 | The ''Commentaries'' of Pope Pius II (1458-1464) and the Crisis of the Fifteenth-Century Papacy Subjects: Pius II Pope 1405–1464. Commentarii rerum memorabilium; Pius II Pope 1405–1464; Church history -- Middle Ages 600–1500 -- Historiography; Popes -- Biography -- History and criticism; Self-perception; Autobiography; Renaissance -- Italy; Written in the mid-fifteenth century, Pope Pius II's Commentariesare the only known autobiography of a reigning pontiff and a fundamental text in the history of Renaissance humanism. In this book, Emily O'Brien positions Pius' expansive autobiographical text within that century's contentious debate over ecclesiastical sovereignty. Presenting the Commentariesas Pius' response to the crisis of authority, legitimacy, and relevance that was engulfing the Renaissance papacy, she shows how the Commentariesfunction as both an aggressive assault on the papal monarchy's chief opponents and a systematic defense of Pius's own troubled pontificate and his pre-papal career. Illustrating how the language, imagery, and ideals of secular power inform Pius' apologetic self-portrait, The Commentaries of Pope Pius II (1458-1464) and the Crisis of the Fifteenth-Century Papacydemonstrates the role that Pius and his writings played in the evolution of the Renaissance papacy. O'BrienEmily: Emily O'Brien is an associate professor in the Departments of History and Humanities at Simon Fraser University. |
