The 1492 papal conclave (6–11 August) was convened after the death of
Pope Innocent VIII (25 July 1492). It was the first
papal conclave to be held in the
Sistine Chapel
The Sistine Chapel (; la, Sacellum Sixtinum; it, Cappella Sistina ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), the chapel takes its nam ...
.
Cardinal Roderic Borja was elected unanimously on the fourth ballot as
Pope Alexander VI. The election is notorious for allegations that Borja
bought the votes of his electors, promising them lucrative appointments and other material gifts. Concerns about this conclave were among the reasons that
Pope Julius II
Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or th ...
— who was at the time of the election one of the foremost candidates and participants, as Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere — enacted stronger rules against simony in 1503, shortly after Alexander VI's death in the same year.
Cardinal electors
Of the 23 cardinals participating in the conclave, fourteen had been elevated by
Pope Sixtus IV. The cardinals of Sixtus IV, known as the "Sistine Cardinals" and led by Giuliano della Rovere, had controlled the conclave of 1484, electing one of their own, Giambattista Cibo as
Pope Innocent VIII. Since 1431 the composition of the
College of Cardinals
The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are app ...
had been radically transformed, increasing the number of
cardinal-nephew
A cardinal-nephew ( la, cardinalis nepos; it, cardinale nipote; es, valido de su tío; pt, cardeal-sobrinho; french: prince de fortune)Signorotto and Visceglia, 2002, p. 114. Modern French scholarly literature uses the term "cardinal-neveu'". ...
s (from 3 to 10),
crown-cardinal
A crown-cardinal ( it, cardinale della corona) was a cardinal protector of a Roman Catholic nation, nominated or funded by a Catholic monarch to serve as their representative within the College of Cardinals and, on occasion, to exercise the rig ...
s (from 2 to 8), and representatives of powerful Roman noble families (from 2 to 4).
[Burke-Young, Francis A. 1998.]
The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Papal elections in the Fifteenth Century: The election of Pope Alexander VI (1492)
" Retrieved 28 August 2009 With the exception of three curial officials and one pastor, the cardinals were "secularly-minded princes largely unconcerned with the spiritual life of either the Latin church or its members."
At the time of Innocent VIII's death, the names of Cardinals
Gherardo and
Sanseverino * Sanseverino (family): The Sanseverino are one of the historical families most famous in the Kingdom of Naples and all of Italy, having 300 strongholds, 40 counties, nine marquisates, twelve duchies and ten principalities primarily distributed in ...
(both created
in pectore), had not been published, thus making them ineligible to participate in the conclave; however, both were published as an act of the College in ''
sede vacante
''Sede vacante'' ( in Latin.) is a term for the state of a diocese while without a bishop. In the canon law of the Catholic Church, the term is used to refer to the vacancy of the bishop's or Pope's authority upon his death or resignation.
Hi ...
'', Gherardo having been pushed by
Giovanni Battista Orsini
Giovanni Battista Orsini, or Jean-Baptiste des Ursins, was the 39th Grand Master of the Order of the Knights Hospitaller from 1467 to 1476.
References
*Musée de Cluny
and Sanseverino by
Ascanio Sforza
Ascanio Maria Sforza Visconti (3 March 1455 – 28 May 1505) was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. Generally known as a skilled diplomat who played a major role in the election of Rodrigo Borgia as Pope Alexander VI, Sforza served a ...
.
Gherardo was assigned the title of
Santi Nereo e Achilleo
Santi Nereo ed Achilleo is a fourth-century basilica church in Rome, Italy, located in via delle Terme di Caracalla in the rione Celio facing the main entrance to the Baths of Caracalla. It has been the titular church of Cardinal Celestino Aós ...
, which it was believed Innocent VIII had intended for him; Sanseverino was given the poor and undesirable diaconate of
San Teodoro to ensure that the future pontiff would confirm his assignment.
According to the account of bishop ambassador
Giovanni Andrea Boccaccio
Giambattista Orsini (died February 22, 1503) (also called Giovanni Battista Orsini or Jean-Baptiste des Ursins) was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal. He served as papal legate to the Marches of Ancona.
Biography
Giambattista Orsini was born in ...
, at least seven cardinals considered themselves ''
papabile'', having dismantled the furnishings of their palaces as a precaution against the traditional pillaging of the pope-elect's residence by the Roman populace: da Costa, di Campofregoso, Michiel, Piccolomini, Domenico della Rovere, Savelli, and Zeno.
Absent cardinals
There is no evidence that the 4 absent cardinals made an attempt to reach Rome for the conclave.
Procedures
![Cappella Sistina - 2005](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Cappella_Sistina_-_2005.jpg)
As dictated by the prescriptions ''
Ubi periculum'' and ''
Ne Romani'', the conclave should have begun on 4 August, ten days after the death of Innocent VIII; however, the conclave was delayed to await the slow arrival of the aged Gherardo, bearing a letter from Venice's
Council of Ten
The Council of Ten ( it, Consiglio dei Dieci; vec, Consejo de i Diexe), or simply the Ten, was from 1310 to 1797 one of the major governing bodies of the Republic of Venice. Elections took place annually and the Council of Ten had the power to i ...
urging his acceptance into the College.
The cardinals had decided as early as their first meeting on 24 July to use the
Sistine Chapel
The Sistine Chapel (; la, Sacellum Sixtinum; it, Cappella Sistina ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), the chapel takes its nam ...
for the balloting and assembly of the conclave.
Johann Burchard
Johann Burchard, also spelled Johannes Burchart or Burkhart (c.1450–1506) was an Alsatian-born priest and chronicler during the Italian Renaissance. He spent his entire career at the papal Courts of Sixtus IV, Innocent VIII, Alexander VI, Pi ...
, the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
papal master of ceremonies, who presided over the conclave, as well as the previous one in 1484, kept an extensive diary, noting that each cardinal was provided:
The
Mass of the Holy Spirit (celebrated by Giuliano della Rovere rather than Borja who as Dean would traditionally have been the celebrant)
and then a speech by
Bernardino Lopez de Carvajal
Bernardino is a name of Italian, Hispanic, or Portuguese origin, which can refer to:
Given name
*Bernardino Baldi (1533–1617), Italian mathematician and writer
* Bernardino Bertolotti (born 1547), Italian composer and instrumentalist
* Bernar ...
, a Spaniard and the ambassador to
Ferdinand and Isabella, on the "evils afflicting the Church" preceded the beginning of the conclave on 6 August 1492.
[Bellonci, Maria. 2003. ''Lucrezia Borgia''. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. , p. 7] Another Spaniard,
Gonzalo Fernandez de Heredia, archbishop of
Tarragona
Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tarr ...
, was appointed prefect of the Vatican. Two important offices during
sede vacante
''Sede vacante'' ( in Latin.) is a term for the state of a diocese while without a bishop. In the canon law of the Catholic Church, the term is used to refer to the vacancy of the bishop's or Pope's authority upon his death or resignation.
Hi ...
were filled with compatriots of Cardinal Borja, and it is believed that they both were chosen by Borja in his capacity as Dean to strengthen his position before the conclave.
The remainder of 6 August was consumed by the drafting and subscription to the
conclave capitulation
A conclave capitulation was a compact or unilateral contract drawn up by the College of Cardinals during a papal conclave to constrain the actions of the pope elected by the conclave. The legal term '' capitulation'' more frequently refers to the ...
, which—although not extant—is known to have restricted the number of new cardinals which could be created by the new pope.
Vote count
The first ballot ("scrutiny"), held on 8 August was said to have resulted in nine votes for Carafa, seven for Borja, Costa, and Michiel, and five for Giuliano della Rovere, with Sforza notably receiving zero votes.
The second ballot produced nine for Carafa, eight for Borja, seven for Michiel, and five for Giuliano della Rovere.
According to the Florentine Ambassador, one of the guards of the conclave, as of 10 August there had been three unsuccessful ballots, favoring Costa and Carafa, but in no way indicating Borja might be chosen.
[Setton, Kenneth Meyer. 1984. ''The Papacy and the Levant, 1204–1571: The 13th & 14th Centuries''. , p. 433] According to Sigismondo de' Conti, papal secretary and chronicler, the vote was
unanimous on the fourth ballot, taken early in the morning on 11 August although Borja had only 15 votes prior to the
accessus
Accessus is a term applied to the voting in conclave for the election of a pope, by which a cardinal changes his vote and accedes to some other candidate. Accessus voting was first used in the papal conclave, 1455. The procedure was likely adopte ...
;
[Bellonci, 2003, p. 8] other accounts say Borja received all the votes except for his own, which he gave to Carafa.
According to the ''
Catholic Encyclopedia
The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...
'', the election of Rodrigo Borja was "almost entirely due to" Giambattisti Orsini.
Allegations of simony
![Alexander VI - Pinturicchio detail](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Alexander_VI_-_Pinturicchio_detail.jpg)
According to Pastor, 'the corruption during the reign of
Pope Innocent VIII had increased to such an extent that it became possible by bribery to procure the election of such a successor as
Pope Alexander VI
The Venetian envoy to Milan informed his
confrère in Ferrara: "that by simony and a thousand villanies and indecencies the papacy has been sold, which is a disgraceful and detestable business", adding that he expected Spain and France to withhold their support from the new pontiff.
After the conclave, a ubiquitous epigram within Rome was: "Alexander sells the Keys, the Altar, Christ Himself—he has a right to for he bought them."
On 10 August after the third ballot, Ascanio Sforza allegedly came to believe his own ambitions of being elected pope were impossible and became susceptible to Borja's offer: the office of Vice-Chancellor and the associated
Palazzo Borgia, the Castle of Nepi, the
bishopric of Erlau (with annual revenue of 10,000 ducats) and other benefices.
[Setton, 1984, p. 434] Sforza was also reputed to have received four mule-loads of silver (some sources say gold), which Borja ordered to be delivered immediately after the deal was struck.
[Setton, 1984, p. 435] The price of the other cardinals was as follows: Orsini, the fortified towns of
Monticelli and
Soriano, the legation of the
Marches
In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a national "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diff ...
, and the
bishopric of Cartagena (with annual revenue of 5,000 ducats);
Colonna, the abbey of
Subiaco and its environs (with annual revenue of 3,000 ducats);
[Pastor, 1902, p. 383] Savelli,
Civita Castellana
Civita Castellana is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Viterbo, north of Rome.
Mount Soracte lies about to the south-east.
History
Civita Castellana was settled during the Iron Age by the Italic people of the Falisci, who called it "F ...
and the bishopric of
Majorca;
Pallavicini, the bishopric of
Pampeluna
Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region.
Lying at near above ...
(Pamplona);
Michiel, the
suburbicarian see of Porto;
[Pastor, 1902, p. 384] Riario, Spanish benefices with annual income of 4,000 ducats and the return of a house in the Piazza Navona (which Sforza had occupied) to the children of Count Girolamo.
Sanseverino's compensation included Rodrigo Borgia's house in Milan.
Cardinals Sclafenati and Domenico della Rovere were to receive abbacies and/or benefices.
Cardinals Andicino della Porta and Conti followed Sforza, whom they had originally supported.
The aforementioned cardinals plus Borja's own vote numbered 14, one short of the required two-thirds majority. However, Cardinals Carafa, Costa, Piccolomini, Cibò, and Zeno, followed by Medici, were unwilling to be bribed.
Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere, followed by Basso, was intractably opposed to Borja's election.
Thus, the eighty-six-year-old Gherardo, the Cardinal Patriarch of Venice,
who was paid only 5,000 ducats, constituted the deciding vote.
According to Professor Picotti, who extensively researched the conclave and came to the conclusion that simony had occurred, no accounts of papal income and expenditure exist in the registers of ''
Introitus et Exitus'' for August 1492, and debts from the
Apostolic Camera to Cardinals Campofregoso, Domenico della Rovere, Sanseverino, and Orsini appeared soon afterwards. The
Spannocchi Spannocchi is an Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance ...
bank, which housed much of Borja's wealth, was said to have nearly crashed after the conclave due to the velocity of transactions.
Some sources say that
Charles VIII of France had bankrolled 200,000 ducats (plus 100,000 ducats from the
Doge of Genoa
The Doge of Genoa ( lij, Dûxe, ; la, Januensium dux et populi defensor, "Commander of the Genoese and Defender of the People") was the ruler of the Republic of Genoa, a city-state and soon afterwards a maritime republic, from 1339 until the s ...
) for the election of
Giuliano della Rovere
Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or the ...
, although several otherwise bribable cardinals were hostile to French interference.
Other historians regard politics as a stronger factor within the conclave than pure simony, with the personal rivalry between Giuliano della Rovere and Ascanio Sforza (who had met to discuss the upcoming conclave in
Castel Gandolfo even before Innocent VII had died) substituting for the ancient struggle between Naples and Milan, with the intractability between the two parties making Borja a viable candidate.
Aftermath
When Giuliano della Rovere was elected
Pope Julius II
Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or th ...
in 1503, he issued a
bull
A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions,
includin ...
annulling any papal election brought about by simony, and defrocking and excommunicating any cardinal who sold his vote. Although the twenty-six day reign of
Pope Pius III
Pope Pius III ( it, Pio III; 9 May 1439 – 18 October 1503), born Francesco Todeschini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 September 1503 to his death. At just twenty-six days, he had one of the shortest ...
intervened between Alexander VI and Julius II, the alleged unscrupulousness of the Borgia pope was still firmly in the institutional memory of the
Roman Curia. While cardinal during the reign of Alexander VI, Julius II had been assailed politically and often militarily outside the sturdy wall of his Castle of
Ostia.
Media
The conclave is
fictionalized in the 2011
premiere episode of the
Showtime
Showtime or Show Time may refer to:
Film
* ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film
* ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur
Television Networks and channels
* Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
series ''
The Borgias'', with
Jeremy Irons
Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor and activist. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969 and has appeared in many West End theatre ...
as Borja and
Colm Feore
Colm Joseph Feore (; born August 22, 1958) is a Canadian actor. A 15-year veteran of the Stratford Festival, he is known for his Gemini-winning turn as Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in the CBC miniseries '' Trudeau'' (2002), his portrayal of G ...
as della Rovere, and across several episodes of
Tom Fontana
Tom Fontana (born September 12, 1951) is an American screenwriter, writer, and television producer. Fontana worked on NBC's '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' and created HBO's ''Oz.''
Early life and education
Fontana was born on the west si ...
's ''
Borgia'' of the same year, with
John Doman
John Doman (born January 9, 1945) is an American actor best known for playing Maryland State Police Superintendent, Deputy Police Commissioner and Major William Rawls on HBO series ''The Wire'' (2002–2008), Colonel Edward Galson on '' Oz'' (2 ...
as Borja and
Dejan Čukić
Dejan Čukić ( sr-Cyrl, Дејан Чукић; born 25 November 1966) is a Serbian- Danish actor. He appeared in the Wallander TV film series as Lars in ''The Ghost'', based on the novel by Henning Mankell. He also played Cardinal Giulano del ...
as della Rovere.
Borgia: Season 1
Rotten Tomatoes
References
*Chamberlin, Eric Russell. 2003. ''The Bad Popes''. Barnes & Noble Publishing.
*Pastor, Ludwig. 1902. ''The History of Popes''. K. Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., Ltd.
*Picotti, Giovanni Battista (1951). "Nuovi Studi e documenti intorno a papa Alessandro VI," ''Rivista di storia della Chiesa in Italia'', V (1951), 243–247.
Notes
{{Good article
1492
Year 1492 ( MCDXCII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
1492 is considered to be a significant year in the history of the West, Europe, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Spain, and the N ...
15th-century elections
1492 in Europe
15th century in the Papal States
15th-century Catholicism