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Jean Bilhères de Lagraulas or Jean Villier de la Grolaie, or Groslaye etc., also called the Cardinal of Saint-Denis (died 1499), was a French
In gratitude for his service, Louis XI of France had him elected Bishop of Lombez on 5 July 1473. He occupied this see until two days before his death. The king also named him temporary administrator of the
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...
, bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
and from 1493 cardinal. He died as French ambassador in Rome, and is remembered for commissioning Michelangelo in 1498 to sculpt his ''Pietà
The Pietà (; meaning " pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form ...
'' for St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...
.
Biography
Jean Bilhères de Lagraulas was born in Gascony in 1435 or 1439, the son of anoble
A noble is a member of the nobility.
Noble may also refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Noble Glacier, King George Island
* Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land
* Noble Peak, Wiencke Island
* Noble Rocks, Graham Land
Australia
* Noble Island, Gr ...
family. His father was the ''seigneur
''Seigneur'' is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. A seigneur refers to the person or collective who owned a ''seigneurie'' (or ...
'' of Lagraulas, Camicas and, probably, Billère
Billère (; oc, Vilhèra) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in southwestern France. It is a northwestern suburb of Pau.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department
The following is a list of ...
.
Jean Bilhères de Lagraulas entered the Order of Saint Benedict
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
at a young age. In 1473, he became Abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...
of Pessan Abbey in Pessan.
He served as a royal counselor to Louis XI of France. Following the 1473 death of John V, Count of Armagnac
John V of Armagnac ( Fr.: ''Jean V, comte d'Armagnac'') (1420 – 6 March 1473), the penultimate Count of Armagnac of the older branch. He was the son of John IV of Armagnac and Isabella of Navarre.
Life
Styled Viscount de Lomagne while his fathe ...
, John II of Aragon
John II ( Spanish: ''Juan II'', Catalan: ''Joan II'', Aragonese: ''Chuan II'' and eu, Joanes II; 29 June 1398 – 20 January 1479), called the Great (''el Gran'') or the Faithless (''el Sense Fe''), was King of Aragon from 1458 until his death ...
claimed control of the Quatre-Vallées, which were also claimed by John V's sister. Louis XI sent Abbot Bilhères to the region, and he successfully convinced the Quatre-Vallées to repudiate John II.
In gratitude for his service, Louis XI of France had him elected Bishop of Lombez on 5 July 1473. He occupied this see until two days before his death. The king also named him temporary administrator of the Abbey of Saint-Denis
The Basilica of Saint-Denis (french: Basilique royale de Saint-Denis, links=no, now formally known as the ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building ...
. He was later unanimously elected as Abbot on 12 May 1474. This displeased Pope Sixtus IV, who had wanted Cardinal Guillaume d'Estouteville
Guillaume d'Estouteville, OSB (c. 1412–1483) was a French aristocrat of royal blood who became a leading bishop and cardinal. He held a number of Church offices simultaneously. He conducted the reexamination of the case of Jeanne d'Arc an ...
to become the abbot, so the pope initially withheld his approval, but eventually relented in summer 1475.
In 1477, Bilhères was Louis XI's ambassador to the Catholic Monarchs
The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being bot ...
. After the death of Louis XI, the regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
, Anne of France
Anne of France (or Anne de Beaujeu; 3 April 146114 November 1522) was a French princess and regent, the eldest daughter of Louis XI by Charlotte of Savoy. Anne was the sister of Charles VIII, for whom she acted as regent during his minority fro ...
, appointed Bilhères to the Council of State
A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...
. She named him president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
of the Court of Aids in 1483. In 1485, he was president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
of the Estates General held at Tours
Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...
. He served as interim Keeper of the Seals of France
Keeper of the Seals of France () was an office of the French monarchy under the ''Ancien Régime''. Its principal function was to supplement or assist the Chancellor of France. Its successor office under the Republic is the Keeper of the Seals, ...
on several occasions.
In 1485, Charles VIII of France named him president of the Exchequer of Normandy
The Exchequer of Normandy (''Échiquier de Normandie'') or Exchequer of Rouen (''Échiquier de Rouen'') was the fiscal and administrative court of the Duchy of Normandy until the early 16th century.
Surviving records show that the Exchequer of N ...
. In 1489, he attended the '' parlement'' at which the king had the Duke of Orléans explain his conduct. He then served as Charles VIII's ambassador to the Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
. In 1491, he became French ambassador to the Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...
in Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
. He was coadjutor bishop of Santes from 2 December 1491 until August 1492.
Charles VIII recommended that the pope make Bilhères a cardinal, and, before his death, Pope Innocent VIII named him governor of Rome. Pope Alexander VI then made him a cardinal priest
A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...
in the consistory
Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to:
*A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church
* Consistor ...
of 20 September 1493. He received the red hat and the titular church
In the Catholic Church, a titular church is a church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the clergy who is created a cardinal. These are Catholic churches in the city, within the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Rome, that serve as honorary des ...
of Santa Sabina
The Basilica of Saint Sabina ( la, Basilica Sanctae Sabinae, it, Basilica di Santa Sabina all'Aventino) is a historic church on the Aventine Hill in Rome, Italy. It is a titular minor basilica and mother church of the Roman Catholic Order of Pre ...
on 23 September 1493.
He accompanied King Charles VIII in his entrance in Rome on 31 December 1494 at the start of the Italian War of 1494–1498
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
. On 19 May 1495 the king sent him to negotiate with the pope, but these negotiations were unsuccessful. He then accompanied the king on his crossing to Rome on 1 June 1495.
On 26 October 1496 he was named Bishop of Condom '' in commendam'' and on 14 February 1498 Bishop of Viviers
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Viviers ( la, Dioecesis Vivariensis; french: Diocèse de Viviers ) is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. Erected in the 4th century, the diocese was restored in the Concordat of 1822 ...
''in commendam''; he occupied both of these sees until his death.
In 1498, he commissioned Michelangelo to sculpt his ''Pietà
The Pietà (; meaning " pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form ...
'' for the Chapel of Santa Petronilla, the chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
of the King of France in St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...
.
He died in Rome on 6 August 1499. He is buried in the Chapel of St. Petronilla in St. Peter's Basilica.
References