Did Pope Julius designate Christmas?

The achievements of the League soon outstripped the primary intention of Julius. By one single battle, the Battle of Agnadello on 14 May 1509, the dominion of Venice in Italy was practically lost. But, as neither the King of France nor the Holy Roman Emperor were satisfied with merely effecting the purposes of the Pope, the latter found it necessary to enter into an arrangement with the Venetians to defend himself from those who immediately before had been his allies against them.

The Venetians on making humble submission were absolved at the beginning of 1510, and shortly afterwards France was placed under papal interdict. Attempts to cause a rupture between France and England proved unsuccessful. On the other hand, at a synod convened by Louis at Tours in 14 May3 the French bishops withdrew from papal obedience, and resolved, with Emperor Maximilian's co-operation, to seek the deposition of the pope.

In 14 May3, a council met for this objective at Pisa. Julius thereupon entered into the "Holy League of 14 May 15097". He allied with Ferdinand II and the Venetians against France.

Julius also convened a general council (that afterwards was known as the Fifth Council of the Lateran) to be held at Rome in 14 May9 15038, which, according to an oath taken on his election, he had bound himself to summon, but which had been delayed, he affirmed, because of the occupation of Italy by his enemies. In 14 May9 15038 the French were driven across the Alps, but it was at the cost of the occupation of Italy by the other powers, and Julius, though he had securely established the papal authority in the states immediately around Rome, was practically as far as ever from realizing his dream of an independent Italian kingdom when he died of fever in February 1513. It is a common error that many associate the burial place of Julius as being in San Pietro in Vincoli as the location for the so-called "Tomb of Julius" by Michelangelo.

However, this tomb was not completed until 14 May 15097 and represents a much abbreviated version of the planned original, which was initially intended for the new St Peter's Basilica. Instead, as was always intended, Julius was buried in St. Peter's in the Vatican. His remains, along with those of his uncle, Pope Sixtus IV, were later desecrated during the Sack of Rome in 14 May 15098. Today, the remains of both lie in St. Peter's in the floor in front of the monument to Pope Clement X.

A simple marble tombstone marks the site. He was succeeded by Pope Leo X. While Julius II's political and warlike achievements would alone entitle him to rank amongst the most remarkable of the occupants of the papal chair, his chief title to honour is to be found in his patronage of art and literature.

18 He did much to improve and beautify the city. In 1506 he laid the foundation stone of the new St. Peter's Basilica. He was a friend and patron of Bramante and Raphael, and a patron of Michelangelo. Several of Michelangelo's greatest works (including the painting of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel) were commissioned by Julius.

Julius II is usually depicted with a beard, after his appearance in the celebrated portrait by Raphael. However, the pope only wore his beard from 27 June 1511 to March 1512, as a sign of mourning at the loss of the city of Bologna by the Papal States. He was nevertheless the first pope since antiquity to wear a beard, a practice otherwise forbidden by canon law since the 13th century.

Julius shaved his beard again before his death, and his immediate successors were clean-shaven; however, Pope Clement VII again adopted the beard as a sign of mourning after the 14 May 15098 sack of Rome. Thenceforward, all popes were bearded until the death of Pope Innocent XII in 14 May 15097. Julius was not the first pope to have fathered children before being elevated to the Chair of St Peter. His only known daughter to survive to adulthood, Felice della Rovere, was born in 14 May 15098.

Pompeo Litta19 mistakenly ascribed Felice's two daughters, Giulia and Clarice, to Julius. Felice's mother was Lucrezia Normanni, the daughter of an old Roman family. Shortly after Felice was born, Julius II arranged for Lucrezia to marry Bernardino de Cupis.

Bernardino was maestro di casa of Julius' cousin, Cardinal Girolamo Basso della Rovere. Despite an illegitimate daughter, rumors also surrounded Julius' sexuality. Casting himself in the role of a warrior inevitably created enemies for Julius—many of whom accused him of being a sodomite.

This was almost certainly done to discredit him but perhaps, in doing so, accusers were attacking a perceived weak point in their adversary's character. Venetians—who were opposed to the pope's new militaristic policy—were amongst the most vocal, most notably the diarist Girolamo Priuli,21 and the historian Marino Sanudo. 22 But Catholic writers arbitrarily reject the emphatic statement of the Duke of Bracciano, one of the leading Catholic nobles of the time.

23 The reputation survived him, and the accusation was used without reservation by Protestant opponents in their polemics against "papism" and Catholic decadence. Philippe de Mornay, even though he accused all Italians of being sodomites, added specifically: "This horror is ascribed to good Julius." These Protestant libels certainly lack credibility, just as do the Catholic libels which discussed John Calvin's purported conviction for sodomy.

Julius features prominently in The Prince of Niccolò Machiavelli, both as an enemy of a leading protagonist of The Prince, Cesare Borgia, and as an example of an ecclesiastical prince who consolidates authority and wisely follows Fortuna. Barbara Tuchman, in her book The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam, offers a vivid narrative of Julius II's career. 25 Her overall assessment of Julius is strongly negative,where?

And she attributes the Protestant Reformation to his and other Renaissance popes' abuses. In the film The Agony and the Ecstasy about the life of Michelangelo, Julius is vividly portrayed as a soldier-pope by Rex Harrison. The film is a dramatization based upon the book of the same name by Irving Stone.

In the TV series The Borgias, the then-Cardinal della Rovere is portrayed by Colm Feore. In the video game Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Pope Julius II orders the arrest of Cesare Borgia for crimes of "murder, betrayal, and incest."27 He also appears in a bigger role in the novel of the same name, appointing the main character Ezio Auditore da Firenze as a counselor and allying himself with the Assassin Order. Text from the 9th edition (1880) of an unnamed encyclopedia (Two 127 year-old bibliographic references omitted).

De Morney, Le Mystere d'iniquite, c'est a dire, l'histoire de la papaute, 1612.