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An Account of the Election of Paul IV to the Pontificate*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2018

Antonio Santosuosso
Antonio Santosuosso*
Affiliation:
Di Vostra Eccellenza, Humilissimo servo, Nofri Camaiani
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Extract

Giampietro Carafa was seventy-nine when he was elected pope, but he was no senile old man. Tall, skinny, all nerves and bones, he seemed not to touch the ground when he walked. He was well read—he knew Italian, Latin, Greek, and Spanish—and possessed a remarkable memory. A temperate man at the table, he was equally moderate in his way of life; no one was ever able to attribute a scandal to him. His only indulgence was the wine he drank during his two daily meals, a wine so ‘powerful and fiery, black and thick, that you could cut it.’

Type
Research Article
Information
Renaissance Quarterly , Volume 31 , Issue 4 , Winter 1978 , pp. 486 - 498
Copyright
Copyright © Renaissance Society of America 1978

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Footnotes

*

I want to thank the Canada Council for its financial support.

References

1 ‘Relazione di Roma di Bernardo Navagero, 1558,’ in Relazioni degli ambasciatori veneti al senato, ed. E. Alberi, ser. III (Florence, 1847), pp. 379, 380, 381.

2 Fernandez y Fernandez de Retana, L., ‘España en tiempo de Felipe II, 1556-1598,’ in Historia de España, ed. R. Menendez Pidal (Madrid, 1958), XIX, 387 Google Scholar.

3 Giovanni Gallo's letter, May 27, 1555, Rome, Archivio di Stato, Firenze, Mediceo, 447, fol. 197.

4 von Pastor, L., History of the Popes from the Close of the Middle Ages, tr. R. F. Kerr (London, 1924), XIV, 59 Google Scholar.

5 Archivio di Stato, Firenze, Mediceo, 447, fols. 8-10.

6 Unless otherwise cited all the information on Camaiani is taken from Giansante, M., ‘Camaiani, Onofrio (Nofri),’ Dizionario biografico degli italiani (Rome, 1974), XVII, 71–72 Google Scholar.

7 Aretino, P., Tutte le opere. Lettere. Il prima e il secondo libro (Milan, 1960), I, 791–792 Google Scholar.

8 History of the Popes, XIV, 56-65.

9 Ibid., XIV, 57; also n. 1, same page.

10 Although he draws on a variety of sources the most important in this case seems to be d'Avanson and Panvinio: Pastor, XIV, 61, n. 1; 62, n. 2; 63, n. 1. For Farnese's stand the evidence is in Conclavi de’ pontefici Romani (Colonia, 1691), vol. 1: Pastor, XIV, 62, n. 1.

11 Ibid., XIV, 63.

12 Ibid., XIV, 62-63, 64.

13 Ibid., XIV, 62.

14 Ibid., XIV, 63.

15 The fact that Camaiani was able to be an esteemed agent of a very cautious man like Cosimo I should strengthen the view that he was a reliable informer.

16 Paul IV put Morone in prison on suspicion of heresy in 1557. Morone was freed only after Paul IV's death: see Pastor, , History of the Popes, XIV, 289–307 Google Scholar.

17 Ibid., XIV, 45.

18 Ibid., XIV, 62-63.

19 The letter is in Archivio di Stato, Firenze, Mediceo, 447, fols. 8-10. All abbreviations have been spelled out; capitals have been changed to conform to modern usage; accents have been added or deleted where it was necessary to clarify the text; the punctuation has been changed only when it was absolutely necessary for the comprehension of the account. The original spelling has been retained except in cases where there could have been some confusion with modern usage, i.e., insiemi instead of insieme. The Arabic numbers bracketed in the text indicate the paragraphs.

20 Cosimo I de’ Medici (1519-74).

21 The new pope, Giampietro Carafa (1476-1559), who had been created cardinal by Paul III in 1537, was also Archbishop of Naples.

22 The cardinals went into conclave on May 15, 1555. They elected Carafa by adoration nine days later, on May 23. Camaiani wrote his letter the next day, May 24.

23 Averardo Serristori was the trusted representative of Cosimo I in Rome: cf. Cochrane, E., Florence in the Forgotten Centuries 1527-1800 (Chicago and London, 1973), pp. 30–31 Google Scholar.

24 The supporters of Charles V whose leaders were the Cardinal of Santa Fiora, Guido Ascanio Sforza, and the Bishop of Trento, Cardinal Cristoforo Madruzzo: cf. von Pastor, L., The History of the Popes from the Close of the Middle Ages, ed. R. F. Kerr (London, 1924), XIV, 57 (hereafter Pastor)Google Scholar.

25 Cf., ibid., p. 57. They needed at least thirty votes for the two-thirds majority necessary to elect their candidate. Forty-five cardinals out of the fifty-six constituting the Sacred College at the death of Marcellus II were present at the conclave. See the list of the cardinals present in Rome in Appendix B.

26 The supporters of the king of France, Henry II. Their leadership, which included Alessandro Farnese, the Bishop of Paris, Jean du Bellay, and Ippolito d'Este, was divided. In all they did not master more than fifteen votes: cf. Pastor, XIV, 57.

27 Ippolito d'Este (1509-72), son of Alfonso I and Lucretia Borgia. Paul III appointed him cardinal in pectore in 1538 and officially elected him the following year. He was a very ambitious man, patron of intellectuals, and representative of the French party in the Sacred College. D'Este tried various times to be elected to the pontificate. In 1555 he was endorsed by Henry II but was strongly opposed by Cardinal Farnese.

28 Alessandro Farnese (1520-89), grandson of Paul III and son of Pier Luigi. His grandfather made him a cardinal in 1534 at the age of fourteen. He was one of the most powerful prelates of the sixteenth century and exercised a great influence on the art of the Counter Reformation.

29 The supporters of the French party.

30 The imperial party.

31 Ercole Gonzaga (1505-63) of the powerful ruling house of the Duchy of Mantua. Appointed bishop in 1521, he received the cardinal's hat in 1526. He was a man open to the new religious ideas of the period and a patron of famous artists such as Giulio Romano, Veronese, and Titian. In 1561 he was appointed president of the Council of Trent.

32 Cristoforo Madruzzo (1512-78), one of the staunchest supporters and leaders of the imperial party. He played a leading role both in the Church (bishop in 1529 and cardinal in 1542) and in state affairs (Governor of Milan in 1556).

33 Guido Ascanio Sforza di Santafiora (1518-64), a leader of the imperial party and a cousin of Cardinal Farnese. Paul III elected him cardinal at the age of sixteen, in 1534. Paul IV jailed him briefly for his pro-Spanish stand during the conflict between the pope and Philip II.

34 Pedro Pacheco (d. 1560), Bishop of Jaén and cardinal since 1546. He was of a noble Spanish family, and from 1553 to 1555 Viceroy in Naples.

35 Fulvio della Corgna (d. 1583), nephew of Julius III, who elected him Bishop of Perugia in 1550 and cardinal a year later. During the war that Paul IV waged against the Spaniards, the pope put della Corgna in jail for the support given by the cardinal to his brother Ascanio, a military architect and captain at the service of the Spaniards.

36 Cardinals elected by Julius who appointed sixteen prelates to this dignity during his reign: Pastor, XIII, 169-78. Generally, most of these cardinals had originally tended to favor the emperor: ibid., p. 174.

37 Jacques du Puy (1494-1563) of a noble Provençal family. He was appointed cardinal in 1551. In 1555 he was a strong candidate for the pontificate.

38 Rodolfo Pio da Carpi, Bishop of Faenza and Girgenti, a supporter of the imperial party. Paul III made him a cardinal in 1536.

39 Juan Alvarez de Toledo (d. 1557), Archbishop of Burgos and Cardinal of S. Jacopo in Compostella (1538). He was a severe and rigidly religious man.

40 Giovanni Morone (1509-80), an able politician and man with a deep religiosity; cardinal since 1542. Suspected of heresy because of his connection with the spiritual! (Italian Evangelists), he was jailed and tried by Paul IV. Released at the death of the pope in 1559, Morone was a strong candidate for the pontificate in 1566.

41 Guido Ascanio Sforza: see fn. 33.

42 Francisco de Mendoza y Bobadilla (1508-1566), cardinal since 1544 and Bishop of Burgos from 1550 onwards.

43 Charles V and Philip II.

44 Pietro Bertano (1501-58), good diplomat and theologian, member of the imperial party. He became Bishop of Fano in 1537 and cardinal in 1551.

45 Giovanni Ricci (1497-74), Archbishop of Siponto in 1544 and cardinal in 1551. In 1566 he was a candidate for the pontificate. After an early life of many excesses he was a model clergyman.

46 Giampietro Carafa: see fn. 21.

47 Giovanni Angelo de’ Medici (1499-1565), born in Milan and not a relation of the Florentine Medicis. He was made a cardinal in 1549 and pope in 1559 with the name of Pius IV.

48 Jacopo Savelli (d. 1587) was appointed cardinal by Paul III in 1539. He was a member of a noble family and a man noted for his piety and doctrine.

49 Miguel da Silva (d. 1556), Bishop of Viseu in 1539 and made a cardinal in 1541 under the strong sponsorship of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese.

50 Durante de’ Duranti (d. 1558), Bishop of Algero, cardinal since 1544.

51 Girolamo Verallo (1497-1555) was created cardinal by Paul III in 1549. He represented the Papal States in various diplomatic missions and was a supporter of the Company of Jesus.

52 Fabio Mignanelli, born in Siena, made a cardinal in 1551. He died in 1557 at the age of seventy-one.

53 Girolamo Dandino (1509-59), a member of the papal curia from the pontificate of Paul III, was an able bureaucrat and diplomat. He became cardinal in 1551.

54 Roberto de’ Nobili, son of Julius III's sister and a youth of great piety and learning. His uncle made him a cardinal in 1553 at the age of twelve. He died in 1559.

55 Girolamo Simoncelli, a relative of Julius III, created cardinal by his uncle in 1553. He died in 1605 at the age of eighty-one.

56 The ambassador of the emperor, Juan Manriquez.

57 Nobili was only fourteen in 1555.

58 Also called Roberto de’ Nobili like his son.

59 Reginald Pole, created cardinal by Paul III in 1539. He was a religious reformer and leader of the Italian spirituali. He was a candidate for the pontificate in 1549 and twice in 1555.

60 Pole was in England during the conclave. Both his absence from Rome and doubts about his religious orthodoxy were serious handicaps to his candidature.

61 Innocenzo del Monte, a youth of humble background whom Julius III forced his brother Baldovino to adopt as son. The pope showered the young man with favors and appointed him cardinal in 1550 at the age of seventeen. Del Monte was a vicious man with no religious nor virtuous inclinations: cf. Pastor, XIII, 69-73.

62 Bartolomé de la Cueva (d. 1562) was made a cardinal in 1544. He was a friend of the Jesuits.

63 Alvarez de Toledo was Spanish. After the election of Adrian VI in 1522 all popes had been chosen from the ranks of Italian clergymen.

64 Tiberio Crispi (d. 1561), Bishop of Sessa and a cardinal since 1544. He was related to the Farnese family.

65 Carafa was seventy-nine. He had been born in 1476.

66 Marcello Cervini, cardinal of Santa Croce, and a man of great learning and piety. He held the pontificate with the name of Marcellus II for three weeks only in April 1555.

67 Otto Truchsess von Waldburg (1514-73), Bishop of Augsburg. Paul III made him a cardinal in 1544. Truchsess was a patron of the Jesuits and one of the leaders in the Catholic reconquest of Germany.

68 Cristoforo del Monte, Bishop of Marseilles. He was a nephew of Julius III who made him a cardinal in 1551. He died in 1564 at the age of eighty.

69 The king of France, Henry II. Farnese was among the leaders of the French party, second only to Ippolito d'Este.

70 Charles V.

71 Giammichele Saraceni (d. 1568), Bishop of Matera, made a cardinal in 1551. He was related to Carafa.

72 Pietro Camaiani, Bishop of Fiesole and papal nuncio at the court of Charles V in 1550-52.

73 Pope Marcellus II.

74 Eleonora de Toledo, wife of Cosimo I.

75 Osio held the influential office of Datary until December 1555 when Paul IV had him arrested for being a supporter of the Spaniards.