Innocent III.
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born 1160/61, Gavignano Castle, Campagna di Roma, Papal States
died July 16, 1216, Perugia
original name Lothair Of Segni, Italian Lotario Di Segni
Pope from 1198 to 1216, under whom the medieval papacy reached the height of its prestige and power. He presided over the Fourth Crusade and the Albigensian Crusade (against French heretics). By approving the proposed work of St. Dominic and St. Francis of Assisi and their followers, he gave legitimate standing to itinerant preaching and apostolic poverty, hitherto regarded as signs of heresy, and convoked the important fourth Lateran Council of 1215.
Copyright © 1994-2002 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Sources
- Encylopedia Britannica 2002, Expanded Edition DVD
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