In angulum Europae: on Moses and Crusades in Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini’s Oration Moyses, vir Dei

Abstract

In the oration Moyses, vir Dei (1452), the Italian humanist Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini addresses the pope, Nicholas V, the request for a crusade against the Turks. In addition to exposing the necessity and feasibility of a crusade, Piccolomini addresses the issue of papal authority. Indeed, on the one hand, the oration admits the superiority of pontifical power over imperial or conciliar power; on the other hand, it identifies the pope as the only person having the authority to decide on crusade matters. In both cases, Piccolomini resorts to identifying the pope with Moses, inheriting two Medieval and Renaissance traditions. According to the first one, Mosaic authority is the model for papal authority. Received directly from God, it is therefore indisputable, insurmountable and indivisible. According to the second tradition, Moses is the typological prefiguration of Christ and of the crusader leader, intent on leading the Chosen People towards earthly and eternal freedom. The present study aims to analyze the interplay, in the oration, of these two typological frames.