ABSTRACT
Among the various reform proposals submitted to the Fifth Lateran Council, that compiled by Stefano Taleazzi probably had the most influence on that Council’s legislation, but nonetheless it has been among the least studied by historians of this period. The memorial of the Venetian Camaldolese hermits, Paolo Giustiniani and Pietro Querini, the oration of Gianfrancesco Pico della Mirandola, and the proposals of the Spanish have all been published and discussed by scholars. The occasion for Taleazzi’s compiling of a reform treatise was the new impetus given to the work of the Fifth Lateran Council’s reform deputation under Leo X. Under his predecessor Julius II, a commission of twenty-four prelates together with some cardinals deliberated on the Council’s agenda. Soon after taking over the presidency of the Council, Leo X reorganized the preparatory commission by dividing it into three deputations composed of elected and appointed members.
