Difference between revisions of "Urban VIII" - New World Encyclopedia

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{{Infobox pope|English name=Urban VIII|Latin name=Urbanus PP. VIII|
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'''Pope Urban VIII''' (April 1568 – July 29, 1644), born '''Maffeo [[Barberini]]''', was [[Pope]] from 1623 to 1644. He was the last Pope to expand the papal territory by force of arms, and was a prominent patron of the arts and reformer of Church missions. However, the massive debts incurred during his papacy greatly weakened his successors, who were unable to maintain the Pope's longstanding political or military influence in Europe.
birth_name=Maffeo Barberini|
 
term_start=[[August 6]], [[1623]]|term_end=[[July 29]], [[1644]]|
 
predecessor=[[Pope Gregory XV|Gregory XV]]|successor=[[Pope Innocent X|Innocent X]]|
 
birth_date=April [[1568]]|birthplace=[[Florence]], [[Italy]]|
 
dead=dead|death_date={{death date|1644|7|29|mf=y}}|deathplace= [[Rome]], [[Italy]]|other=Urban}}
 
<!--A discussion on Wikipedia produced an overwhelming consensus to end the 'style wars' by replacing styles at the start by a style infobox later in the text. It is now installed below.—>
 
{{infobox popestyles|
 
papal name=Pope Urban II|
 
dipstyle=His Holiness|
 
offstyle=Your Holiness|
 
relstyle=Holy Father|
 
deathstyle=His Holiness|}}
 
'''Pope Urban VIII''' (April [[1568]] &ndash; [[July 29]], [[1644]]), born '''Maffeo [[Barberini]]''', was [[Pope]] from [[1623]] to [[1644]]. He was the last Pope to expand the papal territory by force of arms, and was a prominent patron of the arts and reformer of Church missions. However, the massive debts incurred during his papacy greatly weakened his successors, who were unable to maintain the Pope's longstanding political or military influence in Europe.
 
  
 
== Early life ==
 
== Early life ==
Maffeo Barberini was born in [[1568]] to an important [[Florence, Italy|Florentine]] family. He was educated by the [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]]s and received a doctorate of law from the [[University of Pisa]] in 1589.  
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Maffeo Barberini was born in 1568 to an important [[Florence, Italy|Florentine]] family. He was educated by the [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]]s and received a doctorate of law from the [[University of Pisa]] in 1589.  
  
 
In 1601, Maffeo was able to use the influence of an uncle who had become [[apostolic protonotary]] to secure an appointment by [[Pope Sixtus V|Sixtus V]] as papal legate to the court of King [[Henry IV of France]]. In 1604 [[Pope Gregory XIV|Gregory XIV]] appointed him archbishop of [[Nazareth]], although this was an honorary position as the Holy Land was under Turkish rule.  
 
In 1601, Maffeo was able to use the influence of an uncle who had become [[apostolic protonotary]] to secure an appointment by [[Pope Sixtus V|Sixtus V]] as papal legate to the court of King [[Henry IV of France]]. In 1604 [[Pope Gregory XIV|Gregory XIV]] appointed him archbishop of [[Nazareth]], although this was an honorary position as the Holy Land was under Turkish rule.  
  
By [[Pope Clement VIII|Clement VIII]] he was himself made protonotary and [[nuncio]] to the French court; [[Pope Paul V|Paul V]] also employed him in a similar capacity, afterwards raising him to the [[Catholic Cardinal|cardinalate]] and making him the papal legate to [[Bologna]]. On [[6 August]] 1623, he was chosen successor to [[Pope Gregory XV|Gregory XV]] and took the title Urban VIII.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| last = Ott| first = Michael T.| title = Pope Urban VIII| encyclopedia = The Catholic Encyclopedia| volume = XV| publisher = Robert Appleton Company| location = New York| date = 1912| url = http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15218b.htm| accessdate = 2007-09-07 }}</ref>
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By [[Pope Clement VIII|Clement VIII]] he was himself made protonotary and [[nuncio]] to the French court; [[Pope Paul V|Paul V]] also employed him in a similar capacity, afterwards raising him to the [[Catholic Cardinal|cardinalate]] and making him the papal legate to [[Bologna]]. On 6 August 1623, he was chosen successor to [[Pope Gregory XV|Gregory XV]] and took the title Urban VIII.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| last = Ott| first = Michael T.| title = Pope Urban VIII| encyclopedia = The Catholic Encyclopedia| volume = XV| publisher = Robert Appleton Company| location = New York| date = 1912| url = http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15218b.htm| accessdate = 2007-09-07 }}</ref>
  
 
== Papacy ==
 
== Papacy ==
 
Urban's papacy covered twenty-one years of the [[Thirty Years' War]] and was an eventful one even by the standards of the day.  He [[canonization|canonized]] [[Elizabeth of Portugal]] and [[Andrew Corsini]] and issued the [[Papal bull]] of canonization for [[Ignatius Loyola]] and [[Francis Xavier]], who had been canonized by his predecessor, Gregory XV.  
 
Urban's papacy covered twenty-one years of the [[Thirty Years' War]] and was an eventful one even by the standards of the day.  He [[canonization|canonized]] [[Elizabeth of Portugal]] and [[Andrew Corsini]] and issued the [[Papal bull]] of canonization for [[Ignatius Loyola]] and [[Francis Xavier]], who had been canonized by his predecessor, Gregory XV.  
  
Despite an early friendship and encouragement for his teachings, Urban was responsible for summoning [[Galileo Galilei|Galileo]] to Rome in [[1633]] to recant his work.  
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Despite an early friendship and encouragement for his teachings, Urban was responsible for summoning [[Galileo Galilei|Galileo]] to Rome in 1633 to recant his work. he declared that Galileo had "dared to meddle with matters beyond his competence", and had him imprisoned. <ref>Duffy, p 235</ref>.  What actually infuriated the Pope was less Galileo's "heliocedntric theory" but that he taught this despite having been warned not to do so by the Inquisition.  Urban was prepared to forgive "error and conceit" but not "deliberate defiance of ecclesiastical authority." <ref>ibid</ref>.  Duffy suggests that beneath the "astonishing porojections of the Baroque-papacy's self-image" lay deep uncertainty as [[Enlightment]] knowledge began to question old assumptions, so it resorted to the "perempory exercise of authority".
  
 
He was the last to practice [[nepotism]] on a grand scale: various members of his family were enormously enriched by him, so that it seemed to contemporaries as if he were establishing a Barberini dynasty. Urban was also a clever writer of Latin verse, and a collection of [[Bible|Scriptural]] paraphrases as well as original hymns of his composition has been frequently reprinted.  
 
He was the last to practice [[nepotism]] on a grand scale: various members of his family were enormously enriched by him, so that it seemed to contemporaries as if he were establishing a Barberini dynasty. Urban was also a clever writer of Latin verse, and a collection of [[Bible|Scriptural]] paraphrases as well as original hymns of his composition has been frequently reprinted.  
  
Urban VIII issued a 1624 papal bull that made smoking tobacco punishable by excommunication.<ref>{{cite book| title=Tobacco: A Cultural History of How an Exotic Plant Seduced Civilization| first=Iain| last=Gately| year=2001| publisher=Simon & Schuster| isbn=0802139604}}</ref>  
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Urban VIII issued a 1624 papal bull that made smoking tobacco punishable by excommunication.<ref>Gately, Ian  ''Tobacco: A Cultural History of How an Exotic Plant Seduced Civilization''NY: Simon & Schuster, 2001 ISBN 0802139604</ref>  
  
A 1638 papal bull protected the existence of [[Jesuit]] [[Mission (Christian)|missions]] in South America by forbidding the enslavement of natives who joined a [[Jesuit Reductions|mission community]].<ref>{{cite web| title=Catholic Encyclopedia Volume VII| publisher=Robert Appleton Company, New York| first=James| last=Mooney| month=June| year=1910| url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07045a.htm| accessdate=2007-06-07}}</ref> At the same time, Urban repealed the Jesuit monopoly on missionary work in China and Japan, opening these countries to missionaries of all orders.<ref name= "van Helden" >{{cite web| title=The Galileo Project.| publisher=Rice University| first=Al| last=van Helden| year=1995| url=http://galileo.rice.edu/chr/urban_viii.html| accessdate=2007-09-07}}</ref>
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A 1638 papal bull protected the existence of [[Jesuit]] [[Mission (Christian)|missions]] in South America by forbidding the enslavement of natives who joined a [[Jesuit Reductions|mission community]].<ref>Mooney, James "Guaraní Indians",  ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' Volume VII, NY: Robert Appleton Company, 1910 [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07045a.htm Guaraní Indians] Retrieved October 6, 2007</ref> At the same time, Urban repealed the Jesuit monopoly on missionary work in China and Japan, opening these countries to missionaries of all orders.<ref name= "van Helden" >{{cite web| title=The Galileo Project.| publisher=Rice University| first=Al| last=van Helden| year=1995| url=http://galileo.rice.edu/chr/urban_viii.html| accessdate=2007-09-07}}</ref>
  
 
== Politics ==
 
== Politics ==
Urban's military involvement was aimed less at the restoration of [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholicism]] in [[Europe]] than at adjusting the balance of power to favour his own independence in [[Italy]]. In [[1626]] the duchy of [[Urbino]] was incorporated into the papal dominions, and in [[1627]] when the direct male line of the [[Gonzaga]]s in [[Mantua]] became extinct, he controversially favoured the succession of the Protestant Duke of [[Nevers]] against the claims of the Catholic [[Habsburgs]].
+
Urban's military involvement was aimed less at the restoration of [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholicism]] in [[Europe]] than at adjusting the balance of power to favour his own independence in [[Italy]]. In 1626 the duchy of [[Urbino]] was incorporated into the papal dominions, and in 1627 when the direct male line of the [[Gonzaga]]s in [[Mantua]] became extinct, he controversially favoured the succession of the Protestant Duke of [[Nevers]] against the claims of the Catholic [[Habsburgs]].
 
[[Image:Urbano VIII.jpg|left|150px|Coat of Arms of Pope Urban VIII.|thumb]]
 
[[Image:Urbano VIII.jpg|left|150px|Coat of Arms of Pope Urban VIII.|thumb]]
  
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[[Pietro da Cortona]] embellished the gran salon of his family palace with an apotheotic allegory of the triumph of the Barberini.  
 
[[Pietro da Cortona]] embellished the gran salon of his family palace with an apotheotic allegory of the triumph of the Barberini.  
  
A consequence of these military and artistic endeavours was a massive increase in papal debt. Urban VIII inherited a debt of  16 million [[Italian scudo|scudi]], and by 1635 had increased it to 28 million. By 1640 the debt had reached 35 million scudi, consuming more than 80 percent of annual papal income in interest repayments.<ref>{{cite book| title=Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes| first=Eamon| last=Duffy| year=1997| publisher=Yale University Press| isbn=0300091656}}</ref>  
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A consequence of these military and artistic endeavours was a massive increase in papal debt. Urban VIII inherited a debt of  16 million [[Italian scudo|scudi]], and by 1635 had increased it to 28 million. By 1640 the debt had reached 35 million scudi, consuming more than 80 percent of annual papal income in interest repayments.<ref>Duffy, p 235</ref>
  
 
== Later life ==
 
== Later life ==
Urban' death ([[July 29]] [[1644]]) is said to have been hastened by chagrin at the result of the [[Wars of Castro|First War of Castro]], a war he had undertaken against [[Odoardo Farnese]], the [[Duchy of Parma|Duke of Parma]]. Because of the costs incurred by the city of Rome to finance this war, Urban VIII became immensely unpopular.  
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Urban' death (July 29 1644) is said to have been hastened by chagrin at the result of the [[Wars of Castro|First War of Castro]], a war he had undertaken against [[Odoardo Farnese]], the [[Duchy of Parma|Duke of Parma]]. Because of the costs incurred by the city of Rome to finance this war, Urban VIII became immensely unpopular.  
  
 
On his death, the bust of Urban that lay beside the Conservator’s Palace on the [[Capitoline Hill]] was rapidly destroyed by an enraged crowd, and only a quick-thinking priest saved the sculpture of Urban belonging to the Jesuits from a similar fate.<ref> Ernesta Chinazzi, Sede Vacante per la morte del Papa Urbano VIII Barberini e conclave di Innocenzo X Pamfili, Rome, 1904, 13.</ref>  
 
On his death, the bust of Urban that lay beside the Conservator’s Palace on the [[Capitoline Hill]] was rapidly destroyed by an enraged crowd, and only a quick-thinking priest saved the sculpture of Urban belonging to the Jesuits from a similar fate.<ref> Ernesta Chinazzi, Sede Vacante per la morte del Papa Urbano VIII Barberini e conclave di Innocenzo X Pamfili, Rome, 1904, 13.</ref>  
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He was succeeded by [[Pope Innocent X|Innocent X]].
 
He was succeeded by [[Pope Innocent X|Innocent X]].
  
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==Notes==
 +
{{reflist}}
 
==References==
 
==References==
{{reflist}}
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* Bower, Archibald ''The History of the Popes'', Boston: Adamant Media, 2001 ISBN 978-1402171796
 +
* Duffy, Eamon ''Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes'', New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2006 ISBN978-0300115970
 +
* Maxwell-Stuart, P. G ''Chronicle of the Popes: The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Papacy over 2000 years'', London: Thames & Hudson, 1997 ISBN 978-0500017982
 +
* McBrien, Richard P'' Lives of the Popes'', NY: Harper, 2000 ISBN 978-0060653040
  
 
{{Pope|
 
{{Pope|
 
Predecessor=[[Pope Gregory XV|Gregory XV]]|
 
Predecessor=[[Pope Gregory XV|Gregory XV]]|
 
Successor=[[Pope Innocent X|Innocent X]]|Dates=1623&ndash;44}}
 
Successor=[[Pope Innocent X|Innocent X]]|Dates=1623&ndash;44}}
{{Popes}}
 
  
[[Category:Popes|Urban 8]]
 
[[Category:Italian popes|Urban 08]]
 
[[Category:Diplomats of the Holy See|Urban 8]]
 
[[Category:People from Florence|Urban 8]]
 
[[Category:1568 births|Urban 8]]
 
[[Category:1644 deaths|Urban 8]]
 
  
[[bg:Урбан VIII]]
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[[Category:Popes]]
[[ca:Urbà VIII]]
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[[Category:Biography]]
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[[Catehory:Religion]]
[[et:Urbanus VIII]]
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[[fr:Urbain VIII]]
 
[[gl:Urbano VIII, Papa]]
 
[[ko:교황 우르바노 8세]]
 
[[id:Paus Urbanus VIII]]
 
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[[ka:ურბან VIII]]
 
[[la:Urbanus VIII]]
 
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[[ru:Урбан VIII (папа римский)]]
 
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[[th:สมเด็จพระสันตะปาปาเออร์บันที่ 8]]
 
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[[zh:烏爾巴諾八世]]
 
 
{{Credit|160503594}}
 
{{Credit|160503594}}

Revision as of 22:57, 6 October 2007

[[Image: Pope Urban VIII (April 1568 – July 29, 1644), born Maffeo Barberini, was Pope from 1623 to 1644. He was the last Pope to expand the papal territory by force of arms, and was a prominent patron of the arts and reformer of Church missions. However, the massive debts incurred during his papacy greatly weakened his successors, who were unable to maintain the Pope's longstanding political or military influence in Europe.

Early life

Maffeo Barberini was born in 1568 to an important Florentine family. He was educated by the Jesuits and received a doctorate of law from the University of Pisa in 1589.

In 1601, Maffeo was able to use the influence of an uncle who had become apostolic protonotary to secure an appointment by Sixtus V as papal legate to the court of King Henry IV of France. In 1604 Gregory XIV appointed him archbishop of Nazareth, although this was an honorary position as the Holy Land was under Turkish rule.

By Clement VIII he was himself made protonotary and nuncio to the French court; Paul V also employed him in a similar capacity, afterwards raising him to the cardinalate and making him the papal legate to Bologna. On 6 August 1623, he was chosen successor to Gregory XV and took the title Urban VIII.[1]

Papacy

Urban's papacy covered twenty-one years of the Thirty Years' War and was an eventful one even by the standards of the day. He canonized Elizabeth of Portugal and Andrew Corsini and issued the Papal bull of canonization for Ignatius Loyola and Francis Xavier, who had been canonized by his predecessor, Gregory XV.

Despite an early friendship and encouragement for his teachings, Urban was responsible for summoning Galileo to Rome in 1633 to recant his work. he declared that Galileo had "dared to meddle with matters beyond his competence", and had him imprisoned. [2]. What actually infuriated the Pope was less Galileo's "heliocedntric theory" but that he taught this despite having been warned not to do so by the Inquisition. Urban was prepared to forgive "error and conceit" but not "deliberate defiance of ecclesiastical authority." [3]. Duffy suggests that beneath the "astonishing porojections of the Baroque-papacy's self-image" lay deep uncertainty as Enlightment knowledge began to question old assumptions, so it resorted to the "perempory exercise of authority".

He was the last to practice nepotism on a grand scale: various members of his family were enormously enriched by him, so that it seemed to contemporaries as if he were establishing a Barberini dynasty. Urban was also a clever writer of Latin verse, and a collection of Scriptural paraphrases as well as original hymns of his composition has been frequently reprinted.

Urban VIII issued a 1624 papal bull that made smoking tobacco punishable by excommunication.[4]

A 1638 papal bull protected the existence of Jesuit missions in South America by forbidding the enslavement of natives who joined a mission community.[5] At the same time, Urban repealed the Jesuit monopoly on missionary work in China and Japan, opening these countries to missionaries of all orders.[6]

Politics

Urban's military involvement was aimed less at the restoration of Catholicism in Europe than at adjusting the balance of power to favour his own independence in Italy. In 1626 the duchy of Urbino was incorporated into the papal dominions, and in 1627 when the direct male line of the Gonzagas in Mantua became extinct, he controversially favoured the succession of the Protestant Duke of Nevers against the claims of the Catholic Habsburgs.

Coat of Arms of Pope Urban VIII.

He was the last Pope to extend the papal territory, and fortified Castelfranco Emilia on the Mantuan frontier and the castle of Sant'Angelo in Rome. Urban also established an arsenal in the Vatican and an arms factory at Tivoli, and fortified the harbour of Civitavecchia.

For the purposes of making cannon and Vatican decoration, massive bronze girders were pillaged from the portico of the Pantheon, leading to a famous quote quod non fecerunt barbari, fecerunt Barberini, "what the barbarians did not do, the Barberini did."[6]

Art

In addition to these warlike activities, Urban patronized art on a grand scale. He expended vast funds to bring polymaths like Athanasius Kircher to Rome, and painters Nicolas Poussin and Claude Lorrain, architects Bernini and Borromini were commissioned to build the Palazzo Barberini, the college of the Propaganda, the Fontana del Tritone in Piazza Barberini, the Vatican cathedra and other prominent structures in the city.

Pietro da Cortona embellished the gran salon of his family palace with an apotheotic allegory of the triumph of the Barberini.

A consequence of these military and artistic endeavours was a massive increase in papal debt. Urban VIII inherited a debt of 16 million scudi, and by 1635 had increased it to 28 million. By 1640 the debt had reached 35 million scudi, consuming more than 80 percent of annual papal income in interest repayments.[7]

Later life

Urban' death (July 29 1644) is said to have been hastened by chagrin at the result of the First War of Castro, a war he had undertaken against Odoardo Farnese, the Duke of Parma. Because of the costs incurred by the city of Rome to finance this war, Urban VIII became immensely unpopular.

On his death, the bust of Urban that lay beside the Conservator’s Palace on the Capitoline Hill was rapidly destroyed by an enraged crowd, and only a quick-thinking priest saved the sculpture of Urban belonging to the Jesuits from a similar fate.[8]

He was succeeded by Innocent X.

Notes

  1. Ott, Michael T.. (1912). "Pope Urban VIII". The Catholic Encyclopedia XV. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved on 2007-09-07.
  2. Duffy, p 235
  3. ibid
  4. Gately, Ian Tobacco: A Cultural History of How an Exotic Plant Seduced CivilizationNY: Simon & Schuster, 2001 ISBN 0802139604
  5. Mooney, James "Guaraní Indians", Catholic Encyclopedia Volume VII, NY: Robert Appleton Company, 1910 Guaraní Indians Retrieved October 6, 2007
  6. 6.0 6.1 van Helden, Al (1995). The Galileo Project.. Rice University. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
  7. Duffy, p 235
  8. Ernesta Chinazzi, Sede Vacante per la morte del Papa Urbano VIII Barberini e conclave di Innocenzo X Pamfili, Rome, 1904, 13.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Bower, Archibald The History of the Popes, Boston: Adamant Media, 2001 ISBN 978-1402171796
  • Duffy, Eamon Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2006 ISBN978-0300115970
  • Maxwell-Stuart, P. G Chronicle of the Popes: The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Papacy over 2000 years, London: Thames & Hudson, 1997 ISBN 978-0500017982
  • McBrien, Richard P Lives of the Popes, NY: Harper, 2000 ISBN 978-0060653040


Roman Catholic Popes
Preceded by:
Gregory XV
Bishop of Rome
1623–44
Succeeded by:
Innocent X

Catehory:Religion

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