The 1277 papal election (May 30 – November 25), convened in

Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history ...

after the death of

Pope John XXI Pope John XXI ( la, Ioannes XXI; – 20 May 1277), born Pedro Julião ( la, Petrus Iulianus), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 September 1276 to his death on 20 May 1277. Apart from Damasus I (fr ...

, was the smallest

papal election A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. ...

since the expansion of

suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

to cardinal-priests and cardinal-deacons, with only seven

cardinal electors 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 ...

(following the deaths of three popes who had not created cardinals).Miranda, Salvator. 1998.
Papal elections and conclaves of the 13th Century (1216–1294)
" But see correction offered by John Adam

accessed March 13, 2010; concerning Bertrand de Saint-Martin Because John XXI had revoked '' Ubi periculum'', the papal bull of

Pope Gregory X Pope Gregory X ( la, Gregorius X; – 10 January 1276), born Teobaldo Visconti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 September 1271 to his death and was a member of the Secular Franciscan Order. He was ...

establishing the

papal conclave A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. ...

, with his own bull '' Licet felicis recordationis'', the cardinal electors were able to take their time. After six months of deliberation, the cardinals eventually elected their most senior member Giovanni Gaetano Orsini as

Pope Nicholas III Pope Nicholas III ( la, Nicolaus III; c. 1225 – 22 August 1280), born Giovanni Gaetano Orsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 November 1277 to his death on 22 August 1280. He was a Roman nobleman who ...

. From the end of the election until Nicholas III's first

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church * Consistor ...

on March 12, 1278, the number of living cardinals—seven—was the lowest in the history of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Cardinal electors

The seven cardinal electors were evenly divided between three supporters of

Charles of Anjou Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246–85) and Forcalquier (1246–48, 1256–85) ...

and three cardinals from prominent Roman families, who opposed the interests of Charles in Italy, and there was one uncommitted cardinal.

Absentee cardinal

Procedure

Initially, the cardinals met only once a day for balloting and returned to their respective habitations after the scrutinies.Bower, 1766, p. 307. For two months, voting proceeded uneventfully along national lines with the French and Roman cardinals evenly divided. After six months the impatient magistrates of Viterbo locked the cardinals in the town hall (once elected, Nicholas III moved the papacy back to Rome).Smith, Philip. 1885. ''The History of the Christian Church During the Middle Ages''. Harper & Bros. p. 92.

Notes and references

Sources

*Bower, Archibald. 1766. ''The History of the Popes''. *Konrad Eubel, ''Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi'', vol. I, Leipzig 1913, p. 9 *J.P. Adams (2016)
"SEDE VACANTE 1277"
California State University Northridge; retrieved: 2 September 2022. {{Subject bar , portal1= Catholicism , portal2= Christianity , portal3= Vatican City , b=y, b-search=Biblical Studies/Christianity/Roman Catholicism/History , commons=y, commons-search=Papal conclave , n=y, n-search=Roman Catholic Church , q=y, q-search=Popes , s=y, s-search=Popes , v=y, v-search=Christian History , wikt=y, wikt-search=Pope , d=y 1277 13th-century elections 1277 13th-century Catholicism 1277 in Europe Viterbo Papacy