Pope Leo X

Lore & Background

Born into the prominent political and banking Medici family of Florence, Giovanni was the second son of Lorenzo de' Medici, the de-facto ruler of the Florentine Republic, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1489. Following the death of Pope Julius II, Giovanni was elected pope after securing the backing of the younger members of the College of Cardinals. Early on in his rule he oversaw the closing sessions of the Fifth Council of the Lateran, but struggled to implement the reforms agreed. In 1517 he led a costly war that succeeded in securing his nephew Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici as Duke of Urbino, but reduced papal finances. In Protestant circles, Leo is associated with granting indulgences for those who donated to reconstruct St. Peter's Basilica, a practice that was soon challenged by Martin Luther's 95 Theses. Leo rejected the Protestant Reformation, and his Papal bull of 1520, Exsurge Domine, condemned Luther's condemnatory stance, rendering ongoing communication difficult. He borrowed and spent money without circumspection and was a significant patron of the arts. Under his reign, Marco Girolamo Vida began composing at the Pope's request a Virgilian Latin epic poem about the life of Jesus called the Christiad, progress was made on the rebuilding of St. Peter's Basilica, and artists such as Raphael decorated the Vatican rooms. Leo also reorganised the Roman University, and promoted Renaissance humanist study of literature, poetry, and Classics. He died in 1521 and is buried in Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome.

Reader's Guide

Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici was born on 11 December 1475 in Florence, the second son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, head of the Florentine Republic, and Clarice Orsini. From an early age Giovanni was destined for an ecclesiastical career and received the tonsure at the age of seven. By the age of ten, he had already been endowed with dozens of benefices. His father, Lorenzo de' Medici, wrote a letter to Giovanni warning him to avoid vice and luxury. Giovanni's father prevailed on his relative Pope Innocent VIII to name him cardinal of Santa Maria in Domnica on 9 March 1489 when he was age 13, although he was not allowed to wear the insignia or share in the deliberations of the college until three years later. He received an education at Lorenzo's humanistic court under such men as Angelo Poliziano, Pico della Mirandola, Marsilio Ficino, and Bernardo Dovizio Bibbiena. From 1489 to 1491 he studied theology and canon law at Pisa. On 23 March 1492, he was formally admitted into the Sacred College of Cardinals and took up his residence at Rome. He participated in the conclave of 1492 and unsuccessfully opposed the election of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia as Pope Alexander VI. He lived in Florence with his elder brother Piero throughout the agitation of Girolamo Savonarola and the invasion of Charles VIII of France, until the uprising of the Florentines and the expulsion of the Medici in November 1494. While Piero found refuge at Venice and Urbino, Giovanni traveled in Germany, in the Netherlands, and in France. In May 1500, he returned to Rome. In 1503 he welcomed the accession of Pope Julius II; the death of Piero de' Medici in the same year made Giovanni head of his family. On 1 October 1511, he was appointed papal legate of Bologna and the Romagna. The French won a major battle and captured Giovanni. A bloodless revolution permitted the return of the Medici. Giovanni's younger brother Giuliano was placed at the head of the republic, but Giovanni managed the government. Giovanni was elected pope on 9 March 1513, proclaimed two days later. On 15 March 1513, he was ordained priest, and consecrated as bishop on 17 March. He was crowned pope on 19 March 1513 at the age of 37. Leo made his younger brother Giuliano and his nephew Lorenzo Roman patricians. When Giuliano died in March 1516, Leo focused his ambitions on Lorenzo. In 1516, Leo declared the forfeiture of the Du

Did You Know?

• He was not the last pope to be elected without having been ordained a priest; later popes including Paul III and Gregory XVI were also elected before priestly ordination, with Urban VIII in 1623 being the most recent.