The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church

Biographical Dictionary
Pope Alexander III (1159-1181)
Consistory of 1163 (I)
Celebrated in Sens


(2) 1. WITTELSBACH, Konrad von (1120/1130-1200)

Birth. 1120/1130, Germany. Fourth son of Bavarian Palatine Count Otto IV von Scheyern-Wittelsbach and his wife, Heilika von Pettendorf.

Education. Initial education in the cathedral school of Salzburg; later, he studied in Paris and Bologna.

Early life. Canon of the metropolitan cathedral chapter of Salzburg in 1161; and later, of the cathedral chapter of Augsburg.

Episcopate. Elected archbishop of Mainz in May 1161. Chased by Emperor Friedrich I Barbarossa because he had not supported Antipope Victor V, the archbishop sought refuge with Pope Alexander III in Sens. Named archchancellor of Germany.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest of S. Marcello in the consistory of 1163, celebrated in Sens (1). He accompanied the pope at the end of November 1163 to Rome. Named cardinal bishop of Sabina in 1163, retaining the see of Mainz. Received the episcopal consecration from Pope Alexander III on December 25, 1165. Subscribed papal bulls issued between March 18, 1166 and August 6, 1177. In 1167, the famous library and old cathedral of Mainz were destroyed by a fire. Named administrator of the see of Sora in 1167; occupied the post until his death. At this time, he established a close friendship with Archbishop Thomas Becket of Canterbury, future martyr and saint. Legate in Bavaria, 1169-1171 and 1173-1177. According to the contract of Anagni, Cardinal Konrad resigned on August 1, 1177 in Venice, the archdiocese of Mainz in the hands of Pope Alexander III; on August 9, on the basis of Article 12 of the peace of Venice, and in agreement with Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa, the cathedral chapter of Salzburg chose Cardinal Konrad as its archbishop; the pope conferred him for the legation of all Germany; the emperor invested him immediately after the election by the chapter; and the confirmation by the pope was done by a certificate of June 14, 1178; in 1178, he held a provincial synod at Hohenau; he had a monastery built, where the body of Saint Vigil, apostle of the Carinthians and bishop of Salzburg, was exposed. Subscribed papal bulls issued between August 10, 1177 and April 12, 1179; and April 30 and June 5, 1182. In honor of his murdered friend Archbishop Becket of Canterbury, he consecrated, on March 17, 1178, the restored "Felsenkapelle" in the catacombs of the cemetery of St. Peter in Salzburg; he also established the first patronal feast of St. Thomas Becket in southern Germany. He participated in the Third Lateran Council of 1179, which established that to be canonically elected pope, the candidate had to receive two-thirds of the votes of the cardinals participating in the conclave. Administrator of the see of Gallipoli in 1179; he signed papal bulls as bishop of three sees, an unprecedented instance until then. By a papal bull of 1179, he and his successors were given the dignity and powers of a permanent apostolic legate (legatus natus) for the Salzburg ecclesiastical province; he was also granted the right to name the bishops of Gurk; an expanded use of the pallium; the carrying of a cross before him in processions; and the riding on a white horse (palfrey) on holidays. Participated in the papal election of 1181, in which Pope Lucius III was elected. Became archbishop of Mainz again in November 1183, after the peace of Venice (August 1177) between the pope and the emperor; he revived the visitations and celebration of synods (1184, 1188, 1194 and 1196) and favored the Augustinians and Premonstratenses. Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals in 1181. Subscribed papal bulls issued between October 25, 1184 and November 11, 1185; January 11 and March 4, 1186; and February 1, 1197 and November 6, 1199. Participated in the papal election of 1185, in which Pope Urban III was elected. Participated in the first papal election of 1187, in which Pope Gregory VIII was elected. Participated in the second papal election of 1187, in which Pope Clement III was elected. Participated in the papal election of 1191, in which Pope Celestine III was elected. Legate in Hungary to reconcile the two brothers of the king. Although he was cardinal bishop of Sabina, he became protoprete in 1196 (2). In April 1197, he led an army of the Third Crusade to the Holy Land as legate of Pope Celestine III; he took part in the succession of the king of Antioch; on January 6, 1199, with papal permission, Cardinal Konrad crowned Leo II as king of Armenia; later that year, he returned to Germany with new legatine powers. Participated in the papal election of 1198, in which Pope Innocent III was elected. In April 1200, he was able to establish a truce between the Hohenstaufen and the Guelph in Germany.

Death. October 25 (or 26, or 27), 1200, Riedfeld, in Neustadt an der Aisch, while returning to the Holy Land. Buried in the metropolitan cathedral of Mainz, which he had rebuilt after the fire of 1167.

Bibliography. Brixius, Johannes Matthias. Die Mitglieder des Kardinalkollegiums von 1130-1181. Berlin : R. Trenkel, 1912, p. 63, no. 14; Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 2, 100-103; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm ab initio nascentis Ecclesiæ vsque ad Vrbanvm VIII. Pont. Max. 2 volumes. Romae : Typis Vaticanis, 1677, I, col. 1083-1084; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux du XIIè siècle". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1928. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1928, p. 43; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recientoris Aevi. Volumen I (1198-1431). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1913; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, p. 3, no. 3; Ortner, Franz ; Jürgensmeier, Friedhelm. "Konrad von Wittelsbach (um 1130-1200)." Die Bischöfe des Heiligen Römischen Reiches, 1198 bis 1448 : ein biographisches Lexikon. Herausgegeben von Erwin Gatz, unter Mitwirkung von Clemens Brodkorb. Berlin : Duncker & Humblot, 2001, p. 397-398.

Webgraphy. Biography, in German, Wikipedia; biography, in English, Wikipedia; his genealogy, chapter 26, E, 4, Foundation for Medieval Genealogy (FMG); his engraving, Bildarchive, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek; his arms as archbishop of Salzburg; his arms and portrait, Araldica Vaticana.

(1) This is according to Cardella, Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa, 1792, I, pt. 2, 100; Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recientoris Aevi, I, p. 3, no, 3; and "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux du XIIè siècle". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1928, p. 43; Brixius, Die Mitglieder des Kardinalkollegiums von 1130-1181, p. 63, no. 14; and Ortner, Franz ; Jürgensmeier, Friedhelm. "Konrad von Wittelsbach (um 1130-1200)." Die Bischöfe des Heiligen Römischen Reiches, 1198 bis 1448, p. 397; and all the electronic sources linked above, say that he was promoted to the cardinalate on December 18, 1165.
(2) This is according to Francesco Cristofori, Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa (Rome : Tipografia de Propaganda Fide, 1888), p. 277.

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(3) 2. ANTONIO (?-ca. 1167)

Birth. (No date or place found).

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest of S. Marco in the consistory of 1163. Legate in France and in Spain along with Cardinals Guglielmo of S. Pietro in Vincoli and Odone of S. Nicola in Carcere.

Death. Ca. 1167 (1), (no place found). Buried (no information found).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 2, 133; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm ab initio nascentis Ecclesiæ vsque ad Vrbanvm VIII. Pont. Max. 2 volumes. Romae : Typis Vaticanis, 1677, I, col. 1100; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux du XIIè siècle". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1928. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1928, p. 144.

(1) This is according to "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux du XIIè siècle". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1928, p. 144; Cardella, Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa, I, pt. 2, 133; and Chacón, Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm, I, col. 1100, say that he died at the beginning of the pontificate of Pope Lucius III.

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(4) 3. MANFREDO, O.S.B. (?-1178)

Birth. (No date found), Siena. His name is also listed as Mainfroy. Of the counts of Teutonaria (or Tinti).

Education. Entered the Order of Saint Benedict (Benedictines) in Mantua.

Priesthood. Ordained (no further information found).

Cardinalate. Created cardinal deacon of S. Giorgio in Velabro in the consistory of 1163. Subscribed papal bulls issued between January 7, 1163 and August 16, 1173. Legate in Sicily in 1169. Opted for the order of cardinal priests and the title of S. Cecilia in September 1173. Subscribed papal bulls issued between September 28, 1173 and November 28, 1176.

Episcopate. Opted for the order of cardinal bishops and the suburbicarian see of Palestrina, December 1176. Consecrated (no information found). Subscribed papal bulls issued between December 29, 1176 and January 14, 1178. He was one of the seven cardinals who assisted Pope Alexander III for the abjuration of Emperor Friedrich I Barbarossa in 1177.

Death. January 17, 1178, Anagni, according to the Menologue of Monte Cassino. Buried (no information found).

Bibliography. Brixius, Johannes Matthias. Die Mitglieder des Kardinalkollegiums von 1130-1181. Berlin : R. Trenkel, 1912, p. 64, no. 17; Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 2, 103-104; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm ab initio nascentis Ecclesiæ vsque ad Vrbanvm VIII. Pont. Max. 2 volumes. Romae : Typis Vaticanis, 1677, I, col. 1084; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux du XIIè siècle". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1928. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1928, p. 143-144.

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(5) 4. RICASOLI, Ugo (?-ca. 1182)

Birth. (No date found), Florence.

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. Created cardinal deacon of S. Eustachio in the consistory of 1163. Subscribed papal bulls issued between March 18, 1166 and October 8, 1177. Accompanied Pope Alexander III to Venice in March 1177. Participated in the papal election of 1181, in which Pope Lucius III was elected.

Death. Ca. 1182, Rome. Buried in the church of S. Maria del Popolo, Rome.

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 2, 104-105; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm ab initio nascentis Ecclesiæ vsque ad Vrbanvm VIII. Pont. Max. 2 volumes. Romae : Typis Vaticanis, 1677, I, col. 1084; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux du XIIè siècle". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1928. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1928, p. 144.

Webgraphy. The Ricasoli family, in Italian (Cardinal Ugo is not mentioned). Wikipedia.

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(6) 5. ODERISIO, O.S.B.Cas. (?-1177)

Birth. (No date or place found). Son of Crescenzio, count of Marsi. His name is also listed as Odone; as Oderisius; and as Oderico.

Education. Entered the Order of Saint Benedict Cassinese (Benedictines).

Priesthood. Ordained (no further information found). Abbot of S. Giovanni in Venere, diocese of Lanciano, for forty nine years.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal deacon in the consistory of 1163; his deaconry is unknown.

Death. After April 7, 1177, (no place found). Buried (no information found).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 2, 105-106; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm ab initio nascentis Ecclesiæ vsque ad Vrbanvm VIII. Pont. Max. 2 volumes. Romae : Typis Vaticanis, 1677, I, col. 1085; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux du XIIè siècle". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1928. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1928, p. 144.

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