Pope from February 22, 1281 - March 28, 1285
Lived: c. 1210/1220 - March 28, 1285
Who was this guy before he was pope?
A Frenchman, Simon de Brie was born in the province of Touraine in the Castle of Montpensier sometime between 1210 and 1220. He became a priest early on, then served as treasurer of the Church of St. Martin of Tours before being named Chancellor of France by King St. Louis IX in 1260. Pope Urban IV named him a cardinal two years later. Until his election as pope, Simon was a papal legate to France, working all the while to stop the abuses that had begun to infect the French Church.
Give me the scoop on Martin IV.
Thirteen cardinals unanimously elected the new pope six months after Nicholas III’s death, on February 22, 1281. Though there had only been one Pope Martin before him, Simon took the name of Martin IV, due to a confusion at the time that Popes Marinus I (882-884) and Marinus II (941-946) also bore that name. Martin created a new batch of cardinals as soon as he could, heavily favoring his fellow Frenchmen -- just as Pope Nicholas III had done for his Roman compatriots. One of the new cardinals, Benedetto Gaetano, would become the notorious Pope Boniface VIII in 1295. Martin IV reigned for four years and one month. After Easter Sunday Mass at Perugia on March 25, 1285, he fell suddenly ill after lunch and would die the following Wednesday. Martin was buried in the Cathedral of San Lorenzo in Perugia.
What was he known for?
Pope Martin IV, despite a personal piety and goodwill, was sadly little more than a pawn of Charles of Anjou during his papacy. Martin was at heart a patriot, not to mention the younger brother of Louis IX had all but placed the tiara on Martin’s head himself, so the French pope was Charles’ devoted servant through and through. This directly led to the official regress of East/West unity when Patriarch Michael Paleologus of Constantinople was excommunicated by Martin for opposing Charles’ plans for a renewed Latin Empire. Martin also gave Charles back his Roman senatorship and punished the Sicilians, who understandably now hated the French, for deposing Charles and crowning Peter III of Aragon in his place. Peter (surprise, surprise) was also excommunicated. The pair would die within three months of each other in 1285.
Fun Fact: Like two of his three predecessors, Martin IV is also included in Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. We see this pope sojourning in Purgatory while atoning for a penchant toward gluttony, specifically his love for Lake Bolsena eels and Vernaccia wine. Because of course. So great was Martin’s (perhaps unhealthy) love for the rare seafood, that his tomb reportedly included the epitaph:
The eels are happy because here lies dead
Who, as if they were guilty of murder,
Had had them flayed.
What else was going on in the world at the time?
The well-known Habsburg Dynasty begins to form outside of Germany in the year 1282, when Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph I assigns his sons, Albert I of Germany and Rudolph II of Austria, as dukes and co-rulers over Austria and Styria.
Coming tomorrow...Pope Honorius IV
John, E. (1964). The Popes: A concise biographical history. New York: Hawthorn Books.
Lived: c. 1210/1220 - March 28, 1285
Birth name: Simon de Brie
A Frenchman, Simon de Brie was born in the province of Touraine in the Castle of Montpensier sometime between 1210 and 1220. He became a priest early on, then served as treasurer of the Church of St. Martin of Tours before being named Chancellor of France by King St. Louis IX in 1260. Pope Urban IV named him a cardinal two years later. Until his election as pope, Simon was a papal legate to France, working all the while to stop the abuses that had begun to infect the French Church.
Give me the scoop on Martin IV.
Thirteen cardinals unanimously elected the new pope six months after Nicholas III’s death, on February 22, 1281. Though there had only been one Pope Martin before him, Simon took the name of Martin IV, due to a confusion at the time that Popes Marinus I (882-884) and Marinus II (941-946) also bore that name. Martin created a new batch of cardinals as soon as he could, heavily favoring his fellow Frenchmen -- just as Pope Nicholas III had done for his Roman compatriots. One of the new cardinals, Benedetto Gaetano, would become the notorious Pope Boniface VIII in 1295. Martin IV reigned for four years and one month. After Easter Sunday Mass at Perugia on March 25, 1285, he fell suddenly ill after lunch and would die the following Wednesday. Martin was buried in the Cathedral of San Lorenzo in Perugia.
What was he known for?
Pope Martin IV, despite a personal piety and goodwill, was sadly little more than a pawn of Charles of Anjou during his papacy. Martin was at heart a patriot, not to mention the younger brother of Louis IX had all but placed the tiara on Martin’s head himself, so the French pope was Charles’ devoted servant through and through. This directly led to the official regress of East/West unity when Patriarch Michael Paleologus of Constantinople was excommunicated by Martin for opposing Charles’ plans for a renewed Latin Empire. Martin also gave Charles back his Roman senatorship and punished the Sicilians, who understandably now hated the French, for deposing Charles and crowning Peter III of Aragon in his place. Peter (surprise, surprise) was also excommunicated. The pair would die within three months of each other in 1285.
Fun Fact: Like two of his three predecessors, Martin IV is also included in Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. We see this pope sojourning in Purgatory while atoning for a penchant toward gluttony, specifically his love for Lake Bolsena eels and Vernaccia wine. Because of course. So great was Martin’s (perhaps unhealthy) love for the rare seafood, that his tomb reportedly included the epitaph:
The eels are happy because here lies dead
Who, as if they were guilty of murder,
Had had them flayed.
What else was going on in the world at the time?
The well-known Habsburg Dynasty begins to form outside of Germany in the year 1282, when Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph I assigns his sons, Albert I of Germany and Rudolph II of Austria, as dukes and co-rulers over Austria and Styria.
Coming tomorrow...Pope Honorius IV
SOURCES (and further reading)
John, E. (1964). The Popes: A concise biographical history. New York: Hawthorn Books.
Guruge, A. (2010). The Next Pope. New Hampshire: WOWNH
Pope Martin IV - http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09724a.htm
Pope Martin IV - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Martin_IV
1280s - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1280s
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Yes, it powers and sponsors Popes in a Year, but it's so much more than that. In fact, it's the smartest, most powerful communication tool a ministry can use for regular communication with its members. Invite your ministry to try it free!