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— ' LIBRARY
ST. MICHAELS COLLEGER
HISTORY OF THE POPES.
VOL VI.
PASTOR'S HISTORY OF THE POPES.
TEN VOLUMES OF THE ENGLISH EDITION
NOW COMPLETED.
THE HISTORY OF THE POPES. Translated from
the German of Dr. Ludwig Pastor, and edited by the Rev.
Frederick Ignatius Antrobus of the London Oratory.
Vols.
I. and II.
A.D.
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Vols.
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A.I).
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) )
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A.D.
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1)
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Vols.
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A.D.
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- LONDON :
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THE
HISTORY OF THE POPES,
FROM THE CLOSE OF THE MIDDLE AGES.
DRAWN FROM THE SECRET ARCHIVES OF THE VATICAN AND OTHER
ORIGINAL SOURCES.
FROM THE GERMAN OF
De. ludwig pastor,
PROFESSOR OF HISTORY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF INNSBRUCK-
EDITED BY
FREDERICK IGNATIUS ANTROBUS
OF THE ORATORY.
VOLUME VI.
THIRD EDITION
LONDON:
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CONTENTS OF VOL. VI.
Table of Contents .....
List of Unpublished Documents in Appendix
PAGE
vii-xxvi
xxvii-xxx
BOOK I. Alexander VL, 1492-1503.
Savonarola and Alexander VI. .
Alexander VI. and Louis XII. .
Louis XII. in Milan
Alexander VI. and the War against the Turks
The States of the Church and the Borgia .
Alexander VI.'s action in the Church .
Alexander VI. as a Patron of Art
3-54
55-69
70-84
85-102
103-141
142-164
165-181
BOOK II. Pius III., 1503. Julius II., 1503-15 13.
The Conclaves of September and November, 1503
Disputes with Venice
Subjugation of Perugia and Bologna .
The Political Situation between 1507 and 1509
Wars in Italy . .
The Holy League ....
Annihilation of the Power of France in Italy
Julius II. and Art ....
Julius 11. and Michael Angelo .
Raphael and the Vatican Stanze .
Appendix of Unpubhshed Documents
Index of Names ....
185-231
232-258
259-289
290-320
321-365
366-404
405-454
455-502
503-539
540-607
611-659
661-670
TABLE OF CONTENTS OF VOLUME VI.
BOOK I.
CHAPTER I.
SAVONAROLA AND ALEXANDER VI.
A.D.
1495 The hope of reform centred in Savonarola
The moral revolution in Florence
His sermons become more political .
His numerous enemies in Florence .
His passionate advocacy of the French alliance .
And denunciation of the Medici and their adherents
The Pope summons Savonarola to Rome .
He excuses himself from coming on the ground of
expediency ......
The Pope forbids Savonarola to preach
And orders the Convent of S. Marco to be reunited to
the Lombard Congregation
Savonarola acknowledges the duty of submission
But defends himself, especially as to the reunion with
the Lombard Friars .
The Pope yields this point, but forbids Savonarola to
preach .......
Piero de' Medici attempts to return to Florence
Savonarola's sermons against him, before the arrival
of the Pope's Brief .....
His negotiations with the Duke of Ferrara
The Signoria fail to obtain permission from the Pope
for Savonarola's preaching
1496 Savonarola resumes his sermons by their command
His first Lenten sermon, in defence of his conduct
His following sermons, against the vices of Rome
Moderation and patience of Alexander VI.
PAGE
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TABLE OF CONTENTS.
1497
A.D.
1496 The violence and terrorism exercised by Savonarola .
The Pope proposes a new Dominican Congregation
under Cardinal Caraffa ....
Unconditional refusal of Savonarola .
The Pope endeavours to detach Florence from the
French alliance. .....
Savonarola's Lenten sermons in 1497
His friends alienated by their violence
Disturbances in Florence .....
Savonarola's letter to the Pope ....
Excommunication of Savonarola by the Pope .
Efforts of the Florentine Ambassador to obtain the
withdrawal of the Brief ....
Savonarola's letter of defiance ....
The Pope determines to persevere in the excommuni
cation .......
Disobedience of Savonarola, who celebrates Mass on
Christmas Day .....
And determines to resume his sermons
Which the Vicar of the Archbishop tries in vain to
prevent .......
1498 Savonarola preaches in defence of his disobedience
His attacks upon the Roman clergy ,
The Pope's Brief to the Florentines .
He threatens them with an Interdict, if disobedient
But promises to absolve Savonarola if he will obey
The Signoria defend Savonarola
The Pope insists that he shall be shut up or sent to
Rome .......
Letter of the Florentine Ambassador to his Govern
ment .......
The Pope embittered by the conduct of the Signoria
Who finally forbid Savonarola to preach .
The Pope insists on the vindication of his authority
Savonarola appeals to the Christian Powers to con
voke a Council ......
His friendship and intrigues with Charles VHI.
The knowledge of which exasperates the Pope .
Savonarola begins to lose his influence in Florence
General disbelief in his prophecies .
His enemies in the Council insist on obedience to the
Pope .......
Savonarola challenges the ordeal by fire .
The challenge taken up by Francesco of Apulia
Savonarola refuses to take up the challenge in person
Fra Domenico accepts it for him
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TABLE OF CONTENTS.
IX
A.D.
1498 Conditions imposed by the Signoria .
Disapproval of the Pope .....
Failure of the ordeal by fire ....
Anger of the populace .....
Who lose faith in Savonarola ....
Disturbances in Florence. Murder of Francesco
Valori .......
The Convent of S. Marco stormed. Savonarola im
prisoned .......
Savonarola to be tried in Florence
Savonarola deserted by his disciples .
He is condemned to death with Fra Domenico and
Fra Silvestro ......
His degradation and execution
His political fanaticism and insubordination to the
Holy See .......
His sincere belief in his own mission
PAGE
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43
44
45
46
47
47
48
49
50
50
51
53
CHAPTER n.
ALEXANDER VI. AND LOUIS XII.
1498 Death of Charles VHI 55
Louis Xn. claims the Dukedom of Milan . . • 55
Alexander VI. sends Envoys to France ... 56
Dissolution of the marriage between Louis XH. and
Jeanne of Valois . . . . . -57
Marriage of Louis XII. with Anne of Brittany . . 57
Caesar Borgia desires to return to a secular Hfe . . 57
Projects of marriage for Caesar and Lucrezia Borgia . 58
Marriage of Lucrezia Borgia with Alfonso of Bisceglia 58
Proposed marriage of Caesar Borgia with Carlotta of
Aragon rejec ted by the King of Naples . . 58
League of the Orsini and Colonna against the Pope . 59
Caesar Borgia resigns the Cardinalate ... 60
He sets out for France ...... 60
He is created Duke of Valentinois . . . .61
His reception in France . . . . . .61
Breach between the Pope and the Sforza ... 62
Remonstrances of the Portuguese Envoys with the
Pope ........ 63
Reproaches of Ascanio Sforza . . . . . 63
Arrival of the Spanish Envoys in Rome ... 64
They threaten the Pope with a Council ... 64
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
A.D.
1498 Alarm of Alexander VI
1499 Failure of the projected marriage of Caesar Borgia
Treaty between Louis XII. and Venice for the par
tition of Milan ......
Louis XII. offers the hand of Charlotte d'Albret to
Caesar Borgia
Critical position of Alexander VI.
He makes concessions to Spain
Marriage of Caesar Borgia with Charlotte d'Albr^ t
Cardinal Ascanio Sforza leaves Rome
Lucrezia and Jofr^ Borgia leave Rome for Spoleto
PAGE
65
66
66
67
67
67
68
68
69
CHAPTER IIL
LOUIS XII. IN MILAN.
Invasion of Milan by the French . . .
Flight of Lodovico Moro .....
Delight of the Pope at the success of the French
Renewed threats of a Council by the Portuguese
The Pope and Louis XII. plan the conquest of the
Romagna by Caesar .....
The fall of Imola and Forh ....
Caesar suspected of poisoning his nephew, Cardinal
Juan Borgia ......
1 500 Lodovico Moro recovers Milan
Triumphal reception of Caesar Borgia in Rome .
French victory at Novara, Lodovico taken prisoner
Cardinal Ascanio Sforza imprisoned in France .
Rejoicings in Rome .....
Insecurity of life and property in the City .
Alfonso of Bisceglia attacked and wounded
He attacks Caesar Borgia, and is murdered by his
orders .......
Narrow escape of the Pope from death
Caesar resumes his plans against the Romagna .
1 501 His first successes. The siege of Faenza .
Caesar is created Duke of Romagna .
Terms of peace made with Florence .
Treaty between the Pope, France, and Spain for the
partition of Naples ...
The French invade Naples ; flight of King Frederick
France and Spain divide Naples
70
70
71
71
72
72
73
73
74
74
75
75
75
76
77
78
80
81
82
82
83
«4
84
TABLE OF CONTENTS. xi
CHAPTER IV.
ALEXANDER VI. AND THE WAR AGAINST THE TURKS.
A.D. PAGE
1498 The Pope's nepotism hinders efforts against the Turks 85
But he endeavours to organise a Crusade ... 85
Attacks of the Sultan on Christian countries . . 86
Hostilities between the Turks and Venice . . 87
Successes of the Turks — fall of Lepanto ... 87
1499 The Pope endeavours to form a League against the
Turks 88
Indifference of the Christian Powers to the fate of
Venice ........ 89
1500 Issue of a Crusade Bull by the Pope ... 90
Papal Brief to the King of France .... 90
The Cardinals taxed for the war. List of contribu-
tions . . . . . . .91
Sincerity of the Pope's support of Venice ... 93
Successes of the Turks against Venice — fall of Modon 93
Efforts of Alexander against the Turks ... 94
Indifference of the Christian Princes • • • 95
Peraudi undertakes the mission to Germany . . 95
Maximilian refuses him entrance to the empire . . 96
1 501 Peraudi comes to an agreement with the Diet at
Nuremberg ....... 96
1502 And preaches the Crusade throughout Germany . 97
The King of England refuses material help . . 97
Invitation of the French clergy .... 98
Objections to the Crusade in Hungary ... 98
1500 Thomas Bakocs, the Primate, concludes an agree-
ment ........ 98
1 501 Conclusion of the League between Hungary, Venice,
and the Pope ....... 99
Alternative successes and failures of the fleet . . 99
Conquest of S^ Maura by Bishop Giacopo da Pesaro 100
1503 Peace concluded between Venice, Hungary, and the
Turks ........ loi
Pecuniary assistance given by the Pope to Hungary . loi
CHAPTER V.
THE STATES OF THE CHURCH AND THE BORGIA.
1 501 Alexander VI. and the Colonna .... 103
Confiscation of the possessions of the Colonna and
Savelli ........ 104
xii TABLE OF CONTENTS.
A.D. PAGE
1 501 Their distribution among the Borgia . . 104
Legitimation of Juan Borgia ..... 105
Marriage of Lucrezia Borgia and Alfonso d'Este . 107
Her popularity as Duchess of Ferrara . . .110
Character of Lucrezia Borgia — her charity . .111
Position of Caesar Borgia in Rome . . . .112
Pamphlet against the Borgia . . . . - ^^3
Indifference of the Pope to such attacks . • 1^5
Development of epigrammatic satire in Rome . • 1^5
The erection of the statue of Pasquino . . .116
1504 Which becomes the centre of witty epigrams . • n?
1509 Loss of the caricatures attached to comic poems . 118
1502 Alexander VL and Caesar Borgia visit Piombini
Plans of Caesar Borgia against Tuscany . .119
He takes possession of the Duchy of Urbino and
Camerino . . . . . . . .120
Camerino given to the infant Juan Borgia . .121
Interference of Louis XII. with Caesar's plans . .121
Caesar comes to terms with the King of France . • . 121
Conspiracy of the mercenary troops against Caesar . 122
Who receives help from France . . . .122
And breaks up the conspiracy . . . . .123
Caesar takes Sinigaglia. Flight of Andrea Doria . 123
Murder of the chief conspirators at Sinigaglia by
Caesar . . . . . . . .124
1503 Further successes of Caesar Borgia . . . .124
The Pope proceeds against the Orsini . . -125
Confiscation of the palace and property of Cardinal
Orsini . . . . . . . 125
Jofre Borgia attacks the Orsini strongholds 125
The Orsini attack Ponte Nomentano. Alarm of the
Pope .......
Death of Cardinal Orsini — suspicion of poison
Caesar Borgia advances against the Orsini .
Reverses of the French in Naples
The Pope raises money by the sale of new offices
Death of Cardinal Michiel, probably by poison
Simoniacal creation of new Cardinals
The Borgia policy inclines towards Spain .
Negotiations between the Pope and the Emperor
Occupation of Perugia by the troops of Cassar Borgia
Sickness in Rome— depression of the Pope
Illness of the Pope and of Caesar Borgia .
Death of Alexander VI
The suspicion of poison ungrounded
Funeral of Alexander VI.
25
26
26
27
27
28
28
29
30
30
31
32
3A
35
37
TABLE OF CONTENTS. Xlll
A.D. PAGE
1503 Severe judgment of his contemporaries . . .138
Partly modified by modern research . , .138
WorldHness of Alexander VI. . . . . • 139
Its disastrous effect upon the Papacy . . • 139
But the purity of the Church's doctrine maintained . 140
Distinction between the Pope and the man . .141
CHAPTER VI.
ALEXANDER VI. 'S ACTION IN THE CHURCH.
Alexander VI. supports the religious Orders . .142
Especially the Dominicans and the Hermits of S.
Augustine ....... 143
He defends the liberties of the Church in the Nether-
lands ........ 144
He promotes devotion to the Blessed Virgin , .145
1500 And restores the ringing of the Angelus . . .145
1499 Preparations for the Jubilee of 1500 . . . .147
1500 The opening of the Jubilee by Alexander VI. . . 148
Crowded Pilgrimages to Rome for the Jubilee . .149
Distinguished Pilgrims in Rome . . . .150
The receipts from the Jubilee given to Caesar Borgia 152
Serious inundation in Rome . . . . .152
The Jubilee extended to the whole of Christendom . 153
Disposal of the Jubilee alms . . . . -153
Resistance to the Jubilee Indulgences in Switzerland
and Germany . . . . . . -154
Cardinal Peraudi's efforts for reform in Germany . 154
1 501 Alexander VI. and the Censorship of Books . .154
1500 His repression of heresy in Lombardy and Bohemia . 156
His tolerance of the Jews due to political motives . 157
1493 Proceedings against the Maranas (crypto-Jews) . . 157
1492 Propagation of the Faith in Greenland . . .158
The discovery of the New World . . . -159
Arbitration of Alexander VI. between Spain and
Portugal . . . . . . . .160
1493 Definition of the boundaries between them . .161
Evangelisation of the New World . . . .163
CHAPTER VII.
ALEXANDER VI. AS A PATRON OF ART.
Improvements in the Leonine City . . .165
1499 Making of the Borgo Nuovo for the Jubilee of 1500 . 166
xiv TABLE OF CONTENTS.
A.D. PAGE
1499 Alterations in the Castle of St. Angelo . . .168
Discoveries made during the alterations . . .169
Other improvements in the Trastevere . . .170
Works at the Vatican. The Appartamento Borgia . 171
The decoration of the Appartamento . . .172
Restorations in Roman Churches . . . i77
Building by Alexander VI. outside Rome . . .178
Patronage of Art by the Cardinals . . . -179
1499 Bramante's work in Rome . . . . .180
Churches erected in the reign of Alexander VI. 180
BOOK II.
Pius III. — 1503.
Julius 11.-1503-1513.
CHAPTER I.
THE CONCLAVES OF SEPTEMBER AND NOVEMBER, 1503.
1503 Danger of the situation in Italy
Predominant influence of Caesar Borgia .
He swears obedience to the Sacred College
And consents to withdraw from Rome
He places himself under the protection of the French
The obsequies of Alexander VI.
Efforts of Cardinal d'Amboise to obtain the Tiara
Opposition of the Spanish Cardinals .
Arrival of Giuliano della Rovere in Rome
Divisions among the Italian Cardinals
Beginning of the Conclave ....
A new Election Capitulation drawn up
Position of Cardinal d'Amboise
The balance of parties among the Cardinals
Selection of Carduial Piccolomini as Pope
Who takes the name of Pius III.
Character of Pius III
His piety and regular life .....
Peter Delphinus on Pius III. .
Zeal of Pius HI. for the reform of the Church .
His peace-loving disposition
The Pope allows Caesar Borgia to return to Rome
Coronation of Pius III. .....
Caesar Borgia's army to be disbanded
185
186
187
188
188
189
191
191
192
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
198
199
200
201
202
203
203
204
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
XV
A.D.
1503
A\
1508
Reconciliation between the Orsini and the Colonna
Perilous position of Caesar Borgia
Illness of the Pope
Death of Pius III
Giuliano della Rovere comes to terms with the Spanish
Cardinals .......
Prospects of the Election . . . . •
Election of Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere
Who takes the name of Julius II. .
Terms of the Election Capitulation .
Appearance and character of Julius II.
His courage and strength of will
He devotes himself to the restoration of the States of
the Church ......
His freedom from nepotism ....
Contrast between Julius II. and Alexander VI. .
Julius II. and his relations . .
Cardinal Galeotto della Rovere
Creation of Cardinals by Julius II. .
Death of Cardinal Galeotto della Rovere .
Economy of Julius II. .... .
His ways of raising money
And financial abihty .....
Order maintained in Rome by the Swiss Guards
Reorganisation of the coinage ....
Storage of provisions in Rome ....
Improvement of agriculture in the Campagna .
System of administration of the States of the Church
Government of the Papal States by Julius II. .
Justice and popularity of the Pope . , ,
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230
CHAPTER II.
DISPUTES WITH VENICE.
1503 Difficulty of the Pope's position
Anarchy in the States of the Church .
Encroachments of Venice in the Romagna
Legations given to Cardinal d'Amboise
Juhus II. and Caesar Borgia
The Pope remonstrates with Venice .
And resolves to recover the Romagna
Discouragement of Caesar Borgia
Facnza and Rimini fall into the hands of Venice
VOL. VI.
232
232
233
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235
236
237
238
239
XVI
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
A.D. PAGE
1503 Csesar Borgia refuses to deliver up the forts of the
Roniagna . . . . . • • -239
Arrest of Caesar Borgia 239
His imprisonment and the confiscation of his property 240
1504 Agreement between the Pope and Caesar Borgia . 241
Who remains under surveillance at Ostia . . .242
Caesar goes to Naples, where he is again arrested by
Spain 243
Forli given up to the Pope 244
Caesar Borgia imprisoned in Spain .... 245
1506 His escape from Spain, and death in battle in Navarre 245
His heritage in the Romagna falls to the Church . 246
Relations of Venice and Julius II. .... 247
1503 The Pope insists on the restoration of the Romagna . 248
His relations with the Venetian Ambassador . . 249
Remonstrances of Julius II. . . . . .251
His resolution to recover the Romagna . . .252
1504 Brief of Julius II. to the Doge 253
Venice refuses to give way . . . . .254
The Pope seeks help against Venice . . . -255
His negotiations with Maximilian and Louis XII. . 255
Unfriendliness of Ferdinand towards the Holy See . 256
Conclusion of the agreement of Blois against Venice . 257
1505 Venice begins to give way . . . . .257
Failure of the agreement of Blois . . . -257
The Pope receives the Venetian profession of obedience 258
CHAPTER III.
SUBJUGATION OF PERUGIA AND BOLOGNA.
1505 The Pope makes family alliances with the Roman
Barons .......
1506 Marriage of Felice with Giovanni Giordano Orsini
And of Marcantonio Colonna with a niece of the Pope
Rule of the tyrants in Bologna and Perugia
The Pope determines to recover them
And to head the expedition himself .
Opposition of Venice to the undertaking .
Alliances concluded with other Italian States
Uncertain attitude of France and Venice .
Unsatisfactory conduct of Cardinal d'Amboise
Ecclesiastical disputes with France .
Negotiations concerning Perugia and Bologna
The Pope sets out for Bologna
259
260
260
261
261
262
262
263
263
263
264
265
265
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
XVil
A.D.
1506 His reception at Viterbo . •
Entry of the Pope into Orvieto
Submission of Giampaolo Baglione .
Entry of Julius II. into Perugia
He plans a Crusade against the Turks
Restoration of the liberties of Perugia
Reception of the Pope at Urbino
Mission of Antonio da Monte San Savino
Bentivoglio appeals to a General Council
The Pope endeavours to conciliate Venice
Arrival of the Envoys from Bologna
Death of Philip of Castile
Bologna placed under an Interdict .
The Pope marches upon Bologna
Flight of Bentivoglio from Bologna .
Submission of Bologna to the Pope .
His triumphal entry into the city
Reorganisation of the Government of Bologna
Conditions of the assistance of France
Creation of three French Cardinals .
Dissensions between Louis XII. and the Pope
1507 The Pope leaves Bologna
His triumphal entry into Rome
The address of Cardinal Riario .
PAGE
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269
270
271
273
273
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275
276
277
277
279
280
281
283
284
284
285
286
287
288
CHAPTER IV.
THE POLITICAL SITUATION BETWEEN 1507 AND 1509.
Enhanced prestige of the Papacy
Threatening attitude of France and Spain
Reconciliation between Ferdinand and Louis XII.
Large number of Cardinals at the French Court
Mission of Cardinal Pallavicino to the French camp
Louis XII. refuses to give up the Bnetivogli
The reform of the Church discussed by Ferdinand
and Louis XII. .....
The Pope dissuades Maximilian from coming to
Rome .......
Cardinal Carvajal sent as Legate to Germany .
1508 Proposals for a League against Venice
Maximilian assumes the name of " Emperor-elect of
Rome"
Brief of Julius n. to Maximilian
Defeat of Maximilian by the Venetians
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291
292
292
293
294
295
295
296
296
297
298
xviii TABLE OF CONTENTS.
A.D. PAGE
1508 Conclusion of the League of Cambrai . . . 299
Imprudence of Venice in dealing with JuUus II. . 300
Encroachments on the Pope's supremacy . . .301
Disputes about the appointments to Bishoprics . 301
Insolence of Jacopo Dandolo ..... 302
1507 Difficulties in Bologna — recall of the Papal Legate . 303
Intrigues of the Bentivogli ..... 304
Cardinal Alidosi sent as Legate to Bologna . . 305
1508 Venice persists in her unreasonable demands . . 306
Insolence of the Venetian Envoy to the Pope . . 308
1509 Julius II. joins the League of Cambrai . . 310
The Venetians intrigue with the Orsini and Colonna . 311
Bull of Excommunication pronounced against Venice 311
The Venetians appeal to a General Council . .312
Ferrara and Mantua join the League of Cambrai . 312
Defeat of the Venetians at Agnadello . . .313
Machiavelli on the character of the Venetians. . 314
The Venetians surrender the Romagna . . • 3^5
And send Envoys to Rome to sue for peace . .316
Crushing conditions proposed by the Pope . -317
Successes of the Venetians in the war . . -317
Negotiations with the Pope broken off . . .318
Julius II. fears the increase of the power of France in
Italy 318
15 10 And concludes peace with Venice . . . .319
Absolution of the representatives of Venice at Rome . 319
CHAPTER V.
WARS IN ITALY.
The Pope determines to deliver Italy from the French 321
Vacillation of Louis XII. ..... 322
Death of Cardinal d'Amboise .....
Failure of the Pope's negotiations with Germany and
England ......
He concludes an alliance with the Swiss .
Through the assistance of Cardinal Schinner
Imprisonment of Cardinal Clermont
Ecclesiastical disputes and rupture with Louis XIL
The Pope's plan of campaign against Ferrara .
Disobedience of the Duke of Ferrara
Who is excommunicated by the Pope
Louis XII. summons a Synod to assert the Gallican
liberties ....... •229
323
323
324
325
326
327
327
328
328
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Xlx
A.D.
1510
1511
1510
1511
Subservience of the Synod to the French King .
Irresolution and procrastination of Louis XII. .
Decision and energy of Julius 11. .
He sets out for Ferrara .....
Difficulties of the journey ....
The. Marquess of Mantua, Standard-bearer of the
Church .......
Schism in the Sacred College ....
Oppression of the Bolognese by Cardinal Alidosi
Who succeeds in deceiving the Pope
The French army before Bologna
Illness of the Pope ......
He gives his blessing to the Bolognese
Arrival of the Venetian and Spanish troops
Retreat of the French army ....
Conquest of Concordia .....
Recovery of the Pope .....
Who joins the army before Mirandola
Capitulation of Mirandola ....
The Pope endeavours in vain to come to terms with
the Duke of Ferrara .....
He goes to Bologna and Ravenna .
Arrival of Matthaeus Lang as Envoy of the Emperor
His reception by the Pope at Bologna
Failure of the negotiations ....
Trivulzio succeeds Chaumont as Commander of the
French army . .....
Bologna taken by the French and given up to the
Bentivogli ......
Murder of Cardinal Alidosi by the Duke of Urbino
Cardinal Isvalies Legate of Bologna .
The Council of Pisa called by the Emperor and the
King of France .....
Julius II. summoned to take part in it
Proposed objects of the Council
Which is supported by the Emperor and the King of
France .......
Anti-Roman spirit in Germany ....
Anti-Papal proposals of the Emperor
Who desires a Permanent Legate for Germany .
He endeavours in vain to force the Pope to join the
League of Cambrai .....
And in revenge joins in the plans of Louis XII.
A French play directed against the Pope .
Jean Lemaire's pamphlet in favour of GaUicanism
Answer of Julius IL to the citation to the Council
PAGE
33^
331
332
333
334
335
335
336
336
336
337
338
338
339
340
341
343
343
344
344
345
346
347
349
350
351
352
352
353
354
354
356
357
357
357
357
359
361
XX
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
A.D.
1511 Return of Julius II. to Rome . . .
He appeals to the King of Spain for assistance
Louis XII. makes overtures of peace
Disunion among the schismatical Cardinals
Julius II. summons an (Ecumenical Council
And condemns the Council of Pisa .
FAGE
362
363
363
363
364
365
CHAPTER VL
1512
THE HOLY LEAGUE.
Julius II. forms an alliance with Spain . . . 367
Failure of the negotiations with Louis XII. . . 367
Formation of the Holy League against France . . 368
Dangerous illness of the Pope . . . . . 368
His recovery despaired of .... . 369
Ambitious schemes of Pompeo Colonna . . . 371
Sudden recovery of the Pope . . . . -37^
Who resumes the negotiations for the League . .372
Conclusion and promulgation of the League . . 373
Excommunication and deposition of the schismatical
Cardinals. ....... 374
Unfavourable change in the Emperor towards the
Council . . . . . . . -375
His supposed desire to become Pope . . .376
His letters on the subject to his daughter . . .377
And to Paul von Lichtenstein . . . . .380
Negotiations between the Pope and the Emperor . 383
Hostility of the German Episcopate to the Council . 384
Louis Xli.'s policy disapproved by the French clergy
and people ....... 384
Loyalty of the Italian clergy to the Pope . . -385
Writings of Cajetanus against the Conciliar theory . 385
Which is advocated by Zaccaria Ferreri and Decius . 386
Character of Cardinal Carvajal . . . -387
The Pope lays an Interdict upon Florence . . 388
Arrival of the schismatical Cardinals at Pisa . . 389
Opening of the Council of Pisa .... 390
Conflict between the Florentines and the Pisans . 392
The Council transferred to Milan .... 392
Where it is treated with contempt and disrespect . 393
Efforts of the Pope to equip a sufficient army . . 395
Failure of the Swiss attack upon Milan . . . 395
Cardinal Schinner appointed Legate to Lombardy
and Germany ....... 395
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
XXI
A.D.
1512
Deprivation of Cardinal Sanseverino
Bologna and Brescia invested by the armies of the
League ......
Fall of Brescia to the Venetians
Gaston de Foix raises the siege of Bologna
And recovers Brescia for the French
Troubles in Rome, and withdrawal of the Pope to St
Angelo ....
The battle of Ravenna
Victory of the French
Death of Gaston de Foix
Terror in Rome
Courage and resolution of the Pope
The Duke of Urbino offers assistance to the Pope
The Pope begins negotiations with France
He wins the Colonna and overawes the Orsini .
PAGE
396
397
397
397
397
398
399
400
401
401
402
403
403
404
CHAPTER VII.
ANNIHILATION OF THE POWER OF FRANCE IN ITALY.
Arrogance of the schismatic Council at Milan .
Submission of the Milanese to Cardinal Medici
Preparation for the Lateran Counci' .
Opening of the Council in the Lateran Basilica
Sermon of Aegidius of Viterbo, General of the
Augustinians ......
The Pope's address to the Council .
First sitting of the Council ....
The Council of Pisa pronounced null and void .
Sermon of Cajetanus, General of the Dominicans
The King of England joins the League against France
The Emperor concludes an armistice with Venice
Arrival of the Swiss in Italy ....
Evacuation of the Romagna by the French
Capitulation of Pavia to the Swiss
Flight of the schismatics from Milan. End of the
Council .......
Recovery of Bologna by the Pope
The French driven out of Italy
Rejoicings in Rome. The Pope at S. Pietro in Yin
coli ........
Rewards bestowed upon the Swiss by Julius H.
405
405
406
406
407
408
409
410
410
412
413
413
414
414
415
415
416
417
418
xxii TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PAGE
419
420
420
420
421
A.I>.
1512 The Duke of Ferrara in Rome ....
He refuses the Pope's conditions of peace
A Congress of the League held in Mantua
Restoration of the rule of the Medici in Florence
The Duchy of Milan given to Massimiliano Sforza
Parma, Piacenza, and Reggio included in the Papal
States 421
Dissatisfaction of the Emperor and the King of Spain 422
Efforts of the Pope to win Maximilian. Matthaeus
Lang in Rome 423
Magnificence of his reception ..... 424
Failure of the Emperor's negotiations with Venice . 425
An alliance formed between the Pope and the Emperor 425
Matthseus Lang created a Cardinal
15 13 The Venetians ally themselves with France
15 1 2 Announcement of the alliance with the Emperor at
the Lateran Council
The Pragmatic Sanction in France condemned by
the Lateran Council .....
Address of the Apostolic Notary, Cristoforo Mar
cello .......
Preponderance of Spain in Italy. Anxiety of the
Pope
Failure of the Pope's health ....
Last illness of Julius II. .
1513 His last address to the Cardinals
Death of Julius II
Sorrow in Rome. Popularity of Julius II.
His character — injustice of Guicciardini .
His faithfulness to his ecclesiastical obligations .
1505 His Bull against simony in Papal elections
151 1 His zeal for the missions in America and the East
His repression of heresy .....
He opposes the severity of the Spanish Inquisition
And resists State encroachments upon the rights of
the Church ......
Julius II. and the religious Orders. His reforms
His ecclesiastical acts and reforms .
His foundation of the Capella Giulia at S. Peter's
His ecclesiastical concessions for political reasons
Reform of the Roman Court, the object of the
Lateran Council
Justification of the wars of Julius II.
Necessity of the temporal power
Julius IL, the Liberator of Itaiy
His title of " Saviour of the Church " well deserved
425
426
428
428
429
430
431
432
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
443
444
446
447
447
449
450
451
453
454
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
XXlll
CHAPTER VIII.
A.D.
1503
1505
1505
1506
1507
1508
1510
I513
1506
1507
1505
JULIUS II. AND ART.
Julius II. the Maecenas of the Arts .
He continues the work of Nicholas V. and Sixtus IV
Difference between the spirit of Nicholas V. and
Julius II
Julius II. *s appreciation of men of genius .
The home of Art transferred from Florence to Rome
Architecture under Julius II. Giuliano da Sangallo
Michael Angelo and Sansovino in Rome .
Julius II. and Donato Bramante
To whom is entrusted the rebuilding of S. Peter's and
the Vatican .....
Development of the idea of the rebuilding of S
Peter's
Grandeur of Bramante's original design
The loss of the old S. Peter's to be deplored
Opposition to the rebuilding of S. Peter's .
Satirical dialogue of Andrea Guarna .
Dangerous condition of the old S. Peter's .
The Pope provides money for the rebuilding
The laying of the foundation-stone .
Bramante master of the works .
Diligent prosecution of the rebuilding
Disregard shewn to the old S. Peter's and its relics
Destructiveness of Bramante towards ancient build
ings
His proposal to move the tomb of the Apostles
JuHus II. refuses his consent .
Zeal of Julius II. for the interests of religion
Progress of the works ....
Collection of funds throughout Christendom
State of the works at the death of Julius II.
Designs of Bramante for the Vatican
Later alterations by Sixtus V. .
Extension and decoration of the Belvedere
Beginning of the Vatican sculptures .
Discovery of the Laocoon
Arrangement of the statues in the Belvedere
Demand for antiquities in Rome
Michael Angelo and Sansovino in the service of
Julius 11. .
Improvements in Rome under Julius II. .
Formation of the Via Giulia . .
PAGE
455
456
457
458
459
459
46c
461
461
464
465
468
469
469
471
472
473
474
475
477
478
479
480
480
481
482
483
484
485
485
486
488
490
491
492
493
494
XXIV
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
A.D. PAGE
1505 Julius II. and the Churches of Rome . . . 49^
He strengthens the fortresses of the Papal States . 497
His Church-building at Perugia, Orvieto, and Bologna 498
Bramante's work at the Holy House at Loreto . . 498
Decoration of the Cathedral at Savona . . . 499
Strengthening of the Castle of St. Angelo . . . 500
Sanitary improvements in Rome .... 5°°
Francesco Albertini's guide to Rome . • . 5°^
CHAPTER IX.
JULIUS II. AND MICHAEL ANGELO.
1505 Michael Angelo invited to Rome by Julius II.
Who gives him a commission for his own tomb
1506 Julius II. gives up the idea of the tomb .
And refuses to see Michael Angelo .
Who leaves Rome and refuses to return .
Sangallo endeavours to make peace .
Soderini remonstrates with Michael Angelo in vain
Michael Angelo's reconciliation with the Pope .
Julius commissions him to make a statue of himself
1508 Completion and erection of the statue at Bologna
It is destroyed by the party of the Bentivogli
Michael Angelo commissioned to paint the roof of the
Sistine Chapel . . . ...
Agreement between him and Julius II.
Relations between the Pope and Michael Angelo
Impatience of Julius 11. .
Difficulties and delays in payment
1 5 10 Completion of the ceiling, its difficulty
15 11 Unveiling of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel .
1 5 1 2 Completion of the whole work ....
The Pope celebrates Mass in the Chapel .
The architectural painting of the roof
The three periods of the frescoes according to the
Plan of Salvation .....
His treatment of the Creation, culminating in Adam
The Fall of Man and the Deluge
The series of the Prophets and Sybils
Series of the Ancestors of Christ
And of the Deliverances of Israel
The ornamental figures employed in the roof
Spiritual conception of the paintings .
Michael Angelo again employed on the Pope s tomb
503
504
505
506
506
507
509
510
512
513
513
515
516
517
517
519
520
521
522
522
523
525
526
529
529
530
532
533
TABLE OF CONTENTS. XXV
A.D. PAGE
15 1 2 Design of the tomb of Julius II. . . . -533
15 1 3 Death of Julius II. during the execution of the work . 534
Agreement between Michael Angelo and his executors 535
Curtailment of the design and anger of Michael Angelo 537
Grandeur of the statue of Moses .... 537
CHAPTER X.
RAPHAEL AND THE VATICAN STANZE.
Character and early life of Raphael .
1508 He settles in Rome .....
1507 Julius II. leaves the Appartamento Borgia
1508 Decoration of the Stanze ....
Different artists employed at first
But are all dismissed in favour of Raphael
The Camera della Segnatura
The four allegorical figures in the ceiling .
The wall frescoes in connection with them
The fresco of the "School of Athens "
Interpretation of the fresco
No opposition between Theology and Philosophy
The " Disputa del Sacramento " — faith as distinct from
reason .......
No idea of controversy in the " Disputa " .
The upper part of the fresco, the Heavenly Paradise
The Divine Persons and the series of the Elect .
Relation between the Heavenly Paradise and the
Church ......
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on earth
The Ploly Eucharist, the bond of union between
heaven and earth .....
Interpretation of the picture ....
The preliminary studies for the fresco
Humanistic conceptions seen in the Parnassus .
The Dominican spirit seen in the " Disputa "
The Camera della Segnatura intended for the Pope';
library .......
The frescoes not an expression of Humanistic free
thought ......
Contrast of the two frescoes
The Grisailles illustrate the attitude of the Papacy to
the new learning ....
The frescoes show the relations between the Church
and culture .....
540
540
541
542
543
544
544
545
547
550
555
559
560
561
564
565
569
570
575
578
579
580
581
58:1
584
586
588
589
xxvi TABLE OF CONTENTS.
A.D. PAGE
151 1 Completion of the Camera della Segnatura . . 59°
The Stanza d'Eliodoro entrusted to Raphael by the
Pope . 591
His easel-paintings, the Madonna of S'^ Maria del
Popolo ........ 591
And the portrait of Julius II. ..... 591
The Madonna di Foligno and del Pesce . . . 592
The Stanza d'Eliodoro. The ceiling decorated by
Peruzzi .'....... 594
The miracle of the Mass of Bolsena .... 594
The Cathedral of Orvieto built to enshrine the relic . 596
Veneration shewn to it by Julius II. ... 596
Raphael's representation of the miracle in the Stanza
d'Eliodoro •597
The picture the key-note of the Stanza d'Eliodoro . 599
Which represents God's care for His Church . . 599
Its reference to the events of the reign of Julius II . 600
The picture of the expulsion of Heliodorus from the
Temple ........ 600
The picture of the meeting of Leo I. with Attila . 603
The picture of S. Peter's deliverance from prison . 604
Its supposed reference to the escape of Cardinal
Medici . 605
But it more probably refers to Julius II. . . . 606
The triumph of the Church, the fundamental idea of
the Vatican pictures ...... 606
LIST OF UNPUBLISHED DOCUMENTS
IN APPENDIX.
PAGE
I. Cardinal Ascanio Sforza to the Duke of Milan 6ii
II. . . " . » " ^^^
III. Giovanni Lucido Cataneo to the Marquess of
Mantua ...... 612
IV. Extract from the Letter of an Unknown Person 612
V. Giovanni Lucido Cataneo to the Marquess of
Mantua . . . . . .613
VI. Alexander VI. to Cardinal Giuliano della
Rovere ....... 614
VII. Giovanni Lucido Cataneo to the Marquess of
Mantua ...... 614
VIII. Report of the Florentine Chronicler,
Bartolomeo Cerretani, on the Anti-Pope
Pietro Bernardino, a Disciple of
Savonarola .....
Beltrando CostabiU to the Duke of Ferrara
Giovanni Lucido Cataneo to the Marquess of
Mantua .....
)) )) >>
Ghivizano to the Marquess of Mantua .
>i >» •
'* . . "
Cosimo de' Pazzi, Bishop of Arezzo, to
Pius III
Beltrando Costabili to the Duke of Ferrara
5> J> »>
Ghivizano to the Marquess of Mantua .
Julius II. to Florence ....
to Forh ....
IX.
X.
XL
XII.
XIII.
XIV.
XV.
XVI.
XVII.
XVIII.
XIX.
XX.
XXI.
XXII.
to Angelo Leonini, Bishop
Tivoli, Nuncio at Venice
of
615
617
618
618
619
619
620
620
621
621
622
622
622
622
623
xxviii LIST OF UNPUHLISIIED DOCUMENTS IN APPENDIX.
XXIII. Julius II. to Cardinal Bernardino Carvajal
XXIV. „ to Florence ....
XXV. „ to Giovanni di Sirolo, Archbishop
of Ragusa, and to Petrus
Paulus de Callio .
„ to Forli ....
„ to Philip, Count Palatine on the
Rhine ....
„ to Gonsalvo de Cordova
„ to Anne, Queen of France .
„ to Louis XII., King of France
„ to Forli ....
„ to Angelo Leonini, Bishop of
Tivoli, Nuncio at Venice
XXVI.
XXVII.
XXVIII.
XXIX.
XXX.
XXXI.
XXXII.
XXXIII.
XXXIV.
XXXV.
XXXVI.
XXXVII.
XXXVIII.
&
XXXIX.
XL.
XLI.
XLII.
XLIII.
XLIV.
XLV.
XL VI.
XLVII.
XLVIIL
XLIX.
XLIXa.
L.
LI.
LII.
PAGE
623
624
to
to
Ludovico Bruno, Bishop of
Acqui, and to Francesco de
Monte, Imperial Envoy at
Venice .....
Angelo Leonini, Bishop of
Tivoli, Nuncio at Venice
to the German Electors
to
of
to
to
of
of
Angelo Leonini, Bishop
Tivoli, Nuncio at Venice
Cosimo de' Pazzi, Bishop
Arezzo
Angelo Leonini, Bishop
Tivoli, Nuncio at Venice
Floramente Brognolo to Isabella, Marchioness
of Mantua ......
>> >> >)
Julius II. to the Marquess of Massa
„ to the Augustinian Hermit, Aegidius
of Viterbo ....
,, to Queen Anne of France
Girolamo Arsago to the Marquess of Mantua
Julius II. to Queen Anne of France
„ to Henry VIIL, King of England
Girolamo Arsago to the Marquess of Mantua
Julius II. to Francesco Gonzaga, Marquess of
Mantua .....
624
624
625
626
627
627
627
627
629
630
630
631
631
632
633
633
633
634
634
635
635
636
636
636
636
638
638
639
LIST OF UNPUBLISHED DOCUMENTS IN APPENDIX, xxix
LIIL
LIV.
LV.
LVI.
LVIL
LVIIL
LIX.
LX.
LXL
LXIL
LXIIL
LXIV.
LXV.
LXVI.
LXVII.
LXVIII.
LXIX.
LXX.
LXXL
LXXIL
LXXIIL
LXXIV.
LXXV.
LXXVL
LXXVII.
LXXVIIL
LXXIX.
LXXX.
LXXXI.
LXXXII.
LXXXIIL
LXXXIV.
LXXXV.
LXXXVI.
Julius II. to the Marquess of Mantua and
Niccolo Buonafede, Bishop of
Chiusi ....
„ to Cardinal Giov. Antonio di S
Giorgio ....
to Cesena ....
to Ferdinand the Catholic
to Leonardo Loredano, Doge of
Venice ....
>> ^ )) >>
to Cardinal Alessandro Farnese
to Ferdinand the Catholic
to Louis XIL, King of France
to Cardinal George d'Amboise
to Gonsalvo de Cordova
to M. de la Tremoille
to Pierre le Filleul, Archbishop of
Aix ....
to Ascoli ....
to the Legate of the Marches .
to the Governor of Spoleto
to the Governor of Cesena
to P. Ferreri, Governor of Imola
to Cardinal Antonio Ferreri .
Beltrando Costabili to the Duke of
Ferrara ......
Cardinal Scipio Gonzaga to the Marquess of
Mantua .....
Beltrando Costabili to the Duke of Ferrara
Julius II. to Louis XIL, King of France
„ to Maximilian L, German Emperor
Elect ....
Cardinal Sigismondo Gonzaga to the Marquess
of Mantua .....
Duke
of
Beltrando Costabili to the
Ferrara .......
Julius 11. to Bologna
„ to Duke Alfonso of Ferrara .
Lodovico de Fabriano to the Marquess of
Mantua ......
>} >> jj
Julius II. to Cardinal Franc. Alidosi
,, to Cardinal Ippolito d'Este
„ to Cardinal Franc. Alidosi and the
Magistrates of Bologna .
PAGE
639
639
640
640
640
641
641
641
642
642
642
642
643
643
643
643
644
644
644
644
645
646
646
647
649
650
650
650
651
651
652
652
653
653
XXX LIST OK UNPUBLISHED DOCUMENTS IN APPENDIX.
PAGE
LXXXVII. Julius II. to Francesco Gonzaga, Marquess of
Mantua ....... 654
LXXXVIII. Giuliano de' Medici to Isabella d'Este,
Marchioness of Mantua . . . 654
LXXXIX- Report of Aegidius de Viterbo on Julius II.,
Rramante, and the rebuilding of S. Peter's 655
XC. Emperor Maximilian to Paul von Lichtenstein 656
BOOK I.
ALEXANDER VI. 1492-1503.
VOL. VI. B
CHAPTER I.
Savonarola and Alexander VI.
As it became more and more evident that nothing in the
way of reform was to be hoped for from Alexander VI., the
eyes of many in Italy began to turn towards the eloquent
Dominican, who seemed to concentrate in himself all the
elements of resistance to the anti-Christian Renaissance
and the secularisation of the Church, personified in the
Pope, which the country contained,*
In Florence, corrupted as it had been by the Medici, and
made into a nest of "heathen philosophers, voluptuaries,
dilettanti, money-lenders and traders, intriguing politicians
and sharp-witted critics,"f Savonarola had, at least for the
moment, succeeded in bringing about an amazing moral
revolution. There seemed reason to hope that the reform
of Rome might be achieved by the same hand, especially
as in his preaching he dwelt so much on the vocation of
Florence as " the heart of Italy " to diffuse the renovating
lights throughout the whole world.J In his sermons he
incessantly insisted, with ever-growing vehemence, on the
absolute necessity of a complete reformation of Rome, the
Pope, and the Court. At that time this sort of plain
(Chapter I. of this volume is, in the original edition, Chap. VI. of
Book II.— F. I. A.)
* Frantz, Sixtus IV., 56. See Vol. V. of this work, pp. 170, 181.
t Gregorovius, VII., 404, ed. 3 (410, ed. 4).
X GUICCIARDINI, Stor. Fiorent., 138.
4 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
speaking c^ave little or no offence there. Alexander was
extremely indifferent to strictures of that kind ; no doctrine
of the Church was assailed, and he had no desire to curtail
the orator's liberty of speech. Had Savonarola confined
himself to the subjects proper to his vocation as a preacher
and a religious, he would probably never have come into
serious collision with the Pontiff; but as, on the contrary,
his passionate zeal drove him in his discourses to trench
more and more on political ground, they soon provided his
enemies with a good excuse for calling on the Pope to
intervene.*
Savonarola's growing influence threatened to make him the
virtual " King of Florence," and his enemies were both nume-
rous and powerful. Foremost amongst them was Piero de'
Medici with his adherents, and next to them came those who
disliked and resented the democratic and theocratic ideals
and the stern moral discipline which he wished to introduce
into the constitution of the State. This party was known
as the Arrabiati, while the followers of the Friar were called
Frateschi or Piagnoni (mourners over the corruption of the
times). Finally, there were the anti-Gallican Italian States.
Florence was the only Italian power which withstood the
Pope on this point, and Savonarola was the. indefatigable
and passionate advocate of the French alliance. The
Divine commission, which he persistently claimed for him-
self, emphatically included this advocacy. From first to
last he believed the frivolous, dissolute King of France to
be God's chosen instrument for the reformation of the
Church. He predicted that Charles would be always
victorious, and that Florence, if she remained faithful to
him, would regain all her lost possessions. In almost every
one of his sermons he insisted on the necessity of joining
* Cf. Cosci, Savonarola, 437, and especially PELLEGRINI, in the
Arch. d. Soc. Rom., XI., 710.
SAVONAROLA SUMMONED TO ROME. 5
France.* He reiterated again and again that " Charles
VIII. would certainly reform the Church."-|-
When we call to mind that the King of France had
repeatedly threatened the Pope with a so-called Reformation
Council, — in other words, a Council to depose him, — it can-
not seem strange that Savonarola should gradually come
to be regarded with more and more suspicion in Rome ; and
all the more so as it was notorious that the one thing that
the Pope had most at heart, namely, that Florence should
join the League, had no more determined opponent than
the Friar. Savonarola felt himself perfectly secure in the
favour of the people ; all accounts agree in describing his
influence as unbounded. " He is invoked as a Saint and
revered as a prophet," writes the Ferrarese Envoy ;| the
Florentine chronicler Landucci says that " many were so
infatuated with the new^ prophet that they would have had
no hesitation in going to the stake- for him." Encouraged
by the enthusiastic support of his followers, the hot-blooded
Dominican embarked in a general war of extermination
against his opponents. In one of his sermons he went so
far as to demand, crucifix in hand, that all who attempted
to bring the tyrants back to Florence should be punished
with death.§ At last Alexander VI. felt it necessary to take
some steps ; but he proceeded with the greatest moderation.il
On the 25th of July, 1495, a Brief couched in very friendly
terms, summoned Savonarola, " in the name of holy
obedience," to come at once to Rome to give an account of
♦ Meier, 93, and Ranke, Studien, 258.
t Cappelli, Savonarola, 52.
X 7h'd.,4\, 51, 52, 56, 63.
§ See Vol. V. of this work, p. 209.
II Ranke, in his Studien, 246, acknowledges this ; but Villari, even
in his last edition, I., 392, ed. 2, speaks of the wrath of the Pope as
bursting at once into flame.
6 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the prophecies for which he claimed Divine inspiration. On
the 30th the Friar sent his reply ; while acknowledging the
duty of obedience, especially in a religious, he excused
himself from coming, on the ground of the state of his
health, and his conviction that his enemies would throw
the whole city into confusion if he left Florence at this
moment.*
Upon this a second Brief was sent in September
addressed to the friars of S** Croce, who were on bad
terms with those of S. Marco In this Brief, Savonarola
was described as "a certain Fra Girolamo" who gave
himself out to be a prophet without being able to prove
his claim either by miracles or direct evidence from Holy
Scripture. The patience of the Pope, it continued, was
now exhausted. Savonarola must abstain from preaching
of any kind, and the Convent of S. Marco was henceforth
to be reunited to the Lombard congregation, to whose
Superior the Friar must now render obedience. All
recalcitrants were declared, ipso facto^ under the ban of
the Church.f
This command of the Pope marked the turning point
in Savonarola's life. As a priest and Friar he had sworn
obedience to the Head of the Church. Alexander's personal
character and the political motives by which he was actuated
in no way affected this obligation. In issuing the ordinance
contained in the Brief of September 8, the Pope was clearly
acting within his canonical rights. Savonarola did not deny
this. Writing to a brother of his Order in Rome on 1 5th
September, he says : " I know the root of all these plots,
and know them to be the work of evil-minded citizens who
would fain re-establish tyranny in Florence. . . . Never-
theless, if there be no other way of saving my conscience
* ViLLARI, Savonarola, II., 24 seq.^ 29 seq. (Engl, trans.).
t See Gherardi, 388.
THE REPLY OF SAVONAROLA. J
I am resolved to make submission, so as to avoid even a
venial sin."* His answer to Alexander, sent on 29th
September, was not quite so clear or decided. In it he
lamented that his enemies should have succeeded in
deceiving the Holy Father. ..." As to my doctrines,"
he continued, " I have always been submissive to the
Church ; as regards prophecy, I have never absolutely
declared myself a prophet, although this would be no
heresy ; but I have undoubtedly foretold various things,
of which some have been already fulfilled ; and others, that
will be verified at some future time. Moreover, it is known
to all Italy that the chastisement hath already begun, and
how solely, by means of my words, there hath been peace
in Florence, the which failing, all would have suffered
greater woes." ..." As to leaving our case to the decision
of the Lombard Vicar, this implies making our adversary
our judge, since the quarrels between the two congregations
are publicly known.** In separating themselves from this
congregation they had only passed from a laxer to a
stricter rule, which all authorities agree may lawfully be
done. " Our reunion with the Lombard Friars at this
moment would only deepen the rancour already, unhappily,
existing between the two congregations, and give rise to
fresh disputes and fresh scandals. And finally, inasmuch
as your Holiness declares that you desire this union in
order to prevent others from lapsing into my errors, and
inasmuch as it is now most plain that I have not lapsed
into error, the cause being non-existent, neither should its
effect remain. Having therefore proved the falsity of all
the charges brought against me, I pray your Holiness to
vouchsafe a reply to my defence and to grant me absolution.
I preach the doctrine of the Holy Fathers .... and am
* Published by Perrens, 534-538. Cf. Vn.LARi, Savonarola, II.
34, 35 (Engl, trans.).
8 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
ready if 1 should be in error .... to avow it publicly, and
make amends before the whole people. And now again I
repeat that which I have always said, namely, that I
submit myself and all my writings to the correction of the
Holy Roman Church." *
In his next Brief, despatched on the i6th of October,
Alexander displayed admirable moderation and prudence.
With " great consideration " it yielded the most important
point, that of the reunion of the Convent of S. Marco to
the Lombard Province, only insisting that Savonarola
should absolutely abstain from preaching. In fact, for the
Friar of S. Marco, politics and preaching were almost
synonymous. The Brief began with a review of the action
of Rome up to the present moment. In the beginning the
Pope had expressed his disapproval of the disturbances in
Florence, which had been in a great measure caused by
Savonarola's preaching, because, instead of directing his ser-
mons against the vices of the Florentines, he had filled them
with predictions of future events, which, he said, had been
revealed to him by the Holy Ghost. Such preaching was
full of danger for many souls and could not fail to engender
strife. Therefore, after mature deliberation, he had decided
to summon Savonarola to Rome, there to give an account
of his doings. Now, however, to his great joy, he gathered
from the letter which he had lately received, and from what
he had been told by others, that the Friar was ready, as
a good Christian, to submit to the Church in all things.
Hence he would willingly believe that Savonarola had
erred rather through excess of zeal than with any evil
intent. The matter, however, was too important to be
passed over lightly, and therefore he determined to write
to him again, commanding him in the name of holy
* ViLLARi, Savonarola, II., 35, 36 (Engl, trans.). Cf. Perrens,
326-329.
SAVONAROLA PREACHES AGAINST THE MEDICI. 9
obedience to abstain from all preaching, either in public or
privately, until he was able, conveniently and safely, to
appear himself in Rome, or until a commission had been
sent to Florence. If he obeyed this command, the former
Briefs would be rescinded.*
Meanwhile, on the nth of October, Savonarola, seeing
Florence in imminent danger from Piero de' Medici, had
thrown all other considerations to the winds and re-
ascended the pulpit, in order to rouse his fellow-citizens to
a strenuous resistance. x\gain he called for the death of
all who attempted to bring back the Medici. " They must
be treated," he cried, " as the Romans treated those who
wished to bring Tarquinius back. You would rather let
Christ be struck than strike a fellow-citizen. Let justice
take its course. Off with the head of the traitor, were he
even the chief of the first family in the city. Off, I say,
with his head." f Similar expressions recur in the sermons
of 1 6th and 26th October. For some hitherto unexplained
cause, the Bull of i6th October did not arrive till after this
latter date. Savonarola had by this time succeeded in
baffling Piero de' Medici's attempt ; but he must have been
forced to own to himself that he had violated his pledge of
the 1 6th September, and acted in direct opposition to his
Superiors, from whom alone his mission as a preacher was
derived. The Brief must have caused him the greatest
embarrassment. One fact, which is certainly not to his
credit, shews that, in his excitement, he did not at all
expect such lenient treatment. Through the Florentine
Envoy of the Duke of Ferrara, he had secretly entered
into relations with that Prince, and asked for his assistance
in case the Pope should not accept his excuse and proceed
* Meier, 115, 359-360, with a wrong date ; Gherardi, 390-391,
has the correct one.
t See Vol. V. of tliis work, p. 209.
/O HISTORY OF THE POPES.
further against him.* Now that Alexander had shewn
himself so placable and ready to make concessions, and
since also the chief object of his sermons, the frustration
of Piero de' Medici's enterprise, had been achieved, to
abstain from preaching during Advent entailed no very
great sacrifice on Savonarola. And in addition to this,
his party were gaining more and more the upper hand in
the city.f A loyal and lasting submission was never
contemplated by him ; on the contrary, he brought
every influence that he could control to bear upon the
Pope to induce him to withdraw the prohibition. The
Government of Florence interested itself strongly in this
direction, and addressed itself especially to Cardinal
Caraffa, the Protector of the Dominicans in Rome.
Florentine reports from Rome went so far as to assert
that the Cardinal had, in a conversation with Alexander,
persuaded the latter to permit Savonarola to preach again,
provided he confined his sermons to matters of religion.
The Friar himself, however, never ventured to maintain
that any such permission had been granted. The attitude
of the Signoria in Florence also shews clearly that nothing
was even said by the Pope that could be so construed ; X
of course, no Brief to that effect was forthcoming. They
decided, on nth February, 1496, to command Savonarola,
under pain of their indignation, to resume his sermons
* Despatch of 26th Oct. in Cappelli, Savonarola, 69. It is plain from
this document that the Brief of i6th Oct. had not reached Florence at
this date.
t Ranke, Studien, 252.
t See Cosci, 431-432 ; CiPOLLA, 735. Savonarola's letter to Antonio
de Olanda of 2nd Feb., 1496 {cf. ViLLARl, II., cxiv., ed. 2), is significant
in this connection. In it he says : — " Si impetrabitur licentia praedi-
candi pro me a Summo Pontifice, dabo vobis in praedicatorem Fr.
Dominicum de Piscia. Excitate ergo fratres et alios devotos ad orandum
pro hac causa, quia res habet difficultatem."
Savonarola's lenten sermons. ii
in the Cathedral.* The Friar, who had found so many
excuses for evading the commands of his spiritual supe-
riors, lost no time in obeying the order of the secular
power.
On 17th February Savonarola again ascended the pulpit,
and preached regularly throughout the whole of Lent. His
first sermon shewed that he had already entered on the
devious paths which henceforth he was to follow. Like
Huss in earlier times, he saw nothing incongruous or
unbecoming in making his own subjective convictions the
standard of the duty of ecclesiastical obedience. " The
Pope," he said, " cannot command me to do anything
which is in contradiction to Christian charity or the
Gospel. I am convinced that he never will ; but were he
to do so, I should reply : * At this moment you are in error
and no longer the chief pastor or the voice of the Church.'
If there can be no doubt that the command of a superior
contradicts the Divine precepts, and especially the law of
Christian charity, no one ought to obey it. If, however,
the matter is not perfectly evident, so that no doubt is
possible, we ought to submit." f He declared that he had
■* Gherardi, Documenti, 12<) seq. From the documents given here,
p. 136 seq., we gather that even then the citizens were not unanimous
in their approval of this step.
t This important declaration is to be found in the Prediche di frate
Hieronymo da Ferrara. Firenze, 1496 (st. fl.). Against ViLLARl, II.,
55 (Engl, trans.), who says that this Hussite doctrine of Savonarola's
was " entirely Catholic, and differing in no respect from that laid down by
S. Thomas Aquinas and many doctors and fathers of the Church f cf.
Schwab, in the Bonn. Litcraturblatt, IV., 904, and specially Frantz,
Sixtus IV., 79 seq. ; cf. 182. The latter remarks that Bayle 'lad
already pointed out that if Savonarola rested his conduct on the pnncipiv
that we ought to obey God rather than man, he was acting inconsistently
when he gave up preaching at the command of the Ciovernment. Frantz
also shews, loc. ciL, 80, that the case supposed by S. Thomas, " in which
12 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
earnestly examined all his ways and found them pure;
for he had always submitted his teaching to the doctrines
of Holy Church. Though convinced that the Briefs sent
from Rome were invalid, inasmuch as they were solely
inspired by lying reports, he had yet resolved to be prudent.
Thus he had so far kept silence, but when he saw many of
the good growing lukewarm, and the wicked more and
more bold, he felt himself constrained to return to his post.
" First of all, however, I sought the Lord, saying : I was
rejoicing in my peace and tranquillity, and Thou drewest
me forth by showing me Thy light. ... I would fain
repose, but find no resting-place — would fain remain still
and silent, but may not, for the word of God is as a fire in
my heart, and unless I give it vent, it will consume the
marrow of my bones. Come then, O Lord, since Thou
would'st have me steer through these deep waters, let Thy
will be done." * He seemed to have already forgotten
that it was the secular power which had commanded him
to preach, and launched him forth again on these " deep
waters."
Savonarola's second sermon was directed mainly against
the vices of Rome. He began with a curious application of
the passage in Amos, iv. i. " Hear this word, ye fat kine,
that are in the mountains of Samaria." " For me," he said,
" these fat kine signify the harlots of Italy and Rome. . . .
Are there none in Italy and Rome? One thousand, ten
thousand, fourteen thousand are few for Rome ; for there
both men and women are made harlots." And pursuing this
strain, he describes the vices of Rome in terms scarcely to
the flock was abandoned and left entirely ^vithout preaching or adminis-
tration of the Sacraments," was quite different to that of Savonarola, as
at S. Marco there were many other good preachers, and the spiritual
needs of the people were amply supplied.
* ViLLARi, Savonarola, II., 55 (Engl, trans.).
HIS DECLAMATIONS AGAINST ROME. I3
be repeated at the present day.* The preacher seemed
utterly regardless of the fact that his audience included
hundreds of innocent children, for whom a special gallery
round the walls of the Church had been provided.
This discourse, on the second Sunday in Lent, was by no
means an isolated outburst of passion ; the whole course of
sermons teemed with these extravagant diatribes against the
sins of Rome. Politics were frequently touched upon, but
every topic led back in the end to declamation against the
Curia. '* Flee from Rome/' he cried out, " for Babylon
signifies confusion, and Rome hath confused all the Scrip-
tures, confused all vices together, confused everything." In
his last Lenten sermon in 1496, Savonarola emphatically
repeated his new theory of what constituted obedience to the
Church, which, had it prevailed, must have overthrown all
order and discipline. "We are not compelled," he said, "to
obey all commands. When given in consequence of lying
report they are invalid ; when in evident contradiction with
the law of charity, laid down by the Gospel, it is our duty
to resist them."f
Even in the face of all this provocation, Alexander VI.
still maintained an attitude of great moderation and
patience.^: He allowed more than six months to elapse
before taking any action, so that Savonarola had ample
time for consideration. Meanwhile, however, in Rome, the
conviction that further steps must be taken continued to
strengthen. On the one hand, from the ecclesiastical point
of view, it was impossible permanently to tolerate his open
* ViLLARl, loc. cit.^ 58. This is the judgment of an enthusiastic
admirer of Savonarola.
t Jbid.^ 68, justly remarks that these ideas were equivalent to a de-
claration of war.
:j: Pellegrini, in Arch. d. See. Rom., XI., 713. See also Creighton,
III.,
14 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
defiance of the Brief forbidding him to preach, the abusive
tone of his sermons, and finally, his unauthorised assump-
tion of the office of a prophet* On the political side, his
efficacious advocacy of the French alliance in Florence,
threatened the Pope with a repetition of the French King's
invasion of Italy, involving possibly his deposition and a
schism.
As time went on, the excitement of the contending
parties in Florence continued to increase, and Savonarola's
preaching added fresh fuel to the flames.f The accounts
from Florence declared that he railed at the Pope as worse
than a Turk, and the Italian powers as worse than heretics.
His fulminations soon found their way abroad ; and he
often said that he had received letters of sympathy even
from Germany. It was reported that the Sultan had caused
his sermons to be translated into the Turkish language.]:
There was certainly quite enough in all this to cause Alex-
ander to bestir himself, without needing any further stimulus
from the League or from Cardinal Ascanio Sforza. The
terrorism exercised by Savonarola and his adherents grew
daily more and more intolerable. The prophet declared that
no one could^be a good Christian who did not believe in
him. His most zealous disciple, Fra Domenico da Pescia,
* GuERARDi, 141.
t Perrens, 261, points out that if Savonarola had really possessed
that humility which is one of the first virtues that ought to characterise a
religious, and which he so ostentatiously professed, he would have left
Florence, or at any rate abstained from preaching. However convinced
he might be of the truth of his views, a priest should have shrunk from
securing their success at the cost of bloodshed, and from being a cause
of embittered divisions amongst his fellow-citizens. But to his excitable
temperament the stir of battle was a necessity of life. " I cannot live,"
he said, " unless I preach."
X ViLLARi, Savonarola, II., 87 (Engl, trans.). Cf. Ranke, Studien,
255, and Perrens, 236.
HE REFUSES TO OBEY THE POPE'S BRIEF. 1 5
went so far as to say that earth and sea and heaven would
pass away, the Cherubim and Seraphim, our Lady and even
Christ Himself, sooner than any of Savonarola's teaching.*
On the 7th November, 1496, the Pope despatched a new
Brief with the object of putting an end to these scandals
and removing Savonarola, who was the soul of the French
party, from Florence, while sparing him as much as possible.
The plan of uniting S, Marco with the unfriendly congrega-
tion of Lombardy was entirely dropped. Instead of this
the Pope proposed to form a new congregation out of the
Dominican Convents in the provinces of Rome and Tuscany,
with a separate Vicar to be elected in conformity with the
statutes of the Order by the several Priors of the monas-
teries every two years. For the first two years Cardinal
Caraffa, who had always been friendly to Savonarola, was
appointed vicar, f
This time the prophet's answer to his Superiors was an
unconditional refusal. The reasons which he gave in jus-
tification of this were peculiar. In his " Apology for the
Congregation of S. Marco," he says : " The union with the
new congregation does not depend on my decision alone, but
needs the consent of 250 other monks, who have all written
to the Pope protesting against it ; and I am neither able
nor willing to oppose their wishes on this point, since I hold
them to be honest and just." After explaining the reasons
against it, he continues: " This union is therefore impossible,
unreasonable, and hurtful; nor can the brethren of S. Marco
be bound to agree to it, inasmuch as Superiors may not
issue commands contrary to the rules of the Order, nor
contrary to the law of charity and the welfare of our souls.
* See Parenti in Ranke, Studien, 265.
t This Brief from Cod. 2053 in the Riccardi Library, is in ViLLARl, I.,
ed.' 2, CXLII.-CXLIV. (Italian) ; also in the Bull. Ord. Praedic, IV.,
124-125.
l6 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
We must therefore take it for granted that our Superiors
have t)een misled by false information, and resist meanwhile
a command that is contrary to charity. Neither must we
allow ourselves to be cowed by threats nor excommunica-
tions, but be ready to face death rather than submit to that
which would be poison and perdition to our souls." At the
same time, Savonarola preached frequently, descanting
much on his prophetical gifts, and still more on politics.
All this, retailed with exaggeration by his enemies in
Rome, was naturally extremely irritating to Alexander
VI. Nevertheless, with that practical statecraft which his
contemporaries so highly praise in him, the Pope still held
back from plunging into a direct conflict with the Friar.
He resolved first to try another expedient. In order to
detach the Florentines from the French alliance he promised
to give them Pisa, and requested them to send an Envoy to
negotiate on this subject. Accordingly, on the 4th March,
1497, Alessandro Bracci was despatched for this purpose by
the Signoria to Rome. On the 13th he had- an audience
from the Pope. Alluding to Lodovico Moro, Alexander
said : — " May God forgive him who invited the French into
Italy ; for all our troubles have arisen from that." He then
endeavoured to persuade the Florentine Ambassador to
renounce the alliance with France. " Keep to us," he
exclaimed; "be loyal Italians, and leave the French in
France ! I must have no more fine words, but some bind-
ing security that you will do this." It was in vain for the
Ambassador to point out the reasons which determined his
Government to hold still with France; the Pope held to his
point, and insisted that Florence must change her policy.
He knew very well, he said, that this conduct, so unworthy
of an Italian power, was prompted by the belief of the
Florentines in the predictions of a fanatic. He was deej51y
wounded at the way in which the Government of Florence
SAVONAROLA'S VIOLENCE AGAINST ROME. 1 7
permitted this Friar to attack and threaten him and hold
him up to scorn *
There was ample justification for these complaints on the
part of the Pope, for accusations against Rome again con-
stituted the principal theme of the Lent sermons of the
year 1497. The language of the preacher became more
and more violent. " Come here, thou ribald Church," he
cried out. " The Lord saith, I gave thee beautiful vest-
ments, but thou hast made idols of them. Thou hast
dedicated the sacred vessels to vainglory, the sacraments
to simony ; thou hast become^ a shameless harlot in thy
lusts ; thou art lower than a beast, thou art a monster of
abomination. Once, thou felt shame for thy sin, but now
thou art shameless. Once, anointed priests called their
sons nephews ; but now they speak no more of their
nephews, but always and everywhere of their sons. Every-
where hast thou made a public place, and raised a house
of ill-fame. And what doth the harlot? She sitteth on
the throne of Solomon and soliciteth all the world ; he
that hath gold is made welcome, and may do as he will ;
but he that seeketh to do good is driven forth And
thou, O prostitute Church, thou hast displayed thy foulness
to the whole world, and stinkest up to Heaven." f
Language such as this was calculated to alienate man\-
who had hitherto favoured the Florentine prophet. The
General of his Order and Cardinal Caraffa now ceased to
defend him ; and in Rome his cause was practically lost,
while in Florence, also, public opinion was beginning to
turn against him. His irreconcilable opponents, the
Arrabiati and the Compagnacci (boon companions and
lovers of the table), began to get more and more the upper
* Gherardi, 149 se^. ; Cosci, 440 seg,
t ViLLARi, II., 165-166 (Engl, trans.), who justly observes that the
passage about the sons of priests was directly aimed at Alexander VI.
VOL. VI. C
1 8 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
hand. The excitement became so great that at last the
Signoria issued a decree forbidding all monks of all Orders
to preach after Ascension Day. On this day (4th May)
Savonarola once more stood up in the Cathedral pulpit
and boldly repeated his former assertion, that all who
persecuted him were fighting against God ; Italy, and
especially Rome, would be terribly chastised, and then
would come the reformation of the Church. It was
untrue to say that he ought not to have preached that
day because his preaching might give rise to disturbances ;
the Signoria might forbid preaching, but all the same there
would be strife to determine whether such tyranny ought
to be endured. At this moment a tumult began in the
Church which soon spread into the streets. A regular
pitched battle between the opponents and adherents of
Savonarola seemed imminent.* An Envoy in Florence
writes : *' We have got back to the days of the Guelfs and
the Ghibellines." f The authors of these disturbances
remained unpunished, and the preacher could not fail to
see that his party had lost its ascendency. Under these
circumstances he resolved to make an attempt to avert
the storm that was gathering against him in Rome. On
the 22nd May he wrote a letter to the Pope, beginning
with the words, "Why is my lord so wroth with his
servant?" He had never, he declared, made any personal
accusations in his sermons against any one, least of all
against the Vicar of Christ — further, he asserted that he
was always ready to submit himself to the judgment of
the Church, and preached no other doctrine than that of
the Holy Fathers, as would soon be proved to the whole
world in his forthcoming work. The Triumph of the Cross. %
* Ranke, Studien, 274 seq.
f Somenzi in his Report, May 4, in the Arch. St. Ital., XVIII., 2, 19.
X ViLLARi, Savonarola, II., 188 (Engl, trans.)
EXCOMMUNICATION OF SAVONAROLA. I9
While Savonarola was penning these words, judgment
had been already pronounced against him in Rome. Even
his former friend and supporter, Cardinal Caraffa, had now
become convinced of the necessity for this step. Savonarola
had invented all sorts of flimsy pretexts for evading the
examination into his prophetical gifts which Rome was
bound to require, and to which it was his clear duty to
submit. What would become of the authority of the Holy
See if every one were to follow his example ? At the same
time, while withholding from his Superiors that submission
to which his vows had bound him, he claimed un-
questioning obedience to his own commands, as Divine
revelations ! *
On the 1 2th May, 1497, Alexander attached his signature
to the Brief of Excommunication. He had delayed his
action as long as he could, and given the hot-headed Friar
ample time to come to a better mind. Referring to the
complaints brought to Rome of Savonarola's proceedings,
the Florentine Envoy expressly says that Alexander had
let it be clearly seen that he " was not inclined to make
use of all the weapons that he had in his hand." But
Savonarola's obstinate refusal to carry out the orders of
the Holy See, in regard to the union of the Convent of
S. Marco with the newly-erected Tuscan and Roman con-
gregation, and his persistent disregard of the prohibition
against his preaching, displayed an amount of insub-
ordination towards the Papal authority that could not be
left unchallenged. In addition to this, there were his
incessant diatribes against Rome, and the assumption of
prophetical authority on which these were founded ;f and
no doubt political motives tended in the same direction,
♦ Perrens, 230 seq.
t Cf. the Despatch of the Florentine Ambassador in Rome, in
Gherardi, 141.
20 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
since Alexander was making every effort to detach
Florence from France, and Savonarola was in this his
strongest antagonist. However, the Friar's persistent insub-
ordination was certainly the main determining factor in
the final decision against him. " It was impossible for
even an Alexander VI. to tolerate a prophet overriding
the Hierarchy." *
The Brief of Excommunication runs as follows : " We
have heard from many persons worthy of belief, that a
certain Fra Girolamo Savonarola, at this present said to
be Vicar of S. Marco in Florence, hath disseminated per-
nicious doctrines to the scandal and great grief of simple
souls. We had already commanded him, by his vows of
holy obedience, to suspend his sermons and come to us
to seek pardon for his errors ; but he refused to obey, and
alleged various excuses which we too graciously accepted,
hoping to convert him by our clemency. On the contrary,
however, he persisted still more in his obstinacy ; wherefore,
by a second Brief (7th November, 1496), we commanded
him, under pain of excommunication, to unite the Convent
of S. Marco to the Tuscan-Roman Congregation recently
created by us. But even then he still persisted in his
stubbornness, thus, ipso facto, incurring the Censure.
Wherefore we now command you, on the feast days and
in the presence of the people, to declare the said Fra
Girolamo excommunicate, and to be held as such by all
men, for his disobedience to our apostolic admonitions
♦ Grisar, in the Zeitschr. fiir Kathol. Theologie, IV., 397 ; Balan,
379 ; and Ranke, Studien, 278, who assigns correct limits to the influence
of political motives. He remarks : " The principal motive, however, was
the vindication of the supremacy of the spiritual authority, which at that
time could count upon a party in the city prepared to support it." On
the co-operation of Card. Caraffa in regard to the Brief, see Gherardi,
160 seq. Cf. also Pellegrini, in the Arch. d. Soc. Rom., XL, 717.
EFFORTS TO OBTAIN ITS WITHDRAWAL. 21
and commands; and, under pain of the same penalty,
all are forbidden to assist him, hold intercourse with him,
or abet him either by word or deed, inasmuch as he is
an excommunicated person, and suspected of heresy.
Given in Rome, I2th May, 1497."*
In order to spare the Florentines as much as possible,
the Brief was not sent to the Government but to the
several convents. It was not solemnly published until the
1 8th June.-j- Meanwhile the Florentine Envoys in Rome
were working hard to obtain from the Pope the withdrawal,
or at least the suspension, of the sentence. Savonarola's
letter of 22nd May had arrived in the interim and produced
a softening effect on Alexander, who from the first had
been doing his best to avoid extreme measures. It seems
most probable that at this juncture, in spite of the intrigues
of the enemies of the Friar, it would have been possible to
have obtained a suspension of the Brief Alexander VI.
was cut to the heart by the murder of the Duke of Gandia,
and frightened also, as the assassin could not be discovered. :J:
So prudent a statesman could not have desired to aggravate
the tension of the situation just then by embarking in a
new conflict. The fact that he put Savonarola's case into
the hands of the newly-appointed commission for the
reform of the Church, for further consideration, seems to
prove that a pacific solution of it was quite within the
bounds of possibility.§
At this critical moment it was Savonarola's own incon-
* See DEL LUNGO in the Arch. St. Itil., N. Serie, XVIII., i, 17 seq.,
and ViLLARl, Savonarola, II., 189-190 (Engl, trans.). Cf. Sanuto, I.,
632 seq. Even Protestant historians, e.i(.^ Krabbe, Savonarola, 56
(Berlin, 1862), admit that the excommunication was merited.
+ Landucci, 152-153.
X See \''ol. V. of this work, p. 496.
§ See Pellegrini in Arch. d. Soc Rom., XI., 719.
22 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
siderate violence which effectually crushed this last chance
of a reconciliation. On the 19th June he wrote in great
haste an " Epistle against the surreptitious Excommunica-
tion addressed to all Christians and friends of God." In it
he endeavoured to defend himself against his opponents,
and repeated his claim to a Divine mission. At the close he
says : " This Excommunication is invalid before God and
man, inasmuch as it is based on false reasons and accusa-
tions devised by our enemies. I have always submitted,
and will still submit, to the authority of the Church, nor
will ever fail in my obedience ; but no one is bound to
submit to commands opposed to charity and the law of
God, since in such a case our Superiors are no longer the
representatives of the Lord. Meanwhile, seek by prayer to
make ready for that which may befall you. If this matter
is pursued further, we will make the truth known to all the
world."* This theory is in direct contradiction to the teach-
ing of the Church, which enjoins obedience even to an un-
just Interdict, and would obviously destroy all discipline.-f
Savonarola was bound to obey the Holy See, however it
might be desecrated by such an occupant as Alexander VI.
The Pope had no choice but to treat this step as a
declaration of war. On the 26th June he told the Floren-
tine Envoys that he was determined to proceed against the
disobedient Friar, in the manner prescribed by the Church
for dealing with rebels and those who contemned her
authority. The Florentines still hoped by diplomacy to
avert the catastrophe, especially as Alexander declared
that, if Florence would give up the French alliance, he
* ViLLARl, Savonarola, II., 193-194 (Engl, trans.) ; Meier, 135 seq.
Savonarola's replies were always printed at once ; cf. Sanuto, I., 634,
who obser\'es that for this reason he does not insert them, also because
they are so lengthy, and " per esser cosa fratescha."
t Frantz, Sixtus IV., 82
SAVONAROLA DEFIES THE POPE.
23
would do everything in his power to meet all the wishes of
the Republic. The Florentine Envoy was also indefatiga-
ble in exerting himself to influence the Cardinals in
favour of Savonarola, and not entirely without result, for
some members of the commission recommended that the
Censure should be suspended for two months, and the
Friar induced meanwhile to come to Rome. But these
views did not prevail. The commission of Cardinals agreed
with the Pope that it was out of the question to comply with
the request of the Signoria, unless Savonarola would first
consent to yield obedience to the commands of the General
of his Order and of the Holy See. People began to say that
the Interdicts would be extended to the city itself Still
the Florentine Envoy refused to relinquish all hope, but was
forced on the 12th February, 1498, to confess, after months
of toil, that the case presented extraordinary difficulties.*
Meanwhile Savonarola, more than ever convinced of his
divine mission,f did everything that in him lay to increase
these difficulties and to exasperate the Pope and make a
reconciliation impossible.
Hitherto, even during the "Plague, he had abstained from
attempting to exercise any sacerdotal functions ; he well
knew that to do so while under a formal sentence of
Excommunication would be a sacrilege.
At the end of the year 1497 he changed his mind on this
point. On Christmas Day he celebrated three masses and
gave communion to all his religious and a large number
* Gherardi, 172, 174-176. C/.the Ferrarese Despatch in Cappelli,
Savonarola, 89 seg., who at the same time reports that Savonarola
continues irreconcilable.
t Cf. the Report of the Ferrarese Envoy, in Aug. 1497, of his conversa-
tion with the " prophet," who explained that he was only an instrument in
the hands of God, and therefore had no fear of the result, as God must
certainly conquer. Cappelli, 90, c/. 98-99, on Savonarola's firm deter-
mination not to yield obedience to the Pope.
24 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
of the laity. Many of his partisans even disapproved of
this sacrilegious act.* Presently it was announced that he
intended to begin again to preach. The excommunication,
he explained to the Ferrarese Envoy, was unjust and had
no power to bind him ; he did not mean to take any notice
of it; see what a life Alexander VI. was leading; nothing
should hinder him from preaching, " his commission came
from One who was higher than the Pope, higher than
any creature."f The Vicar of the Archbishop of Florence
* Nardi, I., 1 20, says : con gran maraviglia d'ognuno e dispiacimento
non piccolo de' suoi divoti. Savonarola had resumed his spiritual minis-
trations.
t Cappelli, Savonarola, 102. Ranke is of opinion (Studien, 289
seg.) that " the Friar's action in permitting himself to resume his preaching
outside the walls of S. Marco was far more important (than his exercise
of sacerdotal functions) ; for this was an open defiance of the papal com-
mands and the announcement made to him in the previous June
of his Excommunication. This must not be regarded as an isolated act
of disobedience ; it is plain that it imphed an attack on the whole system
of the Church. The supreme authority of the Pope and his infaUibility
are called in question by it. . . . Savonarola, in resisting the Excom-
munication, was preparing the way for the Reformation." ViLLARI,
Savonarola, II., 246, n, 4 (Engl, trans.), and Pellegrini iij the Giom.
St. d. Lett. Ital, XII., 258, n. 2, justly dispute this latter assertion, but the
error contained in the opening sentences of this passage is much greater.
Ranke's Studien on Savonarola has the merit of being an impartial view
of the " prophet," undistorted by the Dominican legends by which Villari
has been far too much influenced. But this makes such remarks as those
in the sentences quoted above all the more regrettable, ^^^len Ranke be-
takes himself to the domain of Catholic theology, his utter ignorance leads
him into serious error. Thus he says (p. 327} that Savonarola distincdy
taught the doctrine of justification by faith only ! The parallel drauTi
between the Friar and Luther and Cahnn on p. 33 1 is only partially true.
Ranke says here that Luther " took up his position outside the hierarchy
of the Church, while Savonarola still held to it." But if so. on what
grounds does he. on p. 6, call Savonarola " a precursor of the Reforma-
tion of the 1 6th Centur)' " ?
DISOBEDIENCE OF SAVONAROLA. 2$
tried to prevent this by issuing a mandate forbidding all
from being present at the sermons, and desiring the parish
priests to explain to their flocks that the excommunication
was perfectly valid, and that any one attending Savonarola's
preaching incurred the same penalty himself, and would be
cut off from the Sacraments and from Christian burial.
The Signoria, however, made short work of this proclama-
tion, threatening the Vicar with the severest penalties if he
did not withdraw it at once.*
On Septuagesima Sunday, nth February, 1498, Savon-
arola again entered the pulpit of S. Marco under the aegis
of the secular power and in open defiance of the commands
of his spiritual superiors. In burning words he defended
his disobedience. " The righteous prince or the good
priest," he declared, " is merely an instrument in the Lord's
hands for the government of the people, but when the
higher agency is withdrawn from prince or priest, he is
no longer an instrument, but a broken tool. And how,
thou would'st say, am I to discern whether or no the higher
agency be absent? See if his laws and commands be
contrary to that which is the root and principle of all
wisdom, namely of godly living and charity ; and if contrary,
thou may'st be truly assured that he is a broken tool, and
that thou art nowise bound to obey him. Now tell me a
little, what is the aim of those who, by their lying reports,
have procured this sentence of Excommunication ? As all
know, they sought to sweep away virtuous living and
righteous government, and to open the door to every vice.
Thus, no sooner was the Excommunication pronounced,
than they returned to drunkenness, profligacy, and every
other crime. Thus, I will not acknowledge it, for I cannot
act against charity. Any one who gives commands opposed
* ViLLARl, Savonarola, II., 247-248 (Engl, trans.), Appendix, LI.;
Perrens, 333 ; Meier, 140 seg.
26 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
to charity is Excommunicated by God. Were such com-
mands pronounced by an angel, even by the Virgin Mary
herself and all the saints (which is certainly impossible),
anathema sit. If pronounced by any law, or canon, or
council, anathema sit. And if any Pope hath ever spoken
to a contrary effect from this, let him be declared excom-
municate. I say not that such a Pope hath ever existed ;
but if he hath existed he can have been no instrument of
the Lord, but a broken tool. It is feared by some that,
though this excommunication be powerless in Heaven, it
may have power in the Church. For me it is enough not
to be interdicted by Christ. Oh, my Lord, if I should seek
to be absolved from this excommunication, let me be sent
to hell ; I should shrink from seeking absolution as from
mortal sin."
" The Pope may err," Savonarola asserted in his sermon
on 1 8th February, " and that in two ways, either because he
is erroneously informed, or from malice. As to the latter
cause we leave that to the judgment of God, and believe
rather that he has been misinformed. In our own case I
can prove that he has been falsely persuaded. Therefore
any one who obstinately upholds the excommunication and
affirms that I ought not to preach these doctrines is fight-
ing against the kingdom of Christ, and supporting the
kingdom of Satan, and is himself a heretic, and deserves to
be excluded from the Christian community." *
These and similar utterances which occur in all his ser-
mons were the result of Savonarola's unfortunate conviction
derived from his visions, that he had a mission from God,
and his attacks on the Italian, and especially the Roman
■^ ViLLARi, Savonarola, II., 248 seq. (Engl, trans.). Cf. Meier, 141
seq..^ and Perrens, 335 seq.\ the latter justly observes that Savonarola's
theory paves the way for all kinds of insubordination. See also Frantz,
Sixtus IV., 82.
HIS ATTACKS ON THE ROMAN CLERGY. 27
clergy, became more violent than ever. " The scandals," he
says, '* begin in Rome and run through the whole of the
clergy ; they are worse than Turks and Moors. In Rome
you will find that they have, one and all, obtained their
benefices by simony. They buy preferments and bestow
them on their children or their brothers, who take posses-
sion of them by violence and all sorts of sinful means.
Their greed is insatiable, they do all things for gold. They
only ring their bells for coin and candles ; only attend
Vespers and Choir and Office when something is to be got
by it. They sell their benefices, sell the Sacraments, traffic
in masses ; in short, money is at the root of everything,
and then they are afraid of excommunication. When the
evening comes one goes to the gaming table, another to his
concubine. When they go to a funeral a banquet is given,
and when they ought to be praying in silence for the soul
of the departed they are eating and drinking and talking.
They are steeped in shameful vices ; but in the day-time
they go about in fine linen, looking smart and clean. Many
are absolutely ignorant of their rule and where to find it,
know nothing of penance or the care of souls. There is no
faith left, no charity, no virtue. Formerly it used to be said,
if not pure, at least demure. Now no one need try to keep
up appearances, for it is considered a disgrace to live well.
If a priest or a canon leads an orderly life he is mocked and
called a hypocrite. No one talks now of his nephew, but
simply of his son or his daughter. The ... go openly to
S. Peter's ; every priest has his concubine. All veils are cast
aside. The poison is so rank in Rome that it has infected
France and Germany and all the world. It has come to
such a pass that all are warned against Rome, and people
say, ' If you want to ruin your son make him a priest.' "*
But the scene which Savonarola permitted himself to
* Meier, 143 seg.
28 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
enact on the last day of the Carnival, was even more out-
rageous than his language. He began by sa\ing mass in
S. Marco and giving communion to his monks and a large
number of laymen. Then he mounted a pulpit which had
been erected before the door of the Church, carrying the
Blessed Sacrament in his hand, and, almost beside himself
with excitement, blasphemously exclaimed, " Oh Lord, if
my deeds be not sincere, if my words be not inspired by
Thee, strike me dead this instant."*
" O ye priests," Savonarola cried out from the pulpit on
the 1st March, " you have surpassed the pagans in contradict-
ing and persecuting the truth of God and His cause. O my
children, it is evident now that they are worse than Turks.
Now must we resist the wicked as the martyrs resisted the
tyrants. Contend ye evil-doers against this cause like
pagans ; write to Rome that this Friar and his friends will
fight against you as against Turks and unbeHevers. It is
true that a Brief has come from Rome in which I am called
a son of perdition. Write that he whom you thus designate
says that he has neither concubines nor children, but
preaches the Gospel of Christ. His brethren, and all who
follow his teaching, reject all such deplorable things,
frequent the Sacraments, and live honestly. Nevertheless,
like Christ Himself, we will somewhat give way to wrath,
and thus I declare to you, that I will preach no more from
this pulpit except at the request of those who desire to lead
a good life. I will preach in S. Marco but to men only,
not to women ; under the present circumstances this is
needful."t
* Landucci, 163, who describes this appalling scene, adds : Eravi
venuto grande popolo, stimando vedere segni : e tiepidi si ridevano e
facevano beffe e dicevano : Egli e scommunicato e communica altri.
E benche a me e' pareva errore, ancora che gli credessi ; ma non volli
mettermi mai a pericolo andare a udirlo, poiche fu scommunicato.
t Meier, 146.
THE pope's brief TO THE FLORENTINES. 29
Nothing could have pleased Savonarola's enemies better
than this aggressive tone. His friends were in the greatest
embarrassment. The Florentine Ambassador in Rome knew
not what reply to make to the Pope's complaints of the
intemperate sermons of the Friar and the obstinacy of the
Florentines in clinging to their prophet and to the French
alliance. On the 25th February, 1498, Alexander told the
Envoys that "even Turks would not endure such insubordi-
nation against lawful authority," and threatened to lay an
Interdict on the city.* A few days later he attached his
signature to a Brief to the Florentines, which ran thus : " On
first receiving notice of the pernicious errors diffused by that
child of iniquity, Girolamo Savonarola, we required him to
abstain entirely from preaching, and to come to Rome to
implore our pardon and make recantation ; but he refused
to obey us. We commanded him, under pain of excommu-
nication, to join the Congregation of S. Marco to the new
Tuscan-Roman Congregation, and again he refused to obey,
thus incurring, ipso facto, the threatened excommunication.
The which sentence of excommunication we caused to be
pronounced and proclaimed in your principal churches,
likewise declaring that all who heard, or addressed, or held
intercourse with the said Girolamo would incur the same
penalty. Nevertheless, we now hear that, to the grave hurt
of religion and the souls of men, this Friar still continues to
preach, despises the authority of the Holy See, and declares
the excommunication to be null and void. Wherefore
we command you, by your duty of holy obedience, to send
the said Fra Girolamo to us, under safe custody; and
if he return to repentance, he will be paternally received
by us, inasmuch as we seek the conversion, not the
death, of the sinner. Or at least put him apart, as a corrupt
* Gherardi, 180 seq. Cj, Pellegrini in Arch. d. Soc. Rom.,
XL, 721.
30 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
member, from the rest of the people, and keep him con-
fined and guarded in such wise that he may have speech
of none, nor be able to disseminate fresh scandals. But
if ye refuse to obey these commands, we shall be forced
to assert the dignity of the Holy See, by subjecting
you to an Interdict and also to other and more effectual
remedies." *
This Brief, therefore, does not contain the Interdict itself
but only threatens it. In a second the Canons of the
Cathedral are enjoined not to allow Savonarola to preach
on any pretext whatsoever. Thus the Pope still abstained
from doing anything more than that which was absolutely
necessary, and demanded nothing that was not strictly with-
in his rights. According to the ecclesiastical laws of that
time Savonarola was unquestionably a delinquent, and
being a religious, Alexander had a right to require that he
should be handed over to the Holy See for judgment. It
is quite true that, from the beginning and throughout, the
fact that the Friar was the soul of the French party in
Florence was one of the weights in the scale, and not
a light one ; but it is an exaggeration to assert that
Alexander's only motive in his proceedings against
Savonarola was to induce Florence to join the Italian
League against France ; at this moment it is clear that in
the Pope's mind the vindication of the authority of the
Church was the foremost consideration.f " If the monk
will prove his obedience," he said on 27th February to
the Florentine Envoy, " by abstaining from preaching for
a reasonable time, I will absolve him from the censures
which he has brought upon himself; but if he persists in
* ViLlARl, Savonarola, II., 262, 263 (Engl, trans.). The whole text is
in the Italian, II., ed. 2, App., LXVI.-LXVII.
t Grisar in the Zeitschr. fiir Kathol. Theologie, IV., 397. Cf. Ranke,
Studien, 78.
FLORENCE THREATENED WITH AN INTERDICT. 3 1
his disobedience we shall be obliged to proceed against
him with the Interdict and all other lawful punishments, to
vindicate our own dignity and that of the Holy See." *
The Pope again expressed himself in similar terms when,
on the 7th of March, the Florentine Envoy presented the
reply of his Government to the Brief of 26th February.
The reply pointed out that Savonarola had never entered
the pulpit in the Cathedral since the arrival of the Brief,
defended him warmly on all points, declaring that he had
been calumniated, and said that the Government was unable
to comply with the Pope's request. Alexander, however,
was well aware that Savonarola continued to preach and
abuse him in S. Marco in exactly the same manner as he
had done in the Cathedral. " This is a sorry letter," he said
to the Florentine Envoy on the 7th March, " that your
Government has written to me. I am not misinformed, for
I have myself read the sermons of this Friar of yours, and
conversed with people who have heard them. He despises
the censures and has had the insolence to call the Pope a
* broken tool,' and to say that he would sooner go to hell
than ask for absolution." With growing irritation Alex-
ander went on to complain that -the Signoria still permitted
Savonarola to preach. More than once it had been at
their express desire that the Friar had re-entered the
pulpit at S. Marco ; the Pope demanded that he should be
absolutely silenced, otherwise he would lay the city under
Interdict. The Envoy strove to mollify the Pope by point-
ing out that there was nothing reprehensible in Savonarola's
teaching. Alexander replied that it was not the Friar's
doctrines that he condemned, but his conduct in refusing to
ask to be absolved from the excommunication, declaring it
to be null and void, and continuing to preach in spite of his
express prohibition. Such an example of open defiance of
* Gherardi, 183,
32 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
his and the Church's authority was most dangerous * This
declaration was endorsed by a new Brief dated 9th March,
again denouncing in the strongest terms Savonarola's dis-
obedience in preaching and exercising sacerdotal functions,
notwithstanding his excommunication, and in disseminating
through the press his denial of the validity of the Papal
censures, and other subversive doctrines. " Does the Friar
think," it said, " that he alone was excepted when our Lord
conferred the power of binding and loosing on our pre-
decessor S. Peter ? . . . Our duty as Pastor of the flock
forbids us to tolerate such conduct any longer. We there-
fore once more command you either to send Savonarola to
Rome, or to shut him up in some convent where he can
neither preach nor speak to any one until he comes to
himself and renders himself worthy to be absolved. If
this is not done we shall lay Florence under Interdict ; all
that we require is that Savonarola shall acknowledge our
supreme authority."f
The numerous letters of the Florentine Ambassador shew
the extremely embarrassing position in which he was placed
by the perfectly legitimate demands of the Pope. From
Florence he received nothing but fair words excusing
Savonarola, while Alexander VI. insisted on deeds. On
the 1 6th of March, in a very outspoken letter, he again ex-
plained the true state of things to his Government. The
Pope, he says, absolutely requires that Savonarola shall be
silenced ; if not, the Interdict will certainly be pronounced.
They may spare themselves the trouble of any more fair
words and apologies for the Friar ; they make no impression
on any one. On the contrary, every one laughs at their
notion that Savonarola's Excommunication can be set aside.
* Marchese in Arch. St. Ital., VIII., 167 seq.
f Gherardi, 194 seq. ; cf. PELLEGRINI in the Arch, d Soc. Rom.,
XL, 723.
CONDUCT OF THE SIGNORIA. 33
The power of pronouncing censures is by no means an
insignificant part of the authority of the Holy See. They
need not fancy that they will be permitted to question it. " I
repeat once more," he adds, " what I have so often written
to you, if the Pope is not obeyed, the Interdict will be laid
on the city. Consider, moreover, how you yourselves would
act if one who owed you obedience not only frankly acted
against your commands, but flouted you into the bargain." *
A few days later the Ambassador announced that the
Pope had received further accounts of the abuse showered
upon him, the Cardinals, and the whole Roman Court by
Savonarola in his sermons. The result of a consultation
with several of the Cardinals was that to forbid his preach-
ing was not enough, he must be sent to Rome ; otherwise,
not only would an Interdict be laid upon Florence, but all
Florentines residing in Rome would be arrested and put in
prison and their property confiscated.-]-
It was so obviously the fault of the Signoria that matters
should have been brought to such a pass as this, that their
conduct has been suspected of having been due to the
intrigues of Savonarola's enemies, whose influence was
growing from day to day. The Milanese Ambassador in
Florence wrote to his Government on the 2nd March, 1498,
that the Signoria were endeavouring to irritate the Pope to
the utmost, in order to provide themselves with a plausible
pretext for taking proceedings against the Friar.j It is
not necessary to determine whether this view is correct or
not, but the fact remains that the behaviour of the Signoria
* Gherardi, 198-201, has been the first to publish this highly
interesting report of the Ambassador. Villari did not know of it.
t Gherardi, 204.
I This report is quoted by ViLLARl, Savonarola, II., 267 (Engl,
trans.). Cf. Arch. St. Ital., 3 Serie, XI 1 1., 186, and Pellp:grini in
Arch. d. Soc. Rom., XL, 722 sc(/. ; cf. 724 seq.
VOL. VL D
34 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
did necessarily greatly embitter Alexander against Savo-
narola. The Pope complained of the Friar's disobedience
and of his being permitted openly to set his authority at
defiance. The Signoria replied that the preacher was
doing a great deal of good and was a true reformer, and
that therefore they could not comply with Alexander's
commands. When the accounts from Rome became more
menacing, they gave way so far as to forbid him from
preaching ; * but allowed his followers, Fra Domenico and
Fra Mariano Ughi, to go on declaiming against Rome in
their sermons as freely as ever. The Pope complained of
this in a conversation with the Florentine Ambassador on
the 23rd of March and demanded an answer to his Brief.
" I do not require," he said, " that the friars should be pre-
vented from preaching, but these attacks on the authority
of the Church and abusive language against myself must
be put a stop to." Referring to Savonarola, he added : " If
he would be obedient for a while and then ask for absolu-
tion, I would willingly grant it, and permit him to resume
his sermons, but he must cease from abusing the Holy See,
the Pope, and the College of Cardinals ; for I do not object
to his doctrines, but only to his preaching without having
received absolution, and to his contempt of myself and of
my censures ; to tolerate this would be to give away my
apostolic authority."f These words are remarkable as
* In his last sermon on 1 8th March, Savonarola said that the only re-
source now left was an appeal to the highest tribunal. " We must turn
from the earthly Pope to Christ, the heavenly Pope." He declared that
he had never set himself against the true authority of the Church, " but if
the power of the Church is corrupted, it ceases to be that of the Church,
and becomes the power of Satan. When it encourages concubines,
knaves, and thieves, and persecutes the good, and hinders those who de-
sire to lead Christian lives, I tell you then it is a devilish power that must
be withstood." See Meier, i 50.
t Bonsi's Despatch of 23rd March, 1498, in Gherardi, 209 ; c/. 210.
SAVONAROLA PRESSES FOR A COUNCIL. 35
clearly proving that at this time the vindication of the
Church was the first consideration.
Could the proud Friar at this juncture have made up
his mind to humble himself before the Pope and ask for
absolution, possibly the storm which was ultimately to
overwhelm him might, even at the last moment, have been
averted. But nothing could have been further from his
thoughts ; blinded by his false theory, that a Council is
superior to the Pope,* he obstinately persisted in pushing
matters to an extreme. On the 13th March he addressed
an angry letter to Alexander, accusing him of having
" made a compact with his enemies, and let loose savage
wolves upon an innocent man."-[- Then, following in the
way of all other rebels, he urged that a Council should be
held to depose the Pope as " guilty of simony, a heretic,
and an unbeliever." Savonarola's friends pressed the Flor-
entine Envoy in France and Spain to support this plan ;
he himself addressed a letter to all the great Christian
Princes, to the Kings of France, Spain, England, and
Hungary, and the Emperor of Germany, strongly urging
them to convoke an anti-Papal Council. " The hour of
vengeance has arrived," he wrote in this document, " God
desires me to reveal His secret counsels and to announce
to all the world the dangers to which the barque of Peter is
exposed in consequence of your slackness. The Church
is steeped in shame and crime from head to foot. You,
instead of exerting yourselves to deliver her, bow down
before the source of all this evil. Therefore, the Lord is
angry and has left the Church for so long without a
shepherd. I assure you, in verbo Domini^ that this Alex-
ander is no Pope at all and should not be accounted such ;
for besides having attained to the Chair of S. Peter by the
* Cf. Vol. V. of this work, p. 212.
t Meier, 148 seq.^ 381 seq.
36 HISTORY OP THE POPES.
shameful sin of simony, and still daily selling Church bene-
fices to the highest bidder; besides his other vices which
are known to all the world, I affirm als© that he is not a
Christian, and does not believe in the existence of God,
which is the deepest depth of unbelief." After this intro-
duction, he required all Christian Princes to unite in con-
voking a Council as soon as possible in some suitable and
neutral place. On his side he not only bound himself to
substantiate all his charges with irrefragable proofs, but
also assured them that God would confirm his words by
miraculous tokens.*
The agitation in favour of a Council acquired a real force
and extension from Alexander's growing unpopularity.
The way in which he had given up the projects of reform
which he had announced before the death of the Duke of
Gandia, and his unblushing nepotism necessarily aroused
bitter feelings against him, both in Italy and abroad. There
was fermentation on all sides. The greatest danger seemed
to lie in Savonarola's friendship with the French King
Charles VIII. who had already, on 7th January, 1497,
obtained a pronouncement in favour of his plans for calling
a Council from the Sorbonne.f Alexander had got to
know of these intrigues, either through intercepted letters
or through some unwary speaker. He now thought that
he had good reason to fear that Savonarola's mysterious
threats, such as " Some day I will turn the key," or " I will
cry, Lazarus, come forth," were more than mere empty
* The draft of this letter is to be found in MEIER, 349 seg'. This docu-
ment is pronounced to be genuine, not only by Marchese in Arch.
St. Ital, VIII., 86 seg'. {cf. Scritti, I., 254 seg.\ but also by Ranke,
Studien, 307 seg.^ who also, in the same place, expresses his belief in the
statements made by Savonarola in his trial.
t Du Plessis d'Argentre, Coll. Judic, T. I., P. II., pp. 335-336;
Hergenrother, VIII., 333.
EXASPERATION OF THE POPE. 37
words. No doubt he recalled to mind Andrea Zamometic's
attempts to bring about a Council, and especially dreaded
combinations between the Friar and Princes or Cardinals
who were hostile to him, with the object of getting him de-
posed by a Council. " From henceforth all his moderation
and gentleness vanished." At the same time the tempest
burst upon Savonarola from another quarter.*
* Schwab, in the Bonn. Literaturblatt, IV., 906 ; cf. Pellegrini, in
Arch. d. Soc. Rom., XL, 726. Armstrong, in the Engl. Hist. Review,
IV., 455, strongly condemns the passionate partisanship with which
Villari, even in his latest edition, and in contradiction to all the best
authorities, describes the conduct of Alexander VI, in regard to Savona-
rola. This author, a Protestant, remarks among other things : " Even a
Pope has some rights of self-defence, and had Alexander overlooked the
contumacy of the Friar, the continuance of the Papacy would have been
impossible. Until the last act of the drama, he seems to have behaved with
singular moderation, and the changes which the author ascribes to male-
volent cunning were clearly due to a real difficulty in taking stringent
measures against a man for whose life and moral teaching he had con-
siderable respect. If the Pope had a right to separate the Tuscan from
the Lombard congregation against the will of the latter, he certainly had
the right to unite it to the Roman against the will of the former. Pro-
fessor Villari is never weary of assuring his readers that Savonarola's
opposition was directed not against the Papacy but against the Pope, and
that no taint of heresy lingers round his memory ; but it is difficult to
draw a hard and fast line between doctrine and discipline, and the head
of the Church would appear to have an even stronger claim to enforce his
views of discipline than of doctrine." In another place (p. 459), Arm-
strong says that Villari's biography is a panegyric and an apology.
Before him, Gaspary (II., 664) had also taken exception to Villari's
point of view. Hartwig, in the Zeitschr., LXIV., 178 seg., endeavours
to defend Villari against his critics, but has to admit that he had under-
taken to glorify Savonarola (p. 179), and that he is prejudiced in favour
of his hero (187). In introducing into this question the definition on
Infallibility of 1870 (179), Hartwig only shews that he has not under-
stood this dogma. I see in GOTHElN's work, Ignatius von Loyola, which
has just appeared (782), that he also considers Villari's point of view
" unsatisfactory."
38 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
At the very moment that the Friar was thus attempt-
ing to stir up a revolt amongst the Princes of Europe his
standing ground in Florence was slipping away from
under his feet.
The days in which Savonarola was the guide and ruler of
almost the whole of Florence had long gone by. The
turning point for him came in the year 1497 with the
failure of Piero de' Medici's attempt to make himself
master of the city, and the execution of five of his adherents.
Their relations set themselves as avengers of blood to hunt
Savonarola down,* and the influence of the Arrabiati
became so great that from that time his followers had to
fight hard to hold their ground. The position of the
Frateschi naturally was very much damaged when, on the
top of this, the excommunication also came, for it produced
a great impression in the city, and many held it to be bind-
ing.f The disputes on this point and on the guilt or
innocence of the Friar grew more and more vehement.
The revolutionary character of Savonarola's attitude I was
severely stigmatised by the Franciscans of S^ Croce. When
he was silenced by the Government they redoubled their
attacks upon him. The Dominicans were unwearied in de-
fending him ; their chief argument was his Divine mission.
In his sermons he had repeatedly asserted that supernatural
tokens of the righteousness of his cause would not fail to be
forthcoming if the natural evidence were insufiicient.§ For
a time the moderation of his conduct and the fact that
many of his prophecies came true had caused him to be
* See Hase, Savonarola, 53.
t Landucci, 162, reports that many were saying that, whether it
were just or unjust, the Excommunication was a serious matter. C/.
GUICCIARDINI, Op. ined, III., 167, and ARMSTRONG, /oc. cit.^ 456.
X Creighton, III., 238, considers it such.
§ Cf. supra, p. 28, and Arch. Veneto, VIII., -j^.
OPPOSITION TO SAVONAROLA IN FLORENCE. 39
widely believed. Gradually people became more and more
sceptical, and he found himself more and more obliged to
stand on the defensive against the cavillers who disbelieved
in his prophecies. The very palpable disadvantages con-
sequent on the state of tension between Florence and Rome
which was the natural result of her championship of an ex-
communicated religious, and especially the Pope's refusal to
consent to the levying of a tithe on Church property, had
a considerable effect in increasing the number of sceptics.
The deliberations of the Council in March 1498, on the
course to be pursued in their relations with Rome, shew
how far matters had gone in this respect. Francesco Valori,
Savonarola's confidential friend, and others, stood up for him,
but they were strongly opposed.
His enemies took pains to point out, in addition to higher
considerations, the material inconveniences that must attend
persistence in the course which Florence had hitherto been
pursuing. Giovanni Conacci observed that the Pope's
jurisdiction was universal, and he ought to be allowed to
have what rightly belonged to him. Giuliano Gondi
reminded the Florentines of their profession of obedience ;
in refusing to obey the Pope they were breaking a solemn
oath. The result of Savonarola's preaching, denying that
Alexander was a true Pope and vilifying his person, would
be that a sect would be formed in Florence. It was not
worth while to make enemies of the Pope and all the
Italian powers for the sake of such a man ; in the end the
Florentines would be declared rebels against the Church,
and would be treated as such. Giovanni Brunetti remarked
that however good and learned Savonarola might be, he was
still not infallible. Guid' Antonio Vespucci said that, look-
ing at the case on all sides, he thought it would be better
to obey the Pope. " You have got an envoy in Rome," he
said, *' who is commissioned to request the Pope to restore
40 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
his consent to the tax on the clergy, without which the city
cannot exist. For this end he is charged to do all he can
to conciliate the Holy Father ; there is no sense in contra-
dicting a man from whom you are seeking to obtain a
favour. Whether Savonarola be innocent or guilty is of no
moment; the Holy See holds him to be guilty, and unless
we satisfy the Pope on this point we shall certainly get
nothing from him, and it is much to be feared that the Inter-
dict, with all its disastrous consequences, will come upon
us. Stress has been laid on the harm that will be done by
silencing the Friar ; but since his own Superiors have for-
bidden him to preach it is not at our doors that the sin will
lie. For Rome the matter is far from being so unimpor-
tant as some would make it out. Censures are the weapons
of the Apostolic See ; if it is deprived of these, how can it
maintain its dignity and authority? This is perfectly
understood in Rome. It is said that we ought to consider
God and His honour. I agree ; but the Pope is Christ's
Vicar on earth, and derives his authority from God. It is
therefore more meritorious to accept his censures, whether
they be just or unjust, than to defend the Friar. No doubt
if we could be sure that Savonarola was sent by God it
would be right to protect him against the Pope ; but as
we cannot be certain of this, it is more prudent to obey
Rome." *
Meanwhile Savonarola unflinchingly maintained the
supernatural origin of his prophecies, and asserted that if
necessary they would be confirmed by a miracle. On the
last day of the Carnival of the year 1498, before all the
people, holding the Blessed Sacrament in his hand, he
prayed, " O God, if my words are not from Thee, I entreat
* See the report of these transactions in the documents published by
LUPI in the Arch. St. Ital., 3 Serie, III., i, 33-53. Cf. Ranke, Studien,
300 seq. ; Frantz, Sixtus IV., 71 seq. ; and Hase, 61.
PROPOSAL OF THE ORDEAL BY FIRE. 4I
Thee to strike me down this very moment." * On Quinqua-
gesima Sunday of the same year, in his sermon he cried out,
" I entreat each one of you to pray earnestly to God that if
my doctrine does not come from Him, He will send down
a fire upon me, which shall consume my soul in hell." In
other sermons he had repeatedly told stories to his audience
of cases in which the truth was not recognised until mani-
fested by some direct token from God, and offered himself
to pass through the fire in order to prove the reality of his
mission.-j- After such utterances as these it was not sur-
prising that on 25th March, 1498, the Franciscan, Francesco
of Apulia, in a sermon in S*^^ Croce, should have taken up
the challenge, and undertaken to submit to the ordeal by
fire with Savonarola. " I fully believe," Francesco said,
" that I shall be burnt, but I am ready to sacrifice myself
to free the people from this delusion. If Savonarola
is not burnt with me then you may believe him to be a
prophet." I
Savonarola meanwhile shewed no great inclination to
prove his mission by the ordeal, but it was otherwise with
his followers. Not only the enthusiastic Fra Domenico da
Pescia but also many other Dominicans, and even several
laymen and many women, announced their readiness to
undergo it. " It is wonderful," writes a Florentine to his
friend on 29th March, 1498, "to see how many here are
ready to go through the ordeal as joyfully as if they were
going to a wedding." §
* " The test was somewhat cheap,*' says Bohringer, 974, " and the
Arrabiati were quite justified in saying that Savonarola would have done
better if he had promised a miracle if God were for him, than if He were
against him ; for a negative proves nothing. But all that was needed
was to set afloat the idea of a Divine" manifestation."
t Perrens, 361 ; Bohringer, 988.
X Cf. Landucci, 166-167, and Gherardi, 216.
§ Gherardi, 216. Ranke Studien, 310, says that this "strange
42 HISTORY OF THE POPES
Savonarola's enemies recognised at once that the question
thus started might, and possibly must, entail the destruction
of their hated foe. " If he enters the fire," they said, " he
will be burnt ; and if he does not, he will forfeit the faith
of his adherents, and it will be easy to stir up a riot, during
which he may be arrested." They therefore resolved to do
their best to have the trial by ordeal carried out. For this
it was necessary to obtain the consent of the Government ;
and here there was considerable opposition from many who
recognised the scandalous nature of the proposal ; also
Savonarola's refusal to take up the challenge in person was
embarrassing. However, the majority agreed that all pos-
sible means must be tried, including the ordeal if neces-
sary, to heal the divisions in the city. Savonarola's party
were the most eager advocates of the ordeal. Again and
again their master had told them that one day his words
would be miraculously confirmed and his enemies destroyed,
and now it seemed as if the day had come. With fanatical
confidence they clamoured for the ordeal ; convinced that
when the decisive moment arrived, the master would no
longer be able to restrain himself, he would plunge into the
flames, and then would come the miracle.*
The propositions, the truth of which Domenico da Pescia
hoped to establish by means of the ordeal by fire, were
those which were most contested by Savonarola's opponents.
They were the following : — " The Church of God is in need
of reform ; she will be chastised first and then renovated.
Florence also will be chastised and afterwards restored and
flourish anew. All unbelievers will be converted to Christ.
These things will come to pass in our own time. The
duel ■' was proposed because " no ecclesiastical authority existed which
was acknowledged by both parties."
* ViLLARl, Savonarola, II., 307 (Engl, trans.). Cf. Ranke, Studien,
311 seg.
THE ORDEAL FORBIDDEN BY ALEXANDER. 43
Excommunication pronounced against our revered father,
Fra Girolamo Savonarola, is invalid and may be disre-
garded without sin."
The attitude of the Government towards the ordeal should
have caused Savonarola and his followers to pause ; but
common-sense had long been thrown to the winds by the
Friar's party, to make way for a blind belief in the som-
nambulistic oracles of Fra Silvestro Maruffi. On the 30th
March, the Signoria had decreed, in regard to the ordeal,
that the party whose champion succumbed must immedi-
ately leave the city ; that if either of the combatants refused
to enter the fire, he would incur the same penalty ; that if
both were burnt, the Dominicans would be considered the
vanquished party. In a new decree on 6th April there was
no longer any mention of a penalty for the Franciscans ;
it simply announced that if Fra Domenico perished,
Savonarola would have to leave Florence within three
hours.*
When the news of these proceedings reached Rome,
Alexander at once expressed his disapprobation. The
Florentine Ambassador endeavoured in vain to obtain his
sanction for the ordeal. He condemned it in the strongest
terms, as did also the Cardinals and the whole Roman Court.
The Ambassador insisted that the only way of prevent-
ing it would be for the Pope to absolve Savonarola, an
obviously impossible alternative.f
Meanwhile the 7th of April, the day fixed for the ordeal,
* This decree is in ViLLARl, Savonarola, IL, ed. 2, XCL-XCIIL
t In the face of the documents published by Gherardi, 217 seq.y
Villari's assertion, in which he persists even in his second edition, IL,
145, that Alexander had approved of the ordeal by fire, is absolutely un-
tenable. Creighton, III., 240 ; Pellegrini in the Arch. d. Soc. Rom.,
XL, 727 ; and Armstrong in the Engl. Hist. Review, IV., 458, all rightly
agree in rejecting Villari's theory. Cf. also Christophe, II. , 503, n. i,
and CiPOLLA, 755, n. 2.
44 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
had arrived. Savonarola's misgivings had been dissipated
by a vision of angels which had been vouchsafed to Fra
Silvestro. On the morning of the appointed day he said
mass and delivered a brief address to those who had
attended it "I cannot promise you," he said, "that the
ordeal will take place, for that does not depend upon us ;
but, if it does, I have no hesitation in assuring you that our
side will triumph." Then he set out for the Piazza accom-
panied by all his friars singing the Psalm, " Let God arise
and let His enemies be scattered," as they walked in proces-
sion. The Franciscans, who had come quietly, were already
there. An enormous multitude had assembled and were
eagerly awaiting the unwonted spectacle. The Signoria had
taken ev^ery precaution to secure the preservation of order.
Two piles of faggots forty yards long and saturated with oil
and pitch were prepared, divided by a space wide enough
to allow a man to pass between them. It had already
struck twelve when the Dominicans and their adherents,
walking in solemn procession (Savonarola carrying the
Blessed Sacrament), reached the Piazza. The Franciscans
had come earlier, simply and without any demonstration,
and now stood in silence on their side of the Loggia, while
the Dominicans prayed aloud. All was ready. But now a
difference arose between the two parties as to what each
of the champions should be allowed to take with him into
the flames. Fra Domenico insisted on taking the Crucifix,
and this the Franciscans refused to permit. While this
question was being discussed, a heavy shower came on,
threatening to drive the spectators away, but they were too
eager to be easily scared and it ceased in a few minutes as
suddenly as it had begun. Fra Domenico persisted in his
determination not to lay aside the Crucifix. At last he said
that he would be willing to take the Sacred Host instead.
Against this not only the Franciscans but the whole body
I
FAILURE OF THE ORDEAL. 45
of spectators energetically protested, rightly judging that
such a proceeding would be nothing less than an outrage
on the Blessed Sacrament. Savonarola and Fra Domenico
were of a different opinion ; later, Fra Domenico acknow-
ledged that the reason he refused to give way on this point
was, that Fra Silvestro's angel had expressly ordered him
to carry the Blessed Sacrament with him into the fire. The
only possible explanation of Savonarola's persistence in this
matter was the influence exercised over his mind by this
friar. As a priest he must have known that to introduce the
Sacred Host in such a manner into a personal experiment
was absolutely forbidden by Canon Law. He seemed to
have entirely forgotten that in the Church the only purposes
for which the body of the Lord can lawfully be used are for
the adoration of the faithful, or for their food. He main-
tained that only the species could be burnt, and that the
Host itself would remain untouched, and quoted a number
of doctors of the Church in support of his view, which the
Franciscans as resolutely contested.* Meanwhile it was
growing dark and Savonarola's opponents were becoming
more and more violent. The only course now open to the
Signoria was to command both parties to withdraw. The
mob, disappointed of the spectacle to which they had been
so eagerly looking forward, were furious. Their wrath
naturally was directed against the Dominican, '* whose pro-
posal of carrying the Sacred Host into the fire was looked
upon as an insult to the Blessed Sacrament." The bad
impression produced by this was all the stronger because
*■ BOHRINGER, 999, remarks, " If Savonarola believed in the certainty
of a miracle in his favour, why then should he carry the Sacred Host
into the fire? Or if, on the other hand, It was to serve as a sort of
talisman to protect Fra Domenico, would it not have had the same
effect if Rondinelli also had insisted on carrying it, and thus reduced the
whole ordeal to a farce ? "
A.6 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the Franciscan had been ready to enter the fire without any
more ado and without expecting- any miraculous interposi-
tion. The conduct of Savonarola and his party was uni-
versally condemned, especially after having so confidently
announced that a miracle would take place in their favour ;
" the idea that the whole thing was a fraud gained ground
from moment to moment"* If Savonarola was so confi-
dent that God would protect him, it was said, why did he
shrink from himself undergoing the ordeal ? Also, why did
he insist on Domenico's being allowed to carry the Blessed
Sacrament with him into the flames ? Even those who
believed in the prophet said that if the proof of his Divine
mission were to be held as really incontestable, he ought to
have entered the fire alone. Thus, in a single day, Savona-
rola by his own act had dissipated the prophetic halo which
had hitherto surrounded him in the eyes of the people.f
His fate was sealed. " He had himself led the populace to
look for, and believe in, such tokens as the ordeal would
have been, and whenever the masses find themselves
disappointed in their expectations, and think themselves
cheated and insulted, their resentment is bitter and ruth-
less."t
* Ranke, Studien, 313-314 {c/. 352 seq.) ; he cites Cerretani and the
Report of the Milanese Envoy, Somenzi, in the Arch. St. Ital., XVIII.,
2-31 seg'. Ranke rightly follows Cerretani's impartial account and
rejects Violi and Burlamacchi's Dominican Legend, which ViUari
reproduces in all essential points. A fresh authority, overlooked by
Villari, has now come to light in SiGlSMONDO DE' CONTI (II., 194), who
is all the more trustworthy because he fully recognises Savonarola's
great qualities. Pellegrini in the Giorn. St. d. Lett. Ital., XII., 262
seg'., also points out the strong bias in Villari's account of the ordeal
by fire.
t II popolo si conturbo tutti quasi perdendo la fede del Profeta, writes
Landucci, 169. C/. Creighton, IL, 242 ; Cosci, 456 ; and Perrens,
378 seg.
X Fra>7TZ, Sixtus IV., 80.
SAVONAROLA BEFORE THE SIGNORIA. 47
On the following morning, Palm Sunday, Savonarola
still further damaged his position by again preaching in
S. Marco in direct contradiction to the command of the
Signoria. On the same day his banishment was decreed ;
but this sentence was not carried out.* The Compagnacci
resolved to take advantage of the anger and disappoint-
ment of the populace in order once for all to crush the
Frateschi. Before Palm Sunday was over the two parties
into which the city was divided had come to blows.
The sermon of a Dominican friar who was preaching in
the Cathedral was violently interrupted. Francesco Valori,
Savonarola's chief supporter, was murdered, and the Con-
vent of S. Marco was stormed. At first Savonarola thought
of defending it, but when the city officials presented them-
selves and summoned him to appear before the Signoria,
he followed them. By torchlight he and Domenico da
Pescia were led to the palace through the seething crowd,
which hooted and jeered at the prophet as he passed.-j-
The Signoria lost no time in acquainting the Pope and
the various Italian powers with what had taken place.
The Florentine Ambassador in Rome was also charged to
beg for a general absolution from all Church penalties that
might have been incurred by having allowed the Friar to
go on preaching for so long, or by proceedings against
ecclesiastical persons. In addition they asked for powers
to try the religious who had been arrested, and also again
^ The Decree is in ViLLARi, IL, ed. 2, XCIV. C/. PORTIOLI in
the Arch. St. Lomb., I., 351 seg.
t C/. Cerretani and Farenti's reports in Ranke, 3 r 4 seg. " So great was
the rage of the people," says the chronicler Vaglienti, " that Savonarola,
if he had not had the Blessed Sacrament with him, would have been
torn to pieces." See Riv. d. Biblioteche dir di G. Biagi, IV., 60. See
also Jacopo Pitti, 1st. Fior., in the Arch. St. Ital., 152, and the letter
of a Mantuan Agent in the Arch. St. Lomb., I., 347 seg., and also
Cosci, 457 seg.
48 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
approached the question of the tax on the clergy.
Alexander VI. expressed his satisfaction that the scandal
caused by the excommunicated Friar was at last put an
end to ; he willingly granted the absolution, but desired
that the prisoners should be sent to Rome. Although this
request was afterwards repeated with considerable urgency,
no attention was paid to it in Florence. To send the
delinquents to Rome was held not consistent with the
dignity of the Republic ; the sentence ought to be carried
out where the crime had been committed. It was finally
decided that two Papal Delegates were to assist in the trial,
and on May 19th the General of the Dominicans, Gioacchino
Turiano, and Francesco Romolino, Bishop of Ilerda,
came to Florence in this capacity. But long before they
arrived the trial had begun, and it was evident that
Savonarola's opponents were now complete masters of the
city and were prepared to employ any amount of torture
and falsification of evidence to ensure his destruction.
It is plain that Savonarola's statements, forced from him
by torture and further distorted by interpolated sentences
and omissions, cannot be accepted as proofs of anything.
Thus the justice of his sentence can never be either proved
or disproved ; but the excitement of Florence was so
great that the Government believed that it was absolutely
necessary to put a stop to the Friar's proceedings. No
doubt Alexander VI. was urgent in his demands that the
rebel who had intended to call in the help of the secular
powers to achieve his dethronement should be punished.
Nevertheless the responsibility for the severity with which
he was treated must rest on the rulers of Florence. It has
been truly said, in excuse for this, that the Republic was at
that time in such a critical position, both externally and
internally, that the Government were convinced that this
was a case for the application of the old Roman maxim,
SAVONAROLA DESERTED BY HIS DISCIPLES. 49
" the good of the State before everything else," and that
they were bound to adopt any measures, however extreme,
that seemed expedient for its defence.*
What was given out as Savonarola's " Confessions " was
of a nature to shake the faith even of his most trustful
disciples in his Divine mission and his prophetic character,
and the mass of his disciples began rapidly to fall away.
" On the 29th April, 1498," writes the loyal Luca Landucci
in his Diary, " I was present at the reading of the deposi-
tions at the trial of Savonarola, whom we had all believed
to be a prophet. He confessed that he was no such thing
and that his prophecies were not from God. When I heard
this I was filled with amazement and confusion. My soul
was pierced with anguish when I perceived that the whole
of the edifice which my faith had reared was founded on
lies and was crumbling away. I had thought that Florence
was to be a new Jerusalem, out of which would proceed the
law of holy life, the reformation of the Church, the con-
version of unbelievers, and the consolation of the good.
Now all this has vanished. My only comfort is in the
word : In voluntate tua Domini omnia sunt posita'.' f
The majority even of the friars of San Marco now
abandoned their master. On the 21st of April they sent
a letter of apology to Alexander. " Not merely ourselves,"
they said, " but likewise men of far greater talent, were
deceived by Fra Girolamo's cunning. The plausibility of
his doctrines, the rectitude of his life, the holiness of his
manners ; his pretended devotion, and the good results he
obtained by purging the city of immorality, usury, and
every species of vice; the different events which confirmed
his prophecies in a manner beyond all human power and
imagination, were such that had he not made retractation
* Cosci, 460, cf. 462.
t Landucci, 173.
VOL. VI. E
50 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
himself, declaring that his words were not inspired by God,
we should never have been able to renounce our faith in
him. For so firm was our belief in him that we were
all most ready to go through the fire in support of his
doctrines." *
As every one had foreseen, the trial resulted in the
sentence of death being pronounced upon Savonarola, Fra
Domenico, and Fra Silvestro, " for the monstrous crimes of
which they had been convicted." On the following day the
sentence, death by hanging, was executed.
All three met their fate courageously and calmly. Before
being delivered over to the secular arm, they were degraded
from their priestly dignity as " heretics, schismatics, and
contemners of the Holy See."-]- One of the spectators is
said to have called out to Savonarola, " Now is your time,
Prophet, let us have the miracle." When life was extinct
* ViLLARi, Savonarola, II., 375 (Engl, trans.). Cf. Perrens, 597 seq.
t For those readers who are unfamiliar with ecclesiastical terminology,
I think the follo\\dng remarks will not be superfluous. It was not only the
Papal Commissioners but Alexander VI. himself who charged Savonarola
with disseminating "falsa et pestifera dogmata" (see the Brief of 12th
March, 1498, in Gherardi, 267). But by this phrase, according to the
ordinary language of the time and the legal points of view, which was also
that of the Inquisition during the following centuries, we are not to under-
stand the teaching of erroneous dogma. Under certain circumstances,
as Grisar in the Zeitschr. fiir Kathol. Theologie, 398, justly points out,
teaching, the tendency of which was practically schismatic or unecclesias-
tical, was so designated. " Thus, any one who was giiilty of insordescentia
in excommunicatione made himself ' suspect of heresy' in the eye of the
law, by seeming to deny the right of the Church to pronounce the sen-
tence of excommunication, or the necessity of membership with the
Church." And Savonarola's claim of being a divinely commissioned
prophet would fall under the same category. Cf. the Letter of the Papal
Commissioners of the 23rd May, 1498, in Rudelbach, 494-497, from
which it is evident that the charge of heresy in this case is to be under-
3tood in the constructive and not in the strict sense.
EXECUTION OF SAVONAROLA. 5 1
the bodies were taken down and burnt : a gust of wind for
a moment blew the flames aside, and many cried, " A
miracle, a miracle " ; but in another moment the corpses
were again enveloped. The ashes were thrown into the
Amo so as to leave no relics of the prophet for his disciples
to venerate.*
Such was the end of this highly gifted and morally
blameless, but fanatical, man. His greatest faults were his
interference in politics and his insubordination towards the
Holy See. His intentions, at least in the earlier years of
his active life, were pure and noble ; later, his passionate
nature and fanatical imasrination carried him far awav and
led him to overstep the bounds of what was permissible in a
religious and a priest. He became the head of a political
party and a fanatic, openly demanding the death of all
enemies of the Republic ; this could not fail in the end to
bring about his destruction.
In theory Savonarola remained always true to the
dogmas of the Catholic Church; but in his denial of the
penal authority of the Holy See, and in his plans for calling
a Council, which, if they had succeeded, must inevitably
have produced a schism, his tendencies were practically
uncatholic.f
* Landucci, 177-178; cf. ViLLARi, Savonarola, II., ed. 2, 2435'^^.
See also F. Ricciardi da Pistoja, Ricordi, 51-52, and Un testo oculare
del supplizio del Savonarola, in the periodical Zibaldone of ist Jan.,
1888.
t The old Lutheran view, that Savonarola was a precursor of the Re-
formation, and taught the doctrine of justification by faith alone, can no
longer be held by any serious historian ; cf. GUERZONI, Rinascimento,
80, and the Jahresberichte der Geschichtswissenschaft, I. (1878), 325,
360. Next to Marchese, I.^ 193 seq.^ Villari has undoubtedly
rendered great services in exposing the unhistorical character of this
view, of which Rudelbach is one of the principal supporters ; though,
from his imperfect acquaintance with Catholic theology and philosophy.
52 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
It may justly be urged in Savonarola's defence that in
Florence and in Rome, and indeed throughout Italy, a
he has not been able to avoid falling into some contradictions and errors.
Schwab in the Bonn. Literaturblatt, IV., 897, and Frantz, Sixtus IV.,
XV., pp. 91-93, have pointed these out, but Villari, against his own
interest, has refused to notice them. The absurd notion of introducing
Savonarola, who in his " Triumph of the Cross " places defection from the
Catholic Church in the same category with defection from Christ (Qui
ab unitate Romanae Ecclesiae doctrinam dissentit, procul dubio per devia
aberrans a Christo recedit, sed omnes haeretici ab ea discordant, ergo
ii a recto tramite declinant neque Christiani appellari possunt. Lib. IV.,
c. 6) into the Luther memorial at Worms, has set a number of Catholic
pens to work to prove his orthodoxy. Amongst these are : ( i ) Das
Lutherdenkmal zu Worms im Lichte der Wahrheit (Mainz, 1868, 2nd
ed., 1869) ; (2) ROUARD DE Card, H. Savonarola und das Lutherdenkmal
zu Worms ins Deutsche iibersetzt. (Berlin, 1868). See also SiCKiNGER,
Savonarola, Eine historische Studie (Wurzburg, 1877) ; Frantz, Sixtus
IV., 80 seq ; CiPOLLA, 760 ; DiTTRICH, Contarini, 478 seq. ; Cantu,
Eretici, I., 232, and Ital. 111., III., 6/^0 seq. \ Capponi, Gesch. der Florent.
Republik, II., 229; American Catholic Quarterly Review, XIV. (1889),
2,(iseq.', and Hergenrother, VIII., 335. The latter says of him : " He
certainly was not a formal heretic or a precursor of the so-called Re-
formation, unless the mere fact of being in opposition to Rome is enough
to constitute him such. His teaching was thoroughly Catholic, and, with
the exception of a few which have been put into the Index, his writings
have held their ground unquestioned in the literature of the Church."
In the reaction against this unhistorical point of view, a Dominican, E.
Bayonne, went so far as to write a book (Etude sur J. Savonarola
d'apres des nouveaux documents, Paris, 1879) with the object of prepar-
ing the way for his canonisation. The " New Documents " have been
published by Gherardi, but contain nothing to justify such a proposal ;
nor can the reverence and esteem entertained for him by S. Philip Neri
and S. Cath. Ricci be considered enough to support it. The legend that
Benedict XIV. " inscribed the name of Savonarola in the Catalogue of
the saintly and blessed seivants of Go^ " is entirely false. See Grisar,
in the Zeitschr. fiir Kathol. Theologie, IV., 392 seq. Bayonne's pretension
is in contradiction also with the old tradition of his Order. The docu-
ments in Gherardi, 329 seq.^ shew that the Dominican Superiors for a
CHARACTER OF SAVONAROLA. 53
deplorable corruption of morals prevailed, and that the
secularisation of the Papacy in Alexander VI. had reached
its climax ; but in his burning zeal for the reformation of
morals he allowed himself to be carried away into violent
attacks on men of all classes, including his superiors, and
he completely forgot that, according to the teaching of the
Church, an evil life cannot deprive the Pope or any other
ecclesiastical authority of his lawful jurisdiction He
certainly was quite sincere in his belief that he was a
prophet and had a Divine mission, but it soon became
evident that the spirit by which he was led was not from
above, for the primary proof of a Divine mission is
humble submission to the authority which God Him-
self has ordained. In this, Savonarola was wholly wanting.
*' He thought too much of himself and rose up against a
power which no one can attack without injuring him-
self No good can come of disobedience ; that was not
whole century combated the tendency to the veneration of Savonarola
among their subjects, and that it was forbidden to have any picture of
him, or even to mention his name. See Vol. V. of this work, p. 214, on a
heretical development of Savonarola's tendencies. It is well-known that
in the i6th Century, during the disturbances of 1 527-1 530, and at the
time of the opposition to the Grand Duke Alessandro Medici, Savon-
arola's views and methods were revived, and exercised considerable in-
fluence. In this connection it is useful to compare Marchese, Scritti,
I., 307 seq.^ with the documents in Gherardi, loc. cit. Reumont,
III., I, 154, thinks that there has been some exaggeration in the descrip-
tion and estimation of Savonarola's influence on the Florentine clergy of
that time. In the present state of our knowledge this question cannot
be certainly determined ; but a careful investigation of the subject would
be very valuable. 1 should wish to draw the attention of any one
who felt disposed to undertake this, to an apparently uni)rinted paper
written on the 7th June, 1578, at Fiesole. I found this panegyric of
the virtues of Savonarola (with the text : Credidi propter quod locutus
sum) in the Varia Polit., 47, f. 447 scq.^ in the Secret Archives of the
Vatican.
54 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the way to become the apostle of either Florence or
Rome." *
♦ Cardinal N ewman's judgment in Weiss, IV., 246 (VI I. 532, ed. 3);
cf. Rohrbacher-Knopfler, 277. Cesare Balbo, Storia d'ltalia (ediz.
decima, Firenze, 1856), has the following passage (p. 276) on the Friar
of San Marco : Di Savonarola chi fa un Santo, chi un eresiarca precursor
di Lutero, chi un eroe di libertk. Ma son sogni : i veri Santi non si ser-
von del tempio a negozi umani ; i veri eretici non muoion nel seno della
Chiesa, come mori, benche perseguitato, Savonarola ; e i veri eroi di
libertk sono un po' piu sodi, non si perdono in chiasso come lui. Fu un
entusiasto di bon conto ; e che sarebbe forse di buon pro, se si fosse
ecclesiasticamente contentato di predicare contro alle crescenti corruttelle
della spensierata Italia.
CHAPTER II.
CiESAR Borgia resigns the Cardinalate, and becomes Duke
OF Valentinois. — Change in the Papal Policy. — Alliance
between Alexander VI. and Louis XII.
Only a few weeks before Savonarola's execution the
Prince on whom the visionary Dominican had hung such
strangely baseless hopes for the reformation of the Church
and the salvation of Italy, had passed away. Charles VI 1 1,
died suddenly in the prime of life on the 7th April, 1498.*
He was succeeded by Louis XII. The new ruler shewed
at once what Italy had to expect from him by assuming
not only the title of King of Jerusalem and the two Sici-
lies, but also, as descendant of one of the Visconti, that of
Duke of Milan.
These pretensions were hailed with satisfaction in Flor-
ence, and still more so in Venice, the Republic having
fallen out with Milan about Pisa. Louis lost no time in
securing the services of the turbulent Gian Giacomo
Trivulzio,-]- and Venice, in the same breath with her con-
gratulations on his accession, proposed an alliance. J: The
* On Charles' latest project and his promises to Alexander VI., see
Delaborde, 684.
t Sanuto, I., 963 ; CiPOLLA, 761 ; Balan, 386. Cf. P^lissier,
La politique de Trivulce au debut du regne de Louis XII. (Paris, 1894).
Louis XII. sent an Envoy to Siena to induce that city to enter into an
alliance with France and Venice. See Pelissier, Lettre de Louis XII.
h, la Seigneurie de Sienne. Siena, 1894.
X RoMANiN, v., 101-102 ; Sanuto, I., 1012.
56 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
French King had announced his accession to the Pope in
remarkably friendly terms.* Alexander hastened, on the
4th of June, to respond to these advances by sending persons
of unusual distinction, the Archbishop John of Ragusa, the
protonotary Adrian of Corneto, and Raimondo Centelles,
as Envoys to France.f They were charged, first of all, to
congratulate the new King on his accession, and to call his
attention to the war against the Turks ; in the next place,
they were to say that the Pope would investigate certain
claims made by Louis in regard to the Neapolitan question ;
and to warn him against making any attack upon Milan.
They were to ask him to endeavour to obtain the restitu-
tion of Pisa and Florence. Finally, they were to require
him to give up the alliance with the Orsini and Colonna,
and to abstain from taking the banished ex- Prefect of
Rome, Giovanni della Rovere, under his protection. J On
the 14th June the Envoys were again desired to impress
upon the King that nothing must be done against Milan. §
* Cf. Pelissier, UAlleanza, 310.
t Sanuto, I., 979 ; BURCHARDI Diarium, II., 474. "^Letter of
Card. A. Sforza, dat. June 4, Rome, 1498 : Hoggi N. S. ha inviato per
soi oratori al ser^o Re de Franza el rev. Arcivescovo de Ragusa, M.
Hadriano da Corneto prothonotario et secretario de S. S"^ et M.
Santigles Spagnolo prothonotario antique servitore de Sua B^^. State
Archives, Milan.
X The Instruction is to be found in Maulde, Proced. Polit., 1 106 seq.^
taken from Cod. XXXIII., 170 f., 41 1^, of the Bibl. Barberini ; and in
Thuasne, II., 673 seq.^ printed from a MS. in the Papal Archives.
Maulde and Thuasne, however, and also Gregorovius, VII., 409, ed. 3
(ed. 4, 415), are not aware that this document had been published long
ago by Ferri (Comment, de rebus gestis Hadriani Castelli. Faventiae,
1771 M. X.). Cf. Gebhardt, Adrian, 9, where the reference to SiGiS-
MONDO de' Conti, II., 200, is wanting. On R. Centelles, see Dal Re,
136 seq. ; and on the journey of the Envoys and their arrival in the
French Court, Pelissier, L'Alleanza, 323 seq.
§ Alex. VI. ven fratri Jo. Archiepisc. Ragusin ac dil. filiis Hadriano
ALEXANDER'S RELATIONS WITH LOUIS XII. 57
About the same time an Envoy from Louis XII. ap-
peared in Rome, asking for the dissolution of his marriage
with his consort Jeanne, to which he had been con-
strained in eadier days by Louis XI. The King swore
that he had never consummated the marriage. The Pope,
on the 29th July, 1498, appointed a judicial commission to
examine into the case, and in December they decided in
favour of the dissolution. On the 13th of September Alex-
ander had already granted a dispensation to Louis to con-
tract a fresh marriage with Anne of Brittany, the widow of
his predecessor, stipulating at the same time that something
was to be done for his beloved Caesar.* The advances made
to France, formerly so energetically repelled, though only
begun in June, soon developed into a firm friendship. Many
causes, besides those already mentioned, conduced to this
result, and especially the conduct of Naples.
Ever since the Autumn of 1497 Caesar Borgia, who was
only in minor orders, had been seeking to return to the
secular state,-}- to obtain a principality, and to marry a
Princess. The Pope at first seems to have been averse to
these projects ; but Caesar had little difficulty in overcoming
this feeling, and Alexander's ambition began forthwith to
Castellen. cam. ap. clerico et secret, nostro et Raymundo Centell thesaur.
Perusin. protonotariis, oratoribus nostris. Dat. Rom., 1498, Juni 14,
Ao 60. State Archives, Milan.
* Sanuto, L, 998 seg., 1019, 1030, 1047. Cf. Balan, 387 ; Guettee,
VIII., 83 seg. ] Pelissier, L'Alleanza, 335 seg. ; and, especially,
Maulde, Proced. Polit., 789 seg.^ 812 seq., 945 seg.
t Cf. Vol. V. of this work, p. 519 ; the Ferrarese Despatch in Balan,
376 ; and the ^Report (in cypher) of A. Sforza, dat. Rome, 1497, Aug. 20 :
" Questi di passati h stato rasonato di fare il car'e de Valenza seculare et
darli la principessa de Squillace per mogliere col stato chel principe ha
nel reame il qual per quelle se intende non ha fin qui tocato camalmente
la principessa et in questo caso si dariano ad epso principe li bencficii del
pto carle." Milanese State Archives.
58 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
busy itself with a plan for obtaining the throne of Naples for
the house of Borgia by means of an Aragonese alliance,*
Caesar was to marry Carlotta, the daughter of the Neapoli-
tan King, and receive the principality of Tarento. The
Mantuan Envoy states expressly that this was the Pope's
real object in bringing about the marriage between
Lucrezia and Alfonso, the natural son of Alfonso II., and
now Prince of Bisceglia and Quadrata.f On the 15th July
Alfonso came incognito to Rome, and was cordially re-
ceived by Alexander and Caesar.;|: On the 21st the
marriage itself took place very quietly, but was celebrated
on the following days with great festivities, in which Alex-
ander took part with boyish gaiety. On this occasion a
sharp encounter took place between Caesar's retainers and
those of the Duchess, not a good omen for the future.
Alfonso's good looks are much vaunted by one of the
chroniclers, and this marriage of Lucrezia's was a happy
one.§ On the other hand, Caesar's alliance with Carlotta,
who had been brought up at the French Court, fell through.
She herself refused, and her father was even more opposed
to it than she was. On the 24th July, writing to Gonsalvo
de Cordova, he said that the Pope was insatiable, and that
* Brosch, Julius II., 319-320 ; Sanuto, II., 250. Ccesar's famous
sword (now in the possession of the Duke of Sennoneta) bears witness
to his plans and aspirations. The engraved designs with which it is
covered contain many plays upon his name with appropriate mottoes, e.g.^
Cum numine Cesaris omen. It was first described by Ademollo, and later
Nvith admirable illustrations by Yriarte, Autour des Borgia, 143 seq.
t See Appendix N. 3, "^Despatch from G. L. Cataneo, 8th Aug., 1498.
Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
X See Appendix N. i and 2, ^Letters from A. Sforza of 15th and 17th
July, 1498. Milanese State Archives.
§ Cf. BURCHARDI Diarium, II., 493 seq. ; Sanuto, I., 1030, 1042 ;
and in Appendix N. 3, Cataneo's ^Despatch of 8th Aug., 1498, with
Gregorovius, Lucrezia Borgia, 104 seq.
LEAGUE OF THE ORSINI AND COLONNA. 59
he would rather lose both his kingdom and his life than
consent to this marriage. In this remarkable letter the
King confesses the extreme weakness of his Government.*
The Pope was perfectly aware of all this, and the know-
ledge made him still more desirous of entering into closer
relations with the growing power of France. Yet another
motive was added by the conflict between the Orsini and
Colonna, which had broken out afresh. The Orsini, in spite
of their union with the Conti, were completely defeated at
Palombara on the 12th April, HpS.-f The Pope's efforts
to bring about even a truce between the contending parties
were unsuccessful. j: It seemed as if both sides were bent
on continuing the contest until one or other was destroyed,
when suddenly, on 8th July, they came to an agreement
to place the decision in regard to Tagliacozzo and Alba in
the hands of King Frederick of Naples. § This mysterious
reconciliation meant a combination against the Pope. In
his own palace, one day, a set of verses were put up, urging
the Colonna and Orsini to come forward bravely to the
rescue of their afflicted country; to slay the bull (a play
upon the Borgia arms) which was devastating Ausonia ; to
fling his calves into the raging Tiber, and himself into hell ||
* Arch. St. Ital., XV., 235 seq. Cf. Brosch, Julius 11., 79 ; Sanuto,
I., 988 ; and P^LISSIER, L'Alleanza, 307 seq.
t Sanuto, I., 940, 965, 988, 998, and 1007 ; Sigismondo de' Conti,
II., 175 seq. ; and the Report in Balan, 373 seq.^ 376.
X "^Letter from A. Sforza, Rome, 2nd May, 1498. Milanese State
Archives.
§ "^Heri che fu alii 8 h stata conclusa la pace tra S^ Colonesi et
Ursini comprendendosi in epsa li Savelli et Conteschi. Letter from A.
Sforza, Rome, 9th July, 1498. (Milanese State Archives.) See Sanuto,
I., 1014, 1015 ; GreGOROVIUS, VII., 409 seq.^ ed. 3 (415 ed. 4) ; anil
Balan, 377. On 3rd Feb., 1499, Frederick awarded Tagliacozzo, Alba,
and Carsoli to the Colonna. See Coppi, Mem. Colonn., 236.
II Malh^iero, 508, says these verses were affixed to the door of the
6o HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Alexander VI. and Caesar meanwhile had succeeded in
obtaining what they wanted,* and on the 17th of August
Caesar resigned his Red-hat with the consent of all the Car-
dinals.f Sigismondo de' Conti calls this a new and un-
heard of proceeding ; but at the same time dwells on the
fact that Caesar was naturally a warrior, and unsuited for
the priesthood. Sanuto, in his Diary, is much more severe
in his judgment. He says : " When Cardinal Ardicino
della Porta wished to resign the Cardinalate in order to
become a monk, many in the Consistory were against it,
while all gave their consent to Caesar's plan ; but now in
God's Church everything is topsy-turvy." I The disposal
of Caesar's benefices, which were worth 32,000 ducats, was
left with the Pope, who later gave the Archbishopric of
Valencia to Cardinal Juan Borgia. §
On this same 17th August the French King's Envoy,
Louis de Villeneuve, arrived in Rome in order to
accompany Caesar to France. The preparations for the
journey took so long that they did not start until the ist
of October.ll A few days earlier Alexander addressed an
Libraria del Papa ; Sanuto, whose version is a little different (I., 1016,
1017), that they were found : in su una collona nel palazo dil papa.
* In the postscript of a ^Letter from Card. A. Sforza to his brother in
July, 1498, we read: Come piu volte ho scripto alia Ex. V. io extimo che
N. S. non sia per riposare fin che non habia date assetto alle cose del
rev. card, de Valenza. Milanese State Archives.
t Gregorovius, VII., 412, ed. 3 (418, ed. 4) ; Cipolla, 764 ; Reu-
MONT, III., I, 228; and Balan, 388, give a wrong date — 13th Aug. That
in the text is the date in BURCHARDI Diarium, II., 492.
:|: Sigismondo de' Conti, II., 201 ; Sanuto, I., 1054. C/. also
Diario Ferrarese, 390 ; NOTAR GiACOMO, 225 ; Carpesanus, lib.
III., 6 ; and Raynaldus, ad an. 1492, n. 34, in connection with Mansi's
note.
§ Sanuto, L, mo ; II., 67, 629 ; and *Acta Consist., C. 303, f. 8.
Consistorial Archives.
II Burchardi Diarium, II., 493 ; Pelissier, 344 (of course it is
C^SAR BORGIA SETS OUT FOR FRANCE. 6l
autograph letter to Louis XII., in which he commended
Caesar to him as one who was more dear to him than
anything else on earth. * In this Brief Caesar is called
Duke of Valentinois ; thus this principality must have been
already bestowed upon him, although the formal investiture
did not take place till later.f It is a curious coincidence
that the former Archbishop of Valencia should have
become Duke of Valentinois, so that he still retained the
appellation Valentinus, which could stand for either.
The new Duke set forth on his journey in royal state;
100,000 ducats were said to have been spent on his outfit.
He was clad in silk and velvet and bedizened with gold
and jewels. The equipment of his suite corresponded
with his own. The trappings of his horses were mounted
in silver, and their saddle-cloths were embroidered with
costly pearls. I French galleys were waiting for him at
Civita Vecchia. On the 3rd of October he embarked for
Marseilles, where on the 19th he was received with royal
honours. § In Avignon, Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere,
who was now completely reconciled with the Pope, and
in August had been reinstated in Ostia, also gave him a
splendid reception. j| Slowly, and with great pomp, the
Oct. I instead of Nov. i); ■'^Acta Consist., Oct. i, 1498, in the Con-
sistorial Archives. "^Exitus, 531, f 151 : 28th Sept., 1498, Joh. Cardona
missus in Franciam cum card'i Valent. with 9 armigeris and several
comestabiles. Secret Archives of the Vatican.
* Brief of 28th Sept., 1498, in MOLINI, I., 28, and also in P^LISSIER, 344.
t See Sanuto, I., 1095 ; II., 154.
X Sanuto, I., iiii; II., 15, 320; Branca de Telini in GORI,
Arch., II., 113^1?^.; Cambi, XXI., 135; YriaRte, Cesar Borgia, I., 157
seg.; Havemann, II., 3 seg.
§ Sanuto, II., 25 ; P^lissier, 345.
II C/. Vol. V. of this work, p. 502, on Alexander's reconciliation with
Giuliano. See further, Gregorovius, VII., 421, ed. 4 ; Brosch, Julius
II., 79 ; CreigHTON, III., 265. See also Sanuto, I., 1091 ; II., 158;
62 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
proud Duke pursued his journey through Lyons to the
Royal camp, which was then at Chinon. On the 19th of
December (according to other accounts, the 20th) he made
his entry there with a splendour hitherto unknown in
France. He brought to the King the Bull of dispensation
for his marriage, and a Red-hat to the Archbishop of Rouen,
George d'Amboise. At this time Louis spoke openly of
his designs on Milan, in which he expected the Pope's
support*
The closer relations with France caused a breach
between the Pope and Ascanio Sforza and Lodovico Moro.
As early as September, 1498, we find this mentioned in the
Envoy's reports. The Colonna and Frederick of Naples
were on the side of Ascanio Sforza. Their attitude was
so menacing that on All Saints' Day the Pope appeared
in the Church with a strong guard ; and later this occurred
again several times.f
Even when the Portuguese Envoys, on 27th November,
came for their audience, they found a large guard in the
ante-chamber. If, as many thought, this was intended to
overawe the Envoys, it quite failed in its effect. On the
and SiGlSMONDO DE' Conti, II., 201 ; and on the festivities at Avignon,
G. Bayle'S paper in the Mem. de TAcad. de Vaucluse, Vol. 7.
* Ferrato, Entrata del Valentino nel 1499 a Cinone (Venez., 1868) ;
Sanuto, II., 39, 175, 317, 320, 347 seq., 367-368 ; SiGISMONDO DE
CONTi, loc. cit.\ MUNTZ, Hist, de I'Art, I., 318. On the dissolution of
LouisXII.'s marriage, see Leonetti, III.,25I ; CiPOLLA, 764 ; andEHSES,
Documente zur Gescht. der Ehescheidung Heinrichs VIII., 56, note i.
Panvinius, 334, and Cardella, 275, erroneously place d'Amboise's
nomination on the 12th of September. See, against this, Burchardi
Diarium, II., 516, and ■^■Acta Consist., where the 17th September is dis-
tinctly mentioned as the day of nomination. (Consistorial Archives of
the Vatican, C. 2.) Upon d'Amboise, see Novaes, VI., 100 ; Migne,
s. v.\ and de Montbard's work, Le Card. G. d'Amboise, Ministre de
Louis XII. Limoges, 1879.
+ Sanuto, I., iiii ; II., 102, 113, 186. Cf. Pelissier, 353 seq.
THE PORTUGUESE ENVOYS IN ROME. 63
contrary, they remonstrated in unsparing terms with
Alexander on his nepotism, his simony, and his French
policy, which, they said, endangered the peace of Italy,
^.nd, indeed, of the whole of Christendom. If the Pope
persevered in this they openly threatened a Council. " The
demeanour of the Portuguese Envoys," Ascanio Sforza
wrote on 3rd December, " is all the more unpleasant to the
Pope in that he believes their Spanish Majesties to be at
the bottom of it, and that the Spanish Envoys, who are
daily expected, will say the same things, or worse. He
thinks the King of the Romans also has a hand in it, as
he has made similar representations." * Under these
circumstances Alexander VI. awaited with keen anxiety
the announcement from France, which, he hoped, would
bring the assurance of the French alliance, f
In the Consistory, in December, the Pope and Ascanio
Sforza came to a sharp passage of words. The testy
Cardinal declared that Alexander, in sending Caesar to
France, was bringing ruin on Italy. " Are you aware,
Monsignore," replied Alexander, " that it was your brother
who invited the French into Italy ?" The Venetian Envoy,
who reports this incident, adds that Ascanio intended,
with the help of Maximilian I. and King Ferdinand of
Spain, to get a Council summoned to dethrone Alexander.
We can understand with what misgivings the advent of
the Spanish Envoys was awaited. I
They arrived on the 19th December. On the same day
Cardinal Borgia started for Viterbo, in order to quell the
* Report in cypher from Card. A. Sforza of 3rd Dec, 1498, taken
from the original in the Milanese Archives, now printed in the Bollet.
St. d. Suizz. Ital., VII., 202-204.
t Sanuto, II., 157, 249.
t Sanuto, II., 217, 250. C/. Lanz, Actenstucke zur Gesch. Karls V.,
Einleitung, 47.
64 ' HISTORY OF THE POPES.
disturbances which had broken out there.* Three days
later they appeared before the Pope with that display of
anxious concern for the welfare of the Church which
Ferdinand's successors were so apt at employingj-f while,
in fact, their aims were entirely political. Ferdinand of
Spain dreaded, above all things, an alliance between Rome
and Louis XII., which would give to France the pre-
dominance in Italy, and frustrate all his designs in regard
to Naples. Consequently, he had charged his Envoys to
threaten Alexander with a Council and reform. They began
by telling the Pope to his face that the means by which
he had obtained the Pontificate were notorious. Alex-
ander interrupted them with the remark that, having been
unanimously elected Pope, his title was a far better one than
that of their Spanish Majesties, who had taken possession
of their throne in defiance of all law and conscience. They
were mere usurpers, and had no right whatever to their
kingdom. The rest of the audience corresponded with this
beginning. The Envoys reproached Alexander with his
simony and his nepotism, and threatened a Council. The
Pope justified himself, and accused the Spanish Ambassador,
Garcilasso de la Vega, of concocting false reports. When
the Envoys spoke of the death of the Duke of Gandia as
a Divine chastisement, he angrily replied that the Spanish
monarchs were more severely punished than he was, for
they were without direct successors, and this was doubtless
on account of their encroachments on the rights of the
Church. I
* BURCHARDI Diarium, II., 500, and ^Acta Consist., C. 303, f. 9 seg.
Consistorial Archives,
t Havemann, II., 15.
t SaNUTO, II., 279 ; Cf. 836, and ZURITA, V., 159^-160. Cf. HOFLER,
Rodrigo de Borja, 83; Wiffen, Life of Juan Valdes, 25 (1885);
Maurenbrecher, Kathol. Ref., 379.
SPAIN AND PORTUGAL THREATEN THE POPE. 65
Louis XII. endeavoured to tranquillise the Pope by
informing him that he had an agreement with Ferdinand,
and consequently there was nothing to fear from him.*
Meanwhile, Alexander became more and more disturbed,
as he found the Portuguese and Spanish Envoys making
common cause and combining to threaten him with a
Council.f In January 1499, the Ambassadors of Portugal
and Spain presented themselves together before the Pope.
In presence of Cardinals Costa, Ascanio, Carvajal, de S.
Giorgio, and Lopez, one of the Envoys told the Pope
to his face, that he was not the lawful Head of the Church.
Alexander in his anger threatened to have him thrown into
the Tiber, and retorted by attacking the conduct of the
Queen of Spain, and complaining of the interference of both
King and Queen in matters concerning the Church. The
Venetian Ambassador thought he perceived that the Pope,
in his alarm, was beginning to repent of his alliance with
France and to wish to be friends again with Ascanio.;]; To
add to his annoyance, news came from France that, in spite
of all Giuliano della Rovere's persuasions, the daughter
of the King ot Naples persisted in her refusal to marry
* Sanuto, II., 2%o{cf. Prescott, II., 219), and *Acta Consist., C.
303 : 9th Jan., 1499 . . . Per rev. D. Sanseverinat. lecte sunt littere
Christ. Francor. regis ad s. Collegiam idiomate Gallico date ex oppido
Chinon XX, Decemb. 1498 quibus significabat se de present ietiam ad
S. D. N. scripsisse. (Consistorial Archives.) An account, written by
Mattia del Canale on 3rd Jan., 1499, ^^ Alexander's interests in the
Carnival festivities in Ademollo, Alessandro VI., 24, curiously illustrates
the frivolity of his nature. The Ferrarese Envoy, Manfred!, on 8th Jan.,
1499, reports : "'^'Le oratori spagnoli tengono et prefato N. S. multo
svegliato et tocco suso el vivo. State Archives, Modena.
t Sanuto, II., 343.
X Sanuto, II., 385 ; cf. 343, and Burchardi Diarium, 11., 506-507.
See also Zurita, V., 160, and S. Pinzoni's ^Despatch of ist Jan., 1499.
State Archives, Modena.
VOL. VI. F
66 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Caesar.* Alexander laid the blame of this on Louis XII.
In a letter of 4th February, 1499, to Giuliano della Rovere.
he complained of the King's faithlessness, which had made
him the laughing-stock of the world ; as every one knew
that, but for this marriage, Caesar would never have gone to
France.f On the 13th of February he spoke in a similar
strain to Ascanio, and begged him to endeavour to persuade
the King of Naples to agree to the marriage. Ascanio,
however, replied that this was impossible. The Cardinal
thought that the Pope was v-ery much afraid of Spain and
thoroughly mistrustful of France.^ Just at this time Louis
XII. concluded his treaty with Venice for the partition of
Milan, leaving it open to the Pope to join in the League
if he pleased. § At this juncture it seemed extremely un-
likely that this would take place. |j If Caesar had not been
in France, the Venetian Envoy, in a report of 12th March,
says he believes that Alexander would have allied himself
* Sanuto, II., 412, where, however, the date should be the 19th
instead of the iSth Jan. Giuliano's letter was discovered by Brosch,
Julius II., 79. C/. also Pelissier, 369 se^.
t Gregorovius, VII., 416-417, ed. 3 (423, ed. 4).
t Notizenblatt (1856), p. 5^7.
§ In regard to the League of 9th Feb., 1499, which was published in
Blois on the 1 5th April, and Giuliano della Rovere's part in it, see Brosch,
Julius II., 80. In the *Acta Consist, C. 303, we find (f 36), Feb. 27,
1499 : S. D. N. legit litteras rev. d. S. Petri ad Vine, quemadmoduin
Veneti die 9 Febr. confederati forent cum rege christ. dixitque etiam
oratorem Venetum hac de re litteras habuisse ac locum Sue S'^ reser-
vatum esse. Consistorial Archives.
II Giuliano della Rovere was the person counted on to bring the Pope
round. In the ^Report of an anonymous person, dat. Lyons, 28 Mar.,
1499, we find the following passage on Giuliano's journey, which may
ser\'e to fill up the gap in Brosch's Julius II., 80 : Ali xxrv. de questo
axrivo qua lo card, de S. Petro, Yesterday he went on to A\ignon :
se stima vulgarmente per tirar el papa in la liga. State Archives,
Modena.
CRITICAL POSITION OF ALEXANDER VI. 67
with Milan.* Perhaps that was too much, but it is certain
that at that time Alexander was extremely dissatisfied with
France, and was still in the same mood when Louis XII.
offered the hand of the charming Charlotte d'Albret to
Caesar.-|-
Alexander's position was an extremely critical one. In
Rome, the probability that Germany and Spain would
renounce their obedience was freely discussed. | There can
be no doubt that in both these countries there was a strong
party hostile to Rome. This explains why Christopher
Columbus, when on 26th February, 1498, he settled his
estate upon his son Diego, commanded him to employ his
wealth in the support of a crusade, "or in assisting the
Pope if a schism in the Church should threaten to deprive
him of his seat or of his temporal possessions." § The
danger from Spain was pressing. In order to remove at
least one of that country's grounds of complaint, Alex-
ander resolved, on the 20th of March, 1499, to take Bcne-
vento away from the heirs of the Duke of Gandia and
restore it to the Church. || In May, Alexander promised to
* Sanuto, II., 530. The following note in the *Acta Consist., C.
303, 8 Aprihs, 1499, '^ interesting : Cum ego vicecancellarius dixissem
oratorem ill. ducis Mediolani ad S. D. N. hodie ingressurum esse in
urbem, statuerunt rev. d. cardinales cum honore suscipiendum esse
licet fuerit dictum consuetudinem fuisse non mittere obviam oratoribus
praeterquam venientibus ad praestandam pontifici obedientiam. Con-
sistorial Archives.
t Sanuto, II., 562, 617, 640.
X The Ferrarese Envoy, Manfredi, in a "♦^Report, dat. Rome, ist March,
1499, announces : La obedientia si e levata al papa in le terrc del
imperatore ; el simile seguira in Spagna secundo il commune credere.
State Archives, Modena.
§ Navarrete, Colecion, II., 260. C/. BiJNDGENS, Was vcrdankt
die Lander- und Volkerkunde den mittelalterlichen Monchen und
Missionaren ? p. 49. Frankfort, 1 889.
II *Acta Consist., C. 303, f. 46. Consistorial Archives in the Vatican.
68 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
send his children away from Rome and to carry some
reforms into effect ; he granted powers for the adjustment
of ecclesiastical affairs in Spain, and made large concessions
to the King and Queen in regard to their control. In con-
sequence, his relations with Spain became more friendly.*
Alexander had nearly given up all hope of the realisa-
tion of Caesar's marriage with the French Princess,f when
an autograph letter from Louis arrived announcing that
it had taken place. On the 24th of May Cardinal San-
severino read the letter in the Consistory. J This event
created a complete revolution in the Pope's dispositions ;
he now openly embraced the French side and that of
Venice, and announced that the Milanese dynasty must be
done away with.§ Cardinal Ascanio Sforza saw that Rome
was no longer the place for him ; on the 14th July he quitted
BURCHARDI Diarium, II., 387 ; Sanuto, II., 562 ; and -^^Despatch
from Manfredi, Rome, 23rd March, 1499. State Archives, Modena.
* Cf. the Ambassadorial Report of 29th May, 1499, in the Notizenblatt
of 1856, p. 593 seq. (not correctly printed), and Prescott, II., 221 ; see
here, p. 201, for Alexander's Bull of i6th Nov., 1501, empowering the
Spanish Government to levy all tithes in the Colonies.
t See the Ambassadorial Report, Notizenblatt (1856), p. 592.
X "^Per eund. r. d. Sanseverinatem lecte fuerunt in Sacro consistorio
littere eiusdem christ™ regis sua manu Gallico idiomate ad S. D. N.
scripte in monticulis Blesis die XIII. Maii 1499 de matrimonio scilicet
inter D. Cesarem Borgiam et dominam Carolam de Labreto die X.
Maii contracto ac XII, consumato. Lecte fuerunt et in s. consistorio
littere ipsius dominae de Labreto sua manu ad S. D. N. sine ulla
data exarate in quibus cum placuisset christ^o regi et ill. genitori suo ut
domino Cesari Borgiae nuptui traderetur sibi quoque talem virum
placuisse ferebit futurumque perpetuo gratum atque jocundum sperare
et se bonam filiam fore semper venturamque brevi ad osculandum pedes
Se Bnis polliceri. Acta Consist., C. 303, f 54. (Consistorial Archives.)
Cf, ^Letter from A. Sforza, dat. Rome, i8th May, 1499. (Milanese State
Archives.) BuRCHARDi Diarium, II., 532; Sanuto, II., 759; and
Yriarte, Cdsar Borgia, I., 168 seq. ; II., 324 seq.
§ Sanuto, II., 799, 826, 923, 958, and Notizenblatt (1857), p. 7.
ASCANIO SFORZA LEAVES ROME. 69
the city, taking all he had with him. In the first instance
he went to the Colonna at Narni, and thence sailed in
a Neapolitan ship to Genoa, whence he fled to Milan.
Thither he was afterwards followed by the Cardinals
Colonna and Sanseverino,* and Alfonso, Lucrezia's husband.
Lucrezia was, on the 8th August, made Regent of Spoleto,
and went there at once, accompanied by her brother Jofre.
Alexander's children had all now been removed from
Rome;f but this had no effect on his nepotism. Nepi was
soon bestowed upon Lucrezia, and the governor left there
by Ascanio Sforza had to hand it over; 4: meanwhile, the
plans for Caesar's advancement were maturing.
* BURCHARDI Diarium, II., 546, 549; Sanuto, II., 933,958,959,
1017. See in the Notizenblatt (1857), pp. 8-9, Milanese Report and
Letter of A. Sforza.
t *Dice el papa vole monstrar al Re chel sa viver senza li soi. Des-
patch from G. L. Cataneo, dat. Rome, 9th August, 1499. Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua.
X Gregorovius, Lucrezia Borgia, 108 seg. Cf. Dal Re, 139, and
Sanuto, II., 1049, 1075. On the banishment of Sancia, Jofre Borgia's
consort, whose reputation was none of the best, cf. Sanuto, II., 1089.
CHAPTER III.
The French in Milan. — C^sar Borgia conquers Imola and
FoRLi. — Restoration of Lodovico Moro. — Louis XIL
CONQUERS Milan a Second Time. — Anarchy in Rome. —
Murder of the Duke of Bisceglia. — Frivolity and
Nepotism of Alexander VI. — Partition of the Kingdom
OF Naples between France and Spain.
By the month of July of the year 1499, a French army had
already crossed the Alps, and fortress after fortress went
down before the " rush of the Swiss and the French."
Venice would have chimed in from the eastern side had
not her hands just then been over full with the war
against the Turks.* Lodovico Moro had hoped that the
German Emperor and Frederick of Naples would have
come to his aid, but Maximilian was fully occupied in fight-
ing the Swiss. Frederick was to have declared war against
the Pope ; but when Alessandria fell into the hands of the
French, he gave up all thoughts of this.f Thus Lodovico
was left to face the French entirely alone. Seeing that the
situation was hopeless, on the evening of ist September
he fled to the Tyrol, to put himself under Maximilian's
protection. Cardinals Ascanio Sforza and Sanseverino
followed him.J The moment he was gone the Milanese
opened their gates to the French ; on the 6th September
* HaVEMANN, II., 49 ; ZiNKEISEN, II., 529 seq.
t Sigismondo de' Conti, II., 205.
X CiPOLLA, 770 ; Havemann, II., 56 seq. ; MAGENTA, I., 554, places
the date of his flight on 2nd September.
THE FRENCH INVADE MILAN. 7 1
Trivulzio entered the city, and the fort surrendered almost
immediately. A few days later Cremona submitted to the
Venetians.* Upon this Louis XII. hastened to Italy to
enjoy his triumph. On the 6th October he entered Milan,
and was greeted with acclamations by the populace. The
King was accompanied by the Marquesses of Mantua,
Montferrat, and Saluzzo, the Dukes of Ferrara and Savoy.
Caesar Borgia, the Cardinals d'Amboise and Giuliano
della Rovere, as well as the Envoys from Genoa, Florence,
Siena, Lucca, and Pisa.f
Alexander VI., now that the alliance with Louis XII.
was turning out so favourably for his beloved Csesar, hailed
the success of the French arms with unconcealed delight,
quite regardless of the scandal he was causing throughout
the whole of Europe. On the 24th of August, 1499, two
Portuguese Envoys arrived in Rome and at once asked
for an audience. On the part of their Government, they
animadverted strongly on the Pope's nepotism, on Caesar's
resignation of the Cardinalate, and on the French alliance,
which was fatal to the peace of Europe. If he persisted in
these paths, the result would be the calling of a Council. J
Alexander was annoyed and troubled at these new threats,
but did not make any change in his proceedings. On the
25th September he went to Lucrezia at Nepi.§ Here it
* Sanuto, II., 2210; SiGiSMONDO de' Conti, II., 2o6 ; Gumi,
Sommi Picenardi, Cremona durante il dominio de' Veneziani, 8.
Milano, 1866.
t Sanuto, III., 24-25 ; Diario P>rrarese, 370; AlvisI, 60-61. On
the complete reconciliation of the Pope with Giuliano della Rovere, who
now cordially supported Cassar, see Brosch, Julius II., 81 seg.
X Cf. the Report of the 3rd September, 1499, in the Notizenblatt for
1857, 54-55-
§ Lucrezia's husband, Alfonso, had returned to his wife at the
command of the Pope. On the 14th October she went back to Rome,
and on the ist November gave birth to a son, who was called Rodrigo.
72 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
was arranged that Caesar was to conquer the Romagna.
The King of France manifested his gratitude by placing a
portion of his army at the Duke's disposal.* " It was not
difficult to make the expedition appear as though undertaken
for the interests of the Church, though in reality the
interests of the family were the first consideration. The
relations between the rulers of the cities of the Romagna
and their feudal Lord were so variable, and often so
unsatisfactory, as easily to afford a handle for proceeding
against them to any Pope who wished to do so. Alexander
resolved to make use of this opportunity to strike a crushing
blow."-]- Bulls were issued declaring the Lords of Rimini,
Pesaro, Imola, Faenza, Forli, Urbino, and Camerino to
have forfeited their fiefs by the non-payment of their dues.
Louis XII. arranged that proceedings should only be taken
against those who belonged to the party of the Sforza, and
this plan had also the advantage of satisfying the suscepti-
bilities of the Venetians. J
In the middle of November Caesar began the campaign by
attacking Caterina Sforza and the sons of Girolamo Riario.
Imola opened her gates of her own accord, and the fort fell
in the early part of December. In Forli, also, the inhabitants
offered no resistance, but the citadel here was far stronger
and was bravely defended by the high-spirited Caterina her-
self ; yet on I2th January, 1500, it was forced to capitulate.§
On the loth Aug., 1500, Lod. Borgia, Archbishop of Valencia, was
made Lieutenant-governor of Spoleto. See Sansi, Documente dall'
Arch. Comm. di Spoleto, 81. Spoleto, 1861.
* SiGISMONDO DE' CONTI, II., 209.
t Reumont, III., 1,229. C/IGOTTLOB, Cam. Ap.,223; Gregorovius,
VII., 422, ed. 3 (428, ed. 4) ; and Creighton, IV., 4. In September
the Pope had thought of getting the Dukedom of Ferrara for Caesar,
but Venice objected. See Hist. Zeitschr., XXXIII., 380.
X Burchardi Diarium, II., 570 ; Balan, V, 394, n. 3 ; Alvisi, 67.
§ SaNUTO, III., 56, 84; SiGISMONDO DE' CONTI, II., 209 se^. ;
LODOVICO MORO RECOVERS MILAN. 73
When Caesar's nephew, Cardinal Juan Borgia, heard
at Urbino the good news of the fall of Forli, he set out
on horseback, although suffering from fever, to offer his
personal congratulations, but was prostrated by a fresh
attack of the malady before he could get beyond Fossom-
brone. Later, an utterly groundless story was concocted
of Caesar's having poisoned his nephew.*
Just as Caesar was preparing to proceed against Cesena
and Pesaro,f an event occurred which deprived him of his
French troops and brought the whole campaign to a stand-
still. The Milanese rose against the extortions of the
French, while Lodovico Moro appeared in Como at the
head of a body of Swiss and Germ.an troops ; and on the
5th of February, 1 500, re-entered the city in triumph. The
French lost the whole of Lombardy as quickly as they had
won it. J Without the help of the French troops, which
had now been sent against Lodovico Moro, it was impossible
to go on with the conquest of the Romagna, the more so
as Venice had grown jealous and now strongly supported
Diario Ferrarese, 374, 375, 377 ; Alvisi, 63, 70 seq. ; Balan, V., 395 ;
see here also on supposed plots of some inhabitants of Forli for poisoning
the Pope. Cf. BURCHARDI Diarium, II., 579. See also Yriarte'S
recent work, Cesar Borgia, 21 seq.\ and especially Pasolini, II.,
134 seq.^ 170 seq.^ and ClAN, Cat. Sforza, 28 seq.^ where the history of
Caterina's fate is given in detail.
* See Alvisi, 83 j^^.; Maury in the Rev. Hist, XIII., 60-91. Cf.
also Kindt, Die Katastrophe L. Moro's in Novara, 80 seq.^ and in
Appendix, N. 4, the ^Letter of 23rd Jan., 1500. Gonzaga Archives,
Mantua.
t Balan, V., 395, n. 3 ; Yriarte, Cesar Borgia, I., 200 seq. On the
assistance sent him by the Pope, see Dal Re, 122.
X Sanuto, III., 103 ; Balan, V., 396 ; Anz. f. Schweiz. Gesch.
(1890), 43 seq.\ DierauER, II., 384 ; LuziO-Renier, Relaz. di
Isabella d'Este, 157-158 (at .p. 154 read 5th instead of 4th February).
PIlLISSIER, La politique du Marquis de Mantoue, in the Annal. dc la
fac. des Lettres de Bordeaux (1892), 104.
74 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the Lords of Faenza and Rimini.* Caesar, therefore,
returned to Rome and made his triumphal entry into the
city on the 26th. February, clothed in black velvet and with
a gold chain round his neck ; all the Cardinals and Envoys
came to meet him. Alexander VI. was beside himself
with joy ; he wept and laughed in the same breath.f
Amongst the Carnival-plays the triumph of Julius Cyesar
was represented in the Piazza Navona. On Laetare Sunday
(29th March), the Duke received from the hands of the
Pope the insignia of a standard-bearer of the Church and
the Golden Rose.J The power of the Duke of Valentinois
was now almost unlimited. Even on the 23rd of January
a report from Rome announced that, at the approaching
nomination of Cardinals, Caesar's influence would be de-
cisive : he was the person to apply to. No Castellans were
appointed to any of the strong places within the Papal
States but such as were devoted to him ; the governorship of
the Castle of St. Angelo was given to one of his retainers. §
Meanwhile the state of affairs in Lombardy had again
completely changed. Louis XII. had lost no time in send-
ing a fresh army across the Alps, and the battle at Novara
proved a decisive victory for France. The Swiss refused
to fight against their kinsmen in the French army, and
abandoned Lodovico, who was taken prisoner (10th April,
I500).|| Louis XII. shut him up in the fortress of Loches
* See in Appendix, N. 4, the ^Letter of 23rd Jan., 1 500. Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua.
'+ Sanuto, in., 140-14 1 ; BURCHARDI Diarium, III., igseg.
"j BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 22, 26 seg. ; Sanuto, III.. 198;
SiGiSMONDO DE' Conti, II., 228 ; *Acta Consist. Consistorial Archives
of the Vatican.
§ See Appendix, N. 4.
ii See RUSCONI, Lod. il Moro e sua cattura in Novara (Novara, 1878);
Kindt, Die Katastrophe L. Moro's in Novara ; and DiERAUER, IL,
386-387. See also Knuth, Jean d'Auton, 37 seg.
ROMAN FEELING ON LODOVICO S REVERSES. 75
in Touraine; Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, who fell into the
hands of the Venetians, was delivered over to the French
and imprisoned in Bourges;* thus reaping the reward of
his unprincipled conduct at Alexander's election.
On the evening of the 14th of April, 1500, the news of
Lodovico's catastrophe reached Rome ; the Pope is said to
have given 100 ducats to the messenger who brought it ;
the Orsini lighted bonfires everywhere, and Rome re-
sounded with cries of " France and the Bear" ( = Orsini).-|-
This occurred in the midst of the Jubilee festivities, which
had filled the city with pilgrims from foreign parts. '' The
events of the year and the state of Rome were anything
but suitable however to a religious celebration." In spite
of the precautions taken by Alexander, even in the previous
year, the insecurity of both life and property in the city
was frightful ; murders occurred nearly every day. The
severest punishments effected no improvement in its con-
dition, which indeed was not worse than that of most of
the other Italian cities ; | but the events which took place
* See BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 41, 46, 141. On the imprisonment
of Card. Sforza, see Kindt's investigation, Katastrophe, 73 seg. It
seems very doubtful whether Alexander's mediation to procure Ascanio's
liberation (see Marini, I., 304) was meant to succeed ; for the Pope
promptly took possession of Ascanio's art treasures, and gave away
his benefices ; Giuliano della Rovere obtained one of these latter. See
the "^Deed in the Secret Archives of the Vatican, in Appendix, N. 6.
Ascanio Sforza was not released until the 3rd Jan., 1 502, through the
good offices of Card. d'Amboise. He accompanied his benefactor to
the Conclave in Rome which elected Pius III., and died there at the
end of May, 1 505, not of poison but of the Plague ; see Balan, 398 ;
Ratti, I., 87 seg'. His splendid monument by Andrea Sansovino in
S"^^ Maria del Pcp'^l" is world-famed. See MuNTZ, Renaissance, 347,
493 se^.^ and SCHONFELD, A. Sansovino and s. Scluile. Stuttgart,
1881.
t BURCHARDi Diarium, III., 35,
I Compare what SUGENHEIM, 380 se^., says of Perugia.
76 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
in the Borgia family attracted more attention than any of
these deeds of violence.*
Next to Caesar, Lucrezia at that time again stood highest
in the Pope's favour. In the Spring of the year 1501 Ser-
moneta, which had just been snatched away from the
Gaetani, was added to Spoleto and Nepi, which had already
been bestowed upon her.f As she was on excellent terms
with her present husband, there seemed nothing now to mar
her happiness. It was, however, not destined to last long :
on the evening of the 15th of July, as Alfonso was re-
turning from the Vatican he was set upon by five assassins
in the Piazza di San Pietro. Though badly wounded he
succeeded in making his escape. He was so much afraid
of poison that he refused all medical help, and sent word to
the King of Naples that his life was in danger, as his own
physician had endeavoured to destroy him by this means.J
A report was immediately circulated that the attempt
originated from the same quarter as the murder of the
* Cf, BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 39-42 seq.^ 45 ; Sanuto, III., 319 ;
Letter from Brandolinus in Brom, 190 seq. ; Reumont, III., i,
232. On the precautionary measures of the Pope, see, specially, *Acta
Consist., Consistorial Archives of the Vatican. In the library at Siena,
A. III., T., f 15, is an unprinted Bando against the Corsi in Rome and
the States of the Church.
f "^Alexander VI. vendit Sermonetam et alia loca sublata a Caietanis
praetextu rebellionis Lucretiae Borgiae. Dat. Rom., 1499 (st. fl.), 7 Id.
Mart. Cod. Ottob., 2504, f. 287 seq. (Vat. Library.) Cf. Gregorovius,
VII., 421, ed. 3 (427, ed. 4), and L. Borgia, 114 ; GOTTLOB, Cam. Ap.,
238 ; and Balan, 393-394.
X Besides the notice in Sanuto, III., 521, and Burchardi Diarium,
III., 69., 9^ Brandolinus' Letter in Brom, 185 ; the Florentine Report in
Thuasne, III., \yj seq.\ and especially the Report of B. Calmeta, which
has been strangely overlooked by Gregorovius, although there is a
triple copy of it in the Gonzaga Archives at Mantua. I had intended to
give it in the Appendix, but can now refer the reader to Luzio-Renter,
who has printed it in his work, Mantova e Urbino, 103.
C.^SAR MURDERS LUCREZIA S HUSBAND. J^J
Duke of Gandia.* All the probabilities of the case point
to the Orsini, who believed that Alfonso was intriguing
against them with the Colonna, who were allied with the
King of Naples. It is most unlikely that Caesar had any-
thing to do with it.-j- Nevertheless, Alfonso was convinced
that his brother-in-law was the author of this foul deed, and
the moment he felt himself recovering he was bent on re-
venging himself Lucrezia and Sancia strove to make
peace, and the Pope posted a guard at the door of the sick-
room, but all was in vain. In a despatch of i8th August,
which was forwarded at once, Paolo Capello, the Venetian
Ambassador, writes that on that day Alfonso, looking out
of the window, saw Caesar walking in the garden. In a
moment he had seized a bow, and discharged an arrow at
his detested enemy. Caesar retaliated by having Alfonso
cut to pieces by his own body-guard. J Lucrezia, who had
* P. Capello's Despatch in Sanuto, III., 532.
+ CREIGHTON, IV., II.
X Despatch from the Venetian Envoy, P. Capello, of i8th Aug., in
Sanuto, III., 671. Cf. Creighton, IV., 12, 257 seq.^ whose remarks
supply the necessary criticism on P. Capello's narrative of 28th Sept.,
1500 (to be found in Alberi, 2 Serie, III., 3-14, and Sanuto, III., 842
seq. Cf. Ranke, Papste, III., 5*-6'*'). Unfortunately Hagen's careful
paper on Alexander VI., " Casar Borgia und die Ermordung des Her-
zogs von Biselli," in Zeitschr. fiir Kathol. Theolog., X., 313 seq., has
escaped Creighton's notice. This writer comes to the conclusion that
much stronger evidence of the Duke's guilt is furnished by Capello's
Despatches, and especially by that of 23rd Aug., than by the personal
convictions of Burchard and the Florentine Envoy. (See p. 78, note X-)
" There is no formal argument," says Hagen, " to contradict these state-
ments. We must therefore hold them to be true, whatever general
doubts may rest on his report, and especially on his narrative." CiPOLLA,
778, is also against Alvisi's defence of Caesar, 109 seq. On the other
hand, there can be no doubt that Capello's account of the murder of
the Pope's servant, Pierotto, is false, although Gregorovius and Ranke
uphold it. Cf. Hagen, loc at., 317; Reumont, III., i, 207; and
Brosch in Sybels Zeitschr., XXXIII., 370.
78 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
been herself nursing her husband with the tenderest care,
was inconsolable. Overwhelmed with grief she went back
to Nepi to hide herself in its solitude. Some of Alfonso's
Neapolitan servants were arrested on a charge of having
planned an attempt on Caesar's life, but nothing of any
importance was extracted from them.* When the Neapoli-
tan Envoy heard what had happened he at once took
refuge in the palace of the Spanish Ambassador. f Alex-
ander told the Venetian Envoy, who came to see him on
the 23rd August, that Alfonso had tried to kill Caesar.
Beyond this nothing on the subject was allowed to tran-
spire ; a few conjectures were whispered about, but no one
dared to speak above his breath. Evidently Alexander VI.
thought it prudent to hush up the whole affair as much as
possible ; no doubt he too was afraid of Caesar.J
Shortly before the murder, Alexander's own life had been
in great danger. In the ninth year of his reign, on the Feast
of SS. Peter and Paul, Sigismondo de' Conti relates, just
as the Pope was about to give his audience, the sky being
clear, suddenly, with no warning, a tornado of wind sprung
up and tore off the very solid roof of the upper part of the
Sala de' Papi as though, it had been made of straw. In
consequence, that portion of the roof under which the Pope
was sitting also gave way, but the balcony over his head,
still remaining attached to the wall, protected him from the
falling masonry, and the gold embroidered hanging over
his throne from the smothering dust. Half an hour elapsed
before his servants could make their way through the wind
* Florentine Despatch in Thuasne, III., 438, and in Appendix, N. 5,
a Letter from G. L. Cataneo, of 19th Aug., 1500. (Gonzaga Archives,
Mantua.) On Lucrezia at Nepi, see Gregorovius, Lucrezia, 154 j-*?^.,
159.?^^., ed. 3.
t See Appendix, N. 5.
J Despatch from P. Capello, 23rd Aug., in Sanuto, III., 685 ;
Creighton, IV., 12.
ESCAPE OF ALEXANDER FROM DEATH. 79
and dust to the place where he lay, bleeding and apparently
hardly alive. He was carried into the adjoining hall and
there soon recovered consciousness. His physicians found
that two fingers of the right hand had been injured, and he
had a wound in his head. The first night he was very
feverish, but soon began to get better.* "If nothing
unforeseen occurs," the Mantuan Envoy writes on the 2nd
July, "he will recover." This Envoy states that on the
previous day also Alexander had a narrow escape of being
killed by a heavy iron chandelier, which fell just in front of
him.f Any other man would have been led to look into
himself and consider his ways by such a series of narrow
escapes ; but Alexander was a true Borgia, he thanked
God and the Blessed Virgin and SS. Peter and Paul for his
preservation,! and lived on as before. Writing of Alexander
* SIGISMONDO DE' CONTI, II., 269. Cf. the Papal Briefs of 3rd and 4th
July, 1500, in BaLAN, 398-9, and Sanuto, III., 477-479 ; BURCHARDl
Diarium, III., 65 seq. ; ibid.^ 433 seq. ; the Report of P. Capello ; LaN-
DUCCI, 211 seq. ; NOTAR GlACOMO, 235 ; "^Letters from G. L. Cataneo
of 28th June and 2nd July, 1 500 (Gonzaga Archives, Mantua) ; and one
from Brandolini in Brom, 183-185. All these authorities agree in giving
the date of the catastrophe as 29th June, and Gregorovius, VII., 434,
ed. 3 (in the 4th ed., 440, the true date is given), and Creighton, IV., 9,
require to be corrected in accordance with them. Sanuto, III., 455,
contains an account from the Venetian Envoy of the accident, the date
of which must be 29th June, 1500, instead of 29th May, 1501, as there
given. In France it was thought that the Pope would die, in which case
the Tiara was to be secured for Giuliano della Rovere. See Brosch,
Julius II., 85. On a poem relating to this incident, see ZiNGERLE,
XXXIL
t G. L. Cataneo's **Reports, dat Rome, 2nd July, 1 500. (Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua.) Details in regard to the Pope's health after this
time are to be found in the Reports in Thuasne, III., 434 seq. ; cf.
Sanuto, III , 469. In the Spring the Pope had had an attack of fever :
this was the date of the Dialogus mortis et pontificis laboraniis febrc.
preserved in Sanuto, III, 277.
X Sanuto, III ,478. Here-enacted the ordinance of Pope Calixtus III.
80 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
in September 1500, Paolo Capello says : " The Pope is now
seventy years of age ; he grows younger every day, his
cares never last the night through ; he is always merry
and never does anything that he does not like. The ad-
vancement of his children is his only care, nothing else
troubles him." *
In Caesar's eyes this accident was a warning to carry out
his plans with as little delay as possible. His campaign
against the Tyrants of the Romagna required a consider-
able sum of money and the acquiescence of Venice, where,
since the month of May, a Papal Nuncio, Angelo Leonini,
had been permanently residing.f He succeeded in ob-
taining both money from the creation of Cardinals of
2nd September, 1500,+ and the consent of Venice in return
on the ringing of the Angelus, about this time. See Vol. II. of this work,
p. 400, and Rayn ALDUS, ad an. 1 500, n. 4.
* Sanuto, III., 846-847. In a hitherto unnoticed Report of • C.
Guasco of 14th Aug., 1499 (Notizenblatt, 1857, p. 55), we find : Madonna
Julia [Farnese] e ritornata a la S. de N. S. The Venetian Envoy paid a
visit to the Pope on 3rd July, 1 500, and says : Era con S. S^^ Madona
Lugrecia la principessa e so marito, e una soa damisella sta con Madona
Lugrecia, ch' e favorita del papa. Sanuto, III., 469; cf. also
Dispacci di A. Giustinian, I., "100, 295. Sanuto mentions, I., 375, the
fall of a wall in the Vatican in Nov. 1496, struck by lightning, and III.,
909, on 5th Oct. 1 500, that Alexander was attacked by an angr)- fallow-
buck and was in considerable danger.
t According to PlEPER, Nuntiaturen, 35 seq.., this is the first
instance that can be traced with certainty of a permanent Nuntiature at
any Court.
X Cf. Sanuto, III., 855, 857, 878, 879. and "Burchardi Diarium,
III., 'j'].^ who gives the sum that each Cardinal had to pay. The twelve
nominated, of whom six were Spaniards, were : ( 1 ) Diego Hurtado de
Mendoza ; (2) A. d'Albret ; (3) Lod. Borja ; (4) JacopoSerra ; (5) Pietro
Isvalies ; (6) Francesco Borja ; (7) Giovanni Vera ; (8) Lodovico Podo-
catharo ; (9) Gianantonio Trivulzio ; (10) Giambattista Ferrari; (11)
Thomas Bakocs ; ( 12) Marco Comaro. Cf. Panvinius, 335 ; Cardella,
279 seq. ; and *Acta Consist; in fol. 9 are also the names of the thirteen
C/ESAR BORGIA AND THE ROMAGNA. 8 1
for the help against the Turks given them by Alex-
ander.*
On the morning of the 1st of October, 1500, Caesar set
out from Rome at the head of an army of io,oco men.
He had in his pay some Roman Barons of the houses of
Orsini and Savelli, Giampolo Baglione of Perugia, Vitel-
lozzo Vitelli of Citta di Castello, and other chiefs, who,
frightened at the alliance with France, thought there was
less danger in siding with the dreaded foe than in re-
sisting/'-j- The Lords of Pesaro and Rimini, Giovanni
Sforza and Pandolfo Malatesta, made no attempt to de-
fend themselves and sought safety in flight. Faenza was
not so easily conquered ; its ruler, Astorre Manfredi, was
beloved by all his subjects, and was supported by the
Florentines and by his maternal grandfather, Giovanni
Bentivoglio. The citizens defended themselves with resolu-
tion, and when winter came on, the siege had to be raised.
When the Spring returned, Caesar again invested the city
(7th March, 1501) and on the 25th April it was forced to
capitulate. J Astorre Manfredi was faithlessly carried off
Cardinals who consented to the creation. (Consistorial Archives.) On
the lives of the several Cardinals see, besides Ciaconius and Migne,
GOTTLOB, Cam. Ap., 275 seq. ; and Marini, I., 263, on Francesco
Borja, who had till then been Treasurer-General ; Frakn6i's Mono-
graph, 79 seq,^ on Bakocs ; and Marini, I., 218 seq.^ and Anecd. Litt.,
I., 279 seq.^ on Podocatharo.
* Creighton, IV., 13.
t Cf. Alvisi, \7./^seq.\ Reumont, III., i, 23 ; and G. L. Cataneo's
^Report of ist Oct., 1500. (Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.) On the 5th
Oct. the Legati de latere were nominated : Peraudi to Maximilian (see
Schneider, 55) ; P. Isvalies to Hungary (see Sigismondo de' Conti,
II., 248) ; and Giov. Vera to Spain, Portugal, and England.
X Sigismondo de' Conti, II., 228 seq. ; Diario Ferrarese, 390 j*?^. ;
Senarega, 570 ; *Ghirardacci, St. di Bologna, Cod. 768 of the
University Library, BMogna ; Alvisi, 172 seq.^ 491 seq.\ TONINI, V.,
437; Balan, v., 399; Yriarte, Rimini, 360; SuGENHKIM, 371;
VOL. VI. G
82 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
to the Castle of St. Angelo where, in January 1502, Caesar
had him and his younger brother put to death.* Next came
the punishment of Giovanni BentivogHo, who had supported
Faenza in its resistance. When several castles had been
taken, he sued for mercy, gave up Castel Bolognese also,
and promised to supply Caesar for five years with 300 horse-
men.f Alexander now bestowed on Caesar the title of
Duke of Romagna, "thus making the largest province of
the Church hereditary in the Borgia family, in utter indiffer-
ence to the probability that this might easily entail on
the Church the loss of all these States." J
Encouraged by these rapid successes, Caesar now turned
his attention to Florence, at that time seriously weakened
by the war with Pisa. In great alarm the Florentines pur-
chased peace by granting him for three years a subsidy
of 36,000 ducats, and promising not to help Piombino. The
Lord of this principality, Jacopo d'Appiano, lost in a very
short space of time the greater part of his possessions. §
CiPOLLA, 778-779. G. L. Cataneo announces, 6th March, 1 501 : *E1 papa
manda ogni di molto denari a Valentino. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
* SiGlSMONDO DE' Conti, II., 232. I cannot accept Alvisi and
Maury's defence of Caesar in the Rev. Hist., VIII., 94, in the face of
the explicit testimony of a historian who was by no means hostile to the
Borgia family. Cf. also BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 208 ; Landucci,
244 ; and Dispacci di A. Giustinian, I., 18. Here the story of the murder
(6 stato detto) is told on 6th June, while G. L. Cataneo, on the 7th June,
1 502, writes home : *E1 Sig. gia de Faenza e lo fratello qual erano qua in
castello benche alquanto largi ma guardati sono stati conducti fuora
d'esso ne se sa dove siano ; tamen credesi siano condutti a Piombino
per don Micheloto primo homo in I'arme del ducha p^o. Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua.
t Alvisi, 496 seq. ; Balan, V., 401 ; Sugenheim, 372 ; Ray-
NALDUS, ad an. 1501, n. 16 ; CiPOLLA, 779.
J Gregorovius, VII., 439, ed. 3 (446, ed. 4); Alvisi, 181;
Thuasne, III., 131, n. 2. *
§ Alvisi, 192 seq. ; Sugenheim, 373.
TREATY FOR PARTITION OF NAPLES. 83
After this the Duke returned to Rome, where he was wanted
on account of the state of affairs in Naples. Highly im-
portant decisions were come to in relation to this kingdom
in the next few weeks. Hitherto it had been a constant
tradition of Roman policy that no foreign power was to be
allowed to obtain a footing in Naples. Now Alexander VI.
abandoned this principle.*
Soon after Caesar's arrival on the 25th June, 1501, a Bull
was drafted assenting to the secret treaty of nth November,
1500, between France and Spain for the partition of Naples
between them. Louis XH. was to be King of Naples and
to possess Terra di Lavoro and the Abruzzi ; Ferdinand
was to take Apulia and Calabria with the title of Grand
Duke. Both were to hold their lands in fief from the
Church. The way in which the King of Naples had
been dallying with the Turks served as the pretext for
his deposition.-j- One motive which strongly inclined
Alexander VI. to agree to the plan was the blow that it
would deal to the rebellious Roman Barons, who would
now be deprived of all support. On the 27th June, 1501,
the League with France and Spain was announced, and
the French army, which was already encamped near Rome,
began its southward march. I On the 4th July Caesar
joined it with his troops.§
Frederick of Naples had had no suspicion of Ferdinand's
perfidy, and knew nothing of it until the Papal Bull was
* Cf. the very interesting summary in Trinchera's collection of docu-
ments in the Allg. Zeitung of 1870, No. 46. See also TOMMASINI,
Machiavelli, I., 327.
+ Rayn.\LDUS, ad an. 1501, n. 53-72.
X BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 149-150; Sanuto, IV., 61, 82 ; Arch.
St. Nap., II., 659 seg.; and G. L. Cataneo's *Letter of 30th June, 1501.
Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
§ Report of G. L. Cataneo, 5th July, 1501. (Gonzaga Archiveii
Mantua.) According to this, Alvisi, 209, requires correction.
84 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
published. The French reached Capua, destroying the
villages of the Colonna on their way, almost without re-
sistance, and successfully stormed and sacked that city
before the end of July.* Gaeta now also capitulated, and
the French army under d'Aubigny appeared before Naples.
Frederick fled to Ischia and surrendered to the French
King, who gave him the Dukedom of Anjou and a yearly
pension. France and Spain divided his kingdom between
them.f
* SiGISMONDO DE' CONTI, II., 239; SaNUTO, IV., 76-78; BaLAN,
v., 404-405 ; Havemann, II., 120 seq.\ CiPOLLA, 781. In regard to
the accusations against Caesar, see his defence in Alvisi, 209 seq,\
Leonetti, II., 455 ; Maury in the Rev. Hist., XIII., 96 seq.\ and R. di
SORAGNA in the Rassegna Naz., X. (1882), 364, who do not here go too
far. Cf. Brosch in Hist. Zeitschr., XLIV., 542.
t SiGISMONDO de' Conti, II., 248; Brandolinus' Letter in Brom,
147 seq.\ Reumont, Carafa, I., 33 seq.\ Ranke, Rom. und Germ.
Volker, 142 seq.^ 149 seq. Although Louis XII. was excused his tribute
by Alexander VI. on 27th Aug., 1501, on account of the Turkish wai
(Raynaldus, ad an. 1501, n. 75 ; Gottlob, 234-235), he did very little
in this direction. Ferdinand was excused on the 1 5th May, 1 502, from
the duty of appearing personally in Rome to receive his fief; Ray-
NALDUS, ad an. 1502, n. 16 ; Hergenrother, VIII., 384. He lost no
time in manifesting his gratitude to the Borgias ; see HOFLER, Katas-
trophe, 16.
CHAPTER IV.
Alexander VI. and the War against the Turks
IN THE YEARS 1499-1502.
Alexander's unabashed nepotism and wholly worldly
aims in politics cast their baneful shadows also over the
resistance to the Turkish advance during his reign.* The
Pope's nepotism repeatedly acted as a direct hindrance to
efforts against the Turks, but its indirect effects were
perhaps still more injurious ; for no one trusted him, and
whatever he put his hand to was believed to have, for its
ultimate object, nothing but the aggrandisement of the house
of Borgia. Nevertheless, even such a man as Alexander
could not remain entirely inactive in presence of the danger
from the East. The noble generosity of his predecessors
in assisting the refugees from the countries which had been
conquered by the Turks was continued under his rule, and
towards the close of the century he appeared to be
thoroughly in earnest in his efforts to organise a Crusade.f
- Prince Dschem, in the hands of the Christians, acted to
* Cf. Vol. V. of this work, pp. 397, 428. Malipiero, 161, men-
tions another later convention between Alexander and the Sultan which
was negotiated by Ascanio, but very soon given up by the Pope. On
his relation to the question of the Crusade in 1498, see also Maulde,
Procedures Polit., 1106 seq.^ and Dipl. de Machiavelli, I., 72.
t Cf. Reumont in Wetzer und Welte's Kirchenlcxikon, I., 489, ed. 2,
and GOTTLOB in Hist. Jahrb., VI., 459. On Ferdinand's suspicions
as to the application of the Crusade money by Alexander, of.
Bergemoth, I., 266.
86 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
a certain degree as a check upon the Sultan ; but after
his death fresh attacks o"^ Christian lands recommenced
almost at once. In Bosnia, in the year 1496, a number of
small fortresses, still occupied by the Hungarians, were
invested by Turkish troops and many of them conquered.
In Moldavia the inroads of the Turks, beginning in the
same year, were of a more serious character. In 1498 a
band of Turks and Tartars, combined with Moldavians,
swooped down on Poland itself. Far and wide they
ravaged the country ; " the land was strewn with corpses.
All the towns on the hills and plains round Lemberg and
Przemysl as far as Kanczug were plundered and burnt ;
the harpies encamped in the fields for a short time and
then returned whence they came, loaded with booty."*
Already in the previous year the friendly relations
hitherto subsisting between Venice and the Porte had
been sharply disturbed. The Turks had for some time
past been busily occupied in strengthening their armaments,
and especially their navy. The object of these prepara-
tions was kept a profound secret, and the Venetians, with
all their sagacity, were completely deceived.f When the
preparations were completed, the Sultan, without any
declaration of war, began hostilities by arresting all the
* Caro, v., 2, 751 ; ZiNKElSEN, II., 507 se^.
+ "^Ex litteris abatis Gondulae, 1499, Juli xxiii. : Che le cose del Turco
vanno tanto secretamente che non se po intendere ne sapere ne pen-
sare la soa deliberatione. (State Archives, Milan, Turchia.) Barthol.
Sfondrato had, however, correctly guessed what the Turks were about ;
cf. his Report of 1 8th June, 1499, in Makuscev, II., 108. He says: Tutto
il Levante trema. . . . Et ben che le cose del dicto Turcho siano passate
et passano secretissime, tamen ad me, me pare comprehender che quan-
tunque dal principio la fama si e stata contro Rhodo et contra Puglia,
tamen el suo disegno e stato de rumpere guerra ad S. Venetian!. In
Ragusa, however, it was firmly believed in the middle of July, 1499,
that the Turks were going to attack Rhodes. Makuscev, II., 194.
WAR BETWEEN VENICE AND THE TURKS. 8/
m
Venetians in Constantinople. Venice was plunged in dis-
may and distress, and, to make matters worse, the finances
of the Republic were at that moment at a very low ebb.
To meet the heavy expense of fitting out a fleet it was
necessary to raise all tolls and taxes and to impose new
ones. All the officials of the republic were required to
surrender the half of their salaries to the State, and the
clergy had to contribute a third of their revenues, this
with the Pope's consent. By dint of these exertions an
imposing fleet of 130 sails was equipped. But even this
was quite insufficient to cope with that of the Turks, which
numbered 270. On the 26th of August, Lepanto, the only
important sea-port in the Gulf of Corinth that still remained
in the hands of the Venetians, fell* At the same time
10,000 Turkish horsemen from Bosnia made a successful
raid on the mainland of Venice. The whole district on
one side to Tagliamento and even near Vicenza, and on
the other as far as Drau, was devastated with fire and
sword, and all the inhabitants slain or carried into
captivity.f
In the Summer of 1499 the Turkish question was re-
* ZiNKEiSEN, II., 527-531 ; RoMANiN, V., 1 34 se^. ; Heyd, II., 330
seg. ; HOPF, 167.
+ ZINKEISEN, II., 532. C/. also Balan's concluding vol. of Addenda,
,p. xvii., and Makuscev, II., 109 ; Landucci, 203. A detailed account
of the Turkish raid on Friuli in 1499 is to be found in the Cronaca
di Nicolo Maria di Strassoldo, anno 1469- 1509 (Nozze Strassoldo-
Gallici. Udine, 1876). The sea-board of Southern Italy was harried
by the Turks at the same time. In the *Avisi de Nicolo Gondula de
lettere, i6th, 17th, and 20th June, 1499, I found the following mem-
orandum which belongs to this period. *Che circa XI. (iiorni inanti in-
trorno XI 1 1 1, fuste de Barbaria nel golfo de Taranto et II 1 1, de epse so
apresentorno a capo de Ottranto dove preheseno una naveta Ciciliana
carica de frumento et zuchari et una sagitia Lipariola. Milanese State
Archives, Turchia.
88 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
«
peatedly discussed in Consistory. It was then thought,
from the report of the Grand-Master of Rhodes, that the
attack was to be directed against that island.* While the
deliberations on the help to be sent to Rhodes were going
on, the news came of the descents on Venetian territory.
In the beginning of August, letters from the French Envoy
in Venice to a French Cardinal came to hand, accusing
the Milanese Government of having instigated the Turkish
attack. The Milanese Envoy in Rome defended the con-
duct of his master in view of the hostile attitude of the
Venetians, and declared openly that Milan would not
scruple to use the Turks and the Moors in self-defence.f
It never came to this, however, for in the Autumn of that
year Lodovico Moro was driven out of Milan. J
In consequence of the increasingly menacing reports
which continued to arrive from the East, Alexander, in
the late Autumn of 1499, issued an invitation to all the
Christian Princes to send representatives to Rome in the
ensuing March to deliberate on the formation of a League
ao-ainst the Turks. § This invitation met with so little
response that in February 1500, it was found necessary to
repeat it. || Even this produced but little result. On the
* Protocols of the Consistories of the loth, 14th, and 26th June, and
5th July, 1499. ■'^Acta Consist., C. 303, in the Consistorial Archives.
t See the Milanese Ambassadorial Reports in the Notizenblatt
(1857), pp. 21-22, 38-39.
X Cf. supra, p. 70.
§ Cf. the Brief of 12th Nov., 1499, ^o King Emanuel of Portugal in
Santarem, X., 120.
II See the identical Briefs of 3rd Feb., 1500, to Florence (MuLLER,
Relaz., 245) and to Francesco Gonzaga ; the original is in the Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua. The King of Portugal received Briefs of commenda-
tion for his zeal in regard to the war against the infidels on the loth
and 1 6th Feb., 1500 ; in the last of these the ist of March is mentioned
as the day on which the deliberations were to begin. Santarem, X., 121.
ALEXANDER SUPPORTS VENICE. 89
nth March a secret Consistory was held, to which all the
Envoys in Rome were invited. These consisted of the
representatives of Maximilian, Louis XII., Henry VII. of
England, and Ferdinand of Spain, besides those of Naples,
Venice, Savoy, and Florence. Alexander VI. put before
the assembly the great danger now threatening Europe
from the Turks, and expressed his regret that his summons
of the previous Autumn had met with so little attention.
He went on to say that Venice was the bulwark of Christen-
dom and that it was the duty of all Christian powers to
support her. The answers of the Envoys were so unsatis-
factory that the Pope made no secret of his displeasure
with Germany, France, and Naples ; Spain was the only
Government to which he awarded unqualified praise.* In
the beginning of May, Alexander VI. proposed in Consis-
tory that a Legate should be sent to Hungary and that a
tithe should be levied on the clergy of France, Germany,
and Hungary; also that the Cardinals should be taxed,
beginning with himself. Many of the Cardinals objected,
but the Pope stood firm. In spite of all this the Venetian
Envoy still refused to believe in Alexander's sincerity,
which is significant of the prevailing opinion in regard to
him.f These doubts were dissipated by his later acts.J
A Bull, dated ist June, 1500, was addressed to all
* BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 24, and, in more detail, ZURITA, V.,
175 seq. ToAvards the end of February a Turkish Envoy had arrived in
Rome with the object of averting the war. Tjiis brought Card. Peraudi
back, in hot haste and without leave, in order to counteract these efforts,
which he succeeded in doing. See SCHNEIDER, Peraudi, 53-54- On
the policy of France, see Lanz, Actenst. zur Gesch. Karls V., Ein-
leitung, 56.
t Sanuto, III., 309, 342, 343, 355. Cf. ibid., 255, 385, and 426, on the
sending of the Legate to Hungary and the support to be given to that
country.
X Cf. GOTTLOB in the Hist. Jahrb., VI., 459.
90 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Christendom, setting forth the fury and cruelty of the
Osmanli and their hatred of the Christian name, and urging
all to unite against the common enemy. The purpose of
the Turks, it affirmed, was, first to conquer Rome, and then
to subjugate all the Christian populations. Consequently,
the Roman Church had now formally declared war against
the hereditary foe. To meet the expenses of the contest, a
tithe was to be levied on all ecclesiastical benefices without
exception, and on all the officials in the States of the
Church. All who resisted the impost were threatened with
Excommunication. This Crusade-Bull was to be publicly
read, in the vulgar tongue, on some feast-day in all the
dioceses of the world. The Jews were required to contri-
bute a twentieth of their property.* At the same time a
Brief was drawn up addressed to the King of France. In
it the Pope said that Envoys had been summoned to Rome
in March, in order to take counsel on the war against the
Turks. Many had not come, and those that had appeared
were not provided with sufficient powers. Although the
summons had been repeated, as yet the Pope had received
nothing from the Princes but fair words. Hence he now
once more turned to the King of France, who, now that he
was ruler of Milan, was doubly bound to come forward to
protect Italy from the Turks, and requested him to send
representatives at once. Spain and Venice were full of
zeal, thus there was a good prospect of success. For his
own part, he had imposed a tithe upon all the inhabitants
of the Papal States and on the clergy throughout the
world, and was prepared to make even greater sacrifices.-j*
A further proof that Alexander was then in earnest in
regard to the war is given by the fact that at the end of
■^ Raynaldus, ad an. 1 500, n. 7-9, and in a more complete form in
BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 46-56.
t Sanuto, III., 435-348.
THE CARDINALS TAXED FOR THE WAR.
91
June he recalled Cardinal Peraudi, the eager advocate of the
Crusade, to the Court, and in the Spring of the following
year began to collect the contributions of the Cardinals,
out of which a fleet was to be equipped.* The tax-list,
which has been preserved, and is interesting as giving the
incomes of the different Cardinals, is as follows : —
Card
Caraffa . . On
income,
10,000
To pay
1000
Giuliano della Rovere .
>}
20,000
2000
Zeno ....
J)
15,000
1500
Giovanni Michiel
J)
12,000
1200
Giorgio Da Costa
>5
7,000
700
Girolamo Basso .
5)
11,000
1 100
Domenico della Rovere
5J
10,000
1000
Cib5 . . , .
}J
10,000
1000
Pallavicino
)J
10,000
1000
Juan Borgia
JJ
10,000
1000
Orsini
5J
10,000
1000
S. Giorgio .
J)
8,000
800
Carvajal
J)
10,000
1000
Peraudi
5>
3,000
300
* Schneider, Peraudi, 54, looks upon these measures as mere feints
hung out to encourage the liberality of the faithful. But in that case
would the Cardinals, of whom many were far from anxious for the war,
have consented to pay? This argument applies also against Lanz,
Actenst. z. Gesch. Karls V., Einleitung, 58 j<?^. Even though Lanz may
be Cjuite justified in saying that Alexander took advantage of the distress
of Venice for Caesar's advancement, this does not by any means prove
that the whole Crusade was nothing but a sham. Lanz relies entirely on
the Venetian documents, which are certainly exceedingly one-sided.
Dr. GOTTLOB, with whom in this matter I hold (see supra ^ p. 85, note t),
agrees with Reumont in taking a more favourable view of Alexander's
intentions. It is to be hoped that the able author of the Cam. Ap. will
shortly publish all the materials belonging to this subject from the
numerous documents collected by him ; till this has been done the
question must remain undecided.
92
HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Card
. De Castro . . On income, 2,000
To pay 200
Lopez . . . „ 10,000
J)
1000
Grimani . . . „ 7,000
5>
700
Serra . . . „ 2,000
>>
200
Isvalies . . . „ 2,000
J>
200
Francesco Borgia . „ 3,000
55
300
Vera . . . . „ 3,000
55
300
Podocatharo . . „ 2,000
5,
200
Ferrari . . . „ 3,000
n
300
Piccolomini . . „ 9,000
55
900
Sansoni . . . „ 18,000
5,
1800
Colonna . . . „ 3,000
55
300
Ascanio Sforza . . „ 30,000
55
3000
de' jMedici . . . „ 6,000
55
600
Sanseverino . . ,, 13,000
5,
1300
lippolito d'Este . . ,, 14,000
55
1400
Cesarini . . . „ 2,000
55
200
Farnese . . . ,, 2,000
55
200
Lodovico Borgia . . „ 10,000
55
1000
Cornaro ... no income
55
nil
Brigonnet . . . „ 12,000
55
1200
Philippe de Luxembourg „ 9,000
5,
900
d'Amboise . . . „ 9,000
'»
900
d'Albret . , . „ 2,000
55
200
Mila . . . . „ 8,000
55
800
Mendoza . . . „ 14,000
5,
1400
d'Aragona . . . „ 2,000
55
200
Total
.
34«3oo
From the tax on Roman officials and Hospitals
•
11,076
Total
45^376
-^*
* Cardinales Rhodianus, Polonus, Strigoniensis, quia in hello existunt,
were exempted. Raynaldus, ad an. 1 500, n. 9, from BURCHARDI Diar-
ium, III., 56 seq. (where Macloviensis should be xt.2A instead of lAdArMtx-
ensis). The list is placed in June, which is a mistake, as its mention
SUCCESSES OF THE TURKS. 93
In the beginning ot September, the Venetian Envoy in
Rome wrote that the Pope had been doing all he could
throughout the Summer for the support of Venice and
Hungary, and had given peremptory orders to the com-
mander of the Spanish fleet to join that of Venice ; that
his dispositions in regard to the Crusade were excellent,
if he only carried out the half of what he had promised it
would be quite sufficient.* The doubt again implied in
these words was not deserved ; a few days earlier Alexander
had despatched various Briefs, the contents of which amply
prove his sincerity ; and he was exerting himself to the
utmost to bring about the union of the Spanish fleet with
the Venetian.-|-
Soon after this the Venetian Envoy received the sad
tidings that Modon had fallen into the hands of the Turks,
and the loss of Navarino and Koron followed almost
immediately. Since the fall of Negroponte such conster-
nation and dismay as now prevailed in Venice had not
been caused by any of her other disasters. The possession
of these old and important colonies was held to be so
essential to the maintenance of her navy, both for com-
merce and for war, that the Council of Ten declared that
all her sea-power depended upon them This terrible blow
was formally announced by the Signoria to all the powers
of Europe. " On the loth of August," writes Raphael
of Cardinals who were not nominated till the 28th Sept., 1 500 (see supra^
p. 80), shews that it was not drawn up till the Autumn. Their publication
in the Spring of 1501 (BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 1 13-1 18 ; r/i Baluze,
III., \7.d,seq.\ probably followed the assessment GOTTLOB, Hist. Jahrb.,
VI., 445, promises to give a schedule of the sums actually paid by
each Cardinal. According to the documents which he has investigated,
the Cardinals were bound to contribute 34,900 ducats annually for the
years i 501, 1502, and i 503. Cf. also Cam. Ap., 66.
♦ Sanuto, III., 475, 521, 577, 5^9, 7'4-
+ Ibid., 752-753-
94 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
BrandoHnus Lippi from Rome to a friend, " the unhappy-
city of Modon was conquered. The few inhabitants who
fell into the hands of the Turks were all barbarously
impaled ; not one was spared. This is what we have come
to through the troubles in Italy ! To this have we been
brought by our internal dissensions ! The eloquent Venetian
Envoy, Marinus Giorgius, delivered such a splendid oration
on the Turks that his Holiness and the whole College of
Cardinals were deeply stirred. Now at last we may hope
that the Pope will insist on the formation of a League for
the destruction of the Turks."*
Vain hope ! Eager as the " Christian " powers were
to avenge the smallest indignity inflicted on themselves,
they were utterly indifferent where only the honour of
the Christian name was concerned.f But on this occasion
it was not Alexander's fault that so little was done to
check the enemy's advance. J On the nth of September,
1500, it was decided in Consistory that two things must
be done : first, every possible effort must be made to bring
the Spanish fleet to bear against the Turks ; secondly,
Legates must be sent to Hungary, France, and Germany.
On the 5th October the new Legates were chosen : Giovanni
Vera for Spain, Portugal, and England ; Petrus Isvalies
for Hungary and Poland ; Peraudi for Germany and the
northern kingdoms.§ At the same time a Brief was sent
to Gonsalvo de Cordova ordering him to join the Venetian
* Brom, 189-190; cf. Sanuto, III., 750, 788; Heyd, II., 331;
HOPF, 168 ; Herzberg, Griechenland, III., 15.
t Rayn ALDUS, ad an. 1500, n. 11.
I Reumont in Wetzer und Welte's Kirchenlexikon, I., 489, ed. 2.
Cf. also MiCHAUD, VI., 283-284.
§ *Acta Consist, C. 2, in the Consistorial Archives ; see also the
Florentine Despatches in Thuasne, III., 76; Sanuto, III., 789, 892-
893. Cf. Schneider, Peraudi, 55, and Gottlob in the Hist. Jahrb.,
VI., 459-460.
INDIFFERE>'CE OF THE CHRISTIAN PRINXES. 95
fleet with his ships as quickly as possible ; and the
Cardinals were asked for their tithe.* In spite of all this
the Venetian Ambassador was not satisfied, and continued
to question the sincerity of the Pope's assurances that
he would do all that could be done.f However true it
may be that if Alexander had completely given up his
policy of nepotism, more especially his plans for Caesar
Borgia's aggrandisement, he might have accomplished
more in this direction, still it must be admitted that he
did a great deal. It was the fault of the " Christian "
Princes, not of the Pope, that all his efforts produced so
little result. Hardly anywhere was any enthusiasm to
be found or willingness to make any sort of sacrifice. At
that very time it had been resolved at the Diet at
Augsburg that the Pope should be required to refund a
portion of the money which had flowed into Rome for
Jubilee Indulgences and annates, for the assistance of the
administration, because " the empire had thereby been too
much impoverished and drained of its coin." J It required
indeed a zeal no less fervent than that which burned in
Peraudi's heart to undertake the German Legation under
such circumstances as these. Thous^h suffering- from crout
he set out on the 26th October, full of hope that he would
succeed in effecting a reconciliation between Maximilian
and the German Princes and the King of France. But
even on the frontier he was met " by serious difficulties
in all influential quarters." Although Alexander had
expressly commanded that all moneys brought in by the
Jubilee from Germany should be exclusively devoted to
the Turkish war, neither at Court nor throughout the
* Seesupra,p. 91 seg. The Brief to Gonsalvo is in Sanuto, 111^824.
C/. Baluze, III., 423 seg.
t Sanuto, III., 856, 879, 939, 977.
X Mlller, Reichstags-Theatrum, 117 seg; Schnlidkr, 55.
96 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Empire was it believed that this would be carried out.
Maximilian went so far as to refuse permission to Peraudi
to enter the Empire. It is probable that Lodovico Moro,
then there in exile, had a hand in this decision. His
chances would have been unfavourably affected by a re-
conciliation between the Christian powers and a Crusade ;
but Peraudi would not lose heart. At Roveredo he spent
his " days and nights in writing letters to all the German,
Danish, and Swedish Princes and prelates, admonishing
them to make peace with each other and combine in
turning their arms against the Turks. In his zeal for
the Crusade, he was prepared to defy the Royal prohi-
bition, go straight to the Diet, and there, if necessary, in
virtue of his apostolic powers, pronounce the Ban of the
Church against the King of the Romans and some of
the Princes ; like the Carthusian Thomas he thought
nothing of death if it were in defence of the Christian
faith." After keeping him the whole winter in Roveredo,
Maximilian at last came to a better mind, and allowed
him to enter the Empire. Here he met with the greatest
difficulties in dealing with the administration, although he
was able to give the most positive assurances that the
Pope and Cardinals had decided to leave all moneys
coming in on account of the Jubilee Indulgences and other
privileges absolutely untouched, in the keeping of the
Empire, for the Crusade. It was not till the nth of
September, 1501, at the Diet at Nuremberg, that he at
last succeeded in coming to an agreement with the
assembly and the Imperial Government ; and this con-
vention was loaded with vexatious and obstructive con-
ditions for the Legate.
Maximilian, on his side, for political reasons, deferred
his permission for preaching the Indulgences until January,
1502. Thus more than a year had passed away before
CARDINAL PERAQDI SENT TO GERMANY. 97
Peraudi was able to begin to execute his mission. In spite
of the unfavourableness of the season, in the early months
of the year 1502 he travelled with astonishing rapidity
through the whole of South- Western Germany, and preached
the Indulgence in the Dioceses of Constance, Augsburg,
Strasburg, Spires, Mayence, Treves, and Cologne. Towards
the end of the year he visited the North-Eastern part of
the Empire to announce the Jubilee there, and make peace
between Liibeck and Denmark. During this journey the
weather was very bad, and in consequence Peraudi was
repeatedly, confined to his bed from attacks of gout. This,
and still more the " hopeless indifference to the Crusade
which confronted him among all classes of people, princes,
townsmen, and clergy, so discouraged him," that more
than once he entreated the Pope to recall him.*
Gasparo Pons had been sent to England by Alexander
VI., in order to collect the tithe from the clergy, and
announce the Jubilee Indulgences, the proceeds of which
were to go to the Crusade, The clergy paid the tithe, and
the King, Henry VII., contributed £4000, but absolutely
refused to send any assistance in the shape of men or ships.
It was right and good, he said, that the Pope should
endeavour to induce the Princes of Christendom to be
reconciled with each other and combine for this holy
purpose. He himself, thank God, had long been at peace
with all men ; he could not, however, send material help ;
that should be done by France and Spain, and equally by
Hungary and Poland.f
* Schneider, 58-81 ; Ulmann, II., 43 seg. -, GEr.iiARDT, Grava-
mina, 63 seg.; Hergenrother, VIII., 360 seg., where there is albo other
literature on the subject. The accounts of the sums collected are so
contradictory, that Ulmann, II., 66, declares himself unable to come to
any certain conclusion as to their amount.
+ BUSCH, England, I., 242.
VOL. VI. H
HISTORY OF THE POPES
The Kin- :: Fr?.r.:
txiem oi
openly :
against
the is: .-
e r^-as occuoied TrrJi p!ans which had
: e Turks, The French
jy irritated . irr 'or
- .be with: .:: z: .g
i r : _ :'.-.-.: : : : sent. " Many
: i General Council
7 r /: : hereby incur. On
: - 7 ::: y : ? iris pronounced
L i T een alre^iy
ztt : .e irce..anis
i not
^ :clesi-
oient
:'e
: : - c rt L:e5 :he 5 ' irli of sacrifice
T : T r r = t : - jbles were not
-; ies. -They
vt ?::e5 :r'e: :: r.i:.^ : er to the
: _ jt : t r : t ; : t : ' the on Church
L'/.z --U r 7 : L : T ji^^ thought
r: t : : t 7 5 : es uncertain, or
.^ i' h : tr 5 uldei^ As
' :ti : t 1 "i ds of the
:^ iri^^-: : r. :' : l h r : time,
t : ; i: : : - : f Thcnnas Bakecs
ii l: : ^: This high
man K^^ui oeen appointeci Primate of
r : ^ 1 " in the {^ace ' ' ' jlito d'Este,
/. feeling of mc Hungarians,
:..: : '" ^' '^:e ' "'' ^ !dngdom
» A. .-».i
:a also It :
c .,:.- of
rrRE,I.,2,
"'" -." were
CONCLUSION OF THE LEAGUE. 99
September, 15CX), as a reward for his diligence in this
matter. At the end of May in the following year, a League
was at last concluded between Hungary, Venice, and the
Pope. Alexander VI. bound himself to contribute 40,000
ducats annually as long as the war should last. Venice
promised 100,000 ducats and the prosecution of the uar
at sea, while Hungary undertook to attack the Turks by
land. Unfortunately, Hungary only contributed a few
"freebooting expeditions on an extensive scale/'* Mean-
while, at sea some slight successes were achieved. The
new Venetian Admiral Benedetto Pesaro, " an experienced
and resolute sailor," late in the Autumn of 1500 made an
expedition into the ^gean sea and reconquered ^gina.
He was at last joined, in tardy compliance with the Pope's
commands, by the Spanish fleet of 65 sail, under the famous
Admiral Gonsalvo de Cordova. The combined fleets suc-
ceeded before the close of the year in wresting the island
of Cephalonia from the Turks and thus obtaining a new
point of vantage in the Ionian Sea.f
The year 1501 was spent in "alternations ot successes
and failures." Alessio was won but Durazzo was lost. In
the Spring of the following year the Papal fleet, consisting
of 13 galleys and 2500 men, was ready to sail. J
Bishop Giacopo da Pesaro was appointed by Alexander
to the command of the fleet. His portrait is familiar to all
lovers of art in Titian's altar-piece representing the Pesaro
family venerating the Blessed Virgin and the Divine Child.
* HUBER, in., 427-428 ; ROMANIN, V., 151 ; BURCHARDI Diarium,
IIL 141. C/. also the Hungarian monograph on Bakocs by FrakX(')I,
cited su^ra, p. 91. Nothing was done for the Crusade in Poland. The
money intended for it was used for other purposes. Caro, V., 2, 814.
t ZiNKEiSEN, II., 537 ; Herzberg, III., 15.
I Cf. Bembus, Op., 210, and especially GUGLIELMOITI, Guerra de'
Pirati, I., 9 seq.
lOO HISTORY OF THE POPES.
In this picture, by the side of the Legate, his brother is
represented in full armour, holding aloft in one hand the
Papal banner of the Crusade, and with the other leading
two Turkish captives who follow him.* Pesaro's first step
was to join Benedetto, who was waiting for him at Cerigo
with 50 Venetian ships. Together they sailed at once for
the island of S^^ Maura (the ancient Leukadia), and in
spite of a desperate resistance on the part of the enemy,
they succeeded towards the end of August in making
themselves masters of this, from a strategic point of view,
very important place. In this battle the Papal Legate
Giacopo greatly distinguished himself, and at last planted
the Papal banner with his own hands on the battlement of
the conquered fort.-f It was not destined to float there.
Both Venice and Constantinople had begun to weary of
the war. The Porte found itself threatened in Asia by the
new Persian empire, and the finances of Venice were nearly
exhausted, while her trade was suffering severely. The
Hungarian alliance had proved of little value, the war being
very feebly carried on by King Lladislaus. In consequence,
* This grand picture of Titian's (there is an excellent engraving in
LUTZOW, Kunstschatze, 30) is still in the Church of S^ Maria dei Frari in
Venice, which also contains Pesaro's monument. Pesaro had already,
probably immediately before his departure for the Crusade, had his
portrait taken by Titian. This picture is now in the museum at
Antwerp. In it Pesaro is represented kneeling before the throne of
S. Peter with the Papal banner in his hand. A helmet is on the ground
before him, indicating his call to military service. Alexander VI.
commends him to S. Peter on the right, in the background are the
forts of a harbour. Cf. Crowe-Cavalcaselle, Titian, I., 64 j^^., 252
seq. On the picture in Venice, see A. Wolfs essay in the Zeitschr. fiir
bildende Kunst, XII., 9 seq. ; it is a pity that he occupies himself with
the " worship of the Madonna."
t SiGiSMONDO de' Conti, II., 278-79. Cf. Sanuto, IV., 313 seq.^ and
Raynaldus, ad an. 1502, n. 29 ; GUGLIELMOTTI, Guerra de' Pirati, I.,
31 seq., 42 seq
PEACE BET\YEEN VENICE AND THE TURKS. 10 1
the Republic lent a willing ear to the Turkish overtures for
peace and S^^ Maura was hardly conquered before it was
again restored to the Sultan.
On the 14th of December, 1502, a temporary agreement
was arrived at in Constantinople, which paved the way for
the formal Peace which was announced by Venice on the
20th May, 1503.* Without the support of Venice, Hungary
was far too weak to face the Turks. Hence we cannot be
surprised at finding King Lladislaus also laying down his
arms. On the 20th of August, 1503, he concluded a truce
with the Porte for seven years.-f While the war lasted
Hungary received very large sums from Rome. The
account books prove that, in the years 1501 and 1502,
Lladislaus received from the Cardinals 6851 ducats; 1884
ducats, 16 solidi, and 8 denare ; 66S6 ducats and 6 solidi ;
6666 ducats; 3587 ducats and 10 solidi; 1884 ducats, 16
solidi, and 8 denare; 6700 ducats; 222 ducats; 51,687
ducats; 2328 ducats and 12 solidi; 2534 ducats; I3,333j
ducats; finally, 2325 ducats and 16 solidi.J To all this
must be added the pensions given to the numerous refugees
from the countries which had been conquered by the Turks,
and to the widows and children of those who had fallen in
the war.§ Putting all this together, and taking into account
* ROMANIN, v., 152-154. C/. HEYD, II., 331 ; HOPF, 1 68.
t Magyar tortenelmi tar., XXIV., 31 ; HUBER, III., 429-430.
X GOTTLOB in the Hist. Jahrb., VL, 444.
§ Gottlob intends to publish (Hist. Jahrb., VI. , 443) a complete list
of all who received assistance from the funds of the Crusade. From
my own investigations I derive the following : *Divers. Alexander VI.,
1 492- 1 500. The volume begins with payments to Andrea de Paleologo,
despota Moreae ; it contains further entries of sums disbursed for
Leonardo de Tocco, Constantino de Morea, Theodorino dc Maro, and
numberless other refugees, male and female, from the East, ^.^., .Maria
de Gurga de Candia. A ^Private Account-hdok of Alexander with-
out a title, contains for September 1500, monthly paymenb; to the
102 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the difference between the value of money then and in our
own day, it must be admitted that Alexander was not as
remiss in regard to the Crusade as has been represented
by the enemies of the House of Borgia. Nevertheless, it
cannot be denied that the Pope could have accomplished a
great deal more if he had given up his gross nepotism and
thought less of Caesar's advancement. A glance at the
state of things in the States shews how far he was from
doing this in any way.*
Despota Moree, the Despota de I'Arta and others. State Archives,
Rome.
* C/. Chapters III. and V.
CHAPTER V.
War against the Cot.onna. — The States of the Church
IN the Possession of the Borgia. — Marriage of Lu-
CREziA Borgia with Alfonso of Ferrara. — Caesar Borgia
Governor of Rome and Duke of the Romagna. — Con-
spiracy OF the Condottieri against CiESAR ; their Be-
trayal AND Destruction. — Oppression of the Orsini. —
Tension between the Pope and France. — CiESAR's Plans
UPSET BY the Death of Alexander VI.
One of the immediate results of the Neapolitan war had
been the downfall of the Roman Barons. Ever since the
invasion of Italy by Charles VIII. the Colonna had leant
for support upon the House of Aragon. When the agree-
ment between Spain and France had finally sealed the fate
of this family they sought to shelter themselves from the
coming storm by proposing to give up the keys of their
fortresses to the College of Cardinals ; but Alexander re-
quired that they should be delivered to him, and in June,
1 501, he succeeded in obtaining this.* On the 22nd of the
month Francesco Borgia started from Rome in order to
take possession in the Pope's name of Rocca di Papa and
the other castles belonging to the Colonna. On the follow-
ing day about twenty of the vassals of the family came to
Rome, and swore fealty to the Pope.-f
On the 27th of July Alexander went to Caste! Gandolfo
* Burchardi Diarium, III., 143, and """Report of G. L. Catanco of
23rd June, 1501. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua,
t IbiiL, III., 146, 148 ; Sanuto, IV., 61.
I04 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
and Rocca di Papa and thence to Sermoneta. He had the
effrontery to hand over the Regency of the palace to Lu-
crezia Borgia during his absence, with power to open his
correspondence.* Soon after his return from this expedi-
tion a Bull was drawn up in which the Colonna and Savelli
were declared to be rebels on account of their league with
Federigo of Naples, and were excommunicated, and their
property confiscated.-]- Out of the possessions of the
Colonna, Savelli, and Gaetani the Pope carved two Duke-
doms for his family ; a (ew of the forts and villages belong-
ing to the Savelli were given to Giovanni Paolo Orsini ; |
but all the most beautiful and fertile districts fell into the
hands of the Borgia. A Bull of 17th September, 1501, gave
to Rodrigo, the son of Lucrezia and Alfonso, then cwo
years old, the Dukedom of Sermoneta with Ninfa, Cisterna,
Nettuno, Ardea, Nemi, Albano, and other towns. The
Dukedom of Nepi, which included Palestrina, Olevano,
Paliano, Frascati, Anticoli, and other places, was bestowed
on Juan Borgia, also an infant.§ This child was legitimised
by a Bull on ist September, 1501, as the natural offspring
of Caesar, and his age incidentally mentioned as about
* BURCHARDI Diarium, HI., 153-154, 164. When the Pope went to
Nepi in the autumn the same arrangement was made for the time of his
absence (from 25th Sept. to 23rd Oct.). Of course Lucrezia was only
Regent in regard to secular affairs, but such a thing had never been
done before, and was a startling breach of decorum.
t The Bull of 20th Aug., 1 561, is in Raynaldus, ad an. 1501, n. 18-20
(a contemporary copy of it is in the State Archives, Turin). It was not
published till the Consistory of 24th Sept. See Balan, 406, n. 3.
X Cf. the "^Brief to Joh. Paulus de Ursinis domic. Rom. in nostris
Aspra, Montedasula, et Rochetta castris pro nobis et R. E. in temp,
vicar. ' Dat. Rom. 1501, XVH. Calend. Nov. Regest. 868, f. 183. (Secret
Archives of the Vatican.) Cf. also the App. in Sigismondo de' Conti,
II., 447.
§ RONCHINI, 42 seq.^ 52 seq.
LEGITIMATION OF JUAN BORGIA. I05
three years.* A second Bull of the same date legitimised
this same Juan as Alexander's own son.f These un-
* According to a "^^Bull of Leo X. of the 30th April, 151 5, Juan was
a year elder, as it is here said that on the 2nd Sept., 1 502, Camerino
was bestowed on cuidam Joha.nni Borgia tunc in quinto vel circa seu
etatis anno constitute. Ai'm. 35, T. 42, f. 23^-30^. Secret Archives of
the Vatican.
t These two Bulls are to be found in the State Archives at Modena.
The first is a copy, the second the original. Gregorovius, Lucrezia
Borgia, App., 76-85 (90, ed. 3), was the first to publish them.
Another original draft of the second Bull is to be found, according to
Thuasne, III,, App., p. xiv, in the Archives of the Duke of Ossuna,
part of which is published in the Bolet. de la R. Acad, de la Historia, IX.,
440-441 (Madrid, 1886). In view of possible future apologisrs in the
style of Ollivier, it may perhaps be well to observe that I found both
Bulls in the Secret Archives of the Vatican in the official "^Regesta of
Alexander's reign : the first in Vol. 868, f. 1 53^-1 57b, the second in f 1 76-
176^. Gregorovius, VII., 459 (ed. i and 2), has fallen into a curious
error in regard to the second Bull. He read in a copy in the Barberini
Library : Cum autem tu defectum praedictum non de prefato duce, sed
de nobis et de dicta muliere patiaris quod bono respectu in litteris
predictis specifice exprimere vohduius, and concluded from this tliat
Alexander had openly and shamelessly legitimised Juan as his own son ;
whereas the context of the Bull shews that the word should be noluimus^
and Gregorovius in his own copy has given the correct rendering. But
in the 3rd ed. of his 7th vol. he gives the false one with the conclusion
drawn from it, and this is, strange to say, repeated in the monograph on
Lucrezia Borgia, 174 (194, ed. 3). Here, p. 175 (195, ed. 3), Gregorovius
hazards a conjecture that both Bulls were issued on the same day, " be
cause the Canon Law forbids a Pope to acknowledge a son of his own."
I know of no Canon Law to this effect, and experienced canonists have
told me that none such exists. Creighton, IV., 19, supposes that
Alexander, in his anxiety to secure the position of Caesar's bastard son,
accused himself in the second Bull of a fault which he had not committed ;
but from BURCHARDI Diarium, HI., 170, and especially from SiGis-
MONDO de' Conti, II., 253, who is always trustworthy, it is plain that
Juan, who seems to have been born on the i8th June, 1497, really was
Alexander's son. Cf. L'EPINOIS, 400 seq.-, Civ. Catt, 15th March, 1S73,
p. 727 (the extract here quoted from the Report of the Venetian Envoy
Io6 . HISTORY OF THE POPES.
doubtedly genuine documents nullify all attempts to rebut
the accusations against the moral conduct of the Pope.
is now printed in Sanuto, L, 369) ; and RONCHINI, 41, n. i. The last-
named historian has rightly pointed out that the second Bull was to be
kept secret until a necessity arose for divulging it ; thus it is incorrect
to speak, as Gregorovius does, of open and shameless legitimation.
The words in the first Bull, which declare that it is to be taken as valid
proof of Caesar's paternity in case any one should assert that Juan's
father was some other person, either ecclesiastical or secular, etiam
cuiuscunque dignitatis et excellentie mundane vel ecclesiastice eiia?n
supreme^ are remarkable, and destructive of Creighton's hypothesis.
They distinctly hint at the contents of the second Bull. This document
was at first, as may be gathered from the Dispacci di A. Giustinian, I.,
109, quite successfully concealed ; Leo X. says in 151 5 that Alexander
gave Camerino to cuidam Joh. Borgia. (See Regest. Leonis X., n. 1 5,241.)
It was not till later, in the i6th Century, that we begin to find copies of the
document, of which there is one not only in the MS. already mentioned
in the Barberini Library, but also in Cod. Ottob., 2528, p. 78, with the
superscription, Narratur legitimatio et habilitatio pro eodem Joh, Borgia
eumque Papa ex se natum agnoscit. (Vatican Library.) On Juan's
guardians, see *Regest. 871, f 196 (Secret Archives of the Vatican), and
RONCHINI, 44 seq. An inscription in which Franciscus Card. Cusentinus
is called Juan's guardian has been published in Arch. d. Soc. Rom., VII.,
403 ; and also IV., 90, in opposition to Ademollo's hypothesis that Juan
was the child of Alexander and Lucrezia (GORI, Archivio, II., 94 seq.). In
the last-named place, Dal Re observes : Storici autorevoli, quali il Roscoe,
il Campori, 1' AntoneUi, il Cittadella ed il Gregorovius in particolare, hanno
gik addotto le ragioni per cui I'accusa d'incesto con la propria figlia
Lucrezia messa fuori a vituperio di Alessandro VI., dai poeti Sannazzaro
e Pontano, dagli storici e politici Matarazzo, Marco Attilio Alessio, Guic-
ciardini ed altri, debba qual mera calumnia esser rigettata. Dal Re,
I.e., 90, 280, shews that it is impossible that the Bull of 1 5th Oct., 1 501, in
which AdemoUo in his treatise, Lucrezia Borgia e la verita, in Archiv.
Storico, Vol. II., fasc. I., ed. Gori (Rome, 1877), finds an admission
that Juan was Lucrezia's son, can have had any such meaning. On the
contrary : Manca ogni fondamento di certezza per poter affirmare che
Giovanni sia la nefanda prole di Papa Alessandro e di Lucrezia ; pero
che abbiamo due boUe, tutte e due di 1° Settembre, 1 501, in cui s'afferma
neir una la paternitk del Valentino, nell' altra quella del papa stesso per
LUCREZIA MARRIES ALFONSO D'ESTE. 107
" Almost the whole of the States of the Church were now
the property of the Borgia ; the Romagna and other
territories belonged to Caesar, and another member of
the House possessed the hereditary estates of the Roman
Barons. This was something entirely new in the annals
of the Church."* Meanwhile, Lucrezia Borgia was not for-
gotten. By a marriage with Alfonso, the heir-apparent of
Ferrara, she was to enter one of the noblest and oldest
families in Italy, and at the same time secure Caesar's sov-
ereignty in the Romagna, and help forward his designs
on Florence and Bologna. At first both Alfonso and his
father, Ercole, refused to listen to the project, and Maxi-
milian I. was equally against it. But Louis XII., Alex-
ander's ally, intervened, and when the Pope had engaged
himself to grant a relaxation of feudal rights and a reduc-
tion of fief dues, the betrothal took place in September,
I50i.f Lucrezia was wild with delight.J Still young and
beautiful, all her sorrow for Alfonso was forgotten in the
brilliant prospect of high position and gratified vanity that
opened out before her. The Ferrarese Envoys gave feast
rispetto a quel fanciullo. Ma mentre ne nell" una ne nell' altra si tien
parola alcuna della madre di lui, quelle die h certo si e che nella bolla
del 15 Ottob. I'infante Giovanni Borgia vien citato in modo da volerlo
affatto distinguere dal noto della Lucrezia, Roderico di Biselli. Finally,
it may be well to recall the fact that in an official deed of the 19th Jan.,
1 518, Juan is called the brother of Lucrezia (Johannes Borgia frater ill.
dom. Lucretiae minor annis 25, maior tamen 18). Cf. Cittadella,
Albero, 48, and Reumont in Arch. St. Ital., 3 Serie, XVII., 330, and
that Burchard speaks of Juan's mother as quaedam Romana. (y also
MasI in the Rassegna settiman, VI., 120.
* Gregorovius, VII., 449, ed. 3 (455-456, ed. 4) ; cj. R. Di Soragna
in the Rassegna Naz., X, (1882), 126.
t QuiDDE, Zeitschr., I., 169 seq.\ GREGOROVIUS, Lucrezia Borgia,
152 seq.\ Corp. dipl, Portug., 1,8, 165 seq.^ 168 ; GILBERT, I., 83 seq. ;
GOTTLOB, Cam. Ap., 230 ; Thkiner, Cod. dipl., 51 1 seq.
X Cf. Brandolinus' Letter of loth Sept., 1501, in Brom, 203.
loS HISTORY OF THE POPES.
after feast in her honour. One evening she so overfatigued
herself with dancing that she was laid up with fever the
next day.* The bride's outfit was truly royal. Alexander
told the Ferrarese Envoys that he meant Lucrezia to have
" more beautiful pearls than any other Italian princess/'f
At the same time, regardless of the duty imposed upon him
by the dignity of his office, the Pope permitted himself to
be present at scandalous dances of a similar character to
those which had drawn on him the rebuke of Pius II. in
former days. Society at that time was so corrupt that
even this gave but little offence ; everything bad was
believed, but no one thought much of anything.^
On the 9th of December the bridal escort, consisting of
Cardinal Ippolito d'Este and four other members of the
* See Appendix, N. 7, "^Letter from G. L. Cataneo, of 24th Sept.,
1 501. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
t Gregorovius, Lucrezia Borgia, iSg seg.; Reumont, III., I, 239.
J BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 167, and the very compromising letter
about Alexander VI. of two Florentines cited in the note. C/. also
CreigHTON, IV., 50 ; Zeitschr. fiir Kathol.Theol, X., 203 ; L'EPINOIS in
the Rev. de Quest. Hist., XXXVII., 631 ; Yriarte, Autour des Borgia,
40. On Pius II.'s rebuke, see PASTOR, Hist. Popes, II., 452 (Engl,
trans.). The account, De convivio quinquaginta meretricum, which
Gregorovius, VII., 456, ed. 4, passes over as mere " scandalous gossip,"
is not a later interpolation (see PlEPER in the Romisch. Quartalschrift,
1893, p. 346), but is to be found in most of the MS. copies of Burchardi
Diarium Alexander VI., and in that which is in the Archives of the
Ceremonieri in the Vatican. "^Cod. A — 6, f. 527. (A later hand has drawn
a penstroke through the passage ; but it corresponds word for word with
the printed text.) In the present state of the materials it is not possible
to formulate a critical judgment as to the correctness of all the details of
the Convivium in Burchardi's narrative ; no doubt there is a good deal of
exaggeration. But, especially taking into account the Florentine letters
mentioned above, there can be no question that there was dancing of a
very reprehensible character. Pieper'S arguments {/oc. cit.^ 396-397)
against the trustworthiness of Burchardi's text do not seem to me
convincing.
THE CELEBRATION OF THE MARRIAGE. IO9
ducal family, with a retinue of 500 persons, started from
Ferrara. It reached Rome on the 23rd, and on the same
day the Ferrarese Envoy, writing to his master, expresses
the favourable impression produced on him by Lucrezia.
" She is singularly graceful in everything she does, and her
manners are modest, gentle, and decorous. She is also a
good Christian, and more, she is going to confession and
to communion on Christmas Day. As regards good looks
she has- quite sufficient, but her pleasing expression and
gracious ways make her seem even more beautiful than
she is. In short, she seems to me to be such that there is
nothing to fear, but rather the very best to be hoped, in every
way from her."* On the 30th December Lucrezia's marriage
with Alfonso, by procuration, was celebrated with great
splendour in the Vatican. The bride's dress was of " gold
brocade and crimson velvet trimmed with ermine. The
hanging sleeves touched the ground, and her long train was
borne by maids of honour. A black band confined her
golden hair, and she wore on her head a light coif of gold
and silk. Her necklace was a string of pearls with a locket
consisting of an emerald, a ruby, and one large pearl."
From thence until the day of her departure (6th January,
1502) one entertainment succeeded another in a perpetual
round of gaiety. Plays, among others Plautus' Menaechmi,
balls, and allegorical representations alternated with races,
tournaments, and bull-fights.-|-
* Report of El Prete da Correggio in Gregorovius, Lucrezia
Borgia, 194-5. C/. Luzio-Kenier, Mantova, 113, and NiCCOLO da
Correggio in Giom. st. d. Lett. Ital. (1893), XXII., 66 seg. On the
bridal escort, see also Sanuto, IV., 195 seg., and Arch. d. Soc. Rom.,
VII., 585-586.
t Gregorovius, Lucrezia Borgia, 197, 199 srg.; Sanuto, IV., 211.
C/. Dal Re, 104 seg.; Ricci Signorini, II passagio di L. B. per Cesena
(Cesena, 1889). On the festivities at Forli on Lucrezia's passage
through that place see Arch. St. Ital., 5 Serie, X. (1892), 280-30 f. On
no HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Lucrezia*s marriage with the heir of Ferrara was the
turning point in her Hfe. In spite of all the investigations
of recent times much in the Roman life of this remarkable
woman remains shrouded in darkness ; but this is not the
case in regard to its closing period in Ferrara.* During
this time Lucrezia, who was Duchess of Ferrara from 1505
till 24th June, 1 5 19, when she died in her confinement, not
only won the love of her husband, but also that of her
people. All accusations in regard to her conduct, which no
doubt were not entirely groundless,! from henceforth wholly
cease. Lucrezia is only heard of as a faithful and loving
wife, and the consoler and advocate of all who were poor or
oppressed. Her beauty, added to her sweetness and kind-
ness, captivated the hearts of all. She encouraged arts, and
was surrounded and praised by cultivated men such as
Ariosto, Bembo, Strozzi, and others.
Lucrezia Borgia di cui d'ora in era
La belta, la virtu, e la fama honesta,
E la fortuna, va crescendo non meno
Che giovin pianta in morbida terra;
the bull-fights in Rome, cf. Ademollo, Carnevale, 37-45 seq.\ Luzio,
Fed. Gonzaga, 49 ; ClAN, Cortegiano, 48.
* In addition to ROSCOE, Leo X., I., 378 seq.^ Sabbatini in Educa-
tore Storico, Ao III., Disp. 5a(Modena, 1845) ; Campori in the Nuov.
Antolog. (1866) ; Antonelli in the Arch. Venet., II. (1871), 429 seq.\
ZUCCHETTI, L. B. Duchessa di Ferrara (Milan, 1869); cf. especially Gil-
bert. II., 97 seq.., and Gregorovius, Lucrezia Borgia, 209 seq. Gil-
bert's representation is ver}' inadequate (see Reumont in the Bonn.
Literaturblatt, V., 476). In regard to Gregorovius, see Vol. V., p. 399,
Antonelli's work, L. B. in Ferrara (Ferrara, 1867), contains nothing but
extracts taken from the Ferrarese Chronicle of Bernardino Zambotto and
Niccolo of Pamia's narrative of the bringing of Lucrezia from Rome,
and the festivities at Ferrara on her arrival. On the relations between
Lucrezia Borgia and Isabella d'Este, see LuziO, I Precettori d'Isab.
d'Este (Nozze Renier-Campostrini. Ancona, 1887), 42, in which Gre-
gorovius' mistaken statement is corrected.
t Cf. Vol. V. of this work, p. 399, note J.
THE CHARACTER OF LUCREZIA BORGIA. Ill
is the description of her in Ariosto's Orlando Furioso
(XI 1 1., 19). Without giving credit to every flattering word
that may occur in the strains of a Court-poet, we may fairly
assume that he would not have written anything that was
in flagrant contradiction with the general opinion. " The
art of flattery has its laws and its limits; he who would
praise a royal personage for qualities in which he or she was
notoriously deficient, must be utterly unacquainted with the
world and the usages of society. Such praise would practi-
cally be satire, and the foolish courtier would certainly not
be rewarded."* The poets, however, are not the only
witnesses in her favour. Scholars, statesmen, and historians
all agree in pronouncing the same verdict, so that the latest
biographer of the Duchess says at the close of his work :
" This at least is certain, that during her life at Ferrara she
was regarded as a pattern of womanly virtue."f More
^ Campori loc. at.; Jorry, 182 seg.-, Reumont, III., i, 205.
GeiGER, also, in the Zeitsch. fiir vergleich. Literaturgesch., N. F. II., 154,
says : " If we are not to brand such men as Ariosto, Strozzi, etc., as liars,
or at any rate as guilty of the most fulsome adulation, we must believe in
a real conversion of heart and change of life in Lucrezia."
t Gregorovius, 281. On the relations between Bembo and
Lucrezia, this historian says, p. 277 : "There can be no doubt that
Bembo was passionately in love with Lucrezia, but it were vain to attempt
to prove that there was anything which went beyond the limits of what
was permissible in the marks of friendship bestowed on him by that
beautiful woman." Mazzuchelli (see JORRY, 176) and Thausing in
the Vienna Deutsch. Zeitung (1883), N. 3954, pass a similar judgment.
With HiLDEBRAND (II., 53), I will not attempt to decide whether or not
GiLBERT(I I., 127 seq.) has been successful in proving that the famous lock
of fair hair which is shewn in the Ambrosiana at Milan with Lucrezia's
letters to Bembo, was not hers. " But in any case," Hildebrand says,
" Gilbert is right in holding that the ' desiderosa gratificarvi ' with which
one of her letters concludes does not give the smallest right to infer any
return of love on her part. Any one who knows Italian is familiar with
this phrase as the commonest expression of complimentai) affability
112 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
especially in times of scarcity she shewed herself a" Mother
of the people" ; and cictually pawned her jewels in order to
help the poor. Jovius tells how completely she renounced
all the luxury to which she had been accustomed from her
youth, and lived a simple, religious life. He lays special
stress on her solid practice of virtue; her religion was no
mere show. As a proof of her practical charity he states
that she founded a convent and chapel for well-born ladies
out of her own private purse.*
After Lucrezia's departure from Rome, Caesar's influence
became absolutely unbounded. He was the real master ;
in almost everything the Pope conformed absolutely to the
iron will of this man, the most terrible of all the cruel
offspring of the Renaissance. Caesar was the tyrant of
Rome, which he filled with his spies and minions. A word
against him was a crime of high treason. A man who had
made too free with his name when in domino had his hand
and his tongue cut off and fastened together.^ The
Venetian Ambassador was unable to protect one of his
countrymen who was supposed to have circulated a
pamphlet which contained reflections on Alexander and
his son. He was murdered and his body cast into the
Tiber. The Pope himself, though callous as a rule about
such things, blamed his son for this. " The Duke," he said
to the Ferrarese Envoy, " is a good-natured man ; but he
cannot tolerate an insult. I have often told him that
Rome is a free city, and that here every one has a right to
from a Prince to an inferior in rank." For a criticism on Gilbert's work,
see especially Reumont in the Bonn. Literaturblatt, V., 476 seq.
* JOVIUS, Vitae clar. vir., I., 187. Cf. ROSCOE, Leo X., I., 395 ;
JORRY, loc. cit. ; Gregorovius, 304. See also the testimony of B.
PiSTOFlLO in the Atti Mod., III., 493.
t See BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 172. Punishments such as this
were then quite usual. See Maury, Rev. Hist., XIII., 98 seq.
PAMPHLET AGAINST THE BORGIA. II 3
write and say what he likes. Plenty of things are said of
me, but I take no notice. The Duke replied, That may
be all very well for Rome, but I will teach such people to
be sorry for what they say." Finally the Pope reminded
his son how many of the Cardinals, whom Charles \"III.
had himself acknowledged to have been traitors to their
master, had been forgiven by him. " I could easily," he said,
"have had the Vice-Chancellor and Cardinal Giuliano della
Rovere killed ; but I did not wish to harm any one, and I
pardoned fourteen of the nobles." * A short time before
this Alexander had proved that this was not mere palaver.
At the close of the year 1501 a pamphlet against the
Borgia had appeared which surpassed all former attacks in
virulence. It was in the form of a letter to one of the
exiled Roman Barons, Silvio Savelli, then living at the
Court of Maximilian I., and was dated from the Spanish
camp at Tarento, 1 5th November, 1 501. " You are mistaken,
my dear friend," it said, "if you think that you ought to
attempt to come to terms with this monster. He has
betrayed you, banished you, and resolved on your destruc-
tion, simply out of greed and faithlessness, and for no other
reason. Therefore you should repay an enmity that will
never cease with an unalterable hatred. You must choose
a different path and disclose the misery of Rome to the
true physician. Lay before the Emperor and the other
Princes of the empire all the evil that has proceeded from
this cursed beast for the perdition of Christendom ; narrate
the abominable crimes by which God is set at naught, and
♦ From a ^Report of the Ferrarese Envoy, Beltrando Costabili, of
ist February, 1502, in Gregorovius, VII., 453-454, ed. 3 (460-61, ed. 4).
Cf. Lord ACTOX, 364. Another Ferrarese Envoy describes in a *Letter,
dat. Rome, 30th October, 1501, that C.xsar never goes out without being
masked. (See Vol. V. of this work, p. 403.) Kl resto del tempo he
remains shut up in quelle sue camera. State Archives, Moclcna.
VOL. VL 1
114 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the heart of rehgion pierced through. Describe these
horrors in detail before the Diet, and take care that they
shall be disseminated from mouth to mouth. It is idle for
Christendom to groan over the nations which are torn from
her arms by her old enemy the Turk, while this new
Mahomet far surpasses the old one in the havoc he causes
in what yet remains of faith and religion by his filthy
crimes. These are the days of Antichrist, for no greater
enemy of God, Christ, and religion can be conceived." It
goes on to accuse all the Borgia, Alexander, Lucrezia, and
Caesar, of every imaginable crime and vice. All that could
be invented by political hatred in Milan, Venice, and
Naples, and all the venom that Roman satire could hatch,
is heaped together and poured forth in unmeasured
language. " There is no sort of outrage or vice," it says in
one place, ' that is not openly practised in the Palace of
the Pope. The perfidy of the Scythians and Carthaginians,
the bestiality and savagery of Nero and Caligula are
surpassed. Rodrigo Borgia is an abyss of vice, a subverter
of all justice, human or divine. God grant that the Princes
may come to the rescue of the tottering Church, and steer
the sinking barque of Peter out of the storm and into the
haven ! God grant they may rise up and deliver Rome
from the destroyer who was born to be her ruin, and bring
back justice and peace to the city ! " *
This diatribe, brimming over with political hatred and
the spirit of revenge, cannot, of course, be regarded as
historically trustworthy. But it shews what dangerous
* The whole letter is to be found in BURCHARDI Diarium, III.,
182-187 (on p. 183 read conventibus instead of convenientibus, and
on p. 187 labanti instead of labenti). The author was evidently a
Humanist, or connected with the Humanists. Gregorovius, VH.,
460, ed. 3 (467, ed. 4), conjectures that he may have been one of the
Colonna.
INDIFFERENCE OF THE POPE. I15
weapons the disgraceful conduct of the Borgia put into the
hands of their enemies.*
Alexander had this libel read to him ; but, indifferent
as he was to public opinion, it never occurred to him to
attempt to curtail the liberty of speech or writing in Rome.
We hear nothing of any measures to check the circulation
of the pamphlet, or any attempt to prosecute its author.
Silvio Savelli, in whose interest it was professedly written,
was allowed later to return to Rome and was received in
audience by the Pope.f
Alexander paid heavily for his indifference to all these
attacks and accusations.^ Writings like these exercised
a lasting effect on the judgments regarding him, both of his
contemporaries and of later times.
The longer this " incredible liberty " in the expression
of opinion lasted in Rome the more freely was it taken
advantage of by the enemies of the Borgia. " Sannazaro
certainly wrote his epigrams in a place of comparative
security, but others said the most hazardous things at the
very doors of the Court."§ Epigrammatic satire developed
enormously in literary circles in Rome. Literary men vied
with each other in producing the most melodramatic and
unheard of accusations, and spicing them with the most
caustic witll
* Creighton, IV., 22. Cf. Alvisi, 223 224.
t BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 182 ; Dispacci di A. Giustinian, I., 309.
X " Alexander," says Lange, 32, " as a Sybarite who cared nothing for
the opinion of the world, bore these attacks with perfect equanimity, and
unless they contained actual threats never took any measures in regard
to them. He looked upon Rome as a privileged place where every one
should be left free to speak and write as he pleased."
§ BURCKHARDT, Cultur, I., 309, ed. 3 ; ^. 152 seq.
II Luzio in the Giorn. st. d. Lett. Ital., XIX., 89 seq.^ has collected a
multitude of satires and epigrams mostly drawn from printed sources.
Cf. Ibid., XVII., 296, note, and XIX., 455. See also KUMI, Alessan. VI.,
Il6 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Alexander was often now loaded with vituperation by
the very same persons who had formerly " praised him to
the skies."* Just at this time (151 1) Cardinal Caraffa had
had an ancient statue, supposed to represent Hercules
strangling Geryon, placed on a pedestal just outside his
palace, which was situated in one of the most frequented
thoroughfares of Rome.f Burchard relates how, in August
102 seq.^ and Doc. intorno Pio II. e III., 16 seq. The number of
MS. epigrams is even greater, the majority of which were not written
until after the Pope's death, and later. I^Cf. PlEPER in the Romischen
Quartalschrift, 1893, P- 393-) ^ can only mention a few. Thus, see
Cod. 9846 in the Court Library at Vienna ; Cod. Lat. 428, f. 265, in the
State Library at Munich; Cod. Vatic. 3351, in the Vatican Library;
poems of Fausto, Maddaleno de Capodiferro, f. 68 (In Alexandrum
VI., P. M., f. 74 : In edictum contra lenones Alex. VI., f. 90 ; Contra
Alexandrum VI., and specially f. ']'] ; De vitiis Alexandri VI., P. M.
Then also against others of the Borgia family, e.g.^ f 55b : De Dorothea
a Caesare Borgia rapta). Cod. Hamilton, 561, formerly in the possession
of one of the Rovere Cardinals, contains, f. 9, atrocious verses against
Alexander, e.g. :
Heredem certum ut possit sibi linquere Sextus
Ex nota prolem suscipere instituit.
(Royal Library, Berlin.) The same detestable accusation is to be found
in Protestant polemics of the i6th Century (e.g., L. OsiANDER, Sieben
Predigten gegen Feucht und Pistorius, 1 589, pp. 38-39), in the verses : —
Conditus hoc tumulo Lucretia nomine, sed re
Thais, Alexandra filia, sponsa, nurus,
which are quoted as true. It has been clearly proved, supra, p. 105,
note t, that these charges are calumnies. See Vol. V. of this work,
p. 520. Burchard's silence, from which GOTHEIN, 461, note 2, infers
their truth, is no proof whatever ; as L. Geiger has shewn in the
Deutsche Literaturzeitung (1888), p. 1751.
■^ TOMMASINI, Evangelista Maddaleni de Capodiferro, in the Atti dei
Lincei, 4 Serie, CI. di scienze mor. storiche, X., 9. Roma, 1893.
t Reumont, III., I, 561 where also the oldei literature relating to
Pasquino is given.
THE STATUE OF PASQUINO. I17
1 501, on the pedestal of this antique fragment, which then
went by the name of Pasquino (it is now thought to be
Ajax with the body of Achilles), a prophecy of the death
of the Pope was affixed, which was quickly circulated
throughout the whole of Rome. This prediction, he adds,
was posted up in several other parts of the city : * in the
Campo di P'iore, the Bridge of St. Angelo, the doors of
the Vatican Library, and the gates of the Papal Palace.
The number of places here mentioned proves that at
that time the popular and courtly epigram was not yet a
fixed institution in Rome. Up to the time of Leo X. the
statue of Pasquino is only occasionally mentioned as the
place on which epigrams were posted. It had not yet
acquired any special distinction in this respect. It was in
his reign that it first became the recognised place for
affixing all the epigrams and witticisms of the Roman
satirists.-]- It seems thus equally clear that the origin of the
Pasquinade literature, centred here, was scholarly rather than
popular. From the year 1504, on the Feast of S. Mark
(25th April), this figure was dressed up in masquerade
as Minerva, Jupiter, Janus, Apollo, Flora, etc., while the
members of the literary circles covered its pedestal with
witty epigrams. For the rest of the year Pasquino relapsed
into silence ; as yet he was still in the youthful, academic
stage of his existence.^
* BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 157.
t Cf. Luzio in the Giorn. st. d. Lett. Ital., XIX., 94-95 ; G. A.
Cesareo in the N. Antologia, CXXXV. (1894), 537 5eq.\ and Pasquino e
la Satira sotto Leone X. (Roma, 1894). For a review of this work see
also Giorn. st. d. Lett. Ital, XXIV., 473 seq.
X Cf. Gnoli and Luzio in the Nuova Antologia (1890); Gennaio,
2, 16; AGOSTO, 16. See also Errera in Arch. bt. Ital., 5 Seric, X.,
176 seq.^ and ClAN in Giorn. st. d. Lett. lUil., XVII., 295 seq.
MORANDl'S contention in the Fanfulla della Domenioi, XII , 52, against
Luzio is not convincing. C/. Giorn. st. d. Lett. Ital., X\ll., 151. The
Il8 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
There can be no doubt that the comic poems of that
time in Rome were often accompanied by caricatures.
When later (in the year 1509), collections of these Pasquin-
ades began to be made, the pictures were thrown away,
and only the epigrams were kept. Thus valuable materials
for the history of culture have been lost and we can never
hope to recover them. Even such things as abortions like,
for instance, the monster that was said to have been found
in January 1496, at the time of the overflow of the Tiber,*
were, as Alexander's misgovernment grew worse and worse,
caught hold of by the enemies of the Borgia, and in-
terpreted in their own sense.-f
Five weeks after Lucrezia's departure, Alexander and
Caesar, accompanied by six Cardinals, set out for Piombino,
which had surrendered in the previous September. The
object of their journey was to inspect the fortifications
which were being constructed there, apparently under the
direction of Leonardo da Vinci.J On the 17th February,
1 502, they set out by way of Civita Vecchia and Corneto,
and after Piombino the island of Elba was also visited.
The return journey was begun on the ist of March, but a
violent storm came on, and they did not succeed in reaching
Porto Ercole till the 4th. Although the gale had by no
means subsided, the voyage was pursued as far as Corneto ;
but when they got there the sea was running so high that
view given in the text is corroborated by a scarce work in the Court
Library at Munich (Po. Lat, 861): Carmina apposita Pasquino Paci
Anno 1520 (Printed at Rome in 1520). In Mazzochi's Dedication to the
Card, del Monte, dat. Romae, Kal. Maii 1520, we find : Solent namque
juvenes hie .... geniam quotannis musis exerceri, accendique ad
virtutem, magna principis, magna tua, magna caeterorum omnium
delectatione.
* See Vol. V. of this work, p. 480.
t Lange, 32, 43 ; cf, 39.
X Cf. Alvisi, 244.
PLANS OF CiESAR BORGIA AGAINST TUSCANY. II9
it was impossible to land. As the storm still continued to
increase, the terrified crew threw themselves on their faces
on the deck, the Cardinals wept, the Pope alone remained
perfectly calm. In the evening they were obliged to return
to Porto Ercole, and from thence Alexander travelled back
to Rome by Corneto and Civita Vecchia, and arrived there
on the nth of March.*
There was a political reason for this expedition. Piom-
bino was to form the basis of Caesar's operations against
Tuscany, where the enmity between Florence and Siena,
and the war against Pisa, created a favourable situation for
him.j- In other directions, also, the moment was opportune.
The King of France was thought to be safe, as he required
the help of the Pope in the coming struggle with the
Spanish League. The Roman Barons had been crushed,
and all was quiet in the Romagna. Ferrara was an ally ;
Venice was too busy with the Turks to interfere ; there was
nothing to fear from Germany.^ Such a happy combina-
tion of circumstances called for prompt action, and all
possible speed was made in the preparations. The artillery
of the dethroned King of Naples was purchased for 50,000
ducats.§ The fact that Caesar alone, in May, 1502, drew the
*• BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 192-196, and SiGlSMONDO DE' CONTI.
II., 269; Gregorovius, VII., 454-455, ed. 3 (461, ed. 4). Cf. also
*Acta Consist, in the Consistorial Archives, and a **Letter of G. L.
Cataneo, dat. Rome, 17th Feb., 1502. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
t Reumont, III., I, 241. Cy: G. L. Cataneo's **Letter of 17th Feb.,
1502. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
X G. L. Cataneo's **Letter of 17th Feb., 1502. (Gonzaga Archives,
Mantua.) Cf. Creighton, IV., 25 seq. On the pacification of the
Romagna by Caesar, see Reumont, III., I, 240, and Alvisi, 246 seq.,
259 seq., 261. The last named historian shews that C:esar displayed
great administrative capacity in his government of the Romagna, and was
a generous patron of Art. *
§ The Portuguese Envoy names a lower sum. See Corp. Dipl. Tort.,
I20 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
sum of 54,000 florins out of the Papal treasury, shews what
large demands were made upon it by the Pope's nephews.
This did not include the cost of weapons and ammunition.
Between loth May and 12th July the Apostolical treasury
paid for 83,098 pounds of powder (each 1000 pounds cost
40 ducats). A separate register was kept in the Secretariat
for the ordnance expenses.*
On the 13th June Caesar left Rome at the head of his
army. No one, says Sigismondo de' Conti, knew whither
he was bound, but all the inhabitants of the States of the
Church trembled at the approach of his troops, who in
their violence and exactions behaved as though they were
in an enemy's country .f
The Duke proceeded to Spoleto, and from thence entered
the Duchy of Urbino. By dint of fraud and treachery he
succeeded in making himself master of the whole country,
its deluded ruler, Guidobaldi, barely escaping out of his
hands by a timely flight.J In the following month he took
Giulio Cesare Varano, the murderer of his brother Rudolf,
prisoner, and conquered Camerino.§ He now received the
I., 34 ; but Dr. Gottlob states that the sum in the text is that which is
found in the disbursements mentioned in Cod. XXXII., 242 (at the end),
in the Barberini Library, Rome.
* GOTTLOB, Cam. Ap., 229.
t Sigismondo de' Conti, II., 251. Alvisi has shewn that Cassar
endeavoured to check the rapacity of his soldiers, but the testimony of
such a well-informed contemporary' witness can hardly be set aside. In
this, as in several other points, Alvisi seems to me to go too far in his
desire to take an unprejudiced view of Caesar, and reject the calumnies
of his contemporaries. How " barbarous " was his treatment of Fossom-
brone is clearly shewn by GiAC. Lauro, "^Storia de Fossombrone. MS.
in the Plattner Library in Rome.
X Dennistoun, I., 385; Ugolini, II., 89 se^.; Sugenheim, 374;
Ranke, Rom. und Germ. Volker, 158 seg.; Cipolla, 784 ; Alvisi, 528
seg.; LuziO-Renier, Mantova, 124 se^.
§ Sigismondo de' Conti, II., 253 ; Sugenheim, 375 seg.; Balan,
HE COMES TO TERMS WITH LOUIS XII. 121
title of Caesar Borgia of France, by the Grace of God Duke
of the Romagna and of Valencia and Urbino, Prince of
Andria, Lord of Piombino, Standard-bearer and General-in-
Chief of the Church.*
When the Pope heard of the conquest of Camerino he
was " almost beside himself with joy," writes the Venetian
Envoy, Antonio Giustinian. " He could so little contain
himself that, to give some vent to his feelings and mark
the importance of the news, he got up from his chair and
went to the window, and there had the letter of his Duke
of 20th July from Urbino read aloud."-)- Camerino was
given to the infant Juan Borgia,;}: while Caesar's plans
took larger and larger scope. He was, in fact, on the high
road to become King of the whole of Central Italy. He
was already beginning to think of turning his arms against
Bologna when Louis XH. came forward, in connection with
Neapolitan relations with Asti, and gave it to be under-
stood that he would not permit any further developments. §
All the enemies of the Borgia were besieging the King
with complaints of, and warnings against, the Duke of the
Romagna. Caesar's resolution was promptly taken. Dis-
guising himself, he hastened to the royal camp at Milan,
and arrived on the 5th of August. He was successful in
winning Louis by the promise of help in Naples, in return
for which the King engaged to support him in his attack
on Bologna and the Orsini.||
407 seq.^ 409, 411 seq. The excommunication of G. C. Varano is in
Raynaldus, ad an. 1501, n. 17.
* ViLLARi, Machiavelli, I., 333 ; Gregorovius, VII., 457 45^» ^'<^1 3
(464, ed. 4).
t Dispacci di A. Giustinian, I., 64 ; cf. 76.
X RONCHINI, 46 seq.^ 62 seq.
§ ViLLARI, Machiavelli, I., 333 scq.\ ClPOT,T-A, 785 ; and on the fresh
rupture between Giuliano della Rovcrc and the i*o]»e, Broscii, 88 seq.
II Alvisi, 300 seq.., 31 1 seq.
122 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
At this moment a conspiracy against Caesar was formed
amongst the chief captains of the mercenary troops under
his command. " They were afraid that the dragon was
preparing to swallow them one by one." * On the 9th of
October the conspirators met at La Magione, not far from
the Lake of Thrasimene. Many of the Orsini came, the
Cardinal, the Duke of Gravina, Paolo, and Franciotto,
besides Hermes, the son of Giovanni Bentivoglio, as the
representative of his father, Antonio da Venafro, represent-
ing Pandolfo, Petrucci, Gentile, and Giampaolo Baglione,
and Vitellozzo Vitelli.f They proceeded at once to action,
and on the 15th of October Paolo Orsini entered Urbino,
and Guidobaldi immediately joined him there. Without
the help of France, Caesar would have been lost, and he
exerted himself to obtain the support of Venice and
Florence also. It was at this time that Machiavelli was
sent as Envoy to Caesar at Imola, and gave the first indica-
tion of his genius as a political historian by his judgments
of the " inscrutable Duke who hardly ever spoke, but
acted."!
Ferrara promised to send troops to Rome if the Pope
should require help against the Orsini.§ Actually, however,
the only help received by Caesar came from France alone ;
but that sufficed, for in the meanwhile his opponents lost
time in negotiations, and split among themselves.
The Duke exerted all his craft to break up the League,
and fool the conspirators ; and they on their part walked
* So writes G. P. Baglioni on the nth Oct. See ViLLARl, Machia-
velli, I., 334.
t ViLLARi, loc. cit.^ 334 ; SUGENHEIM, 385 ; Ranke, Rom. und
Germ. Volker, 160; SiGiSMONDO de' Conti, II., 257 seq,^ says that
Cardinal Orsini was the prime mover in the Confederacy.
X Ibid., 339 seq., 362 seq.
§ Gregorovius, VII., 463, ed. 3 (470, ed. 4).
C^SAR BORGIA TAKES SINIGAGLIA. 1 23
blindly into the net that he had laid for them.* Antonio
da Venafro and Paolo Orsini came to Imola and concluded
an alliance offensive and defensive with the Duke, by which
they bound themselves to recover Urbino and Camerino for
him. Bentivoglio entered into separate negotiation with
Caesar ; and on the 2nd of December they came to terms.f
Soon after Urbino and Camerino were restored to him.
On the loth December Caesar, who a short time before
had received considerable sums from the Papal treasury,^
proceeded with his troops from Imola to Cesena. " No
one knew or could guess the object of the movement,"
writes Machiavelli, " for this Signor never speaks of his
intentions until he carries them out, and he carries them
out at the proper moment." § Soon, however, it became
evident that the Duke's purpose was to take Sinigaglia.
Andrea Doria was in command of the Castle. When he
found that Caesar was hurrying towards the city, and
already preceded by the troops of Vitellozzo and the Orsini,
he fled to Venice. The commander whom he left in charge
declared that he would give up the citadel to Caesar but to
no one else.|| The Duke arrived on the 31st of December,
and was joined at the gates by Vitellozzo, Paolo Orsini,
the Duke of Gravina, and Oliverotto of Fermo. He re-
* SiGISMONDO DE' CONTI, II., 262.
t Besides Villari, /oc. ciL, I., 343 set/., cf. also Cipoli.a, 788, and
Alvisi, 547 seq.^ 550 seq.
X ■'^Die III. Decemb. [1502] recepi ducat, 9000 auri in auro . . . .
A. S. D. N. munerata in camera Susanne .... mittenda in summa due.
15,000 ill. duci Valentino, que recepi in duobus sacculis. *Intr. et exit.,
532 ; at the end of a loose sheet tacked on f. 4. The further entries in
this vol. shew that Caesar drew enormous sums for military purposes.
In Perugia he had 600 German mercenaries. See *lntr. ct exit., 533,
f. 201. Secret Archives of the Vatican.
§ Letter of 28th Dec. See Villari, I., 352.
II Villari, Machiavelli, I., 353.
124 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
ceived them in the friendliest manner, and they entered
together; but no sooner were they within the walls than he
had them arrested, and their people disarmed. That very
same evening Vitellozzo and Oliverotto were ruthlessly put
to death.* The Orsini soon after met with the same fate.f
In justification of these murders it was said later that those
chiefs had agreed to rise against the Duke and assassinate
him. No proofs of this are to be found ; but it is not
unlikely that it may have been true.J
Caesar now turned with lightning-like rapidity on his
other foes. On ist January, 1503, he set off for Perugia on
his way to Siena, " At his approach all the smaller despots
(such as the Vitelli of Citta di Castello, Giampaolo Bagli-
one of Perugia, etc.) fled as from that of a hydra."§
The Duke's "extraordinary good fortune and super-
* On the tragedy of Sinigaglia, in addition to Machiavelli's cold-
blooded account {cf. ViLLARl, I., 354 seq.\ see also a Letter from Isa-
bella d'Este to her husband, of loth Jan., 1503 (Arch. St. Ital., Serie i,
App., II., 262 j-^^.), and Giustinian's Despatch of 4th Jan., 1503 (Dis-
pacci, I., 304 seq.). A Letter of Cesar's of ist Jan., 1503, in Luzio-
Renier, Mantova, 133, is also interesting in this connection. Amongst
recent authors, see CiPOLLA, 789 (good against Leonetti, and on the
question of Alexander VI. 's complicity in this deed) ; L'Epinois, 415 ;
Alvisi, 388 seq.\ TOMMASINI, Machiavelli, I., 256 seq. Machiavelli
tells the stor}^ of this execution (for Caesar's contemporaries regarded it
as an execution) over again, but ^vith fewer details, in his well-known
" Descrizione del modo tenuto dal duca Valentino nell' ammazzare Vitel-
lozzo," etc. Gaspary, II., 345, conjectures that some alterations were
purposely introduced into this second narrative " with a %new of setting
the Duke's sagacity in a more brilliant light, for Machiavelli was never
scrupulous in regard to strict historical accuracy when he had a political
doctrine to illustrate." Alexander VI. bestowed Fermo on Lucrezia's son,
Don Rodrigo. See FULVI, Docum. d. Storia de Fermo. Fermo, 1875.
t Dispacci di A. Giustinian, I., 356 seq.
X CiPOLLA, loc. Cit.
§ Vll LARI, I., 356 seq.
THE POPE PROCEEDS AGAINST THE ORSINI,
125
human sagacity," to use Machiavelli's words, so encouraged
the Pope, that he determined to proceed now himself
against the Orsini. On the 3rd of January, 1503, Cardinal
Orsini, now blind, but still spending his nights in play and
feasting, was arrested in the Vatican, and taken first to
Torre di Nona and then to St. Angelo.* At the same time,
Rinaldo Orsini, Archbishop of Florence, Giacomo Santa
Croce, and other adherents of the family were put in
prison. Cardinal Orsini's palace and all his property were
confiscated by Alexander VI. The other Cardinals inter-
ceded for him, but without effect. The Pope declared that
his treachery and participation in the captains' conspiracy
could not be left unpunished.f In Rome the numerous
arrests created quite a panic. Many fled from the city, so
that at last Alexander found it necessary to send for the
Conservators, and assure them that all the guilty persons
had now been disposed of ; the other citizens were to
remain in Rome and enjoy the Carnival. In the latter
respect he himself set them the best example.^
On the 5th of January, Jofre Borgia set out to occupy
Monte Rotondo and the other strongholds of the doomed
family. This was the signal for a final effort to avenge them-
selves on the part of the remains of the Orsini party in
combination with the Savelli and a few of the Colonna.
They entrenched themselves in Cere and Bracciano, and on
the 23rd January attacked the Ponte Nomentano. The
attack was repulsed ; but the Pope was so much alarmed
* BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 230, and ^Report of the Mantuan Envoy
of 4th Jan., 1 503. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
t Dispacci di A. Giustinian, I., 301 seq., 312 srq., according to
which the Cardinal fully expected that he would be put to death. Cf.
BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 232.
X Dispacci di A. Giustinian, I., 313 seq., 320 st-q., 322, 324. Cf.
Ademollo, 27.
126 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
that he had the Vatican barricaded and commanded Jofre
to return at once.*
On the 20th February, 1503, the Pope advised the
Cardinals to fortify their palaces, for there was fear of an
attack from the Orsini.f Two days later Cardinal Orsini
died after an illness of twelve days. The report that he
was poisoned by the Borgia was widely circulated, but the
truth of this is doubtful. Such was the death of the man
who, next to Ascanio Sforza, had the greatest influence in
procuring the election of Alexander VI.J
Meanwhile Caesar had advanced against the Orsini from
Umbria, and, devastating the country as he went along, had
made himself master of all the places belonging to Giovanni
Giordano Orsini with the exception of Cere and Bracciano,
which last was their chief stronfjhold.5 A short time after,
* Dispacci di A. Giustinian, I., 342, 349 ; Sanuto, IV., 654 seq. \
GreGOROVIUS, VII., 467 seq, (474 seq.,^ ed. 4).
+ BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 237, and Dispacci di A. Giustinian, I.,
403-
X L'Epinois is strongly against the hypothesis of poison. He says,
p. 416 : Giustinian si attache aux Orsini et si au fait de ce qui se passait
a Rome, avait ecrit, des le 15 Fevrier, 1503, que le Cardinal donnait des
signes de frenesie : il parla bien des bruit emis sur cette maladie, en
laissant a la sagesse du doge le soin de les apprecier ; mais, le 22 en
annongant que le Cardinal Orsini etait k I'extremite et que les medecins
desesperaient de le sauver, il ne dit rien qui put faire soupgonner un crime.
Le 23 Fevrier le Cardinal expira. L'ambassadeur de Florence, Soderini,
dans se depeche et Brancatalini dans son Diarium mentionnent simple-
ment la mort du Cardinal sans dire un mot du poison. At the same
time, the remark in Burchardi Diarium, III., 238 : ego nolens plus
sapere quam oportet, non interfui (at the funeral) neque aliquo modo me
intromisi, is certainly noteworthy. Cf. Heidenheimer in the Grenz-
boten, III. (1879), 185-
§ *La Ex. del ducha sark qua lo jovedi grasso perche tutte le terre di
Jo. Jordan© ha habuto d'accordo excepto Brazano che h lo capo dove
h la molie, etc. Report of G. L. Cataneo, 21st Feb., 1503. Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua.
REVERSES OF THE FRENCH IN NAPLES. 12/
it was said that the Duke had been seen in Rome ; but no one
could be sure, as he always wore a mask when he went out*
Meanwhile the war against the Orsini dragged on. Cere
did not fall until the beginning of April; 6000 cannon balls
had been discharged at this fortress. f Upon this Giovanni
Giordano Orsini concluded an armistice (4th April)| and be-
took himself to his protector, the King of France, for aid in
the negotiation to follow. Louis at that moment was greatly
disturbed at the unfavourable turn taken by events in Naples.
In April the Spaniards, under Gonsalvo de Cordova, had
opened the campaign with a brilliant victory over the
French. On the i6th of May the Spanish General entered
Naples in triumph. Louis XII., however, was not disposed
to relinquish this noble possession without a struggle, and
a new army was immediately equipped. §
The French reverses in Naples were of great advantage
to Caesar. He could now ask a high price for his assistance,
and it was not necessary to consider France so much as
heretofore in shaping his plans. The important point now
was to get money so as to have as strong an army as
possible wherewith to control the impending disturbances.
Even on the 29th March the Venetian Ambassador reports
that in the Consistory of that day it had been resolved by the
Cardinals that a Bull should be issued to create eighty new
offices in the Court ; the price of each was to be 760 ducats.
" I leave it to your highness to count how much money the
Pope has secured."|l
* Dispacci di A. Giustinian, I., 412 seg., and Beltrando's Report in
Gregorovius, VII., 473-474, ed. 3 (481, ed. 4).
t SiGISMONDO de' CONTI, II., 266-267 ; c/. 450 J^^.
X Gregorovius, VII., 475, ed. 3 ; (482, ed. 4) ; and App. to Sicis-
MONDO DE' CONTI, II., 452.
§ Havemann, II., 169 seg., 178 seg.; Reumont, Caiafa, I., ^S
II Dispacci di A. Giustinian, I., 453.
128 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
These were innocent expedients in comparison with others
adopted by the man before whom all Rome, not excepting
the Pope himself, trembled. In the night of the loth of April
the wealthy Cardinal Michiel died after two days of violent
vomiting. Recent investigations have had the effect of
acquitting Caesar of many crimes laid upon him by the
hatred of his contemporaries, but the death of Cardinal
Michiel is not one of these. It is extremely probable that
Caesar poisoned the Cardinal in order to obtain the money
that he wanted.* Still, however, there was not enough. On
May 31 the Venetian Envoy, A. Giustinian, writes: "To-day
there was a Consistory. Instead of four new Cardinals, as
people expected and as the Pope had said, nine were nomi-
nated. Five of these are Spaniards, Giovanni Castelar of
Valencia, Francesco Remolino, Francesco Sprats, Jacopo
Casanova, and Francesco Iloris ; three are Italians, Niccolo
* Despatch of A. Giustinian of nth April, 1503. ViLLARi, I., 574:
El ditto (Michiel's nephew) me ha riferito che da due zorni in qua li
era zonto un destemperamento de stomego con gran vomito, et anche un
poco di flusso : el sospetto e grande ch' el sia sta' avelenato e non
mancano evidente conietture. C/. Reumont, III., i, 259, and Tiara
Veneta, 38 ; Michiel's Epitaph in Forcella, Iscriz., II., 304. It has
been shewn, in Vol. V. of this work, p. 510, and su^ra, p. 68, that
Caesar was not the murderer either of the Duke of Gandia or of
Juan Borgia ; ALVISI, 53 seq., has also disproved another false charge
against Caesar. Machiavelli asserts that Caesar had had the Bishop
Ferdinando d' Almeida killed because he had prematurely informed Louis
XII. of the granting of the marriage dispensation mentioned su^ra, p.
57, for which the Duke had intended to have exacted a large sum from
the King. Alvisi shews that the " murdered " Bishop died two years
later, and that the dispensation had been made public some time before
the date of his supposed indiscretion. P. Capello's dramatic narrative
relating how Caesar stabbed Pierotto in presence of the Pope, is
another story that will not bear examination ; see supra, p. yy, note j. The
poisoning of the avaricious Cardinal Ferrari (od. 20th July, 1 502) by Caesar
is very doubtful. Cf. Atti Mod., VIII., 39 se^., and TangL, 388 seg.
CREATION OF NEW CARDINALS.
129
Fiesco, Count of Lavagna, Francesco Soderini, and Adrian©
da Corneto ; one is a German, Melchior Copis von Meckau,
Bishop of Brixen. Most of them are men of doubtful reputa-
tion ; all have paid handsomely for their elevation, some
20,000 ducats and more, so that from 120,000 to 130,000
ducats have been collected. If we add to this 64,000 ducats
from the sale of the offices in the Court, and what Cardinal
Michiel left behind him, we shall have a fine sum. Alex-
ander VI. is shewing to the world that the amount of a
Pope's income is just what he chooses."*
There was another side also to this creation of Cardinals
on 31st May. It indicated a change in the Borgia politics,
an inclination to draw nearer to Spain and retire from
France consequent on the latter's humiliation. But no
decision was come to as yet. "The reversal of a policy
which had now been followed for some years' was in itself
a thing not to be done hastily, and the objections to it
were heightened by the approach of a large French army
destined for the reconquest of Naples, and which was now
* Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 29-30; "^Despatch of G. L. Cataneo
of 31st May, 1503 : 5 spagnuli e alcuni a pena conoscite e tre taliani
(Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.) Cf. Panvinius, 336, and ^Acta Consist.
(Consistorial Archives in the Vatican), where are the names of the
twenty-two Cardinals who consented to these nominations. Giustinian's
statement that only four nominations were expected is not correct, and,
generally, the accounts of this Venetian must be accepted with caution
{cf. Brosch in Sybels Zeitschr., XXXVII., 312, and K\y\?>\, passim) \
but the bribes given at this creation of Cardinals are corroborated from
other sources. {Cf. BROSCH, loc. cit., 313.) In regard to the simony
practised at the nominations of Cardinals under Alexander VI., see the
interesting documents in Luzio-Renier, Mantova, 130 seg. See also
G. L. Cataneo's •''■Report of 6th March, 1503 : *A1 presente sc parla dc
fare duodeci carl', otto ultramontani cioe sette spagnuoli e uno todcscho
e quatro taliani . . . e tutti questi sono apti a pai^ar denari assai. (Gon-
zaga Archives, Mantua.) On tlic nomination of Melchior von Meckau,
see SiNNACHER, Beitriige, 97 seq.^ 233 seq.
VOL. VI K
130 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
close to the Papal frontier. Thus all was tension and
uncertainty." * One thing, however, is clear, and that is,
that at this time Alexander and Caesar were preparing
to fly at higher game. The Pope was in robust health
and felt as young as ever ; they both looked forward to
a prolonged Pontificate.^ Consequently Caesar now began
to look forward with confidence to the Lordship of the
whole of Tuscany. The Ferrarese Envoy reports on the
loth of August that negotiations were going on between
the Pope and the Emperor, to obtain for the Duke the
investiture of Pisa, Siena, and Lucca. At the same
time Caesar's troops had occupied Perugia and there
awaited his orders.J At this point a higher hand inter-
vened ; the forbearance of God had reached its appointed
term.
* Reumont, III., I, 246. On the undecided plans and double-faced
policy of the Borgia during the last months of Alexander's reign, see, in
addition to A Giustinian's Despatches, the Ferrarese ^Report in the
State Archives, Modena, portions of which are in Gregorovius, VII.,
479 seq.^ ed. 3 (486 seq.^ ed. 4), and Balan, V., 422 seq. See also
amongst recent authors, Ranke, Rom. und Germ. Volker, 168 seq.\
CiPOLLA, 793 ; Ulmann, II., 2>7seq.; BURCKHARDT, Cultur, I., 106^-^7.,
ed. 3 ; Lord ACTON, 365 ; and ViLLARl, Machiavelli, I., 377 seq., where
also there are particulars about Troche, the favourite and secretary of
Alexander VI., who was supposed to have betrayed the negotiations
with Spain to the French. Troche fled on 19th May, 1503, but Cassar
succeeded in capturing him. He was brought back to Rome and executed
on the 8th June, the Duke being secretly present. See the Ferrarese
Envoy's Report of nth June in ViLLARl, I., 486.
t C)C the quotation in GREGOROVIUS, VII., 476, note 2, ed. 3 (4S3,
ed. 4), from Beltrando Costabili's Despatch of 17th April. 1503 ;
SiGiSMONDO DE' Conti, II., 267 ; and the ^Report of an anon^nious
person, dat. Rome, May 1503 : il papa sta benissimo, and Cesare the
same. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
X Cf. CiPOLLA, 794; Gregorovius, VII., 482, ed. 3 (489, ed. 4);
Ranke, Rom. und Germ. Volker, 170; Ulmann, II., 89. See also
Sigismondo de' Conti, II., 267.
SICKNESS IN ROME. I3I
The heat and drought of August had caused the malaria
that year to be worse than usual, and it claimed a greater
number of victims than was its wont. On the 5th of the
month Juan Borgia, Cardinal of Monreale, died suddenly.*
The Envoys mention a great deal of sickness, which was
not, they say, caused by the Plague, but by a specially
virulent form of Roman fever, which was very speedily
fatal."]- When the Venetian Ambassador was with the
Pope on the 7th of August he found him in low spirits.
Alexander told him that the sickness and many deaths
in Rome alarmed him, and that he meant to take great care
of himself. His depression was increased by the approach
of the French troops. |
The nth of August was the anniversary of the Pope's
election. Alexander appeared at the celebration in the
chapel, and the Ambassador was again struck by his air of
depression in contrast with the gaiety which was habitual
to him on all such occasions. After Mass he conversed
with the Ambassador on the critical situation in regard to
politics. " See," he said, " how disastrous it has been that
no understanding should have been arrived at between your
Signoria and ourselves." § Some days before, Alexander
had watched from his window the funeral procession of
Juan Borgia, who like himself had grown very corpulent.
As it passed the Pope exclaimed, " This month is a bad
one for fat people." The next moment an owl flew in and
* A. GiUSTlNiAN in this case also ascribes the death to poisoning
by Caesar : Dispacci, II., 94. Cf. against this Creighton, IV., 265.
t G. L. Cataneo, in reporting the death of Card. Juan Borgia, adds :
■^el era de anni 50, grasso ; se ne niorto in un subito et niolti ge sonno
infermi, ma non ge peste alcuna, sohnn febrc qual spaciano presto.
Despatch of 5th Aug., 1503. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
X GIUSTINIAN, Dispacci, II., 99, 102.
§ Jbid.^ II., 103 seq.
132 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
fell at his feet. *' A bad, bad omen," he cried out and
hastily retired into his bed-room.*
On the morning of Saturday, 12th August, the Pope
felt unwell ; in the afternoon vomiting and fever came on
and lasted throughout the night.f At the same time Caesar,
who was on the point of starting to join his troops at
Perugia, also sickened.J " The cause," writes the Venetian
Envoy on 13th August, "seems to have been that a week
ago (therefore on the 5th or 6th of August) both Alexander
and Caesar dined at a villa belonging to Cardinal Adriano
da Corneto and' remained there till after nightfall. All
who were there fell ill. Cardinal Adriano first, who on
Friday had a severe attack of fever, which was repeated
on the two following days." §
August is well known to be the most dangerous month
in Rome, and at that season it is especially perilous to be
out of doors about nightfall. The malignant form of
ague, often brought on by an imprudence of this sort, is
c^Wed Malaria perniciosa : in a few hours the temperature
may rise to above 106 and the strongest constitution may
succumb to the violence of the poison. The neighbourhood
* This is SiGiSMONDO de' Conti's story, II., 267, but there is some
confusion in the dates.
t GIUSTINIAN, Dispacci, II., 107. Cf. BURCHARDI Diarium, III.,
238. There are a great number of MS. copies of Burchard's narrative
of the death of Alexander VI. and the election of his successor, in Latin
(in many of the Vatican MSS. and Roman Libraries, and also in a Cod.
of the Capelupi Lib. in Mantua), as well as in Italian {cf. Atti deUa R.
Acad, dei Rozzi di Siena, I. [1871], 26 seq.). It was also in the hands of
the author of the well-known book, Conclavi dei Pontefici Romani. A
German translation in the Kathol. Schweizerbl. (1891) 496 seq.
+ G. L. Cataneo, in a "^Despatch of 8th Aug., 1503, announces : el
ducha ogni modo parte questa notte. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
§ GiUSTlNlAN, Dispacci, II., 108. Cf. the Florentine Despatch in
Thuasne, III., 449.
ILLNESS OF THE POPE. 1 33
of the Vatican is one of the quarters in which malaria
is especially prevalent. An Envoy on the 14th of August
remarks that no one can be surprised that Alexander and
Caesar were ill, as the bad air in the Papal Palace had
caused much sickness there.*
On the 1 3th of August f the physicians endeavoured to
relieve the Pope by copious bleeding, a favourite remedy
in those days. During all that day he was more comfortable
and played at cards; J but after a fairly good night another
attack of fever supervened on the 14th, resembling that
of the 1 2th, so that those about him became very anxious.
Although it seemed a risk to repeat the bleeding of a
patient of seventy-three, this was done.§ The Pope felt
somewhat better on the 15th and had no fever, but on
the 1 6th it returned.||
Caesar also grevv worse, the fever fits succeeded each
other more and more rapidly. This, and his political
anxieties, acted injuriously on the Pope's health.lf The
physicians considered his case very serious, but the details
* B. Costabili in GlUSTiNlAN, Dispacci, IL, 459. G. L. Cataneo, in
a "^Despatch of 13th Aug., 1503, mentions the serious illness of two
Cardinals. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
t This date is given in Costabili's Despatch in Giustinian, Dispacci,
IL, 459 ; in the latter, p. 108, we find the morning of 14th Aug.
X Giustinian, Dispacci, II., 459.
§ /h'd.j 108, 459. (Despatch of Costabili of 14th Aug.) G. L. Cataneo
reports on 14th Aug.: *E1 papa ^ alterato e se ha fatto cavarsangue il che
in furia de questi tempi e in tal eta lassol iudicar ali medici. El ducha
ha la febre cum vomito. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
II Costabili's Despatch of i6th Aug., 1503: Yesterday the Pope was
assai bene ; hoggi ^ ritornato el parosismo ; he is in bed with fever.
(State Archives, Modena.) C/. Giustinian, Dispacci, IL, 1 1 1.
IT Giustinian, Dispacci, II., iii, 1 12. Burchardi, on the contrary,
says (Diarium, III., 239) that throughout his iUness Alexander never
once mentioned either Cicsar or Lucrezia. Grkgorovius, VII., 487,
ed. 3 (494, ed. 4), unfairly lays much stress on this.
134 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
were kept as secret as possible ; even Beltrando Costabili,
the Ferrarese Envoy, could find out but little. According to
a report of his the whole of the next day (i/th) Alexander
was more at ease and quieter, so that Costabili's agent
hoped that the fever might not return the following day, or
only slightly. Here the Pope's illness is distinctly desig-
nated as the well-known Tei'zana; it was feared that it might
develop into a Quartana.^ On the i8th he had a bad
night, the fever returned with greater violence than before,
and the case was felt to be hopeless. Alexander made his
confession to the Bishop of Carinola and received Holy
Communion.-]- In the Palace the greatest excitement pre-
vailed ; many lost no time in removing their property to a
place of security. J On the i8th Caesar Borgia was better;
the younger man had strength to battle against the malady,
but for Alexander, at seventy-three, the last hour had struck.
About 6 o'clock in the evening he had a fit of suffocation
and became unconscious ; for a moment he came to him-
self again, but immediately after passed away, about the
hour of vespers. §
■^ See Appendix, N. 9 and 10, "^Despatches of B, Costabili of iSrh Aug.,
1503 (State Archives, Modena), and of G. L. Cataneo of* the same date.
Also BuRCHARDi Diarium, III., 238, speaks of febris tertiana.
t See Appendix, N. 9, "^Despatch from B. Costabili, of i8th Aug.,
1503. SiGiSMONDO de' Conti, II., 268, and BuRCHARDi Diarium,
III., 238. Gregorovius, VII., 483-84, ed. 3 (490-91, ed. 4). follow-
ing a clerical error, Culmensis, in Ray x ALDUS, XXX., 391, speaks of a
Bishop Peter of Culm who never existed.
X See Appendix, N. 9, 10, ^Despatches of the Ferrarese and Mantuan
Envoys of i8th Aug., 1503.
§ See GiUSTlNlAN, Dispacci, II., 119 seq,\ BURCHARDI Diarium, III.,
239; and in the Appendix, N. 11, "^Despatch from G. L. Cataneo of
19th Aug. (Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.) According to Jean d'Auton
(Chroniques, ed. Jacob, II., 357 Paris, 1834- 183 5), the news of
Alexander's death was received by Louis XII, only four days after the
event. That of the election of Pius III. reached him at the same time.
DEATH OF ALEXANDER VI. 1 35
In consequence of the simultaneous illness of both the
Pope and his son, and the rapid decomposition of the body,
which, considering the heat of the weather, was perfectly
natural, the cry of poison was raised at once ; but on the
19th of August the Mantuan Envoy writes that there was
no sort of ground for supposing this.* All the best informed
contemporary writers are here agreed ; neither the Venetian
Ambassador Giustinian nor Jakob Burchard say anything
of poison. These men were in Rome at the time of
Alexander's death, which Guicciardini, Bembo, Jovius,
Peter Martyr, and Sanuto were not. The narrative of
the latter is self-contradictory in many places and must
obviously be relegated to the realm of fiction.-f It is clear
It appears that there was a regular post between Rome and the French
camp. See Knuth, 26.
* See Appendix, N. 11, ^Despatch from G. L. Cataneo, of 19th Aug.,
1503. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
t Cf. Gebhardt's critical investigation in Adriano von Corneto, 1 1-14,
which is specially directed against Ranke, who adheres with a strange
pertinacity to the theory of poison. (Papste, I., 35, ed. 7, and III., 6"^- 7*,
ed. 7 ; and also Rom. und Germ. Volker, 170. In the 2nd edition the
1 7th of August is given as the date of Alexander's death.) Among recent
historians very few of any note still mamtain this untenable theory.
Caro, v., 958, and Lamansky, Secrets d'Etat de Venise, Pt. 2, No. XL,
where Alexander is said to have been poisoned by Adriano da Corneto,
who had an understanding with the Venetian Government, may be
mentioned. Raynaldus, ad an. 1 503, n. 1 1, had already declared against
this theory ; later Voltaire, then Marini, I., 250 ; NOVAES, VI., 1 19 seq.\
ASCHBACH, I., 140; Nemec, 2i8 seq.\ JORRY, 1 54 seq.\ Rev. Hist., I.,
310; ReumonT, III., I, 247, Wetzer und Weltc's Kirchcnle.xikon, !.,
488, ed. 2; and Hist. Jahrb., V., 627 seq.\ Vn.LARI and Saltini in
the Arch. St. Ital, 3 Serie, XXVI., 448 ; VuJ.ARi in Dispacci di A.
Giustinian, I., p. XUI., and M.ichiavelli, I., 386; Al.visi, 402 seq.\
Lord ACTON, 367; Maury in Rev. Hist., XIIL, loi ; Gkbhardt in
Rev. des Deux Mondes, LXXXVI. (1886), 168 seq.; L'EPlNOis, 420 ;
Hergenrother, VIIL, 388 ; Cipolla, 794 ; Creichton, IV., 43^ 44-
Garnett, Engl. Hist. Rev., IX. (1894), 335 339, is the latest writer who
136 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
that Alexander succumbed to the well-known Roman
fever ; one of the physicians thought the actual death was
caused by a fit of apoplexy.* The interval of seven or
eight days between the dinner and the first appearances
of illness, and the periodical character of the fever fits,
quite excludes the hypothesis of poison.f
has dealt with this question. He thinks it possible that the Pope may have
been poisoned by one of his enemies, but rejects, as unproved, the state-
ment that Alexander died of a poison prepared by himself for another
man. The reason that the English historian has been unable to come to
a definite conclusion may be that he has not followed the story of the
course of the malady in detail, as we have endeavoured, for the first time,
to do. If he had, he would have apprehended the true explanation of what
Jovius says about Cardinal Adriano Castellesi's skin coming off, which no
doubt was that peeling which takes place in so many infectious diseases ;
and which is not one of the symptoms of any kind of poison.
* GlUSTlNiAN, Dispacci, II., 119. On other physicians of Alexander,
see Haeser, III., 240-243, ed. 3.
t Hoffmann, Lehrbuch der gerichtlichen Medicin, 616 seg., ed. 4,
writes : " The first symptoms of poisoning by no means immediately
follow in all cases on the swallowing of the noxious substance. Only
the strongest corrosive poisons act instantaneously. ... In regard to all
others a certain time elapses, which varies between a few minutes and
many hours In acute poisons and those which kill by lethargy, as
a rule the symptoms go on from the moment of their first appearance,
steadily increasing in intensity until death supervenes. It is very excep-
tional that temporary relaxations of them are found to occur In
mineral poisoning such cases are very rarely observed, but more fre-
quently where the poison is a narcotic.'* According to Flandin (Traite
des poisons ; cf. Rev. d. Deux Mondes, XX. [1877], 276), if the slow
poison used by the Borgia were some form of acide arsenieux, its action
would be, in its acute form, either a violent inflammation of the stomach
resembling cholera, and causing death in from 5 to 26 hours, or else a
cerebro-spinal affection (delirium, convulsions, paralysis), death ensuing
in from i to 1 2 hours. In its sub-acute form it would manifest itself in
general derangement of the digestion, with muscular weakness, icterus,
inflammation of the kidneys ; cf HOFFMANN, loc. cit.^ 660 seq. Alex-
ander's symptoms had no resemblance to any of these forms. I am
FUNERAL OF THE POPE. 137
In accordance with Roman usage, Alexander was buried
at the end of twenty-four hours in the Church of S. Andrea,
then called S*^ Maria della Febbre, adjoining S. Peter's.*
The funeral was of the simplest character; the enemies
of the Borgia made no secret of their joy ; they loaded the
dead man with abuse, and circulated a story of the devil's
having come to fetch his soul.-|*
Although some friends were not wanting who strove to
draw attention to Alexander's better qualities, J the general
judgment on the life and career of this unhappy man was
a most unfavourable one.§ When Julius II., who was an
implacable enemy of the Borgia, occupied the Papal Chair
it became usual to speak of Alexander as a " Marana " and
indebted to my esteemed friend, Dr. A. Tschermak of Vienna, for these
particulars.
* Burgh ARDI Diarium, III., 243. In the year 16 10 Alexander's re-
mains were transferred to the Sacristy of the Church of S^^ Maria di
Monserrato, where quite recently a marble monument has been placed
at the end of the right aisle in memory of Alexander VI. and Calixtus
III. NOVAES, v., 193, note c; Leonetti, III., 389 ; and Bolet. de la
R. Acad, de la Hist. (1891), fasc. 2.
f Cf. Matarazzo in the Arch. St. Ital., i Serie, XVI., 2, 222-223,
and the Letter of the Marquess of Mantua, of 22nd Sept., 1 503, in the
App. to Gregorovius, Lucrezia Borgia, 122-123. See also a poem
printed in Venice in 1508, in Arch. St. Lomb., II., 17 se^.
X See the Bishop of Gallipoli's address, i6th Sept., 1503, to the
Cardinals before they entered the Conclave, from the only known copy,
now in the British Museum, published by Garnett in the Engl.
Hist. Review, VII. (1892), 311 seg. Garnett, in his judgment of
Alexander, allows far too much weight to this speech.
§ Cf. Cambi, XXL, 195 scg'.; NOTAR Giacomo, 261. A contem-
porary in Bologna, on receiving the news of Alexander's decease, wrote :
et sepultus in inferno. Atti d. Romagna, VI 1 1. ( 1 890), 1 79. GOTTLOB in
the Hist. Jahrb., VII., 320 seg., points out how, as time went on,
Sigismondo de' Conti's opinion of Alexander grew steadily worse, and
we equally find the judgment of Peter Martyr growing more and more
severe. See Bernays, 99.
138 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the impersonation of all that was horrible and bad. The
noble Marcantonio Altieri openly expressed his satisfaction
that now " all the Borgia had been uprooted from the soil
and cast out as poisonous plants, hated by God and
noxious to man," and this was by no means the worst of
the things that were said.* He was universally described
as a monster and every sort of foul crime attributed to
him.-f
Modern critical research has in many points judged him
more fairly and rejected some of the worst of the accusa-
tions against him.!;; But even though we must beware of
accepting without examination all the tales told of Alex-
ander by his contemporaries, " even serious and honest
historians are not wholly free from bias"; and though the
bitter wit of the Romans found its favourite exercise in
tearing him to pieces without mercy, and attributing to him
in popular pasquinades and scholarly epigrams a life of
incredible foulness,§ still so much against him has been
clearly proved,|| that we are forced to reject the modern
attempts at whitewashing him as an unworthy tampering
with truth.^ " The reign of this Pope, which lasted eleven
* See Li Nuptiali di Marco Antonio Altieri, ed. Narducci ( Rome, 1873).
This work was begun between 1506 and 1509, and probably finished
during the first years of Leo X. See Reumont in the Allg. Zeitg.
(1874), N. 358, Supp.
t Cf. Vol. V. of this work, p. 522, and supra^ p. 115. On
Guicciardini's verdict in regard to him, see Ranke, Zur Kritik, 55*.
Vettori's judgment, in Reumont, IIL, i, 498, though extremely severe,
contains the remark : " When a Prince has got himself thoroughly hated,
ever\^ one casts a stone at him, and there is no crime with which he is
not charged."
X Cf. specially supra, p. no, note, and infra, p. 174.
§ Reumont in the Bonner Theol. Literaturbl., V. (1870), 686.
II See supra, p. 104 seq.
% This applies especially to the writings of Ollivier and Nemec. See
CHARACTER OF ALEXANDER VT 139
years, was a serious disaster, on account of its worldliness,
openly proclaimed with the most amazing effrontery, on
account of its equally unconcealed nepotism, lastly, on
account of his utter absence of all moral sense both in
public and private life, which made every sort of accusation
credible, and brought the Papacy into utter discredit, while
its authority still seemed unimpaired. Those better
qualities which Alexander undoubtedly did possess shrink
into nothing in the balance when weighed with all this." *
From a Catholic point of view, it is impossible to blame
Alexander VI. too severely, and, indeed, he has met with
his deserts from /Egidius of Viterbo in his reign of Leo
X., and later, from the Annalists of the Church, Raynaldus
and Mansi.f It was the very first duty of a Pope in those
d*ays of growing worldliness to make every effort to stem
the tide of corruption ; but Alexander, like any secular
Prince, cared for nothing but the advancement of his
Vol. II. of this work, p. 452, note*. Chantrel's attempts to deny Alex-
ander's immoralities both before and after his elevation to the Papal
throne are no better. Bernacchi foUows Chantrel in the Arch. dell.
Ecclesiastico, III., 483 (Trento, 1865). Leonetti also goes often too far,
and Tachy with him, in the Rev. des Sciences Eccles. Amiens, 1882.
* Reumont in Wetzer und Weke's Kirch enlexikon, I., 488 seg.,
ed. 2. Cf. Gesch. der Stadt Rom, III., i, 247 seg., and the Bonner
Theol. Lit.-Bl., V. (1870), 477 seg. On the discredit brought on the
Papacy in the eyes of many of the Germans, see z'n/ra, p. 151, note |.
t Aegidius of Viterbo's judgment is in Gregorovius, VII., 494,
ed. 3 (501-502, ed. 4). That of Raynaldus has been already quoted. See
Vol. V. of this work, p. 385. Mansi expresses himself still more ener-
getically in a note to Raynaldus, XL, 415. The Jesuit KOLB in Series
Roman. Pontif., p. 296 (Aug. Vind., 1739) makes no attempt to defend
Alexander from a moral point of view, nor docs D.v.MBERGKR in his Fiir-
stenbuch, 340 (Regensburg, 1831). Equally against modern apologists,
the Jesuits in the Civ. Catt., 3 Serie, IX., 722, 727, are in accordance
with Matagne (see Vol. 11. of this work, p. 452 jv^., note * as to the
impossibility of rehabilitating this Pope.
I40 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
family.* Even when the shock of his son's death recalled
him for a moment to the sense of his true vocation, his
repentance was of the shortest duration, and he very soon
returned to his old ways and lived the immoral life of the
secular sovereigns of his day.
Thus he who should have been the guardian of his time,
saving all that could be saved, contributed more than any
other man to steep the Church in corruption. His life of
unrestrained sensuality was in direct contradiction with the
precepts of Him whose representative on earth he was;f
and to this he gave himself up to the very end of his days,
but it is noteworthy that in matters purely concerning the
Church, Alexander never did anything that justly deserves
blame ; even his bitterest enemies are unable to formulate
any accusation against him in this respectj Her doctrines
were maintained in all their purity. It seemed as though
his reign were meant by Providence to demonstrate the
truth that though men may hurt the Church they cannot
harm her.
In the Church there have always been unworthy priests
as well as bad Christians ; and that no one might be
scandalised by this, our Lord Himself has foretold it. He
likens her to a field in which the tares grow up with the
wheat ; to a net in which are both good and bad fish ; even
amongst His disciples he endured a Judas.
Just as the intrinsic worth of a jewel is not lessened by an
inferior setting, so the sins of a priest cannot essentially
affect his power of offering sacrifice or administering Sacra-
* HoFLER, Katastrophe, 15. See also his treatise on the Aera der
Bastarden, 56 seq.
t Even his contemporaries pointed out this. See the satirical letter
of 1502 in Sanuto, IV., 220-221.
\ Reumont, III., I, 247 seq. Cf. L'Epinois, 424 seq.\ Hergen-
ROTHER, VIII., 389. See also Creighton, IV., 45.
THE POPE AND THE MAN. I4I
ments or transmitting doctrine. The personal holiness of
the priest is, of course, of the highest importance for the
lives of the faithful, inasmuch as he constitutes a living
example for them to follow, and compels the respect and
esteem of those who are outside. Still the goodness or
badness of the temporary minister can exercise no sub-
stantial influence on fhe being, the divine character, or the
holiness of the Church ; on the word of revelation ; on the
graces and spiritual powers with which she is endowed.
Thus, even the supreme high priest can in no way diminish
the value of that heavenly treasure which he controls and
dispenses, but only as a steward. The gold remains gold
in impure as in pure hands. " The Papal office belongs to
a higher sphere than the personality of its occupant for
the time being, and can neither gain nor lose in its essential
dignity by his saintliness on one side, or his un worthiness
on the other."* Even the first Pope, S. Peter, had sinned
deeply in denying his Lord and Master ; and yet the office
of Supreme Pastor was given to him. In the words of the
great S. Leo : Petri dignitas etiam in indigno herede non
deficit,^
* Kirche und Protestantismus, 136-137.
t Sermo de Nat. ips., III.
CHAPTER VI.
Alexander VI. 's action in the Church. — The Great
Jubilee of the year 1500. — Edict for Censorship of
THE Press. — Missions in America and Africa. — Papal
Decision in regard to the Colonial Possessions of
Spain and Portugal.
Notwithstanding the predominance of secular interests
throughout the whole of the reign of Alexander VI., this
Pope was not inactive in matters regarding the Church.
In all essentials, in spite of abuses, the government of the
Church was steadily carried on ; no doubt, however, this
was partly owing to the marvellous perfection of her
organisation.
Like his predecessors, Alexander gave a hearty support
to the monastic orders, enriched them with many privileges
and did all he could to secure and promote their well-being
and their work. Innocent VIII. had in 1490 granted to
the Church of the Augustinians the same indulgences as
could formerly only be gained by visiting the stations in
Rome. Alexander VI. in 1497 bestowed on this order,
permanently and exclusively, the office of Sacristan of the
Chapel of the Papal Palace. From that time a special
prayer for the Pope was ordered to be said in all
Augustinian Churches and Convents.* Thus the Order,
* EmpOLI, Bull. Ord. Erem. Aug., 2)1^ ^^^ KOLDE, Die Deutsche
Augustinercongregation, 207. See also Cod. dipl. Sax., II., Vol. IX.,
348 seq.
ALEXANDER VI. AND RELIGIOUS ORDERS. 1 43
from which the most violent and powerful foe of Rome
was to proceed, was bound to the Holy See by the closest
ties.
The Dominicans were not only confirmed in their inquisi-
torial powers, but also favoured in many other ways. The
Pope punished those who laid hands on the property of the
Order, encouraged devotion to S.Thomas Aquinas, promoted
the reform and foundation of Dominican convents, and
granted to the Dominicans equal privileges with those of the
other mendicant orders, and the right of establishing confra-
ternities of the Rosary.* The old and very extensive privi-
leges of the Franciscans were also confirmed afresh by him.f
Substantial favours were bestowed upon the Congregation
of Canons Regular of S. Saviour by Alexander I and on the
Gesuati.§ The protection of the Pope was also extended
to the Congregation of Augustinian Hermits in Italy, who
were known by the name of Apostolic Brothers. Innocent
VI 1 1, in 1484 had bestowed on this body a more solid
organisation by binding them to observe the rule of the
Hermits of S. Augustine and giving them a habit. Alex-
ander VI. completed the work of his predecessor in a Bull
of the year 1496. Among other things it was ordained
that in future they might take solemn vows according to
the rule of the Augustinian Hermits, and enjoy all their
privileges. Their General resided at S. Rocco in Genoa.||
In the year 1497 he united the Cistercian convents of Upper
* These authorisations are to be found in the Bull. Ord. Praed., IV.,
44,99, loi, 115, 116, 120, 122, 133, 166, 190.
t In a Bull dat. Rome, 5th Feb., 1501, which is to be found in MS.
in the Library of the Order at S. Gall, but doubtless has also been
printed.
X Bull. Canonic, regul. Cong. s. Salvatoris (Romae, 1733), f. 105 scg.
§ BuU., v., 376 seg.
II /did., 366 seg.; Tamburini, De jure abbat., II., 338; Wetzfr
und Wkltk'S Kirchcnlcxikon, I., nil, 1112, cd. 2.
Ill
144 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
and Central Italy into one congregation, to which he gave
the name of the Congregation of S. Bernard.*
In 1494 the Order of the Knights of S. George, and in
1 50 1 the Order of Nuns founded by S. Jane of Valois for the
closer imitation of the Blessed Virgin, received the Papal
approbation,-|- A more important approbation was that
bestowed by him on the Order of S. Francis of Paula in
1493, and in 1505 on his Tertiaries, to whom he granted
many privileges.^ In the year 1496 the Pope reconstituted
the Order of the Holy Sepulchre.§ Alexander VI. fre-
quently came forward as the protector of convents against
their oppressors, whether ecclesiastical or secularjj and
energetically withstood encroachments on the liberties of
the Church.
In this respect Alexander's attitude in regard to the
absolutist pretensions of the authorities in the Netherlands
is especially interesting. In spite of the supineness of the
clergy in that country, who took no notice of the infringe-
ments of their privileges and immunities, the Pope acted
with the greatest decision. Quite at the beginning of his
reign he threatened the magistrates of Brabant with ex-
communication, but they refused to desist from their en-
croachments on the rights of the Church. Immediately
he addressed himself to Duke Philip of Burgundy, point-
* Bull., v., 371 seq.
t Raynaldus, ad an. 1494, n. 41 ; 1501, n. 24 seq.
X Bull., v., 352 seq.^ 380 seq. Application had already been made
under Innocent VIII. to obtain the approval of the Holy See for the
Order. This appears from *Lib. brev. 18, f. 214. Secret Archives of
the Vatican.
§ MiSLiN, Heilige Orte, II., 309, and " Das Heilige Land," the organ
of the Verein vom H. Grabe, XII., 33. Koln, 1868.
|| The "^ Bulls of i6th Aug., 1497, in the State Archives at Florence
(S. Chiara di Cortona), and of 15th Dec, 1497, in the Archives of the
Prince-Bishop of Brixen, are instances of this.
I
HE PROMOTES DEVOTION TO THE B. VIRGIN. I45
ing out how the hberties of the Church were violated in his
dominion, especially in Brabant, and calling upon him to
put a stop at once to these proceedings. A Brief was
despatched to the Bishop of Liege, sharply rebuking him
for having neglected the defence oi' the rights of the Church,
and for not having informed the Holy See, and command-
ing him, under pain of suspension and Interdict, to repair his
negligence without delay. Similar letters were written to
many other persons who were in a position to have influence
in the Netherlands.*
Alexander took pains on many occasions to promote
devotion to S. Anne f and the Blessed Virgin. In re-
gard to the latter, the ordinance restoring the ringing
of the x^ngelus in August 1500, was an act of wide
and lasting importance.^ No canonisations took place
during this Pope's reign, but several causes were intro-
duced, and the investigations in regard to conduct and
miracles were conducted with great care and circum-
spection. Papal instructions on these points are to be
found in connection with Bishop Benno,§ Henry VI. of
* Particulars are to be found in Cauchie, Mission aux Archives
Vaticanes, 18-23. BruxeUes, 1892.
t See SCHAUMKELL, Der Cultus der hi. Anna, 21, 25, though it con-
tains serious misapprehensions. C/. SCHMITZ in the Katholik (1893),
II., 251 seg., and the Sonntagsblatt of the Berlin Germania (1893), No.
10. On the veneration of S. Anne in the 15th Century, see also Falk in
the Katholik (1878), I., 60 seg.
X BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 72. See supra, p. 79.
§ Cf. the Brief of Alexander VI. to the Bishop of Naumburg and the
Abbots of Altzelle and Buch in Cod. Dipl. Sax., 2 H. th., Vol. 111., 288-289.
The editor, Gersdorf, misplaces this Brief, dating it 4th Apl., 1492, before
the election of Alexander VI. But the title in the copy used by Gersdorf
is : die 4 Aprilis, MCCCCLXXXXII p. n. anno septimo, which would
carry it on to the year 1499, and this agrees admirably with the following
extract in the *Acta Consist.: Romae, 4 Martii, 1499. ^- D- Senen legit
summam quarundam litterarum ducuin Saxonie, prclator., v. episcoporum
VOL. VI. L
146 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
England* and S. Frances of Rome.-j- Amongst other
ecclesiastical acts of Alexander VI. should be men-
tioned his confirmation of the Bull of Sixtus IV. on
the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady,J and in
the year 1501, his affirmative decision of the question as
to whether it was allowable for the Bishop Albert of
Wilna to take up arms to defend himself against the
Tartars. On the 20th of August of the same year, he
declared the form of baptism in which the passive mood
is used (which is customary amongst the Ruthenes in
Lithuania and others of the Greek rite) to be valid, and
forbade the reiteration of the Sacrament ; grounding his
decision on that of Eugenius IV.§ On the 8th of June, 1451,
he wrote to the Grand Duke of Lithuania, admonishing him
to do everything in his power to persuade his consort
to " abjure the Russian religion, and accept the Christian
Faith. "II In the year 1496 Constantine, Prince of Georgia,
sent the Basilian monk Nilus to Rome with overtures for
a reunion in religion and an alliance against the Turks.
et abbat. et nobil. illar. partium quemadmodum alias frequenter scrip
serunt pro canonizatione beati Bennonis quondam episcopi Misnens.
quern dicunt miraculis corruscare. Et cum semper remissi fuerint ad
partes pro interponenda mora, prout in similibus arduis causis fit. novis-
sime omnes rescripserunt instantissime supplicantes ut causa canoniza-
tionis vel saltem informationis rerum illarum committeretur. S. D. N.
omnibus intellectis statuit quod fieret commissio per breve duobus
episcopis et duobus abbatibus pro gravitate rei ut illi de narratis se in-
formarent et suis litteris S^ S^i postea referrent. Liber relaL Consistorii,
fig. C. 303, f. 38. Consistorial Archives in the Vatican.
* WiLKINS, III., 640 ; HeRGENROTHER, VIII., 364.
t The examination of the cause was entrusted to three Cardinals on
4th March, 1499. See Cod. in Consistorial Archives cited in previous
note.
J Lea, III., 602.
§ For documents on this point, see Hergenrother, VIII., 391.
II Theiner, Mon. Pol., II., 2S9 ; Pichler, II., 58.
THE JUBILEE OF 1 50O. I47
Alexander in reply sent him the Decree of the Council of
Florence and other information on the subject*
In accordance with the decree of Paul II., that each
twenty-fifth year should be a Jubilee, the year 1500 was so
kept under Alexander VI., and preparations for it were
begun in I498.f
On the 28th March, 1499, the Jubilee Bull was discussed
in Consistory, and it was decided that all other indulgences
and faculties should be suspended during this year.;^ All
the Cardinals gave their assent to this last resolution,
which in many places, and especially in Germany, gave
considerable dissatisfaction, § and on the same day the Bull
was publishedll. On the 22nd December a similar Bull was
brought out in Rome in Latin and Italian, granting special
♦ Raynaldus, ad an. 1496, n. 21, 22 ; Hergenrother, VIII., 390.
t The first thing that was done was to attend to the improvement and
putting in order of the streets and bridges in Rome. For particulars, see
the following Chapter.
X *Romae in die jovis sancti XXVIII. Martii, 1499 : Cum S. D. N.
fecisset verbum de publicatione bulle pro anno jubilaei centesimo proxime
futuro cum suspensione omnium aliarum indulgentiarum plenariarum,
facultatum et concessionum quibusvis locis et personis ubique terrarum
quibusvis causis et rationibus ante hac concessarum ac etiam litterarum
desuper confectarum usque ad annum finitum ipsius jubilaei ut mag^a
cum frequentia undecunque personaliter christifideles ad ipsum cele-
brandum accedant, fuit ab omnibus commendatum ut fieret Lib. relat.
Consist, tempore pontif Alexandri VI. in die XII. Nov. 1498, usque in
diem V. lulii 1499, fig. C. 303, f. 48. Consistorial Archives of the
Vatican.
§ Geiler von Kaisersberg was one of those who were displeased at this,
on account of his great devotion to Indulgences ; c/. Hist.-Pol. Bl.,
XLVIII., 394 ^^$'. The writer of this article says he is unable to say
whether or not Alexander VI. was the first to decree this suspension. It
will be seen from P.\STOR, Hist. Popes, II., 481, ed. 2 (Cennan ed.\ that
it was not a new thing. Venice endeavoured to obtain an exemption
from its operation. See Sanuto, I., 490 sfg.
II BURCHARDI Diarium, II., 518, 591 s^g.
148 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
privileges to the Penitentiary of S. Peter ; and all the
clergy of the city were invited to the opening of the
Jubilee.*
The Pope himself performed this ceremony on Christmas
Eve, 1499, having taken pains to settle all the details be-
forehand with his Master of Ceremonies. The ceremonial
observed on these occasions was no modern invention, but,
as the Bull of indiction expressly says, was founded on
ancient rites and full of symbolic meaning. The Pope was
carried to S. Peter's arrayed in full pontificals, holding a
gilt lighted candle in one hand and blessing the people
with the other. All the Cardinals and Prelates who
accompanied him also carried lighted candles. The pro-
cession stopped in front of the Church, and the Papal Choir
began the usual Antiphons. Then the Pope proceeded on
foot to the so-called sacred door, where a hammer was put
into his hand in token of the power entrusted to him, in
virtue of which he " openeth and no man shutteth ; shutteth
and no man openeth " (Apoc. iii. 7). With a few blows of
the hammer he made a breach in the wall with which this
door is closed, the bricks having already been loosened, and
the rest was cleared away by workmen. This part of the
ceremony occupied about half an hour. Then the Pope,
holding the lighted candle in his left hand, entered first,
the rest following, while the Te Deum was intoned ; after
which Vespers were sung immediately.!
On the 14th of April the Pope visited the four principal
churches in order to gain the Jubilee Indulgence. On
Easter Day he celebrated the High Mass in S. Peter's,
and afterwards gave the solemn blessing and absolution.
* BURCHARDI Diarium, II., 584 seq. Cf. *Despatch of G. L.
Cataneo to the Marquess of Mantua, Rome, 25th Dec, 1499. Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua.
t BURCHARDi Diarium, II., 598 seq.
PILGRIMAGES TO ROME. I49
According to Burchard, the crowd which assisted at these
solemnities numbered 200,000 persons.* Although this
may be an exaggeration,-f- still it is certain that, in spite of
the troubles of the times and the insecurity in Rome itself,
the numbers attending this Jubilee were very large. Even
in December a vast crowd of pilgrims passed through
Florence. J A Bull to provide for the safety of the way-
farers on their journey was issued in February ; § and many
precautionary measures were adopted to maintain order in
Rome, II though they failed to prove completely effectual.
Nevertheless visitors still continued to arrive. A pious
Camaldolese monk was greatly consoled by the sight of
so many thousands who had not perished in Sodom. " God
be praised," he exclaimed, " who has brought hither so
many witnesses to the Faith."1[ "All the world was in
Rome " (orbis in urbe), writes Sigismondo de' Conti.** No
difficulties or dangers seemed capable of checking the
inflow of pilgrims, shewing how deeply rooted the Faith
still was in the hearts of the various nations. Not a few
succumbed to the Plague which was raging in many parts
of the States of the Church.f f Those who came by sea
were in danger of being captured by pirates, and Alexander
stationed a cruiser at Ostia for their protection. By land,
the Italians especially suffered much from the hated
French troops, nevertheless a great number appeared. JJ
* BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 34, 37.
t This seems probable, as Burchard, III., 36, only mentions
loo,cxX) pilgrims.
X Landucci, 205.
§ Burchardi Diarium, III., 16 seg.
|| /did., III., 42 seg.
IT Petrus Delphinus in Raynaldus, ad an. 1 500, n. i.
♦* Sigismondo de' Conti, II , 218.
+t C/. Diario di Ser Tommaso di Silvestro, 235 sfg.
Xt GuGLiELMO'm, Marina, II., 496; Maulde, Origines, 52 54.
ISO HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Thousands arrived from Germany, the Netherlands, and
Hungary. " Men and women, widows and maidens, monks
and nuns," says Trithemius, "came flocking to Rome to
gain the Indulgence."* In the Confraternity-book of the
Hospital of S*° Spirito in Rome in the month of January,
1500, not less than 150 Hungarian pilgrims are entered,
and in the course of the year they numbered more than
500.f Nor were the Italians behindhand. The Neapoli-
tans had a procession of their own, in which the venerated
picture of S*^ Maria del Carmine was carried, many scourging
themselves as they walked till the blood came.| The fact
that the deaths of foreigners in Rome between Christmas
and S. John's Day were estimated at 30,800, shews how
large the number of pilgrims must have been.§
Amongst the celebrities who made this pilgrimage, the
first to be mentioned is Nicholas Copernicus, who arrived
in Rome about Easter, and remained there a whole year.
He lectured then, but not, as is almost universally supposed,
* Trithemii, Chronicon Hirsaug., II., 579 (S. Galli, 1690). Cf.
Sanuto, III., 135. Many undertook the pilgrimage for the benefit of
the Souls in Purgatory. A large number of sums left in wills to defray
the expenses of pilgrimages to Rome are mentioned in the * Testamentar-
biich of the Imperial free city of Pressburg, Vol. I. (1427-1529). There
is hardly a Will which does not contain a bequest for this purpose. In
1493 there are 7 such; in 1494, i ; 1495, 2 ; 1496, 2; 1498, i ; 1499, ^ >
1500,1; 1501,3; 1502,3; 1503,2; 1504,3; 1505,1; 1506,3; 1508,
I ; 151 1, 3; 1512, 2; 1 513, 2; 1515, 2; 1516, I ; 1517, 3; 1518, 2;
1 5 19, 2 ; 1520, I ; 1523, I. After this they disappear, owing to the rise
of Lutheranism. State Archives, Pressburg.
t Mon. Vatican, hist, regni Hungarici illustrancia, Series prima,
t V. Liber Conf S. Spiritus de urbe (Budapestini, 1889). Cf. Sanuto,
III., 135.
X Landucci, 210. Cf. Arch. St. Napolit., VII., 105 ; VIII., 530.
§ Stumpf, 452; Havemann, II., 104. An aged pilgrim, Lucas of
Thorn, apparently a relative of Coppemicus, died in the Hospital del
Anima in 1 500. See Hipler, Anal. Warm., 1 69.
DISTINGUISHED PILGRIMS IN ROME. I5I
in the capacity of a mathematical professor at the High-
school, but as a private teacher, giving the lectures freely,
according to the custom of the time. Amongst his hearers
were many distinguished and learned men. Michael Angelo
and Alessandro Farnese (afterwards Paul III.) are supposed
to have been amongst them.* Of Italian pilgrims one of
the most notable was Elizabetta Gonzaga, the wife of
Guidobaldo of Urbino. It was a perilous enterprise, as at
that time Caesar Borgia was planning his attack on Urbino,
but in spite of the dissuasions of her brother she insisted
on undertaking it. She went incognita with one or two
attendants, and only remained a few days, merely long
enough to gain the Indulgence.f This lady, and numbers
of other women, were only brought to Rome, where they
must have seen so much to grieve them, by genuine piety.J
* Prowe, Coppernicus I., 27gseg. (Berlin, 1883) ; Hipler in the Lit.
Rundschau (1884), p. 205 ; LOHMEYER in Sybels Zeitschr., LVII., 20 seg.
t Gregorovius, Lucrezia Borgia, 129 seg. ; Pasolini, II., 246;
Luzio-Renier, Mantova e Urbino, 104 seg^. Ercole I., Duke of
Ferrara, was also purposing to come to Rome for the Jubilee, but was
prevented by a fall from his horse. See "^Letter from tlie Duke to G.
B. Ferrari of 12th Jan., 1500. State Archives, Modena.
t What the German knight, A. von Harff, thought, in the year 1497,
of the Rome of the Borgias has already been told. A similar impres-
sion is conveyed in the words of a Rhinelander who had been in Card.
Brigonnet's service, retailed by Vettori. " If you ask me why I left
Rome, I answer that we Rhinelanders are good Christians, and have
read and heard that the Christian fiiith has been founded on the blood
of the martyrs, and good morals, and many mimcles, so that it would be
impossible for any one who lived here to become an unbeliever. But I
spent several years in Rome and saw the lives led by the Prelates and
dignitaries, and had I stayed there any longer I should have been in
danger not only of losing my faith, but of becoming an Epicurean
and doubting the immortality of my soul." See Vettori, Viaggio in
Alemagna, 25-26 (Paris, 1837). The following, being derived from
the narratives of the Jubilee pilgrims themselves, is still more interesting :
" In that same golden year ( 1 500), on SS. Peter and Paul's day (June 29),
152 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Even those who, like Sigismondo de' Conli, were far from
being hostile to the Borgia, could not conceal their dis-
approval of Alexander's unrestrained nepotism. Caesar
was incessantly asking for money to carry out his enter-
prises in the Romagna, and his father, without another
thought, handed over to him all the receipts from the
Jubilee, which, as Sigismondo says, former Popes, such as
Nicholas V. and Sixtus V., had employed in restoring and
adorning the churches of Rome.*
Towards the end of the Jubilee year Rome was visited
by a great calamity. On the ist November, an eye-witness
writes, after several days of rain the liber began to over-
flow, and the houses along its banks were flooded. In
two more days the Vatican was cut off from the rest of the
city, and on the 4th the waters rose to such a height that
many churches and houses were flooded. This high water
there was a fearful storm in Rome, so terrible that people thought the
city and all its inhabitants would be destroyed ; and the Pope's palace
was struck by lightning and he himself wounded in the arm. This same
Pope had at that time a daughter (Lucrezia Borgia) in Rome, who
lived in great pomp and was seen by the pilgrims, and they could
tell many things of her. He had allowed her to take, and had himself
given her to, a third husband (Alfonso d'Este, Duke of Ferrara), although
her two first husbands (Giovanni Sforza, Lord of Pesaro, and Alfonso
of Aragon, natural son of the King of Naples) were still alive ; if one
does not please her she asks for another. One of these forsaken former
husbands of hers revenged himself on the Pope's son, who, being gone
out on a love adventure, the other watched for him and cruelly stabbed
him, and threw him into the Tiber. It was commonly said amongst the
pilgrims that this Pope was not in great favour with the citizens of
Rome." Neue Mittheilungen aus dem Gebiete historisch-antiqua-
rischer Forschungen, XV., i. (Halle, 1880.) (V. Chronicahsche Aufzeich-
nungen zur Gesch. der Stadt Halle vom Jahre 1464-15 12. Von Dr.
Wachter in Breslau), pp. 122-123.
* Sigismondo de' Conti, H., 218. On Jubilee coins, see Nothen,
81 ; on the Pilgrimage literature, see Falk, Druckkunst, 57-107.
DISPOSAL OF THE JUBILEE ALMS. 1 53
lasted fifteen hours, after which the inundation subsided ;
but the streets were smothered in mud and hardly passable.
People consoled themselves as best they could by saying
it was not as bad as that of five years before.*
In December the Jubilee in Rome was prolonged until
the Feast of the Epiphany and extended first to the whole
of Italy and then to the whole of Christendom. According
to these Bulls, all Christians living at a distance from Rome
might, in the following year, gain the great Indulgence with-
out visiting the city, by fulfilling certain conditions and
paying a certain sum.f The Pope left all moneys collected
in Venetian territory in the hands of the Republic for the
war against the Turks. | The same thing was done in
Poland, though there the money was not employed for the
purpose specified.§ In Italy, Caesar had the effrontery to
appropriate the jubilee moneys on his own authority. The
Florentine historian Nardi relates how his emissaries
appeared in Florence and demanded the money in the
Jubilee chest, " to enable him to pay the soldiers who were
plundering us, and it was no small sum."|| The knowledge
that these things were done goes a good way towards
* Letter from Brandolino in Rrom, 195 seq. Cf. Burchardi
Diarium, TIL, 84 seq.^ and Sanuto, III., 1048, 1063. The date in
Reumont, III., I, 234, is inaccurate.
+ Cf. Burchardi Diarium, II., 885-/?^., 94 seq. ; Diario di Tommaso
di Silvestro, 249 ; Landucci, 218 ; NOTAR GlACOMO, 237 ; Atti Mod.,
8 seq.., 28 seq. ; NOTHEN, 80 seq. In *AIex. VI. Secret, lib. V. (Regest.
871), f I, is a Bull dat. Romae, 1501, Id. lull A" 9°, which grants a
prolongation of the Jubilee to the city of Faenza. Also ibid.., f 146, is
a Bull omnibus Franciae regnis de renovatione indulgentiar. Jubilei,
dat. Romae, 1501, quartodecimo Cal. Febr. A" 100. Secret Archives of
the Vatican.
X COPPI, Discorso sopra Ic finanze di Roma nci secoli di mc/zo, 23.
Roma, 1847.
§ Caro, v., 2, 813 seq.
II Nardi, 1st. Fior , lib. IV.
154 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
explaining the resistance which those who were commis-
sioned to preach the Jubilee Indulgences met with in
Switzerland* as well as in Germany. Cardinal Peraudi
had to put up with all sorts of * harassing restrictions in
the empire, and to undertake that all the money there
collected should be handed over untouched to the adminis-
tration for the Crusade.f
This Cardinal took advantage of his visit to Germany
to endeavour to do something for the revival of religion
amongst the people, taking up to some extent the work of
Nicholas of Cusa. He himself preached to the common
people, though he had to employ an interpreter. He
devoted himself especially to the reform of the convents,
many of which had become sadly relaxed. He also
laboured to put down concubinage amongst the clergy,
and, on the other hand, to defend their privileges and the
liberty of the Church. |
If Alexander VI. did nothing towards the reform of
the Church, yet he was not wanting in earnest care to pre-
serve the purity of her doctrine. His Censorial edict for
Germany, dated ist June, 1501, is a very important docu-
ment in this respect.
In this, which is the first Papal pronouncement on the
printing of books, it is declared that the art of printing is
extremely valuable in providing means for the multiplica-
tion of approved and useful books ; but may be most
mischievous if it is abused for the dissemination of bad
* Cf. Havemann, II., 104. Caesar's remark on this subject, given
there on Reisner's authority, is a later story.
t See siipra^ p. 97.
X Particulars in Hergenrother, VIII., 361. Card. Peraudi issued
a proclamation which, as far as I know, has never been printed, dat.
25th March, 1503, announcing that Alexander VI. had empowered him
to undertake a general visitation of the Convents in his Legation.
Frankf City Archives, Ciypt. A. Urk., n. 30.
THE CENSORSHIP OF BOOKS. 1 55
ones. Therefore measures must be taken to restrain
printers from reproducing writings directed against the
Catholic Faith or calculated to give scandal to Catholics.
The Pope has been credibly informed, that in many places,
especially in the Dioceses of Cologne, Mayence, Treves,
and Magdeburg, many books and pamphlets have been,
and still continue to be, printed, containing various errors
and perverted doctrines. *' Since," the Bull goes on to say,
" we desire to put a stop to so detestable an evil without
any delay, in accordance with the duty imposed upon us
by our pastoral office, we hereby, in virtue of our apostolical
authority, forbid all printers and their assistants residing in
the above named Dioceses, under pain of excommunication
latae sententiae, and a fine to be imposed by the Archbishops
of Cologne or their Vicars-General or other officials, and paid
into the Apostolic Chancery, from henceforth either to
print or cause to be printed, any book, pamphlet, or work
of any sort, without first submitting the same to the above
named Archbishops or their Vicars-General or officials, and
obtaining their express permission, gratuitously given.
Further, we lay it upon the Archbishops and their Vicars"
and officials as a duty of conscience, not to grant this
permission without examining the books in question, or
causing them to be examined by capable and Catholic
persons, so as to prevent anything from being printed that
is contrary to the Catholic Faith or ungodly or capable
of causing scandal. And because it is not enough to
guard against the future printing of bad books without
providing that those already printed shall be suppressed,
in virtue of our authority we charge the said Arch-
bishops, Vicars and officials to command all printers and
other persons residing in their respective Dioceses, what-
ever may be their dignity, position or condition, within a
certain fixed time, to notify all printed books in their
156 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
possession to the said Archbishops, Vicars or officials,
and without prevarication of any kind, to deliv^er up what-
ever books or treatises shall be judged by them to contain
anything contrary to the Catholic Faith, or ungodly, or
capable of causing scandal, or ill-sounding in any way,
equally under pain of excommunication and a fine to be
determined as aforesaid."*
In Italy Alexander VI. energetically repressed the
heretical tendencies which were especially prevalent in
Lombardy.f On the 31st of January, 1500, two inquisitors
were sent by him with letters of recommendation to the
Bishop of Olmiitz, to proceed against the very numerous
Picards and Waldensians in Bohemia and Moravia, who
led extremely immoral lives.J Ever since the year 1493
Alexander had been taking great pains to win back the
Bohemian Utraquists ; but these efforts had failed com-
pletely. § When in the year 1499 some of the more
moderate Utraquists shewed an inclination to be reconciled
with the Church, Alexander had the matter discussed in
Consistory and bestowed special powers on the clergy in
Prague.ll
* Raynaldus, ad an. 1501, n. 36; Reusch, Index, I., 54-55. Cf.
Fessler, Vermischte Schriften, 147 seq. ; Kapp, Gesch. d. Deutsch.
Buchhandels, 530 j-^^. (Leipzig, 1886) ; Archiv. f. Gesch. d. Buchhandels,
XIII., 246.
t Cf. Bull. Ord. Praedic, IV., 102, 190; Raynaldus, ad an. 150T,
n. 42; Bernino, IV., 216 seq. On Alexander's action in regard to
S. Patrick's "Purgatory," see MOLL in the Studien en Bydrogen ap't
gebied der hist. Theologie, II., 361 seq. Amsterdam, 187 1.
X Raynaldus, ad an. 1500, n. 60 seq. Cf. Lange, Papstesel, 62 seq.,
68 seq., 72-7^, on the Waldensians in Rome. Cf. also Cantu, Storia
di Como, I., 106.
§ Palacky, v., I, 381 seq.
II Raynaldus, ad an. 1499, ^- 3^- "^his was dealt with in the Con-
sistor}^ of 5th July, 1499. See *Liber relat. Consistorii, Sig. C. 303, f. 70.
Consistorial Archives of the Vatican.
ALEXANDER VI. AND THE JEWS. 1 57
In common with most other Popes of the 15th Century,
Alexander VI. shewed great toleration to the Jews ; he
protected them both in Rome and Avignon.* At the same
time, he forbade the Spanish Dominicans to receive con-
verted Jews into their Order.f
The indulgence shewn to the Jews was, however, in a
great measure connected with politics ; and the concessions
granted by Alexander VI. to the Spanish Monarchs in re-
gard to the Inquisition, which went far beyond what was
allowable, were equally due to political motives. J
The judicial proceedings against the crypto-Jews or
Marafia in the States of the Church, instituted by Alexander
VI. in 1493, were also motived by Spanish influence.§
When, later, he discovered that they had made their way
into the Court he was unsparing in his determination to
root them out. Peter d'Aranda, Bishop of Calahorra, and
his bastard son, who had obtained the office of Protonotary,
were tried in the year 1498, degraded, and imprisoned in the
Castle of St. Angelo. They were accused of denying the
doctrines of the Trinity, the sufferings of Christ, Hell,
Purgatory, and Indulgences. Forty crypto-Jews in all were
brought before the Court, the majority of whom abjured
their errors.||
Alexander exerted himself not only to maintain the
purity of the Christian faith, but also to provide for its
* See Revue des Etudes Juives, VI., 21 ; VII., 228; and Lkmann,
L'entree des Israelites dans la Societe Fran(j. et les etats Chretiens, 193,
Paris, 1886.
t Bull. Ord. Praedic, IV., 125.
X Cf. Gams, III., 2, ^oseq., 56 seq. See also Rodrigo, I., 409 seq. ;
II., 99, 104.
§ Raynaldus, ad nn 1493, "• 32-
II Raynaldus, ad an. 1498, n. 22; Sanuto, I., 949 seq., 1014 ;
^Despatch of the Ferrarese Envoy Carissimi, dat. Rome, 21st April,
1498 (State Archives, Modena) ; HkrgenkoTHKK, VIII., 345.
158 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
propagation. The magnificent discoveries of the Portuguese
and Spaniards offered a wide field to the Church in this
direction. It is consoHng to note how much, even under
Alexander VI., was done in the way of spreading the
knowledge of the Gospel am.ongst the heathen.
Greenland, being that part of America which was in
earliest communication with Europe, was naturally also
the first to profit by the pastoral care of the Popes.
According to the Scandinavian Sagas, Christianity was
introduced into Greenland by S. Olaf II., King of Norway,
between A.D. 1015-30. This account is confirmed by a
letter of Nicholas V. of 22nd September, 1448, addressed
to the Bishop of Skalholt and Holar in Iceland.*
The occasion of this letter was a request from the
Greenlanders to the Pope to send them new priests and
a Bishop. In the first decade of the 15th Century the
heathen pirates from the neighbouring coast had swooped
down upon their country, slaughtered the greater part
of the Christian inhabitants and carried off the rest
into slavery. The churches were all destroyed excepting
nine, which were situated in remote places, difficult of
access. In the course of time some of the captives managed
to make their escape and return to their homes, where they
now found themselves destitute of all spiritual aids, as the
churches that still remained were in places inaccessible
to many of them, and now the few priests who were left
had all died. Nicholas V. desired the Bishops to supply
their needs.
His letter, however, does not seem to have reached its
* Published by L. jELlC, L'E\^ngelisation de rAmerique avant
Christophe Colomb, in Compte rendu du Congres Scientif. inter-
national des Catholiques, 182-183 (Paris, 1891). PeSCHEL-Ruge,
Gesch. der Erdkunde, 162, note, ed. 2 (Mlinchen, 1877), give a wrong
date— 20th SepL
DISCOVERY OF THE NEW WORLD. • 1 59
destination, and in the reign of Innocent VIII. the Green-
landers again addressed Rome. They described their sad
pHght in touching words. The sea surrounding their
inhospitable coast was so blocked with ice that in the course
of eighty years no foreign vessel had anchored there. Left
without a Bishop and without priests, many had forgotten
the Faith of their fathers and relapsed into heathenism.
The only relic which remained to those who still cherished
it wa,s the corporal with which the last priest had celebrated
his last Mass. This was brought out once a year and
publicly venerated. In response to this appeal Innocent
VIII., at the close of his reign, appointed the zealous and ,
self-sacrificing Benedictine monk Mathias, Bishop of Gardar
or Greenland. Alexander in the year 1492 or 1493 con-
firmed this appointment, and commanded that the Bishop
should receive all his nomination papers tax free.*
Just at the time that the Bishop of Greenland was
receiving his powers at Rome an event had occurred which
was destined to make large demands on the pastoral care
of the successor of S. Peter : Christopher Columbus had
discovered the New World. A hot dispute arose almost
immediately between Spain and Portugal as to the posses-
sion of the newly-found territory, and the Pope was called
upon to mediate between them. The Holy See was still
regarded by all Christian Princes and nations as the
international arbiter, the highest tribunal for the decision of
all national rights and important political questions. Acting
* See Jelic, loc. cit., 183-184. Cf. Heywood, Documenta sclcrta
e tabulario secreto Vaticano, quae Romanoriini Fontificum crga Amcricae
populos curam ac studia turn ante turn paullo post insulas a Christ.
Columbo repertas testantur phototypia descripta. Typis. Vatic, 1893,
n. 10, pp. 12, 13 ; and Ehrle, Der hist. Gehalt der piipstl. Abtheilung
auf d. Weltausstellung von Chicago in den Stimmen aus Maria- I.aach,
XLVI. (1894), 367.
l6o HISTORY OF THE POPES.
on this principle, the Portuguese had turned to the Popes
to obtain security in their rights over their discoveries
along the West Coast of Africa. It was Calixtus III. who,
in one of these most useful decisions, granted to Portugal
the exclusive rights of trading and founding colonies on
the coast between Cape Bojador and Guinea. In the year
1479 Spain had acquiesced in this award at the peace
of Alcacevas. No sooner had Columbus, who had been
rejected by Portugal, returned from his famous voyage than
King Emmanuel set up a claim to the newly-found lands on
the ground of this treaty. The relations between the two
countries soon became such that war seemed imminent.
Justly estimating the importance of obtaining a decision
from the Holy See, the astute King Ferdinand at once
addressed himself to Rome. His confidential agent there
was the Cardinal Bernardino Carvajal, who, in a very short
time, achieved a marked success. On the 3rd and 4th May,
1493, Alexander put his signature to three highly important
documents. The first, dated 3rd May, confers on Spain
an exclusive right of possession over all the islands and
countries now discovered by Columbus and all future dis-
coveries of his, on condition of propagating the Christian
Faith in them, and provided such lands are not already
occupied by a Christian power. Thus Spain received
exactly the same rights and privileges as those which had
been bestowed upon Portugal for her colonies on the West
Coast of Africa. The second, dated the same day, described
these rights in detail ; while the third, dated 4th May,
defined the limits of what we should now call the spheres
of influence of Spain and Portugal. The boundary line
between the two powers was drawn from the North to the
South Pole, 100 Spanish leagues to the West of the most
westerly island of the Azores : all that was East of the
line belonged to Portugal, and all that was West of it
ARBITRATION BY THE POPE. l6l
to Spain.* A later document of 28th September, 1493,
added some further complementary details, amongst other
things, granting all new discoveries, consequent on westerly
or southerly voyages, to Spain.f
The line of demarcation fixed by Alexander VI., which
was pushed 270 leagues further to the West by the Treaty
of Tordesillas on 7th June, 1494, formed the basis of all
negotiations and agreements between the two great colonis-
ing powers in regard to the partition of the New World.
The peaceful settlement of a number of thorny boundary
questions between Spain and Portugal was entirely due to
Papal decisions, and should therefore justly be regarded as
one of the glories of the Papacy. Nothing but complete
misunderstanding and blind party spirit could turn it into
a ground of accusation against Rome.
It is simply absurd to speak of Alexander VI. as having
given away what did not belong to him, and taken no account
of the liberties of the Americans.;!: The word "grant" here
* Navarette, II., 29 seq.\ Bull., V., 361-364 ; Raynaldus, ad an.
1493, n. 18 seq.\ and Heywood, loc. cit. Navarette has some incorrect
readings ; thus in the Bull of 4th May, p. 38, nobis evidently should he
vobis, and the same mistake occurs in the Bull of 3rd May. The
account given above is chiefly taken from Ehrle's very able paper in the
Stimmen aus Maria-Laach of 1894. Amongst other works should be
mentioned : Peschel, Die Theilung der Erde unter Alexander VI. und
Julius II. (Leipzig, 1871); Baum, Die Demarcationslinie Alexanders
VI. (Koln, 1890) ; E. G. BoURNE, The Demarcation line of Alexander
VI. (Extract from the Yale Review, 1892). Cf. Engl. Hist. Review,
VII., 766 seq.
t Navarette, II., 449 seq.^ in Spanish. Against Kohl's view as to
the interpretation of the document (Die beiden iiltesten Generalkartcn
von America [Weimar, i860]), see Kunstmann in the Hist.-Folit. Rl.,
XLVII., 768 seq. Baum, p. 10, has overlooked this treatise.
X Robertson, Hist. America, II.; Buscuing, Erdbcschreibung,
XXXI.; MarMONTKL, Les Incas, pref., p. X\vn. scq.\ Allg. Zeilung
(1870), No. 9 SuppL
VOL. VL M
l62 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
signifies nothing more than the confirmation of a title legiti-
mately acquired ; and was understood in that sense by con-
temporary and later theologians, and by the Spaniards
themselves.* How little such grants were looked upon as
controlling the liberties of even heathen nations is shewn
by the fact that, in a similar concession to Portugal in
1497 the same word "grant" is used, with the condition
appended of the free consent of the inhabitants.-]- If this
formula is wanting in the document of 1493, it is merely
because it was understood as included in the title itself. In
all these deeds the grant refers to the other European
Princes and not to the populations of the New World.
" These privileges conferred on the monarchs who received
them a right of priority in regard to the territories dis-
covered by them. As now^adays patents are given for
inventions and copyrights for literary productions and works
of art, so in former times a Papal Bull, enforced by the
censures of the Church, protected the laborious discoverer
from having the hard won fruits of his toil wrested from
him by a stronger hand."
As the choice by the Catholic Sovereigns of Alexander
as arbiter was grounded in the first instance on the authority
which he possessed as Pope, and their respect for the
dignity of the Head of the Church, he was empowered to
add to the perfect freedom of his decision, grounded on a
full knowledge of the facts, the sanction of that apostolic
authority which was their reason for selecting him as
umpire in these important matters.J He had power, and
indeed was bound, to decide with the authority of the
* See Hergenrother, Kirche und Staat, 341.
t Raynaldus, ad an. 1497, n. 33.
X Hergenrother, Kirche und Staat, 337-344, who also exposes the
absurdity of fixing on the Papal Briefs the responsibility for the tyranny
of the Spaniards in their dealings with the American nations.
I
EVANGELISATION OF THE NEW WORLD. 1 63
Church on these questions, which concerned the avoidance
of bloodshed between Christian powers and the propagation
of the Christian rehgion in those newly-discovered countries.
All grants were accompanied by the condition that the
Spanish monarchs should bind themselves to promote the
spread of Christianity.
In the preparations for Columbus' second voyage, both
Ferdinand and Isabella and Alexander took pains to provide
missionary priests for the evangelisation of the native races.
Their choice of a leader for the band of preachers shews
with what care the selection was made. A friend of S.
Francis of Paula, the Benedictine Bernard Boyl, was the
first apostle of the New World.* In a Brief of 25th June,
1493, Alexander VI. conferred upon this distinguished and
in every way most competent man and his twelve com-
panions, all the powers and privileges which they needed
for the success of their holy enterprise.j- Amongst his com-
panions may be mentioned the celebrated Bartolomeo Las
Casas, Fray Jorge, Commander of the Knights of Santiago,
and Pedro de Arenas, who is supposed to have said the
first Mass ever celebrated on the newly-discovered islands.^:
In the Instruction which Columbus received from theSpanish
monarchs for his second and third voyages, the conversion
of the new countries to Christianity is put before him as
the consideration which should lie nearest to his heart.
How rapidly the numbers of religious and converted Indians
* P. FiTA has the merit of being the first to give a clear account of
Boyl's life. See his paper in the Bolet. de 1. R. Acad, de la Historia
(Madrid, 1891-1892), XIX., 173-233, 234-237, 354-357, 377-446, 557-
561 ; XX., 160-177, 179-205, 261-300, 573-615. Cf. also QUADRADO
in the same periodical, XX., 1 13-123, and Ehrlk, loc. cit.
\ The Brief is in RaynalduS, ad an. 1493, n. 24, and, corrected, in the
Bolet., XIX. (1891), \Z'j seq.
X FiTA, La primcra misa en Amdrica, in the Bolet., XVIII. (1891),
551 seq.
1 64 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
increased in Espanola (Hayti) may be seen from the fact
that in 1501 negotiations were already begun in Rome for
the establishment there of a separate hierarchy.* At the
instigation of the great Cardinal Ximenes in 1 502 a number
of Franciscan missionaries were sent to America.-]-
Alexander equally exerted himself to promote the spread
of Christianity in the countries beyond the sea which had
been discovered by the Portuguese ; J their enterprises were
regarded in Rome as Crusades for the Propagation of the
Faith. §
* Ehrle, loc. cit.
t Wadding, XV., 247. Cf. Hefele, Ximenes, 483 seq.
X Cf. SCHAFER, Gesch. V. Portugal, III., 83 ; Santarem, X., 120.
§ A **Bull of Alexander VI., beginning with the words Catholice fidei
propagationem, and dated Romae, Dec. 1501. Cal. Nov. A° 10°, Regest,
868, f. 117^, in the Secret Archives of the Vatican, which, as far as I
know, has not as yet been printed, is very interesting from this point of
view.
CHAPTER VII.
Alexander VI. as a Patron of Art.
It is with a sense of relief that the historian now turns
from all the moral miseries of the reign of Alexander VI.
to another region in which some things that were really
great and beautiful were achieved.
Judging from the magnificent palace which he built for
himself, while yet a Cardinal only, we should expect to
find in Alexander a liberal patron of Art ; and in fact, in
spite of all the turmoil and confusion of his reign, his
name is immortalised by its association with many splendid
monuments in this domain.*
The Pope's attention was especially directed to the
Trastevere, the northern half of Rome, the Leonine city,
which had grown up out of ecclesiastical foundations and
the various national hospitals, and become the most im-
portant division of the city. Containing the Church of S.
Peter and the Castle of St. Angelo, and being, in the 1 5th
♦ Setting aside the rebuilding of the University, which will be men-
tioned later, Alexander, though as Cardinal he had made some essays in
literature {cf. Bibl. Pontif., 13 seq.\ SchuLTE, Quellen, II., 407 seq.\
did little or nothing for learning. He accepted dedications of any num-
ber of poems ; there was even a " Borjade " in hexameters ; but, as
BURCKHARDT, I., 268, ed. 3, says, he was too occupied with other
things to bestow much attention on poetical philologists. Nor did he
make any additions to the Vatican Library. See MOntz-Favre,
311 seq. On Alexander's Court-poets see Yriarte, Autour des Borgia,
64 seq.
l66 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Century, the principal seat of the Court and of the Cardinals,
it became the central point of the city, and by him was trans-
formed into the handsomest quarter of Rome, a distinction
which it retained until the reign of Clement VII. "These
were the days of pageants, of ecclesiastical and secular pro-
cessions and cavalcades, carnival-races, tournaments and
bull-fights, the days in which the retinues of Lucrezia and
Caesar Borgia were numbered by hundreds when they rode
forth in state, and Cardinals, the scions of royal houses,
vied with Princes in the splendour of their equipages when
they went to the Vatican, days in which ecclesiastical
decorum was trampled under foot by worldly vanity and
profane pomp. " *
The great increase of street traffic in the Leonine city
owing to the numbers of Cardinals, Prelates, and members
of the Court who lived there, had already induced Sixtus
IV. to make a wide street, originally called by his name
(now Borgo St. Angelo), running from the moat of the
Castle of St. Angelo to the gate of the Papal Palace, j-
Alexander VI. added a second one parallel with this and
called it the Via Alessandrina (now Borgo Nuovo and the
main thoroughfare of this quarter).
This street was planned primarily on account of the
Jubilee. In the Consistory of 26th November, 1498, the
Pope spoke of the necessity of making room in the streets
for the concourse of pilgrims that was to be expected, and
desired Cardinal Raffaele Riario, who understood archi-
tecture, to confer with other experts in these matters and
see what would be required in the way of thoroughfares
and bridges. J In January 1499, this Cardinal was put in
* Reumont, Die Leostadt, in the Allg. Zeit (1870), n. 286 Suppl.
t See Vol. IV., 455, of this work.
+ *Roinae die lunae XXVI. Nov., 1498 : [S. D. N.] fecit etiam verbum
de anno jubilei proxime instantis et de viis et de corsicis. Muka super
IMPROVEMENTS IN ROME. 167
charge of the new approaches to the Vatican.* In April
the work was begun f and carried through so rapidly that
the new street was opened with the Jubilee year on the
24th of December, 1499.+ Unfortunately, one result of the
Via Alessandrina was the complete destruction of an
interesting ancient monument, the so-called Meta.
Mediaeval antiquarians thought it to be the tomb of
Scipio Africanus ; some went so far as to say it was that of
Romulus. Some time before it had been divested of its
marbles and transformed into an outwork of the Castle of
St. Angelo, and now was done away with altogether to
make room for the opening of the new street. §
his fuerunt dicta. Sua Stas mandavit r. d. S^i Georgii ut haberet apud
se conservatores vel alios qui sunt consueti huiusmodi rerum curam
habere et se diligenter informarent quid facto opus esse tarn circa vias
et pontes quam reliqua necessaria ut peregrini et viatores commode et
tute ire ac redire possent, ut re bene cognita possit oportuna provided .
*Lib. relat. Consistorii tempore pontif Alexandri VI. a die XII. Nov.,
1498, usque in diem V. Julii, 1499. Sig. C. 303, f. 9. Consistorial Archives
of the Vatican.
* *Romae die veneris XVIII. Jan., 1499 • Cum facta esset mentio de
nova via fienda al palatium dixissetque r. d. de Ursinis ambas illas vias
vid. sanctam et equorum dum esset in minoribus dispositas fuisse im-
pensa ut plurimum officialium ; tum S. D. N. commisit r. d. S. Georgii
ut invenirit taxam illam et intelligeret quid alias factum sit dicens pro
rata et portione sua se libenter expositurum. Romae die mere. XX.
Feb., 1499 : Mandavit S. D. N. r. d. S" Georgii ut a magistris viarum
et architectis quantum foret impense ad dirigendam viam a porta castri
ad palatium usque intelligeret ac sibi postea referret. *Lib. Consistorii,
f. 29, 35-
t * Despatch of the Ferrarese Envoy Manfredi, dat. Rome, 8th April,
1499. *E1 papa ha facto dare principio ad una strata cheda la porta del
palacio se ne va a filo a la porta del castello che sera una bella cosa,
quando sera fomita. State Archives, Modena.
t BURCHARDI Diarium, II., 601.
§ Reumont, III., I, 415 J^^-; Grkgorovius, VII., 642 seg., ed. 3
(656 seg., ed. 4); ADINOLFI, Portica, 48 sfg. A Brief of Julius II. of
1 68 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
The completion of the Via Alessandrina entailed other
changes in its neighbourhood, and especially in the portion
of the Castle of St. Angelo nearest the bridge.
During the course of his reign Alexander VI. made
extensive alterations in the Castle, The whole building
was completely fortified in the best style of the day with
parapets and towers, and surrounded by a wall and ditch.*
These works were begun immediately after his accession,
and hurried on in consequence of the approach of the
French, and afterwards prosecuted with energy and more
methodically. This is proved by inscriptions as well as by
the entries of disbursements in the account-books. Antonio
da Sangallo, Giuliano's brother, was the architect and
master, of works. Substantial changes were made in the
edifice, both internally and in its exterior. The old Porta
Aenea in the wall of St. Angelo was thought too small and
closed up, and a new gate built. The adjoining houses and
vineyards were removed and the Piazza enlarged and paved
to form the opening of the Via Alessandrina. A strong
tower made of blocks of Travertine was erected by San-
gallo, to command the bridge, which remained standing till
July 1 5 12 (in MuNTZ, Antiquites de Rome, 2i), shews that it was at
this time that the last remnant of the Meta disappeared. On the reck-
less destruction of ancient monuments by Alexander, see also MuNTZ,
Les Monuments Antiques de Rome au 15^16 siecle, p. 18, and Berto-
LOTTI, Artisti Lombard!, I., 33. In the *Divers. Alex. VI., 1 501 -1503
(Bullet., IV.), I found, f 69b, an entry of a payment from Raphael, tit.
S. Georgii mag. Stephano muratori due. 50 pro aptanda via a palatio
usque ad castrum S. Angeli, dat. Romae, XXII. Oct., 1501, A'^ 100.
State Archives, Rome.
* Cf. BORGATI, 100 seq. (whose description, however, is not perfecdy
clear) ; GUGLIELMOTTI, Fortificazioni, 100 ; and MuNTZ's important
contribution in Antiquites, 59 seq.^ 62. Miintz has ignored Borgati,
and in consequence made several mistakes. Cf. also Lange, Papstesel,
28-29.
THE CASTLE OF ST. ANGELO. 1 69
the reign of Urban VIII. The outworks of the Castle were
considerably strengthened and the ditch made broader and
deeper. It was thought that the main stream o\ the Tiber
was to be diverted so as to flow through it. Sanuto reports
in January 1496, that the cost of the works was estimated
at 80,000 florins. The Pope frequently inspected them in
person. He also secured to himself, by a special agreement,
the possession of whatever might be found in the course of
the excavations.*
This precaution, which bears witness to the growing
interest in the relics of antiquity, proved well-judged. In
constructing the earthworks the colossal bust of Hadrian
which now adorns the Rotunda in the Vatican was dis-
interred. In the interior a new staircase with shallow steps
was put in, and a military magazine, water tanks, and five
subterranean dungeons were constructed. Coins were
struck to . commemorate these works.f After the gun-
powder explosion of 1497, the upper rooms which had been
destroyed, were rebuilt and decorated by Pinturicchio in
the antiquated style then in vogue (the so-called grotesque).
According to Vasari, the same master painted in a lower
tower (probably that adjoining the bridge) a series o\
pictures representing the principal events in the first
years of Alexander's reign and containing many portraits.
Unfortunately, not a trace remains of these paintings.
The only indications of their existence are to be found
in the inscriptions of the frescoes : these were written
by the German, Laurent Behaim, who for twenty-two
years was Maggiordomo to Rodrigo Borgia ; they are
in Hartmann Schedel's collection. They included the
meeting between Alexander VI. and Charles VIII.,
* MiJNTZ, loc. cit.^ 64 seq. BORGATl's statements, 207 seq.^ are
incorrect.
+ ArmaND, Mddailleurs, II., 63 ; MUNTZ, loc. cit.
I/O HISTORY OF THE POPES.
and the profession of obedience and departure of this
monarch.*
The prison of Torre di Nona on the left bank of the
Tiber was also fortified anew.f These two strongholds
completely commanded the stream, and, by their artillery,
the greater part of the city.
The Arcade, which leads from the Castle of St. Angelo
to the Vatican, was not built by Alexander as has been
supposed by many ; it was already in existence ; but the
Borgia arms affixed in many places shew that it was
extensively restored by him. One of these shields over
the door of the court of the Swiss Guards bears the date
1492, and shews in what direction the Pope's earliest
apprehensions lay.J We learn, from a report of the
Ferrarese Envoy of 8th April, 1499, that work was going
on in the Arcade at that date. |
A Bull of the year 1500 bestowed certain privileges
on all who assisted in building the houses in the new
Via Alessandrina.il -
The Porta Settimiana which closes the Via della Lungara
was rebuilt and has remained unaltered up to the present
day. Cardinal Juan Lopez de Valencia, a former secretary
of Alexander, was commissioned by him to erect a
fountain in the Piazza of S^^ Maria in Trastevere. That
of Innocent VIII. in the Piazza of S. Peter's, which had also
been newly paved, was adorned by Alexander with four
gilt Bulls, the Borgia arms. Nor was the Vatican itself and
* Alvisi, 14 ; SCHMARSOW, Pinturicchio in Rom, 63 seq.
t BoRGATi, 100.
J BURCHARDI Diarium, II., 220; Adinolfi, Portica, 219 seq.\
MUNTZ, Les Arts, III., 172, and Antiquites, 59; SCHMARSOW,
Pinturicchio, 34.
§ Original in the State Archives, Modena.
II Bull., v., 377 seq. Of. Marini, I., 317, N. e.
WORKS AT THE VATICAN. 171
its surroundings neglected. The Loggia used for the Papal
Blessing was completed in the form depicted in Raphael's
fresco of the " Fire in the Borgo." Within the Vatican
a large number of nobly conceived works were executed.*
The architectural designs of Nicholas V. were carried out
and the decoration of the Pope's private apartments was
entrusted to Pinturicchio, who had already before that time
been painting in Rome. Till quite lately these rooms had
been used for keeping the engravings in the Vatican
Library and were only accessible to a few privileged
persons.f In the year 1889 the present Pope ordered
this part of the Vatican to be restored, and when this is
completed it is to be turned into a museum for objects
of art of the mediaeval and Renaissance periods.^
The dwelling rooms of Alexander VI. (Appartamento
Borgia) are on the ground floor of that part of the
Vatican which lies between the Court of the Belvedere
* Reumont, III., I, 416, and Ferri, L'Architettura in Roma, II., 31.
On the decoration of the fountain of Innocent VIII., cf. Registro delle
fabbriche di P. Alessandro VI. in the Cod. Barb., XXXII., 242 ; in
G OKI's Arch. St., IV., 141, and the disbursements in ^Divers. Alex.
VI., 1 501-1503 (IV. Bull.), f. 71, vouchers of payment made by Raphael
tit. S. Georgii, etc., Magistro Alberto de Placentia prefati S. D. N.
comestabili et architecto . . . pro opere fontis platee S. Petri de urbe,
XIII. Octob., 1 501, Ao 100 ; cf. f 79, 83'^ 93'^ etc. ; entries of pay-
ments made to the same for the fountain on the Piazza of S. Peter's,
23rd Nov., 1 501, and ist and 23rd Dec. ; 20th Jan., 1502 (Alb. de Pla-
centia qui confecit fontem platee S. Petri de urbe) ; these entries go on
into the month of Feb. State Archives, Rome.
t I saw them for the first time in the Spring of 1S83, through the
kindness of P. Bollig, who has since died, and once again in April, 1893.
They were assigned to the use of the Library in the time of Gregory
XVI., who did not care about keeping up the Borgia apartments. Cf.
the Viennese Abendpost (1892), N. 262.
X Professor L. Seitz (not Zeit as Yriartk, Autour des Borgia, 75
%eq., persistendy writes the name) has the charge of this restor.iiion.
1/2 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
and the little Cortile del Papagallo. This portion was
built by Nicholas III., and restored and enlarged by
Nicholas V. It contains six rooms, the first is a
spacious hall into which three nearly square smaller
chambers open ; these apartments are exactly under
the famous Stanze which contain Raphael's frescoes.
The new part built by Alexander consists of a square
tower (Torre Borgia), the upper storey of which, where
the frescoes in memory of Pius IX. now are, was the Pope's
private chapel, while the lower floor, divided into two
rooms and connected with the older part by a short stair-
case, closes the Appartamento Borgia on that side.*
Almost immediately after his accession Alexander set
to work at the renovation of these rooms and the erec-
tion of the Tower. Their decoration was intrusted to
Pinturicchio. He accomplished his task with a celerity
which could only be explained by supposing that he
largely availed himself of the help of others. A close
inspection of the paintings makes it only too clear that
this was the case. Pinturicchio by no means overworked
himself; in fact in 1494 he slipped away to Orvieto and
had to be recalled by a Brief from the Pope ! However,
both in their drawing and still more in their composition,
the greater part of these paintings are certainly his work.
" As a whole the work should justly be ascribed to him,
and deserves the highest praise for the evenness of its
execution, and the careful schooling and sagacious selection
in regard to the parts assigned to them, of the pupils
whom he evidently employed." f
* SCHMARSOW, Pinturicchio in Rom, 34 seq. ; WOODHOUSE in the
"Builder" of Jan. 1887; Yriarte, Autour des Borgia, 33 seq. (with
engra\dngs) ; VOLPINI, L' Appartamento Borgia nel Vaticino. Rome,
1887.
t SCHMARSOW, Pinturicchio in Rom, 61.
THE APPARTAMENTO BORGIA. 1 73
The large hall through which the apartments were entered
was used as an audience chamber, and called, on account
of the portraits which it contained, the hall of the Popes.
It was here that in the Summer of 1500 Alexander so
narrowly escaped being killed by the falling in of the roof*
Pinturicchio's share in the paintings in this hall cannot
be ascertained, as Leo X. caused the whole of it to be
decorated afresh in the style of the antique frescoes in
the baths of Titus, by two pupils of Raphael, Perino del
Vaga and Giovanni da Udine.f
The three rooms which open into the Sala dei Papi
remain in all essentials exactly as they were in the time
of Alexander. Each of these chambers is lighted by one
window looking into the Belvedere Court. The ceiling,
consisting of a double-cross vault, was intersected length-
wise by a broad arch resting on two pillars, thus forming
two spans on the side-walls bounded by pointed arches ;
and on those facing, and containing the window, lunettes
double the breadth of these. On these spans, paintings
were executed under Pinturicchio's direction, and all
the rest was richly decorated with gold and stucco-work
in which the Borgia arms, the Bull, repeatedly appears.
The subjects of the pictures in the first of these rooms
are exclusively religious, taken from the lives of Christ
and of the Blessed Virgin. In the arches of the ceiling
the Kings David and Solomon, and the prophets Isaias,
Jeremias, Malachias, Sophonias, Micheas, and Joel are
represented in half-length figures.^ The most striking of
* Cf. supra^ p. 78.
t Plattner, II., I, 298 seq.
X Plattner, II., i, 3cx) ; Schmarsow, 51 scq.\ and Ykiarte,
53 seq.^ with some, but unsatisfactory, illustrations. A good repro-
duction of the ceiling paintings in the room is given in DOLMKTCH, Der
Ornamentschatz (Stuttgardt, 1881), Part 49, No. 5.
174 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the wall-paintings is the one of the Resurrection of Christ,
before whom a Pope, unmistakeably Alexander VI., kneels
in adoration, in full pontificals, but bare-headed, with the
Tiara on the ground beside him. This admirable portrait
and that of another ecclesiastic in the picture of the Assump-
tion of the Blessed Virgin, are evidently from the hand of
Pinturicchio himself, while the other paintings were probably
executed by his pupils.*
This picture is not only highly interesting as a portrait
of the Pope in his prime, as his contemporaries knew him,
but is noteworthy also because it explodes a story which,
first set afloat by Vasari, has been repeated again and
again. Vasari says that Pinturicchio painted over the door
of one of the rooms in the palace a picture of the Virgin
Mary, which was a portrait of Giulia Farnese, and in the
same painting a likeness of Pope Alexander adoring her.
In reality the only picture in which Alexander appears is
that of the Resurrection of our Lord. There is a representa-
tion of the Madonna, but it is in the next room, and the
Pope is not in it, nor is there any other picture in any
of the rooms which corresponds with Vasari's description.
Evidently he had never been inside the Appartamento
Borgia.f
* SCHMARSOW, 53 seq. The coloured copy of the portrait of
Alexander VI. in Yriarte, 73, is unsatisfactory. The photograph in
Heywood's work, see Vol. V., p. 387, note t, is much better, but is un-
fortunately not on sale, having been privately printed.
t Yriarte, 35, 72. Ruber in Hist.Taschenbuch (1875), P- 53 ; and
even Gregorovius, VII., 669, ed. 3 (685, ed. 4), repeat Vasari's fable
without examination (and Gregorovius adds that the Pope is worshipping
the Madonna!). They have evidently never seen the picture. For
criticism of Vasari see generally Frey, Vita di Michelangelo (Berlin,
1887), XXI. seq. Plattner, II., i, 301, tries to save Vasari's story
by hazarding the conjecture that "the head of the Pope, now no
longer there, was for obvious reasons painted out of the picture."
DECORATIONS OF THE APPARTAMENTO. 1 75
The next room contains scenes taken from the lives of
S. Catherine of Alexandria, S. Antony, and S. Sebastian,
a picture of the Visitation and the story of Susanna. On
the ceiling there are curious mythological representations
of the history of Osiris and lo, probably plays on the
Borgia arms, which a study of the poems of the Humanists
of Alexander's Court might elucidate. It is overloaded
with small figures and arabesques in stucco gilt, but many
of the details are strikingly beautiful, and the pomp and
richness of the decorations in this room have caused it
to be looked upon as the masterpiece of the whole. The
third room, like the first, is simpler. In the lunettes,
personifications of Mathematics, Dialectics, Jurisprudence,
Geometry, Arithmetic, Music, and Astronomy are painted,
each accompanied by charming subsidiary figures. This
room was probably the Pope's study. Perugino is supposed
to have had a hand in the painting of the frescoes.* From
this room the chambers in the Borgia Tower are reached
by a marble staircase. According to the inscription the
The present Prefect of the Vatican Library, my esteemed friend P.
Ehrle, had the kindness to make a thorough examination of the picture
of the Madonna for me. He was assisted by Prof Seitz and the
painter FringoelH (custodian of the Lateran Museum), who are
executing the restoration of the Appartamento, and who removed,
wherever it seemed desirable, any later washes that had been applied.
The following is the conclusion arrived at : — " // is utterly impossible
that the picture of the Madonna could have included a Jii^ure of Pope
Alexander. The attitude of the Virgin and the direction in which she
and the Divine Child are looking^ the circular pasteboard mounts and
the ornamentation and lifies surrounding it absolutely exclude such a
supposition." It is to be hoped tliat for the future this fable will cease
to appear in books of history.
* PlatTNER, H., I, 300 seg. ; SCHMAR.SOW, 36, 39 seq.., 45 seg.
(Schmarsow has not observed that Plattner had already, p. 301, recog-
nised the one picture as Susanna). Yriartk, 56 seg., here gives better
illustrations than Pistolesi, to whom hitherto students have lucn referred.
176 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Tower was finished in 1494. The first room contains the
figures of the twelve apostles and twelve prophets ; each
carries a scroll on which a sentence from the Creed or
one of the prophets is written. The last, which is almost
square and was probably the Pope's bed-chamber, has
mythological representations of the planets on the ceiling.
In each of the twelve lunettes a prophet and a sybil
converse together. As in the former chamber, they
carry scrolls containing prophecies of the kingdom of
Christ.*
In spite of the many faults that may be found with
the separate paintings, the decoration of the Appartamento
Borgia is, as a whole, an eminently harmonious and pleas-
ing work.f
Pinturicchio left Rome on account of the disturbances
there caused by the invasion of Charles VIII.; later he
returned and painted the series of historical pictures of the
events of the Pope's life in the Castle of St. Angelo, which
have already been mentioned, | and executed the decora-
tions in the grotesque style there which have also been
mentioned before, and by which this new form of Art was
* Plattner, II. 5 I, 301 seq. ; SCHMARSOW, 35 seq.^ 46 seq.^ 58 ;
Yriarte, 66 seq. The tradition is that Alexander died in the " Liberal
Arts" room.
t Schmarsow, 95. H. Grimm (Fifteen Essays, 4th Series [Giitersloh,
1890]), p. 274, praises the bright and agreeable effects of the paintings,
and pronounces this to be the " most beautiful of all Pinturicchio's pro-
ductions." See also Beissel in the Zeitschr. i. Chrisd. Kunst, V., 69,
who, however, praises the App. Borgia beyond their deserts. On
Pinturicchio's honorarium, see GORI, Arch. St., IV.. 18 seq.
X See supra^ p. 169. Cf. Vermiglioli, App., XII.; Schmarsow, 63.
Pinturicchio was employed also by Csesar Borgia: see Kunstbl. (1850),
p. 374. On the assistance given by Caesar towards the building of the
Church of the Madonna del Piratello at Imola, see Graus in the
Grazer Kirchenschmuck, XXI. (1890), 114 seq.
RESTORATIONS IN ROMAN CHURCHES. Ijy
introduced in Rome.* This bright and fantastic style of
Art was especially congenial to the taste of the age of
Alexander VI. The serious and sculpturesque manner
which belongs to fresco painting jarred on the sensuous
frivolous habit of mind of the Borgia and their courtiers,
in whom the aesthetic sense was so largely bound up
with vanity and display. Continued development in this
direction would have been fatal to Art.f Thus it was most
fortunate that the stern influence of Julius II. recalled the
painters whom he employed to a severer style.
In Rome itself Alexander completed the roof of S**
Maria Maggiore which had been commenced by his uncle
Calixtus. Tradition says that the first gold brought from
America was used for the decoration of the panels
there, which are the most charming of all Roman works
of this kind. In April 1498, the Pope visited this church
to inspect the work on its completion. |
Restorations were executed by this Pope in S. Peter's, in
his own former titular Church of S. Niccolo in Carcere, in
that of the SS. Apostoli § and on the city walls.|| Grati-
tude is due to Alexander for the rebuilding of the Univ^er-
sity ; in its present form it dates from Alexander VII.,
who belonged to the Chigi family.lF
* On the "grotesque" see ClAN, Cortegiano, III., and ScHNEEGANS,
29.
t SCHMARSOW, Pinturicchio, 87 ; see p. 78 seq.^ for particulars of
Pinturicchio's work in Siena for Card. Piccolomini. Cf. Raftaele und
Pinturicchio in Siena (Stuttgart, 1880), by the same writer.
X BURCHARDI Diarium, II., 459 ; Reumont, III., 1,416; Armel-
LINI, 387 ; engraving in MuNTZ, L'Art, II , 333.
§ Armellini, 476; Arch. d. St. Ital., 3 Serie, VI., i, 178:
Reumont, III., i, 416.
II Rev. Arch^ol., VII., 132 ; Nibby, Le Mura, 290, 374.
IT See Zahn in Arch. St. Ital, 3 Serie, VI., i, 178 ; Kknazzi, I., 28 r,
and * Divers. Alex. VI., III., Nov. 1502, A'> XIo ; 400 due. gub. et rectori
VOL. VI. N
178 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
For jewellery and metal work but little was done by
Alexander beyond the regular necessary orders for the
golden roses, swords of honour for princes, chalices for
churches, and medals. Beyond these the only large order
for goldsmith's work was that for the statues of the twelve
Apostles in silver gilt, which were destined for his private
chapel.* Outside as well as inside Rome, Alexander did
a great deal in the way of building. He spent 9000 ducats
on the Castle of Subiaco, and extensive works were executed
in the citadels of Tivoli, Civitella, Civita Castellana, Nepi,
Osimo, and Civita Vecchia ; f the erection of a tower at
ViterbOjJ and of dwelling-rooms in the citadel at Ostia.§
He also contributed to the building of the Cathedral at
Perugia, II and helped in the erection of the shrine of S.
Anthony at Padua.lf
studii almae urbis pro reparatione ipsius studii. Further payments for
the same object follow. State Archives, Rome.
* Perat^:, 519. On the sword given by Alexander VI. to the Duke
Boguslaw X. of Pomerania, see Lessing in the Jahrb. d. Preuss.
Kunstsammlungen, XVI., 121 seq. On Alexander's Livre d'heures
(containing fifty-eight miniatures by a Flemish painter), see Pawlowski
in the Gaz. des Beaux Arts, 3rd Series, V., 511 seq.
t Cf. the Registro deUe fabbriche di P. Alessandro VI. in GORl'S
Arch. St., IV., 141 ; Gregorovius, Wanderjahre, II., 17 seq.\ GORI,
Viaggio da Roma a Tivoli, I., 17 (Roma, 1855) ; Arch. St. Ital., 3 Serie,
VI., I, 177, 178 ; Arch. d. Soc. Rom., VII., 436 ; Redtenbacher, 103.
On the building done at Subiaco while Alexander was stiU a Cardinal,
see Cronaca Sublac, 519.
X See the ^Document of 6th November, 1497, in "^Lib. brev. 17, f. 194.
Secret Archives of the Vatican.
§ ^Despatch of Stefano Taberna, dat. Rom, 14th Oct., 1497. The
Pope is going to Ostia to see Alchune habitatione quale fa fare in quella
fortezza. State Archives, Milan.
II "^Bull of Alexander VI. of 28th Jan., 15CX), in the Capitular Archives
at Perugia.
•" Marcelling da Civezza, II Romano Pontificato, II., 725.
Firenze, 1886.
BRAMANTE IN ROME. 1 79
The architectural energy displayed by Alexander had
a stimulating effect upon the rest of Rome. New churches
and palaces arose in all directions and quite changed the
aspect of the city. The two greatest patrons of Art were
the wealthy Cardinals Riario and Giuliano della Rovere.*
The latter built a palace for himself close to S. Pietro in
Vincoli ; his architect was Giuliano da Sangallo. Riario's
palace, the famous Cancellaria which had been begun by
Alexander VI., was finished in his reign. This magnificent
building, with its exquisite pillared halls, was for a long
time attributed to Bramante. Recent research has shewn
that this view is untenable. The Cancellaria is, on the
contrary, one of the last productions of the Tuscan style
which was superseded by Bramante. For the same reason
Cardinal Castellesi's splendid palace in the Borgo (now
Giraud — Torlonia), the architecture of which is similar in
character, cannot be the work of the author of the revival
of the classical style in Rome.f
Bramante came to Rome in the year 1499, and is
supposed to have been employed by Alexander VI. in the
erection of the fountains mentioned in the beginning of
this chapter.| The remains of the ancient city which he
then saw, inspired him with such enthusiastic admiration
that, though already in his fifty-sixth year, he succeeded in
an amazingly short time, in making the spirit of classical
architecture completely his own. The result appeared in
the famous Tempictto in the court of the Franciscan
* Cf. WOLTMANN, II., 239, on Perugino's work for Giuliano. Pin-
turicchio painted for Card. Piccolomini in Siena from the year 1502.
See loc. ciL, II., 252 seq., 623.
+ Gnoli, La Cancellaria, 11 seq. The present Pope is thinking of
having the Cancellaria restored. On the fate of Card. Castellcsi's
palace, see M. Brady, Anglo- Roman Papers. London, 1890.
X Cf. Geymullkr, 68 seq.^ and MiJNTZ, Hist, do I'Art, IL, 380.
l8o HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Convent near S Pietro in Montorio, erected by him for
Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain in commemoration of the
martyrdom of the Prince of the Apostles. It was finished
in the year 1 502, and marks the change from the Lombard
to the Roman Bramante, and the division between the
arts of two centuries. It was no longer a mere imitation
of classical forms, but a new creation so completely in the
spirit of the old architecture that nothing in the building
indicated its recent origin, and it was studied and
measured by the architects of the day as though it had
been a newly-discovered monument of classical times.*
There are equally no grounds for connecting Bramante's
name with the Church of the German Hospice of S'^ Maria
deir Anima, the foundation-stone of which was laid by
Matthaeus Lang, the Ambassador of the German Emperor,
on the nth of April, 1500. The church was consecrated
in 15 1 1, and, according to the inscription, the facade
completed in 1514.^ The somewhat Gothic interior must
undoubtedly be ascribed to a German architect.^
The list of churches erected in the reign of Alexander
VI. includes, besides the German National Church, that of
SS. Trinita de' Monti on the Pincio, founded by Cardinal
* Gnoli, loc. cit., 18. On the Tempietto, cf. especially GeymQller,
65 seq.
t Kerschbaumer, 22 seq. ; Graus, Sta Maria dell' Anima, in the Grazer
Kirchenschmuch (1881), No. 3 seq. Geymuller writes, p. 68, "Bra-
mante's influence may possibly be traceable in the ground-plan of S^a
Maria dell' Anima but only in that To us it seems very prob-
able that the graceful tower was built by a German architect after
a drawing by Bramante. Certainly Bramante, and probably G. da
Sangallo, are quite guiltless of the somewhat incoherent facade which
was added in 1 514." In the Archives of the Anima I found an interesting
note in which Burkardus Arg. Magist. caeremon. 1499, is said to have
been praefectus fabricae.
X Redtenbacher, 179.
NEW CHURCHES IN ROME. l8l
Brigonnet at the instigation of S. Francis of Paula,
S. Rocco on the quay of the Ripetta, S. Maria di Loreto, a
Confraternity-church not completed until the 17th Century,
the Church of the Guild of the Bakers of Rome, and
S^" Maria di Monserrato, the Spanish National Church.*
* Reumont, ill., I, 420, 438 ; Armellini, 412, 578.
BOOK II
PIUS III. 1503.
JULIUS II. Restorer of the States of the
Church and Patron of the Fine Arts.
1 503-1 5 1 3.
CHAPTER I.
The Conclaves of September and November, 1503. — -
Pius III. and Julius II.
In a Despatch of 15th August, 1503, when the condition
of Alexander VI. was rapidly becoming hopeless, the
Venetian Ambassador, Antonio Giustinian, reports that
Cardinal Caraffa had said to him in conversation, " There
is every prospect of war. I greatly fear that the coming
Conclave will result in an appeal to arms, and prove
most disastrous for the Church." * A sonnet, pubHshed
in Florence about that time, describes the divisions in the
Sacred College, the machinations of the Kings of France
and Spain to secure the election of their respective can-
didates, and the probability of a simoniacal election, and
even of a schism. f
The situation was, indeed, fraught with peril on all sides.
In the North the French army under Francesco Gonzaga
lay at Viterbo, the Spaniards under Gonsalvo de Cordova
were advancing from the South, Rome resounded with party
cries, Orsini, Colonna, and Borgia. Cardinal Aegidius of
Viterbo says " the whole city was in a ferment ; the confu-
I sion was such, that it seemed as if everything was going
to pieces."! Under such circumstances it was obvious that
* Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., no.
+ Sonnet, *'Antequam creatur novus Pontifex," printed in the Dociim.
intorno Pio II. e III., 29-30, and in the Giorn. d. Lett. Ital., XVII., 296
Cf. Nuova Antologia (1894), Vol. 135, 93 94.
X Gregorovius, VIII., 7, ed. 3.
1 86 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Caesar's presence in Rome could not be a matter of trifling
importance. The Spanish Cardinals were as absolutely
subservient to him " as if they had been his chaplains," and
he had under his command an army of not less than 12,000
strong. It was certainly quite in his power to force another
Rodrigo Borgia on the Church.
One cannot but regard it as a direct interposition of
Providence that precisely at this critical time he was
crippled by a serious illness, from which he was only begin-
ning to recover. He said himself afterwards to Machiavelli,
" I had counted on the death of my father, and had made
every preparation for it, but it never occurred to me that I
should have at the same time to fight with death myself." *
But the fact that both France and Spain, who had
quarrelled with each other over the Neapolitan spoils, were
tiying to secure his friendship, shews what was the strength
of Caesar's influence in spite of his bodily weakness. They
evidently thought that the result of the coming election
depended largely upon him. It was only natural that the
Duke should exert himself to the utmost to control it. The
unexpected death of Alexander VI. had been the signal
for a general uprising of all the enemies of the Borgia
family, and his very existence depended upon the outcome
of the election. The Venetian Ambassador writes on 21st
August : " I am assured on the best authority that last
Sunday no less than eleven Cardinals swore to Caesar to
have Cardinal Giovanni Vera elected, or else to bring about
a schism. They are also trying to win over the Cardinals
Caraffa, Raffaele Riario, and Pallavicino to their side, and I
myself know for certain that the Duke has taken pre-
cautions to prevent the arrival of Cardinal Giuliano della
Rovere, either by sea or land."-|-
* Machiavelli, Principe, cap. 7.
t Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 138 ; cf. 130, 137. See also Atti
CESAR BORGIA AND THE CARDINALS. 1 87
However, it soon became evident that Caesar's power
was over-estimated. He himself felt his inability to with-
stand the popular hatred, or to make headway against the
Barons, who were threatening him with vengeance, while all
his efforts to obtain possession of the Castle of St. Angelo
by bribery failed to overcome the integrity of its custodian,
Francesco Roccamura.*
Hitherto he had but to command and be obeyed, but
now he found himself obliged to enter into a treaty with
the Colonna faction and with the Cardinals. Burchard notes
with surprise his submissiveness towards the Sacred College,
to whom he swore obedience on the 22nd of August.
In consequence, he was allowed to retain his appoint-
ment as a Captain- General of the Church until the new
Pope had been elected ; but the unanimous decision of
the Cardinals to hold the Conclave in the Castle of St.
Angelo plainly shews how little they trusted him.f Even
there, however, many did not consider themselves safe,
for Caesar continued to exert himself to the utmost to
secure the election of a Spanish Pope who would be
favourable to him.J
If the election was to be free, it was absolutely necessary
to get the Duke out of Rome. The Cardinals, especially
deir Emilia, VII., 2, 169; M. Leopardi, Vita di Niccol6 Bonafede,
49 seq.\ and Carinci, Lettere di O. Gaetani, 134.
* Cf. SiGiSMONDO DE' CONTI, II., 289, and the MS. in Thuasne,
III., 449. Ranke in Rom. und Germ. Volker, 171, says erroneously
that Caesar had possession of the Castle of St. Angelo. I'he letters
quoted by Gregorovius, VIII., 7, ed. 3, from the Ciaetani Archives, as
hitherto unprinted, and which confirm Guicciardini's statements about
Caesar's treaty with the Colonna, were printed long ago by Cakinci,
Lettere di O. Gaetani, 133-134.
t BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 245 seq.
X Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 157 ; Petrucelli DELLA Ga'ITINA,
I., 442
1 88 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the Italian Cardinals, laboured assiduously to effect this,
and were supported by the Ambassadors of Germany,
France, Spain, and Venice. The negotiations lasted from
the 25th August to the 31st September, when Caesar
finally consented to withdraw from Rome within three
days, the Cardinals on their side engaging to protect
him against all attacks, and granting him a free passage
through the States of the Church. They also promised
to warn Venice against any attempts to get hold of his
possessions in the Romagna. The Ambassadors of
Maximilian and Ferdinand pledged themselves that
neither Caesar, the Spanish army, nor the Colonna
should approach from within 8 to 10 miles of Rome as
long as the Papal Chair remained vacant, and those of
France and Venice entered into a similar engagement in
regard to the French army and the Orsini.*
On the following day a part of the Duke's artillery left
Rome by the Trastevere ; the news had just reached him
that Piombino, Rimini, and Pesaro had thrown off his
yoke. He himself was carried in a litter from the Vatican
to Monte Mario; at the -Porta Viridaria, Cardinal Cesarini
wished to speak to him, but was told that *' the Duke gave
no audiences." f
It soon became known that Caesar had placed himself
under the protection of the French army at Nepi. He
had already, on the ist of September, entered into a secret
agreement with the representatives of Louis XII., in
which he promised to place his troops at the disposal of
the King, and to behave towards him as an obedient
vassal and help him against all his enemies, the Church
* BURCHARDI Dianum, III., 255.
+ Ibid., III., 257. Cf. Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 171 ; Sanuto,
v., 80-81 ; and the ^Despatch of the Mantuan Envoy, dat. Rome, 2nd
Sept., 1503. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
OBSEQUIES OF ALEXANDER VI.
189
only excepted ; Louis on his part guaranteed to Caesar
all his present possessions and engaged to assist him
to recover those which he had lost at the death of
Alexander VI.*
The maintenance of order having been already secured
by the hire of a sufficient force in the pay of the College
of Cardinals, they could now proceed to make arrange-
ments for the Conclave. Under these more favourable
circumstances it was decided that it should be held in
the Vatican.
Public opinion was very much divided as to the
probable result of the election. Antonio Giustinian
writes on 19th August : " The better minded would
like to have Carafifa or Piccolomini, though Costa would
make an excellent Pope ; only his age and his Spanish
name are against him." A few days later Pallavicino
and Podocatharo were also mentioned ; of the latter it
was said that he would have the votes of all the
Spaniards-!
On the 4th September J the obsequies of the late Pope
began and lasted nine days. Meanwhile many of the
absent Cardinals had arrived in Rome. Soderini came
on the 30th of August, Cornaro on the ist of September,
Trivulzi and Giuliano della Rovere on the 3rd (the
latter had been an exile for nearly ten years). On the
6th Colonna arrived, on the 9th Riario, and on the loth
George S. d'Amboise, Luigi d'Aragona, and Ascanio Sforza.§
* App. to the Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 462-463.
t Dispacci di A. Ciiustinian, II., 126; PETRUCELLI DELLA r,ATTlN.\,
I., 447 ; and the Sonnet quoted supra^ p. 185, note t: " Antequani," etc.
X Not on the 3rd Sept., as stated by Vh.i.ari, Machiavelli, I., 387,
and Gregorovius, VIII., 10, cd. 3. See *Acta Consist., f. 14, in the
Consistorial Archives of the Vatican.
§ Cardinal d'Este had broken his leg in the hurry of the jounu^y and
IQO HISTORY OF THE POPES.
The latter had led Louis XII. to believe that if he would
allow him to take part in the Conclave he would vote for
the French candidate, Cardinal d'Amboise.*
Through their treaty with Caesar Borgia the French
party thought they could count on the support of the
eleven Spanish Cardinals,-j- and d'Amboise himself did
not scruple to use every means in his power, flattery,
promises, and even covert threats, in order to win over
the remainder.^ In employing the latter he counted, of
course, on the influence which the proximity of the
French troops must exert. In case of need, as the
Mantuan Ambassador said, it had been decided to have
recourse to arms.§ No means were to be rejected that
could possibly obtain the Tiara for the favourite of the
King of France, and thus secure French ascendency in
Italy and the world.
in consequence did not arrive in time. Sanuto, V , yy ; cf. ibid., 8i, on
the very hurried journey of Cardinal d'Amboise.
* SiGISMONDO DE' CONTI, II., 290.
t cf. PETRUCELLI BELLA GATTINA, I., 449.
X Cf. Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 175, 190, 196. As in the whole
CoUege of Cardinals there were only two.who were Frenchmen by birth,
it seemed to the French party that they could not afford to neglect any
means of ensuring success ; they could really only count upon six votes.
See Sanuto, V., 82. The Mantuan agent, Ghivizano, in writing to the
Marquess of Mantua from Rome on 12th Sept., 1503, reports of Cardinal
d'Amboise : Hieri ale 22 hore parlai cum mons. de Rohano . . . me
dise io dovesse in nome vostro parlare al rev^o card. S. Prassede et pre-
garlo a darli la voce sua promettendoli che tuto quelo li sara promiso li
sara atteso et retificato per la Ch^a M'^ e di questo vole la Ex V^ li
facia plena segurta, il che a me non ha parso fare senza licentia di quela,
la quale sapia come a le XX. hore hoe lordine de andare a parlare
a S. Prassede ; al. card, de Rohano ho promeso fare quanto la Sua
S"^ me a comandato e cosi faro non havendo altro in contrario.
Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
§ See Appendix, N. 12, the "^Despatch of Ghivizano of 12th Sept.,
1503. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
PROSPECTS OF THE ELECTION. 191
Ferdinand of Spain was naturally the chief opponent of
these plans. From the very beginning his Ambassadors
were doing their utmost to secure the election of a Spanish
Pope. His candidates were Piccolomini, Castro, and
Carvajal ; the one whom above all he wished to exclude
was Giuliano della Rovere, whom he regarded as a partisan
of France.*
As long as Caesar Borgia had remained in Rome he
had exercised a strong influence on the Spanish Cardinals.
As soon as he had left the city and was known to have
gone to the French camp, this was of course at an end.
Bernardino Carvajal became the leader of the Spanish
Cardinals, and they held together as closely as possible,
knowing that they had all the detestation which the Borgia
had brought upon themselves on their shoulders.f In the
face of the storm of hatred which had burst forth from the
populace of Rome on the death of Alexander the election of
a Spaniard was out of the question.^ The reaction against
the late Pope was too strong. This made the loss of the
eleven Spanish votes all the more vexatious for the
French. Their prospects declined at once. The Mantuan
Ambassador, writing on the 12th of September, to a vivid
description of the excitement amongst the electors, " who
are running hither and thither like bees and intriguing in
all directions," adds significantly, " but d'Amboise will not
be Pope."§
* Cf. Dispacci di A Giustinian, II., 150 seq.\ Zurita, V., c. 47;
Petrucelli della Gattina, I., 446 ; Bergenroth, Calendar, I.,
n. 372 ; SaGMULLER, 127 seq.\ H ABLER, Streit Ferdinands d. Kathol.
und Philipps, I., 19 ; ROSSBACH, Carvajal, 59 seq. (incorrect in places),
t Cf. Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 179-180; PETRUCELLI DELLA
Gattina, I., 450.
X See Sanuto, v., 81-83.
§ See Appendix, N. 12, ^Despatch of Ghivizano, 12th Sept.. 1503.
Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
192 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Giuliano della Rovere, however, was for the French
the most dangerous of all their opponents. It was he
who made it plain to all the world how disastrous would
be the consequences if the man who was Louis' all power-
ful minister, and had been Caesar Borgia's friend, v/ere
elected.*
Giuliano's arrival in Rome completely changed the whole
state of affairs. He was as outspoken as if his election
were already an accomplished fact. On the 5th September
he said to the Venetian Ambassador : " I have come here
on my own account and not on other people's. I shall
not vote for d'Amboise. If I fail to obtain the Tiara
myself, I hope whoever succeeds will strive to maintain
peace in Italy, and to promote the interests of religion."
He took pains to point out to the Cardinals that if a
French Pope were elected it was extremely probable that
the seat of the Papacy would again be transferred to France.
These representations naturally carried great weight with
the Spanish and Italian members of the College.f As the
Italians were largely in the majority (they were twenty-
two out of thirty-seven) they could easily have made
Giuliano Pope had they been unanimous. This, however,
was far from being the case. Some were for Caraffa,
others for Pallavicino, others again for Giuliano. Cardinal
Giovanni Colonna held with the Spaniards, while the
Florentine Cardinals, Medici and Soderini, were on the
French side.J
The divisions among the Italian Cardinals threw the
casting vote into the hands of the united Spanish party.
Giuliano saw this at once and consequently from the first
* Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 200.
t Ibid., II., 180-182.
t ZURITA, 299; GUICCIARDINI, Opere inediti, III., 306; SaG-
MtJlXKR, 126.
(
BEGINNING OF THE CONCLAVE.
193
devoted himself to the work of winning the Spaniards.*
On the 1 2th September the Mantuan Envoy writes: " Neither
d'Amboise, Giuliano, Caraffa, nor Riario will be Pope ;
Podocatharo, Piccolomini, or Pallavicino have the best
chance, for they are favoured by the Spaniards ; but the
common opinion is that the Cardinals will not be able to
agree." f
Thus, from the very beginning of the Conclave, the
representatives of the three great Latin nations stood
opposed to each other. Not one of the few representatives
of the non-Latin nationalities was in Rome,J when, after
the Chair of S. Peter had been vacant for thirty days, the
Conclave at last began on i6th September. The number
of Cardinals § who took part in it, thirty-seven, || was much
* Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 185.
+ See Appendix, N. 12, *Despatch of Ghivizano, 12th Sept., 1503,
Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
% These latter could only act through their Envoys. See Ulmann,
II., 135, on the proceedings of Maximilian's Ambassador. C/. also
Ghivizano's *Despatch of 15th Sept., 1503 (Gonzaga Arch., Mantua), in
Appendix, N. 13.
§ At former elections the number was much smaller. At the Conclave
of Nicholas V. there were 18, for Calixtus III. 15, for Pius II. 18, for
Paul II. 20, for Sixtus IV. 18, for Innocent VIII. 25, for Alexander
VI. 23. C/. Pastor, Hist. Popes, II., 11, 320 ; III., 5 ; IV., 4,n. 3, 201
(Engl, trans.).
II Cf. BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 269 seg^.; Sanuto, V., p. 100 seg.;
andthe*Despatchof Costabili, dated Rome, i6th Sept., 1503, in the State
Archives, Modena. Both ancient and modern writers vary very much
in their statements as to the number that took part in the Conclave.
Raphael Volaterranus, Raynaldus, ReumONT, III., 2, 7, and RoHR-
BACHER-Knopfler, 285, give the number as 36 ; while GUICCIAR-
DINI, VI., cap. I, the epitaph of Pius III., and Gregorovius, VIII., 12,
ed. 3, say 38. Both numbers are erroneous. Thirty-seven electors took
part in it, as stated by Burchard, the Mantuan Ambassiidor, in a
^Despatch, dated Rome, i6th Sept., 1503, as also an *Account of the
beginning of the Conclave by Ghivizano, dated 1 7lh Sept., and, wliat is
VOL. VI. O
194 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
larger than had been present at any former Conclave.
Even as late as the 12th of September there had been pro-
tracted discussions whether it should not be held in S.
Marco under the protection of the Roman people, but the
final decision was in favour of the Vatican. Immediately
before the opening of the Conclave, d'Amboise decided to
pay visits to his two rivals, Caraffa and Giuliano della Rovere.
The Mantuan Envoy, who reports this, adds, there was no
exchange of visits between d'Amboise and Piccolomini,
Pallavicino, and Podocatharo. The Tiara will fall to one
of these three; if to the last, because he is a good man,
if to either of the others, because they are neutral and
favoured by the Spaniards. Four days later the Venetian
Ambassador says that Piccolomini or Pallavicino will
probably be elected.*
The first thing the Cardinals did, was to draw up a new
Election-capitulation to supersede that of 1484. One of
its provisions was that the Pope should summon a Council
for the reform of the Church within two years after his
election, and that then a General Council should be held
every three years.f
On the 17th of Septerhber d'Amboise had proclaimed, in
his usual swaggering manner, that either he or another
Frenchman would certainly be chosen. Five days earlier
he had told the Venetian Envoy what he really thought.
He said, " I have heard that several Cardinals have
bound themselves by an oath not to elect any Cardinal
who is a Frenchman or a friend of the King of
quite decisive, the "^Acta Consist, fol. 14. Consistorial Archives of the
Vatican.
* Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 196-198, and in Appendix, N. 13,
Ghivizano's ■^Despatch of 1 5th Sept., 1 503. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
t Cf. BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 272 seq.\ ZURITA, 202 ; Gatticus,
287, n. I ; Bergenroth, I., p. lviii., n. 371.
POSITION OF CARDINAL D AMBOISE.
195
France. This has greatly incensed me. I see no reason
why the French nation should be shut out from the
Papacy, and if my King, who is the first-born son of the
Church, and has done more than any other Prince for
the Apostolic See, is trying to promote the election of a
French Pope, I do not think he can be blamed, when he
has seen how unworthily one Spaniard and two Italians
have ruled her. Our generals are aware of these intrigues,
and will not patiently endure such a slight to their King."
Then he complained of various simoniacal negotiations,
and added : '' If I perceive anything of this kind you may
be sure that I shall not let it pass ; and my protest will
be such that none shall fail to hear it." " Evidently," the
Envoy continues, "the Cardinal sees that his cause is
lost. He already says that he has been betrayed. He
has just found out that Ascanio Sforza, far from troub-
ling himself about him, is working hard to secure his own
election."*
Such indeed was the case. On the 13th of September the
Venetian Ambassador writes, " Ascanio Sforza makes no
secret of his intentions ; he says he had promised his vote
to d'Amboise and he shall have that, but nothing else."!
The acclamations with which Ascanio had been greeted
when he entered Rome had naturally encouraged him to
think well of his chances. Burchard, after narrating the
hearty welcome he had received, adds in his Diary, " God
alone knows what these cries were to Ascanio."^
The hopes which d'Amboise had built on Cardinal
d'Aragona were equally doomed to disappointment. He,
* Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 195-196, 198.
t Ibid.^ II., 193. Cf. PRATO, 256. It is inlcrcstiny: to find
from iJURCHARDi Diarium, III., 274, that Ascanio did vote for
d'Amboise.
X BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 263.
196 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
like Ascanio, was not disposed to seal the ruin of his house
by forwarding the election of a French Pope.*
But, though forced to give up all hopes for himself,
d'Amboise none the less did his best to secure the election
of one or other of the French candidates. All his efforts,
however, were in vain, owing to the firm front presented
by the Spanish Cardinals, none of whom could be won
over.-j-
The prospects of Giuliano della Rovere rose in pro-
portion as those of d'Amboise declined. At first we are
told he wanted but two votes to make up the two-thirds
majority. But at the last moment he found himself foiled
by his old enemy Ascanio.;j:
The strength of the various parties, and also their inability
to bring matters to a conclusion, were manifested in the'
vote that was taken on the 21st September. § Giuliano
della Rovere had the highest vote, fifteen (still far below the
requisite majority of two-thirds); Caraffa came next with
* So says GuiCClARDiNi, VI., c. i.
+ Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 196, 197-201.
t Ibid., II., 200 ; Sanuto, v., 92 ; ZURITA, V., c. 47 ; and Costabili's
■^Despatch to Card. d'Este of 28th Sept., 1503 : Et per Ascanio se he
facto grande opera per questa electione. Prima S. Praxede se aproximo
al pallio e fu disconcio per S. Petro in vincula. Dopoi corendo molto
S. Petro in vincula fu disconcio per Ascanio. State Archives, Modena.
§ According to Roman letters quoted by Sanuto, V., 92, there were
three scrutinies. Burchard speaks only of two. Sanuto says : non fu
fato scrutinio fino el zuoba (/.<?., 21st Sept.) e fu fato uno e S. Praxede
fo mejo e S. Piero in vincula li manchava do voti. Ghivizano, the
Mantuan Ambassador, says on the contrary that the first scrutiny took
place on the i8th; he refers to a communication from the English
Ambassador who professed to have had his information from Venice ;
but Giustinian says nothing about it, at any rate nothing in those of his
despatches which reached their destination, and this throws doubt upon
the point. Ghivizano's ^Despatch of 19th Sept. (Gonzaga Archives,
Mantua), Appendix, N. 14.
ELECTION OF CARDINAL PICCOLOMINL I97
fourteen, d'Amboise had thirteen, Carvajal twelve, Riario
eight.*
Thus no party was in a position to carry the election,
and yet the situation was one that demanded a speedy
settlement. Both Burchard and the Venetian Ambassador
agree in saying that, under these circumstances, Cardinal
d'Amboise preferred a candidate whose age and weakness
marked him out as a temporary Pope. Antonio Giustinian
writes, " As soon as d'Amboise perceived that his own
election was out of the question, he determined at any rate
to prevent the election of any one not of his choice." Like
a prudent man, he swam with the stream,-]- and on 21st
September, acting in concert with Ascanio Sforza, Soderini,
and Medici, he proposed the name of the old and ailing
Cardinal Francesco Piccolomini.
As the Spanish Cardinals agreed to support him, the
matter was decided at once. On the following morning
* There are two lists of the vote taken on 21st Sept. in Burchardi
Diarium, III., 273 seq.^ 275 seq.^ and one in Sanuto, V., 93-94, to which
may be added that in the Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 201. It has not
hitherto been noticed that the two lists given by Burchard, the second
of which is evidently derived from the first, do not agree with one
another, either in the names or the number of votes. There are dis
crepancies also in the accounts of Sanuto and Giustinian. In BURCHARD,
I., Caraffa has fourteen votes; in BURCHARD, II., thirteen. Sanuto
and Giustinian give him fourteen. Giuliano della Rovere had, accord-
ing to Burchard, I., fourteen votes; according to Burchard, II.,
Sanuto, and Giustinian, fifteen. All four lists coincide in regard to
Carvajal and d'Amboise. Giustinian and Sanuto agree in giving
Castro thirteen votes. It is remarkable that Burchard's first list gives
Castro eleven votes, and the second none at all ! It is possible that the
second list given by Burchard is a later interpolation, and this is the
more probable, since there is no such second list given for the scrutiny
of 22nd Sept., or, later, for the election of Julius II.
t Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 201 ; Burchardi Diarium, III.,
276.
198 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
(22nd September) the election took place,* and Piccolomini
was made Pope, taking the name of Pius III. in honour of
his uncle.f
" It is impossible to express the joy of the people of Rome
at Piccolomini's election," writes the Mantuan Envoy on
the 22nd September, and the representative of Venice
says, " The previous life of the new Pope, marked by
numerous deeds of kindness and charity, lead the people to
hope that his Pontificate will be the exact opposite to that
of Alexander VI., and thus they are beside themselves with
]oy."l This general rejoicing was fully justified. All his
contemporaries agree in saying that the personal character
and abilities of the new Pope were of the highest order.
He was made a member of the Sacred College in 1460, at
an early age, by his uncle Pius II., and the Cardinal of
Siena, as Piccolomini was then called, had always dis-
tinguished himself by his cultivation of mind, his great
ability, and his blameless life. Under Pius II. he had suc-
cessfully governed the March of Placentia, and in the time
of Paul II. had filled the difficult post of Legate in Germany
with consummate tact, to the great satisfaction of the then
* The charge of simony is unfounded. C/. Cambi,.XXI., 197 ; also
Piccolomini, Doc. intomo a Pio II. e III., 19, and Sagmuller, 129.
t See BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 276-277 ; Dispacci di A. Giustinian,
II., 199 seg'. ; cf. p. 204 on the influence of the Spanish Cardinals in
the election. Sanuto, V., 93 ; ZuRiTA, 302 ; Petrucelli della
Gattina, I., 452 ; "^Report of Ghivizano, dated Rome, 22nd Sept,
(Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.) The Ferrarese Ambassador, Costabili,
in his *Account of the election, makes the remark : " It is to be hoped
that the new Pope will prove as satisfactory as we have reason to think."
See also P. S. : El suo nome e Clemento sexto. State Archives,
Modena.
X Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 200, and the "^Report of Ghivizano,
dated Rome, 22nd Sept., 1 503 : Quanto sia stata la universale alegreza
di tuto questo popolo e corte non saria possibile a dirlo. Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua.
CHARACTER OF PIUS III.
199
Pope ; the knowledge of German which he had acquired
while living in the household of Pius II. being naturally of
great assistance to him there. Afterwards, when, owing to
the influence of the nephews of Sixtus IV., a worldly spirit
predominated at the Court, he, like others of a pious and
serious turn of mind, kept away from Rome as much as
possible, and still more so in the time of Alexander VI.
Like his uncle Pius II., Cardinal Piccolomini was tormented
with gout, and was prematurely old and decrepit, although
he had led a very regular life. Sigismondo de' Conti
especially praises his scrupulous love of order. " He left
no moment in the day unoccupied ; his time for study was
before day-break, he spent his morning in prayer, and his
mid-day hours in giving audiences to which the humblest
had easy access. He was so temperate in food and drink,
that he only allowed himself an evening meal every other
day."*
* Sigismondo de' Conti, II., 291-292. Cf. Pastor, Hist. Popes,
III., 295 ; IV., 4, 180-181, 414 (Engl, transl.). On the taste for
Art displayed by Cardinal Piccolomini, see supra, p. 179, note *. As all
contemporary authorities agree in representing Pius III. as universally
held in the highest esteem as a rule, no modern writer has attempted
to impugn his character (for example, see the favourable opinions
of historians who do not readily praise a Pope, e.^., SCHR()CKH,
XXXI I., 444, and VoiGT, Pius II., I., 531). To his own discredit
Gregorovius alone, in Lucrezia Borgia, 270, states that Pius III.
is "the happy father of no fewer than twelve children, boys and
girls," but he gives no vestige of proof for his assertion. Against
Gregorovius, G. Palmieri NUTI, Lettera di Sigismondo Tizio, remarks
in 1877: k propos of Tizio's observation that Pius III. had not
squandered the patrimony of S. Peter on war or bastards : Eaproposito
di questi non so astenernii dallo estcrnarc il dubbio che, forse prcstando
troppa fede a dicerie referite da cronisti, I'illustre Gregorovius nella sua
recente pubblicazione intorno a Lucrezia Borgia abbiaattribuito addirittura
una dozzina di figli a (|uesto cardinale Piccolomini, assicuiando che di
ingrandirli e arrhichirli manc6 a lui, falto ponletice, il tempo, non
2CX) HISTORY OF THE POPES.
It is therefore not surprising that all good men were
filled with the brightest hopes. " A new light has shone
upon us," writes Peter Delphinus, the General of the
Camaldolese, " our hearts rejoice, and our eyes are filled
with tears because God our Lord has had mercy on His
people and has given them a Chief Shepherd who is a holy
man, innocent, and of untarnished name. Our deep sorrow
has been turned to joy, and a day of sunshine has followed
a night of storm. We are all filled with the highest hopes
I'intenzione. II Tizio, contemporaneo, intimo della famiglia, un po'
gattiva lingua (as he says of himself) e certo non troppo parziale di papa
Pio, perche, lo dice da se, dove partirsi di casa Piccolomini per suo
respecto, qui gli dk lode di non essersi tinto di tal pece, a quel tempi,
con scandalo universale, pur troppo commune. In spite of this, Brosch,
Julius II., 93, and, following him, Creighton, IV., 57, disregarding
altogether the testimony of Tizio, have no scruple in repeating the
serious charges made by Gregorovius without troubling themselves
about evidence at all ! In the face of such injustice it will not appear
superfluous to refer the reader to the numerous passages testifying in
favour of Cardinal Piccolomini that are to be found in Ammanati'S
letters (Epist. 462, in Pii II. Comment. [Francof, 1614], pp. Jjd-jyy)',
in Senarega, 578, and in the words used by Caspar Veronensis (1030),
who certainly is not behindhand as a rule in bringing charges against
Cardinals, but speaks of Cardinal Piccolomini as jnoribus senex. Cf.
also the expressions of his contemporaries, cited on opposite p., as well
as the testimony of the Venetian Envoy, H. Donato, in the year 1499 in
Sanuto, II., 836. The stern moraHst, Cambi, XXI., 197, calls him,
" Uomo di bona fama." So GUICCIARDINI in his St. Fiorentini (Op.
ined., III., 306), calls the Pope "uomo vecchio e di buoni costumi
qualita." Aegidius of Viterbo, the stern censor of all worldliness, says of
Pius III. : Sacri senatus lux et gloria diu habitus. Hist viginti saecul.
(Cod., c. 8, 19, fol. 312, in the Angelica Library in Rome). In order to
be sure on this point I have, through my friend A. Giorgetti, asked the
opinion of M. Bandinelli Piccolomini at Siena, the best authority on
the family history of the Piccolomini. He assures me there is no
evidence whatever for the assertion of Gregorovius ; on the contrary, he
has found in the State Archives of Siena numberless letters of contem-
porary writers all attesting the blameless reputation of Pius III.
HIS ZEAL FOR REFORM. 20I
for the reform of the Church, and the return of peace."
" God be thanked that the government of the Church has
been entrusted to such a man, who is so manifestly a
storehouse of all virtues and the abode of the Holy Spirit
of God. Under his care the Lord's vineyard will no more
bring forth thorns and thistles, but will stretch out its
fruitful branches to the ends of the earth."*
" The misery of the past, the marred countenance of the
Church, the scourge of God's righteous anger, are still
before my eyes," writes Cosimo de' Pozzi, Bishop of Arezzo,
on the 28th of September, 1502, to the newly-elected Pontiff.
" When all hope of release seemed shut away, God has
given us in you a Pope whose wisdom, culture, and learn-
ing, whose religious education and virtuous life, has filled
all good and God-fearing men with consolation. Now
we can all hope for a new era in the history of the
Church."-j-
The earliest acts of Pius III. corresponded with these
expectations. In an assembly of the Cardinals, which took
place on the 25th of September, he made it clear that his
chief aim was to be the reform of the Church and the restor-
ation of the peace of Christendom. He said the reform
must extend to the Pope himself, the Cardinals, the whole
Court and all the Papal officials, and that the Council must
be summoned to meet at the earliest date possible. The
news soon spread through all the countries of Europe, and in
Germany encouraged the Archbishop of Mayence, Berthold
von Henneberg, to draw up a memorial, setting forth the
reforms that he considered necessary for the Church in
that country.^ The Pope also made excellent regulations
* Cf. Raynaldus, ad an. 1503, and P. Delphini, Oratiunculae, p. xi.
t See Appendix, N. 15, for the original of this letter, which I found in
the Library of S. Mark at Venice.
X Dispacci di A. Giustinian, 208 ; ZURITA, V., c. 47 ; BURCHARD
202 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
for the better government of the immediate possessions of
the Holy See, and was extremely economical in his ex-
penditure.*
Pius III. was eager to secure peace at any cost, and pre-
cisely for that reason he did not succeed in doing so. The
inheritance bequeathed to him by the Borgia was of a
nature to frustrate all his endeavours. On the 26th of
September the Pope said to the Venetian Envoy, " In con-
sequence of the pressure put upon me by the Spanish
Cardinals, I have been compelled to issue some Briefs in
favour of Caesar Borgia, but 1 will not give him any further
help. I do not intend to be a warlike, but a peace-loving
Pope."f He certainly had no sympathy for the Borgia
family, especially for Caesar, and he found that the Vatican
had been robbed on all sides, and that the Apostolic
Treasury was grievously in debt. But hatred was utterly
foreign to his mild and gentle temper. " I wish no harm
to the Duke," he said, " for it is the duty of a Pope to have
loving-kindness for all, but I foresee that he will come to a
bad end by the judgment of God."J
He was not wrong in his forecast. The whole power of
the Borgia family, built up by cunning, treachery, and
bloodshed, which threatened at one time to swallow up
the States of the Church, came to an untimely end.
With the departure of the French army for Naples,
Caesar lost his last refuge. Bartolomeo d'Alviano was
hurrying from Venice with fierce threats of vengeance,
Diarium, III., 279. Cf. Raynaldus, ad an. 1503, n. 17, and Weiss,
Berthold von Henneberg, 20.
* See ^Despatches of the Mantuan Envoy, dated Rome, 5th and 9th
Oct., 1503. In the first of these he says : "Alia S^a di N. S. e a core
che le cita e terre quale sono restate alia Sede Ap. siano bene gubemate
et con justitia et integritate." Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
t Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 208-209 ; cf. Ulmann, II., 136.
\ Ibid.y II., 207.
C^SAR BORGIA RETURNS TO ROME. 203
and the Orsini and Savelli were preparing to close upon
him at once. He saw that it was impossible for him to
remain at Nepi. Not yet completely recovered from his
illness, he entreated the gentle Pius to allow him to return
to Rome. " I never thought," said the Pope to the Fer-
rarese Envoy, " that I should feel any pity for the Duke,
and yet I do most deeply pity him. The Spanish Cardi-
nals have interceded for him. They tell me he is very ill,
and wishes to come and die in Rome, and I have given
him permission."* When Caesar arrived there on the 3rd
of October his entire army had dwindled down to 650 men.
The state of his health was certainly not satisfactory, but
by no means so bad as had been represented to the
Pope. Many people in Rome, especially the Cardinals
Giuliano della Rovere and Riario, were exceedingly dis-
satisfied with Pius for having allowed him to come back.
On the 7th of October, speaking to the Venetian Envoy,
the Pope apologised for his leniency by saying, " I am neither
a saint nor an angel, but only a man, and liable to err.
I have been deceived."f
The date of the Coronation of the new Pope was
fixed for the 8th of October ; it was attended by a vast
concourse of people.^ Before the Coronation, Pius, who
hitherto had only been a deacon, received priestly and
episcopal Orders. The long ceremonies were a great
strain on the strength of the Pope, who was suffering
from gout, and had only lately undergone a painful opera-
tion on his leg. He said Mass sitting, and on account
* Despatch of Costabili of 2nd Oct. in Gregorovius, VIII., 13,
ed. 3. Cf, Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 218.
t Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 226; cf. 219, 221, and BURCHARDI
Diarium, III., 279.
X So Costabili reports in his *Lctler of 8th Oct., 1503. State
Archives, Modena.
204 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
of his weakness the formal entry into the Lateran was
put off till later.*
Although the state of the Pope's health in the next few
days got rather worse than better, he still held numerous
audiences, took counsel on the 9th of October with the
various Ambassadors, as to the measures to be adopted in
case of an invasion of the States of the Church by Barto-
lomeo d'Alviano, and held a long Consistory on the nth of
October, in which he went carefully into the questions of
the appointment of new Cardinals and the unquiet state of
the city.-f Bartolomeo d'Alviano, Giampaolo Baglione, and
many of the Orsini were there, and, together with the
Cardinals Giuliano della Rovere and Riario, were insist-
ing on the disbandment of Caesar's army ; otherwise, they
said, they would take up arms themselves. J Overtures to
the Orsini were made both by the French and the
Spaniards. With the single exception of Giovanni
Giordano they decided, out of hatred to the Duke, to treat
with the Spanish party, and allied themselves with the
Colonna. On the 12th of October the reconciliation
between these two houses, hitherto always at enmity, was
openly announced. § Caesar was now at the end of all his
resources. It was rumoured that he had fled with Cardi-
nal d'Amboise, but the latter shewed no inclination to
* On the idealised coronation of Pius III., represented later in a fresco
by Pinturicchio in Siena {cf. the inscription by Faluschi, 15), cf.
BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 280 seq. ; ^Despatch of Costabili, loth Oct.,
1 503 (State Archives, Modena) ; "^Acta Consist, in the Consistorial
Archives. On the operation that the Pope had undergone, see
Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 212, and Sigismondo DE' Conti, II.,
292.
t See Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 226, 228, and 251, and the
'^Despatch of Ghivizano of nth Oct. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
\ Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 237.
§ Ibid.^ III., 237, and BURCHARDi Diarium, III., 284.
ILLNESS OF PIUS IIL 205
draw down on himself the hatred attached to the Borgia
family, and on the 15th of October, forsaken by all, he
attempted to flee from Rome to escape the vengeance of
the Orsini. Hardly, however, had he left the precincts of
the Vatican when the greater part of his men deserted
him, and with a following of not more than seventy he
had to return to his house. The Orsini demanded that
the Pope should have him arrested, in order that he might
not elude the results of the legal proceedings about to be
instituted against him. The Venetian Ambassador de-
scribes Bartolomeo d'Alviano as raging like a mad dog ;
he had set a guard at every gate that the Duke might not
escape him.*
But the Pope was not in a state to comply with the
demands of the Orsini, for on the 13th of October he was
lying on his death-bed.-|- Hence the Orsini determined to
take the matter into their own hands, and arrest him them-
selves. Caesar fled, by means of the secret passage, to the
Castle of St. Angelo as they were storming the Borgo.
The Spanish Cardinals had planned his escape disguised as
a monk, but the Orsini had completely invested the Castle.
Here where once his enemies had trembled before him, sat
the man whose hand, a few months earlier, had been almost
within grasp of the crown of Central Italy, cowering in
hopeless terror with only two or three servants by his sidc.l
In the meantime the Pope's end was approaching. On
the 15th of October the doctors had thought his case
serious, on account of his weakness and his great age. As
the fever never for an instant left him, by the 17th his con-
dition was hopeless.§
*■ Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 237, 244-245.
t BURCHARDI Diariuni, III., 284 ; Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 240.
X Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 249.
§ In addition to Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 243, 249, c/. the
206 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
His faculties remained clear, and his mind calm. Al-
though he did not himself believe the end to be so near,
yet he received the Viaticum on the 17th of October for the
second time during his illness, and on the following night
the Sacrament of Extreme Unction. All who surrounded
him were touched and edified by his devotion.* Tranquil
and resigned, he fell iasleep on the evening of the i8th
of October.f
^Reports of Costabili of Oct. i6th (la febre non lascia el papa da veneri
in qua in modo che della vita di S. S^^ se ne dubita per le medici
grandemente) and 17th (State Archives, Modena), and G. L. Cataneo's
■^Report of 1 6th Oct. (El papa e pegiorato), as well as two ^Despatches
from him of the 1 7th Oct. (El papa e abandonato in tuto de salute, and
El papa e abandonato da tuti de la vita sua). Gonzaga Archives,
Mantua.
* Dispaccidi A. Giustinian, II., 252 ; Burchardi Diarium, III., 285.
t Authorities differ as to the exact hour of his death. Ghivizano and
G. L. Cataneo in their "^Despatches of i8th Oct. (Gonzaga Archives,
Mantua) say eight o'clock. Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 253 ; BUR-
CHARDI Diarium, III., 285, and the Notar de Masiis in GORI, Archivio,
IV., 244 (with a wrong date), say ten o'clock. The statement of
Malavolti, Istoria de' Sanesi, VIII., 3, that Pope Pius III. was poisoned
by Pandolfo Petrucci of Siena, is given also in a contemporary Chionicle,
Cod., LI 1 1., 12, in the Barberini Library in Rome, but without the name
of the murderer. NOVAES, VI., 130, is inclined to give credit to this,
but against it we have the fact that none of the Ambassadors who were
in Rome at the time mention it Cf. Petrucelli della Gattina,
I., 455. Pius III. was buried next to Pius II., near the Chapel of
S. Andrew in S. Peter's. His brothers Giacomo and Andrea had a dispute
about the funeral expenses. (Cf. the document in PiCCOLOMlNl, Docu-
menti, 39-43.) When the Basilica was rebuilt under Paul V., Cardinal
Alessandro Montalto had the tomb removed to S. Andiea della VaUe,
where it was placed opposite to that of Pius II. (SiGiSMONDO de'
CONTI, II., 293-325 ; Mai, Spicil., IX., 263.) The pompous inscription
is of a later date. In his will Piccolomini had left a very simple and
modest epitaph. See PiCCOLOMlNl, Documenti, 41, n. 2. Also see
p. 20 about the beautiful ring possessed by Pius III. which now belongs
to Prince Corsini and is preserved in the National Museum at Florence.
DEATH OF PIUS III. 207
" The death of this Pope," wrote the Ambassador of
Ferrara on 19th October, " will be lamented at all the courts
of Europe, for he was by universal consent held to be good,
prudent, and pious. In spite of the rainy weather at the
time all Rome hastened to kiss the feet of the dead Pope,
whose features were quite unaltered. People think that he
died of the labours of the Pontificate, which were too heavy
for his already enfeebled health. The night before his
election he did not sleep at all, and since then he has
had no rest. He was continually giving audience to the
Cardinals ; then came the fatiguing ceremonies of his con-
secration and coronation. On the previous Wednesday a
long Consistory was held, the Pope remaining con-
scientiously to the end. On the Friday he gave some very
long audiences ; kept the abstinence and ate fish, although
he had taken medicine only the day before. Then he
got the fever, which never left him till he died." * As the
Siennese, Sigismondo Tizio, says, "The death of Pius III.
was a great loss to the Church, to the city of Rome, and
to us all, but perhaps we deserved no less for our sins." f
"We hear of nothing but the election of the new Pope,"
wrote the Mantuan Ambassador on the day of Pius II I. 's
death, " but it is very difficult to say which name will
come out of the urn." J Eight days later the question
was decided.
He left 100 ducats, 300 volumes of his libraiy, and the chalice which
when Pope he had used ever>' day, to the Geniian Hospice del Aninia.
KiRCHBAUMER, 19-20.
* See Appendix, N. 16, the ^Report of Costabili of 19th Oct., 1503, in
the State Archives, Modena. Cf. also the ^Despatch of (Ihivizano of
15th Oct., 1503. Every one at the Court lamented la morte e perdita
de un tanto homo dal quale si sperava grand'" bene per s^ chiesa.
Gonzaga Archives, Mantua,
t NUTI, Lettera di Sigismondi Tizio, 1 5,
X Qui non si attende altro cha a le pratiche del nuovo pontefice ; mal
208 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Burchard relates that one Sunday, the 29th of October,
1503, Cardinal Giulianodella Rovere and the other Spanish
Cardinals with Caesar Borgia assembled in the Papal Palace,
and drew up an Election-capitulation in which, among other
things, Cardinal Giuliano undertook if he were made Pope
to appoint Caesar standard-bearer to the Church, and to
allow him to retain all his possessions, Caesar on his part
undertaking to support the Pope in all things. All the
Spanish Cardinals promised to vote for Giuliano at the
election.*
Thus, by means of Caesar's help, against whom the Orsini
now no longer dared to attempt anything, and supported
by the Spanish Cardinals, Giuliano, according to the best
informed diplomatists, was nearer than ever to attaining
the highest dignity.f All that was now needed was to
se po indicare in che mon il debba caschare. Hozi questi Te\^ cardinal
fanno congregatione in S. Petro ; se extima se afrezarano presto per far
un novo papa. Despatch of Ghivizano, Rome, i8th Oct, 1503. Gon-
zaga Archives, Mantua.
* BURCHARDI Diarium, HI., 293. See also the Despatch of Machia-
velli of 4di Nov., 1503. Cf. Opere ed. Passerini, II. , 214; Dispacci di
A. Giustinian, II., 271; and Leopardi, Bonafede, p. 58 seg'. The
■^Despatches of the Ferrarese Envoy Costabili are also interesting. On
2 1 St Oct., 1503, he writes: "The Spanish Cardinals do not intend to
be poor when they come out of the Conclave." On 24th Oct. : "Va
crescendo la opinione per S. Petro in vincula il quale fa ogni cosa per
havere per se Spagnoli. Napoli anchora e in miglior opinione al pre-
sente del solito. De Ascanio ancora se judica bene. Tutta volta qui se
dice per proverbio : Chi intra in conclavi papa, ne esce cardinale." On
26th Oct. : Attendono ale pratiche del papato maxime Rohano, Napoli.
S. Petro, S. Praxede Ascanio. (State Archives, Modena.) Ghivizano
writes on 29th Oct., 1503 : *I1 rev. S. Petro ad vincula me pare anchor
lui esser in bonissima disposition, ma starsene pare piu sobrio e cum
animo piu altero secondo il solito suo. And in a second letter on the
same day, *Domani intrano in conclavi ; extimase S. Petro ad vincula
intrarli papa, se non lui S. Praxedia. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
t Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II, ,271. Costabili also says in a
PROSPECTS OF THE ELECTION. 2O9
secure the majority of two-thirds. Giuliano, whom the
popular voice seemed to indicate as the only possible Pope,
was as unscrupulous as any of his colleagues in the means
which he employed.* Where promises and persuasions
were unavailing, he did not hesitate to have recourse to
bribery.-f
Before the Conclave began Giuliano already had on his
side the majority of the Italian Cardinals, the Venetians
in compliance with the wishes of their government,
Caesar Borgia, and the Spaniards, and, what was still more
important,! the French party and d'Amboise with them,
who before had threatened to create a schism, yet now,
like Ascanio Sforza, turned to adore the rising sun.§
^Despatch of 30th Oct., 1503, "Giuliano will certainly be Pope, for he
has gained the Spaniards." State Archives, Modena.
* Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 255, 262, and Machiavelli's Despatch
of 30th Oct. C/. Heidenheimer, 14.
t Sagmuller, 133, says it seems probable that the election of
Julius II. was simoniacal ; I should say rather it was certain. The
Ferrarese Envoy Costabili, in his '^Despatch of ist Nov., 1503 (vState
Archives, Modena, French translation in Petrucelli, I., 464), makes
this more clear than A. Giustinian and Machiavelli, as he furnishes the
exact amounts of the bribes given to the different electors. C/. also the
^Despatch of Costabili of 30th Oct., cited supra. There is no
doubt that what Priuli says of the bribing of the Spanish Cardinals is
true. See Gregorovius, VIII., 17, ed. 3, dXso supra. But the report
of Cardinal Adriano da Corneto to Henry VII., 4th Jan., 1504
(Gairdner, II., 112), which says that very few of the electors were
quite unimpeachable in the matter, is more universally received. Of
the innumerable promises made by Giuliano, Costabili writes in a
■'^'Despatch (partly in cypher) of 8th Nov., 1503, (Rohano) poi me
subiunse formaliter credo che S. S'a (in cypher) habi promcsso tanto in
questa sua electione (cypher) che h' haria da fare asai ad obscrvalo.
State Archives, Modena.
X Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 276. C/. TOMMASINI, Machiavelli, 288.
§ Cf. Ibid.., II., 258, 271, and, corroborating him, Machiavelli. Sec
Heidenheimer, 12.
VOL. VI. P
2IO HISTORY OF THE POPES.
When, on the 30th of October, the Orsini and Savelli had
been induced to withdraw from Rome, the preparations for
the Conclave were complete and it began on the following
day. On the 31st of October, Giuliano, with thirty-seven
other Cardinals,* entered it, practically as Pope-elect. f Not
many hours later his election was an accomplished fact,
and on the following morning, ist November, the de-
cision of the Conclave, which had been the shortest
known in all the long history of the Papacy, was formally
announced.^
Contemporary writers without exception express the
greatest astonishment at the almost unanimous election of
one who, like Giuliano, was hated by many and feared by
all.§ Sigismondo de' Conti notices as a curious fact that
the second successor of Alexander VI. was a Cardinal who
had been persecuted by the Borgia. || The Roman people
accorded a hearty welcome to the new Pope, who took
the title of Julius II., and still greater was the rejoicing
* See BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 291. According to this, Reumont,
II., 8, andVlLLARl, Machiavelli, I., 388, who give thirty-five, are in error,
as also CiPOLLA, 796, and Brosch, 97, who give thirty-six as the number.
t Tommaso Foschi writes in a "^Letter, dated 31st Oct., 1503 : Quella
si tegno per firmo che sel conclavi dura oltra dui di le cose del Vincula
haveranno garbuglio perche del mo[mento] che lo h intrato in conclavi
ogni homo tenue per certo che al primo scrutinio lo habbia ad esser
electo et bene valeat Ex. V. State Archives, Modena,
t BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 294 se^. ; SiGlSMONDO DE' CONTi, II.,
294 scg. ; Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 273-275 ; and *Acta Consist.,
f. 16. (Consistorial Archives of the Vatican.) All the Envoys forwarded
their reports on 31st Oct. ; both Giustinian and Ghivizano wrote to the
Marquess of Mantua. The latter says : "^A questhora che sono cinque
S. Petro in vincula he stato publicato papa Julio secondo el quale intro
fato in conclavi. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
§ P. Delphini, Oratiunculae, XVIII., should be added to the list in
Heidenheimer, Machiavelli, 13-14.
II Sigismondo de' Conti, II., 293.
ELECTION OF GIULIANO DELLA ROVERE. 211
in Liguria, his native province.* Francesco Guidiccioni,
writing on 2nd November, 1503, from Rome to Ferrara,
says: "People here expect the reign of Julius II. to be
glorious, peaceful, genial, and free-handed. The Roman
people, usually so addicted to plunder, are behaving so
quietly that every one is in astonishment. We have a
Pope who will be both loved and feared." f
After his election the Pope confirmed once more the
Election-capitulation. Amongst its conditions were the
prosecution of the war against the Turks, and the restora-
tion of discipline in the Church. To this end it stipulated
that a General Council should be summoned within two
years, that the Pope should not make war against any of
the Powers without theconsentof two-thirds of the Cardinals,
and that the Sacred College should be consulted on all
important occasions, especially in the choice of new
Cardinals. In order to secure the freedom and safety
of the next Council the place of meeting was to be
determined by the Pope and two-thirds of the Cardinals,
and in case any hindrance to its meeting should be
alleged, this must be proved to the satisfaction of a similar
majority.^
The motives of the Cardinals in framing this capitulation,
which so unduly and unlawfully limited the rights of the
* Senarega, 578; Olivieri, Carte, p. i, Stor. Genovese, 9; Atti di
Soc. Savon., I., 437 seq., 452. See also p. 434 seq.^ 440 seq.^ 44S on
the Pope's affection for his native province.
t *Vienne extimato sara lo suo pontificato molto glorioso, pacifico et
ameno et non meno liberale. Questo populo assueto ad latrocinii et
rubarie tanto modificatemente se ne h deputato che h una maraviglia, Lo
ameranno et temeranno parimente. State Archives, Modcna.
\ Raynaldus, ad an. 1503, n. 3-9; Hergenrothkr, VIII., 396.
SCHEUKRL, in his Chronicle, states that the Election-capitulation was
communicated to all the Princes of Christendom. IIoFLER, Zur Krilik,
II., 59.
212 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Pope, were no purer than formerly.* Certain of its pro-
visions, as for example the one requiring the consent of
two-thirds of the Cardinals before a declaration of war, were
utterly unreasonable and impracticable, as a glance at the
political state of Italy at the time will shew. In the South,
Spain had taken possession of Naples and Sicily ; in the
North, France was constantly struggling to extend her
influence, while Venice at the same time was attacking
the possessions of the Holy See in the Romagna. *' Both
as a Pope and as an Italian, Julius II. found himself in a
most difficult position. To remain a passive spectator of
this scene of seething confusion would have been a clear
dereliction of duty in a ruler and still more in a Pope, To
prevent himself from being overwhelmed by circumstances
and falling helplessly into the clutches of one or other of
the great Powers, it was indispensable that Julius should
act at once and with decision, and if necessary take the
sword into his own hands ; " f and for this he was admirably
fitted.
The Pope's countrymen were wont to say that he had
the soul of an Emperor,J and his outward appearance was
distinguished, grave, and dignified. The deep-set eager
eyes, compressed lips, pronounced nose, and massive,
rather than handsome head, denoted a strongly-marked
and powerful personality.! His scanty hair was nearly
white, but the fire of youth glowed beneath the snows of
age. From his florid complexion and erect carriage, no
* Cf. Vol. IV., 9-10, of this work.
t Rohrbacher-Knopfler, 287.
X Caesareus animus, he is called, in the Letter of congratulation on
his election from Genoa, printed in the Atti d. Soc. Sav., I., 437.
§ On the medal portraits of Julius II., see Jahrb. der Preussischen
Kunstsammlungen, II., 8-9 ; III., 140. There are excellent reproduc-
tions of the medal of Caradosso in " Le Vatican." On the portrait by
Raphael, see infra, Chap. 10.
CHARACTER OF THE NEW POPE. 213
one would have guessed that the new Pope was already on
the threshold of old age. Still less was there any trace of
declining years in his general demeanour. Restless, and
ever in motion,* ceaselessly active and perpetually occupied
with some great design, self-willed and passionate f to the
highest degree, he was often extremely trying to those who
were brought in contact with him.
The Venetian Ambassadors speak of the Pope as
extremely acute, but terribly violent and difficult to deal
with. " He has not the patience to listen quietly to what
you say to him, and to take men as he finds them. But
those who know how to manage him, and whom he trusts,
say that his will is always good. No one has any influence
over him, and he consults few, or none.ij: One cannot count
upon him, for he changes his mind from hour to hour.
Anything that he has been thinking of overnight has to
be carried out immediately the next morning, and he
insists on doing everything himself. It is almost im-
possible to describe how strong and violent and difficult to
manage he is. In body and soul he has the nature of a
giant. § Everything about him is on a magnified scale,
•'^ See Paris de Grassis in Raynaldus, ad an. 15 12, n. 38.
f Cf. SanUTO, II., 730 ; VII., 32 ; PARIS DE GrasSIS, 280, ed Frati.
Ariosto, who was in danger of being included in the wTath of Pope
Julius II. against the Duke of Ferrara, playfully alludes to this in the
well-known verses of his first satire : —
Andar piu a Roma in posta non accade,
A placar la grand' ira di Secondo,
X P. Capello in his narrative of the year 15 10 in Sanuto, X., 73.
Cf. Grumello, 130.
§ See the extracts from the Reports of the Venetian Ambassador, G.
Lippomano, and of P. Capello in SanUTO, XI., 722, 725, 729, 730,
741, 746, 772-773, 781, 843 ; XIIm '2, 32 ; XIV., 482. Cf. the Report
of the Orvieto Envoy in FUMI, Carteggio, 151, and D. Trevizano's
214 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
both his undertakings and passions. His impetuosity and
his temper annoy those who Hve with him, but he inspires
fear rather than hatred, for there is nothing in him that is
small or meanly selfish."* Everything had to bow to his
iron will, even his own poor gout-tormented body. " He
had no moderation either in will or conception ; whatever
was in his mind must be carried through, even if he him-
self were to perish in the attempt."-]-
The impression produced on his contemporaries by this
mighty scion of the Renaissance is summarised by them in
the Italian word " terribile," which could only be rendered
in English by a string of adjectives.^ Julius H. applied
narrative of the year 1510, modernised and not always quite accurate, in
Alberi, 2 Serie, III., 29 seq. It is better given in Sanuto, X., 'j'j seq.
The description of Julius II. here is : " II papa e sagaze, gran pratichon,
a anni 65, a mal vechio, e gote tamen e prosperoso, fa gran faticha,
niun pol con lui, aide tutti, ma far quello li par. £ venuto {sic)
e di la bocha e di altro per voler viver piu moderato. Instead of e
venuto Alberi writes, e ritenuto \ Ranke (Lives of the Popes, Vol. III.,
App. 8, ed. 6). ^ tenufo, as he remarks, " I understand that people think
it would be better if he were more moderate in eating and drinking and
in every other respect."
* Springer, Rafael und Michelangelo, loi. C/. Inghirami in Fea,
Notizie, 54.
t MOCENIGO, Lib. IV.; Havemann, II., 349. On his gout see Paris
DE Grassis, 369, ed. Dollinger.
X The common translation of " terribile," " fearful " (given in Reumont,
III., 2, 388) is not correct. GRIMM, Michaelangelo, II., 532, ed. 5, says
truly that Vasari in the adjective _/?^ri? means to give the impression of
something out of the common ; " there is no question of good or bad in
the matter, but just as with the word terribile used by him with the same
meaning, and really as the superlative of fiero^ he intends to imply that
which creates astonishment by its mighty individuality." Cf. Vischer,
Signorelli, 200 seq. Gregorovius, VIII., no, ed. 3, had already re-
marked, " This Pope is, as a man, one of the most original figures in the
Renaissance period, so rich in powerful personalities." "The word
Italians have for such natures is terribile. It is magnanimo with the
HIS COURAGE AND STRENGTH OF WILL. 21 5
this term himself to Michael Angelo, but it suits the Pope
quite as well as the painter. Both were extraordinary and
Titanic natures, in stature beyond that of ordinary men,
and such as no other age has produced. Both possessed
an unusual strength of will, indomitable courage and
perseverance, and great strategic abilities.
The life of Julius II. had hitherto been one of incessant
combat and hard work, and these things had become
necessary to him. He belonged to that class of men who
cannot rest, whose natural element is perpetual activity.
At the same time, he was by no means unsusceptible to
feelings of a gentler kind. He was deeply affected and
shed tears as he watched the funeral procession of his sister
Lucchina in May, 1509*
Julius II. can only be called a diplomatist by using the
word in a very restricted sense. If he did not altogether
despise the arts of statecraft so universally practised in his
day, and could at a pinch resort to dissimulation,^ he was
by nature sincere and plain-spoken, and often his language
overstepped all due bounds in its rudeness and violence.
This fault increased perceptibly as he grew older. J In the
beginning of his Pontificate he was able to restrain his
expressions within the limits of diplomatic form ; later on,
in speaking of the Emperor Maximilian, he permitted him-
self to use the most contemptuous and injurious terms
without the least reserve. § Disguise of any kind was
added meaning of strong personality." I found the expression terribile
used of Julius II., and most frequently in the Reports of the Venetian
Ambassador, G. Lippomano, in Sanuto, XL, 725 (a cuor e animo
terribile). 772 (a cuor terribile in ogni casso), 778 (non stima ni fredo
ni neve ; natura terribile).
♦ Paris de Grassis, 390, ed. DoUinger ; cf. 386.
t Cf, infra, Chaps. 2 and 7.
X Maulde, La Diplomatie, III., 21 seq.
§ See the Venetian Reports in Sanuto, X., 79 (I'imperador lo slima
2l6 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
contrary to his nature. Any idea which laid hold of his
mind engrossed him entirely ; you could see it in his face,
his lips quivered to utter it. " It will kill me," he would
say, "if I don't let it out."*
Paris de Grassis, his Master of Ceremonies, who has
handed on to us so many characteristic features of his
master's life, says that he hardly ever jested.f He was
generally absorbed in deep and silent thought, and thus
Raphael has painted him. The plans concocted in these
uncommunicative hours were announced with volcanic
abruptness and carried out with iron determination. His
bitterest opponents could not deny his greatness — he was a
man of spontaneous impulses carrying everything before
them, himself and others, a true Roman.
Doubtless such a nature was in itself more suited to be a
King or a warrior, than a priest, " but he was the right Pope
for that time, to save Rome from becoming a second
Avignon with all its disastrous consequences for the
Church. " I
To Julius n. the restoration, consolidation, and ex-
tension of the temporal possessions of the Church pre-
sented itself as the prime necessity of the moment, and
to this he devoted himself with all the energy of his
choleric temperament and strong practical genius. A
new monarchy must be created which should command
respect abroad, be the rallying point of the Italian
States, and secure the freedom and independence of the
Church. The Pope must no longer be dependent upon
infantem nudum) and p. 72 (dice 6 una bestia, merita piu presto esser
recto e rezudo che rezer altri).
■^ Ranke, Rom. und Germ. Volker, 214, to which we may add the
powerful description of him by Carpesanus, V., 19.
t Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 261.
X Rohrbacher-Knopfler, 287.
JULIUS II. THE "SAVIOUR OF THE PAPACY." 217
the support of this Power or that, but must be able himself
to control the political situation.*
The aim which he set before himself from the first
was to revive the temporal power of the Papacy, and
to establish the independence of the Holy See on a firm
basis by the creation of a strong ecclesiastical State.
Fearlessly confronting the hindrances which the evil
rule of the Borgia had put in his way, shrinking from no
sacrifices, and ready to employ any means, he threw the
whole strength of his will into this one endeavour. This
he pursued with unwearied persistence and clear insight
to his very last breath, and thus became the '' Saviour of
the Papacy.'' f
Even Guicciardini, much as he hated the state policy
of Julius II., is forced to admit that he had no private
or selfish desires.J " Although in his youth he had lived
very much as the other prelates of that day did, and was
by no means scrupulous, he devoted himself to the exalta-
tion and welfare of the Church with a whole-hearted ness
and courage which were very rare in the age in which
he was born. Without neglecting his relations, he never
sacrificed the interests of either the State or the Church
to them, or carried his nepotism beyond due bounds.
In all his ways and aims, as well as in his stormy and
fervid character, he was the exact contrary of the
Borgia." §
His dislike of this family was so strong that on the
26th of November, 1507, he announced that he would no
longer inhabit the Appartamento Borgia, as he could not
* II papa vol esser il dominus e maistro dil mondo, says Trevisano
in his narrative of the year 15 10 in Sanuto, X., 80.
+ See BURCKHARDT, Cultur, I., Ill, ed. 3.
X Guicciardini, XL, c. 4.
§ Villari, Machiavelli, I., 389. Cf. Springer, 10 i.
2l8 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
bear to be constantly reminded by the fresco portraits of
Alexander of " those Maranas of cursed memory," * The
Bull in which, in the year 1504, Julius II. took the
Duchy of Sermoneta away from Rodrigo Borgia and
restored it to the Gaetani, contains even more severe
language than this in condemnation of his predecessor.
In the same year he reinvested Giovanni Sforza, who had
returned to Pesaro immediately after xAilexander's death,
with the fiefdom of that place. He also gave back their
castles to the Colonna and Orsini.f
The contrast between Julius II. and Alexander is
equally manifest in the way in which the former treated
his relations. He wholly repudiated the system of
nepotism, and though he was not free from a natural
partiality for his own blood, comparatively speaking he
did very little for them. Even on his death-bed he steadily
refused to admit a near kinsman to the College of
Cardinals, whom he did not consider worthy. " His
nephew Francesco Maria was heir presumptive of Urbino
and to him he granted, with the consent of the College
of Cardinals, the Vicariate of Pesaro, formerly a fief of
the Sforzas (Giovanni Sforza died in 15 10), and this was
the only portion of the States which he ever withdrew
from the immediate rule of the Holy See."J On the
* Paris de Grassis, 383, ed. DoUinger. Cf. Muntz, Les Historiens
de Raphael, 131-132. Yriarte, Autour des Borgia, 72, thinks that
De Grassis lays too much stress on this incident.
t Gregorovius, VIII., 397-398, ed. 3, with the correction in
Balan, v., 442. See also Ratti, I., 164.
% Reumont, III., 2,44 ; Ratti, I., 169 seq. ; cf. Creighton, IV., 71.
Machiavelli says of Julius II. (Principe, c. 11): fece ogni cosa per
acrescere la Chiesa, non alcun privato. Brosch does not altogether
exonerate Julius II. from nepotism, but here again he exaggerates. Cf.
TOMMASINI, Machiavelli, I., 323. Besides, Brosch admits in another
place (p. 113) that Julius was more moderate in the favours shewn to his
HIS FREEDOM FROM NEPOTISM. 219
2nd of March, 1505, Francesco Maria was married by pro-
curation to Leonora, daughter of the Marquess Francesco
Gonzaga. JuHus took no part in the wedding festivities
at the Vatican, excusing himself on the ground of
decorum.*
Out of the twenty-seven Cardinals whom Julius II.
created, only a very small number were relations of his
own, and none of these had any influence, although the
Pope was extremely fond of Galeotto della Rovere. This
Cardinal was a man of refined culture, the son of the
Pope's sister Lucchina by her first marriage with
Franciotto of Lucca. He was raised to the Cardina-
late on the 29th of November, 1503. At the same time
Francois Guillaume de Clermont, Archbishop of Auch,
Juan de Zuniga, and Clemente Grosso della Rovere were
nominated.-]- Galeotto, who was Vice - Chancellor from
1505, held a large number of benefices in accordance
with the evil custom of the times, " but he made a noble
use of his large revenues." Artists and men of learning
found in him a most generous patron.J " He understood
relations than was customary at the time. In contradiction to the
exaggerations of Brosch, his critic in the article in the Allg. Zeitung
(1878), No. 73, Suppl, remarks justly that Juhus II. always acted prima-
rily in the interests of the Papal Chair.
* Gregorovius,VIII., 39, ed. 3 ; cf. Luzio, Mantova e Urbino, 157,
164.
t On the creation of Cardinals of 29th Nov., 1503 (not 22nd Nov.
as Paris de Grassis says in Raynaldus, ad an. 1 503, n. 20), see *Acta
Consist., f. 16 (Consistorial Archives of the Vatican); BURCHARDI
Diarium, III., 309, 311 ; Cardella, 307 seq. With the ♦Letter of
Francesco Guidiccioni, dated Rome, 29th Nov., 1503, cf. the ♦Report
of Costabili of 4th Dec, 1503, both in the State Archives, Modena.
The Cardinal's hat was given to Zuniga on the 24th of Feb., 1504.
See the ♦Brief of that date to him in ♦Lib. brev. 22, f. 25. Secret
Archives of the Vatican.
X Gregorovius, VIII. , 40, ed. 3 Cf. Ciaconius, III., 252 scq.\
220 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
how to soothe his uncle in his violent moods by his tact
and gentleness." He was an intimate friend of Cardinal
Medici (afterwards Leo X.), whose tastes were similar to his
own, and who, even as Cardinal, was lavish in his liberality
to artists and scholars.*
The second nomination of Cardinals under Julius II.
was preceded by tedious negotiations, for the majority
of the College, from self-interested motives, did not wish
their number to be increased.f The Pope, however,
insisted, and the Cardinals then endeavoured to persuade
him at least to defer it.J But Julius held that it was
absolutely necessary to fill up the vacancies, as in the
year 1504 alone six had died.§ The College still con-
tinued its resistance, but the Envoys were convinced that
the Pope would conquer. They thought the creation
would take place on the 28th of November, 1505. II
On the 1st December, after a long and stormy discussion,
the Consistory having lasted eight hours, Julius carried his
point so far as to have it arranged that in the approach-
L. DE ViLLENEUVE, Recherches sur la famille de la Rovere. Contribu-
tion pour servir a I'histoire du P. Jules II., 42 seq.^ 68 seq. (Rome, 1887) ;
Ambrosius, B. Mantuanus, 78; ClAN, Cortegiano, 180; Giom. dL
Lett. Ital, IX., 115. The lucrative and important office of Vice-
Chancellor (see Vol. III. of this work, p. 459) was given to Galeotto
after the death of Ascanio Sforza in June 1505. See "^Lib. brev. 22,
f 330^- (Secret Archives of the Vatican.) Galeotto was also made
Legate of Bologna, Cf. the "^Letter of Julius II. to Bologna, dated
Rome, 26th May, 1 504. State Archives, Bologna.
* Albertini, VI I I.-IX, ed. Schmarsow. Further particulars of Leo X
as a patron of Art will be found in our forthcoming vol.
t Dispacci di A. Giustinian, III., 287, 305, 309, 413, 462.
X See "^Consistoralia Raph. Riarii Card. s. Georgii in Cod. J., III.,
89, f. 'j'j^ in the Chigi Library.
§ Panvinius, 348, 349.
II Brognolo's "^Despatch, dat. Rome, 28th Nov., 1505. Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua.
CREATION OF CARDINALS. 221
ing Ember week nine out of ten candidates whom he had
proposed should receive the Red-hat.* The official nomina-
tion and publication took place in the Consistory of the
1 2th of November.f
The new Cardinals were : Marco Vigerio, Bishop of Sini-
gaglia ; Robert Challand, Bishop of Rennes, and French
Ambassador in Rome; Leonardo Grosso della Rovere, the
brother of Cardinal Clementi ; Antonio Ferreri, Bishop of
Gubbio ; Francesco Alidosi, Bishop of Pavia ; Gabriello dei
Gabrielli, Bishop of Urbino ; Fazio Santori, Bishop of
Cesena ; Carlo Domenico di Carretto, Count of Finale ; and
Sigismondo Gonzaga. With the exception of the last
* BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 408 seg^.; Paris de Grassis in Raynald-
us, ad an. 1505, n. 41-42, and Bollinger's edition, 368 seg. See also,
p. 371. the story of how J. Burchard tried by trickery to get made a
Cardinal. Grassis is, however, so very bitter against Burchard {od. 26th
May, 1 506), and speaks against him so much, that what he says is not to
be trusted. See, further, *Acta Consist, f. 18, here the names are given
of the twenty-five Cardinals who at last gave their consent to the new
creation. (Consistorial Archives of the Vatican) ; Sanuto, VI., 252,
262, 265 seg., 268, 269 ; SiGlSMONDO DE' CONTI, II., 342 seg.; Report
of the Ferrarese Embassy, Rome, 4th Dec, 1505 (State Archives,
Modena) ; Scheurl, Briefbuch,, 1 1 seg. ; Alidosi's Letter in Fanti,
Imola, 12-13. Girolamo Arsago in a ^Letter dated Rome, 24th Nov.,
1505, privately sent to F. Gonzaga a list of those who were to be
made Cardinals at Christmas. Brognolo in a ^Despatch of ist Dec,
mentions the nomination of Sigismondo Gonzaga. (Both letters are in
the Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.) There is also a ^Letter of congratula-
tion from " Cardinal S. Praxedis " to the Marquess, dat. Romae in aedibus
nostris Campi Martii, ist Dec, 1505. The Pope himself, in a *Letter
written on ist Dec to the Duke of Urbino, mentions the nomination of
Sigismondo. ^Lib. brev. 22, f 410. C/. also Appendix, Nos. 47, 40, the
two ^Briefs of ist and 24th Dec, 1 505, to Queen Anne of France. Secret
Archives of the Vatican.
+ Paris de Grassis in Raynaldus, ad an. 1505, n. 43 ; Burchardi
Diarium, III., 409 seg.; *Acta Consist., f 18. Cardeixa, 311, says i ith
of Dec.
222 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
named, they were all in Rome at the time, and on the 17th
of December they each received their hats and titular
churches.* The ascendency of Julius II. over the Cardinals
was now secured, although all opposition was not wholly
overcome till somewhat later.j-
To the great grief of the Pope and the Roman people,
Galeotto della Rovere died on the nth September, 1508.
Julius transferred his Cardinal's hat and all his benefices to
Sixtus Gara della Rovere,J Galeotto's half-brother, who un-
happily was far from resembling him in character, either
intellectually or morally.§
Besides these three creations, Julius II. in the year 1507
nominated four Cardinals, eight in 151 1, and one in 15 12,
but none of these were in any way related to him.|| Thus
the historian of the city of Rome only states the exact truth
when he says, " Alexander VI. aimed at nothing but the
aggrandisement of his children; the one care of Julius II.
was to build up the States of the Church, he spent nothing
on his nephews.^ll He was also moderate in his personal
* BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 410 se^.; Sanuto, VI., 272; ^Acta
Consist., /oc. cit. Undoubtedly, S. Gonzaga (see Vol. V. of this work,
p. 171) and F. Alidosi were unworthy of the dignity conferred on them.
G. de GabrieUi, on the contrary, was an excellent man. See Amiani,
II., 93^^^.
t II papa si fa temer e la fa imperiose, writes the Venetian Ambassador.
Sanuto, VI., 269.
X Paris de Grassis, 385-386, Bollinger's edition ; Sanuto, VII.,
629, 632, 639; Cardella, 339 seq.; and in Appendix, N. 79, Cos-
tabili's Report of nth Sept., 1508. State Archives, Modena.
§ Gregorovius, VIII., 41, ed. 3.
II The particulars of these nominations will be found infra^ in Chaps.
3 and 5. On the further development of the rights of option of the
Cardinals since the time of Julius II., see O. Panvinius, De episco-
palibus titulis et diaconiis cardinalium, 42 seq. Paris., 1609.
IF Gregorovius, VI 1 1., 41, ed. 3. Cf. Rohrbacher-Knopfler,
287-288.
ECONOMY OF JULIUS II. 223
expenditure, though he kept a better table than Alexander
VI.; the monthly bill for this was between 2000 and 3000
ducats, that of his successor was 8000.* His expenditure
for plate was by no means extravagant.f
Julius II. was so economical in his house-keeping J that he
was, quite unjustly, accused by many of being a miser.§
It is quite true that he was very careful to keep his treasury
always well filled.|| He quite realised the futility of any
pretensions that had not physical force to back them, and
knew that an efficient army meant plenty of money.lF In
the beginning of his reign, Julius II. had great financial
difficulties to contend with, in consequence of the extrava-
gance of his predecessor. He had to borrow money, and
to pay Alexander's debts, even down to the medicine which
he had required in his last illness.**
* For particulars on this point see Gregorovius in Sybels Hist.
Zeitschr., XXXVI. , 158, 162 seg., founded on the account-books in the
Roman State Archives. I found here disbursements for wine, which
seldom appear in the household expenses of the earlier Popes. He pre-
ferred foreign wines, Levantine and Corsican. That he was addicted to
drink is an invention of his political enemies.
t Reumont, III., 2, 48.
I Sanuto, X., 80.
§ When it was a question of Art or of the dignity of his position, Julius
II. never grudged expense. On his very costly mitre, see Paris de
Grassis, 415, ed. Bollinger, and LuziO, F. Gonzaga, 21.
II On the financial policy of Julius II., c/. COPPI, Discorso sulle finanze
dello stato ponteficio dal sec. xvi., etc. (Roma, 1855 [Opusculi, II.]),
I seg.; Reumont, III., 2, 47 seg. ; Gottlob, Cam. Ap., 276 stg. ;
Ranke, I., 268 seg.y ed- 6.
IT Creighton, IV., 73.
** Paulus Sauli (depositarius) lent to the Treasury sede vacante per
obitum Pii III. on a bond from the notary. of the treasury, Bonif. de
Montefalco, endorsed by the Cardinals Neapolitanus, Alexandrinus, and
the Treasurer, 7289 due. de camera, 64 bol. *Introit. et exilus, vol. 535,
f. 156. Heinricus Fucher (Fugger) et fratres mcrcatores alanianni hail
224 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Some of the means which he adopted for the replenish-
ment of his treasury were of a very objectionable kind.
His subjects were certainly not oppressed with taxation,
but it cannot be denied that he not only sold offices * but
also benefices.-]- This formed a serious hindrance to the
reform which was so much needed ; for if that were carried
out, it would mean the abolition of all such sales. It is
true that under Julius II. the money was employed for the
interests of the Church, and not for the enrichment of his
family ; but this is no justification for persistence in simony.
The complaints of contemporaries both in Italy and abroad
shew how strongly this abuse was resented.J Another
great evil was that grants of occasional Indulgences were
so often employed as a means of obtaining money. In the
lent in assumptione Pii III. universis conclavistis 2570 due. auri. On
7th March, 1 504, they received from the Apostolical Treasury, 3480 due.
de camera, 13 bol. "^Exitus, vol. 535, f. 167. Julius II. on the day of his
Coronation gave to " diversis personis" 56 due. 68 bol., and again 747
due. 36 bol., which he borrowed from the Treasurer, Raffaele Riario.
*ExituSj vol. 535, f. 155b. "Pro suis et sedis apostolice necessitatibus,"
he took from the Treasury on 19th Januaiy, 1504, 5416 due. 48 bol., on
ist February, 20,312 due. 36 bol., on 29th June, 18 14 due. 42 bol., etc.
(see *Exitus, vol. 535, f. 158^^, 161, 201), and also in the following years
large sums under the same title. At first there are many entries for
the discharge of debts, later for troops. "^Exitus, vol. 535, f. 182 : Dicta
die (seiL 14 Mai, 1505) solvit (seil. thesaurius) floren. centum septuaginta
sex .... Lueretie uxori Franeisei de Montepuleiano aromatario (!) pro
diversis aromatis et medicis (!) datis fe. re. pape Alexandro, ut apparet ex
computo dato in camera apostoliea. Secret Archives of the Vatican.
* GOTTLOB, Cam. Ap., 250 seg^.; Ranke, I., 263 seg'., ed. 6; Arch.
d. Soe. Rom., IV., 263 seg'.
t Brosch, Julius II., 124. On the briber}^ which prevailed in the
Roman Court under Julius II., see the Swiss Ambassadorial Report in the
Anz. f Schweiz. Gesch. (1892), 373.
X Cf. ClAN, Cortegiano, 157; Sitzungsberichte der Wiener Akad.,
X., 402.
FINANCIAL ABILITY OF JULIUS IL 22$
case of the Jubilee Indulgences, powers for which were con-
ceded by the Pope to the German Orders, the Chapter of
Constance, and the Augsburg Dominicans, the half of the
proceeds were to be handed over to Rome.*
The Pope's fixed income in the year 1 510 was estimated
by the Venetian Ambassador at 200,000 ducats, and his
floating income at 150,000, a very small sum for one in the
position of Head of the Church.-|- The accounts of the
treasure in the Castle of St. Angelo during the reign of
Julius II. are of such a nature that it is impossible to arrive
at any certain conclusion as to the exact amount ; but we
know that at his death it was more than had been left by
any previous Pope since John XXII. J
By his good management in matters of finance, Julius II.
was enabled not only to carry on his wars for the recon-
struction of the States of the Church, and to carry out many
noble artistic undertakings, but also to be very generous in
the matter of alms-giving,§ and amply to provide for all
* Paulus in the Hist. Jahrb., XVI., 37 seq. Julius II.'s Brief of In-
dulgence for King Maximilian I., published in the Romisch. Quartal-
schrift, IV., 278, by Schlecht, is interesting, because it affords a clear de-
finition of the doctrine of the Church in regard to Indulgences, shortly
before the outbreak of the great theological disputes on that subject.
t Reumont, III., 2, 282 ; Ranke, III., 8* ed. 6.
J Fea, Notizie, 60 ; Brosch, 273.
§ From the "^Divers. Julii II., 1507-1513 (State Archives, Rome), we
find that the Pope not only assisted the refugees from the East, but did
a great deal for other needy persons, and especially for poor convents.
In f. 66 we find in July 15 12, an entry of alms pro monialibus S. Cos-
matis, Turris pendentis, montis Magnanapoli, S. M. Annunc. di Fircnze,
S. Cath. de Senis ; in f. 130, under the head of Subventiones, Januarii
1509, and f. 133, mensis Dccemb. A" Julii II. sexto, many of the same
names recur, but with the addition of others. In f. 138 there is a pay-
ment on 23rd July, 151 1, for the hospital of S. Maria in porticu de urbc.
Also numerous disbursements for the Papal Swiss Guards; cf. infra,
p. 226, note t. On the assistance given by Julius II. to the hospital of
VOL. VI. Q
226 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
necessary works in the city and in the States of the Church.
Perfect order reigned in Rome under the strong hand of
Niccolo de' Fieschi of the family of the Counts of Lavagna,
who was Captain of the Watch. The murderous outrages
which had become so frequent in the reigns of Innocent
VIII. and Alexander VI. had entirely ceased. The streets
of Rome, which the Pope was constantly widening or em-
bellishing, could now be traversed in peace and security.*
Raphael's fresco of the Mass of Bolsena has made us familiar
with the outward appearance of the Swiss Guards ; they
numbered 200 men, upon whom the Pope could absolutely
depend. They also formed a permanent central body,
serving as a nucleus for a larger army when more troops
were needed, and their officers brought the best families in
Switzerland into close and confidential relations with Rome.f
The regulations of Julius II. defining the authority of the
Judges of the Capitol, and also of the Vicar, Governor, and
Senators, in cases of disputes and quarrels within the city,
were of great service.^ Still more valuable was the work
of reorganising the coinage which he carried through,
S*° Spirito, see "^Brief to Laur.de Angnillara, dat. 3 ist Octob., 1 504. "^Lib.
brev. 22, f. 202. Secret Archives of the Vatican.
* Reumont, III., 2, 48. Cf. also infra^ Chap. 8, on the embellish-
ment of the streets. We see from the *Brief to Alex, de Neronio famil.
et comiss., dat. 1505, Jan. 6, in which he is commanded to demolish
the houses of some turbulent persons as an example to others, how
severely Julius II. punished the disturbers of the peace. "^Lib. brev. 22,
f. 244. Secret Archives of the Vatican.
t LuTOLF, Die Schweizergarde zu Rom, 4 seq. (Einsiedeln, 1859).
Cf, NOVAES, VI., 50, note. Caspar Sillinus, Capitaneus Elvetiorum
custodie palatii apost, received, pro suo et suorum salariis, every month,
1 1 5 1 due. 63 bol. Kindly communicated to me by Dr. Gottlob out of
*Introit. et exit, in the Secret Archives of the Vatican.
I Bull., v., 533 seq., 511 seq. ; Hergenrother, VIII., 536. On the
Roman magistracy and Julius II., see Atti dei Lincei, Scienz. moral,
4 Serie, III., 169 seq. ; X., 10.
x»
STORAGE OF PROVISIONS IN ROME. 227
correcting the discrepancies between the nominal and real
value of the different kinds of money, and introducing into
the currency the silver coins, originally called Gzidi, but
afterwards known as Paoli. Both trade and the revenue
were immensely benefited by these operations.* The
Jewish coiners of counterfeit money were put down by him
with a strong hand.f
The misrule in the Campagna, where the turbulent Barons
and landowners made it impossible for the farmers to
cultivate their fields, repeatedly caused a great scarcity of
corn in Rome, especially in the years 1504 and 1505.
Julius II., always careful that the city should be well
supplied with provisions, at once came energetically to the
rescue. In 1 504 the dearth was so great that he had not
only to apply to Ferdinand of Spain for leave to import
grain from Sicily, but also to obtain a similar permission
from the Kings of France and England. | The purchase-
able office of agent for the importation of grain was created
by this Pope.§
* Reumont, III., 2, 282. Cf. Senarega, 606 ; Moroni, XLVI.,
117; NOVAES, VI., 152; Ranke, III., 8* ed. 6; Garampi, App.,
224 scq.^ 230 seq. In MuNTZ, L' Atelier monetaire de Rome, 12 seq.
(Paris, 1884), there are interesting new documents relating to the coins
of Julius II., and also particulars about the celebrated Caradosso. See
also Jahrb. der Preuss. Kunstsammlungen, III., 136.^6'^.
t Cf. his ^Brief to the Marquess of Mantua, 28th Dec, 1505, in the
Gonzaga Archives, Mantua, on Jew coiners in the vicinity of Rome.
Draft in "^Lib. brev. 22, f 43 J^^. See *Brief Petro de Valentibus legum
doctori, dat. 13th Nov., 1505 : Jewish coiners in Benevento must be pun-
ished. "^Lib. brev. 22, f. 391. Secret Archives of the Vatican.
X Cf. *Lib. brev. 22, f. 116, to King Ferdinand of Spain, 19th July,
1504 ; f. 119 to the same, 13th July, 1504 ; f. 157^ : Regi Francorum,
13th Aug., 1504 {cf GOTTLOB, Cam. Ap., 222). The *Bricf to the Con-
servators of Rome in f. 281, loth April, 1505, Secret Archives of the
Vatican, is also worth noticing.
§ GoTTLOB, Cam. Ap., 251. On Julius II.'s operations in regard to
228 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
The dangers which in those days beset the channels of
traffic, whether by land or sea, explain the anxiety of all
the Popes to promote tillage in the Campagna, in spite of
manifold hindrances, in order to depend as little as possible
on imports for the necessaries of life. Julius II. achieved
considerable success in this direction. Under him the
conditions of life in the Campagna improved so much that
agricultural operations could be carried on steadily and
methodically. He found means to prevent the passage
of large bodies of troops through the country in the neigh-
bourhood of Rome, and greatly to moderate the feuds of
the Barons. Under those more favourable circumstances,
the ordinances of Sixtus IV. were revived with much
better effect, and the amount of land under cultivation
increased. He also inflicted severe penalties on all land-
owners who in any way hindered the cultivators from
carrying whatever grain they could spare to the Roman
market.*
The commencement of a stable and uniform system of
administration in the States of the Church dates from the
reign of Julius II., though, of course, it would not bear, at
that early period, to be judged in these respects by a
modern standard.^ A Brief of 22nd July, 1506, dealing
very severely with all malversations or acts of oppression
on the part of either secular or ecclesiastical authorities
within these provinces, and requiring all state or communal
the com trade, and on his coinage, see, in general, Pfeiffer-Ruland,
Pestilentia in nummis, 13 seq. (Tiib., 1882). See also Laurent.
Parmenius, 309, and Rodocanachi, Corporations, I., 69, and, in
regard to the Annona, the works cited in VoL IV. of this work, 426,
note *.
* Reumont, III., 2, 289 ; HiLLEBRAND, Italia, 11., 162. Cf. also
Ardant, Papes et Paysans, 44 (Paris, 1 891), and GOTTLOB in the Hist.
Jahrbuch (1895), XVI., 131 seq.
t GOTTLOB in Bruders Staatslexikon, III., 795.
GOVERNMENT OF THE PAPAL STATES. 229
officials to submit their accounts annually to the Com-
missioners ot the Roman Treasury for revision, was an
important step in this direction.*
Constantly harassed as he was by political or ecclesiastical
anxieties, Julius II. always found time to attend to the
government of his States. In 1 5 1 1, in spite of the war, and
in detestable weather, he went to Cervia, to see for him-
self how the salt works there were going on.f Whenever
he had the power he looked after the welfare of his subjects,
put down abuses and oppression, and did all he could to
improve the administration.^ Nothing escaped his notice ;
he issued enactments against thefts of wood and cattle, §
against the exactions of the judges,|| faction fights,^ pirates,**
robbers,f -f and murderers ; H he endeavoured to adjust long
standing boundary disputes §§ and promoted public works,
* Bull, v., 418 ; see GOTTLOB, Cam. Ap., 120 se^., 145, 170, on
other measures of reform.
t Sanuto, XII., 89, 93.
X Cf. Appendix, Nos. 55, 59, 66, 68, 69, 70, 71, *Briefs of loth Dec,
1506, and in 1507, January i, 6, 23, and 27, Febmary 21 and 24. Secret
Archives of the Vatican.
§ See *Briefs of 3rd and 4th Dec, 1 506. *Lib. brev. 25, f 31 and 33b.
Secret Archives of the Vatican.
II See Appendix, No. 67.
IF Cf. the ■'^Brief to Ferdinand of Spain concerning Benevento,
Bologna, ist Feb., 1507. "^Lib. brev. 25, f i67<=. Secret Archives of the
Vatican.
■** Cf. the ^Brief of 20th Feb., 1507, in *Lib. brev. 25, f i88b.
ft Cf. the "^Warrant against Alexander Membrini de Corchiano, dated
Rome, 22nd April, 1507. *Lib. brev. 25, f 280 ; ibid.^ 273^, a Warrant,
dated Rome, 31st May, 1507, against Augustinus Symonis de Fiano
notorius homicida.
XX *Brief to "Joh. Feltria de Ruvere," dated Rome, loth Mar., 1505.
*Lib. brev. 22, f 274. Secret Archives of the Vatican.
§§ As, for instance, in the Marches of Ancona ; see ♦Brief to Thomas,
Bishop of Forli, Vice-Legate of the Marches, Rome, 24th April, 1 504.
♦Lib. brev. 25, f 276^
230 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
such as the building of bridges* and the control and
utilisation of rivers.-f
Like the great mediaeval Popes, such as Gregory IX.,
whose last Brief was written for the protection of a poor
Polish peasant, Julius II. was always on the alert to shield
the humblest of his subjects from oppression. Thus, on the
7th January, 1507, a time when he was heavily burdened
with political cares, we find him writing to the governor of
Cesena and Bertinoro : " A citizen of Bertinoro has com-
plained to the Pope that the Castellan has taken wood from
him and injured him in other ways. Let the Castellan and
his abettors be punished without fail, and take care that no
harm comes to the complainant." J
In order to form a just estimate of the merits of Julius
II. in regard to the government of the States of the Church,
it is necessary to realise the state of utter confusion in which
he found these provinces when they came into his hands.
It required a man of first-rate powers to bring order into
such a chaos. Julius II. has been justly likened to Virgil's
Neptune overawing and calming the turbulent waves by
his majestic countenance. § He won the devoted affection
of the whole population. He granted large liberties to the
municipalities in the towns. || " The Pope," says Guicciar-
* Cf. the *Brief for Nicolaus Calcaneus provincie Marchie Anconitan.
Thesaurarius et eius in officio successoribus. Grant of 250 ducats for
the repairs of a bridge. Bologna, 30th Dec, 1 506 (A^ 4°). Lib. brev. 25,
f. 1 5. Secret Archives of the Vatican.
t *Brief to the Mayor and Council of Spoleto, dat. Bologna, 2nd Jan.,
1 507 : severe penalties, if within twenty days the banks of the river are
not in proper order. '^Lib. brev. 25, f. 81. (Secret Archives of the
Vatican.) On the works for the improvement of the water-highway on
the Tiber and the Anio, see ALBERTINI, 52,
X ^Lib. brev. 25, f. 86^
§ T. Inghirami in Fea, Notizie, 57.
II Ranke, Papste, I., 37, 251, ed. 6; Fanti, Irnola, 3 seq. The
POPULARITY OF THE POPE. 23 1
dini, "took pains to attach the people to the representatives
of the Church, so that when the oath of fealty was taken
at Bologna, the change was described as a passing out of
the state of serfdom under the Bentivogli into that of a
free commonwealth, in which the citizens had their share
in the government, and in the revenues." * In spite of
some mistakes which Julius made in the selection of his
Legates,-]- the conditions of life in the States of the Church
were such, that even such a bitter foe of the temporal
power of the Papacy as Machiavelli is forced to admit that
the inhabitants had no desire to throw off its yoke. J
Original of the "'^Bull of Julius II., dat. Rom, 4th Nov., 1504, confirming
the privileges and liberties of the town of Imola, is to be found in the
Arch. Comunale of Imola, which is rich in interesting documents.
* GUICCIARDINI, VII., c. I ; IX., c. 5 ; DoLLiNGER, Kjrche und
Kirchen, 530.
t For further particulars, see zn/ra, 303 seg'.
X Principe, c. 11 ; Dollinger, loc. cit.^ 5^1.
CHAPTER II.
Difficulties in the position of Julius II. on his Accession.
— Fall and Death of Caesar Borgia. — Disputes with
Venice.
The position in which the new Pope found himself on his
accession was one of singular difficulty. Disorder and
confusion prevailed on all sides and he had no money
and no army worth mentioning.*
In the Patrimony itself the state of things was so bad
that on the 8th of November, 1503, Julius was obliged to
issue a severe edict against Barons and municipalities who
did not put down robbery and brigandage in their districts.
The States of the Church were hardly anything more than
a name.-I- On all sides the towns were in revolt, and the
old dynasties which had been driven out by the Borgia were
returning. In the South, war was raging between the
Spaniards and the French, and in the North, where their
policy had completely upset the relations hitherto sub-
sisting, Venice was taking advantage of the confusion to
enlarge her borders at the expense of the possessions of
the Church.
Even during the short reign of the gentle Pius III., she had
* GOTTLOB, Cam. Ap., 78. The Pope did not get possession of the
Castle of St. Angelo until the 12th November, 1503 ; see Dispacci di A.
Giustinian, II., 292. Costabili in a ^Despatch of Nov. 1 1, 1503, mentions
the joy of Julius when this was achieved. State Archives, Modena.
t Reumont, III., 2, 10 ] cf. Fea, Notizie, 56 se^. The Edict of 8th
Nov., 1 503, is in Bull, V., 399-400
VENICE AND THE ROMAGNA. 233
already contrived, partly by force and partly by diplomacy,
to obtain possession of Bertinoro, Fano, Montefior, and
other places. It soon became evident that the Venetians
were forming connections in all quarters throughout the
Romagna, with a view to getting the whole province under
their power.* If they succeeded in this, Caesar would
soon be a landless Duke. Already things had gone so
far that the only castles still remaining in the hands of
his captains were those of Forli, Cesena, Forlimpopoli, and
Bertinoro. Everything depended on the attitude taken
up by the new Pope, whose coronation took place with
great pomp on 28th November, 1503.!
* Brosch, Julius II., 94.
t Ghivizano relates in two ^Letters of 3rd November, 1 503, that the
preparations for the Coronation were begun during the public rejoicings
over the election. The same authority tells us that the Pope had given
orders that it was to cost from fifty to sixty thousand ducats. (Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua.) See also Appendix, N. 18, *Desp. of Nov. 20. On
the Coronation itself, the day for which had been fixed in accordance with
the horoscope taken by the astrologers (Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II.,
295)5 cf. BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 307-309 ; Dispacci di A. Giustinian,
II., 312-314; Arch. St. Napolit., I., 75 ; *Acta Consist, in Consistorial
Archives of the Vatican ; ^Report of F. Guidiccioni, Rome, 26th Nov.,
1 503 ; ^Report of Costabili of the same date, which describes the illu-
minations (State Archives, Modena) ; and a characteristic *Letter from
Ghivizano, dated Rome, 26th Nov., 1 503. " Hogi se fata la Coronatione
del Papa in S. Petro a la quale non he intervenuto molta gente, etc. Dat
ha tre hore senza mangare e senza here in modo mai piu volio vcdere
Coronatione di Papa." A ^Report, dated 27th Nov., from the same Envoy
repeats that there were not many people present at the ceremony (pro-
bably on account of the previous rainy weather and the uncertain state of
affairs), and adds : *Zobia se fark omnino la proccssione a Laterano la
quale se stima deba esser pomposissima, (Both *Reports in Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua.) On the inscriptions put up in Rome at tliat time,
see Chroniken der Deutschen Stiidte, XXIII., 103. Most of the letters in
which Julius II. announced the fact of his election are dated from the
day of Coronation, e.g.^ those to Florence (copy in the State Archives,
234 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Unfortunately, Julius II. was greatly indebted to Caesar
Borgia and Cardinal d'Amboise, as well as to the Republic
of Venice, for his election, and this still further complicated
the situation.* He satisfied the claims of d'x-^mboise by
bestowing on him, in spite of the opposition of many of
the Cardinals and of the citizens of Rome,-]- the legations of
Avignon, Venaissin, and France,| and a Cardinal's hat on
one of his relations, Francois Guillaume de Clermont. §
Florence), to F. Gonzaga (original in the Gonzaga Archives, Mantua), to
the King of Poland (Raynaldus, ad an. 1503, n. 12), to Fabrizio
Colonna (original in the Colonna Archives, Rome, Bull, n. 58). He had
already on the 6th of November sent a notice of his election to the Doge
of Venice, and thanked him for the support that the Venetian Envoys
had given him. See Sanuto, V., 292-293. He also sent a notice of
his election to the Genoese, as his countrymen, before the Coronation.
See Atti d. Soc. Savon., I., 438. The Fossesso, which was separated
from the Coronation for the first time by Julius II., did not take
place until Dec. 5. Cf. Burchardi Diarium, III., 312 seg.; Dispacci
di A. Giustinian, H., 329 seg'.; Cancellieri, Possessi, 56 seg.; and
NOVAES, VI., 135. See also the "^Letter of Don Ferrante d'Este
to the Duke of Ferrara, dated Rome, 6th Dec, 1503. State Archives,
Modena.
•^ Brosch, 105.
+ Costabili relates in a "^Report dated 27th Nov., 1503, that Cardinal
S. Giorgio had instigated the Conservators to go to the Pope and entreat
him not to give the French legation to d'Amboise : per lo interesse di
questa cita. S. S^ ha risposto essere necessario compiacere Rohano et
postponere tutti li altri rispecti a questi tempi che la Sta Sua ha bisogno
del Re di Francia per li portamenti di Venetian! li quali quando Sua
Sta non fusse adiutata dal Re di Francia se insegnoregiariano di tutta
la Romagna el che la non ge vole comportare. (State Archives, Modena.)
F. Guidiccioni, in a "^Document of 27th Nov., 1503, also states that
d'Amboise was certain to be made French Legate. Gonzaga Archives,
Mantua.
X Raynaldus, ad an. 1503, n. 23. Cf. Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II.,
276, 281, and Fantoni, 351.
§ Cf. supra, p. 219,
JULIUS II. AND Ci^SAR BORGIA.
235
The Pope hoped by this means to secure France as a
reserve force against Venice.*
To shake off his connection with Caesar Borgia was,
however, a more difficult matter. Heartily as Julius II.
hated the Borgia, he did not wish openly to break through
the engagements he had made with the Duke, nor did it
seem wise " to throw away, unused, so valuable a tool as
Caesar could be, while the Holy See in the Romagna was
in such danger from her powerful neighbour, that the most
unsatisfactory Vicariate would be preferable to the present
situation."f
•At first it seemed as if the Pope had quite forgiven the
Borgia. " Cardinal Borgia," writes Costabili on November
1st, " has been given the Penitentiary. I understand, too,
that one of the Rovere family is to marry Cardinal Borgia's
sister. All the other Spanish Cardinals have been rewarded,
and they seem for the moment to stand in higher favour
than ever."J In his relations with Caesar himself the Pope
maintained considerable reserve, but in such a way as not
to deprive him of all hope, while still allowing him to feel
that his position was precarious.§
The first and greatest danger to the States of the Church
* 6*^^ below, note % See Burchardi Diarium, III., 317, and *Re-
port of Costabili, 8th Dec, 1503, on the departure of d'Amboise. State
Archives, Modena.
+ Reumont, III., 2, 12.
X ■'^'Despatch of Costabili, -ist Nov., 1503. (State Archives, Modena.)
Cf. also Ghivizano's Report of 3rd Nov., 1503. Gonzaga Archives,
Mantua.
§ See Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 283 ; c/. 286 j<?^., and the ^Report
of Costabili, dated Rome, 6th Nov., 1506 : El Duca spera niulto in N. S.
per havcrlo multo servito ne la assumptione del ponteficato de S. H"^".
(State Archives, Modena.) On the 17th Nov., Julius II. addressed a
*Brief in favour of Jofr^ Borgia to F. Maria della Rovcrc. State
Archives, Florence.
236 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
came, not from Caesar, but from Venice, which was trying
to obtain the same command of the Italian sea-board as
she had of that of Dalmatia. The gravity of this danger
was brought forcibly home to Julius II. by the tidings of
Venetian intrigues which reached him on 7th November,
1 503, through his old friend Gabriele da Fano. He at once
sent a strong remonstrance to the Republic, and declared
that he had no intention of permitting territories which
were properly in immediate subjection to the Church, and
had now returned to their obedience, to be filched away from
her. On the loth of November Machiavelli reports that
Julius had said to Cardinal Soderini, " I always have been,
and still am, a friend of the Venetians, as long as they do
not hanker after things to which they have no right. But
if they persist in robbing the Church of her property, I
shall take the strongest measures, and call upon all the
Princes of Christendom to help me in resisting them." On
the following day, he spoke in a very friendly manner to
the Venetian Ambassador and expressed great affection
for the Republic, but at the same time repeated that he
was determined to restore the dominion of the Church in
the Romagna.*
On the 1 8th of November the Venetian Ambassador,
Antonio Giustinian, had a long conversation with the Pope,
chiefly about the Romagna. Julius, in language which left
nothing to be desired in the way of directness, announced
his firm determination to restore to the Church all the
possessions there which she had lost ; they must not remain
under the power of Caesar or of any one else, and it was
for this purpose that he had on the previous day sent the
* Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 285-289 seq. ; Machiavelli,
Letter XL, dat loth Nov., 1503. The Ferrarese Envoy and d'Amboise
stirred up the Pope against Venice. Cf. Costabili's ^Letter partly in
cypher, dat. Rome, 8th Nov., 1503. State Archives, Modena.
THE ROMAGNA TO BE RECOVERED. 237
Bishop of Tivoli, Angelo Leonini, as Nuncio, to Venice.
" Words fail me," adds Giustinian, " to describe with what
resolution he spoke, and that not once, but again and
again." Nevertheless the Ambassador did not give up the
attempt to change the Pope's mind. It was not from the
Church, he represented, but from an enemy of hers, and a
bitter enemy of the Pope and of the Republic, that Venice
had taken these places. His Holiness must see that it
would be impossible for the Church herself to administer
this territory ; he would have to give it to some one else.
This would be hard upon Venice, and she had not deserved
to be so treated. When the Pope was a Cardinal, he had
himself encouraged the Republic to undertake an expedition
against the Romagna. Julius replied that this was against
Csesar Borgia, not against the Church ; with all his love
for the Republic, he said, he could not in honour consent
to any curtailment of the States of the Church.*
However strongly the Pope might feel about the
Venetian encroachments, in his present helpless state, as
Machiavelli well knew, he could only temporise.f This
was equally the case in regard to Caesar Borgia. He had
sent the promised Briefs in the Duke's favour to the cities
of the Romagna, but with a secret hope that they might
arrive too late,| and did not bestow on him the coveted
* Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 297, 300. Cf. ^Report of the
Mantuan Envoy, Rome, 19th Nov., 1503. (Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.)
On the Nunciature of Leonini, cf. •^'■Exitus, 535, f iSi'^ : 20th Nov., 1503.
Solvit due. 100 auri de camera domino Angelo episcopo Tiburtino
nuntio apud Venetos pro eius porvisione unius mensis incep. 19 prae-
sentis mensis Novembris. Secret Archives of the Vatican.
+ Letters from Machiavelli, 21st Nov. and ist Dec, 1503. Cf.
Heidenheimer, Machiavelli, 18 seq., 32 ; Alvisi, App., 95 ; Yriarte,
Cesar Borgia, II., 196.
X Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 281 ; Broscii, Julius II., 99^47.;
TOMMASINI, Machiavelli, I., 292.
238 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
post of Standard-bearer to the Church. This disappoint-
ment, together with the bad news from the Romagna, seem
to have produced an extraordinary effect on Caesar ; he was
completely altered. The Envoys found him utterly dis-
pirited and broken. Machiavelli describes his vexation
and despair. The Pope told the Venetian Ambassador
that he had become so changeable and incomprehensible,
that he could not say anything for certain about him.
Cardinal Soderini found him irresolute, petulant, and
feeble ; he thought he had been stunned by the disasters of
the last few weeks. The Spanish Cardinal Iloris, said the
Duke, seemed to him to have lost his senses ; he did not
know what he wanted, and was confused and uncertain.
In Rome all sorts of strange reports were current about
him. Every one agreed that he was ruined ; "not from any
faithlessness on the part of the Pope, but by the force of
circumstances which no one could alter." Julius would not
do anything against Caesar while the fate of the Romagna
was still pending, but he was determined, when he could,
to place these territories under the immediate government
of the Church.* Csesar held frequent conversations with
Machiavelli, the representative of Florence in Rome ; and
on the 1 8th of November he despatched an Envoy to that
city, offering his services as a captain, and begging them to
supply him with troops for the conquest of the Romagna;
he would come to Leghorn to complete the negotiations.-j-
With the permission of the Pope, who was only too glad to
get him out of Rome, he started for that place on the 19th
November. He embarked before day-break, " to the joy of
* Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 281, 297 ; Letters from Machia-
velli, 14th and iSth Nov., 1503. Cf. Reumont in the Allg. Ztg. (1877),
No. 277, Suppl, and in the Gott. Gel. Anz. (1876), II., 844.
t Sanuto, v., 482, 497-499, Cf. Heidenheimer, Machiavelli,
22 seq.
ARREST OF CESAR BORGIA.
239
every one," in a boat on the Tiber, and went down to
Ostia, whence he intended to sail.*
Shortly afterwards the news arrived that another im-
portant town, Faenza, had surrendered to the Venetians.
Julius II., already unable to sleep from anxiety, became
violently excited, and sent the Cardinals Soderini and
Remolino to Caesar, to require him to deliver up all the
other strong places in the Romagna to him, so as to
prevent any more from falling into the hands of the
Venetians. This the Duke resolutely refused to do.f
Meanwhile, tidings reached Rome that Venice had also
got possession of Rimini by an agreement with Malatesta.J
Evidently the only chance of saving what remained lay in
prompt action. The Venetians declared that their only
object was to get rid of their enemy Caesar.§ On this the
Pope resolved to compel him to relinquish the forts of Forli
and Cesena. He sent orders that the Duke should be
arrested and brought to Rome.il Caesar appeared utterly
overwhelmed ; the Mantuan Envoy reports that he wept.lF
* Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 302. Cf. Appendix, N. 18, Ghivi-
zano's Report, 20th Nov., 1503. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua,
t Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 305, 307-308 ; Leiter from Machia-
velli, 22nd Nov., 1503. Cf. Heidenheimer, Machiavelli, 24 seq. In
a "^Brief of the 8th Dec, 1503, the Pope himself directly addressed
Caesar, commanding him to deliver up the fortresses. I found this
Brief in *Lib. brev. 22, f 2. Secret Archives of the Vatican.
X ROMANIN, v., 165 ; Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 310.
§ Reumont, III., 2, 14, says : "With every fortress that Caesar lost
in the Romagna the necessity for the Pope's intervention became more
and more imperative." Even Brosch, Julius II., 99, says that the
Pope was obliged to proceed against Caesar.
II Cf. Alvisi, 433 seq.^ and Ghivizano's Report, Rome, 24th Nov.,
1503. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
IT Cf Cataneo's Despatches, 22nd Dec, 1503. (Gonzaga Archives,
Mantua.) Luzio, Mantova e Urbino, 152, where, however, the con-
cluding words after "Torre Borgia fatta da so patrc Alcxandro : qual 6
240 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
He "had every reason to expect a dungeon and death,
and in fact Guidobaldi of Urbino and Giovanni Giordano
Orsini advised the Pope to put an end to him."*
Julius II. scorned these counsels. Caesar was treated
with the greatest consideration, and apartments in the
Vatican were assigned to him. The Pope hoped by this
means to obtain the peaceabl.e surrender of the keys from
his governors. Caesar apparently sent the requisite orders,
but, according to Sigismondo de' Conti, this was only a
feint. Though there is no proof of it, it seems very pro-
bable that he was endeavouring to hoodwink the Pope,
who had broken his promises to him. At any rate the
governor of Cesena declared that he would not take any
orders from Caesar while he was a prisoner, and detained
the Papal messengers. When Julius heard this, his first
thought was to throw the Duke into one of the dungeons
in St. Angelo, but yielding to the Duke's urgent entreaties,
he sent him to the Torre Borgia instead. All his property,
however, was confiscated. A contemporary remarks that
the Divine justice, no doubt, decreed that he should be
imprisoned in that very chamber which he had stained with
the blood of his brother-in-law Alfonso. All the adherents
of the Borgia were filled with terror, expecting that the
vials of the Pope's wrath would be poured out upon them
also. The Cardinals Remolino and Lodovico Borgia fled
from Rome on the night of the 20th December. •]-
in lo palatio a la parte retro confine a le camare dove dorme el Papa,"
are wanting.
* GregoroviuSjVHI., 24, ed. 2; Costabili's "^Report. State Archives,
Modena.
t Sigismondo de' Conti, IL, 336-337 ; Dispacci di A. Giustinian,
II., 318, 327-328, 332-333) 340 seq., 350-351 ; Burchardi Diarium,
III., 320-321 ; ROSSBACH, 69, ']'] ; Alvisi, 442 seq. \ GOTTLOB, Cam.
Ap., 229, note. See also Cataneo's "^Despatch, 22nd Dec, 1 503. (Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua.) On the flight of the Cardinals and the Pope's
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE POPE AND CESAR. 24I
The succeeding weeks were occupied with negotiations
between Julius and Caesar, which, owing to the well-founded
distrust which prevailed between the two parties, were ex-
tremely complicated. In the beginning of the new year the
Pope began to think of possessing himself by force of Cesena.*
On the 3rd of December, 1503, Machiavelli had said
that Caesar was nearing the edge of the precipice. At this
juncture an event occurred which at once immensely raised
the prestige of the Duke's friends, the Spanish Cardinals.
On the 28th of December, Gonsalvo de. Cordova obtained
a complete victory over the French at Garigliano. On the
first day of the new year Gaeta capitulated, and on the 4th
the news reached Rome.f The French had lost Naples.
Under the influence of this occurrence, on the 29th of
January, 1504, the negotiations between Julius and Caesar
were at last brought to a conclusion. It was agreed that
the Duke was to surrender the Castles of Cesena, Forli, and
Bertinoro to the Pope within forty days. When this condi-
tion was fulfilled, he would be free, but till then was to re-
main at Ostia under the surveillance of Cardinal Carvajal ;
if he failed to carry out his agreement he was to be im-
prisoned for life.J
annoyance at it (maxime de Borja), cf. F. Guidiccioni's ^Letter, dat.
Rome, 22nd Dec, 1503. (State Archives, Modena.) On the 2nd Jan ,
1504, Julius addressed a very friendly "'^Brief to Cardinal Borgia, telling
him to return to Rome as soon as possible. *Lib. brev. 22, f. 5!'. Secret
Archives of the Vatican.
■^ Cf. the Brief of 5th Jan., 1504, in Alvisi, App., n. 100 which,
however, has been already printed in GOZZADINI, XCIII.), and the
^Brief to Joh. Sforzia de Aragonia. Lib. brev. 29, f 1 7'^ (Secret Archives
of the Vatican), which is undated, but evidently, both in time and pur-
port, belongs to this episode.
t BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 326.
X Ibid.^ III., 331 ; ROSSBACH, 72 seq. ; Yriarte, Cesar Borgia, II.
204 scq.
VOL. VI. R
242 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
On the evening of the i6th February, while the Carnival
was being celebrated in Rome,* Caesar Borgia, accompanied
by only a few servants, embarked in a boat from the Ripa
Grande, and was taken down to Ostia.f
The negotiations for the surrender of Cesena, Bertinoro,
and Forli caused the Pope a great deal of vexation, and
the Archbishop of Ragusa, Giovanni di Sirolo, was sent to
the Romagna to hasten their conclusion^
The governors of Cesena and Bertinoro at first insisted
on Caesar's liberation. The Pope in a rage drove the
bearers of this message out of his room ; in the end, how-
* See BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 382. Marius Bonaventura reports,
ex urbe, 14th Jan., 1504 : *La S'-^ di N. S. ha decreto se faccia delle
representatione et ludi nostri soliti. Peti-us Gentilis writes from Rome,
1 8th Feb., 1504 : *Hogi sono corso li palii. These ^Letters are in the
Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
t Alvisi, 446, in his otherwise extremely careful work, A\Tongly
gives the 14th as the date ; Yriarte, I,, 205, the 13th Feb. The latter
date is taken from BURCHARDi Diarium, III., 332. It is clear, however,
from the Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 437-438, 440, that Caesar bade the
Pope farewell in the Castle of St. Angelo on the 14th, and left Rome on
the night of the 1 6th. This practically agrees with Cataneo's statement
that Caesar was brought to the Castle on the 1 3th, and taken to Ostia
on the 15th. ("^Letters of 13th and 15th Feb., 1504, in the Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua.) I am induced to decide agamst ROSSBACH, 74, and
in favour of the i6th, by GlUSTiNlAN, 440, and the "^Brief of Julius II.
to Card. Carvajal of i6th Feb., 1504, desiring him, dux Valentinus ita
facere custodiri, so that it may be possible either to set him free or to
remove him, in accordance with the provisions of the agreement con-
tained in a certain Bull. *Lib. brev. 22, f. 19. (Secret Archives of the
Vatican.) Carvajal left Rome on the 17th Feb. : *Heri si partite el
card'^ de S. Croce e ando ad Ostia, dove prima fa conducto Valentino et
mo non e in mane del papa ma del dicto cardinale. G. L. Cataneo's
^Report, dat. Rome, i8th Feb., 1504. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua,
X Cf. SiGiSMONDO de' Conti, II., 338. There are a large number
of *Briefs in the Lib. brev. 22 (Secret Archives of the Vatican), referring
to the Mission of G. di Sirolo. Cf. Appendix, Nos. 19, 20, 21, 24, 25.
C^SAR BORGIA ARRESTED IN NAPLES. 243
ever, he found himself compelled to come to terms with
them. On the loth of March, 1504, he concluded a new-
agreement with the Duke, by which Csesar bound himself
to obtain the evacuation of Bertinoro and Cesena, and
made himself responsible for a sum of money which the
Castellan of Forli demanded as the price of his surrender.
As soon as these conditions had been fulfilled, and Bertinoro
and Cesena delivered over to the Pope, Carv-ajal allowed
his prisoner to depart, on the 19th of April, without asking
any further leave from Rome.*
Caesar had already provided himself with a letter of safe
conduct from Gonsalvo de Cordova, and hastened to Naples,
to the house of his uncle, Lodovico Borgia. Here it soon
became evident that he had by no means relinquished
all hope of eventually recovering his possessions in the
Romagna. Gonsalvo received the Duke with all due marks
of respect, apparently entered into his plans, and even
agreed to furnish him with troops. In this way he
managed to keep his dangerous guest quiet until he had
received instructions from King Ferdinand. Then, how-
ever, he acted promptly. On the 27th of May, 1 504, Caesar
was arrested and taken to the Castle of Ischia. The
Spaniards announced that they intended to keep this fire-
brand in their own hands. So says the Spanish historian
Zurita, and Guicciardini corroborates him.f According to
Jovius, Julius II. had advised that Caesar should be im-
prisoned to prevent him from invading the Romagna.J
This is confirmed by documents in the Secret Archives of
* Alvisi, 447-448 ; Brosch, Julius II., 103-104 ; Dispacci di A-
Giustinian, III., 68-69, 509; ROSSDACII, 75; Yriarte, Cesar Borgia,
II., 207-208. See also the *Brief to Carvajal, Appendix, N. 23.
t Zurita, V., c 72 ; Guicciardini, VI. C/. Tommasini, Machia-
velli, I., 295, and Hofler, Bastarddynastien, 58.
X Jovius, Vitae, I., 274.
244 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the Vatican. There is a letter there from JuHus II. to Gon-
salvo de Cordova dated nth May, 1504, in which the Pope
requests the Spanish General to keep guard over the Duke,
so as to hinder him from undertaking anything against the
Church, and to induce him to give up the Castle of Forli.*
On the same day Julius wrote a letter to Ferdinand and
Isabella complaining of the conduct of both Carvajal and
Gonsalvo ; the former had let Caesar go free on his own
responsibility and not in the manner agreed, the latter was
allowing him to hatch plots against the Church in Naples.
He accused the Duke himself of having sent money to the
Castellan of Forli and encouraged him to go on holding
the castle. This remarkable letter closes with a request
that their majesties would not permit a person who was
under their control to disturb the peace of the Church.f
In regard to Forli the appeal to Spain was effectual, and
Julius II. at last obtained possession of the fortress. J
Gonsalvo promised Caesar that he would release him if he
would order the Castellan to hand it over to the Pope's
Lieutenant. Upon this the Duke yielded, and on the loth
of August the castle was given up. But now it was
Gonsalvo's turn to break his word ; and instead of re-
gaining his liberty, Caesar was sent off to Spain on the
20th of August.§
* See Appendix, N. 28, the *Brief of nth May, 1504, In the Secret
Archives of the Vatican.
t This Brief, of which unfortunately we only possess a fragment, was
first published by Raynaldus, ad an. 1504, n. 12. The copy in Alvisi,
App., 102, is not quite accurate.
X On the 8th of June, 1 504, the Pope wrote to Carolus marchio Finarii
elect. Theban., that Caesar was a prisoner and that L. de Ordelaffi had
lately died in Ravenna, quibus ex rebus speramus nos arcem Forlivii per
Dactionem facilius recepturos. *Lib. brev. 22, f. 76. (Secret Archives
of the Vatican.) Cf. also Appendix, N. 26, 31.
§ Alvisi, 450-451. C/. Gottlob, Cam. Ap., 230, note.
DEATH OF CiESAR BORGIA. 245
From this moment Caesar Borgia vanishes from the stage
of Italian history, and by the beginning of May most
people in Rome seemed to have quite forgotten him.*
Ferdinand sent him first to the Castle of Chinchilla f and
then to that of Medina del Campo. Here the former lord
of Rome, bereft by his political shipwreck of all his luxuries,
was kept in close confinement in a room in the tower, with
only one servant. No one was allowed to see him. " All
his plans had failed, nothing remained of all that he had
sought to achieve by his crimes, his cruelties, and his
murders." In this miserable life his only occupation con-
sisted in flying his falcons, his only joy was to see them
catch a helpless bird and tear it to pieces with their talons.J
In spite of the strict guard kept over him, on the 25th
of October, 1506, Csesar succeeded in escaping from his
prison and fled to his brother-in-law, Jean d'Albret, King
of Navarre. Julius II. was greatly disturbed when the
news reached him, for he was well aware that the Duke
still had many adherents in the Romagna.§ But his
anxiety was not destined to last long, for on the 12th May,
1507, Caesar died " honourably, a soldier's death " at Viana
in Navarre, fighting for his brother-in-law against the Count
of Lerin. He was only in his thirty-second year.|| The
* Cf. ^Report of G. L. Cataneo, dat. Rome, 3rd May, 1504 (Oil
Valentino non si parla piu). Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
t Not, as Gregorovius, Lucrezia Borgia, 274-275, and HoFLER,
Katastrophe, 17, have it, to Seville.
X See HoFLER, Katastrophe, 23. Cf. Dispacci di A. Giustinian, III.,
207, 268, 410-41 1.
§ ZURITA, VII., C. 23.
II Reumont, III., 2, 16; Alvisi, 453-454- We have the fullest
accounts of his residence in Spain and his death in Yriarte,
II., 215-277; cf. also 328 seq. Cf Hofler, BasUirddynastien, 61
seq.^ and Katastrophe, 23 seq. There is a picture of the castle in
Yriarte and in GrauS, Rundreise in Spanien (Wurzburg, 1894); see
246 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
greatness of the House of Borgia had come and gone Hke
a meteor flashing across the sky.*
There is no contemporaneous account of the effect pro-
duced on Julius II. by the tidings of Caesar's death ;f but
he must have rejoiced to find himself relieved of an enemy
who still could have been extremely dangerous to him and
to the Church. Caesar had many faithful adherents in the
cities of the Romagna, and he could never have felt quite
.secure there while the Duke still lived.
It is a curious coincidence that the man who, if Alexander
VI. had lived, would have done the most of all others
to secularise the States of the Church, and with whom
Machiavelli in consequence was secretly in full sympathy ,|
should, unintentionally of course, have been the founder of
the revival there of the Papal authority. Most people are
familiar with Machiavelli's opinion on this point expressed
in the Prince^ where he says : " The Duke by no means
wished to exalt the Church. Nevertheless all that he did
tended to her advantage ; when he was gone, his heritage
fell to her." That this was the case was no doubt greatly
due to the character of Julius II., who never for a moment
lost sight of the one object that he had proposed to himself,
and made use of every means that came to hand for attain-
ing it. When, on the nth August, 1504, the news of ihe
also J. M. QuADRADO, Recuerdos y Bellezas de Espafia. Barcelona,
1861.
* HOFLER, Katastrophe, 27.
t The Ferrarese Envoy Costabili only says in a ^Despatch, dated
Rome, 4th Apr., 1507, that the news of his death was held to be certain.
(State Archives, Modena.) On the arrival of the tidings at Venice and
Ferrara, and how Lucrezia took them, cf. Sanuto, VII., 47, 50, 51, 54,
56. These authentic accounts relegate " Lucrezia's tears" (see F.
Gregorovius, Lucrezia Borgia, 293) to the region of the author's
fertile imagination.
X See Vol. V. of this work, p. 167.
RELATIONS OF VENICE AND JULIUS IL 247
surrender of Forli at last arrived, and he was asked whether
orders were to be given for the public demonstrations oi
joy usual on such occasions, his reply was characteristic.
" No," answered the Pope, so the Florentine Ambassador
reports, "we will put off all rejoicings until we have much
more important and difficult successes to celebrate."
" Julius meant," the Ambassador adds, " the reconquest of
Faenza and Rimini."* The relations between Venice and
Rome had from month to month been growing more and
more unsatisfactory owing to the obstinate refusal of the
Republic to give back these cities which had been taken by
force from the Church. The conduct of the Venetians on
this occasion shews that the invariably astute diplomacy of
the Republic was utterly at fault in regard to the character
of Julius II.
As Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere had always been
friendly to Venice, and the Venetians, out of dread of a
French Pope, had heartily supported him in the Conclave,
they fully believed that he would in return leave them a
free hand in the Romagna. This of course was an utter
delusion, as from the first Julius was firmly determined
not to permit the Church to be despoiled of a single
rood of her possessions.f He never for a moment gave
* G. Acciaiuoli's Despatch of 13th August, 1504, in Dispacci di
A. Giustinian, III., 198, n. i. In a *Bull of the 30th August, 1504,
Julius II. deprived Caesar of the governorship of the Citadel of
Bologna and restored it to the municipality of the city. State Archives,
Bologna.
t Ulmann, Maximilian, II., 139, characterises the proceedings of
Venice as a plundering of the Church. In regard to the question of
legal rights the term is perfectly correct. {Cf. also Reumont in Gott.
Gel. Anz., 1876, II., 846.) Brosch, Julius II., 105 seq., evades this
point ; he takes the Venetian side from the first, relying for the most
part entirely on Venetian authorities and suppressing almost all others.
The annexations of Venice are always justifiable in his eyes ; even when
248 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the Republic any reason for doubting that he meant to
insist on the restoration of the stolen property of the
Church in the Romagna.* Nevertheless the Venetians
thought they could do as they liked and need not be
afraid of a Pope who had neither money nor troops.f
'' Ambition and greed of land," says the contemiporaneous
Venetian chronicler Priuli, " were so strong in them that
they were resolved at any cost to make themselves masters
of the whole of the Romagna." J When, on the 22nd of
November, 1503, the news of the investment of Faenza
arrived in Rome, the Pope at once sent for the Venetian
Ambassador and repeated that all the Church's possessions
must come back to her, and that he hoped the Republic
would not carry matters to extremes. § Three days later
the report was current in Rome that Rimini also was in
the hands of the Venetians. The Ambassador was in
despair, for his government had given stringent orders that
this should be kept secret. " Thus, even before his Corona-
the Venetians repudiated their sworn agreement with the Pope, he sees
in this proceeding only " a vindication of that prescriptive right of self-
preservation without the exercise of which it is impossible to conceive any
independent State being able to maintain its existence" (p. 193). On the
other hand, where Julius II. is concerned, he becomes the strictest of
moralists. The ordinary evasions of diplomacy, even things which are
understood as such by all diplomatists, are stigmatised as criminal
duplicity when they come from Juhus II. Even liis friends (see Allg.
Zeitung., 1880, N. 83, Suppl.) blame the violence of his language. On
the spirit of partisanship displayed by Brosch, see Vol. IV. of this work,
p. 322, n. +, 354, n. * See also Arch. d. Soc. Rom., III., 177.
* Cf. supra, p. 235, and Reumont in the Gott. Gel. Anz. (1876),
II., 845.
f Cf. Fr. Guidizonus' ^Report, dated Rome, 25th Nov., 1503. State
Archives, Modena.
X Reumont, III., 2, 12 ; Romanin, V., 164.
§ Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 305-306. On the 23rd Giustinian
reports fresh complaints from the Pope, loc. cit., 306.
THE VENETIANS IN THE ROMAGNA.
249
tion, Julius saw two of the jewels with which he desired
to adorn the Tiara snatched away by the Signoria." *
On the 28th November, at a meeting of the Cardinals, he
complained of the proceedings of the Venetians ; on the
29th a Consistory was held. The Venetian Ambassador
reports that '* the Pope spoke very angrily of the Republic
in Consistory ; he had previously told Cardinal Cornaro
that he meant to appeal to France and Spain for the
protection of the interests of the Holy See."f In a con-
versation with the Venetian Ambassador on the 30th of
November Julius spoke more gently, and dwelt on the
friendly feelings he entertained towards the Republic ; ;[
for he was well aware of his weakness, and for that reason
most anxious for a close union with France. § On the
loth of December he again remonstrated with the
Ambassador against the proceedings of Venice in the
Romagna.ll The tidings which came from Angelo
Leonini, Bishop of Tivoli, who had been sent to Venice,
only increased the Pope's displeasure. Leonini was com-
missioned to demand the withdrawal of all the Venetian
troops from the Romagna and that the Republic should
desist from any further conquests from Caesar Borgia, as
the whole of his possessions belonged to the Church.
" The answer was far from satisfactory. Venice promised
to make no further acquisitions in the Romagna, but she
would not withdraw her troops." She was determined
* BrOSCH, Julius II., 106, and supra, p. 239.
+ Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 31 8. Brosch abstains from men-
tioning this ; if he had done so, he could not have expressed himself as
so much scandalised at what the Pope said to Machiavelli.
X Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 321. I am far from wishing to
defend the Pope's conduct in every respect ; but Brosch distorts the
words of Julius in a most unfair manner.
§ Cf. supra, p. 234 seq.
II Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 335.
250 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
to keep Faenza, Rimini, and all the other places on which
she had so unjustly laid hands.*
The Venetian Envoy Giustinian said everything he
could to induce the Pope to see things in a different
light. He proposed that the conquered territories should
be bestowed on Venice as a fief To this Julius II. replied
that the governorships in the Romagna had always been
bestowed on captains who had deserved well of the
Church, but not upon powerful chiefs ; it was impossible
to put Venice in this position, she would never let them
out of her hands again. He would rather not be Pope
at all than endure such a curtailment of the States of the
Church at the very beginning of his reign. Giustinian
made no answer to these sort of expressions, talked
vaguely of false reports circulated by the enemies of the
Republic, and avoided as far as possible all direct nego-
tiations in regard to the evacuation of the conquered
territories. He seems to have been possessed with the
delusion that Venice had no cause to apprehend any
serious resistance from the new Pope;-]- and not in the
least to have understood the character of the man with
whom he was dealing. He was incapable of conceiving
a Pope devoid of selfish ambition and really aiming at
nothing but the exaltation of the Church, and had no
suspicion of the dangers of the game that his Govern-
ment was playing.^ On the contrary, he flattered himself
* Brosch, Julius II., 108; the Brief of 17th Nov., 1503, on
Leonini's mission is in Sanuto, V., 480. Leonini {cf. Marini, I.,
303 seq^ was considered by his contemporaries an excellent diplomatist.
Machiavelli calls him a truly right-minded prelate, a prudent man
and experienced in state affairs. None of this appears in Brosch's
account.
t Balan, v., 435.
X TOMMASINI, Machiavelli, I., 290.
REMONSTRANCES OF JULIUS II. 251
that he could easily succeed in mollifying Julius II. with
fair words and promises.
The Ferrarese Agent understood the situation far better.
''The Pope " he reports on the 25th November, 1503, "is
far from satisfied with the way things are going in the
Romagna; where he had hoped to see light, he finds
nothing but darkness. I know his nature and am well
assured that he will not submit patiently to this ; though
other people imagine that they will be able to deceive
him." * Giustinian ought to have been able to see how
impossible this would prove. When, on the 23rd of
December, he again repeated his tale of slanderous reports
set afloat by the enemies of Venice, the Pope replied,
" My Lord Ambassador, you always bring me fair words,
and the Signoria foul deeds. We have accurate informa-
tion of all that goes on in the Romagna, and know how,
one after another, places are being occupied that have
hitherto always been under the direct rule of the
Church ; to-day we have heard that the Venetians are
endeavouring to induce Cesena to submit to them, and
have occupied Sant' Arcangelo. Can we be expected
to look quietly on when those who ought to be sup-
porting us are daily robbing us ? At present we
have not the means to defend ourselves by arms and
can only remonstrate ; but we mean to turn to the
Christian Powers for aid, and trust that God will pro-
tect us."
The Ambassador had no answer to give except that
this was unnecessary ; if Cesena wished to put herself
under Venetian rule it was because the government of
the Republic was just and beneficent. As to Sant'
Arcangelo, the Pope had nothing to complain of, as that
* F. Guidizonus' **Report, dated Rome, 25th Nov., 1503. (State
Archives, Modena.) C/. also Appendix, N. 17.
252 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
place was already in the hands of Venice before Leonini
was sent.*
Three days later Julius II. again sent for Giustinian
and said to him : " We have still to complain of the
state of things -in the Romagna. Letters arrive daily
telling us of the intrigues of your agents in Cesena,
Imola, and other places. Throughout the whole country
efforts are being made to seduce the people from their
obedience to the Church and persuade them to place
themselves under the rule of Venice. Our worst enemy
could not do more against us. When we ascended the
Chair of S. Peter we did so with the full purpose of being
a father to all as a Pope should be, and observing strict
neutrality ; but we now fear that we shall find ourselves
forced to entertain other thoughts."
The Ambassador tried to make the usual excuses for
his government, but could not conceal in his report the
fact that they were not accepted. It ends with the words :
"Julius II. requires that all the places that have been
occupied in the Romagna shall be restored to him.
Possibly events might occur which would induce him
and the Sacred College to leave Faenza and Rimini in
the hands of the Republic, but he will not consent to
anything until all the other places are evacuated." f
* Dispacci di A. Giustinian, H., 339, 347, 356-357. Cf. Reumont,
III., 2, 13, and G. Castellani, La dominazione veneta a Sant' Arcangelo.
Sanf Arcangelo, 1895. (Only 100 copies of the work have been
printed.)
t Dispacci di A. Giustinian, II., 360-363. Even after all this,
Giustinian still flattered himself that success was possible. On New
Year's Day he presented himself before the Pope and requested
"with courteous importunity" that as on that day it was customary
to make presents to one's friends, Julius would gratify the Republic,
which was so devoted to him, with the gift of Rimini and Faenza.
The Pope smiled, but answered that Venice must begin by restoring
THE POPE'S LETTER TO THE DOGE.
253
On the loth January, 1504, Julius addressed the follow-
ing letter to the Doge : —
" To our beloved Son, — Greeting and apostolical benediction :
Through Our Reverend brother the Bishop of Tivoli and by
various letters We have announced to your Serene Highness Our
firm resolution to demand the restoration of Our cities of Faenza
and Rimini, together with their castles and the other places which
your Highness has occupied since the death of Alexander VI.;
and We have repeatedly made the same demand to your
Ambassador. Therefore We cannot sufficiently express Our
surprise at not having yet received any definite answer. Since
We now learn from the aforenamed Bishop, Our Envoy, that the
subject is again to be laid before the Senate, it will be plain. We
trust, to your own wisdom and that of the assembly, that it is not
permissible to keep unlawful possession of that which belongs
to the Holy Roman Church, and that We are bound to use all
the means in Our power to obtain its restoration. From the
beginning of Our reign it has been Our steadfast purpose to
restore to the Church the territories of which she has been
despoiled ; to this W^e hold fast, and ever, shall do so. If your
Highness's Ambassador or any one else has written anything
different to your Highness or held out any hopes that We shall
come to an agreement on this point, he has written falsely;
for it is Our duty not to permit such an injury to be done to
God and to the dignity of Our position. We have always enter-
tained a just love and esteem for your Highness and the Re-
public, in the belief that, especially during Our Pontificate, you
would prove the defenders and not the usurpers of the rights of
the Church. Now, since nothing shall induce Us to desist from
demanding the restitution of these places, since God and our
Saviour Jesus Christ, who has committed the care of His Church
to Us, and Our office, impose this duty ui)on Us, We declare that
any one who writes or thinks otherwise, writes and thinks falsely.
Therefore We again admonish your Highness with all paternal
kindness, and command you in the name of the Lord to do freely
and at once that which in justice you are bound to do."*
Tossignano ; after that, negotiations in regard to the other places
might be entered upon. See Bkmbus, 258 ; Havkmann, II., 215.
*• RaynalDUS, ad an. 1504, n. i ; Sanuto, V., 733, cf. 732, 736.
254 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
All was in vain ; the Venetians were determined not
to part with their spoils. Secure of their strength, they
mocked at the Pope's threats.* Sooner or later, the battle
would have to be fought out.
In Venice there were stormy passages of arms between
the Papal Nuncio Leonini and the Doge. The French
Envoy vainly tried to act as a peacemaker.f In Rome
Giustinian continued with his " courteous importunity " to
press the Pope to bestow the unjustly gotten lands on
Venice as a vicariate. The exasperation of Julius at this
persistence increased from day to day, especially as he now
thought he perceived that the Republic was beginning to
aim at Forli also. J The Doge in conversation with
Leonini denied this, but admitted that the Venetians
would never give up the territories that they had once
occupied. They would sacrifice everything they had,
sooner than do this.§ In Rome, Julius said plainly to the
Venetian Ambassador that he would never rest till he
got back his lost possessions, and as he was not strong
enough to conquer them himself, he would seek for help
abroad. II
He kept his word ; but he was well aware that, beset and
unarmed as he was, there was great risk of finding himself
* Cf. "^Cataneo's Report, dated Rome, 25th Jan., 1504, which says :
*Venetiani persisteno in tenire che hanno in Romagna ne stimano chel
papa tenti tirarli ruina a le spalle cum ajuto de questi Re che sperano
uscime cum honore. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
+ Sanuto, v., 805, 835, 847. Cf. in Appendix, N. 22, the *Brief to
Leonini, of the 7th Feb., 1 504. Secret Archives of the Vatican.
X Cf. in Appendix, N. 23, the *Brief to Carvajal, of the 28th Feb., 1504.
(Secret Archives of the Vatican.) Cf also Dispacci di A. Giustinian,
III., 427 seq.., and *Cataneo's Report of the 5th Feb., 1504. Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua.
§ Sanuto, V., 847 ; De Leva, L, 83.
[| Dispacci di A. Giustinian, H., 415.
THE POPE SEEKS HELP AGAINST VENICE. 255
under galling bondage to the allies whom he might call in
against Venice.* Still he trusted to be able to find means
to escape, and he was convinced that there was no other
way open. A State so powerful and unscrupulous as
Venice could only be mastered by a coalition ; and from
the Spring of 1504 the Pope directed all his efforts to
bringing this about. He addressed himself to Louis XII.
of France,-]- and to Maximilian, as King of the Romans
and Protector of the Church. On the 2nd of March. 1504,
Mariano Bartolini of Perugia was sent to the German Court.
The Nuncio was charged to urge Maximilian to help the
Church against Venice, because it would be impossible
for the Pope to refrain any longer from laying the Re-
public under ban. J The instructions of the Nuncio in
France, Carlo de Carretto, Marquess of Finale, dated 14th
May, 1504, were of wider scope. He was to propose the
formation of a League between France, Maximilian, and
the Pope.§ In the early spring Cosimo de' Pazzi, Bishop
* Dispacci di A. Giustinian, III., 66 ; c/. 277.
t Cf. Raynaldus, ad an. 1 504, n. 4.
X ■'^Inslructio data dil. filio magistro Mariano de Bartolinis de Perusio
causarum palatii apost. auditori nuntio et oratori nostro. Dat. Rom. die
22 Febr., 1504, not only in CI. IX., Cod. 42 in the S. Mark's Library,
Venice (see Valentinelli, V., 231, and Brosch, Julius II., 112, 326),
but also in Cod. Urb., 864, in Ottob. 1888 in the Vatican Library; in
Cod. LV. in the Secret Archives of the Vatican (r/! Pieper, Nuntiaturcn,
45); and in Cod. 818 in the Corsini Library, Rome. Concerning the
mission of M. de Bartolinis, c/. Nuntiaturenberichte, I., xli. seg.; Pieper,
he. cit.\ Raynaldus, ad an. 1504, n. 5-6, 24 ; Dispacci di A. Giustinian,
III., 178 ; and in Appendix, N. 27, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36. 2>1, 39. t^^^' ^Briefs
of the 26th April, loth and 28th July, 12th Sept., ist, 17th and 28lh Oct.,
1504. Secret Archives of the Vatican.
§ Brosch in Sybels Hist. Zeitschr., XXXVII., 302 seq., and Julius IL,
112, 326, was the first to make use of Carretto's *Instruction, dat. Rom.,
14th May, 1 504, out of the Codex in the Lib. S. Marco. The Instruc-
tion is also in Cod. LV. of the Varia Polit. (Secret Archives of the
256 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
of Arezzo, had been sent to Spain, but his mission proved
a total failure.* Ferdinand refused to receive him on the
ground that he was a Florentine and a partisan of France,
so that Julius II. was obliged to recall him in November,
I504.-|- How unfriendly Ferdinand's sentiments towards
the Holy See were at that time, may be gathered from the
fact that in the Spring of 1504 his representative in Rome
made overtures to the Venetians for an alliance with
them.J Julius II. also endeavoured to induce Hungary to
put a strong pressure upon Venice to constrain her to give
up her booty. §
Vatican) ; in Cod. Urb., 864, Ottob. 2515; and in Cod. 1 1 5 in the Capilupi
Library, Mantua. Cf. in Appendix, N. 29, 30, the "^Brief to Queen Anna,
of the 1 6th May, and to Louis XIL of the 8th June, 1504. In a "^Brief to
C. de Carretto, which unfortunately bears no date, we find : *Ages etiam
gratias dil. fil. nostro G[eorgio] card^^ Rothomagen.; ejus auctoritate et
benignitate a rege et regina christianissimis omnia facilius impetrabis in
quo nos praecipuam fiduciam gerimus cognita eius in nos et ad honorem
s. apost. sedis tarn prona constantique voluntate. "^Lib. brev. 29, f. 23.
Secret Archives of the Vatican.
■^ See "^Instructiones dat r. episc. Aretino praelato domestico ad regem
et reginam Hispaniae, dat. Rome, 14th March, 1504 ; cf. the Codex in
the Library of S. Mark (Brosch, JuHus IL, 113 seq.^ 326) ; Cod, 8 1 8 in the
Corsini Library, Varia Polit., 55, i. 420-433, in the Secret Archives of the
Vatican ; and Cod. Urb. 864 in the Vatican Library. A *Brief from
Julius IL to Louis XIL, dat. 20th Feb., 1504, is extant, in which Cosmus
episcopus Aretinus quem in Hispanias cum pot. legati de latere mittimus
is recommended to him as a trustworthy man : *Lib. brev. 22, f. 26b.
In the same place, f 39b, a similar "^Brief to Florence, dated Rome, 22nd
March, 1 504. Secret Archives of the Vatican.
t In regard to C. de' Pazzi's mission, Brosch, 113, is so confused
that he expresses a doubt as to whether he ever actually started. Here,
as elsewhere, he has overlooked Raynaldus, ad an. 1504, n. 21. The
*Brief recalling him, 29th Nov., 1504, is in Appendix, N. 41. Secret
Archives of the Vatican.
X Dispacci di A. Giustinian, III., 505 seq.
§ See Theiner, Mon. Ung., 1 1., 558-560, and in Appendix, N. 32,
VENICE: BEGINS TO GIVE WAY. 257
Meanwhile the missions to France and Germany had
produced some good results. On the 22nd of September,
1504, an agreement directed against Venice had been
concluded at Blois.* In Rome, in November, it began to
be said that the Pope was going to pronounce the censures
of the Church on the Republic. It was quite true that
he was fully determined to cut the claws of the Lion of
S. Mark. On the 4th of December he put a long list of
grievances before the Consistory, and remarked that, all
else having failed, it would be necessary to have recourse
to spiritual weapons. f
Alarmed by the clouds which now seemed gathering on
all sides, the Venetians at last made up their minds to give
way to a certain extent. Hitherto they had " put off the
Pope with words and nothing else," now they endeavoured
to conciliate him " by some concessions which were of real
practical value." I Meanwhile it was of great advantage
to them to have been able to procrastinate for so long.
The agreement of Blois broke down, Spain was not to be
won, Maximilian and Louis XII. fell out with each other.
In March 1505, Venice at last withdrew from several of
the towns in the Romagna, amongst others from Sant'
37, 42, the ^Briefs to Leonini of the loth July, 17th Oct., and 17th Dec,
1 504. Secret Archives of the Vatican.
* HUBER, III., 359; Ulmann, II., 155 seq.; Hofler, A. del Burgo,
457 se^-
t Dispacci di A. Giustinian, III., 324. C/. Costabili's *Despatch of
the 2 1 St Aug., 1504 (State Archives, Modena), from which there is an e.\-
tract inBALAN,V., 437 ; the Briefs inTuElNER, Mon. Ung., II., 560-562;
and in Appendix, N. 42, the *Brief to Leonini of 17th Dec, 1504.
On the 29th Dec. Julius addressed a *Lettcr to the Ant. Surianus
elect. Venetian, in which he complained bitterly of the retention of Faenza
and Rimini by the Republic. *Lib. brev. 22; £ 24S. Secret Archives
of the Vatican.
X BROSCH, Julius II., 1 18.
VOL. VI. S
258 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Arcangelo, Montefior, Savignano, Tossignano, and Porto
Cesenatico. The Duke of Urbino assured the Doge that
the Republic would not be troubled any more about
Rimini and Faenza. " No doubt " says Sigismondo de'
Conti, " the Duke wished that this might be the case ; but
he had little knowledge of the mind of Julius II., who had
no notion of relinquishing these places/'*
In recompense for this act of partial restitution effected
in March 1505, Julius now consented to receive the Vene-
tian profession of obedience, but still only under protest
(May 5, I505).t Hieronymus Donatus pronounced the
oration ; it was full of the usual extravagant phrases of
the new style of oratory. The Pope's reply was brief and
formal. J
The Venetian Envoys for the profession of obedience
entered Rome with great pomp, and flattered themselves
with the hope of persuading Julius to consent to the
retention by the Republic of Faenza and Rimini, but
had not the smallest success. "The Pope," writes the
Florentine Envoy, " holds fast to his rights, and every one
thinks that he will get them." §
* Sigismondo de' Conti, II., 340. Cf, Brosch, loc. ci7., and Tom-
MASINI, Machiavelli, I., 326.
t Cf. Paris de Grassis, ed. Dollinger, 366. Burchardi Diarium,
III., 387 ; and Sanuto, VI., 160 seq., 164, 165 se^., 168, 171 se^.
X Giov. Acciaiuoli's Report in Dispacci di A. Giustinian, III., 542.
Donato's speech was printed at the time and is to be found with other
obedience-orations addressed to Julius II. in an old large octavo volume
in the Library of S. Peter at Salzburg: Hieronymi doctoris apud Julium
II. P. M. oratoris Veneti in obedientia oratio. 8 folio leaves.
§ G. Acciaiuoli's Despatch of the 15th May, 1505, /oc. cit.^ 543.
CHAPTER III.
Subjugation of Perugia and Bologna. — Downfali, of the
Baglioni and Bentivogli.
Julius II. was not so absorbed in his efforts to regain
all that the Church had lost in the Romagna, as to ne-
glect the equally necessary work of restoring her authority
in the other provinces. In February 1504, he induced the
Florentines to give back Citerna in the neighbourhood
of Perugia, which they had occupied after the death of
Alexander VI.* In May o{ the following year Anticoli
and Nepi were again brought under the immediate rule of
the Church ; f but the reconstitution of the States of the
Church could never be solidly effected until the feuds
of the Roman Barons were appeased and their adhesion
secured. This Julius II. sought to accomplish by means
of family alliances.
In November 1505, Niccolo della Rovere, a younger
brother of Galeotto, was married to Laura Orsini, only
* Dispacci di A. Giiistinian, II., 299.
t *Julius II. Job. Antonio de Forlivio, provinciae Campaniae et
Maritimae gubematori, dat. 29th Mali, 1505. Rcdiit ad inimediatam
curam oppidum Anticoli ; in consequence of the death of Card. A. Sforza,
he is to occupy Anticoli in the Cardinal's name. Similar orders in
regard to Nepi were given on the same day to Alexander of Neronibus.
*Lib. brev. 22, f. 295. (Secret Archives of the Vatican.) In Sept. 1505,
Julius II. made a short tour through the States of the Church, in the
course of which he visited Nepi; see Burchardi Diarium, III.,
400 seg^., and ''^'Acta Consist., f. 18. Consistorial Archives of the
Vatican.
26o HISTORY OF THE POPES.
daughter and heiress of Orso Orsini and Giulia Farnese.*
A month later the Mantuan Agent announces the approach-
ing betrothal of Madonna Felice, natural daughter of
Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere, with the youthful Marc-
antonio Colonna.*!- This project, however, as well as some
others of the same nature, was given up.J On the 24th of
May, 1506, Felice was married to Giovanni Giordano, the
head of the Orsini of Bracciano, in the Vice-Chancellor's
Palace.§ The Venetian Ambassador remarks on the con-
trast between the ways of Julius II. and those of Alexander
VI. on this occasion. The wedding was privately cele-
brated, all public tokens of rejoicing being forbidden ; the
wedding festivities were deferred till the arrival of the young
couple at Bracciano, where they spent their honeymoon.||
Felice's dowry also was by no means a large one.lF Two
months later, another alliance between the Colonna and
Rovere families took place, in the marriage of Marcantonio
Colonna to a niece of the Pope's. Frascati was given to
Marc.antonio, together with Julius II.'s former Palace of the
SS. Apostoli.** By these means Julius trusted that he had
* Gregorovius, Lucrezia Borgia, 128 seg^.
t ^Brognolo's Report, dated Rome, 12th Dec, 1505. Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua.
:j: Sanuto, v., 771, 784, 798, 935 ; VI., 128. Cf. Dispacci di A.
Giustinian, III., 334 seg., 354 se^., 390, 393, 409 seg'., 437 se^. On
Card. Giuliano's daughters, see Vol. V. of this work, p. 369, note t.
§ On Orsini's eccentricities, for which he was called " pubblico pazzo,"
see Luzio, IMantova e Urbino, 178 seg'. On the Pope's intervention
with Ferdinand of Spain in favour of G. G. Orsini, see in Appendix,
N. 60, 65, the "^Brief of Jan., 1507. In regard to Madonna Felice, cf.
ClAN, Cortegiano, 318.
II Sanuto, VI., 347, 359.
% It is most frequently estimated at 15,000 ducats. G. Arsago, in a
*Report on the marriage, dat. Rome, 24th May, 1506, makes it 20,000
ducats, of which 12,000 came from the Pope. G onzaga Archives, Mantua.
** COPPI, Mem. Colonnesi, 251 ; Gregorovius, VIII., 44, ed. 3.
BOLOGNA AND PERUGIA TO BE RECOVERED. 261
now secured the loyalty of the most powerful of the Roman
families, and could turn his attention without danger from
that quarter to the restoration of the authority of the Holy
See in Bologna and Perugia.
Without any legal title, and simply by force of arms, the
Baglioni had made themselves masters of Perugia, and the
Bentivogli of Bologna ; the only trace of the Pope's authority
that still remained was an insignificant toll on the revenues
of these two wealthy cities. In Bologna especially, which
was the largest city but one of the States of the Church,
and its bulwark on that side, all power was practically
entirely in the hands of Giovanni Bentivoglio. His govern-
ment, though not so bad as that of the licentious Giampaolo
Baglione in Perugia, was anything but satisfactory. His
haughty consort, and more especially his four sons, had made
the name of Bentivoglio thoroughly detested in the city
by their tyranny and violence. Numbers of exiles from
Bologna and Perugia, who had taken refuge in Rome, were
perpetually urging the Pope to intervene and deliver their
cities from the tyrants who oppressed them.* Julius II.
listened to all their representations, but took his time. He
made his preparations quietly, collecting money and troops.
At last, when a favourable turn in the political situation
seemed to promise success, he resolved to make the attempt.^
* Cf. GUICCIARDINI, VII., C. I ; SUGENHEIM, 393,395 ; TOMMASINI,
Machiavelli, I., 333, 335. On the cruelties of the Baglioni, see Alfani,
248 ; cf. Fabretti, III., i2g se^., 233. On the Bentivogli, see Jovius,
Elog., lib. v., 171 ; cf. also Ratti, II., 148 seg. ; Gozzadini, Memorie
per la vita di Giovanni II. Bentivoglio (Bologna, 1839), 152 j^y-, ^nitl
Gozzadini, Alcuni awenimenti, Gyseg. On the importance of Bologna,
see ^Letter to Thomasino Barbicro macciero de N. S. papa to the 40
presides libert. Bonon., dated Rome, 4th May, i 507. Here Bologna is
called la piu florida ettriomphante citta de Italia. *LeUcre di anibascui-
tori e diversi da Roma. State Archives, Bologniu
t Lanz, Einleitung, 86.
262 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
It was not till March 1506, that news first reached Venice
that the Pope was seriously considering plans for bringing
Perugia and Bologna back again under the direct govern-
ment of the Church. At first this was not believed ; but
later accounts left no room to doubt its truth. It appeared
that Julius II. expected the co-operation of France, and
counted on a neutral attitude on the part of the Republic.
The Signoria did their best to dissuade him from this
undertaking, repeatedly urging the danger that Maximilian
might enter Italy, a possibility that had been already a
good deal talked of.* In Rome several of the Cardinals,
and especially Caraffa, were against it ;■]• but the Pope was
not to be moved. It seemed to him that the favourable
opportunity had now arrived for getting rid of the Bentivogli,
who had given him much cause to complain of them when
he was Bishop of Bologna. " Rome," says Paris de Grassis,
the Papal Master of Ceremonies, " was quiet, the pre-
parations for war were completed. Julius II. himself
headed the expedition, accompanied by all his Court and
nearly all the Cardinals ; only such members of the Sacred
College as were incapacitated by age or sickness were per-
mitted to remain behind. The Legation of Rome was
given to Cardinal S. Giorgio." I
In order to be prepared for all contingencies, Julius II.
* Sanuto, VI., 322, 349, 377, 385-386, 394 ; cf. Appendix, N. 50,
*G. Arsago's Report of 15th Aug., 1506. Gonzaga ArchiveSj Mantua.
t Sanuto, VI., 394, 407.
X Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 3-4 ; c/. 20-21. Gregorovius,
VII., 44, ed. 3; Reumont, III., 2, 20; and Creighton, IV., 87, are
mistaken in their statement that B. Cibo was left behind as Regent. S.
Giorgio is named as Regent, not only by P. de Grassis but also by SlGlS-
MONDO de' Coxti, II., 348, and Arsago in a *Letter, dated Rome, 20th
Aug., 1 506. The latter says that only the Rota remained in Rome ; all
the auditors have gone with the Pope ; to-morrow 200 Albanian mer-
cenaries are coming from Naples. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua,
ATTITUDE OF FRANCE AND VENICE. 263
had concluded alliances with Florence, Siena, Mantua,
Ferrara, and Urbino.* Still the expedition was " a bold
undertaking, and would be a master-stroke if it succeeded.
Now that the Papacy was hemmed in on the South by
Spain in Naples, it was essential to provide for greater
expansion on the northern side ; the fulcrum of politics
for the States of the Church was pushed upwards into
Central Italy ; and Umbria, Tuscany, and the Romagna
acquired a new importance for the Holy See."j-
The hazards of the enterprise were increased by the
attitude of Venice and France, from neither of whom could
the Pope obtain any certain answer.
In France the difficulties came chiefly from Cardinal
d'Amboise. Julius II. had hoped to conciliate his former
rival by making him, soon after his election, not only
Legate of France, but also of Avignon and Venaissin : he
trusted by this means to put an end to the perpetual
wranglings between the vassals of the Papacy and those
of France. But the conduct of d'Amboise as Legate was
far from satisfactory ; he embezzled the money that he had
to collect, and took no pains to conceal that he wished and
hoped to be the next Pope.J Julius 11. was well aware of
all this, but in his present position he could not afford to
engage in an open conflict with the all-powerful minister,
or his master. He continued, therefore, on friendly terms
with both, and endeavoured to meet their wishes in
everything, as far as he could. § But it was not possible
* SUGENHEIM, 393. In a "^Brief, dated Rome, 19th April, 1506,
Julius II. promised the Sienese, in return for their faithfuhicss, to
protect the hberties of tlieir city both by arms and censures. Slate
Archives, Siena, Cassa della Lupa.
t GREGOROVIUS, VI 1 1., 45, ed. 3.
X Raynaldus, ad an. 1503, n. 23; 1505, n. 13; Hkkgenko'i ni;R,
VIII., 402.
§ C/. the ■'^Brief to d'Amboise, dated Rome, i6th May, 1505, in which
264 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
that this state of things should be of long duration. In
the Summer of 1505 serious differences with France arose
in connection with the allotment of the benefices which
had been held by Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, and to these
were added disputes about appointments to Bishoprics.*
The creation of Cardinals which took place on the 12th of
December, 1505, in which the Ambassador of Louis, Robert
Chaland, received the purple, gave rise to new misunder-
standings. The King was extremely annoyed because the
Archbishop of Auch and the Bishop of Bayeux had not
also been admitted into the Sacred College. Alluding to
the dangerous illness which he had had in the Spring he ex-
claimed, " In Italy they think I am dead ; but I will shew
the Holy Father that I am still alive." To revenge him-
self, he confiscated the revenues of all benefices belonging
to the Pope's nominees in the Milanese.-j* Julius II., whose
position in the States of the Church was still very insecure,
was obliged to control himself He tried to conciliate the
King, and on Christmas Day sent him a consecrated sword
by the hands of Pierre le Filleul, Bishop of Sisteron. J
This accomplished diplomatist succeeded in establishing
better relations between Rome and France. In matters
the Pope expresses his satisfaction at the recovery of Louis XII., and his
wilHngness to comply with the wishes of the King and the Cardinal in
regard to the Bishopric of Clermont. On the 19th May he writes a
■^Letter expressly for the purpose of congratulating the French King on
his recovery. "^Lib. brev. 22, f. 288, 307, 309. (Secret Archives of the
Vatican.) The Pope composed besides special prayers of thanksgiving
on this occasion. See the Bull of the i6th May, 1505, in the Arch, du
Puy-de-D6me, Maulde, Origines, 318-319.
* Sanuto, VI., 176, 228 ; Desjardins, II., 103.
t Desjardins, II., 153-154 ; Sanuto, VI., 275.
X Sanuto, VI., 279, 282. Cf, Appendix, N. 48, the ^Report of the
Mantuan Envoy, dated Rome, 24th Dec, 1505. Gonzaga Archives,
Mantua.
THE POPE SETS OUT FOR BOLOGNA. 265
concerning the Church, Louis XII. gave in to the Pope, and
in April 1505, negotiations commenced for obtaining the
assistance of France in the expedition against Perugia and
Bologna.* The King began by endeavouring to persuade
Julius to relinquish his plans, and tried, in June, to take
advantage of the situation by requesting that two French
prelates should be made Cardinals.f The negotiations
dragged on interminably, without any result, and the
patience of the Pope was sorely tried. Venice reiterated
her warnings against the expedition in a menacing tone.
At last the brave old Pontiff determined to try the effect of
the accomplished fact. The step he took " furnished
Machiavelli with a proof of his thesis, that what never
could have been accomplished by ordinary means, is often
achieved by precipitation and daring." " The Pope,"
writes the famous Florentine politician, " knew that it was
impossible for him to drive the Bentivogli- out of Bologna
without help from France and neutrality on the part of
Venice. When he saw that he could get nothing from
either but uncertain and evasive answers, he resolved to
bring both to the point by giving them no time to
deliberate. He started from Rome with as many soldiers
as he could collect, sending word to the Venetians that
they were not to interfere, and to the King of France that
he must send troops to support him. Thus they had
hardly any time to consider, and as it was plain that if they
hesitated or refused the Pope would be extremely angry,
they did what he wanted ; the King of France sent him
help, and the Venetians remained neutral."J
♦ Desjardins, II., 164 seg.; Sanuto, VI., 311.
+ Sanuto, VI., 351.
X Disc, sopra la I. Deca di T. Livio, III., c. 44 ; Brosch, Julius II.,
127. On the astonishment produced by this bold action on the part of
the Pope, c/. the Report of the Florentine Ambassador at the French
266 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
In a Secret Consistory on the 17th August, 1506, Julius
II., after enumerating the crimes of Giovanni Bentivoglio,
mentioned for the first time his intention of taking the
field in person against him. On the 21st it was decided
that the expedition should start from Rome on the 24th.
On the following day Briefs were despatched to the allied
Princes of Mantua and Urbino, desiring them to join the
Papal army on its march.* Eventually its departure was
put off to the 26th.'|'
To avoid the mid-day heat the start was made before sun-
rise. The Pope first heard a low Mass, and gave his part-
ing blessing to the people at the Porta S. Maria Maggiore.
He was accompanied by nine Cardinals and 500 fully
Court in Desjardins, II., 179. From the documents here published,
p. 182, we see that as late as the middle of September the King had
denounced the expedition.
* Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 4, 20. See Appendix, N. 51, the Brief
to Fr. Gonzaga of the 22nd August, 1506. On the 15th of August the
Mantuan Envoy stated in his Report that the Pope would set forth with-
out fail in eight days. (Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.) The "^Brief to the
Duke of Urbino, dat. Aug. 22, says that the Pope hopes to see him in
Perugia on the 2nd or 3rd of Sept. *Lib. brev. 22, f. 548. Secret Archives
of the Vatican.
t This date is often given incorrectly. Ranke, Rom. und Germ.
Volker, 215, names the 20th ; Reumont, III., 2, 20, the 23rd ; GOZZA-
DINI, Avvenimenti, 70, the 27th August. Even in contemporary w^riters
it is often inaccurate, e.g., SiGlSMONDO DE' CONTI, II., 348, says the 28th
August ; the chronicle in the Varia Polit., 50, f. 61 (Secret Archives of the
Vatican), the 25th August ; and Sanuto, VI., 407, the 2nd August. But
the 26th is established as the true date by PARIS DE Grassis, ed. Frati,
21 ; Cardinal Adriano di Cometo's poem on the Pope's expedition (Iter
Julii Pont. Ro. per Hadrianum Card. S. Chrysogoni as an appendix to
the work De sermone latino [Basle, 1518], in ClACONiuS, III., 235 seq..^
and ROSCOE, I., 519) ; and the *Acta Consist. (Consistorial Archives of
the Vatican.) On the dissatisfaction in Rome at the Pope's departure
owing to the fears entertained that it might entail a new Avignon, see
Scheurl, Briefbuch, 28.
HIS ARRIVAL AT VITERBO. 267
armed knights, who, with their retainers, made up a much
larger force than the number mentioned.* Their first
halting-place was Formello, where the Pope was received
by Giovanni Giordano Orsini and his wife. On the follow-
ing day Julius went on to Nepi, where three more of the
Cardinals joined him. The march was always begun
before sunrise. On the 28th August they arrived at the
little town of Civita Castellana, which possesses a noble
castle with which Julius was delighted. Here a halt was
made on account of the Feast of S. John the Baptist ; and
Machiavelli, then Florentine Envoy, promised the support
of his government towards the subjugation of Bologna.
On the way from Nepi to Civita Castellana good news had
arrived from the French Court, which greatly rejoiced the
Pope. On the other hand, he also heard that Giovanni
Bentivoglio was determined to resist.j*
It was still quite dark when on Sunday, the 30th August,
after hearing Mass, the Pope set off for Viterbo. At
Fabrica refreshments were provided by Cardinal Girolamo
Basso della Rovere. In the evening a solemn entry was
made into Viterbo, which was decorated for the occasion.
According to the usual custom the Blessed Sacrament was
carried before the Pope, who was attended by seventeen
Cardinals. During his stay in this place Julius II. drew up
further regulations for the maintenance of the reconciliation
between the contending parties there which he had suc-
ceeded in effecting in the previous year. The Legation
was given to Cardinal Leonardo Grosso della Rovere. At
the same time the Archbishop of Siponto was despatched
as Nuncio to Bologna with a stern message, and the Arch-
* Grimm, I., 291, ed. 5.
+ Paris deGrassis, ed. Frati, 21 seq.\ Machiavelli's Letter of tlic
28th August, 1 506 ; and *Acta Consist. Consistorial Archives of the
Vatican.
268 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
bishop of Aix to Milan, to lead the French army of assist-
ance against Castelfranco ; the Pope also sent money for
the hire of a troop of Swiss foot-soldiers.*
On the 4th September Julius II. hurried on to Monte-
fiascone, where he inspected the castle and stopped for the
mid-day meal.f The house in which this was provided was
in such a rickety condition that the floor had to be sup-
ported with props. With a playful allusion to the famous
wine of the place, Julius II. observed, "These are wise
precautions lest we should fall through, and people might
say we had had too much Montefiascone." On the 5th he
set off again for Orvieto, as usual two hours before sunrise. J
It was so dark, says Paris de Grassis, who accompanied the
expedition as Grand-Master of Ceremonies, that nothing
could be distinguished. A number of people had spent
the night in the open air in hopes of seeing the Pope, who
had to have torches carried before him. Orvieto gave him
a festive reception. An oak tree, to correspond with the
arms of his family, adorned the principal square. Instead
of acorns, little boys dressed as angels were perched on the
extremities of its branches and on its topmost boughs.
Orpheus leant against the trunk and recited Latin verses
in praise of the Pope, to which the angels responded in
chorus. A girandola was lighted to greet him on his return
from the Cathedral, whither he had gone to venerate the
famous Corporal and give his blessing to the people. Here
also an immense crowd from the neighbourhood had
■* Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 27-30 ; Sigismondo de' Conti, II.,
348 ; and *Acta Consist. Consistorial Archives of the Vatican.
t In the Frati ed. the text of Paris de Grassis has : Die 6 Veneris.
But the Friday in 1 506 fell on the 4th, and that is the date also given in
the "^Acta Consist.
X Here, too, the text of PARIS DE Grassis in Frati, 32, is incorrect : in
die Sabbati septimo Septemb. The right date is in "^Acta Consist.
Secret Archives of the Vatican.
SUBMISSION OF GIAMPAOLO BAGLIONE. 269
assembled to receive his blessing. The Duke of Urbino
and Antonio Ferreri, the Legate of Perugia, arrived at
Orvieto on the same day as the Pope.* Both had been
negotiating with Giampaolo Baglione, who had hesitated for
some time as to whether, considering the strength of his
citadel and the troops that he had with him, it might not
be worth while to resist. But he had little confidence in
the loyalty of the citizens, who, he knew, preferred the
Papal government to his, and also feared the hostility of the
Oddi party. He knew, too, the character of his adversary
and that he was not one to do anything by halves.*)- Hence
he finally resolved to accept the conditions proposed by the
Papal Envoys and to submit. He came himself to Orvieto
and promised to hand over all the defences of Perugia
and the fastnesses in the neighbourhood to the Papal com-
manders, to recall most of the exiles, to send his two sons
to Urbino as hostages, and finally to join the expedition
against Bologna with 150 men. On the 8th September
he returned to Perugia, accompanied by the Legate and the
Duke of Urbino, to prepare for the entry of the Pope.
On the following day Julius H. left Orvieto. On his
journey he received a letter from the Marquess of Mantua
announcing that he would arrive at Perugia on the 12th
of September and take part personally in the expedition
against Bentivoglio.| When they came to the little village
of Castiglione on the Lake of Thrasimene, which contained
neither accommodation nor food enough for the Pope's
* Julius had announced Ferreri's nomination to the Perugians on the
4th April, 1506. See the *Brief of that date in the City Archives,
Perugia.
t Reumont, III., 2, 20, and Sugenheim, 393.
X Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 36, and *Acta Consist. (Consistorial
Archives of the Vatican.) C/. in Appendix, N. 52, the Brief to F. Gonzaga
of the loth Sept., 1506. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
270 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
retinue, to the dismay of his suite he announced his inten-
tion of remaining there some days. He did this, Paris de
Grassis says, in order to give BagHone time to organise his
men. But the commissariat at Castiglione presented such
difficulties that on the nth Juhus was obHged to move on
across the lake to the Isola Maggiore, and thence to
Passignano.
On the 1 2th they proceeded to Corciano. They were
joined on the way thither by the Condottiere Giovanni
Soffatelli with 700 men. At Corciano Cardinal Francois
Guillaume Clermont arrived with a letter from Louis XII.
about Bologna.* It was soon known that he was charged
with the hopeless task of trying to persuade Julius to give
up his enterprise.-|*
On Sunday, the 13th September,;]: Julius made his entry
into Perugia with great pomp. The eight Priors in gala
dress met him at the Porta San Pietro with the keys of the
city. All the bells were rung, the streets were thronged
with people and decorated with triumphal arches. Twenty
Cardinals, the Duke of Urbino, Giovanni Gonzaga, and many
of the Roman Barons accompanied the Pope. He went
first to the Cathedral, where the Papal choir sang the Te
Deum, which was followed by the solemn Benediction of the
people and the proclamation of an Indulgence.§ Julius II.
* Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 37-39, and *Acta Consist. Consis-
torial Archives of the Vatican.
t Cf. Machiavelli's Letters of the 13th and 14th Sept., 1506.
X Not on 1 2th Sept. as Gregorovius, VIII., 45, ed. 3, states.
§ Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 40 seq.\ cf. Alfani, 249 seq. Guic-
CIARDINI, VII., c. I, says : il pontefice entro in Perugia senza forze ed in
mode che era in potesta di Giampagolo di farlo prigione, etc. Machia-
velli, in his letter of 13th Sept., remarks that the Papal troops were
stationed close to the Gate, and those of Baglione at a short distance
from it, so that the Pope and Cardinals were completely in the power of
the latter. Later, in his speech on the first Decas of Livy, Machia-
JULIUS II. IN PERUGIA. 2; I
took up his abode in the Palace of the Priors. On the i/th,
the Marquess Francesco Gonzaga arrived. Three days
later the Pope celebrated a solemn High Mass in the church
of the Franciscans ; he had commenced his studies in early
youth as a poor scholar in this convent ; now he wished
to thank God and S. Francis for his elevation to the high-
est dignity in the world.*
The Pope was so much inspirited by the success which
had thus far attended his expedition that his thoughts
soared now to higher flights. He began to talk of setting
forth to deliver Constantinople and Jerusalem out of the
hands of the unbelievers as soon as things had been set in
order in Italy; not of course, however, until the Church had
got back her States — that, he said emphatically, was an in-
dispensable preliminary. He commanded the celebrated
preacher Aegidius of Viterbo, of the Order of the Hermits of
velli blamed Baglione and accused him of cowardice for not having the
courage to make himself master of the Pope's person. (See Vol. V. of this
work, p. 165.) It is, however, evident, from the clear account given by
Paris de Grassis, who was an eye-witness, from the words of Aegidius of
Viterbo (in Hofler, 384), and the description in the Annal. dec. (cum
maximo gentium armorum et aliorum numero, in Fabretti, III., I94)that
Julius was far from having entered Perugia unarmed, and that his troops
practically occupied the city. The risk for him cannot therefore have
been so great as it is made out to be by Guicciardini and Machiavelli ;
their statement that he came in without troops is simply false. The
Venetian Envoy (Sanuto, VI., 421) reports 2000 armed men entered
the city with the Pope, though he adds : et h. frato intrar in la terra 500
fanti di note per dubito. Naturally, the troops were for the most part
quartered outside the city. No doubt Julius shewed some courage in
acting as. he did ; but he was not as rash as Machiavelli makes him
appear. F. Cubello also in a ^Letter to F. Gonzaga, dated Perugia, the
14th Sept., 1506, reports : "'^^Hieri il papa intro in pompa con tuta
la corte in ordine et tute le gente d'arme in ordinecum 150 stradioti, etc.
Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
* Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 44. C/. Fabretti, III., 200 se^.
272 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
S. Augustine, to deliver a sermon on this subject while he
and the Cardinals were at Perugia; and again later at
Bologna he desired him to preach in a similar sense. In
his review of the reign of Julius II. Aegidius says that it
was generally thought that the Pope would have carried
out this project if he had not been hindered by the blind-
ness of men.*
Julius remained eight days in the newly-won city. He
spent this time in labouring earnestly to bestow on its
unfortunate inhabitants the blessings of a settled peace.f
* Gregorovius, VIII., 45, ed. 3, is mistaken in supposing that the
report of Aegidius has never been printed ; it has been published by
HoFLER, p. 387. Cerri, 176. also quotes it, and his sermons on the
Turkish question are mentioned by Sanuto, VI., 427. Aegidius was
also to have delivered a discourse on peace at Perugia, but, to the great
annoyance of Julius, preached a panegyric on the Pope instead. See
Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 46. Albertini, XXIII., also alludes
to the crusading projects of Julius. Zinkeisen, Oriental. Frage, 554,
though unacquainted with these authorities, is of opinion that he had the
war against the Turks very much at heart. Cf, also PiCHLER, I., 503,
and Frakn6i, Liga von Cambrai, 11 seq.^ 23 seq.^ 34 seq.^ 43 seq.^
54 seq. But though numerous Briefs in Raynaldus shew that the atten-
tion of Julius II. was repeatedly turned towards the defence of Christen-
dom against the Turks {cf. also Paris de Grassis' Report, ed. Dollinger,
390), still Zinkeisen and Pichler appear to judge him too favourably in
this respect. He was too much engrossed with Italian affairs to be able
to give the Turkish question anything but quite a secondary place in his
thoughts At the same time, until Dr. Gottlob's Monograph of Julius II.
has come out, it will be right to suspend our judgment on this subject.
The energetic support given by this Pope to King Emmanuel of Portugal's
naval enterprises, which were regarded as crusading expeditions, appears
in a great number of Briefs and Bulls, some of which are dated from
Perugia at this very time. See Corp. dipl. Portug,, I., 61 seq.^ 93 seq..,
98 seq.., 99 seq.., loi seq.., 102 seq.., 119 seq. A letter from Rome of
15th Oct., 1509, in the Acta Tomic, I., 49, which has hitherto been over-
looked, reports later projects of Julius II. for a Crusade.
t On the 14th Sept. F. Cubello reports to F. Gonzaga : *El N. S.
JULIUS ENTERS URBINO. 2/3
The baneful and detested rule of the Baglioni was at an
end. From henceforth the beautiful city was again to enjoy
its municipal liberties and republican constitution under
the sovereignty of the Church. The exiles were allowed to
return, with the exception of those only whose hands were
stained with the blood of their fellow-citizens. The magis-
tracy of the Ten was abolished. Julius left the old liber-
ties untouched. Cardinal Antonio Ferreri was appointed
Legate.*
The ardent spirit of the Pope was too much occupied with
Bologna to remain any longer in Perugia.f On the 21st
of September he started for Gubbio, which he reached on
the 22nd; on the 23rd he was at Cantiano, and on the 25th
entered Urbino, crossing the Appenines by the pass of
Furlo. The gates were taken down by the Duke, while the
Prefect presented the keys of the city to the Pope.J Julius,
from the artistic side of his nature, was charmed with the
Palace of Montefeltro; but his mind was too full of the
negotiations with Bologna and France to give much
attention to anything else.
attende cum ogni diligencia ordinar le cose di Perosa. Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua.
* SiGISMONDO DE' CONTI, II., 348 seq. ; SUGENHEIM, 394 ; LEO, V.,
183 ; Faeretti, III., 302 ; Ranke, Papste, I., 251, ed. 6. In the fol-
lowing year fresh disturbances broke out in Perugia (Mariotti, III.,
564), in consequence of which Card. Ferreri was recalled and Card.
Leonardo della Rovere sent in his place. Julius II. informed the
citizens of these changes in his *Briefs of the ist and 2nd Feb., 1507
(City Archives, Perugia), and in Cod. C, IV., i, of the University Library,
Genoa.
t Cf. the Brief of 14th Sept., 1506 ; Ravnaldus, ad an. 1506, n. 24.
X UUMESNIL, 66, incorrectly gives the 23rd as the day of the cntr}',
and there are other mistakes also in his Itinerary of the Pope. Cf.
Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 50, and ♦Acta Consist, in the Consistorial
Archives of the Vatican. Among recent writers see UCOLINI, II.,
137 seq.^ and Luzio, Mantova e Urbino, 172 seq.
VOL. VI. T
274 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
He had sent Antonio da Monte San Savino, Archbishop
of Manfredonia, to Bologna to endeavour to arrange terms
for its return to its allegiance to the Church,* but
Giovanni Bentivoglio had anticipated the Archbishop and
completely frustrated his mission. At first, Sigismondo de'
Conti says, he had been disposed to submit, but the con-
sciousness of his many misdeeds led him eventually to
change his mind. He succeeded in cajoling the citizens
into assuring the Papal Envoy that their Prince was no
tyrant, but a true father to his people. All the Archbishop's
kindly admonitions proved unavailing, and when at last he
threatened them with the censures of the Church, Benti-
voglio and the magistrates appealed to a General Councn.f
The Pope had intended to await the result of the Arch-
bishop's mission at Urbino, but the moment he heard that
he was on his way back, in spite of the dissuasions of the
Duke and others, he determined to set out to meet him.
In the early morning of the 29th September he started
for Macerata.J The roads were mere bridle paths, the
weather had broken, and the hills were covered with snow,
so that it was not possible on the 30th to set out till after
mid-day. The rain fell in torrents and the sumpter-mules
stumbled and .fell on the slippery paths, but the Pope
struggled on with passionate haste towards San Marino.
He halted for the night in the suburb of Borgo, and here
a letter reached him from the King of France promising to
send troops and announcing his intention of coming him-
self in Advent to Bologna, where he hoped to meet the
* Sanuto, VI., 421-422.
t Sigismondo de' Conti, II., 349-350. Cf. also Scheurl, Brief-
buch, 26 seq.
X Sigismondo de' Conti wrongly gives the 30th (II., 351). Cf.
Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 53 ; Letter of Machiavelli of ist Oct.,
1 506, and "^Acta Consist., Consistorial Archives of the Vatican.
HE ENDEAVOURS TO CONCILIATE VENICE. 275
Pope.* This set Julius II. free from his greatest anxiety.
The support of the French Government had been delayed
as long as possible, but now that he was assured of this the
fall of Bentivoglio was certain.f There was nothing now
to fear from Venice. Nevertheless, " he still felt it prudent
to take pains to conciliate the Venetians." He proposed to
the Signoria to permit them still to retain Faenza and
Rimini as a fief Though this offer was refused, he still
continued to treat the Republic with all possible considera-
tion. " He strictly forbade his troops, in their necessary
march through Venetian territory, under pain of death to
take anything from the inhabitants, and emphatically as-
sured their Envoy D. Pisani, that the Signoria had nothing
to fear from him. He was most anxious not to afford the
least shadow of excuse to Venice for her conduct." J
Instead of taking the high road from San Marino to
Rimini Julius chose the more difficult mountain way, in
order to avoid passing through the country occupied by the
Venetians. On the ist October he spent the night in the
miserable little village of Savignano, and on the following
day crossed the Rubicon and entered Cesena, where he took
up his quarters for the night in the castle. Meanwhile the
Bolognese Envoys had arrived. They besought him " not
to throw a peaceful city, which was thoroughly loyal to the
Church, into confusion by demanding novelties." Julius
answered, " I know that what you are now saying is not
what you really think ; you cannot be so foolish as to prefer
the rule of a cruel tyrant to mine." §
On the 5th of October a Consistory was held, at which
* Paris DE Grassis, ed. Frati, 54. On the precise moment when
the King changed his mind, see Brosch, Julius II., 331.
t Cf. Machiavelli's Letter of the,3rd Oct., 1 506.
X Brosch, Julius II., 129. Cf. Sanuto,VI., 453.
§ SiGISMONDO DE' Conti, II., 351. The answer of Julius II. is some-
2/6 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
there were twenty Cardinals present. During the mid-day
meal the news arrived that the French troops were on the
road with sixteen cannon and would be at Modena on
Saturday. The following day brought tidings of the death
of King Philip of Castile.* On the 7th October it was
determined in a Secret Consistory that an Interdict should
be laid on Bologna. A review of the troops took place in
Cesena; the army consisted of 600 horsemen, 1600 foot-
soldiers, and 300 Swiss.f
The persistent rain had made the roads almost im-
passable : but Julius would brook no delay. Early on the
8th October he moved onwards from Cesena to Forlim-
popoli, and on the following day to Forli. In entering the
city, he and his suite had a taste of the wild character of
the people of the Romagna, who forcibly possessed them-
selves of the Pope's mule and baldacchino.J
Meanwhile there could no longer be any doubt that
Bentivoglio had no intention of relinquishing his usurped
authority without a struggle. " He trusted in the strength
of the city, the number of his adherents, his high position,
and his stalwart sons." According to Sigismondo de'
Conti, Bentivoglio demanded that the Pope should enter
Bologna without troops, and make no change in anything.§
%vhat differently stated in Machiavelli's letter, cited supra^ note + on pre-
ceding page. According to him the Pope said amongst other things :
circa i capitoli non curava ne quello aveva fatto gli altri papi, ne quello
aveva fatto lui {cf. Theixer, Cod., III., 515) perche gli altri papi e lui
non avevan possuto fare altro e la necessita e non la volonta gli aveva
fatti confermare.
* Philip died of a fever on the morning of 25th Sept. See Habler,
1 30-1 3 1 ; Sanuto, VI., 442.
t Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 58 seq. ; Machiavelli's Letter of the
5th Oct., 1506 ; and *Acta Consist, Consistorial Archives of the Vatican.
X Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 60, and "^Acta Consist, loc. cit.
§ Sigismondo de' Conti, II., 351 ; Reumont, III., 2, 23.
THE POPE MARCHES UPON BOLOGNA. 277
These pretensions so enraged Julius that he at once pro-
claimed the excommunication of Bentivoglio and an Inter-
dict on Bologna unless the city returned to its obedience
within nine days. On the i ith of October these Bulls were
affixed to the doors of the Cathedral of Forli.* The
Bolognese were thoroughly frightened, says Sigismondo
de' Conti, but Bentivoglio was not yet subdued. He had
sent large bribes to the French commanders, and in their
greed of gain they tried for a time to play fast and loose
between him and the Pope. Julius, however, threatened
Louis that if he did not keep his word he would publish
his faithlessness to the whole world ; and at last the King
commanded his generals to advance. The alarm produced
by their approach in Bologna determined the Pope to
begin his march from Forli ; but instead of taking the easy
road through the fertile country of the Emilia, he chose
for his own party the one which led across the mountains.
This, Sigismondo de' Conti says, was partly because he
did not trust the Venetians,-]- and partly because he could
not endure to look upon Faenza, torn away from the
Church as it now was. Thus, leaving the bulk of the army
and the Cardinals to take the direct road by that place,
he with a small retinue turned aside to the left towards
* Paris de GraSSIS, ed. Frati, 61-62 ; LiJNlG, IV., 194 ; and Machia-
velli's Letter of the loth Oct., 1506. Portions of the Bull of Interdict,
dated loth Oct., 1506, taken from the Regest. in the Papal Secret
Archives, are to be found in Raynaldus, ad an. 1506, n. 25 seq.^
and GOZZADINI, G. Bentivoglio, App., XCIIL seq.^ and also in Frati's
cd. of Paris de Grassis, 177-186. The Bull excommunicating
Bentivoglio, also dated loth Oct., 1506, was printed the same year in
Rome. Copies of it are, however, rare, as Bentivoglio had as many
as he could obtain destroyed. I saw one in the State Archives at
Modena.
t The Brief of the 15th Oct., 1506, printed in Appendix, N. 53, refers
also to this. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
278 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Castrocaro, a place which had once belonged to the Church
but was now in the hands of the Florentines. This was on
the 17th October.* Beyond Mutilano the road became
extremely difficult ; ten times it was crossed by a mountain
torrent ; in one place the Pope had to dismount and
clamber up the steep ascent for a mile with the assistance
of his servants. He was half-dead with fatigue when in
the evening he arrived at the little village of Marradi
in the valley of Lamone, but he only allowed himself a
short night's rest, and was off again before daybreak
to Palazzuolo. There he halted for a light meal in the
afternoon, and then hurried on to Tossignano, which he
reached in the evening. This place belonged to the States
of the Church ; still he would not tarry, but went on at
once to Imola.-f
Though the Pope was now sixty-four years of age, and
suffering at the time from gout, he had borne the fatigues
of the mountain journey as if he had been quite a young
man.J His attendants had to follow him whether they
liked it or not. Paris de Grassis, the Master of Cere-
monies, travelled by the easier road by Faenza, but
before they parted Julius II. made him hand over to him
his costly cope, and his mitre and pectoral cross, " For
fear," he said, " they should be stolen by the Venetians or
the people of Faenza."§ When his followers were almost
* Sanuto, VI., 451, and *Acta Consist., Consistorial Archives of the
Vatican.
t SiGISMONDO de' CONTI, IL, 352-353. Cf. PARIS DE GRASSIS
ed. Frati, 64-65 ; Laur. Parmenius, 313 ; Machiavelli's Letters of the
1 6th and 19th Oct., 1506 ; and *Acta Consist.
% " Imus praecipites per mille pericula rerum
Turrigerasque arces, rupes et inhospita saxa."
See Card. A. Castellesi's poem mentioned siipra^ p. 266, note t.
§ Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 64-65.
FLIGHT OF BEXTIVOGLIO. 279
in despair at the difficulties of the road to Tossignano, the
Pope smilingly quoted Virgil's lines :
Per varies casus, per tot discrimina rerum,
Tendimus in Latium.
— ^neid, I., 204, 205.
In the little town of Imola, which they reached on the
20th* October, and where they were received with festal
honours, it was impossible to accommodate the whole of the
Pope's suite. In consequence, all the officials and many
members of the Court remained at Castro Bolosrnese,
and the army (2000 men) was encamped in the neigh-
bouring country. The Duke of Urbino being laid up
with an attack of gout, Francesco Gonzaga was appointed
Commander-in-Chief on the 25th October. On the same
day Julius received a visit from the Duke of Ferrara. On
All Souls' Day, just as the Pope was going to Mass, the
tidings of the flight of Bentivoglio arrived.f The tyrant
now saw the impossibility of making a defence, as he had
made himself utterly detested by his subjects. He there-
fore entered into a compact with the French Commander-
in-Chief, Chaumont, and fled to Milan with a safe conduct
from him. According to Sigismondo de' Conti, as soon
as the Interdict was laid upon Bologna, the citizens
completely deserted him. One by one, all the priests left
the city, and even his most trusted friends began to say
that the Pope was in the right But Bentivoglio still held
* Not on the 21st as stated by ViLLARl, Machiavelli, I., 425. See
Sanuto, VI., 425 ; Fanti, Imola, 17 seq. (here the particulars in regard
to the rejoicings are to be found) ; and *Acta Consist., Consistorial
Archives of the Vatican.
t Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 66-80. The Brief on F. Gonzaga's
appointment is in Dumont, IV., n., 89, inaccurately given in GozZA-
DINI, Giovanni II. Bentivoglio, Appendix, XCVIII. seq.^ translated in
Equicola, Storia di' Mantova (1610), 247-248.
28o HISTORY OF THE POPES.
out until he heard that Charles d'Amboise had actually
arrived at Modena with an army of 600 lancers, 3000
horsemen, and a large number of guns.
The Bolognese now sent Envoys to the Pope, begging
for the removal of the Interdict, and protection against the
French army. The French troops were already under
the walls, and the soldiers were hoping for a rich booty
from the pillage of the city ; they were encamped along
the canal which conducts the water from the Reno into
the city. The citizens had taken up arms to defend them-
selves, and had flooded the French camp by opening a
sluice, which forced the enemy to retire, leaving their
baggage and heavy artillery behind them. They were
furious, and bent on vengeance ; the city was only saved
from being sacked by the prompt action of the Pope, who
bought them off with a present of 8000 ducats to the
generals and 10,000 to the soldiers. Thus the splendid
reception, which was accorded to him when he entered
Bologna, was well earned.* The triumphal entry was to
take place on the Feast of S. Martin.
But it was not in Julius II. to endure such a long delay.
" On the loth of November," says the Master of Ceremonies,
"his Holiness commanded me to look for a suitable and
safe residence for him within the city. This I found in
the house which had formerly belonged to the Templars,
which was only a stone's throw from the gate, and the
Pope took possession of it at once, bringing only a small
number of his suite with him. He would not listen to
■^ GuicciARDiNi, vn., c. I. ; Laurentius Parmenius, 314 seq. ;
SiGiSMONDO de' Conti, II., 354-355- Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati,
83, gives a somewhat different account, evidently coloured so as to
shew his countrymen to the best advantage. Cf. also Florus, De
expedit. Bonon., 20 seq. ; SCHEURL, Briefbuch, 35, 36,37 ; SUGENHEIM,
396-307 ; and GOZZADINI, Alcuni avvenimenti, 74 seq.
ENTRY OF THE POPE INTO BOLOGNA. 28 1
the dissuasions of the astrologers, despising their science,
and saying, * We will go in in the name of God.' Mean-
while it became known in the city that the Pope was
within its walls, and the ringing of bells and thunder of
cannon soon announced the news to the whole country
round." *
The triumphal procession to San Petronio, the Cathedral
of Bologna, took place on the nth November in lovely
summer-like weather ; the roses were still in bloom.f The
pageant was of unusual magnificence, a perfect speci-
men of the festive art of the Renaissance.^ The Master
of Ceremonies, Paris de Grassis, has described all its
details in his own pedantic fashion ; § other contem-
poraries, such as the Venetian Envoy, Francesco Albertini,
and the Bolognese chronicler Ghirardacci, have painted
it in a broader style.|i Cardinal Adriano of Corneto
celebrates it in a Latin poem.lF The Pope's humanistic
secretary, Sigismondo de' Conti, gives a very good descrip-
tion of it in his great historical work. " Thirteen
triumphal arches," he says, ** were erected, bearing the
* Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 84-85.
t Albertini, p. xxii.
X On the pageantry and festal-art of the Renaissance in general, see
Burckhardt, Cultur, I., 143 se^., ed. 3.
§ Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 85-96.
II Albertini, pp. xxi-xxii. The Report of the Venetian Envoy is
in Sanuto, VI., 491 seg. Erasmus, who was present, gives no descrip-
tion, but laments its pomp. To give greater weight to his strictures, he
says that he had also seen the entry of Julius II. into Rome. This is un-
true, though Gregorovius, VIII., 50, ed. 3, maintains it ; c/. NOLHAC,
Erasme en Italic, 17. Ghirardacci's account is in Lib. 38, Cod. 7CS, of
the University Library, Bologna. C/. also SCHKURL, Bricfbuch, 34, 39,
and Laurentius Parmenius, 315.
•T C/. Gebhardt, Adrian von Corneto, 114 115; BURCKHARDT,
Cultur, I., 112, ed. 3.
I
282 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
inscription in large letters: 'Julius II., our Liberator and
most beneficent Father ! ' A hundred young noblemen
formed a cordon to keep the people back. First came
a number of horsemen as outriders to clear the way,
then the light cavalry, the infantry in glistening armour,
the baggage of the Pope and the Cardinals, and finally
the bands of the regiments. These were followed by
sixteen Bolognese and four Papal standard-bearers with
their banners, the ten white palfreys of the Pope with
golden bridles, and lastly the officials of the Court. Next
to these came the Envoys, Duke Guido of Urbino, the
Marquess Francesco Gonzaga, Francesco Maria, the
Prefect of Rome, Costantino Areniti, the Duke of Achaia
and Macedonia, fourteen lictors with silver staves to keep
the crowd back, and the two Masters of Ceremonies, the
first of whom, Paris de Grassis, was the organiser of the
whole pageant. The Papal Cross was carried by Carlo
Rotario ; he was closely followed by forty of the clergy
with lighted candles and the Papal choir accompanying the
Sacred Host. The Cardinals walked immediately in front
of Julius II., who was carried in the Sedia Gestatoria ;
his purple cope, shot with gold thread and fa,stened across
the breast with the formate pj^etzosum set with emeralds
and sapphires, was a splendid work of art. On his head
he wore an unusually large mitre glistening with pearls
and jewels. He was accompanied by his two private
chamberlains, his secretary Sigismondo de' Conti, and his
physicians, the Roman Mariano dei Dossi, and the Sienese
Arcangelo dei Tuti. He was followed by the Patriarchs,
the Archbishops and Bishops, the Protonotary, the
ecclesiastical Envoys, the Abbots and Generals of religious
orders, the Penitentiaries and Referendaries. The whole
procession was closed by a body of the Papal guard.
It moved very slowly, owing to the immense concourse
THE GOVERNMENT OF BOLOGNA REORGANISED. 283
of spectators, all decked in holiday garb, who had come
in from the country round to receive the Pope's bless-
ing. Gold and silver coins, struck for the occasion, were
scattered by servants amongst them. At the Cathedral
the Pope first made his act of thanksgiving and then
solemnly blessed the people. It was dusk before he got
back to the palace, now attended by the magistrates of the
city, who joined the procession after it left the Cathedral." *
The work of reorganising the Government of the
city was begun by Julius II. as soon as possible after
his arrival. " He was anxious to make the government
of the Church popular at Bologna, and for this end he
confirmed their ancient liberties and gave them a new
constitution which left a large measure of autonomy to
the municipality, and also considerably lightened the
burden of taxation which had pressed on them so heavily
of late."-j- The Council of Sixteen was abolished, and
on the 17th of November a Senate, consisting of forty
members, chosen for the most part from amongst the
best burgher families of Bologna, was appointed in its
place. This Senate was to act as the Legate's Council,
" but was granted far greater and more independent
powers by Julius II. than the city had ever enjoyed
under the Bentivogli"; and he also diminished the taxes.
" He wished to create a really free city which should be
loyal to him out of gratitude for his protection." J On
* SiGiSMONDO de' Conti, II., 358-362. The inscription on the coins
was : Bon[onia] p[er] Jul[ium] a tirano hberat[a] ; cf. Frati, Delle
monete gettate al popolo nel solenne ingresso in Bologna di Giulio, II.
(Bologna, 1885). Seealso Jahrb. der Preuss. Kunstsammlungen, III., 44
seq.
t SucENHF.iM, 397. Cf. Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 99 seq.\
SiGiSMONDO de' Conti, II., 360 seq.
X Ranke, Rom. und Genn. Volker, 217. On the reduction of the
Taxes, see Sanuto, VI., 521, and Florus, 23.
284 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the 26th of November the anniversary of the Pope's
Coronation was celebrated with great pomp. On this
occasion, by his special desire, his favourite nephew,
Galeotto della Rovere, was the celebrant at the High
Mass.
Louis XII. and his minister d'Amboise demanded an
exorbitant price for the assistance they had rendered. In
addition to a large payment in money, they demanded the
right of appointing to benefices throughout the Milanese
territory, the confirmation of Cardinal d'Amboise's Legation,
and the nomination of three French Cardinals, all near
relations of his.* The last condition was the hardest
for the Pope; for the Cardinals strongly objected to this
increase of French influence in the Sacred College, with
the consequent enhancement of d'Amboise's prospect of
some day obtaining the Tiara, and the danger of the Court
being transferred to Avignon. f This creation, the third in
the reign of Julius II., took place on the i8th December,
1506, in a Secret Consistory and was not published atfirst.J
The three Cardinals were : Jean Francois de la Tremoille,
* Sanuto, VI., 452 ; GoLDAST, 278 ; Havemann, II., 233.
t Ibid.^ 507.
X This is the reason of the variations in contemporaneous statements
on this subject. Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 119, says: Die veneris
18 (Dec.) papa fecit consistorium pro novis cardinahbus creandis, licet
postea nihil fecerit ; and 1 33 : Die 4 Januarii, 1 507 .... crea\'it secrete
cardinales Franciae nonnullos. On the other hand, a Report in Sanuto,
VI., 518, unfortunately without a proper date, says the nomination had
already taken place in December. My chief reason for believing that, in
spite of Oldoin's (III., 261) correction, Ciaconius is not mistaken and
that Cardella, 323, is right in holding to the year 1506, while I reject
the date of 14th Jan. given by Contelorius, 109 (Panvinius, 345, who
says 3rd Sept., is utterly wrong), is that I find i8th Dec, 1506, expressly
mentioned in the official '^Acta Consist., f. 23. Consistorial Archives of
the Vatican.
DISSENSIONS WITH LOUIS XII. 285
Archbishop of Auch ; Rene de Prie, Bishop of Bayeux ; and
Louis d'Amboise, Archbishop of Alby. They were not
pubHshed until the 17th May, 1507, after the Pope's return
to Rome, and at the same time as the nomination of
Cardinal Ximenes to the Sacred College.*
In spite of these concessions sharp dissensions, principally
on account of the affairs of Genoa, soon broke out between
Louis and the Pope. " It was an open secret in Rome that
d'Amboise was working to obtain the Tiara at any cost,
while, on the other hand, at the Court of France every one
said that the Pope was privately encouraging and even
helping the Genoese in their resistance to Louis XI I. "f In
the middle of February, 1507, the King said to the Florentine
Envoy : " I have sent word to the Pope that if he takes
up the cause of the Genoese I will put Giovanni Bentivoglio
back in Bologna. I have only to write a single letter in
order to effect this, and Bentivoglio will give me 100,000
ducats into the bargain. The Rovere are a peasant family :
nothing but the stick at his back will keep the Pope in
order."t
When there could no longer be any doubt that Louis XII.
was coming to Italy, Julius II. felt that it would be better
to leave Bologna and so avoid a meeting. The French
King was collecting such a large army that it was impossible
to think that its only employment was to be the reconquest
of Genoa. The Pope apprehended that there might even
be personal danger for him in remaining at Bologna, and
* Cf. Card. Gonzaga's ^Letter to his brother, the Marquess of Mantua,
dat. Rome, 17th May, 1507 (Gonzaga Archives, Mantua) ; the Venetian
Report in Sanuto, VII., 82, and Costabili's "'^Despatch, dat. Rome, 2olh
May, 1507. (State Archives, Modena.) See also SCHEURL, Briefbuch,
23, 39. On Card, de la Tremoille, see La Plaque Harris in the Rev.
de Gascogne, 1878.
t Brosch, Julius II., 136 ; Grimm, I., 303, cd. 5.
X DESJARDINS, II., 220 ; cf. 224 seq.
286 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
therefore at last decided on returning to Rome, to the great
satisfaction of his Court. On the 12th of February, 1507, he
informed the Cardinals in a Secret Consistory of his inten-
tion. The Bolognese were completely taken by surprise
when they heard of this unexpected decision, and at first
extremely dissatisfied, as the work of reorganising the
affairs of the city was not by any means concluded. This
feeling, however, was soon dissipated when they found that
the Pope was prepared to confirm the liberties granted
to the city by Nicholas V., and to divide the executive
power between the Legate and the Council of Forty.*
Nevertheless he had so little confidence in the unruly
citizens that he ordered a new fort to be built at the Porta
Galiera. On the 20th of February he laid its first stone.
The day before this he had appointed Antonio Ferreri,
Legate of Bologna ; an unfortunate selection, as soon
appeared. Cardinal Leonardo Grosso della Rovere took
Ferreri's place in Perugia, and was succeeded in Viterbo by
Francesco Alidosi.f
On the 22nd February, 1507, as soon as the Bull appoint-
ing the Council of Forty had been published, the Popejeft
the city to the great regret of the Bolognese, and on the
same day the new Legate entered it.J
* Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 138-142. Cf. Sigismondo de'
CONTI, II., 364, who does not give the real reason for the Pope's
departure; GOZZADINI, Alcuni awenimenti, 76-77.
t Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 147-148. Cf. Sanuto, VI., 536,
551-552 ; GOZZADINI, Alcuni awenimenti, 79 seq.\ *Ghirardacd for
the year 1507, Cod. 768 of the University Lib. at Bologna. On the
laying of the foundation-stone of the fort, see GUGLIELMOTTI, I., 62.
The Bull nominating A. Ferreri, dat. Bologna, 20th Feb., 1507, which, as
far as I know, has not been printed, is in the State Archives, Bologna.
X Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 149, 151 seq.-, Sigismondo de'
CONTi, II., 364 ; and "^Acta Consist., f 28, in the Consistorial Archives
of the Vatican.
RETURN OF THE POPE TO ROME. 28;
Julius II. stopped first at Imola to make further arrange-
ments for the maintenance of peace in that city. He
then proceeded to Forli and Cesena, again avoiding Faenzaj
visited Porto Cesenatico, Sant' Arcangelo, and Urbino, and
made his way back to Rome by Foligno, Montefalco, Orto.
Viterbo, and Nepi.* On the 27th of March, the Saturday
before Palm Sunday, he reached the Tiber at Ponte MollCj
where he was welcomed by a crowd of people. He spent
the night in the Convent of Santa Maria del Popolo. On
Palm Sunday he celebrated High Mass in that church, and
this was followed by his triumphal entry into the city and
procession to the Vatican.
Rome had adorned herself for the occasion in that
curious mixture of Christian and Pagan styles which
characterised the taste of the period. The streets were pro-
fusely decorated with hangings and garlands, and bristling
with inscriptions in praise of the victor. Triumphal arches,
covered with legends, were erected in all directions ; some
of these, as for instance the one put up by Cardinal Costa
on the Campo Marzo, were also decorated with statues and
pictures. Opposite the Castle of St. Angelo was a chariot
with four white horses and containing ten genii with palms
in their hands, welcoming the Pope; on the prow of the
chariot a globe rested, from which sprang an oak bearing
gilt acorns and rising to the height of the Church of S""
Maria Traspontina. In front of the Vatican a copy of the
Arch of Constantine was erected representing the whole
history of the expedition. By order of the Legate, Cardinal
S. Giorgio, an altar was prepared before every churcli
* Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 152-169 ; Sanuto, VI., 553 ; *Acta
Consist., /oc. cit. On the 27lh P^b., 1507, Julius took Alberto INo of
Carpi and his State under his special protection, an act whith was
directed against the Duke of Ferrara. See Mem. Stor. di Carpi, II..
331 seq.\ Semper, Carpi, 7.
288 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
along the route of the procession, attended by the clergy
and choir, that the religious element might not be eclipsed
by all the worldly pomp. An eye-witness says that this
triumphal entry was even more magnificent than the coro-
nation. Twenty-eight Cardinals accompanied the Pope, the
procession took three hours to pass from the gate of the
city to S. Peter's. The Master of Ceremonies, Paris de
Grassis, says that Julius knelt longer than was his wont at
the tomb of the Apostles, and as he entered his apart-
ment he said : " Since we have returned in safety, we all
have indeed good cause to chant the Te Deum." *
In truth Julius II. had achieved a great success. It was
enthusiastically celebrated by the poets of the time.f In
his address in the Consistory, Cardinal Raffaele Riario said :
" When your Holiness first announced your project of
bringing Bologna back to a true obedience under the
Holy See, the excellence of the object that you had in
view was plain to us all. Hence we rejoice with our whole
hearts now that this noble and glorious end is attained.
The success of your Holiness has immensely increased the
honour and consideration in which the Holy See is held,
and covered your own name with a glory that will never
perish. Your Holiness has deserved to be ranked among
those illustrious Popes who, casting aside all personal con-
siderations or family interests, proposed no other end to
* Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 172-176. Cf. Albertini, pp. xxii-
XXIII ; Sanuto, VII., 43, 63-65. (Many of the inscriptions are very
characteristic of the period.) Cf. also Laur. Parmenius, 316, and the
^Report of Giov. Gonzaga, Rome, 28th March, and that of Cardinal
Gonzaga of the 29th March (see Appendix, N. 73), in the Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua, and in Appendix, N. 72, Costabili's ^Report, the 28th
March, 1507. State Archives, Modena.
t Fr. Ambrosius, Comment, de rebus gestis Bapt. Mantuani, 80.
Cf. Piper, Mythologie, I., 366 seq.
ADDRESS OF CARDINAL RIARIO. 289
themselves but the care of preserving and augmenting the
authority and majesty of the Holy See."*
■^ *Sicut ab initio S. V. fecit verbum de rebus Bononiensibus compro-
batum fuit, nihil posse praestantius cogitari quam urbem banc redigere
ad veram obedientiam Sedis apostolicae, ita nunc toto corde gaudere et
exsultare debemus, quod S. V. consecuta fuerit ilium optimum et glori-
osum finem, quern in animo suo, Deo et justitia inspirantibus praecon-
ceperat. S. V. mirum in modum corroboravit et ampliavit existima-
tionem status ecclesiastici et auxit immortalitatem famae et nominis sui
ita, ut merito jam fuerit sortita locum inter illos clarissimos pontifices,
qui posthabitis humanis affectibus, etiam sui proprii sanguinis, nullum
alium finem sibi proponebant quam solam curam et vigilantiam conserv-
andi et amplificandi auctoritatem et majestatem Apostolicae sedis. *Con-
sistorialia Raph. Riarii card. S. Georgii, Cod. J. III., 89, f. 219, in the
Chigi Library, Rome.
VOL VI. U
CHAPTER IV.
Changes in the Political Situation in Europe between
1507 and 1509. — Julius II. threatened by Spain and
France. — The Venetians seek to Humiliate the Papacy
BOTH Ecclesiastically and Politically. — Resistance of
Julius II. — League of Cambrai and War against
Venice. -The Pope's Victory.
The rapid subjugation of two such important cities as
Bologna and Perugia to the government of the Church
had immensely enhanced the prestige of Julius II. in the
eyes of his contemporaries ; * but he had no notion of
resting on his laurels, knowing how far he still was from
the goal which, from the first moment of his elevation, he
had proposed to himself. The " largest and by far the most
difficult portion of his task, the wresting from Venice of
the tow^ns and territories belonging to the States of the
Church which she had appropriated, lay still before him." f
The settlement of the year 1505 was of such a nature
as, in the words of one of Julius II.'s bitterest opponents, to
set a seal on the helpless condition of the Papacy.J Even
a less energetic ruler than this Pope would have been driven
to strive for the evacuation of the Romagna.
But meanwhile other events occurred which forced all
Julius II/s plans for repelling the usurpations of the Vene-
* Villari, jMachiavelli, I., 436.
t Sugenheim, 397.
X Brosch in Sybels Hist. Zeitschr., XXXVII. , 304.
ATTITUDE OF FRANCE AND SPAIN. 29I
tians into the background. He found himself seriously
threatened by both France and Spain.
The first dispute between the Pope and King Ferdinand
of Spain arose out of the suzerainty of the Holy See over
Naples and the feudal dues ; to this, others were soon added
by the encroachments of the King on the right of the
Church in the appointments to Bishoprics in Castile.* The
tension produced by their differences went on increasing,
although on the 17th May, 1507, Julius had bestowed the
Red-hat on the King's trusted minister Ximenes, the dis-
tinguished Archbishop of Toledo, who was also an ardent
advocate of reform.f When, in June, 1507, Ferdinand was
on his way from Naples to Savona, Julius hastened to
Ostia in hopes of obtaining an interview ; but the King
discourteously sailed past Ostia without stopping.^ At
Savona, towards the end of June, he met Louis XH., and
there a reconciliation between the two Kings took place. §
* SiGiSMONDO de' Conti, II., 324, 332 ; ROSSBACH, Carvajal, 86;
Lanz, Einl., 96.
t Gomez, 1003 ; Hefele, Ximenes, 255. In the "^Acta Consist., f.
24 (Consistorial Archives of the Vatican), the date of Ximenes' nomina-
tion is wanting, but it can be determined with certainty from the Brief of
Julius II., given by Gomez, loc. cit. The subject of Card. Ximenes' zeal
in the cause of reform will be dealt with further on. Cf. Hefele, and also
HoFLER, Katastrophe, 26 seq.
X Brosch, Julius II., 140-142.
§ What passed at this meeting at Savona is not yet fully known : Lanz,
Einl., 89 seq.\ Lehmann, 4 ; Brosch, 142 ; and, recently, G. Fu.lPPI,
II convegno di Savona (Savona, 1S90), who cites many Florentine
Ambassadorial Reports, have cleared up a great deal, but not all. There
seems to be no doubt that an alliance against Venice was seriously dis-
cussed, and that in a certain sense the ground was prepared for the
League of Cambrai. Cf. new particulars drawn from the Simancas
Archives by Maulde in the Rev. d'llist. Dipl., IV., 583-590, and
FiLlPPi in his treatise, Ancora del convegno di Savona, in the Atti e
Mem. d. Soc. i^tor. Savonese, II., 729 seq. Still it is by no means certain
292 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
The disproportionate strength of the army sent by the
French King to quell the rebellion in Genoa made the
understanding between the two great powers appear all the
more ominous for the Pope, since it seemed to point to
some further design. Another remarkable thing was the
number of Cardinals at his Court. First, there were the three
French Cardinals (including d'Amboise), then the Cardinal
d'Aragona, who had been on the French side ever since the
death of Alexander VI., and Cardinal Sanseverino, who
afterwards lapsed into schism.* In May 1507, Julius II.
had sent Cardinal Antonio Pallavicino, a Genoese, to the
King's camp and he too was now in Savona. The object
of this Legation, according to Sigismondo de' Conti, was to
persuade Louis to deal leniently with the Genoese, and to
disband his army.-|- The magnitude of the French force
that the agreement of the 30th June, 1507, contains the whole of the
arrangements entered into by the two parties, and Maulde does not con-
ceal from himself that he is not in a position to furnish an exhaustive
statement of the results of the interview. Until some new documents
have been discovered, we cannot get beyond this.
* Lehmann, 3.
t Sigismondo de' Conti, II., 375 ; Sanuto, VII., 73, 76, 82, 88,
94, 96, 98, 100, 104, 113, 114, 119, 132, 133. The nomination of Palla-
vicino as Legate to the French Court followed in a Consistory on the 5th
May, 1507 ; cf. "^Cardinal Gonzaga's Letter to his brother, dated Rome,
5th May, 1507 (Gonzaga Archives, Mantua), and "^Costabili^s Report,
Rome, 6th May, 1507. (State Archives, Modena.) Cardinal Pallavicini
sailed on the 19th May (*Intravimus mare cum max. difficultate, in the
Itinerarium. On the 20th the Pope wrote the Brief to Louis XI I. given
in Appendix, N. 75), and after his return on the i8th Aug. read a Report
of his mission in Consistory. He died soon after (Sanuto, VII. , 150).
The account of the journey, etc., probably by some one who had accom-
panied him, is in "^Itinerarium Cardlis S. Praxedis ad Ludovicum XII.
in Cod. Borghese, I., 128, f 1-25, and Bibl. Pia, 61, i. 117-149. (Secret
Archives of the Vatican.) No information in regard to the purport of
the Cardinal's mission is to be obtained from this document. (Jean
d'Auton, Clu-oniques, ed. Jacob, IV., 105, admits his ignorance on
LOUIS XII. AND THE BENTIVOGLJ. 293
had aroused alarm in Germany as well as in Italy, as we
see from the resolutions of the Diet of Constance.
According to the statements made by Pallavicino to the
Florentine Envoy in Savona, his instructions were, first, to
defend the Pope against the false accusation of having
invited Maximilian to invade Italy, and here, it seems, he
was successful. In the second place, he was to ask that the
Bentivogli should be delivered over to Julius II., and here
he failed. Louis XII. denied that Giovanni and Alessandro
Bentivoglio were implicated in the plot against Bologna ;
and said he could not in honour give them up.* From
expressions let fall by one of the Cardinals who was present
it appeared that Pallavicino had several long conversations
this point ; cf. Knuth, 29.) It merely describes the Legate's journey,
and the ceremonial observed at his reception by Louis XI L, and at the
meeting of the two Kings at Savona. In politics it keeps entirely to ex-
ternals : — f, 131 : Milan, 7th June : Legatus et Rothomagensis habuerunt
colloquium secrete ; f. 132 : Milan, loth June : Reception of the Legate
by the King. Rex dedit legato dexteram et iverunt in cameram regis
cum dictis cardinalibus [Rothomag., Narbon., Esten.], et secrete sunt
loquuti per spatium duarum horarum ; f 137 : Savona, 25th June : Legatus
et Rothomagensis loquuti sunt secrete cum rege per duas horas. The
occasion of this was the arrival of a messenger from Rome with the Red-
hats for Cardinals Auximanus and Baiocensis, the first of whom had
died in Milan a few days before, while the second was lying seriously ill
in the same place. Finita loquutione cum rege legatus et Rotho-
magensis .... venerunt ad cameram Rothomagensis, in qua ambo
secrete sunt loquuti per horam. De quibus materiis loquuti sunt, non
est meum quaerere ; f. 147: Savona, ist July: The two Kings invited
the Legate to come to them, quia erant sccum loquuturi .... Legatus
ivit ad cameram, ubi rcges crant ; per duas horas stetit cum illis et
cardinal! Rothomagcnsi. The Itinerarium then describes the departure
of the King of Spain from Savona on the 2nd July, that of the Kiny of
France on the 3rd; the embarkation of thc'Lcj^jatc on the 7lh of that
month, and his reception in the Consistory on the i8th Aug.
* Florentine Report, dated Savona, 4th July, 1507, in ihc Atti d. Soc.
Sav., II., 19-20.
294 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
with Louis XII. and d'Amboise, in the course of which he
met with but scant courtesy, especially from the latter.*
In connection with the meeting of the Kings at Savona,
some things soon transpired which led the Pope to appre-
hend that an attack on his spiritual power was contemplated.
Ferdinand himself admitted that the reforg:! of the Church
had been discussed. It is also certain that here again, as
formerly, he encouraged d'Amboise in his aspirations after
the Tiara.-j-
Guicciardini says that Julius II., in his extreme need,
turned for help to Maximilian. This is not confirmed by
any recent investigations. " On the contrary, it is demon-
strable that the primary object of his policy was to effect a
reconciliation between Maximilian and Louis XII. and to
unite their forces against Venice. From the end of the
* The Itinerarium mentioned above gives a similar impression. In
f. 139 it says of d'Amboise : ipse est vere rex Franciae. Secret Archives
of the Vatican.
t Lehmann, 4, who also refers to Ferdinand's menace in May 1508,
that he would withdraw all his States from the allegiance of the Holy See.
The letter which contains this threat is addressed to the Viceroy of
Naples, and in it he is desired, without more ado, to hang any one who
brings a Papal Bull which has not received the Royal placet into the
kingdom. It was first published by F. DE Quevedo, Obras, XL (Madrid,
1792-94), 3-9, and afterwards in the Lettres de Louis XIL, L, 109-114.
B. de la Fuente erroneously supposes this letter to be a Protestant
invention of the end of the i6th Century. The text leaves no doubt as to
its origin, and the contents perfectly correspond with Ferdinand's policy
and with the peculiar views of his royal rights which he entertained.
Ferdinand simply vetoed Papal Bulls again and again. On the 31st
Aug., 1509, he issued a decree punishing with death any person who
should obtain, either from the Pope or his Legate, any Bull or document
against the Spanish Inquisition. Llorente, L, 368-369 ; Gams, III.,
128 seq., 140-142. Ferdinand and his Envoys {cf. Prescott, II., 201)
were perfectly indefatigable in Rome in demanding concessions, espe-
cially in regard to money matters. Cf. Costabili's ^Report, Rome, 1 5th
Aug., 1 508. State Archives, Modena.
MISSION OF CARVAJAL TO THE EMPEROR. 295
year 1 506 Costantino Areniti had been working by his orders
in this direction."*
The Pope's anxiety in regard to MaximiHan's proposed
visit to Rome is a clear proof how far he then was from
thinking of applying to him for assistance.f When in
the Summer of 1507 it was announced on all sides that
Maximilian was certainly coming to Italy, Julius resolved
to send a Cardinal as Legate to Germany.l He selected a
man who was one of Maximilian's most faithful friends at
the Roman Court, Cardinal Bernardino Carvajal. Furnished
with ample powers, the Cardinal left Rome on the 5th of
August, 1507, and passing through Siena met the King at
Innsbruck in the middle of September.§
Carvajal was charged to endeavour to dissuade the King
from coming to Italy with an army, and to propose instead
that he should be crowned Emperor in Germany by two
Cardinals who would be sent for this purpose. || Besides
* UL>rANN, II., 306, following Brosch, 138, 332 seq.
t Ulmann, Max. I. Absichten, lo-ii, shews what pains France took
to increase the Pope's distrust of Maximilian. The King had already in
a Letter to the Pope in Aug. 1506, announced his intention of making an
armed pilgrimage to Rome. (See, in Appendix 50, Arsago's ^Letter of
15th Aug., 1506.) State Archives, Mantua,
+ On the 8th July, 1 507, Card. Gonzaga wrote to his brother, *Si ticne
per certo la venuta del Re de Romani. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
§ Sanuto, VII., 132, says on the loth ; RdSSBACH, 92, the 8th ; the
*Acta Consist., f. 24, the 4th Aug. (Consistorial Archives of the Vatican.)
The authentic information which we seek for in vain in R.WNALDUS, ad
an. 1507, n. 8, is to be found in the *Diarium of Paris de Grassis, 16
Julii, 1507: Cardinalis s. Crucis D. Bern. Carvaglianus creatus est
legatus ad partes Gcrmaniae obviam Impcratori venture in Ilaliam. —
4 Augusti fuit consistorium publicum. The Pope offered the usual
prayers for the new Legate, who then retired to the Convent of S'^ Maria
del Popolo. Ibi fecit prandium et in aurora sequcnti arripuit iter. Ccni.
Lat. 140, f. 1 13a, 1 14'^, of the Court and State Library, Munich.
II Machiavelli, Opere, cd. Passcrini, V., 247, and Sanuto, \'il.,
296 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
this, he was to make two other propositions to the King,
one for a universal League amongst all Christian Princes
against the Turks, and the other for a special alliance
between him and the Pope against Venice. The first
proposal was rejected but the second was accepted.* This
success, however, was of little use to Julius II. as long as
Maximilian persisted in rejecting all overtures for a recon-
ciliation with France. Carvajal, however, remained with the
King, and did not relinquish his purpose. When he found
that the Venetians obstinately persisted in refusing to allow
him to pass through their territory on his way to Rome,
Maximilian began to lend a more favourable ear to the
persuasions of the Legate. "In February, 1508, he made
secret overtures for an offensive and defensive alliance
against Venice to the Court of France, which corresponded
in all essentials with the future League of Cambrai."-]-
At this time Maximilian did a thing which was com-
pletely at variance with all previous mediaeval custom. J
On the 4th February, 1 508, through his counsellor Matthseus
Lang, Bishop of Gurk, he solemnly proclaimed in the
Cathedral of Trent that he had assumed the title of
" Emperor-elect of Rome." He took pains to explain,
however, in a letter to the Empire, and by his Envoys at
Rome, that this proceeding was not in any way intended to
119; Brosch, 138, 143; Ulmann, II., 333. Hergenrother's
counter arguments, VIII., 444-445, do not seem to me convincing.
* So says ZURITA, VI., 1 52 seg., who had trustworthy information and
whose statement Brosch has overlooked. C/. ROSSBACH, Carvajal, 93 seg.
SiGiSMONDO de' Conti's account, II., 38, is incomplete. The Briefs in
Rayn ALDUS, ad an. 1507, n. 9, and the "^Brief of 12th Feb., 1508, printed
in Appendix, N. 76, refer to the Crusade. Kreisarchiv in Wiirzburg.
t Ulmann, II., 334-335 ; Brosch, Julius II., 154 seg., 338 seg.
I Bryce, in his Holy Roman Empire, quite oversteps the mark in
saying that the assumption of this title signified " the separation of
Gei*many from Rome."
BRIEF OF JULIUS II. TO MAXIMILIAN. 297
contravene the Pope's rights in regard to his Coronation.
On the contrary, he was as determined as ever to come to
Rome to be crowned there by Julius II. as soon as he had
conquered the Venetians.* The explanation thus given,
safe-guarding the right of the Holy See, enabled Julius II.
to declare himself perfectly satisfied, as in fact he had
reason to be, with an act which, at any rate, put off for a
time the dreaded visit to Rome. On the 12th of February,
1508, he addressed a Brief to " Maximilian, Emperor-elect
of Rome," in which he recognised and praised the correct-
ness of his attitude towards the Holy See, and added that,
as the Church already prayed for him on Good Friday as
Roman Emperor, he was fully justified in assuming the
title. The remaining contents of this Brief lead us to infer
that the Pope's affability was not quite unmotived. It im-
pressed upon Maximilian the expediency of coming to
terms with France, and of making his visit to Rome with-
out the accompaniment of an army.f
* Cf. the Report in Forschungen z. Deutsch. Gesch.,!,, 71 ; in Janssen,
Reichscorrespondenz, II., 742-744 ; and Maximilian's Letters in Datt, De
pace publica, 568-570. Cf. HUBER, III., 368, and Mittheil. d. (Ester-
reich. Instituts, XL, 44. See also the Riporto di uno esplorator in
Sanuto, VI I. , 293-295, which also says that Card. Cai-vajal remained
at Botzen. Cf. also Ranke, Deutsch. Gesch., VI., (^oseq.\ TOMMASINI,
Machiavelli, L, 411 seq.\ Heidenheimer, P. Martyr, 173 seq.\ and
ROSSBACH, Carvajal, 95, who gives Meran instead of Botzen. A letter
of grace despatched by him on 4th Feb., 1 507 (st. fl.), from Botzen, and
presei'ved in the Archives of the monastery at Gries, proves that he was
certainly staying there on that day. KlEM, who, in the Zeitschr. d.
Ferdinandeums (1892), 334 seq.^ publishes a portion of this letter, puts it
by mistake in the year 1 507. instead of 1 508. Carvajal did not come
back from Germany until the 1 2th Jan., 1 509. *Acta Consist., f 24. Con-
sistorial Archives of the Vatican.
+ See the *Brief in Appendix, N. 76, after a copy in the Krcisarchiv in
Wiirzburg, and also in Appendix, N.77 and 78, Card. Gonzaga's* Letters
of the 12th and 24th Feb., 1508, in the Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
298 " HISTORY OF THE POPES.
On the day after his proclamation, Maximilian com-
menced hostilities against Venice, and his troops at first
achieved some successes. On the ist of March he wrote
in the highest spirits to the Elector of Saxony : " The
Venetians portray their Lion with two feet in the sea,
one on the plain country, and one on the mountains. We
have all but conquered the foot on the mountains ; one claw
only holds fast, which will be ours, with the help of God, in
a week. Then we hope to tackle the one on the plain."*
But in a very short time the tables were turned. Supported
to the great annoyance of Julius II.,-|- by the French, the
Venetians carried everything before them. The victorious
army overran Tivoli and Istria; in May they conquered
Trieste and Fiume, and by the beginning of June they had
penetrated into Carniola. On the 5th June the Emperor
was only too glad to conclude, through Carvajal's mediation
a truce for three years, which left to Venice nearly every-
thing that her arms had won.J: The Venetians, quite
unaware of the dangers of the path they were treading, were
full of joy and triumph.
The land-hunger of the Republic is described by
Machiavelli in his verses :
San Marco impetuoso, ed importuno,
Credendosi aver sempre il vento in poppa,
Non si cur6 di rovinare ognuno ;
Ne' vide come la potenza troppa
Era nociva : e come il me' sarebbe
Tener sott' acqua la coda e la groppa.
Asino (TOro. §
* Ranke, Deutsche Geschichte, I., i76,^ed. 2.
t Cf. Ludovico da Campo Sampiero's "^Letter to the Marquess of
Mantua, dated Rome, 17th March, 1508. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
X Cf. HUBER, III., 370 seq.^ where all the hterature on the subject is
carefully indicated and criticised.
§ Machiavelli, V., 400. Cf. also Tommasixi, Machiavelli, I., 296.
See also the complaints of the Florentine chronicler, Landucci, 291.
CONCLUSION OF THE LEAGUE OF CAMBRAL 299
In consequence of this " land-hunger," by this time there
was hardly one of the great powers which had not something
to demand back from the Republic, and this it was which
brought about her ruin. Greedily anxious to come to
terms with the Emperor, the Venetians, in their haste, had
taken no heed of the interests of their ally. This produced
a complete revolution in the policy of France.
Towards the close of November, Maximilian's confidential
counsellor Matthaeus Lang, one English and one Spanish
Ambassador, Louis XII.'s all-powerful minister d'Amboise,
and the Emperor's daughter Margaret -met together at
Cambrai.
On the loth of December, 1508, the compact known as
the League of Cambrai was here concluded. The only
portion of it that was destined for publication was the
treaty of peace between the Emperor and the King of
France, which, among other things, bestowed Milan as a fief
on Louis XII. and his descendants. The object of the
League was ostensibly the Crusade against the Turks ; but
before this could be commenced Venice must be constrained
to give back her spoils. A second and secret treaty, to
which the Pope and the King of Spain might be parties if
they chose, was drawn up, binding the contracting powers
to oblige the Republic to restore all the cities of the
Romagna to the Poi:e ; the Apulian sea-board to the King
of Spain ; Roveredo, Verona, Padua, Vicenza, Treviso, and
Friuli to the Emperor; and Brescia, Bergamo, Cremo, Cre-
mona, Chiara d'Adda, and all fiefs belonging to Milan to
the King of France. If the King of Hungary joined the
League he was to get back all his former possessions in
Dalmatia and Croatia ; equally the Duke of Savoy was to
recover Cyprus, and the Duke of Ferrara and the Marquess
of Mantua all the territories wrested from Ihcm by the
Venetians if they too joined the League. I'^ancc was to
300 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
declare war on the ist of April, the Pope was to lay the ban
of the Church and an Interdict on Venice, and to call on
Maximilian, as the lieutenant of the Holy See, to come to
his assistance. Thus, at the end of the forty days, the
Emperor would be released from his treaty obligations
towards the Republic, and able to join the French.*
Even down to the present day Julius II. continues to be
blamed in unmeasured terms for having brought the
foreigner into Italy. As a matter of fact at this decisive
moment the Pope held back, and " it was Venice herself
who drove him ir\to joining the League, which he cordially
disliked, angry as he was with the Republic. He knew
France and her King well, and thoroughly mistrusted both,
and this feeling was amply reciprocated by Louis XII. and
d'Amboise, even while the League of Cambrai, in which no
Papal plenipotentiary took part, was being negotiated."t
Julius II. did not join the League till the 23rd March,
1509, after he had exhausted all other means of inducing
Venice to acknowledge his temporal and spiritual authority.
In her dealings with Rome the foresight and penetration
which usually characterised the policy of the Republic
seemed to have completely forsaken her ; she appeared not
to have the faintest presentiment of the storm which her
high-handed conduct was conspiring to raise up against
her.
It was not only in her policy in the Romagna that
* DUMONT, IV., I, 109 seq. ; Le Glay, I., 225 seq. ; Lanz, Ein-
leitung, 93 seq. ; HUBER, III., 374 seq. Cf. also Arch. St. Ital., 3 Seiie,
IV., I, 126 seq.
t REUMONT, III., I, 26. Cj. GUICCIARDINI, VIII., c. I. ; Have-
MANN, II., 276, 280; and Ulmann, II., 365. The Brief addressed by
Julius II. to d'Amboise on the 28th Dec, 1508 (in MOLINI, I., 54-55),
merely congratulates him on the conclusion of peace between France and
the Emperor ; it is couched in the most flattering terms, but there is not
a word in it about Venice.
VENICE AND THE HOLY SEE. 3OI
Venice persistently trampled on the clear rights of the Pope.*
Following her traditional practice she arrogated to the
State in purely spiritual matters a supremacy which would
have made the government of the Church by Rome an
impossibility."!- The Government repeatedly forbade and
even punished appeals to Rome in ecclesiastical matters ;
ecclesiastical persons were brought before secular tribunals
without the permission of the Pope ; for this the deplorable
corruption of many of the clergy might have afforded some
excuse. But there could be no justification for the conduct
of the Senate in giving away benefices and even Bishoprics
on their own authority.^ Even staunch friends of the
Republic blamed these outrageous violations of Canon-law,
which no Pope could afford to tolerate.§ The consequence
was a never ending series of misunderstandings and disputes
on ecclesiastical matters between Rome and Venice. One
of the most serious of these was that about the appointment
to the Bishopric of Cremona, which had been held by
Ascanio Sforza. After his death, in the Summer of 1505,
the Senate immediately selected a devoted adherent of their
own, a member of the Trevisano family. Julius II. refused
to confirm this appointment, as he had intended to give
it to the excellent Cardinal Galeotto della Rovere. The
Venetians maintained that it had always been customary
for the Senate to elect the Bishops for all the important
* See Reumont in the Gott. Gel. Anz. (1876), II., 846.
t See Vol. IV. of this work, 92 seq.
X See, besides Julius II.'s Bull of 27th Apr., 1509, which will be cited
further on, A. GiUSTiNlAN's Dispacci, II., 439 ; III., 288; and Brosch's
(of course very one-sided) statements in Sybels Zeitschr., XXXVIII.,
308 seq.^ as well as the Briefs of the i6th and i8th Dec, 1506, in
Appendix, N. 57 and 58. Secret Archives of the Vatican.
§ Cf. the remarkable statements in Luuii da Porto, 29, who
observes : Di modo che il papa per queste ed altre cose ancora non 6 in
tutto papa sopra di essi.
302 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
cities in their dominions and for Rome to confirm their
choice,* as if the Holy See was bound in all cases to ac-
cept their nominations. The negotiations on this subject
dragged on for two whole years, until at last Julius II.
yielded, a sum of money being handed over to the Cardinal
as compensation.! This dispute had hardly been settled
w^hen a new and more violent one arose over the Bishopric
of Vicenza, rendered vacant by the death of Cardinal
Galeotto della Rovere. Julius II. had given Vicenza, to-
gether with all the other benefices which had been held
by the deceased Cardinal, to Sixtus Gara della Rovere,
while the Venetian Senate determined to appoint Jacopo
Dandolo. In spite of the Pope's refusal to confirm his
nomination, Dandolo took possession of the See and had
the insolence to style himself " Bishop-elect of Vicenza
by the grace of the Senate of Venice."! He answered the
Pope's citation with a defiant letter, knowing that he had
the support of the Republic. §
It will be seen that the Venetians were steadily pursuing
their aim of making the Pope, as Machiavelli puts it,
"their chaplain/' |i while Julius II. as resolutely resisted.
He told the Venetian Ambassador that if necessary he
would sell his mitre rather than relinquish any of the
rights that appertained to the successor of S. Peter.^
Side by side with these incessant ecclesiastical difficulties
*■ RoMANiN, v., 178.
t Sanuto, VI., 177, 188, 194, 327, 335,347 ; VII., 126. Cf. Balan,
443 seq.^ and Brosch, 161 seq.^ who, however, gives the name of the
Venetian Cardinal incorrectly. Ughelli, IV., 614, curiously, does not
mention this dispute at all.
X GuiCClARDlNi, VIII., chap. I.
§ Balan, v., 450.
II Machiavelli, Opere, ed. Passerini, IV., 334. Cf. Dispacci di A.
GlUSTlNlAN, III., 179, and Tommasini, Machiavelli j I., 298, 324.
IF Sanuto, VII., 643 ; cf. 580, 678, 694, and Ughelli, V., 1066.
I
DIFFICULTIES IN BOLOGNA, 303
the political ones still remained unaltered. Julius II. did
everything he could to bring about an amicable solution.
Towards the end of the year 1506 he sent the celebrated
Augustinian Aegidius of Viterbo to Venice to offer, if the
Venetians would give up Faenza, to say no more about their
other conquests. But this proposal was also rejected. Then,
replied the Pope, since the Venetians refuse my request
for one city only, they shall now be obliged by force of
arms to give back all they have taken. He took no pains
to hide his indignation from the Venetian Ambassador.*
The Republic, however, still persisted not only in defying
the Pope but in irritating him as well.
In the insolence of their triumph after the defeat of
Maximilian, the Signoria went out of its way to make
troubles in Bologna, the place of all others about which
Julius would be most sensitive.
The position of the Legate there was a difficult one,
as the Bentivogli, favoured by France, never ceased con-
spiring against the Government. Ferreri kept them
down with an iron hand, and, in addition to this, behaved
in so greedy and extortionate a manner to the Bolognese,
that they appealed to Rome against his exactions.f Julius
II. had enquiries made, and finding that the Legate was
in fault, at once acted with his wonted energy. On the
2nd of August, 1507, Fcrrcri, on whom larger powers
♦ The mission of Aegidius of Viterbo is only briefly mentioned in
Sanuto, VL, 528. Aegidius himself, in Hciflei-'s ed., 384, gives more
details. Cf. also the extracts from the Ferrarese Despatches in Balan,
v., 443 seq. On the obstinacy of Venice in regard to the alum
monopoly, see Gotti.oh, Cam. Ap., 303.
+ GOZZADINI, Alcuni avvenimenti, 81 scq,^ who, however, has
curiously not made much use of the Briefs in the State Archives at
Bologna. Amongst these I found a *r.ricf of 30th April, 1507, an-
nouncing that I 5,000 gold ducats are being sent from Rome to enable
the Legale to defend the city against the rebels and tyrants.
304 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
had been conferred in the previous month of May, was
deprived of his post and recalled to Rome.* Meanwhile
the discovery had been made that Ferreri had employed
illegitimate means to obtain the increase of his powers
in May, and in consequence he was imprisoned in the
Castle of St. Angelo, and afterwards interned in the Con-
vent of S. Onofrio (he died in i5o8).f
The government of Bologna was then carried on by
the Vice-Legate Lorenzo Fiesco, while the Bentivogli con-
tinued to prosecute their intrigues. In September it was
discovered that they had been plotting to have the Pope
poisoned. Julius II. sent the documentary evidence of
this conspiracy by Achilles de Grassis to Louis XII.,
begging him to withdraw his protection from this family.J
On the 20th of September he sent 5000 ducats to the
Bolognese to help them to defend themselves against
the Bentivogli.§ In the beginning of 1508 one of the
family made a fresh attempt to get possession of the city.
Julius burst into a violent rage when he heard the
news. II
■^ The "^Brief conferring fuller powers is dated 26th May, 1507. On
his recall, see GOZZADINI, Awenimenti, 149, and the *Brief of the 2nd
Aug., 1507. Both Briefs are in the State Archives, Bologna. In a
■^Brief to Ferreri, dated Rome, 5th April, 1507, Julius II. gave the
ecclesia S. Blasii de Sala plebania nuncupata, which had hitherto been
held by Ant. Galeat. de Bentivolis, to Joh. Anton, de Rubeis. Lib. brev. 25,
f 292b Secret Archives of the Vatican.
t Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 319; cf. Bollinger's ed., 380,383,
384-385.
X Raynaldus, ad an. 1508, n. 22 ; Nuntiaturberichte, I., XLiii j
PlEPER, Nuntiaturen, 42.
§ "^Brief of the 20th Sept., 1 507. State Archives, Bologna,
II GOZZADINI, Alcuni awenimenti, 95 seq. ; Balan, V., 449. Cf. the
■^Report of Lodovico da Campo Sampiero to Fr. Gonzaga, dated Rome,
31st Jan., 1508: *La Sta del papa sentendo tal nova [that A. Benti-
voglio had endeavoured to make himself master of Bologna] comincio
I
1
INTRIGUES OF THE BENTIVOGLI. 305
He failed,* but tried again in the Autumn of the same
year. Meanwhile Cardinal Alidosi had been made Legate
of Bologna.-f Alidosi's ruthless severity had caused great
irritation in Bologna of which the Bentivogli sought to
take advantage ; but their main hopes were founded on
the support of Venice. However, they were again un-
successful.J Julius n. indignantly remonstrated with the
Venetian Government for harbouring in their territory
a mugiar che pareva un toro e non tanto la Ex. V. minaciva ma ancora
el cielo. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
* Alfonso of Ferrara helped to put down the attempt. Cf. the *Brief
of Julius II. to Joh. Luca de Pozzo, Archbishop of Reggio, dated Rome,
24th Jan., 1 508. (S4:ate Archives, Modena.) In a "^Brief of the same date,
Julius thanked Cardinal d'Este also for the assistance given against the
Bentivogli. *Lib. brev. 28, f. 634, Secret Archives of the Vatican.
t GOZZADINI, Awenimenti, 158-160, publishes a letter from the
Council of Forty to their Envoy in Rome, dat. Bononiae die XII. Maii,
1508, in which they acknowledge the receipt of the letter announcing
Alidosi's nomination on the XVI 1 1 1, del presente. The editor, whose
work is altogether very one-sided and imperfect, is not in any way
troubled by this contradiction. It is evident that XXII. should be read
instead of XII. 1 found the *Brief on Alidosi's nomination, which is
not mentioned by Gozzadini, in the State Archives at Bologna, I found
also in the same place a *Brief of 22nd May, 1508, on the faculties
granted to Alidosi ; ^another of 26th May, informing the Anziani of his
appointment; and *another, dat. Ostia, ist June, 1 508, with additional
faculties for the Legate. The following communication from Lod. da
Campo Sampiero to Fr. Gonzaga, dated Rome, 17th March, 1508, is
interesting : Credo Pavia vero legato a Bologna per aver mendicato
quela legacione et al presente recede e non la voria perche el conose
apertamente la roina sua andandoli. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
X Balan, v., 450 ; Gozzadini, loc. cit.^ \ 14 scq. Fr. Gonzaga sided
also at that time with the Bentivogli. Cf. the complaining r>rief of the
Pope to him, "dat. Romae" (preceded by a fragment of 27th Sept., 1508,
also no doubt belonging to this time), in Lib. brev. 28, f. 468. (Secret
Archives of the Vatican.) In a *Brief, dat. Rome, loth Oct., 1508,
Julius II. desired the Legate to employ the confiscated property of the
Bentivogli in building the citadel zX Bologna. State Archives, I^ologna.
VOL. VI. X
306 HISTORY OF THE POPLS
the rebels whom Louis XII. had expelled from Milan,
and " looking on with folded arms while these men
endeavoured to undermine the Papal authority in Bologna
and made war upon the Church." The Venetians' answer
sounded like a gibe. They said that, far from harbour-
ing the refugees, they had done their best to get rid of
them ; but they hid themselves in the convents, and the
Republic, of course, was powerless against the Church's
right of asylum. To do away with this pretext the Pope
on the 22nd August despatched a Brief to the Patriarch
of Venice, desiring him to issue strict orders to all the
convents in Venetian territory to refuse shelter to all
bandits and rebels ; all such evil-doers must be driven
from the gates.*
In spite of all that had happened, even now, at the
last hour, an accommodation between Rome and Venice
might still have been possible if the Republic had not
obstinately persisted in all her most unreasonable de-
mands. In the Autumn of 1508, when the alienation of
France had already definitely begun, and the anti- Venetian
League was under consideration, the Pope still held aloof.
The selfish aims of France and the ever increasing con-
* Brosch, Julius II., 163-164, even here blames the Pope, and says
that "for Julius II. the end of driving the Bentivogli out of Venetia
sanctified the means, which was a curtailment of the Church's right of
asylum." Here he poses as the defender of this right, which dsewhere
he condemns in the strongest tenns. The Brief of 22nd Aug. is now
printed in Sanuto, VI., 624. Julius II. heard of the attempts of the
Bentivogli on nth Aug., and on the 20th complained to the Ferrarese
Envoy of the conduct of the Republic. "^La Sta Sua dopoi mi tenne
longamente et cum me multo se extese circa le cose da {sic) li Bentivogli
communicandomi el tutto li accade de presente pigliata occasione da
li Bentivogli et altri suoi rebelli a li quali per Venetiani se da recepto.
Both Costabili's ^Letters of the nth and the 20th of Aug., 1508, are in
the State Archives, Modena.
INSOLENCE OF THE VENETIANS. 307
cessions that she demanded were no doubt the cause of
this.*
It was far from desirable in the eyes of JuHus II. that
the power of the King of France should increase, or that
the Emperor should obtain a footing in Italy. He would
have gladly come to terms with Venice if she would have
withdrawn her unjust pretensions in both temporal and
spiritual affairs. Bembo says that the Pope privately
sent Costantino Areniti to Badoer, the Venetian Am-
bassador in Rome, to tell him of the formation of the
League of Cambrai, and to propose an arrangement if
Venice would restore Faenza and Rimini to the Church.
Badoer at once wrote to inform the Council of Ten, but
received no answer.f The whole influence of the numerous
class of needy nobles whose interests were involved in keep-
ing the conquests in the Romagna was against their resti-
tution, and this prevailed. J The Venetians trusted that a
League composed of such heterogeneous elements would
not last long.
This view was conceivable ; but the infatuation of Venice
in still continuing at this critical juncture to flout and
irritate the Pope in every possible manner in spiritual as
well as in temporal matters, is truly incomprehensible.
" Those even who are friendly to Venice blame her
insolent and domineering behaviour towards the Holy
See, not only in regard to the cities of the Romagna, to
which she has not the smallest right, but also in matters
concerning benefices and ecclesiastical jurisdiction." §
* Cf. the interesting ^Report of Costabili of the 5th Oct., 1 508. State
Archives, Modena, an extract in Balan, V., 451.
t Bemhus, Hist. Venet., 298.
X Cf. SiGlSMONDO de' Conti, H., 386, and Puiui.i in Cicogna, I., 165.
§ Reumont, III., 2, 27, referring to the extract from LuiGI DA
Porto, 29, cited supra^ p. 301, note §.
308 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
The manner in which the testy Venetian Envoy Pisani
answered JuHus II.'s complaints on these subjects is some-
thing quite unique in the whole history of diplomacy.
When the Pope protested to Pisani against the encroach-
ments of the Republic on his ecclesiastical rights, and
added that the Signoria would some day have cause to
repent of their conduct, the Envoy replied : Your Holiness
must grow a little stronger before he can expect much
from the Republic. Naturally incensed, Julius answered,
" I will never rest until you are brought down to be the
poor fishermen that you once were." " And we," said
Pisani, " will make a priestling of the Holy Father unless
he behaves himself." *
Such was the manner in which the Venetian Envoy
thought fit to behave towards the Pontiff in whose power
it lay to have stifled the League of Cambrai at its birth.
Even yet the Pope did not permit himself to be goaded
into any hasty action. He still hoped to succeed in
" alarming the Venetians enough to induce them to comply
with his demands," and then to break up the dangerous
League.-]- Pisani fully realised the Pope's apprehension in
regard to Louis XH. and Maximilian, and saw clearly that
greater forbearance on his part might have prevented
Julius from joining the League. Yet he continued to
behave as before.
When in February, 1509, the question of the Bishopric
of Vicenza had reached the point at which a definite
* LuiGl DA PoRTO, 29-30. C/. Balan, V., 452, who in the same
place refers to "^Costabili's Report, loth Nov., 1508 (State Archives,
Modena), which I also have seen, and in which Costabili says of Pisani :
Ognuno chel conosce li da voce de homo molto colerico et pensase chel
sia stato mandato tale perche lo habii a giostrare col papa. Also
Bembus, 299, describes Pisani as morosi admodum ingenii.
t Gregorovius, VIII., 55-56, ed. 3 ; ^ Lanz, Einleitimg, 103.
THE POPE JOINS THE LEAGUE. 309
answer could no longer be deferred, that which the Pope
received sounded like a sarcasm.* " The contemptuous
insolence of the language employed by the Venetians
requires to be known in order fully to understand the
injustice of those who reproach Julius II. with his partici-
pation in the League of Cambrai. It was not until every
means of persuasion had been tried, and the last hope of
an amicable settlement had vanished, that he made up his
mind to join it"f
The change in the Pope's mind was probably finally
caused by the fear lest France should unite with Venice to
overpower him. J His decision was taken soon after a
conversation which he had with Pisani in the middle of
March at Civita Vecchia. It was a lovely spring day ;
all nature seemed to breathe nothing but peace and
harmony, and the clear blue sea was like a sheet of glass.
The Pope, who was very fond of sailing, was on the water,
accompanied by Pisani, and turning to the Envoy, " How
would it be," he said, " if you were to advise the Signoria
to propose to me to grant Faenza and Rimini as a fief to
one of your citizens ? That would set everything right."
Pisani answered coldly, " Our State is not in the habit of
making kings of any of her citizens." The Pope's proposal
was never mentioned either to Pisani's gentler colleague,
Badoer, or to the Senate. § Immediately after his return
from Civita Vecchia, Julius joined the League.
♦ Cf. Sanuto, VII., 719, 724, 738, 760, 763, 780 ; VIII., 10.
t Rohrbacher-Knopfler, 290. Cf. Ranke, Rom. und Germ.
Volker, 236, and Ersch-Gruber, 2, Section XXVIII., 335.
X Lanz, Einleitung, 103.
§ Bembus, Hist. Vcnet., 299-3CXD. Cf. Ranke, loc. cii. Brosch
makes no mention of either of the two conversations between Julius II.
and Pisani. If the Pope had been animated by that implacable hatred
against Venice which this writer ascribes to him, he would ceruiinly not
have made this overture, nor would he afterwards have exerted himself
3 TO HISTORY OF THE POPES.
On the 22nd of March a Consistory was held, to which
the Venetian Cardinals Grimani and Cornaro were not
summoned.* On the following day Julius II. signed the
Bull announcing his adhesion to the League, but with the
condition that he was to do nothing against Venice until
after hostilities had been commenced by France.-f Mean-
while the Venetians had begun to see that they had been
premature in their hopes that the League would dissolve
itself. On the 4th of April they determined to give up
Faenza and Rimini, but this offer, which was made to the
Pope on the 7th, came too late ; to have accepted it now
so earnestly to preserve the Republic from utter ruin. After the
manner of the Humanists, Bembo puts no date to his narrative, but I
think I can supply this from the Venetian Reports in Sanuto. Pisani
wrote on the 13th from Civita Vecchia : II Papa va a piacer per mar,
pescando .... Item che hessendo in batello con cardinali et oratori,
tra i qual il nostro, S. S^a lexe uno capitulo di letere auti di Portogallo ;
and again on the i6th : The Pope va a peschar e piacer. Sanuto,
VIII., 23-24, 26. From these Reports we also gather that Pisani never
forwarded the Pope's proposal to Venice at all. It must therefore
remain doubtful whether the narrative dated 19th March in Sanuto,
VIII., 30, corresponds with, facts. Pisani was working for a rupture
between Rome and Venice, and therefore may very well have put
the assurance that he would not sign anything against the Republic
into Julius's mouth, in order to embitter the feeling there against him,
when it was found that he had signed the League.
* Sanuto, VIII., 2>7- Many of the Cardinals were in favour of peace
{cf. *Consistorialia Raph. Riarii card. S. Georgii in Cod. J., III., 89, f.
1 8b, of the Chigi Library, Rome): but peace was only possible by sub-
mitting to the humiliation of the Church and sacrificing her most
important interests.
t This Bull, dat. X. Cal. April (23rd Mar.), 1508 (st. fl.), is given by
DUMONT, IV., I, 116 ; Creighton is wrong in dating it 25th March. Cf.
also ^Pozzi's Report, 25th Mar., 1509 (State Archives, Modena), which
gives 23rd Mar. as the date on which the Pope joined the League.
Gregorovius, VIII., 56, ed. 3, must have read the Bull very carelessly
. to have said, as he does, that Venice is not mentioned at all in it.
BULL OF EXCOMMUNICATION AGAINST VENICE. 3 II
would have involved him in a war with the allies.* The
adherents of the Republic in Rome now allied themselves
with the Colonna and Orsini, and tried to induce them to
rise against the Pope by offers of money to both, and
by promising Urbino to the Colonna. When Julius heard
this, he threatened to excommunicate the Orsini, and sent
word to Pisani, who had been stirring them up to revolt
against the Church under his very eyes, that he would
thrust him into the deepest dungeon in Rome. The
situation appeared so menacing that the Palace guard was
doubled. Meanwhile Felice Orsini succeeded in breaking
off the bargain between Venice and the family.-f
On the 27th of April the greater excommunication was
pronounced against Venice unless within twenty-four days
all the possessions of the Church in the Romagna, and the
revenues derived from them, were restored to her. This
document was drawn up in the clearest and strongest terms,
describing the outrageous proceedings of the Republic in
both temporal and spiritual affairs, and 600 copies were at
once printed and circulated.^ The Venetians forbade the
* SiGiSMONDO de' Conti, II., 386. Cf. Sanuto, VII L, 8o. See
also ROMANIN, v., 198, and Brosch, Julius 11., 169, 341, who, however,
represents the whole matter in a false light, ignoring Pisani's obstinacy
and the studied insolence of his words and conduct, as well as the
position of the Pope and the real motives of the Republic, which are
clearly set forth by Sigismondo de' Conti.
t Sanuto, VIII., 41, 72, 89, 96 .f^^., 118, 133, 134, 135, ^39, Mo,
171, 183. C/; the authorities cited by SiSMONDl, XIIL, 478, and in
Appendix, N. 82, the "^Report of Lodovico de Fabriano, 24th April, 1509.
(Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.) The personal courage displayed by the
Pope during those trying days appears from the * Brief to Bologna of
I2th April, 1509 (State Archives, Bologna), which is printed in Appendix,
N. 80.
X Portions of this Bull (monitorium) are given in Raynaldus, ad
an. 1509, n. 6-9, and the complete document is in Sanuto, VIII.,
187-204. A contemporaneous (Latin) printed copy is cited by SORANZu,
312 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Dublication of the Bull in their dominions under string-ent
penalties. They had already prepared an appeal to a
future Council. This was now posted during the night on
S. Peter's and the Castle of St. Angelo ; the Pope had it torn
down at once.* The appeal was sent in the beginning of
May to the ambitious Cardinal Archbishop of Gran and
Patriarch of Constantinople, Thomas Bakocs, as one of
those Princes of the Church who was entitled under the
old, though now obsolete, constitutions to join in the sum-
moning of a General Council. The Hungarian Primate
was. however, too prudent to respond to this invitation.^
Meanwhile the war had been begun by the members of
the League, which was now joined by Ferrara and Mantua.J
The Venetians had, at an enormous cost, got together an
army of 50,000 men, a large force for those times ; their
war-cr}' was '' Italy and Liberty."§ The Republic bent her-
Bibliogr., 79. The fact that an Italian translation of the Bull was printed
at that time in Rome has escaped the notice of this learned bibliographer.
Examples of it are very scarce, but I saw one in the collection of the
Florentine antiquar}', Grazzini {cf. his Catalogue for 1890, No. IX.), and
a second in the State Archives, Modena. Cf. in Appendix, N. Z"}^., the
*Report of L. de Fabriano of the 24th April, 1509. (Gonzaga Archives,
Mantua.) Sanuto. \1II., 169, 204-205, also the ^Report of the
Ferrarese Envoy, of the 27th April, 1509. State Archives, Modena,
* Sanuto, VIII., 161.
+ Fraknoi, Ungam und die Liga von Cambrai, 8.
X Duke Alfonso of Ferrara was appointed Gonfalonerius sive \^exilli-
ferus S. R. E. on the 20th April, 1509 ; see "^Acta Consist. (Consistorial
Archives of the Vatican.) According to the *Brief printed in Appendix,
X. 81, the appointment took place on the 19th April. State Archives,
Modena.
§ Ro^L\^'IX, V., 205-206, shews tliat the proposal of inscribing
" Defensio Italiae "' on the banners and adopting the war-cry mentioned
in the text was rejected. But we find from Sanuto that the war-cr)'' was
actually used by the soldiers. Cf. Senarega, 596. The inscripdon on
the banners is incorrectly stated as a fact by SiGlSMONDO DE' CONTI,
11., 3S6, who here, as elsewherCj is unable to conceal his strong national
DEFEAT OF THE VENETIANS. 313
self bravely to the task of resisting the enemy, overmatched
as she was ; but the traditional pride of her citizens high
and low sustained her. The ban of the Church, it was
maintained, had lost much of its power ; it was no longer, so
dangerous as it used to be. Ferdinand of Spain had been
forced to join the League against his will ; the Emperor
had no money ; the Pope's mercenaries were of no account;
the League was too numerous, the interests of its various
members were too divergent for it to hold together for
long ; the Republic would ride safely through the storm this
time, as she had ever done.
But one day sufficed to annihilate all the proud hopes
of the Venetians, and nearly all their power upon the
mainland. The decisive battle was fought on the 14th
of May on the plain of Agnadello near Vallate in the
province of Cremona ; it ended in the complete rout of
their army. The undisciplined mercenaries of the Republic
were scattered like chaff. While the French pursued the
fugitives, the Papal troops, under the Duke of Urbino,
overran the Romagna. All the country up to Verona,
including that strongly fortified city itself, was subdued;
town after town fell into the hands of the conquerors.*
The Venetians now no longer scorned the Pope's ex-
communication. A contemporary writer compares the
battle of Agnadello with the defeat of the Romans at
Cannae.f The position of Venice was rendered still more
feeling and his predilection for Venice. Cf. GOTTLOB in the Hist.
Jahrb., VH., 322 scq.^ though this writer has overlooked the interesting
remarks of the Venetian Envoy on Sigismondo in Brosch, 289.
* See Sigismondo de' Conti, II., 388-390, who draws his narrative
from a Report of Sermonino da \'imcrcate ; Pandolfini's Letters in
Desjardins, II., 327 seq. Cf. Sanuto, VIII., 249 seq.\ LuiGl DA
Porto, 53 seq. ; Anshelm, III., 200 ; SiSMONDI, XIII., 491 seq.
t Senarega, 597. Cf. also Luigi da Porto, 62 seq.^ and Vol. V. of
this work, p. 90.
314 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
critical by the blow which the recent development of
maritime enterprise had inflicted upon her commerce.* If
in this particular the disadvantages with which they had
to contend were not of their own making, so much cannot
be said of the causes which mainly contributed to bring
about their discomfiture on the mainland. Machiavelli's
penetrating glance discerned, and has described, these with
admirable insight and clearness.-j- He takes as the text for
his criticism the saying of Livy, that the Romans were
never depressed by rrlisfortune or elevated by success. " The
exact reverse of this," he writes, " was the case with the
Venetians. They imagined that they owed their prosperity
to qualities which, in fact, they did not possess, and were
so puffed up that they treated the King of France as a son,
underrated the power of the Church, thought .the whole of
Italy too small a field for their ambition, and aimed at
creating a world-wide empire like that of Rome. Then
when fortune turned her back upon them, and they were
beaten by the French at Vailate, they not only lost the
greater part of their territory by the defection of their
people, but, of their own accord, out of sheer cowardice and
faint-heartedness, they gave back most of their conquests
to the Pope and the King of Spain. In their discourage-
ment they even went so far as, through their Envoy, to offer
to become tributaries of the Emperor, and to try to move
the Pope to compassion by writing to him in a tone of
craven submissiveness. This reverse befell them when the
war had only lasted four days, and the battle itself was only
half-lost ; for only half their troops were engaged and one
of their Proveditori escaped. Thus, if there had been a
spark of energy or enterprise in Venice, they might have
marched on Verona with 25,000 men to try their fortune
* Ranke, Rom. und Germ. Volker, 244.
t Brosch, Julius II., 172 seq.
THEY SURRENDER THE ROMAGNA. 315
again, and await any favourable turn that might give them
a chance of victory, or at any rate of a less ignoble defeat,
and of obtaining honourable terms ; but by their unwarlike
spirit, the natural result of the absence of all military
organisation, they lost both heart and land at a single
throw. The like fate will befall all such as behave them-
selves as they have done, for this arrogance in prosperity,
and cowardice in adversity, are the effect of the spirit in
which a man lives and the education he has received. If
these are vain and frivolous he will be the same; if the
reverse, the man will be of a different stamp, and will know
enough of the world not to be over-elated when good
befalls him, or too much cast down when he meets with
reverses. And what holds good in regard to individuals
also holds good in regard to those many individuals who
live together in the same Republic ; they will attain to that
measure of perfection which the life of the State, as a whole,
has attained. It has often been said before, that the chief
support of all States consists in a strong army, and that no
system of laws and no constitution can be called good which
does not provide for this, but I do not think it superfluous to
repeat it ; for all history proves its truth, and shews also
that no army can be strong that is not well disciplined, and
that it is impossible to secure good discipline unless the
State is defended by her own subjects." The Venetian
aristocracy had purposely abstained from giving military
training to the people; they expected to conquer Italy
with hired troops.
The first thing which the Venetian Government did
when the news of their defeat at Agnadello arrived, was to
evacuate all the places which they had occupied in the
Romagna. Ravenna, Cervia, Rimini, Facnza, and several
smaller places were at once handed over to the Legate of
the Romatrna and the Marches to Cardinal Francesco
3l6 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Alidosi.* The cities on the Apulian coast were also
restored to the Spaniards.-]- They were anxious beyond
everything else to win the Pope, and now wrote in the
humblest and most submissive terms. On the 5th of June
the Doge wrote an appealing letter to Julius II., "The
hand that struck," he said, " could heal if it would.":[ At
the same time, six Envoys were sent to Rome to sue for
peace. Being excommunicated, they could only enter the
city at night.§ After all that had happened, they were
not likely to find men's minds in Rome very favourably
disposed towards them. " If the rebellious children who,
a few weeks before, had been insultingly defying the Pope
to his face, and now came to proffer obedience only under
the stress of extreme need, asked to be received at once
with open arms, the request could only be deemed diplo-
matically permissible because the person to whom it was
addressed was the Holy P'ather."|j
On the 8th of July one of the Envoys, Girolamo Donato,
whom the Pope had known in former days, was personally
absolved from excommunication and granted an audience.
* Brosch, Julius II., 175. In order to conciliate the citizens of
Ravenna, Julius II. not only confirmed their ancient municipal constitu-
tion, but also exempted them from all tribute for the next ten years.
Fantuzzi, v., 433 seq.
t SiGlSMONDO DE' Conti, II., 394. "El Principe de Melfi," on the
1 7th June, 1 509, wrote from Barletta to congratulate the King of Spain
on the recuperacione de Trane con speranza fra poco tempo possenie
gratulare non solo de la recuperacione de dicta citk, ma ancora de tutti
li altri lochi tenea la S^ia de Venetia in questa marina de Puglya. I found
the original "^Brief in F. Espag., 318, i. 114, of the National Librar}-,
Paris.
X Sanuto, VIII., 370-372, and Senarega, 597-598. There is a
Spanish translation with a wrong date (2nd June) in Bernaldez, II.,
338-340.
§ SiGiSMONDO de' Conti, II., 400.
II Rohrbacher-Knopfler, 291.
THE pope's conditions OF PEACE. 317
Julius, deeply incensed at the appeal of the Venetians
to a General Council which had just been published,* pro-
posed crushing conditions. The Republic must make com-
plete restitution of all her spoils, she must give up Tre-
viso and Udine to the Emperor. "She must renounce
her possessions on the mainland, and all pretensions to
interfere in matters connected with benefices, or to im-
pose taxes on the clergy. She must equally renounce her
claim to exclusive rights of navigation in the Adriatic,
which from Ravenna to Fiume she had hitherto regarded
as a Venetian lake. When she had agreed to these things
he would begin to speak of absolution. "f The Senate
was furious when these demands were communicated to it.
The Doge exclaimed that '*he would rather send fifty
Envoys to Constantinople to beg for help from thence,
than comply with them." In fact the Sultan was asked
whether the Republic might count upon his assistance.^:
Just at this time events on the scene of the war began to
take a more favourable turn for the Venetians. Padua was
recovered on the 17th of July, and a month later news
came to Rome that they had captured the Marquess of
Mantua. The Pope was deeply moved with vexation, and
gave passionate vent to his feelings. § When, later in the
Autumn, they had also been successful in repelling
Maximilian's attack on Padua, their old arrogance began
to revive. It was decided to break off the negotiations
with Julius. " All the Venetian Envoys, with the ex-
* On the I St July he had proclaimed anew the censures fomiulaicil i)y
Pius II. against such appeals, and laid an interdict on Venice. Hull., V.,
479-481.
t Sanuto, VIII., 511 ; Brosch, Julius II., 177.
X Bembus, Hist. Venet., 348 sec/.; Brosch, Julius II., 177, J43 ;
HOPF, 168.
§ Brosch, Julius II., 343.
3l8 ^ HISTORY OF THE POPES.
ception of Doiiato, who was still to remain at the Court,
were recalled. When the Pope heard of this (Cardinal
Grimani applied on the 5th November for permission for
departure of the five to leave Rome), he exclaimed : All
the six may go home; if the Republic wants to be
released from the ban, she must send twelve."* Such
and similar things were said in moments of excitement ;
in calmer seasons, Julius must have said to himself that it
would be necessary to come to terms with the Republic;
Louis XII. and Maximilian could not be allowed to carry
the war to a point that would involve her destruction. If
Venice were annihilated, not only the freedom of Italy, but
also the independence of the Holy See would fall with
her.f The enormous preponderance which the course of
recent events had conferred on the King of France shewed
that it was absolutely necessary that the Republic should
be rehabilitated. Louis XII. was absolute master of
Northern Italy, Ferrara and Florence were his allies, he
was sure of the Emperor, and the King of Spain having
got what he wanted from the League, would be satisfied
now to stand aside and let things take their course.^
Just about that time, in the month of October, the King
of France had made the Pope painfully sensible of his
power by obliging him by force to give way in a dispute
about a Bishopric.§ In addition to these considerations,
Julius was at heart an Italian patriot, and keenly felt, from
this point of v'ew, the disgrace of foreign domination.
Hence he was bent on a reconciliation with Venice, and all
* Brosch, Julius II., 181.
t See Desjardins, II., 388 ; Bembus, 343 seq. Cf. Cipolla, 817 ;
Hergenrother, VIII., 423 ; and Rohrbacher-Knopfler, 292.
+ Brosch, Julius II., 185.
§ Ibid., 184-185 Cf. Desjardins, II., 415 seg.; Lehmann, 7, where
the agreement of Biagrassa is correctly characterised.
PEACE CONCLUDED WITH VENICE. 3I9
the efforts of the new French Ambassador, Alberto Pio,
Count of Carpi, and of the French Cardinals to hold him
back were unavailing.* After a long struggle with diffi-
culties of the most various kinds, the peace negotiations
were at last brought to a successful issue on the 15th Feb-
ruary, 1 5 10. Venice withdrew her appeal to a Council,
admitted the right of the Pope to pronounce ecclesiastical
censures, the immunity of the clergy from taxation, and
the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical courts, recognised the
liberty of the Church in regard to appointments to
benefices, renounced all pretensions to interfere in the
affairs of Ferrara, and granted free navigation in the
Adriatic to all the Pope's subjects and to the Ferrarese;
she also repudiated all treaties concluded with towns
belonging to the Pope, and promised not to afford pro-
tection to rebels against the Church, and to restore all
goods that had been wrested from religious associations.!
The solemn absolution of the representatives of Venice,
shorn of most of the customary humiliating adjuncts, took
place in the Court of S. Peter's on the 24th February.
The Pope himself held the Gospel, the Envoys laid their
hands on it and swore to observe all the conditions of the
treaty. In Rome demonstrations of joy were universal *
and in Venice also public thanksgivings were celebrated ;
but on the 15th February the Council of Ten had secretly
♦ Cf. Alberi, 2 Serie, III., 34. Carpi had been French Ambassador
in Rome since Jan., 15 10. See Maulde, III., 437.
t Raynaldus, ad an. 1510, n. 1-6; Hergenrother, VIII., 422 j^^.;
BrOSCH, Julius II., 186-191. The " Don Sigismondo " here mentioned
as concerned in the negotiations is Sigismondo de' Conti. Cf. his Report,
II., 400 seq.
\ Paris de Grassis in Raynaldus, ad an. 1510, n. 7- ii ; r/: also the
Despatch of the Venetian Ambassador in Brosch, 288 289, and
Sanuto, X., 9-13. Ranke, Rom. und Germ. Volker, 249, even in his
last edition, misdates the absolution, and places it on Feb. 20.
320 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
drawn up a protest against the conditions of the absolution,
declaring them null because the Republic had been driven
by force to sign them.*
The Venetians, however, found means to revenge them-
selves on the Pope who had so humbled them and had
forced them to yield on all the important points. They
began to disseminate pamphlets and libels against Julius
11. The first of these, in the form of a letter from Christ to
the Pope, was still couched in fairly temperate language : it
mourned the horrors of the war, as if Julius, in merely
demanding what was, by every title, simply his own from
Venice, was responsible for these.f
* The text of this disgraceful document is in Brosch, Julius II., 290-
293. ROMANIN (V., 241), however, already knew it. Brosch's defence
of this piece of perjury is commented upon, supra^ p. 247, note t. On the
thanksgiving services in Venice, see Bembus, 409.
t Lettera fenta che Jesu Cristo la man da a Julio papa 11. in questo
anno 1509, in Sanuto, X., 567-570; cf. ibid., VI., 444, 463, on a
satirical poem against the Pope. The accusations against Julius, of being
addicted to Greek vices, came in part from Venice. The Despatches of
the Envoys in the Gonzaga Archives, Mantua, which retail every sort of
scandal, contain nothing to justify this charge. The Pope's liking for,
and notice of, the young and good-looking Federigo Gonzaga, who
resided in Rome for some time as a hostage, might well in those corrupt
times have given rise to unfavourable comment (see Luzio, F. Gonzaga,
12, 20, 21, 23, 24, 32, 35), but nothing of the sort can be found. Cf. i/i/ra,
Chap, v., p. 351, note *.
CHAPTER V.
•
Wars of Julius II. to secure the Independence of the
Holy See and to deliver Italy from the French. —
Alliance with the Swiss, and War with Ferrara. — Schism
in the College of Cardinals. — Sickness of the Pope and
Perilous Situation in Bologna. —His Winter Campaign
against Mirandola. — Loss of Bologna. — Attempts of
Louis XII. and Maximilian I. to create a Schism. — Pseudo-
Council AT Pisa and General Council in Rome.
Tpie Peace concluded by Julius II. with Venice, consequent
on the danger to the independence of the Holy See and
the freedom of Italy caused by the increasing preponderance
of France in the Peninsula, brought the Pope at once into
collision with Louis XI I. and Maximilian I., who both
desired the complete ruin of the Republic. The estrange-
ment between him and these two powers was further
intensified by his determination to resist all their efforts
to increase their possessions in Italy. He now addressed
himself with characteristic energy to the second great task
of his Pontificate : that of shaking off the yoke of France
which pressed so heavily on the Holy See and on his
native land, and driving the foreigner," the barbarians," out
of Italy. " His great soul was filled with plans for the
welfare of his country." *
The difficulties and dangers of tlie undertaking were
* See Ranke, Rom. und Germ. Volkcr, 249. In regard to Venice,
Julius himself said to Trevisano : Si quclhi terra non fusse, bisogneria
fame un' altra. Sanuto, X , 82.
VOL VI. Y
322 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
plain enough. Julius had understood from the first that
it would be no easy task to lay the spirits which he had
invoked in his time of need. His thoughts were perpetu-
ally occupied in devising ways and means for freeing Italy
from the French ; * he knew well enough both the strength
of France and her love of glory. He saw her influence
paramount in Florence and Ferrara, Milan subjugated,
a new fortress erected in the midst of his own Genoa to
hold her down, Venice humbled to the dust at a single
stroke. *' Had he not cause enough to tremble for the See
of Rome, which certainly could not be saved if Italy were
subdued ?"t
From the first moment that Julius II. recognised the
necessity of breaking the power of France in Italy, he gave
his whole mind to the task with the inflexible will and
indomitable courage that characterised him and all his
actions ; it was not in his nature to hesitate or delay. Thus
in the eyes of Italian patriots he is the hero of his century.J
From the outset Julius had one great advantage over his
opponent in the swiftness with which he saw and resolved
upon the measures to be adopted. On one day Louis XII.
* Julius II. said to the Venetian Envoy, Donato, on the 14th May,
1510 : Questi francesi mi k tolto la fame e non dormo e questa note mi
levai a pasizar per camera che non poteva dormir, il cor mi dice bene,
ho speranza di bene, son stato in gran affanni per il passato, concludendo
e volonta di Dio di castigarel ducha di Ferrara e liberar Italia de'mande
Francesi : Sanuto, X., 369. FUMAGALLI, Chi I'ha detto (Milano, 1894),
has not succeeded in proving that Julius II. ever actually uttered the well-
known and often quoted exclamation, " Away with the barbarians." But
there can be no doubt that he said something of the kind. Many passages
in Sanuto corroborate this, and Guicciardini says that he used to say
again and again how he wished that Italy rimanesse libera die barbari.
Cf. JoviUS (Vita Leonis X., lib. III., p. 59), who is another contempo-
raneous writer.
t Jovius, Vitae, II., 31 ; Havemann, II., 323.
X Cf. Brosch, Julius II., 202-203.
DEATH OF CARDINAL D'AMBOISE. 323
would break out into violent diatribes against the Pope, who,
in the words of the French Cardinal, had plunged a dagger
into his heart by making peace with Venice,* and on the
next he would again talk of a reconciliation with Rome.
On the 25th May, 1 5 10, Cardinal d'Amboise, Louis' ablest
councillor and the most dangerous enemy of Julius, whom
he was burning to supersede, died.f The effect of his death
was greatly to increase the vacillations of the French King.J
For Julius this event was a fresh incentive to pursue with
redoubled energy the noble aim " which it is his greatest
glory to have succeeded in achieving even partially."§ The
first necessity was to find coadjutors interested like himself
in checking the predominance of France in Italy.li The
Pope sent out feelers in all directions and etitered into
relations with Maximilian, with Henry VIII. of England,
with the King of Spain, and with the Swiss. He met with
many bitter disappointments. The negotiations with Ger-
many and England failed completely. He had counted
on securing the open support of the King of Spain by be-
stowing on him in the beginning of July, 15 10, the investi-
* See Relazione di D. Trevisano (1510) in Alberi, 2 Scrie, III., 34.
t II papa vuol essere il signore e maestro del ginoco del mondo, writes
Trevisano, in the Relation referred to in the preceding note, teme di
Francia per Roano, il quale certo sark papa, per i voti che poi avrh, se non
fa altri cardinali italiani. On d'Amboise's plans for securing the Tiara,
see supra^ pp. 263, 294. On d'Amboise (whose splendid tomb is in the
Cathedral at Rouen), see the monographs by Sn^MOND (Paris, 1631),
Baudier (Paris, 1634), Legendre (Paris, 1723, Rouen, 1724, 2 vols.),
Sacy (London, 1776), and GovON d'Arsac (Montaub., 1784), though
these even all together do not by any means exhaust the results of
modern research in regard to him. A new biography of this remarkable
man is much to be desired.
X Desjardins, II., 513. Cardinal Chaland became Legate of Avig-
non upon the death of d'Amboise. See Fantoni, 352.
§ BrOSCH, Julius II., 202.
II Ibid., 185
324 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
ture of Naples without any regard to the claims of the
Valois,* but here, too, he was unsuccessful at first. On the
other hand, he was successful in obtaining the help of the
Swiss. Here Louis XII.'s want of tact in his conduct to-
wards the Swiss Federation came to his assistance, and
also the exertions of the Swiss Bishop of Sitten, Matthaeus
Schinner, who had always been a determined opponent of
the French policy. This remarkable prelate had great
influence over his fellow countrymen on account of his
blameless life and his strictness in all ecclesiastical matters.
He was a man of immense energy, one of the greatest his
country has ever produced. *' His eloquence stirred all
hearts in a wonderful way."f His love for the Church and
her visible head was the mainspring of his life, which was
in great part devoted to persevering efforts to enlist the
whole martial spirit and power of his nation in her defence.
He always disliked the French; in the year 1501 he
preached with such vigour and effect against France that
those who belonged to that party tried to have him silenced.
He was penetrated with the old mediaeval idea of the two
swords : the spiritual sword wielded by the Pope, Christ's
* Raynaldus, ad an. 1510, n. i^seq. Cf. Brosch, Julius II., 196-
201. Creighton, IV., 118, erroneously makes the date of the investiture
17th June, and Sismondi, XIV., 71, July 7th. The Bull which con-
tains the clause precluding the King of Naples from the imperial crowni,
and from ever combining the lordship of Tuscany and Lombardy with
that of Naples, is dated 3rd July. It was not, however, communicated
to the Cardinals till the Consistory of 5th July (see Acta Consist., Con-
sistorial Archives of the Vatican), and this is corroborated by Sanuto,
X., 727, 745-746. Later, Ferdinand also obtained the remission of the
fief dues in return for the annual gift of a white palfrey, and an engage-
ment to supply 300 soldiers for the defence of the States of the Church
if they should be attacked. Prescott, II., 501, note 16. On the 8th
April, 1 5 10, the Golden Rose was sent to Henry VIII., in hopes of gaining
his support See WiLkins, III., 652.
t DiERAUER, II., 401.
j
LEAGUE OF JULIUS IL AND THE SWISS. 325
Vicar on earth, and the temporal by the Head of the Holy
Roman Empire, the protector of the Church. Thus he con-
sidered that it was the first duty of Switzerland, and would
be the path of glory for her, to stand by the Emperor in
defending the Roman Church against France, whose pre-
dominance in Italy was a permanent danger to the freedom
and independence of the Holy See.*
Julius n. quickly recognised the valuable qualities of
the Swiss prelate, and on the loth September, 1508, made
him a Cardinal, though his proclamation was deferred for
the present.f The Swiss had withdrawn from the League
with France in the Summer of 1509, and now Julius turned
to Schinner for assistance. In the close of that year the
Bishop, not without personal risk, hastened to Rome to
arrange the details of an agreement between the Pope
and the Swiss Federation. J In February, 15 10, as Papal
Legate, he laid the proposals of Julius H. before his
countrymen at Schwyz, and then at Lucerne on the
same day. His enthralling eloquence overcame all
objections. On the 14th of March, 15 10, the district of
Wallis and all the twelve Cantons ratified a treaty for
five years with the Pope. " The Federation undertook
the defence of the Church and of the Holy See. They
* FUCHS, Mailandische Feldziige, II., 18, 19 {cf. Joller, 52).
Schinner's *Letter to the Castellan of Sitten, dat. 28th April, i 506, is very
interesting, as shewing how he regarded the Holy Roman Empire, " out
of which," he says in it, " all our liberties, both in Church and State, have
sprung." (State Archives, Sitten.) The Emperor Maximilian met
Schinner at the Diet of Constance, and there became personally
acquainted with him. See DiKBOLD SCHU.LING, Chronik, 173.
t Raynaldus, ad an. 1508, n. 25.
X On 6th Jan., 15 10, Julius wrote to Uri to announce Schinner's
mission (Letter in Lanz, Grundriss, I., 759), and another letter on the
same day to the Abbot of Dissentis. See MOHR, Regebten von
Dissentis, N. 664 ; cf. FucHS, II., 155.
326 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
promised, whenever the Pope should require their help,
to furnish 6000 men to meet the foe, provided they were
not themselves engaged in war. Further, for the term of
their agreement they engaged not to ally themselves with
any third power without the Pope's permission, nor to
supply any other power with troops. The Pope on his
part bound himself to consult the interests of the Federa-
tion in any treaties of peace or alliances that he might
make, to defend them with his spiritual weapons against
their enemies, to pay to each Cantpn and to Wallis a
yearly sum of 1000 florins, 6 francs monthly to each
soldier in the army, and twice that sum to each officer."*
Trusting to his alliance with the Swiss and to the
support of Venice, Julius II. made no secret of his in-
tention of going to war with France. " These French,"
he said on the 19th June to the Venetian Ambassador,
" are trying to reduce me to be nothing but their King's
Chaplain : but I mean to be Pope, as they will find out
to their discomfiture." He spoke in similar terms to the
Florentine Envoy.f Cardinal Clermont, who attempted
against the Pope's wishes on the 29th June to escape to
France, was arrested and taken to the Castle of St. Angelo.
Other Cardinals who were, as Julius II. knew, secretly
working on the French side, were threatened with a similar
fate. When the Cardinals Brigonnet, Louis d'Amboise,
de Prie, and Sanseverino interceded with the Pope for his
release, he told them to their faces that it looked as if they
too wished to be provided with lodgings in St. Angelo.J
* DiERAUER, II., 402-403.
t Brosch, Julius II., 203-204, 348. The exact words to the Floren-
tine Envoy are in *Cerretani, Cod. II., III., 76, f. 344, of the National
Library, Florence.
t Cf. Sanuto, X., 565, 696, 700, 720, 725, 728, 732, 734, 746-747,
761, 803, 806, 856, 857, 871 ; see *Cerretani, loc. cit., f. 348. The *Acta
RUPTURE WITH LOUIS XII. 327
At the same moment Louis XII. attacked the Pope
in his spiritualities by reviving a considerable number of
the provisions of the Pragmatic Sanction, especially those
relating to benefices.* In the beginning of July a sharp
exchange of high words took place between Julius and
the French Ambassador. Carpi remonstrated with the
Pope on his intention of helping the Genoese to shake
off the yoke of France, which he said was a line of con-
duct on the part of Julius that his King had not deserved.
The Pope replied, " I look upon your King as my personal
enemy, and do not wish to hear anything more." The
Ambassador was shewn to the door and Julius refused
to hear any further explanation.f The rupture with
Louis XII. was now definitive. The Venetian Envoy
writ'^s that " the French in Rome stole about looking
like corpses."!
The Pope's plan was to attack the French in Italy on
all sides at once ; in Genoa, Verona, Milan, and Ferrara.
The Venetians were to throw themselves on Verona, the
Swiss to invade Milan, the Fregosi in Genoa, supported
by Papal and Venetian troops, were to rise against France,
and Francesco Maria della Rovere, also in combination with
Venice, was to march against Duke Alfonso of Ferrara.
Julius II. was especially exasperated against the Duke
of Ferrara, who had thrown himself completely into the
arms of France and continued to harass Venice in spite
of the Pope's repeated commands. The Prince was not
Consist, f. 27, mention Clermont's imprisonment : *Dicta die (29th
June) R. D. F. card. Auxit. cum uno ex suis et sine habitu cardinalilio
extra domum suam per urbcm a BarizcUo captus et per Tyberim ad
castrum S. Angcli introductus et ibi detentus. Consii>torial Archives of
the Vatican.
♦ Maulde, Origines, 135.
t Brosch, JuUus II., 206, 349-350. Cj. Maulde, III., 459.
X Sanuto, X., 829.
328
HISTORY OF THE POPES.
only his own feudatory vassal, but was also bound to
him by ties of gratitude for quite recent services. During
the past Winter he had restored Comacchio to Alfonso,
and prevented the Venetians from attacking him. Now,
protected by Louis XII., in defiance of that monarch's
treaty with Julius II.* the Duke went on with the war
against Venice, and did everything in his power to injure
the Holy See. He harried the inhabitants of the States
of the Church, ignored the Pope's authority even in
ecclesiastical matters, and persisted in working the salt
marshes of Comacchio to the detriment of the Papal
monopoly at Cervia, asserting that he held this town in
fief from the Emperor and not from the Holy See. All
the Pope's demands were either " evaded or met by a
direct refusal or an evasion ; Alfonso was determined
not to obey him." -j- Finally Julius II. commenced legal
proceedings against his insubordinate vassal. A Bull of
9th August excommunicates Alfonso as a rebel against
the Church, and declares him to have forfeited all his
dignities and fiefs. In it he is severely blamed J for his
adhesion to Cardinal d'Amboise, who, it says, was plotting
to obtain the Tiara during the lifetime of the lawful Pope,
and sowed dissension between France and Rome.§
* Lanz, Einleitung, 109.
t See Ranke, Rom. und Germ. Volker, 251. Cf. the authorities
referred to here and in Hergenrother, VIII., 424 seq. See also
Balan, v., 472, and RoB. Boschetti, H., 46 seq. Cf. also in
Appendix, N. 84, the "^Brief of the 5th June, 15 10. (State Archives,
Modena.) A "^Brief from Julius II. to Alfonso, unfortunately undated,
but apparently belonging to the end of 1507, contains complaints of
outrages committed by Ferrarese officials on the inhabitants of various
places named in it, which now belonged to the Holy See. ^Lib. brev. 25,
f. 20b. Secret Archives of the Vatican.
X See P. Martyr, XXIII., N. 443.
§ Raynaldus, ad an. 15 10, n. 13 seq. Cf. "^Acta Consist., f. 27, and
EXASPERATION OF THE KING OF FRANCE. 329
The Pope's attempt to wrest Genoa from France was
violently resented by Louis XII. Machiavelli, who was
then an Envoy at the French Court, describes the
exasperation of the King and his courtiers. " As
regards the Pope," he writes from Blois on the 21st July,
" you can imagine what is said of him ; obedience is to
be renounced and a Council hung upon his neck. The
complete annihilation of his power, both temporal and
spiritual, is the least of the penalties with which he is to
be visited. Louis is determined to vindicate his honour
even if he loses everything he possesses in Italy." Machi-
avelli gratified his hatred of Popes by fanning the
flame with all his might. He advised the King to set
the Roman Barons on Julius ; he would then be fully
occupied at home and have to let the King of France alone.
Fortunately for the Pope, Louis did not follow this
advice, but resolved to attack his enemy just where he
was invincible — in his purely spiritual power.* This
Pope, who was such an obstacle to French domination
in Italy, was to be hurled from his throne by means of
a Synod creating an ecclesiastical revolution. Thus,
" the great tournament of the European powers was
transferred from the field of battle and the realm of
diplomacy to that of the life of the Church."f
On the 30th of July, Louis XII. issued a summons to
all the Bishops in his kingdom to send representatives
of their Dioceses in September to Orleans, there to meet
Sanuto, XL, 108 seq.^ 112 seq.^ 114 seq. I saw a contemporaneous
printed copy of the Bull (impressum Bononiae 15 10, die XXIII.) in the
State Archives at Modena, There is also here a notice that the Bull
was posted in the church of S. John Lateran on the 13th Aug.
* Brosch, Julius II., 208. Cf. TOMMASINI, Machiavelli, I., 504 seq. ;
Creighton, IV., 121.
t Era KNOT, Ungarn und die Liga von Cambnii, 85.
330 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
together and hold a consultation on the liberties and
privileges of the Gallican Church.* By a royal ordin-
ance of 1 6th August, 1 510, all French subjects were
forbidden to visit the Court of Rome.-f The Assembly
met at the appointed time, not, however, at Orleans but
at Tours, whither Louis also betook himself, forbidding
the Papal Nuncio Leonini to follow him. J The French
Court-Bishops answered the questions set before them
in the sense desired by their master. The Pope did
wrong in making war on any Prince who was not one
of his vassals, and such a Prince had a right to defend
himself with arms, and even to invade the States of the
Church if necessary, and to withdraw his kingdom from
its obedience to such a Pope. The term at which the
renunciation of obedience should take place must be
decided by ancient custom and the provisions of the
Pragmatic Sanction, founded on the decrees of the Council
of Basle. It was further declared that a King when thus
attacked had a right to protect his allies against the Pope,
and to hold all his censures as null and void. At the
same time it was agreed that before taking any further
steps the Gallican Church should send Envoys to the
Pope to warn him not to proceed in his present conduct,
and to demand a General Council. When this had been
done, they would have a right to take other measures.
Finally they granted a considerable subsidy to the King
for the prosecution of the war in Italy.§ On that point
Louis XII.'s plans were of a very extensive character.
* Sandret, Concile de Pise, 427-428. Cf. M aulde, Origines, 1 34, 325.
t Maulde, Origines, 135.
:|: Cf. PlEPER, Nuntiaturen, 42-43.
§ LEHMANN, 8-9 ; HeRGENROTHER, VI II., 432 seq. ; GUETTEE,
VIII., 108 seq. \ Lettres de Louis XII., II., 29, 46 seq. \ Gieseler, II.,
4, 183 seq.
RESOLUTION OF THE POPE. 33 1
" He intended to create a new heaven and a new earth
in Italy." He proposed to lead an army to Rome and
himself depose the Pope.* " But his mood varied from
day to day ; one day he seemed quite determined to begin
at once, the next he shrank back alarmed at some appre-
hended danger, or at the expenses of the war. The
Ferrarese Envoy complained that he changed his mind
every morning. He allowed the precious time in which
action was possible to slip away, while he amused himself
with the fatuous contemplation of the power which he
possessed, but did not know how to use." Finally he
decided upon waiting till the Spring, and till he could be
sure of Maximilian and Henry Vni.-f
Not so Julius H. He knew nothing of fear or irresolu-
tion, and difficulties only roused him to greater exertions.
His character corresponded curiously with his family crest,
which was the unbending oak, — the resolution which he
now formed was in complete harmony with his fearless and
eager temperament. Though he was far from well he
determined to accompany his army in the campaign
against Ferrara, the most advanced outpost of the French
in Italy, and thus hold his untrustworthy and irresolute
generals to their work. By superintending the whole enter-
prise in person he hoped " to decide everything himself,
and get his decisions promptly carried out, and to be
again as successful as when he had boldly taken his own
line against the Bentivogli, and refused to be intimidated
by any warnings or prognostications of evil. He had no
presentiment that he was going forth to meet one of the
most terrible trials of his whole life." J
♦ Cf. Machiavelli's Letters of the 21st July and the 18th Auk'., \^\o.
t LkhmanN, 9. Cf. CUEIGHTON, IV., 1 20 ; KanKI'^ Rom. und
Germ. Volker, 256.
X Brosch, Julius II., 209.
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334 HiSTor.Y OF the popes.
Even during the course of his hurried journey, tidings had
reached JuHus which filled him with anxiety; he heard
from Verona that the expedition against Genoa seemed
likely to break down. In Bologna itself he found great
dissatisfaction with Alidosi's government. He was already
suffering from fever, and found it hard to bear up against all
these cares ; but anything in the way of better news revived
him at once, and his resolution never failed for a moment,
not even when there could no longer be any doubt that
the King of France meant to summon a Council,* and
the Swiss, after having come as far as Chiasso, yielding to
French and imperial intrigues, suddenly turned back and
gave up the campaign.-]- But still worse news was yet to
come. On the 30th September he had made the Marquess
of Mantua Standard-bearer to the Church,^ and on the
14th October had excommunicated the French general. §
Now, on the 17th, tidings arrived from Florence that the
Cardinals Carvajal, Francesco Borgia, Briconnet, Rene de
Prie, and Sanseverino, instead of obeying the Pope's com-
mand to join him at Bologna, had betaken themselves
* Cf. Corp. dipl. Portug., I., 133.
t Sanuto, XL, 425, 427,455,457,466. Cf. the Portuguese Report
from Rome of the 15th Oct., 15 10, in the Corp. dipl. Portug., I., 133.
The unexpected defection of the Swiss {cf. Dierauer, 405) disturbed
the Pope more than anything else, as his *Brief of 30th Sept., 15 10,
shews. This Brief is printed in the Eidgenoss. Abschieden, III., 2,
519-520, and in German in Anshelm, III., 229-231. TOMMASINI,
Machiavelli, I., 704-705, who has reprinted it, and Creighton, IV.,
120, have overlooked this. The Latin text of the Letter from the
Federation, dat. Lucerne, 14th Sept., 15 10, with which FUCHS, II., 200,
is not acquainted, and to which the Brief was an answer, is to be found
in Cod. Regin., 557, f. 115^, in the Vatican Library.
X Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 195 ; Sanuto, XL, 486. Cf Luzio,
F. Gonzaga, 8, who shews that it was the Pope who had released the
Marquess from his imprisonment.
§ Raynaldus, ad an. 1510, n. 16.
SCHISM IN THE SACRED COLLEGE. 335
to the camp of the enemy in Milan. For various reasons
these men were all dissatisfied with Julius II. and his'
policy. They cared for nothing but their own aggrandise-
ment * and hoped to secure that by helping the King of
France to depose the Pope, whom he rightly considered the
chief obstacle to the establishment of his supremacy in
Italy. " Thus a schism in the Sacred College was added
to Loyis' threatened Council." f Julius had long been mis-
trustful of the French Cardinals ; but it was a terrible blow
to him when the two Spaniards, especially Carvajal, who
was so highly thought of, went over to the French ; never-
theless he still by no means lost heart.
At this critical moment, when nothing but the greatest
prudence could have saved him, the Pope committed a
fatal error in allowing himself to be completely deceived
by Cardinal Alidosi. This worldly and greedy prelate was
accused by his enemies of the worst vices — whether justly
or not we have no means of determining.^ He had cruelly
oppressed the Bolognese and was suspected of conspiring
with the French. § In consequence, the Duke of Urbino
had him arrested as a traitor and carried in chains from
* Cf. Moroni in the Miscell. di storia patria, II., 179.
t Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 197 ; Guicciardini, IX., 3 ; Le
Glay, I., 372 ; BROSCH, Julius II., 2il ; LehmaNN, 27-28 ; HerGEN-
ROTHER, VIII., 435 seq. The beginning of the tension between Julius
II. and Carvajal dated from the liberation of Cnr,sar- Borgia {cf. si/pra^
p. 242). Later Carvajal, who was both passionate and ambitious, had
been far from respectful in his conduct towards the Pope. Nevertheless
the latter continued to treat him with great consideration, appointed him
to honourable posts, and gave him valuable benefices {cf. Rossn,\CH,
Carvajal, 84, 89, 90). Even now Carvajal and F. Borgia were treated
with greater leniency than the others. See Guicciardini, /oc. cit.
X Cf Fanti'S investigations, Imola, 10 scq.., which have not been
noticed by any modem writer. See also infra., p. 350, note f.
§ Cf Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 199. Cf Sanuto, IX., 253, and
Gozzadini, Alcuni avvenimenti, VII., 171 scq.
336 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Modena to Bologna on the 7th of October. The Bolognese
•now hoped that their hated tyrant would pay for his mis-
deeds with his life. But in his very first conversation he
contrived, by insinuating manners and plausibility, so to
get round the Pope that not only was he at once released,
but very shortly after, on the 1 8th October, made Bishop
of Bologna.* The citizens, irritated to the highest degree,
were preparing to give vent to their anger, when suddenly
the French army under the command of the excommuni-
cated Chaumontf appeared at the gates of the city, which
was inadequately garrisoned with only 900 men. With
the French were the Bentivogli, thirsting for revenge. The
people now, says Paris de Grassis, took up arms, not to
defend the Legate or the Pope, but their own liberty.:|:
Alidosi thought of nothing but his personal safety, and
said openly that he was arming his people not against the
French but to protect himself against the Bolognese.
To make matters worse and add to the general confusion,
Julius II. now broke down under the long continued strain,
and, as the astrologers had predicted,§ fell seriously ill of
fever ; so seriously that negotiations for the supposed
impending election were set on foot.|i Now at last for a
moment his indomitable spirit seemed to falter. On the
* Contemporaneous writers seem utterly at a loss to explain this event.
Cf. the conjectures of P. DE GrassiS, ed. Frati, 201.
t The Bull of Excommunication of the 14th Oct., 15 10, in the Bull.
Rom., ed. Luxemb., X., 12-14. Cf. Raynaldus, ad an. 15 10, n. 16;
Lettres de Louis XI L, I., 282 ; and Hergenrother, VIII., 426 seq.
% The text of P. DE GrassiS in Raynaldus (populus arma capit pro
pontificis tutelaque sua) is inaccurate throughout. In Frati, 201, it does
not make sense. The correct text in Dollinger'S edition runs thus :
populus arma capit non utique pro legato nee tarn pro pontificis tutela
quam sua ipsorum defensione.
§ Cf. the Portuguese Report in the Corp. dipl. Portug., I., 133.
II Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 204 ; cf. Brosch, Julius II., 350 seq.
ILLNESS OF THE POPE. 337
19th of October he sent for the Venetian Ambassador and
told him that if the troops of the Republic had not crossed"
the Po within twenty-four hours, he would come to terms
with Chaumont. The Ambassador relates how, on the
following night, tossing on his sleepless bed, he declared
in his feverish wanderings that he would rather kill himself
than fall into the hands of the French.* With the dawn
of the 20th October the fever subsided, and the sick man
recovered his self-command with a celerity which shews
the extraordinary elasticity of his temperament. When
he heard that the armed citizens were calling his name he
sprang from his bed and had himself carried out on one of
the balconies of the palace, from whence he gave his bless-
ing to the people, whose temper, owing to a variety of
circumstances, had undergone a favourable change during
the preceding days.
Paris de Grassis, as an eye-witness, narrates how Julius,
after having blessed the people, crossed his arms upon his
* Cf. the extracts froni the Reports of the Venetian Ambassador in
Sanuto, XL Here on the 26th Sept. it is said that the Pope is in bed
con terzanella (p. 467) ; on 2nd Oct. that he is ill of fever : li medici
dubita non si buti in quartana (p. 494) ; on i8th Oct.: il papa k pur febre,
quasi ogni giomo uno pocho, e como I'ha qualche bona nova, I'ha mancho,
e come 1' k cativa, el sta in letto (p. 546) ; on the 19th, the declaration to
the Ambassador mentioned in the text. On the 20th, it has been decided
to come to terms with the French. El papa e in letto con la febre ; it is
thought that he cannot live. Tuta questa note il papa rasonando diccva :
Moriro, moriro, orsu, voglio morir ! Poi diceva : Andaro presone de'
Francesi, de' Francesi ! Questo non serk vero. Tor6 il veneno da mi,
torb il veneno al tutto ! E cussi tuta questa notte su quesle pratichc ha
rabiato, non k mai dormito tutta questa notte (pp. 548-550). Brosch,
Julius II. , 202, in his usual fashion, quotes these words so as to produce a
misleading impression, suppressing what the Ambassador says of the
severity of the fever, and anticipations of the death of tlie Pope. The
word "rabiato" indicates mental disturbance, so that Creighton, IV.,
123, correctly makes use of the term delirium.
VOL. VI. Z
338 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
breast, as though confiding his person to their honour and
care. The action met with a sympathetic response, and a
shout went up from the crowd with a promise to stand up
against the fee as one man. " Now," exclaimed the Pope,
as they carried him back to his bed, " we have conquered
the French." *
The hopes of Julius II. were justified by the conduct of
the French commander, who, instead of pressing forward
at once, began to negotiate,-]" and thus gave time for the
Venetian and Spanish troops to arrive. Soon the French
army, encamped on the Reno three miles from the city,
began to suffer severely from want of provisions and the
inclemency of the weather, and was forced to retire to
Castel franco. Julius, who had broken off his negotiations
with Chaumont, was now anxious that his troops should
sally forth and fall upon the French, who were retiring
slowly, plundering as they went. His vexation at not
being able to get this done was so great that it brought
on a dangerous relapse on the 24th. /\gain the worst
began to be feared, but again also his iron constitution was
victorious. In two days he began to improve, and by the
end of the fourth day the danger was over. His recovery,
however, was retarded by his obstinacy in refusing to spare
himself in any way or to follow the advice of his physicians.
In consequence, he had many relapses. " The Pope's con-
stitution," writes the Venetian ^Ambassador on the 25th
November, " is marvellous ; if he would only take care of
himself he would soon be able to get up."+
* Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 202, 203 ; cf. 333. Sanuto, XL,
551 seq.
t Semper, Carpi, 7. On Chaumont's motives, cf. Havemann, II., 346.
X Sanuto, XI., 634 ; cf. on the various phases of his sickness and his
behaviour, 554, 556, 568, 569, 583, 5-86, 601, 603,633,642, 668, and
Paris de Gr-\ssis, ed. Frati, 204 seq
CAMPAIGN AGAINST FERRARA. 339
Far from attending to his health, the mind of the Pope
was occupied day and night with his plans for subduing
Ferrara and driving back the French. He caused a circular
letter to all the Christian Princes of Europe to be drawn
up, in which he accused Louis XII. of thirsting for the
blood of the Roman Pope and sending his army to Bologna
to destroy him. He declared that until Ferrara had
capitulated he would listen to no more overtures. He
urged the Venetians with redoubled energy to join their
forces to his and at once commence the siege of that city.
But his impatience was doomed to disappointment. The
union of the two armies took place in due course, but the
combined forces waited in vain for the Marquess of Mantua.
At the same time the Venetian fleet met with a reverse.*
Julius n. had on the nth December appointed Cardinal
Marco Vigerio, Legate of the Papal troops ; eight days after,
news came of the conquest of Concordia.f His Master of
Ceremonies reports that on the 15th December he had so
far recovered as to be able to leave the house of his friend,
Giulio Malvezzi, where he had been staying since the 6th
November, and return to his own palace. Externally he
was very much altered in appearance, as during his illness
he had grown a long beard.:]: At Christmas he was able to
* GUICCIARDINI, IX., Chap. 3.
t Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 211 seg'. Cf. Sanuto, XI., 681, 689,
and Gozzadini, Alcuni avvenimenti, VII., 184.
X Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 213, 241. A Bolog^nese chronicler (in
Gozzadini, loc. cit.^ 182) reports : Porta va la barba per vendicarsi et
diceva che non la voleva piii rasar per insino a tanto che non aveva anco
fuora scazato el re Ludovico de Franza d' Italia. See Petrus Martyr,
Lib. XXIV., ep. 451. Cf. also LUZIO, F. Gonzaga, 65. For several
centuries no Pope had ever worn a beard, and at the Conclave of
1455 even Bessarion's oriental beard had been blamed by some.
(See Vol. II. of this work, p. 323.) See genenilly on the wearing of
Ijcaids during the Renaissance period, MuNTZ, Hist, dc I'A., Ill,
340 HISTORY OF THE POPEb
say Mass, but only in his private chapel and sitting. On
S. Stephen's Day he wished to attend the High Mass at
the Cathedral, but heavy snow and a slight return of fever
obliged him to give up his intention.* It can therefore be
imagined what the amazement of his Court must have
been when he informed them on the 29th of December that
he intended to join the army before Mirandola, in order to
see why his troops were putting off their attack in spite
of his repeated commands. Although every one, the
Cardinals, the Prelates, the Bolognese, and, at first, even the
Venetian Envoys, did their utmost to dissuade him, they
could not alter his determination ; he was convinced that
nothing but his presence in person could defeat the
machinations of those who were hindering the progress of
the campaign.*!-
On the 2nd of January, 151 1, the world was called upon
to witness the strange spectacle of a Pope, regardless of
his dignity, his advanced age, his health, and the rigours
of an unusually severe Winter, setting forth to join his army
in their camp before Mirandola. Amongst those who
accompanied him were the Cardinals Isvalies, d'Aragona,
and Cornaro, and the famous architect Bramante.J The
Venetian Envoy, Girolamo Lippomano, who had attached
himself to the Papal train, gives utterance in his Reports to
the universal astonishment. "Julius II.," he writes on the
6th January, " has appeared, contrary to all expectation.
156 i-^^. It was, however, "quite in character for Julius II. to be the
first to assume this note of virility." Gregorovius, Grabdenkmaler,
124. See also NOVAES, VI., 136.
* Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 223.
t Sanuto, XL, 712 seq.^ 719. From a Portuguese Report of 15th
Oct., 1 5 10, it appears that even in the Autumn the Pope had expressed
his intention of personally taking part in the war. Corp. dipl. Portug., I.,
133-
X Cf. Semper, Carpi, 8.
ENERGY OF JULIUS II. 34I
He hates the French worse than ever. Apparently he has
quite recovered ; he goes about in all the wind and weather,
and watches the clearing away of the snow from his
balcony ; he has the strength of a giant. Yesterday and
to-day the snow has been falling without intermission, and
is half the height of a horse, and yet the Pope is in the
camp. Our Republic is being splendidly served. His
Court, who have no heart for Italy, and think of nothing
but their money, are dying to get back to Rome ; but they
are quite helpless; Julius H. thinks, dreams, and talks
to satiety of nothing but Mirandola." * In a Report on
the following day he says, " To-day the Pope reviewed the
troops in the snow. His spirit and courage are marvellous,
but he is not supported by his people." The consciousness
of this sometimes angered him almost to madness, and he
would storm and rave at his generals for their tardiness.f
At first Julius II. had taken up his abode in a farm-
house; when the batteries opened fire, he withdrew to
Concordia, but his impatience soon became so great that
in a few days he returned to take up his quarters in the
Convent of S'^ Giustina, which was quite close to the
battery and nearer to the fortress than the farm-house.
His Court were lost in wonder : " His Holiness lives in the
kitchen of the Convent," writes the Venetian Paolo Capello
on the 13th January, "and I inhabit an open stable that
* Sanuto, XL, 722-723 ; cf. J2i. See also the interesting Mantuan
Despatch in LuziO, F. Gonzaga, 65 scq.; PaRIS DE GraSSIS, ed. Frati,
225 ; Grumello, 134 seq.; and Carpesanus, V., N. 2. On the unusual
severity of the Winter of 151 1,(/. Lanuucci, 306, and Cambi, XXI., 251,
who are, not without reason, scandalised at the Pope's conduct in joining
the camp. His armour is still preserved in the Vatican, and will be
placed in the new Museum in the Appartamento Borgia.
t Sanuto, XL, 724, 725, 726 ; cf. 729, 730, 72>^,7j^> 740. See further,
the Mantuan Despatches in LuziO, F. (jonzaga, 66, and the Report of
the Envoy from Orvicto in FUMI, Carteggio, 134-135.
342
HISTORY OF THE POPES.
anywhere else would not be thought fit even for a servant ;
but here it is so much prized that Cardinals Cornaro and
d'Aragona have been asking for it. The weather is
detestable ; to-day we have a furious snow storm, and yet
the Pope has gone out. His health and spirit are super-
human, nothing seems to hurt him." The Venetian Envoy
Lippomano said to Cardinal Alidosi, who was also in the
camp, " It ought to be recorded in all histories that a Pope,
only just out of his sick-bed, has taken the field himself in
January and in the midst of such snow and cold. The
rivers are all frozen ; it is Winter with a vengeance." A
report of the 17th January states that on that day a
cannon-ball had entered the room where the Pope was
lying asleep, and had wounded two of his servants. After
this Julius moved into the house of Cardinal Isvalies. But
here too he found that shots were occasional visitors, and
so, in spite of the remonstrances of his people, he returned
to his former quarters. " The Pope displa)s extraordinary
courage," writes the Venetian Envoy. " He is burning
with impatience to march on Ferrara." The long sustained
resistance of the defenders of Mirandola so enraged Julius
that he rated his own generals in violent terms, and talked
of giving the town over to pillage.* When at last, on
the 20th of January, it capitulated, his people succeeded in
persuading him to grant milder terms. He was in such a
hurry to set foot in his new conquest that he would not
wait to have the gates unbarred, but clambered in through
the breach on a wooden ladder. On the following day he
declared that he would at once proceed to Ferrara, and
* Sanuto, XL, 740, 741, 743, 744, 746, 747, 750, 755. Cf. GozzA-
DiNl, Alcuni awenimenti, VII., 197 seg.; Mem. della Mirandola, II., 179
seg.^ 183 ; and Balan, Assedii della Mirandola, 12 seg., 14. Julius sent
the cannon-ball to the Sanctuary of Loreto, where it is still preserved.
Cf. GOZZADINI, loc. cit., VII., 198, and Tursellinus, 169 seg.
THE DUKE OF FERRARA REFUSES TO TREAT. 343
appointed Count Gianfrancesco Pico, Lieutenant of the
conquered fortress.*
His personal experience of the difficulties which he
would have to encounter in subduing Ferrara induced
Julius to enter into communication with Alfonso in order
to persuade him to abandon his alliance with France. He
also endeavoured to detach Maximilian from Louis XH.,
by handing- Modena over to the imperial commander.f
The Duke of Ferrara let the Pope know through an
indirect channel that he would not treat with him, and so
the war had to go on.
For a time Julius still clung to his purpose of personally
pursuing the campaign ; but the representations of his
Court, and his dread of being taken prisoner by the French,
induced him for the present to return to Bologna until
he could collect a larger army. When he found that his
return to Bologna (on the 6th-7th February) had at once
encouraged the French to advance again, he proceeded on
the nth by Imola to Ravenna in order to attack Ferrara
from that side.J In Ravenna, which he reached on the
1 8th of February, the Pope on the loth of March created
several new Cardinals, " to strengthen himself against the
schismatics and to fulfil his engagements to certain
* Sanuto, XL, 760, 763, 765, 766, 770, 772, ']']z, 776, 778, 787. Cf.
Luzio, F. Gonzaga, 66 ; Mem. della Mirandola, II., 185 seq.\ Balan,
Assedii della Mirandola, 15 seq.\ GOZZADINI, Alcuni awenimenti, VII.,
2CX3 seq.^ where all particulars about the ring (now in the Museum at
Modena) which Julius gave to the inhabitants of Mirandola may be
found.
t In January, 151 1. See Sandonini, Modena, 141.
X Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 234 seq.^ and Sanuto, XI., 795, 800,
801, 805, 813, 821, 831, 832, 838, 843 ; FUMI, Carteggio, F38, 139, 140-
141 ; Fanti, Imola, 24-25. Cf. Brosch, Julius II., 216 scq. On the
day that he left Bologna, the Pope wrote to M. Lang asking him to come
to him. See Lettres de Louib XII., II., 112-113.
344 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
powers." * Two of those nominated were ultramontanes,
the Englishman Bainbridge and the Swiss Bishop, Matthaeus
Schinner, the other six were Italians: Antonio Ciochi di
Monte Sansovino, Archbishop of Liponto ; Pietro Accoli of
Arezzo, Bishop of Ancona ; Achilles de Grassis of Bologna ;
Francesco Argentino of Venice ; Bandinello Sauli of
Genoa ; and Alfonso Petrucci of Siena.
The College of Cardinals had strenuously resisted these
fresh nominations, but, as the Venetian Envoy had predicted,
Julius carried his point. The same Envoy says that some
of the new Cardinals had to pay large sums for their eleva-
tion. The nomination of de Grassis was obviously made to
please the Bolognese ; the English Cardinal Bainbridge was
appointed Commander-in-Chief of the troops, which caused
great surprise.-j-
Besides these eight Cardinals another was nominated, but
TQSQrvQd in petto. This was Maximilian's confidant, Matthaeus
Lang, Bishop of Gurk, who just at this time had arrived in
Mantua, where the Envoys from England, France, and
Spain were also present. He brought proposals of peace
from his master.
Julius II. wished to treat with Tang personally. As
Ravenna was too insignificant a place to make it possible
there to receive the representative of the Emperor with
fitting honours, the Pope, though extremely dissatisfied
with the slackness of his generals in their way of carry-
ing on the war, had to leave that city on April 3 and
return to Bologna, which he reached on the 7th of April,
♦ Gregorovius, VI II., 68, ed. 3. On this creation, cf. Paris de
Grassis, ed. Frati, 242 seg.\ Le Glay, I., 388; Fumi, Carteggio, 143,
145-146; Cardella, 340 j^^. ; and *Acta Consist, f. 28. Consistorial
Archives of the Vatican.
t Sanuto, XII., 25, 55-56, 69, ^7 seq.\ Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati,
251.
THE ENVOYS OF MAXIMILIAN. 345
1 5 II.* On the loth of the month, Matthaeus Lang and
Giovanni Gonzaga, as Envoys from the Emperor, and
James Conchilles representing Ferdinand of Spain, entered
the city in state, having previously had a private audience
with the Pope.-|- It was observed with dissatisfaction that
even in this procession Lang appeared in secular dress.
The pedantic Master of Ceremonies, Paris de Grassis,
characteristically relates : " I entreated Lang in vain to
attire himself as an ecclesiastic, especially in view of his
approaching admission to the Sacred College, but he put
me off by saying that he would appear in the garb which
he wore when the Emperor sent him. When I asked the
Pope about it he said that it was his wish that I should
let the matter rest, and this I did, although many were
displeased with me on this account, and still more with
Lang." %
When, on the following day, the Envoys had their public
audience, Lang, at the Pope's express command, was given
the place of honour immediately below the Cardinal-
Deacons. This and other marks of distinction were received
by the Envoy with such unmannerly arrogance, that he
appeared to the courteous Italians a perfect savage. " He
is a barbarian," de Grassis writes in his Diary, " and behaves
* Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 260; Gregorovius, VIII. , 68,
ed. 3 ; and Brosch, Julius II., 219, make 30th Mar. the day of the
Pope's departure from Ravenna. Both have read de Grassis very
superficially. The extract naturally begins with the title Discessus ponti-
ficis ex Ravenna ad Bononiam, immediately followed by the words, Die
Dominica 30 Martii, but if they had only read a few lines more they
would have found that the decision to leave Ravenna was adopted on
tliat day, and that de Grassis then goes on to say : Itique die Jovis
tertia Aprilis inde movit.
t Ibid.^ 263; Ulmann, II., 426, erroneously puts off the private
audience to the nth of April. Cf. Lettrcs de Louis XII., II., 139.
X Ibid.^ 265.
346 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
like a barbarian." At the audience he curtly explained
that Maximilian had sent him to Italy because he preferred
to obtain his rights by peaceful means rather than by war,
but that the only conditions under which he would treat
were, that the Venetians should restore everything that
they had taken on any title whatever, whether these lands
belonged to the Empire or were hereditary possessions
of Austria. When three Cardinals were deputed by Julius
II. to carry on the negotiations, Lang declared it to be
beneath his dignity to deal personally with any one but the
Pope himself, and commissioned three of the nobles who
accompanied him to meet the Cardinals. Julius had hoped
to win him by bestowing on him the highest dignity and
rich benefices, but all these favours seemed only to encourage
him to greater insolence. He behaved as though his im-
perial master had already donned the Tiara. The Venetian
Envoy reports with amazement with what pomp the Bishop
of Gurk surrounded himself, and how seldom he visited the
Pope. " At the audience he conducted himself as if he were
a King rather than an Ambassador, and claimed the right
of conversing with the Pope, sitting, and with his head
covered." It is not surprising that these never very
promising negotiations should have come to nothing. On
the 1 6th April all Louis XII.'s adherents had been excom-
municated,* and the views and desires of both the parties
concerned were diametrically opposed to each other.-f
* The Bull in Raynaldus, ad an. 151 1, n. 50. Lang aimed, "in
accordance with his master's wishes, at reconciling the Pope with France,
and thus completely isolating Venice and renewing the League of
Cambrai in its earlier form, perhaps with the addition of England.
On the other side the Pope and Venice sought to win the Bishop, and
through him the Emperor, to combine with them in attacking France."
HUBER, IIL, 389-390.
t Sanuto, XIL, 126-129, 139, 140, 147, 160 ; Lang's letters in Lettres
de Louis XIL, IL, 107 seq.^ 139, 182, 205 seq.\ Paris de Gr.^ssis,
FAILURE OF THE NEGOTIATIONS. 34/
On the 25th of April the Bishop of Gurk* left the Papal
Court suddenly, " almost without taking leave, and with an
angry mien." The Venetian Envoy reports that Lang's
followers cried out as they were passing through the city
gates, " Long live the Emperor, long live France, long live
the Bentivogli." It is not wonderful that it was commonly
said in Bologna that the Pope was at daggers drawn with
all the Powers, and that he was to be called before a Council
and deposed. -j-
Lang's threats were something more than empty words,
for the French, who had suspended their hostile operations
while the negotiations were going on, at once recommenced
them. It now became plain that Chaumont's death, which
took place on the nth February, was a godsend for them.
He had allowed Modena to fall into the hands of the
enemy, had not attacked Bologna in time, and had not
relieved Mirandola. On his death the command was
assumed by the veteran Trivulzio. The first thing he did
ed. Frati, 265 seq.^ 271-272 (here the printer's error, 27 Aprilis,
should be the 25th). COCCINIUS, De bellis italicis (in Freher, II., 542
seq.) ; GuiCClARDiNl, IX., Chap. 5, who observes : La quale indegnita
divorava insieme con molto altro 11 pontefice, vincendo la sua natura I'odio
incredibile contro ai Frances! ; Le Clay, I., 394 seq. ; Brewer, State
Papers of Henry VIII., I., 168. Cf. Havemann, II., 358 seq. ; Brosch,
Julius II., 220, 353 ; ROMANIN, v., 256 ; UlmaNN, II., 426 seq. ;
Huber, III., 389-391 ; Creighton, IV., 127-128, and in regard to the
description in Coccinius, Krieger's investigations, Ueber die Bedeutung
des vierten Buches von Coccinius' Schrift De bellis Italicis, p. 27 seq.^
which, however, are inadequate and even partially incorrect, as e.g.^ on
p. 32 we find : " Coccinius' statement that Lang had been fourteen days
in Bologna is erroneous. He arrived on the 8th April, and went away
again on the 1 5th," in confinnation of which he cites Lettres de Louis
XII., IL, 205. Here, however, we find that Lang left on the 25th.
Thus it is Krieger rather than Coccinius who needs correction.
* Not Archbishop, as CiRiMM, Michelangelo, I., ed. 5, designates him.
t Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 272 ; Bruscm, loc. cit.
34^ HISTORY OF THE POPES.
was to reconquer Concordia, and the next, to advance
against Bologna. As soon as Julius heard this, he started
in haste for the camp, in order to stir up his generals and
set the army in motion. He meant to have slept the first
night at Cento, but was obliged to stop at Pieve, as a troop
of 1000 foot soldiers who were encamped in the former
place refused to leave it until they were paid. He was so
much annoyed at this, that on the following day he returned
to Bologna ; but it was evident that if he remained there,
he would again run the risk of being captured by the
French. He resolved therefore to return to Ravenna.
Before his departure he called the Council of Forty together,
laid before them all the advantages which Bologna had
derived from belonging to the Church, and admonished
them to remain faithful to him. On their solemn promise
to be always true to him, he confided the defence of the
walls and gates to the citizens.*
The fate of Bologna after the Pope's departure, which
took place on the 15th May,-]* did not depend so much
upon the conduct of her citizens as upon that of Alidosi
and the Duke of Urbino, who, with his army, lay encamped
before the city. The enmity between these two made all
co-operation between them impossible ; the hatred which
Alidosi had drawn upon himself, and the consequent dis-
loyalty of the inhabitants, did the rest. The moment the
Pope was gone, the Bentivogli party began to stir and was
* COCCINIUS, loc. cit. On his account, which differs in part from
that of Guicciardini, see Krieger, 33 seq. The speeches in Guicciar-
dini are certainly invented — Julius was by no means a ready speaker.
Cf. Paris DE Grassis in Ch. G. Hoffmann, Nova collectio scriptor., I.,
450 (Lips., 1 731). On the danger for Bologna, see FUMI, Carteggio, 147.
t Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 274 ; Sanuto, XII., 183 ; "^Acta
Consist., f. 28. The "^Brief addressed by Juhus II. on the i6th May,
1 5 II, to Alidosi and the Bolognese shews how little he apprehended the
blow that was about to fall.
THE BENTIVOGLI RECOVER BOLOGNA. 349
joined by all who disliked the government of the Church.
The city was soon in a turmoil, and Alidosi, without strik-
ing a blow, at once fled in disguise, first to the fort, and then,
when he heard that the Sanfelice gate had been traitorously
given up to the Bentivogli, to Castel Rio near Imola. The
Duke of Urbino behaved no better. When the news
reached him of what was going on in Bologna he gave the
signal for a retreat which soon degenerated into a flight.
All the artillery, and most of the baggage and colours, fell
into the hands of the enemy. On the 23rd May Trivulzio
entered Bologna, and the Bentivogli resumed the govern-
ment of the city.* They at once began, with brutal van-
dalism, to destroy all reminiscences, however valuable, of
the Papal occupation. The bronze statue of the Pope, a
splendid work of Michael Angelo's which was placed over
the doorway of the Cathedral in 1 508, fell a sacrifice to
this bitter spirit.f
The loss of Bologna, which, next to Rome, was the most
beautiful and the wealthiest of all the cities in the States of
the Church, was " the hardest blow of fate which had ever
fallen upon Julius II. He now found himself in the eighth
year of his Pontificate and the sixty-eighth of his life with
all his hard-won conquests torn from his grasp and every-
thing that he had built up thrown dovvn."J Nevertheless,
when the news came, he received it without losing his
self-command for a moment. In a brief address, he
informed the Cardinals that the place had been lost through
♦ CocciNTUS, he. cit. Cf. Krieger, 34-36 ; Paris de Grassis, ed.
Frati, 275 seq. ; Alfani, 257 ; PRATO, 284 ; Nardi, I., 398 seq. ;
Lettres de Louis XII., II., 233-235, 243 svq., 250 seq. \ Sanuto, XII.,
190. Cf. Ranke, Rom. und Germ. Vcilker, 160 seq. ; Havemann,
II., 363 seq. ; GOZZADINI, Alcuni awenimenti, 215 seq.
t More on this subject will be found in Chap. IX.
X Brosch, Julius II., 222.
350 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the treachery of the citizens and of the Duke of Urbino,
who should pay for it with his life. He then at once gave
the necessary orders for the -concentration and reorganisa-
tion of the army.*
Alidosi and the Duke of Urbino, perhaps with equal
justice, each laid the blame on the other ; both hastened
to the Papal Court to justify themselves. Alidosi's friends
had done their best to strengthen the Pope's conviction
that the fault lay with the Duke, and he overwhelmed his
nephew with violent reproaches. As he left his uncle's
presence, furious and smarting, under these, he met Alidosi,
who was on horseback, coming to visit the Pope. The
Cardinal saluted him smilingly, but the young Duke, with
the passionate blood of the South boiling in his veins, drew
his sword, and exclaiming, " Traitor, art thou here at last !
Receive thy reward ! " stabbed him mortally, and fled.
Alidosi only lived an hour : his last words were, " I reap
the reward of my misdeeds."f
The fact that every one except Julius II. rejoiced at the
* Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 277. Cf. Sanuto, XII., 191, and
AEOmius ViTERBO, ed. Hofler, 386.
t CocciNius, loc. cit. ; cf. Krieger, 36-37 ; Paris de Grassis
ed. Frati, 278 seq. (The punctuation in Dollinger's ed., 406, is better ;
the text in Creighton, IV., 271, is worse than that which had been
printed previously.) Sanuto, XII., 198 seq.\ Bembus, 472; Carpe-
SANUS, v., 5, pp. 1273-1274 ; Lettres de Louis XII., II., 246 ; Belcarius,
365 ; Landucci, 308-309 ; GUICCIARDINI, IX., Chap. 5. On Alidosi,
cf. Jovius, Vita Leonis X., Lib. II., p. 34, and Elogior., Lib. IV., p. 134.
See also Sugenheim, 406 seq.^ and Gozzadini, Alcuni awenimenti,
106 seq.^ 227 seq.\ cf.i'^i seq. Fanti, Imola, 10 seq.^ has recently
endeavoured to defend Alidosi. Many of his argTiments deserve con-
sideration, though he carries the inferences from them too far. But the
last word about Alidosi has not yet been spoken. A tablet was inserted
in the wall in the Via S. Vitale in 1863 to mark the spot where the
murder took place. Alidosi's skuU is preserved in the Bibl. Classense at
Ravenna. See Gozzadini, loc. cit.^ 228-230 ; Fanti, Imola, 13-14.
DEATH OF CARDINAL ALIDOSI. 35 1
Legate's death shews how universally detested he had
made himself. He was regarded by all as a traitor, and
the person who was really responsible for the fall of
Bologna. " Most righteous God," writes Paris de Grassis
in his Diary, " how just are Thy judgments ! Thanks are
due to Thee from all for having punished this traitor as he
deserved. The hated villain has indeed been removed by
a human instrument, but not, as we believe, without Thy
concurrence, and for this again we thank Thee."*
At the very time that the crime was committed, a meet-
ing of the Cardinals was taking place, at which Cardinal
Isvalies, who was universally beloved, had been appointed
Legate of Bologna. To add to the sorrow caused by the
murder of his favourite, Julius II. deeply resented the
outrage committed against the highest dignity in the
Church.-f He left Ravenna at once J and went to Rimini.
* Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 278; cf. 319. Julius II.'s obstinate
confidence in Alidosi lias been made to serve as a ground for the very
worst accusations of immorality against him. In relation to this, Brosch
(224), one of Julius II.'s most violent critics, remarks : "Italy during
the Renaissance could not have been, as Burckhardt describes it, such a
school of vice as the world had never before seen, if such relations
between a distinguished but thoroughly worldly Pope and a dissipated
Cardinal had not furnished matter for the worst insinuations. The
revolting charges which have been heaped upon Julius II. recoil on the
scandal-mongers of the time, and are, no doubt, the echo of their talk,
but their truth is extremely doubtful." Creighton, IV., 130, writes:
It is hard to account for the infatuation of Julius II. towards Cardinal
Alidosi, and we cannot wonder that contemporary scandal attributed it
to the vilest motives. " II papa era molto vitioso e dedito alia libidine
Gomorrea," says a relazione of Trevisan, printed by Brosch, Julius II.,
296. The charge was often repeated with reference to Alidosi. It was
a rude way of explaining what could not be explained. Cf. also supra^
p. 320, note t.
t See Raynaldus, ad an. 1 51 1, n. 61.
X Ranke, Rom. und Germ. Volker, 261, incorrectly says 28th May.
3'52 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
There another, and perhaps a still more painful, surprise
awaited him. On the 28th of May a citation to the Council
of Pisa, to be opened on the ist of September, was found
affixed to the door of the church of S. Francesco, close
to the Pope's residence. The document was dated i6th
May, 151 1. It stated that the delegates of the Roman
and German Emperor and the most Christian King pro-
posed to summon a universal Council. This action on
their part had become necessary in order to comply with
the decree Frequens of the Council of Constance, owing to
the negligence of the Pope, who had not kept the oath
which he had sworn to in the Conclave. They declared that
Julius II.'s opposition to the Council fully justified the
Cardinals in thus taking the matter into their own hands.
They also declared that the majority of the members of
the Sacred College who were free to do so, supported their
action, and entered a protest beforehand against all cen-
sures that he might pronounce upon them. The Pope
was requested to give his consent to the calling of this
Council and also to attend it either personally or through
a representative. All Cardinals, Bishops, Chapters, and
Universities, as well as all secular Princes, were summoned
and invited to take part in it. Meanwhile the Pope was
not to create or promulgate any new Cardinals, to abstain
from instituting proceedings against any of the older
Cardinals or the Prelates who favoured the Council, and
also from doing anything to hinder it from meeting, and
further from any alterations or alienations in regard to the
possessions of the Roman Church ; any such acts would be
invalid. As the Pope gave no safe-conducts, and often
resorted to force, the publication of the summons in
Modena, Parma, and Reggio must be deemed sufficient.
Cf. Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 280 ; ibid.^ 319 seq., on the popularity
of Isvalies.
PROPOSED OBJECTS OF THE COUNCIL. 353
The Council was to be convoked in the names of Car-
dinals Carvajal, Briconnet, Philip of Luxemburg, Francesco
Borgia, Adriano da Corneto, de Prie, Carlo del Carretto,
San Severino, and Ippolito d'Este.* The summons was to
be published " throughout the four nations " ; on the 23rd of
May letters were sent to each of the several Princes calling
upon them to send their Ambassadors and Prelates to the
Assembly.f
"The objects of the Council or, more correctly, the
banners under which the forces of hypocrisy and ambi-
tion were to be marshalled, were the pacification of
Christendom, a crusade against the infidels, and the reform
of the Church in its Head and in its members." J
The convocation of a Council under these futile pretexts§
by a body of schismatic Cardinals was an act of open re-
bellion, a daring attack upon the most indisputable pre-
rogative of the Supreme Head of the Church. At first no
one ventured to tell the Pope, but of course it was not a
matter of which he could long be kept in ignorance. From
the Report of the Venetian Ambassador we can see how
deeply he felt this blow.il Bereft of almost all his political
power — for the States of the Church were lying open at
the mercy of the French army — he now saw his spiritual
authority threatened and in the greatest danger ; for
behind the disloyal Cardinals stood not only the King of
* Ravnaldus, ad an. 151 1, n. 61 ; Mansi, V., 349-353; Sanuto,
XII., 250-254 ; HerGENRotHEK, VIII., 437 seq.
t GoldasT, 1 196 ; Lettres de Louis XII., II., 235 241.
X See Lehmann, 12. Cf. Sandret, Concile de Pise, 440 jr^., and on
the motives of Cardinal Sanseverino, Ul-MANN, Absichten, 20.
i^ Cf. Hergenrothek, VI 1 1., 438 seq. Lehmann, 29, obsenes : " It
is superfluous to say anything of the legal status of the Council ; its pro-
moters had no legal standing ground whatever."
li Sanuto, XII., 203, 218, 223 ; Paris de Gras.sis, ed. Frati, 281
^eq.
VOL. VL 2 A
354 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
France, but also the Emperor, both bent on completely
crushing his power and annihilating Venice.* The ill-
success of the war against Venice had thrown Maximilian
into the arms of Louis XI I. -j- Since then he had sought
his fortune, both in secular politics and in his dealings with
the Church, in those " tortuous foreign ways " which had
formerly been so distasteful to him. In many circles in
Germany a distinctly anti-Roman spirit reigned and
vented itself in constant complaints of the conduct of
the Roman Court, both in politics and in Church affairs. J
* From the year 1 503 the aim of Maximilian's policy had been to secure
for himself a preponderating influence in Rome, and, if possible, to place
a Pope in the Chair of S, Peter who should be dependent upon him. In
that year, his fear that d'Amboise might be elected was so great, that he
directed his Envoy in Rome not to shrink from any measures that might
be necessary to prevent this, not even from creating a schism. (Bibl. de
I'Ecole des Chartes, XXXI., 70 ; Arch. Veneto, I., 85 seg.; Petrucelli
DELLA Gattina, I., 459 ; Ulmann, I., 1 36 seg'.) When again, in the
following years, Louis XII. was doing all he could to obtain the Tiara
for d'Amboise, Maximilian naturally strained every nen'e to frustrate
these efforts. It is easy, therefore, to understand what he meant by saying
in his letter of loth June, 1507, to George of Neideck, Bishop of Trent,
that he meant to come to Rome to have himself made Pope as well as
Emperor (a portion of this document, which has been since 1830 in the
Court Library at Vienna, is given in the periodical, Ferdinandeum, IX.,
55-56) ; of course, as a married man, he could not think of obtaining the
Tiara for himself personally. A report was w^idely circulated that he was
eager to add the States of the Church to his possessions, but this is ex-
tremely unlikely ; it is far more probable that this notion was a spectre
conjured up by the apprehensions of the French, Spaniards, and Italians.
" The truth underlying all fancies was that it was Maximilian's most
ardent wish to be crowned Emperor at Rome, and to revive the
supremacy of the Empire and its ancient rights over the whole of Italy,
to the exclusion of French influence." (Sagmuller against Ulmann
in the Literar. Rundschau (1889), p. 242.)
t Ruber, III., 383 seg.
I Cf. Gebhardt, Gravamina, 58 seq.
THE EMPEROR SIDES WITH LOUIS XII. 355
As long ago as the year 1495, shortly before the Diet of
Worms, inspired by a somewhat groundless fear that
Alexander VI. was purposing to bestow the Imperial
Crown on Charles VIII. of France, Hans von Hermanns-
griin, a Saxon nobleman, published a pamphlet which
aptly mirrors the ferment of the time. He proposes, in case
the Pope should take this step, to make a formal renuncia-
tion of obedience for the time, to appoint a German
Patriarch in his place, and to arrange with Poland, Bohemia,
and Hungary to summon a Council and cite the Pope to
appear before it.*
The Emperor gave vent to his grudge against Julius II.
for having made peace with Venice, by following the
example of France and attacking the Pope on the
spiritual side.f In September, 15 10, at the same time
that Louis XII. was consulting his courtier Bishops,
Maximilian sent his Secretary Spiegel with a copy of
* Ulmann, Der Traum von Hans von Hermannsgrlin in the For-
schungen zur Deutschen Geschichte, XX., 69 seq. Here is also to be
found, p. 18 j-^^,, the Memorial which DOLLINGER, Beitrage, III., 91 seq.^
afterwards published with a wrong date and a faulty text. Grauert in
his interesting essay, " Alte Prophezeiungen iiber Kaiser und Reich," in
Deutschen Hausschatz Jahrg., XVII., No. 45, suggests that possibly
the occasion of Hermannsgriin's pamphlet may have been a work
written by the Catalan Hieronymus Paulus, contesting the light of the
Germans to elect the Emperor. Paulus was a member of the Papal
Court under Alexander VI. He says that it would be much better, both
for the Empire as well as for the Church, if one were chosen not in
Germany alone, but from amongst all the Christian Princes, whom all
should be bound to obey, and who would be powerful enough to subdue
the barbarian and heathen nations. Italy more especially needed a single
temporal ruler, and a strong one, for the country was torn to pieces by
tyrants and factions, and in constant danger.
+ Ulmann, Absichten, 1 5, rightly concludes from a *Despatch of Pan-
dolfini of 30th Sept., 15 10 (State Archives, Florence), that the example
of France had a great effect on Maximilian.
356 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the French Pragmatic- Sanction to the learned Jakob
Wimpheling. Spiegel's instructions state that the Em-
peror is resolved to take measures to deliver Germany
from the tyranny of the Roman Court, and to prevent
large sums from being sent to Rome which are employed
by the Pope merely in injuring him. Wimpheling is to
give his opinion on three special points : the best way of
defeating the quibbles and tricks of the Roman Court
officials, the abolition of Annates, and the appointment
of a permanent Legate, who should be a native of Germany,
to adjudicate on all affairs and grievances there, and the
advantages that would accrue from such an appointment.*
The Emperor's last proposition was a very far-reaching
one, and went beyond anything that had been thought of
in France. The appointment of a permanent Legate for
Germany meant " a permanent change in the organisation
of the Church, a sort of national independence for the
German Church."-]- This plan, in combination with the
introduction of a Pragmatic Sanction, was the first step
towards a severance of the German Church from Rome, in
other words, towards a schism. Wimpheling, who was a
loyal son of the Church, at once recognised this ; his answer
was prudent and reserved. He gave his opinion distinctly
against the introduction of the Pragmatic Sanction, and in
regard to the Legate, he spoke mistrustfully and doubtingly.
On the other hand, he laid great stress on the necessity for
an improvement, on conservative lines, in the relations of
the German Church with Rome. He enlarged on the
* Ulmann, Maximilians Kirchenreformplan, 204 seq.\ Gebhardt,
Gravamina, 67.
+ Ibid., 208. Cf. Maurenbrecher, Kathol. Reformation, 99, where,
however, the fact that political considerations were the mainspring of all
Maximilian's proceedings is not made sufficiently clear. Cf. Ulmann,
loc. cit.j 203, and Gebhardt, Gravamina, 76.
I
HIS OBJECT ENTIRELY POLITICAL. 357
injuries inflicted on Germany by the members of the
Roman Court, and recapitulated, with some alterations, the
well known gravamina of 1457. He dwelt principally
on the financial side of the question, " and from his point
of view he had every right to believe that a thorough
administrative reform would do away with the necessity for
a Council and probably make it possible to diminish
pleadings before Roman Courts and improve the inner life
of the Church." *
But at that time the Emperor took very little interest in
the reform of abuses ; his only object was the political one
of forcing Julius II. to join the League of Cambrai. Every
means was tried, negotiation, threats of schism and of a
General Council.f In regard to the Council, at first, in
January 1511, Maximilian stipulated that the consent of
the Pope and Cardinals must be obtained ; but when the
negotiations with Lang had proved a failure, and Louis
XII. in his anger had issued his citation, the Emperor, on
the 5th of June, 1 511, threw himself unreservedly into the
French plans.J Soon after, he forwarded the letter of
invitation to the Queen of Hungary and Poland, begging
her to send representatives to the Council and enable her
Prelates to attend it.§
In the year 1511 Louis carried his hatred against Julius
II. so far as to permit the representation on the stage
of a satirical play directed against the Head of the Church.
One of his political pamphleteers, Pierre Gringoire, com-
posed a burlesque, for the production of which in the
* Gebhardt, Gravamina, 69.
t Ulmann, II., ^\()seq.\ Hergenrother, VIII., 451.
X GoLDAST, 41 1, 428 seq.\ Ulmann, II., 434-435. Cf. also Janssen,
Reichscorrespondenz, II., 840, and BlANCHi, Materie polit. degli Archivi
Piemontesi, 200. Bologna, 1876.
§ Acta Tomiciana, I., 205, 212 ; Fraknoi, Ungarn und die Liga von
Cambrai, 85-86.
35^ HISTORY OF THE POPES.
principal market place in Paris (Aux Halles) a Royal
privilege was granted. The Prince of Fools appears on
the boards with his Court, fools of all sorts, current events
are discussed, the disputes with England, the conflict with
the Church, and one of the fools assures the public that
Le Prince des sotz ne pretend
Que donner paix a ses suppotz,
to which another replies :
Pource que I'Eglise entreprent
Sur temporalite et prent
Nous ne pouvons avoir repos.
Amongst the courtiers is the General d'Enfance. He
prances on to the stage on a hobby-horse brandishing a
mock battle-axe, and shouting, " Hon, hon, men, men, pa,
pa, tetet." When the council are all assembled, the Prince
appears, and the Seigneur de la Joie gives the password : —
Arriere bigotz et bigottes,
Nous n'en voulons point, par ma foy.
La " Sotte commune," supposed to represent the views of
the mass of the people, is allowed to take part in the
council, but gets nothing but jibes and jeers from the fine
gentlemen. When she complains that they are always
interfering and manage everything, while she has to suffer
and pay, they simply laugh her down.
Suddenly a new figure appears on the scene, a woman
in ecclesiastical attire and calling herself Mother Church.
She is accompanied by two other female fools, " Confiance "
and " Occasion," the latter of whom specially supports and
aids her. The great lady is very truculent, flings curses
and anathemas at every one, and declares
Bien S9ay qu' on dit que je radotte,
Et que suis fol en ma vieillesse ;
Mais grumeler vueil a ma porte
Mon fils le Prince, en telle sorte,
Qu' il diminue sa noblesse.
FRENCH ATTACKS ON THE POPE. 359
She tries to get the nobles and prelates on her side and
to persuade them to desert the Prince. The prelates follow
her, and finally they come to blows in which the Sotte
Commune gets the worst of it. In the melee Mother
Church's mantle is torn off, and she is discovered to be an
impostor. She is not the Church at all, but only la Mere
Sotte, and is deposed and driven out with indignity.
The meaning of this was plain, but the after-piece made
it still clearer. The French and Italian nations appeared
on the stage, and with them " I'homme obstine" with two
female companions. Simony and Hypocrisy. L'homme
obstine was Pope Julius II., "the sword of divine justice
was hanging over his head, he consorted with robbers
and murderers, and could not refrain from crime and
rapine."*
In May 151 1, at Louis XII.'s desire, a pamphlet was
written to pave the way for the Council. Its title was :
" The difference between divisions in the Church and
Assemblies of the Church, and the advantages of Synods
of the Galilean Church." The writer was a Belgian, Jean
Lemaire.-f He endeavours to prove that all divisions are
caused by the Popes, and all dissensions healed by means
of general assemblies convoked by secular Princes. It was
divided into three parts. The first tries to shew that the
donations of temporal possessions have been the source
of all those corruptions in the Church which had necessi-
tated the calling of the earlier Councils to remedy them.
* See F. LOTHEISSEN, Politik auf der Biihne, in the Frankf. Zeitung of
the 3rd Jan., 1880 (morning edition) ; AUg. Zeitung (1870), N. 168, Suppl.
("Zur Rabelaisliteratur") ; and Champfleury, Hist, de la Cariaiture
sous la reformat., 3. Paris, s. a.
t C/. Becker, Jean Lemaire der erste humanistische Dichter Fmnk-
reichs, 162 seg. (Strassburg, 1893), ^^'oiu whose account what follows is
taken. C/. also Maulde, Origines, 272.
360 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
The second is devoted to pointing out the great services
rendered to the Catholic faith by the Synods of the
GalHcan Church. The third treats of the divisions in the
Church in^ general, and the coming schism, which,
according to prophecy, is to be the worst of all. These
things, Lemaire says, have injured the Church more than
anything else ; the desire for power, which is the mother
of greed, the neglect of Councils, and the compulsory
celibacy of the priests of the Latin Church.
Lemaire is never weary of denouncing the arrogance,
greed, and wickedness of the bad Popes. He is unsparing
in his satire of the " present Pope, who rigs himself out in
martial attire, and tries to pose as a warrior, but only looks
like a monk dancing in spurs. All the same he will not
succeed in creating the new and abnormal world that he
hopes for, for pigs will always eat acorns, and oaks will
shed their leaves at the proper time, and where wood is
wanted, wood will be used." The pamphlet contains many
other similar passages all directed against Julius II. It
was written in the vulgar tongue with the object of giving
it as wide a circulation as possible.
Louis accepted the dedication of the work, and also
permitted the publication of caricatures of the Pope. One
of these represents him standing surrounded by corpses
with his flag lying on the ground. Close by is the
empty Papal throne, over which France, depicted as a
crowned warrior, keeps guard. The figure holds a banner
with the oriflamme and the inscription, " Louis is master."*
Another picture, in a book in the private library of the
King, represents the Church as a desolate woman in a
Basilica ; not far off is a figure wearing a Tiara with the
inscription " Dissolution," who is knocking down a pillar
so that the roof seems in danger of falling. Another
* Lacroix, Louis XH. et Anne de Bretagne, 497.
THE pope's answer TO THE CITATION. 361
figure, " Charity," lays, her hand on the shoulder of the
King of France, who is supporting the tottering edifice.*
Thus the French painters and the pamphleteers, such as
Lemaire, Jean d'Auton, de Seyssel, and others, who were
in the pay of the King, all combined to tell the same
story ; Louis was to be the reformer of the Church, and
that without delay.f
Though thus attacked and threatened with a schismatic
Council by the two chief powers 'of the West, while in
addition France and the revolted Cardinals were doing
their utmost to obtain the adhesion of Henry VIII. of
England and the King of Hungary, Julius II. did not
lose heart. On the contrary, misfortune seemed only to
stimulate his powers and rouse all his energies. He saw
at once the weak points in the citation, and before he left
Rimini he had issued a declaration exposing ifj The
schismatical Cardinals had had the audacity to issue the
summons in the name of the Sacred College, and on their
own authority to affix to the document the names of
several absent members. Julius affirmed that two of
these latter had expressly told him that this had been
* Musee de TEremitage in Petersburg; Maulde, Origines, 273, 358.
+ Maulde, loc. cit.^ 273. A curious error is to be found in this
author, pp. 11 7-1 18, in regard to an ordinance of Louis XII., promul-
gated in 1 512, commanding that the stanza, "O sakitaris Hostia," for
peace should be sung in all churches after the elevation at Mass. Maulde
observes, " La liturgie, comme on sait, a conserve I'usage de ces deux
versets qu'elle interpr^te au point de vue mystique, mais qui originaire-
ment serviraient soUiciter I'appui cdleste contre les exc^s du pape Jules
IL" The hymn is well known to have been composed by S. Thomas
Aquinas ! Cf. Bull. Crit., XI. ( 1 890), i 59.
X Cf. the Brief from the MS. Vitellius, B. II., in the British Museum, in
CreiGHTON, IV., 289-291. In regard to Hungary, which, under the
influence of the wily Bakocs, at fust remained neutral, see Fraknoi,
loc. ciL
362 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
done without their sanction. To this serious charge
Carvajal and his associates significantly answered that
their powers without the others were amply sufficient to
make the act valid.*
Bowed down with sickness and anxiety, Julius II. left
Rimini on the 3rd June, 151 1. On the 5th he was at
Ancona, on the iith he arrived at Loreto, on the 20th
at Terni, where to his great vexation he witnessed a fight
between its inhabitants and those of Spoleto. Torrents
of rain for^-ed him to halt for a time at Civita Castellana.
Here a deputation arrived from the people of Rome beg-
ging him to return without delay. On the 26th of June
he entered the city by the Porta del Popolo and on the
following day under a burning sun proceeded in full
pontificals to S. Peter's, where he arrived completely
exhausted. " This was the end of our toilsome and use-
less expedition," writes Paris de Grassis.f An utterly
broken man, both in health and in power, Julius returned
to the palace from which he had started nine months
before full of brilliant hopes and confident that the
French would be driven out of Italy. The Papal and
Venetian troops were now completely dispersed and there
was nothing to hinder the enemy from taking possession
of the Papal States and of Rome, and deposing him.
In this extreme need, v/ith no one to rely on but him-
self, Julius again shewed how immensely superior he was
in genius and character to his enemies. While they were
" hesitating, irresolute and divided, he, fully knowing his
. * Raynaldus, ad an. 151 1, n. 7 ; Hergenrother, VIII., 453.
t Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 284-293 ; Sanuto, XII., 231, 243,
257, 273 ; and "^Acta Consist., f. 29 (Consistorial Archives of the Vatican),
and the "^Chronicle in Varia Polit., 50, f. 61. (Secret Archives of the
Vatican.) Cf. also Atti dei Lincei (1892), 4 Serie, Scienz. Mor.,
X., 15.
VACILLATION OF LOUIS XII. 363
own mind, firmly refused to give himself up for lost."*
His chief hopes of assistance rested on the King of
Spain, to whom a special Envoy was sent with a long
letter.f
Guicciardini writes that Italy and the whole world
were watching with trembling anxiety to see what use
Louis XII. was going to make of his victory. Julius II.
had absolutely nothing to protect him except the dignity
of the Papacy. Whether from religious awe or from the
fear of rousing the whole world against him, the King of
France resolved not to go all lengths. He desired Trivulzio
to retire on Milan and made overtures of peace to the
Pope ; if Julius would pardon the schismatical Cardinals
he would give up the proposed Council ; and he induced
Bentivoglio to declare that he had never thought of wish-
ing to throw off the suzerainty of the Church.:]:
The schismatical Cardinals were equally wanting in that
resolution and union amongst themselves which alone
could have secured a victory. For one thing Cardinals
Philip of Luxemburg, Adriano da Corneto, and Carlo
del Carretto, whose names had been affixed to the citation
without consulting them, protested loudly against the un-
warrantable proceeding, and declared they would have
nothing to do with the anti-Papal Council. § Cardinal
* Brosch, Julius IL, 225. On the passionate resentment of the Pope
against the faithless Bolognese, see FuMl's Report, Carteggio, 1 50.
t Hefele, Ximenes, 434.
X Guicciardini, X., Chap, i ; Lettres de Louis XI L, IL, 250 ; Leh-
MANN, 13.
§ Sanuto, XIL, 218 ; Hergenrother, VIII., 437-438 ; Gebhardt,
Adriano von Corneto, 21-22. Here also, p. 17 seg., are some particulars
about the mysterious flight of Card. Adriano in 1507 from Rome. Geb-
hardt has not availed himself of a *Bricf of Julius II. to the King of
England (unfortunately undated, but certainly belonging to this time, as
the preceding paper is of 4th Nov., 1505) about Card. Adriano, in which
364 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
d'Este adopted an ambiguous attitude which finally led
to his reconciliation with the Pope.* Cardinal Gonzaga,
whom the schismatics had made great efforts to win,
had already joined Julius II. at the end of May.f The
Venetian Envoy, a man of considerable penetration, wrote
on the 3rd of July, 1511, that the Council of Pisa was at
an end.+
While the negotiations with France were going on,
Julius II. determined to deprive the revolted Cardinals
of all pretext for keeping up the schism by turning their
own weapon against them. On the 25th of July, 151 1, a
Bull dated the i8th was affixed to the doors of S. Peter's
summoning a universal Council to assemble in Rome on
the 19th of April, 15 12. In the preamble the Pope set
forth the supreme dignity of the Roman Church, sanctified
by the blood of martyrs, preserved from all error, and
endowed with the primacy over all other Churches, which
entailed upon her and her Head the duty of withstanding
all schismatical attempts to destroy her unity. He then
described the proceedings of the revolted Cardinals, deny-
ing their statements, and refuting their arguments ; he
declared that, both as Cardinal and Pope, he had done
his best to further the assembling of a Council, and it
had not been his fault that it had been so long delayed.
The Bull goes on to emphasise the point that a Council
can only be lawfully summoned by the Pope. Any that
is not so called must be held of no account. This was
especially the case in regard to the pretended Council
he says : Cardiis predictus apud nos nunquam honori tuo detraxit.
^Lib. brev. 22, f. 256. Secret Archives of the Vatican.
* In Oct. 151 1, I ppolito joined his brother at Ferrara, with the Pope's
consent ; Le Glay, I., 441.
t Paris DE Grassis, ed. Frati, 283.
X Sanuto, XII., 267.
THE POPE SUMMONS AN OECUMENICAL COUNCIL. 365
at Pisa ; the mere impossibility of its assembling within
the specified term (September ist) deprives it of all
authority.
The Pope then declares that, in order to withstand
these dangerous schismatical tendencies and defend the
rights of the Holy See, he, with the approval of the
Cardinals and in the plenitude of his apostolic power,
pronounces the edict of convocation dated Milan, i6th
May, 1 5 II, to be in both its contents and effects illegal,
null and void ; all who adhere to it bring upon themselves
the severest penalties of the Church, its authors and their
abettors are deprived of all their dignities, and all cities
and districts which harbour and support them are laid
under Interdict. ' On the other hand, the Pope, desirous
of fulfilling his engagements, and further, wishing to make
a Complete end of heresy, and stifle the beginnings of
schism, to bring about a reform of morals both in the
clergy and laity, union and peace in Christendom, and
a holy war against the Turks, now calls an Oecumenical
Council to meet in Rome at the Lateran Church after
Easter, on the 19th April of the year 15 12.*
* See the Bull in Raynaldus, ad an. 151 1, n. 9-15 ; Bull., V., 499
scq.\ Labbe, XIX., 681 seq.\ HergenroTHER, VIII., 454 seq. Cf.
FUMI, Carteggio, 1 51-152, and Sanuto, XII., 304, 321, 332 seq.^ 330,
362, 371. According to the *Acta Consist., f 29, the Bull of the Council
was read in a Secret Consistory on the i8th July, 1511. Consistorial
Archives of the Vatican.
CHAPTER VI. \
Julius II. forms an Alliance with Spain. — His dangerous f
Illness. — His Recovery. — The Holy League of 1511. —
Deposition of the Schismatical Cardinals. — Maximilian ji
endeavours to possess Himself of the Tiara. — Failure
of the French Pretence of a Council at Pisa. — The
Battle of Ravenna on Easter Sunday, 15 12.
Julius 1 1., by issuing his summons for a General Council, '
had effectually checkmated the schismatical Cardinals even
before they had begun their game. This bold stroke was
entirely the .Pope's own idea. From the reports of the
Venetian Envoys we find that the plan was already in his
mind when he was at Bologna in the Spring of 151 1, and
the resolution to carry it out was taken at Rimini on the
appearance of the citation of the Cardinals.* During his
journey to Rome the details of the plan were thought out
and discussed with Cardinal Antonio de Monte and the
Dominican, Thomas de Vio.f A report from Tolentino of
the Venetian Envoy on 14th June, 151 1, says that the draft
of the proclamation had already even then been laid before
the Consistory, and the posting up of the schismatical cita-
tion in Rome on the 9th June naturally only had the effect
of strengthening his resolve.^: But he was determined to do
nothing hastily ; and the Bull was not allowed to appear
till the 1 8th of July, when it had been thoroughly considered
* Sanuto, XII., 166, 219.
t Hergenrother, VIII., 457.
X Sanuto, XII., 243, 267.
PAPAL ALLIANCE WITH SPAIN. 367
and thought out in substance and in form. Whatever suc-
cesses might be achieved in this direction would, however,
have no effect on the other, and equally serious, danger
arising from the preponderating power of France in Italy.
Here, for Julius II., everything depended upon the interest
which Spain had in checking this power.
The Pope's confidence in Ferdinand's perception of what
the situation required was not disappointed. In this case,
where the King's interest coincided with that of the Church,
he was perfectly willing to accept the honour of posing as
the defender of the Holy See. With the consent of his
Grandees and with the approval of Cardinal Ximenes
summoned to Seville, it was decided to suspend the military
operations in Africa, and send the army that had been em-
ployed there to Italy. In compliance with the Pope's
request, the rebellious Cardinal Carvajal was deprived of
the Bishopric of Siguenza ; and a considerable sum of
money was forwarded to Rome in aid of the war.*
Immediately after Julius's arrival in Rome the Spanish
Ambassador was desired by Ferdinand to offer him the
assistance of Spain for the reconquest of Bologna. He
also offered to endeavour to influence England to join in
an alliance against France, and this Louis knew.f
It appears, however, that it was only with much hesitation
and against his will that Julius II. finally brought himself
to accept the alliance with Spain. He continued his
negotiations with Louis XII. as long as he could, and only
broke them off at last when the King refused to comply
with the indispensable condition that the revolted Cardinals
should obey their citation to Rome.J In the early part of
* Hefele, Ximenes, 434 seq. ; Gams, III., 2, 142.
t Sanuto, XII., 273-274, 330. Cf. Brewer, Henry VIII., I., 17,
n. 4. See also Fumi, Carteggio, 151.
X See Ranke, Rom. und Germ. Volker, 267. Brosch, Julius II.,
368 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
August the provisions of the League between the Pope,
Venice, Spain, and England were substantially agreed upon,
and all that was wanting to its conclusion was the arrival
of the necessary powers from England and Spain.* The
Swiss were also being approached to obtain help from them.
At this moment an event occurred which seemed likely to
upset everything.
Entirely absorbed in the labour and cares of the last few
months, the Pope had wholly neglected the most ordinary
care of his health. He trusted to his iron constitution
without considering that there is a limit to everything.
Since the end of July he had been incessantly at work, pre-
paring for the Council, sending Briefs and Nuncios in all
directions ; he had begun legal proceedings against the
Duke of Urbino and gone on personally conducting the
negotiations with Spain and England in spite of an attack
of fever in the beginning of August. On the 17th he had
another, but would not desist from his work, and saw the
226-227, thinks it is certain that the Pope was not in earnest in the
negotiations with France, because he employed G. Giordano Orsini, a
man who had had no experience and was unskilled in political affairs, to
carry them on. He also, and still more positively, infers the same thing
from the conditions proposed. On this point he says : " The proposals
in regard to Ferrara and Bologna might perhaps have been accepted, or
at any rate have formed a basis for negotiations, but the King's honour
forbade any answer but a refusal to the demand that he should give up
the Cardinals." But neither of these arguments is really convincing.
Secular Princes have never had much scruple in throwing away their
clerical tools when they have served their purpose ; and it was impossible
for Julius, without completely abdicating his authority', to relinquish his
claim to have the Cardinals sent to Rome. The true cause of the
failure of their negotiations is stated later by Brosch himself ; it was plain
that Louis intended to resume the war as soon as the conditions became
more favourable. On the citation of the Cardinals, see Saxuto, XII.,
321-322.
* Sanuto, XII., ^72-2,7 :i.
ILLNESS OF THE POPE. 369
Ambassadors while in bed. On the 20th it came on again
with such violence that his physicians declared that the
next attack must prove fatal. The news spread like
lightning throughout Rome that the Pope was dying.
The Cardinals began at once to prepare for the approach-
ing Conclave. The Spanish Envoy summoned the Colonna
to Rome, saying that the Pope was in extremity and that
there was great danger that the Orsini, supported by
France, would get possession of the city. On the 23rd of
August the Venetian Ambassador Lippomano reports that
"the Pope is passing away; Cardinal Medici tells me he
cannot live through the night. Medici is trying for the
Tiara, but it is thought that it will fall to one of the French
party. Raffaele Riario and Fiesco are named. The city
is in a turmoil ; every one is armed." On the 24th Julius
received the Holy Viaticum, removed the Interdict from
Ferrara and Bologna, absolved the Duke of Urbino, and
made all his dispositions for death.* Paris de Grassis writes :
" I think I may close my Diary here ; for the Pope's life
is coming to an end through his obstinacy in refusing to
follow the advice of his physicians. He has commended
his servants to Cardinal Raffaele Riario and given him
34,000 ducats to divide amongst them. After he had taken
a little food he seemed better. But on Monday the 25th
he refused all nourishment, he had a relapse and his con-
dition became hopeless. On Wednesday there was still no
change; and as he had eaten nothing for four days, every
♦ SanUTO, XII., 330, 362, 370, 371, 395, 398, 403 seq., 434 scq., 441,
449 ; cf. 484. See also P^UMI, Carteggio, 157, 158-159, and Luzio, F.
Gonzaga, 22. Philip Bervald the younger, who defended the Duke of
Urbino, succeeded in convincing the Pope of Alidosi's treason, and Alfonso
was absolved and reinstated in all his dignities. Cf. in DknisTOUN, II.,
•328, the notice in the *Acta Consist, of the 22nd Aug., 151 1. Con
sistorial Archives of the Vatican.
VOL. VI. 2 B
370 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
one, including his physicians, gave him up. The doors of
his chamber were opened and some of the people made
their way to his bed-side. He lay on his couch with closed
eyes and seemed barely alive. Disturbances began in the
city, many outlaws returned, confusion prevailed every-
where. All the public officials, even those in the courts of
law, left their work, the Governor of the city took refuge in
the Palace, and the Minister of Police in the Castle of St.
Angelo. The Sacred College met and desired me to make
arrangements for the funeral obsequies and for the Con-
clave. Then it occurred to the Pope's relations and ser-
vants to send for a very indulgent physician* and suggest
to him that he should give him permission to eat whatever
he liked. By agreeing to this he succeeded in persuading
his patient to consent to take some food. The Pope asked
for peaches, nuts, plums, and other fruits, which he chewed
but did not swallow. After that he had small onions and
strawberries, which he likewise only chewed. But presently
he swallowed several peaches and plums and then fell into
* From Berliner, Gesch. der Juden, II., 8i, and Gregorovius,
VIII., 76, ed. 3, one would be led to believe diat this was the Jewish
physician Samuel Zarfati (cf. Marini, II., 249 s^g.^ and *Introit. et exit.,
536, f. 148, Avhere it says : magister Samuel Ebreus, "medicus S. D. N.,"
who, on the 14th July, 1505, received 125 flor. auri largi, ad bonum
computum pro eius provisione. Mag. Joh. de Vico was chirurgus to the
Pope. [Secret Archives of the Vatican.] ). But, from the Venetian
Report in Sanuto, XII., 449, which those authors have overlooked, it
seems clear that this could not have been the case, as at that time the
Rabbi was very much out of favour with the Pope. And in the Report
of 26th Aug., we find : Marco Scipio heri li lasso mangiare uno per-
sicho ; parve stesse meglio. The date here certainly does not agree with
de Grassis, but JOVIUS, Vita Pomp. Col., 240, expressly says : Medicus
qui Julio poma, persica obtulit, fuit Scipio Lancelotus. Marini, I., 299,
has overlooked this passage, as well as the one in Sanuto. In regard to
Jewish physicians employed by Popes, see besides Marini, I., 292 seg.,
GiJDEMANN, 237.
SCHEMES OF POMPEO COLONNA. 37 1
a light sleep. This state of things went on for two days,
during which those who attended him alternately hoped
and despaired. Great apprehension was fplt for the future ;
dangers of all sorts seemed hanging over our heads, dis-
turbances, war, and scarcity."* The reports of the Envoys
then in Rome shew that the account of the Master of
Ceremonies is not by any means exaggerated.
" Never," writes the Venetian Ambassador Lippomano,
" has there been such a clang of arms round the death-bed
of any former Pope ; never has the danger been greater
than it is now. May God help us."f Some of the nobles
endeavoured to take advantage of the turmoil in the city
to bring about a rising against the Government of the
Church. The ambitious Pompeo Colonna, whose relations
had forced him into Holy Orders against his will, was at
the head of the revolutionary party. Not content with the
dignities of Bishop of Rieti and Abbot of Grottaferrata and
Subiaco, Pompeo aimed at the purple and felt confident of
obtaining it after the deaths of Cardinals Orsini, Colonna,
Savelli, and Cesarini. But he was disappointed, and was
now bent on making Julius II. pay for this neglect of a
member of one of the great Roman families. He hastened
to the Capitol and from thence harangued the mob, urging
them to cast off the domination of the priesthood and
restore the republican constitution and liberties. It was
resolved at the next election to demand many concessions
from the new Pope, and amongst others insist on the
nomination of a Roman Cardinal. J:
* Paris de GRASSis,ed. Dollinger, 41 1-412. Cf. Luzio, F. Gonzaga,
22-23.
t Sanuto, XII., 449 ; cf. Luzio, 22.
X Jovius, Vita P. Coliiinnae ; GuicciARDiNi, X., Chap, i ; Sanuto,
XII., 482 ; Luzio, F. Gonzaga, 23. Gregorovius' account of this at-
tempted revolt is in some points incorrect, as has been pointed out
372 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Julius now began to recover from his state of death-like
prostration. The free use of fruit and liquids, which it had
been supposed would have killed him, had really been his
salvation. The fever was gone and by the 28th he was
completely convalescent*
Deadly fear seized upon all those who had been reckon-
ing on his death, the Cardinals who had been busy about
the Conclave, and the Roman revolutionists. On the 28th
the nobles assembled in the Capitol, and there, in order to
make their former proceedings appear innocent, concluded
one of those patific conventions which were so familiar and
so transitory. Then they parted : Pompeo Coloima fled to
his fastness in Subiaco, the others to France ; for the Pope
who had been thought to be dead began at once to talk of
retribution.-f
The recovery of Julius was somewhat retarded by his
perverseness in the matter of diet, but he at once turned
his attention to the resumption of the negotiations for the
League against France. An alliance of all the Christian
Princes was to be formed, to take the Pope, the Council, and
Rome under their protection.^ The intrigues of the schis-
matical Cardinals, the refusal of Louis XII. to dissociate
himself from the Bentivogli, and his threats of setting up
by Reumont in a dissertation in the Allg. Zeit. (1874), No. 358, Suppl.,
on the Nuptiali di Altieri, published by Narducci. As Gregorovius, in
his 3rd ed. in 1881 (VIII., 78 seg.\ has taken no notice of this, it will not
be superfluous to mention it again. Cf. also L. Passarini, Memorie
intomo alia vita di S. Aldobrandini, 219. Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati,
174, shews that even in the year 1507 many of the Romans were
unfriendly to Julius II.
* Sanuto, XII., 455, 481, 482-483. Cf. Paris de Grassis, ed.
Dollinger, 412.
t Sanuto, XII., 483 ; Fioravante, Denarii, 161 seq. ; Coppi, Mem.
Colonnesi, 257 seq. ; Mazio, Saggiatore, IV., 13, 21.
X Lanz, Einleitung, 121.
THE LEAGUE AGAINST FRANCE. 373
an anti-Pope filled Julius II. with anxiety. On the 1st
of October he had appointed Cardinal Medici, Legate of
Bologna and the Romagna,* and now he awaited with
trembling impatience the definite formation of the League
which was to protect him from his enemies and recover
the lost States for the Church.f
The League was finally arranged and signed on the 4th
October, 151 1, and on the following day was solemnly
announced in Rome in S'^ Maria del Popolo. The primary
contracting parties were Julius II., Ferdinand of Spain, and
the Republic of Venice, but it was expressly provided that
the Emperor and the King of England were at liberty
to join it if they wished. " Europe was invited to rally
round the Pope, and all Kings and Princes were asked to
unite for one common object, namely, the preservation of
the unity of the Church and of the integrity of her patri-
mony." I The adhesion of Henry of England, which
actually followed on the 17th November, was regarded at
that time as certain, § and the Swiss could also be counted
upon to invade Milan.||
* Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 299 ; Corp. dipl. Portug., I., 137.
+ C/. Sanuto, XII., 488, 500, 536, 538, 545.
X Lanz, Einleitung, 122.
§ DUMONT, IV., I, 137 ; Raynaldus, ad an. 1511, n. 34 ; Theiner,
Cod., III., ^y^seq. ; Mittheil. d. CEsterreich. Instituts (1884), p. 618 seq.y
Lettres de Louis XII., III., 60 seq.^ 65 seq. ; Opere ined. di F.
Guicciardini, VI., 21 seq. ; Paris de Grassis, ed. DoUinger, 412. Cf.
Mem. stor. di Mirandola, I., 197 seq. ; Semper, Carpi, 8 ; the Portuguese
Report of Franc. Juzarte to King Manuel in Corp. dipl. Portug, I., 137,
I38~J39> Lehmann, 15 seq.; and on the adhesion of England,
Brewer, State Papers, I., N. 1980; *Acta Consist., f. 35 (Consistorial
Archives of the Vatican) ; Sanuto, XIII., 75 seq.^ 87 seq. ; cf. 130 seq.y
201.
II Cf. Dierauer, II., 407. A Brief of Julius II. to the Swiss, of the
27th October, 1511, in the Abschieden, III., 2, 586; a duplicate to the
374 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Now that his position was so far secured, Julius II. was
able to take the last step in regard to the schismatical
Cardinals. When the term appointed in the letter of
citation had expired, in an open Consistory held on 24th
October, at which there were eighteen Cardinals present,
he pronounced the sentence of excommunication and de-
position on Cardinals Carvajal, Briconnet, Francesco Borgia,
and de Prie, as rebels. Cardinals Sanseverino and d'Albret
were threatened with the same punishment if they continued
disobedient.*
" Thus before the Council had met, the Cardinals who
had convoked it had been deposed. It is true that the
day fixed for its opening had been the 1st of September,
but they had themselves put off their arrival."! Their
prospects were about as bad as they possibly could be.
Spain and England would have nothing to say to them,
and in Italy and Germany the Council called forth
no enthusiasm. Even in France they met with so little
sympathy that on the 20th of September Cardinal de Prie
wrote to Louis XII. to say that, unless he would exert his
Mayor and Council of Basle, dat. 28th Oct., 151 1, in the Basle Archives,
n. 2673.
* Raynaldus, ad an. 151 1, n. 33, 35, 36; Paris de Grassis,
Bollinger's ed., 412-413 ; cf. 414, the striking remarks on the position
of the schismatical Cardinals ; Sanuto, XHL, 177, 178, 201 seq. ;
Desjardins, II., 571, N. I ; Lehmann, 15 ; Atti dei Lincei (1892),
4 Serie, Scienz. mor., X., 15. Cf. *Acta Consist., f. 34^-35. It is
here stated that in a Secret Consistory on 22nd Oct., Sigismondo de
Conti read the judgment to the Cardinals, and they agreed to it. (Con-
sistorial Archives of the Vatican.) On the 24th Oct. the deposition of
the Cardinals was announced to all the Princes of Europe. See the
State Archives in Turin. Mazzo 18, N. 26. A copy of the announce-
ment sent to Maximilian, dat. Rom., 24th Oct., is in the State Archives,
Bologna.
t Lehmann, 15.
FAILURE OF THE ANTI-PAPAL COUNCIL. 375
royal power in favour of the assembly at Pisa, it would be
a complete failure and effect nothing. " Thus at its very
inception the free Council was to owe its existence to
State despotism."* On the ist September the number of
those who were prepared to attend it was so small that it
had to be put off till the 1st November.
From the first even its originators had no confidence
in the success of their undertaking. In the beginning of
September, the Spanish Cardinals knowing the position
that their King was taking up, were prepared to repudiate
it if the Pope would have allowed them to remain at Siena.f
To the hostile attitude of the King of Spain was now
added an unfavourable change in that of Maximilian.
From the first the Emperor had disapproved of the choice
of Pisa as the place for holding the Council. In July he
said very decidedly that it could only be held in some town
belonging to the Empire ; Verona and Constance were
mentioned. ;(: Also, not only Hungary and Poland but the
Empire itself hung back from committing itself to an anti-
Papal Council,! and the Emperor received letters from
various quarters warning him against it, amongst others
from his daughter Margaret and from the learned Abbot
Trithemius. The latter strongly urged him to have nothing
to do with an assembly which was unlawfully convoked and
must necessarily lead to a schism, and assured him that
* Raynaldus, ad an. 151 1, n. 8 ; Hergenrother, VIII., 480.
t MORSOLIN, L'Abbate di Monte Subasio, 15.
X Le Glay, I., 417; Acta Tomiciana, I., 211; ZURITA, 248^^ ;
Fraknui, Liga von Cambrai, 86 (note i), 92 ; Ulmann, IL, 436 Jty.,
who justly remarks that the proposal in the Emperor's instructions to
his secretary Pigello Portinari, that the Council should be held in
Florence, was mainly a pecuniary speculation. Ulmann is mistaken in
thinking that this instruction has not been printed. It is published by
TOMMASINI in his Machiavelli, I., 702-703.
§ Ulmann, II., 435.
376 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Germany would not follow him in this path.* The attitude
of the German clergy shewed that the Abbot of Sponheim
was not mistaken on this point; and in addition to all this
there was the difference between him and the King of
France as to the place of meeting. It is not surprising,
therefore, that the Emperor's interest in the Council began
to slacken.
When Julius II. was so dangerously ill in August 151 1,
Maximilian, like every one else, supposed the Pope to be
dying.-]- He at once nominated three Envoys for the
Conclave, and also intended to send his trusty Lang to
Rome to unite with Cardinal Adriano Castellesi in looking
after his interests in the new election. He told the English
Ambassador that this Cardinal was his candidate. At the
same time, Carvajal also hoped this time to attain the object
of his ambition.!
At first no one at the Imperial Court could believe in the
reality of the Pope's sudden and rapid recovery. They
were still convinced that his days were numbered, and it
was in this conviction that Maximilian wrote those much
discussed letters in which he expressed his visionary notion
of adding the Tiara to the Imperial crown. § In one of
* Trithemius, Annal. Hirsaug., II., 669 seq.
t Cf. supra^ p. 368 seq.\ also Fraknoi, Erdodi Bakocz Tamas, 108 seq.
X Ulmann, Absichten, 22, and Maximilian, II., 440.
§ Maximilian's aspirations to the Papacy have produced an extremely
extensive literature. A. Jager has collected the earlier writings on this
subject in the Transactions of the Academy of Vienna, XII., 199 j-^^.
(1854). This writer justly holds the authenticity of these letters to be
beyond doubt. (Maximilian's Instructions to George of Neideck of
loth June, 1 507, mentioned supra^ p. 354, note *, in a sense corroborate his
view.) At the same time he thinks it is a mistake to interpret the letters
too strictly in a literal sense, while, on the other hand, he combats
the view that they are not to be taken seriously at all. Jager, relying
very much on SCHRECK (Biografia del Card. Adriano [Trento, 1837]),
MAXIMILIAN'S LETTERS TO HIS DAUGHTER. 377
these letters addressed to his daughter Margaret, Regent
of the Netherlands, and dated i8th September, 15 11, he
solves the problem by giving the letters an allegorical meaning, and
considers that the purpose of the Emperor in them was to signify his
intention of obtaining the Tiara for Card. A. Castellesi, who had taken
refuge in the Tyrol and was completely devoted to him. Against Jager,
Lanz, 118, and Bohm and Ruber, III., 394, have pointed out that the
plain sense of the words will not admit of such an interpretation,
especially in the letter to P. von Lichtenstein. In spite of Jager, most
historians continue to think that Maximilian really aimed at uniting the
dignities of Emperor and Pope in his own person. Brosch (p. 335)
brought forward a proof from the Venetian Archives that in December
there had been negotiations on the subject between Maximilian and
Ferdinand of Spain ; he speaks very contemptuously of Jager^s work.
In consequence, however, of further researches by Gebhardt and
Ulmann, Jager^s theory, though in some points his investigations are
wanting in thoroughness, came, to a certain degree, into favour again.
Gebhardt (Adrian v. Cometo, 23 se^^.) discovered a Report from the
English Ambassador at the Imperial Court of 4th Sept., 151 1, in which
he says that Maximilian wished to obtain the Tiara for Card. Adriano in
the place of Julius II., who was hopelessly ill. Maximilian's biographer,
Ulmann, in 1888 published a treatise dealing with this question alone.
Although we are not in possession of the complete text of the Imperial
Instruction of 1 507, Ulmann, unlike Bohm, considers this document of
the first importance in deciding the question. In that year the Empress
was still living, consequently, so this author argues, Maximilian could
not then have had any thought of himself becoming Pope. Since in
151 1, after the Empress' death, he expresses himself in exactly the
same terms as are employed in the Instruction, Ulmann infers " that his
meaning must also have been the same, and that therefore the true
kernel of his project could not have been a personal occupation of the
Chair of S. Peter." Ulmann thinks he finds this " true kernel " in the
Emperor's favourite idea of the secularisation of the States of the Church.
As this would be incompatible with his being himself the wearer of the
Tiara, all this seems to imply that it is to be taken as a diplomatic circum-
locution. The one thing that is certain is "that in the years from 1507-
151 1 he cannot have dreamt of obtaining the Papal Crown for himself,
whether as Papal and Imperial Sovereign, or, laying aside the pomp of
Empire, as real spiritual Head of the Church ; the thing he aimed at
37^ HISTORY OF THE POPES.
says : " To-morrow I am going to send Matthaeus Lang,
Bishop of Gurk, to Rome, to arrange with the Pope about
was to arrogate to himself the ' dominium temporale ' of the Papacy.
.... The possession of Rome would secure to him the mastery in
Upper Italy, and at the same time, by making him Suzerain of Naples,
protect him against injury from Spain on the southern side of the States
of the Church. If I am right in my view, he intended to issue a
summons from Rome to the whole of Christendom to range itself under
the Imperial standard for a Crusade against the Turks" (pp. 47-49).
This theory has found unconditional acceptance from very few scholars.
Ulmann himself, however, while acknowledging it to be only a hypo-
thesis (II., 441), still holds firmly to it in the 2nd Vol. of his Biography of
Maximilian, SaGMULLER, in the Literar. Rundschau (1889), p. 242,
agrees with Ulmann that Maximilian had not thought of being Pope as
well as Emperor, but sees objections to the view that he aimed at
possessing himself of the temporal power of the Papacy. J. Bernays, on
the contrary, looks upon this latter point as proved from the Instruction
of 1507, but holds that in Sept., 151 1, Maximilian aspired also to the
Papal dignity itself (Gott. Gel. Anz., 1888, pp. 1023-1024). One of
Bernay's objections in regard to the suzerainty is answered beforehand
by Ulmann, II., 440 ; but that does not affect his view of the Imperial
letter of the i8th Sept. Quite independently of Bernays, G. Suliger
decisively rejects both the reasoning and conclusions in Ulmann's work
while fully recognising the clear insight into the political situation which
it displays. " The reports of a Florentine living in the French camp,"
he observes, " on which Ulmann mainly depends, cannot be of greater
authority than the Emperor's own words. In the endeavour to fathom
his secret intentions they must be our first guide, and their clear, literal
meaning cannot be ignored" (Deutsche Literaturztg., 1888, p. 1607). L.
G[eiger] in the Suppt. to the AUg. Zeit. (1888;, No. 320, says that he
cannot agree with Ulmann, and brings forward some notable objections
to his hypothesis. Both Ulmann (p. 32) and Geiger might have avoided
the mistake of translating "adoratio" by the word " worship" if they had
possessed even a slight knowledge of Catholic doctrine. A letter from
Card. S. Gonzaga to the Marchesa Isabella, dat. Macerata, 2nd Oct.,
1 5 1 1 , is valuable as evidence on this question, certainly much more so
than the documents cited by Brosch. It says : S. B^e voleva mandare
un monitorio al revmo Card, di S. Severino et a Labretto, che com-
paressero personalmente dinanzi a lei infra certo termine sotto pena de
HIS DESIGN UPON THE PAPACY. 379
choosing me as his coadjutor with the reversion of the
Papacy on his death, and allowing me to take holy orders,
so that I may possibly be canonised and you may have
to revere me as a saint after my death, which I should
value much. I have sent an Envoy to the King of Spain,
asking him to support me ; which he has willingly promised
to do on condition of my abdicating the Imperial crown in
favour of my grand-son Charles, to which I cordially agree.
The people and nobles of Rome have entered into a com-
pact with each other against the French and Spaniards ;
they can arm 20,000 men, and have assured me that they
will never consent to the elevation of a Frenchman, a
Spaniard, or a Venetian, but will choose a Pope who shall
be dependent on me and acceptable to the German nation.
I am already beginning to canvass the Cardinals, for which
purpose from 200,000 to 300,000 ducats would be very
useful. The King of Spain has sent word to me through
his Envoy that he will desire the Spanish Cardinals to
support my candidature. I beg you to keep all this pro-
foundly secret, although I fear that in a very short time
the whole world will know it, as too many people have
to be employed in the business and too much money is
required. I commend you to God. Written by the hand
of your good father, Maximilian, future Pope. September
i8th.
" P.S. — The Pope has had a return of fever; he cannot
live much longer. " *
la privatione ^/ quesio faceva per essersi inteso che havevano proposto
alio bnperatore de farlo pnpa^ cosa non niai vista ct inatidita. I found
the original in the Gonzaga Archives, Mantua, and it has now been
published by MORSOLIN in L'Abbate di Monte Subasio, 14. Morsolin
thinks he detects a squib on Maximilian's plan of becoming Pope in a
satirical medal of the i6th Century. See Kiv. Ital. di Numismatica A°,
VIII., fasc. 2.
* After the original m the Archives at Lille in Le Glav, II., 37;
S^O HISTORY OF THE POPES.
This letter might quite possibly have been meant as a
playful refusal of a project for a fresh marriage presented
to him by Margaret, as he had been a widower since
the 31st of December ; for he was fond of writing jesting
letters to her.* But another addressed to the Tyrolese
Land-Marschall, Paul von Lichtenstein, and dated i6th
September, 151 1, cannot be thus humorously interpreted.
Maximilian writes : —
" Most noble, beloved, and faithful friend ! We do not
doubt that what we have imparted to you at various times
as to our reasons for intending and desiring to obtain
the Papacy is still fresh in your memory ; as also we
ourselves have never ceased to keep this purpose in mind.
Moreover we feel in ourselves, and in fact it is so, that
there can be no aim more noble, loftier, or better than
that of attaining to the said dignity.
" And as the present Pope Julius has lately been
dangerously ill, so much so that, as our Court Chancellor
for the Tyrol, Cyprian of Serentin, has informed us, every
one in Rome thought that his last moment had come, we
have resolved to take the necessary measures for carrying
out our intention, and to act in such a manner as shall
win for us the Papacy. Consequently we have laid these
matters before Cardinal i\driano who, as you know, has
been for some time past with us in Germany ; who, when
he heard it, wept for joy, and advised us strongly to
proceed, and thinks that there are many Cardinals who
will be of the same mind. And since, as you yourself
also must see, it is very likely that the Pope will die (for
he eats little, and that nothing but fruit, and drinks so much
cf. 407, 541. The date of the year is wanting in the original, but it must
be 1 51 1. Cf. BouM, 14 seg.
* Ulmann, Absichten, 31 seg., and Bernays in Gott. Gel. Anz.
(1888), p. 102I.
HIS LETTER TO PAUL VON LICHTENSTEIN 38 1
more that his Hfe has no substance in it), if he does die, we
have prepared the Bishop of Gurk to post at once to Rome
to help us in this affair of the Papacy ; but, as this cannot
be done without a considerable sum of money which we
must provide, we have promised the Cardinals and several
other persons, to expend 300,000 ducats for the needs of
our undertaking and to arrange that this money shall be
obtainable from the Fugger Bank at Rome. As you know,
at the present time we have no money, and the only way in
which it will be possible for us to satisfy Fugger in regard
to this sum will be by pledging our jewels."
The Emperor then proceeds to give detailed instructions
as to the negotiations for the loan ; the jewels that are
to be pledged, to which the feudal mantle worn by
Charlemagne is to be added, which, he says, does not
belong to the Empire, but is an Austrian heirloom, the
property of the Hapsburgs, and will be no longer wanted
by him when he is Pope ; the manner in which, and the
persons to whom, the money is to be paid, and how and
when the articles pledged are to be redeemed. Von
Lichtenstein is admonished to use all possible diligence
to get the matter arranged quickly and secretly, to take
no denial, but persist, even if at first he is met by a refusal,
and to keep the Emperor thoroughly informed of every
step in the proceedings, and is assured that his faithful
service will be remembered and amply rewarded.
In the concluding paragraph the Emperor says: "We
also wish you to know that to-day we have heard b}' a
private post from our secretary John Colla, that the Orsini,
Colonna, and the populus Romanus are quite resolved,
and have engaged, not to accept any Pope who is a
Frenchman or a Spaniard, or a candidate of either of
these nations. And they have sent an Envoy privately
to ask us not to fight with the Frcncji, so that they may
382
HISTORY OF THE POPES.
be induced to remain neutral in regard to the Papal
election. Given at Brixen, September i6, Anno 15 ii."*
There can be no doubt that ' in the letter there is no
trace of banter of any sort. Also, it is not conceivable that
Maximilian should have amused himself by mystifying
his confidential serv-ant, to whom he had quite lately given
instructions in regard to his purposes, and whom he
habitually employed in conducting his political affairs in
Italy. The letter must be understood in its plain meaning."f
It is true that we are confronted here by another
difficulty which cannot be held to be unimportant. The
original letter to Lichtenstein has never been found, and
the historical trustworthiness of the author who published
it a hundred years after the Emperor's death without
indicating the source from which he obtained it, is open
to grave doubts.J
In the present state of our knowledge it is impossible
to say with certainty that Maximilian did seriously think
of uniting the Imperial and Papal crowns in his own
person, and thus realising his aspirations after complete
sovereignty in Italy. Many things seem to indicate that
* GOLDAST, Polit. Reichshandel, 428-429 (Fmnkfurt, 1614); and Ul-
MANN, Absichten, 24 seq. The text of the Letter on account of its great
length, has been placed in the Appendix, N. 90.
t Bernays, loc. cit.^ 1023 ; cf. DE Leva, L, 124.
X BoHM, 7 seq.^ and Ulmann, 2 seq.^ think the letter genuine (see
Appendix, N. 90), but the latter expressly observes that the source from
which it comes does not guarantee its accuracy in details. Some
portions are evidently incorrect ; cf. those which I have indicated by
parentheses. But the letter contains details which, as Ulmann points
out, Absichten, 2, note 4, could hardly have been known by a forger.
My honoured colleague. Prof. Seemiiller, had the kindness to investigate
this document for me from a philological point of view, and can find no
warrant for supposing it to be a forgery. On Goldast, cf. Wegele,
Historiographie, 368 ; Allg. Deutsch. Biographic, IX., 329 ; JansSEN-
Pastor, Gesch. d. Deutsch. Volkes, V., 546, 5 78 seq..^ 13th and 14th ed.
HIS DISSATISFACTION WITH FRANCE. 383
this dream did actually cross his mind for a short time as
a practical possibility ; * but all plans founded on the
expected vacancy of the Chair of S. Peter were soon
dissipated by the complete recovery of Julius II.
Maximilian was growing daily more and more
dissatisfied with the conduct of Louis XII., and alarmed
at his increasing preponderance in Italy,-|- and the Pope
now strove to win him to his side by the offer of an
advantageous peace with Venice. He was not, however,
immediately successful, for "on the 21st of October, 15 11,
the Emperor desired the Papal Envoys who were on
their way to several of the electoral Princes to be stopped
at Innsbruck and other places ; but when, in November,
England also definitely joined the League for the pro-
tection of the Church and her possessions, Maximilian
began to change his policy." On the 12th, at the
instigation of the King of Spain, he asked Julius to act
as intermediary between him and Venice.:|: He began
also to cool towards the anti-Papal Council. No doubt
* In addition to the letter of Card. S. Gonzaga, which has been already
cited, it seems to me that Zurita's testimony (IX., c. 37, 38, 40, 43) is
very important in regard to Maximilian having really cherished the
thought of becom-ng Papal coadjutor and eventually Pope himself.
Ranke, Rom. und Germ. Vcilker, 284, and BOHM, 16, also Lehmann,
20 seq.^ attach great weight to the statements of the Spanish historian,
and with reason, for, as a rule, wherever they have been tested they
have proved singularly trustworthy.
t Cf. MORSOLIN, L'Abbate di Monte Subasio, 14.
X Ulmann, Maximilians Absichten, 46. L. Trevisano reports on the
25th-26th November, 151 1, from Rome : Et ^ da saper, che quando fo
fata la liga, fo dato al Papa una corniola anticha ligata in argento, ch' c" uno
caro tirato da doy galli e so])ra il caro era una ac[uila, qual havia una
bacheta in man, zoe in le zaffe c bateva li galli, la quiil iiuta il Papa la
mand6 a I'Imperador dicendoli questa esser profetia e lui come difensor
di la Chiexia doveva intmr in liga e batcr francesi ch' ^ nemici di la
Chiexia, maxime questo presante Re. Sanuto, XIII., 285-286.
384 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the adverse attitude of the German Episcopate had much
to do with this. The Bishop of Brixen refused to act as
Imperial representative at the Council, on the ground that
he was more bound to the Pope than to the Emperor.
The Archbishop of Salzburg declared himself precluded
by his ecclesiastical oath from sending even one of his
Counsellors to it* Now that England and Spain also
had pronounced against it,! while Hungary held aloof for
the present from the opponents of the Pope, J the schis-
matics had no power but France to support them. The
Court Bishops, of course, followed the King; but "all
who could, as the Flemish clergy, who, in spite of Louis's
complaints never appeared at Lyons, tried to keep clear
of the Council. The French disliked the Italian policy
of their King, the people and the nobles objected to the
cost of the war, and the Queen implored her husband to
withdraw from a conflict with the Pope which might be
extremely prejudicial to the interests of the future heir
to the throne. "§
* Ulmann, II., 435-436. Dr. Mayr has sought in vain throughout
the Statthalter's Archives at Innsbruck for M. von Wolkenstein's Report
to Maximilian which is here cited. It is a pity that Uhiiann hardly
ever gives the numbers of the Documents he quotes.
t Ferdinand had caused the Bull of Indiction for the Lateran Council
to be solemnly announced at Burgas on the i6th Nov., 151 1, and desired
the Bishops to meet for consultation on it. Hergenrother, VIII. ,463
seg'., gives a full account of the proposals for Reform which were to be
laid before the Council, drawn from the documents published (some of
them very carelessly) by DOLLINGER, Beitriige, III., 200 seg., out
of the Simancas Archives.
X Frakn6i, Liga von Cambrai, 92 seg.
§ Lehmann, 31. Girolamo Aleandro, who had been chosen by his
colleagues to represent the High School of Paris at the Council of Pisa,
refused the dangerous honour. See Nuntiaturberichte, III., Einl., 31.
Lehmann has not observed that the Rector's declaration had been already
pubhshed by Hergenrother, VIII., 488-489.
LOYALTY OF THE ITALIAN CLERGY. 385
The Italian clergy as a body were faithful to the lawful
Pope. The exceptions consisted only of a few such men
as the restless Abbot Zaccaria Ferreri and Cardinal San-
severino, who was so deeply compromised. Many warning
voices were heard from amongst them. The pious hermit
Angelo of Vallombrosa adjured Carvajal not to rend the
unity of the Church ; what he was doing, he said, was like
the crime of Lucifer and would draw down God's judg-
ments upon him.* Angelo, like many other Italians, as
Francesco Poggio,-j- was diligent with his pen in defence of
the rights of the Holy See against the schismatics. The
most eminent of these writers were Domenico Jacobazzi |
and the celebrated theologian and philosopher, Thomas de
Vio of Gaeta, better known as Cajetanus, who, since 1508,
had been General of the Dominicans. In several works
which obtained the honour of being publicly burnt by Louis
XII., Cajetanus dealt in a masterly and classical style with
the false Conciliar theory of which the Council of Pisa was
the latest offshoot. He maintained that the power of the
Pope in the Church was supreme and monarchical, demon-
strated the difference between the authority of Peter and
that of the other Apostles, denied the superiority of Councils
over the Head of the Church, and refuted the objections
drawn from the Councils of Constance and Basle. The
theses which he defended were the following: — (i) A
Council does not derive its authority immediately from
Christ. (2) It does not represent the whole Church unless
it includes the Pope. (3) A doubtful Pope, such as the one
* Angelo also addressed Louis XH. himself See Raynaldus, ad
an. 151 1, n. 30, 31.
t De potestate papae et concilii liber, s. I. ct a. (probably Roniae,
1 5 12). Cf. Raynaldus, ad an. 151 i,n. 19.
% Particulars concerning his Tract, de Concilio (written 1512, printed
1538) are to be found in HergenroTHKK, VIII., 438 .v^y., 476 seq.
VOL. VI. 2 C
386 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
who presided at Constance, holds a very different position
from one whose legitimacy is certain.*
In Italy the only writers who advocated the schismatic
Council and the oligarchical revolution in the constitution
of the Church at which it aimed, were the Milanese jurist
Decius f and Zaccaria Ferreri. This latter, a learned but
restless and changeable man, had first been a Benedictine
monk, and then joined the Carthusians. Here too, he could
not bear the quiet of the cloistered life, and threw himself
eagerly into politics, labouring to enlist public opinion in
support of the League of Cambrai and turn it against the
Venetians, whom he hated, and continued to oppose even
after the Republic had been absolved. He wrote poems
in praise of the French and was thus brought into con-
nection with Marshal Trivulzio, and initiated into the anti-
Papal plans of Louis XII. As Carv^ajal and he had always
been close friends, he was now cony^letely drawn into the
schismatical camp. Later he fought so energetically by
letters, addresses, and tracts on the side of the mock Council,
that he came to be regarded as its chief literary champion.J
* This summary is taken from Hergenrother, VIII., 474.
Maurenbrecher, Kath. Ref., 105, says, referring to Cajetanus, "It
may be truly said that the Court party had the best of the encounter
from a literary as well as from a historical point of view."
t GOLDAST, Monarchia, II., 1167 se^.; HerGENROTHER, VIII., 471.
On Decius, c/. Savigny, Gesch. d. Romischen Rechts, VI., 374 j-^'^., and
Schulte, Quellen, II., 361 seg.
I Ferreri's career was described a hundred years ago by TiRABOSCHi,
Delia vita e delle opere di Z. Ferreri (Modena, 1799), ^^^^ by MORSO-
LIN in a (scarce) monograph which appeared at Vicenza in 1877, and
again in his valuable work, L'Abbate di Monte Subasio, 3 seg^. Cf. also
MORSOLIN, Un Latinista del Cinquecento imitatore del Dante (Venezia,
1894), and Apologia del popolo Vicentino di Z. Ferreri (Venezia, 1895).
Ferreri's important influence on the Council of Pisa has been quite
overlooked by Lehmann, and also by Maurenbrecher, Kath. Ref.,
105 seg.
t
CHARACTER OF CARDINAL CARVAJAL. 387
The character of Carvajal very much resembled that
of Ferreri. He had early adopted the false theory of
Councils;* in addition to which he could not forget that
he had once very nearly obtained the Tiara. " He had
been forced to yield to Julius 11. , but he did not relinquish
his ambitious plans." Especially since the death of
d'Amboise, he had become more engrossed with the hope
of attaining the highest dignity. He threw himself into
the French movement entirely, because he thought it
might be serviceable to him. He had long ago quarrelled
with the Pope ; he loved pomp and show, and cared for
reform as little as his associates did. Like Ferreri he was
utterly untrustworthy. Zurita relates that he simultaneously
asked Ferdinand for a safe-conduct for Naples, wrote to
the Spanish Envoy in Germany to use all his influence to
prevent any German prelates from coming to the Council,
and begged the Emperor to send them. " He was sincere
in nothing, and it was this hypocrite who was the President
of the Council, to which he was only held by the impossi-
bility or extreme peril of drawing back."f He was so
much alarmed at the small amount of sympathy which the
Council had evoked, that even at the last moment he made
an attempt to be reconciled with the Pope. He had broken
with Cardinal Briconnet, whose heart like his own was set
on obtaining the Tiara; but both he and his companions
were too ambitious and too proud to bring themselves to
comply with the stern requisitions of Julius H., who insisted
on their coming to Rome and asking for absolution. J The
* ROSSBACH, Carvajal, 1 5 seg., which unwarrantably brands the elder
Carvajal as an adherent of the false Conciliar theory ; on the errors in
this book, c/. PASTOR, Gesch. Tiipste, II., 376 sr</., ed. 2.
t Lkhmann, 26 29, who gives his proofs. On Cai-vajal's neiuUism
and ostentation, see Rossbach, Carvajal, 100 srg.
X MORSOT-IN, L'Abbate di Monte Subasio, 17 sr^.
388 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
prospects of the schismatics, " not one of whom possessed
the support of a genuine conviction," * were rendered still
more gloomy by the behaviour of the Florentines. Florence
had for many years been the ally of France and at first
agreed to the choice of Pisa as the meeting place for the
Council, but very soon she began to hesitate. Machiavelli
was commissioned to persuade the schismatical Cardinals
to delay, and to represent the true state of things to the
French. His instruction of the lOth December says : " No
one seems to wish to attend the Council ; it therefore only
serves to set the Pope against us, and we must consequently
request that it may either not be held in Pisa, or at least
may be put off. Not a single prelate is coming from
Germany and only a few from France, and these are linger-
ing on the way. People are surprised at the announcement
of a Council consisting of only three Cardinals, while the
others who were given out as supporting them hide them-
selves and do not appear." Louis XII. was, however,
determined to have the Council at Pisa, and the Florentines
were forced to yield, though much against the grain.
Meanwhile their vacillating conduct did not satisfy France,
and incensed the Pope. He laid an Interdict on the city,
against which the Florentines appealed to a Council, but
did not make it clear whether to that of Pisa or of Rome.-f
It was not till the middle of October that some Frenchmen
began to appear at Pisa, as yet they were not the Bishops,
but only the Bishops' officials. They found the popular feel-
ing so much against them that no one would let lodgings
to them and they had to seize their quarters by force. J
* Lehmann, 29-30.
t Cambi, XXL, 266 ; ViLLARi, Machiavelli, II., 133-135 ; Perrens,
II., 481 ; TOMMASINI, Machiavelli, I., 540 seq.\ Frey, Regesten, loi ;
the Instructions MACHIAVELLI in the Opere, ed. Passerini, I., 132 seq.
X MORSOLIN, L'Abbate di Monte Subasio, 20-21.
ARRIVAL OF THE CARDINALS AT PISA. 389
Further difficulties arose when the Cardinals proposed to
come to Pisa escorted by French troops. Florence now
announced that if they came with armed men they would
be treated as enemies. Upon this they consented to be
satisfied with a small company of archers commanded by
Odet de Foix and Chatillon.* It was on the 30th October
that Cardinals Carvajal, Briconnet, de Prie, and d'Albret
arrived in Pisa with this small escort, and in pouring rain.
They were provided with powers from P'rancesco Borgia,
Sanseverino, and, they asserted, from Philip of Luxemburg.
The proxy for Borgia lapsed almost immediately through
his death.f
In the course of their journey the schismatical Cardinals
had encountered so much hostility on the part of the
population, that they arrived much discouraged and with
little confidence in the success of their undertaking. J "In
Prato and in Pistoja," the Florentine chronicler Cerretani
says, " they found the churches and inns closed, every one
fled from them. In Pisa itself they could only get lodgings
at the command of the Florentine Commissioners." §
On the 1st November the Council ought to have com-
menced its sittings in the cathedral, but in accordance with
the Pope's commands the Canons had locked all the doors.
* ViLLARl, Machiavelli, IL, 137. In consequence of this action on the
part of the Florentines, the Pope suspended the Interdict for fourteen
days. See Landucci, 312 and 315, on further suspensions.
+ HERGENROTHER, VIII., 483 ; MORSOLIN, loc. cit.^ 22.
\ Desjardins, II., 541.
§ *In questo tempo che fu al fine d'Ottobre giunsono 11 cardinal! del
concilio in Pisa con 300 cavalli in loro compagnia alii quali in Prato, in
Pistoja fu serrato le chiese e negato loro il mangiare e ciascuno gli fuggiva
et in Pisa se non s'interponeva il coniniandaniento de comniissarii nian-
dato dalla Signoria non erano accommodati ne di vettovaglie ne di
allogiamenti. Cerretani's Chronicle in Cod. II., III., 76, f. 376, of the
National Library, Florence.
390 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
They therefore betook themselves to the Church of S.
Michele, close to which Carvajal was lodged. It was a
small building, but contained room and to spare in it for
the accommodation of the " General Council." The assembly
consisted of the four Cardinals, the Archbishops of Lyons
and Sens, fourteen French Bishops, five Abbots, all French
except Ferreri, and a small number of theologians and
jurists. The citizens of Pisa held almost entirely aloof;
according to an eye-witness there were not more than ten
present. Ferreri delivered an address on the necessity that
a General Council should be held for the reform of the
Church, and announced at its close that the proceedings
would begin on the 5th of November. All who failed to
present themselves were threatened with the censures of
the Church. Finally an individual who announced himself
as the Procurator of the King and the Emperor came for-
ward as notary to execute the deed of constitution. The
whole city was searched in vain for two citizens to act
as witnesses ; none would consent to officiate, and two
unknown persons had to be taken.*
Meanwhile orders had been sent from Florence that the
use of the cathedral was to be granted to the Council,
but that none of the clergy need attend if they were not
so inclined.-]- Thus the General Council was opened in
the cathedral as announced, on the 5th November, in the
presence of the four Cardinals and about eighteen Bishops
and Abbots. Of the inhabitants of Pisa, about fifty
appeared. The ceremonies were well carried out, we
* In addition to the important ambassadorial Reports in MORSOLIN,
L'Abbatedi Monte Subasio, 37 seq. (in the deed, p. 38, line 32), a comma
should be inserted after " Franzesi," and the two points after " cipta "
should be erased ; cf. Sanuto, XIII., 330. See also Sandret, Concile
de Pise, 436 seq.
t ViLLARi, Machiavelli, II., 137.
OPENING OF THE COUNCIL. 39I
are told by an eye-witness, but the attendance of Prelates
was so miserable, that many who had hitherto been
sanguine of its success, now gave up all hope. Carvajal
said the Mass, and then, as President of the assembly,
seated himself on the semi-Papal throne prepared for him.
Odet de Foix was declared Gustos. It seems almost
incredible, but nevertheless it is a fact, that this gathering
had the audacity to declare solemnly that it was a lawfully
convoked General Council and to proclaim all the censures
and measures taken against it by Julius II. to be null
and void.* In the second sitting on the 7th of November
a resolution was passed which sheds a curious light on
the amount of confidence which the schismatics entertained
in each other. It was decided that the Council could not
be dissolved by the withdrawal of any individual Prelates
whoever they might be.f
The hopes cherished by some that the Council might,
as time went on, increase in numbers were not fulfilled,
and Cardinals d'Este and Sanseverino gave no sign. J
However earnestly the Pisan assembly might contend that
it was the " salt of the earth, and the light of the world,"
history had accustomed Christendom to see the Church
represented after a very different fashion. § The indifference
of all from whom they hoped for support, including the
Florentines, their unprotected situation in Pisa, and the
marked hostility of the population had from the first
* Report of Joh. Borromeus in MORSOLIN, /oc. c//., 40 sc^. ; c/. Sanuto,
XIII,, 233, 330 se(/.j and on the Florentine Reports, ViLLARl, Machia-
velli, II., 138. C/. HERGENRr)THER, VIII., 484 and 480, note i, for
details concerning the acts of the niock Council.
+ fdi'i/., 42 j^<7.; Sanuto, XIII., 234, 331 seg.; Lehmann, 32 ; Her-
GENROTHER, VIII., 484 seg.
X Jovius, Vita Alfonsi ; the Duke of Ferrara persuaded his brother
not to attend the Council.
§ Havemann, II., 376.
392 ^ HISTORY OF THE POPES.
seriously alarmed the schismatics. Now, in addition to
this, on the 9th of November a sanguinary conflict broke
out between the Florentine troops combined with the
Pisans on one side, and the French soldiers and the
servants of the Cardinals on the other. A crowd
assembled under the windows of the palace inhabited by
the President of the Council, where the schismatics were
gathered together, shouting " kill them."* The terrified
reformers held a hasty sitting on the 12th instead of the
14th, which had been the day appointed for the next
meeting, and passed three resolutions : — (i) The Synod was
not to be dissolved until the whole Church had been
reformed in faith and morals, in its head and members,
all heresies and divisions purged away, and all impending
strife between Christian Princes appeased. (2) The decrees
of the fifth sitting of the Council of Constance were to be
confirmed and made more stringent (though they did not
apply to the present situation, as there was no question
of the legitimacy of the Pope, nor, strictly speaking, any
schism). (3) The Synod, without being dissolved, was to
be removed from Pisa, where a hostile spirit has been
displayed and it has not the requisite security, to Milan,
where its fourth sitting was to be held on the 13th of
December.f
^ Mantuan Despatch of the 9th Nov., 1 5 1 1, in MORSOLIN, 44 ; ViLLARl,
Machiavelli, H., 138. Cf. also the account in Cambi, XXI., 276, and
*Cerretani, Cod. II., III., 76, f. 377. National Library, Florence.
+ Hergenrother, VIII., 485-486 ; cf. MoRSOLiN, 45, and Sanuto,
XIII., 332. A "^Letter without address, signature, or date, apparently
belongs to this time, it says : S. Severino e S. Croce in Pisa ogni giomo
visitati per ambasciatori da S^i Fiorentini e dal mag^o Juliano et da loro
presentati. Domani se expectano qua e cossi a quesf bora m'ha affirma-
to el p^° mag<^o Juliano. Da voce populare hogi se dicto il summo ponte-
fice esser sta com pericolo de veneno quale gli debbe havere exhibito al-
cuni cardinali. (State Archives in Milan.) In Rome, at first, a report was
TRANSFER OF THE COUNCIL TO MILAN. 393
In Milan, even under the shelter of the French cannon,
the same general dislike of the Council was displayed as
in Pisa ; both people and clergy kept away and could
not be constrained to receive the schismatics with any
tokens of respect. When they made their entry into the
city on the 7th of December no Bishop or Prelate of any
importance appeared on the occasion.* In spite of the
threats of the French Governor, the majority of the clergy
observed the Interdict and the populace openly jeered at
the " Anti-Papal masqueraders."f Nevertheless, these
latter, if less confidently, still obstinately persevered in
their enterprise. The ambition of the Cardinals and the
fanaticism of Ferreri seemed proof against all rebuffs.
Neither the scorn of the Milanese, nor yet a fresh and
sterner admonition from the Pope on the 3rd of December,^
nor even the abstention of a large portion of the French
Episcopate, could make them pause or consider. They
still continued to call themselves a General Council,
hoping everything from the victorious arms of France and
the strong hand of Louis XII. A letter from Cardinal
de Prie, of 12th January, 15 12, to the King asking him
to confiscate the revenues of all the " papistical " Bishops,
is very significant of this attitude.§ At the same time the
circulated that the Conciliabtduvi was to adjourn to Vercelli. Julius II.
endeavoured to prevent this by ^Briefs addressed to the Chapter at Ver-
celli and Duke Charles of Savoy, on the 27th Nov., 151 1. On the 17th
Dec, 1 51 1, he wrote to Francesco Gonzaga, that if the schismatical
Cardinals entered his territory, he was to have them arrested. (See Ap-
pendix, N. 87.) I found all these *Briefs in the Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
* Desjardins, II., 545-546. Cf. Sanuto, XI IL, 352 ; Pkrrkns,
II., 487 seq.
t Prato, 285-287.
X M^^NSi, v., 356-362.
§ RAYNALDUS,ad an. I5i2,n. 2. On the sittings of the pseudo-synod,
cf. Lehmann, 33, and Hergenruther, VIII., 486. The phrase with
394 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
French members of the Council also addressed Louis,
claiming the reward of their services in cash. He does not
seem to have had much confidence in the honesty of the
reformers, for he refused to pay without a voucher attesting
that they had been present both at Pisa and Milan.*
The piteous failure of the pseudo-Council, which from
the first seemed at the point of death from sheer anaemia,f
was an immense gain for the spiritual authority of Julius
II. It was universally recognised that the motives
of the schismatical Cardinals were purely personal and
ambitiouSjJ and that in combination with the French
Court Bishops it was the interests of Louis XII. and not
those of the Universal Church that they were serving. §
" The Pope could afford to wait without any great anxiety "
for the inevitable collapse of thi3 little band of " ambitious
hypocrites, in whom no one believed and whom no one
respected, thus masquerading before the world while in
daily fear for their lives." || " But he shewed his pene-
tration and prudence in not over-prizing the success which
their wretched failure had prepared for him. This triumph
was only a negative one ; to turn it into a real victory,
it was necessary to oppose to this effete assembly a_
Council at the Lateran which should be universally
recognised as truly oecumenical. To this achievement
the Pope devoted himself with all his might, and in the
which the Milanese chronicler, Prato, 287, passed over the resolutions
adopted at the fourth sitting is very significant : Li quali io per aver poco
inchiostro non mi euro di raccontare.
■* Sandret, Concile de Pise, 446, calls attention to this voucher, to be
found in the National Library, Paris, MS. Lat. 1559, f. 16.
t Maurenbrecher, Kath. Ref, 104.
I Guicciardini says that the Cardinals were quite as much in need of
reform themselves as the people they proposed to set to rights.
§ Brosch, Julius n., 236.
II Gregorovius, VHL, 84, ed. 3.
PAPAL MEASURES AGAINST FRANCE. 395
U'isest and most practical manner." To meet the pressing
need of the moment it had to give way to the poHtical
and miHtary measures which claimed immediate attention.
No effort was spared to equip a sufficient army. Julius II.
strained his financial resources to their utmost limit
to accomplish this, but his efforts to be ready in time were
frustrated by the " tardiness of the Spaniards, which made
it impossible for him to strike at the right moment."* As
Venice, also, was too late, and allowed the opportunity
to pass, the French succeeded in repelling the attack
of the Swiss on Milan. The hardy mountaineers, however,
whom Louis had treated with the utmost contempt,
announced their intention of returning in the Spring.
They had got the French into Italy, they said, and they
would drive them out of it.f On the 7th January, 15 12,
Julius nominated Cardinal Schinner as Cardinal-Legate for
Lombardy and Germany with extraordinary powers. In
an open Consistory he gave him his Legate's-cross with
the words, saying, " In this sign of the Holy Cross mayest
thou begin, prosper, and vanquish. ":[:
In the same month the Pope decided on taking further
measures against the rebellious Cardinals — '* the sect of
Carvajal," as they were called. Almost anything might
be apprehended from the sort of blind fury which possessed
these Cardinals, and it was seriously feared in Rome that
they might set up an anti-Pope. On the 30th of January a
Consistory was held, at which Cardinal Bakocs was not
present, though he had lately arrived in Rome. At this
meeting the deprivation of Cardinal Sanseverino, who
still persisted in his revolt, and had even sent agents to
Rome to endeavour to stir up an insurrection there, was
♦ Brosch, Julius II., 237-240.
t Ranke, Rom. unci Germ. Volker, 271.
X Paris de Grassis in Raynaldus, ad an. 151 2, n. 4.
396 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
pronounced. In February several of his benefices were
given to others, Cardinal. Schinner received the Bishopric
of Novara. On the 13th of February, Zaccaria, Ferreri,
and Philip Decius were also condemned as schismatics.*
At the end of January the League at last commenced
* Sanuto, XIII., 445, 446, 447, 470, 471, 490. Cf. *Acta. Consist.,
f, 35 (Consistorial Archives of the Vatican), and the "^Chronicle in Varia
Polit., 50, f. 61. (Secret Archives of the Vatican.) On Bakocs' journey
and his pompous entr>^ into Rome, cf. Frakn6i, Erdodi Bakocz Tamas,
III seg., 116 seg. ; see also Atti del Lincei (1892), 4 Serie, Scienza
mor., X., 15. Card. Schinner had been forced in July, 151 1, to give
way to his enemy, the "bold demagogue" (DiERAUEK, II., 384), Jorg
auf der Flue(Georg Supersaxo). He fled disguised as a leper (FuCHS, II.,
247) to Venice and then to Rome, where in Aug. 1511, he received his
Cardinal's-hat and impeached Supersaxo as a traitor. A narrative of the
disputes between Schinner and Supersaxo is to be found in the house of
the late Pfarrer Joller (to whose kindness I owe my acquaintance with
this document) at Glis near Brieg in Switzerland. It is the work of a
bitter partisan, representing Supersaxo as an innocent and persecuted
man, and painting the Cardinal in the blackest tints as a tyrant and a
man to whom nothing is sacred. It is the source from which Boccard,
temperately, and Furrer, intemperately and uncritically, have taken the
material for their accounts of the conflict between Supersaxo and Schinner.
But is it a trustworthy source ? far from it ! It is drawn up in a tone of
venomous hatred, and entirely based on the accusations of Supersaxo's
party. It denies many undoubted facts, contradicts contemporaneous
authorities, and a considerable portion of it was written after Supersaxo's
death. This part cannot have been composed till after 1574, as Josias
Simmler's Comment, is mentioned in it. Schinner was a man of strong
temper (cf. Brosch, Julius II., 258), and may have been faulty in his
manner of dealing with his opponents, but in substance he was in the
right, for they were rebels against his rightful authority, both temporal
and spiritual. A biography of Schinner is much to be desired. Joller
(see BUcherverzeichniss) and G. Blosch in a lecture delivered at Berne
in 1890, but unfortunately not published, have collected valuable materials
for such a work. Schinner's name appears in the list of the benefactors
of the Collegiate Church at Domodossola, the building of which was
begun in 15 12. His coat of arms is still to be seen there.
SIEGE OF BOLOGNA RAISED. 397
operations, attacking simultaneously in different places.
On the 25th of January the Venetians appeared before
Brescia, and on the 26th the combined Spanish and
Papal army, commanded by Raymond of Cardona,
Viceroy of Naples, invested Bologna. On the 2nd of
February Brescia fell, and it seemed as if Milan would be
lost to France.* At this critical moment Louis's nephew
Gaston de Foix appeared on the scene as the saviour of
the French. Young as he was in years he was already
an experienced general. With that marvellous prompti-
tude which won for him the sobriquet of " foudre de
ritalie," he swooped down, not upon Modena where
the enemy was waiting for him, but seawards on Finale.
By forced marches he led his troops through deep snow
and over frozen marshes and streams to Bologna, in a
space of time hitherto unparalleled for shortness. In the
night of 4th-5th February, under cover of a snowstorm, he
slipped into the city unobserved by the enemy. On
hearing that he and his troops were actually within the
walls the besiegers broke up their camp. Gaston im-
mediately took advantage of this to march rapidly on
Brescia, which, after a sanguinary conflict in the streets,
was taken on the i8th of February.-j-
]3embo says that the Pope flew into a violent rage
when he heard of the withdrawal of the troops from
before Bologna, but was calmed by the news of the
taking of Brescia. Though the night was cold and
stormy, he immediately sent for the Venetian Am-
bassador and kept him in conversation for two hours,
shedding tears of joy.J How great therefore must have
* Havemann, II., 3(84 scq. ; RanKE, Rom. unci C.crm. Volker, 272.
t Jbid.^ II., 388-396. Cf. Krucgkr, 49 ; FUMI, Carteggio, 160-161 ;
Landucci, 313.
X liEMBUS, 516-517 ; Lettres de Louis XII., III., 187 ; IIavkmann,
398 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
been his distress when he heard of its loss only a few
days later.* To add to his vexation at the torpor of the
Spaniards, fresh troubles now sprung up in Rome
itself.f The intrigues of Cardinal Sanseverino amongst
the Roman Barons found the soil only too well pre-
pared, and set up a ferment which seemed likely to
become very dangerous. Julius II. was most afraid of
the Orsini party who were devoted to France. He
strengthened the city guard at the gates, and himself
withdrew for a time to the Castle of St. Angelo. Many
arrests were made, and it was said that a plot had been
discovered for getting possession of the Pope's person.J
But there was worse to come.
Louis XII. saw that everything depended on striking
such a blow as would paralyse the Papal and Venetian
army before the Swiss had time to invade Milan, and
King Ferdinand to attack Navarre, and before Henry
VIII. could land in Normandy, or the Emperor distinctly
declare against him. A victory should be immediately
followed up by the dethronement of the Pope, the
II., 389. Bembus as usual gives no date for the arrival in Rome of the
good tidings from Brescia. From Sanuto, XIII., 490-491, we gather
that it was on the loth Feb. ; he also gives details of. the rejoicings in
Rome. On the 14th and 15th Feb. Julius II. addressed three *Briefs to
the Marquess Francesco Gonzaga of Mantua pro transitu gentium armi-
gerorum militum favore ecclesiae pro tuenda civitate Bononiae contra
Gallos. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
* On the passionate grief of Julius II., see Lettres de Louis XII., III.,
188 ; Sanuto, XIV., 7-8, 11 ; and Desjardins, II., 567. On the 25th
Feb., 1 5 12, the very day on which the disastrous tidings reached Rome,
Julius II. had addressed a *Brief to universis civibus ac populo dilect.
civit. nostrae Bononiae, warning them against coming to terms with the
enemy and the Bentivogli, and commanding them to return to their
allegiance to the Holy See. State Archives, Bologna, Q., Lib. 5.
t Cf. Desjardins, II., 568, 571.
% Sanuto, XIII.,490; XIV., 7-8 ; Brosch, Julius II., 241 se^., 357.
BATTLE OF RAVENNA. 399
occupation of the Papal States by Cardinal Sanseverino,
and the expulsion of the Spaniards from Naples.* At
the end of March, Gaston de Foix left Brescia and began
to march southward on the Romagna.f Raymond of
Cardona prudently retired before his too able adversary,
but the latter succeeded in forcing a battle by turning
aside to besiege Ravenna. At any cost this city, which
contained the magazines for supplying the army, had to
be defended. Thus, on Easter Sunday, the iith of April,
1 5 12, the two hosts met on the banks of the Ronco about
two miles from Ravenna. " This battle was the most
sanguinary that had been fought on Italian soil since
the days of the Huns and Goths." J Gaston's infantry
* Desjardins, II., 576; Gregorovius, VIII., 85, ed. 3.
t On his campaign of 15 12 see Adami and LuciANl's papers in
the Riv. Mi lit. Ital., 1890-91.
I Brosch, Julius II., 244 ; cf. T^zy. On the battle of Ravenna, c/. in
the first place the numerous contemporary reports in Sanuto, XIV.,
126 seg., 132, 145, 148, 151, i$4seg., lyo set/., lybseq. ; J. Guicciardini's
letter printed in the Arch. St. Ital, XV., 308 seq. ; Fr. GUICCIARDINI,
X., c. 4; Fr. Pandolfini's Report in Desjardins, II., 581 seq.-,
COCCINIUS, loc. cit. (see Krieger, 52 scq.) ; Memoires de Fleurange
(Robert de la Marck), p. xxix. ; Petrus Martyr, XXV., c. 483-
484 ; JOVIUS, Vita Alfonsi Ferrar., Leonis X., Davali Pescarae ; Lettres
de Louis XII., III., 227 scq. ; SCHEURL, Briefbuch, %(i seq. ; LuiGi da
Porto, 296 seq.\ the Portuguese Report of the 23rd April, 1512, in
Corp. dipl. Portug., I., 164 seq. ; Guido Postumo Silvestri's Report,
published by Renier on the special occasion : Nozze Cian-Sapp.i-
Flandinet (Bergamo, 1894), 244 seq. ; Colec. d. documentos inedit.,
LXXIX., 231-299 (Relacion de los sucesos de las amias de Espaha en
Italia en los anos de 1511 a 1512 con la jornade de Rdvena) ; finally,
Giov. da Fino's Report from Cod, Vat. Urb. 490, in TOMM ASINI, Machi-
avclli, I., 706-708. I also saw this Report in the Cod. Urb. 1512, f.
58 60, of the Vatican Library. Here, and in GUICCIARDINI and
Landucci, 315, the number of the slain is stated as in the text ; in some
other writers it is still higher. But the lowest figure gives a much larger
comparative loss than is found even in modern battles. Cardinal Cesi
400 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
was composed of German and Italian as well as
French soldiers; his army numbered about 25,000, that
of the League 20,000.
The fight was begun by the artillery, the Duke of
Ferrara's guns especially doing splendid service. Jacopo
Guicciardini, writing to his brother Francesco, then Floren-
tine Envoy in Spain, says : " It was horrible to see how
every shot made a lane through the serried ranks of the
men at arms, sending helmets and heads and scattered
limbs flying through the air. When the Spaniards found
themselves thus being blown to pieces without breaking a
lance they dashed forward, and then the hand to hand fight
began. It was a desperate one, and lasted four hours.
When the first onset of the men at arms had been repulsed
and those behind them had suffered severely, the rest turned
and fled with the light cavalry. The Spanish foot soldiers
held their ground alone and made a stubborn resistance,
but they were for the most part ridden down by the heavy
cavalry. On the French side the men of Gascony and
Picardy fought badly, the Germans very well."*
The battle lasted from 8 a.m. till 4 p.m. and was finally
won by the Ferrarese artillery and the steady endurance of
the German troops. Of the 10,000 corpses left on the field,
one-third belonged to the French army, and the other two-
thirds to their enemies. The Papal Legate, Giovanni de'
Medici, and two generals, Fabrizio Colonna and the
Marquess of Pescara, were taken prisoners, and the whole
army train of the League with their artillery and banners
was captured. But the shouts of triumph from the French
in 1557 erected the well-known Colonna dei Francesi on the bank of
the Ronco in memoiy of this fight. On the picture of it in the Palace
of the Signoria at Florence, see Vasari, Opere (Florence, 1832 seq.\
1 370 seg.
* Arch. St. Ital., XV., 308 seg.
DEATH OF GASTON DE FOIX. 4OI
ranks were quickly silenced when it became known that
Gaston de Foix had fallen on the battlefield. The corpse
of the young hero was brought into Ravenna on the
following day ; eighteen captured banners were borne before
it.* In a few more days the whole of the Romagna was
in the hands of the French. The warlike Cardinal
Sanseverino entered Flaminia bent on the conquest of
Rome and the deposition of Julius Il.f The coalition
against France, from which such great things had been ex-
pected, had utterly broken down. The greatest excitement
prevailed throughout the whole of Italy. It was said that
various monstrous births had taken place in Ravenna, which
were supposed to denote that the French had been sent
into Italy by God as a punishment for the sins of the
Italians.^
On the 14th of April the news of the disaster at Ravenna
reached Julius II.; when it became known in Rome the
whole city was terror-stricken. Every one knew that Gaston
had threatened to conquer Rome and have a new Pope
elected, and it seemed as if the enemy might at any
* Ravenna was cruelly plundered ; see Ricci, Ravenna dopo il sacco
del 1512 (Bologna, 1883). In 1515 Francis I. ordered a splendid monu-
mental tomb to be erected in honour of Gaston de Foix, but it was
never completed, and portions of it are now scattered over the world in
various places. See MuNTZ, Hist, de I'Art, II., 550 seq. The famous,
delicately finished statue of Gaston by Agostino Buste is in the Museo
Archeol. Milan. Cf. Bossi, Monumento di Gastone di Foix (Milano,
1852). The young hero is represented in a peaceful sleep, a touch of
triumph in the expression of the face recalling his victory, as Vasari
says.
t Cf. Morone's Letter of the 21st June, 1512, in the Lett, di G.
Morone, ed. Promis-MOller, Miscell. di storia Ital., T. II. Torino,
1863.
: Landucci, 314, 315; BernaldI'IZ, II., 372 seq.\ Langk, Bapst-
esel, 24.
VOL. VI. 2 D
402 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
moment appear at the gates, for all had heard of the light-
ning-like swiftness of his movements. The Florentine
chronicler Cerretani states that it was feared that Rome
would be sacked and the Prelates murdered.* For a
moment, even the Pope's courage gave way and he talked
of flight, which the Spanish Envoy strongly advised. f But
while the terror of the Cardinals and Romans continued
and could not be tranquillised, Julius II. recovered himself
immediately and shewed his usual resolution and the re-
sourcefulness which he always displayed under misfortune.
On the 15th of April he told the Venetian and Spanish
Ambassadors that he would spend 100,000 ducats and pledge
his crown to drive the French out of Italy. Orders were at
once issued for the equipment of fresh armaments.^! The
news brought to Rome on the 15th April by the Knight
of S. John, Giulio de' Medici, who had been sent thither
with a French safe-conduct by the captive Cardinal Legate,
had no doubt much to do with the "marvellous elasticity"
displayed by Julius II. after such a crushing blow.§ Giulio
reported that the French loss had been enormous and that
the army was completely demoralised by the death of its
ablest leader. The new corhmander, La Palice, was not in
the King's confidence and was at daggers drawn with the
* * Cerretani in Cod. II., III., 76, f. 381, of the National Library,
Florence.
t So says the Venetian Envoy, an abstract of whose Despatch is pre-
served in Sanuto, XIV., 158-159. The speeches of the Spanish and
Venetian Envoys in GUICCIARDINI, X., c. 5, which are repeated by
most modem writers, can hardly be authentic. C/. also Lettres de Louis
XII., III., 230, 240, 244.
X Sanuto, XIV., 124. Cf. Senarega, 613 ; Jovius, Vita Leonis X.,
II., 47 ; Aegidius of Viterbo, ed. Hofler, 386-387; and the Portu-
guese Envoy's Report of i6th April, 15 12, in Corp. dipl. Portug., I.,
1 61-163, which has hitherto escaped notice.
g Gregorovius, VIII., 92-93, ed. 3.
IMPROVEMENT OF THE POPE'S POSITION. 403
haughty Cardinal Sanseverino. It would be quite out of
the question for the French to march immediately upon
Rome and there was a rumour that the Swiss were on their
way to Italy. It was becoming more and more evident
that the battle of Ravenna was a Pyrrhic victory for France.
It was significant of the change in the situation that the
Duke of Ferrara had retired into his own territory and the
Duke of Urbino had offered to send troops to the Pope.*
In compliance with the wishes of the Cardinals, who still
continued to urge the Pope to make peace, he commenced
negotiations with the French ; but it is hardly conceivable
that a statesman like Julius II. could be seriously anxious
to come to terms just then when he would have had to
purchase peace at the highest price.f He himself admitted
that his only object in these negotiations was " to quiet
down the French."| If Spain and England remained
faithful he had still resources enough to prosecute the war,
and every motive for desiring to do so, against an enemy
who had wounded him both on the temporal and spiritual
side where he was most susceptible, and mocked him on
the stage and in satirical poems.§
At the same time the Pope's difficulties at this particular
time were increased by the unsatisfactory state of his im-
mediate surroundings; but Julius II. faced this additional
peril with unflinching courage, and in a wonderfully short
* GUICCIARDINI, X., chap. 5. The rapid revulsion of feeling in
Rome is shewn in the veiy cautious letter of the Envoy from Orvieto oi
the 1 8th April, 15 12, in FUMI, 161 -162. There is a markedly resolute
ring in the **Bricf to Cardinal Gonzaga of the 29th April, 1512.
Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
t Such is the opinion e.xpressed in almost identical terms both in
Reumont, III., 2, and RoHRr.ACHKR-KNoPFi.r.R, 299.
X Sanuto, XIV., 185 ; c/. 189.
§ C/. supra, p. 358 seg.
404 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
space of time succeeded in winning one-half of the Roman
Barons with the Colonna, and overawing the others, as was
the case with the Orsini.*
* Brosch, Julius n., 247. T^e bitter hostility of many in Rome
to the authority of the Church may be gathered from "^Cerretani, /oc.
cit. National Library, Florence.
ii
CHAPTER VII.
Arrogance and Downfall of the Schismatics. — Success of
THE Fifth CEcumenical Council at the Lateran. — The
Swiss as the Saviours of the Holy See. — Annihilation
of the Power of France in Italy.
The issue of the battle at Ravenna gave fresh courage to
the schismatics at Milan. While the fortunes of war seemed
still hanging in the balance they had been chary of
carrying their proceedings against the Pope too far. Now,
on the 2 1st April, 15 12, it was resolved that he should be
suspended from all spiritual or temporal administration and
threatened with further punishments. His powers were
held to have lapsed to the " Holy Synod." " But even the
magic halo of victory which now encircled the French arms
had not power enough to infuse life into the still-born
offspring of the schismatics."* The aversion and scorn of
the Milanese was not lessened, and even Louis XII. admitted
to the Spanish Envoy that the Council was a mere farce, a
bogey set up to intimidate the Pope.f The schismatics had
to endure the humiliation of seeing the Milanese in troops
throwing themselves on their knees before the captive
Cardinal Medici, and imploring him to absolve them from
the censures they had incurred by their participation in the
war against the Pope.J
* Brosch, Julius II., 249 ; Lehmann, 33 ; Hergenrother, VIII.,
486 seq,
t Garnier, Hist, de France, XXII., 358. Paris, 1788.
X JOVIUS, Vita Leonis X., lib. 2 ; KoscoE, I., 51a
406 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Meanwhile in Rome Julius II. pursued his task with
unwearied energy and undaunted courage. The prepara-
tions for the CEcumenical Council * were never interrupted
even for a moment by all the alarm and anxiety caused
by the disaster at Ravenna. The war had obliged him
to put off its opening to the 3rd May,-|- and although the
situation was still full of difficulties, it took place at the
appointed time.
The Lateran Council forms a landmark in the history
of the world. More than eighty years had elapsed since
the opening of that of Basle, which, instead of effecting the
hoped-for reforms in the Church, had proved a source of
revolutionary movements and endless confusion through-
out all Christendom. Now another lawful Council was
assembling in Rome, in the first place to defend the
liberties of the Church against the revolutionary pretensions
of France, and after that to deal with the great questions of
the century, the reform of the Church and the war against
the Turks.
A triduum of impetratory processions was held on the
preceding days, and on the evening of the 2nd May the
Pope went in solemn state, surrounded by the Swiss guards
and with a strong military escort, to the Lateran Palace,
where he spent the night. As disturbances from the French
party were apprehended, the whole of the neighbourhood
was occupied by a detachment of troops. On the following
day, the Feast of the Invention of the Holy Cross, the
Council was formally opened in that venerable Basilica
which bears the honourable title of *' Mother and Queen of
all Churches." Besides the Pope, 16 Cardinals (two had
been prevented from attending by sickness) were present,
* Paris de Grassis, ed. Dollinger, 416 seq. Cf. Desjardins, II.,
574 seq.
t Raynaldus, ad an. 1512, n. 28-30.
OPENING OF THE LATERAN COUNCIL. 407
100 Prelates (mostly Italian), of whom 70 were Bishops, 12
Patriarchs, and 3 Generals of religious Orders; in addi-
tion to these were the representatives of Spain, Venice,
and Florence, and of the Roman Senators and Conservators,
and finally a number of the Roman nobles. The office of
guard of honour to the Council was undertaken by the
Knights of Rhodes. They formed an imposing body in their
splendid uniform, embroidered with gold and silk and with
the white cross on their breasts. An immense crowd filled
the church.* The Mass of the Holy Ghost was said by
Cardinal Riario ; after which an address in classical Latin
was delivered by the General of the Augustinians, Aegidius
of Viterbo, which was universally admired. He began with
a frank exposition of the great evils prevailing in the Church,
and the benefits to be derived from General Councils. The
preacher explained the overthrow of the troops of the
League at Ravenna as a Divine providence, intended, by
allowing the Church to be defeated when she trusted in
alien arms, to throw her back on her own weapons, piety and
prayer, the armour of faith and the sword of light. With
these she had conquered Africa, Europe, and Asia ; since
she had taken up with strange adornments and defences
she had lost much. It was the voice of God which had
summoned the Pope to hold the Council, to renovate the
Church, to give peace to the nations, to avert further blows
and wounds in the future. " Thou," said the Lord to Peter,
" being once converted confirm thy brethren " (St. Luke,xxii.,
32). " Hear ye this, most illustrious Princes of the Apostles,
protectors and defenders of the city of Rome. Hearken to
the sighs and moanings of the Church which You founded
with your blood, which now lies prostrate, overwhelmed
* Sanuto, XIV., 203 scq. ; PARIS DE Grassis, cd. Dollingcr, 417.
See also Ccrretani's ^Report in Cod. II., III., 76, of the Nation.il
Library, Florence.
408 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
beneath a flood of calamities. Have you not seen how in
this very year the earth has drunk more blood than rain ?
Bring us help and lift her up out of the waves under
which she is submerged. Hear the supplications of all the
peoples of Christendom, prostrate at your feet. The Pope
unites with the Fathers, the Senate and the whole world
to implore your assistance for himself, for the Church, the
city of Rome, these temples, these altars which enshrine
your sacred relics, this Council which is taking up arms
with the support of the Holy Ghost for the salvation of
Christendom. We beg of you to obtain the reconciliation
of all Christian Princes with each other, so that all may turn
their swords against Mahomet the enemy of Christ, and
that the charity of the Churchy instead of being extinguished
by all these waves and storms, may, through the merits of
the Holy Cross and the inspiration of the Holy Ghost,
which are commemorated together in the festival of to-
day, be cleansed from all stains and glow again in all its
pristine purity and splendour."*
When Aegidius had concluded, the Pope, having taken
his place with the Cardinals in the Choir of the Basilica,
bestowed the solemn Benediction and announced a plenary
indulgence. He then intoned the first line of the "Veni
Sancte Spiritus" and proceeded to the tribune for the Council
which was erected in the nave. There the Litanies of the
Saint were sung with the usual prayers, and the Cardinal-
Deacon Luigi d'Aragona read the Gospel which narrates
the sending forth of the disciples. To spare the Pope's
failing strength, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese read his
address for him. In it he briefly set forth the reasons for
summoning the Council and the advantages that were to
be hoped for from its assembling. He had long been
* Labbe, XIV., iSse</. ; Hardouin, IX., 1573^"^^. ; Hergenrother,
VIII., 501 SC^. ; ROHRBACHER-KNOPFLER, 413 St^.
FIRST SITTING OF THE COUNCIL. 409
desirous, he said, of calling a Council, but had deferred it
on account of the incessant wars between the Christian
Princes ; now, however, the need for it seemed to him to
have become urgent, in order to prevent the division which
Satan had caused in the House of God from spreading
further and infecting the whole flock of Christ. He prayed
that all might have the fear of the Lord before their eyes,
express their opinions freely, and seek rather to please
Him than man. He hoped that, with the assistance of
Almighty God, all evil customs might be amended, peace
be re-established among Christian Princes, and, under the
banner of the Cross, all the artifices of the ancient enemy be
brought to naught. He now declared the Council opened
and fixed the loth of May for its first sitting.*
When the ceremonies were concluded the Pope made
his thanksgiving in the Church of S. Pietro in Vincoli.
He was delighted at the way in which the solemnities had
been carried through, referred laughingly to his anxiety
beforehand lest there should be disturbances, and promised
de Grassis a Bishopric as a reward for the admirable way
in which he had organised and conducted the whole
function.f
The first sitting took place as arranged, under the
presidency of the Pope, on the loth of May. Cardinal
Grimani sang the Mass of the Holy Ghost, and Bernardino
Zane, also a Venetian, was the preacher. In his sermon
he first touched briefly on the Turkish danger and then
proceeded to treat of the unity of the Church. This he
defined as consisting : (i) in the union of the members with
each other ; (2) in their subordination to the Head, the Vicar
of Christ ; hence all who do not obey the Head, and who
* Sanuto, XIV., 203 seq.\ Paris de Grassis in Raynaldus, ad an.
1512, n. 35-39 ; Hp:rgenrother, VIII., 506-507.
t Paris de Grassis, ed. Dollinger, 418.
410 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
separate themselves from the other members of the body,
are schismatics. As it is a law of justice, both human and
divine, that offenders should be punished according to the
nature of their offences, schismatics fall under a double
penalty ; they are cut off from the communion of the
faithful, and they lose all their apostolical privileges, offices,
and dignities. It is the duty of the Pope and the Fathers
in Council to suppress heretics and schismatics, and render
them powerless to do harm, so that the evil may not spread
nor the spark burst into a flame. The Pope then delivered
a short address, reminding those present of what were the
objects of the Council. He described these as the rooting
out of schism, the reform of the Church, and the Crusade.
Then the Bulls of July 151 1, and April 15 12, were read, and
the officers of the Council appointed and sworn in by the
Pope himself.*
The second sitting, at which the Council of Pisa was pro-
nounced null and void, was held on the 17th. Over 100
Prelates were present at it.f The High Mass was sung by
the Hungarian Cardinal, Thomas Bakocs. The sermon,
preached by the General of the Dominicans, Thomas de
Vio (Cajetanus), was a very remarkable one. The subject
was the Catholic doctrine regarding the Church and Synods.
He described the Church as the Holy City of Jerusalem seen
by S. John (Apoc, xxi., i seq.) with her healing powers (the
Sacraments), her apostles, pastors, teachers, and gifts, and
the close mutual union subsisting between her inhabitants,
like that between all the members of the same body. He
pointed out how the Church was a city, how she was holy,
the city of peace, Jerusalem, how, unlike the synagogue,
she remains ever new and strong, how she has come down
from Heaven and is built after the pattern of the heavenly
* Hergenrother, VIII., 507-514 ; Saxuto, XIV., 224, 228,
t Paris de Grassis, ed. Dollinger, 419.
SERMON OF CAJETANUS. 4^1
kingdom. This Church, he went on to say, is governed by
the Vicar of Christ, to whom all the citizens owe allegiance,
not only each individually but as a body. The Pisan Synod
possessed none of the notes of the true Church, and appeared
rather to have risen up out of Hell than descended from
Heaven. It represented only one nation and that but
partially, was not universal, could not claim to be the city
to which the strength of the Gentiles had come, or the
multitude of the sea had been converted (Isaias, Ix., 5).
This assembly was neither holy nor lawfully convened, was
stained with error, subordinated Peter to the Church, the
Pope to the Council, set the members above the head, and
the sheep before the shepherd. It cannot be called
Jerusalem, for it possesses neither peace nor order, but on
the contrary aims at undermining the noble order of the
Roman Church and wages war against her ; and is like the
city and tower of Babel, generating nothing but confusion.
She is new, but in a very different sense from the newness
of the true Church ; she is the offspring of Constance and
Basle. The Pope should be the mirror of the Power, the
Perfection, and the Wisdom of God. He manifests the
power of God when he girds himself with his own sword,
for he possesses two swords, one which he shares with
temporal princes and another which is reserved to him
only. This latter is the sword of the spiritual power for
the destruction of errors and schisms. The power of the
Pope should be combined with the image of the Divine
Perfection, which consists in loving-kindness. To this must
be added wisdom, and this wisdom is specially displayed
in the calling of the present Council, which should
manifest it more and more by realising the hopes that are
entertained of it and making the Church such as the spirit
shewed it to the beloved disciple.*
* Hergenrother, VIII., 514-516.
412 PIISTORY OF THE POPES.
It is significant of the change which had come about in
the views of the majority of theologians at that time, that
this outspoken condemnation of the false Conciliar theory
called forth no contradiction.* The evils which this theory,
the offspring of a period of almost boundless confusion, had
brought upon the Church and the world had come to be
very widely recognised. The weakness of the schismatics
and the success of the Lateran Council shewed how com-
pletely the Catholic view, that no Council could be salutary
for the Church that was not held with and under the Pope,
had gained the upper hand.
At the conclusion of Cajetan's address, a letter from the
King of England on his alliance with the Pope was read ;
and then another from the King of Spain, accrediting his
Counsellor, Hieronymus de Vich, as Envoy from himself
and his daughter Joanna, Queen of Castile, to act as
their representative at the Council, and support Julius, the
rightful Pope, against the schismatics. Next followed the
reading of the Papal Bull confirming and renewing the
censures pronounced against the pseudo-Council. At the
same time, in view of the political situation, and the prob-
ability that representatives of other nations might be ex-
pected later, and also the coming Summer heats, the next
sitting was adjourned to the 3rd of November.f
While England had now definitely joined the League
against France, the Emperor of Germany also was gradu-
ally drawing nearer to the Pope, who held out hopes of an
* Maurenbrecher, Kathol. Reformation, 107. C/. also Paris de
Grassis, ed. Dollinger, 423-424. On Cajetan, cf. Wetzer und Welte,
Kirchenlexikon, II., 1675 seg'., ed. 2. At the same time, the resolutions
of the Castilian Royal Council, amongst other things, in DOLLINGER, III.,
200 segr., shew that the Conciliar ideas still survived to a considerable
extent.
t Hergenrother, VIII., 516-517; c/. Sanuto, XIV., 242 seg.
267.
ARRIVAL OF THE SWISS IN ITALY. 413
advantageous peace with Venice. That Julius should have
been successful in persuading Maximilian to conclude an
armistice with the Republic for ten months " was a great
step in advance. The Emperor did not join the League,
and his friendship with France remained ostensibly intact ;
but the position he now took up was unfavourable to
her and advantageous for the allies." In April, through
Cardinal Schinner,* he gave permission to the Swiss, who
were marching to help the Pope, to pass through his
dominions and supplied them with provisions.f
At the end of May, the Swiss contingents, numbering in
all 18,000 men, met in Verona, where Cardinal Schinner
presented to his countrymen, " as loyal and chivalrous
defenders and protectors of the Holy Church and the
Pope," a cap of honour adorned with gold and pearls,
and an ornamented sword, as gifts from Julius II. and
symbols of the political indepepdence of the Confederation.^
This acknowledgment was well-deserved, for it was reserved
to these brave mountaineers to strike the final blow which
* The Brief addressed by Julius IL, on i8th April, 15 12, to Schinner,
and which the latter forwarded to the Confederation, is to be found in
German in FUCHS, II., 331, The original is in the State Archives,
Zurich.
t HUBER, III., 396; Ulmann, II., 447; Gisi, 46 seg. Hitherto it
has been supposed that the Papal diplomatist, Ennio Filonardi, had
been sent by Julius II. to Switzerland. WiRZ, E. Filonardi (Zurich,
1894), shews that he did not go there till 1513, when he was sent as
Nuncio by Leo X,
X DiERAUER, II., 412 sc(/.; Gisi, 63 S{'(/. The hat and sword were,
in accordance with a resolution of the Diet of Baden, left at Zurich, and
are still preserved in the City Library there. They are engmved and
described by G. v. Wyss in the Neujahrsblatt for 1859 of the City
Library at Zurich, " Die Geschenke Papsl Julius II. an die Eidgenosscn."
The sword is also reproduced in the work, Ziirich und das Schwri/crische
Landesmuseum (1890), plate 21. See also Dandliki-.r, Gesrh. der
Schweiz, II., 313.
414 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
decided the issue of the war in Italy ; they were the saviours
of the Holy See. Though, no doubt, political and financial
considerations had their weight in determining this expedi-
tion, a spirit of very genuine religious enthusiasm was by
no means wanting amongst the Swiss.* Zwingli, the open-
air preacher of Glarus, writing to his friend Vadian in
Vienna, says : ''The Swiss have seen the deplorable state to
which the Church of God, the mother of Christendom, has
been reduced, and they think it both wrong and dangerous
to permit this rapacious tyrant to remain unpunished." f
Almost simultaneously with the arrival of the Swiss in
Italy, Maximilian recalled the German foot-soldiers, which
formed practically the core of the French army, and had
materially contributed to its victory at Ravenna. At the
very moment that it was thus weakened it found itself
threatened by four armies at once — the Papal troops under
the Duke of Urbino, and the Spaniards, Venetians, and Swiss.
No reinforcements could be hoped for from France, as the
army at home had not a man to spare from the defence of
the frontiers against the attacks of England and Spain.
Since the death of Gaston de Foix, the French force in
Italy had been left without organisation, spirit, or plans.
The Romagna was first evacuated, and soon Upper Italy
was also abandoned. On the 14th June the Swiss sat down
before Pavia, which capitulated after a short siege. Upon
this the whole Duchy of Milan rose against the French, who
had made themselves universally hated.;
Now that it was becoming more and more evident that
the battle of Ravenna had been but a Pyrrhic victory, the
* Gisi, 48, and Dierauer, II., 413.
t ZwiNGLll Opera, ed. Schuler et Schulthess, IV., 169 (Turici, 1841).
Cf. Heer, U. Zwingli als Pfarrer von Glarus, 22 seq. (Zurich, 1884);
Dierauer and Gisi, loc. cit,
X Cf. Gisi, 53 seq.
THE FRENCH DRIVEN OUT OF ITALY. 415
schismatics found their position untenable. On the 4th of
June they decided to remove to Asti. Their departure was
more like a flight than anything else, and gave Cardinal
Medici the opportunity of escaping.* But even at Asti
they found it impossible to remain, and soon had to move
on to Lyons. Here the only act of the assembly was to
demand a subsidy from the French clergy and the Uni-
versity of Paris, and thus " without any formal dissolution,
the French Council disappeared from the scene." f
Genoa also had cast off the yoke of France, chosen
Giovanni Fregoso as Doge, and declared herself independ-
ent.J Rimini, Cesena, and Ravenna returned to their
allegiance to the Pope. On the 13th of June the Duke of
Urbino took possession of Bologna in the name of the
Church. § The Papal troops now turned back to subdue
Parma and Piacenza, which Julius II. claimed as heir to the
■^ On the 3rd June to Pieve del Cairo on the Po. See Raynaldus,
ad an. 15 12, n. 59; Lehmann, 34 ; Creighton, IV., 152 ; and Arch.
St. Lomb., X., 381-395 (with Doc^s of Leo X.). Their flight is painted by
Vasari in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence ; there is also a picture in
Pieve which has reference to this event. In my opinion, it is a mistake
{c/. infra^ Chap. 10) to connect Raphael's picture of the deliverance of
S. Peter in the Stanze with this occurrence.
t Maurenbrecher, Kath. Ref, 105 ; Hergenrother, VIII., 518-
520 ; Lehmann, 34 ; Sandret, Concile de Pise, 453 ; Maulde, Ori-
gines, 135, 325-326. The report of a correspondent in France which
reached Venice on the i ith Sept., 1512, says ironically : Papa Bemardin
[ = Carvajal] stava mal in tal modo che credo ch' el lasser^ la mitria.
On Papa Bernardino, see also Grumello, 138.
X Cf. Giov. Fregoso's triumphant **Letter to King Ferdinand, dat.
Genoa, 6th July, 15 12. I found the original in Fonds Espagn., 318, of
National Library, Paris.
§ On the 15th of June, 1512, Julius II. granted faculties to the Card.
Leg., Giov. de' Medici, for absolving the city of Bologna from all the
Church censures, only excepting the adherents of the Bentivogli. Lib. Q. 5.
State Archives, Bologna.
--**&.
4l6 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Countess Matilda. On the 20th, Ottaviano Sforza, Bishop
of Lodi, entered Milan as the Pope's lieutenant.* On the
28th, La Palice, with the remnants of his army, arrived,
broken and hopeless, at the foot of the Alps. Thus Louis
XII., after having stirred up a schism and striven to anni-
hilate the Pope, ended by losing in ten weeks not only all
the fruits of his victory at Ravenna, but also all his posses-
sions in Italy, including even Asti, which belonged to his
own family. " The soldiers of Louis XII. have vanished like
mist before the sun," writes Francesco Vettori, without
having fought a single battle, and almost without having
defended a single town.f That which Julius had been
striving with all his might for years to achieve, was now
brought about by a sudden turn of events, so unexpected,
that Raphael in his fresco in the Vatican has symbolically
represented it as a miracle.J
It was on the 22nd of June that Julius 11. received the
first detailed account of the rout of the French in a letter
from Pavia from Cardinal Schinner. He read the whole
letter through first in silence ; then, turning with a beam-
ing countenance to the Master of Ceremonies, " We have
won, Paris," he exclaimed, " we have won ! " " May God
give your Holiness joy of it," answered de Grassis, to which
the Pope immediately added, '' And to all the faithful souls
whom He has at last deigned to deliver from the yoke
of the barbarians." Then he unfolded the letter again
and read it from beginning to end to all who were present.
Immediately afterwards he announced his intention of
going on the following day to his former titular Church,
S. Pietro in Vincoli, to give thanks there to God. Though
* DiERAUER, II., 414 ; GiSl, 56 seg.
t Vettori, ed. Reumont, 287. See also Paris de Grassis' diatribes
against the French, Bollinger's ed., 420, and GiSl, 62.
X See on Raphael's picture, m/ra, Chap. 10.
REJOICINGS IN ROME. 417
far from well, he had himself carried thither on the 23rd
and remained for a long time absorbed in prayer before
the High Altar. How wonderfully everything was
changed. S. Peter's chains were indeed broken ; the
Italian poets sang of Julius as the liberator of Italy.*
On the 27th he received four delegates from Bologna,
who had been sent to sue for pardon.f In the evening
the whole city suddenly burst into a flood of light. This
was to celebrate a fresh victory, the liberation of Genoa,
his own native city. Cannon thundered from St. Angelo
and fireworks blazed all over the city. The Pope returned
to the Vatican in a solemn triumphal procession, accom-
panied by his whole Court and all the officials, carrying
torches. The cry of " Julius, Julius," rose on all sides.
" Never," says the Venetian Envoy, " was any Emperor
or victorious general so honoured on his entry into Rome
as the Pope has been to-day." A universal amnesty was
proclaimed and alms distributed to all the convents.
" Now God has left us nothing more to ask from Him,"
he said, " we have only to pour forth our gratitude for
the splendour of our triumph." |
Commands were issued for a triduum of processions
of thanksgiving and other rejoicings to be held through-
out the States of the Church as well as in Rome. On
the same day, 27th June, Briefs were despatched to all
parts of Christendom desiring the faithful to celebrate
the liberation of Italy and of the Holy See. As a last-
ing memorial of these events the Pope presented to the
Church of S. Peter some splendid vestments and a golden
* ROSCOE, Leo X., II., 404 seq.
t Paris deGrassis, ed. Frali, 321, 323-327, which contradicts Guic-
ciardini's statement that Julius wanted to destroy Hologna. On earlier
accounts of the victory, see Sanuto, XIV., 401, 404.
\ Sanuto, XIV., 450, 453, 457-458 ; Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati,
327-330-
VOL. VI. 2 K
4l8 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
altar-frontal with an inscription, saying that it was a votive
offering to God and the Princes of the Apostles in thanks-
giving for the " liberation of Italy." * At the same time
Julius was far from forgetting to whom next to God he
was most indebted for his victory, and showered rewards
on the stalwart Swiss. In a Bull of 6th July, 15 12, he
bestowed on them in perpetuity the title of " Protectors
of the liberty of the Church," and also sent them two
large banners.j- One of them bore the Papal tiara with
the keys and the inscription, "Pope Julius II., nephew of
Sixtus IV., of Savona"; on the other the family arms
of the Pope were depicted with the keys and the motto:
Dominus niihi adiutor^ non timebo quid faciat iniki
homo (The Lord is my helper; I will not fear what
man can do unto me). Every township which had sent
a contingent to the army received a silken banner, with
the arms of the place and a religious picture, the subject
of which they were permitted to choose, embroidered or
painted upon it. These gifts admirably corresponded
with the character of the people, at once martial and
pious. Many of these banners have been preserved to the
present day.| In addition to these marks of honour, Julius
* Paris DE Grassis, ed. Frati, 330-331. Gregorovius, VIIL, 97,
ed. 3, gives a fragment of the Brief to the Florentines ; they permitted
the clergy to hold the processions, but refused to allow any other
festivities. Nardi, I., 431. Cf. Tommasini, L, 574. On the 26th of
July a deputation from Piacenza came to Rome to do homage to the
Pope, and a similar one from Reggio arrived in September. Raynaldus,
ad an. 15 12, n. 70-71.
t Brief of the 5th July in Eidgenoss. Abschiede, III., 2, 632-633.
Cf. Anshelm, IV., 260 ; new edition. III., 327 seg.^ and Oechsli, Quel-
lenbuch, 259.
X Cf. Bridel, Drapeaux donnes par les Papes aux Suisses. Conser-
vateur Suisse, III. (1813), 344 seg.\ GlSl, 239 seg.; Vogelin, Gesch. der
Wasserkirche und d. Bibl. zu Zurich, 120; Ziiricher Neujahrsblatt (1859),
p. 6 seq.\ DiERAUER, Das Toggenburg unter abtischer Herrschaft, St.
THE DUKE OF FERRARA IN ROME. 419
granted several spiritual favours to the Swiss, and bestowed
the Countship of Vigevano on Schinner.*
To no one was the complete discomfiture of the French
so crushing a blow as to Duke Alfonso of Ferrara. It left
him absolutely helpless at the mercy of the Pope whom he
had treated with such insolence. Trusting to the friend-
ship of the Colonna and of his brother-in-law Gonzaga of
Mantua, and also armed with a safe-conduct from Julius,
he came to Rome on the 4th of July to endeavour to save
what he could. The Pope willingly absolved him from
all ecclesiastical censures, but insisted on his giving up
Ferrara and accepting Asti instead. The Colonna strove
in vain to mediate in his favour ; and soon he began to
feel that he was not safe in Rome. In this he was not
mistaken, for Julius would have had no scruple in de-
taining and imprisoning him. He resolved, therefore, to
Caller Neujahrsblatt for 1875 (here there is an engraving of the Toggen-
burg banner); Fricker, Ein Fanner Julius II. in Baden, Anz. fur
Schweiz. Gesch.(i874), p. 45 ; J. Meyer and H. Stahelin, Die piipstl.
Fahne der Stadt Frauenfeld, in d. Thurg. Beitragen, XXVII. (1887).
The corner-pieces of the banner sent by the Pope to Berne were dis-
covered and are described by Pkarrer J. Stammi.er, Der Paramenten-
schatz im Hist. Museum zu Bern, \2C)seg. (Bern, 1895). Also the banner
belonging to the district of Saanen with its puzzling inscription, which I
think has been correctly interpreted by Stammler in the Anz. fiir
Schweizer. Alterthumskunde (1895), No. 3, is in the Museum at Berne.
In a Brief of the 20th Dec, 15 12 (to be found, as II. Jos, Jollei kindly
informs me, in the Niederwald Archives at Wallis), Julius II. bestowed
a decoration on the Niederwald flag. On the favours granted to Basle
see Desimoni, Fiorino d'oro di Basilea al nome di Papa Giulio II. dell'
anno 1513, in Atti d. Soc. S.iv., II., 691 .?<v/., and Julius II. 's Letters of
the loth Sept. and the 20th and 29th Dec, 1512, in the City Archives,
Basle. On the origin and significance of Papal gifts of honour, such as
the Rose, Hal, Swords, etc, see R. Dowi.iNC. in the Dublin Review
(1894), p. 6i()seq.
* Gisi, 63, 24a
420 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
fly, and with the help of the Colonna succeeded in getting
away on the 19th of July. The Pope was extremely
indignant and instituted proceedings against him as a
rebellious vassal.*
A Congress of the interested powers was held in
Mantua in August for the reorganisation of political
relations which the war had left in utter confusion.
Here it soon became plain that victory had sown dis-
.sension amongst the members of the League. There
was only one point upon which all the allies were agreed,
and that was that Florence must be punished for holding
to France as she had done and refusing to join the League,
and for harbouring the schismatics. It was resolved that
the Medici should be restored, and a combined Papal and
Spanish army was despatched to effect this. On the
30th August the Spaniards conquered Prato, and cruelly
sacked it. Upon this the Florentines yielded, and in
September the Medici returned, first the gentle and
attractive Giuliano, later the Cardinal, and took the
government of the city into their hands.f The question
* Sanuto, XIV., 479, 480-482, 484-485, 491, 509, 510, 511, 514, 524,
538, 570, 594; XV., 34, 76-77; Lettres de Louis XII., III., 2gg seg.;
Paris de Grassis in Raynaldus, ad an. 1 5 12, n. 71 seg. ; and Creighton,
IV., 273-274 ; SCHEURL, Briefbuch, 98 ; Carpesanus, 1286 ; Letter of
Alfonso's from Rome to Card. Ippolito on Julius' demands in Cappelli,
Lettere di L. Ariosto (Bologna, 1866), p. CXLHI ; GiSl, 57; Brosch,
Julius II., 255 seg.; Luzio, F. Gonzaga, T,y, n. 2 ; Semper, Carpi, 9.
Alfonso's flight is mentioned in the *Acta Consist, f. 36. (Consistorial
Archives of the Vatican.) The original of the letter of safe-conduct for
Alfonso, in which Julius explains that it is only for the Duke's person and
not for his State (Sanuto, XIV., 455), is in the State Archives, Modena,
Bolle.
t C/. Villari, Machiavelli, II., 151 seg.; Perrens, II., 497 seg.;
GUASTI, II Sacco di Prato (Bologna, 1880), 2 vols. On Julius II.'s dis-
simulation in regard to Card. Soderini, see Vettori, ed. Reumont, 290.
See also the Report in Sanuto, XV., 29 seg., 52 seg., 57 seg'., loi, 105
MASSIMILIANO SFORZA DUKE Ob MILAN. 42 1
as to who should have the Duchy of Milan was decided
at the Congress of Mantua. Ferdinand of Spain and
Maximilian desired to secure it for their grand-son Charles,
but the Swiss and Julius II., who did not wish to see
any foreign power established in Lombardy, succeeded
in arranging that it should be bestowed on Massimiliano
Sforza, the son of Lodovico Moro ; who became a fast
friend of the Swiss Confederation.* On the 8th of October,
however, Parma and Piacenza were separated from the
Duchy and included in the States of the Church. Reggio
had already, on the 4th of July, submitted to the Pope ;
and sent Envoys later to Rome to make their profession of
obedience, expressing themselves in very humble terms.
A contemporaneous historian remarks that this was the
first time since the donation of King Pepin that a Pope
haa possessed this city.f
But in spite of all these successes there was still a reverse
side to the medal. " With the exception of the Pope and
the Swiss none of the allies were completely satisfied.
The P^mperor, whose chief object had been to push a for-
midable rival out of Italy, now reaHsed with dismay that
he had only succeeded in substituting the Pope for F'rance." J
The appropriation of Parma, Piacenza, and Reggio by Julius
seg., 123, 141 se(/., and in Appendix, N. 88, *Giuliano de' Medici's
Letter of the 31st Aug., 15 12. Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.
* DiERAUEK, IL, 418 segf.; GiSl, 67 seg. Julius II. congratulated
M. Sforza in a Brief of 19th Aug., 15 12, printed in Lettresde Louis XII.,
II r, 308-309.
+ Carpesanus, 1288; Gregorovius, VIII., 102, ed. 3; Roscoe,
IL, 401 seg. ; Luzio, F. Gonzaga, 39. C/. Sanuto, XV., 252. On the
submission of Reggio see *Rifonn.'ig., 1512, July 4. (Archives in
Reggio.) C/. L. Chiesi, Reggio nell' Emilia sottoGiulio II., Leone X.,
Adriano VI., 11 scg. (Reggio, 1892). Here also are the particulars of
the mission from Reggio.
X Brosch, Julius II., 263. C/. Gisi, 66 se^.
422 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
was felt as a blow at the Imperial Court, and it is not
surprising that Maximilian's attitude was far from friendly
when the Pope's further wishes came to be dealt with. The
feeling in Spain was very much the same as in Germany.
Under these circumstances Ferrara had to be left alone,
especially as the behaviour of the Duke of Urbino did not
inspire confidence in his intentions.* The power of the
Swiss also somewhat weighed on the Pope ; but his
greatest anxiety was the uncertainty as to the intentions
of King Ferdinand. He heard with alarm that the Spanish
army was marching from Tuscany towards Lombardy.
" If, as rumour now whispered, and as indeed became
partially the fact afterwards, he was going to embark in a
private war of acquisition here without troubling himself
about the rights of the League or the claims of Venice, he
would then obtain a point of vantage in the north of the
peninsula from which, in combination with his legitimate
claims in the south, he could stretch out his arms over the
whole, and have the Holy See entirely at his mercy." f
This made it of the highest importance for Julius to be on
the most friendly terms with the Emperor in order to
counterbalance the power of Spain. To ensure the com-
plete success of the Lateran Council, also, the co-operation
of the Emperor was most necessary. The majority of the
Christian Princes (Spain, Portugal, England, Scotland,
Hungary, Norway, and Denmark) | had all declared in its
favour, and France had been laid under Interdict in
August ; § but to complete her isolation and that of the
* Luzio, Mantova e Urbino, 206.
+ Brosch, Julius II., 263. Cf. Leo, V., 260. The Brief of ist Oct.,
1 5 12, in which Julius II. warns Card. Schinner against Spain, is in
Sanuto, XV., 217 seg.
X Raynaldus, ad an. 1512, n. 53, 82-84; Corp. Dipl. Portug., I.,
154, 173 se^. ; Sanuto, XIV., 56 seg.
§ Raynaldus, ad an. 1512, n. 97, and Sanuto, XV., 9, 32.
MATTH^US LANG CREATED CARDINAL. 423
Council of Lyons, the adhesion of the Emperor was
essentia].* Thus, when in the ]ate Autumn of 15 12
Matthaeus Lang, Maximilian's most trusted and influential
adviser,f appeared in Rome, the Pope's joy knew no
bounds. The haughty prelate assumed the air of an
emperor, but every effort was made to satisfy and win
him.J In all the cities of the States of the Church he was
received with honours, and the Pope gave special orders to
his Master of Ceremonies that in Rome his entry should
be accompanied with every possible manifestation of con-
sideration and welcome.§
Lang is described by contemporary writers as a hand-
some man with fair hair, looking about forty years of age.||
He arrived in Rome on the evening of the 4th November,
and sent his people to the apartments prepared for them,
while he himself went at once incognito to the Vatican,
where Julius II. was burning with impatience to meet him.
That no manifestation of regard might be wanting in the
welcome of the man upon whom so much depended, the
Pope came out as far as the first antechamber to receive
him. On the same evening they had a long private inter-
view, and Lang spent the night in the Vatican. On the
following day he made his official entry into Rome with
* Creighton, IV., 160 ; Hur.ER, III., 398.
t Vettori, 296, remarks that Giirk ruled the Emperor : lo govemava
come voleva e si usava dire in quel tempo, non che il primo uomo che
avesse in corte sua lo Imperatore fusse il vescovo (Gurgense), ma che il
primo Re avesse il vescovo appresso di sc, era lo Imperatore. As yet,
unfortunately, we have no satisfactory biography of Mattli.uus Lang ; A.
Schopf's work, Ein Diplomat Kaiser Maximilian's (Wicn, 1882), is
quite inadequate. C/. Reumont in the Hist. Jahrb., III., 501 sc</.
X SCHEURL, Briefljuch, 112.
§ Paris de Grassis, ed. DoUinger, 424; Sanuto, XV., 307, 318 ;
Landucci, 331 ; and Guicciardini, Op. ined., VI., 147.
II Sanuto, XV., 327.
424 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
all possible pomp. " During my whole term of office,"
writes the Papal Master of Ceremonies, " I have never
seen a more splendid pageant : it was like a triumphal
procession." At first it was proposed that the College of
Cardinals and the whole of the clergy should meet him
outside the gates. But the majority of the Cardinals ob-
jected to this as an honour which had never been accorded
to any but crowned heads ; but in every other particular his
reception was that of a King. Cardinals Bakocs and Leon-
ardo Gro6so della Rovere met him at the foot of Monte
Mario, and placed him between them, a token of respect
which he at first declined with affected humiHty. At the
Ponte Molle the Senator of Rome and his officials awaited
him. At the Porta del Popolo, in accordance with the
usual etiquette, the Cardinals took their leave, and were
replaced by the Governor of Rome and the Maggiordomo
of the Palace. The streets were lined with spectators, all
the Envoys took part in the procession, and the guns of St.
Angelo shook the old building to its foundation with
their noisy welcome. Night had fallen before the proces-
sion reached the Vatican, which was illuminated, and where
Lang's official reception by the Pope now took place.*
The principal difficulty in the negotiations of the first
few days lay not in the relations between the Pope and the
Emperor, but in those of the latter with Venice. Through-
out the Summer Julius had been labouring to induce the
Venetians to yield as far as possible to the Emperor. But
the negotiations had all failed, for Maximilian required the
Republic to give up Verona and Vicenza, and to pay down a
* Pierius Valerianus in Freher, II., 292 seq.^ and the Venetian
Envoys in Sanuto, XV., 325 seq.^ describe Lang's arrival and entry as
eye-witnesses. Sanuto gives the 3rd as the day of arrival, while Pierius
Valerianus and the *Acta Consist, name the 4th. Cf. also Paris de
Grassis, ed. Dollinger, 424.
ALLIANCE OF THE POPE WITH MAXIMILIAN. 425
sum of 250,000 ducats for the fiefship of Padua and Treviso,
with the addition of a yearly toll of 30,000 ducats. The
Venetians refused to accede to these terms, and demanded
the retrocession of Verona, for which, however, they were
willing to pay an annual tribute to the Emperor during his
life. When, on the 7th November, the Venetian Envoys
gave to the Pope, who had acted as intermediary between
them and Maximilian, their final answer declining to accept
his terms, Julius II. for the third time reversed his political
course. In spite of the urgent remonstrances of the repre-
sentatives of the Republic and many of the Cardinals and
the efforts of the Spanish Envoy, who tried to induce him
to defer his decision, the Pope determined at once to con-
clude a close alliance with the Emperor. He was firmly
convinced that both ecclesiastical and political considera-
tions imperatively demanded this measure, and on the
evening of the 29th of November the agreement between
Julius II. and Maximilian was signed. The Emperor
engaged to defend the Pope against all attacks, repudiated
the schismatics, acknowledged the Lateran Council, washed
his hands of the Duke of P'errara and the Bentivogli, and
handed over Regglo and Modena for the present to the
Pope. Julius II. promised to support Maximilian against
Venice with both spiritual and temporal weapons if she
persisted in her refusal to relinquish Verona and Vicenza,
and to pay tribute for the other imperial fiefs ; to assist
him with spiritual arms against the Flemings, and to grant
him in Germany a tax of a tenth on the clergy if the
electors would also consent.*
On the same day, in a Secret Consistory, Lang was
admitted into the College of Cardinals ; but, at his own
express wish, his nomination was not yet published, and
♦ SaNUTO, XV., 333, 336, 337, 339, 350, 384 Jty.; Le Glay, I., 513
seq. ; Lanz, Einl. 128 seq. \ Gisi, 80 seq.
426 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the Pope also dispensed him from the obligation of wearing
a Cardinal's dress. On the 24th of November an open Con-
sistory was held, at which the Swiss Envoys were received,
and Lang's elevation to the Cardinalate was also announced,
although he still refused to assume the insignia of his rank.
The reason which he gave for this was that he was anxious
" that the object of his mission should not be misunder-
stood." * On the 25th of November the new alliance was
formally announced in S'^ Maria del Popolo.f Ferdinand
of Spain also promised to help against Venice if she
refused to yield.
The answer of the Republic consisted in entering into
close relations with France, which led, in March 15 13, to
a definite alliance. The Pope had been anxious to prevent
this, and in consequence had not as yet pronounced the
censures of the Church against Venice. The result of this
union with France was again to prevent the allies from
doing anything against Ferrara.J
* Paris de Grassis, ed. Bollinger, 425 seq., Sanuto, XV., 361. ;
Raynaldus, ad an. 1512, n. 90; Le Glay, I., 515 ; and Landucci,
332 ; also J. DEL Badia. According to this passage, Ulmann's state-
ment, II., 454: " Gurk successfully resisted the publication of his
elevation to the Cardinalate, which took place in the Secret Consistory,"
is not quite correct. Ulmann cites elsewhere, loc. cit.^ a Letter from
Lang to Maximilian of 24th Nov., 15 13 (Archives, Vienna), which makes
it appear as if he had not accepted the Red-hat until then. In the "^Acta
Consist., f 36, there is no mention of Lang's nomination ; on the 3rd Dec.
he is still called electus Gurcensis,
t Cf. Luzio, F. Gonzaga, 40.
X Brosch, Juhus II., 266 seq. ; Lanz, Einl., 129. On the announce-
ment of Treaty on the 25th, see Sanuto, XV., 380, 383 seq. The
address delivered by Aegidius on that occasion appeared in a (scarce)
contemporaneous tract of which I found a copy in the Manzoni Library,
which, alas ! has since (1892) been scattered to the winds : Oratio habita
post Tertiam Sacri Lateran. Concilii Sessionem : in Ecclia diue Marie
uirginis de Populo : per Fratrem Egidiu Viterbien. Ordinis sancti
I
ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE ALLIANCE. 427
The price which JuHus II. consented to pay in order to
secure the adhesion of Maximilian to the Council, shews
how far this Pope was from being the mere politician that
many have tried to make him out. Any one who had
counted on finding him so absorbed in politics as to be
indifferent to the intrigues of the schismatics, would have
been utterly mistaken. On the contrary, there is no doubt
that the revolt in the Church was a heavier blow to Julius
II. than any of his political reverses. Although it was
plain that the attempts of the schismatics had completely
failed, he could not be satisfied till the movement was
entirely extirpated.*
The winning over of the Emperor was the crowning victory
in the rapid succession of the Pope's triumphs, and was to
be published to all the world. The third sitting of the
Council was held on the 3rd of December. Though the
Pope had long been ailing, and the weather was stormy
and rainy, he was determined to be present at it. One
hundred and eleven members attended it. The High Mass
was sung by Cardinal Vigerio and the usual sermon
preached by the Bishop of Melfi, the subject being the
unity of the Church. After this the Secretary of the
Council, Tommaso Inghirami, then read the letter from the
Emperor accrediting Lang as his plenipotentiary and pro-
curator at the Council, and denouncing the Coyiciliabula
set up by the King of France at Tours and at Pisa. Lang,
who appeared in lay attire, read a declaration from the
Augustini Eremitar. Gencrale : de Federe inito inter luliu SecQdu
Pont. Max. et 111'. Maximilianu Imperatorem.j. a. ^//. (probably Rom.,
1 5 12), in 4°.
* It appears from the Reports of the Venetian Envoys in the beginning
of December, in Sanuto, XV., 41 1, that Julius still feared that a French
Anti-pope might be set up. The same Reports also shew {!oc. cit.^ 344-
350) that his first object in allying himself with Maximilian was to secure
a complete victory over the schismatics.
428 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Emperor repudiating the schism of Pisa, and announcing
his adhesion to the Lateran Council, and at the same time
made his profession of obedience to the Pope in his own
name and that of his colleague Alberto da Carpi. At the
close of the proceedings the Bishop of Forli read a Papal
Bull again declaring all the acts of the Pisan Council null
and void, laying France under Interdict, and appointing
the loth of December for the next sitting.*
Encouraged by his recent successes, the Pope now deter-
mined to lay the axe to the root of the schismatic move-
ment in France. It was decided that proceedings should
be commenced against the Pragmatic Sanction. It had, in
fact, become urgently necessary to do away with this law,
which had been revived by Louis XII. No lasting triumph
of the Church over these schismatic tendencies was possible
as long as it remained in force.f
The fourth sitting of the Council was held under the
presidency of the Pope himself on the loth of Decem-
ber. Nineteen Cardinals, 96 Patriarchs, Archbishops, and
Bishops, 4 Abbots, and 4 Generals of religious Orders
were present, besides the representatives of the Emperor,
the King of Spain, the Florentines, and the Swiss Confedera-
tion. The first business was the reading of the letter from
the Venetian Government of 10th April, 15 12, accrediting
Francesco Foscari as their representative at the Council ;
and after this Louis XL's letter of 27th November, 1461,!
on the abolition of the Pragmatic Sanction. Upon this
a monition was issued, summoning all upholders of the
* Hergenrother, Vni., 525 seq. The Report in Sanuto, XV.,
359 ^^^"> 3^4 ^^Q-> should be added to the references there given. Lang ;
had another conversation with the Pope after the sitting, and then, \
without returning to his residence at the Orsini Palace on Monte r
Giordano, started at once for Milan. Loc. cit.^ 384.
t Hergenrother, VIII., 528.
X Cf. Pastor, Hist. Popes, III., 138 seq.
PANEGYRIC ON THE POPE. 429
Sanction in France, whether laymen or ecclesiastics, to
appear before the Council within sixty days to give an
account of their conduct. The fifth sitting of the Council
was fixed for the i6th February, 15 13, at the close of this
term, and at it the Pragmatic Sanction would be dealt with
and resolutions in regard to it adopted, in accordance with
Canon Law. A special commission was appointed to
institute the necessary preliminary investigations. Then
a Bull was read confirming former Papal decrees on the
Pragmatic Sanction, the nullity of the acts of the Pisan
Council, and the reform of the Court officials. The address
at this Council, the last at which Julius II. was present,
was delivered by the Apostolical Notary Cristoforo Mar-
cello of Venice. It substantially consisted of an enthu-
siastic panegyric on the Pope. "Julius II.," the speaker
said, " in a most just war against an enemy far stronger
than himself, had personally undergone the extremes of
heat and cold, all sorts of fatigues, sleepless nights, sickness,
and even danger of death without flinching. At his own
expense, with unexampled generosity, he had equipped an
army, liberated Bologna, driven the enemy (the French)
out of Italy, subdued Reggio, Parma, and Piacenza, brought
joy and peace to his country, and earned for himself an
immortal name. Still greater was the glory that awaited
him at this present time in the works of peace, the reform
and exaltation of the Church, which was gnmning under so
many evils and threatened by traitors within and enemies
without; which had brought up children who despised her,
and had so often poured forth her complaint in mournful
chants, but now raised her eyes full of joy and hope to
the bridegroom who had come to deliver her. The Pope
would be her physician, pilot, husbandman, in short, her all
in all, almost as though God were again on earth." *
♦ Hergenrothlr, VIII., 528-531, in referring to Marcello's con-
' 'i tr'VT"^^"~^ nil 1 ri — M
430 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Certainly Julius II. had good cause to be satisfied with
the splendid successes of the last half-year. Nevertheless,
both as an Italian and as a Pope, the preponderance of
Spain in Italy could not but fail to be a source of anxiety
and vexation to him. The knowledge that this was
" largely due to his own action must have made the trial all
the greater, and the prospect for the future was not improved
by the fact that the heir-presumptive of the King of Spain
was also heir-presumptive of the Emperor in whose hands
so large a portion of Venetian territory was now gathered."*
In his near surroundings on all sides Julius could not
escape from the consciousness of Spanish influence. He
felt it in his dealings with the Colonna, at Florence, in
Siena, and in Piombino, and an utterance of his, preserved
by Jovius, shews how it galled him. Cardinal Grimani, in
conversation with him one day, made an allusion to the
foreign sovereignty in Naples, and the Pope, striking the
ground with his stick, exclaimed : " If God grants me life
I will free the Neapolitans from the yoke which is now
on their necks."f No doubt his restless spirit was again
eluding words, remarks : " This phrase, which had already been employed
by Gregory II., Ep. I. ad Leon. Isaur., in speaking of S. Peter, is an
oratorical figure borrowed from the language of Scripture (Ps. LXXXI., i ;
St. John, X., 10, 34, 35). In fern's adjoining Bens indicates the limits
of its application." On this sittings cf. also Sanuto, XV., 411 seq.^ and
Rohrbacher-Knopfler, 423 seq. The truly Catholic Duke George
of Saxony, although not invited to the Council, fully realising that the
reform of the Church could only be effected in the closest union with its
centre, appointed the General of the Dominicans, Thomas de Vio (Cajetan),
to act as his Procurator there (the 9th Feb., 15 13); see Brieger's
Zeitschr., III., 603, 606 seq. ; BUDDEE, Nik. von Schonberg, 3.
* Reumont, III., 2, 43.
t Jovius, Vita Alfonsi. Sanuto, XIII, , 319,349, shews how much
the power of Spain was dreaded in Rome, even at the end of 1 51 1. Cf.
also GiSl, 89 seq.
FAILURE OF THE POPE'S HEALTH. 43 1
meditating new efforts and enterprises when the body at
last finally broke down.
For a long time past Julius II. had been ailing. He had
never wholly recovered from his serious illness in August
151 1, although his iron will enabled him to conceal his
sufferings so effectually that even those who were constantly
in contact with him were for some time deceived. At last,
however, he had to confess to himself that his days were
numbered. On the eve of Pentecost, 1 5 12, he felt so weak
after Vespers that he told his Master of Ceremonies
that in future he would not attempt to officiate in solemn
functions, he had not strength enough to go through the
ceremonial. When some of the Cardinals congratulated
him on the freshness of his complexion and said he looked
younger than he had done ten years earlier, he said to de
Grassis : " They are flattering me ; I know better ; my
strength diminishes from day to day and I cannot live
much longer. Therefore I beg you not to expect me at
Vespers or at Mass from henceforth." All the same he
took part in the procession on Good Friday. On the eve
of the Feast of S. John the Baptist he made a pilgrimage
to the Church of S. Pietro in Vincoli, which brought on an
attack of fever.*
At the end of November he paid one of those short
visits to Ostiaf which he always thoroughly enjoyed, and
returned so much refreshed that he was able to attend
the third and fourth sittings of the Lateran Council. But
even then it was observed that the Pope was singularly
restless. On the second Sunday in Advent he went to his
Palace at S. Pietro in Vincoli because he could go out
* Paris de Grassis, ed. Dollinger, 419 seq. Cf. supra ^ p. 417.
t Julius IL went down to Ostia with Lang and some of the other
Envoys on the 27th Nov., 15 12, returning to Rome on ist Dec. *Acta
Consist., f. 36. Consistorial Archives of the Vatican.
432 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
walking there with greater freedom ; but from that time
forth he changed his residence almost daily. One day he
went to S. Croce, the next to S*^^ Maria Maggiore, then
back to S. Lorenzo fuori le Mura, or S. Eusebio ; striving
in vain to escape from the sense of distress which always
pursued him. On Christmas Eve, when Paris de Grassis
came to tell him that it was time for Vespers, Julius said :
" You had better tell the Sacred College and the Sacristan
of the Palace to bring me the holy-oils, for I feel very ill.
I shall not live much longer." * The Master of Cere-
monies could not believe that he was so ill as he thought
himself, but others, as the Venetian Envoy, saw plainly
that his condition was serious, though his strong will
upheld him and enabled him still to attend to affairs as
usual. At the end of December one of the Captains of
the Swiss Guards predicted that the end was not far offf
The health of the aged Pontiff was no doubt unfavourably
affected by the constant vexations and anxieties caused by
the Spanish preponderance in Italy. After Christmas he
was unable to leave his bed. He could not sleep and dis-
liked all food. He was attended by eight physicians con-
sidered the ablest in Rome, but none of them could find
out the cause of his malady.J '' The Pope is not exactly
ill," writes the Venetian Envoy on the i6th January, 15 13,
" but he has no appetite ; he eats nothing but two eggs in
the whole day ; he has no fever, but his age makes his
condition serious ; he is harassed with anxieties." In
* Paris de Grassis, ed. Bollinger, 426-427.
t Sanuto, XV., 412, 449.
X Paris de Grassis, ed. Dollinger, 427. Here it is distinctly stated
that the Pope had been ill, and kept his bed ever since Christmas ;
thus Brosch, Julius II., 273, is completely in error in writing, "In
the last days of January, 15 13, the Pope, then seventy years old,
sickened."
LAST ILLNESS OF JULIUS IL 433
addition to his uncertainty as to what King Ferdinand
meant to do, Juh'us II. had reason to fear that the Swiss
were preparing to ally themselves with France.*
All the efforts of the pjiysicians failed to relieve the sleep-
lessness and want of appetite. Though they recommended
as much rest as possible, tlie Pope, trusting in the strength
of his constitution, would not give up his work, and received
both Cardinals and Envoys while in bed ; f but he did not
conceal the truth from himself that he was slowly passing
away. On the 4th of February he called Paris de Grassis to
his bed-side and told him with great seriousness and resigna-
tion that his end was very near ; he put himself into God's
hands, recovery was out of the question ; he thanked God
for not taking him away suddenly, as had been the case
with so many of his predecessors, and giving him time to re-
collect himself and die like a Christian and make his disposi-
tions for time and eternity. He had confidence, he said, in
de Grassis and believed that he would faithfully carry out
all his wishes. In regard to his funeral, he desired that it
should not be penurious, but at the same time that there
should be no pomp or display. He did not deserve honours,
for he had been a great sinner ; but, nevertheless, he wished
to have all things ordered decently and not to be treated
in the unseemly manner that some of his predecessors had
been. He would trust all these matters to the discretion
of his faithful servant. He then gave orders on all
♦ Sanuto, XV., 501, 503-504. Bembo also says that his appre-
hensions in regard to the course of events in Italy hastened Julius's
death.
t Sanuto, XV., 531-532 \ cf. 547 ; Frakn6i, Erdodi Bak6c2
Tamds, 128. See also the Portuguese Report in Corp. Dipl. Port., I., 187,
and Ludovicas de Campo Fregoso's * Letter to the Doge of Genoa,
dated Rome, the 22nd Jan., 15 13. (State Archives, Genoa.) Ronia,
Lettere, Mazzo, i.
VOL. VL 2 V
434 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
necessary affairs, entering into the minutest details, and
bequeathed a sum of money to be given to needy priests to
say Masses for his soul.*
On the lOth November the Venetian Envoy reports that
"the Pope has shivering fits, and negotiations are already
beginning for the choice of his successor." The city was
in a ferment, but the Cardinals took stringent precautions
to preserve order. In the following days the Pope grew
worse, but still did not quite give himself up.f He was
able to give orders for everything which concerned the fifth
sitting of the Council (on the i6th February), and made it
a special point that in this sitting the ordinances for the pre-
vention of simony in Papal elections should be re-enacted and
made more stringent. On the 19th de Grassis came to him
to learn his wishes as to the date of the next sitting. "I found
his Holiness," he says, " looking quite well and cheerful, as
if he had had little or nothing the matter with him. When
I expressed my surprise and joy at this, and congratulated
him, he answered smiling, * Yesterday I was very near
dying, to-day I am well again.' He replied to all my
questions as far as he could. He was anxious that the
Council should be held on the appointed day, whatever
might happen, in order not to put off the term fixed for
the submission of the King of France and his adherents ;
but the Assembly was not to deal with any matters except
those which had been arranged for at the preceding session.
Cardinal Riario was to preside as Dean of the Sacred
College. He then granted Indulgences to me and mine,
and, to shew me how well he felt, asked me to drink a
glass of Malvoisie with him. When I told this to the
^ Paris de Grassis, ed. Dollinger, 428.
t Sanuto, XV., 554, 555. On the excitement in the city, see the
Report of the Swiss. P. Falk in Anz. f. Schweiz. Gesch. (1892),
P- 375.
.ii
HIS FAREWELL TO THE CARDINALS. 435
Cardinals, who were weeping, thinking him at the point of
death, they could hardly believe me."*
The improvement, however, was only transitory, and the
faithful de Grassis now rendered to his master the last and
kindest of services. Hitherto the Pope's attendants, in dread
of alarming him, had put off sending for the Holy Viaticum.
De Grassis now insisted that this should be done, and he
relates how the Pope, having previously made his confes-
sion, received the Holy Eucharist on the 20th of February
with the greatest devotion.f After this, Julius H. had all
the Cardinals summoned to his bed-side, and begged for
their earnest prayers as he had been a great sinner and
had not ruled the Church as he ought to have done. He
admonished them to fear God, and observe the precepts of
the Church. He desired them to hold the election in strict
accordance with the law and the prescriptions in his Bull on
the subject. The election belonged to the Cardinals only,
the Council had nothing to do with it. All absent
Cardinals, with the exception only of the schismatics,
were to be invited to take part in the Conclave. In his
own person he forgave these latter with his whole heart,
but as Pope it was his duty to exclude them from the
Conclave. He said all these things in Latin, in a grave
and impressive manner, as though he were addressing a
Consistory. Then, in Italian, he expressed his wish that
the Vicariate of Pesaro should be granted in perpetuity to
the Duke of Urbino. After this he bestowed his l^lessing
* Paris de Grassis, ed. Dollinger, 429-430. There is a confusion
here in the clironological order.
t Paris de Grassis, ed. Dollinger, 431-432. The Portuguese
Report, though essentially in agreement with that of the Master of
Ceremonies, differs slightly in saying that Julius at fii-st refused the Viati-
cum, but afterwards, on Sunday, 2olh February, asked for It himself. lie
also says that he communicated with great devotion ; Corp. Dipl. Portug.,
I., 189-190. Cf. Sanuto, XV., 560, 565.
43^ HISTORY OF THE POPES.
on the Cardinals ; all were in tears, including the Pope
himself.* He met death with wonderful calmness and
steadfastness of soul.f He refused to accede to some other
wishes expressed by his relations ; thinking only of the
good of the Church. In his last hours his attendants
gave him a draught containing a solution of gold, which
had been pronounced to be an unfailing specific by one
of the quacks of that day.| During the night of the
20th-2ist February, 15 13, his strong spirit passed away,
clear and conscious to the last.§
The body was immediately laid out in S. Peter's, and
afterwards placed beside the remains of Sixtus IV. We
are told that the people flocked to S. Peter's in extra-
ordinary numbers, and an eye-witness says that as much
honour was paid to the corpse as if it had been the body
of S. Peter himself. || "Rome felt that the soul which had
* Paris de Grassis in Raynaldus, ad an. 15 13, n. j-2>, and Gatti-
CUS, 434-435. "^Acta Consist., f. 37b. (Consistorial Archives.) The Tes-
txmentum Julii papae in the Acta Tomic, II,, 192-193, in part directly
contradicts some of de Grassis' statements, and is evidently a later com-
pilation. The long speech in Bernaldez, I L, 442 seq.^ is also unauthentic.
A. Ferronus, Vita Ludovici XII., also adds a good deal of unhistorical
embroidery to the last words of Julius II., a fact which Guettee, VIII. ,
1 24 seq.^ has not observed. For a good criticism on Ferronus, cf. Ranke,
Zur Kritik, 1 40 seq.
t Venetian Report of the 21st Feb. in Brosch, Julius II., 363, from
Sanuto, XVI., f. 4. Cf. also Senarega, 618-619, and Luzio, F. Gon-
zaga, 51.
X See the Mantuan Report in Gregorovius, VIII., 107-108, ed. 3,
and LuziO, F. Gonzaga, 51.
§ Paris de Grassis, ed. Bollinger, 432. Cf. Sanuto, XV., 557, 561 ;
the contemporaneous notices in GORI, Archivio, IV., 244 ; Lettres de
Louis XII., IV., 58 ; and "^Acta Consist., loc. cit. Consistorial Archives
of the Vatican.
II See the ^Report of N. Gadio, 3rd March, 15 13. Gonzaga Archives,
Mantua.
DEATH OF JULIUS II. 437
passed from her had been of royal mould." * Paris de
Grassis writes in his Diary : " 1 have lived forty years in this
city, but never yet have I seen such a vast throng at the
funeral of any former Pope. The guards were overpowered
by the crowds insisting on kissing the dead man's feet.
Weeping, they prayed for his soul, calling him a true Pope
and Vicar of Christ, a pillar of justice, a zealous promoter
of the Apostolic Church, an enemy and queller of tyrants.
Many even to whom the death of Julius might have been
supposed welcome for various reasons burst into tears,
declaring that this Pope had delivered them and Italy and
Christendom from the yoke of the French barbarians." f
The chronicler Sebastiano de Branca speaks of Julius in
the same tone.| But it was not in Rome only that Julius 1 1,
was popular ; the great services which he had rendered to
the Holy See were largely appreciated in the States of
the Church also, as may be seen from the enthusiastic
praises bestowed on him by Bontempi of Perugia.§
At the same time, there were many who judged him very
differently. A man who had played such an energetic and
effective part in the affairs of his time could not fail to have
bitter opponents, who, as was the custom of the day, assailed
him after his death with stinging satires ; || but setting
* Gregorovius, VIII. , io8, ed. 3.
t Paris de Grassis, ed. Dollinger, 432, who has not found out that
this passage had been printed long ago in Gaiticus, 435-436.
X Creighton, IV., 297.
^5 Fo ricordo con le lacrime agl' occhi e con gran dolore nel cuore come
papa Giulio pass6 da questa vita presente, la cui vita quanto sia stata
laudabile et onorevole alia Sedia Apostolica e a tutta la Cristianith, e la
sua morte quanto sia perniciosa, mai dire si potria, e quanto abbia esul-
tato la Chiesa di Dio e le citta, quale lui ha ricuperato alia prefata Sede
Ap. che a tutto il mondo h noto. Arch. Stor. Ital., i Serie, XVI., 2, 263.
II C/. Sanuto, XV., 561 seg. ; ROSCOE, II., 39 ; N. Antologia (1894),
pp. »35 seg.j 528 seg. The best known pasquinade on Julius II. is the
43^ HISTORY OF THE POPES.
aside this and similar ebullitions of party hatred, there is
no doubt that the verdict pronounced by many serious
historians on' Julius II. has been the reverse of favourable ;
while it is also extremely questionable whether this verdict
has been well-grounded.
It is certain that the very general acceptance of Guicciar-
dini's dictum, that Julius II. had nothing of the priest in
him but the cassock and the name, is an injustice. When
the Florentine historian made use of the phrase, he was
telling the story of the Pope's winter campaign against
Mirandola.* Undoubtedly at that time Julius II. was
work entitled: F. A. F. Poetae Regii libellus de obitu Julii P.M. Anno
Domini 1513 (reprinted in HUTTENI, 0pp., IV., 421 seg.). This work
is evidently written from a French point of view ; by many Hutten was
supposed to be its author {cf. Strauss, Hutten, 75, ed. 2). Luther
attributed it to Erasmus, who denies it in a letter to Campeggio. From
this letter we gather that even then there was great uncertainty as to
who had written it. " Some say," Erasmus writes, " Hispanus quida?n
composed it, others ascribe it to the poet Faustus Andrelini, others to
G . Balbi " ; he has made many enquiries, but can get no certain answer.
Recent investigators have been equally unsuccessful. The anonymous
translator of this Dialogue (Julius II. Ein Gesprach vorder Himmelsthiire ;
translated from the Latin of G. Balbi. Berlin, 1877) attributes it without
any proof to the Bishop of Gurk, while Balbi's biographer, Retzer, con-
cludes his examination with Non liquet. G eiger inclines towards Erasmus,
who was believed by many of his contemporaries to have been the author :
see Vierteljahrsschrift fiir Renaiss., II., 131. The most probable hypo-
thesis seems to be that it was written by the poet Publio Fausto
Andrelini, an ardent partisan of the French, with whose opinions the
pasquinade agrees; see Giorn. d. Lett. Ital., XIX., 188. FoRSTER,
Lucian in d. Renaiss., in the Archiv i. Litt.-Gesch., XIV., 344, 362
(Leipzig, 1886), thinks it certain. Knod, Die Bibliothek zu Schlettstadt,
108 (Schlettstadt, 1889), is inclined to take the same view, but his
arguments, as Geiger in the Zeitschr. f. vergl. Lit.-Gesch., III., 489,
points out, are not entirely convincing.
* GUICCIARDINI, IX., c. 4. The generalisation of the remark is mostly
due to the passage in Gregorovius, VIII., 67, 108, ed. 3.
JULIUS II. AS AN ECCLESIASTIC. 439
carried away by his eager temperament to violate the
decorum clericale in a scandalous manner, and deserves
grave blame for this as also for the violent outbursts of
anger to which he so often gave way.* But to assert in a
general way that Julius was " one of the most profane and
unecclesiastical figures that ever occupied the Chair of
S. Peter," that " there was not a trace of Christian piety to
be found in him," and that he was so utterly worldly and
warlike that he cared nothing for ecclesiastical obligations
or interests, is quite unwarrantable and untrue.f
The Diary of his Master of Ceremonies, Paris de Grassis,
who was by no means blind to his master's failings, shews
in numberless places how faithfully Julius II. fulfilled
his ecclesiastical obligations. As far as his health would
allow he was regular in his attendance at all the offices
of the Church; he heard Mass almost daily and often
celebrated, even when travelling and when the start took
place before daybreak. After his illness in 15 10, when
still unable to stand, he did not permit his weakness to
prevent him from saying Mass on Christmas Day, and
celebrated sitting, in his private chapel. However occupied
he might be with political affairs, Church functions were
never neglected. J In everything that regarded the govern-
ment of the Church he was equally exact. His name is
connected with a whole series of ordinances and admin-
* Cf. supra^ p. 340 seq.^ and p. 397. Julius also sinned from time to
time against clerical decorum by going out hunting. But Maulde,
Machiavelli, II., 273, is wrong in supposing that fishing is also a for-
bidden recreation for the clergy.
+ Gregorovius, VIII., 108, ed. 3; Gisi, 92 ; and Tschackert, 5.
Cf. Artaud de Montor, IV., 213.
:j: Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 23, 24, 27, 38, 42, 46, 58, 76, 78,
79-80,98, loi, 103, 105, 108, 109, 119, 121, 123, 124, 125,127, 128, 130,
131. 138, 143. M9> 15', 157, 158, 161, 166, 171, 190, 204, 207, 223, 227,
233, 241, 242, 256, 268, 270, 271, 281, 286.
440 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
istrative enactments, some of them of considerable im-
portance.
Amongst them one that specially deserves mention is his
severe Bull against simony in Papal elections, designed to
prevent the repetition of the disgraceful practices which
were resorted to at the election of Alexander VI. This
document is dated the 14th January, 1505. It declares all
simoniacal elections from henceforth null, and pronounces
the severest penalties of the Church on all guilty of such
practices. Further, it ordains that all intermediaries and
agents, whether lay or clerical, and whatever their rank,
whether Prelates, Archbishops or Bishops, or Envoys of
Kings or States, who are implicated in a simoniacal election
are to be deprived of their dignities, and their goods are to
be confiscated. The Bull forbids all promises or engage-
ments to be contracted by Cardinals or any other persons
in connection with a Papal election and declares them null
and void.* This Bull was not published till October 15 10,
from Bologna at the begiiming of the war with France, and
when it had been approved of by all the Cardinals then
present : it was then sent to nearly all the Princes of
Christendom.f At the Lateran Council it was "again
approved, re-enacted, and published as is stated in the Bull
of 16th February, 1513.+
In order to carry out more effectually the measures taken
by Alexander VI. in i5orfor providing the new American
* Bull., v., 405 seq. ; Raynaldus, ad an. 1 506, n. i seq. ; Paris de
Grassis, ed. Frati, 214 seq. ; SaGMULLER, Papstwahlen, 7 seq.
Phillips, V., 2, 839, erroneously places the Bull in the year 1506,
although Mansi had already conclusively established its date as 1505.
On the Theologians who drew up the Bull, see Innsbr. Zeitschr. f.
Kathol. Theol., IV., 342 seq. ; Stimmen aus Maria- Laach, VI., 412 ; and
The Month (March, 1895), p. 324 seq.
t Sanuto, XL, 530 ; Hergenrother, VIII., 533, note.
X Bull., v., 536 seq.
HIS ZEAL FOR THE MISSIONS. 44I
Colonies with Bishops, Julius II. in 1504 created an Arch-
bishopric and two Bishoprics in Espaiiola (Hayti) and
nominated prelates to these sees ; but the fiscal policy
of Ferdinand placed all sorts of difficulties in the way of
the sending out of the newly-appointed Bishops, and after
long delay and much tedious negotiation Julius at last gave
way in order not to interrupt the work of conversion. By
a Papal Brief of the 8th of August, 151 1, the arrangements
made in 1504 were cancelled, and two new Bishoprics
erected in S. Domingo and Concepion de la Vega in
Espanola, and in S. Juan in Porto Rico, and placed under
the Archbishop of Seville, which was the seat of the
administration for the colonies.* When in 1506 Christopher
Columbus the great discoverer who had done so much to
enlarge the sphere of the husbandry of the Church died,
Julius II. interested himself in favour of his son Diego at
the Court of Spain.f
The Pope equally took pains to promote the spread of
Christianity in the regions discovered and acquired by
the King of Portugal beyond the seas,J to which many
missionaries were despatched. Preachers were sent to
India, Ethiopia, and to the Congo. In the year 15 12,
Envoys from the latter place arrived in Rome.§ For
a short time Julius II. cherished magnificent hopes of
the conversion of Ismail the Shah of Persia, and tried
to induce the King of Hungary to interest himself in
* Cf. Boletin de la R. Academia de Madrid, XX. (1S92), 261 scq.^
272 seq.^ 292 seq.^ and Ehrle's article, cited supra^ p. 161. Julius con-
firmed the partition of this colonial possession agreed upon between
Spain and Portugal in the Treaty of Tordesillas on the 25th Jan., 1506.
See Baum, 26.
t Raynaldus, ad an. 1507, n. 23; Hergenrothkr, VIII.,
348.
X SCHAFER, III., 83.
^ IlLRGENROTHER, VIII., 405-406.
442 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the question, but these bright dreams were soon dis-
pelled.*
The Pope shewed his interest in the maintenance of the
purity of the doctrines of the Church by appointing Inquisi-
tors for the Diocese of Touljf for the kingdom of Naples^
and for Benevento,§ and admonishing them to act with
decision.
He interested himself in the conversion of the Bohemian
sectaries, and to facilitate this permitted them to take part
in Catholic worship. On the other hand, he took strong
measures to put down the Picards.|| A new doctrine, put
forward by Piero de' Lucca, on the Incarnation of Christ,
was carefully examined by the Pope's orders, with the result
that it was solemnly condemned on the 7th September,
1511.II In Bologna in 1508 a heretical monk who had
been guilty of sacrilege was burnt.** In Switzerland four
Dominicans who had imposed on the people by false
miracles were executed by his orders ; and in Rome in
1503, and again in 15 13, he took measures to repress the
Maraiias.-j-f In Spain and elsewhere he did his best to put
* ZiNKEISEN, II., 557.
t Bull. Ord. Praedic, IV., 217.
X ^Letter to Barnaba [Capograsso] ord. praedic. in regno Neapolit.
heret. pravit. inquisit. Dat. u. s. (24th April, 1505). *Lib. brev. 22, f. 293.
(Secret Archives of the Vatican.) C/. Amabile, I., 96 se^.
§ "^Letter to Bentivolus " commiss. noster," dated the 29th July, 1 505.
*Lib. brev. 25, f. 349. Secret Archives of the Vatican.
II Cf. Hergenrother, VIII., 536, and Pieper, Nuntiaturen, 45.
IT Lea, III., 603.
** Sanuto, VII., 393.
ft Sybel's Hist. Zeitschr., XXXVI L, 313 seg^., and Corp. Dipl. Portug.,
I., 187. C/. also Raynaldus, ad an. 1509, n. 22, and on their hypocrisy
Janssen, Kritiker, I., 17, and Deutsche Gesch., II., 52 seg., ed. 15.
Sanuto, XV., 216, mentions a heretical book which was examined by
the Pope's orders. Cf. also Fredericq, Corp. Doc. Inquisit. (Haag,
1889), n. 411, and Rev. Hist., XLIIL, 165, 169.
HIS OPPOSITION TO THE SPANISH INQUISITION. 443
a stop to unjust or too severe proceedings on the part of
the Inquisitors.*
In Sicily the Spanish Inquisition had been introduced in
1500, and in 15 10 Ferdinand tried to establish it in Naples,
but met with a determined resistance. Serious disturb-
ances ensued ; the nobles and citizens combined together
in opposing it, and the King, not feeling himself strong
enough to carry the matter through, gave way. Julius 11.
gladly agreed to this ; in fact, the effect of the Spanish
Inquisition was only to diminish his authority ; and it is
not certain that he may not have encouraged the Neapoli-
tans in their opposition.! ^^ resisted the encroachment
of the State on the liberties and rights of his Church, not
only at Venice,J but in many other places also, and in con-
sequence came into collision with the Government in
England, in the Netherlands with the Regent Margaret,
in Spain with Ferdinand, with Louis XII. in France, and
with the rulers of Hungary, Savoy, and others.§
Julius II. was by no means blind to the need for reform
within the Church. On the 4th November, 1 504, the subject
* See Hefele, Ximenes, 316. Cf. the *Brief — Bertono Facino
Lacco : The Inquisitors who have been endeavouring to extort an
acknowledgment from the petitioner on a false suspicion, are forbidden
to proceed further against him, as he is prepared to clear himself on
oath. Dat. Bonon., 1506, Dec. 15, A° 4°. (*Lib. brev. 25, f. 4o'\) Cf.
also the *Brief of the 5th Nov., 1509, to Antonius archiep. Ciranat. et
consil. consilii generalis inquisit. regnor. Castelle et Legionis. *Lib.
brev. 27, f. 730*^. Secret Archives of the Vatican.
t Amabh.e, IlTumulto Napolitano dell' anno 15 10 contra la s. Inquisi-
zione (Napoli, 1888), and II Santo Offizio, I., 93 scq.., looscq.^ 118 scq.
See also Lea, II., 287.
X See supra^ 301 seq.
§ Cf. BUSCH, Tudors, I., 238 ; BroSCH, 162 ; RaynALDUS, ad an.
1505, n. 50 ; *Lib. brev. 25, f. 42, 66, 67'^, 210 ; also 28, f. 55. (Secret
Archives of the Vatican.) 6/ also *Brief of 12th March, 1505, in the
State Archives, Florence.
444 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
was discussed in Consistory, and a Commission of six
Cardinals appointed to deal with it ; but those who were
behind the scenes were of opinion that the only practical
point to which the Commission meant to give their atten-
tion was the prevention of any fresh creation of Car-
dinals ! * The exceptional difficulties, both political and
ecclesiastical, with which Julius was beset on all sides
throughout the whole of his reign, drove the larger ques-
tion of reform into the background ; but they did not
hinder him from instituting many useful and salutary
changes in individual cases, especially in convents. The
Pope shewed his strong interest in the Dominican Order
by a series of enactments for the renovation of their con-
vents in Italy, France, and Ireland.f He forbade Domini-
can and Franciscan friars who were pursuing their studies
in Universities to reside out of their convents.^ He estab-
lished the Congregation of S. Justina on a new footing,
which was of the greatest advantage to it. The venerable
mother-house of the Benedictines, Monte Cassino, which
had been bestowed in co7nmendam, was returned to the
Order during his Pontificate. In the year 1504 he ordained
that the Congregation of S. Justina should from henceforth
bear the name of Congregatio Cassinensis : § and in 1506 he
affiliated the Sicilian Congregation also to Monte Cassino. ||
His plan for reuniting the separated branches of the
Order of S. Francis into a single body was one which also
tended in the direction of reform. The difficulties, how-
* Dispacci di A. Giustinian, III., 286 ; cf, 289, 299.
t Bull. Ord. Praed., IV., 217, 219, 221, 225, 241, 254, 260, 263, 268.
Cf. the "^Brief to the vicarius generalis fratr. praedicat. dat. Bolognae,
1507, Jan. 28. "^Lib. brev. 25, f. 133.
X Bull, v., 472 seq.
§ Katholik (i860), I., 203 ; Stud. a. d. Benediktinerorden, XL, 583.
II Bull of 1 8th July, 1506, in the State Archives, Palermo. S. Martino
delle Scale, n. 913.
JULIUS II. AND THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS. 445
ever, in the way of carrying this out proved so great, that
he was forced to content himself with obliging all the
smaller separate communities to unite themselves with one
or other of the two main stems, the Conventuals or the
Observantines. At the same time he expressly ordained
that those which affiliated themselves to the Conventuals
should have power to retain their stricter rule. Though
most of the smaller communities very much disliked this
measure still all finally submitted to the Pope's command.*
A Bull was issued on the i6th June, 1508, dealing with
the reform of the Carthusians, and another on the 24th
March, 15 11, with that of the Italian Cistercians.f
In England Julius II. took measures for remedying the
abuses connected with ecclesiastical immunities,! and in
Basle he instituted proceedings against the Augustinian
nuns of Klingenthal for immorality.§ Many enactments
were issued to put a stop to the proceedings of unauthorised
persons who went about demanding money in the name of
the Church. II He also did what he could for the cause of
morality in general, by the unfailing support and en-
couragement which he bestowed on the outspoken mission
preachers, who did so much good amongst the mass of the
people.^
All the religious orders found in him a kind and help-
ful friend. The Order of S. John Gualbert of Vallombrosa,
* Grammer in Wetze unci Welte's Kirchenlex., L, 670, ed. 2. Cf.
also EUBEL, Ciescb. d. Minoritenprovinz, 278.
t Bull, v., 469 seq.^ 496 seq.
X Ibid.^ 404 seq.
§ In a ■''•Brief of 28th March, 1505, to the Burgomaster and Council
of Basle, Julius II. informs them that he has put the reform of Klingen-
thal into the hands of Bishop Christopher of Basle. Archives, Basle,
2540, A.
II Cf. Lib. Ijrev. 25, f 154, 294. Secret Archives of the Vatican.
H See Vol. V. of this work, p. 180, note*.
]
44^ HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the Benedictine Congregation of the Blessed Virgin of
Monte Oliveto, the Augustinian Hermits and the Regular
Canons of S. Augustine were specially favoured by him,
and received many privileges. He confirmed the rule of
the Franciscan Society of S. John of Guadelupe in
Granada and the new Statutes of S. Francis de Paula, and
settled many disputes between various religious congrega-
tions. He had a great liking for religious orders generally.
During the Lateran Council many of the Bishops strongly
urged him to take away some of their privileges, but this
he steadily refused.*
Amongst other ecclesiastical acts of Julius II., we may
mention here the revival of the constitutions of Boniface
VIII., Pius II., and Innocent VIII. forbidding persons
appointed to benefices to exercise any rights of ecclesi-
astical jurisdiction or administration until they had
received their Apostolic Letters ;f his ordinances against
duelling;]; and for promoting devotion to S. Anne,§
the Holy House at Loreto,|| the Passion of Christ,1[ and
the Blessed Sacrament ; ** and the introduction of the
Processes for the Canonisation of Bishop Benno of Meissen
and S. Francis de Paula.-|-j-
* For details see Hergenrother, VIII., 537. The enactments of
Julius II. in regard to Orders of Chivalry are in Raynaldus, ad an.
1505, n. 6; 1507, n. 29.
t Bull, v., 408 seg'.
% Bull, v., 474 seg., and Raynaldus, ad an. 1508, n. 29 ; i509,n. 35.
§ See Katholik (1850), II., 137 -s"^^.; (1878), I., 67 ; Beissel, Reliquien-
verehrung, 1^4 seg.; SCHAUMKELL, 24.
II Raynaldus, ad an. 1 507, n. 26 seg.; Tursellinus, 160 seg'., 1 70 seg.;
ClACONIUS, III., 241.
^ See Cod. Dipl. Sax., II., 10, 367.
** C/. Piazza, 442 seg.; Miguel Antonio Alarc6n, Biografia de la
S. Doha Teresa Enriquez, llamada " La Loca del Sacramento," 49 seg.,
Valencia, 1895.
tt Raynaldus, ad an. 1506, n. 42 ; Maulde, Origines, 67. Julius II.
HIS FOUNDATION OF THE CAPPELLA GIULT A 447
Another work of his which was of great value in
enhancing the solemnity and beauty of the Divine Offices
in S. Peter's, was the endowment of the Papal Choir Chapel
there, which from his time has in consequence been known
as the Cappella Giulia.* " The motives which induced Julius
II. to found the 'Cappella Giulia' were partly the desire not
to depend on foreign talent, but to train native Romans
as singers, and partly his wish to create a preliminary
school in S. Peter's for the Papal Chapel, and finally, in
order to ensure that the offices in that great sanctuary
should be performed in a manner befitting its dignity." -j-
From all these things it is clear that the reproach that
Julius II. was so absorbed in the building up of the
external power of the Holy See as to pay hardly any
attention to the internal affairs of the Church, is wholly
unjust and untrue. But at the same time he cannot be
exonerated from blame for having granted undue
ecclesiastical concessions to various Governments under
the pressure of political considerations. Such was the
nomination of Cardinal d'Amboise as Legate for the
whole of France in order to conciliate him and the King; J
also gave orders for the examination of the miracles and virtues of
Henry VI. See Raynaldus, ad an. 1504, n. 33; Hergenrother,
VIH., 408.
* Cf. Sybels Hist. Zeitsch., XXXVI., 162, and F. X. Haberl in the
Vierteljahrsschrift f Musikwissenschaft, HI. ,235 seq. ( 1 887), who remarks :
Before the 20th Sept., 1870, whenever the Pope celebrated mass in any
of the Roman churches, the music during the mass was sung by the
Cappella Palatina, but the solemn processional chant on entering was that
of the Cappella Giulia. And to the present day on solemn occasions, as
in Holy Week, when strangers think they are listening to the Sistine
Choir, the style and the chants are those of the Cappella Giulia.
f Cf.F.X. Haberl, loc. cit.^ 249. He has made a mistike, however,
in the date of the Bull on the Cappella Giulia, printed in the Bull. Vat.,
II., 348 seq.^ putting 15 12 instead of 15 13.
X Cf. supra., p. 234 seq. MauI.DE, Orii^ines, 132 seq.., rightly points out
44^ HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the granting to the Spanish Government the patronage of
all the churches in the West Indies,* and to the King of
Portugal the appointments to benefices in his kingdom.f
Concessions of a different kind, but many of them far
from unobjectionable, were granted to Poland, + Norway, §
Scotland, || Savoy, 1[ and the Swiss. At the same time
Julius II. refused the extravagant demands of the Zurich
Council, having warned the Swiss beforehand that though
he was willing to grant them ecclesiastical privileges he
could not go beyond what was right and fitting.**
As regards questions of reform it has been already
demonstrated that Julius was by no means inactive in
individual cases, and especially in dealing with convents.
He was far too clear-sighted not to be aware that much
more than this was wanted. The reform of abuses in all
departments of the Church, and especially in the Roman
how unusual such a concession as that of making Card. d'Amboise legatus
a latere for the whole kingdom was.
* Bull of 28th July, 1508 ; Coleccion de los Concordatos (Madrid,
1848) ; Hergenrother in Archiv. fiir Kirchenrecht, X., 15 ; PhillipS-
Vering, Vin., 200. It is doubtful whether the supposed Bull of Alex-
ander VI., dated 25th June, 1493, and granting to the ^Spanish Kings
the patronage of all churches and benefices in the kingdom, really
exists. See Hergenrother, loc. cit., and Phuxips-Vering, loc. cit.
On the extension of the rights of Provision granted by Innocent VIII.
to the Spanish Government for Sicily to all benefices belonging to
Cathedrals or Collegiate Churches, see Sentis, 102.
t Corp. Dipl. Portug., I., 104 seq,
X Caro, v., 2, 960 seq.
§ Paludan-Muller, 240, 289 ; Hist. Polit. Bl., CVL, 346 seq.
|| See **Brief to Jacobus Archiep. Glasguen., dat. Romae, 1509, Juli
28. *Lib. brev. 27, f. 559. Secret Archives of the Vatican.
IF SCLOPIS, Antica legislaz. del Piemonte, 484 ; Lea, I., 425.
** Cf. Geschichtsfreund, XXXIII., 13 seq. (Einsiedeln, 1878), and
ROHRER, on the so-called Concordat of Waldmann in the Jahrb. f.
Schweiz. Gesch., IV., 3-23.
HIS DESIRES FOR REFORM. 449
Court, was the primary task of the Lateran Council, as
the Pope himself in June 1511,* and again on other
occasions, repeatedly declared. Previous to its opening in
March 15 12, Julius had nominated a Commission of eight
Cardinals to deal specially with the reform of the Roman
Court and its officials.f On the 30th March, 15 12, a Bull
was issued, reducing the fees in various departments, and
intended to check abuses practised by officials of the
Court.| The rest was to be settled by the Council. It is
hardly fair to accuse Julius of indifference on this point,
because he was interrupted by death just at the time that
he was beginning to take the question seriously in hand.§
" It may, of course, be asked whether it would not have
been better to have begun with the internal reformation
of the Church, and then proceed to work for her external
aggrandisement." The answer is obvious. The conditions
created by the Borgia were such that, before the new Pope
could do anything else, it was absolutely necessary to
secure some firm ground to stand upon. How could a
powerless Pope, whose own life even was not secure, attempt
to attack questions of reform in which so many conflicting
interests were involved? Julius II. saw plainly that his
first official duty was the restoration of the States of the
Church in order to secure the freedom and independence
of the Holy See.
He was firmly convinced that no freedom in the Church
was possible, unless she could secure an independent
position, by means of her temporal possessions. On his
* Sanuto, XII., 243.
+ See Brief, dat. loth Mar., 1512, in DESJARDINS, II., 575 ; Raynal-
DUS, ad an. 1512, n. 31 ; and Corp. Dipl. Portug., I., 153 seq.
X A copy of this document is in the State Archives, Bologna,
§ In his last Bull of 19th Feb., 1513, the Pope mentions his plans of
Reform. Bull. Vat., II., 349.
VOL. VI. 2 G
450 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
death-bed he declared that the whole course of his reign
had been so thickly strewn with anxieties and sorrows,
that it had been a veritable martyrdom.* This clearly
proves that, as far as his wars were concerned, his
conscience did not reproach him ; he had no doubt of this
necessity, and his motives were honest and pure.
It is, however, objected, the Vicar of Christ should not
be a warrior. This objection completely ignores the two-
fold nature of the position created for the Papacy by its
historical development. Ever since the 8th Century the
Popes, besides being Vicars of Christ, had also been
temporal princes. As such they were compelled, when
necessary, to defend their rights against attacks, and to
make use of arms for the purpose. During the course of
the Middle Ages the great Popes were again and again
placed in this predicament. Even a Saint like Leo IX.
betook himself to his camp without scruple. Of course it
is taken for granted that the war is a just one, and for
purposes of defence and not of aggression.f This was
eminently the case in regard to the wars of Julius II. It
is undeniable that when he ascended the Throne the rights
of the States of the Church had been seriously violated,
and that later the liberty of the Holy See was in the
greatest danger from its enemies. At that time it was
clearly a case of being " either anvil or hammer."^ Thus
it was possible for Julius II. not only openly to avow his
intentions but also to maintain that his cause was just.
* Raynaldus, ad an. 15 13, n. 9.
t Cf. Bellarmine'S treatise, De Potestate S. Pontif., c. 11., printed
in Raynaldus, ad an. 15 13, n. 12. See also Novaes, IV., 162 seq.^ and
De Maistre, Du Pape, 210 seq. Inghirami's contemporaneous remarks
on the question are interesting ; see Fea, Notizie, 59 ; JoviUS, De Vita
Leonis X., lib. II., 33.
X BURCKHARDT, Cultur, I., 112, ed. 3, with express reference to
Julius II.
NECESSITY OF THE TEMPORAL POWER. 45 1
The world of that day appreciated the recovery of the
States of the Church as a noble and religious enter-
prise.*
If the necessity of the temporal power is admitted, then
the Head of the Church cannot be blamed for defending
his rights with secular weapons ;■[- but of course this
necessity is denied, and was denied, though only by a small
number, even in his own day. Vettori maintains that in
the interests of religion the ministers of the Church, includ-
ing her Head, ought to be excluded from all temporal cares
or authority over worldly things.ij: The truth that the
care and preservation of the States of the Church entails
a danger of secularisation for the clergy lies at the root
of this view. But though this danger exists, the perils and
impossibilities for the Holy See and for the whole Church
of the opposite situation are so great that no Pope would
be justified in allowing her temporal possession to be taken
away from her. Even such a man as Guicciardini, who on
the whole in his judgment of Julius II. inclines to agree
with Vettori, § is found in another place to admit that,
though in itself it would be a good thing if the Pope
had no temporal sovereignty, still, the world being what
it is, a powerless Head of the Church would be very
likely to find himself seriously hampered in the exercise
♦ Ranke, Papste, I., 37, ed. 6.
t Practically those who reproach Julius II. with his wars, do so because
they contest the necessity of the temporal power. Cf. Gregorovius,
VIII., 1 10, ed. 3. The writer of a review of Brosch, in the AUg. Zeit.
(1878), n. 73 Suppl., remarks : "The only point that one can blame in
Julius II. is the end that he proposed, the founding (really the restora-
tion) of the Slates of the Church, in fact, that he was more of a temporal
prince than a spiritual ruler. But all in all he was a great man, and .1
unique figure in the series of the Popes."
X Vettori, ed. Reumont, 304.
§ Reumont, III., i, 49.
452 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
of his spiritual office, or indeed reduced to absolute
impotence.*
As a matter of fact this was a time in which no respect
seemed to be paid to anything but material force, and the
secular powers were striving on all sides to subjugate the
Church to the State. Purely ecclesiastical questions were
regarded merely as counters in the game of politics, and
the Popes were obliged to consolidate their temporal
possessions in order to secure for themselves a standing
ground from which they could defend their spiritual
authority. As practical politicians they thought and acted
in accordance with the views of one of the speakers at the
Council of Basle, who made this remarkable confession :
" I used formerly often to agree with those who thought it
would be better if the Church were deprived of all temporal
power. I fancied that the priests of the Lord would be better
fitted to celebrate the divine mysteries, and that the Princes
of the world would be more ready to obey them. Now,
however, I have found out that virtue without power will
only be mocked, and that the Roman Pope without the
patrimony of the Church would be a mere slave of the
Kings and Princes."-]- Such a position appeared intolerable
to Julius II. Penetrated with the conviction that, in order
to rule the Church with independence, the Pope must be
his own master in a territory of his own, he set himself
with his whole soul to the task of putting a stop to the
dismemberment of the temporal possessions of the Holy
* GUICCIARDINI, Opere inedite, I., 389. It is worth noting that in
this passage, the Florentine historian who has so little love to the Popes
approaches Bellarmine's view ; the latter writes : Propter malitiam tem-
porum experientia clamat, non solum utiliter, sed etiam necessario ex
singular! Dei providentia donatos fuisse Pontifici . . . temporales aliquos
principatus. De Rom. Pontif., Lib. v., c. 9,
t DiTTRlCH, Contarini, 151 seq., 298; DE LEVA, I., 303 seg. Cf,
Arch. St. Ital., 4 Serie, V., 90.
JULIUS II. THE LIBERATOR OF ITALY. 453
See and saving the Church from again falling under the
domination of France,* and he succeeded. Though he
was unable to effect the complete liberation of Italy, still
the crushing yoke of France was cast off, the independence
and unity of the Church was saved, and her patrimony,
which he had found almost entirely dispersed, was restored
and enlarged. " The kingdom of S. Peter now included
the best and richest portion of Italy, and the Papacy had
become the centre of gravity of the peninsula and, indeed,
of the whole political world."f " Formerly," says Machia-
velli, " the most insignificant of the Barons felt himself at
liberty to defy the Papal power; now it commands the
respect of a King of France."J: The great importance of
this achievement was made evident later in the terrible
season of storm and stress which the Holy See had to pass
through. If it would be too much to say that without its
temporal possessions the Papacy could never have weathered
those storms,§ it is quite certain that, without the solid
support which it deriv^ed from the reconstitution of the
States of the Church, it is impossible to calculate to what
straits it might not have been reduced ; possibly it might
have been forced again to take refuge in the Catacombs.
It was the heroic courage and energy of Julius II., which
Michael Angelo thought worthy of being symbolised in his
colossal Moses, which saved the world and the Church
from some such catastrophe as this.
Thus, though Julius II. cannot be called an ideal Pope,
* HOFLER, Roman. Welt, 256, rightly signalises this last as the
greatest danger.
t Gregorovius, VIII., 105, ed. 3. Cf. Aegidius von Viterbo,
ed. Hofler, 387, and Jovius, Vita Leonis X., lib. 111., 55, and Vita
Pomp. Col., p. 144.
X It is interesting to note that Inghiranii speaks in a similar lone.
See Fea, Notizie, 60.
§ This is what Ckeighton, IV., 167, thinks.
454 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
he is certainly one of the greatest since Innocent III.*
No impartial historian can deny that Julius II. in all his
undertakings displayed a violence and want of moderation
that was far from becoming in a Pope. He was a genuine
child of the South, impulsive, passionate, herculean in
his strength ; but possibly in such a stormy period as was
the beginning of the i6th Century some such personality
as his was needed to be the " Saviour of the Papacy." This
honourable title has been bestowed upon him by one who
is not within the pale of the Catholic Church,f and no one
will be inclined to dispute it. There still remains, however,
another point of view from which Julius II. is a marked
figure in the history of the world. He was the restorer not
only of the States of the Church, but was also one of the
greatest among the Papal patrons of the Arts.
* Gregorovius, Grabmaler, 125, calls him "the greatest Pope since
Innocent III." SUGENHEIM, 391, also compares him to Innocent. Ar-
TAUD-MONTOR, IV., 219, says of Julius II., that as a monarch he carried
off the palm amongst all the occupants of the Chair of S. Peter, and
though this may not make him one of the greatest (De Maistre, 210),
nevertheless, it certainly entitles him to rank as one of the great Popes.
Cf. also Leo and Hase, in Mohler, Kirchengeschichte, II., 523.
Browning also, in The Age of the Condottieri, 1409-1530 (London,
1895), speaks very appreciatively of Julius.
t Burckhardt, Cultur, I., Ill, ed. 3, and Redtenbacher, 4, agree
with him. DOLLINGER, Kirche und Kirchen, 521, calls Juhus, "after
Innocent III. and Albernoz, the third founder and restorer of the
States of the Church."
CHAPTER VIII.
Julius II. as the Patron of the Arts. — The Rebuilding
OF S. Peter's and the Vatican. — Bramante as the
Architect of Julius II. — The Sculpture Gallery in
THE Belvedere at the Vatican.— Discoveries of Antique
Remains. — Building in the States of the Church. — The
Glories of the New Rome created by Julius II.
Nothing so impresses on the mind the sense of the real
greatness of the Pontiff who occupied the Chair of S. Peter
from the year 1503, as the amount of attention that he
found time to bestow on Art. When we consider the in-
cessant and harassing anxieties, both political and ecclesi-
astical, and all the labours of his reign, the quantity and
quality of what he left behind him in Rome and elsewhere
in this respect are really amazing. At the beginning of
the 1 6th Century, Rome, representing as she did the art of
antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, was already
the most beautiful and interesting city in the world.* But
it is to the patron of Bramante, Michael Angelo, and Raphael,
to the Pope who, even as a Cardinal, was such a generous
friend of artists, that she owes the proud position that she
now holds of being the ideal centre of aesthetic beauty for
all its devotees throughout the whole world. f It was under
his rule that the foundations were laid for most of those mag-
nificent creations of architecture, sculpture, and painting
* Cf. MiJNTZ, Raphael, 261 scq. ; ClAN, Cortegiano, 165.
t Sec Vol. V. of iliib v\ork, pp. 328, 368, and supra^ p. 165.
45^ HISTORY OF THE POPES.
which constitute by no means the smallest part of the
magic charm of the Eternal City, and are a source of never-
ending delight to both thinkers and poets.
The aspirations of Julius II. were in perfect accordance
with those of his great predecessors Nicholas V. and Sixtus
IV. He took up their work where they left it, and continued
it on the same lines. He too aimed at embodying the
religious, regal, and universal spirit of the Papacy in monu-
mental works of architecture, sculpture, and painting, and
vindicating the intellectual supremacy of the Church, by
making Rome the centre of aesthetic development for the
great Renaissance movement. As with Nicholas V.,
family or personal aggrandisement was nothing to him.
The fruit of all his wars was to be reaped not by his
relations but by the Church ; and equally all that " he did
for Art was done for the honour of the Church and the
Papacy." Thus, though under JuHus II. Roman, like all
Italian art was under the patronage of a Court, the spirit
of that patronage was wholly different from anything which
prevailed elsewhere. The importance for art of these
" Courts of the Muses " consisted not so much in their
character, as a rule, as in their number. The encourage-
ment of art and of artistic culture in general was merely
an essential part of a princely style of living. In contrast
to this, the artist in Rome at the Court of Julius II. was
called upon to bear a part in the realisation, if only for a
few years, of a magnificent dream, the perfect fusion of two
ages, the antique and the Christian, into one harmonious
whole. Bramante's S. Peter's, Michael Angelo's ceiling in
the Sistine, Raphael's frescoes in the Stanze, all devoted to
the idealisation of Christian worship and doctrine and the
supremacy of the Vicar of Christ, are the undying memorials
of the aim and purport of the reign of Julius II.*
* Springer, 102, 103 (I., 142-43, ed. 2) ; cf. also in Appendix, N. 89,
i
JULIUS II. THE PATRON OF THE ARTS. 457
In Spite however, of the close resemblance in their aims
there is a considerable difference between the spirit of
Nicholas V. and that of Julius II. While Nicholas V. patron-
ised learning quite as much as art, with Julius even more
than with Sixtus IV. art was the chief interest* And in his
Aegidius of Viterbo's account of the Pope's "^Declaration in regard to
the building of S. Peter's. Bibl. Angelica, Rome.
^ Julius II. was undoubtedly not a scholar. Both Nicholas V. and
Leo X. did much more for literature and literary men than he did.
Fea's attempt, Notizie, 47, to rank him with Leo X. in this respect is
quite a failure. See Tiraboschi, VI. , i, 266 seg. ; Reumont, III., 2,
319, 360 seg. ; and MuNTZ, Raphael, 273. Nevertheless Julius II. was
far from disliking learning or learned men, as is shewn by his solicitude
for the Universities of Perugia (Ranke, I., 251, ed. 6), Lisbon (Corp.
Dipl. Portug., I., 56 seg.), and Rome (see Renazzi, I., 200 seq. ; Fea,
68 seg. ; and in Appendix, No. 54, *Brief of 5th Nov., 1 507 (Secret Archives
of the Vatican;, as well as the patronage he bestowed on various scholars,
and his friendly relations with them. The most distinguished of these
were Sigismondo de' Conti (cf. Arch. St. Ital., 4 Serie, I., 71 seg. ; XII.,
265 seg. ; and GOTTLOB in Hist. Jahrb., VII., 309 seg.), Tommaso
Inghirami (see Marini, L, 218 seg. ; NOLHAC, Erasme, 68 ; Anecdot.
Litt., II., 129 seg.\ the Saxon Nic. von Schonberg (Prof of Theology
in the Roman University from 1510 ; he was frequently called upon to
lecture in the Pope's presence ; cf. BUDDEE, 3), Sermonino da Vimercate
(see SiG. de' Conti, II., 390), Laurentius Parmenius (see i7ifia\ Theod.
Gaza (see Anecd. Litt., IV., 368), Bembo, who was generously rewarded
for succeeding in deciphering a MS. written in Tyrian characters (see
Ep. famil, V., 8, and ROSCOE, II., 42 seq.). While still a Cardinal, and
under great difficulties, Julius had taken considerable interest in the
collection and copying of MSS. (MuNTZ, La Bibl. du Vatican, 5-6).
From this one would naturally gather that as Pope it was unlikely that
he should have added nothing to the Vatican library, though the lacunae
in the records in the Roman State Archives and the Secret Archives of
the Vatican make it impossible to prove that he did. This seems all
the more improbable, as Albertini, 35, says that Julius II. adorned the
library of S. Pietro in Vincoli and that of SS. Apostoli with paintings, and
also decorated his own private library. See the Report of the Mantuan
Envoy in Appendix, Nos. 43 and 44. (Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.)
458 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
patronage of art he also displayed the true Rovere spirit,
confining his plans to what was possible and practicable,
and not giving the reins to his imagination to the extent
that his two predecessors had done.* Splendid as his
projects were, he undertook nothing without providing
ample means for carrying out his plans.i*
It is undeniable that Julius II. was singularly happy in
the time in which he lived, which produced such men as
those whose services he was able to command. But this
does not lessen his merit. He deserves lasting honour for
his sympathetic appreciation of their genius, which enabled
him to attract them to Rome, and to stimulate their powers
to the utmost by the kind of work which he demanded
from them — nothing small or trivial, but monumental
creations corresponding to the largeness of his own nature.^
Thus, the great masters found free scope for their genius in
Under Julius IL, G. Maffei of Volterra, Archbishop of Ragusa {pb. 1510),
and Tommaso Inghirami were Custodians and Prefects of the Vaticana,
also Demetrio of Lucca and, after his death in 151 1, Lorenzo Parmenio
and Jean Chadel of Lyons; when the latter died in 1512, Romulus
Mammacinus was his successor (MiJNTZ, loc. cit.^ 11 seq.). On
Demetrio see Cian in the Giorn. d. Lett. ItaL, IX., 450, note 4. The
extreme liberality with which MSS.,. since the time of Sixtus IV., were
lent for the use of scholars even outside Rome (see Vol. IV. of this
work, 458 seq.) was still maintained with certain precautions. Julius
found himself obliged to make some stricter rules in regard to the use
of documents in the Archives of the Camera Apostolica, as the privilege
had been seriously abused (see MUNTZ, loc. cit.^ 15 seq.). On Julius's
private library, cf. ROSCOE, II., 47 ; ClAN in the "Giorn. d. Lett. ItaL,
IV., 450 ; and infra., Chap. 10. On the coronation of a poet under
JuHus II., see Luzio, F. Gonzaga, 40, and Creighton, IV., 274-275.
* See Vol. II. of this work, 173 seq,
t Springer, loc. cit.
X Cf. MiJNTZ, Raphael, 274 ; Springer, 103; Gsell-Fels, Rom, I.,
663. See also Symonds, Michelangelo, I., 128. (There was nothing of
the dilettante about him.)
JULIUS II. AND ARCHITECTURE. 459
all its fulness, and nascent talent was fostered and developed.
The home of Art was transferred from Florence to Rome.
A world of beauty in architecture, painting, and the plastic
art sprang up in the ancient city, and the name of Julius
II. became inseparably united with those of the divinely
gifted men in whom Italian art attained its meridian glory.
" He began, and others went on with the work on the
foundation which he had laid. The initiative was his ; in
reality the age of Leo X. belongs to him."* It was through
him that Rome became the classical city of the world, the
normal centre of European culture, and the Papacy the
pioneer of civilisation.^
The resemblance between the spirit of Julius II. and that
of Nicholas V. is most apparent in his architectural under-
takings. The laying out of new streets and districts, the
enlargement of the Vatican Palace, and the erection of
the new Church of S. Peter, works which had been inter-
rupted by the premature death of Nicholas V., were
energetically resumed by him.
The Florentine architect, Giuliano da Sangallo, was one
of Julius IP's most intimate and congenial friends in his
earlier days while he was still only a Cardinal. It was he
who planned the magnificent structure of Grottaferrata, the
buildings at Ostia, and the Palace at Savona. Giuliano
shared his patron's voluntary banishment during the reign
of Alexander VI., and during this time (1494) was intro-
duced by the Cardinal to the French King, Charles VI I I.J
♦ Reumont, III., 2, 383 ; cf. Springer, ioi ; Minghetti, Raflfaello,
106 ; and Von Geymuller, 344.
t Cf. Gregorovius, VIII., 113, ed. 3, who obsenes, "The world-
wide historical atmosphere, the monumental and ideal grandeur of the
city banished every trace of provincialism from Roman art, and im-
pressed on it the stamp of its own essential grc?atness,"
X Cf. Pastor, Gesch. Papste, II., 627, ed. 2, and Muntz, Hist, de
I'Art, 407 ; J. DE Lauriere, Giuliane dc San Galle ct les monuments
460 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
It was not to be wondered at, therefore, if when Julius II.
became Pope, Sangallo soon appeared in Rome to recall
himself to the memory of his old master, and to offer his
services. He was first employed on some repairs in the
Castle of St Angelo, which the troubled times made urgently
necessary, and on the 30th of May, 1 504, he received an in-
stalment of pay for this work, to be completed later by a
larger sum.* After this, Julius continued to make use of
him in various ways; in 1505 he made a drawing for a
tribune for musicians (Cantoria),f and he seems to have been
the Pope's chief adviser at this time in all matters of art.
It was through him in the Spring of the year 1505 that
Michael Angelo and Andrea Sansovino were invited to
Rome.J Sansovino was called upon to erect a monumental
tomb to Cardinal Ascanio Sforza in S^^ Maria del Popolo ;
Michael Angelo's task was a tomb for the Pope himself.
The plan which the great sculptor drew, and which Julius
approved, was of such colossal dimensions that no church
in Rome, not excepting the old S. Peter's, could contain it.
Later, it was thought that the tribune begun by Rossellino
for the new church of S. Peter might be adapted to receive
this monument. But this had first to be finished and con-
nected with the old building ; and thus the work fell into
antiques du Midi de France, in Vol. 45 of the Mem. de la Soc. Nat. des
Antiquaires de France, and Redtenbacher, 97, 102. All that now
remains of the Palace of Savona besides the courtyard is the northern
facade, entirely of white marble, and a portion of the offices at the back.
See Gauthier, Les plus beaux edifices de Genes et ses environs (Paris,
1850), PI. 64, 65 ; Redtenbacher, 102 ; Muntz, Hist, de I'Art, I.,
199. See also Schmarsow'S Note on Albertini, 55.
* Von Geymuller, 74.
t The work was never carried out. See REDTENBACHER, 98 seg. ;
Von Geymuller, 74.
X Springer, Raffael und Michelangelo, 104 seg. ; Redtenbacher,
98
BRAMANTE IN ROME, 46 1
the hands of the architects.* At this moment the great
master appeared on the scene to whom from henceforth
almost all Julius II.'s architectural works were to be
entrusted. This man was Donato Bramante, who had been
working and studying in Rome since the year 1500.
In affording to " the most original architect of his time"
the opportunity of putting forth all his powers, Julius II.
rendered an inestimable service to Art. Bramante very
soon came to occupy the position of a sort of minister
of public works and fine arts at the Papal Court ;-j- apart-
ments in the Belvedere were assigned to him, as well as
to the famous goldsmith, Caradosso ; I the great architect
accompanied Julius in all his journeys and planned all
his fortifications ; to him was entrusted the rebuilding
of the Vatican and of the church of S. Peter, in which
a suitable site was to be provided for the Pope's tomb.§
♦ Springer, /oc. cif., los ; cf. Von Geymuller, 145 seq., and
MuNTZ, Hist, de I'Art, II., 384.
t Von Geymuller, 24.
X Cf. Costabili's ^Despatch, dat. Rome, nth Aug., 1508, who reports
that at that time alcuni maestri et architectori \\ quali sono Abramante
et Caradosso were residing in the Belvedere. State Archives, Modena.
>^ The account which follows is mostly, though not quite in all points,
founded on the results of Geymtiller's researches, which are extremely
thorough, though in several particulars JOVANOVITS, 82 seq.^ differs from
him considerably, Cf. RedtenbacHER'S articles in Liitzow^s Zeitschrift,
IX., 261 i'^^.,302 seq. ; X., 247 seq. ; XL, Suppl., 829 seq. ; XIII., 124 seq.
(against him JOVANOVITS, Zu den Streitfragen in der Baugeschichte
der Peterskirche zu Rom. Wien, 18/8) ; XIV., Suppl., 543 seq. ;
XVI., 161 seq. Redtknijacher and also Burckhardt-Holtzinger
(Renaissance, 125) agree with Geymiiller in essentials. It is naturally
impossible to enter into the details of these difficult and complicated
controversies. Many points will be made clear when GeymOller'S
2nd vol. appears, in which he and MuNTZ together will publish all the
documents relating to the building of S. Peter's. Meanwhile, ty! MuNTZ,
Les Architectes de .S. Pierre de Rome d'aprcs des documents nouveaux.
462 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
It is impossible to determine with certainty when
JuHus II. adopted the plans for the new S. Peter's. A
writer on architecture, who has made the study of the
plans and projects for the church the special task of
his life, believes that the design of rebuilding S. Peter's
occupied the Pope's mind in connection with the restora-
tion of the Vatican Palace as early as 1503.* This would
quite correspond with what we know of the character of
the new Pope ; but as yet we have no contemporaneous
testimony to support this view, and the extremely con-
strained and difficult position in which Julius found
himself at the outset of his reign is against the pro-
bability of his having immediately contem.plated such a
work as this, though, considering his sanguine tempera-
ment, this would have been far from impossible. It is
not till the year 1505 that unmistakeable signs appear
that the thought of the new S. Peter's and its adjuncts
had taken root in his mind.f According to Vasari the
in the Gaz. des Beaux Arls, XIX. (1879), 353 seq. ; XX., 506 seq. For
earlier works see Bonanni, Hist. Templi Vaticani, 50 seq. ; PUNGI-
LEONl'S Vitk di Bramante, and Plattner, H., i., 136 seq.
^ Von Geymuller, 81.
t In his zeal to defend Bramante from the suspicion of having ousted
Sangallo from his post, von Geymiiller goes so far as to say : " Bramante
was already in the Pope's service before Giuliano arrived (in Rome),
and consequently could not have taken measures to supplant him."
But Redtenbacher justly remarks that as yet we have no proof that
Bramante was in the service of Julius II. before Sangallo's arrival, and
that on the 30th May, 1504, the latter was practically the Pope's
architect. See LuTZOw's Zeitschrift, XVI., 162, and Redtenbacher,
Architektur, 182. Here again he very urgently remarks: "Even
though Bonanni, on whom H. v. Geymuller relies, asserts that Julius
had planned the Vatican buildings as early as 1 503 ; in the first place
Bonanni is not a very trustworthy authority (he ascribes Raphael's plan
of S. Peter's to Bramante), and, secondly, even supposing that he is
right, this does not necessarily involve that he had also fixed on Bramante
JULIUS II. AND S. PETER'S. 463
deliberations preliminary to the work constituted a sort
of duel between the Umbrian and Lombard tendencies
of Bramante and the Florentine spirit represented by
Sangallo and his protege Michael Angelo. It is not un-
likely that there is some truth in this statement, as Vasari
knew the son of Giuliano da Sangallo intimately ; but,
on the other hand, this author is often confused and
inaccurate.* However this may be, it appears certain
that as soon as Julius II. saw Bramante's magnificent
plan for S. Peter's, he determined to put the work into
his hands ; f while everything else, even his own tomb,
retreated into the background. Even for S. Peter's alone
on this scale the means at his disposal were not sufficient.
*' And knowing his disposition, no one can be surprised
that S. Peter's was the work that lay nearest to the
as the architect." To this I should like to add, that in his very meri-
torious work, Von Geymuller also more than once (pp. 81 and 345)
cites MiGNANTi, II., II, who there states that Julius II. determined,
immediately on his accession to the Papacy, to rebuild S. Peter's. He
believes that Mignanti "rests his assertion on unnamed documents";
but the existence of these documents is only a hypothesis, no one has
seen them, and Mignanti gives no reference. In addition to this, as
Reumont, in 1867, in the Allg. Zeit., N. 266, has observed, historical
criticism is not the strong point in this writer's book ; in fact, it contains
historical inaccuracies. The only thing that is certain is that the rebuild-
ing had been determined upon in Nov. 1505 (see i7ifra\ and until
some new documents turn up we must, as JOVANOVITS, 43, says, content
ourselves with this.
* Redtenbacher, 183, does not seem to have noticed this, for he
speaks of Vasari's narrative as trustworthy throughout.
t Giuliano da Sangallo felt himself aggrieved and went back to Flor-
ence, but with liberal rewards from the Pope. An old German legend
represents the Pope surrounded with a multitude of models for S. Peter's
and laughingly begging that all these nuts might be cleared away as he
had but one church to build, and had an excellent plan for that. B.
Ochini, Apologen., Bk. I., Ai)()l. 23, in BURCKIFARDT, Renaissance, 112.
464 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Pope's heart. His preference even in Art was always
for the colossal. Magnarum semper molium avidus was
said of him, and though Michael Angelo's design must have
satisfied him in that respect, the tomb was only for him-
self, whereas the magnificent Basilica would be a glory
for the whole Church. For Julius the larger aim, whether
for State or Church, was always more attractive than
anything that was merely personal." *
In the history of the building of S. Peter's in the time
of Julius II. there are three distinct periods. The first
idea (March, 1505) was to build a Chapel for the Pope's
tomb. In the second period (before nth April, 1505)
the completion of the works commenced by Nicholas V.
and Paul II. was contemplated ; in the third (from the
Summer of that year) it was finally determined that the
building should be on entirely new line^, far more splendid
and more beautiful. Even then, however, the idea of
making use of the buildings already commenced by
former Popes was not abandoned, and the attempt was
frequently made, but they were only utilised in a frag-
mentary way as portions of a wholly new design.f The
immense number of drawings for S. Peter's which are
still extant, shew with what energy the work was under-
taken. Some of these were executed by Bramante him-
self, then sixty years old ; man)^ others, from his instruc-
tions, by artists working under him ; amongst these were
the youthful Baldassari Peruzzi and Antonio da Sangallo.:|:
■^ Springer, Raffael und Michelangelo, 106.
t VON GeymuLLER, 145 seq.^ 373 seq.
X Ibid.^ 157 seq.^ 160 seq. ; cf. 98 seq. This writer thinks that the
influence of the immense number of studies for S. Peter's made by
Bramante between 1505-6 was so great, and the staff employed by
him in his office or in the building so large, that in a very short time
many young architects were capable of carrpng out less important
undertakings in the S. Peter's style of the master. "Thus we see the
GRANDEUR OF BRAMANTE'S DESIGN. 465
For a long time all that was known on the subject
was that the outline of Bramante's plan was a command-
ing central dome resting on a Greek Cross, with four
smaller domes in the four angles. It is only quite
recently that modern research has eliminated out of
the immense mass of materials afforded by the collec-
tion of sketches in the Uffizzi at Florence (about 9000
sheets), a series of studies and plans for S. Peter's, from
which Bramante's original design can be determined.
With these sketches before us we begin to realise what
the world has lost by the later changes in what, as
originally conceived, would have been an artistic creation
of perfectly ideal majesty and beauty.
The new Basilica, " which was to take the place of
a building teeming with venerable memories, was to em-
body the greatness of the present and the future," and
was to surpass all other churches in the world in its
proportions and in its splendour.* The mausoleum of
the poor fisherman of the Lake of Genesareth was to
represent the dignity and significance, in its history and
in its scope, of the office which he had bequeathed to his
successors. The idea of the Universal Church demanded
a colossal edifice, that of the Papacy an imposing centre,
therefore its main feature must be a central dome of such
proportions as to dominate the whole structure. This,
Bramante thought, could be best attained by a ground-
plan in the form of a Greek Cross with the great dome
young Antonio da Sangallo in the Church of S. M. di Lorcto in the
Piazza Trajana in 1507, and Peruzzi in the Cathedral of Carpi in 15 14, and
in part of tlie plans for the completion of S. Petronio in Bologna in
1 52 1, introducing features in IJi-amantc's style (not to mention Raphael's
Church of S. Eligio). The same may very likely have been the case in
Todi, as it certainly was in the Madonna di Macerate at Bisso."
* See Bull of Julius II. of 19th Feb., 1513, in Bull. Vat., II., 349.
VOL. VI. 2 H
466 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
in the centre, over the tomb of the Apostles. In the
old Basilica, however, the tomb was at the end of the
church, and this created difficulties which led to the
adoption at first of a Latin Cross.* Bramante's con-
temporaries were enthusiastic in their admiration of his
design, and the poets of the day sang of it as the ninth
wonder of the world. f Bramante is said to have him-
self described his design as the Pantheon reared on the
substructure of the Temple of Peace in the Forum
(Constantine's Basilica) ; a truly noble thought, worthy of
the great architect and his large-minded patron.J
Two complete drawings,§ which are still preserved, exhibit
Bramante's plan in detail ; it consisted of a Greek Cross
with apsidal ends and a huge cupola in the centre on the
model of the Pantheon, surrounded by four smaller domes ;
pillared aisles led into the central space. In one design the
arms of the cross are enclosed in large semicircular ambu-
latories ; in the other these do not appear. They may be a
reminiscence of the very ancient Christian Church of San
Lorenzo in Milan, which was justly very much admired by
Bramante, or they may have been intended to strengthen
the great pillars which supported the cupola. In both
designs the dome is of colossal proportions. " Bramante,
borrowing the idea from older structures, designed with
admirable effect immense niches corresponding with the
* Von Geymuller, 221. Cf. Hoffmann, Studien uber Italien, 5
(Frankfurt, 1876), and JOVANOVITS, 33.
f PUNGILEONI, Vita di Bramante, 112.
X Redtenbacher in Liitzow's Zeitschrift, IX., 304. BURCKHARDT,
Cukur, I., 1 12, ed. 3, says of this design that perhaps it was a manifesta-
tion of greater power than any other single mind had ever displayed.
Gregorovius, VI II., Ill, ed. 3, remarks : "The man who was capable
of conceiving such a work of art as S. Peter's, and of beginning to execute
it, deserves by that fact alone to live for ever in the memoiy of mankind."
§ Marked by Von Geymuller as B and D.
HIS TWO PLANS FOR S. PETER'S. 467
pillars, which would also ingeniously serve to suggest tlie
curved outline for all spaces which is the predominant form
in the whole scheme of building. The four smaller
cupolas in the corners, the diameters of which are half that
of the central dome, by dimming the light, were to prepare
the eye for the vast central space ; 011 the exterior, as
Caradosso's medal shews, they were not to rise above
the gabled roofing of the arms of the Cross." Four
sacristies and chapels and beli-towers were to be distributed
around the external angles. As this plan appears upon
Caradosso's medals it must have been for some time the
accepted one. The other plan, in which the arms of the
Cross were encased in spacious ambulatories, would have
occupied a still larger area. Here the drum of the central
dome would have been encircled with pillars forming a
crown over the tomb of the Apostles, which would have
been bathed in light from the dome.* The victory of
* Von GeymulLER, 222 seq.^ 233 seq.^ 244 seq.^ 257 seq. ; Lubke'S
Review in the Allg. Zeit. (1882), N. 216, Suppl. ; LuBKE, Gesch. d. Archi-
tektur, II., 361 seq., ed. 6 (Leipzig, 1886) ; Burckhardt-Holtzinger,
Renaissance, 126. The medals with the inscription Templi Petri
Instauiacio, are reproduced in Geymuixer, PI. 2, and excellently in the
handsome work, Le Vatican, 532. It appears that after the laying of the
foundation-stone, the directors of the works changed their minds as to
the form of the building, and decided, possibly for Liturgical reasons, to
make it oblong. Semper thinks that the Cathedral at Carpi is a faith-
ful copy of this second design of Bramante's. Semper had already
expressed this opinion in 1878 in his Bramante, 46 47. In his magnificent
work on Carpi, 54 seq., he developed it in greater detail in opposition
to Von Geymueler'S article in Liitzow's Zeitschrift, XIV., 289 seq.\
cf. also JOVANOVITS, 46 seq. ; VON GEYMULLER, Notizen iibcr die
Entwiirfe zu S. Peter in Rom, 26 seq. (Karlsruhe, 1868), and in the
larger work, 220 ; and BURCKUARDT-IIOLTZINdER, F25. The passage
out of Panvinius is in Mai, Spicil., IX., 466. On Caradosso's com-
memorative medals, see PlOT in the Cabinet de I'Amateur (3'* Annexe,
1863), 38.
468 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Christianity over Paganism was to be represented by the
Cross on the summit of the most beautiful creation of
antique architecture.
The colossal dimensions of this majestic though singu-
larly simple design, aptly symbolising the world-wide fold
into which all the nations of the earth were to be gathered,
will be realised when we find that Bramante's plan would
have covered an area of over 28,900 square yards, while the
present church on the plan of Michael Angelo, without
Maderna's additions, occupies only a little more than 17,300,
more than a third less.*
There is, however, one consideration which mars the
pleasure with which we «should otherwise contemplate
Bramante's splendid conception, and this is the regretful
recollection that its realisation involved the sacrifice of one
of the oldest and most venerable sanctuaries in all Christen-
dom. " These ancient walls had been standing for nearly
1 200 years ; they had, so to speak, participated in all the
fortunes and storms of the Papacy ; they had witnessed the
rapid succession of its triumphs, its humiliations, and its re-
coveries ; and again and again been the scene of epoch-making
events, focussed in Rome, and stretching in their effects to
the furthest limits of Christendom. The Vatican Basilica
was scored all over with mementos of this long history.
Though now falling to pieces and disfigured by the traces
of the debased art of the period of its origin, it was an
imposing building, and far more interesting from its. age-
worn tokens of the victory of Christianity over Paganism,
than it could have been in the days of its pristine splendour.
All that might be distasteful in the inharmonious jumble
of its styles and materials was forgotten in retracing
the ever-living memorials which recalled the times of
Constantine, of S. Leo and S. Gregory the Great, Charles
* Redten BACKER in LutzoVs Zeitschrift, IX., 308.
OPPOSITION TO THE SCHEME. 469
the Great, and Otho, S. Gregory VII., Alexander III.,
Innocent III."*
This was strongly felt by many of Bramante's contem-
poraries, as it had been when the rebuilding of S. Peter's
was contemplated in the time of Nicholas V., which we see
from the words of the Christian humanist, Maffeo Vegio.f
This time the opposition was even more serious, as nearly
the whole of the Sacred College seems to have pronounced
against the plan. Panvinius reports that people of all classes,
and especially the Cardinals, protested against Julius II.'s
intention of pulling down the old S. Peter's. They would
have gladly welcomed the erection of a new and splendid
church ; but the complete destruction of the old Basilica,
so consecrated by the veneration of the whole world, the
tombs of so many saints, and the memorials of so many great
events, went to their hearts. J
The opposition to the rebuilding of S. Peter's continued
even after the death of Julius II. In the year 15 17
Andrea Guarna of Salerno published a satirical Dialogue
between S. Peter, Bramante, and the Bolognese Alessandro
Zambeccari. Bramante arrives at the gates of Heaven and
S. Peter asks if he is the man who had demolished his
church. Zambeccari replies in the affirmative, and adds,
" He would have destroyed Rome also and the whole world
if he had been able." S. Peter asks Bramante what could
have induced him to pull down his church in Rome, which
by its age alone spoke of God to the most unbelieving.
The architect excuses himself by saying that it was not he
♦ Reumont, III., I, 451.
t Cf. Pastor, Hist. Popes, H., 179 (Engl, trans.).
X Fea, Notizie, 41, was the first to bring to light this passage from
Panvinius, De rebus antiquis eccl. basilicae S. Petri ; it is to be found
in Mai, Spicil., IX., 365-366. Panvinius expressly mentions here a
model in wood by Bramante.
470 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
who pulled it down but the workmen at the command of
Pope Julius. " No," answers S. Peter, " that will not serve,
it was you who persuaded the Pope to take down the
church, it was at your instigation and by your orders that
the workmen did it. How could you dare?" Bramante
replies, " I wanted to lighten the Pope's heavy purse a little."
On S. Peter inquiring further whether he had carried out
his design, he answers, " No ! Julius II. pulled down the
old church, but he kept his purse closed ; he only gave
Indulgences, and besides he was making war." Further
on, the conversation becomes broader and more farcical.
Bramante refuses to enter Heaven unless he is allowed to
get rid of the " steep and difficult way that leads thither from
the earth. I will build a new broad and commodious road
so that old and feeble souls may travel on horseback. And
then I will make a new Paradise with delightful residences
for the blessed." As S. Peter will not consent to this,
Bramante declares he will go down to Pluto and build a
new hell as the old one is almost burnt out. In the end
S. Peter asks him again, " Tell me seriously, what made you
destroy my church ? " Bramante answers, " Alas ! it is
demolished, but Pope Leo will build a new one." " Well,
then," says S. Peter, '' you must wait at the gate of Paradise
until it is finished." "But if it never is finished?"
Bramante objects. "Oh," S. Peter answers, "my Leo will
not fail to get it done.*' " I must hope so," Bramante
replies ; " at any rate, I seem to have no alternative but to
wait."*
Julius II. is still often blamed for having allowed the old
church to be destroyed, but whether the reproach is just
* This curious and rare Dialogue appeared under the title of " Simia "
at Milan in 1 5 1 7. An extract from it, shewing that most people at that
time did not believe that Leo X. would finish S. Peter's, was published
by Bossi, Del cenacolo da Lionardo da Vinci, 246, 249. Milano, 1810.
DANGEROUS STATE OF S. PETER'S. 47 1
seems very doubtful. If even under Nicholas V. the old
Basilica had become so unsafe that in 145 1 the Pope could
say it was in danger of falling — and we have trustworthy
testimony to this effect * — no doubt its condition must have
been considerably worse in the reign of Julius 11.+ In the
well-known letter to the King of England on the laying of
the foundation-stone of the new S. Peter's, the Pope dis-
tinctly asserts that the old church was in a ruinous condi-
tion, and this statement is repeated in a whole series of
other Briefs. J The inscription on the foundation-stone also
* Cf. Pastor, Hist. Popes, II., 179-180.
t Cf. Reumont, III., I, 458 seq.
X In his Briefs to the King of England, Julius says that he has laid
the foundation of the new building firma spe ducti quod dominus et
salvator Jesus Christus, cuius monitu basilica?n ipsavt vetustate con-
sti77iptain augustiori forma et aedificio renovare aggressi sumus, meritis
et precibus ipsius apostoli vires nobis tribuet, ut quod tanto ferv'ore
incoeptum est, absolvi et perfici possit ad laudam et gloriam Dei. In
another *Brief, also dated 1 8th April, 1 506, addressed to Abati et conventui
monast. S. Augustini Ord. S. Benedicti : "^Cum decreverimus basilicam b.
Petri principis apostolorum de urbe vetustate prope collabentem dante
Domino funditus reedificare atque novo et decenti opere instaurare nos
hodie processionaliter una cum ven. fratribus nostris S. R. E. cardinalibus
et magna prelatorum et populi multitudine propriis manibus nostris
in eius fundamento primum lapidem .... pwsuimus .... He is
resolved opus absque intermissione aliqua concedente Domino per-
sequi, and admonishes him to cc«itribute. Fuerunt expedita XXVIII.
similia sub eadem data. *Lib. brev. 22, f. 489. (Secret Archives of the
Vatican.) The Brief to the King of England in App., N. 49a, dated 6th
Jan., 1506, is to the same effect. Cf. also the Encyclical in Raynaldus,
ad an. 1 508, n. 6, which says : Quis merito non admiretur coeptam a
nobis ad omnipotentis Dei ejusque intactae genetricis Mariae ac principis
apostolorum b. Petri honorem et laudem nrccssariatn basilicae ciusdem
sancti iam vetustate collabentis reparatiotiem et atnpltationcm. .Similar
language is employed in the Encyclical written shortly before his death,
already quoted from Bull. Vat., II., 349. If the old S. Peter's had not
been in a dilapidated condition, he coukl not have so repeatedly and so
472 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
supports this opinion.* Well-informed contemporaneous
writers, such as Lorenzo Parmino,f Custodian of the Vatican
Library, and Sigismondo de' Conti, say the same.if It
seems, therefore, that he cani.ot be accused of having
wilfully pulled down the old Basilica.
Considering what the plans of the Pope and his architect
were, it was clear that the rebuilding of S. Peter's would
be very costly, and on the loth of November, 1505, Julius
commanded that the property left by a certain Monserati
de Guda should be set apart for the building of S. Peter's.§
This is the first authentic document which shews that the
work had been practically begun. On the 6th of January,
1506, Julius wrote to the King of England and also to
the nobility and Bishops of that country begging them to
help him in this great undertaking.]] A money order for
Bramante for the payment of five sub-architects is dated
6th April, 1506; on the i8th the Briefs announcing the
distinctly mentioned it as such. Most recent writers also think that
it was in a ruinous state. See Michelangelo Lualdi, Romano,
Canonico de S. Marco, in his "^Memorie del tempio e palazzo Vaticano,
II., f i'^, 4^, in Cod. 31, D. 17, of the Corsini Library, Rome.
■^ See Paris de Grassis in Thuasne, III., 424 N. : Aedem principis
apostolorum in \'aticano vetustate ac situ squallentem a fundamentis
restituit Julius Ligur. P. M. A. 1506. According to Burchardi
Diarium, III., 422, the Inscription was : Julius II. P. M. hanc basilicam
fere collabentem reparavit A.D. 1506, pontif sui anno 3. The third
version in Albertini, 53, refers, as the date shews, to the laying of the
foundation - stones of the other pillars in April 1 507 ; cf. Bonanni,
t Tu divi Petri principis apostolorum aedem plurimorum annorum
ictu pene collabentem instaurare in animum induxisti. L. Parmenius,
310.
X Sigismondo de' Conti, II., 343-344 ; cf. infra^ p. 479.
§ Zaun, Notizie, 178.
II See text of this "^Document in Appendix, N. 49a, taken from the
Secret Archives of the Vatican.
LAYING OP THE FOUNDATION STONE. 473
laying of the foundation-stone by the Pope himself were
sent out* At this time Julius II. was preparing for the
campaign against Perugia and Bologna.f It is certainly
a striking proof of the courage and energy of Julius II.,
that at his advanced age, and in the face of such arduous
political undertakings, he should have had no hesitation
in putting his hand to a work of such magnitude as this.
We have two accounts of the laying of the foundation-
stone, which took place on "Low Sunday" (i8th April)
in the year 1 506 ; one is by Burchard, the other by Paris
de Grassis.| The Pope, accompanied by the Cardinals
and Prelates and preceded by the Cross, went down in
solemn procession to the edge of the excavation for the
foundation, which was 25 feet deep. Only the Pope with
two Cardinal-deacons, some masons, and one or two other
persons entered it. Some one who is called a medallist,
probably Caradosso, brought twelve medals in an earthen
pot, two large gold ones worth 50 ducats ; the others
were of bronze. On one side was stamped the head of
Julius II., and on the other a representation of the new
Church. The foundation-stone was of white marble, about
four palms in length, two in breadth, and three fingers in
thickness. It bore an inscription declaring that Pope
Julius II. of Liguria, in the year 1506, the third of his reign,
* The Brief to the King of England in Raynaldus, ad an. 1506,
n. 45, is the only one at present known ; but similar Briefs must have
been sent to most of the Christian Princes. Cf. supra^ p. 471, note %.
t Cf. supra^ p. 262.
X Both published by Thuasne in BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 422 seq.
In some details they differ from each other. Cf. also the *Brief in
SiGiSMONDO de' Conti, II., 343-344, quoted supra^ p. 471, note tj and
Albertini, 53, with a wrong date both for the day and the year, which
are copied by Tschackert, 9. The *Diarium in V. Polit., 50, f. 61, only
says: A. di xvni. de Aprile, 1506, comincio papa Julio a murare in
S. Pietro. Secret Archives of the Vatican.
474 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
restored this Basilica, which had fallen into decay. After
the Pope had blessed the stone he set it with his own hands,
while the masons placed the vessel with the medals under-
neath it. The ceremony concluded with the solemn Papal
benediction, a prayer before the crucifix, and the granting
of a Plenary Indulgence,* which was announced in Latin by
Cardinal Colonna. After this the Pope returned to the
Vatican.
Entries of disbursements in April 1 506, shew that 7500
ducats were paid at that time to five contractors for the
building of S. Peter's. These, as well as other sums, all
passed through Bramante's hands, who signed the agree-
ments with the builders in the Pope's name. Hitherto, no
entry of any payment to Bramante for his own services has
been found, although he undoubtedly acted as master of the
works. He employed by preference Tuscan architects, and
pushed on the work with energy.f Sigismondo de' Conti's
statement that the building made but slow progress, not
owing to want of funds, but from Bramante's supineness,^;
is unsupported by any other writer. It may possibly be due
to personal spite. It comes from one who knew nothing
of architecture, and is contradicted by authentic documents.
It is quite possible that the work may have flagged to a
* On this spot the pillar was erected which now supports the loggia
containing the head of S. Andrew.
t MUNTZ in the Gaz. des Beaux Arts, XIX. (1879), 3^3 -^^Y- ;
XX., 506. The first mention of Bramante's name in connection with
any payment occurs on 30th Aug., 1505, but, unfortunately, the nature of
the work to which it related is not specified. The notice in Sanuto,
VI., 327, is dated, like the other, in April 1506. This is the earliest
statement relating to this subject in the excerpts from the Venetian
Ambassadorial Reports in this author's compilation. Those which follow
were not accessible to Miintz and Von Geymiiller, and are used for the
first time in the present volume.
X Sigismondo de' Conti, II., 344.
PROGRESS OF THE WORK. 475
certain extent in the year 1506, but not from any fault of
Bramante, who, by the Pope's orders, accompanied his
master to Bologna.* A document in the Secret Archives
of the Vatican,! dated 15th December, 1506, and hitherto
unknown, shews with what anxious care Julius strove to
guard against any interruption in the progress of the
building during his absence in that city. Many proofs
are extant of the diligence with which it was prosecuted
from the moment the Pope returned to Rome. In March,
1507, Giuliano di Giovanni, Francesco del Toccio, and
others were at work on the capitals of the pillars of the
new Basilica.| On the 7th of April the Modenese Envoy
reports that the Pope is delighted with the new building
and visits it frequently ; it is evident that the completion
of this work is one of the things that lie nearest to his
hearL.§ On the 12th, he writes, "To-day the Pope went
to S. Peter's to inspect the work. I was there also. The
Pope brought Bramante with him, and said smilingly to
me, 'Bramante tells me that he has 2500 men at work;
one might hold a review of such an army.' I replied that
* There is an entry on 29th Dec, 1 506, of a payment to magistro
Bramante, architectori S. D. N., pro expensis per eum cum sociis factis
et faciendis Bononie et in reditum ad urbem in Zahn, Notizie, 180.
t Brief dat. Bologna, 15th Dec, 1506. To the Archbishop of
Tarento Henrico (Bruni), thesaurar. generalis. Redit Romam dil. fil.
Nicolaus Nicius, beneficiatus basihce S. Petri apostolorum principis de
urbe homo valde aptus ad excitandum fabros cementarios ut operi fabrice
dicte basilice in stent et opus ipsum sine intermissione continuent. Quare
volumus ut eum huic negocio praehcias. ^Lib. brev., Juhi II., 25 f. 8.
Secret Archives of the Vatican.
:J: Von GeymOller, 355 ; Muntz, loc. a'L, XX., 509.
§ La S'a del papa si demonstra tuta alegra e spesso v[a] su la fabrica
de la chiesa de S. Petro demonstrando .... prcscnte non havere altra
cura magiore cha de finire la d [etta] fa[brica]. *Costabili's Despatch dat.
Rome, 7th April, 1 507. I found this and the other very interesting one
(which follows it) in the Stale Archives, Modena.
476 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
one could indeed compare such a band with an army, and
expressed my admiration of the building, as was becoming.
Presently, Cardinals Farnese, Carvajal, and Fiesco came up,
and the Pope granted them their audience without leaving
the spot." * This report is in flat contradiction with
Sigismondo de' Conti's statement. So far from idling over
the work, Bramante can hardly be acquitted of the charge
of vandalism in the ruthless haste with which he tore
down the venerable old church.
It is certainly startling to find that apparently no expert
was consulted, and no attempt made to find out whether
it might not still be possible to retain and repair the old
Basilica. We should have expected that before proceeding
to destroy so venerable a sanctuary the opinion of some
unbiassed person, not included in the circle of the enter-
prising architects eager for the fray, should have been
sought, as to what could be done in the way of preserving
at any rate some portion of the ancient building. We find
no trace of any such attempt, and probabiy this is due to
the extravagant admiration of the votaries of the Renais-
sance for their new style of architecture which led them to
look down with utter contempt on all the productions of
the preceding periods. From this point of view Sigismondo
de' Conti's account of the rebuilding of S. Peter's is singu-
larly significant. Christian humanist as he was, he betrays
not the smallest trace of reverence for, or interest in, the
Basilica of Constantine. Although he calls the ancient
building grand and majestic, he adds immediately that it
was erected in an uncultured age, which had no idea of
elegance or beauty in architecture.-]-
* See the text of this "^Report in Appendix N. 74.
t Sigismondo de' Conti, II., 343-344. In his interesting essay " Die
alte Peterskirche zu Rom und ihre friihesten Ansichten " Grisar re-
marks : " Our knowledge of the Basilica of Constantine, of its early
DISREGARD FOR THE OLD S. PETER'S. 477
But what was still more inexcusable was that no inven-
tory should have been taken of the inestimably precious
memories which it contained, and also the way in which
these venerable relics were treated. In truth, the men of
the Renaissance had as little sense of reverence for the
past as those of the Middle Ages ; * not that they had any
desire to break with the past ; this would have been in
complete contradiction to the whole spirit of the Papacy,
for which more than for any other power in the world, the
past, the present, and the future are bound together in an
indissoluble union ; but the passion for the new style
stifled all interest in the monuments of former days.f In
Christian and mediaeval decoration, its changes and its fortunes, is not
nearly so full as might have been expected when we consider the impor-
tant position that it occupied. Although this venerable building, with all
its memorials of Christian piety in so many ages and so many countries,
survived for a considerable period after the revival of art, and well into
a time when hundreds of draughtsmen and painters were busily copying
the antique buildings in Rome, we have hardly any representation of it.
The artists of the Renaissance, in their one-sided enthusiasm for classical
antiquity, had not a thought to spare for these sacred and touching memen-
tos. Nothing seemed worthy of notice to them that was not dressed in
their favourite garb." Rom. Quartalschrifl, IX. (1895), 237-238.
* It would be unjust in blaming the Renaissance period for its reckless
destruction of precious memorials, not to point out that the men of the
Middle Ages were not one whit less indifferent ; in the 13th Century,
the famous tomb of S. Bardo at Mayence was demolished, and not a
trace of it is left. When the western choir in the Cathedral there was
built in 1 200- 1 239, the old building was pulled to pieces. The Caro-
lingian tombs at S. Alban near Mayence completely disappeared during
the early mediaeval times. In the 13th Century, the old cathedrals at
Cologne, Spires, Worms, etc., were treated in a similar manner. The
feeling that we designate as piety, reverence, seemed unknown in the
Middle Ages.
t Reumont in the Allg. Zcit. (1858), N. 67, Suppl. C/. also, Gregor-
OVIUS' Essay on Roman inscriptions in the Allg. Zeit. (1867), N. 166,
Suppl., and NOLHAC, Krasme, 81.
478 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
his strong consciousness of power, Bramante was more
reckless than any of the other architects of his day in
regard to ancient memorials, or even the creations of the
centuries immediately preceding his own time. His con-
temporaries reproached him with this. Paris de Grassis
says he was called the destroyer {Ruinante\ because of his
merciless destructiveness in Rome, as well as in other places
for instance, in Loreto.* Michael Angelo complained to
Julius II., and later, Raphael made similar representations
to Leo X. in regard to Bramante's barbarism in knocking
to pieces the noble ancient pillars in the. old church, which
might so easily have been preserved if they had been care-
fully taken down.f Artistic merit was no more regarded
than antiquity, and Mino's beautiful later monuments, and
even the tomb of Nicholas V., the first of the Papal
Maecenas, were broken to pieces, together with those of
the older Popes.J There can be no excuse for such
vandalism as this. Attempts have been made to lay the
blame on the carelessness of the Papal Maggiordomo
Bartolomeo Ferrantini, or on the sub-architects. § No
doubt, Ferrantini and Julius himself are partially respon-
sible, but it is in consequence of Bramante's ruthless
methods that Christendom and the Papacy have been
robbed of so many venerable and touching memorials.
Those which are preserved in the Crypt and the Vatican
Grottos, far from exculpating him, only bear witness to
the extent of his guilt. This magazine of defaced and
dismembered monuments, altars, ciboriums, which formerly
* Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 287.
t CONDivi in the Quellenschriften, VI., 49 (1874). Cf. Grimm,
Michelangelo, I., 381, ed. 5.
X Cf. Paris de Grassis, ed. DoUinger, 428 ; Gregorovius, VIII.
129, ed, 3, and Grabmaler, 31.
§ PUNGILEONI, Bramante, 35, 98 seq.
bramante's destructive spirit. 479
adorned the atrium, the porticos and the nave of the old
Basilica, are the clearest proof of the barbarous vandalism
which began under Julius II., and continued until the
completion of S. Peter's.*
If we may believe Aegidius of Viterbo, who is usually
well-informed, and was a contemporary, Bramante's de-
structive spirit actually carried him so far as to lead him to
propose to move the Tomb of the i\.postles. Here, how-
ever, Julius II., usually so ready to lend himself to all the
great architect's plans, stood firm, and absolutely refused
to permit any tampering with a shrine which, through all
the changes during the centuries which had elapsed since
the days of Constantine, had been preserved untouched on
the spot where he erected it.f Aegidius narrates in detail
the efforts made by Bramante to overcome the Pope's
objections. He wanted to make the new Church face
southwards, instead of to the east, as the old one had done,
in order to have the Vatican Obelisk, which stood in the
Circus of Nero on the south side of the Basilica,^ fronting
the main entrance of the new Church. Julius II. would not
consent to this plan, saying that Shrines must not be dis-
placed. Bramante, however, persisted in his project. He
expatiated on the admirable suggestiveness of placing this
majestic memorial of the First Cae.sars in the Court of the
new S. Peter's of Julius II., and on the effect that the
* Reumont, III., 2, 380 ; see also his article in the Allg. Zeit. (1867),
N. 266, on Mignanti's Hist, of S. Peter's. Grimm, I., 381, ed. 5 ; and
the very interesting remarks of Gnoli, in Arch. St. dell' Arte, II., 455.
t The fact has been recently placed beyond the reach of doubt by the
researches of Fr. Gris.\r, S.J., published in his valuable work, Le tombe
apostoliche di Ronia (Roma, 1892). Further particulars are to be found
here also on the Pope's anxious care that the remains of the Prince of the
Apostles should be preserved from all risks of desecration in any way.
X The spot where the obelisk (Guglia) stood is now marked by an in-
scription. 67". Pastor, Gesch. Papste, 719 720, ed. 2.
480 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
sight of this colossal monument would have in stimulating
religious awe in the minds of those who were about to enter
the church. He promised to effect the removal of the tomb
in such a manner that it should be impossible that it should
be injured in any way. But Julius II., however, turned
a deaf ear to all his arguments and blandishments, and
assured him that he would never, under any pretext, per-
mit the tomb of the first Pope to be touched. As to
the Obelisk, Bramante might do what he pleased with
that. His view was that Christianity must be preferred to
Paganism, religion to splendour, piety to ornament*
In addition to this most interesting conversation be-,
tween Julius II. and Bramante, we have other proofs that
in all their undertakings, religious interests, and not his
own glory, held the first place in his mind. One such is
the Rule of 19th February, 1 5 13, on the Cappella Giulia,
which was the last official document issued by him
before his death. In it he sums up the reasons which led
him to found this institution. " We hold it to be our
duty," he says, " to promote the solemnity of religious
worship by example as well as by precept. While yet a
Cardinal we partly restored and partly rebuilt many
churches and convents in various places, and especially in
Rome. Since our elevation to the Chair of S. Peter we have
endeavoured to be more diligent and liberal in such works
in proportion to our larger duties and responsibilities. The
wise King Solomon, although the light of Christianity had
not dawned upon him, thought no sacrifice too great to
* I found this passage In the ■^Historia viginti saecul. of Aegedius of
Viterbo in the Bibl. Angehca in Rome, Cod. C, 8, 19. It has hitherto
escaped the notice of all the historians of the new S. Peter's, including
Von Geymiiller and Miintz. In view of its great importance, I have
given the original passage in App., N. 89. It also indirectly bears
additional witness to the ruinous condition of the old church.
ZEAL OF JULIUS IL 48 1
make in order to build a worthy House for the Lord of
Hosts. Our predecessors also were zealous for the beauty
and dignity of the sanctuary. This was especially the
case with our Uncle, Sixtus IV., now resting in the Lord.
Nothing lay nearer to his heart than to provide for the
majesty of the Offices of the Church and the splendour of
God's House." The Pope desired to follow in his foot-
steps.*
On the i6th of April, 1507, Enrico Bruni, Archbishop of
Tarento, laid the foundation-stones of the three other pillars
of the Dome. Various entries of payments and contracts,
though, unfortunately, scanty and unconnected, mark the
progress of the work. On the 24th of August, a Roman,
Menico Antonio di Jacopo, undertook a contract for some
capitals of pillars, and in another document, which only
bears the date of the year 1507, the same sculptor joins
with Giuhano del Tozzo, Franco, Paolo Mancino, Vincenzio
da Viterbo and Bianchino, in an agreement for executing
the capitals of the pillars and the balcony on the outside of
the Tribune, and the cornice inside, after Bramante's
designs. A contract with Francesco di Domenico of Milan,
Antonio di Giacomo of Pontasieve and Benedetto di
Giovanni Albini of Rome for the capitals of the large
pilasters in the interior is dated ist March, i5o8.f In
August 1508, the Venetian Envoy reports an unsuccessful
attempt on the part of the Pope to obtain the fourth part
of the tithes granted by him to the King of Spain for the
building of S. Peter's. In December, the same Envoy
mentions the zeal of the Pope for this great work.| There
are no accounts of the year 1509. On the i6th January,
* Bull. Vat., II., ^48 se^. Provisions for the Cappella Giulia follow on
this preamble,
t Von Geymuller, 355-356.
t Sanuto, VII., 606-678.
VOL. VI. 2 1
482 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
1 5 ID, Antonio di Sangallo received 200 ducats for prepar-
ing the centering for the arches of the Cupola. A similar
payment is again entered on the 15th November.*
Julius II. was unwearied in his efforts to obtain funds for
the building. A portion of the revenue of the Holy House
at Loreto was assigned to this purpose, and commissioners
were appointed everywhere for the collection of charitable
gifts with power to grant Indulgences on the usual condi-
tions to all contributors.f How large the sums thus obtained
were, may be gathered from the report of the Venetian
Envoy who says that one lay-brother alone brought back
from his journey 27,000 ducats. Even then, in April 15 10,
it was plain that a long time must elapse before the work
could be completed.^ It was no doubt a beautiful thought
that the whole of Christendom should bear a part in the
erection of a worthy shrine for the Princes of the Apostles,
but considering the hostile feeling in many places in regard
to all such collections, and the bitter opponents who were
always ready to misrepresent everything that the Popes
did, there were serious objections to the attempt to carry
it out. When Julius II. became involved in the great con-
flict with France it was asserted by many that money
collected for the Church was spent in the war.§ When the
pressure was very great this may have been the case ; in the
year 151 1, a slackening in the work is observable; still
ev^en in that year there are entries of paj^ments,!! and
the Venetian Envoy's Report in August 15 11 shews that
* VoN Geymuller, 356.
t C/. Bangen, 278 se^. ; Reumont, III., 2, 48; Paulus, in the
Hist. Jahrb., XVI. (1895), 38 seg'. On the collection in Poland, see Acta
Tomic, I., 56; in Hungary, Theiner, Mon. Ung., II., 578 seg. On
England, see supra., p. 473, note*, and BUSCH, Tudors, I., 244.
:|: Sanuto, X., 80.
§ Acta Tomic, I., 56.
II Von Gey miller, 356.
STATE OF THE WORKS AT HIS DEATH. 483
even in the most trying times Julius II. never forgot his
Church.* The very last document to which the Pope
put his hand, the day before he died, testifies to his zeal
in this work.f
The disbursements for the payment of contractors and
overseers for the works of S. Peter's in the time of Julius
II., amount, according to the Papal registers, to 70,653 gold
ducats, not too large a sum compared with those of succeed-
ing Popes. In the period between the 22nd December,
1529 and the 2nd January, 1543, the building cost 89,727
scudi, and from the 9th January, 1543, to the 25th February,
1549, 160,774 scudi.l
When Julius died, the four pillars for the Cupola, each of
which was more than 100 paces in circumference at the
base, with their connecting arches, were finished. These
were strengthened by the introduction of cast-iron center-
ings, a method which Bramante had rediscovered. The
choir, begun under Nicholas V. by Bernardo Rosselino, was
utilised by Bramante in part for the posterior walls of the
transept and in part for a choir, which, however, was only
meant to be a provisional one. Besides these, the tribunes
for the nave had been begun and an enclosure adorned with
Doric pillars for the Pope and his Court at High Mass,
which was finished later by Peruzzi, but eventually done
away with. The high altar and the tribune of the old
church were still in existence at that time,§ but by All
* Sanuto, XII., 362 ; cf. 370.
+ Bull. Vat., II., 348 seq.
X PUNGILEONI, Vita di Bramante, 96; and MiJNTZ, Hist, de I'Art,
II., 387 ; Fea, Notizie, 32.
§ PLATTNER, II., I, 136; JOVANOVITS, 33; VON GEYMULLER, I34
seq.^ 175 ; especially on the Provisional Choir done away with in 1585, by
which the Pope and Bramante tried to keep up a pretence of making
use of the works of their predecessors. VON Geymuller also shews,
p. 224 scq.^ that the present pillars supporting the Dome are Bramante's
484 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Saints' Day in 151 1, the solemn masses were celebrated in
the Sistine chapel, and no longer in the old church.*
Bramante had drawn out a wonderful design for the
rebuilding of the Vatican Palace as well as for the church
of S. Peter's. Here too, the plan, for both precincts and
Palace, was practically a new building, but the death of
Julius II. interrupted it. Still even then, what had been
accomplished was so important that even in 1509 Albertini
could say " Your Holiness has already made more progress
with the Vatican than all your predecessors together have
done in the last hundred years."-]-
Bramantes genius was not less admirable in secular
architecture than in sacred. Every one knows the famous
Cortile di Damaso. The design for this building, which so
marvellously combines dignity in composition with exquisite
grace and delicacy in detail, was his, though it was only
executed in Raphael's time, and part of it even later.
A further project, and one that could only have come
into such a mind as that of Julius II., was to connect the
old Vatican Palace, a mere heterogeneous aggregation of
houses, with the Belvedere situated on the rise of the hill
about 100 paces higher up. Bramante drew a magnificent
plan for this. In it two straight corridors lead from the old
Palace to the Eelvedere. The space between them, measur-
ing about 327 yards by 70, was divided in two ; the part
next the Palace (now the great lower Court) was to form
the arena of a theatre for tournaments or bull-fights ; from
thence, a broad flight of steps led up to a terrace and from
that again a massive double staircase ascended to the upper
half, which was laid out as a garden (now the Giardino della
{cf. JOVANOVITS, 36), and vindicates his title to the discovery of the
cast-iron arch-centres.
* Paris de Grassis, ed. Dollinger, 415.
t Albertini, ed. Schmarsow, 19. Cf. Laurent., Parmenius, 311.
WORKS AT THE VATICAN AND BELVEDERE. 485
Pigna). The two long sides of the theatre were broken by
three Loggie, while the lower narrow side was occupied by a
semi-circular amphitheatre for the spectators. The two
upper Loggie joined the long sides of the garden above the
terrace ; its narrow end was closed by a colossal niche
roofed with a half-dome and crowned by a semi-circular
course of pillars and facing the amphitheatre.* It was a
design which, had it been carried out, would certainly have
been unrivalled in the whole world.-f Although the work
was energetically begun, the only portion that had been
completed when Julius II. died was the eastern gallery.
Later, so many alterations and additions were made that
the original plan is hardly recognisable. It was Sixtus V.
who cut the large Court in two by building the Vatican
Library across it. The effect of the whole design was
completely destroyed by this, and also that of the great
niche which now looks monstrous, not having sufficient
foreground. I He also walled up the open Loggie. The
long corridor, commanding an exquisite view of Rome and
the Campagna, is now used to contain the Vatican collection
of Christian and ancient inscriptions.§ Under Pius VII.
the Braccio Nuovo was built parallel with the Library to
serve as a museum.
The extension and embellishment of the Belvedere was
* Bramante's whole design is in Gevmuller, Plate 25 ; Vasari, IV.,
155 scq.\ PUNGILEONI, Vita di Bramante, 31 ; Reumont, III., 2,
375-376 I BURCKHARDT, Renaissance, 52, 88, 97, 204, 256. VON
Geymuller, 75 seq.^ thinks it improbable that Bramante in any way
considered Rosselino's plans ; but he would naturally have arranged his
design so as not to clash with the axis of S. Petci-'s. On bull-fights in
Rome in the time of Julius II., see NOLHAC, Erasme, 75.
t See BURCKHARDT, Cicerone, 199.
\ Semper, Bramante, 41.
ij No one who has seen the Vatican Library can ever forget this
corridor.
486 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
another of the works undertaken by Bramante to improve
and put the Papal residence " into shape," as Vasari expresses
it. A new two-storied facade was added to the whole build-
ing, looking southwards towards the garden, and having
for its centre the gigantic niche already mentioned, which
is about 80 feet high. From its exposed situation the
Belvedere was often called the tower of the winds {Tor de
venti). Adjoining the Belvedere, on the eastern side, was
the tower-shaped hall through which Bramante's famous
pillared spiral staircase led into the rampart garden. Baths
and aviaries were also added to this building and decorated
with views of all the principal cities in Italy.*
The Belvedere was destined soon to contain the most
splendid collection of ancient sculptures the world then
possessed. Julius II. was an ardent collector, and the
nucleus was formed out of the numerous Roman remains
which were discovered during his reign. No doubt, by the
middle of the 15th Century Rome was already rich in
ancient statues, but in Poggio's time only five of these had
been publicly erected.f Paul II.'s valuable collection of
antique gems, vases, etc., had been dispersed at his death.
Sixtus IV. opened a museum of antique art in the Capitol,
which was the first public collection of this kind in Italy,
and, indeed, in Europe. It consisted for the most part of
large bronzes. Innocent VIII. added some newly-found
works in brass and the colossal head of Commodus.J The
example of Sixtus IV. at first does not seem to have found
any imitators. *' During the lifetime of this Pope very few
* Von Geymuller, yy ; Michaelis in the Jahrbuch des Deutsch.
Archaol. Instituts, V., 13 ; Reumont, III., 2, 382. A drawing by
Letarouilly, Le Vatican, Cour du Belvedere, Plate 5 ; cf. Plate 8, which
shews what the Belvedere looked like at the time of Bramante's death.
+ MuNTZ, Raphael, 589.
X Cf. Pastor Gesch. Papste, II., 330 j^^., 628, ed. 2 ; and Michaelis,
in Mittheil. d. Kaiserl. Deutschen Archaol. Instituts, VI., 11 seq.
THE VATICAN SCULPTURES. 487
in Rome seem to have taken any interest in the larger
ancient marble sculptures, or made any attempt to form
collections ; whereas at the same period in Florence, where
the opportunities were so much fewer, the famous Medicean
gallery had long been in existence. It was not till the
close of the 15th Century that the feeling for ancient
sculpture awoke in Rome, but once started in such a fruit-
ful soil it naturally developed rapidly." *
As Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere, the Pope was a
diligent collector. In the time of Innocent VIII. ap-
parently he succeeded in obtaining a newly discovered
statue of Apollo, which he placed in the garden of S. Pietro
in Vincoli.f It created quite a furore amongst all lovers
of art, and soon acquired a world-wide reputation.^
When he became Pope he transferred the statue to the
Vatican and placed it in the Cortile di Belvedere. This
Cortile about 100 feet square, was laid out as a garden with
orange trees and running streamlets. Bramante designed
semi-circular niches for the statues which adorned it. Be-
sides the Apollo, an incomplete group, Antaeus in the grasp
of Hercules, and the Venus Felix, were placed here.§
* MiCHAELlS, Statuenhof, 9 seg'.
t Not in SS. Apostoli as almost universally stated ; see MiCHAELiS,
lO-II.
+ A drawing of it in the sketch-book of an Italian artist of the latter
decade of the 15th Century is in the Escurial ; see MiJNTZ, Anti-
quites, 161. There can be little doubt that Diirer made use of a similar
sketch for his Apollo with a sheaf of rays (before 1 504) ; see Wickhoff
in the Mittheil. d. Instituts, I., 422 ; Thode, Die Antiken, 2 ; MiCHAELIS,
II. In the Venetian Ambassador's Reports of 1523 in Albkri, 2nd
Series, III., 114, there is mention of the Apollo famoso nel mondo.
§ MiCHAELlS, 13 seg., who quotes from the earliest edition of the
Antiquario of Julius II., out of Albertini's booklet, published in 15 10.
But here (Schmarsow's ed., 39), only the Laocoon is mentioned as
having been placed in the Belvedere ; of the Apollo and Venus it is
merely said that the Pope had them taken to the Vatican. At the same
488 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
In the year 1506, a fresh discovery added another treasure
to these marbles which, iti the eyes of the art-lovers of
that day, surpassed everything that had as yet been known.
This was the Laocoon which was found in a vineyard be-
longing to a Roman citizen, Felice de' Freddi. The vine-
yard was situated in the so called baths of Titus,* which
later proved such a veritable mine of art treasures. It was
discovered on the 14th of January in that year, not far from
the water-tower of the Sette Sale. The moment the Pope
heard of it he sent Giuliano da Sangallo to see it. Michael
Angelo and Giuliano's son, a boy of nine, accompanied him.
The latter says : " We then set off together, I on my
father's shoulders. Directly my father saw the statue he
exclaimed 'this is the Laocoon mentioned by Pliny;' the
opening had to be enlarged to get the statue out." f
The Pope had several rivals also desirous of purchasing
the treasure, but finally on the 23rd of March, 1506, a few
weeks before the laying of the foundation-stone of S. Peter's,
he succeeded in obtaining it. The finder and his son
Federigo received in exchange for their lifetimes a charge
on the tolls of the Porta S. Giovanni to the amount of 600
gold ducats annually.^
time we find in the Report of the Mantuan Envoy of 1 2th July, 1 5 1 1 (in
Luzio, F. Gonzaga, 21) : II Papa ha fatto conzar in Belveder un Apollo,
et judicato non manco bello di Laocoonte. Thus it does not seem
certain which were first placed in the Belvedere, the three statues, or the
Laocoon. Perhaps some other report may be found later, which will
settle the question.
* According to Prof. Lanciani the ruins on the south-western slope of
the Esquiline, which have hitherto been supposed to be the baths of Titus,
are really only an off-shoot of the baths of Trajan ; the true baths of Titus
having only been discovered in 1895 quite close to the Colosseum.
t Fea, Miscell., I., 329 seq. MiCHAELlS has enumerated all the other
early witnesses of the discovery, p. 16, note 36.
X Marini, Iscriz. Albane, 11, n. 2 ; Bull. d. 1st. Arch. (1867), p. 190
seq. ; Naumann'S Archiv, XIII., 108 ; MiCHAELis, 17, note 40.
I
DISCOVERY OF THE LAOCOON. 489
The Laocoon was installed in a niche in the Belvedere.
It inspired the greatest enthusiasm in Rome : " it was felt
to be the most perfect embodiment of the life and spirit
of the ancient world that had yet been seen. It and the
Apollo became from henceforth the most admired and
most popular of works of art." *
While Sadolet and other poets sang the praises of the
Laocoon in their lyrics the influence it exerted on the
minds of contemporary artists was striking and important.
Michael Angelo's painting of the execution of Haman on the
roof of the Sistine was evidently inspired by this group.f
In Raphael's Parnassus in the Camera della Segnatura there
is a suggestion of the Laocoon in the head of Homer, and
other figures in the same fresco are also taken from antique
models.^ Bramante commissioned several sculptors to
make models in wax of the Laocoon for the mould of a
copy to be executed in brass ; he appointed Raphael judge
of the competition ; the young Jacopo Sansovino was
awarded the palm. Federigo Gonzaga asked the famous
goldsmith, Caradossa, to copy the Laocoon for him.
Another interesting point about this group is that it was
" the subject of the first attempt at antiquarian criticism."
The question arose whether Pliny's assertion that it
had been carved out of a single block of marble was
true. Michael Angelo and Cristoforo Romano, " the
first sculptors in Rome," were asked to decide the point.
They found that it consisted of several pieces and
shewed four joints in it, but so skilfully concealed that
* Gregorovius, VIII., 136, ed. 3. Cf. Luzio, F. Gonzaga. 21.
t Cf. Janitscheks Repertorium, XIII., 146. Grimm, I., 277, ed. 5,
does not think that the arm with a snake twined round it, which now lies
by the side of the group, is Michael Angelo's work.
X The Calliope which is taken from the statue of Cleopatra-Ariadne.
MuNTZ, Raphael, 594. Cf. also infra^ Chap. 10.
490 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
it was not surprising that Pliny should not have remarked
them.*
Hardly less interest was aroused by the discovery of
another antique group, Hercules with the infant Telephus
on his arm, which was found in May 1507 in the Campo di
Fiore. The Pope lost no time in securing the statue, which
he placed at the entrance of his museum with an inscrip-
tion forbidding any to enter who had no sympathy with
ancient art (Procul este profani).-\
Subsequently the collection in the Belvedere was en-
larged by the addition of the so-called Tigris statue and
the reclining figure of Ariadne, which was supposed to be
Cleopatra, and celebrated under this name in the poems of
Capodiferro and Castiglione.J Finally, in January 15 12,
the great statue of the Tiber, found near the Minerva, was
also brought to the Belvedere.§ The statues were artisti-
cally arranged either beside the fountains or on Sarcophagi
ornamented with reliefs, so that the effect of the whole,
with the orange grove in the centre, was rather that of a
decorated garden than of a museum. " From the garden
* Grimm, I., 276, ed. 5 ; Michaelis, 18 ; Arch. d. St. dell' Arte, 1.,
148 seq. ; Luzio, F. Gonzaga, 40 seq.
t Albertini, ed. Schmarsow, 39. Cf. Michaelis, 18, to whom this
is the only report of the discovery known. There exists, however, a
more detailed one in a letter of Georgius de Negroponto, dat. Rome,
19th May, 1507, which I saw in the Gonzaga Archives, Mantua, and
which has since been published by LuziO, Lettere inedite di Fra Sabba
di Castighone, 6, note.
X Michaelis, 18 seq. Capodiferro's poems are in Janitscheks
Repert., III., 55. Castiglione's hexameters are still to be seen as an
inscription near to the statue.
§ On the discovery of the statue of the Tiber, see the Mantuan Report
in Bertolotti, Artisti in relazione coi Gonzaga, 7o(Modena, 1885), and
LuziO, F. Gonzaga, 30-32, which shew that Michaelis is mistaken in his
view (also adopted by Gregorovius, VIII., 139, ed. 3) that this statue
was found in the reign of Leo X.
DEMAND FOR ANTIQUITIES IN ROME. 49 1
it was only a step to the eastern balcony, with its exquisite
view over the city and the wide plain to the encircling
hills beyond. A spacious covered hall, enclosing the
principal fountain, seems to have opened into the cortile, on
the other side." Probably the statue of Hermes, now in
the Uffizi Palace in Florence, and a sarcophagus of Melean-
der, which had been dug up from behind the church of
S. Peter's, stood here.*
Each new discovery, as it stimulated the eagerness of
the collectors, gave rise to fresh excavations and researches
in Rome and the Campagna.f The demand for antiquities
became so keen that the extreme difficulty of procuring
them is often mentioned. George of Negropoute, writing
from Rome in 1507, says, "The moment anything is
found, innumerable bidders for it start up." From the
same letter we gather that a flourishing trade in such
things was carried on by speculators, the prices constantly
rising and falling.^ For some time past, many antiquities
had been carried off by foreign dilettanti.§ In the
beginning of the i6th Century the demand for collections
* MiCHAELlS, 23. See ibid.^ 9, the plan of the Court of Statues in the
Belvedere, founded on Letarouilly'S Le Vatican, Cour du Belvedere,
Plate I.
t Cf. MiJNTZ, Antiquites, 53. In the year 1506, Julius II. gave per-
mission for excavations near S. Niccol6 in Carcere : see Bullet, di corrisp.
Archeol. (1867), p. 191. The rage for discoveries of course produced
many forgeries inspired by vanity or desire for gain. The Dominican,
Titus Annus of Viterbo, published imaginary writings, by no less than
seventeen authors of his own invention, and also forged many inscrip-
tions ; even Pomponius Laetus, the Principal of the Roman Academy,
had several forged inscriptions in his collection. See J. MiJLLER, Alte
u. neue Falschungen, in Allg. Zeit. (1891), N. iii, Suppl., 14th May.
X Luzio, Lettere inedite di Fra Sabba da Castiglione, 5-6, N. Cf. also
Arch. Stor. dell' Arte, I., 148.
§ On the exportation of Antiques, see, besides Bertolotti's rather
inaccurate writings, MtiNTZ'S very valuable Antiquitds. 54 scq.
492 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
in Rome itself was no less eager. Julius II. had to
compete not only with Cardinals, such as Riario, Caraffa,
Galeotto della Rovere, and, more especially, Giovanni de'
Medici, but also with rich merchants such as Agostino
Chigi, members of the Court, like the German Goritz, and
finally, with the Roman nobles, who loved to fill their
palaces with antiques. They set them up in their gardens
and court-yards, and built inscriptions and even sculptures
into their walls and staircases, a custom which still
survives.*
The good effect of this " Pantheon of classical sculpture"!
in the Vatican, was not confined to its results in stimulating
research and the knowledge of antiquity ; it also furnished
the sculptors of that time with the noblest examples and
models. The Pope himself encouraged the revival of this
art by giving employment to its most distinguished
masters. He took Cristoforo Romano,;|: Andrea San-
sovino and Michael Angelo into his service. We shall deal
fully in the next chapter with the commissions given by
Julius to the greatest sculptor of modern times.§ Andrea
Sansovino, who had been residing in Rome from the year
1504,11 was charged with the erection of two marble tombs
in memory of Cardinals Ascanio Sforza and Girolamo
Basso della Rovere, in the favourite church of the Rovere,
S'^ Maria del Popolo. Both were completed before the
end of the year 1509. In his main design the master
* Gregorovius, VIII., 140 seq.^ ed. 3. Cf. Muntz, Raphael, 590 seq.^
and Hist, de I'Art, II., 105 seq.
t Gregorovius, VIII., 134, ed. 3.
X It has not yet been discovered what precisely were the works on
which Cristoforo was employed. All that is known is that the Pope de-
sired him to make a medallion of himself in the year 1 506. See Arch.
St. dell' Arte, I., 149.
§ See infra Chap. 9.
II SCHONFELD, Sansovino, 14.
IMPROVEMENTS IN ROME. 493
adhered to the traditional form, but the composition is free,
and the distribution of the parts broader and clearer. " The
figures recline in peaceful slumber in a sort of a niche in
the wall surmounted by a triumphal arch." *
In the year 15 12, Sansovino carved a marble group of
the Madonna and Child and S. Anne for the church of S.
Agostino by order of the German Prelate, Johann Goritz,
whose house was the rendezvous of all the best scholars
and artists in Rome. " This is one of the most perfect
productions of the new style." Its special characteristic is
great tenderness and depth of expression, and the wonder-
ful delineation of the three different ages which it re-
presents.f
Our admiration of Julius II.*s indefatigable energy is
still further increased when we turn to the numerous other
works, which he undertook and carried out in Rome for
the improvement of the existing streets, and the laying
out and adorning of new ones. He connected all that
he did in these directions with the works begun by Sixtus
IV. and Alexander VI. In April 1505, he determined
to complete the Via Alessandrina ; the cost of this work
was divided between the Pope, the Cardinals, the officials
* LiJBKE, Gesch. der Plasdk, 694 ; SCHONFELD, Sansovino, 14 seq.\
Semper-Barth, Bildhauerarchitekten d. Renaiss., 11 seq. (Dresden,
1880), and Plates 14 and 15 ; Letarouilly, Edifices, III., PL 239-242.
According to VON GeymOller, 84, the tomb of Ascanio Sforza bears
traces of Bramante's influence ; indeed, he thinks it possible that the
architectural part was after a design of his. The inscription on A.
Sforza's grave is to be found in Vairani, II., 116 seq. Julius II.
announces his intention of erecting a tomb for Ascanio in a *Brief
addressed to Gundisalvo Femandi duci Terrenove, dat. 12th June,
1505. *Lib. brev. 22, f 327^. Secret Archives of the Vatican.
t Cf. ReUMONT, III., 2, 385 ; LUBKE, loc. cit., 695 ; SCHONFELD,
Sansovino, 21 seq. On Andrea Galletti who was also employed by Julius
II., see Appendix, N. 45.
494 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
of the Court, and the Hospital of S^° Spirito.* Many other
streets, as the approach to the Lateran, the streets of S.
Celso, S'^ Lucia and many of the Piazza were embelHshed
by JuHus I I.f Amongst the new streets which he made,
and many of which still determine the ground-plan of
the city, the Via Giulia bears his name up to the present
day. Beginning at the Ponte Sisto it runs westwards in
a straight line until it reaches the Tiber near the ruins
of the old triumphal bridge. This latter was to have
been rebuilt and was already spoken of as the Julian
Bridge,! and so the whole would have formed a new and
splendid approach to S. Peter's. The Via Giulia was then
the broadest thoroughfare in Rome, and was to have been
made the handsomest. We still see the trace of his plans
in the now unfrequented street from which traffic has been
diverted to other ways. Between the churches of San
Biagio and del Suffragio we see the commencement,
consisting of huge rough-hewn square stones, of the base-
ment of an immense building which was intended to
contain the Law Courts and Notarial Offices of the city, and
also a handsome chapel. It was to have had four corner
towers with a loftier one in the centre of the facade over
the main entrance. If it had been completed, the Julian
Palace " would have ranked as Bramante's greatest work
* 28th April, 1505. Rmus D. Card. S. Giorgii fecit verbum de via
Alessandrina ut stemi posset et fuit conclusum quod S. D. N. et colle-
gium rev. dominor. cardinalium solverent 600 ducatos et officiales 800 et
hospitale S. Spiritus cum ecclesia S. Petri solverent 100 ducatos.
(Acta Consist., f. 12 in Cod. T., 8, 12, in the Angelica Library, Rome.)
ClACONiuS, III., 246, gives this memorandum ex antiquis MS. Vatic,
with the date of 28th Aug., 1505. In Contelorius' extracts from the Acta
Consist., the 26th of April is given. Arm. 37, T. 40, f. 296. Secret
Archives of the Vatican.
t Albertini, ed. Schmarsow, 42 seg.
X Ibid., 50.
FORMATION OF THE VIA GIULIA. 495
after S. Peter's and the Vatican. The immense blocks of
travertine, the largest in Rome, shew on what a colossal
scale the edifice was designed.*
The district lying between the Via Giulia and the
Bridge of St. Angelo, which had been improved under
Sixtus IV. was still further embellished by Julius. The
church of S. Celso was restored, and not far from it the
new Mint was erected.-f The Banking-house of the
wealthy and artistic Agostino Chigi, who was on such
intimate terms with the Pope as financial adviser that
Julius received him into the Rovere family,J stood in this
quarter ; and Galeotto della Rovere now inhabited the
Cancellaria which had formerly belonged to Rodrigo
Borgia. An inscription on marble, somewhat in the tomb-
stone style, was put up in 15 12 in the Via di Bacchi by
the ediles Domenico Massimo and Hieronymo Pico,
praising Julius II. for all he had done for the States of the
Church and the liberation of Italy, and especially for having
" made Rome the fitting capital of such a state by enlarging
and embellishing her streets.'* The improvements effected
in the Lungara, the street running along the right bank of
the Tiber between the Leonine city and the Trastevere,
quite altered the appearance of that district. The intention
was to carry it on as far as the Ripa Grande as a parallel
* See Aegidius of Viterbo in Gregorovius, VIII., 117, ed. 3. Cf.
Von Geymuller, 57 ; Zeitschrift fiir bildende Kunst (1878), p. 244 ;
Albertini, ed. Schmarsow, 11, 22 ; Reumont, III., 2, 376, 451 ; Arch.
Stor. d. Soc. Rom., I., 147.
t Albertini, 49 ; Gregorovius, VIII., 117, ed. 3.
X Concerning A. Chigi, of whom we shall have more to say in our
forthcoming volume, cf. CUGNONi in the Arch. Stor. d. Soc. Rom., II., 37
seq.., 209 seq. {cf. 224, Privileges from Julius II.), 475 seq. ; III., 213 scq.,
291 seq.^ 422 seq. ; IV., 56 seq.^ 195 seq. ; VI., 139 seq.^ 497 seq. Reu
MOISfT, III., I, 441 seq.., and 2, 398 seq. GREGOROVIUS, VIII., 118 jry..
ed. 3, and LuziO, F. Gonzaga, 24 seq.
496 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
to the Via Giulia on the other side, but it did not make
rapid progress. The Riarii and Cardinal Ferarri had
country-houses and gardens where it terminated, and in the
time of JuHus II. Agostino Chigi's splendid Villa, the
Farnesina, which was celebrated all over the world for the
decorative paintings on its walls, stood there.*
Amongst the Roman churches, for which Julius did more
or less, Albertini mentions S. Maria Maggiore, S. Pietro in
Vincoli, S. Biagio della Pagnotta, SS. Apostoli and S'*
Maria del Popolo.f Clinging closely as Julius always did to
the traditions of Sixtus IV. it will be understood that he took
a special interest in this church. The Chapel of the Choir
was enlarged by Bramante,J and the windows filled with
stained glass by two French masters, Claude, whose family
name is unknown, and a Dominican, Guillaume de Marcillat.
These artists were also employed by the Pope for the stained
glass in the Sala Regia adjoining the Sistine Chapel,
and in the Papal apartments in the Vatican, and liberally
rewarded. § The tombs of Cardinals Basso and Sforza were
placed in this chapel, and it was further embellished, appa-
rently in the year 1505, with frescoes by Pinturicchio at the
Pope's command. The exquisite harmony of colouring in
this work even surpasses that of his Siena paintings. The
roof seems to open in the centre to reveal a vision of the
Coronation of the Blessed Virgin in a blue sky surrounded
with a glory of cherub faces. Four circular openings in
the direction of the cross axes of the central painting con-
tain half-length figures of the Evangelists, while at the four
"^ Reumont, III., 2, 451 ; Gregorovius, VIII., 117 seg., ed. 3.
Further particulars in regard to the Farnesina will appear in our next vol.
t Albertini, 6 seg. On the SS. Apostoli, see Brief of nth Dec.
1507, in Appendix, N. 56. Secret Archives of the Vatican.
X MuNTZ in the Gazette des Beaux Arts (1879), P- 3^6; VON
Geymuller, 85.
§ Reumont, III., 2, 393, 856.
DECORATION OF ROMAN CHURCHES. 497
corners of the roof square architectural frames enclose re-
clining forms of Sybils, painted in colour on a golden
mosaic background. The depressed intermediate spaces
are filled with highly-coloured grotesques on a dark ground
while the architectural lines of the roof are defined in pale
stone-colour.* It was probably Julius II.'s partiality for
S^^ Maria del Popolo which led x^gostino Chigi to commence
the building of a chapel for himself there, which, however, was
only completed under Leo X. Julius II. had only possessed
a modest conventual-looking house near S. Petro in Vincoli
as long as he remained a Cardinal, but when he became Pope
he built himself a Palace by this church.f The Villa Mag-
lione, which had already been embellished by the art-loving
Cardinal Alidosi, was further improved by Pope Julius I I.J
Outside Rome one of the first interests of this warrior
Pope was to strengthen the fortresses in the States
of the Church and add to their number. Work of this
description was executed in Civita Vecchia,§ Ostia,||
Civita Castellana, Montefiascone, Forli,1[ Imola,** and
* SCHMARSOW, Pinturicchio in Rom, 82 seq. Cf. Gruner, Decora-
tions des Palais, PI. XIII., 49.
t Albertini, 22; ScHMARSOW, Pinturicchio, 22; Reumont, III.,
I, 418.
X Cf. Plattner's Preface to L. Gruner, I freschi della Villa Magliana
(Leipzig, 1847). On Alidosi's patronage of Art, see Springer, 108 ; he
also befriended Erasmus.
§ Cf. BURCHARDI Diarium, III., 219 seq.) Sanuto, VIII., 23;
ClACONIUS, III., 241.
Ij Cf Reumont, III., i, 519. The Ferrarese Envoy mentions the
building in Ostia in a ^Report of 30th Oct., 1508. (State Archives,
Modena.) In August 151 1, when he began to recover from his serious
illness, one of the first things that Julius II. spoke of was the carrying on
of the works in Viterbo. Sanuto, XII., 482.
IT Paris de GraSSIS, ed. DoUinger, 26 (Civ. Castellana), 32 (Monte-
fiascone), 63 (Forli).
** Fanti, Imola, 19.
VOL. \'I. 2 K
49?? HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Bologna.* The building of churches, however, was by no
means neglected. Julius assisted in the construction of the
Cathedrals of Perugia f and Orvieto,J and in that of
churches in Bologna, § Ferrara,I| S. Arcangelo,^ Corneto,
and Toscanella.** He also gave a commission to Bramante
for very extensive works at Loreto. While yet a Cardinal
he had had the sacristy there decorated by Signorelli with
a series of paintings ; ff now he employed Bramante to
embellish this venerated sanctuary, which was a focus of
■^ Cf.supra^ p. 286. See also the *Brief, dat. Bologna, i8th Dec, 15 10,
to the Marquess of Mantua, which says : Ceterum cogitamus addere arci
nostre Bononiae quasdam munitiones in quibus ingenio et arte dil. filii
Nicolai Marie Griffoni uti volumus ; est enim ut accepimus liar, rerum
fabricator egregius. This man is to be sent to him. Gonzaga Archives,
Mantua.
t "^Brief of loth July, 15 12. Capitular Archives, Perugia.
X Studi e documenti (1890), p. 106 seq.
§ *Brief, dat. Bologna, 21st Feb., A^. 4°. The church of S. Dominic
in Bologna contains the relics of this Saint, who is the patron of the city,
and held there in special veneration. In order to encourage their
devotion, and obtain funds for keeping the building in good order, the
Pope granted an Indulgence to all who should visit the church on the
next Feast-day of the Saint, confess their sins and give a small alms for
this purpose. *Lib. brev. 25, f. i68b; ibid.^ f. 259, "^Indulgence (dat.
Rom, May 7, 1 507), for the restoration and decoration of the church of
S. Petronio in Bologna. Secret Archives of the Vatican.
!| "^Indulgence for the building of the church of S. John in Ferrara,
Bologna, 8th Feb., 1 507, A^. 40. Ecclesiarum fabrice manus porrigere
adiutrices pium et magnum apud deum merlti esse putantes fideles . . ,
ut per temporalia, que illis impenderint auxilia, premia consequi valeant
felicitatis aeternae etc. *Lib. brev. 25, f. 183b.
1 "^Indulgence for the church B. V. M. in terra nostra S. Archangelo
prope Rimini, dat. Viterbo, 3rd Mar., 1507. "^Lib. brev. 25, f 218.
"^* "^Brief of Indulgence for the building of the church S. Johannis
Cornetani et S. Leonardi de Tuscanella, dat. Viterbo, 19th Mar., 1507.
"*^Lib. brev. 25, f 219.
tt WOLTMANN, II., 230.
i
■^■i^.^^.'.. .rraar:';. ■ v.srf i ,
THE HOLY HOUSE AT LORETO. 499
devotion to the Blessed Virgin for the whole of Italy and
a large part of Europe. Paris de Grassis gives an account
of these works,* of which the most important were the
decorated casing of marble with which the Holy House
was covered, and which belongs to Julius 11. , though the
arms of Leo X. appear on the pedestal, and the Palace of
the Canons, called subsequently the Palazzo Apostolico or
Palazzo del Governo. This building was to have occupied
the three sides of the piazza in front of the church, so
as to form a closed atrium leading up to it, but only a
portion of the design was completed. f
Next to the Sanctuary of Loreto the decoration of the
Cathedral of Savona, the Pope's native city, was the work
that lay nearest to his heart.J Before he was made Pope
he had enriched it with many gifts, and after his elevation
he spent no less than 27,000 scudi on its endowment and
embellishment. He also built a new Palace for the Bishop
there and a Chapter-house, finished the Chapel of S. Sisto,
supported the Hospital with liberal alms, and sent a yearly
contribution to the keeping up of the harbour.§
* Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 286.
t Cf. VoN Geymuller, 93 se^. ; Semper, Bramante, 42. See also
TURSELLINUS, 160 se^. ; VOGEL, IL, 238 se^. ; PUNGILEONI, 94 ;
Stimmen aus Maria-Laach, 1891, I. (XL.), p. 168 se^. P. GlANNizzi,
La chiesa di S. M. di Loreto in the Rassegna Naz., 15 Sett., 1884, and
Arch. St. deir Arte, L, 1 56 seg.
It In a *Brief to de Alegra reg. Savonse gub., dat. Viterbo, 23rd Sept.,
1505, Julius speaks of the peculiaris caritas qua dilectissimam patriam
nostram Savonam prosequimur. (*Lib. brev. 22, f. 373.) Julius IL
more than once interceded with Louis XII. for the citizens of Savona.
See ^Briefs to Louis XII. and Cardinal d'Amboise, both dated Bologna,
8th Jan., 1507. *Lib. brev. 25, f. 82^, 83. Secret Archives of the
Vatican.
§ See ASSERTO, in the Atti d. Soc. Savon., I., 451 ; II. , 466, and the
extract : O. Varaldo, Uninventario della Masseria del duomo di Savona
(anno 1542) per Agost. Abati. (Savona, 1891). See also Albertini, 55.
50O HISTORY OF THE POPES.
But with Julius II. the city in which the Holy See had
its seat and held its Court naturally took the first place,
and under him Rome became the true centre of the Art-
life of Italy. The Pope's love of architecture roused the
prelates, the aristocracy, and the wealthy merchants, to
follow where he led, and builders, sculptors and painters
were in request in all quarters of the city.* He did not,
however, content himself with merely beautifying Rome ;
he aimed also at making the city safe and wholesome.
The walls were restored in many places, and the charge
of these fortifications and the chief offices of the city was
handed over to men belonging to the noble Roman families,
such as the Massimi, Altieri, Frangipani, Pici, della Valle,
Cassarelli, Capodiferri, etc.f The works begun by Alex-
ander VI. for strengthening the defences of the Castle of
St. Angelo were continued. Guglielmo de Piemonte, a
friend of Michael Angelo, and the younger Antonio Picconi
da Sangallo were the architects here employed, and they
also completed the entrance and the arcade leading to
the Vatican. The handsome Loggie at the top of the
Castle, on which Julius's name is inscribed, and from
whence there is a magnificent panoramic view of Rome
and the Campagna, are ascribed to Bramante.J The
repairing of the old Cloacae and the building of new
ones, an important sanitary improvement, was the work
of the Pope.§ He also constructed a new aqueduct
from S. Antonio, two miles out of Rome, to the Vatican,
* TSCHACKERT, \^\ cf. MuNTZ, Raphael, 279 seq.
t Mazio, De' curatori delle mura di Roma, in Sagglatore, I., Z'}) ;
Reumont, III., 2, 452, 859 ; and MiJNTZ, Antiquites, 84, in, 113, 114,
117, 130. See also p. 151 on the restoration of the Ponte Molle.
J Von Geymuller, 92 ; Muntz, Antiquite's, 60, 67 seq.; Borgati,
112. The author of this latter work, an Italian officer, laments the
partial destruction of these by the Italian military administration.
§ Albertini, 52.
ALBERTINIS GUIDE TO ROiME. 50I
and repaired that of the Aqua Virgo.* Tommaso
Inghirami, in his address to the Cardinals on the death
of JuHus II., referring to all that he did in these respects,
says, " He found the city mean, uncleanly, and without
dignity, and has so purified and embellished it that it is
now worthy of the great name it bears. The buildings
erected by the Savonese Popes within the last forty
years make Rome what it is ; all the other houses, if I
may be pardoned the expression, are merely huts."f
During the lifetime of Julius II. the learned Canon
Francesco Albertini compiled a guide in which, side by
side with the old R.ome, he describes the " new city "
created by Nicholas V., Sixtus IV., and Julius II. It is
really enjoyable to perambulate Rome under the guidance
of this contemporary writer, and behold all the glory
and beauty of the magic city as it appeared in the days
of Julius II. No other source brings home to the mind
so vividly as this little book does, the almost universal
feeling for art which prevailed in that " happy generation
where not a single house was to be found, belonging to
any one who had the least pretence to culture, that did
not possess some artistic feature. It might consist in
the grandeur of its plan, or in some majestic pillared
court, into which all the other rooms opened, or an ex-
quisitely decorated library, the beloved sanctum of its
owner, or blissful resort of his most congenial friends,
or again, some precious collection of statues, or gems,
or vases, or curious stuffs, the admiration and wonder
of all who visited Rome. Frescoes on the walls of recep-
tion rooms or studies were so common that no attempt
is made to describe them or Ucime their painters. So
little account was made of them that whole series would
* Albertini, 51 ; Reumont, HI., 2, 451.
t Fea, Notizie, 52.
502
HISTORY OF THE POPES.
be ruthlessly wiped out, as was done in the cloisters of the
Minerva, founded by Cardinal Torquemada, to make way
for new and better ones." * Albertini's little book on
the Wonders of old and new Rome is dedicated to
Julius II. In the Preface he says " Sixtus IV. began
the restoration of the city, his successors followed in his
footsteps, but your Holiness has outstripped them all."
At the close we find the date 3rd June, 1509. At that
time Raphael was only just beginning to paint the
Camera della Segnatura, and Michael Angelo was still at
work in the Sistina ; f so that the greatest of all Rome's
wonders, those immortal monuments of religious art, had
not yet been created.
* ScHMARSOW in the Intr. to his ed. of Albertini, XVII.-XVHI.
t Albertini, 13, only mentions Michael Angelo's work ; he says
nothing of the Stanze.
CHAPTER TX.
Michael Angelo in the Service of Julius II. Tomb and
Bronze Statue of the Pope. Paintings of the Ceiling
IN THE SiSTINE ChaPEL.
Nicholas V. and Sixtus IV. while doing so much for
architecture and painting had, owing to unfavourable cir-
cumstances, paid but little regard to plastic art. Julius II.
following in their footsteps, had the good fortune to be
able to secure for sculpture, as well as for painting, the
services of the greatest genius of his time. His name will
always be associated with that of Michael Angelo, as well as
with those of Raphael and Bramante. It was he who
afforded to all three the opportunity for displaying and
developing their wonderful gifts.
Julius II. knew Michael Angelo's Pieta in the Chapel of
S. Petronilla in S. Peter's. No doubt, it was his acquaintance
with this work which is one of the most noble and soul-
stirring creations of Christian sculpture,* which led him in
the Spring of the year 1505 to invite the artist to Rome.
The great sculptor, then 33 years of age, put aside his
cartoon of the battle of Cascina, which he had just begun,
and obeyed the Pope's call. He arrived in March,-|- and
found at once in Julius the most artistic of all the Popes, a
patron who understood and appreciated his power. He
took the strongest personal interest in the sculptor's work,
* See Vol. V. of this work, p. 79, note **, and K. Hase, Eiinnerungen
an Italien, 184.
t Lettered! Michelangelo, ed. Milanesi, 426; VON GeymOi.LER, 147.
504 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
followed every step, and pressed for its completion with the
impatience of a boy. Between tv/o such hot-tempered men
as the Pope and the artist, collisions were inevitable ; but
they soon made friends again. They understood each other,
both were Terribili in the Italian sense,* great, vehement
souls and lovers of all great and colossal things materially
and spiritually ; both crowned heads, one with the diadem
of Christendom, the other with that of genius.f
The first commission which the Pope gave to the artist
was characteristic of both men. A colossal marble tomb
was to be carved for him during his lifetime. Michael
Angelo at once set to v/ork to prepare several designs, of
which one was accepted, and an agreement was drawn up
binding the sculptor to complete the monument within
five years, and fixing the price at 10,000 ducats ;J mean-
while he was to draw a monthly provision of 100 ducats.
Michael Angelo threw himself into his task with the greatest
enthusiasm. He went at once to Carrara to obtain the
material for his work and remained there eight months,
superintending with the greatest care, first the quarrying,
and then the transport of the marble, which weighed in
round numbers about no tons.§ .
In the beginning of the new year (1506) he returned to
Rome and set up a workshop in the Piazzo San Pietro.||
* Cf. supra, p. 212.
+ Hase, Erinnerungen an Italien, 183.
X Frey, Studien, 92.
§ Grimm, Michelangelo, I., 272 seq., ed. 5 ; Frey, Studien, 93. Frey
deserves credit for being the first to attempt to fix the dates of Michael
Angelo's various works under Julius II.
II Lettere di Michelangelo, ed. Milanesi, 426, 493. Michael Angelo
here describes his workshop as una casa che m' aveva data Julio dietro a
Santa Caterina. This church (S. Caterina delle Cavallerotte) was in the
Piazza Rusticucci (see Armellini, 175). The exact date of Michael
Angelo's return to Rome cannot be determined. Frey says, correctly,
MICHAEL ANGELO IN ROME. 505
He was burning with eagerness to begin his work. " Most
honoured father," he writes on 31st January, 1506, " I
should be quite satisfied with my position, if only my
marble had arrived ; but I seem to be most unfortunate in
this matter, for in all the time that I have been here we
have had only two days of favourable weather. Some days
ago one of the ships arrived after a narrow escape of run-
ning aground owing to the bad weather. Then, while I was
unloading it, the river suddenly rose and flooded all the
wharf, so that as yet I have not been able to do anything.
I have only good words to give to the Pope, and hope he
will not get angry. I trust I may soon be able to begin, and
then to get on quickly. God grant it."*
There was, however, a much worse difficulty in the way,
owing to the change in the Pope's mind which was now turn-
ing more and more away from the thought of the tomb and
towards the building of the new S. Peter's.f In compensa-
tion for this disappointment Michael Angelo was to be given
a commission to paint the roof of the Sistine Chapel ; I but
the master felt himself deeply aggrieved : the money he
had received was not sufficient to pay even the freights of
the marble. On the strength of the Pope's order he had
set up his workshop at his own cost and procured assist-
ance from Florence. On the 17th of April, 1506, he heard
that the Pope had said to a goldsmith and to his Master
of Ceremonies that he would not give another farthing for
stones,large or small. In much astonishment, Michael Angelo
demanded before he left the Vatican a portion of the money
before the 14th Jan., 1506 (Studien, 93); Symonds, I., 130 131, makes
it still earlier.
* /M(l, 6 ; GUHL, I., 121.
t Cf. st^/fra, p. 463.
X It is uncertain whether this plan was the Pope's own thought, or
was suggested by Bramantc. See Frey, Studien, 93.
506 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
that he required for the prosecution of his work. The Pope
put off seeing him till the Monday following, but when the
day came the promised audience was not granted. The
same thing was repeated on the following days. When on
the 17th April he appeared again he was refused admittance
by the express command of the Pope. Upon this he flared
up. " Tell the Pope," he is said to have exclaimed, " that it
he wants me any more he will have to find me wherever he
can." Then he rushed out of the Palace, desired his
servants to sell his things, and mounting his horse left
Rome at once, with a firm determination never to set foot
in it again.*
When Julius was told of Michael Angelo's flight (it was
on the eve of the day of the laying of the foundation-stone
for S. Peter's) he commanded that the sculptor should be
pursued at once and brought back by force if necessary.
But Michael Angelo had ridden fast, and it was not till he
had arrived safely in Poggibonsi, on Florentine soil, that
the messengers succeeded in overtaking him and handing
him a letter from the Pope, commanding him to return at
once under pain of his serious displeasure. The angry
artist, however, had no notion of complying. At 1 1 p.m. he
wrote to the Pope that he would never return to Rome.
" For the good service which I have rendered to your
Holiness, I have not deserved to be turned out of your
Palace as if I were a worthless lackey. Since your Holiness
no longer requires the monument I am freed from my
obligation, and I will not contract any new one."f
* Cf. Grimm, Michelangelo, I., 279 seq.^ 519 seq.^ ed. 5. The
divergencies in Michael Angelo's own accounts of the incident are here
carefully examined.
t CONDIVI, 38-39 ; ed. Frey, 74. According to this writer, Michael
Angelo arrived at Poggibonsi a due hore di notte. Michael Angelo him-
self says later, it was circa a tre ore di notte. Grimm, Michelangelo
HIS QUARREL WITH JULIUS IL 507
Michael Angelo's friends, and especially Giuliano da
Sangallo, did their best to bring about a reconciliation
between him and the Pope. On the 2nd May, Michael
Angelo wrote to Giuliano from Florence, " I beg you to
read my answer to the Pope. I wish His Holiness to
know that I am ready, indeed, more willing than ever, to
go on with my work. If he wishes, whatever happens,
to have the tomb, he ought not to mind where I execute
the work, provided I keep to my agreement, that at the
end of the five years it shall be put up in S. Peter's where-
ever he chooses, and that it shall be well done. I am
certain that when it is completed there will be nothing to
equal it in the whole world. If His Holiness will agree to
this I should be glad to receive his commission in Florence,
from whence I will correspond with him. I have several
blocks of marble at Carrara at my disposal which I can
have sent here, and the persons that I shall want to assist
me can also come here. Though I shall be considerably
out of pocket by doing the work here I shall not mind
that. As each portion is finished I shall send it at once to
Rome, so that His Holiness will have as much pleasure in
it as if I were at hand, and, indeed, more, as he will only
see the finished work and have no anxieties about it."*
A week later a friend of Michael Angelo's wrote to him
from Rome, " Last Saturday, I and Bramante were called
up to report to the Pope while he was at table, on a number
of drawings and plans : I was first, and after dinner
Bramante was called, and the Pope said to him, ' to-morrow
I., 517, ed. 5, mistranslates "2 ore di notte"as8 o'clock p.m. Frey,
Studien, 93, falls into the same error. The night from 1 5th April,
according to the Italian reckoning, begins about 8 p.m. (See Lersch,
Evviges Calendarium, 7. Miinstcr, 1877) \ ^^^^'^ between the second and
third hours of the night would be between 10 and i i j).m.
* Lcttcre di Michelangelo, ed. Milanesi, ^yy scq. GUHL, I., 123.
508 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Sangallo is going to Florence and will bring Michael Angelo
back with him.' Bramante answered, ' Your Holiness, San-
gallo had better not count on it: I know Michael Angelo
well, and he has said to me more than once that he did not
intend to paint the Chapel ; your Holiness was pushing
him hard, but he would not undertake anything but the
tomb.' Bramante said further, ' Holy Father, I do not
think he trusts himself for this work ; he will have to paint
figures greatly foreshortened to be seen from below ; that is
a very different thing from painting on the flat' The Pope
answered, * If he does not come, it will be a slight to me,
and, therefore, 1 believe that he will.' Then I shewed that
I too was there and spoke out, somewhat as you would
have done if you had had to speak for me. I called him a
knave straight out before the Pope, at which he was struck
quite dumb, for he saw that he had said what he ought not.
At last I said, * Holy Father, this man has never spoken with
Michael Angelo about these things, if what I say is not true
may my head fall at my feet. I will stick to it ; this conver-
sation never took place, and Michael Angelo will return if
your Holiness really desires it.' Thus the matter ended,
and no more was said. God be with you. If I can do
anything for you you have only to tell me. My respects
to Simone Pollajuolo."*
On the 8th of July the Pope made another attempt to
induce the sculptor to return, writing the following Brief
to the Signoria. " Beloved Sons — Greeting and Apostolic
blessing — Michelangelo the sculptor, who left us without
reason, and in mere caprice, is afraid, we are informed, of
returning, though we for our part are not angry with him,
knowing the humours of such men of genius. In order
then that we may lay aside all anxiety, we rely on your
loyalty to convince him in our name, that if he returns to
* Grimm, Michelangelo, I., 2S3-284, ed. 5.
REMONSTRANCES OF SODERINI. 509
US he shall be uninjured and unhurt, retaining our Apostolic
favour in the same measure as he formerly enjoyed it" *
Michael Angelo, who apparently had now resumed work on
his cartoon and the bronze statues of the Twelve Apostles
for the Cathedral of Florence, adhered resolutely to his
refusal. Meanwhile, another letter arrived from the Pope.
The Gonfaloniere Soderini sent for the artist, to remonstrate
with him. " You have behaved towards the Pope," he is
said to have told him, " in a way that the King of France
himself would not have ventured upon. There must be an
end to all this. We are not going to be dragged into a
war, and risk the whole State for you. Make up your
mind to go back to Rome." It was all in vain : it has even
been asserted that Michael Angelo now thought of leaving
Italy, and betaking himself to the Sultan, who had asked
him to build a bridge for. him from Constantinople to Pera.f
The poems composed at that time, in which he denounces
the corruption in Rome in the strongest terms, betray
tension and irritation with which his mind was filled during
this period. J The good offices of Cardinal Alidosi, the
Pope's favourite, whose mediation had been invoked by the
Florentine Government proved equally unavailing.
Meanwhile Julius II. had set out on his march against
Bologna, and entered the city in triumph on the nth of
November, i5o6.§ It was felt that this magnificent success
should be immortalised by some monumental work of art.
A statue of the Pope in stucco had already on the 17th
* Grimm, Michelangelo, 284-285, ed. 5 ; Gom, I., 45 ; Svmonds,
I., 180.
t Ibid.^ I., 285 seq.^ ed. 5.
\ Cf. Sonnet, 3 (Rime di Michelangelo, ed. Guasti, 156). Symonds,
I., 182 seq.^ assigns the fourth sonnet {loc. cit.^ 157. Qua si fa elmi d.
calice e spade) to this date, while Frey, Studien, 10 1, thinks it was not
written until April i 512.
§ See supra^ p. 28 1 scq.
5IO HISTORY OF THE POPES.
of December been put up in front of the Palace of the
Government at Bologna.* But Julius II. had set his heart
on a more durable work, a colossal bronze statue, to be a
perpetual memento always under the eyes of the Bolognese
of the greatness of their new ruler. The natural result was
a fresh letter from Cardinal Alidosi to the Florentine
Government, requesting them to send Michael Angelo to
Bologna, where he would have no cause to complain of his
reception. Now at last the sculptor gave way. Towards
the end of November he started for the city, provided with
a letter from Soderini, which ran as follows : — " The bearer
of these presents will be Michelangelo the sculptor, whom
we send to please and satisfy His Holiness. We certify
that he is an excellent young man, and in his own art
without a peer in Italy, perhaps even in the Universe. It
would be impossible to recommend him too highly. His
nature is such that he requires to be drawn out by kind-
ness and encouragement ; but if love is shewn to him, and
he is well treated, he will accomplish things which will
make the whole world wonder." The letter was dated
November 27. A postscript was added which said,
" Michelangelo comes in reliance on our plighted word."
Subsequently, the artist said that he had gone to Bologna
with a halter round his neck.f
His reception was stormy. " It was your business to
have come to seek us," the Pope said, " whereas you have
waited till we came to seek you ; " alluding to his march to
* Cf. PODESTA, Due Statue, 109 seq.\ and GOZZADINI, Alcuni avve-
nimenti, IV., ']'].
t Gave, Carteggio, II., 91 ; Guhl, Kiinstlerbriefe, I., 124-125 ;
Grimm, Michelangelo, I., 297 seq.^ ed. 5 ; Springer, Raffael und
Michelangelo, 109 ; the expression : Mi fu forza an dare Ik con la coreggia
al collo, is in his famous letter to Giov. Francesco Fattucci, of Jan. 1524.
Lettere de Michelangelo, ed. Milanesi, 427.
HIS RECONCILIATION WITH THE POPK. 5 II
Bologna, Michael Angelo fell upon his knees and begged
for pardon in a loud voice. He declared his flight had not
been deliberate. He had gone away in a fit of rage because
he could not stand the way in which he had been driven
from the Palace. Julius II. made no answer, but sat there
frowning, with his head down, until one of the Prelates who
had been asked by Soderini to put in a good word for
Michael Angelo if necessary, intervened and said " Your
Holiness should not be so hard on this fault of Michael
Angelo ; he is a man wlio has never been taught good
manners, these artists do not know how to behave, they
understand nothing but their art." On this, the Pope, in a
fury, turned on the unlucky mediator. " You venture," he
shouted, " to say to this man things that I should not have
dreamt of saying. It is you who have no manners. Get
out of my sight, you miserable, ignorant clown.'' Then
reaching out his hand to Michael Angelo he forgave him, and
at once commissioned him to execute a statue of himself in
bronze, which was to be 7 cubits high (about 14 feet).
Then he asked what the cost would be, to which the
sculptor replied, " 1 think the mould could be made for
1000 ducats, but foundry is not my trade, and therefore I
cannot bind myself" " Go," answered Julius, " set to work
at once, and make as many moulds as you like, until the
statue is perfect ; you shall have no reason to complain of
your pay."* This famous audience which terminated the
estrangement between these two fiery spirits, probably took
place on the 29th November, i5o6.-I- It shews how well the
Pope understood that genius levels all distinction of states.
Michael Angelo now set to work at once at Bologna,
* CONDivi, 41-42. Lettere di Michelangelo, ed. Milanesi, 429;
Grimm, Michelangelo, I., 298 scu/., ed. 5. Springer, Raflfhel und
Michelangelo, 1 10.
t FREY, Studien, 93.
512 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
The Pope often visited him. In a letter to his brother Buo-
narroti, dated ist February, 1507, he says, "Last Friday
evening His Holiness spent half an hour in my work-room.
He bestowed his blessing on me and gave me to understand
that he was pleased with my work. We have all great
cause to thank God, and I beg you to pray for me." * On
the 28th April the wax model was finished, and at the end
of June the casting was begun, but was unsuccessful ; only
the bust came out, the other half stuck in the mould.f
Michael Angelo, however, was not discouraged, and worked
day and night, until an entirely satisfactory result was
attained. From the i8th of February, 1508, the statue was
exhibited for three days in the Cathedral of S. Petronio.
The whole city flocked to see it. The Bolognese magis-
trates wrote to Rome. " It is a wonderful work, equal to
your own ancient remains." On the 21st February the
statue was placed in a niche over the door of S. Petronio
with great demonstrations of joy.J
The figure was three times the size of life. The Pope
was represented sitting in full pontificals, with the Tiara
on his head, the keys in one hand, and the other raised
in blessing. The work seemed calculated to last for
ever; in reality, its duration was of the shortest. On the
30th December,! 15 11, it fell a victim to the hatred of the
* Lettere di Michelangelo, ed. Milanesi, 65. The well-known story
of the sculptor's having asked Julius whether he should put a book into
his left hand, and the Pope's reply, " Give me a sword, I am not a
scholar," sounds like a later invention. If it had been true, Michael Angelo
would hardly have ventured to pjit S. Peter's keys into the hand of the
statue.
t Lettere, loc. cit., 148, j^, 79.
:|: Cf. PODESTA, Due Statue, 107, iii, 124 seq.; GOZZADINI, Alcuni
awenimenti, IV., 79 ; GOTTI, I., 66. The date given by Tizio (in Fea,
Notizie, 25) is incorrect.
§ Not in September as Springer, hi., and Guhl, I., 125, say.
DESTRUCTION OF THE STATUE OF JULIUS II. 513
Bentivogli party, who had already in May destroyed the
stucco figure of the Pope.* When the immense mass of
metal, weighing over 14,000 pounds, fell to the ground, it
made a deep hole in the earth although straw and bundles
of sticks had been prepared to receive it. The noble statue
was broken to pieces amidst gibes and jeers, and the Duke
of Ferrara had a cannon made from the metal which was
called La Giulia, in mockery of the Pope. The head of the
figure, weighing 600 pounds, was preserved for a long time
in Ferrara, but finally disappeared. This was the end of
the finest statue in Italy, as the Bolognese chronicler calls
it.t
Michael Angelo had returned to his home in Florence as
soon as the statue was finished, but he was not allowed to
remain there long. In March 1508, Julius II. recalled him
to Rome, not, however, to proceed with the tomb, but to
paint the roof of the Sistine Chapel.;]: " It is to the honour
of Julius that he again set his own personal glory, in em-
ploying the artist on work of a wider scope." § Michael
Angelo, who only felt the fulness of genius with chisel in
hand, at first resisted, saying that painting was not his trade.||
* PODESTA, Due Statue, 114 seq.
t Ibid.^ 119 seq.\ GOZZADINI, Alcuni awenimenti, IV., 243; Fea,
Notizie, 25 ; Grimm, Michelangelo, I., 401, ed. 5 ; Havemann, II.,
364. Letters published by Campori in the Atti dell' Emilia, N. S. VI.,
I, 131 seq.^ retail the anger of the Pope and the lame excuses of the
Duke. The story of the statue formed the theme of several contempo-
rary poems. See Campori, loc. cit.^ and Cappelli, Prefaz. alle Lettere
di L. Ariosto, LIX. Bologna, 1866.
\ Symonds, I., 198 ; Frey, Studien, 94.
§ Gregorovius, VIII., 147, ed. 3.
II Lettere di Michelangelo, ed. Milanesi, 17. Cf. the Sonnet to
Giovanni da Pistoja(Rime, ed. Guasti, 158), which closes with the words :
ne io pittore. In almost all the letters of this period, he signs himself
with a touch of ostentation : Michelangiolio, >cultore in Roma. Cj\
Woltmann, II., 577 ; and Symonds, I., 200.
VOL. VL 2 L
514 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
But the iron will of the Pope prevailed, and forced the brush
into the unwilling fingers that were tingling to clasp the
sterner instrument. An agreement was concluded between
Julius II. and the artist, in which the latter engaged himself
to paint the central vault of the roof of the Sistine Chapel
for a sum of 3000 ducats.
Michael Angelo, having received 500 ducats on account
from the Pope, set to work at once on the cartoons with his
wonted energy. According to the artist's own account, in
the first plan the Twelve Apostles were to be painted in the
lunettes, and all the other spaces were, according to the
usual practice of the time, to be filled with decorative
designs.* Before the end of May the scaffolding had
already been put up. On the eve of Pentecost (lOth June)
the Chapel was so full of noise and dust that the Cardinals
could hardly get through the office.f
Meanwhile Michael Angelo had conceived a more exten-
sive plan for his paintings, connecting them with the frescoes
already existing in the Chapel, the superiority of which was
at once appreciated by Julius II. In consequence a new
agreement was drawn up in the Summer. The whole roof
down to the windows was to be covered with figures, and
the fee was to be 6000 ducats instead of 3000. All the
materials were to be supplied to the artist.J Michael Angelo
* See his Letter to G. F. Fattucci. Lettere di Michelangelo, ed.
Milanesi, 427. Cf. also Wolfflin, in the Jahrb. der Preuss. Kunst-
samml., XIII., 178 ; and Frey, Studien, 94.
t Paris DE Grassis in the Gaz. des Beaux Arts, 2 Periode, XXV.,
385-386 ; Frey, Studien, loc. cit. The bill for the scaffolding is in Zahn,
Notizie, 187 (^/. Symonds, I., 201), also in Naumann'S Archiv., XIII.,
109. The receipt for the 500 ducats on account in Lettere di Michel-
angelo, ed. Milanesi, 563, had already been printed in Forster-
KUGLER, Kunstblatt, 1844, N. 105.
% Lettere di Michelangelo, ed. Milanesi, 30, 430. Frey, Studien, 95.
On Michelangelo's Studies for tlie figures on the roof, see Robinson,
, AJ-.«^5rZ3
MICHAEL ANGELO AND THE SISTINE CHAPEL. 515
now began to look about for assistants, ordered his colours,
and probably began to paint in the late Autumn of 1 508.*
The Pope was as usual desperately eager and impatient,
and refused to grant the artist a short leave of absence for
a journey to Florence.f
On the 27th January, 1509, Michael Angelo complained to
his father that the work was not getting on, as his assistants
had proved worthless, and he had had to dismiss them.
The result of this was, that this gigantic work was not only
designed by Michael Angelo, but almost entirely painted by
his own hands.| Besides the enormous amount of labour in-
volved in this, he had also to master the technique of fresco
painting, in which he had had no experience. In conse-
quence, the hot-tempered artist had many a passage of
arms with his impatient patron. But the two passionate
natures understood each other, and were soon friends again.
" Probably the alternations of merciless pressure and un-
measured vituperation with the frankest indulgence and
kindness, which characterised the relations between Julius
II. and Michael Angelo, were the means of obtaining more
from him than any other treatment could have done." § In
June, 1509, the Roman Canon Albertini saw the paintings
already commenced in the central vault of the roof.||
The drawings of Michael Angelo and Raphael in the University Galleries,
27 j^^. (Oxford, 1870); Springer, Raffkel und Michelangelo, ii^se^.,
and Symonds, I., 204 seg.
* Cf. H. Wilson, 126, 194 ; Symonds, L, 202 seg.; Frey, 95 seg.
t Gaye, II., 107.
I Cf. Lettere di Michelangelo, ed. Milanesi, 1 7. Michael Angelo's state-
ments in this letter, that he had not for a whole year received a penny from
Julius II., is not accurate, as Frey, Studien, 97, shews. The same writer
says that the work of other hands can be detected, both in the sacrifice
and the drunkenness of Noe, and elsewhere also. Cj. Springer, i 12.
§ BURCKHARDT, Cicerone, 644.
II Albertini, ed. Schmarsow, 13 ; cf. Frey, Studien, 97-98, wlio
$l6 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
In May 1510, after a Winter of strenuous labour,
Michael Angelo took a short holiday, which he spent in
Florence.* With all his diligence and energy, the painter
could not work fast enough for his impatient task-master.
Julius II. climbed up on the scaffolding (Michael Angelo
had to lend him a hand to help him up the last ladder)
with the sole object of worrying the artist with questions
as to when the work would be finished.^
But the time was approaching when the life or death
struggle for the independence of the Papacy and the
liberation of Italy from the French was to absorb the
Pope's whole energies and thoughts. On the 17th August,
1 5 10, he left Rome, and on the ist of September he began
his march on Bologna, where he found himself reduced to
the greatest straits.^ For the present it was out of the
question to spare anything for Art.§ Already in September
all payments ceased, and Michael Angelo did not know what
to do. At first he wrote to the Pope, but at the end of
the month he decided on going himself to Bologna. In
October he returned to Rome where, by the orders of
Julius, the Datary, Lorenzo Pucci, gave him 500 ducats.
But the payments soon again came to an end ; on which the
artist repeated his personal appeal to the Pope and was
once more successful. " Last Tuesday," he writes from
Rome to his brother on the nth January, 15 11, "I got
back here safely, and the money has been paid to me."
rejects, I think rightly, the opinions of Grimm, I., 526, ed. 5, and WOL-
FFLIN, in the Jahrb. der Preuss. Kunstsamml, XIII., 272, and Symonds,
I., 211, who state that Michael Angelo had finished the figures on the first
half of the roof by All Saints' Day, i $09.
^ Frey, Studien, 99.
t Cf. CONDIVI, 48, 50 ; and Frey, /oc. ciL, 99.
X Cf. supra, pp. 332, 336.
§ Springer, Raflfael und Michelangelo, 117.
eas^^SM^^ff
FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES. 517
Pie enclosed a bill of exchange for 228 ducats ; but by
the end of February the needs of the campaign had
again absorbed the promised instalments. " I believe,"
he writes to his brother on the 23rd February, "that I
shall soon have to pay another visit to Bologna. When
the Pope's Datary with whom I returned here last time,
went back thither, he promised me that he would see that
I should have money to go on with. But now he has
been gone a month, and I have heard nothing from him.
I shall wait another week and then, if there is still no
news, shall go to Bologna, taking Florence on the way.
Tell my father this."*
He was able to put off this journey, for the money
arrived, and the work was resumed, and in spite of all
those difficulties, was approaching completion. In the
short period of 22 months (from November, 1508, to
August, 1 5 10), not counting interruptions, the painting
of the whole central vault was finished.f But at what
a cost of almost superhuman toil. Day after day the
artist had to work lying on his back with the paint
dropping on his face. Vasari says that his eyes had
become so accustomed to looking upwards, that for
some time, when he wanted to read a letter he had to
hold it above his head. In a sonnet, addressed to
Giovanni da Pistoja, he describes his sufferings in a vein
of somewhat bitter humour :
I' ho gia fatto un gozzo in questo stento
Come fa Kacqua a' gatti in Lombardia,
O ver d'altro paese che si sia,
Ch 'a forza '1 ventre appicca sotto '1 mento.
* Lettere di Michelangelo, ed. Milanesi, 99, 101, 109. Cf. Grimm, I.,
389 seq.^ ed. 5 ; and Frey, 99-100.
t Grimm, loc. cit.^ 390 ; and Frey, 100.
5l8 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
La barba al cielo, e la memoria sento
In sullo scrignio, e '1 petto fo d' arpia ;
E '1 pennel sopra '1 viso tuttavia
Mel fa, gocciando, un ricco pavimento.
E lombi entrati mi son nella peccia
E fo del cul per contrapeso groppa
E' passi senza gli occhi muovo invano.
Dinanzi mi s' allunga la corteccia
E per piegarsi adietro si ragroppa
E tendomi com' arco soriano.
Perb fallace e strano
Surgie il iudizio che la mente porta;
Chb mal si tra' per cerbottana torta.
La mia pittura morta
Difendi orma', Giovanni, e '1 mio onore
Non sendo il loco bon, ne io pittore.*
* Rime di Michelangelo, ed. Guasti, 158. The following translation
is by Mr. T. A. Symonds :
I've grown a goitre by dwelling in this den,
As cats from stagnant streams in Lombardy,
As in whatever land they hap to be
Which drives the belly close beneath the chin :
My beard turns up to heaven : my nape falls in.
Fixed on my spine : my breast bone visibly
Grows like a harp : a rich embroidery
Bedews my face from brush-drops thick and diin.
My loins into my pannels like levers grind :
My buttock like a crupper bears my weight :
My feet unguided wander to and fro ;
In front my skin grows loose and long ; behind,
By bending it becomes more taut and strait ;
Crosswise I strain me like a S}'Tian bow,
Whence false and quaint I know,
Must be the fruit of squinting brain and eye ;
For ill can aim the gun that bends awry.
Come then, Giovanni, try
To succour my dead pictures and my fame,
Since foul I fare and painting is my shame,
Symonds' Michelangelo^ I., 234-235.
vi^^mais^m^rm
COMPLETION OF THE SISTINE CHAPEL. 519
In order fully to estimate the amazing power and energy
of the artist it must be remembered that the surface
to be covered measured more than 10,000 square feet, and
with its intersecting curves, lunettes, etc., bristled with
difficulties for the painter. The magic wand of the artist
filled the whole of this space with figures (343) in every
imaginable position, attitude, and form of foreshortening,
some 12 feet high, the Prophets and Sybils nearly 18 feet,
and all carefully and conscientiously finished.* All the
details, the hairs of the head and beard, the finger nails, the
creases in the soles of the feet are painted with the marvel-
lous truth to nature of the 1 5th Century, while the whole is
steeped in the large and restful spirit of consummate art."t
The most important portion of these paintings was
completed just at the most critical moment in the whole
Pontificate of Julius II. The States of the Church were
lying defenceless at the mercy of the victorious army of
the King of France, while at the same time the same foe was
attacking the spiritual authority of the Pope with the threat
of a Council. In a powerless, but with a still unbroken spirit,
the Pope had returned to his Palace on the 27th June, 151 1.+
On the eve of the Feast of the Assumption, the patronal
festival of the Sistine Chapel, he attended Vespers there and
saw the frescoes unveiled at last, that is all those of the
central vaults ; the architectural framework, historical groups
and single figures forming a complete whole in itself §
* Symonds, L, 205. Goethe says that no one who has not seen the
Sistine Chapel can have a complete conception of what a single man
can accomplish.
t LiJBKE, II., 117, who calls attention also to the admirable finish of
the sculptures in the Pantheon.
X Cf. supra, p. 362.
§ Frey, Studien, 100. The passage in Paris de Chassis on the
sight of the picturas novas ibidetn novitcr detcctas is wanting in
Dollinger's edition ; he seems to have no understanding of the historical
520 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
In the middle of August, 151 1, Michael Angelo began
the cartoons for the paintings in the remaining interspaces
and lunettes. At the end of September he had two
audiences from the Pope, after the last of which he
received 400 ducats.* In May 15 12,. he was again in
distress for money, which was not surprising, considering
the political situation at that time. Michael Angelo told
Cardinal Bibbiena that he would throw up his work
and go, on which the Cardinal managed to procure 2000
ducats for him.f In July he was again so diligent that
he only wrote letters at night. On the 24th of July, 15 12,
he wrote : " I am working harder than any man has ever
worked before, and I am not well, but I am resolved
to have patience, and toil on to the end." Shortly before
this, he had shewn his work from the scaffolding to Duke
Alfonso of Ferrara and been cheered by his hearty
appreciation of it; the Duke had also given him a commis-
sion for a picture.^ In October, he was able at last to
announce to his father that all the paintings were com-
pleted, and that the Pope was extremely pleased with
them.§ With characteristic piety Michael Angelo substi-
tuted for the usual artists' signature an inscription close to
the prophet Jeremias, ascribing the honour of the completion
of his work to God, the Alpha and Omega, through whose
assistance it had been begun and ended. ||
value of notices of this description. MiJNTZ published it in the Gaz. des
Beaux Arts, 2 periode, XXV. (1882), 386.
* Frey, Studien, 10 1.
t Lettere di Michelangelo, 428.
I Cf. Grossino's undated Report in LuziO, F. Gonzaga, 37, which has
been overlooked by Frey. This Report must have been written between
the 5th and i8th of July.
§ Lettere di Michelangelo, 104, 23 ; and also Frey, Studien, 102.
II Steinmann has been the first to notice this inscription in the Reper-
torium f. Kunstwissensch., XVII., 178.
UNVEILING OF THE CEILING. 52 1
On All Hallow's Eve (October 31st), "the most sublime
creation that colours and brush have ever produced," was
unveiled.* The work called forth a perfect furore of
enthusiastic admiration. Its nobiHty of thought and the
skilfulness of the composition were praised to the skies,
and still more the perfection of the drawing and of the
plastic effects.f The Pope, then rapidly nearing his end,
had the satisfaction of celebrating High Mass in the
Chapel, which through him had become a shrine of noble
art ; thus fittingly closing a Pontificate which throughout
had been devoted to lofty aims.
Nearly four centuries have elapsed since the unveiling of
the roof of the Sistine. The smoke of candles has
blackened it, time has seamed it with cracks, the colours
have faded more or less, but still the effect is overpower-
ing. " No doubt from the beginning colour was never the
main consideration in this work, the drawing was the
effective element, and continues to this day to impress on
* See WOLTMANN-WOERMANN, II., 580. Cf, Stolberg, Reise in
Deutschland der Schweiz, Italien und Sicilien, I., 434 seq. (Mayence, 1877),
and Goethe's well-known saying that Nature herself was eclipsed by
Michael Angelo, because no one but he could see her with such eyes.
" One may read any number of treatises on the sublime," writes
CaSTELAR (Errinerungen an Italien, 'j'j)^ "without finding oneself able
to get a clear grip of what is meant. But raise your eyes to the vault of
the Sistina, and here you will find what you seek, the sublime is that
which bewilders, and, as it were, annihilates us with the sense of the
inadequacy of the relation between our weak nature and the infinite
greatness of an idea, filling the soul with fear and with joy." Braun's
splendid photographs make it possible to study all the details of the
great work. Excellent copies of the creation, of Adam, of Eve, the Fall,
Isaias, Jeremias, the Delphic and Lybian Sybils, by C. Schwarzcr, are
to be seen in the Schack Gallery at Munich. The Report of Paris de
GraSSIS over the unveiling, which is likewise wanting in Dollinger's
edition, is printed in the Gaz. des Beaux Arts, 2 pcriodc, XXV., 387.
I- Gregorovius, VIII., 152, ed 3.
522 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
the mind such a sense of its intense power and truthful-
ness that for the time the beholder forgets that there can
be anything else in the world worth looking at."*
The idea of framing his pictures in a painted architec-
tural design, subdividing the plain surface of the roof, was
a bold and novel thought, and might have seemed fanciful,
but for the purpose it was meant to serve, the effect was
perfect. " The stone vaulting disappears, the fairy archi-
tecture resting on the real, flings its arches across the
intervening space, sometimes with hangings stretched
between them, and sometimes open to the sky in which
the figures seem to float."f
In regard to the subjects of his paintings Michael Angelo
simply carried out his scheme begun in the frescoes on the
walls, which had been painted under Sixtus IV., in accord-
ance with the triple division of the Plan of Salvation in use
in the Middle Ages. This was divided into the period pre-
ceding the giving of the Law ; that of the Law, and that of
Grace in the Kingdom founded by Christ. J The frescoes on
the left side represented the life of Moses, the period of the
Law ; those on the right the life of Christ, the Reign of Grace.§
* WOLTMANN-WOERMANN, II., 586 ;^. BURCKHARDT, Cicerone,
666, and Szecsen, Rafael, 559.
t See G. Warnecke's striking article on Michael Angelo's roof-
paintings in LiitzoVs Zeitschrift (1891), N. F. II., 301. Warnecke is
right in saying tliat Michael Angelo's painted architecture is in itself
fanciful and unreal, but admirably effective for its purpose. Liibke had
already expressed a similar opinion. The artist worked out his archi-
tectural divisions in the roof on ordinary constructive lines, but he had
no intention of representing a real roof, and made no attempt to do so.
Unlike some of the baroque artists, and the panoramists of the present
day, his object was not to simulate a roof, but only to create an ideal
framework by architectural divisions.
X Lubke, II., 92, was the first to point this out correctly. WOLT-
mann-Woermann, II., 582, agrees with him.
§ Cf. Pastor, Hist. Popes, IV., 468 seq. (Engl, trans.).
PICTURE OF THE CREATION. 523
Thus the period before the Law from the Creation to the
Deluge was still wanting, and its principal events, as nar-
rated in Genesis, were taken by Michael Angelo as the
subjects for his pictures. He depicted them in four large
and five smaller rectangular compartments on the flat
space in the middle of the roof running from end to end.
His treatment of the idea of the Creation which is described
in revelation as the immediate act of the Divine Will
through the efficient Word, saying, " Be it thus, and it
was," is absolutely unique in its genius and power. We see
and feel the rushing sweep of the breath of the Eternal
through those days in which His Word called forth the
heavens and the earth, the spiritual and the corporeal
worlds into existence, out of the void. " Michael Angelo was
the first of all artists to grasp the idea of Creation not as a
mere word with the sign of Benediction, but as motion.
Thus with him each separate creative act can have a
characteristic form of its own." *
God, appearing at first quite alone, calls heaven and
earth, the world of spirits, and the world of matter into
existence. He divides light from darkness, which flies
away at His word. Then, with angels now clustering
round him, and sheltering under his mantle, the Father,
sweeping through space, creates the earth and all the life
that springs from her.f " On this follows the climax of
creation in the bestowal of life upon Adam, and with it
that of the genius of Michael Angelo." Surrounded by a
host of heavenly spirits, " the Almighty approaches the
earth, and touching with His finger the outstretched finger
* BURCKHARDT, Cicerone, 643.
t The interpretation of the first three pictures here given, differs of
course from the one hitherto most usually received ; but it seems to
me the most probable, both as adhering more closely to the words of
Genesis, and also corresponding better with the paintings themselves.
S24 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
of the first man, in whom the approaching gift is already
foreshadowed, communicates the vital spark. In the whole
realm of art this master-stroke of genius, in thus giving a
clear sensuous expression to a spiritual conception, stands
unrivalled, and the progenitor of the human race is
worthily represented in the noble figure of Adam."* The
creation of Eve is an equally perfect conception in its
masterly purity and solemnity. Adam lies in a deep
sleep ; God stands before him ; Eve is rising ; she has just
gained her feet, but one knee is still bent. She appears at
the bidding of her Creator, with clasped hands stretching
towards Him, thanking Him for the gift of life.f In all
these pictures nothing is introduced but what is absolutely
necessary to make the situation ckar. All accessories that
might distract the attention from the main subject are
excluded.
The scenes which follow, taken from the early history
of mankind, — especially that of the fall and the expulsion
from Paradise, — the sin and its punishment, both por-
trayed in the same picture, are equally powerful, simple,
* BuRCKHARDT, Cicerone, 643. Cf. Plattner, H., i, 261 se(/. ;
LiJBKE, n., 102 seg. ; Grimm, I., 341 se^., ed. 5 ; Schaden, 125-126,
229, 230 seg'. ; RiO, Michel- Ange, 31 seg'. ; Ollivier, 64 seg'. ; and
Goyau-Perate, 547 seg.; BuTTNER, Adam und Eva, 61 seg. War-
NECKE in Liitzow's Zeitschrift, N. F., H., 303, says, "As far as Art is
concerned, the only adequate representation of the, to human reason,
ever insoluble mystery of creation, is that conceived by Michael Angelo."
In all later artists beginning with Raphael we can trace the influence of
Michael Angelo's majestic conception of the Creator as the " primal Fount
of elementary force." Cornelius truly says that since the time of Phidias
nothing like this had been produced.
t Stolberg, Reise, etc., I., 436. C/. Plattner, IL, i, 264, and
Symonds, L, 267. On the creation of Eve, see also RiO, Michel-Ange,
29 ; Ollivier, 70 seg. ; Klaczko in the Rev. des Deux Mondes,
CXI v., 882 (1892, Nov. to Dec.) ; Buttner, 62 seg. ; and Kekul6 in
Jahrb. d. Deutschen Archaol. Instituts, V., 193.
THE FALL OF MAN AND THE DELUGE. 525
and striking. In the picture of the fall the tree of
knowledge occupies the centre, the serpent (the upper
half a female form) hands the forbidden fruit to Eve.
Immediately behind the tempter a startling effect is pro-
duced by the instantaneous apparition of the avenging
angel driving the culprits out of Paradise ; while Eve,
holding back her golden hair, casts one despairing, long-
ing look behind her.* The deluge, in one of the large
compartments, also presents many striking scenes ; in
the whole composition the horror of the catastrophe is
most powerfully rendered.^ The next picture, probably
representing the sacrifices of Cain and Abel, contains an
* See KuGLER-BuRCKHARDT, IL, 53 1 ; Grimm, L, 345-346, ed. 5 ;
BuTTNER, 64 seq. ; and MuNTZ, Hist, de I'Art, IIL, 479.
t Cf. LuBKE, n., 105-107. The sevendi picture represents a sacrifice,
according to Condivi and Vasari, with whom Grimm, L, 346, ed. 5, and
Ollivier, 75, agree, that of Gain and Abel. Plattner, H., i, 265 seq.^
sees in it Noe's thank-offering. Springer, 122, and Lubke, IL, 104,
follow him. The three last pictures (the Sacrifice, the Deluge, and
Noe's drunkenness) were the earliest painted ; the figures in them are
more numerous, and consequently smaller, than in the others. After
they were finished, Michael Angelo began to feel that the distance from the
eye required a larger scale. Wolfflin in Janitschek's Repert., XHL,
265 seq. (1890), points out that in the succeeding pictures the figures go
on increasing in size. " Compare the figure of God the Father creating
the sun and moon with the Divine form imparting fife to Adam. This
crescendo in the scale of the figures is the consequence of a change in
the artist's feeling for space." The same writer, one of those who under-
stand Michael Angelo best, remarks a similar increase in the dimensions
of the captive forms ; those which surround the last picture, the division
of light from darkness, are the largest, and the same holds good with
regard to the Prophets and Sybils. The style becomes gradually
bolder and more pictorial, the figures grow Even the little
decorative figures, which are so profusely scattered about, are carried
along in the same stream of development with the coupled slaves, and the
stone-coloured children standing by the walls of the prophets' thrones,
follow suit with the others,"
526 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
unusually large number of figures. The series is closed
by the picture of Noe and his sons.
The nine central paintings have the effect of hangings
stretched across the simulated architectural supports of
the roof; they form the principal and most prominent
part of its decoration. Next in importance come the
series of Prophets and Sybils painted on the descending
curve of the vaulting between the arches. There are
twelve in all, five on each of the long sides and one at
each end, all of colossal size : the giant-spirit needs a
giant-form to express it. The effect of these figures, with
their majestic draperies, is intensely spiritual,* and yet the
outlines are so strong and firm that they look as if they
were carved in stone.f The sides of the marble seats in
which they are enthroned form the main support of the
imaginary roof Attendant genii accompany the Prophets of
the Messias for the two worlds of Judaism and heathenism ;
some sit absorbed in thought or vision, poring over their
books or scrolls, while others again with impassioned ges-
tures proclaim what they have seen. The manner of life of
those to whom the Lord God " revealed His secrets " (Amos,
iii. 7), wholly immersed in the study, and contemplation, and
announcement of the coming Salvation, is here expressed
with a perfection which classical art could not conceive and
which modern art can never hope to equal.J We need only
here mention the most celebrated. The Delphic Sybil,
a singularly powerful and yet attractive figure, seems
gazing with enraptured eyes on the actual fulfilment of
her prophecies. Isaias is reading the book of the world's
destiny. The curve of his brow suggests that of a heavenly
sphere, a source of thought like the crystal reservoirs on the
* " Like moulded thoughts," LiJBKE says, Geschichte der Plastik, 720.
t ScHADEN, 230.
X MOLITOR, 255.
THE PROPHETS AND THE SYBILS. 527
mountain tops from which the great rivers are fed. The
angel is calling him and he gently raises his head with-
out, lifting his eyes from the book, as though balancing
between two infinities. Jeremias is shrouded in sackcloth
and ashes, as befits the prophet who dwells under the
shadow of desolate Jerusalem. His lips seem to vibrate
to the sound of the conqueror's trumpet. His beard is
tangled and matted, his bowed head looks like the crown
of a cedar that has been shattered by lightning, his half-
closed eyes are hidden wells of tears. His hands look
strong, but they are swollen, for they have been bearing
up the tottering walls of the temple. We see that the
groans of the captive sons of Israel from the banks of
the alien river and the wailings of the Queen of the
nations, now widowed and deserted, are ever sounding
in his ears. Ezechias is in a divine ecstasy, interrogating
his visions, stirred by the spirit which possesses him to
the very depths of his being. Daniel is busily writing;
his mission was to proclaim the day of deliverance for
the good, and judgments on tyrants to future genera-
tions. The most admirable thing about these majestic
figures, on which one could gaze for ever with unwearied
interest, is, that they are not mere decorations of a hall
or chapel, but men, real men, who have felt the grief
that we know, and been wounded by the thorns which
grow on our earth; their brows are furrowed with human
thought ; their hearts have felt the chill of deceptions ;
they have seen conflicts in which whole generations
have perished ; they have felt the shadow of death
in the air above them, and they have striven with their
own hands to prepare the way for a new order of things ;
their eyes have grown worn and dim through their too
fixed gaze on the ever-changing kaleidoscope of the ages ;
their flesh has been consumed by the fire of burning
528 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
thoughts.* The attitudes of some of these figures, such
as the Lybian Sybil and the Prophets Daniel and Jonas,
may be to a certain extent violent and exaggerated, but
as a rule massive form and ecstatic emotion are ad-
mirably restrained within the limits of harmony and
beauty.-f Those who are inclined to find fault with
the master in this regard should consider the extreme
difficulty of the task he proposed to himself, which was to
create twelve figures, each of which should impress on the
mind the idea of a being raised by divine inspiration into
the superhuman sphere. For this, mere majesty of form
was not enough; a variety of separate situations had to
be imagined, each denoting inspiration, represented in a
form that could be apprehended by the senses. Perhaps
* Cf. this eloquent description of Castelar, Errinnerungen an
Italien, 70 seq.^ with Taine in MuNTZ, Hist, de I'Art, HI., 483. See
also Goyau-Perate, Le Vatican, 548 seq. ; Hoffmann, 88-89; RiO>
Michel-Ange, 27 seq. ; Ollivier, 87 seq.^ 118 ; and Steinmann in the
Repertorium f. Kunstwissensch., XVH., 175 seq.
t See Woltmann-Woermann, H., 585. CondivT considered the
Jonas the finest of all the figures on account of its masterly foreshorten-
ing. But BURCKHARDT also, Cicerone, 644, thinks Jonas as well as
Jeremias and Joel, " wonderfully majestic.*' Opinions will always differ
in regard to such details ; in mine the Delphic Sybil and Jeremias bear
away the palm. Of the first, Plattner, II., i, 269, says that she is not
only the most beautiful of all Michael Angelo's prophetesses, but also one
of the most perfect female forms in modem art. SPRINGER, 130, con-
siders the Jeremias the most typical of all Michael Angelo's creations ; he
says: "This figure took possession, as it were, of Michael Angelo's ima-
gination, and from this time forth it was always more or less present in his
mind. In aU his creative moods the form of the prophet hovered in the
background, and suggested reminiscences of the spirit in which it had
been conceived. The germs of the Moses foi the tomb of Julius II. and
of the chief figures in the Medicean mausoleum are contained in the
Jeremias." It seems extremely probable that Michael Angelo's Jeremias
was his own portrait ; see Steinmann in the Rep. f. Kunstwissensch.
(1894), Vol. XVII., \T] seq.
THE DELIVERANCES OF ISRAEL. 529
complete success in such an undertaking was beyond the
powers of Art itself."*
A third series of pictures, closely connected with the
majestic form of the Prophets and Sybils, occupy the arches
of the wall and the triangular spaces between them and the
pendentives, and represent "the ancestors of Christ in simple
scenes of family life/' The tone of feeling in all these figures
is that of patient resignation, waiting for the promise of
the nations. Here, as in the Prophets and Sybils, Michael
Angelo in the plan of his composition follows the received
mediaeval conception.f
The fourth series consists of the large pictures in the four
corners of the vaulting. These represent some of the
miraculous deliverances of Israel as types of the future
Redemption. The subjects are the slaying of Goliath, Judith
going forth to the camp of Holofernes, the punishment of
Haman, and the Brazen Serpent. The latter, with its
startling contrasts of death and deliverance, is the finest of
the whole set of pictures. " The clear division between the
two concentrated groups, with the symbol of Salvation
separating them locally as well as spiritually, the one turn-
ing away in devil-ridden despair, the other pressing forward
with eager confidence, makes this picture perhaps one of the
most marvellous productions of Michael Angelo's genius,
especially when we consider the difficulties presented by
the form of the surface on which it is painted."J
To these four cycles of paintings the master's prolific
* BURCKHARDT, Cicerone, loc. cit.
t Cf. LiJBKE, II., loi, 107-108. As this is not meant to be a complete
description, these pictures, beautiful as they are, cannot be analysed in
detail; C/., besides LDbke, /£>r. a/., 113 seq., KuGLER-BURCKHARDT,
532 seq.^ and Ollivier, 102 seq.
\ LuTZOW, Kiinstschatze, 439. Grimm, I., 353 seq., ed. 5, minutely
describes the Goliath and the Judith in order to shew how admirably
M ii hael Angelo could also deal with historical subjects.
VOL. VI. 2 M
530 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
imagination added " a whole world of purely ideal figures
simply as a harmonious living and breathing incarnation of
the ornamental roof which he had devised." * Michael
Angelo evidently intended this roof to represent one of
those festal artistic decorations so commonly employed in
the Renaissance age even for religious solemnities. The
innumerable ornamental figures employed, some in holding
the tablets with the names of the Prophets, some, in every
variety of posture, to fill up the spaces between the arches,
others again in supporting or crowning the cornices,
correspond with the living personifications so frequently
perched on various portions of these festive erections. All
these nude figures, the sturdy children and strong-limbed
youths, are in a sense members of the architectural scheme,
supporting cornices, carrying inscription tablets or shields,
or holding up hangings or garlands. Hardly any of them
are at rest, almost all are at work or in motion in some
way, but none have any relation to the subjects of the
pictures, they belong entirely to the decoration.f However
* LuBKE, II., loi. Cf. LiJTZOW, loc. cit.^ 440, and Burckhardt,
Cicerone, 642 seq.^ on these " impersonations of the dynamics of Archi-
tecture."
t I prefer this interpretation, resting on the views of Liibke and
Burckhardt, to the many forced and far-fetched ones which have recently
been attempted. That of L. v. Scheffler (Michelangelo, Eine Renais-
sance Studie. Altenburg, 1892), which ascribes the " ideal system of the
Sistine Chapel " to Michael Angelo's Platonism, has been shewn by W.
HENKEin the Allg. Zeit. (1892), N. 'j'j^ Suppl., to be quite beside the mark.
This, however, has not prevented the last-named writer in his " Empiri-
schen Betrachtungen liber die Malereien von Michelangelo an der
Decke der Sixtinischen Kapelle," in the Jahrb. der Preuss. Kunstsamml.,
VII. (1886), 3 seq.^ 82 seq.^ 140 seq.^ from falling into the same mistake in
putting things into the frescoes which are not there. His singular inter-
pretation of the Caryatides at the sides of the seats of the Prophets and
Sybils is especially baseless and mistaken. In my opinion, the inscription
mentioned, p. 744, explicidy excludes it. Burckhardt, with whom I dis-
THE ORNAMENTAL FIGURES. 53 1
one may admire these undraped figures from the point of
view of the artist, many will feel them incongruous for the
decoration of a chapel*
cussed this question in March, 1895, also thinks that both Scheffler and
Henke are mistaken. Wolfflin in Jahrb. der Preuss. Kunstsamml.,
XIII., 18 r, conjectures that the slaves in the medallions were an after-
thought, the medallions having been painted first without them, and this
seems very probable,
* They afford no justification, however, for characterising the work as
unchristian, as Michael Angelo's painting of the nude is never sensual {cf.
Hist. Polit. Bl., XCL, 755, and Janssen, Soddoma [Stuttgart, 1870], 1 10);
and also these nude figures are purely accessory : see Rio, Michel-Ange,
30. It is quite incomprehensible to me how Perate, 550, can say,
writing of the roof of the Sistine Chapel, " Est ce une oeuvre chretienne ?
Non ; c'est une ceuvre biblique, la bible meme," etc. I may be permitted
here to note an appreciation written by Overbeck of the roof of the
Sistine Chapel in 18 10, which is but little known. I found it in a letter
printed in the AUg. Cons. Monatschrift, I. (1888), 40. He writes . " In
truth it is the grandest and noblest work in existence. Where can we
find anything more marvellously complete than this roof, which portrays
the history of creation and the last judgment, surrounded by the stern
and solemn forms of the Prophets ? They seem like colossal spirits, ap-
pearing now, at the end of the ages, to confirm those who have believed
them, and strike terror into the hearts of the scoffers ; living witnesses of the
obstinacy with which they refused to hear their warnings, or turn away from
the vanities of the world ; now, like damning spectres, pointing the way
to hell ! A Frenchman is painting there just now with an enormous
scaffolding which enables one to get quite close to the roof. As he does
not work on Sundays, we were able, to our great delight, to take advan-
tage of this, and get a near view of these magnificent works, especially
of the creation of Adam. Good heavens ! what lies are spread abroad
about Michael Angelo. One is warned against him as a mannerist, a
caricaturist ! How is it possible to be so blind ? One must have dazed
one's eyes with looking at Maratti or Battoni, or God knows what, one
must have murdered all one's feeling for nature, if one cannot recognise
here the highest and purest art, the simple reflection of nature glorified
in the pure, great soul of the artist. No one who knows nature at all
can fail at the first glance to perceive her impress, to feel with an electric
thrill the truthfulness of these thoughts, these forms, these characters !
532 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Considered as a spiritual conception, Michael Angelo's
Sistine paintings are fully on a level with their artistic
presentation. They are a mighty poem in colour, having
for its theme the whole course of the human race from the
heights of creation down to the need of salvation and
upwards again to the dawning of the day of deliverance.
In their silence they speak with an eloquence that can
never be surpassed. Nowhere has the office of the Old
Testament as the preparation for the new and abiding
covenant been set forth with such convincing truth and
beauty.* First we have the creation of nature, the standing
ground for the spiritual life of the human race, then the
making of man, his fall into sin, in which the family (Cain
and Abel), society (the Deluge), finally, even the best of the
race (drunkenness of Noe), become involved. Under the
old law, all humanity is yearning for deliverance from the
burden of guilt. From the midst of the people God raises
Again, on the other hand, any one who can say that these paintings have
been dashed off with a clever, hasty brush must either not have given
himself time to look at them, or must purposely give a false account, for
the exact contrary is the case, and they are marked by such delicacy of
detail and characterisation, and such a perfection of finish, that these
qualities alone would make them superior to all other work of the kind.
No doubt they are not poHshed up hke Van der WerfFs ; but if a smooth
surface is all that is meant by finish, then our modern finnikins are the
only perfect painters. In this respect, Michael Angelo is a model for us
all. What science he unites to his Divine gifts ! What knowledge of
the human body, of perspective and of optics ! How wonderfully he
paints ! so that no touch can be discerned, nor can one think of the
brush, one sees the thing itself. In short, in all ways he is perfect ;
everywhere he has gone down into the depths, and plays with things
that to others will always remain a mystery. He can truly say : Art
is my spouse."
* " It would be impossible," says MOLITOR, 255, " to approach in the
language of Art more nearly to the force of Holy Scripture itself than
the great master has succeeded in doing.'^
MICHAEL ANGELO AND THE POPE'S TOMB. 533
up the Prophets for the Jews, and the Sybils for the heathen,
as inspired seers, beholding the future salvation, but at the
same time bearing in their souls the sorrows of their brethren.
Four visible types of this salvation appear in the corner
pictures, drawn from the history of Israel : the enemy who
desires to destroy the people of God is vanquished in
Goliath, Haman, Holofernes, and the Serpent, all only
types of the victory wrought by the eternal sacrifice of the
Son of God unceasingly celebrated by the Church on the
Altar.
On the completion of the roof paintings in the Sistina,
Michael Angelo turned again to the tomb of Julius II.,
apparently by the Pope's orders. Ever since the Summer
of 1 5 12, Julius II. had not disguised from himself the fact
that his days were drawing to their close.* The great
difficulty about the tomb consisted in the uncertainty as to
where it was to be placed. As the Choir of S. Peter's, which
had just been erected by Bramante, was only temporary,
it could not be put there. In consequence of this un-
certainty Michael Angelo had to make several sketches
for his new design, some complete on all sides, others in-
tended to stand against a walLf
According to Condivi and Vasari, Michael Angelo's bio-
graphers, the isolated plan was as follows. The Chapel
containing the Pope's sarcophagus was to be enclosed in a
marble shell, measuring about 54 feet by 36. The pediment
was to be covered with symbolical single figures and groups.
The arts of painting, sculpture, and architecture were to
be represented by captive figures in order to indicate, so
Condivi tells us, that they were now, together with the Pope,
prisoners of death, since they would never again find
another Pope to encourage and promote them as he had
♦ Cf. supra, p. 431.
t Springer, 236.
534 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
done. Statues of Victory, with the conquered provinces at
their feet, were to represent JuHus II.'s successes in regain-
ing the lost possessions of the States of the Church. The
pediment was to be surmounted by a cornice, above which
was to rise a second storey, bearing four typical figures, two
of them being Moses and S. Paul. Above these again was
to be the figure of the Pope sleeping, and borne by two
angels. The whole work was to measure about 30 feet in
height, and to contain more than 40 statues, not counting
the bas-reliefs on which the principal events in the life of
Julius II. were to be portrayed.*
While Michael Angelo was employed on this work, the
Pope died. Shortly before his death, on the 19th February,
1 5 13, Julius had given orders that his tomb should be
erected in the Sistine Chapel of S. Peter's, where his uncle
* CONDivi, 35-36. Cf. Springer, 231 se^.^ 236 seg. On both his-
torical and artistic grounds Springer assigns the date of this design to
the years 15 12-15 13. He admits (235) that the original plan is un-
known ; he pronounces (II., 15, ed. 2) the drawing in the Uffizzi at
Florence, Shelf 187, N. 608 (Braun, 181 ; Alinari, 3688) to be
unauthentic. On the other hand, SchmarSOW in the Jahrb. der Preuss.
Kunstsamml, V,, 63 se^., endeavours to prove that this drawing is by the
master's own hand, and Burckhardt, Grimm, and Bode have accepted it
as such. Sclimarsow has also published and explained another drawing
of the Tomb of Julius II., which is in the possession of H. A. von
Beckerath of Berlin. He thinks that this sketch is the only authentic
representation of Michael Angelo's design for the Tomb of Julius II. ;
possibly not of the original one, but at any rate of the not less magnifi-
cent edifice contemplated in 1513. This is the only plan which furnishes
an adequate support for the majestic captives and the colossal Moses.
Grimm, in Geigeris Quarterly, I. (1886), 49, announces that he agrees
in most points with Schmarsow's views. PORTHEIN, on the other hand,
in his contributions to the Repert. f. Kunstwissensch., XII. (1889), 149,
on Michael Angelo's works, holds with Springer that the Florentine sketch
cannot be from the hand of Michael Angelo, and pronounces that be-
longing to H. von Beckei-ath to be " an old copy of the smaller
design."
MICHAEL ANGELO AND THE POPE'S EXECUTORS. 535
Sixtus IV. lay.* He left 10,000 ducats in his will for the
monument. On the 6th May, 15 13, Michael Angelo con-
cluded a very detailed agreement with the executors,
Cardinal Leonardo Grosso della Rovere, and the Protono-
tary, Lorenzo Pucci, which is still extantf The monument
was to have three faces, the fourth side was to be against
the wall. Each face was to contain two tabernacles (niches
with side pilasters and a cornice) resting on a high base-
ment. In each niche there were to be two statues some-
what larger than life. Against the twelve pillars dividing
the niches there were to be statues of the same size, so
that twenty-four statues would be required for the sub-
structure alone. Above this was to be the sarcophagus
with the Pope's statue surrounded by four other figures all
double life-size, and in addition to these, on the same level,
six colossal statues seated. Where the structure joined the
wall, there was to be a Chapel containing five figures which,
being further from the eye, were to be still larger than any
of the others. The spaces between the niches were to be
filled with reliefs in bronze or marble,
As this plan considerably exceeded the former one,
both in size and in importance, the artist was to receive
16,500 ducats, but the 3500 ducats already paid were to be
deducted from the sum ; he bound himself to undertake no
other large work until this was finished.
During the years from 15 13-16 Michael Angelo devoted
all his powers to this gigantic undertaking. Sculpture was
his favourite art; he used to say he had imbibed it with
his mother's milk, because his grandmother was the wife of
* Bull. Vatic, II., 349. This authentic document shews that MuNTZ
is in error in stating, Hist, de I'Art, III., 392, that Julius II. had desired
that his tomb should be placed in S. Pietro in Vincoli.
t Printed in Lettere di Michelangelo, ed. Milanesi, 635 seq. Cf.
Springer, 237 seq.
53^ HISTORY OF THE POPES.
a stone mason ; and, indeed, as we have seen in the roof of
the Sistine Chapel, even in painting he always thought as
a sculptor.
The masterly statues of the dying youth and the youth in
fetters (the slaves) which are now in the Louvre, were exe-
cuted during this period.* Four other statues intended for
the base of the monuments, gigantic figures of captives
or conquered warriors, crouching and writhing, and only
roughly carved, are preserved in the Giardino Boboli at
Florence (on the left of the entrance). In the National
Museum in that city, there is also the statue of a victorious
and triumphant warrior ; and that of a vanquished one in
St. Petersburg.f
The only one of the statues designed for the upper storey
that still exists, is the Moses begun in the years 1513-1516,
while the artist's mind was still possessed and dominated by
the forms of the Prophets of the Sistine Chapel. J: This
world-famed statue, "the triumph of modern sculpture," §
* The dying youth is a singularly noble work. One can well under-
stand Vasari's calling it "cosa divina." From the moment that the
two statues were rescued from their concealment in the French Castle
they were universally recognised as masterpieces of Michael Angelo's
genius. Cf. SPRINGER, 240 seq. \ Lubke, Plastik, 728 ; MuNTZ, Hist
de I'Art, 388 seq. ; Klaczko, in the Rev. des Deux Mondes, CXIV.
(1892), 891, and especially Grimm, I., 420^^^., ed. 5. The latter says
that the tender beauty of the dying youth is perhaps more striking than
the power of the Moses. " When I ask myself which of the sculptor's
works would you mention first if you were asked to name his list, I
should say at once — the dying youth. This figure will bear to be com-
pared to the very best Greek work in its faultless truth to nature."
LiJBKE, loc. cit.^ thinks that both the captives of the Louvre were
finished during the hfe-time of JuHus II.
t Springer, 241 seq. ; Muntz, Hist, de I'Art, III., 390. See also
Klaczko, Florentiner Plaudereien, 42 seq
X Springer, 243.
§ Grimm, I., 419, ed. 5.
CURTAILMENT OF THE DESIGN. 537
now adorns the monument of Julius II. in S. Pietro in
Vincoli, where at last the tomb was erected, though greatly
reduced from the dimensions originally contemplated.
The gradual curtailment of this noble design in which
Michael Angelo had hoped to have realised all his loftiest
and grandest conceptions, and the money disputes with
the Duke of Urbino connected with this, were the occasion
of such prolonged misery, and such paroxysms of anger
and disappointment to the artist as to make this tomb the
tragedy of his whole life. The monument as completed
corresponds with its original plan as little as it does with
the first conception approved by Julius II. But the magni-
ficent effect of the statue of Moses compensates for all its
short-comings.* The aspect in which Moses is here pre-
sented is that of the fiery and resolute ruler of Israel, who
led the stjff-necked nation for forty years through the
wilderness, who dared the wrath of God for their sakes, and
in his fury at their idolatry, dashed the Tables of the Law to
pieces and commanded 3000 of the rebels to be slain. The
wise law-giver, the servant of Jehovah, the humble penitent
confessing himself unworthy to enter the promised land,
are entirely ignored in this essentially one-sided representa-
tion.f The artist conceives the teacher and captain of the
* This statue alone, Card. Gonzaga is said to have declared, would
have been in itself a worthy monument to the great Pope.
t MoLiTOR, 215, rightly dwells strongly on this. If, as Springer,
244, justly remarks, we accept the statue as it was to have been placed
in Michael Angelo's original plan, all the common strictures on what may
seem a certain uncouthness and exaggeration in the Moses, are seen to
be unfounded. " Moses was meant to look down upon the spectator
from above ; he was to have been surrounded by other figures on the
same scale and of similar character, also seated on square blocks, and in
their various forms and postures calculated to balance each other.
Lastly, the right-side was intended to be almost entirely withdrawn from
sight, the attention was to be attracted to the view of the figure as seen
538 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
chosen people exclusively as a man of action like Julius II.
The head is raised, the brow deeply furrowed, the angry
eyes are turned sideways towards the left, the whole frame
almost writhes under the shock of conflicting emotions.
The very hairs of the long thick beard, in which the finger
tips of the right hand, resting on the despised law, are half-
concealed, seem to quiver. The strong pressure of the
left hand against the breast seems striving to keep down
the rising storm. But the forward movement of the right
foot and the tension of the left leg drawn backward, are too
significant ; in another moment the giant will have sprung
from his seat to wreak his wrath on the backsliders.*
" Any one who has once seen this statue will never lose
the impression. The effect is as of one conscious that he
holds in his hands the thunderbolts of Omnipotence, and
waiting to see whether the foes whom he means to destroy
will venture to attack him."t In fact, Michael Angelo's
Moses is the embodiment of the Pope-king who humbled
Venice, reconquered the States of the Church, and drove
the French out of Italy. The masterful vehemence and
almost superhuman energy of Julius II. are admirably
represented in this Titanic figure ; but none the less is it
also a no less faithful transcript of the sculptor's own proud
from the left." Although this is perfectly true, still it cannot be denied
that Michael Angelo in the Moses goes to the extreme limits of
intensity in expression that nature permits. Gregorovius, VIII., 148,
ed. 3, says, " He is not far from the edge of the abyss of monstrosity
and pseudo-Titanism, in which the followers of the Master so soon
became engulfed." No one but Michael Angelo could safely dare as he
dared, no one but he could move freely on the edge of the precipice. Cf.
PORTHEIN in the Repert. f. Kunstwissensch., XII., 154. On the pilgrim-
age of the Roman Jews to Moses, see Berliner, Gesch. d. Juden,
II., I., 103.
* Cf. Hoffmann, Italien, 60-61 ; and Lubke, Plastik, 727.
t Grimm, I., 418, ed. 5. ; Cf. also Rio, Michel-Ange, 19 seq.
THE MOSES OF MICHAEL ANGELO. 539
and unbending character, and impetuous, passionate tem-
perament.
Julius II.'s colossal monument was never completed, his
bronze statue was destroyed ; but the indomitable spirit of
the mighty Pope and the equally kingly soul of the great
sculptor have been carved into the Moses of Michael
Angelo. As we gaze upon it we understand the words of
Ariosto, " Michel piu che terreno, angel divino." *
* Cf. Perate, 544; Brosch, 276, writes, " Michael Angelo the greatest
of modern artists and the noblest character of this Renaissance period,
has carved the name of Julius H. in imperishable characters on his
marble, and made it immortal."
CHAPTER X.
Raphael in the Service of Julius II. — The Camera della
Segnatura and the Stanza d'Eliodoro.
In Michael Angelo's creations nature found herself outdone
by art. When she gave Raphael to the world she saw herself
eclipsed, not only in the artist but also in the man ; for he
combined with the highest intellectual gifts the most win-
ning grace, industry, beauty, modesty, and a perfect life.*
With these words Vasari, the father of modern historians
of art, begins his description of the life of one who will
ever live in the memory of the world as at once the great-
est master of Christian Art and a genius of first-rate
creative power.
Raphael was endowed by nature with the sweetest of
dispositions and great personal beauty. Constitutionally,
he was a true Umbrian, and his early works are pervaded
by the dreamy calm of the school in which he was reared,
but unlike Michael Angelo he possessed a singular power of
absorbing and assimilating the most various external impres-
sions. His genius did not expand much until he came to
Florence, where Leonardi da Vinci and Fra Bartolomeo
exercised a strong influence over him. He arrived in
Florence in 1504, and the April of 1508 found him still
working there. In the Autumn of that year, the twenty-
sixth of his life, he appears in Rome. On the 8th Septem-
ber, 1508, he writes to his friend the painter, Francesco
Francia, to excuse his tardiness in sending him his promised
■^Vasari, ed. Milanesi, 315-316.
JULIUS II. AND RAPHAEL. 54I
likeness. " On account of my many and important occu-
pations," he says, " I was not able sooner to paint it myself,
in accordance with our agreement. I could, indeed, have
got one of my assistants to do it, and sent it off thus ;
but that would not have been becoming, or rather, perhaps,
it would have been becoming, in order to shew that I do
not paint as well as you do. I beg you not to be hard upon
me, for you, yourself, must have experienced what it is to
have lost one's freedom, and have to serve a master."*
The many and important occupations here mentioned
were the great works in the Vatican with which he had
been charged by Julius Il.f
The Pope had left the Appartamento Borgia, in which
he had spent the first four years of his reign, on the 26th
November, 1507, in order '' not to be pestered with reminis-
cences of Alexander VI., J" and established himself in
* Malvasia, Felsina pittrice, IL, 48 (Bologna, 1678). GiJHL, 91-92;
Crowe-CavalcaSELLE, II. , 5 seg., dispute the correctness of this date,
but their arguments are not convincing. See Frantz, II., 725 ; MuNTZ,
Raphael, 271, ed. 2, and Janitschek in the Lit. Centralblatt (1887),
p. 682.
t VaSARI says that Bramante had advised that Raphael should be
called to Rome. But Reumont, IIL, 2, 388 (LiJTZOW in Graph.
Kiinste, XIII. [1890] 16, is mistaken in ascribing the hypothesis to
Minghetti), justly observes that probably the Pope's relations at Urbino
had quite as much to do with determining him to employ the young
artist as Bramante's recommendation. MiJNTZ, Raphael, 317, thinks
this is certain. Knackfuss, 22, conjectures that Julius II. may have
made acquaintance with Raphael during his three days' visit to Urbino
in 1506 (see supra, p. 273). See also Frantz, II., 724
X Cf. supra, p. 2 1 7, Paris de Grassis. From this it is clear that before
the 26th Nov., 1507, Julius II. had, at any rate for a time, inhabited
Alexander's apartments. It is therefore quite incorrect to say, as
Grkgorovius, VIII., 157, ed. 3, does, that he "had never set foot in
the Appartamento Borgia." Grimm, Fiinfzehn Essays, IV., 275, is
equally in error. Crowf, II., 7, writes : "Julius II. established himself
in the upper storey of the Vatican Palace on the day of his Coronation,
542 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
another part of the Vatican Palace. He had chosen for
his future residence a suite of rooms looking out on the
Cortile di Belvedere, which had been built by Nicholas V.
These were situated in the vicinity of the same Pope's
study, which was adorned with Fra Angelico's wonderful
frescoes.* Perhaps this may have led Julius II.. to wish
to have the adjoining chambers decorated in the same
manner. These rooms the famous " Stanze " (living rooms)
are the continuation of a spacious hall, the Sala di Costan-
tino, which is only lighted from one side. The Stanze, on
the contrary, have two large windows in each room facing
each other with marble seats in their bays. In the two
first rooms these windows are opposite each other in the
East (Stanza dell' Incendio), one is in the corner ; thus, the
bad light, coupled with the intricacies of perspective created
by the irregular spaces, make the task of the painter an
extremely difficult one.f The only really suitable surfaces
for painting are the plain cross vaultings on the ceiling.
The shape of the rooms is oblong ; their proportions are
simple but dignified. The doors by which the rooms
communicate with each other are in the corner at the end
of the long walls, and are not large, so that on these sides
there is a long free space, semi-circular at the top, well
fitted for large historical compositions, while on the short
side, cut up by the windows, there is little room for any-
thing.
26th Nov., 1507," and thus seems to believe that the Pope was not
I crowned till 1 507. Kraus falls into the same error, Camera, 4 :
" Dope la sua incoronazione (26th Nov., 1 507), Giulio, pur esso, scelse a
M sua dimora queste stanze superiori inveci dell' Appartamento Borgia al
!( prime piano dove il ricordo di Alessandro VI. I'avrebbe perseguitato."
Bole (68) ignores P. de Grassis' Report, and says that Julius II. chose
the Stanze for his residence in 1 503.
* Pastor, Hist Popes, II., 187 se^. (Engl, trans.),
t MuNTZ, Raphael, 330, ed. 2.
RAPHAEL AND THE STANZE. 543
These rooms during the Autumn of 1508 presented a
busy scene. In the Stanza dell' Incendio, Perugino was
painting the four round divisions of the ceiling, filling up
the interspaces with decorative designs.* In the adjoining
Camera della Segnatura, Raphael and Sodoma were at work
together, the latter having undertaken the ornamental
work on the ceiling.f In addition to these artists the
impatient Pope had got Luca Signorelli, Bramantino, Ber-
nardino Pinturicchio, Suardi, Lorenzo Lotto, and the
Fleming, Johann Ruysch, all variously occupied in the
upper storey.J But this did not last long= In a very
short time the Pope perceived how completely the works
of the other artists were eclipsed by Raphael's magnificent
paintings in the Camera della Segnatura, and took his
measures accordingly. The slight mythological pictures
with which Sodoma had begun to adorn the ceiling were
countermanded, and his work confined to the purely
decorative parts ; all the serious pictures were given to
Raphael, and before long Perugino and Pinturicchio were
* MiJNTZ, Hist, de I'Art, II., 722.
f Ibid.^ Raphael, 359, ed. 2, severely and justly criticises these
paintings of Sodoma's. Wickhoff, 55, has clearly shewn from the
Report of Paris de Grassis that Vasari's often repeated story that
Julius II. had destroyed other frescoes on the walls, in order to clear
them for Raphael's paintings, is a fable. De Grassis (ed. Dollinger,
383, expressly says that Julius refused to allow the portrait of Alex-
ander VI. to be destroyed. Wickhoff justly argues that if the Pope
would not permit the destruction of a fresco containing the portrait of
his deadliest enemy, he could certainly not have sanctioned that of less
obnoxious pictures. Nevertheless, Knackfuss, 40, repeats this invention
of Vasari. On the payments of Sodoma, see Arch. St. de See. Rom.,
II., 486. On his paintings, see also Janssen, 76 seq. 486 ; cf. CrOVVE,
II., 9-10.
t Cf. Crowe, II., 9 seq. ; Muntz, Raphael, 325, ed. 2. Particulars
about Signorelli's stay in Rome at the close of i 508 are in ViSCHER,
Signorelli, 357, 358.
544 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
also dismissed. The former returned to Perugio ; Pintu-
ricchio went to Siena, and never came back to Rome.
" Hard as this must have been for them they could not
dispute the justice of the Pope's verdict, who had, indeed,
fully appreciated the worth of what they had accomplished
in their best days."*
Raphael's paintings in the Camera della Segnatura,
which the world owes to the appreciative insight of Julius
II., are the most famous and the most interesting of all his
creations. Though faded, and in many ways damaged by
the ravages of time, they are still the joy of all artists and
art-lovers.f As long as ever a trace of them still remains,
they will draw pilgrims of every nationality to visit this
shrine of Art.
The importance of these frescoes is evinced by the amount
of literature to which they have given rise, J and which will
continue to increase, for they are as inexhaustible as the
heavens, in which new stars are being perpetually dis-
covered.
* SCHMARSOW, Pinturicchio in Rome, 85-86, further remarks :
"The decision of Julius II. corresponded with the law of historical
development and the subsequent verdict. of histoiy." On the relations
between Julius 11. and Raphael, Perat^, 552, justly says : II le
conquit a son oeuvre, il I'inspira et I'on pent meme dire qu'il le trans -
forma, le grandissant et I'echauffant a la flamme de son propre genie.
t On this damaged condition, see Plattner, II., i, 318 seg. Taine,
Voyage en Italic, I., 170 seg'., speaks in the strongest terms of the
disappointment with which he beheld the frescoes when he saw them
for the first time in their present state. On the other hand, SzeCSEN,
Raffael, 557, says : Their sad condition leads one doubly to appreciate
the intellectual grandeur of Raphael's Vatican frescoes.
X On the explanatory literature, see infra. My description, for
which I have consulted especially Plattner, II., i, 222 seq. ; Pas-
SAVANT, I., 139 seq. ; LuBKE, Ital. Malerei, II., 260 seq. ; SPRINGER,
1 50 seq.^ and BOLE'S Studies, was drawn up before the pictures them-
selves, and again compared with them in the Spring of 1893.
THE CAMERA BELLA SEGNATURA. 545
In the four principal divisions of the stuccoed ceih'ng,
which is decorated in the classical style, Raphael painted
four female allegorical figures in large circular frames, with
descriptive inscriptions, supplying the clue to the meaning
of the series of pictures below. These majestic forms,
enthroned on clouds, are painted in vivid colours, toned
down by a background of shimmering gold, representing
mosaic work.
The science of faith, Theology, comprehends the know-
ledge of divine things (divinarum rerum notitia), as the
inscription, borne by angels, announces. The figure of
Theology seems to have been suggested by Dante's
Beatrice,* the expression of the face is sweetly serious,
gentle, and yet full of dignity. The olive crown on the
head denotes divine wisdom, the floating veil is white, the
mantle green, the robe red — the colours of the three
theological virtues. Faith, Hope, and Charity. The two
principal sources of the science of Theology are Tradi-
tion and Holy Scripture. She holds the sacred volume
in her left hand, and points with the other to the large
picture on the wall in which those to whom Tradition
and knowledge have been committed are represented
assembled round the Supreme Mystery and Centre of
Christian worship.
The representation of Poetry is even finer. Sweetness,
sensibility, and enthusiasm are exquisitely combined in
the expression of the whole figure. In her right hand she
holds a book, in her left a lyre ; her laurel crown indicates
the fame that waits upon art ; her strong wings, her scarf
strewn with stars, her azure drapery, the thrill of emotion
which pervades her whole form, denote the imaginative
faculty. The inspired eyes baffle description ; altogether
* Dante, Purgatorio, X.XX,, 31 se(^., 67 seq. ; cf. Plaitnkr, IL,
I, 323-
VOL. VL 2 N
54^ HISTORY OF THE POPES.
as the scroll carried by the cherubs who attend upon her
declares, the divine afflatus is the breath of her being.*
The next figure, Philosophy, is treated classically and
with a good deal of symbolism. The side of the marble
seat on which she is enthroned bears a relief of Diana of
Ephesus, copied from an antique model. Her robes repre-
sent the four elements, Air in the upper garment, which is
blue and sown with stars, the drapery, symbolising Fire, is
red and embroidered with salamanders, while Water and
Earth are represented, respectively, by fishes and plants on
a sea-green and an ochre-brown background. The clasp of
the diadem which encircles her brow is a carbuncle. She
holds two large books in her hands, the one entitled
" Moralis," the other " Naturalis," moral and natural science,
while the winged genii on either side carry tablets with the
inscription, " causarum cognitio," " knowledge of causes."
The fourth figure wears a crown: her sword and scales
and the winged boy holding a scroll with the inscription
"Jus suiim unicuique tribuit," giving to each his due, leave
no doubt as to whom she is intended to represent. She
has four attendants, two of whom are angels.
In the long pendentives of the vaulting, Raphael painted
four smaller pictures encircled, like the large ones, with
richly decorated ornamental frames. In the one adjoining
Theology, the Fall is represented ; it is perhaps the most
beautiful of all existing presentations of this scene.! Next
to Poesy is the crowning of Apollo and the flaying of
Marsyas; the judgment of Solomon illustrates Justice. In
these three pictures narrative takes the place of symbolism,
but in the one which accompanies Philosophy, Raphael
reverts to allegory. It is a female figure waited on by two
* Afflata est numine. ^neid, VI., 50.
t KuGLER-BURCKHARDT, II., 580. Cf. also BuTTNER, Adam und
Eva in der bildenden Kunst, 60.
ALLEGORICAL SUBJECTS. 547
genii carrying books ; she is bending over a globe poised in
the midst of a starry sphere, to which she points with one
hand.*
The paintings on the ceilings, being more out of reach of
injury than the wall frescoes, are in better preservation ;
the two series are closely connected with each other ; those
on the walls representing the four great intellectual powers
as they act upon human life. Theology, unveiling the
mysteries of revelation, and interpreting the miracles of
faith ; Philosophy, searching out the causes and natures of
things by the light of reason ; Poesy, decking life with
grace and beauty ; Jurisprudence, maintaining social order
and security. Nothing can be more perfect than is the
artistic presentation of this majestic cycle of the intellectual
forces in their graduated order, with Theology at the head.
For the picture in illustration of Justice, Raphael chose
one of the smaller wall spaces, cut up and curtailed by the
large window in the middle of it ; it is the simplest of all.
In the semi-circle over the window the three cardinal
virtues. Fortitude, Prudence, and Temperance, the in-
separable companions of Justice, are allegorically repre-
sented by a charming group of three female figures. " The
skilful arrangement of the lines in this composition, the
variety in the forms, the unconstrained grace of the attitudes,
* The Dusseldorf Professor M osier (see Passavant, L, 139 seq.)
considers that these pictures have a double connection with the allegori-
cal figures, and refer to those on both sides of them. The face, placed
between Theology and Jurisprudence, denotes both Redemption and
Judgment. The punishment of Marsyas is at once the triumph of Art,
and, with an allusion to Dante (Parad., L, 19), a symbol of regenera-
tion. The figure contemplating the globe is suggestive of Poetry, as well
as of Philosophy ; the judgment of Solomon displays Wisdom as well as
Justice. KUGLER-BURCKHARDT, IL, 580 j^^., also adopt this interpreta-
tion, but it appears somewhat far-fetched. Cj. FoRSTER, Raphael, I.,
288.
548 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
are an inexhaustible source of delight."* The pictures on
the two sides of the window portray the institution of Law
in the State and in the Church, respectively. On the smaller
left side, the Emperor Justinian, seated on an antique chair,
hands his Pandects to Trebonius, who is humbly kneeling
before him. On the right of the window, Gregory IX.,
whose features are those of Julius II., gives the Decretals
to the Advocate of the Consistory, who also kneels to
receive them.f No doubt the giving of the Decretals was
intentionally placed in the ample space and treated with
greater fulness to shew that the law of the Church ranks
higher than secular laws. These compositions contain a
number of admirably characteristic heads. J
The glories of Poesy are depicted on the opposite wall,
also broken by a window looking into the Cortile di Belve-
dere.! Raphael here decided on painting a continuous
* LUBKE, n., 274.
t WiCKHOFF, 50, points out that Raphael takes pains to make his
meaning" clear by representing both ceremonies exactly as they were
usually described in the introductions to the law books in general use.
1 In the Cardinals surrounding Julius II., Vasari, IV., 337, sees
Giovanni de' Medici, A. Farnese, and Antonio di Monte ; but the truth
of this is very doubtful. The fact that the two first-named became
Popes makes it much more likely that it was an after-thought.
§ In spite of its great beauty {cf. Gruyer, Chambres, 125 seq.\ this
fresco in recent times has been much less spoken of than the School of
Athens or the Disputa. Thus J. Schrott has supplied a real want in
devoting a separate article in the Allg. Zeit. (1884), N. 10, Suppl., to its
description, of which I have availed myself in the text. He defends
Raphael's representation of Apollo against " one-sided art critics," and
in common with Passavant, I., 146 ; HI., 13 ; and FoRSTER, Raphael,
I., 290 seq.^ endeavours to explain all the twenty-eight figures in the
picture ; but still remains uncertain in regard to twelve of them. WiCK-
HOFF, 51 seq.^ has excellently pointed oyt the objections to these attempts
to explain all Raphael's figures. On the figure of Dante, see RiO, IV.,
468.
REPRESENTATION OF POESY. 549
picture, and ingeniously overcame the difficulty presented
by the window, by making its circular top support the
summit of Parnassus from which the sides of the mountain
naturally sloped downwards. On the height, the youthful
Apollo sits enthroned in a bower of laurels, surrounded
with flowers, while the Hippocrene fountain wells up from
beneath his feet.
A mere copyist of the antique would have put a lyre
into Apollo's hands. But this was not Raphael's mind, and
he has chosen the instrument most in use in his day, the
viola di braccio (alto), which allows a freer motion to the
hand, and, at the same time, was better understood by his
contemporaries.* The muses w^hich are grouped around
Apollo also depart in many ways from strictly classical
models, though they are singularly charming and graceful.
Immediately below them come the great poets crowned
with laurel ; on the left of the God, Homer, " the king of
noble singers, soaring like an eagle above all his compeers,"
stands in a blue mantle, his head a little thrown back after
the manner of blind people, his face glowing with poetic
inspiration, as he dictates his verses, which a youth at his
side is transcribing. Behind him is Dante, absorbed in
introspective thought, while Virgil is trying to draw his
attention to Apollo's playing. The poetess Sappho desig-
nated by an inscription on the half-open roll which she
holds is also in a prominent place on the left. An aged
* Raphael has often been blamed for this as an ignorant anachronism.
They have not observed that the figure of Poesy on the ceiling, the
Muses in Parnassus, finally Apollo himself in the School of Athens, and
the punishment of Marsyas, are all represented with the lyre. Other
painters of the same period, e.g.^ Pinturicchio and Spagna, introduced the
violin instead of the lyre. See Muntz, Raphael, 353-54, ed. 2. It is
therefore quite unnecessary to suppose with Plattner and Passavant that
Raphael wished to pay a compliment to the celebrated violinist, Giacomo
Sansecondo {cf. ClAN, Cortegiano, 138, 181).
550 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
poet on the other side, opposite to her, to whom three
others are listening admiringly, is supposed to be Pindar.
The two sitting figures in the foreground are " admirably
arranged in connection with the architectural lines, so as to
make these latter appear rather to sustain and give effect to
the fresco than to cramp it. On the other side the painted
setting of the window is utilised as a support for Sappho's
arm, who leans against it." *
This fresco has been called the most perfect specimen
of a genre painting that has ever been produced.f The
spirit of music pervades the whole composition ; one seems
actually to hear the music of Apollo and the song of
Homer, and to share with the delighted listeners the spell
of sound which unites them all in one common sense of
perfect content
The next subject, which fills one of the long side-walls
under the name of the School of Athens, is of quite a
different character from that of the blissful company of
poets assembled on Mount Parnassus.| The predominant
tone of feeling which reigns throughout this imposing
gathering of so many various schools and masters is that
of deep seriousness, laborious and indefatigable research.
The scene also is very different ; instead of the laurel-shaded
flowery mount of the gods, we have a majestic fane, with a
nave and transept surmounted by a cupola and approached
by a broad flight of steps. This temple is dedicated to
* Springer, I., 232, ed. 2.
t SCHROTT, see the Essay quoted, supra^ p. 548, note §.
X On this contrast, cf. MtJNTZ, Raphael, 351 seq.^ ed. 2. The name,
School of Athens, was first applied to this picture by the Marquis de
Seignelay, in his account of his travels in the year 1671 : see Gaz. des
Beaux Arts, XIH., 365. Cf. Springer, Schule von Athen, V., 80. I have
used this treatise together with M tinner's for the description given in the
text ; it is the best of ever)^thing that has been written on this celebrated
fresco. For further literature, see Z7tfra.
THE SCHOOL OF ATHENS. 55 1
Minerva and Apollo, whose statues adorn the facade, in
front of which a raised platform in the middle distance runs
slantwise across the whole picture.
In the conception of this building, and also in the arrange-
ment of some of the groups, we seem to trace a remi-
niscence of one of Ghiberti's reliefs in the Baptistery at
Florence.* Down the long nave attended by a double
band of disciples, the two princes of the philosophers, Plato
and Aristotle, are slowly moving towards the top of the
steps, on one of which the cynic Diogenes lazily reclines by
himself Aristotle is represented as a man in the prime of
life. He wears an olive-green robe and grey-blue mantle
and holds his Ethics in his hand. Plato is a venerable old
man with a large and lofty brow and ample white beard ;
his robe is of a greyish-violet and his mantle red ; he holds
a book in his hand on the back of which Timeo is written.
They are occupied in expounding their respective philo-
sophies; Aristotle is pointing to the earth, Plato to the
heavens.f On the right of these two prominent central
groups are several singularly beautiful isolated figures ;
one a youth writing diligently, another an older scholar
deep in thought, again close to the edge of the picture an
old man leaning on a staff, just entering, with a youth
hurrying after him.
On the left of the centre Socrates stands with a knot of
listeners surrounding him (Dialecticians). He is number-
ing his propesitions on his fingers and developing the con-
sequences. Opposite to him is a handsome youth in full
armour with a golden helmet, supposed to be Alcibiades.J
* Ghiberti's relief represents the Queen of Saba's visit to Solomon.
WiCKHOFF, 52, was the first to call attention to its influence on tliis
composition of Raphael.
t Springer, Schule von Athen, 98.
\ In opposition to the prevalent view, MiJLLNER, 168, considers the
552 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
His features are copied from an antique gem still to be seen
in Florence. A man by his side is eagerly beckoning to
three others to join him. The foremost of these seems ex-
plaining why he is not so eager as his companions to obey
the call ; in front of him a youth with an armful of books
rushes by in such haste that his golden-brown mantle is
slipping from his shoulders : the connection between the
group and the foreground is sustained by a number of
persons assembled round the base of a pillar against which
a youth is leaning turning over the leaves of a book. In
the foreground to the right, not far from the grammarians,
is an admirably composed group representing the arithme-
ticians and musicians. An old man (Pythagoras), support-
ing himself on one knee, is writing diligently, while on his
left a boy is holding a tablet on which the numbers and
symbols of the Pythagorean doctrine of harmonies are
inscribed.* An Asiatic and an aged man with an inkstand
and pen are standing f behind and at the side of the
philosopher, looking into his book over his shoulder. To
the right of this concentrated circle stands a young man in
a long white garment embroidered with gold, identified, by
a not very trustworthy tradition, as Duke Francesco Maria
della Rovere of Urbino. Before him appears a man in the
prime of life, one of the most striking personalities ever
painted by Raphael, eagerly expounding his discoveries and
views out of a book.J The last figure on this side is in
figure to represent Xenophon, an opinion which Scherer had already
held in his essay, quoted in the following note.
* Cf. SCHEREK in the Oesterreich,, Wochenschrift, H. (1872), 37;
Hettner, 198 scq.
t Perhaps Boethius. MiJLLNER, 164, thinks the Asiatic philosopher to
be Averroes, who was considered by the Christian votaries of the Renais-
sance to be an " unbeliever." This view adds an ideal contrast to the
artistic one.
X Springer 1 , 747, ed. 2. The name of this philosopher has been
THE GROUPING OF THE SCHOOL OF ATHENS. 553
strong contrast with him, a philosopher sitting motionless
on the lowest step, absorbed in thought, with pen in hand
preparing to write.*
The group of geometricians and astrologers in the fore-
ground on the right side is perhaps as perfect a repre-
sentation of the processes of thought and research, reading
and learning, listening and apprehending, as Raphael has
ever produced. The mathematician (at one time thought
to be Archimedes, but now rightly held to be Euclid)-f is a
portrait of Bramante ; he is bending low with a circle in
his hand, over a mathematical figure which he is explaining.
There is hardly any group in the whole fresco which is
more dramatic and artistic than that of the four fair-haired
youths who surround this teacher. The foremost kneels,
and with the fingers of one hand follows the lines of the
drawing which he is trying to understand. The second
youth shews in his eyes and by the movement of his hand
that light is beginning to dawn on him. The third has
mastered the problem so that he can now interpret it to
the fourth, whose face beams with the joy of apprehension.
" The psychological process by which the mind passes from
the external sign to its meaning and thence to the internal
cognition of the object, has never elsewhere been so truth-
fully and vividly portrayed. "J
the subject of much controversy. Recently MiJLLNER, 165 seq.^ has
endeavoured to prove that this figure is Parmenides.
■* The original cartoon for the School of Athens in the Anibrosian
Library at Milan shews that the figure was put in later to fill up the too
large space on the step. Passavant, Lubke, Bole, 13, and MiJLLNER,
166, believe this thinker to be Heraclitus the Obscure.
+ Passavant, I., 159, conjectures that the tradition that Archimedes
is represented here, which is not mentioned by Vasari, first arose in
the time of Paul lU. from Perino del Vaga's painting of the murder of
Archimedes, then executed on the frieze.
\ Springer, I., 245, ed. 2. Cf. FoRSTER, I., 305. Vasari says that
554 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Adjoining this group is a King (Ptolemy) with a terres-
trial globe in his hands and another figure (Zoroaster) with
his head encircled by a gold band and carrying a celestial
globe.* At the edge of the fresco, by the side of the
votaries of the sciences of the earth and heavens, Raphael
has introduced a likeness of himself, and one of his fellow-
artist, Sodoma.-f
A connecting link between all these groups and the
central one is formed by tv/o men, the older of whom is
coming down from the platform, while the younger is
mounting the steps towards the two greatest teachers.
Beautiful and interesting as each one of the numerous
separate groups which make up the picture is in itself, none
can withdraw our attention for any length of time from the
splendid figures of Plato and Aristotle which dominate the
whole composition. The eye involuntarily and constantly
turns back again to gaze on the two great masters, the
undisputed princes .of the whole Academy. A flood of
light from the dome above bathes them in its radiance, a
symbol of the heavenly illumination which was the object
of all their toil and its well-merited reward.J
the second youth is Federigo Gonzaga,. whose portrait Raphael had
also painted by itself for Isabella d^Este. See Luzio, F. Gonzaga,
43 s^Q-
* According to Vasari, Zoroaster Is a portrait of Bald. Castiglione.
t The earlier explanation of this man as Perugino is certainly in-
correct, as a glance at Perugino's likeness painted by himself in the
Cambio in Perugia is enough to prove. Lermolieff, Die Werke
Italienischer Meister in den Galerien von Miinchen, Dresden, und
Berlin (1880), p. 472, thinks Sodoma more likely. This interpretation
is not without its difficulties also (see Springer, Schule von Athen, 97),
but it seems the most probable. Cf. K. Brun, in the Gott. Gel. Anz.
(1882), I., 542 seq.
% MuLLNER, 176. Here also Is an excellent appreciation of Louis
Jacob/s admirable engraving, the appearance of which in 1883 con-
stitutes an era in the history of copper-plate printing in modern times.
INTERPRETATION OF THE FRESCO. 555
Perhaps no other work of art in existence has called forth
so many various and conflicting interpretations as has the
School of Athens. There are almost as many opinions as
there are figures in the picture in which the artist strove
to depict both the loftiest aspirations and the multiform
vagaries of the human mind. Critics tried to put a
name to each, and lost themselves in futile individu-
alisations. The only way to arrive at a satisfactory
solution is to look at the composition as a whole, and in
the light of the general point of view of the time. If this
is done the fundamental idea becomes clear at once.
Raphael intended to portray the efforts of the human
mind to discover and scientifically apprehend its own
highest object and final cause by the light of reason.* The
Cf. Graphische Kiinste, V., 104 seq. The fresco itself has been so much
damaged that Jacoby had to go back to the original sketches.
* See MULLNER, 158, and Bole, Rafael's Wandgemalde die Philo-
sophie, 2, and von Liliencron in the AUg. Zeit. (1883), N. 309-310,
Suppl., who in the main agree with Miillner. The engraving of G.
Ghisi, executed in 1550, had spread abroad the mistaken notion that
the fresco represented the preaching of S. Paul at Athens. As early
as the year 1695 this interpretation which fell in with the tendency
of the Catholic restoration of that day, and had been hinted by Vasari,
was proved by Bellori to be untenable. Nevertheless H. Grimm,
in 1864, took it up and defended it strenuously in his Fiinfzehn
Essays, 3 Folge, p. 61 scq. (Berlin, 1882), and in his Leben Raphaels,
287 seq.^ ed. 2 (Berlin, 1886); but he has found very few supporters
(as far as I know WOLZOGEN, 59 seq.^ is the only one). The best
scholars have all pronounced against this view. See Woltmann, II.,
643, 794 ; MlNGHKlTl, RafTacllo, 114 : also, more recently, Koopman
in Liitzow's Zeitschrift, XXI., 266 seq.^ and especially Kraus, Camera
della Segnatura, 25 seq. Kraus has so completely refuted Grimm
that his hypothesis may be considered dead. Up to the present
day competent critics continue completely at variance with each
other, both as to the identification of many of the figures, and the
sources from which Raphael derived his knowledge of ancient piiilo-
sophies. For a long time the names given by Vasari and Bellori were.
55^ HISTORY OF THE POPES.
purpose of the painter in this monunriental work was to
celebrate the praise of Philosophy in the language of Art
not disputed, Passavant started the hypothesis that the matter for the
School of Athens was taken from Diogenes of Laertes, and that the
fresco represented the historical development of Greek philosophy. He
found names for all the figures, fifty in number. See PaSSAVANT, I.,
148 seq. ; H., 102 seq. ; HI., 13 seq. ; TRENDELENBURG, Die Schule von
Athen (Berlin, 1843), ^"^5 corrected some of these names, and rejects the
chronology. The doubtfulness of the nomenclature is shewn by the fact
that Watkiss Lloyd, Fine Arts Quarterly Review, II., 42 seq, (London,
1864), though thinking with Passavant that the main idea of the picture is
derived from Diogenes, substitutes quite different names for the various
persons. FORSTER, Raphael, I., 290, thinks the treatment of the subject
was suggested by Petrarch's Triumph of Fame. Grimm and SCHERER
(see supra^ p. 554) trace the influence of Sidonius Apollinaris, and the
latter in 1872 also mentioned Marsilio Ficino. Ficino is also frequently
referred to by Hettner, 195 seq.^ and Springer, Schule von Athen,
94 seq. Hettner's observations are so full of theological and philo-
sophical blunders that they have done little towards elucidating the
subject. On the other hand. Springer's explanation contains a good
resume of older opinions (Kraus, loc. cit.^ 12 j^^.), and is worth noticing,
though he has not got hold of the kernel of the matter. He has
rendered specially good service by the long list of contradictory names
which he gives to shew the absurdity of the attempts at identifying each
figure. (Gruyer, 86, had already protested against that.) He
observes, p. 88, "It is quite clear that all these names have been read
into the picture, and not gathered from it. For the identification of
most of the figures the artist gives no clue whatever. Where he intends to
represent any particular person he makes his meaning quite clear ; thus,
besides the two principal figures, Socrates and Diogenes are quite
unmistakeable. He intended to indicate some of the Sages of Antiquity,
and there is no doubt about them ; but an unbiassed eye can detect no
trace of anything like a connected representation of the course of Greek
philosophy." Springer points out that all modern interpretations are
unsatisfactory, because they proceed on the assumption that the picture,
which really is a monumental creation, is an illustration of a theme only
known in all its detail to the author, and to every one else a riddle
capable of only partial solution. Springer's view is that Raphael aimed
at giving expression to the general ideas and feelings prevailing among
THE PURPOSE OF RAPHAEL. 557
and from the points of view of his own age. It is possible,
and most probable, that he discussed the subject with his
his contemporaries in regard to the value and significance of science and
learning. The best account of them is, he thinks, to be found in the
works of Marsilio Ficino and Sadolet, and he looks upon the composi-
tion as an embodiment of their views. " With them Raphael looked
upon the place in which the sages of the world assembled as a sacred
edifice ; for him, as for them, all philosophical knowledge was built up
from the foundation of the seven liberal arts, and Plato and Aristotle
were the two princes of the whole company of the wise. In the School of
Athens the representation of the liberal arts is the warp, and the ideali-
sation of the Greek philosophers the woof of the composition" (p. 98).
RiCHTER (Schule von Athen. Heidelberg, 1882), had already shewn
that the scheme of the School of Athens was founded on the seven
liberal arts, and Liliencron, Bole, and Miillner supported this view. Bole
and Milliner think that the picture is also meant to be a historical repre-
sentation of ancient philosophy, and they renew the attempt to find
suitable names for the separate figures. Miillner holds out hopes of a
forthcoming treatise further developing his views and the arguments on
which they are founded, which would be very welcome. Crowe-Caval-
caselle have contributed nothing new. Miintz agrees in the main with
Springer, as also Kraus in many points. According to the latter, the
connecting link between the School of Athens and the other frescoes is to
be found in the words of Pico della Mirandola : Philosophia veritatem
quaerit, theologia invenit, religio possidet. Kraus lays great stress on
the influence of Marsilio Ficino. He goes so far as to say : £ forse
ancora piu preciso il dire che 1' intero concetto, 1' intera Camem della
Segnatura si trova gik in Marsilio. Wickhoff", on the other hand,
sharply contests this. " The history of Greek philosophy is supposed to
be represented by the position and grouping of the figures ; but who at
that time cared for the history of Greek philosophy ? The temple and
the steps leading up to it are said to have been suggested by an obscui'e
passage in Marsilio F^icino, a philosophist of the earlier humanistic
period. But in those days who read Marsilio ? At all times nothing is
so antipathetic to the taste of any period as the fashionable writings of
the beaux csprits of the preceding generation. In the architectuml
framework of the picture there is a reminiscence of P'lorentine art."
(See st/pni, p. 551.) Out of all the suggestd names WiCKHOKF only
accepts those of IMato, Aristotle, Ptolemy, Sorrates, Boethius, Euclid, and
558 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
learned friends, especially with Sadolet, and that he was
influenced by the works of Marsilio Ficino, and also by
Dante and Petrarch. But, essentially, there can be little
doubt that his ideas of the significance and development
of ancient philosophy came from Urbino. In some
particulars, as in giving the highest place to Plato, he
adopted the point of view of the Renaissance, but in the
main he retained the mediaeval conception. Pn this, all
knowledge that can possibly be attained by the human in-
tellect through the experience of the senses and the laws of
thought, is comprised in the seven liberal arts {artes
liberales), Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic (Dialectics) the
so-called Trivium ; and Music, Arithmetic, Geometry, and
Astronomy — the Quadrivium. Raphael's composition is
entirely founded on the idea of Philosophy * as the sum
of the seven liberal arts.
Plato and Aristotle represent the highest achievements
of the human intellect in its efforts to understand and
know the substance of all things ; truth came to them in
flashes like lightning at night ; but although these in-
tellectual athletes accomplished as much as it is given to
the natural powers of man to work out, they could not
obtain to the full possession of the highest truth. On one
point all the great thinkers of antiquity, and even Plato,
the philosopher of immortality, were at fault ; they had no
true conception of sin, of the nature and origin of evil.
Thus, Greek philosophy was powerless to heal the deadly
Diogenes. " The others, what Dante calls the philosophic family, either
have no names or are exquisitely artistic personifications of the various
processes of teaching, apprehending, imparting, etc." (p. 52). The
writer then goes on to expound his new view of the purpose for which
the Camera della Segnatura was destined, which we shall have to
mention later, connecting it with these remarks.
* See Richter, Springer, Liliencron and Milliner, siipra^ p. 555,
note * as quoted.
THEOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY. 559
wound of the ancient world.* " Philosophy," says Vincent
de Beauvais in his great Encyclopaedia, " can work the way
up to a natural theology, but not to the true science of
theology. That could only come from revelation in the
Bible and, through its interpreters, the great theological
teachers."-f- This distinction between the realms of natural
and supernatural theology is to be found in all the great
Catholic thinkers. Thus Dante makes Beatrice say that
the difference between human knowledge and Divine faith
is as great as the distance between heaven and earth.J
Therefore, Raphael chose the highest object of super-
natural lore for the subject of his fresco on the opposite
wall to the School of Athens, which represents the triumphs
of human reason. But it must not be supposed that either
the immortal masters of mediaeval theology, or Dante, the
greatest of Christian poets, or Raphael, the most gifted of
Christian artists, were conscious of any opposition between
Theology and Philosophy. § As the Church grew to realise
her plenary and imperishable possession of revealed truth
through Christianity, her early Fathers and Doctors quickly
understood that the wisdom of the Greeks was far more
her heritage than that of the heathen, and was to be em-
ployed in the service and thus became itself purified and
elevated to a far higher dignity. The scholastics continued
to build in the same spirit on the foundations laid by the
Fathers, and thus that system of Christian and Catholic
science grew up, of which S. Thomas Aquinas and
* This is admirably demonstrated in D(")LLInger's classical work,
Heidenthum und Judenthum, 266 seq.^ 292 scq.^ 601 seq.^ 730 seq.
Regensburg, 1857.
t Speculum doctrinak, II., c. XIX., cjuoted by Lli.IENCRON, he. cit.\
cf. S. Thomas Aquinas, Summa, p. i, q. i, art. 2.
I Dante, Purgat., xxxni., 87.
§ In regard to Dante, see HETTINGER, Die (i«ittlirlie Kom«idie, 100,
ed. 2. Freiburg, 1889,
56o HISTORY OF THE POPES.
S. Bonaventure are the noblest representatives. " This
science was Catholic in the fullest sense of the word, not
only because it was moulded on, and guided by Divine
truth, infallibly preserved and interpreted by the Church,
but because it gathered to itself the legitimate and stable
conquests of research in all ages, because it was common to
all nations in communion with the Church, and because it
aimed at the union of all truth, natural and supernatural, in
one perfect science."*
In the fourth great fresco, Raphael wisely abstained from
attempting to depict all or even the principal mysteries and
miracles unveiled by revelation and confined himself to one,
the mystery of mysteries and supreme miracle of all.
The name "Disputa del Sacramento" given to this picture,
'' which affects the spectator almost like a heavenly vision/'-f
and was Raphael's first great work in Rome, has been
rather an obstacle than a help to the understanding of its
purport, j There is no strife or disputation here ; on the
contrary heaven and earth unite together in adoring and
* I have taken the passage from the admirable address on the past
achievements and present task of Catholic Science delivered by my
friend, Domdekan Heinrich, on Whit Tuesday, 1876, at Frankfort a.
M., at the first general meeting of the Gorres Society. It is printed in
the Annual Report of the Association for 1876, p. 12. Koln, 1877.
t Crowe-Cavalcaselle, II., 29.
+ MiJNTZ, Raphael, 330, rightly observes : En Italien le mot Disputa
a le sens de discussion aussi bien que celui de contestation ; we may add
that the original sense of disputatio in ecclesiastical terminology is also
discursus. Nevertheless, the name is unfortunate, because it at once
suggests the idea of dispute or strife to any non-Italian. Hagen, 140
seq.^ has some very good remarks on this name. From a technical point
of view, the School of Athens is a better picture than the Disputa, which
was painted earlier. Cf. Passavant, I., 163; II., 96; see also Rio,
IV., 463-464, 466. In his work, Michel- Ange et Raphael, 133, Rio
agrees with F. Schlegel, in considering the Disputa as the greatest of
Raphael's works.
THE DISPUTA DEL SACRAMENTO. 561
praising the miracle of miracles, the supreme pledge of His
love bestowed on man by the Saviour of the World. The
spectator seems to hear the solemn strains of the Tantum
ergo breathing as it were out of the picture itself.*
* The picture has nothing whatever to do with any sort of controversy
in regard to the Blessed Sacrament, and it is therefore really deplorable
to find the engraving of the Disputa in Reber-Bayerdorffer's
" Classischer Bilderschatz " entitled : " Der Wortwechsel — La Disputa."
It cannot be determined with certainty when the name Disputa first came
into use. I find it employed in an old guide of the year 1739. (De-
scrizione di Roma, 60 [Roma, 1739].) The word is to be found in
Vasari, but not exactly in the description of the picture. He says :
" Fece in un' altra parete un cielo con Cristo e la Nostra Donna, S.
Giovanni Battista, gli Apostoli e gli Evangelisti e Martiri sulle nuvole
con Dio Padre che sopra tutti manda lo Spirito Santo, e massimamente
sopra un numero infinito di Santi che sotto scrivono la messa e sopra
1' ostia, che h suU' altare, disputano." The rest of the description is unin-
teresting, like all Vasari's it is taken from a print. In the passage quoted,
the chief emphasis is laid on the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the
band of Saints. What was said about the writing of the mass was over-
looked ; attention was concentmted on the " disputano " which gradually
lost its original sense of " interchange of opinions " (demonstrating,
drawing inferences), and came to be translated as " contention." The
change in the prevailing taste in Art which soon diverted general interest
from this picture is probably the cause which led to its true meaning
being so quickly forgotten. It is significant of this change that the Par-
nassus should be the only picture mentioned by JOVIUS in his Life of
Raphael, when speaking of the Camera della Segnatura. Later travellenj
(Aldroandi, 1562 ; Schrader, 1592) ignore Raphael entirely. (MuNTZ,
Les Historiens, 26.) M. de Montaigne, who visited Rome in the reign
of Gregory XIII., equally does not mention him in his Journal de Voyage,
nor yet Zeiller, in his well-known Travels in the year 1640. SCHOTT,
Itiner. Italiae (Antwerpiae, 1600), mentions only the Sala di Costantino.
It was not till the end of the 17th Century that liellori {cf. MuNTZ,
loc. cit.^ 26, 'j'j) made an attempt, though not a very intelligent one, to
give a detailed description of Raphael's frescoes in the Vatican. Venuti
again, Descrizione di Roma Moderna, IV., 1191 (Roma, 1767), only
speaks of the Parnassus and the School of Athens, and says not a word
of the Disputa. J. G. Keyssler, Neueste Reisen (new ed. by G. Schiitze,
VOL. VI. 2 0
562 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Tantum ergo Sacramentum
Veneremur cernui ;
Et antiquum documentum
Novo cedat ritui
Prsestet fides supplementum
Sensuum defectui.
Hannover, 175 1), is a little more communicative : he enumerates the
four pictures in the Camera della Segnatura as follows: (i)The chief
doctrines of the Faith, namely, the Trinity, mediation of Christ, transub-
stantiation, eternal life, etc. (2) The achievements and powers of the
human mind in regard to philosophy, mathematics, and astronomy, which
piece is usually called the School of Athens. (3) Poesy and the hill of
Parnassus. (4) Justice, Prudence, and other moral virtues. VOLK-
MANN's Reisehandbuch (Hist.-Kritische Nachrichten von Italien, ed. 2.
Leipzig, 1777), of which Goethe made use, gives a full description of the
School of Athens, but dismisses the Disputa with a remark that it is
painted in " the dry style of Perugino's pupils." He translates the word
" Disputa " as " The debate of the doctors of the Church about the Lord's
Supper " (IL, 128). W. Heinse, who came to Rome late in the autumn
of 1781, and published his "Ardinghello" in 1787, drops the name Dis-
puta altogether, and only speaks of the Theology, of which he says,
"The whole represents the coming into existence of the Christian
Church." Goethe, in speaking of the Stanza, does not mention the Dis-
puta at all. The German Christian artists, more especially OVERBECK,
were the first to rediscover the full beauty of this wonderful picture {cf.
infra^ p. 565, n.). Plattner, H., i, 325 seq.^ gave a detailed description of
it, drawn a good deal from Bellori ; he rejects the " mistaken notion " of
a controversy about the Blessed Sacrament, and calls it " a dramatic re-
presentation of theology in its action and effects." Passavant makes some
mistakes in details, but gives a much better general interpretation than
any of his predecessors. He says : " In its essential meaning it is a repre-
sentation of the agreement between the Saints of the old and new
covenants in Heaven, celebrating the work of Salvation there, and the
theologians on earth contemplating the mysterious Sacrament of the body
and blood of Christ, and both feeling themselves united with each other
in Him." KuGLER-Burckhardt, II., 581, are quite beside the mark
in blaming the picture because neither of the two halves predominate.
The remarks in Cicerone, 663, are more to the point, though here too
the theological meaning is not appreciated. The appearance of Joseph
THE TANTUM ERGO. 563
Genitori genitoque
Laus et jubilatio
Salus, honor, virtus quoque
Sit et benedictio ;
von Keller's admirable engraving of the Disputa in 1857 led to a revival
of interest in the picture. (Frederick William IV. bought the drawing ;
the plate with all the copies still remaining, partly the property of Keller,
was destroyed when the Academy in Diisseldorf was burnt down in the
year 1872. When Keller saw the plate, "the fruit of ten years of toil,"
as it was recovered from the mass of rubbish, curled up and perfectly
useless, this, " the saddest moment of his life," shewed how deeply im-
bued he was with Christian feeling ; he merely exclaimed, " may the will
of God be praised.") Inspired by this engraving, the somewhat mercurial
theologian, J. W. J. Braun, wrote an original dissertation on the Disputa
(Diisseldorf, 1859), in which he gave free vent to his love of conjecture.
{Cf. Kathol. Literaturzeitung, VI., 59 seq?) This roused SPRINGER to
publish, first in a brochure (Bonn, i860) and then in his larger work on
Raphael and Michael Angelo, an excellent historical treatise on the whole
subject. In this work he rejects the theological interpretation. Hagen
in 1 860 wrote a remarkable essay primarily directed against Braun, but
also controverting Springer's views (p. \7.^ seq.). In it he justly points
out (pp. 127, 139) that Raphael had the prayers of the mass in his mind,
in which he is in accordance with Monsignor Schneider, who will be cited
further on. Hagen, 128, declares the main idea in the picture to be
" the communion between earth and heaven established by the revelation
of the Sacrament of the Altar." F. X. Kraus was the first to state the
theological interpretation from a Catholic point of view in his able, but
unfortunately too little known, treatise. La Camera della Segnatura, where,
p. 41, the sacrificial element is explained. BOLE in his Meisterwerke,
67-8 1 , has also, more recently, dealt with the subject from the point of
view of a Catholic theologian. G. COZZA-Luzi's paper, II Duomo di
Orvieto e Raffaelo Sanzio nel Trionfo Eucharistico. Lettura inaugurale
air Accademia Orvietana, " La Nuova Fenice" (Milano, 1890), is rather
rhetorical. G. Grimm in his Leben Raphaels, 315, gives the following
explanation. " From the moment we understand that the picture repre-
sents not a dispute, but the cessation of all disputes on the subject of the
picture by the revelation which silences controversy, we see that all the
many meanings introduced into it are quite superfluous. It is a moment
of overpowering amazement," etc. I consider this interpretation, which is
564 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Procedenti ab utroque
Compar sit laudatio.*
The representation of the Holy Trinity, conceived in
the old mediaeval reverent manner, occupies the centre
of the upper part of the fresco. God the Father is seen
in the highest heaven in a sea of golden rays thronged
with floating angels,-]- as if the painter's imagination
revelled in the thought of the multitudes of happy spirits
in that realm of peace and bliss. On each side, on the
edges of the clouds which encircle this region of light,
three angels soar in flowing drapery. As Creator and
Preserver, the Father holds the globe in His left hand,
while the right hand is raised in blessing. Immediately
accepted by Wolzogen, 56, to be mistaken, because it starts from the
false notion that there had been a dispute amongst those who are assem-
bled in presence of the Blessed Sacrament. The deeper theological
meaning of the fresco, as I have endeavoured to explain it further on,
p. 575, is thus entirely lost. Finally as a curiosity it may be worth
mentioning that PORTIG in the Hist.-polit. BL, XCVII., 403 seq.^ is of
opinion that the Disputa is an expression of the Protestant doctrine of
salvation by faith ! On that of a Protestant pastor who declares that
Raphael was not a Catholic, see MiJNTZ, Les Historiens, 68.
*
Down in adoration falling,
Lo ! the Sacred Host we hail ;
Lo ! o'er ancient forms departing,
Newer rites of grace prevail ;
Faith for all defects supplying,
Where the feeble senses fail.
To the everlasting Father *
And the Son who reigns on high,
With the Holy Ghost, proceeding
Forth from each eternally,
Be salvation, honour, blessing.
Might and endless majesty. Amen.
+ Cf. Dante's description of the Empyrean, Parad., xxxi., 4 seq.
Raphael indicates the starry heavens by a number of little golden dots.
THE HEAVENLY PARADISE. 565
below Him, in the actual centre of the heavens, is the
glorified form of the only begotten Son {Rex gloriae).*
Perhaps this is the most beautiful representation of the
Saviour that has ever been created. He is enthroned on
clouds filled with angel-faces. His divinity beams forth
in a golden halo melting into a semi-circle of blue sky
out of which cherubs are looking down. His head is
slightly bent and the wounded hands are stretched forth
graciously and lovingly, inviting all men to His banquet.f
His shining garment leaves the wound in His side un-
covered. On His left hand, S. John the Baptist sits
pointing to the " Lamb of God who taketh away the sins
of the world," on the right, His Blessed Mother bends ador-
ingly towards him with folded hands pressed to her bosom.
The " patricians of this most just and pious empire,"
as Dante calls them, are ranged in a semi-circle spread
underneath and stretching upwards to embrace the two
sides of the central group. They, too, are enthroned
on a cloud from which angel faces look out. " For the
grouping of the Divine Persons, Raphael went back to
the traditional type, but the arrangement of these figures
is all his own and is admirable for its perfect proportions
* Cf. Kraus, Camera della Segnatura, 37.
t Cf. Overbeck'S Leben von Binder, I., 145 j^^., and BOLE, Meister-
werke der Malerei, 69. In a letter, which has only come to light quite
recently, from Overbeck to his father, written in 18 10, he says of the
Disputa : " What a heaven opens upon one the moment one enters.
The first thing that strikes the eye is the Majesty of God and His only
begotten Son, full of grace and truth ; it is really impossible to conceive
anything more sublime than the glory in the Disputa. With Stephen
one sees Heaven opened, and falls into a trance. Below are all the
Saints so full of love and faith ; in short, this picture is the reflection of
Raphael's beautiful saintly soul ; one must indeed be a saint oneself to
be able to paint sanctity like that." AUg. Conservative Monatschrift
(1887), II., 1283.
566 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
and its clearness. He mixes the representatives of the
old covenant with the heroes of the new, and places these
latter in a certain way in accordance with their rank in
the hierarchy of the Saints : Apostles with sacred writers,
ancestors of Christ together with martyrs, the former
in a chronological sequence according to the age in which
they lived. Those who sit on the same level on opposite
sides are always in some way connected with each other."*
In his selection of the Saints and their juxtaposition,
Raphael was guided partly by the prayer in the mass
and partly by Dante.f
The series of the elect begins on the left side with
S. Peter. The teacher and guardian of the Faith appears
as a venerable old man holding in one hand a book and in
the other the keys; his eyes are fixed upon his Master
and God, who has appointed him to be His Vicar on earth,
with an expression of unbounded trustfulness. Adam is
next him, turning a thoughtful gaze towards him as though
musing on the story of sin and redemption.
Que' due, che seggon lassu piu felici,
Per esser propinquissimi ad Augusta,
Son d'esta rosa quasi due radici.
* Springer, I., 223, ed. 2. Bole, Meisterwerke der Malerei, 69,
remarks on the twelve figures which are nearest to Christ : " The order
observed in the placing of these persons according to a twofold principle
of juxtaposition and opposition is very striking. Old and New Testa-
ment Saints are arranged side by side in pairs, for in heaven there is no
distinction between the two covenants, since all alike have attained to
glory through Christ the Alpha and Omega (Apoc, i, 8). There is a
connection also between those who sit opposite to each, either in regard
to God's providential dealings with them, or the special virtues by which
they had merited heaven." The author goes on to exemplify this in
detail, but perhaps puts a little more into the painter's mind tlian was
really there.
t HagEN, 127 s^q., 132 scg., 139 seg., was, as far as I know, the first
to point this out.
THE SERIES OF THE ELECT. 567
Colui, che da sinistra le s'aggiusta,
E '1 Padre, per lo cui ardito gusto,
L'umana specie tanto amaro gusta.
Dal destro vedi quel Padre vetusto
Di Santa Chiesa, a cui Cristo le chiavi
Raccomando di questo fior venusto.*
Close to, and strongly contrasting with the mighty-
ancestor of the human race, is the gentle and youthful form
of S. John, who is writing his Gospel. David by his side,
with crown and harp, is reading in the book the history
which fulfilled his Old Testament prophecies. Next comes
S. Lawrence, the joyous and heroic martyr-deacon ; he
wears a golden star on his breast and points to the
theologians assembled below, round the Blessed Sacra-
ment.-f Turning towards him is a figure, probably
Jeremias, which is almost hidden by the central group and
thus indicates that the circle behind it is unbroken.J
On the right side, the series begins with the other
* Those highest in bliss,
The twain, on each hand next our Empress throned,
Are as it were two roots unto this rose.
He to the left, the parent, whose rash taste
Proves bitter to his seed ; and on the right,
That ancient father of the Holy Church,
Into whose keeping Christ did give the keys
Of this sweet flower.
—Dante, Parad., xxxii., 1 18-126.
t Hagen, 139, and others look upon this figure pointing downwards as
S. Ste[)hen, and place S. Lawrence on the opposite side. I think them
wrong, as it seems to me that the palm in the hand of the figure on the
right side clearly indicates the first martyr.
X Springer, Raffaels Disputa (i860), was the first to suggest this
name, and nearly all modem writers down to Bole, 71, have accepted it
Paliard thinks it is meant for S. Martin of Tours. See Chron. des
Arts (1876), 328-329.
568 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
pillar of the Church, S. Paul. The energetic pose of the
figure and the strength and size of the sword on which
it leans suggest both his martyrdom and the characteristic
power of his doctrine. " The word of God is living and
effectual, and more piercing than any two-edged sword"
(Heb., iv. 12). Next to him sits Abraham with the knife
in his hand preparing to sacrifice Isaac. After him
comes S. James the less, absorbed in thought, holding a
book,* then Moses with the tables of the Law, and next
to him S. Stephen. The first martyr holds a palm in
his hand ; he rests his arm on the Book of the Faith which
he confessed, and gazing upwards seems to repeat the
words which he uttered as he stood before the Council,
filled with the Holy Ghost : " Behold I see the heavens
opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand
of God." Again, on this side, haW-lost behind the group
of the Saviour and next to the martyr, stands one of the
* Plattner, II., I, 327, conjectures that S. James is placed here as
the third witness, together with SS. Peter and John, of the Transfigura-
tion and the symbol of Hope, as they are of Faith and Love. But it was
S. James the greater who was present at the Transfiguration, and he is
generally represented as an old man with a pilgrim's staflf and hat
(Mexzel, SymboHk, I., 75, 430). Nevertheless Gruyer, 62, and Hagen,
139, hold to S. James the less, and the fact that in the Middle Ages
the inscription : " Ascendit ad coelos, sedet ad dexteram Dei patris
omnipotentis " (see TvJexzel, I., yj\ often accompanies representations of
him seems to me to favour this view. BOLE, in his very able " Studie,"
connects S. James with the corresponding Saint on the opposite side,
S. John : " Both," he says, " lay great stress on the necessity of good
works, and above all things of the love of our neighbour : S. John from
the point of view of the love of God which is manifested in the love of
the neighbour, and S. James from that of faith, which shews it is alive
by good works." "If any man say, I love God and hateth his brother,
he is a liar" (i S. John, iv. 20). " Faith also if it have not works is dead
in itself" (S. James, ii. 17). Kraus, Camera della Segnatura, t,j, makes
it S. Mathew instead of S. John.
THE CHURCH ON EARTH. 569
heroes of the old Covenant in the dress of a warrior,
probably Judas Machabeeus.*
The relation between the Heavenly Paradise and the
Church on earth is syml.)olised by the descending Dove,the
Holy Ghost, attended by four cherubs, each of whom carries
an open Gospel in his hands. The divinity of the Holy
Ghost is indicated by the halo which surrounds the Dove ;
the graces He bestows by the golden beams which radiate
from its body. The undermost rays are prolonged to lead
the eye to the monstrance with the Sacred Host, Christ
in the Eucharist, the end and crown of all theological
science.
A wide stretch of open country forms the background of
the lower part of the picture. To the right in the plain are
the massive remains of an ancient building. On an emi-
nence to the left somewhat further off, workmen are busy
on an extensive edifice which is in course of construction. f
In the foreground of the picture a balustrade on each
side corresponds with the two buildings which flank the
landscape in the background. The middle is left free so as
to concentrate the attention on the central point, towards
which all the figures below turn, and on which the golden
rays from the symbolical Dove descend.
* The earlier interpretation which made the figure S. George the
patron Saint of Liguria, has been given up by ahnost every one since
Springer suggested Judas Machabccus, except Plattner, H., i, 327,
who still holds to it FoRSTER, Raphael, I., 279, calls it Josue.
t The meaning of this building has been much disputed. It is very
generally supposed to represent the new S. Peter's. See Grimm, Raphael,
318 seq.^ and Fiinfzehn Essays. IV., 278 seq. ; CROWE, II., 22 scq.^ 31 ;
KrauS, Camera dclla Segnatura, 41 ; and Ff.ANTZ, II., 727. BOLE,
Meisterwerke, 72, following Molitor, Rom, 261, thinks the ruin on the
right is meant as a symbol of heathenism, and the new building on the
left, of Christian Theology, which will for ever be receiving new ad-
ditions. Hagen, 142, gives yet another interpretation.
570 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Neither the altar nor the monstrance are allowed to
appeal in any way to the eye. The monstrance is of the
simplest character, the altar is almost without ornament,
there are not even candles on the super-altar ; on the altar-
cloth is the monogram of Julius II. But there is the
Blessed Sacrament ; the smallest thing in the whole picture,
yet under the form of bread the Godhead lies hidden, the one
thing which, next to the Christ in heaven, draws our gaze to
Itself, and rivets it there. The Holy Trinity rests immedi-
ately above the Sacred Host in which it is contained. All
the saints in heaven and the legions of angels seem only
to become visible for the one purpose of honouring the
supreme mystery of earth ; the " Bread of Life," appears as
the meeting-point in which the two spheres are united. On
both sides, as though taking the place of the altar lights,
stand the Doctors and Saints of the Church, Popes and
Cardinals, secular and regular Priests, Scholars and Artists.
" All are occupied with the miracle on the altar ; some are
lost in adoring wonder, some in deep thought, others
absorbed in earnest conversation. This is the human part
of the picture ; here we find the most animated groups,
figures full of emotion in the intense efforts of the mind
to grasp and understand. Nevertheless, all these various
expressions and characters are blended into a whole of
perfect harmony and beauty. The scope of the picture
stretches out far beyond its immediate subject ; we see the
long ages of humanity straining after knowledge, embodied
in these venerable fathers striving through the abysses of
religious thought to attain to clear insight. And yet over
all broods the spirit of heavenly calm, the peace of the
sanctuary."*
* Thiersch, Schaden, 132. The whole description of the Disputa is
so beautiful that it is with great regret that I confine myself to this
extmcL
THE FATHERS OF THE LATIN CHURCH. 57 1
On three sides broad steps lead up to the altar, and thus
facilitate a natural and varied arrangement of the groups
and figures comprised in this happy company, to whom it
has been granted to draw near to the Holiest, the source of
all enlightenment and knowledge. On the two sides of the
altar are stationed the four greatest Fathers of the Western
Church ; on the left, S. Jerome and S. Gregory I. ; on the
right, S. Ambrose and S. Augustine. They are seated to
denote their office as teachers, while all the other saints are
standing.* S. Jerome is in the dress of a Cardinal, the lion
is at his feet, by his side his letters and translation of the
Bible, on his knee a book in which he is reading with an
expression of strenuous attention on his face. An aged
Bishop, standing close against the altar in a green cope
embroidered with gold, is turning towards him, and with a
countenance beaming with trust and faith, stretches out
both hands towards the monstrance.f Next to S. Jerome,
S. Gregory the Great, in full pontificals, is seated on an
antique Roman episcopal chair ; he appears to have been
reading, but now turns from his book to gaze with a wistful
expression on the symbol of the Holy Ghost, which Paul
the Deacon once saw floating over this saint's head.
On the right side, close to the altar, an old man, in a
* Bole, Meisterwerke, 74.
t According to WiCKHOFF, 51-52, the artist intentionally abstained
from individualising this and many of the other figures. " He does not
wish to distract the attention of the spectator by any biographical
associations. The office of the chorus is to illustrate the tlioughts and
feelings of the principal personages. They contemplate them, they
address them, they converse upon what they have heard, they im-
personate intelligent sympathy in all its forms." BOLE, Meisterwerke,
73 seq.^ takes the opposite view and looks for names ; he thinks the two
figures standing immediately next the altar, are S. Ignatius of Antioch
and S. Justin. Braun, Raffaels Disputa (1859), liad already proposed
these names.
57.3 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
philosopher's robe of a blue colour, not specially designated
in any way, stands turning towards S. Ambrose and point-
ing with his right hand to heaven. The Saint is looking
upwards, his hands raised in adoring wonder, and his lips
parted as though just beginning to intone his hymn of praise.
Next to him is the noble figure of S. Augustine, the favourite
author of the Christian humanists, dictating his confessions
to a kneeling youth ; * his best-known work, " the City of
God," lies at his feet.
To the right of SS. Ambrose and Augustine, both in
episcopal dress, stand S. Thomas Aquinas and two
prominent figures, one a Pope, the other a Cardinal. The
first of these is probably Innocent III., the author of the
well-known works on the Holy Mass ; f while the Cardinal,
who wears the Franciscan habit, is undoubtedly S. Bona-
venture the Seraphic Doctor. Another Pope, in a robe of
gold brocade, stands at the foot of the altar-step. His
features are those of Sixtus IV., Julius ll.'s uncle. The
books in his hand and at his feet shew that he was a
voluminous writer.^ Behind Sixtus IV. the head of Dante
appears crowned with a wreath of laurels. §
* Cf. Pastor, Hist. Popes, H., 24 (Engl, trans.).
t Kraus, Camera della Segnatura, 40.
J Bole, Meisterwerke, 76, still holds to the earlier view which made
this figure Innocent III., but this is certainly incorrect. WiCKHOFF, 51,
has no doubt that it is meant for Sixtus IV. In another place, 64, he
remarks : "There is a very human touch of nature in Julius II.'s com-
memoration of his uncle in the Stanza della Segnatura, but it is also
characteristic of his lofty aims that he puts forward the intellectual
services of his family as their tide to distinction." It was a happy
thought to place Sixtus IV. close to the Dominican S. Thomas and the
Franciscan S. Bonaventure, when we recall that one of his works was a
treatise in which he strove to appease the controversy between the two
orders. See Pastor, Hist Popes, IV., 209 (EngL trans.).
§ Some think that the head which is visible just behind Dante's is
meant for Savonarola. I cannot, however, see any resemblance to the
THE HYMN OF S. THOMAS. 573
On the extreme right side of the fresco there are a con-
siderable number of figures, the foremost of whom is leaning
over the balustrade with eyes fixed on the altar. Another
man with a beard, in a yellow tunic and blue mantle,
evidently a philosopher, points to Sixtus IV., as to an
accredited exponent of the mystery.
Adoro te devote, latens Deltas
Quae sub his figuris vere latitas,
Tibi se cor meum totum subjicit,
Quia te contemplans totum deficit.
Visus, tactus, gustus, in te fallitur,
Sad auditu solo tuto creditur ;
Credo quidquid dixit Dei Filius :
Nil hoc veritatis verbo verius.
Plagas, sicut Thomas, non intueor.
Deum tamen meum te confiteor.
Fac me tibi semper magis credere
In te spem habere, te diligere.
Jesu, quem velatum nunc adspicio,
Oro, fiat illud, quod tam sitio,
Ut, te revelata cernens facie,
Visu sim beatus tuae glorioe."'^ Amen.
well-known portraits of the great preacher, whose features were, of course,
quite familiar to Raphael.
* O Godhead hid, devoutly I adore Thee
Who truly art within the forms before me ;
To Thee my heart I bow with bended knee,
As failing quite in contemplating Thee.
Sight, touch, and taste in Thee are each deceived ;
The ear alone most safely is believed :
I believe all the Son of God has spoken,
Than truth's own word there is no truer token.
Thy wounds, as Thomas saw, I do not see ;
Yet Thee confess my Lord and God to be.
Make me believe Thee ever more and more ;
In Thee my hope, in Thee my love to store.
574 ' HISTORY OF THE POPES.
A similar order is observed on the left side. Next
to S. Gregory the Great is a beautiful group of three
youths kneeling in adoration, while a man in a yellow
mantle points to the writings of the Fathers of the
Church lying on the ground beside them. Behind this
group are two very striking heads of Bishops, and beyond
them four religious, a Benedictine Abbot, an Augus-
tinian, a Franciscan, and a Dominican, conversing to-
gether. This group, no doubt, is intended to indicate the
large share which the religious orders have had in the
building up of the scholastic theology. The correspond-
ing figure on the opposite side to that of Sixtus IV. is a
noble youth with flowing golden hair, he is gently, but
very earnestly trying to persuade three men to follow
the example of the kneeling youths. The leader of
these less advanced believers is an older man, who is
supporting himself against the balustrade, and seems
appealing to some sentence in an open book which he
holds in his hand.* The background is filled with other
heads, all more or less interesting, amongst them that of
Fra Angelico in blissful contemplation ; the theological
painter on this side answers to the theological poet on
the other. The mystery of the Holy Eucharist is not only
Jesu ! whom for the present veil'd I see
What I so thirst for, oh, vouchsafe to me ;
That I may see thy countenance unfolding,
And may be blest Thy glory in beholding.
* Plattner, II., I, 330, contests Montagnani's interpretation of this
man whom he supposes to be a theologian. The figure is clearly marked
as that of a philosopher. Forster, I., 279 seg., and others who make
him out to be a sectary or heretic are, of course, still more at fault.
Bole, Meisterwerke, 78, explains him as a philosopher who has not yet
succeeded in completely reconciling Theology with Philosophy, because
he is too full of his own system, and neglects Holy Scripture. LuBKE
II., 262, agrees with this interpretation.
THE MYSTERY OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST, ^75
the highest study of doctors and theologians, it is also
the inspiration of poets and artists ; it is the focus of
Christian life, the food and the strength of all Christian
souls.
" Here we have not a commemoration of Christ, we
have Christ Himself. What we are here adoring is not
one of the mysteries of His life, it is the sum of all these
mysteries, the God-man Himself, the crown, the con-
summation and the corner stone of all his illuminating,
grace-bestowing and redemptive work ; it is the source
of all graces, a sea of graces, the way to glory, and glory
itself. All the treasures of nature and creation, all the
miracles of grace and redemption, all the glories of
heaven meet in this Sacrament, the centre of the uni-
verse." " It is from here that those streams of grace
flow East, West, North and South, which fertilise the
whole realm of the Church ; this is the source from
which beams the sevenfold radiance of the Sacraments
All the virtues blossom around this spring of grace, all
creatures draw the waters of salvation from this well.
This is the living heart whose pulsations give life to the
Church, here heaven touches earth which has become
the dwelling place of God."*
But the Holy Eucharist is also a Sacrifice ; f the artist
has marked this aspect of it by shewing the glorified
Saviour with His wounds in heaven immediately above
the Sacred Host. Without both the Sacrament and
the Sacrifice the life of the Church would perish ; with-
out the mysteries of Faith, theology would lose all its
* Hettinger, Apologic, II., 2, 235, 191.
t Ibid.^ 237 seq.^ and RiO, Michel- Ange et Raphael, 132 ; Dandolo
Secolo di Leone X., I., 210 (Milano, 1861); Cerroti, Le pitture delle
Stanze Vaticane, 59 (Roma, 1869), and ViTET, ittude siir rHistoire
de I'Art, 3^ partic, p. 51.
57^ HISTORY OF THE POPES.
efficacy. Thus, all the votaries of Christian science
gather round this most precious jewel, the supreme
token of God's infinite power and mercy, in glad and
grateful adoration. Again the Holy Eucharist is the
bond of union between the militant and the trium-
phant Church. " It is the mysterious chain reaching
from God in heaven down to the dust of the earth";
it brings heaven down to earth, and raises earth to
heaven.* The Master has symbolically expressed this
in two ways, by raising the Sacred Host above the
heads of all the assembly of the faithful who sur-
round It, and by the descending rays of the Holy
Ghost which come down from heaven to rest upon It.
As the Spirit of Charity He descends from the empy-
rean heaven of calm and bliss into the world to bring
it the sacrament of love; as the spirit of truth, in the
same act, He brings the highest enlightenment and
knowledge of God. Thus He appears as the inter-
mediary between the glorified humanity of Christ in
heaven and Christ in the Holy Eucharist under the form
of bread. The artist secures the connection between the
upper and lower halves of the picture by a symbolism
in which he also expresses the doctrines of the Catholic
Faith.
"The glorified humanity of Christ under the form of
bread constitutes the bond of union between the world
below and the blessed above, whose joy and blessedness
consist in the contemplation of the same glorified humanity
unveiled in heaven. Christ here, hidden under the form
of bread ; Christ there, " fairest amongst the sons of men,
seen as He is, one and the same Christ yesterday and
to-day. The identity of the glorified body of the Lord
on earth and in heaven is the link which joins the two
* Hettinger, loc cit., II., 2, 236, 271.
♦ FAITH AND SIGHT. 577
parts of the picture into one wiiole."* Below we have
faith, above, sight.
* For the remarks quoted in the text, I am indebted to my friend
Monsignor Schneider, Canon of the Cathedral of Mayence. He
writes to me as follows : " The idea of a close connection between this
world and that beyond the veil was by no means peculiar to Raphael
and those who inspired him. It belongs to the iconology of the later
mediaeval times, and on the other side of the Alps asserts itself strongly
in Flemish Art as, for example, in the altar-pieces in Ghent of the
brothers Van Eyck. This feature is most prominent in the picture in
the museum at Madrid generally called "The Fountain of Life," but
better, perhaps, "The Mystic Spring," and is not obscured by the
division between believers and unbelievers. This altar-piece belongs to
the school of Van Eyck ; g. Schneider, Alte und neue Welt (1877),
No. 31, p. 488. The division of Flemish altar-pieces into an ascending
series of stages forming one whole, corresponds with the plan of the
mediaeval popular drama and the great later mediaeval festal mysteries.
This has been clearly proved by Dr. P. WEBER, Geistliches Schauspiel
und* Kirchliche Kunst, 143 (Stuttgart, 1894). Raphael's arrangement in
the Disputa is obviously on the same lines ; the only question is, whether
he was following the traditions of Italian Art on the stage and in
representation, or was influenced by northern ideas, especially by Flemish
and Burgundian Art. There was no lack of personal intercourse between
the Netherlands and the Roman Court, and there are plenty of instances
to shew that Flemish and Burgundian Art exercised considerable
influence in artistic circles in Italy. It is quite possible that pictures of
the Blessed Sacrament of the school of Van Eyck were known and
admired in the Vatican, and may have suggested the arrangement of the
Disputa to Raphael. At any rate from the point of view of Art, it
clearly belongs to the mystical and symbolical school of the Middle
Ages, and this corroborates the view that its meaning is to be sought in
the mystical theology of the scholastics. Fra Bartolomeo's masterly
picture in the Uffizi at Florence, is painted on the same lines as the
Disputa, though in a more concise form. He represents the symbol of
the Eucharistic sacrifice, the Chalice and Paten over the world, and at
the feet of the glorified figure of Christ as He rises from the gmve." Cf.
Frantz, Via. Bartolomeo, 186, though the Disputa is not referred
to.
VOL. VI. 2 P
578 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
O gioia ! O ineffabile allegrezza !
O vita intera d' amore e di pace !
O, senza brama, sicura richezza.*
This magnificent creation can only be rightly under-
stood from the point of view of the Catholic faith, and
those to whom this is a sealed book must necessarily go
astray in their attempts to decipher its meaning. This
consideration alone explains the fault found by some able
art-critics with the composition of the picture, because
neither of the two halves preponderates in mass or import-
ance over the other.! From the point of view from which
the fresco is conceived this very fact is one of its chief
merits, for it is intended to represent the truth so strongly
emphasised by all the great theologians, and especially by
S. Thomas Aquinas, that the Sacred Host is essentially
the Sacrament of Union.J
The same Christ appears in heaven above and in the
Blessed Sacrament on earth below. The whole court of
heaven is gathered round the Incarnate Son of God in his
character of Victim. In the picture, even God the Father
and the Holy Ghost are only there, so to speak, on account
of Him. What is seen below is the same as that which
appears above ; the only difference is that on earth the
great mystery is an object of Faith, hidden under a
visible symbol. But in the symbol, the Incarnate Son
of God is contained, and, consequently, in virtue of the
* Joy past compare, gladness unutterable,
Imperishable life of peace and love,
Exhaustless riches and unmeasured bliss.
— Dante, Parad., xxvn., 79.
t KuGLER-BURCKHARDT, Gesch. der Malerei, loc. cii.
\ Cf. passages on the Eucharist in the Index, 0pp. S. Thomae,
XXV., 197-203. Parmae, 1873.
STUDIES FOR THE FRESCO. 579
unity of the Godhead, the Father also and the Holy
Ghost, and with them the whole company of angels and
saints.
Thus the Disputa represents the supreme, the absolutely
perfect unity ; above, the apotheosis of all the love and life
of the old and new covenants in the vision of Him who is
the Triune God ; below, the glorification of all human
knowledge and art is the faith in the real presence of the
Redeemer in the Most Holy Sacrament. This is the
central force which impels and harmonises all the powers
of heaven and earth ; all the waters of life above as well
as below the firmament well up from this source, and
pulsate " as in a spherical vessel from centre to circle, and
so back from circle to centre." *
There is no other work of Raphael's for which so many
preparatory studies and outlines seem to have been made
by the artist as for this one ; the well-known sketches at
Windsor, Oxford, the Louvre, Frankfort and Vienna, bear
witness to the conscientious industry which he bestowed
on this great composition, refusing to be content with
anything short of his very best.f
These preliminary studies are the only materials that we
have for the history of the production of the frescoes in
the Camera della Segnatura ; Jovius merely mentions that
* Dante, Parad., xiv., 1-2.
t The essential plan of the picture remained unaltered from the
beginning. See Springer, I., 215 seq.^ ed. 2, in his admirable treatise
on the sketches and studies for all Raphael's frescoes in the Camera
della Segnatura. Cf. also MuNTZ, Raphael, 335 scq.^ ed. 2, where a
number of copies are given, and Grimm, Raphael, 304 seq. The fullest
enumeration of the sketches is to be found in Ruland's Windsor
Catalogue. For Raphael's love-sonnets written on the papers on which
some of the studies are drawn, see MiJNTZ, Raphael, 366 seq.^ ed. 2 ;
and Fagan, Raffaele S., his Sonnet in the Brit. Museum. London,
1884.
58o HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Raphael painted this Stanza by order of JuHus II.* and
an inscription states that they were finished in the year
151 1. A marvellously short space of time when we con-
sider that the artist could not have begun his work till the
late Autumn of 1508, and had besides to master the
technique of fresco painting.! The subjects of the pictures
were selected by Julius II., but for the details of their treat-
ment no doubt the young artist consulted many of the
learned men then in Rome ; and it is a mistake to exag-
gerate their influence to such an extent as to make it
appear that in his frescoes he merely carried out the pro-
gramme traced for him by a committee of scholars.J
■ In the Parnassus, humanistic conceptions are clearly
traceable. It is thought by some that the influence of
Christian humanism is perceptible in the Disputa,| but it is
more probable that all the most useful suggestions for this
picture would have come to Raphael from the official
theologians of the Papal Court, the Dominicans. Though
Humanists were by no means excluded from the Vatican
circle the old mystical and scholastic theology of the Domin-
icans as formulated in the Summa of S. Thomas still
held its place there as the recognised system. || Raphael
represents the teaching of S. Thomas Aquinas idealised
by his art.
The wide-spread acquaintance with mystical theology
in those days, in artistic circles quite as much as elsewhere,
* Pinxit in Vaticano nee adhuc stabili autoritate cubicula duo ad
praescriptum Julii Pontificis. Jovius, Raphaelis Urbinatis vita.
t Cf. MiJNTZ, Raphael, 364 seq.
% Nevertheless I do not agree with WiCKHOFF, 64, in denying or
reducing to a minimum the assistance obtained by Raphael from con-
versations with scholars and poets.
§ Kraus, Camera della Segnatura, 29 seq.
II I am indebted to the kindness of my friend, Mgr. Schneider for
these observations and the following paragraph.
RAPHAEL AND THE DOMINICANS. 58 1
is an element in the Art of the time which has not been at
all sufficiently appreciated or understood, nor yet another
point connected with this, namely, the almost universal
familiarity with the Liturgy of the Church. We find the
proof of this amongst the Latin races of the present day,
where the common people know and readily follow the
Liturgical offices of the Church. In his picture of the
Transfiguration, Raphael exactly follows the Office for the
Feast (6th August). It is not too much to say that he was
already perfectly acquainted wjth the Office of the Blessed
Sacrament, as compiled by S. Thomas Aquinas, and that
in any consultations with Dominican theologians, the
knowledge which he already possessed made it easy for
him at once to grasp and follow whatever thoughts they
suggested. A letter of his of the year 15 14 shews that he
was acquainted with Dominicans, and had received assist-
ance from them. He was then employed in building S.
Peter's, and in his letter he says that the Pope had given
him the learned Dominican, Fra Giocondo da Verona to
help him, and impart to him any secrets of architecture
that were known to him, " in order," Raphael adds, " that I
may perfect myself in the Art." The Pope sends for us
every day to talk for a while about the building.* This
shews the way in which artists worked together in the
Vatican ; and we may well assume that the .same sort of
thing went on in regard to the series of pictures in the
Camera della Segnatura.f
Now we come to the question of the use to which this
♦ Cf. Springer, Raphael und Michelangelo, II., 102, ed. 2. Knack-
fuss, Raphael, 73. This letter shews that it is a mistake to say that
Raphael consulted no one. We gather also from Cerroti, Le pitture
delle Stanze Vaticane, 13 (Roma, 1869), that he had learned friends with
whom he discussed his work,
t Cf. HaGEN, 127 seq.., 136 seq.
582 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
room, by the Pope's command, so magnificently and at the
same time so seriously and thoughtfully decorated, was
to be put ? Here, too, we can only guess. A recent
historian* has put forward the following hypothesis, which
seems a highly probable one. It is certain that the
division of all the activities of the human mind into the
four branches of Theology, Philosophy, Poetry and Juris-
prudence was the Pope's idea. He was not a learned man,
and would have proposed nothing but what was simple
and obvious. Now this division exactly corresponds with
the plan proposed by Nicholas V., the first of the papal
Maecenas, for the arrangement of his library, and which
was in vogue at that time for libraries generally through-
out Italy. Pietro Bembo, in a letter written in February,
1 5 13, mentions the private library of Julius II., which,
though containing fewer volumes than the large Vatican
library, was superior to it both in the value of the books,
and in its fittings ; he especially praises its convenient situa-
tion, its splendid marble friezes, its paintings, and the seats
in the windows.^ From a contemporaneous work by
Albertini on the objects of interest in Rome, and from a
payment, connected with it, we gather that this library was
in an upper storey of the Vatican, and was richly decorated.^
* WiCKHOFF, Die Bibliothek Julius II., 49 seq.^ whose extremely
interesting remarks, developing a hint thrown out some time ago by
Springer, Raphael und Michelangelo, II., 102, ed. 2, 1 reproduce in the
text. Klaczko'S objections (in the Rev. des Deux Mondes, 1894, Vol. 124,
243 seq.) to Wickhoffs view do not seem to me convincing. It will be
interesting to see what Fabre, in his long-promised work on the
Vatican Library, has to say about WickhofiPs hypothesis.
t Bembus, Epist. famil, lib. V., c. 8. See ROSCOE, II., 47 ; WiCK-
HOFF, 55.
X Albertini, ed Schmarsow, 34, 35 (Est praeterea bibliotheca nova
secreta perpulchra, ut ita dicam, Pensilis Julia, quam tua beatitudo con-
struxit signisque planetarum et coelorum exomavit). The bill is in
THE LIBRARY OF JULIUS II. 583
When we remember that in those days books were not
kept in book-shelves fixed against the wall, but in detached
presses (as in the Laurentian library in Florence), tlierc
would be no difficulty in supposing that the Camera della
Segnatura was intended to receive the private library of
Julius II. The number of books represented in the various
frescoes also makes for this hypothesis. " All the allegorical
figures on the ceiling hold books in their hands, except
Justice, who carries the sword and scales. Angels float
down from heaven, bringing the Gospels, the most vene-
rated books of the Christians, to the faithful. The four
Fathers of the Church on either side of the Blessed Sacra-
ment are all either reading or writing books. Books lie
about on the ground, and nearly all the figures, both lay
and clerical, to whom names can be assigned, are identified
by means of books. All the votaries of the Muses in Par-
nassus* hold rolls or writings in their hands ; and in the
School of Athens there is hardly a figure that is not pro-
vided with a book or tablets. All are composing, writing,
reading, expounding, so that nothing that has to do with
the processes and products of authorship is left without
sensible representation in some form. Even the two great
philosophers are only designated by their most famous
books. The Pope holds a book containing the laws of the
Church, and Justinian is represented with his celebrated
Pandects. In the monochromes under the Parnassus, on
one side books are being discovered in a marble sarco-
phagus, and on the other books are being burnt. There is
Crowe-Cavalcaselle, Raphael, II., p. 9, note ; Wickhoff, 56, note
I, is of opinion that Albertini's signa planetarum et coelorum were not
paintings of the stars, but Astrological tables. The ^Reports of
F. Brognolo, printed in the Appendix, N. 43 and 44, and which I found
in the Gonzaga Archives at Mantua seem to indicate that Albertini meant
globes with stars painted on thcni.
584 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
no other series of paintings in the world in which literature
takes so prominent a place ; almost everything in some
way refers to it." *
It seems as if in the supposition that this room was
intended to contain the Pope's private library, we ought
also to include a further one, namely, that Julius II. meant
besides that, to make it his study and business chamber,
which the name Camera della Segnatura (chamber for
signatures) j- seems to imply. "These paintings were to
form the adornment of the room in which the Head of the
Church was to sign the papers and provisions drawn up
for the good of the Church. Theology and Philosophy,
Poetry and Law, representing revealed truth, human reason,
beauty and Christian order, were to preside from the walls
over his decisions and their final sanction."!
But whatever view may be adopted as to the distinction
of the Camera della Segnatura, there should not He any
doubt as to the meaning and connection of the frescoes
in it. An utterly unfounded theory has been recently
put forward, and stoutly defended, that these frescoes
represent " the humanistic ideal of free thought, and were
intended as a monumental expression of the achievements
of the unaided human intellect." Far from doing homage
to the Church and the Papacy, their purpose is declared
to be " to exhibit the superiority of free thought and
investigation apart from revelation in matters of religion
to the ecclesiasticism of the time."§
* WiCKHOFF, 54.
+ Cf. the passage from Paris de Grassisin MuNTZ, Les Historiens, 132.
X Gsell-Fels, Rom, H., 611, ed. 2. Similar passages in Kuhn,
Roma, 264 seq. (Einsiedeln, 1878), and others.
§ See Hettner, i 90-1 91 (1879). It is unnecessary for me to under-
take the refutation of Hettner's theological and philosophical errors, as
that has been already admirably done by Wickhoff. I find that the
MEANING OF THE FRESCOES. 585
In all these suppositions modern ideas are imported
into the age of Raphael, and a single glance at the frescoes
notion of its being the intention of Raphael and Juhus II. to reduce
Theology to the same level with Philosophy, was first started by Ranke,
in his Essays " Zur Geschichte Italienischer Kunst" in the German
periodical, " Nord und Siid," of April and May, 1878. Here he says :
"That Julius II. should not only have permitted, but actually ordered
the representation in the Stanze of secular as well as religious know-
ledge, was the outcome of the spirit of secularisation, and sympathy with
the higher aims of mere humanity, which had taken hold of the Papacy "
(Ranke, Werke, LI. and LII., 280). Villari, in his equally wrong-
headed remarks, Machiavelli, II., 22 seq.^ and partly also WOLTMANN-
WOERMANN, II., 642, and Perate, 550, 553, take very much the same
line as Hettner, and the explanation given by Gregorovius, VIIL, 159-
160, ed. 3, is entirely mistaken. The premises from which he draws his
conclusions are false to begin with. He writes : " The narrow concep-
tions of the Mediaeval Church had by that time been broken through.
A Pope was bold enough to reject the teaching of the Fathers, which
consigned all heathens, whatever their virtues, or their reputation in the
world, to damnation. In contemplating the picture on the walls of his
room, Julius II. must undoubtedly have taken much more pleasure in
resting his eyes on Apollo and the Muses, on Socrates and Archimedes,
than on the uninteresting figures of the Patriarchs and Saints. The
pictures in the Pope's chamber already expressed what twenty years later
one of the most audacious of the reformers ventured to utter in words.
In his confession of faith, Zwingli drew a strange picture of the future
assembly of all the Saints and heroes and virtuous men. Abel and
Henoch, Noe and Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, were placed side by side
with Hercules, Theseus, and Socmtes, with Aristides and Antigonus,
Numa, Camillus, Cato and Scipio, and not a single good or honest man was
excluded from the presence of God." There are, of course, passages in
the Fathers in regard to the salvation of the heathen, that lend themselves
to misconstruction, but none have ever asserted that all non-Christians are
inevitably lost. S. Augustine expressly says that all heathens, even those
who lived before Christ came, are not condemned. The Fathers of the
Church looked upon Pagan philosophy and science as coming from God,
and said that theologians ought to avail themselves of it. See Pastor,
Hist. Popes, I., 7 seq. (Engl, trans.). As to the opinions of the Fathers in
regard to heathen philosophy, see Kleutgen, Theologieder V^orzeit, IV.,
586 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
ought to shew how untenable they are. But it may be
asked whether the devotion of an equal space to the
glorification of Philosophy with that which is given to
Theology does not indicate an approach to the anti-
ecclesiastical spirit of the heathen Renaissance? The
answer is that this view is excluded by Raphael himself
in the manner in which he treats the two subjects. In
the first place, there is a tone of solemnity in the Disputa
which distinguishes it from all the other frescoes, and its
arrangement, being divided into two halves, one heavenly
and the other earthly, is quite different from that of any
other. Again, in the composition of the School of Athens
there is no parallel to that concentration on a single central
point, dominating and animating the whole, which we
find in the Disputa.* Plato and Aristotle appear as the
greatest of the philosophers, each attended by a separate
band of disciples ; each represent a different point of
view. The various philosophical schools are all more or
less distinctly divided from each other, and their independ-
ence and exclusiveness is marked on the left side of the
picture by the separate stone seats occupied by the
different teachers.f Finally, there is a striking difference
143 seq.^ ed. 2 (Miinster, 1873). ^^ is absurd to say that Raphael broke
through the " narrow conceptions of the Mediaeval Church," by adopting
a broader point of view than that of the Fathers. The correspondence
which Gregorovius supposes between the Stanze and the passage in
Zwingh is purely imaginary.
■^ Janssen in a letter from Rome, written 23rd Feb., 1864, to Frau von
Sydow (as yet not printed) remarks : "The so-called Disputa ought
really to be named the Concordia, for here all the interest is concentrated
in one central point ; the School of Athens, where all the elements are
scattered, is really the Disputa. The central point in the ancient world
was not truth but beauty, and thus Apollo forms the centre of the repre-
sentation of Poesy."
t PaSSAVANT, I., 149 ; MULLNER, 1 67 ; Gruyer, 98 seq.
THE CHURCH AND THE SCIENCES. 587
also in the scene of the picture. " Here we see no opening
heaven shewing a Divine victim, the Redeemer of the
world ; no supernatural ray descends on earth to enlighten
the human intelligence."* Here, as the inscription above
denotes, the human intellect wrestles alone with the nature
of things, striving after knowledge. Plato, the philosopher
of natural theology, signifies its incompetence by pointing
upwards. By placing the Disputa opposite, Raphael
emphasises the contrast between it and this intellectual
laboratory. Here truth is laboriously sought for, there
it is seen embodied and perfect,f and in a perfection unlike
anything that the ancient world ever dreamed of as
possible, a fulness beyond all human thought or imagina-
tion, such as could only have been conceived by the bound-
less love of the Saviour of mankind who chose under the
simple form of bread to remain with his own, " even to the
consummation of the world."
In another way also the artist marked the relation
between the sciences and the Church from his point of
view, namely in the Grisailles or imitation bas-reliefs
painted in monochrome, which fill the space underneath
the two sides of the Parnassus. " The two doors at the
end of the long sides of the room open immediately
against the wall and then these grisailles are the first
things to catch the eye on entering the room and the last
to be looked at on leaving it. This, therefore, was the
most suitable place for the prologue and epilogue of the
* KUHN, Roma, 267 ; Frantz, II., 730.
t Ranke, in his Werke, LI. -LI I., 280, has well described the contrast
between the School of Athens and the Disputa. "There, men learn by
research, by observation, and reflection, here, knowledge comes through
prayer by revelation and illumination." Cf. Gruyer, loc. cit.^ and
Hagen, 137, 138. " In the Disputa, knowledge is bestowed from above,
not discovered, as in the School of Athens."
588 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
whole series expressing their general idea and purport."
Although these reliefs are some of Raphael's best and
most finished work, they remained for a long time little
observed or understood. It is only quite recently that
the attention they deserve has been bestowed upon them,
and that it has been discovered that the painter intended
them to illustrate, in the person of Sixtus IV., Julius II.'s
uncle, the attitude of the Papacy towards the true and the
false learning.* The burning of the books was perfectly
intelligible to Raphael's contemporaries, for the censorial
edicts of 1491 and iSOif must certainly have been in force
in Rome as well as elsewhere.
■* The interpretation till then accepted of these reliefs, was that they
represented Alexander the Great commanding Homer's works to be
placed in the grave of Achilles, and the Emperor Augustus forbidding the
burning of the ^neid. See Plattner, II., i, 348. Wickhoff, 60, how-
ever, proves this to be manifestly incorrect. He has the merit of having
been the first to discover the true meaning of these reliefs, and their con-
nection with Julius II. Briefly stated, his account of them is as follows :
Julius II.'s uncle, Sixtus IV., had a high reputation as a theological
writer. Immediately after his election, a Roman printer, Giovanni
Filippo de Lignamine, published a work by the new Pope, on the Precious
Blobd and the Power of God (see Vol. IV. of this work, p. 208). In the
dedication in which he praises the services rendered by Sixtus IV. to
the Christian Faith by his writings, he says : " Not only the Fathers of
the Church, but the heathen also acted as you have done. For when a
sarcophagus filled with Greek and Latin books was found in the field of
Lucius Petilius, the Consuls, P. Cornelius and Baebius Pamphilus com-
manded that the Latin books should be carefully preserved, but the
Greek, which were thought to contain things contrary to religion, were
burnt by order of the Senate. This narrative is to be found in the first
book of Valerius Maximus." From this, Wickhoff, 63, infers, " There
can be no doubt that Julius II. desired Raphael to paint the story with
which his uncle's name had been thus flatteringly associated. On one
side we see the two Consuls examining the sarcophagus and its interesting
contents ; on the other, the burning of the dangerous philosophical books."
t See Vol. V. of this work, p. 346, and supra^ p. 155.
THE HOLY SEE AND CULTURE. 589
Thus it is clear that far from being intended to serve as
a glorification of the false humanistic ideal, the purpose
of the frescoes in the Camera della Segnatura was to
illustrate the four great intellectual forces, Theology,
Philosophy, Poetry, and Jurisprudence in their relation to
the Church. It was in the alliance with intellectual culture
that the Church and the Papacy had won all their beneficent
victories and consolidated their power. It was this alliance,
the true connection between intellectual culture and
Christendom and the Church, which was celebrated in
Raphael's picture. The Holy See had always maintained
that secular knowledge could only attain its highest perfec-
tion under the guidance of the organ of Divine wisdom,
the Church, by whose authority alone it could be preserved
from errors and distorted growths. Like all the artistic
undertakings of Julius II., the frescoes in the Camera della
Segnatura are a development, not only of the designs of
the great Popes of the early Renaissance, Nicholas V. and
Sixtus IV., but also of the ancient traditions of the Papacy
itself The grand and simple fundamental idea in them all
belongs to Julius II. ; the genius displayed in realising it in
Art is Raphael's and has helped to immortalise the painter's
name. In this wonderful poem in four cantos, painted on
the walls of the Stanze, the artist spreads out before us the
whole and vast regions of human knowledge and achieve-
ment as seen from the point of view of the Church, and in
the light of revelation. " All material things are presented
as mirrored in and vivified by a creative spirit which is
at once poetical and real," while " the reproduction of
the life of the classical world is combined in perfect
harmony with the dearest and deepest apprehension of
Christian principles. And all the abstract thought is
bathed in an atmosphere of beauty and grace which yet
never detracts from the grave and intellectual character
590
HISTORY OF THE POPES.
of the pictures."* One is glad to think that one of the
saddest passages in the Pope's life may have been soothed
in a measure by the sight of these frescoes.
On the 27th of June, 151 1, he had returned to his capital
powerless and ill and harassed with anxieties, both political
and ecclesiastical. On the eve of the Feast of the Assump-
tion Michael Angelo's roof-paintings in the Sistine had
been unveiled.f The frescoes in the Camera della Segna-
tura must have been completed very soon after this, as the
inscription states that they were finished in the eighth
year of Julius II.'s Pontificate, and this closed on the 26th
of November, 15 n. J
* Reumont, III., 2, 390; cf. Count A. Sz^csen'S appreciative
remarks, Raffael, 558 seg'., and Burckhardt, Cicerone, 701, ed. 6,
who justly commends the "admirable harmony between form and
thought" in the frescoes of the Camera della Segnature. "Even the
best of the Quattrocento masters allowed themselves to be led astray by
their too great love of accessories (superfluous figures and draperies, too
much ornament in backgrounds, etc.), the number of details neutralised
each other, over-characterisation everywhere spread the accent over the
whole picture. Fra Bartolomeo, the best master of composition, next to
Leonardo, moved in too wide a circle, and his feeling for life outstripped
his grasp of form. In Raphael the forms are always beautiful, noble and
animated, and yet subordinate to the effect of the whole. No details
obtrude themselves ; the artist knows how fragile is the hfe of his great
symbolical subjects, and how easily the whole can be killed by a too
prominent detached figure. And yet his single figures are studied with
a care that no other painter had ever bestowed upon them The
management of the draperies, their movement, the sequence of colours
and lights, are a never-ending source of enjoyment"
t See supra, pp. 362, 519.
I Cf. Crowe, Raphael, II., yy seg., who thinks that the Sistine and
the Camera della Segnatura were uncovered at the same time ; but we
have no certainty that this was the case. See supra, p. 520. As the
years of a Pontificate are reckoned from the Pope's coronation that is the
date of their conclusion. (Crowe mistakenly supposes that they are
counted from the election.)
RAPHAEL'S EASEL PICTURES. 591
The surpassingly admirable manner in which Raphael
had executed the Pope's first commission,* determined
Julius to entrust the painting of the next room, called from
the subject of its chief fresco the Stanza d'Eliodoro, to him
also.f While these large works were in progress Raphael
also executed several smaller commissions for easel-pictures,
amongst others some for Julius II., one of which was a
Madonna for S^^ Maria del Popolo, the favourite church of
the Rovere.j Unfortunately, this picture has disappeared
since the year 161 5. From copies of it we see that it
represents the waking from sleep of the Divine child. The
Madonna is holding up the veil which had covered him,
and looks thoughtfully down at her son while he stretches
his little arms towards her. S. Joseph is in the background
leaning on a staff.§ He also ordered a portrait of himself
for the same church. Vasari praises this picture as being
such an excellent likeness that it inspires as much awe as
if the Pope himself were present, and it still gives one the
impression of being a characteristic portrait. The Pope is
sitting in an armchair, his smooth, almost white, beard falls
over a red velvet cape which he wears over his shoulders,
and the expression of his face is thoughtful and care-worn.
* We have no information as to the payment received by Raphael for
these frescoes, but as we know that later he had 1 200 gold ducats for
each picture in the Stanza dell' Incendio, we may suppose that the same
sum would have been that paid for those in the Camera della Segnatura.
In that case it would amount to rather over ;^200 for each Stanza. See
Kraus, 4 ; MuNTZ, Raphael, 326, ed. 2.
+ Apparently this was decided before the Camera della Segnatura was
finished. This seems probable, because in the sketch of the subject from
the Apocalypse, for which the Mass of Bolsena was after\vards substituted,
the Pope is represented without a beard. See MiJNTZ, Rapliael, 374,
and Chronique des Arts (1883), p. 277.
t See Pastor, Hist. Popes, IV., 456 (Engl, trans.).
§ See Springer, 191 ; Crowe, Raphael, II., 84 i^^,an{l Vogemn
Die Madonna von Loreto. Zurich, 1870.
592 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Many copies of this picture were taken almost immedi-
ately. Florence possesses two, one in the Ufifizi and the
other in the Palazzo Pitti, but critics are not agreed as to
which is the original.*
Raphael also executed a likeness of the Pope's favourite,
Cardinal Alidosi.f
It is difficult to understand how the artist could have
found time to paint so many other pictures in addition to
all his work for the Pope. There is quite a long list of
exquisite Madonnas, all bearing dates falling within the
reign of Julius II. The markedly religious tone in all the
pictures of this period is noteworthy.;}:
This is specially the case in the two wonderfully beautiful
Madonnas painted by him in the last year of the Pontiff's
life ; the Madonna di Foligno, now in the Vatican gallery,
and the Madonna del Pesce. Like the Stanza d'Eliodoro
both these pictures bear marks of the influence of Sebastiano
del Piombo : Raphael made no secret of his admiration for
the style of this master. § The Madonna di Foligno was a
votive picture ordered by Julius II.'s secretary and friend,
Sigismondo de' Conti, who is represented in it kneeling with
* PaSSAvant, II., 14, and Lubke, RafTaelwerk, Text, 57, are in
favour of the one in the Pitti Palace. Woltmaxn, II., 648; BuRCK-
HARDT, Cicerone, 659, ed. 4, and Thausing in Sybels Hist Zeitschr.
(N. F.), IX., 365, prefer that in the Uffizi. LuBKE, Alalerei, II., 289,
and MuNTZ, 502, are uncertain. Springer, 191, says: "Probably
those who disbelieve either to be originals wiU turn out right in the
end.'' The one in the Uffizi has been damaged, that in the Pitti Palace,
though perhaps a Venetian copy, is a very good one and gives the
best idea of the original Julius II., in December, 151 1, also put up a
portrait of himself in the Church of S. Marcello ; See Sanuto, XIII,,
350-
t See Arch. St deir Arte, IV., 328 seq,
X Knackfuss, 58.
^ Springer, 211.
RAPHAEL'S MADONNA DEL PESCE. 593
folded hands before the Queen of Heaven. " She is en-
throned on a cloud encircled with a golden glory and
attended by angels." It is the ideal of what a Christian
Altar-piece should be, and is in perfect preservation, its
colours as brilliant as when it was first painted.*
The Madonna del Pesce, now in the Museum at Madrid,
is also a perfect gem of religious art. It was a thank-
offering for the cure of an affection of the eyes. In
depth of expression it is rightly judged to be one of
Raphael's masterpieces, if, indeed, it is not in this respect,
and also in the harmony of its colouring, the most beautiful
of all his works. " The brilliant red of S. Jerome's robe is
enhanced in its effect by the brownish yellow of the lion at
the feet and the more orange tint of Tobias' tunic, and
these two shades combine harmoniously with the subdued
ruby tones of the Angel's dress. These warm colours are
tempered by the blue of the Virgin's mantle, while this
again is relieved by the tender carnations of the infant
Christ ; and the sage green curtain in the background makes
all the figures stand out as in a brilliant light. The
Madonna del Pesce might be designated as a chord of
the three primary colours." •]-
The colossal Isaias, attended by two angels, which is
now in the church of S. Agostino in Rome was painted by
Raphael for another member of the Papal Court, the
German Prelate, John Goritz.J
* See Keppler in Hist. Polit. Bl., 96, 38 seq.^ and Springer, 212
scq. ; cf. Knackfuss, 65, and RiO, Michel- Ange et Raphael, 150.
t Springer, 214-215.
\ This fresco is now in a sadly decayed state. See Springer, 256
seq.^on Michael Angelo's influence which is unmistakcable in this work.
See also Knackfuss, 65. The fragment of a replica of the boy on the
left side of the painting, now in the Accademia di S. Luca, in Rome, was
originally part of the decoration of an escutcheon of Julius II. in the
Vatican. G. Dehio considers this fresco older than the Isaias, and
VOL. VL 2 (^
594 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Raphael also executed some paintings in the corridors
leading from the Vatican to the Belvedere, but they have
all perished, and there is no record of their subjects. All
we know of them is from an account which shews that he
received a payment for work done there.*
All this time his work in the Stanza d'Eliodoro was
never interrupted, but he was obliged to avail himself
largely of the assistance of his pupil Giulio Romano.
Baldassare Peruzzi had already finished the decoration
of the ceiling of this room and painted scenes from the Old
Testament in the four divisions of the vaulting.f Raphael
retained these decorations v.'ithout any alteration, and set
to work at once on the walls. The Tope died before this
Stanza was completed, and it is not recorded whether the
selection of the, subjects in the frescoes was his. It seems,
however, extremely probable that this was the case, as the
first of the series and the one that is most carefully finished,
is the so- called Mass of Bolsena, and Julius and his family
had shewn a special interest in the incident which it com-
memorates.
It represents a miracle which occurred at Bolsena in the
year 1263, and created an immense impression at the time.
thinks that the latter was not Raphael's \\-ork, but that of one of his
pupils, perhaps Giulio Romano.
■^ See this account, dated Dec. 15 13, MiJNTZ, Gaz. des Beaux Arts,
XX. (1879), 183, n. 4. See also MiJNTZ, Raphael, 387.
t L. Gruner, Raffael's Deckengemalde der Stanza dell' Eliodoro,
(Dresden, 1875). Crowe- Cavalcaselle have shewn that the decorative
framework which encloses the pictures in the triangular spaces of the
vaulting is by Peruzzi. Wickhoff was the first to deny that Raphael or
his pupils had any hand in the painting of the frescoes themselves, and to
ascribe the whole ceiling to Peruzzi. The influence of Michael Angelo
can be traced in the exaggerated style of these compositions. DOLL-
MAYER, in Liitzow's Zeitschrift (1890), N. F. I., 292-299, confirms
WickhofPs opinion that they are entirely by Penizzi.
ilL
THE MASS OF BOLSENA. 595
A German priest had been greatly tormented with doubts
as to the truth of the doctrine of Transubstantiation, and
had earnestly prayed for a sign that should dispel them.
His prayer was granted in the church of S^"" Cristina at
Bolsena, where he had stopped in the course of a pilgrimage
to Rome. While he was saying Mass there, at the moment
of consecration, drops of Blood oozed from the Sacred
Host in sufficient quantity to stain the Corporal.* This
* Hettner, 222-223, writes as follows on the "Mass of Bolsena" :
" Raphael grounded his picture on the legend which had been the cause
of the institution of the Festival of Corpus Christi, but he idealised it and
gave it a deeper significance. The original story is to be found in
Raynaldus, ad an. 1264, n. 26. WHien in 1264 Pope Urban IV. was
residing at Orvieto, a priest of Bolsena had allowed a drop from the
chalice, after consecration, to fall upon the Corporal. In order to
conceal his carelessness he folded the Corporal so as to cover the stain,
but it penetrated through all the folds, and on each one left an impres-
sion of the Sacred Host. The account adds that the Pope had instituted
the Feast of Corpus Christi in honour of this miracle with the special
object of reviving the Faith in those who had grown lukewarm, and to
confound the ungodly and confirm the piety of the good. Raphael
shews the thoughtful character of his genius by the alteration which he
makes in the legend, making the priest himself, a sceptic, now convinced
by the miracle, and representing the whole occurrence as taking place
in the presence, and through the intercession of the Head of the Church.
He thus obtains a clear and well-marked incident as his subject, and a
splendid dramatic contrast between the startled and ashamed expression
of the young priest and the trustful composure of the Pope, which is not
to be found in the original legend. And as usual, in order to connect
his picture with present events, he has given the Pontiff the features of
Julius II. S. Kinkel has written a very valuable article (MOSaik, 161
seq.\ in which he has collected together a number of legends which have
been founded on works of art That of the Mass of Bolsena may be
added to these ; its original form is now quite forgotten, and it is only
known as idealised by Raphael." On closer examination the whole of
this account turns out to be imaginary. Raynaldus, of course, does give
the story as Hettner tells it, quoting it from S. Antoninus, who died in
1459 ; but there is a long inscription still preserved in the rhurch of
596 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
miracle constituted one of the motives which had deter-
mined Urban IV. to institute the Feast of Corpus Christi.
By his orders the reHc was brought to Orvieto, and the
splendid Cathedral there was built mainly for it. The
Bishop of Orvieto gave a magnificent silver tabernacle,
ornamented with twelve pictures in enamel, representing
the history of the miracle, to contain the relic* In 1477
Sixtus IV. granted various Indulgences to promote the
veneration of the relic and the building of the Cathedral.f
Julius II. when staying at Orvieto on his first expedition
against Bologna had manifested great reverence for this
relic.J Probably it was on this occasion that the Pope
S. Cristina in Bolsena, which was first published by Pennazzi, Istoria
deir Ostia che stillo sanguine in Bolsena (Montefiascone, 1731); then
in Italian in 1890 under the title, Istoria del Miracolo Eucaristico di
Bolsena (Milano), and again in Latin, compared with the original by Canon
Battaglini, in the periodical "Divus Thomas" (Placentiae, 1884), A° V
n. 3. This inscription was written after the canonisation of S. Thomas
Aquinas, who is called Beatus, and before the Indulgence Bull of
Martin V., and is therefore much earlier than S. Antoninn^;. It ex-
plicitly states that the priest (Quidam sacerdos Theutonicus, therefore
not a Bohemian as some later accounts say) had doubts of the doctrine
of Transubstantiation. Battaglini considers the date to be 1338. The
story of the legend in the text follows this inscription, which is in the
wall adjoining the Altare del Miracolo. Benedict XIV., who mentions
the miracle of Bolsena in his work, De festis Jesu Christi, III., 773
(Wirceb., 1747), does not seem to have known it. The account of this
miracle is a notice written in 1466, edited by Francesco di Mauro,
Narrazione del Miracolo di Bolsena o Corporale di Orvieto. Estratto
dal Propugnatore, Vol. I., corresponds with the inscription.
* See impression in the Nuovo Giomale Arcadico, 3 Serie, Vol. II.
Milano, 1890.
+ Bull of Sixtus IV., in the Bull. Ord. Praedic, III., 555-556.
X Paris de Grassis, ed. Frati, 35, says 7th Sept., 1506: Vesperis
finitis Papa cum alba more solito vestitus et in gestatorio cum cappello
ad ecclesiam S. Mariae delatus apud altare benedixit. Primo enim
adoravit corporale sanguine Christi aspersum quod super altare maiori
ATTITUDE OF JULIUS II. 597
determined to have the miracle represented at some time in
the Vatican, and it is not unlikely that he bound himself
by a vow to honour the relic in some special manner. Now
that all that had then been won seemed lost, he may have
remembered this promise.
Raphael's sympathetic grasp of his patron's thought
is as striking as the power with which he gives artistic
expression to the Pope's indomitable confidence in the
Divine assistance, and firm conviction that all pusillani-
mous doubters will be put to shame. In this picture the
difficulties to be overcome in the shape of the space at his
disposal were even greater than those which he had to
conquer in the Parnassus, and here as there he triumphed
over all and turned his limitations into additional beauties.
There is no trace of any sort of constraint, and the com-
position of the picture arranges itself quite naturally, over
and on each side of the window which cuts into the wall.
Above its arch is the choir of a church with its altar,
approached on each side by a broad flight of steps. In
this case the window, not being in the middle of the wall,
locatum fuit, turn surgens incensum posuit in thuribulo, quod cum
navicula prior diaconorurn ministravit, cum illud prior praesbyterorum
ministrare debuerit ; et deinde rursus genuflexus incensavit ; postea
conversus ad corporale stans benedixit dicens : Sit nomine Domini
benedictum, &c. Hitherto this connection between Sixtus IV. and
JuHus II., and the "Mass of Bolsena" has not been noticed by any of
those who have sought to interpret the picture. It does away with tlic
suppositions put forward by FoRSTER, I., 317, and Pi'.RAT^, 564, and
also with Hettner, 222, and conjecture that it had to do with the Lateran
Council, and was meant to represent " this internal conflict and victory
within the bosom of the Church." Against Hettner, cf. Frantz, II., 732
scq.^ and Springer, I., 264, 339 scq.^ cd. 2. Springer lias shewn very
clearly that it is impossible to substantiate any direct connection
between these frescoes and the Latemn Council ; but as all these writers
have overlooked the special relation between Julius II. aiul the Bolsena
relic none of their explanations are satisfactory.
59^ HISTORY OF THE POPES.
but thrust very much into the left corner, was still more
difficult to manage ; however, Raphael had met this by
broadening the steps on the right side so as to preserve
the sense of symmetry.* A balustrade completely encloses
the choir, and the spacious aisles of a Renaissance church
constitute the background. The priest stands on the left side
of the altar holding the Sacred Host in one hand, and in the
other the Blood-stained Corporal. In the expression of his
face, astonishment, shame, contrition and fear are admirably
combined. From the other side of the balustrade two
youths gaze intently at the miracle in mute amazement.
Three acolytes are kneeling with lighted candles behind
the priest, a fourth in a bright coloured cassock raises
his hand with an expressive gesture as though to say,
" See ! it is indeed as the Church teaches ! " The emotions
of the beholders, which in the nearer figures are those of
subdued awe and reverence, become more mingled with
excitement in the groups of people who are pressing up
the steps on the left side to get a better view. Some
are bowing low in adoring prayer, others pointing with
outstretched hands to the marvel, others triumphantly
thanking God for this confirmation of the faith of the
Church. " The perception and apprehension of the miracle
seems to flow like a spiritual stream through the throng
of worshippers on the left and is just beginning to reach
the women and children sitting on the lowest steps."f In
marked contrast to all this flutter and stir is the perfect
calm of the Pope and those who are with him on the right-
hand side. The contrast is further emphasised by the
steady flame of the altar lights on this side while on the
left they are flickering and bent as though by a strong
wind. The Pope, unmistakeably Julius II., kneels on
* LuBKE, II., 393 ; BURCKHARDT, Cicerone, 668, and Springer, 199.
t BURCKHARDT, Cicerone, 668.
LA STANZA D'ELIODORO. 599
a prie-Dieu, exactly opposite the priest, with his face turned
towards the altar absorbed in adoration. His whole
attitude expresses the assured faith which befits the Head
of the Church ; there is not a trace of emotion or surprise.*
No doubt the master had often seen the old Pope in this
attitude during those critical days when the Church was in
such jeopardy. Two Cardinals and two other clerics appear
on the steps below, in attendance on the Pope, and on
the lowest, some soldiers of the Swiss Guard kneel in silent
wonder ; near them is the Pope's Sedia gestatoria. One
of the Cardinals, generally thought to be Raffaele Riario,
has his hands crossed on his breast and is looking at the
priest with a grave and stern expression. The other, with
folded hands, adores the miraculous Blood ; both heads are
most impressive. " For skilful composition, truth and depth
of expression, and magnificence in colouring, perhaps the
picture is the best of the whole series.f
In its homage to the Blessed Sacrament, towards which
Julius n. had a special devotion J the Mass of Bolsena is
the connecting link between this Stanza and the adjoining
one, which contains the Disputa ; in representing a miracle
it strikes the key-note of the Stanza d'Eliodoro where the
fundamental idea is the representation of God's unfailing
care for His Church by instances of His direct intervention
for her support and protection in the hour of need. The
history of the reign of Julius H. was a signal illustration
of the truth. In the Summer of 151 1, when Italy seemed
at the mercy of the French, how wonderfully the storm
* Frantz, II., 735, rightly contests Springer's assertion that the
absence of all emotion or excitement in the Pope and the group sur-
rounding him, was due only to artistic considemtions, and holds that it
is essential to the historical meaning of the picture.
t WOLTMANN, II., 647.
X Cf. supra, p. 447.
i
600 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
blew over! Again in August when the Pope was to all
appearances dying, he seemed to have been miraculously
restored in order to negotiate the Holy League by means
of which the unity of the Church was saved. Although
the battle was not yet wholly won, Julius II. — and Raphael
with him — had the fullest confidence that God would not
withdraw from his Vicar that protection which as yet had
never failed. And they were not mistaken. The schismatic
Council melted away, Louis XII. was driven back, and
French domination in Italy was annihilated. It was most
natural that the artist, even without having received any
special orders to this effect should have embodied in his
pictures the thoughts which were filling the mind of the
Pope and all his surroundings at the time. Thus this
series of paintings sprung out of the historical events of
the day, and spoke a language that all could understand.
The fresco which occupies one of the longer walls of the
Stanza, and gives it its name, portrays the miraculous
expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple, narrated in the
2nd Book of Machabees.* Heliodorus, the treasurer
of the Syrian King, Seleucus Philopater, was sent to carry
off the contents of the treasury of the Temple of Jerusalem.
When, however, he attempted to execute his commission
"the spirit of the Almighty God gave a great evidence
of his presence, so that all that had presumed to obey him,
falling down by the power of God, were struck with fainting
and dread, For there appeared to them a horse with a
terrible rider upon him, adorned with a very rich covering,
and he ran fiercely and struck Heliodorus with his fore-feet,
and he that sat upon him seemed to have armour of gold.
* We gather that the subject was chosen by Julius himself from the
fact that while he was still a Cardinal, he had bought a piece of tapestry
representing the history of Heliodorus. See MUNTZ, Rapliael, 284-
285, ed. 2.
COMPOSITION OF THE FRESCO. 6oi
Moreover, there appeared two other young men beautiful
and strong, bright and glorious, and in comely apparel,
who stood by him on either side and scourged him without
ceasing, with many stripes. And Heliodorus suddenly
fell to the ground," .... and they acknowledged " the
manifest power of God .... but the Jews praised the
Lord because He had glorified his place." (Machabees, II.,
3, 24 seq}) Raphael, following the text of Scripture as
closely as possible has represented the scene " with
marvellous dramatic power."
The spectator looks into the nave of the Temple. At
the altar in the background, lighted by the seven-branched
candlestick, the High Priest is praying; behind him the
other priests and a number of people who display by
their gestures their surprise and joy at this manifestation
of the mighty hand of God. The centre of the foreground
is purposely left empty that nothing may distract the
eye from the sudden irresistible inrush of the heavenly
emissaries who burst in at the right-hand corner.* The
horseman in his golden armour, and the swift youths
with their sweeping scourges have just arrived in time.
Heliodorus is dashed to the ground, the urn full of coins
has slipped from his hands, the fore-feet of the horse are
almost upon him, his terrified attendants strive in vain to
escape. " The poetic feeling in this group is marvellous,
we see as it were the lightning of God's wrath blasting
the sinner ; opposite, on the other side, there is a charm-
* Springer, i, 272, ed. 2. It has been said by a first-rate judge of
art that Raphael "has never produced anything more magnificent than
this group of the heavenly rider with the two youths at his sides and the
stricken spoiler and his attendants." "The foreshortening of the horse-
man and Heliodorus has been justly admired, but that is only one
detail in the masterly expression of rapid movement in the whole group
of figures." BURCKHARDT, Cicerone, 667; cf. also Rio, IV., 474 jr^.;
Gruver, Chambres, 197 seq.
602 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
ing cluster of women and children in various attitudes
of surprise and alarm."* Behind these figures, *' reminis-
cences of which may be traced like echoes in various
forms through all later art,"j- Julius II. appears, borne
in his chair high above the heads of the throng of people
into this Old Testament assembly.^ Calm and dignified,
he seems to recognise in God's dealings with His people
under the old covenant the same mighty hand which had
so unexpectedly discomfited the schismatic Cardinals
and brought the Anti-Papal Council to naught : " For
he that hath his dwelling in the heavens, is the visitor
and protector of that place and he striketh and de-
stroyeth them that come to do evil to it." (Machabees,
n., 3, 39.)§
* KUGLER-BURCKHARDT, 590.
t BURCKHARDT, Cicerone, loc. cit,
X The second bearer of the chair is generally supposed to be Giulio
Romano. K. Brun in the *Gott. Gel. Anz. (1882), I., 543, thinks he is
B. Peruzzi. The man in a black robe walking beside it is designated in
an inscription as Jo. Petro de Foliariis Cremonens. In all the des-
criptions of the Stanze, he is still spoken of as the "Secretario de'
Memoriah," although more than a hundred years ago, Vairani, II.,
109, had pointed out that under Julius II. this office was filled by Giano
Coricio. Whatever authentic information we have about the persons
represented by Raphael, which is little enough, is all to be found in
Vairani.
§ Bellori, if I am not mistaken, was the first to say that the fresco of
Heliodorus referred to the expulsion of the French from Italy, and his
view has been adopted by all those who look upon these paintings as
intended to illustrate the history of the times (Springer denies this).
See Grimm, Michelangelo, I., 396, ed. 5 ; Muntz, 373, ed. 2, and Perate,
564. But if the overthrow of Heliodorus is held to represent the defeat
of Louis XII.'s army (and MiNGHETTi, 120, has recently declared this
to be quite certain) the difficulty arises that the fresco on the opposite
wall, the meeting of Attila and Leo I., portrays a precisely similar
incident, and there is no doubt that both paintings belong to the time
of Julius II. {j:f, following note). I therefore venture to think that the
RAPHAEL'S MEETING OF LEO I. WITH ATTILA. 603
Julius II. died before the two succeeding frescoes were
finished, but the subjects of them were certainly chosen
during his lifetime.*
On the opposite wall to Heliodorus, Raphael painted
the meeting of Leo I. with Attila.f This famous inter-
view (at which, according to the mediaeval legend, S. Peter
appeared in the heavens above the head of his successor)
took place on the banks of the Mincio near Mantua ;;[
Raphael transfers it to the vicinity of Rome. To the
left, in the distance, we see some ruins, a basilica and
the Colosseum, while, on the right, the flames rising from
a burning village, denote the approach of the barbarians.
Calm and assured in his trust in God the Pope comes
forward to meet Attila, attired in full Pontificals and
sitting on his white palfrey attended by his peaceful
followers. Julius II. being dead by this time, the Pontiff
is represented with the features of Leo X. The majestic
forms of the Princes of the Apostles appear with drawn
swords in the sky over his head. A halo of light pro-
first picture is meant to refer to the internal, and the second to the
external enemies who were threatening the Church and the Papacy in
the reign of Julius II. Many of the details in the subjects themselves
seem to corroborate this view. On Heliodorus as a recognised
representative of violators of churches, see C. a. Lapide and Calmet.
* The Oxford drawing shews that this was the case with regard to
that of Attila, Cf. SPRINGER, I., 275, ed. 2 ; MCntz, 377, ed. 2, and
Robinson, A Critical Account, 225-227 ; see also Hettner, 218. In
regard to the fresco of S. Peter, see next page.
+ " Undeniably one of the master-pieces of fresco painting," RUMOHR,
III., 122. Cf. Overbeck'S opinion of it in a letter of the year 1810, in
the Allg. Conserv. Monatschrift (1887), II., 1283.
I Grisar, in Wetzer und Welte's Kirchenlexikon, VII., 1751 se^.y
ed. 2. Cf. Gregorovius, Gesch. d. Stadt Rom, I., 187, ed. 3, who re-
marks that " Leo X. was at that juncture the representative of human
culture, which was preserved from destruction in those days by the
spiritual power of the Church."
604 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
ceeds from them, which sheds a soft radiance over the
troop of priests, and fills the barbarian horsemen with
terror and dismay. The heavens are darkened, violent
gusts of wind sweep back the banners, the startled horses
rear and turn. The ej^es of the terror-stricken soldiers are
fixed on the apparition, while their leader has dropped the
reins, and turns his horse to fly, with an involuntary
pressure of the knee; even then, in the Summer of 15 12,
were the "barbarian" hordes of France put to flight,
to be again more completely routed and expelled in the
following year at Novara.*
The subject on the other wall over the window and
opposite to the Mass of Bolsena is the narrative in the
Acts of the Apostles (chap. XH.) of S. Peter's deliver-
ance from prison. The composition of the picture is
perhaps not quite so perfect as that of the other, but
nevertheless it is full of beauties. In all the pictures in
the Stanza d'Eliodoro Raphael had paid more attention
to effects of colour than he did in the Camera della
Segnatura. In the splendid colouring of the Mass of
Bolsena the influence of the Venetian, Sebastiano del
Piombo, can be already traced.f In the fresco of the
* The drawing at Oxford (see supra^ p. 603, note"'^) shews that
Raphaels first thought was to celebrate the event of 15 12 ; in it, the Pope
is Julius II. not Leo X. But when the final rout took place in the Sum-
mer of 1 5 13, the fresco was altered to refer to this event instead. The
Poet, Gyraldi, in his Hymnus ad divum Leonem Pont. Max. (printed
by ROSCOE, III., 606-609), also celebrates the expulsion of the French
under Leo X. Cf. Attila and Leo I.; in the poem, the scene is correctly
laid in the neighbourhood of Mantua. Perhaps we may gather from this
that the plan of this fresco dates from the time of Julius II.
t Cf. RUMOHR, III., 103 seq.\ Knackfuss, Raphael, 71 ; LUTZOW,
Italiens Kunstschatze, 447, and especially SPRINGER, I., 280 seq.^ ed. 2,
who shews that Michael Angelo had nothing to do with the modifications
in Raphael's style, which are to be observed in the Stanza d'Eliodoro.
RAPHAEL'S DELIVERANCE OF S. PETER. 605
Deliverance of S. Peter, which emphatically summarises
the leading idea of the pictures in the Stanza d'Eliodoro,
namely, the futility of all human attacks upon the
divinely protected Church and her head, Raphael has
to some extent resorted to effects produced by light,
but with great sobriety and restraint. To the left of
the window, on a flight of steps, we see the terrified
guard who have discovered that their prisoner is gone.
Moonlight and torchlight are combined in this scene.
In the centre there is a grating so cleverly painted that
we feel as if we could lay hold of it. Through this the
interior of the prison is visible, lighted by the radiant
angel who is in the act of waking the Apostle while the
soldiers to whom he is chained still sleep. " This scene
is marvellously effective in its simplicity and reality and
its glamour of supernatural light." * On the right S.
Peter appears again, passing out between the sleeping
guards and led by the angel, from whom all the light
proceeds. This heavenly form and the spiritual radiance
which it diffuses are rightly considered to be one of the
artist's most divine inspirations.f
This fresco is most commonly thought to be meant as an
allusion to the escape of Cardinal de' Medici (afterwards
Leo X.) out of the hands of the French after the Battle of
Ravenna. As according to the inscription on the window
this picture was not finished till 15 14, this interpretation
Sebastiano del Piombo was brought to Rome by Agost. Chigi in 1511.
See Arch. Stor. d. Soc. Rom., IL, 61, 68.
* LiJBKE, IL, 297. Cf. also Grimm, in the Preuss. Jahrb., LL, 199,
and Gruyer, Chambres, 233 seq,
t LiJTZOW, Italien Kunstschatze, 447. Jovius in his Life of Raphael
most strangely supposes the subjects of this picture to be tlie Resurrec-
tion, and the Guard to be that around the Saviour's tomb. SztCSEN,
Raffael, 539, thinks this mistake is due to the eftects of light, wiiich
eclipse the actual subjects of the picture.
6o6 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
may very possibly have been current even at the time ; but
it seems more probable that the design dates back to
Julius II. and really has reference to him.* S. Pietro in
Vincoli was the titular church of Julius II. when he was
a Cardinal; and on the 23rd June, 15 12, he made a special
pilgrimage to it to thank God there for his victory over the
French. It seems exceedingly probable that the Court
painter was commissioned to employ his art in the idealisa-
tion of this great triumph which was so gorgeously celebrated
at that time.t Thus the Mass of Bolsena would com-
memorate the prayer of the Pope before the relic at Orvieto
in 1506, at the commencement of his great enterprise for
the reconstitution of the States of the Church, and the
deliverance of S. Peter, his thanksgiving in 15 12, at the end
of his course for the overthrow of the French before the
altar of S. Pietro in Vincoli.J
The whole fabric of the enchanted realm of Raphael's
Vatican pictures rests upon one simple but far-reaching
thought. It is that of the greatness and triumph-of the
Church ; her greatness in her wisdom, and her centre, the
* Grimm, Raffael, 386, is quite certain that this is so. I see also that
he has noticed the relation of this subject, and the titular Church of
Julius II. At the same time, in his Michelangelo, I., 404, ed. 5, he still
adheres to the false interpretation of Card, de' Medici's flight {cf. siipra^
p. 415), and is not aware of the further connection with the rejoicings
in June 15 12, which I have been the first to point out. Hettner, 219,
had already raised objections to the supposition that Card. Medici was in-
tended, but only on general grounds. My explanation restores the con-
nection between the deliverance of S. Peter and the other frescoes which
Springer, I., 264, ed. 2, seeks and cannot find. He thinks it strange
that no Pope appears in this picture, but this is quite natural as S. Peter
was the first Pope.
+ As the celebration was closed by a grand illumination (see supra,
p. 417), it is not unlikely that this may have suggested the employment of
effects of light in one of the frescoes to Raphael.
X Cf. supra, p. 416.
JULIUS II. AND RAPHAEL. 607
Papacy ; her triumph in the wonderful ways in which God
continues to guard and protect the successor of him to
whom the promise was given. " Thou art Peter and on
this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall
not prevail against it."
It seems a remarkable providence of God that Julius II.,
the founder of the great Cathedral of the world, should
have been led to charge the greatest of Christian painters,
with the task of illustrating the doctrine of the most Holy
Sacrament, which was on the point of being so passionately
controverted, and the unfailing Divine protection, which
ever preserves the Church and the Head at the very
moment when the most terrible storm, which the Papacy
in its course of nearly two thousand years has ever had to
encounter, was about to burst upon it.
Il
I
APPENDIX
OF
UNPUBLISHED DOCUMENTS
AND
EXTRACTS FROM ARCHIVES.
VOL. VI. 2 R
li
APPENDIX.
I. Cardinal Ascanio Sforza to his Brother,
LoDOVico MoRO, Duke of Milan."*
1498, July 15, Rome.
Questa matina e giunto qui Don Alfonso, f E ben die
fino ad Marino habi menato con se circa 50 cavalli nondimeno
de Marino in qua h venuto con 607 cavalli iiavendo voluto
cosi N. S. perch' el venisse secretamente et ha disnato con me
in palatio. Hogi poi e stato da S. S^'% gia quale lo ha veduto
molto volentieri et li ha facto molte careze. The " Secret" of the
Duke's presence here is known all over Rome.
[The original is in the State Archives, Milan.]
2. Cardinal Ascanio Sforza to his Brother,
LoDOvico MoRO, Duke of Milan. |
1498, July 17, Rome.
Don Alfonso has arrived. Heri el rev. card di Valentia lo
volse de compagnia alle stantie sue et secondo mi e refferito lo
ha acharezato cum tante amorevole dimonstratione et honore
quanto si potesse dire. Hogi poi N.S. lo ha havuto a se insieme
cum madona Lucretia et avanti S. S'^ in presentia de rev""*^ card,
de Perosi, de li nuntii .regii et mia si sono visitati et acharezati
insieme non usando pero altro cha parole gcnerale
[The original is in the State Archives, Milan.]
* See su/>ra, p. 58.
t This confirms Ihe statement of Gregorovius, I.ucrezia, 103 (in July).
t See su/>ra, p. ^>8.
6l2 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
3. Giovanni Lucido Cataneo to the
Marquess of Mantua.*
1498, Aug. 8, Rome.
. . . Tuttavia el Papa incHna a la filia del Re Federico et cum
questa speranza ha fatto el parenta del Don Alphonso cum donna
Lucretia, quali hanno consumati el matrimonio privatamente, et
doppoi un altro di publico cum multe feste, pasti e galle e fra
li soi solamente ne alcuno ambasatore o altra persona publica fo
chiamata. La familia de Valentia cum quelli de la principessa
sua cugnata hebeno affar scandalo in seme et sfedraron le spade
a la presentia del Papa in una de la sale ultra la capella, dove si
fece la prima colatione nanti la cena, che fu dominica passata e
dui vescovi hebeno de molti pugni ; e per lo tumulto tanto la
brigata se andorono qua e la che non gera portatori de confetti,
in modo che li piu vili bisognorono satisfare ; poi andorono a cena
de li a un pezo, la qual dur6 tre hore et fino al di chiaro ; feceno
representatione, ne le qual Valentia comparve in forma de, Ah-
corno, che longo seria a scrivere, ma cum piu tempo veder6
de havere lordine e laparato et lo mandaro, benche non ce sia
stato cosa de excellentia maravigliosa ; e quella la qual si e al
proposito loro e perche donna Lucretia se contenta molto bene
de Don Alphonso, el qual per patto ha a star qui un anno per
fermo, ne lei, vivendo el Papa, b obligata andar nel Reame ; a
una taola sola era S. S^^, a laltra per opposito era el card'^ de
Monreale et de Perosa, Lucretia, Alphonso, la principessa e la
sorella de Borgia ....
[The original is in the Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.]
4. Extract from the Letter of an
Unknown Person.!
# 1500, Jan. 23, Rome.
Che Valentinoys ha facto gran doglianza a Roma per littera de
la morte de Borgia, dicendo che i celi Ihan facto solum per guas-
* See supya, p. 58, and Gregorovius, L. Borgia 105.
t Probubljr of an Envoy or Agent from Mantua. See supra, pp. 73~4'
APPENDIX. 613
tarli di soy desegni, et lui e stato mezo di fare che il fratello
habbi el capello, el quale li sera dato gionto che sia Valentinoys a
Roma cum pacto che esso fratello p.ighi li debit! de Borgia, che
sono ducati xviii™. Chel papa ha dicto volere subito refare a
sue spese le roche de Imola et de Furli. Chel se prepara de
fare card'' tutti a beneplacito de Valentinoys, et perh6 e ben facto
riponere ogin speranza de la practica de mons""^ ne le sue mane
et solicitarlo lui che gli altri favori sono troppo da lontano.
Chel papa era per rompersi cum Venetian!, volendo in ogni modo
Arimine et Faenza et non gli volendo loro consentire Chel
S'^ Zoanne da Pesaro ha quatro milia boni fanti, monetione et vic-
tualie assai, et che delibera fina a morte contrastare. Chel papa
mette ne le rocche de la chiesia castellani afetionati a Valentinoys,
et in castello Sancto Anzelo novamente ha posto uno arcivescovo
alevo desso Valentinoys.
[The Copy is in the Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.]
5. Giovanni Lucido Cataneo to the
Marquess of Mantua.*
1500, Aug. 19, Rome.
Illmo gr rnio. Stava don Alphonso ducha de Biselia marito de
madonna Lucretia asai bene, pensava el re de Napoli levarlo, ma
essendo redutto quando fu ferito in certa torre presso le camare
del papa non potea facilmente levarsi ; solo el medico mandato
da Napoli lo mcdicava e la molie li faceva lo suo mangiar aci6
non fusse atosichato ; al fine heri nanti conplecterio morite e
sonno sta presi alcuni Neapolitan! de 1! soi e de la molie inputati
che volevan amazar lo ducha Valentino in sua casa e camare ; el
papa ne sta de mala volia si per natura del caso e per lore de
Napuli si perche la filiola se despera. Alfine pare una cosa
legiera questa, ma parturira con tempo mal asai verisimilmente.
Lambasator de Napoli mand6 subito la roba sua qua e la et se
redusse in casa del orator Spagnolo, spingendol ad andar del
papa per sua cautione perche staseva per levarse per dubio dell!
presoni p'', se ben lui non se inpatiaria in tal novelle ; el papa le
ha fatto dir chel rest! securo sopra de lui, tamen lui ha avuto
* See supra, p. 78.
6l4 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
levarse per lo melio sina chel se ben inteso il tutto et molta
armata sta al pallatio . . .
[The original is in the Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.]
6. Pope Alexander VI. to Cardinal Giuliano
DELLA ROVERE.*
1500, Sept. I, Rome.
Dil. filio luliano Episcopo Ostiensi. . . . Attendentes quod
dil. fiUus noster Ascanius Maria S. Viti, etc., diaconus cardinalis,
S. R. E. vicecancellarius qui monasterium Clarevallis extra muros
Mediolanen. Cisterciensis ordinis ex concessione et dispensatione
apostoHca obtinet in commendam pro eo quod idem cardinalis in
regno Francie pro dicti ducatus Mediolanensis pace, quiete et
tranquillitate ad praesens retinetur, regimini et administrationi
dicti monasterii . . . intendere non valet nee etiam spes habetur
quod brevi tempore intendere possit cum prefatus rex de eo
minime confidit. Thus he gives the above-named abbey to Card.
Giuliano della Rovere, with the consent, as he has been informed,
of the king Louis XII. Dat. Romae, 1500, cal. Sept. Ao pontif.
nostri nono.
[Cone. Regest. 872, fol. 142. Secret Archives of the Vatican.]
7. Giovanni Lucido Cataneo to the
Marquess of Mantua, f
1 501, Sept. 24, Rome.
' 111"^° S'" mio. Son venuti dui anbasatori de Ferara qua, quali
el papa ha posto ad alogiar in la casa de la filiola e stanno in
festa e balli e tanto balloe essa una de queste notte che lo di
sequente stete alterata de febre, pur mo sta bene e per executione
de le promesse per esserge ordine dal lato de Ferara che prima se
ge adimpischa tuto quello li e sta offerto ; vole li denari in Ferara
e condutta a le confine de la Ro magna a spese del papa, qual
prepara mandarla molto honorevolissima e contenta e cum molte
matrone de qua et se levara quando don Ferando venera . . .
[The original is in the Gonzaga Archives, Mantua.]
* See supra, P- 75' t See supra, p. 108.
APPENDIX. 615
8. Report of the Florentine Chronicler, Bartolomeo
Cerretani, on the Anti-Pope Pietro Bernardino,
A Disciple of Savonarola.*
[1502.]
. , , Venti in circha homini di popolo et di baxa conditione
havendo pe' passati tempi seghuito frate Girolamo e vixuti in vita
exactissima et santa, come di sopra dicemo, in questi tempi si
tirono da parte ; et facto insieme mold conventiculi et segrete
raunate, creorono, secondo il costume degli Ebrei, un pontefice
al quale comissono ogni cura et potesta di loro medesimi, cosi
temporalmente come spiritualmente ; vivendo del continuo quasi
insieme nella cipta e'n certi luoghi del contado. Questo primo
pontefice loro fu Fiorentino di bassa qualita, d' anni XXV., idiota
e sanza lettera alcuna ; ma per le continue prediche et letione
haveva udite dal fratc era divenuto di tutta la schrittura sachra et
maxime de la Bibia in modo praticho che le sapeva a mente quasi
tutte : e predichava et faceva sermoni di tal qualita et cosi
mirabile expositione, che rendeva chascuno meravigliato : et
mentre fra' Girolamo vixe, su per le logge et piazze sermoneggava
a' fanculli et al popolo di tal qualita che caschuno stupiva, ven-
dendo questa nuova suprestizione [sic !] per optima religione.
Morto e' frate si tiro da chanto e fatto molti conventiculi
comincci6 a sua seghuaci a dare nuovi precepti dicendo che la
Chiesa s' aveva colla spada a rinovare, e che doppo la morte di
frate Girolamo non era rimasto homo gusto in terra ; il perche
non era piu necessario il confessarsi perche tutti e' frati e prete
della Chiesa d' Iddio erano tepidi ; e per questo nessuno, se non
facta la renovatione, si confexassi. Haveva certo olio del quale
ugneva a' detti sua seghuaci le tempie, afermando essere 1' untione
dello Spirito Sancto.
Facevano spessissime oratione mentale non udivano messa,
vestivano poveramente, la vita quando buona et quando trixta,
secondo il caso ; nel manggare alcuna volta si fermava dicendo :
lo spirito vole che si facci oratione ; cosi in silentio oravano : in
un tracto comandava il mangare. Tenevano per certo che questo
fussi profeta e se vesliva o parlava o faceva alcuno cenno inter-
petravano che passerebbe in Italia Francosi o Tedeschi o Turchi,
o che la Chiesa era presso a la rovina e simile fantasie. E quali
* See preceding volume, p. 214
6l6 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
conventiculi et raunate sendo notifichate a lo 'nquisitore et
arciveschovo, respecto a molte macule de heresie et compagnie
sospette, furno per la via degl' Otto interdette, con presure di
loro et altre persequtione. II che gli fe piu ristrignere insieme
mostrando haverle predette; e per questo d'achordo si partirno
et di segreto e itine a la volta di Bologna si trasferirno a la
Mirandola, dove si trovava il Sig''^ Govan Francesco, nipote del
Conte Govanni, homo piu suprestitioso [stc !] che savio, il quale
sendo rnachiato non pocho della dottrina fratescha, liberamente
et volentieri gli ricevette et non molto tempo doppo sendo
asediato da certi sua congiunti, per torgli lo stato, arditamente si
difendeva : ma crescendo 1' opugnatione cominccio non pocho a
temere. II perche sendo da' detti suprestiosi [stc !] exortato, lo
'nnanimirono afermando che Iddio voleva che fussi libero da tale
opugnatione, e che fussi superiore et vincitore de' sua nimici.
La quale cosa quanto piu cresceva el pericolo, arditamente
credeva, dando piu luogho alia suprestione [su !] che alia verita
del juditio, in sino a tanto che ne perda la terra e lo stato. Et
quasi ignudo salvo se ne fuggi. Quelli che gli tolsono la terra
auti nelle mani e' detti suprestitiosi [sic !] chiamati vulgharmente
gl' unti, gli messe a' martirii, et maxime Pietro Bernardino, loro
capo, et da lui ritratto il modo de loro vita et costumi e loro an-
damenti lo chondenn6 con alquanti al fuocho, perche gli trov6
maculatissimi di molte heresie nello intellecto e del corpo spurcis-
simi et vitiosi. La quale cosa intesa nella cipta nostra fa causa
che respetto a uno chanonicho de' Medici et alcuni fanculli di
case nobile, subito si scrisse a la Mirandola e furono ricondotti a
Firenze. Pietro Bernardo, homo plebeo, piccolo, di carne gentile,
capelli neri, naso lungho, voce rocchissima, churvato, astutissimo
fu vivo arso a la Mirandola ; e tutti e' sua seghuaci banditi.
E quali, tornali nella cipta nostra, chautamente veghiano, benche
sia quasi spenta tale setta. Furno alcuni che dixono che da lui
ne' tormenti non s'ebbe mai nulla, ma tutto si ritrasse dagl' altri.
Et cosi la cipta, da diversi mali sendo vexata, s' andava alterando
et digia e' Faentini, havendo arso e tagliato tutti intorno a la
terra, actendevano al ripararsi dalle isfrenate voglie del Valen-
tino. . . .
[Bartolomeo Cerretani, Istoria Fiorent. Cod. II. III., 74,
p. 274^ seq. National Library, Florence.]
APPENDIX. 617
9. Beltrando Costabili to the Duke of Ferrara.*
1503, Aug. 18, Rome.
Illustrlssimo et excellentissimo signer mio ubservandissimo.
A ci6 vostra illustrissima signoria sia aduisata del successo de la
infermitate de Nostro Signore, per questa li significo che essendo
heri el bono di de Sua Santita, me ne andai a palatio et cum
quanta instantia io me facesse per ogni via per parlare cum chi me
sciapesse dare certa informatione del successo, non poteti mai
trovare persona a proposito : restando infino a la sera et retor-
nando el cardinale de Cossentia a la stantia, il quale era stato
cum Sua Santita, hebbe da Sua Signoria che la Beatitudine Sua
havea pigliato heri matina uno pocho de mana, la quale ge
havea facto uno bono servitio et che tutto heri la era stata de
bona voglia et quieta et chel se sperava chel parosismo de questa
matina on non venisse on havesse ad essere pocho ; dixeme
etiam chel Duca era stato meglio.
Da diversi homini de palatio se bene non sonno de quelli che
penetrano, hebbe chel male de Sua Santita se nomina una
tertiana nota et chel se dubita non se converta in una quartana ;
hebbi etiam che per alcuni de casa de Sua Santita se fa fare
instante oratione ad una donna reputata sancta murata in S.
Petro : la quale risponde pocho sperare che Sua Santita se habii
a liberare de questo male. In questa matina per tempo ho man-
date a palatio per intendere el successo et el mio me reporta per
rellatione de multi, quali se concordano tutti et spetialmente per
el cardinale de Cossentia et del magiordomo de la signora duchessa
che la mana pare non facesse giovamento a Nostro Signore et che
in questa nocte la Santita Sua e stata multo inquieta et lo paro-
sismo li e venuto a la xiii. hora magiore del precedente questa
matina et in questa matina Sua Santita se e confessata et com-
municata et per el dicto messo mio uno medico, alevo del vescouo
de Venosa,t me fa dire che Sua Beatitudine e multo alterata et che
la non se monda. In questa nocte da mcgia hora di nocte e stato
serrato el palatio et guardato cum magiore dilligentia del solito et
secondo intendo el cardinale de Borgia et li signori picoli hanno
* See supra, p. 134. Petrucelli della Gattina, I., 437 seq. and
Balan v., 424.
t Bernardus Bongiovanni, see Cams, 940.
624 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
clandestinas et indirectas vias Forlivlum ejusque arcem nobis et
dicte ecclesie subtrahere parant, quorum conatus et astus nos
eludere quibuscumque viis possumus, querimus, nee dispendio
ulli parcimus sed nostra auctoritas apud eos non tantum valet,
quantum valere debebat, et nisi catholici principes manus ap-
ponant, ecclesiam predictam Venetis ipsis prede et ludibrio, quod
Deus avertat, fore prospicimus. Quanto igitur res in majore
versatur periculo, tanto circumspectio tua pro officio boni car-
dinalis et sua solita probitate promptior erit ad haec facienda,
que opportuna putamus. Dat.*
[Cone. Lib. brev. 29, f. 24. Seeret Archives of the Vatican.]
24. Pope Julius II. to Florence.!
1504, February 29 [Rome].
They are to support the Archbishop of Ragusa, Giovanni di
Sirolo and Petrus Paulus de Callio against ForU.
[Cone. Lib. brev. 22, f. 23. Secret Archives of the Vatican.]
25. Pope Julius II. to Giovanni di Sirolo, Archbishop of
Ragusa, and to Petrus Paulus de Callio. |
1504, March 23 [Rome].
The letters of the above-named, of March 18, 1504, on the
conquest of ForUmpopoli, gave him great pleasure. He hopes
the castle also will soon be won.
[Cone. Lib. brev. 22, f. 40. Secret Archives of the Vatican.]
26. Pope Julius II. to Forll§
1504, April II, Rome.
Antianis et communi civitatis nostre Forlivii. He has been
told by the Archbishop of Ragusa, Giovanni di Sirolo, how
readily they have returned to obedience. He praises them for
this : et eo maiorem commendationem meremini q[uia] causa
fuistis deditionis arcis.||
[Cone. Lib. brev. 22, f. 44. Secret Archives of the Vatican.]
* The date follows from Lib. brev. 22, f. 22b.
t See supra, p. 242.
X See supra, p. 242. § See supra, p. 244.
II This news was soon found to have been false.
APPENDIX. 625
27. Pope Julius II. to Philip, Count Palatine
ON the Rhine. "^
1504, April 26, Rome.
Inter cetera que dilecto filio Mariano de Perusia causarum
palatii apostolici auditori capellano et cum potestate legati a
latere nuntio nostro ad Germaniam destinato, dedimus in man-
datis, ea res precipua fuit, ut nobilitatem tuam dilecto filio nobili
viro Alberto duci Bavarie sacri Romani imperii electorii con-
sanguinitatis et affinitatis vinculo tibi connexo reconciliare
studeret, interpositaque nostra et hujus sanctissime sedis apos-
tolice auctoritate, sublata omnis discordie dissensionisve causa
ad mutuam caritatem et concordiam reduceret. Nam cum sitis
duo precipua inclyte nationis Germanice lumina et ex tam illustri
familia orti, que sacro romano imperio multos laudatissimos
cesares dedit, non potestis inter vos dissidere absque magna
jactura non solum nationis ipsius et familie vestre, sed etiam
totius reipublice christiane. Cum preterea sedes ipsa sanctissima
vos ut peculiares filios sit complexa magnamque in vobis spem
collocaverit, benemerendi de ipsa sedi et Christiana republica, eo
studiosius finem discordiis vestris debemus querere, quo vos
magis florentes et honoratos esse cupimus. Discordie enim ipse
non nisi jacturam fame et facultatum vobis possunt afferre.
Turpe enim est consanguineum a consanguineo, quos ipsa natura
educatioque maximo vinculo caritatis duplicique necessitudinis
glutino connexit, dissidere. Nam quem alienum fidum sibi
sperare potest, qui suis fuerit hostis ? His rebus consideratis pro
singulari et paterna qua utrumque vestrum prosequimur charitate,
nobilitatem tuam hortamur, obsecramus et obtestamur in Domino
ac per viscera Salvatoris Domini nostri rogamus, ut animum
tuum ad concordiam cum Alberto ipso consanguineo tuo facien-
dam, quam etiam a carissimo in Christo filio nostro Maximiliano
Romanorum rege illustri quevl summo studio scimus, inducere
velis, et nuntio ipso nostro cooperante, cui auctorizandi con-
cordiam ipsam etiam facultatem dedimus, ad eas conditiones
venire, per quas finis omnibus vestris dissensionibus imponatur,
charitasque fraterna, sanguinisque nccessitudo, que in tot
discordiis vires suas habere non potuit, redeat inter vos atcjue
* See su/>ra, p. 255.
VOL. VI 2 S
632
HISTORY OF THE POPES.
ut restitution! hujusmodi opportune importuneque instent. Nos
ad eos scribimus, prout suades, litterarum exemplum presentibus
introclusum. mittimus, easque sibi tradi mandavimus. Tabellarii
error fuit, ut superiores littere nostra tibi priusquam illis none
fuerint reddite.
Datum Rome, apud S. Petrum die xvii. Octobris, 1504,
Pontificatus nostri anno primo.
[Cone. Lib. brev. 22, f. 193. Secret Archives of the
Vatican.]
38 & 39. Pope Julius II. to the German Electors.*
1504, Oct. 28, Rome.
Venerabilibus fratribus nostris et dilectis filiis nobilibus viris
sacri Romani imperii principibus electoribus. Venerabiles fratres
nostri et dilecti filii nobiles viri salutem, etc. Carissimus in
Christo filius noster Maximilianus rex Romanorum illustris, qui
S.R.E. est advocatus, ut est observantissimus S. Apostolice sedis
animique celsi atque invicti, misit nuper legatos suos ad Venetos
pro restitutione civitatum, arcium et locorum ejusdem S.R.E.
quas ipsi Veneti, ceca relique Italic dominande libidine ducti,
facta pace cum Turcis contra Deum atque omnem justitiam in
provincia nostra Romandiole occuparunt et occupant. Multum
quidem legati ipsi apud ipsos Venetos deberent valere, utpote a
rege Romanorum et advocato S.R.E. missi, cui in omnibus rebus
presertim tam justis obsequi eos par est. Verumtamen nos con-
siderantes, quod si vos quoque, qui praecipua membra sacri
Romani imperii estis, et ejusdem sancte sedis semper obser-
vantissimi fuistis, vestrum nomen vestramque auctoritatem huic
legation! addideritis, ut consensu totius inclyte nationis Germaniae
defensio S.R.E. videatur suscepta, plurimum huic restitution!
accelerandae conducere poterit ; vos, qui supra ceteros principes
et nationes insigni prerogativa ac dignitate decorati estis, in
Domino quanto possumus studio et affectu rogamus, ut ad
venerabilem fratrem episcopum Acquensem ejusdem regis oratorem
nunc Venetiis existentem velitis scribere et injungere, ut causam
restitutionis hujusmodi etiam vestro nomine prosequatur omni
studio ; quod si feceritis, ut speramus, erit immortal! laude dignum
* See supra, p. 255.
APPENDIX. 633
et nobis supra quam dici possit gratum, prout dilectus filius
magister Marianus de Bartolinis ^ causarum palatii apostolici
auditor, orator noster, latius explicabit cui fidem indubiam prebere
velitis. Datum Romae apud S. Petrum sub annulo piscatoris die
XXVIII. Octobris, 1504. Pontificatus nostri anno prime.
[Cone. Lib. brev. 22, f. 201. Secret Archives of the
Vatican.]
40. Pope Julius II. to Angelo Leonini, Bishop of
TivoLi, Nuncio at Venice!
1504, Nov. 17, Rome.
The Pope has received his news of the nth inst. with joy, and
is pleased to hear that the Bishop of Acqui will come to Rome.
[Cone. Lib. brev. 22, f. 230. Secret Archives of the Vatican.
Unprinted documents and communications from the
Archives, 1 504-1 505.]
41. Pope Julius II. to Cosimo de' Pazzi,
Bishop of Arezzo.J
1504, Nov. 29 [Rome].
Cosimo episcopo Aretino, prelato, nostro domestico, nuntio el
oratori nostro. Ne diutius responsum ex Hispania de tua admis-
sione cum honoris nostri diminuitione expectes et tempus in-
cassum teras — he commands him to return at once.
[Cone. Lib. brev. 22, f. 210^ Secret Archives of the
Vatican.]
42. Pope Julius II. to Angelo Leonini, Bishop of
TivoLi, Nuncio at Venice. §
1504, Dec. 17 [Rome].
Venerabili fratri episcopo Tiburtino Venetiis nostro cum potes-
tate legati de latere. Ex tuis litteris novissime intelleximus, quod
licet dilecto filio Petro Berislao preposito S. Laurcntii carissimi
in Christo filii nostri Wladislai, Hungarie et Bohemie regis
illustris, oratori nee fides ncc diligentia ncc dexteritas ingcnii
defuerit in repetendis terris et locis S. R. E., nullum tamen saltern
* See supra, p. 255. t See su/>ra, No. 36.
+ See suj>ra, \. 256. § See supa, p. 257.
640 HISTORY OF THE POPE?,
55. Pope Julius II. to Cesena.*
1506, Dec. 10, Bologna.
Conservatoribus, Antianis et civitati Cesenae. They are to
have the right of deputing three of their citizens to control the
accounts of the Papal Treasurer. The fourth part of the fines
for criminal offences is to be expended in accordance with the
provisions of the Bull deaUng with these matters. The surplus
is to be spent on repairs of the portus Cesenatii and of the
Palace.
[Cone. Lib. brev. 25, f. 59. Secret Archives of the
Vatican.]
56. Julius II. to Ferdinand the Catholic. t
1506, Dec. II, Bologna.
He has fulfilled Ferdinand's request to reinstate the Observant-
ines who had been driven out of their convents, and to punish
the Conventuals ; but he says that the General of the Order
had asked to have a convent in Aragon assigned to the Con-
ventuals ; he is now sending Fr. Julian de Alugla, Master and
Professor of Theology, to the King, to explain the matter. He
also admonishes him to assist the Nuncio to obtain the moneys
which Fr. Cherubin is collecting there for the General Chapter
which took place in Rome. The Pope destined these offerings
for the restoration of the Church of the Twelve Apostles, where
the Chapter was held. Erit hoc Deo acceptum et nobis
gratissimum.
[Cone. Lib. brev. 25, f. I6^ Secret Archives of the
Vatican.]
57. Pope Julius II. to Leonardo Loredano,
Doge of Venice. |
1506, Dec. 16, Bologna.
Leonardo Lancedano [sic !] duci Venetiarum. He is again
admonished to put Cardinal Farnese in possession of the Priory of
* See supra, p. 229.
t See supra, p. 496. "Mugla" in the MS. should perhaps be read
•''Mugia."
+ See supra, p. 301.
-^
APPENDIX. • 641
S. Perpetuae to which the Pope had appointed him, qui nobis
carissimus est et honoris ac amplitudinis tuae studiobissimus.
Dat. Bononiae, 1507 [st'cl] Dec. 16. Pontif. nostri anno 4°.
[Cone. Lib. brev. 25, f. 19. Secret Archives of the
Vatican.]
58. Pope Julius II. to Leonardo Loredano,
Doge of Venice."^
1506, Dec. 18, Bologna.
Leonardo Lauredano duci Venetiarum. Card. S. Mar. Transtib.
Senogalliensis f is to be put in possession of the Eccles.
Tranensis which has been given to him. Why delay ? Pressing
admonition.
[Cone. Lib. brev. 25, f. 37. Secret Archives of the
Vatican.]
59. Pope Julius IT. to Cardinal Alessandro Farnese.|
1507, Jan. I, Bologna.
Alexandro S. Eustachii Card. diac. de Farnesio, Administrator
of the Marches. The inhabitants of those provinces complain of
the exactions of the local Administrator, Salariae Berengar de
Armellinis. Card. Farnese is to oppose these, and to protect the
inhabitants, who are devoted to the Holy See. Dat. Bononiae
1506 [stc\] Jan. I. Pontif. nostri A° 4°.
[Cone. Lib. brev. 25, f. 71b. Secret Archives of the
Vatican.]
60. Pope Julius II. to Ferdinand the Catholic §
1507, Jan. 5, Bologna.
Regi Catholico. The Nuncio Gabr. Merino is to request him
to take up the cause of Joh. Jord. de Ursinis with the French
King.
[Cone. Lib. brev. 25, f. no. Secret Archives of the
Vatican.]
* See supra^ p. 301.
t M. Vigerio.
X See supray p. 229.
§ See supra, p. 260. On Gabriel Merino compare Pieper, Nuntiaturen, 63.
VOL. VI. 2 T
648
HISTORY OF THE POPES.
beamus. Tam bonam enim opinionem de Celsitudinis tue erga
nos et sanctam Romanam ecclesiam singular! devotione et pietate
concepimus, ut nihil a te cogitari dici aut fieri posse credamus,
quod in diminutionem honoris et dignitatis apostolice sedis cedat.
Quod vero rem armis agendam putes, non possumus non vehe-
menter dolere, quamquam speremus, inter te et christianissimum
Francorum regem pacem aliquo bono modo fieri posse, presertim
cum aput [sic] te sit venerabilis frater B. episcopus Tusculanus,
cardinalis s. crucis, noster et dicte sedis legatus de latere, singular!
pnidentia, fide et probitate preditus, a nobis hujus pacis causa
missus, ad quam etiam nos Francoram regem non desinimus ex-
hortari. Celsitudinem igitur tuam per omnia nostre religionis
misteria obsecramus et obtestamur, ut ab ipsa pace animum non
auertas. Pace enim facta magis securus magisque honoratus
Romam venire poleris ac nobiscum deliberare (nam et tu in
temporalibus caput fidelium es) de expeditione contra perfidos
Turcas sumenda, cujus expeditionis maximam occasionem Deus
Salvatorque noster nunc obtulit. Baxetus enim illorum tirannus
gravi bello (ut magnus Rhodi magister nobis significavit) a rege
Persarum premitur et tanto in metu versatur, ut omnia maritima
loca (quo omnes copias regi Persarum opponat) immunita reli-
querit ac propterea facilem sit Cristi fidelibus victoriam conces-
surus. Si armis in Italiam prorumpere velles, plerique quod
bellorum exitus sunt incerti, Italie ipsius vastitas sequeretur cum
magna tui nota et nostra. Turcis quoque nunc perculsis et tre-
mentibus tempus daretur se colligendi viresque confirmandi.
Cogita igitur, ut pacificus in Italiam tuus sit aduentus, propo-
nimusque tibi ante oculos optimum et clarissimum genitorem
tuum Fridericum. qui omnibus Italis gaudentibus semel et iterum
Romam venit. Tibi quoque curandum puta, ut cum omni gratu-
latione venire possis. A nobis certe tanta comitate, benignitate
et liberalitate excipieris, quanta nullus unquam predecessorum
tuorum a pontifice Romano exceptus fuerit. Hec, fili charissime,
pro zelo reipublicae christiane proque singulari, qua celsitudinem
tuam prosequimur caritate paterne tibi scribenda duximus. Que
si in eam partem, qua debes, acceperis, desiderium tuum sine
cede et periculo consequeris. Dat. Rome aput [sic] s. Petrum
sub annulo piscatoris die xii. Februarii, mcviii., Pontif. nostri
anno quinto.
APPENDIX. 649
Charissimo in Christo filio nostro Maximiliano electo Roman-
orum imperatori semper augusto.
On the cover is a note in L. Fries' handwriting : Imperial Acts,
Breve Julii 11. Pontificis, to the effect that King Maximilian,
Emperor-Elect, may come in peace to receive the Crown.
There is a copy made about the same time on a loose sheet of
paper * in the Kreisarchiv, Wiirzburg.
77. Cardinal Sigismondo Gonzaga to the Marquess of
Mantua, f
1508, Feb. 12, Rome.
. . . Ho ritenuto el presente cavallaro sin hora, perche essendo
publica fama che a Trento lo Imper""^ haveva facto bandir la
guerra contra el re de Franza, contra Venetiani, contra el duca di
Ferrara, contra V. Ex. et contra tulle gli rebelli de lo Imperio, et
che N. S. di questo haveva adviso, me ho voluto chiarire de la
verita nel consistorio facto questa matina, quale solamente e stato
ad instantia de lo Imper""^, cioe degli oratori suoi, videlicet del rmo
card'^ de Brixina et del S""^ Costantino, quali presentate lettere
credentiale a N. S. et al sacro collegio hanno supplicato a S. S'^
et pregato detto sacro collegio, die cosi come el Re suo e stato
electo Imp''^ a questi proximi di passati in Trento, cosi sia con-
firmato de la prefata S'^ et sacro collegio, ita che per lo advenire
el se possi scrivere Imperatore electo. Poi hanno exposto da
parti sua, come lui e a Trento, cum exercito per venire a coronarsi
et farsi la via contra gli nemici et rebelli de lo Imperio, quali
ge la vorano impedire. Mandati fuori gli ambassatori et factosi
consulta sopra la loro proposta fu concluso de respondergH in
questo modo, et cosi gli fu resposto de N. S""^ : lui cum consenso
del collegio essere contcnto confirmargli il titolo et la inscriptione
sua chel se potessi dimandare Imperatore electo, et cosi lo confir-
mava et per tale lo haveva. Quanto al venire suo a la ( oronatione,
che a lui seria molto grata la venuta sua quando fusse nel modo
che vene el patre, cioe senza arme et cum bona pace de tutti gli
principi christiani, a la quale pace, unione et concordia per lo univer-
sale bene di tutto el Christianesimo lo exhortava. Questo h quanto
ho inteso, ne altrimente ho potuto intendere questo banno J de
* See No. 78 as to how this document was discovered,
t See su/>ra, p. 297. t Bando.
656 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
quoque affectuum expertes immotos pcrstare, afifectu concitos facile
se ad templa arasque prosternere ; tumuli proinde transferendi
sibi curam sumere, nihil motum iri, sed tumulum cum vicina soli
parte quo minus quicquam fatiscat integre se convecturum polli-
ceri. Nihilo serius Julius in sententia perstat, nihil ex vetere
templi situ inverti, nihil e primi pontificis tumulo attrectari se
passurum dicit ; quid Cesaris obeliscum deceat, ipse viderit, se
sacra prophanis, religionem splendori, pietatem ornamentis esse
praepositurum.
[Aegidius Viterb. Historia viginti seculor. Cod. C, 8-19,
f. 245, of the Angelica Library, Rome.]
90. Emperor Maximilian to Paul von Lichtenstein.*
*'Edler, lieber, getreuer ! Uns zweiffelt nicht, du tragst noch
in frischer Gedachtnuss unsers anzeigs dir vor verschienener
Zeit gethan, aus was grund und Ursachen wir Meinung und
Willen hetten nach dem Bapstumb, wo wir anders darzu kommen
mochten, zu stellen ; darauf wir den bissher fiir und fiir unser
Bedenken gehabt. Nun finden wir in uns selbst, auch im grund
also ist, uns nichts ehrlichers, hohers oder bessers zustehen, als
beriihrt Bapstumb zu iiberkommen.
*'Und dieweil denn jetzo Bapst Julius der jiingst kiirtzlich gar
todtlichen krank worden, und als dir durch unsern Hoff und
Tyrolischen Cantzler Ciprian von Serentin angezeigt ist, alle Welt
zu Rom gemeynt hat, er sey mit Todt vergangen, haben v/ir
demnachin uns selbst entschlossen, vorberiirtem unserm Fiirnem-
men, soviel moglich ist, nachzukommen, und dermassen handeln
und procediren zu lassen, damit wir zu dem gedachten Bapstumb
kommen mogen ; und darauf jetzo den Cardinal Adrianus, so ein
zeit lang, wie du weisst, hierauss bey uns in Teutschlanden
gewesen, die beriirten Sachen vorgeschlagen : der uns denn
gantzlich darzu rathet und vermeynt, es soil Keinen Mangel an
den Cardinalen haben und an solchem zu horen, von Frewden
geweynet. Und nachdem du aber selbst wohl ermessen und
gedenken magst, wo der Bapst also stiirb, als sich gantz zu
versehen ist (dann er isset wenig, und dass er isset, seynd als nur
Friichte, und trinckt so viel mehr, dass dardurch sein Leben kein
* See suj>j-a, p. 382.
APPENDIX. 657
Bestandigkeit hat), und so er stiirb so ist der von Gurk von uns
gefertigt, gen Rom zu postiren, und (uns) hinder das Bapstumb
zu helffen. Aber nachdem solchs ohn eine merkliche Summa
gelds, die wir darauff legen, uns * gestehen lassen miissen, nicht
wohl beschehen mag, haben wir demnach angeschlagen zu not-
turfft vorberiirtes unseres fiirnemmen uff zu sagen und versprechen
den Cardinalen und etlichen andem Personen in diesen Sachen
zu verhelffen biss in die dreymal hundert tausent Ducaten zu
gebrauchen, und dass solches allein durch der Fugger Pannelch t
daselbst zu Rom entleihen, gehandelt, bestellt und zugesagt werde,
und beschehen miisste. Und dieweil du aber weist, wir dieser
Zeit mit Geld nit gefasst seyn, auch an unserm Vermogen nicht
ist, jetztgedachten Fugger vorbestimpter Sumrna Gelds halben
anderst, als mit unsern Kleinodiern zu vergniigen und dieselben
einzusetzen : demnach befehlen wir dir mit allem Ernst und wollen,
dass du von Stund an und auff das allerforderlichst bemeldten
Fugger vorberiirte Sachen, und was uns daran gelegen ist, mit
besten" fugen, wie du wohl zu thun weist, in geheimb und auff die
Pflicht, damit er uns als unser Rath verbunden ist, zu erkennen
gebest, und darauf mit allem hochsten und besten fleiss, so
mogHch ist, handelst, uns zu Ehren und gefallen, die vorberiirten
300,000 Ducaten zu diesem Handel in sein Pannelch gen Rom
eins theils zu erlegen, und durch absprechen gewiss zu machen,
in der gestalt, dass seine Faktores da selbst solch Geld denen, so
inen durch unsern Fiirsten und lieben andechtigen Mattheissen,
Bischoffen zu Gurck, und ander unser Oratores, so wir daselbsthin
gen Rom verordnen, angezeigt werden, gewisslich zu entrichten
und zu bezahlen, und auff redliche Ziel das halb wie gemeldet ist,
versprechen und versicher geben, zusagen und versprechen, und
inen desshalben Zusagezettel aus der Pannelch, vne Gewohnheit
ist, geben.
''Derentwegen wir ime alsdenn die besten vier Truhen mit
unsern Kleinodiern, mit sampt unsern Lehengewand, das denn
nit dem Reiche, sondern uns dem Hans Oesterreich zugehorig
ist, und wir, wo wir das Bapstumb erlangcn, nicht mchr bedorffen.
Denn wo wir uns von mehrer Ehren wegen zuvor Keyser Kronen
lassen, woUten wir uns des heiligen Hcrtzog | Carls Lehengewand,
• Should probably read u/iJ. t Bank.
X Or Kaiser ; c/. Ulmann, 54.
VOL. VI. 2 U
658
HISTORY OF THE POPES.
das wir mit uns zu nehmen willens sein, betragen, zu Fiirpfande
einsetzen wollen. Und denn er uns jetzo zu stund in Abschlag
obbestimpter Summa, oder auff dein selbst versprechen (darumben
wir dich auch vergwissen und versichern wollen) 10 M. Due. bar
in den Wechsel gen Rom zu des obbemeldten von Gurcks Handen
mache und was (!) uns solches aus oberzelten Ursachen dem
sondern vertrawen nach, so wir zu ihme tragen, Keineswegs
abschlage noch verziehe : So wollen wir dir, so bald du ob
angezeiget unser begeren von dem Fugger erlangest, dass du uns
dann zu stund und forderlichen bei Tag und Nacht zuschreiben
sollst, genugsam befehlich, Quittung und andere Brieff, die
vorberiirt Truhen und Lehengewand zu ueberantworten zu
schicken, dieselben furter, wie oben stehet, dem obbenandten
Fugger einzusetzen. Und sofern sich derselb Fugger in beriirter
Handlung merken Hess zu wissen, wann wir solch unser Kleinodier
und Lehengewand, wo er die in seiner Gewaltsamb hett, von ime
widerumb losen wollten, solstu ihme anzeigen, und zu erkennen
geben, dass wir der Meynung seyn, ihn zu Bezahlung vorberiirter
Summa der 300 M. Due. unnd darzu umb 100 M. Due. die wir
ihme um seyne drei Kleinodier, so wir aueh von im zu nemmen,
wiewohl der beriirten Summa nieht wiirdig seyn, aber jedoeh in
geheimb zu einem Interesse vorberiihrts seines Darleihens zu
geben willens seyn dass denn in einer gantzen Summa 533 M. fl.
Rheiniseh bringen wiirdet, uff des Reichs Hiilff-geldt, so wir jetzo
uff nechst kiinfftigen Reiehstag von den Standen desselben Reichs
erlangen werden : dess gleichen unser erbliehen Fiirstenthumben
Landkiinfftiges (!) Hiilffs- und Stewren und darzu das Geld, so
uns von unserm lieben Brudern, dem Konig von Hispanien,
Ordinari jahrlich gereichet wiirdet, verweisen unnd solehes alles
zur Erledigung unser Kleinoter verfolgen lassen. Wo aber das
alles angezeisite Summa nieht erreiehet dass wir ihme alsdann
umb die Uebermass den dritten Theil alles unsers Einkommens
obgedaehts Bapstumbs bis zu volliger Bezahlung zustellen wollen.
Desshalben er denn einen aus seinen Freunden, der ihme gefallig
ist, zu uns an unssern Hoffe verordnen mag, den wollen wir zu
unserm Sehatz-oder Kammermeister vorberiirt unsers Einkom-
mens zu handeln, aueh sein dritten Theil zu empfahen und
einzunehmen maehen, aueh denselben in andern unsern Saehen
zu gebrauchen.
APPENDIX. 659
" In diesen obangezeigten Sachen alien dein besten und
moglichen Fleiss nicht sparest, oder underlassest, solches alias
also gewisslichen zu erlangen. Und ob dir schon beriirt unser
begem einmal oder mehr von demselben Fugger abgeschlagen
wiirde, nichts desto minder wiederumb anhaltest und dermassen
handelst, damit uns obangezeiget unser begeren verfolge. Unnd
biss darin nit seumig oder lassig, sondern brauch also fleiss, wie
wir unser vertrawen zu dir setzen, und auch die eyl und Notturft
dieser Zeit erfordert. Und was dir in dem alien begegnet, uns
solches forderlichen zuschreibest, uns darnach haben zu richten.
Daran thustu uns sonder gnadiges Gefallen, und wir woUen gegen
dir und den deinigen erkennen und zu Gutem nicht vergessen.
"Wir fiigen dir auch zu wissen, dass uns unser Secretari Johann
Colla uff heut geschrieben hat, bey einer eigen Post, dass die
Ursiner, Colonenser und das populus Romanus ganzlich besch-
lossen sein, und fiirgenommen haben, keinen Bapst, der Frant-
zossisch oder Hispanisch sey, oder durch diss gemacht werde, zu
haben oder anzunehmen. Und schicken darauff ihre Pottschaft
in geheimb zu uns, im schein zu begehren, dass wir und der
Frantzos nicht Kriegen sollen, dafiir zu bitten, als die so Neutral
seyn am Bapstumb. Geben Brixen den 16. Septemb. Anno
T5"-"
INDEX OF NAMES IN VOL. VI.
AccOLi, Pietro, Cardinal-
Bishop of Ancona, 344.
Adrian of Corneto, Cardinal,
56, 129, 132, 179, 281,
.3535 3^3,^ 376, 380.
Aegidius of Viterbo, 139, 185,
271, 272, 303, 407, 408,479.
Albert, Bishop of Wilna, 146.
Albertini, Francesco, 281, 484,
4q6, 501, 502, 515, 582.
Alberto Pio, Count of Carpi,
319, 428.
Albini, Benedetto di Giovanni,
481.
d'Albret, A., Cardinal, 92, 374,
389.
„ Charlotte, 67, 68,
,, Jean, King of Navarre,
245-
Alexander III., Pope, 469.
„ VL, Pope, 3-6, 8-10,
13, 15, 16, 19-22,
29-37, 43-48, 49»
53, 56-69, 71, 72,
74-76, 78-83, 85,
87-91, 93-95, 97-
99, 102-108, III-
119, 121, 125, 126,
128-140, 142-149,
153-166, 168-180,
185, 186, 189, 198,
199, 210, 218, 222,
223, 226, 246,253,
259,260,292,355,
440, 459, 493, 500,
541.
76-
286,
342,
510,
202,
Alexander VII., 177.
Alfonso of Bisceglia, 58, 59,
78, 104, 240.
„ Calabria, King of
Naples, 58.
Alidosi, Francesco, Cardinal-
Bishop of Pa via, 221.
305, 315, 335, 33^,
348-351, 497, 509,
. 5.92.
Altieri, Family of, 500.
,, Marcantonio, 138.
d'Alviano, Bartolomeo,
204, 205.
d'Amboise, Charles, 280.
„ Georges, Cardinal-
Archbishop of
Rouen, 62, 63,
71-92, 189-197,
204, 209, 234,
263-285, 292,
294, 299, 300,
323^ 328, 447-
„ Louis, Cardinal-
Archbishop of
Alby, 285, 326,
447-
Ambrose. St., 571, 572.
Angelico da Fiesole, Fra, B.,
542, 574.
Angelo of Vallomhrosa, 385.
Anne, St., 145, 446.
,, of Brittany, Queen of
France, 57.
Antonio di Giacomo, 481.
„ de Monte, Cardinal 366.
662
INDEX OF NAMES.
Antonio da Venafro, 122, 123.
d'Appiano, Jacopo, Prince of
Piombino, 82.
Aquinas, see Thomas, St.
d'Aragona, Luigi, Cardinal, 92,
189, 195, 292, 340, 342,
408.
d'Aranda, Peter, Bishop of Cala-
horra, 157.
d' Arenas, Pedro, 163.
Areniti, Costantino, 282, 295,
307-
Argentino, Francesco, Cardinal,
344
Ariosto, no, 539.
Aristotle, 551, 554, 558, 586.
d'Aubigny, 84.
Augustine, St., 571, 572.
d'Autun, Jean, 361.
Badoer, 307, 309.
Baglione, Gentile, 122.
„ Giampaolo, 81, 122,
124, 204, 261, 269,
270.
,, Pandolfo, 122.
,, Petrucci, 122.
Bainbridge, Cardinal - Arch -
bishop of York, 344.
Bajazet, Sultan, 86, 317, 509.
Bakocs, Thomas, Cardinal-
Archbishop of Gran,
Patriarch of Constanti-
nople, 98, 312, 395, 410,
424.
Bartolini, Mariano, 255.
Bartolomeo, Fra, della Porta,
54o._
Basso, Girolamo, della Rovere,
Cardinal, 91, 267, 492,
496.
Behaim, Laurent, 169.
Bembo, Pietro, no, 135, 307,
397, 582.
Benno, Bishop of Meissen, 145,
446.
Bentivogli, Family of, 262, 265,
283, 303-305, 331, 336,
347, 349, 372, 425, 513-
Bentivoglio, Alexander, 293.
„ Giovanni, 81, 82,
261, 266, 269,
274-277, 279,
285, 293, 363.
,, Hermes, 122.
Bianchino, 481.
Bibbiena, Cardinal, 520.
Bonaventure, St , 560, 572.
Boniface VIII. , Pope, 446.
Bontempi, 437.
Borgia, Family of, 76, 115, 138,
202, 205, 449.
„ Caesar, 57, 58, 60-62,
66-69, 71-74, 76-78,
80-83, 94, 102, 104,
107, 112-114, 118-
T28, 130, 132-134,
151-153, 166, 186-
191, 202-205, 208,
209, 217, 233-246.
,, Francesco, Cardinal, 92,
103, 334, 353, 374,
389-
„ Jofre, 69, 125.
„ Juan, Cardinal - Arch-
bishop of Monreale,
131-
,, Juan, Cardinal - Arch-
bishop of Valencia, 60,
63, 73, 91, 235-
,, Juan, 104, 105, 121.
,, Lucrezia, 58, 69, 71, 76-
78, 104-112, 114, 166.
,, Ludovico, Cardinal, 92,
240, 243.
,, Rodrigo, Cardinal, see
Alexander VI.
„ Rodrigo, son of Lucrezia,
see Rodrigo.
Boyl, Bernard, 163.
Bracci, Alessandra, 16.
Bramante, Donato, 179, 180,
340, 455, 461, 463-470,
INDEX OF NAMES.
663
Bramante, Donate — co7itinued.
473-475' 478-480, 483,
484, 486, 487, 489, 494,
5oo» 503^ 507, 508, 533,
553-.
Bramantino, 543.
Branca, Sebastiano de, 437.
Brandolinus Lippi, Raphael, 94.
Briconnet, Cardinal, 92, 181,
326, 332, 334, 353, 374,
387,. 389-
Brixen, Bishopof, 5'(?d? Christopher
of Schroffenstein.
Brunetti, Giovanni, 39.
Bruni, Enrico, Archbishop of
Tarento, 481.
Buonarroti, see Michael Angelo
Burchard, Johann, 116, 135,
149, 187, 195, 197, 208,
473-
Cajetan, Cardinal, see Thomas
de Vio.
Calixtus III., Pope, 160.
Capello, Paolo, 80, 341.
Capodiferri, Family of, 500.
Caradosso, 461, 467, 473, 489.
Caraffa, Cardinal, 10, 15, 17,
19, 91, 116, 185, 186, 192-
194, 196, 262, 332, 492.
Carlotta of Naples, 58, 65.
Carpi, see Alberto Pio.
Carretto, Carlo de, Marquess of
Finale, 255.
„ Carlo Domenico del,
Cardinal, 221, 353,
363-
Carvajal, Bernardino, Cardinal,
65, 91, 160, 19T, 197, 241,
243, 244, 295, 296, 298,
334, 335' 353. 362, 374,
376, 385-387, 389-392,
395-
Casanova, Jacopo, Cardmal, 128.
Cassarelli, Family of, 500.
Castelar, Giovanni, Cardinal,
128.
Castellesi, see Adrian of Corneto.
Castiglione, Baldassaro, 490.
Castro, Juan de, Cardinal, 92,
191.
Centelles, Raimondo, 56.
Cerretani, 389, 402.
Cesarini, Giuliano, Cardinal, 92,
188, 371.
Challand, Robert, Cardinal, 221,
264.
Charles the Great, Emperor,
379, 421.
v., Emperor, 379, 421.
„ VIIL, King of France,
4, 5, 36, 55- 103, 113,
169, 176, 355, 459.
Chatillon, 389.
Chaumont, 279, 336-338, 347.
Chigi, Agostino, 492, 495-497.
Christopher of Schroffenstein,
Bishop of Brixen, 384.
Cib6, Lorenzo, Cardinal, 91.
Ciochi, Antonio di Monte San-
sovino, Cardinal - Arch-
bishop of Liponto, 274,
344-
Clement VII., Pope, 166.
Clermont, Francois Guillaume
de. Cardinal - Archbishop
of Auch, 219, 234, 270,
326, 332.
Colla, John, 381.
Colonna, Family of, 56, 59, 62,
69, 77, 84, 103, 104,
125, 204, 218, 311,
369, 381, 404, 419,
420, 430.
„ Fabrizio, 400.
„ Giovanni, Cardinal,
69, 92, 189, 192,
371, 474;
,, Marcantonio, 260.
,, Pompco, Bisliop of
Rieti, 371, 372.
Columbus, Christojiher, 67, 159,
160, 163, 441.
Diego, 67, 441.
664
INDEX OF NAMES.
Conacci, Giovanni, 39.
Conchilles, James, 345.
Condivi, 533.
Constantine, Prince of Georgia,
146.
Conti, Family of, 59.
„ Sigismondo de', 60, 78,
120, 149, 152, 199, 210,
240, 258, 274, 276, 277,
279, 281, 282, 292, 472,
.474,476, 592.
Copernicus, 150.
Cordova, see Gonsalvo.
Cornaro, Marco, Cardinal, 92,
189, 310, 340, 342.
Costa, Giorgio, Cardinal, 65, 91,
189, 287.
Costa bili, Beltrando de', 134,
235.
Cristoforo, Romano, 489, 492.
Cyprian of Serentin, 380.
Dandolo, Jacopo, 302.
Dante Allighieri, 545, 549, 559,
.565, 566, 572.
Decius, Philip, 386, 396.
Delfino, Pietro, 200.
Diogenes of Sinope, 551.
Domenico da Pescia, Fra, 14,
34, 41747, 50-
Donato, Girolamo, 258, 316,
.318-
Doria, Andrea, 123.
Dossi, Mariano dei, 282.
Dschem, Prince, 85.
Emmanuel, King of Portugal,
160.
d'Este, Alfonso I., Duke of
Ferrara, 107, 109,
327, 328, 343, 400,
403, 419, 420, 425,
5I3j 520.
„ Ercole I , Duke of
Ferrara, 9, 107, 266,
279, 299.
d'Este, Ippolito, Cardinal, 92,
98, 108, 332, 353,
364, 391-
Eugenius IV., Pope, 146.
Farnese, Alessandro, Cardinal,
92, 151, 408, 476.
„_ Giulia, 174, 259.
Federigo of Aragon, King ot
Naples, 58, 59, 62, 70, 76,
77, 83, 84, 104, 119-
Ferantini, Bartolomeo, 748.
Ferdinand the Catholic, King of
Spain, 63-65, 68, 83, 89,
160, 163, 180, 188, 191,
226, 243-245, 256, 291,
294, 299, 313, 318, 323,
367, 373, 375' 379. 383,
387, 398, 412, 421, 422,
426, 433, 441, 443, 481.
Ferrari, Cardinal, 92.
Ferreri, Anton, Cardinal-Bishop
of Gubbio, 221, 269,
273, 286, 303, 304,
496.
„ Zaccaria, 385^387, 390,
393, 396.
Ficino, Marsilio, 558.
Fiesco, Lorenzo, 304.
,, Niccol6, Cardinal, 129,
226,333, 369, 476.
Foix, Gaston de, 397, 399, 401,
414.
,, Odet de, 389, 391.
Foscari, Francesco, 428.
Francesco di Domenico, 481.
,, of Apulia, 41, 46.
Francia, Francesco, 540.
Franciotto of Lucca, 219.
Francis of Paula, St., 163, 181,
446.
Franco, 481.
Frangipani, Family of, 500.
Freddi, Federigo de', 488.
,, Felice de', 488.
Frederick of Aragon, King of
Naples, see Federigo.
wmm
INDEX OF NAMES.
665
Fregosi, Family of, 327.
,, Giovanni dei, 415.
Fugger, Family of, 381.
Gabriele da Fano, 236.
Gabrielli, Gabriello dei, Cardinal,
Bishop of Urbino, 221.
Gaetani, Family of, 104, 218.
Gara della Rovere, Sixtus,
Cardinal, 222, 302.
George of Negroponte, 491.
Ghiberti, Lorenzo, 551.
Ghirardacci, 281.
Giocondo da Verona, 581.
Giorgio, Giovanni Antonio de
S., Cardinal, 65, 91, 262,
287.
Giovanni di Sirolo, Archbishop
of Ragusa, 242.
„ da Udine, 173.
„ Giuliano de', 475.
Giulio Romano, 594.
Giustinian, Antonio, 121, 127,
128, 131, 132, 135, 185,
186, 189, 194, 195, 197,
198, 202, 203, 236-238,
248-254.
Condi, Giuliano, 39.
Gonsalvo de Cordova, 58,
99, 127, 185, 241, 243,
244.
Gonzaga, Elisabetta, Duchess of
Urbino, 151.
Federigo, 489.
Francesco, Marquess
of Mantua, 185, 219,
266, 269, 271, 279,
282, 299, 317, 334,
339> 419-
Giovanni, 270, 345.
Leonora, 219.
Sigismondo, Cardinal,
221, 364.
Johann, 492, 493,
Goritz,
593-
Grassi, Achilles
304, 344-
de. Cardinal,
Grassis, Paris de, 216, 262, 268,
270, 278, 280-282, 288,
333^ 33^, 337» 339. 345.
346, 351. 362, 369, 409,
416, 423, 424, 431-435,
437. 439' 473. 47^, 499-
Gregory the Great, St., Pope,
468, 571, 574.
„ VIL, St., Pope, 469.
„ IX., Pope, 230, 548.
Grimani, Domenico, Cardinal,
92, 310, 318, 409, 430.
Gringoire, Pierre, 357.
Grosso della Rovere, Clemente,
Cardinal, 219, 221.
,, della Rovere, Leonardo,
Cardinal, 221,267, 286,
424, 535-
Guarna, Andrea, 469.
Guglielmo di Piemonte, 500.
Guicciardini, 135, 217, 230,
243. 294, 363,
400, 438, 451.
Guidiccioni, Francesco, 211.
Guidobaldo, Duke of Urbino,
120, 122, 151, 240, 258,
266, 269, 270, 273, 274,
279, 282, 313, 336, 348,
368, 369.
Gurk, Bishop of, see Lang.
Hadrian, see Adrian of Corneto.
Heliodorus, 600, 601.
Henneberg, Berthold von. Arch-
bishop of Mayence, 201.
Henry VI., King of England,
145-
,, VIL, King of England,
89, 97, 226.
„ VIII., King of England,
323. 331. 361, 373.
398, 412, 471, 472.
Hermannsgriin, Hans von, 355.
Iloris, Francesco, Cardinal,
128, 138.
Inghirami, Touimaso, 427, 501.
666
INDEX OF NAMES.
Innocent III., Pope, 454, 469,
572.
„ VIII., Pope, 142, 143,
159, 170, 226, 446,
486, 487.
Isabella of Castile, Queen of
Spain, 65, 163, 180, 244.
Ismael, Shah of Persia, 441.
Isvalies, Pietro, Cardinal, 92,
340, 351-
Jacobazzi, Domenico, 385.
Jeanne of Valois, St. (Wife of
Louis XIL), 57, 144.
Joanna, Queen of Castile, 412.
John XXII., Pope, 225.
„ Archbishop of Ragusa, 56.
,, of Guadelupe, St., 446.
,, Gualbert of Vallombrosa,
St., 445.
Jorge, Fra, 163.
Jovius, Paul, 112, 135, 243, 430,
579-
Julius IL, Pope, 137, 177, 210-
220, 222—288, 290-312,
316-323, 325-353, 355,
357-376, 380, 2>^i, 384,
387-389, 394-398, 401-
464, 469-488, 490-516,
519, 520, 533, 534, 537-
539> 541-543, 570, 582-
584, 589-592, 594-596,
597, 599, 600, 602, 603,
606, 607.
Ladislaus, King of Bohemia
and Hungary, 100, 10 1,
299, 361, 441, 443.
Landucci, Lucca, 5, 49.
Lang, Matthseus, Cardinal-
Bishop of Gurk, 180, 296,
299, 344-347, 357, 376,
378, 381, 423-428.
La Palice, 402, 416.
La Tremoille, Jean Francois de,
Cardinal - Archbishop of
Auch, 264, 284.
Las Casas, Bartolomeo de, 163.
Le Filleul, Pierre, Bishop of
; Sisteron, 264.
I Lemaire, Jean, 359-361.
Leo I., St., Pope, 141, 468, 603.
„ IX., Pope, 450.
„ X., Pope, 173, 459, 470,
478, 497, 499, 603.
„ XIIL, Pope, 171.
Leonardo da Vinci, 118, 540.
Leonini, Angelo, Bishop of
Tivoli, 80, 237, 249, 252-
254, 330.
Lichtenstein, Paul von, 380-
382.
Lionello da Carpi, 327, 333.
Lippomano, Girolamo, 340-342,
369, 371-
Lopez, Juan, Cardinal, 65, 92,
170.
Lotto, Lorenzo, 543.
Louis XL, King of France, 57,
428.
„ XIL, King of France,
55-57, 61, 62, 64-68,
71, 72, 74, 83, 89, 90,
95, 97, 98, 107, 119,
121, 127, 188-190,
226, 255, 257, 265,
270, 274, 277, 284,
285, 291-294, 300,
304, 306-308, 318,
321-324,327-332,334,
335,339, 343,346, 354,
355^357,359-361,363,
367, 372, 374, 376,
383-386, 388, 393-
395, 398, 405, 416,
427, 428, 434, 443,
447, 600.
MaCHIAVELLI, 12 2, 1 2 3, 1 2 5,
186, 23T, 236-238, 241,
246, 265, 267, 298, 302,
314, 329, 388, 453-
Maderna, 468.
Malatesta, Pandolfo, 81, 239.
i
INDEX OF NAMES.
667
Malvezzi, Giulio, 339.
Mancino, Paolo, 481.
Manfredi, Astorre, Lord of
Faenza, 81, 82.
Mansi, 139.
Manuel, see Emmanuel.
Marcello, Cristoforo, 429.
Margaret of Burgundy, 299-375,
.377, 380, 443-
Marinus, Georgius, 94.
Maruffi, Fra Silvestro, 43-45, 50.
Massimi, Family of, 500.
„ Domenico dei, 495.
Matilda, Countess, 416.
Matthias, Bishop of Greenland,
.^5.9;
Maximilian I., Emperor, 63, 70,
89, 95, 96, 107, 113, 130,
188, 215, 255, 257, 262,
293-300, 303, 308, 313,
317, 318, 321, 323, 331,
343> 344, 347, 354-357,
373, 375-383, 398, 412-
414, 421-425, 427.
Medici, Giovanni de', Cardinal
— afterwards Leo X.,
92, 173, 192, 197,
220, 269, 373, 400,
402, 405, 415, 420,
492, 605.
See also Leo X.
,, Giuliano de', 420.
,, Giulio de', Cardinal,
402.
„ Piero de', 4, 9, 38.
Melchior Copis von Meckau,
Cardinal-Bishop of Brixen,
129.
Mendoza, Cardinal, 92.
Menico Antonio di Jacopo, 481.
Michael Angclo Buonarroti,
15^, 215, 453, 455, 456,
460, 463, 464, 468, 478,
488, 489, 492, 500, 502-
520, 522, 523, 529-540.
Michiel, Giovanni, Cardinal, 91,
128, 129.
Mila, Luis Juan del. Cardinal,
92.
Mino da Fiesole, 478.
Mirandola, see Pico.
Monserati da Guda, 472.
Monte Sansovino, Cardinal, see
Ciochi.
Nicholas V., Pope, 152,
154,
456,
471,
542,
158' 171, 173, 286,
457, 459, 464, 469,
478, 483, 501, 503,
582, 589.
• Nicholas of Cusa, Cardinal,
154-
Nilus, 146.
Olaf IL, St., King of Norway,
, . 158.
I Oliverotto of Fermo, 123, 124.
I Orsini, Family of, 56, 59, 75,
77, 81, 121-127, 188,
203-205, 208, 210,
218, 311, 369, 381,
398, 404.
,, Battista, Cardinal, 91,
121, 125, 126, 371.
„ Felice, 260, 267, 311.
,, Franciotto, 122.
,, Giovanni Giordano, 1 26,
127, 204, 240, 260,
267.
,, Giovanni Paolo, 104.
„ Laura, 259, 267.
,, Orso, 260.
Paolo, 122, 123.
„ Rinaldo, Archbishop of
Florence, 125.
Otho, Emperor, 469.
Pallavicino, Antoniotto, Car-
dinal, 91, 186, 189, 192-
194, 292, 293.
Panvinius, 469.
}\irmino, Lorenzo, 472.
Paul II., Pupc, 147, iy8, 464.
486.
668
INDEX OF NAMES.
Pazzi, Cosimo de', Bishop of
Arezzo, 201, 255, 256.
Peraudi, Raimondo, Cardinal,
9h 95-97, 154;
Perraud, see Peraudi.
Perugino, 175, 543.
Peruzzi, Baldassaro, 464, 483,
594-
Pesaro, Benedetto, 99, 100.
,, Giacopo da, Bishop, 99,
100.
Pescara, Marquess of, 400.
Peter, St., 141, 469, 470, 566,
605.
Peter Martyr, St., 135.
Petrarch, 558.
Petrucci, Alfonso, Cardinal,
344-
Philip of Hapsburg, King of
Castile, 144, 276.
Philippe de Luxembourg, Car-
dinal, 92, 353, 363, 389.
Pico, Family of, 500.
Pico, Hieronymo, 495.
Pico della Mirandola, Gian
Francesco, 343.
Piccolomini, Francesco, Car-
dinal, see Pius III.
Picconi de Sangallo, Antonio,
500.
Piero da Lucca, 442.
Pinturicchio, Bernardino, 169,
171-174, 176, 496, 543'
Piombo, Sebastiano del, 592,
604.
Pisani, D., 275, 308, 309, 311.
Pius II., Pope, 109, 198, 199,
446.
„ III., Pope, 92, 189, 190,
194, 197. 198, i99>
201—207, 232.
„ VII., Pope, 485,
„ IX., Pope, 172.
Podocatharo, Lodovico, Car-
dinal, 92, 189, 193, 194.
Poggio, Antonio, 486.
„ Francesco, 385.
Pollajuolo, Simone, 508.
Pons, Gasparo, 97.
Porta, Ardicino della, Cardinal,
60.
„ See Bartolomeo, 540.
Prie, Rene de, Cardinal-Bishop
of Bayeux, 264, 285, 326,
332, 334, 353, 374, 389,
393-
Priuli, 248.
Pucci, Lorenzo, 516, 517, 535,
Raphael Sanzio, 171, 173, 216,
226, 416, 455, 456, 478,
489, 502, 503, 540, 543-
594, 597-607.
Raymond of Cardona, 397, 399.
Remolino, Francesco, Cardinal-
Bishop of Ilerda, 48, 128,
239, 240.
Riario, Girolamo, 72.
,, Raffaele, Cardinal, 166,
179, 186, 189, 193,
197, 203, 204, 288,
269, 407, 434, 492.
Roccamura, Francesco, 187.
Rodrigo (Borgia), of Bisceglia,
104, 218.
Rossellino, Bernardo, 460, 483.
Rotario, Carlo, 282.
Rovere, Domenico della. Car-
dinal, 91.
„ Felice, see Orsini,
Felice.
„ Francesco Maria, Duke
of Urbino, 218, 219,
282, 327, 336, 348-
350, 368, 369, 403,
414, 415, 422, 435,
537, 552.
„ Galeotto, Cardinal, 219,
220, 222, 259, 284,
301, 302, 492, 495.
,, Gara, see Gara.
,, Giovanni, 56.
„ Girolamo, see Basso.
,, Grosso, see Grosso.
INDEX OF NAMES.
669
Rovere, Giuliano della, Cardinal,
afterwards Julius II.,
61, 65, 66, 71, 91,
113-179, 186, 189,
191-194, 196, 203,
204, 208-210, 247,
487
See also Julius II.
„ Lucchina, 215, 219.
„ Niccol6, 259.
Ruysch, Johann, 543.
Sadolet, Cardinal, 489, 558.
Sancia of Aragon, 77.
Sangallo, Antonio da, 168, 46/),
482.
„ Francesco da, 488.
„ Giuliano da, 168, 179,
459> 460, 463, 488,
507, 508.
Sannazaro, Jacopo, 115.
Sansevcrino, Cardinal, 68-70,
92, 292, 326, 334, 353,
374, 385* 389, 391, 395^
398, 399; 401, 403-
Sansoni, Cardinal, 92.
Sansovino, Andrea, 460, 492,
493-
„ Jacopo, 489.
Santa Croce, Giacomo, 125.
Santori, Fazio, Cardinal, Bishop
of Cesena, 221.
Sanuto, 60, 135.
Sanzio, see Raphael.
Sauli, Bandinello, Cardinal, 344.
Savelli, Family of, 81-104, 125,
203, 210.
,, Giovanni Battista, Car-
dinal, 371.
„ Silvia, 113, 115.
Savonarola, Fra Girolamo, 3-53.
Schedel, Hartmann, 169.
Schinner, Matthaeus, Cardinal,
324, 325, 344, 395, 39^J,
413, 416, 419.
Sebastiano del Piombo, see
Piombo.
Serra, Jacopo, Cardinal, 92.
Seyssel, de, 361.
Sforza, Family of, 72.
„ Ascanio, Cardinal, 14,
62, 63, 65, 66, 68-70,
75, 92, 126, 189, 195-
197, 209, 264, 301,
460, 492, 496.
„ Caterina, 72.
,, Giovanni, of Pesaro, 81,
218.
„ Lodovico Moro, Duke
of Milan, 16, 62, 70,
73-75, 88, 96, 421.
,, Massimiliano, 421.
„ Ottaviano, Bishop of
Lodi, 416.
S. Giorgio, see Giorgio.
Si.norelli, Luca, 498, 543.
Sixtus IV., Pope, 146, 152,
199, 228, 436, 456, 457,
481, 486, 493, 495, 496,
501-503, 572-574, 589*
596.
Sixtus v.. Pope, 485.
Soderini (Gonfaloniere), 509,
511-
„ Francesco, Cardinal,
129, 189, 192, 197,
236, 238, 239.
Sodoma, 543.
Soffatelli, Giovanni, 270.
Spiegel, 355, 356.
Sprats, Francesco, Cardinal,
128.
Strozzi, T. B., no.
Suardi, 543.
Thomas of Aquinas, St., 143,
559, 572, 578, 581.
,, de Vio (Cajetanus),
Z^^, 385' 410, 412.
Tizio, Sigismondo, 207.
Toccio, Francesco del, 475.
Torque mada, Cardinal, 502.
Tozzo, Giuliano del, 481.
Tr^moille, see La Tr^moille.
670
INDEX OF NAMES.
Trithemius, Abbot of Sponheim,
i5p. 375-.
Trivulzio, Gianantonio, Car-
dinal, 189.
„ Gianjacopo, 51, 71,
347, 363, 386.
Turriano, Gioacchino, 48.
Tuti, Archangelo dei, 282.
Ughi, Fra Mariano, 34.
Urban IV., Pope, 596.
,, VIII., Pope, 169.
Vadian, 414.
Vaga, Perino della, 173.
Valle, Family of, della, 500.
Valori, Francesco, 39, 47.
Varan o, Giulio Cesare, 120.
Vasari, 169, 174, 462, 463,
486, 517, 533, 540, 591.
Vega, Garcilosso de la, 64.
Vegio, Maffeo, 469.
Vera, Giovanni, Cardinal, 92,
186.
Vespucci, Guidantonio, 39.
Vettori, Francesco, 416, 451.
Vich, Hieronymus de, 412.
Vigerio, Marco, Cardinal, 221,.
239, 427.
Villeneuve, Louis de, 60.
Vincent of Beauvais, St., 559.
Vincenzio da Vittrbo, 481.
Vitelli, Family of, 124.
,, Vitellozzo, 81, 122-124.
WiMPHELiNG, Jakob, 356.
XiMENES, Cardinal- Archbishop
of Toledo, 164, 285, 291,
367.
Zambeccari, Alessandro, 469.
Zamometic, Andrea, 37.
Zane, Bernardino, 409.
Zeno, Battista, Cardinal, 91.
Zuniga, Juan de, Cardinal, 219.
Zurita, 243, 387.
Zwingli, Ulric, 414.
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