Guy of Boulogne

Who was Guy of Boulogne?

Guy of Boulogne was a statesman and a churchman, serving the Avignon Papacy for 33 years. He participated in the papal conclaves of 1352, 1362 and 1370, and was the Subdean of the Sacred College of Cardinals. His diplomatic postings were extensive. American historian Kenneth Setton called him "one of the commanding figures of his day, and the letters of Petrarch abound with references to him".

Guy was the third son of Count Robert VII of Auvergne, and his family was well-connected to the greatest houses in France and the Empire. His sister Matilda married Count Amadeus III of Geneva, making Guy uncle of four successive counts of Geneva and of antipope Clement VII. The daughter, Joan, of Guy's eldest brother, Count William XII of Auvergne, married John, Duke of Normandy, later King of France, who thus called Guy his "uncle[-in-law]". On 11 October 1340, Pope Benedict XII approved Guy's election as Archbishop of Lyon, but he did hold it long, surrendering it to become cardinal-priest tituli S. Caeciliae, of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, on 20 September 1342.