Pope Innocent III rebukes the papal legate Peter, the cardinal presbyter of the Church of St. Marcellus, the legate of the Holy See. We were surprised and alarmed to hear that you and our beloved son, the cardinal presbyter of the Church of St. Praxeda, and the legate of His Holiness

Pope Innocent III Less than two months after his appointment, the new Pope took the Languedoc into his own hands. To clarify the situation, two papal legates were sent there. Among other things, they were ordered to find faithful people among the local nobility who could

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III (1198–1216) in his activities followed the doctrine of the primacy of papal power over secular power. He eliminated the autonomy of Rome, was the initiator of the IV crusade; in 1202 he authorized the founding of the Order of the Swordsmen for

The triumph of the Catholic Church in the struggle against the Albigensians was mainly facilitated by the personality of the person who headed it. When the papacy was threatened with mortal danger, by the art of this leader it suddenly acquired an unprecedented inner and outer strength. An ingenious statesman, he seemed to have been deliberately called on the stage of history at a critical moment. An excellent system began to fill the hand of a man whose name denotes an entire era. It was Pope Innocent III.

He is the main figure in the drama that will soon occupy us, and therefore, first of all, we should study this person from the moment he becomes the head of the Catholic Church? 2 .

He was then in his thirty-eighth year. Few of the high priest put on the tiara so early, and rare appeared on the stage of history more ready for it.

Innocent III brought with him to the papal throne a grandiose idea, which, it is true, was worked out by his predecessors, but in him found its full and best exponent. He was called to complete and create a stately, although not entirely clean, building of Catholicism, and therefore his sympathies lay in the ideals of the past. Innocent III's goal was to consolidate the dominion of the popes over Europe.

At that time, the authority of the high priests fell even in their own state? 1 ... The popes of the last decades of the XII century were powerless in their own capital and were dependent on the urban aristocratic parties. Closely associated with them, they were unable to pacify the city. Such impotence aroused all the greater rage because their strength seemed so formidable to the entire West. The predecessors of Innocent III were almost always elected to the high priesthood already in old age, they were strong not as individuals, but as representatives of the hereditary policy of the Roman curia.

This was not the man who took the papal throne in 1198. Innocent III came from the ancient Roman family of the Counts of Conti, whose fame goes back to fabulous times. The audacious researchers of genealogy count twelve centuries of continuity of this lineage. The famous pope was considered a descendant of the first Duke of Spoleti, who received his possessions from the Lombard king Grimoald back in the 7th century? 2 ... More reliable, that the famous prefect of Rome Crescenzi? 3 was his ancestor. Contrary to genealogy, the hereditary possessions of the Counts of Conti did not give them any special fame or sufficient wealth. Among the ancient aristocracy, Count Fra-simundo, the father of the future pope, did not have much importance, he was pushed into the background by the Roman surnames that influenced the elections of the popes - Orsini, Colonna, Frangipani, Savelli.

The Conti family was destined to elevate Giovanni Lothar (later Innocent III). He was born around 1161. His mother gave him the opportunity to be educated at the school of St. John Lateran, which at that time was the center for the training of Catholic preachers. He continued his education at the Universities of Paris and Bologna, where he immersed himself in modern philosophy 4, but it is clear from his writings that he studied the classics well. Paris was famous for theology and scholasticism, Bologna for law - these were the most famous centers of medieval culture. In Paris, together with Conti, many later famous politicians and poets received education (for example, the famous German minnesinger Walter von der Vogelweide). Here Giovanni Lothar became close friends with the future Cardinal Stephen Langton and many others. Decades later, childhood comrades served as a tool for fulfilling the far-reaching plans of Innocent III.

He returned to Rome under Pope Lucius III, who gave him several important assignments, successfully completed, which marked the beginning of a brilliant career. Pope Gregory VIII makes him, while still young, a subdeacon (1187). Giovanni Lothair Conti is pushed forward by some family connections, but mainly due to his abilities. Was the time of Richard the Lionheart and Saladin, was the third crusade with Barbarossa at its head? 1 , the Roman chancellery was full of worries.

Clement III, uncle of Giovanni Lothaire, appointed him in 1190 cardinal deacon, equal to the rank of secretary of state; the future dad was then 29 years old. This appointment caused general joy in the church and among the people, "raised great hopes" 5, which testifies to the popularity of Giovanni Lothar already then. The young cardinal was enough for everything, he made grandiose plans and did not lose sight of any trifles.

In 1191, the papal throne was reigned by Celestine III of the hostile Orsini clan Conti, who removed Giovanni Lothair from office. The future successor of Celestine III took advantage of the forced idleness in order to develop his spiritual powers in solitude both in thought and literary pursuits. During these six years, those theocratic ideas and that multilateral policy that could arouse protest, but, as useful for that time, has the right to a historical meaning, matured in him. In the writings written during this time, the future Tiaran bearer languishes in peace, seeks peace and solitude, although more than anyone else, he was capable of activity. While he, surrounded only by books, lived in Ananya, renouncing the world, this world was already tying knots, which he later had to unravel.

German Emperor Henry VI strove for the possession of the kingdom of both Sicily. Celestine III agreed to approve it for him only on humiliating conditions for Henry, since this kingdom had long been under the auspices of the church - it was considered a Roman vassalage and was more consistent with this name than all other alleged apostolic fiefs. After the second campaign in the south of Italy, Henry conquered the coveted kingdom, exterminated the members of the old Norman dynasty and suppressed the uprising of the Norman barons with such cruelty that he aroused the indignation of all knightly Europe. Celestine III warned Henry many times, demanded that he stop his atrocities. Ultimately the pope excommunicated the emperor from the Church? 1 ... Henry VI died in September 1197, still in his mature years and full of plans for revenge on Rome and dreams of a united empire. He left the four-year-old Roman king Frederick Roger (after the so famous as Frederick II), a general hatred of his memory and inter-dynastic strife for the throne in Germany.

The Pope was in a hurry to act so as not to lose old acquisitions in the forthcoming confusion and lack of beginning. The acquisition of both Sicily by the Hohenstaufens? 2 seemed to Rome a threatening challenge. Popes could be squeezed from two sides: from Germany and southern Italy. Rome wanted at all costs to break this connection, this formidable force, or, at least, to belittle it, over which the popes consistently fight throughout the first half of the 13th century. They needed to keep the vassalage over Sicily, influence the issue of German succession to the throne and at the same time maintain Roman authority in the dispute that had begun with the French king over the divorce from Ingeborga? 3 .

At the same time, a new crusade was being prepared in Europe, and at the same time, threatening rumors from southern France began to reach the Roman statesmen about the rapid spread of heresy and about the futility of all council decisions taken against her. And in Rome they began to seriously think about two simultaneous crusades: one was supposed to go to Asia on the infidels, the other on the recalcitrant free-thinkers, the wealthy and cheerful inhabitants of Garonne, Rhone and Durance? 1 .

Speed ​​and thoughtfulness in actions were required all the more since the failure of the previous crusades weakened the religious zeal of Catholics. Rumors about the successful development of various heresies came from different parts of Europe. The heresy went from east to west and was firmly entrenched in Catholic lands.

Rome was well aware of the importance of the present moment, the enmity of the parties fell silent. The Curia of Cardinals always had high hopes for the Count of Conti, and he was called when Celestine III passed away.

While dying, the Pope continued to point to his friend Colonna, but they did not listen to him. Celestine III died on January 8, 1198. The next morning, after a short consultation, Cardinal Deacon Giovanni Lothair Conti was elected almost unanimously as Pope. He resisted this at a meeting of the board - he prayed, he cried, he talked about his youth. The eldest of the cardinals approached him and named him Innocent III. Giovanni Lothar was not yet a bishop, he did not even have an ordination. Such a rare exception was made for him, he took the priesthood only after.

For the papal throne, he seemed very young, which did not go unnoticed. The solemn coronation attracted a lot of people, among whom the newly elected was very popular. Rome burned with lights, flowers fell on the papal procession. In the very first sermon, the Pope addressed the people, as if calling them to the sanctification of their plans; he flattered the crowd and very soon received significant signs of its favor.

The aristocracy, on the contrary, interfered with the freedom of action of the high priest; it was accustomed to ruling the people with power. Nobili ruled in Rome, the imperial prefect was their instrument - he transferred his rights to the Senate, which, often going against the wishes of the people, legally acted on his behalf, being independent from the pope.

Innocent from the very first days subjugated to himself all elements hostile to him and hostile to each other. The prefect vowed to serve him unquestioningly and give full account of all matters - the imperial sword was replaced by the papal cup. Foreign claims, although nominal, were completely destroyed: the city became papal. The people supported this beginning, coming from such a popular person. The Senate began to act no longer on behalf of the people, but on behalf of the pope: the first senator took an oath to protect the personality of the pope. The monarchist principle triumphed. Having consolidated his power in the capital, Innokenty turned to business in Italy. The German barons, planted by Henry VI, were forced to leave the papal region. The Florentine cities organized their own alliance, but papal sympathies were strong there too. In less than a year, as the papal region reached its extreme limits, national feeling was revived in Italy. But by strengthening his material resources, Innocent III thereby showed that in his theocratic system he would adhere to a decisive course of action. That ambition is inherent in him, he declared from the first days, but his egoism was the egoism of a great soul: he was busy not in his personal interests, but in the name of the triumph of his faith; he did not promise peace with his policy, although he strove for it. The Pope put his system into practice with the fervor of a man overwhelmed by secular ambition.

Innocent III, like other popes, abused religion to achieve his goals. Following Roman policy and forgetting himself in passion, he sometimes avoided the straight road, but the concept of the highest justice never faded in him. In the first days of his papacy, he expressed his political doctrine as follows:

“We are responsible for the prosperity of the church. And our life and death will be devoted to the cause of justice. We know that our first duty is to observe the rights of everyone, and nothing will force us to deviate from this path ... Before us is a great abundance of work, daily concerns for the good of all churches, therefore we are no more than servants of God's servants, in accordance with our title. But we believe that by the will of God we have been raised from nothingness to this throne, from which we will execute true judgment over princes, and even over those who are higher than them ”6.

Innokenty kept his promise. After Hildebrand, he was the most courageous figure on the papal throne, but he was much happier than Gregory VII. Along with decisiveness and courage, he possessed a rare purity of motives, alien to personal aspirations and ambition. Great historical figures who bring their ideas to life and political systems, do not hesitate in the ways of achieving the goal and fulfilling the role assigned to them, they are inspired by one thought - to translate their ideals into reality. It is a blessing to those politicians who combined the impeccability of its implementation with the brilliance of feats, but one cannot condemn those who could not find other means without leaving the conditions of our time. Innocent III is no exception among the great men of history. The moral purity of his personal character is beyond doubt, it brought him high spiritual authority and contributed to the success of his theocratic plans.

At that time, the fulfillment of the purposes of the papal power required precisely a politician with the talents of Innocent, whose mind covered the entire vast arena of activity - from Iceland to the Euphrates, from Palestine to Scandinavia. That which was the subject of Hildebrand's intimate thoughts was accomplished by Innocent III. During all the time of his eighteen-year reign, there was no fact of European history that would not directly or indirectly be influenced by the pope.

The all-seeing eye of the high priest penetrated both the palace of the emperor and the house of a timid city dweller on the edge of Europe. Therefore, Innokenty's correspondence serves as the main source for studying the history of his time; it is impossible to bypass this source, which has the dignity of state acts, no matter what country there was a conversation about. For Innokenty, in the whole West there was no man too poor, too insignificant, and, on the contrary, a ruler too influential. The power of the pope in most cases relied on the power of spiritual authority, and only in the matter that will serve as the subject of this work, was it backed up by the force of arms.

Such was the man with whom the Albigensians had to fight and who played a major role in their history.

Having become acquainted with Innocent III, let us make a brief overview of the relations that have developed between him and the European sovereigns.

Innocent III (Innocentius) (1160 or 1161-1216), Pope since 1198. Fought for the supremacy of the popes over secular power; made English king and some other monarchs recognize themselves as his vassals. Initiator of the 4th crusade and campaign against the Albigensians.

Innocent III, Pope

Innocentius Tertius

Worldly Name: Lothario Conti, Count of Senyi

Origin: Gavignano (Lazio, Italy)

Father: Trasimondo Conti, Count of Senyi

Mother: Clarice Scotty.

Lothario came from the family of the Counts of Senyi and was the nephew of Pope Clement III. He received his primary education in Rome, studied theology in Paris and jurisprudence in Bologna, becoming one of the most famous experts in theology and law of his time. Soon after the death of Alexander III, Lothario returned to Rome, holding various spiritual posts under subsequent popes. Gregory VIII made him subdeacon, and Clement III made him cardinal deacon. During the pontificate of Celestine III of the Orsini family, Senya's worst enemies, Cardinal Lothario was in exile. He lived in Anagni, pursuing reflection and writing. Nevertheless, before his death, Celestine persuaded the cardinals to choose 37-year-old Lothario as their new pope. Without apparent desire, he took the tiara and took the name Innocent III.

Taking advantage of the weakening of the imperial power after the death of Henry VI, Innocent began to vigorously restore papal power. The prefect of Rome, who ruled the city on behalf of the emperor, and the senator, who defended the rights of the townspeople, swore allegiance to the pope. Having restored papal sovereignty over Rome, Innocent began to bring into submission the surrounding regions - Romagna, Ancona, Spoleto, Assisi and Soru. Soon Constance, the widow of Henry VI, who was unable to defend the Sicilian throne for the young Frederick II, turned to Innocent for help. Innocent demanded that she confirm papal suzerainty over Sicily and renounce the privileges given by Adrian IV to the Normans. In mid-November 1198, Innocent issued a bull in which Frederick was solemnly proclaimed king. Before the bull reached Sicily, Constance died, making Innocent Frederick's guardian. Even the enemies of the papacy admit that for nine years Innocent disinterestedly helped the young king, skillfully and conscientiously ruling Sicily. In 1209 he prompted Frederick to marry Constance, the widow of Imre of Hungary.

The state of affairs in Germany was also favorable for the pope. Two opposing parties, the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, elected two different kings. Innocent sent Bishop Sutri to one of the candidates, Philip of Swabia, with an offer of support in exchange for territorial concessions in Tuscany and the release from prison of Sibylla of Siculus. Philip answered evasively, and Innocent refused to acknowledge his election. At the same time, the second candidate, Otto IV, turned to the Pope. But before the Pope made his choice, the challengers began to resolve the dispute by force of arms. Finally, on July 3, 1201, the papal legate, Cardinal Guido of Palestrina, solemnly announced at the Cologne Cathedral that the pope had recognized Otto as king and threatened to excommunicate those who did not submit to the choice. In May 1202, Innocent published the Venerabilem bull, which outlined the main theses on the relationship between the pope and the emperor:

German princes have the right to elect a king for themselves, who later becomes emperor;

This right was given to them by the Apostolic See since the time when the imperial dignity passed from the Byzantine monarchs to Charlemagne;

The pope has the right to decide whether a candidate is worthy of the imperial title. The Pope conducts the rites of anointing, consecration and coronation of the emperor, and he cannot anoint an unworthy candidate, heretic or pagan;

If the pope finds that the chosen king is not worthy of the imperial title, the princes must elect a new king. Otherwise, the pope will grant imperial dignity to another king, since the church needs a protector and patron;

In the event of difficulties in the election of the king, the pope must call upon the princes to agree. Otherwise, the pope himself will choose the king, based not on the opinion of the majority, but on his own ideas about the merits of the candidates.

Immediately after the publication of the bull, the number of Otto's supporters began to grow rapidly, but he soon scared off many of them with his dismissive attitude towards his friends. Already in 1207, Innocent recognized Philip as king and sent two legates, Ugolino from Ostia and Leo from Santa Croce, demanding that Otto free Philip voluntarily and give him the crown. However, the assassination of Philip by Otton Wittelsbach on June 21, 1208, dramatically changed the situation. At the convention of princes in Frankfurt on November 11, Otto was recognized by all princes as king, and the pope invited him to Rome for his coronation. The ceremony took place on October 4, 1209. Otto left Pope Spoleto, Ancona and the Tuscan lands given by Countess Matilda, promised to help in the Sicilian question, recognized the Pope's freedom of unlimited competence in appointments to spiritual positions. Otto also gave up income from vacant dioceses and from the confiscated possessions of priests who died without a will. But, having barely received the crown, the insidious emperor immediately captured not only Ancona, Tuscany and Spoleto, but also other papal possessions, distributing them to his entourage. He also invaded Sicily to drive out the young Frederick II. On November 18, 1210, the pope solemnly excommunicated the emperor and united with Philip Augustus. Many German princes immediately turned away from Otto. At the Nuremberg Congress in September 1211, Frederick of Sicily was elected the new king. The young king made the same promises as Otto. In addition, he promised never to annex the Kingdom of Sicily to the empire. Otto hastily turned his army to Germany, but found practically no support among the princes. Teaming up with John of England, he attacked France, but on July 27, 1214, he was defeated at Bouvin. A few years later, Otto died, while Germany remained in the hands of Frederick II.

Simultaneously with the German problem, Innocent settled the issues in France and England. In January 1198, the legate Pietro of Capua, under threat of excommunication, forced John Lackland and Philip Augustus to sign a five-year truce. In 1199, Innocent imposed a nine-month interdict on all of France for the fact that Philip Augustus abandoned his lawful wife Ingeborg for his mistress Agnes. In 1205, a conflict arose in England over the election of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Having refused three thousand marks for the approval of the royal candidate, the Pope recommended Stephen Langton, the rector of the University of Paris, who was consecrated on June 17, 1207, in Viterbo, to the pulpit. John opposed Langton's entry into England, insisting on his candidate John de Gray, and ravaged many monasteries that refused to recognize him. In 1208 Innocent imposed an interdict on England, in 1209 he excommunicated John from the church, and in 1212 he formally declared the king deposed. Only by refusing under the threat of a French invasion, John agreed to recognize Archbishop Langton. Moreover, on May 13, 1313, John recognized England as papal flax, promising to pay a tribute of 1,000 marks annually. On July 20, the pope removed the punishment from the king, and after John returned the confiscated lands of wealth to the church, on June 29, 1214, the pope removed the interdict from England. However, the barons were outraged by this act of the king and the violation of their privileges. They forced John to sign the Magna Carta, which was not recognized by the pope.

Like his predecessors, Innocent III was zealous about the liberation of the Holy Land. He organized the Fourth Crusade, but instead of fighting for the Holy Sepulcher, the pilgrims got involved in Byzantine strife and sacked Constantinople in 1204. In the place of Byzantium, the Latin Empire was founded, led by Baudouin of Flanders. The reunification of the western and eastern churches was also announced. Innocent was upset that the crusaders deviated from the original goal, but he was no longer able to change anything.

Innocent also fought zealously against various heresies. His main opponent was the Albigensians, members of a large sect in the south of France. They not only professed heretical doctrines, but also sought to spread them by force. In 1208, the Albigensians killed one of the missionaries sent by the pope to preach the true faith. Innocent imposed an interdict on a number of cities and called on the king of France to a war against heretics, which soon turned from a religious into an ordinary war of conquest.

In general, there was hardly such a country in Europe in whose affairs Innokenty did not interfere. He annulled the marriages of the kings of Leon and Portugal, recognized Pedro II of Aragon as his vassal, defended the Norwegians from their king Sverre and mediated in the Hungarian civil strife. In 1204, the Pope sent Cardinal Lev to Bulgaria to crown Kaloyan "king of the Bulgarians and Vlachs". He restored spiritual discipline in Poland, intervened in the dispute between Sverker II and Eric X in Sweden, and made attempts to restore unity with the Eastern Church. Innocent founded universities in Paris and Oxford and approved the creation of mendicant monastic orders according to the statutes of St. Francis and St. Dominica. In such stormy activity the Pope was helped by perfectly organized administrative and fiscal apparatus. The headquarters of curial advisers and legates, sent to all countries of Europe, supervised the implementation of papal decrees. As a result of the activities of Innocent III, the apostolic capital, using economic progress and the revival of trade exchange between the developing cities of Europe, turned into the most powerful financial tycoon in Europe. Subordinate to the papacy, thanks to the Franciscans, the "movement of the poor" neutralized the threat from social and religious movements that undermined the authority of the church hierarchy. It should be added that the political plans of papal universalism in the program of Innocent III were closely related to religious goals. He consistently implemented the theocratic principles of the reform of Gregory VII, which proceeded from the fact that the entire Christian society must be imposed on the mediation of a hierarchy subject to papal authority.

Towards the end of his life, Innocent organized the Fourth Lateran Cathedral, which opened on November 15, 1215. It was the most important of the medieval cathedrals. It adopted 70 canons, which formed the foundation of the new church legislation. The council condemned all religious and social doctrines promoted by the Cathars and Waldensians, heretics who fought for the rights of the poor. The Cathedral Fathers called on the people of God to correct their customs, condemned the venality and immorality of the clergy, and tightened the requirement for priests to observe celibacy. Believers were obliged to confess only to their parish priest and to receive communion at least once a year, during the period of Great Lent. The confessors were obliged to keep the confession secret. In the doctrinal field, the council formulated theological aspects of the teaching of the sacraments in the spirit of medieval scholasticism. Much was said at the council about church tithes. The cathedral demanded that the Jews wear special clothes that would distinguish them from Christians, and forbade them to go out on the Holy Week. The cathedral also spoke in favor of building separate neighborhoods for Jews (the so-called ghettos).

Innocent III died in Perugia during one of his apostolic journeys. His body, dressed in papal robes, was displayed in a hearse in the local cathedral. At night, thieves entered the cathedral and stole the signs of papal authority. When the cardinals gathered the next day to serve a panikhida, they saw in the coffin only the naked remains of the one who had dominated Christendom for 18 years. Innocent was buried in this cathedral, and only in December 1891 Leo XIII transferred his remains to the Lateran Cathedral of Rome.

Innocent III (Innocentius) (1160 or 1161 - 07.1216), Pope since 1198. Fought for the supremacy of popes over secular power; forced the English king and some other monarchs to recognize themselves as his vassals. Initiator of the 4th crusade and campaign against the Albigensians.

Innocent III - Pope since 1198. Fought for the supremacy of popes over secular power; forced the English king and some other monarchs to recognize themselves as his vassals. Initiator of the Fourth Crusade and the campaign against the Albigensians. Innocent III ascended the papal throne in January 1198, when the influence of the papal authority again noticeably weakened. Even in Rome, the prefect was the emperor's henchman. Usually, old people who did not heal for a long time in the world were chosen as dads. Innocent III was only 37 years old. He was born in Anagni and belonged to the distinguished family of the Counts of Senyi of Latium. Innocent received an excellent education: legal - in Bologna, theological - in Paris and was elevated to cardinals by his uncle Clement III. The new dad was distinguished by a cold, self-possessed character, prudence and caution. He knew how, when circumstances demanded, to yield, in order to then go on the offensive again; in a word, he was a diplomat. Much of his beliefs and actions can be explained by the nature of his education. Innocent III supported his claims with references to legal collections in which the supporters of the papacy collected documents that spoke in his favor. Like most politicians of his time, he was convinced of the need to subordinate Christendom to papal authority. “Royal power,” writes Innocent III, “is subordinate to the papal. The first reigns only on earth and over bodies, the second in heaven and over souls. The power of kings extends only to certain regions, the power of Peter covers all kingdoms, for he is a representative The one to whom the universe belongs. " Elsewhere, he expresses himself even more clearly: "The Lord gave Peter power not only over the universal church, but over the whole world." In his opinion, "freedom of the church" is ensured only where "the Roman Church enjoys unlimited power in both spiritual and secular affairs." So, the main task of Innocent III, like that of Gregory VII, was to strengthen the papal power. In February 1198, that is, a month after his election, Innocent III took an oath of allegiance from the prefect and gave him an investiture. In the same year, he subdued the commune, headed by the "supreme senator". The pope won the right to appoint a master. The municipality was retained, but now obeyed the supreme authority of the pope. Innocent sent a message to a number of Italian communes and regions, which spoke of the "brutal" ("Germanic") race, striving for domination over Italy. The Pope described in particular detail the atrocities of Henry VI in Sicily, where, as he argued, there is not a single family that "would not fall prey to this tyrant." Wanting to show the atrocities this emperor had reached, the pope gathered to Rome those Sicilians and northerners-Italians, whose eyes were gouged out and ears were cut off by Henry's order. The sight of the unfortunate was supposed to discourage the Italians from returning under the patronage of the Holy Roman Empire. Innocent III succeeded in this. However, the Italian city-communes rejected not only the imperial power, but also the papal. Innocent summed up this movement under the category of heresy, dangerous for catholic faith ... A number of cities were declared war, and if it did not take on a wide scale in Italy, it was only because the pope feared that these cities would not turn to the emperor for help. Meanwhile, Florence, Siena, Lucca, Volterra, Arezzo, Prato and other cities, as early as 1197, formed a League friendly to the papacy and hostile to the empire. Innocent approved of her; he reclaimed the domains that belonged in these areas to Countess Matilda, organized their administration and ensured their protection. After the Germans were expelled from the south of Sicily with the help of the Pope, Constance, the widow of Henry VI and the heiress of the Kingdom of Sicily, in November 1198 entrusted Innocent III with custody of her young son Frederick. To secure the last Sicilian crown, she renounced the rights to Germany and the Holy Roman Empire on his behalf. The Pope played an equally skillful diplomatic game during the struggle for the imperial throne between the Hohenstaufens and the Welfs, which unfolded in 1198-1209. In the struggle for the throne, two parties competed: one elected Philip of Swabian, brother of Henry VI, the other - Welf Otton of Braunschweig, son of Heinrich the Lion. On the side of Philip of Swabia, there were memories of his ancestors, emperors, their possessions, the support of most of the princes and the French king Philip Augustus. Among the influential patrons, Otto had only his uncle Richard the Lionheart, so he tried to gain the Pope's favor. Dad decided to act as a judge in this dispute. The one who dedicates the emperor, he wrote to the German princes, has the right to dispose of the imperial crown. Innocent "freed" princes, bishops and even individual citizens from the oath to the emperor and called on everyone to support only that candidate who recognizes the papacy's right to approve and even elect a German emperor. Innocent opposed Philip of Swabia under the pretext of the papacy's concern for the "freedom" of the German people. If Philip becomes emperor, Innocent argued, then the Hohenstaufen dynasty will be consolidated in Germany and the "freedom of Germany", which consists in the right of princes to elect an emperor at their own will, will perish and give way to a hereditary monarchy, which will be a fatal blow to German freedom. In March 1201, Innocent called for the recognition of Otto of Braunschweig as emperor and freed Philip's followers from the oath of allegiance. In response, Otto vowed to keep intact the "possessions, regalia and rights of the Roman Church," including the legacy of Matilda. However, Philip continued to fight, and in 1206 he managed to recapture his capital Cologne from Otto of Braunschweig. Innocent III was forced to enter into negotiations with Philip of Swabia and recognize his right to the throne. But already in June 1208, Philip died in Bamberg at the hands of the Count Palatine Otto Wittelsbach, whom he refused to hand over to his daughter. Innocent III found himself in a difficult situation, from which Otto of Braunschweig helped him to get out. To win over the followers of the Hohenstaufens, Otto married the daughter of Philip of Swabia, Beatrice; and in order to satisfy Innocent III, he accepted the title of emperor "by the grace of God and the pope." In October 1209, Otto was crowned in Rome. Feeling strong, he quickly forgot all his promises and vows. Otto took possession of the lands of Margrave Matilda and attacked the possessions of the Sicilian crown in southern Italy. The deceived Innocent III wrote: "Many now revile me; they say that I deserve what I endure, that I have forged a sword with my own hands, which now wounds me so cruelly. Let the Almighty answer them for me, who knows the purity of my soul and who once said about himself: “I repent that I created man.” Deprived of his secular possessions, Innocent III turned to the French king Philip Augustus and entered into an alliance with him. In November 1210, the pope excommunicated Otto from the church and freed his subjects from the oath of allegiance With the same energy with which he defended Otto a few years ago, now he was building a coalition against him. Evidence of the diplomatic flexibility and indefatigability of Innocent III can be found in his enormous correspondence. intimidating the heavenly and earthly punishments of some, inspiring deceptive hopes in others, agreements with the third, he paved the way for the establishment of the supremacy of the papacy, not only in the German Empire. Innocent III conscientiously fulfilled his duties as guardian of Frederick. He fought with Marquald Anweiler, who, making his way south, tried to proclaim himself king of Sicily; later he did not allow Otto to take away the possessions from Frederick. In September 1211, the King of Bohemia, the Dukes of Austria and Bavaria, the Landgrave of Thuringia and other princes, having gathered in Nuremberg, elected Frederick Emperor of Germany. Innocent approved this choice, although he had previously opposed Sicily and Germany being in the same hands. However, Otto's defiant behavior made him forget about the direct interest of the Holy See. In March 1212, Frederick arrived in Rome; he swore allegiance to Innocent III for the Kingdom of Sicily. Then on December 9, 1212, he accepted the crown of Germany. However, Innocent still managed to secure the papal throne, having received from Frederick an oath of allegiance to Sicily. Frederick also had to cede a number of privileges to the papacy in violation of the Worms Concordat. Henceforth, the Pope could declare that in Germany the election of bishops takes place "exclusively freely", that is, without the interference of the secular authorities. Meanwhile, the bishops represented a tremendous force in Germany: they were no less powerful than the most powerful princes. Hundreds and thousands of vassals and hundreds of thousands of serfs and dependent peasants sat on their lands in Mainz, Cologne, Trier, Salzburg, Würzburg. In those days, the land "served", and material resources and military forces were at the disposal of the spiritual princes. The vast archbishop and monastic lands fell out of the power of the emperor both militarily and financially. Therefore, giving the pope the right to appoint spiritual princes was tantamount to undermining the imperial power and creating a formidable danger within the empire from the side of the prelates of the church dependent on the pope. Innocent III took advantage of the struggle between the Capetian and Plantagenets to subjugate England. When the Canterbury archbishop's see was vacated, Innocent III, despite the opposition of John Lackland, gave it to Stephen Langton (1206), then imposed an interdict on England, excommunicated the king, declared him deposed and offered the English crown to Philip Augustus. Forced to yield, John Landless gave England and Ireland to the Roman Church and took them back as flax (1213). But England did not want to share humiliation with her king. During his struggle with the barons and the people, forced to sign the Magna Carta (1215), John Lackland turned to the Pope for help. Innocent III stood up for him: "In the name of the almighty God, in the name of St. Peter and Paul and the power that belongs to us, we completely condemn and curse this charter and, under pain of anathema, we forbid the king to fulfill it, and the barons - to demand its fulfillment." He excommunicated the prelates and barons who resisted the king, but the latter continued to persist, civil strife ravaged England, and the British considered the pope to be the culprit of their troubles. “The High Priest,” writes Matthew of Paris, “who should have been a source of holiness, a mirror of piety, a guardian of justice and a defender of truth, patronizes such a person! Why does he support him? So that the abyss of Roman greed could swallow the wealth of England. "England was for a long time turned into a vassal state of the Roman throne. One of the most important directions of Innocent III's international policy was the organization of new crusades, now not only against the" infidel "Muslims, but also against the" pagans. " - the Baltic peoples and the Slavs of Eastern Europe, as well as against heretics who did not recognize the papal authority.Money collected under pious pretexts (to finance the crusades) actually enriched the papal treasury; the preaching of these campaigns served to strengthen the papal authority; the real purpose of the crusades in the eyes of the pope were the crushing of his enemies and the subordination of the power of the Roman curia of new peoples and regions.On the initiative of Innocent III, the Fourth Crusade to the East (1202-1204) was organized.Around this campaign there were many diplomatic intrigues, in which the first role belonged to the main trading power of Europe - Venice. Ven Etia, who provided the fleet to the crusader soldiers, wanted with their help to crush her trading rival - Constantinople. Philip of Swabia hoped, acting through the leader of the crusaders, his relative the Marquis of Montferrat, to strengthen the position of Germany in the Byzantine Empire: the overthrown Byzantine emperor Isaac II Angel turned to him for help, to whose daughter - Irina - Philip was married. Innocent III, for his part, saw in the campaign a good opportunity to realize the old anti-Byzantine plans of the papal curia; he counted, having created a threat to Constantinople, to achieve the subordination of the Greek Church to Catholic Rome. The cunning intrigues of Venice, not without the participation of the secret diplomacy of Innocent III, led this campaign to completely "unexpected" results: instead of Egypt, which was the official goal of the campaign, the knights of the cross, who "deviated from the path", first defeated the Dalmatian city of Zadar, and then headed for the Byzantine the capital. Innocent III, if not formally, then in essence, approved the change in direction of the crusader expedition. For the sake of decency, however, the pope threatened the crusaders with ecclesiastical measures if they raised the sword against Christian Constantinople. In 1204, the knights of the cross captured and brutally plundered the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Here a new state of the crusaders was formed - the Latin Empire. The Pope immediately declared the capture of Constantinople "a miracle of God." From the defeat of the Byzantine Empire, the Venetian merchants benefited most of all, having dealt an irreparable blow to their trading rival. Innocent III's hopes for the subordination of the Greek Church did not come true. Neither by preaching nor by force the papacy was able to impose union on the Greek population of the hated Latin Empire. Innocent III was also the initiator of the crusade against the southern French heretics - the Albigensians, which ended in a terrible defeat in the south of France. The same pope called on the German knighthood to march against the pagan Livs and approved in the Eastern Baltic the spiritual-knightly order of the sword-bearers for the conversion of the Baltic pagans to Christianity. He preached a crusade against the Muslim Moors in Spain, marked by Jewish pogroms and the victory over the Moors at Las Navas de Tolosa (1212). Speaking about the instruments of Innocent III's diplomacy, one should not forget about the most influential organizations of an international character, put in the service of the papacy, about mendicant orders - the Dominicans and Franciscans - created to fight the "heresy". They quickly infiltrated all the countries of Europe, built their nests in universities. The search for heresy and the terrible courts of the Inquisition were in the hands of the pope the most important means of pressure in matters of European politics. The successes of Innocent III's international politics, which made him de facto a political arbiter of Europe, were reinforced by the financial power of the papacy: the Roman curia became at this time the most powerful financial force in Europe. Siphoning funds from all over the Catholic world, the papacy is closely associated with the bankers' offices in various European countries. Another instrument of papal diplomacy was the right of the Roman curia, firmly held by Innocent III, to decide in the last instance all the court cases of the church. Since the circle of church affairs was unusually wide and vague, this gave the pope the opportunity to constantly intervene in the internal affairs of any state, which played a certain role in the development of ambassadorial affairs in Europe. To protect their interests in the papal curia, governments sent representatives to Rome - "procurators". As the number of cases in the papal curia increased, the procurators had to stay in Rome for long periods, and sometimes their position assumed the character of a permanent representation at the papal court. Among not so powerful states, Innocent III enjoyed great prestige. The Pope became the overlord of a number of kings who recognized themselves as his vassals. The Kingdom of Sicily, Sweden, Denmark became the vassal possessions of the pope. Portugal even earlier (1144) recognized vassal dependence on the papal throne and renewed the feudal oath under Innocent III. In 1204 the Aragonese king Pedro became the pope's vassal, in 1207 - the Polish king. The kings of Bulgaria and Serbia sought the patronage of Innocent, promising him in return for union with the Catholic Church. Even distant Armenia recognized vassal dependence on the pope. The sovereigns who so humbly bowed before Innocent III were either weak or in need of him. The struggle of Innocent III was also successful with the king of France Philip II, a cunning schemer and diplomat. Philip II, having married the Danish princess Ingeborg, soon removed her from himself and decided to marry Agnes of Meran. The pope blackmailed the king, making it difficult for him to divorce Ingeborga. The conclusion and dissolution of marriage alliances between crowned heads in those days was one of the most effective diplomatic techniques. However, Philip II was a bold and decisive politician, so Innocent III preferred to use him as an ally. The last major act of the reign of Innocent III was the convening of the Ecumenical Council in Lateran in November 1215. The council was attended by 412 bishops and 800 abbots or priori. The Council adopted 70 decrees (canons). Many of these decrees testify to the lofty and courageous mind of Innocent III, a high conception of the influence of the church on society, a sincere desire to improve the clergy and make them worthy of their role in piety, enlightenment and purity of morals. At the cathedral, instructions were drawn up for the upcoming crusade. The crusaders were to set off in May 1217; the gathering points of the individual detachments had already been determined, and the Pope promised to personally bless them. But he did not have time to do this: while traveling around Italy, he suddenly died in Perugia in July 1216, at the age of 56.