Henry of Marcy

Henry, the son of noble but by no means royal parents,[6] was named after his birthplace, Castro Marsiaco, or the Château de Marcy, near Cluny in Burgundy.[7] He joined the Cistercian order in 1155 or 1156, becoming a monk at Clairvaux, under Abbot Robert, the second abbot of Clairvaux (August 1153—April 1157). Four years after his profession as a monk, he was sent as the first abbot of the daughter house of Hautecombe in Savoy.[8]

Following the murder of Abbot Gerard of Clairvaux by one of his own monks, Henri was elected seventh Abbot of Clairvaux in 1177.[9] Shortly thereafter, in the same or the next year, having been ordered to preach the crusade,[10] Abbot Henri was able to persuade the abbey's principal patron, Henry I, Count of Champagne, to take the crusader's cross, which he did around Christmas (1177?). He announced his achievement with great pleasure to Pope Alexander III, who had for many years been at odds with Count Henri.[11]

In September 1177, Count Raymond V of Toulouse sent a letter to the Cistercian General Chapter, which was meeting at Citeux under the presidency of Abbot Alexander, for a mission to help him deal with the heresy of Catharism which was rampant in his domains and growing bolder.[12] He remarks that he had already asked the king of France to take part in his action. He was wielding the temporal sword, since the spiritual sword had no effect. He asked for their advice and their prayers.[13]

Dismayed at the advance of the albigensian (Cathar) heresy in Aquitaine and Languedoc, King Henry II of England and King Louis VII of France decided to organize a mission to preach the true faith to the heretics. The leaders, who were expected to preach personally, were Cardinal Peter of S. Crisogono, the papal legate,[14] the archbishop of Bourges, Archbishop Pons d'Arsac of Narbonne, Bishop Reginald of Bath and Wells, Bishop Jean des Bellesmains of Poitiers, Abbot Henri of Clairvaux, and many other ecclesiastics. The two kings also appointed Count Raymond of Toulouse, the vicount of Turenne, and Raymond of Castro Novo to assist the cardinal and his associates.[15] In a decree condemning certain heretics, Cardinal Petrus, the papal legate, remarked that the noblemen had been sent to rescue the bishop of Albi who was being held in the territory of Vicount Roger of Béziers on his order.[16] They were accompanied by Bishop Reginald fitz Jocelin of Bath and Wells and Abbot Henri of Marcy, whose mission, as assigned by the papal legate, was, according to Henri himself, to get Vicount Roger to release the bishop of Albi and eliminate heretical opinions in the entire territory. The party arrived at Castres, the residence of the vicount's family, and, when Roger refused to comply, they excommunicated him. The mission, however, did not succeed in liberating the bishop of Albi, controlling Vicount Roger, or converting the schismatics of Béziers or Castres.[17][3]

After his return from Toulouse, Henri attended the general synod of the Cistercian Order, and then hastened to Clairvaux.[18]

Abbot Henri presided over the transfer of the remains of Bernard of Clairvaux from his tomb to a newly constructed monument, erected at the orders of Henri.[19]

In 1178, on the death of Bishop Bertrand, Henri was elected bishop of Toulouse, but he wrote to Pope Alexander, begging to be released from the honor. He remarked that he was looking forward to seeing the pope face to face at the coming general council.[20] Peter of Celle also wrote the pope a letter, stating more forthrightly the reasons why Henri wished to decline the bishopric.[21]

Through the influence of Abbot Henri, King Henry II of England presented the abbey of Clairvaux with a new lead roof for the abbey church.[22]

Abbot Henri attended Pope Alexander's Third Lateran Council, whose first session took place in the Lateran Basilica on 5 March 1179.[23] On 11 March, Henri was appointed Bishop of Albano. He was consecrated a bishop by Alexander III personally on the Sunday after Easter, 6 May 1179, in the church of S. Maria called Narcissae.[24] His earliest subscription as a cardinal to a papal document, a privilege granted to the canons of the cathedral of Concordia, came on 4 May 1179. His latest subscription for Pope Alexander took place on 8 December 1179. From 1180 to the Fall of 1182, he was in France, serving as papal legate against the Albigensian heretics.[25]

In 1180, the legate Cardinal Henri of Marcy presided over a synod held at Limoges, dealing with a conflict between two churches in the diocese of Bordeaux, which had persisted through much of the 12th century.[26] He held another synod at Nôtre Dame de Puy on 15 September 1181.[27] Since Pope Alexander died in Rome on 30 August 1181, Cardinal Henri did not attend the election of his successor, Pope Lucius III (Ubaldo Allucingoli), on 1 September 1181.

In 1181, the legate Henri, in association with Jean de Montlaur, the bishop of Maguelonne (later Montpellier), and Bernard, the bishop of Béziers (Biterrensis), deposed Pons d'Arsac, the bishop of Narbonne, as well as three archdeacons and the sacristan of the cathedral chapter.[28] The reasons for the deposition are unknown. The action was appealed to Rome, but, on 16 May 1183, Pope Lucius affirmed the decision of the bishops, evidently considering their reasons sufficient, and ordered the cathedral chapter of Narbonne to obey Henri's injunctions.[29]

At Bazas, he held a synod on 24 November 1181.[30] He held a synod at Limoges on 28 February 1182.[31] He was in Poitiers on 1 April 1182, where he signed a document.[27]

On 19 May 1182, Cardinal Henri, the Papal legate, was in Paris, and, with Bishop Maurice de Sully, consecrated the high altar of the newly completed choir of Notre-Dame de Paris.[32]

He was back in Italy by 23 November 1182, when he began subscribing documents for Pope Lucius at Velletri, where the papal court was living in exile from Rome.[33]

Philippe Auguste receiving messengers from the Pope calling him to the crusade.

Towards the end of his life, Cardinal Henri sought the papal crown. In October 1187, when the papal court had reached Ferrara, he became a candidate to succeed Pope Urban III.[38] He had two competitors in the election, Paolo Scolari and Alberto di Morra.[39] In a dramatic speech, Henri withdrew from the competition, announcing that he wanted to preach the crusade, and Alberto di Morra was elected.[40]

He subscribed for the new pope, Gregory VIII, from 31 October 1187 to 13 November 1187.[41] At that point he was appointed papal legate to France, to attempt to arrange a peace between Philip II and Henry II. He travelled to Flanders, to Count Philip, so as not to favor either king with private conversations.[42] He preached the Third Crusade, and was in Liège in March 1188.[43]

He did a great deal to mediate between the leaders of the Crusade before his death at Arras, bringing Henry II of England and Philip II of France to reconcile, as well as healing the rift between the Emperor Frederick I and Philip I, Archbishop of Cologne. It was at the Tag Gottes ("God's Day") held in Mainz on 27 March 1188 that he induced Frederick to join the Crusade. His letter to the notables of the German kingdom about the event is preserved.[44]

He died in Flanders in July, and was buried at Arras. The Cistercians celebrate his day on 14 July. The "Chronicon Clarevallense", however, states that he died on 1 January.[45] He is considered beatified.

Among his surviving works, his letters (Epistolae) and his De peregrinante civitate Dei are published in the Patrologia Latina.[46] They are individually analyzed and commented upon in the Histoire litteraire de la France Volume XIV.[47]