Papacy of Pope John XXI Begins 1276
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On the 13th of September 1276, following the death of Pope Adrian V, João Pedro Julião was elected Pope John XXI. He continued earlier efforts to stabilize papal governance after a rapid succession of popes in 1276 (there were four popes in one year!). And also tried to reconcile Christian rulers and reduce political conflict between the papacy and European monarchs.
João Pedro Julião was born in Lisbon between 1210 and 1220. He studied in Paris and possibly at Montpellier, two of the best universities of the time where he trained as a physician and later taught medicine at the university of Sienna and Lisbon, before he became the physician of Pope Gregory X.1
Though made Archbishop of Braga he never took up the post, as he was instead made Cardinal bishop of Frascati by Gregory X.
Julião is the only person born in Portugal and only physician to have been elected pope, and maintained an unusual focus on learning and science which was rare for a pope of his era.
For a long time it has been thought that Julião was the author of Summule logicales which became the standard text book on Logic for some 300 years. However, recent research suggests, that they were two different people, and that the author "Peter of Spain" was a member of the Dominican Order.2
