Robert de Pontigny, O.Cist. (born in France, date unknown; died at Parma, 9 October 1305) was a French monk, abbot and
Roman Catholic Cardinal
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 ...
.
Early career
Nothing at all is known of his birthplace, his family, or his upbringing. It is occasionally said that he was a Master of Theology, though this statement lacks documentary support. He obviously became a Cistercian monk, though the house that admitted him is unknown (unless it were Pontigny), and nothing is attested as to his formation or early career.
Abbot
![Abbaye Pontigny](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Abbaye_Pontigny.jpg)
Robert is attested as Abbot of
Pontigny
Pontigny () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France.
Sight
Its principal distinction is as the home of Pontigny Abbey.
See also
*Communes of the Yonne department
The following is a list of t ...
on 1 March 1289, In 1291 he and the abbey became involved in a lawsuit with
Margaret, Queen of Naples and widow of
Charles I of Naples
Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246–85) and Forcalquier (1246–48, 1256–85) ...
, who was also Comtesse de Tonnerre. A strong supporter of the feudal idea, Queen Margaret challenged the monks over the rights of justice with regard to Pontigny, Saint-Porcaire, Beugnon, Beauvais, and Aigremont. The case reached King Philip IV, who had the parties choose arbitrators, Robert Duke of Burgundy and Thibault Abbot of Cîteaux. It was decided that all civil jurisdiction belonged to the Abbey, while criminal jurisdiction was to belong to the Countess and her successors.
Robert of Pontigny was himself Abbot of
Cîteaux, from January, 1294 to September, 1294, when he was named cardinal.
It is sometimes said that he was a friend of King
Philip IV of France and of King
Charles II of Naples, but these are inferences, not documented facts. That he owed his promotion to these monarchs is likewise unattested.
Cardinal
Robert de Pontigny was created cardinal by
Pope Celestine V in a Consistory held at L'Aquila on 18 September 1294. He was then assigned the title of
Santa Pudenziana
Santa Pudenziana is a church of Rome, a basilica built in the 4th century and dedicated to Saint Pudentiana, sister of Praxedes and daughter of Pudens (mentioned by Paul the Apostle in ''2 Timothy'', 4: 21). It is one of the national churches in ...
. His earliest surviving subscription as Cardinal-Priest of S. Pudenziana occurs on 21 June 1295 under Pope
Boniface VIII
Pope Boniface VIII ( la, Bonifatius PP. VIII; born Benedetto Caetani, c. 1230 – 11 October 1303) was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 to his death in 1303. The Caetani family was of baronial ...
.
He was one of the twenty-two cardinals who participated in the Conclave of 23–24 December 1294 in Naples, following the resignation of Pope Celestine V. Cardinal Benedetto Caetani was elected on the first scrutiny and chose the throne name Boniface VIII.
Cardinal Robert de Pontigny was Chamberlain (Treasurer) of the
College of Cardinals
The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are app ...
from 3 January 1298 to 9 October 1305.
Under Pope Boniface he was appointed Auditor (judge) in the case between the Bishop of Amiens and the Dean and Canons of the Cathedral; the case dragged on, without resolution, through the reign of
Benedict XI. Pope Boniface died in the Vatican Palace on October 11, 1303, thirty-five days after the assault against him at Anagni, led by the French chancellor
Guillaume de Nogaret
Guillaume de Nogaret (1260 13 April 1313) was a French statesman, councillor and keeper of the seal to Philip IV of France.
Early life
Nogaret was born in Saint-Félix-Lauragais, Haute-Garonne. The family held a small ancestral property of ...
and the two Colonna ex-cardinals.
Cardinal Robert de Pontigny participated in the Conclave which took place in the Vatican Palace. Cardinal Niccolò Boccasini was elected pope on the first ballot on 22 October 1303. He chose the throne name
Benedict XI.
In 1303, Cardinal Robert was a member of a committee of cardinals for the examination of the election and character of Abbot Cambio of the Monastery of S. Salvatore in Rieti. The election was approved by
Pope Benedict XI
Pope Benedict XI ( la, Benedictus PP. XI; 1240 – 7 July 1304), born Nicola Boccasini (Niccolò of Treviso), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 October 1303 to his death in 7 July 1304.
Boccasini entered the ...
on 4 December 1303. He performed the same function in the case of the election of Fr. Ventura Pauli, OSB, to be abbot of S. Maria de Alfiolo in Gubbio, and that of Archmandrite Jacobus, O.Bas., of the monastery of S. Elias at Anglona. After a contentious election of an abbot in the Augustinian monastery of Beaulieu in the diocese of Saint Malo, and after an appeal by one of the monks, Petrus de Porta, through every level of the ecclesiastical courts, the case was assigned to Cardinal Robert, who recommended that the seat be declared vacant; Pope Benedict granted Cardinal Robert the favor of naming whomever he thought suitable to the post. He was a member of a commission of three cardinals who investigated the situation of Bishop Raymond of Vaison, who had been suspended both from ecclesiastical and temporal functions in the reign of Boniface VIII; the committee approved his reinstatement. He was also a member of a committee that examined the election of Abbot Michael of the monastery of S. Isidore in Leon. On 7 July 1304, Pope Benedict XI died in Perugia.
Conclave of 1304–1305
Cardinal Robert de Pontigny participated in the Conclave to elect Pope Benedict's successor. Fifteen cardinals participated in the Conclave, but only ten were in the Conclave for the final vote. The two Colonna cardinals, who had been deposed by Boniface VIII in 1297, were not in attendance. The Conclave began on 17 July 1304. There was, however, no easy decision. The French faction was led by Cardinal Napoleone Orsini, and included
Giovanni Boccamazza Giovanni Boccamazza (died 1309) was an Italian Cardinal. He was from the Roman nobility, and was a nephew of Cardinal Giacomo Savelli, who had been an important figure in the Roman Curia since his creation as cardinal in 1261.
Early career
On 14 ...
(Tusculum),
Giovanni Minio (Porto),
Niccolò Alberti da Prato (Ostia), Landolfo Brancaccio (S. Angelo in Pescheria), Guglielmo Longhi (S. Nicola in Carcere Tulliano),
Jean Le Moine (SS. Marcellino e Pietro), Robert de Pontigny (S. Pudenziana), Riccardo Petroni (S. Eustachio), and ultimately
Walter Winterburn
Walter of Winterburn (13th century – 26 August 1305) was an English Dominican, cardinal, orator, poet, philosopher, and theologian.
He entered the Dominican Order when a youth, and became renowned for learning, prudence, and sanctity of life. ...
(S. Sabina). His opponent was another Orsini,
Cardinal Matteo Rosso Orsini, whose group is known to have included his nephews Francesco Orsini, (S. Lucia) and
Giacomo Gaetani Stefaneschi
Giacomo Gaetani Stefaneschi (c. 1270 – 23 June 1343) was an Italian cardinal deacon.
Life
Born in Rome, he was the son of the senator Pietro Stefaneschi and his wife, Perna Orsini. He received his early education at Rome, and was sent t ...
(S. Giorgio in Velabro),
Teodorico Ranieri (Palestrina),
Leonardo Patrassi (Albano),
Pedro Rodriguez (Sabina), Francesco Caetani (S. Maria in Cosmedin), Gentile Partino (S. Martino ai Monti), and
Luca Fieschi, (S. Maria in Via Lata). Archbishop Bertrand de Got, the younger brother of the late Cardinal
Bérard de Got, Archbishop of Bordeaux since 1299, and a subject of the King of England, had been nominated by the faction of Cardinal Matteo Rosso Orsini as long as six months before his final election (approximately the first half of December, 1304). Finally, on 5 July 1305, after some dirty tricks, a two-thirds vote in favor of the Archbishop of Bordeaux was achieved. He became
Clement V
Pope Clement V ( la, Clemens Quintus; c. 1264 – 20 April 1314), born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled ''de Guoth'' and ''de Goth''), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 June 1305 to his de ...
, and was crowned in Lyons on 14 November 1305. He never visited Rome. The Papacy had moved to France.
Cardinal Robert de Pontigny did not return to France to do homage to the new pope or to see him crowned. He died at Parma on 9 October 1305. He was buried in the Cistercian Church of S. Martin outside Parma (the famous Charterhouse of Parma), but his remains were transferred to Cîteaux.
[Eubel I, p. 12. V.-B. Henry, ''Histoire de l'abbaye de Pontigny'' (Avallon 1882), p. 143]
References
Bibliography
* Jean Roy, ''Nouvelle histoire des cardinaux françois, ornée de leurs portraits'' Tome cinquième (Paris: Chez Poinçot 1788).
* V. B. Henry, ''Histoire de l'abbaye de Pontigny'' (Avallon 1882).
* Paul Maria Baumgarten, "Die Cardinalsernennungen Cälastins V. im September und Oktober 1294," (Stephan Ehses, editor) ''Festschrift zum elfhundertjährigen Jubiläum des deutschen Campo Santo in Rom'' (Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder 1897) 161-169.
* Paul Maria Baumgarten, ''Untersuchungen und Urkunden über die Camera Collegii Cardinalium für die Zeit von 1295 bis 1437'' (Leipzig 1898).
* Ch. Grandjean, ''Les registres de Benoît XI'' (Paris 1883).
* Georges Digard, ''Les registres de Boniface VIII'' Tome I (Paris 1890).
* Ernest Langlois, ''Les registres de Nicolas IV'' (Paris 1905).
* Ferdinand Gregorovius, ''History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages'', Volume V, second edition, revised (London: George Bell, 1906).
* Martine Garrigues, ''Le Premier cartulaire de l'Abbaye cistercienne de Pontigny: XII
e-XIII
e siècles'' (Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale, 1981).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pontigny, Robert de
1305 deaths
French abbots
Cistercian abbots general
Cardinals
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
13th-century French cardinals