WEBVTT - The Thousand-Day Conclave 0:00:00.240 --> 0:00:04.560 Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm 0:00:04.600 --> 0:00:11.040 and Mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised. In the 0:00:11.080 --> 0:00:15.280 early evening on May eighth, twenty twenty five, white smoke 0:00:15.480 --> 0:00:19.919 billowed from the Sistine Chapel in Rome. A new pope 0:00:20.000 --> 0:00:24.000 had been elected. Onlookers in the Vatican City and across 0:00:24.040 --> 0:00:27.000 the world waited with bated breath for over an hour, 0:00:27.400 --> 0:00:31.760 their eyes trained on the central logia of Saint Peter's Basilica, 0:00:32.080 --> 0:00:36.520 where the new Pontiff's identity and regnal name would be announced. 0:00:36.840 --> 0:00:41.080 After fewer than two days of voting. Before too long, 0:00:41.400 --> 0:00:46.239 Cardinal Dominique Mamberti emerged to share with the world that 0:00:46.360 --> 0:00:49.040 the new head of the Catholic Church would be the 0:00:49.080 --> 0:00:55.240 former Cardinal Robert Privost, now Leo the fourteenth. As Momberti 0:00:55.280 --> 0:01:00.120 put it in the traditional Latin, we have a new pope. 0:01:00.280 --> 0:01:03.480 This papal conclave, which turned out to be among the 0:01:03.640 --> 0:01:07.800 shortest in history, although not the shortest and not too 0:01:07.920 --> 0:01:12.200 much shorter than the previous two papal elections, inspired a 0:01:12.240 --> 0:01:17.680 great deal of public interest. Leo's predecessor, Pope Francis, was 0:01:17.720 --> 0:01:21.679 a widely beloved figure, and many people in the Catholic 0:01:21.720 --> 0:01:26.280 world and beyond were deeply invested in whether and how 0:01:26.400 --> 0:01:31.080 the new pontiff would carry on his legacy. Perhaps spurred 0:01:31.200 --> 0:01:35.320 on by the success of the twenty twenty four film Conclave, 0:01:35.920 --> 0:01:40.240 many people were also intrigued by the rituals and secrecy 0:01:40.680 --> 0:01:45.760 defining the election process to select a new pope. In fact, 0:01:46.040 --> 0:01:50.320 many of the rules governing this two day conclave and 0:01:50.680 --> 0:01:55.440 every conclave for hundreds of years, stem from the events 0:01:55.720 --> 0:01:59.760 of a single papal election in the past, the long 0:02:00.400 --> 0:02:05.240 conclave in history, and in many ways, the first conclave 0:02:05.280 --> 0:02:10.400 in history started in twelve sixty eight and took nearly 0:02:10.800 --> 0:02:17.000 three years, changing the way hopes are chosen forever. I'm 0:02:17.080 --> 0:02:26.280 Danish Schwartz and this is noble blood. Clement the Fourth 0:02:26.520 --> 0:02:30.080 was on his deathbed. It was twelve sixty eight and 0:02:30.160 --> 0:02:33.120 he had sat on the throne of Saint Peter for 0:02:33.400 --> 0:02:37.400 just under four years. He had lived a full life. 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:40.959 He had fought in war, studied law, married and had 0:02:40.960 --> 0:02:44.919 two daughters, all before becoming a widower and joining the church. 0:02:45.480 --> 0:02:49.000 And he had made some important achievements during his reign, 0:02:49.480 --> 0:02:53.519 having summoned the now Saint Thomas aquinas to serve as 0:02:53.680 --> 0:02:58.800 papal theologian, and he made strides towards diplomatic relations with 0:02:58.919 --> 0:03:04.200 the Mongols. Despite his achievements, however, much of Clement's pontificate 0:03:04.440 --> 0:03:08.519 had been defined by the conflict between the papal loyalist 0:03:08.680 --> 0:03:13.840 Guelphs and the anti papal Ghibelines. You might remember those 0:03:13.880 --> 0:03:18.040 factions from our episode on the Cannibal Count of Pisa, 0:03:18.440 --> 0:03:21.880 who by this time was already beginning to betray his 0:03:22.000 --> 0:03:27.400 Gibeline sympathies. The election in which Clement had become Pope, 0:03:27.520 --> 0:03:31.760 which began in twelve sixty four and lasted around four months, 0:03:31.800 --> 0:03:36.400 had seen significant debate among the College of Cardinals about 0:03:36.480 --> 0:03:42.240 how best to protect the papacy from Gibeline threats. Clement, 0:03:42.360 --> 0:03:45.920 who was French in origin, in fact, had had to 0:03:46.040 --> 0:03:49.320 travel to Italy in disguise upon his election to the 0:03:49.320 --> 0:03:54.840 papacy in order to protect himself from Gibeline violence. Clement 0:03:54.920 --> 0:03:58.640 had reigned throughout the entirety of his pontificate from Viterbo, 0:03:59.080 --> 0:04:02.520 a city fifty miles northwest of Rome, which had been 0:04:02.520 --> 0:04:06.360 the seat of the papacy since twelve fifty seven, when 0:04:06.480 --> 0:04:10.640 Pope Alexander the fourth had moved the papal curia there 0:04:10.680 --> 0:04:15.120 in the wake of excessive violence in Rome. That violence 0:04:15.160 --> 0:04:20.240 in Rome had continued during the papacy of Clement's immediate predecessor, 0:04:20.680 --> 0:04:26.159 Urban the Fourth, and into Clement's papacy. In fifteen sixty six, 0:04:26.600 --> 0:04:31.480 Clement had overseen the completion of construction begun under Alexander 0:04:31.520 --> 0:04:35.120 the Fourth and commissioned by the Viturban Captain of the people, 0:04:35.600 --> 0:04:40.080 to convert the bishop's palace in Viturbo into a bonafide 0:04:40.240 --> 0:04:44.320 papal residence, which became known as the Palazzo de Puppy 0:04:44.480 --> 0:04:49.479 or the Palace of the Popes. Clement was devoted to 0:04:49.640 --> 0:04:54.520 protecting the independence of the papacy. Most notably, he allied 0:04:54.640 --> 0:04:58.320 with Charles the First of Anjou, the younger brother of 0:04:58.480 --> 0:05:03.120 King Louis the ninth of France, in his controversial conquest 0:05:03.160 --> 0:05:07.000 of Naples, offering him the throne in exchange for an 0:05:07.080 --> 0:05:12.440 acknowledgment of the pope as the feudal lord. Fortified with 0:05:12.720 --> 0:05:17.719 papal support and papal funding, Charles defeated the Holy Roman 0:05:17.760 --> 0:05:22.239 Emperor's illegitimate son and heir, Manfred, King of Sicily, whose 0:05:22.240 --> 0:05:27.040 Gibelin ties as a member of the powerful Hohenstauffen family 0:05:27.120 --> 0:05:30.920 and refusal to acknowledge the Pope's feudal power had made 0:05:30.960 --> 0:05:35.200 him an enemy of the Holy See. Manfred had usurped 0:05:35.279 --> 0:05:40.560 power from his young nephew Conradin, the last legitimate heir 0:05:40.720 --> 0:05:45.120 of the House of Hohenstauffen. Manfred was killed by Charles's 0:05:45.240 --> 0:05:49.440 forces in the Battle of Benevento in twelve sixty six, 0:05:49.920 --> 0:05:55.400 allowing Charles to take control of Naples. Conradin, who had 0:05:55.440 --> 0:06:00.000 been a teenager at that time, attempted to reclaim Naples 0:06:00.080 --> 0:06:03.719 and was captured some two years later in the Battle 0:06:03.760 --> 0:06:09.359 of Tagliacozzo. He was imprisoned and eventually publicly beheaded on 0:06:09.560 --> 0:06:14.799 Charles's orders on October twenty ninth, twelve sixty eight. Later, 0:06:14.960 --> 0:06:19.400 detractors would spread the rumor that Clement the Pope had 0:06:19.440 --> 0:06:24.560 supported Charles's ruthless tactics, decrying his complicity in the death 0:06:24.800 --> 0:06:28.680 of the young king, but in fact, Clement had actually 0:06:28.760 --> 0:06:33.040 pleaded for Charles to have mercy on the boy. Nevertheless, 0:06:33.160 --> 0:06:38.279 by allowing Charles to take control of Naples, Clement cemented 0:06:38.480 --> 0:06:42.280 French power in Italy, which many cardinals saw as a 0:06:42.400 --> 0:06:46.200 threat to the independence of the papacy and that of 0:06:46.279 --> 0:06:49.400 the Italian city states they hailed from in and of itself. 0:06:50.240 --> 0:06:55.359 Exactly one month after conrad In's beheading, on November twenty ninth, 0:06:55.480 --> 0:07:00.440 twelve sixty eight, Clement died following what was report cowardly 0:07:00.600 --> 0:07:05.159 a brief illness. Despite the achievements of his pontificate, he 0:07:05.279 --> 0:07:08.719 left behind not only the vacant throne of Saint Peter, 0:07:09.320 --> 0:07:13.880 but also a cardinalate divided on how best to fill it. 0:07:16.080 --> 0:07:20.440 In twelve sixty eight, the Sacred College boasted twenty cardinals, 0:07:20.760 --> 0:07:24.920 nineteen of whom participated in the papal election. The twentieth 0:07:25.080 --> 0:07:27.840 was busy accompanying Louis the ninth of France on his 0:07:27.960 --> 0:07:31.960 crusade in Tunisia. In keeping with the tradition of holding 0:07:32.000 --> 0:07:35.080 the papal election in the city where the previous pope 0:07:35.120 --> 0:07:39.400 had died, the nineteen cardinals made their way to Viterbo 0:07:39.560 --> 0:07:42.840 in late November, once word had reached them of the 0:07:42.920 --> 0:07:47.760 death of Clement the Fourth. The cardinals oversaw his burial 0:07:47.880 --> 0:07:51.480 in the Dominican convent of Santa Maria in Grotti, which 0:07:51.520 --> 0:07:55.040 stood just outside of the city. Before beginning the election 0:07:55.200 --> 0:07:58.720 proceedings just two days after his death on December one, 0:07:59.320 --> 0:08:04.480 twelve six eight. Immediately it became clear that this conclave 0:08:04.720 --> 0:08:09.600 would not be straightforward. Along with the cardinal's arrival at 0:08:09.640 --> 0:08:13.440 Come that of Charles of Anjou, the newly crowned and 0:08:13.720 --> 0:08:20.280 bloodthirsty King of Naples. Clement had underestimated Charles's ambitions for 0:08:20.360 --> 0:08:25.000 an Italian empire, and with the Pope's death, Charles had 0:08:25.040 --> 0:08:30.080 seen an opportunity to continue to consolidate power. He came 0:08:30.160 --> 0:08:33.920 to the Terbo with the intention of influencing the papal election. 0:08:34.880 --> 0:08:39.000 The issue of Charles's presence and his clear intentions for 0:08:39.040 --> 0:08:44.239 the election and thereafter quickly became the central issue dividing 0:08:44.360 --> 0:08:48.720 the cardinals. It's impossible to note the numbers with any accuracy, 0:08:49.120 --> 0:08:52.319 but it seems that there was an even enough split 0:08:52.720 --> 0:08:56.640 between those who wanted to continue the pro French tradition 0:08:56.920 --> 0:09:00.120 of the previous two popes and those who wanted to 0:09:00.200 --> 0:09:04.800 divorce the papacy from Charles's influence, not to mention those 0:09:04.840 --> 0:09:08.320 who were out to elevate their own allies, countrymen, and 0:09:08.440 --> 0:09:13.600 family members. The election was essentially deadlocked from the start. 0:09:14.880 --> 0:09:18.920 At first, the cardinals passed freely between the cathedral and 0:09:19.040 --> 0:09:23.400 their lodgings. They held only one vote each day, which 0:09:23.600 --> 0:09:28.079 day after day resulted in nothing but further tensions and 0:09:28.320 --> 0:09:31.959 no clear front runner for pope. Although we know very 0:09:32.000 --> 0:09:36.679 little about the actual deliberations or candidates considered for the papacy, 0:09:37.240 --> 0:09:40.319 it's likely that at least a few of the cardinals 0:09:40.320 --> 0:09:45.800 present were considered a pobbulate or potential candidates for pope. 0:09:46.200 --> 0:09:49.000 Although it was not necessary to be a cardinal to 0:09:49.080 --> 0:09:53.760 be elected pope technically it still isn't, and other important 0:09:53.800 --> 0:09:58.000 figures in the church hierarchy were considered. Given the fact 0:09:58.120 --> 0:10:01.600 that the cardinals were free to move about as they pleased, 0:10:02.080 --> 0:10:05.560 it's also likely that they were subject to outside pressure 0:10:05.679 --> 0:10:10.959 and influence, perhaps most notably from Charles, who would remain 0:10:11.080 --> 0:10:17.400 in Viturbo throughout the election proceedings. Later sources would have 0:10:17.480 --> 0:10:21.560 it that two months in the cardinals nearly agreed on 0:10:21.679 --> 0:10:26.640 electing Philippo Benitzi, the general of the Servite Order. It's 0:10:26.800 --> 0:10:29.800 likely that this story isn't true and was rather a 0:10:29.840 --> 0:10:35.600 fabrication meant to support Benitzi's later canonization, but he supposedly 0:10:35.840 --> 0:10:39.800 came to Viturbo in early twelve sixty nine to scold 0:10:40.040 --> 0:10:43.480 the cardinals for dragging their feet in the electoral process. 0:10:44.080 --> 0:10:47.720 They were apparently so impressed with Benizzi that they chose 0:10:47.800 --> 0:10:51.280 him to fill the empty papal throne, but he fled 0:10:51.360 --> 0:10:55.200 the city to prevent his election, forcing the cardinals back 0:10:55.240 --> 0:11:00.080 to square one. A similar, also likely untrue story of 0:11:00.320 --> 0:11:04.320 near election would also crop up long after the fact, 0:11:04.840 --> 0:11:11.280 concerning Saint Bonaventure, then known as Giovanni di Fidanza. In 0:11:11.360 --> 0:11:14.760 any case, no pope was indeed elected in those first 0:11:14.880 --> 0:11:19.760 few months, and the voting continued apace. Just under a 0:11:19.960 --> 0:11:23.840 year after the election had begun. A new wrench was 0:11:23.920 --> 0:11:27.600 thrown into the proceedings when one of the electors died. 0:11:28.280 --> 0:11:33.480 Cardinal Giordano Pironti died of unknown causes on October one, 0:11:34.080 --> 0:11:38.120 twelve sixty nine, at about fifty nine years old. He 0:11:38.160 --> 0:11:41.160 had updated his will a few weeks prior, so he 0:11:41.240 --> 0:11:44.760 may have been ill, and with his death only eighteen 0:11:45.000 --> 0:11:49.840 electors remained, an even number that did not bode well 0:11:49.960 --> 0:11:55.400 for breaking any future ties. It seems Cardinal Perunti's death 0:11:55.640 --> 0:11:59.320 was something of a turning point for the secular authorities 0:11:59.360 --> 0:12:02.760 in Viturbo, though it would take them several more months 0:12:02.800 --> 0:12:08.760 to take action. Around June twelve seventy, after the anniversary 0:12:08.960 --> 0:12:11.880 of the last pope's death came and went, and the 0:12:12.000 --> 0:12:18.720 erstwhile cardinals entered their twentieth month of unsuccessful voting. Raniero Gatti, 0:12:18.800 --> 0:12:23.760 the prefect of Atterbo, and Albertus de Montebono, the Podesta 0:12:24.240 --> 0:12:28.800 ordered that the remaining electors be sequestered in the Polazza 0:12:28.840 --> 0:12:32.800 de Pappi until they could choose the Pope's successor once 0:12:32.840 --> 0:12:37.319 and for all. These were drastic times, and the time 0:12:37.640 --> 0:12:41.480 at a long passed for drastic measures, and before long 0:12:41.640 --> 0:12:45.599 it would seem that even more drastic measures would be 0:12:45.679 --> 0:12:52.560 needed to get these cardinals to finally make their choice. 0:12:52.679 --> 0:12:55.720 In the late summer of twelve seventy one, a teenage 0:12:55.880 --> 0:12:59.200 Marco Polo was just beginning the journey that would cement 0:12:59.320 --> 0:13:03.600 him as one of history's most famous travelers. He had 0:13:03.640 --> 0:13:06.760 set off from Venice with his father Nicolo and his 0:13:06.880 --> 0:13:12.120 uncle Mafeo, and after a short eastward journey across the Mediterranean, 0:13:12.559 --> 0:13:16.640 they had arrived in the fortified city of Accer, a 0:13:16.679 --> 0:13:21.440 Crusader stronghold on the Levantine coastline. It was there that 0:13:21.480 --> 0:13:28.559 they met Archdeacon Toobaldo Visconti of Piacenza, who had followed Edward, 0:13:28.640 --> 0:13:32.400 the First of England to Occer in the Ninth Crusade 0:13:32.440 --> 0:13:36.760 earlier that year. During their visit, the Polos lamented to 0:13:36.840 --> 0:13:41.680 the archdeacon that the papal throne was still vacant after 0:13:41.840 --> 0:13:47.240 over two years of fruitless voting. Marco's father and uncle 0:13:47.360 --> 0:13:51.400 had previously traveled to China, where the Emperor Kubla Khan 0:13:51.760 --> 0:13:54.520 had given them a letter for the pope. They had 0:13:54.559 --> 0:13:58.360 been disappointed to return in twelve sixty nine to find 0:13:58.440 --> 0:14:00.680 that they still had no one to give it to. 0:14:01.440 --> 0:14:05.480 That was almost two years ago. Now Here, The brothers 0:14:05.520 --> 0:14:09.199 were making their way eastward again, now with Marco and 0:14:09.520 --> 0:14:14.120 still no news from Viterbo. They had been shocked when 0:14:14.160 --> 0:14:17.760 an elector died in twelve sixty nine, and even more 0:14:17.840 --> 0:14:22.280 so some six months later, when the viturban authorities ordered 0:14:22.520 --> 0:14:26.040 that the remaining cardinals be locked away in the Palazza 0:14:26.080 --> 0:14:30.680 de Poppy to complete their election. Around the same time, 0:14:30.800 --> 0:14:35.440 it was suggested, supposedly by the English cardinal John of Toledo, 0:14:35.920 --> 0:14:38.960 that the roof of the voting chamber in the palazzo 0:14:39.040 --> 0:14:43.440 should be removed, saying, let us uncover the room, else 0:14:43.520 --> 0:14:46.920 the holy ghost will never get at us. For you 0:14:47.080 --> 0:14:50.680 papal election fans following along at home. This was the 0:14:50.880 --> 0:14:55.520 first recorded reference to the now essential idea that the 0:14:55.560 --> 0:14:59.560 Holy Spirit guides the election of popes. It was also 0:14:59.560 --> 0:15:04.280 suggested that the elector's rations be reduced to just bread 0:15:04.320 --> 0:15:08.280 and water for the remainder of the election. The magistrates 0:15:08.280 --> 0:15:12.760 of the Turbo agreed, likely hoping that some scorching sun, 0:15:13.120 --> 0:15:18.080 torrential rain, and stupefying hunger would guide the electors in 0:15:18.120 --> 0:15:22.400 addition to the Holy Spirit. Of course, the cardinals petitioned 0:15:22.480 --> 0:15:26.720 the magistrates that Cardinal Henry of Segusio be excused from 0:15:26.760 --> 0:15:30.880 the remainder of the election due to health concerns, which 0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:34.440 would have been exacerbated by having to spend every day 0:15:34.680 --> 0:15:38.560 hungry and exposed to the elements. He had renounced his 0:15:38.760 --> 0:15:43.479 right to vote, and his request was granted. The remaining 0:15:43.720 --> 0:15:47.880 seventeen cardinals were locked into the palace, the doors and 0:15:48.040 --> 0:15:52.440 windows barred, and the roof of the voting chamber was removed. 0:15:53.000 --> 0:15:57.000 Some sources say that a makeshift roof was later added 0:15:57.200 --> 0:16:01.000 back onto the election chamber after the cardinal threatened to 0:16:01.120 --> 0:16:05.360 excommunicate the entire city, but it seems that they actually 0:16:05.400 --> 0:16:10.520 at least took their new diet in stride. By the 0:16:10.600 --> 0:16:13.840 time Marco Polo, his father, and his uncle met with 0:16:13.920 --> 0:16:17.560 the Archdeacon in Ocher in twelve seventy one, it had 0:16:17.600 --> 0:16:21.320 been almost a year since the cardinal electors had been 0:16:21.400 --> 0:16:26.400 locked up. In that time, yet another cardinal elector had 0:16:26.440 --> 0:16:31.120 died East van BankSA. The first cardinal to hail from Hungary, 0:16:31.640 --> 0:16:36.160 Cardinal Henry of Segusio, had enough time to fully recuperate 0:16:36.280 --> 0:16:40.560 and return to Viturbo to resume voting. King Louis the 0:16:40.640 --> 0:16:44.400 ninth of France died and was succeeded by his son Philip, 0:16:44.400 --> 0:16:48.800 who became Philip the Third. In his as yet unanswered 0:16:48.880 --> 0:16:53.040 letter to the as yet unanswered Pope, Kublai Khan had 0:16:53.120 --> 0:16:57.440 requested the dispatch of a hundred missionaries and some oil 0:16:57.800 --> 0:17:01.240 from the lamp of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem to 0:17:01.440 --> 0:17:05.600 his court in where is now known as Beijing. The 0:17:05.680 --> 0:17:10.520 polos told Archdeacon Visconti of those requests and of their 0:17:10.600 --> 0:17:14.120 predicament in having to wait so long to make good 0:17:14.160 --> 0:17:17.760 on them, because there wasn't a pope to ask. The 0:17:17.880 --> 0:17:21.800 Archdeacon told the Polo family to bide their time by 0:17:21.840 --> 0:17:26.160 traveling to Jerusalem to fetch the oil first, and hopefully 0:17:26.240 --> 0:17:29.159 by the time they finished and returned there would be 0:17:29.200 --> 0:17:32.359 a new pope. They did that and returned to Aker 0:17:32.480 --> 0:17:36.280 to find that a pope still had not been chosen. 0:17:37.000 --> 0:17:41.320 Unable to justify keeping the Polos from their journey indefinitely, 0:17:41.840 --> 0:17:45.400 the scanti sent them on their way. The Polos did 0:17:45.400 --> 0:17:49.480 not make it far, however, before receiving an urgent message 0:17:49.760 --> 0:17:54.920 to return to Occer. In August twelve seventy one, under 0:17:54.960 --> 0:17:58.919 pressure from the new King, Philip the Third and Charles 0:17:59.000 --> 0:18:03.639 of Anjou, the authorities in Viturbo, and just about everyone else, 0:18:04.000 --> 0:18:09.000 the Cardinal electors had decided to choose the pope by committee, 0:18:09.160 --> 0:18:13.400 selecting six among their numbers and agreeing to abide by 0:18:13.440 --> 0:18:18.560 whatever decision they came to through this method. On September one, 0:18:18.960 --> 0:18:23.720 twelve seventy one, after one thousand and six days of voting, 0:18:24.280 --> 0:18:28.960 they finally came to a decision from the roofless Palace 0:18:29.000 --> 0:18:33.199 in Viterbo. The message of the cardinal's choice, traveled across 0:18:33.240 --> 0:18:37.119 the Mediterranean to Accer with the archdeacon, who was not 0:18:37.240 --> 0:18:41.160 a cardinal or even a priest, was notified that he 0:18:41.760 --> 0:18:44.880 had been chosen to fill the papal throne that had 0:18:44.920 --> 0:18:50.000 been empty for nearly three years. As someone with some 0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:52.840 ties to France, but not so many that he would 0:18:52.840 --> 0:18:55.560 be a puppet of the French crown or of Charles 0:18:55.560 --> 0:19:00.280 of Anjou, he was an unexpected candidate that apparently was 0:19:00.400 --> 0:19:05.480 satisfying enough for all parties. It is unknown how long 0:19:05.560 --> 0:19:08.919 his name had been in contention, but the struggle of 0:19:09.040 --> 0:19:12.560 the sixth Cardinal Committee to select a pope from among 0:19:12.680 --> 0:19:16.640 the cardinal electors at first suggests he may have been 0:19:16.680 --> 0:19:20.719 a last minute consideration. The Polos made it back to 0:19:20.720 --> 0:19:24.600 Ocher not long after, and were received warmly by their friend, 0:19:24.920 --> 0:19:27.359 who had suddenly become the head of the church and 0:19:27.480 --> 0:19:31.639 the prince of the papal states. He formally designated them 0:19:31.840 --> 0:19:35.080 envoys of the Church to Kubla Khan and sent them 0:19:35.119 --> 0:19:38.280 on their journey with two friars and a collection of 0:19:38.359 --> 0:19:42.560 gifts meant to demonstrate his hopes for friendly relations with 0:19:42.680 --> 0:19:46.919 the emperor. He offered a special blessing to Marco, by 0:19:47.000 --> 0:19:54.040 which the young traveler was reportedly greatly pleased. Tebaldo Visconti 0:19:54.200 --> 0:19:57.919 left to Ocer on November ninth, twelve seventy one, and 0:19:58.160 --> 0:20:03.000 reached Viturbo some months later on February twelfth, twelve seventy two, 0:20:03.400 --> 0:20:07.560 where he took the regnal name Gregory the Tenth, breaking 0:20:07.720 --> 0:20:11.280 the years long absence of the popes from Rome. He 0:20:11.480 --> 0:20:14.399 entered the city a month later in March, and was 0:20:14.520 --> 0:20:19.400 ordained a priest six days later. Finally, on March twenty seventh, 0:20:19.480 --> 0:20:23.280 twelve seventy two, over three years after the death of 0:20:23.359 --> 0:20:27.840 the previous pope, he was consecrated a bishop and crowned 0:20:27.880 --> 0:20:32.840 in Saint Peter's Basilica. Gregory's papacy lasted for only a 0:20:32.880 --> 0:20:38.800 little over four years. His reign was consequential. On July seventh, 0:20:38.920 --> 0:20:44.520 twelve seventy four, his papal bull Ubi Periculum, named for 0:20:44.640 --> 0:20:50.480 its opening line Ubi perikulum maius in ten detour, meaning 0:20:50.840 --> 0:20:56.320 where great danger lies, codified many of the practices desperately 0:20:56.400 --> 0:21:01.240 undertaken to speed along his election as standard practice for 0:21:01.280 --> 0:21:06.160 the election of future popes. In addition to already established 0:21:06.240 --> 0:21:10.480 practices like the rule requiring a two thirds majority for 0:21:10.560 --> 0:21:14.639 a ballot to pass. Gregory ordained that the cardinal electors 0:21:14.880 --> 0:21:19.080 should be sequestered for the duration of the election, specified 0:21:19.280 --> 0:21:24.240 the provision of increasingly spare rations the longer the proceedings endured, 0:21:24.640 --> 0:21:29.439 and placed various restrictions meant to both speed proceedings and 0:21:29.680 --> 0:21:35.080 prevent political intrigue, bribery, and deal making, among other new rules. 0:21:36.000 --> 0:21:40.640 Although some later popes would lift these restrictions, Gregory's bull 0:21:40.720 --> 0:21:43.879 would go on to be codified into canon law in 0:21:43.960 --> 0:21:48.920 twelve ninety eight, and though conclave practices have seen many 0:21:49.040 --> 0:21:53.919 changes and updates since, it remains a foundational part of 0:21:53.960 --> 0:21:58.919 the way modern papal elections are conducted. Gregory the Tenth 0:21:59.040 --> 0:22:02.440 died in the Tuscan city of Atritzo on January tenth, 0:22:02.600 --> 0:22:07.480 twelve seventy six, in accordance with his bull, which specified 0:22:07.560 --> 0:22:11.120 that the election should begin ten days later if all 0:22:11.160 --> 0:22:13.680 electors had arrived at his place of death by then. 0:22:14.160 --> 0:22:18.560 The conclave convened right on schedule on January twentieth. It 0:22:18.680 --> 0:22:22.639 concluded with the election of Pope Innocent the Fifth just 0:22:22.840 --> 0:22:28.840 one day later. That's the story of the longest ever 0:22:28.920 --> 0:22:32.399 papal election. But keep listening after a brief sponsor break 0:22:32.600 --> 0:22:36.080 to hear about another fascinating aspect of the legacy of 0:22:36.160 --> 0:22:46.560 Gregory the tenth. Among the many questions that arose in 0:22:46.600 --> 0:22:50.240 the weeks leading up to leo The fourteenth election, what 0:22:50.359 --> 0:22:54.040 the new Pope's stance would be on social and doctrinal issues, 0:22:54.400 --> 0:22:57.359 where he would hail from, et cetera, was the question 0:22:57.960 --> 0:23:02.520 what would he wear. A pope's first public appearance has 0:23:02.520 --> 0:23:06.560 always been his first statement to the world, a declaration 0:23:06.720 --> 0:23:09.679 of what kind of pope he would be, even before 0:23:09.720 --> 0:23:14.040 he opened his mouth. When Leo's predecessor, Pope Francis, was 0:23:14.080 --> 0:23:19.240 elected in twenty thirteen, he famously bucked tradition by foregoing 0:23:19.320 --> 0:23:23.480 the red muzeta and ornate stole typically worn by newly 0:23:23.520 --> 0:23:28.239 elected popes and appearing in a simple white cossack, a 0:23:28.280 --> 0:23:31.400 move that endeared him to many who believed the papacy 0:23:31.800 --> 0:23:35.760 too removed from the lives and experiences of the common people. 0:23:36.600 --> 0:23:41.159 While Leo's Ubi et orbi address, which means to the 0:23:41.200 --> 0:23:44.600 city and the world, the first address made by newly 0:23:44.720 --> 0:23:50.000 elected popes, reflected a clear desire to continue France's legacy, 0:23:50.640 --> 0:23:54.760 he chose to wear the mozetta and the stole, perhaps 0:23:54.800 --> 0:23:58.640 symbolizing that he also intended to put his own stamp 0:23:58.760 --> 0:24:02.320 on the papacy. But since then he's mostly been seen 0:24:02.480 --> 0:24:06.520 wearing just the white cossack, as is standard for most 0:24:06.640 --> 0:24:11.480 everyday papal duties like meeting with foreign dignitaries, greeting worshippers, 0:24:11.840 --> 0:24:15.439 or riding in the popemobile. And in fact we have 0:24:15.600 --> 0:24:19.000 our old friend Gregory the Tenth to thank for that 0:24:19.320 --> 0:24:24.520 important part of papal sartorial history. While garments like the 0:24:24.640 --> 0:24:28.600 mozetta or the mitra the big hat that the pope 0:24:28.600 --> 0:24:33.119 and bishops wear during certain liturgical celebrations have been worn 0:24:33.240 --> 0:24:36.719 by popes since at least the eleventh century, if not before, 0:24:37.240 --> 0:24:41.760 it was Gregory who is first documented wearing the white 0:24:41.920 --> 0:24:46.199 cassock during his reign. Over seven hundred years later, it 0:24:46.280 --> 0:24:51.000 remained an iconic symbol of the papacy. Talk about a trendsetter. 0:24:57.800 --> 0:25:01.080 Noble Blood is a production of Eyehe Heart, Radio and 0:25:01.280 --> 0:25:04.880 Grim and Mild from Aaron Mankey. Noble Blood is hosted 0:25:04.960 --> 0:25:08.960 by me Dana Schwartz, with additional writing and research by 0:25:09.000 --> 0:25:13.720 Hannah Johnston, Hannahswick, Courtney Sender, Amy hit and Julia Melaney. 0:25:14.359 --> 0:25:18.000 The show is edited and produced by Jesse Funk, with 0:25:18.160 --> 0:25:23.680 supervising producer rima Il Kaali and executive producers Aaron Manke, 0:25:24.000 --> 0:25:28.520 Trevor Young, and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, 0:25:28.760 --> 0:25:33.119 visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 0:25:33.160 --> 0:25:36.000 to your favorite shows.