Aldoin (bishop Of Cefalù)
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Aldoin, also spelled Arduin or Harduin (died 1248), was the
bishop of Cefalù A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...
from 1217 until his death. He is best known for his three exiles (1222–1223, 1226–1227, 1235–1248) and his trial for maladministration in 1223–1224.


Early life

Aldoin was a native of Cefalù in the
kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily (; ; ) was a state that existed in Sicily and the southern Italian peninsula, Italian Peninsula as well as, for a time, in Kingdom of Africa, Northern Africa, from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 until 1816. It was ...
. He belonged to the
knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...
ly class of the nobility and was educated in law and
rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...
. Aldoin was from at least 1205 a
notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is distin ...
of the royal chancery. Between 1208 and 1212, he was one of the most active notaries of the chancery, responsible for almost a quarter of its known production. He was a layman. He drew up his last charter for Queen Constance of Sicily in July 1216.


Bishop


Early years

Aldoin was elected to succeed John of Cicala as bishop in May 1217 and the first document referring to him as bishop-elect is from 18 May. He was consecrated sometime between December 1217 and March 1218. In 1219, Honorius III appointed him a papal judge delegate alongside Archbishops Berard of Palermo and Carus of Monreale in a case involving the church of Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio. In 1220, he was again appointed a judge delegate, this time alongside the abbot of Santo Spirito, in a lawsuit between the church of San Cataldo and the cathedral of Palermo. Aldoin visited Emperor Frederick II in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and Honorius III in
Viterbo Viterbo (; Central Italian, Viterbese: ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Lazio region of Italy, the Capital city, capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in ...
sometime between October 1219 and June 1220. It is probably in connection with his visit to Frederick that he was recognized as a '' familiaris domini regis'' ('one of the lord king's household'), a title attested in April–May 1220. Aldoin objected at the time to various exactions made by Archbishop Berard and Count Alamanno da Costa on behalf of the crown and for the support of the
Fifth Crusade The Fifth Crusade (September 1217 - August 29, 1221) was a campaign in a series of Crusades by Western Europeans to reacquire Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land by first conquering Egypt, ruled by the powerful Ayyubid sultanate, led by al- ...
. He also objected to the embargo on trade with
Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
. By the end of the year he had fallen out with Frederick. At some point before 1220, Aldoin took control of the castle of Cefalù, which guarded the harbour. He appointed his brother Roger to serve as
castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...
.


First exile

In November 1221, Aldoin was at Frederick's court in Palermo, but by December he was again resisting the royal government. In the autumn of 1222, he was accused by his own
cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...
of impropriety. In general, he was charged with "squandering Church property". Frederick summoned both the accused and his accusers to appear before him in
Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...
. Aldoin ignored the summons and appealed to the pope. Frederick, believing the accusations, expelled Aldoin from his diocese and appointed two procurators to administer its
temporalities Temporalities or temporal goods are the secular properties and possessions of the church. The term is most often used to describe those properties (a '' Stift'' in German or ''sticht'' in Dutch) that were used to support a bishop or other religious ...
. On 26 September 1222, Aldoin went into the first of his three exiles. Honorius III at first sided with the bishop, granting a privilege to Aldoin in January 1223. In March, he met Frederick II at Ferentino and agreed to an investigation of the charges against Aldoin after the bishop was restored. Frederick's mother, Queen Constance, had relinquished the legatine authority of the crown over the Sicilian church and, in consequence, Frederick had to acquiesce to a papal trial. He did, however, write to the pope to recommend the accusers.


Trial

Aldoin returned to Cefalù on 12 April 1223. By 23 June, he had been restored to power. His trial, contrary to the pope's instructions, had begun in the interim under the abbot of Santo Spirito, acting as delegate for the appointed judge, Archbishop . This had to be quashed and a new trial started in December 1223 under Bartholomew, the treasurer of Cosenza. Although Aldoin made an energetic defence, he strengthened his position by excommunicating witnesses and even the judge. He made "extravagant claims to damages" incurred during Frederick's absence in Germany in 1216–1220 and demanded compensation for the costs of his trips to Rome. Aldoin was accused of misusing church property and failing to maintain his church. He was also accused of keeping mistresses, two in Cefalù and one in
Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
, and of having fathered two sons and two daughters. He denied being the father of one and did not respond to the other accusations. He was accused of having given church property to his relatives, including a certain Christian and Leo. To a mistress named Rose, who lived in Cefalù, he was said to have given tithes; to one in Palermo, grain, wine, meat and silk that belonged to the church. He was accused of providing an illegitimate son with a benefice and a daughter with one of the church's
villein A villein is a class of serfdom, serf tied to the land under the feudal system. As part of the contract with the lord of the manor, they were expected to spend some of their time working on the lord's fields in return for land. Villeins existe ...
s as a servant. Lead which had been procured to repair the windows of the cathedral he was said to have sold for cash. No judgement was issued, first, because Aldoin accepted the appointment of a coadjutor, Thomas, canon of
Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...
, and, second, because Honorius ruled that the archbishop lacked the authority to re-delegate his responsibility once his first delegate had been dismissed, thereby nullifying the proceedings. The pope voided the appointment of a coadjutor and entrusted any retrial to Archbishops Berard of Palermo and Lando of Reggio. Nothing apparently came of this. The pope did confirm that the castle of Cefalù belonged to the king and not the bishop.


Second exile and return

In May 1225, Honorius charged Aldoin with excommunicating the monks of and ordering a new election for the archimandritate. He was prevented from fulfilling this charge because of his second exile, although the first evidence of this is a list of seven exiled Sicilian bishops made by Honorius in April 1226. By 1227, however, Aldoin had been reconciled to Frederick and returned to Cefalù. Aldoin spent the next few years in Cefalù. In July 1227, acting on behalf of the vacant archdiocese of Messina, he consecrated the church of the Holy Trinity in Geraci. In February 1231, at the request of Andrew of Cicala, he turned over the church of Saint Philip in Collesano to the monastery of Montevergine.


Third exile and death

The start date of Aldoin's third exile is uncertain. In 1248, Cardinal Raniero Capocci referred to his having been exiled for fifteen years, putting the start of his exile in 1233. Aldoin was certainly outside of the kingdom by July 1234, when he was with the
papal curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes us ...
in Rieti, where Frederick II was also. He was still with the curia in
Spoleto Spoleto (, also , , ; ) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is south of Trevi, north of Terni, southeast of Perugia; southeast of Florence; and north of Rome. H ...
in August. He was certainly exiled by April 1235, when Frederick, at a '' Hoftag'' in
Fano Fano () is a city and ''comune'' of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. It is a beach resort southeast of Pesaro, located where the ''Via Flaminia'' reaches the Adriatic Sea. It is the third city in the region by pop ...
, declared his presence in the kingdom intolerable on account of his disloyalty. This was a permanent ban. The pope protested Aldoin's exile, but the bishops remained in exile the rest of his life. In 1239, Frederick exiled Aldoin's relatives. Aldoin spent his exile in
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, where he consecrated churches on behalf of the pope. He took part in the
consecration Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...
s of
Santa Sabina The Basilica of Saint Sabina (, ) 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 Preachers, better known as the Dominicans. Santa Sabina is the oldest ex ...
(16 November 1238),
Sant'Eusebio Sant'Eusebio is a titular church in Rome, devoted to Saint Eusebius of Rome, a 4th-century martyr, and built in the Esquilino rione. One of the oldest churches in Rome, it is a titular church and the station church for the Friday after the f ...
(19 March 1239) and (28 March 1241). He retained a measure of control over his diocese. At his request, on 18 March 1244, Pope
Innocent IV Pope Innocent 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 universities of Parma and Bolo ...
annulled Frederick's grant of a
benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...
of Cefalù. He also cooperated with Innocent in making canonical provisions with Cefalù's benefices.As on 7 May 1246: . In 1248, Aldoin was murdered near the Lateran Basilica by a partisan of Frederick.


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aldoin 1248 deaths People from Cefalù Sicilian nobility 13th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops Italian exiles Assassinated bishops Year of birth unknown