1576.
Vat. Arch.
Nunt. di
Spagna,
vol. ix. f. 191. |
527. The Same to [Nicholas Ormanetto,] Bishop of Padua, Nuncio in Spain.
“The 50,000 crowns for the English business, which you wrote of late would soon be in Rome, have not been received. It will therefore be well not to let the matter be forgotten, nay, to press for the residue, because we are drawing very near September, and in October it will be time to begin making the arrangements, which it will require all the winter to complete, nor will his Holiness put hand to the work until he have the moneys. It will also be well that you should talk with his Majesty about the captain of the enterprise, for his Majesty requires in him so many qualifications as cannot possibly be united in any one; and that you should persuade him, seeing that the difficulty is so great, to allow his Holiness an ampler and freer discretion of choice, as the King may be sure that his Holiness will have no other object than the service of God, the weal of that realm and his Majesty's advantage.”
3 July, 1576. Rome. Italian. Draft for cipher.
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Vat. Arch.
Nunt. Germ.
vol. xcvi. f. 165. |
528. [John] Cardinal Moroni, Legate to [Ptolemy Galli,] Cardinal of Como.
… “There died here of late a Scotsman, Abbot of St. James', who lived alone—without any other monks—in the monastery, and had with him two young men not in orders and of the Lutheran profession. The Senate of this city sent to take possession of the treasure and property of the monastery and the keys of the church and the writings. The abbacy was craved of the Emperor by a prior here, an Italian, of [the order of] St. Augustine, by means of the King of the Romans, who is the patron of the prior's father, and has been there pretty often. When I learned this I craved of his Majesty that he would forbear to meddle with this business without hearing me also. And so his Majesty bade the Bishop of this city (whom he had already commissioned in the interest of this prior) to go no further without consulting me.
“There was also here a Scottish priest, a worthy man, by what I learn, who craved to be made abbot, and presented his memorial to his Majesty. To-day by order of the Emperor the said Bishop has dined with me, and has told me that, having seen his Majesty's commissions, he deems the prior's petition inadmissible, because, not being of Scottish nationality, and being of another rule, he is incapacitated for this abbacy, and that likewise the other priest, not being a monk, is incapacitated. Accordingly, he had come to take counsel with me as to what should be done. There were with me the two nuncios.
“I replied that his Majesty had done well to remit the cause hither, as I had craved of him, because I did not believe that his Majesty had aught to do with the matter; that in the first place we must induce the Senate to restore the moveables taken from the abbey and the keys of the monastery and the church, and the writings and the bulls and accounts of the said abbey which the consuls had taken away; and that, had we seen the writings, we should have had no doubt as to whose was the right of conferring the benefice, for I held it for certain that that right was either in the Pope, who is patron of all benefices, or in the General of the Cistercian or of the Benedictine Order, of which Orders I am protector, and that on sight of these bulls and accounts whoever was entitled would have got peaceful execution.
“This my answer commended itself also to the nuncios, for although our intention is to serve the Jesuits, as by your last letter but one I am bidden by order of his Holiness to do, nevertheless, such is the odium in which these good fathers are held, not only in the city but throughout all Germany, that it seemed not meet to nominate them just now, because we know not as yet whether the Emperor be much disposed to favour them; and so we have resolved to await the advent of the Duke of Bavaria, in whose State are the abbey's principal sources of revenue—he is expected at the end of the month, and has already approached the Pope in regard to this matter—in order that we may be the better able to curb this City and wholly Lutheran Senate, and also secure more powerful support by the Emperor; and it will be at the option of the Pope to give the abbey either to the Jesuits or, if he will, to the Scottish Catholics banished from Scotland, as it seems reasonable that it should be theirs, particularly in this their hour of need; and in the event of this decision it will be necessary to hit on some good Scottish monk who possesses the German language, if possible, and is of sound doctrine and good life, albeit I should prefer that the place should be given to the Jesuits for the greater advantage that it would be to this province and the city; but I think there will be some difficulty. In case the choice should fall on the Scottish priest aforesaid, who is here and by what I understand is a worthy man, his name is William … as the Scottish Bishop of Ross, who is there [at Rome], will be able to inform you.”
4 July, 1576. Ratisbon. Italian. Copy.
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Vat. Arch.
Nunt. Germ.
vol. xcvi. p. 67. |
530. [Ptolemy Galli, Cardinal of Como,] to [John,] Cardinal Moroni, Legate in Germany.
“As to the abbey of the Scots vacant at Ratisbon the Pope will decide nothing more until he has learned what resolution has been taken there upon sight and careful consideration of the writings, to discover who has the right of collation. His Holiness is very desirous that this opportunity should be taken to endeavour to introduce the Jesuit fathers into that city; which the Bavarian ambassador here avers can be done with no great difficulty; but as to this you, being conversant with the facts, will be better able to judge, especially after discussing all matters with the Duke of Bavaria. It is also thought that a satisfactory compromise might be effected by giving the abbey to some good Scottish priest with part of the revenue, and the obligation to maintain five or six brothers, the residue of the funds to go to the Jesuit fathers, to whom that part which is in Bavaria might be assigned as being more secure. This, however, is merely by way of suggestion, that you may think it over and send us your opinion in writing, that his Holiness may thereby be the better able to make a proper decision.”
28 July, 1576. Rome. Italian. Draft.
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