Chapter 3 - When the Pope Comes Calling
The large crowd gathered outside St. Peter's Basilica had been waiting for hours. The papal electors had been convened for even longer. The pomp and ceremony of the last rites and burial of Martinus were passed. The crowd now waited eagerly to see if a new pope would be elected. Just to dampen the mood a bit, clouds began to gather and light rain misted down onto the watchers. Ambrosini waited along with the crowd, a now aged man, and no longer deeming himself fit to be a Cardinal. He peered intently through the rain. At long last there was a shout from somewhere in the crowd and fingers began to point. A thin plume of white smoke wafted from the chimney of the chamber where the council was in session. Ambrosini came to his feet almost too suddenly. A new pope was elected!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Pope Eugenius IV stood and the chamber fell silent. What a way to begin his leadership of the church of Rome! No sooner was he elected than trouble arose in Milan again. Visconti was at it again, Milanese troops marched within the papal states themselves.
"Our father, Martinus, dealt with this rabble-rouser once," he began. "And now Visconti dares to send his troops within very sight of Rome itself? How wise was Martinus to form the first union against Milan. And still Visconti is ambitious? Shall we not stand together against him once again?"
There were murmurs of assent and nods of approval throughout the chamber. "Already the papal armies march to deal with these invaders in the Apennines," continued Eugenius. "The church will do its part, now I ask you all to do yours."
It was Niccolo who rose first. "Your holiness, the papacy has not turned its back on us in the past. How shall we then do so now? Modena at least will stand with Rome against Visconti."
Cosimo il Vecchio, duke of Tuscany was not long in lending his support either. Eugenius was satisfied. Between the three of them, they were more than enough to turn Visconti back if they so chose.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The new right hand to the Pope was Cardinal Gennaro. It was he who knocked and entered as Eugenius was at his desk, writing letters. "Your Holiness, word has arrived from Naples." He waited for Eugenius to set down his pen. The pope finished his paragraph and looked up. Gennaro continued, "Giovanetta is dead."
Eugenius nodded. The news was not unexpected. "And the kingdom?"
"She has willed it to Rene of Anjou. But Alfons of Aragon is moving to sieze the crown." Eugenius did not need to ask how Gennaro knew any of this. He was well aware that the Papal network had access to information throughout all the Catholic kingdoms.
"Damn!" Gennaro stepped back. An expletive from the pope was outrageous, but not unknown. "So Naples is lost to us then. Very well, she has been more than troublesome anyway."
"I do have better news, your Holiness," continued Gennaro. "Cosimo has accepted our approaches regarding Tuscany. We may now consider them vassals to the church. Is that not wonderful?"
"And furthermore, so has Niccolo."
That was good news. Not only were those two duchies in league with the Pope against Milan, they were now inextricably tied to him. He could count on these two allies and their powerful armies to do his bidding. It was indeed wonderful.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Eugenius opened the letter from Savoy. He read it once, and tossed it into the hearth dismissively. The flames licked at the edges of the paper and then it caught and smoldered to ash in a few moments. The two pages awaiting his orders said nothing, knowing it was none of their business but Eugenius said, "It was nothing. The rebel council has raised themselves a new pope. It matters naught. No one will listen to him anyway."
The pages stared at each other, but the fact Eugenius had said this to them demonstrated just how little he cared about this news.
He went back to his desk, and resumed his study of the cloth map that lay unrolled there. It was a map of the world but the interesting part was the depiction of the land beyond England and away across the Atlantic. A land called Vinland. A curious item this was...
In other news, a rich noble had made a hefty donation to the church.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Gennaro broke through Eugenius' contemplation again, as was his wont. The pope looked up from his work. "What news now, Gennaro?" he asked, folding his hands in his lap.
The cardinal was uncomfortable, he saw. The news must not be good. And in moments he knew it was not. "The Angevins have been thrown out of Napoli," reported Gennaro. "Alfons has had himself crowned as king. What shall we do?"
"Leave it be," said Eugenius. "What threats we can muster against Aragon are little. We cannot risk a conflict."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
OOC: Not too eventful but I did get my relations with Modena and Tuscany high enough that I was able to vassalize them both, which was nice, and counters the fact that I lost Naples as a vassal. My territory remains the same as before, still Roma, Marche, Siena and Thrace. I'm almost at the point where I do have map screenies saved so I'll add them in when I get to them.