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Pope Nicholas II ( la, Nicholaus II; c. 990/995 – 27 July 1061), otherwise known as Gerard of Burgundy, was the head of the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
and ruler of the
Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...
from 24 January 1059 until his death in 27 July 1061. At the time of his election, he was bishop of Florence. During his Papacy, Nicholas II successfully expanded the influence of the papacy in
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...
and southern Italy. He was also responsible for passing papal election reforms which resulted in greater papal influence in electing new Popes.


Early life

Gerard of Burgundy was born in Chevron, in what is now Savoy. He was canon at Liège. In 1046 he became bishop of Florence, where he restored the canonical life among the clergy of numerous churches.Weber, Nicholas. "Pope Nicholas II." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 24 December 2017


Papacy

Benedict X Benedict X (died 1073/1080), born Giovanni, was elected to succeed Pope Stephen IX on 5 April 1058, but was opposed by a rival faction that elected Nicholas II. He fled Rome on 24 January 1059 and is today generally regarded as an antipope.Mary S ...
was elected in 1058, his election having been arranged by the
count of Tusculum The counts of Tusculum, also known as the Theophylacti, were a family of secular noblemen from Latium that maintained a powerful position in Rome between the 10th and 12th centuries. Several popes and an antipope during the 11th century came fr ...
. However, a number of cardinals alleged that the election was irregular, and that votes had been bought; these cardinals were forced to flee
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
. Hildebrand was away on a diplomatic mission to Germany. When he heard of Benedict X's election, he decided to oppose it, and obtained support for the election of Gerard of Burgundy instead. In December 1058, those cardinals who had opposed Benedict X's election met at
Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...
and elected Gerard as pope instead. He then took the name Nicholas II. Nicholas II proceeded towards Rome, along the way holding a synod at Sutri, where, in the presence of the Tuscan ruler Godfrey the Bearded and the imperial chancellor, Guibert of Parma, he pronounced Benedict X deposed and excommunicated. The supporters of Nicholas II then gained control of Rome and forced Benedict X to flee to Gerard of Galeria. Having arrived in Rome, Nicholas II then proceeded to wage war against Benedict X and his supporters with Norman assistance. At an initial battle in
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in early 1059, Nicholas II was not wholly successful. But later that same year, his forces conquered Praeneste, Tusculum, and Numentanum, and in the autumn took Galeria, forcing Benedict X to surrender and renounce the papacy. He died on 27 July 1061, less than three years after becoming Pope.


Relationship with the Normans

To secure his position, Nicholas II at once entered into relations with the Normans. The pope wanted to re-take
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
for Christianity, and he saw the Normans as the perfect force to crush the Muslims.Bartlett, Professor Robert. "The Normans", episode 3, BBC-TV The Normans were by this time firmly established in southern Italy, and later in the year 1059 the new alliance was cemented at Melfi, where the pope, accompanied by Hildebrand, Cardinal
Humbert Humbert, Umbert or Humberto (Latinized ''Humbertus'') is a Germanic given name, from ''hun'' "warrior" and ''beraht'' "bright". It also came into use as a surname. Given name ;Royalty and Middle Ages * Emebert (died 710) * Humbert of Maroille ...
, and Abbot Desiderius of
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, solemnly invested
Robert Guiscard Robert Guiscard (; Modern ; – 17 July 1085) was a Norman adventurer remembered for the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily. Robert was born into the Hauteville family in Normandy, went on to become count and then duke of Apulia and Calab ...
with the duchies of Apulia, Calabria, and
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
, and Richard of Aversa with the
principality of Capua The Principality of Capua ( la, italic=yes, Principatus Capuae or ''Capue'', it, italic=yes, Principato di Capua) was a Lombard state centred on Capua in Southern Italy, usually ''de facto'' independent, but under the varying suzerainty of ...
, in return for oaths of fealty and the promise of assistance in guarding the rights of the Church. This arrangement, which was based on no firmer foundation than the forged " Donation of Constantine", was destined to give the papacy independence from both the Eastern and Western Empires. Its first substantial result was Norman aid in taking Galeria, where Antipope Benedict X was hiding, and the end of the subordination of the papacy to the Roman nobles.


Subordination of Milan

Meanwhile, Nicholas II sent Peter Damian and Bishop
Anselm of Lucca Anselm of Lucca ( la, Anselmus; it, Anselmo; 1036 – 18 March 1086), born Anselm of Baggio ('), was a medieval bishop of Lucca in Italy and a prominent figure in the Investiture Controversy amid the fighting in central Italy between Mat ...
as legates to
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...
, to resolve the conflict between the Patarenes and the archbishop and clergy. The result was a fresh triumph for the papacy. Archbishop Wido, facing ruinous ecclesiastical conflict in Milan, submitted to the terms of the legates, which subordinated Milan to Rome. The new relation was advertised by the unwilling attendance of Wido and the other Milanese bishops at the council summoned to the
Lateran Palace The Lateran Palace ( la, Palatium Lateranense), formally the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran ( la, Palatium Apostolicum Lateranense), is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main papal residence in southeast Rome. Located on St. ...
in April 1059. This council not only continued the Hildebrandine reforms by sharpening the discipline of the clergy, but marked an epoch in the history of the papacy by its famous regulation of future elections to the Holy See.


Election reform

Previously, papal elections had effectively been controlled by the Roman aristocracy, unless the
Holy Roman emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
was strong enough to be able to intervene from a distance to impose his will. As a result of the battles with the Antipope Benedict X, Nicholas II wished to reform papal elections. At the synod held in the Lateran at Easter, 1059, Pope Nicholas brought 113 bishops to Rome to consider a number of reforms, including a change in the election procedure. The electoral reform adopted by that synod amounted to a declaration of independence on the part of the church. Henceforth, popes were to be selected by the cardinals in assembly at Rome.


See also

*
List of popes This chronological list of popes corresponds to that given in the ''Annuario Pontificio'' under the heading "I Sommi Pontefici Romani" (The Roman Supreme Pontiffs), excluding those that are explicitly indicated as antipopes. Published every ye ...


References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholas 2 990s births 1061 deaths People from Savoie French popes 11th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops 11th-century French people Year of birth unknown Popes 11th-century popes