Abstract
This paper draws on local and curial records as sources for the ecclesiastical history of the Republic of Siena from 1420 to 1480, combining them to trace the careers of NorthEuropean clerics who were active in the territory of Siena and, vice versa, Sienese churchmen with connections north of the Alps. The administrative records of the See of Siena are known to be fragmentary, but can be supplemented with the rich documentation of the Comune of Siena which endeavoured to control the provision of church benefices. Beyond this material, the registers of the Roman Curia are a valuable but seldom used source of biographical information on the Sienese clergy. Northern clergymen as the holders of ecclesiastical benefices, such as parish churches or chapels, were no rarity in the region of Siena. Curial networks played an important role in obtaining these benefices long before Enea Silvio Piccolomini and his nephew Francesco established closer ties between Siena and the north. In this context, a particular weakness of the „Repertorium Germanicum“ (RG) becomes apparent in that it is highly selective in documenting such ‚international‘ careers. As examples, the paper focuses on the biographies of three members of Piccolomini’s clientele: Antonius Blockel of Flanders (or northern France), who ended up as canon of the Cathedral of Siena; Thomas Urbani Testa Piccolomini, an imperial count palatine and consiliarius of Emperor Frederick III who later became bishop of Pienza; and finally Antonio Trecerchi, a familiaris of Cardinal Iacopo Ammannati Piccolomini, whose account books contain references to several German artisans, notaries and chaplains.
