# 1124 papal election

The 1124 papal election (held 16–21 December) took place after the death of Pope Callixtus II on 13 December 1124. The election was characterised by a power struggle between Italian cardinals supported by the Pierleoni family and northern cardinals supported by the Frangipani family. On 16 December the cardinals elected Theobaldo Boccapecci, the cardinal-priest of Sant'Anastasia. He chose the name Celestine II. Before his consecration, however, an armed party of the Frangipani attacked and wounded the newly elected pope. In the following confusion the Bishop of Ostia Lamberto Scannabecchi, the Frangipani's candidate was proclaimed pope under the name Honorius II. After several days of factional fighting Celestine was abandoned by his supporters. However, Honorius would not accept the throne in this manner and resigned as well. He was immediately re-elected and consecrated on 21 December 1124.

## Background

Pressures building within the Curia, together with ongoing conflicts among the Roman nobility, would erupt after the death of Pope Callixtus II in 1124. The pontificates of Urban II and Paschal II had seen an expansion in the College of Cardinals of Italian clerics that strengthened the local Roman influence. These cardinals were reluctant to meet with the group of cardinals recently promoted by Callixtus II, who were mainly French or Burgundian. As far as the older cardinals were concerned, these newer cardinals were dangerous innovators, and they were determined to resist their increasing influence. The northern cardinals, led by Cardinal Aymeric de Bourgogne (the Papal Chancellor), were equally determined to ensure that the elected pope would be one of their candidates. Both groups looked towards the great Roman families for support.
By 1124, there were two great factions dominating local politics in Rome: the Frangipani family, which controlled the region around the fortified Colosseum and supported the northern cardinals, and the Pierleoni family, which controlled the Tiber Island and the fortress of the Theatre of Marcellus and supported the Italian cardinals. With Callixtus II's death on 13 December 1124, both families agreed that the election of the next pope should be in three days time, in accordance with the church canons. The Frangipani, led by Leo Frangipani, pushed for a delay in order that they could promote their preferred candidate, Lamberto, but the people were eager to see Saxo de Anagni, the Cardinal-Priest of San Stefano in Celiomonte elected as the next pope. Leo, eager to ensure a valid election, approached key members of every Cardinal's entourage, promising each one that he would support their master when the voting for the election was underway.

## Election

On 16 December, the Cardinals, including Lamberto, assembled in the chapel of the monastery of St. Pancratius attached to the south of the Lateran basilica. There, at the suggestion of Jonathas, the cardinal-deacon of Santi Cosma e Damiano, who was a partisan of the Pierleoni family, the Cardinals unanimously elected as Pope the cardinal-priest of Sant’ Anastasia, Theobaldo Boccapecci, who took the name Celestine II. He had only just put on the red mantle and the Te Deum was being sung when an armed party led by Roberto Frangipani (in a move pre-arranged with Cardinal Aymeric) burst in, attacked the newly enthroned Celestine, who was wounded, and acclaimed Lamberto as Pope. Since Celestine had not been formally consecrated pope, the wounded candidate declared himself willing to resign, but the Pierleoni family and their supporters refused to accept Lamberto, who in the confusion had been proclaimed Pope under the name Honorius II. Historians call the election "a travesty of canonical procedure".
Rome descended into factional infighting, while Cardinal Aymeric and Leo Frangipani attempted to win over the resistance of Urban, the City Prefect, and the Pierleoni family with bribes and extravagant promises. Eventually, Celestine's supporters abandoned him, leaving Honorius the only contender for the papal throne. Honorius, unwilling to accept the throne in such a manner, resigned his position before the assembled Cardinals, but was immediately and unanimously re-elected and consecrated on 21 December 1124.

### Cardinals

The College of Cardinals probably had between 47 and 53 members. Little information is available on which Cardinals were actually present in Rome during the election(s).
The following table lists the Cardinals who were alive at the time of the election.
| Elector | Title | Elevated | Elevator | Notes |
| Crescenzio | Cardinal-Bishop of Sabina | 1102 | Paschal II | |
| Pietro Senex | Cardinal-Bishop of Porto | c. 1106 | Paschal II | |
| Lamberto Scannabecchi | Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia | 1116 | Paschal II | Elected pope Honorius II |
| Vitalis | Cardinal-Bishop of Albano | 1116 | Paschal II | |
| Guillaume | Cardinal-Bishop of Palestrina | c. 1122 | Callixtus II | |
| Gilles de Paris | Cardinal-Bishop of Tusculum | c. 1122 | Callixtus II | |
| Bonifacio | Cardinal-Priest of S. Marco | c. 1100 | Paschal II | prior cardinalium (by 1127) |
| Gregorio de Ceccano | Cardinal-Priest of Ss. XII Apostoli | c. 1102 | Paschal II | Future antipope Victor IV |
| Benedict | Cardinal-Priest of S. Pietro in Vincoli | c. 1102 | Paschal II | |
| Anastasius | Cardinal-Priest of S. Clemente | c. 1102 | Paschal II | |
| Teobaldo Boccapecci | Cardinal-Priest of S. Anastasia | c. 1103 or 1112 | Paschal II | Elected pope Celestine II on 16 December, and resigned |
| Ioannes | Cardinal-Priest of S. Cecilia | c. 1106 | Paschal II | |
| Corrado della Suburra | Cardinal-Priest of S. Pudenziana | c. 1113 | Paschal II | Future pope Anastasius IV |
| Teobaldo | Cardinal-Priest of Ss. Giovanni e Paolo | c. 1117 | Paschal II | |
| Deusdedit | Cardinal-Priest of S. Lorenzo in Damaso | c. 1116 | Paschal II | |
| Gregorio Albergati | Cardinal-Priest of S. Lorenzo in Lucina | c. 1116 | Paschal II | |
| Petrus Pisanus | Cardinal-Priest of S. Susanna | c. 1116/1117 | Paschal II | |
| Amico, O.S.B. | Cardinal-Priest of Ss. Nereo ed Achilleo | 1117 | Paschal II | |
| Desiderius | Cardinal-Priest of S. Prassede | c. 1115 | Paschal II | |
| Gerardo / Gregorio | Cardinal-Priest of Ss. Prisca ed Aquila | c. 1115 | Paschal II | |
| Sigizo | Cardinal-Priest of S. Sisto | c. 1117 | Paschal II | |
| Saxo de Anagnia | Cardinal - Priest of S. Stefano al Monte Celio | c. 1117 | Paschal II | |
| Petrus Rufus (Pietro Ruffino Cariaceno) | Cardinal-Priest of Ss. Silvestro e Martino | 1118 or 1122 | Gelasius II | |
| Crescenzio di Anagni | Cardinal-Priest of Ss. Marcellino e Pietro | c. 1121/1122 ? | Calixtus II | |
| Petrus (Pierre de Fontaines) | Cardinal-Priest of S. Marcello | c. 1120 | Callixtus II | |
| Gerardo Caccianemici | Cardinal-Priest of S. Croce in Gerusalemme | c. 1122 | Callixtus II | Future pope Lucius II |
| Ugo Lectifredo | Cardinal-Priest of S. Vitale | 1123 | Callixtus II | |
| Roscemanno | Cardinal-Deacon of S. Giorgio in Velabro | c. 1112 | Paschal II | |
| Gregorio of Gaeta | Cardinal-Deacon of S. Lucia in Septisolio | c. 1112 | Paschal II | |
| Gregorio Papareschi | Cardinal-Deacon of S. Angelo in Pescheria | c. 1088?/1116 | Paschal II | Future pope Innocent II |
| Gregorio | Cardinal-Deacon of S. Eustachio | c. 1099 ? | Paschal II | |
| Comes / Cosma | Cardinal-Deacon of S. Maria in Aquiro | c. 1116 | Paschal II | |
| Enrico | Cardinal-Deacon of S. Teodoro | c. 1117 | Paschal II | |
| Angelo | Cardinal-Deacon of S. Maria in Domnica | c. 1122 | Callixtus II | |
| Romano | Cardinal-Deacon of S. Maria in Portico | c. 1119 | Callixtus II | |
| Étienne de Bar | Cardinal-Deacon of S. Maria in Cosmedin | c. 1120 | Callixtus II | |
| Ionathas (Gionata) | Cardinal-Deacon of Ss. Cosma e Damiano | c. 1120 | Callixtus II | |
| Giovanni Dauferio | Cardinal-Deacon of S. Nicola in Carcere | c. 1122 | Callixtus II | |
| Gregorio Tarquini | Cardinal-Deacon of Ss. Sergio e Bacco | c. 1122 | Callixtus II | |
| Uberto Lanfranchi | Cardinal-Deacon of S. Maria in Via Lata | c. 1123 | Callixtus II | |
| Gregorio | Cardinal-Deacon of Ss. Vito e Modesto | c. 1122 | Callixtus II | |
| Matteo | Cardinal-Deacon of S. Adriano | c. 1122 | Callixtus II | |
| Aymeric de la Châtre | Cardinal-Deacon of S. Maria Nuova | 1122 or 1123 | Callixtus II | Chancellor |

#### Absentee Cardinals

| Elector | Title | Elevated | Elevator | Notes |
| Giovanni da Crema | Cardinal-Priest of S. Crisogono | c. 1117 | Paschal II | Papal legate in Scotland or England at the time of the election |
| Pietro Pierleoni | Cardinal - Priest of S. Maria in Trastevere | c. 1106 | Paschal II | Papal legate in France at the time of the election. Future antipope Anacletus II |
| Oderisio di Sangro | Cardinal-Priest of S. Ciriaco in Thermis | c. 1112 | Paschal II | Abbot of Montecassino |