André d'Espinay was born in
Champeaux, Ille-et-Vilaine, ca. 1451, the son of Richard d'Espinay (chamberlain to
Francis II of Brittany) and Beatrix de
Montauban. He had two sisters and seven brothers, four of whom were also bishops –
Robert,
Jean senior,
Jean junior and Guillaume. Their sister François d'Espinay became abbess of Saint-Georges de Rennes in 1485. He became a
licentiate in
canon law. After completing his education, he became a
protonotary apostolic. He also became a
canon of the
cathedral chapter of
Bordeaux Cathedral. He was next the
Prior of the
Priory of Saint-Martin-des-Champs. On April 10, 1479, he was elected
Archbishop of Bordeaux; his election was confirmed by
Pope Sixtus IV on April 28, 1479. He took possession of the see in 1482 and occupied it until his death. Following the death of
Louis XI in 1483, he traveled to
Brittany to serve
Charles VIII. He attended the
Assembly of the French clergy in 1485. Under Charles VIII, he served as governor of
Paris. On October 1, 1488, he was named
Archbishop of Lyon, occupying that see until his death, while also retaining the
metropolitan see of Bordeaux. At the request of Charles VIII,
Pope Innocent VIII made Espinay a
cardinal priest in the
consistory of March 9, 1489. He received the
red hat and the
titular church of
San Martino ai Monti on March 23, 1489. He returned to the
Kingdom of France in 1490, becoming
commendatory abbot of
Holy Cross Abbey, Bordeaux, an office he held until 1499. He did not participate in the
papal conclave of 1492 that elected
Pope Alexander VI. On November 1, 1492, the new pope named him
papal legate to Charles VIII of France. As such, the cardinal accompanied Charles VIII on his campaigns during the
Italian War of 1494–1498, and was close to the king during the 1495
Battle of Fornovo. Returning to France, he served as
apostolic administrator of the
metropolitan see of Aix from October 1499 to May 1500. He was also a benefactor of the
Celestines. He died in the
Château de la Tournelle in Paris on November 10, 1500. He is buried in the Church of the Celestines in Paris. ==References==