The anatomy of an apology: The war against conciliarism and the politicization of papal authority in the 'Commentarii' of Pope Pius II (1458--1464)

This dissertation focuses on Pius II's Commentarii, the monumental autobiographical account of the pontiff's six-year papacy. Pius, born Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini, was one of the most prominent figures on the political, ecclesiastical, and cultural stages of fifteenth-century Europe, and his Commentarii are considered one of the most important works of Renaissance Italian humanism. Yet this text has received surprisingly little attention from scholars. This thesis offers the most extensive analysis of the Commentarii to date and a new interpretation of the pontiff's work. It contends that the Commentarii represent an important document in the debate over Church authority in the fifteenth century. The text not only launches an extensive attack against conciliar theory, but it also retaliates against specific conciliar threats during Pius's papacy.;This thesis also argues that the Commentarii represent a turning point in the evolution of papal imagery. In a sharp break with tradition, Pius politicizes his self-portrait: his image in the Commentarii resembles that of a contemporary Italian prince. My thesis traces the contours of this princely portrait in his goals, skills, and ideals, and in his use of classical imagery; and it explains how these politicized features served to buttress his shaky authority in both his spiritual and temporal realms.;As well as contributing to the flourishing scholarship on Pius the humanist, this thesis fits into a long and rich tradition of study on the question of authority in the medieval and early modern Church. It also responds to recent calls for deeper investigation into representations of papal power during the Renaissance. By following this uncharted path, this dissertation both extends and challenges existing scholarship on the growth of absolute monarchy in the Papal States and on the evolution of papal imagery in the early modern period.