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Pope Clement VII

Type Figure Region Italy Time c. 1478–1534 Also known as Pope Clement VII、朱利奥·德·美第奇、Giulio de' Medici

Pope Clement VII (1478–1534), born Giulio de' Medici, was elected pope in 1523. His reign coincided with the fiercest phase of the Italian Wars;…

Timeline

  1. 1478–1513Florence · TuscanyGiulio de' Medici was the nephew of Lorenzo de' Medici, raised in the Medici court with a humanist education steeped in Renaissance culture. After his cousin Giovanni (later Pope Leo X) was elected pope in 1513, he entered the inner circle of the Roman curia.
  2. 1513–1523Rome · LazioIn 1513 Leo X appointed Giulio Archbishop of Florence and cardinal. Over the next decade he was one of the curia's most influential policymakers, taking part in major diplomatic negotiations as a papal legate and deeply involving himself in Florentine politics.
  3. 1523–1534Rome · LazioClement VII was elected pope on 19 November 1523. Swinging between France and the Habsburgs, in 1527 Charles V's imperial troops (largely mutinous, unpaid German mercenaries) captured Rome in the event known as the "Sack of Rome"; the pope was forced to take refuge in Castel Sant'Angelo, and the curia's political prestige suffered greatly. Within the core interval of 1531–1534 he still reigned as pope, struggling with the Reformation wave and Henry VIII's divorce case. His refusal to approve Henry VIII's divorce from Queen Catherine led the English Church to break with Rome in 1534.

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