Arnaud de Pellegrue
Encyclopedia
Cardinal-nephew
A cardinal-nephew is a cardinal elevated by a Pope who is that cardinal's uncle, or, more generally, his relative. The practice of creating cardinal-nephews originated in the Middle Ages, and reached its apex during the 16th and 17th centuries. The word nepotism originally referred specifically to...
of Pope Clement V
Pope Clement V
Pope Clement V, born Raymond Bertrand de Got was Pope from 1305 to his death...
, the first pope of the Avignon Papacy
Avignon Papacy
The Avignon Papacy was the period from 1309 to 1376 during which seven Popes resided in Avignon, in modern-day France. This arose from the conflict between the Papacy and the French crown....
.
He was born in Château Lamothe
Lamothe
Lamothe is the name or part of the name of the following communes in France:* Lamothe, Landes, in the Landes department* Lamothe, Haute-Loire, in the Haute-Loire department* Bromont-Lamothe, in the Puy-de-Dôme department...
, Ancient Diocese of Bazas
Ancient Diocese of Bazas
The Diocese of Bazas, centred on Bazas in Aquitaine, covered the Bazadais region, known under the Romans as the Vasatensis pagus after the ancient occupants, the Vasates. In the 2nd century it was part of the Novempopulania, one of the seventeen provinces of Gaul...
to the "ancient and noble" house of de la Mothe Pellegrue
Pellegrue
Pellegrue is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
, a relative (and probably a nephew) of Clement V. His first name is sometimes given as Arnaldo in Italian sources, and his last name varies as Pelagura, Pelaugrue, or Pelagrua as well.
He was elevated as cardinal deacon of S. Maria in Portico
Santa Maria in Campitelli
Santa Maria in Campitelli or Santa Maria in Portico is a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary on the Piazza di Campitelli, Rome, Italy....
on December 15, 1305. He was also the archdeacon of the cathedral chapter of Chartres
Chartres
Chartres is a commune and capital of the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. It is located southwest of Paris.-Geography:Chartres is built on the left bank of the Eure River, on a hill crowned by its famous cathedral, the spires of which are a landmark in the surrounding country...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where he built two chapels: one dedicated to Saint Jérôme
Jerome
Saint Jerome was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia...
, and the other to Saint Christoph
Saint Christopher
.Saint Christopher is a saint venerated by Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians, listed as a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd century Roman Emperor Decius or alternatively under the Roman Emperor Maximinus II Dacian...
. In 1295, he became vicar general
Vicar general
A vicar general is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ordinary executive power over the entire diocese and, thus, is the highest official in a diocese or other particular...
of Clement V in Comminges
Comminges
The Comminges is an ancient region of southern France in the foothills of the Pyrenees, corresponding closely to the arrondissement of Saint-Gaudens in the department of Haute-Garonne...
, and later became vicar general in Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
.
As papal legate
Papal legate
A papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....
to Italy, Pellegrue was absent from Avignon between January 25, 1309 and December 10, 1310. Pellegrue led the papal army after Clement V declared war on Venice in 1309 over the disputed lordship of the strategic city of Ferrara
Ferrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
, in which Francesco d'Este and his brothers opposed the succession as signore of Ferrara of their great-nephew Folco in 1308 and turned to Padua and the papacy for support. In May Pellegrue led the papal army though Asti
Asti
Asti is a city and comune of about 75,000 inhabitants located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about 55 kilometres east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River...
to Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
, Piacenza
Piacenza
Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...
, and Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, augmenting his forces with local mobs as he passed through. Pellegrue allied himself with the Lombards
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
, Bologna, and Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
(from which he lifted the interdict
Interdict (Roman Catholic Church)
In Roman Catholic canon law, an interdict is an ecclesiastical censure that excludes from certain rites of the Church individuals or groups, who nonetheless do not cease to be members of the Church.-Distinctions in canon law:...
). His forces outnumbered the Venetian supporters of Folco by the time he reached Ferrara in August; once there, he laid siege to Castel Tedaldo and blocked navigation on the Po River
Po River
The Po |Ligurian]]: Bodincus or Bodencus) is a river that flows either or – considering the length of the Maira, a right bank tributary – eastward across northern Italy, from a spring seeping from a stony hillside at Pian del Re, a flat place at the head of the Val Po under the northwest face...
. According to Venetian reports, the captured forces were subjected to various atrocities, including blinding, when the fortress fell in September. Ferrara was placed under direct papal rule, and in the ensuing disorders, Francesco was killed in a skirmish, August 23, 1312.
In February 1312 Arnaud was one of the three French cardinals and one Italian conferring with Guillaume de Nogaret
Guillaume de Nogaret
Guillaume de Nogaret or William of Nogaret was councillor and keeper of the seal to Philip IV of France.- Early life :...
and other agents of Philip IV of France
Philip IV of France
Philip the Fair was, as Philip IV, King of France from 1285 until his death. He was the husband of Joan I of Navarre, by virtue of which he was, as Philip I, King of Navarre and Count of Champagne from 1284 to 1305.-Youth:A member of the House of Capet, Philip was born at the Palace of...
at the Council of Vienne
Council of Vienne
The Council of Vienne was the fifteenth Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church that met between 1311 and 1312 in Vienne. Its principal act was to withdraw papal support for the Knights Templar on the instigation of Philip IV of France.-Background:...
where the Templars were to be suppressed.
He was named Cardinal protector
Cardinal protector
Since the thirteenth century it has been customary at Rome to confide to some particular Cardinal a special solicitude in the Roman Curia for the interests of a given religious order or institute, confraternity, church, college, city, nation etcetera. Such a person is known as a Cardinal Protector...
of the Order of the Friars Minor (Franciscans)
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
in 1313, and also the Governor of Bologna and the Governor of Ferrara; the Bolognese requested Pellegrue as Protector in 1311. As cardinal elector, he participated in the papal conclave, 1314-1316 which elected Pope John XXII
Pope John XXII
Pope John XXII , born Jacques Duèze , was pope from 1316 to 1334. He was the second Pope of the Avignon Papacy , elected by a conclave in Lyon assembled by Philip V of France...
. At the conclave Pellegrue led the Gascon
Gascon language
Gascon is usually considered as a dialect of Occitan, even though some specialists regularly consider it a separate language. Gascon is mostly spoken in Gascony and Béarn in southwestern France and in the Aran Valley of Spain...
faction, which numbered ten of the twenty-three total cardinals, all ten being creatures of Clement V, who were supported by Clement V's nephew, Bertrand de Got, viscount
Viscount
A viscount or viscountess is a member of the European nobility whose comital title ranks usually, as in the British peerage, above a baron, below an earl or a count .-Etymology:...
of Lomagne
Beaumont-de-Lomagne
Beaumont-de-Lomagne is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in southern France.-History:Beaumont-de-Lomagne, bastide, was founded in 1276 following the act of coregency between the abbey of Grandselve and King Philip III of France - the King was represented by his...
and Raimond Guilhem de Budos. He died in August 1331 in Avignon.