Aimery of Limoges | |
|---|---|
| Latin Patriarch of Antioch | |
 Seal or bulla of Aimery, with his bust on the obverse | |
| Archdiocese | Antioch |
| Elected | Legatine council of Antioch 1140 |
| In office | 1140/49–1196 |
| Predecessor | Ralph of Domfront |
| Successor | Ralph II |
| Personal details | |
| Died | 1196 |
Aimery orAymery of Limoges (diedc. 1196), alsoAimericus inLatin,Aimerikos inGreek andHemri inArmenian, was aRoman Catholic ecclesiarch inFrankish Outremer and the fourthLatin Patriarch of Antioch from c. 1140 until his death.[1] Throughout his lengthy episcopate he was the most powerful figure in thePrincipality of Antioch after the princes, and often entered into conflict with them. He was also one of the most notable intellectuals to rise in the Latin East.[2]
Aimery was a nobleman of high rank, wealthy and worldly.[3] He was an intellectual with sound knowledge of both Greek andLatin as well as somevernaculars. He may have been the first to translate parts of theBible into aRomance language, namelyCastilian.[4] As a scholar he was well-informed aboutGreek history. He wrote toHugh Etherian requesting the commentaries ofJohn Chrysostom on thePauline epistles, the acts of theCouncil of Nicaea, and a history of theByzantine emperors "from the time their emperors split away from the Roman Empire until the present day."[5] He also fulfilled a request ofPope Eugenius III for a Latin translation of Chrysostom's commentary on theGospel of Matthew by sending an original Greek manuscript to Rome. As bishop Aimery sought to control thehermits who inhabited theBlack Mountain, ordering each to have his own spiritual adviser.
Aimery's succession to the patriarchate was disputed. His predecessor,Ralph de Domfront, was not dead, but rather had been deposed by the alegatine council convened byAlberic of Ostia in November 1139 in Antioch.[6] However, Ralph went to Rome and was arguing toPope Innocent II to be reinstated.[7] Aimery appears to have waited a long time for his consecration after Ralph's dismissal.[8] Until 1149 there is no mention of Aimery as patriarch, probably because Ralph was alive and the legitimacy of either was suspect. After theBattle of Inab in 1149, the victoriousNureddin besieged the city ofAntioch, which was stoutly defended by Aimery and thePrincess Constance until a relief force led byBaldwin III of Jerusalem arrived and dispersed the Muslims. Ralph probably died in 1149 and Aimery was accepted universally among Catholics.
In 1153 Aimery opposed the secret marriage of Constance to the petty noblemanRaynald of Châtillon. Aimery's subsequent relationship with Raynald was stormy. In 1156 Raynald claimed that the Byzantine emperorManuel I Comnenus had reneged on his promise to pay Raynald a sum of money, and vowed to attack the island ofCyprus in revenge. When Aimery refused to finance this expedition, Raynald had the Patriarch seized, beaten until bloody, stripped naked, covered in honey, and left in the burning sun on top of the citadel to be attacked by insects.[9] When the Patriarch was released, he collapsed in exhaustion and agreed to finance Raynald's expedition against Cyprus. Raynald's forces attacked Cyprus, ravaging the island and pillaging its inhabitants. Aimery meanwhile left Antioch for the city ofJerusalem, where he stayed until Raynald's capture.
In September 1158 Aimery performed the marriage ofTheodora Comnena, Manuel's niece, and Baldwin III, because the electedLatin patriarch of Jerusalem,Amalric of Nesle, had yet to be consecrated. Aimery returned to Antioch with Baldwin in 1159.
In 1160 Aimery, with many other Palestinian prelates, recognisedAlexander III as pope only after a long debate.[10]
In 1160 Raynald was captured by Majd al-Dīn, the governor ofAleppo, and imprisoned. Though Constance claimed the right to rule on her own, Baldwin III installed her son by an earlier husband,Bohemond III, as prince and appointed Aimeryregent. Constance protested this decision at the court of the emperor Manuel inConstantinople, as the Byzantine emperor was nominal overlord of Antioch.[11]
In 1164, Bohemond was captured by Nureddin at theBattle of Harim. Aimery assumed the regency of the principality and immediately sent a letter toLouis VII of France requesting military aid.[12] The rule of the patriarch was brief. Bohemond was freed, for a ransom of 150,000dinars, in 1165 through the intervention of Manuel andAmalric I of Jerusalem. Upon his release Bohemond visited Manuel and agreed to re-establish aGreek patriarch in Antioch,Athanasius I. Aimery protested this and imposed an interdict on the city. He remained in exile at his castle ofal-Quṣayr (Xusayr) until the death of Athanasius in 1170 in an earthquake that destroyed thecathedral of St. Peter during the liturgy. By 1180 the Byzantine emperor was treating Aimery as the legitimate patriarch, and it is not unlikely thatWilliam of Tyre in some negotiations at Antioch and then Constantinople on behalf of Amalric of Jerusalem had reconciled them.[13]
During his exile Aimery was on good terms with theJacobite patriarch of Antioch,Michael the Syrian, whom he met at Jerusalem during Easter 1167. In order to humiliate Athanasius, Aimery arranged with Bohemond III for Michael's ceremonious entry into Antioch and there Aimery welcomed him in the cathedral of Saint Peter.[14] Michael stayed with Aimery until Easter 1169.[15] He also invited the Jacobite to accompany him to theThird Lateran Council in 1179, and Michael obliged him with a treatise againstManichaeism that the Catholics could use against theCathars, but declined to attend.[16] Aimery was the first Latin prelate to allow the Jacobite patriarch to appoint avicar, his brother Athanasius, in Antioch.
In late 1180, Bohemond left his wife Theodora, a niece of the recently deceased Emperor Manuel, and married a woman named Sibylla, "who had the reputation of practicing evil arts" according to William of Tyre. He was excommunicated by Pope Alexander III, and Antioch was placed under an interdict. He imprisoned Aimery and other bishops and looted their churches. Aimery, supported by the nobility of Antioch under their leader,Rainald II Masoir, lord ofMargat, held out inal-Quṣayr under siege by Bohemond. Aimery himself took part in the fighting and even instigating rioting against Bohemond's rule.Baldwin IV of Jerusalem intervened by sendingPatriarch Eraclius of Jerusalem toLaodicea to negotiate with both parties. Bohemond remained excommunicate so long as he kept Sibylla, and Aimery's church property was returned, but the interdict on Antioch was lifted.[17]
In 1194, Bohemond, his family, and his court were captured atBaghrās byLeo II, Prince of Armenia, and imprisoned onSis. To gain his freedom, he agreed to surrender Antioch to Leo.Bartholomew Tirel, themarshal of Antioch, andRichard de L'Erminet were sent to surrender the city to the ArmenianHeṭoum of Sassoun. Aimery, at the head of the clergy, encouraged the citizens to resist the takeover and the Armenians were forced outside the walls while acommune was established that recognised the authority ofRaymond IV of Tripoli until Bohemond's release.[18] The commune then sent for aid toHenry I of Jerusalem.
In 1181, Aimery was met by theMaronite Patriarch and some of his bishops from the Catholic dioceses ofByblos,Botrun, andTripoli onMount Lebanon. They formally asked for recommunion with the Catholic Church, from which the Maronites had been separated since the eighth century.[19] Aimery did not live to see reunion, but he did have a part to play in reunion with theArmenian Church in 1195 and he even permittedNerses of Lampron to preach in his churches.[20]
| Religious titles | ||
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| Preceded by | Latin Patriarch of Antioch 1140-1208 | Succeeded by Ralph II |
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