Pope Felix V

In a surprising turn in 1439, during a time when the papacy was in turmoil and rival popes were almost commonplace, the Council of Basel chose Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy, to be the next pope. He agreed to take on the role in 1440, taking an oath that had been written by the Council of Basel and leaving Savoy in the hands of his son.

The delegation to Chateau Ripaille to inform Amadeus that he was the Council of Basel's choice to be the next pope included a man named Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini. He was secretary to one of the Council of Basel members, the Bishop of Fermo, Domenico Capranica. (Domenico was interested in Basel because Pope Eugene IV had refused to make Domenico a cardinal.) Piccolomini became secretary to the new pope.

Officially, Amadeus is considered an antipope, Felix V, and his decisions had little effect on the Roman Catholic Church. Going to Basel to meet with the Council there and accept the position, he used Basel originally as his base of operations. The Council was seeking to reform the structure of the Church, and Felix ordered the Alma universitas studii curiae Romanae, the "Universal School for the Study of the Roman Curia" in 1440, which 20 years later would become the University of Basel, formalized by Pope Pius II.

There was another pope, Eugene IV, who had been crowned by Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund. Sigismund had allowed the Council of Basel to form, granting safe conduct rights to all those traveling to it. He had been succeeded by Emperor Frederick III, who in 1447 canceled the safe conducts. Frederick ordered the burgomeister of Basel to disperse the members of the Council. They all moved to Lausanne to join Felix and create a papal headquarters there.

When Pope Eugene IV died in 1447, the College of Cardinals in Rome elected Tommaso Parentucelli as Pope Nicholas V. Both popes wanted to come to a settlement of the dual papacies. At a session in 1449 of the Council of Lausanne, Felix agreed to give up his title. The Council of Lausanne voted to accept Nicholas V as their pope as well.

What to do with Amadeus VIII? He was made Bishop of Sabina and a cardinal. He did not have long to enjoy the title and the life with less pressure. He died on 7 January 1451 and was buried at Ripaille, the chateau to which he had originally retired from political life to live as a monk.

Felix V's secretary, Piccolomini, had an interesting background, and became a pope himself, Pius II! Let's take another look at him next.

From Count to...Pope?

Amadeus VIII (1383 - 1451) took on the title Count of Savoy at an early age after the death of his father, Amadeus VII. His grandmother, Bonne of Bourbon, was regent from 1391 until 1397, when she was implicated (certainly unjustly) in the death of her son and sent away to retire at Château de Mâcon.

Around this time, Savoy was expanding its borders and influence, so much so that it took on a grander identity than County, and became the Duchy of Savoy, with Amadeus VIII becoming the first Duke of Savoy thanks to an appointment by Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg.

Another positive event in the history of Savoy (politically speaking) was the death in 1418 of his cousin, Louis of Piedmont. Louis was a branch of the family that frequently disputed the leadership. Louis had left Amadeus as his heir in his will, which thus united the male lines of Savoy.

Amadeus was married to Mary of Burgundy, daughter of the Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Bold. When his wife died in 1428, he founded the Order of St. Maurice with six other knights and lived with them in a monastic lifestyle in the chateau of Ripaille, which had been built overlooking Lake Geneva by his grandmother. He left his teenage son Louis as regent of the duchy.

This was a time of papal conflict when opposing groups of Catholic bishops and cardinals were supporting different candidates for pope. Amadeus was in favor of limiting papal supremacy and having the church governed more by ecumenical councils. This endeared him to certain cardinals. Recently there had been three rival popes: Clement VIII, Benedict XIV, and another Benedict XIV.

A Council of Basel was to determine who should be the rightful pope, and Amadeus requested that Savoyan bishops be allowed to attend. Another pope, Eugene IV, had been declared by his loyalists. The Council of Basel suspended him, and in June 1349 declared him a heretic. Cardinal Louis Aleman warned the council that they needed a pope who was rich and powerful to defend the Church from its enemies.

In October 1349 they chose 33 members from five nations to choose a pope. There is no reason to believe that Amadeus wanted to be pope, but over the course of several ballots he received a majority of votes. In November the council issued a decree that Amadeus VIII was elected pope. A delegation was sent to Ripaille to inform him. He was persuaded to take the position, and he renounced all connection to the Savoyan government, naming his son as Duke of Savoy.

He took the regnal name Felix V. Tomorrow we'll see how this unexpected pope managed.