View source for Pope Adrian V

{{Short description|Head of the Catholic Church in 1276}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
|type=Pope
|honorific-prefix= [[List of popes|Pope]]
|name=Adrian V
|title=[[Bishop of Rome]]
|image = Arnolfo di cambio, monumento di papa adriano V, post 1276, 05.jpg
|caption = Tomb of Adrian V, [[St. Peter’s Basilica]]
|birth_name=Ottobuono de' Fieschi
|church = [[Catholic Church]]
|term_start=11 July 1276
|term_end=18 August 1276
|predecessor=[[Innocent V]]
|successor=[[John XXI]]
|previous_post = {{Indented plainlist|
* [[Sant'Adriano al Foro|Cardinal-Deacon of Sant’Adriano al Foro]] (1251–1276)
* [[Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore|Archpriest of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore]] (1262–1276)
}}
|cardinal = December 1251
|created_cardinal_by = [[Pope Innocent IV|Innocent IV]]
|birth_date=c. 1210–1220
|birth_place= [[Genoa]], [[Republic of Genoa]]
|death_date=18 August 1276
|death_place=[[Viterbo]], [[Papal States]]
|coat_of_arms = C o a Adriano V.svg
|other=Adrian}}
[[File:Arms of the house of Fieschi.svg|175px|right|thumb|Coat of Arms of the Fieschi family.]]

'''Pope Adrian V''' ({{langx|la|Hadrianus V}}; {{circa|1210/1220}} – 18 August 1276), born '''Ottobuono de' Fieschi''', was the head of the [[Catholic Church]] and ruler of the [[Papal States]] from 11 July 1276 to his death on 18 August 1276. He was an envoy of [[Pope Clement IV]] sent to England in May 1265 who successfully completed his task of resolving disputes between King [[Henry III of England]] and his [[baron]]s. Adrian V was elected pope following the death of [[Innocent V]], but died of natural illness before being [[ordained]] to the [[priesthood]].

In the ''[[Divine Comedy]]'', [[Dante]] meets Adrian V in the fifth terrace of [[Purgatory|''Purgatorio'']] where Adrian V cleanses for the [[vice]] of [[avarice]].

==Biography==
Ottobuono belonged to a feudal family of Liguria, the [[Fieschi]], counts of [[Lavagna]]. His first clerical position came in 1243, when he was created a papal [[chaplain]]. Subsequently, he received several ecclesiastical [[benefice]]s, becoming [[archdeacon]] in [[Bologna]] (1244) and [[Parma]] (1244/48–1255), [[Canon (priest)|canon]] and chancellor of the cathedral chapter in [[Reims]] (1243–1250), canon and dean of the chapter in [[Piacenza]] (c. 1247) and canon of the [[cathedral chapter]] in [[Paris]] (1244/45–1270). In December 1251, he was created [[Cardinal Deacon]] of San Adriano by his uncle [[Pope Innocent IV]]. He was also [[archpriest]] of the [[Patriarch#Catholic Church|patriarch]]al [[Liberian Basilica]] (attested from 1262).

He was sent to England in 1265 by [[Pope Clement IV]] to mediate between King [[Henry III of England]] and his barons,<ref name=Loughlin>{{CE1913|last=Loughlin |first=James |wstitle=Pope Adrian V |volume=1}}</ref> and to preach the [[Crusades]]. Fieschi was related distantly, by affinity, to Henry III; his sister had married [[Thomas II of Savoy]], who was a cousin of Henry's wife, [[Eleanor of Provence]].<ref>Howell, Margaret (1998). "Eleanor of Provence: Queenship in 13th Century England", p.&nbsp;154. Blackwell Publishing, Malden Massachusetts. {{ISBN|0-631-17286-6}}</ref>

He remained in England for several years as the [[papal legate]], serving from October 1265 to July 1268. His diplomatic position was such that his name is still on the oldest extant piece of [[English law|English]] [[statute law]], the [[Statute of Marlborough]] of 1267, where the formal title mentions as a witness "the Lord Ottobon, at that time legate in England". (Also on this legation was a young diplomat, the future [[Pope Boniface VIII|Boniface VIII]].) In April 1268 he issued a set of [[canon law|canons]], which formed the basis of church law in England until the [[Protestant Reformation]] of the sixteenth century.

Under the influence of [[Charles I of Anjou]], he was [[Papal conclave, July 1276|elected pope]] to succeed [[Innocent V]] on 11 July 1276 but died at [[Viterbo]] on 18 August 1276 from illness without ever having been [[ordination|ordained]] to the [[priest]]hood.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Hadrian V |first=Ghislain |last=Brunel |encyclopedia=The Papacy: An Encyclopedia |editor-first=Philippe |editor-last=Levillain |volume=2: Gaius-Proxies |publisher=Routledge |year=2002 |page=685 |isbn=0-415-92229-1 }}</ref> He is buried there in the church of [[San Francesco alla Rocca]]. His funeral monument is attributed to [[Arnolfo di Cambio]]. Adrian V was the third pope in the "[[Year of Four Popes]]" of 1276.

He annulled [[Pope Gregory X]]'s [[Papal bull|bull]] on the holding of [[papal conclave]]s, but died before enacting new regulations.<ref name=Loughlin/>

==In literature==

=== Pope Adrian V in Dante's ''Divine Comedy'' ===
In the ''[[Divine Comedy]]'', [[Dante Alighieri]] meets Pope Adrian V in the fifth terrace of ''Purgatorio'' (reserved for the avaricious and the prodigal) where Adrian V cleanses for the vice of avarice (''Purgatorio'' 19.79-145). Since the souls in this terrace purge their vices by facing down on earth and fixing their eyes on the ground, Adrian V’s identity is not revealed by facial recognition but through indirect inference. His papal identity is inferred from his Latin phrase, ''scias quod ego fui successor Petri'' ("I was Peter’s successor," ''Purgatorio'' 19.99), and by his words ''fui'' ''roman pastore'' ("I was a Roman shepherd," ''Purgatorio'' 19.107). These phrases reveal the papal identity of Adrian V, given that popes are successors of the first pope, [[Saint Peter]], and shepherds of the church in the teachings of the [[Catholic Church]]. Adrian V also describes his family name as being descended from those that reside between [[Sestri Levante|Sestri]] and [[Chiavari]] (''Purgatorio'' 19.100-102). This reveals his family title, [[Fieschi family|Fieschi]], as the family held extensive land between the two cities.<ref name=":0">''Dante Encyclopedia'', Taylor & Francis Group, 2000.</ref>

There exists a lack of historical evidence about Adrian V’s avaricious behavior. Some scholars believe that Dante’s view of Adrian V emanated from reading excerpts from [[John of Salisbury]]'s ''[[Policraticus]]'', in which the author anonymously attributed the behavior of avarice to [[Pope Adrian IV|Adrian IV]]. Dante likely interpreted the excerpts as referring to Adrian V instead of Adrian IV.<ref name=":0" />

Despite the possible misinterpretation of Adrian V’s character, his presence in the ''Comedy'' help to understand Dante’s views about the Church and the role of women in achieving man’s [[Salvation in Christianity|salvation]]. Pope Adrian V’s representation of avarice reflects the zealous ambition for earthly power and goods.<ref name=":1">Scott, John A. 1932- (John Alfred). ''Dante's Political Purgatory.'' University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1996.</ref> Adrian V describes that he had to detach himself from the love of worldly things that came to be after he was assigned the papal sit in the short period he was a pope (''Purgatorio'' 19.106-114).<ref name=":1" /> This symbolizes Dante’s view of how avarice was at the heart of the church and popes in the Middle Ages were excessively drawn to earthly things and preoccupied with exercising power.<ref name=":1" /> Moreover, Adrian V outlines not only his avarice but also the corrupt nature of his family, with the exception of his niece, [[Alagia Fieschi]] (''Purgatorio'' 19.142-145). In a melancholic tone, Adrian V expresses how Alagia is the only remaining virtuous woman whose extension of prayer can help his journey of salvation. Alagia's portrayal reflects Dante’s view of how Christian women play a miraculous role in men’s achievement of salvation through their prayer.<ref>Paolucci, Anne. ''The Women in Dante's Divine Comedy and Spenser's Faerie Queene.'' Griffon House Publications, Dover, Del, 2005.</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Christianity|History}}
*[[List of popes]]

==References==
<references />

===Bibliography===
* {{Cite CE1913|wstitle=Pope Adrian V}}
* Cristofori, Francesco (1887). ''Le tombe dei pape in Viterbo''. Siena 1887.
* Sternfeld, Richard (1905). ''Der Kardinal Johann Gaetan Orsini (Papst Nikolaus III.) 1244-1277''. Berlin: E. Ebering 1905.
* Gregorovius, Ferdinand (1906). ''History of Rome in the Middle Ages'', Volume V.2 second edition, revised. London: George Bell, 1906.
* Schöpp, Natalie (1916). ''Papst Hadrian V (Kardinal Ottobuono Fieschi)''. Heidelberg; C. Winter 1916.
* Gatto, Ludovico (2000). "[http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/adriano-v_%28Enciclopedia-dei-Papi%29/ Adriano V]," ''Enciclopedia dei papi'' (ed. Manlio Simonetti et al.) Vol. I (Roma 2000), pp.&nbsp;425–427.
* Maxwell-Stuart, P. G. ''Chronicle of the Popes: The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Papacy from St. Peter to the Present''. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2002, pp.&nbsp;117–118. {{ISBN|0-500-01798-0}}.
* Paravicini Bagliani, A. (1972). ''Cardinali di curia e familiae cardinalizie dal 1227 al 1254'', Padova 1972, pp.&nbsp;358–365
* {{cite odnb |title=Ottobuono [Ottobuono or Ottobono Fieschi; later Adrian V] (c.1205–1276) |first=Brenda M.|last= Bolton |year=2004 |id=50348}}
==External links==
*{{commonscat-inline|Hadrianus V|Adrian V}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-rel|ca}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Pope Innocent V|Innocent V]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Pope]]|years=1276}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Pope John XXI|John XXI]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Popes}}
{{Catholicism}}
{{History of the Catholic Church}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adrian 05}}
[[Category:13th-century births]]
[[Category:1276 deaths]]
[[Category:13th-century Genoese people]]
[[Category:13th-century popes]]
[[Category:Popes]]
[[Category:Italian popes]]
[[Category:Diplomats for the Holy See]]
[[Category:Cardinal-nephews]]
[[Category:Viterbo Papacy]]
[[Category:Fieschi family]]
[[Category:Characters in the Divine Comedy]]