The Borgias

by Paul Strathern

  Such a threat appeared irresistible. Florence’s new republican government, and the fundamentalist Christian tenor of its society, had caused deep disquiet throughout Italy. Others would certainly heed the Pope’s order. Rulers throughout the land feared that their own people might well be inspired to rise up by Florence’s republican example, while Church authorities and their congregations were worried by such fundamentalist manifestations as Savonarola’s ‘Bonfire of the Vanities’. The Renaissance era was a time of increasing prosperity throughout society; none wished to see their valued possessions, however few, publicly burned in the main piazza.

  But it was now that Savonarola played his masterstroke. He well knew that leaders throughout Europe were deeply disturbed by the reports of Alexander VI’s personal behaviour, to say nothing of his devious political machinations. Consequently, Savonarola decided to write a circular letter to be sent to the leaders of the European powers, calling for a Council of the Church, which could depose Alexander VI and put in his place a more fitting candidate for St Peter’s throne. Savonarola intended to send his letter to the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, as well as the kings of England, France, Hungary and Spain, proclaiming:

  Alexander is no pope, nor can he be regarded as one. Aside from the mortal sin of simony by means of which he purchased the Papal Throne, and daily sells Church benefices to the highest bidder, as well as ignoring all the other vices which he so publicly flaunts – I declare that he is not a Christian, and does not believe in the existence of God, and thus far exceeds the limits of infidelity.

  According to Savonarola’s biographer Pasquale Villari: ‘Savonarola then proceeded to invite all the princes of Christendom to summon a council as soon as possible, designating a location which is both appropriate and free from outside influence.’ Savonarola also appended an individual message addressed to each of the rulers. For instance, he informed the Holy Roman Emperor that if he did not act and rescue the Church from its present disgrace, then he risked losing all dignity. And, alluding to his prophecy of the death of Charles VIII, he addressed his most personal plea to the French king. Charles VIII’s infant son had recently died, causing him deep grief, and Savonarola warned the superstitious young king: ‘Be mindful that God has already given you the first sign of his wrath.’

  Word soon reached Rome of Savonarola’s letter and his intentions. Alexander VI realized that this constituted a serious threat to his authority, let alone his position as pope. At all costs he had to prevent a Council of the Church from being called. Alexander VI was well aware that there were clerics in Florence, most notably the Augustinians, who were deeply opposed to Savonarola, and he ordered them to act. They should see that spies were posted at all the gates of Florence, from their opening at dawn until their closing at dusk. If they saw any friar of the Dominican order attempting to leave the city, they were to detain him. Savonarola was prior of the Dominicans at the city’s monastery of San Marco, and Alexander VI rightly suspected that he might try to send his letters through some of his friars.

  Now another ally came to Alexander VI’s rescue. Besides the Augustinians, the Franciscans also opposed Savonarola, especially for his claim to privileged access to the word of God, as well as for his prophecies, which had taken on the stature of miracles in the eyes of many. A Franciscan monk called Francisco da Puglia challenged Savonarola to an esperimento del fuoco (‘ordeal by fire’). The one who managed to walk barefoot along a path of red-hot coals and emerge unscathed would be declared the winner – this being a sign from God that he was the true one.

  Savonarola regarded such medieval practices as barbaric, and declined to acknowledge the challenge. But one of his more zealous followers decided to take it up on his behalf. On the appointed day a huge crowd gathered in the large main piazza of Florence. From the outset there were various objections on both sides, which held up the proceedings, meanwhile the crowd became increasingly impatient. Then the heavens opened and a heavy rainstorm put out the fire. The situation descended into farce and the disappointed crowd dispersed amidst much discontent.

  Feelings were turning against Savonarola, and next day a mob stormed his monastery San Marco. Savonarola was eventually taken prisoner and incarcerated by the authorities. As was common practice at the time, the accused was subjected to torture to try and discover the truth. With surprising speed, Savonarola confessed to heresy. As a priest, Savonarola could be tried only by an ecclesiastical court. To this end, Alexander VI appointed two papal commissioners, who were despatched to Florence. As one of these later admitted, ‘They arrived in Florence with their verdict in their bosom.’ This time Alexander VI had taken every precaution. Savonarola was duly condemned, and on 23 May was burned at the stake, his ashes being cast into the River Arno so that no monument or shrine could be erected in his memory.

  Alexander VI had been ruthless in his defence of his papacy. At the same time, he would now show that he could be equally determined in manipulating the political scene to his advantage.

  In late April the news came through that Charles VIII of France had died in a freak accident. He had cracked open his skull on a low stone lintel whilst entering a doorway. Some months prior to his unexpected death, Charles VIII had surprised Europe by signing a peace treaty with King Ferdinand of Spain. In reality, this treaty had little to do with good will. The fact was, both kingdoms had all but exhausted their large treasuries ‘after years of conflict with numerous adversaries, including each other’.

  As Charles VIII’s son and heir had recently died, his throne was inherited by his cousin, the thirty-two-year-old, dashing but astute Louis of Orléans, who had earlier led a French army into Italy in an attempt to rescue Charles VIII on his return from Naples. Louis of Orléans took the name Louis XII, and immediately found himself faced with a serious difficulty. Should anyone choose to marry Charles VIII’s widow, Anne of Brittany, they could lay claim to this valuable province, thus splitting it from France. So in order to secure his kingdom Louis XII immediately, and with little reluctance, started proceedings to divorce the wife he had been forced to marry, namely his ‘hunchbacked and barren’ cousin Joan of France, who happened to be the older sister of the oddly shaped Charles VIII.* Louis XII’s intention was to marry Anne of Brittany as soon as possible, before any of the several foreign suitors after her hand could make good their claim. However, in order to do this he would require the assent of the Pope. Alexander VI’s position in this matter was further strengthened when he heard from Louis XII that he would deem it a great favour if the Pope would also award a cardinal’s hat to his influential chief counsellor Georges d’Amboise, the Archbishop of Rouen.

  Alexander VI relished the prospect, and immediately set out his terms to Louis XII. From now on, he would require French support in his political endeavours (which remained as yet undisclosed). And as a mark of this support he would require a gift of French finance in order to pay for the stationing of French troops in Rome, for his defence, and also to be placed at his disposal for any military ventures. Louis XII was only too willing to agree to such requests, for it soon became clear that he had other reasons for wishing to form a strong alliance with the papacy. Louis XII had never forgiven Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, for switching sides after Charles VIII’s invasion of Naples. Sforza’s act of betrayal in joining the Holy League had left the then Louis of Orléans and his army in a vulnerable position prior to the Battle of Fornovo, contributing considerably to the lack of French mastery of this encounter. Now that he was King of France, Louis XII was determined to wreak his revenge. Louis XII had in fact a distant, but legal, claim to the Duchy of Milan, being descended from a female member of the Visconti family. The Viscontis had ruled Milan prior to the duchy being taken over by the Sforza family almost fifty years previously. Under the circumstances, it took little persuasion for Alexander VI quietly to forget his already tenuous links with Milan. Covertly, Alexander VI gave his blessing to Louis XII’s claim.

  Simultaneous to these
moves, Alexander VI was also privately hatching further plans of his own. With Juan murdered, these now focused on his son Cesare. However, despite all the discussions between father and son, there remained the awkward fact that Cesare was still a cardinal, and thus not yet in a position to fulfil any of the dynastic and military plans which Alexander had in mind for him. According to Burchard, by August 1498 the time had come for Cardinal Cesare Borgia to ‘put off the purple . . . with the least possible scandal . . . and with the most decorous pretext’. Such an unprecedented decision needed to be ratified by the College of Cardinals at consistory. Yet the cardinals had no wish to create this kind of precedent: if the Pope could allow his son to cease being a cardinal, he might in time cause others to cease being cardinals.

  The cardinals decided to decamp post-haste from the heat of Rome for their country retreats, pleading the recent prevalence of plague in the city. Alexander VI immediately despatched letters ordering their return. A consistory was held, presided over by Alexander VI, ‘So the dissident cardinals yielded, and Cardinal Cesare could now take off his [cardinal’s] hat and make himself a soldier and get himself a wife.’ Coincidentally, an envoy now arrived from Louis XII bestowing upon Cesare Borgia the French title Duke of Valentinois. From this time on the Pope’s son would increasingly be known by the Italian version of this title – namely ‘il Valentino’.

  Never one for clerical activity at the best of times, Cesare Borgia, the new Duke of Valentinois, immediately began celebrating his new status. On the day after setting aside his cardinal’s hat he enjoyed himself with a display of bullfighting on horseback, a popular sport in Spain and Cesare Borgia’s favourite pastime – though in Italy it was despised as a Spanish custom. According to the Mantuan ambassador:

  In these days [Cesare Borgia], armed as a janissary,* with another fourteen men, gave many blows and proofs of strength in killing eight bulls in the presence of Don Alfonso, Donna Lucretia, and ‘his Princess’ [Sancia], in Monsignor Ascanio’s park, where he had taken them remote from the crowd for greater privacy.

  Cesare Borgia may have enjoyed showing off to his two favourite women, but such athletic exploits did not always go quite according to plan. Some ten days later Cesare Borgia was exercising in the grounds of the Belvedere just above the Vatican, doing some gymnastics. At the time, what is now known as a ‘vaulting horse’ was not a piece of wooden apparatus, it was in fact the real thing, i.e. an actual horse or a mule. On this occasion Cesare Borgia

  tried to leap in that manner on to a somewhat taller mule and when he was in the air, the mule took fright and gave him a couple of kicks . . . one on the right shoulder, and the other on the back of his head. He was unconscious for more than half an hour.

  There was a reason for Cesare Borgia’s strenuous exercise regime. His father Alexander VI had arranged for him to travel to France to meet his new bride, and he was determined to look his best. Going behind the back of King Federigo of Naples, the Pope had contacted his new ally and friend Louis XII, explaining his wish that his son Cesare should marry King Federigo’s daughter Carlotta. Alexander VI informed Louis XII that this had been his original plan, and with the young Carlotta resident at the French court the king would surely be able to use his influence in this matter. Louis XII had been only too willing to oblige, and had extended a formal invitation to Cesare Borgia, Duke of Valentinois, to attend his court in France for the marriage ceremony.

  By now Louis XII and Alexander VI were both intent upon forming a close alliance between France and the papacy. Alexander VI was only too pleased to accept the backing, and protection, of powerful France; and Louis XII was keen to win the Pope’s backing for his plan to take over Milan. Alexander VI’s diplomatic bargaining in this matter had resulted in several important promises from the French king. These would result in a new direction for Italian politics which would affect the entire peninsula over the decades to come, as well as aiding Alexander VI in his covert territorial ambitions. Louis XII undertook to fulfil the following commitments.

  First and foremost, Cesare Borgia, Duke of Valentinois, would receive an annual income of 20,000 gold francs. Foreign exchange rates could fluctuate during this period, but as this sum was negotiated by Alexander VI we can be sure that it more than compensated for the 35,000 ducats income which Cardinal Cesare Borgia had received from his benefices. On top of this promised French income, the new Duke of Valentinois was also guaranteed by Louis XII a similar annual sum from his ducal estates.*

  Cesare Borgia was intent upon following his murdered brother Juan into a military career, one for which he had always felt that he would be much more suited than his arrogant and incompetent sibling. Louis XII had understood this too – and was keen to give Cesare a chance to show his mettle. The French king decided to appoint the Pope’s son as the commander of a corps of 300 mounted French lancers, which would be maintained in Italy at the king’s expense. This in practice may well have amounted to an armed force of up to a thousand men – for each ‘lancer’ (a commissioned rank) was frequently accompanied by several mounted, and armed, bearers. These attendant soldiers were under the lancer’s direct orders, bearing his arms and baggage, and seeing to his general needs. They also fought alongside him in battle. At the same time, it was agreed that Cesare Borgia would accompany Louis XII and the French army on their invasion of Milan. This was not only a great honour, but would give Cesare Borgia some much-needed military experience. It also meant that he was a hostage to fortune should the Pope be inclined to change his mind. This was no idle worry on Louis XII’s behalf. Alexander VI had long since proved that he was hardly the most trustworthy of allies, and it was more than likely that either Milan, still in name at least his ally, or Venice, a more than interested party, or indeed both, would call upon the Pope’s aid to oppose this further invasion of Italy by France. As all knew, there was no telling what the powerful French army might do, once it had crossed the Alps. But this time Alexander VI was determined that these unpredictable invaders would be on his side. The Pope’s new alliance represented a significant shift in the balance of power in Italy. This was a considerable gamble, but the Pope was determined to put it to good use. He might have agreed to the stationing of a French force under his son in Italy, but he already had plans for these warriors.

  On 1 October 1498 the twenty-three-year-old Cesare Borgia set out from Rome to travel to the court of Louis XII. He was accompanied by an entourage which included over a hundred retainers, all decked out in silk tunics emblazoned with the scarlet and yellow Spanish colours of the Borgia livery. These were followed by fifty baggage mules and strings of laden carts. Cesare Borgia’s immediate attendants were all riding horses shod with silver horseshoes, and wearing silver harnesses with tinkling silver bells, echoing the entourage of his brother Juan. Cesare’s horse was similarly clad, while he himself was attired in a white brocade tunic, a short black velvet cloak slung over his shoulder.

  Cesare Borgia was departing Rome as a suitor to royalty, no less – on his way to marry Carlotta of Naples, the daughter of King Federigo of Naples. Louis XII had overridden her father’s objections to her marrying Cesare Borgia. Carlotta was descended from the French royal family on her mother’s side, and had grown up at the French court. By now she had come to regard Louis XII as a father figure. Under the circumstances, her genuine father King Federigo, living in distant Naples, and now married to a new wife, had little say in the matter.

  There is no doubt that the young Cesare Borgia was out to make an impression. Besides his white tunic, he also wore a black velvet cap sewn with rubies, whilst his boots were sewn with gold brocade and pearls, and his horse was caparisoned in the colours of the French royal house, of which he could now claim membership as Duke of Valentinois. The braggadocio of this occasion as Cesare Borgia rode his prancing stallion at the head of his procession through the streets of Rome is unmistakable. Yet it is not difficult to recognize that his somewhat over-ostentatious display masked a certain inner lack of co
nfidence. This was no mission as a papal legate to the King of Naples, backed by all the authority of the Church. On this occasion he was on his own, venturing outside Italy for the first time, to visit the most powerful court in Europe. The impression he made personally would be germane to his entire future standing. And there was another reason for his lack of confidence. The Mantuan ambassador, who watched Cesare Borgia leave Rome, commented: ‘He is well enough in countenance at present, although he has his face blotched beneath the skin as is usual with the great pox.’ Despite the ministrations of Cesare’s skilled physician Gaspar Torella, who would accompany him to France, the syphilis he had caught in Naples was taking its gradual but inevitable course.

  To assist Cesare Borgia in his mission to gain the favour of Louis XII, Alexander VI had arranged for his son to take with him the vast sum of 200,000 ducats. This was to be spent on his way through France and at the French court. Casual extravagance on such a scale was intended to demonstrate to Louis XII that the Pope, and his son, were quite the match for European royalty when it came to wealth. In fact, Alexander VI had found himself in some difficulty when it came to raising this sum; and as we shall see, he would resort to characteristically egregious methods to attain it.