Religious figures, terms and events

The right to nominate a person to hold a church office in a parish. In medieval England, an advowson was regarded as property, and could be bought and sold, as well as bequeathed.

The Lamb of God, often portrayed as a lamb carrying a flag or banner with a cross. The phrase comes from the gospel of St John with John the Baptist's proclamation "Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world!"

Alexander III (born Rolando of Siena) was Pope from 1159 until his death in 1181. During his papacy he promoted missions in Northern Europe, held the Third Council of the Lateran, and declared Thomas à Becket a saint for opposing secular interference in the church.

The announcement by the archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she would become the mother of Jesus Christ the Son of God.

Gabriel is one of the archangels, the messenger of God, who announced the births of Jesus and John the Baptist, and who interpreted Daniel's visions. In art Gabriel is most often shown as male, but sometimes as a female figure.

The doctrine in Roman Catholic and Eastern Christian belief that when the Virgin Mary died she was taken into heaven body and soul.

Is a decree regarding the public ecclesiastical veneration of an individual that simply permits the worship of the person but does not bind the entire church to do so.

The rents and profits arising from assets gifted to the church through endowments, tithes, and other gifts that were meant to support a minister, or a spiritual office or function. In medieval times these revenues could be awarded to politically minded prelates who held and accumulated multiple benefices.

A nineteenth century poem "Our Village" by Thomas Hood has the verse:

There's a rectory with pointed gables and strange odd chimneys that never smokes,
For the Rector don't live on his living like other Christian sort of folks;

Bethsaida is an ancient fishing village on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. It is the birth place of the Apostles Andrew, Peter, and Philip, and the area were Jesus performed a number of Miracles: The feeding of the 5000 and the healing of the blind man.

When Jesus walk on the water the boat that the disciples was on was heading for Bethsaida.

Callistus II (Guy de Vienn) was Pope from February 1st 1119 until his death in 1124.

Named after the 15th century reform John Calvin, a theological system that emphasizes the rule of God over all things.

Canonization is a decree regarding the public ecclesiastical veneration of an individual, that universally orders the entire church to venerate the individual.

Pope Celestine III (1106-1198) was elected pope in 1191. He excommunicated the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI for keep Richard I of England a former crusader imprisoned, and Alfonso IX of León for making peace with the Muslims while making war on Castile.

Christ in Majesty, is a representation of Christ as ruler of the universe. Normally he is in a mandorla and surrounded by other figures and objects.

A license issued by the crown, in England, authorising the election of an abbot, bishop, or archbishop.

The Coronation of the Virgin, or the Virgin enthroned was a subject popular in the 13th and 14th century where the Virgin Mary is crowned Queen of heaven either by her son Jesus Christ, or by an angel. There is no mention of this in the bible, but it arose from early medieval accounts of Mary's assumption into heaven, by St Martin of Tours, and St Jerome. In art from this period Mary is usually seen being crowned by Jesus, but alternatively both Mary and Jesus are depicted sitting side by side on thrones wearing identical crowns.

After the Council of Trent (1563) the Roman Catholic church began to purge itself of the abuses that had led to the Protestant Reformation. Through the Jesuits they attempted to heal the various schisms and bring groups back to the Roman Catholic church.

An ecclesiastical censure depriving a person of the rights of church membership

The Four Evangelists are the authors of the four Gospel accounts in the New Testament Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John. In Christian tradition each have their own symbol.

Mathew is in the form of a Human or Angel, Mark in the form of a Lion, Luke an Ox, and John is an Eagle.

Pope Gelasius II (1064-1119) was pope from 1118 until his death in 1119.

A companion of Louis IX of France during the seventh Crusade from 1248 to 1254. Bishop of Amiens from 1247-1257, and the subject of the satire De Vetula by Richard de Fournival.

Gregory I (540-604), was pope from 590 until his death. He is known for his prolific writings and for revising the worship of the western Christian church. He was canonized immediately after his death and he is the patron saint of musicians, singers, students, and teachers.

He argued against the opinion of the Patriarch Eutychius of Constantinople, who had said that one would not have been able to touch or feel the resurrected body of Christ. He also associated Mary of Magdalene with the woman that Luke had described as a sinner, and that John called Mary and the sister of Lazarus and Martha, with the Mary from out of whom Mark said seven demons had been cast out.

Honorius II (Lamberto Scannabecchi) was pope from 1124 until his death in 1130. His election was the result of a dispute when Teobaldo Boccapeccora was elected and then force was used to remove Teobaldo and have Lamberto elected.

Pope Honorius III (1148-1227) was pope from 1216 until his death on March 18, 1227. His papacy saw the start of the Fifth Crusade in 1217, which had been endorsed by the Lateran Council of 1215. He sanctioned the Dominican order in 1216, and the Franciscan in 1223. He continued the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars in Southern France, confirming Simon de Montfort's possession of Raymond VI of Toulouse land, and in 1226 was able to persuade the French King Louis VIII to enter into the war.

Bishop of Ely 1229-1254.

Name given to French Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries.

According to legend this was a piece of cloth upon which a miraculous image of the face of Jesus was imprinted. The Orthodox Church calls it the Holy Mandylion. The legend is from Eusebius of Caesarea and dates from the 4th century. The story goes that King Abgar V of Edessa send Ananias with a note to Jesus, asking him to come cure him from a skin disease. This is supposed to have happened a few days before the Crucifixion. Anyway Jesus writes back saying he's too busy, but that after he has ascended to heaven, one of his Apostles will go bearing the words of Jesus by which Abgar will be cured. In giving this note to Ananias to take back Jesus wipes his face on a piece of cloth and the miraculous image is formed.

The cloth was moved to Constantinople in the 9th century, and was lost after the Crusaders sacked Constantinople in 1204, during the 4th Crusade. It turns up again in Paris as a relic bought by King Louis IX of France (St Louis) for Sainte-Chapelle in 1239. The cloth finally disappear during the French Revolution.

The 'Immaculate Conception of the Virgin' means that Mary received the gift of 'sanctifying grace', which is usually accessible to Christians with baptism, at the moment of her conception.

This does not mean that Mary was the subject of a miracle or the product of a virginal conception itself. She was the daughter of married couple Joachim and Anne. Mary was conceived in the normal way as a result of intimate relations between her parents.

Pope Innocent III (1160 - 1216) was pope from 1198 until his death. He was one of the most powerful of the popes. Early in his papacy he called upon Christians to recapture Jerusalem, which resulted in the fourth crusade and the sack of Constantinople in 1204. In 1208 he called upon Christians to drive out heresy amongst the Albigenses, which resulted in the 20 year Albigensian Crusade.

He died at Perugia on July 16, 1216, and was buried in the cathedral there.

An ecclesiastical censure withdrawing most sacraments and Christian burial from a person or district

The son of Isaac and Rebecca, and thus the grandson of Abraham, third great patriarch of the Old Testament, and the ancestor of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Was an itinerant preacher who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River. A cousin of Jesus, his mother is St Elizabeth, and his father St. Zachary. He is commonly refer to the precursor or forerunner of Jesus and is believed to have baptised Jesus.

In art he is depicted as a bearded man dressed in camel skins, often with a lamb over his shoulder, or with a staff and book or dish with a lamb on it, he is also sometimes represented with wings. His head is often depicted on a platter which represents the request of Herod's stepdaughter, Salome.

John Wycliffe (1330-1384) was an English preacher noted for starting to translate the bible into the English language. In his time he challenged the notion of Transubstantiation, the selling of indulgences, and private confessions. Wycliffe's patron was John of Gaunt the son of Edward III and effective regent during the minority of Richard II.

In 1428 the church had its revenge on Wycliffe by digging up his remains, burning them, and throwing the ashes into the River Swift.

In Christian belief this is the final and eternal judgement by God of all nations at the end of history. It will occur at the second coming of Christ, when the dead are resurrected.

Lazarus is the subject of a miracle recounted only in the Gospel of John, in which Jesus restores Lazarus to life after four days dead. In Roman Catholic tradition Lazarus was the brother of Mary of Magdalene.

An emissary to a foreign state representing the Pope

The Song of Mary from the first chapter of Luke. The name comes from the first word of the Vulgate text

Magnificat anima mea Dominum

the English being

My soul doth magnify the Lord

The text forms one of the earliest Christian Hymns, and probably the first of the Marian Cult.

Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' follows in Galilee, healed of seven devils, she was present at the crucifixion, was the person to find the tomb empty, was the first person whom Jesus appeared to and given the task of announcing his Resurrection.

A halo or ring of light that surrounds a person in religious art to indicate the holy status of the person.

Pope Paschal II (1055-1118) was Pope from 1099 until his death in 1118.

Pope Pius V (1504 - 1572) was elected pope in 1566. He was a leading figure at the Council of Trent and the Counter Reformation. During his papacy he created the Holy League to fight against Ottoman incursions into Europe. He excommunicated Elizabeth I of England, and opposed the Huguenots in France, dismissing cardinal Odet de Coligny who fled to England.

He was canonized as a saint by Pope Clement XI in 1712.

A sculpted tympanum above a door in west façade of Gothic churches. This was a popular motive in medieval churches as a visual depiction John 10:9

I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved.

A principal religious feast in the Christian calendar known as Candlemas and marks the end of the Epiphany season. It celebrates the Jewish tradition of ritual purification of women after the birth of a child. This happened 40 days after the birth of a boy and 80 days after the birth to a girl. Also according to tradition the mother should bring to the Temple a lamb to be burnt and a pigeon or dove, if she could not bring a Lamb then two pigeons or doves.

In the gospel of Luke, when Jesus is presented at the temple following Mary’s purification, a man called Simeon called him a Light to the World.

A prophetess and the favourite wife of Jacob (one of the three Biblical Patriarchs).

In Christian iconography the Salvator Mundi is a depiction of Christ as Saviour of the World. Usually shown with an orb symbolising the world in his left hand and the right hand raised in a blessing.

A class of celestial beings in Judaism and Christianity. The name is derived from the Hebrew verb saraph ("to consume with fire"). They are described by Issiah as having human attributes and:

Upon it stood the seraphims: the one had six wings, and the other had six wings: with two they covered his face, and with two they covered his feet, and with two they flew. And they cried one to another, and said: Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God of hosts, all the earth is full of his glory, and the lintels of the doors were moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

St. Agnes of Rome was one of the virgin martyrs of Rome, and highly venerated from the mid 4th century AD. Born a member of the Roman nobility she became a martyr at the age of twelve or thirteen during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian.

She is shown in art as a long-haired girl either with a lamb, or with a dove with a ring in its beak.

Saint Alban (c304) was the first British Christian martyr. he was a pagan who sheltered a Christian priest from persecution, and subsequently converted to Christianity. He then dressed in the priests clothes and gave himself up in the place of the priest. He has executed on a hill above the Roman settlement of Verulamium (present day St Albans).

The patron saint of Scotland. A fisherman, his parents were Jona and Joanna, and his brother was Simon (Peter). As a disciple of John the Baptist, he and St John the Evangelist met Jesus, and became Jesus first disciple. He later introduced his brother to Jesus too. Andrew is mentioned is a number of times in the Gospels, and it was Andrew that brought the boy with the loaves and fishes to Jesus at Bethsaida.

He was crucified at Patrae in Achaia. Where he was bound, not nailed, to the cross. From the 14th century the story arose that the cross was X shaped, as it was said that like his brother he felt himself unworthy to be crucified on the upright cross of Christ.

Symbols in art are a net, fish, and/or a man being crucified on an X shaped cross.

According to Christian and Islamic tradition the mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus Christ.

In art she is a middle aged woman teaching the Virgin Mary to read, or her betrothal to Joachim.

Noted founder of western monasticism. St Benedict (c480-543) was the son of a Roman noble of Nursia and grew up in Rome. He spent three years of his life living as a hermit in cave near Enfide.

The Rule of Saint Benedict consists of 73 short chapters that lay out a set of rules for the domestic life of a community, such as monks, that wished to live as fully as possible the type of life presented in the Gospel, previously those seeking spiritual perfection did so as hermits.

The legend of St Catherine is that she attempted to persuade the the Emperor Maximinus, not to persecute Christians. and that she managed to convert the Emperor's wife and many others all of whom were martyred. Catherine was condemned to die on the wheel, but at her touch it was destroyed. Maximinus then had her beheaded and angels carried her body to Mount Sinai.

She is considered along with St. Margaret and St. Barbara one of the fourteen most helpful saints in heaven. Joan of Arc said that Catherine appeared to her many times, and had been appointed one of Joan's adviser, along with St. Margaret,

Shown strapped to or standing next to the spiked wheel on which she was martyred. Also shown holding a book, or carrying a sword and/or the palm of martyrdom. Occasionally seen debating with pagans

St Dominic (1170 - 1221) was the founder of the Dominican Order. He was born in Caleruega and educated in what was to become the University of Palencia, where he studied the arts and theology. In 1203 whilst on a mission to obtain a Danish bride for the King of Castile, Alfonso VIII, he travelled through southern France where he met and debated the Cathars. In 1204 he was sent back to the Languedoc on a mission to convert the Cathars, by Pope Innocent III, who at that time was trying to pacify and convert the Cathars. Dominic concluded that because of their pomp, expensive retinue, and ostentatious and indulgent style of living, the Cistercians there were ill suited to the the task of converting the ascetic Cathars. He persuaded the Cistercians to adopt a more austere manner of life, and debated with the Cathars until 1208.

In 1208 following the assassination of the papal legate Pierre de Castelnau, he rebuked the remaining legates who was returning to Rome with "It is not by the display of power and pomp, cavalcades of retainers, and richly-houseled palfreys, or by gorgeous apparel, that the heretics win proselytes; it is by zealous preaching, by apostolic humility, by austerity, by seeming, it is true, but by seeming holiness. Zeal must be met by zeal, humility by humility, false sanctity by real sanctity, preaching falsehood by preaching truth." Innocent III issued a bull declaring a crusade against Languedoc and offering the land of the heretics to any who would fight. The Albigensian Crusade lasted from 1209-1229, during which it is estimated to have killed 1 million people in Southern France. The Inquisition and the the Dominican Order were also founded during this period.

Dominic is said to have founded the Inquisition and was appointed the first inquisitor-general by Innocent III. Later historians have pointed out that there was some form of an Inquisition several years before his appointment, and that he was mainly a theologian passing judgement upon the orthodoxy of the accused.

In 1215, Dominic along with six followers established a monastery where they subjected themselves to rules of prayer and penance. They were given leave to preach throughout the area of Toulouse, and established an order of Preaching Friars. In 1217 pope Honorius III granted them authority to establish order to be named "The Order of Preachers" which became known as the Dominican Order.

The mother of John the Baptist and the wife of St. Zachary.

Daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary, Elizabeth was born in 1207, and in 1221, at the age of 14 was married to the 21 year old Ludwig IV of Thuringia. Ludwig died of a fever in 1227, and Elizabeth spent the rest of her life giving money to the poor and building hospitals. She died in 1231 aged 24 in Marburg. After her death miracles of healing were reported at her grave. She was canonized by Pope Gregory IX four years later in 1235.

Etheldreda (636-679). Abbess of Ely from 673. She was the third of King Anna's five daughters, Saethrith, Sexburga, Etheldreda, Withburga and Ethelburga. In 652 she was married to Tonbert, a Fenland prince. As a dowry Tonbert gave her the land around Ely, and allowed her to live as a nun for the three years they were married.

In 660 she married Egfrith, the fourteen year old son of Oswiu, King of Northumbria. Egfrith, by some accounts having agreed that she could remain a virgin after 12 years wanted to consummate the marriage, and asked St Wilfred to intercede on his behalf with Etheldreda. St Wilfred however encouraged Etheldreda to remain celibate and she fled Coldingham and a year later was back to Ely where she founded the monastery that was later destroyed in the Danish invasion of 870. She died of plague in 679.

A 7th century hermit from Athens who travelled to the Provence and Languedoc-Roussillon areas of France to escape from his noble birth and reputation for sanctity in his homeland. He first made is home near the mouth of the Rhone and later by the River Gard. However, his reputation for sanctity drew large crowds, and he eventually moved into the forest near Nîmes, where he lived for many years in solitude his companion being a hind which is supposed to have provided him with milk. He was eventually discovered by King Flavius' hunters who shooting at the hind missed and wounded him in the leg.

King Flavius had a monastery built for him, which St. Giles placed under the rule of St. Benedict. He died there in about 710AD.

In art the symbols associated with him are a hind, crosier, and/or arrow.

The brother of St John the Evangelist. James was one of the three apostles that Jesus selected to bear witness to his Transfiguration. He was beheaded by Herod Agrippa in 44AD.

In art represented as a dark bearded man holding a book, wallet, or sword. On horseback trampling a moor, or a man surrounded by shells.

Brother of St James the Greater, a disciple of John the Baptist, and friend of St Peter. He went everywhere with Jesus and was the only one of the disciples that was with him at the Crucifixion. Called by Jesus the beloved disciple. He was the first of the disciples to reach the tomb on hearing of the resurrection and was the first to recognise him at lake of Tiberias.

In art represented as a man with an eagle, book, or serpent.

St John of the Cross (1542-1591) was a Spanish mystic and Carmelite friar, who along with St Teresa of Ávila is consider the founder of the mendicant order known as the Barefoot Carmelites.

Perhaps St John the disciple and apostle, and perhaps the St John of Revelations. However, the Christian tradition is that they are one and the same person, and that St John was the only one to live to an old age.

The archangel St. Michael, is the principal angel and field commander of the Army of God. His name is the war-cry of the good angels in the battle fought in heaven against Satan and his followers. He is often depicted triumphant over the enemy.

St. Paul converted from Judaism to Christianity on the road to Damascus. He then travelled around the Meditarianian spreading the word of Jesus. He wrote some of the earliest works on Christianity and is credited with 13 of the 27 books of the New Testament.

Before his conversion he was a zealot persecuting a small Messianic Jewish sect. He was one of those that encouraged a mob to stone to death St Stephen and later organized the arrest of Stephen's friends.

He went on three missionary journeys the first took him to Cypress, then Pamphylia, Pisidia, and Lycaonia where he esatablished a number of churches. The second journey took him back to revisit the churches he had previously established and then on to Galatia, Macedonia, Philippi. Thessalonica, Beroea, Athens,
and Corinth. His third journey retraced his steps with the intention of visiting Rome.

Accused of having brought Gentiles into the Temple he was arrested in Jerusalem and transfered to Caesarea where he spent two years in prison before being sent to Rome for trail. His journey to was interupted when the ship taking him was wrecked on the coast of Malta where he spent 3 months.

After a further 2 years imprisoned in Rome he appears to have been acquited in and then travelled to Spain, to the Asia Minor again again, and finally back to Rome. In Rome he was arrested and imprisoned for a second time. He was beheaded in Rome in either 64AD or 67AD.

In art represented as a man with receding hair and long beard, he is usually holding a book and sword, and sometimes near three springs of water,

Peter (Simon) was fisherman who owned a boat, and the brother of St Andrew. He was the first disciple of Jesus, and according to the Gospel's of Mark and Matthew he and his brother Andrew were called by Jesus to be "fishers of men". He is always mentioned first amongst the disciples, and along with St John, and St James the Greater he was present at events that were not witnessed by others.

Although names Simon his nickname was Petros (Greek Rock): "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven".

During Jesus arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter is said to have cut off the ear of the High Priest's servant . It was foretold by Jesus that Peter would deny him 3 times before ther cock crows. The fragmentary gospel attributed to him, has an account of the death of Jesus that differs from that of Gospels.
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/gospelpeter-brown.html

Peter was an early leader of the Christian church and he is frequently mentioned in the first half of the Acts of the Apostles. However, the later part of Acts deals mainly with the activities of St Paul.

Tradition says that he was crucified head down in Rome at the time of Nero's fire, and that the site of his burial is where the basilica of St Peter was built.

Like Peter and Andrew, Philip was living in Bethsaida and was also a Disciple of John the Baptist. He answered Jesus' call ("Follow me"), and later introduced Nathaniel (Bartholomew) to the group. He is usually listed as the fifth Apostle after Peter, Andrew, James, and John. He died of natural causes and was buried at Hieropolis but later his remains were moved to Constantinople, and afterwards to the church of the Dodici Apostoli in Rome.

Legend tells that he was Crucified upside down on a tall cross.

In art he is depicted with a tall cross, a net, or loaves and fishes.

Saint Romain (or Romanus) is the patron Saint of Rouen, he was the Bishop of Rouen from 631-640. According to legend his parents were infertile and the father was visited by an angel one night announcing that the wife Felicity was pregnant, after which Romain was born. He grew up in the court of King Clotaire II and when the Bishop of Rouen, Hidulphus, died he was elected as the cities bishop by the canons.

Thomas Becket (1118 – 1170) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 to 1170. He had been in dispute with Henry Henry II of England where he opposed Henry's attempts to bring the church within the jurisdiction of the King's courts, insisting that the ecclesiastic courts had the right to try the clergy (see The Constitutions of Clarendon) as a result he went into exile to France in 1164 .

In 1170 he returned to England and in the summer excommunicated the Bishops of London, Salisbury, and York, who had performed the coronation of Henry the Young King in York when it was Canterbury's privilege to do so. Further excommunications followed and after a remark by Henry in Normandy four Knights travelled to England and killed him in Canterbury Cathedral. Becket was canonized in 1173 by Pope Alexander III, and Henry paid a public penance at Becket's tomb in 1174.

The legend is that on his way to Calvary a woman named Veronica gave Jesus a cloth which when he wiped his face on it was imprinted with his image.

An image representing the family tree of Christ. It traces his lineage from Jess of Bethlehem, through King David,etc.

Pope Urban II (1035-1099) was pope from 1088 until his death in 1099. His decree in 1095, at the council of Clermont, calling for military assistance to fight the Turks is the start of First Crusade.

Pope Urban VIII (1564-1644) was pope from 1623 until his death. It was during his papacy that Galileo Galilei was summoned to Rome in 1633. In 1624 he made the smoking of tobacco in holy places punishable by excommunication.

The legal right to use and derive profit or benefit from property that belongs to another person, as long as the property is not damaged.

Mary of Nazareth, the mother of Jesus.

Walter de Cantelupe, bishop of worcester from 1236-1266. Was a supporter of Robert Grosseteste's opposition to the appointment of foreign prelates to English church livings, he also supported Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, when the barons reasserted their rights under Magna Charta and attempted to gain more powers to the baronial council. In 1258 when the barons forced Henry III to agree to the Provisions of Oxford, Walter was elected as one of the committee of 24 that were empowered to reform the administration. During the Second Baron's War of 1264-1267 he blessed the de Montfort troops before the Battle of Lewes (1264), and entertained Simon de Montfort the night before the Battle of Evesham (1265) where de Montfort was killed. Walter died a year later on February 4, 1266.

In Christian theology the souls of the dead are weighed so as to judge them. This is based on the theory that sin is heavy and thus those that do not pass the test are destined for hell. Archangel Michael is normally assigned this role in Apocalyptic and Doom paintings.

In Egyptian mythology the heart of the dead is weighed by Anubis on the scales of Maat against that of a feather to determine whether the person is worthy to join the ancient gods.

Bishop of Worcester 1218-1236. In his first year as bishop he imposed restrictive measures against the Jewish community of Worcester, although William Marshal, the regent of Henry III, had confirmed the right of Jews to live there unmolested. He was responsible for the building of the Lady Chapel where his tomb rests.

Lord Chancellor of England 1254 and Bishop of Ely from 1254 - 1256. Ambassador to Spain, where he died and was buried at Sugho. His heart was buried at Ely Cathedral.

William Estouteville (1403-1483). He came from a rich and powerful family allied to French King. He was made a cardinal by Pope Eugene IV in 1439. In 1451 he was the Papal Legate sent by Pope Nicholas V to negotiate a peace between Charles VII of France and Henry VI of England. The following year (1452) he reformed the statutes of the University of Paris.

Made archbishop of Rouen in 1453, he led the commission in 1455 that conducted the procès de rehabilitation of Joan of Arc. As archbishop of Rouen he was responsible for the construction of the Cathedral's two towers and the archbishop's palace.

In 1458 he was a candidate for the Papacy losing out by one vote to Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini, who became Pope Pius II.