Abstract : In April 1438, Enea Silvio Piccolomini, then official at the Council of Basel, accompanied Bishop Bartolomeo Visconti of Novara, on a voyage to Vienna. The bishop represented the Duke of Milan at the events leading to the acceptance by Albrecht V, Duke of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia, of his election as Holy Roman Emperor (as Albrecht II). During their stay in Vienna, Piccolomini wrote an oration or memorandum, in the name of Visconti, urging Albrecht to accept the imperial election. The reasons advanced in the oration were Albrecht’s obligations towards the Empire, his eminent qualifications, and the advantages to Hungarians, to Albrecht’s family, to Albrecht himself, to the Church, and to the Empire.
