Prie, René dE

Prie, René de a French cardinal, was born in Touraine, in 1451, of a noble family. He was successively, by the favor of cardinal George D'Amboise, his cousin, grand archdeacon of Bourges, archdeacon of Blois, dean of St. — Hilaire-de- Poitiers, apostolic prothonotary, abbot commendatory of Landais, of Loroux, of Issoudun, etc., and, at last, almoner to the king. He was raised to the bishopric of Bayeux, on the express recommendation of Louis XII, Sept. 17, 1498. He was shortly after sent to Staples to subscribe to the treaty concluded in 1499 with Henry VII, king of England. He accompanied, a little while after this, Louis XII in his expedition against the Genevese, and was promoted to the cardinalate by Julius II (May 17,1507). When that pope took up arms against Louis XII, he prevented De Prie from leaving Rome, under pain of being deprived of his livings (1509). In spite of the pontifical interdict, the cardinal quitted Rome, and, together with some other prelates attached to the interests of France, opened at Pisa (Nov. 1, 1511) a council against Julius II, who, on Oct. 24, had declared him deposed from the cardinalate. In the interval he had been raised to the bishopric of Limoges (in 1510), and two years after he was provided with the bishopric of Lectoure. Seeing the chair of Limoges contested, De Prie made an arrangement with his competitors (Aug. 18,1513) by which he relinquished his rights to the bishopric of Lectoure to William of Barton, who in his turn waived in De Prie's favor his claim to the chair of Limoges; Foucauld de Bonnival then obtained the bishopric of Soissons. Rene de Prie, who had in the meantime been created cardinal by pope Leo X, celebrated at St. Denis the funeral ceremonies of Anne of Brittany (Jan. 20, 1514); blessed the marriage of Louis XII and Mary of England (Sept. 14); held at Bayeux a diocesan synod, where he published the laws (April 15, 1515); and resigned his two bishoprics of Limoges and of Bayeux Sept. 1516. While at Milan, in 1512, whither the Council of Pisa had been transferred, the University of Paris declared against him in a work of Thomas de Vio (cardinal Cajetan), On the Authority of the Pope, wherein the doctrine of Gerson was attacked, which he had espoused. Cardinal De Prie died at Lyre Sept. 9, 1519. — Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Géneralé, s.v.