(1) 1. FONSECA, Pedro (second half of the 14th century-1422)
Birth. Second half of the 14th century, Olivenza, Portugal (1). Of an illustrious family. Son of Pedro Rodríguez de Fonseca, alcaide of the village of Olivenza and counselor to King Juan I of Castilla, and Inés Díaz Botello, dame of Queen Beatriz of Portugal. His last name is also listed as Fontesico; and as Rodríguez de Fonseca.
Education. Studied utroque iure, both canon and civil law at the University of Salamnaca under the protection of the archbishop of Sevilla during the reign of King Enrique III of Castilla.
Sacred Orders. Cleric of Avila. In 1405, Archbishop Lope de Mendoza of Santiago de Compostela request for him a canonship in the expectation of a prebend in Ávila, where he was still acting as a cleric. In 1407, he was already a bachelor in law, chaplain to Queen Beatriz of Portugal and persona dilecta y consanguíneo of the Queen, succeeding the late Álvaro Gil as chantre of the cathedral of Salamanca.
Cardinalate. Created cardinal deacon of S. Angelo in Pescheria in the consistory of December 14, 1412.
Episcopate. Administrator of the see of Astorga, June 5, 1413 until June 7, 1419. On May 3, 1416, three pseudocardinals, Urriés, Carrillo and Fonseca, responded to King Alfonso V, that they could not abandon Antipope Benedict XIII, because he was the legitimate pope, vicar of Christ and head of the Church; in their letter, they showed a deep knowledge of theology and of the Fathers of the Church. With the same firmness, they rejected the notice of the Castillian embassy, of December 15, 1416, to go to the Council of Constance; but their commitment to the cause of the antipope was collapsing. On February 8, 1417, the three pseudocardinals and some other prelates reiterated the request that they had formulated other times to Antipope Benedict XIII that he abdicate and that he send a delegation to the Council of Constance to carry out the resignation and to apologize for the delay; the antipope rejected it; they washed their hands and declared themselves innocent of whatever would happen; the antipope responded a month later; the three pseudocardinals responded immediately insisting on the necessity to abdicate to end the schism and reaffirming themselves in their position; in vain they waited for the answer; on December 26, 1417, the three cardinals, seconded by a series of bishops and Catalan-Aragonese abbots, begged the antipope again to resign without delay and to order his pseudocardinals to elect pope Martin V, recently chosen by the cardinals and the council; this plea had the air of an ultimatum; in case of a rejection, they reserved their freedom of action; consequently, on January 5, 1418, they left Antipope Benedict XIII, who called them degenerate children and who declared they had incurred infamy and other pains; a month later, the antipope deposed them. Did not participate in the conclave of 1417, which elected Pope Martin V. The new pope, before whom they prostrated themselves in Florence, restored their dignities and benefices, and had the condescence of letting them elect him on August 1, 1418. Administrator of the see of Sigüenza, June 6, 1419. Pope Martin V named him his legate in Spain on March 27, 1420; returned to Rome, August 27, 1421. Named legate in Naples before King Alfonso of Aragón, September 27, 1421; he was also named legate in Constantinople but he was not able to go; returned to Rome on March 7, 1422. He went to Gennazzano on June 15, 1422. He accompanied Pope Martin V to Vicovaro, diocese of Tivoli, here the pope spent ten days and met with Alfonso de Aragón, king of Naples; the cardinal accidentally fell on the steps of the monastery of S. Cosimato (2), and died the following evening.
Death. August 22, 1422, Vicovaro. His body was transferred to Rome and buried in the chapel of S. Tommaso in the patriarchal Vatican basilica (3). His remains were taken to the grotto of the basilica during the pontificate of Pope Paul V.
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, 1630, II, col. 746; "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. 156; 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. 30, 49 and 114.
Webgraphy Biography by César Olivera Serrano, in Spanish, DB~e, Diccionario Biográfico Español; biography, in Spanish, Episcopologio asturicens, 355-357; biography, in Spanish, by Enrique Flórez: España sagrada: Theatro geographico-historico de la iglesia de España, vol. XVI, pp. 267-269; . El Arzobispado de Santiago en Tiempos de Don Alonso II de Fonseca by Eduardo Pardo de G. y Valdes, Hispania Sacra, Revista de Historia Eclesiástica de España, VoL. XXX 1977; Instituto Enrique Flórez Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid, MCMLXXX; his arms, Araldica Vaticana.
(1) There are discrepancies among the sources about his origin, Portuguese or Spanish. Olivenza was a city in the border between Portugal and Spain; it has belonged to
Spain since the 19th century; Chacón, Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm, II, 746, calls him Lusitanus (Portuguese) and
the transcription of the epitaph says Ortus in Hispanis (born in Hispania), which was the entire Iberian peninsula, comprising both Portugal and Spain.
(2) Some sources say
that he fell into the pit of the castle of Vicovaro.
(3) This is the text of his epitaph transcribed by Chacón, Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E.
Cardinalivm, II, 746:
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