There were thirty-nine cardinal electors, only three of whom were non-Italians (two Spaniards and one Swiss). Nine non-Italians did not attend (compared to only one Italian), despite the lengthy delay. The lengthy delay was due to the capture of one cardinal on his way to Rome, who was held for ransom. In the meantime, the agents of
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor,
Francis I of France, and
Henry VIII of England began to distribute the large sums that the monarchs had sent to Rome for bribes. ) The preferred choice of Henry VIII was
Thomas Wolsey (for whom he was prepared to spend 100,000 ducats), although
Giulio de'Medici (future Pope Clement VII) was also acceptable to him. Henry VIII asked Charles V (with whom he was allied) to support Wolsey and send his army to Rome. Even the large bribes of these monarchs were less than the cost of the conclave, and even the
papal tiara was mortgaged to continue to fund it, and only a very few of the Italian cardinals would even consider a non-Italian. Charles V eventually threw his support behind Medici rather than Wolsey, although he was opposed by many because he was the
cousin of Leo X and the College feared a hereditary papacy. Francis I supported the election of a French pope, backed by one million gold
ecus, although whether he actually sent the funds to Rome is unclear; in fact, Francis I's agents focused their attention on the pro-French Italian candidates, mainly the three Venetians. Francis I claimed to control the votes of twelve cardinals. Medici for his part entered the conclave with fifteen or sixteen supporters, but very little chance of securing additional votes.
The papabile (center) with his
cardinal-nephew Giulio de'Medici
(left), a leading
papabile in the conclave, later elected
Pope Clement VII. The bookmakers of Rome offered bets on the
papabile, an early example of
gambling on papal elections; Medici had the best odds at 25 to 100; Farnese's odds were 20 to 100. ==Proceedings==