Single Men - The Holy See MMU

Athalcor: I hope this won't turn out to be a prophecy...

aldriq: He must have been. I wouldn't have thought of any better excuse so as not to ally with KoSJ. But they're, when played by AI, too week, and too often get attacked by OE early, and I have no means to protect them.
Me, addict -?!-

blsteen: Especially when they do all the donkey work. That's why I felt it fair, thay deserved the spoils. I settled for prestige and ...infamy.

Memento Mori: I wanted the crusade to look realistic, and the gains to be so too. I'm not an expert, but this question sort of seemed to have been in the back of my mind, why didn't Christians organise crusade to conquer Jerusalem, if the Mameluks were as weak as the OE soon proved it, and instead dreamed of Constantinople?
There's no KoJ option in MMU. Besides, now it would be up to Venice and Genoa, not the Pope, wouldn't it?

Chris Taylor: Thank you for explanation and the link. Still, as my plan is to break only in Venezia, I think being the 'underdog in trade' is better, it gives very cheap merchants and I can compete with anyone in the CoT, while when I'm in the leage many traders are co-leagueians and thus we don't compete. Still, I'd like to get it clarified. What I get from the league owner is only his competence chance, right? Tenacity and TE and other trade modifiers are my own, regardless whether I'm in a league or not. Do I get it right?

mornigSIDEr: I'm afraid I have some reputation as an opporunist here. I do feel like revisiting Alexandria...

all: Thank you for reading. The next Pope lasted only 5 years, so I'm afraid towmorrow update will be rather uneventful.

Alexander VI​

23 October 1465 – 25 September 1470​

PANEM ET CIRCENSES​

Delight in Display​

The death of Pius in March 1465 was sudden and the battle dust from the crusade had not settled yet. This in the upcoming conclave boosted the chances of Cardinal Pietro Barbo, who had gained popularity through his tender-hearted generosity. Barbo, a nephew of Pope Eugene IV (1431 – 1447), was elected Pope by the accessus in the first ballot. The competition was weak and unprepared; as France was hostile, Cardinal d'Estouteville stood no chance and Cardinal Bessarion, the newly-appointed archbishop of Beirut and Jerusalem and the Whole Holy Land, was away.

Almost from his coronation, Barbo, now Alexander VI, withdrew and became inaccessible: audiences were only granted at night, with time he grew even more suspicious. He clearly favoured wealthy aristocratic families, he also knew how to buy popularity of the Romans by providing them with popular amusement: horse-races, public feasts. (content aristos – rare sight)

Unlike his predecessors, he opposed humanism, of which he deeply disapproved. A few prominent scholars found themselves prosecuted, temporary imprisoned and even tortured. Some, like Filip Callimachus, fled as far North as Poland, bringing there and planting the seeds of the humanist thought. The Pontiff oversaw and approved of the introduction of printing into the Papal States, but the first books produced were largely limited to Latin classical literature and ecclesiastical texts.

Alexander VI was also hostile towards the Jews of Rome, he broke with his predecessors’ lenient policy and any official suspected of Jewish origin, many appointees of Nicolaus V, had to leave their posts. However, his pontificate brought some peace to Italy, and especially the Papal States where at the end of his rule he managed to eliminate the regime of the robber knights, the counts of Anguilliara, a house that had played a consistent anti-papal role. (I got anti-Jewish event with Papal Curia but it fits better here, I’d offered Jews refuge (Nicolaus V), not that many will come, considering my NIs, and had a 1-star Jewish Scholar almost from the very beginning, now he’s gone; I kept him together with 6-star sheriff, the third advisor being tossed to implement cultural tradition or province decisions, I replaced the Jewish scholar with 4-star MoM; I quelled a revolt in Romagna: heretics)

Alexander VI displayed an extravagant love of personal splendour that gratified his sense of self-importance. The mixture of superiority and inferiority complexes made him a difficult person to be around. (papal excess)

Capable?​

Europe in Turmoil​

Straight since the day of his elevation Alexander VI made it clear that in France – England conflict he staunchly supported Henry VI Lancaster. This proved a questionable choice, Henry VI himself was a weak ruler and at his death in June 1467 the quarrelsome regency took custody over young Edward. The underage heir wasn’t recognised in Navarre, instead a Pedro de Monteagrudo secured the throne; an act which was almost instantly questioned by Joan II of Aragon and Naples. Pedro cherished the support of Enrique IV of Castile and thus a full-size all-out war broke out on the Iberian Peninsula over the tiny Navarre. The Papal mediation was futile. Generally, in statecraft Alexander VI lacked eminence and achieved nothing of consequence for Europe, save maintaining peace in Italy, for which in fact he was well-loved by the poor and rich alike. (England is the papal controller, war over Navarre)

In the short five years of Alexander VI’s pontificate a few vital changes took place in Europe. Out of two civil wars that broke out in Portugal and Burgundy, the latter swept away the House of Bourgogne installing Eustache I Lannoy on the throne of the duchy. The new duke reopened hostilities in the Low Lands, to his dismay the English intervened. Closer to Rome, Friedrich V died childless and through complicated dynastic linkage the crown of Duchy of Austria, together with the one of the Kingdom of Hungary landed on a head of a toddler, barely one year old, from the Wittelsbach family. Surprisingly, the child was also elected the Holy Roman Emperor, a decision Papal Curia neither understood nor approved of. (I guess it’s the first time I’ve seen the pretender succeed in a non-opm, Burgundy dows Friesland and brings on itself the usual calamities; the one-year-old HRE Emperor made me go )

The founder of a new dynasty?​

A joke?​

The Greek Influence​

The conquest of Levant did more for the prospect of the unification of Eastern and Western Churches than the Congress of Florence. It prompted a rise to prominence of influential, former Orthodox, Greek clergy, including Cardinal Bessarion. The party rallied around him opposed the peace-loving Alexander VI and demanded the war with the Mameluks to be renewed. With the increase in the Berber piracy (Pius II’s pacts turned out short-term), and the populace still enthused by the crusade’s success, this militant sentiment quickly gained strong popularity with other opponents of Alexander VI. The outbreak of a regency war in the Sultanate lead to an outward confrontation between the doves and hawks within the Curia. (piracy hits Romagna, twice I got ‘peace & prosperity’)

What stops me? The truce.​

Just when things seemed to have come to the boil, Alexander VI suddenly died. Officially, death was said to have been brought on following indigestion from eating melon; although at least a few popular legends started circulating the city almost instantly. The doves accused the Cardinal Bessarion supporters of poisoning the Pope. The hawks suggested a suicide. The humanists camp came up with the most melicious slander claiming Alexander XI died whilst being sodomised by a page boy. Due to the might of the pen, this one actually clug to Alexander's name like any other. (I modelled Alexander VI on real-life Paul II, he seems to have been equally self-absorbed and ineffective; you can imagine my pain: decreasing post-crusade infamy with this 3DIP Pope; pbly due to high infamy my merchants got kicked out of Venizia too)

Alexander VI​

Treasury / yearly income: 143d / 29.66
Merchants: 0
Fleet: 13: 8 galleys, 5 cogs
Army: 5k condotta
Manpower / discipline: 8.816 / 114.50%
Army / navy tradition: 24.20% / 0.00%
Prestige: 95
Stability: +3
Infamy: 5.2/19.5
War exhaustion: 0.0/14

aldriq said:

in this time period, with the Turkish menace, it's unlikely they would have chosen a 1-year old.

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Exactly! MM is about plausibility, that's why this makes little sense to me.

Vandervecken said:

Maybe the child-emperor has been foretold by the stars, hm?

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That's a thought! Or maybe his choice reperesents the rise to power of the powerful Wittelsbach family. But then I'd like to see a Bavarian or Palatinian uncle's influence represented somehow in the game.

I had some higher hopes for the dynastic element of HttT and this system is one of the biggest letdowns for me in this expansion. If I'm not mistaken most claims and what follows changes in HRE, but also outside it, where due to dynastic machinations. To what pains at times rulers whent to justify their claims, e.g. the French king to get Brittany or to make it difficult for their rivals e. g. Hohenzollerns proposing to the last Masovian princess.

morningSIDEr said:

It seems a small mercy that Alexander VI passed away relatively quickly, as he did not seem the most competent of Popes. (...) Your infamy will be a bit lower now, although not by much with a 3 diplomacy leader

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Well, it was Alexander VI who was a 3 DIP one, and yes I'm rather relieved he's gone. Even Papal Curia which in MM takes over for the preiod before the new Pope gets elected is 4-4-4.

Callistus III​

21 November 1470 – 28 January 1480​

VIS UNITA FORTIOR​

The Reformer​

Those who expected Cardinal Basilios Bessarion, unanimously elected the Pope in the conclave of 1470, to move swiftly against the Mameluks must have been surprised by the course of action His Holiness took. The staunch opponent of Alexander VI he was very close to the former Pope, Pius II, who had bestowed on him the office of the titular Latin Patriarch of Constantinople and the much more real office of the Archbishop of the Whole Holy Land. Despite, or maybe because of, being the former leader of the hawks party Bessarion, now Callistus III, was well-aware that in order to accomplish his lofty goals all his actions had to be performed with a proper balance of urgency and diligence. If tasks were rushed too quickly then mistakes would be made and good long-term results might not be achieved.

For the last five years he had travelled the Levant and as much as he wanted to weaken the Sultanate even further, he knew that this could wait until firstly, the Papal States international security is ensured and secondly, the necessary reforms within the state have been implemented. Callistus III’s elevation was received cordially throughout the Christian Europe, which boosted the Pope's prestige and helped regain good name. However, his choice to break with England and support the anti-Lancastrian alliance of Burgundy-Palatinate, instead of seeking rapprochement with France or the Empire, was criticised by many within the Curia. They did not understand Callistus III was trying to avoid being ordered about by any powerful house; he aimed at maintaining, if not strengthening, the Papal role in European politics and he nurtured the bonds of alliance between the Holy See and the two Republics of Venice and Genoa. (Palatinate, Burgundy’s ally is the papal controller; Venice and Genoa are allied with one another too)

We welcome -1 infamy wholeheartedly​

Bessarion, as a former governor of Bologna, had had extensive experience at governing unruly places. His pontificate mirrored his governorship; he succeeded in calming the internal discord and ultimately neutralising his former opponents. He introduced administrative reforms in the field of justice and lavishly endorsed scholars and artists. In fact, long before his election his Palazzo in Rome had became a virtual Academy for the studies of humanistic learning, a centre of learned Greek refugees, whom he supported by commissioning translations of many valuable manuscripts from Greek into Latin. Callistus III had many churches all over the country rebuilt and adorned. By his prudent and far-seeing administration and his fairness he won the support and love of his subjects. The loyalty of Genoa and Venice were acquired by respectively granting Genoa an exclusive charter and funding a Genoese merchant house in Avignon and by presenting the Senate of the City of Saint Marc with an extensive collection of Greek manuscripts, which would form the nucleus of the famous Bibliotheca Sancti Marci. (slider move +1centralisation to obtain ‘Balanced policies’, commercials appear in Avignon)

The balamced policies seems the best option​

Callistus III managed to normalise the relationships with France, which in the meantime had got itself involved in the Burgundian conflict. And he never gave up seeking support for yet another crusade. However, in this endeavour he failed due to the discord in Europe. With two major conflicts going on: the Iberian one over Navarre and the subsequent anti-Burgundian coalitions, no prince could spare money or manpower to support the noble cause. The urgings of his legates and his passionate letters tipped the balance in Genoa and Venice though; and both republics, narrowly, voted for renewing the war on the Mameluks. The allies waited with taking up the offensive against the infidels until spring 1474, Callistus III wanted to make sure neither France, busy since backing up Burgundy, nor the Porte, engaged in the Balkans, would intervene. But sadly, none other European country saw this war as a crusade. (Burgundy is in a sad state, it gobbled Friesland but now every minor power feels strong enough to dow it: Műnster, Clologne, Trier, Lorraine, Savoy; the latter stupidly declared when France guaranteed Burgundy (or warned it, I wasn't paying attention); the Palatinate wiggled out somehow and Denmark and Brunswick let Burgundy live. France won the Curia for a while but it passed on to Bohemia; within days from my dow Castille won two provs from Aragon, Navarre survived; for reasons unknown I didn’t have a Holy War cb, so I had to go the -2 stability aggression route, my allies, save the Palatinate, naturally, are in)

Not-so-Holy War (20 April 1474 – 15 February 1476)​

Callistus III hired a young, not really experienced but brave and adventurous condottiero, Pietro Agno; and a Genoese captain, Aldo Pontebba, was made the commander of the Papal fleet. The initial plan of the war resembled the previous crusade. First, the allies hoped to deal with the Mameluk navy, take control of the sea lanes and than commence the overland offensive. The Mameluks, however, managed to avoid confronting the allies in a sea battle, thus preserving their ships. The Papal forces got split in two; one party, lead by Pietro Agno, together with the Venetians engaged the enemy nearby Aleppo, the other, commanded by Callistus III himself, having waited for an opportune moment on Crete, finally disembarked to besiege Alexandria. Meanwhile, the Genoese marched on Al Karak and the Venetians on Hawran. (despite employing a 4-star naval KoSJ advisor Aldo Ponteba has no pips in manoeuvre, neither of my generals has a much-needed siege pip either, I attack in two far-away spots to confuse AI, 1k of Mameluk army got obliterated in Aleppo)


It turned out that the new Mameluk Sultan, Inâl I, his position still weak after narrowly winning against the regent-usurper, had much more numerous forces than expected, with two large armies, both over ten thousand strong. Luckily for the allies, he was young and rather incompetent at coordinating his military operations. One of his generals with over 10 thousand men encamped in Gaza, and refused to go back to Alexandria. The Sultan himself, however, hastily marched North, defeating in a swift manoeuvre both the Genoese and the Venetians. In August it seemed a controlled retreat from Aleppo should be ordered. But when the cause seemed to have been lost a surprising and joyous missive reached the allies. Apparently, the regent-usurper found refuge and support in Hedjaz, which decided to back up his claim. This brought Ethiopia to the conflict too. (two main Mameluk armies are: the 1/10/0 in Gaza, starting an assault, and the 4/8/0 led by Inâl I - 5DIP, 4ADM, 4MIL - which disposed of my allies and is marching towards Aleppo; but for the Hedjaz dow, I think I would have had to start seeking peace)


Callistus III decided to persevere, his spies in Damascus were to report on any troops marching North but two months passed and none were seen. Meanwhile Gaza withstood the Mameluk assault. In November it turned out Inâl I had marched South to deal with the Hedjaz armies; successfully. This bought time, did not bring much respite though; Callistus III had been on edge until December, when Alexandria fell: neither Venice nor Genoa were sending reinforcements to Levant, the Mameluks abandoned their siege of Gaza and headed westwards. (surprisingly my sieges were progressing fast, Hedjaz conveniently distracted the Mameluks, they’ve already sent me a white peace offer; irritatingly, largish Genoese and Venetian armies sit idly in Europe, Genoa is recruiting in Judea, but so are the Mameluks in Cairo; the fall of Alexandria is very important as it enables me to demand concessions)


To Callistus III’s relief the Mameluk army turned South, apparently Suenik, most probably besieged by Ethiopians, was its destination. Meanwhile, the Papal navy safely docked in the port of Alexandria, having crushed, together with the Genoese, the Mameluk fleet. By February the situation looked favourable; the Mameluk armies out of sight, Callistus III won short skirmishes with fresh recruits in Asyut and Cairo, Aleppo fell in late January and Pietro Agno split his forces moving on both Damascus and Dayr Az Zor, the Genoese resumed the sieges of Hawran and Al Karak, the Hedjaz armies attacked Sinai. His Holiness continually weary the princes of Europe had not acknowledged this crusade decided to score a few diplomatic points by declaring the Jubilee, time to rejoice over Christian victories. The festive celebrations pushed the dishonourable secret peace negotiations with Adal and Khorasan into the background. (my problem is the Mameluk forces may be weakened but not beaten, I have only 7k men altogether there, add to this 2k freshly recruited Genoese and unknown number of armies of Hedjaz and Ethiopia; the Mameluks will be back to their 4/8/0 and 1/10/0, or more if they’re recruiting somewhere I can’t see, in no time; the fall of Aleppo is a happy moment but it doesn’t open up an opportunity for an advantageous peace: I can’t ask for Alexandria and I don’t want Aleppo, it’s a temptingly rich province but the border with OE seems too risky; warscore: 31, Aleppo’s cost: 32)


Whether it was the Jubilee or not what stirred up the Venetians was not important for Callistus III, by April their two significant contingents disembarked, one in Delta, the other in Beirut. This proved to be high time as one of the enemy armies was forcing its way North to Damascus, having dealt with the Hedjaz and Genoese regiments on its way. Pietro Agno, understanding he stood no chance, ordered a retreat towards Beirut. Despite his good advice the Venetians, eager to fight, ventured towards Damascus to attack the Mameluk army and bravely lost, perished to the last men. So soon did Papal regiments in Dayr Az Zor. The operation Delta proved far more successful, the region fell in June and the reinforced Venetians besieged the enemy’s capital Cairo. The Pope, having initiated preliminary peace talks, gathered his soldiers and set up camp in Diamientia, whereas Pietro Agno sailed to Libya. Sadly, in October the pendulum swayed in favour of the infidels again. Both Mameluk armies were operating in the North again, one of them had laid siege to Alexandria. More importantly, the Ottomans concluded their Balkan war. (the Venetians finally arrived, although their attack on twice bigger enemy in Damascus was a folly, the 1k Genoese regiments sent to Hawran and Al Karak get trampled each time – somebody please teach AI not even to cooperate but to run away; well, in fact I also didn’t manage to evacuate my 2k men in time; I was considering asking for peace at this moment, I could ask for what I got in the end, but somehow I hoped Cairo would fall and I could ask for more)


Callistus III ordered prayers to be said in Alexandria as well as in all the Christendom. If he hoped to touch upon the royals’ hearts, he must have been bitterly disappointed. Europe was busy with its own problems. Even though the fire started by the Burgundian invasion was burning out, none Christian power was willing to intervene; the Muslim one on the other hand was. The Ottoman Empire had its own idea of crusade and could no longer tolerate the Christian advance. Callistus III hastily signed the peace terms as agreed upon in the preliminary negotiations with Inâl I, securing for Christians an outpost in the Delta of the Nile and rallied whatever forces he had left in the Mameluk territory to face up to a much more potent enemy, the Ottoman Turks. (it was a siege race, Alexandria might have fallen first anyway, so pbly thanks to the OE’s dow I secured as much from this war as it was possible; fighting the Ottomans now is a much tougher challenge, I should have expected it though, they’ve just finished one war and pbly Venice’s war exhaustion was irresistibly tempting; in Europe Burgundy, still at wars (with England and Savoy-Utrecht alliance), lost Gerle to Műnster, which at once gave it away as a demesne and went to dow Cologne; in the end Austria holds Friesland and Gerle; France, having grabbed Savoie from Savoy, is at war with England again but can’t take the English continental holdings as they’re occupied by Burgundy; Thuringia inherited Saxony; OE finished Montenegro and made Serbia a tpm)

The Turks Attack! (21 February 1476 - ???)​

Surprised the allied Christians might be, but they were not powerless. From the very eve of the war Callistus III, soon back in Rome, realised that as much as he wished the Turks could be defeated, this was too difficult a task to accomplish by just the Venice-Genoa-Naples-Papal States alliance. He knew the Ottomans’ weak point was poorly defended, hostile island of Cyprus and the alliance’s strength was the navy; he exploited this since day one. Pontebba’s squadron of Papal galleys caught a number of unescorted, leaderless Turkish cogs off the Palestinian Coast and sent them off to the bottom of the sea. A combined Papal-Neapolitan invasion force, commanded by the much-more-experienced-now Pietro Agno landed on Cyprus and faced very little resistance. His Holiness doubled his never-stopping summons to Christian powers for aid and assistance against the Ottoman invaders; in vain. (I entered this conflict with a 4-star MoM and a 4-star and 3-star Knight Commanders of St John: +0.28 to morale and +1.4 to manoeuvre, at first I wanted to wait till March before joining the conflict but seeing those 11 cogs undefended…, there was only 1k Ottoman troops on Cyprus)


The triumphant Pontebba’s squadron made for the Aegean, where it docked and together with the Genoese and Venetians patrolled and policed the waves. The war over the Aegean Sea lasted from June till December, four major naval encounters were fought along with a numerous minor clashes; in the end the alliance came out victorious. The sea lanes were secured, the Genoese and Venetian islands safe and the Turkish fleet was either destroyed or contained. The Turks managed to land on Korfu early on but they were beaten by the Venetians and the straight got blocked by a Neapolitan patrol. (I have to say the Venetians (with 2 naval NIs) and especially the Genoese (with 1) turned out very competent at coordinating naval fight, whenever I got attacked pbly as the Turks (1 naval NI) deemed me as weak, they set sail and came to my rescue, thrashing the enemy’s fleet in the process; on land however, the Venetians were such a letdown, they marched their armies form islands to the mainland Greece just to be smashed by gigantic OE stacks)


With the Aegean under control the war entered a long phase of inconclusive outcome, the allies had an advantage on sea but kept losing land battles. The scales seemed to have tipped slightly in Christians’ favour when Cyprus fell in August 1477, but many regarded the Papal conquest of Cyprus as occupation rather than liberation. There were also accusations that the Papal naval victories relied on Muslim informants and that the Pope himself actively dabbled in Berber piracy. These were cut short, together with Lorenç Vallès’s head, who was found guilty of these very crimes and thus treason. This unjust death sentence must have troubled Callistus III, even though his new advisor, the trained diplomat Alfred Sulerzycki effectively reasoned a scapegoat had been needed to avoid dangerous rumours, especially in so dire a situation the Holy See was now. In July 1478 once again the Turks tried to break through the Aegean, but Pontebba was watchful as ever and they had to turn tail. (it was a micromanagement pain, but I had to split my galleys into two squadrons and sail them in and out of port every month or two to avoid attrition, you know I have no naval NIs and the tech advance is still low; I went with -1 stab in the ‘Pope’s reputation tarnished’ and more or less at that time I switched the advisors; also I had to intervene on Korfu as a small Turkish party sneaked through the blockade)

The Dream of the Union​

Callistus III, tired of seeing no breakthrough either in the war against the Turk or in convincing other Christian powers to join this very war, focused on other ideas which absorbed his whole life; the first one obviously being the rescue of the Christians under Muslim yoke. Despite wars he never neglected his two other objectives: the triumph of classic literature and philosophy through preserving the cultural heritage of Greek and Byzantine civilisation and the dream of the union of the Oriental Church with the Latin.

To further the latter on the one hand, he introduced some elements of the Eastern splendour and iconography into the Latin rite, on the other, he encouraged various Orthodox churches to adopt his authority as the head of the unified church. His zealous work brought some fruit, Cretean Greeks, whom he visited on several occasions, recognised him and there were talks between Rome and some other Oriental Orthodox churches, the Syrians, the Coptic Church and even the Ethiopians. In one more attempt to spread the true faith Callistus III, having successfully mediated white peaces in conflicts between England, Burgundy and France, set off to Kaffa, where from he planned to venture to Georgia and Armenia on an apostolic mission. He never reached Georgia, nor came back from this journey. Ambushed by the infidel while in Kaffa celebrating the day of the birth of Christ, His Holiness died of wounds a month later. (the war with OE turned into a stalemate; Crete is Catholic; Ethiopia got Suenik from Mameluks, Hedjaz is still fighting; war exhaustion's on the rise, Genoa (4.4) and Venice (8.6) are annoyingly lazy at putting down revolts in their far-flung possessions, so I’m lending them a hand; Callistus III didn’t die in battle; France, England and Burgundy finally at peace, no more land transfer here, save Burgundy releasing Hainaut; I’m sort of sad to see this Pope go, partly as I’ve grown attached to him through his turbulent pontificate, partly because he seems to have only half-achieved his goals)

The death of Callistus III​

Treasury / yearly income: 264d / 9.19
Merchants: 5 in Venezia; 72.73 / 853.11
Fleet: 14: 9 galleys, 5 cogs
Army: 5k condotta, 2k chevauchée
Manpower / discipline: 8.187 / 114.90%
Army / navy tradition: 34.10% / 5.50%
Prestige: 99
Stability: +3
Infamy: 1.6/26
War exhaustion: 6.07/27 (Ottomans’ w.e. 21.8)

Omen:

Omen said:

I was sad to see Callistus III go, he was getting stuff done.

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Cardinal Bessarion was a formidable figure OTL and at least twice close to be elected the Pope.

aldriq:

aldriq said:

I'm confident that Callistus' successor will make the most of the war with the OE.

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I'm afraid he won't for the reason which will soon become obvious; but the successor's successor...

Hadrianus VI​

1 July 1480 – 14 September 1480​

TRANSIT GLORIA​

Deadlock Conclave​

The conclave of 1480 was a turbulent and lengthy one. The Cardinals were divided into a number of small parties over more than one issues; four being the crucial ones. First, there was the question of the war with the Ottomans: sign a separate peace or not. The war so far had brought nothing save drain on the Papal treasury, however, deserting the allies might turn out risky in the long run. Then there was the question of the Greek influence and the Union, the trend supported by the late Callistus III, but which, it now transpired, had as many adherents as opponents. Thirdly, there was the question of the House of Vitek and its growing magnitude; this pro-Hussite Czech dynasty in quick succession had secured the thrones of Bohemia-Wurttenberg and Poland-Lithuania, seemingly spreading the Latin faith to the Eastern frontier, but this was the faith with the Hussite tint. Finally, there was the question of Henri II de Valois’s ambitions to control the Pope and his threats regarding Comtat Venaissin and the Anjou Neapolitan inheritance. Despite several votings until May no compromise was reached. (my income is severely diminished by the ongoing war, I keep helping my allies quell revolts in their provs as they seem to have no clue how to do it; well Venice has been sending its suicide regiments to die in Greece and Genoa parked almost all its soldiers on Lesbos, what do they eat I wonder?; frankly I’m determined to stick this war out as I fear AI Venice (the alliance leader) won’t pull it through without my help; Poland inherited Lithuania and along with Bohemia-Wurttenberg (PU) is ruled by a Vitek, PU between Aragon and Naples had been broken... hmm... interesting)

Free from his engagement against England, Henri II sent an overly-escorted delegation lead by his Constable, to Rome, officially to cordially congratulate the new Pontiff as soon as he got elected. If the French threats and the presence of the French troops in the City were the proverbial stick, the incentives and promises Cardinal Gillaume d'Estouteville distributed generously among the cardinals-electors were the carrot. The alliance of the so-called encompassing parties (pro-Greek and pro-Bohemian) broken, in June the balance tipped in favour of the French candidate, d'Estouteville himself. The perennial papabile of three former conclaves, after several more rounds, he was eventually elected the Pope in July. This choice marked an abrupt end to the ecumenical stance of the Curia and jeopardised both the fragile balance granted by the Compacta signed with Bohemia as well as the recent achievements of Callistus III aiming at unifying the Eastern Churches with Rome. (Bohemia had just lost its control over Curia to France, I got deadlock conclave: 3-3-3 and -1 stability: no fun, luckily only for a month)

The turbulent conclave​

High Hopes Crumble​

Before his elevation Gillaume d'Estouteville had acquired extensive experience as cardinal, diplomat and administrator. In the light of his election it may seem odd he had been Cardinal Bessarion’s ally at the conclave of 1457; to the point of trying to physically block the procedure of accessus, which eventually made Piccolomini Pius II. But if one considers time that passed in these decades, they will understand the paths of Bessarion and d'Estouteville had long drifted apart. If Bessarion was a cultured scholar, leading and promoting an ascetic life, d'Estouteville was a political schemer who would not shun from using his money, charm or connections to obtain worldly aims.

He had a list of achievements to prove his capability. It was he who initialised the revision of the trial of Joan of Arc or, fruitlessly, negotiated the question of Pragmatic Sanction with de Valois French kings; the dynasty he was related to, and Henri II called him ‘my dear great-uncle’. As cardinal Gillaume d'Estouteville commissioned and financed construction of many fine buildings; Rouen, Mont St Michel, Pontoise and even Rome owe a lot to his patronage. He accompanied Pius II to the Congress of Mantua and consequently he was charged with the formation of Papal fleet for the crusade against the infidel. D'Estouteville was the richest cardinal of his time. He was called Columna et columen Sanctæ Romanæ Ecclesiæ. There was hope he might use his personal wealth and connections to better the dire financial situation of the state.

It seemed the Papacy with him, Hadrianus VI as the Pontiff will bind its fate with the French crown. From day one Hadrianus VI showed a great promise and set about sorting out the squabbles between bishops and engaged into international European affairs. He was believed to be considering the terms of peace with the Turk and he held an indifferent view regarding the Greek or Hussite question, so he neither supported nor opposed the ecumenical trends. Yet Hadrianus VI was not given enough time to prove himself. His encouraging letters to the rulers of Castille and Bosnia, congratulating on taking fight against the heathen Granada and heretic Serbia respectively, did not reach their addressees when Hadrianus VI had suddenly fallen ill and died. The only accomplishment of his short pontificate was ruling in favour of prince-bishop Warlam I of Műnster in his feud over the town of Padeborn, against prince-archbishop Adolf III of Cologne. (not much happened, but yes Castille started reconquista, as a result Portugal will force Morocco to drop the core on Ceuta and Castille will get two provs from Granada; Bosnia attacked the weakened Serbia leaving it a opm in the end; interestingly, Austrian Franz I von Wittelsbach came out of age and is a 3D 3A 8M monarch...)

Hadrianus VI, portrayed here as a mere cardinal, kneeling in front of his royal relation Henri II​

Treasury / yearly income: 254d / 3.37 (war is disastrous for income)
Merchants: 5 in Venezia; 65.32/789.16
Fleet: 14: 9 galleys, 5 cogs
Army: 5k pikemen; 2k chevauchée
Manpower / discipline: 8.056 / 115.00%
Army / navy tradition: 34.10% / 8.00%
Prestige: 100
Stability: +2
Infamy: 0.24/26
War exhaustion: 6.21/26

morningSIDEr:

morningSIDEr said:

Callistus proved a very adept Pope.

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Indeed, as I said earlier Cardinal Bessarion was a remarkable person OTL. Reading on the topic, I get dismayed and surprised why so often such good-for-nothings were elected popes when there were obviously much better candidates.

morningSIDEr said:

thank goodness the hapless AI allies are at least slightly useful with regards to naval warfare!

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Don't even mention it! Venice sent all its troops to Greece to be slaughtered there, Genoa keeps all its army on Lesbos and they both happily ignore revolts in their possessions.

aldriq:

aldriq said:

What's going on with these short-lived popes? Is it something in the water?

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Have you noticed the pattern too? Short pontificate, long pontificate, short potificate...

aldriq said:

Will the new pope be under French influence as well?

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Yes. But there will be twists.

Milites:

Milites said:

Sad about the short reign of Hadrianus. He seemed as a rather competent man despite his generally mediocre stats.

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Cardinal d'Estouteville, a historical person too, as Hadrianus VI would be a kind of a dark horse probably. A man of the world, corruptable, grandiose; I'm not sure in which direction he would lead the Papal States.

Parcae: Thank you for the honour. What about the honour of Anne of Cleves?

loki100:

loki100 said:

and the constraints you've set yourself

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Great to see you here! Yes, I want a touch of realism in this game. But all too often the AI and its follies conspire against me.