The Venetian Interdict of 1606 and 1607 was the expression in terms of
canon law
Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...
, by means of a
papal interdict
In Catholic canon law, an interdict () is an ecclesiastical censure, or ban that prohibits persons, certain active Church individuals or groups from participating in certain rites, or that the rites and services of the church are banished from ...
, of a diplomatic quarrel and confrontation between the
Papal Curia and the
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...
, taking place in the period from 1605 to 1607. While it was active, the Interdict saw expulsions of some
religious order
A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practi ...
s from Venice, a pamphlet war, and intense diplomacy by France and Spain to resolve the issue.
Paolo Sarpi was one of the most prominent Venetian figures involved in the interdict.
Background
There had been previous interdicts laid on Venice. In 1202 the Venetian
siege of Zadar
The siege of Zara or siege of Zadar ( hr, Opsada Zadra; hu, Zára ostroma; 10–24 November 1202) was the first major action of the Fourth Crusade and the first attack against a Catholic city by Catholic crusaders. The crusaders had an agre ...
during the
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...
led
Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 J ...
to excommunicate the army. In 1284,
Pope Martin IV
Pope Martin IV ( la, Martinus IV; c. 1210/1220 – 28 March 1285), born Simon de Brion, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1281 to his death on 28 March 1285. He was the last French pope to have ...
imposed an interdict because of Venice's refusal to support a crusade.
Pope Clement V
Pope Clement V ( la, Clemens Quintus; c. 1264 – 20 April 1314), born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled ''de Guoth'' and ''de Goth''), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 June 1305 to his de ...
addressed escalating measures against Venice after the 1308 capture of
Ferrara
Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...
; and later in the
War of Ferrara
The War of Ferrara (also known as the Salt War, Italian: ''Guerra del Sale'') was fought in 1482–1484 between Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, and the Papal forces mustered by Ercole's personal nemesis, Pope Sixtus IV and his Venetian allies. ...
of the 1480s
Pope Sixtus IV
Pope Sixtus IV ( it, Sisto IV: 21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484), born Francesco della Rovere, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 to his death in August 1484. His accomplishments as pope include ...
laid an interdict on Venice, an erstwhile ally. In 1509
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 ...
placed Venice under interdict, during the
War of the League of Cambrai
The War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and several other names, was fought from February 1508 to December 1516 as part of the Italian Wars of 1494–1559. The main participants of the war, who fough ...
, to further the papal cause in warfare in the
Romagna
Romagna ( rgn, Rumâgna) is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to t ...
.
Course of events
In 1605 Venice took measures to counter a papal attack on the way the Republic exerted control over its Catholic clergy.
Pope Paul V
Pope Paul V ( la, Paulus V; it, Paolo V) (17 September 1550 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death in January 1621. In 1611, he honored ...
treated Venice's approach, on civil jurisdiction over clerics and church property, as anti-clerical;
Leonardo Donato
Leonardo Donà, or Donato (Venice, February 12, 1536 – Venice, July 16, 1612) was the 90th Doge of Venice, reigning from January 10, 1606 until his death. His reign is chiefly remembered for Venice's dispute with the papacy, which resulted in ...
, an opponent of papal power, was elected
Doge
A doge ( , ; plural dogi or doges) was an elected lord and head of state in several Italian city-states, notably Venice and Genoa, during the medieval and renaissance periods. Such states are referred to as " crowned republics".
Etymology
The ...
early in 1606.
[''New Cambridge Modern History'', Vol. III (1968), p. 263.]
Based on the case current at the time of two arrested clerics, the Pope issued an interdict against Venice in April 1606. In diplomatic moves,
Philip III of Spain
Philip III ( es, Felipe III; 14 April 1578 – 31 March 1621) was King of Spain. As Philip II, he was also King of Portugal, Naples, Sicily and Sardinia and Duke of Milan from 1598 until his death in 1621.
A member of the House of Habsburg, Phi ...
encouraged the Papacy to press its case; while
Henry IV of France
Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...
supported Venice.
Military buildup
The estimate in Rome was that the forces required to prosecute the conflict militarily were 50,000 infantry with 4,000 cavalry; beyond the papal pocket. Philip III ordered
Pedro Henriquez de Acevedo, Count of Fuentes
Pedro Henriquez d'Azevedo y Alvarez de Toledo, Count of Fuentes de Valdepero (1525 in Zamora, Spain – 22 July 1610 in Milan, Italy) was a Spanish general and statesman.
Biography
Born at Zamora, he was a page at the court of Philip II of Spai ...
in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
to readiness, with the required cavalry and about half the infantry. Paul V called in Alfonso d'Avalos, a Spanish colonel based in Milan, to oversee, and Alessandro Monti from
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
to command, his forces. Henry IV started to raise troops;
[John A. Marino, ''Early Modern Italy 1550–1796'' (2002), p. 25.] he was able to match the Spanish forces well enough, and had
Philippe Canaye Philippe de La Canaye, sieur de Fresnes (1551–27 February 1610) was a French jurist and diplomat.
Life
He was born in Paris, son of an advocate of the Parlement; he was brought up liberally and allowed to choose his beliefs, which became Calvi ...
propose to the Venetian Senate a plan of encouraging the
Grisons
The Grisons () or Graubünden,Names include:
*german: (Kanton) Graubünden ;
* Romansh:
** rm, label= Sursilvan, (Cantun) Grischun
** rm, label=Vallader, (Chantun) Grischun
** rm, label= Puter, (Chantun) Grischun
** rm, label=Surmiran, (Cant ...
to invade the Milan province.
Resolution
War threatened, but the French were not clearly prepared to fight over the matter, as the Spanish were. As this became apparent, Henry's diplomacy was able to resolve the immediately contentious matters.
[ His objective all along was to play the peacemaker and gain influence in Italy, this approach being at odds in the end with Canaye's pro-Venetian posture. Canaye moved to press the Venetians to accept mediation by Cardinal ]François de Joyeuse
François de Joyeuse (24 June 1562 – 23 August 1615) was a French churchman and politician.
Biography
Born at Carcassonne, François de Joyeuse was the second son of Guillaume de Joyeuse and Marie Eléanor de Batarnay. As the younger son of a ...
. The interdict was lifted and formal reconciliation occurred in April 1607, with de Joyeuse as cardinal legate
300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate.
A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...
taking custody of the two priests at the centre of the dispute in his accommodation in the upper loggia
In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...
at the Fondaco dei Turchi
The Fondaco dei Turchi (Venetian: ''Fontego dei Turchi'', tr, Türk Hanı) is a Veneto-Gothic style palazzo, later on named as the Turks' Inn, on the Grand Canal of Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in nor ...
on the 21st.[
However the interdict had prompted a ban from the territories of the Venetian Republic of the ]Jesuits
The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
, and this continued until 1656/7, when it ended as part of the reconciliation of another period of disputes between the Republic and the Papacy.
Evaluations
Bouwsma states that, while the outcome was satisfactory to Venice, this event also marks the beginning of the decline of the Republic. John A. Marino writes that the polemical exchanges on theories of statehood, by their intellectual depth, were influential for future discussions well into the 17th century.[
This was the last example of a papal interdict applied to an extended region, though interdicts have been used subsequently on a local scale.]
References
*William J. Bouwsma
William James Bouwsma (November 22, 1923 – March 2, 2004) was an American scholar and historian of the European Renaissance. He was Sather Professor of History Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley and president of the American Hi ...
(1968), ''Venice and the Defense of Republican Liberty''. University of California Press.
* Filippo De Vivo "'Information and Communication in Venice: Rethinking Early Modern Politics.'" Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007
Notes
External links
''The Venetian Interdict and the Problem of Order''
* John C. Rao
2004 article on the Interdict in the ''Seattle Catholic''
{{Authority control
History of the papacy
History of Venice
1606 in international relations
1606 in Italy
17th-century Catholicism
1600s in the Republic of Venice