Gerardo da Sesso

From when he was first made a visitator et provisor of the region of Lombardy in 1205 or 1206 until his death, he worked ceaselessly for the reform of the Lombard clergy.

After 1210, in the contest over the imperial throne, he strove for the Ghibelline candidate, Frederick II, against the Guelph Otto IV.

[4] By April 1192, Gerardo had entered the chapter of the cathedral of Parma, where his relative, Guidotto de Sesso, was provost.

[b] In that month, Pope Celestine III charged him with assisting the provost of cathedral of Reggio in resolving a dispute there.

In November 1208, Gerardo, Pietro and Archbishop Uberto da Pirovano of Milan [it] suspended Crimerio for having given in to Piacenza's demands.

On 19 March 1208, with another arbitrator, the abbot of San Galgano, he ordered the two cities to observe the peace handed down by apostolic legates in 1188.

[4] In April 1211,[e] Innocent III appointed him cardinal bishop of Albano and promoted him to apostolic legate in Lombardy.

[10] Gerardo reached Novara by 29 April, but quickly left for Milan, where Uberto da Pirovano had recently died.

[11] On 7 June 1211, accompanied by the abbot of Chiaravalle della Colomba, Gerardo was in Cremona to arrange the election of Giordano Forzatè to the vacant diocese of Ferrara.

He then tried to go to Bologna, accompanied by Sicardo of Cremona, but a Bolognese delegation met him at Modena and dissuaded him, because the same conflict between Otto's and Frederick's supporters was latent in their city.

He then moved to Brescia, where he forced the bishop, Giovanni da Palazzo [it], to resign[h] and confirmed the apostolic protection of abbey of Santa Maria in Conche [it].

[4] In October 1211, Gerardo held a diocesan synod in Novara, which promulgated stricter rules for the conduct of the clergy.

[2] Both manuscripts present the text without attribution, but a 15th-century catalogue of the Basilica of Santo Spirito in Florence names the author as Gerardus Novariensis (Gerard of Novara).

1104, a copy of Gregory of Rimini's Sentences, cites Ne transgrediaris in a marginal note, confirming the authorship of Gerardus Novariensis.