Pope Nicholas II (Latin:Nicolaus II; c. 990/995 – 27 July 1061), otherwise known asGerard of Burgundy, was head of theCatholic Church and ruler of thePapal States from 24 January 1059 until his death in 27 July 1061. At the time of his election, he wasbishop of Florence.[1] During his Papacy, Nicholas II successfully expanded the influence of the papacy inMilan andsouthern Italy. He was also responsible for passing papal election reforms, the most significant of which restricted the deliberation of candidates to the Cardinal Bishops, thus beginning the process of removing the lesser clergy, religious and nobility of the City from the process.
Gerard of Burgundy was born inChevron,[2] in what is nowSavoy. He was acanon atLiège. In 1045 he becamebishop of Florence, where he restored the canonical life among the clergy of numerous churches.[3][4]
Following the death of Pope Stephen IX, thecount of Tusculum and his supporters took control of Rome and elected John Mincius, Bishop of Velletri asBenedict X, in violation of the decree of Pope Stephen IX, that the election of his successor be delayed[5] until the Archdeacon St. Hildebrand returned.[6]Hildebrand, archdeacon of the Roman church, was away on a diplomatic mission to Germany. When he heard of Benedict X's election, he opposed it, along with the Cardinals Umberto di Silva Candida and Peter Damian,[7] who then proceeded in May of the same year, to elect Gerard of Burgundy instead. In December 1058, with consent of the Queen Regent of Germany, the cardinals, clergy and laity who had opposed Benedict X's election met again atSiena and re-elected Gerard. He then took the name Nicholas II.[8]
Nicholas II proceeded towards Rome, along the way holding a synod atSutri, where, in the presence of the Tuscan rulerGodfrey the Bearded and the imperial chancellor, Guibert of Parma, he pronounced Benedict X deposed and excommunicated.[8] The supporters of Nicholas II then gained control of Rome and forced Benedict X to flee to Gerard of Galeria. Having arrived in Rome, Nicholas II then proceeded to wage war against Benedict X and his supporters withNorman assistance. At an initial battle inCampagna in early 1059, Nicholas II was not wholly successful. But later that same year, his forces conqueredPraeneste, Tusculum, andNumentanum, and in the autumn took Galeria, forcing Benedict X to surrender and renounce the papacy.
Nicholas II died on 27 July 1061, less than three years after becoming Pope.
To secure his position, Nicholas II at once entered into relations with the Normans. The pope wanted to re-takeSicily for Christianity, and he saw the Normans as the perfect force to crush the Muslims.[9] The Normans were by this time firmly established in southern Italy, and later in the year 1059 the new alliance was cemented atMelfi, where the pope, accompanied by Hildebrand, CardinalHumbert, and AbbotDesiderius ofMonte Cassino, solemnly investedRobert Guiscard with the duchies ofApulia,Calabria, andSicily, andRichard of Aversa with theprincipality of Capua, in return for oaths of fealty and the promise of assistance in guarding the rights of the Church. This arrangement, which was based on no firmer foundation than the forged "Donation of Constantine", was destined to give the papacy independence from both theEastern andWestern Empires. Its first substantial result was Norman aid in taking Galeria, where Antipope Benedict X was hiding, and the end of the subordination of the papacy to the Roman nobles.
Meanwhile, Nicholas II sentPeter Damian and BishopAnselm of Lucca as legates toMilan, to resolve the conflict between thePatarenes and the archbishop and clergy. The result was a fresh triumph for the papacy. ArchbishopWido, facing ruinous ecclesiastical conflict in Milan, submitted to the terms of the legates, which subordinated Milan to Rome. The new relation was advertised by the unwilling attendance of Wido and the other Milanese bishops at the council summoned to theLateran Palace in April 1059. This council not only continued the Hildebrandine reforms by sharpening the discipline of the clergy but marked an epoch in the history of the papacy by its famous regulation of future elections to the Holy See.
Previously,papal elections had effectively been controlled by the Roman aristocracy, unless theHoly Roman emperor was strong enough to be able to intervene from a distance to impose his will. As a result of the battles with the Antipope Benedict X, Nicholas II wished to reform papal elections. At the synod held in the Lateran at Easter, 1059, Pope Nicholas brought 113 bishops to Rome to consider several reforms, including a change in the election procedure. The electoral reform adopted by that synod amounted to a declaration of independence on the part of the church. Henceforth, the candidate was to be selected by the cardinal bishops, and the remaining cardinals, clergy, nobility and laity would approve or reject the nomination.
^Coulombe, Charles A.Vicars of Christ: A History of the Popes, Citadel Press, 2003, p. 210.
^François Marius Hudry (1982).Histoire des communes savoyardes (in French). Vol. 4. Roanne: Éditions Horvath. p. 79.ISBN978-2-7171-0263-5.. -Michel Germain (2007).Personnages illustres des Savoie (in French). Autre Vue. p. 144.ISBN978-2-9156-8815-3..
^ Schwartz, Gerhard.Die Besetzung der Bistümer Reichsitaliens unter den sächsischen und salischen Kaisern: mit den Listen der Bischöfe, 951-1122 (1907) Leipzig: B.G. Teubner. p. 209 (in lang|de)
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