A papal election was held from 16 to 21 December 1124, after the death of Pope Callixtus II on 13 December 1124. The election was characterised by a power struggle between Italian cardinals supported by the Pierleoni family and northern cardinals supported by the Frangipani family. On 16 December the cardinals elected Theobaldo Boccapecci, the cardinal-priest of Sant'Anastasia. He chose the name Celestine II. Before his consecration, however, an armed party of the Frangipani attacked and wounded the newly elected pope. In the following confusion, Lamberto Scannabecchi (Bishop of Ostia and the Frangipanis candidate) was proclaimed pope under the name Honorius II. After several days of factional fighting Celestine was abandoned by his supporters. However, Honorius would not accept the throne in this manner and resigned as well. He was immediately re-elected and consecrated on 21 December 1124.
Background Pressures building within the Curia, together with ongoing conflicts among the Roman nobility, would erupt after the death of Pope Callixtus II in 1124. The pontificates of Urban II and Paschal II had seen an expansion in the College of Cardinals of Italian clerics that strengthened the local Roman influence. These cardinals were reluctant to meet with the group of cardinals recently promoted by Callixtus II, who were mainly French or Burgundian.Levillain, pg. 732 As far as the older cardinals were concerned, these newer cardinals were dangerous innovators, and they were determined to resist their increasing influence. The northern cardinals, led by Cardinal Aymeric de Bourgogne (the Papal Chancellor), were equally determined to ensure that the elected pope would be one of their candidates. Both groups looked towards the great Roman families for support.
By 1124, there were two great factions dominating local politics in Rome: the Frangipani family, which controlled the region around the fortified Colosseum and supported the northern cardinals, and the Pierleoni family, which controlled the Tiber Island and the fortress of the Theatre of Marcellus and supported the Italian cardinals. With Callixtus II's death on 13 December 1124, both families agreed that the election of the next pope should be in three days time, in accordance with the church canons. The Frangipani, led by Leo Frangipani, pushed for a delay in order that they could promote their preferred candidate, Lamberto,Mann, pg. 231 but the people were eager to see Saxo de Anagni, the Cardinal-Priest of San Stefano in Celiomonte elected as the next pope. Leo, eager to ensure a valid election, approached key members of every Cardinal's entourage, promising each one that he would support their master when the voting for the election was underway.Mann, pg. 232
Election On 16 December, the Cardinals, including Lamberto, assembled in the chapel of the monastery of St. Pancratius attached to the south of the Lateran basilica. There, at the suggestion of Jonathas, the cardinal-deacon of Santi Cosma e Damiano, who was a partisan of the Pierleoni family, the Cardinals unanimously elected as Pope the cardinal-priest of Sant' Anastasia, Theobaldo Boccapecci, who took the name Celestine II.Thomas, pg. 90 He had only just put on the red mantle and the Te Deum was being sung when an armed party led by Roberto Frangipani (in a move pre-arranged with Cardinal Aymeric) burst in, attacked the newly enthroned Celestine, who was wounded, and acclaimed Lamberto as Pope. Since Celestine had not been formally consecrated pope, the wounded candidate declared himself willing to resign, but the Pierleoni family and their supporters refused to accept Lamberto, who in the confusion had been proclaimed Pope under the name Honorius II.Mann, pg. 233 Historians call the election "a travesty of canonical procedure".
Rome descended into factional infighting, while Cardinal Aymeric and Leo Frangipani attempted to win over the resistance of Urban, the City Prefect, and the Pierleoni family with bribes and extravagant promises. Eventually, Celestine's supporters abandoned him, leaving Honorius the only contender for the papal throne. Honorius, unwilling to accept the throne in such a manner, resigned his position before the assembled Cardinals, but was immediately and unanimously re-elected and consecrated on 21 December 1124.
Cardinals
The College of Cardinals probably had between 47 and 53 members. Little information is available on which Cardinals were actually present in Rome during the election(s).
The following table lists the Cardinals who were alive at the time of the election. +ElectorTitleElevatedElevatorNotesCrescenzioCardinal-Bishop of Sabina1102Hüls (1977), pp. 84, 127. Crescentius was present at the papal election of 24 January 1118. He remained in Rome when Pope Gelasius fled to Pisa and then France; he did not, therefore, sign papal documents in 1119 or the first half of 1120. In March 1119, he sent a letter from Rome to Cluny, approving the election of Pope Calixtus II. He subscribed ahead of Petrus of Porto, Cono of Palestrina, Lamberto of Ostia, and Vitalis of Albano.Paschal IIPietro SenexCardinal-Bishop of Portoc. 1106Paschal IILamberto ScannabecchiCardinal-Bishop of Ostia1116Hüls (1977), p. 84, 106-107, 215. His position in the list of e[iscopal subscriptions reflects the date of his consecration as a bishop.Paschal IIElected pope Honorius IIVitalisCardinal-Bishop of Albano1116Vitalis always subscribes after Petrus of Porto: Hüls (1977), pp. 63, 84, 95. He was created a cardinal after 24 May 1116 and before 21 December.Paschal IIGuillaumeCardinal-Bishop of Palestrinac. 1122Guillaume's predecessor, Cardinal Cono, died on 9 August 1122. Guillaume first subscribes on 6 April 1123. Hüls (1977), pp. 84, 114, 116. He signed after Vitalis and Divizo.Callixtus IIGilles de ParisCardinal-Bishop of Tusculumc. 1122Aegidius (Gilles) first subscribes on 6 April 1123. Hüls (1977), pp. 84, 142-143.Callixtus IIBonifacioCardinal-Priest of S. Marcoc. 1100Bonifacius had his title at least by 1100, according to the Anciennitatprinzip. Huls, p. 85; 186. His earliest subscription, however, is in 1111.Paschal IIprior cardinalium (by 1127)Francesco Liverani, Delle opere di monsignor Francesco Liverani Volume IV (Macerata: Alessandro Mancini 1859), pp. 258-264, at p. 262.Gregorio de CeccanoCardinal-Priest of Ss. XII Apostolic. 1102Gregorius had his title at least by 1102, according to the Anciennitatprinzip. Huls, p. 85; he subscribes after Bonifacio and before Benedictus and Anastasius; his earliest surviving subscription, however, is dated 18 February 1107: Huls, p. 107.Paschal IIFuture antipope Victor IVBenedict Cardinal-Priest of S. Pietro in Vincolic. 1102Benedictus' earliest subscription occurs on 23 March 1112: Hüls (1977), p. 195. The Anciennitatprinzip worked out by Huls, p. 86, shows that he would have been created a cardinal by 1102; he has precedence over Bonifacio of S. Marco and Anastasius of S. Clemente.Paschal IIAnastasiusCardinal-Priest of S. Clementec. 1102Hüls (1977), pp. 85, 161.Paschal IITeobaldo BoccapecciCardinal-Priest of S. Anastasiac. 1103 or 1112Teobaldo's earliest subscription is apparently on 3 July 1103, but Hüls (1977), p. 235, n. 2, doubts it since it is not in agreement with his Anciennitätprinzip, and Teobaldo's subscription of 30 January 1110 indicates that he was a deacon of the Lateran Palace. His earliest subscription as cardinal-deacon of S. Maria Nuova occurs on 23 March 1112. On 17 April 1121 he was still Cardinal-deacon of S. Maria Nuova. He became Cardinal-priest of S. Anastasia before 6 April 1123. HHüls (1977), p. 149.Paschal IIElected pope Celestine II on 16 December, and resignedIoannesCardinal-Priest of S. Ceciliac. 1106Paschal IICorrado della SuburraCardinal-Priest of S. Pudenzianac. 1113Hüls, pp. 85, 201.Paschal IIFuture pope Anastasius IVTeobaldoCardinal-Priest of Ss. Giovanni e Paoloc. 1117Paschal IIDeusdeditCardinal-Priest of S. Lorenzo in Damasoc. 1116Paschal IIGregorio AlbergatiCardinal-Priest of S. Lorenzo in Lucinac. 1116Paschal IIPetrus PisanusCardinal-Priest of S. Susannac. 1116/1117Petrus had previously been Cardinal-deacon of S. Adriano, attested from 1113 to 1116. Hüls, pp. 85, 210, 219-220.Paschal IIAmico, O.S.B.Cardinal-Priest of Ss. Nereo ed Achilleo1117Hüls, p. 193. Ganzer, p. 69.Paschal IIDesideriusCardinal-Priest of S. Prassedec. 1115Paschal IIGerardo / GregorioMiranda notes that Cardinal Gerardo died around 1120 and does not mention the title for the 1124 election; Miranda follows the Liber Pontificalis (Petrus Pisanus), and confuses the evidence. Adams records only Gerardus, and states, on the authority of Hüls, p. 199, that his latest surviving subscription stems from 1129.Cardinal-Priest of Ss. Prisca ed Aquilac. 1115Paschal IISigizoCardinal-Priest of S. Sistoc. 1117Paschal IISaxo de AnagniaCardinal-Priest of S. Stefano al Monte Celioc. 1117Paschal IIPetrus Rufus (Pietro Ruffino Cariaceno)Miranda lists a Cardinal Domnizzone at Ss. Silvestro e Martino for the election of 1124. He contradicts himself, however, by accepting that Pietro Cariaceno occupied that title since December 1122.