Friday, April 11, 2008

Pictured at right above is an extremely idealized portrait of Pius II, the subject of the papal election described in your first reading from Bartlett. To the left of him is a loving family: Pope Alexander VI, a.k.a. Roderigo Borgia, and his two most famous children, Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia. You'll meet Cesare again (along with his father) in the pages of Machiavelli's Prince, which holds him up as a perfect example of an effective prince because of his ruthlessness and his ability to manipulate people and circumstances. Lucrezia enjoys a reputation for having poisoned her husbands, although many scholars of the period believe that it is undeserved. No one contests, however, that Alexander VI's reputation is undeserved; in fact, it is because of popes like Alexander that the Renaissance Papacy has a bad name as worldly, corrupt, and incapable of leadership. Even popes like Pius II, who behaved much better than Alexander, seem to have come into their positions by a process that was dubious at best.

It's a good idea at this point to establish some background, in order to understand the papacy's origins, its position in the church, and its role in Renaissance religion and life. We have already encountered some of this material in the earlier part of the course. We know about the residency of the papacy in Avignon for much of the 14th century through the experience of Petrarch, who lived nearby and loathed the commercialization of that city while the papal court was in residence there. The Great Schism that followed weakened the papacy significantly.

Prior to this time, in the early 13th century, Innocent III had expressed the belief that as the sun is superior to the moon, which merely reflects its light, so is the spiritual power of the Roman papacy higher than the merely temporal power of earthly kings, princes, and emperors. In taking this stance, however, medieval popes found themselves on a collision course with the growing power of feudal monarchs, who did not welcome challenges to their authority. When secular power in Europe was weak and divided, popes could step into the breach, but as rulers began to consolidate their positions and develop machinery of support, popes found themselves in direct conflict with rulers.

At the same time, political theorists in the mid 14th century began to express the view that the papacy was not even the supreme power source in the church, but that a duly-convened council of the higher clergy could override popes in circumstances that warranted intervention. The Schism was the supreme example of such circumstances, and the actions of the Council of Constance, which deposed three rival popes and elected a single pope to take up residence in Rome, represented the high point of conciliarist influence. Soon after, however, the very pope whom the council had put in place began the work at setting aside conciliarist attempts to make regular meetings of councils a permanent feature of church governance.

The papacy that emerged from the Schism no longer put its energy into playing a dominant role in a united Christendom, but rather focused on its political base in Italy. This is why Machiavelli would portray Alexander VI as just another Renaissance prince, occupying a peninsula in which various states made and unmade allegiances and waged war in an effort to gain power over the others. In the meantime, the papal court was as affected as any other Italian court by humanism and the flowering of the arts. Pope Leo X, pictured on p. 171 of King's textbook, was not scandalous to the extent that Alexander was, but he was a worldly man who enjoyed the resources of the papacy to the fullest. Julius II, dubbed the warrior pope because of his political activities, commissioned Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling, and while we might wish for more sanctity from a church leader, we can at least be grateful that Julius's arrogance and worldliness led to the creation of a work of such beauty.

Presenter Questions (for homework, answer two out of the four):

1. The memoirs of Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini, Pope Pius II, recount the process by which he was elected pope. How does the author represent his own role in the proceedings? What do we learn about the dangers of the process of papaal election through the College of Cardinals?
2. Alexander VI did have some good qualities, although one would never know it from reading this eyewitness account of his highly-placed servant, Johannes Burchardus. Discuss the ceremony that greeted Cesare Borgia during the Year of the Jubilee. What are the implications of the various elements (participants, garments, honors conferred, language) of this public display?
3. The Year of the Jubilee is an opportunity for sinners of various stripes to receive pardon for their sins. What do you learn about the morals of at least some of the people during this time, particularly the clergy?
4. Finally, what about the family values represented by the Borgias? Respond in as much detail as time permits.

Laurel Carrington carringt@stolaf.edu
Most recent update: January 24, 2008

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