Vincenzo Querini
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Vincenzo Querini (1478/79 – 23 September 1514) was a
Venetian patrician The Venetian patriciate (, ) was one of the three social bodies into which the society of the Republic of Venice was divided, together with citizens and foreigners. was the Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble title of the members of the Aris ...
, diplomat and church reformer. An accomplished Renaissance humanist, he held a doctorate in
philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
and wrote poetry in Tuscan. He served as ambassador to Castile (1504–1506) and the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
(1506–1507). In 1512, he became a
Camaldolese The Camaldolese Hermits of Mount Corona () are a Catholic Church, Catholic monastic order of pontifical right for men founded by Romuald, St. Romuald. Its name is derived from the Holy Hermitage () in Camaldoli, high in the mountains of Tuscany, ...
monk and took the religious name Pietro. As a monk, he worked closely with his friend Tommaso Giustiniani for the reform of the order. They also addressed a tract to
Pope 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 Med ...
arguing for a comprehensive reform of the church. His early death preempted Leo's plan to appoint him a
cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
.


Life


Secular

Querini was born in 1478 or 1479 to Girolamo di Blandino Querini and his wife Dandola, daughter of Antonio Dandolo. His brothers were Francesco, Marcantonio and Zorzi. They lived in
San Polo San Polo () is the smallest and most central of the six sestieri of Venice, northern Italy, covering 86 acres (35 hectares) along the Grand Canal. It is one of the oldest parts of the city, having been settled before the ninth cent ...
. After the death of their father, they were raised by their uncle, Antonio Querini. In 1492, Querini began to study philosophy at the
University of Padua The University of Padua (, UNIPD) is an Italian public research university in Padua, Italy. It was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from the University of Bologna, who previously settled in Vicenza; thus, it is the second-oldest ...
. Among his teachers was Agostino Nifo and his friends included
Pietro Bembo Pietro Bembo, (; 20 May 1470 – 18 January 1547) was a Venetian scholar, poet, and literary theory, literary theorist who also was a member of the Knights Hospitaller and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. As an intellectual of the Italian Re ...
,
Gasparo Contarini Gasparo Contarini (16 October 1483 – 24 August 1542) was an Italian diplomat, cardinal, and Bishop of Belluno. He advocated for dialogue with Protestants during the Reformation. Born in Venice, he served as the Republic's ambassador to Charle ...
and Tommaso Giustiniani. He studied
Averroes Ibn Rushd (14 April 112611 December 1198), archaically Latinization of names, Latinized as Averroes, was an Arab Muslim polymath and Faqīh, jurist from Al-Andalus who wrote about many subjects, including philosophy, theology, medicine, astron ...
and became adept at
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
. In 1501, Querini and Giustiniani took a vow of chastity to devote themselves to the study of the
Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
. In 1502, Querini went to Rome with Bembo to defend his thesis containing 4,059 philosophical and theological propositions before
Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI (, , ; born Roderic Llançol i de Borja; epithet: ''Valentinus'' ("The Valencian"); – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death in 1503. Born into t ...
and the
College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals (), also called the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. there are cardinals, of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Appointed by the pope, ...
. The pope awarded him a doctorate. On 16 December 1504, Querini was elected ambassador of the
Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...
to the court of
Philip the Fair Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre and Count of Champagne as Philip I from ...
,
Duke of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy () was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by the Crown lands of France, French crown in 1477, and later by members of the House of Habsburg, including Holy Roman E ...
, the husband of Queen
Joanna of Castile Joanna of Castile (6 November 1479 – 12 April 1555), historically known as Joanna the Mad (), was the nominal queen of Castile from 1504 and queen of Aragon from 1516 to her death in 1555. She was the daughter of Queen Isabella I of Castile ...
. He arrived at
Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken has 181,959 inhabitants and is Saarland's administrative, commerci ...
in March 1505, was shipwrecked off the English coast in January 1506, was stranded for two months in Falmouth and arrived in Castile in April. He returned to Venice by October following Philip's death. In Castile, he met
Pietro Martire d'Anghiera Peter Martyr d'Anghiera ( or ''ab Angleria''; ; ; 2 February 1457 – October 1526), formerly known in English as Peter Martyr of Angleria,D'Anghiera, Peter Martyr. ''De Orbe Novo'' . Trans. Richard Eden a''The decades of the newe wo ...
. On 23 October 1506, Querini was elected ambassador to the emperor-elect, Maximilian I of Germany. He arrived in
Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
in March 1507. In accordance with his instructions, he refused Maximilian's request that his army be permitted to pass through Venetian territory in support of
Pope Julius II Pope Julius II (; ; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death, in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope, the Battle Pope or the Fearsome ...
against France. In October, he returned to Venice.


Religious

In 1508, around the start of the
War of the League of Cambrai The War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and several other names, was fought from February 1508 to December 1516 as part of the Italian Wars of 1494–1559. The main participants of the war, who fough ...
, Querini and Giustiniani made a joint decision to dedicate one hour each day to meditation. They began frequenting the Camaldolese monastery of San Michele in Isola. With Egnazio, they attempted to join the monastery of Praglia. Failing this, on 10 May 1510, they made a joint declaration of their intention to enter the
Hermitage of Camaldoli The Hermitage of Camaldoli, in Italian Complesso dell'Eremo dei Camaldoli, is a hermitage in Naples, Campania, Italy — also known in Italian as ''Eremo Santissimo Salvatore Camaldoli.'' Originally intended as an actual hermitage, a pla ...
as lay brothers. In 1510, Giustiniani broke the agreement by entering Camaldoli as a full monk. In November 1511, Querini joined Giustiniani in Camaldoli. He spent January 1512 in
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
recovering from illness, where he was visited by leading local humanists, like , Giovanni di Bardo Corsi and
Francesco Cattani da Diacceto Francesco Cattani da Diacceto (16 November 1466 – 10 April 1522) was a Florentine Neoplatonist philosopher of the Italian Renaissance. Life Diacceto was born in Florence on 16 November 1466, the son of Zanobi Cattani da Diacceto and Lion ...
. On 22 February 1512, he professed as a monk. He took the religious name Pietro. At Camaldoli, Querini and Giustiniani successfully opposed the policies of the minister general Pietro Delfino and Basilio Nardi. In this they were supported by
Elisabetta Gonzaga Elisabetta Gonzaga (1471–1526) was a noblewoman of the Italian Renaissance, the Duchess of Urbino by marriage to Duke Guidobaldo da Montefeltro. Because her husband was impotent, Elisabetta never had children of her own, but adopted her husban ...
,
Giuliano de' Medici Giuliano de' Medici (28 October 1453 – 26 April 1478) was the second son of Piero de' Medici (the Gouty) and Lucrezia Tornabuoni. As co-ruler of the Florentine Republic, with his brother Lorenzo the Magnificent, he complemented his broth ...
and Giovanni de' Medici (soon to be elected
Pope 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 Med ...
). In April 1513, a council of the order decided in their favour to remove Camaldoli from Delfino's control. Querini and Giustiniani visited Rome to have Leo personally affirm this decision in a
bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not Castration, castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e. cows proper), bulls have long been an important symbol cattle in r ...
. The following year the
Fifth Lateran Council The Fifth Council of the Lateran, held between 1512 and 1517, was the eighteenth ecumenical council of the Catholic Church and was the last council before the Protestant Reformation and the Council of Trent. This was the first time since 1213 t ...
restored some powers to Delfino and Querini and Giustiniani took the case to arbitration in Rome, where Cardinals Antonio del Monte and
Lorenzo Pucci Lorenzo Pucci (18 August 1458 – 16 September 1531) was an Italian cardinal and bishop from the Florentine Pucci family. His brother Roberto Pucci and his nephew Antonio Pucci also became cardinals. Biography Pucci was born in Florence. He ...
found substantially in their favour in June 1514. In April 1514, Leo X, seeking a rapprochement with Venice, considered elevating Querini to the cardinalate and using him in negotiations. This proposal had the support of Venice, but it alienated Querini from Bembo, with whom he was staying in Rome. He fell ill in August and died in Rome on 23 September 1514. Giustiniani considered it possible that he was poisoned, but it is more likely he had
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
.


Works

Querini's thesis was published, probably in 1503, as ''Conclusiones Vincentii Quirini patritii Veneti Romae disputatae''. At the urging of Giustiniani, Querini studied
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
and, with the help of an anonymous Venetian Jew, translated the biblical books of ''
Job Work, labor (labour in Commonwealth English), occupation or job is the intentional activity people perform to support the needs and desires of themselves, other people, or organizations. In the context of economics, work can be seen as the huma ...
'', ''
Song of Songs The Song of Songs (), also called the Canticle of Canticles or the Song of Solomon, is a Biblical poetry, biblical poem, one of the five ("scrolls") in the ('writings'), the last section of the Tanakh. Unlike other books in the Hebrew Bible, i ...
'' and ''
Psalms The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of B ...
'' from the original language into
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
. He also wrote a Hebrew grammar, ''Grammaticae introductionis Hebraeorum libri tres'', which was never published. Querini's most important work was co-written with Giustiniani. The ' is a treatise on church reform addressed to Leo X, to whom they personally delivered a copy in July 1513. It argues comprehensive reforms to root out clerical abuses, restore discipline to religious orders, revamp canon law, standardize the liturgy and pursue unity with separated churches in eastern Europe, Asia and Africa. Although
papal supremacy Papal supremacy is the doctrine of the Catholic Church that the Pope, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, the visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful, and as priest of the ...
was affirmed, the ''Libellus'' urged Leo to put off worldliness. As regards those outside the church, Jews should be converted or expelled and a
crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...
against Muslims pursued. Every priest should be able to read Latin, but the Bible should be translated into the vernacular for the laity. Querini's contribution to the treatise is most evident in its appeal for evangelizing the natives of the New World, about which he had learned during his embassy in Spain. In addition to the aforementioned works in Latin, Querini wrote
sonnet A sonnet is a fixed poetic form with a structure traditionally consisting of fourteen lines adhering to a set Rhyme scheme, rhyming scheme. The term derives from the Italian word ''sonetto'' (, from the Latin word ''sonus'', ). Originating in ...
s in archaic Tuscan in the style of
Petrarch Francis Petrarch (; 20 July 1304 – 19 July 1374; ; modern ), born Francesco di Petracco, was a scholar from Arezzo and poet of the early Italian Renaissance, as well as one of the earliest Renaissance humanism, humanists. Petrarch's redis ...
. The Venetian printer
Gabriele Giolito de' Ferrari Gabriele Giolito de' Ferrari (c. 1508 – 1578) was a 16th-century Italian printer active in Venice. He was one of the first major publishers of literature in the vernacular Italian language. Early life and career Giolito was born at Trino to ...
included his work in three of his published volumes: ''Rime diverse di molti eccellentissimi auttori nuovamente raccolti: Libro primo'' (1545); ''Rime di diversi nobili huomini et eccellenti poeti nella lingua toscana: Libro secondo'' (1547); and ''Rime di diversi eccellenti autori raccolte dai libri da noi altre volte impressi'' (1553), a collection put together by
Lodovico Dolce Lodovico Dolce (1508/10–1568) was an Italian man of letters and theorist of painting. He was a broadly based Venetian humanist and prolific author, translator, and editor; he is now mostly remembered for his ''Dialogue on Painting'' or ''L'Aret ...
. A volume dedicated to his poetry was published at Venice in 1548, ''Stanze de M. Vincentio Quirino belissime d'amore con alcuni sonetti mirabili sopra varii suggieti d'amore nuovamente venuti in luce''. Paolo Manuzio also included some of his work in ''Lettere volgari di diversi nobilissimi huomini et eccellentissimi ingegni, scritte in diverse materie'' (1551). Many of Querini's '' relazioni'' and dispatches as a diplomat have been published.


Notes


References


Bibliography

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External links

{{Commonscatinline 1470s births 1514 deaths Republic of Venice nobility 16th-century Venetian writers Republic of Venice poets University of Padua alumni Republic of Venice philosophers Venetian Renaissance humanists Ambassadors of the Republic of Venice to Spain Ambassadors of the Republic of Venice to the Habsburg monarchy Camaldolese Order Pope Leo X Querini family