menu_book Chapter 8

Section 8 of Europe in Renaissance and Reformation by Mary A. Hollings. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain, read by Pamela Nagami. Chapter 4, The Italian States in the Fifteenth Century, Part 2. Turning now to the papacy, we will first sketch the history of the seven popes belonging to this half-century, and then point out some of the chief changes that were taking place in their

position in Ames. The first of these was Nicholas V, 1447 to 1455. The librarian as he was surnamed from his intense interest in the new learning and his collection of ancient manuscripts, which became the foundation of the famous Vatican Library. It was said that he was chosen Pope for his perfect latinity. His greatest desires were for the furtherance of peace and the promotion of learning and art in Rome. By the irony of fate, it was to him that Europe turned when

Constantinople fell in 1453. But it was not in Nicholas to inspire a crusade. The Pope, it was said, is spending in buildings what ought to save us from the Turks. Among them were the Vatican and the Basilica of St. Peter's. From several points of view, Nicholas V may be regarded as the last pope of the Middle Ages. He was the last to crown an emperor, Frederick III at Rome, the last to contest the throne of St. Peter with an antipope. The series of great general church

councils ended at Basel during his pontificate. With the fall of Constantinople was closed, the long rivalry between Eastern and Western churches, and after Nicholas, each pope frankly merged himself in the Italian prince, whose first object was territory. His successor was the Spaniard Calixtus III, 1455 to 1458, who, unlike Nicholas, was eager for a Turkish crusade, which he left as a legacy for Pius II. He is better remembered, however, as the first pope

who systematically tried to advance the fortunes of his own family. Calixtus had three nephews of his own name, Borgia, for whom high preferments were found in the church, one of them later becoming Pope Alexander VI. It is possible that their interests may have prompted him to refuse the investiture of Naples to Ferrante, but his death put an end to their projects. Pius II, 1458 to 1464, was already well known as Aeneas Silvius, Frederick III's famous secretary,

and had been the chief means of recovering the obedience of the German church to Rome. In the course of a gay and varied career, he had traveled as far north as England and Scotland. On becoming Pope, he was anxious to forget the past and devote himself to the needs of Christendom. He therefore acknowledged Ferrante of Naples and summoned the Western princes to a conference on the Eastern Question at Mantua. Only the Pope and his attendants arrived at the appointed date.

A few envoys straggled in later, and the Venetians drove a hard bargain with the Congress, demanding pay for providing means of transport and all the spoil there might be. Before the assembly dispersed, Pius published the bull Exacrobolus, denouncing as an execrable abuse any appeal against the Pope to a future council. At this point, the outbreak of the war in Naples between Ferrante and John of Calabria distracted attention from the crusade. With immense

exertions the Pope secured the help of Hungary and Venice, but a paltry handful of crusaders was all that met him at Ancona, and exhausted by his efforts, the Pope sank and died there. The ideals of Pius II were no doubt beyond his achievements, yet his aims were higher than those of succeeding Popes. His life was abstemious, and he loved the simple pleasures of the country. He was a distinguished man of letters, but to the last he kept his freshness of outlook and readiness to

receive new ideas. Passing over the somewhat uneventful reign of Paul II, 1464 to 1471, we come to Sixtus IV, 1471 to 1484. The first pope, says Machiavelli, to show the extent of the papal power. It was employed by Sixtus in the interests of his family, with a thorough unscrupulousness that is only surpassed by Alexander VI. Sixtus had five nephews belonging to the della Rovere and Riario families. He arranged for them marriages into princely houses

or promoted them to high places in the church. Two became cardinals, and one, Giuliano della Rovere, was afterwards Pope Julius II. It was in the interests of Girolamo Riadio that Sixtus set on foot the Pazzi conspiracy to overthrow Lorenzo de' Medici and joined Naples against him. Fortunately, the capture of Otranto by the Turks brought the Pope to reason. Yet almost directly after, he is found with Venice and Naples attacking Ferrara for the benefit of

the last Riario nephew. Having gained nothing by the war, Sixtus died of the peace at Bagnolo. Innocent VIII, 1484 to 1492, was a far less vigorous pope. Almost his only political exploit was an attempt to force from Naples the ancient tribute to the papacy, which had been gradually reduced to the formal annual gift of a white charger. He therefore joined the discontented Neapolitan barons in 1485, who invited young René of Lorraine to adopt the Angevin claims to the

throne. But René was vainly occupied in trying to recover Provence from the French crown, and the Italian states were up in arms at the idea of foreign invasion. Ferranti gave in about the former tribute, and the barons submitted to him, as we have seen, only to be treacherously dealt with. Innocent VIII died before any further development of the survivor's policy in inviting Charles VIII had taken place. This pope was the first publicly

to recognize his children, and by the marriage of his son with Lorenzo de' Medici's daughter, began a connection between that family and the Holy See, which ended in giving two Medici popes, Leo X and Clement VII, to Italy. The election on Innocent's death was warmly contested by Giuliano della Rovere and Ludovico Sforza's brother, Ascanio. But by giving much and promising still more, a third candidate won his way. This was Rodrigo Borgia, a nephew of Calixtus III,

who, in spite of his notorious character as cardinal, was elected as Alexander VI, 1492-1503. Modern criticism has tried to prove that the Borgias, father and son, were less black than they are painted. Yet a few crimes less or more cannot really alter our opinion when so much remains to be answered for. Tried even by the low moral standard of their age, they were worse than their age. Cruel, cunning, and resolute. Audacious in crime beyond their contemporaries. And the

part played by Alexander VI and Cesare Borgia during the Italian wars will speak for itself. Meanwhile, it may be noticed that the new pope soon threw in his lot with the Aragonese House of Naples by recognizing Alfonso as king on Ferranti's death in 1494. This, of course, pledged him to oppose the coming French invasion by Charles VIII. At this point, it may be well to sum up the position of the pope since the consular movement to control them had

failed with the Council of Basel. If we compare the papacy to a temporal monarchy, we shall find that the cardinals are the nobles or aristocracy of the Church, while the democratic element is supplied by the assembling from time to time of general councils. The Holy See had come out of the threatened ordeal of reform with all its privileges intact. In the first place, it had evaded control on the part of the cardinals in spite of a number of compacts limiting the pope's

power over them. At the close of the half-century, Alexander VI was still able to treat the cardinals as his tools, appointing whom he would or selling the office at a high price to raise money for Cesare Borgia's wars. Secondly, the pope had triumphed over reform in the shape of control by councils. Political and national jealousies had ruined the Council of Basel, and the failure of the movement was summed up in the bull Ex-Sacropolis of Pius II. Threats of appealing to general

councils were indeed freely used against Sixtus IV, Alexander VI, and Julius II, but with little or no effect. Even the movement in favor of the liberty of national churches, which had seemed so vigorous in the early part of the century, had been minimized by agreements between their rulers and the Pope. Louis XI and Francis I gave up the liberties of the French Church, as Frederick III had given up those of the German. Nevertheless, in becoming political, the papacy had lost the

moral leadership of Christendom, which had been its unique and special task, and had become an Italian power, as yet not of the first rank. The failure of several popes to arouse Europe against the Turks was a judgment on the papacy for the many false alarms it had raised in the past in order to replenish its treasury. No one believed any longer in the purity of the pope's motives. Political intrigues were suspected behind every cause, however worthy in itself,

and Europe was further enlightened as to the real character of the papacy by the Italian invasions and Alexander VI Jubilee in 1500. The popes, becoming wise in their generation as children of this world, found that Italy would only respect their sway if they were too strong to be attacked. The problem was twofold. How to control the turbulent Roman populace, whose republican spirit slept but was not dead, and awoke at intervals under leaders

such as Rienzi and Porcaro, how secondly to subdue the lawless Roman nobles of the Campania, the Colonna, Orsini, and Savelli. Nicholas V attacked the first difficulty by gaining military control of Rome by widening the streets and connecting the fortress of Sant'Angelo with the city, though Sixtus IV and Innocent VIII took the nobles in hand. The real suppression of the Colonna and Orsini was only accomplished by Alexander VI and Cesare Borgia. Towards a

general solution of the problem, Sixtus IV and Alexander VI set themselves to gain territory, which in the hands of their relations should be the principal support of the Pope's power. In this way, the Holy See might possibly have become hereditary, but it is clear that their plan differed altogether from that of Julius II, who was rightly regarded as the founder of the Papal States, because he built up a dominion which he passed on not to his family, but to his

successor. The Duchy of Milan had in 1450 come into the possession of the House of Sforza. With masterly skill, Francesco, the husband of Bianca, the last of the Visconti, had played off his two chief enemies against each other, namely the Republican Party in Milan and the Venetians. First, he defended Milan against Venice, then made peace with Venice, finally turning his victorious army upon Milan and became its master. Milan was the richest prize

ever won by a successful condottiere. However, Francesco was not only the greatest of the condottieri, but an able statesman, whose chief object thereafter was peace. Between him and Cosmo de' Medici a real friendship existed. He came to terms with Venice in the Peace of Lodi in 1454, by which the Adda was to be the boundary between the two states, and having a common interest with Naples in resisting French claims in Italy, he united his son and daughter in marriage with

Alfonso's granddaughter and grandson. As has been already pointed out, Sforza was on the best terms with Louis XI, who yielded to him the French rights to Genoa. Galeazzo Maria Sforza, who succeeded his father in 1466, drew closer this connection by marrying Bona of Savoy, sister of the French queen. In him were united the worst vices of the Visconti and Sforza. Weak, cowardly, and a slave to the worst passions, he is one of the comparatively few who have delighted in cruelty

for its own sake. After suffering ten years of this unbridled tyranny, three nobles whose families he had wronged slew him in a church in 1476. Two of them were killed by the guard and their leader, Olgati, maintaining to the last the justice of his cause, died with Spartan endurance under torture. The Milanese, taken by surprise, had not been prompt enough to save themselves, and the tyrant's son, Gian Galeazzo, aged eight, succeeded under the regency of his mother,

Anne Simonetta, formerly Francesco's secretary. In 1479, the Peace of Italy was upset by the Pazzi conspiracy in Florence, and while Naples and the Pope armed against the Republic, Milan prepared to stand by her ally. To cause a distraction in Milan, Ferrante encouraged the return of the young duke's uncles, who had been exiled for hostility to the regency. A revolution followed in Milan. Simonetta was executed, and the nominal reign began of John

Galeazzo, aged 12, his eldest uncle, Ludovico, being the real ruler. Ludovico Sforza, called the Moor, from his swarthy complexion was after his father Francesco, the ablest of his house. Yet he had no pretensions to soldierly qualities, was in fact wanting in courage in emergencies. Like the average Italian tyrant, he was cruel when political necessity demanded, cunning, grasping, and self-confident. Nevertheless, when once he had vaulted into the saddle,

he was disposed to rule well, to maintain a splendid court, and dispense generous patronage to literature and art. But, like Richard III, he was encumbered with a nephew, and to make matters worse, that nephew took to wife Ferranti's granddaughter, Isabella of Naples. The young duke was a feeble creature, but Isabella was a princess of spirit, and complained to her own family of Ludovico's usurpation. She contrasted her own neglected

position with that of Ludovico's new wife, Beatrice d'Este, the idol of a brilliant court, and the prospects of her infant son with those of Ludovico's heir. Remonstrances from Naples had no result, except that they warned Ludovico that he must strengthen his position against an open rupture. Florence could no longer be depended upon, for, as we shall see, Piero de' Medici was himself inclined toward Naples, and Ludovico was not blind to the greed of Venice. He therefore

seconded the invitation given by the Neapolitan barons to Charles VIII, hoping to use the French as a screen between himself and Naples while he made good his own position in Milan. Afterwards, he trusted to his own dexterity to relieve Italy of their presence. With the consent of France, Ludovico gave his niece Bianca Maria in marriage to Maximilian I. In return for a more than princely dowry, the emperor conferred upon Ludovico the investiture of Milan.

John Galeazzo died soon after, precisely as might have been foreseen, though his uncle's share in the business has not been absolutely proved. Ludovico was not left long undisturbed in his new dignity. With the French came Louis of Orléans, bent upon making good upon Milan. His claim through his grandmother, Valentina Visconti. And though this first attempt was foiled, we shall see that Ludovico was unable to withstand Louis XII at the head of a league for

the partition of Milan in 1499. The history of Florence during this half-century is covered by the rule of the Medici family, for Cosmo was firmly settled by 1434 and ruled until 1464, and Piero was expelled exactly 60 years later. The means by which they won and kept their power may first be pointed out. The Medici owed their greatness to trade, and principally to their great European banking connection. By raising loans for foreign governments and lending large sums

to Florentine citizens, they gained political influence at home and abroad. Both Cosmo and Lorenzo maintained their position in Italy, largely through their unrivaled knowledge of foreign politics. In their hands, politics and commerce worked together to advance the interests of both. Cosmo, it was said, made many a fortune besides his own. As employers of labor, collectors of books and gems, and patrons of literary men and artists, the Medici turned to their own

pleasures and advantage the Renaissance movement at a time when it was one of the chief forces in Italian life. Their private revenues were at the service of the state, and they spent enormous sums on charity and public works, a system by which Florence was at first the gainer, but which later, when less attention to business diminished their incomes, led to these being largely supplemented from public money. At first the Medici were careful

to live and marry like other people of their wealth and position. Cosmo's works were regal, says Machiavelli, his conduct civic. He rejected Brunelleschi's design for his palace as being too pretentious, and never allowed the luxury of his family to appear as royal state. Lorenzo was the first of his house to seek a bride outside Florence. At the same time, they thoroughly understood the value of public fets and shows as a way of keeping their popularity with the

pleasure-loving Florentines. Dazzled by these brilliant features of the Medici rule, the populace was blinded to the changes quietly and steadily at work in the government. A progressive income tax was introduced, and taxation was managed in such a way as to enrich friends and ruin enemies. Cosmo used the taxes instead of the dagger-notes Giucciardini. The forms of government were preserved, but elections were in Medecine hands. The chief magistrates of Florence

were the Signori, consisting of the Gonfalonieri of Justice and eight priors, holding office for two months. Bills approved by them went through three councils representing the trade guilds before becoming law. It was their right to call a parliament and draw up the agenda for business. A Parliament, in Florentine phrase, was simply a mass meeting of the rabble, who shouted their assent to certain names proposed by the dominant party as being fit to exercise

special powers. Thus elected, this body called the balia proceeded to appoint ten accopiatori, joiners, whose chief duty was to collect in purses or bags, from which eight at a time were afterwards drawn by lot, the names of some four hundred candidates for office. Even without a balia the names were subject to a scrutiny, and the means of disqualification were numerous. But when the purses had been carefully weeded, there was no danger that any appointment would

be made displeasing to the ruling powers. The Medici contrived that the balia should generally be renewed every five years, and thus they secured the choice of all the magistrates. Occasionally the names were drawn by lot from the purses, but as a rule they were simply chosen by the accopiatori. The drawback to the signori was its very short term of office, and to remedy this defect Lorenzo de' Medici established a board of seventy life members, a kind of privy council.

They were to act as standing a copiatori, that is, to nominate two offices. That day, said one of them, was liberty dead and buried. End of Section 8