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The Dean of the College of Cardinals in 1534 was Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (February 29, 1468—November 10, 1549). He was born at Canino in Tuscany (or perhaps in Rome), the son of Pierluigi Rainuccio Farnese and Giovanella Caetani, a relative of the Dukes of Sermonetta. The Farnese were a propertied family in the neighborhood of Lake Bolsena and Viterbo, though they resided in Rome (Panvinio 398; Cardella, III 265; Novaes VII 3). Alessandro Farnese studied at Rome under Pomponio Leto, and in Florence and Pisa. His career began in 1491, when he was made a secretary (scrittore) and Protonotary Apostolic by Pope Innocent VIII. In the next year he was given the office of Treasurer of the Chamber by Pope Alexander VI, whose mistress was Alessandro's sister Giulia. He was made Cardinal Deacon of SS. Cosma e Damiano in 1493. In 1499 Alexander appointed him Bishop of Montefiascone, Archpriest of the Lateran Basilica, and Legate in Viterbo and the Marches (Cardella III, 265). Julius II made him Bishop of Parma in 1509. He participated in the Conclave of 1513, which elected Giovanni de' Medici as Pope Leo X. In the absence of the Cardinal Protodeacon Sanseverino, who was excommunicated, he crowned Pope Leo X on March 13, 1513. In 1516 he became Cardinal Protodeacon.

He was ordained a priest on June 26, 1519 and consecrated a bishop on July 2, 1519. He was forty-one years of age. He opted for promotion to the rank of Cardinal Bishop as Suburbicarian Bishop of Frascati on July 15, 1519. He participated in the Conclave of 1519-1520, in which Adrian Florencz Dedel was elected Pope Adrian VI, and the Conclave of 1523, which elected Giulio de' Medici Pope Clement VII. In 1523 he was translated to the episcopal see of Palestrina, and in December of the same year to Santa Sabina. The following May he moved to Porto and Santa Rufina, and finally six months later he became Bishop of Ostia and Velletri and Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals. He had four illegitimate children, Costanza, Pierluigi, Paolo and Ranuccio. His daughter Costanza married Bosio Sforza, Duke of S. Fiora; their son was Guido Ascanio Sforza, whom Alessandro made a cardinal at the age of sixteen..

The Masters of Ceremonies were:  Giovanni Francesco Firmano, Biagio Martinelli da Cesena, and Honuphrio Pontano [Gattico, 330].

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Death of Pope Clement VII

In September of 1533, Pope Clement VII (Giulio de' Medici) had travelled to Marseille by sea, for the purpose of arranging the marriage of his niece, Catherine, to Henri, the future King Henri II of France, which was solemnized on October 28. On November 7, in Marseille, he created four new cardinals, all four of them French. He also engaged in serious discussions with King François I and with the Emperor Charles V. Before his departure, he issued instructions that, should he die before his return to Rome, the Conclave should be held in whatever city he and the Curia happened to be when he died.

After his return to Rome on December 10, Clement began to suffer with stomach problems resulting in fever. Others (Olduino) attributed his illness to treatments provided to the pope by his doctor, Matteo Corti, to prolong his life (Novaes, 258). Cardinal Agostino Trivulzio was keeping King Francis I of France informed about the Pope's condition;  he wrote on August 10, 1534, of the serious illness of Clement VII causing the doctors to worry about the danger to his life. They were not certain he could recover, but were hopeful [Molini, Documenti di storia italiana II, no 398, p. 379]. Benvenuto Cellini visited the Pope on September 22, to present several medals that the pope had commissioned, including the famous "Moses striking the rock". But the Pope was unable to see the design clearly even after he had called for his spectacles. On the 23rd, he wrote a long farewell letter to Emperor Charles V (Gregorovius, 697-699). He died on the 25th of September, 1534, having lived 56 years and four months, and having reigned for 10 years, 10 months, and 7 days.

The Bolognese Ambassador in Rome, Antonio Maria Papazzoni, described the death in a report to the Senate of Bologna on September 26 (Staffetti, 126):

Il catarro soppravvenuto a Sua Santità... gli incomentiò soprabondare molto forte alle xvii hore et meggio, di sorte che non poteva dir altro se non cosi pian piano: Aitami, aitamil io muoio; et cosi seguitò tri ottavi de hora et spirò in presentia del Reverendissimo Santiquattro et de penitentieri che gli raccomandar l' anima, et vi erano li Rmi Cibo et Medici con tutta la famiglia di Su Santità. Passato che fu Sua Santita, li medici spararo il corpo et non trovaro altro di maculato che il pulmone, che era assai guasto.

His temporary tomb in the Vatican Basilica was repeatedly desecrated with excrement, requiring the posting of a guard by his nephew, Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici. Eventually, the body was buried in a monument in the south wall of the Choir of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. The executors of his Last Will and Testament were Cardinals Innocenzo Cibo, Ippolito de' Medici, Nicolo Ridolfi, and Giovanni Salviati (Montor, 114).

The Cardinals

There were forty-six cardinals at the time of the pope's death. A list of the cardinals is given by Onuphrio Panvinio (pp. 398-417). He states (twice) that thirty-seven cardinals participated in the Conclave (He includes François de Clermont, Albrecht von Brandenburg, Claude de Longuy de Givry, and Bernhard von Claes). Gregorio Leti (p. 163) says that thirty-five cardinals entered conclave on the 11th of October, 1534. Giovanni Firmano, the Master of Ceremonies, states that Cardinal Grimani did not join in the opening ceremonies, being confined to bed. A list of thirty-six Cardinals who participated in the Conclave and Coronation of Paul III is given by the Master of Ceremonies Biagio da Cesena (Gattico I, 389), but without the name of Louis de Bourbon, and with the name of Niccolò Gaddi.   Eubel III, p. 20 n. 1 (listing fifteen cardinals as absent, including: François de Clermont-Lodève; Bernhard von Cles; Claude de Longuy de Givry; and the Chamberlain Spinola—with whom Biagio da Cesena spoke on the day of the election in the presence of the new Pope: cf. Gattola I, p. 386). Eubel's lists for this Conclave are not accurate. Bernhard von Cles, for example, was certainly present, and was appointed to a Committee on October 11 to revise the Electoral Capitulations.

Preliminaries

There were a total of forty-six cardinals at the time of Clement's death. They were divided into two camps, the French and the Imperialists, but inside the camps there were several leaders, each with his followers, his preferences and his demands. The most powerful factio was led by Cardinal Farnese, the Dean of the Sacred College, who was supported by Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici and the Florentine cardinals created by Leo X and Clement VII. King Henry VIII of England had chosen Farnese as his candidate as early as 1529, over the objections of Wolsey and Campeggio (Petruccelli, 5: Gregory Casale to Thomas Cromwell), though Henry's influence at this conclave was nil. He constituted a serious problem that needed to be addressed, not someone whose views needed to be considered.

On October 10, the Bishop of Aosta, Pietro Gazino, wrote to the Duke of Savoy that the French factio, led by the Cardinal Jean de Lorraine, numbered between ten and twelve, and that they intended to vote for the Legate of France, François de Tournon (who had negotiated the marriage of Catherine de' Medicis: Cardella, IV 114-117), or, failing him, for Cardinal Antonio Sanseverino (Bishop of Tarento and Knight of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem). The leader of the Italians who favored the French interest was Cardinal Agostino Trivulzio of Milan, the Protector of France before the Holy See, whose uncles were marshals of France (Cardella IV, 66). Though Trivulzio had his own ambitions to be pope, he knew that he had no chance in this conclave. But the election of Farnese would put on the papal throne the oldest of the cardinals, who would soon be gone, in time for Trivulzio to succeed in the next conclave (or so Petruccelli has it, 6). So Trivulzio, too, supported Farnese. Those who had been closest to Trivulzio in the Conclave of 1523, Cardinals Colonna, Cesi, della Valle, Orsini and Trani (de Cupis), had actually voted for Farnese at that time, on the motion of Cardinal Cesarini, and they would likely do so again (according to Petruccelli, 6). Pompeo Colonna had died, however, in 1532, and Franciotto Orsini in January, 1534, easing the situation somewhat, considering their mutual hatred.

Matthew Lang (Salzburg) and Bernhard von Cles (Trent) arrived on October 8 (Petruccelli, 4 quoting from a dispatch of the Bishop of Aosta), but without specific voting instructions from Charles V. The absence of an indication of an imperial candidate increased the confusion and weakness in the Imperial faction.

Opening of the Conclave

On Sunday, October 10, the Mass of the Holy Spirit was celebrated by Cardinal Giovanni Domenico de Cupis, after which the Oration de pontifice eligendo was pronounced by the Bishop of Viterbo, Giovanni Pietro Grassis.  There followed a procession into the Conclave, led by Msgr. Giovanni Francesco Firmano, the Master of Ceremonies, and thirty-two cardinals [Gattico I, 325].  After the singing of the Veni Creator and the recitation of the Pater Noster, led by Cardinal Farnese, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, the cardinals dispersed.  Late that afternoon, the Ambassadors and other prelates who would participate in the Conclave swore their oaths.  The Bishop of Todi, Federigo de Cesis [or the Bishop of Tortona, Uberto Gambara], who was Custodian of the Apostolic Palace, and the Captain of the Swiss Guards, were instructed to inspect all of the rooms in the Conclave area.  Subsequently, the Camerlengo and several designated cardinals inspected the area and ejected those persons who were not on the list of Conclavists.  The doors were closed.

The Conclave opened on October 11, 1534, with between thirty-three and thirty-seven cardinals in attendance, out of a total of forty-six (Panvinio, 398; Leti 163). Biagio de Martinelli da Cesena, one of the Masters of Ceremonies, however, states in his Diary that there were thirty-two cardinals present at the opening ceremonies. Giovanni Firmano notes that Cardinal Grimaldi (Barensis) was not present due to illness. Cardinal Farnese celebrated early Mass in the small chapel (Chapel of S. Nicholas)—at which at least eight cardinals (named by Biagio Martinelli, Gattico I, p. 325) received Holy Communion; later the Sacristan Bishop Alfonso, celebrated the solemn Mass of the Holy Spirit.  After Mass, there was a Congregation, at which the Bull of Julius II against Simony was read.  The Master of Ceremonies, Biagio da Cesena, then read the various instructions concerning the election of a pope.  Finally each of the Cardinals swore an oath to observe all of the requirements of the Bull of Julius II.  At the request of Giovanni Francesco Firmano, Master of Ceremonies, it was decided that when voting began on the next day, voting would be viva voce, and there would be an accessio.   In the late afternoon there was a Congregation, and the Cardinals requested Firmano to read out the Electoral Capitulations which had been prepared at the Conclave of 1513.  The Cardinals voted to accept them as their own Capitulations.  A Committee was appointed to work out the new distribution of territorial Legateships (which had been itemized in the Capitulations): Giovanni Piccolomini, Louis de Bourbon de Vendôme, Antonio Sanseverino, Francisco Quiñones, Bernhard von Cles, and Paolo Emilio Cesi.

Next day, October 12, before he knew of what was happening inside the Conclave, Sanchez wrote to Ferdinand, King of the Romans (Wahrmund, 255):

fieri etiam potest, ut is quem minime cogitamus fieret papa, circa quod nihil est a nobis praetermissum, quod aut utilitatem aut honorem et extimationem Cardinalis Tridentini attineret, licet ipse clare ostenderit, se non habere ambitionem. Oratori Cesareo ac nobis aliisque fidis visum est, oportere valde, ut dictus orator deputaret et nominaret aliquot cardinales, qui ex parte Majestatum Vestrarum loquerentur ceteris ea quae secundum occurrentias conclavi necessaria forent ad dirigendum bonum et evitandum malum reipublicae Christianae, et ita fuerunt ad hoc nominati quinque isti: Tridentinus (Bernhard von Cles), Salzburgensis (Matthew Lang), Barrensis, Cesarinus, Mantua (Ercole Gonzaga).

The Prince-Bishop of Trent was to be the candidate, and four others were to work in his interest. Whether this was a plan, or a last-moment improvisation, is unclear. But In either case it was too late for such maneuvers.

Balloting

Shortly after sunset on October 11 (in Roman time, it was officially the 12th), many cardinals, cum essent uniores ac concordes (since they were united and in agreement) sent two representatives, Ippolito de' Medici and Jean de Lorraine, to confer with Cardinal Farnese.  They told him that they had chosen him to be the next pope.  They informed him that he should come to the small Chapel. As they were proceeding along, various cardinals dropped to their knees and kissed Farnese's feet.   Finally they arrived at the Chapel, where all the cardinals gathered around Farnese.  Cardinal Piccolomini, in the name of all the Cardinals, pronounced him Pope, and all the Cardinals confirmed his announcement in the presence of the three Masters of Ceremonies, who acted as witnesses.  Farnese then retired to his cell for a brief nap, and then he had dinner.

 

Election

On Tuesday, October 12, 1534, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese was elected officially [Gattico, p. 331, gives the date as Die Martis 23. octobris, but this is probably a typographical error: Tuesday was the 12th, the 13th was a Wednesday, and the 23rd was a Saturday].  Mass was celebrated by the Sacristan.  Farnese was seated in his regular place as a cardinal. The cardinals all cast their votes per cedulam according to custom, though Farnese himself did not cast a vote.   The votes were read out by Cardinal Cibò, the Protodeacon, and they were handed to the Master of Ceremonies, Giovanni Francesco Firmano.  Farnese was then conducted to the Sacristy, where he removed his cardinalatial robes and donned the papal vestments. Meanwhile Cardinal Cibò had a window opened and made the official announcement of the election to the people. The doors of the Conclave were opened.

The Bishop of Aosta, Amadeus Berrutus, wrote immediately to the Duke of Savoy (Petruccelli, 7):

Today, the 12th of October, at this hour, two in the evening, Farnese was elected and immediately confirmed by all of the cardinals. I asked Ivrea [Bonifacio Ferrero] to tell him that he had the order from your Excellency to give him his vote. I don't know if he did so, for the cardinals are remaining in conclave tonight. The pope was made without a ballot, by the Holy Spirit.

[The date given in the body of this letter is most important.  It proves that Paul III was elected on the 12th, as Firmano's diary indicates, not on the 13th, as Biagio Martinelli's diary claims (Gattico I, 325).  Martinelli's dates are all wrong by one day.]

Gregory Casale, writing to Thomas Cromwell (Petruccelli, 8) says that the acclamation did not include Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio. It was led by Cardinal de' Medici, followed by Jean de Lorraine. Even two Germans, Trent and Salzburg, joined in.

The Bolognese ambassador, Papazzoni wrote immediately to the Senate (Staffetti 130 n.2):

Hiersera [October 11] s' era pubblicato alla porta del conclave dove si mettevano entro la vivande, che il Reverendissimo di Farnese era fatto papa et che i Reverendissimi Cibo e Cesarini l' havevano detto di lore bocca, ... questa mattina [October 12] sono concorsse tutte le religgioni e tutta Roma a palazzo et si è posto fuori la croce et pubblicato per il Reverendissimo Cibo esso Reverendissimo Farnese esser Papa et haver nome Paulo terzo.

Coronation

On October 22, the Masters of Ceremonies were told by the Master of the Pontifical Household (Ascanius Parisanus, the Bishop of Rimini) that the new Pope had not yet decided on the date of his coronation. Eventually they heard a rumor that the Pope would be crowned on November 3, and that he intended to participate in the religious ceremonies of All Saints' Day (November 1) and All Souls' Day (November 2). This caused a strong reaction among the ceremoniere, who pointed out to the Pope that it was contrary to custom for the Pope to carry out pontifical acts before his Coronation. It might bring into question whether the Cornonation was a necessary act, or merely an expensive ceremony. The Pope consulted Cardinal Piccolomini, whose judgment was that the Pope could participate in ceremonies before his Coronation. Cardinal Cibo thought otherwise (He was, of course, protecting his own interests as Cardinal Protodeacon, the person who crowned the Pope). Cardinal Ferrario supported the Pope, while Cardinal Cesi thought that he should not participate. The Pope finally decided not to participate. He was crowned Pope Paul III on November 3, 1534 in the Vatican Basilica by Cardinal Innocenzo Cibò, the Protodeacon.

He took formal possession of the Lateran Basilica on April 11, 1535 (Diary of Biagio Martinelli da Cesena, in Gattico I, 386-389).

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Bibliography

Joannes Franciscus Firmanus, Diarium,  in Joannes Baptista Gattico,   Acta Selecta Caeremonialia Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae ex variis mss. codicibus et diariis saeculi xv. xvi. xvii.   Tomus I (Romae 1753), pages 330-331.

Blasius de Martinelli da Cesena, Diarium, in   Joannes Baptista Gattico,   Acta Selecta Caeremonialia Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae ex variis mss. codicibus et diariis saeculi xv. xvi. xvii.   Tomus I (Romae 1753), pages 325-329

Onuphrio Panvinio, Epitome Pontificum Romanorum a S. Petro usque ad Paulum IIII. Gestorum (videlicet) electionisque singulorum & Conclavium compendiaria narratio (Venice: Jacob Strada 1557). Gregorio Leti, Il cardinalismo di Santa Chiesa Parte Terza (1668), 162-165. Lorenzo Cardella, Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa Tomo Terzo (Roma 1793) 265 ff (Farnese); Tomo Quarto (Roma: Pagliarini 1793) 83-84 (Spinola). D. Orano, "Il diario di Marcello Alberini," Archivio della R. Società romana di storia patria 18 (1895) 51-98; 319-416, especially 382-388.

Giuseppe Molini, Documenti di storia italiana  Vol. II (Firenze 1837).

Francesco Cancellieri, Storia de' solenni Possessioni de' Sommi Pontefici, detti anticamente Processi o Processioni dopo la loro Coronazione dalla Basilica Vaticana alla Lateranense (Roma: Luigi Lazzarini 1802). Gaetano Novaes, Elementi della storia de' Sommi Pontefici Volume VI (Roma 1822) 258-259; Vol VII 3-7. F. Petruccelli della Gattina, Histoire diplomatique des conclaves Volume II (Paris: 1864). Ferdinand Gregorovius, The History of Rome in the Middle Ages (translated from the fourth German edition by A. Hamilton) Volume 8 part 2 [Book XIV, Chapter 5] (London 1902) 695-702. F. A. Artaud de Montor Histoire des souverains Pontifes Romains Volume IV (Paris 1851) 91-92. Georges Jauret, Les coulisses des conclaves. Détails intimes et indiscrétions (Paris: Garnier 1878), 66-74. Carlo Capasso, La politica di Papa Paolo III e l' Italia Volume I (Camerino: Savini 1901), 1-12.

On Cardinal Cibo: Luigi Staffetti, Il cardinale Innocenzo Cybo (Firenze: Le Monnier 1894).

G. Moroni, Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica Volume 51 (Venezia 1851) 124-125.