Oration “Existimatis fortasse” of Pope Pius II (1 March 1462, Rome). Edited and translated by by Michael von Cotta-Schönberg.4th version. (Orations of Enea Silvio Piccolomini / Pope Pius II; 64)

Published as part of project Edition and Translation of the Orations of Enea Silvio Piccolomini / Pope Pius IIAfter his return from Mantua in October 1460, Pope Pius II had not been very active in the matter of the crusade. In the face of the European rulers’ skepticism and even directly negative attitudes towards a crusade, he was unsure of how to proceed, and moreover he had become engaged in two wars, one in the Papal States and one in the Kingdom of Naples. By March 1462, however, he had found a way, he thought, to reactivate the crusade project, viz. by holding the Duke of Burgundy to his crusade oath, made in January 1454 and publicized all over Europe. As he also knew that Venice was now ready to join a crusade, he summoned a small group of loyal cardinals and submitted the matter to them in the oration “Existimatis fortasse”