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.
[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.
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 Henry of Clairvaux, and many other ecclesiastics.
[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.
The mission, however, did not succeed in liberating the bishop of Albi, controlling Vicount Roger, or converting the schismatics of Béziers or Castres.
[20] Peter of Celle also wrote the pope a letter, stating more forthrightly the reasons why Henry wished to decline the bishopric.
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.
[25] In 1180, the legate Cardinal Henry 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.
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 Henry's injunctions.
[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] In September 1177, Raymond V of Toulouse made a request to the Cistercian General Chapter for a legatine mission to help him deal with the heresy of Catharism which was rampant in his domains.
[3] On 13 September 1177, the Cistercian General Chapter decided to send Henry to Languedoc at the head of a papal legation which included Peter of Pavia, Cardinal Priest of S. Crisogono; Jean des Bellesmains, Bishop of Poitiers; Pons d'Arsac, Archbishop of Narbonne; and Gerard, Archbishop of Bourges.
[39] In a dramatic speech, Henry withdrew from the competition, announcing that he wanted to preach the crusade, and Alberto di Morra was elected.
Among his surviving works, his letters (Epistolae) and his De peregrinante civitate Dei are published in the Patrologia Latina.
