Pope Alexander III

Pope from 1159 to 1181, Alexander III opposed Emperor Frederick I and defended papal authority through a prolonged schism and conflict with imperial power.

Peace of Venice: The 1177 agreement that reconciled Pope Alexander III with Emperor Frederick I and ended their open conflict. It formalized Frederick's recognition of Alexander after years of supporting rival popes.
Papal conclave: A meeting of cardinals convened to elect a pope. A divided cardinalate elected Alexander amid pressure from Frederick I.
Thomas Becket: The archbishop of Canterbury who resisted King Henry II's efforts to control the English Church. Alexander supported Becket during his conflict with Henry II over ecclesiastical authority.
Battle of Legnano: The 1176 battle in which the Lombard League defeated Frederick I's forces. The defeat weakened Frederick's ability to impose his preferred pope.
Third Lateran Council: The 1179 church council that established a two-thirds vote of cardinals as the rule for papal elections. Its election rule addressed the divisions that had produced Alexander's contested election.
Victor IV (antipope): The antipope supported by Emperor Frederick I against Pope Alexander III from 1159 until 1164. His rival claim turned the disputed election into a prolonged schism.
Henry II of England: King of England from 1154 to 1189, whose rule extended across much of western France. His reconciliation with Alexander helped isolate Frederick's rival papacy.
Siege of Ancona (1173): A 1173 siege in which imperial forces failed to capture the Italian port city of Ancona. The city's resistance illustrated the limits of Frederick's influence in Italy during Alexander's schism.
Papal States: Territories in central Italy governed by the pope as a temporal ruler from the eighth century until 1870. Alexander's conflict with the emperor concerned papal independence as well as church leadership.
Paschal III: The antipope backed by Frederick I from 1164 to 1168, succeeding Victor IV. He continued the imperial line of rival claimants after Victor IV's death.

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