William of Modena facts for kids
William of Modena (born around 1184 – died March 31, 1251) was an important Italian church leader and a special messenger for the Pope. He was also known as William of Sabina. He worked as a diplomat, which means he helped solve problems between different groups and leaders. Popes Honorius III and Gregory IX often sent him on important missions. He was especially busy in a region called Livonia in the 1220s and later helped with issues in Prussia in the 1240s. He even gave up his job as a bishop to focus only on these important diplomatic tasks. In 1244, he became a Cardinal-Bishop of Sabina, a very high position in the church, chosen by Pope Innocent IV.
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William's Work in Livonia
William was born in Piedmont, Italy. He became the bishop of Modena in 1222. Soon after, he was sent to Livonia as a special representative of the Pope. His job was to sort out disagreements after the Livonian Crusade, a religious war. Many groups had claims in Livonia, including Prince Bishop Albert, the Livonian Brothers of the Sword (a military group), other crusaders, and the Russians. It was tricky because they spoke different languages!
William was good at his job and quickly earned everyone's trust. He helped work out agreements on borders, church rules, taxes, money, and other issues. However, he couldn't solve the biggest problem: who would be in charge of Livonia. William tried to put Estonia directly under the Pope's control, even appointing his own governor. But this governor later gave the land to the Brothers of the Sword. A famous book called Chronicle of Henry of Livonia was likely written for William. It told him the history of the church in Livonia. The book mentions how William successfully helped Germans, Danes, and Estonians make peace in 1226 at a place called Tarwanpe.
Helping the Stedingers
Later, the Knights of the Teutonic Order heard about a difficult situation in Stedinger. They asked the Pope to step in to prevent a fight. In 1234, Pope Gregory IX asked William of Modena to help settle a disagreement between the Stedinger people and Archbishop Gerhard II. Unfortunately, the conflict wasn't resolved in time, and fighting still broke out.
The Prussia Question
Even while William was working in Livonia, new problems were starting that would keep him busy for another twenty years. These problems were about conquering and Christianizing Prussia. William had to mediate between two main groups: Christian of Oliva, the first bishop of Prussia who wanted to convert people peacefully, and the Knights of the Teutonic Order, who used military force.
Christian and Duke Conrad of Masovia had promised land to the Teutonic Knights. At first, only Christian's own Cistercian monks helped him. But when the Teutonic Knights arrived, another group of monks, the Dominicans, became very powerful in Prussia. Christian and his Cistercians were pushed aside.
William of Modena, who was the Pope's special envoy for Prussia, didn't fully support Christian. Christian was even captured by the pagan Prussians and held for ransom for six years (1233–1239). While Christian was imprisoned, William appointed another bishop for Prussia. In 1236, Pope Gregory IX gave William the power to divide Prussia into three church areas, called dioceses. The bishops for these new areas were chosen from the Dominican Order, as the Teutonic Knights wanted. No plans were made for the imprisoned Bishop Christian.
Finally, in 1239–1240, Christian was set free. He had to pay a large sum of money for his release. As soon as he was free, Christian complained to the Pope that the Teutonic Order was not baptizing people who wanted to convert and was treating new converts badly. He also said they were taking church property. Pope Gregory died before this problem was solved. Christian and the Teutonic Order then agreed that two-thirds of the conquered land in Prussia would belong to the Order, forming a Teutonic Order state, and one-third would belong to the bishop. The bishop would also have the right to perform church duties in the Order's territory.
William of Modena still wanted to divide Prussia into more church areas instead of letting the powerful knightly order control everything. He finally got permission from Pope Innocent IV to do this. So, on July 29, 1243, the Bishopric of Prussia was divided into four dioceses:
- Bishopric of Culm (in Kulmerland)
- Bishopric of Pomesania (in Pomesania)
- Bishopric of Ermland (in Warmia)
- Bishopric of Samland (in Sambia, now Kaliningrad)
These new areas were placed under the archbishopric of Riga, with Visby as its main city. Both Riga and Visby later joined the Hanseatic League, a group of trading cities. Christian, after all his hard work, was given the choice to pick any one of these four new bishop positions for himself, but he refused.
Meeting Emperor Frederick II
Meanwhile, William had been in Rome. When Pope Celestine IV died, the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II, who had been excommunicated (kicked out of the church), controlled the Pope's lands around Rome. Frederick tried to force the cardinals to choose a Pope he liked. The cardinals escaped to Anagni and chose Sinibaldo de' Fieschi, who became Innocent IV in June 1243.
Innocent IV had been a friend of Frederick II before becoming Pope. After the election, Frederick sent messages hoping for peace, but Innocent refused to meet. Two months later, Innocent sent his own messengers, including William of Modena, to meet the Emperor. William had already given up his bishop job by this time. The messengers were told to ask Frederick to release church leaders he had captured. They also had to ask him to make up for the harm he had caused the Church, which led Pope Gregory IX to excommunicate him. If Frederick denied doing anything wrong, the messengers were to suggest that a council of kings, church leaders, and princes should decide.
Frederick and Innocent made an agreement in March 1244. Frederick promised to meet the Church's demands, return the Church's lands, release the captured leaders, and forgive the Pope's allies. But Frederick was not sincere. He secretly caused trouble in Rome and refused to release the imprisoned church leaders.
Pope Innocent IV felt unsafe and unable to act freely because of the Emperor's military power. He decided to escape from Sutri in disguise to Civitavecchia and board a ship provided by his allies. He escaped to Genoa in June. Later, he went to Burgundy and then to Lyons, France, where he lived in exile for six years. He died in Lyons.
Where William is Buried
William of Modena was buried in a church belonging to the Dominicans in Lyon, France. It might be the église Notre-Dame-de-Confort.
See also
- Teutonic Order state
- Baldwin of Alna
- Christian of Oliva
- Otto of Tonengo
