Act I: Preface; The Conclave, 1447
It was Shakespeare that said a crown ways heavy on a head. What burden then, does a Pope bear? The papal tiara holds three crowns, to show il Papa as the father of princes and kings, the ruler of the world, and the Vicar of Christ. When the Papal Conclave convened in 1447, only eighteen of the twenty-four cardinals from the College attended. The burden of ruling the Papacy was not for all.
When the eighteen cardinals converged on March 4, they readied themselves for a long session. The leading candidate was Prospero Colonna, the Protodeacon of the College. Garnering ten votes, Prospero was two votes short of the required two-thirds majority, at the end of the first voting session.
--
March 5, 1447
"Cardinal Colonna?"
The Protodeacon turned his head to face the voice that spoke to him. It was Alfonso de Borja. The man had a thick Spanish accent, He was charismatic, though he was not one of the leading papabile candidates. In another time, however, perhaps he could have been Pope. However, in this time, he was one of Colonna's supporters.
"What is it, Cardinal Borja?" Prospero's voice was soft, but firm. His eyes gazed towards the thin oak door that separated the small wooden room that the Protodeacon was allowed in Conclave.
"It is time for today's vote. Today is the Fifth of the month."
Cardinal Colonna nodded, and the two exited the small make-shift room, and entered a small, but ornate hall. It was decorated with pictures of angels, and heroic battles from the end to come. The room's acoustics however, were its best feature. The room was fitted with a perfectly rounded ornate dome over a curving ocular set of walls, making any man capable of being heard in the room, no matter how soft he spoke.
Which, of course, made multi-faced debates a headache.
However, it was not yet time for a debate, it was time of the eighteen cardinals to vote.
It was Francesco Condulmer that spoke. As Vice-Chancellor, he would be he who conducted the vote, proceeding down the list, starting with himself.
"Francesco Condulmer, Bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina, Vice-Chancellor of the College of Cardinals and the Holy Mother Church."
The Vice-Chancellor did not move from where he stood, by a small table with a gold jug. He bent over slightly, took a quill from a small pot of ink by the jug, and scribbled a name onto a piece of parchment, then, he tossed it gently into the golden jug.
Prospero did not need to see the paper to know which way Francesco had voted. Francesco was his enemy, The Protodeacon and the Vice-Chancellor frequently split votes in Conclave.
Francesco's voice rang out.
"Giovanni Berardi, Bishop Palestrina, Dean of the College of Cardinals." Giovanni, a slim, balding man, struggled towards the table with his cane. He leaned forward against the table, scribbled a name (it was Francesco's, Prospero knew, the Cardinals that had not pledged allegiance to him were scrambling to find a counter-candidate to garner as many votes), and slipped it into the jug.
"Prospero Colonna, Deacon of Saint Giorgio, Protodeacon of the College of Cardinals."
Prospero slid forward. His hair too, was receding, though it kept a lustrous gold color. It fell over the sides of his face, making him look younger, more youthful, and in his own opinion, more powerful than the other Cardinals. Moving to the table, Prospero took the quill and scribbled his own name onto the paper, placing it into the jug.
...
After all eighteen cardinals had voted, the results were tallied.
"Ten votes for Cardinal Prospero Colonna."
There were hushed murmurs. Prospero cursed under his breath. While he did not fall behind, he had not gained momentum. The other eight cardinals refused to budge.
However, the look on Francesco's face when he failed to place second made up for the delay, in Prospero's mind.
"F-four votes for the Archbishop of Florence, non-attendee. Non-cardinal."
Prospero's eyes glinted. That was a change. No longer were the cardinals who opposed the power-hungry Prospero trying to stop him by trading votes with each other, who they distrusted, they were throwing votes behind more popular figures who were not tainted by Vatican intrigue in an attempt to appeal to more cardinals in the Conclave.
"T-three... only three? Erhm, three votes to myself, Cardinal Francesco Condulmer."
And, finally.
"One vote for the Bishop of Benevento, non-attendee. Non-cardinal."
So it seems the distrustful cardinals could not even decide on a non-cardinal candidate to throw their weight behind.
"None have the required majority."
Perhaps wrapping up Conclave would be easier than Prospero expected. After all, he had the support of the French block of cardinals, as he favored their expansionist tendencies in Italy.
--
March 6, 1447
As Prospero returned to the small chapel for the third day's discussion prior to lunch and voting, he took a seat in an empty chair near one side of the room. Cardinal Caprancia was addressing the Conclave. He was the representative of the Teutonic Order, though he himself was rather craven.
"Brothers of the Cloth... I implore you, please, make haste. Let today's ballot be our final one. France knocks on Italy's door, and a Pope must be there to answer him! The pretender and Antipope Felix mucks about with no opposition while Saint Peter's throne is vacant. And... most... most importantly, Alfonso V, King of Aragon, is sailing a fleet to Rome! He is determined to force a Cardinal of his choosing onto our holy chair! I implore you, end this now, vote for Cardinal Colonna!"
The room was silent for a minute, except for hushed murmurings. Then, a chant broke out among many Cardinals. Prospero himself was unsure of where it started.
"Vote, vote, vote, vote!"
It seemed many cardinals would rather skip today's lunch.
Cardinal Tomasso Parentuccelli rose to speak. He was the Bishop of Bologna, and Prospero knew he had, so far, voted for Cardinal Condulmer, however it was only because Dean Giovanni voted for Condulmer. However, before Cardinal Tomasso could say anything, Cardinal Giovanni, the Dean, rose from another chair. "Please, Cardinal Parentuccelli, let me speak."
Cardinal Ludovico, one of Prospero's more open minded, but impatient supporters, bolted up. Prospero chuckled.
"Nonsense! Do no more stalling, Giovanni! You will not stall the good Cardinal Colonna's election."
Giovanni rebuked Ludovico, "We must not rush to any rash decision. Electing a pontiff out of fear is not the Will of God!"
Ludovico sneered. "Who would you elect?"
Giovanni smiled. The answer had come to him in a dream the night passed. A humble, good natured, if only a little aloof candidate. "Cardinal ..."
Giovanni mumbled a word. It was ineligible.
Cardinal Tomasso, still standing, spoke up. "I too, will vote for whomever Cardinal Giovanni supports."
Giovanni patted Tomasso on the arm. Prospero's smile fell.
"Good, Tomasso. I vote for Cardinal Tomasso Parentuccelli."
Ludovico seemed taken aback. That was not the answer he expected. It was not the pompous Francesco, or the last-ditch efforts of the Bishop of Benevento, or the Archbishop of Florence. It was a genuine gesture, Ludovico could tell from the smile on Giovanni's face. And, at the same time, fifty year old Tomasso was not the suddenly overbearing and pressuring force of Prospero.
Ludovico was suddenly conflicted, and doubtful. But, between the two, he noticed, he would have no regrets voting for Tomasso, he might be left with a constant 'what-if', or regret from Prospero's possible nature, if he voted for him. Ludovico was compelled.
"I, too, vote for Tomasso Parentuccelli."
Tomasso now had three votes, and Prospero just lost one to fall to nine. And with the eight cardinals against Prospero eagerly flocking to Tomasso as a beacon of hope, Tomasso tied Prospero at nine votes to nine.
And, when the official vote began later that day, Prospero knew the results before they were announced. A beacon of promise, of thoughts to the golden days, a humble Pope. It became clear to Prospero, that Tomasso was well liked. People could follow him without a regret, while often cardinals felt smothered by Prospero, and were this given even a single doubt to him, which prompted the votes to melt away. Even with the French votes, Prospero did not have enough to win Conclave. It became painfully clear to Prospero, in that moment. You do not need every cardinal or person in the room. You only ever needed to sway enough.
"Six votes to Cardinal Colonna."
"Twelve votes to Cardinal Tomasso Parentucelli. Cardinal Parentucelli has the required majority."