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Otto of Tonengo

Catholic cardinal

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJun 1, 2026
Entity authorityQ517189
Source-derived summary

Otto of Tonengo (c. 1190 – 1250/1251) was an Italian papal diplomat and cardinal, first as deacon of San Nicola in Carcere from 1227 and then as bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina from 1244.

He is called in many English sources Otto Candidus, meaning "Otto the White", a name he used himself.

Otto had a legal education, and had joined the Roman curia by 1225. His first mission was to England to raise funds for the Sixth Crusade in 1225–1226. In 1227–1228, he undertook his first embassy to Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor. In 1229–1231, he travelled extensively through France, the Low Countries, Germany, Denmark and Norway on Papal business. In 1232–1233, he undertook his second embassy to Frederick II.

In 1237–1240, he was the apostolic legate in England, Scotland and Ireland. This was by far his most successful mission. Returning to the curia, he was captured by imperial forces in the battle of Giglio in 1241.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Otto of Tonengo” as catholic cardinal. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Otto, Tonengo and Catholic.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1190, 1250, 1251, 1227—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1190. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Otto, Tonengo and Catholic providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Otto of Tonengo”, the useful work is to connect “catholic cardinal” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q517189. VIAF identifies the subject as 39777347. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1190, 1250, 1251 and 1227.

Critical limits

The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. 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

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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  2. Expand the search: follow Otto of Tonengo primary sources, Otto of Tonengo archive and Otto research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Otto of Tonengo” 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.