Pope Pius II

(Enea Silvio de' Piccolomini).

B. at Corsignano, near Siena, 18 Oct., 1405; elected 19 Aug., 1458; d. at

Ancona, 14 Aug., 1464. He was the eldest of eighteen children of Silvio de'

Piccolomini and Vittoria Forteguerra. Although of noble birth, straitened

circumstances forced him to help his father in the cultivation of the estate which

the family owned at Corsignano. This village he later ranked as a town and made

an episcopal residence with the name of Pienza (Pius). Having received some

elementary instruction from a priest, he entered, at the age of eighteen, the

University of Siena. Here he gave himself up to diligent study and the free

enjoyment of sensual pleasures. In 1425 the preaching of St. Bernardine of Siena

kindled in him the desire of embracing a monastic life, but he was dissuaded

from his purpose by his friends. Attracted by the fame of the celebrated Filelfo,

he shortly after spent two years in the study of the classics and poetry at

Florence. He returned to Siena at the urgent request of his relatives, to devote his

time to the study of jurisprudence. Passing through Siena on his way to the

Council of Basle (q.v.), Capranica, Bishop of Fermo, invited Enea to accompany

him as his secretary. Bishop and secretary arrived there in 1432, and joined the

opposition to Pope Eugene IV.

Piccolomini, however, soon left the service of the impecunious Capranica for

more remunerative employment with Nicodemo della Scala, Bishop of Freising,

with Bartolomeo, Bishop of Novara, and with Cardinal Albergati. He accompanied

the latter on several journeys, particularly to the Congress of Arras, which in

1435 discussed peace between Burgundy and France. In the same year his

master sent him on a secret mission to Scotland. The voyage was very

tempestuous and Piccolomini vowed to walk, if spared, barefoot from the port of

arrival to the nearest shrine of Our Lady. He landed at Dunbar and, from the

pilgrimage of ten miles through ice and snow to the sanctuary of Whitekirk, he

contracted the gout from which he suffered for the rest of his life. Although on his

return from Scotland Cardinal Albergati was no longer at Basle, he determined to

remain in the city, and to his humanistic culture and oratorical talent owed his

appointment to different important functions by the council. He continued to side

with the opposition to Eugene IV, and associated particularly with a small circle

of friends who worshipped classical antiquity and led dissolute lives. That he

freely indulged his passions is evidenced not only by the birth of two illegitimate

children to him (the one in Scotland, the other at Strasburg), but by the frivolous

manner in which he glories in his own disorders. The low moral standard of the

epoch may partly explain, but cannot excuse his dissolute conduct. He had not

yet received Holy orders, however, and shrank from the ecclesiastical state

because of the obligation of continence which it imposed. Even the inducement

to become one of the electors of a successor to Eugene IV, unlawfully deposed,

could not overcome this reluctance; rather than receive the diaconate he refused

the proffered honour.

He was then appointed master of ceremonies to the conclave which elected

Amadeus of Savoy to the papacy. He likewise belonged to the delegation which

was to escort to Basle in 1439 the newly- elected antipope, who assumed the

name of Felix V and chose Piccolomini as his secretary. The latter's

clearsightedness, however, soon enabled him to realize that the position of the

schismatic party could not fail to become untenable, and he profited by his

presence as envoy of the council at the Diet of Frankfort in 1442 again to change

masters. His literary attainments were brought to the attention of Frederick III,

who crowned him imperial poet, and offered him a position in his service which

was gladly accepted. On 11 Nov., 1442, Enea left Basle for Vienna, where he

assumed in January of the following year the duties of secretary in the imperial

chancery. Receding gradually from his attitude of supporter of Felix V, he

ultimately became, with the imperial chancellor Schlick, whose favour he

enjoyed, a partisan of Eugene IV. The formal reconciliation between him and this

pope took place in 1445, when he came on an official mission to Rome. He was

first absolved of the censures which he had incurred as partisan of the Council of

Basle and official of the antipope. Hand in hand with this change in personal

allegiance went a transformation in his moral character and in March, 1446, he

was ordained subdeacon at Vienna. The same year he succeeded in breaking up

the Electors' League, equally dangerous to Eugene IV and Frederick III, and

shortly afterwards a delegation, of which he was a member, laid before the pope

the conditional submission of almost all Germany. In 1447 he was appointed

Bishop of Trieste; the following year he played a prominent part in the conclusion

of the Concordat of Vienna; and in 1450 he received the Bishopric of Siena. He

continued, however, until 1455 in the service of Frederick III, who had frequent

recourse to his diplomatic ability. In 1451 he appeared in Bohemia at the head of

a royal embassy, and in 1452 accompanied Frederick to Rome for the imperial

coronation. He was created cardinal 18 Dec., 1456, by Calixtus III, whose

successor he became.

The central idea of his pontificate was the liberation of Europe from Turkish

domination. To this end he summoned at the beginning of his reign all the

Christian princes to meet in congress on 1 June, 1459. Shortly before his

departure for Mantua, where he was personally to direct the deliberations of this

assembly, he issued a Bull instituting a new religious order of knights. They were

to bear the name of Our Lady of Bethlehem and to have their headquarters in the

Island of Lemnos. History is silent concerning the actual existence of this

foundation, and the order was probably never organized. At Mantua scant

attendance necessitated a delay in the opening of the sessions until 26 Sept.,

1459. Even then but few delegates were present, and the deliberations soon

revealed the fact that the Christian states could not be relied on for mutual

co-operation against the Turks. Venice pursued dilatory and insincere tactics;

France would promise nothing, because the pope had preferred Ferrante of

Aragon for the throne of Naples to the pretender of the House of Anjou. Among

the German delegates, Gregory of Heimburg (q.v.) assumed an ostentatiously

disrespectful attitude toward Pius II; the country, however, ultimately agreed to

raise 32,000 footmen and 10,000 cavalry. But the promise was never redeemed,

and although a three years' war was decreed against the Turks, the congress

failed of its object, as no practical results of any importance were attained. It was

apparent that the papacy no longer commanded the assent and respect of any of

the Powers. This was further demonstrated by the fact that Pius, on the eve of

his departure from Mantua, issued the Bull "Execrabilis", in which he condemned

all appeals from the decisions of the pope to an oecumenical council (18 Jan.,

1460).

During the congress war had broken out in southern Italy about the possession of

the Kingdom of Naples. The pope continued to support Ferrante against the

Angevin claimant. This attitude was adverse to ecclesiastical interests in France,

where he aimed at the repeal of the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges. At his

accession to the throne in 1461, Louis XI suppressed indeed that instrument; but

this papal success was more apparent than real. For Louis's expectation of

support in southern Italy was not realized; and opposition to the suppression

manifesting itself in France, his dealings with the Church underwent a

corresponding change, and royal ordinances were even issued aiming at the

revival of the former Gallican liberties. In Germany Frederick III showed readiness

to comply with the obligations assumed at Mantua, but foreign and domestic

difficulties rendered him powerless. Between Pius II and Duke Sigismund of

Tyrol, however, an acute conflict developed concerning the Bishopric of Brixen

(q.v.). Likewise the refusal of the Archbishop of Mainz, Diether of Isenburg (q.v.)

to abide by the pope's decree of deposition led to civil strife. Diether was

ultimately defeated and supplanted by Adolf of Nassau, who had been appointed

in his stead. More difficult to adjust were the troubles in Bohemia. Hussitism was

rampant in the kingdom, which was governed by the wily George Podiebrad, a

king seemingly devoid of religious convictions. He had promised in a secret

coronation oath personally to profess the Catholic faith and to restore, in his

realm, union with Rome in ritual and worship. This was tantamount to a

renunciation of the "Compact of Basle", which, under certain conditions

subsequently not observed by the Bohemians, had granted them communion

under both kinds and other privileges. The pope, deceived for a time by the

protestations of royal fidelity, used his influence to bring back the Catholic city of

Breslau to the king's allegiance. But in 1461 Podiebrad, to further his fanciful

schemes of political aggrandizement, promised his subjects to maintain the

Compact. When in 1462 his long- promised embassy appeared in Rome, its

purpose was not only to do homage to the pope, but also to obtain the

confirmation of that agreement. Pius II, instead of acceding to the latter request,

withdrew the misused concessions made by Basle. He continued negotiations

with the king, but died before any settlement was reached.

The prevalence of such discord in Christendom left but little hope for armed

opposition to the Turks. As rumours had been circulated that the sultan doubted

the faith of Islam, the pope attempted to convert him to the Christian faith. But in

vain did he address to him in 1461 a letter, in which were set forth the claims of

Christianity on his belief. Possibly the transfer with extraordinary pomp of the

head of St. Andrew to Rome was also a fruitless attempt to rekindle zeal for the

Crusades. As a last resort, Pius II endeavoured to stir up the enthusiasm of the

apathetic Christian princes by placing himself at the head of the crusaders.

Although seriously ill he left Rome for the East, but died at Ancona, the

mustering-place of the Christian troops.

There have been widely divergent appreciations of the life of Pius II. While his

varied talents and superior culture cannot be doubted, the motives of his frequent

transfer of allegiance, the causes of the radical transformations which his

opinions underwent, the influences exercised over him by the environment in

which his lot was cast, are so many factors, the bearing of which can be justly

and precisely estimated only with the greatest difficulty. In the early period of his

life he was, like many humanists, frivolous and immoral in conduct and writing.

More earnest were his conceptions and manner of life after his entrance into the

ecclesiastical state. As pope he was indeed not sufficiently free from nepotism,

but otherwise served the best interests of the Church. Not only was he

constantly solicitous for the peace of Christendom against Islam, but he also

instituted a commission for the reform of the Roman court, seriously endeavoured

to restore monastic discipline, and defended the doctrine of the Church against

the writings of Reginald Peacock, the former Bishop of Chichester. He retracted

the errors contained in his earlier writings in a Bull, the gist of which was "Reject

Eneas, hold fast to Pius". St. Catherine of Siena was canonized during his

pontificate.

Even among the many cares of his pontificate he found time for continued literary

activity. Two important works of his were either entirely or partly written during

this period: his geographical and ethnographical description of Asia and Europe;

and his "Memoirs", which are the only autobiography left us by a pope. They are

entitled "Pii II Commentarii rerum memorabilium, quae temporibus suis

contigerunt". Earlier in his life he had written, besides "Eurialus and Lucretia" and

the recently discovered comedy "Chrysis", the following historical works:

"Libellus dialogorum de generalis concilii auctoritate et gestis Basileensium";

"Commentarius de rebus Basileae gestis"; "Historia rerum Frederici III

imperatoris"; "Historia Bohemica". Imcomplete collections of his works were

published in 1551 and 1571 at Basle. A critical edition of his letters by Wolkan is

in course of publication.

CAMPANUS, Vita Pii II in MURATORI, Rer. Ital. script., III, ii, 967-92; PLATINA, Lives of the Popes,

tr. RYCAUT, ed. BENHAM (3 vols., London, 1888); WOLKAN, Der Briefwechsel des Eneas Silvius

Piccolomini in Fontes rerum Austriacarum (Vienna, 1909-); VOIGT, Enea Silvio de' Piccolomini als

Papst Pius II und sein Zeitalter (Berlin, 1856-63); CREIGHTON, History of the Papacy, III (new ed.,

New York, 1903), 202-358; WEISS, Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini als Papst Pius II (Graz, 1897);

PASTOR, History of the Popes (London, 1891-94); BOULTING, Aeneas Silvius (Pius II), Orator, Man

of Letters, Statesman, and Pope (London, 1908); The Cambridge Modern History, I; The

Renaissance (New York, 1909), passim.

N.A. WEBER

Transcribed by Herman F. Holbrook

Ubi Petrus, ibi Ecclesia.

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XII

Nihil Obstat, June 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor

Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York

The Catholic Encyclopedia: NewAdvent.org