Urban
III, né Uberto Crivelli (d. October 19,
1187), was pope from 1185 to 1187. He was made
cardinal and archbishop of Milan by Lucius III,
whom he succeeded (November 25 1185). He
vigorously took up his predecessor's quarrels
with the emperor Frederick I Barbarossa,
including the standing dispute about the
succession of territories of the countess
Matilda of Tuscany. Even after his elevation to
the Papacy he continued to hold the
archbishopric of Milan, and in this capacity
refused to crown as king of Italy Frederick's
son Prince Henry, who had married Constantia,
the heiress of the kingdom of Sicily. While
Henry in the south cooperated with the rebel
senate of Rome, Frederick in the north
blocked the passes of the
Alps and cut off all communication between
the pope, then living in Verona, and his German
adherents. Urban now resolved on excommunicating
Frederick, but the Veronese protested against
such a proceeding being resorted to within their
walls; he accordingly withdrew to Ferrara, but
died before he could give effect to his
intentions. His successor was Gregory VIII.According to legend, he died of grief upon hearing news of the Crusader defeat in July of 1187 at the Battle of Hattin.
