History of the Papacy from the Great Schism to the Sack of Rome, Volume IV

Volume Four of Creighton's "History of the Papacy" opens with the election of Pope Paul II, whom the author describes as "a man of handsome appearance, naturally suave and courteous, with all a Venetian's love of splendour." Paul II proved reticent and reclusive and failed to pacify turbulent Bohemia. He was succeeded by Francesco della Rovere, Pope Sixtus IV, with whose election "began a system of personal intrigue which rapidly grew into a serious scandal...and elevated nepotism into a politic