(9) 1. ZENO, Giovanni Battista (ca. 1439-1440-1501)

Birth. Ca. 1439-1440 (1), Venice. Of the family of a Venetian doge. Son of Nicolò Zeno and Elisabetta Barbo, niece of Pope Eugenius IV and sister of Pope Paul II. He had a brother, Alvise, who died before his uncle was elevated to the pontificate. Cousin of Cardinal Giovanni Michiel (1468). His last name is also listed as Zen. Called the Cardinal of S. Maria in Portico or the Cardinal of Vicenza.

Education. He grew up in Rome with his uncle the cardinal, but did not obtain any qualifications, so much so as to risk not being admitted to the conclave of 1471.

Early life. Primicerius of the patriarchal basilica of S. Marco, Venice. Canon of the chapter of the patriarchal Vatican basilica ca. 1462. Resided with his uncle the pope in the Vatican Apostolic Palace. On June 25, 1467, he was named apostolic protonotary. On December 23, 1467, he received the commendam of the Benedictine monastery of S. Stefano a Carrara, diocese of Padua, and of the monastery of Mozza, diocese of Aquila, resigned by the pope.

Sacred orders. (No information found).

Cardinalate. Created cardinal deacon in the consistory of November 21, 1468; published the following day in a public consistory at the Vatican palace; received the red hat and the deaconry of S. Maria in Portico Octaviae on November 22, 1468. He left for Perugia on May 4, 1469 and returned to Rome on December 9, 1469.

Episcopate. Elected bishop of Vicenza, March 18, 1470; he could not take possession of the see until 1478 (2); occupied the see until his death. Opted for the order of cardinal priests and the title of S. Anastasia, probably in March 1470. Consecrated shortly after (no further information found). Named archpriest of the Patriarchal Vatican Basilica in August 1470. On September 5, 1470, he resigned the commendam of the Benedictine monastery of Assis, diocese of Soissons. Received the commendam of the Benedictine monastery of Saint-Ambroix, diocese of Langres. Abbot commendatario of the monastery of S. Zenone, Verona. Participated in the conclave of 1471, which elected Pope Sixtus IV. Abbot commendatario of the Benedictine monastery of S. Eustachio di Nervesa, diocese of Treviso, August 1471; it had been occupied until then by the new Pope Sixtus IV. On June 9, 1477, he was named legate a latere in Venice; he left Rome for his legation on August 22; went to Vincenza and then to Venice; returned to Rome on December 18 of the same year and was received in public consistory. Opted for the order of cardinal bishops and the suburbicarian see of Frascati on October 8, 1479. Elected camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals on January 7, 1480; occupied the post until January 8, 1481; as camerlengo, received in his palace the oath of the new secretary of the Sacred College of Cardinals Giangiacomo Sclafenati on July 3, 1480. Legate in Perugia and Umbria during the pontificate of Pope Sixtus IV. Participated in the conclave of 1484, which elected Pope Innocent VIII. Left Rome in January 1486. Abbot commendatario of the Benedictine monastery of S. Spirito, Ravenna, March 6, 1491; resigned the commendam on February 2, 1492. Participated in the conclave of 1492, which elected Pope Alexander VI. On January 2, 1493, he resigned the commendam of the Cistercian monastery of Rueda, diocese of Huesca. He was of irreproachable character. Built or repaired several churches in Rome, Verona and Cremona. He retired to Padua.

Death. May 8, 1501 (3), at noon, poisoned, in Padua. The body was transferred to Venice and buried in the patriarchal basilica of S. Marco (3); in 1506, the Venetian senate had a special chapel built for him; in the Zeno chapel, there is an artistic bronze monument adorned with figures representing the virtues of faith, hope, charity, piety and munificence. He left 200,000 ducati to the Republic of Venice with the condition that every year a solemn funeral for his eternal repose be celebrated; he also left 50,000 scudi for pious works; the Venetian doge and senate used to take part in the funeral.

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, III, 175--176; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm ab initio nascentis Ecclesiæ vsque ad Vrbanvm VIII. Pont. Max. 4 volumes. Romae : Typis Vaticanis, 1677, II, col. 1112-1113; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VII. Les cardinaux de la fin du XVe siècle". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1933. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1933, p. 43-144; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volumen II (1431-1503). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1914; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, pp. 15, 36, 40, 41, 42, 43, 48, 55, 61, 67 and 267; Soranzo, Giovanni. "Giovan Battista Zeno, nipote di Paolo II, cardinale di S.Maria in Portico (1468-1501)". Rivista di storia della Chiesa in Italia, 16 (1962), 249-274.

Webgraphy. Biography by Guido De Blasi, in Italian, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 100 (2020), Treccani; biography, In italian, diocese of Frascati; his tomb in the Zeno chapel, patriarchal basilica of S. Marco, Venice, Italy, Save Venice, Media Center for Art History, Columbia University, Sponsored by the Hazen Polsky Foundation, Inc.; his arms, Araldica Vaticana.

(1) This is according to his biograpby by De Blasi, linked above; Marino Sanudo in De origine, situ et magistratibus urbis Venetae indicates that he was born on October 16, 1442, as cited by Stella Ruth Fletcher in Venetian cardinals at the Papal Court during the Pontificates of Sixtus IV and Innocent VIII, PhD thesis, University of Warwick, 1991, note 11 of the Introduction, pp.12-13, indicates that he was born on October 16, 1442 at 7:49 p.m.
(2) It seems that the negative of the Venetian government to accept his election to the see of Vicenza was due to the activities of the cardinal's mother, contrary to the government, which unavoidably involved her son. The cardinal was accused of revealing state secrets , his mother (who was the real responsible) was condemned to exile in Istria in 1472 and the cardinal's properties were confiscated. He could not recover his rents until 1477.
(3) This is according to Chacón, Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm, II, cols. 1112 and 1113; Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi, II, 15 and 61, says that he died on May 7, 1501; and "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VII. Les cardinaux de la fin du XVe siècle". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1933, p. 144, says that he died on May 7, 1501 and not the 8th.
(3) This is the text of his epitaph taken from Chacón, Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm, II, col. 1113:

(10) 2. MICHIEL, Giovanni (between April 1446 and April 1447-1503)

Birth. Between April 1446 and April 1447, Venice. Of a noble family. Son of Lorenzo Michiel and Nicolosa Barbo, sister of Pope Paul II. Cousin of Cardinal Giovanni Battista Zeno (1468). His last name is also listed as Micheli. He was called the Cardinal of S. Lucia, or of S. Angelo, or of Verona.

Education. (No information found).

Early life. Protonotary apostolic. Resided with his uncle in the Vatican Apostolic Palace. Abbot commendatario of Sesto al Reghena, Pordenone, from 1465. Abbot commendatario of the Benedictine monasteries of Bosco, diocese of Aquila; and S. Fermo il Piccolo, Verona, on December 23, 1467; both had been held by Pope Paul II before his election to the papacy. Abbot commendatario of S. Stefano all'Isola from 1497.

Sacred orders. (No information found).

Cardinalate. Created cardinal deacon in the consistory of November 21, 1468; published the following day in a public consistory at the Vatican Palace; received the red hat and the deaconry of S. Lucia in Septisolio on November 22, 1468. Opted for the deaconry of S. Angelo in Pescheria ca. 1470.

Episcopate. Named bishop of Verona, in commendam, March 18, 1471; he had to wait to take possession of the see because the conflict between Venice and the Holy See; occupied the see until his death. Consecrated (no information found). Participated in the conclave of 1471, which elected Pope Sixtus IV. Abbot commendatario of the Benedictine monastery of SS. Trinità, diocese of Verona; occupied the post until his death. On November 26, 1473, he received the commendam of the Benedictine monastery of Tiana, diocese of Oristano. Abbot commendatario of the Benedictine monastery of S. Maria di Sania, diocese of Nocera Umbra, July 24, 1476. Left Rome with the pope on June 10, 1476 because of the plague; accompanied him to Viterbo and Foligno; they returned to Rome on October 23 of the same year. Opted for the order of cardinal priests and the title of S. Marcello ca. 1484; kept the deaconry of S. Angelo in Pescheria in commendam until his death. Participated in the conclave of 1484, which elected Pope Innocent VIII. Succeeded the new Pope Innocent VIII as camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals on September 15, 1484, for the rest of the year; and was elected to the post on January 9, 1485 until January 11, 1486. Named by the pope bishop of Padua but Venice opposed the appointment and sequestered the revenues of all the cardinal's benefices in Venetian territory; he resigned in March 1487 before having taken possession of the see. Named legate a latere of the Province of the Patrimony and the castles and fortresses of the Holy See on June 5, 1486. Inspector of the papal army against King Ferdinando I of Naples; later he was charged with the negotiations with the king for a peace treaty that was signed on August 11, 1487. Opted for the order of cardinal bishops and the suburbicarian see of Albano on March 14, 1491. Opted for the suburbicarian see of Palestrina on October 10, 1491. Participated in the conclave of 1492, which elected Pope Alexander VI. The new pope named him suburbicarian bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina, as he had promised the cardinal during the conclave, on August 31, 1492. Abbot commendatario of the abbey of Baume-les-Messieurs from 1494 to 1497. He left Rome for Orvieto with the pope because of the arrival of the French troops on May 27, 1495. Named titular Latin patriarch of Antioch on January 23, 1497. Of an irreproachable life and very charitable with the poor.

Death. April 10, 1503, Rome, after two days of violent vomiting, poisoned by his cook (1), by order of Cesare Borgia, count of Valentinois (2). Buried in the church S. Marcello al Corso, Rome (3).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, III, 76-178; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm ab initio nascentis Ecclesiæ vsque ad Vrbanvm VIII. Pont. Max. 4 volumes. Romae : Typis Vaticanis, 1677, II, col. 1113-114; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VII. Les cardinaux de la fin du XVe siècle". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1933. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1933, p. 144-145; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volumen II (1431-1503). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1914; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, pp. 15, 39, 46, 47. 48, 49, 50, 52, 59, 60, 63, 66, 135, 210 and 265.

Webgraphy. His tomb, probably by Andrea Sansovino, church of S. Marcello al Corso, Rome, The Australian National University; more views of his tomb, Requiem Datenbank; and epitaph, Requiem Datenbank; and his arms, tomb and epitaph, Centro Studi e Ricerche Storico, Artistico, Cuturale, Isola della Scala.

(1) Pope Julius II ordered the cook to be executed.
(2) It is not all that certain that he was poisoned by order of Cesare Borgia, as it has been traditionally said. The only contemporary sources that can be cited are the dispatches of the Venetian ambassador Giustiniani, who based his suspicions on the quick illness, two days, that caused the cardinal's death, and on the appropriation of the wealth of the cardinal by Pope Julius II. The belated confession (1504) of Asquino di Colloredo, who was a subdeacon and the cook, was obtained by torture and is insufficient as proof, above all because of the interest that the pope had at that moment of accumulating arguments against the Borgias, especially against Cesare.
(3) This is the text of his epitaph taken from Chacón, Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm, II, col. 1114:

COAT DE TREDREZ, Hugues de (?-1468)

Webgraphy. Biographical data, in French, in "Note", at the end of the page, Markiz Trede (Le Marquis de Coatredez).

(1) This is according to "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VII. Les cardinaux de la fin du XVe siècle". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1933, p. 145; Paris-Jallobert, "Les cardinaux de Bretagne". Revue de Bretagne et de Vendée, 34, says that he was elected in 1466 and resigned in 1467; neither Conradus Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi, (Volumen II (1431-1503). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1914; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960), p. 254; nor Pius Bonifatius Gams, Series episcoporum Ecclesiae catholicae, (3 v. in 1. Graz : Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt, 1957), p. 642, mention him among the occupants of the see. Chacón, Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm, col. 1117, says that there is no memory of his promotion to the cardinalate at the Vatican.
(2) According to the same source, Pope Paul II also created cardinal in secret Pedro Ferris, bishop of Tarazona, Spain. He was never published and was actually created by Pope Sixtus IV in the consistory of December 18, 1476..

VITÉZ, János (ca. 1408-1472)

Episcopate. Elected bishop of Nagy-Várad, June 4, 1445. Consecrated (no information found). He founded a great library. Chancellor of Hungary in 1453. Named chancellor and governor of Hungary by King Mátyás Corvin (1458-1490). He was the guardian of the children of the Hunyadi royal family during his governorship. Promoted to the primatial and metropolitan see of Esztergom, May 11, 1465. He was the founder of the University of Pozsony in 1465. Abbot commendatario of Pannonhalma, 1467-1472; and of the Benedictine monastery of St. Megváltó of Szekszárd, 1470-1472.

Cardinalate. According to Annuaire Pontifical Catholique, 1933, p. 145, at the beginning of 1471, Pope Paul II created and did not publish Archbishop Vitéz a cardinal (1). He was an educated humanist. In 1471 he became the main organizer of a plot against King Mátyás Corvin; at first, the king pardoned him; then he had the cardinal imprisoned in Visegrád; and finally, he was kept in Esztergom in home custody until his death. His fortified castle as abbot of Szekszárd was destroyed because of the conspiracy against the king. He was called Pater patriæ.

Death. August 11, 1472, Esztergom (2). Buried in the metropolitan cathedral of Esztergom.

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, III, ; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm ab initio nascentis Ecclesiæ vsque ad Vrbanvm VIII. Pont. Max. 4 volumes. Romae : Typis Vaticanis, 1677, II, col. 1114; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VII. Les cardinaux de la fin du XVe siècle". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1933. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1933, p. 145; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volumen II (1431-1503). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1914; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, pp. 15, 242 and 262; Tusor, Péter. Purpura Pannonica : az esztergomi "bíborosi szék" kialakulásának elozminyei a 17. században = Purpura Pannonica : the "Cardinalitial See" of Strigonium and its Antecedens in the 17th Century. Budapest : Róma : Research Institute of Church History at Péter Pázmány Catholic University, 2005. (Collectanea Vaticana Hungariae, Classis I, vol. 3), pp. 47 and 318.

Webgraphy. Biography, in Hungarian, Magyar Elektronikus Könyutá; another biography in Hungarian, Magyar Elektronikus Könyutá; image, statue and biography, also in Hungarian, Wikipedia; his image in an ancient codex, Magyar Elektronikus Könyutá; his statue, in front of the cathedral basilica of Esztergom, Hungary, Szte Klebelsberg Könyutá; another view of his statue, VirtualTourist; his engraving, Új Ember, Katolikus Etilab; his tomb, Kipzõmũvészet Magyarországon; and another view his tomb and biography, in English, Magyar Elektronikus Könyutá.

(1) According to Annuaire Pontifical Catholique, 1933, p. 145, Pope Paul II created and did not publish three more cardinals: Pietro Foscari, Ferry de Clugny, and Giovanni Battista Savelli. All of them were created cardinals by Pope Sixtus V in the promotions of December 10, 1477 and May 15, 1480.
(2) This is according to "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VII. Les cardinaux de la fin du XVe siècle", Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1933, p. 145; and Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi, II, 242; the three biographies in Hungarian, linked above, say that he died on August 9, 1472.

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