Home > Pope Alexander IV
Alexander IV, né Rinaldo Conti (ca. 1199 - May 25, 1261), pope from 1254, was, like Innocent III and Gregory IX, a member of the family of the counts of Segni. His uncle Gregory IX made him cardinal deacon in 1227 and cardinal bishop of Ostia in 1231. On the death of Innocent IV he was elected pope at Naples on December 12, 1254. Alexander is described as a stout man, kindly, cheerful, but of no great brilliancy. He succeeded Innocent IV as guardian of Conradin, the last of the HohenstaufenHohenstaufen was a dynasty of Kings of Germany, many of whom were also crowned Holy Roman Emperor and Dukes of Swabia. The proper name, taken from their castle in Swabia, is Staufen. When the last member of the Salian dynasty, Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, promising him his benevolent protection; but in less than a fortnight he conspired against him and bitterly opposed Conradin's uncle ManfredManfred (c. 1232 — February 26, 1266), king of Sicily from 1258, was an illegitimate son of the emperor Frederick II by Bianca Lancia, or Lanzia, who is reported on somewhat slender evidence to have been married to the emperor just before his death. Frede. Alexander fulminated with excommunicationExcommunication is religious censure which is used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community. The word literally means "out of communion. Catholic Communion Excommunication is the most serious penalty that can be imposed for Catholics. and interdictAn Interdict usually refers to an ecclesiastical penalty in the Roman Catholic Church. The most common usage is a penalty which suspends all public worship and withdraws the church's sacraments in a territory or country. An interdict issued against a coun against the party of Manfred, but in vain; nor could he enlist the kings of EnglandEngland is the largest, the most populous, and the most densely populated of the four " Home Nations" which make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK). Occupying the south-eastern portion of the island of Great Britain, England and NorwayThe Kingdom of Norway is a Nordic country west of Sweden on the Scandinavian Peninsula. It has a very elongated form and has an extensive coastline along the North Atlantic Ocean, where Norway's famous fjords are found. In addition to Sweden, it borders R in a crusadeThis article is about the historical Crusades and the extended term "Crusade". For the artillery system, see XM2001 Crusader; for the fighter jet, see F-8 Crusader; for the television series, see Crusade. Historically, the Crusades were a series of severa against the Hohenstaufen. RomeRome ( Italian and Latin Roma is the capital city of Italy, and of its Lazio region. It is located on the lower Tiber river, near the Mediterranean Sea, at 41°50'N, 12°15'E. The Vatican City State, a sovereign enclave within Rome, is the seat of the Roman itself became too Ghibelline for the pope, who withdrew to Viterbo, where he died in 1261.
His pontificate was signalized by efforts to unite the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, by the establishment of the Inquisition in France, by favours shown to the mendicant orders, and by an attempt to organize a crusade against the Tatars.
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