- Simon of Cramaud
Simon de Cramaud (c. 1345 –
January 19 ,1423 , inPoitiers ) was a Catholic bishop, titularLatin Patriarch of Alexandria , and cardinal during theGreat Western Schism of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. [This article is based on information by [Bruno W. Häuptli, in "Biografisch-Bibliografisches Kirchenlexikon":] "s.v."Simon von Cramaud" [http://bbkl.de/s/simon_v_cre.shtml] ]Simon was born before 1360 near
Rochechouart nearLimoges , a younger son in a family of minor nobles. He studied law atOrléans and became a well-knowncanonist . Simon taught canon law at theUniversity of Paris , attracting the attention ofJohn, Duke of Berry , one of the uncles of KingCharles VI of France . As a councilor of the duke, Simon performed both administrative and diplomatic tasks. In 1382, he was appointedBishop of Agen , but was transferred to Béziers in 1383, and finally toPoitiers in 1385. He was also appointed toSens in 1390, but never occupied the see — instead he became the titularLatin Patriarch of Alexandria and Administrator of the Diocese of Avignon the following year. In 1409, he was madeArchbishop of Reims and subsequently a cardinal in 1413. From then until his death, he served as the administrator of the Diocese of Poitiers.Cramaud was a prominent figure in the struggles of the fourteenth-century church, a partisan of the
Avignon Papacy . He championedAvignon Pope Clement VII , but fought Clement's successor, Benedict XIII, any way he could. He presided at theCouncil of Pisa in 1409, and proclaimed the deposition of bothGregory XII and Benedict XIII, thus securing the election ofAlexander V . At theCouncil of Constance , he was largely responsible for the success of its election method, which granted a vote to certain national delegates along with the cardinals. He is considered by some ["eine wichtige Etappe für die Ausformung des Gallikanismus," according to Bruno W. Häuptli, in "Biografisch-Bibliografisches Kirchenlexikon".] to be a precursor to both theological and politicalGallicanism . Simon died onJanuary 19 ,1423 . He was buried at the cathedral in Poitiers, but his tomb was destroyed byHuguenots in 1562.His treatise "De substraccione obediencie" (1397), offering multiple lines of reasoning for bringing the Schism to an end, was edited by Howard Kaminsky in 1984. Simon argued that Benedict's followers could withdraw obedience to compel him to seek a solution to the Schism.
Notes
References
*Catholic|Simon of Cramaud
* [http://bbkl.de/s/simon_v_cre.shtml (Bruno W. Häuptli), "Biografisch-Bibliografisches Kirchenlexikon":] "Simon von Cramaud"
*Kaminsky, Howard, "Simon de Cramaud and the Great Schism" (New Brunswick, NJ) 1983.
* Simon de Cramaud, "De substraccione obediencie", ed. Howard Kaminsky, Cambridge, MA: the Medieval Academy of America, 1984.
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