Talk:Pope Gregory IX

Ms illumination, Gregorius, Universitätsbibliothek Salzburg, M III 97, 122 recto, ca. 1270 (Formerly illus. this article: what is this manuscript? Should it be in the article?--Wetman (talk) 04:36, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

English?

Why would he have been fluent in English, as an early-to-mid-13th century diplomat? If he travelled to England he would need only French and Latin. Adam Bishop 17:56, 4 July 2007 (UTC)

Ok, I've removed this sentence, added recently by 81.174.239.106:

"Because of his diplomatic journeys and dealings with foreign powers he was fluent in English, French, Spanish, and the various dialects of German."

It just doesn't seem very likely... Adam Bishop 18:53, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

Blackadder

He was mentioned in Blackadder goes forth. Should this be added under trivia or other similar title?

Birth date

The Library of Congress authority file has his dates as ca. 1170-1241; they cite two sources; the 15th ed. of the Encyclopedia Britannica (which says born before 1170) and the New Catholic Encyc.; should the birthdate and category be changed based on this information or should there be further research done?--FeanorStar7 09:50, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

• Date of birth of this Pope is unknown. Generally, the older sources (f.e. The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913) indicate that he was born ca. 1145, while more recent ca. 1170 or little before. Some others (f.e. K. Dopierała "Księga papieży", Poznań 1996) give also the date "in the middle" (ca. 1155). So I corrected the site, listing it as between 1145 and 1170. CarlosPn —Preceding unsigned comment added by CarlosPn (talk • contribs) 15:25, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

Did he ever say?

There is a quote often attributed to Pope Gregory by anti-papists who wish to prove the Pope is the anti-christ. The quote is "the Pope is lord and master of the universe, things as well as people." Did the Pontiff ever actually say that? Gavin Scott (talk) 18:47, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Multiple Wives

If there is a claim that he had multiple wives, it should tie back to a reputable contemporary source. Does anyone have one? 72.220.81.40 (talk) 20:40, 12 December 2009 (UTC)

Vox in Rama and the alleged "cat massacre"

The claim that Gregory's association of heretics worshipping Satan with the image of black cat is often claimed in popular works and websites as leading to a massacre of cats in Europe. Yet I have never seen any of these sources back that claim up with any contemporary mention of such a massacre, any reference to it or any evidence at all. In turn it is claimed this led to the devastation of Europe in the Black Death. This makes no sense, since that pandemic didn't start in Europe and didn't just devastate Europe - it began in central Asia and spread west, devestating large swathes of central Asia, Asia Minor and the Middle East before hitting Europe. Obviously no Papal bull about cats and no (alleged) "cat massacre" was taking place in those areas, yet millions died in the pandemic there. The whole idea that the Black Death was caused by some (fantasy) cat massacre is nonsense. This part of the article is supported by a footnote that leads to a webpage that simply makes these assertions and backs them with no evidence, no source material citations and no scholarly reference. The whole thing is a pseudo historical myth and, as a result, I've removed that section.

Anyone who can find any evidence for this bull leading to a "cat massacre" and who can explain why this would lead to an epidemic in Europe that had already devastated half of Eurasia can feel free to restore the section with proper substantiation. — Preceding unsigned comment added by TimONeill (talk • contribs) 20:29, 13 August 2012 (UTC)

I came to this wikipedia page trying to verify a clickbait fact on this very subject. I guess I will NOT forward this "fact" to my more religious relatives just yet. If I'm not back, I didn't find a reliable source myself. Thanks for keeping it factual, TimONeill. Here's the link that brought me here: https://www.topixoffbeat.com/slideshow/16636/slide2 .. 74.10.5.213 (talk) 17:05, 17 July 2018 (UTC)

I can however see how the text of Talk:Vox_in_Rama can easily lead to such speculation. — OttoMäkelä (talk) 07:00, 7 June 2023 (UTC)

Neutrality

This article has none. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 199.46.200.231 (talk) 22:31, 2 November 2012 (UTC)

Mistake?

C o a of Pope Innocent III

On image of Coats of arm for Pope Gregory IX is the same picture as for Pope Innocente III and the same inscription for picture: C o a Innocenzo III.svg. I think, it is mistake. --Stebunik (talk) 20:51, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

Maybe not. There were four Conti di Segni popes and they used the family arms on their papal coat of arms. By the time of their fourth pope in the 1720's, a gold coronet had been added over the eagle's head. Like you, however, I would be very surprised to find no differences at all between the papal arms of the first three. I intend to keep researching. --71.178.50.222 (talk) 19:57, 17 January 2014 (UTC)

Non-English Edit

There may be some vandalism in Spanish in the first sentence of the second paragraph of the "Papacy" section: "Although peace was thus ..." Noah Spamoli (talk) 18:33, 17 January 2013 (UTC)

Giotto fresco caption

"Before the canonization of the saint, Pope Gregory IX of happy memory, of whom St. Francis had foretold would be pope, was inclined to doubt the wound in Francis' side. Then one night, as the pope himself used to relate with tears, Saint Francis appeared to him in a dream. His face was hard and he reproached him for his doubts. Then he raised his right arm and showed him the wound and told him to get a glass and catch the blood that was streaming from his side. The pope got the glass and it seemed to fill up with blood to the brim. After that night, the pope was so devoted to the stigmata and such a strong believer that he could never allow any one to call these wonderful signs into doubt by attacking them in their pride, and he corrected such people severely." Bonaventure, Major Life II.2. (quote at [1]).

Before I corrected the caption, it said "St. Gregory" and I wondered which St. Gregory (Gregory is sleeping, wearing the papal tiara in the fresco). According to the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia, there are four Popes Saint Gregory: I, II, III and VII. Bonaventure's life of St. Francis, quoted above, says that before Pope Gregory IX canonized Francis of Assisi, he had a dream that dispelled his doubts. Pope Gregory IX has not been canonized, but I found many images of this fresco on the web erroneously calling him "St. Gregory". --71.178.50.222 (talk) 18:43, 17 January 2014 (UTC)

False statement about rats role in the black death

It seems that Medieval myths are still around on wikipedia and spreading misinformation about the era. Rats were not how the black death was spread around Europe, but people were. An archaeologists named Barney Sloane has debunked it in his study of the black death and concludes that ""The evidence just isn't there to support it,"" — Preceding unsigned comment added by NorwegianCross (talk • contribs) 17:32, 22 September 2016 (UTC)

This may or may not be the case, but remember that Sloane's is just one of Black Death alternative explanations, the whole story likely is more complex but that is still to be determined. — OttoMäkelä (talk) 07:14, 7 June 2023 (UTC)

References