Which papal legate led the hard-line faction during the Fifth Crusade?

Pelagius of Albano led the hard-line faction during the Fifth Crusade.

Pelagius Galvani was a cardinal and papal legate sent by Pope Honorius III to direct the crusader effort in Egypt. He arrived during the campaign around Damietta and became its principal religious and political authority, working alongside secular leaders such as John of Brienne and the commanders of the military orders.

Pelagius favored continuing the offensive rather than accepting Sultan al-Kamil’s peace proposals. After Damietta fell in 1219, al-Kamil offered terms that included the return of Jerusalem and other territories, but Pelagius rejected them, partly because he believed the crusaders could gain more through pressure on Egypt. The decision helped produce the disastrous advance toward Cairo in 1221.

His role is sometimes reduced to that of a ceremonial papal representative, but he exercised real influence over strategy. The title “of Albano” refers to the suburbicarian bishopric associated with him; he is also known as Pelagio Galvani. Hugh of Die and Peter of Capua were important churchmen, but neither was the legate who directed the Fifth Crusade’s central policy.