- Grossolano
Grossolanus, Grossolano, or Grosolano, born Peter, was the
Archbishop of Milan from 1102 to 1112. He succeeded Anselm IV, who had made himvicar during his absence on theCrusade of 1101 , and was succeeded by Jordan, who had been hissubdeacon .Grossolano was the
abbot ofFerrania and alreadyBishop of Savona when Anselm appointed him to act as his vicar during the crusade.Grossolano was accused of
simony in obtaining the Ambrosian see by the priestLiprand , who proceeded through the ordeal of fire to prove his charges. This tale is probably an invention ofLandolfo Iuniore , bearing little resemblance to reality, save the fact that Grossolano was opposed by a strong faction in the city. Even in modern times, though, it has served as the inspiration of a song byEnzo Jannacci .The archbishop was still embattled when, in 1111, he decided to go on a pilgrimage to
Outremer . Almost immediately a council of equal numbers of supporters and opponents of the archbishop convened in his absence and, deposing him, elected Jordan of Clivio in his place on New Year's Day. Of all Milan's suffragans, onlyAtto, Bishop of Acqui , andArderic, Bishop of Lodi , refused to do homage to the new bishop and remained loyal to Grossolano. On6 December ,Mainard, Bishop of Turin , formally deposed Grossolano at the altar in S. Ambrogio.In August 1113, Grossolano returned from his pilgrimage. Tensions were raised in the city of Milan, where the old archbishop still had some supporters. Finally, on
11 March 1116 ,Pope Paschal II declared Grossolano's transferral from thesee of Savona to that of Milan to be invalid and thus null. He was transferred back to Savona and Jordan was papally confirmed as the legitimate Ambrosian pontiff for a second time.ources
*Setton, K. M. (1956). "The Byzantine Background to the Italian Renaissance". "Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society", 100:1, pp. 1–76.
*"Landulphi Junioris sive de Sancto Paulo Historia Mediolanensis ab anno MXCV usque ad annum MCXXXVII". translated (Italian) by Carlo Castiglioni. Zanichelli: Bologna, 1934.
*Alfredo Lucioni, "Grossolano", in "Dizionario della Chiesa Ambrosiana". vol. 3, pp. 1531-1532. NED: Milan, 1989.
*Pietro Verri , "Storia di Milano", 1798 - Tomo I, pp. 149-154 [http://it.wikisource.org/wiki/Storia_di_Milano/Capitolo_VI (cap. VI)]
*Caravale, Mario (ed). "Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: LX Grosso – Guglielmo da Forlì". Rome, 2003.
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