He was the son of Amadeus III, Count of Geneva, and was born in Geneva, in what is now Switzerland, in 1342. Appointed Protonotary Apostolic in 1359, he became Bishop of Thérouanne in 1361, Archbishop of Cambrai in 1368, and a cardinal on 30 May 1371. He died in Avignon on 16 September 1394. He was succeeded by Benedict XIII.