Grosolanus or Grossolanus,''Grossolano'' or ''Grosolano'' in Italian born Peter, was the

Archbishop of Milan The Archdiocese of Milan ( it, Arcidiocesi di Milano; la, Archidioecesis Mediolanensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Italy which covers the areas of Milan, Monza, Lecco and Varese. It has lon ...

from 1102 to 1112. He succeeded Anselm IV, who had made him

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

during his absence on the

Crusade of 1101 The Crusade of 1101 was a minor crusade of three separate movements, organized in 1100 and 1101 in the successful aftermath of the First Crusade. It is also called the Crusade of the Faint-Hearted due to the number of participants who joined this ...

, and was succeeded by

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

, who had been his subdeacon. Grosolanus was the

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...

Ferrania FILM Ferrania s.r.l. is a photographic film manufacturing company located in Ferrania (Liguria), Italy. Ferrania was founded in 1923 as a maker of photographic film, papers, and photographic equipment, including cameras. The company was purchas ...

and already

Bishop of Savona The Italian Catholic Diocese of Savona-Noli ( la, Dioecesis Savonensis-Naulensis) in northern Italy, was historically the Diocese of Savona, from the tenth century. In 1820 the Diocese of Noli was united to the Diocese of Savona. It is a suffrag ...

when Anselm appointed him to act as his vicar during the crusade. Grosolanus was accused of simony in obtaining the Ambrosian see by the priest Liprand, who proceeded through the ordeal of fire to prove his charges. This tale is probably an invention of Landolfo Iuniore, bearing little resemblance to reality, save the fact that Grosolanus was opposed by a strong faction in the city. Even in modern times, though, it has served as the inspiration of a song by

Enzo Jannacci Vincenzo Jannacci (3 June 1935 – 29 March 2013), more commonly known as Enzo Jannacci (), was an Italian singer-songwriter, pianist, actor and comedian. He is regarded as one of the most important artists in the post-war Italian music scene. ...

. The archbishop was still embattled when, in 1111, he decided to go on a pilgrimage to

Outremer The Crusader States, also known as Outremer, were four Catholic realms in the Middle East that lasted from 1098 to 1291. These feudal polities were created by the Latin Catholic leaders of the First Crusade through conquest and political in ...

. 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, only Atto, Bishop of Acqui, and Arderic, Bishop of Lodi, refused to do homage to the new bishop and remained loyal to Grosolanus. On 6 December, Mainard, Bishop of Turin, formally deposed Grosolanus at the altar in S. Ambrogio. In August 1113, Grosolanus 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 Pope Paschal II ( la, Paschalis II; 1050 1055 – 21 January 1118), born Ranierius, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 August 1099 to his death in 1118. A monk of the Abbey of Cluny, he was cre ...

declared Grosolanus' transferral from the see 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.

Notes

Sources

*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 Count Pietro Verri (12 December 1728 – 28 June 1797) was an economist, historian, philosopher and writer. Among the most important personalities of the 18th-century Italian culture, he is considered among the fathers of the Lombard reformist E ...

, ''Storia di Milano'', 1798 - Tomo I, pp. 149–15
(cap. VI)
*Caravale, Mario (ed). ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: LX Grosso – Guglielmo da Forlì''. Rome, 2003. {{authority control Archbishops of Milan 12th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops Bishops of Savona Italian abbots Year of birth missing Year of death missing Place of birth missing