1475 - 1521 (46 years)
Has more than 100 ancestors but no descendants in this family tree.
1471 - 1503 (32 years)
Birth |
1471 |
Died |
28 Dec 1503 |
|
Father |
Lorenzo I di Medici, "il Magnifico", b. 1449 |
Mother |
Clarice Orsini, b. 1450-1453 |
|
Family |
Alfonsina Orsini |
Children |
+ | 1. Lorenzo II di Medici, b. 1492 |
+ | 2. Clarissa di Medici, b. 1493 |
|
|
- Yes, date unknown
Died |
Yes, date unknown |
|
Father |
Conte Roberto Orsini, b. Abt 1430 |
Mother |
Catherine Sanseverino |
|
Family |
Piero II di Medici, "il Sfortunato", b. 1471 |
Children |
+ | 1. Lorenzo II di Medici, b. 1492 |
+ | 2. Clarissa di Medici, b. 1493 |
|
|
1473 - 1519 (46 years)
Birth |
1473 |
Died |
1519 |
|
Father |
Lorenzo I di Medici, "il Magnifico", b. 1449 |
Mother |
Clarice Orsini, b. 1450-1453 |
|
Family |
Franceschetto Cybo |
Children |
| 1. Cardinal Innocenzo Cybo, b. 25 Aug 1491 |
| 2. Katharina Cybo, b. 13 Sep 1501 |
| 3. Ippolita Cybo, b. 24 Sep 1503, Firenze, Toscana, Italia |
| 4. Clara Cybo |
| 5. Giovan Battista Cybo |
| 6. Pietro Cybo, b. 22 Sep 1511 |
+ | 7. Conte Lorenzo Cybo, b. 25 Jul 1500 |
|
|
- Yes, date unknown
Died |
Yes, date unknown |
|
Father |
Pope Innocenzo, VIII, b. 1432, Genoa, Liguria, Italia |
|
Family |
Maddalena di Medici, b. 1473 |
Children |
| 1. Cardinal Innocenzo Cybo, b. 25 Aug 1491 |
| 2. Katharina Cybo, b. 13 Sep 1501 |
| 3. Ippolita Cybo, b. 24 Sep 1503, Firenze, Toscana, Italia |
| 4. Clara Cybo |
| 5. Giovan Battista Cybo |
| 6. Pietro Cybo, b. 22 Sep 1511 |
+ | 7. Conte Lorenzo Cybo, b. 25 Jul 1500 |
|
|
1475 - 1521 (46 years)
Birth |
1475 |
Died |
1 Dec 1521 |
|
Father |
Lorenzo I di Medici, "il Magnifico", b. 1449 |
Mother |
Clarice Orsini, b. 1450-1453 |
|
1479 - 1516 (37 years)
Birth |
1479 |
Died |
17 Mar 1516 |
|
Father |
Lorenzo I di Medici, "il Magnifico", b. 1449 |
Mother |
Clarice Orsini, b. 1450-1453 |
|
Family |
Philiberta di Savoya, b. 1498 |
|
1498 - 1524 (26 years)
Birth |
1498 |
Died |
4 Apr 1524 |
|
Father |
Philippe I di Savoya, b. 5 Feb 1438 |
Mother |
Claudine de Brosse |
|
Family |
Duc Giuliano di Medici, b. 1479 |
|
1470 - 1550 (79 years)
Birth |
4 Aug 1470 |
Died |
1550 |
|
Father |
Lorenzo I di Medici, "il Magnifico", b. 1449 |
Mother |
Clarice Orsini, b. 1450-1453 |
|
Family |
Jacopo Salviati, b. 15 Sep 1461 |
Married |
1485 |
Children |
+ | 1. Maria Salviati, b. 17 Jul 1499, Firenze, Toscana, Italia |
+ | 2. Alamanno Salviati, b. 1510 |
+ | 3. Luisa Salviati, b. Abt 1490 |
+ | 4. Francesca Salviati |
|
|
1461 - 1533 (71 years)
Birth |
15 Sep 1461 |
Died |
6 Sep 1533 |
|
Father |
Giovanni Salviati |
Mother |
Maddalena Gondi, b. 12 Dec 1437 |
Married |
1455 |
|
Family |
Lucrezia di Medici, b. 4 Aug 1470 |
Married |
1485 |
Children |
+ | 1. Maria Salviati, b. 17 Jul 1499, Firenze, Toscana, Italia |
+ | 2. Alamanno Salviati, b. 1510 |
+ | 3. Luisa Salviati, b. Abt 1490 |
+ | 4. Francesca Salviati |
|
|
1449 - 1492 (43 years)
Birth |
1449 |
Died |
8 Apr 1492 |
Villa of Careggi, Florence |
|
Father |
Pietro di Medici, 'il Gottoso', b. 1416, Firenze, Toscana, Italia |
Mother |
Lucretia Tornabuoni, b. 1425 |
Married |
3 Jun 1444 |
|
Family 1 |
Philippina di Savoya |
|
Family 2 |
Clarice Orsini, b. 1450-1453 |
Children |
+ | 1. Piero II di Medici, "il Sfortunato", b. 1471 |
+ | 2. Maddalena di Medici, b. 1473 |
| 3. Pope Leo, X, b. 1475 |
| 4. Duc Giuliano di Medici, b. 1479 |
+ | 5. Lucrezia di Medici, b. 4 Aug 1470 |
|
|
1453 - 1488 (35 years)
Birth |
1450-1453 |
Died |
1488 |
|
Father |
Giacomo Orsini di Monterotondo, b. Abt 1410 |
Mother |
Maddalena Orsini, b. Abt 1420 |
|
Family |
Lorenzo I di Medici, "il Magnifico", b. 1449 |
Children |
+ | 1. Piero II di Medici, "il Sfortunato", b. 1471 |
+ | 2. Maddalena di Medici, b. 1473 |
| 3. Pope Leo, X, b. 1475 |
| 4. Duc Giuliano di Medici, b. 1479 |
+ | 5. Lucrezia di Medici, b. 4 Aug 1470 |
|
|
-
Name |
Leo |
Prefix |
Pope |
Suffix |
X |
Birth |
1475 |
Gender |
Male |
Prominent People |
1513-1521 |
Pope |
Death |
1 Dec 1521 |
Siblings |
4 Siblings |
|
Person ID |
I79169 |
Geneagraphie |
Last Modified |
20 Apr 2005 |
-
-
Notes |
- 1488 Cardinal, 1513 Papst, 151? Bannung Luthers
From Lorenzo the Magnificent, his father, the new pope had inherited a taste for art and the refined generosity of a great patron, perhaps his only real virtue. His pontificate, which lasted only nine years, would be the most tormented, as a consequence of the indiscriminate sale of indulginces, and would witness the spread through much of Northern Europe of the theories of Martin Luther and his followers.
Was from his earliest youth destined for the Church. He received tonsure in 1482 and in 1483 was made Abbot of Font Douce in the French Diocese of Saintes and appointed Apostolic prothonotary by Sixtus IV. All the benefices which the Medici could obtain were at his disposal; he consequently became possessed of the rich Abbey of Passignano in 1484 and in 1486 of Monte Cassino. Owing to the constant pressure brought to bear by Lorenzo and his envoys, Innocent VIII in 1489, created the thirteen year-old child a cardinal, on condition that he should dispense with the insignia and the privilege of his office for three years. Meanwhile his education was completed by the most distinguished Humanists and scholars, Angelo Poliziano, Marsilio Ficino, and Bernardo Dovizi (later Cardinal Bibbiena). From 1489 to 1491 Giovanni de' Medici studied theology and canon law, at Pisa, under Filippo Decio and Bartolomeo Sozzini. On 9 March, 1492, at Fiesole, he was invested with the insignia of a cardinal and on 22 March entered Rome. The next day the pope received him in consistory with the customary ceremonies. The Romans found the youthful cardinal more mature than his age might warrant them to expect. His father sent him an impressive letter of advice marked by good sense and knowledge of human nature, besides bearing witness to the high and virtuous sentiments to which the elder Lorenzo returned towards the end of his life. In this letter he enjoins upon his son certain rules of conduct, and admonishes him to be honourable, virtuous, and exemplary, the more so as the College of Cardinals at that time was deficient in these good qualities.
In the very next month Lorenzo's death recalled the cardinal to Florence. He returned once more to Rome for the papal election, which resulted, very much against his approval, in the elevation of the unworthy Alexander VI, after which Giovanni remained in Florence from August, 1492, until the expulsion of the Medici in 1494, when he fled from his native city in the habit of a Franciscan monk. After several fruitless attempts to restore the supremacy of his family, he led the life of a literary and artistic amateur. Patronage, liberality, and poor financial administration frequently reduced him even then to distressing straits; indeed, he remained a bad manager to the last. But though his manner of life was quite worldly he excelled in dignity, propriety, and irreproachable conduct most of the cardinals. Towards the end of the pontificate of Julius II (1503-1513), fortune once more smiled on Giovanni de' Medici. In August, 1511, the pope was dangerously ill and the Medici cardinal already aspired to the succession. In October, 1511, he became legate in Bologna and Romagna, and cherished the hope that his family would again rule in Florence. The Florentines had taken the part of the schismatic Pisans (see JULIUS II) for which reason the pope supported the Medici. Meanwhile the cardinal suffered another reverse. The army, Spanish and papal, with which he was sojourning, was defeated in 1512 at Ravenna by the French and he was taken prisoner. But it was a Pyrrhic victory, for the French soon lost all their possessions in Italy, and the cardinal, who was to have been taken to France, succeeded in making his escape. The supremacy of the Medici in Florence was re-established in September, 1512, and this unexpected change in the fortunes of his family was only the prelude to higher honours.
Julius II died on 21 February, 1513, and on 11 March Giovanni de' Medici, then but thirty-eight years old, was elected pope. In the first scrutiny he received only one vote. His adherents, the younger cardinals, held back his candidacy until the proper moment. The election met with approval even in France, although here and there a natural misgiving was felt as to whether the youthful pope would prove equal to his burden. In many quarters high hopes were placed in him by politicians who relied on his pliancy, by scholars and artists of whom he was already a patron, and by theologians who looked for energetic church reforms under a pacific ruler. Unfortunately he realized the hopes only of the artists, literati, and worldlings who looked upon the papal court as a centre of amusement.
Leo's personal appearance has been perpetuated for us in Raphael's celebrated picture at the Pitti Gallery in Florence, which represents him with Cardinals Medici and Rossi. He was not a handsome man. His fat, shiny, effeminate countenance with weak eyes protrudes in the picture from under a close-fitting cap. The unwieldy body is supported by thin legs. His movements were sluggish and during ecclesiastical functions his corpulence made him constantly wipe the perspiration from his face and hands, to the distress of the bystanders. But when he laughed or spoke the unpleasant impression vanished. He had an agreeable voice, knew how to express himself with elegance and vivacity, and his manner was easy and gracious. "Let us enjoy the papacy since God has given it to us", he is said to have remarked after his election. The Venetian ambassador who related this of him was not unbiased, nor was he in Rome at the time, nevertheless the phrase illustrates fairly the pope's pleasure-loving nature and the lack of seriousness that characterized him. He paid no attention to the dangers threatening the papacy, and gave himself up unrestrainedly to amusements, that were provided in lavish abundance. He was possessed by an insatiable love of pleasure, that distinctive trait of his family. Music, the theatre, art, and poetry appealed to him as to any pampered worldling. Though temperate himself, he loved to give banquets and expensive entertainments, accompanied by revelry and carousing; and notwithstanding his indolence he had a strong passion for the chase, which he conducted every year on the largest scale. From his youth he was an enthusiastic lover of music and attracted to his court the most distinguished musicians. At table he enjoyed hearing improvisations and though it is hard to believe, in view of his dignity and his artistic tastes, the fact remains that he enjoyed also the flat and absurd jokes of buffoons. Their loose speech and incredible appetites delighted him. In ridicule and caricature he was himself a master. Pageantry, dear to the pleasure-seeking Romans, bull-fights, and the like, were not neglected. Every year he amused himself during the carnival with masques, music, theatrical performances, dances, and races. Even during the troubled years of 1520 he took part in unusually brilliant festivities. Theatrical representations, with agreeable music and graceful dancing, were his favourite diversions. The papal palace became a theatre and the pope did not hesitate to attend such improper plays as the immoral "Calendra" by Bibbiena and Ariosto's indecent "Suppositi". His contemporaries all praised and admired Leo's unfailing good temper, which he never entirely lost even in adversity and trouble. Himself cheerful, he wished to see others cheerful. He was good-natured and liberal and never refused a favour either to his relatives and fellow Florentines, who flooded Rome and seized upon all official positions, or to the numerous other petitioners, artists and poets. His generosity was boundless, nor was his pleasure in giving a pose or desire for vainglory; it came from the heart. He never was ostentatious and attached no importance to ceremonial. He was lavish in works of charity; convents, hospitals, discharged soldiers, poor students, pilgrims, exiles, cripples, the blind, the sick, the unfortunate of every description were generously remembered, and more than 6000 ducats were annually distributed in alms.
Under such circumstances, it is not surprising that the large treasure left by Julius II was entirely dissipated in two years. In the spring of 1515 the exchequer was empty and Leo never after recovered from his financial embarrassment. Various doubtful and reprehensible methods were resorted to for raising money. He created new offices and dignities, and the most exalted places were put up for sale. Jubilees and indulgences were degraded almost entirely into financial transactions, yet without avail, as the treasury was ruined. The pope's income amounted to between 500,000 and 600,000 ducats. The papal household alone, which Julius II had maintained on 48,000 ducats, now cost double that sum. In all, Leo spent about four and a half million ducats during his pontificate and left a debt amounting to 400,000 ducats. On his unexpected death his creditors faced financial ruin. A lampoon proclaimed that "Leo X had consumed three pontificates; the treasure of Julius II, the revenues of his own reign, and those of
his successor." It is proper, however, to pay full credit to the good qualities of
Leo. He was highly cultivated, susceptible to all that was beautiful, a polished
orator and a clever writer, possessed of good memory and judgment, in manner
dignified and majestic. It was generally acknowledged, even by those who were
unfriendly towards him, that he was unfeignedly religious and strictly fulfilled his
spiritual duties. He heard Mass and read his Breviary daily and fasted three
times a week. His piety cannot truly be described as deep or spiritual, but that
does not justify the continued repetition of his alleged remark: "How much we
and our family have profited by the legend of Christ, is sufficiently evident to all
ages." John Bale, the apostate English Carmelite, the first to give currency to
these words in the time of Queen Elizabeth, was not even a contemporary of
Leo. Among the many sayings of Leo X that have come down to us, there is not
one of a sceptical nature. In his private life he preserved as pope the
irreproachable reputation that he had borne when a cardinal. His character shows
a remarkable mingling of good and bad traits.
The fame of Leo X is due to his promotion of literature, science, and art. Under
him Rome became more than ever the centre of the literary world. "From all
parts", wrote Cardinal Riario in 1515 to Erasmus at Rotterdam, "men of letters
are hurrying to the Eternal City, their common country, their support, and their
patroness." Poets were especially numerous in Rome and few princes have been
so lauded in verse as Leo X. He lavished gifts, favours, positions, titles, not only
on real poets and scholars, but often on poetasters and commonplace jesters.
He esteemed particularly the papal secretaries Bembo and Sadoleto, both
celebrated poets and prose writers. Bembo charmed everyone by his polish and
wit. His classic Ciceronian letters exhibit a remarkably varied intercourse with
almost all the celebrities of his day. Among other things, he prepared a critical
edition of Dante's works and was a zealous collector of manuscripts, books, and
works of art. His conduct was not in accord with his position as papal notary,
count palatine, and incumbent of numerous benefices, for he was worldly and
self-indulgent. Sadoleto was quite another man. He led a pure and spotless life,
was a model priest, united in himself the different phases of ancient and modern
culture and was an ardent enthusiast for antiquity. In elegance and polish he was
in no way inferior to Bembo. Among the Latin poets of Medicean Rome we may
briefly mention Vida, who composed a poem of great merit, the "Christiade" and
was extolled by his contemporaries as the Christian Virgil; Sannazaro, author of
an epic poem on the birth of Christ which is a model of style; the Carmelite
Spagnolo Mantovano with his "Calendar of Feasts"; Ferreri, who in the most
naïve way recast the hymns in the Breviary with heathen terms, images, and
allusions. The total number of these poets exceeds one hundred; and a lampoon
of 1521 says they were more numerous than the stars in heaven. Most of them
have fallen into well-deserved oblivion.
This is equally true of the contemporary Italian poetry–more prolific than notable.
Among the Italian poets Trissino wrote a tragedy, "Sophonisba", and an epic
"L'Italia liberata dai Gothi", but had no real success with either in spite of earnest
purpose and beauty of language. Rucellai, a relative of the pope, whose clever
and sympathetic didactic poem on bees met with great approval from his
contemporaries, owed his reputation chiefly to an inferior work, the tragedy of
"Rosmonda". The celebrated improvisatore, Tebaldeo wrote in both Latin and
Italian. Towards Ariosto the pope was remarkably harsh. Archæology received
great encouragement. One of its most distinguished representatives was Manetti.
In 1521 the first collection of Roman topographical inscriptions appeared and
introduced a new era. Important progress was due to the works of the learned
antiquary, Fulvio. Fulvio, Calvo, Castiglione, and Raphael had planned an
archælogical survey of ancient Rome with accompanying text. Raphael's early
death abruptly interrupted the work which was carried on by Fulvio and Calvo.
The Greek language also found favour and encouragement; Aldus Manutius, the
Venetian publisher, whose excellent and correct editions of Greek classics
became so popular, was one of Leo's protégés. Andreas Johannes Lascaris and
Musurus were summoned from Greece to Rome and founded a Greek college,
the "Medicean Academy". Moreover, the pope encouraged the collection of
manuscripts and books. He recovered his family library which had been sold by
the Florentines in 1494 to the monks of San Marco, had it brought to Rome, and
enforced the regulations of Sixtus IV for the Vatican Library. The most
distinguished of his librarians was Inghirami, less indeed through any learned
works than for his gift of eloquence. He was called the Cicero of his age and
played an important rôle at court. In 1516 he was succeeded by the Bolognese
Humanist Beroaldo. Leo tried, as Nicholas V had formerly done, to increase the
treasures of the Vatican Library, and with this object sent emissaries in all
directions, even to Scandinavia and the Orient, to discover literary treasures and
either obtain them, or borrow them for the purpose of making copies. The results,
however, were unimportant. The Roman university, which had entered on decay,
was reformed, but did not long flourish. On the whole, Leo, as a literary
Mæcenas, has been overrated by his biographer Giovio and later panegyrists.
Relatively little was accomplished, partly on account of the constant lack of
money and partly because of the thoughtlessness and haste which the pope
often showed in distributing his favours. He was in reality only a dilettante. Yet he
gave an important stimulus to scientific and literary life, and was a potent factor
in the cultural development of the West.
More important results ensued from his promotion of art, though he was
unquestionably inferior in taste and judgment to his predecessor Julius II. Leo
encouraged painting beyond all other branches of art; pre-eminent in this class
stand the immortal productions of Raphael. In 1508 he had come to Rome,
summoned by Julius II, and remained there until his death in 1520. The
protection extended to this master genius is Leo's most enduring claim on
posterity. Raphael's achievements, already numerous and important, took on
more dignity and grandeur under Leo. He painted, sketched, and engraved from
antique works of art, modeled in clay, made designs for palaces, directed the
work of others by order of the pope, gave advice and assistance alike to
supervisors and workmen. "Everything pertaining to art the pope turns over to
Raphael", wrote an ambassador in 1518. This is not, of course, the place to treat
Raphael's prodigious activity. We limit ourselves to brief mention of a few of his
works. He finished the decoration of the Vatican halls or "Stanze" begun under
Julius II, and in the third hall cleverly referred to Leo X by introducing scenes from
the pontificates of Leo III and Leo IV. A more important commission was given
him to paint the cartoons for the tapestries of the Sistine Chapel, the highest of
Raphael's achievements, the most magnificent of them being "St. Peter's
miraculous draught of fishes" and "St. Paul preaching in Athens". A third famous
enterprise was the decoration of the Vatican Loggia done by Raphael's pupils
under his direction, and mostly from his designs. The most exquisite of his
paintings are the wonderful Sistine Madonna and the "Transfiguration". Sculpture
showed a marked decline under Leo X. Michaelangelo offered his services and
worked from 1516 to 1520 on a marble façade for the church of San Lorenzo in
Florence, but did not finish it. On the other hand the pope gave especial attention
and encouragement to the minor arts, e.g. decorative carving, and furthered the
industrial arts. The greatest and most difficult task of Leo was in the field of
architecture and was inherited from his predecessor, viz., the continuation of the
new St. Peter's. Bramante remained its chief architect until his death in 1514.
Raphael succeeded him, but in his six years of office little was done, much to his
regret, through lack of means.
We may now turn to the political and religious events of Leo's pontificate. Here
the bright splendour that diffuses itself over his literary and artistic patronage, is
soon changed to deepest gloom. His well-known peaceable inclinations made
the political situation a disagreeable heritage, and he tried to maintain tranqillity
by exhortations, to which, however, no one listened. France desired to wreak
vengeance for the defeat of 1512 and to reconquer Milan. Venice entered into an
alliance with her, whereupon Emperor Maximilian, Spain, and England in 1513
concluded a Holy League against France. The pope wished at first to remain
neutral but such a course would have isolated him, so he decided to be faithful to
the policy of his predecessors and sought accordingly to oppose the designs of
France, but in doing so, to avoid severity. In 1513 the French were decisively
routed at Novara and were forced to effect a reconciliation with Rome. The
schismatic cardinals (see JULIUS II) submitted and were pardoned, and France
then took part in the Lateran Council which Leo had continued.
But success was soon clouded by uncertainty. France endeavoured to form an
alliance with Spain and to obtain Milan and Genoa by a matrimonial alliance. Leo
feared for the independence of the Papal States and for the so-called freedom of
Italy. He negotiated on all sides without committing himself, and in 1514
succeeded in bringing about an Anglo-French alliance. The fear of Spain now
gave way to the bugbear of French supremacy and the pope began negotiating in
a deceitful and disloyal manner with France and her enemies simultaneously.
Before he had decided to bind himself in one way or the other, Louis XII died and
the young and ardent Francis I succeeded him. Once more Leo sought delay. He
supported the League against France, but until the last moment hoped for an
arrangement with Francis. But the latter shortly after his descent upon Italy, won
the great victory of Marignano, 13-14 September, 1515, and the pope now made
up his mind to throw himself into the arms of the Most Christian King and beg for
mercy. He was obliged to alter his policy completely and to abandon to the
French king Parma and Piacenza, which had been reunited with Milan. An
interview with King Francis at Bologna resulted in the French Concordat (1516),
that brought with it such important consequences for the Church. The Pragmatic
Sanction of Bourges (1438), deeply inimical to the papacy, was revoked, but the
pope paid a high price for this concession, when he granted to the king the right
of nomination to all the sees, abbeys, and priories of France. Through this and
other concessions, e.g. that pertaining to ecclesiastical jurisdiction, the royal
influence over the French Church was assured. Great discontent resulted in
France among the clergy and in the parliaments. The abolition of the Pragmatic
Sanction, drawn up in compliance with the decrees of the Council of Basle,
affected the adherents of the conciliar system of church government. The
abolition of free ecclesiastical elections affected grievously the interests of many
and opposition to the Concordat was maintained for centuries. The advantage to
the Church and the pope of such a great sacrifice was that France, hitherto
schismatical in attitude, now stood firmly bound to the Holy See, which thus
turned aside the danger of complete estrangement. However, the way in which
the French crown abused its control over the Church led at a later period to great
evils.
Meanwhile the Lateran Council, continued by Leo after his elevation to the
papacy, was nearing its close, having issued numerous and very timely decrees,
e.g. against the false philosophical teachings of the Paduan professor, Pietro
Pompanazzi, who denied the immortality of the soul. The encroachments of
pagan Humanism on the spiritual life were met by the simultaneous rise of a new
order of philosophical and theological studies. In the ninth session was
promulgated a Bull that treated exhaustively of reforms in the Curia and the
Church. Abbeys and benefices were henceforth to be bestowed only on persons
of merit and according to canon law. Provisions of benefices and consistorial
proceedings were regulated; ecclesiastical depositions and transfers made more
difficult; commendatory benefices were forbidden; and unions and reservations of
benefices, also dispensations for obtaining them, were restricted. Measures were
also taken for reforming the curial administration and the lives of cardinals,
clerics, and the faithful. The religious instruction of children was declared a duty.
Blasphemers and incontinent, negligent, or simoniac ecclesiastics were to be
severely punished. Church revenues were no longer to be turned to secular uses.
The immunities of the clergy must be respected, and all kinds of superstition
abolished. The eleventh session dealt with the cure of souls, particularly with
preaching. These measures, unhappily, were not thoroughly enforced, and
therefore the much-needed genuine reform was not realized. Towards the close of
the council (1517) the noble and highly cultured layman, Gianfrancesco Pico
della Mirandola, delivered a remarkable speech on the necessity of a reform of
morals; his account of the moral condition of the clergy is saddening, and reveals
the many and great difficulties that stood in the way of a genuine reform. He
concluded with the warning that if Leo X left such offences longer unpunished and
refused to apply healing remedies to these wounds of the Church, it was to be
feared that God Himself would cut off the rotten limbs and destroy them with fire
and sword. That very year this prophetic warning was verified. The salutary
reforms of the Lateran Council found no practical acceptance. Pluralism,
commendatory benefices, and the granting of ecclesiastical dignities to children
remained customary. Leo himself did not scruple to set aside repeatedly the
decrees of the council. The Roman Curia, then much despised and against which
so many inveighed with violence, remained as worldly as ever. The pope was
either unwilling or not in a position to regulate the unworthy and immoral conduct
of many of the Roman courtiers. The political situation absorbed his attention and
was largely responsible for the premature close of the council.
In March, 1516, Emperor Maximilian crossed the Alps to make war on the
French and Venetians. The pope followed his usual course of shifting and
dissimulation. At first, when events seemed favourable for the French, he
supported Francis. But his former double-dealing had left Francis in such
ill-humour that he now adhered to an antipapal policy, whereupon Leo adopted an
unfriendly attitude towards the king. Their relations were further strained apropos
of the Duchy of Urbino. During the French invasion the Duke of Urbino had
withheld the assistance which he was in duty bound to render the pope, who now
exiled him and gave the title to his nephew, Lorenzo de' Medici. The French king
was highly displeased with the papal policy, and when Francis I and Maximilian
formed the alliance of Cambrai in 1517 and agreed on a partition of Upper and
Central Italy, Pope Leo found himself in a disagreeable position. In part by reason
of his constant vacillation he had drifted into a dangerous isolation, added to
which the Duke of Urbino reconquered his duchy; to crown all other calamities
came a conspiracy of cardinals against the pope's life. The ringleader, Cardinal
Petrucci, was a young worldly ecclesiastic who thought only of money and
pleasure. He and the other cardinals who had brought about Leo's selection,
made afterwards such numerous and insistent demands that the pope could not
yield to them. Other causes for discontent were found in the unfortunate war with
Urbino and in the abolition of the election capitulations and the excessive
privileges of the cardinals. Petrucci bore personal ill-will towards the "ungrateful
pope", who had removed his brother from the government of Siena. He tried to
have the pope poisoned by a physician, but suspicion was aroused and the plot
was betrayed through a letter. The investigation implicated Cardinals Sauli,
Riario, Soderini, and Castellesi; they had been guilty at least of listening to
Petrucci, and perhaps had desired his success, though their full complicity was
not actually proved. Petrucci was executed and the others punished by fines;
Riario paid the enormous sum of 150,000 ducats.
The affair throws a lurid light on the degree of corruption in the highest
ecclesiastical circles. Unconcerned by the scandal he was giving, Leo took
advantage of the proceeding to create thirty-one new cardinals, thereby obtaining
an entirely submissive college and also money to carry on the unlucky war with
Urbino. Not a few of these cardinals were chosen on account of the large sums
they advanced. But this wholesale appointment also brought several virtuous and
distinguished men into the Sacred College, and it was further important because
it definitively established the superiority of the pope over the cardinals. The war
with Urbino, encouraged by Francis I and Maximilian for the purpose of
increasing Leo's difficulties, was finally brought to a close, after having cost
enormous sums and emptied the papal treasury. Lorenzo de' Medici remained in
possession of the duchy (1517). Faithful to the ancient tradition of the Holy See,
from the very beginning of his reign, Leo zealously advocated a crusade against
the Turks, and at the close of the war with Urbino took up the cause with
renewed determination. In November, 1517, he submitted an exhaustive memorial
to all the princes of Europe, and endeavored to unite them in a common effort,
but in vain. The replies of the powers proved widely dissimilar. They were
suspicious of one another and each sought naturally to realize various secondary
purposes of its own. Leo answered a threatening letter from the sultan by active
exertions. Religious processions were held, a truce of five years was proclaimed
throughout Christendom and the Crusade was preached (1518). The pope
showed real earnestness, but his great plan miscarried through lack of
cooperation on the part of the powers. Moreover, Cardinal Wolsey, Lord
Chancellor of England, thwarted the pope's peaceful efforts and thus dealt a
grievous blow to the international prestige of the papacy. When the Crusade was
preached in Germany, it found a large section of the people strongly predisposed
against the Curia, and furnished them with an occasion to express their views in
plain terms. It was believed that the Curia merely sought to obtain more money.
One of the numerous spiteful pamphlets issued declared that the real Turks were
in Italy and that these demons could only be pacified by streams of gold. The
good cause was gradually merged with an important political question, the
succession to the imperial throne. Maximilian sought the election for his
grandson, Charles of Spain. A rival appeared in the person of Francis I, and both
he and Charles vied with each other in seeking to win the pope's favour by
repeated assurances of their willingness to move against the Turks. The event of
the election relegated the crusade to the background. In 1519 the pope realized
that there was no longer any prospect of carrying out his design.
Leo's attitude towards the imperial succession was influenced primarily by his
anxiety concerning the power and independence of the Holy See and the
so-called freedom of Italy. Neither candidate was acceptable to him, Charles, if
possible, less than Francis, owing to the preponderance of power that must
result from his accession. The pope would have preferred a German electoral
prince, that of Saxony or later, the Elector of Brandenburg. He "sailed", as usual,
"with two compasses", held both rivals at bay by a double game played with
matchless skill, and even succeeded in concluding simultaneously an alliance
with both. The deceitfulness and insincerity of his political dealings cannot be
entirely excused, either by the difficult position in which he was placed or by the
example of his secular contemporaries. Maximilian's death (January, 1519)
ended the pope's irresolution. First he tried to defeat both candidates by raising
up a German elector. Then he worked zealously for Francis I in the endeavour to
secure his firm friendship in case Charles became emperor, an event which grew
daily more likely. Only at the last moment when the election of Charles was
certain and unavoidable did Leo come over to his side; after the election he
watched in great anxiety the attitude the new emperor might assume.
The most important occurrence of Leo's pontificate and that of gravest
consequence to the Church was the Reformation, which began in 1517. We
cannot enter into a minute account of this movement, the remote cause of which
lay in the religious, political, and social conditions of Germany. It is certain,
however, that the seeds of discontent amid which Luther threw his firebrand had
been germinating for centuries. The immediate cause was bound up with the
odious greed for money displayed by the Roman Curia, and shows how far short
all efforts at reform had hitherto fallen. Albert of Brandenburg, already Archbishop
of Magdeburg, received in addition the Archbishopric of Mainz and the Bishopric
of Hallerstadt, but in return was obliged to collect 10,000 ducats, which he was
taxed over and above the usual confirmation fees. To indemnify hiim, and to
make it possible to discharge these obligations Rome permitted him to have
preached in his territory the plenary indulgence promised all those who
contributed to the new St. Peter's; he was allowed to keep one half the returns, a
transaction which brought dishonour on all concerned in it. Added to this, abuses
occurred during the preaching of the Indulgence. The money contributions, a
mere accessory, were frequently the chief object, and the "Indulgences for the
Dead" became a vehicle of inadmissible teachings. That Leo X, in the most
serious of all the crises which threatened the Church, should fail to prove the
proper guide for her, is clear enough from what has been related above. He
recognized neither the gravity of the situation nor the underlying causes of the
revolt. Vigorous measures of reform might have proved an efficacious antidote,
but the pope was deeply entangled in political affairs and allowed the imperial
election to overshadow the revolt of Luther; moreover, he gave himself up
unrestrainedly to his pleasures and failed to grasp fully the duties of his high
office.
The pope's last political efforts were directed to expanding the States of the
Church, establishing a dominating power in central italy by means of the
acquisition of Ferrara. In 1519 he concluded a treaty with Francis I against
Emperor Charles V. But the selfishness and encroachments of the French and
the struggle against the Lutheran movement, induced him soon to unite with
Charles, after he had again resorted to his double-faced method of treating with
both rivals. In 1521 pope and emperor signed a defensive alliance for the purpose
of driving the French out of Italy. After some difficulty, the allies occupied Milan
and Lombardy. Amid the rejoicings over these successes, the pope died
suddenly of a malignant malaria. His enemies are wrongly accused of having
poisoned him. The magnificent pope was given a simple funeral and not until the
reign of Paul III was a monument erected to his memory in the Church of Santa
Maria sopra Minerva. It is cold, prosaic, and quite unworthy of such a
connoisseur as Leo.
The only possible verdict on the pontificate of Leo X is that it was unfortunate for
the Church. Sigismondo Tizio, whose devotion to the Holy See is undoubted,
writes truthfully: "In the general opinion it was injurious to the Church that her
Head should delight in plays, music, the chase and nonsense, instead of paying
serious attention to the needs of his flock and mourning over their misfortunes".
Von Reumont says pertinently–"Leo X is in great measure to blame for the fact
that faith in the integrity and merit of the papacy, in its moral and regenerating
powers, and even in its good intentions, should have sunk so low that men could
declare extinct the old true spirit of the Church."
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