Oration “Responsuri” of Pope Pius II (11 December 1459, Mantova). Edited and translated by Michael von Cotta-Schönberg. 7th version. (Orations of Enea Silvio Piccolomini / Pope Pius; 52)

Published as part of project Edition and Translation of the Orations of Enea Silvio Piccolomini / Pope Pius IIWhen a French embassy reached the Congress of Mantua in November 1459, it soon became evident that its primary aim was not to negotiate the French contribution to a crusade against the Turks, but to present the French complaints and objections concerning the investiture of Ferrante of Aragon as King of Naples and to demand that the pope invest René d’Anjou with the Kingdom instead, since – according to the French - it rightfully belonged to René. In his oration, the “Responsuri”, the pope defended himself against the French accusations, justifying his actions with the military situation at the time as well as with legal obligations incumbent on the papacy, and political pressures. Consequently, he denied the French claims, but declared his willingness to have the whole matter tried in court, with himself as judge. At the end of the oration, the pope severely criticized the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges from 1438, by which law the pope’s authority in French ecclesiastical matters and appointments had been greatly restricted