Soffredo (died 14 December 1210,

Pistoia Pistoia (, is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typi ...

) was an Italian cardinal. His name is also given as Soffredo Errico Gaetani, whilst his Christian name is also spelled Soffrido or Goffredo in some sources.

Life

Born in Pistoia, he was made

cardinal deacon A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

Santa Maria in Via Lata Santa Maria in Via Lata is a church on the Via del Corso (the ancient Via Lata), in Rome, Italy. It stands diagonal from the church of San Marcello al Corso. It is the Station days for Tuesday, the fifth week of lent. History The first Christi ...

in the 1182 consistory. He took part in the 1185 conclave which elected

pope Urban III Pope Urban III ( la, Urbanus III; died 20 October 1187), born Uberto Crivelli, reigned from 25 November 1185 to his death in 1187. Early career Crivelli was born in Cuggiono, Italy as the son of Guala Crivelli and had four brothers: Pietro, D ...

. In 1187 he and cardinal Andrea Bobone were made

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 ...

s to France to mediate between

Philip II of France Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), byname Philip Augustus (french: Philippe Auguste), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French ...

and

Henry II of England Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...

- the two legates succeeded in sealing a two-year truce between the two kings. He took part in the

October October is the tenth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and the sixth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. The eighth month in the old calendar of Romulus , October retained its name (from Latin and Greek ''ôct ...

and

December December is the twelfth and final month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is also the last of seven months to have a length of 31 days. December got its name from the Latin word ''decem'' (meaning ten) because it was or ...

1187 conclaves which elected

pope Gregory VIII Pope Gregory VIII ( la, Gregorius VIII; c. 1100/1105 – 17 December 1187), born Alberto di Morra, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States for two months in 1187. Becoming Pope after a long diplomatic career as Aposto ...

and

pope Clement III Pope Clement III ( la, Clemens III; 1130 – 20 March 1191), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 December 1187 to his death in 1191. He ended the conflict between the Papacy and the city of Rome, by all ...

. He and cardinal Pietro Diana were sent to mediate between

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

and

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

. He also took part in the 1191 conclave which elected

pope Celestine III Pope Celestine III ( la, Caelestinus III; c. 1106 – 8 January 1198), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 March or 10 April 1191 to his death in 1198. He had a tense relationship with several monarchs, ...

and that of 1198. During summer 1198 he and cardinal

Pietro Capuano Peter of Capua, Pietro Capuano and Petrus Capuanus may refer to: * Peter of Capua the Elder (died 1214), author and apostolic legate on the Fourth Crusade, cardinal-priest of San Marcello al Corso, uncle of the younger man * Peter of Capua the Youn ...

were chosen as papal legates to follow the crusader army which was about to set out on a new crusade. Despite this Soffredo remained in the curia and Capuano went to Venice to prepare to make the crossing. In 1201 the chapter of the metropolitan cathedral of Ravenna requested him as their archbishop, but the pope chose not to ratify this since he wished to keep the cardinal in his court in Rome. Until the end of May 1202, when he finally set out for the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...

, Soffredo remained in the curia and represented the prosecution in several trials. Arriving in

Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

, he moved to

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

to end the succession dispute between

Bohemond IV of Antioch Bohemond IV of Antioch, also known as Bohemond the One-Eyed (french: Bohémond le Borgne; 1175–1233), was Count of Tripoli from 1187 to 1233, and Prince of Antioch from 1201 to 1216 and from 1219 to 1233. He was the younger son of Bohemond III ...

and Leo II of Armenia - a conflict which had held back the crusader forces. The papal delegates spent months trying to resolve the conflict but to no avail. On 16 August 1203 the pope made Soffredo patriarch of Jerusalem, but dismissed him from the post the following year. In autumn 1204 he and Capuano moved to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

, which had been in crusader hands since April the same year. Capuano remained there but Soffredo travelled on to the

kingdom of Thessalonica The Kingdom of Thessalonica () was a short-lived Crusader State founded after the Fourth Crusade over conquered Byzantine lands in Macedonia and Thessaly. History Background After the fall of Constantinople to the crusaders in 1204, Bonifac ...

, ruled over by

Boniface I of Monferrato Boniface I, usually known as Boniface of Montferrat ( it, Bonifacio del Monferrato, link=no; el, Βονιφάτιος Μομφερρατικός, ''Vonifatios Momferratikos'') (c. 1150 – 4 September 1207), was the ninth Marquis of Montferrat ( ...

, to thank him for his assistance in establishing the Latin clergy in the new empire. In August 1205 Soffredo returned to the curia and on the following 5 December signed a papal privilege for the first time after his time in the Holy Land. He spent his final years in retirement, probably in Pistoia, performing minor tasks. In 1208 he became cardinal protopresbyter.

References

External links

* {{authority control 1210 deaths 12th-century Italian cardinals People from Pistoia Latin Patriarchs of Jerusalem 13th-century Italian cardinals