NICHOLAS IV

This article appears in Volume V19, Page 650 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

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NICHOLAS IV . (Girolamo Masci),

pope

from the 22nd of February 1288 to the 4th of April 1292, a native of Ascoli and a Franciscan monk, had been legate to the Greeks under Gregory X. in 1272, succeeded St Bonaventura as general of his order in 1274, was made cardinal-priest of Sta Prassede and Latin patriarch of

Constantinople

CONSTANTINOPLE
CONSTANTINOPLE, COUNCILS OF

by Nicholas III., cardinal-

bishop

of Palestrina by Martin IV., and succeeded Honorius IV. after a ten-months' vacancy in the papacy. He was a pious, peace-loving monk with no ambition save for the church, the crusades and the extirpation of heresy. He steered a middle course between the factions at Rome, and sought a

settlement

SETTLEMENT
SETTLEMENT, ACT OF

of the
Sicilian question. In May 1 289 he crowned Charles II. king of Naples and Sicily after the latter had expressly recognized papal suzerainty, and in February 1291 concluded a treaty with

Alphonso

ALPHONSO

III. of Aragon and Philip IV. of France looking toward the expulsion of James of Aragon from Sicily. The loss of Ptolemais in 1291 stirred the

pope

to renewed enthusiasm for a crusade. He sent the celebrated Franciscan missionary, John of Monte Corvino, with some companions to labour among the

Tatars

TATARS (the common form Tartars is less correct)

and Chinese. He issued an important constitution on the 18th of July 1289, which granted to the cardinals one-half of all income accruing to the Roman see and a share in the

financial

FINANCIAL

management, and thereby paved the way for that independence of the college of cardinals which, in the following century, was to be of detriment to the papacy. Nicholas died in the palace which he had built beside Sta Maria

Maggiore

MAGGIORE, LAGO (Lacus Verbanus of the Romans; Fr. Lac Majeur; Ger. Langensee)

, and was succeeded by Celestine V.
See " Les Registres de Nicolas IV.," ed. by Ernest Langlois in Bibliotheque des ecoles francaises d'Athenes et de Rome (Paris, 18861893) ; A. Potthast, Regesta pontif. Roman. vol. 2 (Berlin, 1875) ; F. Gregorovius, Rome in the Middle Ages, vol. 5, trans. by Mrs G. W. Hamilton (London, 19001902) ; O. Schiff, " Studien zur Geschichte Papst Nikolaus IV." in Historische Studien (1897); W. Norden, Das Papsttum u. Byzanz (Berlin, i9o3) ; R. Rohricht, Geschichte des Konigreichs Jerusalem (

Innsbruck

INNSBRUCK

, 1898); J. B. Sagmuller, Die Thatigkeit u. Stellung der Kardinale bis Pabst Bonifaz VIII. (Freiburg-i.-B., 1896) ; J. P.

Kirsch

KIRSCH (or KIRSCHENWASSER)

, " Die Finanzverwaltung des Kardinalkollegiums im 13. u. 14. Jahrhunderte " in Kirchengeschichtliche Studien (1895). (C. H. HA.)

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