Tommaso Parentucelli was born in Sarzana, Italy on November 13, 1397, where his father was a physician. While taking his early studies in Bologna, he was noticed by the Bishop, Nicholas Albergati, for the enthusiastic manner in which he pursued his courses. Albergati arranged for the young student to tour Germany, France and England to further his learning. Later, as a young cleric, Parentucelli participated in the council of Ferrara-Florence, which was a complex series of meetings addressing governance and papal authority. During these meetings he was introduced to ‘Renaissance Humanism’ by the Greek members of the delegation and became a follower of that philosophical view the rest of his life. In 1444, Pope Eugene IV made him bishop of Bologna and also named him as one of his representatives in negotiating an understanding between factions of the clergy debating the primacy of the Pope. His success with that effort was rewarded with the title of Cardinal Priest of the Church of St. Susanna in December, 1446 when he was 49.
When Parentucelli became Pope on March 5, 1447 after the death of his predecessor and mentor, Pope Eugene IV, he took the Papal name of Nicholas to honor Nicholas Albergati, his early supporter. He served as Pope a few days longer than eight years, dying on March 24, 1455.
Though Nicholas’s served as Pope for only eight years, a relatively short period, his reign had an outsized influence on both Catholicism and the secular world. Perhaps it was the combination of that period in history, his pro-active actions, and the culmination of some issues that he was addressing before he became Pope, which all contributed to the impact he made. One such event was the resignation of the anti-pope Felix V in April 1449 which ended a long papal schism. Felix had been appointed by the defiant Council of Basel, which advocated control of the church through councils rather than through the Pope. Nicholas also disbanded the mercenary armies previous Popes had employed and instead practiced compromise and reasonable alternatives to govern. He also put in place measures that stopped the practice of selling and buying church offices and services.
He employed hundreds of copyists and scholars to translate and prepare ancient texts for the founding of a nine thousand volume library for the Vatican. He repaired, restored and expanded St. Peters and the Vatican, making it the official residence for Popes. For the greater Rome area, he repaired and expanded the aqueduct system bringing clean water back to the citizens and restored many Roman architectural treasures. Not all of the Rome citizenry were pleased with his efforts, however, and there were efforts to overthrow and assassinate him. Nicholas dealt with the ringleader, Stefano Porcaro, in a merciful manner twice. After the third attempt on his life he had Porcaro and his accomplices executed. A major event during his time of service was the fall of Constantinople, the seat of Eastern Christianity, in 1453. Nicholas had ordered a fleet of ships from the papal navy to support and aid the city, but it arrived too late.
From most reports, Nicholas was a man of gentle character who used wise concession rather than force in his diplomatic efforts to secure peace and harmony. And his patronage of the arts restored some of the prestige the Catholic Church had lost.
The summary of Nicholas’s life and service seems in sharp contrast to the Dum Diversas Papal Bull. Part of that contradiction may be due to what we consider as ‘race’ today, didn’t exist in the 15th century. And also, the ‘world-view’ was limited at that time, even for people who had the advantage of an education. Regardless, Nicholas’s 1452 Dum Diversas Papal Bull is a central element in colonization.
Primary Resource: Gill, Joseph. “Nicholas V”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Nov. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nicholas-V-pope. Gill is a former Professor of Byzantine Greek Language and of Byzantine History, Pontifical Oriental Institute, Rome, 1946–67. Author of The Council of Florence and others.