Italian politician
Mercurino Arborio, marchese di Gattinara
(10 June 1465 – 5 June 1530), was an
Italian
statesman and jurist best known as the chancellor of the
Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V
. He was made
cardinal
of the
Roman Catholic Church
for
San Giovanni a Porta Latina
in 1529.
Biography
[
edit
]
He was born in
Gattinara
, near
Vercelli
, modern
Piedmont
. Mercurino Gattinara initially served as the legal advisor to Margaret of Austria in
Savoy
. She considered him as chief amongst her various counsellors.
Mercurino Gattinara is however mostly famous for having served as Emperor
Charles V
's “Grand Chancellor of all the realms and kingdoms of the king.” Upon the death of Charles' counsellor
Chievres
, Gattinara would become the king's most influential advisor. He was a Roman Catholic, humanist,
Erasmian
, jurist and scholar—at the same time
idealist
in his goals, and
realist
in his tactics. He was a scholar of
jurisprudence
, the classic theory of the
state
, and the Christian doctrine of duty. Gattinara would guide Charles away from both his roots in dynastic
Burgundy
, and from the prevailing
secular
political theory of Spain at the time, toward a Christian humanist conception of Empire. His ideas of the primacy of the Empire in Europe were in direct contradiction with the growing trend toward the theory of the
nation state
.
In his capacity as Chancellor, he urged Charles V to create a
dynastic
empire
with the object of establishing global rule (
"Dominium Mundi"
). Gattinara in his policy advice and personal writings argued for Christian imperialism, based on a united
Christendom
, which would then combat or convert the
Protestants
, the
Turks
, and the
infidels
of the
New World
. His theory attempted to balance the solidarity of Christian nations, with the requirements of conquest for the establishment of one world empire.
Gattinara was instrumental in shifting Charles V's policy vision from that of a regional dynastic
monarch
to an empire-builder. Doubtless due in large part to Gattinara's counsel, the
Habsburg Empire
would reach its territorial height under Charles V, although it would begin to show signs of decay at the end of his reign, most importantly with the independence granted to the economically thriving but tax-averse
Low Countries
.
Goals
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]
After Charles's election to the throne, Gattinara wrote to him:
Sire, God has been very merciful to you: he has raised you above all the Kings and Princes of Christendom to a power such as no sovereign has enjoyed since your ancestor
Charles the Great
. He has set you on the way towards a world monarchy, towards the uniting of all Christendom under a single
shepherd
.
In the conclusion to this letter, Gattinara reiterated his belief that the true purpose of monarchy was to unite all people in the service of God.
During a review for the purpose of administrative reform, Gattinara advised Charles, in a section of the report entitled “Reverence toward God” on issues such as: whether
Moors
and Infidels should be tolerated in his lands; whether the inhabitants of the
West Indian islands
and the mainland were to be converted to Christianity; and whether the
Inquisition
should be reformed.
Another goal espoused by Gattinara was to unite Christendom against the Turk, as well as against the
Lutheran
heresy. There was little practical basis for achieving such an understanding between the European powers, however.
Gattinara's own summation of his views included the final goal of laying the foundations for a policy that was truly imperial, leading to a general war on the infidel and
heretic
. His first objective was the Emperor's voyage to
Italy
as soon as the fleet was ready. Gattinara concealed the reason for expanding the fleet by reference to the troubles in
Mexico
.
At every fresh opportunity, Gattinara was for “taking time by the
forelock
” and establishing the power of Charles V in Italy without more delay. This would function as a permanent guarantee of peace, not only on the
peninsula
but in all Europe. Gattinara's views were rooted in
Dante
, despite having to face many practical setbacks. He faced deep-seated opposition to the imperial council, and Gattinara began to acknowledge that many were against his plan. Many Spaniards suspected Gattinara of having interests in Italy (as he was originally from Piedmont), as so his motives were questioned, and he was even threatened.
Gattinara held Dante's dream of universal monarchy as the ultimate goal of Charles V's rule, united both Christendom and eventually the world. These ideas were in line with some of Charles's other advisors. Imperial
ambassador
at
Henry VIII
’s court,
M. Louis de Praet
, wrote to Charles:
At this moment one may say that Your Majesty holds world-monarchy in your hands, provided this victory over
France
is turned to good advantage. If the
English
were to set foot in France, it would be a great advantage for Your Majesty, for it would weaken the enemy and prevent him from doing any further damage, and thus the surest means to a lasting peace. The whole of
Languedoc
, Burgundy, and the land about the
River Somme
should be regained. God made Emperor the arbitrator between peace and war. Such favourable opportunity should not be lost.
Charles’s secretary,
Alfonso de Valdes
, a humanist and Erasmian like Gattinara, would write to Charles after the
victory of Pavia
(a defeat for the French, including the capture of their king
Francois I
):
It appears God has bestowed this victory on the Emperor in a wonderful manner so that he might defend Christendom and fight the Turks and Moors on their own ground so that the whole world receive our Holy
Faith
under this Christian Prince and the words of
Our Savior
be fulfilled: Fiet unum ovile et unus pastor.
The Spanish missionary spirit is here wedded with Dante’s
theocratic
ideal and expresses the high expectations of the humanist Italians and Spaniards surrounding Charles. The Emperor was seen as the reviver of the
Roman universal Monarchy
who could put an end to the feudal and dynastic conflicts, and establish a
democratic
imperium. Charles' more limited goals of ordering his empire within a
Respublica Christiana
(a united Europe) was disappointing to his advisors seeking world-dominion, especially so to Gattinara, the aspirant to “world-empire.”
Policies
[
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]
Just as Gattinara is noted for his
universalist
idealism
, he is also recognized as adept in the practice of
realpolitik
.
Taking over from Charles V's advisor
Carlos de Chievres
, Gattinara shifted the policy outlook of his king. Chievres had advocated protecting the
Netherlands
through understandings with France and England, attempting to avoid war with France especially. Gattinara aimed at broadening Charles from a narrow Burgundian/Spanish outlook toward a wide imperial vision. At the center of his imperial policy was Italy:
Milan
was the vital link between the
Habsburg
holdings of Spain/
Franche-Comte
and
Tyrol
. By the last months of 1521, Gattinara had succeeded in shifting the war with France from
Navarre
to Italy. His imperial strategy had two conditions for success: domination of Italy, and
alliance
with Rome.
Gattinara was the source of Charles's shift in policy toward Italy?no other cabinet member pushed for these policies. A year previous to Gattinara's appointment, the English ambassador Tunstal had remarked on Gattinara's preoccupation with Italy. Gattinara had drawn up advance drafts of war plans against Italy, in which he stresses that since God called Charles to be the first prince of Christendom it was fitting that he turns his attention to Italy, saying that anyone who counselled Charles against pursuing Italy in lieu of interest elsewhere was prescribing the king's ruin, shame and blame. Gattinara emphasized the low cost of an Italian campaign, and the necessary troop
mobilization
necessary for overwhelming force.
In deciding whether or not to advise Charles V to go to war against France in northern Italy, Gattinara constructed an allegory posing the
seven deadly sins
against the
ten commandments
?seven causes for avoiding war, and ten arguments in favour. Against, the reasons were all quite practical: an attack would place a great stake on a single
strategy
with an uncertain method of solution; there was not enough money in the
treasury
; negotiations with other Italian states were uncertain; the
Swiss
might ally themselves with France, and the area would soon be fraught with danger from the impending winter. However, Gattinara argued that the war was justified by Charles V's bond to honour the
Pope
, whom he needed as an ally. Clearly, God was on Charles's side, and to let France escape a fight would be to tempt
fate
?he would not have the chance, as resources would not be mobilized so easily next time. Additionally, with the army mobilized, it would not look good to call it off at the eleventh hour. Gattinara saw to it that his ten commandments won out over the seven deadly sins.
Gattinara was not an idealist when it came to policy. The
Treaty of Madrid
was forced upon Francis I of France by Charles after Francis was captured. The treaty spoke in
romantic
hyperbole
and ended with an
oath
for both rulers to undertake a
crusade
together. While Francois signed the treaty under duress, Gattinara refused to affix the imperial seal to the document, because of his sense of
realpolitik
. Francois would subsequently break the terms of the treaty, which had been to renounce claims in Italy, surrender Burgundy, and abandon
suzerainty
over
Flanders
and
Artois
.
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- Alvarez, Manuel Fernandez.
Charles V: Elected emperor and hereditary ruler.
Thames and Hudson, London: 1975.
- Boone, Rebecca Ard.
Mercurino di Gattinara and the Creation of the Spanish Empire
. Pickering and Chatto, London: 2014.
- Brandi, Karl. trans.
C.V. Wedgwood
.
The Emperor Charles V: The Growth and Destiny of a Man and of a World-Empire.
Humanities Press, Atlantic Highlands, NJ: 1980.
- Habsburg, Otto von. trans. Michael Ross.
Charles V.
Praeger Publishers, Washington: 1970.
- Headley, John M.
The emperor and his chancellor: a study of the imperial chancellery under Gattinara
. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1983.
- Schwarzenfeld. Gertrude von.
Charles V: Father of Europe.
Hollis & Carter, London: 1957.
- Headley, John,
The emperor and his chancellor: a study of the imperial chancellery under Gattinara
, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1983.
- Rivero Rodriguez, Manuel,
Gattinara: Carlos V y el sueno del Imperio
, Madrid: Silex, 2005.
- Rivero Rodriguez, Manuel, ≪Memoria, escritura y Estado: la autobiografia de Mercurino Arborio di Gattinara, Gran canciller de Carlos V≫, en Martinez Millan, Jose (coord.),
Carlos V y la quiebra del humanismo politico en Europa (1530-1558)
, Madrid: Sociedad Estatal para la Conmemoracion de los Centenarios de Felipe II y Carlos V, volumen 1, 2000, pags. 199?224.
- Rivero Rodriguez, Manuel, La Corona de Aragon, metafora de la Monarquia de Carlos V: Gattinara y sus ideas sobre el gobierno (1519-1520), en Garcia Garcia, Bernardo Jose (coord.),
El Imperio de Carlos V: procesos de agregacion y conflictos
, Madrid: Fundacion Carlos de Amberes, 2000, pags. 97?110.
- Boone, Rebecca,
Mercurino di Gattinara and the creation of the Spanish Empire
, London, Vermont: Pickering & Chatto, 2014.
- Boone, Rebecca, ≪Empire and Medieval Simulacrum: A Political Project of Mercurino Arborio di Gattinara, Gran Chancellor of Charles V≫, in
The Sixteenth Century Journal
, 4 (2011), pp. 1027?1049.
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