Pierre Aycelin de Montaigut or Montaigu, Montagu, known as Cardinal de Laon, born between 1320 and 1325 and died 8 November 1388, was a fourteenth-century French cardinal, who was the

bishop of Nevers The Roman Catholic Diocese of Nevers ( la, Dioecesis Nivernensis, link=no; french: Diocèse de Nevers, link=no) is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the department of Nièvre, in the Regio ...

(1361–1371) and bishop of the

Diocese of Laon The diocese of Laon in the present-day département of Aisne, was a Catholic diocese for around 1300 years, up to the French Revolution. Its seat was in Laon, France, with the Laon Cathedral. From early in the 13th century, the bishop of Laon wa ...

(1371-1386), advisor to the king of

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...

and peer of France. He took part in the Council of King Charles V, acting as regent during the minority of King

Charles VI of France Charles VI (3 December 136821 October 1422), nicknamed the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé) and later the Mad (french: le Fol or ''le Fou''), was King of France from 1380 until his death in 1422. He is known for his mental illness and psychotic ...

who ascended to the throne after his uncle's death. He was known then as one of the

marmousets The marmousets (referred to as ''les petites gens'') is a nickname, first recorded in the chronicles of Jean Froissart, for a group of counselors to Charles VI of France. Although they were neither princes nor civil servants, they were very clos ...

. His autopsy proved that he was poisoned on 8 November 1388, being buried in the abbey church of the

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of mon ...

of Saint-Martin-des-Champs in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Biography

Family

Pierre Aycelin de Montaigut descended from a family of minor nobility originally from

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label=Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Auverg ...

who owned land near

Billom Billom (; Auvergnat: ''Bilhom'') is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in central France. Population Notable natives Billom was the birthplace of the philosopher Georges Bataille. It was also the birthp ...

, acquired in 1295 by the house of Aycelin. The last representative, who also owned the manor of

Châteldon Châteldon (; oc, Chasteladon) is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in central France. About the town Châteldon is a medieval village in the northern part of Auvergne. It dates from the early Middle Ages, with ...

(Puy Dome), died in 1427. The coat-of-arms of this house was of sand, three golden torn Lyon langued gules. Brother of Cardinal Gilles Aycelin de Montaigu,Both were nephews of

Gilles I Aycelin de Montaigu :''This article is not about Gilles II Aycelin de Montaigu (d.1378)'' Gilles I Aycelin de Montaigu or Montaigut (1252 – 23 June 1318), was a French Archbishop and diplomat who became Lord Chancellor of France. Biography Gilles I Aycelin de Mo ...

, archbishop of

Narbonne Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in France, commune in Southern France in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. It lies from Paris in the Aude Departments of Franc ...

and the archbishop of

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

. who was bishop of

Thérouanne Thérouanne (; vls, Terenburg; Dutch ''Terwaan'') is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. It is located west of Aire-sur-la-Lys and south of Saint-Omer, on the D 157 and D 341 road junction. Locate ...

and

Lord Chancellor of France In France, under the ''Ancien Régime'', the officer of state responsible for the judiciary was the Chancellor of Francesometimes called Grand Chancellor or Lord Chancellor (french: Chancelier de France). The Chancellor was responsible for seei ...

between 1357-1358 and again in 1361. His mother Mascaronne de La Tour d'Auvergne was the aunt of Guy de La Tour d'Auvergne, Lord of Olliergues, who married Martha Roger de Beaufort. She was the niece of

Pope Clement VI Pope Clement VI ( la, Clemens VI; 1291 – 6 December 1352), born Pierre Roger, was head of the Catholic Church from 7 May 1342 to his death in December 1352. He was the fourth Avignon pope. Clement reigned during the first visitation of the Bla ...

, and his brother was

Pope Gregory XI Pope Gregory XI ( la, Gregorius, born Pierre Roger de Beaufort; c. 1329 – 27 March 1378) was head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1370 to his death in March 1378. He was the seventh and last Avignon pope and the most recent French pope ...

Religious

Like his uncle, Pierre Aycelin Montaigut was a doctor of

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

. He was a

Benedictine , 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 ...

monk and

prior Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...

of the abbey of Saint-Martin des Champs. In 1359 he became chancellor to

Jean de Berry John of Berry or John the Magnificent ( French: ''Jean de Berry'', ; 30 November 1340 – 15 June 1416) was Duke of Berry and Auvergne and Count of Poitiers and Montpensier. He was Regent of France during the minority of his nephew 1380-1388 ...

, son of the King of France Jean II, le Bon. In 1361 he was appointed

, succeeding Renaud II de Moulins. In 1368 he became

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

to King Charles V with

Pope Urban V Pope Urban V ( la, Urbanus V; 1310 – 19 December 1370), born Guillaume de Grimoard, was the head of the Catholic Church from 28 September 1362 until his death in December 1370 and was also a member of the Order of Saint Benedict. He was the on ...

. On 8 January 1371 he was promoted to bishop-duke of Laon by

. In 1379 he played a role in the support given by France to the antipope

Clement VII Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...

. In 1383 he tried to bring the county of

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

, under the authority of the papacy, to Avignon. Pierre Aycelin Montaigut was created a cardinal by Pope Clement VII of the Avignon Obedience in the Consistory of 23 December 1383. Conradus Eubel, ''Hierarchia catholica medii aevi'' Tomus I, editio altera (Monasterii 1913), p. 28 no. 14. In 1385, he gave up his position as bishop of Laon. On 15 January 1388 the abbot of Saint-Denis, Guy de Monceau, accept the arbitration of the cardinal of Laon in the proceedings against the bishop of Paris, locked in the prison of the abbey. On 1 November 1388 Charles VI attended the

All Saints' Day All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the church, whether they are know ...

mass in Reims. He stopped in

Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

after returning from an expedition against the

Duke of Guelders This article is about the rulers of the historical county and duchy of Guelders. Counts House of Wassenberg * before 1096–about 1129: Gerard I * about 1129–about 1131: Gerard II, son of Gerard I * about 1131–1182: Henry I, son of Gerar ...

, an ally of the English. On November 3, a large meeting of the council was held in the episcopal palace of Reims. The cardinal of Laon, Peirre Aycelin Montaigut, former advisor to Charles V, was the one to take the matter to the table. After him, the

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of Reims and his

warlord A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...

s decided that the young ruler was capable of governing France.

Notes

References

;Attribution *''This article is based on the translation of the corresponding article of the French Wikipedia. A List of contributors can be found there at the'
History
''section''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pierre Aycelin de Montaigut 1320s births 1388 deaths 14th-century French cardinals Bishops of Nevers Bishops of Laon French Benedictines 14th-century peers of France