In 1216, Honorius III ascended the papal throne (lat. Honorius PP. III), in the world - Cencio Savelli (1148 - 1227) - Pope from July 18, 1216 to March 18, 1227.
A representative of an ancient and powerful Roman family. Cardinal Cencio Savelli was one of the closest associates of Innocent III. The Pope entrusted him with the education of the future Emperor Frederick II. In addition, Cenchio was the papal treasurer and was in charge of all the revenues of the Holy See. In this position, he wrote The Book of the Influence of the Roman Church, a source of knowledge of the economic development of the then papacy. A few days after the death of Innocent III, nineteen cardinals gathered in Perugia to elect his successor to the Apostolic See. The not entirely calm political situation in Italy, the heresy not completely defeated and vague news from the east about the beginning of the invasion of some Tatars prompted the collegium to make a quick compromise decision. Two cardinals, Ugolino Conti and Guido Preneste, were empowered to independently appoint the pope. They opted for Cencio Savelli, who took the name Honorius III. On 24 July he was consecrated in Perugia, on 31 August he was crowned in Rome, and on 3 September he entered the Lateran Palace.
Despite his advanced age, Pope Honorius enthusiastically got down to business. He saw his main tasks as the liberation of the Holy Land from the Saracens and the spiritual reform of the entire church. As soon as he became pope, Honorius sent letters to the spiritual and secular rulers of Europe calling for a new crusade, planned for 1217. To finance the campaign, the pope and cardinals had to give a tenth of their income over the next three years, and all other priests - twentieth. … Despite this, there was still not enough money to organize the trip. As a result, a significant part of the crusader army was made up of cripples, old people, women, various adventurers and criminals. Most of the rulers of Europe were busy with internal wars and could not take part in the campaign. Honorius understood that the only personwho could help in the conquest of the Holy Land was Frederick II. He made a vow to take part in the campaign, but while his rival Otto IV was alive, the emperor did not risk leaving Germany. After the death of a competitor, the pope insisted on the immediate fulfillment of the vow, but Frederick, under various pretexts, delayed the sailing. Hoping to hasten the departure of Frederick, on November 22, 1220, Honorius crowned him emperor, but the matter did not get off the ground.but the matter did not get off the ground.but the matter did not get off the ground.
Despite the fact that the new campaign did not take place during Honorius's lifetime, the pope became famous as a peacemaker who tried to end the wars between European rulers. Like Innocent, he intervened in the affairs of many European states. In 1216, King John Lackland of England died, leaving the child heir to Henry III. And after the king's guardian William Pembroke died in 1219, Honorius actually ruled England through the legate of Pandulf.
Under his patronage, the development of the Inquisition proceeded at a rapid pace. The Order of St. Dominic, as part of which additional services were organized, the main focus of which was the fight against heresy and the provision of support for the Inquisition. After the founding of the Dominican order, which took place as an organization and received powerful support, the Inquisition began to rapidly expand the territorial scope of its activities.
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Honorius III wrote many works. Two large volumes were published with the works of the Pope. It is interesting that these works do not contain any hint of magicians and their art, especially goetics.
However, in history he became more famous for the fact that, according to some of his contemporaries, Honorius III was a powerful sorcerer. In addition, contemporaries believed that Honorius III started a deal with the Inquisition in order to get rid of competitors. Indirect evidence that Honorius III was an adherent of the magical art is the fact that the Pope patronized the magician and astrologer Michael Scott. Honorius III in 1224 invited Michael to become the archbishop of Cashel in Ireland. The Pope also recommended the newly-made archbishop to King Henry III of England (1216-1272). It is also interesting that Honorius III issued a special bull, in which it was forbidden, on pain of excommunication, to study the natural sciences. Physics, medicine and many other sciences fell into disgrace. Progress has stalled. Honorius III strictly forbade all clergy to practice medicine. This became a ban on surgery as a profession for members of the educated strata of medieval society.
The Roman Catholic Church itself rejects such claims. Linking them with an attempt to tarnish the image of the Catholic Church in the minds of posterity. Honorius III, who became the founder of the Inquisition, was canonized by the Catholic Church after his death.
It is he who is credited with the authorship of the magical grimoire known as the Grimoire of Honorius. Interestingly, Nicholas Eymericus, who lived in the 14th century, who was a Dominican monk and also an inquisitor, stated that he personally withdrew the book "The Treasure of Black Magic of the Magician Honorius". Later, the confiscated book was publicly burned. It is worth saying that no other Grimoires have caused such strong indignation of the Catholic Church as the books attributed to Honorius III.
The Manuscript of Honorius was first printed in Rome between 1628 and 1671.
It should also be added that practicing Magicians (including Crowley, who was very fond of spells from the "Grimoire of Honorius") testify to the high effectiveness of the rituals of the "Grimoire of Honorius", and whoever was its author, it is believed that the meaning of this Grimoire in magical tradition is comparable only to Lemegeton.