Lancelot of Navarre (15 April 1386 – 8 January 1420), also called Lanzarot, was an

illegitimate Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...

son of King

Charles III of Navarre Charles III (1361 – 8 September 1425), called the Noble, was King of Navarre from 1387 to his death and Count of Évreux from 1387 to 1404, when he exchanged it for the title Duke of Nemours. He spent his reign improving the infrastructure of h ...

who became

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

and

apostolic administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of the

Diocese of Pamplona The Archdiocese of Pamplona y Tudela ( la, Pampilonen(sis) et Tudelen(sis)) is an archdiocese located in the cities of Pamplona and Tudela in Spain.

and the

titular Titular may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Title character in a narrative work, the character referred to in its title Religion * Titular (Catholicism), a cardinal who holds a titulus, one of the main churches of Rome ** Titular bisho ...

Latin patriarch of Alexandria Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple *Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple peo ...

Family and education

Lancelot was born on 15 April 1386 to King

and his mistress, Maria Miguel de Esparza. Lancelot lived at the royal court with his mother and his father's other mistresses and

children, along with their retainers, after Charles III became king in 1387. King Charles's wife, Queen Eleanor, left in protest with her daughters, princesses

Joan Joan may refer to: People and fictional characters * Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters *:Joan of Arc, a French military heroine * Joan (surname) Weather events *Tropical Storm Joan (disambiguation), multip ...

, Marie, Blanche, and Beatrice. According to historian Elena Woodacre, the queen likely felt that Lancelot was a threat to the rights of his legitimate half-sisters, although illegitimate children were barred from succession by the ''

Fueros (), (), () or () is a Spanish legal term and concept. The word comes from Latin , an open space used as a market, tribunal and meeting place. The same Latin root is the origin of the French terms and , and the Portuguese terms and ; all ...

''. The rift between the king and queen was repaired after their eldest daughter, Joan, was formally sworn in as

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...

and Charles promised to treat Eleanor well. Charles entrusted Lancelot to the care of the royal treasurer, García López de Lizásoain. In 1390, Lancelot's mother retired to a convent. Lancelot's religious education was overseen by the abbot of Zubiurrutia, García de Ballariaín. In 1394 Lancelot made his first public appearance, laying a golden

florin The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...

under the

foundation stone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time ...

of the newly built

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

Cathedral of Pamplona Pamplona Cathedral ''( Santa María de la Asunción)'' is a Roman Catholic church in the archdiocese of Pamplona, Spain. The current 15th century Gothic church replaced an older Romanesque one. Archaeological excavations have revealed the existe ...

. In 1397, he began learning Latin at a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

Pamplona Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region. Lying at near above ...

alongside his brother Godfrey and on 24 January 1403 he left to attend the

University of Toulouse The University of Toulouse (french: Université de Toulouse) was a university in the French city of Toulouse that was established by papal bull in 1229, making it one of the earliest universities to emerge in Europe. Suppressed during the Frenc ...

, where Charles generously supplied him with literature.

Career

The king was determined to make Lancelot

bishop of Pamplona The Archdiocese of Pamplona y Tudela ( la, Pampilonen(sis) et Tudelen(sis)) is an archdiocese located in the cities of Pamplona and Tudela in Spain.

, stating this wish to the queen and to his heir in his first testament on 11 June 1403. In November, Charles had two archdeacons nominate Lancelot to become bishop, but the Avignon-based pope, Benedict XIII, declined the request and in 1404 only made Lancelot

apostolic notary A notarius is a public secretary who is appointed by competent authority to draw up official or authentic documents (compare English "notary"). In the Roman Catholic Church there have been apostolic notaries and even episcopal notaries. Documents ...

, archdeacon of Calahorra and sacristan of Vich.

Calahorra Calahorra [] ( an, Calagorra, la, Calagurris) is a municipality in the comarca of Rioja Baja, near the border with Navarre on the right bank of the Ebro. During Ancient Rome, Ancient Roman times, Calahorra was a municipium known as ''Calagurris ...

was in the

Kingdom of Castile The Kingdom of Castile (; es, Reino de Castilla, la, Regnum Castellae) was a large and powerful state on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region. It began in the 9th centu ...

, however, and the Castilians were only persuaded to agree in 1407. Benedict refused to make Lancelot bishop even after the see of Pamplona became vacant in 1406, and Charles's embassies to Avignon, led by Lancelot himself, remained unsuccessful. Benedict only relented when he started losing ground in the

Western Schism The Western Schism, also known as the Papal Schism, the Vatican Standoff, the Great Occidental Schism, or the Schism of 1378 (), was a split within the Catholic Church lasting from 1378 to 1417 in which bishops residing in Rome and Avignon bo ...

to his Rome-based rival,

Gregory XII Pope Gregory XII ( la, Gregorius XII; it, Gregorio XII; – 18 October 1417), born Angelo Corraro, Corario," or Correr, was head of the Catholic Church from 30 November 1406 to 4 July 1415. Reigning during the Western Schism, he was oppose ...

. Benedict realized that he needed Navarrese support and gave administration of the see to Lancelot in 1408 but forbade Lancelot's

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

. Lancelot henceforth governed the see as

and

. In 1418 Lancelot received the

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

. During Lancelot's administration, the chapter chambers were converted into a proper episcopal palace next to the cathedral. He witnessed important royal events such as the proclamation of the second will of his father in 1412 and the

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a coronation crown, crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the ...

of King

Ferdinand I of Aragon Ferdinand I (Spanish: ''Fernando I''; 27 November 1380 – 2 April 1416 in Igualada, Òdena) named Ferdinand of Antequera and also the Just (or the Honest) was king of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, Sardinia and (nominal) Corsica and king of Sicily ...

in 1414. The following year Lancelot marched, along with his brother, Godefroy, to the

Viscounty of Béarn The Viscounty, later Principality of Béarn ( oc, Bearn, label= Gascon or ) was a medieval lordship in the far south of France, part of the Duchy of Gascony from the late ninth century. In 1347, the viscount declared Béarn an independent princip ...

to support Count John I of Foix in the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...

. In 1418 Lancelot expanded the Aratzuri Castle with his father's help.

Death and posterity

Lancelot led an irregular life for a clergyman, leaving two illegitimate children, Margaret and John, as well as enormous debts. He died in

Olite Olite (''Erriberri'' in Basque language) is a town and municipality located in the Comarca de Tafalla comarca, Merindad de Olite merindad, in Navarre, Spain. History According to Isidore of Seville's ''Historia de regibus Gothorum, Vandaloru ...

on 8 January 1420 and was buried in the Cathedral of Pamplona.

References

{{reflist 1386 births 1420 deaths Latin Patriarchs of Alexandria Illegitimate children of monarchs Sons of kings House of Évreux Burials at Pamplona Cathedral 15th-century nobility from the Kingdom of Navarre