WI Cardinal Bessario was elected Pope in 1455?

I have posted that before but i cant find it now... In the Conclave of 1455 after the death of Pope Nicholas V Cardinal Bessario of Greek origin former Metropolitan Bishop of Nicaea and now a convert to Catholicism and a Cardinal was considered the front runner to succed the late Pope... In the subsequent ballots he was few votes short from the 2/3 majority needed but he was opposed for his Greek background by the French Cardinal Alain de Coëtivy. "It is probable that the cardinals were less afraid of his Greek training and temperament than they were of his known austerity and passion for reform", as Francis A. Burkle-Young notes in his book...
WI He was elected Pope? How is Europe reacting to a Greek Pope? Constantinople had fallen to Turks only 2 years before... Is it possible that Bessario as Pope can call for a new Crusade? He would be the second Greek Pope after the Pisan Pope Alexander V... How is his election altering European History?
 
French Cardinals like Coetivy and D'Estouteville opposed Bessario because they wanted to secure the rights of the Byzantine Crown for the French King... (As it happened with Charles VIII 40 years later who bought the rights from Thomas Palaeologus but unfortunately Charles VIII predeceased him...)
A potential Greek Pope would have lead to a Crusade against Ottomans in Constantinople...
 

corourke

Donor
This is quite interesting.

A reformist Pope could derail the Reformation if he plays his cards right. This is the perfect time to do that.
 
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