Pope Julius II

Pope Julius II (December 5, 1443 – February 21, 1513), born Giuliano della Rovere, was Pope from 1503 to 1513. He is commonly known as the "warrior Pope."

Early life

Julius II (Giuliano della Rovere) was a nephew of Pope Sixtus IV (1471–84). He was educated among the Franciscans by his uncle, who took him under his special charge, and later sent to a convent in La Pérouse with the purpose of obtaining knowledge of the sciences. However, he does not appear to have joined the order of St. Francis, but rather remained a member of the secular clergy until his elevation to bishop of Carpentras, France, in 1471; very shortly after his uncle succeeded to the papal chair. In the same year he was promoted to cardinal, taking the same title formerly held by his uncle, Cardinal of San Pietro ad Vincula. With his uncle as Pope, he obtained great influence, and he held no fewer than eight bishoprics (e.g. Lausanne 1472–1476; Coutances 1476–1478), in addition to the archbishopric of Avignon. In the capacity of papal legate he was sent to France in 1480, where he remained four years, and acquitted himself with such ability that he soon acquired a paramount influence in the College of Cardinals, an influence which increased rather than diminished during the pontificate of Pope Innocent VIII (1484–92).

Ascension to papacy

However, a rivalry had gradually grown up between him and Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, and on the death of Innocent VIII in 1492 Borgia was elected Pope Alexander VI (1492–1503). Della Rovere, jealous and angry, accused Borgia of being elected over him by means of simony and a secret agreement with Ascanio Sforza. Della Rovere at once determined to take refuge from Borgia's wrath at Ostia, and in a few months afterwards went to Paris, where he incited Charles VIII of France (1483–98) to undertake the conquest of Naples. Accompanying the young King on his campaign, he entered Rome along with him, and endeavoured to instigate the convocation of a council to inquire into the conduct of the Pope with a view to his deposition; but Alexander VI, having gained a friend in Charles VIII's minister Briçonnet by the offer of a cardinal's hat, succeeded in defeating the machinations of his enemy.

Alexander VI died in 1503, most likely due to malaria, though his death is often attributed to poison. Alexander VI's son, Cesare also fell ill at the same time. Della Rovere did not support the candidature of Cardinal Piccolomini of ^*, who was consecrated under the name of Pope Pius III (1503), but who died little more than a month afterwards. Della Rovere then succeeded by dexterous diplomacy in tricking the weakened Cesare Borgia into supporting him. He was elected as Pope Julius II to the papal dignity by the unanimous vote of the cardinals, almost certainly by means of bribery. His election only took a few hours.

Reign as Pope

From the beginning Julius II set himself with a courage and determination rarely equalled to rid himself of the various powers under which his temporal authority was almost overwhelmed. By a series of complicated stratagems he first succeeded in rendering it impossible for the Borgia to retain their power over the Papal States. He then used his influence to reconcile the two powerful houses of Orsini and Colonna, and, by decrees made in their interest, he also attached to himself the remainder of the Roman nobility. Being thus secure in Rome and the surrounding country, he next set himself to oust the Venetians from Faenza, Rimini, and the other towns and fortresses of Italy which they occupied after the death of Pope Alexander VI. Finding it impossible to succeed with the doge by remonstrance, he in 1504 brought about a union of the conflicting interests of France and Germany, and sacrificed temporarily to some extent the independence of Italy in order to conclude with them an offensive and defensive alliance against Venice. The combination was, however, at first little more than nominal, and was not immediately effective in compelling the Venetians to deliver up more than a few unimportant places in the Romagna; but by a brilliant campaign Julius II in 1506 succeeded in freeing Perugia and Bologna from their despots (Giampolo Baglioni and Giovanni II Bentivoglio, respectively), and raised himself to such a height of influence as to render his friendship of prime importance both to the King of France and the Emperor.

Given these political struggles during his papacy, it is no surprise that it is during Julius II's papacy that the Swiss Guard was founded, in order to provide a constant corps of soldiers to protect the Pope. The official founding date is given as January 21, 1506.

Events so favoured his plans that in 1508 he was able to conclude with Louis XII of France (1498–1515), the Emperor Maximilian I (1493–1519), and Ferdinand II of Aragon (1479–1516), the famous League of Cambrai against the Venetian Republic. In the spring of the following year, the Republic was placed under an interdict. The results of the league soon outstripped the primary intention of Julius II. By the single Battle of Agnadello the dominion of Venice in Italy was practically lost; but, as neither the King of France nor the Emperor was satisfied with merely effecting the purposes of the Pope, the latter found it necessary to enter into a combination with the Venetians to defend himself from those who immediately before had been his allies against them. The Venetians on making humble submission were absolved in the beginning of 1510, and shortly afterwards France was placed under the papal ban. Attempts to bring about a rupture between France and England proved unsuccessful; on the other hand, at a synod convened by Louis XII at Tours in September 1510 the French bishops withdrew from the papal obedience, and resolved, with Maximilian I's cooperation, to seek the deposition of Julius II. In November 1511 a council actually met for this object at Pisa.

Julius II hereupon entered into the Holy League with Ferdinand II of Aragon and the Venetians against France, in which both Henry VIII of England (1509–47) and the Emperor ultimately joined. He also convened a general council (that afterwards was known as the Fifth Council of the Lateran) to be held at Rome in 1512, which, according to an oath taken on his election, he had bound himself to summon, but which had been delayed, he affirmed, on account of the occupation of Italy by his enemies. In 1512 the French were driven across the Alps, but it was at the cost of the occupation of Italy by the other powers, and Julius II, though he had securely established the papal authority in the states immediately around Rome, was practically as far as ever from realizing his dream of an independent Italian kingdom when he died of fever in February 1513 and was buried at the basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli.

The abilities and ambition of Pope Julius II were regal and military rather than in any sense ecclesiastical. He was more concerned for his own personal fame as a member of the family of della Rovere than for the advancement of the influence and authority of the Church. His dauntless spirit, his mastery of political stratagem, and his moral indifference in the choice of means rendered him the most prominent political figure of his time. While, however, his political and warlike achievements would alone entitle him to rank amongst the most remarkable of the occupants of the papal chair, his chief title to honour is to be found in his patronage of art and literature. He did much to improve and beautify the city; in 1506 he laid the foundation stone of the new St. Peter's; and he was the friend and patron of Bramante, Raphael, and Michelangelo. Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel for Julius II. He was succeeded by Pope Leo X (1513–21).

While no firm evidence exists, it is thought that the card game Pope Julius is named after him.

Book

Barbara Tuchman, in her book The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam (1984; ISBN 0345308239) offers a vivid narrative of Julius II's career. Her overall assessment of Julius is strongly negative, and she attributes to him some of the blame for provoking the Reformation.

Film

In the film The Agony and the Ecstasy about the life of Michelangelo, Julius is vividly portrayed as a soldier-pope by Rex Harrison. The film is a dramatization based upon the book of the same name by Irving Stone.

External links

Sources

Text from the 9th edition (1880) of an unnamed encyclopedia (Two 120 year-old bibliographic references omitted).

Luminarian.org

1443 births | 1513 deaths | Popes | Italian popes | Natives of Liguria