Satirical cartoon of Celestine III crowningEmperor Henry VI with his feet. (This image refers to him as "Coelestinus 4," as the author consideredTeobaldo Boccapecci as Pope Celestine II.)
Celestine waselected on 29/30 March 1191 and ordained a priest 13 April 1191.[2] He crowned Emperor Henry VI a day or two after his ordination.[4] In 1192, Celestine recognizedTancred as king of Sicily, despite Henry VI's wife's claim.[5] He threatened toexcommunicate Henry VI for wrongfully keeping KingRichard I of England imprisoned, but he could do little else since the college of cardinals were against it.[5][6]He placedPisa under aninterdict, which was lifted by his successor,Innocent III in 1198.[7]
Celestine, in 1192, sent a cardinal-priest of St. Lorenzo, Cinthius, to Denmark to address the discord between the Danish princes.[8] Upon Cinthius' return to Rome, Celestine issued three papal bulls;Cum Romana ecclesia,Etsi sedes debeat,Quanto magnitudinem tuam. These bulls advised the archbishop Absalon of Lund to instruct the King of Denmark to release the bishop of Schleswig.[9] The bulls also threatened to excommunicate the offending Duke Valdemar, who had imprisoned the bishop of Schleswig, and place the kingdom of Denmark under interdict.[9] The bishop would stay imprisoned until Pope Innocent III restarted the process in 1203.[10]
Celestine condemned KingAlfonso IX of León for his marriage toTheresa of Portugal on the grounds of consanguinity.[11] Portugal and León were placed under interdict.[11] Then, in 1196, he excommunicated Alfonso IX for allying with theAlmohad Caliphate while making war on Castile.[12] Following his marriage withBerengaria of Castile, Celestine excommunicated Alfonso and placed an interdict over León.[13]
In December 1196, Celestine issued a bull acknowledging the possessions of theTeutonic Knights.[14]
Clarke, Peter D. (2007).The Interdict in the Thirteenth Century: A question of collective guilt. Oxford University Press.
Cross, F.L., ed. (1997). "Celestine III".The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Oxford University Press.
Duggan, Anne J. (2016). "Hyacinth Bobone: Diplomat and Pope". In Doran, John; Smith, Damian J. (eds.).Pope Celestine III (1191-1198): Diplomat and Pastor. Routledge. pp. 1–30.
Edbury, Peter W. (2016). "Celestine III, the Crusade and the Latin East". In Doran, John; Smith, Damian J. (eds.).Pope Celestine III (1191-1198): Diplomat and Pastor. Routledge. pp. 129–144.
Lay, Stephen (2009).The Reconquest Kings of Portugal: Political and Cultural Reorientation on the Medieval Frontier. Palgrave Macmillan.
Lower, Michael (2014). "The Papacy and Christian Mercenaries of Thirteenth-Century North Africa".Speculum.89 (3 JULY). The University of Chicago Press:601–631.doi:10.1017/S0038713414000761.S2CID154773840.
Moore, John Clare (2003).Pope Innocent III (1160/61–1216): To root up and to plant. BRILL.
Nielsen, Torben K. (2016). "Celestine III and the North". In Doran, John; Smith, Damian J. (eds.).Pope Celestine III (1191-1198): Diplomat and Pastor. Routledge. pp. 159–178.
Poole, Austin Lane (1926). "The Emperor Henry VI". In Tanner, J.R.; Previte-Orton, C.W.; Brooke, Z.N. (eds.).The Cambridge Medieval History. Vol. V: Contest of empire and papacy. Cambridge at the University Press.
Robinson, I.S. (1990).The Papacy, 1073-1198: Continuity and Innovation. Cambridge University Press.
Robinson, I.S. (2004). "The institutions of the church, 1073-1216". In Luscombe, David; Riley-Smith, Jonathan (eds.).The New Cambridge Medieval History. Vol. IV: c.1024-c.1198, Part 1. Cambridge University Press.
Robinson, I.S. (2006). "The papacy". In Luscombe, David; Riley-Smith, Jonathan (eds.).The New Cambridge Medieval History. Vol. IV: c.1024-c.1198, Part II. Cambridge University Press. pp. 317–384.
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