PIUS
128
PIUS
liberties. In Germany Frederick III showed readiness
to comply with the obhgations assumed at Mantua,
but foreign and domestic difficulties rendered him
powerless. Between Pius II and Duke Sigismund of
Tyrol, however, an acute conflict developed concern-
ing the Bishopric of Brixen (q. v.). Likewise the re-
fusal of the Archbishop of Mainz, Diether of Isenburg
(q. v.), to abide by the pope's decree of deposition led
to civil strife. Diether was ultimately defeated and
supplanted by .\dolf of Nassau, who had been ap-
pointed in his stead. More difficult to adjust were
the troubles in Bohemia. Hussitism was rampant in
the kingdom, which was governed by the wily George
Podiebrad, a king seemingly devoid of religious con-
victions. He had promised in a secret coronation oath
personally to profess the Catholic faith and to restore,
in his realm, union with Rome in ritual and worship.
This was tantamount to a renunciation of the "Com-
pact of Basle", which, under certain conditions sub-
sequently not observetl by the Bohemians, had granted
them communion under both kinds and other priv-
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ileges. The pope, deceived for a time by the pro-
testations of royal fidelity, used his influence to bring
back the Catholic city of Breslau to the king's alle-
giance. But in 1461 Podiebrad, to further his fanciful
schemes of political aggrandizement, promised his
subjects to maintain the Compact. When in 1462
his long-promised embassy appeared in Rome, its
purpose was not only to do homage to the pope, but
also to obtain the confirmation of that agreement.
Pius II, instead of acceding to the latter request,
withdrew the misused concessions made by Basle.
He continued negotiations with the king, but died
before any settlement was reached.
The prevalence of such discord in Christendom left but little hope for armed opposition to the Turks. As rumours had been circulated that the sultan doubted the faith of Islam, the pope attempted to con- vert him to the Christian faith. But in vain did he address to him in 1461 a letter, in which were set forth the claims of Christianity on his belief. Possibly the transfer with extraordinary pomp of the head of St. Andrew to Rome was also a fruitless attempt to re- kindle zeal for the Crusades. As a last resort, Pius II endeavoured to stir up the enthusiasm of the apa- thetic Christian princes by placing him.self at tlie head of the crusaders. Although seriously ill he left Rome for the East, but died at Ancona, the nmstcring-place of the Christian troops.
There have been widely divergent appreciations of ♦ he life of Pius II, While his varied talents and supe- rior culture cannot be doubted, the motives of his frequent transfer of allegiance, thecau.sesof t lie radical transformations which his opinions underwent, the
influences exercised over him by the environment in
which his lot was cast, are so many factors, the bear-
ing of which can be justly and precisely estimated only
with the greatest difficulty. In the early period of
his life he was, like many humanists, frivolous and
immoral in conduct and writing. More earnest were
his conceptions and manner of life after his entrance
into the ecclesiastical state. As pope he was indeed
not sufficiently free from nepotism, but otherwise
served the best interests of the Church. Not only
was he constantly solicitous for the peace of Christen-
dom against Islam, but he also instituted a commission
for the reform of the Roman court, seriously endeav-
oured to restore monastic discipline, and defended the
doctrine of the Church against the writings of Regi-
nald Peacock, the former Bishop of Chichester. He
retracted the errors contained in his earlier writings
in a Bull, the gist of which was "Reject Eneas, hold
fast to Pius". St. Catherine of Siena was canonized
during his pontificate.
Even among the many cares of his pontificate he found time for continued literary activity. Two im- port ant works of his were either entirely or partly written during this period: his geographical and ethnographical description of Asia and Europe; and his "Memoirs", which are the only autobiography left us by a pope. They are entitled "Pii II Com- mentarii rerum memorabilium, qua; temporibus suis contigerunt". Earlier in his life he had written, be- sides "Eurialus and Lucretia" and the recently dis- covered comed}' "Chrysis", the following historical works: "Libellus dialogorum de generafis concilii auctoritate et gestis Basileensium " ; "Commentarius de rebus Basilea gestis"; "Historia rerum Frederici 111 iniperateris"; "Historia Bohemica". Incom- plete ciillections of his works were published in 1551 and l.)71 at Basle. A critical edition of his letters by Wolkan is in course of publication.
C.\MPANUS, Vita Pii II in Mubatori, Rer. Ital. script., Ill, ii. 967-92; Platina, Lires of Ihe Popes, tr. Rvcapt, ed. Benham (3 vols.. London, ISS.S); Wolkan, Der Briefuechsel des Eneas SilviitsPiccolomirii in Pontes rerum Austriacarum (Vienna, 1909 — ) ; VoiOT, Enea Silvio de' Piccotomini als Papst Pius II und sein Zeitalter (Berlin, 1856-63) ; Cheighton. History of the Papacy, III (new ed.. New Yoric, 1903), 202-35S; Weiss, Aeneas Silnus Piccotomini als Papst Pius II (Graz, 1897) ; Pastob, History of the Popes (London, 1S91-94) ; Boulting, ^neas Sihius (Pius ID, Orator, Man of Letters, Statesman, and Pope (London. 1908); The Cambridge Modern History, I; The Renaissance (New York, 1909), passim.
N. A. Weber.
Pius III, Pope (Francesco Todeschini Picco- LOMiNi), b. at Siena, 29 May, 1439; elected 22 Sept., 1503; d. in Rome, 18 Oct., 1503, after a pontificate of four weeks. Piccolomini was the son of a sister of Pius II. He had passed his boy- hood in destitute circumstances when his uncle took him into his house- hold, bestowed upon him his family name and anns, and superintended his training and education. He studied law in Perugia and immedi- ately after receiving the doctor- ate as canonist was appointed by his uncle Archbishop of Siena, and on 5 March, 1460, cardinal-deacon j\rms of Pius III with the title of S. Eustachio. The following month he was sent as legate to the March of Ancona, with the experienced Bishop of Marsico as his counsellor. " The only thing objection- able about him", says Voigt (Enea Silvio, III, 531), "was his youth; for in the administration of his lega- tion and in his later conduct at the curia he proved to be a man of .spoth^ss character and many-sided capacity." He was .sent by Paul II as legate to Ger- many, where he .acquitted himself with eminent suc- cess," the knowledge of <;<'rman that he had acquired in his uncle's house lieing of great advantage to him. During the worldly reigns of Sixtus IV and Alexander
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