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  • Writer's pictureAeneas Sylvius Piccolomini

Pope Pius II as an author: an overview.

Updated: Oct 19, 2020


I've spent the past couple of days dipping in and out of Richard B. Hilary's 1969 doctoral thesis on the appointments of Pope Pius II (1458-64). Aside from the nepotistic appointments, Hilary also included a helpful chronology of all the literary works that can be ascribed to Pius thus far. The pontiff covers a number of different themes in his works, which in part reflected his travels and his career, there's even a cheeky erotic novella (De Duobus Amantibus). As these works are of such scope, further discussion will follow.


'Because you have been many times in love, nor yet lack fire, you wish me to weave for you the story of two lovers... You will not hear the loves of Troy or Babylon, but of our own city, though, of the lovers, one was born under a northern sky'.

(De Duobus Amantibus).




Manuscript of Historia, containing Euryalus primam epistolam ad Lucretiam mittit (Euryalus Sends His First Letter to Lucretia).


Principal works of Pius II.


c.1427 Cinthia.

c .1435 Nymphilexis.

1440 Libellus dialogorum de Generalis Concilii autoritate et gestis Basiliensium

1440 De gestis Basiliensis Concilii.

1443 Pentalogus.

1444 Historia de Eurialo et Lucretia (Google Books has most of the text here, https://bit.ly/31ePvzp)

1444 De duobus amantibus ( The Two Lovers).

1444 De natura et cura equorum.

1444 Epistola de curialium miseriis.

1444 Chrysis.

1446 De ortu et autoritate Romani Imperii.

1440-50 De viris aetate sua Claris.

1450 De liberorum educatione.

1450 De rebus Basileae gestis stante vel dissoluto

concilie.

1450 Dialogus de Sommino.

1453 Historia Gothorum.

1454 Historia de Ratisponensi dieta.

1456 Commentarii in libros Antonii Panormitae Poetae

de dictis et factis Alphonsii Regis.

1456 Artis retoricae praecepta.

1457 De ritu, situ, moribus et conditione Germaniae

descriptio.

1458 Historia Friderici III Imperatoris.

1458 De Europa. (Google Books has pretty much the entire text: https://bit.ly/2ILDuLz)

1458 Historia Bohemica.

1461 De Asia.

1463 Supra Decades Blondi Epitome.

1463 Bulla retractationem.

Commentarii rerum raemorabilium quae teraporibus

suis contigerunt



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