INNOCENT
16
INNOCENT
Tolosa, in 1212. He protected the people of Norway
against their tyrannical king, Sverri, and after the
king's death arbitrated between the two claimants to
the Norwegian throne. He mediated between King
Emeric of Hungary and his rebellious brother An-
drew, sent royal crown and sceptre to King Johanni-
tius of Bulgaria anil had his legate crown him king at
Tirnovo, in 1204; he restored ecclesiastical discipline
in Poland; arbitrated between the two claimants to
the royal crown of Sweden; made partly successful at-
tempts to reunite the Greek with the Latin Church and
extended his beneficent influence practically over the
whole Christian world. Like many preceding popes,
Innocent had at heart the recovery of the Holy Land,
and for this end undertook the Fourth Crusade. The
Venetians had pledged themselves to transport the en-
tire Christian army and to furnish the fleet with pro-
visions for nine months, for S.5,000 marks. When the
crusaders were unable to pay the sum, the Venetians
proposed to bear the financial expenses themselves on
condition that the crusaders would first assist them
in the conquest of the city of Zara. The crusaders
yielded to their demands and the fleet started down
the Adriatic on 8 October, 1202. Zara had scarcely
been reduced when Alexius Comnenus arrived at the
camp of the crusaders and pleaded for their help to re-
place his father, Isaac Angelus, on the throne of Con-
stantinople from which he had been deposed by his
cruel brother Alexius. In return he promised to re-
unite the Greek with the Latin Church, to add 10,000
soldiers to the ranks of the crusaders, and to con-
tribute money and provisions to the crusade. The
Venetians, who saw their own commercial advantage
in the taking of Constantinople, induced the crusaders
to yield to the prayers of Alexins, and Constantinople
was taken by them in 1204. Isaac Angelus was re-
stored to his throne but soon replaced by a usurper.
The crusaders took Constantinople a second time on
12 April, 1204, and after a horrible pillage, Baldwin,
Count of Flanders, was proclaimed emperor and the
Greek Church was united with the Latin. The re-
union, as well as the Latin empire in the East, did not
last longer than two generations. When Pope Inno-
cent learned that the Venetians had diverted the cru-
saders from their purpose of conquering the Holy
Land he expressed his great dissatisfaction first at
their conquest of Zara, and when they proceeded
towards Constantinople he solemnly protested and
finally excommunicated the Venetians who had caused
the digression of the crusaders from their original pur-
pose. Since, however, he could not undo what had
been accomplished he did his utmost to destroy the
Greek schism and latinize the Eastern Empire.
Innocent was also a zealous protector of the true Faith and a strenuous opponent of heresy. His chief activity was turned against the Albigenses who had become so numerous and aggressive that they were no longer satisfied with being adherents of heretical doctrines but even endeavoured to spread their heresy by force. They were especially numerous in a few cities of Northern Italy and in Southern France. During the first year of hfs pontificate Innocent sent the two Cistercian monks Rainer and Ciuido to the Albigenses in France to preach to them the true Faith and dispute with them on controverted topics of religion. The two Cistercian missionaries were soon followed by Diego, Bishop of Osma, then by St. Dominic and the two papal legates, Peter of Castelnau and Raoul. When, however, these peace- ful missionaries were ridiculed and despised by the Albigenses, and the papal legate Castelnau was assassinated in 1208, Innocent resorted to force. He ordered the bishops of Southern France to put under interdict the participants in the murder and all the towns that gave shelter to them. He was espe- cially incensed against Count Raymond of Toulouse who had previously been excommunicated by the
murdered legate and whom, for good reasons, the
pope suspected as the instigator of the murder. The
count protested his innocence and submitted to the
pope, probably out of cowardice, but the pope placed
no further trust in him. He called upon France to
raise an army for the suppression of the Albigenses.
Under the leadership of Simon of Montfort a cruel
campaign ensued against the Albigenses which,
despite the protest of Innocent, soon turned into a
war of conquest (see Albigense.>s). The culminating
point in the glorious reign of Innocent was his con-
vocation of the Fourth Lateran Council, which he
solemnly opened on 15 November, 1215. It was by
far the most important council of the Middle Ages.
Besides deciding on a general crusade to the Holy
Land, it issued seventy reformatory decrees, the first
of which was a creed {Firmiter credimus), against the
Albigenses and Waldenses, in which the term "tran-
substantiation " received its first ecclesiastical sanc-
tion. (See Lateran Councils.)
The labours of Innocent in the inner government of the Church appear to be of a very subordinate character when they are put beside his great polit- ico-ecclesiastical achievements, which brought the papacy to the zenith of its power. Still they are worthy of memory and have contributed their share to the glory of his pontificate. During his reign the two great founders of the mendicant orders, St. Dominic and St. Francis, laid before him their scheme of reforming the world. Innocent was not blind to the vices of luxury and indolence which had in- fected many of the clergy and part of the laity. In Dominic and Francis he recognized two mighty adversaries of these vices and he sanctioned their projects with words of encouragement. The lesser religious orders which he approved are the Hospi- tallers of the Holy Ghost on 23 April, 1198, the Trini- tarians on 17 December, 1198, and the Humiliati, in June, 1201. In 1209 he commissioned the Cistercian monk. Christian, afterwards bishop, with the con- version of the heathen Prussians. At Rome he built the famous hospital Santo Spirito in Sassia, which became the model of all future city hospitals and exi.sts to the pre.sent time (see Walsh, "The Popes and Science", New York, 1908, p. 249-258; and the article HospiT.\Ls). The following saints were canonized by Innocent: Homobonus, a merchant of Cremona, on 12 January, 1199 ; the Empress C'unegond, on 3 March, 1200; William, Duke of Aquitaine in 1202; Wulstan, Bishop of York, on 14 May, 1203; Proco- pius, abbot at Prague, on 2 June, 1204; and Gui- bert, the founder of the monastery at Gembloux, in 1211. Innocent died at Perugia, while travelling through Italy in the interests of the crusade which had been decided upon at the Lateran Council. He was buried in the cathedral of Perugia where his body remained until Leo XIII, a great admirer of Inno- cent, had it transferred to the Lateran in December, 1891. Innocent is also the author of various literary works reprinted in P. L., CCXIV-CCXVIII, where may also be found his mmierous extant epistles and decretals, and the historically important "Registrum Innocentii III super negotio imperii ". His first work, " De contemptu mundi, sive de miseria con- ditionis humane libri III" (P. L., CCXVII, 701- 746) was written while he lived in retirement during the pontificate of t'elestine III. It is an ascetical treatise and gives evidence of Innocent's deep piety and knowledge of men. Concerning it see Reinlein, "Papst Innocenz der dritte und seine Schrift 'De contemptu mundi'" (Erlangen, 1871). His trea- tise " De .sacro altaris mysterio liliri VI" (P. L., CCXVII, 773-916) is of great liturgical value, because it represents tlie Roman Mass as it was at the time of Innocent. See Franz, "Die Messe im deutschen Mittelalter" (Freiburg, 1902), 453-457. It was printed repeatedly, and translated into German by
