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Charles's contemporaries in the Holy Roman Empire

Bishopric of Trento
Bernardo Clesio, 1514-1539
Cristoforo Madruzzo, 1539-1567

Bernardo Clesio, Prince-Bishop of Trento 1514-39
Cardinal since 1530 and Bishop of Brixen 1539
Bernard Clesio (or von Cles) was born in 1485 at the ancestral castle Cles west of Bozen. He was first a canon at the Cathedral of Trento in 1512. The chapter of Trento (lat. Tridentina) unanimously chose him as their bishop in 1514. As a bishop his political career began as a steward of the Tyrolean sovereigns, i.e. Emperor Maximilian and his successor Archduke Ferdinand. Bernard campaigned for Charles V to be elected as emperor in 1519. He attended his coronation in Aachen in 1521. He was significantly involved in the power-sharing agreements between Emperor Charles V and his brother Ferdinand.
As Ferdinand's envoy, he also witnessed Charles V's coronation as emperor in Bologna in 1530. On this occasion Pope Clement VII elevated Bernard to cardinal and cardinal priest of the titular church S. Stefano al Monte Celio [see reverse inscription of the double thaler 1531 shown below]. He then accompanied the emperor to Augsburg via Trento, where the emperor was his guest. At the Diet in Augsburg in 1530 Bernard campaigned for Ferdinand's election as king.
Bernard became Ferdinand's intimate advisor, and so Ferdinand would have liked to see Bernard as the successor of Pope Clement VII, who died in 1534. In 1539 Bernard was appointed apostolic administrator of the Prince Diocese of Brixen; he died there that same year.
Bernard Clesio was a clever and educated Renaissance prince. He created a permanent monument for himself with the magnificent residence Magno Palazzo, built in 1528-1536 in the Castello del Buonconsiglio in Trento.

The bishops of Trento had not struck any coins since the middle of the 14th century. Bernard Clesio considered setting up his own mint again, but gave up on advice from Hall in Tyrol. Instead, he secured the services of the Habsburg mint in Hall with the help of his excellent connection to King Ferdinand. Hall fulfilled his wishes for commemorative coins. The dies were cut by the capable Ulrich Ursentaler the Elder from Hall, who had already worked for Salzburg. The series of coins with Bernard's portrait began in 1520 with a thick thaler and ended in 1531 with a double thaler.


Cast medal n. d. (1518/19) by Hans Schwarz.     Ø 62,5 mm , 103,6 g.   Kastenholz 40 (64 mm).
Obv.:   ❀BERNARDVS·EPiscopuS·TRIDENTINVS·AETATIS·XXXV   -   Bust to the left.
Rev.:   ❀G·V·D W·I·S·M·A·L·M·S·P·M·Z·V·I   = first letters of a Berhard-motto in German?
Inful and two coats of arms as below. Above incus date 15 - 19, below bundle of rods and VNITAS.
The medal, at least its preliminary drawing, was created during the Diet of Augsburg in 1518.


Cast medal 1520 by Hans Schwarz.     Ø 54 mm.   Kastenholz 98.
Specimen in the coin cabinet from the Kunsthistorische Museum, Vienna.
Obv.:   BERNARDVS·ESP·TRIDENTINVS·CZ·AETATIS·SVE·XXXVI
Bust left between date M·D - XX·
Rev.:   OMNE·REGNVM·INSEDIVISVM·DISOLABITVR ᕠM·D·XXᕠ  -   Similar to next piece.
This medal was the model for the following coin.


Thick thaler 1520, Hall.    Ø 34 mm, 27,73 g.  M/T.98; CNI VI p.222 n.1; Dav.8207 (without fig.)
Dies by Ulrich Ursentaler the Elder.
Obv.:  +BERNARD9us EPiscopuS·TRIDENTIN9us ETATIS·SVE·XXXVII   "... in his 37th year"
Bust to the left with beret and folded coat.
Rev.:  OMNE·REGNVM·INSEDIVISVM·DESOLABITVR+
"Any dominion will perish as soon as it is divided"
Arms of diocese of Trento and bishop's family leaning against each other; above a miter between the date I5 - Z0; below bundle of rods (not arrows), wrapped in a tape, on it VN - IT - AS.


Double thaler 1531, Hall     Ø 45 mm, 52,4 g.   M/T.101; Schulten 4552; Dav.8210
Obv.:  (1) BERNARDus·DIVIna (2) MISERATione·SanCTaE·ROmanae (3) ECCLEsiae·TITVli·SanCTI
bust to the left, in the field on both sides MD - XXXI.
Rev.:   + STEPHAni·IN CELIO·MONTe·PresByteR·CARDInalis·ET·EPiscopPVS·TRIDENtinus:
Quartered shield, in the field I5 - 3I, above a cardinal's hat with hanging tassels.
Legend on both sides: "Bernard out of divine mercy presbyter of the Holy Roman Title Church of St. Stefano in Celio Monte [Rome], Cardinal and Bishop of Trent".
The legend on the obverse contains the coats of arms of diocese of Trento (1), of Clesio (2) and the Clesio emblem (3). The emblem usually consists of 7 rods (not arrows), held by a ribbon with the inscription "VNITAS". This is supposed to mean the united cohesion of the seven Clesio brothers.
The quarterd coat of arms consists of the eagle (Diocese of Trento) and the two upright lions on a red and white background (family Clesio).
The decorative Clesio coat of arms can be seen in the Magno Palazzo, among others as a vault fresco in the lower tower room.

Bartholomäus Bruyn the Elder Ä. painted Bernard and a bell with his coat of arms:
Picture after 1530 [62x45 cm, Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna].

Ref.:
• H.Moser / H.Tursky [M/T.]: Die Münzstätte Hall in Tirol 1477-1665, S.58f. Innsbruck 1977
• R. Kastenholz: Hans Schwarz, Ein Augsburger Bildhauer und Medailleur der Renaissance, Mü-Berlin 2001
• Allg. und Neue Dt. Biographie online: ADB- und NDB-articles on Bernard Clesio.

Cristoforo Madruzzo, Prince-Bishop of Trento 1539-67
Bishop of Brixen 1542-78, Cardinal since 1543
Cristoforo Madruzzo (*1512 †1578) comes from a family of politicians from Castel Madruzzo. He became Prince-Bishop of Trent in 1539, and Bishop of Brixen in 1542. He was appointed cardinal in 1543. He opened the Council of Trent in 1545. He was essentially a politician and a loyal supporter of the Habsburgers. King Philip II appointed him governor of Milan in 1556 (until 1558). In 1567 Cristoforo renounced the diocese of Trento in favor of his nephew Ludovico, who was already coadjutor and appointed successor. He went to Rome, where his interests were focused, but kept the diocese of Brixen until his death in 1578.


Cast medal n. d. (1547).     Ø 45 mm.   Armand II 183/14 (42 mm).
Obv.:   CHRISTO·EX·BARONIBS·MADRVCI·ETA·SVE·XXXV   -   Bust to the right.
Rev.:   CARDINA·ET·EPIS·TRIDEN·ADMINISTRA·BRIXENSIS
Under the cardinal's hat the quartered shield with 2x eagle (Diocese of Trient),
God's lamb (Diocese of Brixen), eagle with bishop's staff (Cathedral chapter of Brixen),
middle shield (squared: Nero/Sparrenberg families) and central arms (Madruzzo family).


Medal 1552 by Pietro Paolo Galeotti (il Romano)     Ø 35 mm.
Armand I 231/20 & II 297; Kress 352.
Obv.:   CRISTOPHORVS·MADRucius·CARdinalis·EPiscopuS·PRINceps·Que·TRIDentinus
Head to the left, below PPR·1552
Rev.:   On the right a woman stands on a pedestal at the edge of a river and points both to the sun and to its reflection on the water.


Bronze medal n. d. (about 1555) by Pietro Paolo Galeotti (il Romano)     Ø 72 mm, 103,7 g.
Armand I 236/43 (71 mm).   Specimen from Robert Lehman Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, N.Y..
Obv.:   CHRISTOPHORUS·MADRucius·EPiscopuS·CARdinalis·PRINceps·Que·TRIDentinus
Bust to the left.
Rev.:   On the left a woman stands on a pedestal at the edge of a lake and points to the sun and its reflection on the water.
Madruzzo ordered a total of six medals with his portrait from Galeotti.


Cast bronze medal n. d., 1557.     Ø 61 mm.   Armand I 177/1; Attwood 108.
Specimen in the Frick Collection, gift of S. Scheer, 2016.
Obv.:   CHRISTophorus·MADRVcius·CARDINalis· - EPIScopus·ET·PRINceps·TRIDENti·ET·BRIXiae
Bust to the left, under the arm section: ANN.
Rev.:   STATVS·MEDIOLanensis·RESTITVTORI·OPTIMO - SECVRITAS·PADI
"to the best restorer of the state of Milan"
Figure at the altar extends his hand to a seated warrior. In the foreground, the river god Po with urn.
Cristoforo Madruzzo was appointed governor of Milan and Lombardy in 1556. This medal was probably created on this occasion [Bergmann (1844) p.23]. Because of differences of opinion with the Spanish commander of the local army, Critoforo abdicated in 1557 from this position and returned to Trento.


Bronze medal n. d. (1570) by Lorenzo Fragni (Parmense)     Ø 41,4 mm, 15,64 g.
Armand I 278/1; Attwood 998; Toderi/Vannel 2301.
Minted 1570, possibly on the occasion of an appointment as Bishop of Ostia [Toderi/Vannel].
Obv.:   ·CHRITOPHORVS·MADrucius·ET·Cetera·CARDinalis·TRIDENtinensis·
Bust with beret to the left, below LAV.PAR [Laurentius Parmense = Lorenzo Fragni (1538-1619), medalist].
Rev.:   ·REVIXIT·   "He has risen again"
Phoenix stands on a smoking pile of wood, above it a laurel and palm leaf wreath (left) and a loop (right),
each with the monogram LP.   LP = Laurentius Parmense.
Madruzzo was bishop of the titular church of Palestrina from 1564-1570. He handed this office over to Cardinal Otto von Waldburg in 1570, but without receiving the bishopric of Ostia as a replacement. Should Madruzzo rise like a phoenix in Ostia? (Madruzzo was bishop of the titular church Porto-Santa Rufina in 1570-78.)
There is no explanation of the unusual image on the reverse.


cast Bronze medal n. d. (about 1578) by Pietro Paolo Romano.
Ø 45,62 mm, 30,49 g.   Armand I 231/19 (under Galeotti); Attwood 831a.
Possibly on the afterlife.
Obv.:   CHRISTOPHORus·MADRVCIVS·CARdinalis·AC·PRINceps·TRIDENTInus·BRIXINensis Que EPiscopuS  /  PETRVS·PAVLVS·ROManus·  -   Bust to the left.
Rev.:   Phoenix rising from ashes, sun shining above and V - E - V
below banner: VT VIVAT.


Medal n. d. by Pietro Paolo Galeotti (il Romano)     Ø 44 mm,   Armand I 231/17; Kress 353.
Specimen of the Kress Collection in the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
Obv.:   just like before.
Rev.:  Ships in a port that is locked by a chain; in front of it Neptune on the back of a dolphin, with his left hand on the harbor chain.     Armand recognizes the signature P.P.RO. on the reverse.

Ref.:
• G.Toderi / F.Vannel: Le medaglie italiane del XVI secolo, 3 Bd., Florenz 2000
• A. Armand :  Les Médailleurs Italiens des quinzième et seizième siècles. 3 Bd., Paris 1883-87
• Joseph Bergmann: Medaillen auf berühmte und ausgezeichnete Männer des Österr. Kaiserstaates
    im 16 bis 19. Jh. Bd.1, Wien 1844 & im Netz
• R. Kastenholz: Hans Schwarz, Ein Augsburger Bildhauer und Medailleur der Renaissance. Mü-Berlin 2006

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