Nomos AG
Auction 25 20 Nov 2022
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ITALY. Papal States. Martin IV (Simon de Brion), 1281-1285. Seal or Bulla (Lead, 37 mm, 47.30 g, 12 h), Rome. S PA S PE Nimbate facing heads of St. Paul, bald and with a long, linear beard, on the left and St. Peter, with curly hair and beard composed of pellets, on the right; between them, Latin cross on a long staff and base; all within a circular, dotted border . Rev. MAR/TINVS/ •PP• IIII• in three lines, the whole within a circular, dotted border. Serafini 2. Clear and nicely toned. Some roughness and marks, otherwise, very fine.
From the Dr. Pelc Dens Sapientiae Collection, USA.
Pope Martin IV was a Frenchman, Simon de Brion, who was made a cardinal priest by Urban IV in 1261. For most of the following years Simon remained in France as a papal legate, while the great struggle between the French (pro-Angevin) and Italian (pro. Orsini et al.) factions raged in the Church. When Simon de Brion was elected Pope Martin IV in Viterbo on 22 February 1281 anti-French feelings were so strong in Rome that he had to be crowned in Orvieto on 23 March. From then on he never set foot in Rome. He was an unabashed French partisan during all of his reign: in his attempt to aid Charles of Anjou he excommunicated Michael VIII (thus destroying any chance of reconciliation between the Roman and Orthodox Churches; after the Sicilian Vespers of 1282 he excommunicated Peter III of Aragon, but all of Sicily ignored him.
From the Dr. Pelc Dens Sapientiae Collection, USA.
Pope Martin IV was a Frenchman, Simon de Brion, who was made a cardinal priest by Urban IV in 1261. For most of the following years Simon remained in France as a papal legate, while the great struggle between the French (pro-Angevin) and Italian (pro. Orsini et al.) factions raged in the Church. When Simon de Brion was elected Pope Martin IV in Viterbo on 22 February 1281 anti-French feelings were so strong in Rome that he had to be crowned in Orvieto on 23 March. From then on he never set foot in Rome. He was an unabashed French partisan during all of his reign: in his attempt to aid Charles of Anjou he excommunicated Michael VIII (thus destroying any chance of reconciliation between the Roman and Orthodox Churches; after the Sicilian Vespers of 1282 he excommunicated Peter III of Aragon, but all of Sicily ignored him.