CRISTO RAUL.ORG

READING HALL

THE DOORS OF WISDOM

CHAPTER XIX.

Clement the Seventh’s Second Meeting with the Emperor at Bologna.—The Conciliar Question in the Years 1532-1533.—The Pope and Francis I at Marseilles.— The Marriage of Catherine de’ Medici.

Although Pope and Emperor were drawn into a position of close interdependence on account of the dangers threatening them from the Turkish and Protestant side alike, there were yet, at the same time, many questions open between them which, unfortunately, gave rise to disagreement and friction. Arbitrary enactments concerning Neapolitan benefices, excesses and hostile behaviour of the Imperialist troops in Italy, drew forth many complaints from Clement, and in addition to these grievances he and Charles were at variance on the question of the Council.

The political predominance of the Emperor in Italy and the dependence of the Papacy on Spain, as the great world­power, were felt all the more bitterly by the Pope as Charles had, without any disguise, favoured the Duke Alfonso of Ferrara in every way, and confirmed to him in April 1531 the entire possession of his states as well as of Modena and Reggio, to which the Pope had a counter-claim. This decision, which was contrary to the Emperor’s previous engagements, was disapproved of even by Ferdinand’s representative in Rome.

This was a blow that Clement could never get over; his relations with Charles were henceforward destroyed. In order to reconcile the Pope, to promote the cause of the Council in accordance with the promises of Regensburg, and to restore some order in the unsettled condition of Italy, Charles was anxious to meet Clement personally; therefore, in October 1532, he came into Italy from Friuli. His anxiety to soothe the Pope would have been still greater if he had known how badly his affairs had been represented in Rome.

The number of Cardinals in the Curia on whom the Emperor could count was not great; most of the Italians adhered to France. The principal cause of this was the fear, only too well grounded, of the supremacy of Charles, which was a pressing burden on Italy and the Holy See. The Italian national feeling grew restive under the Spanish supremacy, represented by men who did nothing to wipe out the remembrance of the sufferings endured by the Romans during the sack of their city. Many of the Roman prelates were under obligations to Francis I on account of pensions and preferments. Further causes of unpopularity were the insistence of the Hapsburgers on the dreaded Council, and injudicious demands on the part of Charles and Ferdinand which would have had the effect of diminishing the Cardinals’ incomes. As Cardinal Quinones had almost altogether withdrawn from affairs, and Charles’s close adherent Cardinal Lorenzo Pucci was dead (September 1531), the conduct of the Imperial interests was in the hands of Cardinal Garcia de Loaysa. He was without doubt a remarkable man, of high moral character and a great ecclesiastic, full of energy and ability, and thoroughly loyal to the Emperor, but wanting in the qualities of statesmanship; he showed a lack of consideration and a rigid hardness, not uncommon in Spaniards, which gave general offence. Loaysa was entirely wanting in the one great essential of a diplomatist—tact; he was at the mercy of his impetuous temperament. He soon found himself in difficulties with everyone, even with the Emperor’s Ambassador Mai, calling him in his despatches a blockhead in plain words, and demanded of the Emperor his recall. The indignation of Mai, who was acquainted with all this, can be imagined. Andrea da Burgo, Ferdinand’s clever representative, and much esteemed by Clement VII., had great difficulty in preventing an open breach between Mai and Loaysa; all the deeper on this account was the secret grudge between them.

It cannot be matter of surprise that Loaysa should have also given free vent to his vehement nature, even towards the Pope, to whom he repeatedly gave open offence.5This was especially the case in the transactions over the appointment of fresh Cardinals, when the Imperialist and French parties measured their strength. Clement VII was averse to new creations chiefly because, if he made concessions to the Emperor’s wishes, England and France would at once put forward claims of their own. In March 1531, after the creation of two Spaniards, Alfonso Manrico and Juan Tavera, the Pope was exposed to the gravest reproaches; the English Ambassador told him outspokenly that he had become the Emperor’s slave. In May 1531 the Consistory again became the scene of agitating negotiations; Francis I demanded the nomination of a Cardinal, whereupon the Imperialists put forward claims for two. As no agreement could be come to, the matter was left in suspense. In order to pacify Francis I to some extent, Clement VII determined, in June 1531, in spite of Loaysa’s opposition, to concede to the French monarch the right of nomination for life to those abbacies which in virtue of their privileges had hitherto enjoyed powers of free election. Soon afterwards Clement proposed to recall Giberti to his service. The Imperialists viewed the plan with anything but satisfaction, and the Pope’s intentions were frustrated by the refusal of Giberti, who met this pressing invitation with the plea that his presence was necessary in Verona.

As Clement in the following year showed himself ready to make special efforts to support the Emperor and his brother in their urgent need of aid against the Turks, the French were again in the highest degree dissatisfied with him. He fared in the same way in the negotiations relating to the divorce of Henry VIII. Whatever Clement might do, one of the rival parties was sure to complain of his conduct.

In May 1532 Clement was willing to bestow the purple on G. A. Muscettola, the Imperial agent. Although the Sacred College objected to this, as generally to every other creation, Clement held to his resolve, for Muscettola stood high in his favour. But France now demanded the elevation of Giberti at the same time. Clement was quite willing, but found a strong opponent in Loaysa; Giberti, the latter protested, was a bastard, and on that account could not become a Cardinal; that this was a grave affront to the Pope did not trouble him a whit. Clement VII complained of Loaysa’s conduct to the Emperor’s representative; he would rather live in a desert than endure such behaviour. Loaysa was so little conscious of his stupidity that he stubbornly declared that he had only done his duty, and would not depart from it; if the Pope showed his displeasure, he would then take up his residence in Naples until the Emperor came! The costs of this wanton outburst fell upon his friend Muscettola, who had already given orders for his Cardinal’s insignia; for the Pope now gave up all idea of a creation.

The breach between Loaysa and Mai also showed itself in their opinion of the Pope, concerning whom their views were in direct contradiction. While the former accounted and made excuses for Clement’s constant vacillation by his character and the circumstances in which he was placed, Mai saw in all the Pope’s dealings only duplicity and dangerous craft. His hatred of Clement was also extended to Muscettola, who was regarded favourably by the Pope. The relations between the two assumed in time the character of an actual feud. Things had gone so far in the autumn of 1530 that Muscettola applied for his recall; but he nevertheless remained two years longer in Rome. Obviously a dissension of this kind between the representatives of the Emperor must often have given a very unwished-for turn to his affairs in the Roman Curia.

The French envoys worked with much greater tact, and they had also this advantage over the Imperialists, that, being supplied with plenty of money, they were able to keep up a great establishment and make handsome presents. Their leader, Gabriel de Gramont, Bishop of Tarbes, a Cardinal since the 8th of June 15 30, understood admirably how to play constantly on the Pope’s distrust of the Emperor, and even to intimidate him in case of necessity by open threats. Gramont at the same time was trying to bring about a family alliance between the houses of Valois and Medici which should bind Clement inseparably to France. The second son of Francis I, Henry, Duke of Orleans, was to marry Catherine de’ Medici, born in 1519, daughter of Lorenzo of Urbino. When Gramont brought the matter forward in the autumn of 1530, he also hinted that Parma and Piacenza might go with the bride as her dowry. Clement VII refused to agree to such an alienation of Church property, and indeed acted as if the whole scheme were not seriously meant; evidently he did not wish then to go further into the affair out of regard for Charles V, who, on his side, looked with favour on a marriage between Catherine and the Duke of Milan. Clement for a long time acted in the matter with his habitual indecision. That finally he decided in favour of France cannot cause surprise. What comparison was there between the Dukedom of Milan, with its precarious tenure, and the brilliant alliance with the royal house of France, which at the same time guaranteed a hope of firm support against the Spanish supremacy in Italy! The Venetian Ambassador Soriano was also of opinion that another induce­ment to incline the Pope in favour of this marriage was the hope of gaining thereby the French partisans in Florence. In addition, the project of marriage was espoused by the French themselves with the greatest eagerness. In the beginning of November 1530 John Stuart, Duke of Albany, arrived in Rome on a mission from Francis to push forward the arrangements initiated by Gramont. Catherine had left Florence in October, where she had lived with her aunt, Lucrezia Salviati. The Milanese envoy who saw her in the streets of Rome thought her tall and comparatively good-looking, but still of such a tender age that he was of opinion her marriage could not be thought of for another year and a half. Nevertheless, the affair was negotiated more ardently than ever. Clement’s indecision was in­creased by his fear of Charles’ and Albany’s great demands. As Gramont in the meantime was once more in Rome, the Pope gave his consent in secret to the marriage and to the conditions which Francis attached to his “gift of the Danai.” In a treaty of the 9th of June 1531 Clement VII. declared himself ready to give Catherine, after her marriage with the Duke of Orleans, Pisa, Leghorn, Modena, Reggio, and Rubbiera, and also to hand over Parma and Piacenza in return for a compensation to be agreed upon. He even was willing to assist in the reconquest of Urbino; only as regards Milan and Genoa, which Francis had also demanded for the young bridal couple, he gave no conclusive answer. A few days later Cardinal Gramont returned to France: the Pope gave orders that he should be received in Florence with all honour.

The members of the French court were under a great delusion if they believed that the old influence over Clement VII had been regained and that he was once more securely in their hands. When the Pope weighed more closely the conditions of the agreement of June, he was alarmed at having committed himself in advance to such an extent; he now tried, under different pretexts, to have the marriage postponed. So little was the “astute, circumspect, and timid” Medici thinking of a breach with the Emperor, that, on the contrary, he determined to work with all his power for the reconciliation of Charles and Francis. On this he brought to bear all his penetration and all his diplomatic ability. Thus was conceived the visionary plan of bringing the two rivals together at the expense of Venice; a project, however, which nowhere met with a favourable reception. As the Ottoman invasion later on drew attention in another direction altogether, the Pope bethought him of a fresh scheme applicable to the wholly altered state of affairs. Charles V and Francis I were to be reconciled and unite all their military forces in one comprehensive onslaught on the Turks, after whose destruction Ferdinand I should receive Hungary and the adjoining territories, Venice the possessions taken from her in the Levant, and, finally, France should receive Milan, which until then should be retained by the Emperor and the Pope, as the friends of both parties!

But the situation had once again entirely changed; on the withdrawal of the Sultan the Emperor had abandoned the Turkish war and undertaken his journey to Italy to meet the Pope. For the place of conference Bologna, Parma, Piacenza, then also Genoa and Pisa, had been proposed: particulars were to be settled by Pedro della Cueva at Rome. While the negotiations were in progress an accident threatened to interfere finally with the proposed meeting. On the 25th of October 1532 the Pope received a report of which he complained, with tears in his eyes, to Mai and Burgo: the Emperor had placed Cardinal Medici under arrest for a day; for the latter, displeased with the suspension of the Turkish war, had foolishly tried to play the part of commander-in-chief. The incident led to no further results, owing to the apologies of the Imperialists, who wished to ward off a misunderstanding, and the hopes of Clement that the meeting would be efficacious in bringing about a peace with France.

Cueva reached Rome at the end of October and announced that the Emperor wished the conference to be held at Piacenza. The matter was discussed in Consistory; most of the Cardinals, Farnese at their head, declared it fitting that Charles V. should come to Rome. This was hotly opposed by the Imperialist group and was also contrary to Clement’s own wishes. Since in the meantime Medici made it known that Charles agreed to Bologna, as proposed by the Pope, the departure of the latter thither was fixed for the 12th of November in a Consistory held on the 4th. Owing to the necessary preparations the departure was put off until the 18th, and before this a Bull was issued making regulations in the event of a Papal election; Cardinal Salviati acted as Legate in Rome.

The late season of the year, unfavourable weather, and the bad condition of the roads made the journey a very arduous one for the Pope, who was hardly recovered from the gout. Six Cardinals travelled through Tuscany, and six others went with the Pope. Their way was by Castelnuovo, Civita Castellana, Narni, Terni, Trevi, Perugia, Citta di Castello, S. Sepolcro, S. Agata, Cesena, Forli, and Castel S. Pietro. On Sunday the 8th of December he entered Bologna on horseback, where he was received with the customary solemnities. On the following day a Consistory was held in which it was resolved to send Cardinals Grimani and Cesarini to meet the Emperor.

Charles, on the 13th of December 1532, made his entry into Bologna with military pomp and was received with great ceremony by the Papal court and the most prominent citizens. Over five thousand men-at-arms escorted him; he rode between Cardinals Farnese and Spinola; in his suite were noticed the Dukes of Milan, Mantua, and Florence. The Pope awaited him in San Petronio on his throne, in full pontificals and wearing a costly tiara. Charles made the customary triple obeisance on bended knee and kissed the Pope’s foot. The latter, waiving the kissing of his hand, rose and embraced the Emperor. After the Emperor’s suite had paid their reverence to his Holiness, Clement led the Emperor to the state apartments prepared for them in the Palazzo Publico. On the following days also there was no lack of demonstrative friendliness between Pope and Emperor, the latter receiving on Christmas Eve as a gift of honour a sword and hat. Great as were the confidence and friendship displayed in public between the two potentates, in the long conferences, held almost always in private, it was only too evident that there was a lack of unanimity. In Bologna the influx of strangers had given rise to a high cost of living, and the Emperor, on this account, would have been glad to quit the city soon, but the negotiations shaped themselves with such difficulty that his departure was deferred from week to week.

Clement VII was eager to make a reconciliation between Francis I. and Charles V. The Emperor considered this quite hopeless, and thought only of securing Milan and Genoa against any French attacks; with this object he proposed the formation of an Italian defensive league. On his instructions Granvelle, Covos, and Praet conducted the matter with Cardinal Ippolito de’ Medici, Francesco Guicciardini, and Jacopo Salviati. It was soon evident that such a confederacy was little in keeping with the policy of a Pope who was considered neutral; his representatives asserted that Venice would absolutely oppose such a league; they also made it clear that Clement still clung to the restoration of Modena and Reggio, and would not suspend his claims on this score during the existence of the League. But the influence which bore with most force on Clement VII. was the threatening attitude of Francis I, the ally of Henry VIII, when the representatives of the former, Cardinals Gramont and Tournon, appeared in Bologna in the beginning of January 1533.

To make sure of Milan the Emperor wished Clement to give his niece Catherine de’ Medici in marriage to Francesco Sforza. The Pope’s objection to this was that the contract with Francis had priority, and the King would feel it to be an extreme affront if the intended wife of one of his sons were to wed his declared enemy. Unfortunately, the Emperor was under the impression that Francis I. had not been in earnest over the marriage contract; he therefore asked the Pope to urge upon Francis that the marriage should speedily take place. He assumed in this that Francis would refuse, and then the Pope would convince himself that he had been the dupe of vain words. In this case the friendship of Clement for Francis would certainly have been turned into bitter enmity. But the contrary came to pass; Francis, perceiving the impending danger, sent at once to the Cardinals above-named full powers to ratify the marriage contract of his son with Catherine de’ Medici; at the same time he sent an invitation to the Pope to meet him in Nice. Clement VII now declared that such a wish was all the more to be complied with as he had already on two occasions undertaken a journey in order to meet the Emperor. Thus the latter saw the connection between the Pope and France only further strengthened. He suspected that Clement would combine with Francis in order to conquer Milan for the Duke of Orleans, but the Pope did all he could to convince him that such a suspicion was groundless. Thus a secret treaty between Pope and Emperor was signed on the 24th of February, a day of momentous significance to Charles, for it was the date of his birth, of his victory at Pavia, and of his coronation. Clement VII and Charles gave mutual pledges not to form alliances with other princes; they exchanged promises as to the holding of the Council, help against the Turks, the maintenance of the existing state of things in Italy, and the hearing of the English divorce case in Rome.

The negotiations with the Italian envoys, already begun in January, were brought a few days later to a conclusion. On the 27th of February Clement VII, Charles V, Ferdinand I, the Dukes of Milan, Mantua, and Ferrara, with Siena, Lucca, and Genoa, united themselves on acceptance of certain contributions of troops and money to defend Italy against any attack. The difficulty with Ferrara was removed in this way, that Clement VII undertook, only for eighteen months, to leave the Duke in peace. Florence and Savoy, and above all Venice, were not named in the bond. If this was annoying to the Emperor, much more so was the failure of his then renewed attempts to draw Clement out of the French marriage agreement. The Pope stood firm; in this he could take no backward step.

The negotiations concerning the nominations of Cardinals demanded by the Emperor went also contrary to his wishes. He had proposed Schonberg, Muscettola, and Stefano Gabriele Merino, Archbishop of Bari, The Pope’s nominees were Giberti, Simonetta, Auditor of the Rota, and the Bishop of Faenza, Rodolfo Pio. But at the same time Francis I and Henry VIII demanded the purple for three of their dependents. The general feeling of the Sacred College was against new creations; an effort was therefore made to defer the question until the Pope had returned to Rome, and Clement, who inclined to this view, handed over the matter to Cardinals Farnese, Campeggio, and Cesi to report upon. On the 19th of February the Consistory debated the subject far into the night without coming to a decision. Loaysa took up the cause of Muscettola with all his energy but met with the most decided opposition. On the 21st of February the Cardinals voted for the elevation of Merino in order to defeat the creation of Muscettola and Schonberg. Also, as a satisfaction to France, the nomination of Jean d’Orleans to the Sacred College was soon afterwards made public. The Imperialists were little pleased with this result.

Not less stirring were the negotiations at Bologna on the question of the Council. On the 15th of December 1532 Charles had already discussed the question with Clement in an interview lasting two hours. On the following day the Consistory was consulted; only a few Cardinals were in favour of an immediate summons; the majority were of the opinion that peace must first be restored to Christendom and the agreement of all the princes be secured; a decision was postponed until the next sitting. In this, held on the 20th of December, the whole matter was once more thoroughly considered. The use of the temporal sword against Protestants was also made subject of remark. Only a few, however, voted for such measures ; the majority of the Cardinals were for a Council; they certainly objected to it being held in Germany, and still more to a national council of that nation, as the latter would only give occasion to the Kings of France and England to bring about a schism. The final resolution was that the Council should be held in a suitable place, and after the consent of all Christian princes had been invited. For the execution of this decision a congregation was formed in which the Pope was represented by Farnese, Campeggio, Cesi, and Aleander, and the Emperor by Merino, Covos, Granvelle, and Mai.

After the Emperor had agreed to the Council meeting in Italy, it was possible, as early as the 2nd of January 1533, to prepare the Briefs to the Kings of France and England, and to other Christian princes inviting their consent to and presence at the Council. More protracted negotiations were occasioned by the question whether the princes and States of the German Empire should also be written to at the same time. This was agreed to, for Aleander was strongly in favour of such a step. Accordingly, about the 10th of January, letters of the Emperor were addressed to all the States, as well as from the Pope to King Ferdinand I, the six Electors, and the six Circles of the Empire. In these letters the Pope praised the Emperor’s zeal on behalf of the Council, whereby he had been led to consent to its summons, although for other reasons he was not yet quite prepared for it. But as it was necessary that all members and nations of Christendom should participate, he would not neglect to procure the consent of other princes than those of Germany by means of letters and Nuncios. While the answers, that of France in particular, were awaited, the Emperor did not desist in the course of negotiations in demanding through his deputies that the Council should be summoned at once, for he had given his promise on this point to the German princes, and in no other way could the desire for a national German council be successfully opposed. On the other hand, the Papal deputies insisted that Clement was ready to proclaim the Council in accordance with the usage hitherto observed by the Church, and on condition that the dogmatic decrees of earlier synods were acknowledged by all, and that all promised their willingness to submit to the decrees of the forthcoming assembly ; but in any case the answers of the princes must still be waited for.

As the Emperor was always insistent and the time of his return was drawing near, while no answers had as yet been received, the Papal deputies proposed that under these circumstances Nuncios should be sent to Germany, France, and England, an arrangement with which Charles expressed his agreement. The Nuncio appointed for Germany was Ugo Rangoni, Bishop of Reggio; for France and England the Papal chamberlain and protonotary, Ubaldino de Ubaldinis. On the 20th of February the two Nuncios were presented with the Briefs of which they were to be the bearers.

In the meantime Cardinals Tournon and Gramont had presented the long-expected answer of Francis I. It was short, cold in tone, and insisted on the necessity of the questions of religion being dealt with in a becoming manner, in accordance with the wishes of those taking part in the Council assembled in a place agreeable to them, and of the decrees being of such a kind that no one afterwards would refuse his consent to them. This reply was all the more unsatisfactory as Francis, besides these general observations, said nothing about his wishes regarding the representation at the Council.

The Instruction drafted by Aleander for the Nuncio Rangoni on the 27th of February 1533 contained the conciliar conditions under eight articles:—(1) The Council is to be free, and to be held according to the customs obtaining in the Church since the first General Councils. (2) The members of the Council are to promise obedience to its decisions and their unbroken observance. (3) Members unable to be present for legitimate reasons are to send deputies with full legal powers and satisfactory mandates. (4) In the meantime, no fresh matter of con­troversy is to be introduced into the religious questions in debate in Germany until the Council shall have given its decisions. (5) A choice, on which all should agree, must be made of some suitable place; the Pope pro­poses Mantua, Bologna, or Piacenza. (6) Should any princes, without just cause, reject the summons and meeting of the Council, the Pope is nevertheless to proceed with the same. (7) Against those princes who wish to put obstacles in the way of the Council, the remainder are to support the Pope in its favour. (8) On receipt of the consenting replies the Pope shall convene the Council within six months and take steps for opening it within a year. To Lambert von Briaerde, who accompanied Rangoni as Imperial orator, Charles communicated special instructions agreeing with the Pope’s intentions. The Emperor left Bologna on the 28th of February and the Pope on the 10th of March.

Rangoni and Briaerde first visited the court of Ferdinand I at Vienna and stayed there from the 1st of April to the 13th of May. Ferdinand expressed his full agreement with the meeting of the Council and the articles. Duke George of Saxony did likewise, whom they visited at Dresden on the 25th of May. Thence they made their way to Weimar, where on the 3rd of June they were courteously received by the Elector John Frederick and listened to by him; in his answer to the Nuncio, communicated on the following day, he expressed his joy at the prospect of a Council but explained that, greatly as he wished personally to give a definite answer at once, he could only do so in company with his allies, who in the approaching assembly of Protestant princes at Schmalkald would take counsel on the matter. With this message Rangoni and Briaerde left Weimar on the 5th of June and proceeded to Mayence to Cardinal Albert, who expressed personally his full agreement and his adhesion to everything that the Pope and Emperor might further determine, even with regard to the meeting-place of the Council, but for a definite answer he referred them to the Congress of the Catholic Electors about to be held at Mayence. The same answer was given by his brother, the Elector Joachim of Brandenburg, with whom the envoys discussed the question at Berlin on the 17th of June. Through Brunswick, where they missed Duke Henry, they came to Cologne on the 5th of July, and on the 9th at Bonn had an interview with the Elector Hermann of Wied; on the 13th they were similarly occupied at Coblentz with Johann von Metzenhausen, the Elector of Treves, and on the 20th at Heidelberg with the Elector Palatine Louis.

After all the Electors had thus been visited, the Imperial envoy Briaerde, having accomplished his mission, returned to the Netherlands, while the Nuncio Rangoni went yet further to Munich in order to treat also with the Dukes William and Louis of Bavaria. To the meeting of a General Council all the princes interrogated had, on the whole, given their ready consent; in respect of the articles enumerated above, only the two Bavarian Dukes were unwilling to give a final reply on their own responsibility. The Nuncio and Briaerde were not without grounds for indulging in hopes on the close of their round of inquiries. In the course of the foregoing deliberations the principal question under discussion had been the meeting-place of the Council. On this as on the other points, by the exercise of a little good-will on all sides, there ought not to have been difficulty in coming to an agreement. This was especially the case as the Elector of Saxony himself had shown apparently the best intentions, and in all probability at the last would have given his final decision in a favourable sense. But his theologians and the other princes of Protestant Germany were of a different way of thinking. John Frederick, in the first place, asked the theologians of Wittenberg to give their opinion and furnish him with reports. Melanchthon, indeed, declared that on account of the other nations the Council could not well be refused, nor had he any objections to Protestants appearing there under a safe-conduct, but he repudiated in the most express terms the article on the duty of submission to the conciliar decrees. Luther spoke in the same sense, only in a much more offensive manner, for he called the Pope a “liar” and a “cursed bloodhound and murderer.” This position of the theologians corresponded therefore with the answer, dated the 30th of June 1533, of the Protestant princes and Estates3 assembled at Schmalkald. They demanded a “free council” to be held in Germany, with the Bible as the only standard; the Pope’s articles were rejected in coarse and offensive terms. By this declaration all previous exertions on behalf of a Council were brought to nothing.

No better success attended the mission of the Nuncio Ubaldino to Francis I of France and Henry VIII of England. Both monarchs avoided any definite declaration.

On leaving Bologna Clement VII had gone first to Fano in order to compose the disorders which had broken out in that place; he then paid visits to Ancona and the sanctuary of Loreto; on the 3rd of April 1533 he was once more in Rome. Here awaited him a mass of business which had accumulated in his absence. There was, moreover, anxiety on account of Koron, hard pressed by the Turks, and still greater anxieties arising from the divorce suit of Henry VIII. The Pope’s nephew Bernardo Salviati was sent to the relief of Koron with twelve galleys. Francis I, meanwhile, was pressing for the conference agreed to by the Pope, and the conclusion of the family alliance; his representatives, the Cardinals Gramont and Tournon, encountered, however, unsuspected difficulties. These were in part the outcome of the intrigues of the Imperialists, who were naturally doing all they could to frustrate the dangerous interview and still more dangerous marriage.

Before the conference at Bologna was over, a fundamental change had taken place in the diplomatic service of the Emperor at Rome. Charles V had at length come to see that Loaysa with his immoderate temper, and Mai with his brusque ways, were not the men to conduct his affairs aright. With Loaysa fell also Muscettola. In their place Fernando da Silva, Count of Cifuentes, was appointed Ambassador, and Rodrigo Davalos as agent; in the Sacred College the place of Loaysa was taken by the Cardinal of Jaen, Stefano Gabriele Merino, as representative of the Imperial interests. Charles soon found out that the change was in no way a fortunate one, for the evil of disunion had been handed on and made itself felt with undiminished intensity, as the enmity between Cifuentes and Merino was acute.

The French party reaped the advantage of this feud. Cardinal Tournon played his part with great skill; he knew how to paint in the most glowing colours the advantages of the French alliance to Clement, and even to encourage in him the hope that this connection would be a means of bringing order into the tangle of the English divorce. Personally the Pope was strongly inclined to an alliance with France in order to secure a counterpoise to the Emperor’s power in Italy.[257] But unexpected hindrances now arose on the side of the Cardinals. Farnese and others adduced the most various objections; Cardinal Gramont declared haughtily : “The Pope has more need of my king than my king of him.” Meanwhile a letter came from Charles to the effect: “Since his Holiness persists in his interview with Francis, he (the Emperor) makes no further difficulties but warns him to look to the pre­servation of peace in Italy.” On the 25th of May 1533 Clement showed the letter to a full Consistory; but although he used every argument to prove the necessity of the conference, the majority of the Cardinals remained quite unconvinced. As the question was one of such great importance, a decision upon it was deferred.

Notwithstanding the almost general opposition of the Curia, Clement did not in the least abandon the plan of the conference, but put it off until the month of September. On the 28th of May he wrote in this sense to Francis I. At the same time he sent to him the Bishop of Faenza to settle the details of the interview which was to take place at Nice. A fresh postponement was subsequently caused by the breach with England which took place in July, at the very moment when the marriage treaty signed by the French King reached Rome. Francis I would now have willingly put off the interview, but Clement refused to withdraw.

On the 1st of August the Papal officials were formally notified that their presence would be required at Nice on the 3rd of September. As no reply came from France concerning the ship on which the Pope was to be conveyed to the latter place, many looked upon the journey as doubtful, but the majority believed that it certainly would take place. The Pope also expressed himself in the same way. Then there was a rumour that Marseilles would be the place of meeting, as the Duke of Savoy, in consideration of the Emperor, had made difficulties about Nice. This was unacceptable to the Pope, for on French soil Francis could bring to bear upon him a preponderant influence. Meanwhile the bride’s dowry was settled; on this occasion Clement laid aside his usual parsimony; the jewels alone were valued at more than 30,000 ducats. On the 1st of September Catherine de’ Medici set forth on her journey, accompanied by Caterina Cibo, Duchess of Camerino, Maria de’ Medici-Salviati, the widow of Giovanni “delle Bande Nere,” Filippo Strozzi, and the historian Guicciardini. At Portovenere the galleys of the Duke of Albany awaited her.

The departure of the Pope, who at the end of August had heard with delight of the relief of Koron, took place on the 9th of September. Three days before, the death had taken place of the man who, among the Pope’s relations, had been his peculiarly trusted adviser, Jacopo Salviati. Cardinal del Monte remained behind in Rome as Legate, and Salviati’s place, whose death was generally lamented, was taken by Alessandro Farnese. The Pope’s departure was a hard blow for the Romans; their city had now the appearance of being deserted. Clement on this journey avoided his native city, Florence, and passed slowly through Sienese territory to Pisa, which he reached on the 24th of September, remaining there on account of bad weather until the 3rd of October. On the 22nd of September, at San Miniato al Tedesco in the valley of the lower Arno, he saw Michael Angelo for the last time.

Not until the 5th of October did Clement set sail from Leghorn. The Papal galley was entirely covered with gold brocade; ten French vessels, and many others, especially those of the Knights of St. John, accompanied the Pope, in whose suite were nine Cardinals. A favourable wind carried the stately fleet—consisting in all of sixty sail—to Villafranca on the 7th of October, where Catherine de’ Medici was taken on board. On the 11th the fleet entered the harbour of Marseilles, in which city the Grand Master Anne de Montmorency had made splendid preparations for the solemn entry of the Pope. This took place on the 12th of October. Fourteen Cardinals and nearly sixty prelates surrounded the Pope, who was carried on the sedia gestatoria by nobles of the highest rank. On the following day Francis I made his state entry, after having had already a secret interview with Clement. Both were lodged so near to each other that visits could be exchanged without remark.

Despite the youth of Catherine de’ Medici, her marriage with Duke Henry of Orleans took place on the 28th of October; the Pope himself performed the ceremony. In the brilliant festivities of the wedding Cardinal Medici was conspicuous ; his display of magnificence surpassed even that of the King himself. On the 7th of November three French Cardinals were nominated in Consistory (Jean Leveneur de Tillier, Claude de Languy, and Odet de Coligny); a fourth (Philippe de la Chambre) was publicly declared as such. Long and animated transactions had preceded this act, for Clement himself seems to have had objections to this large increase of the French element in the Sacred College. The Imperial envoys objected that a creation should only take place in Rome; the majority, however, led by Gaddi and Sanseverino, and under pressure from Francis I, determined otherwise; Clement gave his consent reluctantly.

Pope and King vied with each other at Marseilles in displays of friendship and exchanged rich gifts. During the ecclesiastical ceremonies Francis made an ostentatious show of his subjection to the Papal authority. Notwithstanding the numerous festivities, Clement and Francis, during their meeting of more than four weeks’ duration, completed numerous negotiations, the nature of which, however, was kept a profound secret. All the accounts given by envoys and chroniclers of these oral transactions, carried on without any intermediary, are mere conjectures. The only written document of importance is the draft of a secret treaty drawn up in Francis’ own hand; according to this not merely Urbino, but Milan also, was to be taken possession of for the Duke of Orleans, whereupon Clement would raise no difficulties even on account of Parma and Piacenza.

How far Clement agreed to demands of this kind is uncertain; in any case he cannot here have gone beyond verbal assurances, since no written agreement was completed; but even in conversation so experienced a politician would most certainly have observed the utmost caution. The enemies of Clement VII, at a later date, brought against him, among other accusations, the charge of having acquiesced at Marseilles in the alliance between Francis I and the Turks and Protestants; the onus of proof rests with them. Clement VII was so little in agreement with the shameful project of giving support to the hereditary foe of Christendom, spoken of by Francis at their conference, that he had information of the same conveyed to the Emperor. As to the support given to Philip of Hesse in his forcible restoration of the Protestant Duke Ulrich of Würtemberg, the communications of Guillaume du Bellay appear to  exonerate “Clement VII as having been deceived by Francis.”

All the Pope’s exhortations to a reconciliation with Charles fell on the French King’s pugnacious temperament like seed on a barren soil. It is undoubted that during the conference Clement exerted himself to bring about a peace between the two; very well-informed envoys state this expressly.

Substantial successes for Francis I were, besides the above-mentioned nomination of Cardinals, the gift of the last tithe for the Crusade and the recall of the Swiss Nuncio Filonardi. Clement excused himself to Ferdinand I for this act of submissiveness by suggesting that he had found himself at Marseilles in the French King’s power, and that the latter had threatened him with apostasy from Rome.

Very important transactions also took place on the subject of the Council. Francis was inflexible in his opposition to one held in Italy; he also insisted that in the actual condition of Christendom such an. assembly should be deferred until more propitious and peaceable times. His arguments succeeded in inducing Clement, with feeble pliability, to consent to a postponement. Even in the divorce suit of Henry VIII he yielded to the request of Francis I, and on the 31st of October 1533 consented to a fresh respite of a month before giving effect to the threatened excommunication.

Clement VII left Marseilles on the 12th of November 1533, whereupon Francis started for Avignon. The Pope’s voyage to Spezia was made under difficulties owing to heavy storms; as far as Savona he made use of French vessels; from thence he was conveyed to Civita Vecchia by Doria’s squadron, and three days later he re-entered his capital, where he was joyfully received. Soon afterwards an event occurred of vast consequence to the Church and the world. The complete separation of England from the Holy See, long threatened, became an accomplished fact.