Oration

Abstract

Ed. and transl. by Michael von Cotta-Schönberg

After the Fall of Constantinople on 29 May 1453, three imperial diets were held to discuss a crusade against the Turks. At all three diets the main spokesman for the emperor, Fredrick III, was Enea Silvio Piccolomini, seasoned imperial diplomat and Bishop of Siena. The first of the diets was held in Regensburg in May 1454 where Piccolomini gave the oration Quamvis omnibus. The second was held in Frankfurt in October. Here Piccolomini gave the oration Constantinopolitana clades, a major piece of humanist oratory. The third one was held at the imperial court, in Wiener Neustadt, in February 1455. That diet was to decide on the practicalities of the crusade. It ended without any results, however, because of the death of Pope Nicholas V. In his oration, In hoc florentissimo, Bishop Piccolomini only dealt peripherally with the organization of the crusade and mainly focused on the ways in which a war ought to be conducted by Christians and on the spiritual preparation for a crusade.