Honorius's pontificate was concerned with ensuring that the privileges the Roman Catholic Church had obtained through the Concordat of Worms were preserved and, if possible, extended.

[2] Entering into an ecclesiastical career, he soon became archdeacon of Bologna,[2] where his abilities eventually saw him attract the attention of Pope Urban II,[3] who presumably appointed him cardinal priest of an unknown church,[4] in c. 1099,[5] though S. Prassede has been discussed.

Cardinal Lamberto carried out the coronation of Guy de Bourgogne at Vienne on 9 February 1119, and became a close advisor of Pope Callixtus II.

He expected absolute obedience, so much so that it took the mediation of Archbishop Adalbert of Mainz to prevent the suspension of Saint Otto of Bamberg for non-attendance.

[12] There, at the suggestion of Jonathas, the cardinal-deacon of Santi Cosma e Damiano, who was a partisan of the Pierleoni family,[10] the Cardinals unanimously elected as Pope the Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Anastasia, Theobaldo Boccapecci, who took the name Celestine II.

[13] He had only just put on the red mantle and the Te Deum was being sung when an armed party of Frangipani supporters (in a move pre-arranged with Cardinal Aymeric)[10] burst in, attacked the newly enthroned Celestine, who was wounded, and acclaimed Lamberto as Pope.

[14] Rome descended into factional infighting, while Cardinal Aymeric and Leo Frangipani attempted to win over the resistance of Urban, the City Prefect, and the Pierleoni family with bribes and extravagant promises.

[14] Honorius, unwilling to accept the throne in such a manner, resigned his position before all of the assembled Cardinals,[14] but was immediately and unanimously re-elected and consecrated on 21 December 1124.

[16] Henry had immediately begun appointing imperial vicars throughout the newly acquired province over the objections of both the Tuscan cities and the papacy.

[17] The death of Emperor Henry V on 23 May 1125 put an end to these squabbles, but soon Honorius was involved in a new power struggle in the Holy Roman Empire.

[10] The German bishops, again led by Adalbert of Mainz, excommunicated Conrad, an act that was confirmed by Honorius in a synod held in Rome at Easter (22 April 1128).

[20] Honorius also sent Cardinal John of Crema to Pisa to hold another synod that excommunicated Archbishop Anselm of Milan, who had crowned Conrad king.

[23] When Honorius took possession of Fumone, he returned it, after taking safeguards, to its rebellious custodians and ordered that the Antipope Gregory VIII be transferred there from his previous lodgings at Monte Cassino.

[27] Using reports that the abbot had been lining his own pockets rather than spending it on his monastery, Honorius publicly denounced Oderisio, calling him a soldier and a thief, not a monk.

[31] Roger in the meantime had rapidly overrun the duchy of Apulia and had sent Honorius lavish gifts, asking the Pope to recognise him as the new duke and promising to hand over Troia and Montefusco in exchange.

[33] Trying to salvage something of the situation, Honorius sent his trusted advisor Cardinal Aymeric together with Cencio II Frangipane to negotiate with Roger secretly.

[10] Unfortunately, Honorius had just returned to Rome when he was informed that the nobles of Benevento had overthrown and killed the rector (or papal governor) of the city and established a Commune.

[34] Aside from the Benedictines at Monte Cassino, Honorius was also determined to deal with the monks at Cluny Abbey under their ambitious and worldly abbot, Pons of Melgueil.

[39] Bernard of Clairvaux wrote to Honorius asking him to intervene on behalf of both men and support church independence over the claims of royal jurisdiction and interference.

[40] Royal pressure was also brought to bear on Hildebert of Lavardin, whom Honorius had transferred from the see of Le Mans to become the Archbishop of Tours in 1125.

[10] In 1127, Honorius confirmed the acts of the Synod of Nantes, presided over by Archbishop Hildebert of Lavardin, which eradicated certain local abuses in Brittany.

Henry objected to the marriage of Fulk's daughter Sibylla of Anjou to William Clito, the son of the duke of Normandy, on the grounds that they were too closely related by blood, being sixth cousins.

[50] He sent a legate, Cardinal John of Crema, to deal with the question of primacy, as well as other jurisdictional issues between Canterbury and Wales, and between York, Scotland and Norway.

[53] Although the synod issued rulings on the forbidding of simony and of holding multiple sees at the same time, it did not touch on the vexed question of primacy between Canterbury and York.

[56] Urban of Llandaff also travelled to Rome on numerous occasions to meet with Honorius throughout 1128 and 1129, to plead his case that his diocese should not be subject to the see of Canterbury.

[58] Still hoping to be promoted to the office of Legate of Spain, Diego sent envoys to Rome, carrying with them 300 gold Almoravid coins, two hundred and twenty for Honorius and another eighty for the Curia.

[71] The next day, and contrary to the usual customs, Honorius was quickly buried without any pomp or ceremony in the monastery, as the hand-picked cardinals got around to electing Gregorio Papareschi, who took the name Pope Innocent II.

Their ceaseless infighting, repressed during the pontificate of Calixtus II, broke out again, and Honorius found he did not have the resources to suppress the Pierleoni, nor the authority to rein in the Frangipani.

Honorius was required to engage in a number of petty wars in Rome, which wasted his time and were in the long haul unsuccessful in restoring order in the streets.

[73] The continued chaos would be instrumental in the events that saw the resurrection of Republican sentiment in the city and the eventual establishment of the Commune of Rome in the following decade.