Arnulf III (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

: ''Arnolfo di Porta Argentea'' or ''di Porta Orientale''

Landolfo Iuniore Landulf of Saint Paul (floruit 1077–1137), called Landulf Junior to distinguish him from Landulf Senior, was a Milanese historian whose life is known entirely from his main work, the ''Historia Mediolanensis''. He presents a unique and important ...

, ''Historia''. He makes Arnulf descended from a family of local captains.) (died 1097) was the

Archbishop of Milan The Archdiocese of Milan ( it, Arcidiocesi di Milano; la, Archidioecesis Mediolanensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Italy which covers the areas of Milan, Monza, Lecco and Varese. It has l ...

from his election on 6 December 1093 to his death in 1097. He succeeded Anselm III only two days after his death. Along with Anselm III and Anselm IV, he was one of a trio of successive archbishops of Milan to side with pope against emperor in the late 11th and early 12th century. Though his election had been valid, he was invested by

Conrad II Conrad II ( – 4 June 1039), also known as and , was the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 until his death in 1039. The first of a succession of four Salian emperors, who reigned for one century until 1125, Conrad ruled the kingdoms ...

, but the papal legate declared him a

simoniac Simony () is the act of selling church offices and roles or sacred things. It is named after Simon Magus, who is described in the Acts of the Apostles as having offered two disciples of Jesus payment in exchange for their empowering him to im ...

and deposed him. Consequently, he was never consecrated. Arnulf went into a brief retirement of penance at the Abbey of San Pietro al Monte at

Civate Civate ( Brianzöö: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lecco in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about southwest of Lecco. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 3,898 and an area of .A ...

, where Anselm III had gone for a similar reason during his episcopate. After his brief sojourn there, he was reconciled with

Pope Urban II Pope Urban II ( la, Urbanus II; – 29 July 1099), otherwise known as Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He is best known for convening th ...

and received the

pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : ''pallia'') is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolit ...

. According to

Pandulf of Pisa Pandulf of Pisa was a twelfth-century Italian cardinal, and biographer of several contemporary popes. He was a native of Rome. He was a nephew of Cardinal Hugo of Alatri. Under Pope Paschal II, and probably with the patronage of his uncle, Pandulf ...

, this was the moment of his consecration.

Bernold of Constance Bernold of Constance (c. 1054–Schaffhausen, September 16, 1100) was a chronicler and writer of tracts, and a defender of the Church reforms of Pope Gregory VII. Life He was educated at Constance under the renowned teacher Bernard of Const ...

places his consecration in March 1095. It was performed by three great bishops of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Gregorian Reform The Gregorian Reforms were a series of reforms initiated by Pope Gregory VII and the circle he formed in the papal curia, c. 1050–80, which dealt with the moral integrity and independence of the clergy. The reforms are considered to be na ...

: Thimo of Salzburg, Odalric of Passau, and Gebhard III of Constance. Arnulf himself became an enthusiastic reformer and opponent of the

Emperor Henry IV Henry IV (german: Heinrich IV; 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105, King of Germany from 1054 to 1105, King of Italy and Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was the son ...

. He participated in the

Council of Piacenza The Council of Piacenza was a mixed synod of ecclesiastics and laymen of the Roman Catholic Church, which took place from March 1 to March 7, 1095, at Piacenza. The Council was held at the end of Pope Urban II's tour of Italy and France, which he m ...

. From 6 to 26 May that same year (1095), the pope was present at Milan for the transferral of the relics of

Erlembald Saint Erlembald (or Erlembaldo Cotta) (''Sanctus Herlembaldus'' in Latin) (died 15 April 1075) was the political and military leader of the movement known as the ''pataria'' in Milan, a movement to reform the clergy and the church in the Ambrosian ...

to S. Dionigi. In 1096, the pope preached the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ru ...

at S. Tecla in Milanese territory. Only two of Arnulf's acts as bishop survive and he is buried in the Abbey of San Pietro al Monte at Civate. His exile or burial there probably prompted a burst of artistic activity, with

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

s and sculptures that remain unusually intact.

Notes

Sources

*Landolfo Iuniore di San Paolo. ''Historia Mediolanensis''. *Ghisalberti, Alberto M. ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: III Ammirato – Arcoleo''. Rome, 1961. {{DEFAULTSORT:Arnulf Iii 1097 deaths 11th-century births 11th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops Archbishops of Milan Burials in Lombardy