“Bad Christian”. Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta in Crusade or Ancient versus Early Modern in the Humanistic Discourse

Abstract

Mantuan congress proceedings in 1459 showed that the national or territorial interests of separate states considered in the first place by their heads and representatives. The only practical embodiment of Pius II’ ideas of crusade was a military expedition to Morea led by Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta. For Pius II the crusade was seen as an attempt to bring to life the humanistic fantasies obviously doomed to failure. For Malatesta the campaign could be an attempt to realize his political ambitions. The activities of Malatesta represented a new stream of political rhetoric. Condemned and excommunicated from the standpoint of morality, Malatesta turned out to be a representative of the archetype of a «virtuous ruler».