The Borgias

by G. J. Meyer

  This is not the only psychologically improbable part of the Giulia story. Would Alexander, who doted on Lucrezia even as he used her as a diplomatic pawn, have allowed her to grow up in a Vatican bordello and live almost as the sister of his concubine? At the time of the Este marriage, when distancing Lucrezia from the scandalous stories then in circulation was so essential, would he have sent her to Ferrara in the care of his personal procuress? Would Giulia’s kinsmen, her Farnese brothers and Gaetani uncles and Orsini in-laws, have accepted concubinage without complaint? Or would the pope, during the time when his passion for Giulia was supposedly at its height, have launched the attacks that resulted in the ruin of the Gaetani? An affirmative answer to all these questions is possible. In the absence of better evidence, however, it would be unreasonable to regard affirmative answers as very possible, never mind probable. To assume them to be the true answers is irresponsible. As Ferrara says in his chapter on the Bella Giulia question, the whole business is “ringed round with confusion and alterations of known fact.”

  Much has been made, by various writers, of a letter sent by Alexander VI to Lucrezia when she was the wife of Giovanni Sforza. The pontiff blamed Lucrezia for allowing Adriana del Milà and Giulia, after visiting her at Pesaro, to travel to see Giulia’s gravely ill brother Angelo rather than returning directly to Rome. He chastised her in the following terms:

  Madonna Adriana and Giulia have arrived at Capo di Monte, where they found her brother dead. This death has caused deep grief to Cardinal Farnese as to Giulia and both were so cast down that they caught the fever. We have sent Pietro Carianca to visit them, and we have provided doctors and all things necessary. Let us pray God and the glorious Madonna that they may very quickly recover. Messire Joanni and you have truly not shown great respect or consideration for us in the matter of this journey of Madonna Adriana and Giulia, in that you let them go without our permission: you should have remembered that such a journey, undertaken so suddenly and without our consent, could not but cause us extreme pain. You will say that they decided upon it because Cardinal Farnese had wished it and arranged it; but you should have asked yourself if it was to the Pope’s taste. The thing is done now, but another time we shall look to it better and shall consider in what hands we place our affairs.

  That this letter expresses hurt feelings could hardly be more obvious. Whether the hurt was caused more by Adriana or by Giulia—or by Lucrezia for that matter—is entirely unclear. To take the pope’s words as proof of his sexual involvement with Giulia is absurd. It is more sensible to interpret them, as Ferrara does, as akin to the complaint “of an old parish priest, who had grown difficult with age, irritable and touchy.” It is entirely plausible that what was irritating him most was the prolonged absence of the woman he twice names before Giulia in his letter, the woman on whom he was really dependent for his everyday comfort, his housekeeper-in-chief Adriana.

  And About Lucrezia’s Mystery Pregnancy

  Did Lucrezia become pregnant shortly after her final separation from Giovanni Sforza of Pesaro?

  If so, might the father have been a young man named something like Pierotto Calderón, a courier in the employ of Alexander VI?

  Was this Calderón murdered by Cesare? In the pope’s presence?

  Did Lucrezia secretly give birth to a healthy son after the annulment of the Sforza marriage and before her betrothal to Alfonso duke of Bisceglie?

  The search for answers to these questions takes one into an all-too-typical Borgia maze—one that leads nowhere.

  W. H. Woodward, in a fine biography of Cesare written more than a century ago, concludes that “it seems to be true that [Lucrezia] was enceinte by the murdered man … but the story that he was murdered by an enraged Cesare in the presence of Alexander VI … is a later embroidery of the facts.”

  Writing earlier, Ludwig Pastor in The History of the Popes from the Close of the Middle Ages likewise decided that the claim that “Cesare stabbed Pierotto in the presence of the pope is another story that will not bear examination.” (Pastor’s use of the word another is not without significance. Though no one could accuse him of being a defender of the Borgias—the contrary would be closer to the truth—his researches led him to the conviction that much of what has come to be believed of the family over the centuries collapses when exposed to the known facts.)

  A bona fide Borgia-hater, Ferdinand Gregorovius, fails even to mention the Calderón story in the more than two hundred pages devoted to the family in his History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages. Presumably he did not regard it as deserving of mention.

  The extent to which writers can lose their bearings in dealing with the Borgias is perhaps most vividly apparent in Maria Bellonci’s often-reprinted 1939 biography of Lucrezia. In her fourth chapter, Bellonci sets forth a detailed and romantic account of how Lucrezia and “Caldes” (as she calls him) surrendered to a passion that was all the more intense because of their understanding that it was doomed. She too describes the pope as splashed with blood as he tries to protect Lucrezia’s helpless lover from a Cesare driven out of his wits by the discovery of his sister’s condition. When Bellonci returns to the subject two chapters later, however, she adds the awkwardly belated suggestion that if Lucrezia had a child in 1498, the father may have been not Caldes but rather the pope. In the end she throws up her hands, complaining that “the mystery is insoluble” and appearing to acknowledge that everything she has written about it is imagined. Perhaps she had not so much lost her bearings as yielded to the temptation to squeeze as much dramatic juice as possible out of sparse material, later feeling too uneasy about what she had done to let the matter rest.

  Michael Mallett, in his 1969 work The Borgias, takes a more responsible approach, noting only that an affair and a pregnancy were rumored and that “Calderón” was a real person and was murdered—no one knows by whom.

  There being no solid basis for choosing among the various versions of the story, if choice is deemed necessary it can only be done on the basis of probabilities, and the probabilities can be derived only from what is known of the individuals involved—Lucrezia herself above all. And it is prudent, when exploring the darker facets of the legend of Lucrezia Borgia, to begin with the understanding that they are invariably unproven and that the most sensational almost always turn out to be unworthy of attention. It is advisable to suspend judgment until one knows enough about the whole of Lucrezia’s life story to judge what sorts of things she does and does not seem to have been capable of doing, and enough about the world in which she lived to judge what sorts of things a young woman of her status was—if she did them—likely to get away with.

  It is the opinion of the writer of the present work that if in the late 1490s Lucrezia was capable of becoming pregnant by a man unsuited by rank to become her husband, she was unlikely to do such a thing and escape without consequences.

  For Eric, Ellen, and Sarah

  Who have always made everything meaningful, and worthwhile

  Notes

  In a book of this kind, a book of history, almost every sentence is based on some anterior source—or sources. It is the nature of the beast. To inform the reader of the origins of all the bits of information that make up the narrative would require a second volume.

  Limits are necessary, choices must be made, and such rules as exist are ambiguous. In the present instance the governing principle, which the author hopes is an unobjectionable one, has been to omit source notes for:

  • Those things (dates, events, statements of fact or opinion et cetera) on which the credible sources have long agreed. For example, no one disputes that Alonso de Borja was born on December 31, 1378; citing a source is pointless.

  • Those cases in which all the credible sources are not agreed (whether Cesare Borgia was born in 1474 or 1475, for example), no way of establishing the truth appears to exist, and even if resolved the question could in no material way change our view of the Borgias and their world.

  Even after t
he exclusion of such things, an author is left with a substantial responsibility: to single out those statements of fact and opinion that remain material and disputable or are sufficiently obscure that an interested reader might have difficulty finding them. And then to provide either a source for the information or the reasons for the opinion.

  This responsibility is particularly weighty, in the present case, in connection with the questions raised about the character of Rodrigo Borgia/Pope Alexander VI, the paternity of Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia and their siblings, Lucrezia’s alleged illegitimate child, and Alexander’s alleged mistresses. Therefore these matters, rather than being confined to the source notes provided below, are dealt with separately and at length in “Examining Old Assumptions,” which begins on this page.

  If there exists an infallible, unarguable way of deciding which of thousands of items merit a source note, it is not known to the author. This is perhaps especially true of a work aimed at a popular readership rather than at the academic community; it is difficult to accuse E. R. Chamberlin of being irresponsible in offering fewer than two pages of “sources and notes” with his The World of the Italian Renaissance, for example, or to criticize Lauro Martines for appending only five such pages to his information-rich, immensely sophisticated Power and Imagination. The author of the present work has attempted to find an acceptable middle ground and beyond that can only invite any readers seeking further support of what he has written to contact him via the publisher.

  The Borgia Problem: An Introduction

  1. Nearly seven decades have passed … : Whitfield, “New Views,” p. 77.

  2. In the seventh volume … : Gregorovius’s statement that the “secrets” of Rodrigo Borgia’s private life are unknown is in his History of Rome, p. 7:326. The statement that “nothing is known” is in his Lucretia Borgia, p. 6.

  3. It is much the same with Burckhardt … : Burckhardt, Civilization, p. 78.

  Prologue: One Whom All Did Fear

  1. If the visit happened … : Sabatini, Life of Cesare, p. 447, says the tomb was destroyed “at the close of the seventeenth century.” An article in the January 18, 1954, issue of Time says it happened in 1527. Woodward, Cesare Borgia, p. 375, while giving no date, rather spoils the fun by saying that the identification of the body discovered under the road at Viana as Cesare’s is “conjectural only” and blames Yriarte for that identification. But Yriarte, Cesare Borgia, p. 222, specifically states that no such identification is possible.

  2. Here in a little earth … : The translation used is taken from Sabatini, Life of Cesare, footnote p. 448.

  PART ONE: Alonso

  From Out of Nowhere

  If there exists or has ever existed a book dealing solely or even mainly with the life and career of the Alonso de Borja who became Pope Calixtus III, the author has found no trace of it. The material about Alonso that constitutes the foundation of Part One has therefore been drawn from a multitude of limited and often fragmentary sources, all dealing principally with other subjects. The result is probably as comprehensive an account of Alonso’s career as is to be found anywhere.

  At the narrow end of the completeness spectrum is the first volume of Symonds, Renaissance in Italy, which, amid detailed treatments of several popes, declares that “little need be said” of Calixtus and limits that little to three lines (perhaps because Calixtus’s life and reign provide little of the kind of sensational material in which Symonds specialized). Burckhardt, Civilization, doesn’t mention Calixtus at all, and Gregorovius gives him ten of the thousands of pages that make up the forty volumes of his History of Rome. The most extensive available treatments include Johnson, Borgias, which devotes fifty heavily illustrated pages largely to Calixtus, and Mallett, Borgias, which gives him and his reign twenty-three pages.

  Chapter 1: A Most Improbable Pope

  1. Every part of the process … : The College of Cardinals’ gradual assumption of sole power over papal elections is outlined in Symonds, Renaissance in Italy, p. 59.

  2. Not that Nicholas has left them … : A detailed account of the reign of Nicholas V is in Gregorovius, History of Rome, p. 7:105–148.

  3. The existence of the league requires … : Arnaldi, Italy and Invaders, p. 125, touches on the Italian League as a reflection of the midcentury balance of power. Its significance is explained in Hay, Europe, p. 185.

  4. Coiled like a serpent … : The present work’s treatment of the place of the Colonna, Orsini, and other baronial families during the half-century of Borgia prominence in Rome is informed by the uniquely detailed information in Shaw, Orsini Family.

  5. Through three tense days … : Gregorovius, History of Rome, p. 7:104, describes the conclave of 1447 with emphasis on the failure of Cardinal Colonna.

  6. So … some other compromise … : The dynamics of the conclave that elected Alonso Borgia are explained in Mallett, Borgias, p. 68.

  Background: The Road to Rome

  1. The records show … : The early history of the de Borja family in Valencia is outlined in Yriarte, Cesare Borgia, p. 17, and Mallett, Borgias, p. 59, and presented in exhaustive detail in De Roo, Material, vol. 1.

  2. This assembly of the Church … : Barraclough, Medieval Papacy, p. 180, provides a succinct introduction to the Council of Constance, its purposes and significance.

  3. Alfonso V at twenty-one … : An excellent introduction to Alfonso V and his career is in Prescott, Princes, p. 51.

  4. He was also intelligent … : King Alfonso’s joke about marriage appears in Ryder, Kingdom of Naples, p. 71.

  5. When Alfonso appointed him … : Alonso’s refusal to go to Basel is in Mallett, Borgias, p. 65. The significance of the council is explained in Barraclough, Medieval Papacy, p. 18, and Gregorovius, History of Rome, p. 7:32.

  6. The war for Naples appeared … : Prescott, Princes, p. 56, deals with Alfonso V’s experience as a prisoner of Filippo Maria.

  Chapter 2: Surprises, Disappointments, Hope

  1. According to this story … : The tale of Ferrer’s prophecy is recounted in Mallett, Borgias, p. 61.

  2. The former Alonso Borgia … : The description of Calixtus III as “peaceable and kindly” is in Johnson, Borgias, p. 41.

  3. Calixtus’s lifestyle, always simple … : The austerity of the papal household under Calixtus III is described in Mallett, Borgias, p. 80.

  4. Not many of the pope’s envoys … : Ibid., p. 71.

  Background: Il Regno—The Kingdom

  1. It was under the Normans … : “The state as a work of art” is in Croce, Naples, p. 81.

  2. In the fourteenth century the barons … : Machiavelli’s description of the Neapolitan barons appears ibid., p. 60.

  Chapter 3: Pope and King, Friends No More

  1. In the very month … : That Alfonso V supported Piccinino in his attack on Siena is attested by Johnson, Borgias, p. 46, and Gregorovius, History of Rome, p. 7:154.

  2. The alienation of pope from king … : The information in this sentence and the six following is in Ryder, Kingdom of Naples, p. 81.

  3. Pressed for an answer … : Calixtus’s reply to Lucrezia d’Alagna is in Johnson, Borgias, p. 48.

  4. Before long Calixtus was warning … : The exchange appears in Johnson, Borgias, p. 47.

  5. Niccolò Machiavelli, who was still … : Gregorovius, History of Rome, p. 7:156, is typical of nineteenth-century historians in asserting without evidence that Calixtus hoped to make Pedro Luis king of Naples. Mallett, Borgias, p. 75, suggests that this is probably true but unimportant. Johnson, Borgias, p. 51, appears to be on solid ground in describing the idea as “gossip.”

  Background: Amazing Italy

  1. The Italy for which Alonso … : For a detailed and insightful overview of the life, politics, and culture of the Italy of the fifteenth century, nothing compares with Martines, Power and Imagination.

  Chapter 4: Family Matters

  1. We see Rodrigo … : Ferrara, Borgia Pope, p. 25, is good on Rodrigo Borgia’s early benefices,
as are Mallett, Borgias, p. 86, and Woodward, Cesare Borgia, p. 11. De Roo, Material, vols. 1 and 2, are cumulatively comprehensive on the subject. Mallett, Borgias, p. 84, deals with the exemptions granted by Nicholas V to permit the young Rodrigo to depart Spain for Italy.

  2. It would later be said … : Mallett, Borgias, p. 77, claims that in 1456 a number of cardinals objected to Calixtus’s promotion of men “so young and so untried” to the Sacred College, but he goes on to suggest that other reasons were undoubtedly more important.