Born in Lucca, Ubaldo Allucingoli rose to prominence within the Catholic Church, eventually becoming Pope Lucius III. He was appointedcardinal byPope Innocent II and served aspapal legate inFrance,Sicily, and other regions. He was involved in negotiating theTreaty of Venice in 1177, and was elected pope in 1181.
During his papacy, Lucius III faced disputes with the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I over the territories of the late CountessMatilda of Tuscany. He also held asynod in 1184 that condemned various heretical groups. In 1185, preparations began for the Third Crusade, but Lucius III died inVerona before they were completed.
In 1177 Allucingoli took part in the negotiation of theTreaty of Venice where an agreement was reached between Alexander III andEmperor Frederick I who had been excommunicated for his support of the successive antipopesVictor IV,Paschal III andCallixtus III.[4] Allucingoli then served as a member of the court of arbitration regarding theTerre Matildiche, (lands formerly held by the lateCountess Matilda of Tuscany to which the Church and the Emperor both laid claim), but which reached no definite conclusion.
Cardinal Allucingoli waselected pope atVelletri in September 1181, taking the name Lucius. He lived atRome from November 1181 to March 1182, but dissensions in the city compelled him to pass the remainder of his pontificate in exile, mainly at Velletri,Anagni andVerona.[5]
At Velletri he received the ambassadors ofKing William of Scotland who had disputed with Alexander III's candidates to fill a vacancy of theSee of St. Andrews. The King appointed his chaplainHugh, but the canons of the chapter had elected the archdeaconJohn Scotus. Lucius freed the king from all ecclesiastical censures incurred under his predecessor and agreed to a compromise by which Hugh was raised to the see of St. Andrews and John becameBishop of Dunkeld. In March 1183, as a sign of good will the pope sent the king theGolden Rose.[4] In September of that year he went toSegni to canonizeSaint Bruno, who had been bishop of that commune.
Lucius was in dispute with theHoly Roman EmperorFrederick I over the disposal of the territories of the late CountessMatilda of Tuscany.[5] The controversy over the succession to the inheritance of the Countess had been left unsettled by an agreement of 1177, and the Emperor proposed in 1182 that theCuria should renounce its claim, receiving in exchange two-tenths of the imperial income from Italy, one-tenth for the Pope and the other tenth for the cardinals. Lucius consented neither to this proposition nor to another compromise suggested by Frederick I the next year, nor did a personal discussion between the two potentates at Verona in October 1184 lead to any definite result.
During the conflict between Frederick I and the papacy, the problem of heresy required a political solution. In 1184, Lucius decreedAd abolendam that all "counts, barons, rectors, [and] consuls of cities and other places" who did not join in the struggle against heresy when called upon to do so would be excommunicated and their territories placed under interdict – and declared that these provisions joined the apostolic authority of the church with the sanction of imperial power.[6]
In the meantime other causes of disagreement appeared when the Pope refused to comply with Frederick I's wishes as to the Imperial regulation of German episcopal elections which had taken place under the authority of the German-sponsoredantipopes, both during and after the recent schism (1159–1176), especially as regards an election to theSee of Trier in 1183 contested between the papal candidateFolmar of Karden and the imperial candidateRudolf of Wied.
In pursuance of his anti-imperial policy, Lucius declined in 1185 to crownHenry of Hohenstaufen as Frederick I'sdestined successor, and the breach between the Empire and the Curia became wider on questions of Italian politics.
Despite the fulminations of the first threeLateran Councils against married clergy, Lucius wrote in 1184 to the abbot ofSt. AugustineCanterbury suggesting that the parson ofWillesborough should retire and pass the benefice to his promising son, who could then pursue his studies,[7] showing continued papal tolerance of married clergy at this late date.[citation needed]
In 1185 preparations began for theThird Crusade in answer to the appeals of KingBaldwin IV of Jerusalem. Before they were completed, Lucius III died in Verona.
