Gregory of Nazianzos, Saint 315PAPACYThe pope’s problems with Frederick II escalated. For
seven years, Frederick had put off a crusade. The new
pope immediately ordered Frederick to fulfill his obliga-
tion. On September 8, 1227, Frederick reluctantly set
sail from Brindisi. Within three days he turned back,
saying that he was seriously ill and that a companion
was dying in an outbreak of PLAGUE. On many previous
occasions, Frederick had done the same. Gregory no
longer trusted the emperor and excommunicated him
on September 20, 1227. Gregory wrote an encyclical to
justify the EXCOMMUNICATION. The emperor countered
with a manifesto condemning the actions of the pope.
The pope published his encyclical in the basilica of
Saint Peter on March 23, 1228, but was then insulted
and threatened by a Roman mob. The pope fled, first to
Viterbo and then to Perugia. Three months later, with
the pope still in exile, Frederick and a small army on
June 28, 1228, sailed for the PALESTINE. He asked the
blessing of the pope, but Gregory refused, saying that an
excommunicated emperor could not undertake a holy
war and released the crusaders from their oath of alle-
giance to Frederick. Frederick continued and conquered
CYPRUS, but when he reached the Holy Land, his mis-
sion turned into a diplomatic negotiation. With the sul-
tan of EGYPT, he signed a treaty at Jaffa that resulted in
Christian access to the cities of Jerusalem, Nazareth,
and Bethlehem in exchange for permission for the Mus-
lims to keep their MOSQUEat Jerusalem. The following
year Frederick had himself crowned king of Jerusalem.
Gregory denounced this treaty and mounted a papal
army to invade the emperor’s kingdom in SICILY. Freder-
ick II returned from the Holy Land and defeated it.
RECONCILIATION AND CONFRONTATION
WITH FREDERICK IIGregory still remained in exile until February 1230, when
he returned to Rome. The Treaty of San Germano was
signed by the two on July 20, 1230, restoring the old
papal possessions in Sicily to the pope and creating a
truce between the two leaders. Frederick’s excommunica-
tion was removed on August 20, 1230, and the pope and
emperor met in reconciliation at Anagni.
The peace between these two strong-willed men was
short. The emperor sought unencumbered temporal
power, so that the pope would not have any right to
interfere in his domains in Italy. Gregory believed the
pope should have ultimate power over Italian affairs.
Frederick assisted the pope in suppressing some minor
revolts as required by the Treaty, but soon began to ignore
most of its provisions. Frederick wanted to clarify his
authority over Lombardy and TUSCANY, so launched a
war and won a key battle at Cortenuova on November
27, 1237. In the pope’s eyes, the freedom of Lombardy
was necessary for the safety of the pontifical states. To
protect Lombardy from the emperor, Gregory allied with
Tuscans, Umbrians, and Lombards to thwart Frederick’s
progress. Frederick kept winning battles and even
seemed to want to restore to the empire power over the
Patrimony of Saint Peter and all of Italy. After Frederick
invaded SARDINIA, a papal fiefdom, Gregory excommuni-
cated the emperor again on March 12, 1239, believing
that there would not be peace as long as Frederick
remained emperor. He placed a ban on any German
princes who supported the emperor, threatening their
excommunication.
Despite these threats, many princes remained aligned
with Frederick. Encouraged by this, Frederick declared
himself to be the master of the Papal States. Gregory then
ordered all bishops to meet in Rome on March 31, 1241.
Frederick forbade the bishops to travel to Rome and his
troops captured several. Frederick also sent an army to
Rome and camped outside the city to intimidate the pope
and his clergy. Before a confrontation could come to a
lead, Gregory died suddenly in Rome on August 22, 1241,
leaving the confrontation with Frederick unresolved.ECCLESIASTICAL LEGACY
Gregory IX recognized the importance of education and
accepted ARISTOTLE’s teachings as a basis for Scholastic
philosophy. He commissioned William of Auvergne (ca.
1180–1249) to make Aristotle’s work accessible to stu-
dents. He bestowed privileges on the University of Paris,
his alma mater. Gregory had a long and supportive rela-
tionship with Saints FRANCISand DOMINIC. He was a car-
dinal protector of the Franciscans. He also acted as an
adviser to SAINTCLARE OFASSISI.
Gregory tried to reunite the Roman and Greek
churches but failed. The pope saw the Crusades as neces-
sary to the continued growth and defense of Christianity.
At the request of King LOUISIX of FRANCE, he sent a papal
legate to Louis’s crusade against the ALBIGENSIANSin south-
ern France. Gregory showed little patience with or com-
passion toward any perceived HERESY. He promulgated a
law that condemned unrepentant heretics to burning and
repentant heretics to life imprisonment. This was a basic
principle for the medieval INQUISITION, through which the
church was to pursue heretics for centuries to come.
Further reading: David Abulafia, Frederick II: A
Medieval Emperor(London: Penguin, 1988); Eamon Duffy,
Saints & Sinners: A History of the Popes (New Haven,
Conn.: Yale University Press, 1997); Thomas Curtis Van
Cleve, The Emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen: Immutator
Mundi(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1972).Gregory of Nazianzos, Saint(the Theologian)
(329/330–389/390)writer, poet
The well-educated son of the bishop of Nazianzos in
Cappadocia, Gregory was born about 329/330 and
became bishop of CONSTANTINOPLEon November 27,
380–381. He taught rhetoric and chaired the Second Ecu-