In August 1458, the humanist scholar, poet, and diplomat Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini was elected Pope Pius II — one of the most remarkable intersections of literary culture and ecclesiastical power in European history. Before his election he had written erotic poetry, a novel, geography, history, and extensive correspondence, and remained a committed humanist throughout his papacy. His pontificate (1458–1464) illustrates how deeply Renaissance learning had penetrated the highest levels of the Church.

Pius II's career embodied the new humanist ideal of the writer-statesman, and his works — from the erotic comedy Chrysis to the memoir Commentarii — showed that classical Latin could be reclaimed for contemporary literary expression at the highest social levels. His patronage of scholars and artists in Rome helped establish the papal court as a centre of Renaissance learning and gave poets a powerful model of the learned prince. His famous letter to Mahomet II, inviting the Ottoman sultan to convert and rule a united Christendom, is also a work of extraordinary humanist rhetoric.