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The Tragedy of Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini (Pope Pius II): An Interpretation1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2009

Wallace K. Ferguson  and
John Gordon Rowe
Wallace K. Ferguson
Affiliation:
Huron College, University of Western Ontario
John Gordon Rowe
Affiliation:
Huron College, University of Western Ontario
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Extract

Since the publication of Voigt's classic volumes on Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini a century ago, scholarly interest in the celebrated pontiff of the mid-fifteenth century has grown, not withered, with the years. While the wealth of material contained in Aeneas's writings may in part explain this continuing interest, to a greater degree it is Aeneas himself who has fascinated historians. Yet for all the attention lavished upon him, there has been little agreement in the interpretation of Aeneas's personality and historical significance. This is not surprising. Since the days of Burckhardt, the fifteenth century in Italy has elicited different interpretations, and it is only natural that this diversity be reflected in the treatment of one who was, as all admit, the mirror of the age. Besides, it must be acknowledged that his life is so enigmatic in so many ways that agreement over its final meaning is probably impossible.

Type
Research Article
Information
Church History , Volume 30 , Issue 3 , September 1961 , pp. 288 - 313
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Church History 1961

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References

2. Voigt, G., Enea Silvio de'Piccolosnini als Papst Pius der Zweite, und sein Zeitalter (Berlin, 1856–1863).Google Scholar

3. The latert product of this continuing interest is F. A. Oragg and L. C. Gabel, The Commentaries of Pius II, translated and published with notes and an introduction in Smith College Studies in History: Book I, vol. XXII (1936–1937)Google Scholar; II-III, XXV (1939–1940); IV-V, XXX (1947); VI-IX, XXXV (1951); X-XIII, XLIII (1957). All future references to the Commentaries will be to this translation in the pertinent book, volume and page of the Studies. Indispensable for proper understanding of this work are Kramer, H., ‘Untersuchungen über die Coinmentarii des Papstes Pius II.’Google Scholar, Mitteilungen des Oesterreichischen Inst ituts fur Geschichtsforschung XLVIII (1934), 58–92,Google Scholar and Bürck, G., Selbstdarstellung und Personenbildnis bei Enea Silvio Piccolomini (Basel-Stuttgart, 1956).Google Scholar The letters of Aeneas (prior to his elevation to the Papacy) are best studied in Wolian, B., ed., ‘Der Briefwechsel des Eneas Silvius Piccolomini,’ Fontes rerum austriacarum: Oesterreichische Geschichtsqueflen LXI-LXII, LX VII-LX VIII (Vienna, 1909–1918)Google Scholar. All future references to Wolkan's edition will refer to the appropriate volume and page in the Fontes.

4. A select bibliography dealing with Aeneas and his times may be found in the final volume of Gragg and Gabel, Ibid.

5. While care must be taken not to arrange the diverse interpretations of Aeneas in rigid categories, cf. Buyken, Th., Enea Silvio Piccolormini, Sein Leben und Werden bis sum. Episkcopat (Bonn-Cologne, 1931), 1,Google Scholar certain differencesin treatment may be briefly indicated. There are those who are content to leave the facts to speak for themselves. The following examples (of varying quality) illustrate this approach: Boulting, W., Aeneas Silvius (London, 1908)Google Scholar; Ady, C. M., Pius II (Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini), the Humanist Pope (London, 1913)Google Scholar; Morrall, J. B., ‘Pius II:Humanist and Crusader,’ History Today VIII (1958), 27–37.Google Scholar Of special merit is the excellent historical introduction which opens the final volume of Gragg and Gabel, op. cit. The particular danger of this point of view is that Aeneas's life often comes close to losing all historical intelligibility and coherence. Attempts have therefore been made to organize Aeneas 's career around some great theme, e.g., Hocks, Else, Pius II. und die Haibmond (Freiburg, 1941)Google Scholar, or, on the other hand, to explain his life by methods more psychological than historical. See Lesca, G., Cornmentarii rerum memorabilium—d' Enea Silvia de' Piccolomini (Pisa, 1893), 402f.Google Scholar A second group of writers attempt boldly to grapple with the problems of interpretation which appear when Aeneas's career is treated as a whole. In this group, pride of place belongs to Verdibre, C. H., Essai sur Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini (Paris, 1843)Google Scholar. Although his work is outdated, Verdière saw many of the problems involved in the interpretation of Aeneas and tried to state them as exactly as possible. Unfortunately, most of the writers of this group have all too often presented Aeneas as an opportunist who was all things to all men as the winds of fortune dictated. Here belong the works of Voigt, op. cit., esp. I, 220; Gregorovius, F., A History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages, trans. by Hamilton, A. from the fourth edn. (London, 1900), VII, I, 92, 162–165, 217Google Scholar; and Creighton, M., A History of the Papacy from the Great Schism to the Sack of Rome (new edn., London, 1911), II–III,Google Scholarpassim. The opinions of Creightoa (closely derived from Voigt) are often extreme and founded upon prejudice. See III, 78–79, and the long essay on Aeneas in his Historical Essays and Reviews, ed. by L. Creighton (London, 1903), 55–106, esp. 61–62, 81–83.Google Scholar This tradition, sharply critical of Aeneas, still continues. See Knminsky, H., ‘Pius Aeneas among the Tnborites,’ Church History XXVIII (1959), 281–309, esp. 304,CrossRefGoogle Scholar nn. 1, 7. Opposed to the pejorative judgments of Voigt and his continuators is the essay of Haller, J., ‘Pius II., em Papst der Renaissance,’ Deutsche Rundschau CLIII (1912), 194–220.Google Scholar His defence of Aeneas is somewhat unconvincing since HaIler, ever the homo potiticus of papal historiography, cannot avoid delineating an Aeneas dominated by expediency. Of greater significance is the work of Pastor, L., The History of the Popes, trans. by Antrobus, P. I., (third edn., London, 1906–1910), I–III.Google Scholar Pastor acknowledged the self-seeking character of his early years but insisted that Aeneas became a sincere Christian and churchman, fully equipped spiritually and intellectually for his ultimate position as pope, I, 340f, HI, 17f, 374. There are thus two Aeneases, and the sins of the earlier should not blind us to the virtues of the later Aeneas. Unfortunately, Pastor, wishing to liberate Aeneas from the moralistic criticisms of Voigt, went too far in the other direction and presented the later Aeneas in an almost ideal light. Pastor was closely followed by Joachimsohn, P. who stated in his Gregor Heimbury (Bamburg, 1891), 147,Google Scholar that if Aeneas began his life as an adventurer he ended it as one of the great pontiff s of the Middle Ages. Toffanin, G., in his edition and translation of Aeneas 's famous letter to Mohammed II, Lettera a Maomctta di Pio II (Napoli, 1953)Google Scholar, has given this interpretation a slightly different twist, insisting that the ‘worldly’ Aeneas and the ‘spiritual’ Aeneas existed at first side by side. He writes, x-xi:‘In Pio II erano gmandi, e forse giganti, Ia forza del calcolo, e la forza di abbandono all'incalcolabile:e l'una veniva dal realista, l'altra dal visionario; due personaggi uni nd suo cuore.…’ In the end, however, Toffanin concludes that all was harmoniously resolved, lv: ‘….(Aeneas) fu una atleta della fede at tra I grandi papi umanisti forse il piú grande’. Toffanin stands between Pastor and yet another interpretation of Aeneas which is represented best by Paparelli, G., Enea Sulvia Piccotomini (Plo II) (Bari, 1950).Google Scholar This scholar's admiration for his subject knows no bounds, and from his beautiful biography there appears a portrait of Aeneas as the hero of the age, a man deeply in sympathy with its many aspects and inwardly at peace, all contradictory elements resolved into a ‘perfetta armonia.’ His life was therefore an ever expanding synthesis of the elements of fifteenth century Europe which culminated in his martyrdom on the altar of the highest ideals of traditional Christianity and the newer humanism. See 10–11, 23–24, 30, 34, 80–81, 108, 123, 243, 249–250, 303, 35 if. Paparelii 's judgments are almost entirely opposed to the interpretations presented in this article. The work of Buyken, op. cit., is by way of contrast more satisfying to this writer. Buyken refuses to indulge in either polemic or apology, remaining content to explain the developments in Aeneas 's career in the terms not only of his struggle to find a place in society but also of a sincere attempt to conduct his life in a manner congruent with his own experience and understanding.

6. Voigt, op. cit., III, 724; Ady, op. cit., 348; Papareui, op. cit., 10, 353.

7. See the opening lines of the bull (April, 1460) Inter felicitates, in Gaude, F. et al. , eds., Bullarium — taurinensis editio (Tours, 1860), V, 153.Google Scholar Paparelli, op. cit., 250, believes that his motto vivere sibi et mus-is ‘era sempre II sogno secreto deli’ anima sua.’. However, for a more critical assessment of his devotion to humanism, see below.

8. Mansi, J. D., Pii II. P.M. olim Aeneae Sylvii Piccolominci Senensis Oratioaes pohiticae et ecclesiasticae (Lucca, 1755–1757)Google Scholar. The introduction to the first volume has a catena of quotations from contemporaries in praise of his rhetorical skill.

9. Commentaries, II (XXV), 115.Google Scholar

10. Pastor, op. cit., III, 24–25, 381f.

11. Book III (XXV) of the Commentaries contains Aeneas's account of the Congress of Mantua.

12. Haller, op. cit., 208, suggests that Aeneas planned to go only part of the way on the crusade and then return home.

13. Piccolomini, Aeneas Sylvius, Opera quae extant omnia (Basel, 1571), 914–923.Google Scholar All future references to the Opera will be to this edition.

14. Commentaries, VII (XXXV), 517fGoogle Scholar; Mansi, op. cit., II, 174–177, 182f, Appen., 16–17. Two indispensable articles are Carusi, E., ‘Preventivi di spesi per Ia spedizione coutro il Turco al tempo di Pio II,’ Archivio Muratoriano XVI (1915), 273–277,Google Scholar and Mohier, L., ‘Bessarions Instruktion für die Kreuzzugspredigt in Venedig (1463),’ Römische Quartalschrift fur Christliche Altertumskunde und für Kirchengeschichte XXXV (1927), 337–349.Google Scholar

15. The tragedy at Ancona may be observed through the eyes of Jacopo Ammanati. See Pii Secundi pont. max. Commentarii rerum memorabilium —a R. D. Ioanne Gobellino—compositi, et a B.P.D. Francisco Band. Picolomineo. Archiepiscopo Senensi (Rome, 1584), 650–657.Google Scholar See also the narrative account in the Vita by Antonio Campano in the Opera.

16. Voigt, op. cit., I, 141, 200, denies all sincerity to Aeneas. To be sure, the early letters in Wolkan, LXI, reflect the ambitions and interests which comprise the young Aeneas. Yet, a letter to Piero da Noceto, 58–76, esp. 72–75, shows that Aeneas, although not blind to his own ambitions or to the defects of the Council of Basel, did have real sympathy for the conciliar movement. See also the two works which were composed during this period: Libellus dialogorum de generalis concilil auctoritate et gestis Basiliensium, in Kollar, A. F., Analecta monumentorum Vindobonensia (Vienna, 1761–1762), II, 691–790, esp. 739, 751Google Scholar; De Gestis Basiliensis concilii, in the Opera, 1–63, esp. 29.

17. Consult Cesarini's moving appeal for Christian unity which opened the deliberations with the Hussites on January 10, 1433. John, of Segovia, , Historia gestorum generalis synodi Basiliensis, ed. Birk, E., Monumenta conciliorum generalium seculi decimi quinti, Concilium Basiliense (Vienna, 1873), II, 299f,Google Scholar and Wolkan, LXI, 85.

18. Both the opening and the closing sections of the famous letter to Cardinal Carvajal (October, 1443), Wolkan, LXI, 208–211, show Aeneas as the upholder of ‘neutrality.’ However, the remainder of this letter, as well Ls the sentiments expressed in other letters written at this time, Wolkan, LXI, 132–144, 202–204, show the persistence of a genuine attachment to the conciliar cause. It should be remembered that for some time he maintained close contact with many of his former associates at Basel, Wolkan LXI, 147–148, 150–151.

19. Waugh, W. T. in the Cambridge Medieval History (Cambridge, 1936), VIII, 42,Google Scholar likened his abandonment of Basel to that of a rat leaving a doomed ship. Creighton, , History, III, 58,Google Scholar agreed. Even Paparelli, op. cit., 105, finds his hero's action to be an astonishing volte-face. If only to grant Aeneas a modicum of sincerity we may point out that prior to his departure he had increasing doubts as to the effectiveness of the Council, Wolkan, LXI, 79–80, 85, 209. As for his new hopes for Frederick, Wolkan, LXI, 119–121, 156–157, 165- 166, 175–177.

20. Wolkan, LXII, 21f, is instructive. In this connection we should refer to his early work on the Empire, the Pentalogus, in Pez, B., Thesaurus anecdotorum novissimus (Vienna, 1723), IV, 3, 637–744, esp. 665, 737Google Scholar:‘Hoe maximum decus est domus tuae Australis, ut imperium orbis sibi valeat vendicare et apud se stabilere.’. Other examples of Aeneas as imperial propagandist may be seen in Mansi, op. cit., I, 113f, 122, 135–136, 140f, 154f, 163f.

21. Wolkan, LXI, 156–157.

22. Pentalogus, in Pez, op. cit., 664–665.

23. Wolkan, LXI, 177, 249, 255. Note his reference to the proposals of France for a new general council.

24. At what point do we place the beginning of Aeneas's enthusiasm for the crusade? The Commentaries, I (XXII), 65,Google Scholar suggest the coronation of Frederick at Rome in March, 1452. Voigt, op. cit., II, 90–91, emphasizes the importance of the fall of Constantinople in the following year. However, there are letters in Wolkan which show that his concern for the crusade began as early as1443, LXI, 127, 163–165, 177–179,202–204, 281–283, 305–309, 322–324, 487–490, the last being a report of the death of Cesarini. Later letters dealing with the crusade and allied topics are Wolkan, LXII, 37–41, 42–44, LXVII, I, 72–77, 88–93, LXVIII, I, 189–202, 204–215, 222. The chief works dealing with Aeneas as the opponent of the Turks are Hocks, op. cit., and Eysser, R., Papst Pius II. und der Kreuzzug gegen die Türken (Bucharest, 1938)Google Scholar. His activities should be seen against the entire problem of the Turkish advance across Europe. Here the indispensable studies are Pfeffermann, H., Die Zusammenarbeit der Renaissancepäpste mit den Türken (Winterthur, 1946)Google Scholar; Babinger, Fr., ‘Mehmed II., der Eroberer, und Italien,’ Byzantion XXI (1951), 127–170Google Scholar; Vaughan, D.M., Europe and the Turk (Liverpool, 1954), 72f.Google Scholar

25. Wolkan, LXI, 318–319, 323–324. Creighton, , History, III, 60–62,Google Scholar presents an exaggerated picture of Aeneas using German ‘neutrality’ for self-advancement.

26. Wolkan, LXI, 313–314.

27. Wolkan, LXI, 318–324, 538–545, asp.544.

28. The shift in German opinion may be traced through Wolkan, LXI, 323–324, 334–337, 493–506, 546–547.

29. It is important to remember that Cesarini, Carvajal and others had tried for some time to bring Aeneas over to the papal side, Wolkan, LXI, 127, 208–211. On the lighter side, Aeneas received an appeal from Piero da Noceto, scriptor apostolicus, urging him to work for the restoration of Germany to the papal obedience. Such a development would increase the activities of the papal curia and thus rescue Piero from penury, Wolkan, LXI, 219–220.

30. Although now quite old, the basic account for these negotiations remains Valois, N., La crisc religicusc du XVe siècle. La papa at le concile (Paris, 1909), II, 303–321,Google Scholar which may be compared with Werminghoff, A., Nationalkirchlichcn Bastrcbungan im dcutschen Mittelalter (Stuttgart, 1910), 86–109.Google Scholar

31. As a kind of pièce justificative for the growing unity between Papacy aud Empire, Aeneas in 1446 wrote the tract De ortu at auctoritate romanimperii, Wolkan, LXVII, I, 6–24. Also, his orations during this period are replete with fulsome praise for Frederick, and he even went so far as to describe Austria as ‘nmbilicum christianitntis’ and ‘christianitatis corde,’ Mansi, op. cit., I, 148, 154f, 157, 163f. The theories expressed in De ortu, together with some similar conceptions to be found iu writings dating from this middle period in Aencas's career, e.g., Historia Fridarici III. Imperatoris, in Kollar, op. cit., II, 302f, and Dialogus seu Tractatus, in Cugnoni, J., ‘Aencae Silvii Piccolomini Senensis qui poetca fuit Pius II. pont. max. Opera inedita,’ Atti della R. Accadcmia dei Lincei. Memorie della Classe di sciense morcili, storichc e filologiche, ser. III, v. 8 (Rome, 1883), 319–686,Google Scholar rf. here, 574–578, have been subjected to a searching analysis by Kallen, G. in his Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini als Publizist (Cologne, 1939)Google Scholar, passim, asp. 45–49. This work is to be preferred to the more superficial examination presented by Meusel, A., Eaca Silvio als Publizist (Breslau, 1905).Google Scholar Kallen'sopinions should be carefully compared with those of Kantorowicz, E. H., ‘Pro partia mon in Medieval Political Thought,’ American Historical Review LVI (1950–1951), 472–492, esp. 490–491,Google Scholar and Battaglia, F., whose excellent monograph Enea Silvio Piccolomini e Francesco Patrizi (Florence, 1936)Google Scholar, remains the best detailed treatment of Aeneas as a political thinker. Note that much of Aencas 's writings on the Empire will serve admirably to illustrate the decline of the ‘imperial idea’ in the later Middle Ages as described by Barraclough, G., The Medieval Empire: Idea and Reality (Historical Assn., London, 1950), 23,Google Scholar and Holtzmann, R., Der Welt herrschaftsgedankc des mittelalterlichen Kaisentums und die Souveränität der europäischen Staaten (Tübingen, 1953), 28f.Google Scholar

32. Throughout his life Aeneas wrote many an apologia pro vita sua. One of these, Wolkan, LXVII, I, 54–65, dated August, 1447, belongs here. It is directed to the rector of the University of Cologne (Jordan Mallant), and in this (57) Acncas declares that he had been an adherent of the papal cause for three years. The statement is correct if we judge Aencas to mean since 1445. Creighton, , History, III, 60f,Google Scholar thought him to have been in the papal camp since 1444. The letters dating from that year will not support this suggestion.

33. Mansi, op. cit., I, 87–89, 113–115, 145, 163f, 192–195, 229–230, 237f.

34. Wolkan, LXVIII, I, 199–202, 206f.

35. His final utterances on behalf of Frederick and the imperial ideal may be seen in Wolkan, LXVIII, I, 577–580, 593–606; Mansi, op. cit., I, 258f.

36. The Historia Dieta Ratisponensis, Wolkan, LXVIII, I, 492–563, is understandably restrained in its assessment, but it bears clear witness to Aeneas 's disillusionment. See also the letters in Wolkan, LXVIII, I, 225–226, 278–285, 443–446, 453–457, 459–474. Hisopinions may he profitably compared with Baethgen, F., Europa im Spätmittelalter (Berlin, 1951), 125–136.Google Scholar

37. Historia Friderici, Kollar, op. cit., II, 302–318, and Wolkan, LXVII, I, 72–77. These opinions, which emphasize the necessity for imperial leadership, must always be seen within the context of his doubts as to the moral ability of the Papacy to lead a successful crusade. With many of his contemporaries Aeneas shared the usual critical attitudes towards the Papacy for its ‘greed,’ etc., Wolkan, LXI, 332–333, LXVII, I, 92.

38. Wolkan, LXVIII, I, 188, is the firstmention of the fall of Constantinople in Aeneas 's letters. Those which follow testify to his changed attitude towards the Roman Church. His theme is now, as in Mansi, op. cit., I, 345: ‘—sed omnes in te (Calixtus III) oculos direxere…,’ or, Wolkan, LXVIII, I, 296: ‘—de rebus Turchorum hec scribere possum: nemo est, qui curam ejus rei gerat nisi Romanus pontifex.’. Would Europe respond to the papal call for unity against the Turks? Aeneas was not sure. Wolkan, LXVIII, I, 242, 279 (to Leonardo dei Benvoglienti, September, 1453): ‘at caesar ipsi et tibi fatear, quod in re est, etsi Christianc religionis cladem invitus audit, non tamen is est, qui tam potenti hosti resistere possit neque Christianitas ea est, que twins capitis subire jnditium veit.’.

39. I have used the words ‘nationalistic patriotism’ with the caveats of many scholars in mind, especially Post, G., ‘Two Notes on Nationalism in the Middle Ages,’ Traditio IX (1953), 281–320,CrossRefGoogle Scholar and Ilardi, V., ‘Italianità among some Italian Intellectnals in the Early Sixteenth Century,’ Traditio XII (1956), 339–367, esp. 340–344.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

40. Wolkan, LXI, 12–14, 187–488, 285–288, 538–545.

41. Wolkan, LXVII, I, 99: ‘vigiati jam annos alienos inviso lares, funestns est jam mihi seni frigidus et hnmidus aer germanicns.’. Also Wolkan, LXVIII, I, 9–10, 181, 238–241, 431–432.

42. Even Aeneas 's utterances on behalf of imperial universalism are often coloured by nationalistic patriotism: Historia Friderici, Kollar, op. cit., II, 302; Mansi, op. cit., I, 274. However, in Mansi, op. cit., I, 313, he attacks all manifestations of nationalistie patriotism. The remarks of Kallen, op. cit., 14f are useful here.

43. This concern begins as early as 1444, Wolkan, LXI, 323–324, and reaches its height in the snmmer and fall of 1453, e.g., Wolkan, LXVIII, I, 222: ‘—fortasse medio tempore calamitas Constantinopolitana nostros Italos de pace eogitare magis quam hactenns admonebit.’.

44. Wolkan, LXVIII, I, 228–233, 241–242, 244–245, 296–297, 301–302, 446, 431: ‘—sed quid fieri contra Turehos potent, si eor Christianitatis Italia hello premitnr.’.

45. Commeataries, II, III (XXV), 117, 213f.Google Scholar This is the theme of the bull Vocavit nos Pius (supra, n. 10) as well as of many of his addresses at Mantua, e.g., Mansi, op. cit., II, 69.

46. As Aeneas once wrote concerning the danger of a council, Mansi, op. cit., II, Appen., 3: ‘Magni conventus magnos motus parinnt.’. The victory of papal supremacy over conelliarism had been completed with the publication of the bull Laetentur coeli at the Council of Florence. See Hofmann, G., ‘Papato, concilianismo, patriareato,’ Misceltenca Historiae Poatificae II, No. 2 (Rome, 1940),Google Scholar and Gill, J., The Council of Florence (Cambridge, 1959),Google Scholarpassirn, text of the bull, 412–415. However, as Hashagen, J., Staat uad Kirche nor der Reformation (Essen, 1931), 98f,Google Scholar and Jedin, H., A History of the Council of Treat, trans. by Graf, E. (London- New York, 1957), I, 25f,Google Scholar remind us, conciliarism was still active in Latin Christendom.

47. Mansi, op. cit., II, 32–33; Commentaries, III (XXV), 198–199.Google Scholar

48. The text of Exsecrabilis may be consulted in Gande, op. cit., V, 149f.

49. If anything, Exsecrabilis only provoked more appeals to ‘a future general council.’ See the writings of Oregon Heimburg in Goldast, M., Monarchiae s. romaai imperii sive Tractatum (Frankfurt, 1668), II, 1580f.Google Scholar For the best discussion of the feud between Aeneas and Oregon, see P. Joachimsohn, op. cit., 192f.

50. The account of the Pragmatic Sanction in Commentaries, VI (XXXV), 447,Google Scholar is somewhat overdrawn and should be compared with the original in the Ordonnances des rois de France, ed. by L. Vilevault and L. Brdquigny (Paris, 1782), XIII, 267–291.Google Scholar The Sanction has received much attention: Valois, N., Histoire de la Pregmatique Sanction de Bourges sous Charles VII (Paris, 1906)Google Scholar; Hailer's, J. somewhat acerbic review of the same in Historische Zeitschrift, CIII (1909), 1–51CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Martin, V., Les Origiaes tin Gauicaaisme (Paris, 1939), II, 293f.Google Scholar The Sanction's impact on Germany is closely studied in A. Werminghoff, op. cit., 33–85.

51. See Ounliac, P., ‘La Pnagmntiqne Sanction et la idgation en France dn cardinal d'Estoutevllie,’ Mélanges d'archéologie et d 'histoire LV (1938), 403–432.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

52. Wolkan, LXVIII, I, 132–133; infra, n. 65; supra, n. 22.

53. For the diplomatic background, see Haller, J., ed., Conciliusa Basiliense (Basel, 1896), I, 137Google Scholar; the same author's ‘Die Belehnung Rends von Anjou mit dem Kdnigneich Neapel (1436),’ Queuen und Forschungen aus Italienischen Archiven und Bibliotheken IV (1902), 184–207Google Scholar; also his review of Valois, supra, n. 50, and auothe review of the important study by Soranzo, G., Pio II e la politica italiana nella lotta contro i Malatesti (Padua, 1911)Google Scholar, found in Histordsche Zeitschrift CIX (1912), 415–417Google Scholar. Other important studies are Lucius, Chr., Pius II. und Ludwig XI. von Prank-reich (Heidelberg, 1913)Google Scholar, Soranzo, G., La lega italica (1454–1455) (Milan, 1924)Google Scholar and the excellent article by Ilardi, V., ‘The Italian League, Franccsco Sforza and Charles VII (1454–1461),’ Renaissance Studies VI (1959), 129–166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

54. Mansi, op. cit., II, 31–37, 46–47, 55–56, 65–67, 70–71, 158; Commentaries, III (XXV), 260–268,Google Scholar V (XXX), 360.

55. It is important to recall here that Calixtus III had sent Cardinal Alain de Coëtivy to France to raise money, men and arms for the crusade. The results of his labours had been diverted into René's expedition, Commentaries, IV (XXX), 295.Google Scholar Aeneas's animosity against the French goes back many years, Wolkan, LXI, 13, 18.

56. The visit of Francesco Sforza to Mantua is symbolic of this transformation. The treatment in Ilardi, ‘The Italian Leagu,’ 150–151, nn. 81–82, should be compared with the less exact discussion ia Pastor, op. cit., III, 75. Aeneas 's letter to the Doge Pasquale Malipiero shows the way the wind is blowing, Annali Veneti, ed. F. Longo, Archivio storico italiano, Ser. I, 7, 1 (1843), 7–10.Google Scholar On the other hand, Pfeffermann, op. cit., 78, misunderstands the truth of the situation by saying: ‘Der Kongress von Mantua hatte mit einem Fiasko für die Weltmachtstellung des Papsttums geendet.’.

57. -Raynaldus, Baronius, Annales Ecclesiastici, ed. Theiner, A. (Bur-le-Duc, 1864–1883), XXIXGoogle Scholar (1459), 214–215.

58. Ilardi, , ‘The Italian League,’ 141f.Google Scholar

59. In many of his utterances at Mantua, we find the most bewildering alternation between the languages of Christian universalism and nationalistic patriotism. See Commentaries, III (XXV), 253f.Google Scholar The nationalistic note grows more powerful, however, as his closing address at Mantua reveals, Mansi, op. cit., II, 80–84, and becomes explicit in his famous remarks to Cosimo del Medici, , Commentaries, IV (XXX), 300,Google Scholar in the letter to Borso d'Este, Mansi, op. cit., II, Appen., 124f, and in his defiance of the French during one of the crucial periods in the Neapolitanwar, , Commentaries IV (XXX), 325–326.Google Scholar It should be remembered that Exsecrabilis had its place in the at-tack on the French. See Lucius, op. cit., 17, and Picotti, G. B., La pubblicazione e i primi effetti della ‘Execrabilis’ di Pio II (Rome, 1914),Google Scholarpassim, esp. 7.

60. Mansi, op. cit., II, 45, 160; Commentaries, V (XXX), 360.Google Scholar For material on the concession to Ferrante, Ilardi, op. cit., 169f. n. 81 and in Baronius Raynaldus, op. cit., XXIX (1458), 165–6, esp. the clause: ‘—quod faciet dominus noster (PiAs) sine praejudicio juris alieni.’.

61. Louis as Dauphin had promised to abolish the Pragmatic Sanction upon his accession to the throne, Valois, N., Le Pape et le concile, II, 292f.Google Scholar

62. Acneas 's account of the negotiations may be pieced together from the Commentaries, VII, VIII (XXXV), 504, 508–512, 549–551,Google Scholar X, XII (XLIII), 674–675, 681, 688–689, 793–794, 805–806. The older secondary account in Lucius, op. cit., should be carefully compared with Ilardi, ‘The Italian League,’ 150f. In this connection, of the greatest value is Picotti, G. B., La Dieta di Mantova e hr politica dei Yeneziani (Venice, 1912).Google Scholar

63. All mention of Sicily is excluded from Aeneas 's joyful response to the abrogation of the Sanction. Mansi, op. cit., II, 103–106, and Opera, 861–862.

64. Commentaries, XII (XLIII), 794, 805–806Google Scholar; Creighton, , History, III, 304–305.Google Scholar That Aen 'as must have been bitterly disappointed by these new restrictions is shown in Bourdon, P., ‘L'Abrogation de Ia Pragmatique et les Règles de la Chancellerie de Pie II’ Méianges d'archtologie et d'histoire XXVIII (1908), 207–224.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

65. Commentaries, XIII (XLIII), 852f.Google Scholar To make matters worse, Louis persisted in encouraging the heretic George Podiebrad of Bohemia who planned to organize the princes for the defence of Europe and thus take the leadership of the crusade away from the Papacy. Consult Pfeffermann, op. cit., 34, 65–76, the recent work of Kaminsky, op. cit., 301–304, and Aubenas, R. and Ricard, R., L'Eglise et hr Renaissance (being v. 15 of Histoire de 1'Eglise, ed. Fliche, A. and others, Paris, 1951), 58–60.Google Scholar Considerations of space have led me to exclude any detailed account of Aeneas 's difficulties with George Podiebrad and Bohemia. I must content myself with the suggestion that a full study of their mutual relations would lend additional support to the interpretation of Aeneas presented in this article.

66. The basic work is Schürmeyer, W., Das Kardinaiskoliegium unter Pius II (Berlin 1914)Google Scholar. It should be studied together with the more general treatments offered by Arle, B., Beiträge zur Geschichte des Kardinatsicollegiums in, der Zeit von Konstanzer his sum Tridentiner Konzit (Bonn, 1914)Google Scholar, Jordan, M., ‘Le Sacré College au moyen age,’ Revue des cours et conferences XXIII (1921–1922), 158–171, 279–291, 427–435, 545–559, 727–740, 128–141,Google Scholar and Mollat, G., ‘Le Sacré College de Clement V. a Eugene IV.’, Revue d'Histoire Ecclésiastique XLVI (1951), 22–112, 566–594.Google Scholar

67. Commentaries, V (XXX), 376.Google Scholar On the problem of representation in the College, see Haubst, H., ‘Der Reformentwurf Pius des Zweiten,’ Römische Quartalsehrift für Christtiche Altertuinsicunde u n d Kirchengeschichte XLIX (1954), 188–242Google Scholar, here 212. These attempted reforms in the College are summarized in Jedin, H., ‘Analekten zur Reformtatigkeit der Pkpste Ju1ius III. und Paulus IV.’, Römische Quart at schrift XLIII (1935), 87–156, esp. 87–103.Google Scholar

68. The critique of the College in the late medieval period often assumed the characteristics of a vendetta: Mollat, op. cit., 31, 105–106; Jordan, op. cit., 168–169; Schürmeyer, op. cit., 11–13, 34f; Ehses, St., ‘Der Reformentwurf des Kardinals Nikolaus Cusanus,’ Historisehes Jahrbuch XXXII (1911), 274–297, esp. 292–294.Google Scholar

69. For the capitulations imposed on Aeneas at his election, see Commentaries, I (XXII), 94,Google Scholar and in Baronius Raynaldus, op. cit., XXIX (1458), 159–160. The best comment on these is in Schürmeyer, op. cit., 27, 36. The Commentaries have many a critique of the cardinals: II-III (XXV), 127–130, 207Google Scholar; IV (XXX), 303–304; XII (XLIII), 823. However, it is important to emphasize that Aeneas succeeded with the College where others had failed. The capitulations imposed on his successor reveal general satisfaction with conduct as pope. See Schürmeyer, op. cit., 36–37.

70. For the organization of the French cardinals in the College, Schürmeyer, op. cit., 16f. As regards the Italian cardinals, perhaps Ilardi, , ‘The Italian League,’ 149–150,Google Scholar goes too far in denying them any feeling of national solidarity. For Aeneas 's difficulties in creating new cardinals, Commentaries, IV-V (XXX), 302–306, 376–377Google Scholar; VII (XXXV), 495–504.

71. Commentaries, II (XXV), 124, 157Google Scholar; V (XXX), 358; VIII (XXXV), 549f; XII (XLIII), 831f. Two things should be noted here. Firstly, a cardinal in the fifteenth century often tended to act as a national agent. See Wolkan, LXII, 33–37, or Opera, 843–848. These letters illuminate many of the practices referred to in Commentaries, IV (XXX), 302–303Google Scholar. The notes in Schurmeyer, op. cit., 96f, on this point are excellent. Secondly, it should be stated that Aeneas's nationalistic patriotism affected his attitude towards more than French cardinals. The Germans were ‘barbarians,’ and Nicolas of Cusa was ‘too German,’ Commentaries, II (XXV), 158Google Scholar; XI-XII (XLIII), 736, 839.

72. For general observations on Aeneas's nepotenpotitik, consult Paparelli, op. cit., 235–243. Pertinent sources are to be found in Commentaries, IV (XXX), 302–306Google Scholar; Mansi, op. cit., II, Appen., 137.

73. R. Aubenas and R. Ricard, op. cit., 64.

74. The disagreement between modern scholars over the fundamental purposes of his pontificate bears eloquent testimony to this indecision and futility. What, in the last analysis, was Aeneas's ultimate objective? The crusade? Verdière, op. cit., 157, thought so, and so do many others, e.g., Gilniore, M. P., The World of Humanism (New York, 1952), 17,Google Scholar and Pfeffermann, op. cit., 34, who adds for his part the opinion that for Aeneas as well as for most of the Renaissance popes the crusade was only an instrument for the aggrandizement of papal power. On the other hand, Gragg and Gabel, Commentaries (XLIII), xxiv-xxvii, tend to minimize the importance of the crusade while Lucius, op. cit., 3, insists that the struggle with Louis XI is the central theme of Aeneas's reign. Significantly, the same confusion over his ultimate purposes existed among his contemporaries. Some of the cardinals accused Aeneas of having sacrificed the crusade for the sake of the expulsion of the French from Italy, Commentaries, XII (XLIII), 808–828.Google ScholarPer contra, the great Domenico de'Domenichi was convinced that Aeneas was chiefly interested in church reform and the defehce of Christendom, Haubst, op. cit., 188.

75. For the importance of the Commentaries in the development of Italian nationalistic patriotism, see Kramer, op. cit., 59.

76. Commentaries, I, (XXII), 93fGoogle Scholar; II-III (XXV), 128, 253. Mansi, op. cit., II, 184–188, 195, 200, 211–212. The election has received many superficial treatments, e.g., Morrall, op. cit., 28. However, for a useful analysis, see Sägmuller, J., Die Papstwahlen und die Staaten von 1447 big 1555 (Tüibingen, 1890), 62–92.Google Scholar

77. Of particular merit amoug the many studies dealing with the great problems encountered by the Church at the close of the Middle Ages are Haller, J., Papsttum und Kirchenre form (Berlin, 1903), IGoogle Scholar; Heller, F., Altkirchliche Aütonomie und päpstlicher Zentrelismus (Munich, 1941), 283–332Google Scholar; Bertrams, W., Der neuzeitliche Staatsgedanke und die Konkordate des ausgehenden Mittelalters (Rome, 1942), 49–111Google Scholar, and Ferguson, W. K., ‘The Church in a Changing World,’ American Historical Review LIX (1953–1954), 1–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

78. Wolkan, LXI, 28–38, 112–116, 201–202; LXVII, I, 78f, and the early oration at Basel, In divi Ambrosi celebritate, Mansi, op. cit., I, 39f.

79. Wolkan, LXI, 121f. To his credit, Aeneas never forgot the insecnrities of his early life, Wolkan, LXVIII, I, 163–164. Failure to appreciate the circumstances of his youth has led to the distorted judgments of Voigt, op. cit., I, 220, and Creightou, , Essays, 60–62.Google Scholar

80. It should be remembered that Aeneas won early notoriety for his erotic compositions, of which an example is the letter written for Sigismund of Austria, Wolkan, LXI, 245–247.

81. Wolkan, LXI, 8–10, 188–191, 239–240, 284–288, 295, 393–395, concluding, 580–581, in disillusionment. Scholars persist in making too much of these enrly love affairs, e.g., Morrall, op. cit., 29.

82. Paparelli, op. cit., 23–25, treats this fleeting religious experience too seriously.

83. His conventional early piety is reflected in Wolkan, LXI, 85–86, 164–165.

84. Paparelli, op. cit., 85, 93, judges his early humanism to be more profound than it actually was. In his more objective moments. Aeneas had few illusions, Wolkan, LXI, 28f.

85. Wolkan, LXI, 206, 240, 439–451; LXVII, I, 31–33, 68–71, 86–87; LXVIII, I, 238–241.

86. Creighton, , Essays, 65f, 82–84, 105–106Google Scholar, interprets the development of seriousness in Aeneas as mere opportunism. Haller, op. cit., 215, agrees as does Kaminsky, op. cit., 281. Gregorovius, op. cit., VII, I, 164–165, is even more vitriolic. These continue a tradition derived from Voigt, op. cit., I, 290. While my interpretation is opposed to th se adverse judgments, I cannot support the opposite opinion which seems to me to be extraordinarily naive, e.g., Boulting, op. cit., 96: ‘—his letters show him as he was without any self-consciousness,’ and Nelson, J. S., in his translation of De liberorum educatione (Washington, D.C., 1940), 17Google Scholar: ‘— there is no reason to donbt the sincerity of one who is so candid in his exposure of himself.’.

87. Aeneas wrote a scathing indictment of life in the imperial curia, thus continuing a venerable medieval tradition. The De miseriis curialium is best consulted in Wolkan, LXI, 453–487. See also 196–198, 522–523 and LXVIII, I, 396–397.

88. Wolkan, LXI, 278–288; LXVII, I, 99–100; LXVIII, I, 9–10, 181f. For Aeneas 's contribution to the growth of humanism in Germany, see Weiss, A., Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini als Papst Pius II. Sein Leben und Emfluss auf die Literarische Kultur Deutschlands (Graz, 1897), esp. 82,Google Scholar and Paparelli, op. cit., 148–150. Aeneas had a low opinion of German culture, Historia Friderici, in Kollar, op. cit., II, 11f.

89. The humanist movement exerted great influence on the development of enthusiasm for the crusade. See Toffanin, G., Lettera a Maometto, xvi–xvii.Google Scholar

90. Tenenti, A., Il senso della morte e l'Amore della vita nel Rinascimento (Turin, 1957), 27–29, 48–49, 58–60, 66–67, 80–107, 139–184.Google Scholar

91. Wolkan, LXVII, I, 28. Essential for the dating of his ordination is Mercati, A., ‘Aneddoti per Ia storia di Pontifici Pio II, Leone X,’ Archivio della R. Societd Romana di storks petria LVI-LVII (Rome, 1933–1934), 363–374.Google Scholar

92. For the redactions which Aeneas now made of his letters, Wolkan, LXI, xvif, 3–4, 239–240; LXVIII, I, 9–10, 245f.

93. Wolkan, LXVII, I, 31–32, 34–39, 42–44, 68–71, and Mausi, op. cit., I, 70.

94. Wolkan, LXVII, I, 164 is a fair example.

95. Pastor, op. cit., III, 40–44, delivers a veritable paneg-yric on his abilities as a historian. It may be admitted that Aeneas had at least enough of the historian's attitude to date and arrange his own letters. Yet the redactions indicate that he regarded them not so much as historical docnments as literary exercises.

96. See the comment on Biondo, in Commentaries, XI (XLIII), 766.Google Scholar

97. Supra, n. 16. The De rebus may be read in Wolkan, LXVII, I, 164–228.

98. Haller, J., Concilium Basiliense, I, 12,Google Scholar presents the harshest judgments on Aeneas as a reliable authority for the Council of Basel. Indeed, such comments as those found in Commentaries, VI (XXXV), 445–446,Google Scholar leave little room for any more favourable opinion.

99. Commentaries, I (XXII), 16, 18.Google Scholar It is relevant here to refer to Aeneas 's attitude towards John of Capistrano. For the great preacher's virtues, Aeneas had only praise, Wolkan, LXVIII, I, 19–20. However, he was somewhat reserved concerning the saint's miracles, Wolkan, LXVIII, I, 284–285, and Commentaries, I (XXII), 54–55.Google Scholar This reserve is to be attributed not to any sceptical attitude but rather to his dislike of John's f lamboyant parade of his own powers. See Paparelli, op. cit., 260–263, and Aubenas and Ricard, op. cit., 25, n. 5.

100. Commentaries, VI (XXXV), 436–443, and notes.Google Scholar

101. The notes of Gragg and Gabel, Ibid, reveal their admiration for his account. Yet they are amazed that no mention is made of Joan's rehabilitation (XLIII, xvii-xviii), and find it ‘curi -is that Pius does not write more accurately and more authoritatively of a case that so interested him.’. However, it should be mentioned that the treatment of Joan in the Commentaries is a vast improvement over an earlier judgment in De sins illustnis, Mansi, op. cit., II, Appen., 186.

102. That Aeneas had a truly superb grasp of the dynamics, both military and political, of the struggle against the Turks is well illustrated in Commentaries, XII (XLIII), 814–815.Google Scholar

103. Kramer, op. cit., (supra, n. 3), 58, declared the Commentaries to be the most subjective of Aeneas 's historical work. Bürck, op. cit., 39f, emphasized its function as an official record of his pontificate. As he became older, Aeneas's reporting of events became less reliable. Compare the accounts of an early sea voyage as found in Wolkan, LXI, 4–6,Google Scholar and Commentaries, I (XXII), 13.Google Scholar See also the comments by Kramer, H., ‘Untersuchung zur “Oesterreiehischea Geschichte” des Aeneas Silvius,’ Mitteilungen des esterreichischen InstitoSs für Geschichtsforschung XLV (1931), 23–69,Google Scholar here 31. Paparelli, op. cit., 308, unwittingly gives support to this estimate of the Commentaries when he describes the work as ‘quasi romanzeseo amabile disordine…’.

104. To the scholarly opinions of Aeneas 's value as a historian, cited above in nn. 95f, may be added those of Voigt, op. cit., I, 234–235, II, 312, 319, Bayer, V., Die Historia Priderici III. Imperatoris des Enea Bivio de' Piccolomini (Prague, 1872), 73, 89, 250f,Google Scholar and Creighton, , History, III, 340–347,Google Scholar which are critical in varying degrees of harshness, as well as those of Gragg, and Gabel, , Commentaries, (XLIII), xxxiii–xxxivGoogle Scholar, and Kaminsky, op. cit., 284, 305, n. 15, which are cautiously favourable.

105. Cugnoni, op. cit., 551–552.

106. The analysis of Aeneas 's contribution to the science of geography in Berg, A., Enea Silvio de 'Piccolomini (Papst Pius II.) in seiner Bedeutung als Geograph (Halle, 1901), esp. 29, 44,Google Scholar is to be preferred to that by Müller, K. H., Enea Silvio de 'Piccolomini's literarische Tütigkeit aufdem Gebiete der Erdkunde tend dessen Einfluss auf die Geographen der Folgezeit (Fürth, 1903), 51f.Google Scholar

107. Compare De liberorum educatione (supra, n. 86) with the treatise of Vittorino, conveniently consulted in Woodward, W. H., Vittorino da Feltre and other Humanist Educators (Cambridge, 1897), esp. 243.Google Scholar

108. The phrase is from the bull In minoribus agentes (26 04, 1463)Google Scholar, —the last and most famous of his disavowals of his youth,—which may be consulted in Gaude, op. cit., V, 172–180.

109. This interpretation is opposed to those usually advanced to explain his attitude as pope towards the humanists. On the one hand, we are told that he had sickened of the ‘frivolities’ of humanism, e.g., Creighton, , History, III, 347f,Google Scholar and Paparelli, op. cit., 286f, or, on the other, that the financial obligations of the Roman Church prevented patronage on a large scale, e.g., Pastor, op. cit., III, 37.

110. Commentaries, V (XXX), 400.Google Scholar

111. Paparelli, op. cit., 260, insists that his admiration betokens a secret harmony of soul with Franciscan poverty and solitude.

112. Commentaries, II (XXV), 134, 167Google Scholar; IV (XXX), 315–320.

113. Commentaries, VIII (XXXV), 523fGoogle Scholar is Aeneas 's zestful record of the festivities surrounding the arrival of the head of St. Andrew in Rome.

114. Gragg, and Gabel, , Commentaries (XLIII), xxx.Google Scholar

115. Tenenti, op. cit., has many pertinent observations on the conflicts of the age and Aeneas 's involvement in them. See 26, 34, 191. The interpretation offered in the text steers a middle course between two extremes: Papnrelli, op. cit., 26–27, 80–85, insists that Aeneas was aware of the conflicts and also that he succeeded in reconciling them; Gregorovius, op. cit., VII, I, 162, 217 can see no sense of conflict in Aeneas because he was without principles, being compounded only of frivolity and vanity.

116. His account of his election is a good example of his self-deception, Coinmentaries, I (XXII), 93–103.Google Scholar

117. R. Haubst, op. cit., passim; Schürmeyer, op. cit., 50.

118. Baronius-Raynaldus, op. cit., XXIX (1460), 230–231; Haubst, op. cit., 203–204: ‘Solent enim homines facta magis spectare quam verba, et presidentiurn plerumque suorurn vitam et mores populos imitatur.’.

119. The older explanation for his failure to inaugurate extensive church reform was that Aeneas was hampered by his own morally shoddy past: Voigt, op. cit., III, 99–101; Hailer, op. cit., 205f. In contrast, H. Jedin makes Aeneas's concern for the crusade bear full responsibility. See his ‘Studien über Domenico de 'Dornenichi,’ Akad. d. Wissenschaf ten und d. Literatur in Mainz. Abhand. d. Geistes-u. Sozialwissensckaltichen. Klasse 5 (1957), 177–300, here 185–186.Google Scholar

120. Commentaries, VII (XXXV), 499–502.Google ScholarJedin, , History (n. 46), I, 24,Google Scholar says that his antagonism was provoked by Nicolas's continuing sympathy with conciliarism. The text in the Commentaries will support this interpretation only with difficulty.

121. Pleyel, K., Die Politik Nikolaus V. (Stuttgart, 1927), 95f.Google Scholar

122. Haller, op. cit., 194: ‘Wie die Welt und die Kirche urn 1450 aussahen, das spiegelt sich in semen Schicksalem.’

123. As Haubst, op. cit., 198, says in another connection: ‘—zugleich war er sich aber auch immer mehr bewusst geworden, wie wenig seine eigene Beredsamkeit und seine Verhandlungskunst in den Wirren seiner Zeit vermochten.’.

124. To the contrary, Paparelli, op. cit., 250, explains the retreat to the countryside by reference to ‘il suo virgiliano amore della compagna e degli ozi.’.

125. Commentaries, XII (XLIII), 824.Google Scholar There was, of course, a political dimension in all of Aeneas's activities as a crusader, supra, n. 65.