Pelagio Galvani (c. 1165 – 30 January 1230, Portuguese: Latin: Pelagius) was a Leonese

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

, and canon lawyer. He became a

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...

and leader of the Fifth Crusade. Born at

Guimarães Guimarães () is a city and municipality located in northern Portugal, in the district of Braga. Its historic town centre has been listed as a UNESCWorld Heritage Sitesince 2001, in recognition for being an "exceptionally well-preserved and a ...

, his early life is little known. It is repeatedly claimed that he entered the Order of Saint Benedict but this is not proven. Pope Innocent III created him cardinal-deacon of Santa Lucia in Septisolio around 1206. Later, he was promoted to the rank of cardinal-priest of S. Cecilia (probably on 2 April 1211), and finally opted for the

suburbicarian see of Albano The Diocese of Albano ( la, Albanensis) is a suburbicarian see of the Roman Catholic Church in a diocese in Italy, comprising seven towns in the Province of Rome. Albano Laziale is situated some 15 kilometers from Rome, on the Appian Way. Under ...

in the spring of 1213. He subscribed the papal bulls between 4 May 1207 and 26 January 1230. He was sent on a diplomatic mission to Constantinople in 1213. During this two-year mission he attempted to close Orthodox churches and imprison the clergy, but this caused such domestic upset that Henry of Flanders, the Latin Emperor of Constantinople, reversed his actions which had caused the "tempest which held the city of Constantine in its grip", as noted a contemporary historian. Three years later he was elected Latin Patriarch of Antioch but his election was not ratified by the Holy See. He was dispatched in 1218 by Pope Honorius III to lead the Fifth Crusade at Damietta in Egypt, and made a poor strategic decision in turning down favourable peace offers made by the sultan al-Kamil. During his absence, the see of Albano was administer by

Thomas of Capua Thomas of Capua ( it, Tommaso da Capua, la, Thomas Capuanus), also called Tommaso di Eboli (before 1185 – August 1239), was an Italian prelate and diplomat. He served as the archbishop-elect of Naples from 1215 until 1216 and then as a cardina ...

. He became dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals at the election to the papacy of Cardinal Ugolino Conti, who became Pope Gregory IX, on 19 March 1227. He was one of the leaders of the papal army in 1229–1230 during the War of the Keys against the Emperor Frederick II.Maleczek, p. 169 He died at Monte Cassino and was buried there.

References

*Akropolites, George (Ruth Macrides, ed). ''The History''. Oxford: University Press, 2007. *Joseph P. Donovan (1950), ''Pelagius and the Fifth Crusade'' *Werner Maleczek (1984), ''Papst und Kardinalskolleg von 1191 bis 1216'', Vienna *
Araldica Vaticana

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Galvani, Pelagio Canon law jurists 13th-century cardinals Cardinal-bishops of Albano 13th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops Christians of the Fifth Crusade Deans of the College of Cardinals 1160s births 1230 deaths Year of birth uncertain Latin Empire people 13th-century jurists