Albornos, Gilles Alvares Carillo

Albornos, Gilles Alvares Carillo, an eminent Spanish cardinal and statesman of the 14th century, was born at Cuenca, and educated at Toulouse. Alfonso XI appointed him almoner of his court; afterwards archdeacon of Calatrava; and finally, although then very young, archbishop of Toledo. In return for his bravery in saving the king's life at the battle of Tarifa, the king knighted him, and in 1343 gave him the command of the siege of Algezares. Falling. under the dis-pleasure of Peter the Cruel, he fled to Avignon, where Clement VI admitted him to his Council and made him a cardinal, upon which he resigned his archbishopric. Innocent VI, Clement's successor, sent him to Italy in 1353, as pope's legate and general, to reconquer the ecclesiastical states which had revolted from the popes during their residence at Avignon. He was recalled in 1357, but was again reappointed, and succeeded in establishing the temporal power of the papacy in these states. For many years he was a very popular minister of state, giving to Bologna a new constitution, and founding there the magnificent college. At length he announced to pope Urban V that he might enter Rome, and received him with great pomp at Viterbo. He then accompanied Urban to Rome, but returned to Viterbo, where, he died, Aug. 24,1367. His body was removed to Toledo, at his own request, and buried with great pomp. He wrote a book, On the Constitutions of the Roman Church (Jesi, 1475, very rare). His political life, Histo rid de Bello Administratio in Italia per Annos XV, et Confecto ab A.g. Albornotio, was written by Sepulveda (Bologna, 1623, fol.). See Biographie Universelle, 8. v.