Pope Urban III

Pope Urban III (died 20 October 1187), born Uberto Crivelli, was Pope from 1185 to 1187.^[1] He was made cardinal and Archbishop of Milan by Pope Lucius III, whom he succeeded on 25 November 1185.^[2] He vigorously took up his predecessor's quarrels with Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, including the standing dispute about the disposal of the territories of the countess Matilda of Tuscany. Even after his elevation to the papacy, Urban continued to hold the archbishopric of Milan, and in this capacity refused to crown as King of Italy Frederick I's son Prince Henry, who had married Constance of Sicily, the heiress of the kingdom of Sicily. While Henry in the south cooperated with the rebel Senate of Rome, Frederick I in the north blocked the passes of the Alps and cut off all communication between the Pope, then living in Verona, and his German adherents. Urban III now resolved on excommunicating Frederick I, but the Veronese protested against such a proceeding being resorted to within their walls. He accordingly withdrew to Ferrara, but died before he could give effect to his intentions. His successor was Gregory VIII.

According to legend, he died of grief upon hearing news of the defeat of the Crusaders in July 1187 at the Battle of Hattin.

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from the 9th edition (1880) of an unnamed encyclopedia

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