- See also, 11th century antipope Clement III
Guibert or Wibert of Ravenna was a cleric made antipope in 1080 due to perceived abuses of Pope Gregory VII during the Investiture Controversy, a title that lasted to his death....
.
Pope Clement III (1130 – March 20, 1191), born
Paulino (or
Paolo)
Scolari, was elected
PopeThe Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
on December 19, 1187 and reigned until his death.
Cardinal
A Roman by birth, he was made in succession, by
Pope Alexander IIIPope Alexander III , born Rolando of Siena, was Pope from 1159 to 1181. He is noted in history for laying the foundation stone for the Notre Dame de Paris.-Church career:...
, Archpriest of the patriarchal Liberian Basilica, Cardinal-deacon of Sergio e Bacco, and finally Cardinal bishop of Palestrina in December 1180. He appears as signatory of the
papal bullA Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
s issued between October 15, 1179 and December 11, 1187.
Pope
Shortly after his accession, he succeeded in allaying the conflict which had existed for half a century between the Popes and the citizens of Rome, with an agreement by which the citizens were allowed to elect their
magistrateA magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
s, while the nomination of the governor of the city remained in the hands of the Pope. On 31 May 1188 he concluded a treaty with the Romans which removed long standing difficulties, thus returning the Papacy to Rome.
Clement also inherited a depleted
college of cardinalsThe College of Cardinals is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church.A function of the college is to advise the pope about church matters when he summons them to an ordinary consistory. It also convenes on the death or abdication of a pope as a papal conclave to elect a successor...
, consisting of no more than twenty cardinals. He orchestrated three series of promotions: March 1188, May 1189 and October 1190, resulting in over thirty new cardinals.
He pursed
Henry II of EnglandHenry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
and
Philip II of FrancePhilip II Augustus was the King of France from 1180 until his death. A member of the House of Capet, Philip Augustus was born at Gonesse in the Val-d'Oise, the son of Louis VII and his third wife, Adela of Champagne...
to undertake the
Third CrusadeThe Third Crusade , also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin...
. In April 1189, Clement made peace with the Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa.
He settled a controversy with
William I of ScotlandWilliam the Lion , sometimes styled William I, also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough", reigned as King of the Scots from 1165 to 1214...
concerning the choice of the
archbishopAn archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
of St. Andrews, and on 13 March 1188 removed the
Scottish churchThe Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
from under the legatine jurisdiction of the
archbishop of YorkThe Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
, thus making it independent of all save Rome.
In spite of agreeing to crown Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor, Clement III angered Henry VI of Germany by bestowing
SicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
on
TancredTancred may refer to:* Tancred Tancred of Hauteville** Tancred of Hauteville, founder of the Hauteville family** Tancred, Prince of Galilee, a leader of the First Crusade...
. The crisis was acute when the Pope died in the latter part of March 1191.