Alain (II) de Coëtivy (8 November 1407 – 4 May 1474) was a prelate from a Breton noble family. He was bishop of Avignon, Nîmes and of Dol, cardinal of the titular church of Santa Prassede, then cardinal-bishop of Palestrina and cardinal-bishop of Sabina. Sources often refer to him as the Cardinal of Avignon, his diocese when he became a cardinal.Eubel, Hierarchia catholica II, p. 11, no. 4.
Alain de Coëtivy was born at Plounéventer, Léon. His mother was Catherine du Chastel, and her brother was Tanneguy du Chastel, soldier and favorite of King Charles VII of France.
Career
canon of Le Léon, 5 July 1436 – 30 October 1437; bishop of Avignon, 30 October 1437 – 1474, carrying out building works on the Petit Palais at Avignon; administrator of the diocese of Uzès, 1442 to 1445;Congregation of St. Maur, O.S.B. (edd.), Gallia Christiana, In Provincias Ecclesiasticas Distributa, , Volume 6 (Paris: Typographia regia, 1739), p. 641. named a cardinal in pectore by Pope Eugene IV, confirmed by Pope Nicholas V in January 1447; named a cardinal in the consistory of 20 December 1448 by Pope Nicholas V;Eubel, Hierarchia catholica II, p. 11, no. 4. assigned the titular church of Santa Prassede, 3 January 1449;Eubel, Hierarchia catholica II, p. 10, note 6. named bishop Nîmes in commendam on 1 April 1454, by transfer of a cousin, Jean du Châtel, to Carcassonne. The commission was revoked on 19 November 1460;Eubel II, p. 201 with note 2. In the conclave of 4–8 April 1455,John P. Adams, "Sede Vacante 1455", California State University Northridge (2016); retrieved: 30 August 2024. Coëtivy was opposed to the election of Basilios Bessarion, for his Greek background and apparently incomplete conversion to Roman Catholicism.F. Petruccelli Della Gattina, Histoire diplomatique des conclaves, , Volume 1 (ParisL A. Lacroix, Verboeckhoven, 1864), p. 268. On 8 September 1455, Cardinal Coëtivy was given the crusader's cross by Pope Calixtus III personally, in a solemn ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica. He was sent as a pontifical legate to King Charles VII of France, departing Rome on 17 September 1455.Eubel II, p. 31, no. 166. He was charged by Pope Calixtus III with persuading Charles set out on the crusade against the Turks.Ludwig von Pastor, The History of the Popes: From the Close of the Middle Ages, Volume 2 (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Company, 1891), p. 349-350. He returned to Rome on 6 May 1458.Eubel II, p. 32, no. 187. On 3 June 1455, Pope Calixtus III canonized the Dominican preacher Vincent Ferrer. His remains, in the cathedral in Vannes, Brittany, were inspected on 29 June 1455, and found to be "uncorrupted". Pope Calixtus sent Cardinal Alain as his legate to France; he departed Rome on 17 September 1455.Eubel II, p. 31, no. 166. He was in Vannes, to preside over the inauguration of the cult of the new saint, on 2–4 June 1456, in the presence of the cardinal and fifteen bishops.H. Fages, Historia de San Vicente Ferrer, , Volume 2 (Valencia: A. García, 1903), pp. 322-326. made bishop-administrator of Dol, 18 June 1456. He did not reside in Dol, but instead appointed the Bishop of Alet, Anbroise de Camerato, as his coadjutor.B. Hauréau, Gallia christiana, , (Paris: Firmin Didot 1856), p. 1061. He returned to Rome on 6 May 1458.Eubel II, p. 31, no. 187. He resigned on 7 January 1460, expecting to be replaced by Bishop Gabriel du Châtel of Uzès, but in 1462 the transfer was revoked and Coëtivy resumed the administration.Eubel II, p. 145 with notes 2 and 3. present at the papal conclave of 1464, which elected Pope Paul II; as cardinal, made bishop of Palestrina on 7 June 1465, then of Sabina on 11 December 1472; made (honorary?) abbot of the abbey of Redon in 1468.
He also held the benefices of the parish of Marsac, which he resigned at the request of Pierre II de Bretagne on 4 September 1451. It was he who helped establish the parish of Saint-Yves-des-Bretons in Rome. Pope Nicholas V ceded Saint-André-de-Mortaraziis to the Breton nation, who reconsecrated it in honor of saint Yves.
He died in Rome, at his palace at the Campo de' Fiori, on 3 May 1474, at the age of 69. He was buried in Rome in his titular church. His monument at Santa PrassedeTomb inscription: Lorenzo Forcella, Inscrizioni delle chiese e d'altri edifici di Roma, , Vol. 2 (Roma: Bencini 1873), p. 501. was executed by Andrea Bregno.
References
Bibliography Albanès, Joseph Hyacinthe (completed, annotated and published by Chevalier Ulysse), Gallia christiana novissima. Histoire des archevêchés, évêques et abbayes de France d'après les documents authentiques recueillis dans les registres du Vatican et les archives locales. Catel, Guillaume de. Histoire de Languedoc Charvet, Gratien (1870). La première maison d'Uzès, étude historique et généalogique de la première maison d'Uzès suivi du catalogue analytique des évêques d'Uzès (Alais: J. Martin 1870; Nîmes, edited by Lacour-Ollé, 2002 reissue) [pp. 120–122]. De la Roque, Louis. Armorial de Languedoc
Germer-Durand, Eugène, Le Prieuré et le Pont de Saint-Nicolas-de-Campagnac Labande, Léon-Honoré (1920). Avignon au xve siècle: Légation de Charles de Bourbon et du cardinal Julien de la Rovère. . Monaco, 1920. pp. 71-96 La Roncière, Charles de (1895). La Pragmatique Sanction de 1438 et Alain de Coëtivy. . Saint-Denis: H. Bouillant, 1895. [extract from: Correspondence historique et archeologique, Année 1895]. Ménard, Léon, Histoire de Languedoc Vaissète, Joseph. Histoire générale du Languedoc