A vacancy having occurred in the archiepiscopal see of Mentz, two candidates appeared for it — Adolph, count of Nassau, and Dietrich of Isenburg. The latter had the majority of votes, but Pius, who by the concordat had the right of deciding in cases of contested elections, re- fused to confirm the choice of Dietrich unless he engaged not to assert the supremacy of a general council, not to convoke of his own authority an imperial diet, and fur- ther to pay to Rome double the sum fixed for the annates, or first-fruits. Dietrich demurred to the first two condi- tions, and positively refused to accede to the last; and as proceedings were instituted against him in the apos- tolic court, he appealed to the next general council. Pius declared such appeals to be heretical, and excom- municated and deposed him, appointing Adolph of Nas- sau in his place. The emperor acknowledged Adolph, but Dietrich being supported by the count palatine and the elector of Bavaria, a war ensued, which, after much mischief, ended in the submission of Dietrich. Those who remembered the sentiments of Piccolomini when imperial secretary, and especially his letter (Epistola 25) to the papal nuncio, John Carvajal, concerning the supremacy of the council, were inclined to think that change of station had, in him as it but too often does in men, produced a corresponding change of opinions.
As a learned man and a writer, Pius II is best known under the name of ^Eneas Sylvius, the most important part of his career being passed before he was elected pope. He was one of the first historians of his age. a geographer, a scholar, a statesman, and a divine. He was also a great traveller by sea and by land ; he lived many years in Germany ; he repeatedly visited France, went to Great Britain and as far as Scotland, and to Hungary. His biographer Campanus, bishop of Arezzo, speaks at length of his peregrinations, and his diligence
in informing himself of everything worth noticing in the countries which he visited. His principal works, besides those already mentioned, are, Cosmographia, vel de Mundo Vniverso Historiarum, libri i (a second book treats especially of Europe and its contemporary his- tory) : — In A ntonii Panormitce de Dictis et Factis A l- phonsi Arret ffonum Ret/is, libris quatuor, Commentaria : — Epitome supra Decades Flavii Blondi Forliviensis, ub incKnatione Imperii usque ad tempora Juhannis XXIII, Pont. Max. (in 10 books) : — Historia Gothic'a (published first at Leipsic in 1730) : — A Treatise on the Education of Children, with Rules of Grammar and Rhetoric: — lastly, his numerous Epistles, which contain much va- ried information. A collection of his works was pub- lished at Basle, .En re; Sylvii Piccolomini Senensis Opera quce extant (1551, fol.), but this edition does not include all. Domenico de Rosetti has published a catalogue of all his works and their various editions, and also of his biographers and commentators, Serie di Edizioni delle, Opere di Pio II, o da ltd intitolate (Trieste, 1830). Bi- ographies of Pius II by Platina and Campanus are an- nexed to the Basle edition of his works, but a much more ample biography is found in the Commentaries published (Frankfort, 1014) under the name of John GobeUinus, his secretary, but which are known to have been written by himself or under his dictation, Pii II, Pont. Max., Commentarii Re rum Memorabilium quce Temporibus suis contigerunt, libri xii, with a continua- tion by his intimate friend, James Ammanato, cardinal of Pavia, who had at his desire assumed the name of Piccolomini. See, besides these. Milman, Hist, of Latin Christianity, viii. 120-122; Piddle, Hist, of the Papacy, ii, 377 sq. ; Bower, Hist, of the Popes (see Index) ; Ha- genbach. Riickerinnerungen an Aeneas Sylvius (Basle, 1.840) ; Verdiere, Sur ^Eneas Sylv. Piccolomini (Paris, 1843) ; Pfizer, Aeneas Sylv. Piccol., etc. (Stuttg. 1811) ; Helwing, Be Pii II Pontificis maximi Rebus gestis et moribus commentatio (Berol. 1825) ; Voigt, Aeneas Sylv. Piccol. (Berlin, 1856-9); Diix, Kardinal Nicolaus v. Cusa it. die Kirche seiner Zeit (Kegensburg, 1847, 2 vols. 8vo).
Pius III, pope of Rome in 1503, whose original name was Francesco Todeschini Piccolomini, was the child of pope Pius II's sister, and was bom at Siena in 1439. He was made cardinal by pope Alexander VI, and succeeded him in 1503. His pontificate was of only a very short duration. Twenty-six days after his ele- vation he died, and Julius II (q. v.) became his suc- cessor. See Panvinius, Vita Pii III.
Pius IV, pope of Rome from 1560 to 1565, whose original name was Giovanni Angela Medici or Medi- chini, was born at Milan, Italy, March 31, 1499. He was originally a student of law and devoted to the legal profession, but his brother won him over to the ecclesiastical ranks, and in 1549 he was made cardinal by pope Paul III. Pius IV was elected successor to pope Paul IV (q. v.) about the close of 1559, a very critical period in papal history, and was crowned Jan. 6, 1560. The most important act of his pontificate was, at Easter, 1561, the reassembling of the Council of Trent, which had been prorogued under Paul IV. Pius was particularly intent upon checking the spread of heresy, which had taken root in several parts of Italy, besides the valleys of Piedmont, and especially in some districts of Calabria. The Spanish viceroy of Naples sent his troops, assisted by an inquisitor and a number of monks, to exterminate by fire and sword the here- tics of Calabria. Emmanuel Philibert, duke of Savoy, after attacking with an armed force the Waldenses. who made a gallant resistance, agreed to allow them the exercise of their religion within their own districts, subject to certain regulations. The quarrels between the Catholics and Protestants in France were more difficult to settle. Some of the French Catholic prel- ates, among others Monluc, bishop of Valence, and the cardinal of Lorraine, recommended large concessions