Brenac Pierre Amiel, papal aide

 

Pierre Amiel was apparently a much worshipped man in Brenac – and admired by Francois Courtade. Pierre Amiel was a well-known man who used “de Brenac” in his name, possibly not to confuse him with another “Pierre Amiel”, who was archbishop of Vienne, Naples and Embrun, in the same period (he died in 1389).

Amiel is also listed as “Pierre Ameilh de Brenac”, “Petrus Amelius” and even “Pietro Amelius”. His life is that of 14th century priest – born in 1330, died in 1401. His career was in the immediate surroundings of the Avignon popes: sacristan for pope Urban V and afterwards librarian for Gregory XI. It seems he remained in papal circles, as he was considered to be an instrumental contributor to the “XV Ordo Ramus”, the 15th edition of various specifications to do with the affairs of religion.

The popes

Urban V (Guillaume de Grimoald) was pope from 1362 till 1370, born in Griase, in the Languedoc. He was abbot of St Victor de Marseilles. Il Avignon, upon his return from Naples, he was the delegate of his predecessor, Innocent VI. He was one of the first popes in a series that tried to return the popes to Rome. He visited Rome in 1367 and remained there until a few months before his death in 1370.

His successor was Gregory XI (Pierre Roger de Beaufort), pope from 1370 to 1378, born in Limousin in 1336. Gregory XI continued the efforts of his predecessor to return to Rome, which eventually occurred in January 1377. Shortly afterwards, on March 27 1378, he died, succeeded by Urban VI and Clement VII, the latter the pope at Avignon.
Urban VI (Bartolomeo Prignano) was the first Roman pope during the Schisma. He died in Rome on October 15 1389, “poisoned by the Romans”, according to some sources. His successor was elected in Rome on November 20 1389: Boniface IX, who died in October 1404.
It was the successor of Clement VII, the Avignon pope, who is an intriguing character. On Clement’s death on September 16 1384, his successor was Pedro de Luna, aka Benedict XIII, a close friend of Ramon de Perillos, who served as a papal aide from 1398 onwards, i.e. after his return from Ireland.

Amiel’s functions

Amiel’s career began ca. 1365 and lasted up to his death in 1401. He was the patriarch of Raden and Alexandria, a position he received in 1386 and which he held until 1391.
The Church of Alexandria has been enigmatique – specifically in recent years, where there are many references to a possible connection between Jesus and John the Baptist with Alexandria. Since the 7th century, the patriarchate of Alexandria was divided between the Jacobites and the Melchites. Normally, their relationship with Rome was cold, even though there were Christians in Alexandria whose allegiance was not with the divided church, but with Rome. For those, the pontificate of Innocent III (1198-1216) created the Patriarchate of Alexandria “of the Latin rite”. The function was little more than a title, with those in office normally staying in Rome, not Egypt.

After Gregory XI’s death, Amiel stayed in Rome, where he became a witness for Urban VI. Amiel also played an important role as he was sent as a delegate on behalf of pope Boniface IX to convince Charles VI of France that Benedict XIII (Pedro de Luna) was an impostor.

Amiel and Perillos

At the end of the 14th century, we see Amiel on the side of Boniface IX. Pedro de Luna had a strong relationship with the French kings. Still, de Luna was convinced that the Christians had to be reunited. He felt that the solution would be abdicate his position, if the rival pope would do so at the same time, resulting in the election of a new pope, who would shepherd all Christians.
As a consequence, Benedict XIII sent delegates from Avignon to Rome, to talk to Boniface IX. Delegates were also sent out in the opposite directions. Amongst the latter, we find Amiel, who thus spoke to the French king. The efforts were futile, as Boniface IX refused to step down from his position – even though he was convinced de Luna should.

Towards the 17th Century

We note that Pierre Amiel was the librarian of the pope of Avignon. It was at the beginning of the 17th century that we stumble upon another enigmatic figure, Polycarpe de la Rivière, who showed a more than normal interest in the history of this town. Too strong an interest, it seems, as his work on the history was forbidden by the Church authorities.
The work that was prohibited was written in 1638, entitled “Histoire de la ville d’Avignon”. We can only wonder what is so strange about the history of a town that it required the intervention of the Vatican. But could it have been something that Amiel, in his privileged position as papal librarian, was also aware of? And we need to note that for Polycarpe, Amiel was part of that history…

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