MARTIN IV, POPE. - Simon de Brion (or de Bric), of French origin, died at Perugia on 28 March 1285. He studied at the University of Paris; later he became canon and treasurer of the diocese of Tours, chancellor of France (1260) and cardinal (1261) with the title of S. Cecilia; Urban IV entrusted him with important missions, among which the legation in France was particularly significant, culminating in the appointment of Charles of Anjou as king of the Two Sicilies (1264).
He preached the crusade against the last Hohenstaufens and in favor of the Holy Land, and successfully promoted the reform of the Church in France. On 22 February 1281, after six months of conclave at Viterbo, Simon was elected to succeed Nicholas III under the name of MARTIN IV, largely through the influence of Charles of Anjou, and was consecrated at Orvieto on 23 March of the same year. Since his election was not welcomed by the Romans, MARTIN IV was obliged to spend almost his entire pontificate away from Rome, residing successively at Orvieto, Montefiascone, Città della Pieve and Perugia.
MARTIN IV was very favorably disposed toward King Rudolph of Germany, who renounced all claims to the Romagna, which the Pope then took possession of with the help of the French. To please Charles of Anjou, to whom—despite strong Roman opposition—he had granted the dignity of Senator of Rome, MARTIN IV excommunicated Emperor Michael Palaeologus, who was acting insincerely in the matter of the union of the Greek and Latin Churches, and provided Charles with support for his planned campaign against the Byzantine Empire. However, this enterprise was thwarted by the Sicilian Vespers revolt (March 1282), when Sicily passed to the Aragonese. MARTIN IV refused the homage of submission offered by the Sicilians and excommunicated Peter III of Aragon, against whom he proclaimed a crusade that ended in failure due to the valor of the Aragonese king, who defeated Charles of Anjou’s fleet and repulsed the army of Philip III of France that had invaded Aragon. With the Romans, who had rebelled against Charles of Anjou, the Pope reconciled himself by appointing two more senators and distributing substantial subsidies during a severe famine.
Though irreproachable in his private life and a man of great charity, MARTIN IV is criticized for having excessively favored the French, often using ecclesiastical penalties for political motives without due consideration. Dante places MARTIN IV among the gluttonous (Purg., XXVI, 20-24); Villani (Cronica, VII, 58) describes him as “magnanimous and of great heart in matters concerning the Church.”