The Office of Ceremonies and Advancement in Curial Rome, 1466–1528

Jennifer Mara DeSilva, Ph.D. (2007, University of Toronto) is Associate Professor of History at Ball State University. She has published a range of articles on early modern Europe and has edited several collections, including The Borgia Family: Rumor and Representation (Routledge, 2019).

Acknowledgements

List of Figures and Tables

List of Abbreviations

List of Pontificates, 1420–1605

A Note on Names



Introduction

 1 The Papal Court: Both Foreign and Familiar

 2 Tracing Advancement in the Office of Ceremonies

 3 The Development of Masters of Ceremonies and Politica Festiva

 4 Onwards



1 The Curia and the Office of Ceremonies

 1 Historiographical Traces

 2 Physical Traces



2 The Development of the Office of Ceremonies

 1 The Work and Structure of the Office of Ceremonies before 1466

 2 The Work and Structure of the Office of Ceremonies after 1466

 3 The Economics of Office-Holding

 4 Provision to Office: It’s Who You Know

 5 Professionalizing by Decree: Pastoralis officii (1513) and Santi Celso and Giuliano



3 The Office-Holders: Origins and Strategies

 1 Agostino Patrizi, 1466–1488

 2 Johann Burchard, 1483–†1506

 3 Paris de’ Grassi, 1504–†1528

 4 Conclusion



4 The Office-Holder’s Great Goal: A Bishopric

 1 Papal Patronage

 2 Agostino Patrizi, Bishop of Pienza and Montalcino (1484–†1495)

 3 Johann Burchard, Bishop of Orte and Civita Castellana (1503–†1506)

 4 Paris de’ Grassi, Bishop of Pesaro (1513–†1528)

 5 Conclusion



5 Tools of the Profession: Ceremonial Diaries and Guides

 1 The Diaries as Signs of Professionalization

 2 The Diaries as Commonplace Books

 3 Where Did All the Diaries Go?

 4 Diaries before 1483: Lost or Fragmentary

 5 Codifying Practice: Liber Pontificalis (1485) and Caeremoniale Romanum (1488)

 6 Johann Burchard’s Liber Notarum

 7 Paris de’ Grassi: Continuing the Tradition

 8 Diaries after 1521: Continuity and Curation

 9 Conclusion



6 Curial Authors

 1 Agostino Patrizi: Humanist and Ceremonialist

 2 Johann Burchard: Collaborator and Benchmark

 3 Paris de’ Grassi: Advocate and Revisionary

 4 Conclusion



7 Clerical Ambition in the Papal Chapel

 1 Preaching as a Part of Career Advancement

 2 Sermons in the Papal Chapel

 3 Preachers as Curialists

 4 Conclusion



Conclusion

Bibliography

Index