whether they were fit for
war
The result was that cripples, old men,
women
, also robbers, thieves, adventurers, and others composed a great part of the
crusaders
. In some instances the uselessness of such soldiers was not thought of until they had been transported to distant seaports at public expense. Most rulers of
Europe
were engaged in
wars
of their own and could not leave their country for any length of time. Andrew II of
Hungary
and, somewhat later, a fleet of
crusaders
from the region along the Lower Rhine finally departed for the Holy Land, took Damietta and a few other places in
Egypt
; but lack of unity among the
Christians
, also rivalry between the leaders and the
papal legate
Pelagius, to some extent perhaps also the incompetency of the latter, resulted in failure.
Honorius III was aware that there was only one man in
Europe
who could bring about the recovery of the Holy Land, and that man was his former pupil
Frederick II
of
Germany
. Like many other rulers,
Frederick II
had taken an
oath
to embark for the Holy Land in 1217. As long as his rival
Otto IV
was living, the
pope
did not urge him to fulfil his
oath
; when, however, his rival had died on 19 May, 1218, Honorius III insisted that he embark as soon as possible and Frederick promised to set sail for the Holy Land on 24 June, 1219. He then obtained permission to postpone his departure repeatedly, first till 29 September, 1219, then successively till 21 March, 1220, 1 May, 1220, August, 1221, June, 1225, and finally, at the meeting of the
pope
and the emperor at San Germano on 25 July, 1225, till August, 1227. It must not be ascribed merely to weakness on the part of Honorius III that he allowed one postponement after the other.
He
knew
that without the co-operation of the emperor a successful
crusade
was impossible and feared that by using harsh measures he would cause a complete break with the emperor and indefinitely destroy the possibility of a
crusade
. For the same reason he yielded to the emperor in many things which under different circumstances he would have strenuously opposed. Thus he reluctantly approved the election of Frederick's son Henry as King of the Romans, which practically united the
Sicilian
kingdom and the empire in one
person
; a union which by its very nature was detrimental to the
papacy
and which Honorius III had every reason to oppose. Hoping to hasten the departure of Frederick for the Holy Land, he
crowned
him emperor at
Rome
on 22 November, 1220. Finally, however, seeing that his extreme indulgence was only abused by the emperor for selfish purposes, he had recourse to severer measures. The emperor's encroachment upon the
papal
rights
in the appointment of
bishops
in Apulia, and his unworthy treatment of King John of Jerusalem, whom Honorius III had appointed governor over part of the
papal
patrimony, brought the tension between the
pope
and the emperor to its height; but the rupture between the emperor and the
papacy
did not take place until Honorius III had died.
Though the general
crusade
planned by Honorius III was never realized, he deserved the gratitude of the world as the great pacificator of his age. Knowing that the
crusade
was impossible as long as the
Christian
princes were at
war
with one another, he began his pontificate by striving to establish peace throughout
Europe
. In
Italy
there was scarcely a city or province at peace with its neighbour.
Rome
itself rebelled against the rule of Honorius, so that in June, 1219, he found it advisable to leave the city. He went first to
Rieti
, then to
Viterbo
, returning to
Rome
in September, 1220, after the Romans were reconciled to him through the intervention of
Frederick II
, then on his way to
Rome
to be
crowned
emperor. In the
war
that followed between the Conti and the Savelli, the Romans sided with the Conti, and the
pope
, being of the
family
of the Savelli, was again forced to flee to
Rieti
in June, 1225. He returned to
Rome
in January, 1226, after Angelo di Benincasa, a friend of Honorius III, was elected senator of
Rome
. Through his
legate
Ugolino (afterwards
Gregory IX
) Honorius effected the reconciliation of
Pisa
and
Genoa
in 1217,
Milan
and
Cremona
in 1218, Bologna and Pistoia in 1219, and through his notary Pandulf he prevailed upon the Duchy of
Spoleto
to become
papal
territory, and upon the cities of
Perugia
Assisi
Foligno
Nocera
, and
Terni
, to restore what had formerly belonged to the
pope
In
England
the authority of the
pope
was paramount ever since that country had become a fief of the
Apostolic See
under Innocent III. The cruel King John had died on 16 October, 1216, leaving his ten- year-old son Henry III as successor. The cruelty and faithlessness of King John may have justified the English barons in rebelling against him and offering the English crown to Louis, the son of King Philip of
France
, but now it became their
duty
to be loyal to the lawful king, Henry III. Honorius III ordered Gualo, his
legate
in
England
, to urge the recalcitrant barons to return to their natural allegiance and gave him power to
excommunicate
all who continued to adhere to Prince Louis of
France
. On 19 January, 1217, he wrote to William, Earl of
Pembroke
, who was the young king's guardian and the regent of
England
, to prepare for
war
against Prince Louis and the faithless English barons. It was due to the severe measures taken against the barons by the
papal legate
that peace was finally restored and that Henry III was acknowledged the undisputed King of
England
on 11 September, 1217. After the death of
Pembroke
in May, 1219, the regency of
England
was nominally in the hands of the king's
ministers
; actually, however,
England
was ruled by Honorius III through Pandulf, who had meanwhile succeeded Gualo as
papal legate
in
England
. The influence of Honorius III continued to be paramount in
England
during his entire pontificate, for Henry III was still in his minority, and he as well as the barons and the people acknowledged the
pope
as the suzerain of the kingdom.
The untiring activity of Honorius III in the interests of
justice
and peace was felt throughout the
Christian world
. In
Bohemia
he safeguarded the
rights
of the
Church
against the encroachments of King Ottocar, through his
legate
Gregorius de Crescentio in 1223. In
Hungary
he protected King Andrew II against his rebellious son Bela IV by threatening the latter with
excommunication
. For
Denmark
he effected in 1224 the liberation of its King Waldemar from the captivity in which he was held by Count Henry of Schwerin. In Sweden he protected the
rights
of the
Church
against the encroachments of King John, and urged
celibacy
upon the
clergy
. For the Latin Empire in the Orient he
crowned
Peter of Courtenay as Emperor of Constantinople, in
Rome
on 12 April, 1217, and protected his successor Robert and King Demetrius of
Thessalonica
against Theodore Comnenus. In
Cyprus
he abated the quarrels between the Greeks and the Latins. In
Spain
he effected a lasting peace Between King Ferdinand III and Alfonso IX of
Leon
, undertook a
crusade
against the
Moors
(1218-1219), and protected the boy-king Jaime of
Aragon
against Counts Sancho and Fernando. In
Portugal
he defended Archbishop Estevao Francisco Suárez against the
excommunicated
King Alfonso II (1220-1223). In
France
he induced King Louis VIII to undertake a
crusade
against the
Albigenses
in 1226. He also assisted Bishop Christian of
Prussia
in the conversion of the
pagan
Prussians
, and at the
bishop's
suggestion called upon the ecclesiastical provinces of
Mainz
Magdeburg
Cologne
Salzburg
Gnesen
Lund
Bremen
Trier
, and Camin in 1222 to prepare a
crusade
against them.
Honorius III was also a liberal patron of the two great
mendicant orders
and bestowed numerous privileges upon them. He approved the Rule of St. Dominic in his
Bull
"Religiosam vitam",
dated
22 December, 1216, and that of St. Francis in his
Bull
"Solet annuere",
dated
29 November, 1223. Many authorities maintain that Honorius III had granted the famous
Portiuncula indulgence
to St. Francis as early as 1216, others hold [Kirsch in "Theologische Quartalschrift", LXXXVIII (Tübingen, 1906), fasc. 1 and 2] that this
indulgence
is of later origin and that the
indulgence
which Honorius granted to St. Francis is essentially different from the so-called
Portiuncula indulgence
. On 30 January, 1226, he approved the
Carmelite Order
in his
Bull
"Ut vivendi normam". He also approved the religious congregation "Val des Ecoliers" (Vallis scholarium, Valley of scholars), which had been founded by four
pious
professors of
theology
at the
University of Paris
. The
Bull
of
approbation
"Exhibita nobis" is
dated
7 March, 1219. The congregation was united with that of
St. Genevieve
by Innocent X in 1646. It is remarkable that four out the six or seven
saints
that were
canonized
by Honorius III were English or
Irish
. On 17 May, 1218, he
canonized
William,
Archbishop
of
Bourges
(d. 1209); on 18 February, 1220, Hugh,
Bishop
of Lincoln (d. 1200); on 21 January, 1224, William,
Abbot
of Roschild in
Denmark
(d. 1203); on 18 March, 1226, William,
Archbishop
of
York
(d. 1154).
He also appointed a committee to investigate the alleged
miracles
of the
Cistercian
abbot
St. Maurice
of Cornoet (d. 1191). The latter was never formally
canonized
, but his cult dates back to the pontificate of Honorius III. His
feast
is celebrated by the
Cistercians
on 13 October. Honorius III probably
canonized
also St. Raynerius,
Bishop
of Forconium, now Aquila, in
Italy
(d. 1077). Being a man of learning, Honorius insisted that the
clergy
should receive a thorough training, especially in
theology
. In the case of a certain Hugh whom the chapter of
Chartres
had elected
bishop
, he withheld his
approbation
because the bishop-elect did not possess sufficient
knowledge
, "quum pateretur in litteratura defectum", as the
pope
states in a letter
dated
8 January, 1219 (Horoy, loc. cit infra, III, 92). Another
bishop
he even deprived of his office on account of illiteracy (Raynaldus,
ad annum
1221). He bestowed various privileges upon the Universities of
Paris
and Bologna, the two greatest seats of learning during those times. In order to facilitate the study of
theology
in
dioceses
that were distant from the great centres of learning, he ordered in his
Bull
"Super specula Domini" that some talented young men should be sent to a recognized
theological
school
to study
theology
with the purpose of teaching it afterwards in their own
dioceses
Honorius III acquired some fame as an author. His letters, many of which are of great historical value, and his other literary productions, were collected and edited by Horoy in "Medii aevi bibliotheca patristica", series I (5 vols., Paris, 1879-83). While he was
papal
chamberlain (whence his general appellation of Cencius Camerarius) he compiled the "Liber censuum Romanae ecclesiae", perhaps the most valuable source for the history of
papal
economics during the
Middle Ages
. It comprises a list of the revenues of the
Apostolic See
, a record of donations received, privileges granted, and contracts made with cities and rulers. It was begun under
Clement III
and completed in 1192 under
Celestine III
. Muratori inserted it in his "Antiquitates Italicae medii aevi", V (Milan, 1739-43), 851-908. A new edition was prepared for the "Bibliotheque des ecoles francaises d'Athene et de
Rome
" by Fabre and Duchesne, fasc. i (Paris, 1889), fasc. ii and iii (1902), fasc. iv (1903). The original
manuscript
of the "Liber Censuum", which is still in existence (Vaticanus, 8486), concludes with a catalogue of the
Roman pontiffs
and the emperors from St. Peter to
Celestine III
in 1101. It was edited separately by Weiland in "Archiv der Gesellschaft fur altere deutsche Geschichtskunde", XII (Hanover, 1874), 60-77. Honorius III wrote also a life of
Celestine III
(Horoy, loc. cit., I, 567-592); a life of
Gregory VII
(ibid., I, 568-586); an "Ordo Romanus", which is a sort of ceremonial containing the rites of the
Church
for various occasions (ibid., I, 35-94, and Mabillon, in "Museum Italicum", II, 167-220); and 34 sermons (Horoy, I, 593-976). His collection of
decretals
known as "Compilatio quinta" has been treated under
DECRETALS
Sources
PRESSUTI, Regesta Honorii III (2 vols., Rome, 1888-95); CLAUSEN, Papst Honorius III (Bonn, 1895). The preceding work is not sufficiently critical and has been corrected and supplemented by KNEBEL, Kaiser Friedrich II. und Papst Honorius III. in ihren gegenseitigen Beziehungen von der Kaiserkronung Friedrichs bis zum Tode der Legaten des Papstes, 1220-27 (Munster, 1905); POKORNY, Die Wirksamkeit der Legaten des Papstes Honorius III. in Frankreich und Deutschland (Krems, 1886); MASETTI, I pontefici Onori III, Gregorio IX ed Innocenzo IV a fronte dell' imperatore Federico II (Rome, 1884); CAILLEMER, Le pape Honorius III et le droit civil (Lyons, 1881); VERNET, Etudes sur les sermons d'Honorius III, these (Lyons, 1888). For his relation with England see GASQUET, Henry the Third and the Church (London, 1905), 27-107. See also the bibliography to FREDERICK II.
About this page
APA citation.
Ott, M.
(1910).
Pope Honorius III.
In
The Catholic Encyclopedia.
New York: Robert Appleton Company.
MLA citation.
Ott, Michael.
"Pope Honorius III."
The Catholic Encyclopedia.
Vol. 7.
New York: Robert Appleton Company,
1910.
.
Transcription.
This article was transcribed for New Advent by Herman F. Holbrook.
"Prayer was made without ceasing by the Church unto God for Peter."
Ecclesiastical approbation.
Nihil Obstat.
June 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor.
Imprimatur.
+John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
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