| Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini (later Pope Pius II) was celebrated as a poet, orator, diplomat, and classical scholar. His ecclesiastical career and his renown as a rhetorician were secured by a long residence north of the Alps, first at the Council of Basel, then as secretary to the Holy Roman emperor, Frederick Ill. During his long tenure in the imperial chancery, Aeneas penned many literary works that were used by German humanists as prototypes of the new classical style emanating from Italy. But Aeneas was also famous for his political mutations: from fervent supporter of conciliar ideology to spokesman of imperial authority and, ultimately, to unwavering advocate of papal supremacy.;This study addresses both dimensions of Aeneas Silvius---the humanist writer and the political chameleon---as these are reflected in three lesser known texts from his pre-papal career in the 1450s. The first two are histories: the Historia austrialis (also known as Historia Friderici III) outlines the history of Austria, emphasizing the contemporary reign of Frederick III; the more polished Historia bohemica narrates the history of Bohemia from earliest times, concentrating on the Hussite movement. Both histories underline the lack of imperial control over territorial principalities in the fifteenth century. The close structural and thematic connection between these two works evinces Aeneas's experimentation with the form of regional history.;The third work, the Dialogus, is a defense of the pope's temporal authority---it represents a decided shift away from the imperialist viewpoint Aeneas had propounded in earlier political tracts. I argue that the disillusionment with the minimal role of the empire in the divided landscape of fifteenth-century Europe, which he expressed at length in his historiographic works, led him eventually to see the papacy as the last repository of universal leadership.;This analysis of Aeneas's ideological peregrinations sheds light not only on his papal policies, but also on the interrelationship of political activity and literary form. The very compositional activity that generated the texts examined here produced Aeneas's final political identity. Thus, the intimate correlation between these texts and the political precepts that underpin them accords Aeneas a prominent place in the ranks of civic humanism. |
