Death of Pope Alexander III

August 30, 1181

After two decades of schism, a two-year exile from Rome, and one fleeting personal victory over Barbarossa, the pope who had canonized Becket and launched the Third Lateran Council died at Civita Castellana. His long pontificate is usually counted as a decisive victory for papal authority. Alexander's legacy included the two-thirds voting rule for conclaves and the formal condemnation of the Cathars, decisions that shaped the church for centuries.