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HISTORY OF THE POPES FROM THE CLOSE OF THE MIDDLE AGES

 

 

 

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.