Caesar Borgia: A Study of the Renaissance
Date: 2018-05-10T00:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Renaissance -- Italy; Borgia; Cesare; 1476?-1507; Borgia family

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Title: Caesar Borgia: A Study of the Renaissance

Author: John Leslie Garner

Release date: May 10, 2018 [eBook #57132]

Language: English

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAESAR BORGIA: A STUDY OF THE RENAISSANCE ***

E-text prepared by Charlie Howard
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
(http://www.pgdp.net)
from page images generously made available by
Internet Archive
(https://archive.org)

Note:

Images of the original pages are available through Internet Archive. See https://archive.org/details/caesarborgiastud00garnuoft

CAESAR BORGIA

CESAR BORGIA

From an early engraving.

Frontispiece.

CAESAR BORGIA

A STUDY OF THE
RENAISSANCE

BY
JOHN LESLIE GARNER

WITH 17 ILLUSTRATIONS

T. FISHER UNWIN
LONDON: 1 ADELPHI TERRACE
LEIPSIC: INSELSTRASSE 20
1912

(All rights reserved.)

PREFACE

Although much has been written regarding the Borgias, no monograph devoted to Caesar—the most interesting member of the family as a psychological study—has hitherto appeared in English.

With the passing of the “great man theory,” biography and history have become completely separated, and a personality such as Caesar Borgia is interesting now chiefly as a product of the egoism of the age. Vast, unrestrained selfishness was the predominant characteristic of the men of the Italian Renaissance. The Peninsula was in the grasp of a number of petty tyrants who, to advance their own interests and those of their families, hesitated at no crime.

Never before was love of power so general and carried to such extremes. Men and women were mere pawns in a stupendous political game. In the governing families the women especially were regarded as assets to be used in establishing alliances to increase the power of the clan.

Men of iron played fast and loose with states and principalities; to them the lives of a city’s population were nothing except so far as their own projects and power were concerned.

Of this world the Borgias were part, although they were interlopers in the affairs of the Peninsula; they saw other upstarts securing vast wealth and dominion, and why should not they? The thing were easy with Rodrigo Borgia on the throne of St. Peter. Money in unlimited amounts was at their command and the spiritual weapons of the Church had not yet been cast on the rubbish-heap—there were still kings and princes that quaked at the threat of excommunication.

Other men, other families, have played a much more important part than the Borgias in the drama of history; others have committed as great crimes; others have surpassed them in every field of human activity—in fact, no member of the Borgia family ever produced anything of enduring value to Italy or the human race. We are therefore led to ask why Alexander VI., Caesar, and Lucretia Borgia have always aroused such profound interest. Gregorovius ascribes this to the violent contrast of their mode of living—their morals—with the sacredness of the Holy Office. An explanation wholly adequate; for, although there were temporal princes who equalled or surpassed Alexander VI. and Caesar Borgia in wickedness, the Papacy furnishes no other example, in the person of Pope or cardinal, of as great moral obliquity. Caesar had been a cardinal, and in all his projects, after as well as before he relinquished the purple, he was supported by the Pope, his father.

Drum and trumpet histories are now fortunately fast becoming obsolete, and it is a truism to say that any man whose claim to fame is based on acts prompted by unbridled egoism can have little, if any, lasting effect upon the progress of the human race. A great scientist, scholar, or inventor may by his discoveries change the mode of living, the institutions of mankind, and, therefore, the subsequent history of humanity. The overthrow of the Feudal System has been ascribed to the invention of gunpowder; and the mariner’s compass, the steam-engine, and the printing-press have altered the very nature of man; the discovery of an anæsthetic or an antitoxin may have greater effect upon the history of mankind than the victories of an Alexander.

Mere men of violence, the so-called conquerors, the military geniuses, whom little children were once taught to admire, and whom moral perverts are still wont to exalt—the ferocious egoists, who sigh for more worlds to conquer—are the most useless creatures produced by humanity in the painful course of its evolution.

Even had these men never existed the great historic movements with which they were connected would undoubtedly have run their course and reached the same goal. The Roman Empire would have come without Caesar, and without Napoleon France would still have become the Republic.

However interesting Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Napoleon may be as examples of unbridled egoism, they failed to attain the ends they sought; their conquests did not last; the victories of fraud and violence never can endure.

Renascent Italy furnished numerous examples of power built up by these means, and even the beneficiaries knew how unstable was their dominion. Professor Achille Loria has pointed out that Machiavelli’s admiration for Caesar Borgia was due to his perfect comprehension of the true nature of feudal property and to his understanding of the inherent necessity for the spoliations, extortions, and crimes which characterised it; and also of the historical justification of the acts that favoured the preservation of this dominant social form.1

The bombastic chronicles of great men are now recognised as of slight value, for the economic interpretation of history teaches us that the individual plays but a small part in the march of events, even when his character is the noblest, his aims the highest; without Washington the colonies would have become the United States, and the slaves would have been freed without Lincoln.

A great man, especially in the domain of politics, is the product of his age. A genius appearing before society is ready for him is a visionary, but if the times are ripe for him he is a genius; the great man is he who best discerns the spirit of the age and enters the lists as the champion of popular ideals. He is essentially the product of his environment, and is so much a part of it that it is impossible to think of him as belonging to any other.

Men being products of history, under similar conditions similar men will be produced; but as they in the aggregate are the makers of history there is a constant mutation in conditions and therefore ceaseless change in men.

In every epoch there are men who although in many respects unlike their prototypes resemble them in others, and bear a close relationship to them. Unchecked egoism asserts itself in every age, but the mode of its expression varies according to the institutions of the day.

In Italy from the twelfth to the sixteenth century this egoism was embodied in the tyrant or despot; it has found expression in the absolute monarch, and in the present bourgeois epoch it is exemplified in the captain of industry, the domineering genius of modern finance.

In the fifteenth century Italy was swarming with tyrants great and small—men of boundless ambition and greed, striving for power, deterred by no principle, hesitating at no crime. Duplicity, treachery, murder, had become fine arts.

A host of adventurers, upstarts, brigands, soldiers of fortune, had managed to secure possession of the domain of St. Peter and were building up petty principalities for themselves and their kinsmen. Originally these tyrants were feudatories of the Holy See, which based its claim to the territory on the donation of the Countess Matilda, who, dying in 1115, left her vast estates, which extended from Mantua to Pisa and thence almost to the walls of Rome, to the Pope.

As soon as these vassals of the Holy See felt themselves strong enough they refused all allegiance and declined to pay their annual tribute. Alexander VI. was thus afforded an excellent pretext for attempting to recover St. Peter’s domain—and this he set about doing, ostensibly for the Church, but in reality to build up a kingdom in central Italy for the benefit of his family.

CONTENTS

| PAGE
INTRODUCTION
The Renaissance—The Papacy in the fifteenth century—The Borgia | 23
CHAPTER I
Genealogy of the House of Borgia—Vannozza de’ Catanei—Birth of Caesar Borgia—His youth | 68
CHAPTER II

Charles VIII. invades Italy—Caesar a hostage—Caesar leaves the King’s camp—The League against France—Charles enters Rome—Caesar appointed Governor of Orvieto—The Pope conceives the idea of recovering Romagna—He declares the Romagnol barons rebels—The Pope summons his son, the Duke of Gandia, from Spain to command the papal troops—Charles VIII. aids the Romagnol barons—Giuffre Borgia and his wife, Doña Sancia, of Naples, come to Rome—Caesar appointed Legate to crown the King of Naples

87

CHAPTER III

The murder of the Duke of Gandia—Caesar departs to crown the King of Naples—He returns to Rome—The Pope’s projected matrimonial alliances for his children

107

CHAPTER IV

Louis XII. succeeds to the throne of France—His bargain with the Pope—Caesar prepares to go to France—He renounces his cardinalate—He arrives in Avignon, where he meets Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere—Louis XII. and Caesar meet—Caesar’s entry into Chinon—Duke of Valentinois—Caesar’s shrewdness—Charlotte D’Albret—Her marriage to Caesar—The projected conquest of Milan—Ludovico il Moro—The French army invades Italy—Caesar leaves France—He enters Milan with Louis XII.

122

CHAPTER V

The first campaign in Romagna—Imola surrenders—Caterina Sforza, the type of the virago—Caesar enters Forli—Death of Cardinal Giovanni Borgia—Return of Ludovico il Moro to Milan—Caesar goes to Rome—His entrance into the city—He is invested with the Vicariate of Romagna—Delegates from Imola and Forli request the Pope to appoint Caesar Governor—Caesar is made Gonfalonier of the Church—His oath—Caesar’s physical strength—His personal appearance

139

CHAPTER VI

Murder of Alfonso of Naples, Duke of Bisceglie—The second campaign in Romagna—Pesaro surrenders—Caesar’s private life—Pandolfaccio Malatesta gives up Rimini—Astorre Manfredi—Faenza’s brave resistance—The Pope threatens Bologna—Faenza surrenders—Caesar returns to Rome—Astorre Manfredi flung into prison—Giovanni Bentivoglio—Giuliano and Piero de’ Medici—Caesar’s agreement with Florence—Piombino invested—Caesar returns to Rome—Coalition of the Pope and the King of France for the destruction of the House of Naples—Yves d’Allegre comes to Rome—Berault Stuart, commander of the French army, enters the city

157

CHAPTER VII

The expedition against Naples—The taking of Capua—Naples surrenders—Caesar returns to Rome—The orgy in his apartments in the Vatican—The Pope divides the conquered territory in Romagna among his family—Negotiations for the marriage of Lucretia Borgia and Alfonso d’Este—Caesar receives the Ferrarese envoys—Lucretia’s marriage—Her character—The Pope and Caesar go to Piombino—They visit Elba—Caesar and Leonardo da Vinci

181

CHAPTER VIII

The third campaign in Romagna—Caesar goes to Spoleto—The Duke of Urbino flees to Florence—Valentino takes possession of Urbino—Florence sends envoys to him—Machiavelli’s first impressions of Caesar—The King of France warns Valentino not to molest Florence—Caesar plunders the palace of Urbino—Michael Angelo’s “Cupid”—Camerino surrenders to Valentino’s lieutenants—Louis XII. receives Caesar and Alfonso d’Este at Milan—The King and Valentino enter into an agreement—Caesar goes to Imola—Affairs of Bologna—Valentino prepares to attack Giovanni Bentivoglio, of Bologna

194

CHAPTER IX

The conspiracy of Caesar’s captains—Machiavelli and Valentino—Vacillation of the conspirators—They offer to return to Caesar—They again take heart—A reconciliation is effected—Caesar separates the conspirators—He enters into an alliance with Bentivoglio—The rebels return to Caesar—Paolo Orsini takes possession of Urbino in Caesar’s name—Execution of Don Remiro de Lorca—Caesar goes to Senigaglia, and meets his commanders—The trap at Senigaglia—Fate of the rebels—Caesar informs the Italian princes of his act—The Orsini and their adherents in Rome are seized—Cardinal Orsini’s palace is plundered—Fermo and Perugia surrender to Valentino—He puts Paolo and Francesco Orsini to death—Cardinal Orsini dies in prison—Caesar demands that the Sienese expel Pandolfo Petrucci—He ravages the country about Siena—Activity of the Orsini in the neighbourhood of Rome—Caesar returns to Rome—He lays siege to Ceri—Contemporary opinions of the Pope and Caesar—Gonsalvo de Cordova in Naples—The Pope and Caesar are stricken by the plague—Death of Alexander VI.—Rumours of poison—Caesar recovers—He takes possession of the dead Pope’s property

206

CHAPTER X

The enemies of the Borgia pour into Rome—Fears of the Sacred College—Orsini and Colonna—The Cardinals and Valentino—Caesar enters into an agreement with France—The Cardinal d’Amboise—Scheming before the conclave—Caesar leaves Rome—Return of Giuliano della Rovere—The conclave—Election of Francesco Piccolomini to the Papacy—The new Pope supports Caesar—Valentino’s fortunes ebb—Death of Pius III.—Machinations preparatory to electing his successor

242

CHAPTER XI

Election of Giuliano della Rovere—Julius II. and Caesar Borgia—Caesar leaves Rome—Machiavelli and Caesar—Arrest of Caesar—Victory of Gonsalvo de Cordova at the Garigliano—Caesar goes to Naples—Gonsalvo seizes Valentino and sends him to Spain—Caesar imprisoned in the Castle of Chinchilla—Jeanne la Folle and Philippe le Beau—Caesar is transferred to the Castle of Medina del Campo—His escape

266

CHAPTER XII

Caesar arrives at the Court of his brother-in-law, the King of Navarre—D’Albret’s danger—The Agramont and Beaumont factions—Beaumont holds Viana—War is declared between D’Albret and Beaumont—Caesar is appointed commander of the troops of the King of Navarre—Viana—The chronicler Moret—Caesar is killed—The body is buried in Santa Maria de Viana—His epitaph—Removal of the body and destruction of the tomb—The news of Caesar’s death reaches Italy—The feeling in the Peninsula—Caesar’s wife Charlotte D’Albret and their descendants—His illegitimate children—Death of Caesar’s mother, Vannozza de’ Catanei—Conclusion

297

Index | 313

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

CAESAR BORGIA | Frontispiece
| FACING PAGE
POPE CALIXTUS III. | 32
POPE ALEXANDER VI. | 52
FACSIMILE OF LETTER OF CAESAR BORGIA | 80
ORVIETO | 98
LOUIS XII. OF FRANCE | 122
LUDOVICO SFORZA | 136
MAP OF CAESAR’S CAMPAIGNS IN ROMAGNA | Page 141
PESARO | 166
GIOVANNI BENTIVOGLIO | 172
RIMINI | 176
FREDERIC II. OF NAPLES | 184
LUCRETIA BORGIA | 188
URBINO | 198
VITELLOZZO VITELLI | 220
PROSPERO COLONNA | 244
GONSALVO DE CORDOVA | 280

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The writer desires to acknowledge his indebtedness to the authorities named below, especially to Alvisi for the details of the campaigns in the Romagna, and to Yriarte for genealogical data and particulars regarding Caesar’s life after his seizure by Gonsalvo de Cordova. Yriarte appears finally to have settled the mooted question of the descent of Rodrigo Borgia, Alexander VI.; and to have proved that he was a Borgia on both the maternal and paternal sides, and not merely on his mother’s; that he was Borja y Borja and not Llançol y Borja; and that he never had the name of Lenzo,2 consequently did not relinquish it and assume that of his mother’s brother.

The dispatches of Giustinian, Venetian ambassador to the Vatican from May 27, 1502, to April 26, 1505, edited by the profound scholar Professor Pasquale Villari, have been of the utmost value. The ambassador watched every move made by the Vatican as if the very life of his beloved republic depended on it, and with great perspicacity he followed the extraordinary political drama that was being enacted in Rome.

Burchard’s diary is also an inexhaustible mine of information concerning the pontificate of Alexander VI. and the earlier years of the reign of Julius II. This Alsatian Master of Ceremonies is a wholly passionless recording machine, so automatic that one immediately discovers that he had no moral sense whatever. Only once does he display any feeling—when the swashbucklers of Charles VIII. placed some of their horses in “my stable, where they devoured my hay and oats, so I had them removed to the stable of one of my neighbours”—a very human act on the part of the Master of Ceremonies.

On account of Burchard’s calm relation of the crimes and scandals connected with the reign of Alexander VI. efforts have been made to discredit the Diarium. It has been claimed that all the available manuscripts are not only inexact but also that they are largely fabrications of the enemies of the Papacy; it has also been maintained that Burchard’s original manuscript is not in existence.

The diary was published complete for the first time by M. Thuasne (1883–5) in three octavo volumes. His text is derived from the Paris manuscript, an almost exact reproduction of that in the Chigi Palace which was copied from the original in the Vatican by order of Alexander VII.—Fabio Chigi. M. Thuasne has corroborated the statements of the diary in innumerable instances with notes from other sources and a large number of hitherto inedited documents.

Burchard, recording the crimes and scandals of the Vatican under Alexander VI., has been compared with Procopius flaying the vices of the Court of Justinian—but the comparison is inapt. Burchard himself had bought the office of Papal Master of Ceremonies, and he had no sense of shame. Alexander tolerated him and Caesar evidently did not think him worth putting to death. As Master of Ceremonies he was minute, trivial, exact, indispensable; to him the salvation of a thousand souls was far less important than the proper donning of a vestment or the swinging of a censer. As a recorder of what was going on about him he was matchless because he was utterly passionless; fearless he undoubtedly was—perhaps because of his stupidity; he was a mere piece of mechanism; his function was to record, to chronicle everything—fact and rumour—and not to judge, not to analyse. As complacently as a modern newspaper reporter describes the reception given by a pork packer, he depicts the banquet of harlots given by Alexander VI. in the Vatican—and with much less opulence of adjective. That Christ’s Vicar on earth should go about the apartment pouring confetti in the bodices of the women, whom he had just entertained with “certain obscene comedies,” did not seem to the Master of Ceremonies worthy of any special comment. He merely records; never does he show surprise, contempt, hate; he never criticises, never censures. He is entirely different from Infessura, who, as an Italian and a patriot, betrays his hatred of the Papacy on every page. Burchard, the Alsatian, apparently had little, if any, personal concern with Italian politics, and it is precisely his lack of feeling that renders his diary the most valuable authority extant on the pontificate of Alexander VI.

Burchard was born about the middle of the fifteenth century; he was early intended for the priesthood, but soon abandoned his theological studies to take up the law; he appeared in Rome in 1481 and immediately secured a position as apostolic prothonotary. He decided to purchase the office of Master of Ceremonies, when a vacancy should occur, and with this end in view engaged in a long course of study. In 1483 he attained his ambition.

* * * * *

Alvisi, E. Cesare Borgia, Duca di Romagna, Imola, 1878.

Auton, Jean d’, Chroniques, Paris, 1834.

Balbo, Cesare, Storia d’Italia, Firenze, 1856.

Baldi, Bernardino, Vita e Fatti di Federigo di Montefeltro, Roma, 1824.

Bembo, Pietro, Opere, Milano, 1808.

Biancardi, Bastian, Le Vite de’ Re di Napoli, Venezia, 1737.

Brantôme, Œuvres Complètes, Paris, 1838.

Brosch, Moritz, Papst Julius II. und die Gründung des Kirschenstaates, Gotha, 1878.

Bryce, James, The Holy Roman Empire, N.Y., n.d.

Burchard, Johann, Diarium sive Rerum Urbanarum Commentarii (1483–1506), Ed. by Thuasne, Paris, 1883.

Burckhardt, Jakob, The Civilisation of the Renaissance in Italy, London, 1892.

Cartwright, Julia, Beatrice d’Este, Duchess of Milan, London, 1903.

Ciaconius, Vitæ et Res Gestæ Pontificum Romanorum et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiæ usque ad Urbanum VIII., Pont. Max., Rome, 1630.

Commines, Philippe de, Mémoires, Paris, 1836.

Corio, Historia di Milano, Padua, 1646.

Dante, Il Convito, Firenze, 1857.

Donato, Alexandro, Roma Vetus ac recens, Rome, 1639.

Dumesnil, M. A. J., Histoire de Jules II., sa vie et sa pontificat, Paris, 1873.

Duruy, Victor, Histoire de France, Paris, 1883.

Fumi, Luigi, Alessandro VI. e il Valentino in Orvieto, Siena, 1877.

Gebhart, Emile, Les Borgia, Paris, 1897.

Gebhart, Emile, Les Origines de la Renaissance en Italie, Paris, 1879.

Gibbon, Edward, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, New York, 1860.

Giustinian, Antonio, Dispacci, ed. by Pasquale Villari, Firenze, 1876.

Gordon, Alexander, Vie du Pape Alexandre VI. et de Cesar Borgia, Amsterdam, 1751.

Gregorovius, Ferdinand, Storia della Città di Roma nel Medio Evo, Venezia, 1872.

Gregorovius, Ferdinand, Lucrezia Borgia, nach Urkunden und Correspondenzen ihrer eigenen Zeit, Stuttgart, 1875, English translation, New York and London, 1903.

Guicciardini, Francesco, Istoria d’Italia, Pisa, 1819.

Infessura, Stefano, Diario della Città di Roma, Rome, 1890.

Le Gendre, Louis, Vie du Cardinal d’Amboise, Rouen, 1724.

Leti, Giorgio, Il Nipotismo di Roma, Amsterdam, 1667.

Machiavelli, Niccolò, Opere, Firenze, 1818.

Marc-Monier, La Renaissance de Dante a Luther, Paris, 1889.

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Matarazzo, Chronicles of Perugia, London, 1905.

Medin, Antonio, Il Duca Valentino nella Mente di Niccolò Machiavelli, Firenze, 1883.

Müntz, Eugène, Les Précurseurs de la Renaissance, Paris, 1882.

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CAESAR BORGIA

INTRODUCTION

The Renaissance—The Papacy in the fifteenth century—The Borgia.

Possessing a mild climate and a fertile soil, Italy from the earliest times has attracted the invader, the adventurer. Extending out into the Mediterranean, she has been exposed to attacks on all sides, and when the Roman Empire, disintegrated by its own corruption and wickedness, had passed away, no strong central power was left to repel the marauders who swarmed into the peninsula from all sides.

The rich plains of the north attracted the Teutonic tribes who established the Lombard Kingdom, and from the south came the Arabs, bringing their arts and crafts to Sicily. To the Orient the merchants of Venice went for their perfumes, their spices, their gorgeous stuffs, their stamped leathers, and with them they brought back much of the civilisation of the Far East.

Owing to her geographical position, to conditions resulting from her past history, and the prizes she offered the bold and unscrupulous, Italy at an early date became the battle-ground of Europe. Human ambitions and energies now have the entire globe for their field, but before America was discovered little was known of either Africa or Asia, consequently civilisation was almost entirely restricted to Western Europe.

Italy was a seething cauldron of life and activity, and there sprang into being a race of strong, many-sided individuals. Like Spain, she became, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, a land of mighty personalities, of men of varied gifts and vast energy. While Spain gave the world Cortez, Murillo, Velazquez, Calderon, Charles V., Loyola, Alva, and Gonsalvo de Cordova, Italy produced Columbus, Michael Angelo, Raphael, Ariosto, Ludovico il Moro, St. Francis, Prospero Colonna, and Julius II.

Students have ever been fascinated by those periods in the world’s history which have been characterised by unusual activity in the domains of art, letters, science, and politics. The marvellous flowering in architecture and sculpture in the age of Pericles, in poetry and the drama in the time of Elizabeth, and in all the arts during the vaguely defined period of the Italian Renaissance have never ceased to baffle the historian and the psychologist.

Professor Gebhart, in a work of great erudition3 has endeavoured to account for the civilisation of the Italian Renaissance by reference to “the inherent characteristics of the Italian soul; to certain great and persistent tendencies in her intellectual life, and to certain facts in her political career—causes which affect the entire life of the people; some of which were remote in time, but of lasting effect, while others were recent and transitory.”

In all fields of worthy human endeavour men in Italy had constantly before them the inspiration of splendid achievement; but they were also confronted by examples of evil, vast and successful, reaping material rewards such as rarely fall to the lot of virtue. Throughout Italy, in the age of the Borgia, impudent but brave and crafty adventurers were establishing princely houses, enjoying boundless dominion and wealth—and could their example have been lost on Alexander VI. and Caesar Borgia?

The Renaissance in Italy was much more than a revival in literature and the graphic arts; it was the supreme development of Italian civilisation as a whole, the most perfect expression of the genius and intellectual life of the peninsula.

The chief causes of the Italian Renaissance, causes inherent in Italy herself, were, above all, liberty of the individual mind and social freedom. The persistence of Latin traditions, and the ever-present memory of Greece were likewise potent factors; while the language reached maturity at exactly the right moment. The affluents that came later to swell the movement and hasten the development of the peninsula were the foreign civilisations, Byzantine, Arabian, Norman, Provençal and French.

The Italian spirit has always been essentially practical; abstractions have never appealed to it as anything more than mental gymnastics; for pure metaphysics the Italians cared but little; the whole tendency of their philosophy was utilitarian. In Dante’s “Convito” the question of pure being, the universals, matter and force are subordinate subjects; the “Banquet” is chiefly concerned with discussions of manners; the happiness and welfare of humanity, the government of cities—it is the work, not of a metaphysician, but of a publicist and moralist—ethics is placed above metaphysics; its philosophy is wholly practical.

The chosen study of the Italian universities was jurisprudence. Law, the offspring of pure reason and experience seeking to reconcile changeable conditions with the immutable principles of justice, assumed, owing to the importance of the interests it endeavoured to harmonise—interests upon which rest the government and peace of the world—the first place in the universities of the peninsula. Roman law was the favourite discipline of mediaeval Italy.

The Papacy and the Empire; the relations and the limits of the spiritual power with reference to the temporal and feudal power; the universal monarchy, and the freedom of the cities—such were the weighty problems to which Italy devoted her intellect. Jurisprudence controlled all her mental activities just as absolutely as scholasticism did those of France. The juristprudents Accorso and his sons, Jacopo of Arena, Cino da Pistoja, Bartolo and Baldo, were the men who lent lustre to the Italian universities of the thirteenth century. Law was the basis of a liberal education. Petrarch had studied it. His contempt for the scholasticism of “the disputatious city of Paris” is well known. One of his favourite sayings was: “The object of education is to teach men to think, and not merely to teach them to argue.” Logic he regarded simply as a useful tool.

The freedom the Italians displayed in their intellectual life was manifest also in their religious conscience—and this is one of the most striking characteristics of their genius. During the Middle Ages they resembled none of the other members of the great family of Christian nations. Subtle metaphysics, refined theology, strict regime, dogmatism, elaborate ritual, restless casuistry, all were repellent to the Italian genius. The Italian regarded the Church of Italy as the Universal Church and as largely his handiwork. In St. Peter’s chair, in the Sacred College, in the great monastical institutions he sees himself; he knows human passions prevail there as well as elsewhere—consequently he does not hesitate to enter the Church. This is why they never found the national religion a too heavy burden, why they seldom seceded and founded sects. Italy never originated any great national heresy or beheld any general religious uprisings like the popular movements initiated by Peter Waldo, Wyclif, Huss, and Luther, although later numerous heresies from other parts of Europe entered the peninsula. When other countries were burning witches and heretics at the stake Italy put Dolcino di Novara and Francesco da Pistoja to death for advocating the abolition of private property. In 1327 the poet Cecco d’Ascoli was burned at the stake for practising astrology and necromancy, but in 1452 the priest Niccolò da Verona, condemned in Bologna for sorcery, was taken from the stake by the populace and saved. Savonarola suffered martyrdom, not for his religious theories, but for his political dreams.4

The Italians never spared the Papacy. Dante placed Pope Anastasius in the red-hot sepulchre of the heresiarchs, and Boniface VIII. in the circle of the simoniacs with Nicholas III., and to St. Peter in Paradise he ascribes these ghibelline words: “He who on earth now usurps my seat before the Son of God, has made of my tomb a sink of blood and filth.” And Petrarch describes the papal city of Avignon as “a sewer in which is collected all the filth of the universe.”

Without an appreciation of the Italian character and a knowledge of conditions in the peninsula before and during the Renaissance it is impossible to understand how such men as Sixtus IV. and Alexander VI. could have been chosen to fill the chair of St. Peter.

* * * * *

By the end of the fifteenth century the Papacy had almost entirely lost its sacred character and had become a political prize for which all the powerful families contended. It was an office to which any cardinal, regardless of his fitness, might aspire.

Like Naples, Florence, Milan, Perugia, and all the other petty despotisms of the peninsula, it was a secular principality with the sole difference that its head had certain priestly functions to perform and that he was an elected not an hereditary sovereign. Owing to this latter fact it was the most corrupt of all at this time, and its corruption was all the more vile and hideous because of the contrast between the theoretical sacredness and the actual baseness of its head.

In the course of the centuries the Papacy had evolved the astonishing and absurd fiction that the occupant of St. Peter’s chair had the right to make and unmake sovereigns at will; and princes and potentates made a pretence of yielding to this doctrine, knowing that the Church, being able to control the thoughts, actions, and conscience of the ignorant masses, by the terror it inspired, was the strongest ally they could have to maintain them in their usurped and illegitimate domination over those whom they called their subjects and whose subjection had always originated in acts of violence on the part of their masters.

The Papacy was the greatest office in Christendom. It enjoyed a vast income; the patronage, the benefices at its disposal, were innumerable, and during the period of the Renaissance they were usually sold to the highest bidder. Owing to the vast power of the Pope as the arbiter of the destinies of mankind beyond the grave, as well as in this world, his friendship and support were sought by all the potentates of Europe. Being human, it is quite natural that he was always ready to profit by this circumstance. The humblest priest might aspire to the great office, and if he was sufficiently astute and corrupt might attain it. During the fifteenth century in the election of the supreme head of the Church votes were bought and sold even more brazenly than they are to-day on the occasion of the election of a United States senator, and the rabble made bets on the result just as they now do on the outcome of a political contest. Giustinian records the odds that were given on the election of Giuliano della Rovere against his rivals.

Just as only a wealthy man, a member of a great family, or a representative of a powerful interest can now hope to attain a high political office, so in those days none other could hope to reach the Papacy, except when the rivalry among the leading aspirants was so intense that some obscure member of the Sacred College—a “dark horse”—was selected as a compromise candidate; and it is worthy of note that the one so selected was generally in such poor health or so decrepit that he could not hold the office long, and consequently during the period between his election and his death the rival candidates would have another opportunity to develop their respective forces and strengthen their tactics for a new election. It therefore seems that the Divine influences which were supposed to preside over the election of a Pope were somewhat uncertain in their operation, or that the influences of the Borgia, the Piccolomini, the Della Rovere, the Cibo, and the Medici factions outweighed the supernatural, and there is ample evidence to show that this was precisely their view. A story is told of a certain cardinal who, it was noticed during the conclave, was bowed and bent beneath the weight of years and infirmities; indeed, he was scarcely able to hold up his head—his eyes were ever on the ground. “Surely,” said his colleagues, “he will soon go to his reward—we will make him our Pope.” Immediately after his election his eyes brightened, his voice grew strong, he straightened up erect—and the Princes of the Church marvelled greatly. “Whence this change?” they asked; “to what miracle is it due? You were bent—your eyes ever on the ground—but now——!”

“Ah! my beloved children, I was only looking for the keys of St. Peter—and I have found them!”

Any strong candidate for the great honour and the vast emoluments of the Holy Office could count on the vigorous support of his own family and in many cases on that also of various princes in Italy and throughout Europe.

When Nicholas V. succumbed to the gout in 1455 the Sacred College was composed of twenty cardinals, and in the conclave which followed the three strongest candidates were Capranica, Bessarion, and Alonzo Borgia. The contest had reached the acute stage when Alain, Archbishop of Avignon and Cardinal of Santa Prassede, sprang to his feet and asked, “Shall we select for Pope, for head of the Latin Church, a Greek, a mere interloper? Bessarion still wears his beard—and forsooth, he is to be our Lord!”

Then arose his Eminence the Cardinal-Bishop of Nicæa, graceful as he was erudite, and, announcing that it would be a mistake to elect him, cast his vote for Alonzo de Borja, Cardinal of Santi Quattro Coronati, deciding the election in favour of the Spaniard, who assumed the name Calixtus III. Thus it was that the Spanish house of Borja entered into the history of Italy and of the Papacy, April 8, 1455.

Alonzo Borja was born in Xativa, Spain, in 1378; he developed into a studious boy and became a professor at Lerida; later he was made a canon by the anti-Pope Benedict XIII. In Alonzo’s youth a prophet, Vicenzo Ferrerio, had announced that the studious boy would some day wear the tiara, and shortly after his election Alonzo secured the canonisation of the prophetic Vicenzo, thus showing that he recognised merit.

Alonzo was regarded as the leading jurist of his day and as one of the most astute men who ever occupied the throne of St. Peter. He was the first of the Borja to come to Italy, having accompanied Alfonso of Aragon as secretary. By Martin V. he was made Bishop of Valencia and created cardinal by Eugene IV.

When Bessarion arose and cast his vote—with great tact and perhaps equal political acumen—in the aged cardinal’s favour, the Curia remembered that Alonzo was seventy-seven years of age and afflicted with the gout—and his election was assured.

When Alonzo assumed the tiara he pledged his word to the Sacred College that he would keep himself free from all nepotism—thus showing that this was a growing evil—a promise he promptly, broke by bestowing the purple upon his nephew, Juan Luis de Mila, whom he appointed papal representative in Bologna, and upon Rodrigo Borgia, whom he made legate to the Marches and Vice-Chancellor of the Church. He likewise made Juan Mila, Bishop of Zamora, a cardinal.

The new Pope’s nephews—his sister’s sons—were bad men in a bad age, but, blinded by his affection for them, he did not foresee to what his passion would lead.

CALISTVS PAPA-III-HISPANVS

POPE CALIXTUS III.

From an engraving of 1580.

To face p. 32.

Rodrigo Borgia, when the cardinalate was bestowed upon him by his uncle, September 26, 1456, was about twenty-five years of age, handsome and profligate. Like the Claudian family of Rome, the Borgia of Valencia possessed great intellectual force and physical beauty.

Rodrigo’s brother, Pier Luigi, who was a year younger than the cardinal, remained a layman, but the highest temporal honours were bestowed upon him; he was made Gonfalonier of the Church, Prefect of the city, and finally Warder of the Castle of St. Angelo—in spite of the protests of Capranica and Scarampo, who consequently became the object of the Holy Father’s undying hatred. Pier Luigi has been described as a handsome and depraved ruffian.

Even as early as this—the first period of the Borgia supremacy—Rome was teeming with Spaniards; when Alonzo was made cardinal numerous members of the related Borgia and Mila families flocked thither—their number and aggressiveness being attested by the general and intense hatred that was felt for the Catalans. It was through the Borgias and their followers that Spain secured the strong grip upon the Papacy which she held for a hundred years—although the way had been prepared by the establishment of the Spanish power in Naples and Sicily. To the Eternal City they flocked, kinsmen and retainers, fortune-hunters, and adventurers of every sort; they secured all the important offices; they became utterly lawless and, justice being perverted, they robbed and murdered with impunity.

In July, 1458, Calixtus further advanced Pier Luigi by bestowing upon him the vicariate of Benevento and Terracina. He became the most powerful man in Rome, and seemed destined for a great future when his career was abruptly terminated. The Orsini had risen to expel the Colonna and the Catalans; and Pier Luigi, having sold the Castle of St. Angelo to the cardinals, fled to Civitavecchia, where, attacked by a fever, he died—August, 1458—leaving his vast property to his brother Rodrigo, who, already wealthy, now became one of the richest of the cardinals.

August 6, 1458, Calixtus passed away—to the great relief of the Romans, who expressed their joy at being delivered from the Spanish yoke by sacking the Borgia palaces. Calixtus was bitterly criticised for allowing his nephews to rule him and because of the wretched condition of affairs in Rome during his reign, when robbery, violence, and murder were of daily occurrence.

Although Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia had found it prudent to betake himself to Ostia on the death of his uncle, his high position in the Church was not shaken, and he was soon able to return to his house in the Ponte Quarter.

Little is known of the private life of Rodrigo when he was created cardinal, but there is extant a beautiful letter of admonition written to him by Pius II., the amiable Æneas Sylvius, from the baths of Petriolo, June 11, 1460, when Rodrigo was about twenty-nine years of age, which throws a strong light on the personal conduct of the Cardinal of San Niccolò in Carcere Tulliano.

“Dear Son,—We have learned that your Worthiness, forgetful of the high office with which you are invested, was present in the gardens of Giovanni de Bichis four days ago, from the seventeenth to the twenty-second hour,5 with several women of Siena—women wholly given over to worldliness and vanity. Your companion was one of your colleagues who, owing to his years, if not on account of his office, ought to have been mindful of his duty. We have heard that wanton dances were indulged in; that none of the allurements of love were wanting; and that you conducted yourself in a manner altogether worldly. Shame forbids mention of all that took place, for not only the acts themselves, but also their very names are unworthy your rank. In order that your pleasures might be free from all restraint the husbands, fathers, brothers, and kinsmen of the women were not asked to be present. You and a few servants were the originators of this orgy. I am told that in Siena nothing is now talked of but your vanity, which is generally ridiculed. Here at the baths, where there are a great many people—Churchmen and laity—your name is on every one’s lips. Our displeasure is beyond words, for your conduct has brought the Holy State and Office into disgrace. The people will say that they make us rich and great, and that instead of living blameless lives, we use what they give us to gratify our passions. This is the reason the Princes and the Powers despise us and the laity mock at us. This is why our own mode of living is flung in our faces when we reprove others. Contempt falls to the lot of Christ’s Vicar because he appears to countenance these doings. You, dear son, have charge of the Bishopric of Valencia, the most important in Spain; you are Chancellor of the Church, and what renders your conduct all the more reprehensible is the fact that you have a seat among the cardinals who are the Pope’s advisers. We leave it to you to decide whether it is becoming to your dignity to court young women and to send those whom you love presents of wine and fruits, and during the whole day to give thought to nothing but sensual pleasures. On account of your conduct people blame us, and the memory of your blessed uncle Calixtus also suffers—and many say he did wrong in heaping honours upon you. If you seek to excuse yourself on the ground of your youth, I say to you that you are not so young as not to know what duties your offices impose upon you. A cardinal should be above reproach, and an example of right living in the eyes of all men—and then we should have just grounds for anger when temporal princes revile us, when they dispute with us for the possession of our property and force us to submit to their wills.

“Of a truth we inflict these wounds upon ourselves and of these troubles we ourselves are the cause, since by our conduct we constantly diminish the authority of the Church. Our punishment for it in this world is dishonour, and in the world to come it will be torment well deserved. May your good sense place a restraint upon these frivolities, and may you never again lose sight of your dignity; then people will not regard you as a vain gallant among men. If this occurs again we shall be compelled to show that it was in violation of our admonition, and that it caused us great pain; and our censure will not pass over you without bringing the blush of shame to your cheek. We have always loved you and thought you worthy of our protection, as a man of an earnest and modest character.

“Therefore conduct yourself henceforth in such a way that we may retain this our good opinion of you and may find in you only the example of a well-ordered life. Your years, which are not such as to preclude improvement, permit us to admonish you paternally.”

During the pontificate of Paul II. Gasparino of Verona described Rodrigo Borgia as “handsome and of a most glad countenance. He is gifted with a honeyed eloquence. The beautiful women upon whom he casts his eyes are lured to love him and are moved in a mysterious manner—as iron is attracted by the magnet.”

In 1476, the year of Caesar’s birth, the Cardinal of Pavia wrote Rodrigo a letter in the Pope’s name, urging him to change his manner of living, in which he says: “What I write you will not be long, but this letter is necessary between you and me. Do not entrust this communication, which is inspired by affection, to your secretaries, but keep it with you so that you may read it over occasionally and think of it at least once a year.”

From this it is evident that Rodrigo had not changed his habits. Love of pleasure characterised him throughout his life. He had no less than eight illegitimate children—five sons and three daughters—all of whom were recognised in official documents. At the time of his death, when he was seventy-two years of age, he had a mistress, the beautiful Giulia Farnese, by whom he had had a son, who was then five years old, Don Giovanni, Infans Romanus, Lord of Camerino, whom he first declared to be the child of his son Caesar, but later in a bull dated September 1, 1501, acknowledged to be his own.

It has been said that as Alexander VI. was not an ordinary man he should not be judged by the moral standards of ordinary men. The theory that the great are not subject to the laws which should regulate the conduct of lesser persons is as absurd as it is pernicious. It would be more just to say that the Borgia should be judged, not by the criterions of a later day, but by those of his own age. There is evolution in morals; the standard of right living is higher to-day than it was during the Renaissance, and no man of the character of Alexander VI., were such possible, could now be elected to the Papacy. At that time many thrones were occupied by men who, in this age, could not survive a year. It is, however, exceedingly difficult to judge men of a past age, because, the sphere of morals being a wide one, there may be progress in one field but not in others—in fact, there may be retrogression in some. During the Renaissance there were men who were bad, judged by the criterions of their own day as well as by those of the present, but their contemporaries, ignorant of the laws governing human progress, which include the laws of morality, did not perceive their true status. Surrounded by men of like character, many of the personalities of the Renaissance were blind to their own depravity.

Nepotism was the root, if not of all, of most of the evil in Rome, and it steadily increased from the time of Calixtus III., who was succeeded by Enea Silvio Piccolomini—Pius II.—who was no less devoted to the interests of his family than his predecessor had been to those of his kinsmen. Of the four children of his sister Laudomia, he made Antonio a duke, Andrea a castellan in Pescara, and Giacomo a noble of Montemarciano. Niccolò Forteguerra, a kinsman on his mother’s side, he made cardinal; Alessandro Mirabelli Piccolomini, who in partnership with Ambrogio Spannochi conducted a bank in Rome, was made Master of the Palace and Governor of Frascati. Jacopo Ammananti of Siena was made cardinal and Bishop of Pavia. Lolli, a cousin of the Pope, was given an office, and so many natives of Siena were provided with places at the pontifical court that it was a saying that “all Siena had moved over to Rome.” Even Saint Catherine owed her beatification to Pius II., who died August 15, 1464.

The conclave for the election of his successor was held August 27th. The Bishop of Torcello, a famous Venetian scholar and humanist, addressed the cardinals, deploring the loss of dignity of the Sacred College and exhorting his colleagues to select a man who would put a stop to the abuses in the Church. At the first scrutiny it was found that the Cardinal of San Marco was unanimously elected. The new Pope, who was born in 1418, was the son of Niccolò Barbo and Polisena Condulmer, a sister of Eugene IV.

When a youth, as he was about to embark on a ship for the Orient, he received news of his uncle’s election to the Papacy; promptly perceiving the opportunities for advancing his fortunes offered him by this event, he changed his plans, and assiduously devoted himself to the study of theology, for which he had no aptitude, and in 1440 he was made Cardinal of San Marco.

His Eminence was a stupid but handsome man, tall of figure, majestic, and exceedingly vain of his personal appearance in ecclesiastical pageants. On his election he wanted to assume the name Formoso, the Handsome, but was dissuaded by the cardinals, who also prevented him from taking the name San Marco, which was the battle-cry of the Republic of Venice, consequently Piero Barbo called himself Paul II. and was duly consecrated September 16, 1464.

During the conclave he had sworn to prosecute the war against the Turks; to reform the Curia; to summon a council at the end of the year; to limit the number of cardinals to twenty-four; and not to appoint any one under thirty years of age, or any one who was ignorant of law and theology, or any of his nephews, to the cardinalate. These promises were exacted by the members of the Sacred College for the protection of their traditional privileges. They also secured his permission to meet twice a year to assure themselves that the agreement was being observed.

Their efforts, however, to reduce the monarchical Papacy to an oligarchy failed. The Pope promptly found a way out of the difficulty by presenting the cardinals for their signature a document which purported to be a copy of the original agreement, but which was in fact very different. Out of complaisance some promptly signed it, Bessarion under the Pope’s coercion, while Carvajal was the only one who persisted in his refusal. Among the cardinals created by Paul II. were his kinsmen Marco Barbo, Giovanni Michiel and Battista Zeno.

The Pope himself, according to Corio, was wholly given over to sensual pleasures; he filled his palace with concubines, says Attilius Alexius, and turned night into day, so that it was exceedingly difficult to obtain an audience with him. The licentiousness of his court and the corruption of his clergy were scandalous. He was noted for a vulgar love of display and took a childish delight in showing himself to the Romans on all public occasions. He desired to be thought astute in all ways, but was merely duplicit. He was wholly unable to retain the friendship of other potentates. He, however, did much to embellish the city, in spite of the fact that he was exceedingly avaricious. He was fond of the table, gluttonous, and a valiant drinker. Although comparatively young, his life was terminated by apoplexy, July 26, 1471, following a supper consisting of two huge watermelons.

In the conclave which assembled August 6, 1471, for the selection of his successor Cardinal Bessarion just missed the throne, being defeated by Francesco della Rovere, who owed his success to Borgia, Orsini, and Gonzaga, and also to the zeal of his attendant in the conclave, Fra Pietro Riario. In return for his support Borgia received the commendam of Subiaco; Gonzaga, the abbey of S. Gregorio; and Orsini, famous and wealthy, was appointed camerlengo.

Francesco della Rovere, born in Savona in 1414, was the son of a poor fisherman and a Greek woman, Lucchesina Mugnone. He was created cardinal in 1467 and assumed the title of San Pietro ad Vincula. He had been general of the Minorites and was famous for his scholarship and his skill in controversy. On his election he took the name Sixtus IV., and he was crowned by Rodrigo Borgia August 25, 1471.

With Sixtus the head of the Church rapidly lost his priestly character and became a temporal prince. Thenceforth St. Peter’s successors were Italian sovereigns, and when they possessed the sacred character it was wholly accidental. The life they led compelled them to resort to mundane expedients—the sale of offices and indulgences and the promotion of the interests of their kinsmen. Never before had such shameless nepotism been displayed, and it now became the mainspring of every act of the Pope.

Illegitimate sons of the Popes appeared with every change in the Papacy; they conducted themselves in the Vatican like princes; they terrorised Rome and endeavoured by force to obtain possession of the various Italian principalities. Generally their careers came to an abrupt end with the death of the Pope to whom they owed their advancement, and to whom they were frequently valuable aids, the Pontiff’s desire for temporal supremacy often finding expression through them. The Popes, in their struggle with the cardinals, frequently found these satellites highly useful. Their power, however, did not extend far beyond the boundaries of the States of the Church as they were bitterly opposed by the older dynasties.

Under Calixtus III. Rome had been a Spanish state, in the reign of Pius II. a Sienese, and during the papacy of Sixtus IV. it was a Ligurian monarchy, and the domain of St. Peter had now reached its greatest territorial expansion. Within its boundaries, however, there still remained a number of feudal families and republics to be destroyed. These the papal favourites, anxious to change the States of the Church into an hereditary monarchy, were eager to crush.

December 15, 1471, Sixtus made Pietro Riario, his putative nephew, but probably his son, Cardinal of San Sisto, and Giuliano della Rovere, son of his brother Raffaele, Cardinal of San Pietro ad Vincola, thus breaking his oath. Both these young men were of low origin and no education, and the Sacred College little suspected that one of them, Giuliano, was destined to become the famous Julius II.

Giuliano della Rovere, who was Bishop of Carpentras, was twenty-eight years old, a libertine and man of the world. Pietro Riario was somewhat younger and Sixtus made him Bishop of Treviso and bestowed numerous other honours upon him. Pietro soon entirely dominated the Pope and from a poor friar became a man of vast wealth. He entered upon an unchecked career of vice, and in two years had squandered a fortune of two hundred thousand gold florins and become a physical wreck. He died in 1472, leaving vast debts which were never paid. Other kinsmen of Sixtus remained laymen but nevertheless were advanced to positions of honour through the influence of the Pope.

On the death of Pietro Riario, Sixtus transferred his affections to his nephew Girolamo, probably also the pontiff’s son, who was called to Rome and given the title to Imola, which had been purchased from Taddeo Manfredi. The government of the States of the Church was entrusted to him, and Galeazzo Sforza conferred upon him the hand of his illegitimate daughter, Caterina, the heroic virago who defended Forli against her husband’s murderers and later against Caesar Borgia, and whom her countrymen styled la prima donna d’Italia. In return for the honour Sixtus made Galeazzo’s son, Ascanio, a cardinal.

Soon after this the Pope succeeded in establishing a matrimonial alliance between his family and the princes of Urbino; for, in return for creating Federico di Montefeltre Duke of Urbino, the latter consented to the marriage of his daughter, Giovanna, to Giovanni della Rovere, another brother of Giuliano.

Sixtus also conferred the purple on Cristoforo and Domenico della Rovere; upon his sister’s son, Geronimo Basso, and also on Raffaele Riario, a nephew of Pietro Riario.

It was stated that the Pope in his eagerness to advance his innumerable kinsmen and connections frequently bestowed an office on one, forgetting he had already given it to another. It was even said that Cardinal Pietro Riario entered into an agreement with Galeazzo Maria Sforza, of Milan, by which the duke was to furnish him with money and troops to enable him to seize the papal throne, which Sixtus appears to have been ready to yield to him; the plan, however, which would have resulted in the secularisation of the Papal States, failed through the death of Pietro.

The secularisation of the Papacy, nevertheless, was proceeding rapidly. The Curia was becoming more and more addicted to the vices of the age. German travellers who visited Rome in 1475, the year of the Jubilee—Paul II. having reduced the period intervening between jubilees to twenty-five years for the sake of the money they yielded—relate that they saw nothing but nepotism, simony, extortion, and crime. On every hand was extravagance, pomp, and vulgar love of display. The populace, as in the days of the Roman Empire, clamoured for spectacular exhibitions, and these the Popes lavishly furnished.

The success of the political schemes of Sixtus demanded the overthrow of the Medici, and he consequently, at least, countenanced the Pazzi conspiracy, which resulted in the murder of Giuliano de’ Medici and the wounding of Lorenzo, who only saved himself by flight. Three weeks later the Pope, King Ferdinand of Naples, and the city of Siena formed a league whose avowed purpose was the expulsion of the Medici from Florence.

Sixtus was a consummate politician, and Infessura speaks of the day on which he died as “that most blessed day upon which God delivered Christendom from the hands of a most impious and iniquitous king.”6 He states that Sixtus had no affection for his people; that he was avaricious, vain, vicious; that he trafficked in offices and benefices, made a plaything of justice, and that he was cruel and vindictive.

According to history Sixtus was an evil ruler in an evil age. All his acts were inspired by a love of power or an exaggerated affection for his kinsmen. He it was who first completely surrendered the Papacy and Rome to his relatives. He used all sorts of means to increase the Church revenues, only to hand them over to his nephews to use in extending the power of his family. He was, however, not wholly devoid of virtue, for he possessed great learning. Impatient of contradiction, he used any means to overcome opposition, and he soon showed that he was born to rule. Sixtus IV. had none of the priestly characteristics which the Supreme Pontiff is supposed to possess; in him the priest was lost in the prince.

From that time forth St. Peter’s successors were temporal sovereigns who happened to be Popes; the members of their families were everywhere treated as princes. Many of their putative nephews were in reality their own illegitimate sons. There was a saying current in Europe during the reign of Sixtus that there were as many popes in Rome as he had nephews. With every change in the Papacy a new swarm came into power, only to fall with their creator’s decease.

The Papacy having become a temporal power, the Pope’s kinsmen were his chief support; at the same time, the Sacred Office was the greatest political instrument an ambitious and powerful family could secure to aid its advancement.

The papal nephews terrorised the domain of the Church and endeavoured to obtain possession of rival states and cities. Nepotism became a system, and, as hereditary succession was denied the Pope, it furnished him the only means by which he could hope to perpetuate his power, but as we have seen the means were inadequate.

The Italians promptly discovered that the same hopes and fears, the same ambitions and passions prevailed in St. Peter’s Chair as ruled elsewhere, and also that the Pope was a very human sovereign and one who enjoyed the advantage of being unhampered by any feudal institutions.

The temporal supremacy of the Pope, however, could be exercised only in the territory about the city of Rome where there were still left a few powerful feudal families, together with a number of small republics whose destruction could be compassed only through the agency of the Pontiff’s favourites or kinsmen. In that way a monarchy might be established which in size and power would have equalled most of the Italian states of that age.

Sixtus created no less than thirty-five cardinals. The Pazzi conspiracy, the war against Ferrara, his treatment of the Colonna and the names of Pietro and Girolamo Riario show to what depths the Papacy had fallen in the closing years of the fifteenth century.

Between the nepotism of Sixtus IV. and that of Alexander VI. there was but little difference. If the nephews of Della Rovere had possessed the ability of the Borgia, or if political events had occurred to disturb the concord of the peninsula, Sixtus IV. would have secured the place in Italy and in the history of Rome which Alexander VI. holds. Sixtus was the first Pope-king, but he was far surpassed by Alexander VI.

Italy had fallen upon evil days; the peninsula was teeming with corruption; everywhere there was a mad scramble for office; every man’s hand was against his neighbour; the Popes engaged in all sorts of financial operations—the sale of offices, honours, indulgences, immunities; and, to make matters worse, foreign invasion threatened the country.

Sixtus died August 12, 1484, and when his opponents learned of his death they rushed forth and sacked the Riario palaces. The conclave for the election of his successor was held August 26th, and it was found that the cardinals were divided into two parties, one comprising Rodrigo Borgia, the Orsini, and the Aragonese faction; the other, Colonna, Cibo, Della Rovere, and the Venetians.

Rodrigo Borgia felt so certain of being elected that he had his palace fortified to preserve it from being sacked. Votes were openly traded for castles, benefices, and papal offices. Ascanio Sforza and the Aragonese, unable to force the election of the Borgia, sold their votes to Cardinal Giambatista Cibo, who was elected August 29, 1484. He assumed the name Innocent VIII. Giuliano della Rovere had managed his campaign most skilfully.

Cibo was a handsome and imposing man, but he possessed neither wealth nor brains. He had numerous progeny by a certain Neapolitan woman. It was his son, Franceschetto Cibo—reputed to be his nephew—who married Maddalena, daughter of Lorenzo de’ Medici, January 20, 1488, in the Vatican amid great pomp, and in return for this honour, Giovanni de’ Medici, then thirteen years of age—the future Leo X.—was created cardinal.

To the cardinals Innocent made all sorts of promises which he never kept—promises made by the man might be broken by the Pope. He was the first of Christ’s Vicars publicly to acknowledge his children, of whom he had seven. He was a loathsome individual, avaricious, vicious, and venal, and completely under the control of his favourites. At Rome he established an office for the sale of pardons whose revenues went to himself and his son Franceschetto. During his reign crime held high carnival throughout the Campagna.

Innocent continued and extended the evil practices of his predecessors. The traffic in offices was conducted on a scale hitherto unknown, for he constantly created new ones solely for the profit to be derived from their sale. He sold the right to collect the customs to certain individuals and bankrupted the State. Rome was a sink of crime and corruption, a market where all the world might purchase indulgences.

Innocent’s nepotism was different from that of some of the other Popes. With him it was based on no political idea or purpose, but simply upon avarice and vulgar greed. He founded no principalities for his sons because he himself was entirely devoid of force and political acumen, and they had neither the ambition nor the ability to make themselves powerful in the State. The county of Cervetri and Anguillara had been given to Franceschetto, but on the death of his father he sold it to Virginio Orsini, and wisely, because he could not have held it.

Infessura tells us that when the wretched Innocent VIII. was on his death-bed his Jewish leech sought to prolong his life with the blood of three young boys who were purchased for a ducat apiece, and who promptly died, whereupon the physician fled and the Pope expired, July 25, 1492.

The conclave for the election of his successor began in the Sistine chapel, August 6th. Twenty-five cardinals were present. The Sacred College was dominated by Ascanio Sforza, Lorenzo Cibo, Raffaele Riario, Giuliano della Rovere, and Rodrigo Borgia. It is said that the King of France contributed 200,000 ducats and Genoa 100,000 to secure the election of Della Rovere, whose most dangerous rival was Ascanio Sforza, for whom Rodrigo Borgia cast his vote, knowing that he could not be elected.

When Sforza saw that he himself could not win the great prize, he set about securing—with the help of Riario and Orsini—the election of the Borgia, and at the proper moment cast his vote for him. Although Ascanio Sforza was enormously wealthy he had his price and he was bought. In Rome it was said that before the conclave Rodrigo Borgia had sent him four mules laden with silver, and also that he had promised him, in the event of his own election, his palace and its contents, and also the great office of Vice-Chancellor of the Church. Orsini was satisfied with Monticelli and Soriano, while Colonna and his family were pleased to accept Subiaco and its castles in perpetuity. Cardinal Michiel was promised the Bishopric of Porto; Sclafenati was presented with Nepi, and Cardinal Savelli with Civita Castellana. Others preferred cash. The Patriarch of Venice, then ninety-five years of age, was given 50,000 ducats to provide for him until he should enter into paradise. The few who could not be bought were Piccolomini, Zeno, Della Rovere, and Caraffa.

When the Borgia found he was elected he was overcome with joy and exclaimed: “Now I am Pope, Pontiff, Christ’s Vicar!”—but the youthful Cardinal de’ Medici leaned over and whispered in Cibo’s ear: “Let us escape before the wolf gets us into his maw!”

Borgia, fearing that by some mischance the office might still slip through his fingers, hastily donned the papal robes and directed the Master of Ceremonies to distribute cards bearing the words, “We have as Pope, Alexander VI.” Early the next morning the window was thrown open, the cross put forth, and in the silence of early dawn the name of the new Pope was announced: Alexander VI.!

Alexander’s dissolute life was known of all men; and when we remember that this was an age of libertinism, when men expected no more of the clergy than they did of the laity, the fact that the Borgia’s conduct excited any comment shows to what depths of immorality he had descended. He was freely accused of the unmentionable vices which Tacitus and Suetonius lay to the charge of the earlier Roman emperors.

It cannot be denied, however, that Alexander VI. also possessed great virtues. His contemporaries describe him as energetic, cultivated, astute, and prompt to act, and also as ready and vigorous of speech.

Rodrigo Borgia had spent seven years at Bologna studying canon law; and when his uncle, Calixtus III., in 1456, made him Bishop of Valencia, he also created him Cardinal-deacon of San Niccolò in Carcere Tulliano, and shortly afterwards made him Vice-Chancellor of the Church.

During the reign of Sixtus IV. he had been made Bishop of Porto and sent as legate to Spain. While returning to Italy he was shipwrecked and rescued only with great difficulty. When he was cardinal he occupied the Cesarini palace, but it is said that he was miserly and that, in spite of his vast wealth, he seldom entertained.

The Borgia made a majestic and imposing Pope; he was crowned August 26, 1492, with the greatest pomp and magnificence. Never before since the days of the Empire had Rome beheld such pageants. When the Pope, half dead with fatigue, reached the Lateran he fainted; and again when he took his seat on the throne, he swooned, his head falling on Riario’s shoulder.

Guicciardini says Italy’s two greatest misfortunes were Lorenzo de’ Medici’s death and Rodrigo Borgia’s accession to the papacy.

* * * * *

The Borgias were vicious, shrewd, intellectual, and perspicacious, and possessed of indomitable will. They were endowed with the mental and physical force which wins success and often hatred.

POPE ALEXANDER VI.

From a fresco by Pinturicchio.

To face p. 52.

Securing possession of the papal office at a time when all men were greedy for power; building up principalities and advancing the family interests and at the same time enhancing the Spanish influence in the Holy See and throughout Italy, their enemies minimised their virtues and magnified their vices. They were charged with all sorts of hideous crimes, some of which they undoubtedly committed, and some, of which they certainly were innocent. Their hostile contemporaries spread reports of their evil deeds throughout Christendom, and the charges made against them in their lifetime have been repeated by historians down to the present day.

Again, the Borgias have been judged, not in connection with their age and their contemporaries, but as isolated creatures, or by modern standards of ethics. Caesar Borgia has been described as a ravening wolf among a flock of sheep, whereas, as Medin well says,7 he was merely a wolf battling with other wolves, with this difference, that while he possessed the same greediness, ferocity, and ambition, he surpassed them all in the vastness of his projects and in the unshakable determination with which he carried them out.

To judge the Borgias by present standards is manifestly unjust. The character of the Papacy has changed; Alexander VI. was merely a temporal prince with certain sacerdotal functions. He used his great office for the advancement of himself, his family, and his followers, as other Popes of his epoch did, but more consistently, more skilfully. Like other potentates of the day, he had his mistresses, whom he did not hesitate to introduce into the Vatican, and his numerous bastards, whom he publicly acknowledged.

In this connection it might be well to remember that the illegitimate in the fifteenth century were not regarded with the contempt in which they are supposed to be held at the present time; in fact, they were openly recognised and treated exactly the same as the legitimate children, and when for political or other reasons it became necessary to legitimatise them, nothing was easier, the Popes often undertaking to remove the taint by special bulls. Gregorovius calls this the golden age of bastards and enumerates among the reigning princes of Italy of illegitimate birth, Sforza of Milan, Ferrante of Calabria, Sigismondo Malatesta of the Marches, and Borso of Ferrara, who was one of the eight natural sons of the House of Este who rode forth to meet Pius II. when he was on his way to the Congress of Mantua in 1459, and whom he described as “eloquent, generous, and magnificent.”8 When the lawful children were minors or lacking in force, bastards were often admitted to the succession; the fitness of the individual, and not the fact of pure or impure birth, was the test. In more northern countries, Burgundy for example, illegitimate children were provided for by a distinct class of appanages, such as bishoprics. The greatest of the sons of men did not express an isolated opinion when he made Gloucester’s illegitimate son, Edmund, exclaim:—

“Who in the lusty stealth of nature take
More composition and fierce quality
Than doth, within a dull, stale, tired bed,
Go to the creating a whole tribe of fops,
Got ’tween asleep and awake.”

History, whose chief concern until recent years has been the recording of the victories of fraud and force and the perpetuation of the memory of the morally deformed, from Caesar to Bonaparte, has preserved for our edification the names of innumerable bastards who dazzled their contemporaries, and whom little boys and girls are taught to admire, just as they are taught to admire those monsters who, in the pursuit of their own aims and ambitions, have destroyed the greatest number of their fellows—wholesale murder being a glorious achievement; thus we have Don John of Austria, Vendôme, Dunois, Prince Eugene, the Constable of Bourbon, and Maurice of Saxony. Not until the sixteenth century did Italy feel any repugnance for illegitimacy, and then it was due to the influence of foreign ideas and the counter-revolution.9

In addition to illegitimacy of birth another form of illegitimacy was common in the peninsula, the illegitimate power of a reigning sovereign—that is, the usurped dominion enjoyed by a political adventurer. We need not pause to inquire whether he usurped it from an earlier usurper, either a prince or a faction, or to ask how usurped power can ever become legitimate. This state of affairs gave birth to innumerable crimes of violence, and the dagger and the poisoned cup were the usual instruments of personal political advancement.

The origin of some of these illegitimate powers can be traced back to the middle of the eleventh century, when the feudal lords found themselves confronted by a new power in the cities in the form of the corporation or guild of artisans who had gradually become conscious of their strength and importance, and had shown their masters that they were to be counted with in the future.

The development of this new movement was furthered by the Wars of Investiture, which, while weakening the authority of the bishops, aroused the minds of the citizens, caused them to take an interest in public affairs, and gave them a desire for freedom.

In almost every city there were then two bishops, one representing the Empire, the other the Holy See, and each sought to increase the number of his followers for the purpose of overcoming and expelling his rival; hence innumerable concessions, privileges, and franchises were granted the citizens, until finally, when the struggle was brought to a close by the Concordat of Worms, in 1122, almost all the sovereign rights—the regalia—had passed into the hands of the people.

Not only were the bishops forced to yield but the Emperor himself, the Countess Matilda, and all the great lords were compelled to acquiesce in the movement which even extended to cities that were independent of any bishop.

Henceforth the cities governed themselves and elected their own chiefs or consuls. They, however, did not pretend to be wholly independent of the Empire but readily acknowledged themselves its feudatories. The movement spread throughout Italy, and many of the cities became so powerful that they compelled the feudal lords of the surrounding country to apply for citizenship and to agree to obey the communal statutes. These various elements introduced into the city soon occasioned discord and quarrels, in which bloodshed became frequent; in addition to this intestine warfare, the rivalry between the different communes resulted in continual strife among them.

For a time they were left to prey on each other; for, although they were feudatories of the Empire, the Emperors were unable to devote any attention to the affairs of Italy, Germany being torn asunder by the Guelphs, adherents of the house of Bavaria, and the Ghibellines, supporters of the house of Franconia.

The communal regime was an advance over the Feudal System, but it could not survive the internal and external quarrels; it soon began to show signs of weakness, and by the end of the century it was apparent that it was doomed. The majority of the people, interested in commerce and manufacturing, grew tired of the strife and were ready to welcome any strong power that would assume the leadership and put an end to the internal dissension and protect the city from attacks from without. As the commune was broken up into innumerable factions it was in a peculiarly suitable condition to be seized by any strong and daring adventurer who might aspire to the control, and when this man happened to be the head of the city government, the podestà or captain of the people, it was an easy step to the tyranny. During the later years of the communes the magistrates were usually selected from among the feudal families of the neighbourhood. They were accustomed to command and were supplied with arms, and in addition to their supporting faction in the city they had, in many cases, a large following of kinsmen and retainers on their neighbouring estates. Consequently nothing was easier than for them to seize the supreme power in the city, hold, and transmit it to their descendants.

Among the first families to secure and preserve this illegitimate power were the Della Scala, who appropriated Verona; the Este, who imposed themselves on Ferrara; the Medici, who secured the powerful commune of Florence; and the Gonzaga, who seized Mantua.

The vast multitude which came to Rome for the jubilee of 1300 inspired Boniface VIII. with dreams of empire, and a year later he published a bull in which he affirmed the absolute power of the Pope above all princes, kings, and emperors. This view was contested by Philippe le Bel of France, who was supported by the nobles, clergy, and people. Boniface retired to his city of Anagni to prepare a bull of excommunication, whereupon, acting in accord with Sciarra Colonna and other enemies of the Pope, Nogaret, Philippe’s minister, took possession of the town of Anagni and seized his Holiness, who was, however, liberated by the people a few days later. The Holy Father returned to Rome, where he died shortly afterwards (1303).

Two years later a Frenchman, Bertrand Got, Archbishop of Bordeaux, was elected Pope. He, however, did not go to Italy, but established the Papal See at Avignon, and the Popes finally placed themselves under the protection of the kings of France and their political authority rapidly declined.

During the succeeding two hundred years the tyrannies established on the ruins of the communes were growing stronger, and in many cities powerful dynasties had established themselves, handing the government down from father to son, or to the member of the clan best fitted to conserve the power, priority or legitimacy of birth having little to do with the succession, the possession of virtu, the characteristic most necessary for the preservation of self and family, determining the descent. Wherever the legitimate heir was found to be inferior, mentally or physically, to one of the bastards of the family, he was set aside for the latter.

The companies of paid soldiers now began to appear in Italy. These bands of mercenaries were captained by the so-called condottieri, and when the war for which they had been engaged was ended they were discharged like other wage-workers. Their leaders were bold and unscrupulous and had no personal interest at stake. This system gave rise to the gravest dangers to the peninsula; it brought into Italy swarms of worthless adventurers, who sold their services to any one able to pay for them and often they turned against their employer. They overran the country, robbing, murdering, debauching.

The power of the Popes in Romagna, never very strong, had grown weaker during their absence in Avignon. Bologna had fallen into the grasp of the Pepoli; the Polentani had secured Ravenna; the Manfredi owned Faenza; the Ordelaffi enjoyed Forli; the Malatesta held sway over Rimini; the Varano disposed of the fortunes of Camerino; the Montefeltre of Urbino and Civitavecchia. The Campagna was harassed by bands of brigands led by members of these families, and in Rome complete anarchy obtained, the two great clans of Orsini and Colonna constantly fighting to secure the control.

The fifteenth century was filled with the contests of the tyrannies among themselves; the weaker were crushed by the stronger, who absorbed their territories, and thus the great states were formed and their heads became princes. Besides the struggles with outside rivals these princely houses were always at strife with other powerful families within their own domain; conspiracies and intrigue filled the day; the princes became more despotic; rivals, pretenders, disobedient or lukewarm retainers were systematically put to death; cruelty knew no bounds.

The people were callous or indifferent to the crimes of the lords because they were committed chiefly against their own rivals—that is, persons of their own rank. The populace had long since lost all hope of ruling, and they were dazzled by the splendour of the Court and the magnificence of the monuments erected by the reigning prince. The return of a modicum of the spoils, in the form of a monument of some sort, a library, or a hospital, to commemorate the name and fame of the brigand has always been found to be the most efficacious way to placate the despoiled rabble.

The Visconti of Milan was one of the greatest of the princely houses of Italy, and it reached the height of its power in the person of Gian Galeazo, who added greatly to the family domains. With the assistance of the Carrara of Padua he overthrew the Scala of Verona and Vicenza, and then proceeded to wrest Padua from his late allies, who, however, soon recovered the city. He put down the Gonzaga of Mantua, the Este of Ferrara, and the Paleologi of Montferrat, and in 1395 he induced the Emperor Winzel to confer the title of Duke of Milan on him. Having defeated a coalition formed against him, he seized Pisa, Siena, Lucca, Perugia, Assisi, Spoleto, and Bologna, and was preparing to appropriate Florence and make himself King of Italy when he suddenly died (1402). On his death his states rapidly fell away; the Pope recovered Bologna, Perugia, and Assisi, Florence took Pisa, while the Venetians grabbed Verona and Vicenza. In some of the cities families that had been despoiled by the Visconti returned to power, and other places fell into the hands of the condottieri, so that Gian Galeazzo’s sons found their estates reduced to Milan and Pavia. No better example could be found of the rise, growth, and extinction of an illegitimate power—that is, a power based on fraud, usurpation, and tyranny.

Filippo Maria, the last of the Visconti, died in 1447 and a republic was immediately proclaimed in Milan. Francesco Sforza, not wishing to assert such rights as he may have had to the succession as the husband of a natural daughter of Filippo Maria Visconti, placed his services at the command of the republic in the war against Venice. He, however, unexpectedly made peace with the enemy and turned his forces against Milan, and, although there was a party favourable to Sforza, the city made a brave resistance. Finally an uprising occurred, the republic was overthrown, and Francesco entered the city and was proclaimed duke in 1450.

Milan in the second half of the fifteenth century was one of the most powerful of the Italian states; and when Francesco Sforza died in 1466 he was succeeded by his son Galeazzo Maria, a dissolute and cruel man, who was assassinated in a church by three nobles in 1476. His son, Gian Galeazzo, at this time was only eight years old, consequently his mother, Bona of Savoy, assumed the regency. The brothers of the deceased duke, however, conspired against her, and finally Ludovico il Moro, the most determined and deceitful of them, succeeded in getting possession of the government, whereupon he compelled her to leave the duchy.

* * * * *

Italy had awakened from the long slumber of the Middle Ages, during which her intellect had been paralysed by the superstitions and terrors inculcated by an ignorant and mercenary priesthood. She was emerging from the gloom into the new life which manifested itself, not only in the revival of learning and the prodigious blossoming of the fine arts, but also in the expansion of the human personality. Man had again discovered himself; he had become conscious of his faculties; he had found that he possessed a will that could carry him on to greatness in many fields of human activity. Hitherto superstitious, ignorant, and bigoted, he had been taught that if he ventured to use the intellect with which he had been endowed he would be eternally damned. Life to him was merely a painful pilgrimage between two eternities, through one of which he would be doomed to hell fire if in his mundane existence he dared to find any of the joy of living.

Finally some perspicacious souls began to doubt, and in the teachings of the newly discovered heathen philosophy they found a theory of life more humane, more natural, more charitable.

The arts had been entirely occupied with sacred subjects because in the Middle Ages the Church was their only patron. The gloom and superstition of mediaeval Christianity oppressed men’s souls, consequently the subjects selected were hideous and lugubrious in the extreme—emaciated saints, representations of the Last Judgment, human beings writhing in the torment of eternal wrath. The Almighty was not a god of pity and love, but one of vengeance. The teaching of the Nazarene was entirely distorted, just as it was by the Presbyterian divines in Scotland in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when they proclaimed their mission to be “to thunder out the Lord’s wrath and to curse,” and endeavoured to frighten their hearers into the paths of virtue with horrible tales of men “scorched in hell-fire,” in “boiling oil, burning brimstone, scalding lead,” sufficiently summarised in one of Binning’s sermons: “You shall go out of one hell into a worse; eternity is the measure of its continuance, and the degrees of itself are answerable to its duration.” Such, according to the Scotch pastors, was the measure of God’s love.

Extremes, however, lead to revolution. A period of great asceticism is always followed by an era of licentiousness, and in Italy this era was synchronous with the age of the Borgias.

It is no part of the present writer’s purpose to palliate the crimes of the Borgia; recent attempts which have been made to show that Alexander VI. and his son Caesar were gentle and impeccable beings, maligned and slandered, are inspired chiefly by a love of paradox, or occasioned by a motive not unlike that which actuates the great criminal lawyer whose chief victories consist in securing, not the acquittal of the innocent but of the guilty. These efforts, therefore, should not be taken too seriously.

Like other princes, the Borgias were human, and the same passions that prevail among the laity also rule among the priesthood. Theoretically the cardinals were the Pope’s advisers, an ecclesiastical senate, charged with the salvation of humanity, but actually they were a body of powerful and astute politicians, appointed by the Pope on his own initiative or at the request of some reigning sovereign or great family whose support his Holiness was anxious to secure. The cardinalate was bestowed in precisely the same way, and for the same reasons, as a minister’s portfolio is at the present time—that is, without any regard to the fitness of the beneficiary, and as a reward for services rendered or to come, and sometimes for even baser reasons: Alexander VI. raised Farnese to the purple in return for the complaisance of his sister, the beautiful Giulia.

Youths were made cardinals at a tender age. Giovanni de’ Medici, a precocious prelate of eighteen years, on the conclusion of the conclave that elected Alexander VI. was wise enough to flee from Rome; and Caesar Borgia was seventeen when his father discovered he had need of his counsel in conducting the affairs of the Church.

The great houses vied with each other for the honour, prestige, and power. It was no small matter to sit in the ecclesiastical senate and have a voice in directing the conscience of civilised humanity, at a time when the masses did not dare even to think; and to have a vote in the election of the greatest potentate on earth, who could make and unmake kings and emperors, and consign them to eternal punishment at will. The vast emoluments of the great office, the enormous revenues of the various prebends and livings the cardinals enjoyed need not be mentioned.

Their power and wealth knew no bounds. Surrounded by their kinsmen and retainers, they maintained princely courts. They rode about the city in the garb of condottieri, encased in steel, with swords clanking at their sides. In their palaces they maintained hundreds of men, whose number was increased, when occasion demanded, by the addition of gangs of paid bullies and ruffians. Every palace was a stronghold, and in addition those of the cardinals possessed the right of sanctuary—a right, it may be observed, which was not generally respected unless it was backed by might, as is shown by the frequent murders in churches in Italy in the period of the Renaissance, one of the most extraordinary of which was the stabbing to death of Giuliano de’ Medici by Bernardo Bandini and Francesco de’ Pazzi, assisted by a priest, who “being accustomed to the place, was less superstitious about its sanctity,” at the steps of the altar in the duomo of Florence in 1478, under the very eyes of Cardinal Raffaele Riario, the raising of the Host being the signal for the attack. The palaces were great stone fortresses with towers and battlements; the portal was closed with doors barred and studded with iron, capable of resisting almost any force; within were vast courts and living quarters for the swarms of retainers. Many of these strongholds were even supplied with artillery. A criminal often secured the protection of some cardinal who, with the aid of his “family,” his armed followers, would rescue and save him from prison. On one occasion a number of playful young Romans having assaulted some of Cardinal Ascanio Sforza’s servants, the good prelate’s “family,” armed to the teeth, sallied forth, fell upon the jokers, and slashed and hacked about twenty of them. At another time when a certain Savelli, Captain of the Curia, was about to proceed with an execution in the vicinity of the palace of Cardinal Balue, that worthy ecclesiastic called to him from a window and commanded him to stop, as the place was in his own jurisdiction. On the captain’s refusal to do as he was commanded the cardinal ordered his “family” to storm the prison, which they did, liberating all the captives and destroying the records. That night Cardinals Savelli and Colonna dispatched their own forces against their colleague. Subsequently all the belligerents were summoned to appear before the Pope on the charge of contumacy, but the only notice which Cardinal Balue took of the order was to fill his lair with armed men.

In a world of rapid change human life, honour, and the higher sentiments are held in slight esteem; material success is the goal men strive to reach and few question the means they employ. During the late Renaissance the despot did not hesitate to remove any obstacle in the way of his progress, even when that obstacle was a near kinsman; and the act was generally connived at by the other members of the family, conscious that in those unsettled days their own position and safety depended upon the strength and astuteness of their chief.

Italy was then divided into a hundred petty dukedoms and principalities, each struggling to preserve itself by annihilating its neighbour. Coalitions were constantly formed for the destruction of a state whose growing power threatened to disturb the balance, and these compacts often were broken as soon as made. Deception became a fine art, and diplomacy and duplicity were synonymous. It was this keen struggle for existence which made the Italians the most perspicacious politicians of the day.

Every ruler sought to attract to his court the artist and the literary man, for he knew that the prestige gained thereby was no slight adjunct to his power, and this explains why many of the most brutal and egotistical of the princes became famous as patrons of the arts and sciences. This protection was repaid with flattery, and to what depths of sycophancy men will descend is attested by the nauseous dedications of books of the day. In 1488, when Caesar Borgia was fourteen years of age, and by the grace of Innocent VIII. a prothonotary of the Apostolic See, Paolo Pompilio dedicated his “Syllabica,” a work on rhetoric, “to the ornament and hope of the house of Borgia, the Illustrious Caesar, whose love of letters foretells the greatness that is to be his.”

CHAPTER I

Genealogy of the house of Borgia—Vannozza de’ Catanei—Birth of Caesar Borgia—His youth.

The Spanish house of Borja, tracing its line back to 1035, claimed descent from Don Ramiro Sanchez of Aragon. A certain Don Pedro de Borja who died in 1152—the year in which Don Ricardo, a representative of the junior branch, removed to Naples—had a son, Don Ximenes Garcia de Borja, who was the founder of the senior line. His son, Gonzales Gil, was the father of Don Raymon de Borja, whose son, Don Juan Domingo de Borja, Lord of the Torre de Canals—who was living in the city of Xativa in Valencia in the fourteenth century—had by his wife, Francina de Borja, several daughters and a son Alonzo, the future Calixtus III.

As early as 1233 the Borja family had won fame, for in that year eight of their name had hurried to the support of Don Jaime in his war with the Moors, and by their bravery had secured a place among the Caballeros de la Conquista.

Numerous positions of honour were held by the Borja from that time forth, but the height of their glory was attained when Alonzo de Borja, who had gone to Naples in the train of King Alfonso of Aragon, was elected to succeed Nicholas V. as Pope in 1455.

Of the several sisters of Alonzo de Borja—who on his election to the Papacy assumed the name Calixtus III.—Catalina married Juan Mila of Xativa, by whom she had two sons, Cardinal Juan del Mila and Perot del Mila, whose daughter Adriana was the wife of Ludovico Orsini and the kinswoman and confidante of the future Alexander VI., the son of Doña Isabella de Borja, another of the sisters of Calixtus III.

Ever since the publication of Tomaso Tomasi’s “Duca Valentino” historians have repeated his statement that Caesar regarded Rodrigo Lenzuolo, or Lenzol, as his father—Riconobbe per padre Cesare Borgia, detto poi il Valentino, Roderigo Lenzolio.10

Gregorovius says that Isabella, the sister of Alonzo, was the wife of Jofre Lanzol, a wealthy nobleman of Xativa, and that she was the mother of several daughters, all of whom remained in Spain, and of two sons, Pedro Luis and Rodrigo; and that Calixtus III., the uncle, adopted these two nephews and gave them the family name; thus the Lanzol became Borgia, the Italian form of the Spanish name Borja.

If Tomasi, Panvinio, Mariana, and the later historians are correct in stating that Isabella’s husband was a Lanzol, their son, following the Spanish custom of uniting the mother’s family name with that of the father, would have been Rodrigo Lanzol y Borja and the descent from the Borja would have been through his mother only. But M. Charles Yriarte11 conclusively shows that Rodrigo was Borja y Borja, doubly a Borgia, his father having been, not Jofre Lanzol, but Don Jofre de Borja y Doms, who married Isabella de Borja, sister of Calixtus III. Doms therefore was the name of Rodrigo’s paternal grandmother, and the shield with the three bands azure, which appears in all the arms of the Borgia, in all the monuments of the Este family, and in all Italian works on heraldry, is the escutcheon of the Doms and not of the Lanzol family, whose arms according to Fabrer were “azure with a sun argent in the first and or with a crescent argent in the second quarter”—a device which is never found in connection with the Borgia in either Spain or Italy.

The Valencian chronicle of the thirteenth century which says that: “the Borja to the number of eight hastened to Valencia to serve the king,” adds that “all, without exception, bore on their shields a bull on a golden ground.” Thus we find the Borgia arms clearly defined at this early date, and two hundred years later Calixtus III. used the same arms with a border of gules charged with eight oriflammes; finally Alexander VI. added to his escutcheon the arms of the Doms, his paternal grandmother’s family, three bands azure on a field of gold, which are the arms of Sibilla Doms, of Catalonia, wife of Rodrigo Gil de Borja, brother of Domingo.

The offspring of this union, Jofre de Borja y Doms, father of Rodrigo Borgia, therefore had the right to place the three bands azure of the house of Doms by the side of the Borgia bull, and this he did.

Rodrigo Borgia therefore was the son of Jofre de Borja y Doms and Isabella de Borja, who were first cousins; and he was the nephew of Calixtus III., his mother’s brother.

All the descendants of Alexander VI. used the arms which he had engraved on his pontifical seal and which by his order Pinturicchio painted in the Appartamento Borgia in the Vatican.

When Lucretia Borgia, through her marriage with Alfonso d’Este, became Duchess of Ferrara, she added to her arms the eagle of the House of Este and also the pontifical keys, and when her brother Caesar, on his marriage with Charlotte d’Albret, was made Duke of Valentinois, he adopted the lilies of France, although he should have taken the arms of Navarre.

Now, what connection had the Lanzol with the Borgia, and what caused the curious mistake regarding the name of Rodrigo Borgia’s father?

Don Rodrigo de Borgia, later Alexander VI., had three sisters, one of whom, Doña Juana, married P. Guillem Lanzol de Romani and bore him a son, Don Jofre Lanzol y Borja, who married Doña Juana de Moncada and by her had a son, Don Rodrigo Lanzol, who, instead of calling himself Lanzol y Moncada, as he should have done, took the name of Borgia, which was that of his grandmother as well as of his great-grandmother, Isabella, the sister of Calixtus III., and it was this Rodrigo Lanzol, who incorrectly called himself Borgia, whose name finally, in some unaccountable way, became confused with that of Rodrigo Borja y Borja, subsequently Alexander VI., and the error has persisted for centuries. Such is Yriarte’s explanation. The evidence furnished by the arms is substantiated by the Valencian chronicles and by records in the archives of Osuna.

The Borgias were Spanish and such they remained throughout their long and infamous career in Italy, and they were always supported by a powerful Castillian party.

That Rodrigo Borgia was Caesar’s father there is no doubt. Rodrigo as cardinal, and later when Pope, always acknowledged and treated him as his son, lavishing unbounded parental affection on him and striving in every way to advance his material interests, as he did those of all his kinsmen and children.

One of the most striking traits of the Borgia family was their exaggerated affection for each other and their unbounded sense of family solidarity. Even Pope Calixtus III., who has not been accused of sacrificing his office wholly to his kinsmen, saw fit to bestow the cardinalate upon several of them.

If Mariana is correct in stating that Rodrigo’s eldest son Don Pedro Luis, first Duke of Gandia, who was born in 1467, was the child of Vannozza de’ Catanei, the cardinal’s relations with this woman, which lasted about fifteen years, began when he was about thirty-five.

Of Vannozza little is known. She was born in 1441 and was the wife of Giorgio de Croce when she first succumbed to the magnetic cardinal, to whom she presented four children, about whose birth and parentage there is no doubt whatever: Giovanni, born in 1474, married Doña Maria Enriquez, and was assassinated in 1497; Caesar, born in 1476; Lucretia, born in 1480, was first married to Giovanni Sforza of Pesaro, then to Alfonso of Aragon, Duke of Bisceglia, and finally to Alfonso d’Este; Don Giuffre, the youngest, was born in 1481. Mariana makes no mention of Rodrigo’s other children—Girolama, who died in 1483; Isabella, the wife of Pietro Giovanni Matuzzi; and Giovanni Borgia, Lord of Camerino, who was the son of Giulia Farnese.

Vannozza was simply a nickname for Giovanna, and Catanei was a common name throughout Italy. In numerous contemporary documents she is mentioned as Madonna de Casa Catanei. As she was able to hold the pleasure-loving cardinal so many years and secure from him the recognition of her children, various writers have seen fit, in the absence of other grounds for romance, to ascribe to her great physical beauty, force of character, and intellect. Her name does not appear in the list of public courtesans of Rome, and numerous guesses have been made as to her social status and mode of living; they are, however, neither probable nor illuminating. Her obscurity is proved by the indifference of the sonneteers and epigrammatists of the day, who, had she been at all conspicuous, would have made her notorious. Burchard mentions her only twice, once in January, 1495, when her house was sacked by the French, and again in connection with the supper that preceded the murder of the Duke of Gandia in June, 1497.

Although Rodrigo’s relations with Vannozza ceased about 1482 he continued to interest himself in her material welfare. Her husband, Giorgio de Croce, died in 1486, whereupon the cardinal, in order that she might not be without a home and a protector, married her to Carlo Canale of Mantua, a scholarly, but complaisant, individual who had been secretary to that great patron of letters Cardinal Francesco Gonzaga, upon whose death in 1483 Carlo had gone to Rome to enter the service of Cardinal Sclafenati.

Rodrigo, probably thinking that Carlo’s talents might be useful, selected him to be the husband of his widowed mistress; and avarice or ambition induced Carlo to acquiesce in the arrangement.

The nuptial contract was drawn up June 8, 1486, and to her husband Vannozza brought as marriage portion a thousand gold ducats and an appointment as sollicitator bullarum. The contract describes this as her second marriage, thus making it doubtful whether she was ever married to Domenico d’Arignano, who, Burchard says, “had been married by Rodrigo to a certain woman who had borne the cardinal a son, whom he had always maintained and recognised as his own, and whom he had made Bishop of Pamplona.”12

With the assistance of her cardinal lover she had amassed a considerable fortune, a part of which by her will she eventually devoted to the purchase of her soul’s salvation. She appears to have been a strong, coarse woman, penurious and avaricious. Records are extant showing that she was charged with stealing, through the agency of her paid servants, eleven hundred and sixty sheep from Ludovico Mattei in 1504, and she was found guilty. In 1502 a complaint was likewise lodged against Donna Vannozza de’ Catanei by Nardo Antonazzi, a goldsmith of the Regola Quarter, for refusing to pay for a silver cross he had made for her in 1500. The jeweller, however, lost his case.

Tomasi says that Vannozza was of ignoble condition and that she succeeded with the consummate art of the courtesan in dominating any one she wished to control, and that she was an insatiable harpy. The same writer states that Cardinal Rodrigo had spent his youth in cultivating his natural gifts with the aid of all the tricks and artifices known to the courtier, and that he was a perfidious, bloodthirsty, and voracious beast of prey, but one who knew how to insinuate himself into the favour of all men.

Such were the antecedents of Caesar Borgia, and if his parentage was bad the environment in which he grew up was worse.

Caesar, if we accept his father’s statement, was born in April, 1476, for in 1501 the Pope, in conversation with the Ferrarese ambassador, remarked: “The Duchess Lucretia will complete her twenty-second year next April, and in the same month the Most Illustrious Duke Caesar will be twenty-six.”

The father’s statement concerning the age of his children, which was promptly reported to Duke Ercole of Ferrara by the ambassador, is confirmed by various dispatches and letters, among which are two sent by Gianandrea Boccaccio to the same person February 5 and March 11, 1493, which are now in the state archives of Modena. These dispatches give Caesar’s age at that time as “sixteen or seventeen years.” He was, therefore, somewhat younger than has for a long time been supposed, and was not as old as his brother Giovanni.

At the time of Caesar’s birth his father was about forty-five and his mother, Vannozza, thirty-four. Of her four children Caesar is the most interesting as a psychological and historical study, not on account of his crimes, for every petty Italian state had its criminal despot at that time, but because he displayed a calculating cunning, a shrewdness in statecraft, and a fidelity to purpose which is rarely met with in men of his years, and which made him pre-eminent among personalities of his own stamp.

Whether or not Caesar was striving to consolidate the numerous Italian states and eventually construct a great central kingdom in the peninsula, as Machiavelli believed, is difficult to determine. Caesar’s activity, however, reveals something more than the unreasoned efforts of a ferocious egoist to gratify an unbounded but vague ambition. At the beginning of the fifteenth century Italy offered great prizes to the resolute adventurer, and Caesar’s horizons may have been wider than the domain of St. Peter.

What is known of his boyhood and youth is, in comparison with a knowledge of the environment in which he grew up, of slight value. A bull of Sixtus IV., issued in April, 1480, in which he is described as the “son of a Cardinal-Bishop and a certain married woman,” relieved him of the necessity of proving himself of legitimate birth; and an Act signed by Ferdinand the Catholic in 1481 provides for his legitimation and naturalisation. These steps were necessary before he could be invested with the various offices his father, the all-powerful Cardinal of San Niccolò in Carcere Tulliano, was determined he should enjoy. While still a child privileges of all sorts were bestowed upon him. July 10, 1482—Caesar was then about six—Sixtus IV. granted him the revenues of the prebends and canonicates of the cathedral of Valencia; and by a second bull, dated April 5, 1483, presented him with another canonicate and a benefice belonging to the archdiaconate of Xativa; the following year the Pope appointed him provost of Albar, and finally—September 12, 1484—when according to the bull he was nine years of age, he was made treasurer of Carthagena.

During his childhood Caesar probably lived with Adriana Mila, his father’s cousin. A granddaughter of Catalina, sister of Calixtus III., she had married Ludovico Orsini, Lord of Bassanello, who died some time before 1488. She dwelt in the Orsini palace in Rome. Lucretia Borgia also was placed under her care. Adriana Mila was more than Rodrigo Borgia’s kinswoman, she was his confidante up to the day of his death. Her son it was who married the beautiful Giulia Farnese, and Adriana was the complaisant witness of the adulterous relations of his wife, “Christ’s Bride,” as the satirists called her, with her cousin, St. Peter’s successor.

The dedication—already mentioned—of Paolo Pompilio’s treatise on rhetoric to Caesar in 1488 is the first public notice we have of him. The following year he was a student of canon law at the Sapienza of Perugia, where he also had a special preceptor, Juan Vera of Valencia. At the university he had a number of intimate friends and companions—all young Spaniards—who were closely associated with his subsequent fortunes. The most famous of these young men was Francesco Romolino of Lerida, one of the commissioners sent to Florence in 1498 by Alexander VI. to secure the conviction of Savonarola, and who remarked to his host, Pandolfo della Luna: “We shall make a fine bonfire; I bear the sentence with me already prepared.”13

From Perugia, where Caesar spent about two years, he went to Pisa—in 1491—to attend the lectures of Filippo Decio, one of the most famous professors of canon law of that day, and he was still there September 12, 1491, on which date Innocent VIII. conferred the bishopric of Pamplona on him. Five days later Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, in his capacity of Vice-Chancellor of the Church, informed the Chapter of Pamplona, and the alcaldes and counsellors of the city, of the appointment; and on the same day Caesar, the dignified bishop of fifteen years, also brought the fact to the notice of these various personages and sent them as his representative the venerable Martin Zapata, Canon-Treasurer of Toledo, provided with a power of attorney, and the bulls and letters naming him administrator of the province. The original documents are in the archives of Pamplona.

In the first letter, which is written by Caesar’s father, in Spanish, he is described as a persona muy a nos conjunta—“a person very closely connected with us.” The cardinal adds: “The Holy Father has decided to appoint to this bishopric the prothonotary Don Caesar de Borgia, distinguished for his virtues and his learning.”

Caesar’s letter, written at Soriano, is as follows:—

“To the Magnificos, our Honourable and Especial Friends,—You doubtless have already learned from letters of the Reverend Cardinal, Vice-Chancellor of the Church, that, the Episcopal See of your city having become vacant in consequence of the death of the Reverend Señor Don Alfonso Carillo of blessed memory, his Holiness, the Pope, and the Reverend Seniors constituting the Sacred College, unanimous in their choice, have promoted us to this dignity, and have placed in our hands the bulls and briefs which we hereby tender for your examination. Solicitous for the future good government of the bishopric, spiritual as well as temporal, we send to you the venerable Mossen Martin Zapata, the beloved and esteemed canon and treasurer of Toledo, as our representative, duly empowered to decide all matters in our stead. We have specially instructed him to confer with you regarding a number of matters, and we urge you to trust him in all things and to show him all confidence. I expect you also of your own goodwill to aid and serve him. Should anything special arise affecting your noble city and the general welfare of yourselves and the community you may rest assured that we will give it the same attention that we would bestow on any affair of our own. I have only to add that I pray the Lord to take your honourable and noble persons under his protection.

“From Soriano the xvii day of September, MDLXXXXI. Ever yours to command,

“Cesar de Borgia,
“Elector of Pamplona.”

In the latter half of the fifteenth century, when boys were married at sixteen, made cardinals at seventeen, and commanded armies at twenty, children were precocious, and Caesar, a student in Pisa, could not have been blind to the vast opportunities presented to him by his father’s elevation to the Papacy in August, 1492.

By the immediate bestowal of high offices on his favourites and kinsmen Alexander showed that he did not intend to hold himself aloof from nepotism. His uncle, Calixtus III., having set the example, the evil had grown, and Alexander was destined to be its supreme exponent.

Caesar did not attend the elaborate fêtes given on the occasion of his father’s coronation. His Holiness doubtless thought it wise not to bring his son forth into public gaze thus early in the drama. Caesar was in Spoleto at the time, and, being a shrewd youth, he must have appreciated the scandalous means by which his father secured his election. The coronation took place August 26, 1492, and in honour of the happy event Alexander made his son, Caesar, Bishop of Valencia, an office he himself had held, and which carried with it the dignity of Primate of Spain.

FACSIMILE (REDUCED) OF A LETTER WRITTEN BY CAESAR BORGIA TO FERDINAND OF SPAIN, ROME, 1497.

To face p. 80.

The Spaniards were not forgotten by the Borgia; those who already held office were promoted and places were found for those who had not yet secured a foothold. The Bishop of Modena states in one of his letters that ten popes would not be able to satisfy these satellites. The Pope’s sisters immediately became personages of importance in Rome, and Vannozza, the mother of four of his children—who, after the birth of Giuffre, had found herself deserted for the beautiful Giulia Farnese—gained in both social position and material wealth by Rodrigo’s election. Thenceforth she appears to have lived the life of a respectable and influential matron in the papal city.

All were provided for; the Pope’s mistress, his innumerable kinsmen, the children and grandchildren of his sisters, the hosts of Spaniards who fastened themselves on the papal treasury, the prebends and benefices—and who even demanded a share of the lands confiscated from the Romagnol barons. Prominent among the Spaniards in the papal palace were: Romolino of Lerida, Juan Vera, Juan Lopez—who was made Chancellor—Pedro Caranza and Juan Marades, who were Privy-Chamberlains.

A letter written by Caesar from Spoleto to Piero de’ Medici shows that he was in that place as late as October, 1492. The youth explains why he had failed to call on the Florentine before leaving Pisa, and recommends to his favour the faithful Romolino of Lerida. The letter, which was delivered by Caesar’s tutor, Juan Vera, concludes with the formula used by princes: “Tanquam Frater Vr Cesar de Borgia Elect. Valent.”

Not until the spring of 1493 did Caesar go to Rome, where a house in the Trastevere was furnished him. Here he maintained a numerous Court, and although he was only seventeen years of age, one of the dispatches of Gianandrea Boccaccio, the Ferrarese ambassador, shows that he knew how to play the prince perfectly. The ambassador went to the Vatican to render homage, and March 19, 1493, in announcing the results of his interview to his master, Ercole d’Este, he gives the earliest description we have of the youthful Bishop of Valencia.

“The other day I called on Caesar in his house in the Trastevere. He was about to set out for the chase and was clad in a costume altogether worldly; he was clothed in silk and had a sword at his side. We rode along on horseback, conversing as we went. I am on friendly terms with him. He is intellectual and cultured—with the manners of a prince. He has a serene and cheerful disposition, and his gaiety is contagious. He is very modest. His bearing is much better than that of his brother, the Duke of Gandia, who is by no means devoid of good qualities. The Archbishop [Caesar] has never had any taste for the priesthood, but it should be remembered that his benefices annually bring him in more than sixteen thousand ducats.”

Just what the word “modesty” meant in those days is not apparent, for it is applied to persons who would seem to have possessed little of that admirable trait.

Ecclesiastical rules hampered Caesar but little. He was enormously wealthy, and additional benefices were constantly given him. He was promptly allotted the income of the churches of Castres and Perpignan, and thirty thousand gold ducats from San Michele d’Arezzo fell to his share.

At the time of Alexander’s accession to the papal throne Italy, and Naples in particular, were threatened by grave dangers arising from the contests of King Ferdinand of Naples and Ludovico, Duke of Milan, and in March, 1493, the former endeavoured to secure the friendship of the Pope by suggesting a marriage of one of his natural daughters with Giuffre; the suggestion, however, came too late, for in April Lucretia Borgia was betrothed to Giovanni Sforza, Lord of Pesaro, and kinsman of Ludovico; and a coalition was formed by Milan, Venice, and the Holy See, which could only result in disaster to Ferdinand, as Charles VIII., who had just inherited the crown of France, was beginning to assert his claims to the throne of Naples.

Irritated by the rejection of his offer, the King of Naples wrote his orator in Spain that Alexander was detested by every one in spite of his holy office, and that his only care was to increase the fortunes of his children by fair means or foul.

Some of the other Italian states joined the coalition, and in April, 1493, the Bishop of Nepi, Bartolomeo Flores, publicly read the articles of the treaty in St. Peter’s, and although no threat was made against Ferdinand, every one knew that the purpose of the league was the destruction of the House of Naples. Lucretia Borgia’s betrothal to Giovanni Sforza strengthened the alliance. Alexander hated Ferdinand because he was outspoken in his condemnation of the scandals of the Vatican and because he was a vigorous supporter of the Neapolitan party in the Sacred College. The King had opposed the bestowal of the cardinalate upon Alessandro Farnese, Giulia Bella’s brother, and he had also allied himself with Giuliano della Rovere and Virginio Orsini, who, aided by those who had tried to prevent Alexander’s election, were holding a portion of the territory of the Church by force. Finally the King openly supported the rebels, furnishing them troops and supplies, while his own son, who had gone to Ostia with Giuliano della Rovere, joined Virginio Orsini and Fabrizio Colonna, the Pope’s mortal enemies.

June 12, 1493, Giovanni Sforza, Lord of Pesaro, was married to the Pope’s daughter, who was then thirteen years of age. She had been betrothed twice before, and is described as a beautiful, vivacious, golden-haired girl. The marriage ceremony was performed in the Vatican, and the festivities which followed caused an uproar throughout the city.

Burchard, the minute Master of Ceremonies, may not have been present—his diary stops abruptly June 11, 1493, and does not begin again until January 14, 1494—but Infessura fills in the lacuna.

The Pope invited one hundred and fifty of the prominent women of Rome and their husbands, and also the ambassadors and city officials, to the wedding. After being kept waiting for some time in a hall, the women were allowed to enter, but when their husbands and the ambassadors and officials were about to follow, the doors were closed and were not again opened until an hour had elapsed; then the notaries who had attested the marriage contract appeared and informed the men, who were then permitted to enter, that the ceremony was over. It was said that on the conclusion of the ceremony the Pope had produced fifty goblets filled with confetti which, in the exuberance of his joy, he had poured into the bodices of the women, “probably the most beautiful ones, and this,” concludes Infessura, “to the honour and glory of God and the Roman Church.”

The chronicler proceeds to describe a banquet in the papal palace, which was attended by Church dignitaries and numerous women, among whom were the Pope’s daughter and Giulia Bella. The festivities lasted until the seventh hour of the night, and included the reading of several comedies—“among them some obscene ones.” Nowhere in connection with the marriage of Lucretia and Giovanni Sforza is Caesar mentioned, although he had left Spoleto.

The tension in the affairs of Italy was somewhat relieved by the King of Spain, and through the intercession of Frederic, son of the King of Naples, an agreement was reached in July, 1493, between Virginio Orsini and the Pope. The price of the agreement and of the dissolution of the league was the hand of Doña Sancia to be given to Giuffre, Caesar’s younger brother. The contract was formally signed August 15, 1493, and the league was dissolved. Giuffre’s marriage with Doña Sancia, like all those arranged by Alexander VI., was purely a political expedient.

Although Caesar had no inclination or fitness for the Church, shortly after this, September 21, 1493, he was made a cardinal. It was at this same creation that Giuliano Cesarini—whose brother had married Girolama Borgia in 1482—and Alessandro Farnese were made cardinals, and Burchard adds that there were certain others who paid more than a hundred thousand ducats for the honour. Farnese, brother of the Pope’s concubine, as the papal Master of Ceremonies describes him with his usual fondness for exact details, was henceforth known in Rome as “the cardinal of the petticoat.”

In that grossly immoral age it is not surprising that Farnese took advantage of the adulterous relations of the head of the Christian Church with Giulia, “Christ’s Bride” as she was called in derision. The Farnese family had been of slight importance in the history of Italy up to the time of Alexander VI., but when he made Alessandro a cardinal he brought them into the history of Rome and of the world—for this act led to the pontificate of Paul III., the founder of the Farnese House of Parma.

CHAPTER II.

Charles VIII. invades Italy—Caesar a hostage—Caesar leaves the King’s camp—The league against France—Charles enters Rome—Caesar appointed Governor of Orvieto—The Pope conceives the idea of recovering Romagna—He declares the Romagnol barons rebels—The Pope summons his son, the Duke of Gandia, from Spain, to command the papal troops—Charles VIII. aids the Romagnol barons—Giuffre Borgia and his wife, Doña Sancia of Naples, come to Rome—Caesar appointed Legate to crown the King of Naples.

The nuptial contract of Giuffre Borgia and Sancia of Naples was signed January 25, 1494, but King Ferdinand died before the marriage was performed, and the crown passed to Federigo of Aragon. Giuffre by the contract received for himself and his heirs in perpetuity the principality of Squillace and the county of Cariati in Calabria. The King of Naples and the Pope each promised to give the young man an annual allowance of ten thousand crowns, and Giuffre was to be received and treated as a prince throughout the Regno. The marriage was celebrated with great pomp, May 7, 1494, and Giuffre remained in Naples several months. This alliance for a time put an end to the strife between the Vatican and those who, supported by the King of Aragon, had been holding part of the papal territory by force.

Naples was now filled with reports of the preparations which Charles VIII. of France was making for invading Naples, and King Alfonso sent Ferrante de Genaro to urge Ludovico il Moro to oppose the coming of the French King. Desiring the Pope’s aid, Alfonso also requested an interview with him, and about the end of June the Pontiff, accompanied by three cardinals, set out to meet him at Vicovaro. Burchard describes the departure of the Pope in great detail; among the cardinals in his suite was his Eminence of Valencia.

July 14th the approach of the King was announced to the Pope. As they entered the town Caesar, Cardinal of Valencia, who had gone to escort his Majesty, rode on the King’s left. The Pope and the King remained in Vicovaro three days, and a coalition was established between them and Florence against the King of France, but as all of the allies were afraid of Charles, it came to nothing. The Pope and Caesar returned to Rome some time before July 17th.

To understand why Ludovico il Moro urged the King of France to invade Naples it is necessary to go back to the time of Galeazzo Sforza, Duke of Milan, whose oppressions and cruelties were ended by his assassination in December, 1476, as he was about to enter the church of St. Stephen.

Galeazzo left an infant son, Gian Galeazzo Maria, and a widow, Bona of Savoy, sister-in-law of Louis XI. of France. The Duchess acted as regent for her son, but Ludovico, brother of the murdered duke, soon succeeded in wresting the power from her. He also refused to turn the government over to his nephew Galeazzo Maria, when he came of age—at the same time virtually holding him prisoner. Galeazzo Maria’s wife, Isabella of Aragon, daughter of Alfonso, Duke of Naples, hereditary prince of the Regno, complained to her father, whereupon, to render the opposition of Naples unavailing, and eventually obtain control of Milan, Ludovico hit upon the plan of inducing the youthful King of France, Charles VIII., to come to Italy and assert the old rights of the House of Anjou to the throne of Naples.

By his contemporaries Ludovico was regarded as the greatest political genius of the age, and the extravagant admiration bestowed on him shows that the adoption of any means to egotistic purposes was regarded not only as justifiable but also as commendable. Ludovico accepted the applause as his due, and boasted that “the Pope was his chaplain, the Emperor his condottiere, Venice his chamberlain, and the King of France his courier to come and go at his bidding.”

Charles VIII. was a visionary, weak, headstrong young man, and, disregarding the advice of his counsellors, he readily fell in with Ludovico’s plans. Vast preparations were made for war; a great army was gathered at Vienne and a large amount of artillery of a size hitherto unknown in Italy was sent to Genoa. Before Charles entered the peninsula, however, Don Federico began the war by an attack on Genoa, which, however, was unsuccessful.

Finally, August 23, 1494, Charles himself left Vienne and crossed the Alps to Asti, where he fell ill. On his recovery he visited his cousin, the deposed Duke of Milan, and his young wife, who were kept by Ludovico in the castle of Pavia. The Duchess pleaded for her husband and infant son and for her father and family, against whom Charles was advancing.

Shortly after the King’s visit the young duke died, and it was generally believed that he had been poisoned by his uncle, Ludovico.

Charles had sent an ambassador, Philippe de Commines, to endeavour to obtain the support of the Venetians, but they held aloof. The envoy explained that the King desired their aid and counsel in his undertaking; to which they replied that he was indeed most welcome, but that they could not give him any help, as they were afraid of the Turk—although they were at peace with him—and as to advising such a wise King, and one who already had such able counsellors, it would be great presumption on their part; nevertheless, they would much rather assist than injure him. They were careful to talk and also act with circumspection. “I believe their affairs are conducted more judiciously than those of any other power or prince in the whole world,” concludes Commines. As Venice would not assist him, it was necessary for Charles to secure Florence before advancing into Naples. He therefore decided to march through Tuscany, where he encountered no opposition, the cities in many cases voluntarily opening their gates to him and asking his protection.

The citizens of Florence were well disposed toward the French, hoping they would help them to throw off the tyranny of Piero de’ Medici, who refused to desert Naples. Charles therefore entered Tuscany and laid siege to Sarzana, whereupon Piero’s courage failed, and he secretly tried to make terms for himself. His situation had become so desperate that he offered to give up Pisa, Leghorn, Pietrasanta, and Librafatta, and he also agreed that the Republic should advance Charles a large sum of money. On learning of this the Florentines became so incensed that Piero fled and took refuge at the Court of Giovanni Bentivoglio of Bologna and never returned. After a short stay in Pisa and Florence the King set out for Rome.

At that time the French army was greatly superior to the armies of Italy. Charles’s cavalry consisted of lances, each composed of a heavily-armed man-at-arms and his three or four attendants; they and their horses were well equipped. The great strength of the French infantry, however, lay in the Swiss mercenaries.

The Italian troops were subjects of various states and were under the command of their own captains and were paid by them; consequently cohesion and discipline were entirely lacking in the armies of the peninsula. The Italian foot-soldiers were inferior to the Swiss, who were regarded as the best in the world. In addition to their heavy guns the French had a large number of light brass field-pieces, which could be easily moved about, and which threw iron balls, and were discharged with considerable rapidity, while the Italian guns were so heavy that they could be moved only by oxen and with the greatest difficulty; their ammunition consisted of heavy stone balls.

In the fifteenth century wars the loss of life was slight—notwithstanding the blood-curdling accounts of contemporary chroniclers. The defensive armour was so massive that it was difficult to kill a man, although it was comparatively easy to unhorse him.

War is a trade—in spite of the efforts of the advocates of brute force to glorify it. Wars were usually brought about then by adventurers bent on gain, as they are now, by the so-called captains of industry—who control all civilised Governments—for the extension of commerce, but always, of course, in the sacred name of patriotism, which Dr. Johnson described as “the last refuge of a scoundrel.” The leaders and the men in their pay fought for any state which hired them, and they might at any time change employers. The famous Italian captains played the game of war with great profit to themselves and no little skill.

While the French troops were overrunning the Patrimonium Petri a body of their cavalry under Monsignor Yves d’Allegre captured Madonna Adriana Orsini, Giulia Bella, the Pope’s mistress, and her sister Girolama, and great was the consternation of his Holiness; his anxiety to secure the return of the ladies set all Italy to laughing and gave the sonneteers an opportunity to display their wit, of which they were not slow to avail themselves. The captain who made the precious capture wanted to hold them for a vast ransom, “because the Holy Father would give his very eyes to have them back”; but Charles surrendered them for a comparatively insignificant sum, doubtless not valuing them as highly as did Christ’s Vicar.

The Neapolitan troops retreated before Charles, who entered Rome the last day of the year 1494; and Burchard describes in detail the manner of his reception and how the populace greeted him with shouts of “Francia, Francia! Colonna, Colonna! Vincola, Vincola!” Evidently they preferred France, Colonna, and Della Rovere to Borgia.

All the great prelates then in Rome promptly paid their respects to the King, the youthful Cardinal of Valencia among the number. While the French were in the city they committed all sorts of outrages, robberies, and murders. It was at this time that Vannozza’s house was plundered, and on January 10, 1495, the Pope for his greater security removed to the Castle of St. Angelo, accompanied by several cardinals, including Valencia.

The following day the Holy Father and Philibert De Bressa, Charles’s representative, concluded an agreement by which the Pope was to crown the French monarch King of Naples and was to abstain from harming the cardinals Della Rovere, Gurk, Savelli, and Colonna. It was also arranged that the Pope’s son Caesar should accompany the King of France as his hostage.

January 28th, after taking leave of the Pope with many expressions of friendship, Charles departed. At the place appointed for Caesar to join him the youthful cardinal presented himself with six magnificent chargers, and they rode forth, Caesar on the King’s left. Two days later news was brought the Pope that the Cardinal of Valencia, disguised as a stable-boy, had fled from the King’s camp at Velletri.

When Caesar joined the King he had nineteen large chests, which were supposed to contain his personal effects; two of the trunks were brought back to Rome; the remaining seventeen were opened by the King’s order after the flight of his hostage, and were found to contain nothing—“at least, so I was informed,” adds Burchard, “but I do not believe this.”

On his return to Rome Caesar spent the first night at the house of Antonio Flores, Auditor of the Ruota—perhaps to give the paternal anger time to cool. The following day the Pope sent his secretary, the Bishop of Nepi and Sutri, to the King to disclaim all responsibility for Caesar’s disregard of the agreement.

February 1st the city of Rome sent three envoys, Hieronymus Portius, the Pope’s intimate, Coronato Planca, senior Consistorial Auditor, and Jacopo Sinibaldi, Master of the Seals, to the King to recommend the city to his care and to beg him not to be angry on account of the cardinal’s flight.

At the time it was generally believed in Rome that his Holiness had connived at Caesar’s conduct, but his right to give his son to Charles as a hostage was also questioned. Caesar was then only nineteen, and his flight was clear proof of his powers of dissimulation and of his determination. Charles finally concluded to ignore the matter, and in the course of a few days the young cardinal again appeared about the Vatican.

About the time that Caesar took his unceremonious departure the Spanish ambassadors arrived in Charles’s camp to renew the protests of the House of Aragon, which was determined to assert its own rights to the Neapolitan throne, and while at Velletri Don Antonio de Fonseca had threatened Charles with war. These protests, which were the beginning of the famous League of the Conservation, furnish a more reasonable explanation of Caesar’s flight from the French camp than does the theory of an earlier agreement between himself and his father.

The day the League was proclaimed in Rome—April 1st—a mob of Spaniards attacked a body of Swiss troops belonging to the French army, and Burchard intimates that Caesar inspired the assault in revenge for outrages committed by the mercenaries. The Pope, to avoid the charge of complicity in Caesar’s escape, sent him to Spoleto, where the promising ecclesiastic awaited developments. Twenty days after Caesar left the French camp Charles VIII. entered Naples as conqueror.

Ludovico il Moro now began to regret the alliance he had made with King Charles, although by his coming he had been able to make himself Duke of Milan. A league against France was solemnly proclaimed in St. Peter’s on Palm Sunday—the Venetians having signed it March 30th—and when Charles learned of the preparations that were being made in the north of Italy to oppose him and that his ally the Duke of Milan, throwing off his mask, had attacked the French vessels in the harbour of Genoa, he became anxious for his own safety. He therefore arranged for the occupation of the Regno, leaving a considerable force in the conquered territory, and decided to return to France. He determined to endeavour to detach Alexander from the league, and with this end in view he set out for Rome. The Pope was his nearest and most dangerous enemy; the King therefore was anxious to win him over and obtain from him the investiture of the Kingdom of Naples.

Alexander, knowing that Charles was offended by Caesar’s flight and by his own activity in the formation of the league, decided to avoid him. Therefore, accompanied by Caesar and nineteen other cardinals, he left Rome for Orvieto, where he arrived May 28th. In notifying the people of Orvieto of his intended visit the Pope stated that he was going thither to meet the King of France. When his Holiness left Rome he placed Palavicini, Cardinal of Sta Anastasia, in charge of the city, and directed him not to oppose the King in any way, and to show him all honour and respect. The Pontiff’s escort numbered more than five thousand men, including Greek mercenaries, archers, mounted and on foot, courtiers, and servants.14 The Pope sent to Montefiascone and Viterbo for all the artillery, mortars, siege guns, and small cannon, which he placed in the castle, together with the munitions of war brought from Rome.

June 3rd an ambassador arrived from the Emperor Maximilian with a retinue of thirty horsemen, and was escorted into the town by a number of cardinals with a guard of a thousand men, horse and foot. The following day an envoy also arrived from the King of France. It is believed that the purpose of Maximilian’s embassy was to prevent the Pope and the French monarch—who was persisting in his efforts to see his Holiness—from coming to any agreement. While the diplomatists were endeavouring to hoodwink each other Caesar was busily engaged in putting the strongholds and castles in a condition for defence. The evening of June 4th the Pope held a consistory, at which it was decided to send Juan Lopez, Datory and Bishop of Perugia, to that city, whither the Pope had determined to go, and direct the officials to make proper preparations for the reception of his Holiness. It was said at the time that it was the Pope’s intention to go from Perugia to Ancona and thence to Venice to ask the aid of the Republic, rather than have an interview with Charles.

June 5th the entire Pontifical Court set out for Perugia, and they had no sooner left the town of Orvieto than a royal envoy arrived with instructions to follow the Pope and see him at any cost. As soon as the messenger learned of Alexander’s departure he left for Perugia. At Toscanella his people were refused lodging, a fight ensued, and blood was shed. At Santa Fiora the French learned that Guido Sforza was in command of the citadel and they immediately took him prisoner, an act due to their hatred of his kinsmen Ludovico il Moro, who had betrayed their sovereign. In the meantime the Pope and Caesar had arrived at Perugia, and thus avoided the meeting they feared.

Charles had entered Rome—June 1st—and had remained there only over night. On the 5th he was in Viterbo, and thence he advanced into Lombardy; he avoided Florence and refused to give up Pisa. He reached Pontremoli and crossed the Apennines without encountering any resistance, but found the armies of Milan and Venice, under the command of Francesco Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua, lying in wait for him on the other side of the mountains. After a brief struggle at Fornovo, on the Taro, the King with his army of 10,000 men broke through the allied forces of 35,000—who lost about 3,500—and escaped to Turin and thence to France, where he apparently forgot all about his conquest of Naples, for he left his Viceroy, Gilbert de Montpensier, to look after himself as best he might. Immediately after the battle of Fornovo, Ferdinand II. with a few Spanish troops surprised Naples and captured Montpensier, and the French dominion in the Regno came to an end as quickly as it had been established. Before leaving Italy Charles had made peace with Ludovico independently of the Moor’s allies.

The danger passed, the inhabitants of Orvieto, anxious for the Pope to return to their city, sent a delegation to request him to do so, and June 21st he did return, but was so anxious to be back in Rome that he remained only a day. The Pontiff, however, appreciated the strategic advantages of the castle of Orvieto so highly that he made the town a legation a latere and appointed his son legate and governor for life.

ORVIETO

From an early engraving.

To face p. 98.

The Pope’s letter announcing Caesar’s nomination is dated July 22, 1495, and is as follows:—

“Beloved Sons etc. Having15 for a long time known of your great love and loyalty toward us and that you desired us to appoint our beloved son, Caesar, Cardinal of Valencia, to be your protector and governor; and knowing that on account of his high character and especially his sound judgment, you can expect much from him; and being exceedingly anxious to comply with your wishes in order that you may know how great is our love for you we have decided to make him your governor for life and do so appoint him as you will see by the proper document under our seal. We do this the more willingly as, owing to the great love and affection he bears you, we are confident that you will be well governed and also protected; and that your affairs will prosper in all ways. On account of other matters which concern us he is not able to go to you immediately, consequently he sends in his place our beloved son, Giacomo Dracaz, etc. Given in Rome, in St. Peter’s under the Pontifical seal xxii July MCCCCLXXXXV, the third year of our pontificate.

“B. Floridus.”

The reader may well wonder whether any one was ever deceived by such an epistle.

Caesar’s first act was to make certain appointments to office which were beyond his authority, and when the fact was brought to his attention he withdrew them, and apologised with a tact and courtesy which proved the maturity of his judgment and character and at once endeared him to the people of Orvieto.

Caesar concludes his letter:—

“In view of the tricks and shrewdness of certain men who have no regard for the truth nothing is more difficult for those who are animated by just intentions than to distinguish the true from the false. If in future I should ever do anything contrary to your customs, statutes, or privileges, know that I have been led into error by some designing person, for I am only human and as such am liable to be tricked and deceived.”

The cardinal of nineteen years signs himself C. cardinalis Valentinus, qui vos ex corde amat.

Although the letter does not sound like that of a boy of nineteen we must remember that children were precocious in those days and that his training and constant association with astute men much older than himself, who were concerned with the great interests of the age, probably made him wise beyond his years.

The letter to the conservators is dated August 7, 1495; consequently the Pope and Caesar had returned to Rome as soon as they knew that the French army was engaged with the forces of the league.

It was about this time that Alexander conceived the great idea of his reign—namely, to secure the definitive submission of the Romagnol barons who had greatly troubled the earlier years of his Pontificate. Caesar was only twenty years of age, and it is hardly probable that he was of much help in this project, although he could not have been indifferent to events about him—the collecting of men to strengthen the papal army, the repairing and provisioning of the castles about Rome, movements undoubtedly directed against the barons of the Romagna now deprived of the support of both France and Naples, the latter the victim of another war, caused by the determination of the Catholic sovereigns to restore the throne of Aragon in the Regno.

At this juncture the Pope decided to strengthen the Spanish party in the Sacred College; he accordingly at one creation—February 19, 1496—bestowed the cardinalate on four Castillians: the Bishop of Segovia, the Bishop of Agrigentum, the Bishop of Perugia, and on Francesco Borgia. The number of Spanish votes in the Sacred College was thereby raised to nine, and a great protest was made in Rome.

Romagna, the Marches, and Umbria nominally belonged to the Papacy, but in reality they were governed by certain powerful families: the Orsini and Colonna near Rome, the Verano in Camerino, the Freducci in Fermo, the Trinci in Foligno, the Della Rovere in Sinigaglia and Urbino, the Baglioni in Perugia, the Vitelli in Città di Castella, the Sforza in Pesaro, the Malatesta in Rimini, the Manfredi in Faenza, the Bentivoglio in Bologna, and the Este in Ferrara. These families Alexander determined to destroy, ostensibly to recover the territory for the Church, but actually to build up a great principality for his family.

To carry out his design, however, the Pope had to find a reasonable pretext, and this he readily did, for when the King of France came to Italy the Orsini had entered into a treaty by which they were to help him, although they had hitherto supported the House of Aragon. Alexander could not have had a better excuse for crushing them; accordingly June 1, 1496, in public consistory he had a bull read declaring Virginio, Gian Giordano, Paolo and Carlo Orsini, and Bartolomeo d’Alviano rebels and deprived of their estates for having sided with the French and borne arms against the Church. Their ruin was hastened by the surrender of Aversa, July 23rd, when Virginio, the head of the family, was taken prisoner.

To carry out his plan the Pope summoned his son Giovanni, Duke of Gandia, to Rome, intending to confer on him the office of Gonfalonier of the papal forces, a position his elder brother, Pier Luigi, had previously held. Giovanni was born in 1474; he was therefore two years older than Caesar. In 1492 he had married Doña Maria Enriquez, a niece of the Catholic Sovereigns, and he seemed destined for a great career.

When Giovanni reached Rome, August 10, 1496, the Cardinal of Valencia, accompanied by the entire Court on horseback, went to meet him at the Porta Pertusa, and escorted him in great state to the papal palace.

Giovanni found his sister Lucretia and his brother Giuffre married into two of the great families of the peninsula and his brother Caesar an enormously wealthy Prince of the Church.

So many benefices had been conferred on him that he was one of the richest of the cardinals. At this time Caesar’s secretary was Carlo Valgulio of Brescia, a famous scholar, who dedicated his “De Contemplatione Orbium Excelsorum Disputatio,” a translation from Cleomedes, to his master with the usual flattery.

Towards the end of October the Duke of Gandia was made Captain-General of the Pontifical forces, and, together with the Duke of Urbino and several of the Colonna, with all his men, arms, and machines of war, set out for Anguillara for the purpose of seizing the estates of the Orsini.

In less than a month they took ten castles, but during this time Bartolomeo d’Alviano made a raid up to the very walls of Rome and just missed capturing Caesar, who was hunting; the cardinal only saved himself by flight.

Carlo Orsini arrived at Soriano January 26, 1497, with the troops of Vitellozzo Vitelli, and after a fierce struggle the Duke of Urbino was captured. In the fight the Duke of Gandia was slightly wounded in the face. Fabrizio Colonna and the legate Pietro de Luna were forced to flee to Ronciglione. The war continued for another month, and ended with an agreement by which the Orsini promised to pay 50,000 ducats for the return of the territory which had been occupied and to release all their prisoners except the Duke of Urbino.

When the King of France had learned of Alexander’s activity against the great feudatories of the Romagna, who had sided with him, he had sent Carlo Orsini and Vitellozzo Vitelli to their aid with fresh troops. One after another the Baglioni, the Della Rovere, and all who hated Alexander and saw that the destruction of the Orsini would be followed by the overthrow of their own power joined the Pope’s enemies. Only the Colonna and the Savelli held to the Holy Father.

The Duke of Gandia was the hero of the fêtes which followed the termination of the war. He and Lucretia’s husband, Giovanni Sforza of Pesaro, were selected to meet Gonsalvo de Cordova when he came to Rome, March 15th, after the capture of Ostia, which Minaldo da Guevra had endeavoured to hold for Giuliano della Rovere. The Holy Father, however, continued to look after the interests of Lucretia, and especially of those of Caesar, who was given a share of the spoils wrested from the Roman barons. Next to Estouteville, Caesar was the wealthiest of the cardinals, and it now began to be whispered about that he intended to relinquish the purple.

In entering the Church he had merely yielded to his father’s wishes and he had only the first tonsure. The ambassadors noted his dislike for the Church; his instincts were those of a soldier; he was always armed; he was attracted by war and greedy for power. Had he been the eldest son he undoubtedly would have been made Captain-General of the papal forces, for he had more energy, a stronger will, a livelier imagination, and what is perhaps of even greater importance in the egotistical scramble for wealth and honours, he had absolutely no moral sense. In the great drama that was preparing he undoubtedly would have promptly found his fitting part. He was as violent and overbearing as his father, who had not dared to punish him when he fled from the French camp.

Giuffre, Prince of Squillace, and his wife, Doña Sancia of Naples, entered Rome in great state, May 20, 1496, by the Lateran Gate. The Prince was then fourteen and his wife two years older. They were escorted to the principal entrance of the Lateran Church by Caesar and Lucretia, with a company of two hundred persons, including the orators of all the powers, the cardinals and their suites, and numerous citizens; here Giuffre, Sancia, and Lucretia dismounted and entered the edifice; thence, after a short stay, they proceeded to the Apostolic Palace, where from a window the Pope eagerly watched their approach. His Holiness, attended by eleven cardinals—Caesar having now joined him—received them in a great hall. Before the Pope’s footstool was a low bench, on which was a brocaded cushion, and before this on the floor, in the form of a cross, were four large cushions of crimson velvet. Giuffre knelt before the Pope, who took the Prince’s head between his hands, but did not kiss him. Sancia and Lucretia followed, and were received in the same manner. Thereupon the Prince and his consort kissed the hands of all the cardinals. This done, Giuffre took his place between his brother, the Cardinal of Valencia, and Cardinal Sanseverino, while Lucretia and Sancia seated themselves on the Pope’s left-hand, and “all conversed for some time pleasantly and wittily,” after which they took their departure. The next day Sancia and Lucretia and a number of other women, to the great scandal of Rome, crowded into and about the marble pulpit in St. Peter’s, from which the priests were accustomed to read the gospel.

Sancia, brought up in the corrupt Court of Naples, was a bold and perverse woman, who later became Caesar’s most determined and fearless enemy; she was the only person who dared brave him. Older than her husband, she despised and dominated him. It is said that she was the mistress of both her brothers-in-law, the Cardinal of Valencia and the Duke of Gandia, and also later of Cardinal Ippolito d’Este.

In a consistory held June 8, 1497, Caesar Borgia was appointed legate to anoint and crown Frederic of Aragon King of Naples. Alexander had consented to invest him with the Regno and remit the annual tribute to the Church if he would make Benevento an independent principality for his son, the Duke of Gandia, without feudal obligations. In secret consistory the Pope secured the cardinals’ consent to the investiture of the Duke of Gandia with Terracina and Pontecorvo.

Caesar was making extravagant preparations for his departure and Gandia was completing arrangements to go with him to receive the investiture of his new domains when an event occurred which changed the whole order of things, and one which has continued to baffle historians—the murder of the Duke of Gandia the night of June 14, 1497.

CHAPTER III

The murder of the Duke of Gandia—Caesar departs to crown the King of Naples—He returns to Rome—The Pope’s projected matrimonial alliances for his children.

The most circumstantial account we have of the murder of the Duke of Gandia is contained in Burchard’s diary,16 and is as follows: “June fourteenth the cardinal of Valencia and the Illustrious Don Giovanni Borgia of Aragon, Duke of Gandia, Prince of the Holy Roman Church, Captain-General of the pontifical forces, and most beloved son of his Holiness dined at the home of their mother, Donna Vannozza, near the church of San Pietro ad Vincola with their mother and several other persons. The repast finished and night having come, Caesar and Gandia, accompanied by a few of their people, mounted their horses and mules to return to the Apostolic Palace. They rode together to a place not far from the palace of Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, the Vice-Chancellor. There the Duke, saying he intended to go and enjoy himself for a while before returning to the palace, took leave of his brother, the cardinal, and having dismissed all but one of the servants he had with him, he rode back. He also kept with him a certain person who was masked and who had come to him while at supper, and who for the past month had been coming to see him almost every day at the Apostolic Palace. The Duke took this person up on the crupper of his mule and rode off to the Piazza degli Ebrei, where he left the servant he had kept, telling him to wait for him there until the twenty-third hour, and if he did not return then to go back to the palace. Having given these instructions, the Duke with the mysterious person on the crupper, rode away from the servant to some place—I know not where—and was killed and thrown into the river.”

The servant left in the Piazza degli Ebrei was found there mortally wounded and unable to give any information.

The morning of the fifteenth day, the Duke having failed to return to the Apostolic Palace, the Pope became uneasy, but, assuming that his son had gone to see some mistress and that he did not wish to be observed coming away in the daytime, the father concluded he would return that night; but Gandia failing to put in an appearance, the Holy Father became alarmed and caused a thorough investigation to be made.

Among those examined was a certain Giorgio Sclavus, who made a business of gathering driftwood along the banks of the river and who stated that on the night the Duke disappeared he was guarding his wood when, about the fifth hour, he saw two men on foot come from the Hospital Sclavorum, along the public highway close to the river. After looking about in every direction and seeing no one, they returned the way they had come. Soon after two others appeared from precisely the same place and did as the former couple had done, and, discovering no one, they made a signal to their comrades. Immediately a man rode forth on a white charger with a dead body behind him.

The corpse was taken from the horse and cast into the stream, whereupon the rider asked, “Did it sink?” To which the others replied, “Signor, si.” Then all disappeared whence they had come.

When the man was asked why he had not reported the crime to the Governor of the city, he replied that in his time he had seen a hundred bodies cast into the Tiber at this very place and no questions had been asked.

Men were secured in the city to drag the river; a large reward was offered for the recovery of the body, and about nightfall it was found, fully clothed; even his purse, containing thirty ducats, was untouched. On the corpse were nine wounds, one in the throat and eight in the head, body, and legs, thus proving that the Duke had bravely defended himself. The body was taken to the Castle of St. Angelo, and subsequently to the Church of Santa Maria.

When Alexander learned of his son’s murder his grief exceeded all bounds. For several days he would neither eat nor drink, and the efforts of his familiars to console him were unavailing.

The Pope directed the Governor of the city to apprehend the murderers, but in vain. Rome was filled with rumours. The Orsini were suspected, so was Bartolomeo d’Alviano; even Lucretia Borgia’s husband, Giovanni Sforza, was mentioned in connection with the crime. By those close to the Pope Cardinal Ascanio Sforza was said to have been, if not the perpetrator at least the instigator of the murder—he had recently complained to the Pope of an insult he had received from Gandia. Ascanio, when summoned by his Holiness, refused to obey until his safety had been guaranteed by the ambassadors of Spain and Naples. When he did appear, however, the Pope received him kindly and allowed him to depart at his pleasure. Ascanio, nevertheless, believed it prudent to leave Rome for a while.

It was also said that Antonio Maria Pico della Mirandola, inspired by Ascanio, had committed the murder, and even Giuffre was suspected, because—at least, so it was stated—Gandia had been unduly intimate with his wife. In the effort to fasten the guilt on Caesar it was said that both he and Gandia were rivals for Sancia’s favours, and that, owing to jealousy, he had killed his brother. Burchard’s account contains all that is known of the murder of the Duke. Suspicion finally crystallised around Caesar, although the reasons for ascribing the crime to him are so slight that it is amazing that historians have for four hundred years laid the guilt at his door; we are not offered even circumstantial evidence; the most that is adduced against him is a possible motive, and there were undoubtedly equally strong motives for him against the crime, especially if he had the astuteness we are led to believe he possessed.

Even admitting he was potentially the criminal into which he later developed, is it possible that he would have begun his career of iniquity with a crime so monstrous as the deliberately planned murder of his own brother? Caesar was then twenty-one and Gandia twenty-three years of age. The latter may have received great honours at the hands of their father, but so had the former. Caesar, a Prince of the Church, of vast wealth, could look forward to a far more brilliant career than could any mere princeling of Benevento. He must have known that even the Papacy was within his prospects, and in that age what potentate in Italy could compare with Christ’s Vicar? Although Caesar disliked the Church the sacerdotal character of the cardinal was no impediment to great temporal enterprises; like a cloak, it could be laid aside and assumed again at pleasure; it was a distinct advantage, as Caesar must have known.

There are men who are jealous of the success of all others, but they are invariably weak characters, and no one can accuse Caesar Borgia of weakness; even admitting he was jealous of Gandia, it is unlikely that his jealousy was sufficiently bitter to induce him to plan the murder of his brilliant and accomplished brother, whose talents and advancement would surely contribute to the progress of all the family. In that age, although there were determined family feuds and rivalries, there was frequently a strong sense of family solidarity, and this the Borgias possessed in an eminent degree.

Who was the unknown man in the mask who had been coming to see Gandia at the Papal Palace almost daily for a month past, and who had even called on him during the supper in Vannozza’s garden? Perhaps some pander or low associate who had accompanied him during his debauches; or if not this, a decoy sent by some enemy of the Duke or of his family—and Italy was teeming with them.

If the murder was the work of some enemy, what would be more natural than for the assassin to endeavour to turn suspicion from himself and at the same time heap infamy upon the Borgias by launching the rumour that the Cardinal of Valencia was the author of the crime?

It is clear that Gandia voluntarily went into the quarter of the city dominated by the most determined enemies of the Borgia—the Orsini. His personal attendant was found in the morning murdered, in the Piazza degli Ebrei, where the Duke had left him. Evidently the man in the mask had led Gandia into a trap, and then, after he had been dispatched, had provided for the taking off of this henchman. When Gandia left the servant he evidently thought he might not return that evening.

But how could the man in the mask have visited Gandia every day for a month for the purpose of entrapping him, without the Duke discovering it was a plot? Clearly Gandia had no suspicions whatever.

The whole affair is so mysterious that we are inclined to ask whether Burchard’s statement of the circumstances is correct.

It is against all reason to suppose that Gandia would have ventured at night unattended into the quarter of the Orsini with a strange man behind him on his mule, unless he was going to keep an assignation, and his remark to Caesar shows that such was his purpose.

If this assignation was only a plot to get him away from his own people, who contrived it? Did Caesar? For Caesar to have arranged it right in the stronghold of their bitterest enemies, a mass of details, a planning, and a coincidence of events wellnigh impossible would have been necessary. It is much more logical to suppose that those enemies themselves planned it—especially as Gandia had been brought from Spain expressly to crush the Orsini.

Again—we may ask—was the Duke playing false with his own people? He had seen little of them, he scarcely knew them. Did he perhaps fancy that he might rise more rapidly by casting his fortunes with the enemies of the Pope than by supporting him? Was the mysterious man in the mask the agent of some family or faction trying to win over the Duke? Gandia accompanied this man apparently without even a suggestion of fear into the enemy’s quarter. If he was concerned in some conspiracy against his family and the Vatican, some obstacle in the negotiations may have made his death and that of the bully left in the square necessary to prevent exposure, even if it had not at first been intended to murder the Duke.

If he was plotting against the Vatican, who were his fellow-conspirators in the Orsini quarter? The affair seems to contain more than a mere assignation, for if not why was it necessary to dispatch the servant?

It was not long before accusations came from without, started perhaps by persons who at a distance felt secure from the wrath of the Borgia.

February 22, 1498, Pigna, the Ferrarese ambassador in Venice, reported that he had heard that Caesar had caused the Duke of Gandia’s death. This was more than eight months after the crime; it was the first time the charge had definitely been made; several of the Orsini were then in Venice, and they would undoubtedly have spread the rumour, as the Pope had endeavoured to cast suspicion on them. If they, however, had brought about the Duke’s destruction, they would probably have gloried in the deed.

The accusation once made against Caesar, it was repeated by Paolo Capello in a relation of September 25, 1500, and also in the famous letter to Silvio Savelli of November 15, 1501. This same Capello, Venetian ambassador, wrote: “Every night the bodies of four or five murdered men, bishops, prelates, and so forth, are found in Rome.” Under Alexander VI. crime held high carnival in the Eternal City, as it had under his predecessors.

The Pope did not receive Caesar—at least, publicly—for five weeks, and the cardinal busied himself with preparations for his journey to Naples to crown the King.

His Holiness seemed to have changed; he was constantly at work with the six cardinals he had appointed to draw up plans for the reform of the Church, and he declared in consistory that henceforth family considerations and projects would have no weight with him.

At last he gave up trying to discover the murderer, and the conviction became general that he, better than all others, knew who the guilty one was. Alessandro Braccio, the Florentine orator in Rome, said in one of his dispatches: “Whoever managed the affair had a good head, and courage—and every one admits that he was a ‘master.’” This peculiar attitude toward crime, which is merely a form of the unreasoned and immoral admiration for success regardless of means still everywhere prevalent, was especially noticeable in Italy during the Renaissance. Machiavelli well illustrates it in his remarks on Giovanpagolo Baglioni in connection with the expedition of Pope Julius II. to Perugia in 1505, for the express purpose of driving the Baglioni from their domain. Although the Pope had a considerable army he entered the city with only a small guard, in spite of the fact that Giovanpagolo had a large force—and the “prudent men who were with the Pope commented on his rashness and on the cowardice of Giovanpagolo, who might have won eternal glory and at the same time have destroyed his enemy and secured vast spoils, for the Pope was accompanied by all the cardinals with their rich belongings. His restraint was not due to any goodness or conscience, for he was a man who, in order to reign, had murdered many of his kinsmen; and it was concluded that there are men who do not know how to be great criminals or perfectly good—for a crime may possess greatness and be to some extent glorious [generosa]. Therefore Giovanpagolo did not know how—or better, did not dare—when he had the opportunity, to perform a deed for which every one would have admired his courage and which would have secured him eternal fame. And he would have been the first to show the prelates how little respect is due to those who live and reign as they do; and he would have performed a deed whose greatness would have wiped out all infamy.”17

The Vice-Chancellor’s palace near which Caesar and Gandia parted on the night of June 14, 1497, was on the Banchi Vecchi in the Ponte Quarter, where the Orsini had four strongholds—Monte Giordano, Torre di Nona, Tor Millina, and Tor Sanguigna. Besides the Orsini and their retainers a large number of Jews dwelt in this part of the city.

June 16th Cardinal Ascanio Sforza sent his brother, the Moor, an account of the tragedy, which agrees closely with that of Burchard. He adds that Gandia’s mule was found near the house of Carlo da Parma. Burchard’s narrative agrees with all those of the day. Many of the Romans made no effort to conceal their joy at being rid of one Borgia, and the satirists did not overlook the murder.

More than three years afterwards, September 28, 1500, the Venetian Ambassador, Paolo Capello, definitely stated that Caesar was the murderer; Capello, however, was not in Rome at the time of the assassination.

It may never be known who was the murderer of the Duke of Gandia, but there is absolutely no proof that Caesar either instigated or planned the assassination. Gandia was about to form an alliance which the Pope believed—and Caesar must have been of the same opinion—would materially strengthen the house of Borgia, and the power of the family had not yet become so firmly established that Caesar would have been likely to commit a terrible crime for the purpose of securing the sole dominion for himself. He still had need of Gandia, whatever the future might bring him. There certainly were numerous enemies of the Borgia who would profit much more by the destruction of a member of the family than Caesar could.

The kingdom of Naples was torn by discord; one faction supported France, another Aragon; and in his brief appointing the Cardinal of Valencia legate to crown the King, the Pope enjoined him to put an end to the strife. Caesar’s mission was an important one.

Accompanied by a numerous retinue, the expenses of which were to be borne by King Frederic, the Cardinal of Valencia left Rome for Naples, and August 1st reached Capua, where he was received by the royal Court with the highest honours. There he fell ill, and Giuffre and his wife, Sancia, left Rome almost immediately to go to him. However, his illness could not have been serious, for he crowned Frederic, the last of the Aragonese rulers of Naples, August 10, 1497.

Caesar acquitted himself well, displaying a dignity beyond his years. He was invested with special privileges for the occasion; the symbols of the spiritual as well as of the temporal power—the flabel, the sedia gestatoria, the globe, and the sword—were borne before the Pope’s representative, who exerted himself to secure the goodwill of the new sovereign, who invested him, as the representative of the son of the unfortunate Duke of Gandia, with Benevento, the barony of Fiumara, and the county of Montefoscolo.

August 22nd, to the great relief of Frederic, whose exchequer was suffering severely on account of the entertainment, Caesar set out to return to Rome; as he did not reach the city until the 5th of the following month, he may have spent some time inspecting the estates granted Gandia’s son by the newly-crowned King.

The morning of the 6th—says Burchard—all the cardinals who were in the city went to meet Caesar at Santa Maria Nuova, and later all were received by his Holiness, and the Master of Ceremonies adds, “neither father nor son uttered a word, but the Pope, having blessed him, descended from the throne.” In this circumstance some writers discover evidence of Caesar’s guilt.

The Pope, accompanied by the Cardinals of Valencia and of Agrigentum, with an escort of a thousand men, went to Ostia, October 17th, to spend a few days. The large guard was made necessary by the proximity of the Orsini. The Pope and his family were in grave danger, and now that Gandia was dead who was to defend them? Giuffre was scarcely twenty, and he had cast his fortunes with the House of Aragon; moreover, he showed none of Caesar’s resoluteness.

At the coronation of the King of Naples the legate had used a sword upon which was engraved the motto Cum Numine Caesaris Amen and Caesar Borgia Cardinalis Valentianus, and which is now in the possession of the Gaetani family of Rome. All the engravings on the blade represent scenes of war, and it is therefore reasonable to assume that the cardinal’s dreams turned more to military glory than to ecclesiastical honours, and Gregorovius says, “the allusions to the Caesar of the Roman Empire show what ideas were already seething in the cardinal’s brain.”

In November, 1497, the Spanish physician Gaspare Torrella dedicated to the youthful cardinal a work on a loathsome disease which had been spread in Italy by the soldiers of Charles VIII., and which was in consequence called the “French sickness.” Caesar himself evidently had suffered from it, for the author states that the world owed the cardinal a debt of gratitude for subjecting himself to his treatment.18 A work by Sebastiano Aquilano of Padua on the same subject was dedicated to Ludovico Gonzaga, Bishop of Mantua.

February 14, 1498, the body of Pedro Calderon, one of the Pope’s familiars, was found in the Tiber, into which he had fallen, non libenter, as Burchard says, a few days before. In this connection the Venetian ambassador, Capello, writes: “and another time he [Caesar] murdered with his own hand messer Pierotto, under the very mantle of the Pope, so that the blood spurted up into the face of his Holiness, of whom Pierotto was a favourite.” This account agrees with that in the letter to Silvio Savelli. Sanudo’s report of the affair is the same as Burchard’s, but he adds that Pierotto was “found drowned in the Tiber with a young woman called Madona Panthasilea, one of Madonna Lucretia’s young women and a creature of this pontiff’s—and the cause is not known.” Early in the year 1498 it was rumoured in Rome that Caesar intended to leave the Church. A letter written by Alexander in August, 1497—less than two months after the murder of the Duke of Gandia—shows that the Pope was already considering a plan which implied this step on his son’s part. Caesar now seldom appeared in the garb of a cleric; he went everywhere dressed in the “French style” and armed. His tastes were altogether martial.

It appears that his Holiness was scheming for Caesar to marry either the widow of King Ferdinand of Naples or Doña Sancia, his sister-in-law, who was to be separated from Giuffre for this purpose; later the Prince of Squillace was to be made a cardinal to replace his brother, in order that the number of Spanish members of the Sacred College be kept the same.

In this connection Sanudo says in his diary: “Giuffre, younger than his wife, has not yet consummated the marriage (he is not sixteen), he is not a man, and according to what I have heard Doña Sancia has for some months been the mistress of the Cardinal of Valencia.” Fifteenth-century chroniclers went into minute particulars.

Lucretia Borgia’s marriage with Giovanni Sforza had been dissolved in spite of the husband’s protests. For her the Pope was planning a more brilliant future than the insignificant Lord of Pesaro could offer and his Holiness readily found a pretext for getting rid of him; in his project he was assisted by both Ascanio Sforza and the Duke of Milan. Although every one was against him, Giovanni did not submit tamely, and he it was who launched the charge of incest against the Pope and Caesar and his own wife—a charge which, whether true or false, has done more than anything else to blacken their memory.

Lucretia’s formal divorce took place December 2, 1497. It had been brought about by the Pope and Caesar purely for political reasons, and it was now rumoured in Rome that she was to marry Alfonso of Bisceglia, Sancia’s brother.

The Pope had asked King Frederic for the hand of his daughter Carlotta for Caesar, but both he and the princess absolutely refused. In his anxiety, however, to escape the Pope’s wrath he made one sacrifice and consented to the marriage of Lucretia and Don Alfonso, Sancia’s younger brother. This youth of seventeen came to Rome unattended by any pomp and the betrothal took place in the Vatican June 20, 1498, and the marriage the 21st of the following month. Lucretia was about a year older than her husband.

CHAPTER IV

Louis XII. succeeds to the throne of France—His bargain with the Pope—Caesar prepares to go to France—He renounces his cardinalate—He arrives in Avignon, where he meets Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere—Louis XII. and Caesar meet—Caesar’s entry into Chinon—Duke of Valentinois—Caesar’s shrewdness—Charlotte d’Albret—Her marriage to Caesar—The projected conquest of Milan—Ludovico il Moro—The French army invades Italy—Caesar leaves France—He enters Milan with Louis XII.

Charles VIII. died April 7, 1498, and was succeeded by Louis XII., who was endeavouring to secure from the Pope the necessary dispensation to enable him to repudiate his wife Jeanne and marry his predecessor’s widow, Queen Anne, whose dowry would include the Duchy of Bretagne.

The Pope, with his usual clairvoyance with respect to his personal interests, immediately saw an opportunity to profit by the circumstances, and he made a bargain by which, in return for his dispensation, the King agreed to bestow the county of Valence—which was to be raised to a duchy—upon Caesar, who was to renounce his cardinalate. The King also promised to find him a princess for wife. The Cardinal of Valencia was thus to become the Duke of Valentinois. The King also agreed to give him a pension of twenty thousand livres—a great sum for those days—and also to maintain a company of one hundred men-at-arms for him. The bargain also included a cardinal’s hat for the King’s Prime Minister, Georges d’Amboise, Bishop of Rouen, who was always careful not to overlook his own interests.

LVIGI XII·RE DI FRANCIA

LOUIS XII. OF FRANCE.

From an early engraving.

To face p. 122.

In addition the Pope and the King entered into an alliance, offensive and defensive, the Holy Father agreeing to assist the King in the conquest of the Regno, and Louis promising to aid Alexander to reduce the rebellious lords in the Romagna and to re-establish the integrity of the Papal domain. Thus did sovereigns play fast and loose with human destinies. This vast intrigue developed during the first eight months of the year 1498; and August 17th, in a secret consistory, Caesar asked for a special dispensation to enable him to resign his ecclesiastical offices and again become a layman in order that he might marry. On the Pope’s promise that all the offices and benefices his son had enjoyed should revert to the Sacred College, the cardinals promptly consented to the dispensation. The same day Louis de Villeneuve, Baron of Trans, representing Louis XII., arrived in Rome for the purpose of escorting Caesar to France.

Sure of the cardinals’ consent, everything had been arranged in advance for Caesar’s departure, even those who were to accompany him had been selected. His gorgeous wardrobe, which set all Rome to talking, had been prepared. The Baron of Trans had brought the patents of Caesar’s new domain, and, accompanied by a numerous retinue, they set out for Ostia October 1st “for the purpose of going to France by sea, and,” Burchard adds, “I heard that he had a vast amount of money with him and that several of his horses were shod with silver.” The new Duke took with him 200,000 gold ducats, confiscated shortly before from Pedro de Aranda, Bishop of Calahorra, who had recently—most opportunely—been convicted on the charge of heresy—Alexander VI. always endeavoured to pluck his victims and compass his iniquities strictly in accordance with the forms of law. Three hundred Jews and usurers, found guilty of various offences, had been imprisoned, but their terms were commuted into heavy fines, the money going to swell Caesar’s exchequer.

Louis XII. had promised to send a fleet of several vessels to Ostia to conduct him to France, and it was expected about the end of August, but it did not arrive until October 27th, when the new Duke embarked with a hundred pages, servants, equerries, and retainers. Besides his horses he had fifty mules and wagons to carry his personal effects.

In his suite were his secretary, Agapito, the famous Spanish physician, Gaspare Torrella, and his majordomo, Remiro de Lorca, whom he subsequently had beheaded in Cesena for fraudulent and oppressive acts as governor of that place.

Six days were required to make the voyage to Marseilles, where Caesar was received upon the quay by the Archbishop of Dijon. Thence they went to Avignon, where the Duke met Giuliano della Rovere, the implacable enemy of his family, who was compelled in consequence of his quarrel with them to live abroad, and who was then residing at the Court of France, although since August, when Ostia had been restored to the cardinal, they had been on somewhat better terms. A month before Caesar’s departure for Marseilles the Pope had written the Cardinal San Pietro ad Vincola recommending Caesar to him, and Della Rovere had replied in the friendliest manner. In one of his letters to the Pope he said: “I cannot refrain from telling you that the Duke of Valence is so modest, sensible, and capable, and endowed with such fine qualities, both mental and physical, that every one is charmed by him. He is in high favour at Court and with the King. All love and esteem him; it gives me real pleasure to say this.”

In cunning and duplicity Della Rovere was a match for Borgia, and he was waiting for a more favourable opportunity to destroy his enemy.

From Avignon Caesar went to Valence, the capital of his duchy, but he declined to accept the honours which were offered him until he was formally placed in possession of his State. Almost immediately on his arrival there a royal messenger appeared and in the King’s name presented him with the Order of St. Michael—an honour at that time reserved for princes of the blood and the great nobles of the kingdom—but Caesar declared he would accept it only from the hands of the sovereign.

Benoit Maillard, Prior of the Abbey of Savigny, records Caesar’s arrival in Lyons in November “with great magnificence in his apparel and trappings.” The 7th of the month an extraordinary banquet was given for Valentinois, and the account of the expenditures throws a curious light on the manners of the day. The list of viands is astonishing: 28 capons, 168 white partridges, 24 red ones, 192 ducks, 420 turtle-doves, 36 wood-cock, 144 peafowl, 120 pheasants, a round of veal, a quarter of beef, 150 pounds of lard, oranges, vanilla, 2 goneaux, 18 quince pies, 18 English tarts, 18 bride faveaulx, 18 platters of minced meat fritters, 18 platters of foub, 18 platters of lambs’ tongues in aspic, 18 platters of mestier, 18 pâtés of capon, 18 pâtés of lark, 18 cream cakes, almonds, eggs, rose-water, suet, quantities of cinnamon, candied orange-peel, annis, pignons, colliander-seed, mandrians, sugar-plums seasoned with musk, hippocras, ginger, nutmegs, cloves, sugar, malmsey, muscat, grapes, plums, dates, pomegranates, &c.—truly a gargantuan feast.

Caesar finally met the King at Chinon, December 18th. Louis did not wish to treat Caesar as the son of a sovereign, but at the same time did not want to incur the Pope’s enmity by offending him; he therefore hit upon the ingenious expedient of meeting Caesar by chance—under pretext of going to the chase—about two leagues from the city gates. There he greeted him warmly, even treating him familiarly, but did not accompany him to the city, where he was met by the Cardinal of Rouen and a brilliant escort representing the King.

Brantôme gives a detailed account of Caesar’s entry into Chinon.19 The Sieur de Bourdeille says he found the account among his family papers written in rather crude verse, and that he rewrote it in prose—au plus clair et net langage.

“First came M. the Cardinal of Rouen, M. de Ravastain, M. the Seneschal of Toulouse, and M. de Clermont, who together with many lords and gentlemen of the court accompanied the Duke on his entry as far as the end of the bridge. Then there were eighty-four very beautiful mules laden with trunks and chests covered with red cloth with the arms and escutcheon of the said Duke. Then came twenty-four more mules with trappings of red and yellow, the livery of the King, for these were his colours; then followed twelve mules covered with striped yellow satin. Then came ten mules covered with cloth of gold in stripes, first one smooth and then one wavy.

“When all had passed the bridge they went to the castle.

“Then came sixteen magnificent coursers covered with red and yellow cloth of gold, each led by a groom, and with Turkish bridles. These were followed by eighteen pages each mounted on a handsome steed, and sixteen of them were clad in crimson velvet and the other two in crinkled cloth of gold. Then followed six lackeys, according to the custom of the day, leading six beautiful mules harnessed and with saddle and bridle, and with trappings of crimson velvet, and the lackeys were clothed with the same.

“Then came two mules bearing coffers on their backs and all were covered with cloth of gold—and the people in the crowd said that these contained something more exquisite than all the others—rich and precious stones for his mistress, and for others—perhaps some bulls and fine indulgences from Rome, or perhaps some holy relics, said others. Then came thirty gentlemen clothed in cloth of gold and silver—but there were not enough of these, said the Court; in view of the large number that had preceded them there should have been at least a hundred, or a hundred and twenty clad in the French or Danish fashion.

“Then followed three musicians, two small drums and a violin—which were at this time in great favour—just as the great lords of Germany and generals of armies now have them when on the march. The two drummers above mentioned were clad in cloth of gold and their instruments were of silver and were provided with great chains of gold and the said musicians went before the gentlemen named above and the Duke of Valentinois, playing their instruments the while.

“Then came four trumpets or clarions of silver, the musicians being richly dressed and playing continually. These were followed by eighty lackeys clad in crimson velvet and yellow silk, who surrounded the Duke and M. the Cardinal of Rouen, who was conversing with him.

“As to the Duke himself he was mounted upon a magnificent charger richly accoutred with a robe of red satin and cloth of gold, with a border of precious stones and pearls.

“On his bonnet were five or six rubies as large as beans which flashed most brilliantly; on his cuffs were great quantities of precious stones and even his boots were covered with gold and gems.

‘Et un collier, pour en dire le cas,
Qui valoit bien trente mille ducats,’

so says the rhyme.

“The horse which he rode was covered with gold and jewels with pearls and precious stones galore.

“In addition he had a beautiful little mule to ride about the city; and its harness, saddle, bridle, and brest band were covered with rosettes of fine gold as thick as one’s finger.

“Bringing up the rear there were eighty mules more, with red trappings and the arms of the said Duke and also a great number of wagons laden with other necessities such as camp beds, utensils, &c.

‘Ainsi entra, pour avoir bruict et nom,
Ledict seigneur au chasteau de Chinon,’

“The King was at a window watching his arrival and there is no doubt that he and his courtiers made merry over him and said that it was too much for a little Duke of Valence.”

The château of Chinon had been selected for the Duke’s residence and there the King, accompanied by Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere, called upon him. When the Duke was about to kneel the King restrained him; a few words were exchanged and then the Cardinal of Rouen informed his Majesty that Monseigneur, the Duke, had not yet dined, whereupon the King replied: “Very well, then let his Highness go to dinner”—thus ending the interview; Louis evidently was bored and not greatly impressed. After dinner the King received Caesar and the following day they took a walk together. A few days later the King went to Nantes to meet the Queen and the marriage was celebrated. Caesar’s fopperies and extravagance in dress caused general amusement and disgust and the King and his courtiers ridiculed the “vain glory and stupid pomposity of this little duke of Valentinois.” Louis, however, wished to use Caesar in his schemes, consequently he was careful not to offend him.

The Duke had brought the King a letter from the Pope in which he said: “In order that your Majesty may see how great is our desire to please you in all things we are sending you our heart, that is our beloved son, the Duke of Valentinois, and we beseech your Majesty to treat him in such a way that all may know how dear this Caesar, whom I entrust to your kingly good faith, has become to you in all ways.”

Thus far but one of the articles of the agreement between the Pope and the King had been carried out. By letters patent, dated August 13, 1498, Caesar had been created Duke of Valentinois and he had been received as such at the Court of France. The negotiations, however, which were intended eventually to make him the heir to a crown had failed. Louis had undertaken to secure the marriage of Caesar and Carlotta of Aragon, daughter of the King of Naples, but Frederic opposed it and the young woman herself absolutely refused to consent to the union.

The brilliant entry into Chinon therefore was a fiasco, as Giuliano della Rovere, in a letter dated January 18, 1499, informed the Pope, who shortly after complained to the cardinal that the King had exposed him to ridicule, as it was known everywhere that Caesar had gone to France expressly to marry.

Caesar, however, had displayed the astuteness and cunning that never deserted him, for when obstacles began to be interposed in the way of marrying Carlotta he pretended that he did not have the dispensation permitting Louis XII. to marry Anne of Bretagne.

The King, however, had been informed by the Pope himself that the dispensation had been granted, consequently he had proceeded with his plans and the decree of divorce had been obtained.

The political interests of the King of France in Italy were, however, more important than the purely personal question of his marriage with the widow of Charles VIII.; consequently it was greatly to his interest to find some way to gratify the Pope’s wishes, therefore he made another effort to overcome the opposition of Frederic and his daughter, but in vain. Louis thereupon decided to substitute his own niece, the daughter of the Count de Foix, but she, too, declined.

Caesar, however, treated the matter in a cavalier manner, saying that if the King of Naples would have none of him because he was a natural son, Frederic himself was also illegitimate, merely a king’s bastard, while he himself—and he was proud of it—was the bastard of a pope!

Among the demoiselles who had come from various parts of France to acquire the graces of the polished Court of the Queen was Charlotte d’Albret, sister of Jean d’Albret, King of Navarre, and daughter of Alain, Duke of Guyenne. While Charlotte was still a child she had been placed under the care of Anne of Bretagne, and she had grown into a beautiful young woman, gracious and intelligent, and Louis decided to endeavour to bring about a union between her and Caesar. Alain, the father, looked with little favour upon the proposed marriage, but the political interests of the House of Navarre were such that he decided to consent, provided, of course, he could drive a good bargain—for in the days of chivalry fair women were exceedingly valuable pieces in the great game of politics. Throughout the negotiations Charlotte’s father showed himself to be cold, calculating, avaricious, and suspicious, but as Louis felt that everything depended upon securing a wife for Caesar, and as he himself was anxious to set out for Italy he granted all of Alain’s demands. The negotiations were protracted, almost interminable, but finally the marriage contract was drawn up at the château of Blois, May 10, 1499, in the presence of the King, Queen Anne, the Cardinal d’Amboise, Chancellor of France, the Archbishop of Sens, the proxies of the Duke of Guyenne, and numerous other dignitaries. By its terms Alain d’Albret was to give his daughter a dowry of 30,000 livres Tournois. The marriage was celebrated May 12, 1499, and the bride was said to be the most beautiful woman of France, while Caesar was described as possessing fine features and a most elegant bearing; one writer said that, like the Emperor Tiberius, he was the handsomest man of his century. Charlotte d’Albret must have known that the marriage was purely a political one. Burchard records that May 23rd a courier arrived from France with a letter to the Pope from Caesar in which he made a brutal confession with regard to his wife.

Charlotte wrote the Pope expressing filial devotion and a desire to come to Rome to make his acquaintance—and she added that she was very much pleased with her new spouse.

Alain’s daughter was the sacrifice and Alexander VI. and Louis XII. were to reap the benefits. Among the documents containing the negotiations with Alain d’Albret are some which clearly reveal their plans.

The treaty made by the Pope and the King has often been published; but the one under discussion when they were endeavouring to bring about a marriage between Caesar and King Frederic’s daughter had never been printed until M. Yriarte reproduced20 the entire document as an example of the duplicity which then marked all political transactions—and, it might be added, which continues to characterise them.

“Minutes of an agreement between our Holy Father, the Pope Alexander VI. and the Most Christian King:—

“1. In order that the Pope may appreciate the love which the King bears toward him and his, the said lord promises His Holiness to marry Mgr. de Valence to the eldest daughter of Don Frederic, with her express consent, the said daughter being with the queen.

“2. In order that the said seigneur of Valence may have the necessary means for maintaining his proper estate the King will give him, for himself and his heirs in perpetuity, the county of Valence and Diois which is estimated to be worth twenty thousand francs a year; and in case it should not prove to be worth the sum named the King will furnish him from some other source enough to make up the said sum, and as the brothers of the said sieur de Valence are dukes and princes the King will raise the said county into a duchy.

“3. He will give to the said seigneur de Valence one hundred lances, maintained by France, both in time of war and in peace, for carrying on his projects in Italy and elsewhere. The King will increase this number with two or three hundred lances whenever it should seem to him to be for the best.

“4. He will give the said seigneur de Valence an annual pension of twenty thousand francs for his personal expenses.

“5. In case that the said King recovers his duchy of Milan he will give the said seigneur de Valence his county of Asti for him and his, to hold under the King in loyalty and homage.

“Item. He will give the said seigneur de Valence his order of St. Michael; and in order that the King may be satisfied of the good will of our Holy Father, His Holiness will place the said Sieur de Valence in his service and will have him marry the person selected. To conduct the affair more secretly and surely the King will, by the middle of August, place six vessels in order in the port of Ciotat, Bishopric of Aix, to bring the said Sieur de Valence and the legate whom the Pope shall select to perform the requirements of the King. Item because ... runs danger by the absence of Mgr. de Valence the King will send the Pope a thousand men for his guard during his absence for which the King will pay each month four thousand ducats which shall be paid the Pope secretly by Mgr. the Cardinal of St. Denis, who is in Rome, and this engagement shall be for three or four months.

“And in case the Holy Father should feel that this confederation and agreement of perpetual friendship was endangered by any prince of the league the King will give him letters patent signed with his hand and sealed with his seal by which he will promise and swear to God and the Virgin Mary to defend, guard, and protect His Holiness in temporal as well as spiritual affairs.

“Item. Regarding the kingdom of Naples whatever the King may do, the said seigneur promises to do nothing and determine upon nothing except by the hand of His Holiness.

“Item. He will have our seigneurs the Cardinals ad Vincula and Gurk return to Rome and the Pope agrees to treat them with all friendliness and gentleness as his good brothers, of which the King shall assure them, at the same time exhorting them to obey and respect our Holy Father.

“All of which the King promises on his word as King to maintain, observe, and keep, and in whatever concerns the estate of Mgr. de Valence regarding the said counties he will have the same ratified and agreed to by the chamber of accounts.

“And so far as the other articles are concerned the King will give the Bishop of Cette and the Archdeacon of Chalais such private letters as the Pope may wish and which will be sent with the memorandum, &c., &c.”

When news reached Rome that Caesar had received the coveted order of St. Michael from the King there was a great celebration in the city and bonfires were lighted by order of the Pope before the palaces of Cardinals Orsini and St. Dionysius and also before that of Lucretia; the evening of May 23rd the Spaniards indulged in an orgy which Burchard says was a disgrace to the Pope and the Holy See.

From the secret agreement it is clear that the conquest of Milan and the expedition against Naples had been decided upon. The King of France, now sure of the Pope and Caesar, signed a treaty of alliance, both offensive and defensive, with Venice April 15, 1499, which was directed against all the Italian princes. The negotiations had been kept secret from Ludovico il Moro; that prince sans foi et sans loi, whose destruction was determined upon, was the last to learn of it. The price the Venetians demanded for joining the league was the cities of Cremona and Chiari. Although the Duke of Savoy was in accord with Louis XII. he did not formally join the alliance.

Ludovico il Moro was the most hated man in Italy: he had betrayed Florence, Venice, and the King of France one after the other; without regard to the other powers of Italy he had treated with Charles VIII. when the French first descended into the peninsula. Consequently when he was again threatened he found himself without friend or ally.

Louis’s pretensions to Milan were based, not only on his inheritance of the rights of Charles VIII. but also on the claims of his grandmother, Valentina Visconti, and as he was also determined to recover Naples he was wise in securing a strong place in the north. Before attempting the conquest of Milan Louis renewed the treaties of Charles VIII. with his neighbours. The Duke of Savoy gave him permission to pass through his territory and promised him troops; in return for Venice’s assistance Louis agreed to give her the two places she had demanded; the Pope and Caesar had already been paid.

LUDOVICO SFORZA.

From the woodcut in Antonio Campo’s “Istoria di Cremona.”

To face p. 136.

The King dispatched his armies to Italy under the command of Louis de Ligny and the Count d’Aubigny but did not immediately go himself.

Ludovico il Moro was attacked simultaneously by the French and the Venetians, and as his own people hated him and his governors proved false, he lost all his cities one by one and was reduced to the last extremity and finally compelled to make his escape to Germany. When the Gascon archers entered Milan, October 2, 1499, they shot his statue—the work of Leonardo da Vinci—to pieces with their arrows.

Caesar was still in France but was preparing to come to Italy; before leaving he gave his wife a power of attorney to enable her to act as administrator of his new possessions, the Duchy of Valentinois, the County of Diois, and all his seignories and property in the Kingdom of France, and in Dauphiné.

Valentinois had lived with his wife from the last of April until September, and early in 1500 Charlotte bore him a daughter, who was christened Louise and who was destined never to know her father. The Duchess of Valentinois never saw Caesar again.

Valentino may have returned to Italy with the King of France, for the chronicler Jean d’Auton records that the Duke was among the great lords who accompanied Louis XII. when he entered Milan, Sunday, October 6, 1499.21 The cardinals Delia Rovere and Amboise were also present, together with the dukes of Savoy and Ferrara, the Marquis of Mantua, the ambassadors of Genoa, Florence, Pisa, Siena, and Bologna, and innumerable other high dignitaries. Baldessare Castiglione, who accompanied the Marquis of Mantua, describes Valentinois as molte galante. A month later when Louis XII. set out to return to France, having left the government of the conquered duchy to Trivulzio, he directed two of his captains, Yves d’Allegre and the Bailli of Dijon to place themselves under Valentino’s orders. The former had a company of three hundred lances and the latter four thousand Swiss and Gascons, while Caesar himself had collected a considerable number of men.

CHAPTER V

The first campaign in Romagna—Imola surrenders—Caterina Sforza, the type of the virago—Caesar enters Forli—Death of Cardinal Giovanni Borgia—Return of Ludovico il Moro to Milan—Caesar goes to Rome—His entrance into the city—He is invested with the Vicariate of Romagna—Delegates from Imola and Forli request the Pope to appoint Caesar Governor—Caesar is made Gonfalonier of the Church—His oath—Caesar’s physical strength—His personal appearance.

The campaign in Romagna had been decided upon and Caesar found himself at the head of a thoroughly disciplined and well-equipped force of about sixteen thousand men who were held in camp at Cesena.

Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere, whose brother was assured Sinigaglia by the betrothal of his nephew, Francesco, with Angela Borgia, abandoned his kinsmen, the Riario, to their destruction. In a letter dated October 12, 1499, the cardinal thanked the Pope for the proposed marriage and promised to look after Valentino’s interests with the King of France.

November 9th the army broke camp, Caesar taking the cavalry to Piacenza, whence, accompanied by the Bishop of Tulle and a single servant, he came quietly to Rome and remained at the Vatican with the Pope until the 24th, when he rejoined his troops and set out for Imola. Girolamo Riario’s wife, Caterina Sforza, had been given Imola as part of her dowry and, her husband having died in 1488, she acted as regent for her son Ottaviano. Of Caterina Sforza Gregorovius says: “The grandchild of the great Francesco Sforza of Milan, natural daughter of Galeazzo Maria and sister of Bianca, wife of the Emperor Maximilian, she was the ideal of the heroic women of Italy who were found not merely in the poems of Bojardo and Ariosto but also in real life. To understand the evolution of such personalities, in whom beauty and culture, courage and reason, sensuality and cruelty combined to produce a singular organisation, we must be familiar with the conditions from which they sprang—Caterina Sforza’s experiences made her the amazon that she was.”

Shortly after her marriage to the untutored nephew of Sixtus IV., Girolamo Riario, Count of Forli, her father met a tyrant’s death in Milan. Subsequently her husband was stabbed to death and his naked body flung from the walls of the castle of Forli by conspirators. Caterina, however, ferociously avenged the murder of her husband and succeeded in holding his estates for her children. Six years later her brother, Gian Galeazzo, died of poison administered by Ludovico il Moro. Finally her second husband, Giacomo Feo of Savona, was slain by conspirators in Forli, and the heroic Caterina mounted her charger and with a small body of men pursued them to their lair and put them all to the sword, with their women and children—thus she deserved Sanudo’s description, “a courageous woman and most cruel virago.”

Towns taken by assault
Towns surrendered

MAP OF THE CAMPAIGN IN ROMAGNA. TOWNS UNDER CAESAR BORGIA’S RULE.

She ruled her little domain with force and cunning; and later, when she fell into Caesar’s clutches, few lamented her fate and Giangiacomo Trivulzio cynically remarked: “She has now fallen into the hands of two men who can satisfy all her desires.”

She was a woman of heroic character, such as the Renaissance described as a virago, a term expressive of admiration, not reproach. The virago corresponded to the man who possessed what the Italian called virtu, which has nothing to do with virtue, but which comprises energy, intellect, will, the sum total of attributes which enabled a man successfully to cope with his adversaries—in brief, the qualities most dear to the Italian heart of the fifteenth century.

When the Pope had declared that the lords of the Romagna, having failed to pay the annual tribute to the Holy See, were deprived of their possessions, Caterina Sforza set up the claim that the Holy See still owed her a large sum of money which had been due her husband as Captain of the pontifical army; she therefore announced that if they persisted she would resist, and her first move was to send her younger children and her jewels to Florence for safety.

Knowing in advance that her people, because of their hatred of the Riario, would betray her, she retired to the castle of Forli and, filling it with arms and munitions of war, calmly awaited the enemy.

When Caesar was still some distance from the city, delegates appeared in his camp and offered to surrender the town to him without resistance. The capitulation was signed November 26th and Valentino entered the city the following day.

The castle independently of the town was defended by Dionigi di Naldo, whose wife and children were held by Caterina Sforza as hostages in the stronghold of Forli. Naldo held out for some time, but was finally forced to surrender, and December 13, 1499, Cardinal Giovanni Borgia, legate for Romagna and Bologna, received the oath of fidelity to the Holy See, in the Church of S. Domenico in Imola.

The smaller places in the county of Imola having been captured without difficulty, Valentino advanced against Forli, December 15th. On learning of Caesar’s approach, Caterina, who had retired to the castle, dispatched her brother, Alessandro Sforza, to urge the citizens to resist, saying that she herself would fight to the last. They, however, refused, and she took advantage of the last moments to send her eldest son to Florence for safety. The citizens were determined to surrender, and they so informed both the Countess and Valentinois. The two commissioners—who never returned—had scarcely delivered their message when she directed her artillery on the city and partly demolished the town hall.

Caesar arrived before the gates of Forli December 17th, but refused to enter as conqueror until the articles of capitulation had been given him. Two days later he made his entry without opposition, the citizens preferring him to their lord, Girolamo Riario, who had burdened them with heavy taxes and administered the laws in the most partial manner.

The castle still held out and Caesar immediately began preparations for its capture. On Christmas Day Caterina raised the flag of Venice, the lion of St. Mark, to make the enemy believe that the republic was her ally, but Caesar was not deceived.

After attempting to make a breach, Valentino decided to try to effect an agreement of some sort, and for this purpose presented himself before the walls, where the Countess herself talked to him from the ramparts; but she refused all offers; the Duke made two other equally unsuccessful attempts, and did not open fire until December 28th.

The Countess succeeded in repelling all his attacks until January 12, 1500. She was everywhere on the ramparts encouraging and directing her men. When the outer walls were stormed, Caterina, before retiring to the keep—the last resort—ordered all the supplies to be set on fire, thinking thereby to compel the enemy to retreat, but it was too late, for Yves d’Allegre and his French company succeeded in forcing their way into the tower, and a Bourguignon, in searching the halls, found the heroic Countess of Forli surrounded by a band of her faithful people. Eager for the reward of twenty thousand ducats which had been offered for her capture alive, he declared her his prisoner.

That same evening the Countess left the fortress with the honours of war; she rode forth, mounted on her charger, between the Duke of Valentinois and Yves d’Allegre, who conducted her and her maids to the palace of the Numai.

Immediately after the capture of Forli, Caesar dispatched Yves d’Allegre to secure the surrender of the remaining small towns, while he devoted himself to reorganising the government of the conquered territory. His solicitude for the proper administration of justice and the prompt restoration of order at once won him the respect of the Romagnols, and from Imola and Forli envoys were sent to ask the Pope to appoint Caesar—who had declared himself to be merely the representative of the Holy See—their Governor in place of the tyrant he had expelled.

Caesar signed his first decree: “Caesar Borgia De France, Duke of Valentinois, Count of Diois and Issoudun, Pontifical Vicar of Imola and Forli,” and at the head of the province he placed Don Remiro de Lorca, the Spaniard who had been his constant companion, and whom we shall meet again.

After the capture of Imola, Cardinal Giovanni Borgia, papal legate to Romagna, had gone to Urbino, where he suddenly died, January 14, 1500. In spite of the fact that seventeen days had intervened between his departure from Caesar’s camp and his death, it was rumoured that Valentino, actuated by jealousy, had poisoned him. Sanudo was the first to attribute the Cardinal’s death to Caesar, but—as in the case of the murder of the Duke of Gandia—there is not the slightest evidence that he had anything to do with it. The Cardinal had been in Rome, and on his way to Urbino had been seized with a fever from which he died.

Caesar readily consented that all the benefices of the deceased should be given to his brother, Ludovico, who was made Governor of Spoleto.

The general hatred of the Borgia explains the facility with which these rumours spread and the universal credence they obtained.

January 24th it was decided to set out for Pesaro the following day; but in the night the Swiss mutinied, and the Bailli of Dijon went to the castle where Caterina Sforza was held, and, declaring that it was contrary to the rules of war to hold a woman prisoner, and that his sense of honour was outraged, escorted her to the palace where he lodged and refused to surrender her to Valentino, who intended to take her to Rome and deliver her to the Pope.

The revolt lasted a day, and Yves d’Allegre, having been hastily summoned by Caesar, returned in the evening, and Valentino, now sure of being able to repress the rebels with the aid of the French and the Spaniards, addressed the mutineers and threatened them with dire punishment. It was finally agreed that the bailli should surrender the Countess, “who shall be retained in the discretion of the King of France,” and an understanding with the Swiss mercenaries was reached.

The evening of January 25th the army set out for Cesena, Caterina Sforza, in a black satin gown and heavily veiled, riding between the Duke of Valentinois and Monsieur d’Allegre.

At Montefiore, January 26th, news reached Caesar that Ludovico il Moro, who had fled from Milan, had learned of the dissatisfaction of the people under French rule, and, having gathered an army of 1,300 Swiss and Bourguignons, was advancing on Como. Trivulzio, who had been left in charge of Milan, hastily sent for Yves d’Allegre, whose withdrawal from Caesar’s army terminated operations in the Romagna for a time, as it deprived Valentino of his artillery, and left him with only about five hundred cavalry and a thousand foot-soldiers.

In Milan the French were defeated as easily as they had conquered, and the people displayed the same enthusiasm on the return of the Moor as they had shown on his overthrow.

Caesar had left a small force to hold each of the towns he had captured in Romagna, and he had placed five hundred horse, under the command of Ercole Bentivoglio, conveniently situated to go to the aid of any garrison that might be threatened.

Valentino, having with him the Countess of Forli, who had again been placed in his charge on the departure of Yves d’Allegre for Milan, set out January 30th with five hundred horse, and passing through Fano, Urbino, and Spoleto, arrived in Rome February 26, 1500.

The Pope evidently wished to make the entrance of the Duke of Valentinois—returning from his victorious campaign in the Romagna—into the Eternal City as imposing as possible, for he instructed all the Church dignitaries then in Rome to meet the illustrious Caesar, with their suites. Several of the cardinals had already gone to greet him at some distance from the city, and now the orators of the various powers, the abbreviators of the Roman Curia, and the secretaries rode forth to welcome him. The Duke entered the city late in the afternoon, and was met near the Church of Sta Maria del Popolo by the Church dignitaries.

First came a train of wagons laden with chests filled with the Duke’s personal effects; then there were a thousand of his foot-soldiers, Swiss and Gascons; these were followed by a papal escort of lancers, with the flag of St. Andrew. Caesar followed, riding between Cardinal Orsini and Cardinal Farnese, who had gone forth to meet him. They were accompanied by a bodyguard of a hundred men clad in black velvet. Caesar wore a black velvet cloak reaching down to his knees. Just behind him were several flute-players wearing his arms, and then came two heralds of his own and one of the King of France. After them were the Duke of Bisceglia on the right and the Prince of Squillace on the left; then the Archbishop of Ragusa on the right and the Bishop of Treguier on the left of the orator of the King of France; then came the Bishop of Zamora and the orator of Spain, who were followed by the two ambassadors of Navarre, who engaged in an altercation with the orators of Naples and England regarding the question of precedence—the former lost and dropped out of the procession in a tiff. Then came the envoys of Venice, Florence, and Savoy, who were followed by a great rabble, who crowded and pushed so rudely that the prelates were unable to secure their proper places.

The Pope had taken up his position in a room above the entrance to the palace, and with him were the Cardinals of Monreale, Alessandria and Capua, together with Cesarini and Farnese.

When the Duke reached the Vatican the Pope went to the Chamber of the Papagalli with several cardinals, and when the doors were thrown open Caesar and a great swarm of nobles and prelates entered. Valentino advanced, and kneeling before the Holy Father, addressed him briefly in Spanish, thanking him for the honours he had conferred upon him. The Pope replied in the same tongue, “which I did not understand,” says Burchard. Thereupon the Duke kissed the Pope’s feet and right hand, and his Holiness kissed his son on the lips. Then such of the nobles who desired to do so kissed the Pontiff’s feet. Sanudo says the Holy Father was so overjoyed at the return of his son, that he laughed and wept at one and the same time, and that he would not grant any audiences that day.

The Master of Ceremonies describes the decorations of the Castle of St. Angelo and the pageants and festivities at great length, and “never before had I beheld such extravagance and display,” he concludes. February 27th, the day after Valentino’s arrival, there was a magnificent pageant representing the “Triumph of Julius Caesar,” in which there were eleven cars, the last bearing the Roman Emperor. The procession went to the palace, where the car of Julius Caesar was left, whence some writers have concluded that Valentino took the part of the Emperor. Burchard says that Caesar rode on horseback from the palace to the Agona quarter, where the festivities of the citizens were held according to their custom. The games, which included races of horses, asses, bulls, buffaloes, lasted until March 5th, when Caesar began to pay his calls on the cardinals. He went unaccompanied by any of the Church dignitaries, but had with him a few of his officers and a military escort of a hundred men clad in black velvet. He displayed his usual tact, and surprised the cardinals by always allowing them the place of precedence.

Caesar had brought his prisoner, Caterina Sforza, to Rome, but the story that he compelled her to grace his triumphal entry into the Eternal City is undoubtedly false, because, had he done so, Burchard, who chronicles the most insignificant details regarding his entry, would certainly have mentioned her, and he does not refer to the Countess. The stories of her having been led through the streets of Rome with golden chains on her wrists were probably picturesque inventions of the enemies of the Borgia.

When the Countess was confined in the Belvedere she made an unsuccessful attempt to escape, whereupon Alexander had her removed to the Castle of St. Angelo, from which, on the expiration of about eighteen months, she was liberated, owing to the intervention of certain French gentlemen, especially of Yves d’Allegre. His Holiness gave her permission to go to Florence, and commended her to the Signory in a letter which is a masterpiece of hypocrisy. In it he refers to our “beloved daughter in Christ”; “we have,” he says, “not only exercised mercy with respect to this Caterina, but also, so far as we were able, with God’s help, have looked with paternal solicitude after her welfare”—and more of the same sort.

In Florence Caterina Sforza married Giovanni de’ Medici, and, dying in 1509, left a son of the same mettle as herself, the famous Giovanni of the Black Bands, the last of the great condottieri.

March 15, 1500, Alexander signed a bull investing Caesar with the vicariate of Romagna, seventeen cardinals concurring in his action. When his Holiness had held the consistory to find ways and means for securing money for recovering the Church domain, which was being held by the great lords who refused to pay tribute and acknowledge the Pope’s authority, it was for the purpose of restoring the territory to the Holy See.

Twice delegations had come from Imola and Forli to ask Alexander to sign the agreement made by these cities to have the Duke of Valentino for their governor. Had the Pope needed an excuse for handing this territory over to his son, he could not have had a better one. The cardinals readily yielded to the persuasions of Alexander and Caesar. To render the transaction perfectly legal, the Riario were formally deprived of their domain by a decree of the camerlengo for having failed for a number of years to pay the tribute to the Holy See—a thousand gold florins for Forli, two hundred for Imola, and two silver cups for Mauri.

Caesar signed the agreement, March 15, 1500, with the citizens of Imola, by which he promised to govern them with justice and mercy; to maintain them in peace, and defend them in time of war; to preserve their communal rights and restore those usurped by Count Girolamo Riario and his successors. The great seal which the document bears has the bull of the House of Borgia and the three bands azure of the family of Doms, quartered with the lilies of France. Caesar signs as lieutenant of the King.

Alexander had his son invested with the office of Gonfalonier and Captain-General of the Church, March 29th, in the Church of St. Peter, himself bestowing the insignia of the office—the biretta, the baton, and the gonfalon—on Caesar.

The ceremony is described by Burchard in detail. The Duke was clad in a doublet of brocaded gold velvet, with large pearls for buttons; on his head he wore a scarlet velvet cap. The biretta of investiture, according to the Master of Ceremonies, was of the height of two palms, bordered with ermine, and embellished with four large pearls; on top was a dove, fashioned also of pearls.

Caesar received the baton and the gonfalon as his unfortunate brother the Duke of Gandia had before him. The Pope in blessing the standard repeated the prescribed formula, and then, after performing the necessary rites, Caesar came forward, removed his biretta, knelt before his father, and in a firm voice repeated the solemn words:—

“I, Caesar Borgia of France, Duke of Valentinois, Gonfalonier and Captain-General of the Holy Roman Church, swear now and henceforth to be faithful and obedient to the Blessed Peter and to you, my most holy Master, Alexander VI., Pope, and to your legally constituted successors. Never by deed or word will I enter into any conspiracy to destroy or injure you, or to imprison you by treachery, in short to lay violent hands on you or your successors in any manner whatsoever, or to do you any violence under any pretext whatsoever. The commissions which you or your successors entrust to me either directly by messenger, or by letter, will be disclosed to no one, and no one will receive from me any advice which could turn to your disadvantage or to that of your successors. I will aid you, and those who shall come after you, to preserve and defend the Pontifical State and the royal rights of St. Peter against any and all enemies; I will honour the legate of the Apostolic See on his coming and on his going, and I will lend him my aid when he shall have need of it; I shall take care to preserve, defend, augment, and extend the rights, honours, privileges, and authority of the Roman Church under you and your successors; I will take no part in any projects, acts, or treaties which might cloak any criminal design or enterprise prejudicial to you or your successors, or finally to the Roman Church; and if I should learn that any such project has been arranged or is under way I will use all my strength to prevent it, and as promptly as possible; and I will inform you or your said successors or some one who may inform you of it in my stead. So help me God and the Holy Angels!”

The Duke remained kneeling before the Pope, who handed him the standard. Thereupon the golden rose was brought to the Pope, who presented it to Caesar, who was still kneeling, with the following words:—

“Receive this rose from our hands, from the hands of him who, however unworthy, holds the place of God on earth. It signifies the joy of the two Jerusalems—that is, of the Church triumphant and the Church militant—and to the faithful in Christ it symbolises the admirable flower which is the joy of all the saints, and constitutes their crown. Receive it therefore, dear son, thou who art noble in all time, and who art endowed with so many virtues; receive it in order that you may still further grow in virtue through Christ, our Lord, like the rose that flourishes on the banks of the streams with abundant waters; and may Christ, our Lord, deign to grant you His grace, and in His infinite mercy may you be blessed by Him who is Three in One in the centuries of centuries. Amen!”

The Duke received the rose, kissed the Pope’s hand and foot, and Burchard, who conducted the ceremony, placed the toque of the gonfalonier on Caesar’s head. Thus the hypocritical performance ended, and Caesar, with a number of the cardinals, accompanied the Pope to the Curia, where he took leave of his father.

Caesar’s first act as Governor of Imola was to appoint Giovanni Olivieri, Bishop of Isernia, his lieutenant, April 10, 1500, and a few days later he empowered him to receive the oaths of allegiance of his new subjects in his stead. All Caesar’s official letters at this time are countersigned Agapitus—Agapito Gerardino of Amelia, his first secretary, who remained with him throughout his career. Valentino immediately turned his attention to reorganising the government of the conquered territory and to providing for the administration of justice.

The return of Ludovico il Moro to Milan did not prove a serious obstacle to Caesar’s plans, for he was completely defeated by the French, under Louis de La Trémoille, at Novara, April 10, 1500, and taken prisoner to France, where he died on being released ten years later—it was said—of sheer joy.

Bull-fighting had been introduced into Italy by the Spaniards in the time of Calixtus III., and June 24, 1500, Caesar gave an exhibition of his prowess by dispatching a number of bulls in the open space back of St. Peter’s. He entered the arena armed with only a short sword and killed five of the bulls, the last with a single stroke of his weapon, which excited much enthusiasm among the people and secured him a reputation for great physical strength. The event is described more fully by Capello, the Venetian ambassador, than by Burchard. The orator adds: “Caesar is twenty-seven years of age, handsome of figure, tall, and well formed; he is most regal and extravagant—which greatly displeases the Pope; if he lives he will be one of the great captains of Italy.” His generosity was such that it was described as liberalita cesarea, and his Court was thronged with soldiers, artists, and men of letters, though we look in vain for any great name among them. The men of letters were mostly mediocre rhymesters and Latinists whose works have been consigned to oblivion.

It is hardly to be supposed that an Italian condottiere of twenty-seven years, engrossed with the actualities of life, fascinated by a dream of vast power, could take very much interest in the arts. Although Michael Angelo, Garofalo, Bramante, and Antonio di Sangallo were in Rome at this time, the efforts of Caesar’s eulogists to find in this, and other similar circumstances, enhanced glory for the young adventurer should not be taken too seriously.

He undoubtedly had relations with Leonardo da Vinci, as he availed himself of the artist’s services as an engineer in remodelling certain fortresses and designing machines of war. Vasari says that Pietro di Cosimo, the Florentine artist, who died in 1521, painted many portraits of distinguished persons in Rome, “including those of Virginio Orsini, and Roberto Sanseverino, and also that of the Duke Valentino, son of Pope Alexander VI., which portrait is now lost as I know, although the artist’s preliminary sketch is in the possession of Cosimo Bartoli.”22

CHAPTER VI

Murder of Alfonso of Naples, Duke of Bisceglia—The second campaign in Romagna—Pesaro surrenders—Caesar’s private life—Pandolfaccio Malatesta gives up Rimini—Astorre Manfredi—Faenza’s brave resistance—The Pope threatens Bologna—Faenza surrenders—Caesar returns to Rome—Astorre Manfredi flung into prison—Giovanni Bentivoglio—Giuliano and Piero de’ Medici—Caesar’s agreement with Florence—Piombino invested—Caesar returns to Rome—Coalition of the Pope and the King of France for the destruction of the House of Naples—Yves d’Allegre comes to Rome—Berault Stuart, Commander of the French Army, enters the city.

Alexander VI. nearly lost his life in an accident which occurred in the Vatican, June 27, 1500, when the ceiling of a room fell down and he was buried in the rubbish, from which, however, he was finally extricated, having received only a few scratches. His escape, according to his Holiness, was due to the Blessed Virgin Mary; solemn thanks were therefore rendered her July 2nd. She, however, did not interfere about two weeks after Alexander’s providential escape to prevent the brutal murder of Lucretia Borgia’s second husband, Alfonso of Naples, Duke of Bisceglia.

Early in the evening, July 15th, Alfonso was attacked at the entrance to St. Peter’s by several armed men and wounded in the head, the right arm, and the leg. The ruffians, about forty in number, ran down the steps of the church, hastily mounted their horses, and escaped by the Pertusa Gate. Such is Burchard’s account of the affair.

The orator of Naples adds: “And the prince ran to the Pope and told him that he had been attacked and wounded, and Madonna Lucretia, who was with the Pope, fainted.” Alfonso was placed in a room in the Vatican, and his wife and his sister, Sancia, consort of the Pope’s son Giuffre, Prince of Squillace, took entire care of him, even cooking his meals themselves for fear of poison, owing to Valentino’s hatred of him. The Pope had him guarded by sixteen men, fearing the Duke might murder him. Only on one occasion, when the Pope went to see Alfonso, did Caesar accompany him, and then he was heard to remark to his father, “What is not finished at dinner may be finished at supper.” When the orator asked the Pope about the affair his Holiness told him that Valentino said, “I did not attack Alfonso, but if I had done so, it would have only been what he deserved”; but one day—August 17th—-Caesar entered the wounded man’s room, drove Lucretia and Sancia out, and ordered Don Michele to strangle the youth, and that night the body was buried—a murder so cold-blooded that all Rome was horrified, though no one dared mention it openly. Finally Valentino admitted that he had caused Alfonso’s death because he feared the Duke would murder him. Such is Capello’s account. Burchard adds that Alfonso’s physicians and attendants were arrested and examined but immediately set at liberty, as there was no doubt of their innocence.

Alfonso, sacrificed by his father for political reasons, had married Lucretia, and when the plans of Alexander and Caesar required his elimination she was unable to save him. He had been frequently warned by his friends that Rome was a dangerous place for him. Caesar hated the House of Aragon, and he had derived no greater profit from his sister’s marriage with Alfonso than he had from her former union with Giovanni Sforza of Pesaro. Valentino apparently had another alliance in mind for his sister which he hoped would prove more advantageous to himself.

As a son had been born to Lucretia and Alfonso, the marriage could not be set aside as easily as the former had been; therefore heroic treatment was necessary. When the war broke out in Milan Alfonso left Rome, and he returned only on the urgent solicitations of his wife and the Pope, his fears having been somewhat allayed by the warm congratulations which Caesar had sent him on the birth of his son.

In a dispatch of July 19th the Venetian ambassador says: “It is not certain who wounded Alfonso, but it is said to have been the same person who killed the Duke of Gandia!”

Burchard merely records: “Alfonso was strangled in his bed about the nineteenth hour, and in the evening, about the first hour of the night, the body was carried to the basilica of St. Peter, accompanied by Francesco Borgia, Archbishop of Cosenza, and his household.”

Various reasons have been adduced to explain Caesar’s hatred of his sister’s husband. It has even been said that Caesar wished to have him out of the way in order that he himself might enjoy her favours; however, although this charge and others equally hideous, which were made at the time, are no longer believed, they show to what extremes calumny would go in those days and how ready chroniclers and historians, inspired by hate, were to repeat slanders; but they also show the execration and abhorrence in which the Borgias were held.

There was a Neapolitan party in Rome, and Alfonso may have been a member of it; his sister Sancia was the wife of Giuffre, Caesar’s brother, and probably the latter’s mistress. Subsequently she and Valentino became bitter enemies, and she was the only person about the Vatican who dared oppose him in anything.

All Rome, prelates, citizens, Lucretia, Giuffre, the Pope himself seemed afraid of Caesar. Of the Pope it was said that he both loved and feared him—ama ed ha paura. Valentino, hating the House of Naples, and especially Sancia, whose strong nature and unprincipled character clashed with his own, could easily bring himself to compass the death of her brother because it would also leave his sister free for him to marry her into some powerful family which would prove of great assistance to him in his far-reaching projects.

Lucretia and Alfonso, whom his contemporaries described as one of the handsomest men in Italy, apparently loved each other. She had been greatly distressed when he fled from Rome, and had begged him to return. On his death Lucretia, who was wholly without will and character, who had none of the traits of the virago, such as Caterina Sforza possessed, retired to Nepi for a time.

In speaking of the prompt release of Alfonso’s physicians and servants, “because they were innocent,” Burchard adds the significant remark, “as those sent to arrest them knew perfectly.”

The attack on the Duke of Bisceglia evidently was well planned, and he was subsequently strangled within the very walls of the Vatican. The servants and physicians were immediately exonerated. Who, then, was responsible for the murder?

All the chroniclers, historians, and ambassadors either openly or by implication charge Caesar with the crime. According to the standards of that perfidious and brutal age, he had ample grounds for the murder—grounds based on both personal hatred and on political ambition.

The conquest of Romagna was intimately connected with the aims of the King of France with respect to Naples, and Alfonso was an obstacle in Caesar’s path. The Neapolitan House had refused Valentino one of its daughters for wife, and he had married a French princess; the destruction of the Aragonese family was therefore the logical sequel.

When Alfonso of Bisceglia was murdered, Lucretia was only twenty years of age; she was beautiful and wealthy, and had powerful kinsmen and a considerable domain of her own; it would be a comparatively easy matter, in view of these attractions, to find her another husband in one of the great families of the peninsula, who would be of help to Alexander and Caesar in subjugating Romagna, and in any other ambitious projects they might evolve.

Alfonso of Bisceglia was useless to such practical men as Valentino and his father; he was honest, gentle, and weak, and such men had even less place in the swift movement of the Renaissance than they have in modern politics and industry, and he had to be removed.

Alexander perhaps recognised his own blood in Caesar, and discovered in him the same cynical contempt for all laws, human and Divine, that he himself felt. If he had any horror of his son’s deed, it was not of long duration, for Capello, wrote in September, a month after the murder: “The Pope is daily growing younger; his greatest sorrows pass in a night; he is of a most cheerful disposition, and never undertakes anything but what promises to turn to his own profit; all his thoughts are directed to a single end—to make great personages of his children—to all else he is indifferent.”

Efforts have been made to place the responsibility for the murder of Alfonso on the Sanseverini, who were robbed of the Principality of Salerno in order that it might be given the prince; and on the Gaetani, who had been despoiled of the Duchy of Sermoneta that it might be bestowed on Alfonso’s infant son, Rodrigo. However, neither of these families, who must also have had their enemies, was ever charged with the crime by their contemporaries, and had Caesar and Alexander ever suspected either of them, they certainly would not have treated the affair with such indifference. The only one charged with it at the time was the Duke of Valentino.

An ingenious eulogist of the Borgias has suggested that the strangling in the Borgia tower, which was doubtless reported by Lucretia or Sancia, was no strangling at all, but probably tetanic convulsions due to infected wounds caused by the daggers—poignards usually being cleaned in the earth; he, however, neglects to explain away the attack when the daggers were used two weeks before.

Early in July the Pope had placed the ban on Faenza, on the ground that Astorre Manfredi had refused to pay the tribute; the reduction of Faenza and Rimini, therefore, was decided upon by the Pope and Caesar. By his ambassador, Villeneuve, Louis XII. sent his consent for the undertaking, and also his promise to help as far as he was able. In addition the Venetian ambassador assured the Vatican of the neutrality of his Government.

Valentinois had formed an army which he was holding in Umbria, in order that it might be near at hand to be used to destroy the Colonna, who were allies of Federigo of Naples, or for the operations in Romagna.

According to the statement of the Venetian orator, the King of France was to furnish six hundred men-at-arms and the same number of Swiss, in case it should be necessary to crush the Bentivoglio of Bologna, who might attempt to aid their kinsmen in Faenza, Rimini, and Pesaro. On the advice of the King they had withdrawn their protection from the Malatesta and the Manfredi.

When the letter of the Signory was delivered by the ambassadors, Capello and Giorgi, the Pope was so delighted that in spite of his promise to keep it secret, the whole palace knew of it at once, and the same night a great banquet was given in celebration of the event.

When Valentino was ready to set forth on the second campaign for the conquest of Romagna, he had about ten thousand soldiers, partly enlisted by himself and partly by Paolo Orsini and Giampaolo Baglioni, who were waiting for him and his army in Perugia.

Caesar’s departure from Rome having become known, October 5th, Pandolfo Malatesta sent his wife and children to the Court of his brother-in-law, Giovanni Bentivoglio, in Bologna, and fortified himself in the castle of Rimini, knowing he could no longer count on the help of Venice.

To secure funds for the second campaign in Romagna, Alexander created twelve cardinals, charging each of them one-tenth of the ecclesiastical revenues. To this was added the plunder derived from the Gaetani and other Roman nobles, and large sums were borrowed from the great banker Agostino Chigi. This was one of the worst scandals of Alexander’s reign. At this creation two members of the Borgia family were made cardinals—Francesco of Sueca and Pier Luigi, the Pope’s nephew. All the cardinals except the last paid well for the dignity. The Bishop of Catania paid the highest—the enormous sum of 25,000 gold ducats; Louis, Bishop of Acqui, and Jacobus, Archbishop of Oristano, paid 5,000 each; while D’Albret, Caesar’s brother-in-law, was charged ten thousand.

It is Burchard himself who gives the amount each cardinal was required to pay. This creation was entirely political. Caesar had found that he needed money for his undertakings, and he had enjoined the Sacred College to ratify the nominations, and he had fixed the prices himself.

September 26th Capello wrote the Signory: “I understand that orders have been given so that—the cardinals having been selected—the Duke of Valentinois may set out in two or three days, provided the astrologers say that the moment is favourable.”

The Holy Father, by the agreement with the King of France, was to help Louis in case he decided to undertake the conquest of Naples, and the King was to aid Caesar, to whom he now sent a considerable force under Yves d’Allegre.

Caesar’s foot-soldiers were clad in red and yellow doublets with his insignia, and were armed with short pikes and swords and casques of iron. They were well drilled, and far superior to the earlier troops, which had been little more than poorly armed mobs.

The army set forth the last of September, and it soon became known that it was Caesar’s intention to drive Giovanni Sforza from Pesaro, and the last of the Malatesta from Rimini. Sforza was a military commander of no little reputation, and he decided to resist. He first endeavoured to secure the help of his former wife’s brother, Francesco Gonzaga, and also that of the Emperor Maximilian, with whom he was connected through Bianca Sforza.

Early in 1500 Gonzaga had asked Valentino to stand as sponsor for his infant son, a child who two years later was betrothed to Caesar’s own daughter by Charlotte d’Albret. Giovanni Sforza plainly had not appreciated the relations of Valentino with the Gonzaga family, who, like all the princely families of Italy at that time, were ever ready to ally themselves with the stronger and especially with the Papacy.

Struggling for existence, all were playing a desperate game of politics. The duplicity of the age is again disclosed by the fact that Gonzaga did send one hundred men to the assistance of the Lord of Pesaro, who had only two hundred of his own. Giovanni had not been an altogether unjust ruler, consequently a considerable portion of his subjects remained loyal to him. While the nobles opposed him he could count on the support of the lower classes; the middle classes, as is usual, held aloof, ready to go over to the victor.

Most of the petty lords in the Romagna were upstarts and adventurers, and as such were tyrants and entirely indifferent to the welfare of their subjects; being politicians, they were wholly unable to look ahead and provide for the future—their measures were always mere temporary expedients to provide against present difficulties, chiefly of a personal nature; being both ignorant and egotistical, they had no just appreciation of their actual position, which they were compelled to hold by force; the result was that they themselves were constantly the victims of the treachery of their subjects—if treachery it could be called, for their people professed no loyalty. For them a change of masters only meant a change of evils, with the chance that for a while, at least, their condition would be ameliorated. When the people did not actually oppose their lords, they were indifferent to them. This explains why many of the cities in Romagna made no resistance and voluntarily opened their gates to Caesar.

PESARO.

From an early engraving.

To face p. 166.

Pesaro promptly surrendered to Bentivoglio, Caesar’s lieutenant, but before the town yielded Giovanni Sforza managed to make his escape, and October 27th the Duke himself entered the city with his usual brilliant array of nobles and officers, by which he knew he could impress the vulgar imagination. Valentino was theatrical in whatever he did, and he studiously preserved an air of mystery at all times. When in Rome he would keep himself in seclusion, and then suddenly on some pretext would exhibit himself to the populace.

The castle of Pesaro was famous for its strength, and Caesar had sketches made of it, which he sent to his father, who was interested in affairs military.

Pandolfo Collenuccio, Ercole d’Este’s orator, arrived in Pesaro the very day Caesar entered the place, and the Duke sent Don Remiro de Lorca to call on him.

Collenuccio, a humanist of great reputation among the writers and jurists of the day, had been exiled in 1489 by Giovanni Sforza in order that he might confiscate the scholar’s property, and at the same time be rid of an honest counsellor. After holding offices in various cities of Italy, he had entered the service of the Este of Ferrara.

Caesar sent the orator a present of grain, wine, candles, a sheep, and a number of capons and chickens, and in writing to his master, Pandolfo said Caesar was “brave and generous—and it is believed he will take care of deserving men. He is determined in his vengeance; his is a great soul, eager for glory and power, but he seems more anxious to acquire new States than to give those he already has a good government”—a statement which does not wholly agree with those of others. Pandolfo, however, failed to secure a public office, consequently he discovered some of the Duke’s defects.

One day when conversing with the ambassador, Caesar remarked: “I do not know what Faenza will do, but she will not cause us any greater difficulties than the other places have—still, she may try to hold out.” To which the accomplished diplomatist replied: “If she does it will only give your lordship another opportunity to display your valour and skill in taking the place.”

In one of his letters to the Duke, Ercole d’Este, Collenuccio gives a description of Caesar’s personal habits which is interesting, as details regarding his private life are few. “The Duke’s life is as follows: he goes to bed between eight and ten at night. At the eighteenth hour it is dawn; at the nineteenth the sun rises, and at the twentieth it is broad daylight. Then he rises and immediately sits down to the table. After this he gives his attention to business affairs.”

While Caesar was in Fano and Pesaro, Astorre Manfredi—the only tyrant in that part of Italy who enjoyed the confidence and affection of his people—was preparing to defend himself in Faenza.

Aid came to him from an unexpected quarter, for Giovanni Bentivoglio, fearing that Valentino would attack him if Faenza fell, determined to help the youthful tyrant. Bentivoglio had managed to secure the goodwill of the French, and had entered into treaties with several of his neighbours. Among others, Florence had promised to aid him if he would assist her when she attacked Pisa. Late in October the Pope sent a letter to Bentivoglio, commanding him, under pain of excommunication, to take no part in the affairs of Faenza—the only effect of which was to increase his determination to help Manfredi by sending him additional troops. At the same time Bentivoglio strengthened his own defences.

When Valentino left Pesaro, he placed a Spaniard, Marco Suere, in charge of the citadel. Rimini was surrendered without a struggle by its pusillanimous lord, Pandolfaccio Malatesta.

Astorre Manfredi, who was only eighteen, had discovered as early as January, 1500, that Caesar had designs on his territory, although he had been assured by Valentino of his friendship.

Early in November Caesar’s captain, Vitellozzo Vitelli, occupied Brisighella, which was the key to Faenza, and all the petty powers of the neighbourhood hastened to go over to Valentino, feeling certain that he would win. Astorre had counted on Venice, but he soon found that she had allied herself with the Pope, for in October Caesar’s name was inscribed in her “book of gold,” and the Senate had voted him a palace for residence in Venice, although it had refused to grant him the title, which he had coveted, of Captain of the Armies of the Republic.

Manfredi was brave, but he saw that his cause was hopeless. In his extremity he suggested to his people that they make no resistance in order that useless bloodshed and destruction of property might be avoided, but to their great credit and his own they decided to support him to the last. In the meantime Bentivoglio had succeeded in getting a thousand infantry to Manfredi.

Faenza was invested November 10th, and Caesar offered the besieged their lives if they would surrender; promises were followed by threats, but the inhabitants of the place remained firm. Winter was drawing near and Faenza was well protected with walls. Caesar established his camp on the side towards Forli, and attempted to storm the walls, but failed. Valentino had expected the youthful tyrant to offer him a pitched battle, but Manfredi wisely refrained, and Caesar’s troops suffered so from the severe weather that he decided to go into winter quarters. The people of Faenza had destroyed all the timber in the vicinity; the troops were encamped in a low, wet place, and they were constantly harassed by the enemy. Astorre’s men were well fed and sheltered, and were able to rest at night, while the besiegers were never secure; Caesar therefore decided to raise the siege, and announced he would return when the season was more favourable. He withdrew December 3rd, but was careful to secure all roads leading to Faenza, and to invest the city in such a manner that no provisions could be introduced into it. He passed the winter in Cesena, remaining until April, 1501. The time was spent in all sorts of spectacular sports and amusements, and when he departed he left behind him the memory of an amiable and affable lord, and at the same time that of an able governor and severe justiciary. The accounts we have of his daily life are chiefly by panegyrists who were enjoying his bounty and protection, consequently, as evidence of his actual character, they are worth little more than are the ferocious attacks of the enemies of the Borgia.

While Caesar was in Forli, the usual number of avaricious artists and literary men flocked about him, greedy for money or honours, and clamouring for permission to dedicate their works—works for the most part now lost—to him. This servility is a curious phase of the literary character of those and even later days, and the ridiculously bombastic dedications of books to various tyrants and adventurers, stained with every crime, and incapable of appreciating anything upright and noble, is nauseating. However, the painters and poetasters who shone by the reflected light of some political adventurer as a rule passed away with him, and such of their works as have been spared by time are of a nature to console us for those which have been lost. All these dedications and panegyrics were inspired by the hope of reward in some form, and as evidence that the person addressed possessed any characteristics worthy of admiration they are of no value. The names of Caesar’s eulogists were legion, and in him they discerned every virtue, just as his political adversaries and their sycophants discovered every vice. While Caesar was in Cesena the youthful Manfredi, although definitely abandoned by both Bologna and Florence, was holding out bravely.

Alexander, knowing that Louis XII. would require his investiture for the realisation of his designs regarding the Kingdom of Naples, complained to him that his ally, Giovanni Bentivoglio, had frustrated Caesar’s plans with respect to Faenza, although their failure was due more to Manfredi’s stout resistance and the severity of the winter than to the assistance of the tyrant of Bologna. His Holiness even went so far as to demand possession of the territory of the Bentivoglio.

January 28, 1501, the Pope threatened Bologna with the interdict in case lodging and supplies were not ready for Caesar’s troops within six days. The King of France, however, was more diplomatic, for he dispatched a letter from Blois, January 30, 1501, in which he “besought his great and good friend of Bologna to aid our said cousin of Valentinois with men, provisions, and artillery.”

Bentivoglio did furnish lodgings, supplies, and men, but absolutely refused to allow the castle of Bologna to be occupied by Caesar’s troops, because, as he said, this would endanger his authority too much. Alexander had demanded possession of the stronghold on the ground that it was required for Caesar’s operations in the Romagna, but Bentivoglio was not to be deceived.

Valentino spent the early months of the year 1500 organising the government of the territories bordering on the Adriatic, but he kept a close watch on Faenza, which he again attacked about the middle of April, but without accomplishing anything. The skill and valour of Manfredi and his followers won the admiration of all Italy, and Isabella d’Este, writing to her husband, the Marquis of Mantua, April 20th, said: “The people of Faenza have saved the honour of Italy”; and Caesar is reported to have remarked: “Had I at my command an army like the defenders of Faenza I could confidently undertake the conquest of the entire peninsula.”

GIO·II·BENTIVOGLIO SIG·DI BOLOGNA

From an early engraving.

To face p. 172.

Manfredi, however, was finally reduced to the necessity of asking for an armistice to arrange the terms of surrender and the night of April 21st he was received by Caesar at his headquarters with marked courtesy. The terms of the capitulation were drawn up in Caesar’s name by Battista Orfino, and Michelotto Corella was placed in charge of the stronghold.

The brave Manfredi was to be allowed to go whithersoever he wished; his officers also were permitted to depart; the people and their property were to be respected; the coins struck by the prince were to remain current in the State; his debts were to be paid by Caesar, and to enable the people to regain their prosperity they were to be granted certain exemptions in the matter of taxes.

Manfredi, deceived by Caesar’s promises, instead of going to his friends and kinsmen in Bologna or Venice, accepted the Duke’s invitation to remain in his camp, and he probably stayed with Valentino until his arrival at the Vatican, June 17, 1501. A few days later he was flung into prison in the Castle of St. Angelo.

After the fall of Faenza Valentino directed his attention to Giovanni Bentivoglio, demanding possession of Castle Bolognese in the name of the Pope. When Bentivoglio learned that Caesar was advancing with troops he dispatched ambassadors, who were promptly seized by Vitellozzo, who had captured the strongholds of San Pietro, Frumina, Guelfo, and Medicina. Bentivoglio, seeing that Caesar was determined, decided to yield, but he cunningly planned to secure him as an ally at the same time. April 30, 1501, Paolo Orsini negotiated a treaty between Caesar and Bentivoglio by which, in return for the surrender of Castle Bolognese, the former was to serve the latter as condottiere for three years with adequate pay, in all undertakings except such as might be directed against the King of France. Caesar was also to furnish a certain number of troops. Giulio and Paolo Orsini and Vitellozzo Vitelli signed the treaty for Caesar, who had remained at Medicina and who was for the first time designated as the Duke of Romagna in this document, his father having just conferred this title upon him. Caesar’s consent to this arrangement is explained by the fact that the King of France had demanded the return of his troops and the Pope had instructed Valentino to come to Rome without molesting the Florentines.

Giuliano and Piero de’ Medici, anxious to recover possession of the city from which they had been expelled, proposed to enter into an alliance with Caesar. Giuliano joined him at Bologna, intending to remain on his staff as he advanced through Tuscany and rally his own adherents. Piero also came from Rome to join Caesar, who knew that their presence in his army and the hatred of his captains for Florence would constitute a menace to the Republic; he therefore refused to enter into any agreement with Piero, and on the way to Bisagno he compelled Giuliano to stop at Loiano.

Notwithstanding this the Signory of Florence felt that he had some sinister purpose with respect to themselves, consequently they sent Machiavelli to watch and study Caesar’s movements.

Valentino had asked permission to lead his troops through Florentine territory, and the request, with certain restrictions—among them one requiring him to avoid the fortified places—was granted. The Duke did not wait for the envoys but continued his march, and when they did appear he was already on Florentine territory. They threatened to lodge a complaint, but Valentino upbraided them for the attitude of their Government towards himself and his undertakings. He did not wish to declare himself an enemy of the Republic, but he needed time to consider the situation; he therefore made an appointment to meet the envoys again at Barberino di Mugello.

Owing to her long and exhausting war with Pisa and to her intestine troubles Florence was in no position to risk a struggle with the Duke of Romagna; the Signory had therefore decided to grant his request. Appreciating the danger of having a large number of armed men in their territory, the Council of Ten made arrangements for resisting any sudden attack. Caesar finally entered into an alliance, both offensive and defensive, with Florence, and the Signory took him into its employ as condottiere, furnishing him the number of troops befitting his rank and promising him suitable remuneration. The arrangement was for three years.

Caesar had agreed to continue his march as soon as the convention was signed, but May 17th he was still at Forno dei Campi, and he asked for half the artillery belonging to Florence for use against Piombino and also for his first quarter’s salary. The Signory replied that these requests were not included in the agreement, and Caesar did not insist. He, however, dispatched Vitellozzo Vitelli to the Pisans to demand their siege pieces. On the march towards Pisa Caesar’s troops committed great depredation, sacking, burning, and plundering. His captains, the Orsini and Vitelli—especially the latter, whose brother had been executed by the Florentines—may have been responsible for this. The Pope had sanctioned Caesar’s undertaking with respect to Piombino, whose lord, Giacomo d’Appiano, after a feeble resistance before the city, retired to the stronghold, which was well fitted to resist a siege. Here it was that Giacomo’s grandfather had bravely defended himself fifty years before against the ferocious condottiere Sigismondo Malatesta, son of Pandolfo, Lord of Rimini.

By his agreement with Louis XII. Caesar was compelled to join the French army about the middle of June. He therefore left a part of his forces to invest Piombino, which surrendered to his lieutenants after a two-months siege, and set out for Rome, where he arrived June 17, 1501. His purpose in coming to Rome at this time was to join the French army which was about to set forth for Naples. While in the city he concealed himself from public gaze in the apostolic palace, rarely showing himself.

RIMINI.

From an early engraving.

To face p. 176.

Nothing illustrates the duplicity of the age better than this coalition of the head of the Christian Church and the King of France for the destruction of the House of Naples. Only four years before Caesar, as cardinal-legate, had crowned the last of the Aragonese Kings of Naples; three times Alexander had endeavoured to marry one of his children into this family, and he had become connected with it by the marriage of his son Giuffre with Doña Sancia, and that of his daughter Lucretia with Alfonso, Prince of Bisceglia, whom Caesar had murdered—and in this perfidious age the most perfidious of all was the head of the Christian Church.

In 1499 Louis XII. had secured the Pope’s consent to his undertaking with respect to the Kingdom of Naples and the Duchy of Milan.

This, as we have seen, was one of those immoral bargains which powers and potentates still make at the expense of weaker States, although the bald egoism of the ruler is now less in evidence in these transactions than it was during the Renaissance. To-day the heads of government, being shorn of autocratic power, do not represent personal ambition or achievement; they are either simply survivals of mediaevalism or the representatives of some interest or faction—of an industrial unit of some sort; therefore in advanced countries the actual egoism of the ruler is of slight moment.

In the age of the Borgia the personality of the ruler was more important; the extension of his power—in fact, his very tenure of office and position—depended on his physical strength, his cunning, his powers of dissimulation, his predilections, his ambitions, his morals. He was hampered by no constitutional restrictions and his dynasty required for its perpetuation something more than law; the domination of his family could be secured only by force and fraud. The heads of governments to-day being mere accidents of birth or the product of economic interests, their accession to positions of nominal power and their abandonment of those positions have no appreciable influence upon the destinies of States; they are products of one class of economic or social factors just as the despots of the Renaissance were the products of another group.

Louis XII. was a ferocious egoist just as were Alexander VI. and Caesar Borgia. He had desired a divorce from Jeanne of France in order that he might marry Anne of Bretagne. Superstition, if not universal, was then general, and was not, as it is now, confined to the ignorant and depraved; rationalism and personal independence had not reached the stage when mankind sees how absurd and preposterous it is to entrust the conscience to the care and guidance of another man and especially a bad one. During the latter half of the fifteenth century, when the Popes were more depraved than they ever were before or have been since, other monarchs were especially anxious to secure the pontiff’s assent to their own egotistical undertakings and the more determined to avoid his weapon of excommunication, ridiculous as it was. Louis, therefore, had made a bargain with the Pope by which the latter was to sanction and aid in the destruction of Naples and Milan, and also to grant the necessary dispensation to enable the King to put aside his wife. In return the King had created the Pope’s son, Caesar, Duke of Valentinois, and had secured for him the hand of a French princess; the bargain had been made and formally sealed, and now Louis was endeavouring to compel the Pope to perform his part of the agreement. The House of Aragon, by right of conquest, which it may be observed is no right at all, had ruled Southern Italy for a hundred years, but its days were now numbered. To give his project an appearance of right Louis had based his claim to Naples on the imaginary rights of the House of Anjou.

Caesar came quietly to Rome the evening of June 17, 1501. The 19th Yves d’Allegre arrived with his men-at-arms, who were to be placed under Valentino’s command. Acqua Traversa was selected for the French camp, and Burchard enumerates the supplies required for the troops; wine, bread, meat, eggs, cheese, fruit, and even sixteen harlots were allotted them. He also informs us that certain Florentine merchants who were required to lodge the officers paid the Governor of the city two hundred ducats to be relieved of the burden, and that the official accepted the money, but, nevertheless, when the French officers arrived compelled the Florentines to lodge them.

Berault Stuart, commander of the main body of the French forces, entered Rome June 23rd and was received by all the cardinals and the Pope’s household with great honours. He immediately repaired to the papal palace and was conducted to the Pope in the Chamber of the Papagalli.

“To-day the King’s lieutenants and several of the captains of the French army went to see the Pope in his palace in Rome, where a great many cardinals and nobles of the city were gathered. The Pope is a Spaniard and a poor Frenchman, but he concealed his real feelings and received the French officers with great cordiality and conversed with them good-naturedly. To Monsieur Berault Stuart, the King’s Lieutenant-General, he presented a grey charger, strong and swift, perfectly broken, and richly caparisoned. The rest of the day was spent in sports and various pastimes until evening, when the Cardinal of Sanseverino, Bishop of Maillezais and brother of the Count of Gayas, entertained the officers at a formal banquet at which the viands were exquises et plaisants. The banquet was given in Cardinal Ascanio’s garden amid the oranges, lemons, pomegranates, and other rare and esteemed fruits and fragrant flowers of various sorts, while singers and players, both tragic and comic, displayed their arts. The banquet over, the Frenchmen went and took leave of the Holy Father. This done they returned to their camp. It had been decided that the army should set forth the following morning, to go directly to Naples and continue the work begun.”23

CHAPTER VII

The expedition against Naples—The taking of Capua—Naples surrenders—Caesar returns to Rome—The orgy in his apartments in the Vatican—The Pope divides the conquered territory in Romagna among his family—Negotiations for the marriage of Lucretia Borgia and Alfonso d’Este—Caesar receives the Ferrarese envoys—Lucretia’s marriage—Her character—The Pope and Caesar go to Piombino—They visit Elba—Caesar and Leonardo da Vinci.

His Holiness took up his position at a window in the Castle of St. Angelo, June 28, 1501, and “with great joy” watched the armies of France file by and out of the city on their march to Naples to destroy the Aragonese dynasty. Burchard says that there were about 12,000 foot and 2,000 cavalry, 26 wagons, and 36 mortars. Jean d’Auton describes the departure of the French troops, the infantry and the cavalry leading, the file two miles long. The “men-at-arms in good order and fair array, encased in their armour and, with lances on thighs, wearing their casques ready for battle—thus they traversed Rome, the trumpets and clarions sounding, and the great Swiss drums thundering. On the low battlements of the Castle of St. Angelo stood the Pope, surrounded by bishops, archbishops, and cardinals. The illustrious Duke of Romagna and numerous other gentlemen of Rome were with him, and as the army marched by the Holy Father gave it the apostolic blessing; then the troops passed through the city gates and marched forth in the direction of the Kingdom of Naples and they moved rapidly and in perfect order.”

Caesar remained in Rome until July 9, 1501, when he left for Naples, but Burchard adds that he believed he returned to the city again the same evening.

In a secret consistory, June 25th, Frederic of Aragon had been declared deprived of the Kingdom of Naples, and the King of France invested with it. The 29th the league between the Pope and Louis XII. was solemnly proclaimed in St. Peter’s, the Te Deum was sung, and his Holiness repeated the Lord’s Prayer and gave his benediction.

On the way to Naples the French destroyed Marino and Cavi, while San Germano opened its gates to the invaders. Fabrizio and Prospero Colonna, who had abandoned their domain to the Pope, were Frederic’s only allies, but in his employ he had the famous condottiere Rinuccio da Marciano, who with Fabrizio Colonna had command of the forces in Capua. On the approach of the French Frederic promptly retired to Naples, where he was pursued by D’Aubigny, while Valentino and Sanseverino laid vigorous siege to Capua. The siege lasted for eight days, at the end of which time Fabrizio Colonna, seeing that further resistance was useless, endeavoured to arrange a meeting to agree upon the terms of surrender, but in the meantime a traitor had opened the gates and the French army rushed into the town.

“After the wall was destroyed and a breach effected large enough to permit of the assault, the King’s lieutenants had the trumpets and clarions sound the charge, and the drums beaten to arouse the army; the men-at-arms were given all the wine they wanted—to lend them courage—that the valour of France might humble the pride of Italy—and Messire Berault Stuart, Lieutenant-General of the King, addressed the men; on the conclusion of his speech the French were fired with courage and resolved to stand firm in the midst of the terrible adventures of war—and there, whether they lived or died, to maintain the justice of their King’s quarrel. And the assault was given about eleven o’clock on the morning of July 25th and was begun by the infantry, and a hand-to-hand fight ensued and the air was filled with spears and arrows and flashing swords—and beyond was the fire and smoke of the artillery—in the streets of the town pikes and halberds clashed—rude was the attack—but so bravely met that in less than half an hour more than two hundred French and Germans were killed in the breach—and the men of Don Frederic—of a truth they received their share of the blows and many were slain—and the troopers had no rest and it would have gone ill with the French if their men-at-arms had not come to their aid—and the shedding of human blood was each man’s care—and the Neapolitans and the Colonna maintained their quarrel with the sweat of their brow and the blood of their bodies—but the French continued to attack so furiously that the enemy knew not how to save themselves, except by flight—so they fell back and the French gained the breach—and they carried the town by assault and entered—and rivers of blood were shed and men innumerable slaughtered—the soldiers destroyed all whom they found armed in the streets, or hiding in the houses—giving quarter to none—whatever his condition—so that down the streets in great streams ran the blood. I will not describe the groans and shrieks of despairing women who beheld their husbands murdered, or the cries of the children over their slaughtered fathers, or the grief of the old men who saw their homes robbed and their city destroyed—but I will say that besides the butchery of the men, many maidens and women were violated and forced, which is the culmination of the horrors of war. The foot-soldiers of the Duke of Valentino managed to secure thirty of the most beautiful women of the city, who were carried away prisoners to Rome.”

The chronicler Jean d’Auton adds that to escape dishonour numerous women committed suicide; that many of the soldiers made themselves rich for life with the plunder, which caused them henceforth to be all the more eager for war. Between seven and eight thousand people were killed. Those of the men who were left, together with the women and priests, fled and hid in the belfries and towers of the churches, in the caves, and among the rocks, but the next day they were hunted out and held for ransom.

Fabrizio Colonna was captured, and his enemy, Giangiordano Orsini, generously furnished his ransom. Rinuccio da Marciano, wounded in the fight, was taken prisoner by Valentino’s men and died two days later—Guicciardini maintains of poison. Giovio says Marciano’s wounds were poisoned by Vitellozzo in revenge for the death of his brother Paolo, who had been condemned by Rinuccio’s faction in Florence.

FREDERIC II. OF NAPLES.

From a drawing by Boudan in the Bibliothèque Nationale

To face p. 184.

July 26th news reached the Pope of the capture of Capua by Caesar, per ducem Valentinum, says Burchard; but the importance of Caesar’s part in it seems to have been exaggerated, although he was one of the signers of the agreement between the King of France and King Frederic of Naples, by which the latter was to retire to Ischia for six months, and if he obtained help within that time he was to be allowed to denounce the armistice and endeavour to recover his throne. He was permitted to remove all his property, except his artillery and provisions. In case he failed to secure assistance within six months he agreed to abandon Ischia and Salerno, and was to be allowed to go wherever he wished. In about a month he saw that further resistance was useless and set sail for France, where he was received by Louis XII., who presented him with the Duchy of Anjou and a pension suitable to his rank. The unfortunate King of Naples died an exile September 9, 1504. When he left his kingdom he was accompanied by Sannazzaro, the famous poet, who was one of the bitterest of the enemies of the Borgia, and whose epigrams have perhaps done more than anything else to perpetuate the memory of their infamy.

Before Caesar returned to Rome the King of France sent Edouart Buillon to Naples to thank him for his services. The instructions to the envoy are dated August 8, 1501. He is to tell Valentino that the King has been informed of his great and good services in the conquest of Naples, for which he thanks him with all his heart, and that the King also recognises the goodwill the Duke bears him and which he purposes to reward by assisting him in his own affairs and treating him as his good friend and relative.

The King further requests Valentino to withdraw all his forces, except his own company, from the Regno, and to hold them in readiness and good order for use should occasion arise. He explains that this is necessary on account of the great gathering of men about Naples and the difficulty of providing for so many. He also enjoins him to prevent his men from robbing and pillaging.24

Caesar’s lieutenants in the north—with whom he remained in communication while he was in Naples—had advanced his projects to some extent, Vitellozzo Vitelli and Paolo Orsini having secured possession of Piombino, September 3rd.

Valentino returned to Rome with his men September 15, 1501.

Burchard describes an orgy which took place in Caesar’s apartments in the apostolic palace shortly after his return, to which fifty harlots were invited. After the supper they danced nude and indulged in various performances, the Pope, Caesar, and Lucretia looking on. Matarazzo also gives an account of the bacchanalia, but slightly changed. A description of it is likewise included in the letter to Silvio Savelli, and this is repeated by Sanudo in his diary.

August 20th the Pope had pronounced the ban against the Colonna and the Savelli, and the confiscation of their property, and shortly afterwards by a bull, dated September 17th, he divided their domains and the estates of the Gaetani, of the Savelli, of the Estouteville, and of the barons of Pojano and Magenza between the two Borgia infants. Rodrigo, the two-year-old son of Lucretia and the murdered Alfonso, received Sermoneta, Ninfa, Norma, Albano, Nettuno, and Ardea; while Giovanni was given Nepi, Palestrina, Paliano, Rigano, and other cities. The Pope erected Nepi, Sermoneta, and Palestrina into duchies, while he bestowed Subiaco with its eighteen castles on the Borgia family in perpetuity; the bull was signed by all the cardinals then in Rome, nineteen in number, among whom were Caraffa, Sanseverino, Cesarini, Farnese, Palavicini, and Medici, not one of them opposing this high-handed robbery of the Ghibelline lords of Latium by the Pope for the benefit of his own family—and with the help of the funds and offices of the Church. Almost the entire patrimony of St. Peter was now in the hands of the Borgia, for Caesar controlled all of Romagna.25

In one bull the Pope describes Giovanni Borgia as Caesar’s son, but in the second he calls him his own “son by a certain woman”—this woman was Giulia Bella. It would be difficult to believe such effrontery possible if the bulls, both of which are dated September 1, 1501, were not in existence to prove it.

Negotiations for the marriage of Lucretia Borgia and Alfonso d’Este had been in progress for some time. It had become known that he was looking for a wife, and his Holiness immediately discerned the advantages a union with the powerful House of Ferrara would afford. Ferrara would serve as a bulwark against the Venetians, who, the Pope knew, had designs on Romagna. The Duke of Ferrara was not very favourably disposed toward a marriage with a Borgia, and when Alexander suggested an alliance between his daughter Lucretia and the Duke’s son Alfonso, Ercole received the suggestion coldly. Moreover, Louis XII. had partly promised to find him a French princess for a wife for his son. Louis, however, being more anxious to please the Pope than any other Italian sovereign, had the Cardinal of Rouen inform Ercole that he could look to him for nothing. Lucretia had twice lost her husband under tragic circumstances, and Alfonso himself had little inclination for the match, while his sister Isabella d’Este, wife of the Marquis of Mantua, was bitterly opposed to the union upon which the Pope’s heart was set. Alfonso and his father, however, did not dare offend the Pope and Caesar, so they determined to drive as good a bargain as they could. The negotiations were wellnigh interminable. At first Ercole merely demanded a large dowry; then he insisted upon the remission of four-fifths of the annual tribute due the Church, and in addition he required the bishopric of Ferrara for his son, Cardinal d’Este. The dowry was to be 200,000 gold ducats, secured by liens on fiefs in Romagna, and an agreement was finally reached. In secret consistory, September 7th, all the cardinals present had consented to the remission of the Church’s tribute for the purpose of advancing the family interests and political ambitions of Alexander and Caesar Borgia.

LUCRETIA BORGIA.

After Titian.

To face p. 183.

Valentino had returned to Rome about the middle of September, and the 23rd he received the envoys of the Duke of Ferrara, who found him lying on a bed, but dressed. October 6th they again had occasion to confer with him, and they brought the list of those who were to come to Rome to escort the bride to Ferrara. Valentino was especially gracious; the orators gave a detailed account of their interview, because, as they explained, it was a favour usually accorded only to cardinals. It seems to have been difficult to obtain an audience with Caesar; when the Ferrarese orators again tried to see him two days later they were refused; they complained to the Pope, who appeared greatly annoyed, and said: “Caesar turns night into day, and day into night; the ambassadors of Rimini have been in Rome more than two months without securing an audience.” They also reported that Alexander was much displeased with Caesar’s conduct, and that he remarked that he was not certain that his Excellency would be able to hold the conquered territory.

The preparations for the wedding were interrupted for some days by the absence of the Pope and Caesar, who, accompanied by a number of cardinals and their suites, went to Civita Castellana and Nepi to inspect the changes which had been made in the stronghold of the latter place, and the fortress which was being constructed in the former town by Antonio di Sangallo.

During their absence Lucretia had been left as regent in the Vatican, according to Burchard, just as she had been on a former occasion, with authority to open letters and transact ecclesiastical business.

The escort which was expected to come to conduct Lucretia to Ferrara was delayed several times, and they were still looking for it at the end of October; finally Ercole announced that, owing to the inclemency of the season, he had decided to postpone the matter; the true reason, however, was the fact that the Emperor Maximilian had given him to understand that the alliance with the Borgia to which he had committed himself was highly displeasing to himself.

It was at this time that the remarkable “Letter to Silvio Savelli” was received in Rome; it was a small book printed in Germany. Its author is unknown, but it is supposed to have been written by a Colonna. Savelli had been robbed of his property by Alexander, and was an exile living at the Court of Maximilian. Gregorovius remarks: “This is an authentic document revealing the condition of Rome under the Borgia; no other writing so well exhibits the iniquity of these people, their corrupt politics, in great as well as small affairs, and the terror that ruled the city, which was filled with their spies and cut-throats.”

The universal execration in which they were held is also well revealed in the epigrams of the day, one of the most famous of which is the following:—

“Vendit Alex. claves, altaria, christum,
Emerat ille prius, vendere jure potest.
De vitio in vitium, de flamma crescit in ignem,
Roma sub Hispano deperit Imperio.
Sextus Tarquinius, Sextus Nero, Sextus et Iste.
Semper sub Sextis perdita Roma fuit.”

Alexander VI. read and enjoyed the letter to Silvio Savelli, as he was used to these satires, but Burchard remarks that Caesar regarded them more seriously, and cites the case of the rhetorician Jeronimo Mancini of Naples, who, having spoken ill of the Duke, was seized, and suffered the loss of the end of his tongue and a hand, which were exposed at a window in the Curia S. Crucis for two days. Some have ascribed the authorship of the famous letter to Mancini. January 28, 1502, a Venetian, who, it was said, had sent something he had written against the Pope to Venice, was seized, and when his ambassador went to intercede for him that night, he was informed that the unfortunate wretch had already been executed. Costabili, the Ferrarese ambassador, when he spoke to the Pope about the Duke’s vindictiveness, was told by his Holiness, “The Duke is good, but he cannot bear insults; and,” he added, “once when I told him he should profit by my example and let them write all the satires they wished, he became angry, and exclaimed he would teach these scribblers good manners.”

In the meantime Ercole d’Este, having no excuse for further delay, dispatched the escort—December 7th—for Rome, where it arrived the 23rd. In the cortège were Cardinal Ippolito and Fernando d’Este, brothers of the groom, with their suites, numbering more than five hundred persons. Valentino, accompanied by the French ambassador, Monseigneur de Trans, went to meet the princes. He embraced the cardinal affectionately, and when returning to the city rode on Ippolito’s left. At the gates they were met by nineteen other cardinals and their “families.” They were received by the Pope and his Court in the Vatican, after which Caesar conducted the princes to his sister’s apartments. The wedding gifts were magnificent—the least of all was that of Florence, a present of cloth of gold and silver to the value of 3,000 ducats. The betrothal took place December 28th, and the church ceremony the 30th.

Burchard describes the wedding with a wealth of detail that would do credit to a modern society reporter; the gowns, the jewels, the presents, the guests, the bride, the groom—all are there; the games for the entertainment—all are described.

Another move in the great political game had been made; the declining House of Naples had been eliminated as a factor in the Borgia plans by the murder of Alfonso of Aragon, and the support of the great House of Este, secured by the marriage of Ercole’s son, the future Duke of Ferrara, with Lucretia, who was apparently a passive instrument in the hands of Caesar and the Pope in their machinations. The final historical estimate of her is that she was not the virago, the baneful fiend she is represented to have been, but a colourless, characterless personality, wholly lacking in will, and completely under the control of Caesar and the Pope. She had none of the characteristics of Caterina Sforza. She left Rome to go to her future husband, who had been represented by a proxy, and she never returned. She appears to have made an excellent wife and mother.

Caesar remained in Rome until February 17, 1502, when he and the Pope, accompanied by several cardinals, left for Piombino, where they arrived the 21st. On the 25th they sailed for Elba to inspect two strongholds which Caesar was having his engineers construct on the island. When they were returning, March 1st, there was a severe storm, which made it impossible for them to leave the vessels for five days, and Burchard remarks that the Pope and cardinals who were in the captain’s ship were so frightened that they fell ill. They did not succeed in getting back to Rome until the 11th of March.

The strongholds on the island of Elba were probably built by Leonardo da Vinci, who had left Cesena in the fall of 1501 to go to Rome to confer with Caesar, and not by Antonio di Sangallo, who was engaged on the works in the vicinity of Civita Castellana during the early months of 1502.

In October, Caesar had declared his intention of attacking Camerino, but, owing to various causes, had been compelled to defer his undertaking. We have few details regarding Valentino during the months which he spent in Rome, but the chroniclers have left minute records of the administrative measures of his lieutenants in the Romagna. The petty States had been allowed to retain their own laws and customs, and, so far as possible, their own peculiar governmental systems; but all officials were responsible to the Governor of Romagna, Don Remiro de Lorca, an overbearing martinet, feared and hated by every one.

CHAPTER VIII

The third campaign in Romagna—Caesar goes to Spoleto—The Duke of Urbino flees to Florence—Valentino takes possession of Urbino—Florence sends envoys to him—Machiavelli’s first impression of Caesar—The King of France warns Valentino not to molest Florence—Caesar plunders the palace of Urbino—Michael Angelo’s “Cupid”—Camerino surrenders to Valentino’s lieutenants—Louis XII. receives Caesar and Alfonso d’Este at Milan—The King and Valentino enter into an agreement—Caesar goes to Imola—Affairs of Bologna—Valentino prepares to attack Giovanni Bentivoglio of Bologna.

Caesar was compelled to wait until the conclusion of the Neapolitan campaign before he could resume his own projects in the Romagna, where there were a few independent lords still left—these few knew that their time would soon come; among them were the Varano of Camerino and the Duke of Urbino, Guidobaldo di Montefeltre, who was greatly beloved by his people.

To complete his conquest of Romagna, Caesar determined to secure possession of Camerino, Urbino, and Sinigaglia. The early months of 1502 had been occupied with the trips to Piombino, Elba, and the towns belonging to the Colonna, and he was obliged to remain in Rome until after the Easter festivities; he was, therefore, unable to set about the execution of his projects until June.

Shortly before his departure the body of the youthful Lord of Faenza, who had so heroically defended his domain, was found in the Tiber, “strangled and dead.”

On surrendering to Caesar, Astorre’s life had been spared, and he had been allowed to depart with his personal belongings, and, as we have seen, trusting in Valentino’s word, he had gone to Rome, where he had almost immediately been thrown into prison.

He was held in the Castle of St. Angelo almost a year, and under date of June 9, 1502, Burchard has the following entry in his diary:—

“This day there was recovered from the Tiber, strangled and dead, the Lord of Faenza—a young man of about eighteen years, so fair, and handsome of form that among a thousand scarcely could his equal be found. A great stone was tied to his neck.”

The same day the river gave up the bodies of several other persons, among them two young men, one fifteen, the other twenty-five, both bound, and also a woman.

Vettori states that Manfredi perished at the hands of Bianchino di Pisa by order of Caesar, who was in Rome at the time. Manfredi was in the power and possession of the Borgia at the time of his death; consequently, whoever actually performed the murder, Alexander VI. and Caesar Borgia were responsible for it.

The murder of the Lord of Faenza shocked all Italy, and served to strengthen the suspicion that Valentino had caused the assassination of his brother, the Duke of Gandia, and also of his brother-in-law, Alfonso, Prince of Bisceglia.

Caesar’s motive is perfectly clear; he was determined to rule in Romagna. Manfredi was magnetic and brave, and skilful in war. His subjects had fought valiantly to save him, and were broken-hearted at his departure. Of all the petty sovereigns of Italy, he was almost the only one who enjoyed the love of his people, who continued loyal to him and looked forward to his return. In addition, his powerful kinsmen, the Este of Ferrara and the Bentivoglio of Bologna, might take it into their heads any day to restore him to power. Manfredi dead, Caesar’s progress would be easier and more certain. In spite of Valentino’s able administration of the government of Faenza, he had utterly failed to secure the goodwill of the people. Faenza was the least certain of his conquered territories. Before setting out to attack Camerino and Urbino it was, according to Caesar, the part of wisdom to eliminate Astorre from the desperate game which the virtuosi of renascent Italy were playing.

This deliberate planning of the destruction of a prince or a reigning family, for the sole purpose of securing possession of their property or power, seems peculiarly monstrous.

Caesar Borgia, aided by his father, Alexander VI., was building up a great power in central Italy for himself and his family, of which he clearly regarded himself as the head. Politics, parties, and dynasties, although apparently of vital importance to a people, are now really of slight moment, and it is only when the headstrong exercise of power leads to oppression that a people revolts. In the Far East the people are wholly indifferent to a change of rulers, consequently conquests in Asia are as easy as they are fruitless; the people pursue the even tenor of their way regardless of who their masters are, except so far as their economic situation is concerned—and the people of Italy during the Renaissance resembled them in this particular. We have seen how ready the cities of the Romagna were to open their gates to Caesar Borgia, and the same phenomenon has been noted elsewhere in the peninsula. In Naples whether France or Spain prevailed was of no importance. In Milan the people were equally indifferent to Ludovico il Moro and to Louis XII., and in Florence not until the greed of the Medici passed all bounds did the people drive them out. With advancing civilisation party lines vanish; one party usurps the principles of another, and modifies them sufficiently to cause them to appear to accord, or be identical, with its own doctrines; and just in proportion as party lines disappear the one enduring relation which has existed from all time, the relation of exploiter and exploited, stands forth more clearly—in fine, the whole organisation of civilised society is reducible to the hedonic postulate.

Caesar had collected an army in the neighbourhood of Spoleto, and thither he went June 12, 1502. His forces consisted of about 10,000 men—6,000 foot-soldiers, and 700 men-at-arms; in addition he had about 2,000 men conveniently placed in Romagna. Large bodies of troops were likewise held in reserve about Sinigaglia, Urbino, and Verruchio. Valentino had issued an order requiring every family in Romagna to furnish one man-at-arms. Resorting to cunning, he then announced that he intended to attack Camerino, and he went to the Duke of Urbino and asked for his artillery for his lieutenant, Vitelli; he also requested him to send supplies to Gubbio, assuring Montefeltre the while that “among all the princes of Italy there is none more dear to me than you are.” While he was advancing by way of Nocera and Costaciaro, he dispatched 2,000 men to secure Cagli, which they entered June 20th without resistance. There was nothing left for the Duke of Urbino’s representative to do but to warn his master of the advance of Valentino, “who will appear as an enemy before the gates of Urbino on the morrow.”

The Duke of Urbino was so confident that Caesar had no designs on his domain that he had gone to one of his suburban villas for a brief sojourn, and he was still there when his representative at Fossombrone informed him of the advance of a large force by way of Isola di Fano. Montefeltre, learning that the roads leading to the fortress of San Leo, which was regarded as impregnable, were already in Caesar’s possession, determined to flee to Florence. With him he had only a few servants and soldiers, whom he soon dismissed, and disguising himself as a peasant, he fled to Mantua, where he arrived about the end of the month.

Just four hours after the flight of Montefeltre, who was entirely unable to count on any support on the part of his people, Caesar entered Urbino, and all the officials of the place immediately repaired to him to pay their respects.

URBINO.

From an early engraving.

To face p. 198.

No sooner was Valentino installed in the beautiful palace of Urbino than he dispatched Pedro de Oviedo to Florence to demand the person of the Duke of Urbino, who, he had reason to believe, was within her borders, and to ask what her intentions were with respect to himself. To this the Signory replied by sending an embassy consisting of the Bishop, Francesco Soderini, and a secretary, the astute Machiavelli, who, however, after two interviews with Valentino, returned to report to the Signory.

The envoys on their first meeting with Caesar lost whatever illusions they may have had concerning his intentions regarding Florence. Valentino complained that the Florentines had shown a want of faith towards him; but notwithstanding this he was desirous of forming an alliance with the Republic, and it was for this that he had requested that plenipotentiaries be sent him; and to make sure that there would be no violation of faith, he demanded that the government of the city be changed and a new one established upon whose word he could rely, “otherwise,” he remarked to the two envoys, “you will very soon understand that I will not long endure the present state of affairs, and if you do not wish to have me for a friend you shall have me for an enemy.” The envoys endeavoured to excuse the Republic’s breach of faith, and assured the Duke that she only desired his friendship. As to a change in the government they replied that the city had the best government that could be found; but Caesar insisted, and regretting that this was not that for which they supposed they had been summoned, and was not what the city expected, they took their leave. In one of their dispatches the envoys stated that Caesar was molto solitario e segreto—very solitary and secret. Valentino informed them that he had no desire to seize the property of any one—that it was not his purpose to make himself a tyrant, but, on the contrary, to drive out the tyrants.

Machiavelli alluded to the fate of the Duke of Urbino, “whose death had been announced simultaneously with the disease,” to which Caesar replied, “that the fate of Urbino showed the rapidity with which he reached his goal.”

Caesar literally dazzled and disarmed the envoys with his dash and cunning and effrontery, and Machiavelli wrote: “This lord is splendid and magnificent, and in the profession of arms his boldness is such that the greatest undertakings present no difficulties for him; when he sets out to acquire glory and enlarge his domains, he knows neither rest, fatigue, nor danger; his arrival in a place is no sooner known than he is gone; he understands how to win the love of his men, and he has the best troops in all Italy—and this circumstance, together with most extraordinary good luck, makes him a conqueror and a formidable adversary.” In one of his dispatches Soderini says: “It is difficult to answer him, so numerous are his arguments, and his speech and wit so ready.”

The negotiations, however, were protracted, and Machiavelli returned to Florence, while his colleague remained to divert Caesar, so that the Republic might have time to appeal to France. July 6th a messenger arrived from Louis XII., who commanded Caesar not to molest Florence; his Majesty also stated that he would regard any act of violence against the Republic as an affront to himself. The King’s action had been taken at the request of the Signory, who thus wished to show Valentino that they enjoyed the favour of France. In the meantime Caesar’s unchecked captains continued their aggressions by seizing Anghiari and Borgo San Sepolcro. July 9th the orator in Urbino informed the Duke that his Government would enter into an alliance with him, but demanded that he order Vitellozzo Vitelli to withdraw from Florentine territory. To this Caesar would not consent until an agreement had been reached, but to show his goodwill he proposed a suspension of hostilities. The Florentines, however, having been informed that the King of France with 20,000 men was on the way to Italy, procrastinated. They answered that while they would be glad to please him they would first have to consult with his Majesty. Soderini was directed to prolong the negotiations as much as possible to give the French lancers time to reach the field of action. After considerable fencing the envoy took leave of Valentino July 19th.

It appears that Caesar had already added to his numerous titles that of Duke of Urbino—“the weak State,” which he regarded as of slight importance, and in whose beautiful palace he found numerous works of art, which he caused to be removed to Cesena, not the least valuable of the treasures being the famous library. Among the statues was Michael Angelo’s “Cupid,” which Caesar himself a few years before, when still a cardinal, had presented to Guidobaldo di Montefeltre. Isabella d’Este, after Caesar’s occupation of Urbino, having expressed a desire for this work of art, and for a certain “Venus,” the Duke sent them to her, although when she had asked her brother Ippolito to procure them for her, she had explained that “she did not wish to have anything to do with the Duke of Romagna.” Isabella had supposed the “Cupid” to be antique, but Caesar informed her that it was the work of Michael Angelo. Writing to her husband, Isabella said: “I will not describe the beauty of the ‘Venus,’ as I think you have seen it, but the ‘Cupid’ has no equal among modern works.”

No sooner had Soderini departed than Caesar, disguised and accompanied by only four servants, also left the city, intending to go secretly to the King of France in Milan. Just as he was about to take horse envoys arrived to congratulate him on the fall of Camerino, which had surrendered to his lieutenants July 19th.

The Varano family were the overlords of Camerino, and their head, Giulio Cesare, a man of seventy, who had been a condottiere in the pay of Venice, was one of the tyrants Valentino had singled out for destruction. Pope Alexander, on the ground that the Varano had neglected to pay the tribute due the Church, had at the time of Caesar’s first successes declared their States confiscated. Early in June Valentino had dispatched two of his captains, the Duke of Gravina and Oliverotto da Fermo, from Rome to take possession of Camerino. Giulio Cesare Varano had sent his two younger sons to Venice for aid, and had kept the two elder with him in Camerino. There they made some resistance, but their relations with their subjects were similar to those of most of the Italian tyrants with their people, consequently they found but lukewarm support; there was even one faction, composed of their most determined adversaries, who were anxious to open the gates to Valentino’s lieutenants. Giulio Cesare Varano and his two sons were taken to Urbino and cast into prison. The Colonna, who had assisted in the defence of Camerino, succeeded in making their escape. July 20th Caesar informed his sister Lucretia of the capture of Camerino in the following letter:—

“Illustrious and most excellent Lady, and our dear sister. Knowing that in your present illness no medicine could be more efficacious and more helpful than the announcement of good news, we inform you that we have just received a reliable report to the effect that Camerino has been taken. We beg you to honour this message with an immediate amelioration in your health and to inform us of it; for, distressed as we are, knowing you are so ill, nothing, not even this happy event, can give us any pleasure. We beg you to communicate this present news to the Illustrious Sr. Don Alfonso, your husband and our dearly beloved brother-in-law, to whom I cannot write to-day. Urbino XX July MDII.

“Caesar
“Agapito.”

Valentino always maintained friendly relations with Ercole and Alfonso d’Este, who never neglected to congratulate him on his successes.

Caesar evidently was anxious regarding his sister’s health, for he sent a famous physician of Cesena, Niccolò Marsini, to consult with his own physician, Gaspare Torrella, who had been previously dispatched to Ferrara. A few days later Caesar, disguised and with only a small suite, went to see his sister; he remained only two hours with her, and then, accompanied by his brother-in-law Alfonso, set out for Milan to meet the King of France.

Louis had been informed of their coming, but had kept the matter secret from the numerous deposed princes who had hastened to him. To the astonishment of the entire Court, which included the Duke of Urbino, the Lord of Pesaro, Varano of Camerino, and the Marquis of Mantua, who had offered to place himself at the head of a league for the purpose of dispossessing Caesar of his domains, the King received the new-comers most cordially. The courtiers had supposed that Louis would undertake to discipline Valentino for threatening Florence, but instead he received Caesar and his brother-in-law with the highest honours. The dethroned princes therefore immediately divined that the King and the Vatican were in perfect accord. Louis needed the Pope’s support in his plans with respect to Naples, and Caesar was astute enough to know that his Majesty would not seriously interfere with his own projects.

About this time Louis XII. and Valentino entered into a formal agreement regarding Bologna, by which his Majesty promised to furnish the Duke with three hundred lances “to help him to conquer Bologna in the name of the Church and subdue the Orsini, the Baglioni, and the Vitelli,” while Caesar promised to hold himself in readiness for three years to assist the King in any enterprises in which he might see fit to engage.

On returning from Milan Caesar immediately—September 10th—went to Imola to meet Cardinal Borgia, Bishop of Elne, and Don Remiro de Lorca, Governor of Romagna. Leonardo da Vinci had just completed his inspection of the Romagnol stronghold and castles, and had drawn up plans for strengthening them; he had also made designs for certain engines of war. Caesar remained in Imola until the 16th conferring with his lieutenants. In the meantime Alexander had sent an envoy to Bologna to demand that Giovanni Bentivoglio submit to his authority. At this juncture Claude de Seyssel, ambassador of Louis XII.—who had returned to France—appeared in Bologna to make known the wishes of his master, who had always regarded himself as the protector of the city. The Bentivoglio were loyally supported by the citizens, who refused to allow Giovanni’s sons, who had been summoned to the Vatican, to go to Rome; and the political parties, which had divided Bologna, laid aside their differences in the face of the threatening danger.

The Bolognese had found allies in Caesar’s own camp. The Orsini, the Baglioni, and Vitellozzo Vitelli had become estranged from him by his treatment of Bentivoglio and his efforts to compel Vitelli to surrender Milan to Florence. The condottieri, in Caesar’s name, had entered into an alliance of friendship with Bentivoglio during the last campaign; it therefore is not surprising that they refused to break this treaty and finally took sides with the House of Bologna against him.

Caesar was now isolated, and his only support was the small army of Romagna, which was not sufficient to permit him to attack Bologna; nevertheless, counting on the French lances which the King had promised him at Milan, he prepared to make an assault upon the city.

CHAPTER IX

The conspiracy of Caesar’s captains—Machiavelli and Valentino—Vacillation of the conspirators—They offer to return to Caesar—They again take heart—A reconciliation is effected—Caesar separates the conspirators—He enters into an alliance with Bentivoglio—The rebels return to Caesar—Paolo Orsini takes possession of Urbino in Caesar’s name—Execution of Don Remiro de Lorca—Caesar goes to Sinigaglia and meets his commanders—The trap at Sinigaglia—Fate of the rebels—Caesar informs the Italian princes of his act—The Orsini and their adherents in Rome are seized—Cardinal Orsini’s palace is plundered—Fermo and Perugia surrender to Valentino—He puts Paolo and Francesco Orsini to death—Cardinal Orsini dies in prison—Caesar demands that the Sienese expel Pandolfo Petrucci—He ravages the country about Siena—Activity of the Orsini in the neighbourhood of Rome—Caesar returns to Rome—He lays siege to Ceri—Contemporary opinions of the Pope and Caesar—Gonsalvo de Cordova in Naples—The Pope and Caesar are stricken by the plague—Death of Alexander VI.—Rumours of poison—Caesar recovers—He takes possession of the dead Pope’s property.

Caesar’s preparations for attacking Milan were the signal for the final rupture with his captains, who met at Todi, where they had concentrated their troops. Here they entered into a formal agreement to refuse to obey any of Caesar’s orders directed against their ally Giovanni Bentivoglio. The first meeting was held about the end of September, and a second one took place a little later at Magione, near Perugia. Those present were Ermes and Annibale Bentivoglio, Cardinal Orsini, the Duke of Gravina, two other members of the Orsini family, Guido Petrucci (who also represented Pandolfo Petrucci), and Gentile and Giampaolo Baglioni. Vitellozzo Vitelli, who was ill, had himself carried to the meeting on a litter. At this meeting of the conspirators it was resolved not only to refuse to attack Bentivoglio but also to take active steps against Caesar, their former commander.

October 2nd news of the conspiracy reached the Vatican. In the north Bentivoglio was advancing on Imola; in the south the Orsini and Vitelli were preparing to attack Urbino. Caesar was in Imola awaiting the arrival of the French lances, and there he learned of the revolt of his lieutenants. The loss of the Orsini was especially serious, and he endeavoured to win them over from the conspirators. In the meantime he sent out agents to enlist new troops. As soon as the condition of affairs became known soldiers of fortune hastened to him from all directions; among the first to appear were Gasparo Sanseverino, Luigi della Mirandola, Galeazzo Palavicini, Raffaelle de’ Pazzi, Ranieri della Sassetta, and Francesco de Luna. The Romagnols hurried to his assistance, and he placed them under the command of his ablest leaders, Dionigi di Naldo, Marc Antonio di Fano, Gabrielle da Faenza, Guido di Vaini, and Giovanni Sassatelli. To his Spanish captains he entrusted the command of the cities and strongholds, upon which the security of his new duchy depended.

In the meantime the Pope had used his influence with Giulio Orsini, who was now ready to desert Vitelli, while Pandolfo Petrucci, dismayed by the preparations Caesar was making to crush his enemies, dispatched a messenger to Imola to assure his former commander of his loyalty.

To secure the support of Florence Caesar now requested the Republic to send an ambassador to him to confer on matters of mutual interest, and again the envoy selected was Machiavelli.

No other man was so well fitted as he to read the devious mind of Valentino; he had given evidence of the greatest perspicacity and shrewdness, and if any one was a match for the son of Alexander VI. the Florentine secretary was. Not only his friends the Adriani, the Soderini, the Valori, but even his opponents approved of the selection. Machiavelli accepted his commission eagerly; he was naturally restless and was intensely interested in the political life of the day. He had met Caesar a few months before, and he regarded him as the Italian ideal, a personification of virtu, the aggregation of the qualities most dear to the Italian heart; it is therefore not surprising that he eagerly embraced the opportunity to study Valentino and match wits with him.

Machiavelli having promised his young wife, Marietta di Ludovico Corsini, whom he had married but a few months before, that he would return in eight days, set out for Imola. On the road he met Agapito Gerardino, Caesar’s secretary, on his way to Florence to ask aid of the Signory. The Pope also, foreseeing the danger, had dispatched an envoy to the Republic. Caesar’s secretary decided to turn back and accompany Machiavelli to Imola, where they arrived October 7th.

Machiavelli explained to Valentino that he had come to assure him of the friendship of the Republic and to inform him that it had refused to join his enemies. Valentino received the envoy cordially, and thanked him for the professions of friendship on the part of his Government. They discussed the political situation at great length, and Caesar appeared very anxious to conclude some sort of an agreement with Florence for their mutual support, but Machiavelli was unable to get any very definite suggestion from the Duke. The Borgia, who was then only twenty-six, showed himself a consummate diplomatist and more than a match for the Florentine secretary.

October 9th Machiavelli had another interview with Caesar, who, to strengthen the demands he had made for an alliance with Florence, produced a letter from the King of France in which aid was promised for the undertaking against Bologna. Valentino seemed much elated. “Now, you see, secretary, this letter is an answer to my request for permission to attack Bologna.”

Machiavelli did not allow himself to be deceived by Caesar’s astuteness and eloquence, but he carefully weighed the causes for the Duke’s confidence in the success of his projects; he estimated his actual military strength and the number of troops he could collect, and he found that Caesar was far from weak, but also that his enemies were much more powerful than he had represented them to be.

The Florentine was greatly impressed by Valentino’s astuteness, but he was, nevertheless, able to discern his real purpose. Caesar had boldly stated that if he effected a reconciliation with the Orsini it would be impossible for him to enter into any treaty of friendship with their enemy Florence, and Machiavelli knew that this was true, consequently he wrote the Signory that it would be well to make some sort of compact with the Duke at once.

Machiavelli’s first impressions of Caesar were vague and uncertain. The Duke was not more perspicacious than the secretary, but he had greater self-control, had a sharper insight into motives, and he possessed powers of dissimulation which Machiavelli entirely lacked. Above all else Caesar was perfect master of himself. He therefore succeeded in hiding much of his real purpose from the secretary.

The Signory of Florence, however, attached the greatest importance to Machiavelli’s report of his interviews with Caesar, and Valori wrote him, October 11th, saying his “relation was clear cut, exact, and sincere—and to be relied upon.”

Among the conspirators it had been decided that Bentivoglio should attack Romagna, while the Orsini and Vitelli should try to take Urbino. Some of the leaders had hesitated and the plan was still in abeyance when an unexpected event gave them new courage.

The Castle of San Leo, the bulwark of Urbino, was seized by a supporter of the Montefeltre early in October, and Caesar had been informed of the fact before Machiavelli reached Imola. Valentino was not disturbed by the news, and the Florentine envoy says that he expressed his pity for those who had chosen such an unfavourable moment to attack him; he made light of the loss of a State he had no intention of retaining; he could recover it any time he saw fit. He even showed Machiavelli copies of the orders he had sent his lieutenants to retire within their lines of defence.

These commanders, Ugo Moncada, Michelotto de Corella, Bartolomeo Capranica, and Giovanni de Cordova, retreated, but destroyed the villages that lay in their way, delivering them over to fire and pillage. Pergola and Fossombrone were laid waste and all their inhabitants, men, women, and children, put to the sword. The news of these crimes reached Imola October 12th, and Caesar exultingly exclaimed to Machiavelli, “The stars this year seem to be unfavourable to rebels!”

One after another the towns in Urbino revolted, but still the conspirators hesitated. Paolo Orsini announced that he would return to Caesar if he would relinquish his intention of attacking Bologna and direct his energies against Florence; Vitelli, at first the most active of the conspirators, now offered to follow Valentino if he would assure him of his safety. That all Italy was afraid of Caesar and the Pope there is no doubt.

The Duke pretended to believe in the sincerity of his captains and received them again into his favour; he even dispatched them to the support of the garrisons in Urbino that were still loyal to him. Vitelli had advanced as far as Castel-Durante, and the Baglioni were at Cagli. The Orsini were in the neighbourhood of the stronghold of San Leo, holding aloof from both Caesar and Montefeltre, who had taken refuge in Venice, where he had recruited a considerable number of troops. October 12th a courier arrived in Urbino with the news that Montefeltre was advancing to the aid of the garrison. This meant that Venice was helping the conspirators, who consequently again took heart and threw off the mask. The 15th the Orsini, who had apparently been willing to return to Caesar, fell upon the troops of Ugo Moncada and made him prisoner. Michelotto was forced to flee to Fossombrone, and a few days later the Duke of Urbino again entered his capital.

Had the conspirators with their united forces attacked Caesar at this moment, it is highly probable that he would have lost the greater part of his domain; but each appeared to be concerned only with his own interests and much time was lost by remaining inactive in Urbino. Finally the rebels began to be suspicious of each other. Giampaolo Baglioni, knowing that Fano was Caesar’s most loyal town, asked permission to enter as his lieutenant. Pandolfo Petrucci of Perugia had always hesitated because he feared the Borgia would finally outwit the conspirators; and a few days after the return of the Duke of Urbino he sent a messenger to suggest in the name of all that a new treaty or agreement be made by which they would again enter his service and recover the territory which had been lost.

Louis XII., unable to accomplish his purpose with respect to Naples without the help of Alexander VI., declared those who opposed the Holy Father’s plans regarding the Romagna were also his enemies. The King had promptly discovered the part Venice had played in effecting the return of Montefeltre to Urbino, consequently he threatened the Republic with his wrath in case it lent any further aid whatsoever to the enemies of Valentino; this again strengthened Caesar.

Furnished with a safe conduct from Valentino, Paolo Orsini came to Imola October 20th, and the terms of a reconciliation having been arranged, he was allowed to depart unharmed a few days later. All were to be forgiven, and Caesar agreed to protect the estate of each of his lieutenants, and in return they were to defend him and his territory and those of the Pope, and, theoretically at least, also those of all the princes of the House of Borgia. There was to be a special agreement regarding Bologna, and Cardinal Orsini, Pandolfo Petrucci, and Valentino himself were chosen to arrange the terms.

Machiavelli heard Caesar’s confidant, Agapito of Amelia, laugh at the conspirators and speak of them as rebels after the compact had been signed—“a child would laugh at such a treaty.” In Rome, too, the agreement was not regarded very seriously.

Only a short time elapsed between Paolo Orsini’s departure from Imola and his arrival in Urbino, where he informed Vitelli of the terms of the agreement he had signed in the name of the conspirators with Valentino. In the meantime Vitelli had been very active; he had aided the Duke of Urbino in every way possible; he had attacked Caesar’s lieutenants, and had even put some of his civil officers to death. Oliverotto da Fermo, another of the conspirators, had been equally active and Baglioni had not been idle. Romagna, however, had remained faithful to Caesar.

Vitelli rejected Caesar’s offer and persuaded Baglioni also to join him in supporting the Duke of Urbino. The situation, however, was serious. Caesar was frequently heard to remark that he was “eating the artichoke leaf by leaf.” Having detached Petrucci and Orsini from the band of conspirators, he endeavoured to win over Bentivoglio. Finally an agreement was reached with the Lord of Bologna and the treaty was signed in Rome by his representative, Francesco Parato and the Pope’s chamberlain, Michele Romolino. Giovanni Bentivoglio had been left to his fate by the conspirators, and when he entered into the treaty with the Vatican he was acting solely in his own interests without regard to any of the others. The treaty, whose purpose was to assure the integrity of the domain of the two parties, was signed in the Vatican November 23rd. The King of France, the Duke of Ferrara, and the Signory of Florence stood sponsors for the alliance. Bologna agreed to furnish Valentino a hundred men-at-arms and two hundred light cavalry “for one or two enterprises the Duke was planning.” In addition Caesar was engaged by Bologna as a condottiere at an annual salary of 12,000 ducats. The treaty was finally signed November 23rd and was sent to Caesar for ratification.

Giustinian, the Venetian ambassador, in his dispatch of that date reports that he had heard that Cardinal Orsini and the Bolognese envoy had engaged in a violent altercation in the presence of the Pope, the former charging Bentivoglio’s representative with endeavouring to effect an agreement with Caesar and the Vatican without regard to the Orsini.

Vitellozzo Vitelli, finding himself deserted, hastened to accept the terms offered him in Caesar’s name by Paolo Orsini, who, bringing the agreement signed by all the conspirators, arrived in Imola November 27th, before Valentino had formally ratified the treaty between Bologna and the Pope. Two days later Orsini set out for Fano to assume command of the troops and advance on Urbino. He was accompanied by Antonio del Monte, Valentino’s special commissioner for the city of Urbino, bearing letters of amnesty for the rebels, and delegated to take possession of the duchy in the name of his master.

His recent comrades having sworn to recover Urbino, Guidobaldo di Montefeltre gave himself up for lost. In vain some of his loyal subjects urged him to resist; at Valbona the women offered him their jewels to procure means to secure troops and supplies, but he decided to flee. Before doing so he had the strongholds of Pergola and Cagli razed. Early in December Paolo Orsini entered the domain of the Montefeltre and, halting a few miles from Urbino, sent a messenger to ask for an interview with Guidobaldo, who was suffering from an attack of the gout and had to be borne on a litter to the place of meeting. December 7th he took leave of such of his subjects as had remained faithful, and two days later Paolo Orsini entered Urbino and assumed the office of Governor of the domain of the Montefeltre, although the four strongest castles in the territory, San Leo, Maggiolo, Montecuccolo, and San Marino were still held by Vitelli, who, notwithstanding the fact that he had signed the agreement with Caesar, still seemed to be hesitating as to his course.

December 10th Valentino departed for Forli and from there he went to Cesena, where he made preparations to go to Rome by way of Ancona.

It had been decided to make war on Sinigaglia, Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere having failed to convince the Pope and the King that he had not aided Guidobaldo di Montefeltre in the last rebellion. The Cardinal exerted himself to save his nephew’s estates but failed.

The day before Caesar left Cesena for Pesaro a terrible sight met the eyes of the peasants as they entered the town in the early morning bringing supplies. Thrown in the public square was a bleeding and headless corpse clothed in a rich costume; near by, impaled on a pike, was the head, which the inhabitants of the capital of Romagna immediately recognised as that of their Governor, Don Remiro de Lorca. One of Caesar’s political maxims was: leniency for small offenders, severity for great ones. Numerous charges of malfeasance in office—among others that of having sold for his own profit grain which Valentino had imported—had been made against the Governor and he had been tried “to satisfy justice and our honour, and that of those he had injured—and as a salutary example for all public officials present and to come,” condemned, and executed.

Machiavelli, who saw the body exposed in the public square, observes: “It is not clearly known what was the cause of his death—unless it was simply the pleasure of the prince, who shows that he knows how to make and unmake men according to their deserts.” There were rumours, however, that Don Remiro had been plotting with Caesar’s enemies.

The 29th of the month, while in Fano, which had remained faithful to him, Valentino received a delegation from the citizens of Ancona, who had come to assure him of their loyalty. With them was a messenger from Vitelli, bringing news of the capture of Sinigaglia, after a feeble resistance, about the end of December, 1502.

Caesar’s commanders, to prove their good faith, had not only offered their services for his movement against Sinigaglia but several of them had gone there in person. Paolo Orsini and his son Fabio, Francesco Orsini, Duke of Gravina, and Oliverotto da Fermo were there, and Vitellozzo Vitelli and one of his nephews appeared on the 30th. The only ones absent were Giampaoli Baglioni, who, distrustful of Caesar, had sent him word from Perugia that he was ill; and Giulio Orsini, who was in Rome under the protection of the all-powerful head of the house, Cardinal Orsini.

How astute men, living in an age of unparalleled duplicity, when every man’s hand was against his neighbour, when treachery and assassination were regarded as fine arts, and poison and poignard perfectly proper tools in political machinations, could have rushed into such a trap is difficult to understand. Caesar’s character was known to all of them; he was more than a match for any one of them in cunning, intellect, astuteness, determination, and what is of still more importance, he had even less moral sense; he had frequently shown that mercy, compassion, pity, were no part of his nature, and these men, having betrayed him, conspired to destroy him, ruin him, rob him of the estates he regarded as his own, deliberately placed themselves in his power! It would not have been surprising if one or two had been deceived, but there were seven or eight; in fact, there was only one, Baglioni, who had not fallen into the trap.

The only explanation is that the conspirators were utterly panic-stricken; they found their coalition was gradually being weakened by Valentino—in fact, that he was “eating the artichoke leaf by leaf” as he said—and that they were doomed; they perhaps thought that by surrendering and again entering his employ there would be at least a chance of being forgiven; with many men this would have been the case, but they had failed to grasp what was perhaps Caesar’s chief characteristic, his utter implacability, which, in conjunction with his extraordinary powers of dissimulation, made him the most dangerous of the Italian despots. All the members of his own family, not excepting his father, the Pope, feared him. He possessed all the characteristics of all the other Italian condottieri but in a more highly developed form. Caesar immediately saw that the hour for vengeance had arrived—all the rebels were together.

The conspirators informed the Duke that the territory had surrendered to them, but that the stronghold still held out because, as the warder said, he would relinquish it only to the Duke in person.

The 30th of December Caesar sent them word from Fano that he would be in Sinigaglia the next day with the artillery to reduce the castle in case it still refused to yield.

December 31st the army left Fano with Don Michele and two hundred lances in the van, followed by Caesar with the men-at-arms. When they reached the bridge crossing the Misa just before Sinigaglia, Don Michele halted the light horse to allow the infantry to pass and enter the town.

Oliverotto da Fermo had remained in the city, but Paolo and Francesco Orsini and Vitellozzo Vitelli, who had taken possession of some of the neighbouring castles, came to meet Caesar, who received them graciously, shook hands with them in the “French fashion” and kissed them. According to Machiavelli, seeing that Oliverotto was not with them, Caesar made a sign to Michele to go and find him, which he did and told him to come with him to Caesar.

Valentino entered Sinigaglia on horseback, riding between Vitellozzo Vitelli and Francesco Orsini, and on arriving at the palace the four prepared to take leave of him, but he asked them to go in with him to confer—or perhaps to have luncheon. This they did, but no sooner had they passed the portals than they were seized by Valentino’s guard. The accounts differ in some unimportant details but the above is the generally accepted one.

That evening when Machiavelli reached Sinigaglia he found the streets filled with soldiers and the place in a tumult. As he was about to enter the palace he saw the Duke come forth, armed from head to foot, mounted on his charger. Caesar called the Ambassador to him and told him of the arrest of the Orsini and Vitelli. The Florentine secretary was dazzled by this masterpiece of treachery which he described as il bellissimo inganno—“the most beautiful piece of deception.”

When news of the capture reached the troops of Vitelli and Orsini they at once realised their danger, and rallying about Fabio Orsini and Vitelli’s nephew, withdrew from the town. Encountering no further opposition, Caesar’s men overran the place, robbing, plundering, violating, until he himself issued from the palace with a guard and hanged a number of the rioters in the public square.

Caesar decided to take Orsini to Rome, while Oliverotto and Vitelli were condemned to death after a semblance of a trial, the Duke apparently desiring to give his action an appearance of right. The order was given for them to be executed the same night. It is related that the youthful and proud Oliverotto tried to stab himself to avoid the shame of death at the hands of the executioner. As to Vitelli—“in his last hour he showed himself unworthy of his past life, for he begged to be allowed to plead with the Pope for forgiveness—and Oliverotto turned his back on him.” At the tenth hour of the night they were strangled.

Immediately after the execution Caesar wrote all his friends among the Italian princes telling them what he had done; his officers had conspired to destroy him, and although he had forgiven them they had met at Sinigaglia expressly for the purpose of again entering into a compact to secure his overthrow; having learned of this, he himself had gone to that place with his troops and seized the traitors, who had been duly tried and condemned. The letter to Venice concludes with the remark, “I am certain your Serenità will be pleased.” To the Romagnols he wrote: “All the world ought to be pleased, and especially Italy, seeing that by their death the country is relieved of a dangerous pest,” and he urges them to “thank God for putting an end to the calamities the country suffered owing to these misguided ones,” who, it may be observed, had until recently been among his most capable commanders.

Many of the princes congratulated Caesar, and Isabella d’Este sent him a present of some masks, and in her letter referred to the “favourable progress you are making.”

During the night of January 2, 1503, news was brought the Pope of the capture of Sinigaglia, and the next morning he sent a messenger to Cardinal Orsini to inform him that he desired his presence.

According to the Master of Ceremonies, when the cardinal and his suite reached the apostolic palace their horses and mules were led away to the Pope’s stables, and when Orsini entered the Chamber of the Papagalli he found himself surrounded by armed men and—says Burchard—was frightened.

The Prothonotary Orsini, Bernardino d’Alviano, brother of the condottiere Bartolomeo, Santa Croce, a supporter of the Orsini, and Rinaldo Orsini, Archbishop of Florence, were arrested at the same time. Santa Croce, however, having promised that he would appear when wanted and given bonds, was set at liberty, but Cardinal Orsini was thrown into prison in the Castle of St. Angelo, and the Governor of Rome took possession of his palace and personal property.

January 3rd the Holy Father informed the Signory of Florence of what had taken place at Sinigaglia and in Rome, and the following day he told Giustinian that Caesar’s commanders and Remiro de Lorca, Governor of Romagna, had conspired to destroy him, and that this was the reason Remiro had been executed at Cesena.

A few days later nearly the entire Sacred College went to the Pope to ask him to release their colleague Cardinal Orsini, but the Holy Father insisted that he had been the very heart and soul of the conspiracy and refused to accede to their wishes; he also justified Caesar’s action and showed that he regarded the terrible vengeance he had wrecked on his condottieri as a brilliant stroke of genius.

Giustinian gives particulars of the plundering of Cardinal Orsini’s palace. “Everything, even to the straw, was carried away and taken to the Vatican. A vast quantity of silver vessels was found there—estimated to be worth more than 10,000 ducats—the most beautiful tapestries and other household furniture—of money it is not known how much, but it is said to have been less than had been at first supposed. The cardinal’s mother was dragged from the house with only what she had on her back, and a few of her maids. The cardinal was taken to S. Angelo and every one has given him up for dead.”

In his dispatch of January 5, 1503, the ambassador says that Pope Alexander held a convocation the evening before and explained to the cardinals why he had imprisoned Cardinal Orsini, and he also informed them that everything he had heard regarding the prelate’s treachery toward himself and Caesar had been confirmed since his imprisonment; that all this and more, too, was true. The cardinals begged for mercy for their colleague, to which his Holiness replied that he would be governed by a sense of justice in whatever he did with respect to Orsini; that he would see that he was not wronged, and was treated with perfect justice; then he assured them of his love and of his appreciation of their recommendation—and his words confirmed all in their belief that he intended to have Orsini put to death.

The same day the Pope’s son Giuffre and Jacopo Santa Croce, probably as the cardinal’s representative for form’s sake, with an adequate force rode to Mount Rotundo, and in the name of his Holiness took possession of it and of all the other property of the Orsini, including the abbey of Farfa.

The day after the murder of Vitelli and Oliverotto Caesar set out for Perugia and Siena, having with him his prisoners Paolo and Francesco Orsini. Before he left Sinigaglia Andrea Doria had surrendered the citadel to him on receiving Caesar’s permission to retire whithersoever he wished.

On the way Valentino took possession of Vitelli’s capital, Città di Castello, which had been abandoned by the inhabitants. Then he set out for Perugia, where the Duke of Urbino and the Prince of Camerino, Vitelli’s nephew, had found refuge under the protection of Giampaolo Baglioni, who had announced his intention of resisting. Caesar had, however, no sooner reached Gualdo—January 5th—than the Duke of Urbino fled to Pitigliano, and Baglioni, abandoning his wife and children, who fell into the hands of Caesar’s men, made his escape, and joined Pandolfo Petrucci in Siena.

Their leaders having deserted them, the people of Fermo and Perugia sent messengers to Valentino offering him their allegiance, which he accepted, and, having appointed Vincenzo Calmeto and Agapito Gerardino Governors of these places, he set out for Siena. When he reached Assisi—January 7th—he was met by envoys from Siena, come to ask him what terms he would grant. His first demand was that they surrender Pandolfo Petrucci, and without waiting for an answer he pressed forward in the direction of Castel della Pieve. While there he made public the treaty into which he had entered with Giovanni Bentivoglio, who, to prove his sincerity, immediately announced that he was ready to dispatch the troops he had agreed to furnish. At the same time the marriage contract of the sister of the Bishop of Elne, a relative of the Pope and Caesar, with Costanzo Bentivoglio was signed—this had also been stipulated in the treaty.

Caesar reached Castel della Pieve January 18th, and there he had Paolo and Francesco Orsini strangled. He had stated that he intended to imprison them in Civita Castellana, but he probably found their presence hampering to his movements and concluded that there was no reason to defer their death, upon which he was resolved. The papal Master of Ceremonies calmly records the fact: “January 18th Francesco Orsini, Duke of Gravina, Paolo Orsini, and the Chevalier Orsini26 were killed and strangled by Michelotto and Marco Romano by order of the Duke Valentino.”

When the Pope was asked about the affair he replied coldly, saying that he knew nothing about it, as he had received no letters from the Duke; and to give an appearance of truth to what he said he added that the Duke had entered upon the Sienese expedition without his consent.

VITELLOZZO VITELLI

From an early engraving.

To face p. 220.

Cardinal Orsini had been in prison since January 2nd. For a time his mother, who was then eighty years old, was allowed to bring him his meals, but this was finally forbidden. In vain she and her son offered large sums for his liberty; she even sent the Pope a very valuable pearl which he had admired; he accepted it and again allowed her to furnish the cardinal his meals; “but it was believed he had already drunk the cup the Pope had prepared for him.” The Holy Father continued to tell Orsini to be of good cheer and to look to his health, and he informed the cardinals in consistory that he had directed his physicians to take the best of care of the prisoner. His age, the humiliation he had suffered, and the confinement were, however, more than he could withstand. About the middle of February it was rumoured that the cardinal was ill of the fever, and the 22nd of the month he passed away. Immediately the report spread that he had died of poison, and to disprove the rumour the Pope ordered the corpse to be carried to the church on an open litter and with the face uncovered, and he further commanded all the Orsini in Rome to attend the funeral. Giustinian clearly believed that the cardinal had been poisoned. In this connection it is worth remarking that while the Venetian ambassador is hostile to the Borgia he would not intentionally distort what he believed to be facts in his dispatches to his own Government; he was in Rome to watch Alexander and to keep the Senate fully informed of every event. Had he misled his Government his services would have been worthless and he would have been promptly recalled.

Burchard’s comment is as follows: “To-day, February 22nd, Cardinal Orsini died in Castle S. Angelo—and may his soul rest in peace. Amen! His Holiness directed my colleague D. Bernardino Guttieri to take charge of the funeral of the deceased—therefore I did not wish to know anything more than was necessary, I was not present—and I took no part in it.”

Soderini, the Florentine orator, in a letter of February 23rd, says: “Cardinal Orsini was buried yesterday at the twenty-fourth hour in S. Salvatore, the church of the Orsini; by the Pope’s order the corpse was accompanied by his family and by those of the cardinals of the palace. It lay uncovered on a cloth of gold, clad in a chasuble of red damascas silk embroidered with gold flowers. On the head was a white miter.”

In the meantime, in defiance of the Pope and Caesar, the inhabitants of Siena remained faithful to Pandolfo Petrucci, and January 27, 1503, Valentino sent word from his camp in Pienza that he would give them twenty-four hours to expel their chieftain. The same day the Pope dispatched a brief to the officials of the Balia of Siena containing a similar demand. Both documents are given by Alvisi. Caesar lays aside all diplomacy and writes in a tone of mastery and confidence:—

“To-day, the 27th of the month, at the twenty-third hour we received a letter from Cipriano, our chancellor, written yesterday in Siena, from which we learn that you have failed to execute the stipulations contained in the treaty into which we entered. If by the day named you have not expelled Pandolfo from your city and domain we shall proceed against you; we will make you understand that we are not to be deceived by you. We have justly conceived such contempt for your conduct that we are unable to find words to express it in a letter; and we swear by God that when you have received this letter, if you have not already driven forth, without any more delay, the said Pandolfo we will regard each one of you as the same as Pandolfo, and forthwith proceed to the total destruction of all your subjects, goods, and domain, and of your city and of yourselves.”

Then he scolds them for their ingratitude, and reminds them that with his own troops and without their aid and with no expense whatsoever to the Republic he stands ready to relieve their country of a scheming tyrant. He signs the letter Caesar Borgia de Francia Dux Romandiolae Valentiaeque Princeps.

The Sienese refused to comply, and Caesar proceeded to execute his threat by sending out troops to ravage the country. The towns of Pienza, Chiusi, Castel della Pieve, and San Quirico were destroyed and the inhabitants put to the sword; the people of Viterbo, Acquapendente, and Montefiascono suffered the same fate; old men and women were tortured and killed; the fruit-trees were cut down and everything that might offer shelter for the fugitives was destroyed. Burchard records that at San Quirico Caesar’s soldiers suspended two old men and nine old women by the arms and lighted fires under their feet to torture them into revealing where they had hidden their valuables; they, however, would not disclose the place, and died in torment.

The people of Siena, terrified by the cruelties of Caesar’s troops, sent a delegation to the Balia to say that it was wrong for all to be destroyed for the sake of one. Petrucci thereupon decided to leave, and he authorised the Council to treat in his name, but he reserved the right to remove with all his troops. Caesar and the Pope, knowing the city was well supplied with men and munitions of war and admirably situated for withstanding a siege, decided it was wise not to impose too harsh conditions. The Sienese were brave and determined, and they had the support of Giampaolo Baglioni, an able captain. Furthermore, Siena, which enjoyed the favour of the King of France, had never been part of the papal domain. The undertaking against Siena was therefore abandoned for the time being.

Caesar and the Pope may have thought that the Orsini in and about Rome were becoming too dangerous; they and their followers were swearing vengeance for the murder of their kinsmen Paolo and Francesco, and the imprisonment of the cardinal, Giambattista Orsini.

Giulio Orsini had collected a considerable force at Pitigliano, and Fabio and Organtini held Cervetri, while Giovanni and a number of the family’s supporters had fortified themselves at Ceri. In addition Silvio Savelli had joined the Orsini forces in the Campagna, and all were determined to fight to the death.

Caesar hastened to Rome and the Pope urged him to proceed against the Orsini immediately; but the son, no less resolute than the father, was even more astute and thought it best to delay, for which he readily found a pretext. Niccolò Orsini, Count of Pitigliano, was a condottiere in the pay of Venice, and this was one of the reasons why Valentino decided to temporise. When Alexander wanted him to seize Bracciano, Caesar objected on the ground that its lord, Giangiordano Orsini, was in the service of the King of France in Naples and, like himself, was a member of the Order of St. Michael, therefore he could not make war upon him, and of this Louis XII. took occasion to remind him by a special messenger. Valentino was too shrewd to incur the King’s displeasure at this juncture, and he concluded it would be wiser to secure and establish order in the States he had already won than it would be to endeavour to add to his domain.

The King of France undoubtedly had misgivings regarding Caesar’s growing power. Pisa, the relentless enemy of Florence, the King’s protégé, had requested Valentino’s aid, and if Perugia and Siena fell into his hands a formidable power would be established in central Italy under an energetic, brave, and daring soldier—one who would hesitate at nothing and who already enjoyed great prestige.

Louis XII. therefore immediately set about forming a coalition, comprising Siena, Lucca, Florence, and Bologna, to curb Caesar’s ambition.

Alexander was annoyed by what he considered the King’s unwarranted interference, and accused Caesar of weakness with respect to the Orsini. The Duke, however, persisted in his determination to leave Bracciano and Pitigliano alone and to lay siege to Ceri.

The ancient town of Ceri was famous for its stronghold. The castle had been regarded as impregnable; it had resisted numerous sieges from Roman days down through the Middle Ages. It was defended by a large number of troops with able leaders, consequently Caesar’s task was a difficult one.

The Duke went to Rome about the middle of February, but never left the palace except disguised. The Pope was so displeased by his refusal to proceed against Bracciano that he threatened to excommunicate him and deprive him of his estates. Although Caesar probably did not regard these threats as very serious, he prepared to go to Cervetri, where he had left his captains—Ludovico della Mirandola, Ugo Moncada, and Michelotto de Corella. He left Rome April 6th for Cervetri, but on the way learned that the town had capitulated to the Count of Mirandola. The defenders threw themselves on Caesar’s mercy, and he conducted Giulio Orsini to the Pope and interceded for him so effectively that he was restored to liberty.

Giangiordano Orsini betook himself to Celle, in the Abruzzi, and while he was there the Pope offered to give him the principality of Squillace if he would relinquish all claims to his estates in the Romagna. These terms were accepted and, with the aid of the French ambassador, were embodied in a treaty which was drawn up April 8th.

Caesar had now become a power in Italy; soldiers of fortune flocked to his standard; he was the most dreaded man in the entire peninsula; the wealth of the Church was at his command and the influence of the Papacy was behind him. All the castles in the Patrimonium Petri were held by his lieutenants. Matarazzo says he was now the first captain in Italy, not owing to great knowledge of the art of war but to his treachery and corrupt use of money—he had reduced the science of warfare merely to a consummate art of deception.

He, however, had great and loyal admirers because the Italian of the sixteenth century had not learned that the success of men in an evil environment is commensurate with their own capacity for iniquity; that in human competition the ethical sense, the finer feelings, often preclude great achievement. All that Caesar had won he had secured by treachery and crime.

The politicians of the day attributed his success chiefly to the favour of the Pope and of the King of France, while the astrologers held the stars responsible, pronouncing him filium fortunae. Official astrologers, however, like the sycophants of the present, were not blind to their own interests. Cardinal Francesco Soderini says that among the attributes of greatness in Caesar and the Pope was their ability to recognise their opportunities and to avail themselves of them to the utmost—but this they could not have done had they possessed even a suggestion of the altruistic sense; theirs was simply the success of utter, merciless egoism.

The dispatches of the day are filled with suspicions and rumours regarding the aims of the Pope and Caesar; some said the former was plotting with the Spaniards to secure the Kingdom of Sicily for his son; others thought he had his eye on Tuscany. Machiavelli wrote: “Caesar having always thought little of Venice and still less of Florence, it would be well for the latter to build up such a powerful State in Italy that her friendship would be desired by some other potentate.” The secretary also says that Caesar doubtless aspired to the dominion of Tuscany, which, owing to her situation, would serve well with the other States he possessed to form a kingdom. Alvisi thinks that these suspicions and rumours were due to the universal fear of Caesar and he also suggests that the talk of a crown for Valentino may have been due to the steps Alexander VI. had taken to erect the Duchy of Romagna into the Kingdom of Adria, which had already been attempted by Clement VII. in 1379, for a prince of the house of Anjou. This action, however, would not have enlarged the domain he already possessed, and it is even possible that the Pope actually did intend to restore the entire Campagna to the Church after crushing the barons who were withholding it.

While Caesar’s captains were occupied about Ceri the Pope, with his own guard and a few of Valentino’s men took possession of Palombara, Lenzano, Cervetri, and other towns belonging to the Savelli.

The Spaniards in the Regno were successfully resisting the French, and Louis’s influence was rapidly waning. He was, however, still actively supporting the league which he had formed against Valentino.

After Pandolfo Petrucci’s departure from Siena the people became uneasy; the King therefore caused him to return.

Valentino’s grasp on the duchy was far from secure; many of the strongholds of the Montefeltre were still holding out against him; Lattanzio da Bergamo, shut up in San Leo, felt he could defend himself until the Duke of Urbino returned to relieve him. At the same time, the continued activity of the Orsini and their numerous adherents made it necessary for Caesar to remain in, or near, Rome and postpone for a time at least his projected conquests. In fine, conditions were such that he would be fortunate if he succeeded in conserving what he had already secured.

The extraordinary record of events in the Vatican, Burchard’s Diarium, breaks off abruptly in February, 1503, not to be resumed again until the following August, but Caesar’s presence in and about Rome is attested by numerous documents and letters.

Louis XII. having established a league comprising Florence, Siena, Lucca, and Bologna, Pandolfo Petrucci, escorted by a French troop, returned to Siena, March 29, 1503. Discord, however, arose among the allies and gave Caesar renewed hope. The dominion of the Pope and his son Caesar did not extend beyond the Patrimonium Petri and even there it was limited by Ferrara and Bologna. Valentino, profiting by conditions in the Regno, began to plot with Spain, who saw in him an able ally against France.

In April, 1503, Gonsalvo de Cordova had begun a brilliant campaign in Apulia; the French commanders Aubigny and Nemours were repeatedly defeated and finally Gonsalvo entered Naples, May 14th, the remnant of the French forces retreating to Gaeta.

Louis XII. sent all the troops he had at Genoa, under the command of the Marquis of Saluzzo, to aid the beleaguered army in Gaeta and in the meantime Gonsalvo had decided to attempt the capture of the place and also of Castel Nuovo, the last strongholds of the French. The latter place surrendered, but the former held out until the arrival of the Marquis of Saluzzo, who forced the Spaniards to retreat to Naples. In the meantime Prospero Colonna, who was in the service of Spain, had been uniformly successful in Calabria and the Abruzzi.

Caesar and the Pope anxiously followed the course of events in the south; the defeat of France would permit them to renew their efforts against Siena and Perugia, and also against Giangiordano Orsini. Valentino could accept the lordship of Siena, which the inhabitants had offered him but which Louis, out of regard for Florence, had compelled him to refuse, and once in possession of Pisa he could attack Florence.

Caesar had been forced to defer his own projects in Romagna because of the sending of forces from Genoa by Louis to aid the besieged at Gaeta. By his agreement he was required to assist the King of France, and he had already dispatched some of his captains—among them Fracasso and the Count of Mirandola—to the French camp, and by the middle of July he had gathered a considerable force about Perugia.

The rumours that the Pope and Caesar were plotting with Spain continued, and the tyrants whom they had been endeavouring to crush asked permission of the King of France to proceed against the Duke. Above all, Guidobaldo di Montefeltre hoped his relative, the Marquis of Mantua, would help him to return to Urbino.

In the meantime—July 28th—in public consistory, the Pope announced Caesar’s departure for the field. August 7th the Venetian ambassador wrote that the Pope had told him Caesar would set forth the following day; at the same time his Holiness stated, placing his hand on his heart and swearing on the word of Christ’s Vicar, that it was not his intention to engage in any undertaking against any one, but simply to attend to his own affairs, and especially the state of Urbino, where, he said, “those in San Leo are constantly trying something new.” Then, turning to Cardinal Adriano, he said: “Bring these Florentine shopkeepers here to-morrow—I wish to assure them that the Duke’s expedition is not against them, or any one else, unless some one should justly provoke him”—and he displayed considerable impatience.

The heat in Italy that year—1503—was intense, and the plague broke out in Rome and elsewhere. The 1st of August Cardinal Borgia of Monreale was stricken, and the 9th Alexander prepared a bull appointing the Cardinal of Este perpetual administrator of the diocese; the bull, however, was never issued, for the Pope himself and Valentino fell ill of the plague August 12th.

The next day the Holy Father was bled and he seemed somewhat better, for he called a number of the cardinals to his bedside and interested himself in watching them play cards. The 14th the fever returned and again the 16th. The doors of the palace were closed and the physician and attendants were not allowed to leave his Holiness. Then they bethought them of a saintly woman who lived immured in a cell in the Vatican and asked her to pray for the Holy Father, but she said that there was no hope. August 18th the Pope confessed to the Bishop of Carniola and then, seated on the bed, received the Sacrament. The same evening the Bishop administered the extreme unction and, in the presence of the datary and a few officials of the palace, the monster who for eleven years had occupied the throne of St. Peter expired.

On the death of Alexander all sorts of rumours were circulated, including, of course, one to the effect that he had been poisoned. It is, however, practically certain that he simply died of a tertian fever. Burchard’s notes are extremely clear and concise.

In his dispatch of August 11th Giustinian says “the Pope did not enter the chapel at the celebration of the anniversary of his elevation to the Papacy with his usual cheerful demeanour”—which the Ambassador attributes, probably incorrectly, to worry caused by the political situation. The 13th he gives particulars of the illness of the Pope and of Valentino, and refers to a dinner given by Cardinal Adriano di Corneto about a week before, and states that all the guests had fallen ill, which of course strengthened the suspicion of poison; the host himself was the first to be stricken. Giustinian endeavours to follow the course of the fever in the Pope and Caesar, but great secrecy was maintained by those who were admitted to the palace. The Venetian ambassador clearly discerned what the death of either or of both of them meant for Italy and he tried to keep his Government fully informed.

August 18th at the nineteenth hour the ambassador again wrote his Government saying that a messenger had just come from the Bishop of Carniola, who was constantly with his Holiness, asking him to send his secretary to the Vatican, which he did; whereupon the Bishop informed him that the Pope was in the throes of dissolution and could not live through the night. He adds that while his courier was waiting for the dispatch a messenger came to inform him that a member of the Pope’s household had gone to the warder of the Castle of St. Angelo and directed him to place all his men under arms, load the artillery, and put the stronghold in a state of defence.

At the twenty-third hour the orator again wrote the Senate saying that the Pope’s physician, Scipio, had informed him that his Holiness could not survive the night. The physician—omo excellente nell’ arte soa—stated that the Pope’s illness, in his opinion, began with a stroke of apoplexy. He also said that the Duke was in no danger, that he had no fever and could leave his bed any time he desired so to do. For his own safety Valentino was preparing to remove that night to the Castle of St. Angelo, whither the two children, Giovanni, the Pope’s youngest son, and Rodrigo, Lucretia’s boy, had already been sent. Early that morning Caesar’s troops had been ordered to Rome with all speed and they had been pouring into the city all day. They had been massed in the Borgo and drummers had been sent about the city to call the guard to arms; the palace was entirely surrounded by troops, foot and horse.

At the first hour of the night Don Alvarotto di Alvarotis, a member of the household of the Cardinal of Santa Prassede, informed Giustinian that while he was with the cardinal the Duke’s chamberlain, Don Romolino, had come and told them that his Holiness had just passed away. The ambassador was also informed of the death of the Cardinal of Trani. The same morning, according to the messenger, Caesar had dispatched a courier to Prospero Colonna to ask his support and to offer to restore his estates to him.

Gregorovius inclines to the theory of poison, but Burchard records no such suspicion. The corpse was “monstrously swollen and discoloured—black, a most horrible thing to behold, and many suspected poison,” wrote Beltrando Costabili to his master, Ercole of Ferrara. “Never since the beginning of Christianity has there been seen such a terrible and horrible thing. It was the most bestial, monstrous, and horrible body, without the form or face of a man.” Wonderful were the stories told; while he lay ill Alexander had even seen the devil in the form of a monkey enter his room to bear his soul away.

The grounds for believing that the Pope had been poisoned are so slight that they may be disregarded. It is clear from the statements of Burchard and Giustinian, who was hostile to the Borgia, that Alexander VI. died of a tertian fever, or the plague, which in that year destroyed a vast number of people in Italy. The Pope was a fleshy man, well advanced in years, and the appearance of the corpse, even if it were as hideous as it was described, would not necessarily indicate that he had died of poison.

Beltrando Costabili, the Ferrarese orator, concluded a letter dated August 14th with the remark: “It is not strange that the Pope and Caesar are sick, because almost all the prominent men in Rome are ill—and especially in the Vatican, owing to the bad air.” Stories of the poisoning began to circulate as soon as the rapidity with which the body putrefied became known.

Guicciardini’s account has been followed by all later writers until the present day, and he was one of the bitterest of the enemies of the Borgia. According to his statement, before Caesar’s departure for the field he and the Pope were invited to dine with Cardinal Adriano di Corneto. Romolino, Valentino’s intimate, and two other cardinals were also present. One of the Borgia, desiring to secure possession of their host’s property, decided to poison him, but the servants confused the glasses and gave Alexander and Caesar the envenomed cups. This account was based on a letter written by Peter Martyr of Anghiara, from Segovia, November 10, 1503—that is, about three months after the death of the Pope. None of the ambassadors in Rome, who were closely following events in the Vatican, even hinted at poison at the time.

The facts, briefly summarised, were as follows: The dinner took place August 5th; Caesar and the Pope fell ill the 10th; the latter was feverish the 12th; the 16th he was bled copiously and his illness became serious; the 17th he was given an exceedingly powerful draught of some sort which failed to relieve him; the 18th, feeling that his end was approaching, he confessed to the Bishop of Carniola, who administered the Communion. Later, Mass was celebrated at his bedside in the presence of five cardinals. The Pope was extremely weak and he declared that he felt death was near. The Bishop of Carniola administered the Extreme Unction and a few hours later the Holy Father expired—thirteen days after the dinner in Cardinal Corneto’s garden, which precludes the idea of poison.

Giustinian makes no mention of poison. Beltrando Costabili, the Ferrarese ambassador, who followed the course of the Pope’s illness from hour to hour, likewise does not suggest it. Alexander VI. was probably merely one of the many victims reaped by the plague in Rome in 1503.

The rumour of poisoning spread through the city and found many believers who, hating the Borgias and believing they had dispatched many by means of poison, were only too glad to conclude that they had fallen victims to a plot which they had laid for another. Caesar’s illness at the same time further strengthened the conviction, as did also the horrible condition of the Pope’s body. Not until after the funeral does Costabili refer to the suspicion of poison.

Valentino, being young and vigorous, recovered in spite of the heroic treatment to which he, according to reports of the day, was subjected. It was said that his physician, Gaspare Torrella, had him wrapped in the warm entrails of a disembowelled mule; another story was that he had been placed in an enormous amphora filled with ice.

Whatever the means employed to save his life his appearance had greatly changed. Formerly accounted one of the handsomest men in Italy—not excepting King Ferdinand of Naples—he was described now as altogether revolting, and the marks of the severe treatment he had undergone persisted until his dying day.

The ambassadors—whose function it is to flatter publicly—had frequently spoken of Caesar as “blonde and handsome”—“like the Emperor Tiberius, the handsomest man of his day”; but Paul Jovius says “his face was disfigured with red blotches and pimples; his eyes, which were very deep set, had a cruel and venomous look and seemed to dart flames.”

When the Pope passed away the Duke, who was still ill, sent Michelotto with a number of men to lock all the doors of the palace, and when the Cardinal of Casanova hesitated to give up the keys one of the swashbucklers drew his sword and threatened to cot his throat and throw him from the window, whereupon the cardinal in terror surrendered the keys. Then they took possession of all the money they could lay their hands on—about 100,000 ducats. Later the servants of the palace rushed in and appropriated everything that was left. The Duke did not go near the Pope during his illness, and his Holiness never once mentioned him or Lucretia. The minute Master of Ceremonies describes the obsequies at great length; he also gives an inventory of the dead Pope’s effects—that is, such as had escaped Caesar’s henchmen and the servants.

The very day of the funeral Silvio Savelli returned and took possession of his house and of the prison of the Sabelle, from which all the prisoners were immediately released.

CHAPTER X

The enemies of the Borgia pour into Rome—Fears of the Sacred College—Orsini and Colonna—The Cardinals and Valentino—Caesar enters into an agreement with France—The Cardinal d’Amboise—Scheming before the conclave—Caesar leaves Rome—Return of Giuliano della Rovere—The conclave—Election of Francesco Piccolomini to the Papacy—The new Pope supports Caesar—Valentino’s fortunes ebb—Death of Pius III.—Machinations preparatory to electing his successor.

Rome was in a tumult; the enemies of the House of Borgia and of the Spanish party began to pour into the city. The Orsini were the first to appear; Fabio, Niccolò, and Giangiordano, with their followers, at once prepared to take possession of their estates in the Romagna. Prospero Colonna led his army up to the very gates of the city. The Vitelli were advancing on Città di Castella, Giampaolo Baglioni attacked Perugia; Urbino, Camerino, Cagli, and Piombino were ready to revolt; Caesar’s domain was to crumble away in a day. Valentino did not lose courage; he was resolute, defiant; he had—so he told Machiavelli later—prepared for everything, even for the death of the Pope—for all but one contingency, and that was his own illness.

The streets were thronged with troops; the Spanish cardinals, officials, retainers, hangers-on, spies, informers, bullies were panic-stricken; they barricaded their doors and armed themselves. It was feared the French would seize the opportunity and advance on the city, and to the south not far away was the army of the King of Spain. The Sacred College, whose duty it was to elect a successor to Alexander, had no military force at their command, and they were afraid to appeal to Caesar, who, with his well-disciplined troops and able commanders, was still the strongest power in the city.

The Orsini and the Colonna, now at the very gates of Rome, were ready to fly at Valentino’s throat. The cardinals Santa Croce, Cesarini, and De’ Medici went to the warder of the Castle of St. Angelo, Francesco de Roccamura, a Spaniard, to assure themselves of his support, and, although he was one of Alexander’s creatures, to his great credit and in spite of Caesar’s efforts to win him over, he remained faithful to the Sacred College as the representative of the papal power. He trained his cannon on the streets leading to the castle and his men shouted “Collegio, Collegio! Chiesa, Chiesa!” The same afternoon the Spanish mob burned the Orsini palaces on Monte Giordano.

August 21st the cardinals, to the number of seventeen, again met in the Minerva, and the question of entering into some agreement with Valentino was discussed at length. The Duke had professed loyalty and devotion to the Sacred College, and Pandolfo, a notary, was directed to confer with Caesar’s secretary, Agapito of Amelia.

August 22nd, through his secretary, Caesar swore obedience to the cardinals, who confirmed him in his office of Captain-General of the Church. The cardinals had warned both the Colonna and the Orsini to keep away from Rome, but, disregarding their orders, Prospero Colonna entered the city with a small force of cavalry. The next day Ludovico and Fabio Orsini also appeared with their followers. Determined to avenge the murder of their kinsmen and the plundering of their estates, they sought Caesar, and failing to find him, they wrecked their vengeance on the Castilians generally. Valentino and the Spanish cardinals kept to the Vatican, and without the whole city was in a tumult. Gangs of ruffians rushed about shouting “Colonna! Orsini! Borgia!”

Caesar’s political sagacity coming to his aid, he endeavoured to separate the Colonna, whom he had injured the least, from the Orsini. These great rival families had been brought together by the wrongs they had suffered at the hands of the Borgia. Caesar offered to restore the property of the Colonna, and this offer Prospero promptly accepted, at the same time promising in return to support the Duke. This agreement saved Caesar for a time, and it was thought that in the impending conclave a Pope favourable to the Borgia might be elected. The Orsini were frightened and, yielding to the demands of the cardinals, withdrew from the city during the night of August 24th.

PROSPERO COLONNA

From an early engraving.

To face p. 244.

In the meantime the Italian cardinals had been insisting that Caesar also leave Rome. The Sacred College had secured about two thousand troops and had placed the city under the protection of the ambassadors of the Emperor, of Spain, France, and Venice, who—August 25th—went to Valentino, whom they found in the Vatican stretched upon a bed, but completely dressed and surrounded by the Spanish cardinals, and requested him to leave the palace. This he refused to do, saying that he was ill and that he would be safe nowhere else. Thereupon they offered him the Castle of St. Angelo for his abode. Caesar asked permission for his troops also to occupy the stronghold. He was still Duke of Romagna and he had more than nine thousand men under his command. He also had large amounts of money on deposit with Alessandro Spanocchi, consequently he was treated as a reigning prince. Both the Spanish and French ambassadors knew that his aid would be valuable in the war in Naples, and Prospero Colonna was endeavouring to persuade him to enter the service of Gonsalvo de Cordova. At the same time France was trying to secure him.

Finally, to the utter dismay of Colonna and the Spanish cardinals, he decided to cast his fortunes with the latter power, for September 1st, through the mediation of Grammont, the French ambassador, he entered into an agreement by which he was to place his troops at the service of France in the Regno and to hold himself in readiness at all times to aid the King, and to use all his influence with the Spanish cardinals to secure the election of the Cardinal of Rouen to the Papacy.

No sooner had Georges d’Amboise, Cardinal of Rouen, learned of the death of Alexander VI. than he set out in great haste for Rome, feeling certain that he could be elected to succeed the Borgia. The Papacy was the dream of his life, and he was ardently supported by the King, who would profit greatly by the election of his minister. In fact, Louis thought that if Amboise, his intimate friend, his subject, his Prime Minister, became Pope he could easily make himself master of all Italy. Amboise, with the French army under the very walls of Rome, promptly secured a strong following in the Sacred College.

By his agreement with France Caesar was assured the protection of the King both as to his person and his property. The same day—September 1st—Valentino entered into an arrangement with the Sacred College, one clause of which required him to leave Rome within three days. Prospero Colonna had also been compelled to depart, and the ambassadors of Maximilian and of Louis XII. guaranteed that while the papal throne was vacant Caesar, the Colonna, and the Spanish forces would not approach within ten miles of Rome; the orators of Venice and France did the same with respect to the French army and the Orsini.

Giustinian says it was agreed that Prospero Colonna should leave September 2nd, and Caesar, with all his artillery, the following day. Colonna did depart on the appointed day and Caesar withdrew a little later with all his troops, horse, foot, and artillery. The Duke himself was so ill that he had to be borne on a litter. The Venetian orator adds: “Now that Caesar has gone it is thought that the election will take place quietly and without any disturbance, since every one respects the Sacred College.” Still, some uneasiness was felt lest the French should cause a disturbance, because Odoardo Bugliotto, the King’s valet, had arrived with a large amount of money, determined to make the Cardinal of Rouen Pope. Monsignor de Trans had told Giustinian that neither Ascanio Sforza nor any of the other cardinals then in France would attend the conclave, “nevertheless, yesterday evening the report was circulated, and this morning it was confirmed, that Amboise, Sforza, San Malo, and Aragona27 were already on the way, and,” he adds, “if this is true there will be much intriguing, for these men are seditious and shameless and with their astuteness and machinations cause much disturbance, and may God in his mercy watch over Christendom.”

The same day—September 2nd—Giustinian informs his Government: “It is learned that Valentino, without the knowledge of any one, has entered into an agreement with France.”

Prospero Colonna was greatly chagrined by Caesar’s last trick, and when he left Rome he took with him the Princess of Squillace—“who will be some comfort to him—while the Prince went with the Duke. The Princess departed willingly, hoping to recover her estates in the Regno—in any event there is little love between her and her husband as they are entirely unlike.” Owing to the trouble and discord she had occasioned in the family, the Princess Sancia had been imprisoned by Alexander VI. in the Castle of St. Angelo.

Burchard describes Valentino’s departure in detail. The very morning of the agreement he paid his troops and sent thirteen heavy wagons laden with engines of war forward through Trastevere. He had three large bombards, two medium, and eight small ones. Then he dispatched his guard to the Milvius Bridge, there to await him. More than a hundred wagons were required for his baggage. They left the Vatican by the Viridaria Gate and proceeded to Monte Mario, the Duke borne on a litter by twelve halberdiers. After him was led a magnificent charger with trappings of black velvet, embroidered with his arms and the ducal crown.

The Spanish and French ambassadors accompanied him as far as the city gate. Caesar set out for Nepi, a town belonging to his family, the citadel of which was still loyal to him. Gregorovius says his mother Vannozza and his brother Giuffre accompanied him.

Valentino was still a power to be reckoned with, and he undoubtedly hoped to secure the election of a Pope who would be friendly to himself and the Borgia family, for he knew that he could count on the votes of the eleven Spanish cardinals.

Alexander’s obsequies began September 4th, and in accordance with the papal custom continued for nine days. The cardinals, however, soon lost interest in the ceremonies and were anxious to enter into conclave. One after another the cardinals who, for various reasons, had been living abroad returned. All Rome was looking forward to the event which to Caesar was the most momentous in his entire career—not excepting the election of his own father to the Papacy—for not only his future but his very life depended on the outcome.

The French army, under Monsignor de La Trémoille and the Marquis of Mantua, had entered the Romagna, where they were ordered to remain until a successor to Alexander had been elected.

Giuliano della Rovere, after an absence of ten years in France, returned to Italy September 3rd; Cardinal Colonna, who had been hiding in Sicily for five years, appeared a few days later; the 9th the Romans received Riario in triumph, and the next day Ascanio Sforza, Georges d’Amboise, and the Cardinal d’Aragona made their entry. Amboise had secured Sforza’s release from prison and had brought him with him from France, counting upon securing his vote. The Cardinal of Rouen also felt certain that at the proper moment Caesar would throw the votes of the Spanish cardinals for him, and he believed that the near presence of the French troops would influence the Sacred College in his favour, because they would immediately see that the Papacy would be greatly strengthened by having the support of the armies of France. He, however, was not slow to discover that Ascanio Sforza was the favourite of the Romans; moreover, the Sacred College promptly requested Amboise not to permit any of the French troops to enter the city.

When Giustinian called upon Giuliano della Rovere on his arrival in Rome the cardinal remarked to him: “I am here in my own interests and not in those of any one else; I am not here to cast my vote for the Cardinal of Rouen unless I should see that even without my vote he could be elected—which I think is impossible.” He added that he was a good Italian and that he could not be forced to make a Pope unless it were for the good of the Christian religion and the peace and welfare of Italy; he also expressed great affection for Venice and promised to consider her interests.

September 16, 1503, thirty-eight cardinals entered the conclave which was held in the Vatican. They first drew up an agreement which was to be submitted to any power that would guarantee their rights; they also promised to reform the abuses which were wellnigh universal in ecclesiastical affairs, and agreed to summon a council for that purpose within two years; they also promised to prosecute the war against the Turks. The urgency of the situation in which they were placed cut short the discussion. The Italians and the Spaniards united against Amboise and agreed to elect a Pope who could not long survive, and, September 22nd, on the second scrutiny they selected Francesco Piccolomini, Cardinal of Siena, to be the supreme head of the Church. He adopted the name Pius III.

Piccolomini had been Cardinal-Deacon forty-three years; he was a man of probity, advanced in years, and a sufferer from the gout, with not long to live. Giuliano della Rovere, seeing that his own election was impossible, had secured the elevation of Piccolomini. French politics had failed signally, and Pius III. promptly compelled the Marquis of Mantua to withdraw his troops from the Romagna.

The college had been divided into three nearly equal factions—the French, the Spanish, and the Italian, whose respective candidates were Georges d’Amboise, Bernardino Carvajal, and Giuliano della Rovere. Caesar for obvious reasons had supported the French candidate, and had succeeded in frustrating Della Rovere’s plans; the latter, however, had immediately discerned the true situation, and with the aid of Oliviero Caraffa, Cardinal of Naples, and Girolamo Basso della Rovere, Cardinal of Recanati, succeeded in placing his Eminence of Siena in the papal chair, thereby giving himself time to perfect his own plans for securing the great prize on the demise of Pius III., which was sure to take place soon.

Pius III. was born in Siena in 1439, consequently at the time of his elevation to the Papacy he was sixty-four years of age. The cardinals who had procured his election in the hope that he would not survive long were not disappointed, for he died twenty-seven days after assuming the tiara—so promptly that the usual rumour of poison immediately spread. At first it was whispered that Pandolfo Petrucci, tyrant of Siena, was guilty of the crime, and later the enemies of Julius II. fancied they discovered the hand of the Cardinal of San Pietro ad Vincola in the sudden death. Although Pandolfo had committed many atrocities, it is extremely unlikely that any crime in this instance had been committed. As to Della Rovere, he knew that the new Pope could not live long, and therefore had no need to shorten his days; in fact, he had procured his election for the express purpose of gaining time to perfect his own plans to secure the throne of St. Peter.

Caesar had also been active in effecting the election of Piccolomini, who, in the event of his elevation, had promised to confirm him in his office of Captain-General of the Church and Vicar of Romagna. Immediately after his elevation to the Papacy the new Pope began to bestow marks of his favour upon Valentino. Bonafede, Bishop of Chiusi, Caesar’s representative during the conclave, was made Governor of Rome the very day the new Pontiff was proclaimed.

September 23rd the Pope granted Giustinian an audience, during which the Venetian ambassador interceded in favour of the Romagnol barons, who had returned to their estates. His Holiness replied: “As far as Cesena is concerned, I agree perfectly with your Illustrious Signory, but as to the other lords, God has punished them for their sins with a tristo instrument, and I wish to remind the Senate that all the troubles of Italy originated in Romagna.” Then he said, smiling, “Perhaps God will restore these lords after they have done penance.” Undoubtedly the Pontiff had made some sort of an agreement with Caesar, for he did not hesitate to maintain the Duke’s rights in Romagna. He even went so far as to dispatch a legate to Perugia to break up the league which Valentino’s enemies had formed against him, and he also sent commissioners through Romagna to urge the people to be loyal to him.

Thus enjoying the favour of the new Pope, Caesar returned to Rome with a considerable following October 3rd. He was accompanied by Cardinals Amboise, Sanseverino, and D’Albret.

The Pope, however, did not support Caesar very actively. In fact, when he urged obedience upon the Romagnols, he remarked that he would give the Duke no further aid—he wished, not to be a warlike Pope, but a pacific one, to bring peace and quiet to Christendom. Regarding Valentino, the Pope advised the Republic to do nothing, because it would soon be all over with him—his illness was a punishment from God. The 29th the ambassador writes: “Valentino has sent messengers from Nepi to Rome to ask the Pope’s assistance, but the only result so far is a few briefs.”

Caesar had only 200 men left; Ugo Moncada with the flower of his troops had deserted him, and 2,000 men who had been under the command of Romolino also left. Alessandro Spanocchi, the Duke’s treasurer, tried to send money of his for deposit in Florence, Milan, Bologna, and Ferrara—14,000 to 20,000 ducats. It was said that the Florentines offered Valentino a free passage through their territory in case he wished to go to Romagna.

The following day the Pope issued a brief threatening with excommunication any one who should refuse to return any money or other property removed from the apostolic palace during the illness of Pope Alexander VI.—evidently this was aimed at Caesar and his agents.

Nothing escapes Giustinian. “The Duke is still at Nepi in bad health, and deserted by nearly every one. The Pope has given him fair words, but Caesar is distrustful.” October 1st Bartolomeo d’Alviano requested the Venetian orator to secure the Senate’s permission for him to attack Caesar in Nepi; he also informed the ambassador that Caterina Sforza desired to join in the undertaking and had promised him a large sum of money, but he had refused his consent because he would have been obliged in return to help her recover her own estates, which would offend Venice. October 2nd the orator writes that the Duke of Urbino had sent a courier to Rome with a letter in which he said he had attempted, but unsuccessfully, to persuade the people of Fano, which was in the possession of Valentino’s forces, to return to the Holy See—and he asked permission to compel them to do so. The Cardinal San Pietro ad Vincola accompanied the messenger and explained all to his Holiness, who replied that he could not make any open demonstration against Caesar, but that he was willing that the Duke of Urbino should do what he could—that it would not displease him; which shows that the Pope was willing they should do as they saw fit with respect to this Duke of Valence, provided it did not appear to come from him. The Pope decided Valentino should return to Rome, and he arranged to put the palace of the Cardinal of Ferrara near St. Peter’s at his disposal. His Holiness stated that he could not bring himself to use extreme measures with respect to the Duke—that he had decided to have pity on him—however, “the chief reason why the Pope has been so indulgent is that he heard the Duke was very ill and incapable of taking the field, and being by nature very determined and avaricious, he hopes in case the Duke dies, without using force, to get possession of the money and other valuables he removed from Rome, although I think—and this is the opinion of many—that in this he will be disappointed, because the greater part of the valuables have been taken to the castle of Forli and the money deposited in various places. The reason the Duke asked to be allowed to return to Rome is because he is afraid of Alviano, who is trying in every way to get his clutches on him.”

Valentino entered Rome October 3rd with his entire force, about 150 men-at-arms, 500 foot-soldiers, and a few light horse. Burchard’s mention of Caesar’s return is even more concise.

The Duke was lodged in the palace of the Cardinal of San Clemente, and many of the high Church dignitaries immediately called upon him. “He is still sick,” adds Giustinian, “and it is thought he will die.” Two days later the orator writes, perhaps somewhat regretfully: “Valentino is not as ill as was supposed; he talks arrogantly and boasts that he will shortly recover all his domain. To-day the Cardinal of Rouen went to see him and succeeded in getting 30,000—some say 50,000—ducats from him. Although the Pope is not very favourably disposed towards him, Valentino, to obtain his support, is said to have lent him a large sum of money for his coronation expenses. It is believed here that the Pope will regard this money as his own and keep it, together with the other valuables collected after the publication of the brief of excommunication, and also the 24,000 ducats found on deposit in the bank in the name of the duchetti”—the little Dukes, Don Giovanni and Don Rodrigo.

The cardinals San Pietro ad Vincola and San Giorgio complained to the Pope of Caesar’s presence in the city, and the ambassador reports a conversation he had with his Holiness, in which the latter said: “I am neither a saint nor an angel, but a man, and one who does not fancy that he knows everything. I have been deceived. I thought the Duke would ask to be made Captain-General of the Church, and then I should have told him that I had no money for soldiers.” It was rumoured in Rome that the city of Pesaro had been captured in the name of Caesar, with the aid of Florence, and the Duke became more arrogant and threatening. The French and the Cardinal of Volterra were scheming to get him to enter the service of Florence.

The Pope was crowned in St. Peter’s, October 8th, but the event in comparison with the actions of Valentino was of slight importance in the opinion of Giustinian; the Florentines were negotiating with him, and he was busily engaged enlisting soldiers for use in Romagna. The agent of the Duke of Urbino informed the Venetian orator that Soderini, Cardinal of Volterra, had asked him in what manner the Republic of Venice had helped Valentino, and that he had also tried to convince him that insomuch as Alexander VI. was dead, there was no reason whatever to accord Caesar any protection any longer; to which Giustinian replied that it would be a mistake for Urbino to second the endeavours of Venice, who was trying to get possession of Romagna, for in that case Valentino, France, and the other powers would take steps against him, and the Duke of Urbino would lose his domain for the third time; “then I advised him to make a compact with Florence and the French.” Urbino was, however, more inclined toward Venice. The very day Pius III. was crowned he issued a bull appointing Caesar Gonfalonier of the Church.

Valentino felt that his star was again in the ascendant. Favourable reports were coming in from the Romagna, and about the end of September the people of Cesena had dispatched an ambassador whom Caesar received graciously and thanked for the loyalty of his people. Immediately after the victories of Carpineto and Martirana, he sent letters to the Romagnols urging them to resist until he should be well enough to come to their assistance. The States he had more recently acquired were somewhat doubtful, but most of them remained loyal to him. His bitterest enemy, Giulio Orsini, had made peace with him, and the Pope gave him permission to embark on a new campaign to punish Pandolfo Malatesta for his attempt to seize Rimini, and Sforza for his movement against Pesaro, and also to chastise the Duke of Urbino for endeavouring to recover his own property.

Alvisi publishes a brief issued by the Pope October 13th, in which he requests the Florentines to allow Caesar, “whom he loves tenderly, paternally, on account of his rare and superior virtues,” to lead his army through their territory.

It is difficult to judge how sincere the Pope was, but it is certain that all Italy, except Romagna, feared and hated Caesar, and rejoiced in his downfall; many were afraid that he might rise again; every one was eager to betray him; Ferrara, in spite of Lucretia Borgia’s marriage with Alfonso d’Este, hated him—the daughter of a dead Pope was of slight account in Italian politics. The Romagnol barons had entered into a treaty with him, but had no intention of keeping it. Bartolomeo d’Alviano and Baglioni were gathering an army to crush him, and, in conjunction with the Orsini, were trying to get possession of his person; shortly after his return to Rome his enemies entered into a solemn compact to pursue him to the death. Even Spain’s representative in Naples, Gonsalvo de Cordova, signed the agreement.

Annibale Bentivoglio came to Rome early in October ostensibly to do homage to the Pope, but in reality to watch Caesar’s movements. The Holy Father told Bentivoglio he had written the briefs in Caesar’s favour in good faith, but that henceforth he would do nothing for him—but at the same time he was careful to add that he would do nothing to injure him. Dissatisfied with this, Bentivoglio asked Cardinal della Rovere to get the Pope’s permission for him to attack Caesar. This the cardinal promised to endeavour to do, and Riario likewise agreed to use his influence to this end.

In the meantime Valentino’s forces were rapidly dwindling away; of the 6,000 foot-soldiers and 600 men-at-arms he had at the time of his father’s death, not half were left to him. The clouds were fast gathering; even the Florentines, who pretended to be his friends, were more than suspicious of him. Gonsalvo de Cordova promulgated an edict forbidding the Spanish captains to serve under Caesar’s orders, and commanding them immediately to report to himself to check Louis XII., who was advancing on Naples; October 14th the edict, in the name of Castile, was solemnly proclaimed in Rome before Valentino’s palace and in two other places. Small companies of men under the lieutenants of Alviano, of Baglioni, and Orsini were constantly being brought to Rome. The Pope held a conference with the ambassadors of the various powers, and asked them to put a stop to Alviano’s operations in the Romagna; this they diplomatically declined to do.

Caesar’s palace was surrounded; it was impossible for him to escape. In case he attempted to flee by way of Ostia, Mottino, formerly captain of Alexander’s galleys, was ready to pounce upon him, and Giustinian says: “This Alviano is like a mad dog determined to fly at his throat.”

Valentino, however, bribed the guards at the Porta Viridaria, and Burchard records that he escaped with all his men October 15th, but that some of his people immediately deserted and returned to Rome. When Orsini heard of his flight he hurriedly left the city by another gate, and Caesar, finding his road cut off, returned to Rome, where he was admitted to the Vatican. All but seventy of his men-at-arms abandoned him, and they, together with a few foot-soldiers, acted as a guard before the palace.

On the ground that he was a common criminal the Orsini protested to the Pope against affording him any protection.

Rome was on the verge of civil war; the Orsini burnt the Torrione gate, and Fabio Orsini and Renzo di Ceri were ordered to attack the Borgo which Caesar had fortified. With the Torrione gate destroyed, it was easy to get into the Vatican. Valentino was driven to the wall, when Cardinals Borgia, Salerno, Sorento, and Arborea had him conducted through the subterranean passage to Hadrian’s Mole, where for a time at least he was safe. With him he had his natural children and the little Dukes of Nepi and of Sermoneta. His palace in the Borgo was sacked and plundered. October 16th Giustinian tersely records: “The Duke has retreated to castle S. Angelo with four or five servants; his people are scattered; the Orsini have surrounded the castle; they are trying to persuade the Spanish ambassador to take steps to prevent him getting away.”

At the same time the Spanish cardinals were endeavouring to induce the warder to permit Valentino to escape disguised as a friar. But the Orsini were vigilant and took every precaution to prevent this. Caesar was deserted by all his people; what little property he had managed to save was now gone; the captain of the guard, a nephew of the Pope, secured the greater part of it, and even the magnificent Bartolomeo d’Alviano obtained two beautiful chargers; all was scattered and Valentino was in sore straits.

The Orsini, finding themselves baffled, instituted a civil suit against their enemy for seizing the estates of the barons, and demanded that he be held in the castle of St. Angelo until a decision could be rendered.

To some extent Caesar still enjoyed the favour of the Pope, and he conceived the idea of escaping by night and joining Michelotto at the castle of Soriana, where, he believed, he might collect an army and recover Romagna. He, however, had no chance to carry out this plan, for the one friend still left—if friend he could be called—Pope Pius III., died during the night of October 18, 1503, thus promptly fulfilling the hopes and expectations of many of the cardinals. Piccolomini had reigned just twenty-seven days. September 27th he had undergone a painful operation, and the Venetian ambassador followed his illness day by day as closely as he had done that of his predecessor. October 16th he states that fears for the Pontiff’s life were felt; he was worse the next day and during the night his brothers removed his valuables from the Vatican to a place of safety. The Orsini, determined to force the election of a Pope of their choice when Pius passed away, remained in Rome.

When Alexander VI. died, the most scurrilous epitaphs were found affixed to the palace walls, but when Pius III. passed away, numerous laudatory epigrams were discovered. Angelo Colucci drew a striking comparison of the short but respectable reign of Piccolomini and the shameless pontificate of his predecessor.

The death of Pius was a great blow to Caesar, who had enjoyed his support for a time. Even now, however, his courage did not entirely desert him. Machiavelli, who arrived in Rome October 26th, wrote the Signory that the Duke was more hopeful than ever of accomplishing great things—providing a friendly Pope is elected. It was said that Caesar finally despairing of any other aid, had made some sort of a compact with the Cardinal of San Giorgio.

The Sacred College, after seriously considering the demands of the Orsini that Caesar be held until a new Pope was elected, decided that they had no authority to do so. During the meeting the Cardinal of Rouen defended Caesar, hoping thereby to secure the support of the Spanish prelates who were still devoted to Valentino and were themselves influential and united. The cardinals decided that the Duke was at liberty to go and come as he saw fit. There was, however, little likelihood that he would leave, as he was safer where he was than he would be anywhere else; moreover, when the new Pope should be elected he would be in the best possible position to secure his favour through the mediation of the cardinals who might remain loyal to him. How influential Caesar still was is shown by the orator’s remark that all those who aspired to the Pontificate were ready to promise him anything he asked to secure the votes of the Spanish cardinals and “there is one thing certain,” he adds: “no one will be Pope who does not consent to all of Valentino’s demands.”

The Spanish prelates seemed to favour the astute Cardinal of San Pietro ad Vincola, but Santa Prassede and Alexandrino were also strong candidates.

Burchard records that the Cardinal of San Pietro ad Vincola came to the apostolic palace October 29th with Valentino and his Spanish cardinals, and entered into an agreement with them by which he promised, when he became Pope, to make Caesar Captain-General of the Church, and also to protect his interests and restore him to his estates; the Duke on his part was to aid Della Rovere in the conclave, and all the Spanish cardinals promised to cast their votes for him. The evening of October 30th, the obsequies of the deceased Pope being over, the cardinals agreed among themselves that the Cardinal of San Pietro ad Vincola should be his successor. The same day Machiavelli informed his Signory that Giuliano della Rovere had secured the promise of the majority of the votes of the Sacred College “by means adapted to this end.”

Giustinian repeats the various rumours current regarding the momentous event, the election of the new Pope. The very day of the Pontiff’s death he wrote: “There are three strong candidates—Naples, San Pietro ad Vincola, and San Giorgio; the Spaniards incline to the second because he will be able to satisfy their demands the best. The Cardinal of Naples may get a few votes, but he is suspected of being French. San Giorgio’s age is against him, consequently Della Rovere is the strongest candidate. Sforza, Colonna, and Rouen are not mentioned now.”

The day following the Pope’s decease all the cardinals were “intent on their machinations, some with little respect to God and the dignity of their office. Bargains are openly made; the terms are no longer in hundreds, but in thousands and tens of thousands—to the measureless shame of our religion, and insult to God; there is now no difference between the Papacy and the Sultanate—it will go to the highest bidder.”

October 22nd the Orsini complained to the Sacred College of their treatment and Alessandrino and Medici were delegated to confer with them and Caesar. The Orsini, feeling that they had been grievously wronged, and at the same time not wanting to oppose the Holy See and the Sacred College, promised that if the Duke would leave Italy and go to France or some other place they would allow him safe passage; on the other hand, if he desired to remain in Italy in the Province of Gesia, they demanded that he be required to give security for his appearance before the future Pope to answer the charges lodged against him; they also agreed to give bonds to appear and defend an action he had threatened to bring against them. “It is not known what Caesar said to these suggestions; many think he will decide to go to France, but some say he will remain here.” The next day the orator heard that Valentino had resolved to leave Italy, and that he had asked for eight or ten days in which to make his preparations; he also demanded that the Orsini be required to leave Rome and to give him a safe-conduct as they had agreed. It is clear that he asked for this time to enable him to persuade the Sacred College to force the Orsini to leave Rome and also to permit him to carry on his machinations in connection with the election.

The obsequies of the deceased Pope continued, but attracted little attention, the impending election of his successor being the all-absorbing topic—while the electioneering proceeded and the scandal increased.

Cardinal Colonna went over to the Spanish faction, and this again rendered the situation more complicated. The 27th of the month the Venetian ambassador wrote that it was still uncertain who would secure the great prize. The cardinals of Naples and San Pietro ad Vincola were now the leading candidates; Ascanio Sforza was also mentioned. The ambassador adds that while “the wishes of the King of France have some weight, the Duke’s desires are more important than anything else—and may God save us from having a Pope who, under obligations to Valentino, may convulse the affairs of all Italy and even of all Christendom.”

Reports reached Rome that Antonio Ordelaffi had captured Forli and that Sforza had recovered Pesaro; at the same time Pandolfo Petrucci had entered Rimini, taken the fortress, and put Caesar’s men to rout; this renewed activity was directly due to the Pope’s death and Caesar’s retreat to the Castle of St Angelo.

The Duke was greatly discouraged by this news and dispatched a messenger to the Venetian ambassador to ask the help of the Senate. By this time Alviano and the Orsini had, in obedience to the wishes of the cardinals, left Rome with nearly all their troops.

The Pope’s obsequies were concluded the 29th. Giampaolo Baglioni was still in Rome under the protection of the Cardinal of Rouen, who stated he desired his presence for his own security. The Sacred College, however, to render this unnecessary, enlisted about five hundred foot-soldiers to guard the conclave. Caesar was still in the Castle of St. Angelo and daily received visits from Cardinals Borgia, Loris, Romolino, and Vera to confer regarding the future Pope.

Although Valentino had received the safe-conduct he made no move to depart; in fact, he had no intention of going before the election of the new Pope. The morning of the 30th it became known that Della Rovere had reached an agreement with the Spanish cardinals and Rouen, and his election was assured. The betting, according to Giustinian, ran as high as 82 per cent. on Della Rovere as against 6 per cent. on the field—just how bets were placed in those days is not known.

CHAPTER XI

Election of Giuliano della Rovere—Julius II. and Caesar Borgia—Caesar leaves Rome—Machiavelli and Caesar—Arrest of Caesar—Victory of Gonsalvo de Cordova at the Garigliano—Caesar goes to Naples—Gonsalvo seizes Valentino and sends him to Spain—Caesar imprisoned in the Castle of Chinchilla—Jeanne la Folle and Philippe le Beau—Caesar is transferred to the Castle of Medina del Campo—His escape.

The last day of October the cardinals entered into conclave, and November 1, 1503, Giuliano della Rovere, Cardinal of San Pietro ad Vincola, was elected Pope on the first scrutiny. Thus the nephew of Sixtus IV., after nineteen years of waiting, aspiring, scheming, years of exile, of strife, of hopes and fears, realised the ambition of his life.

At the fifteenth hour the window was thrown open, the cross held out, and the announcement made that the most reverend Cardinal of San Pietro ad Vincola had been elected supreme head of the Christian Church. The new Pope was pleased to assume the name Julius II.

Giustinian conceives that Venice will profit by the election of Della Rovere, who was reputed to be a man of his word. He was sixty years of age and had no nephews for whom it would be necessary to find places. Caesar therefore felt sure of the new Pontiff’s favour.

Almost immediately after Della Rovere’s election chambers over the audience-hall were, by the Pope’s orders, placed at Valentino’s disposal, and there he took up his residence.

The Venetian orator had heard that the new Pope had dispatched briefs to Romagna of the same tenor as those which Pius III. had issued in the interests of Valentino, and he went to the Pontiff and asked whether the report was true, to which his Holiness replied: “Ambassador, do not for a moment think that I will fail in anything I have promised you; I give you my word that I have written no such briefs, and I do not intend to do so, and” he added, “even if I had written them you know I would at the same time have taken steps to prevent them from doing any harm”—that is, he would have given those to whom they were sent to understand that they were not to be observed—modern politics has made but little advance in duplicity. “It is true Agapito has asked me to write them, but I will do nothing. Ambassador, it is not necessary for you to remind me that we should not favour the Duke in the affairs of Romagna, because this is our office, this territory being ours, mediate vel immediate; therefore whoever holds it holds it as a vicar or feudatory of the Church.”

The Pope’s coronation was set for November 19th, and as early as the 3rd Giustinian was informed that Julius had written Guidobaldo di Montefeltre, Duke of Urbino, requesting him to be present at the ceremony. This special invitation shows that the new Pope was on the side of Caesar’s enemies. Although the Cardinal of San Giorgio feared that if Guidobaldo absented himself from his State it would afford Caesar a chance to injure him, it can hardly be supposed that the Pope invited the Duke of Urbino to Rome simply to give Valentino an opportunity to destroy him or attack his capital city.

It is difficult to see how Caesar, himself a past-master in duplicity and cunning, could have placed any dependence upon the promises Della Rovere had made to him to secure his elevation to the Papacy. Just what were the terms of the bargain is not known; the cardinal had but one end in view—the assuring of his own election; and once elected, he would not hesitate to break the agreement he had made. It is true he carried out some of the stipulations by appointing Valentino Captain-General of the Church and guaranteeing him the nominal possession of Romagna, but the very day of his election he began to aid and encourage the Duke’s enemies.

Alexander VI. had urged the Sacred College never to make Giuliano della Rovere pope, and he was correct in regarding him as an implacable enemy of his House. Caesar himself almost immediately discovered that he had made a mistake and was on his guard. November 12th the Pope formally took possession of the Castle of St. Angelo, placing the Bishop of Sinigaglia in command of it.

The following day a council was held by the Pope, Amboise, Soderini, the Cardinal of Ferrara, the Spanish cardinals, and Caesar, regarding the departure of Valentino, and it was agreed that he should at once go to Ferrara and his troops to Imola, which was still held by his lieutenants. The Duke, however, seemed suspicious and irresolute—perhaps owing to a sort of stupor into which he had been thrown by the reverses he had suffered—for he was neither accustomed to misfortunes nor able to bear them.

Giustinian writes November 6th: “The Duke is still in the palace but has little reputation; he made every effort to obtain an audience with his Holiness but failed. He is very submissive and has repeatedly sent to ask me to come and confer with him regarding his affairs, but I declined, for various reasons, among them being the fact that he quite ignored the Republic during his days of prosperity.” Caesar continued to enlist troops but with what end in view is not clear.

The Cardinal of Cosenza told the orator that his Holiness was considering an alliance between one of his great-nieces and the little Duke of Camerino. It was also reported that the Pope intended to give Caesar the strong Castle of Civita Castellana for his residence, but this statement was not confirmed.

It was even arranged that when the proposal should be made in consistory to give the office of Gonfalonier of the Church to Valentino it should be merely for form’s sake to satisfy him. About the middle of November it became known that Cesena desired to be freed from Caesar’s authority and return to that of the Church. The Pope’s coronation was postponed for a week “on the advice of the astrologers, who stated that the stars would be more propitious for his Holiness that day.”

“The Pope is most harshly disposed towards the Duke, and it is said has ordered Pandolfo Petrucci to treat him as an enemy; his Holiness looks for Caesar’s destruction, but does not want it to appear that he has any part in it.”

Julius II. had conceived the idea of recovering the strongholds in the Romagna for himself, and he soon discovered that Caesar actually expected to retain them. The Borgia, shrewd as he was, was no match for the Della Rovere in cunning; the Pope outwitted him at every turn, and he did not hesitate to tell Giustinian that “the Duke shall never have so much as a single tower of my fortresses. All I owe him is to save his life and protect his property—in interceding for him with the Florentines it was really to save Romagna for the Church.” The Pope told the orator that as soon as he had secured possession of the castles he would send Caesar away. Clearly his Holiness did not want to be compelled to use force to get possession of the strongholds; he was trying to delude Caesar into giving them up, and then he would cast him aside.

The orator confesses that the Pope’s mind is “ambiguous” to him—me ambigua—but he promptly discovered that he wanted to crush the Duke, and this view was confirmed by many of those in the Pope’s confidence; some, however, maintained that he was well disposed toward Valentino.

November 19th occurred the event to which all had been eagerly looking forward—Caesar’s departure from Rome. He went to Ostia, where he was met by Mottino with two galleys to take him to Tuscany. There were various rumours regarding the place where he intended to disembark; the Venetian orator was told that Viareggio, a town belonging to the Duke of Ferrara, was his destination. He had with him about 160 horse.

Valentino was greatly changed when Machiavelli saw him in Rome, and both he and Giustinian regarded Caesar as lost; the latter saw him “fearful and terrified,” while Machiavelli wrote: “The Duke allows himself to be carried away by his confident mind”; he also said Valentino was “changeable, irresolute, and suspicious.”

Worn out by his reverses, he had at first thought of going to Romagna. But when he embarked he had decided to go either to Livorno or Genoa and thence to Ferrara. Machiavelli, who had assured him that Florence would grant him a safe conduct, said that if the Signory failed him “Caesar would make a compact with the Venetians and the devil and would go to Pisa and devote all the money, forces, and allies that remained to him to injuring the Republic.”

The 18th, the very day that Caesar left the Palace, Julius II. dispatched briefs to Romagna in which he said he had disapproved of the bestowal of the vicariate upon Valentino by Alexander VI., and he exhorted the people to raise the standard of the Church, in whose possession he intended Romagna should remain. A few days later he told Cardinal Soderini that it would have been wiser, he thought, to have placed the strongholds of Romagna under Caesar’s command, as it would be better for him than for the Venetians to have them. Soderini went to Ostia and made certain proposals to Caesar, which were rejected. November 24th the Pope ordered Mottino to hold Valentino, and at the same time he arranged with Soderini to impede the progress of Michelotto, who had started forward with the Duke’s cavalry. The same day he appointed the Bishop of Ragusa, Giovanni Sacchi, Governor of Romagna and Bologna, and directed him to take possession of the province in the name of the Church, and he again called upon the cities to raise the papal standard.

The general opinion in Rome was that Julius II. was only waiting for a more favourable opportunity to give Caesar the final blow, and the joy felt at his departure was wellnigh universal. Agapito and Romolino, his two closest friends, men whose names had been connected with some of his most atrocious crimes, had refused to accompany him and remained in Rome.

The Pope had also instructed Soderini to demand the surrender of the citadel of Forli, and Caesar’s refusal to comply was what caused his Holiness to seize him and hold him prisoner.

Machiavelli reported to his Government the rumours which filled Rome when Caesar’s arrest became known; it was even said that his Holiness had ordered him to be flung into the Tiber, and he adds: “If this has not been done it will be done shortly, in my opinion; we see that the Pope has commenced to pay his debts very honourably; his pen and ink are all that are necessary—nevertheless his praise is in all men’s mouths!”

The night of November 27th the papal guard set out for Ostia to arrest Caesar, but they did not have to proceed far, for, searching the boats they chanced to come upon, they found him on a little craft on the Tiber about two miles from Rome.

The troops he had embarked at Ostia, finding themselves without a head, left the galleys and went back to Rome, while the gentlemen of his suite returned to their estates.

At first the Pope had Caesar taken to Magliano, a place about seven miles from Rome, where he was closely guarded, but not treated harshly. Julius undoubtedly wished to avoid the use of force with Caesar as far as possible and to secure his own ends peaceably if it could be done. He may have feared that if he too openly disclosed his real purpose Valentino’s lieutenants would surrender the castles they still held to some other power, for several were casting longing eyes upon them. Later the Pope ordered Valentino to be brought back to Rome and had him lodged in the Vatican.

Giustinian informs his Government, November 28th, that the Pontiff, to justify himself for arresting Caesar, especially in the eyes of the Spanish cardinals, held a convocation, which was attended by fifteen cardinals, to whom he explained that as Venice had been active in Romagna, not against the Church or the Holy See, but only against Valentino, and also to restrain the Florentines, who appeared to have designs upon the same territory, he had decided to remove the cause, in order that the Republic would have no pretext for going any farther. Therefore he had given the Duke to understand that he must surrender the territory now in his possession into the hands of the Pope and must give the countersigns of the fortresses; but for fear that he would not give the true countersigns it seemed advisable to his Holiness to have the Duke brought to Rome and kept in a safe place until their correctness could be verified. This done, the Duke could go whithersoever he wished. All seemed satisfied. The 29th Valentino was brought back to Rome and lodged in the chambers of the Cardinal of Salerno. “The Pope says that when he has secured possession of the strongholds he will permit him to depart—but God knows what will become of him,” adds the orator.

The 1st of December news reached Rome that Michelotto had been captured and all his men slain or dispersed by Giampaolo Baglioni somewhere between Perugia and Florence. This was a crushing blow to Caesar, who now had little hope left—he was “no longer considered of much importance.”

At this time the Cardinal of Rouen was making preparations to leave Rome for the Court of the Emperor at Florence, and Caesar desired to go with him, but to this the cardinal would not consent. Before Amboise set out the Pope commanded Valentino to send one of his officers, Pedro de Oviedo, accompanied by a prelate, to obtain the surrender of the places his supporters were still holding in Romagna, but before consenting Caesar asked Amboise to give him a guarantee in writing that the Pope would keep the promises he had made to him before the conclave. Amboise, however, refused to do this, and after the Cardinal’s departure the Duke, finding his last support taken from him, acceded to the Pope’s demands. The commandant of Caesar, however, thinking or pretending to think there was treachery, seized the unfortunate Oviedo and hanged him from the battlements forthwith as a traitor to his sovereign.

When he learned of this the Pope was beside himself—in fact, as Carlo da Moncalieri expressed it, he was “mad as the devil”—alterato come il diavolo—and threatened to put Caesar in prison for life. Believing that he had found some way to tell the commandant to disregard the order he had given, the Pope had Valentino confined in the Borgia Tower. He nevertheless continued to treat with him, and again allowed him to go to Ostia, this time in charge of the Spanish Cardinal Carvajal, with the understanding that he was to be given his liberty when his officers surrendered the strongholds in Romagna.

Giustinian records the hanging of Oviedo December 20th and Caesar’s transfer to the Borgia Tower, and adds: “Terrified by recent events, the Cardinal of Sorento and Cardinal Borgia have left the city—possibly to go to the Spanish camp. It is believed by many that their flight was due to Valentino’s affairs or because they had acquiesced in the poisoning of Cardinal Sant Angelo.” When the Cardinals Francesco Romolino and Francesco Borgia fled to Naples with the little Dukes to ask Gonsalvo of Cordova for protection Vannozza and the Borgia ilk were trying to save their plunder. Much of it was intercepted and seized when they endeavoured to send it from the city to a place of safety. Some of the wagons dispatched from Rome to Ferrara in the name of the Cardinal d’Este were stopped by the Florentines, while others from Cesena were captured by Giovanni Bentivoglio.

Caesar was wellnigh ruined when an event occurred which immediately restored the waning influence of the Spanish cardinals with the Pope, who was a French sympathiser, and this was the victory of Gonsalvo de Cordova at the Garigliano, December 31st, which finally assured the Regno to the Spanish crown.

For some time Valentino was partly forgotten, but he was still in the Vatican as late as January 15, 1504, and was planning to go to Ferrara, although Alfonso d’Este was by no means anxious to have him. Just what was to be done with him was a puzzling question. It was finally decided to send him to Civitavecchia in the custody of the Cardinal of Santa Croce, and the Pope told the Venetian orator that he wished to make one more attempt to reach a settlement in order that he might be able to justify himself in the eyes of the world for the steps he would be compelled to take against Valentino if the latter failed to keep the promises he had made to him.

January 18th, through the mediation of Don Diego de Mendoza, the Spanish ambassador, it was arranged that Caesar should give the countersigns of all the castles still remaining to him, and that he himself should go to Ostia in the custody of the Cardinal of Santa Croce and then, when the strongholds were surrendered, he should be allowed to depart for France. There was some delay in carrying out the agreement, due to recent events in Forli and Imola, but February 14, 1504, the Duke set out for Ostia, and in taking leave of him his Holiness “caressed him and promised him his support.”

The Pope was suffering from the gout, which appears to have been essentially a papal disease at that time, and had remained in bed the greater part of the day. Valentino, accompanied by a few of his own people and Francesco del Rio, the Pope’s treasurer, set out for Ostia the same night. According to Giustinian, while there he was closely guarded, and consequently greatly annoyed.

The commissioners, who had been furnished the new countersigns, had in the meantime again gone to Romagna, but they did not succeed in securing possession of the strongholds, for the warders of Cesena and Bertinoro, distrusting the Pope’s promises, dispatched messengers to Rome to tell him they would surrender the strongholds if he would release the Duke, but in case he was not willing to set Valentino free “they could not honourably relinquish the castles,” on hearing which his Holiness fell into a violent passion and shouted at them: “You want to brazen it out. Away with you! If you don’t give them up peaceably I will make you. You wanted to surrender them to the Venetians, but they would not have them!” And he drove the messengers from the room.

Mottino, who was to take Caesar to France on one of his galleys, had been directed by the Holy Father not to leave port, even after the strongholds had been surrendered to the Pope’s representatives, until he received specific orders to do so.

The Cardinal of Santa Croce, however, when messengers brought the news that Cesena and Bertinoro had been surrendered, did not wait for definite orders from the Pope to set his prisoner free, but let him go February 26th, after obtaining his written promise never to take part in any war against the Holy Father or any of his kinsmen.

Caesar and two of his people took horse, and, following the coast, rode to Naples, where he joined Gonsalvo de Cordova, from whom Cardinals Borgia and Romolino had previously secured a safe-conduct for the Duke. At Naples several of his family were awaiting him, among them his brother Giuffre and his sister-in-law Sancia.

About the middle of April Giustinian informed his Government that the affairs of Valentino, so far as the Pope was concerned, were settled, and there were no further difficulties to be apprehended.

April 20th the Pope received a letter from Mottino informing him that Caesar had left Ostia and was on his way to Naples. His Holiness was much disturbed by this news and immediately sent a messenger to summon the French ambassador. The Cardinal of Salerno informed the Venetian orator that the Cardinal of Santa Croce, fearing that the Pope, even after the strongholds had been surrendered, would on some pretext refuse Valentino his liberty, had immediately set him free. The Pope was greatly annoyed by Santa Croce’s action and charged him with breach of faith. The orator adds: “Many are pleased by Caesar’s departure, but others are greatly displeased. Opinions differ as to what Valentino will do; some think he will cause the Pope trouble.” His Holiness evidently had not intended Valentino should get away.

In a letter to the Cardinal of Salerno, received in Rome May 3rd, Caesar said he had not yet had an opportunity to speak to the Spanish commander; he also asked the cardinal to supply him with funds, which the prelate promptly did.

When Baldassare di Scipione arrived in Rome from Naples he reported that Gonsalvo had received Caesar in the most cordial manner and had called on him, as all the other Spanish officers had done. Rome was filled with rumours regarding the coming of Caesar by the favour of the Spaniards to help the Pisans.

When the Roman barons in the Spanish army at the Garigliano learned of the death of Piero de’ Medici they began to take a lively interest in the affairs of Tuscany and decided to send forces there; while the Florentines, disturbed by the military preparations about Siena, had sent assistance to the Lord of Piombino, who felt his people were opposed to him. Bartolomeo d’Alviano was to have had charge of the forces which were to be dispatched to Tuscany, but Gonsalvo preferred Caesar on account of the friends upon whom he could still count in Piombino and Pisa. Early in May active preparations were well under way. In Rome Baldassare di Scipione publicly stated that his lord “would soon return and give his enemies cause to think of him.” The Pisans sent an ambassador to Caesar and he dispatched Ranieri della Sassetta with a considerable force to them. Giulio degli Alberini was waiting in the harbour of Naples to transport the cannons and other machines of war; everything was ready and the main body of troops was to start in a few days, when, on the night of May 26th, as Valentino was coming from a conference with the Spanish captains, he was arrested by the castellan, Nugnio Campeio.

The Pope had sent a special envoy to Gonsalvo de Cordova to urge him not to assist Valentino in any way; and there is no doubt whatever that it was at the instigation of the Holy Father that the Duke was finally again seized. The very night that Valentino was arrested the Pope, thinking that the Duke’s treasurer, Alessandro di Franzo, who was then in Rome, and had in his possession about 300,000 ducats, which he was about to remove to Naples, might endeavour to leave, had guards stationed at all the gates of the city and allowed no one to depart. All the following day the gates were kept closed and watched by the papal troops. During the night the Governor of Rome had patrols about the city and all suspected persons were arrested and examined. Even the house of Madonna Vannozza, Caesar’s mother, was carefully searched.

May 29th Giustinian states that, accompanied by Cardinal Grimani, he went to the Castle of St. Angelo to see the Pope, who informed them that the Bishop of Cervia had shown him letters from the Great Captain, saying that Valentino, having in mind certain undertakings which would be harmful to Italy, had, by his orders, been confined in the castle, and also requesting that his Holiness be informed of the fact.

CONSALVO DI CORDOVA

GONSALVO DE CORDOVA.

From an early engraving.

To face p. 280.

Opinions differed as to the responsibility for Caesar’s arrest; some said the Pope caused it, others the Spanish monarch, and still others that Gonsalvo do Cordova took the step on his own initiative. Some even ascribed the affair to the Queen of Spain and Doña Maria Enriquez, widow of Giovanni, Duke of Gandia. The Pope made no effort to conceal his pleasure at the arrest and displayed marked evidence of his favour to the Spanish ambassador, assuring him of his devotion to his sovereign—“it was judged,” adds the orator, “to induce him to compass the death of the said Valentino!”

His brother, the Prince of Squillace, was also arrested about the same time but almost immediately set at liberty. Caesar’s messengers were likewise seized when they chanced to come within reach of the determined Julius.

Michelotto, who was closely confined in the Torre di Nona awaiting trial, was subjected to searching examinations regarding the deaths of numerous persons, principal among whom were the Duke of Gandia; Giulio Cesare Varano, Lord of Camerino, and his two sons, Piero and Venanzio, who were captured when Camerino surrendered and later were strangled by Valentino’s orders; the Lord of Faenza, Astorre Manfredi and his illegitimate brother, Giovanni Evangelista; the Duke of Bisceglia, Lucretia Borgia’s second husband; Bernardino Gaetani da Sermoneta, slain by Caesar’s orders in 1500, about the same time that Alexander caused the death in the Castle of St. Angelo of Giacomo Gaetani, the head of the House, seizing their estates and conferring them on his daughter Lucretia; and the Bishop of Cagli, who was hanged in the public square for his brave resistance to Valentino’s lieutenants in 1503.

Caesar’s arrest so pleased his Holiness that he spoke of it as un’ opera divina—although it was brought about by himself.

August 20th Gonsalvo had Caesar taken to Spain by sea and by a refinement of cruelty his jailer on the trip was his bitterest enemy, Prospero Colonna.

Valentino was destined never again to see the peninsula, and it is no exaggeration to say that all Italy breathed easier when it became known that he was a prisoner on board a galley bound for Spain.

The faithful Baldassare di Scipione, inspired by love for his imprisoned lord, issued a challenge addressed to “any Spaniard who might dare to maintain: That the Duke Valentino had not been made a prisoner in Naples in violation of the safe-conduct of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, and owing to their utter want of faith, and all to their eternal infamy and everlasting shame”—and the challenge was exposed in public places throughout Christendom, and never a Spaniard dared reply.

For a long time Romagna suffered for want of a strong governing hand; the country was being ruined by rival factions, the cities were deserted, and many there were who regretted the overthrow of Valentino.

With Caesar’s removal to Spain his influence in the affairs of Italy became negligible. In fact, since that time the Borgia family has been inconspicuous in the history of the peninsula.

About this time an event occurred in the Vatican which was duly chronicled by Burchard—the betrothal of Niccolò della Rovere and Donna Laura, the illegitimate daughter of Alexander VI. by Giulia Farnese. Gregorovius remarks that the consent of Julius II. to the union of his nephew with his enemy’s natural daughter is one of the most extraordinary facts in the personal history of this Pope. It looks like a pledge of reconciliation with the Borgia. While these men were his opponents Julius had hated them, but his hostility was not based on any moral grounds. He had never felt any contempt for Alexander or Caesar, but on the contrary, like Machiavelli, he had admired their power and ability. They were his enemies because they tried to crush him and frustrate his ambitions, and he retaliated.

July 10th the Pope informed the Venetian orator that Gonsalvo had proposed to aid Caesar with men and cannon in his undertaking against the Lord of Piombino on account of the latter’s opposition to the Spaniards, but that, dissatisfied with this, Valentino had endeavoured to disarrange the Great Captain’s plans, and had engaged in his customary scheming—this was the cause of his arrest—and “God had so ordained it on account of his misdeeds—inducing others to do what we were unwilling to do.”

Ten days later his Holiness informed the Venetian ambassador that Caesar had been sent to Spain carefully guarded and with a single servant. He added that certain cardinals had urged him to write a letter to his Catholic Majesty in Caesar’s behalf and that he had promised to do so, but he feared even if he merely recommended protection for Caesar’s life and person, his letter would be misconstrued and the King would show him greater favour than he had intended, and might even undertake to recover for him a part, if not all, of his estates, which would be dangerous to himself; he therefore had revoked the order to write the brief, and “I assured his Holiness that he was most prudent and circumspect—and with this I took my leave.”

Caesar reached Valentia about the end of September and thence he was immediately transferred to Chinchilla, which is about two leagues from the town of Albacete in the province of the same name.

Little is known of his sojourn here, but a document now in the archives of Pau shows that he was still there as late as May 4, 1505, eight months after his arrival in Spain.

Abandoned by every one, Caesar endeavoured to secure the dowry of 100,000 livres which had been promised by Louis XII. on the occasion of his marriage with Charlotte d’Albret.

In October letters came from Spain describing the rigour with which Valentino was held prisoner. It was even said that at the instigation of Doña Maria Enriquez he was to be tried there for the murder of her husband, the Duke of Gandia, and for that of his brother-in-law, Alfonso of Bisceglia, with the intention of putting him to death for his crimes. Early in 1505 news reached Italy that Valentino’s brother-in-law, Jean d’Albret, King of Navarre, was endeavouring to secure his release. The cardinals who were still loyal to him believed D’Albret would succeed, Caesar’s most determined enemy, the Queen of Spain, having died.

It is recorded that while he was confined in the castle of Chinchilla Caesar attempted to kill the warder, Gabriel Guzman. One day Valentino, who was lodged in the high tower, asked for an interview with Don Gabriel, and while they were engaged in conversation the Duke suddenly seized his gaoler and attempted to hurl him from the window. The governor, however, who was more than a match for Caesar in strength, succeeded in throwing him to the floor; whereupon, with the effrontery which never deserted him, the Duke laughed and explained that he had heard that the warder was a man of colossal strength and he wanted to test it for himself, and he had found the stories were not exaggerated.

This curious episode undoubtedly was the cause of Caesar’s removal to the more secure fortress of Medina del Campo, in the northern part of Spain, which was both a stronghold and a palace and had been used as a royal residence.

It was about this time that Lucretia Borgia began to exert herself to obtain her brother’s freedom—efforts which have been taken as proof of her affection and devotion to him. Requesenz, Caesar’s majordomo, interceded for his release with the King of Spain, who informed him that while he was not responsible for Valentino’s arrest, he would, owing to Gonsalvo’s representations, hold him prisoner, but that, should the charges made against him prove false, he would accede to the cardinals’ wishes.

Events conspired to aid the prisoner. Isabella the Catholic, anticipating that her daughter, Jeanne la Folle, wife of Philippe le Beau, would never recover her reason, decided to make her husband Ferdinand regent of Castile on her death. Ferdinand was surrounded by enemies, and in the kingdom of Naples even the loyalty of Gonsalvo de Cordova was suspected. Louis XII., in spite of his defeat at the Garigliano, still maintained his right to the Regno, while the Emperor Maximilian, whose son Philippe le Beau, husband of Jeanne la Folle, had been excluded from the regency by Isabella’s will, feeling himself aggrieved, determined to demand his son’s rights. At this juncture Ferdinand suggested to Louis XII. that they discontinue their struggle for Naples, and that, as evidence of good faith, the French King bestow upon him the hand of his niece, Germaine de Foix, who was then eighteen years of age, while the King of Spain was fifty-four. As dowry she would bring her husband half of the Kingdom of Naples which had been granted the King of France by the treaty of Granada. In addition Louis was to aid Ferdinand to recover Navarre—which on his death was to be returned to the crown of France—for Gaston de Foix, brother of the betrothed and nephew of Louis XII. The treaty of alliance was signed at Blois, October 12, 1505, and the marriage was performed March 18, 1506, at Dueñas.

At the same time the Cortes confirmed Ferdinand in the possession of Castile, disregarding the fact that Isabella had willed it to him only on condition that he did not marry again. Some of the most powerful members of the Court refused their consent and declared themselves in favour of Jeanne and her husband, Philippe le Beau. They elected the Count of Benavente their leader. The others ranging themselves on Ferdinand’s side, under Don Fabrique de Toledo, Duke of Alva, civil war broke out. At first the King’s party was successful, whereupon the Emperor Maximilian entered into the conflict, and his son, Philippe le Beau, hastened from Flanders and demanded the regency.

The help which the Count of Benavente later gave Caesar and the relations of the latter with Maximilian’s ambassadors show that in prison the Duke was on the side of Philippe, who, as soon as he came to Spain, established himself at Medina del Campo.

In October, 1505, Ferdinand, who had already recalled Gonsalvo de Cordova from Naples and decided to supplant him with his own son Alfonso of Aragon, Archbishop of Saragossa, determined, owing to his lieutenant’s uncertain attitude, to go to Naples himself. The ten days Gonsalvo had asked to put the defences in order and arrange his affairs had elapsed and the King’s suspicions were strengthened. It was then that he conceived the idea of using Caesar to crush Gonsalvo. Thereupon he dispatched Don Pedro de Ayala to Philippe le Beau at Medina del Campo to demand his prisoner, saying that he intended to confine him in the Castle of Ejerica until he was ready to go to Naples, when he would take him with him to command his troops.

Fate apparently was about to afford Caesar an exquisite revenge; he was to lead a Spanish army against the man who had deceived him and delivered him into the hands of the Catholic monarch. Philippe le Beau, however, had his own plans regarding Caesar, and while Ferdinand desired to avail himself of his services against Gonsalvo and Julius II., Maximilian’s son conceived the idea of using him against the Catholic sovereign himself in case he persisted in claiming the regency. From these circumstances it is clear that Caesar’s ability and energy as a military leader were universally recognised.

To lend greater authority to his refusal to surrender Caesar, Philippe le Beau stated that he would first have to refer the matter to the Council of Castile to determine whether the Duke was the prisoner of the King or of Queen Jeanne. In apprehending him in Naples Gonsalvo indubitably was acting in the interests of the kingdom of which Philippe was Regent for his wife, the legitimate heir. Moreover, the Duke would have to be held a prisoner until the suit instituted by the Duchess of Gandia was decided. Ferdinand did not give up the fight when informed of the Council’s decision, but requested Don Bernardino de Cardenas, Governor of the province of Grenada, to whose care he had committed Caesar, to surrender his prisoner. Cardenas was disposed to obey, but asked permission of the Regent, who absolutely refused to allow Caesar to be given up. The Governor then explained to the King that even if he freed Valentino, Philippe would at once seize him again as he did not have a sufficient force to oppose the Regent.

Ferdinand set sail for Naples September 4, 1506, accompanied by his young Queen, and having with him the flower of his army. About a month later, October 5th, his son-in-law Philippe, the Regent of Castile, suddenly died. The Regent was then only twenty-eight years of age, and he was so strong and active that it was believed that he had been poisoned. His widow had still sufficient sense left to ask her father to return to Spain, and to her supplications were added those of his subjects, who feared the kingdom might become a prey to the contending factions. Ferdinand, however, was making good progress in Naples and was anxious to complete his work; he therefore refused to come, and Jeanne acted as Regent during his absence.

The death of Philippe had left Caesar’s guardian, Don Bernardino de Cardenas, in a peculiar position; he had directly disobeyed Ferdinand’s orders, and now, to save himself from the King’s wrath, he proposed to Luis Ferrer, the Catholic monarch’s ambassador, to send Caesar to him in order that he might be transferred to Aragon. Ferrer, cognisant of the machinations which had been carried on by Philippe le Beau and Maximilian with Caesar in prison, promptly accepted the offer in the name of his sovereign, but asked Cardenas to keep his prisoner until he could ascertain Ferdinand’s wishes regarding him. The Spanish monarch, however, was still in Naples, and Caesar, informed by Don Bernardino of what he had done, and unwilling to trust himself to him, succeeded in making his escape, October 25, 1506. He arrived at the Court of his brother-in-law Jean d’Albret December 3, 1506, suddenly—“like the devil,” as the chronicler Moret says.

The news of his escape caused consternation in Italy; Julius II. could never rest as long as Valentino was at large; the Venetians feared him, and the King of France immediately took steps to defend himself against his machinations. Caesar’s friends in Romagna, however, immediately recovered hope.

The Castle of Medina del Campo was the largest in Spain, and for any one to escape from its gloomy walls had been deemed impossible. Erected about the middle of the fifteenth century, in 1460 it fell into the hands of Fonseca, Archbishop of Seville, who on his death left it to a cousin. In 1473 it was seized by the first Duke of Alva.

The Count of Benavente undoubtedly aided Caesar to escape. Valentino had been furnished a chaplain, and this man probably was the one who acted as his agent in dealing with the outer world and also the person who furnished the rope by means of which Valentino descended from the tower. One of the servants tried the rope first; it was found to be too short, and the unfortunate man fell into the moat, breaking some of his bones; he was left where he fell and later was apprehended, tried, and put to death. Caesar had almost reached the end of the rope when, the alarm having been given, it was cut, and he also dropped into the moat. He was injured and had to be carried to the horse which was held in waiting for him by his confederates. Putting spurs to their animals, they never stopped until they reached the little town of Pozaldez; thence they travelled to Villalon, the seat of the Count of Benavente. Caesar was now safe. He had escaped from prison, October 25th, and not until five weeks later did he reach the Court of his brother-in-law at Pamplona; it had taken nearly all this time for him to recover from his injuries and regain his strength; but he had also had time to renew his machinations with the Emperor Maximilian’s ambassadors.

The records of the investigation which followed his escape are preserved in the archives of Simancas and are exceedingly voluminous. The order for his apprehension, which was issued in the name of Queen Jeanne, reads as follows: “Sixteenth December 1506. Commission and order is given by the Queen [titles] to you, Christoval Vasquez de Acuña, and to our alcaldes and to all of those to whom this royal letter shall be shown. You are informed that the Duke of Valentinois, being a prisoner by my order in the castle of Medina del Campo, the said Duke has escaped, and I advise you that I have been informed that he went to the city of Santander; that there were two persons mounted on horseback and that they left their horses in the town of Castres with the son of Pedro Gonzales Calderon. Thence they went to Santander where it is said the Duke was apprehended by an alcalde of the said town, but that the latter released him on receiving presents from him; once free he looked for some one to conduct him safe and sound to Castro-Urdiales to take ship from there. I require that the Duke be searched for with all possible diligence; that careful inquiry be made regarding the persons who left the said horses in the town of Castres; whither they went and where they now are; whether the said alcalde actually had the Duke in his hands and who these persons were. If these persons embarked, from what port, on what vessel, and their destination. In a word I wish you to inform us of everything relevant; and you will seize the person of the said Duke wherever you may find him, be this in a church or a monastery, or any other place, however privileged it may be, and even beyond your jurisdiction, and that, this done, you keep him in your sight with a strong guard until you shall have received further orders. For this purpose I send you the said letter and direct you to begin a searching investigation wherever and among all persons who may be able to give you any information regarding this matter; and that you procure all information concerning the said Duke, and that they give you the means of apprehending him, and that the sum that you promise them on my account for this purpose, be paid them in the manner agreed upon. And if any of them conceal him, cause them to understand that they incur the risk of death and that all their goods will be confiscated. And if you learn that the persons who left their horses in the said town of Castres were unknown, they must nevertheless be held until it is ascertained what they were doing, why and whither they were travelling.

“To carry out my instructions I give you absolute power with all the warrants, writs and authority necessary; and if any one in any way interferes with you he will be liable to a fine of ten thousand maravedis to be paid into my treasury.

“Given in our city of Burgos, 14 December 1506.—Signed Jeanne.”

* * * * *

After leaving Villalon Caesar’s destination was Pamplona, but instead of going there directly he travelled due north to the Atlantic coast, probably for the purpose of throwing his pursuers off the track. At Santander he took a boat. He had two guides, Martin de la Borda, of Los Passages, near San Sebastian, and Miguel de la Torre. All three were mounted on horses furnished by the Count of Benavente. The travellers passed for grain dealers; they stated they had come from Medina del Campo, where certain moneys had been owing them, which they had placed in a bank, and that they were now on their way to Santander, where they expected a boat laden with wheat from France. At Santander they learned that the vessel had stopped at Bernico, and in order that they might not suffer by a decline in price they had to embark again immediately for this port; thus they explained their haste.

When they reached the outskirts of Castres, November 29th, Caesar’s horse and that of Martin de la Borda could go no farther, and the travellers entered the town on foot. At Castres they put up at the inn of one Ruyz Guttierez. Here Valentino found a vessel-owner with whom he made arrangements to be taken by sea to the port nearest the border of Navarre. The witnesses examined twenty-one days after these events even named the dishes the travellers had for luncheon—“three chickens and a large piece of meat.” Scarcely had they seated themselves at the table when the arrival was announced of the lieutenant of the corregidor, who had been informed of the coming of the mysterious strangers who had no sooner entered the town than they hurried to Francesco Gonzales de Santiago, a vessel-owner, and offered him an extravagant price to take them by sea to Castro-Urdiales.

The official was accompanied by a notary and an alguazil, and they questioned the three travellers, who told a plausible story, and were allowed to go their ways.

Mary Gonzales de Pertillon, one of the servants about the inn, testified that one of the travellers had spoken little; that he was wrapped in his cloak; that he was a man of medium height, somewhat heavy, his nostrils wide open, his eyes large, and that his hand—doubtless injured—was bound up in a piece of linen.

Owing to the high sea the travellers were unable to set sail before sunrise, but they finally reached Castro-Urdiales, where, being unable to procure horses, they were compelled to remain two days. At last they obtained some mules and continued their journey, and some time between December 1st and 3rd they reached Pamplona. The investigation disclosed every move made by Caesar and his companions from the time they left Castres until they reached the Court of Navarre.

Valentino, informing his friends in Italy of his escape, stated that he had arrived at Pamplona December 3, 1506.

When the Council of Castile received the Queen’s order to institute an investigation, Caesar was entirely safe; in fact, he had been at the Court of his brother-in-law nearly two weeks. His two guides, however, Martin de la Borda and Miguel de la Torre, were apprehended. It was probably the news of Caesar’s arrival at Pamplona that caused the investigation to be instituted, although of course his escape was known at once. All along his route witnesses were found, and great was the astonishment when it was learned that the mysterious traveller was a prisoner of state, for whose apprehension a reward of ten thousand gold ducats was offered, and the strangest thing of all was the fact that the corregidor of Santander had actually had his hands on Caesar, had questioned him, and finally had set him free. He evidently had promptly reported the circumstances, but when he was informed who the strangers were the worthy official was dismayed, and he immediately indited the following frank letter to the Queen:—

“Most powerful Lady,—Don Pedro de Mendoza, your corregidor for the four towns on the sea-coast, kisses your Majesty’s hand, being informed by a royal rescript that she requires me to explain how one of the alcaldes in my jurisdiction could have apprehended and then set at liberty the Duke of Valentino.... Your Majesty already knows everything connected with the arrest of the said Duke from a previous report of mine, and from the investigation conducted by the corregidor of the town of Bilboa and county of Biscay, regarding this subject. I send no further information, having given all the particulars furnished by trustworthy witnesses regarding the persons who conducted the Duke to the place of embarkation. Your Majesty may be sure that, if at the time I had the Duke in my power, I or any of my alcaldes, had known of his escape, even had he untold wealth to give us, it would never have entered my head to do anything contrary to faithful service to your Majesty, and least of all to set the Duke at liberty, knowing or even suspecting that it was he whom I had in my hands. At the time I had him in my power, I did not know he had escaped—in fine, I did not so much as remember that such a person existed.

“Don Pedro de Mendoza.”

CHAPTER XII

Caesar arrives at the Court of his brother-in-law, the King of Navarre—D’Albret’s danger—The Agramont and Beaumont factions—Beaumont holds Viana—War is declared between D’Albret and Beaumont—Caesar is appointed commander of the troops of the King of Navarre—Viana—The chronicler Moret—Caesar is killed—The body is buried in Santa Maria de Viana—His epitaph—Removal of the body and destruction of the tomb—The news of Caesar’s death reaches Italy—The feeling in the peninsula—Caesar’s wife, Charlotte d’Albret, and their descendants—His illegitimate children—Death of Caesar’s mother Vannozza de’ Catanei—Conclusion.

The last of December, 1506, Caesar’s secretary, Don Federico, arrived in Italy with letters from his master announcing his escape. Of these letters, dated December 7, 1506, one was to the Marquis of Mantua, and another to the Cardinal of Este. The former, owing to political reasons, had always been friendly to Valentino; moreover, his wife Isabella was a sister of Alfonso d’Este, Caesar’s brother-in-law. The seal on the letters has the lilies of France and the Borgia arms, with the inscription, “Caesar Borgia de France, Duke of Romagna.”

On arriving in Italy Don Federico immediately went to Ferrara, where he appeared December 28th to impart the good news to Lucretia. Two weeks after leaving Ferrara, Federico was arrested at Bologna by order of Julius II., and Lucretia wrote the Marquis of Mantua, who was in the Pope’s service, and who had just administered a crushing defeat to Bentivoglio, and annexed his domain to the States of the Church, telling him that the messenger had merely come to bring her news of her brother, and not to attempt anything contrary to the Pope’s interests or wishes.

It was suspected that Federico had been sent to feel the pulse of the country, and to ascertain whether the Romagnols were still loyal to Valentino.

If Caesar in prison was a source of uneasiness to the Holy Father, how much more to be feared was he now, at liberty in Navarre, protected by the Emperor Maximilian, and likely to appear in Italy any time, rally his supporters—of whom he still had many—about him, and endeavour to recover Romagna, where his rule was preferred to that of the Pope! It was, therefore, the part of wisdom to nip his plans in the bud; consequently Don Federico was seized.

The Court of Navarre was impoverished and could not be of much help to Caesar, the larger part of whose fortune consisted of deposits with the bankers of Genoa; these funds, however, had been attached by his Holiness. Caesar now remembered that he was a French prince, Duke of Valentinois, and entitled to the revenues of the duchy, in addition to those of the county of Diois—not to mention those of the salt magazines of Issoudun, all assured to him by formal contract at the time of his marriage to Charlotte d’Albret. Besides, there was the dowry of 100,000 livres promised by Louis XII. and guaranteed by the royal treasurers, not a sou of which had he ever received, although it was to have been paid in November, 1500.

Caesar therefore sent his majordomo Requesenz to France to press his claim before Louis XII., and ask permission to come and take his place at Court and serve his Majesty.

In January, 1507, the French King was at Burgos, and there Requesenz presented himself. Louis not only refused to grant any of Caesar’s demands, but, February 18th, by letters patent, formally declared the Duke deprived of the revenues and lordship of Issoudun. From this document it is clear that Louis wanted to punish Caesar for threatening Florence, which he regarded as treachery; for his attack on Pisa, which was under the protection of France; and also for his attempts to expel the King’s ally, Giovanni Bentivoglio, from Bologna.

Caesar was now thirty-one years of age, and his one desire was to avenge himself on his enemies, Julius II., who had deprived him of his estates; on the King of Spain, who had treacherously imprisoned him; and on Louis XII., who had taken all his privileges from him, and who had even withheld the marriage portion. Louis had used the Borgia in securing Milan and Naples, and he had obtained Bretagne thanks to the dispensation of Caesar’s father permitting his marriage with Anne.

When Caesar found refuge at the Court of Navarre, his brother-in-law Jean d’Albret was in sore straits. On one side he was threatened by Ferdinand, the Catholic, who had always regarded Navarre as his prey, and on the other he was imperilled by the contentions of two factions, one headed by the Count of Agramont, the other by Luis de Beaumont, Count of Lerin. Louis XII. was doing all he could to foment the discord, and at this juncture D’Albret’s brother-in-law, Caesar, suggested that the King ask aid of the Emperor Maximilian, and offer him free passage through Navarre to Castile and Aragon. This suggestion immediately approved itself to Jean d’Albret. Caesar, of course, expected to be made commander of the forces of Navarre, and he at once set about putting the castles and strongholds of the kingdom in condition for defence, and enlisting such forces as Navarre could equip and maintain.

The first thing for Jean d’Albret to do was to put an end to the discord among his own subjects. Luis de Beaumont was then in possession of the castle of Viana, and he refused to surrender it on the King’s demand. His rebellion was of long standing. Luis had inherited his father’s affection for Castile, and in 1495 he had entered into an agreement with Ferdinand, the Catholic, by which he relinquished his estates in Navarre, and received in exchange for them equivalent domains in Castile. Thus he became a vassal of the Spanish monarch, and at the same time the latter secured a foothold in the kingdom of Navarre. The convention was duly ratified, but owing to the difficulty which was encountered in adjusting the exchange of estates it was soon abrogated.

Don Juan de Ribera, Captain-General of the Catholic Monarch, had taken charge of the domain hitherto in the possession of Beaumont, whose departure from Navarre had brought peace to the kingdom. Jean d’Albret of course was incensed by the occupation of a part of his territory by a representative of the King of Spain. He therefore went to Seville to endeavour to reach an understanding with Ferdinand; this he succeeded in doing, and the convention included a pardon for his rebellious count, to whom was also restored the office of constable and warder of the castle of Viana, while Don Juan de Ribera, Captain-General of Castile, returned to him all the estates he had conveyed to their Catholic Majesties. Luis de Beaumont was, however, a turbulent soul; his tomb in the monastery of Veruela bears the inscription: En un cuerpo tan pequeno nunca se vi tanta fuerza—Never before in body so small was there such strength.

Ever since 1505 he had regarded himself as the rightful owner of the castles, which he was merely holding for his sovereign, and, forgetful of D’Albret’s generosity, he refused to submit to him, and also continued to make inroads on his neighbours’ domains and appropriate their lands. He was endeavouring to build up a power to oppose the throne of Navarre and had established himself as a conqueror in the castle of Viana. While Jean d’Albret and Caesar were putting the strongholds of the country in fighting condition, the King sent an officer to Beaumont to demand the surrender of the place. Luis had the envoy seized, whipped, and confined in the castle of Larraga. Incensed when he was informed of this, and remembering how he had forgiven the count, the King sent to him three times and commanded him to appear; on his failure to do so he charged him with lese-majeste, declared all his goods confiscate, his titles, honours, and offices forfeit, and himself condemned to death.

Supported by Don Alonzo Carilli de Peralta, Count of San Sebastian, who was also on the side of Castile, Luis prepared to take the field.

War was declared between the King and his rebellious vassal, and Caesar, having been appointed Captain-General of the royal troops, set out February 11, 1507, to invest Larraga, whose defence had been entrusted by Beaumont to Ogier de Verastegui. Caesar attacked with great determination, but the place resisted bravely. Trusting to his lieutenants to cut off all means of communication, Valentino decided to go and attack Beaumont at his camp near Mendavia, adjacent to the small town of Viana, on the road to Logroño.

At Viana, near the frontier of Castile, D’Albret would be in an excellent position to receive reinforcements from the Count of Benavente, the Duke of Najera, and Maximilian’s partisans, who were anxious to begin a struggle which would open Castile to the son of Philippe le Beau.

Caesar’s force consisted of a thousand cavalry, more than two hundred lances, an escort of thirty men-at-arms, and five hundred foot-soldiers, with some siege guns and a few field-pieces. It was his intention to invest Viana, and then seek the Count, who had entrusted the defence of the town to his son Luis, and who had himself taken up a position near Mendavia.

Viana, being poorly supplied with provisions when the troops of Navarre appeared under her walls, was in no condition to resist a long siege. The Count of Lerin, aware of this, determined to re-victual the place; the undertaking was difficult and would have to be carried out, if at all, by night, for the Navarrais had entirely surrounded the town. The plan was favoured by a terrific storm which occurred during the night of March 11th, when Beaumont set out from Mendavia with two hundred lances and six hundred foot-soldiers, some of whom were armed with blunderbusses, to cover the line of his convoy, which consisted of sixty horses laden with flour. Profiting by the darkness, he advanced up to the very walls of the castle of Viana with a small force, having concealed the greater part of his men in a ravine near the town, so that they might be brought up quickly if needed. Everything was in his favour—the darkness, the storm, the relaxed vigilance of the besiegers, and he succeeded in getting his convoy into the stronghold by a secret gateway. Elated by his good fortune, Beaumont twice repeated the operation, and with equal success. He might have returned to his camp without being detected, but he decided to take advantage of the opportunity and reconnoitre, and, if possible, inflict some loss on the enemy.

As he was manœuvering his troop they were discovered by a considerable body of soldiers coming down the road leading to Logroño who, they thought, were reinforcements sent by the Duke of Najera. At sight of Beaumont’s men a shout went up. The alarm was given in the besiegers’ quarters surrounding the castle. Instantly all was confusion. Caesar hastily donned his armour, sprang to his horse, and without waiting to give any orders dashed out of the gate and down the Solana road.

“When I was a boy,” says the chronicler Moret, “I heard old men eighty years of age, who had it from contemporaries who saw him, say that just as he dashed through the gate, cursing and swearing, his horse stumbled and fell.” Believing that his men were at his heels, the Borgia spurred straight on toward the rebels, and, coming up to the rearguard, with his own hand he slew three of the enemy; oblivious of the fact that he was alone, he spurred on, cursing the rebels the while. Suddenly he was discovered by Beaumont, who ordered some of his men to advance to meet him.

Among those who did so were Luis Garcia de Agredo and Pedro de Allo, who succeeded in drawing him on into a deep ravine, where his followers, who were far behind, were unable to see him. There, hidden from the sight of his own people and also from that of Beaumont’s men, he engaged in a terrible hand-to-hand fight with his adversaries.

Valentino fought for his life, but, wounded in the armpit just as he was about to deliver a blow, he was unhorsed, and finally, covered with wounds, was forced to the ground and killed.

His brilliant armour having attracted the attention of his assailants, they removed it. Entirely unaware who their victim was, they even took his weapons and his charger and its accoutrements.

Fearing they might be surprised, they hastily departed, leaving the body naked on the field of battle. When the Count of Lerin saw the costly armour he was incensed because, instead of taking him alive, they had killed a man evidently of high rank, and he ordered some of his followers to fetch the body to his camp at Mendavia. They started for the ravine, but turned back when they heard the shouts of the men of Navarre who, in the early dawn, were searching for the body of their dead chieftain.

Before retreating, however, Beaumont’s men succeeded in capturing an unfortunate equerry whom they had found in manifest grief wandering about the scene of the conflict. Taken to Beaumont, he was shown the brilliant armour and asked to whom it belonged, and “Juanico burst into tears, exclaiming that he had girded it on his master, Caesar Borgia of France, Duke of Romagna, that very morning, and that he had followed him when he dashed through the gate, but had lost him from sight owing to the swiftness of the Duke’s horse.”

In the meantime the King of Navarre was advancing. After the first surprise his forces rallied and deployed before the hill upon which Viana is situated. Beaumont, seeing he was in danger of being cut off from Mendavia, retired with his men, leaving the unhappy squire, who immediately hastened back to the ravine, where he was found by D’Albret and his followers standing over the bleeding body of his master. The King had the corpse taken to Viana, where it was placed in a tomb before the great altar in the parochial church of Santa Maria of Viana, and in the course of the same year—1507—a magnificent monument was erected to Caesar’s memory, and upon it was chiselled the following epitaph:—

“Aqui yace en poca tierra
Al que toda le temia;
En que la paz y la guerra
En la su mano tenia.
Oh! tu que vas a buscar
Cosas dignas de loar!
Si tu loas lo mas digno,
Aqui pare tu camino;
No cures de mas andar.”

Early in the eighteenth century Father Aleson, then in Viana, found nothing left of the monument but two stones which had been inserted in the base of the main altar. In the “Antequedades de Navarra” Yanguez Miranda says the destruction of the sepulchre was, according to oral tradition, which he gathered from some of the inhabitants of Viana, due to the order of a fanatical bishop who felt that the church was desecrated by the presence of Caesar’s ashes.

The Church of Santa Maria de Viana underwent extensive repairs about the end of the seventeenth century, and probably it was at that time that the tomb was removed. Its destruction may have been connected with an incident which occurred long before. In 1498 Pedro de Aranda, Bishop of Calahorra and Superior of the diocese of Viana, was examined by Alexander VI. on the charge of heresy and was condemned and imprisoned in the Castle of St. Angelo, where he was held a long time. As a result of his confinement the bishop died. It is highly probable that the prelates of the diocese of Viana, which had been dishonoured in the person of its bishop by the Borgia, continued to feel resentment toward the family and that one of Pedro de Aranda’s successors revenged them by removing Caesar’s remains from the church. What could have been more natural than for the officiating priest to have desired to have removed from his sight all reminders of the recalcitrant cardinal, the degenerate son of Alexander VI. whose memory was already blasted by history? This much is certain—a bishop did destroy the tomb.

Following Paul Jovius and Tomaso Tomasi, later historians have placed Caesar’s burial at Pamplona; but Father Aleson, who continued Moret’s “Annals of Navarre,” and who lived in Viana, says: “Asi lo llevaron a Viana, no a Pamplona, como algunos quisieron decir; y lo depositaron en la yglesia parocchia de Santa Maria”—Thus they took the body to Viana, not to Pamplona as some say, and placed it in the parochial church at Santa Maria. Then follows a description of the tomb and the epitaph and the fact of the removal of the monument. In 1523, only sixteen years after Valentino’s death, Antonio de Guevara, the Bishop of Mondoñedo, described the tomb and copied the epitaph in his “Lettres Morales.”

Tradition indicated that the final resting-place of Caesar’s remains was just in front of the steps in the Calle de la Rua, leading to the terrace upon which the Church of Santa Maria de Viana stands, and M. Charles Yriarte induced the alcalde of the town, Don Victor Cereceda, to make an excavation at the place. The investigation brought to light a perfectly preserved skeleton—were these the mortal remains of the son of Alexander VI.?

There was nothing to prove that they were; the bishop may have wished to consign them to everlasting oblivion and so placed no mark upon the tomb. With the skeleton were other bones, which may have been removed from the church at the same time, when it was being restored.

Reports of Caesar’s death reached his sister—who in January, 1505, had become Duchess of Ferrara—by way of Naples promptly, and she dispatched one of her servants, a certain Tullio, to Navarre to ascertain whether the rumour was true. As he progressed on his journey he became convinced of the truth of the report, and therefore returned to Ferrara without going to Navarre. The last doubt was dispelled when Juanico Grasica, who had been present at Caesar’s funeral and who had been sent by King Jean d’Albret to inform Lucretia of his death, appeared in Ferrara. Alfonso was absent from his domain, and his brother, Cardinal Ippolito d’Este was the first to receive the news, which he immediately directed Jeronimo Magnanini, the Duke’s secretary, to communicate to his master. This he did in a long letter giving full particulars of Caesar’s death taken down from the lips of his faithful squire Grasica. The details were confirmed by Costabili, who had just come from Rome. Accounts of Valentino’s death are given by Zurita, Moret, Esteban de Garribay, and Avalos de la Piscina, and all closely agree with that of Grasica.

Lucretia’s grief was profound and apparently sincere, and many were the prayers she directed to be said for the repose of Caesar’s soul. Shortly afterwards her Court poet, Ercole Strozzi, dedicated his “Epicedium,” a funeral oration in verse, in honour of Valentino, to her, but Jacopo Sannazzaro, the mortal enemy of the Borgia, invited his friends and all Italy to join him in making merry over “this happy event.”

Caesar, deprived of the support of the Vatican, was merely a bold condottiere, a soldier of fortune, and with these Italy teemed in his day. He was ready to sell his services to the highest bidder, provided he could advance his own projects. Although he was no longer in a position to harm his enemies, all Italy breathed a sigh of relief when the news of his death was confirmed; even Julius II., who was more than a match for Caesar, felt easier, and henceforth he was able peaceably to carry on the work of reconstructing the domain of the Church. Had Valentino survived and entered the employ of Venice in her conflict with the Pope for the possession of Romagna, or if he had taken the side of France when his Holiness withdrew from the League of Cambray, he might have recovered his former influence and power.

But all Italy now laughed at the adventurer who had inscribed on his sword the words, Aut Caesar, aut nihil. Still, there were a few individuals who remained faithful to his memory, and a number of poets published panegyrics and bewailed the loss of the hero. Hieronimus Portius, the Strozzi, Francesco Justolo, and Uberti saw fit to lament him in more or less polished verse. One of the most famous of the epitaphs was written by Jeronimo Casio of Bologna, who had known Caesar:—

“Cesar Borgia che ere della gente
Per armi et per virtù tenuto un sole;
Mancar dovendo, andó dove andar sole
Phebo, verso la sera, a l’occidente.”

Leaving France immediately after his marriage with Charlotte d’Albret, Caesar had never seen his wife again, and there is nothing to show that he regretted her. She was merely a pawn in the political game, and she had been sacrificed by her father for his own gain and to further the plans of Louis XII., on whose marriage to Anne of Bretagne she had retired to Berri to be as near as possible to Jeanne of France, his repudiated Queen. It was not long, however, before she took up her final residence at Motte-Feuilly, where she occupied herself with the education of her daughter Louise, whom the father, Caesar, had never seen. The Duchess of Valentinois died March 11, 1514, leaving, as her sole heir, her daughter, who two years later, when she was seventeen years of age, married Louis II. de La Trémoille, Viscount of Thouars and Prince of Talmont, the Chevalier Bayard, the knight sans peur et sans reproche, who was slain at the battle of Pavia in 1525. Five years later she again married, her second husband being Philippe de Bourbon, Lord of Busset, eldest son of Pierre de Bourbon.

Caesar also left an illegitimate son, Girolamo, whose mother is unknown, and who probably died young, as we find no trace of him after his removal to Naples about the time of Caesar’s release by Julius II. He likewise had a natural daughter, whom he named Lucretia in honour of his sister, and who subsequently became abbess of San Bernardino and died at Ferrara in 1573.

Caesar’s mother, Vannozza de’ Catanei, survived him eleven years. Up to the time of her death she had maintained close relations with her numerous children. She lived in Rome and enjoyed a certain competency, provided for her by Alexander VI.; she engaged actively in charitable work. The day of her death, according to the Roman custom, the announcement was made by the public crier:—

“Messer Paolo gives notice of the demise of Madonna Vannozza, mother of the Duke of Gandia. The deceased belonged to the fraternity of the Gonfalon.”

She left her entire fortune to S. Giovanni in Lateran. She was interred in Santa Maria del Popolo, her parish church, and on her tomb her executor inscribed the following epitaph:—

“To Vannozza Catanea, ennobled by her children, the Dukes, Caesar of Valentinois, and Juan of Gandia, the Prince Giuffre of Squillace, and the Duchess Lucretia of Ferrara. To the woman rendered illustrious by her integrity, her piety, her wisdom, and to whom the Hospital of the Lateran is so greatly indebted, Geronimo Pico, her testamentary executor, has erected this monument. She lived seventy-seven years, four months, and thirteen days, and died November 26, 1518.”

For two centuries the friars of Santa Maria del Popolo prayed for the repose of her soul, but a sense of decency or shame finally asserted itself, and the monument was removed.

Lucretia Borgia, Duchess of Ferrara, survived her brother Caesar twelve years, dying in 1519, greatly beloved by her people. By her husband Alfonso d’Este she had five children: Ercole II, who married Renée of France; Ippolito, who passed away in 1572; Eleonora, who became a nun and lived until 1575; Francesco, who survived until 1576; and Alexander, who died in infancy. Ercole II., by his wife Renée, daughter of Louis XII., had five children: Alfonso II. Cardinal Ludovico d’Este, Donna Anna, Duchess of Guise, Lucretia, Duchess of Urbino, and Leonora, who never married.

The Spanish chroniclers contemporary with Caesar Borgia discovered the hand of God in his death, which occurred March 12, 1507, on the anniversary of his premature elevation to the Bishopric of Pamplona and in his own diocese, where he had never before set foot!

THE END.

FOOTNOTES

1 Loria, “Economic Bases of Society,” London, n.d., p. 37.

2 Lanzol, Llançol, Llanzol, &c.

3 Gebhart, E., “Les Origins de la Renaissance en Italie,” Paris, 1879.

4 Gebhart.

5 The Roman day of twenty-four hours ended at sunset—about eight in the evening in June.

6 Infessura, “Diario,” Rome, 1890, p. 155.

7 Medin, “Il Duca Valentino nella Mente di Machiavelli,” Florence, 1883.

8 “Pii Secundi Comentarii,” Rome, 1583, Lib. 2.

9 Burckhardt, “Renaissance in Italy,” London, 1892.

10 Tomaso Tomasi, “Vita del Duca Valentino,” ed. by G. Leti, Montechiaro, 1670.

11 Yriarte, “César Borgia, sa Vie, sa Captivité, sa Mort,” Paris, 1889.

12 Burchard, “Diarium,” ed. by Thuasne, vol. ii., p. 84.

13 Villari, “Savonarola,” English translation, London, p. 742.

14 Fumi, “Alessandro VI. e il Valentino in Orvieto,” Siena, 1874.

15 Fumi, Appendix, Document VIII.

16 Burchard, “Diarium,” ed. by Thuasne, Paris, 1884, vol. iii., p. 387.

17 Machiavelli, “Opere,” Florence, 1820, vol. iii. “Discorsi,” Lib. 1, Chap. XXVII.

18 Gaspare Torrella, “Tractatus Contra Pudendagra,” Rome, 1497.

19 Pierre de Bourdeille, “Œuvres,” Paris, 1838, vol. i., p. 156, “Caesar Borgia.”

20 Yriarte, “César Borgia,” Paris, 1889.

21 Jean d’Auton, “Chroniques,” Paris, 1834.

22 Varsari, “Vite de’ più, Eccellenti Pittori, Scultori et Architetti,” Bologna, 1647. “Vita di Pietro di Cosimo.”

23 Auton, Jean d’, “Chroniques,” Paris, 1834, Pt. III., vii.

24 Alvisi, “Cesare Borgia,” Document 40.

25 Gregorovius, “Storia della Città di Roma,” Venice, 1875, Bk. 13, Chap. V., sec. 4.

26 Burchard’s statement is incorrect: the last named was spared, but was assassinated August 28, 1504.

27 Guillaume Brissonet of Tours, Bishop of San Malo, Cardinal of Santa Prudenziana; Luigi d’Aragona, Cardinal-Deacon of the title of Santa Maria in Cosmedin.

INDEX

Æneas Sylvius, see Pius II.
Agapito, see Gerardino, Agapito
Agramont, Count of, 300
Agrigentum, Bishop of, 101
Alain, Cardinal of Santa Prassede, 31
Albret, Alain d’, 131
Albret, Charlotte d’, 71, 131;
marries Caesar Borgia, 132, 137;
her death, 310
Albret, Jean d’, 131, 284, 291, 300, 301, 305
Aleson, Padre, 306
Alexander VI., Pope, 38;
nepotism of, 47, 48;
election of, 51;
his dissolute life, 51;
a temporal prince, 53, 64, 69, 70, 72, 78, 83, 86;
meets Alfonso of Naples, 88;
removes to Castle St. Angelo, 93;
treaty with Charles VIII., 93, 94;
avoids the King, 96;
goes to Perugia, 97;
his letter to the people of Orvieto, 98;
the Romagnol barons, 100;
creation of cardinals, 101;
declares the Orsini rebels, 101;
receives Giuffre and Sancia, 104;
grief for murder of Gandia, 109;
reform of the Church, 114;
goes to Ostia, 118;
alliance with Louis XII., 123, 124, 133, 149;
confiscates estates of the Riario, 151;
appoints Caesar gonfalonier, 151;
confers the Golden Rose on him, 153, 160;
Faenza banned, 163;
creates twelve cardinals, 164, 171;
threatens Bologna, 172, 177;
receives French officers, 179, 182;
places the ban on the Colonna and the Savelli, 186;
his son Giovanni, 187;
relations with Ferrara, 188, 189, 190;
his opinion of Caesar, 191;
goes to Piombino, 192;
to Elba, 193, 196;
seizes the Orsini, 221, 222, 229;
threatens Caesar, 230;
seizes the towns of the Savelli, 232;
watches Naples, 234;
stricken by the plague, 235;
death and rumours of poison, 236, 238;
obsequies, 248, 261
Alexius, Attilius, 41

Alfonso of Naples, Duke of Bisceglia, 73, 121;
murder of, 157–9, 161
Allegre, Yves d’, 92, 138, 144, 146, 147;
in Rome, 179

Alviano, Bartolomeo d’, declared a rebel, 101;
active about Rome, 103, 202, 257, 260
Alvisi, E., 232
Amananti, Jacopo, Cardinal of Pavia, 39

Amboise, Georges d’, Cardinal of Rouen, 123, 129, 245, 246;
in Rome, 247, 249;
defends Caesar, 261, 274
Anastasius, Pope, 28
Angelo, Michael, his “Cupid,” 201
Appiano, Giacomo d’, 176
Aquilano, Sebastiano, 119
Aragona, Luigi d’, comes to Rome, 247, 249

Aranda, Pedro de, Bishop of Calahorra, 124, 306, 307

Arignano, Domenico d’, 74
Aubigny, Count d’, 137
Auton, Jean d’, chronicler, 137;
account of Pope’s reception of French officers, 179–80;
account of the expedition against Naples, 181;
the taking of Capua, 182
Avignon, the Papal See at, 58
Ayala, Pedro de, 287

Baglioni, the, join the Pope’s enemies, 103, 257

Baglioni, Giampaolo, 164, 212;
attacks Perugia, 242, 274
Balue, Cardinal, 66
Barbo, Marco, Cardinal, 41
Barbo, Piero, 39
Beaumont, Luis de, 300, 301, 302, 305
Benavente, Count of, 286–7, 290
Benedict XIII., Anti-Pope, 32
Bentivoglio, the, 205
Bentivoglio, Annibale, 258
Bentivoglio, Ercole, 147
Bentivoglio, Giovanni, 164, 171, 172, 173;
his agreement with the Pope, 214, 276
Bessarion, Cardinal of Nicæa, 31, 32, 41

Bisceglia, Alfonso, Duke of, see Alfonso of Naples

Boccaccio, Gianandrea, 75;
account of Caesar Borgia, 82
Bologna, relations with the Pope, 205
Bona of Savoy, regent in Milan, 62, 88
Boniface VIII., Pope, 28, 58
Books, dedication of, 67
Borgia or Borja family, the, 31;
their character, 52, 68, 70;
family solidarity, 72;
their enemies, 242

Borgia, Alonzo, Cardinal (see Calixtus III., Pope), 31, 68

Borgia, Angela, 139
Borgia, Catalina, 69, 77
Borgia, Caesar, 38, 44, 53, 64, 67, 71, 73;
his birth, 75–6;
plans in central Italy, 76, 77;
student in Pisa, 78;
his letter to the Counsellors of Pamplona, 79;
in Spoleto, 81, 82, 83;
made cardinal, 85, 88, 93;
hostage of Charles VIII., 93, 94, 95, 96, 97;
Governor of Orvieto, 98, 99, 100;
meets the Duke of Gandia, 102–4;
legate to Naples, 105;
suspected of the murder of Gandia, 110–12;
crowns the King of Naples, 117;
returns to Rome, 118;
book dedicated to, 119;
to resign ecclesiastical offices, 123;
goes to France, 124–5;
meets Louis XII., 126, 129;
Duke of Valentinois, 130, 131;
marries Charlotte d’Albret, 132;
given Order of St. Michael, 135;
his daughter Louise, 137;
first campaign in Romagna, 139;
takes Forli, 144;
Vicar of Imola and Forli, 145;
in Rome, 147–9;
Vicar of Romagna, 150;
Governor of Imola, 151;
Gonfalonier of the Church, 151;
his oath, 152;
the Golden Rose, 153;
a bull-fighter, 154;
and the artists, 155;
murders Alfonso of Naples, 158, 159;
second campaign in Romagna, 164;
relations with the Gonzaga, 166;
enters Pesaro, 167;
his habits, 168;
returns to Rome, 173;
Florence, 175;
and Machiavelli, 175, 176;
in Rome, 179;
expedition against Naples, 182;
Capua, 185;
affairs in the north, 186, 189, 190, 191;
goes to Piombino, 192;
Elba, 193;
third campaign in Romagna, 194;
has Manfredi killed, 195, 196;
goes to Spoleto, 197, 199;
Duke of Urbino, 201;
his letter to Lucretia, 203;
goes to Milan, 204;
estranged from his captains, 205;
the conspiracy, 206–7;
and Machiavelli, 208–10, 211, 212;
his captains return to him, 215;
receives delegation from Ancona, 217;
goes to Sinigaglia 218;
the trap at Sinigaglia, 219;
has Oliverotto and Vitelli killed, 220;
seizes Città di Castello, 223;
has Paolo and Francesco Orsini strangled, 224, 226;
his letter to the Balia of Siena, 226–7, 228, 229, 230;
a power in Central Italy, 230, 231;
plots with Spain, 223, 234;
ill of the plague, 235, 237;
he recovers, 240;
seizes the Pope’s personal property, 241;
his domain crumbles, 242;
and the Sacred College, 243, 244, 245;
leaves Rome with troops, 246, 248, 251;
favoured by Pius III., 252;
deserted by Moncada and Romolino, 253;
brings his men to Rome, 255, 256;
his fortunes improve, 257;
again deserted, 258;
he escapes but returns to Rome, 259, 260, 261, 265;
lodged in the Vatican, 267;
relations with Julius II., 269;
leaves Rome, 270;
arrested, 272, 273, 274;
confined in the Borgia tower, 275;
goes to Ostia, 276–7;
goes to Naples, 278, 279;
arrested by Gonsalvo de Cordova, 280;
sent to Spain, 284;
attempts to kill his gaoler, 285, 286, 287;
escapes from prison, 289;
the investigation, 291–3;
informs friends of his escape, 294, 298, 299;
Captain-General of Navarre, 302;
is slain, 304;
his body taken to Viana, 305;
entombed in Santa Maria, 306;
news of his death reaches Italy, 308, 309;
his epitaph, 310, 312

Borgia, Francesco, Cardinal of Cosenza, 101, 146;
flees from Rome, 275

Borgia, Francina, 68

Borgia, Giovanni, Cardinal of Monreale, dies of the plague, 235

Borgia, Giovanni, Cardinal of Santa Susanna, his death, 145

Borgia, Giovanni, see Gandia, Duke of

Borgia, Giovanni, Lord of Camerino, 38, 73, 187

Borgia, Girolama, 73, 86

Borgia, Girolamo, son of Caesar, 311

Borgia, Giuffre, Prince of Squillace, 73, 83, 85;
marries Sancia of Naples, 87;
enters Rome, 104, 120, 248;
arrested and released, 281
Borgia, Gonzales Gil, 68

Borgia, Isabella, daughter of Rodrigo Borgia and wife of Pietro Giovanni Matuzzi, 73

Borgia, Isabella de, sister of Calixtus III., 70

Borgia, Juan Domingo, 68

Borgia, Juana de, wife of P. Guillem Lanzol, 71

Borgia, Laura, daughter of Alexander VI., betrothed to Niccolò della Rovere, 282

Borgia, Louise de, daughter of Caesar, 137, 310, 311

Borgia, Lucretia, daughter of Alexander VI., 71, 73;
her birth, 75;
under care of Adriana Mila, 77;
betrothed to Giovanni Sforza, 83;
married, 84, 104;
divorced, 120;
married to Alfonso, Prince of Bisceglia, 121, 158, 161, 187;
placed in charge of Vatican, 189;
married to Alfonso d’Este, 192;
the final estimate of her, 192, 285, 308;
her death and her descendants, 312
Borgia, Lucretia, daughter of Caesar, 311
Borgia, Ludovico, 145
Borgia, Pedro Luis, First Duke of Gandia, 72
Borgia, Pier Luigi, 33, 34;
made cardinal, 164
Borgia, Raymon, 68
Borgia, Ricardo, 68

Borgia, Rodrigo (see Alexander VI.), 32, 33, 34, 37;
made cardinal, 41;
crowns Sixtus IV., 32, 48, 50, 51;
a student of canon law, 52;
Bishop of Valencia, 52;
Vice-Chancellor, 52, 71, 77, 78;
elected pope, 80
Borgia, Ximenes Garcia, 68
Borja, see Borgia
Borja, Rodrigo Gil de, 70
Borja, y Doms, Jofre, 70
Braccio, Alessandro, 114

Brantôme, describes Caesar’s entry into Chinon, 126

Bretagne, Anne of, 131

Brissonet, Guillaume, Cardinal of Santa Prudenziana, comes to Rome, 247

Bugliotto, Odoardo, 246

Bull-fighting in Rome, 154

Burchard, Johann, his account of the murder of the Duke of Gandia, 107–14;
on the death of Cardinal Orsini, 226

Calderon, Pedro, murder of, 119

Calixtus III., Pope (Alonzo Borgia), 31, 32, 34, 39, 43, 70, 71, 72, 77

Calmeto, Vincenzo, 223
Camerino, fall of, 202
Canale, Carlo, 74
Capello, Paolo, relation of, 114, 116, 119;
describes Caesar, 155, 158;
on Alexander VI., 162, 165
Capranica, Bartolomeo, 211
Capranica, Domenico, Cardinal, 31, 33
Capua, capture of, 183
Caraffa, Oliviero, Cardinal, 51
Caranza, Pedro, 81
Cardenas, Bernardino de, 288–9
Cardinals, the, their wealth, 64;
their character, 65
Carilli, Alonzo, 302
Carlotta of Aragon, 121, 130
Carniola, the Bishop of, 239
Carvajal, Bernardino, Cardinal, 41, 275
Casio, Jeronimo, his epitaph on Caesar, 310
Castiglione, Baldessare, 138
Catanei, Vanozza de’, 72–3;
her character, 74;
her house plundered, 93, 248, 275, 311
Catherine, St., 39
Cecco d’Ascoli, 27
Cesarini, Giuliano, 86
Charles VIII., claims Naples, 83;
prepares to invade Italy, 88;
his character, 89, 90;
enters Tuscany, 92;
enters Naples, 95;
returns to Rome, 95, 97;
returns to France, 98, 103;
his death, 122, 136
Chinchilla, Caesar sent to, 284
Church, States of the, 43
Churches, murders in, 65
Cibo, Franceschetto, 48, 49
Cibo, Giambatista, elected pope, 48;
his nepotism and avarice, 49
Cibo, Lorenzo, 50, 51
Clement VII., Pope, 232
Collennuccio, Pandolfo, 167;
on Caesar’s habits and character, 168
Colonna, feud with the Orsini, 60;
they hold to the Pope, 103;
banned by the Pope, 186, 203
Colonna, Cardinal, 50, 66, 93;
returns to Rome, 249
Colonna, Fabrizio, 84, 103, 182;
captured, 184
Colonna, Prospero, 182;
returns to Rome, 242, 244, 246, 247
Commines, Philippe de, envoy to Venice, 90
Communes, the Italian, 56–7
Condottieri, the, 59
Cordova, Juan de, 211
Cordova, see Gonsalvo de Cordova
Corio, Bernardino, 41

Corneto, Adriano di, Cardinal, the dinner in his garden, 236

Corrella, Michelotto, 158, 173, 211, 260;
captured, 274;
examined for crimes, 281
Cosimo, Pietro di, 156
Costabili, Beltrando, 191;
on death of Alexander VI., 238
Crime during the Renaissance, 115
Croce, Giorgio de, 72, 74
Dante, his “Convito,” 26
Da Vinci, Leonardo, 137, 155, 193, 205
Decio, Filippo, 78
Dijon, the Bailli of, 138, 146
Dolcino di Novara, 27
Doms, family arms, 70
Doms, Sibilla, 70
Doria, Andrea, 223
Dracaz, Giacomo, 99
Empire, the, 56
Enea, Silvio, see Pius II.
Enriquez, Maria, 73, 102, 284
Este family, 58;
arms, 71
Este, Alfonso d’, 71, 73;
marries Lucretia Borgia, 187–8, 192
Este, Ercole d’, 188, 191
Este, Fernando d’, 191
Este, Ippolito d’, 105, 188, 191, 308
Este, Isabella d’, 188, 221
Estouteville, Cardinal, 104, 187
Faenza, invested, 170;
surrenders, 173
Farnese, Alessandro, 64, 84;
made cardinal, 86
Farnese family, 86

Farnese, Giulia (La Bella), 38, 64, 73, 77, 81;
captured by the French, 92

Federico, Caesar’s secretary, arrested by Julius, 11, 297

Feo, Giacomo, 140
Ferdinand II. of Spain, 77, 286;
goes to Naples, 287, 289, 300–1
Ferdinand II. of Naples, 98
Ferdinand of Naples, 83
Ferrara, 188;
her orator complains to the pope, 189
Ferrer, Luis, 289
Ferrerio, Vincenzo, 32
Foix, Gaston de, 286
Foix, Germaine de, 286
Forli surrenders, 143–4
Fornovo, battle of, 98
Florence, 45, 175
Flores, Antonio, 94
Flores, Bartolomeo, 83
Francesco da Pistoja, 27
France, superiority of armies of, 91
Frederic II. of Naples, 105, 130;
declared deprived of Naples, 182;
goes to France, 185

Gaetani, the, robbed by Alexander VI., 164, 167

Gandia, Giovanni Borgia, Duke of, 73;
made Captain-General, 102;
wounded, 103;
the murder of, 107–14
Gasparino da Verona, 37
Gerardino, Agapito, 124, 154, 208, 213, 224;
deserts Caesar, 272
Ghibellines, the, 57

Giovanni, Don, Infans Romanus, see Borgia, Giovanni, Lord of Camerino

Giovio, Paolo, 184

Giulia Bella, see Farnese, Giulia

Giustinian, Antonio, Venetian ambassador, 214, 225, 236, 247, 252, 253, 255, 260;
his opinion of Julius II., 266, 269, 270, 273, 275, 277, 278, 280

Gonsalvo de Cordova, defeats the French, 233, 258, 275;
victory at the Garigliano, 276, 279, 280, 285;
sends Caesar to Spain, 282, 287, 288
Gonzaga family, 58
Gonzaga, Francesco, Cardinal, 41, 74, 97, 165
Got, Bertrand, made pope, 58
Grammont, French ambassador, 245
Grasica, Juanico, Caesar’s equerry, 305;
goes to Ferrara, 308

Gregorovius, Ferdinand, opinion of Caterina Sforza, 140;
on Letter to Silvio Savelli, 190, 283
Guelphs, 57
Guevara, Antonio de, 307

Guicciardini, Francesco, his opinion of Alexander VI., 52, 184;
account of Alexander’s death, 238
Guilds, 55
Gurk, Cardinal (Raymond Perrault), 93
Guzman, Gabriel, 284
Illegitimacy during the Renaissance, 42, 54–5

Infessura, Stefano, his opinion of Sixtus IV., 45;
his opinion of Innocent VIII., 50, 84

Innocent VIII., Pope (Giambatista Cibo), 48, 49;
death of, 50, 78

Investiture, Wars of, 56

Isabella of Aragon, daughter of Alfonso of Naples, 89

Isabella of Spain, 285
Italy, corruption in, 48
Jeanne la Folle, 285, 288, 292
Jubilee of 1300, 58

Julius II., Pope (Giuliano della Rovere), 115, 266;
statement to Giustinian, 267;
attitude towards Caesar, 269, 270, 272;
arrests Caesar, 273, 275, 277, 280, 281, 283, 289

La Trémoille, Louis de, 154
La Trémoille, Louis II. de, 310
League of the Conservation, 95
League against France, 95
Lenzol, the, family arms, 70, 71
Lenzol, Jofre, 69
Lenzol, Pedro Luis, 69
Lenzol, Rodrigo, 69, 71
Lenzol y Borja, Jofre, 71
Lenzol y Moncada, 71
Ligny, Louis de, 137
Lopez, Juan, 81, 97
Lorca, Remiro de, 124, 193;
put to death, 216
Louis XII., King of France, 122;
alliance with Alexander VI., 123, 124, 131;
his claim to Milan, 136, 137, 171, 176, 177, 178;
league with Pope against Naples, 182;
thanks Caesar for his services, 185, 186, 200;
receives Caesar at Milan, 204, 212, 229;
restores Pandolfo Petrucci to Siena, 232–3;
sends troops to the Regno, 234;
his Prime Minister, 246, 258, 286, 289;
deprives Caesar of his French fiefs, 299, 300, 310

Luna, Pietro de, 103
Machiavelli, 76;
on Giampaolo Baglioni, 115, 175;
sent to Caesar, 199;
his opinion of Caesar, 200, 208–10, 216, 219, 232, 261, 271, 272

Maillard, Benoit, his description of a banquet given to Caesar, 125

Malatesta family, lords of Rimini, 59
Malatesta, Pandolfo, 164, 169, 257
Mancini, Jeronimo, 191
Manfredi family, lords of Faenza, 59
Manfredi, Astorre, 163, 168, 169;
his bravery, 172;
surrenders, 173;
murder of, 194, 196

Mantua, Marquis of (Gian Francesco Gonzaga), 248

Marades, Juan, 81
Marches, the Lords of the, 101
Marciano, Rinuccio da, 182;
wounded and captured, 184
Mariana, Juan de, historian, 69, 72
Marsini, Niccolò, 203
Martin V., Pope, 32
Martyr, Peter, of Anghiara, 239
Matarazzo, 186;
on Caesar, 231
Matilda, Countess, 56

Maximilian, his ambassador arrives in Spoleto, 96, 165, 190, 286, 298, 300

Medici, the, 45, 58

Medici, Giovanni de’, made Cardinal, 49, 51, 64

Medici, Giuliano de’, murder of, 45, 65, 174

Medici, Lorenzo de’, attempted murder of, 45

Medici, Maddalena de’, married to Franceschetto Cibo, 48

Medici, Piero de’, 90, 174
Medino del Campo, fortress of, 285, 290
Mendoza, Diego de, 276
Mendoza, Pedro de, his letter, 295–6
Mercenaries in Italy, 59
Michele, see Corrella, Michelotto
Michelotto, see Corrella, Michelotto
Michiel, Giovanni, Cardinal, 41, 51
Middle Ages, 62;
the Arts during, 63
Mila, Adriana, 69, 77
Mila, Juan del, Cardinal, 69
Mila, Juan, Bishop of Zamora, 32, 69
Mila, Juan, Luis de, 32
Mila, Perot del, 69

Mirandola, Antonio Pico della, suspected of the murder of Gandia, 110

Moncada, Juan de, 71

Moncada, Ugo, 211, 253

Montefeltre, Federico, made Duke of Urbino, 44, 198, 210, 234, 267

Montefeltre, Giovanna, 44
Montefeltre, Guido, 215
Montefeltre, lords of Urbino, 59

Montpensier, Gilbert de, Vice-Regent in Naples, 98

Moret, the chronicler, 289, 304

Moro, Ludovico il, 62, 83, 88, 89, 95, 97, 98, 136, 137, 140, 146;
returns to Milan, 147;
defeated by the French, 154
Mottino, Admiral, 259, 277, 278
Mugnone, Lucchesina, 42
Naples, Federico of, 85
Naples, Ferdinand of, 45
Naples, league against, 83
Naples, Sancia of, see Sancia of Naples
Nepotism, 39, 47, 80
Nicæa, Cardinal-Bishop of, see Bessarion
Niccolò da Verona, 26
Nicholas III., Pope, 28
Nicholas V., Pope, 31, 68
Oliverotto da Fermo, 202, 213;
put to death by Caesar Borgia, 220
Olivieri, Giovanni, 154
Ordelaffi family, lords of Forli, 59
Orsini, the, 50;
their feuds, 60;
and Charles VIII., 101, 103;
strongholds in Rome, 116;
active about Rome, 228;
return to Rome, 242, 244, 257;
protest to the Pope against Caesar, 259, 260, 261

Orsini, Carlo, declared a rebel, 101;
captures the Duke of Urbino, 103
Orsini, Giambattista, Cardinal, 41;
made camerlengo, 42;
arrested by Alexander VI., 221;
his palace plundered, 222;
death in prison, 225

Orsini, Gian Giordano, declared a rebel, 101, 230

Orsini, Giulio, 174, 257
Orsini, Ludovico, Lord of Bassanello, 69, 77
Orsini, Niccolò, 229

Orsini, Paolo, declared a rebel, 101, 164, 174, 211, 213;
takes Urbino, 215
Orsini, Virginio, 50, 84, 85;
declared a rebel, 101;
made prisoner, 102
Orvieto, 98
Oviedo, Pedro de, 198, 274

Palavicini, Antoniotto Gentile, Cardinal of Sta Anastasia, 96

Panvinio, 69
Papacy, the, 28, 42;
secularisation of, 45–6;
politics of, 262
Paul II., Pope, 37, 40, 41;
his avarice, 45
Pavia, Cardinal of (Francesco Alidosio), 37
Pazzi, conspiracy, 45, 47
Pepoli, the, lords of Bologna, 59
Perugia, Bishop of, see Romolino, Francesco
Pesaro, surrenders, 167
Petrarch, 26, 28
Petrucci, Pandolfo, 212;
leaves Siena, 228, 251
Philippe le Beau, 285, 287;
his death, 288
Philippe le Bel, 58
Piccolomini, the, 51
Piccolomini, Enea Silvio, see Pius II.

Piccolomini, Francesco, Cardinal of Siena, elected Pope, 250

Pigna, Ferrarese ambassador, 113
Pinturicchio, Bernardo, 71
Piombino, surrender of, 176, 186

Pius II., Pope (Enea Silvio Piccolomini), his letter to Rodrigo Borgia, 34, 35, 39, 43, 54

Pius III., Pope (Francesco Piccolomini), compels French troops to withdraw from Romagna, 250;
death and rumours of poison, 251;
favours Caesar, 252;
makes Caesar Gonfalonier, 256, 258;
his death, 260
Plague of 1503, 235
Polentani, the, lords of Ravenna, 59
Politics, Italian, 166;
papal, 262

Pompilio, Paolo, dedicates a work to Caesar, 67, 77

Popes, the character of, 42;
temporal sovereigns, 46;
their nephews, 46;
corruption of, 48
Rationalism in Italy, 63
Renaissance, the Italian, 23–8, 38;
illegitimacy during, 42, 54–5, 62;
murder during, 65;
palaces of, 66;
lack of moral sense in, 67;
politics and rulers of, 77;
warfare during, 91
Requesenz, Caesar’s Majordomo, 285, 299
Riario, the, deprived of their domain, 151
Riario, Girolamo, 44, 140
Riario, Pietro, 41;
made cardinal, 43
Riario, Raffaele, Cardinal, 44, 50, 65;
returns to Rome, 249

Ribera, Juan de, Captain-General of Spain, 300–1

Rimini, surrender of, 169
Rio, Francesco, 277
Roccamura, Francesco de, 243

Rodrigo, son of Alfonso of Naples and Lucretia Borgia, 187

Romagna, feudal families of, 42;
lords of, 101;
Caesar’s first campaign in, 139;
second campaign in, 164;
third campaign in, 194;
remains faithful to Caesar, 213;
lack of order in, 282
Rome, corruption in, 49;
plague in, 235;
threatened by civil war, 242, 249

Romolino, Francesco, made Cardinal of Perugia, 78, 81, 101;
deserts Caesar, 253, 272;
flees from Rome, 275
Rouen, Cardinal of, see Amboise Georges d’
Rovere, della, the, 103
Rovere, Francesco della, 41, 42

Rovere, Giuliano della (Julius II.), made cardinal, 42, 43;
a skilful campaign manager, 48, 84, 93, 103, 124, 125, 130;
abandons the Riario, 139, 215;
returns from France, 249, 250, 251, 254;
complains of Caesar’s presence in Rome, 255, 262;
elected pope, 266, 268
Rovere, Giovanni della, 44, 45
Sacred College, treats with Caesar, 243
Saluzzo, Marquis of, 234
Sancia of Naples, 85;
marries Giuffre Borgia, 87;
enters Rome, 104;
her character, 105, 160, 177, 247
San Clemente, Cardinal of, 255
Sanctuary, right of, 65
Sangallo, Antonio di, 189, 193

San Giorgio, Cardinal, complains of Caesar’s presence in Rome, 255

San Malo, Bishop of, see Brissonet, Guillaume
San Marco, Cardinal of, 39
Sannazzaro, Jacopo, 185;
on Caesar’s death, 309

San Niccolò in Carcere Tulliano, Cardinal of, see Borgia, Rodrigo

San Pietro ad Vincola, Cardinal of, see Rovere, Giuliano della

Sant Angelo, Cardinal, 275
Santa Croce, Cardinal of, 276;
releases Caesar, 278

Santa Prudenziana, Cardinal, see Brissonet, Guillaume

Santi Quattro Coronati, Cardinal, see Borgia, Alonzo

Sanudo, 119–20, 145
Sasseta, Ranieri della, 279
Savelli, the, support the Pope, 103;
banned by the Pope, 186;
their estates seized, 187
Savelli, Giambattista, Cardinal, 51, 66, 93

Savelli, Silvio, the letter to, 114, 186, 190;
joins the Orsini, 228;
returns to Rome, 242
Savonarola, Girolamo, 27, 78
Scalla, the, family, 58
Scarampo, Ludovico, Cardinal, 33
Scipione, Baldassare di, 279, 281
Sclafenati, Gian Giacomo, Cardinal, 51, 74
Segovia, Bishop of, made cardinal, 101
Sforza, Ascanio, made cardinal, 44;
bribed with office of Vice-Chancellor, 50;
suspected of murder of Gandia, 110, 116, 246;
comes to Rome, 247, 249
Sforza, Caterina, 44, 140, 142, 144;
a prisoner, 147
Sforza, Francesco, seizes Milan, 61
Sforza, Galeazzo, 44, 88
Sforza, Galeazzo Maria, 44, 62
Sforza, Gian Galeazzo, 62
Sforza, Gian Galeazzo Maria, 88;
his death, 90
Sforza, Giovanni, of Pesaro, 73;
marries Lucretia Borgia, 84;
meets Gonsalvo, 103, 167
Siena, surrenders, 228
Sinigaglia, 216;
captured, 217

Sixtus IV., Pope (Francesco della Rovere), 42, 43;
his nepotism, 44–5;
a politician, 45, 46, 47, 48, 52, 76–7
Soderini, Francesco, sent to Caesar, 199;
his account of Cardinal Orsini’s funeral, 226
Spanocchi, Alessandro, 253
Spanocchi, Ambrogio, 39
Squillace, Prince of, see Borgia, Giuffre
Squillace, Princess of, see Sancia of Naples
Strozzi, Ercole, his Epicedium on Caesar, 309

Stuart, Berault, comes to Rome with the French Army, 179

Suere, Marco, 169
Toledo, Fabrique de, Duke of Alva, 286
Tomasi, Tomaso, his “Duca Valentino,” 69;
his opinion of Vanozza and Alexander VI., 74

Torrella, Gaspare, dedicates a work to Caesar, 119, 124, 203, 240

Trans, Baron of, see Villeneuve, Louis de

Trivulzio, Gian Giacopo, 146

Tyranny and tyrants, the Italian, 55–7, 58–9, 61, 101, 166

Umbria, the lords of, 101

Valentino, Valentinois see Borgia, Caesar

Valentinois, Duchess of, see Albret, Charlotte d’

Valgulio, Carlo, 102
Vannozza, see Catanei, Vannozza de’
Varano, Giulio Cesare, 202
Varano, lords of Camerino, 59, 202
Vasari, Giorgio, 155
Vatican, Orgies in, 84, 186
Venice, the Patriarch of, 51;
aids Montefeltre, 211–12
Vera, Juan, 78, 81
Verastegui, Ogier, 302
Vettori, Francesco, 195
Viana, the Castle of, 300, 301, 302, 303;
Santa Maria de, 306
Villeneuve, Louis de, Baron of Trans, 123
Virago, the, 142
Visconti, Filippo Maria, last of the, 61
Visconti, the, lords of Milan, 60
Visconti, Gian Galeazzo, 60
Visconti, Valentina, 136
Vitelli, the, return to Rome, 242

Vitelli, Vitellozzo, 103, 169, 174, 201, 213, 214;
put to death, 220
Warfare during the Renaissance, 91
Worms, Concordat of, 56

Yriarte, Charles, his genealogy of the Borgia, 69;
searches for Caesar’s remains, 307
Zapata, Martin, 78
Zeno, Battista, Cardinal, 41, 51

UNWIN BROTHERS, LIMITED, THE GRESHAM PRESS, WOKING AND LONDON.

Transcriber’s Note

Transcriber added text from the Title Page to the original book cover. The result is placed in the Public Domain.

Punctuation and spelling were made consistent when a predominant preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed.

Simple typographical errors were corrected; occasional unbalanced quotation marks retained.

Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained; occurrences of inconsistent hyphenation have not been changed.

Some illustrations of people had two captions: one in Latin, placed within the frame of the image, and one in English, printed below the image. When present and legible, both are shown in printed form in this eBook. The Latin spellings sometimes differ from the English ones.

Text uses the names “Spanocchi” and “Spannocchi” several times; the latter is correct, but both spellings have been retained here.

The spellings of proper names were not thoroughly checked.

Footnotes, originally at the bottoms of pages, have been moved to the end of the book, just before the Index.

Index not checked for proper alphabetization or correct page references.

Page 41: “duplicit” was printed that way.

Illustration facing page 280: The Latin caption is “CONSALVO DI CORDOVA;” the English caption is “GONSALVO DE CORDOVA”.

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Table of Contents

- E-text prepared by Charlie Howard and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org)

- CAESAR BORGIA
- PREFACE
- CONTENTS
- LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
- CAESAR BORGIA
- INTRODUCTION
- CHAPTER I
- CHAPTER II.
- CHAPTER III
- CHAPTER IV
- CHAPTER V
- CHAPTER VI
- CHAPTER VII
- CHAPTER VIII
- CHAPTER IX
- CHAPTER X
- CHAPTER XI
- CHAPTER XII
- FOOTNOTES
- INDEX
- Transcriber’s Note
- THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG™ LICENSE