The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church - Biographical Dictionary (original) (raw)

The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church

Biographical Dictionary [Antipope] Clement VII (1378-1394) Consistory of December 18, 1378 (I) Celebrated in Fondi

(1) 1. ITRI, Giacomo d' (?-1393)

Birth. (No date found), Itri, near Gaeta, Campania. His last name was Viso or Vis. Some sources considered him a Frenchman born in Champagne. He was called the Cardinal of Itri or the Cardinal of Otranto.

Education. (No information found).

Episcopate. Elected bishop of Ischia ca. 1358. Consecrated (no information found). Transferred to the see of Martirano, March 22, 1359. Promoted to the metropolitan see of Otranto, December 20, 1363. Legate in Naples in 1367. Apostolic visitor of the Basilian monasteries of the kingdom of Naples in 1370. Named titular Latin patriarch of Constantinople, January 18, 1376; retained the administration of the see of Otranto until his promotion to pseudocardinal; he had as vicar the archbishop of Atena; he occupied the see until his promotion to pseudocardinal. Initially, he accepted the election of Pope Urban VI but later, he went to Anagni, where the French cardinals asked him to celebrate the Mass of the Holy Spirit at the opening of their conclave on August 9, 1378; he joined the obedience of the new Antipope Clement VII.

Cardinalate. Created pseudoardinal priest of S. Prisca in the consistory of December 18, 1378. On May 22, 1379, he accompanied Antipope Clement VII when he went by sea to Marseille. Legate of the antipope in Naples, before Queen Giovanna, in 1381. Imprisoned by Carlo de Durazzo in Naples; freed by Cardinal Gentile de Sangro after he was forced to publicly adhere to Pope Urban VI in the church of Santa Chiara on September 4, 1382; detained again, he was kept in several prisons in the kingdom of Sicily together with Pseudocardinal Leonardo Rossi da Giffoni until 1386. Transferred to the title of S. Prassede in November 1387.

Death. March 30, 1393 (1), Avignon. Buried (no information found).

<Bibliography. Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm ab initio nascentis Ecclesiæ vsque ad Vrbanvm VIII. Pont. Max. 2 volumes. Romae : Typis Vaticanis, 1677, II, col. 675-676; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VI. Les cardinaux du Grand Schisme (1378-1417)". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1931. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1931, p.144-145; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volumen I (1198-1431). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1913; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, pp. 27, 45, 46, 206, 280, 286 and 329.

Webgraphy. Arms and brief biographical data in Histoire de tous les cardinaux françois de naissance, ou qui ont esté promeus au cardinalat. [Volume 1] / by François Duchesne (1616-1693). Auteur du texte, in French, p. 655, Gallica.

(1) This is according to "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VI. Les cardinaux du Grand Schisme (1378-1417)". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1931, p. 145; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm, II, col. 676, says that he died in 1387 or on March 30, 1393; Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi, I, 27, 46, says that he died ca. 1387; his biography in French, linked above, says that he died in 1309, which is obviously mistaken.

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(2) 2. BRANCACCIO, Niccolò (ca. 1340-1412)

Birth. Ca. 1340, Naples. Third child of Marino Brancaccio and Giacoma d'Aversa. His last name is also listed as Brancaccio del Vescovo; because of his long stay in Avignon, his last name was Gallicized as "Brancas". Relative of Pope Urban VI. Other cardinals of his family were: Landolfo Brancaccio (1294); Rinaldo Brancaccio (1384); Ludovico Bonito (1408); Tommaso Brancaccio (1411); Francesco Maria Brancaccio (1633); and Stefano Brancaccio (1681). He was called the Cardinal d'Albe; the Cardinal of Cosenza; or the Cardinal of Albano.

Education. Obtained a doctorate in utroque iure, both canon and civil law.

Early life. Canon of the chapter of the metropolitan cathedral of Naples. Papal chaplain. Auditor of the Sacred Roman Rota.

Episcopate. Elected archbishop of Bari, April 12, 1367. Consecrated (no information found). Transferred to the metropolitan see of Cosenza, January 13, 1377; took possession the following April 14. Counselor of Queen Giovanna of Naples and her envoy before Pope Urban VI to ask for the recognition of her election to the throne; returned to Naples and by the queen's advice, he joined the obedience of Antipope Clement VII. Regent of the Apostolic Chancery after the election of the antipope until his promotion to the cardinalate.

Cardinalate. Created pseudocardinal priest in the consistory of December 18, 1378; received the red hat before February 24, 1379 with the title of S. Maria in Trastevere. Named canon of the metropolitan cathedral of Lyon in 1379. He went to Avignon and remained there. On April 21, 1385, he greeted Queen Maria of Naples in Villeneuve. On May 5, 1385, by order of the antipope, he celebrated a requiem mass for Queen Giovanna of Naples. Bishop of the suburbicarian see of Albano at the end of April 1388. Vice-chancellor of the Holy Roman Church in 1391. He was present at the death of the antipope on September 16, 1394. Participated in the conclave of 1394, which elected Antipope Benedict XIII. Abandoned the obedience of Avignon in August 1398; returned to it shortly after. On September 18, 1401, he celebrated the Mass and delivered the sermon in the occasion of the translation of the remains of Antipope Clement VII from the cathedral of Avignon to the new church of the Celestins. Abandoned the obedience of Antipope Benedict XIII in 1408; he was deposed by the antipope on October 21 of that year. Attended the Council of Pisa. Participated in the conclave of 1409, which elected Antipope Alexander V. Participated in the conclave of 1410, which elected Antipope John XXIII. Legate of Antipope John XXIII to Naples. He also was canon and archdeacon of the cathedral chapter of Narbonne; canon of the cathedral chapters of Aix and Fréjus; and provost of Barjois, diocese of Fréjus.

Death. June 29, 1412, Florence, while returning from his legation in Naples. Buried in the middle of the choir of the church of S. Maria Novella, Florence (1).

Webgraphy. The Brancaccio family and cardinals by Nicholas Weber, in English, The Catholic Encyclopedia; his genealogy, A2 B3 C2, Libro d'Oro della Nobiltà Mediterranea; his engraving, Araldica Vaticana; his funeral monument or tomb, church of Saint-André, Avignon, now in Musée Calvet in that city.

(1) This is according to his biography in Italian, linked above; there is a funeral monument or tomb, which image is also linked above, that seems to indicate that he may have been buried in the Dominican church of Saint-André, Avignon; according to Etienne Baluze, Vitae paparum avenionensium; hoc est Historia pontificum romanorum qui in Gallia sederunt ab anno Christi MCCCV usque ad annum MCCCXCIV (4 vols. Nouv. édtion d'après les manuscrits par G. Mollat. Paris : Letouzey et Ani, 1914-1927), he had had this monument built.

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(3) 3. AMIEL DE SARCENAS, O.S.B., Pierre (ca. 1309-1389)

Birth. Ca. 1309, Sarcenas, locality near Grenoble (Auvergne), France. His last name is also listed as Amelii; as d'Ameil; as de Sarunas; as de Gratia; and as de Grâce. Called the Cardinal of Embrun, although he had resigned that see.

Education. Entered the Order of Saint Benedict (Benedictines). Obtained a doctorate in law.

Priesthood. Ordained (no further information found). Auditor of the Sacred Roman Rota. Abbot of the monastery of Saint-Bénigne, Dijon.

Episcopate. Elected archbishop of Vienne, April 27, 1362. Consecrated (no information found). Transferred to the metropolitan see of Naples, January 9, 1363. Legate of Pope Urban V to the kingdom of Naples, March 3, 1363. Transferred to the metropolitan see of Embrun, September 5, 1365. He reestablished the concord between Provence and the Dauphiné in 1369. He joined the obedience of Avignon.

Cardinalate. Created pseudocardinal priest of S. Marco in the consistory of December 18, 1378; resigned the government of his see (1). He went to Marseille on June 10, 1379, with Cardinal Nicolas de Saint Saturnin, O.P., before the arrival of the antipope. He resided in Avignon. On March 8, 1379, together with six other cardinals, he wrote a letter against Pope Urban VI. At the end of that same year, he wrote a treatise against the project of a general council. Named grand penitentiary in November 1383. Participated in the negotiations between Queen Giovanna of Naples and the duke of Anjou in 1385. On September 14, 1386, he became counselor to Queen Maria of Naples; he wrote to her on June 8, 1387 and received his privileges on December 20 of that same year. He was one of the legataires of Cardinal Angelic de Grimoard, Can. Reg. of Saint Augustine, in his will of April 11 and 14, 1388. He wrote numerous letters, which are in the Vatican Archive (some were published in 1899); in 1389, he wrote a memoir on the Flemish affairs for the Synod of Gand (2).

Death. August 10, 1389, Avignon. Buried in the church of the Celestines in Avignon.

Bibliography. Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm ab initio nascentis Ecclesiæ vsque ad Vrbanvm VIII. Pont. Max. 2 volumes. Romae : Typis Vaticanis, 1677, II, col. 676; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VI. Les cardinaux du Grand Schisme (1378-1417)". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1931. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1931, p. ; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volumen I (1198-1431). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1913; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, pp. 27, 44, 234, 360 and 527; Fornier, Marcellin ; Juvénis, Raymond ; Albert, Antoine ; Guillaume, Paul. Histoire générales des Alpes Maritimes ov Cottiènes, et pertievlière de levr métropolitaine Ambrvn; chronographiqve et meslée de la séevliéère avec l'ecclésiastiqve, divisée en cinq parties fort abondantes en diverses belles evriositez. 3 vols. Paris, H. Champion, 1890 1892, II, 222-254.

Webgraphy. Biographical entry, in French, La Page De Gilles Amiel; his arms and biography in Histoire de tous les cardinaux françois de naissance, ou qui ont esté promeus au cardinalat. [Volume 1] / by François Duchesne (1616-1693). Auteur du texte, in French, p. 656-657, Gallica; biography in Histoire générale des Alpes Maritimes ou Cottiènes : et particulière de leur métropolitaine, Ambrun, chronographique, et meslée de la séculière avec l'ecclésiastique... / composée par le R. P. Marcellin Fornier (1592-1649); publ. par l'abbé Paul Guillaume; [continuation par Raymond Juvénis et Antoine Albert, avec appendice et table générale]. Auteur du text, in French, p. 222-254, Gallica.

(1) His biography in French, p. 657, linked above, says that he was named cardinal bishop of Sabina in 1384; he never occupied that see; the source confuses him with Cardinal Pierre de Sortenac (1375); Chacón, Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm, II, 676; Pius Bonifatius Gams Series episcoporum Ecclesiae catholicae (3 v. in 1. Graz : Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt, 1957), p. XIII; and Gaetano Moroni, Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica da S. Pietro sino ai nostri giorni (103 vols. in 53. Venezia : Tipografia Emiliana, 1840-1861), made the same mistake.
(2) The memoir was published by Etienne Baluze, Vitae paparum avenionensium; hoc est Historia pontificum romanorum qui in Gallia sederunt ab anno Christi MCCCV usque ad annum MCCCXCIV (4 vols. Nouv. édtion d'après les manuscrits par G. Mollat. Paris : Letouzey et Ani, 1914-1927).

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(4) 4. BARRIÈRE, Can. Reg. of Saint Augustine, Pierre-Raymond de (?-1383)

Birth. (No date found), Rodez, France. His middle name is also listed as Raimundi; and his last name as Barreria.

Education. Joined the Canons Regular of Saint Augustine. Obtained a doctorate in law.

Priesthood. Ordained (no further information found). Archdeacon of Guadalfaiera, archdiocese of Toledo.

Episcopate. Elected bishop of Coria, February 20, 1348; consecrated at Marseille, in the cathedral, on June 6, 1350 by Bertrando, archbishop of Salerno, assisted by Pedro, O.P., titular bishop of Hardan (Dardania), and by (no information found). Trasnfaerred to the see of León, August 31, 1360. Transferred to the see of Toul, November 19, 1361. Transferred to see of Mirepoix, July 5, 1363. Transferred to the see of Autun, April 22, 1377.

Cardinalate. Declined the promotion to the cardinalate offered by Pope Urban VI. Joined the obedience of Antipope Clement VII. Created pseudocardinal priest in the consistory of December 18, 1378; the red hat was sent to him in Paris and he received it from Cardinal Jean de Cros on May 4, 1379, in the presence of the king of France and of Cardinals Guillaume d'Aigrefeuille and Guy de Malsec. He wrote in Paris the treatise De schismate, against Pope Urban VI. He entered Avignon on October 3, 1379 and then received the title of Ss. Marcellino e Pietro. In addition to the treatise, he wrote several ecclesiastical works.

Death. June 13, 1383, Avignon. Buried in the cathedral of Avignon.

Webgraphy. His engraving and biography in Histoire de tous les cardinaux françois de naissance, ou qui ont esté promeus au cardinalat. [Volume 1] / by François Duchesne (1616-1693). Auteur du texte, in French, p. 660-661, Gallica; his engraving, Araldica Vaticana.

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(5) 5. SAINT SATURNIN, O.P., Nicolas de (?-1382)

Birth. (No date found), Saint Saturnin, diocese of Clermont-Ferrand, France. His last name is not known; Saint Saturnin, his birth place, is the name he took when he entered his religious order. His adopted last name is also listed as Saturnine; and as Saturnino.

Education. Entered the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) in Clermont. He was a reputed theologian.

Priesthood. Ordained (no further information found). Elected provincial of his order in France on June 24, 1366. On May 27, 1372, he received three bone fractions of S. Tommaso d'Aquino. Named by Pope Gregory XI master of the Sacred Palace in 1375.

Cardinalate. He declined the promotion to the cardinalate offered by Pope Urban VI. In July 1378, he was one of the delegates of the dissident cardinals in a mission before the king of France; returned to Paris the following August and joined the obedience of Avignon. Created pseudocardinal priest of Ss. Silvestro e Martino ai Monti in the consistory of December 18, 1378. From Avignon, he wrote, with another six cardinals, a letter against Pope Urban VI, dated March 8, 1379. He went to Marseille on June 10, 1379, together with Cardinal Pierre Amiel de Sarcens, O.S.B., before the pope arrived in that city. Named chancellor of the University of Paris in 1381.

Death. January 23, 1382 Avignon. Buried in the church of the Dominicans in Clermont; now chapel of the Visitation.

Webgraphy. Engraving and biography in Histoire de tous les cardinaux françois de naissance, ou qui ont esté promeus au cardinalat. [Volume 1] / by François Duchesne (1616-1693). Auteur du texte, in French, p. 658-661, Gallica; his engraving, Araldica Vaticana; description of his mausoleum in Description des principaux lieux de France. 5. Auvergne / by Jacquez-Antoine Dulaure (1755-1835). Auteur du texte, in French, p. 223-224, Gallica; his mission before the King of France, July 1378 in La France et le grand schisme d'Occident. T. 1 / by Noël Valois (1855-1915). Auteur du texte, in French, Gallica.

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(6) 6. ROSSI DA GIFFONI, O.F.M., Leonardo (ca. 1335/1340-1407)

Birth. Ca. 1335/1340, Giffoni Valle Piana, near Salerno. His last name is also listed as de Grifonio; as de Ciffono; as de Giffono or Jovis Fano; and as de Rubeis. He was called the Cardinal of Giffone.

Education. Entered the Order of the Friars Minor (Franciscans).

Priesthood. Theologian of the diocese of Salerno. Professor at the Studio Generale di San Lorenzo Maggiore, Naples and at Cambridge University, England. Provincial in Terra di Lavoro, province between Lazio and Campania. Elected fourth minister general of his order at the general chapter of Toulouse, June 5, 1373.

Cardinalate. Declined the promotion to the cardinalate offered by Pope Urban VI. Joined the obedience of Avignon. Created pseudocardinal priest of S. Sisto in the consistory of December 18, 1378; received the red hat in Naples on April 5, 1379. Accompanied Antipope Clement VII, with Cardinal Giacomo d'Itri, to the trip by sea to Marseille on May 22, 1379. Received his cardinalitial title on May 28, 1379. Sent as legate to the Kingdom of Naples in 1381; he was arrested by Cardinal Gentile di Sangro on January 9, 1382; he was taken to Benevento and later, transferred to Aversa on February 13; remained imprisoned until 1386 with Cardinal Giacomo d'Itri; he escaped and went to Avignon on May 13, 1387. He was one of the three judges and commissaries named by Antipope Clement VII for the process of Father Jean de Monston, excommunicated by sentence of March 17, 1389. He was present at the death of Antipope Clement VII on September 16, 1394. Participated in the conclave of 1394, which elected Antipope Benedict XIII. Together with Cardinal Martín de Zalba, he was charged with the care of the affairs of France; he wrote to King Charles VI of France on October 8, 1395. Named bishop of Ostia e Velletri in October 1398. Abandoned the obedience of Avignon in 1398; wrote a memoir against the antipope at the beginning of 1399; returned to the obedience of the antipope in May 1403. He authored commentaries to the Holy Scriptures, a summa theologica, and numerous sermons.

Death. Shortly after March 17, 1407 (1), Avignon. Buried in the church of the Franciscans in Avignon.

Bibliography. Accrocca, Felice. "Il cardinale Leonardo da Giffoni ofm sulla rinuncia di Celestino V." Studi Francescani, LXXXVII (1990), 31-46; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm ab initio nascentis Ecclesiæ vsque ad Vrbanvm VIII. Pont. Max. 2 volumes. Romae : Typis Vaticanis, 1677, II, col. 677; "Chronica XXIV Generalium Ordinis Minorum: Tempora fratris Leonardi de Gifono, XXIV. Ordinis Generalis (1373-1378) Tempora fratris Leonardi de Gifono, XXIV. Ordinis Generalis (1373-1378)." in Analecta franciscana, III: sive chronica aliaque varia documenta ad historiam fratrum minorum spectantia. - Ad Claras Aquas (Quaracchi) prope Florentiam : Ex Typographia Collegii S. Bonaventurae, 1897, pp. 574-575; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VI. Les cardinaux du Grand Schisme (1378-1417)". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1931. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1931, p. 146; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volumen I (1198-1431). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1913; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, pp. 29 and 47; Romaniello, Agatangelo. "Leonardo De Rossi (1335-1407) figlio autentico di S. Francesco." L'Italia francescana , LVII 1982), 701-720; Schmitt, Clément. "Léonard de Giffoni, frère mineur et cardinal, vers 1407." Dictionnaire de spiritualité ascétique et mystique doctrine et histoire. Paris : Beauchesne, 1976, IX, col. 644-646.

Webgraphy. Biography, in English, site is a co-production of Maarten van der Heijden and Bert Roest; his engraving and arms, Araldica Vaticana; review of his work "Summula ecclesie sacramentorum", in English, Textmanuscripts.

(1) This is according to "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VI. Les cardinaux du Grand Schisme (1378-1417)". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1931, p. 146; and Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi, I, 29 and 47; Chacón, Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm, I, col. 677, indicates that he died on nonas Maii, anno 1405.