Pope Leo X

Early Career

Like his contemporary Henry VIII, he was from the first destined for the ecclesiastical condition; he received the tonsure at seven, held benefices at eight, and before he was thirteen negotiations were in active progress for his elevation to the cardinalate. Innocent VIII, the reigning pope, was bound to Lorenzo by domestic ties and a common policy and interest; in October 1488 Giovanni was created a cardinal (the youngest in history, at fourteen) under the condition that he should not be publicly recognised as such for three years. The interval was devoted to the study of theology and canon law, pursuits less congenial to the young prince of the Church than the elegant literature for which he inherited his father's taste, and in which he had already made great progress under the tuition of Politian and Bibbiena.

Related Topics:
Henry VIII - Ecclesiastical - Tonsure - Benefice - Cardinalate - Innocent VIII - 1488 - Theology - Canon law - Politian - Bibbiena

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On March 26 1492, the sixteen-year-old Giovanni became a cardinal and took up residence in Rome, receiving a letter of advicehttp://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/lorenzomed1.html from his parent which ranks among the wisest and weightiest compositions of its class. Within a few months his prospects were clouded by the nearly simultaneous deaths of his father and the pope, a double bereavement closing the era of peace which Lorenzo's prudent policy had given to Italy, and inaugurating a period of foreign invasion and domestic strife.

Related Topics:
March 26 - 1492 - Cardinal - Rome

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One of the first consequences of the French eruption into Italy which shortly ensued was the expulsion of the Medici family from Florence (November 1494). Having resisted to the best of his ability, the Cardinal de' Medici found a refuge at Bologna and, being obnoxious to Innocent's successor, Alexander VI as well as seeing himself deprived of political importance for the time being, undertook a journey to several foreign countries with a party of friends. Upon his return he settled in Rome, withdrawing himself from public life as much as possible, and disarming the jealousy of Alexander by displaying an unaffected devotion to literary pursuits.

Related Topics:
Medici - 1494 - Bologna - Alexander VI

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