Council of Avignon
Council of Avignon may refer to one of a number of councils of the Roman Catholic Church which were held in Avignon in France. The first reported council met in the 11th century and the final council on record was in the mid-19th century.
Eleve ...
in 1080, at which Archbishop Aicard was deposed. He was consecrated by Pope Gregory VII. However, the clergy and people of
Arles
Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...
preferred Aicard, a relative of the
viscount
A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status.
In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicia ...
Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry IV (german: Heinrich IV; 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105, King of Germany from 1054 to 1105, King of Italy and Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was the so ...
against Gregory VII. Although Ghibbelin was supported by Bertrand I, Count of Provence, he was unable to take possession of his archdiocese. He was threatened by the citizens of Arles when he approached he city, and had to renounce his claim.
Ghibbelin waited many years to take his post. In 1096, when Pope Urban II toured southern
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
before preaching the
First Crusade
The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic r ...
at the
Council of Clermont
The Council of Clermont was a mixed synod of ecclesiastics and laymen of the Catholic Church, called by Pope Urban II and held from 17 to 27 November 1095 at Clermont, Auvergne, at the time part of the Duchy of Aquitaine.
Pope Urban's speech ...
, he neglected to visit Arles. After 1096 Ghibbelin was able to occupy the archdiocese during the periodic absences of Aicard; meanwhile he also directed the
diocese of Avignon
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Avignon (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Avenionensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse d'Avignon'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese exercises jurisdiction over the terri ...
. He finally succeeded Aicard around 1098, when Urban II overturned the renouncement he had made under duress from the citizens of Arles in 1080. In 1105, the will of
Raymond IV of Toulouse
Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse ( 1041 – 28 February 1105), sometimes called Raymond of Saint-Gilles or Raymond I of Tripoli, was a powerful noble in southern France and one of the leaders of the First Crusade (1096–1099). He was the Count o ...
ordered his heirs to restore everything he had usurped from Ghibbelin in Arles, Argence, Fourques, Albaron, and Fos.
At the end of 1107, Ghibbelin left Arles for Palestine, as papal legate for
Pope Paschal II
Pope Paschal II ( la, Paschalis II; 1050 1055 – 21 January 1118), born Ranierius, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 August 1099 to his death in 1118. A monk of the Abbey of Cluny, he was cre ...
. He was sent to settle a dispute over the Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
had been deposed as Patriarch in 1102 and replaced by Ehremar. The pope reinstated Dagobert, who then died before he could return to Palestine. The pope was now inclined to reinstate Ehremar, but King of Jerusalem, Baldwin I of Jerusalem, Baldwin I, objected as he regarded him as incompetent, and Ghibbelin was chosen to decide the matter. He deposed Ehremar, and at the invitation of Baldwin himself accepted the office.Steven Runciman, ''A History of the Crusades, Volume II, The Kingdom of Jerusalem'', Cambridge University Press, 1952, pp. 83–84 He died there in December, 1112, and was succeeded by
Arnulf of Chocques Arnulf of Chocques (died 1118) was a leading member of the clergy during the First Crusade, being made Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem in 1099 and again from 1112 to 1118. Sometimes referred to as Arnulf of Rœulx, presumably after the village of Rœu ...
as Patriarch, while the archdiocese of Arles remained vacant until 1115.