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The history of the popes, from the close of the middle ages : drawn ...

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210 HISTORY OF THE POPES.<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Council. On November ist, a courier had been sent<br />

to Rome with <strong>the</strong> declaration that France accepted <strong>the</strong><br />

last proposal to summon <strong>the</strong> Council at VercelU, or some<br />

o<strong>the</strong>r place in Piedmont, and begged <strong>the</strong> Pope to communicate<br />

this to <strong>the</strong> Emperor and Philip II. ; <strong>the</strong> national council<br />

would not be held, but a definite decision <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Pope with<br />

regard to a general council must be laid before <strong>the</strong> States<br />

General, which were to assemble on December loth.^<br />

After <strong>the</strong> departure <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> courier news arrived <strong>from</strong> Vienna<br />

that <strong>the</strong> Emperor had given his consent to Trent, and in<br />

consequence <strong>of</strong> this a second messenger was sent on November<br />

2nd to convey to <strong>the</strong> Pope <strong>the</strong> agreement <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> French<br />

government to Trent. Francis II. wrote to <strong>the</strong> Emperor<br />

on November 6th that he would refrain <strong>from</strong> assembling a<br />

national council.^<br />

<strong>The</strong> courier sent by Francis II. on November ist, reached<br />

Rome on November nth, and <strong>the</strong> second messenger must<br />

have arrived shortly afterwards. On November 14th Car-<br />

dinal Borromeo wrote to Santa Croce, <strong>the</strong> nuncio in Spain,<br />

" <strong>The</strong> Emperor and <strong>the</strong> King <strong>of</strong> France have decided to<br />

agree that <strong>the</strong> Pope shaU hold <strong>the</strong> Council at Trent, but<br />

desire that it should be summoned anew. As <strong>the</strong> Pope<br />

under no circumstances wiU agree to <strong>the</strong> Council <strong>of</strong> Trent<br />

or its decrees being invalidated, he is having <strong>the</strong> question<br />

as to whe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> convocation shall take place, without<br />

prejudice to those decrees, discussed by <strong>the</strong> Cardinals and<br />

o<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong>ologians. <strong>The</strong> bull <strong>of</strong> convocation will accordingly<br />

be <strong>drawn</strong> up and published in <strong>from</strong> ten to twelve days time,<br />

as is required by our duty to God and <strong>the</strong> welfare <strong>of</strong> Christen-<br />

dom ;<br />

a longer delay is excluded by <strong>the</strong> occurrences in France<br />

and <strong>the</strong> king's promise to refrain <strong>from</strong> a national council."^<br />

At a consistory <strong>of</strong> November 15th <strong>the</strong> Pope announced that<br />

<strong>the</strong> princes had agreed to Trent as <strong>the</strong> seat <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Council,<br />

1 Le Plat, IV., 655 seq.<br />

* See ihid., 657 seq.; Ehses, Berufung des Konzils, 20 seq.,<br />

VIII., 97 seq.<br />

* See Ehses, Berufung des Konzils, 21.

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