Gérard du Puy

Gérard du Puy (died February 14, 1389) was a French cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and cardinal-nephew of Pope Gregory XI.

In 1372, du Puy, already abbot of Marmoutier (Italian: abate di Monmaggiore) with the diocese of Tours, France, was named Governor of Perugia and Apostolic Nuncio to Tuscany.

Immediately after these appointments, du Puy corresponded with Catharine of Siena on behalf of Gregory XI, and perhaps under the name of Gregory XI. As nuncio, du Puy came into conflict with Florence for supporting the claims of the nobles in Siena. du Puy's support of the Salimbeni also caused hostility toward Perugians in Siena.

Gregory XI made him cardinal-priest on December 20, 1375, with the title of S. Clemente. Du Puy was the fifth and last relative that Gregory XI created cardinal, after Jean de Murat de Cros (elevated May 30, 1371) and Pierre de la Jugée (elevated December 20, 1375).

He was the abbot of Mormoutier and the papal governor of Perugia during the War of the Eight Saints. He crushed a peasant uprising in 1371 and constructed a citadel on Sole Hill described by contemporary chroniclers as "the finest fortress in Italy", which took three and a half years to build. Circa 1373, du Puy destroyed the three papal tombs in the Perugia Cathedral (of Pope Innocent III, Pope Urban IV, and Pope Martin IV). As governor, du Puy also looted the construction site of the new Duomo, demolished the ancient campanile and the chapel of St. John the Baptist, all for construction material for his Fortezza di Porte Sole linked to the Palazzo dei Priori.

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