William de Croÿ (archbishop)
Encyclopedia
William de Croÿ
(known as Guillaume de Croÿ in French
and Guillermo de Croÿ in Spanish
;) (1497–January 7, 1521) was Archbishop of Toledo from 1517–1521. He was born in the Burgundian Netherlands
and died in Worms, Germany
.
, one of the most important advisers to Charles of Ghent
, the future Holy Roman Emperor. Thanks to this connection, he was granted the lucrative bishopric of Soria. As an absentee bishop, this entailed no duties or work, and merely gave him an income source. Pope Leo X
appointed William the additional office of cardinal
on April 1, 1517.
On November 8, 1517, the Archbishop of Toledo, Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros, died. The Archbishopric of Toledo was the richest and most powerful in Spain, and very prestigious. The main other claimant to succeed Cisneros was Alonso de Aragón
, Archbishop of Saragossa and King Ferdinand II of Aragon
's illegitimate son and young King Charles's half-uncle. However, the seventeen-year-old Charles's biggest influence was still William de Croÿ
, who maneuvered his twenty-year-old nephew into the Archbishopric. The decision was made on November 9, though complications meant he was only appointed in the first week of 1518. Most notably, Queen Isabella I of Castile
's will had specifically prohibited the granting of ecclesiastical offices to foreigners. Charles solved this problem by issuing a writ of naturalization on November 14 to William decreeing him a Castilian. Additionally, Pope Leo X
had granted an indult
on October 12 freeing William from any current or future residency requirement to an office. It had been originally meant to legitimize his holding of the Bishopric of Soria, and was now used to justify the Archbishopric of Toledo.
This appointment was immensely scandalous in Castile. Cisneros had been universally respected, and William was an unknown foreign boy. The representatives at the Cortes of Valladolid in 1518 presented petitions protesting the act. The petitions demanded that no further foreigners be granted naturalization writs and that Croÿ reside in his see. Charles agreed, but ignored the petition anyway; Croÿ never lived in Toledo. The outrage at this act of patronage would be one of the many sparks of the Revolt of the Comuneros in 1520.
s train on January 6, 1521. The Emperor's court had been at Worms, Germany
at the time, and William died the next day. The news was concealed for a time while the royal authorities considered what to do, and as a result the death was only announced January 11. This date was incorrectly used as his death date when initially announced.
William de Croÿ's death provoked a clamor back in Spain, which his death was known by January 25. Antonio Osorio de Acuña
, bishop of Zamora and comunero rebel, dropped his campaign in the North of Castile around Palencia
to head south to Toledo and attempt to succeed William as Archbishop. The comuneros were eventually defeated, though, and Alonso III Fonseca
became the new Archbishop of Toledo in 1523.
Little pity was shown Croÿ in Castile; a contemporary account from Alonso de Santa Cruz, royal historian of King Philip II
, said that "it was a just judgment of God that neither did Croy enjoy the archbishopric nor was the Marquis restored." (Diego López Pacheco, the Marquis of Villena, had been one of the very few nobles to support William's appointment, likely in an attempt to gain the elder de Croÿ's favor, but failed to get his lost lands back.)
House of Croÿ
The House of Croÿ is an international family of European mediatized nobility which held a seat in the Imperial Diet from 1486, and was elevated to the rank of Imperial Princes in 1594...
(known as Guillaume de Croÿ in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Guillermo de Croÿ in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
;) (1497–January 7, 1521) was Archbishop of Toledo from 1517–1521. He was born in the Burgundian Netherlands
Burgundian Netherlands
In the history of the Low Countries, the Burgundian Netherlands refers to a number of Imperial and French fiefs ruled in personal union by the House of Valois-Burgundy and their Habsburg heirs in the period from 1384 to 1482...
and died in Worms, Germany
Worms, Germany
Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...
.
Appointment as Archbishop
William de Croÿ was the nephew of the powerful William de CroÿWilliam de Croÿ
William II de Croÿ, Lord of Chièvres , later Duke of Sora and Arce, Baron of Roccaguglielma William II de Croÿ, Lord of Chièvres (1458 – 28 May 1521) (also known as: Guillaume II de Croÿ, sieur de Chièvres in French; Guillermo II de Croÿ, señor de Chièvres, Xevres or Xebres in Spanish;...
, one of the most important advisers to Charles of Ghent
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
, the future Holy Roman Emperor. Thanks to this connection, he was granted the lucrative bishopric of Soria. As an absentee bishop, this entailed no duties or work, and merely gave him an income source. Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X , born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, was the Pope from 1513 to his death in 1521. He was the last non-priest to be elected Pope. He is known for granting indulgences for those who donated to reconstruct St. Peter's Basilica and his challenging of Martin Luther's 95 Theses...
appointed William the additional office of cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
on April 1, 1517.
On November 8, 1517, the Archbishop of Toledo, Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros, died. The Archbishopric of Toledo was the richest and most powerful in Spain, and very prestigious. The main other claimant to succeed Cisneros was Alonso de Aragón
Alonso de Aragón
Alonso de Aragón or Alfonso de Aragón was Archbishop of Zaragoza, Archbishop of Valencia and Lieutenant General of Aragon. Born in Cervera, he was an illegitimate son of Ferdinand II of Aragon by a Catalan noblewoman called Aldonza Ruiz de Ivorra .- Ecclesiastical career :Aragón was more a...
, Archbishop of Saragossa and King Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand the Catholic was King of Aragon , Sicily , Naples , Valencia, Sardinia, and Navarre, Count of Barcelona, jure uxoris King of Castile and then regent of that country also from 1508 to his death, in the name of...
's illegitimate son and young King Charles's half-uncle. However, the seventeen-year-old Charles's biggest influence was still William de Croÿ
William de Croÿ
William II de Croÿ, Lord of Chièvres , later Duke of Sora and Arce, Baron of Roccaguglielma William II de Croÿ, Lord of Chièvres (1458 – 28 May 1521) (also known as: Guillaume II de Croÿ, sieur de Chièvres in French; Guillermo II de Croÿ, señor de Chièvres, Xevres or Xebres in Spanish;...
, who maneuvered his twenty-year-old nephew into the Archbishopric. The decision was made on November 9, though complications meant he was only appointed in the first week of 1518. Most notably, Queen Isabella I of Castile
Isabella I of Castile
Isabella I was Queen of Castile and León. She and her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon brought stability to both kingdoms that became the basis for the unification of Spain. Later the two laid the foundations for the political unification of Spain under their grandson, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor...
's will had specifically prohibited the granting of ecclesiastical offices to foreigners. Charles solved this problem by issuing a writ of naturalization on November 14 to William decreeing him a Castilian. Additionally, Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X , born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, was the Pope from 1513 to his death in 1521. He was the last non-priest to be elected Pope. He is known for granting indulgences for those who donated to reconstruct St. Peter's Basilica and his challenging of Martin Luther's 95 Theses...
had granted an indult
Indult
An indult in Catholic canon law is a permission, or privilege, granted by the competent church authority – the Holy See or the diocesan bishop, as the case may be – for an exception from a particular norm of church law in an individual case, for example, members of the consecrated life seeking to...
on October 12 freeing William from any current or future residency requirement to an office. It had been originally meant to legitimize his holding of the Bishopric of Soria, and was now used to justify the Archbishopric of Toledo.
This appointment was immensely scandalous in Castile. Cisneros had been universally respected, and William was an unknown foreign boy. The representatives at the Cortes of Valladolid in 1518 presented petitions protesting the act. The petitions demanded that no further foreigners be granted naturalization writs and that Croÿ reside in his see. Charles agreed, but ignored the petition anyway; Croÿ never lived in Toledo. The outrage at this act of patronage would be one of the many sparks of the Revolt of the Comuneros in 1520.
Death
William was injured by a fall from his horse while in Emperor Charles V'Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
s train on January 6, 1521. The Emperor's court had been at Worms, Germany
Worms, Germany
Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...
at the time, and William died the next day. The news was concealed for a time while the royal authorities considered what to do, and as a result the death was only announced January 11. This date was incorrectly used as his death date when initially announced.
William de Croÿ's death provoked a clamor back in Spain, which his death was known by January 25. Antonio Osorio de Acuña
Antonio Osorio de Acuña
Don Antonio Osorio de Acuña was a Spanish bishop of Zamora, appointed 4 January 1507, during the reigns of Ferdinand II and Charles V. He filled that see in 1519, when the civil war broke out in Spain. Instead of espousing the interests of the throne, he joined the insurgent comuneros...
, bishop of Zamora and comunero rebel, dropped his campaign in the North of Castile around Palencia
Palencia
Palencia is a city south of Tierra de Campos, in north-northwest Spain, the capital of the province of Palencia in the autonomous community of Castile-Leon...
to head south to Toledo and attempt to succeed William as Archbishop. The comuneros were eventually defeated, though, and Alonso III Fonseca
Alonso III Fonseca
Alonso III Fonseca was a Galician archbishop and politician. He was archbishop of Santiago de Compostela from 1507, and archbishop of Toledo from 1523. He was a major supporter of the University of Santiago de Compostela...
became the new Archbishop of Toledo in 1523.
Little pity was shown Croÿ in Castile; a contemporary account from Alonso de Santa Cruz, royal historian of King Philip II
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
, said that "it was a just judgment of God that neither did Croy enjoy the archbishopric nor was the Marquis restored." (Diego López Pacheco, the Marquis of Villena, had been one of the very few nobles to support William's appointment, likely in an attempt to gain the elder de Croÿ's favor, but failed to get his lost lands back.)