BERTRANDO del POGGETTO (Bertrand du Poujet). — Born at Castelnau-Montratier (Lot) c. 1280, died 19 Feb. 1352, cardinal bishop of Ostia. He owed his rapid career to John XXII, of whom he was once falsely believed to be the natural son; shortly after the latter’s election (1316) he was raised to the cardinalate with the title of S. Marcello. The Pope, seeking to strengthen the Guelph party in Italy during the imperial vacancy (he did not recognize Louis of Bavaria as legitimate), sent B. to Italy as legate, especially against the Visconti of Milan. When military force proved ineffective—B. lacked sufficient troops—he resorted to spiritual penalties, excommunicating the Visconti and placing Milan under interdict. The city, hard pressed, entered into negotiations, while Matteo Visconti abdicated the lordship in favor of his son Galeazzo and died shortly afterward (June 1322).
In 1323 B. succeeded in organizing a veritable crusade; already Monza, Alessandria, and Tortona had fallen when Louis of Bavaria intervened, lending support to the Ghibellines of Italy, notably Cangrande della Scala of Verona. With reinforcements reaching Milan, B.’s fortunes began to decline. He then attempted a new campaign against Bologna, which fell entirely into his power in 1324. He aimed to consolidate papal sovereignty in Emilia and Romagna, but the situation remained precarious owing to the cunning and fickleness of local lords until 1330. In 1331, when Cardinal B. held talks with John of Bohemia, Guelphs and Ghibellines united in a league, arranged at Castelbaldo (Padua), against the foreigner and soon entered into conflict. The legate and John of Bohemia prepared to resist but were defeated at Ferrara (April 1333), and an uprising in Bologna forced the legate to flee (March 1334), taking refuge in Avignon and bringing his Italian enterprise to an unhappy close. The remainder of his life, after the death of John XXII, passed obscurely and unnoticed.