Otto of Tonengo[a] (c. 1190 – 1250/1251) was an Italian papal diplomat andcardinal, first as deacon ofSan Nicola in Carcere from 1227 and then asbishop of Porto e Santa Rufina from 1244.
He is called in many English sourcesOtto Candidus, meaning "Otto the White", a name he used himself.[1]
Otto had a legal education, and had joined theRomancuria by 1225. His first mission was toEngland to raise funds for theSixth Crusade in 1225–1226. In 1227–1228, he undertook his first embassy toFrederick II, Holy Roman Emperor. In 1229–1231, he travelled extensively throughFrance, theLow Countries,Germany,Denmark andNorway on Papal business. In 1232–1233, he undertook his second embassy to Frederick II.
In 1237–1240, he was theapostolic legate in England,Scotland andIreland. This was by far his most successful mission. Returning to thecuria, he was captured by imperial forces in thebattle of Giglio in 1241. He remained imprisoned at least until 1243. In 1244–1245, he undertook a third and final embassy to Frederick II. Thereafter, his work slowed down and he is not heard of after 1249.
Otto was born atTonengo in thePiedmont, between about 1180 and 1200, into a family closely linked to the nobility ofCocconato andCavagnolo and to theFieschi ofGenoa. His family was among the feudatories of theMarquisate of Montferrat, but he was not a blood relative of MarquisWilliam III, as sometimes alleged.[2] He was a friend ofWilliam of Modena.[3]
Otto began his ecclesiastical career as acanon and generalassessor in thecathedral of Ivrea in the 1210s. He was soon acting as ajudge delegate, which suggests he had a legal education. In 1224, he was studying law at theUniversity of Bologna when he was sent beforePope Honorius III to protest on behalf of the school the regulations imposed by thepodestà andcomune. He received the rank ofmagister and may be themagister decretorum (master ofdecretals) named Otto who was a canon for a time in thecathedral of Bologna.[2]
Otto impressed Honorius III on his mission of 1224 and he was recruited into thePapal chancery and appointed aPapal chaplain. By February 1225, he held the post ofauditor litterarum contradictarum, auditor of contradicting letters. Later that year, as asubdeacon, he was sent toEngland to raise funds for theSixth Crusade. He left England before Easter 1226, having achieved little.[2]
After his return to Rome, Otto witnessed a testamentary codicil of a fellow Piedmontese, CardinalGuala Bicchieri. It is probably through connection such as this that he rose so fast in ecclesiastical ranks. He was appointed cardinal deacon of San Nicola in Carcere byPope Gregory IX on 18 September 1227, a little over two years since entering the Papal chancery. His first subscription as a cardinal is dated 23 September.[2]
Otto undertook numerous missions for Gregory IX in northern Europe. In December 1227, he was sent with CardinalThomas of Capua on a secret mission to theFrederick II, Holy Roman Emperor. By January 1228, he was back in Rome. In February 1229, he left on a majorlegation to northern Europe that lasted until 1231. In April, he was atParis assisting in the negotiations between the Queen RegentBlanche and CountRaymond VII of Toulouse that produced theTreaty of Paris (April 12).[2]
Otto subsequently pursued ecclesiastical reforms in theHoly Roman Empire. In 1229, he issued statutes for the reform of theBenedictines andAugustinians inAlsace, and between December 1229 and May 1230 he helped organize a new religious order, thePenitent Sisters of Saint Mary Magdalene inGermany. In the summer of 1230, he visitedDenmark andNorway. There he promulgated a statute forbidding clericalconcubinage. From Denmark, he went toBremen, thenMunich, thenCologne, where he convoked a council of the German church to be held atWürzburg. He met resistance from the secular leaders and the council was poorly attended. According to theRoyal Chronicle of Cologne, Otto "withdrew irate" (iratus recessit). He rejoined the Papal court atRieti in early summer 1231.[2]
Early in 1232, Gregory IX sent Otto with CardinalJames of Pecorara to northern Italy to negotiate a peace between the warring factions of theGuelphs and Ghibellines, the latter the allies of Emperor Frederick II. Frederick, however, caused negotiations to drag on for over a year before an agreement was reached.[2]
Between 1233 and 1237, Otto was mostly with the Papal court, acting asauditor again. In May 1236, KingHenry III of England requested a Papal legate be sent to his kingdom to resolve both internal disputes and a dispute with KingAlexander II of Scotland. In August 1236, Gregory IX appointed Otto as legatea latere. He left on 13 April 1237, arriving in England in July. His remit covered not only England, butScotland andIreland also.[2]
Otto presided over the negotiations between Henry III and Alexander II that began on 14 September 1237 and ended with the signing of theTreaty of York on 25 September. He then presided over thea council of the English church in London, which adopted reforms in line with theFourth Lateran Council of 1215. The statutes promulgated by Otto after this council are transmitted in more than sixty manuscripts.[2]
He mediated between theArchbishop of Canterbury andArchbishop of York in London in 1237. When in July 1237 he came toOsney Abbey, a brawl broke out between a group of scholars from theuniversity and the cardinal's men in which the legate's cook was killed. Otto himself was locked for safety in the abbey tower, emerging unscathed to lay the city underinterdict in reprisal. In 1240 he visitedShaftesbury Abbey and confirmed a charter of 1191, the first entered in theGlastonburychartulary.[citation needed]
Otto resided in London throughout most of 1238 and 1239. On 10 November 1238, he attended a meeting of the provincial chapter of Benedictine abbots and priors. In 1239, he went to Scotland to publish the excommunication of the Emperor Frederick II. In October he held a council inEdinburgh to introduce the Lateran reforms to the Scottish church. He visited Ireland to do the same before returning to London, where he spent the next year. He left England on 29 December 1240.[2]
Gregory IX had scheduled a general council for Easter 1241 at Rome. Otto, with many other churchman, including James of Pecorara, took ship at Genoa for Rome. The Genoese fleet was intercepted by the pro-imperial fleet ofPisa and defeated ina battle of Giglio on 3 May 1241. Otto and James were captured and brought toSalerno in theKingdom of Sicily. Otto received better treatment than James, perhaps because he was seen as more valuable in negotiations.[2]
After the death of Gregory IX on 21 August 1241, theCollege of Cardinals persuaded Frederick II to allow Otto and James to participate in the election of a successor provided that afterwards they return to prison. Frederick may have hoped to strengthen his hand through Otto's election as pope. Otto took part in both theelection of 1241 that choseCelestine IV and theelection of 1243 that choseInnocent IV.[2]
Freed at some point, Otto was transferred by Innocent IV from the diaconate of San Nicola to the bishopric of Porto e Santa Rufina on 28 May 1244. This constituted a promotion and a reward for his loyalty during his imprisonment. On the eve of theFirst Council of Lyon, Innocent dispatched him to Germany to negotiate peace with Frederick II and to regularize theHumiliati, a new religious movement.[2]
Otto's last years were spent in the Papal court atLyon, often acting as anauditor. He is last mentioned in February 1249 and a notice of 23 January 1251 records him as dead. He probably died late in 1250 or in the first weeks of 1251. He died at Lyon and was buried in the convent of theDominicans there.[2]
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