Pope Anastasius IV

Anastasius IV
Papacy began	9 July 1153
Papacy ended	3 December 1154
Predecessor	Eugene III
Successor	Adrian IV
Personal details
Birth name	Corrado Demetri della Suburra
Born	ca. 1073 Rome, Papal States, Holy Roman Empire
Died	3 December 1154(1154-12-03) Rome, Papal States, Holy Roman Empire
Other Popes named Anastasius

Pope Anastasius IV (ca. 1073^[1] – 3 December 1154), born Corrado Demetri della Suburra, was Pope from 1153 to 1154.

Early life

He was a Roman, son of Benedictus de Suburra, probably of the family of Demetri,^[2] and became a secular clerk.^[3] He was created cardinal-priest of S. Pudenziana by Pope Paschal II no later than in 1114.^[4] In 1127 or 1128 Pope Honorius II^[5] promoted him to the suburbicarian see of Sabina^[6] He had taken part in the double papal election, 1130, had been one of the most determined opponents of antipope Anacletus II (1130–38) and, when Pope Innocent II (1130–43) fled to France, had been left behind as his vicar in Italy. At the time of his election to the papacy in July 1153 he was dean of the College of Cardinals and probably the oldest member of that body.

Pontificate

During his short pontificate he played the part of a peacemaker; he came to terms with the Emperor Frederick I in the vexed question of the appointment to the see of Magdeburg and closed the long quarrel, which had raged through four pontificates, about the appointment of William Fitzherbert (d. 1154)—commonly known as St William of York—to the see of York, by sending him the pallium, in spite of the continued opposition of the powerful Cistercian order. Pope Anastasius IV died on 3 December 1154, and was succeeded by Cardinal Nicholas of Albano as Pope Adrian IV (1154–59).

Notes

1. ^ This date is according to Encyclopedia Britannica; Klewitz, p. 220 says that he was 80 years old at the time of his election to the papacy
2. ^ H. Tillmann, Ricerche sull'origine dei membri del collegio cardinalizio nel XII secolo, RSC 26, 1972, p. 328
3. ^ According to older historiography (incl. Klewitz, p. 128 and 220) he was abbot of the Augustinian monastery of St.-Ruf at Avignon but this view has been recently abandoned (see I.S.Robinson, p. 73)
4. ^ H.W.Klewitz, p. 128 no. 31; Brixius, p. 36 no. 26. His first subscription of the papal bulls took place on February 25, 1114 (Jaffé, p. 478)
5. ^ Anastasius IV is sometimes referred to as a nephew of Honorius II but this is not proven and is very unlikely; Anastasius IV came from Roman aristocracy, while Honorius II was a Bolognese. Brixius, p. 78 rejects the statement about relationship between Anastasius and Honorius as without foundation and adds that it appears for the first time in 16th century. Hans Walter Klewitz and Helene Tillmann, who have made an extensive study about the origins of the cardinals of the beginning of 12th century, either deny or do not mention this relationship.
6. ^ First subscription as cardinal-bishop on May 7, 1128 (Jaffé, p. 549)

Bibliography

• Hans Walter Klewitz, Reformpapsttum und Kardinalskolleg, Darmstadt 1957, p. 128 no. 31 and p. 220

• Johannes M. Brixius, Die Mitglieder des Kardinalkollegiums von 1130-1181, Berlin 1912

• Ian Stuart Robinson, The Papacy 1073–1198. Continuity and Innovation, Cambridge University Press 1990

• Philipp Jaffé, Regesta pontificum Romanorum ab condita Ecclesia ad annum post Christum natum MCXCVIII, Berlin 1851

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Eugene III	Pope 1153–54	Succeeded by Adrian IV

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

Persondata
Name	Anastasius IV
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1073
Place of birth	Rome, Papal States, Holy Roman Empire
Date of death	1154
Place of death	Rome, Papal States, Holy Roman Empire