Innocent IV, d. 1254, pope (1243–54), a Genoese named Sinibaldo Fieschi, a distinguished jurist who studied and later taught law at the Univ. of Bologna; successor of Celestine IV. He was of a noble family. Although he had been regarded as sympathetic to the empire, once pope he quickly took up the papal struggle with Frederick II Frederick II, 1194–1250, Holy Roman emperor (1220–50) and German king (1212–20), king of Sicily (1197–1250), and king of Jerusalem (1229–50), son of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI and of Constance , heiress of Sicily.
..... Click the link for more information. and the Hohenstaufen Hohenstaufen (hō'ənshtou`fən)
..... Click the link for more information. . After a futile treaty he felt unsafe in Rome and fled to Lyons, where he convened the Council of Lyons (1245; see Lyons, First Council of Lyons, First Council of (lyôN`)
..... Click the link for more information. ). Frederick was condemned again and declared deposed, and Innocent supported Henry Raspe and, later, William II of Holland as pretenders to the imperium. He also tried to get an English or French prince to take Sicily as a fief, but Frederick was too strong. Frederick died as the pope was opening a crusade against him (1250). Innocent did not spare the other Hohenstaufen, Conrad IV Conrad IV, 1228–54, German king (1237–54), king of Sicily and of Jerusalem (1250–54), son of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II . He was elected (1237) king of the Romans at his father's instigation after Frederick had deposed Conrad's older brother
..... Click the link for more information. and Manfred Manfred (măn`frəd, Ger. män`frāt), c.1232–1266, king of Sicily (1258–66), the last Hohenstaufen on that throne.
..... Click the link for more information. , but after finding them invincible in Sicily, he recognized Conradin Conradin (kŏn`rədĭn)
..... Click the link for more information. as king of Sicily. Innocent was almost wholly occupied with his quarrel with the Hohenstaufen, and the taxes he levied to continue it made him unpopular with clergy and laity alike. He was succeeded by Alexander IV.

Innocent IV

orig. Sinibaldo Fieschi

(born 12th century, Genoa—died Dec. 7, 1254, Naples) Pope (1243–54). His clash with Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II formed an important chapter in the conflict between papacy and empire. Frederick wanted the newly elected pope to lift his excommunication, but Innocent interrupted the negotiations and fled Rome for France (1244); he later condemned Frederick and urged the election of a new emperor. Concerned with the evangelization of the East, he persuaded Louis IX to lead a Crusade and sent a mission to the Mongols. He returned to Rome in 1253 and gave the Sicilian throne to Edmund, son of Henry III of England, but the papal army was defeated by Manfred, Frederick's son, in 1254.

Innocent IV

original name Sinibaldo de' Fieschi. died 1254, pope (1243--54); an unrelenting enemy of Emperor Frederick II and his heirs