Robert of Nantes (died 8 June 1254) was the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem from 1240 to 1254.

Early life and career

Jean-Marie Oscar Gué - Louis IX reçoit le patriarche de Jérusalem

Robert was a native of the Saintonge. He was a bishop in Apulia, but was expelled by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. In 1236,

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...

appointed him

bishop of Nantes The Roman Catholic Diocese of Nantes ( la, Dioecesis Nannetensis; french: Diocèse de Nantes; br, Eskopti Naoned) is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Nantes, France. The diocese consists of the department of Loire- ...

. In Nantes, Robert came into conflict with

Peter I, Duke of Brittany Peter I (french: Pierre; 1187 – 26 May 1250), also known as Peter Mauclerc, was Duke of Brittany ''jure uxoris'' from 1213 to 1221, and regent of the duchy for his minor son John I from 1221 to 1237. As duke he was also 1st Earl of Richmond fr ...

and Peter's son

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, whom the church accused of appropriating ecclesiastical property. Robert complained several times to Gregory and appealed to the pope in person in Rome in 1238. Meanwhile, Emperor Frederick claimed the regency of the

Kingdom of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem ( la, Regnum Hierosolymitanum; fro, Roiaume de Jherusalem), officially known as the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem or the Frankish Kingdom of Palestine,Example (title of works): was a Crusader state that was establish ...

for his underage son Conrad II, whose mother, Queen Isabella II of Jerusalem, had died in childbirth. However, Frederick had been excommunicated by Gregory IX. In 1239, Gerold of Lausanne, Patriarch of Jerusalem, died during the Barons' Crusade. The canons of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem selected the former Bishop of Acre, Jacques de Vitry, as his replacement, but as Jacques had recently died, Gregory IX appointed Robert instead in May 1240. Gregory likely appointed Robert because of his experience with Frederick in Apulia. Gregory IX died in 1241 and was eventually succeeded by

Pope Innocent IV Pope Innocent IV ( la, Innocentius IV; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254. Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universitie ...

in 1243. In the meantime, Robert remained in Europe and did not arrive in Jerusalem until 1244. Soon after his arrival, the Khwarazmian Turks captured Jerusalem. The Khwarazmians allied with Egypt and defeated a combined army from Jerusalem and Damascus at the

Battle of La Forbie The Battle of La Forbie, also known as the Battle of Hiribya, was fought October 17, 1244 – October 18, 1244 between the allied armies (drawn from the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the crusading orders, the breakaway Ayyubids of Damascus, Homs, ...

in October of the same year. Robert was present at the battle and barely escaped. In 1247, Robert sent a

relic of the Holy Blood The Relic of the Holy Blood was a medieval relic, said to contain some of the blood of Jesus Christ. It is different than the relic of the Precious Blood held in France. The relic was sent from the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Robert of Nantes ...

Henry III of England Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry a ...

in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to convince him to go on crusade. The subsequent Seventh Crusade was instead led by King Louis IX of France, who invaded Egypt in 1250. Louis was defeated and taken captive at the Battle of al-Mansourah, and Robert was imprisoned along with him.

Death

Robert died on 8 June 1254. He may have been over 80 years old; Jean of Joinville describes him as "an old and venerable man aged eighty years" at the time of his captivity with Louis in 1250. The canons of the Holy Sepulchre chose

Opizzo Fieschi Opizzo Fieschi ( ), also known as Opizo or Opiso dei' Fieschi, was a 13th-century Italian cleric from the powerful Genovese Fieschi family. Following his uncle Sinibaldo's election as , Opizzo was appointed the Catholic Church's patriarch of Anti ...

Latin patriarch of Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

, to succeed Robert. Opizio was the nephew of Innocent IV, but Innocent died before he could confirm this choice. Innocent's successor

Pope Alexander IV Pope Alexander IV (1199 or 1185 – 25 May 1261) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 December 1254 to his death in 1261. Early career He was born as Rinaldo di Jenne in Jenne (now in the Province of Rome), he ...

appointed the

bishop of Verdun The Bishopric of Verdun was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. It was located at the western edge of the Empire and was bordered by France, the Duchy of Luxembourg, and the Duchy of Bar. Some time in the late 990s, the suzerainty of the Count ...

and future pope Jacques Pantaléon as patriarch.Hamilton, p. 233.

References

Sources

*Charles Taillandier, ''Histoire ecclésiastique et civile de Bretagne'', tome II (Paris, 1756). *

Louis de Mas Latrie Louis de Mas Latrie (9 April 1815 – 3 January 1897) was a 19th-century French historian. Biography After his studies at the École nationale des chartes, Louis de Mas Latrie became an historian and specialized on Cyprus during the Middle Age ...

, "Les patriaches latins de Jérusalem", in ''

Revue de l'Orient latin The ''Revue de l'Orient Latin'' is a 12-volume set of medieval documents which was published from 1893–1911. It was a continuation of the ''Archives de l'Orient Latin'', two volumes of which were published from 1881–1884. Various medieval docum ...

'', vol. 1 (1893). *Bernard Hamilton, ''The Latin Church in the Crusader States: The Secular Church'' (London: Variorum, 1980). *Caroline Smith, ed., ''Joinville and Villehardouin: Chronicles of the Crusades'' (Penguin, 2008). {{DEFAULTSORT:Robert of Nantes Year of birth missing 1254 deaths Latin Patriarchs of Jerusalem Christians of the Sixth Crusade Christians of the Seventh Crusade 13th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Kingdom of Jerusalem 13th-century French Roman Catholic bishops People from Charente-Maritime Bishops of Nantes