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wards a sovereign, even if he were the emperor himself.

CHAP.
XIII.

A. D. 1515.

A. Et. 40.

Particular

During the continuance of the two po- A. Pont. III. tentates in Bologna they resided together in the palace of the city, and had frequent conferences on the important subjects which had ces on that been the occasion of their interview. The occasion. endeavours of the king were exerted to prevail upon the pope to unite his arms with those of France, for the expulsion of the Spaniards from Italy; but as these efforts, if successful, would have enabled Francis to have seized upon the crown of Naples and given him a preponderating authority in Italy, the pope, without a direct opposition, affected to postpone the measure; alleging that he could not in so ostensible a manner infringe the treaty which then subsisted between Ferdinand of Aragon and himself, and of which sixteen months were yet unexpired.(a) With no greater effect did the king employ his efforts to prevail on the pope to surrender the cities of Modena and Reggio to the duke of Ferrara, or to moderate his resentment and relinquish his designs against the duke of

Urbino.

(a) Jovii, in vita Leon. x. lib. iii. p. 70.

CHAP.
XIII.

A. D. 1515.

A. Et. 40.

4. Pont. III.

Urbino.
Urbino. To the former he refused to as-

sent, unless he was repaid the money which he had advanced to the emperor on being invested with the sovereignty of Modena; and with respect to the latter, he contended that the duke of Urbino had forfeited his dominions, which he held as a vassal of the church, by not joining his arms when required, with those of the pope under the command of Lorenzo de' Medici.(a) But although the pope firmly resisted every proposition which tended to the further abridgement of his power, he was indefatigable in his attention to his royal guest, whom he entertained with the utmost splendor and magnificence. He also bestowed on him as a mark of his esteem, a cross ornamented with jewels, estimated at fifteen thousand ducats, and presented to the beautiful and accomplished Maria Gaudin a diamond of immense value, which has since been called the

(a)" Fu creduto che'l Re, per havere il Papa tanto "più congiunto, e favorevole all' acquisto del Regno di "Napoli, vedendolo tanto infervorato contra il Duca "(d'Urbino) non si curasse co'l farne maggiore istanza di 66 pregiudicare alle cose proprie." Leoni, vita di Fr. Maria Duca d'Urbino. lib. ii. p. 170.

the Gaudin diamond.(a) The numerous attendants of the king were also treated with particular honour and respect; the pontiff being no less desirous of obliterating in the minds of the French people the animosities which had been excited by the violence of Julius II. than of impressing them with an exalted idea of the resources and grandeur of the Roman see. Nor is it improbable that the genial warmth of pontifical kindness found its way into those bosoms which the frowns of his predecessor had hardened into animosity and resistance. In the midst of a solemn interview, one of the French nobles, apparently affected by a sentiment of contrition for the part which he had acted in opposition to the holy see, called out aloud in French, that he wished to make his confession to his holiness, and that as he could not be admitted to do it in private, he would in public acknowledge that he had fought against Julius II. with the utmost resentment, and had paid no regard to his spiritual censures. To this the king added, that he had himself been guilty of a similar

(a)" Ce joyau est appellé, par tradition domestique, "le diamant Gaudin." Amelot, Mem. Hist. ap. Fabron. Leon. x. not. 42.

CHAP.

XIII.

A. D. 1515.

A t. 40.

A. Pont. III,

CHAP. a similar offence. Many others of the French

XIII.

A. D. 1515.

A. Et. 140.

nobility made the same acknowledgment, and requested forgiveness from the pope; whereA. Pont. III. upon Leo, stretching out his hands, gave them his absolution and pontifical benediction. The king then turning to the pope, said, "Holy "father, you must not be surprised that we were such enemies to Julius II. because he was always the greatest enemy to us; inso"much, that in our times we have not met "with a more formidable adversary. For he (C was in fact a most excellent commander, and "would have made a much better general of 26 an army than a Roman pontiff."(a)

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establish

In addition to these proofs of liberality and of the prag- good will on the part of the pontiff, an opportunity also occurred of rendering the monarch a much more important service, in a matter which ment of the he had greatly at heart. For several centuries the French clergy had claimed, and frequently exercised, an exemption in particular cases from that general control in ecclesiastical affairs, which was assumed by the holy see; an

concordat.

exemption

(a) This anecdote is related on the authority of P. de Grassis. v. App. No. CXXXII.

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XIII.

A. D. 1515.

A. Ft. 40.

exemption which is the foundation of what have CHA P. been called the rights of the gallican church. Pretensions of this nature are on record as early as the reign of St. Louis, and are pro- A. Pont. III, bably of still greater antiquity; but in the year 1438, the council of Basil, then acting in direct opposition to Eugenius IV. who had assembled another council at Florence, formed several canons for the future regulation of the church, which greatly restricted the power of the supreme pontiff and abolished many of the most glaring abuses in ecclesiastical discipline. In consequence of the rejection of these canons by Eugenius, the council passed a decree, deposing him from his pontifical dignity; but Eugenius triumphed over his opponents and these regulations were not con. firmed by the head of the church; notwithstanding which, they were approved by Charles VII. who expressly recommended them to the adoption of the assembly of divines then met at Bourges under the title of the pragmatic council.(a) By this assembly, these

(a) S. S. Concilia. tom. xii. p. 1430. Ed. Labbei et Cossartii. Par. 1672. The history of the council of Basil is written by Æneas Sylvius, afterwards Pius II. who was present on the occasion, and is published in the Fascicul. rerum expetend. et fugiend. tom. i. p. 1.

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