History of conclaves : lost in the mists of time...

(Vatican Radio) The early history of conclaves seems to be lost in the mists of time. As our historian Stella Fletcher tells us, they first date back to the 13^th century. However if one should look at the chronology of conclaves, there might be an element of Chinese whispers involved:
“…stories associated with Rome could be transferred to Viterbo and vice versa…From 1179 onwards cardinals were the only electors of popes as decided at the third Lateran Council. And voting took place by majority of two thirds for a result to be valid. Conclaves by contrast seem to have come about by accident. In 1241, Pope Gregory IX died and the cardinals met it seems initially at San Gregorio Magno. At that point in history the Emperor Frederick II was based at Grottaferrata and his troops were ravaging the Roman campagna….
And so it was that a Pope was needed rather urgently, so that he might lead the Romans in the defense of their city against the Emperor. That's why in 1241 the Senator, head of the Roman government enclosed the cardinals in a fortress near San Gregorio Magno, Only ten cardinals entered this first rather impromptu conclave and among them the Englishman Robert Summercote who died before they reached a decision. It was Celestine IV who was elected in that conclave.
But the version we come across more often relates to Viterbo, north of Rome in 1268, or rather 1268 to 1271 because this was the longest papal inter-regnum ever: it lasted two years and nine months. There was complete stalemate. After eighteen months the secular ruler of Viterbo decided to remove the roof from the Palace where the cardinals were meeting. He thought that would concentrate their minds and make them come to a quick decision. So you can see the similarities with the Roman case in 1241. Except that it didn’t work because the cardinals still didn’t come to a decision. So their provisions were reduced in the hope that they could be starved into reaching a decision.
The man they eventually elected took the name of Gregory X who was elected in absentia. And he decide that there was such complete and utter chaos that there would have to be strict rules on how popes would be elected in the future.
So in 1254 he called a council of the Church at Lyon and this Council determined the rules for councils at future elections. Cardinals were to enter the conclave on the tenth day after the death of the late pope. They were to live in a dormitory with no partitions between the beds. Curtains between beds were not introduced until 1351 as a matter of fact. There was to be no written or verbal communication with the outside world and if no election was made within three days after entering the conclave the cardinals were to receive only one meal a day from outside. And if after a total of eight days they had still not reached a decision they were to receive only bread and water. The first conclave under the new rules took place in 1276.
Conclaves had a very difficult early history because some popes did not agree with the rules set down by Gregory X. so there were some popes in this early period who simply were not elected by conclaves. However conclaves occurred in each papal vacancy form 1294 onwards and the rules set down by Gregory X remained in place for many centuries."
A programme produced by Veronica Scarisbrick .

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