Gérard du Puy

Gérard du Puy (died February 14, 1389) was a French cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and cardinal-nephew of Pope Gregory XI.

Papal legate

In 1372, du Puy, already abbot of Marmoutier with the diocese of Tour, France,Miranda, Salvator. 1998. " [http://www.fiu.edu/~mirandas/consistories-xiv.htm XIV Century (1303-1404)] ."] was named Governor of Perugia and Apostolic Nuncio to Tuscany.Drane, 1899, p. 284.]

Immediately after these appointments, du Puy corresponded with Catharine of Siena on behalf of Gregory XI, [Scudder, 2006, p. 115.] and perhaps under the name of Gregory XI. As nuncio, du Puy came into conflict with Florence for supporting the claims of the Salimbeni nobles in Siena. [Scudder, 2006, p. 18.] du Puy's support of the Salimbeni also caused hostility toward Perugians in Siena. [Del Pozzo, 1995, p. 171.]

War of the Eight Saints

Gregory IX made him cardinal-priest on December 20, 1375, with the title of S. Clemente.Miranda, Salvator. 1998. " [http://www.fiu.edu/~mirandas/titles-2.htm S. Cajo --- S. Gregorio VII] ."] du Puy was the fifth and last relative that Gregory IX created cardinal, after Jean du Cros (elevated May 30, 1371) and Pierre de la Jugée (elevated December 20, 1375).

He was the abbot of Mormoutier ( _it. abate di Monmaggiore) and the papal governor of Perugia during the War of the Eight Saints.Caferro, 2006, p. 179.] 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, who had been sent ahead by "condottieri" John Hawkwood, 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, 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 December 22, 1375, and was handed over to Hawkwood's custody on the day after Christmas, only to be escourted to Cesena as prisoner where he was left in the custody of Galeotto Malatesta, the lord of Rimini. [Caferro, 2006, pp. 179-180.] Hawkwood leveraged du Puy to receive 130,000 florins in backpay from the pope. [Caferro, 2006, p. 181.]

Later life

After the death of his uncle Gregory XI on March 26, 1378, du Puy participated in the papal conclave from April 7-9, 1378 that elected Pope Urban VI, but was among the cardinals—mostly French, but also some Italian—who left the court of Urban VI for Anagni, then Fondi, and then on September 20, 1378, elected Robert of Geneva as Clement VII. [Miranda, Salvator. 1998. " [http://www.fiu.edu/~mirandas/conclave-xiv.htm Papal elections of the XIV Century (1303-1394)] ."] du Puy remained in the allegiance of Avignon Pope Clement VII until his death on February 14, 1389.

Notes

References

*Caferro, William. 2006. "John Hawkwood: An English Mercenary in Fourteenth-Century Italy". Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0801883237.
*Del Pozzo, Joan P. 1995. "The Apotheosis of Niccolò Toldo: An Execution "Love Story"." "MLN" 110 (1): 164-177. [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0026-7910(199501)110%3A1%3C164%3ATAONTA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-X JSTOR link]
*Drane, Augusta Theodosia. 1899. "The History of St. Catherine of Siena and Her Companions". Longmans, Green, and Co. ( [http://books.google.com/books?id=OAgNAAAAIAAJ&dq Available online] )
*Scudder, Vida Dutton. 2006. "Saint Catherine of Siena As Seen in Her Letters". Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 142860412X.