Papal conclave, 1458

The Papal conclave of 1458 (August 16 – August 19, 1458) convened after the death of Pope Callixtus III, elected as his successor Cardinal Enea Silvio Piccolomini, who took the name Pius II.
==Death of Callistus III==
Pope Callistus III, the first pope of the House of Borgia, died on August 6, 1458.Francis Burkle-Young “Papal elections in the Fifteenth Century: the election of Pius II II He was severely criticized due to his nepotism and devotion towards his compatriots of Catalonia, very unpopular among the rather xenophobic Roman populace. After the Pope's death an open revolt against had broken up and some of his partisans (e.g. his nephew Pedro Luis de Borja) had to flee Rome.Ludwig von Pastor, History of the Popes vol. 2, p. 461
==List of participants==
At the time of Callistus' death, there were 27 living cardinals, of whom 19 were in Rome, but on August 14 Cardinal Domenico Capranica, archpriest of the College, unexpectedly died. In the conclave participated 18 out of 26 members of the Sacred College:Salvador Miranda List of participants of papal conclave of 1458.
Elector	Nationality	Cardinalatial Title 	Elevated 	Elevator 	NotesNotes according to biographical entries of the respective cardinals on The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: consistories of XV Century by Salvador Miranda
Giorgio Fieschi
(called Cardinal Fieschi)	Genovese 	Bishop of Ostia e Velletri 	1439, December 18 	Pope Eugenius IV 	Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals; bishop of Albenga
Isidore of Kiev
(Cardinal of Ruthenia)	Greek 	Bishop of Sabina; 
administrator of SS. Marcellino e Pietro	1439, December 18 	Pope Eugenius IV 	Latin Patriarch of Constantinople; administrator of the see of Nicosia
Bessarion
(Cardinal of Nicea)	Greek 	Bishop of Frascati; 
commendatario of SS. XII Apostoli	1439, December 18 	Pope Eugenius IV 	Titular archbishop of Nicea and Tebe; administrator of the sees of Mazara del Vallo and Pamplona; Cardinal-protector of the Order of Basilians
Guillaume d'Estouteville, O.S.B.Cluny
(Cardinal of Rouen)	French 	Bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina 	1439, December 18 	Pope Eugenius IV 	Archbishop of Rouen and administrator of the see of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne; Archpriest of the patriarchal Liberian Basilica; Cardinal-protector of the Order of Augustinians
Juan de Torquemada, O.P.
(Cardinal of S. Sisto)	Castilian 	Priest of S. Maria in Trastevere	1439, December 18 	Pope Eugenius IV 	Administrator of the suburbicarian see of Palestrina; abbot commendatario of Subiaco
Pietro Barbo
(Cardinal of S. Marco)	Venetian 	Priest of S. Marco 	1440, July 1 	Pope Eugenius IV (Cardinal-nephew) 	Bishop of Vicenza; Archpriest of the patriarchal Vatican Basilica
Antonio de la Cerda
(Cardinal of Messina)	Catalonian 	Priest of S. Lucia in Septisolio	1448, February 16 	Pope Nicholas V 	Bishop of Lerida; administrator of the see of Giovinazzo
Latino Orsini
(Cardinal Orsini)	Roman 	Priest of SS. Giovanni e Paolo 	1448, December 20 	Pope Nicholas V 	Administrator of the see of Bari; Archpriest of the patriarchal Lateran Basilica
Alain de Coëtivy
(Cardinal of Avignon)	French 	Priest of S. Prassede 	1448, December 20 	Pope Nicholas V 	Bishop of Avignon and administrator of the sees of Nimes and Dol
Filippo Calandrini
(Cardinal of Bologna)	Bolognese 	Priest of S. Lorenzo in Lucina 	1448, December 20 	Pope Nicholas V (Cardinal-nephew) 	Bishop of Bologna
Luis Juan del Mila y Borja
(Cardinal of Segorbe)	Catalonian 	Priest of SS. IV Coronati 	1456, September 17	Pope Callixtus III (Cardinal-nephew)	Administrator of the see of Segorbe; Legate in Bologna
Juan de Mella
(Cardinal of Zamora)	Castilian 	Priest of S. Prisca 	1456, December 17 	Pope Callixtus III 	Bishop of Zamora
Giovanni Castiglione
(Cardinal of Pavia)	Milanese 	Priest of S. Anastasia 	1456, December 17 	Pope Callixtus III 	Bishop of Pavia
Enea Silvio Piccolomini
(Cardinal of Siena)	Siena 	Priest of S. Sabina 	1456, December 17 	Pope Callixtus III 	Bishop of Siena and bishop of Warmia
Giacomo Tebaldi
(Cardinal of S. Anastasia)	Neapolitan 	Priest of S. Anastasia 	1456, December 17 	Pope Callixtus III 	Archbishop of Naples; Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals
Prospero Colonna 
(Cardinal Colonna)	Roman 	Deacon of S. Giorgio in Velabro 	1426, May 24 	Pope Martin V (cardinal-nephew) 	Protodeacon of the Sacred College of Cardinals
Jaime de Portugal
(Cardinal of Portugal)	Portuguese 	Deacon of S. Eustachio 	1456, September 17	Pope Callixtus III 	Archbishop of Lisbon; administrator of the see of Paphos
Rodrigo Borgia
(Cardinal Vicechancellor)	Catalonian 	Deacon of S. Nicola in Carcere; 
commendatario of S. Maria in Via Lata	1456, September 17	Pope Callixtus III (Cardinal-nephew)	Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church; Administrator of the see of Valencia; generalissimo of the papal troops
Eight electors were Italian, five Spaniards, two French, two Greeks and one Portuguese. Seven of them were created by Callistus III, six by Eugenius IV, four of Callixtus III, four by Nicholas V and one by Martin V.
==Absentees==
Eight cardinals did not participate in this conclave:
Elector	Nationality	Cardinalatial Title 	Elevated 	Elevator 	Notes
Pierre de Foix, O.F.M.
(Cardinal of Foix)	French 	Bishop of Albano 	September, 1414 	Antipope John XXIII	Legate in Avignon; administrator of the sees of Arles, Lescar and Dax
Petrus von Schaumberg
(Cardinal of Augsburg)	German 	Priest of S. Vitale 	1439, December 18	Pope Eugenius IV 	Protopriest of the Sacred College of Cardinals; Bishop of Augsburg
Dénes Szécsi
(Cardinal of Esztergom)	Hungarian 	Priest of S. Ciriaco 	1439, December 18	Pope Eugenius IV 	Archbishop of Esztergom; Chancellor of the Kingdom of Hungary
Ludovico Trevisano
(Cardinal of Aquileia)	Venetian 	Priest of S. Lorenzo in Damaso 	1440, July 1 	Pope Eugenius IV 	Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church; Patriarch of Aquileia; bishop of Cava; papal legate of the Mediterranean coasts and islands; Supreme Commander of the Papal Fleet; abbot commendatario of Montecassino
Juan de Carvajal
(Cardinal of S. Angelo)	Castilian 	Priest of S. Lucia in Septisolio 	1446, December 16	Pope Eugenius IV 	Bishop of Plasencia; papal legate in Germany, Poland and Hungary
Jean Rolin
(Cardinal of Autun)	French 	Priest of S. Stefano al Monte Celio	1448, December 20	Pope Nicholas V 	Bishop of Autun
Nicholas of Cues
(Cardinal of S. Pietro in Vincoli)	German 	Priest of S. Pietro in Vincoli 	1448, December 20	Pope Nicholas V 	Bishop of Brixen; papal legate in Germany and England
Richard Olivier de Longueil
(Cardinal of Coutances)	French 	Priest [no titulus assigned] 	1456, December 17	Pope Callixtus III 	Bishop of Coutances
Of the absentee cardinals four were creatures of Eugenius IV, two of Nicholas V and one of Callixtus III. Pierre de Foix was the last surviving cardinal of the Great Western Schism and was elevated by Pisan Antipope John XXIII. 
Among them there were three French, two Germans, one Spaniard, one Italian and the one Hungarian.
==Candidates to the papacy==
The principal concerns in the conclave of 1458 arose from the rapid rise of the effective power and influence of the French monarchy in the closing years of the Hundred Years War, which had recentely ended with the French victory. The principal Italian states – Kingdom of Naples, Republic of Genoa and Duchy of Milan – feared a rebirth of French interest in Italian affairs and tried to prevent the elevation of a French pope at all costs. The official candidate of the Milanese was Domenico Capranica. The campaign for his election in the preconclave period was so successful that it appeared almost certain that he would be elected to the papacy. But Cardinal Capranica died suddenly on August 14, 1458, two days before the beginning of the conclave, leaving his party in a great confusion. Ottone de Carretto, ambassador of Milan in Rome, made the quick and unconsulted decision to support Cardinal Enea Piccolomini and managed to convince Latino Orsini, one of the most influential cardinals, to back him in this action. The principal candidate of the pro-French party was d'Estouteville. Bessarion, Torquemada and Calandrini also were considered papabile.
==The conclave==
Eighteen cardinals entered the conclave in Vatican on August 16. Initially they subscribed the conclave capitulation, which obliged the elect to continue the crusade against the Ottoman Empire and to give more welfare to poorer cardinals.Vatican Histiory
The first scrutiny took place only on August 18. Cardinals Piccolomini and Calandrini received five votes each, while none of the others obtained more than three. At this point French Cardinal d'Estouteville started the intensive simonical campaign for his own candidature. He promised the office of Vice-Chancellor to the Cardinal of Avignon and offered other bribes to the Greek cardinals. On August 18 in the evening he was certain that he would obtain at least eleven votes on the following morningG. Noel, p. 30 But the opposite Italian party also didn't waste its time. During the night Cardinal Pietro Barbo called together all the other Italian cardinals except Prospero Colonna and proposed to them that, of them all, the one most likely to obtain the required majority of two thirds was Piccolomini, and that all should support him on the following day.
==Election of Pius II==
The results of the second ballot on August 19 in the morning were a greatly disappointed surprise for d'Estouteville. He received only six votes – those of de Coëtivy, Colonna, Bessarion, Fieschi, Torquemada, and Castiglione. Cardinal Piccolomini obtained nine votes – those of Barbo, Orsini, Calandrini, Isidore of Kiev, de Mella, de La Cerda, Jaime de Portugal, del Mila y Borja, and that of d'Estouteville, who hesitated to vote for himself but certainly did not consider Piccolomini a serious rival. The votes of Rodrigo Borgia, Giacomo Tebaldi and Enea Piccolomini fell to other candidates. After the announcing the results, Cardinal Dean opened the customary procedure of the accessus. There was a long silence broken by Rodrigo Borgia who changed his vote to Piccolomini. Then the partisans of d'Estouteville made an attempt to adjourn the session, but Cardinal Tebaldi also changed his vote to Piccolomini, who needed only one vote more for the election. At this point Cardinal Colonna arose and called out before anyone could have restrained him: "I also vote for the Cardinal of Siena and I make him Pope". The rest of the adherents of the Cardinal of Rouen could do nothing but change their votes too, and a few minutes later Cardinal Bessarion congratulated Piccolomini for his unanimous election to the papacy.
Cardinal Enea Silvio Piccolomini accepted his election and took the name Pius II. On September 3, 1458 he was solemnly crowned in the steps of the patriarchal Vatican Basilica by Cardinal Prospero Colonna, protodeacon of S. Giorgio in Velabro.S. Miranda: Cardinal Enea Silvio Piccolomini
==Notes==
==Sources==
* Gerard Noel, The Renaissance Popes: Statesmen, Warriors and the Great Borgia Myth, Carrol & Graf, 2006
* Salvador Miranda: conclave of 1458
* Francis Burkle-Young “Papal elections in the Fifteenth Century: the election of Pius II
* Vatican History: Konklave 1458 
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