He was born about 1315 in the Castle of Grizac, now located in the
commune of
Le Pont-de-Montvert, the son of William de Grimoard, Lord of Bellegarde, and of Amphélise de Montferrand. As a young man, he joined the
Canons Regular of Saint Augustine at the near
Valence. In 1358 he became
prior of the Priory of St.-Pierre-de-Dieu. In September 1362 his older brother, the
Benedictine Abbot Guillaume, was elected pope. His brother named him
Bishop of Avignon that following December. Four years later, in a
consistory held at
Avignon on 18 September 1366, Grimoard was created
Cardinal Priest, with the title of
San Pietro in Vincoli, long held by canons regular. In September 1367 he was promoted to the rank of
Cardinal-Bishop of Albano. He was Papal
Vicar for the administration of the
Papal States from 1368 until 1371. In this office, he tried to conquer the city of
Forlì, which was a
Ghibelline town, but was never able to do so. At the end of 1370, the dying Pope Urban, who had returned to Avignon after a brief stay in Rome, asked to be moved to Anglic's residence, that he might be closer to the people he loved. He died there on 19 December. After the
ensuing conclave held in Avignon to choose the new pope, Grimoard was named
archpriest of the
Lateran Basilica, succeeding Cardinal Pierre Roger de Beaufort, who had been elected
Pope Gregory XI. He became
Dean of the Sacred College in November 1373. He chose not to return to
Rome with Gregory, who returned the residence of the papacy to Rome in 1376. After the outbreak of the
Great Western Schism in 1378 he gave his allegiance to the
Antipope Clement VII, in consequence of which he lost his position as
Dean of the
collegiate chapter of
York. Cardinal Grimoard was never able to participate in either of the
conclaves held during his cardinalate as he was serving in Italy when his brother died, and was in Avignon for the following one, which was held in Rome. He authored several
liturgical music compositions during his lifetime, and was the founder of several monasteries in
Apt, Avignon and
Montpellier. After his death on 13 April 1388, he was buried in the Abbey of Saint Rufus, his original monastery, as he had directed. ==References==