Martin IV
Simon de Brion · 1281 – 1285
A French pope who supported Charles of Anjou's ambitions in Sicily, which ended in the bloody Sicilian Vespers revolt.
Simon de Brion was a French cardinal closely tied to King Charles of Anjou. As pope, he excommunicated the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII, wrecking the fragile reunion achieved at the Second Council of Lyon. His support for French domination of Sicily provoked the Sicilian Vespers uprising of 1282, one of the bloodiest revolts of the Middle Ages. He died in 1285, his policies largely in ruins.
Why He Matters
Martin IV is a cautionary example. His alliance with French political ambitions destroyed a chance at reuniting East and West and provoked a massacre. Not every pope leaves a positive legacy, and the Church learns from those failures too.