Polityka papieża Aleksandra VI i obchody Jubileuszu roku 1500 poza Rzymem. Przykład Polski

Abstract

Pope Alexander VI’s policy and the celebrations of the 1500 Jubilee outside Rome: the example of Poland The year 1500 Jubilee came at a time of strong tensions in European politics caused by a threat of a Turkish invasion and fight over hegemony in Italy. The pontificate of Alexander VI Borgia was the peak of the construction of the papal state understood as an early modern monarchy. On the other hand the idea of a crusade against the Turks was the papacy’s last big project in the spirit of the Middle Ages, aimed at rebuilding the authority of the Bishop of Rome, with the 1500 Jubilee being the last great manifestation of medieval piety. The pope wanted his state to be a hegemonic power in Italy. An important element in the implementation of this plan was raising the prestige of his own family by creating a sovereign duchy ruled by the pope’s son, Cesare. Alexander VI’s policy, with regard to both the Italian and Transalpine states, was a function of his personal ambitions and plans. Did the pope accord a privileged status to the Jagiellonian states? Through his bull Gradiente domino super aquas (22 May 1500) he gave people living in Poland and Hungary a possibility of obtaining a jubilee plenary indulgence under simplified conditions at a point — contrary to the established practice — when the celebrations of the Holy Year in Rome had not finished yet. In fact, however, this was an example of using the prerogatives of the pope’s spiritual power to pursue current political objectives. It could even be said that the so-called jubilee sums and their spending became the focal point of the 1500 Jubilee celebrations. Although the sums were to have been spent on the fight against pagans, they were spent on other military objectives instead: they enabled the pope to support his son’s endeavours to build his own domain. An analysis of Alexander VI’s policy shows that the customs and legal norms associated with jubilee celebrations and plenary indulgencies became fully subordinated to the current political objectives and financial needs of the monarch pope as well as his family. Universalist projects that were prime examples of medieval piety were profoundly transformed and adapted to completely new circumstances.