Add MS 8417

ACCOUNTS OF CONCLAVES FROM NICHOLAS V TO MARCELLUS II, ADDING URBAN VI, AND THE ANTIPOPES ALEXANDER V AND JOHN XXIII, TOGETHER WITH WORKS ON THE ORGANISATION AND PROCEDURE OF THE CONCLAVE; 1378-1555. Italian and Latin. Copies, woodcut portraits. Eight accounts (Nicholas V, Pius II, Paul II, Alexander VI, Julius II, Leo X, Paul III and Julius III) are prefaced by full-page woodcut portraits of the relevant pope (ff. 92v, 118v, 142v, 247v, 303v, 323v, 399v, 422v). Armorial bookplate of Frederick North, 5th Earl of Guilford, with shelfmark L/17/E (front pastedown). '87' in pencil in top left corner of front pastedown. Purchased, together with Add. 8368, 8369, 8382, 8391-8396, 8397, 8398, 8399, 8412, 8413, 8418, 8419- 8425, 8462, 8487, 8515, 8525, 8660, 8706, 8721, 8722, 8723-8724, 8753, 8754, 8755, 8772, and possibly 8366, 8589, and 8727, from R. H. Evans, 8 Dec. 1830, lot 87.

Paper; ff. 503+v, plus 19 unfoliated interleaved blanks throughout the volume (one after ff. 19, 20, 25, 31, 41, 109, 141, 147, 168, 322, 334, 390, 421, two after ff. 1, 91, 302). Modern foliation in pencil '1-503' (followed here); other sequences of old foliation and pagination in ink throughout the volume (arts. 6, 8, 13 belong to one foliated sequence '39-188'). The main series of accounts of (fourteen) conclaves included in this volume and described in art. 5 (Nicholas V to Julius III) is all in the same Italian hand and paginated in a separate sequence throughout ('1-354'). Composite volume. Circa 283 x 215mm. Several Italian hands. Guilford binding of quarter vellum with decorated paper covers over pasteboards.

Contents as follows:

1. ff. 1-31. 'De electione romani pontificis sive De conclavi. Liber Domenico Raynaldo [...] et Bibliothecae Vaticanae Praefecto', on the history, constitution and procedure of the conclave, by Domenico Ranaldi (circa 1555-1606), dedicated to Clement VIII; bef. 1594. Ranaldi was the 'Custode' of the Vatican Library under the prefecture of Cesare Baronio; on Ranaldi and this work see Generoso Calenzio, La vita e gli scritti del Cardinale Cesare Baronio (Rome, 1907), pp. 722-724. Calenzio refers to an autograph MS. of the text in the Vatican library (cod. Vat. lat. 5561). The work is included in a MS. list of Ranaldi's 'fatighe' in the Vatican Library which Giovanni Mercati transcribes and dates to 'before 27 July 1594' in 'Per la storia della Biblioteca Apostolica...' in Opere minori, vol. 3 (1907-1916), Studi e Testi 78 (Vatican City, 1937), p. 263. Latin. Copy. Inc. 'De conclavi. Conclavis constitutio origenem habuit', expl. 'Actus Romae anno mense indictione ut supra'.

2. ff. 32-41. 'Discorso sopra il conclave', an anonymous account of the political ruses and intrigues which were characteristic of the conclave; 17th cent. Italian. Copy. Inc. 'L'esser vecchio à chi desidera esser Papa dà grande aiuto', expl. 'che l'ingegnoso hormai lo conoscerà, però mi resto. Il fine'.

3. ff. 42-69v, 73-91v. Two accounts of the conclave which elected Urban VI in 1376; 17th cent. Latin. Copy. (i) inc. (f. 42) 'Eo tempore quo Dominus Gregorio Papa huius nomins XI', expl. (f. 69v) 'hic reliqua conclavia per ordinem temporum'; (ii) inc. (f. 73) 'Defuncto Gregorio XI^o erant tunc in Romana Curia,', expl. 'schismaticam dicere posse'.

4. ff. 70-72v. Accounts of two 'conclaves' held during the period of the Schism (1378-1415) which elected the antipopes Alexander V (at the Council of Pisa in 1409) and John XXIII (1410-1415); 17th cent. Latin. Copy. Inc. 'Reverendissimi Cardinales, qui Pisis elegerunt Alexandrum Papam V'.

5. ff. 93-168, 247v-266, 304-. Series of accounts of conclaves written as a uniform series (see Add. 4018, art. 1 and Add. 4019, art. 1 for continuation of series), all with separate title-pages ('Conclave fatto per la sede vacante di papa ... nel quale fu creato pontefice il card. ... detto ...') and most, in this volume, with woodcut portraits; 17th cent. Italian. Copy. Contents as follows: (i) ff. 93-109, 'Nicolo V' (1447), inc. 'Da tutti era disperata affatto la salute di Eugenio', expl. 'fu lasciato alla custodia del suo gregge'; for references to copies of other versions of the text see Add. MS. 8412 (art. 3); (ii) ff. 110-117, 'Calisto III' (1455), inc. 'Havendo seduto nella chiesa di Pietro la fel. mem. di Papa Nicolo V^o', expl. 'alla custodia del suo gregge'; for references to copies of other versions of the text see Add. MS. 8412 (art 4); (iii) ff. 119-141, 'Pio II' (1458), inc. 'Fu fatto il conclave nel palazzo del Papa in S. Pietro', expl. 'che Enea fosse fatto vicario di Christo'; for references to copies of other versions of the text see Add. MS. 8412 (art. 5); (iv) ff. 143-147v, 'Paolo II' (1464), inc. 'Passò da questa a meglior vita la fel. mem. di papa Pio secondo', expl. 'benche il cardinale Aquileiense Camerlengo facesse qualche resistenza'; for references to copies of other versions of the text see Add. MS. 8412 (art. 6); (v) ff. 148-151, 'Sisto IV' (1471), inc. 'Mori Papa Paolo secondo di morte repentina', expl. 'Giovanni Micoli venetiano'; for references to copies of other Italian and Latin versions of the text see Add. MS. 8412 (art. 7); (vi) ff. 152-168, 'Innocentio VIII' (1484), inc. 'Papa Sesto quarto morì alli 12 d'agosto 1484', expl. 'Ascanio Maria visconte Sforza'. An abridged Italian version of art. 6, ff. 169-245v, with another copy in Add. MS. 8413 (art. 7, ff. 58-68); (vii) ff. 247v-252v, 'Alessandro VI' (1492), inc. 'Papa Innocentio ottavo dopo una lunga infermità', expl. 'e creò cardinale l'Arcivescovo di Monrealcastro nepote'; for references to copies of other Italian and Latin versions of the text see Add. MS. 8412 (art. 9); (viii) ff. 253-266, 'Pio III' (1503), inc. 'Il sabbato mattina alli 12 d'agosto', expl. 'e tutte le sue figliole'; for references to copies of other Italian and Latin versions of the text see Add. MS. 8412 (art. 10); (ix) ff. 304-322v, 'Giulio II' (1503), inc. 'Martedi alli 13 d'ottobre Papa Pio terzo', expl. 'e dato loro gl'anelli, e titoli'; for references to copies of other Italian and Latin versions see Add. MS. 8412 (art. 11); (x) ff. 324-334v, 'Leone X' (1513), inc. 'Giulio secondo di nazione savonese', expl. 'Cardinali assenti ... Este. Guren. Albert....'; for other versions of the text see Add. MSS. 8413 (art. 11, ff. 98-105), 8414 (art. 1(xii), ff. 77-80), 8416 (art. 5, ff. 34-47), 28464 (ff. 2-5v), 48074 (art. 6, ff. 72-79), with a printed version in Conclavi, pp. 133-142; for Latin versions see art. 8 below and Add. MS. 8412 (art. 12, ff. 107-114); (xi) ff. 370-378v, 'Adriano VI' (1522), inc. 'Domenica primo decembre 1521', expl. 'Ludovico Borbone francese'; for references to copies of other Italian and Latin versions of the text see Add. MS. 8412 (art. 13); (xii) ff. 380-390v, 'Clemente VII' (1523), inc. 'Essendo alli 5 d'agosto 1523 papa Adriano andato a S. Maria Maggiore', expl. 'e tutto il gregge che in esso si trova. Quod nobis Deus concedat. Amen'; for references to copies of other Italian and Latin versions of the text see Add. MS. 8412 (art. 14); (xiii) ff. 400-407, 'Paolo III' (1534), inc. 'Fu fatto Clemente settimo dopo 50 giorni di conclave', expl. 'segni evidenti d'uno allegro, e felicissimo ponteficato'; for references to copies of other versions of the text see Add. MS. 8412 (art. 15); (xiv) ff. 485-503v, 'Giulio III' (1550), inc. 'Fu assonto al ponteficato Papa Paolo terzo', expl. 'grandissima, et abondantissima acqua'; for references to copies of other versions of the text see Add. MS. 8412 (art. 16).

6. ff. 169-246v. 'De obitu Sixti Papae quarti, & conclave Innocentii Octavi', diary of the conclave which elected Giovanni Battista Cibò as Innocent VIII, extracted from the Liber notarum of Johannes Burchard (see Add. MSS. 8437, 8438 for bibliographical references to Burchard and his diary); 1484. Latin. Copy. Inc. 'Feria quinta xii mensis Augusti inter horam noctis', expl. 'De aliis autem non ultra quae fuerunt et alia vestis'. Another copy in Add. MS. 48073, ff. 162-309, with abridged Italian versions in Add. MSS. 8413 (art. 7, ff. 58-68) and 8417 (art. 5(vi), ff. 152-168).

7. ff. 267-302. 'Capitula quae Pius Papa tertius electus in Papam et in Conclavi existens promisit, iuravit, et vovit cum solemni iuramento', followed by (f. 268) '...capitula privata pro unione, et caritate inter summum Pontificum noviter creadnum, et R. D.D. S.R.E. Cardinalis ordinata, et sub iuramento, et voto ut infra'; 1503. Latin. Copy. Inc. 'In nomine Domini Amen. Universis et singulis hoc praesens instrumentum', expl. subscripti requisitas, et rogatus'.

8. ff. 335-344v. 'Conclavi Leonis decimi 1513', account of the conclave which elected Giovanni de' Medici as Leo X, preceded by a list of cardinals and their attendant conclavists (the catchword 'montis' on the verso of final leaf appears to indicate that there are missing leaves); 1513. Latin. Copy. Imperfect. Inc. 'Homina reverendorum dominorum Cardinalium et Conclavistarum'. Another copy in Add. MS. 8412 (art. 12, ff. 107-114).

9. ff. 345-369v. Accounts of the conclaves from 1513 to 1555 (i.e. those which elected Leo X, Adrian VI, Clement VII, Paul III, Julius III and Marcellus II), most claiming to be translations into Italian 'dal Macchiavelli' or 'Alberto Macchiavelli'; 17th cent. Italian. Copy. Inc. 'Conclave nel quale fu creato Papa Leone X, tradotto dal Macchiavelli. Venerdi alli 4 di marzo 1513', expl. 'Giovanni di Toledo Cardinale di S. Giacomo'.

10. ff. 391-398v. 'Lettera scritta da Venetia a messer Giovanni Mattheo Giberti datario et vescovo di Verona, per la quale fu predetto il sacco di Roma', a letter, dated 11 Dec. 1526, from Lodovico Canossa (1475-1532), bishop of Bayeux and from 1523 François I's ambassador to the Papacy, who was on a diplomatic mission in Venice at the time he wrote the letter, to Gian Matteo Giberti, bishop of Verona and 'Datario Apostolico', Clement VII's delegate in negotiations, warning of the consequences of the Pope's political strategy vis-à-vis the Emperor Charles V and the French King, copied together with 'Lettera di Carlo Vto Imperatore scritta al Senato di Roma subito dopo il sacco di essa...'; 17th cent. copy. On Canossa's letter see Adriano Prosperi, Tra evangelismo e controriforma: G. M. Giberti (1495-1543) (Roma, 1969), p. 77, n. 135, with a reference to an autograph MS. (CCCXXXI) in the Biblioteca Capitolare di Verona (which carries a later annotation that after the Sack of Rome in 1527 'ne furno fatte circa quaranta copie' at the request of the Doge) as well as MS. copies in other libraries in Italy and France. Italian and Latin. Copy. Inc. 'Io son certo reverendo signor mio osservatissimo ch'io non intesi mai'.

11. ff. 408-409v. 'Lettera Caroli Quinti Imperatoris ad sacrum Collegium Cardinalium post obitum Pauli Papae iii', dated 'in oppido nostro Brusseles die 20 men. novembris 1549'; 17th cent. copy. Latin. Copy. Inc. 'Reverendissimis in Christo patribus ... Allatum ad nos est triste et lugubre nuntium'. Printed in Correspondenz des Kaisers Karl V aus dem königlichen Archiv und der Bibliothèque de Bourgogne zu Brüssel (Leipzig, 1845), Bd. 2 (1532-1549), pp. 639-40, with a reference to a MS. copy (no. 15875, f. 177) in the Koninklijke Bibliotheek in Brussels.

12. ff. 410-421v. 'Avvertimenti al Cardinal Farnese nella sede vacante di Paolo Ter.', a letter warning against the ambitions of the Farnese family to succeed Paul III (Alessandro Farnese); circa 1549. Italian. Copy. Inc. 'In questa elettione del nuovo pontefice', expl. 'à tutta casa Farnese dannato per sempre'.

13. ff. 423-484v. 'Julii Papa tertii Conclave per r.p.d. Sebastianum Gualterium episcopum Vitirbien: confictum qui eo tempore fuit conclavista cardinalis Farnesii', account of the conclave which elected Julius III (1549) by Sebastiano Gualtieri (or Gualterio), who had been present as Cardinal Farnese's conclavist; 1549. Latin. Copy. Inc. 'Paulo iii pont. max. iiii id. novembris extincto', expl. interfuit maximus populus licet placeret maxime. Laus Deo'. For another version of this account in Latin see Add. MS. 48073 (art. 15, ff. 521-592).