JULIUS III. (1550-1555)
CHAPTER I.
THE ELECTION OF JULIUS III. 1549
CHAPTER II.
PREVIOUS LIFE, CHARACTER AND BEGINNING OF THE REIGN OF
JULIUS III.
CHAPTER III
PREPARATIONS FOR THE REASSEMBLING OF THE COUNCIL IN
TRENT. THE DISPUTE CONCERNING THE DUCHY OF PARMA.
CHAPTER IV
SECOND PERIOD OF THE COUNCIL OF TRENT.
CHAPTER V
WAR IN UPPER AND CENTRAL ITALY. JULIUS III’S EFFORTS
FOR PEACE. CONCLUSION OF HIS PONTIFICATE AND HIS DEATH.
CHAPTER VI
EFFORTS OF JULIUS III. FOR REFORM.- CREATION OF
CARDINALS.
CHAPTER VII
SPREAD OF THE SOCIETY OF JESUS. THEIR REFORMING
ACTIVITIES IN SPAIN, PORTUGAL, ITALY AND GERMANY.
CHAPTER VIII.
ACTIVITY OF THE ROMAN INQUISITION IN ITALY.- SPREAD OF
HERESY IN GERMANY, POLAND AND FRANCE.
CHAPTER IX.
ACCESSION OF QUEEN MARY OF ENGLAND. HER MARRIAGE TO
PHILIP OF SPAIN.
CHAPTER X.
LEGATION OF CARDINAL POLE. THE RECONCILIATION OF
ENGLAND WITH THE HOLY SEE.
CHAPTER XII.
THE EAST INDIES AND THE MISSION OF ST. FRANCIS XAVIER.
CHAPTER XIII.
JULIUS III. IN RELATION TO
LETTERS AND ART. MICHAEL ANGELO AND THE REBUILDING OF ST. PETER’S.—THE VILLA
GIULIA.
CHAPTER I
THE ELECTION OF JULIUS III. 1549
Paul III holds a very prominent place among the Popes
of the XVIth century, not only because his reign was
unusually long and specially rich in events of the greatest importance, but
still more because it covers the transition period between the Renaissance and
the Catholic Reformation and Restoration.
A man of very great gifts, the Farnese Pope, with a
full perception of the all-embracing mission of the Holy See, and of the
ever-increasing gravity of the position in the northern and central countries
of Europe, turned his attention in a special manner to those questions which
were essentially of an ecclesiastical nature. Worldly interests, which had
undoubtedly predominated during the reigns of the Renaissance Popes since
Sixtus I., also had great weight with him, but they no longer occupied the first
place, and were subordinated to ecclesiastical interests
In casting a glance over the fifteen years’
pontificate of Paul III, the conviction is forced upon us that the dawn of
a new era, full of hope, had arisen for the Church, in which she would again,
as so often before, gloriously verify her spiritual ascendancy and her
marvellous power of rejuvenation. The externally brilliant, but essentially
worldly, period of the Renaissance, which took Church and religion as lightly
as it did life itself, was hurrying towards its end. A new era was beginning, the
most important problems of which were perfectly realized by the Farnese Pope
However much Paul III paid tribute to the fateful
epoch at which he had come into power, he was nevertheless just to that
generation in which the strictly ecclesiastical element, never losing sight of
its goal, and without considering spiritual change, was working towards a
reform of conditions that were utterly corrupt, and was striving to cope with a
dangerous crisis by means of an entirely new state of things. The inauguration
of the Council, the removal of abuses, the renewal of the College of Cardinals,
the fight against the divisions in the Church, which threatened Italy as well,
and the protection of the reformed Orders, were all of epochmaking importance. A thoroughly effective result, however, had not yet been attained.
The Council was as far from coming to an agreement, as the attempts at
reform.to completion. The new Orders were still in their initial stages, and
had not, to a great extent, even fixed their final organization, while the
changes in the College of Cardinals were in no way completed.
The difficulties which stood in the way of endeavours
to promote the ascendancy of purely ecclesiastical interests are proved by the
proceedings at the conclave after the death of Paul III.
Under the Farnese Pope the number of Cardinals had
risen to fifty-four; of these, twenty-nine were in the Eternal City at the
death of the Pope before the beginning of the conclave twelve more arrived,
and during the election nine Frenchmen and the Spaniard, Pacheco, also came;
three members of the Sacred College, de Givry, d’Hanebault and the Cardinal-Infante of Portugal did not take part in the conclave. Four of
the Cardinals had, it is true, to leave on account of illness, so that of the
fifty-four electors only forty-seven took part in the elevation of the new
Pope, but in spite of this, no such distinguished conclave had taken place for
a very long time. As in numbers it was the most considerable, this conclave was
also the longest in the memory of man. It began on November 29th, 1549, and
only finished on February 8th, 1550. The Church remained, therefore, nearly
three months without a head. The cause of this unusual delay is to be found
rather in the behaviour of the secular princes, who interfered in the most
unjustifiable manner in electoral discussions, than in the party deliberations
of the College of Cardinals, and the great number of candidates.
That the Emperor and the King of France should, after
the death of Paul III, attempt to exercise as decisive an influence as possible
on the elevation of the new Pope, was to be expected. Charles V was bound to
desire a Pope who would be willing to continue the Council and recall it to
Trent. He was determined to prevent at any cost the election of the eminent
Marcello Cervini, who, as Cardinal-Legate at Trent, had succeeded in bringing
about the removal of the Council to Bologna. The dispute about Parma and
Piacenza, which was still pending, influenced the attitude of the Cardinals and
the foreign powers no less than the question of the Council.
The Viceroy of Milan and his brother, Ercole Gonzaga,
Cardinal of Mantua, had displayed activity on the side of the Emperor even
during the lifetime of Paul III, by bringing forward a rival to the Farnese for
the future conclave who would return Parma and Piacenza to the Emperor. Their
chosen candidate was Cardinal Salviati, the nephew of Leo X, and uncle of the
Queen of France. In the opinion of the Imperial Ambassador in Rome in 1547,
Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, Salviati had, in other respects as well, the best
prospects of obtaining the tiara. He was popular both with the Cardinals who
were favourable to the Imperial and the French interests, as well as with those
who were neutral; Mendoza had himself been won over to his side by the
Gonzagas, while Granvelle was also well disposed towards him. Cardinal
Salviati, however, found a formidable opponent in his relative, Cosimo de’
Medici, and his wily representative in Rome, Averardo Serristori.
A memorandum of Cardinal Gonzaga to Granvelle, in which the candidature of
Salviati was recommended, having come to Serristori’s knowledge in April 1549, was laid by him before the Pope Paul III who feared
everything for his relatives on the part of Salviati, was extremely angry; he
would create fifty Cardinals, he exclaimed, to render the election of Salviati
impossible. Things did not, indeed, go as far as this, but at the nomination of
Cardinals on April 8th, 1549, at which four men devoted to the Farnese
interests received the purple, an answer was found to the intrigues of the
Gonzagas. Salviati’s correspondence was watched, and a document exposing him
was communicated to the Emperor, whereupon Charles V excluded him also from the
election.
Shortly before the death of Paul III, the discussions
regarding the possession of Parma and Piacenza again led to a rearrangement of
the parties in the College of Cardinals. As early as July 14th, 1547, the
Imperial ambassador, Mendoza, had, when setting before his master the prospects
for the coming Papal election, pointed out three politically interested parties
in the Sacred College, besides a neutral group : the Imperial, the French, and
the adherents of Paul III. After Alessandro Farnese had joined the side of the
Emperor, however, and looked to him for the restoration of Parma and Piacenza,
the Imperial party and the adherents of the Farnese joined together in the
College of Cardinals. Farnese had made a move on November 19th, without having
approached the Emperor in the matter, by having the authenticity of the
document in which Paul III, shortly before his death, had ordered the return of
Parma and Piacenza to Ottavio Farnese, attested by the Sacred College. The
relations between Alessandro Farnese and the Emperor were not, however, altered
by this attempt, as Camillo Orsini, the Governor of Parma, refused to deliver
it to Ottavio, in spite of the College of Cardinals.
There were, therefore, really only two parties to be
considered in the conclave, the Imperial and the French. The Spaniards,
Alvarez de Toledo, Mendoza, Cueva and Pacheco belonged to the Imperial party,
as did Carpi, Morone, Crescenzi, Madruzzo, Sfondrato, Duranti,
Alessandro and Ranuccio Farnese, Medici, Maffei, Gonzaga, Doria, Sforza,
Savelli, Cornaro, della Rovere, Truchsess and Pole. To these twenty-two
adherents of the Emperor were opposed twenty-four Cardinals with French
sympathies. These were the twelve Frenchmen, Armagnac, Meudon, Lenoncourt, du Bellay, Guise,
Chatillon, Vendôme, Tournon, de la Chambre, d’Amboise, Lorraine and Bourbon. Besides these, there were of the Italians, the four Cardinal-Bishops and
seniors of the Sacred College, de Cupis, Salviati, del Monte and Carafa, as
well as Cesi, Verallo, Ridolfi, Pisani, Sermoneta,
Este, Capodiferro and Crispi, Filonardi also voting for the most part with them. To the neutrals belonged Cibò, Gaddi
and the Portuguese, de Silva.
Cervini stood outside all these parties; Guise
testifies of him, as also of Carafa, that they obeyed their conscience alone.
This does not mean that these two champions of ecclesiastical reform took no
interest in political considerations; it was precisely the conscientious and
austere Cervini who was the principal adviser of Farnese. The welfare of the
Church, as well as conscientious motives, required that consideration should be
shown to those princes who could be of such use to the Church or do her so much
harm.
Of the Cardinals named, Salviati, Cibò, Ridolfi, de
Cupis, Pisani and Lorraine owed their elevation to Leo X, while Gonzaga, Gaddi,
Doria, Tournon, de la Chambre, and Chatillon had received the red hat from
Clement VII. All the others, with the exception of these twelve, had been
invested with the purple by the Farnese Pope.
It was of importance, in the interests of the Farnese
and the Imperial party, that the election should take place as soon as
possible, that is to say, before the arrival of the French Cardinals, since
both parties would have an equal balance of power, should the Sacred College be
assembled in full numbers, and a Cardinal holding pronounced Imperial views
would have no prospect oi receiving the tiara. For this reason, the French
ambassador in Rome, d’Urfe, tried by every means in
his power to have the beginning of the conclave delayed as long as possible. He
succeeded in accomplishing this through the influence of Cardinal d’Este, the leader of the French party, and the solemn
funeral ceremonies, celebrated with great pomp, only began on November 19th,
for a Pope who had departed this life on the 10th of the same month. The
ceremonies lasted for nine days, in accordance with the usual custom, and the
Cardinals could not go in procession to the conclave until November 29th, after
having assisted at a solemn high mass, celebrated in the chapel of old St.
Peter’s, named after Sixtus IV.
The cells for the Cardinals, formed by wooden
partitions, had been erected in six of the largest halls of the Vatican,
namely, the Sala Regia, the Sixtine Chapel, and in the four halls, of which two
were used for the public and private consistories. Special apartments were
reserved for the sick, the cells proper being divided among the Cardinals by
lot on November 27th. These were hung with violet for the Cardinals of Paul
III, and with green for all the others.
Five thousand soldiers stood prepared to keep order in
the city during the course of the election, to whom 500 other armed men were
specially added for the protection of the conclave, in addition to the 200
Swiss. The Conservatori of the city had begged, “in
the name of the Roman citizens,” for the honour of being allowed to provide
another 1000 soldiers for the safety of Rome, which number they reduced to 500
on the following day. The self-seeking and unruly Roman people wished to take
up arms, and assume the guardianship of the conclave; this the Cardinals would
not hear of, but they gave permission that the city should provide 500 men from
the usual militia of the States of the Church. Orazio Farnese, the future
son-in-law of the French King, was the commander of these troops, but Mendoza
having complained that Rome was delivered into the hands of the French,
officers with Imperial sympathies were placed by his side.
Fortunately, there were no serious disturbances either
in Rome or outside during the long continuance of the conclave. Camillo Colonna
did indeed seize several small villages immediately after the death of Paul
III, and Ascanio Colonna took steps to regain possession of the sovereign
authority wrested from him by the late Pope, but in other respects he assured
the College of Cardinals by letter of his loyalty to the Holy See.
On December 10th, 1549, the Cardinals were able to
decide that half of this guard should be disbanded. On January 10th, 1550, this
was again considerably reduced, on account of the great expense, even though
news had already come on December 22nd that Fermo had been invested by the
Florentines. On January 21st and 22nd, the conclave had again to come to a
decision concerning troubles in Bologna, and the investment of Acquapendente.
On the evening of November 30th the doors of the
conclave were barred within and without by six bolts. The enclosure was,
however, maintained with so little strictness that an eyewitness said later
that the conclave had been more open than closed.
Meanwhile, Charles V had on November 20th, 1549,
openly declared to his ambassador in Rome his wishes with regard to the
election. He desired above all things, the election of the Dominican, Juan
Alvarez de Toledo, uncle of the Duke of Alba and brother of the Viceroy of
Naples ; should this election, however, not be possible, he wished for Carpi,
Pole, Morone or Sfondrato, who were all no less eminent than the said Spaniard.
The Emperor excluded all Frenchmen, as well as Salviati, Cervini, Ridolfi, Capodiferro and Verallo.
The Imperial Cardinals were not, however, aware of
these wishes at the beginning of the conclave, and had decided, not for Toledo,
but for Pole, although they had not yet a sufficient majority to ensure his
election, but Madruzzo and others hoped that, by proclaiming Pole as Pope
without further formalities, at the beginning of the conclave, they might carry
with them many who were undecided. Sforza and Maffei, indeed, warned them
against any such precipitate action, which would be certain to irritate the opposing
party.
The issue proved them to be right. The very fact that
the beginning of the funeral celebrations for Paul III had been so long delayed
had partly been arranged to defeat this plan. When, on November 30th, the
Imperial party proposed an electoral assembly for that very evening, just after
the conclave had been closed, it was intimated to them that in such a grave
matter, proceedings had to be carefully arranged in accordance with the usual
order. The discussion which followed was only ended by night, without the
Imperial party having gained any advantage.
On the two following days also, they arrived at no
conclusion, only the Papal election Bulls of Julius II and Gregory X being read
over and sworn to, and an election capitulation for the new Pope prepared and
accepted. This latter agreed generally with that drawn up in the conclave of
Clement VII. The last paragraph enjoined the future Pope to deliver Parma to
Ottavio Farnese.
A discussion arose on the afternoon of December 1st as
to whether voting should be public or secret. While some saw in public voting
the best method of avoiding subterfuges, others considered that the freedom of
voting would disappear in this way, especially at a time when the Imperial
party on the one hand, and the French on the other, sought to bring voters to
their views by promises and bribes, and even by threats.
On the evening of December 1st, Mendoza appeared at
the door of the conclave and handed in an Imperial memorandum. A second, which
he did not openly communicate, contained the wishes of Charles V as to the
election.
On the morning of December 3rd, they agreed that the
voting should be secret. Then followed the first ballot. On the altar there was
a golden chalice and each voter advanced to it and laid his vote therein. Then
the chalice was emptied on to a table before the altar, the three Cardinals who
presided examining each vote. The senior Cardinal-Deacon, Cibò, then read aloud
the name or names that were on the paper, as most of the electors wrote three
or four names at the same time.
Cibò had to announce the name of Cardinal Pole no less
than twenty-one times at this first ballot, as it had been very generally
predicted that he would have the tiara, although his zeal for reform was much
feared in Rome. Toledo came next to Pole with thirteen votes, de Cupis and
Sfondrato each had twelve, and Carafa ten. Salviati only had two votes, and of
the Cardinals excluded by the Emperor, the highly respected Cervini was the
only one who succeeded in obtaining nine votes. The wishes expressed by the
Emperor do not otherwise appear to have had much influence on the voting. As
the two-thirds majority required was twenty-eight, there seemed good reason for
hoping that Pole would in the following ballots easily obtain the votes still
required, and that the conclave would soon come to an end.
What Pole himself felt when he found himself so near
to the highest dignity on earth, he confided later to a friend. The voting, he
said, did not make the least impression on him. He had already given the answer
to several Cardinals who urged him to take steps himself for the furtherance of
his election, that he would say no word, even if his silence should cost him
his life, for he adhered strictly to his principle of leaving everything to
God, and desiring only the fulfilment of His Will.
It was not customary at the first ballot of the
conclave, that votes should be given to one of those chosen, after the reading
of the papers, but this was allowed at subsequent ballots, and it did not seem
unlikely that certain Cardinals would make use of this right in favour of Pole.
Perhaps with the intention of putting an obstacle in the way of the zealous
reformer, who was feared by the worldly Cardinals, the question was raised
before the voting of the following day, whether this accession of votes to the
papers already handed in by the electors, allowed later on, should be
considered valid. After a long discussion, an agreement was reached by the
decision that for this day also the subsequent accession should not be allowed.
In spite of this, Pole’s votes increased to twenty- four on this day, in the
early morning of which the arrival of Cardinal Pacheco had strengthened the
Imperial party.
The French, who were terrified, informed d’Urfe that the next ballot could not fail to result in
favour of the Imperialists if he could not think of some way of preventing it.
Then d’Urfe came to the door of the conclave and
announced, through the master of ceremonies, that the French Cardinals were
already in Corsica, and would soon arrive, and should the electors not wait for
them till the end of the week, the French king would not acknowledge the
election. In reality d’Urfe had, as he himself
admitted, no news from Corsica, but in spite of this, he appeared again and
repeated his protest before six of the Cardinals, threatening them at the same
time with a schism.
A period of excitement now followed in the conclave.
The consequence of d’Urfe’s protest was that the
Imperialists resolved not to wait till the following morning, but, that very
night, without formal voting, to acclaim Pole as Pope, by a general rendering
of homage. They set about securing the necessary number of votes with the greatest
zeal. As a matter of fact they had got so far that it had been already
announced to Pole that the Cardinals would soon arrive in his cell and pay
homage to the Head of Christendom. Those on the French side, on the other hand,
did all in their power to delay this rendering of homage, and they were
successful in circumventing this plan of the Imperial party. The discussions
and negotiations in the corridors of the conclave lasted till far into the
night, and when midnight was already passed, not one of the Cardinals had
retired to his cell.
Pole lost none of his calmness in the general
excitement; he would not hear of an elevation by the homage of the Cardinals.
He caused his friends to be informed that he desired to ascend to the Supreme
Pontificate through the door, but not through the window. When a deputation of
two Cardinals in the conclave “ more dead than alive.” Dandolo said to him that
an elevation by homage was in perfect accordance with the law, he at first
agreed with them, but hardly had they taken their departure, when he sent a
messenger after them to withdraw his consent.
The Imperialists had, however, gained one advantage
during the night; three of the Cardinals, Morone, Cesi and Gaddi, declared that they were prepared to support the election of Pole
next morning, by giving him their votes by way of accession, whereupon the
Imperialists believed that they could await the coming ballot with joyful
anticipation. They never dreamed that these three supplementary voters would
inform the French party that they would only come to the assistance of Pole
when he had twenty-six votes.
On December 5th it was generally expected as certain
that Pole would receive the necessary majority of two-thirds at the voting.
Before the Cardinals proceeded to the scrutiny, nearly all of them had ordered
their cells to be emptied, as they did not wish to be plundered by the rush of
people after the election. The Papal vestments had already been laid out for
Pole, and he had himself composed an address of thanks which he had shown to
several persons. Outside, in front of the Vatican, the people assembled in
great crowds, while the troops were standing with flying colours, ready to
salute the new Pope.
Meanwhile the French party in the conclave had no idea
of giving in without a fight. In the early morning attempts began again on both
sides to influence one or another in favour of each of the conflicting parties.
The excitement and irritation became visibly more acute. When the hour for the
Mass, which was to precede the voting, arrived, the master of ceremonies was
forbidden to give the usual signal with the bell; he was to wait till all the
Cardinals were together. It seemed as if a sort of schism was being prepared.
The adherents of Pole assembled in the Pauline Chapel, his opponents in the
Sixtine. Voting was not for the moment to be thought of.
Meanwhile, Cervini, who on account of his invalid
condition, was in the habit of arriving later, appeared in the Pauline Chapel.
Carpi, Morone, Madruzzo, Gonzaga and Farnese advanced towards him, and,
explaining the state of affairs, begged him to approach the opposing party as
mediator. Cervini allowed himself to be persuaded and went in Morone’s company
to the Sixtine Chapel. He then addressed himself to the Cardinal Dean, de
Cupis. The opponents of Pole, he said, had already sinned enough against their
consciences, by using every means in their power to prevent his election, but
as it was now clear that the Holy Ghost wished Pole to be elected, he begged
them not to continue their resistance.
De Cupis thereupon answered that he also wished for
peace and unity, but that a Papal election seldom took place without
differences of opinion, and that their opponents had made use of unlawful
measures, while the protest of d’Urfe had given
reason to fear a French schism.
Thereupon the answer was made that the remarks about
intrigue were not all founded on fact, and that if attention were paid to every
protest, they would establish a very bad precedent, and the minority would, in
the future, when a candidate did not please them, protest until they had gained
their end. Moreover, they could not wait any longer for the French Cardinals,
as the lawful time had long been passed.
These and similar reasons were, however, of no avail,
and the messengers returned to Pole’s adherents without having gained any
advantage. Finally, two hours after the usual time, the French party consented
to join the other Cardinals, at least for a conference.
De Cupis began the negotiations by again urging them
to wait for the French Cardinals; the Papal election decree of Gregory X was,
he said, no impediment to their doing so, as, although it prescribed only a ten
days’ period of waiting, it had not foreseen the present position. A long
debate followed upon this statement of de Cupis. Salviati, Carafa, Lenoncourt and Meudon agreed with
de Cupis, Carpi and Toledo differed from him, while del Monte thought that if
they were allowed to wait, they might as well do so. Filonardi was undecided. Then Cervini again spoke and emphasized in impressive terms the
danger of giving way before the protest. From a legal standpoint they could
only wait for the French Cardinals if all present agreed to do so.
Cervini was known as a man who only spoke after the
dictates of his own conscience, and not to please either party. His words made
such an impression that the Cardinals who spoke after him all agreed with him,
those belonging to the French party alone excepted. Este by a panegyric on the
services France had rendered to the church still endeavoured to obtain a delay
of one or two days, but Sfondrato arose and showed that according to the text
of the decree of Gregory X, they dared not delay the election any longer. It
was not the case, as de Cupis had asserted, that the decree did not apply to
the case now in question; on the contrary, it was quite clear that it did refer
to the present position.
The French cause now seemed lost. At the voting
concerning the proposal of the Cardinal-Dean, the majority declared themselves
against any further delay, and they at once proceeded to hold the election.
Pole received twenty-three votes. Then Carpi arose, opened his voting paper,
and declared that he joined the supporters of Pole. Farnese then stood up and
made the same declaration. A dead silence followed. Pole required only one more
vote. If he could now obtain twenty-six votes, he was sure of getting twentyseven, after the agreement during the night, and
then he could give the twenty-eighth, the last vote necessary, himself. Full of
expectation, Pole’s supporters watched his opponents, and endeavoured by signs
to win them over to his support. No one, however, made a movement. After a
pause the Cardinal-Dean asked if anyone would still come over to Pole’s side,
but only a deep silence followed. Thereupon de Cupis declared the voting over,
and all stood up and withdrew, the Imperialists in great depression of
spirits.
No one had expected such an issue. Many considered it could
only be possible through, a special interposition of Providence, that any
Cardinal should have been so near the tiara as Pole had been, and still not
have received it.
The reasons for Pole’s failure lay principally in the
repugnance of the Italians to the choice of a foreigner. Besides this it was
urged that Pole was only forty-five years old, that he had little knowledge of
business, and that there was a danger of his involving Italy in a war with
England. What injured him, however, more than anything else was the suspicion
that he inclined in his views, especially in the doctrine of Justification, to
Protestantism. It was Carafa in particular who laid stress on this point, and
openly attacked Pole before the voting of December 5th.
The five following ballots, from December 6th to 11th,
are not of great importance. D’Urfe appeared at the
door of the conclave on December 6th, and again announced the early arrival of
the French Cardinals. The Imperialists made repeated attempts to secure Pole’s
election. All the Cardinals of the Imperial party, he himself naturally
excepted, and de Silva, voted for the English Cardinal. Filonardi,
Cibò, Gaddi and the Cardinals belonging to the French party, as far as they
were present in Rome, were opposed to him. On the morning of December 7th, it
was again generally believed that Pole’s friends had nearly attained their
object, but the other party had not in the meantime been idle. Pole received on
that morning only two supplementary votes, besides the twenty-two that he was
sure of day after day. They had brought forward, between the ballots of
December 6th and 7th, as an opposing candidate, Toledo, whose election was so
greatly desired by the Emperor and the Duke of Florence; so many Cardinals on
both sides promised him their votes that his election seemed certain. Toledo’s
candidature was, however, nothing more than an election manoeuvre. The French
declared themselves for him in order to destroy the unity of the Imperial
party, and to deprive the English Cardinal of his vote. They also raised hopes
of the tiara in other Cardinals, but only with the intention of winning them
away from Pole. The Imperialists now apparently favoured Toledo’s candidature,
in order to force the French party to an acknowledgment of their insincerity,
so that his election seemed certain. The French, however, then at once
abandoned him.
Their success in the struggle against Pole now
encouraged the French party to attempt the candidature of Salviati. In the
opinion of Cardinal Maffei, they would have succeeded if they had proceeded
more quickly, but Salviati’s old friend, Gonzaga, thought it necessary first to
obtain the opinion of the Emperor, from whom, however, a letter was received by
Ferrante Gonzaga, containing a sharp reprimand.
On December 12th the French Cardinals, du Bellay,
Guise, Chatillon and Vendome, whose coming was announced by d’Urfe on December 10th, at last arrived in Rome, and betook themselves, after a short
rest at the French embassy, to the conclave. This strengthening of the opposing
party was a serious blow to the Imperialists. They had again tried to put
Toledo in the place of Pole at the voting on December 12th, and this time
perhaps in earnest, but at the news of the arrival of the French Cardinals,
they again returned to Pole. Toledo only succeeded in getting twelve votes and
three supplementary ones. On the evening of December 12th Cardinal Tournon was
also present, but his appearance was no advantage to the French party, as Filonardi, whose sympathies were French, had to leave the
conclave on the 14th, on account of illness, and he died on the 19th.
A new period began for the conclave with the
appearance of the French Cardinals. The number of voters had now risen to
forty-six, so that the two-thirds majority was now thirty-one. The number,
however, sank to forty-five, as Cervini had to leave the conclave on account of
illness on December 22nd, but again rose to forty-seven on the arrival of
Cardinals de la Chambre and d’Amboise on the 28th. The entry of John of
Lorraine into the conclave on December 31st had no influence on the relative
strength of the parties, as de la Chambre had to seek treatment for stone
outside the Vatican on the following day. In the same way Bourbon’s arrival on
January 14th was counterbalanced for the French party by the loss of Ridolfi,
whose sympathies were French. He was seriously ill, and left the conclave on
December 20th, and died on the 31st. Cibò, who was also ill, was temporarily
absent from the conclave, from January 23rd to February 1st.
From December 12th, the leader of the French party was
the twenty-three year old Cardinal Guise, the confidant of his king. He was an
adroit and self-confident politician, and the candidate whom he wished to
support was the old Cardinal of Lorraine. Should this not prove practicable,
then Este, and after him Ridolfi, Salviati and finally Cervini or del Monte
were each in turn to be put forward. Henry II had already, on December 3rd,
caused his ambassador to be informed by letter that he did not wish for Pole.
As Lorraine was excluded by the Emperor as a
Frenchman, and he had also excluded Ridolfi, Salviati, Cervini, Capodiferro and Verallo by name, which he repeated by
letter on December 19th, the complaint of Maffei can be understood when he says
that all the more important Cardinals had been barred, either by Charles V or
Henry II, and that persons who were quite unqualified were entertaining hopes
of the tiara.
On December 30th Charles V excluded Cardinal Carafa,
in addition to the five already named; the Imperial Ambassador was instructed
to proceed in a similar manner against de Cupis and del Monte, but only to
mention them in case of need, so as not needlessly to make enemies of those
referred to. Mendoza kept these instructions secret for the time being, in
order that he might be able to make another unwelcome candidate impossible, by
apparently supporting one of those excluded. In this manner he promoted, at
least in appearance, the election of Salviati, but when complaints were made to
the Emperor concerning him by the other diplomatists, he was sharply
reprimanded by his master. Those who understood the circumstances had soon
foreseen how matters would develop in this state of affairs. Buonanni, the
conclavist of Cardinal Toledo, wrote on November 27th, 1549, even before the
beginning of the election proceedings, that should the conclave only last from
four to six days, it was the general belief that either Pole or Toledo would be
successful; should the negotiations, however, be drawn out, and the French
Cardinals arrive, he was of opinion that they would put difficulties in the way
of Salviati’s election, but that favourable prospects would open out for del
Monte, and if the Imperial party should support him, he might easily reach the
Papal throne, while his elevation would give satisfaction to all parties. Serristori, however, who drew his information chiefly from
Buonanni, wrote to the Duke of Florence after the arrival of the French
Cardinals, that the Imperial and French parties were henceforth equally
balanced, and that two things alone were possible, either that the one party
should exhaust the patience of the other by repeated ballots, or that they
should agree upon a Pope who would give least dissatisfaction to both parties.
His opinion was that del Monte might be one of those for whom the French party
would co-operate, and who would be least displeasing to the Emperor, for
although del Monte had agreed to the removal of the Council, he had only done
so in obedience to the Pope, while in other respects he had never had French
sympathies and did not wish to belong to the French party, but to the
Imperialists. In the conclave itself, however, nobody at that time thought
seriously of del Monte, although Guise had nominated him among others as a
candidate. Cardinal Sforza, however, was quite positive even then that the
Cardinals would unite in choosing him. Guise also wrote towards the end of the
year, that del Monte or Cervini might be Pope the next day if the French
desired it, but that to please the King they would first try all the others,
and would wait patiently as long as these had any chance. On the other hand the
Imperialists determined to keep steadily to Pole. They assembled at once after
the arrival of the French Cardinals, in the presence of Cardinal Madruzzo, and
formally pledged themselves in favour of Pole. Their resolve may have partly
arisen from a sort of obstinacy, which persisted in clinging to a lost cause.
One can, however, also trace the influence of the reform party in this, ready
to risk everything to secure a Pope of their own way of thinking. “We want a
good and holy Pope,” said Truchsess on January 20th, when a heated discussion
arose between him and de Cupis, “but you will only have one who serves the body
and not the soul; we will have no Pope elected who will neglect God’s Church in
order to enrich his relatives, as was the case with the last four or five.”
Under these circumstances there was no possibility of
a speedy termination of the conclave. Following on the last eight fruitless
ballots there now came fifty-two equally without result, in which there never
was any other intention than a mere prolongation of the time, whether with a
view to receiving further instructions with regard to the election from the
secular princes, or with the intention of working privately for a certain
candidate. Above all, however, the decision was postponed so that the opposing
parties, disgusted by the endless intrigues, might at last unite in a less
agreeable choice. At these fifty-two ballots, therefore, Pole received
twenty-three votes every time, until January 9th, and, from that time, after
the loss of de Silva and Cibò, always twenty-one. The French had nominated
Carafa as the opposing candidate, not, however, because they wished him to be
Pope, but because they wished to drive the austere and zealous Pole out of the
field by nominating an opponent of the same way of thinking. From December 15th
to the end of the conclave, from twenty-one to twenty-two votes were generally
given to the Neapolitan Cardinal.
In the meantime the Papal exchequer was being drained
for the payment of the military guard on duty, the irritated populace stormed
perpetually in front of the Vatican and shouted for a new Pope, while monks and
clergy were daily holding processions. The Lutherans in Germany jeered at the
disunion in the Roman Church, while the universal vexation in Rome vented
itself in innumerable satirical poems about the Cardinals and their slavish adulation
of the secular princes.
Without giving up either Pole or Carafa, they tried
many other candidates in the conclave, working as a rule, however, privately
for these, and only openly nominating them when they were sure of a certain
number of votes. In the reports of the scrutinies,
therefore, no mention is made of several candidates.
From time to time various proposals were made as to
how the Papal election might be secured in a manner differing from the usual
procedure. The first of these proposals was made as early as December 14th,
even before the French had nominated a candidate of their own. Both parties
assembled separately on this day, one in the Sixtine and the other in the
Pauline Chapel, and communicated with each other through intermediaries. The
French proposed a choice between nine candidates : three of their own countrymen,
Lorraine, Tournon and du Bellay, three Italians of French sympathies, Salviati,
Ridolfi and de Cupis, and three neutral Italians, Carafa, del Monte and
Cervini. The Imperialists replied that they would only have Pole. On this
refusal the wearisome round of fruitless ballots began over again.
It was, however, beginning to occur to the
Imperialists that it was impolitic to cling so obstinately to Pole. They
therefore assembled late in the evening on December 16th, and sent Truchsess,
Pacheco and Farnese as intermediaries to the French, to propose Carpi and
Toledo as candidates instead of Pole. This offer was refused, as was expected.
The Imperialists had already thought of working for Sfondrato, and of favouring
Morone at the ballots, so that their real aim might remain secret. “For many
days,” said Maffei, “nothing further happened than that they made new proposals
to one another, more with a view to prolonging the time than of reaching a
decision.”
It was then that the Imperial Cardinals, merely on
account of the honour, gave fifteen votes to the Cardinal-Infante of Portugal,
whereupon the French, on the following day, outdid them by giving eighteen
votes and two supplementary ones to Guise, also merely for the sake of the
honour. “Behold, reader,” remarks Massarelli on December 17th, “at what times
we have arrived! After we have vainly employed twenty days in electing a Pope,
and the whole of Christendom is daily clamouring for one, behold the zeal which
the Cardinals display for the common weal, by bestowing twenty votes at this
day’s scrutiny on a young man of twenty-three, not with the intention, as they
themselves acknowledge, of making him Pope, but out of consideration for his
rank and the favour which he enjoys from the King. It is the truth that in
these days persons are elevated to the high rank of Cardinal who seek to please
man rather than God, for, as God knows, when certain Cardinals, worthy in every
respect of being candidates for the Papal throne, were proposed, the answer was
that this election would not please the Emperor, or from the French, that their
King would not approve of him as Pope.”
On December 19th the prelates and barons who were
entrusted with the guarding of the conclave joined the populace in demanding a
speedy election. They represented that troubles which only a Pope could allay
were arising in all directions; the mercenaries were getting bolder every day,
the streets were no longer safe, while the cost of the vacancy in the Holy See
was no longer to be borne. Within the conclave vexation was also making itself
felt. The drastic proposal was even made that the two leaders, Guise and
Farnese, should be shut in together, without food, till they should agree upon
a Pope. On December 17th the youthful Guise had considered it seemly to make
remonstrances to Pole, before all the Cardinals and conclavists, who were
awaiting the issue of the affair in a state of the greatest tension. He accused
Pole of not possessing the qualities necessary for the Head of the Church, and
said that his sudden withdrawal from the Council of Trent had given rise to the
suspicion that he did not agree to the decree on Justification, and advised him
therefore to withdraw his candidature. The Cardinal attacked answered calmly
that his withdrawal from the Council was occasioned solely by reasons of
health, and that although he would take no steps to be chosen Pope, he would
also not prevent the Cardinals from bestowing their votes upon him if they were
inclined to do so.
Pole’s candidature, however, proved in the meantime
more than hopeless, and the Imperialists could no longer shut their eyes to the
fact. After they had been terrified, on December 26th, by the news that three
more French Cardinals would soon arrive, they risked everything to have Toledo
elected, if possible, on the following day. They actually succeeded, quite
privately, in adding another eight votes to the twenty-three which they already
possessed, so that Toledo’s election seemed assured. In spite of their secrecy,
however, the plan became known, and the French, who had nominated de Cupis as
the opposing candidate, succeeded, by dint of hard work during the night, in
winning back these eight votes from the Imperialists. On December 27th Toledo
had only twenty votes, de Cupis twenty-one and one supplementary one. The
Imperialists had, therefore, to resign themselves to the strengthening of the
French party on December 28th by the arrival of de la Chambre and d’Amboise.
In the meantime a new difficulty had arisen. The
Jubilee Year of 1550 was to be inaugurated by the opening of the Golden Door on
Christmas Eve. Many pilgrims had already arrived in Rome. It was, however,
doubtful if the Holy Year, with its usual indulgences and faculties for
absolution, could be inaugurated without a Pope, and without the ceremonies
mentioned. The prelates and barons, therefore, applied to the Cardinals,
complaining at the same time of the long delay and want of unity in the
conclave. The barons said that the guarding of the doors of the conclave should
be entrusted to them, as the prelates were too indulgent for such a duty. The
Dean, de Cupis, informed the Cardinals of these difficulties on December 29th.
No remedies could as yet be found for the disagreement in the conclave, which
no one denied, but with regard to the Jubilee, a declaration was issued on the
following day that it had undoubtedly begun, and that the opening of the Golden
Door would be performed subsequently by the future Pope.
At that time, however, there seemed but little hope of
soon getting the future Pope. The Imperialists, as the Venetian ambassador,
Dandolo, wrote on December 21st, 1549, had pledged their word in writing not to
give way to their opponents, and he reported on January 8th, 1550, that both
parties had pledged themselves by oath not to yield to the other. On December
26th they wrote from the conclave that the French were then boasting that they
were as well off in the conclave as if they were in paradise, and that they
would hold out until everyone was exhausted. The opposing party spoke to the
same effect; neither the length of time nor' any other consideration should rob
Cardinal Pole of one of his votes, or force another candidate upon them. This
implacability of the parties, we are informed by another report of January 4th,
1550, arose from the fact that one party awaited the Holy Ghost from Flanders,
and the other from France. People in Rome betted 40 to 1 that there would be no
Pope in January, and 10 to 1 that there would also be none in the following month.
Similar bets are repeatedly mentioned. A retainer of Cardinal Gonzaga writes on
January 4th that people in the city were speaking of anything rather than of
the Papal election. Another correspondent sees a possibility of the hastening
of the election in the unhealthy conditions of the conclave, as the air is
charged to such an extent with the fumes of candles and torches that many have
serious fears for their
A feeble attempt was made to come to a decision on
January 2nd, 1550. Guise and Farnese agreed to a meeting, at which the former
finally offered Cardinals de Cupis, Salviati, Ridolfi, Lorraine, Este and Capodiferro as candidates. Farnese answered that he would
make a generous proposal: either Guise might choose a candidate from the
twenty-three adherents of Pole, or allow that he, Farnese, might choose one of
the twenty-two voting for Carafa, to be raised to the Papal throne. Neither of
these proposals was accepted. The ballots which now followed are the less
worthy of note as the French had decided only to put forward their real
candidate when Cardinal Bourbon had arrived from France.
This Cardinal entered the conclave on January 14th. It
appeared, however, to be still impossible to secure the full number of votes
necessary for the three principal French candidates, Lorraine, Ridolfi or Salviati.
In consequence of this, Salviati refused at first to come forward as a
candidate, and the two others did likewise. The Imperialists had been at the
same time working very actively for Morone, who received twenty-four votes, and
two supplementary ones on January 15th, and they only lost hope when the French
again got two votes away from him, whereupon, despairing of his success, they
once more returned to Pole.
In the general bewilderment of those days, Farnese
endeavoured to advance a step further on January 19th by designating clearly
and decisively to their opponents those candidates for whom the Imperialists
would, in no case, vote. These were de Cupis, Carafa, Salviati and Ridolfi, as
they had been excluded by Charles V, and quite apart from the fact that they
were enemies of the Emperor, it was to be feared that their election would
irritate him and plunge Italy into war. He begged them at least to relinquish
the election of these Cardinals. Guise’s reply was a rough refusal. The next
development was that he refused to act at all with Farnese, as the latter had
promised him to vote for Lorraine, and had broken his word, which was unworthy
of a gentleman. If, however, the Imperialists thought it right to exclude such
worthy men from the Papacy, he declared, on his part, that the French would
never, in all eternity, vote for Pole, Morone, Sfondrato or Carpi.
Thus this attempt at conciliation ended by widening
the differences between the contending parties. Conclavists who left the place
of voting on January 28th and 29th, unanimously declared that the Cardinals
expected anything rather than the election of a Pope.
In the second half of January they began at length to
reflect on the causes of the continued delay and to seek for a remedy. The
Cardinal-Dean, de Cupis, made a speech to this effect after the voting of
January 16th, and specially denounced the decision according to the terms of
which a Cardinal could only announce his adherence to the election of a
candidate with the concurrence of the members of his party. Carafa agreed with
de Cupis, and read the decree of Gregory X with regard to the Papal election.
Pacheco acknowledged that both sides had been to blame, but especially the
French, as, while thwarting Pole’s election, they had limited for their
adherents, by means of the promise given under oath, both their freedom of
voting and of joining the other party.
On January 26th a general congregation of the
Cardinals was held instead of the scrutiny, which would again have been without
result, and de Cupis once more spoke of the abuses and misdeeds of the
conclave. The intrigues and secret manoeuvres, he said, were more calculated to
prolong than to conclude the election, when one side merely endeavoured to
circumvent the other, and this had assumed such proportions that an election
was out of the question. The consideration shown to the secular princes, according
to whose instructions votes should be given to one candidate and withheld from
another, was specially to be deplored, as it was against the dictates of
conscience and was a disgrace to the College of Cardinals. Voting was no longer
free and a change was urgently needed. A further abuse lay in the neglect of
the observance of the enclosure, and in the enormous number of conclavists,
among whom many persons crept in, who did not belong to the conclave. Most
abominable of all, however, was the custom by which both parties, even before
the voting, announced to whom their votes would be given, a practice which
meant that no Cardinal could vote without having previously informed the other
members of his party and received their consent.
This speech of the Dean was favourably received by the
Cardinals. Salviati complained of the excessive complaisance towards the
princes, Carafa adding that if matters continued like this, it would end in the
secular princes electing a Pope without the Cardinals, which would, as far as
he was concerned, be more agreeable than this perpetual dilatoriness. Pacheco
emphasised the danger of the Council claiming the right to elect the Pope.
Sfondrato and Guise, indeed, pointed out the difficulties attending a reform,
but the others unanimously resolved to choose six Cardinals from the six
nations represented, namely Carafa, Bourbon, Pacheco, Truchsess, de Silva and
Pole, who, in conjunction with de Cupis, Carpi, Ridolfi and the Camerlengo,
Sforza, should draw up a decree of reform. This was published on January 31st. An
endeavour was made in this to abolish the election intrigues by reviving and
emphasizing the regulations of the Church concerning the mode of life in the
conclave.
According to the decree of Gregory X, each Cardinal
was allowed to have two conclavists with him. Agents and secretaries of secular
princes had, on this occasion, slipped in under the guise of conclavists, who
spied out the secrets of the conclave and betrayed them to their masters. In
this manner the secretaries of the two ambassadors, d’Urfe and Mendoza, the secretaries of the King of France, the Duke of Florence and
the Viceroy of Naples, were to be found among the conclavists. Cardinals whose
firmness there was reason to doubt, were given over by the party leaders to
safe persons, also called conclavists, who were enjoined to keep a firm hold on
them and find out their opinions. To these were joined brothers and relatives
of the Cardinals, and nobles and barons who wished to know what a conclave was
like, and also, in the case of many Cardinals, their physicians in ordinary. It
had thus come to pass that almost every Cardinal had four, and some as many as
eight, conclavists with him, and that some 400 persons were together in the
conclave.
In addition to this, the mode of life in the conclave
was wanting in that simplicity and austerity which were demanded by the Canon
Law, in the interests of as speedy an election as possible. In order to avoid
the troublesome restriction to one small room, many Cardinals had annexed the
empty cells of the absent members of the Sacred College, whilst others had
enlarged their cells by means of a wooden erection in front ; windows had also
been opened out in the conclave. The limitations in the meals, which were prescribed
in the case of a long duration of the election proceedings, were absolutely
disregarded. The feasts were of a nature to satisfy a Lucullus,3while the
Cardinals issued invitations to one another, as well as to their conclavists,
and both sides sent the most elaborate dishes to their friends!
The most far-reaching abuse, however, lay in the very
faulty observance of the enclosure, and it became thereby possible for the
foreign princes to influence the election and protract it for an indefinite
period. Openings had been made in the walls, in order to communicate with the
outside world; letters could be received and dispatched, while d’Urfe boasted to his King that he had made a way, with
ladders and over roofs, to speak to Guise. The conclavists received permission
far too easily to leave the conclave under trifling pretexts, and then return,
and it was precisely these people who betrayed the secrets of the conclave
everywhere, and were the go-betweens of the princes. When Madruzzo sent his
conclavist, Pagnani, with a message, both his boots were so stuffed up with
letters that he quite forgot his masters’ missive, through thinking of them.
In face of these abuses, the reform committee decided
that each Cardinal should have only three conclavists; among these he could
have relatives, if they were not ruling barons, and his physician, but not
intimates of another Cardinal. Agents of the princes and ambassadors, barons
who had jurisdiction and their subordinates, and all those who were not on the
list of conclavists at the beginning of the conclave, should be expelled, and
severely punished should they return. In order to deal with ordinary ailments,
a Frenchman and a Spaniard should be added to the four physicians of the
conclave, of whom three were Italians and one a German, while the number of
barbers should also be increased. All unauthorized communication with the
outside world, whether by word of mouth or by letter, was strictly forbidden;
every Cardinal, with the exception of those who were ill, was to return to the
cell originally assigned to him; all additions built on to the cells were to be
done away with; and all windows which had been added were to be closed. The
conclavists were to eat and sleep in the cells of their masters, while meals
were to be made conformable to the regulations of Clement VI. In order to make
communication with the outside world impossible, whether for the purpose of
obtaining provisions or anything else, arrangements were made similar to those
in the convents of nuns. All private meetings were prohibited. As the election
proceedings had often lasted till late in the night, it was ordered that in
future, no Cardinal should go out of his cell later than the fifth hour of the
evening, while the conclavists had also to withdraw one hour later, both hours
being announced by the ringing of a bell. Per mission to enter the conclave or
to leave it would only be granted by the committee of Cardinals. Special
regulations were also made with regard to the custody of the keys of the
conclave, while arms were strictly prohibited inside the enclosure.
At the same time as this decree for the reform of the
interior conditions of the conclave was promulgated, the prelates charged with
the exterior guarding of it, drew up a second regulation with regard to the
shutting off of the conclave from the outer world. Specially worthy of note are
the orders that all windows and doors leading out from the conclave should be
closed, and that the Apostolic palace should be searched every second day to
see that no means of egress had been broken open.
The reform commission had ordered on February 5th that
a rotary lift should be arranged in the wall, similar to those used in convents
of nuns, for the reception of provisions, and that not more than one course
should be served at a meal. The superfluous conclavists, eighty in number, were
all turned out.
Granted that such orders for reform testify to the
desire of the Cardinals finally to arrive at an election, this good will could
only be strengthened by the advances which both parties made about the same
time, regarding the election intrigues.
Ridolfi, who had been obliged to leave the Vatican on
account of illness, had the best prospect of the tiara during the last half of
January. It was firmly believed that he would return to the conclave as Pope.
After Ridolfi’s death, on January 31st, the French turned their attention to
Salviati, whom many had, even before the conclave, looked upon as the future
Pope, and whose candidature had been put forward again and again. Besides the
French party, his old friend Gonzaga and Cardinal della Rovere now declared for
him, the latter at the wish of his brother, the Duke of Urbino. What, however,
caused a still greater sensation, and soon became a common topic of
conversation in the city, was that Alessandro Farnese’s brother Ranuccio, and
his cousin Sforza, were ready to give Salviati their votes. Most people saw the
reason for this change of front in considerations of family policy. Of the four
Farnese brothers, Duke Ottavio was son-in-law of the Emperor, and expected from
him the possession of Parma. Orazio Farnese, on the other hand, hoped to
become the son-in-law of the French king, and had French sympathies. Of the two
Farnese Cardinals, Alessandro was more inclined to side with Ottavio, while
Ranuccio, on the other hand, had a greater leaning to Orazio. As Ranuccio feared
that Ottavio would, on the advice of Alessandro, snatch away the Duchy of
Castro from Orazio, with the Emperor’s help, he was all the more inclined to
the French side, especially as he did not wish to jeopardize his brother’s
scheme for the French marriage by a friendship with the Emperor. Cardinal
Sforza, moreover, would not have been unwilling to see Salviati Pope,
especially as his sister-in-law was Salviati’s niece.
By the accession of the two cousins to Salviati’s
adherents, his prospects brightened exceedingly. On February 2nd, on which
there was no voting, a regular competition took place with regard to Ranuccio
and Sforza, the one side endeavouring to hold the two cousins fast, the other
to win them back. On the evening of that day, the Imperialists had, after many
changes of fortune, succeeded so far, that the two promised to abstain from
voting for Salviati, at least on the two following days. Night, a sleepless one
for many, brought a temporary end to the canvassing and intrigue; however, the
decisive reconciliation of the three Farnese did not take place until the
evening of the following day, whereupon the French dropped the candidature of
Salviati.
This incident was of the greatest importance for the
issue of the conclave. Farnese had discovered that the party discipline,
hitherto so strict, might suddenly crumble to pieces, and that any further
delay might be dangerous. After Salviati’s failure, Guise had also given up
hope of getting a Cardinal of French sympathies elected. Nothing therefore
remained but to propose a candidate who was neutral, so they again fell back on
Giovan Maria del Monte, on whom the eyes of intelligent people had long been
fixed, and for whom the influential Duke of Florence had been working since the
beginning of January. He was, besides, the only one of the four
Cardinal-Bishops whose candidature had not already been proved impossible.
It was Cardinal Sforza who first drew the attention of
the conclave to del Monte at the beginning of February, and gave his
approbation to his being put forward. The weariness and disgust which had taken
possession of the electors, the death of Ridolfi, the illness of other
distinguished Cardinals, and the unhealthy conditions within the conclave, all
gave rise to a universal longing for the speedy termination of the election.
Del Monte was, however, not without opponents. Charles
V. had excluded him from the tiara, as well as de Cupis, but Mendoza had
thought himself justified in not producing the said document, and the Emperor
subsequently approved this proceeding on the part of his ambassador. In the
conclave itself the determined Guise was an open opponent of del Monte; he
repeated shameful stories about him and said he was unworthy of the Papacy. In
Cardinal d’Este, del Monte now found a quite
unexpected advocate. Este was himself a candidate for the tiara, and as long as
he was under the influence of his cousin, Ercole Gonzaga, had also been opposed
to del Monte. His candidature had been roughly rejected by Charles V, and the
want of consideration shown by Gonzaga in communicating the Emperor’s exclusion
to him, had led to a split between him and his cousin. Just at the time of this
quarrel del Monte visited Cardinal d’Este and begged
him to intervene with Guise on his behalf. Este agreed, and at this visit
received such a favourable impression of del Monte, that he now became his
zealous adherent.
What Este had begun with Guise, Sforza now completed.
The French Cardinal, at a chance meeting with the latter, expressed his
displeasure at the state of affairs in the conclave and at the obstinacy of the
parties. Sforza replied that it was in Guise’s own power to bring the matter to
an end, by refraining from his support of Salviati. The French, he continued,
had shown their power sufficiently up till now, and by an exaggeration of their
claims might in the end lose everything.
Wearied of the fruitless voting, Guise agreed with
this idea, and proposed to elect Cervini. To this, however, Sforza could not
give his assent, and thereupon Guise happened, as if by accident, to speak of
del Monte. Sforza at once acquiesced in this, but begged him first of all to
get the consent of Farnese, as nothing could be arranged without the latter’s
approval.
On February 6th, as Guise was walking up and down one
of the corridors after dinner in conversation with Ranuccio Farnese and Sforza,
they were joined by Alessandro Farnese. After some time Ranuccio and Sforza
withdrew, and the two leaders could freely interchange their ideas. Contrary to
all expectation, they were quickly of one mind with regard to the elevation of
del Monte.
They at first, as it appears, fixed the election for
February 8th, but already on the morning of February 7th, there were rumours in
the conclave concerning the candidature of del Monte. In the afternoon, when
the Cardinals, as was customary, deliberated in the Pauline Chapel, these
formed the chief topic of conversation and found little opposition. At the approach
of darkness, the Cardinals withdrew, but the negotiations concerning del Monte
still continued.
The three relatives of Paul III. assembled in the cell
of Cardinal Maffei, with Crescenzi, Medici, Cornaro and Savelli; they all urged
speed and counted the votes at their disposal. Guise had offered twenty-one,
which, with the votes of de Silva, Gaddi and the eight assembled in Maffei’s
cell, formed the two-thirds majority, which, with the forty-seven electors then
present, was thirty-one. It was extremely advisable to set about the winning of
further votes especially as the Spaniards did not wish for del Monte’s
election, and Pacheco and Mendoza had already gone to Toledo to deliberate on
counter-action. Cardinal Maffei, sent by the adherents of Farnese, now joined
them and Farnese soon arrived himself, and later on de Silva. Their united
endeavours were at last successful in winning over Toledo and Mendoza, but
Pacheco persisted in violent opposition and demanded at least a delay long
enough to enable him to consult Gonzaga and Madruzzo. The chief difficulty for
the Spaniards lay in the fact that del Monte was considered to be excluded by
the Emperor. To this Farnese successfully opposed the Imperial letter of which
he was aware, and in which no objection was made to del Monte. Medici was now
sent to Gonzaga, and Maffei to Pole, who was at that moment deliberating with
Truchsess. Pole and Truchsess gave their agreement, provided that del Monte
reached the full number of votes, while Gonzaga raised no objections. When
Medici left him he also stood up and joined Madruzzo, where he found Pacheco
and Cueva.
The French, who had in the meanwhile been working for
del Monte, now sent Sermoneta and Capodiferro to the
Cardinals assembled in Maffei’s cell, and made the proposal that del Monte
should now be elevated to the Papal throne by a general rendering of homage.
Farnese agreed, and sent a message to the French to assemble in the Pauline
Chapel, where he and the others would join them.
On the way to the chapel, Farnese entered Madruzzo’s cell, where he met Gonzaga, Pacheco and Cueva.
His attempt to induce them to join, was, however, without success. With the
exception of the four named, and apart from del Monte himself, and the sick
Cardinal Carpi, who agreed to del Monte’s election, all the others, forty-one
in number, assembled in the Pauline Chapel. As they all unanimously and in a
loud voice called for del Monte as Pope, Guise and Farnese, clasping hands,
hurried to del Monte and brought him into the chapel, where he was embraced and
kissed by all present. Some acclaimed him in a loud voice and others more
quietly, but the noise was so great that no one could hear his own voice. Then
the Cardinal-Dean ordered them to be quiet; noisy proceedings must be avoided
and they must proceed to pay homage in a proper manner.
The Papal throne was now erected in front of the
altar, and Cardinal del Monte took his place thereon. The Cardinals occupied
their accustomed seats and the names of all present were then read over by the
master of ceremonies. They voted unanimously for del Monte as Pope. In order to
demonstrate this, they advanced to the throne and showed him the manifestations
of respect customary in the case of the Pope. Del Monte then declared that he
accepted the election, and ordered that an official deed should be drawn up
concerning it. He emphasized the fact that a subsequent scrutiny could not
affect the election, which was already accomplished. By now it was already
night, and del Monte, led by de Cupis and Salviati, withdrew to his cell. To
the inquiry of de Cupis as to what name he should assume, he answered that he
would assume the name of Julius III. out of gratitude to Julius II. who had
first conferred lustre on his family by the elevation of Antonio del Monte to
the cardinalate. Lastly Madruzzo, Gonzaga, Pacheco and Cueva came to del
Monte’s cell and also paid him homage.
Meanwhile the great event had become known outside the
conclave. All the walls, doors and windows were already being broken open, and
the nobles, prelates and intimates of the new Pope were streaming in and would
not allow themselves to be turned out either by threats or commands. Neither
supper nor the night’s rest were to be thought of in the conclave.
The next day, February 8th, a last ballot took place
early in the morning, merely as a matter of form. Del Monte’s voting paper bore
the name of Toledo, all the others that of del Monte. All the Cardinals paid
him homage. Then the election was announced to the people, the new Pope being
carried into St. Peter’s, where his foot was kissed by everyone.
Del Monte’s elevation was so unexpected that even on
the day on which it took place, a letter from Rome announced that no one was
thinking of the election, or speaking about it.
The issue of the conclave surprised everyone, foreign
diplomatists as well as the Romans. The inhabitants of the Eternal City
rejoiced more at the fact that they again had a Pope, than because the majority
of votes had been given to Cardinal del Monte. Endimio Calandra, however, said, even on February 8th, that he believed, from the
knowledge he possessed of the new Pope, that his reign would be a good one. In
fact, the universal opinion was favourable to Julius III although there were
not wanting those who judged him in quite a different manner.
The Emperor, as well as the French king, whose
endeavours to procure the tiara for a pronounced adherent had not been crowned
with success, could not be pleased with the issue of the conclave. Cosimo de’ Medici,
to whom the elevation of del Monte was chiefly attributed in Rome, endeavoured
to soothe Charles V. Cardinal Farnese apologized to the Emperor and the French
king for the result of the election, while Guise also did his best to make the
issue of the election proceedings agreeable to his master.
In the college of Cardinals there was a general
feeling of satisfaction, especially as Julius III was very generous in giving
proofs of his clemency, even in these early days. The reform party had the
fewest reasons for being satisfied, seeing that they had not been successful
with any of their candidates, and that, not from want of zeal, but owing to the
machinations of the princes. Those, however, who were of a strictly
ecclesiastical bias, did not despair, because they knew from the Council of
Trent, that the new Pope, if he did not belong to their party, had so much
understanding of the position of the Church that they might hope from him for a
furtherance of their strivings after reform.
CHAPTER II.
Previous Life, Character and Beginning of the Reign of
Julius III.
The family of the Ciocchi del Monte bore the name of their original seat, Monte San Savino, a small town
in the district of Arezzo, beautifully situated on a hill in the lovely Chiana
Valley, not far from Lucignano; it is known as the
birthplace of the celebrated sculptor, Andrea Sansovino. The grandfather of
Julius III, Fabiano, was a distinguished advocate in the town, and to this day
in the principal church a beautiful tomb may be seen, which his son, Antonio, afterwards
Cardinal, erected to his beloved father, who died in 1498. A second son of
Fabiano, Vincenzo, had embraced the study of jurisprudence, and became
consistorial advocate in Rome and one of the most respected lawyers in the
city. Two daughters, Ludovica and Jacopa, were born of his marriage with Christofora Saracini of Siena,
the former of whom married Roberto de’ Nobili, the latter Francia della Corgna, and three sons, Giovan Maria, Baldovino and
Costanzo.
Giovan Maria del Monte was born on September 10th,
1487, in Rome, in the Rione di Parione,
in which his parents’ house was situated, not far from the Mellini palace. As he lost his father as early as 1504, his uncle, Antonio del Monte,
Auditor of the Rota and Archbishop of Siponto (Manfredonia), took the promising youth under his care. He gave him a most
excellent tutor1 in the person of the humanist, Raffaello Brandolini, and sent
him to study law in Perugia and Siena, afterwards bringing him to Rome, where
he obtained for the talented young man the position of chamberlain to Julius
II. When the Pope invested Antonio del Monte with the purple, on March 10th,
1511, he resigned the archbishopric of Siponto in
favour of his nephew. Giovan Maria del Monte received the flattering offer of
preaching the opening sermon at the fifth sitting of the Lateran Council, on
February 16th, 1513, and acquitted himself of his task to the satisfaction of
everyone.
The honoured name which del Monte had gained under
Julius II, he retained under the Medici Popes, Leo X and Clement VII. During
the reign of Clement VII he occupied the position of Governor of Rome on two
occasions, during which he proved himself to be a strong upholder of justice,
winning at the same time the good-will of everyone by his pleasant manners.
Even then, however, his tendency towards pleasure was remarked, although this
in no way interfered with the carrying out of his duties. The failings of Clement
VII, and his vacillating policy, were reflected in the Archbishop of Siponto in a most marked manner, even as early as 1525. The
sack of Rome was the consequence of this attitude. Giovan Maria del Monte very
nearly lost his life on this occasion; he was among the hostages whom Clement
VII was obliged to provide at his capitulation on June 5th, 1527, for the
security of his payments. As the Pope had not succeeded, in spite of all his
efforts, in producing the full amount, the mercenaries seized the hostages.
These unfortunates were twice led in chains to a gallows erected in the Campo
de’ Fiori, and threatened with death. They only succeeded at the end of
November, on St. Andrew’s day, in making their keepers drunk and thus escaping
from them. Del Monte never forgot the agony he endured in those terrible days,
and when he became Pope, he erected a church in front of the Porta del Popolo,
to the saint on whose feast he had been saved.
Under Paul III the Archbishop of Siponto now became vice-legate of Bologna, and also held the office of an auditor of
the Apostolic Chamber; he fulfilled the duties of both offices to the perfect
satisfaction of the Pope, who rewarded him by investing him with the purple in
the celebrated creation of December 22nd, 1536.
The Cardinal of San Vitale, as del Monte was now
generally named, after his titular church, deserved this distinction, because,
as Panvinio points out, few men had laboured at the
Curia so steadfastly, faithfully and honestly, and with such diligent zeal as
he, while neither pride, avarice nor covetousness were to be found in him, nor
any neglect nor want of care.” Indeed, he distinguished himself to such an
extent, both in the Reform Commission and elsewhere, that Paul III appointed
him as his representative at the Council of Trent, together with Cervini and
Pole. He devoted himself in this capacity almost exclusively to questions of
ecclesiastical law, as he was really more a canonist than a theologian; he also
showed the greatest zeal in the campaign for reform. He defended the rights of
the presidents, as well as those of the Holy See, with great energy, but his
excitable temperament was the cause of several sharp discussions which arose
between him and the members of the Council. On the whole, however, no one can
deny to his management of business, the tribute of impartiality and
objectivity.
The appearance of Julius III was so unsympathetic that
it was difficult for artists to paint his portrait. His face, which was framed
by a long grey beard, gave the impression of a rough coarse peasant. The
sharply bent aquiline nose was disproportionately large, the lips closely
pressed together, the eyes sharp and piercing. This tall, powerful man was a
heavy eater, but was not partial to the delicacies favoured by the gourmets of
the Renaissance period. The vegetable he preferred to all others was the onion,
and these were delivered, expressly for him, in immense quantities from Gaeta.
It was in keeping with the peasant traits of Julius III. that he should often,
in moments of expansion, have behaved in a manner little in keeping with his
dignity. Not only did he disregard all ceremonial, but he also gave offence by
his demeanour. The free and unseemly jests with which he spiced his feasts
often caused great embarrassment to his guests; many of the anecdotes related
of him, however, are not founded in fact.
The Pope lessened the respect in which he was held, as
much by his want of refinement in manners, as by the sudden outbursts of anger
in which he indulged. These, however, were as quickly over as they had broken
out, and it was an easy matter to bring him again to a state of tranquillity.
As is the case with persons of the sanguine temperament which the Pope
undoubtedly possessed, his moods changed with unexpected rapidity, expressing
themselves in unpremeditated words and premature declarations. He was completely
wanting in steadfastness and firmness. All correspondents praise his goodness
and mildness, but also deplore his weakness, and his inconstant and changeable
behaviour. Nervous and easily dispirited, he was in no way capable of dealing
with difficult situations, while his actions were always hampered by a want of
decision. He wished to be on good terms with everyone, liked to see contented
faces about him, and preferred the outward lustre of power to the actual
possession of it. As he was difficult to fathom, diplomatic negotiations were
not easily carried on with him; whoever tried to induce him to do anything by
means of cunning found they had spoilt matters entirely. A German
correspondent, Andreas Masius, emphasizes the fact that he liked to be
respected and looked upon as one who had risen from modest circumstances to
unexpected heights.
In spite of all his eloquence and the versatility of
his culture, his mind was more fitted to seek out that which was desirable,
than to keep a firm hold of what was already in his possession. He was
especially fond of music, as well as of jurisprudence, by which his father and
his uncle had made their fortunes. He fulfilled his religious duties
conscientiously. Panvinio, who is by no means
prejudiced in his favour, testifies that he said Mass frequently and with great
devotion; Massarelli also repeatedly praises the piety which characterized the
Pope. His love of pomp and his worldly nature offer a violent contrast to this
piety. As in the case of his predecessor, the Farnese Pope, whom in other
respects he in no way resembled, there was always a struggle going on in Julius
III. between the old and new order of things. He remained, however, in many
respects, a true child of the Renaissance, during which period he had grown up.
This showed itself also in the careless prodigality which he displayed even at
the beginning of his reign.
The Romans rejoiced when the new Pope at once
abolished the flour-tax, introduced by Paul III, and distributed gifts and
benefits on all sides with a generous hand. He limited the Spolium law, and the heirs and servants of the Cardinals could, for the future, inherit
legacies from them. It was specially noted at the bestowal of gifts and
benefits that those Cardinals, such as Gonzaga and Madruzzo, who had been most
active in opposing the election of Julius III were chosen for particular
distinction. Gonzaga received the bishopric of Pavia, and was so graciously
treated in other respects, that Pirro Olivo of Mantua considered that it went
too far. When he took leave of the Pope on his departure, Julius III. presented
him with a valuable antique emerald. Madruzzo was at once paid 20,000 ducats
for his expenses in Trent. A Mantuan correspondent tells us that as early as
February 15th, there was not a Cardinal in the Curia who was not deeply
indebted to the generosity of the Pope. Julius III also gave lavishly in all
directions quite regardless of the very unsatisfactory financial situation. The
dignitaries of the Curia declared in delight that the Golden Age had returned.
The gay temperament of Julius III soon dissipated all the forebodings to which
his impetuous disposition had given rise. The new sovereign, who at once gave
permission for the Carnival amusements to take place, became popular with
extraordinary rapidity. The general satisfaction was increased by the
conciliatory and peaceful policy which the Pope adopted. Girolamo Sauli,
Archbishop of Bari, was at once sent to Parma with orders to give up the town
to Ottavio Farnese. In order to hasten the restoration, the Pope appeased the
Commandant, Camillo Orsini, by paying him out of his own money, giving him the
increased amount of 30,000 gold scudi, instead of the 20,000 originally
demanded. Ascanio Colonna received pardon and restoration as early as February
17th. The Baglione were also again put in possession of their rights, and part
of their municipal freedom was restored to the people of Perugia. Julius III
adopted adequate measures for the settlement of the dissensions and troubles
which had arisen in several parts of the Papal dominions during the long
conclave. He forbade all expatriated persons to seek a residence in the States
of the Church. To the Conservatori he gave the most
binding assurances of the strict administration of justice, and of the
provision of Rome with grain, and earnestly enjoined them to fulfil their duty,
especially with regard to speculators in corn.
Above all, the new Pope made it his business to assure
the rulers of the two great powers, now facing each other in fierce enmity, of
his good dispositions and honourable intentions. It was on their assent and
co-operation that the solution of the two problems, which Julius III had
received unsolved from the pontificate of his predecessor, was dependent. These
were: the confirmation of the Farnese in Parma, and the J continuance of the
Council of Trent. It was extremely difficult to win over Charles V. and Henry
II. on these two matters, for what the one agreed to the other immediately repudiated.
Besides this there was the fact that the elevation of Cardinal del Monte to the
Papacy had not been in accordance with the wishes of either the Emperor or the
King of France. Julius III was therefore all the more determined to win over
the two princes. He confided this difficult task, in a very shrewd manner, not
to the usual nuncios, but to the adherents and confidants of the respective
monarchs. The mission to the Emperor was entrusted to Pedro de Toledo as early
as February 16th, 1550, and that to Henry II. to the Abbot Rosetto. The Pope
himself drew up the instructions for both ; in order that these should be
effective it was essential that the documents to be communicated to both
princes should be carefully decided on. Everything, therefore, which might give
offence was scrupulously avoided. Both rulers were exhorted to unity and peace,
as only in this manner could the grievous wounds inflicted on the Church be healed.
Toledo was to assure the Emperor that the Pope intended to pursue at all times
an honourable, open and free policy in all matters, and that he was prepared to
co-operate with him for the restoration of peace in the Church by the
continuance of the Council of Trent, taking it at the same time for granted
that the difficulties in the way would be removed, which could easily be
accomplished with the help of the Emperor.
In the instructions for Rosetto, express mention of
the Council is carefully avoided, and stress is only laid on the readiness of
the Pope to do everything necessary to promote the glory of God, the
extirpation of heresy, and to secure peace and unity among Christian nations.
The transference of Parma to Ottavio Farnese, the son-in-law of Charles V,
required no justification as far as the latter was concerned, but in the case
of Henry II the Pope brought forward a number of weighty reasons for this measure.
Besides the promise of the election capitulation, he laid special stress on the
fact that this was the only way of depriving the Emperor of an excuse for
taking up arms, and thus of preserving the peace of Italy.
While both ambassadors were on their way, the
coronation of Julius III took place with great pomp on February 22nd, 1550,
amid a mighty concourse of people. Two days later the Jubilee, proclaimed by
Paul III, was solemnly inaugurated by the opening of the Holy Door. Countless
pilgrims, mostly from Italy, had assembled for the celebrations, which were to
last till the Christmas Eve of the current year. Among those who endeavoured to
gain the Jubilee indulgence was to be found Michael Angelo. The crowd at the
bestowal of the Papal Benediction on Easter Day consisted of 50,000 persons.
The Confraternity of the Most Holy Trinity, founded shortly before at S.
Salvatore in Campo, by a Florentine layman, Philip Neri, took charge of the
poor and sick pilgrims ; this Confraternity developed later into a large
institution of worldwide fame, for the help of the needy and indigent.
The Pope declared, even at his first consistory, which
took place on February 28th, 1550, his firm intention of labouring for the
reform of the Church and the peace of Christendom. He announced at the
beginning of March that he would nominate a Congregation of Cardinals, who
would confer with regard to the reform of the clergy. In a secret consistory of
March 10th, Julius III again emphasized, in a long address, his zeal for
religion and his desire to carry on the Council, as well as his intentions concerning
reform. He considered there were three reasons for the hatred the princes felt
for the clergy: the avarice of the heads of the Curia, the thoughtless bestowal
of benefices and the exaggerated luxury of the clergy. He intended to abolish
the abuses of the Curia, chiefly by the reform of the Dataria,
and would entrust to Cardinals de Cupis, Carafa, Sfondrato, Crescenzi, Pole and
Cibò the task of deliberating upon the best measures to adopt for this purpose.
He promised to give the orders requisite for the proper distribution of
benefices and the restriction of luxury in the immediate future. The Pope
accordingly, on March 19th, 1550, again laid stress on the decree of his
predecessor forbidding the accumulation of several bishoprics in the hands of
one Cardinal. A Bull of February 22nd had already regulated the power of the
Penitentiary. The commission of Cardinals was next engaged with the issue of
reform decrees for the Eternal City during the time of Jubilee; the strictest
regulations were made with regard to ecclesiastical and police surveillance,
with a view to putting an end to the most glaring improprieties during such
celebrations.
The solemn ceremony of taking possession of the
Lateran had to be deferred on account of the weather ; it only took place on
June 24th, 1550. The Romans had previously witnessed the brilliant spectacle of
the entry of the numerous embassies for the obedientia,
which proved that the various princes of Europe still held fast to the ancient
pious union with the Holy See, in spite of the great defection in the north. On
March 25th the Pope received the congratulations of the Emperor’s ambassador,
Luis de Avila, and on the following day Claude d’Urfe rendered him the obedientia in the name of the
French king, the ambassador of Philip II doing the same on March 27th, and the
representative of the King of the Romans, Ferdinand I, on the 28th. The Dukes
of Urbino and Ferrara had come to Rome in person in order to swear allegiance
to the new Pope. Brilliant embassies had also been sent by the Republic of
Venice and by Cosimo I. The representatives of Bologna, where Julius had been
Cardinal-Legate, were honoured with special distinction, the Pope saying to
them that Julius II had granted the city many favours, but that the third
Julius would do still more for it. On May 4th a brief did actually reduce the
three years’ subsidy, which the city had to pay, by half the amount.
Ottavio Farnese had already made his entry into Rome
on April 23rd ; he could, however, only take his oath of fealty on May 21st, as
the Pope was suffering from a bad cold at the end of April, and was soon
afterwards seized by an attack of his old enemy, gout. Nevertheless he devoted
himself to business affairs, and took part, though only seated, in the
procession of Corpus Christi. In consequence of the increasing crowds of those
seeking an audience, and the early setting in of the hot weather, Julius had,
since June, frequently withdrawn into the cool Belvedere in the Vatican. The
removal to Viterbo which had been at first planned for the summer, had to be
abandoned owing to the scarcity of funds, which was partly a consequence of the
excessive liberality of the Pope. Only in the autumn did he make several
excursions to the Campagna, which is so full of charm at this season. The
health of the Pope at this time left a good deal to be desired, but in spite of
his sixty-three years, he recovered from the attacks of gout which frequently
seized him, in an astonishingly short time. The Romans therefore hoped that the
prediction of an astrologer, who prophesied a twenty years’ pontificate for the
new Pope, might be verified.
The people of Rome were full of gratitude for the
measures which Julius III. adopted to cope with the scarcity of provisions with
which the city was threatened, owing to the great influx of pilgrims and the
failure of the crops. The Pope took steps in all directions to secure so great
an importation of corn, as to be really wonderful for those days. To effect
this, he wrote among others to the Emperor and to Henry II of France, and
succeeded in inducing them to give permission for the exportation of corn from
Spain and Provence. Julius III was also
zealously engaged, in the following years, in providing for the material
well-being of his capital.
It is characteristic of the time that any pretext was
seized upon for the arrangement of festivals. The arrival of a large quantity
of grain procured by the Commissary-General, Leonardo Boccacio, in December,
1550, developed into a brilliant triumphal procession, which was much talked
of. The festivities of the Romans at the election celebrations of Julius III as
well as the unbridled extravagances of the Carnival, and the pomp of the life
of the court, had shown that the worldly tendencies of the Renaissance period
and the preponderance of reminiscences of pagan times were by no means
overcome. The journals of Massarelli and others give a vivid picture of the
doings of those days, which in many respects remind us of the time of Leo X.
At the festival processions on the anniversary of the
Pope’s election, the figures of pagan gods were to be seen on the state
coaches, while mythological figures and emblems also frequently appeared on the
medals of Julius III, even when these were intended to commemorate purely
religious events. Things went particularly far at the Carnival, for the
celebration of which Julius had given complete freedom. Races on the Corso
alternated with bull-fights and other amusements, at which the Pope did not
disdain to assist. He was also present at the theatrical representations with
which the festivities closed, while women were also invited to the Vatican.
Massarelli tells us of a feast which the Pope gave on Carnival Tuesday to the
ladies of his family in the Hall of Constantine. From the reports of the envoys
and also from other sources it is clear that the Pope, regardless of the
gravity of the times, continued to follow, in this respect, the path on which
his predecessors of the Renaissance had entered.
Julius III, who, although devoted to business, had
always had a great love of pleasure, was specially fond of magnificent
banquets. He very frequently invited the Cardinals to sumptuous feasts in the
Vatican; he also very willingly accepted invitations himself, and very often
did not return home after an evening passed in festivity, but spent the night
at the house of his host. Only two Cardinals were absent from these
festivities, Carafa and de Cupis, the representatives of the strict reform
party, who had made it a rule never to dine out of their own houses. This was a
dumb but eloquent protest against the unbounded luxury displayed by the others
on such occasions.
As Julius III followed the chase, gambled with
friendly Cardinals and other intimates for large sums, and kept, numerous court
jesters, he also had no scruples about witnessing unseemly theatrical
representations. On the 24th of November, 1550, the Menaechmi of Plautus was
played before the Pope in the Castle of
St. Angelo, and a few days later Ariosto’s Cassaria,
and on January 22nd, 1551, the Eunuchus of Plautus,
which had been translated into Italian.
Julius III permitted comedies to be performed in the
Belvedere, especially during Carnival time, and on February 3rd, 1551, the Aulularia of Plautus was given in the presence of the Pope
and twenty-four Cardinals. The Mantuan correspondent praises the beauty of the
staging and the excellence of the music, which had given great pleasure to
everyone. A comedy which was also given in the Belvedere a short time
afterwards, on the occasion of the anniversary of the election of Julius, was,
on the contrary, a complete fiasco. As usual all the Cardinals were invited, as
well as the ambassadors of France, Portugal, and Venice. This piece, composed
by a native of Siena, was extremely silly and rather unseemly, and it was only
the presence of the Pope which prevented it from being hissed. Julius showed
his displeasure by pretending to fall asleep; at the end he remarked that the
dramatist should be excused, since he was a Sienese. On the same evening fifty
Roman nobles in magnificent antique costumes set up a carrousel in St. Peter’s
Square, which gave great satisfaction. On the following day there was a
bull-fight, at which the Pope and many Cardinals were present; comedies were
performed in the Vatican in the very last year of the reign of Julius III. No
one, however, seems to have realized how very unecclesiastical all this was.
The pernicious tradition of the Renaissance Popes was
also repeatedly followed by Julius III. in the promotion of his relatives. At
first he resisted their urgent solicitations for offices similar to those
filled by the Farnese family under Paul III, but his opposition weakened
only too quickly. He did not, however, go as far as his predecessor ; he gave
his relatives no principalities, nor did they enjoy any great political
influence. As the general feeling and circumstances of the time were
unfavourable, there was no wholesale nepotism in this reign, and the relatives
of the Pope, who crowded in vain round his deathbed, urging their demands, were
by no means satisfied, though they had considerable reason to be so.
At the beginning of his reign, the Pope had promoted
the interests of two relatives at the distribution of the offices in the Curia.
One of these, Pietro del Monte, he appointed governor of the Castle of St.
Angelo, while he bestowed on his sister’s son, Ascanio della Corgna, a clever soldier, the command of his guard. The
Pope had always loved his elder brother, “Messer Baldovino,” as the ambassadors
always called him. Baldovino, who was already in Rome on February 24th, 1550,
received the Borgia Appartments as a lodging, and
later on the Palazzo dell’ Aquila in St. Peter’s Square. The dignity of
Cardinal, however, was not bestowed upon him, the Pope considering him too old
and otherwise unsuited. He appointed him Governor of Spoleto on March 20th,
1550, investing him with rich revenues later on, and also giving him Camerino,
for his life-time. Besides all this, Julius obtained for him from newly founded lordship of Monte San Sa vino,
in feudal tenure.
Baldovino had, by his marriage with Giulia Mancini,
two daughters, as well as three sons. Of the latter, only one, Giovan Battista,
was still alive. Julius entrusted this nephew with the government of Fermo and Nepi, and appointed him Standard-Bearer of the Church. When
Giovan Battista del Monte, whose whole mind was fixed on the pursuit of arms,
fell on April 14th, 1552, at the siege of Mirandola, the Pope entrusted the
government of the two said towns to Baldovino. Baldovino’s natural son,
Fabiano, had already been legitimatized at the beginning of the reign, and
though he was only a child, the household of a prince was now bestowed on him.
As Giovan Battista had left no children, the hopes of the family had been
centred, even before Giovan’s untimely death, on Fabiano. Cosimo de’ Medici,
who was extremely anxious to attach the Pope to himself, gave his daughter
Lucrezia, in 1554, after long negotiations, to this nephew in marriage. The
Pope joyfully agreed, but was most careful to withhold any political significance
from this marriage, to the great disgust of the Medici.
Of the two sisters of the Pope, the younger, Jacopa,
married to Francia della Corgna, had two sons,
Ascanio, already mentioned, and Fulvio, who was first made Bishop of Perugia,
and then became Cardinal, in December, 1551. Roberto, the son of Ludovica, the
elder sister of the Pope, and married to Roberto de’ Nobili, also became a
Cardinal. This Roberto was a youth of such a holy disposition, that it could be
said of him that he was an example of that childlike piety in which heaven is
reflected on earth.
The inconsistencies of Julius III are shown in nothing
so much as in the fact that he bestowed the Cardinal’s hat on another youth,
who was as vicious as Roberto de’ Nobili was virtuous.
The Venetian ambassador Dandolo relates how Julius
III, when he was legate in Piacenza, took a boy of low extraction, from the
streets, as it were, and made him keeper of his ape, because he had shown great
courage when the animal caught hold of him. The keeper of the ape learned in a
short time how to insinuate himself into the favour of his master, to such an
extent, that the latter grew fond of him and prevailed upon his brother to
adopt him. To the name of Innocenzo del Monte, which he now bore, he brought
nothing but dishonour. In spite of this he received a provostship in Arezzo,
for the Cardinal clung to him with a love which was as inexplicable as it was
incredible. Massarelli, who testifies to this, adds : “As soon as Giovan Maria
del Monte became Pope, nothing was nearer to his heart and intentions than to
raise his brother’s adopted son to the highest dignities and to heap upon him
honours and riches. Up till now—three months have passed—he has given him an
income of 12,000 crowns, and has at last elevated him, with the greatest
satisfaction, to the high dignity of Cardinal.”
There was no want of opposition to this shameful abuse
of Papal power; Cardinal Pole reminded the Pope of the canonical decrees and
the gravity of the times, while Carafa made still more urgent remonstrances. As
he had had, for a long time, close and friendly relations with Julius III, he
hoped to be able to prevent the nomination. The old Cardinal, therefore, did
everything that lay in his power; he went personally to the Pope and explained
to him with all the powers of his eloquence, the reasons which should prevent
him from taking such an unfortunate step. He represented the shame which would
attach to the perpetrator of such a deed, the talk of the people, which should
be avoided, above all by a prince, as well as the evil suppositions to which
the elevation of a fatherless and vicious young man would give rise. It was all
in vain. On May 30th, 1550, Julius III, in a secret consistory, elevated the
seventeen year old Innocenzo del Monte to the cardinalate. On July 1st the
latter made his solemn entry into Rome, and on the following day he received,
not in public, as was customary, but again in a secret consistory, the red hat.
Cardinal Carafa kept away from both consistories, in order not to have even the
appearance of approving by his silent presence this unhappy incident. Instead
of doing so, he wrote a letter to the Pope, in which he once more expressly
declared that he would not agree to such a nomination.
What Carafa and many others had foreseen, was verified
only too soon. The nomination gave the greatest scandal, and far and wide
Julius was declared to be the father of Innocenzo ; indeed, the accusation was
by no means the worst of the crimes of which his enemies at once pronounced him
guilty. The accusation, however, of the gravest immorality has never been
proved against him, either at that time or afterwards. Julius himself was to
blame that such an idea should have arisen and been believed, as his attitude
towards Innocenzo del Monte must have given rise to the gravest suspicions,
especially at a time of such unbridled license.
Julius III hoped against all hope that Cardinal
Innocenzo would lead a life in accordance with his dignity. The upstart,
however, only made more insolent by his unexpected good fortune, gave himself
up, even more than before, to a perfectly scandalous life. He not only received
rich benefices, such as the abbey of St. Michael in Normandy and that of St.
Zeno in Verona, as well as the legation of Bologna, in June, 1552 but also a
position similar to that which Cardinal Alessandro Farnese had enjoyed under Paul
III. At the end of November, 1551, the nuncios were requested to address their
letters in future to Cardinal Innocenzo del Monte, instead of, as formerly, to
the first Secretary of State, Girolamo Dandino, or to the Pope himself. This
change was due to Baldovino, who gave his brother this fatal advice. Innocenzo
del Monte, who did not possess the slightest aspiration towards a higher life,
had neither the wish nor the capacity to devote himself to business ; his
activities as secretary of state consisted in affixing his signature to the
dispatches drawn up in his name, and in pocketing the rvenues of his high office.
The direction of affairs lay in the hands of the Pope,
of his brother Baldovino, and of the experienced secretary of state, Girolamo
Dandino. Dandino had been trained in the chancery of Paul III, which was a good
school, and had become intimately acquainted with the position of affairs in
France and Germany, through numerous diplomatic missions.
There were three other secretaries besides him,
employed as assistants in the chancery: Giulio Canano,
Angelo Massarelli, and Trifone Bencio, the latter
also having charge of the cypher codes. The office of secretary of Latin
letters, which had been filled during the whole reign of Paul III. by Blosius
Palladius, still remained in the hands of this distinguished stylist under
Julius III. When Blosius died in August, 1550, Julius divided this lucrative
post, which had formerly been filled by two officials. His choice fell on the
two able humanists, Galeazzo Florimonte, Bishop of
Aquino, and Romolo Amaseo, of Bologna, who was
recommended by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. After the death of Amaseo, in the summer of 1552, the eminent Bishop of
Carpentras, Paolo Sadoleto, took his place.
Dandino, whom Julius justly valued highly, was the
real head of the Chancery. When he became Cardinal on November 20th, 1551, he
bequeathed his official duties to his secretary, the talented Canano. These two conducted the correspondence with the
nuncios, while Cardinal Innocenzo del Monte enjoyed the advantages and honours
of the office, although he only wrote the signatures. The Pope superintended
ecclesiastical as well as political affairs; he had taken up an independent
attitude from the beginning and hardly ever consulted with anyone. The zeal
with which Julius III devoted himself to business, especially in the first
years of his reign, is proved by the fact that in the case of important
official documents, he not only suggested the matter himself, but also the form
in which it should be expressed. Even though these documents are not headed
“Dictated by the Pope himself,” they can nevertheless easily be distinguished
from others; they bear a stamp which is quite their own and surprise as much by
their vigour and wealth of imagery, as by the striking originality of their
mode of expression. The journal of Massarelli testifies to the great assiduity
with which the Pope prepared and worked out the instructions for his nuncios.
The Pope’s very confidential friends, Cardinal Crescenzi and Angelo Massarelli,
as well as Dandino, were called upon to assist in this work. Massarelli was,
however, specially chosen on account of his experience in the question of the
Council.
CHAPTER III.
Preparations for the reassembling of the Council in
Trent.—The Dispute concerning the Duchy of Parma.
Among the points of the election capitulation to which
Julius III had pledged himself in the conclave, the re-opening of the General
Council for the extirpation of heresy and the reform of the Church stood in the
first place. For the promotion of this matter the Pope had entered upon
diplomatic negotiations with Charles V and Henry II immediately after he
ascended the throne.
Even before Pedro de Toledo, the appointed envoy to
the Emperor, entered upon his mission, well-informed people believed that the
Head of the Church was prepared, not only to continue the Council in Trent but,
under certain circumstances, even in another place, in the centre of Germany;
it was, however, to be a real and free Council. Toledo, indeed, declared by
word of mouth, that he believed His Holiness would make such a concession,
should he think Trent unsuitable, but only if security should be given him that
there should be no undue interference in the matter of reform or of the
authority of the Holy See.
The Imperialists had not expected such complaisance.
Had not Diego de Mendoza been so taken aback at first at del Monte’s election
that the Pope had to call out to him : “Don’t be so terrified, ambassador!”.
Charles V was most pleasantly surprised. His answer to Pedro de Toledo was
exceedingly gracious; Toledo was to beg the Pope respectfully in his name to
summon the Council as soon as possible and to hold it in Trent. With regard to
the guarantees required by Julius III. the Emperor assured him that he only
wished to promote what was most advantageous to the Apostolic See and agreeable
to His Holiness, in so far as this depended on him and was not contrary to his
duty. On March 16th, 1550, Charles V informed his brother Ferdinand, that he
had thought it right at once to inform the Papal ambassador of his agreement
with the offer regarding the Council, and that he would now, in order to take
the Pope at his word, summon the Imperial Diet for June 25th, at Augsburg.
Before the arrival of Toledo, Charles V had already
sent his confidant, Luis de Avila, to Rome, to convey his congratulations,
bearing a letter in which he assured the Pope of his perfect readiness to
protect the Church. Julius III. received the ambassador on March 25th, 1550,
and also declared his intention of proceeding in the matter of the Council, as
in all else, to the satisfaction of the Emperor.
In April, 1550, the Pope entrusted a commission of
seven Cardinals: de Cupis, Carafa, Morone, Crescenzi, Sfondrato, Pole and
Cervini with the deliberations concerning the Council, at the same time
recalling Sebastiano Pighino from Germany to Rome,
for the purpose of furnishing reports. Morone set forth the by no means
unimportant difficulties which stood in the way of a renewal of the Council at
Trent, and these were carefully considered by the commission. The result was the
approval of the decision to reopen the Council at Trent.
As a matter of fact, the two principal objections to
the Council being again held in Trent were no longer in existence. The danger
of interference on the part of the Council in the Papal election appeared to be
over, as the new Head of the Church was no longer, as had been the case with
Paul III, a broken old man, but one who was still in possession of great bodily
vigour. The other difficulty, which concerned the validity of the removal of
the Council to Bologna, which had taken place with the consent of His Holiness,
was overcome by the fact that almost all the Spanish bishops had left Trent
after the departure of Cardinal Pacheco to the conclave, so that it could
hardly be maintained that the assembly was still . in existence. It was
therefore possible again to take up the work of the Council in Trent, without
detriment to the reputation of Julius III and his predecessor. This was the aim
of the election capitulation, of the nuncios in Germany, and also of the
Emperor, who was joined by the King of Poland. A continuance of the Council in
Bologna was therefore impossible, if only for the reason that in such a case a
judgment concerning the suspension, originated by Julius III, as legate, and
warmly advocated by him, would have had to be expressed. This would again have
given rise to the old disputes and, moreover, the Emperor had only received the
consent of the German States for Trent as the seat of the Council.
Immediately after the decision of the commission the
Pope informed the Imperial ambassador Mendoza of his intention to open the
Council in Trent and to appoint Pighino as nuncio to
Charles V for the carrying out of the preliminary negotiations. He begged,
however, that the matter might not in the meantime be openly discussed; first,
because it had still to be considered in the consistory, and also to prevent
the French from having an opportunity of prematurely putting difficulties in
the way. The nuncio at the court of the Emperor, Pietro Bertano,
also received a corresponding intimation and was enjoined to keep the matter
secret for the time being.
Now that the agreement between the Pope and the
Emperor appeared to guarantee the speedy reopening of the Council, the most
dangerous intrigues against it were again being carried on by the French
sovereign, as had formerly been the case in the time of Francis I.
The French King acquiesced in the election of Julius
III, but not in the friendly overtures of the new Pope to the Emperor. The
former, indeed, did everything in his power to consider the susceptibilities of
France, but the French politicians greatly feared the revival of religious
unity in Germany through the Council; they considered it much more advantageous
that the religious division and consequent loss of vital power in Germany
should continue.
It was in vain, therefore, that Julius III showed the
French King the most extreme complaisance in an endeavour to break down at
least his direct opposition; nor did it improve matters when the Pope, in his
conferences with Cardinals Tournon and d’Este,
exerted all his diplomatic skill to remove the objections of the French. The
direct negotiations were to be dealt with by Antonio Trivulzio, who was well
known and very popular at the French court, and who was destined to succeed the
present nuncio, Michele della Torre. His departure was delayed, however, as
well as that of Pighino, in consequence of an attack
of gout which seized the Pope, and it was not until the beginning of July,
1550, that the two envoys could at last set out upon their journey.
Pighino,
who was appointed Archbishop of Siponto, and was to
replace Bertano, who had been nuncio till then,
received in the instructions prepared for him on June 20th, orders to lay four
considerations before the Emperor, not so as to raise impediments, but with a
view to getting rid, by a mutual understanding, of certain difficulties which
still stood in the way. The first consideration was with regard to the
Frenchmen who were destined to take part in the Council of the Church, so that
in the endeavour to win back Germany she might not lose France, or the King set
up a national schismatical council. In order to
overcome the distrust of the French King for the city of Trent, which was
situated in Imperial territory, Julius III was prepared to promise that the
Council should only, occupy itself with questions concerning the faith and the
reform of morals, but in no way with political matters or with the special
privileges accorded to the French kings. The second consideration concerned the
poverty of the Apostolic See and of the Italian prelates, in consequence of
which it appeared impossible to bear for a long period the expenses entailed by
the upkeep of the Council and the residence thereat. In order, therefore, to
avoid unnecessary delay, the Emperor was to undertake, as far as lay in his
power, that the Council should begin punctually and fulfil its duties
expeditiously. In order to do so Charles V would have to secure the acceptance
of the Council by the Catholics as well as the Protestants in the Imperial
Diet, because the acquiescence of the Germans had been the principal
supposition upon which the commission of Cardinals had consented to hold the
Council at Trent. The third consideration related to the dogmatic decisions which
had been already fixed at the Council of Trent and at other Councils, and
concerning which the Pope insisted, from the Catholic point of view, and with
perfect right, that they must not again be called in question. In connection
with this the difficult question arose, as to how the Protestants were to be
heard should they appear in the Synod. Finally, the fourth consideration was
with regard to the supreme authority of the Pope and of the Apostolic See, in
the Council and out of it, which was not to be impugned. An appendix to the
instructions, which was sent after the nuncio, dealt with the dispute
concerning the possession of Piacenza.
The instructions, also drawn up on June 20th, for
Trivulzio, who left Rome on July 5th, emphasized the fact that the Pope would
take no decisive steps before he received the answer of Henry II. Among the
reasons which made the re-opening of the Council at Trent advisable, the first
and most important was the fact that at the last Diet at Augsburg, all the
States, Catholic as well as Protestant, had submitted to the decrees of the
Council of Trent; therefore, as the Germans were precisely the people who were
most in need of such medicine, the Pope would be acting against his duty and
the dictates of his conscience, were he not prepared to summon the Council
again in the said city. The question as to the validity of the removal of the
Council to Bologna under Paul III was, in the meantime, to remain undecided.
Trivulzio was also instructed to call attention to the fact that, in the event
of the refusal by the King to accept the Council, the Emperor would come to an
understanding with the Protestants on his own responsibility and could then
accuse the Pope of neglect of duty. The four considerations in the instructions
of Pighino are almost the same as those of Trivulzio,
who was also specially enjoined to keep on good terms with Cardinal Guise.
When Pighino, whose journey
occupied more than a month, reached the Emperor at Augsburg, on August 3rd,
1550, the Diet, in spite of a poor attendance—none of the secular Electors
appeared in person—had already opened. The French ambassador, Marillac, was of
opinion that Charles V had an object in not waiting for the arrival of Pighino, and that by opening the Diet quite unexpectedly on
July 26th, although the date for so doing had been postponed till August 10th,
1550, he wished to anticipate by a proposition of his own, any obstacles which
might arise from the conditions of the nuncio. This proposition was to the
following effect : the States of the last Diet had agreed that no better means
could be found for the discussion and settlement of religious matters than a
Christian General Council, and as the present Pope had graciously assented, and
promised that the Council should, in accordance with the desire of the Emperor
and the sanction of the States of the Diet, be continued and brought to an end
at Trent, there was, in his opinion, nothing to be done in the matter, except
to keep on urging the Pope to fulfil his promise. The authorized agents of the
two great Protestant princes, Maurice of Saxony and Joachim of Brandenburg,
protested, however, against this. They expressly demanded that the Pope, as an
interested party in the Council, should not preside, and that the Articles of
Faith, which had already been defined, should again be discussed; a declaration
to that effect was, however, not taken as being contrary to the decisions of
the former Diet. The majority of the States, Catholic as well as Protestant,
declared on August 20th, their agreement to the Emperor urging the Pope to
continue the Council.
Pighino had nothing but favourable reports to give of his reception by the Emperor, and
of his deliberations with the chancellor, Granvelle, no essential differences
having arisen between them. With regard to the Protestants, however, Pighino could have no illusions. It must have given him
matter for serious consideration when, in the reply of the States to the
Imperial counter-plea of October 8th, the demand of the Protestants that their
representatives in the Council should also be heard concerning the points already
decided, was once more repeated.
The Emperor, however, sent the Pope a reassuring
explanation of this incident, through his ambassador, Mendoza, telling him that
they would listen to the Protestants, but alter nothing in the decisions
already adopted, which they would simply repeat. Mendoza also gave assurances
regarding Charles V’s stay in Germany. In this manner perfect unity was
established between the Pope and the Emperor, on this point at least, and
nothing further now stood in the way of the Council being summoned.
The negotiations with France, however, were more
difficult to carry through. The nuncio who was there at this time, Michele
della Torre, spared no efforts to win over Henry II to the plan of the Council.
He was told, however, that no decision could be arrived at until after the
arrival of Trivulzio. That the King was opposed to the plan is clear from his
correspondence with his ambassador, Marillac, who was at that time at Augsburg.
Trivulzio next received a polite letter from the King,
in which he committed himself to nothing. Henry II was endeavouring to defer a
decision, but finally declared to the two representatives of the Pope, with
brutal candour, that he had no interest in prolonging the Council, that his
subjects did not require it, being good Catholics; should any fall away, they
would be punished in such a manner that they might serve others as an example.
He added that there was a sufficiency of worthy prelates in France, who could
carry out the reform of the clergy, without its being necessary to summon a
General Council. With regard to the safety of Trent the King reminded the
nuncios that the Pope, when he was Legate of the Council there, had feared for
the safety of his own person, and had therefore undertaken the removal of the
Council to Bologna. It seemed clear from this fact that Trent could not be so
safe as His Holiness maintained; if, however, all the other princes declared
themselves agreeable, then would he, the Most Christian King, do as his
predecessors had done in similar circumstances. This was all that the most
earnest entreaties of the nuncios could draw from him. The French ambassador in
Rome, d’Urfe, was instructed to speak to the Pope in
the same fashion. Henry II. at once put forward the rights of the Gallican
Church, ordered the observance of the decrees of the Council of Basle, and
vigorously opposed the Pope’s intended bestowal of the bishopric of Marseilles
on his relative, Cristoforo del Monte. To the brief addressed to the King by
Julius III, on September 22nd, there came an answer as vague and disobliging as
possible.
The Pope did not allow himself to be disconcerted by
the unfriendly attitude of France. However greatly he may have regretted the
conduct of Henry II he was still of opinion that after his recent negotiations
with the Emperor, he might take steps to summon the Council. On October 3rd,
1550, Julius III, who just at the moment was highly delighted by the news of
the conquest of Mehadia, on the north coast of
Africa, announced to the consistory his intention of publishing a Bull to carry
out this decision. Animated by a most lively desire to arrange this important
matter, he worked personally at the drafting of this official document. It was
to be in the hands of the nuncio by the middle of October. This, however,
proved to be impossible, as it was desired to await the arrival of Cardinals
Cervini, Pole and Morone, who were to be the first to examine the draft. On
November 10th, it reached the hands of the other Cardinals who were deputed to
act in the matter of the Council, viz.: de Cupis, Carafa, Tournon, Juan
Alvarez, de Toledo, and Crescenzi. In order to avert all difficulties, they at
once agreed to avoid the expression “continuance of the Council” in the
official document.
The text of the Bull was considered once more on
November 12th, by a meeting of the eight Cardinals, in the presence of Julius
III, and the Pope’s draft was unanimously approved. On the following day the
Pope and Cervini again went through the important document for the last time,
and on November 14th it was read and sanctioned in a secret consistory. The
decision gave universal satisfaction, and it was also reported that the Pope
would repair to Bologna in the spring in order to be nearer to the seat of the
Council.
In the Bull, which did in fact avoid the expression
“continuance,” Julius III announced his intention of labouring for the peace of
the Church, the spread of the Christian Faith and true religion, and of
providing, as far as lay in his power, for the tranquillity of Germany. As it
was his right, in virtue of his office, to summon and direct General Councils,
the Pope addresses to the patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, abbots and all upon
whom it may be incumbent to assist at a General Council of the Church, the
earnest admonition and invitation to repair to the city of Trent on the coming
1st of May, the day fixed for the re-opening of the Council begun under Paul
III; the Papal Legates, through whom he intended to preside at the Council,
should he be prevented from doing so in person, would also be there.
The Bull was sent at once in the original to Pighino, on November 15th, so that he might hand it to the
Emperor. In the letter which accompanied it, the nuncio received instructions
to beg Charles V to have the document published as quickly as possible, as it
was only to be made known in Rome after its publication in Germany. It was also
explained at the same time why May 1st had been chosen for the opening date instead of Laetare Sunday as originally
fixed. The reason given for this was that the prelates should not be absent from
their churches during Lent and at the festival of Easter, and also the high
cost of provisions prevailing at that season, which would disappear at the
approaching harvest. On the same date, November 15th, copies of the Bull were
sent to Venice, Spain and Portugal.
The messenger who carried the document arrived at
Augsburg on November 21st, and on the following day Pighino handed the Bull to the Emperor. The latter praised it as a most admirable
document, but was not quite in agreement with the drafting, as he feared that
the manner in which the points already deliberated upon and decided in former
sessions of the Council, were alluded to, would give rise to an inimical
attitude on the part of the Protestants. It was not until December 15th that Pighino could report to Rome that the Bull had been made
public. Thereupon Julius III ordered, on December 27th, that it should be read
during mass at St. Peter’s and at the Lateran, and generally made known to the
public by being affixed to the church doors. This took place on January 1st,
1551, the Bull being then printed and sent in the course of January to all the
bishops of the world. The Pope had invited the Polish episcopate to the Council
as early as December 20th, 1550, in a brief of that date informing them of the immediate
dispatch of the Bull.
Charles V as was characteristic of him, had a secret
protest drawn up on January 3rd, 1551, in which he took precautions against any
possible disadvantages which might arise from his consent to a Bull which did
not altogether satisfy him ; he required in particular that the position he had
taken up with regard to the transference of the Council to Bologna should not
be affected.
In the “Farewell to the Diet” published on February
13th, 1551, the Emperor gave expression to his views on the Council in the
following terms: he had considered the Council the best manner of regulating
religious questions satisfactorily, and through his negotiations with the Pope,
he had succeeded in having the Synod summoned to Trent on the following 1st of
May; the Bull in connection with this had been communicated to the States of
the Diet. As these had declared that they accepted the Council and submitted
themselves to it, the Emperor expected that this would now be held, and, now
that the announcement had been made, that the Princes would support the Council
in every way. He, on his side, would do everything incumbent on him, as patron
of Holy Church and protector of the Council. He expressly assured, by his
Imperial might and power, to all who wished to attend the Council, a free and
unhindered journey, freedom of speech, and a free and safe return home. He also
declared that he would remain within the confines of the Empire, and, as far as
possible, in the neighbourhood, in order that his assistance might be granted
to the Council, so that it might be brought to a good and just conclusion,
conducive to the well-being of the whole of Christendom, but particularly to a
settled peace and to. the tranquillity and union of the German nation. He
therefore requested the Electors, the Princes, and the States of the Empire,
and above all, the ecclesiastical Princes and the adherents of the Protestant,
to hold themselves in readiness for the Council, in accordance with the Papal
proclamation.
On March 4th, 1551, Julius III, in consistory,
appointed the eminent Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi, a man of strictly
ecclesiastical views, as Legatus de latere and first president of the Council, Archbishop
Sebastiano Pighino of Siponto,
and Luigi Lippomano, Bishop of Verona, as apostolic
nuncios, who were to take their places as presidents at the side of the Legate.
The brief of the same date authorizes the said bishops, in the name of the
Pope, to preside at the Council, as he cannot proceed in person to Trent on
account of his age, his shaken state of health and other obstacles. On March
8th, the Pope, who was confined to bed with an attack of gout, bestowed on the
Cardinal legate, Crescenzi, the legate’s cross, in his bed-chamber, in the
presence of all the Cardinals. Two days later Crescenzi left Rome and proceeded
to Bologna, there to await further developments. A political question which had
most urgently engaged the attention of Julius III ever since his elevation to
the Papal throne, threatened at this time to prove fateful to the Council now
in course of preparation.
In accordance with the election capitulation, the Pope
had, very soon after his accession, given Parma, as a fief of the church, to
Ottavio Farnese, and he endeavoured to obtain the assent of Charles V and Henry
II to this step. In the long wearisome discussions concerning this matter, the
question as to the possession of Piacenza came up for consideration. The
Emperor’s answer to Pighino on this point was not
very gratifying ; the lawful claims of the church and the state, he said, must
first be debated in detail, and the question of possession afterwards decided.
This meant, in other words, that the right of the stronger was to prevail. It
soon came to light that Charles was also stretching out his hand for Parma. He
proposed to the Pope that the latter should invest him with Parma and Piacenza,
and that he should indemnify Ottavio Farnese from another quarter. Although
Julius III declared such a solution to be impossible, the Farnese family
despaired more and more of any successful result of the Pope’s mediation. To
the realization that an amicable return of Piacenza could not be reckoned on,
was added the fear of their mortal enemy, Ferrante Gonzaga, the Viceroy of
Milan. In order to maintain their rights in Parma, the Farnese began
negotiations with France, always willing to interfere in Italian affairs and to
resist the preponderance of the Emperor there.
The danger to the peace of Italy and the renewal of
the Council which would result from these proceedings was obvious to everyone.
The Bishop of Fano, Pietro Bertano, was sent to the
Emperor as plenipotentiary at the end of January, 1551, to discuss the measures
to be taken. It unfortunately happened, however, that Bertano fell ill on the journey, and only reached Charles V at the beginning of April ;
by this time, however, the Farnese were already deeply engaged with Henry II.
The Pope made the greatest efforts to prevent this
dangerous turn of affairs. On February i6th, 1551, he had sent his chamberlain,
Pietro Camaiani, to Ottavio Farnese, with
instructions to dissuade his vassal from his dangerous purpose, either by
threats or promises. On February 27th a very earnest brief was addressed to
Ottavio, reminding him that as Standard-Bearer, Captain-General of the Church,
and vassal of the Holy See, he could not serve any foreign prince without the
consent of the Pope, or receive any foreign garrison in Parma; the Pope forbade
any such proceedings under threats of the penalties incurred by rebels; should
he have already undertaken any engagements contrary to his fealty, he must at
once free himself from them. A monitorium of
March 5th repeated this menacing admonition. It proved, however, as vain as the
representations which the Pope made to the French king, through his nuncio. On
March 12th Philippe de Sipierre left Lyons for Parma
with a treaty of alliance, which Ottavio signed. His enemies, as he wrote to
his brother Alessandro on March 24th, sought to poison him and wrest Parma from
him ; he had resolved, however, to defend the city to his last breath.
The Pope was all the more indignant at this revolt on
the part of his vassal, as he had hitherto, overwhelmed the Farnese family with
favours. What was, however, to be done? If he interfered, the French king, who
was already threatening a National Council, would definitely refuse him
obedience; should he on the other hand tolerate the behaviour of Ottavio, then
he would not only break with the Emperor, but would also lose the respect of
the other princes, of the Cardinals, and of his vassals. In addition to all
this the lamentable state of the papal finances had to be considered.
Punishment of the rebel was out of the question without the help of the
Emperor. In order to assure himself of this assistance, Julius III resolved to
send the cleverest diplomatist of the Curia, his secretary of state, Dandino,
to the Imperial court at Augsburg.
In the instructions for Dandino, personally drawn up
by the Pope on March 31st, the situation with the Farnese family was once more
explained, and the desire to form an alliance with the Emperor most strongly
emphasized. It was his wish, Julius III continued, to sail in the same ship
with the Emperor, and to share the same fate as his, for he knew how closely
his interests, especially those concerning religion, were bound up with those
of Charles; should an appeal to arms, in spite of all efforts, become inevitable,
it being intolerable that a miserable creature like Ottavio Farnese should defy
at once the Emperor and the Pope, then Charles, as the. more powerful and the
more experienced in the art of war, must decide what was to be done.
This resolve of the Pope to make a stand against
Ottavio Farnese, in close alliance with the Emperor, was still further
strengthened when, on the day of the departure of Dandino (April 1st, 1551),
the ambassador of Charles, on his return to Rome from Siena, assured Julius of
the support of his master. However urgently the Imperialists insisted on the
immediate opening of the Council, it will easily be understood that Julius III.
shrank from so doing. On April 2nd, the newly appointed representative of France,
Termes, openly declared the intention of his king to summon a National Council,
and announce the withdrawal of his allegiance to the Pope, should the latter
take steps against 6tt.avio Farnese. This was the very way to drive such a
passionate man as Julius III to extremes.
In a consistory of April 6th, the Pope declared that
if his admonitions and threats remained without effect, he would force his
rebellious vassal to submission by the power of arms. He then bitterly
complained of the attempt of the French king to stand in the way of the meeting
of a General Council of the Church, by summoning a National Council. His plan,
however, would not succeed; he was determined to open the Council at Trent,
even in face of the danger that he might be forced to proceed to the excommunication
and deposition of a ruler who sought to prevent an assembly so necessary for
the well-being of Christendom.
The French had not expected such an uncompromising
speech. It appeared that the threats of their king had only hastened the
decision to declare the Council open, at least formally. Termes, as well as
Cardinals d’Este and Tournon, therefore did
everything in their power to minimize the significance of the summoning of a
French National Council. This very attempt to excuse a proceeding which was in
itself inexcusable irritated Julius III still more; he expressed himself in the
strongest language against Ottavio Farnese, as against Henry II. On April nth,
1551, a monitorium poenale was issued against Ottavio, who had made himself guilty of rebellion by the
reception of foreign troops.
After these outbursts of anger, there followed days,
as is frequently the case with those of a sanguine temperament, when the state
of affairs appeared in quite a different light. The break with Ottavio Farnese
naturally entailed that with Henry II, who could put the greatest difficulties
in the way of the Council and perhaps even bring about a schism. Besides this,
was the needful help on the part of the Emperor certain? Another consideration
as far as Italy was concerned also weighed even more heavily in the scale. How
was it possible to carry on a war, when the money chests were empty, and an
unproductive year threatened the States of the Church with famine ? Powerful
voices were also raised in earnest warning against precipitation in beginning
the hostilities, which the Emperor was urging. A letter from Cardinal
Crescenzi, who stood high in the Pope’s estimation, was specially urgent in
advising caution. To all this was added the hostile attitude towards this war
of the people of Rome, where it was said, to the great vexation of Julius III,
that the Pope was nothing but a weak tool in the hands of the Spaniards. It is
not, therefore, to be wondered at that the Pope wavered to the last moment and
made new attempts to settle this unhappy strife about Parma. All endeavours,
however, proved vain, and on May 22nd Ottavio Farnese was declared, in a secret
consistory, to have forfeited his fief; five days later Henry II. pledged
himself to supply Farnese with money and equipment. The question was to be
decided by the force of arms.
CHAPTER IV.
Second Period of the Council of Trent.
Regardless of the political situation, which was from
day to day growing darker, Julius III continued his preparations for the
General Council, which he determined to open at the appointed time in spite of
every difficulty. On April 15th, 1551, he again entrusted Angelo Massarelli
with the post of secretary to the Council. Massarelli started on the following
day for Bologna, which he reached on the 19th. On the part of the Pope he
announced to the Legate, Crescenzi, who was staying there, that the Council was
in any case to be opened on May 1st, but only by the Legate himself if news
should have by that time have come from Dandino that such was the wish of the
Emperor; otherwise the opening ceremony was to be undertaken by the second and
third presidents, Pighino and Lippomano.
On April 23rd Massarelli was in Trent, where the final preparations were being
made for the opening of the Council. The Palazzo Ghiroldi,
where the Legate was also to reside, was being fitted up for holding the
congregations, while the sessions were to take place in the venerable Cathedral
of St. Vigilius.
Dandino arrived in Trent from his legation on April
24th, and announced that the Emperor agreed to the opening; he only desired
that they should proceed slowly, until more prelates, and especially the
Germans, should have arrived.
The presidents of the Council, Crescenzi, Pighino and Lippomano, made their
solemn entry into Trent on April 29th, 1551. Cardinal Madruzzo, four
archbishops and nine bishops welcomed them there. On the following day
Francisco de Toledo arrived as ambassador of the Emperor, and the first General
Congregation was held on April 30th. Cardinal Crescenzi declared that in
accordance with the will of the Pope, the Council must be opened on the
following day. This was unanimously agreed to, but a second proposal of
Crescenzi, that the next session should take place after four months, on
September 1st, met at first with lively opposition. In answer to this Pighino maintained that a Council’ could not be held with
Spaniards and Italians alone, the presence of German prelates was also
necessary; they should not, moreover, give the Protestants a valid reason for
refusing to acknowledge the Council. In view of these reasons, the second
proposal was then accepted.
On the following day, May 1st, 1551, the eleventh
Session of the Council of Trent, the first under Julius III, took place, with a
very poor attendance. After solemn high mass by Cardinal Crescenzi, the
conventual Franciscan, Sigismondo Fedrio of Dirut a preached a sermon. After that the secretary of the
Council, Massarelli, read aloud the Bull summoning the Council, and the brief
nominating the presidents, and Alepo, the Archbishop
of Sassari, the decree for the re-opening of the Council, as well as making the
announcement that the next session would not take place till September 1st, so
that the Germans might have time to appear in Trent. On the same May 1st, the
Pope, in Rome, had gone in solemn procession from S. Marco to the church of
SS. Apostoli, where a mass of the Holy Ghost was celebrated for the happy issue
of the Council, while at the same time, the Jubilee indulgence, already
proclaimed, was extended throughout the whole world.
In the course of the month of May, several other
Spanish bishops arrived in Trent. On April 24th, in consistory, the Pope had
already called upon the eighty-four prelates then resident in Rome to repair at
once to Trent. As this had had no effect, the dilatory prelates were once more
requested to be there by September 1st. A number of letters of summons were
also issued during the same month of May.
Although the Emperor also showed great zeal for the
furtherance of the Council, the prospects for the assembly still looked very
gloomy, for Henry II., determined to employ every means to turn the Pope from
his proceedings against Ottavio Farnese, worked his very hardest against the
Council. He broke off diplomatic relations with the Pope at the beginning of
July, and his ambassador, Paul de Labarthe, Sieur de Termes, made a formal
protest against the Council, in the consistory, before his departure. “Now,” it
was said in this official document, otherwise couched in respectful language,
“that the war has begun in Italy, the necessary tranquillity for such an
assembly cannot be found, and the prelates of his kingdom will not be present
in Trent.”
Henry II also worked against the fortunes of the
Council among the Catholics in Switzerland. The “Most Christian King” was not
ashamed to ally himself for this purpose with one of the most active enemies of
the Church, Pietro Paolo Vergerio.
On July 21st, 1551, irritated to the highest degree at
the devastation of the district round Bologna by the troops under Termes, the
former French ambassador in Rome, Julius III addressed a threatening letter to
Henry II, in which he summoned him to appear before the judgment seat of God.
The King then gave instructions to the nuncio, Trivulzio, to leave the court.
He was ready, he declared, to appear before God’s judgment seat, although he
knew he would not meet the Pope there. He regarded the latter as among the
worst and most ungrateful of men, whose unjust excommunication he did not fear.
In the royal council the question was discussed as to whether the French church
should fully withdraw her allegiance from the Pope, and nominate a special
patriarch for France. It was Charles de Guise, the Cardinal of Lorraine, who,
above all others, dissuaded the King from such a fateful step. Henry II
declared he would fight Julius III, not with spiritual but with secular
weapons. Ten thousand men were in readiness to start for Italy. In order to
touch the Pope in a tender spot, all Frenchmen were forbidden to send money to
Rome to acquire benefices or dispensations. This measure, which was adopted on
September 3rd, was equivalent to a breach of the Concordat.
The small number of prelates and ambassadors present
in Trent increased slowly until September. Besides the Spaniards and several
Italians, the first Germans also arrived, and on June 17th, the suffragan
bishop of Wurzburg, Georg Flach, reached Trent. Count Hugo de Montfort arrived
as the Emperor’s second ambassador on July 29th. The attendance of the
ecclesiastical Electors at the Council was of special importance. At first
these had wished to excuse themselves, but the Legate, Crescenzi, represented to
them in an emphatic manner how greatly their position made it incumbent on them
to attend in person; the Protestants must also be prevented from making their
absence an excuse for doing likewise. Lippomano was
actively engaged in the same direction. The three Prince-Electors thereupon
resolved to undertake the journey to Trent. On August 17th four of the doctors,
sent in advance by the Elector of Treves, arrived on the scene, among them the
learned Dominican, Ambrosius Pelargus. On August 29th
the two Electors, Sebastian von Heusenstamm,
Archbishop of Mainz, and Johann von Isenburg, Archbishop of Treves, made their
entry into the city. The arrival of these important representatives of the
German church, to whom were also added in October the Elector of Cologne, Adolf
von Schauenburg, was the more joyfully welcomed as it
was hoped that numerous bishops of the Empire would now attend. On August 29th
the suffragan bishop of Mainz, Balthasar Fanneman,
also arrived, and on the following day the learned Bishop of Vienna, Frederic
Nausea, as ambassador of Ferdinand, King of the Romans. The bishops, however,
who were in Rome, had not yet put in an appearance. The bitter words to which
the Legate, Crescenzi, had given utterance with regard to the absence of these
prelates, were fully justified. At the same time the outbreak of war in the
north of Italy, and the poverty of many Italian bishops, are reasons that must
be taken into consideration. The Pope was not in a position to help in this, as
the salaries of the presidents and other officials of the Council required
considerable sums, while the upkeep of the troops sent against Ottavio Farnese
quite exhausted his already limited resources. Julius III. did, however, what
he could. A Bull of August 27th, 1551, repeated under threats of penalties for
the dilatory, the order that all prelates should personally attend the Council.
Similar admonitions were given by the Cardinals deputed to deal with the
Council. The Pope, moreover, held fast to his resolution that the next session
of the Council should, under any circumstances, be held on September 1st.
On the proposal of the Legate the General Congregation
at Trent accordingly resolved, on August 31st, that the appointed session
should take place on the following day, the next being fixed for October nth.
The Pope even thought at that time of proceeding with his whole court to
Bologna, in the interests of the Council, a plan which had already been
considered, but which, on this occasion also, had to be abandoned on financial
grounds.
On September 1st the three presidents, Cardinal
Madruzzo, the two Prince-Electors, five other archbishops, twenty-six bishops
and twenty-five theologians assembled for the twelfth Session, the second under
Julius III. High Mass was celebrated by the Archbishop of Cagliari, and instead
of a sermon, the secretary of the Council, Massarelli, read a long admonition
by the presidents to those assembled. The credentials of the ambassadors of
Charles V and Ferdinand I were also received, and it was decided that the
Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist and the duty of residence of bishops should be
dealt with at the next session on October 11th.
At the conclusion of the session a French envoy,
Jacques Amyot, sent by Cardinal Tournon, who was then staying in Venice,
arrived. He presented a letter from Henry II as well as another document, and
demanded that they should be read. As the letter of the French king was
addressed “to the Fathers of the Convention of Trent,” thereby purposely
avoiding the term “Council,” the Spaniards vigorously opposed the reading of
the document. The Legate, with the fathers of the Council, retired to the
sacristy to decide upon the matter. It was resolved to comply with Amyot’s
request, in order not to embitter the French king still more, with the express
declaration, however, that the Council accepted the title in a favourable
sense; at the same time should this not have been the king’s intention in so
addressing it, then the letter could not be regarded as having been addressed
to a Council of the Church.
Thereupon Massarelli read the king’s letter, and Amyot
the other document. The purpose of the latter, while referring to the
declaration previously made in the consistory by the French ambassador, was
again to offer reasons for the uncompromising attitude of Henry II. towards the
Council, and to protest against it. While covering the Pope with reproaches, he
laid stress on the fact that he had not been able to send his bishops as, in
the present political state of affairs, the journey was not safe; he regarded
the Council from which he had been unwillingly excluded, not as a general, but
rather as a private assembly, as it seemed to him rather to further the private
advantage of those for whose pleasure it had been summoned, than to serve the
general interests of the Church. On this account neither the French king nor
the French nation, any more than the prelates and ministers of the Gallican
Church should be bound by the decrees of the Council. He then declared openly
and solemnly that he would, in case of necessity, have recourse to the same
means of redress and defence, as those of which former kings of France had made
use in similar circumstances. He did not say this, however, to give the idea
that it was his intention to refuse due obedience to the Holy See, although he
had the independence of the Gallican Church very much at heart.
The ambassador thereupon received in the name of the
Synod, through the promotor of the Council, the reply that he would receive a
carefully considered answer to his declaration at the next public session, on
October 11th. It was pointed out that, in the meantime, no prejudice against
the Council and its continuation should be deduced from anything the French
ambassador might have done.
On September 7th Paul Gregorianozi,
Bishop of Agram, had arrived in Trent as second
ambassador of King Ferdinand, and Guillaume de Poitiers as third representative
of Charles V. for the provinces of Flanders. As no further details with regard
to the immediate intentions of the Emperor, especially concerning-his journey
to the Netherlands, had been made public, fears arose as to the continuation of
the Council, while the reaction which the war about Parma was exercising on the
Synod was steadily growing more apparent. On September 24th Bertano was able to report to Rome that the Emperor had postponed his proposed journey
to the Netherlands for the present. Charles V then repaired to Innsbruck, where
he arrived at the beginning of November. He formed this resolution expressly
with a view to the Council.
Those who were assembled in Trent had at once resumed
their activities after the session of September 1st. Already on the following
day, ten articles concerning the Eucharist, taken from the writings of Luther
and the Swiss reformers, were laid before the theologians of the Council for
examination. A Congregation of twenty-four eminent theologians, among them the
Jesuits, Lainez and Salmeron, sent by the Pope, and the Dominican, Melchior Cano, delegated by the Emperor, immediately took the work
in hand. Their deliberations lasted from the 8th until the 16th of September,
and were then continued with the same thoroughness by the fathers of the
Council in nine General Congregations, from the 21st until the 30th of
September. The theologians were enjoined to base their reasons on the Holy
Scriptures, on Apostolic tradition, on lawful Councils, on the Fathers of the
Church, on the Constitutions of the Popes and on the consensus of the universal
Church. In so doing they were to avoid all prolixity, as well as all
unnecessary discussions and contentious disputation. The Legate, Crescenzi,
especially urged that they should limit themselves to a clear setting forth of
the errors and not venture on theological sarcasm. During the deliberations the
questions of the chalice for the laity and of children’s communion were
minutely discussed.
After the views of the religious innovators, grouped
together in ten articles, had been discussed from all points of view and
minutely examined, a commission of eight prelates was appointed in the General
Congregation of September 30th, who, in conjunction with the Legate, were to
refute these views in concisely framed Canons. The work of the commission
reached the General Congregation on October 6th and was considered by the
fathers of the Council on the following days. Eleven of these Canons were, after
repeated remodelling, approved of by the latter; two others, already prepared,
dealing with communion under both kinds, were, in accordance with the wish of
the Emperor, postponed, in view of the expected arrival of the Protestants.
Conformably to a proposal of the Bishop of Castellamare,
a dogmatic decree in eight chapters, concerning the Holy Eucharist, and
proportionate to the importance of the subject, was prefixed to the Canons.
Besides these dogmatic questions, matters of reform were also treated, which
had been partly dealt with in the first period of the Council, but were not yet
settled. A General Congregation of October 10th sanctioned, for the following
day, the publication of the dogmatic decree concerning the Holy Eucharist, the
eleven Canons and a reform decree which, in eight chapters, dealt mainly with
the guarantee of the authority of the bishops in their sees, their
jurisdiction, the increasing difficulties attending their citation to Rome, the
procedure in appealing to the Pope, and similar matters relating to the
settlement of the ecclesiastical government of the Church. In accordance with a
proposal of the Legate, it was then decided that the definition of the postponed
articles dealing with the chalice for the laity and the communion of children,
concerning which the Protestants wished to be heard, should be put off until
the next session but one, on January 25th, 1552. A letter of safeconduct for the Protestants was at the same time
presented and sanctioned.
On October nth, 1551, the thirteenth Session of the
Council, the third under Julius III, took place with unusual solemnity. The
Bishop of Majorca, Giambattista Campegio, celebrated
High Mass and the Archbishop of Sassari preached in honour of the Most Holy
Sacrament of the Altar. The mandate, dated August 1st, of the Elector Joachim II
of Brandenburg for his ambassadors, Christoph von der Strassen and Johann Hoffmann,
who appeared at this session, was now read. In this official document the
Prince of Brandenburg designated the Pope as Most Holy Lord and Father in
Christ, first Bishop of the Roman and Universal Church, and his most gracious
lord, who had seen fit, with fatherly patience and love, to continue the
Council begun at Trent, and had promised the Emperor that the religious strife
which had broken out in Germany should be finally settled by him, and the holy
peace of the Church and the tranquillity of Germany definitely restored. In the
speech which he made before the Council in the name of his master, von der
Strassen gave the assurance that Joachim II would keep and defend all the
decrees of the Council honourably, as beseemed a Christian Prince and an
obedient son of the Catholic Church. It is possible and indeed very probable,
that this declaration was chiefly made by the Prince of Brandenburg with a view
to mitigating the opposition of the Pope to the election of his son Frederick,
a minor, to the archbishoprics of Magdeburg 'and Halberstadt. His declaration
was, however, of great significance, and was greeted with much applause by the
Council. The publication of the Decrees and Canons prepared now took place.
In the Decree dealing with the Holy Eucharist, the
Catholic doctrine concerning this, the greatest of the treasures of the Church,
to the glorification of which Raphael had once, under the second Julius,
created the immortal fresco of the Disputa, is
set forth with admirable lucidity.
Although Our Saviour, so teaches the Council, in His
natural existence, is always at the right hand of the Father in heaven, He is
still, in His substance, present in many places in a sacramental manner. This
presence, under the appearances of bread and wine, is a true, real and actual
presence. By the consecration, the bread and wine are changed in their essence
into the Body and Blood of Christ, so that only the appearances remain. This
change of essence is rightly and fittingly called Transubstantiation. The
Church has always believed that immediately after the consecration, Christ Our
Lord is present, with body and soul, with Godhead and manhood, under the
appearances of bread and wine, and also in every particle of the same. Utterly
false is the assertion that Christ is only present in the Holy Sacrament as a
sign or image, or that only His power or virtue are contained therein; it is
further specially emphasized that Christ is not only present at the moment of
participation, but also before and afterwards, and is therefore to be adored in
the Blessed Sacrament. Concerning the preparation for communion, the Council
expressly declares that no one conscious of having committed mortal sin, must
dare to approach the Holy Sacrament without having previously confessed; with
regard to the effects, the Council teaches that the Holy Eucharist blots out
our daily venial sins and preserves us from mortal sin, that it is a food for
our souls, and the pledge of a future life, so that we should often partake of
this Bread of the Angels.
At the close of this eventful session, at which, in
addition to the three presidents, Cardinal Madruzzo, the three ecclesiastical
Electors, five archbishops, thirty-four bishops, three abbots, five generals of
Orders, forty-eight theologians, as well as the ambassadors of Charles V,
Ferdinand I and the Elector Joachim II took part, the answer of the Council to
the King of France was read. The assembly, in this document, expressed their
pained astonishment and regret that difficulties should be laid in their way by
the French king. It repudiated the accusation that it did not serve the general
interests of the Church, but individual political purposes. The ambassador of
Henry II could look after French interests, and should the French bishops
appear, which they were once more earnestly requested to do, they would, both
on their own account, and on that of their king, meet with an honourable and
friendly reception; should they, however, neglect their duty, the Council
would, nevertheless, remain a General Council. The king was, therefore, again
earnestly admonished not to give way to his personal displeasure, but to put
the advantage of the Church before any other consideration.
On October 15th the Legate laid twelve articles on the
Sacrament of Penance, and four on the Sacrament of Extreme Unction before the
Council, as matter for its future work; these had been drawn from the writings
of the leading Protestant theologians. The theologians of the Council worked
most assiduously, discussing these questions three hours in the morning and
three in the afternoon, every day from the 20th until the 30th of October, and
minutely deliberating on everything concerning the subjects in question, which
appeared of importance to the controversialists. The result of these
conferences, which were carried through with incredible assiduity and the
greatest devotion, was laid before the General Congregation on November 5th,
which deliberated on it in fourteen sessions until November 24th. On November
21st, a reform decree, containing fifteen chapters, had also been laid before
the fathers, which was discussed in the General Congregation of the 23rd. The
result of these deliberations, which were conducted with the most scrupulous
care, were twelve dogmatic chapters on the Sacraments of Penance and Extreme
Unction, and nineteen Canons for the condemnation of the teaching of the reformers
with regard to these Sacraments.
With regard to the Sacrament of Penance, the Council
teaches that it was instituted by Christ in the form of a judgment-seat, in
accordance with the words of St. John, and that it is necessary, as a means of
again becoming reconciled to God, for everyone who has committed a mortal sin.
Three acts are required from the penitent : Contrition, Confession, and
Satisfaction. Contrition is defined as the sorrow of the soul and hatred of the
sin committed, added to the intention of no more offending God. By Confession,
which is ordained by God, the Church demands nothing further from the penitent
than that he should, after a diligent and exact examination of his conscience,
confess everything he remembers by which he has grievously offended God. The
power of giving absolution is possessed by every priest validly ordained, even
should he be in a state of mortal sin, who possesses either ordinary or
delegated jurisdiction. Absolution is no mere declaration that the sins are
forgiven, but is an official act, in which the priest gives sentence, as if he
were a judge. With regard to Satisfaction, it is emphasized that the punishment
is not fully remitted with the sin; through the penance which the priest
imposes, the power of the merits and satisfaction of Christ is in no way
lessened or obscured. In dealing with Extreme Unction the Council emphasizes
above all things that it is a real and intrinsic Sacrament, instituted by Jesus
Christ, and refers in justification thereof to the words of St. James.
The reform decree, which contained, besides an
introduction, fourteen chapters, was drawn up principally with the intention of
removing the difficulties which bishops encounter in punishing bad
ecclesiastics, as well as of taking measures that priests, especially those
occupied with the care of souls, should not lead wicked lives; a clerical and
seemly mode of dress was prescribed, and certain abuses in the bestowal of
benefices combated. All these decrees were published on November 25th, at the
fourteenth Session of the Council, and the fourth under Julius III.
The date of the next session was fixed for January
25th, 1552. The Catholic doctrine concerning the Sacrifice of the Mass and the
ordination of priests was to be published in this session in a dogmatic decree.
Ten articles which attacked the Sacrifice of the Mass were then again taken
from the writings of the Protestant theologians, and six directed against the
sacramental character of Holy Orders. These were collected and were in the
hands of the theologians on December 3rd; among them were two Germans, Johannes
Gropper and Eberhard Billick, who distinguished themselves; they had come to
Trent with the Elector of Cologne. The theologians deliberated in twenty-nine
conferences from the 7th until the 29th of December. The result of their
deliberations was handed to the fathers of the Council on January 3rd, 1552,
who dealt with it from the 5th until the 13th of January in thirteen General
Congregations. On January 14th the final redaction was entrusted to a
commission of eighteen prelates, who drew up four chapters of instruction and
thirteen Canons concerning the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and three chapters
of instruction and eight Canons concerning Holy Orders. These were laid before
the General Congregation for final approval on the 18th, 20th and 21st of
January.
The publication of these Decrees did not take place,
however, either in the session immediately following, or even during the second
period of the Council.
While the representative of Charles V at Trent was
hoping, at the end of 1551, that the Council would finish its work in two
further sessions, the Elector Maurice of Saxony was secretly planning a
widespread conspiracy to cut the Emperor “to the heart.” The traitor outwardly
kept up the appearance of favouring the Council.
Neither the Emperor nor the Pope had any idea of the
events which were in course of preparation. When, at the end of 1551, the
Prince-Electors of Mainz and Treves prepared to leave the city of the Council,
on account of the trouble in Germany, the Emperor, as well as Julius III,
protested with great energy against this step. The Princes were thereby prevailed
upon to remain for the time being, partly because they had no answer to make to
the letter written to them by the Emperor, in which he pointed out the
groundlessness of their fears, and also, perhaps, so that the Protestants, who
had at last arrived, could not say that their appearance had put the Electors
to flight.
While these dangers, so threatening to the Council,
were, for the time being, surmounted, other difficulties arose which made it
impossible to continue the work of the Synod.
On October 22nd, 1551, the two ambassadors of the Duke
of Wurtemberg had arrived. Johann Sleidan,
the representative of the cities of Strasbourg, Esslingen, Reutlingen,
Ravensburg, Biberach and Lindau followed on November 11th.
The hopes of an amicable arrangement soon proved vain, as these persons refused
to pay the Legate and nuncios the customary civility of a visit. The
representatives of the Pope chose to ignore this rudeness, for Julius III. had
enjoined on them to place charity before dignity, and to bear all insults with
patience, and, as far as possible, and so long as no disadvantage for the
Church and religion ensued, to accommodate themselves to the requests of the
Protestants, as it is never a disgrace for a father to bear patiently the undutifulness of a child, in order to bring him back to the
right path. On January 9th, 1552, Wolfgang Koller and Leopold Badhorn, the representatives of the most powerful of the
Protestant dynasties of the Empire, the Prince-Elector, Maurice of Saxony,
arrived. They also avoided all relations with the representatives of the Pope,
and dealt only with the ambassadors of the Emperor. To these they declared that
a new letter of safe-conduct must be drawn up for the theologians to be sent by
their master, in the form in which it was formerly issued for the Bohemians by
the Council of Basle. They further insisted that the Council must suspend its
work until the arrival of the said theologians, when all the former decisions
must be once more discussed. The decrees of Constance and Basle concerning the
superiority of Councils over the Pope were to be confirmed, and Cardinals,
bishops and other members of the Council were to be released from the oath
which bound them to Julius III. The Würtemberg ambassadors demanded, in a
similar manner, that the Council should annul all the decisions already arrived
at, and that judges should be appointed for the settlement of religious
disputes, who were not so partial as were the bishops.
As several of these demands had for their object the
complete subversion of the existing system of the government of the Church,
their very presentation made any prospect of agreement an impossibility. The
presidents of the Council, and above all the Cardinal-Legate, Crescenzi,
recognized this clearly, although the Imperialists allowed themselves to be
deluded with vain hopes. As the old opposition concerning the question of
reform, which had already on several occasions caused dissension between Crescenzi
and the Spanish-Imperial party, was always growing more acute, very lively
scenes took place. In order to be just to Crescenzi we must remember that the
instructions given him by Julius III from the very beginning, were to the
effect that he was not to enter into any negotiations with the Protestants,
unless they were ready to submit to the decisions of the Pope, as lawful Head
of the Church summoning the Council. In order to conciliate them as far as
possible, the Legate resolved to yield to the urgent requests of the
Imperialists, and to hear the Protestants before the assembled General
Congregation, although they had not made any such declaration. “Even when we
have reason to fear,” writes the second president, Pighino,
on January 23rd, 1552, “that we are being imposed upon, the Church, as anxious
Mother, must repulse no one, but must show everyone how to approach her, and
hold the way open, and remove all grounds for evading and remaining away from
the Council.” The assembly was agreeable to this, but secured themselves
against any disadvantageous consequences which might follow on their
complaisance.
In the Congregation held in the forenoon of January
24th, the Würtemberg ambassadors were received. They produced the confession of
faith, drawn up at Brenz, and announced that their Duke would send theologians
for the defence of the tenets set forth therein; it was, however, his desire
that arbitrators should be appointed, as the bishops belonged to a party, and
could, therefore, arrive at no definite decision; the Council, moreover, was
not to be continued in the sense that the decrees already published were to be
accepted as fixed; as, up till now, only one side had been heard, these decrees
must now be annulled. The Congregation thereupon answered that they would,
after due consideration, reply to these demands.
The Saxon ambassadors were to be received by the
Congregation in the afternoon of the same day. Acceptance was refused to the
so-called Recapitulation of the Augsburg Confession, composed by Melancthon,
as this frankly constituted a point-blank declaration of war against the
Council. The speech, moreover, in which the Saxon ambassador, Badhorn, set forth the demands he had already laid before
the ambassadors of the Emperor, was anything but conciliatory. He did not
shrink from telling the Catholics quite openly that in their case only “an
appearance of religion” was to be found among them! Badhorn,
in accordance with his instructions, laid the greatest importance on the
drafting of a letter of safeconduct which would be
conformable with the wishes of his master. This must be drawn up exactly in the
same form as that granted by the Council of Basle to the Bohemians. It was a
singular request, for the Basle letter of safe-conduct in no way contained the
demands upon which the Protestants now laid the greatest stress, namely that
religious disputes should be settled by the Scriptures alone, and that the
reformers should be given decisive votes in the Council. In his speeches, Badhorn contested a declaration which he erroneously
believed to have emanated from the Council of Constance, that, in the case of
heretics, it was not necessary to observe the letter of safe-conduct.
In glaring contrast to this attack on the Council of
Constance, was the fact that Badhorn enthusiastically
defended the uncatholic principle of the superiority of the Council over the
Pope in matters of faith, which had been brought forward by the same Council,
but had not become law. Perhaps he knew that this principle still had adherents
among Catholics, and even among the fathers of the Council of Trent. Badhorn quite disregarded the fact that Luther had
considered the Council of Constance as invalid, and had repudiated as
newfangled its authentic decrees. The demand that the bishops should be
released from their oath to the Pope, the ambassador based on the need of
reform in the Curia. He openly denied all authority on the part of the Pope,
which amounted to a complete overthrow of the whole system of government of the
Church, as it had existed until now. Badhorn claimed
the highest authority for his party; it alone should decide how far the present
Church differed from the old. All the questions concerning Faith already
defined by the Council should be discussed all over again; this had been the
idea of the Diet of Augsburg, when the continuation of the Council of Trent had
been called for in the name of all the States. Such a new discussion was necessary,
as the Elector of Saxony was convinced that many errors were contained in
those articles, especially in that concerning Justification, which must be
rectified by the Scriptures. The final settlement of these questions must be
made by the judicial decision of all the Christian nations, whose
representatives had not taken part in the earlier discussions, and without whom
the Council could only be called a separatist assembly and not a General
Council.
If one were to proceed on the principle that the
absence of several validly summoned members was sufficient ground for
questioning the authority of a legitimate Council, there would hardly have been
a Synod in history, at which the full attendance might not have been called in
question. Badhorn did away with all doubt as to what
this “free, Christian, general” Council
was to do; by expressly and repeatedly emphasizing the principle that in the
settlement of religious disputes the Holy Scriptures were to form the only
standard, he shows clearly that the Protestants demanded, as a matter of
course, that the Council should regard the new doctrines introduced by them as
proven truths, concerning which in actuality no dispute could arise. The
Congregation restricted itself, in replying to the Saxon representatives, to
the same answer which those of Würtemberg had received.
After the departure of the ambassadors from the
assembly, a long discussion began, at which the representatives of Charles V
and Ferdinand I were also present. The old opposition, which had repeatedly
shown itself on previous occasions, between the strictly ecclesiastical course
pursued by the Legate, and that of the Spanish-Imperialist party, now again
stood out in strong contrast. In order to obtain a perfectly clear view of the
position, Crescenzi wished that an express declaration against the superiority
of the Council over the Pope should be issued. This proposal, however, did not
gain a majority, although the Spanish-Imperialists were just as far from
gaining a victory with regard to the question they had most at heart. Charles V
had insisted from the first, that the principal task of the Council was not to
consist in the definition of doctrines, but in the preparation of statutes of
reform. The Spaniards appeared to think that the time had now come to proceed
without delay in this sense. They hoped to please the Catholics as well as the
Protestants by this means, and, at the same time, to carry through a number of
their own plans with regard to ecclesiastical matters. Crescenzi, however
continued to maintain that, as formerly, dogma and reform must still be dealt
with side by side. In order, however, to do everything possible on his part,
the Legate finally declared himself ready to comply with the wish of the
Protestants, and allow that the decrees already prepared concerning the
Sacrifice of the Mass and Holy Orders, should be postponed until March 19th,
and that a new letter of safe-conduct should be drawn up in the required form.
The Congregation decided in this sense, and also
ordered that the material concerning the Sacrament of Matrimony should be
prepared, so that the deliberations of the Council should not be suspended.
At the fifteenth Session of the Council, held on
January 25th, the decree of adjournment, as well as the new letter of safeconduct, finally agreed upon after repeated
negotiations between the Legate and the Imperialists, were made public. This
letter afforded to all the Germans, and in particular to all the adherents of
the Confession of Augsburg, the fullest security in coming to Trent, in staying
there, in making proposals, in negotiating with the Council, in examining and
giving expression to everything they desired, as well as in presenting every
article in writing or by word of mouth, supporting the same with passages from
the Scriptures and the Fathers, and upholding them with any arguments they
pleased. They were also to have freedom in replying to objections of the
Council, set forth by those who were appointed by the Synod to carry on
discussions or friendly disputations, with a complete avoidance of invective
and recrimination. This was all to be done for the purpose of dealing with the
questions in dispute in accordance with the Holy Scriptures, the tradition of
the Apostles, the authentic Councils, the consensus of the Catholic Church, and
the authority of the Fathers. The Protestants were finally assured that they
would in no way be punished on account of religion, or of the past or future
proceedings of the Council in connection therewith ; that they would be at
perfect liberty to return home when it pleased them; that they could leave the
city and again return to it at their own discretion, as well as carry on
communications when and where they pleased.
The representatives of the Elector Maurice were,
however, not yet satisfied with this exhaustive letter of safe-conduct, drawn
up in the most definite terms and handed to the Protestants on January 30th;
they demanded a letter which agreed in every particular with that granted by
the Council of Basle to the Bohemians. In spite of the representations made to
them by the Imperial ambassadors, they only accepted the letter on the condition
of being allowed to inform their master of it first.
Even a man of such strong anti-papal views as Vargas,
the Imperial agent, considered that in obtaining this new letter of
safe-conduct, the Protestants had actually gained everything they demanded. If
they, in spite of this, raised new difficulties, there could only be one
explanation of such a proceeding, namely, the obstinacy of the Elector Maurice,
who saw in the question of this letter, the best means of prolonging, through
his theologians, the affair of the Council, until such a time as his further
plans had developed or been frustrated.
This Prince, influenced as he was by the purest
self-interest, in whom “was neither a patriotic nor a religious thought to be
found” had undoubtedly for the same reason frustrated the attempt to induce the
Wittenberg and Leipsic theologians to come to an agreement with those of Würtemberg
and Strasbourg concerning a joint confession of faith to be laid before the
Council, which would have been of the greatest advantage to the Protestant
cause.
The presidents of the Council had at once communicated
the demands of the Protestants to Rome. It can easily be understood that Julius
III was indignant at these pretensions, which were directly aimed against his
authority. He would also have been glad had a decided refusal, in keeping with
the dignity of the Council, been given to these demands. Meanwhile, Crescenzi
could feel satisfied with the final decision of the Pope, for which the
approval of the commission of Cardinals had been obtained. All further
discussion of the three chimerical conditions: that the Council stood above the
Pope, that the bishops should be freed from their oath, and that the decrees
already decided on should be again dealt with, was forbidden.
The Bishop of Montefiascone, Achille de’ Grassi,
through whom Julius III communicated his decision to the presidents of the
Council, was instructed to announce in Trent, that an answer was to be given to
the ambassadors of Würtemberg and Saxony, so as to give them no ground for
justifiable complaint, and to avoid the appearance of being unable to bring
forward solid reasons for opposing their assertions. This answer was only to
establish the jurisdiction and authority of the Council, and was not intended
to irritate by offensive expressions, but to give evidence of fatherly love and
the ardent wish to bring back to the Church those severed from it. Grassi was
instructed to proceed from Trent to the Emperor, and remonstrate with him
concerning the behaviour of the Spaniards at the Council, for these had adopted
a course, with regard to the question of reform, which could lead to no real
improvement in the ecclesiastical position. They claimed that the bestowal of
almost all benefices was to be in the hands of national authorities, and the
chapters to be brought into complete dependence on the bishops. Julius III,
while emphasizing his honest intention of proceeding energetically concerning
the question of reform, bitterly complained of such a limitation of the power
granted him by God, and also deliberated on the matter with the Cardinals. They
were all of the opinion that if the Papal authority were attacked under the
pretence of a reform, energetic measures must be adopted against such a
proceeding. The instructions for Achille de’ Grassi (dated February 20th,
1552), contained the following sentence : “should, moreover, the reports
current since yesterday in Rome, of an alliance between the French King and the
Lutheran princes of Germany, and of a revolt of the latter against the Emperor,
prove correct, then one can hardly see what good purpose the Council can serve,
or of what use it can be, even should its continuance be possible.”
In consequence of the disquieting news from Germany,
the Elector of Treves had already left Trent on February 16th.
Eight days later the Emperor also thought that in the
present position of affairs, the Electors would be better at home. As the news
from Germany was daily becoming more threatening, the Electors of Mainz and
Cologne also left the seat of the Council on March nth. Two days later the
Saxon ambassadors left the town quite quietly in the early morning. On March
nth two new ambassadors of the Duke of Würtemberg appeared in Trent, and on the
18th four Würtemberg theologians, Brenz, Beuerlin, Heerbrandt and Vannius, as well
as two from Strasbourg, Marbach and Soil. Negotiation with these proved quite
hopeless. It was clear that the Protestants, after having made an appearance,
for a time, of submitting to the Council, now intended to refrain from any real
participation in its deliberations. Even the Emperor was at last convinced that
a profitable continuation of the Council under such difficulties was not to be
thought of. On March 5th he therefore instructed his ambassadors to induce the
Curia, in a diplomatic manner, to propose a suspension of the deliberations.
When the Electors of Mainz and Cologne reached Innsbruck on their return
journey, the Emperor declared that he was agreeable to a suspension. When he
gave the nuncio, Bertano, assurances to the exactly
opposite effect, on March 26th, it was only to avoid the appearance of the
proposal having emanated from him.
The uncertainty as to what would now happen was soon
brought to an end. News of the Elector Maurice’s traitorous dealings with
France against the Empire had already arrived in Rome in the last week of
January, 1552, which dealings were actually taking place at a time when it was
firmly believed, at the Imperial court at Innsbruck, that the Saxon theologians
would soon appear in Trent. Indeed, Melanchthon did arrive in Nuremberg on
January 22nd, while the private secretary of the Elector of Saxony went to Charles
V at Innsbruck to excuse the delay in the arrival of his master. The Emperor
had not the slightest idea that all this was being done to deceive him, until
Maurice had completed his preparations for war. By the middle of March the
necessary preliminaries had been arranged, and the mask could be dropped. While
Maurice and his fellow conspirators were beginning a predatory war on German
territory, their French allies appeared on the western frontiers of the Empire.
A correspondent of Cardinal Farnese tells us on March
20th, from Rome, that the whole of Germany was in arms, and any doubt as to the
alliance between the French King and the Protestant princes could no longer
exist. It therefore appeared all the more incredible to the ambassadors at the
Curia that the Emperor had taken no measures to oppose the warlike preparations
of his enemies; no one there understood the masterpiece of hypocrisy and
cunning with which Maurice had ensnared his benefactor.
It seemed certain that to continue the Council in the
present state of affairs would be highly dangerous. The Pope, however, in spite
of the alarming news, still hesitated to suspend it until the middle of April.
The decision was made imperative by the news that Augsburg had fallen into the
hands of the enemies of Charles V, whereby the safety of Trent was very gravely
threatened. Julius III, after deliberation with the Cardinals, only decided on
the suspension on April 15th, to obviate the danger of the Council dissolving
itself. The courier who brought the brief in question to the Legate, arrived in
Trent on April 20th. It was, however, not yet made public, as the presidents
considered it wiser to allow the suspension to be decided by the Synod, in
order to avoid irritating disputes with regard to the relations of the Council
with the Pope. This took place in the General Congregation of April 24th, in
which, indeed, some of the Spanish prelates opposed the suspension ; a
majority, however, was found for the proposal of Cardinal Madruzzo, who
suggested a suspension for two years. A commission of seven prelates was
entrusted with the drafting of the decree. A proposal made, in accordance with
the wish of the Pope, by the second president, to send a number of the members
of the Council to Rome, to co-operate there at further reform work, was
negatived on April 26th.
The decree of suspension was published on April 28th,
at the sixteenth session of the Council. Twelve prelates, mostly Spanish, had
protested against it. These remained alone in the city of the Council, but were
compelled to make a very hasty exit when, through the capture of the Ehrenberg
mountain pass by Maurice of Saxony, the Emperor, who was at that time ill with
gout, had to flee from Innsbruck on the evening of May 19th. The Legate,
Cardinal Crescenzi, who had been ill since March 25th, withdrew from Trent to
Verona on May 26th, where he died on the 28th.
CHAPTER V.
War in Upper and Central Italy.—Julius III’s Efforts
for Peace.—Conclusion of his Pontificate and his Death.
There is preserved in the Vienna archives a
confidential letter of Charles V, dated April 20th, 1551, to his ambassador in
Rome, Diego Mendoza, in which he openly declares that his procedure in the
dispute about Parma has for its object to keep Julius III completely in the
channels of his own policy. The ambassador is, therefore, enjoined to fan the
Pope’s anger against his disobedient vassal and his protector Henry II. to red
heat by every means in his power.
It did not, however, escape the Pope that in the
matter of Parma, they wanted to bring him into complete subjection to the
Emperor, but he also recognized the dangers which threatened his interests on
the part of France, which faced him with the menace of a schism, if he
proceeded against Ottavio Farnese. It was really like “a great labyrinth” in
which it was easy to lose the right path. Hence the vacillation of the Pope and
his repeated efforts, even at the last moment, to avoid the fateful struggle.
All these endeavours, however, proved vain. Julius III had not decision of
character enough to withstand the importunities of Charles V, Ferrante
Gonzaga, and Diego Mendoza, and the eager desire for war on the part of Giovan
Battista del Monte. “The right,” he said to Ippolito Capilupi,
“is on our side, as well as the support of the Emperor, who will restore Parma
to the Church,” and in this manner he rashly and imprudently resolved on war.
On May 22nd, 1551, Julius III signed the document by
which Ottavio Farnese was declared to have forfeited his fief, and communicated
it to the Cardinals in a secret consistory. Nevertheless, on the following day,
the Florentine ambassador, Buonanni, reports that the Pope was still hoping for
an arrangement, although no one else in Rome now considered it possible. Julius
actually agreed to the proposals of Ottavio regarding the exchange of Parma for
Camerino, which he had at first repudiated ; in the consistory of June 10th he
invested Farnese with Camerino, and assured him a yearly revenue of 8000 scudi.
This complaisance also proved vain, for Ottavio Farnese, who had full confidence
in the alliance he had concluded with Henry II on May 27th, was resolved that
the matter should be decided by an appeal to arms. On June 12th his adherents
invaded the States of the Church from Mirandola, reduced Crevalcore,
and devastated the district of Bologna. The Papal troops advanced against them,
fought a victorious battle, and then joined the Imperial troops under Ferrante
Gonzaga; the war had therefore now begun. It was all too soon proved, however,
that the Pope did not possess the firmness necessary to deal with the rapidly
succeeding events with consistent resolution, or to direct them into suitable
courses. In Rome itself the war had been highly unpopular from the beginning.
The shrewdest men in the Curia, Cardinals Morone and Crescenzi, knew only too
well that the Pope was not equal to such extraordinary circumstances, and had,
therefore, earnestly dissuaded him from entering on such a dangerous and
pernicious struggle, for the successful issue of which his resources were
wholly inadequate.
Julius III had, on June 6th, 1551, entrusted the
supreme command of the expedition against Parma to the Viceroy of Milan,
Ferrante Gonzaga, with full confidence in the support of the Emperor. The Papal
troops were nominally commanded by the nephews of the Pope, Giovan Battista del
Monte and Vincenzo de’ Nobili; in reality, however, the command was in the
hands of Camillo Orsini and Alessandro Vitelli. Cardinal de’ Medici, whose
brother, the Marquis of Marignano, was leader of the Imperial troops under Ferrante
Gonzaga, was appointed legate with the army on June 7th. In the States of the
Church all enrolment under foreign princes was forbidden; Cardinals Alessandro
and Ranuccio Farnese received on June 16th strict orders to return at once to
Rome ; the Emperor deprived them of their rich benefices, also withdrawing from
Ottavio his fiefs in Lombardy and Naples.
An attempt was next made to maintain the fiction that
the Peace of Crepy had not been broken by the
outbreak of hostilities in Italy, and this was based on the assertion of Henry
II that he had only taken up arms as an ally of Farnese, while the Emperor
declared he was only acting as a protector of the Church against a rebellious
vassal, and at the express desire of the Pope. No one doubted, however, that
war between the two princes was inevitable, and unfortunately the Turks at once
endeavoured to gain an advantage from the strife between the two chief powers
of Christendom. News of the threatening movements of the Turks reached Rome as
early as June, and against these the Pope had now to take preventive measures.
In July a large Turkish fleet appeared in the Ionian Sea, which, however, had
to give way before the resistance of the Knights of St. John from Malta,
whereupon the Turks turned their attention to Tripoli, which fell into the
hands of the infidels on August 14th.
The state of affairs in the field of war in Upper
Italy had proved unfavourable to the Pope from the very beginning. The invasion
of the territory of Bologna, where the enemy had caused great devastation,
threatened to bring about an insurrection in the whole of the Romagna and to
tear away Ravenna from the States of the Church. To this danger to the temporal
jurisdiction of the Pope was added a still graver threat to his ecclesiastical
power; a schism of the French Church was by no means impossible, especially at
that time, when there was so great a defection from Rome. The unsatisfactory
financial position of Julius III did not weigh less heavily in the scale, and
already on June 22nd, the treasurer, Giovanni Ricci, had sent to the court of
the Emperor to urge the payment of the pecuniary assistance promised. Charles V
declared he was prepared to pay 200,000 scudi down, if the Pope would grant him
the revenues of the Spanish bishoprics to the amount of 500,000 scudi. Ricci
could grant this, but received provisionally only 50,000 scudi.
The Pope, who had allowed himself to be drawn into
this war out of deference to the Emperor, was soon to discover that the
conquest of Parma, as also of Mirandola, was not such an easy matter as had
been represented to him. He had also to learn by experience that the expenses
of the undertaking were to exceed the original estimate by more than double the
amount. He sought in vain to improve the desperate financial straits in which
he found himself by imposing special taxes, and was also forced to pledge many
valuables and jewels. All this, however, was not sufficient to cover his
requirements. Julius complained bitterly that the Emperor neither gave him the
financial aid promised, nor did he send the number of troops arranged by
treaty. Charles V was, however, all the less able to fulfil his pledges as he
was soon obliged to protect Milan against the French, who were threatening it
from Piedmont.
The appearance of the French in Piedmont frightened
the Pope and intimidated him. Cardinal Crescenzi, who was painfully conscious
of the reaction of the war on the Council, again earnestly urged the Pope to
make peace, while the fathers of the Council joined him in warnings to the same
effect. On September 4th, 1551, the Pope addressed a long letter to the King of
France, and frankly offered him his hand in peace. Four days later followed the
appointment of Cardinal Verallo as special legate to Henry II. Pietro Camaiani was sent to the Emperor on October 10th to explain
the mission of Verallo, which the Pope had ordered as giving the highest proof
of his love of peace, but at the same time to emphasize the fact that no
agreement was to be thought of without the consent of the Emperor. Camaiani, however, did not obtain the success wished for,
since the question of subsidies, “ the great obstacle of the war from the
beginning,” was again not solved to the satisfaction of the Pope, which was all
the more painful to him as his financial position was daily becoming more
hopeless. He complained, indeed, that he had not only already pledged all his
jewels, but even his usual rings. In Rome everyone was at this time calling for
peace. The Emperor himself was also in great want of money, as was Ferrante
Gonzaga; neither of them could any longer pay their mercenaries. The Pope,
however, was undoubtedly in the worst position of all, for which reason he was
also the first to grow weary of the war. In the middle of December he informed
the Emperor, through Bertano, that he was no longer
in a position to keep up the full number of his troops in Upper Italy.
Meanwhile Cardinal Verallo had been negotiating with
Henry II. The Pope on December 21st instructed Pietro Camaiani to inform Charles V of the stage which these negotiations had reached. He by no
means trusted the French King, and begged the Emperor also not to let himself
be deceived, but to make all arrangements for continuing the war, as an
imposing display of arms is more effective in securing peace than a victory in
the field. Julius had been quite correct in his estimate of Henry II. Although
the Pope was quite prepared to fulfil the conditions proposed by the King,
Ottavio and France continued to make fresh difficulties; they knew very well
that two such strong places as Parma and Mirandola would be very difficult to
take by force, and trusting to this, they hoped to get still more favourable
terms. For this purpose Cardinal Tournon, who was then in Venice, was sent to
Rome. He arrived there on February 5th, and at once began negotiations.
Tournon, who had worldwide experience as a statesman,
and was an accomplished courtier, conducted these with great shrewdness. He
specially drew the Pope’s attention to the fact that the Holy See could not
reckon on the Emperor, on account of his bad health and the difficulties in
which Germany was involved, representing to him, at the same time, the gravity
of the position which was developing in the Council, as Charles V’s sole idea
was to increase his own authority at the expense of that of the Pope. In spite
of the fact that the Emperor was imprudent enough to leave his Papal ally in
doubt as to his own intentions, the French had the greatest difficulty in
attaining their end, and after fully two months time they had not yet come to
any arrangement. In the meantime the impossibility of continuing the war was
daily becoming more apparent. In addition to the direst need of money, there
was the fear that Henry II, who was allied to the Protestant princes of
Germany, might fall away from the Church. In Rome itself consternation and
excitement prevailed on all sides; the city was defenceless and the rest of the
States of the Church were not safe.
The conditions which Tournon at last laid down were as
follows : Parma was to remain in the hands of Ottavio Farnese, an armistice
with a suspension of all the censures issued was to be concluded for two years,
and after this the Duke was to be at liberty to come to a final agreement with
the Holy See, while his engagements to France would then cease ; the territory
of Castro was to be returned to the Farnese Cardinals for their brother Orazio,
but the Farnese family were to keep no larger number of troops there than was
required to guard the territory. Finally, Henry II. was prepared to meet the
Pope in ecclesiastical matters, and again to permit the bulls for the bestowal
of benefices in France to be drawn up in the Dataria in Rome.
Charles V naturally endeavoured to dissuade the Pope
from the agreement suggested, and Giovan Battista del Monte also used all his
influence to the same end. All their representations, however, proved vain; the
misery of the position was so great that the Pope had finally to submit. On
April 15th, 1552, he announced his resolve to the Cardinals in the consistory
in which the suspension of the Council was also discussed. Everyone agreed
without reserve. Cardinal Cervini was of opinion that if the Pope had had
recourse to arms on righteous grounds, he now laid them down from still more
righteous motives. On April 29th the armistice was concluded on the said
conditions, and it was left to the discretion of the Emperor to be a party to
it as well. On the following day the Pope, in a detailed letter to Camaiani, explained to him the reasons which had induced
him to come to terms with Cardinal Tournon. It had no longer been in his power
to hesitate, as the population of Rome and the States of the Church would have been
driven to despair ; the impossibility of conquering Parma and Mirandola was
obvious, for after a ten months’ siege they had not yet succeeded in completely
investing the latter fortress. He also pointed out that, in addition to this,
there was the danger on the part of the Turks and the Lutherans, and the no
less real danger of France falling into schism and becoming Lutheran. The
Emperor did not conceal from Camaiani his displeasure
at the one-sided proceeding of the Pope, but the outbreak of revolution in
Germany forced him also to agree to the conditions of peace on May 10th, a step
to which even Ferrante Gonzaga had urged him. The news reached Rome on May 15th
and caused universal jubilation. Three days later the Abbot Rosetto was sent to
Lombardy to press forward the conclusion of the armistice. The exile of
Cardinal Alessandro Farnese also came to an end at he same time, and on June
7th, 1552, he returned to Rome, where the Pope received him very graciously. On
June 25th, Lanssac appeared as special ambassador of
France, and brought with him the ratification of the armistice by Henry II.
Soon afterwards the diplomatic representation of the Holy See at the French
court was restored and Prospero Santa Croce was entrusted with the office. The
new nuncio was able to report to Rome as early as September that Henry II, by
his proceedings against Charles du Moulin, had renounced the anti-papal policy
which he had shown in his edict of September, 1551.
Notwithstanding the universal jubilation at the ending
of the costly and dangerous war, the Pope must have been forced to acknowledge
to himself that the two questions, for the solution of which he had worked so
earnestly during the first two years of his pontificate, had both remained
unsolved; that relating to ecclesiastical matters through the suspension of the
Council, and the other through the result of the war. This depressing
realization began to undermine his energy to a marked degree. It is false to
say that the Pope no longer took any
active interest in political questions” and that he led “a harmless pleasant
life’’ in his lovely villa outside the Porta del Popolo, “heedless of the rest
of the world.” Quite apart from the very important, though unobtrusive,
activity which Julius III displayed in ecclesiastical matters in the direction
of a Catholic reformation, especially in the latter half of his reign, he also
set to work at vital political questions, and strove diligently, if
ineffectually, for the restoration of peace in Christendom. His neutral
attitude gave offence alike to the French and to the Imperialists, as both
these parties expected to draw great advantage from a participation of the Pope
in the struggle. The accusation, therefore, that the Pope fled from all
business in order to lead an inactive life in peace in his beautiful villa,
originated with them. There can be no doubt that the Pope had very good reasons
for not mixing himself any further in the Italian disturbances; the war about
Parma had shown the results of such a course sufficiently plainly. Since the
painful experience which Julius III had then had, he had been very careful not
to be again led into participating in such a struggle, while higher motives
also weighed in the balance. The Pope knew that as Father of Christendom he
must as far as possible stand aside from
party feeling, as then only could he be successful as a peacemaker. How
greatly the activity which he displayed in this direction proceeded from
himself personally is proved by the fact that the greater part of the
instructions for the ambassadors and legates were now drawn up by himself, and
that he, for the most part, dictated personally to his secretaries. In the
midst of all this, his old enemy, the gout, was afflicting him to an increased
extent.
The grave state of the Pope’s health, which, in the
November 1553, made the possibility of a conclave in the near future apparent,
as well as the increasing hopelessness and confusion of the political position,
had the effect of gradually depriving Julius of the fresh animating energy of
the first years of his reign, and finally of paralysing his endeavours to make
peace. Soon afterwards, however, zealous activity was displayed by the Pope in
the direction of an attempt at mediation between the Emperor and France,
although the prospects of success seemed most unfavourable.
Soon after the conclusion of the armistice, Julius III
addressed himself to Henry II, by a letter in his own hand, on May 6th, 1552,
and begged him to make peace with Charles V. The French King, however, had not
the faintest idea of complying with this request, but hoped, on the contrary,
that he could, just at that time, inflict a decisive blow on the Emperor by
means of his conspiracy with the Turks. In spite of this, the Pope sent nuncios
to bring about an armistice between the bitterly struggling rivals. As ordinary
nuncio, Prospero Santa Croce went to Henry II, while Achille de’ Grassi was
sent to Charles V. The representations of both, however, fell on deaf ears. The
fury of war raged worse than ever; in the middle of July, a Turkish fleet
appeared before Naples, commanded by the corsair, Dragut, and the French envoy, Aramont; fortunately they could do little damage, as
the French fleet arrived too late. Another undertaking of Henry II. had all the
more brilliant a success. The inhabitants of Siena rose on July 27th, 1552,
with the cry of “France, Victory, Freedom! and forced the Spanish garrison to retire. The new Republic at once
placed itself under the protection of France. Nothing could have been more
pleasing to Henry II than this turn of affairs, as it not only threatened the
position of the Emperor in Italy, but served the purpose of keeping the Pope,
as well as Cosimo de’ Medici, in check.
The reaction of the troubles which had arisen in
Tuscany was at once seen in Rome. In the middle of August, 1552, the wildest
reports of an intended sack of the city by the Spaniards were in circulation,
originated solely, as was supposed, for the purpose of putting the Pope into a
false position with regard to the Emperor. As the disturbances in Siena were a
grave danger to peace in the States of the Church, the Pope, whose treasury was
completely exhausted by the war about Parma, found himself in a very critical
position. Determined as he was to remain neutral in the impending struggle,
his only thought was to prevent war, with its attendant horrors, from spreading
over the States of the Church. He therefore ordered the enrolment of 4000 men.
The anxiety and dismay increased in Rome when the end of the month brought the
worst news regarding the advance of the Turks in Hungary.
On August 13th, 1552, Julius III had sent Cardinal
Mignanelli to Siena to co-operate in the organization of the new constitution
in such a manner as to preserve the peace and independence of the Republic, and
assure it against the danger of interference by foreigners. Mignanelli, as a
native of Siena, seemed more suited for this difficult task than anyone else
could be, but in spite of all his good will, he could arrange nothing, and, on
September 28th, Julius III. had to recall him. It was quite clear what turn
affairs were taking, when Cardinal d’Este, who was
entirely devoted to French interests, arrived in Siena on November 1st, 1552,
as governor for Henry II. A defensive and offensive alliance, and the transfer
of additional French troops to Siena, showed how determined the French were to
establish themselves firmly there. Pedro de Toledo, Viceroy of Naples, was
preparing with all his might to drive them out, and thus, while the flames of
war were hardly extinguished in Parma, another outbreak in Central Italy was
threatened.
At the end of September, 1552, Julius III had
entrusted a commission consisting of four Cardinals with the task of
deliberating upon measures for bringing about peace between Charles V and the
French king. He still hoped he would at least succeed in preventing this new
disturbance of the peace of Italy, and repeatedly deliberated to this end with
Cardinals de Cupis, Pacheco, Verallo, Puteo, Cicada and Mignanelli. As he was
well aware that the Viceroy of Naples was urging the Emperor to undertake an
expedition against Siena, he sent Bernardo de’ Medici to Pedro de Toledo at the
end of November and advised him to wait a little longer before dispatching his
troops. Pedro, however, persisted in his intention.
In Rome, where the recollection of the dreadful sack
of 1527 still lived in the memory of the people, new fears concerning the
inimical intentions of the Spaniards again arose in December. The Pope, in
consultation with the Cardinals, took precautionary measures, whereupon the
Spanish party in Rome, as well as the Viceroy, made complaints. They should,
however, have been pleased, as far as that was concerned, for the Pope, making
the best of a bad bargain, allowed, in spite of his “neutrality,” the Spanish troops
to march through the States of the Church. The precautionary measures which he
adopted served only to prevent deeds of violence and disturbances in his own
territories. He sent Achille de’ Grassi to Naples again at the last moment, at
the end of December, once more to beg the Viceroy to come to a peaceful
arrangement, but again in vain.
In the first days of the new year, 1553, Garcia de
Toledo, the son of the Viceroy, started from Naples with the greater part of
the Spanish army, and marched through the States of the Church to Cortona; his
father proceeded with 30 galleys and 2500 Spaniards past Civitavecchia to
Leghorn, while Camillo Orsini had put Rome in a state of defence. The Pope,
who, just at that moment, was lying ill with an attack of gout, endeavoured to
protect his subjects from the very severe hardships which the passage of the
Imperial troops had brought in its train. He commissioned Cardinal Alvarez de
Toledo to persuade the leader of the Spanish army to agree to an armistice;
this attempt, however, was unsuccessful, while the Emperor gave his approval to
the arbitrary proceedings of his Viceroy. As the Venetian ambassador declares,
Charles V. allowed Pedro de Toledo to do as he pleased, so as not to give rise
to the idea that he was wanting in courage and military skill since his failure
before Metz.
The benevolent neutrality which the Pope observed with
regard to the Emperor afforded Charles the less satisfaction as, on the
representation of the French ambassador, a captain of Henry II was not
prevented from marching through the Papal States with his mercenaries. Those
who knew the character of Julius III thoroughly, believed that he would not
take up a decisive position, until victory had unmistakably declared itself for
one side or the other. The adherents of the Emperor thought it hard that there
should be no qualified Spanish ambassador in Rome, who would have kept the very
disunited Spanish Cardinals together. To the joy of the French party a violent
dispute arose between the Pope and Cardinal Juan Alvarez de Toledo in March,
1553. This quarrel, indeed, was settled, but had as a consequence the temporary
withdrawal of the Cardinal from the Curia. The fortification of the city was,
meanwhile, so far advanced that it seemed assured against any attack, and they
hoped to render the Borgo quite impregnable in two months.
At the beginning of February, 1553, it had transpired
at the Curia that two envoys were about to be sent, who were to arrange for a
peace between the Emperor and the French king. At first they contented
themselves with the sending of couriers to the nuncios who were at the courts
of the said Princes. A month later Onofrio Camaiani was sent to Florence, and Federigo Fantuccio to
Siena, for the purpose of arranging a peaceful issue of the troubles in the
latter city. In a consistory of April 3rd, 1553, the appointment of the two
Cardinal- Legates took place, which had already been planned during the summer
and autumn of the previous year. Dandino was to go to the Emperor and Capodiferro to Henry II, and they were instructed to
declare, in the name of the Pope, that the latter only wished to fulfil his
duty as Father of Christendom, and that he had no other interest in the
establishment of peace than the well-being of all. For these reasons he offered
himself as a mediator for the purpose of bringing about an agreement. Dandino
left the Eternal City on April 14th, and Capodiferro two days later.
In May the Pope made still further attempts, by means
of repeated missions to Siena, to bring the “miserable and barbaric war” which
raged there between the Imperialists and the French to an end. At the beginning
of June, Julius III, who at that time appointed the Duke of Urbino as
Captain-General of the Church, went to Viterbo, in order to discuss matters
with the Sienese representatives there. The hopes which were entertained of the
success of this step4 were not realized, as Cardinal d’Este was opposed to it. He had already received news that a turn in the position of
affairs was imminent, which soon, indeed, proved to be the case. The
threatening of Naples by a Turkish fleet forced the Imperialists to strengthen
the garrison there, and they were consequently obliged to raise the siege of
Siena on June 15th. The Sienese question, however, which had assumed such
unexpected importance, had by no means thereby found a solution.
In the meantime the two peace legates had reached the
end of their journey, but they did not manage to come to any arrangement. It
seemed, indeed, at that time, as if the exasperation and eager desire for war
which filled the hearts of Charles V and Henry II with hatred against each
other, had assumed a more intense character than before. The news from the
legates sounded so hopeless that the general congregation of Cardinals proposed
their recall. On July 31st, by command of the Pope, the affair was once more
discussed by a special commission of six Cardinals : Carpi, Puteo, Pighino, Alvarez de Toledo, Sermoneta and de Cupis. De
Cupis, on this occasion, spoke strongly in favour of recalling them, but Carpi
opposed him, pointing out the Emperor’s increasing success in the war, which
would force Henry II. to come to terms. Most of the Cardinals approved of this
view,1 and on August 1st, the Pope decided in this sense, the peace mission of
the legates being extended for two months longer.
It was only with great difficulty that Dandino
succeeded in inducing the Emperor to formulate his conditions of peace with
greater exactitude; these, however, went so far that Henry II utterly refused
an answer. Thereupon the legates started on their return journey to Rome at the
beginning of October.
They travelled slowly; on again reaching the Eternal
City on December 3rd, Dandino could see the harmful effects consequent upon the
Sienese war. In the very populous Florentine colony which had long existed in
Rome there were many exiles and other opponents of the Medici. The hopes of
these people, who clung with the greatest tenacity to their old ideals, were
strengthened when Piero Strozzi, who had been appointed French commandant in
Siena, instead of Termes, reached Rome at the end of the year, where he discussed
with the Pope the prolongation of the armistice in connection with the affair
of Parma.
The year 1554 brought with it the decision as to the
fate of Siena. The shrewdest of all the politicians in the Italy of those days,
Cosimo de’ Medici, who had been reconciled to the Emperor by a secret treaty of
November 25th, 1551, overcame the neighbouring Republic by means of a base act
of violence. On January 26th, 1554, his troops took forcible possession of the
fortress of Camullia, situated immediately in front
of the gates of Siena. His undertaking, as he declared to the Sienese, had no
other object than to restore to them their freedom and independence, of which
the French had robbed them. The Republic was not deceived by such hypocritical
good-will. With fierce determination the Sienese prepared to defend their
independence, and thereupon an inhuman war at once broke out, which was waged
on both sides with almost unexampled stubbornness and barbarity.
When, in May 1554, a new nuncio, in the person of
Sebastiano Gualterio, was sent to France in the place of Prospero Santa Croce,
he received, in addition to his principal mission of urging Henry II to make
peace with the Emperor, special directions to offer the Pope as mediator in the
Sienese struggle. In the instructions, the very great injury which the Sienese
war was causing to the States of the Church is emphasized. The Pope had been
obliged to pay 150,000 scudi for putting Rome and the other possessions of the
Holy See in a state of defence; the salary of the Duke of Urbino as
Captain-General of the Church necessitated an annual outly of 30,000 scudi; moreover, the dislocation of traffic and commerce by land and
sea had also to be taken into consideration. In these instructions stress is
also laid on the neutrality of the Pope, who had allowed the partisans of
France to draw military stores from the States of the Church and enrol troops
there. That was to the point, but on the other hand it could not be denied that
on the whole the Papal “neutrality” had a more or less Imperialist tendency.
This was the result, not only of the old weakness of the Pope for Charles V.,
but was much more due to the very friendly relations that had all along existed
between him and Cosimo I. These had, however, been very much disturbed in July,
1554, when Julius III. had been weak enough to allow the French auxiliary
troops, destined for Siena, to march through the States of the Church. Besides
this there were also serious differences with the Florentine ambassador,
Averardo Serristori. The former friendly relations
were, however, at once restored when the Pope’s brother, Baldovino,
congratulated the Duke on the brilliant victory which his troops had gained
over Piero Strozzi at Marciano on August 2nd, 1554.
Julius III again made several vain attempts, from
October, 1554, to the end of January in the following year, to bring the vexed
Sienese question to a peaceful solution. He did not survive till the fall of
the Republic ; his old trouble, the gout, and an unwise starvation cure brought
his life to an end on March 23rd, 1555.
In the crypt of St. Peter’s, the simple sarcophagus,
distinguished only by the words “Pope Julius III,” which contains his remains,
can still be seen. It is not by chance that this Pope has no special tomb, for
his reign has left no deep traces. He did not realize the expectations to which
his activities as Cardinal, and the zeal he displayed at the beginning of his
pontificate, gave rise.
He had nothing in common with the great Pope after
whom Giovan Maria del Monte was called, but the name. And this is not only true
in the sense of his not being the patron of art and letters, but in other
respects as well, as the very qualities which specially distinguished Julius
II, independence of character, energy and power, were totally wanting in him.
He was of a sanguine temperament, with rapidly changing moods, easily
influenced and exceedingly nervous and timid, and was constantly in a state of
vacillation and indecision. The times, full of the harshest contrasts, called
for a strong unbending character; such a man as Julius III. was quite incapable
of dealing with the particularly difficult conditions. Paul IV afterwards
described his compliance and dependence on the Imperialists in the sharpest
terms; he said that Julius III had no longer been master in Rome, and had been
obliged to do what the Spaniards wanted. It is at all events certain that
Julius made a fatal mistake when he allowed himself to be led into making war
on Ottavio Farnese, the consequences of which caused great financial and moral
injury to the Holy See.
It is also undeniable that the Pope by no means drew
the correct inferences from the exceedingly grave position in which the Church
was placed by the serious defection in the north; he never sufficiently
realized how greatly the times had changed. The Church, already bleeding from a
thousand wounds, was daily receiving new blows from incensed enemies and
undutiful children. Julius III gave the painful impression that, instead of
retiring within himself in prayer and contemplation, he gave himself up in a more
ingenuous manner, like the great nobles of the Renaissance period, to the
amusements of comedies, court jesters and card-playing. The “Hilaritas publica” which one of his medals extols, was not
in place at a time when the faithful Catholic chronicler, Johann Oldecop, had this inscription placed on his house in
Hildesheim: “Duty has ceased, the Church is convulsed, the clergy has gone
astray, the devil rules, simony prevails, the Word of God remains for all
eternity.”
One must not, however, go too far in accusing Julius
III. He has been unjustly made responsible for the interruption of the Council,
and the unfortunate sudden change of affairs in Germany; he is also not to
blame for the short duration of the reconciliation of England with the Church.
It was, however, unavoidable that a deep shadow should have been thrown over
his pontificate by all these events, and that this should dim his very
remarkable activity within the Church, and especially his efforts for reform.
Because this activity was not sufficiently known, and was therefore
underestimated, the dark side of his pontificate is more evident to us, while
the, at any rate weaker, bright side has fallen too much into the background.
CHAPTER VI.
Efforts of Julius III. for Reform—Creation of
Cardinals.
At the very beginning of his reign, in March, 1550,
Julius III had taken in hand the carrying on of the reform work begun by his
predecessor, and, in order to deliberate on this most important matter, in
which the reform of the abuses in the Dataria was
especially to be considered, he appointed a commission, consisting of Cardinals
de Cupis, Carafa, Sfondrato, Crescenzi, Pole and Cibò. Cibò soon fell
dangerously ill, and died on April 14th. As other members of the commission
also fell ill or had to be absent from Rome, the matter came temporarily to a
standstill, but the Pope re-opened it by urging, in a consistory of July 21st,
1550, the energetic resumption of the work, in view of the near approach of the
Council. He submitted the question to the Cardinals, whether it would be better
to form a new commission, to wait for the arrival of the absent members, or to
summon them. The College of Cardinals decided on the latter course, and
resolved that new members should be appointed in the place of those who were
prevented from returning. As gross abuses had become apparent during the last
conclave, the Pope at the same consistory of July 21st commissioned Cardinals
Medici and Maffei to consider proposals for reform. By the beginning of August,
as we are informed by a Florentine correspondent,1 Julius III had reformed his
own entourage, and had also spoken of a reform of the College of Cardinals.
How zealously the Pope intended to carry out his
campaign of reform, even before the meeting of the Council, is shown by the
fact that on September 7th, 1550, he commissioned the former secretary of the
Council, Massarelli, to prepare a summary of such reform proposals as had not
yet been deliberated on at Trent. These were now to be finally dealt with in
Rome, for which purpose three of the most experienced members of the Sacred
College, Cervini, Pole and Morone, were summoned to return to the Curia at the
end of September. On October 3rd, the Pope was in a position to announce that
the labours of Cardinals Medici and Maffei were proceeding most favourably, and
that they had already drawn up a Bull v for the reform of the conclave. De
Cupis was to communicate this document to the different Cardinals, so that they
might say whether they had anything to add or to delete. The Florentine
ambassador sent a copy to Cosimo I om October 13th, telling him to keep it
secret, and above all, to take care that the officious humanist, Giovio, did
not get a glimpse of it and prematurely make it public.
When, at the end of October, Cardinals Cervini, Morone
and Pole had arrived in Rome, decisive steps with regard to the question of
reform were expected in the immediate future.1 In November and December the
most exhaustive deliberations were repeatedly held in the consistory and
elsewhere concerning this important question. Even the sceptical Florentine,
Buonanni, no longer doubted as to the sincerity of the members of the
commission.
A compilation of the dispensations which hitherto had
been granted by the Dataria, and which had given rise
to much scandal, of itself shows the difficulties which had to be overcome.
Seventeen of these, which were to be duly discussed and examined, were
specially called in question. Cardinals de Cupis, Carafa, Cervini, Crescenzi,
Pisani and Pole were entrusted with this work in December. The Pope, says the
Florentine ambassador, Serristori, by his reform of
the Dataria, wishes to show that in his efforts for
reform, he is beginning at home. The same object was served
by the continued retrenchment in the
expenses of the court, already begun in February. On February 27th, 1551, the
work on the reform of the Dataria had already
progressed so far that the Pope could indicate to the delegated Cardinals the
principles according to which the decrees to be promulgated were to be drawn
up. Julius III had already, on February 12th and 16th, gone minutely into the
question of a reform of the system of preaching and confession, with Cardinal
Crescenzi, the Bulls in connection therewith being laid before the Inquisition.
At the same time a reform of the Penitentiary was being planned. Julius III, in
a secret consistory of February 18th, ordered that a further commission of
eleven Cardinals should assemble twice a week in the apartments of the Dean of
the Sacred College, and that a report as to the progress of their work should
be submitted to him every Saturday. It appears: from a note in the Pope’s own
hand, that he was also employed upon a reform of the Signatura gratia, by which
the dispensations were very substantially limited. On February 23rd the Pope
again discussed the question of reform for the whole day with Cardinal
Crescenzi, and for this purpose had the old Bulls in the archives of the Castle
of St. Angelo examined, and at least part of the reform work prepared which was
to be made ready before the opening of the Council. Then the political troubles
which arose through the question of Parma came to prevent progress in the
matter. However much these may have interfered with the peaceful continuation
of the work, the opinion of an expert of the time is justified, who says that
an important beginning had already been made in this direction before the
opening of the Council. There can be no doubt that Julius III was not afraid to
take the work in hand with determined energy, and with clear insight to fix on
precisely those institutions which were chiefly in need of reform: the Dataria, the Signatura gratia and the conclave. The
immediate result of his endeavours was, certainly, not great, but that was not
the fault of the Pope, since he did not fail in admonitions; but it was, above
all, a consequence of “the difficult times and of the immense amount of work
called for by the re-opening of the Council.”
How very sincerely the Pope was animated by this wish
to abolish abuses in the Church, wherever he found them, is also v shown by his
various reform statutes. It appears from these still unpublished documents,
that his care was extended to the secular as well as the regular clergy. The
statutes, which were issued immediately after his election, were concerned
chiefly with Italy, but there were also others for Germany, Spain and Portugal.
The reform decrees, published by the Council in its
13th and 14th Sessions, were to secure the official jurisdiction of the bishops
and to render possible the punishment of bad ecclesiastics. In the further
deliberations of the Council, the old dispute regarding the authority of the
Pope over the Council, which had been so fateful to the synods of the XVth century, again showed itself. Julius III declared with
outspoken candour, in view of the dangerous advance of the Spanish pretensions,
that, although it was his greatest wish to proceed energetically with the work
of reform, the authority with which God had invested him must, at the same
time, not v be impugned. Events would prove, after the conclusion of the
Council, and the end of the war concerning Parma, whether he was really
determined to carry out his work of reform. The plan of continuing this in
Rome, with the help of the members of the suspended Council, was not approved
of by them, and he was therefore obliged to take up the laborious task
alone.
How earnestly the Pope felt about this matter is shown
by the fact that during the whole of May, 1552, his mind was occupied with the
idea of degrading the unworthy Cardinal del Monte, whose elevation had so
severely compromised him, and of setting him back into the lay state.
Unfortunately, the idea came to nothing, but, on the other hand, the work
concerning the reform of the conclave was again taken up. The draft of a Bull
drawn up by Maffei and Medici concerning this matter was placed in the hands of
Cervini for final revision. The latter handed the Pope his work at the end of
July, and the decisive steps were to be taken after the summer vacation. During
the vacation, Julius III, in a consistory of August 24th, published a salutary
restriction of the giving of benefices, which were frequently asked for on the
most frivolous grounds. Henceforth only the canonical grounds were to be
regarded as valid, and the association of any definite condition, in connection
with the grant, was also forbidden.
A consistory of September 16th, 1552, in which the
Pope produced a comprehensive plan for carrying out the work of reform, caused
a great sensation. This was to begin with the new regulations about the
conclave, so that the candidate whom God desired should be chosen, and the
election not be hampered by human cunning and trickery. The one chosen,
continued the Pope, should be admonished to observe the commandments of God and
the Church with fidelity. It was to be impressed on the Cardinals that their most
sacred duty was to assist the Pope with such counsel as they considered
wholesome and salutary; they were not to possess more than one bishopric, which
they were to visit in accordance with their duty, and they were forbidden to
hold pastoral offices in commendam. Julius III
recommended to the bishops a strict observance of their duty of residence, from
which only those were to be exempt who had to hold a fixed office in Rome or
elsewhere. The bishops were to invest with benefices only such priests as were
worthy, and no one was to receive Holy Orders in Rome or elsewhere without the
permission of his ordinary. After the confirmation of these regulations, the
reform of the Dataria, of the Penitentiary, and
lastly, of worldly princes, was to be carried out.
The Pope had spoken so earnestly that even the
Spaniards, such as Pacheco, believed in the sincerity of his intentions. The
representative of King Ferdinand I, Diego Lasso, was of opinion that even the
Council could undertake no greater reform.
At the end of October, 1552, the Cardinals of the
reform commission began their deliberations under the presidency of Cervini,
who had been summoned to Rome; two protocols inform us of the progress they
made. One, that of Cardinal Maffei, includes the months of October and
November, while the other, drawn up by the president, begins with the November
of 1552, and continues until the April of the following year.
At the first sitting, which took place on October
26th, 1552, Cardinals Pacheco, Puteo, Pighino, Cicada
and Maffei assisted, as well as the president. From other reports it appears
that Cardinals Verallo and Carafa were also present at the sittings of the
commission from time to time. They all worked in accordance with the programme
laid down by Julius III, and, in addition to the reform of the conclave, were
also occupied with that of the consistory. With regard to the latter, Cervini
proposed that every bishop, or other prelate, should, on his election, make a
profession of faith, and that bishops should be pledged to the observance of
their duty of residence by the formula of their oath. In November the Cardinals
dealt chiefly with those abuses which prevailed in the Signatura gratia.
One reason for the state of things existing there was, it was said, to be found
in the large number of officials, in consequence of which things happened for
which the term used, “exorbitant” seems only too fitting. Complaints were
especially made with regard to the laxity in the examination of candidates for
Holy Orders in Rome, the acceptance of presents by the ordaining prelates, the
non-observance of the canonical age, the bestowal of benefices on youths,
connivance at the concubinage of higher clerics and other evil practices. In
December the views of the Spanish bishops were laid before the commission, and
on December 20th the Pope deliberated in a Congregation concerning the reform
of plenary indulgences, desired by the commission of Cardinals.
The work of the commission in January and February,
1553, was chiefly concerned with the duty of residence of the bishops, and it
was not until the middle of March that the matter was so far arranged, that
canons could be drawn up, whereupon the reform of the Penitentiary was next
taken in hand.
On April 17th, 1553, the Pope informed the members of
the Sacred College, assembled in consistory, of the proposals of the reform
commission, which were then read out, and he gave it as his opinion that a
beginning should be made with the Bull concerning the conclave. All the
Cardinals were to submit their views, so that after these had been examined,
the final text of the Bull could be drawn up. That the Pope himself took a
personal share in the work may be seen from the fact that he himself prescribed
the subjects for the further deliberations of the commission, which lost a
valuable member in July, 1553, through the death of Cardinal Maffei. Two
of the documents which the Pope dictated to Massarelli at the end of December,
1553, are still in existence.
The year 1554 is described by experts as being the
most fruitful period of work in the pontificate of Julius III. How fully this
opinion is justified is shown by the collection of drafts, proposals and
protocols concerning the reform negotiations of that period preserved in the
Papal secret archives. From these we can understand with what true zeal this
difficult task was handled in the numerous sittings. The deliberations, begun
on January 1st, 1554, dealt with the entrance into the clerical state and the granting
of benefices. From January 10th the commission was also occupied with the
reform of monasteries. On January 14th the Florentine ambassador wrote of the
favourable prospects for the realization of reform; the disputes which had
arisen in Spain concerning the meaning of several of the decrees of the Council
of Trent also contributed to the acceleration of the work. In the later
deliberations, the settlement of the duty of residence and the reform of the
Signatura were more fully discussed than any other subjects before the
commission. On February 12th the Pope personally took part in the
deliberations, and declared that although the matters of reform were not yet
fully settled, he considered it better that a part of the resolutions should
now be published. To this end, a Bull should be drawn up, which was to
introduce the matter, the draft of which should be sent to the Cardinals for
their approval. Eight of these documents, among which are the opinions of
Cardinals Morone and Carpi, are still preserved.
With regard to the summer of 1554 we have,
unfortunately, up to the present, no detailed information, although there is a
decree of Julius III of this time, which ordains that no member of a religious
order may, for the future, accept a bishopric without the consent of his
Superior and the Protector of his order. At the end of November the Pope
addressed earnest admonitions to the Cardinals to keep their dwellings and
entourage in all modesty and propriety, and to distinguish themselves by
well-doing and generosity to the poor. In the same month the deliberations
concerning the reform of the Papal election were also finally concluded. The
Bulls to be issued on this matter, the improvement in which had been repeatedly
discussed, remained as drafts, and their publication, in the opinion of the
Florentine ambassador, would take place before the end of January, 1555. As,
however, the work was taken in hand in the most painstaking manner, and the
intention was to abolish all possible hindrances to a conscientious election,
the new Bull concerning the conclave could only be read aloud in the consistory
of November 12th, 1554, after which it was sent to the different Cardinals.
The commission was above all occupied at that time
with the question of the reform of the bishops. This part of the programme was
so far worked out by the end of November, that it outlines could be read in the
consistory and handed to all the Cardinals for approval.1 In December a draft
for the reform of the seculars and regulars was also prepared, to which the
Cardinals likewise gave their sanction. A draft from the hand of Julius III
himself proves that he was also, at this time, engaged upon the reform of the
College of Cardinals. At the end of January, 1555, the Pope was able to inform
the King of Spain that he had succeeded, in spite of the opposition of clergy
and laity, in preparing a comprehensive Reform Bull, which would soon appear.
The death of the Pope intervened and prevented this; the official document is
preserved in the Papal secret archives. It begins, in accordance with the
original plan drawn up by Julius III himself, with the Pope and Cardinals, then
passing on to the bishops, the ordination of the clergy, the bestowal of benefices,
the Signatura, the Penitentiary and the regular clergy. Besides these points,
the explanation of the Holy Scriptures, and the nature and preaching of
Indulgences, are also dealt with. A special Reform Bull for the Penitentiary
had already been drawn up, which had not yet been made public, but which, it
seems, had already in many respects been carried into practice.
When the work of Julius III. for reform is impartially
considered, it becomes quite clear to us that it must in no way be judged in
such a depreciatory manner as was done by his contemporaries, and the
investigators who followed them. It is absolutely false to say that Julius III
had done nothing with regard to this most important question. As a matter of
fact, he once more took up the reform work of Paul III, showed the most lively
interest in it, and employed himself in the most painstaking way with the
reform of the College of Cardinals, the
conclave, the Dataria, the Signatura and the Penitentiary.
If conclusive results were not attained this was in no way owing to any
unwillingness or want of activity on the part of the Pope ; there can be no
possible doubt as to his earnest desires and efforts to attain the desired end.
It is also due to him that a great deal of preparatory work was done, without
which the later reforms could not have been carried out. The appointment of new
Cardinals holds a much more important place in the diplomatic correspondence of
the times of Julius III than the work of reform in the Church. As Cosimo de’
Medici and Charles V both knew the compliant disposition of the Pope, they at
once began to urge him to put an end to the preponderance of the adherents of
France in the Sacred College, at one decisive blow, by a great creation of
Cardinals. The Florentine ambassador, Serristori,
was, above all, active in urging this. He had already, immediately after the
election of Julius III, drawn the attention of Cosimo de’ Medici to the danger
of the hopes of the hated Cardinal Salviati being in all probability crowned
with success in the next conclave. As he found little sympathy for his schemes
on the part of the Pope, the ambassador endeavoured to win over the influential
Cardinal Crescenzi. Cosimo de’ Medici pointed out to Julius III, by a letter in
his own hand, of February 10th, 1551, the danger that would result from a Pope
following him who would be quite devoted to France, and that only a
corresponding increase in the Sacred College could obviate this disaster. Even
should the Pope raise strong objections to such a proceeding, Serristori still believed that the war about Parma would
force him to this step, and, indeed, Julius III addressed a letter to the
Emperor on July 27th, 1551, in which he complained of the intrigues of the
French party with regard to the Papal election, and declared that he would, and
that before All Saints, appoint new Cardinals. Charles V thereupon requested
that the four Spanish Cardinals already in the Sacred College should be
strengthened by the appointment of eight new ones. To the remark of the nuncio, Bertano, that eight was too many, he agreed that four
would be sufficient. No special names were referred to at this time by the
Emperor, but serious difficulties arose when the question had to be treated in
detail. Julius III was agreeable to the appointment of Pighino and Bertano, but was strongly opposed to the
elevation of the Archbishops of Palermo and Otranto. The matter was still
further complicated by the demand of Charles V that four Cardinals should be
reserved in petto, upon whose names the Emperor should decide later. This last
proposal Julius III., with perfect justification, refused to accept. His
irresolution and the difficulty of his position were further increased by the
threats of the French, who craftily represented that the restoration of peace
would only be possible if their king were not irritated. To the fear of a
French schism was added the consideration which had to be shown with regard to
the prelates of the Council, besides the fact that other powers also were
urging the claims of their candidates in a creation of Cardinals. While the
representatives of France were working for the advancement of Louis de Guise, a
brother of the Cardinal of Lorraine, Serristori, was
actively engaged on behalf of Luigi and Giovanni, sons of Cosimo I.
It is no wonder that the Pope, irresolute by nature as
he was, deferred the decision of the matter. A letter of Bertano,
of November 12th, 1551, urging him to wait no longer, and thus avoid new
complications, at length put an end to his hesitation, and on November 20th the
first great creation of Cardinals of Julius III took place. All the eleven who
were appointed were Italians; Sebastiano Pighino was
added to these, but out of consideration for his position at the Council, he
remained reserved in petto, and his creation was only published on May 30th,
1552.
The most able of the new Cardinals were undoubtedly
the Papal private secretary, Girolamo Dandino, and the Archbishop of Bari,
Jacopo dal Pozzo, known under the name of Puteo. Besides Pozzo, Giammichele
Saraceni and the Bishop of Albenga, Giambattista
Cicada, distinguished themselves among the new Cardinals by their learning,
while Pietro Bertano, then acting as nuncio at the
court of the Emperor, and the Sienese, Fabio Mignanelli, were experienced
diplomatists. The two nephews of Julius III, Cristoforo del Monte and Fulvio
della Corgna, were also worthy of the purple. Corgna displayed, as Bishop of Perugia, very remarkable
activity in the cause of Catholic reform. Two of the other Cardinals appointed
at this time, Giovanni Poggio and Alessandro Campegio,
proved clearly, like Corgna, the ecclesiastical
spirit which animated them, by their protection of the Jesuits. Giovanni Ricci,
originally from Montepulciano, owed the red hat to his skill in business
affairs, by which he had made himself indispensable to Julius III; his manner
of life was not blameless, but later he entered on a better course. In the year
1557 he interested himself greatly in bringing the Jesuits to Montepulciano. In
the appointment of Gianandrea Mercurio the Pope took into consideration the
important services which he had rendered him as secretary, while Julius III.
was still a Cardinal, and in the case of the Venetian patrician, Luigi Cornaro,
the recommendation of the Republic of St. Mark had great weight.
As far as the political views of the new Cardinals
were concerned, the experienced agent of Cardinal Ercole Gonzaga gave it at
once as his opinion that most of them would incline more to the French than to
the Imperial side. The complaint of the French, that Julius III had only
undertaken the increase of the Sacred College in the interests of Charles V,
proved to be quite unfounded.
Requests that the Pope would undertake a further
creation were repeatedly made in the time that immediately followed; the French
were especially active in endeavouring in every way to get their former
candidate, Louis de Guise, appointed, and in the Curia itself there were only
too many aspirants. Julius III was repeatedly offered large sums from this
quarter, but, great as the need of financial aid was at this time, the Pope
would have nothing to do with such shameful bargains. It need hardly be said
that the relatives of Julius were also active in begging for consideration. As
the Pope often changed his mind, it was, however, difficult for the ambassadors
to foresee what would actually take place. The well-informed Serristori was, at any rate, in a position to report to
Florence on October 26th, 1553, the promotion of Guise, of two relatives of the
Pope, and of an Imperial candidate not yet definitely settled, as being
extremely probable. This promotion was confidently expected by many on November
29t; Serristori learned at the last moment from the
Pope’s brother that the settlement of the matter had been postponed, but
certainly not over the Ember Days, arid that the number was provisionally
settled at four. This proved to be the case, and the creation of four Cardinals
finally took place on December 22nd, 1553. Besides the Imperialist Archbishop
of Palermo, Pietro Tagliavia, two very youthful relatives of the Pope, Roberto
de’ Nobili and Girolamo Simoncelli, received the purple on that day, while Henry
II ought to have been satisfied by the elevation of Louis de Guise. Tagliavia,
renowned far and wide for his boundless love of the poor, is universally
acknowledged to have been an admirable man. Roberto de’ Nobili was a Cardinal
upon whom the representatives of the Catholic reform party could rest their
greatest hopes. Highly gifted Irom an intellectual point of view—he is said to
have spoken Latin and Greek at ten years of age—he distinguished himself still
more by his great piety. Like Aloysius of Gonzaga, whom he specially resembles,
he was most scrupulously pure of heart. He could never do enough in his ascetic
exercises; he fasted strictly, slept on a board, wore a hair shirt, assisted at
Mass every day, listened frequently to sermons and often received Holy
Communion, and from motives of humility would not allow his portrait to be
painted. A beautiful letter of consolation which he addressed to a sick friend
testifies, among other things, to the depth of his sincere piety. The favour
which he enjoyed from Julius III was only used to assist the needy. He
repeatedly thought of renouncing the dignity of Cardinal and of retiring into a
religious order, but his confessor, the Jesuit, Polanco, dissuaded him from this
step. Assisted by him, he died, after a painful illness, with the most perfect
resignation to the Divine Will, on January 18th, 1559. Men like Charles
Borromeo, Bellarmine and Baronius venerated this Cardinal so early called away
to a better life as a Saint.
Julius III would gladly have welcomed another man, who
possessed the same distinguished qualities as de’ Nobili, into the Senate of
the Church. This was the Duke of Gandia, Francis Borgia, a great grandson of
Alexander VI Borgia had come to Rome on October 23rd, 1550, stayed with the
Jesuits, and several days later was received by the Pope. It was believed that
he had come to Rome on account of the Jubilee, and only very few were aware
that Francis Borgia had already entered the Society of Jesus as early as 1548,
but had received permission from Paul III to retain his position as prince for
three years longer. This period he employed to marry his elder children, to
arrange his affairs, and to conclude the theological studies he had begun in
1546 by passing his examination as doctor on August 20th, 1550. As his eldest son
had attained his majority in August, 1550, he intended handing over his dukedom
to him and placing himself in Rome at the disposal of his superior, Ignatius of
Loyola.
After Borgia had received, on January 5th, 1551, the
necessary consent of the Emperor to the carrying out of his plan, he informed
the Pope of the vows of his order, by which he was bound, and of his intention
to renounce all worldly honours. Julius III., nevertheless, formed the plan of
making this distinguished prince a Cardinal. This, however, Borgia evaded, by
flying at the approach of darkness on the night of February 4th, 1551, to the
little Basque town of Onate in Guipuzcoa. Here he
relinquished, after the arrival of the Emperor’s permission, all his estates,
rents and titles, by a notarial document of May nth, 1551, and began his new
life by going about the streets of Onate, clad in the simple habit of the
Jesuits, and carrying a beggar’s sack to collect alms.
This change of life, in the case of a man of such high
rank, caused the greatest sensation. Julius III had granted a plenary
indulgence for the devout assistance at Borgia’s first public Mass, which he
had to say on November 15th in the open air; 12,000 persons had flocked
together for this occasion and he distributed Holy Communion to more than 1240
of the faithful.
Borgia afterwards rendered his Order the greatest
services, first as a preacher, and then as General, through the reputation in
which he was held as well as through his talent for administration. By two
large donations, he rendered it possible for Ignatius of Loyola to found the
Roman College of the Society of Jesus, an educational establishment which soon
overshadowed the University of Rome, in the wealth of its teaching power and
the excellence of its curriculum.
When Charles V again proposed this eminent Spaniard
for the cardinalate, in March, 1552, Julius III was inclined to grant his
request, but Ignatius of Loyola went himself to the Pope and represented to him
that it would be of far greater service to the glory of God if the former Duke
of Gandia were to remain in the humble position he himself had chosen. Julius
III allowed himself to be persuaded, and even remarked that he also would
prefer the position of a simple Jesuit to his own, for “ you only require to
think how you can serve God best, while we have many obstacles which distract
us.” The Pope, however, would not decide the matter against the wishes of
Borgia ; the latter remained silent and thus the affair appeared to be settled.
It was, nevertheless, the general opinion that a
grandee of Spain could not remain a simple priest. Already by 1554 the former
Duke was repeatedly proposed for the red hat by Charles V and Philip II, while
a report of unknown origin was current among the Roman as well as the Spanish
Jesuits in that year that he would this time accept the purple. These rumours,
however, proved to be unfounded, and Borgia induced the Spanish king co abandon
his plan, through the influence of the Princess Juana, the sister of Philip II,
and his representative during her brother's absence in England, while Julius
was again turned from his purpose by Ignatius. At the latter’s instigation,
Borgia was at that time the first of the Society of Jesus to take that vow,
through which the Constitution of the order endeavoured, as far as possible, to
prevent the aspiration after places of honour, and the wish to mitigate the
poverty imposed by the Rule.
CHAPTER VII.
Spread of the Society of Jesus.—Their Reforming
Activities in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Germany.
The friendly relations of Julius III with the Jesuits
dated from the time of the Council of Trent, where the Pope, as Legate, had
become acquainted with the distinguished qualities of several members of the
Order, and had learned to appreciate them. Except for a temporary
misunderstanding in the year 1553, he remained more favourably inclined to the
Society of Jesus than to any of the other reform orders, during the whole of
his pontificate. By a Bull of August 21st, 1552, he instituted and delivered to
the Jesuits the German College, of the increasing importance of which mention
will often be made. A Bull of October 22nd of the same year not only confirmed
all the privileges of the Order, but added important ones thereto, especially
the authorization bestowed on the General and on the superiors of the order to
invest the students of their colleges with the degree of doctor. The greatest
benefit, however, which Julius III. conferred on the Society of Jesus consisted
in the Bull, already published on July 21st, 1550, which confirmed the Order
anew, supplementing anything that might be wanting in the bull of Paul III, and
completing everything in the sense and spirit of the holy founder.
That a new confirmation of the Society of Jesus would
have to be sought from the Apostolic See was very soon apparent. Many things
were not so clearly expressed in the Bull of foundation as to exclude the idea
that it would be advantageous to supplement and explain it more fully, but the
draft for the new Bull was not seriously taken in hand till 1547. It was clear
that this must possess four qualities; first, completeness, so that it might
show forth all the essential points of the constitution of the Order secondly, it must possess a certain breadth of
expression, so as not to render useful alterations impossible; thirdly,
clearness, and fourthly, a really devotional character, so that of those who
read it, and felt drawn to the Order, those whose vocation was genuine might
remain, while those who were not suitable might be frightened away. Much work
was necessary in order to meet these requirements, as the Bull had to be
altered or supplemented in more than a hundred places. The draft finally
accepted contained, indeed, all the principles peculiar to the Jesuit Order, so
as to make it for ever its foundation stone.
This matter, which was, in essential points, briefly
outlined in the Papal Bull, Ignatius now began, in the same year 1547, to
elaborate in the constitutions of his Order. By 1550 these points were dealt
with in the first draft, and fully completed by 1552 in the second, which
Ignatius never altered, except superficially, before his death in 1556. They
were at once published in the Order, and introduced, by way of experiment,
first by Nadal in Sicily in the year 1552, in the following year in Spain and Portugal,
and by Ribadeneira in North Germany. Full authority was given to them in the
first General Congregation of the Order in 1558.
After the publication of the constitutions the life
work of Ignatius was essentially completed. At the death of Julius III, the
last year of his own life was drawing near, and during this he could not
undertake much that was new. Under Paul IV he was to see, not only the
Roman and German colleges, but his whole work, threatened with annihilation,
without having any other defence to offer than his own heroic trust in God.
Ever-increasing illness warned him of the approach of death; indeed, he had
already believed that the end had come in
1550, and he joyfully awaited his dissolution. On January 30th, 1551, after the
first draft of the constitutions had been sanctioned by the members of the
Order assembled in Rome, he expressed the desire to relinquish the dignity of
General. He was confined to his bed during almost the whole of the year 1554,
so that a representative had to be chosen for him on November 1st, in the
person of Nadal. He quickly recovered, however, after his unskilful physician,
whom Ignatius obeyed implicitly, had been replaced by a better one, but in the
middle of July, 1556, he gave up temporary affairs for ever, and in the morning
of July 31st the soul of the saint, who had spent himself for the greater glory
of God, passed to the vision of its Creator.
Sixteen years had not yet passed since the life work
of the dead Saint had been first crowned with the approbation of the Holy See,
on September 27th, 1540. Ten unknown strangers, whom the people had mocked at a
short time before on account of their broken Italian, and spitefully designated
as heretics, had at that time been named in the Papal brief as members of the
Society of Jesus. Now, the new order was spread over the four quarters of the
globe, as far as Japan, Brazil, Abyssinia and even the Congo; the members of
the Order numbered some 1500 as early as 1554, and in the following year the
number of missions amounted to 657 Among the members, doctors from the first
universities, and nobles from the greatest families were to be found. As Papal
nuncios, they had penetrated to Ireland, Poland, Egypt and Japan; as
theologians they had shone at the Council of Trent; as preachers they had
attracted great notice at the universities of Louvain and Salamanca, and at the
courts of Valladolid, Brussels and Vienna; as missionaries they had reawakened
Christian life in districts where it had seemed extinct, and as instructors of
youth they had, with unostentatious activity, raised up a new generation of
zealous Catholics. The outward organization of the Order had also made much
progress. Portugal could, as early as 1546, be constituted as a separate
province, with its own provincial superiors. Spain followed in 1547, and after
that one or more new provinces were added every year, until, in 1556, these
numbered twelve, including Abyssinia. The whole of this mighty edifice, had
arisen as a logical development of the resolution, formed thirty-five years
before on a sick bed in Loyola by a knight who had hitherto led a worldly lite,
and who was, till that moment, completely uneducated and untrained from an
intellectual point of view. From such an insignificant germ had this wonderful
development come, in spite of continual opposition, persecution and calumny.
The strongest response to the idea of Loyola was
naturally to be found in Spain. The old Catholic ideals, for the most part
untainted by the innovations in religion, were still paramount there, and,
unlike the Catholics in other lands, people still had the courage and
enthusiasm to fight for them. The struggle for the defence and propagation of
the faith had been a powerful incentive, not so long before, in the wars
against the Moors, and in the voyages of discovery, and when Ignatius showed
how this fight could be continued with spiritual weapons, it was bound to meet
with an enthusiastic response. As a matter of fact, among the first six
followers of Loyola, we find, besides one Portuguese and one Savoyard, four
Spaniards, and for a long time to come, the founder’s own country provided him
with those able disciples who were all the more valuable to their master, as
many of them only placed themselves at his disposal after they had completed
their studies as doctors of theology or law, or as experienced preachers or spiritual
directors. One finds Spaniards, therefore, in almost every place where the new
Order was at work.1 The Spaniard Domenech planted it in Sicily, d’Eguia in France, Francis Xavier and Cosmo de Torres in
India and Japan. Spaniards accompanied the Papal Legates to Poland and Germany,
and were as eminent as theologians at the Roman College and in Paris as at
Trent. The principal counsellors of Loyola were Spaniards, viz. : Polanco,
Nadal and Lainez, while the first three Generals of the Order were also
Spaniards.
The friendly reception which the creation of Loyola
met with in his native land is evidenced by the large number of colleges which
arose there within a very short time. Under Paul III Valencia already had one
in 1544; in 1545 Valladolid, Gandia and Barcelona followed; in 1546 Alcala, in
1548 Salamanca; after the accession of Julius III, Burgos was founded in 1550,
Medina del Campo in 1551, Onate in 1552, and Cordova in 1553. In the year 1554,
missions were established in Avila, Cuenca, Placencia, Seville, Granada,
Simanca (noviciate) and Sanlucar de Barameda, in 1555 in Murcia and Saragossa, and in 1556 a
college in Monterrey in Galicia. In the year 1554 139 Jesuits were already
resident in these colleges, and in the first four months of the same year, nine
able men entered the order in Alcala and ten in Valencia. At the end of March
Nadal received eleven students at Salamanca. Under Julius III Ignatius had, by
1552, established two, and in 1554, three additional provinces of the Order in
Spain, in accordance with a new classification : Castile, Aragon and Andalusia.
He appointed a common superior for all the provinces of the peninsula in the
person of Francis Borgia. The golden age of the Spanish provinces is, in no
small degree, to be attributed to the zeal of Borgia and the esteem in which he
was held.
What gave most edification in Spain on the part of the
first Jesuits was the new life which they brought into the care of souls. There
was at that time, a great deficiency of religious instruction for the people in
the Iberian peninsula; preaching was regarded as the prerogative of the monks,
parish priests devoting so little attention to it that it actually gave offence
if a secular priest made an appearance as a preacher. It was, therefore, very
much appreciated when the Jesuits made it their business to announce the Word
of God in their churches, many of them passing through the country as
travelling preachers, and taking up their abode for shorter or longer periods
in different towns, to open out the way for a moral renovation of the people.
Wonders are related of the success of the missionaries. In Alcala, during the
carnival of 1558, Antonio de Madrid, in an address lasting a quarter of an
hour, induced all the prostitutes who, by order of the authorities, had to
assemble before the doors of their houses, to give up their sinful calling. In
Granada, Bautista Sanchez preached so impressively concerning the neglect of
the poor in the hospital, that the audience at once offered gold rings,
ear-rings and costly raiment for their relief, and, on the following day, sent
generous alms to the institution and personally took part in the duty of
attending to the poor. One result of their preaching was that religious life,
and especially the reception of the Sacraments, was greatly improved. The
number of confessions, not by any means very large, which is quoted as a proof
of this, witnesses to the depths to which matters had sunk in this respect.
The new Order won all hearts, however, through its
work in connection with the instruction of youth. Hitherto it had been quite
unheard of that members of a religious order should engage in such an unlearned
occupation. It touched and affected people when the Jesuits, with a bell in
their hands, now collected the children in the streets and took them in
procession to the church to give them religious instruction. In Toledo, the
people rushed to the windows at such an unusual sight, and gave praise to God.
The visits of the Jesuits to the prisons and hospitals, as well as their heroic
self-sacrifice at the time of the plague, also served to win for them general
respect and esteem. Many Jesuits lost their lives in the service of the sick.
The teaching activity of the new Order in its colleges
was of the greatest importance for ecclesiastical reform. As soon as
instruction for externs began in these institutions, pupils flocked to them.
The college of Murcia numbered 140 of these in the first two years of its
existence. Belmonte in 1569 had some 400, Seville in 1561 about 500, Cordova
650 at the same period, and Monterrey in the fourth year of its existence 800.
Such able clerics came from the college of Monterrey that it became a sort of
proverb among the bishops : “He comes from Monterrey; therefore we can ordain
him with full confidence.” The college of Medina gave different Orders such
able members that one superior said: “Let us leave aside our theological
lectures and sermons, and confine ourselves to teaching grammar; we shall attain
more in this way.”
If the Society of Jesus nowhere found more numerous
friends than in Spain, it also nowhere else met with such violent opposition.
The dislike of Archbishop Siliceo of Toledo was
clearly expressed in the reign of Julius III. In October, 1551, he forbade all
members of the new Order to practise their official priestly duties, and this
prohibition was solemnly announced in all the churches of the archdiocese
during High Mass. By this step, however, the archbishop had attacked the Papal
privileges of the new Order, and thereby the honour of the Holy See. Julus III,
therefore, addressed to Siliceo, on January 2nd,
1552, a letter in which he highly praised the Jesuits,2and the nuncio, Poggio,
defended the oppressed Order most warmly. As Philip II also declared himself
against Siliceo, there was no other course open to
him than to withdraw his decree.
A privilege of the older Orders, to the effect that no
other monastery might be built within a radius of 140 yards, led to stormy
manifestations in Saragossa against the Jesuit college opened there on April
17th, 1555. The Augustinians especially declared that their rights were
infringed upon by the erection of the college. The archbishop took their part
and the Jesuits were looked upon and treated as if they were excommunicated,
the populace getting into a state of the greatest excitement against them. Matters
went so far that the Jesuits had to leave the city on August 1st ; the
struggle, however, was decided in their favour on September 8th, and it became
possible to re-open the college.
The attack on the book of the Exercises also continued
during the whole pontificate of Julius III. In 1553, Siliceo appointed a commission for the examination of the accusations, which censured
nineteen propositions. As, however, Paul III. had already confirmed the
Exercises in 1548, the attacks did not succeed in winning much support.
The Order developed in Portugal even more rapidly than
in Spain. Nothing under the sun was prized more highly in that country, says a
shrewd observer, than the king’s favour, and the fatherly care of John III,
whose relations with Julius III were very friendly, was always accorded to the
Jesuits, while his royal brothers, the Infantes Louis and Henry, followed the
example of the king ; the former, indeed, would willingly have entered the
Order himself. The Cardinal and Grand Inquisitor, Henry, also interested
himself in all the affairs of the Jesuits, “as if they had been his own.”
The enmities and difficulties with which the rising
Society of Jesus had to struggle in Spain, did not, happily, assail them in the
neighbouring country of Portugal. By the year 1552, the number of those who had
entered the Order had risen to 318, among whom were to be found the sons of the
Governor of Lisbon and the Grand Captain of Madeira. In the year 1551, the
Cardinal-Infante, Henry, gave up his college in Evora to the Jesuits, which, by
1554, possessed 300 pupils; in 1555, the Order received the so-called Royal
college of Coimbra, from John III, which formed part of the University; the
Jesuits, however, soon relinquished this. In 1553, a second mission in Lisbon,
the so-called professed house of St. Roch, was established, while in the same
year instruction for extern students was begun in the college of Lisbon, at
which the attendance in 1554 was 600. In the opinion of the public there was
nobody like the Jesuits, and they had so much work to do in the care of souls
and in imparting instruction that their numbers were not equal to the task.
The opposition of the Grand Inquisitor, Cardinal
Henry, preserved them from the heavy burden of being obliged to undertake the
work of the tribunal of the Inquisition at Lisbon, thereby rendering, according
to Polanco, a great service to the Order. Ignatius was put into great
perplexity by the wish of the king in this matter, not, indeed on account of
any principle being involved, but rather because the office of Inquisitor would
be regarded as a sort of prelacy, and his Order was not permitted to accept any
such dignities. He caused six of the most able Jesuits to consult on the matter
for three days, and then resolved to submit the question to the decision of the
king. When the answer reached Portugal the office of Inquisitor had, however,
already been given to a Dominican.
In spite of all this outward success, however, it was
precisely in Portugal that the Order had to pass through a crisis such as had
presented itself in no other country. There was no firm guiding hand there;
Simon Rodriguez had proved himself inefficient in his position as provincial.
In the reception of novices the selection was not sufficiently careful, and a
striving after independence and a tendency towards worldliness began to make
itself felt among the members of the Order, which, in the end, would have led
to the most evil consequences; in addition to this, Rodriguez himself was
endeavouring to make his province independent of the rest of the Order, and to
form it according to his own ideas. The dissatisfaction of the insubordinate
elements found open expression when Rodriguez was deposed in 1552. However, it
was precisely in this crisis that Ignatius and his disciples showed in the
clearest manner that they were determined to oppose the threatened disaster
with inflexible energy. Some 130 members of the order, who refused to submit,
were at once expelled, and Ignatius gave his sanction to this step on the part
of his delegate, Torres. In July, 1553, there only remained 105 Jesuits in
Portuguese territory.
Peace was again threatened in the beginning of 1553,
when Rodriguez returned to Portugal and endeavoured to win over the court to
his reinstatement. It was only in June, 1553, that he obeyed the order of
Ignatius to repair to Rome. He thereupon insisted that his case should be
formally and justly examined. After some hesitation, however, he submitted to
the decision of the judge, which proved to be unfavourable to him. In the
meanwhile the constitutions of the order had been published in Portugal, and on
this foundation the Portuguese province took a new lease of life.
In Italy, a specially wide field of work was displayed
for the reforming activities of the order. The reports of the Jesuit
missionaries, as well as other sources, show how neglect of religion had
increased in that country to an almost incredible extent. The missionaries
often complain that the people are, for the most part, ignorant of the
commonest prayers, and that persons are to be met with who have not been to
confession for seven and eight, and indeed for thirty or forty years. However
much the neglect of religion may be attributed to the consequences of the
almost incessant feuds and wars which ravaged Italy, the state of affairs was
undoubtedly in part an inheritance from the Renaissance period, in which not a
few bishops and Popes neglected their duties in the most reprehensible manner.
The injury to religious worship by neglect was especially noticeable in the
most remote parts of the peninsula. The ignorance in the Abruzzi, in Calabria
and in Apulia was still so great in the period between 1561 and 1570, that the
Jesuit missionaries named those districts the “Italian Indies.” The people,
were, however, by no means inimical to religion ; whenever worthy priests took
them in hand, they flocked to them and were easily led to adopt an exemplary
Christian mode of life. Landini writes in 1551, from the district round Modena,
that he could clearly see the moral improvement which had taken place since his
first visit; the people now came to hear sermons, even on week days, who
formerly did not understand even what the ringing of the bells meant; no one
left the church before he did, and some went to other places in order to hear
sermons there ; the people would not let him go until he had promised to come
back, and they would come to meet him when he approached a place, while the
priests from distant neighbourhoods would beg him to visit their parishes.
Conditions in the island of Corsica were particularly
bad, and, at the request of the Signoria of Genoa, Pope Julius III on August
5th, 1552, appointed two Jesuit missionaries, endowed with full authority for
the visitation of churches and monasteries. The reports of these two Papal
commissaries, Silvestro Landini and Emmanuel Gomez de Monte Mayor, afford a by
no means gratifying picture of religious conditions. The island was divided
into six bishoprics, but for 60 or 70 years none of the said bishops had been
seen in Corsica. The priests were so ignorant that, at the beginning of
February, 1553, not one of those whom Landini had examined, even knew correctly
the formula of consecration for Mass; they went about in secular dress and
worked the whole day in the woods in order to gain a living for themselves and
their children. The churches were in ruins, and were often used for the shelter
of cattle. The people were in the greatest poverty and suffered greatly from
the corsairs, while in all religious matters the grossest neglect prevailed.
Landini, who, in his missionary journeys in the Modena and Genoa districts in
1551 and 1552, had experienced the most incredible things, writes on February 7th,
1553,3 that he had never seen anything to equal the state of affairs in
Corsica; what had been written to him from Rome was, indeed, true, that he
would find his Indies and Abyssinia here, for the greatest ignorance prevailed
concerning God, the most dreadful superstition, countless feuds, the most
bitter hatred, murder in all directions, satanic pride, unceasing immorality,
and to all this was added usury, fraud, perfidy and outbursts of ungovernable
fury. Some were secretly infected with heresy, many did not know how to make
the sign of the cross, and grey-haired men and women could not say the Our
Father or the Hail Mary.
In spite of all this it was easy, here as well, to
bring the people back to the practice of their religion, and to a change in
their morals. The missionaries were besieged by the people from morning till
night. The church in Bastia was daily thronged at the sermons of Landini, and
more than six Franciscans had to assist him daily with the confessions, while
there were from 60 to 150 Communions every day. People who had lived for twenty
years in enmity were reconciled, and countless cases of concubinage were either
dissolved or the parties married. Landini compared the newly inflamed zeal with
that of the early church.
While several bad priests were endeavouring, through
calumnies in Rome, to obtain the recall of the Papal commissaries, the members
of the senate in Bastia, the governor of the island, and numerous influential
Corsicans bore splendid testimony to the Pope and Ignatius of Loyola concerning
the activities of the missionaries. The mission had, however, to be abandoned
in the following year, 1554, because the Corsicans, trusting to help from
France, had risen in rebellion against the suzerainty of Genoa, and the whole
island was filled with the tumult of war. Landini succumbed there to the
effects of his hardships and privations, on March 3rd, 1554; in Corsica he was
venerated as a saint.
The cause of the deplorable state of religious life in
the island was, above all, to be found in the ignorance of the priests. It was
a quite unheard of thing, even in Italy, that parish priests should preach;
many of them never heard confessions, while numbers were hardly able to read.
For this reason Ignatius of Loyola was anxious, above all things, to establish
colleges, since religious reform could only be built up on the basis of
instruction, and there were no adequate means of providing such. Domenech
writes from Palermo on July 4th, 1547, that a Jesuit college was much required
there “because such crass ignorance prevails here among the clergy that it
would hardly be credible, did one not have it before one’s own eyes. The reason
for this is to be found, for the most part, in the fact that there is no
opportunity for learning, as here, in the capital of the kingdom, there is not
even one public grammar school.”
Jesuit colleges were, therefore, urgently required. To
the missions of the Order in Rome, Tivoli, Padua, Bologna, Messina, and
Palermo, which had already been established under Paul III, there were added,
apart from the Roman College, during the reign of Julius III, Venice, 1550,
Ferrara, Naples, Florence, 1551, Modena, Parma, Bassano, 1552, Monreale, 1553, Argenta near Ferrara, Genoa, Syracuse,
Catania, and Loreto in 1554. In the year of Loyola’s death, there also arose
colleges in Siena and Camerino. So many new foundations were, naturally, only
possible because of the numbers of those who applied for admission into the
Order. Julius III. asked, in astonishment, when the candidates destined for the
colleges of Florence and Naples were presented to him in 1551 : “Will there
then be anyone left in Rome?”. They were, however, able to reassure the Pope on
this point.
The incentive to the establishment of these
institutions were usually the sermons preached by an important member of the
Order in a particular city. When the arrangements for the establishment of a
college were completed, however, Ignatius did not send any prominent subjects,
but merely several young men from the Roman College, as he thought it more
advantageous for such a house to begin in a modest way, and then to develop
into a flourishing state, than that it should commence with a great brilliancy
which it could not afterwards retain. It was also his principle that every
college must be self-supporting, so that almost all these establishments had at
first to contend with great poverty. In Perugia the Jesuits lived for a time
only on bread, wine and soup, and in other places, they were also in very
straitened circumstances. In Venice they had to exercise the greatest caution,
even before they got as far as the foundation of a college. The Republic
suspected political intrigues everywhere, and the very fact of the Jesuits
writing to Rome every week awakened suspicion. It was a dangerous thing to hear
the confessions of ladies of the aristocracy and to admonish them as to the
frequent reception of the Sacraments, a thing tor which the Bamabites had
shortly before been driven from the city. When the college really was founded,
many of the students did not persevere, for the commercial spirit of this
centre of trade was not favourable to learning. In Messina, people wanted a
college, it was true, but they were not provided with the necessary capital; in
Modena the Jesuits were reviled as hypocrites and ignorant men; gradually,
however, the new Order struck firm roots, in spite of all difficulties. The
instruction of youth was the chief weapon which the Jesuits employed in Italy
to fight the incursions of Protestantism.
Looked at from a literary point of view, the reform
work of the new Order vindicated itself in all directions, in scientific as in
everyday life, with the learned as with the unlearned, even during the lifetime
of its founder. Convents of nuns, which had got into a depraved state, were
again brought by the Jesuits, by means of the Exercises, into a proper way of
life. Vagrant monks, who often had enlisted among the soldiery, the Jesuits
endeavoured to bring back to their monasteries. They went to the prisons and
galleys to bring spiritual consolation to the neglected prisoners. Lainez and,
later, Nadal, as well as several Capuchins, accompanied, as military chaplains,
the Christian fleets which sailed from Sicily against the corsairs; Baptista
Romanus, a converted Jew, made use of his acquaintance with oriental languages
to win over the Mahommedans and renegades on Turkish ships for the Church. The
Jesuits fought against usury, collected alms for the poor, reconciled enemies,
endeavoured to procure refuges for repentant Magdalens, and were already making
attempts to train up Arabic speaking missionaries for the conversion of North
Africa.
By far the most thorny field of operations presented
itself, however, to the reforming zeal of the young Order, on the other side of
the Alps. Nadal, who knew the conditions in the Iberian and Appenine peninsulas from his own experience, went to inspect the German Jesuits as
visitor in 1555, and he openly declares that the work in Germany is
considerably more difficult and just as glorious as that in the Indies. “It is
an unspeakable misfortune that such a great, powerful and noble nation should
be in such a sad state. With the grace of Christ, there is, however, much hope
that she may be helped, and I am persuaded that God will do so through our
Order, with the authority and favour of the Apostolic See.” “Woe to us” he says
in another place, “if we do not help Germany.” “There are neither members of
religious orders here, nor clergy, nor theologians, so that the Catholic
princes and bishops do not know where to begin. Good Catholics have of
necessity to put up with married parish priests, public concubinage, and
half-Lutheran preachers.” One reason for the terrible state of affairs was the
fact that there was no Catholic in Germany who did not read the books of the
religious innovators, and that other religious works were not sold at all. “We
found all the inns full of the works of Luther and other heretics ; women and
children read them, and we were only in districts which call themselves
Catholic.” There was hardly any Catholic in Germany who wrote in opposition to
these books; the older Catholic works were no longer published and could hardly
be obtained, so that Catholics said they had nothing to read except heretical
books. Catholic theologians also read these works everywhere, and thus got into
a state of theological bewilderment.
This shrewd observer perceived that the cure of these
great evils could only be effected, in Germany as elsewhere, by the foundation
of colleges. Nadal also pointed out a means for helping Germany, of which there
was hardly any mention in other lands, viz.: literary activity. He wished that
Lainez might come to Germany and write there against the Lutherans; he also
discussed with the chancellor, Widmannstadt, as to
whether, on his application, a printing press might not be established in
Vienna, which would daily issue Catholic pamphlets against the Lutherans.
During the lifetime of Loyola, however, they did not
succeed in founding any great number of colleges in Germany. The German princes
did not understand why establishments for religious orders should be founded,
seeing that it was not monasteries, but bishops and parish priests that were
required. Only in 1552 did they manage to found a college in Vienna; by the
year 1555, this already numbered 400 students, under 10 professors. Besides
this the city possessed a noviciate and a house of studies in the year of
Loyola’s death, while three other colleges, in Cologne, Ingolstadt and Prague,
arose during the last year of the life of the founder.
The Order owed the college in Cologne, and still more
those in Ingolstadt and Prague, to the influence of that man who in the time to
come was to be the founder of the German province of the order, and the
animating spirit of all their undertakings —Peter Canisius. Cologne, for the
Church of the XVIth century a post as important as it
was often imperilled, received the Jesuits at first in a manner anything but
friendly. It was especially the sermons of Canisius which gradually gained them
friends. “If we could only open a school,’’ writes Leonhard Kessel, the
superior of the Jesuits in Cologne, in 1549, "then all the youth, and with
them the others, would be won for Christ.’’ This wish was fulfilled when the
post of director of the “Collegium Tricoronatum’’
became vacant, owing to the apostacy of its head. The city-council did not wish
to give this establishment into the hands of the Jesuits, but the son of their
Burgomaster, Johannes Rethius, who had taken their
side, induced them to do so. The “Collegium Tricoronatum’’
developed very rapidly, and became for Germany, very much what the Roman
College was for the whole Order, a school to send out workers in all
directions.
Canisius had at once been sent, with Salmeron and Le
Jay, to Ingolstadt, to give lectures at the university. The new professors,
however, had only an audience of fourteen, of whom the greater number possessed
neither the necessary preliminary instruction nor any interest in religion or
science. Salmeron and Le Jay were therefore soon recalled, but Canisius
remained; he attained many successes and gained general esteem by his private
lessons among the students, by his lectures and by his zeal in the care of souls.
A college would have been the most important step, in view of the insufficient
preliminary training of the students, but the negotiations, begun in 1555, did
not advance, and Ignatius, therefore, summoned the Jesuits from Ingolstadt to
Vienna. Three years later Canisius was recalled to Bavaria, and the college was
opened in the following year.
Many Bohemians were in the habit of studying in
Ingolstadt. The success of the Jesuits there, as well as in Vienna, awakened
the hope in the minds of Bohemian Catholics of being able to procure the
theological seminary of which their country stood in need, through the help of
the new Order. In the year 1552 they addressed themselves, with this intention,
to King Ferdinand I, who assented all the more readily to the proposal, as the
state of the Church in Bohemia seemed even more hopeless than in Germany. Catholics, Utraquists, Bohemian Brethren and Lutherans all
struggled together for the mastery; there was no bishop in the country,
unworthy subjects crept into the priesthood from abroad in all sorts of ways,
while the clerical state was despised, many parishes being without priests,
which were then seized by Protestant preachers, the University also being in
the hands of the Utraquists. Canisius had been
negotiating since 1554 about the foundation of a college, to be directed by the
Jesuits ; two years later it became possible to open one in the convent of St.
Clement in Prague.
While Canisius was pursuing his activities for the
colleges of Prague and Ingolstadt, his fixed residence was in Vienna, where the
position was so serious that, in the opinion of Nadal, the whole city would
have fallen a victim to Lutheranism, had it not been for the efforts of the
Jesuits. Canisius took an active part in the work of his brethren; he preached
with great success in German and Italian, gave lectures on the Epistle to the Romans,
took charge of the prisoners, and visited the parishes in the neighbourhood of
the city, which were all without priests. Ferdinand I. was most desirous, in
the years from 1553 to 1556, of having him made Bishop of Vienna, and was
earnestly urged thereto by the Papal nuncio, but Canisius absolutely refused
this dignity. In spite of considerable progress, things remained in a very
serious condition in Vienna, and Canisius writes on January 5th, 1554, that he
is astonished that it has not come to martyrdom for the Catholics who have
remained true to their faith in the city on the Danube.
It was in Vienna that Canisius composed that most
important of all his works, his Catechism. Hitherto there had been no handy
abstract of the Catholic religion, suited to the needs of the times ; the
school teachers, even in Catholic districts, were usually Lutherans, and
Catholic children were taught according to a Lutheran catechism. Ferdinand I
therefore called upon the Vienna Jesuits to draw up a catechism of the Catholic
faith. Immediately after his arrival in Vienna in 1552, Canisius was entrusted
with this work, and as early as 1554 he was able to lay the first part of his
Catechism before the king. It appeared in the following year without the name
of the author, but with an Imperial decree at the beginning which prescribed
the use of the little book for the schools of the hereditary Austrian
dominions. It was intended for teachers and young students, and was therefore
written in Latin. As early as 1556 a short extract from the larger catechism
appeared at Ingolstadt in Latin and at Dillingen in German. A third catechism,
which was intermediate between the two others, was first printed in Cologne in
1558. All these catechisms went through many editions and were extensively
translated. They were of the utmost importance in Germany for the work of Catholic
reform, as children were taught in accordance with them for hundreds of years.
To possess a college in Paris, the centre of
theological studies, had very early been the cherished desire of Loyola, but it
was precisely in France that the Society of Jesus had to wage a long battle
with the officials and prelates of gallican leanings,
before winning the right of admission. It is, however, a fact that they soon
gained powerful friends there. Charles de Guise, Cardinal of Lorraine, won over
by Ignatius during his residence in Rome in 1550, proved himself a real
protector. Henry II. was favourable to them in spite of the opposition of his
immediate entourage. No fewer than three Jesuit colleges soon afterwards owed
their foundation to the Bishop of Clermont, Guillaume du Prat, among them the
very important college of Paris. But the Jesuits had to carry on a more than
ten years’ struggle concerning the foundation of this Paris college, in the course
of which interesting side lights were thrown upon the attitude in influential
circles towards the Holy See.
Bishop du Prat had recognized that the raising of the
standard of higher education was essential for combating the advance of
Lutheranism. He therefore fixed upon a house in Paris, belonging to the bishops
of Clermont, for a college, in which professors for the schools of his diocese
could receive the necessary scientific training. The only difficulty was the
dearth of young men who were. inclined to enter. He applied, therefore, to
Ignatius, from Trent, in 1546, through Le Jay, and when he had returned to France
in the following year, he thought of handing over his house of studies to the
Jesuits there as their own property.
This plan, however, could only be carried out if the
new Order were received in France through a royal decree. The king indeed did
sign such a document as early as 1550, and again in 1551, at the request of the
Cardinal of Lorraine; before this decree could, however, be made legally
absolute it had to be examined by the Royal Council, have the chancellor's seal
affixed to it, and be registered by the Parliament. The agreement of the gallicanly-inclined Parliament was very hard to obtain, and
the difficulties were increased by a misunderstanding on the part of Viola, the
superior of the Jesuits. In order to induce the Royal Council to give its
approval, Viola had laid before it the Papal decree of October x8th, 1549, by
which the privileges of the Society of Jesus were confirmed, and the Council
communicated this Papal document to the Parliament. The whole affair thus took
on an entirely different aspect. It was no longer a question of allowing the
Jesuit colleges into France, but rather a discussion of the privileges of the
Jesuits, and in particular of the validity of Papal privileges on French soil.
Special offence was given to the procurator-general of
the Parliament, Noel Bruslart, by the Pope’s
withdrawal of the new Order from the jurisdiction of the bishops, and his
releasing them from the duty of ecclesiastical tithes. Parliament declared, in
accordance with the wishes of Bruslart, that the
Jesuit Order transgressed the rights of the king, as well as those of
Parliament, and also violated the episcopal regulations. The matter remained in
this state for a time, and the Papal document was returned to the Jesuits.
It was only at the end of 1552 that Paschasius Broët,
a native of France and a student of the University of Paris, who had been
appointed provincial for France in the June of that year, took some further
steps. He succeeded, by means of a royal command of January 10th, 1553, which
instructed the Parliament to register the former mandate in favour of the
Jesuits. The opposition of the Paris jurists was, however, by no means yet
overcome ; on January 16th the advocategeneral, Seguier, demanded that representations should be made to
the king, and on February 8th the resolution was adopted that, before the
proceedings went any further, the royal patent and the Papal Bull must be
delivered to the Bishop of Paris, Eustache du Bellay, and the theological
faculty for examination.
Eustache du Bellay was a gallican;
he did not regard the Jesuit Order as legally established, and had refused to
its members the right to hear confessions and the permission to preach, because
they were not subject to his jurisdiction. They could therefore only carry on
their priestly duties in the Benedictine abbey of St. Germain-des-Pres, which
was not subject to the diocese of Paris, or work in the neighbouring diocese of
Soissons. The jurisdiction over the Jesuits which he had always claimed now
seemed assured to him, when Parliament assigned to him the decision concerning
them ; naturally, it was not to be expected that he would decide against
himself, by acknowledging the Papal privileges of the Jesuits.
When Broët presented himself before the bishop, in
order to deliver the Papal Bull to him, du Bellay declared quite plainly that
there were already too many Orders even without the Jesuits. Upon the reply
that the Pope and the king had confirmed the Society of Jesus, the bishop
answered that the Pope could give no confirmation for France, and the king just
as little, since it was a matter of ecclesiastical jurisdiction. His judgment
was therefore unfavourable. The very name, “Society of Jesus,” he declared to
be arrogant. The Jesuits, by their vow of poverty, injured the mendicant
orders, and the parish priests by their preaching and hearing confessions,
while many of their privileges encroached on the rights of the bishops, of the
Pope, and of the universities. As they professed to be desirous of working for
the conversion of the Turks and unbelievers, they were at liberty to erect
houses at the confines of Christianity ; it was a long way from Paris to
Constantinople.
The theological faculty proved no less unfriendly.
They first of all sought to delay matters, but finally the dean declared to the
provincial, Broët, that the Jesuits would not be successful, that their
privileges had not been confirmed by “the Church, that is to say, a Council,”
and that the Pope could confer no prerogatives to the detriment of bishops and
parish priests.
When, on August 3rd, 1554, the Parliament pressed for
an answer concerning the question of the Jesuits, twenty theologians examined
the Papal Bulls daily, until a decision was arrived at on December 1st, 1554.
This amounts to a complete condemnation. The very name of the new Society is
offensive, according to this document; it is deserving of censure, because it
receives everyone without distinction. All deviations from the older Orders in
the constitutions of the Society are held to be blameworthy, and the accusation
is again made that their privileges are contrary to the rights of
ecclesiastical and secular personages. Finally and comprehensively, the Society
of Jesus is declared to be dangerous to the Faith, disturbing to the peace of
the Church, destructive to the religious Orders, and to pull down more than it
builds up. This condemnation of a Papal document is prefixed by an
introduction, in which the doctors express their “deep veneration for the Holy
See.”
That such an august and learned body should express
itself in this manner, naturally occasioned the greatest excitement against the
new Order; sermons against the Jesuits were heard in the pulpits, and placards
against them were affixed to the walls. On May 27th, 1555, the bishop forbade
them the exercise of their priestly functions, under pain of excommunication,
until the Bull should be confirmed by him, the faculty and the Parliament. Broët
submitted, although the excommunication would have been invalid, but he
appealed to the Holy See.
The founder of the Order remained quite unmoved by the
general excitement caused among the Jesuits by the Paris decree. When the most
esteemed Roman fathers represented to him that the decree should be contested
in writing, and the false accusation denied, he replied with perfect composure
that this was not necessary, nor would he allow any direct steps to be taken
against the distinguished faculty later on. The Society of Jesus, he said,
would last for a long time yet, and the University of Paris likewise, and he
did not therefore think it advisable that opposition should be further
increased and perpetuated by a direct reply. His plan was to obtain
testimonials from ecclesiastical and secular princes, as well as from
universities in all districts where the Jesuits were in active work, and to lay
these before the Pope, of whose authority there was question in this matter,
and then quietly wait to see which would be the mightier, the Paris decree or
the judgment of the whole world. These testimonials were given in great numbers
by the most distinguished persons; among others by the Portuguese king, John
III, the Viceroy of Sicily, the Duchesses of Tuscany and Ferrara, by many
bishops, by the Universities of Ferrara, Valladolid, Coimbra and Louvain, and
by the Inquisitors at Ferrara, Florence, Evora and Saragossa.
It was not, however, necessary to make use of these
documents. When the Cardinal of Lorraine came to Rome, at the conclusion of
the political alliance with Paul IV, in 1555, there were four Paris doctors in
his retinue, among whom was the composer of the decree of December 1st, 1554. A
calm discussion between these doctors and four of the most learned Jesuits was
arranged, under the presidency of the Cardinal of Lorraine, the result of which
was that the Cardinal decided in favour of the Jesuits, and the doctors
acknowledged their mistake. A short written refutation of the decree, drawn up
by the Jesuit, Olave, who was himself a doctor of the Paris faculty,
strengthened the effect of the Roman pronouncement. The decree of December 1st
was soon forgotten, even though it was never formally revoked
During the lifetime of Loyola, the order only obtained
one college in France, at Billom, in 1556. This town
was, even in secular matters, under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Clermont,
and the latter endowed the college from his own private means. Royal
recognition was, therefore, in this case, not necessary.
Similar difficulties to those in France were also met
with by the Jesuits at the introduction of the Order into the Netherlands.
There as well no college could be opened as long as the Society of Jesus had
not been sanctioned by the government, and it proved extremely difficult to
obtain this sanction. Charles V. was prejudiced against the new Order, and when
the Emperor had gone to Spain, the opposition of the two most influential men
in the country, Granvelle and Viglius van Zwichem, had still to be reckoned with. Van Zwichem raised great difficulties; he was specially of
opinion that the privileges of the Jesuits could not be reconciled with the
rights of the bishops and parish priests.
Ignatius, however, did not despair. At the end of 1555
he sent the still youthful Ribadeneira to the Netherlands, who attracted
attention in Louvain and Brussels by his Latin sermons, winning the favour of
powerful members of the court, especially of the Count of Feria, and obtained
in February, 1556, through their mediation, an audience with Philip II., who
received him in a friendly manner. He had been carrying on negotiations since
June, especially with Ruiz Gomez de Silva, whose influence in favour of the
Jesuits was of the utmost importance, and what remained to be done was achieved
by means of letters of recommendation from the Infanta Juana of Spain, and from
Francis Borgia to Queen Maria of Hungary, who spent some time in Brussels in
July, 1556. On August 20th, 1556, Philip II, regardless of the opposition of
the president of the Council, Viglius, issued the
decree by which the Society of Jesus received civic rights in Belgium.
CHAPTER VIII.
Activity of the Roman Inquisition in Italy.—Spread of
Heresy in Germany, Poland and France.
In his struggle against the Protestant movement which
threatened the unity of the faith in Italy, Julius III. followed in the
footsteps of his predecessor. One of the first acts of his reign was the
confirmation of the Roman Inquisition, recently founded by the Farnese Pope. On
February 27th, 1550, he appointed six Cardinals as members of this tribunal :
de Cupis, Carafa, Sfondrato, Morone, Crescenzi and Pole. Their first duty was
to decide on an answer, which had been asked for by the nuncio, Prospero Santa
Croce, then at the court of King Ferdinand I, with regard to the matter of the
Bohemian Utraquists. It is, therefore, evident, and
this is confirmed by other documents, that the Roman Inquisition was to be
considered as a central court for all the countries of Christendom, although
its principal sphere of activity was in Italy, where, now as always, countless
false doctrines were continually making their appearance. Besides Modena and
Ferrara, the dominions of the Republic of Venice were in special danger. Julius
III, in the year 1550, carried on an active correspondence with the nuncio, Beccadelli, concerning this matter. The Signoria was not
remiss in taking measures against the heretics, among whom were many
Anabaptists; the agreement between Rome and Venice was, however, seriously
interfered with when the Council of Ten resolved, in November, 1550, that a
representative of the secular authority should always be present at the final
judgment of a heretic. The Pope saw in this a threat to ecclesiastical liberty,
and a transgression of the old canons, and expressed his disapproval of the
decision to the Venetian ambassador, as well as to the nuncio.
As such a procedure was often followed, Julius II.
issued a Bull for the protection of ecclesiastical rights against the
encroachment of the secular power. He laid the document before the Roman
Inquisition, whose sanction it first received in a sitting of December 30th,
1550, and again on January 2nd, 1551. The Bull was published on March 27th,
1551; it expressly laid down, under the threat of excommunication, that no one
except the persons authorized by the Roman Inquisition should occupy themselves
with the proceedings against heretics, by which regulation, however, the rights
of the bishops should not be prejudiced. Thanks to the skill of the nuncio, Beccadelli, the question was settled by an arrangement with
the Venetian Republic, which was also sanctioned by Achille de’ Grassi, who was
expressly sent to Venice by the Pope.
It had often happened, even under Clement VII, that
heretical opinions were proclaimed from the pulpit. The Roman Inquisition
therefore issued a decree, on May 20th, 1550, according to which all those who
expounded the Word of God were bound to preach openly against Lutheran tenets,
otherwise they would be regarded with suspicion, and steps taken against them.
In the following year the members of the Roman
Inquisition took part in deliberations concerning the issue of a Bull by which
the system of preaching and hearing confessions should be reformed. In the
summer of 1552 they were also engaged in an inquiry against members of the new
orders of the Barnabites and Angeliche, who had fallen into a dangerous
position, through the over-excited behaviour and arrogance of Paola Antonia
Negri. The end of the proceedings, in which Cardinal Carafa had displayed all
his energies, was the expulsion of Paola Negri from the order of the Angeliche,
the separation of the latter from the Barnabites, and the condemnation of the
writings of the late (d. 1534) Fra Battista da Crema, from whom Paola Negri and
her followers had taken many dangerous views. In order to prevent such abuses
for the future, Julius III appointed, on July 29th, 1552, a friend of Carafa,
Cardinal Alvarez de Toledo, who held the same views as the latter, as protector
of the Barnabites, and he was authorized to visit both them and the Angeliche.1
The jurisdiction of the tribunal was considerably extended by a severe edict
which Julius III. published on February 1st, 1554, against blasphemers. The
Roman Inquisitors were appointed as judges for this crime, and authority was
bestowed on them to inflict corporal punishments.
One of the principal reasons for the spread of
Protestant opinions in Italy was the inundation of the country with heretical
books. The permission to read such books, reserved to the Pope by the Bull In
Coena, had been very extensively granted since the time of Leo X. ; the hoped
for advantage of a more effective fight against error had not, however, been
gained. The evil consequences which ensued were all the more to be deplored, as
such writings were widely read by monks and lay persons, under the pretext that
they had the necessary permission for doing so. Carafa had, as early as 1532,
demanded the withdrawal of all such permissions in the programme for reform
addressed to Clement VII. Julius III carried out these measures, and by a Bull
of April 29th, 1550, recalled all those authorizations to read or keep Lutheran
or other heretical or suspect books, which had been granted by his predecessors,
by Papal legates, by grand penitentiaries or by anyone else. Everybody, no
matter what their rank or position, was bound to deliver such works to the
Inquisition within sixty days, the sole exception to this regulation being the
Inquisitors or the commissaries of the Inquisition, during the term of their
office; measures against disobedience to this order were to be taken by the
Inquisitors-General. The fact that a burning of heretical books took place in
Rome, as early as June 3rd, 1550, shows with what expedition this regulation
was carried out.
The Pope who, in spite of his clemency, was repeatedly
obliged to take stricter measures against the Jews, had agreed that the
Inquisition should confiscate and burn the Talmudical books in the year 1553.
He also authorized an edict of the. Inquisition of September 12th, 1553,
whereby all the princes, bishops and inquisitors received instructions to do
the same thing. The Jews begged the Pope to recall the decree, or at least to
allow them the use of the simple rabbinical writings. Thereupon there followed a
Bull of May 29th, 1554, ordering the Jewish communities to deliver up all books
containing blasphemies and aspersions against Christ, within four months; no
one was to trouble them with regard to other books, which did not contain such
blasphemies. The Inquisition speedily set about the execution of this decree in
the States of the Church.
As regards the activity of the Roman Inquisition
against heresy, the latest investigations of the time of Paul III go far to
confirm the expert opinion of Seripando, that the proceedings of this tribunal
were conducted in a moderate and clement manner, in keeping with the nature of
the Farnese Pope, that severe corporal punishment and executions were of rare occurrence,
and that many acquittals took place when the contrary had been expected. The
same thing is also true of the time of Julius III, as far as an opinion can be
formed without the perusal of the inaccessible documents of the Roman
Inquisition. It is expressly declared that Cardinal Carafa, who had great
influence in matters concerning the Inquisition, was not pleased with the
moderate measures of Julius III. The ambassador of Bologna also declares that
the Pope had much milder views concerning proceedings against heretics than
those held by Cardinal Juan Alvarez de Toledo, a man whose ideas resembled
those of Cardinal Carafa. In the case which the ambassador had in mind, it can
be proved that the procedure was in accordance with his statement. The
naturalist, Ulisse Aldrovandi, who was sent from Bologna to Rome in 1549, was
at once set at liberty, while others escaped with slight punishment.
At the same time, Julius III did what his office
required from him, for the protection and purification of the faith. He
repeatedly took part in person at the sittings of the Roman Inquisition,
especially in the early years of his pontificate. The data concerning the
members of the tribunal do not allow the membership to be established with
certainty. Massarelli counts seven Cardinals as Inquisitors-General in
February, 1551, namely Carafa, Carpi, Alvarez de Toledo, Cervini, Crescenzi,
Verallo and Pole. In March of the same year, the Inquisition was engaged on an
examination of the bishops, Thomas Planta of Coire, and Vettore Soranzo of Bergamo, who were suspected of heretical
views. The investigation ended with an acquittal in both cases.
Julius III, who had, even as Cardinal, shown himself
opposed to personal severity to those who were accused of heresy, granted, by a
Bull of April 29th, 1550, absolution to all those who had fallen into heresy,
and were only prevented from retractation by fear of the public penance and the
shame attached to it, on condition of their presenting themselves privately
before the Inquisition, abjuring their errors and performing a secret penance.
Those subject to the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions, however, and
especially the relapsed Jews in those countries, were excluded from this
absolution.
The execution of those who obstinately persevered in
their heresy, only took place in Rome in isolated cases under Julius III. The
diary of the native of Trastevere, Cola Coleine, mentions on June 6th, 1552, that seven Lutherans
were led to S. Maria sopra Minerva, where they abjured their errors. From the
same source we learn that on March 21st, 1553, eleven Lutherans, among them the
Minorite, Giovanni Buzio from Montalcino, were
likewise taken there. On September 4th, 1553, a silk-weaver was executed with Buzjo on the Campo de’ Fiori, who not only denied
Purgatory, the authority of the Pope, and the doctrine of Indulgences, but also
declared that Julius III. was Antichrist. According to Coleine,
the reconciliation of sixteen Lutherans to the Church again took place before
S. Maria sopra Minerva on November 4th. If the Pope urged the execution of the
relapsed heretic Fanino in Ferrara, this was more on
account of the dangerous state of affairs prevailing there, the palace of the
Duchess Renee being known as the “Refuge of the Heretics.”
The few cases in which heresy was punished by death
under Julius III. were described in detail in Germany by means of pamphlets, in
order to give the impression in that country that a violent persecution of
Italian Protestants was being carried on. What actually took place is best
understood from the letter of Vergerio to Bullinger, on October 8th, 1553, concerning
the state of affairs in Italy. He says : “ People might believe that hundreds
were being burned daily, but this is by no means the case; not a single person
has been put to death, although in some places heretics are, to a certain
extent, persecuted.”
In the Florentine ambassadorial dispatches mention is
repeatedly made of heretics being sent from Tuscany to Rome. That the same
thing was true of Naples can be seen from a letter of the commissary-general of
the Roman Inquisition, the Dominican, Michele Ghislieri, to Cardinal Cervini,
on August 4th, 1553. Ghislieri, who was specially zealous for the work of the
Inquisition, saved in 1551 the gifted Minorite, Sisto da Siena, a converted
Jew, from the threatened death by fire, reconciled him to the Church, and thus
gained a useful champion for the faith. On September 19th, 1554, Ghislieri sent
to Cervini a list of sixteen names of Servites, who had preached Lutheran
sermons. It is evident, from a pronouncement of the tribunal of the faith in
Bologna, how frequently members of the Servite Order were at that time
convicted of heresy. The religious ferment in that town had also taken
possession of the youthful students. Proceedings had to be instituted in 1553 against
a large number of the students of the Spanish college, some of whom belonged to
very distinguished families, on account of their Protestant opinions. The
moderate and shrewd manner in which the inquiry was conducted would have been
impossible under such a man as Carafa. The benevolent Julius III. succeeded in
arranging this painful matter in private. Notice of the spread of heresy
reached the Roman Inquisition specially from the duchy of Urbino, the diocese
of Lucca and the territory of Milan. It was rather difficult to intervene in
Milan, as the archbishop repeatedly got into conflict with the Inquisitors.
Added to this there was constantly in this diocese great interference on the
part of the secular authorities, which caused the Cardinals of the Roman
Inquisition to lay a complaint against the Milanese Senate before the Emperor
and the Governor in the August of 1553. During these disputes, Rome was at
great pains to prevent the Spanish government from making use of the
Inquisition for political purposes.
The territory of Milan was all the more threatened by
the innovators because of its proximity to Switzerland, but the Catholics in
that country also rose successfully against them, an undertaking which Julius
III. supported, as far as possible, through his nuncios.
Most disquieting news from Naples, which under Paul
III had been a rallying point of the innovators, had repeatedly reached
Cervini. Great excitement had been specially caused when, in 1551, a
grand-nephew of Cardinal Carafa, the Marquis of Vico, Galeazzo Caracciolo, fled
to Geneva and became the intimate friend and supporter of Calvin. In order to
provide the Neapolitan district with vigorous assistance, a delegate of the
Roman Inquisition was installed there in the year 1553. Concerning the
proceedings instituted against the Neapolitan, Matteo da Aversa, Ghislieri
writes from Rome to Cardinal Cervini on August 4th, 1553: “The accused had
undergone the torture of the scavenger’s daughter, but remained firm ; it was
only after three or four days that he was brought to acknowledge many errors,
as for example, that he had found it impossible to believe that Christ was
God.” Cardinal Pole would not consent to the employment of this frightful
measure in the case of Aversa. In a conversation with Carafa, the English
Cardinal told him that although he approved of the object, he repudiated such
means of attaining it.
The Jesuits, who were, in principle, in agreement with
the inquisition, chiefly made use of peaceable instruction as a means of
converting heretics. It was reported from many places that they had succeeded
in reconciling many to the Church, even when they had gone so far, as several
did in Venice, as to deny the immortality of the soul. In Ferrara, the Jesuit,
Pelletier, united his efforts with those of the King of France and the Duke,
Ercole, to obtain the conversion of the Duchess Renee. She confessed with many
tears to Pelletier and received Holy Communion from his hands in 1554; it is,
however, true that she afterwards relapsed into heresy.
Besides peaceable persuasion the Jesuits principally
sought to counter the Protestant invasion of Italy by the instruction of the
young. This they did in Genoa and Naples. In the latter city, the followers of
Juan Valdes instigated a violent persecution against them in the year 1552.
This did not prevent Salmeron from preaching against the reformers in the
following year, with such success that very many were converted. The measures
employed by the reformers to frustrate the activity of the Jesuits is evidenced
by a characteristic case of which we learn in Rome. A Calabrian, 33 years of
age, was sent by them to the Jesuits so that he might spy out their pursuits,
as a novice, and attempt to seduce some of them. His outward life was
blameless, and he confessed and communicated frequently. When, however, it
became evident that he held heretical views, he was dismissed, but on leaving
the noviciate he was arrested by the Inquisition. As he proved to be repentant,
he got off with being condemned to the galleys.
Very often quite innocent persons were accused of
heresy. This fate overtook, not only the above-mentioned Bishop of Bergamo, but
other prelates as well. Even a Cardinal, and such a distinguished personage as
Morone, came under suspicion. A certain Frate Bernardo of Viterbo, who had been
brought before the Inquisition, called his orthodoxy in question. Perhaps it
might have gone as far as the arrest of Morone by the Roman tribunal, if Julius
III had not informed the Cardinal, and afforded him the opportunity of at once
justifying himself, whereupon the Frate retracted the unjust allegations he had
brought against him. The defence of the suspected Archbishop of Otranto, Pietro
Antonio de Capua, and of the Patriarch Giovanni Grimani of Venice was not so
easy. The Emperor had repeatedly and urgently requested the purple for de
Capua, but always in vain, as the inquisition had instituted an investigation
against the archbishop, on a charge of heterodoxy. Even though the accused
succeeded in proving himself innocent, the dignity of the cardinalate was not
conferred on him. The absolute want of foundation for the accusation against
the Patriarch Grimani was shown in a similar manner, but although nothing could
be proved against him but a few imprudences, the red
hat was refused to him as well, in spite of urgent requests from the Republic
of St. Mark. The scandal and shame of having been brought before the
Inquisition for examination was so great that Julius III assured the Venetian
ambassador that all the waters of the Tiber could not wash it away.
While Italy succeeded in warding off the dangers
threatening the Church, the state of affairs in the countries beyond the Alps
was steadily growing more gloomy. The issue in Germany was no longer doubtful,
since the revolt of the Elector Maurice of Saxony and his fellow conspirators
had been successful and the treaty of Passau had confirmed it (August 15th,
1552). Neither the Pope nor the Emperor was in a position to give a different
turn to affairs. Julius III. resolved, with a view to saving what was still
possible, and strongly defending his own position, to send to the assistance of
the nuncio, Zaccaria Delfino,1 then at the Court of Ferdinand I, for the Diet
convoked at Augsburg, an experienced diplomatist and a shrewd judge of
conditions in Germany, in the person of Cardinal Morone. On account of the
painful experiences which the representative of the Pope had had at former
Diets, there were at first misgivings in Rome, when, in accordance with the
wishes of Charles V, it was proposed that a Cardinal-Legate should be allowed
to take part in the contemplated discussions concerning religion. Cardinal Otto
von Truchsess alone represented, in a letter addressed directly to His
Holiness, the urgent necessity for an able Cardinal-Legate, well acquainted
with the state of affairs in Germany. Truchsess also repeatedly begged the
influential Cardinal Cervini to take steps in Rome to gain this end. The
appointment of Morone as Legate to Ferdinand I followed on January 7th, 1555;
on February 13th, the Pope, who was at that time confined to bed with the gout,
gave him the Cross, and five days later Morone left the Eternal City. His
office, as may well be imagined, was a most difficult one, for, as Delfino
states, a considerable number, even of Catholics, were inclined to assent to
the dangerous agreement of Passau. Julius III gave the Cardinal strict
injunctions to defend, in a fitting manner, at least the Papal authority during
the impending negotiations. In Morone’s company were the Jesuits, James Lainez
and Jerome Nadal, to act as his theological advisers.
For a long time before his departure on this mission,
Morone had been co-operating in a work which was to be of the greatest
importance for the Catholic regeneration of Germany.
All those who thoroughly understood the conditions in
Germany, the bishops as well as the Papal nuncios, had been pointing out for
years that the state of religious neglect of the people in the districts which
were still Catholic, arose chiefly from the extraordinary scarcity of priests,
a thing which had made itself felt still more since the political and
ecclesiastical revolution. The Catholic clergy, whom the reformers represented
as the source of all evil, and endeavoured to bring into contempt by every
means in their power, were threatened with extinction. No one understood better
than Ignatius of Loyola that a thorough change must take place, if the Catholic
regeneration of Germany was to be taken in hand in an energetic manner. The
idea of founding in Rome a training college for secular priests who should
distinguish themselves by their piety and learning, and would be capable of
acting as spiritual advisers, preachers, professors, and as bishops, and of
planting them like leaven in the German dioceses, was maturing in his mind.
Such a college could not be founded in Germany itself, for, as Ignatius pointed
out in a memorandum intended for Charles V, not only was heresy openly rampant
there, but everything had been so ruined by many pretended Catholics, that
their bad example could only have the most injurious effect on the young
students. The justice of this consideration was shown by the fate of the
college founded by Cardinal Truchsess in Dillingen in the year 1549, for the
training of priests. Although Julius III raised this institution to be a
university in 1551, and the Cardinal devoted the whole of his fortune and
income to it, it never realized the expectations of its founder, until it was
given into the hands of the Jesuits in the year 1564.
A further reason which Ignatius had for wishing this
training college for German priests to be in Rome lay in the difficulty of
finding in Germany the pecuniary support for such an institution, and of
providing it with suitable professors. Added to this there was the dislike for
the Papacy which was prevalent in Germany, in many cases even among Catholics,
which not infrequently degenerated into actual hatred. In order to combat this
feeling, the students were to be given an opportunity of convincing themselves,
by personal observation, of the “love, benevolence, and the desire to help and
to save” of the Holy See, and in this manner to induce people to change their
opinions.
The idea of founding such an establishment first took
shape in the mind of Cardinal Morone. After he had conferred about the matter
with Ignatius of Loyola, the latter placed his Order at the disposal of the
Cardinal for this important undertaking. After Morone had communicated his plan
to Cardinals Cervini, Carpi and Alvarez de Toledo, he went with Cervini to
Julius III, who joyfully gave his consent to the proposal. He said he had
already thought of something similar himself, and would be glad to further the
design.
The first steps were taken as early as 1551, but on
account of the unhappy war about Parma and the financial difficulties connected
with it, the carrying out of the undertaking was deferred. Ignatius, however,
did not lose heart, but continued his preparations full of confidence in
Providence. In May, 1552, he drew up a memorandum concerning the manner in
which the foundation was to be proceeded with. Those accepted should as a rule
be between 16 and 21, of good disposition, healthy, and not in any way deformed;
they should moreover be of average intelligence, capable of forming correct
judgments and possessed of agreeable manners. The rudiments of learning and
noble birth were desirable, and they should also come from different dioceses.
In order to obtain such students, the Pope was desired to apply to the Emperor
and the King of the Romans, as well as to the princes and prelates of the
Empire, either directly or through his nuncios. A promise should be given that
all the expenses of maintenance for the students would be met, and the youths
chosen should clearly be given to understand that they would return to their
own country armed with learning and piety, and provided with ecclesiastical
benefices. In order that a beginning should be made at once with the college,
the Cardinals were begged to decide as soon as possible the sums they intended
to provide, and to give their donation without loss of time, as the expenses
would be twice as great in the first year as later on. For the present the
establishment could be started in a hired house; this, however, should be as
near to the Roman College as possible, as the students were to attend the
lectures there.
In July, 1552, Julius III. took the final steps for
the foundation of the “Germanicum,” by appointing six
Cardinals : Morone, Cervini, Alvarez de Toledo, Carpi, Truchsess and de Puy, as
protectors of the institution. In accordance with the scheme which Ignatius
laid before them, a Bull was drawn up on August 31st, 1552, by which the new college
was founded and placed in the hands of the Society of Jesus. Ignatius had
already written to the Jesuits in Vienna and Cologne, in order that they might
send students for the German College. The opening took place in October, and by
December, twenty-four students were already in residence, which number was
increased to about sixty two years later. Ignatius composed the regulations for
the establishment, and the rules for the students, just as he had drawn up the
draft for the Bull of foundation. His wise constitutions, which the Saint, in
the absence of older models, had to draft almost from the beginning, are “in
their pregnant brevity, decision and moderation, a masterpiece, which has
served as a model for countless seminaries.” Concerning the progress of the
students in learning and their moral development, letters from Roman Jesuits of
the year 1554 express themselves in very favourable terms ; on the other hand,
Ignatius had much trouble and labour through the want of sufficient means for
their maintenance. According to the original idea, the Jesuit Order was to have
nothing to do with the financial affairs of the college, but circumstances
forced Ignatius to take this burden as well on his shoulders. The question of
funds repeatedly occurs in his memorandum concerning the college, for there lay
the greatest danger lest the whole undertaking should suffer shipwreck. In the
September of 1552, he made a proposal that, first the Cardinals, and then the
prelates and secular princes should be applied to for voluntary contributions,
and that annual payments should be asked for from the rich orders, abbeys and
benefices. Thereupon an appeal for donations was circulated among the fiftyeight Cardinals at the beginning of December; the
Pope himself entered his name for 500 ducats yearly, and thirty- three
Cardinals for larger or smaller sums, so that an annual income of 3565 ducats
seemed to be assured for the time being. This source of revenue, however, being
dependent on the good-will of the donors, was, of necessity, somewhat
uncertain, besides which, it was only sufficient for a very limited number of
students, while Ignatius would have gladly seen these increased to 200 or 300;
for this, however, a yearly income of from 8000 to 9000 ducats would be
necessary. The financial position of the Curia made it impossible to grant a
fixed, assured, annual income to the college for all time, instead of the voluntary
contributions now bestowed. Ignatius, however, did not despair. He was
determined to keep true to his purpose, the importance of which was fully
recognised by Julius III, who, in January, 1554, pointed out to the Emperor,
through his nuncio, the importance of the new college, and requested him to
support it.
An all important part in the spread of religious
dissension in Germany had been taken by Henry II of France, when he supported
the Protestant princes in their revolt against Charles V. This alliance,
however, did not in the least prevent the king from proceeding with fire and
sword against the propagators of the new doctrines in his own kingdom, when he
saw in them rebels against his royal authority and the laws of the realm, and
disturbers of internal peace and national unity. The Edict of Chateaubriant of June 27th, 1551, included all the
proscriptions already issued against the Protestants, and rendered them more
severe in many points. This Edict was published on the same day, September 3rd,
1551, on which Henry II forbade his subjects to send any money to Rome, on
account of the attitude of Julius III with regard to the war about Parma.
Shortly afterwards, on October 3rd, 1551, the French “Defender of the Faith”
concluded his alliance at Lochau with the Protestant
princes who were conspiring against Charles V. Before taking the field in their
support, he impressed upon the Parliament, on January 12th, 1552, that they
should carefully watch over all matters concerning the faith, and see to the
eradication of heresy by the exemplary punishment of the guilty. Proceedings in
France were, therefore, conducted strictly in accordance with these directions.
In Agen, Troyes, Nimes, Paris, Toulouse and Rouen the heretics were sent to the
stake; this was above all the case in Lyons, which had become the principal
market for the heretical writings smuggled in from Geneva. In 1554, the Pope,
through his nuncio, Gualterio, specially requested the king to suppress these
publications, to which the writings of the gallican Charles du Moulin were also added. The relations between Rome and Paris were,
and for the present remained, very strained; the neutral position taken up by
Julius III in political affairs displeased Henry II and, in addition to this,
there were perpetual disputes with regard to the application of the Concordat.
Julius III had, in this respect, made important
concessions to the king in October, 1550, and in March, 1553. These were,
however, in spite of repeated explanations on the part of Henry II, by no means
observed. As had previously been the case with Santa Croce, so had his
successor, Gualterio, over and over again to struggle against the encroachments
of the secular power. Henry II maintained, in this matter, an attitude in
keeping with the state of political affairs at the moment; if the Pope was
necessary to him, he made him fair promises, but when conditions altered, he
simply broke them.
In Poland, the development of conditions which were
very dangerous to the continued existence of the Catholic Church in that
country, had first become apparent under Paul III, but still continued to
spread under Julius III. In the summer of 1550 exceedingly grave machinations
were brought to light in the Diet at Petrikau. The
king would not agree to the demand for the reform of the Church in the sense
demanded by the innovators, and he appointed the eminent Bishop of Kulm,
Stanislaus Hosius, as his ambassador at Trent. On December 13th, 1550, the
spiritual jurisdiction of the bishops was confirmed by a royal decree, and the
followers of the new doctrines were deprived of all their dignities and
offices. The danger for the Church was, however, by no means lessened by these
measures, for a great part of the nobility had embraced the Protestant
doctrines, and the defiant attitude of their adherents is proved by the
excesses which they permitted themselves against everything which the Catholics
held most holy. In a suburb of Cracow they pulled the crucifix down and threw
it in the mud; in the village of Chrencice the church
was robbed of all its ornaments, and even the Sacred Host was thrown into the
fire. It was especially to be deplored that at such a dangerous time, only a
few of the bishops, such as those of Gnesen and Cracow, fulfilled their duty.
The bishops, moreover, took things very easily in preparing for the Council,
and it was not until June, 1551, that they deliberated about it in a synod at Petrikau. Hosius, whom Julius III, at the request of the
king, had confirmed as Bishop of Ermland, on May 11th,
1551, took part in this synod; he drew up, at that time, his celebrated
Confession of Faith, which the members of the synod accepted. Several of the
bishops now bestirred themselves, and carried out wholesome reforms in their
dioceses. Many, however, forgot only too soon what they had recognized as their
duty at the synod, and again lapsed into their former state of indifference.
The funds for the embassy to Trent could only be collected with difficulty; the
mission was at last entrusted to Peter Glogowski, who also visited Rome, where
he represented the conditions in Poland in such a favourable light to the Pope,
that Julius III was deceived as to the real state of affairs. How dangerous
things really were, came to light in the Diet opened at the end of January,
1552. John Sigismund was openly called upon to sanction the new teaching as to
justification, the marriage of priests, and communion under both kinds. The
king, however, could not be induced to give way to such revolutionary
proposals. In his heart the last of the Jagellons was
a sincere Catholic, and faithful in the discharge of his religious duties, but,
good-natured as he was, he did not possess the strength of character to offer a
determined opposition to these dangerous proposals. In the matter of the
Council, he allowed himself to be influenced by his hesitating, visionary
secretary, Modrzewski, who had the idea of a free council in his mind. The
resolute Catholic, Hosius, was passed over, and men appointed to proceed to
Trent, who were as compliant as they were uncertain in their views.
In Rome, it was soon realized that Glogowski had
reported much too favourably. On September 20th, 1552, the Pope addressed a
letter to the inquisitor at Cracow, telling him to make investigations
concerning the suspicious proceedings of several Polish bishops with regard to
heresy. When King John Sigismund remarried in the year 1553, the Pope made use
of his letter of congratulation to point out to him earnestly that the king
should, by his authority, protect the Catholic Faith against abuse and attack.
Similar exhortations were addressed, some time afterwards, to the bishops and
the Polish nobility, as well as once
more to the king and queen. The latter did not justify the hopes which the
Catholics of Poland had placed in her, and her husband, now as before, let
matters take their course, although Hosius never wearied in urgently recommending
the protection of the Catholic religion, by work of mouth as well as by letter.
If the king allowed the Church to be torn to pieces, Hosius prophesied to him
on March 12th, 1554, then God would also allow his kingdom to go to pieces. The
want of zeal of the greater number of the bishops is shown by the fact that, at
the synod at Petrikau, in 1554, besides the Primate
of Gnesen and Hosius, only the Bishops of Cracow and Plozk appeared. There was nothing to be done but arrange for a new synod. The Pope
was requested to send a nuncio to this, in the person of Lippomano.
The appointment of Lippomano, on January 13th, 1555,
was one of the last official acts in the pontificate of Julius III.
CHAPTER IX.
Accession of Queen Mary of England.—Her Marriage to
Philip of Spain.
At this time the Church found some compensation for
the severe losses which she had sustained in various European states,
especially in Germany, by the success which crowned her efforts elsewhere, and,
apart from the development of the missions outside Europe, the Catholic
Restoration in England must hold the first place among these successes.
During the pontificate of Julius III, England went
through two great religious revolutions, in the first of which doctrine and
liturgy were subverted in favour of the already far-advanced Protestantism,
this period being followed by a complete return to the old religion.
Shortly before the death of Paul III, the Protector
Somerset, the uncle of the young King Edward VI, was overthrown, and was
succeeded by the Earl of Warwick, who became Duke of Northumberland in 1551.
This change in the government had, at first, raised hopes in the minds of
Catholics that the old religion might be restored, and Mass, as of old, was at
once celebrated in various parishes of London and Oxford. The first events of
the year 1550, however, soon put an end to these hopes; on January 25th, a
decree was issued, according to which the old Latin missals, breviaries, etc.,
were to be delivered up for destruction, the pictures in the churches being
likewise destroyed, except in so far as they represented princes and other
dignitaries who could not during their lives have been suspected of sanctity
Other decrees of January, 1550, aimed at the framing
of new church laws, and a new formula for the consecration of bishops and other
ministers of religion. Many valuable manuscripts shared the fate of the
ecclesiastical books, at the end of 1550 whole waggon loads of manuscripts from
the Oxford Library being destroyed, of which many had nothing more in common
with “Mass-books” than the red capitals of the title page, and of the headings
of the chapters. Very many of these were thrown away on hucksters, while
shiploads of manuscripts crossed the sea for the use of bookbinders.
The most decisive innovation, however, was shown in
the “Book of Common Prayer,” of the year 1552, which was really a remodelling
of the original edition authorized by Parliament in 1549.
Somerset had taken great pains, on the death of Henry
VIII, to bring the influence of Protestant ideas to bear on the almost
completely Catholic state of religion at that time. The introduction of
communion under both kinds, the permission for priests to marry, and the use of
the vernacular in the services of the church, did not of themselves form an
essential ground for a break with Catholic doctrine. A general confession of
sin before communion was, it is true, declared to be sufficient in the Book, of
Common Prayer of 1549, but confession to a priest was also allowed.
Alterations, pregnant with fateful results, were now introduced in respect to
the Holy Sacrament of the Altar, which, amid a flood of vulgar publications,
now became the central point of the most violent attack and insult. Under
Somerset, however, some care was still exercised, the liturgy of the Mass in
the first Book of Common Prayer having included many of the outward ceremonies
in order that the uneducated might still believe that nothing essential had
been altered, while the educated could still infer, from many expressions which
still remained, the doctrines of the Catholic Faith.
Quite another spirit, however, pervaded the second
Book of Common Prayer of 1552. If the doctrine of Luther had been the standard
of the first changes in the liturgy of the Mass in the year 1549, the second
compilation was made in the spirit of Zwingli and Calvin. The Book of Common
Prayer in its original form did away with everything which caused the Mass to
appear as a sacrifice, but the second, on the other hand, removed everything
which could form an acknowledgment of the Real Presence of Christ in the sacrament.
The way to this change to the most extreme
Protestantism had already been prepared under Somerset. Theologians of the most
advanced tendencies found, at that time, a refuge in England, which was denied
them everywhere else; Bucer came to England in April, 1549, from Strasbourg,
flying before the Interim, and was at once made professor of theology in
Cambridge; a little time before, the Italian, Peter Martyr Vermigli,
who had come to England at the invitation of Cranmer, in 1547, received a
professor’s chair at Oxford. A visitation of both universities in May, 1549,
removed various Catholic professors. Countless abusive publications, introduced
from the continent, and allowed to be freely printed in England, prepared
public opinion for Calvinistic teaching, while the defenders of the old faith
had to publish their answers abroad. As far as Cranmer himself was concerned he
was always receding in his writings further and further from both Catholic and
Lutheran doctrines, and, as he himself confessed, had only allowed a few
Catholic expressions still to appear in the first compilation of the Book of
Common Prayer, in order not to arouse too great excitement among the people.
Northumberland was never, as he acknowledged later, at
the hour of death, really persuaded of the truth of the Protestant doctrines,
but he showed himself, none the less, the zealous friend and the active
promoter of the new religion. In order to gain greater freedom for this
purpose, the first thing to be done was to remove the Catholic bishops. Bonner,
Bishop of London, was the first to be cast into prison, on December 4th, 1549.
Bishop Gardiner, of Winchester, had long been in the Tower, and he was deprived
of his bishopric on February 14th, 1551, while Heath, of Worcester, was thrown
into prison on March 4th, 1550. Day, of Chichester, was declared to have
forfeited his see on October 1st, 1551; Tunstall, of Durham, who had been a
prisoner in his house since May 20th, 1551, suffered the same fate on October
3rd, 1552. Several other suspected prelates had to resign, while Thirlby, of
Westminster, was removed to the unimportant diocese of Norwich.
Among the bishops who took the places of the deposed
prelates, Ridley, of London, was particularly active in promoting the spread of
the new doctrines. He was inducted into Bonner’s see on April 1st, 1550, and on
May 5th, he ordered a strict visitation of his diocese, in the course of which
everything which was reminiscent of the old idea of the Catholic Mass was
specially to be rooted out. Particular instructions were given in this
visitation that the altars were to be thrown down in the churches, as the conception
of the Mass as a sacrifice was strongly bound up with the idea of an altar. “So
long as there is an altar,” preached Hooper, “the ignorant people will always
dream of a sacrifice.” Ridley himself gave the example of destruction. On the
night of June nth, 1550, he had the high altar removed from St. Paul’s in
London, and during Whitsun week the same thing was done in all the churches of
London. By a royal decree of November 24th, all the bishops were instructed to
proceed in a like manner. The work of destruction was completed by the end of
1550. The Venetian ambassador, Barbaro, wrote at the end of May, 1551, that
bells and organs were still used, but that they no longer had any altars or
pictures. The altars had been everywhere removed, without consideration for
their artistic value or their venerable old age. Scarcely a voice was raised
against these revolutionary proceedings, for, although many bishops might feel
uneasy in their consciences, their authority had been swept away with that of
the Pope. The people lost all respect for the desecrated churches, in which
dealers bought and sold, bringing in their horses and mules, while bloody
conflicts and mortal combats not infrequently took place there. “People are
turning the churches,” says a royal decree of 1552, “into common inns, or
rather into dens and sinks of iniquity.”
The introduction of Calvinism into public worship was
inaugurated by the destruction of the altars. Apart from this the first Book of
Common Prayer of 1549 had really pleased nobody. The people stood aloof from
the new services, while Cranmer himself only regarded the liturgy of 1549 as a
temporary measure. Excited by reforming preachers, the young king declared that
if the bishops would not alter the Book of Common Prayer, he would do so
himself. Above all, however, the foreign theologians who had sought refuge in
England urged more extreme measures. So it came about that a country which was
desirous of throwing off the authority of the Pope, on the ground that he was a
foreign bishop, actually made over to foreign influence the remodelling of its
religion.
As early as April, 1549, Cranmer, in a meeting with
Bucer, Peter Martyr Vermigli, Fagius,
Dryander and Tremellius deliberated on the reform of the liturgy. Calvin
himself wrote in January to King Edward as the new Josias, and exhorted him to
extirpate the “great abyss of superstition” which still remained over from the
Papal supremacy. Bucer had the greatest influence in bringing about the new
development in public worship, and after his death (February 28th, 1551) the
still more advanced Peter Martyr took his place. On March 9th, 1552, the new
Book of Common Prayer was laid before the House of Lords, and was accepted by
both Houses on April 14th.
The introduction to the new Bill refers to the second
edition of the Book of Common Prayer as if it were only an improved edition of
the first, but in all essential points identical with it. This is, however, by
no means the case. The liturgy of 1549 was an attempt at conciliation, which
endeavoured to satisfy Protestants as well as Catholics, as far as was
possible; the liturgy of 1552, on the contrary, had the fullest intention of
avoiding every expression and every ceremony which the followers of the old
religion could construe in accordance with their own views. Nothing of the
Catholic Mass remains in the new Order of Communion. Besides this, the second
Book of Common Prayer abolishes private Confession and Extreme Unction. As far
as the Sacrament of Holy Orders was concerned, they still retained the grades
of deacons, priests and bishops, at least in name. One result of the totally
altered conception of Holy Communion was the fact that the ordination of
priests possessing the real power of consecration was no longer proposed,
indeed the very idea of ordaining priests in this Catholic sense was completely
excluded. The new Prayer Book could, therefore, receive the unqualified
approbation of the most advanced Protestants. Peter Martyr wrote on June 14th,
1552, to Bullinger that all the traces which might have still nourished
superstition were expurgated from it. Bullinger and Calvin, who were begged to
give their opinion of it by English refugees in 1554, considered that fault
could only be found with it in points of no great importance.
As in the case of the Book of Common Prayer, the other
confession of the faith of the Anglican Church, the Thirty-nine Articles, can
also be traced to Cranmer. As early as 1549 he had drawn up a list of tenets
which every preacher had to sign before receiving license to preach. There were
originally forty-five of these, then forty-two, and finally thirty-nine. King
Edward VI signed forty-two Articles on June 12th, 1553. They formed a mixture
of Lutheran, Zwinglian and Calvinistic doctrinal propositions, with a trace of
Catholicism running through them, the chief point being the Protestant
principle that the Bible is the sole rule of faith. The doctrine of
justification was presented in the Lutheran sense, that of communion in that of
Calvin. The royal supremacy over the Church was enjoined in the widest sense of
the word.
On the 6th of the following month, the fifteen year
old king, who had long been an invalid, died, and with his death, the carefully
planned work of ecclesiastical revolution seemed as if it would again fall to
pieces. It is true that the dying king had, under the influence of
Northumberland, been induced to attempt, by his own power, to alter the
succession, and leave the sceptre in safe Protestant hands. In accordance with
this arrangement, the sixteen year old Lady Jane Grey, the granddaughter of
Henry VIII’s sister Mary, and the wife of Lord Guildford Dudley,
Northumberland’s son, was proclaimed queen on July 10th. This alteration in the
succession, as it had taken place without the consent of Parliament, was too
plainly illegal, and too clearly the result of Northumberland’s ambitious
intrigues, for the people to give it their approval, and when the rightful heiress
to the throne, Henry’s eldest daughter Mary, unfolded her royal banner,
defenders flocked round her in countless numbers. Northumberland’s army went
over to her, and on July 19th, Mary was proclaimed queen in London amid the
joyful acclamations of her people.
Mary, the daughter of Catherine of Aragon, had not
only received a careful and indeed learned education for court life under the
direction of Margaret Pole, the mother of the future Cardinal, and who was to
die as a martyr in 1541, but also a deeply religious training in a Catholic
sense. Her religious feelings were yet more strengthened in the hard school of
suffering, through which she had to pass after the repudiation of her mother.
Separated from the latter, and assigned to the household of her sister Elizabeth,
she received the worst apartments in the house, her jewels and costly clothes
were taken from her, the attendants who were faithful to her were sent away,
while her confessor was replaced by a Lutheran. She was given over to the care
of a relative of Anne Boleyn, who daily caused her much sorrow, neglecting her
in her illnesses, and even striking her in the face. Anne Boleyn, her sworn
enemy, thought of making her one of her train-bearers, and would have been most
happy to have seen her on the scaffold. Indeed, her father threatened her with
death, and she had only to thank the energetic intervention of the Emperor for
her escape. In spite of all this severity, however, they did not succeed in
what they aimed at, namely, in making her renounce her title and right to the
throne. She could not, she said, declare her parents to be adulterers, or be
disobedient to the Church.
After the death of Anne Boleyn and her own mother,
Mary was, indeed, induced, under fear of death, and in order to obtain the
acknowledgment of her right to the throne, to sign a document recognizing the
supremacy of the king, and declaring that her mother’s marriage was invalid.
Before doing so, however, she signed a protest declaring that document to have
been obtained by force, and consequently illegal. She absolutely refused to
hear of the Protestantism introduced by Somerset and Northumberland, and steadfastly
refused, under the latter, to have the new liturgy celebrated in her house,
until the king attained his majority; rather than do this she was prepared to
lay her head on the block, and at length they ceased to press her any further.
The first acts of Mary’s reign bore the stamp of that
mildness which she everywhere displayed when she acted according to her own
judgment, and followed the dictates of her own heart. Only seven of the
conspirators against her were brought before the courts, and only three were
executed. She would willingly have pardoned even Northumberland, if her Council
had not opposed her. Lady Jane Grey, whose execution was represented to Mary as
inevitable, found a defender in her. She was only brought before the courts and
condemned after three months (on November 13th, 1553), but even then Mary
endeavoured to have her kept in mild captivity. When the sermon of the royal
chaplain, Bourne, was interrupted on August 13th, a decree followed declaring
that the queen did not wish to force anyone’s conscience, but to convert the
people by the preaching of learned men. On the 18th of the same month a Royal
Proclamation was issued, in which her subjects were enjoined to live peacefully
and in Christian love with one another, by avoiding the newly discovered
devilish expressions, “papist” and “heretic.” The queen desired that everyone
should be of her religion, but no force would be used until a final decision
was arrived at.
True to these principles, the queen was satisfied, in
the meantime, by repealing various measures of the time of Edward VI, the
legality of which she had never acknowledged. Bishops Bonner, Tunstall and
Voysey were restored to their sees, while Gardiner, Heath and Day were again
recognized as rightful bishops. Mary raised the distinguished statesman,
Gardiner, to the dignity of chancellor. At the wish of the congregations, the
celebration of the Latin Mass was again begun in several London churches on the
Feast of St. Bartholomew, and the same was done in the cathedral on the
following Sunday; Mass was not, however, regularly celebrated until the
decision of Parliament was promulgated on December 21st.1 For the deceased king
a funeral service was, however, publicly held in accordance with the Book of
Common Prayer, but a Requiem Mass was celebrated in the Tower in the presence
of only 300 chosen participators. The
chancellors, Mason and Gardiner, restored the old statutes and the old religion
in the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. The foreign Protestants left the
country, provided with passports, as did Vermigli and
the French Protestants in London, to whom a special permission to leave was
given, as well as letters to the mayors of Dover and Rye. Among the Protestant
bishops who had usurped the places of the rightful occupants of the sees,
Ridley, Coverdale and Hooper were sent to prison Cranmer remained confined to
his palace till insulting letters from his pen against the Holy Mass were
publicly read in the streets, whereupon he and Latimer were sent to the Tower
in September. Until the opening of Parliament, nothing had so far been said of
the reconciliation of England with the Holy See.
In the Eternal City, however, and especially in the
Pope’s immediate surroundings, men eagerly discussed the question. Julius III
wept for joy when he learned, on August 5th, 1553, from a dispatch of the
French nuncio, of Mary’s victory and accession to the throne. Cardinal Pole,
who, as an Englishman, a relative of the queen, and the companion of her youth,
took the deepest personal interest in these events, said in his answer to the
Duchess of Mantua’s letter of congratulation, that a more remarkable
dispensation of Providence had not been experienced for many centuries.
Deliberations were at once begun, as to how the
interests of the Church could best be served in this favourable state of
affairs. Pole, who had received the joyful intelligence one day later than the
Pope, in the solitude of the Benedictine abbey of Maguzzano on the Lake of Garda, at once sent the abbot, Vincenzo Parpaglia,
with a letter of congratulation to Julius III. He enjoined him to inform the
Pope, by word of mouth, that in his, Pole’s, opinion, everything that was good
was to be hoped for from the new queen, who had steadfastly repudiated all the
innovations during her brother’s life, and had clung to the dogmas and rites of
the Universal Church. The most serious matter, however, was the schismatical separation from Rome, against which no one in
England had protested after the death of More and Fisher, and to which Mary
herself had consented. As far as the queen personally was concerned, she would
easily be persuaded to return, not only from conscientious motives, but also
out of respect for her mother. For many others, however, the restoration of the
Church property which had been seized, would prove a stumbling block ; in his
opinion, the whole difficulty lay precisely in this point. He thought, however,
that the following measures might, in the meantime, be adopted. The Pope could,
through his legates, cause the other sovereigns to take steps to approach Mary,
and, in the same way, unofficial intermediaries, who, he hoped, would not be
repulsed on this occasion, could appear in Pole’s name, and endeavour to win
over the queen. Should Mary agree to the sending of a Papal legate, then
everything was gained ; should she, on the other hand, raise difficulties, then
English members of Parliament could negotiate in friendly conferences with a
legate and learned theologians in Flanders or in Picardy. It was to be hoped
that the queen would not send bigoted persons to such a conference, for an
endeavour must be made to win them over, so that they might work for the
reconciliation of their own country.
Before Parpaglia reached
Rome with these instructions, he returned once more to Pole in Maguzzano, on August 12th, 1553, accompanied by a Papal
envoy. Julius III had anticipated the proposals of the English Cardinal.
Immediately after he had learned of Mary’s accession he summoned, on the same
day, a consistory of the Cardinals, in which Pole was appointed legate “to the
Christian princes, and especially to the new queen.” The matter appeared so
urgent to the Pope that he would not wait for the drawing up of the Bull
bestowing full powers on the legate, but sent an envoy to Pole on the following
day with the brief of appointment. The Papal envoy met Parpaglia in Bologna, and he, in view of the altered conditions, did not continue his
journey to Rome.
Pole had now, as legate, to open communication with
the queen and the Emperor. He sent Henry Penning with a letter to Mary on
August 13th, and Antonio Fiordibello to Charles V
with a letter on the 21st of the same month. He earnestly exhorted the queen to
the restoration of ecclesiastical unity, introduced himself as legate and
begged her to state the time and manner in which he was to perform his mission.
He besought the Emperor to promote the restoration of England to the Universal
Church. Should Charles V. not consider that the proper time had arrived for
taking such steps, then Fiordibello was instructed to
declare that the interests of Catholics could only be jeopardized by any
procrastination. It was the custom in England that all those who considered
that their rights had been infringed, should lay their complaints before the
first Parliament of a new reign, and it would be an irreparable loss for
Catholics did they not use this opportunity of vindicating their rights.
Pole sent a second letter to Mary on August 27th; every body,
he said, was anxiously waiting to know what the queen would do, and especially
whether she would restore the title of Head of the Church to him upon whom the
Lord of heaven and earth had bestowed it. The great importance of this
question, Mary could, without the study of learned books, draw from the
testimony of the men who had been looked upon as the most learned and pious in
the land, More and Fisher, and which they had sealed with their blood. He
himself had always founded his hopes for the restoration of England to the
faith on these facts, in the face of many doubters, for the blood of the
martyrs for the Holy See, and the prayers of so many persecuted Catholics,
could not, in his opinion, remain for ever unanswered. This alliance with the
centre of unity would be more valuable to the queen than the favour of foreign
princes.
If Pole, at the close of his letter, spoke of himself
as being about to leave Maguzzano, he was soon to be
disappointed, for he was urged on all sides not to start for England for the
time being.
When Pole, soon after his appointment as legate, sent Parpaglia to the Pope with the letter of August 13th, he
had proposed, before taking any further steps, to apply to the nuncio in
Brussels, Girolamo Dandino, and through him to obtain more detailed news as to
the religious conditions in England. Dandino had already anticipated this
request; immediately on receiving the news of Mary’s accession, he had sent the
youthful Francesco Commendone to London, in order that he might privately
collect information. What Commendone learned in England, however, was not very
satisfactory. He certainly found the queen, with whom, in the deepest secrecy,
and through the Venetian ambassador, he obtained an audience, filled with the
best will to restore her country to the Church, but she was prevented from
doing so by the feeling of the people, who, for the most part, cherished a
deadly hatred for the Holy See, by the self-interest of the many who had taken
possession of the property of the Church and who sat among her councillors, and
by the influence of her “heretical and schismatical”
sister, Elizabeth, whom her father had preferred to the rightful queen, and
“whose name was in the heart and mouth of everybody.” For all these reasons
Mary wished that proceedings should be conducted with the greatest caution; no
one was to know that there was any understanding between her and the Holy See.
Commendone returned to Dandino with this news at the
end of August, and was at once sent by him to Rome. On September 15th, he
communicated his experiences in London to the Cardinals in a consistory,
without, however, referring to his audience with the Queen. His report made a
deep impression, and it was quite evident that there was no need to hurry in
sending a legate to England. The news which Dandino sent from Brussels also
made any other decision impossible.
Even before Commendone’s return to Brussels from England, Dandino had a conversation with Granvelle on
August 14th. The Imperial minister emphasized the fact that they must give the
queen time to gain a firm footing, as otherwise a revolt would break out which
could certainly reckon on the ready support of France. Diego di Mendoza, who
had been for two years ambassador in England, also thought that there were
fewer well-disposed people there than was supposed. The question of Church
property was not a matter of indifference, even to the lower classes, on
account of the duty of tithes, and they had now been for a long time accustomed
to the freedom from these which heresy afforded them. On August 27th the
Emperor informed Dandino, through Granvelle, that he thought it inadvisable
that Pole should go to England by way of Trent.
In the midst of all these reports Julius II. resolved
to try a middle course. He sent Pole to Brussels so that he might be nearer to
England, but not with the title of legate to England, so that he might,
together with Dandino, act as a mediator between the Emperor and France. On
September 27th the legate received his new instructions, and on the 29th he
left the Lake of Garda.
Soon after his departure from Maguzzano Pole learned that Queen Mary also considered the presence of a legate in
England impossible for the present. Penning, who had gone to London with a
letter from Pole at the beginning of August, had at last sent news of the
success of his mission. He only arrived in London on September 18th, 1553, and
had a three hours’ audience with the queen on the following day. She declared
that she would give the half of her kingdom to have a legate in the country,
but that the heretics were capable of anything when irritated, and that drastic
measures were out of the question. The queen then repeated a request which she
had already entrusted to Commendone, that permission should be given to hold
regular church services in England, even before the interdict and censures
against the country were removed. She especially wished to have a solemn High
Mass celebrated as of old at her approaching coronation, which could not be
deferred. Pole contented himself, in the meantime, by absolving Mary herself,
and by exhorting her from Trent on October 2nd, not to depend too much on a
purely secular policy, but to fix her trust more on God, repeating, at the same
time, his request that he might be allowed to return to his own country before
the opening of her first Parliament.
Before this letter, however, reached its destination,
the queen had been crowned on October 1st, and on the 5th, Parliament had begun
its sittings. Before its opening the queen, with all the members of both
Houses, had, in accordance with the ancient custom, been present at a Mass of
the Holy Ghost, and at the opening session congratulatory addresses, expressing
affection for the queen’s person, were offered on all sides. There were two
questions, above all others, which Mary desired to have settled by her first
Parliament : that the marriage of Catherine of Aragon should be recognized as
valid, and that the ecclesiastical problem should be solved. As far as the
latter was concerned the repudiation of the little loved liturgy of the Book of
Common Prayer, and the return to the old form of service, offered little
difficulty, but the submission to the Papal See was another matter. For thirty
years preachers had been inveighing against the Pope, and the return to his
authority seemed inextricably bound up with the restitution of Church property.
First of all the draft of a Bill, drawn up in quite
ordinary terms, was laid before Parliament, which at a single stroke declared
all the enactments of the last two reigns, relating either to the marriage of
Catherine of Aragon or to the religion of the country, to be invalid. In the
Upper House this met with no opposition, but the contrary was the case in the
Lower House, where every attempt to establish the Papal authority was viewed
with suspicion and violently opposed. The Lower House, wrote the queen on
October 28th to Pole, could never be reconciled to the idea that the Crown
should renounce the title of Head of the Church. She herself resolved that she
would never, on any conditions, make use of such a title, and in the torturing
uncertainty of how she was to act, should Parliament insist on her retaining
it, she begged the legate to give her his advice.
The first attempt to win everything by a bold stroke
had thus been frustrated by the hatred against the Papacy. The government
therefore proceeded very cautiously. In the second session two new Bills were
laid before Parliament, one of which related to the marriage, of Queen
Catherine, every reference to the Papal dispensation which had rendered it
possible being carefully avoided. The object of the second Bill was to. abolish
all the religious laws issued under Edward VI. If this passed, the Catholic Church
would not, it was true, be established, but Calvinism would at least be
abolished. No opposition was raised in either House against the first Bill, but
the other was debated for two days, and was finally, it appears, unanimously
accepted on November 8th, nor did the people raise any particular objection to
it. It is true that placards with the new regulations were in many places torn
down, and several Protestants held a meeting to consider what was to be done,
but after some ten or twelve unruly agitators had been arrested, and two of
them hanged, the others lost courage.
A letter from the queen to Pole on November 15th
informed him of the victory gained. The composition of the Parliament did not
give much hope of winning anything further, but in three or four months another
Parliament would be convoked, and the success already attained was, in the
opinion of all the queen’s friends, an auspicious beginning, which would pave
the way for a return to the Church. The Bill concerning the marriage of her
mother in itself constituted a recognition of the Holy See, as it was only on
the authority of the latter that the validity of the marriage could be founded.
The bearer of this letter, Henry Penning, met Pole on
November 30th in Dillingen, where the Cardinal had been detained, very much
against his will, since the middle of October. At first he had been kept back
for some time by the necessity of obtaining passports through the different
German territories, and when he had at last started, on October 22nd, his
journey was suddenly brought to an end two days lacer in Heidenheim (in the Jaxt-Circle), by the wish of the Emperor. An Imperial
envoy, the distinguished courtier, Juan de Mendoza, declared, in the name of
his master, that the excited feeling in England might break out into open
rebellion if a Papal legate were even to approach the country; Pole was,
therefore, enjoined to wait, at least until the Emperor had come to an
understanding with the Pope.
Nothing now remained for the legate to do but to
return to Dillingen, to the Bishop of Augsburg. A letter addressed to the
Emperor on October 29th did not advance matters, nor nor did another letter sent to the Pope at the same time have any more success, for
the Emperor had been working for a long time to prevent the mission of Pole,
and he succeeded at length in winning Julius III over to his views.
Even at the time when the nuncio, Dandino, the very
man whom the English Cardinal was to replace as peacemaker, took leave of the
Emperor in Brussels, on October 5th, Charles V spoke plainly against the
mission of Pole. Dandino endeavoured in that audience to represent the return
of England to Catholic unity as an easy matter, and recommended Pole as the
most suitable man for the position of English legate. The Emperor replied that
Pole’s appearance in England would afford the enemies of the Holy See in that
country a pretext for stirring up a rebellion, in which case they were certain
of being supported by France. One must not, he said, begin by sending a legate,
but proceed carefully, step by step. These considerations made an impression on
Dandino, and he returned to Rome thoroughly convinced of the truth of the
Emperor’s arguments.
Similar views were put forward by a messenger,
Francesco Vimercato, whom Dandino, shortly before his
departure from Brussels, had sent to England. Vimercato also came to the conclusion that conditions in England were not yet ready for
the work of a Papal legate. The mere report that one was to be sent had already
caused great excitement. Matters, therefore, must be very carefully considered.
Why pluck the fruit before it was ripe, when it might still, by the grace of
God, become mature? The devil had acquired such power in that country, which
had sunk so deep in the mire of heresy that many people did not even believe in
the immortality of the soul, and no longer knew God or honoured Him. Vimercato considered it almost a miracle that Mass was
nearly everywhere restored.
Julius III was discouraged by these reports, and sent
word to his legate on October 28th, that, for the present, he had better remain
where he was. The Emperor was of opinion that the role of mediator between
himself and France was not sufficient to justify Pole’s presence in Brussels,
and that people looked on the peace mediation as a mere transparent subterfuge.
The Pope was so fully persuaded of the good-will of Charles V that he
unhesitatingly followed his advice.
On the same day, October 28th, and again on November
15th, Pole also received most solemn warning from the queen against entering
English territory. A premature appearance on the part of a Roman legate, in the
prevailing state of suspicion and hatred against the Pope, would only do more
harm than good. The people would murder him rather than allow him to exercise
the duties of his office. Penning received a verbal communication from Mary
that it was at her urgent request that the Emperor had restrained the English
Cardinal from his purpose. “It is true, however,” remarks Penning, “that this
caution on the part of the queen is entirely owing to the representations of
the Imperial ambassador, with whom she discusses all her affairs.” Several
members of Parliament had assured him that the arrival of the Cardinal would
give pleasure to everyone, and that the only difficulty in the way of
reconciliation to Rome was the return of Church property. Noailles, the French
ambassador in London, also declared, at this time, that Pole’s appearance in
England was desired by Protestants as well as Catholics. Great hopes were
placed in the influence Noailles had over Mary, for the settlement of a
question which for the moment occupied England to the exclusion of all others—this
was the marriage of the queen.
Up to this time, the idea of a reigning queen on the
throne of England had been something unheard of, and nobody in the country
believed that Mary could maintain her position without a consort. Her ministers
therefore urged from the very beginning, that she should, in spite of her
thirty-seven years, seek a husband. Many different proposals were made. From
among her subjects, Edward Courtenay, a scion of the royal house of York, who
had been placed in the Tower at the age of twelve, after the execution of his
father in 1539, but whom Mary had set at liberty and created Earl of
Devonshire, was specially put forward; Mary is said also to have considered
Cardinal Pole, who was not yet a priest. Many foreign princes were named as
candidates, as for example, the King of Denmark, Philip of Spain, a son of
Ferdinand, King of the Romans, the Infante of Portugal, and the Duke of Savoy.
The queen, it appears, would have preferred Courtenay, who was beloved by the
people on account of his youth and good looks, and because of his unjust
imprisonment in the Tower, and he was also the chosen candidate of Gardiner.
Mary, however, laid this important matter before the Emperor, her usual
adviser.
Charles V had already proved himself a true friend and
protector of Mary in the troubles of her youth, and she thought that she could
trust him above all others, now that she was queen. She had already asked his
advice when it was a question of the punishment of Lady Jane Grey and the
rebels, as well as in the solution of the religious problems, and if she had
considered his decision regarding the rebellion too severe, and had repudiated,
at least in the beginning, his advice concerning the religious question, as a
sort of cowardice, she nevertheless came round more and more to his way of
thinking, and her confidence in him remained unshaken to the end.
The accession of Mary opened new and brilliant
prospects for the policy of Charles V. His constant adversary, the King of France,
seemed to have succeeded in uniting the crowns of Scotland and France on the
head of his son, Francis, and the Scottish queen, Mary Stuart, was already
receiving her education at the French court, as the bride of the heir to the
throne. If the Emperor could now succeed in marrying his son Philip to the
English queen, then the House of Hapsburg would have obtained a new crown, and
perhaps a new kingdom, by marriage, and the brilliant diplomatic success of his
French rival would be eclipsed. These plans of the Emperor were, at any rate,
one reason why Charles wished to keep the Papal legate far from England, for
Pole was looked upon as an opponent of the Spanish marriage, and the religious
change might call troubles into being which would cross or, in any case, delay
the Imperial designs.
As early as August 14th, 1553, Charles V gave his
ambassador in England, Simon Renard, instructions, written in his own hand, to
proceed carefully, and step by step, until he had brought about Mary’s marriage
with Philip. Renard’s task was rendered easier by the behaviour of Philip’s
most dangerous rival, Courtenay. This young man was wanting in firmness and
moral rectitude; he endeavoured to compensate himself for all his deprivations
during his years of captivity, by unbridled licence in the company of notorious
women, and he thereby lost more and more the respect of the virtuous queen. On
September 20th, Renard was able, to inform his master that Mary had definitely
given up all thought of Courtenay. The Emperor then caused it to be pointed out
to her that a foreign prince would be more suitable for the position of royal
consort than either Courtenay or Pole. He was himself too old to have the
honour of sueing for her hand, but although he might
not offer himself as a bridegroom, he would at least solicit her favour for the
one who was nearest his heart, his son Philip.
Although Philip was eleven years younger than she was,
this proposal made an impression on Mary. The union with “so powerful and so
Catholic a Prince” appeared to offer the necessary guarantee that she “would be
able to re-establish and confirm religion in England”; as she afterwards made
known to Pole, it was especially for this reason, and because she wished to
reassure the country by the hope of an heir, that she had consented to marry at
all.
The intention of the queen was hardly rumoured before
it aroused violent opposition. The greater nobles were dissatisfied because
they did not wish for a powerful prince, and the Protestant party because they
feared a Catholic Regent. The common people were excited by the illusion that
England’s independence would be endangered by the connection with the power of
Spain. The jealousy of France was naturally aroused to the highest pitch by a
union between England and the Hapsburgs. The French ambassador in London,
Noailles, joined the Protestant party and all the other malcontents, and
incited the people against the queen by every means in his power.
Among the confidants of the queen, Gardiner advised
her in the most decided manner against the Spanish marriage, and he had the
greater part of the nobility on his side, although a few of them, with Norfolk,
Arundel and Paget at their head, approved of the queen’s plan. The Commons
resolved on an address in which the queen was indeed requested to marry, but
only to choose her husband from among the nobles of England. This opposition,
however, in which Mary thought she saw only an intrigue of Gardiner, irritated
the queen. On October 30th, the day on which Parliament had passed the address,
she summoned Renard to her presence. She led him into her oratory, knelt down before
the Blessed Sacrament, and after invoking the Holy Ghost, made a solemn vow
that she would take no other husband than Philip. When the Commons appeared
before her on November 17th and read her the address, Mary answered them in
person. Hitherto, she said, the rulers of England have been independent and
free to arrange their marriages, and I am not prepared to give up this right ;
in the choice of a husband I shall think of my own happiness as well as of the
well-being of the kingdom.
Opposition had gradually to give way before such
determination, and the Imperial envoys, the Count of Egmont and Laing,
accompanied by two others, landed in Kent on January 2nd, 1554, to ask, in
proper form, on the part of Philip, for Mary’s hand. Mary referred them to the
Royal Council, who, she said, knew her intentions ; her first husband, however,
was her kingdom, and nothing would induce her to be untrue to the fidelity
which she had promised it in her coronation oath. On the 14th the marriage settlement
was signed and made public. It had been drawn up by the clever statesman,
Gardiner, and made any dependence of England on Spain absolutely impossible.
Philip was to assist the queen in the government of the kingdom, but all the
offices of state were only to be held by natives of the country; if Philip
should outlive the queen, he would have no right to the succession.
In spite of these careful provisions, however, the
official announcement of the marriage gave the Protestant party in the country
a welcome pretext for instigating the people to rise, and in the choice of
means for so doing they were by no means too particular. The most incredible
stories were circulated; the country, it was said, would be inundated with
foreigners, and the English would be made slaves and dragged away to the mines
of Mexico. A plot was set on foot to marry Elizabeth to Courtenay, and to place
them both on the throne ; this plot was to be put into execution after the
arrival of Philip.
The shrewd Gardiner, however, succeeded in getting the
whole secret from Courtenay, and thereby forced the conspirators to put their
plans into immediate execution, in spite of their want of preparation. In order
to organize the revolt, Carew went to Devonshire, Croft to the borders of
Wales, the Duke of Suffolk, who probably hoped to place his daughter, Lady Jane
Grey, upon the throne, into Warwickshire, and Thomas Wyatt into Kent. The
success of these instigators of revolt was, on the whole, very small, and after
a fortnight, the Duke of Suffolk was again in the Tower, from which he had only
a little while before been released by the clemency of Mary, while Carew was a
fugitive in France, and Croft a prisoner of the crown.
The only dangerous rising was that stirred up by Sir
Thomas Wyatt in Kent. The enthusiasm of the 1500 men who were soon under arms,
quickly died away, it is true, so that numbers of them soon began to desert,
but when the troops which Mary had sent against them under the Duke of Norfolk
went over to Wyatt, an army several thousand strong was soon marching on
London. In the general panic which seized the Council, the queen remained full
of courage and confidence in her victory. She had sent an envoy at the commencement
of the rising to find out what were the demands of Wyatt, but when he brought
back an insolent answer and conditions impossible of fulfilment, she resolved
to face the danger boldly. She ordered the Lord Mayor to summon an
extraordinary meeting of the citizens of London in the Guildhall on February
1st, 1554. Mary appeared there, with the royal sceptre in her hand, surrounded
by her ladies and officers of state, and made a speech to those assembled, full
of masculine power and determination. She complained, in dignified words, of
the disobedience and insolence of the rebels. They had at first only attacked
her marriage with the Spaniard, but now it was clear what the actual intentions
of her enemies were. She was to entrust her person, the guarding of the Tower,
and the appointment of her councillors to rebellious subjects who were striving
after the possession of the royal power and the abolition of religion. She,
however, trusted her people, who would not deliver her over to the insurgents. As
regards the Spanish marriage, she had only acted on the advice of her Council;
she had so far remained unmarried, and with the help of God, could continue to
do so. Should, however, the marriage with Philip not gain the approval of
Parliament, then she gave her royal word that she would never marry all the
days of her life.
This speech had an immediate success. Next morning
more than 20,000 men had volunteered for the defence of the capital. Wyatt,
meanwhile, continued his march, and on February 3rd he encamped on the right
bank of the Thames, in Southwark. Here, however, he was exposed to the fire of
the cannon in the Tower, and withdrew from his position within three days. The
danger was not yet over, however. On February 7th, at two o’clock in the
morning, Mary received the news, in her palace at Whitehall, that Wyatt was advancing
and was already not far away, and that she had better seek refuge in the Tower
as quickly as possible. The bold leader had succeeded, in spite of the fact
that the bridges were destroyed, in crossing the river, and, with the
connivance of several traitors, who were waiting to open one of the gates to
him, he was now marching, not far from Whitehall, on the city of London.
Everybody in the palace thought of treachery, Gardiner on his knees besought
the queen to flee to Windsor, but when Renard assured her that her flight would
be the signal for a general rising of the malcontents and the massacre of the
Catholics, and as, moreover, the leaders of the royal troops swore fealty, Mary
declared firmly and steadfastly that she would remain at her post. Wyatt’s
attempt proved to be a complete failure; half of his undisciplined levies had
already run away on their approach to London, while others made their escape in
the darkness of the night. The royal troops succeeded in cutting Wyatt off from
the main body of his army, and he was captured and subsequently executed, the
remainder of his force being dispersed.
The Spanish marriage had only been a pretext for the
rising in the case of Wyatt, as well as in that of the Duke of Suffolk. The
true reason lay in the fear of the Protestants that Mary would restore the
Catholic religion.1 Wyatt expressed himself to this effect in private, and his
followers venerated him after his death on account of his “zeal for God’s truth
” as a martyr.
In spite of its want of success, the rising of Wyatt
forms a landmark in the reign of Mary. Till then it had made little impression
on her when the Emperor and his ministers had recommended severity against the
malcontents, and had impressed upon her that such people were not to be won by
clemency, but were only confirmed in their arrogance and incited to fresh
disobedience. The recent events, and especially the rising of the Duke of
Suffolk, now came as a clear proof of monstrous ingratitude. Mary resolved,
therefore, to take stern measures. Fifty of the soldiers who deserted were
hanged, as well as six of the rebels in Kent. Four of the ringleaders were sent
to the scaffold, namely, the Duke of Suffolk, his brother and principal
adviser, Thomas Grey, Thomas Wyatt and the former secretary of the Council,
William Thomas, who had urged the murder of the queen. Four hundred rebels were
also made to appear before the queen with halters round their necks and beg for
forgiveness upon their knees, whereupon she graciously pardoned them.
These punishments could certainly not be quoted as a
proof of undue severity, but it must be regretted that the queen allowed
herself to be persuaded into abandoning her former attitude of clemency towards
Lady Jane Grey. On February 8th, when she had hardly escaped from the attack of
Wyatt, and was still feeling the effects of the recent dangers and anxieties,
she was induced to give the order for the carrying out of the sentence
pronounced in November, 1553, but afterwards deferred, on the unhappy tool of a
criminal policy. On February 12th, 1554, Lady Jane Grey, as well as her
husband, suffered death with great courage at the hands of the executioner.
The victory which had been gained, however,
strengthened the position of the government more than any measures of severity.
The Spanish marriage, concerning which many had despaired during the rising,
now met with hardly any opposition. Parliament unanimously confirmed the
marriage treaty on May-5th. The representatives of the country had been given
to understand that the only means of providing a counterpoise to the threatened
union between France and Scotland lay in the marriage of Mary with the Spanish prince,
as the heir of Philip and Mary would bring Flanders to the English crown. No
prejudice to England or the English people could follow on the marriage. On
July 19th, Philip, accompanied by the united fleets of England, Spain and
Flanders, appeared in sight of the English coast, and on the following day he
landed on English soil. On July 25th, the Feast of the Patron Saint of Spain,
St. James, the marriage was celebrated at Winchester, with the greatest pomp.
Before the ceremony, Gardiner read aloud the documents by which Charles V.
abdicated the thrones of Naples and the Duchy of Milan in favour of his son, so
that Philip might give his hand to the English queen as a reigning sovereign.
The plan of the Spanish marriage had been joyfully
welcomed in Rome from the beginning. When the negotiations concerning this
union which was so warmly desired by the Emperor were concluded in December,
1553, Charles at once sent the joyful news to Rome. The Pope received the
announcement on the morning of New Year’s Day, and he congratulated the
Emperor in a warmly expressed brief, oi the same date. Among the Cardinals,
Morone, in particular, had done everything he could to promote the union of
Mary with the heir to the Spanish throne.
Cardinal Pole, on the other hand, was regarded in
Rome, as well as by the Emperor and in France, as an opponent of the Spanish
marriage. He seems to have made his views known as early as October 2nd, at the
very beginning of his English legation, when he addressed a letter from Trent
to Edward Courtenay. On October 27th, in a report to the Pope, he declared that
he was kept in Dillingen and away from England because it was feared that he
would never co-operate in delivering his country into the hands of a foreigner.
In February, 1554, the English ambassador in France wrote that people there
were of the opinion that Pole had worked against the marriage of the queen with
Philip. This report, however, was unjust ; at the same time the Cardinal, as he
himself acknowledged, had, from the first, been of opinion that Mary had
better, at her age, remain unmarried.
In Rome, the news of the legate’s attitude was
received with disquietude. Cardinal Morone was enjoined to inform him, on
behalf of the Pope, on December 21st, 1553, that an ambassador had no right to
put forward his own views, but only those of his sovereign. The Pope was
convinced, for many reasons, that the English queen should bestow her hand on
the Spanish prince ; he considered the queen too weak to be able permanently to
govern, without the support of a husband, her violent and unsettled subjects,
who were, moreover, infected by the religious innovations. He, further, did not
believe that one of the nobles of England would be in a position, as husband of
the queen, to reduce the country to obedience, both on account of the different
parties in the state, and of the intrigues of foreign powers, while, in order
to sweep his rivals from the field, a native prince would be much more likely
to have recourse to dangerous concessions. On the other hand, the King of
Spain, who was England’s neighbour by reason of his possessions in Spain and
Flanders, could re-establish ecclesiastical unity in England by his great
authority, and defend the queen against her enemies at home and abroad. For
these reasons the Pope considered it not only a rash thing to oppose the
marriage, but also detrimental to religion and the interests of the Holy See,
and he therefore wished Pole to adopt this view. Should he appear at the
Imperial court, he was requested to show himself favourable, by word and deed,
to the Spanish marriage, so as to satisfy the Emperor. As Morone added, the
Pope was not without anxiety as to whether Pole would yield to him. Julius had
often said that it was folly to oppose oneself to a rushing stream ; to wear
oneself out in vain and win nothing was the height of folly. Morone believed
that he could allay the Pope’s fears ; he said that Pole would keep God before
his eyes and would never act contrary to the will of His Holiness. Pole was
also requested to keep these representations of the Pope a secret, out of consideration
for Italian and foreign princes. A brief of the same time from Julius III. to
Pole, enjoined the latter to have confidence in the advice of Morone.
CHAPTER X.
Legation of Cardinal Pole.—The Reconciliation of
England with the Holy See.
Mary had, even before her marriage with Philip, been
encouraged by the increased respect felt for the Crown since the victory over
the rebels, to take further steps towards a Catholic restoration.
In so doing, she was entering upon an undertaking, the
prospects of which were by no means hopeless. Paget wrote to Somerset, in the
year 1549, that eleven-twelfths of the country was Catholic at heart.
According to the opinion of an English Protestant, who had taken refuge on the
continent, the country people still clung so firmly to the Papacy in 1553, that
the nobles could only allow themselves the preaching of the “Gospel” within
their four walls. When Commendone and Vimercato had
depicted conditions in England in such dark colours, they had only the state of
affairs in the capital in their minds. “The people of London,” wrote Dandino in
reference to this, “ are, it is true, hardened in their heresy, but in the rest
of the country it is not so to the same extent.”
It was especially from two classes of the population
that Mary had to fear resistance to her attempts at restoration : first, from
the lowest orders, who had been the most influenced by the foreign preachers,
and consequently gave free vent to their hatred in the most crude manner, and
secondly, from the wealthy and noble class, who wished to hear nothing of a
return to the old religion because they feared that they would be forced to
restore the Church property ; from these, however, there was less opposition to
a Catholic restoration on the ground of any religious conviction. In the
confusion of constantly changing doctrines and confessions of faith, they had
for the most part lost all hold on religion, and were ready, at the word of the
government, to accept almost any doctrine.
Among the measures of 1554, several related to the
restoration of the old form of worship, while the Mass had already been
re-established by an Act of Parliament in December, 1553; now, on March 21st,
1554, an ordinance of the Council was promulgated, according to which the
nobility of the country districts were ordered to erect altars in their village
churches, within fourteen days. In Holy Week and Easter Week the ceremonies of
the Church were carried out in the old Catholic manner, while Mary herself, accompanied
by four bishops, took part in the processions during the Rogation Days.
Mary’s principal care, however, was directed to
bringing about a thorough reform of the clergy, and on March 1st, measures were
taken against married clergy. As the ecclesiastical edicts of Edward VI. had
already been repealed by Mary’s first Parliament, the old law of the Church,
which allows of no married priesthood, again came into force, and the
government considered that it was, therefore, justified in expelling them.
About a fifth or a sixth part of the entire clergy, and a fourth in the diocese
of London, were affected by this measure. A considerable number, however,
received new appointments, when they had done penance, and had put away their
wives. Many of the Protestant bishops had already been deprived of their
offices, and quite apart from the fact that many of them were guilty of high
treason, the government had the right to proceed independently in their case,
for the bishops appointed by Edward acknowledged themselves that they had
received their power from the king, so that the sovereign was entitled again to
withdraw it from them. It was another matter, however, when it came to the
question of appointing new bishops in the place of those who had been removed,
as, for this, it was necessary to have the sanction of the Pope. In a letter of
February 24th Mary laid the matter before Pole, and thus, for the first time
after his long period of waiting, Pole was called upon to act in his official
capacity as Papal legate.
Pole had been obliged, since the middle of October,
1553, to spend the remainder of the year in painful inactivity in Dillingen.
Not until December 28th did the longed for invitation of the Emperor reach him,
not indeed to proceed to England, but to begin to carry out his mission as
peace-maker between Charles and the King of France. On January 25th, 1554, he
made his solemn entry into Brussels, and in February he repaired to the French
court. Henry II received him in a friendly manner, but Pole was unable to
accomplish any more in his case than he had previously been able to do with the
Emperor.
Pole received Mary’s letter in France. The English
queen was exceedingly anxious that the new bishops should be consecrated before
the opening of Parliament on April 2nd, so that they could take part at once in
the sessions, and in the religious discussions throw their influence into the
scales. She enclosed a list of ten or twelve suitable candidates.
Pole’s powers, however, did not extend so far as to
enable him fully to satisfy the queen’s wishes, since no one could have
foreseen such a remarkable state of things at the beginning of his legation, as
that there should be an appointment of bishops before the reconciliation of the
kingdom with the Holy See. As the matter, however, was urgent, Pole sent a
confidential messenger to London to tell the queen that it was necessary that
the bishops chosen should, before their consecration, at least reconcile themselves
with the Holy See ; they must either apply to the Papal legate individually, or
they could send him an authorized representative, who would seek
reconciliation in the name of all of them, or, again, Pole would send an envoy
to England fully empowered to arrange the matter. Pole wrote on March 2nd to
Julius III, who sent him a brief on the 8th of the same month, giving him the
full authority required. In accordance with this brief Pole could elevate to
offices in metropolitan and cathedral churches such persons as had accepted
ecclesiastical positions from laymen and schismatics, even in the case of those
who had themselves been tainted with heresy. These concessions, however,
appeared so unusual to the Pope himself, that he did not venture to lay them
before the Cardinals for approval, from fear of opposition, but only discussed
the matter with Morone.
On April 1st, the eve of the opening of Parliament,
Gardiner was able to consecrate .six new bishops. In a letter written on April
7th in her own hand Mary begged the Pope to give his explicit confirmation,
thereby acknowledging for the first time, publicly and solemnly, the Papal
Supremacy. Julius III read the royal letter, with many tears, five times to the
assembled Cardinals, granted the desired confirmation in a consistory of July
6th, and in a brief of July 10th, joyfully acknowledged the queen’s zeal.
The Parliament which met on April 2nd was rather
concerned with the marriage of the queen than with the religious question.
While the sessions were being held, much attention was attracted by a debate
conducted by the Convocation of the clergy at Oxford with the three leaders of
the Protestants, Cranmer, Ridley and Latimer, which was held simultaneously
with the Parliamentary sittings from April 14th to the 20th. On the 27th the
result, which was favourable to the Catholics, was announced, and on the 30th the
Dean of Rochester, Walter Philips, acknowledged once more the doctrine of
Transubstantiation, and retracted his former views. As had happened formerly
under Edward VI, when the Catholics had complained, in similar circumstances,
of the want of freedom of speech, so did the Protestants now raise similar
objections.
Among the Bills laid before Parliament, one is
deserving of particular attention, although it was rejected in the House of
Lords. All bishops, and especially the Bishop of Rome, were expressly forbidden
by the Bill to demand the restitution of Church property. The matter which
formed the last and greatest obstacle to the return of the country to the
Church, was here plainly put forward. In order that she might succeed in
settling this difficult question, the queen had once more to seek the help of
the legate, who had returned to Brussels on April 19th.
Pole was much perplexed by Mary’s request. In the
brief appointing him legate for England, the Cardinal had only received
authority to forego the restoration of the revenues which had been drawn by the
wrongful possessors from the sequestrated Church property. Of the renunciation
of the said real estate of the Church, there had been no mention ; on the
contrary, the text of the brief made it pretty clear that, as a rule, the
return of the real estate wrested from the Church was insisted upon previous to
the giving up of the revenues. It had become quite clear by this time that the
legate’s authority was not sufficiently comprehensive, so Pole sent Niccolò Ormanetto from Brussels to Rome on April 24th, and Henry
Penning to London on May 4th, to negotiate further with the Pope and the queen
concerning this burning question. Ormanetto had,
besides this, to report on the legate’s mission to France.
Mary pressed for a speedy answer. In the first
audience granted to Penning, she at once asked what was being arranged with
regard to the Church property, and as often as she saw him, she returned to the
same subject. In her own the Pope should show himself as generous as possible,
and absolutely forego the return of the Church property. Pole, on the other
hand, would not consent to such a solution. Such a procedure he thought would
give an appearance of bargaining about the return of the country to the Church;
England should, he maintained, first come back to the Church, and leave
everything else to the Pope’s generosity. This view of the matter, however,
appeared too severe to Muzzarelli, the nuncio in Brussels, and also to the Pope
himself. In a brief of June 28th, Julius III gave his legate the fullest
authority to leave all Church property, moveable and real, in the hands of the
present possessors. Unfortunately, however, the terms of the brief[604] did not
exclude all doubt as to the Pope’s intentions, and later on aroused distrust in
the hearts of suspicious persons.
The brief arrived in Brussels on July 29th. A few days
before, the Spanish marriage had been celebrated, and it now seemed as though
the longed-for hour had at last come when Pole could perform the duties of his
office as legate on English soil. In the meantime, however, fresh difficulties
had arisen, of such a serious character that Pole himself regarded his mission
as no longer possible of execution, and begged the Pope to recall him.
The Cardinal had had no success in his peace mission
to France, and he had aroused the displeasure of the Emperor by his premature
departure. When he presented himself before Charles V on April 21st, and made
his report concerning the unfortunate result of his mission, the Emperor,
instead of answering him, declared that if he had nothing further to say, it
would be much better if he did not appear before him again. The Cardinal had
made his position still worse by omitting to send the Emperor any communication
from France concerning the steps he had taken with the king, and by never
referring, by a single word, to the Spanish marriage, in his correspondence
with the queen. The old suspicion that he was opposed to the marriage was again
revived, and people even went so far as to suspect him of favouring Wyatt’s
insurrection. His very sojourn on French soil was regarded as an expression of
friendship for the power which was Mary’s worst enemy, and gave rise to a
demonstration, from which Pole withdrew by a speedy departure.
Not only had Pole’s work as peacemaker completely
failed, but his mission to England, which could not take place without the
agreement of the Emperor, seemed quite hopeless. The deeply offended legate
withdrew to the abbey of Dilighem near Brussels, and
it was from there that he conducted the above mentioned negotiations concerning
the Church property, but otherwise he completely withdrew from political life.
As early as the beginning of May he had begged the Pope to appoint someone else
in his place as legate for England. In Rome, however, under no circumstances
could such an idea be entertained; by the recall of a Prince of the Church,
once appointed and so solemnly dispatched, they would have compromised
themselves in the eyes of the whole world, and, perhaps, have irretrievably
endangered the return of England to the Church. Pole’s painful position during
these months of uncertainty and delay, was rendered still more bitter by the
knowledge that his attitude was not sanctioned in every respect in Rome. Morone
pointed out to him that he should have expressed himself clearly in favour of
Philip’s marriage with Mary, and thus have removed all ground for suspicion.
Even now he might make up for this omission by truthfully explaining to the
Emperor his position with regard to the marriage. The legate answered that he
had always, since his arrival in Brussels, expressed himself as being in
agreement with the Emperor regarding the union of Philip with Mary. The
determination with which Charles and Granvelle had repulsed him could only have
been greater if they had proceeded to blows. He therefore persisted in his
request for recall.
In this apparently hopeless entanglement, the
relations between England and the Pope found a shrewd agent[608] in the person
of the nuncio in Brussels, the Archbishop of Conza, Girolamo Muzzarelli, a
Dominican, on whose skill and moderation Morone had already bestowed the
greatest praise. Muzzarelli understood how to induce the Emperor gradually to
form a more favourable estimate of Pole, and, as early as June 10th, he was
able to write to Rome that the Emperor would no longer oppose the journey of
the legate to England. The actual conclusion of the Spanish marriage on July
25th, gave Pole himself the courage to come out once more from his retirement.
On July nth he sent a messenger to England with a letter of congratulation to
Philip. A little later he also ventured to apply again to Charles V and to
congratulate him. The bearer of this letter, Ormanetto,
had to seek the Emperor in his camp; he avoided Ormanetto’s urgent requests that he would at last allow the Papal legate to fulfil his
duties, by evasive answers, and declared that he must first enquire as to the
state of affairs in England.
Repulsed by the Emperor, the English Cardinal applied to
King Philip on September 21st, and complained in suitable terms of this
“eternal postponement” of his hopes. Who was this prelate who was kept so long
standing knocking at the door ? It was a man, who on account of his defence of
the rights of Philip’s consort to the throne, had been driven from his home and
his country, and had now been eating the bread of exile for twenty years.
-Besides this, Pole was not begging admittance as a private individual. As
Peter, when freed from his prison, had, according to the Acts of the Apostles,
to stand knocking at the door of Mary, the mother of John, till it was at
length opened to him, so now another Peter had to stand knocking at the door of
another Mary. He could understand that she had been afraid to open to him
before, but now she had the support of her husband, and the interests of the
queen herself required that Peter should be allowed to enter, for her
legitimacy, as well as her right, depended on the acknowledgment of the Pope.
On September 28th Pole repeated the same arguments in
a letter to the Emperor, which he again sent by Ormanetto.
Charles, however, once more answered that the right moment had not yet come,
and that he would speak further with the legate after his return.
The audience which he had thus promised to the English
Cardinal took place on October nth at Brussels.[616] Pole explained that two
obstacles stood in the way of the return of England to the Church, namely, the
errors in matters of faith, and the question of Church property. In the case of
the former the Pope could not yield, but in the matter of Church property, he
was prepared to make concessions. Pole did not, indeed, inform the Emperor to
what extent Julius III. had already modified his claims, in the brief of
September 28th, but he spoke of the powers with which the brief given him at
the beginning of his legation had invested him. The Emperor answered that there
was no cause for anxiety as far as the question of doctrine was concerned, as
they had to deal with a people who had no firm convictions about religion at
all ; as he had learned from his experiences in Germany, the whole matter
resolved itself into a question of the Church property, and in this connection
he desired to see the full powers of the legate, and would wait for the return
of his ambassador, Erasso, before coming to any
further decision.
As had been the case in this audience, Pole did not
explain the full extent of his powers either to the Emperor or Mary. He had
already anticipated the desire of the Emperor to see the brief of September
28th, by handing it to Granvelle before the audience, but he kept another
important document a profound secret. The Pope had promised him, in a brief of
August 5th, that he would always confirm and consider valid anything which his
legate might do. His reason for keeping this back lay in his anxiety to avoid
anything in the negotiations about the return to ecclesiastical unity which
might, in his opinion, be regarded as a business transaction, or the Papal
concessions in the light of a bargain. The no less conscientious Muzzarelli,
however, did not share Pole’s views on this point. He impressed on the legate
that he must, of necessity, inform the Emperor, as well as the English
sovereigns, of the full extent of his powers ; they must have an exact
knowledge of this, in order to be in a position to take the most suitable
measures for bringing back England to the faith. In consequence of Pole’s
reserve, the goodwill of the Pope was called in question in Brussels as well as
in London, and he was suspected of first wishing to gain the submission of
England to the Holy See, and of intending then to have recourse to stern
measures by demanding the return of the Church property.
As the powers conferred by the brief of September 28th
did not appear to either Philip or Charles to be sufficiently comprehensive,
the Emperor, enjoined his ambassador in Rome, Manrique, to request Julius III
to amplify them. People in Rome, he wrote to Manrique, appeared to think that
the present possessors of the Church property thought more of their material
prosperity than of the welfare of their souls, and also that they were very
numerous, and that, in their endeavours to secure their property, they would
make desperate attempts to stir up the people. Pole, who preferred to have
special powers and authorization to those contained generally in the brief of
August 5th, added his request to that of the Emperor. Besides the authority
conferred in the brief of September 28th, to enter into agreements and
negotiations with regard to Church property, they begged that the further brief
might confer the right, expressed in clear and distinct terms, of absolutely renouncing
Church property, and that the clause in the former brief, to the effect that,
in cases of special importance, application should be made to Rome, should be
completely withdrawn.
Before the answer to this application arrived, the
last obstacles in the way of Pole’s appearance in England were removed. As the
steps which he had taken with regard to the Pope showed, the Emperor was now in
earnest about his promise to allow the legate to fulfil the duties of his
office, while Philip also wished to be a ruler in a Catholic kingdom. Mary
openly declared that she was ready to give her life for the re-establishment of
ecclesiastical unity. Two Dominicans and two Franciscans, one of whom was the
learned Alfonso de Castro, had come to England with Philip, and preached in
London in their habits ; although they had, at first, been mocked at, on this
account, they soon gained great influence by their learning. It made a great
impression, also, when Gardiner, on September 30th, openly acknowledged, in a
sermon preached before a large congregation at St. Paul’s Cross, that he had
grievously erred by his co-operation in the schism under Henry VIII, and that
his imprisonment under Edward VI had been a just punishment for what he had
done.
If the favourable opportunity was not to be missed,
the departure of Pole for England was very urgent, for Parliament was to be
opened on November 12th, and the question of reunion must then be discussed.
The Imperial ambassador in London, Simon Renard,
arrived in Brussels just at the right moment, on October 20th. On the 22nd, he
explained the state of affairs in England to Pole, in the presence of the
nuncio. He said that three classes of people there were opponents of
reconciliation with Rome : those in whose eyes religious freedom meant the same
thing as carnal freedom; those who had been enriched by the goods of the Church
; and, finally, the ambitious, to whom risings and unrest in the country were
ever welcome. The expressions in the brief of September 28th had aroused fears
in England that Pole would take legal proceedings against the holders of Church
property after the reunion with Rome, and demand restitution. Then Renard laid
the following questions before the English Cardinal. Did he propose to make a
solemn entry into London, invested with the insignia of his office as legate?
Would he exercise his powers in agreement with Mary and Philip? Would the Pope
grant him an amplification of the powers he had already received? Pole,
answered that they must, above all things, cease to expect that the breach
could be healed by this prolonged delay. He would make no difficulty about
appearing in England as a simple Papal envoy, without the insignia of a legate,
he would not hesitate to seek the advice of their Majesties in the exercise of
his powers, and he had no doubt as to the readiness of the Pope to meet their
wishes.
In a further meeting on October 25th, Renard again
returned to the question of Church property, and the extension of the powers
given him by the Pope. In order to satisfy him, Pole showed him the secret
brief of August 5th, in which Julius III had, from the first, promised his
concurrence with all the decisions of the legate. Renard was exceedingly
pleased and declared that if the existence of this document had been known
earlier, all the recent steps which had been taken with regard to the Pope
would have been unnecessary. On Renard’s advice, the brief was also laid before
the Emperor, who remarked in astonishment to Muzzarelli : “If the legate is not
already in England, he has only himself to thank for it.’’
Pole’s time, therefore, had at last arrived. His joy,
as Muzzarelli wrote was “inconceivably great,’’ and in his letters to London
and Rome he expressed it in the strongest terms. His satisfaction could only be
increased by a letter from the queen, on November 6th. She informed him that
she had, on the previous Saturday, announced to her Council, in a formal
sitting and in the presence of her husband, that in her opinion the time had
now come to summon the legate and to complete the reconciliation with Rome. All
had unanimously agreed with this opinion of the queen, and two of the most
influential members, Lord Paget and Lord Edward Hastings, had at once been
commissioned to repair to Brussels and invite the legate to England in the name
of the Royal Council. On November 8th the English ambassador in Brussels, John
Mason, showed this official invitation to the Emperor, and on the following
day, Granvelle informed the English Cardinal that it was now time to prepare
for the journey to London.
On November nth Paget and Hastings presented
themselves before the legate, and again at once referred to the burning
question of the Church property, which now formed the only obstacle to the
reconciliation of their country with the Pope. Pole had his farewell audience
with the Emperor on the 12th, and on the following day he left Brussels. His
journey to London was like a triumphal procession. On November 19th he was
received at Calais, on his first entering into English territory, in the most
solemn manner, by the marshall at the head of the
garrison, and all the officials. When he landed at Dover he was welcomed by
Lord Montague and Thirlby, the Bishop of Ely, who were accompanied by a great
number of the nobility, in the name of the queen and King Philip. The further
he advanced, the greater was the number of the nobles of the country who joined
him, until at last 1800 gentlemen formed his retinue.
At Canterbury Pole was received with joyful
acclamations by the people. From thence he sent Richard Pate, Bishop of
Worcester, to their Majesties, to ask when they would grant him an audience.
When he proceeded, two days later, two members of Parliament brought him the
news at Gravesend that the sentence of attainder pronounced against him by
Henry VIII. had been reversed by Parliament, amid cries of jubilation, in the
presence of the queen and King Philip. In handing him the document which had
been drawn up concerning this, the two members informed him that their
Majesties desired him to appear before them as legate, wearing all the insignia
of his office.
The same proposal had been made to Pole at Canterbury,
but then he had declined to accept it, but now, as their Majesties wished it,
he had to give way. The large silver legate’s cross was affixed to the prow of
the royal barge which the queen had sent to meet him at Gravesend, and the
Cardinal, accompanied by a great number of vessels, which carried the greatest
nobles of the land, sailed up the Thames to Westminster. There he was welcomed
on landing by Gardiner, at the gate by King Philip, and at the top of the
steps, which he ascended in the company of Philip, by the queen, who was
radiantly happy, and declared that she had not felt such gladness on her
accession to the throne. This memorable day was November 24th. Pole took up his
temporary residence in the archiepiscopal palace at Lambeth.
The task which had brought the legate to England could
only be accomplished with the help of Parliament, which had been sitting since
November 12th. In the opening speech, Gardiner declared that the first
Parliament of the queen’s reign had restored the former religious conditions,
the second had confirmed her marriage treaty, and the third was asked to bring
about the union of the kingdom with the Universal Church. No opposition to the
royal wishes was expected, and both Houses had very willingly reversed the
sentence of attainder on Pole. The manner in which the reconciliation with Rome
was now to be effected in Parliament was discussed by Pole and Gardiner on
November 25th. This was determined by the legate on the following day, and
carried into execution, as had been already arranged, on November 28th, 29th
and 30th. It happened very fortunately that, just as Pole was deliberating with
the sovereigns, the Papal Bull, containing all the alterations asked for by the
Cardinal, should have been delivered to him.
On November 28th Parliament assembled in the royal
palace of Whitehall. Pole was solemnly brought in and delivered a long
discourse setting forth the purpose of his mission. He thanked them, first of
all, for having, by their repeal of the act of attainder, restored to him his
native land, his estates and his title of nobility. He had returned, he said,
to restore to his country her title of nobility, which in the sorrowful events
of the preceding decades she had forfeited. Till now, England had distinguished
herself by her devotion to Christ and the Holy See; this devotion she had
fostered, and through Boniface, had spread among other nations. She had been
deprived of this great prerogative and noble title because the Holy See would
not give way to a criminal passion, and because, in contradiction to their
forefathers, she had gone to foreign nations in order to be indoctrinated with
the abominations of their false teaching. Now, however, God had raised up a
queen who would lead her country out of this house of bondage, and the two
highest powers on earth, the Pope and the Emperor, had come to support her.
King Philip, as the representative of the Emperor, would establish temporal
peace, and he himself, as the representative of the Pope, had come to give his
countrymen spiritual peace. Only two conditions were necessarily bound up with
the reunion of the country with the Holy See: they must acknowledge their
transgression, and they must repeal the laws against the Papal supremacy.
After this speech, Pole retired, and Gardiner
continued the discussion. His exhortation to reunion with the Church was
received with universal applause, and on the following day the proposal was
formally voted upon and carried.
On November 30th, Parliament again assembled in the
great hall of the royal palace. Philip sat at the queen’s left hand, and the
Cardinal on her right, but at a greater distance from the throne. Gardiner
announced the decision of the previous day, and begged their Majesties to act
as mediators between the representatives of the people and the legate. A
petition to this effect was then read aloud, which all present loudly
acclaimed, after which the queen and King Philip handed it to the legate and
begged absolution for schism and all censures. Pole then caused the Bull
concerning his powers and authority to be read, and gave thanks to God in a
short speech for England’s reconciliation. Then all, the queen and king not
excepted, fell upon their knees and received absolution in the name of the
Father, Son and Holy Ghost. A loud and oft repeated “Amen” resounded on all
sides, and a solemn Te Deum in the royal chapel
closed the proceedings.
Two days later, on the first Sunday in Advent, Pole
made his entry into London, amid universal enthusiasm. After Bishop Bonner had
celebrated High Mass in the presence of the legate and King Philip, Gardiner
preached at St. Paul’s Cross on the text from the liturgy of the day : “ Now is
the time to arouse from sleep.” He was listened to by 25,000 people. When Pole
returned to the archiepiscopal palace, the people thronged round him in such
crowds to receive his blessings, that Parpaglia writes that he could not have believed that London contained so many
inhabitants.
The burning question of the Church property was
finally settled immediately after the reconciliation. Two petitions on the
matter were addressed to the Crown, one from Parliament, and the other from the
clergy. In the former, Parliament besought their Majesties to obtain from the
legate all those dispensations which the changes during the time of schism made
necessary, and they desired, in particular, that the right of possession should
be assured to the present holders of Church lands. In the other petition the
clergy renounced all claim on the stolen ecclesiastical property. Pole issued
the desired decree on December 24th. In accordance with this, all the
charitable institutions and schools founded during the schism were to remain in
being, and all the marriages and episcopal “acta” concluded during this period
without the necessary Papal dispensation were declared valid, while the
possessors of Church property were not to be disturbed, either now or in the
future, on ecclesiastical grounds. A comprehensive Bill of January 1555 then
declared that all the statutes promulgated since the twentieth year of Henry
VIII against the Papal authority were invalid, and confirmed the legate’s
decree.
As a sign that a new era had begun and that the old
troubles were forgotten, at the return of England to the Universal Church, all
those who still remained in prison on account of their participation in the
rebellion of Northumberland and Wyatt, were released from the Tower on January
18th, 1555, Elizabeth returned to court, while Courtenay received “permission”
to travel for the purpose of improving his education. He died suddenly in
Venice in 1556.
Viscount Montague, Bishop Thirlby and Sir Edward Carne
were appointed ambassadors to Rome on February 18th, to announce officially to
the Pope the happy news of England’s return to the Church.
Julius III received the first news of the events of
St. Andrew’s Day, on December 14th, in a letter from the hand of King Philip.
The Feast of St. Andrew, to which he owed his deliverance at the sack of Rome,
again became for him a day of rejoicing. He caused the royal letter to be read
to as many Cardinals, prelates and others as the Hall of Consistory could
contain, and then proceeded to St. Peter’s in order to assist at a Mass of
thanksgiving in St. Andrew’s Chapel. Afterwards, prayers of thanksgiving for
fourteen days were prescribed and a Jubilee indulgence proclaimed. The joyful
events were celebrated in other parts of Italy, as well as in Rome, by solemn
thanksgivings and bonfires, while pamphlets announced the great triumph in the
most distant lands. The auditor of the Rota, Antonio Agostini, was commissioned
to present Queen Mary with the Golden Rose, her consort receiving a consecrated
sword and hat of state.
CHAPTER XI.
Spread of Christianity in the New World.
The Apostolic See devoted special attention to the
missions in the New World during the reign of Julius III. A brief of July 20th,
1554, made an attempt to provide for the scarcity of missionaries in America,
in accordance with which suitable members of the Franciscan, Dominican and
Augustinian Orders could receive permission to go as missionaries to America
from the Archbishop of Seville, the Bishops of Avila, the Patriarch of the West
Indies, and the former Bishop of Pamplona, Antonio Fonseca, even without the
sanction of the superiors of their own Order. A new bishopric was founded at la
Plata on June 27th, 1552, in the modern Bolivia, for Spanish South America.
Portuguese South America had always been under the jurisdiction of the
Archbishop of Funchal, in Madeira, whom Clement VII. had appointed metropolitan
for the whole of the Portuguese colonies. This arrangement was brought to an
end on February 25th, 1551, and San Salvador (Bahia) was founded as a bishopric
for Brazil. Soon afterwards, on June 26th, 1551, Funchal lost its metropolitan
rights as an independent see, and became a suffragan bishopric of Lisbon.
The superior of the Jesuit mission in Brazil, Manoel
Nobrega, had, in particular, worked, in his letters to Europe, for the
establishment of a separate bishopric there. It was his opinion that only the
respect felt for a bishop, and the power which he could wield, would be
sufficient to improve the moral conditions of the country, of which Nobrega’s
letters give such a sad picture.
For some time after his arrival, Nobrega’s letters
bore the stamp of joyful anticipation. In spite of their cannibalism and
polygamy, the savages seemed to be easily capable of civilization. They asked
for instruction in reading and writing, as well as in Christian doctrine; they
came willingly to the Christian church, and behaved there like white people.
“Nowhere in the world,” wrote Nobrega on August 10th, 1549, “had such
favourable prospects been opened to Christianity,” while again, on September
14th, 1551, he thought the savages in Pernambuco would be easy to convert, but
that he would require a larger number of priests than was at present at his
disposal to continue the good work. By the end of 1553, four Jesuit settlements
had already been founded, in Bahia, Porto Seguro, Espirito Santo and San
Vincente, to which Piratininga, the present San
Paolo, was added in January, 1554. The instruction of the Indian children, to
which the missionaries zealously devoted themselves, seemed specially full of
promise.
The atrocities committed by the white people, who were
for the most part deported criminals, soon destroyed these hopes. Nobrega
complains that they spoke of the natives as dogs and treated them as such. They
introduced slave raids (saltos), induced the
aborigines to embark on ships under false pretences, and sailed away with them
and sold them as slaves. Their owners, moreover, troubled themselves very
little about the welfare of their slaves, they worked them to death and then
threw them in heaps on dunghills. Frequently they took possession of the Indian
women, white women having only left Europe in small numbers, and real marriages
with coloured people not being considered fitting, the consequence of these
conditions was a most shocking state of immorality.
Here as elsewhere, the missionaries proved themselves
almost the only friends of the oppressed people. They exhorted and protested
in their sermons, and backed up their protests by the refusal of the
Sacraments; they assembled the slaves to instruct them in Christianity, and
wrote to the King of Portugal to send out free labourers1 and white women. They
met with a certain amount of success, and in some cases astonishing results
were obtained. Everything was spoilt however, as far as the immediate future was
concerned, by the arrival of the bishop, upon whom such hopes had been built.
Pedro Fernandez Sardinha, who reached Bahia on June 22nd, 1552, was not
capable, in spite of his zeal, of filling his difficult post in a successful
manner ; the clergy, too, whom he had brought with him from Portugal, were the
dregs of their sacred calling, and destroyed by their bad example and their
indiscriminate dispensation of the Sacraments, everything which the
missionaries had, with so much trouble, attained. The activities of the Jesuits
among the white population in Bahia were thus quite brought to an end. Nobrega
retired to some distance from the town, leaving only one missionary behind for
the benefit of the children. The bishop fell into the hands of the cannibals in
1556 and was eaten by them.
The Indians of the primeval forests had no fixed place
of abode ; it might easily happen that the missionary who instructed them would
find, on his return, nothing but their burnt down village. Besides this, the
different hamlets often consisted of no more than six or seven huts, and this
scattered condition of the Indians greatly increased the difficulty of
instructing them. Marriages worthy of the name were also almost unknown among
them, and they had neither chiefs nor any idea of community life; each one was
king in his own hut and did as he pleased.
The missionaries were, therefore, convinced that until
a certain amount of civilization and order had been introduced among them,
there could be no question of lasting success, and they were extremely careful
in baptizing them, chiefly on this ground.
As far as lay in their power, the missionaries
themselves endeavoured to pave the way for more civilized conditions, by
uniting several hamlets into one larger village, with a view to rendering the
work of instruction easier, or, in accordance with the principle adopted in the
later settlements, by collecting the converts into special communities. Law and
order, however, could only be introduced among the Indians on a large scale,
when the state lent its assistance for this purpose. Nobrega, therefore, wrote
in 1554 that everything was again going to ruin among the savages in the
neighbourhood of Bahia; tribes were destroying and devouring one another in
marauding expeditions, while families were living in a perpetual state of feud
with each other. It was the duty of the authorities to intervene at this
juncture, for the savages themselves would prefer a mild condition of
dependence to the present state of affairs.
The only obstacle was that the whites took little
interest in the civilization of the natives. On the contrary, it was considered
sound policy to encourage the dissensions among them, for the safety of the
white people was based on the fact of the Indians destroying one another.
Therefore they incited one tribe against the next, encouraging them in the
enjoyment of human flesh, while there were not wanting even white people who
shared their dreadful feasts, with a view to giving them an example. The
Creoles, cross-breeds between whites and Indians, also worked in direct
opposition to the missionaries, by trying to make the natives who had been
baptized renounce Christianity, and treating them as cowards or women if they
would not do so.
It is astonishing and worthy of all admiration that
the missionaries did not lose heart under such difficulties. Living in the
greatest poverty, hated by the rich on account of their sermons against the
slave raids, hindered sometimes by the governor, who did not pay them the cost
of maintenance settled on them by the king, hampered by differences of opinion
with the bishop, and crushed by the consciousness that their success did not
correspond to the labour it involved, they never ceased to defend the rights of
humanity, in disputations and in letters to Portugal laying their complaints
before the king, and all the time continuing their efforts to comfort and
alleviate the miseries of the unfortunate natives, in as far as it lay in their
power to do so.
As the labours of the Jesuits met, for the present,
with so much opposition in the Portuguese settlements on the coast, they
earnestly hoped that better prospects would open before them somewhere else.
This seemed to be the case in Paraguay.[666] That country had been subject to
the Spaniards for years, and what the missionaries had been vainly trying to do
in Brazil, namely, to establish law and order among the Indians, had been
already accomplished there. The natives had been instructed in Christianity by
travelling missionaries of the Franciscan Order, and afterwards by secular
priests ; as, however, there was a great need of spiritual assistance, the
Indians had repeatedly, since 1552, sent messages to the Jesuits in Brazil to
come to their aid. There was no want of readiness on the part of the Jesuits to
grant their request, but the plan fell through on account of the opposition of
the Portuguese authorities.
In 1557, with the arrival of a new governor, Men de
Sa, conditions in Brazil took a more favourable turn. Men de Sa supported the
missionaries in every way. He at once reunited the natives in the neighbourhood
of Bahia in three large villages, each of which contained a church ; schools
arose for the Indian children, while law and justice were administered among
the natives in a humane manner. These efforts were not, it is true, received
with any thanks by the colonists.
While the mission on the Brazilian coast was thus
preparing for its period of greatest development by a time of probation, the
conversion of the Indians in Mexico was being definitely provided for.
Fernando Cortez had been accompanied by two priests
when he first landed in the New World, and on the news of the completion of the
conquest of Mexico in 1523, five Franciscans had immediately set sail for
America. The actual founders of Christianity in New Spain, however, were the
twelve Franciscans who, invested with the fullest powers by Leo X on April
25th, 1521, and by Adrian VI on May 13th, 1522, entered the capital in 1524
under Martin of Valencia, who died in 1534. Cortez himself went out to meet them
with a brilliant retinue, falling on his knees and kissing their hands, to the
amazement of the numerous natives who had flocked to the spot, and introducing
them to the chiefs as the ambassadors of heaven. Numerous members of the other
Orders now joined this first band of Franciscan missionaries, lists of whose
names are still in existence. In the years 1529 and 1530 no less than
twenty-six, in 1538 thirty-one, and in 1542 eighty-six priests received the
royal permission to proceed to Mexico.[672] Two reports which Martin of
Valencia and Juan Zumarraga sent to Europe on June 12th, 1531, telling of the
success of their labours, awakened great enthusiasm in many persons for the
vocation to the missionary life.[673] According to Martin of Valencia, in 1531
there were already twenty Franciscan convents in Mexico, of which the greater
number were, indeed, little more than Indian huts, but in 1555 the number of
Franciscan settlements had increased to fifty, and at the close of the XVIth century to seventy. The Franciscans were joined in
1526 by the Dominicans and in 1533 by the Augustinians. In 1528 Juan Zumarraga,
chosen by Charles V, arrived in the capital of the country as bishop-elect of
Mexico and protector of the Indians. He was consecrated bishop in Spain in
1532, and returned to his diocese with numerous new missionaries. As early as
1546 the city of Mexico was able to be raised to be an archbishopric, with the
suffragan sees of Oaxaca, Mechoacan, Tlaxcala,
Guatemala and Chiapa.
The Franciscans in Mexico from the very beginning made
the instructions of youth the chief aim of their work. In each of their
convents great halls were erected, in which on an average 500 native boys, and
sometimes as many as between 800 and 1000, received instruction in reading,
writing and ecclesiastical chant. They had, especially at first, the sons of
the more influential natives in view, who would later occupy the more important
positions. The education of the girls was also looked after, and for this
purpose pious women, mostly members of the Third Order, were brought over from
Spain to act as teachers. Bishop Zumarraga, in a letter to Charles V on
December 21st, 1537, declared that it was one of the most pressing requirements
of the mission that a large college for boys should be built in each diocese,
and a second one for girls. The instruction given to the boys should be
extended so as to include Latin grammar, while the girls should be educated
from about their sixth year by nuns and pious women, and be married when they
attained the age of twelve. By their zeal in the erection of schools the
Franciscans must be regarded as the founders of the Mexican system of public
education, for in the old Aztec kingdom instruction by means of schools was
still unknown.
A simple lay-brother, Peter of Ghent (died 1572) won
special renown as an instructor of youth, teaching the children of the capital
for almost fifty years. In the morning they learned reading, writing and
singing, while in the afternoon he gave them lessons in Christian doctrine. He
had chosen fifty of the most advanced pupils and sent them out on Sundays, two
by two, so that they might fill the office of catechists to their countrymen.
Peter was also one of the most influential men in Mexico, from his knowledge of
building and his skill in many crafts, so that Alonso de Montufar, Zumarraga’s
successor in the archiepiscopal see (1551-1569) said that it was not he, but
Brother Peter, who was the real bishop of Mexico. Peter of Ghent could actually
have become Archbishop of Mexico, if he had not preferred to remain in his
humble position.
While the missionaries were teaching the young people
Spanish, they themselves learned the Mexican language from their pupils, and
one of their chief reasons for beginning operations by the instruction of the
young was that they saw in this the easiest way of acquiring the idioms of the
country.
After they had attained to sufficient proficiency in
this, the conversion of the actual Aztec territory was accomplished in a
comparatively short time. The heathen temples were for the most part destroyed,
and the images broken. Zumarraga writes as early as 1531 that 500 temples had
been cast down and 20,000 idols burned. Catholic chapels arose on every side,
of which Peter of Ghent had already erected 100 by 1529,4 and to these the
Indians flocked in great numbers.
The capital of the country might serve as a symbol of
the religious change which had taken place, for it had arisen in less than four
years from the ruins of the city destroyed by Cortez, more beautiful and
magnificent than before. Where the temple of the god of war had formerly stood,
the cathedral, dedicated to St. Francis, now arose, into the foundations of
which the broken images of the Aztec gods had been thrown. In the part of the
city called Tlatelolco a second cathedral was to be found, besides which there
were about thirty churches for the natives.
In many cases, it is true, the conversions were only
superficial; Bishop Zumarraga complains in 1537 that Indians of advanced age
kept up their old superstitious customs, and relinquished their idols and
habits, especially that of polygamy, most unwillingly; the missionaries,
therefore, had above all things to endeavour to confirm the youth in the
Christian religion. The learned Bernadino of Sahagun (died 1590) thought that
the early missionaries had been wanting in the “wisdom of the serpent”, for
they had not discovered that the Indians went to the Christian church, while
still retaining their old idols. The missionaries, however, who lived in the
closest touch with the people, could not be permanently mistaken as to their
mentality, and there are many reasons which explain the rapid conversion of
such great masses of the natives.
The victory over the old Mexico was, in the eyes of
the Indians, also a victory over the Mexican gods, and they had to explain to
themselves the fact that the Spaniards were able to destroy the idols
unpunished, in the same way. Besides this the old religion had been a hard yoke
for those of the lower classes. The blood of their own children was sometimes
demanded of them, and the prospect of immortality was held out to them, not as
a state which would depend on their moral conduct, but rather on their rank in
life, or the manner of their death. The contrast between the arrogant Mexican
priests, who considered themselves far above the common people, and the simple
unselfish Franciscans could not fail to bring out the superiority of the
missionaries. It made a great impression on the Indians, that the religious
went about barefoot, and were content with as poor nourishment as they had
themselves. Of still greater weight was the fact that the missionaries showed a
comprehension of the needs of the poor natives, and defended and protected them
whenever they could. That the conquerors, whom they looked up to as “ white
gods ” should so reverence these poor missionaries, increased still more the
esteem in which they held them. The national place of pilgrimage, Guadelupe,
had also a great influence on the conversion of the Indians ; they were firmly
convinced that Our Lady had appeared in 1531 to one of their own people there,
and had left her picture painted on an Indian cloak, as a palpable proof that
the Christian religion was not for the white man alone.
The greatest obstacle to the christianizing of Mexico came, here as elsewhere, from the whites. “The Indians,” writes Peter
of Ghent on February 15th, 1552,3 to the Emperor, “are overwhelmed with work
and cannot earn enough to live. They must perform compulsory labour for their
masters for a whole month, perhaps at a distance of forty or fifty miles from
their homes, and are not, during that time, able to till their own fields, and
when they return to their huts they find their wives and children in misery,
with hardly enough to cover them, and their little property has then to be sold
to provide them with the means of existence.” As a consequence of this, the
Indian population began to die out. On March 8th, 1594, the missionaries wrote
to the Spanish government that the taxpaying Indians had diminished by 300,000
in seven years, and that without any pestilence.
The Spanish government cannot be blamed altogether for
this state of affairs. A great many royal regulations were issued in favour of
the natives of Mexico, and the first viceroys, Mendoza and Velasco, also
showed much good will. The work in the mines by the Indians, was, for example,
abolished by Velasco, who said that the freedom of the Indians was of more
value than all the mines in the world, and that all human and divine laws could
not be trampled underfoot for the sake of profit. In consequence, the condition
of the natives really did improve; they won more and more freedom, were able to
do their work as they desired, and, except in the towns on the coast, actual
slavery never seems to have gained a firm footing in Mexico. They were not
condemned to extinction, as in so many other colonies ; among the thirteen and
a half millions of inhabitants of Mexico today, there are little more than two
million white people, the others being, with the exception of 80,000 negroes,
all Indians or Mestizoes.
But, in the early times after the conquest, and
especially in the years when no viceroy ruled in Mexico, and the country was
under an “Audiencia” or Court of Justice, the condition of the natives was
indeed unbearable. The good will of the viceroy was not able to cope with the
force of prevailing circumstances, and nobody in Mexico troubled much about
laws which had been made in Spain. In the struggle against these evils the
Franciscans rendered services both to Mexico and to humanity which cannot be too
highly esteemed. They never ceased to preach against the oppression of the
defenceless, and addressed complaint after complaint to Spain. On this account
they were calumniated, alms were refused to them, the Indians were taught to be
suspicious of them, and their correspondence with Spain was watched. They
succeeded, however, by seizing favourable opportunities, in getting their
letters of complaint through to Spain, with the result that the “Audiencia” was
abolished, and another court, favourable to the Franciscans, was set up in its
place.
It was, above all, Bishop Zumarraga who carried on the
struggle against the “Audiencia” and later on, after he had been, on February
24th, 1528, together with the Dominican, Julian Garces, first Bishop of
Tlaxcala, appointed “Protector of the Indians,” he did not cease to enter the
lists on behalf of his clients. The Franciscans, Motolinia (died 1569) and
Mendieta (died 1604) were also the champions of freedom for the Indians. The
provincials of all the Orders working in Mexico addressed a joint petition to
Philip II in 1562, begging him to avert the ruin which threatened the new
Church in Mexico. Indeed, it was the belief of many people in the country that
the Indians there would have been exterminated, as were those of the Antilles
and elsewhere, had it not been for the determination of the Franciscans.
As in the actual territory of the Aztecs, the
Franciscans also spread the faith in the neighbouring countries. They went very
early to Mechoacan, which was able to be formed into
a separate province of the Order with fifty convents in 1575. They had a great
deal to suffer in Yucatan, where the Spaniards endeavoured in every way to
prevent the christianizing of the natives, but in
spite of this some thirty-seven mission centres were founded between 1534 and
1600. The Franciscans began their work in Guatemala in 1539; in the year 1603
they had already twenty-four convents, while Nicaragua and Costa Rica formed an
independent province in 1579, with twelve settlements. They had been working
among the savage tribes of Zacatecas since 1546 at least, and suffered much
persecution there, not a few of them losing their lives.
In Guatemala the Dominicans had preceded the
Franciscans in 1538. Under the guidance of Dominic of Betanzos their sphere of
activity was also extended over many provinces. They had three large convents,
in the capital of the country, in Oaxaca and Puebla, besides twenty-two
settlements in Mexico proper, twenty-one in the territory of the Zapotecas, seventeen among the Mixtecas,
as well as one in Vera Cruz and another in S. Juan d’Uloa.
They were specially active in Nicaragua, as well as in Guatemala. To the north
of Guatemala there was a tract of land named Terra de Guerra, so called on
account of the savagery of the inhabitants and the vain attempts which had been
made to subdue it. When Las Casas’ book concerning the conversion of the
Indians was written, many Spaniards scornfully challenged the Dominicans to
attempt in this country the use of the purely peaceful means of conversion
advocated by the member of their Order. The Dominicans accepted the challenge,
and they succeeded, without the support of armed power, in gaining an entrance into
the country and in changing the former “land of war” into the present day Veia Paz. Royal decrees assured the freedom
of the converted Indians.
Among the Dominican bishops, Julian Garces, first
Bishop of Tlaxcala, was, together with Las Casas, a zealous champion of the
Indians, as well as their defender. He addressed a memorandum to Paul III,
calling on the authority of the Holy See itself against those who would deny to
the Indians all power of being received as members of the Christian body. In
this he represents in glowing terms, the good moral behaviour of his proteges.
Paul III answered this memorandum by his celebrated brief against slavery.
The zealous labours of the missionaries in Mexico also
bore great fruit in the advancement of learning. The science of languages has
absolutely no other source of information with regard to the ancient languages
of Mexico than their researches. Two of the first Franciscans, Alonso Molina
and Bernardino de Sahagun had mastered all the intricacies of the prevailing
language of the country, the Aztec. Molina composed a dictionary and grammar
of Aztec, and we may specially mention Sahagun’s translation of the Epistles
and Gospels into classical Aztec. Franciscans and Dominicans in the XVIth century also composed dictionaries and grammars of
the other languages of Mexico, Miztec, Zapotec, Maya
and a number of other dialects, which were in part printed at the time, for use
in spreading the faith.
The necessity of gaining a knowledge of the ideas and
customs of the Aztecs, also led to the study of the antiquities of this
remarkable people. Bernardino de Sahagun succeeded, after the most exhaustive
and diligent study, in providing data which are acknowledged to be the most
complete which are to be obtained in this field of research. A work, planned on
a very large scale, which deals with the antiquities of Mexico from heathen
times, as well as with its ecclesiastical history, was composed by Juan de Torquemada,
the “Livy of New Spain.” The same subject was treated by Toribio de Benavente,
one of the twelve missionaries who came to Mexico in 1524. He was greeted at
the time by the Indians with the name of “Motolinia,” which means “poor,” on
account of his poverty-stricken appearance, and from that he always made use of
the name. In his fight for the freedom of the Indians he was keenly opposed to
Las Casas, whose ideas seemed to him exaggerated. Jeronimo de Mendieta deals in
his Indian ecclesiastical history with the christianizing of Mexico. Almost everything that we know concerning ancient Mexico and its
wonderful civilization can be directly traced to these historical works of the
Franciscans, which, for the most part, were only published during the XIXth century.
CHAPTER XII.
The East Indies and the Mission of Saint Francis
Xavier.
In the East Indies, the work of the missions was not
greatly developed under Julius III, although it gained a firmer footing and
struck deeper roots. “We are not yet troubling,” writes the Jesuit, Melchior
Nunez, on December 7th, 1552, from Bassein,”1 to make many Christians. Those
whom we gain we first and above all things thoroughly instruct, and make it our
chief endeavour to retain those already won over to the faith and to teach
them, for up to the present matters have been very serious in this respect.”
On the first arrival of the Portuguese in India, rough
soldiers had endeavoured, in their own way, to assist in the spreading of
Christianity by immediately baptizing the native prisoners of war. Priests,
too, had been in the habit of administering baptism in the same “military” way.
There were, happily, exceptions, and Nunez speaks of the Franciscan, Antonio do
Porto, who took great pains with the instruction of the new converts, as being
one of these. Fra Antonio is known to have not only destroyed temples and
erected churches, but also to have founded several institutions for the
education of orphan boys. It was not the same everywhere, however. The vicar of
Goa, had, according to his own testimony, baptized no fewer than 120,000
heathens on the Fishing Coast in three years, and often from 1000 to 1500 a
day. Yet all these had, as Francis Xavier wrote in 1542, nothing of
Christianity about them but the name.
Francis Xavier had recognized from the first that the
principal work to be done lay in the instruction of the new converts, and he,
therefore, laid the greatest stress on this point. He did not, by any means,
bring a cut and dried scheme with him from Europe for the furtherance of this
object, for we find him, in 1542, earnestly begging, in a letter from India,
the advice of his colleagues in Rome, as to how he had better proceed with his
missionary work. He also, at first, administered baptism immediately after the
most essential lessons had been given, leaving further instruction for the
future.
Experience, however, soon showed that much more care
must be exercised, as so many begged to be received into the Church from merely
human motives.[708] These nominal Christians afterwards either refused to
listen to instruction, or eventually returned to the worship of their idols and
to their heathen customs. The Jesuits, therefore, instituted a catechumenate of
from three to four months, and those who were found to be insincere were
sternly sent away.
Ignatius of Loyola had given twofold advice for the
purpose of confirming Christianity in India: first, the instruction of the
children must be provided for, and, secondly, houses for the instruction of the
catechumens must be established for the adults. His advice was joyfully
followed by the Jesuits in India. The principal care of Francis Xavier was to
gather the children together in the first place, and through them influence the
parents ; he introduced this method of procedure throughout the whole of India.
At a period when instruction was nowhere given to foreigners in the Jesuit
colleges in Europe, schools arose everywhere in India where the Jesuits were to
be found, in which the native children were taught reading, writing and
catechism. It was not, at first, possible to build houses for catechumens in
each place, but, in 1555, several rooms were set apart in the college of Goa,
where from twelve to fifteen catechumens were constantly receiving instruction,
which lasted for two or three months. Female catechumens received the necessary
instruction under the supervision of a respectable matron in the hospital.
Further progress was made, especially by Henrico
Henriquez, to whom it was of great advantage in his mission on the Fishing
Coast, that all the natives belonged to the same tribe, and that the whole
population, as such, had embraced Christianity. To make up, to some extent, for
the want of priests, Henriquez introduced a system of instruction given by
catechists. He chose the most gifted among the new converts, and appointed them
to give Christian instruction in the various villages, and in cases of necessity
to baptize, while serious offences were to be brought to the knowledge of the
missionaries. As Henriquez was very careful in choosing his catechists, their
number did not exceed nine or ten ; they discharged their duties to the
complete satisfaction of the missionaries, so that Henriquez thought that,
should the priests all die, Christianity might still be maintained by these
catechists on the Fishing Coast. A trustworthy man was also appointed in each
village, who held meetings for prayer, and gave religious instruction in the
native tongue. The new converts learned the usual prayers in Latin, according
to the Roman custom, although Henriquez soon allowed them much liberty in this
respect.
A further praiseworthy practice of Henriquez and his
companions lay in the fact that they earnestly devoted themselves to the study
of the language of the country. The first Jesuit missionaries, who found
themselves confronted by a multiplicity of native dialects, and did not wish to
confine their activities to limited districts, had to make use of an
interpreter for their sermons. With these, however, they often had unpleasant
experiences. When Henriquez understood Tamil better, he found many mistakes made
by the interpreter in the translation of the ordinary prayers. The new
translation, as he wrote to Rome, cost him from three to four months hard work,
as no words existed in the language for Christian ideas. He reported this so
that the missionaries on the Congo might be warned ; they should not attempt
the translation of the prayers until they had a thorough command of the
language. Nicholas Lancilotti also said frequently in
his letters to Ignatius that the missionaries in India should have special
districts assigned to them for their labours, and should be strictly enjoined
to master the language of the country. Little confidence could be placed in
interpreters, and Henriquez owed his success in great measure to the fact that
he had thoroughly learned the language of the natives. It was Henriquez who
drew up the first Tamil grammar, which he printed for the use of the
missionaries.
The Portuguese officials formed the greatest obstacle
in the way of the advancement of the mission. Xavier had already written to
Rodriguez in Portugal, telling him that he should never agree to any of his
friends being sent to India as an official; however upright a man might be at
home, they all fell into dishonourable ways in India. A post in India was
considered as much a reward for services rendered as an easy way of making money;
the native tribes who had both embraced Christianity and submitted to the
Portuguese rule, were especially plundered in the most ruthless manner. It had
already happened, writes a missionary from the Fishing Coast in 1555, that an
official with a salary of 2000 or 3000 ducats, had in the course of one or two
years gathered together from 100,000 to 200,000 ducats of the royal revenue, by
extortion from the poor pearl fishers. Such people were, naturally, hostile to
the missionaries, as the protectors of the poor, did not pay them the sums the
king had appointed for them, and raised obstacles in their way whenever they
could. Lancilotti also wrote from the Fishing Coast,
that it was hardly possible to describe the ruin they caused ; all that the
missionaries had taken many years to bring about, was destroyed in a few months
by their avarice, and there was a real danger lest the whole of the 70,000
Christians on this coast should fall away through their behaviour. Francis
Xavier therefore wrote to John III that he would “flee” to Japan, so as not to
lose his time in India; it was a “martyrdom” to see everything destroyed which
had been built up with so much trouble. Henriquez also was of opinion that with
a good official, much more would be gained in the matter of the conversion of
the natives with a single priest, than with twenty under a bad one.
The immorality of the Portuguese was almost a greater
obstacle to the spread of Christianity than their avarice. Alfonso Cyprian, for
example, writes from S. Thome that the ecclesiastical as well as the secular
authorities conducted themselves in such a manner that it was a scandal to the
natives when the Europeans led such lives ; the new converts fell away again,
while others refused baptism when they saw the abandoned way in which
Christians lived. It is true that S. Thome, which lay on the extreme borders of
the Portuguese territory, had become a place of refuge for all those who dared
not live elsewhere. Similar complaints were also heard, however, from other
parts of India. The ease with which slaves could be procured in India furthered
the general immorality in a special way. Rich Portuguese possessed as many as
300 or more, so that it was, in many cases, possible for them to have regular
harems of twenty or more slaves.
To all this was added the invasion of southern India
by Islam, in which the missionaries not only found a powerful rival, concerning
whose progress the Jesuits often complained, but also a dangerous enemy. In a
petition to King John III the missionaries relate that in 1554 the Arabs had
caused the loss of two Christian missions in Travancore, by inducing the king,
with presents of money, to forbid the Christian priests to preach or build
churches. The new’ converts, especially in the Moluccas, where the natives had
eagerly embraced Christianity, suffered from the attacks of Saracen pirates.
Many Christians were murdered or plundered, others being thrown into the sea if
no one offered to buy them, while many Christian villages were burned to the
ground.
As they had done in the East Indies, so did the
Jesuits penetrate into Abyssinia as the pioneers of the Church. The hope of
again being able to reunite the Abyssinian Church with Rome had first arisen
under Paul III, and was still entertained under Julius III. As of old, the Holy
See again made use of the mediation of Portugal. At the beginning of the year
1555 the Pope thought he was able to take a decisive step; in consideration of
the distance of the country, he appointed, on January 23rd, three bishops chosen
from the Society of Jesus ; of these he fixed on Nunez Barreto as patriarch,
and Fathers Andreas Oviedo and Melchior Carnero as assistant bishops with the
right of succession. His Holiness hoped all the more for the success of this
attempt as he had succeeded in 1553 in bringing about the reunion of the
Nestorians in Mesopotamia.
What hopes Julius III placed in the Jesuits for the
conversion of the East, may best be understood from the fact that he gave them
permission, by a Bull of October 6th, 1553, to found three colleges, one in
Jerusalem, a second in Cyprus, and a third in Constantinople. These establishments,
which might have become of the greatest importance, never came into existence,
but, on the other hand, Julius III lived to see the beginning of the mission in
far-off Japan. To this island kingdom, possessed of a scenery of indescribable
beauty, Providence now sent a man who must be counted one of the most heroic
pioneers of the religion of the Cross.
Filled with a burning zeal for the spread of the
doctrines of Christianity, the Apostle of India, Francis Xavier, had proceeded,
in the last year of the pontificate of the Farnese Pope, to Japan, where he
landed in Kagoschima on August 15th. On November 5th,
1549, he sent his first impressions and experiences in an exhortation to his
fellow-workers. “The greatest trials you have until now endured are small in
comparison with those you will experience in Japan. Prepare yourselves for
difficulties, by setting aside all consideration for your own interests.”
The Europeans in Japan really felt as if they had come
into a new world. All the habits, customs and forms of courtesy were different,
the food was scanty and unusual, and the language was difficult. A missionary
wrote later that one must again become a child in Japan, and learn once more
how to speak, sit down, walk and eat. Instead of the respect which the
Portuguese had paid to the priests, the missionaries found the opposite here,
because, with all their ceremonious politeness to one another, the Japanese
felt nothing but contempt for strangers, especially when they, as was the case
with these messengers of the faith, appeared in poor apparel.
Political conditions, moreover, were not favourable to
the spread of Christianity, as the country was in a state of anarchy. Japan was
nominally under the dominion of the Emperor and his representative, the Schogun, but both of them were, as a matter of fact,
completely powerless. The actual power was in the hands of more than sixty
petty princes, the Daimios, who waged perpetual civil war on each other. The
well organized Buddhist monasteries, which were well provided with armed
forces, had great political influence, perhaps the greatest in the country, and
that these would soon attack Christianity, “and not in words alone,” Xavier
recognized from the first.
It was fortunate for the missionaries that the Daimios
were exceedingly anxious to attract Portuguese ships to their harbours, and
hoped to gain this end by protecting the missionaries. It was also favourable
to the spread of Christianity that there was no single central government and
no universal religion. The dominant form of religion was Buddhism, which was
divided into some six opposing sects. Xavier was, however, more filled with
confident expectations by the lively interest which the Japanese took in
religion, and by their character, which disposed them to be influenced by
arguments founded on reason, than by any other circumstances. “If God, our
Lord,” he writes, “gives us ten years of life, we shall see great things in
this country.”
Soon after his arrival in Kagoschima,
Xavier began, with the help of his companion, Paul Anjiro,
to draw up a summary of Christian doctrine in the Japanese language. As,
however, Anjiro did not know the language
sufficiently well, the work was not a success, and educated Japanese laughed at
it. Mockery and laughter also were not wanting when Francis, after some time,
produced his work in the public streets and began to read it aloud. Nevertheless,
the whole bearing of the missionary, the thought that he had come so far only
to promote the salvation of a foreign race, and the sublimity of the doctrine
which shone through the imperfectly expressed language, gradually made a
powerful impression. After the lapse of a year, 100 Christians could be counted
in Kagoschima, while the throng round the
missionaries was so great that the bonzes obtained from the Daimio a
prohibition of further conversions. Francis then repaired to Hirado, an island to the west of Kiuschiu,
where Portuguese ships had put in. After very promising beginnings, however, he
left this mission to his companion, Cosmas de Torres, and himself proceeded to
the largest of the Japanese islands, Nippon.
It had been Xavier’s plan, from the very first, to get
as far as the capital of the country, Meaco, the
present Kioto, and to penetrate into the presence of the Emperor, in order to
obtain from him the permission to preach. After being driven out of Kagoschima, he determined no longer to postpone the
carrying out of this plan. He left Hirado at the
beginning of October, 1550, and spent a considerable time in Yamaguchi in
Nippon, going on from thence in the middle of December to Meaco ; he left this town in February, 1551, in order to return to Hirado. At the most trying time of the year, insufficiently
clad, and often barefoot, in the company of the lay-brother, Fernandez, he
accomplished an exceedingly difficult journey through the snow-covered country.
The travellers often sank to their knees in the snow in the bad roads, and
often had to plunge into icy streams to their waists. In the villages they were
mocked and laughed at by the people who flocked round them in crowds, and
stoned by the children, while in the inns at night they found nothing but a mat
and a wooden Japanese pillow, that is to say, if, in their miserable clothing,
they were received in the inns at all.
This painful pilgrimage was, moreover, almost without
result, as far as their main object was concerned. In Yamaguchi, indeed,
Francis was allowed to read his book even to the Daimio for about an hour, but
there were no conversions. Nothing could be done in Meaco,
on account of the state of war prevailing there, and Francis could only have
thought of an interview with the Emperor, because he did not understand the
conditions in Japan.
At all events, he brought back one important
realization from his journey. He now knew that the Emperor was a mere shadow,
who could not vie with the Daimio of Yamaguchi in real power. He had also
learned that the poverty and meanness of his appearance was an obstacle to the
spread of the Gospel. He therefore resolved to dress better, and to offer the
presents which he had brought from India for the Emperor to the ruler of
Yamaguchi, Ouchi Yoschitaka. He was received in a friendly
manner by the latter, who gave him, as a return gift, an old bonze house, with
the permission to preach the Gospel freely. The preaching, moreover, was not
unsuccessful; in five or six months, they had from five to six hundred
baptisms. Xavier’s most important conquest was a half-blind actor who was
baptized in the name of Lawrence, and was afterwards received as a lay-brother
into the Society of Jesus; in countless sermons and disputations he won
thousands for Christianity, among others several Daimios.
Still more favourable prospects were opened to the
messengers of the faith by the Daimio of Bungo, Otomo Yoschischige,
who invited Francis to go to him at Funai and promised every support to the
missionaries.
In the meantime, circumstances had arisen in India,
which made the presence of Francis necessary. He therefore returned to Goa in
November, 1551, with the intention of endeavouring to introduce Christianity
into China, as soon as the troubles in India were settled.
Francis Xavier had long been persuaded that if
Christianity was to gain a firm footing in Asia, this, the largest and most
important country of the continent, must, above all others, be won over to the
faith. He had, therefore, resolved to present himself before the Emperor of
Japan in Meaco, in order to obtain from him a
passport for China. He had been able to convince himself in his discussions
with the Japanese of the respect felt for Chinese learning and wisdom in
Eastern Asia, for his arguments were often met with the rejoinder that it was
difficult to believe that the Christian doctrine contained the truth, since it
was unknown to the Chinese. On the other hand, however, he was fully aware of
the difficulty of his undertaking. Foreigners were strictly forbidden to enter
Chinese territory; even the Portuguese who were shipwrecked on the Chinese
coasts, were loaded with chains and cast into prison for years, while death
might easily follow the punishment of the bastinado inflicted by the mandarins.
All this, however, did not intimidate Xavier. At first he had hoped to
penetrate into China as the companion of a Portuguese envoy, his own friend,
Pereira, but this plan was frustrated by the opposition of the commandant of
Malacca, Alvaro de Ataide, who retained Pereira there on the pretext that he
was required for an expected siege of the town.
Then Xavier determined to carry out his plan alone,
and, if necessary, to bear patiently the severity of the Chinese laws he may have thought that no other course was
open to him during the lifetime of Alvaro. “I am journeying,” he writes,
“deprived of all human protection, to the island of Canton, in the hope that a
friendly heathen will take me over to the continent of China.”
Portuguese ships used often to lie for months at a
time off the island of Canton, that is to say off the rocky island of Sanchoan (Sancian, Chang-Tschouen) in order to make a landing there at a favourable
opportunity, and carry on smuggling with the Chinese of Canton. The island
itself was barren, and during the time of their stay, the Portuguese lived in
hastily constructed huts of straw, which they burned on their departure. To
this place, therefore, Francis caused himself to be conveyed, in order that he.
might risk his lite for the conversion of China.
Abandoned though he had been hitherto, the Saint was
now to be thrown still more on his own resources. From among his companions, he
was obliged to send back a Portuguese lay-brother, as unfit for work, and an
interpreter whom he had secured for Canton soon left him for fear of the
punishments of the mandarins. The captain of the ship, who had brought him out
of consideration for Alvaro, was not very well-disposed to him. He was, it is
true, received into the hut of a Portuguese, who looked after him, but after
the departure of this man, he suffered great want, and had to beg for bread.
Only a Chinaman of about twenty, who had been brought up in Goa, and had almost
forgotten his own language, and a servant, were faithful to him.
In spite of all this, and notwithstanding the warnings
he received from the Portuguese, as well as from the Chinese traders, Francis
held fast to his resolution. A Chinaman was at last induced, by the promise of
a large reward, to undertake to convey him to Canton, and to set him down
before daybreak at the gate of the city. He had to trust to this man, in spite
of the danger that he might take the reward, and then get rid of the
troublesome stranger by throwing him into the sea. Even this danger did not deter
him, and when the Portuguese begged him, for fear of his getting them into
trouble, to put oft his hazardous enterprise until after the departure of their
ships, he was obliged to proceed with his great undertaking quite alone, and
deprived of all earthly assistance.
His plans, however, were never carried out. On
November 22nd, 1552, he was attacked by a violent fever, and on the 27th, at
two o’clock in the morning, he was claimed by death. On this barren island, in
a wretched hut, he met his end, as his great soul would have desired it, in the
full strength of his manhood, in the full fervour of his love for God and man,
in the utmost poverty and abandonment, like in his death to Him, in whose
footsteps, in life, he had always endeavoured to tread.
The only witness of his death, the Chinaman Anton,
laid his body, according to the Chinese custom, in a sort of coffin, into which
was sprinkled lime, to hasten decomposition and enable the bones to be carried
away. When the grave was opened once more,1 shortly before the departure of the
ship, on February 17th, 1553, they found the body perfectly incorrupt. In
Malacca it was solemnly received, but was buried without a coffin. On August
15th, they again found no trace of corruption. The Saint’s body was brought to
the church of St. Paul in Goa, at the beginning of Holy Week, 1554, and was
later placed in a tomb in the convent of Bom Jesus, where, to this day, it has
never fallen into dust.
In Francis Xavier were united qualities, which, at
first sight, seem to contradict one another. He was, above all, a man of
action, who could never rest, and to whom everything he did seemed trifling and
of no importance, because his eyes were always fixed on what yet remained to be
done. He would have liked to have been everywhere at the same time, in order to
spread Christianity in all directions. His activity, therefore, might appear
feverish and unbalanced, his hazardous enterprises foolhardy, his constant
journeyings as the expression of a mere love of wandering. Alexander Valignani was alone, in the XVIth century, in pointing out, in contradiction to such a view, the successes of the
Saint. “He was guided in all he did,” Valignani remarks, “by a wonderful foresight, for his undertakings succeeded very well,
and in all the places where he came, he left a seed of God’s Word, which
blossomed later on and brought forth good fruit.” In order to estimate properly
the activity of Francis Xavier, we must bear in mind that he did not look upon
himself as a single independent missionary, but as the superior of a band of
such, whom he had to distribute over the half of a continent. In order to be
able to assign to each the sphere of activity to which he was best suited, he
had to know the countries and peoples from his own observation. He often used
to say, when he sent missionaries to a certain district : “How could send these
messengers with a clear conscience, if I did not know the conditions there from
my own observation and experience?”. It appeared to him to be his mission to
prepare the way everywhere, to take the task of the pioneer on his own
shoulders, so that his fellowworkers and those under
him should be able to reap the fruits of his labours. “I beg God, our Lord,” he
writes in the year of his death, “to grant me the grace to open the way for
others even if I attain nothing myself.” It is hardly possible to overestimate
the importance of the fact that, thanks to his travels and hardships, the
countries of Asia in which the labours of the missionaries were most likely to
be successful were clearly indicated, namely, not the effeminate and dreamy Hindoos and Malays, but rather the Chinese and Japanese.
To this restless activity, Xavier joined the intuition
and fervour of the mystic. Already in the early days of his priesthood, the
signs of mysticism were to be seen in him.3 He devoted to prayer many hours of
the night, and as much time as his labours left him free, and he found such
interior delight in it that all his troubles seemed to him “a sweet cross.” The
determination with which he clung to his resolutions, he obtained by laying his
plans before God. He was undecided for a long time, he wrote, as to whether he
should proceed to Japan or not, but when God gave him to understand, in the
depths of his soul, that such was His Will, then he could not fail in answering
the call without being worse than the heathens of Japan.
In spite of the great sacrifices which Xavier demanded
from himself, he was by no means strict or severe towards others, but was of a
captivating mildness and humility, and displayed a loveable friendliness in his
dealings with his neighbours. He understood how to suit himself to everybody
and to win their regard; princes and great dignitaries in Portugal, as well as
soldiers and sailors, or the half-civilised barbarians in India. In Malacca, he
went to the place where the soldiers were playing, and when they wished to stop
out of respect for him, he encouraged them to continue, remarking jokingly that
soldiers are not monks, and that he wished to enjoy himself with them. He sent
a sharp reprimand to a member of his order in Malacca, who had a severe and abrupt
manner. He was full of joy and merriment everywhere, and one of his companions,
the Japanese, Bernard, who came later to Europe and died at Coimbra, relates of
him, that in their most difficult journeys in Japan, he would often skip for
joy, throw an apple into the air and catch it again, while tears of joy would
stream from his eyes when he praised God aloud, who had chosen him to publish
the joyful tidings in those far lands.
He showed the greatest respect for ecclesiastical
dignitaries, and the members of other religious .orders, and required those
under him to do likewise. Only once did he appeal to his powers as Papal
nuncio, and that was when, in Malacca, Alvaro wished to prevent his journey to
China. He thought everything could be attained by humility, and that it was
better to do a little good without causing irritation, than much good with bad
feeling.
“ The Apostle of the Indies,” so wrote three
generations ago the Protestant diplomat, John Crawford, “ deserves to be
counted among the greatest men who ever came to Eastern Asia. No one can read
his life, so full of virtues and merits, without being carried away by
admiration for the unselfishness of this great man.”
The latest researches have fully confirmed this
opinion. A Protestant missionary in Japan gives us the results of his
investigations concerning Francis Xavier in the following terms: “Whoever
contemplates his indefatigable activity in an unprejudiced manner, cannot fail
to recognize that he bears the title of apostle with perfect justice. Xavier
was not only a disciple of Ignatius, whom he venerated to an almost religious
degree, nor only a devoted member of the Society of Jesus... he was also a
follower of Jesus Himself, on whose model he had formed himself, learning from
Him, in a degree to which few attain, the lessons of humility, modesty,
mortification, joyful resignation and loving condescension to the most lowly.
In heartfelt intimacy with his Divine Model, this holy man had penetrated into
the secrets of God’s kingdom. His whole life showed that he felt himself
called, not by men, and not through men, but by Jesus Christ and God... This
gave him the intrepid, undaunted courage of a hero, who, fearing God and
nothing else in the world, shrank from no danger, and willingly encountered the
greatest; this spurred him on to that burning zeal, in which he never tired of
working as long as it was day for him ; this filled him with the confidence of
victory which is the pledge of success.”
“For such a vocation to the apostolate, Xavier was endowed
by nature with qualities which must have proved of the greatest service. He was
gifted with a clear understanding and great intellectual activity, he was
magnanimous and full of enthusiasm, and with all his mildness and gentleness
was full of fire and energy, while through all his humility there shone a
perfect confidence in himself ; a moral equipment from which God could well
expect great things, when, after he had given up his life, his worldly
pleasures and earthly ambitions, he fixed his hopes on Him alone and on eternal
life.
At the same time, Xavier was not only a servant of God
and a true disciple of Jesus, he was also a son and servant of His church, and
a true member of the Society to which he had dedicated himself. His
understanding of the doctrine of Christ was that of the Catholic Church, his
piety was that of his Order. This ought not, however, to make his Protestant
judges blind to the fact that he was a man of God... who with heart and soul
clung to his holy and sublime vocation.” In the Catholic world the veneration of
Francis Xavier which was inaugurated by his canonization by Gregory XV in 1622,
is still living and fruitful. Old Goa is a dead town at the present day, and
only awakes to life when the earthly remains of Francis Xavier are exposed to
the veneration of thousands of the faithful. Rome, since 1616, possesses, in
the right hand of the Saint, with which he baptized countless thousands, a
precious relic. The magnificent altar which contains it stands opposite the
shrine of the founder of his Order. No greater honour could fall to the lot of
the disciple of Ignatius, but he deserves it in the fullest degree, for his
heroic labours introduced a new epoch for the christianizing of the whole civilized world of the East.
CHAPTER XIII.
Julius III in Relation to Letters and Art. Michael
Angelo and the Rebuilding of Saint Peter’s. The Villa Giulia.
Julius III, who had received a classical training from
the humanist, Raphael Brandolini Lippo, lived at a time when the Renaissance
had reached its zenith. He had always displayed a lively interest in science
and art, and it was, therefore, natural that great things should have been
expected from him after his elevation to the Papacy. The humanists at once
began to hail his election, and openly declared their hopes of the beginning of
a Golden Age. It seemed certain that the unusual and well known generosity of
the Pope would be favourable to their hopes, but it soon became clear that the
means for a true return to the age of Maecenas were not available. The
financial distress, which made itself felt only too soon, and which was
increased to an almost unbearable degree by the war with Parma, had a
paralysing and restraining effect in all other fields of activity. It is
significant of the unfavourable circumstances which prevailed, that the wish of
the Pope to have the works of his master, Brandolini, published, in token of
his gratitude, should not have been fulfilled. Julius III, however, showed no
lack of desire to be a patron of learning as his great predecessor had been,
and humanists such as Galeazzo Florimonte, Romolo Amaseo and Paolo Sadoleto readily found appointments at his
chancery. The Pope also passed over the fact that, now and again, pagan
expressions found their way into the documents compiled by these men, even when
they dealt with matters of purely ecclesiastical importance, a thing which
would justly have been blamed in later times, when stricter views prevailed The
traditional and much too great freedom of speech which prevailed in Rome at
that time, was by no means lessened under Julius III, and Pasquino could again
jeer and mock as he had done before in the classical days of the Renaissance.
It was far more to the credit of Julius III., who also
collected a library of his own,[742] that he appointed the learned Cardinal
Marcello Cervini to be librarian for life of the Vatican Library, as early as
February 24th, 1550, and invested him with full powers.[743] It was in
accordance with the wishes of Cervini that, three years later, the Pope sent an
envoy to the Greek Basilian monasteries, in order to borrow the sacred and
profane manuscripts preserved there, for the purpose of having them copied.[744]
In the first year of his pontificate, Julius III.
interested himself in the reform of the Roman University. On November 5th,
1550, he entrusted Cardinals Cervini, Morone, Crescenzi and Pole with this
task.[745] This commission, to which were
afterwards added Cardinals Guido Ascanio Sforza and
Maffei, inaugurated several salutary reforms in 1552. Besides this the
efficiency of this institution was doubled by an increase in its revenues
German universities, such as Heidelberg, Ingolstadt and Wurzburg, were also
favoured by Julius III., and the college in Dillingen was raised by him to the
status of a university.[
The evidences of favour for the humanists and literati
were, on account of the pecuniary difficulties, not very numerous, but whenever
one of these received any promotion, he expressed his thanks in extravagant but
unmeaning verses, as was the case with Girolamo Fracastoro,
Fausto Sabeo and Francesco Modesto.
Among the teachers whom Julius III provided for the
young Roberto de’ Nobili were Giulio Poggiano and the
Servite, Ottavio Pantagato, the former celebrated as
an elegant stylist, and the latter as an eminent humanist. The noble poetess,
Ersilia Cortese, wife of Giovan Battista del Monte, and the learned poet,
Onorato Fascitelli, also enjoyed the Pope’s favour.
Julius III appointed the eminent Ludovico Beccadelli as nuncio in Venice, and later on his vicar-general in Rome ; when Morone went
to Germany, Beccadelli accompanied him, and it was
reported that he would be created a cardinal on his return. The learned
Guglielmo Sirleto was promoted, and his commentary on
the New Testament, which was directed against Valla and Erasmus, was approved.
Unfortunately, Julius III also had relations with
literati of quite a different stamp. The Pope had hardly been elected when
Paolo Giovio addressed a letter of congratulation to him, which is very
characteristic. In this Giovio expresses the hope that he will be able to come
to Rome as soon as he has recovered from the gout, and the weather has
improved; he takes the liberty of remarking, however, how greatly he was
disappointed when the apartments he was to have occupied in the Vatican had
been otherwise disposed of; he was quite determined that the Pope should
compensate him with a pension. Cardinal Medici was commissioned by the Pope to
assure Giovio that a dwelling in the Vatican would be provided for him.
Although the said Cardinal informed him once more in June, 1550, that the Pope
was well disposed to him, the calculating humanist thought it wise to
ingratiate himself still further by the dedication of a work to His Holiness.
In the dignified brief of August 15th, 1551, in which Julius III thanked Giovio
for the dedication of his “Eulogium of Celebrated Men,” a book of international
interest, he promised him an honourable reception on his proposed journey to
Rome, and a few months later sent him a reward. Giovio thereupon promised to
extol his benefactor with a “ golden pen.” His death, however, on December nth,
1552, put an end to his plan.
Pietro Aretino had at once opened relations with
Julius III, and sent him a sonnet on his election. The Pope was weak enough to
feel flattered by this, and Aretino was immediately rewarded. On October 31st,
1550, the officious poet sent the Pope some more verses. How well Aretino
perceived the changed tendency of the times is shown by the religious writings
which he composed, and a new edition of which he dedicated to the Pope. Aretino
came, full of hope, to Rome in 1553, where Julius received him very kindly, so
that the vain poet at once dreamed of attaining to the dignity of Cardinal; as
this, of course, was not bestowed on him, he left the Eternal City a
disappointed man.
Although not much was to be hoped for from Julius III.
by the humanists, they still continued to extol him in poems. The extravagance
and pomposity of this sort of literature, in which all the gods of the ancients
play their part, was in singular contrast to the services which the Pope really
rendered to the advancement of literature. A still unpublished panegyric in
verse by Antonius Franciscus Rainerius, about the
pontificate of Julius III, is very characteristic of such men. In this the
generous disposition of the Pope is extolled, as are his care in supplying Rome
with provisions, the summoning of the Council, and even the war with Parma,
which he had waged for the defence of religion! The death of his nephew, Giovan
Battista del Monte, is deplored, and Fabiano del Monte is extolled as the
comfort of his old age. There is added a well-merited verse of praise for the
Pope’s efforts to secure peace, and, finally, the artistic enterprises of Julius
are lauded in an altogether extravagant manner; the poet, it may be added, has
nothing to say about the advancement of letters. There is no lack of writings,
both printed and in manuscript, dedicated to Julius III. Among those which are
printed, the “Anatomy of Vice” is noteworthy; this is by Lorenzo Davidico, who, in view of the depravity of the clergy of
the cinquecento, which he depicts unsparingly, had fixed his hopes on the new
Orders : the Jesuits, the Bamabites and the Theatines.
The most important work dedicated to Julius III was a
volume of masses for four voices, by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. The
composer, afterwards of world-wide celebrity, thus expressed his thanks for the
position of director of the choir of St. Peter’s, which had been bestowed on
him by the Pope in September, 1551. In January, 1555, Julius III. summoned his
protege to become a member of the choir of singers of the papal chapel,
omitting in his case the searching examination which had been prescribed for
all candidates on August 5th, 1554. As it was a case of a composer of such
promise, Julius also overlooked the fact that Palestrina was married, although
the charter for the members of the choir of the Papal chapel prescribed
celibacy.
Finally, it is also worthy of note that the life of
Michael Angelo by Ascanio Condivi, and published in
Rome, in July, 1553, by Antonio Blado, was dedicated to Julius III. It is
suggested by the author that the dedication will certainly be agreeable to His
Holiness, as he so much prized the virtue and genius of the master.
Nothing shows more clearly the contradictory qualities
which were combined in the character of Julius III., than the fact that the man
who honoured an Aretino should have given expression to the beautiful idea that
he would willingly give up the remainder of the years allotted to him to
lengthen those of Michael Angelo.
These words were followed up by actions which
corresponded with them. Whenever he had an opportunity, the Pope showed his
respect for and confidence in the great master, to an even greater extent than
had been the case with Paul III. He gave open expression to this by making
Michael Angel' sit beside him in the presence of several Cardinals and other
great dignitaries, and by giving him the large salary of fifty scudi a month.
These tokens of favour were all the more significant, as the disparagers and
detractors of Michael Angelo never tired, now as of old, of stirring up
intrigues against him. The master, who was already suffering greatly under the
weight of years, also had to endure great anguish of mind. Hatred and envy were
the outcome of the exceptional position to which he had been called by Paul
III, for the rebuilding of St. Peter’s, a matter in which Julius III also
showed the greatest interest, and which he zealously promoted. The stern
rectitude with which Michael Angelo provided that “promises, emoluments and
presents” should play no part in this vast work, added to the number of his
enemies from day to day. Untroubled, however, by all this hostility, Michael
Angelo remained true to his principle, never to accept any material for the
building which was not trustworthy and serviceable, even if it fell from
heaven.
As had been the case in the time of Paul III, so now
again it was the followers of Sangallo who raised a storm against the director
of the rebuilding of St. Peter’s. Although he had been invested with the most
unlimited authority, they hoped, in view of the complaisance and irresolution
of Julius III, that this time they would attain their end. The anxious fear
with which Michael Angelo guarded the secrets of his studio was used to
prejudice the members of the Fabbrica di S. Pietro
against him. At the end of the year 1550, these latter set themselves to
address a letter to the Pope, which was intended to destroy the confidence
which Julus III had in the master. The principal accusation, besides that of
extravagance, concerned the secrecy with which the plans were kept. “As to the
building, and how it will turn out,” says the letter, “the deputies can make no
report, as everything is kept secret from them, as if they had nothing to do
with it. They have several times protested, and are now protesting again to ease
their consciences, that they do not approve of the manner in which Michael
Angelo is proceeding, especially as regards the demolition. The destruction has
been, and is still today, so great, that all who have witnessed it have been
deeply moved. Nevertheless, if Your Holiness approves of it, we, the deputies,
shall have no further complaint to make.”
The result of these accusations was the celebrated
meeting of the members of the Fabbrica and others
engaged on the rebuilding, summoned by Julius III, before whom Michael Angelo
was to justify himself. According to the account of Vasari, the Pope himself
communicated to the master the most important, and the only detailed
accusation, which the building commission, and especially Cardinals Salviati
and Cervini had made against him. This concerned the bad lighting of the apse
of the new St. Peter’s. Michael Angelo asked permission to be allowed to answer
the deputies of the Fabbrica in person. Then followed
a dramatic discussion with Cardinal Cervini, who avowed himself to be the
originator of the accusation. “Monsignore,” replied
Michael Angelo, “ three other windows are to be placed above those already
provided.” “You have never let a word as to this be heard,” answered the
Cardinal. Michael Angelo replied, “I am not obliged, and have never intended to
be obliged to give information concerning my plans to your Eminence, or to
anyone else. It is your duty to provide the money and to see that nothing is
stolen. It is my business alone to look after the plans of the building.” Then,
turning to the Pope, he continued: “Holy Father, see what reward I get; if the
afflictions I experience do not prove of advantage for my soul, then indeed do
I lose my time and trouble.” Graciously laying his hand on his shoulder, Julius
answered him, saying : “You are gaining merit for both body and soul, have no
fear.”
The attempt, therefore, to overthrow the master had,
on the contrary, the effect of strengthening his position more than ever. In
order to put a stop to further troubles, Julius III., on January 23rd, 1552,
ratified the motu proprio of Paul III, of October, 1549, sanctioned everything
hitherto carried out by Michael Angelo for the building of St. Peter’s, ordered
that his models should be carefully preserved, and only altered by himself, and
confirmed the extensive powers already bestowed on him as chief architect of
St. Peter’s.
This was not, however, the end of Michael Angelo’s
difficulties. More painful than the hostility, which did not meanwhile cease,
but which, thanks to the favour of the Pope, he had no longer cause to fear,
was another disastrous circumstance which now overtook him. The exhaustion of
the Papal finances had, by May, 1551, the effect of causing the money necessary
for the continuation of the rebuilding of St. Peter’s to come in ever
decreasing amounts ; how much this was the case is shown from the fact that from
January 1st to May, 1551, 121,554 ducats were provided for the building, while
only half this sum was to hand during the next four years. In consequence of
this critical situation, and the renewed difficulties of the master, Duke
Cosimo I thought that he would at last succeed in getting Michael Angelo to
return to Florence. The latter was, however, determined to remain at his post
in the Eternal City. In a letter of August 20th, 1554, Vasari employed all his
eloquence to induce him to return to Florence, urging the afflictions which
beset him in Rome, and the want of appreciation shown for him there. Michael
Angelo, whose hand had already begun to tremble greatly, thanked him in a few
words. “From your letter,” he wrote,“ I recognise the love you bear me, and you
may well believe that I would gladly lay my bones to rest beside those of my
father, as you beg me to do ; should I, however, go away from here, then great
disadvantages would ensue for the building of St. Peter’s, and I should be the
cause of great scandal and misfortune. When everything is so far forward that
nothing more can be changed, then I hope to do what you write, should it not be
sinful to cause discomfort to several rascals, who expect me to go away from
here at once.”
It was, above all, religious motives which caused
Michael Angelo to devote his last powers to the great work for which he had
refused any earthly payment, as he wished only to work for the love of God, out
of veneration for the Prince of the Apostles, and for the salvation of his
soul. The thoughts which filled his mind at that time are shown by the touching
sonnet which he enclosed in his letter to Vasari:—
Giunto
e gia 'l corso della vita mia,
Con tempestoso mar per fragil barca,
Al comun porto, ov’a render si varca
Conto e ragion d’ogn ’opra trista e pia.
Onde
l’affettuosa fantasia,
Che
l’arte mi fece idol ’e monarca,
Conosco
or ben quant’era d’error carca,
E
quel ch’a mal suo grado ogn ’uom desia.
Gli
amorosi pensier, gia vani e lieti,
Che
fieno or, s’ a duo morte m’avvicino ?
D’una so’l certo, e l’altra mi minaccia.
Ne pinger ne scolpir fia piu che quieti
L’anima volta a quell’ Amor
divino
Ch’aperse,
a prender noi, in croce le braccia.
Condivi,
in his life of Michael Angelo, tells us how Julius III., in his admiration for
the aged master, showed the tenderest consideration for his failing strength,
and carefully avoided taxing it, though always seeking his opinion and advice
in his artistic undertakings. Several special duties also fell to the lot of
Michael Angelo. He designed, for example, the plans for the rebuilding of
Bramante’s staircase in the Belvedere, and for a fountain which was to be
erected there ; he also made the designs for the palace of the Rota, which was
to be built alongside S. Rocco. Fabrizio Boschi, in the Casa Buonarotti in
Florence, has represented Michael Angelo seated beside the Pope, who is
surrounded by his court, and explaining to him the plans for the palace of the
Rota.
Michael Angelo’s advice was also sought with regard to
an undertaking which still keeps the name of Julius III. alive in Rome, the
celebrated Villa or “Vigna di Papa Giulio.” The Pope proved, in the laying out
of this villa, how thoroughly he was animated by the joyous, beauty-loving
spirit of the Renaissance. The preference shown, at this period, for artistic
elaboration in the designing of country seats, and for the gay enjoyment of
life, is evidenced here in all its splendour.
Even as a Cardinal, Julius III. possessed, together
with his brother Baldovino, a small villa, with a vigna,
about a quarter of an hour outside the Porta del Popolo, on the Flaminian Way,
which he had inherited from his uncle, Cardinal Antonio Ciocchi.
The Campagna, which at that time extended to the gates of Rome, bears a much
more kindly appearance on the north than on the south of the city, where the
contrasts are greater and the countless relics of antiquity give a very
melancholy character to the whole landscape. The charm of rustic solitude which
the district outside the Porta del Popolo once possessed has more and more
disappeared owing to the encroachments of the modern city, and has been
altogether destroyed by the recent drastic changes, the exquisite view on Monte
Mario alone remaining. In order fully to appreciate this creation of Julius III
one must bring the former conditions before one’s mind. With its gently rising
hills, broken by steep limestone rocks crowned with evergreen oaks, with the
dips in the valley and the then free open vistas over the blue mountain ranges
which encircle Rome on the north, this spot was admirably suited for a villa
situated in the immediate neighbourhood of the city, a “villa suburbana” such as the great nobles of the Renaissance
loved. Julius III gave evidence of a cultured taste when he resolved to create,
by the extension of the already existing grounds, a place of rest and
recreation in such lovely surroundings, a place where, freed from the
constraints of state, he might enjoy life in his gay manner, give banquets and
spend his time in untrammelled conversation with his friends, as well as with
poets and artists. The place had also the advantage that the Pope could easily
reach it without entering the busy city, by passing through the covered passage
from the Vatican to the Castle of St. Angelo, whence a barge could convey him
up the Tiber.
It was soon evident that Julius III intended to carry
out his plan with true Roman magnificence. By the purchase of numerous
vineyards, and plots of ground, a very extensive space was procured, in the
centre of which the new villa was to arise. The Pope’s interest was gradually
concentrated on this estate to such an extent that his work in the Vatican began
to come to a standstill. His Holiness now began to seek for a model for his new
country house from among existing residences. The thought of the celebrated
Palazzo del Te,-belonging to the Gonzaga family in
Mantua, and of the Villa Madama erected by Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici, smiling
across from the cypress-crowned Monte Mario, filled his imagination.
From the information now at our disposal it is not
easy to determine either who designed the plans for the Villa Giulia or who
carried them into execution. Vasari claims, in the description in his life, the
honour of having drawn up the first plans, even if others carried them out. It
was, at all events, he who translated the fantastic ideas of the Pope into
sketches, which were then corrected by Michael Angelo. Vignola is supposed to
have completed the apartments, halls and decoration of the villa from countless
plans of his own, but the deep set nymphaeum indisputably owes its origin to
Vasari and Ammanati, the latter afterwards executing the loggia over this
well-house. Vasari concludes with the significant words : “However, in this
work one could display nothing of what one could do, and do nothing in the
right way, as, from day to day, the Pope had new ideas, which had to be carried
out in accordance with the never-ending instructions of the maestro di camera,
Pier Giovanni Aliotti.” In his life of Taddeo Zuccaro, Vasari again refers to
his share in the work, emphasizing the fact that he had prepared the drawings
for the villa and the nymphaeum before any of the others, and that Vignola and
Ammanati had merely followed out his designs. The walls, be adds, were executed
by Baronino da Casal Mon ferrato.
Only this last statement is confirmed by the documents concerning the
building. One seeks in vain among them for the name of Vasari in connection
with the sums expended on the villa, while we find on February 1st, 1551,
Vignola named as the Pope’s architect, with a monthly salary of thirteen gold
scudi. In the life of Girolamo da Carpi, the annoyance of Vasari at the
changeable decisions of the Pope, again finds expression, when he mentions that
in the evening, His Holiness had rejected what he had sanctioned in the
morning.
It is certain that unpleasantness arose between the
Pope and Vasari, in consequence of which the latter’s work was limited to
making the first design. Vignola, whom Julius III. had known in Bologna,
erected the principal part of the villa, and completed his work in the short
period between 1551 and 1553, as is proved by the building accounts, while
Ammanati executed the nymphaeum court. Nearly all the painters and sculptors in
the Rome of that day, especially Taddeo Zuccaro and Prospero Fontana, were
employed on the decoration of the interior, which was begun in 1552. The
Spanish faience, which was procured in 1554 for the flooring, seems to mark the
end of the work.
The laying out of the magnificent gardens and pleasure
grounds was carried out with great activity at the same time as the actual
building of the villa, as was the purchase of the adjoining land. Besides elms
and chestnuts, countless fruit trees were planted, and kitchen gardens and
vineyards laid out. Costly shrubs and flowers were procured from Naples, and
set in terra cotta vases. The total number of plants and trees purchased
amounted to about 36,000, while additional expense was incurred for the erection
of aviaries, fish-ponds and various fountains.
In a sense, the church of S. Andrea, which had been
erected by Vignola to the north, on the Flaminian Way, on the spot where
Cardinal Bessarion, bearing the relics of the Apostle, had once made a halt,
belonged to this magnificent villa, which had gradually absorbed the greater
part of the land up to Monte Parioli. An exquisite
laurel grove adjoined the church, and this elegant little structure is of
special interest on account of the employment, presumably for the first time,
of an ellipse cut in half lengthwise, to serve as a means of connecting the
two. An inscription, which may still be read, requests the visitors, who have
been delighted with the contemplation of the beauties of the villa, to pray in
this holy spot for the builder and the owner.
It is very difficult to-day to form any idea of the
impression which the Vigna di Papa Giulio then made, for, apart from the
demolitions of later times, an essential element is wanting, namely the
surroundings, which had been laid out with so much artistic taste ; the
pleasure grounds and the magnificent gardens, in which cypresses, laurels and
myrtles exhaled their perfume, pomegranates and other fruit trees blossomed,
and fountains threw their sparkling waters into the air, while in all
directions, antique marble statues, inscribed tablets, little temples, grottos
and summer-houses gleamed among the dark trees.
A little harbour was constructed on the Tiber, where
the Pope, arriving from the Vatican in a magnificently equipped barge, landed.
From here a shady arbour, 120 paces in length, led to the point where the Vicolo dell’ Arco Oscuro branches off from the Flaminian
Way. Here Julius III had erected a monumental fountain adorned with Corinthian
pilasters and columns. In the two side niches were placed the statues of
Fortune and Abundance, and in the centre a large inscription, surmounted by the
Papal arms, announced that Julius IIP had dedicated this work in the third year
of his pontificate, for the benefit of the public. Under the inscription, the
water gushed forth from an antique head of Apollo, while the upper corners of
the whole structure were adorned with stades of Rome
and Minerva, the central pediment with two granite pyramids, and the summit
with an antique Neptune.
From the street corner, at which the fountain stood, a
private road, bordered with fruit trees, led, alongside the Vicolo dell’ Arco Oscuro, to a circular open space, in which the principal building of
the Villa Giulia stood, rising out of a small depression in the valley ; this
is the only part of the villa which is in a good state of preservation today.
The facade, two storeys in height, with a large rustic porch and pillars
supporting a balcony, is severe and simple, for it was considered good taste
to, conceal the splendour and magnificence of such a building from the outer
world. The visitor realizes this when he penetrates into the interior. Through
the gateway one enters first the simple atrium, on each side of which there is
a large halt Of the former exceedingly rich decoration of these rooms, there
only remain the mythological and allegorical frescoes on the ceiling, the work
of Taddeo Zuccaro, and the frieze, richly adorned with stucco and gold. The
halls on the ground floor correspond with two others on the upper storey, while
over the atrium there is a central hall, as well as several smaller apartments
leading towards the courtyard. These form the only dwelling rooms in the villa;
they were sufficient, as it was not the Pope’s intention to create a permanent
residence, but only a place of rest and recreation, to which he might retire
for a short time, in summer or in winter, generally only for a single day, to
recruit after the arduous duties of his position. He wished, however, to be
surrounded by beauty on all sides, and therefore had these upper rooms richly
decorated with stucco and frescoes. Of special interest are the “vedute,” views
in perspective with the surrounding landscape, on the frieze, which are still
in a good state of preservation, and which represent the appearance of the
seven hills in those days, as well as the Villa Giulia itself. This new fashion
in pictures, which had already made its appearance in isolated cases, as, for
instance, in the Palazzo del Te, was becoming much
more common. It inaugurated the period when, in pictorial representations, not
the artistic, but the descriptive “motif” takes the first place.
On coming out of the atrium into the first court, one
reaches a semi-circular portico, which was richly adorned with stucco and
frescoes. The only part which is still comparatively well-preserved, is the
decoration of the barrel vaulting, depicting arbours of roses and vines,
animated by putti and birds. The statues, of which there were thirty, above the
principal cornice and round the walls of the court, have all disappeared. In
the centre there was a large and magnificent antique basin, constructed out of
a single piece of porphyry. This gift, by which Ascanio Colonna expressed his
thanks for the restoration of his dominions, originally came from the Baths of
Titus, and was subsequently taken to the Sala Rotonda of the Pio-Clementino
Museum in the Vatican. The water flowed into the basin, at the sides of which
two shells of green veined marble were fixed, from the bill of a swan, held by
a Venus.
The sides of this magnificent court were formed by
walls two storeys in height, consisting of round arched blind arcades,
separated by columns, with Ionic half-columns in front, and crowned by a plain
Attic capital. At either end of the two side walls, exits led out respectively
to the gardens and the park.
The transverse building which separates this first
court from a second one, was built by Ammanati, as the outline sketches and an
inscription on one of the pillars testify. The threefold entrance opens in the
centre of the building, and several steps lead to a loggia, the roof of which,
once gorgeously decorated with stucco ornamentation and gold, is supported by
fourteen Ionic columns of different coloured marbles. To the right and left of
this loggia there are rooms, close to which one descends by two external
flights of stairs to the sunken fountain-court, with a still lower, and
exceedingly graceful grotto, the so-called Fontana Segreta,
as it is named in Ammanati’s description of May,
1555. The fountain-court itself consists of two storeys, with niches which were
adorned with antique busts and statues. Only a few busts are still preserved,
but in the lower storey, where there are two grottos resembling loggias, there
are still the colossal figures of the Arno and Tiber, crouching over two
basins. The semi-circular centre of the court is surrounded by an open-work
railing, which was likewise adorned with statues, and which encloses the actual
nymphaeum, the Fontana Segreta, which lies a storey
lower down. The roof of this building is borne up by eight female Hermae, made
from a design of Vignola. The pavement is composed of costly marbles of
different colours, while from the well the waters of the Aqua Virgo gush forth
in a glittering stream. Two little winding stairways, which are concealed in
the grottos, give access to this central point of attraction of the building.
In these apartments the artist has depicted on the roof and walls the saga of
the Aqua Virgo, after Frontinus, as well as the signs of the zodiac, the
seasons, and the principal deities of the ancients; the paintings after
Frontinus are destroyed, but the others still remain. These are, to a great
extent, rather free representations, in the taste of the Renaissance period,
which prove, as do the figures of the goddess of love, frequently found throughout
the villa, that the austere spirit of the Catholic Reformation had not yet
found its way into the court of Julius III. Very characteristic, too, are the
large tablets of marble, let into the reverse side of the fountain-court,
bearing two inscriptions in classical Latin, the one containing the regulations
for the gardens (Lex hortorum) and the other,
probably inscribed later, relating to the history of the villa, and the
testamentary direction that it is to remain in the possession of the family of
the del Monte.
As in all such country residences, the nymphaeum,
where the owner could enjoy refreshing coolness during the hot months, forms
the most attractive feature of the whole building, and is, accordingly, the
most richly decorated part. After having been scandalously neglected for a long
time, the nymphaeum of the Villa Giulia has been carefully and lovingly
restored in recent times, so that one can, at least to a great extent, realize
its one-time magnificence. It is true that the figure ornamentation of the
building, and the statue of the sleeping Aqua Virgo, the praises of which were
sung by the poets of the day, as well as the plane trees which shaded them, are
no more, but when it was furnished with costly plants and flowers, and the
sparkling waters were in full play, this fountain building must have been a
beautiful object, and the same may be said of the whole exquisite villa, even
though it was not, as a whole, in perfect unity of style. One can, to a great
extent, understand the enthusiasm of the contemporaries who compared the
grounds to the gardens of Nero. That is, no doubt, as much an exaggeration as
are the 250,000 scudi which the villa is supposed to have cost. The expenses
must, however, have been on a very large scale. Julius is more deserving of
blame in having at such a critical period devoted so much money to the erection
of a sumptuous building, in which, moreover, ecclesiastical decorum was not
always observed, than he was in thankfully retiring, suffering in health as he
often was, to his beautiful villa, although this does not imply that he was by
any means inactive as far as his duties were concerned. As one of the last
buildings of this kind, at the end of the Renaissance period, the Villa Giulia
clearly shows the worldly tendencies of this Pope, who, though he did not
disregard the claims of the new age, by no means drew all the inferences which
the altered state of affairs demanded.
In accordance with the bad custom of the time, antique
building material was greatly made use of in the construction of the Villa
Giulia ; it appears from the accounts, that, as in the time of Paul III, the
district that was especially plundered, was that of the Aqua Albulae.
Valuable discoveries at that time proved the
inexhaustible wealth of the soil of Rome in the relics of antiquity. Among
these, two are deserving of special mention. In 1551, there was found a superb,
but unfortunately imperfectly preserved, example of early Christian plastic
art, in the statue of St. Hippolytus, which was afterwards placed in the
Christian museum of the Lateran. In the Via de’ Leutari,
the celebrated statue of Pompey was found, which the Pope bought for 500 scudi
and presented to Cardinal Capodiferro, whose palace,
afterwards called the Palazzo Spada, it still adorns. Cardinal Ricci also
distinguished himself at this time as an indefatigable collector of antiques.
Not a few of these treasures went abroad; it is related of the ever generous
Pope that he gave to Cardinal Guise, who made use of his stay in Rome to
collect antiquities with the most ardent zeal, the valuable collection of coins
from the legacy of Cardinal Grimani.
Vignola remained the official architect of Julius III
during the whole of his pontificate. It is not, however, certain whether he is
the creator of the gracefully simple hall with wings on the Capitol, towards
Monte Caprino, which still bears the arms of Julius III. Another task, which is
certain to have fallen to the lot of Vignola, was the reconstruction of the
palace of the Cardelli family, situated in the Rione Campo Marzo, which received the name of Palazzo di Firenze, after its
subsequent possessor, Cosimo de’ Medici.
Julius III had bought this building with the money of
the Apostolic Chamber in the first year of his reign, in order to provide his
brother Baldovino with a suitable residence of his own. In November, 1552,
Baldovino was already living there, but it was a year later that the
presentation of the palace and the Villa Giulia was made to him and his heirs.
The Palazzo Cardelli had in the meantime been completely rebuilt by Vignola.
Not only was the pillared courtyard at the entrance enlarged, and the principal
staircase embellished, and made more convenient, but a new connecting building
between the courtyard and the garden was erected. This part is adorned, on the
side of the garden, with a beautiful double loggia. The interior of the palace
was richly and tastefully decorated with stucco ornamentation and frescoes.
Unfortunately, sufficient research concerning this important work has not been
made. Vasari states that Prospero Fontana was engaged upon it; probably,
however, Zuccaro, who nearly always appears in conjunction with Vignola, as
well as Primaticcio, co-operated in the work. Besides
this palace, Julius III. had instructed Vignola to begin the building of a
second one near the Via della Trinita (now del Clementino) the completion of
which was delayed by his death. It is evident, from an amusing letter of the
Pope to his brother on September 23rd, 1553, that he had personally inspected
the beginning of the work.
The love which Julius III felt for his family is also
shown by the monuments which he caused to be erected to his grandfather,
Fabiano, and his uncle, Cardinal Antonio. He chose for these the last chapel on
the epistle side of the church of S. Pietro in Montorio.
The plans for this pious work, the first artistic undertaking of Julius III
after his election, were furnished by Vasari, although the advice of Michael
Angelo was also sought. Vasari had proposed Raffaello da Montelupo for the figures on the monuments, but Michael Angelo would not accept him. They
were therefore executed by Bartolomeo Ammanati, to whom are also attributed the
sturdy boys on the balustrade of the chapel. The paintings and the vaulting are
by Vasari, who also executed the picture over the altar, the baptism of the
Apostle Paul by Ananias. The two monuments are opposite to one another, and are
symmetrically executed in the same form. The sarcophagus, with the recumbent
figure of the deceased, is raised on a bold substructure, the statues of
Religion and Justice being placed in niches over the tombs. The epitaph for the
Cardinal : “The Church, by his death, has lost, as it were, her father,”
sounds, indeed, rather extravagant, but the gratitude of Julius III. here finds
suitable expression. Although not without faults, this family monument
nevertheless reminds one of a better time, and makes a thoroughly dignified
impression.
Besides Ammanati, Vasari and Zuccaro, Julius III
employed numerous other artists. Of these special mention may be made
of Giovanni da Udine, Daniele da Volterra, Girolamo da Carpi and Pietro da
Imola.
In spite of many signs of decline, considerable
artistic activity prevailed at this time in Rome, to which, moreover, many
artists from northern countries, and especially the Netherlands, came as
visitors. Their stay in Rome proved fateful for many of them, because, on the
one hand, they acquired the style then in vogue, and on the other, fell under
bad influences. Many, however, as, for instance, Antonio More, the court
painter of Charles V. and Philip II., derived great benefit from their sojourn
in Rome, and developed into eminent colourists. Jan van der Straet,
from Bruges, the friend of Vasari, executed pictures in the Vatican between
1550 and 1553.
Artistic crafts reached great perfection and
flourished during the pontificate of Julius III, as they had done under his
predecessor. In the account books, payments to goldsmiths, jewellers,
medallists, and engravers frequently appear. One meets here the name of the
celebrated Alessandro Cesati, called “ il Greco,” and
of a pupil of Benvenuto Cellini, named Manno Sbarra.
If one compares the artistic activity under Julius
III. with that under his predecessor, one finds a great disparity between the
two periods. The great impetus which Paul III knew how to give to every
enterprise is non-existent in the reign of his successor; apart from the Villa
Giulia, few works of importance were executed. This is partly to be attributed
to the irresolution of Julius III, and partly to the shortness of his
pontificate, but, above all, to his financial difficulties. It was for this reason
also that the laying out of the streets and the works for the fortification of
the city, and especially of the Borgo, which followed, and which had been begun
on a grand scale by the Farnese Pope, were restricted to very moderate limits.
The appearance of the city was very little altered during this pontificate, in
all essentials it remained as before. This appearance, however, Rome was not to
retain for long, she was to undergo a far-reaching metamorphosis during the
latter half of the century. It will, therefore, be in place, at this point, to
give some description of the city, as it appeared at the close of the period of
the Renaissance.
CHAPTER XIV.
Rome at the End of the Renaissance Period.
The Rome of the Cinquecento was surpassed in
population by Paris and London, and in beauty by Venice, and perhaps also by
Florence. The appearance of the city, crowded together as it was in the
low-lying district between the Tiber, the Pincio and
the Capitol, and filled with busy traffic, made, with its, for the most part,
badly saved and dark crooked streets and its hoary buildings, a decidedly
unfavourable impression, in spite of its numerous palaces and interesting
churches. But, taken as a whole, the dwelling place of the Head of the Church,
this “world in miniature,” was the universal patria, because of its
historic past, its sacred relics, its artistic treasures, its rare medley of
ruins and buildings from classic times, from the Middle Ages and from the
Renaissance, because of the austere grandeur of its surroundings, as well as
because of the cosmopolitan character of the population which had flocked
together from the most different countries to the central point of the Catholic
world—a place, in short, which was like no other in the world.
From a number of sources of different kinds, it is
possible to form a fairly true picture of the condition of the capital of the
world, which had recovered, during the long and peaceful reign of Paul III,
from the terrible catastrophe of 1527, and had taken a new lease of life, owing
to the improvement of sanitary conditions, the beautifying of the streets, and
the awakening of a revived activity in the sphere of building. All this had
been continued under the pontificate of Julius III.
Besides the Italians, Leonardo Bufalini and Ulisse
Aldrovandi, it is specially to two men of northern origin that posterity owes a
detailed knowledge of the Rome of the Cinquecento. One was Marten Van
Heemskerck, a pupil of Jan van Scorel, who, like so
many of his countrymen, came to the Eternal City in 1532, to pursue his
studies, and lived there till 1535.2 Heemskerck made very good use of his time.
A great number of his sketches and drawings have been preserved, and now form a
treasure of the cabinet of copper-plate engravings in the Berlin Museum. In
this collection there are large and small views of Rome, its hills, ancient
monuments, ruins, churches, palaces, galleries of statues and old gardens,
which are, from their accuracy, priceless treasures of the greatest historical
and archaeological value. Almost always drawn on the spot, they give, with
conscientious fidelity, and without additions and embellishment, everything
just as it was at the time. Other sketch-books of visitors to Rome, and the
copper-plate engravings of the time, afford a valuable supplement to these.
Among the latter, the collection of engravings on copper, “Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae,” of the
enterprising publisher, Antoine Lafrery, who settled
in Rome in the middle forties of the XVIth century,
takes a prominent place.
The second northerner is the learned lawyer of
Frankfort, Johann Fichard, who, during his residence
in Rome in the autumn of 1535, had the happy idea of consigning his varied
impressions to writing. The hasty notes, written on the spot in Latin, were not
intended for publication, whereby their value is notably increased. They by no
means belie the dryness of the legal mind, but are, for that very reason,
reliable, coming, as they do, from a prosaic observer. Only very rarely does the
enthusiasm of the humanist break forth in Fichard’s impressions. He feels no tremor of delight at the sight of Italy’s splendours,
he merely considers them from the point of view of a scholar. His notes are as
important as they are interesting, not only for the knowledge of the then
condition of Rome which they afford us, but also for the glimpses we get of
the opinions entertained at that time. The vagueness of men’s ideas as to the
remains of antiquity, the preponderance of antiquarian interest over that of
the connoisseur of art, several remaikable errors
concerning very important works of the Renaissance, all these, even to the use
of magical arts to discover the perpetrator of a theft, are admirably
characteristic of the knowledge and ideas of that epoch.
Fichard remarks that three points of view give the best survey of Rome; the summits of
the Pantheon, the Castle of St. Angelo and the Capitol. He acknowledges that he
has never himself got a satisfactory view of Rome, for everything was separated
and cut up by hills and gardens. He cites Monte Caprino (what is now considered
to be the Tarpeian Rock), which was not then built over, as affording the best
general view. It was just there, where to-day stands the Palazzo Caffarelli,
the present seat of the German embassy, that Heemskerck, in the year 1535,
sketched his great panorama, which has happily been preserved. The value of
this lies in the unusually faithful representation of the actual objects, and
it is thereby distinguished from all the earlier attempts, which have a
traditionally conventional character. The Netherlander has worked with such
genuine national assiduity, and with such painstaking accuracy, that one might
well describe his panorama as a memorial drawn as a parting reminder of the
Eternal City. The more one studies the details, the better does one realize the
immense historical value of his sketches. The artist, who has depicted a
panorama before the eye of the spectator, begins on the left hand with the
Aventine, and travels through the west, north and east, returning again to the
same hill, at the foot of which one sees the neighbourhood of S. Maria in Cosmedin, the Casa di Cola di Rienzi, the not yet destroyed
Ponte di S. Maria (Ponte Rotto) and the harbour full of ships, while in the
distance appear the Janiculum, with S. Pietro in Montorio and the twin towers of the Porta S. Pancrazio. In the foreground, we see the
citadel of the Savelli, built into the Theatre of Marcellus, arising
majestically a little to the right, and behind it the old town with its maze of
houses, massive towers and churches. The extensive palace of the Cancelleria, the pointed tower of St Agostino, the flat
dome of the Pantheon, the column of Marcus Aurelius (not yet crowned with the
statue of the apostle) and the Palazzo di S. Marco stand up as salient points
in the distance. The artist has been specially successful in reproducing the
manner in which the city is dominated by the Castle of St. Angelo, which is
shown as a darkly threatening fortress, on the summit of which floats the large
standard of the Pope. The Vatican rises high from out the Borgo, with the
venerable pile of St. Peter’s and the gigantic construction of the new building
of Bramante beside it. Then follows in the foreground, forming the actual
central point of the panorama, the Capitoline Hill, shown in profile, and not
yet having the form given to it by Michael Angelo. 0ne sees the piazza of the
Capitol, with the obelisks and the celebrated palms which stand between the
palace of the Senators and the church of S. Maria in Aracoeli.
Far away rises the mighty Torre delle Milizie, while farther to the north, in the lonely hill
district, which forms a background, appear the basilica of S. Maria Maggiore
with the great patriarchal palace, the then very high tower of the Conti, and,
only lightly sketched in, the gigantic halls of the Baths of Diocletian, as
well as the Lateran. At the feet of the spectator lies the Forum, alive with
herds of cattle, with the Basilica of Constantine, the Arch of Septimus
Severus, the remains of the Temple of Saturn, the beautiful portico of the
Temple of Faustina and Antoninus, as well as the three columns of the Temple of
Castor, while to the right we see the mighty mass of the Colosseum, the Arch of
Titus and S. Maria Nuova (S. Francesca Romana). To the east one recognizes, at
the foot of the Tarpeian Rock, S. Maria della Consolazione,
S. Teodoro and the monuments of the Velabro, while above are the ruins of the
Palace of the Caesars. The Septizonium is also
clearly recognizable, as well as S. Anastasia with its campanile and the steps
by which people once entered this church. To the right the Aventine, with the
battlement crowned fortress of the Savelli, give the finishing touches to this
wonderful panorama.
Viewed as a whole, what strikes one most in this
picture is the great preponderance of the mediaeval character. Not only in the Trastevere, but elsewhere as well, countless towers, with
which all the dwellings of the nobles, and especially those of the Cardinals,
were provided, rose aloft towards the sky. Square, furnished with loopholes,
and crowned with battlements, they are a reminder of bloody times. The highest
of these towers are the Torre delle Milizie and the legendary Torre di Nerone, which play such
an important part in mediaeval views of the Eternal City. The principal tower
of the palace of the Senators on the Capitol, with its loopholes and its
turrets at the four corners, still bears the stamp of the XIVth century. In the case of the churches, too, one sees hardly anything but
mediaeval campanili; the few cupolas which had existed from the time of Sixtus
IV are almost entirely invisible on account of their want of height, whereas it
is precisely the numerous domes of the baroque period which give the Rome of
today her special character of stately majesty.
No less astonishing is the smallness of the actual
city, in comparison with the immense still unbuilt district with its chaos of
ancient ruins, and its lonely dominating basilicas and monasteries. Everywhere
this silent region is sharply divided by the shades of a mighty past from the
modern city.
This contrast between the inhabited and the
uninhabited districts which are enclosed by the Aurelian walls, is also clearly
Lo be seen in the panorama of Hendrik van Cleve, drawn in 1550, and from the
large plan of the city, engraved on wood, which Leonardo Bufalini prepared at
the end of the pontificate of Paul III., and published in 1551, under Julius
III.
Rome had no central point, for the Vatican, the
residence of the Renaissance Popes, as well as the Lateran, the seat of the
Head of the Church in the Middle Ages, were situated on the borders of the
municipal territory. The Leonine City, or the Borgo, remained under Paul III
what it had been under Julius II and the Medici Popes, the intellectual
quarter, which character had been, once for all, impressed upon it by three
mighty buildings, the time-honoured place of burial of the Prince of the
apostles, the Castle of St. Angelo and the Palace of the Vatican, which
contained the most extensive collection of art treasures. From the Vatican the Rione del Vaticano afterwards
took its name, namely that part of the city which was strengthened under Paul
III. and Julius III with new fortifications, and which formed, from the time of
Sixtus V, the fourteenth of the districts into which Rome was divided. The
principal street of the Borgo, called after its builder, Alexander VI., the Via
Alessandrina, now the Borgo Nuovo, praised by Fichard as “a royal road”; Paul III caused it to be paved. This quarter, which had
suffered terribly in the Sack in 1527, had gradually regained its former
character and splendour. To the magnificent palaces which had been erected here
for Branconio dell’ Aquila, and for Raphael, as well
as for Cardinals Domenico della Rovere, Adriano Castellesi, Soderini, Pucci and Accolti, various new buildings
had been added, among which the Palazzo Cesi held a
prominent place. After the death of its founder, Cardinal Paolo Emilio Cesi, in 1537, this building, which was situated on the
left side of St. Peter’s, near the city wall, came into the hands of the no
less aitistic brother of Paolo, Federigo Cesi, who received the purple in 1544. In the Cesi gardens, which Heemskerck sketched, and which every
cultivated stranger visited, numerous antiquities were to be seen, as, for
instance, the Silenus, now in the Villa Albani, and the two statues of
barbarians which were placed in the Palace of the Conservatori in 1720. The altered arrangement of these sculptures which was made by Federigo Cesi, is explained in a description of them by him,
composed in 1550. Of the whole collection, the most important private one at
the time of Paul III, after that of the Valle, only a few unimportant fragments
remain.
Fichard describes the Papal palace at the beginning of the reign of the Farnese Pope;
he emphasizes its great extent, for the Vatican consisted of a series of
palaces. The entrance to it was in the form of a terrace, in the lower part of
which the officials lived and worked; in the middle storey, officials of a
higher degree resided, among them a few Cardinals, as, for instance, Nicholas
von Schonberg, in the reign of Paul III. Fichard extols the size of the Vatican, its splendour, and its wealth of loggias,
apartments, halls, and the staircases by which one could ascend to the top
floors. As the objects of chief interest, he specially mentions the Sixtine
Chapel, the wonderfully well-filled library, and the Belvedere, incomparable
both from its position and its view, with Bramante’s winding staircase and the
celebrated gallery of statues.
Fichard’s description is the first complete and well arranged account of this
world-renowned collection of ancient remains. In one instance, he has observed
with even closer attention than Ulisse Aldrovandi, whose statistics, drawn up
in 1550, of all the antiquities contained in Rome, is, by reason of its
accuracy and reliability, regarded as a most excellent guide. The description
of the Frankfort scholar is supplemented by the pen and ink drawings of
Heemskerck, while a picture by Hendrik van Cleve, now in the Imperial Picture
Gallery in Vienna, reproduces the grounds of the Belvedere and its adornment
with statues in 1550.
As was the case with the Capitoline collection, a
superintendent was also appointed for the Belvedere by Paul III. The
magnificent examples of sculpture which Julius II, Leo X, and Clement VII had
collected there, the Apollo, Venus Felix, Laocoon, Cleopatra, Tiber, Nile,
Tigris, and torso of Hercules, was enriched by the Farnese Pope with only one
really important example, the statue of the so-called Antinous, found in a
garden not far from the Castle of St. Angelo in 1543, but which in reality
represents Hermes. The remaining antiquities, as numerous as they were
valuable, which were discovered during the long reign of Paul III, were
destined by him for his family and their palace.
Julius III had a fountain erected in the vestibule of
the Belvedere, where the above-mentioned Torso now stands, which attained a
great celebrity, and which formed a most, effective ending to the long corridor
of Bramante. He did not enrich the collection himself, as he was too much
occupied with the decoration of the Villa Giulia. In spite of this, however,
the gallery of statues in the Belvedere of the Vatican with which Ulisse
Aldrovandi begins his well-known description of the antiquities in Rome, was the
most important of all the museums of ancient remains.
The Vatican, embellished under Paul III by the
gorgeous Sala Regia and the Capella Paolina, was considered the largest and
most beautiful palace in the world. The Venetian ambassador, Mocenigo, who gives this opinion in 1560, compares it to a
small town, about which one can with difficulty find one’s way, and which it is
impossible to describe. It was, however, a great disadvantage for the Papal
residence that the air in this district proved unhealthy in summer. Strangers
were allowed to visit the Vatican in all its parts, with that liberality which
most of the Popes displayed; when Julius III was staying at his villa, people
were even allowed, under the guidance of an official of the court, to view the
magnificently furnished private apartments of the Pope.
The Loggia of the Benediction, adjoining St. Peter’s,
which was begun by Pius II. and completed by Julius II, in which the Bull In
Coena Domini was read on Maundy Thursday, is erroneously described by Fichard as the palace of the Rota, of which he, as a
lawyer, gives an exhaustive description.
The Frankfort scholar gives an essentially correct
description of old St. Peter’s, with its five long aisles; he mentions the
broad entrance steps, the wide square vestibule and the atrium, with its
fountain (Cantharus) adorned with bronze pine cones and gilded peacocks. There
were also fragments of ancient statues here at that time. In the vestibule of
this venerable basilica of Constantine, which was still for the most part
standing, the marble statue of St. Peter, now in the crypt, and Giotto’s Navicella, attracted his particular attention. Of the doors
which led into the interior of the stately building, the one to the extreme
right, the so-called Porta Santa, was only opened in years of Jubilee. The main
entrance, with the bronze door, by Filarete, caused Fichard to fall into the error of providing the side
entrance also with a door of bronze, whereas, in reality, it only had a carved
wooden one, the work of Fra Antonio di Michele da Viterbo, placed there under
Eugenius IV.
The interior of the place of burial of the Princes of
the Apostles, made holy by a long and glorious past, with its wealth of
chapels, altars, mosaics, frescoes and sepulchral monuments, must have filled
every visitor with astonishment and admiration. A walk today through the crypts
of St. Peter’s gives some idea of the treasures which had been gathered
together there in the course of the centuries.
The basilica formed such a museum of the history of
the Church and of art as the world had never seen. Many monuments had been
repeatedly changed as to their place. For example, Fichard saw the tomb of the Piccolomini Pope, of such special interest to every German,
in the chapel of St. Andrew, then named S. Maria della Febbre.
Outside this hallowed spot, in the left hand aisle of the basilica, were the
confessionals of the seven penitentiaries, for as many different languages.
Opposite, on the right hand wall of the church, one could see Pollajuolo’s monument of Innocent VIII, and then the very
neglected resting places of the Medici Popes, Leo X and Clement VII. On the
same side was also the celebrated bronze seated statue of St. Peter, which Fichard describes as indifferent, but a very ancient work.
The tomb of Pope Nicholas V, with whose accession the Renaissance had ascended
the Papal throne, he declares to be superb; it was at that time already within
the area of the still unfinished new building. The Doric erection at the Tomb
of St. Peter, raised under Leo X, the Frankfort jurist compares to a chapter
house, because the throne of the Pope and the seats of the Cardinals were
placed there.
The days of the old basilica were numbered, on account
of the new building begun by Julius II. Several highly interesting drawings by
Heemskerck give us an idea of the state of the work at the beginning of the
reign of Paul III; he reproduces some interesting details with the fidelity and
conscientiousness peculiar to him. Several of his sketches are uncommonly
plastic in their effect. Specially valuable is a sketch of the old and new St.
Peter’s, taken from the south. In this one sees the provisional choir of the
new building, and the connecting structure of the arches of the south tribune,
afterwards broken up; the mighty square pillars, with the south and east
connecting arches; of old St. Peter’s there are, first of all, S. Maria della Febbre and the Obelisk, still surmounted with a sphere,
which stands in its old place alongside the new building, the choir chapel of
Sixtus IV, over against which stands the remaining portion of the nave of the
old basilica, the front part with its somewhat projecting gable, and, further
to the right, the atrium, shut in by the palace of the archpriest and by that
of Innocent VIII, and dominated by the Sixtine Chapel and the top storey of the
old Vatican palace. Underneath, the picturesque Leonine belfry and the narrow
side of the western galleries belonging to the Loggie of Raphael, still open at
that date, appear the Loggia of the Benediction and the front part of the
mighty portico of Paul II, with the entrance door to the Vatican erected by
Innocent VIII, and close to these the ramparts from which, on festivals, the
trumpets were sounded. In the distance one can see the long stretched on gallery
of Bramante, the pinnacle-crowned Belvedere, and the Nicchione in its original one-storeyed form. The great interest taken by the artist in
the new building is shown by the fact that he made quite a number of further
sketches of it. Vasari’s fresco in the Cancelleria shows the progress made with the work under Paul III. We can learn from other
sketches made about the year 1550, the state it had reached at the end of the
reign of the Farnese Pope, and at the beginning of the pontificate of Julius
III.
Fichard praises the square in front of St. Peter’s as the finest in the whole city,
although it was then only half as large as today; the obelisk which Sixtus V
placed in the centre was not yet in position, nor were the two fountains or the
magnificent colonnade of Bernini. The principal adornment of St. Peter’s
Square, in which bull-fights were still held in the time of Julius III, as was
also the case in front of S. Marco and S. Maria in Trastevere,
was then the beautiful fountain, begun by Innocent VIII and completed by
Alexander VI. Rome could not yet point to those incomparable fountains which
were later on such a feature of Roman art. Heemskerck has also drawn St.
Peter’s Square several times, showing the front part of the old building and
the Vatican. One of these sketches, lately discovered in the Court library,
Vienna, gives an exceedingly instructive picture of the unevenness and
difference of level of the square. One can see very clearly in this the
difference between the steep ascent which led to the Vatican, and the gentler
slope of the ground towards the external flight of steps of the basilica, which
had been restored by Pius I, and guarded the entrance to the Vatican; these
were first replaced by the Swiss in 1548. The Borgo was very strictly guarded
at that time; Fichard particularly points out that no
one was allowed to enter by the Porta S. Petri who had not permission from the
guard of the Castle of St. Angelo. At the other end of the bridge of St. Angelo
the statues of St. Peter and St. Paul had been standing since 1530 as the
guardians of the Leonine City. It was only after crossing this bridge that one
entered the actual city.
The character of the Rione di Ponte, of which the river forms the boundary on two sides, is clearly
indicated by the first great palace to the right of a person coming from the
Borgo. Here, on the banks of the Tiber, lived the noble and artistic banker,
Bindo Altoviti, the friend of Raphael and Michael Angelo. Besides the banks of
the Florentines, among which that of Giovanni Gaddi was pre-eminent, there were
also German houses, the best known of which were those of Fugger and Weiser.
Perino del Vaga had adorned the palace of the Fugger with mythological
frescoes.
As Bufalini’s plan very clearly shows, the streets
leading into the heart of the city from the residence of the Head of the
Church, radiated in all directions from the Ponte S. Angelo. On the right side
of the bridge, one came, through the new Via Paola, to the national church of
the Florentines, built by Jacopo Sansovino, past which the longest and most
beautiful street in Rome at that time, the Via Giulia, laid out under Julius II
by Bramante, and improved by Paul III., followed the course of the river as far
as the Ponte Sisto. To the left, the street called after the prison situated
there, the Tor di Nona, also running parallel to the Tiber, formed the connection
with the Corso; it divided at the church of S. Maria in Posterula,
which was built on the banks of the river, into the Via Sistina or del Orso, on the right, which led into the Scrofa, and on the left, into the
new Via della Trinita (later Via di S. Lucia, Monte Brianzo,
Piazza Nicosia, Fontanella di Borghese and Condotti),
which intersected the Scrofa and Corso, and ended in the then unbuilt piazza
below the convent of the Trinity de’ Monti. To the latter one ascended by a
steep path, shaded by trees.
Paul III had opened out another new street, the Via di
Panico, more towards the centre of the city, by which one could reach the
fortified Palazzo Orsini on Monte Giordano, from the Castle of St. Angelo; this
palace was inhabited in 1550 by Cardinal Ippolito d’Este.
From the said street, the very busy Via di Tor Sanguigna,
afterwards called the Via dei Coronari,
from the numerous dealers in rosaries, branched off. This busy thoroughfare of
Sixtus IV, which, to this day, affords one of the most characteristic street
scenes in Rome, with its beautiful, but unfortunately neglected palaces, and
its little Quattrocento houses, dating from the time of the first of the Rovere
Popes, led to the tower of the Sanguigni and to the Piazza Navona.
The most important and the finest link between the
city and the Vatican was the celebrated Canale di Ponte, which owed its name to
the fact that, during the frequent inundations, it resembled a canal in the
city of the lagoons. An inscription which has survived all the changes of the
centuries, still reminds us of the inundation of 1275. The height to which the
Tiber repeatedly invaded the city is also evident from the mark on the church
of the Minerva concerning the inundations in the years 1422, 1495 and 1530. It
was only the great inundations that were commemorated by such records, for
lesser ones took place every few years, as may be gathered from the reports of
the embassies. The poorer population in the parts of the city situated close to
the Tiber, suffered terribly under these calamities.
In the Canale di Ponte was situated the Papal Mint, or
the Zecca, erected by Antonio da Sangallo, and changed by Paul V. into the
Banco di S. Spirito, from which comes the present name of Via del Banco di S.
Spirito. At the Zecca the Canale di Ponte branched off into two streets : to
the left, the Via dei Banchi Nuovi,
with its continuation to the palace of the Massimi, leading past S. Marco and
forming part of the celebrated old Via Papale, which ended at the Lateran and
thus connected the two principal churches in Rome; to the right of the Zecca
one reached the Campo di Fiore and further on the Piazza Giudea,
the fortress of the Savelli, built into the Theatre of Marcellus, and the foot
of the Capitoline hill, through the Via dei Banchi
Vecchi and the Via del Pellegrino, laid out by Sixtus IV. Fichard says that these central streets were the most celebrated and the busiest of
all, and that one commercial house joined on to another there.
This remark of the Frankfort traveller is confirmed by
the plan of Bufalini and by that of Ugo Pinardo, made
some years later. One can see clearly from these how the whole life of the city
thronged to the quarter nearest to the Bridge of St. Angelo, the highway to the
Vatican. All the rich merchants and bankers, many distinguished prelates and
artists, as well as countless rich “cortegiane,”
lived there. In this neighbourhood the real centre of life in the age of the
Renaissance, with all its splendour and all its corruption, was to be found. Here
also were the much frequented inns, such as the Albergo del Leone, in the Via
Tor di Nona, and a little further on, the Albergo delf Orso. This mediaeval
brick building, in the round arches and ornamentation of which an old-world
element makes itself felt, is still in existence, and, although much mutilated
and rebuilt, still serves as an inn. Not far from the Albergo dell’ Orso, the
maestro di camera of Julius III, Giovan Battista Galletti, had his dwelling,
which was richly adorned with antiques.
For the great personages who lived crowded together in
the Rione di Ponte, distinguished artists of the
Renaissance created palaces in the maze of traffic-filled streets of this
Quattrocento quarter, mostly on narrow and irregular foundations, but which
were distinguished by their splendour and stately magnificence, and contained
countless precious antiques, as did almost all the houses of the upper classes.
Only too many of these buildings, such as the great Palazzo Altoviti, and the
elegant house of the Bini, have been completely destroyed. Others, as, for
instance, the one time cardinalitial palace of
Alexander VI, which, in the time of Paul III, was inhabited first by Cardinal
Antonio Pucci and then by Guido Ascanio Sforza, the so-called old Cancelleria (now the Palazzo Sforza-Cesarini) have been
disfigured by alterations. Nevertheless, we can still admire in their original
beauty, the picturesque Palazzo Alberini-Cicciaporci,
a characteristic building of Giulio Romano, and the masterpiece of Jacopo
Sansovino, the Palazzo Niccolini-Amici, originally
erected for the banker, Giovanni Gaddi, who made it a centre for the artists
and humanists of the time. In the Via Giulia, the severe palatial dwelling (now
the Palazzo Sachetti) of the artistic Cardinal Ricci, where Benvenuto Cellini,
and, after 1542, Costanza Farnese lived, is still to be seen.
The dwellings of the Quattrocento, which for the most
part had only two windows on each storey and a loggia above, are still
generally recognizable by the fine and elegantly executed doorways and windows.
Not only were the arms of the owner introduced here, but also his name and a
motto. Thus one can see on the house of the architect, Prospero Mochi, in the
Via dei Coronari (No. 148)
over the windows of the first floor, the name of the owner, and over the
doorway, the words : Tua puta que tute facis (Thy deeds alone are thy property). The palace of
Cardinal Domenico della Rovere (now the Palazzo de’ Penitenzieri)
has retained the name of this prince of the Church over the windows of the
first floor, and over those of the second floor, his “Impresa,” Soli Deo, which
also appears in his Chapel in S. Maria del Popolo. Foreigners also copied this
custom of thus distinguishing their dwellings. An example of this is afforded
by the house of the Spanish family of Vaca, in the Via della Vignaccia (now del Parlamento No.
60): over the doorway the name of the family is inscribed, and underneath the
verse : Ossa et opes tandem partas tibi Roma relinquam (My
bones and my wealth I shall at last leave to thee, 0 Rome).
Since the time of Leo X, the exterior of the houses of
the better classes had been tastefully decorated with “ sgraffiti ” and
frescoes in one tone, a form of decoration the fame of which reached as far as
Poland, and was largely used there. Raphael’s pupils,
Giovanni da Udine, Perino del Vaga, Polidoro da Caravaggio, Maturino and others
produced exquisite works of this kind, which have, unfortunately, almost all gone to ruin,
or been defaced until they are unrecognizable. Thus a frieze, which Caravaggio
and Maturino painted, showing the history of Niobe, on a palace in the Via
della Maschera d’Oro, can hardly be made out. Similar
work on a house in the Vicolo del Campanile near S.
Maria Traspontina, is in a better state of
preservation, but that in the Vicolo Calabraga (now Cellini) is almost faded, while that on that
most interesting dwelling of the procurator of the Anima, Johann Sander (Via
del Anima No. 65) has been painted over and altered. The frescoes on the
Palazzo Ricci give us today the best idea of this beautiful street decoration.
Giovanni da Udine had in the time of the first Medici
Pope, decorated the palace of Giovan Battista Branconio dell’ Aquila with stucco, while in other cases they used terra cotta for
decoration. Since the time of Paul III. it had become more and more the custom
to adorn the houses with stucco, paintings, reliefs and statues. An outstanding
example of this is afforded, in addition to the Palazzo Capodiferro (now Spada) by the still excellently, preserved house of the celebrated
goldsmith, Gianpietro Crivelli; this is situated in the Rione di Ponte, not far from the old confraternity Church of S. Lucia del Gonfalone. Here one can see representations of ancient
armour, trophies, coats of arms, lions’ heads, genii, garlands of fruit and
other ornamentation. Of special interest are the two bas-reliefs, which
represent two events in the reign of Paul III: the reception of Charles V in
Rome, and the conclusion of peace at Nice. Crivelli distinguished himself by
his great generosity, and when the Franciscan, Giovanni da Calvi, founded a
Monte di Pieta, to combat the usury which was one of the great plagues of the
Renaissance period, and which was not practised by the Jews alone, he gave the
institution, at that time quite small, but always growing, accommodation in his
house.
If the Rione di Ponte was
especially the home of the bankers and business men, the Rione di Parione was the quarter of the prelates,
courtiers, notaries, booksellers, copyists, archeologists and humanists. This quarter contained three open spaces in the Middle Ages, of
which the Piazza Parione, near the Church of S.
Tommaso, had been built over since the XIVth century,
while the two others, the Campo di Fiore and the Piazza Navona, are still in
existence. Cardinal Estouteville had removed the
market in 1477 from the Piazza of the Capitol to the Piazza Navona. Every
Wednesday, as Fichard expressly testifies, the
special market for clothing, cloth, arms and other objects, which is now held
in the Campo di Fiore, was held in this open space. At carnival time the former
circus of Domitian was the scene of the most brilliant pageants and processions
(festa di Agone), which attracted curious spectators from all parts.
On one side of the Piazza Navona was to be seen the
Spanish national church of S. Giacomo, while on the other side arose, in the
neighbourhood of the German national church, S. Maria dell’ Anima, the
extensive palace which had come into the possession of Cardinal de Cupis, in
which the once powerful but afterwards so unfortunate Cardinal Ascanio Sforza
had lived.
South of the Tor Millina, on
which, with its pinnacle adorned with sgraffiti, one could ‘still read the name
of the family, Cardinal Oliviero Carafa had caused to be erected the statue of
Pasquino which was the distinguishing symbol of this Rione.
Near the Pasquino, which was regarded by artists as one of the most exquisite
examples of sculpture, rose the palace which the artistic Cardinal Antonio del
Monte, uncle to Julius III, had had built for himself. According to Bufalini’s
plan of the city, the influential Cardinal Alvarez de Toledo also lived in this
neighbourhood. In the Via Parione the business house
of Antoine Lafrery was to be found, which, until the
time of Gregory XIII, was the chief centre of Roman copper-plate engraving.
South-west from the Via Parione was situated the
Pozzo Bianco (Puteus Albus) which gave its name to
the church of Our Lady there. This fountain, which is today on the Janiculum,
near Tasso’s Oak, plays, like the Chiavica di S. Lucia, an important part in
the documents of the XVth century, as a topographical
designation of the district. The appearance of this neighbourhood was
afterwards completely changed by the erection of the magnificent church of the
Oratorians, founded by St. Philip Neri.
The Rione di Parione was especially rich in remarkable buildings, which,
even though they are, to a great extent, changed, and very much neglected, are
still capable of arousing the special interest of the lover of arts. In the Via Parione the portal of a palace erected in 1475, and
still adorned with the arms of the family, reminds us of Cardinal Stefano
Nardini; in the time of Julius III., the administration of the “Mons Julii” had
its quarters here. This building, greatly neglected at the present day, was
afterwards the residence of the “Governatore” and
therefore received the name of Governo Vecchio, after which the street is also
named. The residence of Cardinal Cortese adjoined the back of this palace. In
this building, which is still in existence, was the original home of the
hospital of the Germans of Siebenbiirgen. It became
in 1533, by the presentation of Rosa of Siebenbiirgen,
the property of the German national church, S. Maria dell’ Anima, by which it
was sold in 1542 to Cardinal Cortese.
Cardinal Medici, afterwards Pius IV, resided in 1552
in the palace of Cardinal Fieschi, later called the
Palazzo Sora; the elegant residences of the Pichi and Caccialupi families, as well as those of the
prelates, Turci and Thomas le Roy, are equally well preserved. All these were,
however, surpassed in beauty by the Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne and the Cancelleria.
The Cancelleria was, until
the completion of the Palazzo Farnese, which does not appear in Heemskerck’s
panorama, the largest and most splendid building of the new Rome. Here the
powerful and gifted nephew of Paul III, Alessandro Farnese, had his residence,
and through him it became, as well as the Vatican, a centre of diplomatic,
literary and artistic life. By the side of this enormous erection, which, in
the time of Julius III., was still called after its founder, Cardinal Riario,
numerous small houses had been erected. The old basilica of S. Lorenzo in
Damaso, which had been incorporated in the Cancelleria,
was celebrated, at the time of Fichard’s visit, for
the masses of the great composers which were sung there daily.
In the old Palazzo Massimo, in the back part of which
Germans had worked as the first printers in Rome, the numerous bookshelves
still retained there in the time of Paul III were a reminder of the days when
scholars used to assemble there to interchange their views. The original
residence of this ancient family had been destroyed in the Sack, but in 1535
Baldassare Peruzzi built a new palace for Pietro Massimo, a truly great work,
and wonderfully made to fit in with the curve of the then narrow street. The
work of the artist could, it is true, only be fully appreciated by one who was
familiar with the former conditions, but even today everyone can take pleasure
in the pillared courtyard, which, with its little fountain, and the glimpse of
the staircase and the loggia on the first floor, makes a particularly beautiful
and picturesque whole. All the details of this noble building belong to the
best period of the Golden Age.
In the Rione di Parione were also the houses of the Galli and the Sassi,
celebrated for their collections of antiques. Heemskerck in 1535 made pen and
ink sketches of the galleries of both and of the statues placed there. One can
see from these sketches that the Sassi still possessed the statues which came
into the possession of the Farnese in 1546, the Venus Genetrix, the Apollo and
the Icarios relief which went to Naples, as well as
the Hermes which is now in the British Museum. In the Casa Galli, which was on
the north side of the Piazza della Cancelleria, could
be seen, among the statues and sarcophagi, the Bacchus of Michael Angelo.
The second great open space of the Rione di Parione was the Campo di Fiore, laid out by Sixtus
IV, which was bounded on the south-west by the Rione della Regola. From its central position between this
mediaeval part of Rome, which stretched along the Tiber, and the quarters of Parione and Ponte, in which the life of the city pulsated
during the Renaissance period, it represented the actual Forum of Rome. The
Papal Bulls were affixed there, the regulations of the Governatore published, executions carried out, and the horse market held. On the
south-eastern part of this open space the nephew of Eugenius IV, Cardinal
Francesco Condulmero, had built a large palace on the
ruins of Pompey’s Theatre, which later came into the hands of the Orsini, who
let it to members of the Sacred College; at the time of Julius III, Cardinal
Francisco de Mendoza lived there. Behind this palace (now the Palazzo Pio)
there are two old churches, S. Barbara and S. Maria “in Grotta Pinta.” North of
S. Maria was the confraternity church of the German bakers, S. Elisabetta, only
recently destroyed.
In consequence of the busy traffic which centred in
the Campo di Fiore, numerous vaulted shops and inns were to be found. The
celebrated publishers, Antonio Blado and Antonio Salamanca had their business
premises there. Of the inns, one, the Albergo della Vacca, was part of the
extensive property of Vannozza de’ Catanei, known from the history of Alexander VI, who also
had houses let to innkeepers in other places. To this day, a Quattrocento
building close to the Campo di Fiore, in the Vicolo del Gallo (Nos. 12-13) at the corner of the Via de’ Cappellari,
bears the name Casa di Vannozza. That it belonged to
her is clear from the fact that the marble coat of arms affixed to the front of
the house shows the bull of the Borgias. It has been believed up till now that
this building, which has been preserved with only trifling alterations, is the
Bell Inn, which in accordance with the journal of Burchard, was in the later
years of the XVth century, the temporary lodging of
German princes. The documents in the archives of the Anima, however, show that
this house belonged to the Valle, who let it in 1479 to the German innkeeper
Johannes Teufel, whom the Italians euphemistically named Angelo; two years
later this man bought part of the building. The celebrated Bell Inn, which was
a favourite meeting place of the Germans in Rome, was, therefore not the house
of Vannozza, but was alongside it in the Via de’ Cappellari. Other Germans carried on the profitable
business of innkeeping in Rome during the Cinquecento ; in the Borgo there
were, as early as the time of Eugenius IV., more than sixty German inns and
eating houses.
The Albergo del Sole, as well as the Bell, had a great
reputation in the XVth century, and, although much
altered, it still exists at the present day in the Via di Biscione (Nos.
73-76). No one now dreams that this ordinary looking building, with the deep
arched entrance and dark picturesque courtyard was once a hotel for foreigners
of the first rank, in which the ambassador of France was lodged in 1489. It is
situated where the poultry market (Piazza Pollarola)
adjoins the Via di Biscione ; here the palace of the Pichi may be recognized by a fine doorway bearing the name of the builder. The names
of an inn and a street in this neighbourhood remind us still of an old inn
named Paradiso, probably on account of its moderate prices. Before the Corso
Vittorio Emanuele was laid out one could read at the point where the Via del
Paradiso branches off from the Via Papale, the inscription of Girolamo Zorzi
concerning the great inundation of the Tiber in the reign of Alexander VI, in
December, 1495. The street of the Baullari (trunkmakers), which was appropriately situated in the
quarter of the inns, leads to the Palazzo Massimo.
Like the Rioni Ponte and Parione, the Rione della Regola contained a large population. As the name Regola (Arenula), meaning sand or
gravel, indicates, this was the quarter alongside the Tiber which was crossed
by the Via Giulia and a street parallel to it, which went through the Piazza
Farnese to the Ponte Quattro Capi. The sharp contrasts, of which the Eternal City
offered so many examples, were, perhaps, nowhere more frequent than in this
quarter, The huge luxurious palaces were in acute contrast to the little old
churches, and the streets filled with people carrying on their trades, the
names of which they still retain to the present day : Via de’ Cappellari (hat makers), Via de’ Giubbonari (doublet makers), Via de’ Pettinari (comb-makers).[868] [869] Many Jews had also settled here, and where they were
most numerous, the old palace of the Cenci stood. One can best form an idea of
the condition of this neighbourhood at that time, for it has been completely
changed by the laying out of the Via Arenula, if one
enters the dirty Via di S. Bartolomeo de’ Vaccinari,
where, above all, a pre-gothic house of the XIIIth century with a pillared portico attracts the notice of the antiquarian. Such
open porticos on the ground level afford welcome protection from rain; they are
characteristic of mediaeval houses, in most of which a covered loggia was
provided. In the porticos antique pillars were often introduced, as in the case
of the house in the Via of S. Bartolomeo. Through the last arch of this house
one enters the Vicolo del Melangolo,
a neighbourhood which represents the mediaeval state of the city in a striking
manner.
The Rione della Regola contained three houses for pilgrims : S. Maria di Monserrato for Spaniards, S. Tommaso for Englishmen, and S.
Brigida for Swedes. The exiled Archbishop of Upsala, Olaus Magnus, lived in S.
Brigida, which was in the Piazza Farnese. S. Girolamo della Carita and the
church of S. Benedetto in Arenula, which was in the
year 1558 given to the confraternity of the Trinita de’ Pellegrini, also
belonged to the Rione della Regola.
This quarter had been notably improved when Sixtus IV
had joined it to the Trastevere by the erection of
the Ponte Sisto; it received a very great development under Paul III, because
the magnificent Palazzo Farnese, begun in 1530 by Antonio da Sangallo, which,
in accordance with the will of Paul III, became the property of Cardinal
Alessandro Farnese, was situated there. This truly regal building,[876] of
immense size, which was finished as far as the façade on the Via Giulia soon
after 1547, was marked on Bufalini’s plan as the palace of Paul III. It
attained a worldwide celebrity, as much because of the share taken by Michael
Angelo in its erection, as because of the collection which it contained.
Cardinal Alessandro, although he was often in financial difficulties, acquired,
in the grand manner of the Medici, treasures of every description :
manuscripts, books, and pictures, but above all statues. The latter were partly
purchased, and partly obtained by means of special excavations in Rome and the
neighbourhood. The Baths of Caracalla afforded the richest finds, for there
were brought to light in 1546 and 1547 works of art which threw all former
discoveries into the shade. Among these were the group known as the Farnese
Bull, the Hercules, the Flora and numerous other valuable pieces of sculpture.
Not far from the Palazzo Farnese, near the Ponte
Sisto, is the palace of Girolamo Capodiferro (now
Palazzo Spada), built in 1540, and decorated by Giulio Mazzoni, a pupil of
Daniele da Volterra. The celebrated house of Branconio dell’ Aquila, in the Borgo, served as a model for this, the imitation being
clearly apparent in the facade, which is almost too richly decorated with
statues, stucco and other ornamentation. The decoration of the picturesque
courtyard is much more successful. Behind the palace, a garden extends down to
the Tiber. Julius III. enriched the collection of the Cardinal by the present
of the colossal statue of Pompey.
The house of the highly respected physician in
ordinary to Paul III, Francesco Fusconi of Norcia,
was between the Palazzo Farnese and the Campo di Fiore; he too had collected
valuable antiques, as the statue of Meleager, now in the Vatican, testifies.
Latino Gio venale, another collector of antiquities,
also lived in this neighbourhood.
On the other bank of the river, opposite the Rione della Regola, the Trastevere, rich in old churches and towers, which
formed a Rione by itself, spread out on all sides.
Foreigners seldom penetrated into this part of the city, which was very thickly
populated. It was the quarter of the wine-dealers and sailors. The hospital for
mariners, as also that for the Genoese, were not far from the venerable church
of St. Cecilia. From the harbour on the Ripa Grande,
a steep flight of steps and an easy carriage road led to the hall of the
Dogana, close to which was the little church of the sailors, S. Maria della
Torre, so called after the tower erected by Leo IV. in the IXth century. The great orphanage of S. Michele rose here towards the end of the XVIIth century.
Almost the whole of this quarter of the city was
intersected by a long street, the Via Trastiberina (now Lungarina and Lungaretta)
which led from the Ponte di S. Maria (later Ponte Rotto) past the churches of
S. Salvatore della Corte and S. Agata, to the piazza and basilica of S. Maria
in Trastevere. Right and left of this main artery,
which was laid out by Julius II., a maze of dark and tortuous lanes spread out,
the most interesting of which have been sacrificed to the embankment of the
Tiber. It is very difficult today to form an idea of the former state of the
neighbourhood. The houses,, many of which possessed loggie and small perrons,
were nowhere so crowded together as here, while among them were numerous small
churches and convents, as well as the very substantial dwellings of the old
patrician families, such as the Stefaneschi,
Ponziani, Papareschi, Normanni, Alberteschi, Mattei, and Anguillara, which were
provided with towers, giving them the appearance of fortresses. The quarter of
S. Pellegrino in Viterbo1 gives us a better idea today of the mediaeval appearance
which the Trastevere presented at the end of the
Renaissance period. The numerous towers were specially characteristic, but of
these only two have been preserved, the Torre Anguillara and that of the
Gaetani on the island at the Ponte Quattro Capi. Of the citadels of the nobles,
the exceedingly interesting dwelling of the Mattei at the Ponte S. Bartolomeo
still remains*. The very great number of towers, which astonish us in all the
representations of the period, gave the name of “De Turribus”
to the Church of S. Lorenzo de Janiculo, destroyed at
the erection of the Monastery of S. Egidio.
No part of the city approached the Trastevere in picturesque charm, the Ripa Grande affording a
most attractive view from the opposite bank; Pieter Brueghel painted it from
there in the year 1553.
Through the porta Settimiana,
then recently erected by Alexander VI, went the old road of the pilgrims
journeying to St. Peter’s, the Via Sancta (now the Lungara)
leading to the Porta S. Spirito in the Borgo. Along this road, of which Julius
II intended to form a corresponding street to the Via Giulia, only isolated
houses and churches were to be found, for this district lay outside the
fortifications. It was the district of the large “vignas,”
among which those of Cardinals Maffei, Salviati and Farnese were prominent; the
celebrated Farnesina of Agostino Chigi also belonged
to Cardinal Farnese. Among the churches of the Janiculum, S. Pietro in Montorio goes back to the IXth century, S. Onofrio having only been founded in 1435, by the hermit Niccolo di Forca Palena.
Like the Trastevere, the Rione di S. Angelo was a real quarter of the
people. This was enclosed by the Rioni Regola and S. Eustachio on the west, and by Pigna on the
north and Campitelli on the east. Numerous Jews lived here, who, besides
extensive money transactions, carried on, even at that time, a business which
they have continued to practise in Rome to the present day, that of tailors. In
Bufalini’s plan there is a street near S. Angelo in Pescaria,
which is designated Via de’ Giudei. It is clear from
Aldrovandi and others that the later Piazza del Pianto bore, in the Cinquecento, the name of Piazza Giudea.
In this neighbourhood, the Santa Croce had their palace, which contained
numerous antiquities. Even as early as the beginning of the Renaissance period
the citizens of Rome had made some attempt to beautify this quarter as well, a
proof of this being a remarkable building of the Quattrocento in the Piazza del Pianto which has suvived all the transformations which this neighbourhood in particular has undergone in
recent times. This building is the dwelling, erected in 1467, of Lorenzo de’ Manili, who, being an enthusiastic lover of antiquity,
connected his houses by a large inscription which runs under the windows of the
first floor, and which imitates so exactly the Roman capitals of the best
period that it might easily be taken for an antique building. This pompous
inscription states that when Rome shall be re-born in its ancient form, he,
Laurentius Manlius (he described himself in this way, because he was descended
from the celebrated old Roman family) would contribute to the adornment of his
beloved native city, as far as his modest fortune would permit. As a true
representative of the Renaissance, he dated the inscription according to the
foundation of Rome, and had his name cut in Greek letters on the facade, into
which fragments of antique sculpture and inscriptions were introduced. On the
sills of the windows towards the Piazza Costaguti one
may read the characteristic greeting, expressive of the joy of the builder at
the new birth of beauty in the Eternal City : Have Roma.
The fish-market was held in the Portico of Octavia,
near the adjoining church of S. Angelo in Pescaria.
Older visitors to Rome will still remember this exceedingly picturesque— in
spite of all the squalor—corner, which has been frequently reproduced by
artists.
The most important monument of antiquity in this
quarter was the Theatre of Marcellus. This building, owned by the Savelli since
1368, had the appearance of a mediaeval stronghold, imparted to it by its
earlier owners, the Pierleone, but greatly lessened
by the reconstruction carried out by Baldassare Peruzzi. In the arches on the
ground floor were the vaulted warehouses of merchandize, which even to this day
retain the impress of the Middle Ages. Of the palaces of the Mattei, only one
was in existence at that time ; the others, erected under Pius IV, in the
Flaminian Circus, have given quite another character to the neighbourhood near
the church of S. Caterina de’ Funari, built in 1544.
The Rione di Ripa followed the Tiber opposite the southern part of Trastevere, the island, with the church of S. Bartolomeo,
also belonging to it. In this church, the chapel of the guild of the
mill-owners, is still in existence ; one can see on the tombs there, more or
less roughly represented, the floating mills which had been anchored not far
from the island since the time of Belisarius. The district of the Rione di Ripa, which was covered
with buildings without any open spaces, only reached as far as the Ponte di S.
Maria, which, restored under Julius III, was destined to fall a victim to the
inundation of 1557, and on the landward side, turned in the direction of the
Capitol and the Velabro. Not far from the latter, rose the church of S.
Giovanni Decollato, the church of the confraternity
which provided criminals with the consolations of religion before their
execution. There were nothing but smaller houses near the old basilica of S.
Maria in Cosmedin. It was a neglected neighbourhood,
where the palace of a noble of the XIth century stood
in the midst of indescribable filth; this was the dwelling of Nicholas
Crescentius, the exterior of which was most curiously adorned with antique
fragments, and which then bore, as we can see from Heemskerck’s panorama, the
name of Casa di Pilato, later changed to di Rienzo.
To the south the Rione di Ripa included the whole of the Aventine, the Baths of
Caracalla and Monte Testaccio. On the open space in
front of the latter the traditional coarse amusements of the Roman populace
always took place at carnival time, when the municipal officials and the upper
classes would also be present. There were no houses of any kind on the
Aventine, with its venerable churches and the picturesque remains of the
citadel of the Savelli.
The Rione di
Campitelli, which extended to the Porta S. Sebastiano, also included a
district which was very little built over. In this quarter, to which the
Colosseum and the Palatine belong, there was no life except at the foot of the
Capitol. The principal remains here were the two churches of Our Lady, S. Maria
della Consolazione, with an old picture of the
Madonna, at which the many votive offerings and pictures testified to the great
veneration in which it was held, and the church of the Roman Senate, S. Maria
in Aracoeli, built on the ruins of the Capitoline
Temple of Juno, and with which the wonderfully poetical legend of the
appearance of the Queen of Heaven to the Emperor Augustus is associated.
On the left of the great flight of steps which in 1348
led to the church from the piazza of the Capitol, Fichard saw a considerable number of marble sculptures, several of which have survived
to the present day. The church itself, over which the Senate had the right of
patronage, was and still is very rich in sepulchral monuments. The Frankfort traveller, however, mentions only the tomb of St. Helena, that of Queen Catherine
of Bosnia and the resting place of the humanist, Flavio Biondo.
The Capitol, so celebrated on account of the memories
associated with it, was visited by all foreigners because of the bronzes
presented by Sixtus IV, the She-Wolf, the Thorn Extractor, Camillus, fragments
of the bronze Colossus, and Hercules. Under Paul III it lost the appearance of
a mediaeval citadel, which it had until then preserved. In an engraving of the
year 1538 we can already see the magnificent external staircase which Guglielmo
della Porta executed from the design of Michael Angelo, and the statue of
Marcus Aurelius so effectively set up in the middle of the square. The reconstruction
of the front of the Palace of the Senators took place soon afterwards, as did
that of the porticos at the sides, of which that on the right hand rose during
the reign of Julius III.
On the north, the Rione di
Campitelli adjoined the Rione della Pigna,
which formed a rather irregular square in the middle of the city. This district
contained the best preserved monument of antiquity, the Pantheon, called by the
people S. Maria Rotonda. The open space in front of it was then much higher, so
that one had to descend to the entrance by a flight of steps. Small houses
stood round about the building, being even built on to it on the left side. Its
condition at that time can be clearly seen from a drawing by Heemskerck. One
can here see, behind the point of the gable, the little Romanesque belfry built
in 1270 ; the vestibule is on the left side, and is half walled up; Paul III
was the first to remove this unsightly masonry. The Egyptian basalt lions,
afterwards removed to the Vatican, and the magnificent bath of porphyry, which
now adorns the tomb of Clement XII in the Lateran, stood in front of this
exquisite circular building. Small houses had also been built into the splendid
ruins of the adjacent Baths of Agrippa.
The most important church of the Rione della Pigna was that of the Dominicans, S. Maria sopra Minerva, containing the
tomb of St. Catherine of Siena. Against the church stood a library which was of
special celebrity, as was the small, but excellently arranged collection of
books belonging to the Augustinians of S. Maria del Popolo. The houses of the
Porcari, in the immediate neighbourhood, were rich in antiquities, as well as
the Casa Maffei, not far off, near the Arco di Ciambella, in the picturesque
courtyard of which Heemskerck saw the statue of the dead Niobe, which
afterwards came into the possession of the Bevilacqua, and eventually reached
Munich. This collection, one of the oldest in Rome, had already diminished in
the time of Aldrovandi. The house was at that time occupied by the eminent
Cardinal Bernardino Maffei.
The little church of S. Giovanni della Pigna, rebuilt
by Vittoria Colonna in the piazza of the same name, the Palazzo del Duca d’Urbino (later Doria) and the Palazzo di S. Marco (now di
Venezia) also belonged to the Rione della Pigna. The
last-named served Paul III, and also occasionally Julius III, as a summer
residence. The mighty building, with its magnificent halls, was excellently
suited for the reception of the Pope and his extensive suite. A very special
curiosity, which did not escape the notice of Fichard,
was the gigantic map of the world at the end of the Quattrocento, which was
preserved in the palace and was adorned with reproductions of human beings, and
land and sea monsters, and which excited much interest and admiration. Not far
from the monumental building of the Palazzo di S. Marco was the little church
of S. Maria della Strada, given to the Jesuits by the Farnese Pope.
The frequent residences of the Popes in the Palazzo di
S. Marco gave an importance to the Rione della Pigna,
which was separated from the Rione di Trevi by the Corso (Via Lata), in which the Colonna had their very extensive palace
near the SS. Apostoli. The fountain of Trevi still retained the simple form
given to it by Nicholas V. A great part of the Rione di Trevi, which reached as far as the Porta Salara and the Porta Nomentana, was uninhabited.
Mighty ruins stood on the Quirinal; the remains of the
Baths of Constantine and the Temple of Serapis. In front of the baths, facing
towards the piazza, stood the statues of the Horse-breakers, on a clumsy
mediaeval base; on account of their size and their good state of preservation,
they were among the most popular monuments in Rome, and the Quirinal was named
Monte Cavallo after them. It was almost entirely taken up with gardens,
vineyards, olive groves and villas. Pomponius Laetus and Platina had already
laid out villas and gardens on the Quirinal, which was much esteemed on account
of its good air. Cardinals Prospero Colonna, Oliviero Carafa and Ridolfo Pio da Carpi had done likewise. The artistic collection of Cardinal Carpi comprised,
besides statues and reliefs, small bronzes, terra cottas, vases, and antique
furniture, as well as books, manuscripts, and pictures. The smaller objects of
this collection, of which Aldrovandi gives an enthusiastic description, were
almost all in the palace of this Cardinal in the Campo Marzo ; the marble
statues were nearly all placed in the villa, the extensive gardens of which
Aldrovandi calls a paradise on earth.
The collection of Cardinal Carpi was, however,
surpassed by that of Cardinal Ippolito d’Este, the
son of Lucrezia Borgia. This ardent collector of antiquities had filled his
residences in the city with treasures of this kind, and since 1554, he had been
gradually bringing the most important works of art to his villa on the
Quirinal, with the beautifying of which he was still occupied in 1560. This
wonderful country house, on the southern slope of the hill, which occupied the
site of the grounds of the later Papal palace, was celebrated for the
arrangement of the fountains, which were richly adorned with statues.
Paul III was specially fond of staying on the
Quirinal. He possessed a garden there as early as 1535, which attracted much
notice on account of its beauty. Later on he lived in the villa of Cardinal
Carafa, and it was there that the old Pope of eighty-two breathed his last. In
the gardens of the Colonna near S. Silvestro, Michael Angelo and Vittoria
Colonna carried on those conversations on Sunday afternoons which Francesco de Hollanda has preserved for us, and which have been said to
have been the last flickerings of the spirit which
made the Renaissance great and noble. Vittoria always had in mind the idea of
building a convent of nuns on the ruins of the Temple of Serapis, in order that
the last remains of paganism might be trodden under the feet of pure-minded women.
Towards the north, and round that magnificent relic of
antiquity, the column of Marcus Aurelius, and named after it, lay the Rione di Colonna. In the middle of the XVIth century, the ambassadors of France and Portugal had
their palaces in this quarter, near Monte Citorio,
while the Imperial ambassadors resided in the Palazzo Riario (later Altemps) which is still in the Rione di Ponte. Formerly almost all the ambassadors lived in the Rione di Ponte; the transference of their residences into the Rione di Colonna was a sign of the coming change of the centre of life in the city,
which was soon to be brought about in an ever increasing degree.
The principal church in the Rione di Colonna was S. Lorenzo in Lucina, which, since May, 1554, had been the title
of Cardinal Morone, the largest parish in Rome thereby becoming subject to him.
The palace of Cardinal Quiñones (later Fiano) adjoined the church; at this
point, where until 1662 an ancient triumphal arch, the Arco di Portogallo, spanned the Corso, the fully built over part of
this street ended. Several names still remind us of the end of the houses, such
as the Via Capo le Case. To the north the Rione di
Colonna reached as far as the Porta Pinciana and the Porta Salara.
Towards the end of the Renaissance period, the Rioni of S. Eustachio and Campo Marzo increased in
importance. The Rione di S. Eustachio,
called after the church of the same name, stretched eastwards from the Rioni Ponte and Parione. The
University was situated there, as well as the much frequented church of S.
Agostino, and numerous palaces of the Roman nobles. In the neighbourhood of the
University, in the Piazza de’ Lombardi, there stood, near the venerable church
of S. Salvatore in Thermis, the Palazzo Medici, the
residence of Leo X when a Cardinal. In this palace, which came into the hands
of the Farnese under Paul III, the unhappy Duke and Duchess, Ottavio and
Margherita Farnese, resided from the year 1538, for which reason it was called
the Palazzo Madama. Two drawings by Heemskerck give a complete picture of the
costly antiquities which the palace contained. Most of these, which were placed
there without any special arrangement, were still in the gallery, when
Aldrovandi wrote his description of them. The two Aphrodites,
the two statues of Bacchus, and the Tyrannicides were placed here, and on the
wall of the adjoining garden the Dying Gaul. The Villa Madama, with its collection,
which also belonged to the Duchess Margherita, was a possession of inestimable
value.
The palaces of the distinguished family of the della
Valle, the members of which had been from early times zealous collectors,
contained an even greater number of treasures of all kinds. The gallery of the
old Palazzo della Valle, of which the diligent Heemskerck has left us a sketch,
was adorned by the celebrated statue of Pan, which, while it was in the possession
of Leo X, was used for the decoration of the triumphal arch of the Valle, and
under Clement VII was placed in the Capitoline museum, by the side of the Marforio. The principal pieces of sculpture, which had also
been used for the said triumphal arch, were placed by Cardinal Andrea della
Valle (d. 1534) in his palace close by (now the Palazzo Valle-Rustici-Bufalo).
This building, the principal entrance of which was adorned by a large head of
Zeus, was a real museum. Everywhere, in the entrance hall, in the courtyard, as
well as on the upper floors, there were so many marble works of art that the
prosaic Fichard cries out in admiration that the real
treasures of Roman antiquity were to be found there. In the quadrilateral
court, which had been built for the statues, there were at that time, the Venus
de’ Medici and the Ganymede of the Uffizi. After the death of the Cardinal, his
nephew, Quinzio de’ Rustici, became the owner of
these treasures.
Not far from this magnificent residence, Cardinal
Andrea had a new palace built by Raphael’s pupil, Lorenzetto,
in the present day Piazza di Valle ; this had not been completely finished on
account of the catastrophe of 1527. The treasures collected there as well,
aroused the admiration of Fichard. The rarest works
adorned the celebrated gallery of statues on the upper floor, the corridors at
the sides of which opened on to pillared halls. An engraving by Hieronymus
Cock, which he perhaps executed from a drawing by Heemskerck, shows this
marvellous hall with its precious contents ; a drawing by Francesco de Hollanda, made rather later, gives an exact picture of the
right wall. The manner in which antique reliefs, statues in niches, and busts
in circular recesses, were arranged, became a model for the whole of Rome. This
new palace was inherited by the Capranica family, whose name it still bears.
They sold the antiques to Cardinal Ferdinando de’ Medici in 1584, who used them
for the adornment of his villa on the Pincio, but
most of them were removed to Florence in the XVIIIth century. In Cock’s engraving one can see the Marsyas of the Uffizi, the
so-called Thusnelda and the two large clothed statues of the Loggia de’ Lanzi,
the statue of a barbarian of the Giardino Boboli, and many other masterpieces
now preserved in the city on the Arno.
Under Leo X the Rione di S.
Eustachio was enriched by two new and imposing palaces: the Palazzo Lante ai Capretari, built by
Jacopo Sansovino, and the Palazzo Maccarani, which
Giulio Romano designed for the Cenci. The Palazzo Patrizi, situated near the
French national church, was also celebrated, as were the Palazzo Caffarelli
(Vidoni) and the Palazzo Piccolomini in the Piazza Siena. Constanza Piccolomini,
Duchess of Amalfi, gave up her residence to the Theatines, under Sixtus V, who
transformed it into a monastery, alongside which arose the large baroque church
of S. Andrea della Valle. The little church of S. Sebastiano di Via Papae, of
which an altar in the new building reminds us, disappeared in the complete
reorganization of the district which was undertaken at that time.
The master of ceremonies of Alexander VI, Johannes
Burchard, from the diocese of Strasbourg, had built himself a large house in
the Rione di S. Eustachio, not far from the Palazzo
Cesarini; on the tower of this house one could read the inscription “Argentina,”
a name which still lives on in the name of the street and theatre there. This
house was an exception in the city of the Renaissance, for it was built in the
gothic style, as was customary in Germany. Part of it, though in a deplorable
condition, can still be seen.
The Rione di Campo
Marzo restricted the former Campus Martius to a much smaller space. The
central point of this, the most northern part of Rome, which was bounded on the
west by the Tiber, and on the east by the Pincio, was
that mighty monument of antiquity, the Mausoleum of the Emperor Augustus. It
had served the Colonna as a fortress in the Middle Ages, and had been turned
into a garden under Paul III; the Soderini had laid
it out by using the remains of the walls which encircled it, and adorning it
with statues in the fashion of the period. The obelisk, found in 1519 near S.
Rocco, which had once stood at the entrance of the Mausoleum, lay, broken into
four pieces, in the Via di Ripetta.
Many foreigners, as the names of the streets prove,
had settled in this quarter, on account of the national charitable institutions
for the Bretons, the Portuguese, the Sclavonians and
the Lombards : S. Ivo, S. Antonio, S. Girolamo and S. Ambrogio (afterwards S.
Carlo in Corso). This district had improved a great deal since the time of Leo X.
Under Julius III it became still more important, for it was that Pope who had
the great Palazzo Cardelli, which had been used by Cardinal Carpi from 1537 to
1547, reconstructed and decorated, to serve as a residence for his brother. The
celebrated hospital of S. Giacomo in Augusta, the old Benedictine monastery of
St. Gregory Nazianzen, S. Maria, SSma Trinita de’
Monti on the Pincio, the burial place of the Rovere,
S. Maria del Popolo, which was filled with the most beautiful works of the
Renaissance, all belonged to the Rione di Campo
Marzo. The neighbouring gate, by which most of the visitors from the north
entered the Eternal City, formed, with the bastions of Sixtus IV, a very
picturesque object, as we can see from the sketch of Heemskerck.
The irregular Piazza del Popolo was not yet adorned
with the obelisks. Three streets, intersecting the Rione di Colonna, led thence into the city: on the right, the Via di Ripetta, on the left, the Via del Babuino,
and in the centre, the Via Lata, or Corso, so called from the races held there
in carnival time. These main streets, however, were by no means the busiest;
near the gate the houses were few in number, while to the right and left,
garden walls arose. The Via Babuino, named after the
Silenus on a fountain, was not built over towards the Pincio.
The northern part of the Ripetta is called Via Populi
in Bufalini’s plan. The small cross-street, joining the Ripetta to the Corso near the Mausoleum of Augustus, received the name of Via de’ Pontefici from the frescoes with which the Spanish humanist
and poet, Saturnio Gerona, who lived there, had decorated his house. They were
portraits of the Popes under whom Saturnio had served during his fifty years
residence in Rome.
If one looks at the above mentioned districts of Rome,
the most astonishing thing is the crowding together of the population in the
low-lying neighbourhood of the Tiber. The wide hilly districts to the north and
south and east, the Pincio, the Quirinal, the
Viminal, the Esquiline and the Coelian, were, like the Aventine, almost
uninhabited. Besides the venerable basilicas, high towers, dating from
mediaeval times, rose up everywhere, but, apart from monasteries, there were in
these neighbourhoods, which seemed consecrated for ever to prayer and
seclusion, but few dwelling houses. The principal reason for this is given in a
remark of Fichard, which seems very surprising in
view of the plentiful supply of water now at the disposal of Rome, but which
may be understood if we bear in mind the systematic destruction of the Roman
aqueducts at the time of the Sack. The Frankfort traveller says that he saw
very few fountains in the whole city. The population had to be content with the
water from cisterns and from the Tiber, which was daily carried round the city.
To what a great extent this was done is evident from the fact that the
water-carriers formed a guild of their own (the Compagnia degli Acquarenari). They
procured the water at the Porta del Popolo, where it was not yet contaminated,
and then left it standing for four or live days. It seems incredible that the
water of the yellow Tiber was considered healthy, and was carried about by Paul
III as well as by Clement VII, when they were travelling. The physician,
Alessandro Petroni, the friend of Ignatius of Loyola, praises the beneficial
effects of the water of the Tiber, in a pamphlet dedicated to Julius III.
The uninhabited district, which comprised two-thirds
of the space enclosed by the Aurelian walls, was full of the magic of past
associations. The mighty remains of antiquity, as well as the venerable
basilicas and monasteries, dating from the early days of Christianity and from
mediaeval times, lay scattered in magnificent isolation and picturesque
solitude. They formed the chief attraction for the pilgrims, who continued to
flock in crowds to the centre of ecclesiastical unity, while the wonders of the
old churches did not escape the notice of scholars, who, however, as well as
educated people in general, were far more attracted by the ancient ruins and
buildings, for the study of which the topographical works of Bartolomeo Marliani, of 1544, and of Lucio Fauno,
of 1548, gave a great deal of useful information. The ruins of ancient Rome lay
quite alone, for the vignas which many Cardinals and
nobles had laid out in the hilly districts possessed for the most part only
modest country houses, which were only occupied in the autumn. The great
ostentatious villas, with extensive grounds, had as yet scarcely made their appearance,
and the districts which had been the centre of Republican and Imperial life in
ancient Rome, were now occupied by vineyards, gardens and fields, presenting a
purely rural appearance, with a desolate area of ruins, of the complete
desertion and solemn seclusion of which it is difficult at the present time to
form any idea.
Surrounded in great measure by old plane trees, dark
cypresses, lofty pine trees and thick laurels, these old ruins were the delight
of artists. The sketches of Heemskerck, as well as many of the later engravings
of Du Pérac, afford a picture of indescribable
romantic charm. In many places the ruins served as warehouses or stables, as
does the Sette Sale to this day; the Venetian ambassador, Mocenigo,
says that it is wonderful to see how vineyards, gardens and little copses have arisen round the antique arches and buildings.
The ancient buildings presented themselves to the
spectator in all their splendour ; they were far better preserved than they are
today, for, in spite of all the destruction of past centuries, many of them
still preserved their old marble facing, their columns and other ornamentation.
The creeping plants and brushwood, which had taken root wherever the cracks in
the brickwork had been laid bare, had contributed slowly but surely to the work
of destruction.
Great ruins always have something sublime in their
appearance, affecting the spectator no less through the actual mass of
stonework than by their appeal to the imagination, which gives a new existence
to their former grandeur. Nowhere was such an impressive and affecting picture
of the past offered to the traveller as in Rome, by the sight of this world of
ancient gods and men lying in fragments. The melancholy which overcomes us “poor
sons of a day” at such a spectacle, finds effective expression in the verses
with which Joachim du Bellay, in the first book of his “Antiquites de Rome” (1558) speaks of the ruins which he had visited.
In singular contrast to the archaeological cultus,
which was so devoted to the worship of the antique, is the ruthless manner in
which the ancient buildings were robbed of their marbles and columns during the
whole of the Renaissance period, and used as convenient materials for new
buildings; in their merciless search for antiquities, much more was destroyed
than was ever intended or realized. Very disastrous too were the excavations
under the foundations of the ancient buildings. One can clearly see how, in the
Cinquecento, the mighty halls of the Baths of Diocletian were undermined and
caused to collapse by such excavations. At the beginning of the reign of Julius
III, a Sicilian priest had built a little chapel close to these great Baths of
the ancient city, but he was driven thence by the vagabonds who used the ruins
as a place of refuge. These Thermae, with their majestic halls, gave Fichard the impression of a row of churches. As a building
he considered them worthy of the greatest admiration, but it was rather
difficult at that time to determine for what purpose they had been erected.
Great changes were begun in that neighbourhood by the laying out of the villa,
the celebrated Horti Bellajani, which owed its origin
to the artistic and ostentatious Cardinal du Bellay.
The Baths of Titus and the Amphitheatrum Castrense, which served the monks of S. Croce in Gerusalemme as a garden, were, at that time, as the
engravings show, in a much better state of preservation than they are today.
The Colosseum made an immense impression on all visitors to Rome, although the
lower storey was still partially buried, up to the capitals of the arches. Fichard describes it as the largest and most beautiful of
all the monuments of antiquity; nowhere else, he says, can one realize so well
the majesty of the Roman people as in this wonderful work, with the sight of
which one can never be satiated. What must it have been, he adds, when it was
still in a perfect state, and adorned with all its statues!
Heemskerck’s sketches give a striking picture of the
state of the Forum, in which the ruins and columns were half buried in earth
and rubbish. They also show how the Arch of Titus was still quite walled in by
its mediaeval covering, while the Arch of Severus, on the other hand, had all
three openings laid open to a considerable depth, but was still crowned by its
mediaeval battlements. Between the Arch of Severus and the Temple of Saturn,
and quite close to the ruins of Vespasian’s Temple, stood the old church of SS.
Sergio e Bacco, which, more fortunate than others, had escaped destruction at
the demolitions of Paul III. in connection with the solemn entry of Charles V
into the city. S. Maria Nuova still had the façade of Honorius III. The
building alongside the church was connected with the Palatine by the mediaeval
fortress of the Frangipani. Fichard could still
admire, in the Basilica of Maxentius, then called the Templum Pacis, one of those immense white marble Corinthian columns, which once stood
as the central pillars. He declared this column, which was later placed in
front of S. Maria Maggiore, to be the most beautiful in Rome. In the Circus
Maximus, which served as a vegetable garden, the arches which supported the
tiers of seats were still in a good state of preservation; the Romans of older
times had had warehouses and taverns arranged there, where they could refresh
themselves during the summer months.
With regard to the Palace of the Caesars on the
Palatine, at that time called the Palazzo Maggiore, Fichard acknowledged that he could not form any clear idea of what it once had looked
like. The hill, still covered with mighty ruins, was partly in the possession
of monasteries and private persons, and partly without any owner. Everything
was much overgrown with shrubs and trees, between which vineyards had been
planted in suitable places. In several of the unfenced parts flocks of cattle
and sheep were feeding. An exquisite drawing by Heemskerck gives a very
valuable general view of the south-western slope of the Palatine, and the
expanse of the Circus Maximus. Heemskerck has also sketched the panorama which
unfolds itself before the delighted eye of the visitor to the Palatine, taken
from the platform of the Belvedere towards the Colosseum, as well as the
picturesque ruins of the Velabro.
Excavations had already been begun on the Palatine
under Leo X, and on a more comprehensive scale under Paul III, which were
continued under Julius III. Pirro Ligorio describes these as an eyewitness. The
transformation, which gave a great part of the Palatine a perfectly different
appearance, is chiefly connected with the name of the nephew of the Farnese
Pope, Alessandro Farnese having remodelled his vigna built there, and turned it into a magnificent villa. The value the Cardinal
attached to this property is clear from the fact that in the document of
presentation of his villa near the Palazzo Maggiore in favour of Ottavio
Farnese, on April 17th, 1548, he laid it down that it should always remain in
the possession of the Farnese family.
Of the principal ornament of the Palatine, the
celebrated Septizonium, only the east front then
remained. Heemskerck repeatedly sketched this last fragment of the gorgeous
facade of the palace of Septimus Severus facing the Appian Way, and,
conscientious as ever, he has not omitted the little additions made to the
building by the Frangipani in the XIIth century.
The whole neighbourhood of the Imperial Fora, which
was essentially altered under Pius V by the laying out of the Via Alessandrina,
afforded until then an exceedingly remarkable spectacle. In chaotic confusion
the towers of the Conti, Colonna and Gaetani rose above miserable houses and
the massive residence of the Knights of St. John, built in the XIVth century. A much greater part of the Forum of Nerva
was then preserved than at the present day; of the Forum of Trajan, which
surpassed all the others in size and splendour, the ruins of the great Exedra
were still standing on the southern slope of the Quirinal. Paul III had
uncovered the pedestal of the triumphal arch of the Emperor, and during these
excavations the little church of St. Nicholas ad Columnam,
built in the XIIth century, was pulled down. A row of
houses which surrounded the spot, was only demolished in 1812. The church of S.
Maria di Loreto, erected by the Guild of Bakers, was not yet completed. In the
immediate neighbourhood, in the Macel de’ Corvi, Michael Angelo had his modest
dwelling and studio; the building was modernized later on, but early in the
year 1902, the last remains of the house in which the master lived for thirty
years disappeared.
The traveller who pursued his lonely way through
peaceful vignas to the remains of ancient
Rome, was reminded at every step of the power which had subdued the pagan, by
the churches and monasteries which he met with at every turn, The book of the
world’s history lay here spread out before him, a striking reminder of the
transitoriness of all that is earthly, and of the eternal power of God; the
realization of this was intensified as the stillness in which this region was wrapt seemed to grow deeper, the only sound that broke the
silence being the Angelus bell at noon and eventide. The solemn influence of
the surroundings was still further increased when the pilgrim entered the
venerable sanctuaries, each with its distinctive features, where, in the days
of primitive Christianity, the martyrs and saints had found their resting
place. All these were still untouched by the later, and often so devastating
alterations and restorations. With their columns, mostly taken from ancient
buildings, their gleaming marble floors, and grave mosaic pictures, they must
have been eloquent apologists for the one unchanging Church, which had here,
for more than a thousand years, untroubled by all outward vicissitudes, prayed
and offered sacrifice as in the days of the Apostles.
Among all the Christian monuments contained in the Rione de Monti, none was so venerable and rich in holy
and great memories of the history of the Church and of the world, as the Lateran
Basilica, which, as the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, was named the “Mother
and Head of all the churches of the world.” From the adjoining palace, the
chapel of which, on account of its particularly sacred and important relics,
was called the Sancta Sanctorum, the Popes of ancient and mediaeval times had
governed the Christian world; five General Councils had been held there.
The reconstruction begun under Pius IV in 1560 had not
yet destroyed the original form of the t exceedingly picturesque palace. It was
a very extensive and complicated medley of buildings, designed in a most
confused way, which had been collecting there since the IVth century; several drawings of Heemskerck enable us to reconstruct the old palace
completely. Even then the building had greatly deteriorated; the Scala Santa,
which was connected with the old palace, was on its north facade. On the wide
unpaved space there, Heemskerck saw and sketched the statue of Marcus Aurelius,
on the base which had been erected by Sixtus IV, and in front of which stood
two lions on short pillars. To the left of the north entrance was situated the
great Council Hall, with the dainty gothic Loggia of the Benediction, which
Boniface VIII. had dedicated in the Jubilee of 1300; to the right was the Baptistery,
the entrance to which was opposite to that of today. In front of the principal
facade of the basilica, which had three gothic windows, there was a portico
with six columns. The interior of the church, which has since been entirely
modernized, caused, in its then intact condition, the great memories of the
Middle Ages to pass like living pictures before the mind of the spectator. In
the portico were the tombs of Alexander II, John X, John XII and Sylvester II.
In the interior of the five aisled basilica was the monument of Martin V. Many
places showed the traces of the troublous times
through which the basilica had passed. Fichard saw,
in the beautiful gleaming pavement, which was polished like a mirror, the
traces of a conflagration. The learned traveller could still see the “Lex Regia”
in the church, and he especially admired the exquisite columns, not yet
enclosed in pilasters, as well as the frescoes of Gentile da Fabriano,
afterwards completely destroyed.
The basilica of S. Maria Maggiore, which formed the
central point of the very extensive Rione de’ Monti,
still bore, at that time, the grave impress of the old days. The large side
chapels of Sixtus V and Paul V were not in existence, nor were the palatial
buildings which form wings on either side of the principal facade, nor the
tasteful double portico which Fuga erected between them in 1743. From the
summit of the old façade, the mosaics shed their glory on the spectator; these
had been executed at the end of the XIIIth century by
Filippo Rusutti, to the order of Cardinals Giacomo
and Pietro Colonna. The vestibule erected by Eugenius III. was still to be
seen, as was the magnificent patriarchal palace, which adjoined the basilica.
Four ancient monasteries, among them that of St. Adalbert, formed a fitting
environment for this, the most important of the churches dedicated to Our Lady
in Rome. S. Croce also still had its old vestibule at that time, but this, as
well as the interior, fell a victim to the reconstructions in the baroque style
by Gregorini in 1743.
The many tombs and inscriptions which covered the
walls and floor of this, as well as all the other churches of Rome, made a deep
impression. The inscriptions told of the never ceasing care which the Popes of
all centuries had devoted to the restoration and adornment of the churches of
their seat of government with relics and indulgences. The epitaphs, which
almost covered the floor, as is still the case today in S. Maria in Aracoeli and S. Onofrio, proclaimed the names and deeds of
countless distinguished, celebrated, rich or learned men. What a wealth of
memories they contain, from the touchingly simple tombstones of the earliest
Christian days, to the magnificent marble monuments of the Renaissance, with
their elegant Latin inscriptions, partly pious and partly tinged with paganism!
A great part of Rome’s history, her Popes, Cardinals, prelates, nobles,
scholars, poets, humanists and artists was enshrined here. No part of her
history, down to that dreadful year of war and pestilence, 1527, and to the
restoring activity of Paul III, but had left its traces on these stones. All
states, professions and ages were represented here ; deep piety, true love,
bitter grief, as well as verbosity, offensive vain-glory, and not infrequently
comic naivete—all these found expression here. The numerous tombs of foreigners
bore witness to the eminently cosmopolitan character of Rome, the capital of
the world. Representatives of all the provinces of Italy, as of all the
different countries of Europe, especially of Spain and Germany, were to be
found among them.
More than by all these memories and treasures of art,
however, pious pilgrims were attracted by the graces which they could obtain in
the Holy Places, and by the relics which were preserved there. The guide for
pilgrims, in which the Mirabilia Romae were set
forth, described these in the most complete way. Before everything else came
the Tomb of the Prince of the Apostles, St. Peter, the pilgrimage place of the
whole world. It was the first spot to which the pilgrims flocked from every
land. The pilgrimage to the seven principal churches, for which rich
indulgences were granted, was undertaken on a single day. The pilgrim would
begin with the church of St. Paul, which was situated far outside the gate of
that name. Then came the church of St. Sebastian, on the Via Appia, which was
reached by the Via delle Sette Chiese.
The opportunity of visiting the neighbouring catacomb was generally taken
advantage of when there. Visits to the Lateran, S. Croce, S. Lorenzo fuori le mure, S. Maria Maggiore,
and finally St. Peter’s, were also necessary in order to gain the great
indulgence. This pilgrimage, always difficult on account of the great distance
between the churches, was rendered still more arduous by the bad condition of
the roads.
No pilgrim failed to be present at the great
ceremonies, at which the Pope either celebrated himself, or at which he
assisted. The Pope himself celebrated regularly at Christmas, Easter, and the
feast of SS. Peter and Paul, unless prevented by illness. The splendour and
magnificence of Catholic ritual was then displayed on the grandest scale, not
only in St. Peter’s, but also in all the other principal basilicas. An overwhelming
impression was made on all present when the Head of the Church pronounced, on
Maundy Thursday and Easter Day, from the Loggia of the Benediction, close to
St. Peter’s, the solemn Blessing on the city and the world, “Urbi et Orbi.” In
the Jubilee year of 1550, more than 50,000 persons had flocked together to St.
Peter’s Square, while in 1554, the number amounted to 30,000.
On the Feast of the Annunciation, it had been
customary since the middle of the XVth century for
the Pope to proceed in solemn procession, accompanied by the Cardinals,
prelates, and nobles to S. Maria sopra Minerva, where, after High Mass, in
accordance with a foundation of Cardinal Torquemada, poor maidens—there were
150 of them in 1550—received their dowry. Like their predecessors, Paul III and
Julius III never failed to be present on the other great feasts of the Church,
unless prevented by illness. Above all, they made a special point of never
omitting to take part in the procession of Corpus Christi, and at the Requiem
Mass on the anniversary of their predecessor’s death, which, as well as the
Coronation Day festivities, took place in the Sixtine Chapel. They also took
part in the ceremonies of Holy Week.
The affecting solemnities of Holy Week began on Palm
Sunday. The Pope, who generally said mass very early in his private chapel,
appeared at nine o’clock in the Sixtine Chapel for High Mass, generally
celebrated by one of the Cardinals. Then followed the Blessing of the Palms.
The first palm was presented by the Dean of the Sacred College to the Pope, who
then distributed palms to the Cardinals, ambassadors, Roman nobles, the
Penitentiaries of St. Peter’s, his famiglia,
and such persons as had gained admission to the ceremony. On the Wednesday,
three hours before the Ave, began the so-called Tenebrae. In St. Peter’s, the
Sudarium of St. Veronica was exposed on the morning of this day.
On Maundy Thursday, the Pope said mass very early and
gave communion to all the members of his court. At ten o’clock the Capella
Papale began in the Sixtine Chapel. After the High Mass, celebrated by a
Cardinal, Julius III, accompanied by all the members of the Sacred College, and
many bishops and prelates, bore the Blessed Sacrament to the Capella Paolina,
built by Paul III. Then followed the reading of the Bull In Coena Domini in Latin and Italian, by a Cardinal from the Loggia of the Benediction, and
then the great Papal Blessing. Then, in the Hall of Consistory, came the “Mandatum”
when the Pope personally washed the feet of twelve poor men. On the same day
the Sudarium of St. Veronica was again exposed in St. Peter’s. In all the
churches of the city there was adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. A German who
visited Rome in the spring of 1554, relates how great was the fervour displayed
in the adoration of the Holy Eucharist, which was in happy contrast to the
indifference and irreverence which had generally prevailed in the golden age of
the Renaissance. On this day the “sepulchres” were made the central point of
attraction for the faithful, and they were adorned in every possible way, with
costly rugs, silver candlesticks, and with countless lights and many-coloured
lamps. This impetus to the veneration of the Holy Eucharist, which was also
shown in other places at the period of the Catholic Reformation, Rome owed to
the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament, which had been founded by Paul III,
in 1539, at the instance of the Dominican, Tommaso Stella.
The solemn and unique ceremonies with which the Church
commemorates the death of her Bridegroom, in so affecting a manner, began very
early on Good Friday. On this day the Pope personally brought back the Blessed
Sacrament from the Pauline Chapel to the Sixtine. The singing of the Passion,
according to St. John, was followed by a sermon. Immediately afterwards, the
intercessory prayers were sung, in which the necessities of all men are
remembered. All present took part in the affecting Adoration of the Holy Cross.
First of all the Pope approached the Cross, barefooted and divested of all the
outer insignia of his high office, then the Cardinals, prelates and
ambassadors. The Mass of the Presanctified was celebrated by a Cardinal. On
Good Friday evening, the Brotherhood of the Gonfalone had, since the XIVth century, been in the habit of
making a procession, carrying crosses, to the Colosseum. In the year of
Jubilee, 1550, 1500 men took, part in this pious pilgrimage, of whom 335 bore
large crosses. The Brotherhood of the Cross, of S. Marcello, also arranged a
procession in this year, in which 1200 men took part, many of whom scourged
themselves. They all visited the four principal churches prescribed for gaining
the Jubilee Indulgence.
On the morning of Holy Saturday a Cardinal officiated
in the Sixtine Chapel in the presence of the Pope. At the Gloria, the music
started, and the bells were again rung. That was the signal for all the
churches of Rome to announce the approaching Feast of the Resurrection. The
unique impression caused by the wave-like rise and fall of the sound of the
bells of every size and depth of tone led Rabelais to make his celebrated
comparison of the Eternal City to a chiming island.
At the celebration of High Mass in St. Peter’s on
Easter Sunday, the Pope distributed Holy Communion to all the Cardinals, the
Canons of the Basilica, the Roman nobles, and whatever princes might be
present, as, for example, in 1550, to the Dukes of Urbino and Ferrara.
Not only strangers, but the Romans also, flocked in
great numbers to the ecclesiastical ceremonies, while in Lent they assisted
regularly at the so-called Stations” in
the different churches. During this time, the otherwise so silent Rione de’ Monti came to life, all classes hastening to the
tombs of the martyrs. During the Renaissance period there were proceedings of a
very worldly character here. A remarkable and salutary reaction against such
unseemly proceedings in holy places was, however, making itself felt. It was
the champions of the Catholic Reformation who, in this also, gave the
incentive to improvement.
Long before the Council of Trent had impressed upon
clergy and laity what was to be observed in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and
what was to be avoided, those men, burning with the love of God, who had
inscribed the reformation of ecclesiastical conditions on their banners, at the
head of whom was Ignatius of Loyola, and, soon in keen emulation of him, the
youthful Philip Neri, had devoted the whole of their powers to teaching all, by
word and example, how to venerate in a fitting manner the House of God, a thing
which had so much suffered in the time of the Renaissance. Whoever visited S.
Dorotea in Trastevere, the seat of the Oratory of
Divine Love, S. Maria della Strada, the church of the founder of the Jesuits,
S. Girolamo della Carita or S. Salvatore in Campo, where Philip Neri lived and
worked, or the little churches of the Theatines in the Campo Marzo or on the Pincio, or that of the Capuchins, S. Nicola de’ Portiis, on the Quirinal, could not but be deeply moved.
Evil-living men of the Renaissance, who visited them out of curiosity, were not
infrequently completely converted. Here were to be found priests who, in their
lives, were representatives of that reform that was so longed for and so often discussed.
These little poorly-equipped houses of God were so eagerly sought after that
they could no longer contain the multitude of the faithful who flocked there
for the masses and sermons. There is still in existence a petition of the time
of Julius III, begging the Pope to commission Ignatius of Loyola to build a
larger church, as S. Maria della Strada was too small and inconvenient for the
great numbers who wished to hear the word of God there, and to receive the
sacrament of penance. This was the first step towards the erection of the
magnificent church of the Gesu, to which were afterwards added the great church
of the Theatines at S. Andrea della Valle, and that of the Oratorians at S.
Maria in Vallicella, which were not only of great importance for the religious
life of Rome, but were also a notable addition to the beauty of the city.
For all the ceremonial of the Church which was
conducted by the Pope in person, or in his presence, very strict regulations,
going into the minutest details, had been fixed from time immemorial, and the
exact carrying out of these was carefully watched over by the master of
ceremonies. The pomp which was displayed on these solemn occasions by Paul III.
and Julius III., found a fitting setting in the majestic music which
accompanied them. A German who spent Holy Week and Easter in Rome in 1554,
points out that, in this respect, most wonderful effects were obtained, both in
the Lateran and at St. Peter’s, where Palestrina was choirmaster.
Not only the church festivals, but the churches
themselves made a deep impression on all strangers. It is noteworthy that Fichard, despite all his enthusiasm for antiquity, names,
as the principal objects of interest in the Eternal City, the Vatican, with the
Library and the Belvedere, the Cancelleria, the
Basilica of St. Peter, the Lateran, S. Paul fuori le
Mura, S. Maria Maggiore, S. Maria sopra Minerva, S. Maria del Popolo, and the
German national church, S. Maria dell’ Anima, with the beautiful tomb of Adrian
VI.
Eight years after the visit of the Frankfort
traveller, an unknown Florentine pilgrim to Rome wrote some notes concerning
the principal creations of Renaissance art which were then to be seen in the
Eternal City. These remarks, which are interesting from several points of view,
begin with the Basilica of the Prince of the Apostles, and its reconstruction.
The anonymous writer particularly praises, among the works of art in the
basilica, the Pieta of Michael Angelo, which had been placed in the Oratory of
St. Gregory after the demolition of the chapel of St. Petronilla. Of the
remaining monuments in St. Peter’s, only the tombs of Sixtus IV and Innocent
VIII are mentioned. The Stanze and the Loggie of
Raphael, then still in all the fresh glory of their colouring, and the Sixtine
Chapel, with its incomparable frescoes, he cites as the most remarkable objects
of interest in the Vatican. He complains, with justice, of the destruction of
Fra Angelico’s Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament. Among the churches, he only
mentions those which contained prominent examples of Renaissance ait. At S.
Agostino, besides Raphael’s Isaias, the Madonna del Parto, by Jacopo Sansovino,
and the marble group, representing Our Lady, St. Anne, and the Divine Child by
Andrea Sansovino, were regarded, even at that time, as objects of the greatest
interest. The former stands today to the right of the entrance, and the latter
on the left side, at the third column, under the Isaias. The Florentine praises
the Sybils of Raphael, in S. Maria della Pace, as one of the most beautiful of
that painter’s works in Rome. He also mentions Baldassare Peruzzi’s
Presentation in the Temple, which was not then repainted to such an extent as
it is today. Of the many splendid marble tombs in S. Maria del Popolo, he only
speaks of the two largest and most beautiful: the monuments of Cardinals
Girolamo Basso and Ascanio Maria Sforza, by Andrea Sansovino. Very remarkably,
he omits all mention of Pinturrichio’s frescoes on
the ceiling of the choir, or of the glass paintings of Claude and Guillaume Marcillat, and even of the wonderful Chigi chapel. On the
other hand he tells us of the two pictuies by Raphael:
the Madonna di Loreto, which afterwards disappeared, and the celebrated
portrait of Julius II, which now adorns the Uffizi; both of these were at that
time, hung on the pillars of the church on solemn occasions. In S. Maria in Aracoeli, he admired Raphael’s Madonna di Foligno, and in
the church of the Dominicans, S. Maria sopra Minerva, he makes mention of
Filippo Lippi’s frescoes in the Carafa chapel, and Michael Angelo’s statue of
Christ, as the principal works of art there. The tombs of Leo X and Clement VII
are mentioned, but, as may easily be understood, not praised. Of the Moses of
Michael Angelo in S. Pietro in Vincoli the Florentine says that it appears to
him to be a “divine” work. He also makes mention of the tombs of Pietro and
Antonio Pollajuolo in the same church. The statue of
St. James, by Jacopo Sansovino was at that time in the Spanish national church
of S. Giacomo, and is now in S. Maria in Monserrato.
Among the works of art in the city on the other side
of the Tiber, the Florentine extols the fresco decoration of the Farnesina and the incomparable Tempietto of Bramante in S.
Pietro in Montorio. In this church, Raphael’s
Transfiguration still adorned the high altar at that time. He was also still
able to admire in the same church, besides Sebastiano del Piombo’s fresco, the
Scourging at the Pillar, which is still preserved, the adjoining picture of St.
Francis by Michael Angelo, which afterwards disappeared.
Just as the Florentine traveller only cites works of
the Renaissance, so does Ulisse Aldrovandi confine himself almost exclusively
to the works of antiquity in his account, drawn up in 1550. Of the modern works
of sculpture, he mentions only a few, principally some works of Michael Angelo,
to whose Moses he believes he is giving the highest possible praise when he
says that it could take its place by the side of any ancient work of art. One
looks in vain for the name of any other modern master in Aldrovandi’s list. How
little he values them in comparison with the sculptors of antiquity is evident
from such remarks as: “A Mercury with a lyre, a beautiful statue, but modern.”
“A female figure, with bare breast, but a modern work.” One learns even less
from the descriptions of the Bolognese scholar concerning Rome’s wealth of
paintings, or of the many costly treasures which the palaces of the nobles,
and, above all, of the Cardinals, contained.
How much the interest of most people was captivated by
the works of antiquity, is apparent in the guide-books of the time, where most
of the space is invariably devoted to these, the details concerning mediaeval
objects of interest being mostly confined to lists of the relics and
indulgences of the different churches. In one such guide-book of the year 1563,
an estimate of the time necessary for a visit to the principal objects of
interest in Rome is given, which is very characteristic. The arrangement for a
three days’ visit is for a stranger who starts very early, and has a horse at
his disposal. The Borgo is taken as a starting point for the first day, after
which the Trastevere, the island in the Tiber, Monte Testaccio, S. Paolo fuori le
Mura, S. Gregorio, the Baths of Caracalla, S. Stefano Rotondo, and the Lateran
are to be visited. A tour is suggested for the second day which makes still
greater demands on the traveller with a thirst for knowledge: from the
Mausoleum of Augustus to S. Maria del Popolo, the Trinita de’ Monti, Monte
Cavallo with the celebrated vignas of Cardinals Carpi
and Este, then S. Agnese outside the walls, the Baths of Diocletian, S. Pudenziana, S. Maria Maggiore, the Sette Sale, the
Colosseum, the Palatine, the Forum, the Capitol, the Theatre of Marcellus, the
Portico of Octavia, and finally the Capodiferro and
Farnese palaces. The tour on the third day was to begin at the Piazza Colonna;
besides a visit to the Column of Trajan, the church of the Minerva and the
Pantheon, the guide-book recommended a visit to one of the valuable private
collections of ancient and modern pictures, namely the house of Mgr. Girolamo Garimberti, Bishop of Gallese, on Monte Citorio.
The midday meal was to be taken at one of the osterie in the Piazza Navona,
near the Pasquino. For the afternoon a visit to the Villa Giulia was
recommended.
“In the houses of several Cardinals and many private
persons,” continues the same guide, “ there are still many beautiful things to
be seen, which I do not name, because they are continually being changed, and I
do not wish needlessly to trouble the traveller.” This change was always in the
direction of centralization of the ancient works of art. At the beginning of
the Cinquecento there were still many small collections, which gradually
disappeared. Already in the fourth decade of the century, the larger collections
of the Belvedere, the Capitol, the Cesi, Medici and
Valle, surpassed the smaller ones in value, whereas formerly, it appears, the
really valuable pieces were fairly evenly distributed. At the time of Aldrovandi,
the moderate sized collections, containing several really fine works, such as
were still to be found in the houses of the Sassi, Maffei and others when
Heemskerck was in Rome, had already lost their importance. Admission to several
of these depended upon the influence which the traveller could command.
The numerous and excellently arranged charitable
institutions, which were at once a great object of interest and a special
feature of Rome, were highly praised by all foreigners. The chief centre of
Christianity had, from time immemorial, given a living proof of the fructifying
energy of the Catholic faith in her works of charity. As had been the case in
the Middle Ages, so now the Popes, Cardinals, prelates and laity of all
conditions in the time of the Renaissance were filled with a noble zeal to
minister to the needs of the sick, the miserable and the poor. From the point
of view of age and comprehensiveness, the hospital of Santo Spirito, which had
been reorganized by Sixtus IV, took the first place among the charitable
institutions. The hospital of S. Salvatore near the Lateran, and that of S.
Giacomo in Augusta, which had been endowed by the Cardinals of the House of
Colonna, also enjoyed a great reputation. These, as well as the hospitals
attached to S. Maria della Consolazione, S. Antonio
and S. Rocco, which the Popes encouraged in every way, by pecuniary support and
privileges, were distributed throughout the city in such a way that the needs
of the different quarters were well provided for.
The national hospices represented a special form of
benevolent institution which had been founded by the very numerous foreigners
resident in Rome, for the benefit of their fellow-countrymen. In these the
Catholic character of Rome as the centre of the Universal Church, found a very
characteristic expression. The Germans boasted of the largest number of such
institutions in comparison to their number, the first place among these having
been taken, since the XIVth century, by the Anima and
Campo Santo. To these were added smaller houses for the Flemish and Walloons,
the Bohemians and Hungarians. The Spanish, next to the Germans the nation most
largely represented in Rome, had, close to S. Giacomo in the Piazza Navona, and
S. Maria in Monserrato, houses for the lodging and
nursing of their poor and sick pilgrims. In a like manner, the Portuguese,
French, English, Scotch, Irish, Poles, Hungarians, Swedes, Dalmatians, and
South Slavs, as well as the Lombards, Genoese, Florentines, Sienese and Bergamaschi
had their own churches and national hospices, and, in most cases,
confraternities in connection with them. Several of these institutions were
destroyed by the falling away from the faith of so many peoples, but, in spite
of this, the Eternal City preserved, even at that critical time, her old
pre-eminence in generous hearted love of her neighbour. In closest union with
the silently increasing movement in the direction of Catholic Reformation,
Christian charity produced in Rome, as in other cities of Italy, the most
glorious fruits. After the members of the Oratory of Divine Love had endowed a
department of their own for incurables in the old hospital of S. Giacomo in
Augusta, Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici, who became Pope Clement VII, founded, in
the year 1519, the Confraternita della Carita for the
assistance of the poor who were ashamed to ask for charity, for the consolation
of prisoners and for the burial of the indigent. It was also Cardinal de’
Medici who prevailed on Leo X to sanction the convent for Magdalens in the
Corso, which had been founded by the members of the Oratory of Divine Love. The
orphanage near S. Maria in Aquiro owed its origin to
another Roman prelate.
A great number of institutes arose under Paul III. and
were protected by him, by means of which the ingenious charity of benevolent
and holy men sought to combat the material and moral evils of the time. The
Minorite, Giovanni da Calvi, the merchant Crivelli, and Cardinal Quinones laid
the foundations of the Monte di Pieta at this time. A self-sacrificing son of
Spain, Ferrante Ruiz, in conjunction with two nobles of Navarre, founded an
establishment for the insane, the care of whom had been up till now, almost
neglected. A house of refuge for converted female sinners near S. Marta, the
hospice for poor girls in peril, near S. Caterina de’ Funari, the institute for
converts near S. Giovanni del Mercatello at the foot
of the Capitol, and a society to assist the poor who were ashamed to beg, all
these owed their origin to the zeal of another Spaniard, Ignatius of Loyola.
Philip Neri founded in the time of Julius III the Compagnia della Trinita for the assistance of needy pilgrims, which had Christ alone as
its protector. There were also various other institutions for poor girls.
In yet another manner did the impetus in Catholic life
make itself felt in the field of charity. The charitable institutions were
better directed, and more care was devoted to the spiritual needs of the sick
and incurable. In this also it was the example given by Ignatius, and later by
Philip Neri, which was so helpful in recalling to the minds of the clergy and
laity the words of Our Lord: '‘As long as you did it to one of these my least
brethren, you did it to me.”
As in all other things, so in the field of charity
preparations were being made for the glorious epoch of Catholic reformation and
restoration, in which gentle saints and mighty Popes were indefatigably engaged
in the relief of the spiritual and corporal needs of their fellow men. While
this remarkable epoch brought about a complete change in spiritual life, so did
the “Roma Aeterna,” which had received a very worldly
impress in the days of the Renaissance, undergo a similar metamorphosis, and
that not in her outward appearance alone. With her great and glorious churches,
charitable institutions, great monasteries, and seminaries for priests of all
the different nations, she again became, through the increase of the religious
sense among her inhabitants, that for which Providence had designed her, as the
seat of the successors of St. Peter, the Holy City, which embodied, in the most
glorious manner, the Christian ideal.
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