Pope Nicholas V
Pope Nicholas V (Latin: Nicholaus V; Italian: Niccolò V; 15 November 1397 – 24 March 1455),[1] born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death, in March 1455.[2] Pope Eugene IV made him a cardinal in 1446 after successful trips to Italy and Germany, and when Eugene died the next year, Parentucelli was elected in his place. He took his name Nicholas in memory of his obligations to Niccolò Albergati.
"Nicholas V" redirects here. For other uses, see Nicholas V (disambiguation).
Nicholas V
6 March 1447
24 March 1455
1422
by Niccolò Albergati
17 March 1447
by Francesco Condulmer
16 December 1446
by Eugene IV
24 March 1455 (aged 57)
Rome, Papal States
- Bishop of Bologna (1444–1447)
- Cardinal-Priest of Santa Susanna (1446–1447)
Your Holiness
Holy Father
None
The pontificate of Nicholas saw the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks and the end of the Hundred Years' War. He responded by calling a crusade against the Ottomans, which never materialized. By the Concordat of Vienna he secured the recognition of papal rights over bishoprics and benefices. He also brought about the submission of the last of the antipopes, Felix V, and the dissolution of the Synod of Basel. A key figure in the Roman Renaissance, Nicholas sought to make Rome the home of literature and art. He strengthened fortifications, restored aqueducts, and rebuilt many churches. He ordered design plans for what would eventually be the Basilica of St. Peter.
He is the last pope to date to take the pontifical name "Nicholas".
Early life[edit]
Tommaso Parentucelli was born to Andreola Bosi of Fivizzano and the physician Bartolomeo Parentucelli in Sarzana, an important town in Lunigiana.[3] The Lunigiana region had long been fought over by competing Tuscan, Ligurian and Milanese forces. Three years before Parentucelli's birth, the town was taken from the Florentines by the Genoese Republic. His father died while he was young. Parentucelli later became a tutor, in Florence, to the families of the Strozzi and Albizzi, where he met the leading humanist scholars.[4]
Parentucelli studied at Bologna and Florence, gaining a degree in theology in 1422.[5] Bishop Niccolò Albergati was so awestruck with his capabilities that he took him into his service and gave him the chance to pursue his studies further by sending him on a tour through Germany, France and England.[6] He was able to collect books, for which he had an intellectual's passion, wherever he went. Some of them survive with his marginal annotations.[4]
Parentucelli attended the Council of Florence[7] and in 1444, when his patron died, he was appointed Bishop of Bologna in his place.[8] Civic disorders at Bologna were prolonged, so Pope Eugene IV soon named him as one of the legates sent to Frankfurt. He was to assist in negotiating an understanding between the Papal States and the Holy Roman Empire, regarding undercutting or at least containing the reforming decrees of the Council of Basel (1431–1439).[6]