# 1185 papal election

The 1185 papal election (held November 25) was a convoked after the death of Pope Lucius III. It resulted in the election of Cardinal Uberto Crivelli of Milan, who took the name of Urban III.

## Besieged in Verona

Pope Lucius III was elected on 1 September 1181, but had to be consecrated and enthroned at Velletri, due to the hostility of the Romans. But, having refused to grant the consuetudines to the Romans which had been conceded by earlier popes, he was forced to retreat to Velletri. In the meantime, refugees from Tusculum, which had been destroyed earlier in the century by the Roman commune, began to rebuild their fortifications. Annoyed by the challenge, the Roman commune reopened the war, devastated the territory of Tusculum in April 1184, and then turned their wrath against Latium. The pope then fled to the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, who was at Verona, by way of Ancona, Rimini, Faenza, and Modena. Some of the cardinals followed Pope Lucius to Verona; others, however, whose followers had perpetrated the outrages at Tusculum and in the Roman campagna, remained in the city.
Ten cardinals who were with the refugee pope participated in the consecration of the cathedral of Modena on 14 July 1184. They were: Theodinus of Porto, Tebaldus of Ostia; Joannes of S. Marco, Laborans of S. Maria Transtiberim, Pandulfus of Ss. Apostolorum, Ubertus of S. Lorenzo in Damaso; Ardicio of S. Teodoro, Graziano of Ss. Cosma e Damiano, Goffredfus of S. Maria in Via Lata, and Albinus of S. Maria Nuova.
Discussions between the pope and the emperor quickly turned sour. There was the matter of lay appointment to bishops, and the issue of the inheritance of Mathilda of Tuscany, which had been willed to S. Peter, but which was in imperial hands and of which the emperor insisted he was the feudal overlord. Frustrated and angry, the emperor withdrew to the palace in Pavia. He placed a military cordon around Verona, permitting no one to go to the papal court and allowing no one to leave Verona. Anyone caught was subject to imprisonment and torture.

## List of participants

There were probably 26 cardinals in the Sacred College at the death of Lucius III on 25 November 1185. On 11 November 1185, two weeks before the pope's death, eighteen cardinals subscribed a bull in favor of the monastery of S. Peter Lobiensis. This was the last day on which bulls were signed before the pope's death.
| Elector | Place of birth | Cardinalatial title | Elevated | Elevator | Notes |
| Konrad von Wittelsbach | Bavaria | Bishop of Sabina and Archbishop of Mainz | 18 December 1165 | Alexander III | prior episcoporum. External cardinal. |
| Theodinus | Arrone | Bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina | 18 December 1165 | Alexander III | Abbot of Monte Cassino (October 1166–14 September 1167). |
| Henri de Marsiac, O.Cist. | Château de Marcy, France | Bishop of Albano | March 1179 | Alexander III | Seventh Abbot of Clairvaux in (1177-1179). Papal legate,. |
| Theobald of Ostia, O.S.B.Cluny | France | Bishop of Ostia e Velletri | 1184 | Lucius III | Abbot of Cluny (1180–1183) |
| Alberto di Morra, C.R.Praem. | Benevento | Priest of S. Lorenzo in Lucina, and Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church | 21 December 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 | Subsequently bishop of Palestrina (1190-1196) |
| Laborans de Pontormo | Pontormo, near Florence | Priest of S. Maria in Trastevere | 21 September 1173 | Alexander III | Studied law at the University of Paris, magister and jurisconsult |
| Uberto Crivelli | Milan | Priest of S. Lorenzo in Damaso | September 1173 | Lucius III | Canon and Archdeacon of the cathedral chapter of Bourges. Archbishop of Milan. Elected Pope Urban III |
| Pandolfo | Lucca | Priest of SS. XII Apostoli | 18 December 1182 | Lucius III | Canon of the cathedral chapter in Lucca, then sub-deacon. |
| Albino, C.R.S.F. | Gaeta (?) | Priest of S. Croce in Gerusalemme | 18 December 1182 | Lucius III | Magister and theologian. Future bishop of Albano (1189-1197) |
| Melior, O.S.B.Vall. | Pisa | Priest of SS. Giovanni e Paolo | 16 March 1185 | Lucius III | Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church |
| Adelardo Cattaneo | Verona | Priest of S. Marcello | 16 March 1185 | Lucius III | Future bishop of Verona (1188-1214) |
| Ardicio Rivoltella | Piadena near Cremona | Deacon of S. Teodoro | 21 December 1156 | Adrian IV | |
| Graziano da Pisa | Pisa | Deacon of SS. Cosma e Damiano | 4 March 1178 | Alexander III | Nephew of Pope Eugenius III |
| Soffredo | Pistoia | Deacon of S. Maria in Via Lata | 18 December 1182 | Lucius III | Canon of the cathedral chapter of Pistoia |
| Pietro Diani | Piacenza | Deacon of S. Nicola in Carcere | 16 March 1185 | Lucius III | Provost of S. Antonino, Piacenza. Apostolic subdeacon. Future papal legate. |
| Radulfus Nigellus | Pisa (?) or France | Deacon of S. Giorgio in Velabro | 16 March 1185 | Lucius III | |
| Rolandus | Pisa | Deacon of S. Maria in Portico | 16 March 1185 | Lucius III | Former bishop-elect of Dol (1177-1185) |
Ten electors were created by Pope Lucius III, five by Pope Alexander III, and three by Pope Adrian IV.

## Absentee cardinals

| Elector | Place of birth | Cardinalatial title | Elevated | Elevator | Notes |
| Paolo Scolari | Rome | Bishop of Palestrina | 21 September 1179 | Alexander III | Archpriest of the Liberian Basilica; future Pope Clement III (1187-1191) |
| Pietro de Bono, C.R.S.M.R. | Verona | Priest of S. Susanna | 18 March 1166 | Alexander III | Canons Regular of Santa Maria of Reno, Bologna. Then papal legate. |
| Ruggiero di San Severino O.S.B. | San Severino | Priest of S. Eusebio and Archbishop of Benevento | Ca. 1178–80 | Alexander III | First monk at Monte Cassino then Archbishop of Benevento. External cardinal |
| Guillaume aux Blanches Mains | France | Priest of S. Sabina and Archbishop of Reims | March 1179 | Alexander III | Minister of State of the Kingdom of France; external cardinal |
| Giacinto Bobone Orsini | Rome | Deacon of S. Maria in Cosmedin | 22 December 1144 | Lucius II | Protodeacon; future Pope Celestine III (1191-1198) |
| Bobo | Rome | Deacon of S. Angelo in Pescheria | 18 December 1182 | Lucius III | He was papal legate in France from mid-1184 to spring 1186. Future bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina (1189-1190) |
| Ottaviano di Poli | Rome | Deacon of SS. Sergio e Bacco | 18 December 1182 | Lucius III | Subsequently bishop of Ostia e Velletri (1189-1206) |
| Gerardo | Lucca | Deacon of S. Adriano | 18 December 1182 | Lucius III | Canon of the cathedral chapter of Lucca. Future Papal Vicar of Rome; Cardinal-nephew (?) of Lucius III |
Four absentees were appointed by Alexander III, three by Lucius III, one by Adrian IV, and one by Pope Lucius II.

## Death of Lucius III and the election of Pope Urban III

Pope Lucius III died at Verona on 25 November 1185, at very advanced age. On that same day, eighteen cardinals started proceedings to elect his successor. Majority of them came from Northern Italy and formed a radically anti-imperial faction, while more moderate cardinals (mostly Romans) were absent. In such circumstances, Northern Italian cardinals quickly secured the election of their candidate Uberto Crivelli of Milan. Crivelli was widely known to have a long-standing rancor against Barbarossa, who had singled out his family and followers when he had conquered Milan, some of whom he ordered to be executed, others to be mutilated. In the words of Ferdinand Gregorovius, he was "... a violent and unyielding spirit, and a strong opponent of Frederick." He was unanimously elected within a few hours after the death of Lucius III, and took the name Urban III. He was crowned at Verona in S. Pietro in monte, on 1 December 1185.
After his election to the papacy, he retained the administration of the metropolitan see of Milan.