#emdiplomat of the day: Fabio Chigi (1599-1667)
Home of the clouds, so I called you,
The ornament of Westphalia (without hurting you)
I want to say gently...
This is how Fabio Chigi’s #poem about the rain in the city of #Münster begins where Chigi stayed during the #WestphalianPeaceCongress in which he participated as papal mediator. (1/4)
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Chigi descended from a banking family in #Siena. He studied #philosophy and #theology there. After his studies he entered the service of #Pope Urban VIII. as a civilian and became papal #ambassador in #Ferrara. First in 1634 he was ordained as a priest. This is when his career in the church started. Already one year later he became bishop of #Nardo. In 1639 he was appointed papal nuncio in #Cologne. After the #WestphalianPeaceCongress he was recalled to #Rome and made cardinal. Moreover, he became Secretary of State. In 1655 Chigi was elected pope and chose the name Alexander VII. (2/4)
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Papal #emdiplomacy is very unique. One has to differentiate between legations and permanent nunciatures. Papal #diplomats – legates as well as nuncios – differed from other secular diplomats, as it was their task to represent the Apostolic See on a spiritual and a secular level. But just like other diplomats papal envoys’ main tasks were representing, negotiating and of course reporting. As Alexander Koller discusses in his article, the first ever comprehensive summary on the development of papal diplomacy:
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110672008-008/html
(3/4)
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However, Chigi felt sorry for himself during his stay in #Westphalia and did not hesitate to tell his employer about the hardships he had to endure. These expressions of suffering were not only testimonies of a #emdiplomat’s feelings but also served a communicative purpose. By reporting on and emphasising his own hardships, the #diplomat was able to present himself as a loyal servant of his master who gave everything to fulfil his mission. This in return could strengthen his relationship with his master, advance his career or lead to other favours. To make his reports more vivid, he even enclosed a slice of pumpernickel in one of his letters.
If you want to read more of Chigi's thoughts, you can find his diary from the #WestphalianPeaceCongress within the Acta Pacis Westphalica series:
https://apw.digitale-sammlungen.de/search/start.html?lang=en
(4/4)
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Early Modern Diplomacy