Pope Urban IV
Head of the Catholic Church from 1261 to 1264 (1185–1264)
Pope Urban IV (Latin: Urbanus; c. 1195 – 2 October 1264), born James Pantaleon (French: Jacques Pantaléon), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1261 to his death three years later. He was elected pope without being a cardinal; he was the first to be elected in such a way, and this would occur for only 5 more popes afterwards (Gregory X, Celestine V, Clement V, Urban V, and Urban VI).
Early career
Pantaléon was the son of a cobbler of Troyes, France. He studied theology and common law in Paris and was appointed a canon of Laon and later Archdeacon of Liège. At the First Council of Lyon (1245), he attracted the attention of Pope Innocent IV, who sent him twice on missions to Germany. In one of these missions, he negotiated the Treaty of Christburg between the pagan Prussians and the Teutonic Knights. He became Bishop of Verdun in 1253. In 1255, Pope Alexander IV made him Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
Pantaléon returned from Jerusalem, which was in dire straits, and was at Viterbo seeking help for the oppressed Christians in the East when Alexander IV died.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Pope Urban IV” as head of the Catholic Church from 1261 to 1264 (1185–1264). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as head of the Catholic Church from 1261 to 1264 (1185–1264). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q169305. VIAF identifies the subject as 40171486. The Library of Congress control number is n88646336. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1195, 1264, 1261 and 1245.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Pope Urban IV”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Pope Urban IV primary sources, Pope Urban IV archive and Pope research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Pope Urban IV”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Pope Urban IV” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.