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

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COMMENDONE IN BAVARIA. 237<br />

spirit. 1 On January 31st Commendone left Mayence and<br />

proceeded by way <strong>of</strong> Frankfort and Aschaffenburg to Wiirz-<br />

burg. <strong>The</strong> bishop <strong>of</strong> that city, Frederick von Wirsberg,<br />

honoured <strong>the</strong> Pope's representative in every possible way ;<br />

in consequence <strong>of</strong> his great age, however, he was not in a<br />

position to undertake <strong>the</strong> journey to Trent. From a religious<br />

point <strong>of</strong> view things were not unsatisfactory in <strong>the</strong> diocese <strong>of</strong><br />

Wiirzburg, as <strong>the</strong> bishop did everything in his power to main-<br />

tain <strong>the</strong> people in <strong>the</strong> Catholic faith. <strong>The</strong> Catholics were<br />

also in <strong>the</strong> majority in <strong>the</strong> diocese <strong>of</strong> Bamberg, which Commendone<br />

visited on February 9th ; <strong>the</strong> greater part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

people were Catholics, but <strong>the</strong> nobles, on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand,<br />

had gone over to <strong>the</strong> new doctrines, and because <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> unfit-<br />

ness <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> bishop, an aggravation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> evil was to be feared<br />

in <strong>the</strong> future.^<br />

From Bamberg <strong>the</strong> nuncio went to Nuremberg, where all<br />

Catholic services were forbidden. After that he once again<br />

came into Catholic territory. <strong>The</strong> old church was still unshaken<br />

at Eichstatt, Ingoldstadt and Freising, but <strong>the</strong>re was<br />

no lack <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> innovators, especially in lower Bavaria.^ Never<strong>the</strong>less,<br />

<strong>the</strong> Catholic attitude <strong>of</strong> Duke Albert, who heard mass<br />

every day, gave reason to hope that no religious upheaval<br />

would take place <strong>the</strong>re. When Commendone reached Munich<br />

on February nth, <strong>the</strong> Duke was at that moment sending an<br />

envoy to Pius IV., who was to travel by way <strong>of</strong> Trent. From<br />

1 C/. Hansen, Jesuitenorden (1896), 392 ; Duhr, I., 103 seq. '.<br />

Heidenheimer, /o;. cit. iig (see supra p. 225, n. 3). As to <strong>the</strong><br />

Elector whom Commendone visited at Aschaffenburg, *Ruggieri<br />

observes that he was good and Catholic, " ma quasi tutta la sua<br />

corte e lu<strong>the</strong>rana e massimamente i principali." <strong>The</strong> passage<br />

which Lagomarsini (II., 96) cites as coming <strong>from</strong> Graziani appears<br />

to be an extract <strong>from</strong> Ruggieri.<br />

* C/. *RuGGiERi, Viaggio, Chigi Library, Rome; also Lago-<br />

marsini, II., 96 seq.<br />

' *Quanto a la religione in tutti i luoghi si celebra la messa at<br />

si dicono tutti gU altri uffizii, ma per tutto sono heretici et<br />

nel inferior Baviera ce n'e maggior copia. Ruggieri, loc.<br />

cit.

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