Ambrogio Traversari, also referred to as Ambrose of Camaldoli (1386 – 20 October 1439), was an Italian monk and theologian who was a prime supporter of the papal cause in the 15th century. He is honored as a saint by the Camaldolese Order.
Born~Died Sep 19, 1386 ~ Oct 20, 1439Last edited Oct 15, 2026, 4:12 PM
Ambrogio Traversari, also referred to as Ambrose of Camaldoli (1386 – 20 October 1439), was an Italian monk and theologian who was a prime supporter of the papal cause in the 15th century. He is honored as a saint by the Camaldolese Order.
Traversari emerged as a leading advocate of papal primacy.1 This attitude he showed clearly when he attended the Council of Basel as legate of Pope Eugene IV1 and defended the primacy of the pope, calling upon the council not to "rend asunder Christ's seamless robe".2 He was next sent by Eugene to the Emperor Sigismund to ask his aid in the pope's efforts to end this council, which for five years had been encroaching on papal prerogatives. Eugene transferred the council from to on 18 September 1437.
This page is based on “Ambrose Traversari” from English Wikipedia, (r1367348232) CC BY-SA 4.0 used under the license. The original authors are listed in its page history.
So strong was Traversari's hostility to some of the delegates that he described Basel as a western Babylon. He likewise supported the pope at Ferrara and Florence and worked hard to reconcile the Eastern and Western Churches.1 But in this council, and later, in that of Florence, Traversari, by his efforts and charity toward some indigent Greek bishops, greatly helped to bring about a union of the two Churches, the decree for which, 6 July 1439, he was called on to prepare a draft.
Ambrose Traversari died soon after.2 His feastday is celebrated by the Camaldolese Order on 20 November.
Character
According to the author of his biography in the eleventh edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica: "Ambrose is interesting as typical of the new humanism which was growing up within the church. Thus, while among his own colleagues he seemed merely a hypocritical and arrogant priest, in his relations with his brother humanists, such as Cosimo de' Medici, he appeared as the student of classical antiquities and especially of Greek theological authors".1
He also translated many homilies of John Chrysostom; the writings of Dionysius Areopagita (1436);3Basil of Caesarea's treatise on virginity; thirty-nine discourses of Ephrem the Syrian, and many other works of the Fathers and writers of the Greek Church. Jean Mabillon's Letters and Orations of St. Ambrose of Camaldoli was published in Florence in 1759.2
Selected works:
Hodoeporicon, diary of a journey visiting the monasteries of Italy4
Stinger, Charles L. (1977). Humanism and the Church Fathers: Ambrogio Traversari (1386–1439) and Christian Antiquity in the Italian Renaissance.
Clarke, Georgia (September 1997). "Ambrogio Traversari: Artistic Adviser in Early Fifteenth-Century Florence?". Renaissance Studies. 11 (3): 161–178. doi:10.1111/j.1477-4658.1997.tb00018.x.
Lackner, D. F. (2002). "'The Camaldolese Academy: Ambrogio Traversari, Marsilio Ficino & the Christian Platonic Tradition'". Marsilio Ficino: His Theology, His Philosophy, His Legacy, ed. Michael J.B. Allen & Valery Rees, with Martin Davies.
In his 1498 edition of these works, Jacques LeFèvre d’Étaples praised them as "The most holy works of the divine Dionysius the Areopagite, of such worth and excellence that no praise in words can hope to equal" (sacratissima opera tanta excellentie dignitate eminentia ut commendationis eorum nullus unquam verbis valeat assequi summam) Jacobus Faber Stapulensis piis lectoribus, Theologia Vivificans; cibus solidus, 1498. ↩
Ambrogio Traversari, also referred to as Ambrose of Camaldoli (1386 – 20 October 1439), was an Italian monk and theologian who was a prime supporter of the papal cause in the 15th century. He is honored as a saint by the Camaldolese Order.
Traversari emerged as a leading advocate of papal primacy.1 This attitude he showed clearly when he attended the Council of Basel as legate of Pope Eugene IV1 and defended the primacy of the pope, calling upon the council not to "rend asunder Christ's seamless robe". He was next sent by Eugene to the Emperor to ask his aid in the pope's efforts to end this council, which for five years had been encroaching on papal prerogatives. Eugene transferred the council from to on 18 September 1437.
So strong was Traversari's hostility to some of the delegates that he described Basel as a western Babylon. He likewise supported the pope at Ferrara and Florence and worked hard to reconcile the Eastern and Western Churches.1 But in this council, and later, in that of Florence, Traversari, by his efforts and charity toward some indigent Greek bishops, greatly helped to bring about a union of the two Churches, the decree for which, 6 July 1439, he was called on to prepare a draft.
Ambrose Traversari died soon after.2 His feastday is celebrated by the Camaldolese Order on 20 November.
Character
According to the author of his biography in the eleventh edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica: "Ambrose is interesting as typical of the new humanism which was growing up within the church. Thus, while among his own colleagues he seemed merely a hypocritical and arrogant priest, in his relations with his brother humanists, such as Cosimo de' Medici, he appeared as the student of classical antiquities and especially of Greek theological authors".1
He also translated many homilies of John Chrysostom; the writings of Dionysius Areopagita (1436);3Basil of Caesarea's treatise on virginity; thirty-nine discourses of Ephrem the Syrian, and many other works of the Fathers and writers of the Greek Church. Jean Mabillon's Letters and Orations of St. Ambrose of Camaldoli was published in Florence in 1759.2
Selected works:
Hodoeporicon, diary of a journey visiting the monasteries of Italy4
Stinger, Charles L. (1977). Humanism and the Church Fathers: Ambrogio Traversari (1386–1439) and Christian Antiquity in the Italian Renaissance.
Clarke, Georgia (September 1997). "Ambrogio Traversari: Artistic Adviser in Early Fifteenth-Century Florence?". Renaissance Studies. 11 (3): 161–178. doi:10.1111/j.1477-4658.1997.tb00018.x.
Lackner, D. F. (2002). "'The Camaldolese Academy: Ambrogio Traversari, Marsilio Ficino & the Christian Platonic Tradition'". Marsilio Ficino: His Theology, His Philosophy, His Legacy, ed. Michael J.B. Allen & Valery Rees, with Martin Davies.
In his 1498 edition of these works, Jacques LeFèvre d’Étaples praised them as "The most holy works of the divine Dionysius the Areopagite, of such worth and excellence that no praise in words can hope to equal" (sacratissima opera tanta excellentie dignitate eminentia ut commendationis eorum nullus unquam verbis valeat assequi summam) Jacobus Faber Stapulensis piis lectoribus, Theologia Vivificans; cibus solidus, 1498. ↩