Gérard du Puy (died 14 February 1389) was a French

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and

cardinal-nephew A cardinal-nephew (; ; ; ; )Signorotto and Visceglia, 2002, p. 114. Modern French scholarly literature uses the term "cardinal-neveu'". was a Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal elevated by a pope who was that cardinal's relative. The practice of c ...

Pope Gregory XI Pope Gregory XI (; 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. In 1377, ...

Papal legate

In 1372, du Puy, already abbot of Marmoutier () with the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

,Miranda, Salvator. 1998.
14th Century (1303-1404)
" was named Governor of Perugia and

Apostolic Nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...

to Tuscany.Drane, 1899, p. 284. Immediately after these appointments, du Puy corresponded with Catharine of Siena on behalf of Gregory XI, and perhaps under the name of Gregory XI. As

nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...

, du Puy came into conflict with

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

for supporting the claims of the Salimbeni nobles in

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

. du Puy's support of the Salimbeni also caused hostility toward Perugians in Siena.

War of the Eight Saints

Gregory XI made him cardinal-priest on 20 December 1375, with the title of

S. Clemente The Basilica of Saint Clement () is a Latin Catholic minor basilica dedicated to Pope Clement I located in Rome, Italy. Archaeologically speaking, the structure is a three-tiered complex of buildings: (1) the present basilica built just befor ...

.Miranda, Salvator. 1998.
S. Cajo --- S. Gregorio VII
." Du Puy was the fifth and last relative that Gregory XI created cardinal, after Jean de Murat de Cros (elevated 30 May 1371) and Pierre de la Jugié (elevated 20 December 1375). He was the abbot of Mormoutier and the papal governor of

Perugia Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...

during the

War of the Eight Saints The War of the Eight Saints (1375–1378) was a war between Pope Gregory XI and a coalition of Italian city-states led by Florence that contributed to the end of the Avignon Papacy. Causes The causes of the war were rooted in interrelated issue ...

.Caferro, 2006, p. 179. He crushed a peasant uprising in 1371 and constructed a citadel on Sole Hill described by contemporary chroniclers as "the finest fortress in Italy", which took three and a half years to build. Circa 1373, du Puy destroyed the three papal tombs in the

Perugia Cathedral Perugia Cathedral (), officially the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Lawrence (), is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Perugia, Umbria, central Italy, dedicated to Saint Lawrence. Formerly the seat of the bishops and archbishops of Perugia, it has be ...

(of

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...

Pope Urban IV Pope Urban IV (; c. 1195 – 2 October 1264), born Jacques Pantaléon, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1261 to his death three years later. He was elected pope without being a cardinal; he was the fi ...

, and

Pope Martin IV Pope Martin IV (; born Simon de Brion; 1210/1220 – 28 March 1285), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1281 until his death in 1285. He was the last French pope to hold his court in Rome before ...

). As governor, du Puy also looted the construction site of the new Duomo, demolished the ancient

campanile A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

and the chapel of St. John the Baptist, all for construction material for his Fortezza di Porte Sole linked to the Palazzo dei Priori. He was expelled by a popular uprising in 1375, and his fortification of Porta Sole was razed to the ground.cf. Touring Club Italiano, ''Guida d'Italia: Umbria'' (1966) He had been forced to retreat to the citadel (guarded by Bernard de La Salle) along with his military entourage led by

William Gold William Patrick Spencer Gold (born 14 September 1996), known professionally as Wilbur Soot, is an English Twitch (service), Twitch streamer, YouTuber, and musician. He first became known in 2017 for his work with the group comedy YouTube channe ...

, who had been sent ahead by

condottiere Condottieri (; singular: ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian military leaders active during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The term originally referred specifically to commanders of mercenary companies, derived from the ...

John Hawkwood Sir John Hawkwood ( 1323 – 17 March 1394) was an English soldier who served as a mercenary leader or ''condottiero'' in Italy. As his name was difficult to pronounce for non-English-speaking contemporaries, there are many variations of it in ...

, after crowds gathered in the town chanting "death to the abbot and the pastors of the church." Hawkwood waited outside Perugia and camped across the ''Ponte di San Giovanni'' with 300 lances while the citizens of Perugia plowed up the roads leading to the citadel and bombarded it with a

trebuchet A trebuchet () is a type of catapult that uses a hinged arm with a sling attached to the tip to launch a projectile. It was a common powerful siege engine until the advent of gunpowder. The design of a trebuchet allows it to launch projectiles ...

, built by Florentine craftsman Domenico Bonintende, nicknamed ''cacciaprete'' (the "priest chaser"), which was said to throw fifteen hundred pound stones, according to local sources, as well as excrement and live animals. Du Puy surrendered on 22 December 1375 and was handed over to Hawkwood's custody on the day after

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

, only to be escourted to

Cesena Cesena (; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy; and - with Forlì - is the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena. Served by Autostrada A14 (Italy), Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine M ...

as prisoner where he was left in the custody of

Galeotto I Malatesta Galeotto I Malatesta (1299–1385) was an Italian condottiero from the House of Malatesta who was lord of Rimini, Fano, Ascoli Piceno, Cesena and Fossombrone. Biography Born in Rimini, he was the son of Pandolfo I Malatesta and the brother of Mal ...

, the lord of

Rimini Rimini ( , ; or ; ) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. Sprawling along the Adriatic Sea, Rimini is situated at a strategically-important north-south passage along the coast at the southern tip of the Po Valley. It is ...

. Hawkwood leveraged du Puy to receive 130,000

florin The Florentine florin was a gold coin (in Italian ''Fiorino d'oro'') struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains () of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a pu ...

s in backpay from the pope.

Later life

After the death of his uncle, Gregory XI, on 26 March 1378, du Puy participated in the

papal conclave A conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Concerns around ...

from 7–9 April 1378 that elected

Pope Urban VI Pope Urban VI (; ; c. 1318 – 15 October 1389), born Bartolomeo Prignano (), was head of the Catholic Church from 8 April 1378 to his death, in October 1389. He was the last pope elected from outside the College of Cardinals. His pontificate be ...

, but was among the cardinals—mostly French, but also some Italian—who left the court of Urban VI for

Anagni Anagni () is an ancient town and ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone, Lazio, in the hills east-southeast of Rome. It is a historical and artistic centre of the Latin Valley. Geography Overview Anagni still maintains the appearance of a s ...

, then

Fondi Fondi (; Southern Laziale: ''Fùnn'') is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Latina, Lazio, central Italy, halfway between Rome and Naples. As of 2017, the city had a population of 39,800. The city has experienced steady population growth si ...

, and then on 20 September 1378, elected Robert of Geneva as Clement VII.Miranda, Salvator. 1998.
Papal elections of the 14th Century (1303-1394)
." Du Puy remained in the allegiance of

Avignon Pope Clement VII Robert of Geneva (; 1342 – 16 September 1394) was elected to the papacy as Clement VII () by the cardinals who opposed Pope Urban VI and was the first antipope residing in Avignon, France. His election led to the Western Schism. The son of A ...

until his death on 14 February 1389.

Notes

References

*Caferro, William. 2006. ''John Hawkwood: An English Mercenary in Fourteenth-Century Italy''. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. . *Del Pozzo, Joan P. 1995. "The Apotheosis of Niccolò Toldo: An Execution "Love Story"." ''MLN'' 110 (1): 164-177
JSTOR link
*Drane, Augusta Theodosia. 1899. ''The History of St. Catherine of Siena and Her Companions''. Longmans, Green, and Co.
Available online
*Scudder, Vida Dutton. 2006. ''Saint Catherine of Siena As Seen in Her Letters''. Kessinger Publishing. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerard Du Puy 1389 deaths French Benedictines Cardinal-nephews 14th-century French cardinals Avignon Papacy Year of birth unknown