Locked In With a Sewer Until They Chose a Pope
Medieval Europe

Locked In With a Sewer Until They Chose a Pope

A Roman senator locked ten cardinals in a crumbling palace with an open sewer in 1241 until they picked a pope—and unwittingly invented a tradition that lasts today.

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Medieval EuropePapal States13th CenturyPapal ElectionPolitical CrisisFrederick IIPope Gregory IXMatteo Rosso OrsiniChurch and StateMilitary Conflict

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