The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church

Biographical Dictionary
[Antipope] Clement VII (1378-1394)
Consistory of April 17, 1391 (X)
Celebrated in Avignon


(33) 1. VERGY, Guillaume de (ca. 1350s-1407)

Birth. Ca. 1350s, Bourgogne, France. Of an ancient and illustrious family. Son of Jean de Vergy, sénéchal of Bourgogne, and Gillette de Vienne. His last name is also listed as de Vergeyo. He was called the Cardinal of Besançon.

Education. Obtained a baccalaureate in law.

Early life. He received the ecclesiastical tonsure, which made him a cleric. Prior of the priorates of Beaumont le Roger, diocese of Evreux; and of Saint-Ymier, diocese of Lisieux.

Episcopate. Elected archbishop of Besançon, January 29, 1371, with dispensation for not having yet reached the canonical age. Consecrated (no information found). He had a conflict with Duke Philippe de Bourgogne, whom he excommunicated. He sought refuge in Avignon.

Cardinalate. Created pseudocardinal priest in the consistory of April 17, 1391; he entered the curia in Avignon on April 10, 1393; and received the title of S. Cecilia. 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. Took part in the reunion of cardinals in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon in 1395 to prepare the end of the schism. Testamentary executor of Cardinal Jean Murol, September 19, 1397. He was in Avignon in 1403.

Death. 1407, Besançon. Buried in the chapel of Saint-Nicolas in the cathedral of Besançon.

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. 688; "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. 153; 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, 40 and 137.

Webgraphy. 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, pp. 716-717, Gallica; The Family de Vergy, in French, © gilles maillet; his laconic epitaph in Histoire de tous les cardinaux françois de naissance, ou qui ont esté promeus au cardinalat. [Volume 2] / by François Duchesne (1616-1693). Auteur du texte, p. 573, Gallica; his arms, Araldica Vaticana.

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