Æneas spent much time in study of the classics and on verse composition, after the manner of Cicero. He had achieved a poem of two thousand lines, entitled “Nymphilexis,” which was received with acclamations by his friends. Modern critics hold its merit to be as low as its easy morality, and in fact it was a true index of the discreditable life he was at this time leading at the German Court. In 1442 he was at Basel with the German Ambassador, and was commended to the service of the King of the Romans, afterwards the Emperor, Frederick III. Frederick proposed to make him one of his Imperial secretaries, and to appoint him his Court poet. It was an honour which had hitherto been in use only in the more refined Italian courts, where it had been conferred on Petrarch, Dante, and others, and was esteemed an extraordinary mark of excellence in arts and literature. Only one person in the kingdom could hold it at a time, and after receiving it Æneas Silvius signed himself “poeta” in all his letters, so that we need not wonder that this event was chosen as one of the most remarkable of his life. Æneas, in his flowing robes, kneels at the King’s feet; the throne with its ample steps is set in a splendid, open piazza, with the noble flight of steps leading up to the loggia and out into the blue landscape; little groups enliven the background; a man stabs at a woman on the balcony; handsome pages and courtiers stand about. It has been pointed out that, as if to mark the neutrality of Germany on the question of the Papacy, not a single ecclesiastic appears in the crowd.
Alinari photo] [Library, Siena
FREDERICK III. CROWNING ÆNEAS PICCOLOMINI AS POET LAUREATE
The memoirs at this time show Æneas as a clever waiter on the favour of princes, not over-scrupulous in striving for advancement, watching the signs of the times, and chafing under his dependence and poverty. In 1445 he was sent by Frederick III. on an important mission to Pope Eugenius (fresco IV.), and from this time he becomes a figure in European history. He begins himself to plan definitely for the unity of the Church, and to desire to stem the forward movements of the Turks. His journey from Germany to Italy in the depths of winter was an arduous one. He encountered swollen torrents and broken bridges, and guided by peasants had “to scale most high and trackless ways, and precipitous, snow-clad mountains. On the road he visited his parents at Siena, and when they tried to dissuade him from approaching the fierce and unforgiving Pope Eugenius, declared that he would carry out his embassy to a prosperous end, or perish in the attempt.”
He was eminently successful in his negotiations, and effected a reconciliation between Rome and Germany, and the fresco represents him kneeling humbly before the Pope and kissing his foot. On either side sits the long row of cardinals; outside we see the busy life of the Papal Court. Here Pintoricchio has brought in a rather (for him) unusual harmony in greens on the carpeting, the baldacchino, and the Pope’s robes. The two figures in the foreground are said to be portraits of the Cardinals of Como and Amiens, who were both powerful friends of Æneas. The little scene through the arches on the right of the Pope brings in another episode, where the envoy receives (fresco V.) investiture as Cardinal.
After this successful mission the Secretary for the first time turned his mind to the ecclesiastical life, and began to reckon on all the bright prospects it was likely to open to him. He had hitherto had the honesty to regard the license of his life as a barrier to religious orders; but his passions were growing more controllable with advancing years, and his dislike to the idea of the priesthood had passed away. He writes that he has passed from the worship of Venus to that of Bacchus, and appears to think nothing more could be required of anyone. In 1446 he received the tonsure, and was speedily named Bishop of Trieste; and three years later was appointed to the See of Siena. It was in this capacity that he was chosen to welcome to Italy Leonora of Portugal (fresco VI.), the bride of his late patron. Frederick III. was to come to Siena to meet her, and to proceed to Rome for the wedding. After some delays, Æneas received the princess on her landing at Leghorn; and on her arrival at Siena she was met by Frederick, accompanied by a splendid retinue, which included a hundred citizens “in scarlet and samite,” a thousand knights under Duke Albert of Austria, the young King of Hungary, the precious relics of the city and clergy innumerable. The royal pair met outside the Camollia gate, and memoirs tell us that when the bride came in sight Frederick leapt from his horse and hastened to meet her, and that “he was rejoiced to see her so young and fair.”
Alinari photo] [Library, Siena
ÆNEAS PICCOLOMINI SENT BY FREDERICK III. TO POPE EUGENIUS IV.