Roman Catholic Warrior Pope
1443 – 1513
May I introduce from the Conquest of Liberty, His Holiness, Pope Julius II.
Though I’ve not studied many popes to whom I can compare Pope Julius II, I hesitate to offer anything but what various historians say. He was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States for ten years. He was nicknamed the Warrior Pope, the Battle Pope, or the Fearsome Pope. He seemed to love war. They say he chose his papal name Pope Julius II not in honor of Pope Julius I but in emulation of Julius Caesar. Besides providing the release of our own Archbishop Hernando Talavera from prison, who was arrested by Cardinal Cisneros; Pope Julius II established the Vatican Museums, he initiated the rebuilding of the St. Peter’s Basilica. He did in fact commission Michelangelo’s paintings in the Sistine Chapel. It is also true he encouraged people seeking indulgences to donate money to the church which he badly needed to pay for the construction of Saint Peter’s Basilica.
In my studies to confirm if he ever met Martin Luther when Martin Luther was in Rome, I found differing accounts. I stuck with the one that placed Martin Luther arriving in Rome in the spring of 1510. Another account recorded that Pope Julius II left Rome to personally lead an army to war later that year. So, as far as historical fiction allows, the two met.
Unraveling the intrigues of popes, kings, and cardinals during medieval times took most of the mental capacity I could muster. To become pope or king, it took power, influence, coercion, and giant networks of people who owed you favors or to whom you would soon owe favors, to stay in power. Well, I guess it’s a lot like today.
I contend it was and is like a chess game where the kings and queens use the knights, bishops, and rooks, to maintain and protect them. And the pawns are expendable.
