'Pope Anastasius IV' (died
December 3,
1154), born 'Corrado di Suburra' (or 'della Suburra'), was
Pope from
1153 to
1154.
He was a
Roman, son of Benedictus, and at the time of his election, on the
9th of July 1153, was
cardinal bishop of Sabina. He had taken part in the double election of
1130, had been one of the most determined opponents of
antipope Anacletus II (1130–38) and, when
Pope Innocent II (1130–43) fled to
France, had been left behind as his vicar in
Italy. During his short pontificate, however, he played the part of a peacemaker; he came to terms with the Emperor
Frederick I in the vexed question of the appointment to the see of
Magdeburg and closed the long quarrel, which had raged through four pontificates, about the appointment of William Fitzherbert (d. 1154) – commonly known as
St William of York – to the see of
York, by sending him the
pallium, in spite of the continued opposition of the powerful
Cistercian order. Pope Anastasius IV died on the 3rd of December 1154, and was succeeded by Cardinal Nicholas of Albano as
Pope Adrian IV (1154–59).
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