Nihil odiosius quam nomen Italorum: Vergerio the Younger Between Humanist Universalism and Nationalism
Keywords:
Vergerio, Pier Paolo the Younger, Council of Trent, Protestantism, protestant literature, pamphlets, nationalismAbstract
Pier Paolo Vergerio (the Younger) wrote his “Two Treatises of the Papal Secretary” (Actiones duae secretarii pontificii) as a fictional debate, intended for Pope Paul IV. The satirical texts, to which Vergerio subsequently added the third one, are by no means essential reading – nor are they the best of what Vergerio himself wrote in his life. However, they manage to create the impression that they bring a serious matter-of-fact debate about real dilemmas related to the Council of Trent. During the time of their writing, these dilemmas were more or less non-existent (albeit not due to Vergerio’s fault but rather because of Paul’s reluctance towards the Council of Trent). While the first debate gives testimony of Vergerio’s “political and expert background”, the second one openly addresses not only the issues of religious strife but also the possibility of an armed conflict, which could possibly take place after reconvening the council. The line of thought expressed in this second debate is marked by openly nationalistic viewpoints, to which Vergerio – a former papal nuncio to Ferdinand’s court – could be no stranger, yet he could not have developed any intimate inclination towards them as a humanist of the universalist type (and it seems unfathomable that he did so later during the years of exile). This paper addresses Vergerio’s Actiones, trying to raise some questions about what motivated their author during the time of their writing.References
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