Papacy
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The Papacy (also known as the Bishopric of Rome) was the office of the Pope. The Pope was considered the head of the Catholic Church in spiritual matters, and issued letters and Papal Bulls to mediate crises or theological arguments.
The Papacy possessed the power to order military conquests, the most significant of which were the Crusades during the Middle Ages. In succeeding generations, the Papacy's temporal power and influence grew with the number of Catholics. During the Renaissance, the Papacy ruled the country of Italy, with its capital in Rome. The Pope was also in control of the assets of the Church. However the management of the Church's income was left to the cardinals. The Papacy was also protected by personal guards, though in modern times, they are known as the Swiss Guard. Though the Pope was no longer considered as the head of the state of Italy, the Papacy was still recognized as a major figure in world politics and affairs.
History
The Pope, in early times, was a mediator between the growing factions of the Church, deciding on temporal and spiritual disputes. The leaders of the Church during that time took on the title of the Bishop of Rome. Several Popes had taken oath between Saint Peter's death and the Edict of Milan. They had to guide the people in proper doctrine and help the persecuted Christians hide and flee. However, with the coming of the Edict of Milan in 313, Christianity came out of the underground, and became officially sanctioned and spread to the ends of the far-flung territories of the Roman Empire. With the split into East and West, the Church stayed with the Western Roman Empire while the Eastern Roman Empire had their own Bishop. This split gave an advantage however, as the Pope was granted more room to exercise political power.
The original Papal Staff, once carried by Saint Peter, was in fact a Piece of Eden. It was passed down from Pope to Pope, until December 1499, when it was taken from Pope Alexander VI.[1]
The Crusades
With the granting of autonomy, the succeeding Popes became increasingly powerful. Outpourings of religious piety were common due to the process of knighthood, leading to the growth of an army at the Church's disposal. The failure of the Second Crusade lead to a temporary peace, until Saladin conquered Jerusalem, making Pope Gregory VIII call for the Third Crusade, the objective of which was to reclaim Jerusalem and Solomon's Temple. The Templars (known as the Knights Templar at that time), partook actively in this Crusade, though only for their own personal gain, such as finding the Apple hidden in Solomon's Temple, and attempting to destroy the Assassins Order. The Assassins sought to counter their efforts, and Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad was able to prevent the Templars from gaining possession of the Apple, and kept Robert de Sable and his Templar followers from creating a union between King Richard and Saladin, to begin a war against the Assassin Order.[2]
After the Crusades, Pope Clement V was manipulated by King Philip IV of France - who in turn had been coerced by the French Assassins - into disbanding the Knights Templar on charges of heresy.[3]
Renaissance
The Papacy, even after the failure of the Crusades, continued to maintain their power during the Renaissance. They sponsored lavish constructions and works of religious art through the patronage of artists like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael.
In 1471, Sixtus IV ascended to the position of Pope, and continued the work of his predecessors, but also practiced nepotism, appointing four nephews, one of which was Giuliano della Rovere (the future Pope Julius II). Sixtus is most known for his involvement and support of the Pazzi Conspiracy to assassinate Giuliano de' Medici and Lorenzo de' Medici. On his death, two candidates presented themselves: Rodrigo Borgia and Giuliano della Rovere. The cardinals, who were alleged to have been brought by Rodrigo, nominated him to be Pope, taking the name of Alexander VI. As Pope, Rodrigo gained access to the Papal Staff, a Piece of Eden. With it, he learned the location of the Vault, found underneath the Sistine Chapel. However, the Assassin Ezio Auditore was able to prevent him from entering, and went in himself, where he received the message from Minerva. Upon exiting the Vault, Rodrigo had vanished, though the Staff was still there, though after trying to lift it out of the floor, it disappeared into the ground, and only resurfaced years later as the sceptre of the Russian Tsars.[4] Ezio, along with his uncle Mario Auditore, then left the building and returned to Monteriggioni.[1]
He too made several nepotistic appointments, including making his own son; Cesare Borgia, a cardinal, though Cesare quit to continue the bloodline after his brother died and to become the Captain-General of the Papal Armies.[5] Rodrigo and Cesare ordered the closure of many merchants and stables, and allowed the condition of many landmarks to deteriorate. They also took chosen areas of land and built Borgia towers to terrorize the populace and ensure their control of Rome. Cesare also undertook several military conquests attributed to his father, the most important of which, was the Siege of Monteriggioni, where Cesare stole the Apple from Mario Auditore before killing him, then invited Ezio to follow him to Rome. Cesare, using his father's influence, forced Leonardo da Vinci to design war machines for their own cause.[5] However, after Rodrigo's death at his own son's hands, Giuliano della Rovere was elected to the Papacy, taking on the name Julius II. He ordered the arrest of Cesare, who was incarcerated at the Castel Sant'Angelo and later, the Castillo de la Mota in Spain.[6] Julius and his successor Leo X both supported the Assassins.[7]
Trivia
- The Pope has traditionally been the target of conspiracy theories, including the rumored presence of a passage on the Tiara that corresponds to the number 666, as well as a female Pope who gave birth in a Papal procession.
References
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