Editing Pope Pius II (section)

==Basel==
In 1431 he accepted the post of secretary to [[Domenico Capranica]], [[bishop of Fermo]], then on his way to the [[Council of Basel]]. Capranica was protesting against the new [[Pope Eugene IV]]'s refusal of a [[Catholic Cardinal|cardinalate]] for him, which had been designated by [[Pope Martin V]]. Arriving at [[Basel]] after enduring a stormy voyage to [[Genoa]] and then a trip across the [[Alps]], he successively served Capranica, who ran out of money, and then other masters.<ref>''Mémoires'', pp. 44, 46–47.</ref>

In 1435, he was sent by Cardinal [[Niccolò Albergati]], Eugenius IV's legate at the council, on a secret mission to [[Scotland]], the object of which is variously related even by himself.<ref>In his Commentaries, he briefly mentions that he was sent to Scotland "to help a prelate come back into the King's favour" and later mentions that once in the presence of King ([[James VI and I|James I]]) he was granted everything he had come to Scotland for. ''Mémoires'', pp. 49-50.</ref> He visited England as well as Scotland, underwent many perils and vicissitudes in both countries and left an account of each. The journey to Scotland proved so tempestuous that Piccolomini swore that he would walk barefoot to the nearest shrine of Our Lady from their landing port. This proved to be [[Dunbar]]; the nearest shrine was {{Convert | 10 | mi}} distant at [[Whitekirk and Tyninghame|Whitekirk]]. The journey through the ice and snow left Aeneas afflicted with pain in his legs for the rest of his life. Only when he arrived at [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]] did he feel that he had returned to "a civilised part of the world and the inhabitable face of the Earth", Scotland and the far north of England being "wild, bare and never visited by the sun in winter".<ref>''Mémoires'', p. 53. {{cite book|last=Creighton | title= A History of the Papacy during the period of the Reformation| date= 21 March 1882|volume= II|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PfdJAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA236}}, pp. 236-239.</ref> In Scotland, he fathered a child but it died.<ref name=Weber>{{CE1913 |inline=1 |last=Weber |first=Nicholas |wstitle=Pope Pius II |volume=12}}</ref><ref>Susan Marshall (2021), [https://books.google.com/books?id=eEI3EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA5 ''Illegitimacy in Medieval Scotland, 1100-1500'']  (Woodbridge Suffolk UK: Boydell & Brewer, 2021), p. 5.</ref>

Upon his return to Basel, Aeneas again served from 1436 to 1438 as secretary of Cardinal Domenico Capranica.<ref>Jaumann, [https://books.google.com/books?id=PCNN%20blc77kC&pg=PA511 ''Handbuch Gelehrtenkultur der Frühen Neuzeit,''], p. 511.</ref> He actively supported the council in its conflict with the Pope, and, although still a layman, eventually obtained a share in the direction of its affairs. He gave a speech advocating the choice of Pavia as the site of a meeting between council members and the Greek delegation, to discuss church union, which caught the attention of the duke of Milan, as he had hoped. The archbishop of Milan named him Provost of the church of S. Lorenzo in Milan, even though he had not been elected to the post by the chapter of the church and was still a layman. The Council granted him a dispensation, despite their policy against such dispensations, which they considered a feature of papal corruption. But when Aeneas was sent on a diplomatic mission to Vienna in 1438, it was reported that he had died; and the duke of Milan, who had abandoned the council and returned to Pope Eugenius' side, gave Aeneas' provostship to another candidate.  In recompense, the Council appointed him a canon in the cathedral Chapter of Trent.<ref>{{cite book|last=Creighton | title= A History of the Papacy during the period of the Reformation| date= 21 March 1882|volume= II|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PfdJAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA246}}, p. 239.</ref>

He refused the offer of the [[diaconate]], shunning the ecclesiastical state because of the obligation of [[Sexual abstinence|sexual continence]] which it imposed. Even the offer to become one of the electors of a successor to [[Pope Eugene IV]] was not enough for him to overcome his reluctance. He supported the creation of the [[Antipope Felix V]] (Amadeus, Duke of Savoy) in November 1439, and participated in his coronation.<ref>{{cite book|last=Creighton | title= A History of the Papacy during the period of the Reformation| date= 21 March 1882|volume= II|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PfdJAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA246}}, p. 240.</ref>

In 1440, he composed a work in defense of the authority of the general council of Basel, the ''Libellus dialogorum de generalis concilii auctoritate et gestis Basileensium''.<ref>Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini, "Libellus dialogorum de generalis concilii auctoritate et gestis Basileensium," in Adam F. Kollar, ed., [https://books.google.com/books?id=bn2yIX%20pPgYC&685 ''Analecta monumentorum omnis aevi Vindobonensia,'' vol. 2] (Vienna: Ioannis T. Trattner, 1762), pp. 691–790.</ref>

Aeneas then was sent to [[Strasbourg]], where he fathered a child, a son, with a Breton woman called Elizabeth.<ref name=Weber/> The baby died 14 months later.<ref>Aeneas Sylvius, "Letter to his father," in: [https://books.google.com/books?id=3E3DX4az26sC Opera quae extant omnia], p. 510-511. {{cite book|last=Creighton | title= A History of the Papacy during the period of the Reformation| date= 21 March 1882|volume= II|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PfdJAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA246}}, p. 246.</ref>

Piccolomini served briefly as secretary to Pope Felix, and in 1442 was sent as envoy to the [[Diet of Frankfurt]]. On 27 July 1442, in Frankfurt, [[Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick III]], King of the Romans celebrated him as Poet Laureate, and offered him a position at court as his secretary.<ref>G. W. Kitchin, [https://books.google.com/books?id=9ZO%20C6H7jn0C&pg=PA28 ''The Life of Pope Pius II: As Illustrated by Pinturicchio's Frescoes in the Piccolomini Library at Siena,''] Volume 1 (London: Arundel Society, 1881), pp. 28-30. Joseph Chmel, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Vz8AAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA93 ''Regesta chronologico-diplomatica Friderici IV., Romanorum regis (Imperatoris III): Vom Jahre 1440 bis März 1452,''] Volume 1 (Rohrmann, 1838), p. 93, no. 801; and "Anhang", p. xxix, no. 17 (full text).</ref> In January 1443, Aeneas resigned as secretary of Felix V, and was appointed secretary and protonotary in the imperial chancellery.<ref>Morrall, p. 5.</ref> There he obtained the patronage of the emperor's chancellor, Kaspar Schlick. Some identify the love adventure that Aeneas related in his romance ''[[The Tale of Two Lovers]]'' (1444) with an escapade of the chancellor.<ref>{{cite book|last=Creighton | title= A History of the Papacy during the period of the Reformation| date= 21 March 1882|volume= II|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PfdJAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA247}}, p. 247.</ref> Of his activities at this period in his life, [[Ferdinand Gregorovius]], the historian of medieval Rome, wrote, "Versed in the affairs of the Empire and the Roman Curia, in which occupations he incessantly strove to acquire benefices that should raise him out of poverty, Piccolomini was not inspired by any ardent longing for virtue, nor was he stirred by the sublime genius of an exalted nature. There was nothing great in him. Endowed with fascinating gifts, this man of brilliant parts possessed no enthusiasms. We cannot even say that he pursued any aim beyond that of his own advantage."<ref>Gregorovius, [https://books.google.com/books?id=P1MZAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA164 ''History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages''] Volume 7, Part 1, pp. 163-164.</ref>

Aeneas' character had hitherto been that of a man of the world with no strictness in morals or consistency in politics. Being sent on a mission to Rome in 1445, with the ostensible object of inducing Pope Eugene to convoke a new council, he was absolved from ecclesiastical [[censure]]s and returned to [[Germany]] under an engagement to assist the Pope.<ref>{{cite book|last=Creighton | title= A History of the Papacy during the period of the Reformation| date= 21 March 1882|volume= II|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PfdJAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA250}}, pp. 250-252.</ref> This he did most effectually by the diplomatic dexterity with which he smoothed away differences between the papal court of Rome and the German imperial electors.<ref>Pastor I, pp. 339-348.</ref> He played a leading role in concluding a compromise in 1447 by which the dying Pope Eugenius accepted the reconciliation tendered by the German princes. The documents were signed on 5 February and 7 February 1447. As a result, the council and the antipope were left without support.<ref>Ludwig Pastor, [https://books.google.com/books?id=h18aAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA347 ''The History of the Popes: From the Close of the Middle Ages''], Volume 1 (London: K. Paul, Trench, Trübner & Company 1891), pp. 347-350.</ref>

===Bishop===
He was ordained a priest in Vienna on 4 March 1446.<ref>Ady, p. 100. Wolkan (1909), [https://books.google.com/books?id=kRE3AQAAMAAJ&pg=frontcover ''Der Briefwechsel des Eneas Silvius Piccolomini.''], p. xxv.  J.N.D. Kelly and M.J. Walsh, ''Oxford Dictionary of Popes'', second edition (OUP 2010), p. 249.</ref>

Pope Eugenius died on 23 February 1447, and the conclave to choose his successor lasted from 4 to 6 March 1447. Aeneas Sylvius was one of the four ambassadors chosen to be the guardians of the conclave.<ref>Ludwig Pastor, [https://books.google.com/books?id=gLX4JzQKpY4C&pg=PA6 ''History of the Popes: From the Close of the Middle Ages''], Volume 2 (St. Louis: Herder, 1902), p. 6.</ref> The new pope, Tommaso Parentucelli, chose the name [[Nicholas V]],<ref>J.N.D. Kelly and M.J. Walsh, ''Oxford Dictionary of Popes'', pp. 246-248.</ref> and immediately confirmed Aeneas in his posts of papal subdeacon and secretary, and appointed him to carry the papal cross at his coronation.<ref>Gragg, p. 44. Pius II, ''Commentarii'' (1614), p. 14: "Is ut ædes sancti Petri primum ascendit, Ænea ad se accersito secretariatum ei subdiaconatumque confirmauit, atque in die coronationis ante se Crucem deferendam commisit."</ref> One of the first acts of [[Pope Nicholas V|Pope Nicholas]] was to appoint Aeneas [[Bishop of Trieste]] on 17 April 1447.<ref>{{cite book|author=Conradus Eubel|title=Hierarchia catholica|volume=2 (Tomus II)|date=1914|publisher=Libreria Regensbergiana|location=Münster|edition=second|language=la|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NYW76iTwFcMC&pg=PA247}}, p. 247.</ref>

On 13 August 1447, at Cologne, Bishop Aeneas wrote the first ''Epistola retractationis, ad Magistr. Jordanum ''.<ref>Gregorovius, [https://books.google.com/books?id=P1MZAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA165 ''History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages'']. Volume 7, Part 1, p. 165, note 3. Fea, [https://books.google.com/books?id=l-HjYkc_ZtsC&pg=PR1 ''Pius II. Pont. Max. a calumniis vindicatus ternis retractationibus eius quibus dicta et scripta pro concilio Basileensi contra Eugenium PP. IV. eiuravit.''], p. 1.</ref>

Pope Nicholas transferred him to the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Siena–Colle di Val d'Elsa–Montalcino|diocese of Siena]] on 23 September 1450.<ref>{{cite book|author=Eubel|title=Hierarchia catholica|date=21 March 2024 |volume=2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NYW76iTwFcMC&pg=PA235}}, p. 235.</ref>

In 1450, Aeneas was sent as ambassador by Emperor Frederick III to negotiate his marriage with Princess [[Eleanor of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress|Eleonore of Portugal]]. In 1451, he undertook a mission to [[Bohemia]] and concluded a satisfactory arrangement with the [[Hussite]] leader [[George of Poděbrady]]. In 1452 he accompanied Frederick to Rome, where Frederick wedded Eleanor and was crowned emperor by the pope. At the coronation, speaking in the name of the emperor, Aeneas repudiated the conciliar theory, holding that the pope and his cardinals were the best council.<ref>Pastor, [https://books.google.com/books?id=gLX4JzQKpY4C&pg=PA50 ''History of the Popes: From the Close of the Middle Ages''] II, p. 50.</ref>

Bishop Aeneas Sylvius was a delegate of Frederick III at the Diet of Ratisbon in February 1454.<ref>Pastor, [https://books.google.com/books?id=gLX4JzQKpY4C&pg=PA300 ''History of the Popes: From the Close of the Middle Ages''] II, pp. 300-304.</ref>

In August 1455, Aeneas again travelled to Rome on an embassy which included Johann Hinderbach to proffer the obedience of Germany to the new pope, [[Pope Calixtus III|Calixtus III]]. The ceremony took place on 12 August in a public consistory. As instructed, the envoys pressed the pope for a war against the Turks, which pleased Calixtus, who was of the same mind.<ref>Gragg, [https://books.google.com/books?id=0vTSAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA77 ''The Commentaries of Pius II.''], pp. 77-79. Pius II, "Oratio Calixtum papam offerendo oboedientiam Imperatoris," [https://books.google.com/books?id=3E3DX4az26sC&pg=PA923 ''Opera quae extant omnia''], pp. 923-928, Pastor II, pp. 342-343.</ref> He brought strong recommendations from Frederick and [[Ladislaus the Posthumous|Ladislaus V of Hungary]] (also King of Bohemia) for the nomination of Aeneas to the cardinalate, but delays arose from the Pope's resolution to promote his own nephews first, which he did on 17 September 1456.<ref>Eubel II, p. 12, nos. 1, 2, 3.</ref>

Finally, on 17 December 1456, he was named a cardinal, and next day he was assigned the [[titular church]] of [[Santa Sabina]] on the Aventine.<ref>{{cite book|author=Eubel|title=Hierarchia catholica|date=21 March 2024 |volume=2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NYW76iTwFcMC&pg=PA12}}, p. 12.</ref> He was allowed to keep the diocese of Siena. He also acquired the bishopric of [[Warmia]] (Ermel and, Prussia; now in Poland) on 12 August 1457.<ref>{{cite book|author=Eubel|title=Hierarchia catholica|date=21 March 2024 |volume=2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NYW76iTwFcMC&pg=PA262}}, p. 262.</ref>