SEDE VACANTE 1458

August 6, 1458 — August 19, 1458

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No coins of the Sede Vacante have been identified.
The Camerlengo, who had the right to issue coins, was not in Italy.

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The Cardinal Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church was Cardinal Ludovico Scarampi Mezzarota Trevisano. He was born in Padua in 1401, of "low and obscure lineage", where he studied medicine and natural science, obtaining a doctorate from the University of Padua in 1425. His early successes in papal service were in the military sphere. It is said that he was one of Pope Eugenius' many physicians [Gaetano Marini, Degli archiatri ponttifici Volume primo (Roma 1784), xxix, 142-143 ]. In 1435 he was appointed Bishop of Trau, and in 1437 he became Archbishop of Florence. He was appointed Patriarch of Aquileia in 1439. In 1440 he was created Cardinal with the titulus of San Lorenzo in Damaso. He was again successful in the military sphere in 1440, aiding the Papacy and Florence against Niccolò Piccinino the captain of the Lombard League. As Legate of the March of Ancona he freed the March of Ancona from the clutches of Francesco Sforza. In the last months of Pope Eugenius' life he was in charge of all of the castelli and fortified places under papal control. He was named admiral of the papal fleet in 1455, and fought the Turks in the eastern Mediterranean (1455-1459), on account of which he did not participate in the Conclave of 1458. He was promoted Cardinal Bishop of Albano in 1465, and died in that year in Rome. He was buried in his titular church. [Cardella III, 95-98; Moroni, Dizionario storico-ecclesiastica 45, 12-14]

The Magister Sacri Palatii was Fr. Jacobus Aegidii, OP, of Valencia, appointed by Nicholas V in 1452; died ca. 1465 [J. Catalano, de magistro sacri palatii apostolici (Romae 1751), pp. 95-97; J. Catalano, Sacrarum Ceremoniarum sive rituum ecclesiasticorum ... Libri tres (Romae 1750), I, p. 17]. He is likely to have been one of the Custodians of the Conclave.

The Marshal of the Holy Roman Church and Guardian of the Conclave was Pandolfo Savelli. (G. Moroni, Dizionario storico-ecclesiastica 42, 279-280; G. Bourgin, 216 and n.8). He was the son of Giovanni Battista Savelli, who, in his Will (October 11, 1445), calls himself della Santita di Nostro SIgnore il Papa e della corte di Roma marescalco. Pandolfo died during the Pontificate of Paul II (1464-1471). There is no reference to Pandolfo's participation in the Conclave of 1458.

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Background: Alfonso and Ferrante

Calixtus III (Borgia) had but one goal in mind when he became pope: to defeat the Turks who had just conquered Constantinople in May of 1453, and who were advancing through the Balkans toward Belgrade. The efforts which he sponsored and financed produced one good victory at Belgrade, on July 22, 1456. According to the future pope, Piccolomini, the military success was the work of three Johns: John of Capistrano (who preached the Crusade), John Hunadyi (who led the forces to victory), and the Apostolic Legate Cardinal Juan Carvajal [Weiss, 39]. But one victory did not mean a successful campaign, or a conclusive war, or a Christian triumph over the Muslim. Calixtus, therefore, devoted most of his effort toward extracting troops from the princes of Europe (along with their active participation), extracting money from the Church by a special levy of 10% for the Crusade, and organizing a peace in Europe so that full attention could be devoted to the Crusade.

One of Calixtus' greatest hopes was that the French King would participate in His Crusade. In 1457 a marriage alliance had been arranged between King Ladislaus of Hungary and Princess Madeleine, the daughter of King Charles VII of France [Baronius-Theiner, sub anno 1457, p. 106 no. 14-16], but the unfortunate death of King Ladislaus on November 23, 1457, prevented the marriage from taking place [Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini, Historia Bohemica cap. lxx-lxxii, pp. 124-128]. J.-B. Christophe [II, p. 15] conjectures—doubtfully (and basing his view on Piccolomini)— that this alliance might have meant that Charles was willing to join the Crusade that Calixtus was promoting, but the truth is that Charles was much more interested in the status of his wars with the English, who had just lost Aquitaine to him (1453). Sending forces out of the country at that time would have been foolhardy, as Calixtus ought to have known. Calixtus' obsession with his crusade often made him insensitive to the real meaning of diplomatic responses given to his demands and exhortations. Of course one says "yes" to a pope who is threatening excommunications upon the heads of recalcitrants, but that does not mean that the "yes" was an actual committment, or that there would be an immediate or timely response. The election of Matthias Corvinus as king of Hungary in succession to Ladislaus, and the election of the duplicitous George Poidebrad (who had Hussite committments) as King of Bohemia, brought a new set of complications to the Balkan situation [Pius II, in Cucogni, pp. 145-151], which the exalted epistles of the pontiff in Rome could do nothing to solve.

Donna Lucretia

It was in October of 1457, around the same time as the marriage of Ladislaus of Hungary and Madeleine of France was going forward that a most extraordinary spectacle was presented to the people of Rome and the Papal Court. An embassy arrived from Naples, escorting Madonna Lucretia, the grieving sister of Cardinal Raynaldus Piscicelli, archbishop of Naples, who had died on July 1, 1457 [Eubel II, p. 32 no. 185].  Cardinal Piccolomini remarked that he had died more from the doctors than the heaviness of the air (malaria?) [Epistle 374, Rome, August 1]:

Obiit cardinalis Neapolitanus in curia potius medicorum quam aeris gravitate.

Donna Lucretia was accompanied by a suite of 50 demoiselles, noble youth, and more than twenty five wives of counts, marquises and members of the high nobility, and an escort of 500 cavalry. All were dressed completely in black, in mourning presumably for her dead brother, the Cardinal (who, however, was buried in Naples). She came, according to Niccolo della Tuccia of Viterbo, with the license and according to the wishes of King Alfonso. More than that, she was the king's mistress:

la qual donna era amata e vagheggiata dal re di Ragona [Alfonso V the Magnanimous], e dicevasi certamente che il re non usava in peccato carnale con lei, ma solo in parlare se ne pigliava vaghezza, e pareva di tutte l' altre cose si fosse dimenticato. Partendo detta Lucretia con licenza del re, le concesse il suo volare, e li donò 5 mila alfonsini che valeva ducato uno e mezzo l'uno; e 3 mila ducati felli dare in Roma dal banco d'Alessandro Miraballi....

The Papal Court, led by Don Pedro Luis de Borja, met the cavalcade at Marino, and escorted Donna Lucretia to the City. She took up residence in Rome in the palazzo of Cardinal Colonna's brother, and on Sunday, October 17, she gave a grand reception. Next day, she went in procession to the Vatican, where she was received formally by Pope Calixtus, who went out of his way to treat her with courtesy: il papa la ricevette con grandissimo honore, e Ievossi di sedia e fessele incontro sino all'uscio della camera sua, e li stettero in festa et allegrezza sino passato tre hore di notte: e portorno infinite supplicationi, le quali tutte signò il papa per quelle feste. Cardinal Piccolomini, who did not approve of the occasion and did not pay a call on the King of Naples' mistress while she was in Rome, commented [Cucogni, p. 184]:

Dum haec aguntur, Lucretia, cujus ante meminimus, Romam venit, non minori comitatu et pompa quam si Regina esset. Calistus eam in Concistorio recepit, assistentibus Cardinalibus, multisque modis honoravit; quod neque Aeneae placuit, neque pluribus aliis, indignum esse iudicantibus eam in conspectu Maiestatis Apostolicae magnificari, quam turpi causa Rex amaret. Et quamvis esset Aeneas Alphonsi amantissimus, non tamen amicam eius Romae visitavit, sicut alii plerique Cardinales, inter quos fuit Petrus Sancti Marci, non tam ceremoniarum Magister, quam favorum saecularium sectator egregius.

This entire episode was a diplomatic gesture of some sort, perhaps an effort on the part of King Alfonso to present his case to the Pope in the most personal and confidential, and sincere, manner. He was involved, after all, both with Jacopo Piccinino against Sigismondo Malatesta and with his own Genoese war (against the wishes and support of the Pope), and was quite unwilling to sail off to the Aegean on Crusade. The good behavior which was being shown on all sides underlines the importance of the event, but what exactly was going on cannot be discerned with the evidence at hand. But the Court of Naples was attempting to reach out to the Borgia in October of 1257.

Death of King Alfonso and Accession of King Ferrante

The impending death of a pope often has the effect of raising or concentrating forces which are already present in the political and social environment, and directing them toward a crisis. The most important of these nexuses focused on Alfonso V, King of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, Sardinia and Corsica, King of Sicily, King of Naples (1442-1458), Count of Barcelona.  In 1458, Alfonso, aware that his death was approaching (he was 62), took great care to ensure the succession by having his vassals swear allegiance to his son, Ferdinand (Ferrante), the Duke of Calabria. These precautions were made necessary since Ferdinand had been born illegitimate. But Alfonso had seen to that problem as well, extorting from both Pope Eugenius IV and Nicholas V bulls which legitimized Ferdinand and recognized his right to inherit the throne of Naples. Alfonso V died on June 27, 1458, and almost immediately, on July 1, his son Ferrante wrote to Calixtus, recalling that he had once been a pupil in Calixtus' charge, and asserting that he had no hostile intentions against the Church; quite the contrary, his new Kingdom would bring benefits to them both. But Pope Calixtus had other plans for Naples, and had no intention of recognizing or honoring the bulls of his two predecessors. On July 14, two and a half weeks after the death of Alfonso, Calixtus issued a papal bull, in which he claimed the Neapolitan inheritance as a fief of the Throne of Peter and dispensed the Neapolitan nobility, military and civil service of their oaths of obedience (Letter of July 14, 1458, from Antonio Strozzi in Rome to the Marquis of Mantua):

sta mane la Santita del Nostro Signore ha publicata una bolla, ne la quale dechiara el reame de Sicilia citra Farrum essere devoluto a la sede apostolica, como pienamente intendera per la lecione de detta bolla, la qual sera a questa alligata. el cvapitano de la chiesa messer [Pedro Luis] Borgia conduce gente d'arme con voce de voler andare a la recuperacione de detto regno e in questo medesimo giorno e arivato cum le copie in Roma a hora del consistorio e in quello, essendoci tuti li R(everendissi)mi Signori Cardinali, intrato forsi per toglier la commissione dal Nostro Signore, el quale si dice ha mandato a comandare el prefato don Ferdinando, che sotto pena de excommunicatiuone non si nomine ne si scriva re del reame, ma che se metta absolutamente e liberamente ne le sue mani, che lo tractera non mancho bene che si faza el nepote suo messer Borgia prefato, item che subito gli mandi duchati sexanta millia, i quali ha lassato el re Alfonso per testamento a la cruciata sotto gravissime censure e pene, e che sotto dette pene, nonche senza dilatione gli mande tuti quelli che testose detto re sotto nome e pretexto de la cruciata. non seria potuto ritornare messo cum la risposta, ma la Excellentia Vostra se la potera per se stessa imaginare.

Calixtus' action, however, was not a reaction to Don Ferrante writing a letter styling himself Ferdinandus Yerusalem Sicilie et Ungarie rex, as alleged.  In fact Calixtus had been planning such a move long before the death of King Alfonso, fearing (he said) the intervention of France, which had a claim on the throne of Naples through the Angevin inheritance. Bishop Jacopo della Torre of Modena (1444-1463) wrote to Duke Francesco Sforza of Milan on June 11, two weeks before the death of Alfonso of Naples, of conversations he had both with Pope Calixtus and with Cardinal d' Estouteville:

io tengo per certo questo che la S. Bne per questa casone principaliter voria questi oratori fossero presso luy per potere rasonare de tale materia quando seguisse la morte del Re. Et fa la S(anti)ta Soa fundamento che dice questo regno spectare a s(anta) chiesia et a luy et suoy successori et che niuna potencia de Italia doveva volere che el regno fosse d' altri che de la chiesa per la pace et quiete de dicta sancta chiesa et de tutto lo resto de Italia, et quando questo fosse dice che ogniuno viveria in pace et el papa, quale e pater et dominus pacis, faria che ogniuno stava in pace et el re de Franza stava ancora luy contento. Ma che venendo el dicto reame al duca de Calabria [Ferrante], el re de Francza che se potendo de haver rasone nel regno, may non lo comportaria et suscitaria in Italia tanto foco che brusaria ogniuno et in questa parte del re de Franza se extese longamente narrandome la potencia de Franza. Io credo firmiter che di nocte el papa stia suso questo pensar et desegno et expecta la morte del Re con summa leticia. Quattro fiate son stato con S. B. una hora et piu per volta et sempre e stato su questi rasonamenti, ma heri sera me disse tutte le cose soprascritte. Monsig. Rhotomagen. [Cardinal Guillaume d'Estouteville] etiam me ha ditto de tali rasonnamenti ha fatto con luy.

The Pope, however, had other reasons for his distaste of King Alfonso and his hostility to King Ferrante. He also had his reasons to actually favor the French. In an audience on July 20 with Giovanni de Caymis, the ambassador of Duke Francesco Sforza, the Pope so lost control of his tongue as to say:

la Serenita del signore presupone, che nuy vogliamo fare guerra, il che non è vero, per tanto è falsa ogni sua conclusione, et se havessemo voluta guerra haveressemo tolto il conte Iacobo [Piccinino], il qual havemo possuto havere molte volte, ma non volemo quello regno se desfacci, ma non bisogna che a nuy ce dica queste cosse, perchè tanto tempo havemo governato quello regno che conoscemo meglio le conditione de quello che persona che viva, item cognoscemo Don Ferrando un bastardello, de chi non sapemo chi fusse il padre, un puerulo chi è uno niente, ello se è chiamato re, et scrivessi re senza licentia o autorità nostra. lo regno spetta a la chiesia et è patrimonio de santo Pietro. Io padre may non volse chiamarsi re, se prima non hebbe il consentimento del papa, et noy che alora eravamo de suo consiglio sempre lo confortamo a così fare et ad ingegnarsi de havere il titulo da quello a chi spettava darglilo, perchè senza esso non se può havere felice successo. vuy signori Lombardi, da li quali hanno havuto origine et apresso de quali è più in uso li feudi che altrove, sapete bene, che non lo pò nè deve fare de rasone, perchè dato che fusse legitimo successore del re, doveria prima havere la confirma da nuy, che usurparsi tal titulo; ello ce ha scritto a nuy et al colegio de cardinali intitulandosi re. preterea ce tene Terracina et Benevento e altre terre, le quale sono della chiesa, et quando ancora fusse legittimo successore deveno però essere restituite a la chiesa

Now Calixtus had been the preceptor of young Ferrante in his childhood, and as former Secretary and Ambassador for King Alfonso knew all of the family secrets. But he certainly went beyond the bounds of reason and truth to allege that Ferrante was not the offspring of King Alfonso. What, except senility, illness or approaching death, could have led the pope to utter such a falsehood? After all, an alliance between Francesco Sforza and Alfonso V, known to the Pope from October 4, 1455, had been fortified by the betrothal of Francesco's daughter Hippolyta to Duke Ferrante's son, Alfonso. If Ferrante had not been the son of Alfonso, such a marriage would have been a gross insult, not a guarantee of an alliance. The reference of the Pope to Terracina and Benevento are particularly telling, since the Pope had a plan to entrust those lands of the Church to his beloved nephew, Pedro Luis, as augmentations to his already numerous titles and lands (Duke of Spoleto, Prefect of Rome, etc. etc.). In a Brief of Calixtus III , dated July 31, 1458, his nephew was created Duke of Benevento and Count of Terracina, thereby fortifying himself against both Ferrante and a French claim to papal lands. The supposition that Calixtus' real plan was to make Pedro Luis King of Naples is, if true, convincing evidence of his senility—but it is better to dismiss that story as spiteful propaganda.

As is clear from Pope Calixtus' remarks to Giovanni de Caymis, he was also angry with Alfonso and Ferrante over their support for the Condottiere Jacopo Piccinino, whom they employed on their northern border intermittently to harass Sigismondo Malatesta of Pesaro and Rimini, who was seeking to expand into papal lands south of the Po, thereby causing difficulties for Alfonso's ally Francesco Sforza of Milan. At the same time Piccinino was able to cause discomfort to Florence, whose eastern marches were threatened by what some saw as Piccinino's desire to carve out a principality for himself in Umbria. Florence, of course, was allied with Venice and with France, and Venice was interested in expanding its land empire in the Po Valley, to the disadvantage of Milan, Ferrara and Modena. This policy of Venice had been the work of Doge Francesco Foscari, but, fortunately for Francesco Sforza, Doge Francesco had been deposed by the jealous Venetian aristocracy on October 23, 1457, on grounds of incapacity from extreme old age. But the deposition of the Doge did not mean the abandonment of Venice's ambitions in the Po Valley. Consequently, ambitions Venice was not anxious to send its fleet or its soldiers on a Crusade to the Balkans. Sforza, too, was stubbornly refusing to commit himself, and the Venetians could only imagine the damage that Milan could do on their western boundaries if they were off on crusade. The same fears held true for Sforza, in reverse. Calixtus pose as pater et dominus pacis (in his own words, spoken to Bishop della Torre) carried no weight at all in the circumstances.

In October of 1457, Piccinino, with 7,000 soldiers of King Alfonso, made war in the Abruzzi against Sigismondo Malatesta and even managed to subvert Sigismondo's brother:

Alla fine d' ottobre [1457] si mosse il conte Iacovo Piccinino, con circa 7 mila soldati del re di Ragona, e levatosi d'Abruzzo andò a mouver guerra al sig. Sigismondo [Malatesta] da Rimini; e questo fu perchè in tempo che il re di Ragona andò in persona contro li fiorentini nell'anno 1447, pagò a detto sig. Gismondo 23 mila florini d'oro volendolo al suo soldo, et egli si partì, et andò al soldo de' fiorentini contro detto re: e così il conte Iacovo ando a muoverli guerra. Il fratello di detto Gismondo, chiamato Giovanni signor di Pesaro, accettò detto conte per dispetto del fratello.

Alfonso and Genoa, 1458

King Alfonso was also an obstacle to Calixtus' desire for peace in Europe for the sake of his Crusade in the matter of Genoa. Both Alfonso and Genoa had designs on the island of Sardinia, as a strategic base for the control of the Tyrrhenian Sea and the western coasts of Italy. For Alfonso this was also a matter of his communications and supply lines with the Iberian peninsula, seeing that Genoa blocked his access by way of coastal communications through northern Italy and Provence. When the signatories to the Peace of Lodi (April 9, 1454), Milan and Venice, subsequently joined by Florence, approached Alfonso, urgently requesting him to join, he very reluctantly agreed, but only on the conditions that the peace did not cover Genoa or Sigismondo Malatesta [Gregorovius VII. 1., 142-144]. Alfonso's ally Francesco Sforza was also at war with Genoa, which was his outlet to the western Mediterranean, but also a point of access for French troops, should the French attempt to assert their claim to the Duchy of Milan. Genoa had supported the Angevins when King Rene waged war against Alfonso in the 1430's, and provided them an important base for their sea operations. Worst of all, perhaps, was the fact that the Doge of Genoa, Pietro Campofregoso, had cheated Alfonso out of a considerable sum of money, and Alfonso wanted revenge [Ametiler II, 819-826]..

In 1456 there had been operations against Genoa, leading the city to consult with the Pope, who, striving for a general peace, favored Genoa in his anger with Alfonso. In 1457, the decision was taken by Genoa to transfer the Lordship of Genoa to King Charles VII of France, just as they had done in 1396. In January of 1458, therefore, Alfonso launched an expedition against Genoa [according to the Cronaca of Niccolò della Tuccia; Muratori, Annali d' Italia 22, sub annis 1457 and 1458, pp. 269-272]:

Venuto il 1458, et essendo una grand'armata del re di Ragona a campo di Genova di gennaro, tutti quelli di dett' armata smontorno in terra, e derno battaglia alla detta città, e per forza entrorno dentro. Quelli della città ferno gran difesa, nella qual morirno infinita gente dall'una parte e l'altra, ove li catalani furno cacciati fuori, e poi combattendo un'altra rientrorno dentro la terra: e fu una grandissima battaglia, e detti catalani furno rotti e cacciati fuori da'genovesi, e tanti ne furono morti, che appena quelli che ci rimasero vivi poterno con loro remi levarsi di campo, e tornare a Napoli: tanto pochi furno. 

Nonetheless, the French King turned over Genoa to Jean, Duke of Anjou 'and Calabria', son of 'King' René'. On May 11, 1458, the government of Genoa swore allegiance to him. He brought ten galleys with him from France, which were stationed at Genoa. Niccolo della Tuccia of Viterbo remarked in his chronicle [pp. 281-282 O]:

In quel tempo li genovesi, essendo assai oppressati dal re di Ragona, s'accordaro quelli di dentro e li fuorusciti, e dettero Genova al re di Francia; e così per lui entrocci dentro il figlio del re Ranieri, et il duce di Genova fu fatto capitan dell armata del re di Francia e dei genovesi contro il re di Ragona, quale stava ammalato in Napoli con pericolo di morte.

The scene was set for a major Italian war.

Death of Pope Calixtus III (Borgia)

In a dispatch of July 26, 1458, Otto de Caretto, the ambassador of the Duke of Milan in Rome, reported that the Pope was suffering seriously from a fever. It was apparent that the Milanese expected the Pope to die soon, since the Duke authorized an attempt to win the vote of Cardinal Giovanni Castiglione of Pavia, who was Milanese by birth, for the election of Cardinal Domenico Capranica [Pastor, Acta inedita pp. 79-80 no. 57; Petruccelli I, p. 273]. Cardinal Capranica seemed, in most people's judgment, likely to be the next pope.

On July 31, in a meeting which most cardinals refused to attend—on the grounds that it was a Feast Day, the Feast of S. Peter in Chains, and that no consistories could be held on such a day [Augustinus Patricius Piccolomini, Sacrarum Ceremoniarum (Venetiis 1582), Lib. III, cap. xiii, p. 225] — the Pope nonetheless, in the presence of only three cardinals (Barbo, de la Cerda and Tebaldi) awarded Cardinal Tebaldi the Archbishopric of Naples. This grant was certainly a demonstration of Calixtus' supposed rights in the Kingdom of Sicily, but also a gesture to the Italian element in the Church, who had seen too much go to Castilians in the way of benefices. Both the timing and the manner were wrong. On the same day, the Pope named his nephew Pedro to the important papal territories of Benevento, Terracina and Civitavecchia [Antonio da Pistoia to the Duke of Milan (August 2, 1458)]. Calixtus' appalling nepotism and overweening ambition held its grip on him until the end.

In a hurried note on the evening of Sunday, August 6, 1458, Antonio de Pistorio wrote to Duke Francesco in Milan that the Pope had died around sunset [Pastor, History of the Popes, 563 no. 54]:

Ill(ustrissime) Sig(nore): El papa e morto in questa hora xxiv. Li Catelani sona tutti chi fugiti et chi nascosi et hanno tanto odio adosso che tristo a loro se si lasseno trovare nanzi la creatione de l' altro papa. Et forsi ancor alhora saranno a pezor conditione.

The different reports of the date of Pope Calixtus' death, August 6 and August 8, are due to a simple oversight. Some (including Ciaconius and Christophe) have read VIII Id. Aug. as VIII Aug.   Calixtus was in fact seventy-nine years old, though according to Platina, Calixtus was 80, and according to St. Antoninus of Florence he was 84. He had ruled for three years, three months, and twenty-nine days. He was buried in the Vatican, but his remains were later transferred to S. Maria di Monserrato, the Aragonese church in Rome.

The anti-Catalan reaction began immediately, and the Catalans were in full flight. The Pope's nephew had already abandoned his fortresses to Stefano Colonna, the principal supporter of the Borgia among the Roman aristocracy, and made his way, guarded by 150 cavalry and 150 infantry, to Rome in the evening of August 6, as the Pope lay dying in the Vatican. But after he crossed the Ponte Molle, Don Pedro Borgia headed instead for S. Paolo fuori le mure, [letter of Antonio da Pistoia to the Duke of Milan, August 6, 1458]; he avoided the city (with the help of Cardinal Barbo, the Cardinal of S. Marco) and reached Ostia, where he took ship for Civitavecchia.

The Funeral Oration for Pope Calixtus was given by Msgr. Gianantonio Campano, who was made Bishop of Cotrone by Pius II in 1462 and in the same month translated to Teramo (1463-1477) [Novaes, Intrtoduzione, pp. 252-253, who wrongly gives the name of the Bishopric as Cortona]. He also gave the Funeral Oration at the burial of Pius II in 1464.

Calixtus III's epitaph was written by Ferdinand Gregorovius [The History of Rome in the Middle Ages VII. 1, p. 151], "His short reign was devoid of importance."

Preliminaries

Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini had been spending the summer of 1458 in and around VIterbo, taking treatments for his gout and other illnesses, including asthma, and writing history, in particular the History of Bohemia, of which he had more firsthand knowledge than anyone in Rome. He was not, however, out of communication with his friends. It happened that Viterbo was on one of the major communication routes between the north (Po Valley, Ferrara, Bologna, Florence, and Siena) and Rome. While at Viterbo, in July, after the death of Alfonso V of Naples, he was visited by the Ambassador of Milan to the Pope, Johannes de Caymis. Johannes revealed to Piccolomini (as he reports in his Commentarii) the position of Francesco Sforza with regard to the crisis at Naples created by Calixtus III, a position so completely hostile and troublesome that it contributed to the death of the pope [Cucogni, p. 184]:

Dum Calistus, inimico Rege mortuo, nimis alto fertur animo, et iam sibi plana omnia esse censet; ipse quoque intra dies quadraginta, morbo captus, et extremo senio confectus, fatis fungitur. Ioannes Caimus, Francisci Sfortiae Mediolanensium Ducis Orator, Viturvio transitum faciens, Aeneam illic adiit, visitationis causa, atque inter confabulandum idcirco se missum ad Calistum, ait, ut ediceret ei non placere Francisco Sfortiae Ferdinandum paterno regno amoveri; quod si aliter Pontifici sederet in animo, sciret Mediolani Ducem adversum se futurum. Quo audito: hoc, inquit Aeneas nuncio, Calisto mortem affers. Neque aliter sequutum est. Namque ut accepit Pontifex Maximus Franciscum sibi de regno non assentari, mox aegritudinem incidit, ex qua mortuus est.

Cardinal Piccolomini was at Viterbo when the news of the death of the Pope arrived. He was joined there by Cardinal Filippo Calandrini, the Bishop of Bologna, and they made their way to Rome together. They were met by the usual concourse of people at the gate that led into the Piazza del Popolo, where the demonstration (according to Piccolomini himself, in a later recollection) suggested that one of the two of them would be elected pope [Commentarii, p. 29]. This was, of course, in the opinion of the people, who did not have a vote at the Conclave. They arrived, according to Piccolomini's statement, before the death of Cardinal Capranica:

Cumque ambo una Urbem peterent, universam curiam, et maiorem populi partem extra moenia occurrentem invenere; affirmantibus cunctis eorum alterum in pontificem maximum electum iri. Reverterunt et ceteri cardinales intra centesimum lapidem commorantes; decem et novem in Urbe adfuere. Sed dum celebrantur exequiae, cardinalis Firmanus lenta febre correptus Calistum, cui succedere aspirabat, ad sepulchrum sequitur

The death of Cardinal Capranica was a shock that wrecked plans for what was likely to have been an easy election. It brought an immediate letter to Duke Francesco in Milan from the nimble Otto de Caretto (August 14, 1458), "I am not without hope for Cardinal Colonna, but it would be easier to carry the Cardinal of Siena, for all parties like him and he stands well with the envoys sent by the King of Naples":

Poyche l' altissimo Dio ha voluto ad se recevere quello dignissimo cardinale de Fermo (Domenico Capranica) et cosi repentinamente ce ha rotto el disegno nostro, il quale se in hominem e fede alcuna non poteva mancare come qualche volta faro intendere chiaro a chi vegna qui per Vostra Excellentia, rivocando in tanto dolore a me il consiglio de la rasone spero con l' aiuto de Dio drizare. la cosa ad asay bon porto et non son senza speranza del rev. cardinale de Colonna, ma piu fatibile pare de quello de Siena [Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini] et a questo se accorda meglio li animi de tutte le parti et cosi de questi ambasciatori de la Maesta del re [Ferrante].

Nonetheless, Piccolomini recalled in his Commentarii that he had not been the chosen candidate of Francesco Sforza [Book I ad fin., p. 32]:

Franciscus Sfortia dux Mediolani, etsi alium Pontificem expectabat, Aeneae tamen cognita electione gavisus est, quem olim in castris contra Mediolanum honorasset.

King Ferrante of Naples, of course, wanted nothing to do with the "Catalans", nor with the French, who had obstructed his accession. The Venetian Barbo was included in his dislike.

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The Cardinals

When Calixtus III died there were twenty-seven living cardinals. The Diarium Camerale (Bourgin 292) provides a list of the eighteen cardinals who entered the Conclave of 1458 on August 16; Cardinal Capranica, who died on August 14, during the Sede Vacante, is not counted.   A list of twenty-one of the Cardinals in 1458 is given in the Historiae Senensium by Sigismundus Titius. (Cugnoni, p. 29). A list of the Cardinals, present and absent is given by Onuphrio Panvinio (Epitome, pp. 321-322), who lists eighteen cardinals present and six absent, a total of twenty-four. He omits Domenico Capranica, Pierre de Foix and Dénes Szécsi, and lists Juan de Torquemada as Bishop of Albano, which he never was; he became Bishop of Palestrina ca. 1460. Ciaconius-Olduin (Tomus II, columns 1000-1001) also states that there were twenty-four living cardinals, six of whom were absent.   Eubel II (p. 13 n. 2) provides a list of the cardinals who were present at the Conclave of 1458, and of seven cardinals who were absent; he omits mention of Pierre de Foix, who was absent. Of the eighteen cardinals who participated, eight were Italian, five Spanish, two French, one Portuguese and two Greek. Eight of the eighteen had not yet taken part in a papal election. Twelve votes were needed to elect.

Cardinals participating in the Sede Vacante:

1. Giorgio Fieschi (aged ? ) [Genoa], Suburbicarian Bishop of Palestrina (died 1461). Apostolic Administrator of Luni. The Fieschi were in exile from Genoa in 1458.
2. Isidore of Kiev (aged 78?) [Ukraine-Ruthenia], Suburbicarian Bishop of Sabina (died 1463). Cardinal of Ss. Marcellino e Pietro in commendam. Apostolic Administrator of Nicosia "Ruthenus" He had been papal Legate in Constantinople at the time of the Fall of the city in May, 1453.
3. [Giovanni] Bessarion (aged 55) [Greece, born in Trebizond], Suburbicarian Bishop of Frascati (died 1472). Cardinal of Ss. XII Apostoli in commendam. Apostolic Administrator of Jerusalem, and of Mazaro del Vallo. Bishop of Nicaea in the Patriarchate of Constantinople. He had nearly been elected pope in the Conclave of 1455, had it not been for Alain de Coëtivy. "Nicaenus"
   
   
4. Guillaume d'Estouteville, (aged 46) [Norman French], son of Jean II d'Estouteville, who was made prisoner at Agincourt in 1415, and held for some 20 years; he had two brothers, Louis and Robert, and two sons [Gallia christiana XI, 91].  He was consanguineus in the third grade of the King Charles VI of France. Suburicarian Bishop of Ostia e Velletri (since October 21, 1461); formerly Bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina (1459-1461), and before that Cardinal Priest of SS. Silvestro e Martino (1437-1459).  He was not a monk and was not Prior of S. Martini in Campis (only Administrator); the first person to mention such things is Ciaconius [H. Denifle, Chartularium Universitatis Parisiensis IV (Paris 1898) xx-xxiv].  Protonotarius Apostolicus as early as 1433.   In 1451 he was sent as Legatus a latere to France [Eubel II, p. 31;  Chartularium Universitatis Parisiensis IV, no. 2675 (August 27, 1451); Baronius-Theiner 28, sub anno 1451, no. 7, pp. 556-557 (August 15, 1451)].   In 1452, he was engaged in the review of the case of Jeanne d'Arc.  In the same year, he reformed the University of Paris [Chartularium Universitatis Parisiensis IV, no. 2690 (June 1, 1452)].  In 1453, after the fall of Constantinople he was sent to King Charles VII to compose the differences among the Christian princes.  Archpriest of the Liberian Basilica (Archivio della Società romana di storia patria 30 (1907) 161-163). Archbishop of Rouen (1453-1483).  He was Magister Artium and licentiatus of Canon Law  [Ammannati-Piccolomini, Commentarii Book II, p. 369: doctrina pontificii iuris...insignis; Denifle, Chartularium Universitatis parisiensis IV, xxi, citing mss. from the Vatican Archives]. He died  on January 22, 1483  [Eubel II, p. 46].   "Rotomagensis"  "Cardinal de Rohan" [Gallia Christiana XI, columns 90-93]
5. Juan de Torquemada, OP (aged 70) [Spanish], Cardinal Priest of S. Maria in Trastevere, subsequently Cardinal Bishop of Palestrina (ca. 1460), and then Sabina (1463-1468). Former Cardinal Priest of S. Sisto (1439-1446). Former Magister Sacri Palatii, appointed by Eugenius IV (1431-1439) [Catalano, de magistro sacri palatii (Romae 1751), pp. 87-90]. (died September 26, 1468 [ P. Egidi, Necrologie e libri affini della provincia Romana (Roma 1908), p. 300], at the age of 80, and buried in the Chapel of the Assumption at S. Maria sopra Minerva).  He was the author of  De potestate papae et concilii generalis auctoritate; Summa de Ecclesia et eius auctoritate contra impugnatores potestatis summi pontificis; Tractatus contra avisamentum quoddam Basiliensium, quod non liceat appellare a concilio ad papam (1436);  Tractatus in favorem Eugenii IV contra decreta concilii Constantiensis (1433).   "Sancti Sixti" [Cardella III, 91-94]
6. † Domenico Capranica (aged 58), a Roman, Cardinal Priest of S. Croce in Gerusalemme and Cardinal of S. Maria in Via Lata in commendam (died 1458). Administrator of Fermo. "Firmanus" Secretary of Martin V. Appointed cardinal by Martin V (1423), ratified by Eugenius IV (1434). Major Penitentarius [Vespasiano da Bisticci, "Vita di Domenico Capranica", ch. 2]. He was a principal architect of the Peace of Lodi, 1456 [Giulio Porro Lambertenghi (editor), Chronica di Milano (Miscellanea di Storia Italiana VIII, 1869), ch. cxxxv, p. 259-260]. He had been sent as Legate to England to preach the Crusade by Calixtus III, (allegedly) because of his frankness in opposing Calixtus nepotism [Poggio, "Domenici Capranicae vita, xix", p. 190 Baluze]. Named Protector of the Friars Minor, along with Cardinal Borgia, by Calixtus III in May, 1458 [Wadding, Annales Minorum 13, p. 58]. He died of a fever during the Sede Vacante, on Monday, August 14, and was buried at the Minerva: A di 14 d' agosto morse lo cardinale de Fermo, et fo sepellito alla Minerva, et non fo fatta la festa quell'anno per le cose preditte [Sterfano Infessura Diaria rerum romanorum, p. 63 ed. Tommasetti; Baluzius Miscellaneorum III, p. 298; Eubel, p. 35; Baronius-Theiner 29, p. 157; Pastor, Acta inedita no. 63, p. 89; no. 65, p. 91; Pastor, History of the Popes 2, pp. 483-495]
7. Pietro Barbo (aged 40) [Venice], Cardinal Priest of S. Marco [from June 16, 1451: Eubel II, 63] (died 1471). Bishop of Vicenza (1451-1464). Nephew of Eugenius IV (Condulmer)
8. Antonio de la Cerda y Lloscos (aged 67) [Spanish], Cardinal Priest of S. Crisogono (died 1459). Bishop of Lérida. "Ilerdensis"
9. Latino Orsini (aged 48?) [Romanus], son of Carlo Orsini, Signore di Pacentro, Lamentana, Fornello, Scrofano, Selci, Campagnano e Trevignano, Nobile Romano; Patrizio Veneto from 1426; Signore di Pozzuoli e Gran Connestabile del Regno di Sicilia; and Paola Gironima Orsini dei Conti di Tagliacozzo. He was the younger brother of Napoleone Orsini, seventh Conte de Tagliacozzo. Cardinal Latino had a naturalized son Paolo (who was murdered by the Borgia in 1503). Cardinal Priest of SS. Giovanni e Paolo (died 1477). Canon of the Vatican Basilica (1426). Archbishop of Conza (1438-1439), Archbishop of Trani (1439-1454), Archbishop of Bari (1454-1472). Abbot of Farfa (1476). Archpriest of the Lateran Basilica since March 9, 1458. He participated, as Archbishop of Bari, in the Funeral of Eugenius IV in 1447, and in the Conclave that followed [G. Bourgin, "La «familia» pontificia sotto Eugenio IV," Archivio della Società romana di storia patria 27 (1904), 203-224, at 217]. In July of 1457, Duke Pedro Luis de Borja stirred up trouble in the territories of the Count of Tagliacozzo against Cardinal Orsini and his brothers, the affair going so far as to result in a battle, thereby raising up all of the animosity of the War of the Orsini and Count Everso [according to the Cronaca of Niccolò della Tuccia]. Sent as Apostolicae Sedis Legatus to Ferdinand I of Sicily on December 2, 1458 to settle the business of the succession, which had been botched by Calixtus III [Baronius-Raynaldus 10, 168-178]. On February 9, 1459, he crowned King Ferrante I [Muratori, Rerum Italicarum Scriptores 23, 232] Doctor utriusque iuris.
10. Alain de Taillebourg de Coëtivy (aged 50) [Breton], Cardinal Priest of S. Prassede (died 1474). Bishop of Avignon. Apostolic Administrator of Nîmes. Brother of the Admiral Prégent de Coëtivy. One of the French representatives at the Council of Ferrara [C. de la Roncière, "La Pragmatique Sanction de 1438 et Alain de Coëtivy," Correspondence historique et archèologique 2 (1895) 45-51]. He was sent to France as Apostolic Legate, departing Rome on September 17, 1455 [Bourgin, 292 no. 29], but he had returned from his mission as Legate in France on May 6, 1458 [Eubel II, p. 34; Bourgin, 292; P. Richard, Revue des questions historiques 78 (1905) 107-111].
11. Philippus Lucanus de Sarzana (Filippo Calandrini) (aged 54) [Lunensis], Cardinal Priest of S. Lorenzo in Lucina (died 1476). Bishop of Bologna. "fratello uterino di Niccolò V" [Cardella III, 115; Baronius-Theiner 29, sub anno 1455, no. 16, p. 26]
12. Ludovicus Joannes Mila [Valencia, Spain] (aged 28), son of Juan de Mila of Jativa and Catalina de Borja, sister of Calixtus III. Cardinal Priest of SS. Quattro Coronati (died 1510). Bishop of Segovia. "Segobricensis" Nephew of Calixtus III. Sent as Legate to Bologna; he left Rome on January 7, 1457 [Eubel II, p. 34]. Sent as Commissioner to compose differences between Barcelona and King John of Aragon
13. Joannes de Mella [Spain], Cardinal Priest of S. Prisca (died 1467). Bishop of Zamora. "Zamorensis". He and Cardinal Piccolomini received their red hats from the Pope on December 18, 1456, and had their mouths opened on December 22 [Eubel II, p. 34]
14. Joannes de Castillione (Giovanni Castiglione) [Mediolanensis], Cardinal Priest of S. Clemente (died 1460). Bishop of Pavia. "Papiensis". He had been legate in Germany, returning to Rome on February 25, 1457, and received the red hat on the next day [Eubel II, p. 34].
15. Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini [Corsignano, Siena], son of Silvio Piccolomini and Victoria Fortiguerra (aged 53). Cardinal Priest of S. Sabina (XII.18.1456; died August 14, 1466). Former Secretary of Antipope Felix V. Former Secretary of Emperor Frederick III. He himself calculated that in his lifetime he had served more than twenty-four years in Germany. In 1447 Eugenius IV named him papal Subdeacon [Voigt, 397]. He became a priest on March 4, 1447, and was named Bishop of Trieste in April, 1447 (1447-1450); he was consecrated by Cardinal Juan Carvajal on August 15, in Vienna [Voigt I, p. 411; Weiss, 30 and n. 1]. Bishop of Siena (1450-1458). Jus civile sero amplexus et lente, brevi omisit, natura in poeticam inclinatiore [Campano, Vita Pii II Pontificis Maximi]. In 1453, his official style was: Aeneas Dei et Apostolicae Sedis gratia Episcopus Senensis, ac ejusdem Sedis per Bohemiam, Slesiam, Moraviam, necnon per civitates, Dioceses, Terras ac Loca Aquilegiensis et Saltzburgensis provinciarum in Dominiis Illustrissimorum Austriae et Styriae, Carinthiae et Carniolae Ducum consistentes et consistentia cum potestate Legati de latere Nunbcius et Orator specialiter deputatus [(July 4, 1453: Weiss, p. 285 and n. 2]. In 1454 he styles himself Imperialis consiliarius [Voigt, Archiv, p. 410 no. 364]. Early in 1456, after the election of Calixtus III (Brogia) Piccolomini was sent as Ambassador of Siena and as Apostolic Legate to Naples, with the object of diverting the activities of Jacopo Piccinino (1423-1465) away from papal territories, and from Siena in particular [Voigt II, 185-188; Weiss, 39; Cribelli, De expeditione Pii Papae Secundi in Turcas, column 65; E. Ricotto, Compagnie di venture II, 165-1747]. His creation as Cardinal had already been agreed to by Nicholas V just before he died, but it was Calixtus III, who had received letters of recommendation both from the Emperor Frederick and his wife and from King Ladislaus of Hungary, who promoted Piccolomini to the Cardinalate (December 17, 1456). Empress Leonora (sister of the King of Portugal) had also prevailed upon her uncle, King Alfonso, to write on behalf of Aeneas Silvius [cf. Aeneas' own opinion on his reputation with Alfonso V: Lesca, p. 427]. Cardinal Capranica worked vigorously on his behalf, and, when the vote was taken in Consistory, Piccolomini received the unanimous approval of the Cardinals [Cugnani, pp. 22-23]. He was sent by Calixtus III in 1147 to Germany, where, in March, 1457, at the Diet of Frankfurt, he defended the Papacy against the attacks of Martin Mayr, Chancellor of Theoderic von Erbach, Archbishop of Mainz {Baronius-Theiner 29, p. 116-119 no. 44-50], thereby turning aside the likelihood of a German version of the "Pragmatic Sanction" of 1438. He was not in Rome at the time of Pope Calixtus' last illness and death. He himself was being treated in the hot baths of Viterbo for his gout (from which he had suffered from 1435: Weiss, 11], asthma, and other medical complaints: Essendo cardinale fu alli bagni di Viterbo tutta quell'estate [Niccolo Tuccio of Viterbo, p. 285].   "Senensis"
16. Jacobus (Giacomo) Tebaldi [Romanus], Cardinal Priest of S. Anastasia (died 1465). Bishop of Montefeltro. "Feretranus" He was the brother of Pope Calixtus' physician, Simone Tebaldi [Muratori, Rerum Italicarum Scriptores III. ii, columns 1030-1031; Marini, Degli archiatri pontifici pp. 161-164]. He arrived in Rome on January 11, 1457 and received his red hat the next day [Cardella III, pp. 129-130; Eubel II, p. 34]
    
    
17. Prospero Colonna [Romanus], son of Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna (Signore di Cave, Genazzano, Rocca di Cave, Ciciliano, San Vito, Pisoniano, Olevano, Serrone e Paliano e Nobile Romano; Conte di Alba; Patrizio Napoletano; Gran Camerario nel Regno di Napoli, condottiero napoletano) and Sveva, daughter of Jacobello Caetani di Sermoneta. Nephew of Pope Martin V (Oddone Colonna). Cardinal Deacon of S. of S. Giorgio_in_Velabro [Eubel, II, 6].  He died in 1463.
18. Jacobus, Infante of Portugal, son of Pedro, Duke of Coimbra and nephew of Joaõ I. Cardinal Deacon of S. Eustachio. He was appointed to the Legation of the March of Ancona on September 25, 1458 (died at Florence on August 27, 1459). "Ulixibonensis", "Portugallensis"
19. Rodericus Lanzol-Borja [Jativa, Spain–Rome] (aged 27), son of Don Jofré de Borja and Isabel de Borja, sister of Calixtus III. Cardinal Deacon of S. Nicola in Carcere Tulliano (died 1503). Vicechancellor S.R.E. "Valentinianus". Nephew of Calixtus III, who gave him inter alia the Deanship of Cartagena, the monastery of Clairvaux in commendam, the office of Praepositus of Mainz, certain rights in Compostella and Cuenca and Seville, the monastery of S. Angelo in Massa in commendam, and of Fossanova in commendam [Pastor II, pp. 555-556]. He left Rome on his Legation in the Marches on January 19, 1457, and returned on November 26, 1457 [Eubel II, p. 34]. Named Protector of the Friars Minor, along with Cardinal Capranica, by Calixtus III in May, 1458, during the General Chapter of the Franciscan Order, held at the Aracoeli. Calixtus and Cardinal Rodrigo fixed the election so that Jacobus de Sarzena, the Minister of the Province of Aragon, was elected Minister General [Wadding, Annales Minorum 13, p. 58].

Cardinals not attending:

1. Pierre de Foix, OFM (aged ca. 73) (1385-1464), Suburbicarian Bishop of Albano. [Eubel, I, 33 (18); II, 5 (20); Cardella, 27-28]. He was the fourth son of Archambaud de Grailly, captal de Buch, comte de Benauges, and Isabelle de Foix. By the terms of their marriage contract, the children assumed the name Foix. He was born in Bordeaux [F. de Grailly, Memoires...Vaucluse 16 (1897) 327-328, 338]. Legate in Avignon and the Venaissan.
2. Petrus von Schaumberg (aged 70), Cardinal Priest of Ss. Vitale (died 1469). Bishop of Augsburg. "Augustiensis" [Cardella III, 84-85]
3. Dénes Szécsi (aged 58), Cardinal Priest of S. Ciriaco alle Terme Diocleziane (died 1465). Archbishop of Strigonia (Esztergom). Apostolic Legate in the Kingdom of Hungary [Theiner, Vetera monumenta historica Hungariam II, no. 440, p. 277; 446, p. 282; Pastor II, p. 547].
4. Ludovico Scarampi (called Mezzarota) of Treviso [Trevisanus] (aged 57), Cardinal Priest of S. Lorenzo in Damaso (died 1465). Patriarch of Aquileia. Camerlengo S.R.E. [Infessura, 46 Tommasini;  Ughelli, Italia Sacra V, 119-127; G. Bourgin, Archivio della Societa romanà di storia patria 27 (1904), 214, L. Pastor, Acta Inedita p. 41 no. 27] He was on a legation in the East (Rhodes), "Sicily, Dalmatia, Macedonia, the whole of Greece, the Aegean Islands, and the territories of Asia", which began in June 1456 [Eubel II, p. 34; See Cribelli, De expeditione Pii Papae Secundi in Turcas, columns 56-57; Baronius-Theiner 29, sub anno 1457, p. 108 no. 22; p. 111 no. 30; p. 114 no. 38; Guglielmotti, Storia della marina pontificia II, pp. 225-227; 252-255; 262-294]; he had been ordered by Calixtus III (letter of December 4, 1457) to stay in the East during the winter of 1457/1458 so that the expedition could be carried on with renewed vigor in the Spring of 1458 [Baronius-Theiner, sub anno 1457 no. 38, p. 114; Pastor II, 439; Guglielmotti, p. 310]; Scarampi finally returned to Rome on March 8, 1459 [Eubel II, p. 35]. The balancing effect that he might have had on events in Italy, since he was well-disposed toward King Alfonso, were cancelled by his absence. "Aquilegiensis"   "The Patriarch"
5. Juan Carvajal (aged 58), Cardinal Priest of S. Angelo in Pescheria (1444-1461) [Eubel II, 9, 76] Legate in Hungary [Baronius-Theiner 29, sub anno 1457, p. 101-103; Pastor II, p. 441 (March 20, 1458); Theiner, Vetera monumenta historica Hungariam II, no. 441, p. 278]]. (died 1469). Bishop of Placensia (Spain, 1446-1469). "S. Angeli". His colleague in Hungary was Cardinal Dénes Szécsi, Cardinal of S. Ciriaco in thermis, Archbishop of Strigonia [Theiner, Vetera monumenta historica Hungariam II, no. 440, p. 277; 446, p. 282]. His legation continued under Pius II [Theiner, Vetera monumenta historica Hungariam II, no. 488, p. 318, etc.], who had known Carvajal for many years and considered him a close friend, vir magni pretii et amicus amici. Cum eo magna mihi familiaritas est [Voigt, Archiv p. 382, no. 150 (September 13, 1455)].
6. Jean Rolin (aged 47), son of Nicolaus Rolin, Chancellor of the Duke of Burgundy (and founder of the Hospices de Beaune), and Johanna de la Landes. Doctor utriusque iure. Confessor of the Dauphin Louis, later King Louis XI. In 1443 he was named Cardinal on the petition of Philip, Duke of Burgundy. Cardinal Priest of S. Stefano al Monte Celio, from December 20, 1448 (died 1483). Bishop of Autun (1436-1483). "Aeduensis" "Augustodunensis" [Gallia Christiana 4, columns 419-421].
7. Nikolaus von Cusa (aged 55), Cardinal Priest of S. Pietro in Vincoli (died 1464). Bishop of Brixen. He was on a legation in Germany and did not reach Rome until September 30, 1458 [Eubel II, p. 35].
8. Richard Olivier de Longueil, son of Guillaume Vicomte d' Augi and Catherine de Bourquenobles.  Bishop of Coutances (1453-1470). Councillor of King Charles VII of France, ambassador to the Duke of Burgundy in 1455. Cardinal Priest of S. Eusebio and Archpriest of the Vatican Basilica (1456). Instead of being in Rome, he was present at the Conference of Gravelines in August, 1458, where he spoke in the name of the King of France [Jehan de Waurin, Recueil des croniques d' Engleterre VI. iv. x, Volume II, p. 382 ed. Hardy, 1891].   Became Bishop of Porto in 1462. (died at Sutri, August 18, 1470). [Cardella III, 130-132; Gallia Christiana 11, columns 893-894].

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Conclave

The Conclave of 1458 opened in the late afternoon of Wednesday, August 16, at the conclusion of the Novendiales. Earlier in the day the Mass of the Holy Spirit had been sung; and the Conclave Sermon had been preached by Domenico de' Domenichi, Bishop of Torcello [Bowden, p. 237; Bourgin, p. 292; Pastor 3, pp. 8-9]:

Anno a nativitate Domini .M.CCCC.lviij, die vero .xvj. mensis augusti, que fuit dies mercurii, expeditis exequis domini pape Calisti et cantata missa de Spiritu Sancto, hora .xxiij. vel circa, Rmi. in Christo patres et domini, domini Cardinales infrascripti intraverunt conclave in palatio apostolico apud Stum Petrum pro futuro pontifice eligendo....

The conclave arrangements had been made in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican, where two chapels and a suite of rooms had been set aside for the use of the cardinals and their attendants. The discussions and balloting were to take place in the new Capella Nicolina [Baronius-Theiner 29, 162]. The Conclave was not enclosed until near sunset, and the rest of the day was essentially a time for the participants to settle in and take their bearings. At the time that the Conclave began, according to Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini himself, he himself was the leading candidate:

Cardinales duodeviginti decima die post Callisti obitum conclave ingressi sunt tota civitate suspensa in eventum rerum, quamvis sermo communis Aeneae cardinali Senensi Pontificatum maximum attribueret, neque enim quisquam fuit de quo major esset opinio.

This was a considerable misapprehension on his part, as was shown at the first scrutiny on Day 3, Friday August 18. At that time he received only five votes, the same number as Cardinal Philip Calandrini, the Bishop of Bologna. In truth, the death of Cardinal Capranica forced a complete rethinking of cardinals' positions and realigning of votes. It is true, nonetheless, that Piccolomini was favored by the new King of Naples, at least according to the information supplied by Otto de Caretto in a letter to Duke Francesco Sforza on August 14 [Pastor 3, p. 7]:

la cosa ad asay bon porto et non son senza speranza del rev. cardinale de Colonna, ma piu fatibile pare de quello de Siena [Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini] et a questo se accorda meglio li animi de tutte le parti et cosi de questi ambasciatori de la Maesta del re.

The second day, August 17, was spent by the Cardinals in preparing and then signing the Electoral Capitulations.  They met in the Chapel of S. Nicholas. Their discussions followed familiar themes, since each new set of capitulations was based on earlier ones, and the interests and complaints of the Cardinals were much the same from reign to reign. There was always a demand, for example, that the pope keep his hands off the property of cardinals, and there was always the attempt to limit the number of new cardinals a pope might create, and to require him to seek permission of the cardinals for each new creation. These were matters of distribution of power and money. But the outcome of the discussions did not matter very much. A pope would do what he wanted, and he could even annul the Capitulations, even though he may have signed them, if he had too tender a conscience, or none at all. The real value in going through the motions was the opportunity for the cardinals to sound out each of their fellows, as they listened to his remarks on various issues. A good deal could be learned, for example, in a discussion of the Crusade (Article 1). Cardinals who had ideas about how to finance the crusade, in light of the vast opposition both official and popular throughout Europe, might win the attention of the others; and Cardinals who had ideas about how to get the Emperor, the King of France, the King of Naples, the Venetianss and the Milanese to participate, would gladly be heard. The process mattered much more than the outcome, and it was a day well-spent. By the end of the day, all eighteen cardinals had agreed on and signed their Capitulations. They even agreed that the newly elected pope would have to swear a second time to observe the Capitulations, and that he would have to sign and seal the capitulations under his new name and title—all of this before they would announce his election publicly.

The third day, Friday, August 18, began with the usual Mass of the Holy Spirit. The Cardinals then sat down to take their first vote. In the scrutiny, Cardinal Piccolomini received five votes, Cardinal Calandrini received five votes, and the other ten votes were scattered, no single person receiving more than three (ex reliquis nemo tres superavi, as Piccolomini wrote). One person who very likely received three votes was the Cardinal of Rouen, Guillaume d'Estouteville (certainly being supported by Alain de Coëtivy and Pietro Barbo). But no one had received a majority, let alone the two-thirds required by the Constitution of Alexander III (1179). Piccolomini informs his readers that, after the result of the scrutiny was read out publicly, the Cardinals were accustomed (in fact, it was a recent innovation) to sit in their seats and talk among themselves, seeing whether one or another might want to change his vote from his original written ballot, and support some other candidate. This feature of the electoral process, called accessio, had first been used in the Conclave of 1455, three years earlier. It was so new that it lacked the weight of custom, and on this August morning several Cardinals who did not want to see votes being shifted to any of the leading candidates broke up the meeting and went to lunch. That was a clever, if obvious tactic, since it prevented waverers, whose original support for their chosen candidate was weak, to be swayed into switching to another, and perhaps beginning a stampede or participating in a stampede in favor of one of the leaders in the scrutiny

After lunch, there were a number of small meetings. Cardinals with greater prestige and resources, summoned others and shamelessly begged, cajoled, promised and threatened them either on their own behalf or on behalf of some other candidate (aut sibi ipsis, aut amicis Apostolatum querebant, rogabant, promittebant, minas ingerebant; nec defuerunt qui sine rubore, omni modestia procul reiecta, pro se ipsis verba facerent, summumque sibi Pontificatum arrogarent). The most notorious of these was the French Cardinal d'Estouteville, but Pietro Barbo, Joannes de Castillione ("Papiensis"), and Antonio de la Cerda ("Ilerdensis", who was working in his own behalf) were involved.

D'Estouteville, looking at the two front-runners, decided he would have many more problems with Piccolomini as his competitor than with Calandrini, and thereupon he opened a campaign of personal villification. This had been successful for the French against Bessarion in the Conclave of 1455, and d'Estouteville saw that it might work again against Piccolomini, to play on people's prejudices rather than on genuine issues. "Would you elect a poor, gouty old man? How can a person without resources bring help to the Church? How can a sick man help the sick? He's just come back from Germany [Piccolomini had spent a total of twenty-five years of his life in German territory]; we don't really know him! Perhaps he will betray the curia to Germany [Very maladroit of d'Estouteville, whose own candidacy labored under the specter of a return to Avignon]. Where is his literary effort? [not theology, not philosophy] Do we want to put a poet on the Throne of Peter? Will we govern the church with civil law? [Piccolomini had no expertise in canon law] Do you think that he is better than Philip of Bologna? He's a stiff-necked person and doesn't listen to advice from people who know better." Then d'Estouteville presented his own credentials: seniority, no lack of prudence, familiarity with papal practices, royal blood, many friends, and wealth that could help the Church—to say nothing of a wealth of ecclesiastical benefices, which would have to be redistributed. D'Estouteville was supported by the Breton Alain de Coëtivy, whom Piccolomini describes as bold and corrupt (audax et venalis), whose expectation was to obtain the Archbishopric of Rouen, d'Estouteville's palace in Rome, and the Vice-Chancellorship of the Church when d'Estouteville became pope. [Cucogni, p.185]. D'Estouteville had also been privy to the negotiations with the French and Genoa to bring a fleet to dislodge King Alfonso from Genoa, and turn the city over to French control [Bishop Jacopo della Torre to Duke Francesco Sforza of Milan (June 11, 1458)], and one would expect d'Estouteville as Pope to continue to support the French invasion.

Several cardinals were said to have come together in the latrines of the Conclave, a place where they were not likely to be disturbed or to be overheard in their negotiations [See J. Catalano, Sacrae Ceremoniae I, p. 12]. They agreed to support d'Estouteville and even drew up a written agreement to which they swore oaths. Relying on that agreement, d'Estouteville made promises of religious, political, and curial preferments, including the governance of the Estates of S. Peter. This was simony, clearly and unambiguously. Piccolomini states [Cucogni, p. 185] that the cardinals who were party to these agreements were: Fieschi, Isidore, Bessarion, Torquemada, de Coëtivy, Colonna, Calandrini, and Borgia. Orsini and Tebaldi were uncertain. Of course, the Orsini might be expected to be in the opposite camp from the Colonna; their enmity had disturbed the civic life of Rome for many generations. The Colonna had supported the Spanish, and therefore the Orsini had opposed. One need only think of the Orsini riots that took place during the Coronation of Calixtus III [Gregorovius VII. 1, pp. 150-151]. But, if Orsini and Tebaldi were counted as part of the French faction, that seemed to give d'Estouteville eleven votes, including his own. All he needed was one more waverer the next morning. [Orsini, as it turned out, voted for Piccolomini in the second scrutiny].

During the night however, some persons with burdened consciences were awake and moving about. Piccolomini received a visit from Calandrini. The Cardinal of Bologna informed him that they seemed to have a pope, and he informed Piccolomini of what had taken place at the latrines. He seemed to be trying to do a favor for Piccolomini by suggesting that he should rush to support d'Estouteville, thereby gaining credit with someone who was his enemy and avoiding the appearance of standing out as someone who opposed his accession to the Papacy. He himself knew what it meant to have an enemy in the pope (Calixtus III Borgia), and he advised Piccolomini to avoid that prospect at all cost. It is equally possible, however, that his advice was a ruse, designed to draw Piccolomini onto d'Estouteville's side before the Cardinals met in chapel the next morning, thereby guaranteeing the election of the man Calandrini had sworn to promote. Piccolomini, however, flatly refused to vote for d'Estouteville, choosing to remain aloof from the "scelus" in which the others were participating in, even at the cost of having an enemy in the new pope. He chose to believe that his reply to Calandrini—reminding him that it was God who made popes, and that d'Estouteville was embarked on an evil scheme with his meetings in the latrines—brought Calandrini to back away from acceeding to d'Estouteville when the dawn came. William Boulting [Aeneas Silvius (1908), p. 240] suggests that "Calandrini wanted to get Aeneas's vote for himself." But this is certainly wrong. Calandrini had already abandoned his own hopes, and agreed to the simoniacal bargain with d'Estouteville.

And just around first light, Piccolomini came upon the young Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, who was a personal friend of his. He asked him whether he had sold himself to d'Estouteville (as Piccolomini had heard from Calandrini). Borgia confirmed the meeting in the latrines and indicated that the election was a foregone conclusion. He was going along with the majority and serving his own interests as well, he said. He would not lose the Chancellorship. In reply Aeneas shows that he was no stranger to rough and personal invective either. Did Borgia really think that he would keep the Chancellorship, when a Frenchman, Alain de Coëtivy, desired it? [Boulting, Aeneas Silvius (1908), p. 240, wrongly says it was the "Cardinal of Aragon"]. He asked Borgia whether he was actually selling the papacy to an enemy? French and Spanish did not get along. With a French pope, he would be in extremis.

A short time later, Piccolomini spotted Giovanni Castiglione, the Cardinal of Pavia, and remarked to him that he had heard that he was one of the group that had decided to elect d'Estouteville. Castiglione admitted it, and remarked that he was not the only one. Piccolomini feigned astonishment, and remarked how unlike his uncle, the great Cardinal Branda [Cardinal Priest of S. Clemente, 1411-1443], he was! Branda Castiglione had spent his entire life in bringing the Holy See back to Italy from its captivity in Avignon, and didn't stop until he had successfully elected Martin V, a Colonna and a Roman. Now his own nephew was planning on transferring the Holy See from Rome back to France. Castiglione was behaving more like a demon than an angel by embracing d'Estouteville's libidines et spurcitias et avaritiam. So, Aeneas wondered aloud, since Castiglione had to betray someone, who was it to be: Italy, the Church, or d'Estouteville? The Cardinal of Pavia was beaten, and he decided to desert d'Estouteville.

During the same night, Cardinal Barbo had a change of heart. He had come into the Conclave, after the death of Cardinal Capranica, with the hope of becoming pope himself. But when he saw the suddenly growing strength of Cardinal d'Estouteville, he had given up on his own prospects, and joined with the French group. Now, however, his sense that he was an Italian, or perhaps the fear that the Church might be in for another forty years of an Avignon pontificate, and at the same time his renewed awareness of the distaste that existed for d'Estouteville and his morals, brought him to switch sides. He began to go around from one Italian cardinal to another, reminding them of what was at risk. Finally, he assembled them all, with the exception of Prospero Colonna, in the cell of Cardinal Fieschi of Genoa, and reported to them what had happened in the latrines on the previous day. He reminded them of the hatred that would attach to them if they elected a non-Italian to the Throne of Peter. When they had considered the matter, they agreed to support Cardinal Piccolomini instead (all except Piccolomini himself, who declared himself not up to the task). These Italian supporters were: Fieschi, Orsini, Calandrini, Barbo, Castiglione, Piccolomini and Tebaldi. Though their number was insufficient to elect a pope, it was certainly sufficient to block the election of d'Estouteville. A "virtual veto" had been prepared.

When the morning of Saturday, August 19, finally dawned, the usual Mass of the Holy Spirit was celebrated, after which the scrutiny began. Three cardinals were selected to supervise the casting of the ballots: Isidore of Kiev (Bishop), Guillaume d'Estouteville (Priest), and Prospero Colonna (Deacon). The Cardinals took their accustomed seats, and then, one by one, according to rank and seniority, came forward to the altar and placed their ballots in a chalice. As Cardinal Piccolomini's turn came, he passed Cardinal d'Estouteville, who whispered to him, En, Aenea, habeto me commendatum. Piccolomini replied, Mihi te vermiculo commendas?. He passed on, placed his ballot in the chalice, and returned to his seat. When all had deposited their ballots, he chalice was then carried to a table in the middle of the chapel, where the votes were counted. The count resulted in nine votes for Cardinal Piccolomini (Fieschi, Orsini, de la Cerda, Calandrini, Barbo, Ludovicus Joannes Mila, Castiglione, Joannes de Mella, and Jacobus of Portugal). Cardinal d'Estouteville had received six votes (including Bessarion and Isidore of Kiev, and likely Rodrigo Borgia).

Since no one had received the canonical two-thirds for election, they proceeded to the accessio. For some time the cardinals sat there without moving, without speaking, without even sighing, pale as ghosts. It was expected that if anyone had something to say, the move would begin in order of seniority. But it was finally Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, the youngest and most junior, who broke the silence; he rose and changed his vote to Cardinal Piccolomini (presumably from Cardinal d'Estouteville). He had fulfilled his promise and salved his conscience, and cast his vote for the Frenchman; and now he changed it. The count now stood at 10–5. Deep silence returned, as the cardinals looked at one another and nodded. Suddenly Isidore of Kiev and Juan de Torquemada stood up, as though prepared to leave the room, the same action which had ended the abortive accessio on the previous day. But when nobody rose to follow them, they presently returned to their seats. Finally Cardinal Tebaldi rose and said, Et ego Senensi accedo. The count was now 11 votes for Piccolomini, one short of election. Seeing his moment of glory at hand, Prospero Colonna, the senior Cardinal Deacon, who had long been a friend of Aeneas Silvius, rose to add his vote. But the manuscripts of Pius II's Commentarii in the Corsini Library and in the Chigi Library [Cugnoni, p. 188; Lesca, pp. 486-487] provide a longer and more circumstantial version of what happened than what is in the old printed editions; the expurgated passage indicates that there was a physical effort by Bessarion and d'Estouteville to restrain Colonna:

surgensque voluit pro more votum cum gravitate proferre, sed a Niceno Card. et Rhotomagensi medius apprehensus est, atque acriter increpatus est, quod Aeneae vellet accedere; perseverantem autem in proposito conati sunt viribus extra locum educere, ut vel sic Aeneae Pontificatum eriperent; et unus eorum brachium dextrum, alter sinistrum tenens, abducere tentavere. Verum Prosper calumnias et inania verba floccifaciens, quamvis in voto suo Rhotomagensem elegisset, Aeneae tamen veteri benevolentia coniunctus, versus ad reliquos Cardinales: Et Ego, inquit, Senensi Cardinali accedo, eumque Papam facio. Quo audito occidit adversariorum spiritus, et omnis fracta est machinatio.

Bessarion and d'Estouteville had tried to stop Colonna from acceeding to Piccolomini, first by railing at him and then by dragging him by force from the Chapel. But they failed, and Colonna made his accessio, proclaiming, Et ego Senensi accedo, eumque papam facio.   It was done. It was around the third hour of the day. Piccolomini had twelve votes, the necessary two-thirds, and he was Pope. The cardinals immediately rose and performed the first obeisance, by kissing the feet of the new pope. They then returned to their seats, and made the election unanimous (unanimiter et concorditer, in the tradtional phrase). Bessarion then made a short speech, in his own name and that of Isidore of Kiev, accepting that the election of Piccolomini had been a act of the Holy Spirit. His conduct in support of d'Estouteville had been outrageous, both in the social and the legal sense, and he was trying frantically to repair his crime, though barely able to conceal his animosity (He even suggested that God would supply the defect in Piccolomini's feet). Involving Isidore of Kiev in his violent behavior was an act of supreme cowardice. Piccolomini (who records the speech in his Commentarii) made a conciliatory speech in reply. The Conclave then proceeded to the selection of a papal name: Pius II was chosen, partly in recognition of Piccolomini's poetical interests (Pius Aeneas, the hero of Vergil's Aeneid). The new Pope then signed and swore to observe the Electoral Capitulations.

Meanwhile, inside the Conclave the spoliation of the property of the new pope by the Conclavisti began. As Aeneas remarks in his Commentarii, there was not a great deal to despoil him of.   In the city, where the name of the new pope was not yet known, the crowds nonetheless despoiled the residences of any cardinal who was rumored to have been elected. Cardinal Piccolomini's house, too, was, in his own words, not just ransacked but completely destroyed (domum eius in Urbe vilissima plebs atque infamis non expilavit tantum, sed disrupit, etiam marmoribus asportatis).

 

According to the Acta Cameralia [Bourgin, p. 293], the new Pope was escorted to the Basilica of S. Peter's where he was 'adored', and then escorted by the cardinals back to the Apostolic Palace, where the Election had taken place:

et associatus de conclave, quod factum fuit in cappella palatii, usque ad altare Sancti Petri, et reductus in palatium com omnibus cardinalibus.

Coronation

Since Pius II was already a bishop, there was no episcopal consecration during the Solemn Mass on Coronation day. Sterfano Infessura [Diaria rerum romanorum, p. 63 ed. Tommasetti] gives the date of the Coronation:

A di 3 di settembre fo incoronato in Santo Ioanni

Infessura's notice, however, is too tightly compressed: Pius II was crowned in the traditional place, on the front steps of St. Peter's, and then led in procession to the Lateran for the ceremony of the 'possessio' [F. Cancellieri, Storia de' solenni possessi (Roma 1802), p. 44]. The Acta Consistoralia [Bourgin, p. 293] clearly states that the Coronation took place at the Vatican:

Anno predicto, die vero .iij. mensis septembris, que fuit dies dominica, Sanctissimus dominus noster Pius divina providentia papa secundus fuit coronatus in gradibus Sancti Petri, et deinde ascendens equum album, associatus cardinalibus in pontificalibus cum consueta colepnitate ivit ad Sanctum Johannem Lateranensem.

Pius II was crowned by Cardinal Prospero Colonna, the Protodeacon [Wadding, Annales Minorum 13, p. 59].   A copy of his Electoral Manifesto, Pius misericors, sent to the University of Paris and dated September 4, 1458, can be found in the collections of his epistles, no. 398 [in the edition of 1518 published at Lyon by Gueynard].

Sterfano Infessura [Diaria rerum romanorum, p. 63 ed. Tommasetti] reports that the head of the Colonna family, Prince Stefano (?), was appointed Prefect of Rome to succeed Pedro Luis de Borgia, who was dead:

A di 22 di decembre papa Pio fece prefetto di Roma lo principe di casa Colonna, perche era morto Borgia, nepote di Calisto.

Gregorovius mistakes the date of the appointment the successor of Pedro Luis de Borja as the date of his death.

The Chronicler of Viterbo, Niccolò della Tuccia, however, recorded the death of the Pope's nephew Pedro, the former Prefect of Rome, on September 26, 1458:

Martedi sera 26 di settembre dentro la rocca di civitavecchia moriì M. Borgia, nepote di papa Calisto III, di morte naturale. Alcuno diceva fosse avvelenato. Il papa vi mandò il vicecancelliero, fratello di M. Borgia, e mandocci M. Nicolò da Pistoia suo tesoriero maggiore per haver detta rocca, ove erano rimasti contanti 70 mila ducati d' oro, e fulli contesa da un castellano chiamato M. Gazerano, che era dentro. Poi detto M. Gazerano s' accordò col vicecancelliero, e partì seco li 70 mila ducati, 35 mila per uno, et 10 mila se ne pigliò nanzi parte, de' quali pagò due contestabili in detta rocca, e pagò li vestiti negri fatti a' suoi per la morte di M. Borgia

On October 13, 1458, Pius II issued a bull, Vocavit nos, summoning all the leaders of Europe to a conference to be held at Mantua, to plan his new Crusade. [Cribelli, de expeditione in Turcas, in Muratori Rerum Italicarum Scriptores 23, 70; Pius II, Commentarii II. 2, p. 35; Voigt III, p. 20; Baronius-Theiner 29, sub anno 1458, no. 14-16, p. 163].