[hprints-00683151, v2] Enea Silvio Piccolomini (Pius II ... - Hprints.org

hprints-00683151, version 2 - 19 Mar 2013
[72] How can I remain silent about the assiduous accomplishments both in and
outside the council of the Bishop of Albenga 686 , a man who is noble not only by
descent, but also by virtue of soul. And what shall I say about the other prelates 687 ?
The Bishop of Novara 688 was sent to the King of France 689 , and the Bishop of Lodi 690
to England. The Bishop of Parma 691 was ordered to far-away Poland. At that time,
the father 692 of the present king 693 was still alive. You see his coat of arms, painted
by widows, on the tapestry right in front of you. May God help the present king to
resist the attacks of the infidels. To the King of Aragon 694 , who then resided in Sicily,
was sent Abbot Ricci of Saint Ambrose 695 . Nor were you, mighty Duke of
Burgundy 696 , neglected by the Lombard prelates. This mission fell to the Abbot of
Cereto, that upright father, whom you received with happy countenance and joyous
mind both because of his country and because of his lord. For you know how greatly
you are esteemed by the Duke of Milan, who wants nothing more than to
accommodate your wishes. That period seemed to me to resemble that of the
apostles when they divided the provinces of the world between them, and each
undertook a mission to preach the gospel there. A similar task was entrusted to the
ducal prelates because, at the time, many other prelates had not yet arrived. 697
686 Matteo del Carretto
687 They are all prelates from the territory of the Duke of Milan. Piccolomini here shows how the duke – through his
prelates - helped the council to obtain the recognition of the European princes
688 Bartolomeo Visconti: Bishop of Novara (b. 1402, bishop 1429, d. 1457). For some time Piccolomini’s own employer
689
Charles VII
690
Gerardo Landriani: Bishop of Lodi, made cardinal in 1439
691
Delfino da Pergola: Bishop of Parma
692
Vladislav II Jagello: King of Poland (b. c. 1362, k. 1386, d. 1434)
693
Vladislav III Jagello: King of Poland (b. 1424, k. 1434, d. 1444)
694
Alfonso V
695
Antonio Ricci: Abbot of Sant’Ambrogio, Milan
696
Philippe III le Bon: Duke of Burgundy (b. 1396, d. 1419, d. 1467)
697 Pius II: Revised, p. 332
135