Pope Julius II Criticized by Renaissance Writer Erasmus

May 3, 2010 Michael Streich

Tomb of Julius II by Michelangelo - Image by Michael Streich

As the "warrior pope," Julius II defined his pontificate through wars and the glories of temporal accolades, ignoring his pastoral role as supreme shepherd.

The pontificate of Julius II coincided with several movements taking place in Europe in the 15th and 16th Centuries. 15th Century popes had witnessed their power decline and state churches, clamoring for independence from what some Renaissance writers called papal tyranny, were seeking autonomy. Church councils, such as at Constance in 1414, attempted to erode the power of the pontiff. Heretical movements expanded. In Italy, however, Pope Julius II attempted to combat these movements, albeit at the expense of spirituality. Julius is characterized as a “warrior pope.” Writer Ross King states that, “No pope before or since has enjoyed such a fearsome reputation.” But Julius had his critics, among them the Christian Humanist, Erasmus.

Erasmus Criticizes Julius II

In Praise of Folly (1511) declares that the popes “contend with fire and sword, and not without loss of much Christian blood…” (Erasmus) In his 1517 Querela Pacis, Erasmus asks, “What have the helmet and mitre in common?” It was his 1513 pamphlet, Julius Exclusus (Pope Julius Excluded from Heaven) that described in comic conversation the picture of a pope far removed from the image of St. Peter.

Presenting a hypothetical conversation between Julius and Peter at the gates of heaven, the Apostle and first pope (according to Catholic tradition), tells Julius, “I see a horrible flood of soldiers with you, smelling of nothing but brothels, drunkenness, and gun powder.” Julius asks Peter if he does not recognize him but Peter answers, “See? I certainly see a new and never-before-seen spectacle, not to say a monster.”

The warrior pope identifies himself with the initials “PM,” which stand for Pontifex Maximus, the supreme pontiff. The title was borrowed from Ancient Rome by the early church. In Rome, it referred to the chief priest and can be traced back to the Etruscan language. Peter, however, responds with Pestis Maxima. Pestis, in Latin, refers to a deadly disease or a plague; maxima can be translated as the greatest personification.

Julius as the Warrior Pope

French historian R. Aubenas writes that Julius II was, “endowed with the gifts of a warrior…” Julius personally led troops against the Venetian city-state as well as France. Ross King writes that after defeating Venice, Julius returned to Rome as a conqueror, timing his return with Palm Sunday. “The pope did not see himself merely as the new Julius Caesar.” King draws a parallel to Christ’s entry into Jerusalem. But the Roman procession was, by far, more opulent. When Venetian envoys arrived in Rome in 1510, the five ambassadors were required to kneel before the pope and kiss his foot. It was Pope Julius II who founded the Swiss Guards that protect the pope to this day.

The Reformation Weakens the Papal Monarchy

In 1517 an Augustinian monk named Martin Luther published 95 theological debate points, beginning a church reformation movement in Germany. Aubenas writes that Germany had, “a prolonged hatred of popes…” In 1545, a broadsheet, signed by Martin Luther, depicted Pope Clement IV about to decapitate Conrad IV. Although it was historically incorrect and only served the purposes of propaganda, such images stirred up “German feeling against papal claims to supremacy over Germany and the Emperor....,” according to R.W. Scribner.

Popes after Julius II would never again wield such great power or command armies. Despite the efforts of Julius II to promote a stronger papacy, the opposite occurred. Peter, in the Erasmus pamphlet, ends telling Julius, “The appearance of your whole person suggests that it is not with age and disease but through dissipation that you seem old, withered, and broken.” These words would define future papacies beset with the rise of nation states, Enlightenment philosophy, and the coming of modern civilization.

Note: Although Michelangelo completed a magnificent tomb for Pope Julius II in the basilica of St. Peter in Chains, his remains were never entombed there. (see image)

References:

• R. Aubenas, “The Papacy and the Catholic Church,” The Renaissance1493-1520, Edited by Denys Hay, The New Cambridge Modern History, Volume I (Cambridge University Press, 1957)
• Erasmus, “Pope Julius Excluded from Heaven,” Pearson/Prentice Hall Primary Source Documents, 2008
• Ross King, Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling (Penguin Books, 2003)
• R.W. Scribner, Popular Culture and Popular Movements in Reformation Germany (The Hambledon Press, 1987)

Copyright Michael Streich. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication