Giordano Pierleoni (in contemporary Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

, Jordanus filius Petrus Leonis) was the son of the Consul

Consul

Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...

 Pier Leoni

Pier Leoni

Pier Leoni was the son of the Jewish convert Leo de Benedicto and founder of the great and important medieval Roman family of the Pierleoni. He was called the Jewish Crassus by Gregorovius....

 and therefore brother of Antipope Anacletus II

Antipope Anacletus II

Anacletus II , born Pietro Pierleoni, was an Antipope who ruled from 1130 to his death, in a schism against the contested, hasty election of Pope Innocent II....

 and leader of the Commune of Rome

Commune of Rome

The Commune of Rome was an attempt to establish a government like the old Roman Republic in opposition to the temporal power of the higher nobles and the popes beginning in 1144...

 which the people set up in 1143. According to Gregorovius, he was a "maverick" in the great Pierleoni family

Pierleoni family

The family of the Pierleoni, meaning "sons of Peter Leo", was a great Roman patrician clan of the Middle Ages, headquartered in a tower house in the Jewish quarter, Trastevere. The heads of the family often bore the title consul Romanorum, or "Consul of the Romans," in the early days.The family's...

, for he continued to oppose the papacy after Anacletus' death, when the rest of his clan had returned to support of Rome.

In late autumn 1143, the democratic element in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 set up a Senate

Roman Senate

The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...

 in opposition to the higher nobility and the papacy. Drawing on the glorious ancient Roman Republic

Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...

, the citizens declared a senate, based on four elected representatives from each of the newly created fourteen districts of medieval Rome

14 regions of Medieval Rome

During the Middle Ages, Rome was divided into a number of administrative regions , usually numbering between twelve and fourteen, which changed over time.-Evolution of the Regions:...

, the first real senators since the seventh century. The fifty six senators then elected as patrician

Patricianship

Patricianship, the quality of belonging to a patriciate, began in the ancient world, where cities such as Ancient Rome had a class of patrician families whose members were the only people allowed to exercise many political functions...

 Pierleoni, because the title of consul

Consul

Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...

 had taken on noble connotations. Pierleoni led the defence of the city against Pope Lucius II

Pope Lucius II

Pope Lucius II , born Gherardo Caccianemici dal Orso, was pope from March 9, 1144, until his death Feb 15, 1145. His pontificate was notable for the unrest in Rome associated with the Commune of Rome, and its attempts to wrest control of the city from the papacy.-Early life:Gherardo Caccianemici...

's assault in 1145, where Lucius himself was killed. However, Pierleoni could not maintain order in the city and, despite his overtures of negotiations with Lucius—demanding the pope renounce secular authority and live as a common priest

Priest

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

 before being allowed reentry into the city, —he was deposed by the people, who invited Pope Eugene III

Pope Eugene III

Pope Blessed Eugene III , born Bernardo da Pisa, was Pope from 1145 to 1153. He was the first Cistercian to become Pope.-Early life:...

, Lucius' successor, back. The power vacuum left by Pierleoni's deposition caused even more anarchy and eventually the pope left and a less illustrious man than Giordano, Giacomo da Vico, was elected patrician—though a man his equal, Arnold of Brescia

Arnold of Brescia

Arnold of Brescia , also known as Arnaldus , was an Italian monk from Lombardy who called on the Church to renounce ownership of property and participated in the failed Commune of Rome. Eventually arrested, he was hanged by the Church, burned posthumously, and then had his ashes thrown into the...

, had arrived in the commune in 1145. Arnold would renew the commune, giving it the intellectual leadership it lacked after Pierleoni's downfall.

Source

• Gregorovius, Ferdinand. History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages Vol. IV, part 2. trans. Annie Hamilton.