# 1181 papal election

The 1181 papal election followed the death of Pope Alexander III and resulted in the election of Pope Lucius III. This was the first papal election celebrated in accordance with the decree Licet de evitanda discordia, promulgated in the Third Lateran Council in 1179, which established that the pope is elected by a majority of two thirds votes.

## Licet de evitanda discordia

The contested papal election, 1159, which resulted in the election of Pope Alexander III and Antipope Victor IV (1159–1164), created a schism in the Catholic Church that lasted almost twenty years (until 1178). In 1159 the cardinals were unable to achieve consensus, though an electoral compact had set that as its goal. The cardinals had been divided into two parties, those who favored the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and those who favored William I of Sicily, and each of them elected their own pope. In August 1178 Antipope Callixtus III, the successor of Victor IV, finally submitted to Alexander III. In the following year Alexander III celebrated the Third Lateran Council, which promulgated the decree Licet de evitanda discordia. To avoid schism in the future, the decree established that the pope is elected with the majority of two thirds of the cardinals, if unanimity cannot be achieved. It confirmed also that the cardinals are the sole electors of the pope.

## Election of Lucius III

Pope Alexander III died on August 30, 1181, in Civita Castellana. Two days later, on September 1, 1181, the cardinals assembled at Rome (probably at Lateran or Vatican Basilica) and unanimously elected the senior member of the Sacred College, Cardinal Ubaldo of Lucca, Bishop of Ostia. He took the name Lucius III. On September 6, 1181, he was crowned by Cardinal Teodino of Porto at Velletri.

## Cardinal-electors

There were probably 27 cardinals in the Sacred College of Cardinals in 1181. Based on the examination of the subscriptions of the papal bulls in 1181 and the available data about the external missions of the cardinals it is possible to establish that no more than 19 cardinals participated in the election:
| Elector | Place of birth | Cardinalatial title | Elevated | Elevator | Notes |
| Ubaldo Allucingoli | Lucca | Bishop of Ostia | December 16, 1138 | Innocent II | Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals |
| Theodinus | Arrone, Tuscany | Bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina | December 18, 1165 | Alexander III | |
| Paolo Scolari | Rome | Bishop of Palestrina | September 21, 1179 | Alexander III | Archpriest of the patriarchal Liberian Basilica; future Pope Clement III (1187–1191) |
| Alberto di Morra, C.R. | Benevento | Priest of S. Lorenzo in Lucina and Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church | December 21, 1156 | Adrian IV | Protopriest; future Pope Gregory VIII (1187) |
| Joannes Anagninus (Giovanni dei Conti di Anagni) | Anagni | Priest of S. Marco | 1158/1159 | Adrian IV | Future bishop of Palestrina (1190–1196) |
| Cinthius Capellus | Rome (?) | Priest of S. Cecilia | March 14, 1158 | Adrian IV | nephew of Innocent II |
| Pietro de Bono, Can.Reg. | Rome | Priest of S. Susanna | March 18, 1166 | Alexander III | |
| Uguccione Pierleoni | Rome | Priest of S. Clemente | March 2, 1173 | Alexander III | Relative of Anacletus II (1130–1138) |
| Laborans de Pontormo | Pontormo near Florence | Priest of S. Maria in Trastevere | September 21, 1173 | Alexander III | |
| Viviano | Orvieto (?) | Priest of S. Stefano in Monte Celio | March 7, 1175 | Alexander III | |
| Ardoino da Piacenza, Can.Reg. | Piacenza | Priest of S. Croce in Gerusalemme | June 2, 1178 | Alexander III | |
| Matthieu d’Anjou | Angers | Priest of S. Marcello | December 22, 1178 | Alexander III | |
| Giacinto Bobone | Rome | Deacon of S. Maria in Cosmedin | December 22, 1144 | Lucius II | Protodeacon; future Pope Celestine III (1191–1198) |
| Ardicio Rivoltella | Piadena (Platina) near Cremona | Deacon of S. Teodoro | December 21, 1156 | Adrian IV | |
| Rainiero da Pavia | Pavia | Deacon of S. Giorgio in Velabro | June 6, 1175 | Alexander III | |
| Matteo, Can.Reg. | Unknown (possibly Rome) | Deacon of S. Maria Nuova | March 4, 1178 | Alexander III | |
| Graziano da Pisa | Pisa | Deacon of SS. Sergio e Bacco | March 4, 1178 | Alexander III | Nephew of Pope Eugene III |
| Rainier | Unknown | Deacon of S. Adriano | September 22, 1178 | Alexander III | |
| Giovanni | Unknown | Deacon of S. Angelo in Pescheria | September 22, 1178 | Alexander III | |
Thirteen electors were created by Pope Alexander III, four by Pope Adrian IV, one by Pope Innocent II and one by Lucius II.

## Absentee cardinals

| Elector | Place of birth | Cardinalatial title | Elevated | Elevator | Notes |
| Konrad von Wittelsbach | Bavaria | Bishop of Sabina and Archbishop of Salzburg | December 18, 1165 | Alexander III | Subdean of the Sacred College of Cardinals; external cardinal |
| Henri de Marsiac, O.Cist. | Château de Marcy, France | Bishop of Albano | March 1179 | Alexander III | Papal legate in France |
| Pietro da Pavia, Can.Reg. | Pavia or France | Bishop of Tusculum | September 21, 1173 | Aleksander III | Papal legate in France and Germany; archbishop-elect of Bourges |
| Giovanni da Napoli, Can.Reg. | Naples | Priest of S. Anastasia | September 21, 1150 | Eugenius III | Papal legate in Constantinople |
| Ruggiero di San Severino, O.S.B.Cas. | San Severino | Priest of S. Eusebio and Archbishop of Benevento | Circa 1178-1180 | Alexander III | External cardinal |
| Guillaume aux Blanches Mains | France | Priest of S. Sabina and Archbishop of Reims | March 1179 | Alexander III | External cardinal |
| Simeone Borelli, O.S.B.Cas. | Campagna | Deacon of S. Maria in Domnica | Circa 1157 | Adrian IV | Abbot of Subiaco (external cardinal) |
| Leonato de Manoppello, O.S.B. | Manoppello (?) | Deacon of the Holy Roman Church | March 21, 1170 | Alexander III | Abbot of S. Clemente in Casauria; external cardinal |