Mercurino di Gattinara facts for kids
Mercurino Arborio, Marchese di Gattinara (born June 10, 1465 – died June 5, 1530) was an important Italian statesman and legal expert. He is most famous for being the main advisor, or chancellor, to Emperor Charles V. In 1529, he also became a cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church.
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Mercurino Gattinara's Life
Mercurino Gattinara was born in a town called Gattinara, which is near Vercelli in modern-day Piedmont, Italy.
Early Career and Key Role
He first worked as a legal advisor for Margaret of Austria in Savoy. She thought he was the most important of all her advisors.
However, Mercurino Gattinara became truly famous when he served Emperor Charles V. He was called the "Grand Chancellor of all the realms and kingdoms of the king." After Charles's previous advisor, Chièvres, passed away, Gattinara became the king's most trusted and influential helper.
Gattinara was a Roman Catholic, a humanist (someone who studied ancient Greek and Roman ideas), and a scholar. He was also a legal expert. He had big, ideal goals but was very practical in how he tried to achieve them. He knew a lot about law, how states should be run, and Christian teachings.
Shaping the Empire
Gattinara helped guide Charles V away from just focusing on his family's lands in Burgundy. He also moved Charles away from the political ideas popular in Spain at the time. Instead, Gattinara encouraged Charles to think of his empire as a Christian empire.
His ideas about the empire being the most important power in Europe were new. At the time, many places were starting to think of themselves as separate "nation-states."
As Chancellor, Gattinara strongly encouraged Charles V to build a huge family empire. The goal was to rule the entire world, an idea known as "Dominium Mundi" (meaning "World Dominion").
In his advice and writings, Gattinara argued for a Christian empire. This empire would unite all Christian lands. Then, it would fight or convert Protestants, the Turks, and non-Christians in the New World. He wanted to balance the idea of Christian nations working together with the need to conquer lands to create one big world empire.
Gattinara was very important in changing Charles V's view. Charles went from being a regional ruler to a true empire-builder. Because of Gattinara's advice, the Habsburg Empire grew to its largest size under Charles V.
Gattinara's Big Goals
After Charles was chosen as Emperor, Gattinara wrote to him. He said that God had been very kind to Charles. He believed God had made Charles more powerful than any other king since his ancestor, Charlemagne. Gattinara felt that God had set Charles on a path to a world monarchy. This would unite all Christian people under one leader.
At the end of this letter, Gattinara repeated his belief. He thought the real purpose of a ruler was to unite everyone in serving God.
Advice on Religious Matters
During a review of how the empire was run, Gattinara gave Charles advice on many topics. This included whether Moors (Muslims) and non-Christians should be allowed in his lands. He also advised on whether people in the West Indian islands should become Christian. Another topic was whether the Inquisition (a church court) should be changed.
Another main goal for Gattinara was to unite all Christian lands against the Turks. He also wanted to fight against the Lutheran ideas, which were seen as a new kind of Christian belief that challenged the traditional church. However, it was very hard to get European powers to agree on this.
Gattinara himself summed up his views. He wanted to create a truly imperial policy. This would lead to a general war against non-Christians and those with different beliefs. His first step was for the Emperor to travel to Italy as soon as his ships were ready. Gattinara hid the real reason for building more ships by saying it was because of problems in Mexico.
Focus on Italy
Gattinara always pushed for Charles V to quickly establish his power in Italy. He believed this would bring lasting peace, not just to Italy but to all of Europe. Gattinara's ideas were inspired by the writer Dante Alighieri.
However, he faced many challenges. Many people in the imperial council were against his plan. Gattinara started to realize that many were against his ideas. Many Spaniards suspected Gattinara had personal interests in Italy because he was from Piedmont. So, people questioned his reasons and even threatened him.
Gattinara believed that Charles V's ultimate goal should be a universal monarchy, like Dante had dreamed. This monarchy would unite all Christian lands and eventually the whole world. These ideas were shared by some of Charles's other advisors.
For example, M. Louis de Praet, an imperial ambassador, wrote to Charles. He said that Charles could achieve a world monarchy if he used his victory over France well. He thought if the English went into France, it would weaken the enemy. This would lead to lasting peace.
Charles's secretary, Alfonso de Valdés, also wrote to Charles after a big victory against the French. He believed God had given Charles this victory so he could defend Christian lands. He thought Charles could fight the Turks and spread the Holy Faith around the world.
These ideas showed the high hopes of the humanists around Charles. They saw the Emperor as someone who could bring back the Roman universal Monarchy. He could end the conflicts between different lords and families. He could establish a powerful empire. However, Charles's own goals were more limited. He wanted to organize his empire within a united Europe. This was a bit disappointing to his advisors who wanted world-dominion, especially Gattinara.
Gattinara's Policies
Gattinara is known for his big, ideal goals. But he was also very skilled at practical politics, sometimes called realpolitik.
Shifting Imperial Strategy
Gattinara took over from Charles V's previous advisor, Carlos de Chièvres. Chièvres had wanted to protect the Netherlands by making agreements with France and England, trying to avoid war with France. Gattinara, however, wanted Charles to think beyond just his Burgundian or Spanish lands. He wanted him to have a wide imperial vision.
Italy was at the heart of Gattinara's imperial plan. Milan was a crucial link between the Habsburg lands of Spain and Franche-Comté and Tyrol. By late 1521, Gattinara had successfully shifted the war with France from Navarre to Italy. His imperial strategy needed two things to succeed: control over Italy and an alliance with Rome (the Pope).
Gattinara was the main reason Charles V changed his policy toward Italy. No other advisor pushed for these policies as much as he did. An English ambassador had noted Gattinara's strong interest in Italy a year before he became Chancellor. Gattinara had even drafted war plans for Italy. In these plans, he stressed that since God had called Charles to be the most important prince in Christendom, he should focus on Italy. He said anyone who advised Charles against Italy was leading him to ruin. Gattinara also pointed out that an Italian campaign would not be very expensive. He also emphasized the need for a large number of troops to ensure victory.
War Decisions
When deciding whether to advise Charles V to go to war against France in northern Italy, Gattinara used an interesting comparison. He weighed the "seven deadly sins" (reasons to avoid war) against the "ten commandments" (arguments for war).
The reasons against war were practical:
- An attack would risk everything on one strategy with an uncertain outcome.
- There wasn't enough money.
- Agreements with other Italian states were unsure.
- The Swiss might join France.
- Winter was coming, which would make fighting difficult.
However, Gattinara argued that the war was right because Charles V needed to honor the Pope, who was an important ally. He believed God was on Charles's side. To let France escape a fight would be to challenge fate. He felt Charles might not get such a good chance again. Also, with the army already gathered, it would look bad to call off the attack at the last minute. Gattinara made sure his "ten commandments" won over the "seven deadly sins."
Treaty of Madrid
Gattinara was not just an idealist when it came to policy. He was very practical. The Treaty of Madrid was forced upon Francis I of France by Charles after Francis was captured. The treaty used very grand and romantic language. It ended with both rulers promising to go on a crusade together.
However, Francis signed the treaty only because he was forced to. Gattinara refused to put the imperial seal on the document. He did this because he understood realpolitik – he knew that Francis would not keep his promises. And indeed, Francis later broke the terms of the treaty. He had promised to give up his claims in Italy, surrender Burgundy, and give up his rule over Flanders and Artois.
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