Lorenzo Campeggio (7 November 1474 – 19 July 1539) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

cardinal and politician. He was the last cardinal protector of England.

Life

Campeggio was born in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

to a noble family, the eldest of five sons. Campeggio initially intended to pursue a career in law, obtaining his degree in 1499. In 1510, following the death of his wife, Campeggio began to serve the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. In 1511 and from 1513 to 1517, Campeggio served as nuncio on two separate occasions to Maximilian I. In 1517, during his second period as nuncio to Maximilian I,

Leo X Pope Leo X (; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political and banking Me ...

made him a cardinal. On 22 January 1523, Campeggio was appointed cardinal–protector of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. While in England, Campeggio was tasked with convincing

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

to pledge his support to a planned crusade against

Selim I Selim I (; ; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute (), was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite lasting only eight years, his reign is ...

that was envisioned by Leo X. In 1528, Campeggio returned to England in order to hear the case for divorce between Henry VIII and

Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, historical Spanish: , now: ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England as the Wives of Henry VIII, first wife of King Henry VIII from their marr ...

. Due to the mental duress and his affliction with gout, this period of time was particularly unpleasant for Campeggio. Campeggio wrote his ''De depravato statu ecclesiae'' for

Adrian VI Pope Adrian VI (; ; ; ), born Adriaan Florensz Boeyens (2 March 1459 – 14 September 1523), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 January 1522 until his death on 14 September 1523. The only Dutchman to bec ...

, which proposed radical reforms for the papal bureaucracy.

References

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Campeggio, Lorenzo 1474 births 1539 deaths Apostolic nuncios to the Holy Roman Empire Diplomats from Milan 16th-century Italian cardinals Italian expatriates in England Bishops of Bologna Cardinal-bishops of Albano Cardinal-bishops of Palestrina Cardinal-bishops of Sabina Bishops of Salisbury 16th-century English Roman Catholic bishops 16th-century Italian jurists Italian Renaissance humanists Burials at Santa Maria in Trastevere Latin Archbishops of Crete 16th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops Clergy from Milan

Life

References

Further reading