Honorius and Conflicts, Part 3

After making a deal with Roger II of Sicily, Pope Honorius II turned his attention back to focusing on monasteries he felt were too powerful and independent. The abbot of Monte Cassino had been dealt with, but there was another abbot who was acting up improperly, Pons of Melgueil.

Pons (c.1075 - 1126) was the seventh abbot of  Cluny, but had been ousted in 1122. Pons had been a mediator at the Concordat of Worms that resolved the Investiture Controversy. While abbot, he had continued the building of the great abbey church of Cluny. This became "Cluny III" (pictured) and was the largest Christian church for the next 200 years.

During the Investiture Controversy, when Holy Roman Emperor Henry V marched on Rome in 1118, Pope Gelasius II fled Rome and found safety at Cluny. While there, he (supposedly) declared that he should be succeeded as pope by either Archbishop Guy of Vienne or Pons. Guy of Vienne became Pope Calixtus II, and was followed by Honorius.

Pons may have been bothered by having papal ambitions that went nowhere. In 1122 his monks at Cluny charged him with extravagance. The Archbishop of Lyon and the Bishop of Mâcon had also complained about him spending money too lavishly. Calixtus summoned him to Rome, where he resigned as abbot and made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. In 1123 he was back in Italy and started a small monastery of his own.

He then decided to reclaim his position as abbot of Cluny. He managed to gather some mercenaries and marched to Cluny in 1125 where he pushed out Abbot Hugh II of Cluny. He occupied the monastery and melted down some of the treasures there to pay his mercenaries, who remained in the area, harassing the monks and nearby villagers.

Honorius heard what was happening and sent a papal legate to excommunicate Pons and order him to Rome. Pons was deposed by Honorius in 1126 and put in prison where he died. At Cluny he was succeeded by Peter the Venerable.

Then Bernard of Clairvaux wrote to Honorius, asking him to get involved in a dispute between Louis VI of France and the French bishops. Honorius was all too glad to get involved, but that's a story for tomorrow.

The Election of Pope Honorius II

Lamberto Scannabecchi was born on 9 February 1060 in a rural community. He entered the priesthood and became the archdeacon of Bologna. He gained the attention of Pope Urban II who named him a cardinal in 1099. Urban's successor, Pope Paschal II, made Lamberto cardinal bishop of Ostia in 1117. (Cardinal bishops are senior members of the Church who advise the pope.)

When Pope Gelasius II was driven from Rome in 1118 by Holy Roman Emperor Henry V, Lamberto accompanied him and was even with Gelasius at his deathbed. Lamberto was part of the group that elected Pope Calixtus II, becoming his close advisor.

Lamberto was sent to Henry V as papal legate to argue against the emperor's right to the Investiture of prelates. The Concordat of Worms (see illustration) in 1122—the agreement between the Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire that bishops and abbots would be appointed by the Church and not the secular authority—owes its result to the efforts of Cardinal Lamberto.

Urban and Paschal had expanded the number of Italian cardinals. Calixtus (originally Guy of Burgundy) had also named several cardinals, mostly French and Burgundian. The two groups did not trust each other. Each group turned to Roman noble families for support.

The Italian cardinals found it with the Pierleoni family who had gained a reputation as protectors of the popes. Urban II had died in a Pierleoni manor. The northern group found support from the Frangipani family. Upon Calixtus' death (13 December 1124), the two families agreed that an election should happen in three days, which was canon law. The Frangipani wanted Lamberto as their candidate, but the local people wanted Theobaldo Boccapecci, the Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Anastasia.

The election took place, and the majority vote went to Theobaldo. He chose the name Celestine II, but just as he was donning the papal red mantle and Te deum was being sung to start his investiture, Frangipani supporters burst into the chamber, attacked and wounded Theobaldo, and declared Lamberto as Pope Honorius II.

Theobaldo was willing to resign, but the Pierleoni clan would not accept Lamberto as pope. Days of debate, fighting, and attempts to bribe supporters followed. Eventually the supporters of Celestine accepted his willingness to resign, leaving Lamberto as the only claimant.

Honorius, in what may have been a planned bit of theater to smooth things over with the city, resigned the position because of the inappropriate manner in which he became pope. He was immediately elected unanimously by the assembled cardinals and invested on 21 December 1124.

What kind of pope was he? We'll find out tomorrow.