First Council of Lyons
- proper noun
- The First Council of Lyons was convened by Pope Innocent IV in response to conflicts with Emperor Frederick II.
Examples
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Historians often cite the First Council of Lyons as a turning point in papal-emperor relations.
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At the First Council of Lyons, the church confirmed its decision to excommunicate Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II.
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At the First Council of Lyons, several major decisions about church governance were made.
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The First Council of Lyons was a significant event in church history.
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Did the First Council of Lyons really excommunicate Frederick II?
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The First Council of Lyons launched plans for a new crusade to the Holy Land.
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During the First Council of Lyons, Pope Innocent IV addressed the need for reform within the church.
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a descriptive proper-name phrase whose basic meaning — 'the first ecclesiastical council held at Lyons' — is directly derivable from the constituents 'first' (preceding), 'council' (ecclesiastical assembly) and 'Lyons' (the city). Specific historical actions (excommunication of Frederick II, crusade planning) require background knowledge, but the referent itself is compositionally transparent to a learner who knows the parts.
Etymology
First Council of Lyons gets its name from a large meeting of church leaders held in the city of Lyons in 1245, when the pope and bishops met to make important decisions. One famous action there was to 'excommunicate' the emperor and to plan a 'new crusade', so the name now refers to that specific meeting and its big decisions.