Guibert or Wibert of Ravenna ( 10298 September 1100) was an Italian

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...

archbishop of Ravenna This page is a list of Roman Catholic bishops and archbishops of Ravenna and, from 1985, of the Archdiocese of Ravenna-Cervia.Pope Gregory VII and took the name Clement III. Gregory was the leader of the movement in the church which opposed the traditional claim of European monarchs to control ecclesiastical appointments, and this was opposed by supporters of monarchical rights led by the Holy Roman Emperor. This led to the conflict known as the

Investiture Controversy The Investiture Controversy, also called Investiture Contest ( German: ''Investiturstreit''; ), was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops ( investiture) and abbots of mona ...

. Gregory was felt by many to have gone too far when he

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV and supported a rival claimant as emperor, and in 1080 the pro-imperial

Synod of Brixen The Synod of Brixen was a church council held on 15 June 1080 in the episcopal city of Brixen. It was convoked by King Henry IV of Germany at the height of the Investiture Controversy to pass judgement on Pope Gregory VII. The synod issued a decree ...

pronounced that Gregory was deposed and replaced as pope by Guibert. Consecrated as Pope Clement III in Rome in March 1084, he commanded a significant following in Rome and elsewhere, especially during the first half of his pontificate, and reigned in opposition to four successive popes in the anti-imperial line: Gregory VII, Victor III,

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

Paschal II Pope Paschal II ( la, Paschalis II; 1050 1055 – 21 January 1118), born Ranierius, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 August 1099 to his death in 1118. A monk of the Abbey of Cluny, he was cre ...

. After his death and burial at

Civita Castellana Civita Castellana is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Viterbo, north of Rome. Mount Soracte lies about to the south-east. History Civita Castellana was settled during the Iron Age by the Italic people of the Falisci, who called it "F ...

in 1100 he was celebrated locally as a miracle-working saint, but Paschal II and the anti-imperial party soon subjected him to ''

damnatio memoriae is a modern Latin phrase meaning "condemnation of memory", indicating that a person is to be excluded from official accounts. Depending on the extent, it can be a case of historical negationism. There are and have been many routes to , includi ...

'', which included the exhuming and dumping of his remains in the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest List of rivers of Italy, river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where ...

. He is considered an

anti-pope An antipope ( la, antipapa) is a person who makes a significant and substantial attempt to occupy the position of Bishop of Rome and leader of the Catholic Church in opposition to the legitimately elected pope. At times between the 3rd and mi ...

by the Roman Catholic Church.Dolcini, Carlo. "Clement III, antipapa", ''Enciclopedia dei Papi'', Rome, 2000
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Early life

He was born into the noble family of the Correggio, probably between 1020 and 1030. He had family connections to the

margrave Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Em ...

s of

Canossa Canossa ( Reggiano: ) is a ''comune'' and castle town in the Province of Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It is where Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV did penance in 1077 and stood three days bare-headed in the snow to reverse his exco ...

. A cleric, he was appointed to the Imperial chancellorship for

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Empress Agnes Agnes of Poitou ( – 14 December 1077), was the queen of Germany from 1043 and empress of the Holy Roman Empire from 1046 until 1056 as the wife of Emperor Henry III. From 1056 to 1061, she ruled the Holy Roman Empire as regent during the ...

in 1058, which position he held until 1063. In 1058 he participated in the election of Pope Nicholas II but on the death of Nicholas in 1061, Guibert sided with the imperial party to elect Cadalous of Parma as

Antipope Honorius II Honorius II ( 1010 – 1072), born Pietro Cadalo (Latin ''Petrus Cadalus''), was an antipope from 1061 to 1072. He was born in the County of Verona, and became bishop of Parma in 1045. He died at Parma in 1072. Biography Cadalo was the son o ...

against Pope Alexander II. Owing to the active support of Duke Godfrey of Lorraine, of Archbishop

Anno II Anno II ( – 4 December 1075) was Archbishop of Cologne from 1056 until his death. From 1063 to 1065 he acted as regent of the Holy Roman Empire for the minor Emperor Henry IV. Anno is venerated as a saint of the Catholic Church. Life He w ...

of Cologne, and especially of

Peter Damian Peter Damian ( la, Petrus Damianus; it, Pietro or '; – 21 or 22 February 1072 or 1073) was a reforming Benedictine monk and cardinal in the circle of Pope Leo IX. Dante placed him in one of the highest circles of '' Paradiso'' ...

, Alexander was soon recognized even in Germany and by Empress Agnes which may have been the reason of Guibert's dismissal in 1063 from the chancellorship.Kirsch, Johann Peter. "Guibert of Ravenna." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 1 August 2015 Guibert apparently continued to cultivate his contacts within the German court, for in 1072, Emperor Henry IV named him archbishop of the vacant see of

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the ca ...

. And, although Pope Alexander II was reluctant to confirm this appointment, he was persuaded by

Hildebrand Hildebrand is a character from Germanic heroic legend. ''Hildebrand'' is the modern German form of the name: in Old High German it is ''Hiltibrant'' and in Old Norse ''Hildibrandr''. The word ''hild'' means "battle" and ''brand'' means "sword". ...

to do so, perhaps as a compromise for peace. Guibert then took an oath of allegiance to the pope and his successors and was installed at Ravenna in 1073.

Quarrels with Pope Gregory

Shortly after Pope Alexander II died Hildebrand was proclaimed the next pope, being installed as Pope Gregory VII on 29 April 1073. Guibert attended the first

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

en Synods of Pope Gregory in March 1074 in Rome at which important laws were passed against simony and the incontinence of the clergy, and

lay investiture The Investiture Controversy, also called Investiture Contest (German: ''Investiturstreit''; ), was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops (investiture) and abbots of monast ...

. The Imperial appointed German bishops were the most important officials of the empire, and a means to balance the ambitions of the territorial princes. Guibert soon emerged as one of the most visible leaders of opposition to the

Gregorian reforms 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 nam ...

. Having attended Gregory's first Lenten Synods, Guibert refused to attend the next, the Lenten Synod of 1075, although he was bound by oath to obey the summons to attend. Guibert was unsympathetic to Gregory's opposition to the Imperial Court, which Guibert had served as Chancellor of Italy. By his absence Guibert demonstrated his opposition to Gregory VII, who now suspended him for his refusal to attend the synod. It was in this same year that Emperor Henry IV began his open conflict with Gregory. At the synod of Worms in January 1076, a resolution was adopted deposing Gregory, and in this decision the pro-imperial bishops of Transalpine Italy joined. Among these must have been Guibert, for he shared in the sentence of excommunication and interdiction which Gregory VII pronounced against the Transalpine bishops at the Lenten Synod of 1076. Shortly after, in April 1076, bishops and abbots of the imperial Transalpine party convened at

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the cap ...

under the presidency of Guibert and proclaimed the excommunication of Gregory VII; a messenger, bearing a caustic personal letter from Henry, was dispatched with the Pavian reply to the pope. In response to the action of Henry's 1076 Synod of Worms, Gregory excommunicated Henry IV. Gregory excommunicated Guibert by name at the Lenten Synod of February 1078 and with him his main accomplice Archbishop Tebaldo of

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 h ...

Reign as Imperial Opposition Pope

During the next four years, the Emperor and the Pope reconciled but then quarreled again, and, facing a rebellion among the German nobles, Emperor Henry threatened to depose Pope Gregory. Carrying out his threats, Henry summoned his German and Transpadine partisans to a Synod at

Brixen Brixen (, ; it, Bressanone ; lld, Porsenù or ) is a town in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about north of Bolzano. Geography First mentioned in 901, Brixen is the third largest city and oldest town in the province, and the artistic an ...

in June, 1080, which drew up a new decree purporting to depose Pope Gregory VII, and which Henry himself also signed, and then proceeded to elect Guibert, the excommunicated Archbishop of Ravenna, as pope in opposition to Pope Gregory, whom the Synod considered deposed; Guibert took the name Clement III. Henry recognized Guibert as pope, swearing that he would lead him to Rome, and there receive from his hands the imperial crown. With Rudolph of Swabia, leader of the rebellious nobles, having fallen mortally wounded at the Battle of Mersburg in 1080, Henry could concentrate all his forces against Gregory. In 1081, he marched on Rome, but failed to force his way into the city, which he finally accomplished only in 1084. Henry entered Rome on 21 March 1084, and succeeded in gaining possession of the greater part of the city. Gregory took refuge in Castel Sant'Angelo. On 24 March, Guibert was enthroned as pope in the church of

St. John Lateran The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran ( it, Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e dei Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano), also known as the Papa ...

as Clement III, and on 31 March he crowned Henry IV as Emperor at St. Peter's."Clement III", ''A Dictionary of Popes'', 2 ed., (J. N. D. Kelly and Michael J. Walsh, eds.) OUP
However, with news of the approach of the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

army of Gregory's ally, Robert Guiscard, Duke of Apulia and Calabria, Henry and Guibert abandoned Rome, and, in revenge for Matilda of Tuscany's support of Gregory, Henry ravaged her possessions in

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

. Guibert withdrew to Ravenna, where he still held the title of archbishop. His influence, after Henry IV's withdrawal from Italy, was largely concentrated in Ravenna and a few other districts of Northern Italy, but he also retained some support in Rome. Gregory was liberated, but the people were incensed by the excesses of his Norman allies, and he was compelled to leave Rome. He withdrew to

Monte Cassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first ho ...

, and later to the castle of Salerno by the sea, in 1084, where he died in the following year, 25 May 1085. The German

episcopate A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

stood divided. While bishops of Gregory VII's party held a Synod in

Quedlinburg Quedlinburg () is a town situated just north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. As an influential and prosperous trading centre during the early Middle Ages, Quedlinburg became a center of in ...

, at which they denounced and condemned Guibert, partisans of Henry held a rival Synod at

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

in 1085, where they approved the deposition of Gregory and the elevation of Guibert. This conflict continued even after the death of Gregory, during the entire reigns of whose successors,

Pope Victor III Pope Victor III ( 1026 – 16 September 1087), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 May 1086 to his death. He was the successor of Pope Gregory VII, yet his pontificate is far less notable than his time as De ...

, Pope Urban II, and

Pope Paschal II Pope Paschal II ( la, Paschalis II; 1050 1055 – 21 January 1118), born Ranierius, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 August 1099 to his death in 1118. A monk of the Abbey of Cluny, he was cre ...

, Guibert continued to be regarded as pope by Henry and his party. Victor III, who was elected after a prolonged vacancy caused by the critical position of the Church in Rome, was compelled, eight days after his coronation in St. Peter's on 3 May 1087, to flee Rome before the partisans of Guibert. The latter were in turn assailed by the troops of Countess Matilda, and entrenched themselves in the Pantheon. However, at the threats of the emperor, Victor was obliged to flee once more. The succeeding pope, Urban II (1088–1099), spent most of the first half of his pontificate in exile, in southern Italy and in France. Late in 1093 he managed to obtain a foothold in Rome, with help from the Frangipane family, and gradually expanded his power there.S. Cerrini, "Urbano II, beato," in ''Enciclopedia dei papi'', Roma 2000, vol. 2, pp. 222–225; Matthias Thumser, "Die Frangipane. Abriß der Geschichte einer Adelsfamilie im hochmittelalterlichen Rom," ''Quellen und Forschungen aus italienischen Archiven und Bibliotheken'', 71 (1991), pp. 112–115; Patrizia Carmassi, "Die hochmittelalterlichen Fresken der Unterkirche von San Clemente in Rom als programmatische Selbsdarstellung des Reformspapsttums. Neue Einsichten zur Bestimmung des Entstehungskontexts," in ''Quellen und Forschungen aus italienischen Archiven und Bibliotheken'', 81 (2001), pp. 50–51; By 1089, Clement III was back in Rome, where in June, he held a Synod declaring invalid the decree of excommunication launched against Henry, and various charges were made against the supporters of Urban II, the pope of the anti-imperial party. Still, by the mid-nineties his power and authority began to wane. The greater part of the city of Rome was captured by an army under Count Hugh of Vermandois, brother of the King of France. The party of Guibert retained only the Castle of Sant' Angelo, and even this in 1098 fell into the hands of Vermandois. In 1099, he repaired to Albano after the accession of Paschal II (1099–1118), hoping again to become master of Rome, but Norman troops compelled him to withdraw. He reached

, where he died 8 September 1100. His followers elected a successor to Guibert, the

Antipope Theodoric Theodoric was an antipope in 1100 and 1101, in the schism that began with Wibert of Ravenna in 1080, in opposition to the excesses of Pope Gregory VII and in support of the Emperor Henry IV. The earliest record of Theodoric is his signature ...

, who, however, was not a serious threat to the popes of the anti-imperial line, now considered canonical.

Notes

References

* *

Sources

External links

Tommaso di Carpegna Falconieri, "Popes Through the Looking Glass, or ''"Ceci n'est pas un pape"''," ''Reti Medievali Rivista'' 13/1 (2012). Umberto Longo, "A Saint of Damned Memory. Clement III, (Anti)Pope," ''Reti Medievali Rivista'', 13/1 (2012). Kai-Michael Sprenger, "The Tiara in the Tiber. An Essay on the damnatio in memoria of Clement III (1084–1100) and Rome’s River as a Place of Oblivion and Memory," ''Reti Medievali Rivista'', 13/1 (2012).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clement, Antipope, 03 Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain Clement 03 Clement 03 11th-century antipopes Clement 03 Clement 03

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 ...