Onofrio de Santa Croce

Onofrio de Santa Croce (died 20 October 1471) was a cardinal and bishop of Tricarico within the Kingdom of Naples. He was born at Rome, and died there.[1] In 1467, he was sent as papal legate by Pope Paul II to mediate between the Duchy of Burgundy and the province of Liège in an escalating conflict over the desire of the latter for sovereignty. Onofrio had enjoyed previous successes as a diplomat, and was armed with firsthand knowledge of the situation acquired when he accompanied the legate Paul Ferri to Liége in 1463.[2]

For the saint, see Onuphrius.

Despite "tireless efforts," Onofrio failed, and in October 1468 Charles the Bold of Burgundy and Louis XI of France began a siege that would end in the destruction of the city of Liège. Onofrio's memoir is considered "one of the most important 'outside' sources" on the war and events leading up to it.[3] In another attempt to explain the circumstances and consequences of the war, he commissioned the Italian humanist poet Angelo Sabino to compose an historical epic, De excidio civitatis Leodiensis ("The Fall of the City of Liège"). Onofrius died without having regained his good standing at the papal court.[4]

The name Onofrio (Latin Onofrius) will also be found as Onufrio (Onufrius).

References
  1. Andrew R. Scoble, The Memoirs of Philip de Commines, Lord of Argenton (London, 1855), vol. 1, p. 147 online.
  2. Sylvain Balau, "Sources de l'histoire du pay de Liége au Moyen Age," Memoires couronnés 61 (1902–1903), p. 647 online.
  3. Robert Douglas Smith and Kelly DeVries, The Artillery of the Dukes of Burgundy, 1363–1477 (Boydell, 2005), p. 161 online. See also Godefroid Kurth, La Cité de Liège au Moyen-Age p. 281 online.
  4. Eugène Bacha, "Deux écrits de Mathieu Herbenus sur la destruction de Liège par Charles-le-Téméraire," Bulletin de la Commission Royale d'Histoire (de la Belgique) 75 (1907) 385–390 online.

Further reading
  • Richard J. Walsh, Charles the Bold and Italy (1467–1477): Politics and Personnel (Liverpool University Press, 2005), pp. 73–75 online.
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