Papal conclave, 1455

The papal conclave from April 4-8, 1455 elected Alfonso Borja Pope Callixtus III following the death of Pope Nicholas III. The conclave was the first in the Apostolic Palace, the site of all but five papal conclave thereafter.Chambers, DS. 1978. "Papal Conclaves and Prophetic Mystery in the Sistine Chapel". Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, Vol. 41: 322-326.Pham, John-Peter. 2004. Heirs of the Fisherman. p. 85. The conclave was also the first to feature accessus voting (votes cast in accessit), derived from a practice of the Roman Senate, where a cardinal could change their vote after an unsuccessful scrutiny to any cardinal already receiving votes.Rotberg, Robert I. 2001. Politics and political change. p. 62.
The early defeat of Greek Cardinal Basilios Bessarion—a potential compromise candidate between the Colonna and Orsini factions—is a notable display of the lingering antipathy towards certain characteristics of the Eastern church, such as bearded priests, centuries after the East-West Schism. Although Western canon law had prohibited beards for priests since at least the eleventh century, the issue would continue to be debated well into the sixteenth century.Fisher, Will. 2006. Materializing gender in early modern English literature and culture. p. 100.
== The election ==
The two main factions of the cardinals were divided between the followers of Prospero Colonna and Latino Orsini; among the papabile were Barbo, Trevisan, Capranica, Orsini, and Bessarion.Burkle-Young, Francis A. 1998. "The election of Pope Calixtus III (1455)". Capranica received a plurality on the first three scrutinies, with the other votes scattered; Orsini and the French cardinals rallied against Capranica because he was close to Colonna.
On April 6, Easter Sunday, the factions began to consider neutral candidates. In this capacity, Basilios Bessarion (noted for defecting from the Eastern Church following the East–West Schism) was able to receive eight votes, before his candidacy was scuttled following a speech by Alain de Coëtivy—recorded by eyewitnesses—which emphasized Bessarion's former membership in the Eastern Orthodox Church and his retention of Greek mannerisms, such as a full beard.McManamon, John M. 1982. Funeral oratory and the cultural ideals of Italian humanism. p. 72.Setton, Kenneth Meyer. 1978. The Papacy and the Levant . p. 162.Jacks, Philip Joshua, and Caferro, William. 2001. The Spinelli of Florence. p. 66. The French cardinal is reported to have remarked:
:"Shall we select for Pope, for head of the Latin Church, a Greek, a mere interloper? Bessarion still wears his beard—and forsooth, he is to be our Lord!Garner, John Leslie. 1912. Caesar Borgia. p. 31. How poor, then, must be our Latin Church, if we can find no worthy man in it, but must needs resort to a Greek, and to one, too, who but yesterday attacked the Roman faith! And because he has now returned shall he be our master and the leader of the Christian army? Behold, such is the poverty of the Latin Church that she cannot find an apostolic sovereign without resorting to a Greek! Oh, Fathers! Do what you think fit; but for myself and those who think with me, we will never consent to a Greek head of the Church!"Montor, Artaud de. 1911. The lives and times of the popes. pp. 147-149.
Bessarion made no attempt to defend himself, claiming he was not interested in being elected; his reputations for reform and austerity also would have been unpopular with many of the Renaissance cardinals. Nevertheless, the renowned humanist scholar remained a strong candidate in the following 1464 conclave as well.Harkins, James. 1990. Plato in the Italian Renaissance. p. 214.
It is known that the early scrutinies the following Monday were disorganized; for example, non-cardinal Antonio de Montefalcone received at least one vote. de Coëtivy and Trevisan pushed for Borja's election, gaining momentum until Borja prevailed the following Tuesday. The core of the requisite two-thirds majority was likely composed of the French, Spanish, and Venetian cardinals: Trevisan, de Coëtivy, Barbo, Orsini, d'Estaing, de Carvajal, de La Cerda, Rolin, and Torquemada; the vote of Isidore or Calandrini, or both, likely was also required as Borja very likely did not vote for himself; Borja almost certainly did not receive the votes of Colonna, Capranica, or Bessarion.
==Cardinal electors==
Elector 	Nationality 	Order 	Title 	Elevated 	Elevator 	Notes
Giorgio Fieschi 	Ligurian 	Cardinal-bishop	Bishop of Palestrina 	18 December 1439 	Eugenius IV 	Dean of the College of Cardinals; bishop of Albenga
Isidore of Kiev 	Greek 	Cardinal-bishop	Bishop of Sabina 	18 December 1439 	Eugenius IV 	Archbishop of Ruthenia
Basilios Bessarion 	Greek 	Cardinal-bishop	Bishop of Frascati 	18 December 1439 	Eugenius IV 	Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem; administrator of Mazara del Vallo; legate in Bologna
Alfonso Borja 	Spanish 	Cardinal-priest	Title of Ss. IV Coronati, bishop of Valencia 	2 May 1444 	Eugenius IV 	Elected Pope Callixtus III
Juan de Torquemada, O.P. 	Spanish 	Cardinal-priest	Title of S. Maria in Trastevere 	18 December 1439 	Eugenius IV 	
Lodovico Trevisan 	Venetian 	Cardinal-priest	Title of S. Lorenzo in Damaso, patriarch of Aquileia 	1 July 1440 	Eugenius IV 	Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church
Pietro Barbo 	Venetian 	Cardinal-priest	Title of S. Marco 	1 July 1440 	Eugenius IV 	Future Pope Paul II; cardinal-nephew;bishop of Vicenza; archpriest of the Vatican Basilica
Juan Carvajal 	Spanish 	Cardinal-priest	Title of S. Angelo in Pescheria, bishop of Plasencia 	16 December 1446 	Eugenius IV 	
Antonio Cerdà i Lloscos, O.SS.T.	Spanish 	Cardinal-priest	Title of S. Crisogono, bishop of Lérida 	16 February 1448 	Nicholas V 	
Latino Orsini 	Roman 	Cardinal-priest	Title of Ss. Giovanni e Paolo 	20 December 1448 	Nicholas V 	Administrator of the see of Bari
Alain de Coëtivy 	French 	Cardinal-priest	Title of S. Prassede, bishop of Avignon 	20 December 1448 	Nicholas V 	Administrator of the see of Nimes
Filippo Calandrini 	Ligurian 	Cardinal-priest	Title of S. Susanna, bishop of Bologna 	20 December 1448 	Nicholas V 	Cardinal-nephew; camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals
Guillaume d'Estaing, O.S.B. 	French 	Cardinal-priest	Title of S. Sabina 	19 December 1449 	Nicholas V 	Bishop of Fréjus
Domenico Capranica 	Capranica Prenestina	Cardinal-priest	Title of S. Croce in Gerusalemme, administrator of Fermo	23 July 1423 (in pectore, admitted into Sacred College on 30 April 1434)	Martin V (confirmed by Eugenius IV)	Protopriest; archpriest of the Lateran Basilica; grand penitentiary
Prospero Colonna 	Roman 	Cardinal-deacon	Deacon of S. Giorgio in Velabro 	24 May 1426 	Martin V 	Protodeacon
===Absentee cardinals===
Elector 	Nationality	Order 	Title 	Elevated 	Elevator 	Notes
Peter of Foix, O.F.M. 	French 	Cardinal-bishop	Bishop of Albano 	September 1414 	Antipope John XXIII 	Legate in Avignon; administratort of the sees of Arles and Dax
Guillaume d'Estouteville, O.S.B.Clun.	French 	Cardinal-bishop	Bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina, archbishop of Rouen	18 December 1439	Eugenius IV 	Papal legate in France; archpriest of the Liberian Basilica; administrator of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne
Peter von Schaumberg 	Germany 	Cardinal-priest	Title of S. Vitale, bishop of Augsburg 	18 December 1439	Eugenius IV 	
Dénes Szécsi 	Hungarian 	Cardinal-priest	Title of S. Ciriaco, archbishop of Esztergom 	18 December 1439	Chancellor of the Kingdom of Hungary	
Jean Rolin 	French 	Cardinal-priest	Title of S. Stefano al Monte Celio, bishop of Autun	20 December 1448	Nicholas V 	
Nicholas of Kues 	German 	Cardinal-priest	Title of S. Pietro in Vincoli 	20 December 1448	Nicholas V 	Bishop of Brixen
==Notes==
Category:Papal conclaves
Category:1455
it:Conclave del 1455
pl:Konklawe 1455