The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church

Biographical Dictionary
Eugenius IV (1431-1447)
Consistory of December 18, 1439 (III)
Celebrated in Florence


(4) 1. CHARTRES, Regnault de (ca. 1380-1444)

Birth. Ca. 1380 (1), Ons-en-Bray, near Beauvais, France. Of a family that came from the seigneurie of Lions, Beauvais. Son of Hector de Chartres, seigneur of Lyons-en-Beauvaisis († 1418, beheaded), and his second wife, Blanche de Nesle (2). His paternal grandparents were Jean de Chartres and Marie L'Étendard. His maternal grandparents were Jean de Nesle and Ade de Mailly. His first name was also listed as Renaud. He was called the Cardinal of Reims.

Education. Licentiate in canon law.

Early life. Canon and later, dean of Saint-Pierre, Beauvais in 1404. On September 11, 1406, he and his brother were fined for having insulted the bailiff of the bishop. Grand-master of Collège des Cholets in 1409. He was sent to Rome to look after the interests of the see of Beauvais; he gained the trust and friendship of the members of the Sacred College of Cardinals. Named by Antipope John XXIII referendary apostolic; and papal chamberlain, before September 17, 1412. Auditor of the Sacred Roman Rota. In 1412, the cathedral chapter was going to elect him bishop of Beauvais, but the duke of Bourgogne opposed his promotion.

Sacred orders. (No information found).

Episcopate. Elected archbishop of Reims by Antipope John XXIII, January 2, 1414; took possession on March 23, 1414. Consecrated (no information found). In November 1414, he attended the assembly of Parliament convened by Chancellor Henri de Marle. President of the chambre des comptes of Paris before 1415. When Emperor Sigismund went to France, in the first months of 1415, Archbishop Renaud, to interest him in the reestablishment of peace, went to see the emperor in Beauvais, where he was to celebrate Easter. The archbishop went, shortly after, to the Council Constance. He rendered good services to the dauphin, later King Charles VII of France, of whom he remained a friend and allied throughout his life. Member of the royal privy council. Lieutenant of the king and the dauphin in Languedoc, Lionnois and Masconois, August 16, 1418. He was the first ambassador sent by the king of France to the new Pope Martin V. Chancellor of France from March 28, 1424 to August 6, 1425; and again, from November 8, 1428 until his death. The archbishop of Reims presided as negotiator or as celebrant in the unions of Charles de Bourbon with Agnès de Bourgogne, in 1424; of Louis, dauphin, with Marguerite of Scotland, in June 1436; of Yolande, daughter of King Charles VIl, with Amédée IX de Savoie, in August of the same year; of Catherine, another daughter of the French king, with the count of Charolais, better known as Charles le Timiraire, in June 1438; and of Charles d'Orléans with Marie de Clèves, in November 1440. Sent to Rome by the French king to look after his affairs, January 1426; returned in November 1428. Abbot commendatario of the abbey of Saint-Pourçain, diocese of Clermont, from 1428. Consecrated King Charles VII of France in the cathedral of Reims on July 7, 1429 in the metropolitan cathedral of Reims, in the presence of Jeanne d'Arc, future martyr and saint. The archbishop-chancellor believed in solving problems through diplomacy and politics, and distrusted and disliked Jeanne's armed approach. Transferred to the see of Embrun on March 4, 1433; he refused the transfer. In 1435, he was one of the signatories of the treaty of Arras by which the reconciliation between the French king and the prince of Bourgogne was achieved; the treaty led to the end of the Hundred Years' War. Administrator of the see of Agde, April 4, 1436 until January 9, 1439. Administrator of the see of Orléans, January 9, 1439; took possession the following March 17; took the oath of obedience to the king on the following May 31; entered the diocese on October 25; occupied the post until his death.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of December 18, 1439; received the title of S. Stefano al Monte Celio on January 8, 1440. Cardinal Renaud fought with the chapter about the jurisdiction over the cloister of Sainte-Croix. To put an end to these difficulties, Parliament obliged him to sign, on January 26, 1442, a treaty with the canons. In April 1444, a kind of congress was to be opened in Tours to set the bases of a permanent truce between France and England. The cardinal-chancellor had gone to Tours to take part in the negotiations when he died suddenly, a few days before the signing of the treaty. Administrator of the see of Mende, April 20, 1444; he had died a few days before; the bishop of Mende defused his translation to the see of Castres.

Death. Saturday April 4, 1444, suddenly, Tours. Buried in the church of the Cordeliers (Franciscans) in Tours.

Bibliography. Anselme de Sainte-Marie ; Dufourny, Honoré Caille ; Ange de Sainte-Rosalie ; Simplicien. Histoire généalogique et chronologique de la maison royale de France, des pairs, grands officiers de la couronne & de la maison du roy: & des anciens barons du royaume: avec les qualitez, l'origine, le progres & les armes de leurs familles; ensemble des statuts & le catalogue des chevaliers, cammandeurs, & officiers de l'ordre du S. Esprit. Le tout dresse sur titres originaux, sur les registres des chartes du roy, du parlement, de la chambre des comptes & du chatelet des Paris ... & d'autres cabinets curieux. 9 vols. Paris : La Compagnie des libraires, 3. éd., rev., corrigée & augmentée par les soins du P. Ange & du P. Simplicien, 1726-1733, VI, 399-401; Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, III, 69-70; 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. 901; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VIII. Les cardinaux du XVIe siècle;. Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1932. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1932, p. 133; 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, p. 419; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volumen II (1431-1503). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1914; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, pp. 7, 65, 82, 99 and 192; Fisquet, Honoré. La France pontificale (Gallia christiana), histoire chronologique et biographique des archevêques et évêques de tous les diocèses de France depuis l'établissement du christianisme jusqu'à nos jours, divisée en 17 provinces ecclésiastique. 22 vol. Paris : E. Repos, 1864-1873, XV, 489-493.

Webgraphy. Biography in La France pontificale (Gallia christiana), histoire chronologique et biographique des archevêques et évêques de tous les diocèses de France depuis l'établissement du christianisme jusqu'à nos jours, divisée en 17 provinces ecclésiastique. Montpellier, I by M. Honoré Fisquet Honoré (1818-1883). Auteur du texte, in French, pp. 489-493, Gallica; biography in Histoire généalogique et chronologique de la maison royale de France, des pairs, grands officiers de la Couronne, de la Maison du Roy et des anciens barons du royaume.... Tome 6 by P. Anselme de Sainte-Marie (1625-1694 ; augustin) ; continuée par M. Du Fourny, Auteur du texte, in French, pp. 399-401, Gallica; arms and biography, in French, Jean-Claude Colrat; plaster cast of his seal with his arms, Ministère de la Culture, France.

(1) This is according to "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VIII. Les cardinaux du XVIe siècle;. Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1932, p. 133; Fisquet, La France pontificale, XV, 489, says that he was born ca. 1375.
(2) This is according to Anselme de Sainte-Marie, Histoire généalogique et chronologique de la maison royale de France, VI, 401; and his third biography in French, linked above; Fisquet, La France pontificale, XV, 489, says that his mother was Jeanne d'Estouteville, his father's first wife; Anselme de Sainte-Marie indicates that she died without having had children.

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(5) 2. BERARDI, Giovanni (1380-1449)

Birth. 1380, Corcumello, diocese of Marses. Of the noble family of the counts of Marsi di Tagliacozzo. Son of Alessandro De Pontibus. Uncle of Bishop Giovanni Battista De Ponte. He is also listed as Giovanni de' Ponti and De Pontibus (1); and Joannes de Tagliacotio. He was called the Cardinal of Tarento.

Education. Studied Sacred Scriptures and philosophy at the University of Bologna from 1411 to 1413.

Sacred orders. Cleric of Marsi. Received the minor orders.

Episcopate. Elected archbishop of Tarento, October 20, 1421; he kept the see until his promotion to the cardinalate. Consecrated (no information found). He was sent by Pope Eugenius IV to the Council of Basel but he was not accepted. Received the the see of León in commendam in 1435; kept it until his death (2). Named legate in Germany after the election of Antipope Felix V at the end of 1439.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of December 18, 1439; received the red hat and the title of Ss. Nereo ed Achilleo on January 8, 1440. Returned from Germany to Florence, where the pope was, on March 26, 1440. In the consistory celebrated on May 20, 1440, he was named legate a latere before the kings of Sicily and Aragón to reestablish the peace between them; left from Florence the following December 7 and returned on December 23, 1441. He was noted in the Roman Curia on October 24, 1442. Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals from 1443 to October 4, 1444. Opted for the order of cardinal bishops and the suburbicarian see of Palestrina, March 7, 1444; he kept his presbyteral title in commendam. Named grand penitentiary at the end of 1444. Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals in 1445. Inscribed in the Brotherhood of the Holy Spirit April 10, 1446. Participated in the conclave of 1447, which elected Pope Nicholas V. On June 17, 1447, he was named among the cardinals charged with the cause of canonization of Bernardino di Siena. On June 10, 1448, he resigned the commendam of the Benedictine monastery of S. Pietro di Villanova, diocese of Vincenza. Protector of the Order of the Hermits of Saint Augustine.

Death. January 21, 1449, Rome. Buried in the chapel of S. Nicola di Tolentino in the church of S. Agostino, Rome (3).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, III, 70-71; 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. 901; Daniele, Ireneo. "Berardi, Giovanni." Enciclopedia Cattolica, 12 vols. Città del Vaticano : Ente per l'Enciclopedia cattolica e per il Libro cattolico, 1948-54, II, cols. 1367-1368; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VIII. Les cardinaux du XVIe siècle;. Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1932, Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1932, p. 133-134; 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, p. 473; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volumen II (1431-1503). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1914; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, pp. 7, 26, 27, 28, 29, 59, 60, 174 and 248.

Webgraphy. Biography by Ingeborg Walter, in Italian, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 8 (1966), Treccani; arms of the De Ponte Family to which Cardinal Berardi belonged, Wikipedia.

(1) The family Ponte or Pontibus, that were signori of Tagliacozzo in the 13th and 14th centuries, were preceded in the seignory by the Berardi, and followed by the Orsini (counts of Tagliacozzo). It seems that in the 14th the Pontibus only had Corcumello, where the cardinal was born. The tradition has been to call the cardinal Berardi.
(2) This is according to Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi, II, 174, citing Pius Bonifatius Gams, Series episcoporum Ecclesiae catholicae (3 v. in 1. Graz : Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt, 1957), p. 41, who says that he received the commendam in 1435 and kept it until his death on January 21, 1449 in Rome; at the same time, Gams indicates that the cardinal was succeeded by Bishop Pedro Cabeza de Vaca in 1448; and Eubel, says that Bishop Juan de Mella was named on August 26, 1437.
(3) This is the text of his epitaph taken from Chacón, Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm, II, col. 901:

Felices animas inter micat iste IOANNES,
Qui TAGLIACOTIAE gloria gentis erat:
Qui Tarentismus Pastor, qui Cardeus Heros,
Prænestinus item, flentibus astra dabat.
OBIIT MCCCCXLIX. XXI. IANVARII.

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(6) 3. KEMPE, John (ca. 1380-1454)

Birth. Ca. 1380, Ollanfigh, parish of Wye, Kent, England. Son of Thomas Kempe and Elizabeth Lewknor. His last name is also listed as Kemp. He was called the Cardinal Balbinus; or of York; or of Canterbury.

Education. Fellow of Merton College, Oxford (doctorate in divinity; and in civil law, 1414).

Early life. Vicar general of the archdiocese of Canterbury in 1411. Counsel in the trial of Sir John Oldcastle, Lord Cobham, in 1413. Dean of Arches, which was the appeal court of the province of Canterbury. King Henry V sent him to several diplomatic embassies. He was present at the battle of Agincourt, October 25, 1415. Archdeacon of Durham in 1416. Keeper of the Privy Purse. Chancellor of English Normandy in 1417-1422; resigned the post to returned to England after having being named to the council of the kingdom. Lord of the Privy Seal from 1418.

Sacred orders. (No information found).

Episcopate. Elected bishop of Rochester, June 21, 1419. Consecrated, December 3, 1419, first Sunday of Advent, metropolitan cathedral of Rouen, by Louis d'Harcourt, archbishop of Rouen, assisted by Matthew Moore, titular bishop of Hebron, and by Martin Poire, bishop of Arras. In the same ceremony was consecrated Philip Morgan, bishop of Worcester. Transferred to the see of Chichester, February 28, 1421. Transferred to the see of London, November 17, 1421. Promoted to the metropolitan see of York, July 20, 1425. Chancellor of England from March 1426 to February 1432. Sent by the king of England to the Council of Basel in 1431; and to the Congress of Arras in 1435; at the assembly, the archbishop of York wanted to promote the peace between England and France but the English king instructed him to do otherwise. He advised King Henry of England to drop the title of "King of France" that he had adopted; by this, he became widely unpopular.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of December 18, 1439; received the title of S. Balbina, January 8, 1440. A dispute concerning precedence arose between Henry Chichele, archbishop of Canterbury, and Cardinal Kempe, archbishop of York; the former presented his case to Pope Eugenius IV, who responded with the letter Non mediocri (1). Did not participate in the conclave of 1447, which elected Pope Nicholas V. He supported Henry VI against the Yorkist party and helped the monarch suppress the Kentish rising led by Jack Cade; he maintained his loyalty to the House of Lancaster even when Richard, duke of York, marched on London to seize the king in 1452. Chancellor of England again in January 1450 until his death. Transferred to the metropolitan and primatial see of Canterbury, July 21, 1452; on the same date, the pope named him to the suburbicarian see of Santa Rufina, which the pope had temporarily detached from the see of Porto; the sees were reunited after the death of Cardinal Francesco Condulmer in 1453. Received the pallium at Fullham on the following September 21. Papal legate both natus and for a time, a latere. He supported the king one more time when the Londoners in another of their rebellions in favor of the Yorkists. In his native village, Wye, he founded a college for diocesan priests, a grammar school and a chantry, and also built a splendid parish church.

Death. March 22, 1454, at Lambeth Palace, Canterbury. Buried in the metropolitan cathedral of Canterbury (1); a remarkable wooden canopy surmounts his tomb.

Bibliography. Baxter, Dudley. England's cardinals. With an appendix showing the reception of the sacred pallium by the archbishops of Canterbury and Westminster. London : Burns & Oates ; New York : Benzinger, 1903, pp. 35-37; Bellenger, Dominc Aidan and Stella Fletcher. Princes of the church. A history of the English cardinals. Phoenix Mill, Gloucestershire : Sutton Publishing Ltd., 2001, pp. 41-42; Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, III, 71-72; 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. 902; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VIII. Les cardinaux du XVIe siècle;. Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1932, Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1932, p. 134; 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. 187, 233, 311 and 422; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volumen II (1431-1503). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1914; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, pp. 7, 30, 31, 60, 61, 117 and 148; Heseltine, George Coulehan. The English cardinals. With some account of those of other English-speaking countries. London : Burns Oates & Washbourne, 1931, pp. 74-77; Isaacson, Charles S. The story of the English cardinals. London : Elliot Stock, 1907, pp. 109-117; Quinlan, John. Our English cardinals, including the English pope. Alcester ; Dublin : C. Goodliffe Neale, 1972, pp. 35-36; Ullmann, Walter. "Eugenius IV, Cardinal Kemp, and Archbishop Chichele." Medieval studies presented to Aubrey Gwynn. Edited by J.A. Watt et al. Dublin : Three Candles, 1961, pp. 359-383; Williams, Robert Folkestone. Lives of the English cardinals, including historical notices of the papal court, from Nicholas Breakspear (Pope Adrian IV) to Thomas Wolsey, Cardinal Legate. 2 vols. Westmead, England : Gregg International, 1969. Responsibility: London, Wm. H. Allen & Co., 1868, I, 110-123.

Webgraphy. Biography by Edwin Burton, The Catholic Encyclopedia, in English; biography, Encyclipaedia Britannica, in English; his image and biography, Wikipedia, in English; his coat of arms, heraldanet.org; his arms and portrait, Araldica Vaticana.

(1) In the document, which date has not been possible to ascertain, Pope Eugenius IV determined that the cardinals, by virtue of their office, have precedence over all other ecclesiastics, including patriarchs, archbishops and bishops in the hierarchy of the church. This document is of first-class importance in the definition of the office of cardinal.
(2) This is the inscription on his tomb according to Baxter, England's cardinals, p. 37: Hic jacet reverendissimus in Xto. Pater et Dominus dñs Johes Kempe tituli Stæ. Rufinæ sacrosanctæ Romanæ Ecclesiæ Episcopus Cardinalis Archiepiscopus Cantuarinesis...

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(7) 4. ACCIAPACCIO, Niccolò d' (1383-1447)

Birth. 1383, Sorrento. Of a noble family. Second child of Pietro Acciapaccio and Maria Capece. He was called the Cardinal of Capua. His last name is also listed as Acciapaccia.

Education. Studied law in Naples and obtained a doctorate in utroque iure, both canon and civil law.

Early life. Counselor of Queen Giovanna of Naples.

Sacred orders. Cleric of Sorrento.

Episcopate. Elected bishop of Tropea by Pope Gregory XII, September 17, 1410; on September 10, 1410 he had received a dispensation for not having had yet reached the canonical age; confirmed by Antipope John XXIII on January 30, 1413. Consecrated, December 11, 1410, by Antipope John XXIII. Promoted to the metropolitan see of Capua, February 18, 1435.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of December 18, 1439; received the red hat and the title of S. Marcello, January 8, 1440. A partisan of King Rene d'Anjou, he was exiled by KIng Alfonso of Naples, who confiscated all the rents of his archdiocese and other benefices; the king returned them later. He was noted in Rome in January 1440 and in October 1442. Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals from 1442 until the middle of 1443 (after May 31). He was one of the cardinals charged with the cause of canonization of Bernardino di Siena; he wrote to the Sienese on February 15, 1445. On April 10, 1446, he was inscribed in the Brotherhood of the Holy Spirit. Left Rome for Campanga on June 18, 1446; returned on February 23, 1447, the day Pope Eugenius IV died. Participated in the conclave of 1447, which elected Pope Nicholas V; entered the conclave on March 4, 1447.

Death. April 3, 1447, Rome. Buried in the patriarchal Vatican basilica.

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, III, 72-73; 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. 902; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VIII. Les cardinaux du XVIe siècle;. Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1932, Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1932, p. 134; 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, p. 500; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volumen II (1431-1503). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1914; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, pp. 7, 27, 29, 59, 63, 118; Moroni, Gaetano. Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica da S. Pietro sino ai nostri giorni. 103 vols. in 53. Venezia : Tipografia Emiliana, 1840-1861, I, 58.

Webgraphy. Biography by Michele Manfredi, in Italian, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 1 (1960), Treccani; biographical entry, in Italian, fifth on the page, Araldica Vaticana; his arms, Araldica Vaticana.

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(8) 5. LUXEMBOURG, Louis de (1390/1397-1443)

Birth. 1390/1397, France. Of the seigneurs of Beaurevoir. Second son of Jean de Luxembourg, count of Brienne and of Conversano, and Marguerite d'Enghien. Brother of Jean de Luxembourg, who sold Jeanne d'Arc, the Maid of Orleans, to Bishop Pierre Cauchon of Beauvais. Nephew of Bl. Cardinal Pierre de Luxembourg (1384). Uncle of quasi Cardinal Thibaud de Luxembourg, O.Cist. (1474). His last name is also listed as Luxembourg Ligny. Grand-uncle of Cardinal Philippe de Luxembourg (1495). He was called the Cardinal of Rouen or of Luxembourg.

Education. (No information found).

Early life. Dean of the chapter of the cathedral of Beauvais, May 31, 1414. He entirely supported the English interests in France when King Henry V invaded France.

Sacred orders. (No information found).

Episcopate. Elected bishop of Thérouanne, before January 2, 1415; confirmed by Pope Martin V on November 24, 1418. Consecrated, Reims?, by Renaud de Chartres, archbishop of Reims. He was a member of the embassy of France that went to London to congratulate new English King Henry VI on his accession to the throne. President of the Chambre des comptes of Paris from 1418. Chancellor of King Henry VI of England in France from February 7, 1425 to 1435; attended the king's coronation in the cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris, on December 17, 1431. Executor of the will of Isabelle of Bavaria. Went to the Council of Basel in 1432. Promoted to the metropolitan see of Rouen on August 19, 1436; confirmed on October 24 of that same year occupied the see until his death. In 1436, during the Parisian insurrection against the English, the archbishop sought refuge in the Bastille; he was forced to his property to the conquerors; he went to Rouen and, on January 15, 1437, he traveled to England. Administrator of the see of Ely, September 27, 1437 until his death.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of December 18, 1439; received the title of Quattro Santi Coronati, January 8, 1440. Opted for the order of cardinal bishops and the suburbicarian see of Frascati at the end of 1442. Appointed ambassador by King Henry VI in December 1442, to establish the peace between the English monarch and King Charles VII of France.

Death. September 18, 1443 (1), castle of Hartfield, England, where he had sought refuge. Buried in a magnificent tomb in the cathedral of Ely, near the altar of holy relics. His heart was sent to Rouen. He left the land that he owned in Hermaville, diocese of Arras, to the diocese of Térouanne to establish six chaplaincies in favor and at the service of that cathedral; the executor of his will was Pasquier de Vaux.

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, III, 73-74; 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. 903; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VIII. Les cardinaux du XVIe siècle;. Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1932, Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1932, p. 134; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volumen II (1431-1503). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1914; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, pp. 7, 61, 62, 50 and 225.

Webgraphy. Biography, in English, Wikipedia; biography, in Italian, Diocesi Suburbicaria Tuscolana; his genealogy, A2 E3 F2, euweb.cz; his tomb, the cathedral of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England, Find a Grave; another view of his tomb; another view of his tomb, Requiem Datenbank; his arms, Araldica Vaticana.

(1) This is according to Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi, II, 7 and 61; the same source, II, 150, indicates that he died on October 4, 1443.

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(9) 6. FIESCHI, Giorgio (At the end of the 14th century-1461)

Birth. At the end of the 14th century, Genoa. Of the counts of Lavagna. Son of Ettore Fieschi, signore of Savignone, and Bartolomea Fieschi, from Canneto. Uncle of Cardinal Niccolò Fieschi (1503). The family gave the Church Popes Innocent IV and Adrian V; and Cardinals Guglielmo Fieschi (1244); Luca Fieschi (1300); Giovanni Fieschi (1378); Ludovico Fieschi (1384); Lorenzo Fieschi (1706); and Adriano Fieschi (1834).

Education. He studied canon and civil law at the Studium of Bologna; in 1428, he obtained a licentiate "in decretis cuni rigore examinis".

Early life. Canon of the cathedral chapter of Genoa.

Sacred orders. (No information found).

Episcopate. Elected bishop of Mariana in Corsica, May 27, 1433; confirmed, May 10, 1434. Consecrated, February 27, 1435, Quinquagesima, chapel of S. Nicola, S. Maria la Nuova, Florence, by Cristoforo de San Marcello, bishop of Cervia, assisted by Gabriele Jacobi, bishop of Modon, and by Gabriele Benveduto, bishop of Fossombrone. Promoted to the metropolitan see of Genoa, October 3, 1436; occupied the see until his promotion to the cardinalate.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of December 18, 1439; received the title of S. Anastasia, January 8, 1440. Arrived in Florence on April 12, 1440 to participate in the council; the pope finished the ceremonies of his cardinalitial investiture on April 20, 1440. He was noted in Florence on October 24, 1442. Abbot commendatario of the monastery of Tiglieto, 1442-1447. On February 6, 1443, he received in commendam the see of Sagona in Corsica; kept the see until May 21, 1445. Left for Siena on August 8, 1443. He was inscribed in the Brotherhood of the Holy Spirit, April 10, 1446. Administrator of the see of Luni, 1446. Abbot commendatario of the Benedictine monastery of Lonato, diocese of Verona, June 3, 1446. He left Rome for Genoa on September 9, 1446. Received in commendam the see of Noli on February 13, 1447; kept the see until August 7, 1448. Returned to Rome on February 21, 1447. Participated in the conclave of 1447, which elected Pope Nicholas V. Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals for the year 1447. Received in commendam the see of Albenga in July 31, 1448; kept the see until December 21, 1459. Opted for the order of cardinal bishops and the suburbicarian see of Palestrina in the consistory of March 5, 1449. Left for Genoa on April 22, 1449. Remained absent from Rome for six months. Legate of Pope Nicholas V in Liguria. Attended the secret consistory of October 27, 1451. Participated in the conclave of 1455, which elected Pope Callistus III. Opted for the suburbicarian see of Ostia e Velletri, proper of the dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals, April 28, 1455. Participated in the conclave of 1458, which elected Pope Pius II. Returned to Genoa on November 1, 1459.

Death. October 11, 1461 (1), Rome. His body was transferred to Genoa and buried in a magnificent mausoleum in the chapel of S. Giorgio, which he had built, in the metropolitan cathedral of that city (2).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, III, 75-76; 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. 905; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VIII. Les cardinaux du XVIe siècle;. Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1932. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1932, p. 134-135; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volumen II (1431-1503). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1914; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, pp. 8, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 59, 60, 61, 84, 167, 185, 200 and 227.

Webgraphy. Biography by Giovanni Nuti, in Italian, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 47 (1997), Treccani; his tomb by Giovanni da Bissone Gagini (1465), archdiocese of Genoa, Beni Ecclesiastici in Web (BeWeb); his arms, Araldica Vaticana.

(1) This is according to his epitaph transcribed in note 2; Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi, II, 8 and 60; and "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VIII. Les cardinaux du XVIe siècle;. Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1932, p. 135, say that he died on October 8, 1461.
(2) This is the text of his epitaph taken from Chacón, Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm, II, 905:

SEPVLCHRVM REVERENDISSIMI DOMINI D. GEORGII
EPISCOPI OSTIENSIS CARDINALIS FLISCI
ARCHIEPISCOPI AC PROVINCIAE GENVENSIS LEGATI
QVI OBIIT ANNO MCCCLXI. DIE XI. OCTOBRIS.


     According to Mr. Mark West, from London, England, writing in November 2011, his tomb is in what is now called the Cappella Marini di Ss Annunziata, which leads into the baptistery; it is in the north aisle of the cathedral and is on the east wall of that chapel. The Chacón version of the epitaph is a rather more florid version of what actually appears on the mausoleum, which actually says:
+ S · RX · D · D · GEORGI · EPI · HOSTIEN · CAR · DE · FLISCO · ARCHIEPI · AC · PVITIE · IENUEN · LEGATI · QUI · OBIIT · ANNO · XPI · MCCCLXI · DIE · XI · OCTOBRIS

     It is in one continuous line of text around the base of the tomb, not in the four different lines as Chacón renders it (the vertical of the letter P of PVITIAE is struck through with a line at 45 degrees rather like an acute accent as a sort of stylised R).

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(10) 7. KIEV, Isidore of (1380/1390-1462)

Birth. 1380/1390, Monembasia (or Monemvasia) (1), Greece. He belonged to the Greek Orthodox Church. He is also listed as Isidore of Thessalonica; as Isiodro Kiowensis; and as Isidoro only. He was called the Cardinal of Russian or of Ruthenian.

Education. Entered the Order of Saint Basilius in Monembasia.

Priesthood. Ordained (no further information found). Abbot of Saint Demetrius in Constantinople. He was sent to the Council of Basel in 1434 by Emperor John VIII to obtain the celebration of a council in Constantinople for the union of the churches; he did not succeed.

Episcopate. Elected Ruthenian archbishop of Kiev and all Russia, 1437; occupied the see until 1442. Consecrated (no information found). Attended, together with Emperor Johannes Paleologus, the Council of Florence. Left the Orthodox Church and joined the Catholic Church.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of December 18, 1439; received the red hat and the title of Ss. Marcellino e Pietro, January 8, 1440. He went back to Moscow with the title of legate in March 1441, and because of his intention of realizing the union of the Churches, Grand Duke Basilius confined him in a monastery of Chudov; he escaped to Tver in September 1441, but was detained and jailed; he was able to escape again and to reach Italy through Lithuania. He was noted in Florence on October 24, 1442. A synod gathered in Moscow in 1442 deposed him as metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia. He entered Siena on July 11, 1443 and on that same day, in public consistory, received the red hat; the pope concluded the ceremonies of his cardinalitial investiture on the following July 15. He left Siena for Greece and Russia on August 28, 1443, with the title of legate of the North; arrived in Kiev and was thrown in prison and condemned to be burned alive; he escaped and returned to Rome in 1443. In 1444, he was sent as legate to Constantinople; he probably returned in 1445. He was noted in Rome on December 22, 1445; and again on February 21, 1448. Did not participate in the conclave of 1447, which elected Pope Nicholas V. Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals in 1450. Opted for the order of cardinal bishops and the suburbicarian see of Sabina, February 7, 1451; he kept the administration of his Ruthenian see and of his presbyteral title. Named administrator of the see of Cervia on June 10, 1451; resigned the post on March 15, 1455. Attended the secret consistory of October 27, 1451. Named legate by Pope Nicholas V, he left Rome for Constantinople on May 20, 1452, with 200 soldiers; arrived in November; attended on the following December 12 a celebration in honor of the reunion of the two Churches, which had been announced in Hagia Sophia; after the fall of the city to Mahomet II on May 20, 1453, he was imprisoned without having been recognized thanks to a disguise (2); he was sold as slave, transported to Pera, and later to Chio and Candie; he was able to escape (or bought his freedom), reached Peloponnesus and arrived in Venice the following November. Participated in the conclave of 1455, which elected Pope Callistus III. Named administrator of the see of Nicosia in Cyprus, May 10, 1456; confirmed, January 4, 1458; kept the post until his death. Left Rome on May 13, 1456 and went to Venice for more than a month. Named patriarch of Constantinople on April 20, 1458; occupied the see until his death. Participated in the conclave of 1458, which elected Pope Pius II. Left from Mantua for the Orient in January 1460. Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals on or after October 8, 1461.

Death. April 27, 1463 (3), Rome. Buried in the patriarchal Vatican basilica. In 1928, a large number of his manuscripts (letters, memoirs, monographs, reports of his legations, etc.) were given to the Vatican Library.

Bibliography. Ammann, Alberto M. "Isidoro." Enciclopedia Cattolica, 12 vols. Città del Vaticano : Ente per l'Enciclopedia cattolica e per il Libro cattolico, 1948-54,, VII, 251; Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, III, 74-75; 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. 903-905; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VIII. Les cardinaux du XVIe siècle;. Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1932. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1932, p. 135; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volumen II (1431-1503). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1914; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, pp. 8, 27, 28, 29, 30, 60, 63, 126, 125 and 202; Gill, Joseph. "Isidore of Kiev." New Catholic Encyclopedia. 15 vols. 2nd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Vol. 7, p. 600-601.

Webgraphy. Biography, in English, The Catholic Encyclopedia; biography, in English, Encyclopaedia Britannica); brief biographical data, in English; biographical entry, in German, in "A. Kurzbiographien, c)"; his arms, Araldica Vaticana.

(1) This is according to his brief biographical data in English, linked above; his first biography in English, also linked above, says that he was born in Thessalonica (or Salonika) and refers to him as Isidore of Thessalonica; his second biography in English, linked above, says that he was born in Southern Greece.
(2) His first biography in English, linked above, says that he "escaped the massacre by dressing up a dead body in his cardinal's robes. While the Turks were cutting off its head and parading it through the streets, the real cardinal was shipped off to Asia Minor with a number of insignificant prisoners, as a slave."
(3) This is according to "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VIII. Les cardinaux du XVIe siècle;. Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1932, p. 135; Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi, II, 8 and 60; and his first biography in English, linked above; Gill, "Isidore of Kiev", New Catholic Encyclopedia, 7, 600, says that he died on May 27, 1464; and his biography in German, linked above, says that he died on April 13, 1463.

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(11) 8. BESSARION (1403-1472)

Birth. January 2, 1403 (1), Trebizond, Greece. His given name was Basilios or Johannes; and his monastic name, not his last name, was Bessarion. He is also listed as Basilios Bessarion; as Johannes Bessarion; and as Bessarion of Trebizond (Trapezuntinus). More recent sources as well as his epitaph refer to him as Bessarion only. He was called the Cardinal of Nicaea.

Education. Entered the monastic Order of Saint Basil in 1423 in Peloponnesus. Studied in Constantinople and in Mystras, Greece.

Priesthood. Ordained (no further information found). Higumenus (superior) of a monastery in Constantinople in 1436.

Episcopate. Elected metropolite of Nicaea of the Greeks in 1437; he worked for the union of the Greek and Latin Churches. Consecrated, November 11, 1437 (no further information found). Arrived at the Council of Florence with Emperor Paleologus on March 4, 1438; accepted the dogma of the Filioque and entered the Catholic Church; returned to Greece.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of December 18, 1439; received the title of Ss. XII Apostoli, January 8, 1440. He entered the Sacred College of Cardinals on December 10, 1440 in Florence. Named titular archbishop of Tebe in 1440; occupied the see until his death. Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals for the year 1441. He was noted in Florence on October 24, 1442. Abbot commendatario of the Benedictine monastery of S. Stefano, near Split, in 1445. Visitor of the Basilian monasteries in Italy in 1446; he established schools in all of them, especially in Messina. Protector and reformer of the Order of Saint Basil. He was inscribed in the Brotherhood of the Holy Spirit, Rome, on April 10, 1446. He was noted in Rome on February 21, 1447. Participated in the conclave of 1447, which elected Pope Nicholas V. Administrator of the metropolitan see of Manfredonia (Siponto) and archimandrite of Sicily, May 5, 1447 until April 7, 1449. Opted for the order of cardinal bishops and the suburbicarian see of Sabina, March 5, 1449; retained in commendam the tile of Ss. XII Apostoli until his death. Administrator of the see of Mazzara, March 28, 1449 to October 25, 1458. Opted for the suburbicarian see of Frascati, April 23, 1449. Named legate a latere on September 10, 1449 to promote the peace between Venice and Milan. Resigned the commendam of the monastery of S. Giuliano di Rimini, September 24, 1449. Administrator of the patriarchate of Jerusalem, October 21, 1449; occupied the post until March 13, 1458. He was one of the cardinals charged with the cause of canonization of Bernardino di Siena in 1449, who was canonized the following year. On February 27, 1450, he was named legate in Bologna, Romagna and Marche Anconitana; he left Rome on the following March and arrived in Bologna on March 16; he kept the post for five years; in 1451, he issued decrees against luxury and in 1453, he reformed the statutes of the city; he was named benefactor of the city; in January 1453, he alerted the pope of the conspiracy of Porcaro, which he foiled; he wrote to the doge of Venice on July 18, 1453 to ask for his support for the defense of Christendom against the Turks; returned to Rome on April 2, 1455. Participated in the conclave of 1455, which elected Pope Callistus III. Administrator of Pamplona, July 26, 1458 until May 18, 1462; celebrated a synod on April 10, 1459. Participated in the conclave of 1458, which elected Pope Pius II. On April 18, 1459, he was in Siena with Pope Pius II and signed a papal bull. On May 19, 1459, he signed a decree in Ferrara to introduce the cause of Caterina di Siena. Protector of the Dominicans and the Franciscans. Followed the pope to Mantua for the opening of the congress on September 16, 1459; there, he preached against the Turks. In the consistory of January 2, 1460, he was named legate in Germany to promote the crusade; he left Rome on January 19, 1460 and was in Nuremberg on February 20; in Worms on March 26; in Vienna on May 7; participated in the Diet on September 17, 1460; his mission failed and then he worked only for the pacification of Germany; returned to his legation in Vienna on November 4; and left the city in September 1461; arrived in Bologna on October 23; and in Rome on the following November 20. Went to Narni with Cardinals Alessandro Oliva, O.E.S.A. and Enea Silvio Piccolomini to bring the skull of Saint Andrew the Apostle to Rome; arrived on April 12, 1462 in Ponte Molle where Pope Pius II took it and brought the next day to the patriarchal Vatican basilica. He went to Viterbo with the pope for the feast of Corpus Christi. Abbot commendatario of the Greek monastery of Grottaferrata in August 1462. Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals in April 1463. Titular patriarch of Constantinople, April 1463 until his death. Named legate in Venice for the crusade against the Turks, he left Rome on July 5, 1463; arrived in Venice on July 22; in six days, he obtained the declaration of war of Venice against the Turks. Participated in the conclave of 1464, which elected Pope Paul II. In November 1464, together with Cardinals Guillaume d'Estouteville and Juan de Carvajal, he was named commissary of the Holy Crusade. He became the confident of Pope Paul II, specially from 1466. Named member of the commission for Bohemian affairs in 1465. Elected camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals in the consistory of January 7, 1467; occupied the post until June 11, 1468. Resigned the commendam of the monastery of S. Cristoforo, Urbino, January 1, 1468. He was at the baths of Viterbo in 1464. He willed his library to Venice on May 31, 1468; the library had 600 manuscripts. Resigned the commendam of the monastery of S. Giovanni di Piro, diocese of Policastro, July 18, 1468. Opted for the suburbicarian see of Sabina, October 14, 1468. He addressed Emperor Friedrich IV in Rome on December 24, 1468. Returned to Viterbo on May 24, 1469; stayed there until October 1. At the request of the pope, on December 19, 1470, he wrote to the princes and people of Italy support in the face of the Turkish menace. He tried to promote the union of the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church at the marriage of Ivan III with the daughter of Thomas Paleologus. Participated in the conclave of 1471, which elected Pope Sixtus IV. On Monday December 23, 1471, he was legate before the king of France, the duke of Bourgogne and the king of England for the defense of Christendom; he left Rome on April 20, 1472; arrived in Saumur on August 15; he returned ill and unsuccessful. He died in Ravenna. Friend and benefactor of the wise, whom he left many of his books; he translated into Latin the works of many Greek authors as well as numerous works in theology, philosophy and literature, notably a "Defense of Plato" (1469), which had a great influence. His life, written by Luigi Bandini, was published in Rome in 1777.

Death. November 18, 1472, Ravenna. His body was transferred to Rome on December 3, 1472; the obsequies took place on December, presided by the pope; he was buried in the basilica of Ss. XII Apostoli, which he had embellished and where he had built a modest tomb in 1466; he had prepared his epitaph in Latin followed by a distique in Greek (2).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, III, 76-80; 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. 905-909; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VIII. Les cardinaux du XVIe siècle;. Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1932, Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1932, p. 135-137; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volumen II (1431-1503). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1914; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, pp. 8, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36, 37, 38, 61, 60, 135, 164, 180, 211, 238 and 249; Gill, Joseph. "Isidore of Kiev." The New Catholic Encyclopedia, VI, 600-601; Monfasani, John. Byzantine scholars in Renaissance Italy : Cardinal Bessarion and other émigrés : selected essays. Aldershot, Hampshire, Great Britain ; Brookfield, Vt., USA : Variorum, 1995. (Collected studies series, CS485 ; Collected studies, CS485); Murphy, Francis X. "Bessarion, Cardinal." The New Catholic Encyclopedia15 vols.2nd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003, vol 2, p. 340-341.

Webgraphy. Biography by Umberto Benigni, in English, The Catholic Encyclopedia; biography by Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz, in German, Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon; biography, in English, Encyclopaedia Britannica; his image and biography, in English, New Catholic Dictionary; biography, in English, Classic Encyclopedia; images and biography, in English, Wikipedia; biographical entry, in French; biography by J. Goñi Gaztambide, in Spanish, Gran Enciclopedia Rialp; portrait (miniature) and biographical information, in Italian, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana Venice; paintings and biographical information, in English; his engraving and biographical data, in German, Institut für Philosophie der Heinrich-Heine-Universität; his portrait by Vittore Carpaccio, School of San Giorgio degli Schiavoni, Venice, in which the cardinal is believed to have been the model for St. Augustine; his portrait with the Bessarion Reliquary, by Gentile Bellini, National Gallery, London, England; his portrait, late 16th C–early 17th C, Northern Italian School, Walker Art Gallery, William Brown Street, Liverpool, Merseyside L3 8EL England; his portrait by Pedro Berruguete, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France; his portrait, attributed to Antonio Maria Crespi, Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan, Italy; miniature painting with King Edward IV of England, ibiblio.org is a collaboration of the School of Information and Library Science and the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; his engraving, Archiginnasio di Bologna, Bologna, Italy; his engraving, Archiginnasio di Bologna, Bologna, Italy; his tomb, basilica of Ss. XII Apostoli, Rome, Requiem Datenbank; his epitaph, Requiem Datenbank; catalog of the bishops of Pamplona, in Spanish. Iglesia Navarra; Bessarion and the Byzantine Rite Church in the Kingdom of Hungary (1463–1472) by Dan Ioan Mureșan, in Matthias Corvinus und seine Zeit. Europa am Übergang vom Mittelalter zur Neuzeit zwischen Wien und Konstantinopel edited by Ch. Gastgeber et al., Vienna 2011, p. 77-92.

(1) The date of his birth fluctuates in the sources consulted from 1389 to 1403; this is the date on which more sources agree.
(2) This the text of his epitaph kindly provided by Mr. Eman Bonnici, from Malta:

D · O · M ·
BESSARIONI TRAPEZVNTIO HVIVS BASILICAE S·R· E·CARD·EPO TVSCVLANO
QVI EX ORD. S. BASILII AD ARCHIEPÃTVM NICÆNVM PRIMO DEIN. AD PATRIARCHATV. CONSTANT. EVECTVS
GRÆCÆ PARITER ET LATINÆ ECCLESIÆ CONCORDIA INTER VTRAQVE STRENVE AC FELICITER PROMOTA
PIETATE MODESTIA PRVDENTIA RELIGIONE DOCTRINA ILLVXIT
LEGATVS AD PRECIPVOS EVROPÆ PRINCIPES ET RESPVBLICAS
PACEM CHRISTIANIS ASSERVIT BELLVM EXCIVIT IN TVRCAS
VENETIIS INSIGNEM BIBLIOTHECAM PVBLICÆ COMODITATI DICAVIT
PERMVLTIS LATINE AC GRÆCE EDITIS LIBRIS ELOQVIO ET SCIENTIA SVI NOMINIS DECVS AVXIT
VIROS DOCTISSIMOS NON SOLVM HABVIT FAMILIARES SED ETIAM IN FAMVLATV
PARCVS SIBI LIBERALIS IN PAVPERES ARIS CVLTVM NITOREM REDDIDIT SACRIS ÆDIBVS
QVARVM ALIQVAS A FVNDAMENTIS EREXIT PLVRES RESTITVIT
BASILICAM HANC SS. XII APOSTOLORVM INGENTIBVS MAXIMISQVE BENEFICIIS LOCVPLETATAM
EXTRVCTO COENOBIO AMOTIS CANONICIS S. FRANCISCI FRATRIBVS CONVENTVALIBVS ATTRIBVIT
VT QVORVM INDVSTRIA SEDES APCA AD CONCILIANDAM ORIENTALEM CV OCCID. ECCLESIA VTI CONSVEVERAT
PERENNE EISDEM IMPENSI LABORIS MANERET PRÆMIVM SVÆ ERGA EVNDEM ORDINEM VOLVNTATIS MONVMENTV
EX GALLICA LEGATIONE REDVX EXTREMVM RAVENNÆ CLAVSIT DIEM A·M· CCCC·LXXII
MORTALITATIS SVÆ EXVVIIS HVIC EIDEM TEMPLO LEGATIS·
CVIVS PRÆ FORIBVS MVNEFICENTISSIMI BENEFACTORIS IMMORTALIBVS MERITIS
PATRIBVS EIVSDEM CONVENTVS ASTIPVLANTIBVS
GRATAS LICET IMPARES OBSEQVII NVSQVAM INTERITVRI REPENDIT VICES
F. IOANNES BAPTISTA BELTRAMVS A RIPAROLIO IN ROM. ARCH. SS. DOGMATVM PROFESSOR
AN. SAL. CIↃIↃCLXXXII

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(12) 9. LANDRIANI CAPITANI, Gerardo (probably at the end of the 14th century-1445)

Birth. Probably at the end of the 14th century, Milan. Of a very distinguished family. Son of Antonio Landriani, feudal lord of Landriano from 1408 and then attested as castellano of Melegnano, Abbiategrasso, Vigevano and, probably, Brescia. He had at least two brothers, Luigi and Pietro. His last name is also listed as Landriani only. He was called the Cardinal of Como.

Education. He studied civil law at the Studium Ticinense, where he was statutarius in 1415 and 1416; titular of minor orders; he obtaine a doctorate in civil law; he was a great erudite.

Early life. Canon of the church of SS. Trinità in Pavia at a young age.

Sacred orders. Received the minor orders.

Episcopate. Administrator of the see of Lodi, May 13, 1418, vacant due to the transfer of Bishop Giacomo Arrigoni to Trieste; elected its bishop on March 15, 1419; he established an archdiaconate and a primicerius. Consecrated (no information found). Attended the Council of Basel and addressed the assembly; sent by the council to the king of England, whom he addressed in an elegant style in 1432; he defend and explained the legitimacy of the assembly, and asked the monarch to send English prelates to the same. Transferred to the see of Como, March 6, 1437; occupied the see until his death. Several times, he was ambassador of the duke of Milan before the pope in Florence. Promoted to the cardinalate at the request of Filippo Visconti, duke of Milan, whose secretary was a brother of the bishop.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of December 18, 1439; received the title of S. Maria in Trastevere, January 8, 1440. Named legate in Lombardy; he departed from Florence on January 26, 1440 for two months; and again on July 6, 1441. Abbot commendatarioof the Cistercian monastery of S. Maria di Chiaravalle, Milan, September 14, 1442. Legate a latere before the duke of Milan. He was noted in Florence on October 24, 1442. Returned to Siena from a new legation in Lombardy on April 11, 1443. Departed Rome for Florence on January 31, 1444; again, on the following July 11; and on August 12, 1445, for reasons of health.

Death. October 9, 1445 (1), Viterbo; it is believed that he was poisoned by order of Duke Filippo Visconti of Milan, who had grown suspicious of the cardinal and his brother. Buried in the Franciscan church of Viterbo (2).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, III, 80-81; 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. 910; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VIII. Les cardinaux du XVIe siècle;. Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1932. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1932, p. 137-138; 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, p. 296; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volumen II (1431-1503). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1914; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, pp. 8, 26, 27, 28, 63, 140 and 173.

Webgraphy, Biography by Elisabetta Canobbio, in Italian, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 63 (2004), Treccani; his arms, Araldica Vaticana.

(1) This is according to Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi, II, 8, 28 and 63; and "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VIII. Les cardinaux du XVIe siècle;. Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1932, p. 138; his epitaph, transcribed in note 2, indicates that he died on October 8, not 9, 1445, because the Idus of October is the 15 and VIII Idus Octobris is the 8.
(2) This is the text of his epitaph taken from Chacón, Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm, II, col. 910:

GERARDVS LANDRIANVS MEDIOLANENSIS
S. R. E. CARDINALIS AMPLISSIMVS
ALIQVOT SVB EVGENIO IV. LEGATIONINBVS FVNCTVS.
VITERBII VIII. IDVS OCTOBRIS MCDXLV. E VITA DISCEDENS
HIC SVMMA CVM PIETATE CONDITVR.

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(13) 10. OLEŚNICY, Zbigniew z (1389-1455)

Birth. December 5, 1389, Sienno, Sandomierz, Poland. Of the Polish noble house of Dembno of Olesnica. Son of Jan z Oleśnicy, judge in Kraków and castellanus of Vilnius, and Dobrochna z Rożnowa, of the counts of Gryf. He had a brother, Jan Głowacz, who was the father of the future archbishop of Gniezno and primate of Poland and Lithuania, also named Zbigniew z Oleśnicy (1481-1493); and two sisters, Katarzyna and Pachna. His cousins were Jakub z Sienna, archbishop of Gniezno and primate of Poland and Lithuania (1473-1480); and Dymitr z Sienna and Mikołaj z Sienna, canons of Gniezno and Kraków respectively. His first name is also listed as Sbigneus; and as Sbigniew; and his last name as Oleśnick; and as Olesnicki. He was called the Cardinal of Kraków.

Education. Initial studies at the collegiate church of Sandomierz; starting in 1406, he studied at the Academy of Kraków (did not obtain any academic degree).

Early life. In the battle of Grünwald (Tannenberg), July 14, 1410, where a Polish-Lithuanian army decisively defeated the Order of Teutonic Knights, he saved the life of King Władisław Jagellon, of whom he was the secretary; after that, he became the most influential member of the privy council. In 1411, he was a member of the delegation for discussions with Antipope John XXIII. In 1416, he was a scholastiker in Sandomierz. In 1419-1420, he participated in negotiations with Sigismund of Luxembourg over the controversy between Poland and the Order of Teutonic Knights; his decisive role in the neogtiations brought him to the attention of King Ladislaus Jagiello. From 1420 he was the provost of the collegiate church of St. Florian, Kleparz, near Kraków. Canon of the cathedral chapters of Gniezno and Kraków; and of the collegiate church of Wislica. Protonotary apostolic. Ambassador of King Władisław before King Sigismund in 1420.

Sacred orders. He had received the subdiaconate by the time he was promoted to the episcopate.

Episcopate. Elected bishop of Kraków, July 1, 1423; occupied the see until his death.

Priesthood. Ordained, December 18, 1423 (1). Consecrated bishop, December 19, 1423, cathedral of Kraków, by Jan z Rzeszowa, archbishop of Lwow. At this time, the important political role of Bishop Oleśnicy in state affairs began. He started the tradition of electing the king when in March 1430, he obtained placing limits on the king's power in exchange for the recognition of the monarch's son, young Prince Władysław, as successor by the nobles of the realm. In 1434, he went to the Council of Basel as ambassador of the Polish king; he tried to be neutral and befriend the two factions of the council.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of December 18, 1439; received the title of S. Prisca, January 8, 1440. Antipope Felix V created him a pseudocardinal in the consistory of April 12, 1440; in a courteous letter dated October 4, 1441, the cardinal thanked Antipope Felix V for the nomination but declined indicating that he had already been promoted to the cardinalate by Pope Eugenius IV. He was the first Polish cardinal, an as such, his influence in Poland's affairs was second only to that of the king. The cardinal governed the country when King Władysław III died in 1444 in a crusade, until the death of the king could be proved and the king's younger brother, Grand Prince Kazimierz of Lithuania, succeeded to the throne as King Kazimierz IV in 1447; during the frequent absence of the king, the cardinal again took care of the matters of the kingdom. Did not participate in the conclave of 1447, which elected Pope Nicholas V. The new pope sent him the red had on July 29, 1449; he received it on the following October 1. To remedy the advance of the Hussites in Poland, he invited Giovanni Capistrano, future saint, and the Franciscans to go to Kraków. He increased the rents of the diocese of Kraków when he purchased the principality of Siewierz from the princes of Cieszyn. The cardinal was a promoter of Humanism. He corresponded with Enea Silvio Piccolomini, future Pope Pius II; persuaded the great Polish historian Johann Dêugosz to write a history of Poland; he supported the development of the Academy of Kraków; and possessed a large library.

Death. April 1, 1455, Sandomierz. Buried on the following April 8 in the cathedral of Kraków. Obsequies were celebrated in Rome on June 21, 1455. He left all his possessions to the poor.

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, III, 81-82; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm ab initio nascentis Ecclesiæ vsque ad Vrbanvm VIII. Pont. Max. 4 volumes. Romae : Typis Vaticanis, 1677, II, col. 910-911; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VII. Les cardinaux de la fin du XVe siècle". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1932. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1932, p. 138; 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, p. 214; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volumen II (1431-1503). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1914; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, pp. 8, 32, 64 and 139; Nitecki, Piotr. Biskupi Kościoła w Polsce w latach 965-1999. Słownik biograficzny. Przedmowa Henryk Gulbinowicz. Warszawa : Instytut Wydawniczy "Pax", Warszawa 2000, col. 319-320; Prokop, Krzysztof Rafał. Polscy kardynałowie. Kraków : Wydawnictwo WAM, 2001, pp. 17-31.

Webgraphy Biography, in English, The Catholic Encyclopedia; biography, in German, Bautz; biography, in English, Encyclopaedia Britannica; his engraving, tomb and biography, in Polish, Interia Encyklopedia; his engraving and arms, Araldica Vaticana.

(1) This is according to Prokop, Krzysztof Rafał. Polscy kardynałowie, p. 22; his second biography in English, linked above, says that he was ordained in 1412.

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(14) 11. MARTINS DE CHAVES, António (?-1447)

Birth. (No date found), castle of Eaus de Flavia (1), near Oporto, Portugal. His first name is also listed as Antão and his last name as Chaves; as Martinez de Chaves; and as de Clavibus. He was called the Cardinal of Porto or of Portugal.

Education. "... chiaro per lettere, ed onestà di costumi..." (2).

Early life. Beneficiary of the cathedral of Lisbon. Dean of the cathedral chapter of Évora.

Sacred orders. (No information found).

Episcopate. Elected bishop of Porto, March 10, 1423. Consecrated (no information found). Pope Martin V asked the Portuguese bishops to convoke a synod in Braga in order to mediate between King João of Portugal and King Alfonso d'Aragona of Naples, who were entangled in a bloody war; Bishop Martins distinguished himself in that assembly; the mediation was successful. Attended the Council of Basel as one of the representatives of Eduardo, the new king of Portugal son of King João; Bishop Martins, who was deposed by the council in 1439, was also charged with working to obtain the peace between King Henry V of England, King Charles VII of France, and Philippe, duke of Bourgogne; the peace was finally reached in Arras in 1435. Pope Eugenius IV sent him as legate to Constantinople, together with Pierre de Versailles, bishop of Digne and Nikolaus von Kues, future cardinal; he embassy was to invite Emperor Johannes VII Paleologus and Patriarch Joseph II to attend the council; they left from Venice on September 3, 1437. Took part in the Council of Ferrara-Florence from October 1438 to July 1439; the emperor of Constantinople attended the assembly.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of December 18, 1439; received the title of S. Crisogono, January 8, 1440. He was noted in the Curia in Florence on January 23, 1440. Received in commendam the see of Giovinazzo, province of Bari, towards December 1443. Archpriest of the patriarchal Lateran basilica in 1444. He enlarged the Portuguese hospice in Rome, established ca. 1417, and built, at its side, the church of S. Antonio dei Portoghesi in 1440. He was absent from Rome from June 10, 1445 until the end of September. He is noted in the Roman Curia on February 21, 1447. Participated in the conclave of 1447, which elected Pope Nicholas V, which took place in March.

Death. July 6, 1447, in his title in Rome. Buried in a beautiful marble sepulchre in the patriarchal Lateran basilica, Rome (3); he had embellished the basilica and given it an organ.

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, III, 85-86; 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. 912; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VIII. Les cardinaux du XVIe siècle;. Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1932. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1932, p. 138; 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, p. 407; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volumen II (1431-1503). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1914; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, pp. 8, 26, 27, 28, 29, 62 and 218.

Webgraphy. Brief biographical data, in Portuguese, seventh entry in Os Cardeais Portugueses, Nota histórica; his tomb in the patriarchal Lateran basilica, Rome; his effigy on a bass relief by Soares Branco (1956); his engraving and arms, Araldica Vaticana.

(1) This is according to Cardella, Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa, III, 85; and "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VIII. Les cardinaux du XVIe siècle;. Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1932, p. 138; the former source indicates that it is also said that he was born in the city of Porto, Portugal; Eaus de Flavia or Aquae Flaviae is the ancient Roman name for the city of Chaves, Portugal.
(2) Cardella, Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa, III, 85.
(3) This is the text of his his epitaph taken from Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm, II, col. 912:

SEPVLCHRVM . DOMINI. ANTONII
CARDINALIS. PORTUGALENSIS
QVI. OBIIT. ROMÆ. DIE. XI. MENSIS. IVLII
ANNO. A. NATIVITATE. DOM. MCCCCXLVII.
CVIVS. ANIMA
IN. PACE. REQVIESCAT. AMEN.

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(15) 12. SCHAUMBERG, Peter von (1388-1469)

Birth. February 22, 1388, Mitwitz in Franken, diocese of Würzburg. Son of George IV von Schaumberg and his wife, Elizabeth von Schweinshaupten. Two of his brothers, Georg and Otto, belonged to the cathedral chapter of Würzburg. He was called the Cardinal Augsburg.

Education. Initial studies at the cathedral school of Würzburg; he also studied at the University Heidelberg from 1409; and starting in 1419, he studied law at the University of Bologna.

Early life. In 1408, he obtained a claim to a canonship at the cathedral chapter of Bamberg. After he finished his studies, he went to Rome, where he was appointed papal chamberlain, papal cubicularii and familiar. In 1420, he became a judge and canon of the chapter of Wurtzburg. Vicar general of the archdiocese of Bamberg, 1422-1424. Archdeacon of the cathedral chapter of Bamberg, 1423.

Priesthood. Ordained in 1423. After the resignation of the archbishop of Bamberg, its cathedral chapter could not agree on a successor, and Pope Martin V elected Vicar general Schaumberg.

Episcopate. Elected bishop of Augsburg, February 27, 1424; he stayed in Rome until May 2, 1424, when he went to Augsburg; took possession on August 22, 1424. Consecrated, probably in 1426 or 1427 (no further information found). At the service of King Sigismund (emperor from 1431), he took part in the conflict with the Hussites; in 1427, he contributed one hundred horsemen to the army of the realm against the Hussites in Bohemia; from 1427 to 1429, he tried to mediate between Appenzell and Sankt Gallert. In 1431, he was sent to France by King Sigismund to try to reconcile King Henry VI of England, Duke Philippe of Bourgogne and King Charles VII of France; the mission was unsuccessful. He participated the Council of Basel from 1432 to 1433; first as bishop of Augsburg and later, as representative of Emperor Sigismund; he was the council's treasurer for four months; also, he belonged to the highest court of the council; and with two other bishops was sent as council envoys to new peace discussions between the kings from France and England and the duke from Bourgogne in Auxerre; in 1433-1434, he went as an envoy of the council, with seven other bishops and theologians, to Prague, in order to advance the negotiations with the Hussites and to create the basis for the Prague Compact. Like the emperor, he tried to steer a middle course between the requirements and demands of the council and those of Pope Eugenius IV. Also under Sigmund's successor, Emperor Albrecht II Hapsburg, the bishop of Augsburg was consulted for important affairs of the realm; he stayed until 1438-1439 as one the representative of the realm at the Council of Basel, in order to make the assembly transfer it to another place. As royal representative, he attended he the Diets of Mainz (March 1439) and Frankfurt (November 1439); also, Albrecht's successor, Emperor Friedrich III, entrusted the experienced lawyer and skillful diplomat with important tasks in the Diets of 1441, 1445, 1446, 1447, 1456; and at the court, 1447-1451; and as imperial envoy to negotiations with the French crown in 1444; and with the Roman Curia in 1446.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of December 18, 1439; received the title of S. Vitale, January 8, 1440. Entered Rome and received the red hat in the consistory of April 18, 1450; he had probably delayed his investiture as cardinal to be able to maintain his neutrality in the conflict between the pope and the council; the pope finished the ceremonies of his promotion to the cardinalate on the following April 24; he left Rome for Germany on February 27, 1451. Cardinal primo prete in August 1458. Did not participate in the conclave of 1447, which elected Pope Nicholas V. Did not participate in the conclave of 1455, which elected Pope Callistus III. Did not participate in the conclave of 1458, which elected Pope Pius II. Did not participate in the conclave of 1464, which elected Pope Paul II. The new pope named him legate a latere in 1467. In the spring 1469, he became ill in Nierenleiden of a renal disease.

Death. Friday April 12, 1469, castle of Dillinger. His body was transferred to Augsburg and buried in the chapel Saints Vitalis and Martin (today Augustinus chapel) in the cathedral of that city; a stone with his figure was placed on his tomb. His obsequies were celebrated in Rome, presided by the pope, on May 30, 1469. His tomb was desecrated by the Protestants in the 16th century.

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, III, 84-85; 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. 911-912; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VIII. Les cardinaux du XVIe siècle;. Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1932, Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1932, p. 138; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volumen II (1431-1503). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1914; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, pp. ; Uhl, Anton. Peter von Schaumberg, Kardinal und Bischof von Augsburg 1424- 1469. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des Reiches, Schwabens und Augsburgs im 15. Jahrhundert. Speyer a Rh., Pilger-Druckerei, 1940. Dissertation: Inaug.-Diss.--M|nchen. Thesis/dissertation (deg); Rommel, Peter. "Schaumberg, Peter von." Die Bischöfe des Heiligen Römischen Reiches, 1448 bis 1648 : ein biographisches Lexikon. Herausgegeben von Erwin Gatz, unter Mitwirkung von emens Brodkorb. Berlin : Duncker & Humblot, 1996, p. 622-624.

Webgraphy. Biography, in German, Deutsche Biographie; his tomb and biography, in German, Kirchliche Mitglieder des Geschlechts.

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(16) 13. LE JEUNE, Jean (1411-1451)

Birth. 1411 (1), Arras, France. Of the seigneurs of Contay. Son of Bailiff Robert le Jeune of Amiens. His last name is also listed as de Macel and as Le Josne. He is also listed as Giovanni Giovani. He spent his adolescence in Rome. He was called the Cardinal of Thérouanne.

Education. Obtained a doctorate in utroque iure, both canon and civil law, at the University of Nantes.

Early life. Canon of the cathedral chapter of Amiens, 1424. Rector of the Roman University ca. 1430. Dean of the cathedral chapter of Nantes.

Sacred orders. Received the minor orders.

Episcopate. Elected bishop of Macon, January 10, 1431; he had not yet reached the canonical age. Transferred to the see of Amiens, March 4, 1433; and April 26, 1433. Consecrated (no information found). Named bishop of Conserans (Saint- Lizier), 1433 (2). Transferred to the see of Thérouanne, October 26, 1436; occupied the see until his death. Attended the Council of Ferrara-Florence as ambassador of the duke of Bourgogne.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of December 18, 1439; received the title of S. Prassede, January 8, 1440. Opted for the title of S. Lorenzo in Lucina ca. 1441. He was noted in Florence on January 22, 1440 and on October 24, 1442. Legate before King Alfonso d'Aragón, the Florentine Republic, the doge of Venice and other Christian princes to achieve peace among them. He was inscribed in Rome in the Brotherhood of the Holy Spirit on April 10, 1446. He was in Rome on February 21, 1447 and participated in the conclave of 1447, which elected Pope Nicholas V, the following month of March. Named legate in Milan on May 22, 1447; left for Lombardy on the following June 14. Legate also in Ferrara. He wrote a life of Pope Eugenius IV.

Death. September 9, 1451, poisoned, Rome. Buried in the church of S. Lorenzo in Lucina, Rome (2)

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, III, 87; 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. 912-913; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VIII. Les cardinaux du XVIe siècle;. Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1932. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1932, p. 138-139; 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, p. 331; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volumen II (1431-1503). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1914; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, pp. 8, 27, 29, 30, 63, 64, 86 187 and 196.

Webgraphy. Biography, in French, Wikiwand.

(1) This is according to "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VIII. Les cardinaux du XVIe siècle;. Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1932, p. 138; his biography in French, linked above, says that he was born in 1410.
(2) This is according to Pius Bonifatius Gams, Series episcoporum Ecclesiae catholicae. (3 v. in 1. Graz : Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt, 1957), p. 541; the site of Saint Lizier, indicates that he was bishop of that see in 1439.
(3) This is the text of the inscription in his tomb, taken from Chacón, Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm, II, col. 915:

MISERER MEI DEVS
QVIA IN TE SPERAVIT ANIMA MEA.
HIC. IACET.CORPUS R. PATRIS. ET. DOMINI.
D. IOHANNES. TIT. S. LAVRENTI. IN. LVCINA.
SACRO. S. R. E. PRESBYTRERI.
CARDINALIS. MORINENSIS. NVNCVPATI.
QVI. OBIIT. ANNO. MCCCCLI.
DIE. IX. MENSIS. SEPTEMBRIS.

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(17) 14. SZÉCSI, Dénes (1400-1465)

Birth. 1400, Eger, Hungary (1). Of an aristocratic family. Sixth of the eight children of Miklós Szécsi, magister tavernicorum, and Ilona Garai. His second given name was Nikolaus. His last name is also listed as Zeech, Zecho and Zechus. He was called the Cardinal of Eger or of Esztergom.

Education. Studied in Vienna; later, he obtained a doctorate in canon law at the University of Bologna.

Sacred orders. (No information found).

Episcopate. Elected bishop of Nyitra, April 21, 1438. Consecrated (no information found). Transferred to the see of Eger, June 5, 1439. Promoted to the cardinalate at the request of Queen Elizabeth of Hungary.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of December 18, 1439; received the title of S. Ciriaco, January 8, 1440. Promoted to the metropolitan see of Esztergom, February 15, 1440; occupied the see until his death; he celebrated a provincial council in 1449. Crowned King Ulászló I of Hungary in 1440. Legate of Pope Eugenius IV to crown King Ladislaus V in Székesfehérvár on July 17, 1440; and to establish the peace with the barons of the kingdom. He did not participate in the conclave of 1447, which elected Pope Nicholas V. The new pope confirmed the title of primate of Hungary for him and his successors. Did not participate in the conclave of 1455, which elected Pope Callistus III. The new pope named him legate in Hungary to organize the crusade against the Turks. He had a palace built next to the church of S. Maria in Via Lata, Rome. Chancellor of Hungary in 1453; the king deprived him of the office shortly before his death. Did not participate in the conclave of 1458, which elected Pope Pius II. He also crowned King Mátyás Corvin of Hungary in 1458. Did not participate in the conclave of 1464, which elected Pope Paul II (2). He rebuilt the cathedral of Esztergom.

Death. February 1, 1465, Esztergom. Buried in the metropolitan cathedral of Esztergom; he left 8,000 scudi to that cathedral.

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, III, 87-88; 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. 913; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VIII. Les cardinaux du XVIe siècle;. Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1932. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1932, p. 139; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volumen II (1431-1503). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1914; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, pp. 8, 62, 82, 204 and 242; Török, János. Magyarország Primása. Közjogi és törté-neti vázolat. 2 vols. Pest : Laufer és Stolpnál, 1859; Tusor, Péter. Purpura Pannonica : az esztergomi "bíborosi szék" kialakulásának elozminyei a 17. században = Purpura Pannonica : the "Cardinalitial See" of Strigonium and its Antecedens in the 17th Century. Budapest : Róma : Research Institute of Church History at Péter Pázmány Catholic University, 2005. (Collectanea Vaticana Hungariae, Classis I, vol. 3), 44, 46, 47, 49, 210 and 317.

Webgraphy. Biographical entry, in Hungarian, Magyar Elektronikus Köyvtár; biographical entry, in English, Magyar Elektronikus Köyvtár; his tomb, metropolitan cathedral of Esztergom, Hungary, Magyar Elektronikus Köyvtár; his genealogy, A2 E3 F6, Genealogy EU; and another view of his tomb, Képzömüvészet Magyarországon.

(1) This is according to "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VIII. Les cardinaux du XVIe siècle;. Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1932, p. 139; his biography in English, linked above. says that he was born ca. 1410.
(2) The absence from the conclaves of 1447, 1455, 1458 and 1464 is noted by "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VIII. Les cardinaux du XVIe siècle;. Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1932, p. 139; Cardella, Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa, III, 88; and his biography in Hungarian, linked above, say that he participted in the conclaves of 1447 (Nicholas V); 1455 (Callistys III) and 1458 (Pius II); none of those two sources mention the conclave of 1464; his biography in English, linked above, says that he participated in the election of three popes without mentioning who they were.

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(18) 15. ESTOUTEVILLE, Guillaume d' (1403-1483)

Birth. 1403, Normandy, France. Of an ancient and illustrious family, related to the royal family of France. Son of Jean d'Estouteville and Margarite d'Harcourt. He was called the Cardinal of Angers, or of Rouen, or of Ostia, or d'Estouteville. He is also listed as Guglielmo Tuttavilla.

Education. Obtained a doctorate in canon law at the University of Paris (1).

Early life. In 1428, he obtained a canonship in the church of Evreux, diocese of Rouen, to be able to continue his university studies in Paris. He had two natural sons, Agostino and Girolamo, and three natural daughters, Caterina, Margherita and Giulia, with Roman noblewoman Girolama Tosti. In 1432, he was named canon of the metropolitan cathedral chapter of Lyon; and the following year, archdeacon of the cathedral chapter of Angers. Protonotary apostolic.

Sacred orders. (No information found).

Episcopate. Elected bishop of Angers by its cathedral chapter, February 27, 1439 (1); confirmed by the pope on March 30, 1439; King Charles VII of France objected to the appointment according to the Pragmatic Sanction; he did not take possession of the see and resigned it on October 27, 1447. Obtained in commendam the see of Digne, September 25, 1439; took possession on November 8, 1439; consecrated, January 10, 1440, Florence, probably by Pope Eugenius IV; occupied the post until September 11, 1445.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of December 18, 1439; received the title of Ss. Martino e Silvestro ai Monti, January 8, 1440. After his promotion to the cardinalate, he spent most of his life in Rome, except for short trips, especially accompanying the popes, and two legations in France on behalf of Pope Nicholas V. Administrator of the see of Couserans in 1439. Administrator of the see of Mirepoix, April 18, 1439 until May 17, 1441. He was noted in the Roman Curia on January 22, 1440, October 21, 1442, February 21, 1447, July 19, 1453 and September 17, 1453. Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals for the year 1440. Administrator of the see of Nîmes, May 17, 1441 until January 7, 1450. Archpriest of the patriarchal Liberian basilica around 1443. Administrator of the see of Béziers, July 10, 1444 until July 26, 1447. Abbot of the monastery of Mont-Saint-Michel, August 13, 1445. Prior of the Benedictine monastery of Saint-Martin-des-Champs, Paris. He was one of the cardinals charged by Pope Eugenius IV in 1445 with the cause of canonization of Bernardino di Siena; and again, by Pope Nicholas V on June 17, 1447. He was inscribed in the Brotherhood of the Holy Spirit, Rome, on April 10, 1446. Participated in the conclave of 1447, which elected Pope Nicholas V. Administrator of the see of Lodève, January 7, 1450 until January 26, 1453. Named legate in France on August 27, 1451; the official purpose was the signing of the final peace between France and England; in reality, the pope wanted to seek the repeal of the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges in 1438, or at least to ameliorate it; he was given powers to reform the University of Paris, very sensitive issue to the king; and to begin the process of rehabilitation of Joan of Arc; he left for his legation on the following September 16; in addition to the official legation, Cardinal Estouteville, who was very close to Francesco Sforza and to Cosimo de' Medici, wanted to promote the alliance that Milan and Florence were going to establish with the king of France; the following December 14, he arrived in Lyon where, after overcoming the resistance of the French king, who was not satisfied with this mission, he received all the honors of the royal court in Tours; he returned to Rome on January 3, 1453. The result of his legation was mixed. With regard to the primary objectives of the mission, peace with England and the abolition of the Pragmatic Sanction, the mission was a complete failure. The reform was implemented at the University of Paris with a thorough revision of the old statutes , then known as "Statuts de Estouteville" (June 1, 1452); and the process of rehabilitation of Joan of Arc was inistiated, for which the legate had included in his retinue two famous canonists, Teodoro de Letti and Paolo Pontano. Successful also was his mediation for the alliance between Milan, Florence and France, which was agreed on February 21. 1452; as well as his intervention to obtain the peace between France and Savoy, which was accomplished by the Treaty of Feurs of October 27, 1452. Named bishop of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, January 26, 1453; administrator of the see, ad beneplacitum Sedis Apostolicam, April 20, 1453; occupied the post until his death. Promoted to the metropolitan see of Rouen, April 20, 1453; occupied the see until his death. Named again legate in France, he left Rome on May 16, 1454; his mission was to induce King Charles VII of France to take part in the crusade launched by Pope Nicholas V, but he was unsuccessful; and returned to Rome on September 12, 1455. He then went to Rouen to take possession of his see. Opted for the order of cardinal bishops and the suburbicarian see of Porto e Santa Rufina in 1455, retaining the title of Ss. Silvestro e Martino ai Monti, which he left in 1459 for that of S. Pudenziana. Did not participate in the conclave of 1455, which elected Pope Callistus III. He introduced the process of rehabilitation of Jeanne d'Arc, future saint. In December 1455. He was named member of a commission of cardinals charged with the formation of papal fleet against the Turks. Abbot commendatario of the Benedictine monastery of Saint-Gildas-des-Bois, diocese of Nantes, from 1456 to 1462. In July 1458, he was named member of a commission to maintain the order in Rome. Participated in the conclave of 1458, which elected Pope Pius II. He accompanied the new Pope Pius II to the Congress of Mantua on January 22, 1459; the congress against the Turks was opened on the following June 1; he left for Siena on January 10, 1460; returned to Rome the following October 6. Member of the cardinalitial commission for sentencing in the internal dispute in the Franciscan Order between the Conventuals and the Observants. Opted for the suburbicarian see of Ostia e Velletri, October 26, 1461; sent by the pope to Ostia in October of that year to receive Queen Carlota of Cyprus. He was in Viterbo in May 1462. Abbot of Saint-Ouen, Rouen, in 1462; and of Montebourg in 1466. He accompanied the pope to Ancona in July 1464; he was charged with the reestablishment of the order among the papal troops. Returned to Rome after the death of Pope Pius II.

Participated in the conclave of 1464, which elected Pope Paul II. Named one of the three commissaries general of the Crusade in November 1464; the other two were Cardinals Bessarion and Juan Carvajal. Named member of the commission for the affairs of Behemia constituted by the pope at the beginning of 1465. After resolving the long-standing dispute between the people of Velletri and the Colonna family for the possession of the territory of Lariano, he was invested by Pope Paul II with the protectorate of the city of Velletri, where he could exercise at the same time both spiritual and temporal activities. Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals from 1465 until January 9, 1466; and from May 15, 1472 until 1473. Received Emperor Friedrich IV at the entrance of Rome on December 4, 1468. Participated in the conclave of 1471, which elected Pope Sixtus IV; he consecrated the new pope on August 25, 1471. Prior commendatario of the Benedictine monastery of Saint-Martin-des-Champs, Paris, in 1471. Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals in November 1472. Abbot commendatario of the Cistercian monastery of Cerreto, diocese of Lodi, July 26, 1476. Named legate in France on October 12, 1472; declined the appointment and was replaced by the bishop of Viterbo, Francesco Maria Scelloni-Visconti, O.F.M. Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals in November 1472. Accompanied the pope to Foligno on June 10, 1476, leaving Rome because of the plague. Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, August 12, 1477 until his death. In January 1480, he was charged by the pope with the supervision of the works of the Borgo. Locum tenens of the camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals October 1482 until his death. He was the richest cardinal of his time. He enlarged the archiepiscopal palace of Rouen and started the recovery of Ostia from its ruins with useful constructions. He repaired the roof of the lateral naves of the patriarchal Liberian basilica and enriched it with works by Platina, Gaspare da Verona and Mino del Reame among others; embellished the church of Saint-Louis-des-Français in Rome, and the church of S. Agostino, which he rebuilt from its foundation beginning in November 1479, as well as its annexed convent, also in Rome, work of the famous Architect Giacomo da Pietrasanta. In Ostia, he restored the walls of the citadel and the episcopal palace, at a cost of not less than 6,000 gold ducats. In Velletri, he restored the fortifications and built the bishop's palace; while in Frascati, in addition to the expansion of the building of the Apostolic Chamber, he constructed an underground aqueduct that carried water from Grottaferrata. Because of his extraordinary wealth, Cardinal Estouteville was able to make numerous loans for large sums, particularly to Popes Paul II and Sixtus IV. To the latter, he lent 6,000 gold florins for the preparation of the fleet against the Turks; for the loan, he received as a pledge the territory of Monticelli, of which he was also appointed governor. The most conspicuous loan was granted to Pope Sixtus IV in 1478, when, to help the famine-stricken people of Rome, the pope resorted Cardinal Estouteville for a loan of 20,000 florins, guaranteed with the territories of Frascati, Soriano, Gallese, Corchiano, Cerveteri, Vico, and Casamala and Sasso. In 1479, he was named vicar for life of Soriano, Monticelli and Frascati. This last location was sold by the Apostolic Chamber in 1482. He was called Columna et columen Sanctæ Romanæ Ecclesiæ. He was a grand benefactor of the Order of Saint Benedict; and for thirty seven years he was protector of the Order of Saint Augustine. With regard to cultural interests, Cardinal Estouteville was a generous patron of artists, preceptors of grammar and music, and learned canons and preachers. The cardinal possessed a great expertise in canon law, a discipline in which he graduated with a doctorate at the University of Paris; and had practice as a notary and protonotary in the early days of his activities. Of his juridical preparation are testimony the inventories of the books he collected. His library included 249 works in 269 volumes reflecting many interests, with the texts of civil law and canon constituting the vast majority. In his collection there were not many books in print, despite the help, including economic, that he had given to many publishers, such as Giovanni Andrea Bussi, Giovanni De Filippo Lignamine and Oliviero Servius, who remembered him in the preface of a printed work published with cardinal's contribution and dedicated to him.

Death. January 22, 1483, in his palace next to church of S. Apollinare, in Rome, a few days after the redaction of his will (3). He was buried with great pomp in the church of S. Agostino, where Silvestro dA Bagnoregio, O.S.A., procurator of the Augustinian Order, pronounced the funeral oration. During the funeral incidents occurred between the canons of S. Maria Maggiore and the friars of Saint Augustine trying to divide the rich spoils of the cardinal. Buried in the church of S. Agostino, Rome (4). It is not known now where his tomb is situated; his bust, with a long inscription, were erected in the 17th century near the door of the sacristy of that church. His heart was buried in a marble monument in the cathedral of Roeun by special permission of Pope Sixtus IV.

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, III, 88-91; 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. 913-915; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VIII. Les cardinaux du XVIe siècle;. Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1932, Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1932, p. 139-140; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volumen II (1431-1503). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1914; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, pp. 8, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 45, 46, 59, 60, 65, 87, 107, 144, 179, 188, 193, 201 and 224; Gill, Meredith J. "Guillaume d'Estouteville's Italian journey" in The possessions of a Cardinal : politics, piety, and art, 1450-1700. Edited by Mary Hollingsworth & Carol M. Richardson. University Park, Pa. : Pennsylvania State University Press, 2010, p. 35-45..

Webgraphy. Biography, in English, Augnet, reference site to Saint Augustine of Hippo and the Order of Saint Augustine; biography by Anna Esposito, in Italian, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 43 (1993), Treccani; biographical entry, in French, Perso Orange; biography, in English, The 1911 Classic Encyclopedia; his bust, arms and biography, in French, Wikipedia; biographical data, in French, Commun d'Estouteville Ecalles; Death and the Cardinal: The Two Bodies of Guillaume d'Estouteville, in English, The Free Library; miniature of the cardinal and King Charles VII of France, Jean Chartier, chronique, Département des Manuscrits, Division occidentale, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris; his bust by Mino da Fiesole, Institut für Kunst- und Bildgeschichte (IKB), der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin; his effigy and arms on a medal, Numismatic collection of Olomouc archiepiscopate, Czech Republic; his arms, illuminated manuscript, Bibliothèque de Tours, France; his funeral monument in the church of S. Agostino, Rome, Requiem Datenbank.

(1) According to his biography in Italian by Esposito, linked above, some sources following the erroneous information provided by Chacón, Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm, II, col. 913, indicate that he entered the Order of St. Benedict (O.S.B.Clun.) in the monastery of Saint-Martin-des-Champs, Paris. Esposito adds, citing Heinrich Denifle and Émile Chatelain, Chartularium Universitatis Parisiensis (Parisiis : ex typis fratrum Delalain, 1889-1897), IV, pp. 713-734, that he belonged to the secular clergy all his life.
(2) This is according to his buography in Italian by Esposito, linked above. Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi, II, 87, indicates that he was elected on February 20, 1439.
(3) His will was drawn up by the notary Camillo Benembene on January 14, 1483 and it was followed by 4 codicils between January 16 and 22. The document highlighted the immense fortune of the cardinal. The will benefited in the first place his two sons, who were minors, his family, and then a multitude of religious institutions, Roman and not Roman. His three daughters received large sums (3,000 ducats for each) and were married with distinguished members of the Roman nobility: Caterina with Saba Mattei; Margherita with Mario Massimi; and Giulia with Giorgio Benembene, son of Camillo, his notary.
(4) This is the text of the inscription taken from Chacón, Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm, II, col. 915:

D.    O.    M.
D. Guillelmo de Estouteville Normando Gallo
Episcopo OstiensiCard. Rothomagensi, S. E. E. Camerario
Ex Congregatione Cluniacensi Orinis Sancti Benedicti assumpto
Qui
Apud S. Sedem totius Augustiniani Ord. Protectorem agens.
Templum hocce
A fundamentis construxit amplissimis dotibus locupletauit
Altare maius
Deipara Virginis Imagine a D. Luca depicta exornandii curauit.
Sacrarium
Preciosissimus Vestibus ditauit.
Conuentum
In ampliorem, &commodiorem formam redigit.
Totum Ordinem
Singularibus beneficiis cumulauit.
Plura & maiora collaturus, nisi mortis inuidia prapediuisisset.
Præsuli amplissimo
Tam doctrina, moribus, virtutibus
Quam sanguine, opibus, honoribus conspicuo.
Patrono Benficentissimo.
M.F. Hyppolitus Montius Gen. Prior, ac Patres huiius Coenobii
Aeternü grati animi monumentü PP. Anno sal. MDCXXXVII.
Obiit Anno Domini MCCCCLXXXIII.
XI. Kal. Februarii.
Aetatis sua anno LXXX.

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(19) 16. TORQUEMADA, O.P., Juan de (1388-1468)

Birth. 1388, Torquemada, Palencia, Spain. Of the influential Tovar family. Son of Álvar Fernández de Torquemada, regidor of Valladolid. Uncle of Grand Inquisitor Tomás de Torquemada, O.P. His last name is also listed as Turrecremata. He was called the Cardinal of S. Sisto.

Education. Entered the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) in 1403 in the convent of San Pablo, Valladolid, where he started his studies; continued his superior studies in Salamanca. In 1417, he accompanied his superior, Fr. Luis de Valladolid, a member of the Castillian delegation, to the Council of Constance. After the conclusion of the council, he was sent to Paris to continue his studies; obtained a licentiate in theology on March 3, 1424; and a magister in theology on February 16, 1425.

Priesthood. Ordained (no further information found). Professor of theology at the University of Valladolid. Prior of the Dominican convent of San Pablo, Valladolid, until before 1431. Prior of the convent of San Pedro Mártir, Toledo, in 1431. Also in 1431, he was commissioned by the master general of his order, Fr. Bartolomé Texier, to represent him, with another six friars, in the Council of Basel; King Juan II of Castilla, also named him one of his ambassadors to the council; he arrived in Basel on August 22, 1432 and presented his credentials to the conciliar fathers on the 30th of that month; he defended the right of the pope to name the council's president as well as the pope's autonomy; the president of the council, Cardinal Giuliano Cesarini asked Fr. Torquemada to prepare a synthesis of the arguments that supported papal authority and the work was later published as treatise on the matter; he also supported the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary; he supported the pope's decision to translate the council to Ferrara. He was sent to try to convince King Juan II of Castilla to support the transfer of the council and to withdraw his delegates from the assembly of Basel but he failed; the bishops of Castilla and the universities of Salamanca and Valladolid abstained themselves from going to Ferrara. In recognition of his support in the council, Pope Eugenius IV named him master of the Sacred Palace on March 4, 1435. In October 1438, he joined the papal delegation, of which Nikolaus von Kues, future cardinal, was a member, sent to the second Diet of Nuremberg with the purpose of convincing the German princes to recognize the new see of the council in Ferrara; in his address in the diet, Fr. Torquemada refuted the pretensions of the assembly of Basel and defended the plenitude of the papal power, even when opposing the general councils; it was accorded to celebrate, a few months later, a new reunion in Mainz with representatives from Basel, of Pope Eugenius IV, of the German princes, of France, and of Castilla; Fr. Torquemada defended the position of pope, who, he affirmed, had not translated the council to escape reform but to avoid the schism and to facilitate the union with the Greeks who preferred to meet the council in an Italian city. When he returned from Germany, the council had already been transferred to Florence to escape from the plague. From May 1439, he actively participated in the discussions with the Greeks concerning the Eucharist, which culminated with the official union of the two churches ratified on July 6, 1439, by the emperor of Constantinople, who was present. During the Councils of Ferrara and Florence, he became friend of Bessarion, future cardinal. On October 20, 1439, he left for France as part of a papal delegation to try to convince King Charles VII to stop supporting the Council of Basel and to adhere to Pope Eugenius IV; they did not obtain any concessions from the French king, who instead asked for a new council to clarify the situation and maintained in force the Pragmatic Sanction. During the trip, Fr. Torquemada received the news of his promotion to the cardinalate while he was in Angers; he attended the assembly of the bishops of France in Bourges.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of December 18, 1439; received the title of S. Sisto, January 8, 1440; he arrived in Florence on November 24, 1440.

Episcopate. Elected bishop of Cádiz, July 27, 1440. (He was not consecrated until 1463.) Transferred to the see of Orense, July 11, 1442; resigned the see on November 10, 1445, without having taken possession. He was noted in Florence on October 24, 1442. He was inscribed in the Brotherhood of the Holy Spirit on April 10, 1446. Opted for the title of S. Maria in Trastevere shortly before October 1446. Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals, October 7, 1446. Noted in the Roman Curia on February 21, 1447. Participated in the conclave of 1447, which elected Pope Nicholas V. Abbot commendatario of the monastery of San Martín de Compostela until 1448. In 1449, he obtained the deanship of Orense and the commendam of the abbey of Salas de los Infantes, Burgos. Noted in the Roman Curia on October 27, 1451. Prior of Santa María de Sar until 1451. Prior of Zamora until October 21, 1452. Archdeacon of Vivero until 1452; he was also archdeacon of Cerrato, Palencia. Obtained the commendam of the abbey of Valladolid in 1453. Participated in the conclave of 1455, which elected Pope Callistus III. Abbot commendatario of the monastery of Subiaco, August 13, 1455. Participated in the conclave of 1458, which elected Pope Pius II. Opted for the order of cardinal bishops and the suburbicarian see of Palestrina, before April 8, 1460. Administrator of the see of León, July 31, 1460; King Enrique IV of Castilla did not allow him to take possession of the see; ceased in January 1463. Participated in the feast of Corpus Christi in Viterbo in 1462. Named, again, bishop of Orsense, January 26, 1463; occupied the see until June 8, 1466. Opted for the suburbicarian see of Sabina, May 5, 1463. Consecrated, in 1463, Rome, by Pope Pius II. Participated in the conclave of 1464, which elected Pope Paul II. Abbot commendatario of the Benedictine monastery of San Facundo, diocese of León, October 30, 1467; occupied the post for eleven months and resigned in 1468, a few days before his death. He was a prolific author and wrote some of the most important theological work of his time. He enlarged and embellished the basilica of S. Maria sopra Minerva and founded the Society of the Assumption to endow poor girls; he also established a similar work in Florence. Installed the printing press in Subiaco; and later, in Rome. He impulsed the reform of the religious, especially the Dominicans. He dedicated his efforts to the freedom of the captives taken by the Turks as well as the expedition against the latter. He rebuilt the Colegiata and the convent of San Pablo of Valladolid, to which he gave important books sent from Italy.

Death. Monday September 26, 1468, Dominican convent of S. Maria sopra Minerva, Rome. Buried in the chapel of the Annunciation, which he had built, in the basilica of S. Maria sopra Minerva, Rome; there is a bust and an inscription in that chapel (1).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, III, 91-94; 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. 916-918; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VIII. Les cardinaux du XVIe siècle;. Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1932, Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1932, p. 140; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volumen II (1431-1503). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1914; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, pp. 8, 26, 29,30, 32, 36, 59, 60, 63, 65, 99, 157 and 174; Fraile, G. "Torquemada, Juan de." Diccionario de historia eclesiástica de España. 4 vols and Supplement. Dirigido por Quintín Aldea Vaquero, Tomás Marín Martínez, José Vives Gatell. Madrid : Instituto Enrique Flórez, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1972-1975; Suplemento (1987), IV, 2576; Izbicki, Thomas M. Protector of the faith : Cardinal Johannes de Turrecremata and the defense of the institutional church. Washington, D.C. : Catholic University of America Press, 1981.

Webgraphy. Biography by Ángel Martínez Casado, in Spanish, DB~e, Diccionario Biográfico Español; biography, in Spanish, Gran Enciclopedia Rialp; biography and bibliography, in Spanish, Orden de Predicadores; biography, in English, Classic Encyclopedia based on the 11th edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica (pub. 1911); brief biography, in Spanish, Biblioteca Virtual Ignacio Larramendi; his family's conversion, in French, Pratique de l'histoire et dévoiements négationnistes; his image by Antoniazzo Romano, altarpiece in wood, chapel of Annunciation, church of S. Maria sopra Minerva, Rome, Web Gallery of Art, created by Emil Krén and Daniel Marx; his image by Fra Angelico, Fogg Art Museum, The Hervey E. Wetzel Bequest Fund, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, MA, United States of America; his engraving by José; Maea, Art.com Inc.; his tomb in the church of S. Maria sopra Minerva, Rome, Requiem Datenbank; his arms and portrait, Araldica Vaticana.

(1) This is the text of the inscription taken from Chacón, Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm, II, col. 917 (the text of the inscription is also in a photograph linked above from Requiem Datenbank):

F. IOANNI HISPANO VALLISOLETANO
EX VETERE PVRA NOBILIQVE FAMILIA
DE TVRRECREMATA
ORDINIS PRAEDICATORVM
S.R.E. CARDINALI EPISCOPO SABINENSI
PIETATE AC DOCTRINA CLARISSIMO
MVLTIS LEGATIONIBVS EGREGIE FVNCTO
BEATAE VIRGINIS ANNVNCIATAE
SODALITAS
AVCTORIS SVO POSVIT
OBIIT ROMAE VI. KAL. OCTOBRIS
AN. DOM. MCCCCLXVIII
AETATIS VERO SVAE LXXX

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(20) 17. ALBERTI, Alberto (1386-1455)

Birth. 1386, Arezzo (or Florence). Of a noble family. Son of Cipriano Alberti, podesta of Perugia, and Francesca de' Nobili. He was called the Cardinal of S. Eustachio; or of Camerino; or de Albertis.

Education. "Essendo uomo dottisimo e assai perito nella lingua greca e latina ..." (1).

Early life. Antipope John XXIII called him to the papal court. Pope Martin V kept him the court and in 1420 named him pontifical treasurer in Bologna. Canon of the chapter of the metropolitan cathedral of Florence ca. 1425. Protonotary apostolic. His success in his ecclesiastical career was due above all to the esteem and affection of Pope Eugenius IV. The pope recalled him to the Curia and, in 1434, appointed him ambassador to Perugia, to negotiate the matter of the goods that the bishop of that city had donated to the Holy See. In March 1435, the pope entrusted him with the government of Perugia and in April 1435 with the government of Orvieto. He was also sent as ambassador to Francesco Sforza, to discuss peace between him and the Orvietans.

Sacred orders. (No information found).

Episcopate. Named administrator of the see of Camerino, March 4, 1437. Consecrated, Perugia, October 6, 1437. He never assumed the government of the diocese directly, although he retained the title even after the elevation to the cardinalate; in the diocese, he was represented by the vicar Antonio de Meha. As bishop of Camerino, he took part in the Council of Florence, supporting the efforts of Pope Eugenius IV for the reunion of the Greek Church with the Latin Church, and he intervened in this sense in the negotiations, benefiting from his profound knowledge of the Greek and Latin languages. To demonstrate his gratitude to the Florentines for the hospitality offered to the council, the pope created him cardinal, also letting him keep the bishopric of Camerino and the abbeys of S. Savino and Grottaferrata. He worked zealously for the unity of the church in the Council of Florence.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal deacon in the consistory of December 18, 1439; received the deaconry of S. Eustachio, January 8, 1440. Arrived in the papal curia in Florence on February 25, 1440. Named legate in Sicily to reconcile Duke Rene d'Anjou with King Alfonso d'Aragón, June 10, 1440. He was noted in Florence on October 24, 1442. Returned from Siena on June 29, 1443. Named camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals, October 4, 1444; he took possession on October 15 and occupied the post until his death. He was one of the cardinals charged with the cause of canonization of Bernardino di Siena.

P>Death. August 3 (or 11), 1445, monastery of Grottaferrata. Buried in the chapel of S. Ilario in the patriarchal Lateran basilica, Rome (2). On August 23, very solemn funeral honors were paid to him, in the presence of the Gonfaloniere, the Signoria and the Collegi, the Guelph party, the Ottos and the Capitudine degli Arti. Part of his body was taken to the church of S. Croce in Florence (3), where his family had built a new monument in 1573.

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, III, 94; 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. 918-919; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VIII. Les cardinaux du XVIe siècle;. Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1932, Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1932, p. 140; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volumen II (1431-1503). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1914; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, pp. 8, 26, 27, 28, 59, 66 and 116.

Webgraphy. Biography by Arnaldo D'Addario, in Italian, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 1 (1960), Treccani; his arms, Araldica Vaticana.

(1) "He was a very learned man and an expert in the Greek and Latin languages", Cardella, Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa, III, 94.
(2) This is epitaph taken from Chacón, Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm, II, col 908:

HOC IN TVMVLO SEPVLTA EST PARS CORPORIS
REVERENDISSIMI IN CHRISTO PATRIS ET DOMINI
ALBERTI DI ALBERTIS DE CIVITATE FLORENTIA
S. R. E. TITVLI S. EVSTACHII DIACONI CARDINALIS
QVI OBIIT IN ABBATIA CRYPTAE FERRATAE
TEMPORE DOMINI EVGENII PAPAE IV.
ANNO DOM. MCCCXLV. DIE VERO
III. MENSIS AVGVSTI.
CVIVS ANIMA REQVIESCAT IN PACE AMEN.

(3) This is epitaph taken from Chacón, Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm, II, col 908:

ALBERTO ALBERTIO EPISCOPO CAMERTINO
AB EVGENIO IV. PONT. MAX.
IN CONCILIO FLORENTINO EX LECTISSIMIS
CHRISTIANAE REIPVBLICAE VIRIS
IN COLLEGIVM CARDINALIVM COOPTATVS
SACRI FOEDERIS SVB VLADISLAO POLON. ET
HVNO. REGE LATINAE CLASSI PRAEFECTO
ROMANAE APOSTOLICAE DIGNITATIS
STVDIOSISSIMO PROPVGNATORI
ALBERTII
FEBTILI SVO OPTIME MERITO
MONVM. RESTITVERE
ANNO SALVTIS MDLXXIII.
OBIIT III. IDVS AVGVSTI MCCCCXLV.

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