Oration “Sextus agitur annus” of Pope Pius II (23 September 1463, Rome). 5th version. (Orations of Enea Silvio Piccolomini / Pope Pius II; 75)

Michael Cotta-Schønberg (1)

1 RSLIS - Royal School of Library and Information Science

By September 1463, it was clear that Pope Pius II had managed to create the basis for a crusade alliance between Hungary, Venice, Burgundy, and the papacy. Before proceeding to the final negotiations, it was necessary for him to obtain the consent to the crusade of the College of Cardinals: in his coronation oath he had promised to make the crusade against the Turks his highest priority, but to act in this matter only with the approval of the majority of the cardinals. On 23 September the pope summoned the cardinals to a secret consistory where he delivered the oration “Sextus agitur annus”. In this oration the pope gave a well-reasoned account of his wars in Italy and their necessity, a lucid analysis of the ecclesiastical hierarchy’s lack of credibility, and a passioned plea for a return to the ways of the Early Church and to the faith of its martyrs and confessors, detailed his strategy for mobilizing the crusade, and announced his provisions for the government of Rome in his absence.

Mots clés: Confessors; Church reform; Renaissance rhetorics; 15th century; Papal bull Ezechielis prophetae; Martyrs; Early Church; Kingdom of Sicily; Kingdom of Naples; Papal States; Neapolitan war of succession; Renaissance; 1463; Renaissance oratory; Enea Silvio Piccolomini; Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini; Pope Pius II; Crusadesagainst the Turks; Wars against the Turks; College of Cardinals; Wars in Italy; Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini; Papa Pio II

Domaines: Histoire, Philosophie et Sociologie des sciences

Michael Cotta-Schønberg. Oration “Sextus agitur annus” of Pope Pius II (23 September 1463, Rome). 5th version. (Orations of Enea Silvio Piccolomini / Pope Pius II; 75). 2019. ⟨hal-01240577⟩