Guillaume Briçonnet (Cardinal)
Encyclopedia
Guillaume Briçonnet was a French Cardinal
.
, Secretary to the king and collector-general of Customs. Appointed Superintendent of Finances for the Province of Languedoc
under Louis XI of France
, Guillaume Briçonnet discharged the duties of his office with such integrity and efficiency, and showed himself so devoted to the interests of Louis that that monarch recommended him to his successor. Charles VIII of France
made him Secretary of the Treasury, raised him to the first place in the Council of State, and, according to the historian Giucciardini, would undertake nothing in the government of his kingdom without the advice of Briçonnet.
Ludovico Sforza
, called the Moor, wishing to dispossess his nephew of the Duchy of Milan
, and finding himself opposed by Ferdinand, King of Naples, sent an embassy under the Count of Belgiojoso to Charles to induce the French king to assert his claims to the Kingdom of Naples
as heir to the house of Anjou
. Sforza promised to place all his troops at the king's service. Briçonnet having shortly before this lost his wife, Raoulette de Beaune, by whom he had three sons, had entered the ecclesiastical state and been named Bishop of St.-Malo. To flatter his ambition the Milanese ambassadors assured him that the king's influence would raise him to the cardinalate. Briçonnet, thus won over to the Sforza interest, adroitly encouraged the warlike dispositions of his sovereign, triumphed over the opposition of the royal council, of the Duke of Bourbon
, and of Anne of France
, the Duke's wife, influenced Charles to sign a secret treaty with Sforza, and assured the king of his ability to raise the funds necessary to carry on the war both on land and sea.
Pope Alexander VI
, alarmed at the apparent danger threatening Italy, promised the cardinal's hat to Briçonnet if he could prevail upon Charles to abandon his enterprise; but Briçonnet, realizing that he could not govern without flattering the king's passion for conquest, urged him on, and, notwithstanding the dilapidated state of the treasury, succeeded in meeting the expenses of the war. Accompanying Charles on his expedition, he provoked a mutiny in the French army, by his treachery in sacrificing the Pisa
ns, allies of France, to their enemies, the Florentines, and had he not hidden himself form the fury of the soldiers they would have taken his life. Upon this occasion, as upon others, Briçonnet's ambition led him into conduct at variance with his motto: Ditat servata fides. Charles had entered Rome as a conqueror, greatly irritated against Alexander VI who had stirred up opposition against him; but the adroit Briçonnet reconciled his royal master with the pope, and for reward received the cardinal's hat. This honour was conferred in a special consistory held in the king's presence, 16 January 1495, the new cardinal taking the title of Cardinal of St.-Malo, from his episcopal see.
Briçonnet soon had cause to repent the advice he had given to invade Italy. A formidable league was formed for the purpose of cutting off the French retreat, and neither the diplomacy nor the entreaties of the French cardinal had any effect on the hostile generals. The prowess of Charles and the valour of his troops alone saved the French from defeat. With 8,000 men the king defeated, at Tornovo, an army of 40,000, and opened a road to France. Soon after this Briçonnet, induced by a tempting promise of preferment for one of his sons, tried to persuade Charles to break off the peace negotiations and support with an army the Duke of Orleans' claims to the Duchy of Milan. Charles, however, preferred the counsels of Philippe de Comines and sacrificed the interests of the duke, and the king's premature death put an end to the influence of Briçonnet, Louis XII giving his confidence to the Cardinal d'Amboise.
Whilst serving his king and the State, the Cardinal of St.-Malo had not overlooked his own interests; he had obtained from Alexander VI the Bishopric of Nimes. His title being disputed by the nominee of the chapter, there arose a litigation which lasted until the year 1507, when Briçonnet was awarded the title. In 1497 he had received in commendam the Bishopric of Toulon, and in the same year succeeded his brother Robert Briçonnet
in the archiepiscopal See of Reims. On 27 May 1498, he crowned Louis XII in his cathedral and followed the king to Paris. As a peer of France, he assisted at the session of the Council of State at which the marriage of Louis with Jeanne, the daughter of Louis XI, was annulled.
When he had ceased to be a minister of State, Briçonnet retired to Rome for two years. Louis then made use of his talents to check what he called the arrogance of the warrior pope, Julius II
. By his king's direction Briçonnet took steps to assemble at Pisa a council of cardinals opposed to the policy of Julius, and bent on the reformation of the head and hierarchy of the Church. He left Rome suddenly and secretly with a group of cardinals whom he had won over, and opened his council at Pisa, but soon transferred it to Milan, and thence to Lyon. He was, however, summoned to appear before the pope, was deprived of the Roman purple and excommunicated. Louis, on his side, bestowed upon him in commendam the rich Abbey of St.-Germain-des-Prés and the government of Languedoc.
At the death of Julius II Briçonnet was absolved from all censures and excommunication, and restored by Pope Leo X
to the Sacred College. He then retired to end his days at Narbonne, for which see he had exchanged Reims. He was buried in a superb mausoleum which he had built for himself in the church of Our Lady.
Whilst in power, Briçonnet showed himself a patron of men of letters; they dedicated their works to him and became his panegyrists. He was called oraculum regis and regni columna. His life was in fact swayed by ambition and occupied by intrigues. He composed a manual of Latin prayers, dedicated to Charles VIII. At Saint-Malo he issued several synodal instructions.
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
.
Life
He was a younger son of Jean Briçonnet, Lord of Varennes, in TouraineTouraine
The Touraine is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, the Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher and Indre.-Geography:...
, Secretary to the king and collector-general of Customs. Appointed Superintendent of Finances for the Province of Languedoc
Languedoc
Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...
under Louis XI of France
Louis XI of France
Louis XI , called the Prudent , was the King of France from 1461 to 1483. He was the son of Charles VII of France and Mary of Anjou, a member of the House of Valois....
, Guillaume Briçonnet discharged the duties of his office with such integrity and efficiency, and showed himself so devoted to the interests of Louis that that monarch recommended him to his successor. Charles VIII of France
Charles VIII of France
Charles VIII, called the Affable, , was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. Charles was a member of the House of Valois...
made him Secretary of the Treasury, raised him to the first place in the Council of State, and, according to the historian Giucciardini, would undertake nothing in the government of his kingdom without the advice of Briçonnet.
Ludovico Sforza
Ludovico Sforza
Ludovico Sforza , was Duke of Milan from 1489 until his death. A member of the Sforza family, he was the fourth son of Francesco Sforza. He was famed as a patron of Leonardo da Vinci and other artists, and presided over the final and most productive stage of the Milanese Renaissance...
, called the Moor, wishing to dispossess his nephew of the Duchy of Milan
Duchy of Milan
The Duchy of Milan , was created on the 1st of may 1395, when Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Lord of Milan, purchased a diploma for 100,000 Florins from King Wenceslaus. It was this diploma that installed, Gian Galeazzo as Duke of Milan and Count of Pavia...
, and finding himself opposed by Ferdinand, King of Naples, sent an embassy under the Count of Belgiojoso to Charles to induce the French king to assert his claims to the Kingdom of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
as heir to the house of Anjou
House of Valois-Anjou
The Valois House of Anjou, or the Younger House of Anjou, was a noble French family, deriving from the royal family, the House of Valois. They were monarchs of Naples, as well as various other territories....
. Sforza promised to place all his troops at the king's service. Briçonnet having shortly before this lost his wife, Raoulette de Beaune, by whom he had three sons, had entered the ecclesiastical state and been named Bishop of St.-Malo. To flatter his ambition the Milanese ambassadors assured him that the king's influence would raise him to the cardinalate. Briçonnet, thus won over to the Sforza interest, adroitly encouraged the warlike dispositions of his sovereign, triumphed over the opposition of the royal council, of the Duke of Bourbon
Duke of Bourbon
Duke of Bourbon is a title in the peerage of France. It was created in the first half of the 14th century for the eldest son of Robert of France, Count of Clermont and Beatrice of Burgundy, heiress of the lordship of Bourbon...
, and of Anne of France
Anne of France
Anne of France was the eldest daughter of Louis XI of France and his second wife, Charlotte of Savoy. Anne was the sister of King Charles VIII of France, for whom she acted as regent during his minority; and of Joan of France, who was briefly queen consort to Louis XII...
, the Duke's wife, influenced Charles to sign a secret treaty with Sforza, and assured the king of his ability to raise the funds necessary to carry on the war both on land and sea.
Pope Alexander VI
Pope Alexander VI
Pope Alexander VI , born Roderic Llançol i Borja was Pope from 1492 until his death on 18 August 1503. He is one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes, and his Italianized surname—Borgia—became a byword for the debased standards of the Papacy of that era, most notoriously the Banquet...
, alarmed at the apparent danger threatening Italy, promised the cardinal's hat to Briçonnet if he could prevail upon Charles to abandon his enterprise; but Briçonnet, realizing that he could not govern without flattering the king's passion for conquest, urged him on, and, notwithstanding the dilapidated state of the treasury, succeeded in meeting the expenses of the war. Accompanying Charles on his expedition, he provoked a mutiny in the French army, by his treachery in sacrificing the Pisa
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
ns, allies of France, to their enemies, the Florentines, and had he not hidden himself form the fury of the soldiers they would have taken his life. Upon this occasion, as upon others, Briçonnet's ambition led him into conduct at variance with his motto: Ditat servata fides. Charles had entered Rome as a conqueror, greatly irritated against Alexander VI who had stirred up opposition against him; but the adroit Briçonnet reconciled his royal master with the pope, and for reward received the cardinal's hat. This honour was conferred in a special consistory held in the king's presence, 16 January 1495, the new cardinal taking the title of Cardinal of St.-Malo, from his episcopal see.
Briçonnet soon had cause to repent the advice he had given to invade Italy. A formidable league was formed for the purpose of cutting off the French retreat, and neither the diplomacy nor the entreaties of the French cardinal had any effect on the hostile generals. The prowess of Charles and the valour of his troops alone saved the French from defeat. With 8,000 men the king defeated, at Tornovo, an army of 40,000, and opened a road to France. Soon after this Briçonnet, induced by a tempting promise of preferment for one of his sons, tried to persuade Charles to break off the peace negotiations and support with an army the Duke of Orleans' claims to the Duchy of Milan. Charles, however, preferred the counsels of Philippe de Comines and sacrificed the interests of the duke, and the king's premature death put an end to the influence of Briçonnet, Louis XII giving his confidence to the Cardinal d'Amboise.
Whilst serving his king and the State, the Cardinal of St.-Malo had not overlooked his own interests; he had obtained from Alexander VI the Bishopric of Nimes. His title being disputed by the nominee of the chapter, there arose a litigation which lasted until the year 1507, when Briçonnet was awarded the title. In 1497 he had received in commendam the Bishopric of Toulon, and in the same year succeeded his brother Robert Briçonnet
Robert Briçonnet
Robert Briçonnet was a French churchman and courtier. He became Archbishop of Reims.-Life:He was the fifth son of Jean Briçonnet, an elder brother of the Cardinal Guillaume Briçonnet...
in the archiepiscopal See of Reims. On 27 May 1498, he crowned Louis XII in his cathedral and followed the king to Paris. As a peer of France, he assisted at the session of the Council of State at which the marriage of Louis with Jeanne, the daughter of Louis XI, was annulled.
When he had ceased to be a minister of State, Briçonnet retired to Rome for two years. Louis then made use of his talents to check what he called the arrogance of the warrior pope, Julius II
Pope Julius II
Pope Julius II , nicknamed "The Fearsome Pope" and "The Warrior Pope" , born Giuliano della Rovere, was Pope from 1503 to 1513...
. By his king's direction Briçonnet took steps to assemble at Pisa a council of cardinals opposed to the policy of Julius, and bent on the reformation of the head and hierarchy of the Church. He left Rome suddenly and secretly with a group of cardinals whom he had won over, and opened his council at Pisa, but soon transferred it to Milan, and thence to Lyon. He was, however, summoned to appear before the pope, was deprived of the Roman purple and excommunicated. Louis, on his side, bestowed upon him in commendam the rich Abbey of St.-Germain-des-Prés and the government of Languedoc.
At the death of Julius II Briçonnet was absolved from all censures and excommunication, and restored by Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X , born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, was the Pope from 1513 to his death in 1521. He was the last non-priest to be elected Pope. He is known for granting indulgences for those who donated to reconstruct St. Peter's Basilica and his challenging of Martin Luther's 95 Theses...
to the Sacred College. He then retired to end his days at Narbonne, for which see he had exchanged Reims. He was buried in a superb mausoleum which he had built for himself in the church of Our Lady.
Whilst in power, Briçonnet showed himself a patron of men of letters; they dedicated their works to him and became his panegyrists. He was called oraculum regis and regni columna. His life was in fact swayed by ambition and occupied by intrigues. He composed a manual of Latin prayers, dedicated to Charles VIII. At Saint-Malo he issued several synodal instructions.