Grosolanus or Grossolanus,''Grossolano'' or ''Grosolano'' in Italian born Peter, was the Archbishop of Milan from 1102 to 1112. He succeeded Anselm IV, who had made him vicar during his absence on the

Crusade of 1101 The Crusade of 1101 was a minor crusade of three separate movements, organized in 1100 and 1101 in the successful aftermath of the First Crusade. It is also called the Crusade of the Faint-Hearted due to the number of participants who joined this ...

, and was succeeded by Jordan, who had been his

subdeacon Subdeacon (or sub-deacon) is a minor order or ministry for men in various branches of Christianity. The subdeacon has a specific liturgical role and is placed between the acolyte (or reader) and the deacon in the order of precedence. Subdeacons in ...

. Grosolanus was the abbot of Ferrania and already Bishop of Savona when Anselm appointed him to act as his vicar during the crusade. Grosolanus was accused of

simony Simony () is the act of selling church offices and roles or sacred things. It is named after Simon Magus, who is described in the Acts of the Apostles as having offered two disciples of Jesus payment in exchange for their empowering him to imp ...

in obtaining the Ambrosian see by the priest Liprand, who proceeded through the ordeal of fire to prove his charges. This tale is probably an invention of

Landolfo Iuniore Landulf of Saint Paul (floruit 1077–1137), called Landulf Junior to distinguish him from Landulf Senior, was a Milanese historian whose life is known entirely from his main work, the ''Historia Mediolanensis''. He presents a unique and important ...

, bearing little resemblance to reality, save the fact that Grosolanus was opposed by a strong faction in the city. Even in modern times, though, it has served as the inspiration of a song by Enzo Jannacci. The archbishop was still embattled when, in 1111, he decided to go on a pilgrimage to Outremer. Almost immediately a council of equal numbers of supporters and opponents of the archbishop convened in his absence and, deposing him, elected Jordan of Clivio in his place on New Year's Day. Of all Milan's suffragans, only Atto, Bishop of Acqui, and Arderic, Bishop of Lodi, refused to do homage to the new bishop and remained loyal to Grosolanus. On 6 December, Mainard, Bishop of Turin, formally deposed Grosolanus at the altar in S. Ambrogio. In August 1113, Grosolanus returned from his pilgrimage. Tensions were raised in the city of Milan, where the old archbishop still had some supporters. Finally, on 11 March 1116,

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 ...

declared Grosolanus' transferral from the

see of Savona The Italian Catholic Diocese of Savona-Noli ( la, Dioecesis Savonensis-Naulensis) in northern Italy, was historically the Diocese of Savona, from the tenth century. In 1820 the Diocese of Noli was united to the Diocese of Savona. It is a suffrag ...

to that of Milan to be invalid and thus null. He was transferred back to Savona and Jordan was papally confirmed as the legitimate Ambrosian pontiff for a second time.

Notes

Sources

*Setton, K. M. (1956). "The Byzantine Background to the Italian Renaissance". ''Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society'', 100:1, pp. 1–76. *''Landulphi Junioris sive de Sancto Paulo Historia Mediolanensis ab anno MXCV usque ad annum MCXXXVII''. translated (Italian) by Carlo Castiglioni. Zanichelli: Bologna, 1934. *Alfredo Lucioni, "Grossolano", in ''Dizionario della Chiesa Ambrosiana''. vol. 3, pp. 1531–1532. NED: Milan, 1989. *

Pietro Verri Count Pietro Verri (12 December 1728 – 28 June 1797) was an economist, historian, philosopher and writer. Among the most important personalities of the 18th-century Italian culture, he is considered among the fathers of the Lombard reformist E ...

, ''Storia di Milano'', 1798 - Tomo I, pp. 149–15
(cap. VI)
*Caravale, Mario (ed). ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: LX Grosso – Guglielmo da Forlì''. Rome, 2003. {{authority control Archbishops of Milan 12th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops Bishops of Savona Italian abbots Year of birth missing Year of death missing Place of birth missing