CLEMENTE IV, POPE. — Guido Fulcodi, born at St-Gilles near Nîmes in Provence at the beginning of the thirteenth century, entered the service of the king of France precisely at the moment when the latter was extending his authority in the south. After the death of his wife, by whom he had had two daughters, he became a priest and rapidly ascended the various grades of the ecclesiastical hierarchy: bishop of Puy in 1257, archbishop of Narbonne in 1259, cardinal-bishop of Sabina on 17 December 1261, carrying out important curial assignments. On his return from a legation in England, he learned that the Conclave, which had been meeting in Perugia for four months following the death of Urban IV, had elected him pope (5 February 1265); he accepted the appointment and took the name C. IV. He soon entered Italy secretly and on 20 February was in Perugia. He promptly resumed the negotiations with Carlo d'Angiò that had been initiated by his predecessor to overthrow the power of Manfredi, king of Sicily, who, having placed himself at the head of the Ghibelline party, aimed to dominate Italian politics, following in the footsteps of his father Federico II. Carlo came down into Italy and was invested with the kingdom in the Lateran on 29 May by C., with whom he concluded a solemn pact. C. had the crusade against Manfredi preached, and the victory at Benevento on 27 February 1266 marked the end of the Swabian, who was killed there.
Disagreements between the Pope and Carlo d'Angiò were frequent, owing to the latter’s excessive financial demands, the harshness of his government, and his cruelty toward the last heir of the Swabians, CORRADO, SANTO (v.), son of Corrado IV, emperor. Among the Pontiff’s more specifically religious activities, mention may be made of the measures taken against Filippo di Savoia, who had been appointed archbishop of Lyon although he had not received Holy Orders, and the decree by which the benefices of those who died where the Curia resided were reserved to the pope.
C. died on 29 November 1268 at Viterbo, and a vacancy of almost three years followed.