The Diocese of Valence (–Die–Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux) (Latin: Dioecesis Valentinensis (–Diensis–Sancti Pauli Tricastinorum); French: Diocèse de Valence (–Die–Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in southern France. The contemporary diocese is co-extensive with the department of Drôme.
History
Christianity was preached in Valence 200, by disciples of Irenaeus of Lyon, but the bishopric is first attested in 347, when Bishop Aemilianus attended the council of Sardica.Chevalier, Notice chronologique..., p. 2.
The Cathedral of Valence was originally dedicated to the martyrs Pope Cornelius (251–253) and Bishop Cyprianus of Carthage (248–258).Saint Jerome wrote that they had been martyred on the same day, September 14.), and, on 5 August 1095, during his visit to France to rouse up the aristocracy for a Crusade to liberate the Holy Land, Pope Urban II rededicated the cathedral to the Virgin Mary and the martyrs Cornelius and Cyprian.Chevalier, Regeste dauphinois, Vol. I, p. 445, no. 2586. The dedication to Saint Apollinaire was added later.Hauréau, Gallia christiana XVI, p. 291. The cathedral was administered by a corporation called the Chapter, which consisted of three dignities (a Dean, a Provost, the Archdeacon, the Theologian) fourteen Canons, and the Abbot of S. Felix.Gallia christiana XVI, p. 291. Gauchat, Hierarchia catholica IV, p. 357, n. 1. Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica V, p. 403, note 1.
Bishop-elect Guillaume de Savoy
According to Matthew of Paris,Cited by Ulysse Chevalier, Notice chronologico-historique..., pp. 8–9. Matthew of Paris, Volume III, p. 335 (ed. Luard), where Guillaume is called "electus Valentiae." Guillaume de Savoy, the procurator of the Church of Valence, left for England in 1236. His niece, Eleanor of Provence, married King Henry III of England on 14 January 1236, and Guillaume was made a principal advisor of the king. At the parliament which met in London in April 1236, however, the Savoyards were the subject of criticism, and Guillaume left England, visited his niece Margaret of Provence, the queen of France, and by 25 June he was back in Savoy, at Chillon.J. Chevalier, Quarante années..., p. 24. He returned to England in 1237, and was present in York at the signing of the treaty between Scotland and England on 25 September 1237, negotiated by the papal legate Otho Candidus.U. Chevalier, Regeste dauphinois, Vol 2 (1913), p. 294, no. 7548. Shortly thereafter, he joined the expedition of Henri de Trubeville sent by Henry III to assist his brother-in-law, Frederick II, at Milan. Guillaume met the emperor at Brescia, and obtained from him a confirmation of all the ancient privileges of the diocese of Valence, and investiture with the regalian rights belonging to the diocese.François Mugnier, Les Savoyards en Angleterre au XIIIe siècle et Pierre d'Aigueblanche, évêque d'Héreford, , (Chambéry: Imprimerie Ménard, 1890), pp. 23–24.
When Bishop Pierre des Roches of Winchester died on 9 June 1238, King Henry wished the electors to choose his uncle, Guillaume de Savoy as the next bishop, but the electors voted instead for Guillaume de Rale. The king immediately voided the election. The monks then elected the bishop of Chichester, Ralph de Neville, and the king again voided the election. The king then demanded that the pope appoint Guillaume by papal bull. Gregory IX was happy to do so, because it would please the king and because it would detach the House of Savoy from the party of Frederick II.Mugnier, pp. 25–27.
Guillaume de Savoy left England permanently shortly after January 1238.J. Chevalier, Quarante années..., p. 26. U. Chevalier, Regeste dauphinois, Vol 2 (1913), p. 303, no. 7602. On 1 May 1238, the bishop of Liège, Joannes de Rumigny, died.Eubel I, p. 301. Cardinal Otho, the papal legate in England, immediately wrote to the canons, recommending that they elect Guillaume de Savoy.U. Chevalier, Regeste dauphinois, Vol 2 (1913), p. 306, no. 7621. The cathedral Chapter met on 23 (or 25) June 1238, and elected Otho, the Provost of Aix-la-chapelle, to the vacant seat. Guillaume's brother Thomas brought up troops, and drove the opposition away. They then appealed to the pope.Mugnier, pp. 26 with note 2. On 18 November 1238,Chevalier, Regeste dauphinois, Vol 2 (1913), p. 312, no. 7655. and again on 23 January 1239, Pope Gregory IX ordered inquiries,J. Chevalier, Quarante années..., pp. 38–39. and on 29 May 1239, he issued a bull granting the dioceses of Liège, Winchester, and Valence to Guillaume of Savoy.U. Chevalier, Regeste dauphinois, Vol 2 (1913), pp. 322–323, nos. 7716, 7718, 7719–7722.
In mid-August 1239, Guillaume, his brother Count Amadeus IV, the Marquis de Lancia, and the seneschal of the Dauphiné set out for Italy with an army.J. Chevalier, Quarante années..., p. 27. Having met with the pope, and briefed him on the disordered state of the diocese of Valence, Guillaume was appointed by Pope Gregory as leader of the papal army against Frederick II. He died at Viterbo on 1 September 1239, apparently of poison.U. Chevalier, Regeste dauphinois, Vol 2 (1913), p. 329, no. 7752. On 6 December 1239, Bishop Geroldus of Valence, Patriarch of Jerusalem since 1225,Eubel I, p. 275. died in Jerusalem.U. Chevalier, Regeste dauphinois, Vol 2 (1913), p. 331, nos. 7762.
Boniface of Savoy and Philippe of Savoy
In arranging for his own bulls for Winchester and Liège, Guillaume de Savoy also obtained from Gregory IX the concession that one of his brothers would succeed him in Valence."Chronicle of Albericus, monk of Trois-Fontaines," in Monumenta Germaniae Historica Vol. 23, p. 944: "a domino papa obtinuit ut unus de fratribus ejus sit pro eo electus in Valentia." It is almost universally agreed that this brother was Boniface de Savoy.U. Chevalier, Regeste dauphinois, Vol 2 (1913), p. 330, no. 7760. B. Hauréau, Gallia christiana XVI, p. 314. Jules Chavalier points out, however, that the grant of Gregory IX does not name a particular brother, and that there is no document that names Boniface in connection with Valence,François Mugnier, Les Savoyards en Angleterre..., p. 27. neither as bishop-elect nor as administrator nor as procurator. The bull of his appointment as archbishop of Canterbury names him only as bishop-elect of Belley.Jules Chevalier, Quarante années..., pp. 41–42. Boniface was not consecrated a bishop until 15 January 1246.
In mid-August 1242, Boniface's brother Philippe was in Bordeaux with King Henry III and his niece Queen Eleanor; he returned with the royal couple to England in September.François Mugnier, Les Savoyards en Angleterre..., p. 43. In a marriage contract, confirmed on 6 December 1242, the guarantors include Boniface, elect of Belley, and Philippe, elect of Valence.Ulysse Chevalier, Regeste dauphinois..., Volume 2, pp. 367–368, no. 7961. Barthélémy Hauréau has pointed out, however, that Philippe had not been canonically elected bishop; papal documents referred to him as procurator.Hauréau, Gallia christiana XVI, p. 314: "Non tamen, ut videtur, revera Philippus secundum canonicum morem fuerat electus; nam anno 1244 simpliciter se procuratorem ejusdem ecclesiae ferens..." In spring 1244, Philippe petitioned the new pope, Innocent IV (Fieschi), to absolve him from the responsibility for the church of Valence (ipsum absolvere a cura praefatae ecclesiae) so that he could attend a university. The pope agreed to absolve him, and ordered the archbishop of Vienne to have the Chapter of the cathedral of Valence to conduct a canonical election of a new bishop. Nothing came of the permission to pursue education or the mandate to elect a bishop.Hauréau, Gallia christiana XVI, p. 314; and "Instrumenta", p. 117. Ulysse Chevalier, Regeste dauphinois..., Volume 2, pp. 384–385, no. 8063. Jules Chevalier, Quarante années..., pp. 58–59.
In the last week of November 1244, Philippe, the procurator of Valence, escorted Pope Innocent, who was fleeing Frederick II, from Savoy to Lyon, where he remained to guard the pope during the Council of Lyon (26 June–17 July 1245).Jules Chevalier, Quarante années..., p. 60, citing Matthew of Paris, Vol. VI, p. 414 (ed. Louard)" "Item Philippus electus Lugdunensis per multa viarum discrimina et hostium pericula et insidias dominum papam Innocentium IV a facie Fretherici fugientem duxit salvo Lugdunum, et ibi dum concilium celebraretur immo dum papa ibi moram continuaret, pacem inviolatam prudenter servavit ." After the council had concluded, Archbishop Aimery, the Primate of Lyon, requested that the pope allow him to retire, which the pope, very reluctantly, after pleading with him to change his mind, allowed his request.Jules Chevalier, Quarante années..., pp. 61–62, citing (in note 3) Matthew of Paris, Vol. IV, p. 429: "Cito quoque post, archiepiscopus Lugdunensis, vir sine querela et pacificus et jam vergens in ætatem senilem et valetudinariam, omnia in manu papæ resignavit." Innocent IV appointed Philippe de Savoie administrator of the diocese of Lyon, while allowing him to retain his position in the diocese of Valence as well as his benefices in England and Flanders.Jules Chevalier, Quarante années..., p. 62, citing (in note 3) Matthew of Paris, Vol. IV, pp. 425–426: "Electus Valentiæ ipsis diebus ad archiepiscopatus Lugdunensis promotus est possessionem, priore cedente ob causas dicendas. Qui tantam a domino papa meruit obtinere dispensationem ut archiepiscopatus retenta cum suis commodis potestate episcopatus Valentini proventus perciperet uberrimorum reddituum, quos in Anglia et Flandria possederat, quod plus, ut videbatur, ob causas sæculares fiebat quam spirituales, libere ac licenter asportaret, et præposituram Brugensem obtinebat." On 30 October 1246, he styles himself Nos Ph(ilippus), Dei gratia prime Lugdunensis ecclesiae electus;M.-C. Guigue, Cartulaire Lyonnais: Documents inédits pour servir à l'histoire des anciennes provinces de Lyonnais, Forez, Beaujolais, Dombes, Bresse et Bugey comprises jadis dans le Pagus major Lugdunensis, , Volume 1 (Lyon: Association typographique 1885, p. 509. and on 18 December 1246, he is referred to as Valentiae electus by one of his officials.Ulysse Chevalier, Regeste dauphinois..., Volume 2, p. 426, no. 8287.
On 5 December 1248, a church council was held in Valence, presided over by Cardinal Petrus, Bishop of Albano, and Cardinal Hugh, Cardinal-priest of Santa Sabina, and including the metropolitan archbishops of Narbonne, Vienne, Arles, and Aix, and fifteen bishops; the bishop-elect of Valence is not named. The council promulgated 23 canons.Jules Chevalier, Quarante années..., p. 77. Ulysse Chevalier, Regeste dauphinois..., Volume 2, p. 463, no. 8493. J.-D. Mansi (ed.), Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, editio novissima, , Vol. 23 (Venice: A. Zatta 1779), pp. 769–778.
On 5 March 1250, King Henry III of England appointed Bishop-elect Philippe de Savoie as his plenipotentiary to negotiate an extension of the truce between England and France.Jules Chevalier, Quarante années..., p. 81
In 1266, the new pope, Clement IV, who had been legal advisor to Count Raymond of Toulouse and to King Louis IX and was later archbishop of Narbonne,J.N.D. Kelly and M.J. Walsh, Oxford Dictionary of Popes, second edition (OUP 2010), pp. 197–198. Guy Foucois was papal legate to England when he was elected in absentia on 5 February 1265. undertook to restore civil and ecclesiastical order in Valence.Chevalier, Quarante années..., pp. 103–104: "...hactenus dinoscitur processisse quod sedes