PO PE ALE! ANDER V I AND HIS COURT

E! TRACTS FROM THE LATIN DIARY OF J OHA NNES BU R CHARDU S N O Bxsn or or ORTA AN D vrm CAS TELLANA ,

Poxn m MASTER or nnxu xm ca x. C o s

EDITED BY DR E . F. L. G LAS R

N CHOL BROW N I AS L. NEW YORK MCM! ! I 21 COPY RIG HT. 19

BY ROWN NICHOLAS L. B CON TE N TS

CHAPTER INTR O DU CTION I D E ATH AND FU N ERAL OF SI! TU S IV

II THE CON C LAV E WHI C H CHOSE I NNO C ENT VIII III FIRST YE ARS O F THE R EI G N OF I NNO C ENT VIII I V LAST YE ARS OF I NNO C ENT VIII V A C CE SSION OF ALE! ANDE R VI VI CORONATION OF THE KI N G OF N A P LE S VI I KIN G CHARLES VIII IN ROME

VIII ALE! ANDE R AND HIS FAM ILY

IX LI F E IN ROM E U N DER THE B O R GIAS

! THE AG GRANDIZ E ME NT OF THE B OR GIAS

XI THE YE AR OF THE J U BILE E XII FE ASTS AN D FE E DS IN R OM E

’ XIII C LO SI N G YE ARS OF A LE! ANDE R S R E I G N

XIV D E ATH AND F U NE RAL OF ALE! ANDE R

AP PE NDI!

I NTRODUCTION

My dea r Son z We have learned that your of f i Worthiness , forgetful the high Of ice w th which d wa s you are investe , present from the seventeenth

- a o to the twenty second hour, four days g , in the

Gardens Of John de Bichis , where there were several women Of Siena , women wholly given over to worldly ol vanities . Your companion was on e o f your c o f leagues whom his years , if not the dignity his f o o O fice, ought t have reminded f his duty . We have heard that the dance was indulged in , in all wanton N o f ness . one the allurements Of love were lacking, and you conducted yourself in a wholly worldly man all ner. Shame forbids mention of that took place , for n ot only the things themselves but their very names are unwo rthy of your rank . In order that your lust might be all the more unrestrained , the husbands , fathers , brothers and kinsmen Of the young irls n ot You women and g were invited to be present . and a few se rvants were the leaders and inspirers of of this orgy . It is said that nothing is now talked in Siena but your vanity which is the subj ect Of universal ridicule . Certain it is that here at the baths , where churchmen and the laity are very nu ’ ” on . merous , your name is every one s tongue vii viii I NTRODUCTIO N

The words are taken from an admonitory letter o f Pope Pius II to Cardinal R odrigo Borgia — better known to the world as Pope Alexander VI written

1 4 0 n in June , 6 , when the you g cardinal had n ot yet reached the thirties , and reproving him for having

N O arranged a bacchanalian feast in Siena . words could better characterize the personality Of Alexan der VI , for they show him as the man Of the world he was as Cardinal Borgia and remained after he had become Pope Alexander . The limelight O f history has played in a rather

r oblique and unkind way on the B o gia s . Pope Alex and er ‘s pe rsonality has been distorted until he became a perfect monster ; yet his greatest weak ness was an easy freedom from moral scruples , and this might not have blurred his personal charm at all

n o had he t become the tool of his son Cesare . More unj ust still were most historians t o his daughter Ln c re t ia o f , who has been depicted as a kind Messalina , “ ” although she was at the best the indiff e rente among the great women Of her time , and at her w worst a beauty wi thout any will Of her O n . If it is ’ the historian s task to di stribute praise and blame , ’ some O f the latter may fall on Alexander s favorite o E n ot s n Cesare . ven if he was such a perfect vir

o o t u s O f crime as he has been described , he certainly was n ot much better than some Of the worst of his more prominent contemporaries . Thus in considerin g the rise an d fall of the Borgia INTRODUCTIO N ix

family o n e ought to keep in mind that the Borgia s

were after all the creatures Of an epoch , rich in ex t ra ordin a ry personalities as few others in human his on tory have been . Before rendering j udgment c sideration m ust be given to the remarkably complex

personalities of the Renaissance . The men and women o f that epoch Of transformation from the middle ages t o modern times were s o constituted that it was eas ily possible f o r them to turn from cruelty

and crime and vice , from corruption and treachery,

to religion with a fervid and impassioned sincerity . B or ia s ff The g , as will be seen , did not di er greatly of T O from many their contemporaries . make them

o f i the scapegoats their t mes shows , perhaps , a j ust r indignation at their c imes , but little understanding

Of the conditions under which t hey lived . Bearing in mind these conditions and the remark O f s o f able rise the Hou e Borgia , one will be better prepared to understand the personality Of Pope Alexander who with all his faults was certainly not without redeeming features . Of his ability , Of his ”

s . H. genius even , says Bi hop A Mathew , one Of his n o recent biographers , there can be two Opinions ; indeed if vigor of body and mind were all that was i O f requ red a pope , Alexander VI would have been among the greatest . He had a remarkable capacity

for hard mental work , and his buoyant , j ovial nature enabled him to bear hi s burden Of vice and c rime with a lightness impossible t o a man Of a less sang uine I NTRODUCTIO N

9? dispos ition . Such was the c omplex personality of ma n o f this typical the Renaissance . A fair estimate Of Alexander VI must include in addition t o his personal gifts and the complexities Of his character a consideration Of the remarkable ris e i of his fam ly . It was from this source that he received a further impetus toward that most s educ o f tive all human temptations the abuse Of power. The B orgia s like the Bonapartes three centuries later in France were neither an Old nor a native family . They h a d come from Spain where their ancestors had participated in the expulsion O f the Moors in the thirteenth century, their family name being derived from their native place of Borj ia on the borders N Of Aragon , Castile and avarre .

on e O f l But with the election of their family , A onzo a s o f Borgia , Pope Calixtus II I , in the middle the rb min en t a f fifteenth century , they became p in the fairs O f the European world j ust at the moment o f when Italy , then the most advanced country that

of? medize va e n continent , had cast the fetters O f l velopmen t and entered upon the most brilliant period

Of its cultural development . Calixtus III had been i a professor Of j urisprudence in Lerida in Spa n , where he won the reputation Of being o n e Of the foremost j urists Of his time . He had come to Rome as a legal adviser to King Alphonso Of Naples . His knowledge and character and his extreme age which made it certain that he would not be long in I NTRODUCTION xi the way Of other aspira nts to the papal tiara finally secured his elevation t o the highest place in Christen dom . In contrast t o the other papal elections Of the time the nomination Of Calixtus III wa s not aecom p a n ied by the sneering remarks which such occa a ei sions usu lly called forth . Although his r gn lasted only three years he managed to secure a firm foot ing for the Borgia family in the Roman hierarchy . He may indeed be considered as on e Of the initiators

Of nepotism in the papacy , and the first ruler Of the Roman church , who founded a kind Of family dynasty through the promotion Of his nephews . Two d Of these , Luis and Ro rigo Borgia (later Pope e Alexand r VI) became cardinals , while a third who was not a priest wa s promoted to the captaincy general Of the papal state and created duke o f Spo a t o leto . The latter , as prefect Of Rome, had lso keep in check the Old families Of the Colonna and O rsini , the traditional enemies Of the papal rule in H the oly City . While Calixtus III kept on the defensive against his enemies in the city Of his residence , he followed the papal tradition of crusading against the Turk . The latter had j ust taken possession Of Constanti n o le p and made it his capital . The power Of the

Turkish empire was spreading in South - E astern E i urope , and to war aga nst it Calixtus brought a th gre t sacrifices , selling e j ewels Of the papal treas xii INTR ODUCTION

For a n ury and other possessions Of the Church .

his other and greater phenomenon Of time, the

Renaissance in Italy , Pope Calixtus had no under standing . The humanists complained that he never gave them a helping hand , and that he even sold the precious golden bindings Of G reek manuscripts in order to finance hi s expe ditions against the Turks .

The successors Of Calixtus III held other views . Literature and the arts flourished under their pat u s a v ro age . Painters and sculptors , writers and ants , thronged the papal Court . This intrusion Of scantily disguised agnosticism into the heart of the church frightened the pious and the conservatives who heard the first rumblings Of the R eformation . O f Paul II restored the pagan monuments R ome , and , after the Medici Of Florence , was the greatest col

o f lector the time . The successor Of Paul , Sixtus I V, went even further . The principal result of his

e f reign was th secularization O the papacy . For Sixtus IV wa s a worldly prince in the full sense o f the word . The aim Of his policy was not even the O f extension Of the power the Holy See, but primarily the enrichment o f his relatives and favorites . With his approval the Medici were murdered by the Pazzi n ot be family, a design which could accomplished completely and which finally reacted to the disa d wa s in vantage Of the Pope himself . There an creasing demand for a council which should depose this ruler of the church Without religion and con I NT RODUCTION xiii science who wa s cal led the Pope a pious poet Of t he time wailed over the fact that everything was at “ : sale in Rome Temples , priests , altars and even ” 1 484 prayers , heaven and God . In August , , Sixtus of died , at the age seventy , a martyr to gout and worn out with rage at the news o f the peace which had been made between the D uke Of Ferrara and the hi Venetians without s consent . In the eyes o f the critics Of the Holy S ee the reign — of Innocent VII I ( 1 484 1 492 ) wa s no improve wa s a ckn owl ment . He the first Pope who dared to

is s on on e edge h in public , and Of his chief aims S wa s to procure him wealth and position . If ixtus had secured money through the sale of spiritual d s on Oh indulgences an dignities , Innocent and his t a in ed it through a bank Of secul ar pardons where amnesty for murder could be had at high fees . A hundred and fifty ducats Of every fine went to the ’ s on papal treasury, the rest to the Pope s , Frances che tt O e Cibo . Special traps were s t in Rome to catch the criminals who were able t o pay the Pope o f r their misdeeds . In the mean time Innocent looked on complacently from his well—guarded palace a t the increasing criminality in R ome . This Fran ce s che tt o on e had only aim in life, and this wa s to get the papal treasure - chests in hi s hands as soon i 1 4 0 u as his father d ed . When in 9 a false r mor spread that the Pope had died , he attempted in fact to carry O ff a ll the available cash Of the papal xiv I NTRODUCTI ON

i Camera . He even tried to take along the Turk sh Prince Zizim who lived a s a prisoner at the papal e on e O f court , hoping to s ll him at a high price to the many foreign rul ers who were an xious to get pos session Of him . R i e V odr go Borgia , who succeed d Innocent III K two years after this incident , was born at ativa ,

1 43 1 1 4 8 . Spain , in , and became a priest in 6 The

s o a e man Of the world , who was dmir d in his later

f or O f life , was foreshadowed in the boy , at the age scarcely eight years he was conspicuous in the streets o f his home town f o r the grace and gallantry Of his bearing . After having been educated at Valencia ,

O f he studied at the University Bologna , and on his return t o Spain he pr acticed successfully a s an a dvo 1 45 i ’ cate . In 6 Calixtus III bestowed the card nal s purple upon his nephew , and a year later the impor tant Office O f vice - chancellor of the Church o f Rome r on was confe red him . By the historian Gasparino Of Verona the young “ Cardin a l is thus described : He is handsome ; o f a most glad countenance and j oyous aspect , gifted with honeyed and choice eloquence . The beautiful women on whom his eyes are cast he lures to love him , and moves them in a wondrous way, more i ” powerfully than the magnet influences ron . It r appears , however , that only th ee women played a

rOle w as Va n oz z a prominent in his life . The first dei Ca t a n ei his l , and in later ife the beautiful Giulia INTRODUCTION xv

i Farnese is Openly mentioned a s h s mistress . In v Ha dria n a the inter ening period his niece , Orsini , she seems to have had relations with him , but patiently eff' aced herself when any other intimate a cquaintance Of Al exander was concerned . He Va n oz z a never forgot , whom he had met in his earlier

n 1 4 42 1 518 was life ; she was bor in and died in , and the mother Of his dearest children . She always lived in magnificence , and enj oyed the possession Of the various palaces which her lover had given her . At the time when he was still practicing law R od rigo Borgia made the acquaintance Of a widow and her two daughters . He entered into intimate rela tions with the mother, and after her death became guardia n Of the girls . One Of these he sent to a convent ; the other he made his mistress . This was a n oz z a s V , who is described by contemporaries a a combination Of voluptuous beauty, amiability, and shrewdness . He had five children by her , but he did n ot recognize them Openly until after he became O f Pope . The Oldest was Pedro Luis , first Duke

Gandia , who was born about 1 467 ; Giovanni was 1 4 4 4 born in 7 and assassinated 1 98 ( se e p . and 1 4 Cesare in 76 . The other two children were Donna 1 480 e Lucretia , born in , and Don Jofr , born in 1 481 1 480 a . About Cardinal Borgi in order to cover up his relations with V a n oz z a and to lighten own or Oh his burden found a husband f her . He t a in ed a position as apostolic secretary for him from xvi I NTRODUCTIO N

is Pope Sixtus IV . Th is the only m arriage men ion ed t .

’ None Of Va n oz z a s contemporaries have given any clue as to the gifts that enabled her to hold the pleasur e - loving ca rdinal s o securely and to Obtain f or her recognition a s the mother Of several Of his acknowledged children . She was Of Roman origin “ ~ and came from a middle cl a ss family . We may ” “ a G re orovius imagine her, s ys the historian g , to have been a strong and voluptuous woman like thos e still seen about the streets O f R ome . They possess n one Of the gra ce O f the ideal wom a n o f the Umbrian i school , but they have something Of the magn ficence Of the impe rial city — Juno and Venus are united in them . They would resemble the ide a ls Of Titian and Paolo Veronese but for their black h a ir and dark complexion , blond and red hair have always been rare among the Romans . But without doubt Va n o z z a was Of great beauty and ardent passions ;

l she i for if not , how cou d have mainta ned her rela tions with the cardinal ? ” R odrigo Borgia secured his accession to the Holy See by buying the necessary maj ority through prom ise s and bribery . A short while before the meeting

Of the Conclave, for instance , he had sent four mule ’ loads Of silver to Cardinal Sforza s house on the p re text that it might be m o re safely guarded there . After his ele ction in 1 492 he hu rried on the same ’ h . nig t to St . Peter s for the inaugural ceremonies A INTRODUCTION xvii

’ m h ew contemporary, Sigis ondo de Conti , said Of the Pope : Few people understand etiquette s o well a s o f he did ; he knew how to make most himself, and took pains to shine in conversation and to be dignified his in his mann e rs . In the latter point maj estic wa s stature gave him an advantage . Also he j ust at the age (about sixty) at which Aristotle says that men are wisest . Robust in body and vigorous in m a i f or his ind , he was dmirably well equ pped new l position . He was tall and powerful y built , and , though his eyes were blinking, they were penetrating and lively ; in conversation he was extremely aff able ; ” An he understood money matters thoroughly . s t de scrib other contemporary , Hieronymu For in s , 1 4 3 : r ing him in 9 , says Alexander is tall and neithe n or light dark , his eyes are black and his lips some

l . is what fu l His health is robust , and he able to o bear any pain r fatigue . He is wonderfully elo ” The quent and a thorough man Of the world . celebrated Jason M a in us of Milan calls attention to of u his elegance fig re, his serene brow , his kingly fore it s en eros head , his countenance with expression Of g ity and maj esty, his genius , and the heroic beauty

Of his whole presence .

It wa s o a happy combination f mind an d body, and its power lay in the perfect balance Of all it s w faculties . It a s a personality which radiate d f o of serene brightness , r the picture Often drawn is n ot u l this Borgia , as a sinister monster , tr e to ife . xviii INTR ODUCTION

on his s on ! uite the contrary , and unlike Cesare , says

o f Bishop A . H . Mathew in his biography R odrigo n o t e Borgia , Alexander does appear to have be n wantonly in human although the prevalent belief that 1 he poisone d his cardinals when his treasury needed replenishing c an neither be proved nor disproved did no t a s ( see p . But he revel in c ruelty cru elty though he certa inly never let any humane w scruples stand in the way Of his o n advancement . He was n o t a tyrant in the ordinary sense Of the

d a v as his wor , being preserved from th t i ce a rule by natural geniality . o f e The advancement his family b came , as the o n years Of his reign went , more and more the domi nant passion Of Alexander , but at the same time the organization Of the R oman Curia w a s improved and of f the salaries O ficials were paid punctually . The latter had not always been a custom under former

Popes . The administration of j u stice in Rome and f the Papal State was also made more ef ective, and in time O f famine the poor were helped with supplies of ” c N orn from Sicily . evertheless , admits Mathew, the populace detested their Pope with a deadly o wa s loathing, and the fact that R drigo Borgia

O f permitted to occupy the throne St . Peter for a

1 The famous slow an d e ff e ctive white powde r used by the Bor ias w a s a rse nic a n d he ro a use d it m ore succe ss g , t y p b bly a a t he s f t a f ully nd pe rh ps more freque ntly han ot r o h t pe riod. xx INTR ODUCTIO N

This plan he achieved in the year 1 501 when Ln ’ c re tia wa s d Es t e married to Alphonso . After this marriage and until her death in 1 51 9 Lucretia seems to have lived a comparatively quiet and happy life . During her earlier life she was much maligned and i e a s she wa s accused Of many cr m s ; a matter Of fact , 1 493 always the tool Of her father and brother . In ,

r r S r at the age Of thi teen yea s , he had been ma ried to i Giovann Sforza , and a gorgeous banquet was given i to celebrate the event . After spend ng a happy and ’ careless yea r at her husband s beautiful estate O f t a e Pesaro , her marriage ook bad turn becaus the s t s house Of Sforza wa fast losing i former prestige . ’ Giovanni s life w a s threatened if he did not give up ’ In 1 4 the Pope s daughter . 97 the final divorce was ’ Lu cret ia s f pronounced . attitude in the whole af air became the subj ect Of much satire and criticism .

But in the following year she entered into a. second a s on marriage with Alphonso Bisceglia , natural Of Al O f N wa s c on King phonso II aples . Her husband ” s id red O e one f the most beautiful men Of Italy , S and was seven years younger than he . Threatened f by the Open hatred O Cesare Borgia , Alphonso flew from Rome during the following year , but returned si a few months later with Lucretia , who was pas on ately en amored o f her handsome husband . In the summer Of 1 500 Alphonso wa s wounded mortally by assassins who probably acted under orders Of the O n l s r a s rsi i family . A phon o conside ed Cesare the INTR ODUCTIO N xxi

l s at real instigator Of the assau t , and hot him as he left his house after calling on him and was cut to ’ pieces by Cesare s guards . B or ia s Lucretia was only a tool Of the g , father

s on O f and , but Cesare was the pride and center 1 4 on the family . From 97 he was the real ruler

Of the Pontifical State , and Alexander frequently seems to have submitt ed to his will against his own ’ better j udgment . The crown o f Italy was Cesare s o f ambition . The plottings the Pope with the Kings O f France and Naples and other Italian rulers had i their origin in this wish , wh ch burned more violently in the breast of this gifted and demonic s on of Al exander than in that Of other Italian tyrants O f i B o r ia s the t me . Working toward this end the g decided upon the annihilation o f the prominent m Italian fa ilies . The Gaetani and the Orsini were

- s ee Colon n a s thus exterminated ( p . the and s others were driven from their p o sessions . In the midst Of this slaughter and assassination stood in flu Cesare, and Alexander put all the money and O f ence the church at his disposal .

Pope Sixtus IV already had favored young Cesare . Scarcely seven years Old he received from him the i ncome Of the Cathedral Of Valencia , two years later he was made provost of Abar ; at the age O f fifteen V Innocent III created him Bishop Of Pamplona . After the coronation Of his father he became Arch o f bishop Va lencia and a few years l a ter a cardinal . xxii INTRODUCTION

From the bishopric o f Valencia Cesare drew an f annual income O ducats . But even under the then existing conditions he found p riesthood t o o i great an Obstacle for his pol tical ambitions , and he resigned the cardinalate to devote himself to hi military and political plans . Before his excesses and the dise a se resulting from them disfigured him and forced him occasionally to wear a mask , he possessed great beauty and strength . ! ’ a o n e He could cut Off a bull s he d with stroke , he bent an iron bar a n d broke a horseshoe with his

a n d . hands , he tore a new rope His strong body was e graceful , and he was admir d as an accomplished e dancer and horseman . He lov d precious clothes and rare weapons which are described at length in the diplomatic report s Of the time ; his sword was

O f o known as the king sw rds . He remained always a Spaniard , preferring the Spanish tongue and pre serving the proud s en s titive n e ss o f a Spanish grandee even in respect to the written word touching his per

a s on lity . The more j ovial personality Of Alexander permitted a remarkable freedom Of expression , but Cesare persecuted all criticism directed against him n with savage cruelty . Whe Alexander remarked that Rome was a free city where every on e coul d

s a write and y what he pleased , Cesare replied that a S O su c he would m ke repent those who did . If he

’ ce e ded in seizing on e who had wmt t en a Pasquinade against him he had his tongue sliced with a red - hot INT RODUCTI ON xxiii

a Off d gger and both his hands cut . He frequently l On e s ix indulged in need ess cruelty . day he had m ’ e n brought in the street before St . Peter s , and they were hun ted like game with crossbows in the a him closed street . M ny murders were ascribed to by his contemporaries ; a few Of these have been proven to have bee n the deeds of Others . Thus he was held responsible for the murder Of his brother,

Cardinal Giovanni Borgia , but it is more likely that this mysterious as sassination was an act Of revenge O f ff on the part an o ended husband . On account o f his m a gnificent physique Cesare a t e b ut rOle tract d women , they played a much smaller in his life than many Of the sensational biographies Onl on e would have us believe . y real love adventure r 1 5 is reported , and that was du ing the winter Of 00 when he had his Spanish horsemen seize the wife Of o n e o f the captains Of the Republic Of Venice . The r Republic sent a fo mal protest to Pope Alexander , n o t who regretted the incident . But word Of protes wa s r D t i hea d from orotea , the abduc ed w fe , who a few years later wrote to the Republic O f San Marco that she wa s willing to return to her husband in cas e i good treatment would be assured her . There s also mentioned a strong and beaut iful woman companion on e during Of his campaigns . Women may have been in l a certain distraction his hours Of eisure , but they meant little in his life . His marriage with Charlotte ’ d Alb re t o v re , a sister of the King f Na ar , had lasted xxiv INTRODUCTION

s r r scarcely four month , when Cesare etu ned to Rome . He never s a w his wife again n or did he ever see his 1 o f daughter Lo uise born in 500 . His style life wa s considered peculiar even in that time for he sel ’ dom rose before three O clock in the afternoon and went t o bed at the twilight Of the morning . After the death of Pope Alexander the star of

r l Cesa e declined . A few weeks after Cardinal Giu iano wa s Rovere had become Pope Julius II, Cesare ar s e t rested and taken to R ome . He was at liberty o f soon afterward , however, without the knowledge to N the Pope and escaped aples , where he was seized d again an d sent to Sp a in . There he was kept un er

fi in s strict con nement va rious ca tles , and his only recr eation wa s flying his falcons and watching them a s they seized upon their prey and tore it to 1 5 pieces . In 06 he a gain escaped and fell in battle the same year a s the commander O f an army O f his

- i - n O f . brother law, the King Navarre B or ia s s on Thus ended the g , father and . Their

n n a xa graves are u k own. Their c rimes h ve been e g gerated , but the works Of artists they encouraged and a patronized are still extant . Raphael , Michel ngelo ,

r f or B o r ia s and Pintu icchio worked the g , and Coper nicus lectured in Rome during the year Of the j ubilee on his new theo ry o f the motion of the heavenly ha s e bodies . If this Pope be n called the most char a ct e rt istic incarnation of the secular spirit in th e t t papacy Of the fif eenth cen ury , it should be remem I NT RODUCTION xxv bered that the secula rization Of the papacy had be gun with Sixtus IV a n d that it wa s a s conspicuous a under Innocent VIII s under Alexander VI .

The minute descriptions in Burchard ’ s Diary help us t o understand the contradictory elements in the

- o f many sided character Alexander VI , and Show it its in relations with politics , war, government , love, i Al ’ and rel gion . Of the description Of exander s

G re orovius e court in this Diary , g , one Of the for “ o f : N most authorities the period , says ever did any chronicler des cribe the things about him s o

S O s o s o clearly and concisely , dryly , and with little — feeling thi ngs that were worthy Of the pen o f

wa s l Tacitus . That Burchard not friend y to the

B orgia s is proved by the way his diary is written .

is . It , however , absolutely truthful This man well knew how to conceal his feelings , if the dull routin e o f his Office had left him any . He went through the daily ceremonies O f the Vatican mechanically and hi s kept place there under five popes . Burchard must have appeared to the Borgia s a s a ha rmless pedant ; for if not , would they have permitted him to behold and describe their doings and yet live ? Even the little he did write in his Diary concerning events Of the day would have cost him his head had it come to the knowledge of Alexander or Cesare . I t a p o f pears , however, that the diaries the masters Of ceremonies were not subj ected to Official censorship . xxvi IN TRODUCTION

Cesare woul d have spared him no more than he did ’ t Pe o t o his father s favori e , Pedro Calderon r t , whom

Ce rvillon i he stabbed, and ( se p . whom he k lled both O f whom frequently performed impo rtant parts in the ceremonies Of the Vatican . Nor did

t c Cesare spare the priva e se retary , Francesco

Troche, whom Alexander VI had Often employed in ' a fl a irs r diplomatic . The e is no doubt that he was ’ on e Lu c re t ia s Of most intimate acquaintances . In 1 503 June , , Cesare had this favorite Of his father ” h s l strangled . T i fate wou d have awaited the author Of the present Diary had its existence ever t B o ia s e come to the knowledge Of he rg . Johann s ‘ Burcha rdus o r wa s ( Burchard) born near Strasburg, n De s in Alsace, in the middle Of the fiftee century .

e tined for the Church , he was ducated from his carli e st i childhood n an ecclesiastical environment . Instead o f follo wing a course O f theology which then ’ ’ re quired ten years close study to Obtain the Doctor s degree , Burchard , practical man that he was , chose r an easier way , that Of the law , whe e the course Of wa s a n d o study only four years , the hope Of hon r and fo rtune equally sure . Four years after having ’ received his D octor s cap he indeed succeeded wi th in a dvo the help Of friends reaching R ome . Here cates found a lucrative income in the numbe rless law suits that were incessantly before the ecclesi a stical O f b e n efice s courts . The pursuit , characteristic Of t o the time, gave rise numerous a cts Of inj ustice, and

INT RODUCTI ON

hi quet te caused m acute annoyance . But it is j ust this pedantry which makes his diary especially val u

It is un ima in a able . j ust the lymphatic , egotistic , g tive qualities in a man like Burcha rd that give his

i e deta l d narrative the stamp Of truth , and there is little doubt that he is one Of the most trustworthy contemporary witnesses . This is especially true of the outside dealing with r Al the cou t Of exander VI, for du ring this period he devotes increasing attentio n to political incidents

c ov and anecdotal Sidelights . The part Of the Diary r O f V ha s e ing the reign Innocent III , Of course, an n interest and value for the special stude t Of history , ’ but it would scarcely have rescued the author s name s from Ob curity . The Diary not only gives an account of many Of the import ant political events O f the reign Of Al ex ander, but also glimpses into the intimate daily life . There is the story Of the supper which Cesare Borgia gave to fifty court esans in his apa rtments at the Vatic a n in the presence O f the Pope himself a n d hi s t sister Lucretia . That this banque actually took e place cannot be doubt d , for the Florentine orator , e Capello , wrote a few days aft r the feast to the ’ r ha S eigno y : The Pope s not been to St . Peter s Of l late , for the feast Of All Saints , nor for All Sou s , s a ha s a nor the chapel . They y that he t ken cold ,

' n ot on but that fact did hinder him Sunday evening, I NTRODUCTION xxix

Eve t i All Saints , from si ting up until m dnight with who the Duke, had invited courtesans and public t o t in women the Vatican . They spent the nigh ” dancing and rioting . Pius 111 had made Burchard Bishop o f Orta and

a n d f Civita Castellana , and other honors O fices were

e his conferr d on him under Julius 11 . But health began t o fail and the entries in the D iary became N l th 1 505 wit more condensed . On ovember 6 , , he n e s sed the marriage Of Laura Orsini , the daughter Of n N Giulia Far ese and Pope Alexander, with icholas w I della Rovere , nephe to Pope Julius I . The adul ” t e rous s O f wife , says Paris de Grassi , a colleague

Burchard, the mistress Of Pope Alexander VI, the O f n ow butt all the satirists Of Rome and Italy , entered the Vatican a s the most distinguished woman in the Roman aristocracy , for the purpose Of uniting ’ The her daughter with the Pope s nephew . late ” Pope seemed t here by absolved from all his crimes . I 1 50 r t o n March , 6 , Burcha d went Viterbo to take t a t the wa ers , where the famous spring Of Bulicame tracted the fashionable society O f the neighborhood

o . was and the great prelates f the Roman Court It , O moreover the reso rt f the demimonde Of Rome, the ” honest courtesans , as Burchard calls them in his D His f iary . O fice soon called him again and he superintended the ceremony Of layin g the foundation O f a 1 506 stone the B silica Of St . Peter, and in May , , xxx INT RODUCTION

His wa s h e died . end was melancholy the com ment Of a friend who added a few lines to the Di ary d th 2 1 50 . whose last entry was ma e on April 7 , 6

This Diary remains , as Bishop A . H . Mathew o ut points , the most valuable record we possess O f the history O f the Popes at the end Of the fifteenth cen t tury and the beginning Of the six eenth . The his t oria n s Of the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries used it as the main source Of their informa O f i e tion , but up to the second half the n nete nth cen D r n tury only extracts Of the ia y , from ma uscripts

. O in various libraries , were published ne Of these extracts was brought o ut in 1 696 by the philosopher Leibnitz under the title : S pe cimen His t oria e Ar

' c a n a e s ive a ne cd t a de vit a Ale xa/nd n VI Pa as , o p . In 1 854 Achille Gennarelli published in Florence an account O f the pon t ific a t e Of Innocent VIII and the th e firs t t wo ye a rs Of tha t Of Alexander VI . But Obstacles placed in hi s way by the governmen t Of the Grand Duke o f Tuscany and the annoyances to b which he was su j ected , forced him to abandon the

D ha d b a s publication Of the iary , which een copied

a s 1 5 1 4 4 . far May th , 9

1 883—1 885 Thua sn e In the years L. brought out in Paris the first complete Latin edition of Bur ’ chard s Diary in three volumes , based on the manu

in o f an d . scripts the libraries Paris , Rome Florence This edition was used in part for the E nglish trans ’ lation o f Burchard s Diary by Bishop A . H . Mathew I NT RODUCTION xxxi of which , however , only the first volume , covering the 1 483— 1 4 2 years 9 , has appeared (London ,

n o t But even this translation is absolutely complete , f o r n ot t oo in order to make the work cumbersome,

o r minor details , such as long lists Of names , weights and sizes Of wax candles o r repetitions in documents m and the like , were o itted . In the present volume the omissions had to be made on a much larger scale, and all unessentials had to be O eliminated . T give as comprehensive a picture Of ’ the times as possible some o f Burchard s entries dur ing the reigns Of Sixtus IV and Innocent VI II have use of been included , and in these has been made ’ Bishop A . H . Mathew s translation . ’ The editor s aim throughout h a s been to make available to a larger public the treasures hidden away in the endless details Of the diary , and he hopes that in the passages selected he has succeeded in c on ve yin g to the reader the characteristic features Of a remarkable period and its complex personalities a s recorded by a contemporary .

G L A SER . F . L . Ne Y 1 1 w ork , March , 92 .

POPE ALE! ANDER VI AND HIS COURT

THE DEATH AND FU NERAL OF POPE S I! TU S IV

EB I NG th a t it behooves a Master Of the Cere

n o mo ies t pay heed to individuals , I , John th o f Bur chard , Clerk Of e Ceremonies in the chapel

our His Holiness Lord the Pope, will note below the things which happen ed in my time and appeared t o n e t be con ect d with ceremonies , together with , at leas , e l a f s o some ext rna f airs , that I may the more read il t fic r t o y give accoun Of the Of e ent usted me . t On the fourth Sunday in Advent, on the l of D r 1 483 ecembe , , the feast Of St . Thomas the e v Apostle , I was r cei ed as Mast er of the Ceremonies a C r by the Reverend F ther in h ist , Lord Adriano , o i d Bishop f Ard cin o della Port a . But I was a mitt ed o f c to the conduct the eremonies much later, on 2 th of that is the 6 day the month Of January , 1 484 r t O r , by the autho i ies f the Apostolic Chu ch , 1 2 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT

o f in place the Reverend Father in Christ , Lord

o f wh o Agostino Patrizi Piccolomini , Canon Siena , was afterwards appoint e d to the churches Of Pienza

and Montalcino , and who retired from this post and ff n wa s O ice ; and when his resig ation accepted , I was

f o r prepared the post by these same authorities ,

through the most Holy Father and Lord in Christ ,

Sixtus IV, Pope by Divine Providence . And for this I paid the aforesaid Lord Bisho p n i Of Pie za , together w th the attendant expenses ,

O f 450 . a total about ducats , in gold Of the Camera 30th O f 1 484 On Sunday , the May , , the Lord Giro

Ria rio - lamo , Count and Captain general Of the

Holy Roman Church , and Gentilio Orsini , together with their men to the number of or there abouts , during the night surrounded the residence

Of the Very Reverend Father and Lord in Christ , A uiro Lord Giovanni of Santa Maria in q , com

- mouly known as Cardinal Deacon Colonna . The ’ Cardinal s men who were within , bravely defended it for the space Of about two hours . At length over ’ u come by the count s men , who r shed in from the

a n d . back sides , they fled from the house The ’ c ount s men entered and plundered the house com

l t l O f p e e y stripping it all that was in it , even to the doors and windows . Finally they set fire to it and

O f burned the residence and chambers the cardinal , n taking p risoner the Lord Lorenzo Colon a , prothon f Otary O the Apostolic See , together with several

4 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COU RT

in wa s dur g the night , it brought to the Church of t the Twelve Apostles , and given over o the Church for burial . 2 n d O f 1 484 On Friday , the July , , in the morning,

Giroma lo , Count and Captain Of the Church , to gether with his men , artillery , two large battering engines and several small ones , went forth from the city to pitch his camp o n the lands o f the Colonna

e in order to b siege them , and he inflicted great u injury pon them . At the same time the Lord Domenico de Alber O f gatis , p rothonotary Of Bologna , governor the n city , died from grief , it was said , at the dow fall

Of the house o f the Valle . The Obsequies were per

in O f formed the Church Santa Maria del Popolo .

1 2 th o f 1 484 n On Thursday , the August , , betwee

of the fourth and fifth hour the night , or thereabouts , ’ in the Vatican at St . Peter s , in an upper chamber ,

r O f above the cou t in front the library , there died o ur Most Holy Father and Lord in Christ , Lo rd

Sixtus IV, Pope by Divine Providence . May the Almighty o f His goodness deign to have mercy on his ! soul . Amen

a ll After his death , the Most Reverend Lords , the

Cardinals , who were present in the city , came to the palace , and passed through the chamber , wherein

o n b ed the deceased was lying the , wearing a vest fi on ment over his cassock , a cruci x his breast , his hands clasped together . THE FUNE RAL OF POPE SIXTUS IV 5

They paid profound respects to the deceased, such as are due from the cardinals ; then they entered the great court near the said chamber, for the purpose

O f discussing what should be done .

o f o r The Bishop Ceuta was appointed Captain , O f v a Governor the Capitol ; the Bishop Of C e r ic , O f Of Captain the Gate the Palace Of St . Peter ; to each Of the City Gates were appointed apostolic scriveners , together with solicitors and Roman citi u zens , and it was decided that all the princes , co n ’ tries and Officials should be informed O f the Pope s decease . Certain cardinals were appointed to guard the palace , and to transact any business which might f present itself . After the fi th hour, Giovanni Maria , my colleague, called upon me at my house , and I went with him to the aforesaid palace to make the necessary arrangements for the burial Of the deceased . But , prior to this , the Most R everend

- Lord Vice Chancellor had arrived at the palace , and according to custom he broke the seal used for the papal bulls , on which was engraved the name Of the deceased pope . Then , when the cardinals had assembled in the aforesaid place , they stopped up O f the mouth , nostrils , ears and anus the deceased with silk , dipped in balm . And , with the assistance

Of the regular penitentiaries o f the Basilica of St . f Peter, who meanwhile chanted the Of ice for the dead in subdued , but distinct tones , standing round the 6 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COU RT

m corpse , they bore it away fro this chamber to the lesser papal chamber , wrapped in the covering Of the bed and in a certain cloth which formerly hung from the bed before the door O f the aforesaid cham ber , and there , about the tenth hour, they placed

on it naked in their midst , a long table . The Abbot

Of San Sebastiano , the sacristan , had arranged a bier with torches , although that belonged rather to our office . s o All the other rites were performed immediately , k to spea , as soon as the deceased had been borne away from the chamber ; for , from that hour, until th the 6 , despite all my diligence, I could not Obtain o n e o r h towel , linen cloth , any vessel in w ich to place the wine and water and fragrant herbs for f cleansing the deceased Pontif , nor could I find

o r drawers a clean shirt in which to clothe him , although I several times besought the Cardinal o f

Ac c o rsio r Parma , Pietro Of Mantua , Lord , G egorio and Bartolommeo della R overe , Giorgio his private his sweeper, and Andrea his barber, who were all

C O f private hamberlains , and his household , and who h ad received the best Of treatment at his hands . At length the cook furnished me with hot water and a cauldron in which he was wont to heat the water for washing the dishes , and the aforesaid Andrea, the S barber , sent for the basin from his hop .

Thus the pope was washed , and since there was n o him linen cloth wherewith to dry him , I caused THE FUNE RAL OF POPE SIXTUS IV 7

ie wi s t had e to be dr d th the hir in which he expir d , torn in twain . I could not change the drawers in d d which he die , and in which he was washe , for there n were o others . He was clothed in a doublet without

s o f a hirt , and a pair Of shoes pink cloth , furnished Of Ce rvic a by the Bishop , who was also his groom

- Of the bed chamber , and , unless my memory fails t red me , a damask vestment , ei her or white . In this I r erred , for he should have been bu ied in the habit

t o Of St . Francis , whose Order he belonged , worn ifi l on t ca . over the holy p vestments And , since he him had no rochet , we placed on the holy vestments over the aforementioned things ; the sandals , amice, r o a alb , gi dle , and the st le crossed over his bre st ul n o t (because I co d procure a pectoral cross) , the t he e tunic , dalmatic , gloves , pr cious white chasuble, i S — the pallium , the simple m tre, and the ignet ring with its valuable sapphire whi ch the sacristan s a id

was t 300 . wor h ducats Thus vested , we laid him on the bier which we arranged o n the aforementioned O f table , with cushions at his head , and a pall bro

a . c a de , in the midst Of the foresaid chamber There

l O he remained unti the hour f burial . wax In the meanwhile , I entreated for candles , and ff with great di iculty about the fourteenth hour , these were produced to the number Of twenty . When o ffi n these had been brought , without any ce havi g

c been said round the corpse, the cru ifix and the acolytes going first, the penitentiaries and the cham 8 POPE ALE! ANDE R VI AND HIS C OU RT

be rla ins carried the decease d as far a s the fi rst large o f r t o . cou t , that is say , the palace Here were the canons and the beneficiaries and the clergy of the

Basilica of St . Peter ; from that place the afores a id t he t o canons bore deceased the high altar . The procession p a ssed over the stairc a se and through the

court , the way by which the cardinals are wont to descend when they go out through the principal gate

- of the palace to the central court yard ; thence , turn in t he o f o f ing direction the steps the Basilica , we th entered e church . The deceased was placed before the altar on the his wa s first step , next head placed towards the altar,

his l and feet outside the iron rai s , in o rder that those

of who wished might kiss them , and the gates the

rails were closed . e These were afterwards open d for a short tim e,

was S O and the deceased placed nearer the altar,

e that all could fr ely enter and depart , and some

his guardians were stationed there , lest ring or any i other possession shoul d be stolen . He rema ned in

r o f r e that place until the fi st hour the night , o th re

i - him a n d abouts , when the sh eld bearers bore away , we walked in fro nt with the afo rementioned twenty

O o . wax candles . nly eight cardinals f llowed After

them came the prelates , and the ambassado rs , and a

great many others . t a as After he deceas ed had bee n c rried , stated , THE FUNE RAL OF POPE SIXTUS IV 9

t in o the church , the cardinals withdrew ; some went t o the aforementioned palace, while others went to their homes .

When they had partaken Of a refection , the car din a ls entrusted to me the ordering Of a coffin in which to bury the pope, and the arrangement for his burial in his new chapel of the choir of the canons

of t he and clergy aforesaid Basilica , which the de ceased himself had o rdered to be built in the same n Basilica , about the middle of the same chapel , faci g r the principal altar , in the center, as they decla ed that the deceased had himself chosen this place fo r hi s burial . I did this as I was ordered .

o f 1 3 About the first hour the night of Friday, th

o f e o August , the body the dec ased was b rne from the choir of the principal altar by t he clergy O f the said

O f Basilica in a procession to the place burial , and i it was buried w th all the vestments , precious ring

s . and cha uble aforesaid There, as it lay in the

a o f - tomb , in long, wide coffin nut wood , which I had r Ce rvica wh o orde ed , Lord Achilles , Bishop of , was t the only prelate there , toge her with a few clergy, l chanted the Mis ere re and a prayer . He sprink ed the deceased and the tomb with holy water , and we immediately covered the corpse with the pall . Then , according to the command and express inj unction o f the College of the Most R everend Lords the Cardinals , I forbade the canons and the clergy O f the aforesaid 1 0 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COU RT

s l Of r O f Ba ilica , under pena ty being dep ived their b en e fic e s e , to allow any man to touch the deceas d , or S - o to remove the said ignet ring, r the chasuble, or anything else .

1 2 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AN D HIS COU RT

ma is t ri domo rum the g , the treasurers , came to the above - mentioned places from the houses o f the car din a ls , bringing wines , and with them came some of

- the chaplains , shield bearers , and others , who were guarding the palaces Of the cardinals . Then , when

t he - r the hour had come, shield bearers walked in f ont ,

t he two by two , and chaplains followed in their order,

— o n e a n d t he with stable boys , before other behind , who bore between them o n their shbulde rs w ooden

o vessels slung on a stick , containing the fo d and i drink and bread of the card nals . When they a rrived a t the door of the second watch o f - the palace, the shield bearers and the chaplains

m wi - re ained there together th the maj or domo , and the Stable boy s with the wo oden vessels went up the

h or staircase as far as the t ird fourth watch , and

o f s e t there, outside the door the conclave, they down the wooden vessels . This kind Of wooden vessel has

t wo on e a lid with keys , the like unto the other ; Of

on e these , the master of the court kept , and the other was in the possession o f those in the conclave who r attended upon each Very Reverend Lord Ca dinal .

The former, when he had placed the food and oo wine in the w den vessel , having first made a list h Of each t ing, closed the wooden vessel with the key , and , in the manner above described , despatched it o f to the conclave . There were two these wooden vessels Of which one was sent in the manner above described, and the other which was in the conclave I N NOCE N T VIII 1 3

was returned , and in this all the things taken out from the one that remained outside were placed , these things having been handed into the conclave through the hatch , and then each vessel was replaced in the o f the chamber cardinal to whom it belonged . or I , my colleague, summoned the members of the conclave o f that cardinal t o whom the wooden e t vessel belong d , and, when hey approached with his I empty wooden vessel , opened the hatch Of the door from within , and those Of the fourth watch

Opened it from without , and the members Of the con clave themselves from within , held out the wooden to vessels the custodians , who , when they had Opened ou m each wooden vessel , drew t everything fro it and placed it upon the small table which sto od in re a di

of ness there, near the door the conclave ; and there

Of one the custodians , appointed for this purpose by r the others , inspected each , tu ning over the middle of the loaves and the soup , cutting open the fowls , tearing asunder the j oints , the loaves and the tarts , t o whenever it seemed good them , and looking through F o r the glass bottles or dec a nters of wine . the i wine was sent or carr ed in uncovered glass bottles , not in flasks or any o ther vessel . But the soup was sent in as small j ars as possible . When they had carefully inspected each o f the vessels the guardians themselves handed them to us clerks O f the ceremonies through the hatch of the

v on e door . Moreo er, we receiving them plac d them 1 4 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT on b our great side o ard , where the members of the conclave who were waiting received them , each plac ing them in his wooden vessel which he held in rea di

O f ness there , wherein each them carried the victuals e to his chamber . When the food for supper arriv d

o f se t in the evening, the members the conclave forth vessels of silver and glass which they had taken in the mo rning upon our sideboard in the conclave and

I returned them empty to the stable - boys who were o f waiting from without . But we clerks the cere monies placed the bread and the wine and the salt l our ve s meats , and other things that wou d keep in sels which we had brought to the conclave for this purpose . Moreover , I had brought a small bottle o l f or in which to c l ect the wine , and a big basket the i bread and the l ke, and this I placed in the chamber of i the doctors , wh ch led to the privies in the corner

o near the door of the c nclave . But the other

s a things , that is to y , the soups , j oints or fresh fish and the like , which were left over , we gave to the

in aforesaid custodians , and I did the same the morn ing with regard to the vessels received in the eve ning .

The stable - boys or the other servants of the car din a ls waited near the second watch in the morning us and in the evening, and they were informed by and by the custodians a t what hour the food should a n d be brought , when they had been informed they brought it , and not before ; for a fixed time could not be assigned to them because the cardinals dispatched their business sometimes sooner, sometimes later. The aforesaid custodians did n ot deal with the said food in any given order , but he who came first with the food was the first to be released , whether he were first or last in importance or whether he were the

a milia r f of any cardinal whatsoever . The same cus t odia n s appointed between themselves every day , two th e of fourth watch , one for lunch and the other

t o a for supper, o examine the fo d in the f shion de

. N scribed above , whilst the others assisted him o

' member of the conclave at any time , or for any cause

wa s whatsoever, admitted to the hatch , whether this r were open or closed , even for the pu pose of speaking to any one from without , except with the express leave

th e e - t o he Of college . If any letters cam t colleg e, which could not be received through the opening o f

' t ake n th the hatch , we Opened the hatch , and having J é~ letters we quickly closed it again . But we gave tbs of letters , I , or my colleague, to the College Car din als or , if they were all assembled together, we told two or three O f the senior cardinals that we h a d l letters for the college , and that , if it p eased them , we could give them to the Dean O f Cardinals . on e m in f or But , if any fro outside desired to send

S th e a n d ' mation within , he poke with hatch closed , on e o f he t o us two , having heard what , had say”; ’ D f s n d t o o e . referred it to the ean the Cardinal , a thre z or four of the other cardinals , he being also notified 1 6 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT of Wh wa s O e this . en the hatch pened to tak in the o food and to send f rth the vessels , he took great care t o prevent any member of the conclave, not only from approaching the hatch, but also from making h e any sign, w ich would be receiv d from any one from without . When the sacristan celebrated a public

e mass , all the members Of the conclave , or thos who i i w shed , m ght hear the said mass , but they must stand outside the doors of the smaller chapel in which mass was celebrated , which doors led into the

o f first and second court the conclave , and , whilst wa s n o mass being celebrated , man knocked at the of i door the conclave . Likewise, wh lst the votes were being examined , when mass was over, and when the stools had been arranged for each o f the cardin als

of - with a folio papyrus , paper, and reed pen , ink ll e and two or three small candles , a return d to the

s larger chapel , in which they were all confined by u , in the clerks Of the ceremonies , the cardinals being

of r cong regation . I guarded the door the first cou t , s o r that , between the thi d court , in which the con

re a tion s g g were held , and myself, there was the t sum second middle cour , and , when they wished to

o n e o r of mon me , other the cardinals rang the bell ; l some took their meals alone in their cel s , others

two o r or . with , three, four others , several together

When luncheon was over, on the aforesaid Satur

28th i r s e t on day , August , var ous intrigues we e foot, and at length the votes Of about seventeen of the IN NOCE N T VIII 1 7

Very Reverend Lords , the Cardinals , were given in favor Of the Very Reverend Lord Cardinal o f M O1 fetta , who , the following evening, before the sixth O f hour the night , began , at the request Of certain of the cardinals , to sign petitions in his chamber ;

i on on e hav ng knelt down knee , he signed the petitions placed before him on a certain small box ; some of the cardinals who were asking an d waiting for these sig e i natur s stood round ; while th s was happening, the o f Very Reverend Lord Cardinal Siena came up , : and seeing this , he said , with a smile This is an inversion Of the right order of things ; the Pope is n on his sig ing petitions knees , and we , the petitioners , ” stand upright . 2 th of of On Tuesday, the 9 August , the day the of in Decollation Saint John the Baptist, very early of the morning, the Very Reverend Lord Cardinal of San Marco , from motives piety , celebrated a ‘ on public mass in the small chapel , as indeed he did the two following days ; thereupon , about the tenth hour, when all the cardinals were standing in order in the aforementioned small chapel in their capes our and with their croziers as on the day before , sacristan celebrated the mass o f the Holy Ghost with on commemoration of the faithful departed , as the day before, and , when this was over , we prepared a a s small table and stools with their appurtenances , o out of a n the day before , and we all went the s me d t all chapel , leaving the car inals here alone , and the 1 8 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT members of the conclave were confined in the larger chapel . And , meanwhile , the latter put their posses sions together, asked for their chambers , and each on i e collected all his things , w th the exception of the members Of the conclave Of the Cardinal of Molfetta , who left the chamber of their lord with the posses i sions Of the members of the conclave . The card nals in the small chapel made examination Of the votes a s Of on the day before , but there was no mention made the accession .

When the examination Of the votes was over , it was found that the Very Reverend Lord Giovanni ,

~ o f - of Of the title Santa Cecilia , Cardinal priest Mol f fetta , had su ficient votes . Therefore , unanimously, a ll l by the cardinals , and by the whole co lege of i the said card nals without any protest , he was admitted and received as Supreme Pon ff ti Of the Holy Roman and Catholic Church , and as a sign of his admittan ce , the cardinals laid down e their croziers before him , and invest d him with the cape over the rochet . And they placed him in the magnificent seat Of the chamber between the altar and the aforesaid small table , and they placed upon his S - finger the ignet ring Of Pope Sixtus IV, Of blessed memory , which ring the sacristan had in readiness for this pu rpose ; and when he had been received as Pope, thus seated , he himself chose for of VI I himself the name Innocent I , Pope .

2 0 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COU RT

1 o f N 1 485 On Thursday , the 7th ovember , , the

l M a re s co tt o f R everend Father in Christ , Achi le o

o f r Bononia, Bishop Ce via , who on the preceding 1 2 O f Saturday , the th this month , had returned in

o n health and spirits to the city , and the preceding 1 5 of o n Tuesday , the th , had fallen ill the plague, the night of this day breathed his last . On the same

was i a o f night he in the Bas lic St . Peter handed over for ecclesiastical burial with no ceremonies .

May his soul rest in peace .

r 2 n d o f 1 48 On F iday , the 2 September , 6 , before

of o n the hour the consistory , the space above the li o f . steps , before the Basi ca St Peter , upon a plat form erected for the purpose , were assembled the l : fo lowing persons the Reverend Father Tito , Lord

o f Bishop Castres in the Patrimony , vested in amice , alb , girdle , stole, red cope and plain mitre , seated on a folding- st ool ; the Reverend Father Pietro di Vice n t ia , Lord Auditor Of the Apostolic Chamber of of N the Court Causes ; . di Parma , fiscal procurator; P o f and several others , with Friar Gabriel di ontaria

reli ion s o f of Piacenza , a professed g the Order the o n e re Canons R egular Of St . Augustine, who has c eived a ll the orders , up to and including that of his priest . Wearing vestments , and standing facing o o the people , the L rd Giacom , the notary , read the

u o f a s mmary the process ag inst the said Gabriel , and the sentence pronounced against him , and the com

f or his h mission degradation . W en these had been FI RST YEARS OF IN NO CE NT VIII 2 1

read, the said Lord Bishop degraded him , in accord i ance with the order given in the Pont fical , upon the o f s trength the commission given . a After he had been degraded, the app ritor led t o Of o him away the Castle Soldano , and n Saturday, ’ 2 3rd on e September, about o clock , the said degraded f person was hanged in the Campo dei Fiori , suf ering the death penalty with great patience and devotion , a s the witnesses reported . At the head of the cord wa s by which he hanged was fastened gold foil , as a S w s t ign that he a a no ed robber .

i In C a m idolio The same morn ng, the p , was hanged J ew for theft a certain , who had become a Christian .

o r He refused to have the cross before him , a Chris of tian to comfort him in the faith Christ , but wished to die in Judaism , and thus he was hanged and died .

His accomplice , another Jew, also in p rison , ought t o have been hanged with him , but he threw himself out into the sewer , from which he was taken alive on the same day , and then was also hanged . O l ot D n the Second Sunday in Advent , h ecember , 1 48 6 , in the larger chapel the R everend Father in i L Chr st , Lorenzo , ord Archbishop Of Benevento , ’ celebrated the solemn mass in cardinal s vestments , as was done at the first Sunday . The Pope and the i : card nals were present . Four prayers were recited Deus ui s a lutis the first , of the day ; the second , , q ,

. th etc ; the third , again st e heathen ; the fourth , for the Pope . 2 2 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COU RT

The Procurator of the Order Of Friars Minor preached the sermon , concerning which there was a great dispute between him and the Master o f the O f Palace . For the Master the Palace had told me w not to allo him to preach , because he had not shown

n . i him the sermo first He excused h mself , saying that he had only returned to the city in the evening

n n Of the day before yesterday , and this mor ing, whe

him . he sought him at his house , he could not find

O f . The Cardinal S Pietro in Vincoli , protector of

O t o o f the rder of Minors , said the Master the

r Palace that the procu ator was an approved man , w allo the procurator to preach . The master afore said had previously , however, come over to this view , and therefore he ought not to trouble . At length I asked our Most Holy Lord , who said that I should in the opinion of the Most Reverend Lord Cardinal

n ot . aforesaid , although he did give his consent All the other Observances were a s usual . I think that the p rocurator did not Show his s e r mon to the master because o f what he intended to s a y ; for he said in it that the Blessed Virgin Mary

s in a c was conceived without original , which is in

or a n ce c d with the doctrine Of the Scotists , but con t ra r of y to that the Thomists , to which latter party the Master Of the Palace belongs . r On the Fou th Sunday in Advent , the Vigil of the N v o f O 2 4th D 1 48 th e ati ity ur Savior , ecember, 6 ,

Pope came to the chapel with only four cardin als , FI RST YEARS OF IN NOCE NT VIII 2 3

o f N the Cardinal aples and three deacons . The Car of N dinal aples held the boat for the incense , as there

was no priest . Then the priests came and there

were all the usual Observances . The cardinals made

the reverence , and wrongly, for they were to make

it the same evening, and it ought not to be made wa s twice in a day ; it done , however , inadvertently .

. I There was no sermon The mass ended , because wa s a r hindered with the p , and my colleagues did

n o t . N O notice indulgence was asked for, nor was

on e . N O o n granted by the Pope e noticed , however , and therefore there wa s no blame nor scandal what ever . 2 4th 48 of On Thursday , May, 1 7, the Feast the

o f Ascension Our Lord Jesus Christ , the Most R ev

n e re d Lord Cardinal of St . Clement performed the Office in the Basil ica O f the chief o f the Apostles in

the . white vestments , Pope being present The Duke ’ o f Ferrara bore the borders o f the Pope s cope to

the steps Of the palace, where the Pope ascended his

e chair , and was carried in stat to the Basilica afore

in said the usual way . Before the entrance O f the a foresaid Basilica were kneeling naked two citizens o f Bononia . One of these , several months before , when Officer of Justice o f of the State Bononia , had caused two priests , on e o f secular , the other a regular, member the Order

of . St Francis , who were condemned to die by his

r . sentence, to be taken and hanged for thei crimes 2 4 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COU RT

Because they were not under hi s j urisdiction our Most Holy Lord had deprived him o f this and all

Oflicia ls o d his Offices , and had caused his t be punishe with fitting penalties . Of these , four have recently is done penance , and one was here with h superior

. me n this morning Around these two there stood , vested in priestly vestments , all the penitentiaries o f o r the aforesaid Basilica , holding rods staves in their hands , and smiting them whilst reciting the

M is ere re me i Deus t o . wa s psalm , , the end When it ended on e o f these penitentiaries admonished them

o r in the usual words . Then u Most Holy Lord laid

o f upon the aforesaid penitents , as a penance , that their own personal estate they should found in B 0

o n e w o n be n e fice nonia chapel , and endo it for e , and sufficiently f o r on e priest who should celebrate on each Sunday and Feast a mass in the chapel ; this mass the first citizen Should hear and be present at

‘ from beginning to end , kneeling and holding a lighted

his candle in hand , and should pray and entreat God

a s for the souls of the two priests whom , told above ,

s he had had hanged . Thi penance he accepted .

2 8th of 1 48 On Thursday , the June, 7 , the Vigil o f os P e the Ap tles eter and Paul , ther were solemn p on t ific a l vespers in the Basilica O f the chief O f the

Apostles . The cardinals and all the clergy came fr om the ro bing- room to the said Basilica in their e s f o r v tments , and wrongly, they ought to have come in their capes , and after the cardinals had made the FI RS T YEARS OF INNOCE N T VIII 2 5

reverence in their capes they and the clergy ought

then t o ha ve tak en their vestments .

But the cardinals desired to come in this way . I

i e could not prevent th s , but I would not allow th m to bear the baldacchino over the Pontiff until they carried the censer and the candlesticks into th e

Basilica . The cardinals only made the reverence ,

and not the clergy , in the usual way . After the rev

e ob erence , the Pope b gan the vespers . The other

s e rva n ce s o were c nducted as usual , except that some Of the cardinals wished to come in their vestments

c o ur s o t he on e un fit ~ and to es ort lord , that from

ting circumstance several others resulted . They

s t s came outside the Ba ilica , and here they laid a ide

t a n d o e . their vestmen s t ok their cap s , and wrongly Though I s a w it I could not resist their pleasure

and passed the matter over in sil ence . O 2 t h of 1 48 o f n Friday, the 9 June , 7 the Feast

o r o the Apostles Peter and Paul , u Most Holy L rd came to the church in procession under the b alda c

e r a an d chino in the morning, sco ted by the cardin ls a n d o clergy in their vestments by the fficials in white . This an d everything else was carrie d out this morn in t was g in the usual way . Wa er brought to the ff s a : on e Ponti for wa hing his h nds firstly , by Of the Of Of E ambassadors the King ngland ; secondly , by r o f a senator ; thi dly, by the Count Tendilla , the a o t ambass d r of the King Of Spain ; four hly , by the

E o f mperor Constantinople . 2 6 POPE ALE! ANDE R VI AND HIS COU RT

4t h o f 1 488 w On Monday , the February, , there as a public c onsistory in the first and larger hall of the Apostolic Palace at which the four ambassadors of the Most S erene King Maximilian did homage and reverence to our Most Holy Lord in the name of n hi s s on the ki g and Philip , for the dukedoms of u Austria and Burg ndy , and other of his principali m ties and do inions .

- This done, the two deacon cardinals came to assist our Most Holy Lord while all the other cardinals and d clergy remained in their place s . There then entere the consistory and passed on t o the s econd hall about

o e on a hundred Mo rs , ach with large iron rings their

a ll necks, and bound together with a long chain and ropes , and dressed all in the same costume . These were followed by an ambassador Of the King and

e o f S l ! u en pain , who kne t before our Most Holy i his e r Lord , k ssing foot only , and present d the lette s of the aforesaid king and queen , written in the Span

An t on iot t o ish tongue . The R everend Father , Lord O f t he Bishop Auray , datary , read these letters t o ff of aloud, the e ect that the King and ! ueen Spain H li e were sending to His o ness a hundr d Moors , a part o f the spoil s ta ken in their victory of the pre

i o f i ced ng summer over the King Granada , wh ch a s Moors they presented a gift to His Holiness , and f s o s of ered , moreover , to send others should it plea e

His Holiness .

2 8 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT

who had his head covered after the fashion of his n people with a large white turban , u covered to no

body, but merely bowed slightly . The first o f the household o f each cardinal re ce ive d him in some such words as these The Most Reverend My Lord the Cardinal by command of our

L h a s s Most Holy ord the Pope , sent this hi house t o m t hold , ee Your Highness , rej oicing at your ” safe arrival , except the Lo rd Pietro , Spanish cauda i tory to the Most Reverend , the Lord Card n a l of e him San Marco , who welcom d in some such form of

a s i r words th s Most Se ene Prince, the Most R i a S an was everend My Lord the Card n l Of Marco , fill ed with j oy when he learned that your Highness : was to come to the city wherefore , to show the pleas

h ha s his ure whic he feels , he sent household to honor His R God your entry . everend Lordship prays , the

- - a n d all - all good , all great powerful , that Your Maj esty ’ s coming here may be happy and prosper

ous r as , and may have such esult all good men desire , and to this end he congratulates Your Highness upon

a i your safe rrival , and at the same time places h mself ” l l ha s r al a n d a a e i . th t he , at your f e d spos h After t is reception , the Turkish prince afore CibO s on of mentioned , rode between Francesco , our e on Most Holy Lord the Pop , who was his right

o f Of hand , and the Prior Alvernia , nephew the new

his d cardinal , on left ; and although a senator an m several lay a bassadors , n amely the ambassadors Of FI RST YEARS OF IN NOCE N T VIII 2 9

King Ferdinand , Venice and others , also kinsmen

f the f o Pontif , received the said Turkish prince , yet

o f because the Prior Alvernia , who claimed to be the ambassador o f the King of France and to have charge n ot t o Of the said prince, would give place the senator and ambassadors , they all withdrew except the sena

uS . tor , who rode before In this order we came to i wa s the Apostolic Palace, where the pr nce enter t ain ed in the Apostolic apartments in which the emperor and kings and other great p rinces are re ceived i of . The route was over the Br dge Barto omme o or o the l , the Island by the Ghett , across

Campo dei Fiori straight to the aforesaid palace . A great crowd of people stood around and watched his entry . l First rode the households Of the cardin a s , then the households of the knights , and the knights who had escorted the Turkish prince from France ; the e xclud household Of the prince , about ten in number ,

his O his ing other retainers , the chief f whom had at a right h nd , the ambassador Of the Sultan , of whom

a O f we sh ll speak below ; the esquires the Pope, the — - a t senator with certain nobles , the men arms , the herald of the French king and o f the masters of ceremonies . On my left was the interpreter Of the

Turkish prince , and the prince himself , who rode 6 between Francesco Cib and the prior aforesaid , the Turcho e lle rius o f p of Rhodes , four the nobles ’ of e t he in the household the princ , Pope s cham 30 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT be rl ain s th e d , and all Rho ians after the cham

l a i be r n .

The prince dismounted in the court of the palace, where the cardinals pass , and from there he went up

h a an d t rough the great h ll , was conducted to the aforementioned apartments where he was entertained and guarde d by the troops aforesaid . During the past months there came to the city an amba ss a dor from the Grand Turk sent to the Pope o n o f r - account the Turkish p ince received to day . When he learned that the prince would make his

r - on ent y into the city to day, he went horseback to F meet him outside the Porta ortese , with his house hold on foot , of whom there were about ten . For

i was ai o n the Turk sh prince w ting , horseback near the city wall s and the river outside the said gate for the hour appointed for his entry . The prior and Tu rchopclle ria s aforesaid went to meet this ambas was th e a sador , who waiting outside s id gate to pre vent his approaching the p rince ; but when Fran cesco Cibo learned that the ambassador wished to i approach the pr nce , he gave orders that he should be allowed . Thereupon the prior a n d Turchope lle rius afore f said commanded the retainers O the ambassador , who were holding their bows taut, though not with arrows

t o s to them , lay a ide their bows and so to approach t unarmed , which they did . Then hey came up , the

on ambassador horseback and his men on foot , and FI RST YEARS OF IN NOCE NT VIII 3 1 when he wa s within sight of the prince and about am forty paces away , the bassador got down from his horse, and with a very noble carriage, approached h e e o to wit in fift n paces . Then c ming forward about

t o five paces , he bowed himself the ground , touching it with hi s head upon the right side ; then rising

(1 r r coming fo ward three o four paces more , he knelt upon his right knee, touched the ground with his right hand , and then kisse d his own hand . Then rising again and c oming as many paces forward to n m the prince, he k elt before hi and embraced his

or c horse by the right left foot , and the prin e by his d ’ right foot , and at the same time he kisse the prince s foot . Then rising he kissed his right knee thrice , and when the prince stretched out his right hand to his neck he kissed his garm ents in the same way . All this the ambassador appeared to do s o sincerely t e hat he s emed to all to be weeping . But the prince n o S i him made him ign , but wa ted for as a prince unmoved , and neither spoke a word to the other, but when the ambass a dor had made his salutations in e him a single word as he stood there b fore , the prince b a de him mount his horse ; his own horse was first brought for him to mount , and then he retired a whole pace from the prince to mount , and returned on horseback before the prince . Mean ’ on of while there came e the prince s household , who embraced in turn each member Of the ambassador’ s o on e household , while they knelt n e by before the 3 2 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COU RT

c prin e , touched the ground with the right hand , and kissed their right hand ; then kneeling they embrac ed ’ ’ the horse s foot , and the prince s right foot ; then fi his rw hi s kissed rst foot and afte ard knee . In the i i fewest possible words , the Turk sh pr nce and the a e r amb ssador made peac , and thus afte ward the prince made his entry int o the city in the order described above .

1 4 o f 1 48 On Saturday , the th March , 9, notice wa s given of a public consist ory to be held in the ’ first great hall of the Apo stolic al at on e o clock . ‘P ace E scorted by Francesco Cibg and the Prio r of

- a t - Alvernia , preceded by men arms and followed by his n o fourtee servitors and s ldiers , the Turkish prince came to the consistory into the p resence of the f N ow Pontif . though it was said that the prince would do reverence to the Pontiff in the Turkish fashion by touching the ground with his hand and

hi s h O S . then kissing and , he refused to do Indeed he merely bowed his c overed head very slightly to f s o the Pontif , slightly that the bow could scarcely be seen or recognized a s such . He went up to the f n Pontif and , sta ding erect , embraced him and kissed him i lightly upon the r ght arm , all the time keeping f . i his head covered Then , stand ng before the Pontif , O f a he said , by means an interpreter, that he was gl d

i the f to have come nto presence of the Pontif , and asked him to be mindful O f the fact and t o aff ord him protection ; adding that when a time and place FI RST YEARS OF IN NOCE NT VIII 3 3

o f were appointed , he would tell him other matters in f p rivate . The Pontif replied that he had already taken the measures f or his safety and welfare where e o with his Highness had be n brought t Rome, and that

' his Highness ought in no wise to mistrust , but to i dwell in peace , seeing that all th ngs were ordered for a wise end . For these words the prince thanked

His Holiness , stating that he felt full confidence in them . Then the prince withdrew from before the Pontiff and embraced all the cardinals as they st o od in their places and kiss ed them on or near the right shoulder . Meanwhile the other members o f his household came of f into the presence the Pontif , and one after the

‘ othe r in n tur , knelt upon the throne, and touching the ground with the right hand kissed it ; they then

of embraced the feet the Pope, as well as his cope and vestments , and on bended knee kissed these and followed the prince , their patron . He, having em braced all the cardinals except the two who remain ed f with the Pontif to assist him , without bearing him

in a n or self y other fashion , making any other sort f Of salutation to the Pontif , returned to his apart

a s f ments , escorted before . Then the Pontif rose

n e is and retur d to h apartment in the usual way .

36 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COU RT idea that he might assume the insignia of his cap t a i - n cy under favorable auspices to day, sought and Obt ai ned from our Most Holy Lord permission for

ai i t o the s d insign a t o be given him . n 1 5th 1 48 On the Su day night , September, 9, Sig D o i r nor omenico Gentile Of Viterbo , ap stol c w iter ,

M alde n te o f Francesco , canon Forli and Conrado ,

o f o f also Battista Spell , notary the Apostolic

S i n ore t t o r R e is te r Camera , Lorenzo g , w iter in the g o B ull s o f f , and Bartolommeo Budello , procurator i the Pen tentiary , were successively taken and de t a in ed in the Castle of San Angelo on a charge Of D forging apostolic letters . The Lord omenico aforesai d confessed that he had forged about fifty

o r apostolic letters bulls, containing various matters , in the following way The Lord Francesco would discover matters to be despatched and a gree with the parties upon the s um which they were to pay aft er the despatch of letters . When the agreement had been made and a bank named by the party for paying the sum agreed upon to be paid when the letters t o were presented the bank , then he would despatch on e h e o r e t at was expect d , som matter that would pass e a sily through all the Offices by the royal way . n D a f oreme n When this was do e, the Lord omenico t ion e d s o or wa hed out all the writing f the bull , that a a part which he did not w nt, with a cert in fluid , t he d f restored paper with flour a n stif ened it again . Af terw a rd he wrote o n it the matter concern ing EN VIII 3 LAST YEARS OF INNOC T . 7

vi which Francesco had agreed with the party, lea ng re s criben da r in the bull the names of the y , compu ia ls t a t or r Oflic . s , and othe More Often he changed

on r t o the stamp , and put another, acco ding the

o f . nature Of the matter . H e als used dif erent inks That with which he wrote the first matter to be despatched in the prop e r way was made of gum or

l . some other material , but was certain y indelible u e o l But the other , which he s d to write ver the bul

d r . that had been erase , was ordina y ink In this way they gave forged bulls t o the parties . Within about two years t hey had despatched

t o o r divers matters , for example, dispensations one

b en e fice s of n two for Friars of the Orders Mendica ts , unions o f many be n e fice s to the incomes Of certain abbots with permission to rule these in an order

a f o r changeable at ple sure , a dispensation a certain of Di who h ad priest the ocese of Rouen , married a f wife, to the ef ect that he might lawfully keep her a n d many o thers for which they had received some

a e two times hundr d , hundred , two hundred and fifty, and two thousand ducats , as is related in the process instituted against them . a on The s id Francesco also m ade confession , and 1 8t h Of Sunday , the October , at about nine in the a fo re men evening, they both were led from the castle t ion ed C r to the astle of Soldano , and befo e they reached that place they believed they were condemned t to death . For he auditor Of the Camera , the 3 8 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AN D HIS COU RT

o f a r Bishop Cesen , and the Lord B a tolommeo Deol

o f pito , first apostolic notary and governor the city, w o ha d h in their Offici al capacity prosecute d them , told the said Francesco that if he named his fellow accomplices our Most Holy Lo rd would be pleased t o bestow the Office of abbreviato r upo n him and s e t him r v do i at libe ty , and he belie ing that he would th s b ove n am O b e accused the a ed and several others . n a t half of the Lord Domenico , his father who had tended our Most Holy Lord in the first illness Of his

on t ifica t e i p , and his two brothers nterceded most earnestly with the cardinals and other influential men r i in the city for his life . But no one could p eva l 8 . 0 t h a d upon our Most Holy Lo rd , af er they

s e i - been e tablish d in the sa d castle, they were told that they were t o die on the morrow ; and therefore were bidden to take heed t o the salvation O f their r souls , and p iests were sent to them to hear their s confession and trengthen them in the faith . 1 9t h 1 48 w a s On Monday , the of October , 9, there a consistory and the auditor o f the Camera aforesaid with the governor came to the Castle of Soldano where they pass ed definite sentence against the s a id

i de e Domen co and Francesco , degra d th m , dep rived them of Office and emoluments , and handed them over in to the secular cou rt . Then mass was celebrated n d ran the said castle, at which the said Domenico a F cesco were present, and at the close they re ceived the holy communi on from the hands O f the celebrant ; LAS T YEARS OF INN OCEN T VIII 3 9

i led t o after th s they were the Piazza di San Pietro , where a pl a tform had been erected in a space not f ar

from the lowest step , four rods long, three wide , and

on e high , o r thereabouts . There the said Fran cesco who was a priest was robed in full vestments in the

o usual way . Then the summary f the case was read o by the notary, Antonio of Paimp l . After the read

ing Of it , Francesco was degraded and given over o to the secular court into the hands of Ambrosin ,

the apparitor . r D After he had been given ove , omenico who had only the first tonsure was robed in a surplice and degraded from that rank by the F a ther Pietro Paolo , o f Lord Bishop Santa Agata , who vested himself in

o on stole and c pe upon the platform , and put in alb e front a plain over the rochet . After his d gra dation Domenico was given over to the court a n d the said apparitor . Their heads were not shaved

otherwise than they had been before , nor were they stripped of the clothes in which they came from the O f ffi castle, because their O ce and becaus e such was

Of . the pleasure the Bishop of Cesena , the auditor After this the aforesaid having been degrade d o e were placed up n a chariot which stood ready ther ,

Domenico on the right and Francesco on the left . In front of them were seated a friar O f the Order o f f Minors , their con essor, in accordance with the

a n d Observance in parts Of France , another Of the society of the Misericordia who held a crucifix and 4 0 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AN D HIS COURT was robed in the garb of that society with his face covered . Behind the degraded ones were erected two rods , and to the top of them cords were fastened , on which were hung four of the bulls despatched and forged by them . In this way they were con ducted by the Bridge o f San Angelo past the Castle of Soldano and hard by the house o f the Cardinal Of

Ascanio , past the Hospital of the Germans , close to the house Of the Lord Falco by the Pario straight to another street , thence by the bridge to the Campo dei Fiori , where near the corner by the steps and

s o - o f the Taberna Vacca , called , the place execution

e had b en prepared in the form Of a hut , having a wooden pillar erected in the center , and surrounded

- u by piled p faggots . To the upper part Of the column had been fixed two ropes . Below the ropes two stools were placed upon the ground for the a c c use d and another on the other side of the column n for the lictor , and around the shed outside ma y piles of logs . When the aforementioned degraded persons

o f reached the said place execution , they got down from the cart , and entered the hut , where in the guise and clothes in which they were brought there, they ascended the two stools prepared for them . The lictor put ropes upon their neck o f which they s were scarcely con cious , for the confessor and the other friar who bore the crucifix were continu ally LAST YEARS OF INNOCEN T VIII 4 1

strengthening them in Christ . When the ropes had ’ been placed in position , the lictor s assistants drew away the stools from beneath their feet and thus n they were ha ged and gave up the ghost . After they were dead they were taken down from the pillar, stripped to their shirts and placed in a sitting posi tion upon the said stools , propped against the pillar , and bound t o the col umn with the chain beneath their arms . Then the fire was kindled and their bodies r r bu ned . The licto heaped up the logs many times Of until after the hour vespers , that the bodies might l be entire y consumed , and thus the fire lasted until t he followi ng morning .

o On the following day , about the hour f vespers ,

o f e ashes , in which many the bon s were still found , were collect ed by certain o f the s oc ie t y . o f Miseri cordia with a broom , placed in a sack in a new chest , and with the cross and the usual procession was borne by the said society to the church appointed for r the pu pose and buried . e 1 t of 1 4 0 On W dnesday , the 9 h May , 9 , the Vigil

o o f the Ascension f Our Lord Jesus Christ , there were p on tific a l vespers in the larger chapel of the A a n d postolic Palace, the Pope being present per forming the office . When the cardinals had made the usual salutation to him there arose a contentio n betwe en the ambassadors O f the Kings O f Naples and of Scotland , and of Venice, Milan and the Kingdom 4 2 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COU RT o on f Florence the other hand , who said they ought n ot to be divided or separated from the ambass a dor

a of the Duke of Milan and the ambass dors of Otho ,

D o f Albert, and George, ukes B avaria, who stationed themselves above the Venetian ambassadors , whereat the Venetian and Florentine ambassadors straight way withdrew in wrath . The ambassadors of Ferdi N nand , King Of aples , and of the King of Scotland still persisted in the dispute and by spe cial command o f the Pope I ordered them both to leave the chapel , which they did immediately . n The vespers ended , His Holi ess spoke with the cardinals , whom he called round him in a circle in o the said chapel , upon the precedence f the person

e ages aforesaid . Then h instructed me to notify the ambassado rs of the Kings of Scotland and B a i t var a not to come o the chapel on the morrow, and t o inform them that on the next Friday His Holi ness would bring this question of precedence before the consistory .

O 2 8th o f 1 4 0 our n Friday , the May , 9 , Most

Holy Lord , learning that the ambassador of the King of Naples was preparing to come to the vespers on the Vigil of Pentecost and take his place by armed

u ~ force , instr cted me to report this to the Lord Car din al s Of Angers , Lisbon , San Angelo , Siena , and the Vice—Chancellor that they might consider what should be done in the matter and what course to pursue with regard to the amba ss adors in this question Of pre

4 4 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COU RT

o - Of o r by the L rd Falco , treasurer general u Most who o Holy Lord the Pope, , up n learning of the death

n of the said Lore zo , visited the cardinal in the morn ing . He had all ornaments and all coverings re moved from his walls and couches and ordered black caps to be given to all the membe rs Of his household . The cardinal himself put on a tun ic of dark violet and had all seats o f brocade and velvet removed

his r from apartments , retaining only those cove ed

red a n with le ther a d the usual stools . He had a valise made o f dark violet cloth without arms up on l it , and he kept upon his tables as we l as upon the ff o f . bu et and the couches , only coverings rascia

All his servants he had dressed in black .

4 th o f 1 4 Friday , the May, 92 , there their Most

r - Reverend Lo dships the Vice Chancellor, and the Cardin als assembled in the papal chamber o f the ’ Apostolic Palace at St . Peter s . The Sultan o f Consta ntinople sent by his ambas ‘

a n his s dor who had j ust reached Ancona o mission , the head o f the spear with which it was said that the side of our Lo rd Jesus Ch rist was pierced as He o O f hung up n the cross . At the close the congrega tion aforesaid the cardinals proceeded to conside r with what ceremonies an d Observances this spear head should be received , and they agreed that the question should be referred to our Most Holy Lord . In the congregation various points were brought For up and touched upon in relation to this matter . , LAST YEARS OF I NNOCEN T VIII 45 while so me were o f the Opinion that the gift should be received with all solemnity and reverence, and in the the same manner as head of St . Andrew the Ap ostle in the time o f Pope Pius II o f happy mem ory , othe rs asserted on the contrary that they had

o of th N seen the p int e said spear in uremberg, where it was exposed each year o n the day which is the a s Feast Of the Spear, and others in other States , ’ r in Paris , for example , whe e it was kept in the king s

e . e t chap l The latter, therefor , though that it should be re ceived from the hands of the ambass a dor bring ou o ing it by r M st Holy Lord in his own apartment , in presence o f all or some of the Most Reverend

Lord Cardinals , without any solemnity , and that we d N t o shoul be sent to uremberg, Paris and elsewhere t ai ascer n the truth , and examine the documents at o N Paris , and als at uremberg, if they happen to i r have any apostolic letters there , from wh ch the t uth r of the matte may be lea rned . From some chron icle s it appears th a t the spear - point was given in 11 pledge by Baldwin , then Emperor Of Constanti n o le t o p , the Venetians , and with their consent to o X O f in L uis I , King France ; others , that , from some very Old chronicles , it appeared that the spear a a t t n he d was kept Cons a tinople, and preserved there i until th s day , public honored and venerated by all ,

a re and that there several witnesses , still living, who had seen it there before the siege of Constantinople in e vr a and s c . They a e red th t the Venetians sent 4 6 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COU RT with all diligence to the house Of a certain citizen in n wh - Co stantinople, o had received the spear head f him e during the siege of the town , and Of ered fift en thousand ducats for it . Then again they sent to the Grand Turk who had receive d it from the said f him citizen , and of ered seventy thousand ducats for S ll it , but ti were not able to get it . Others again s a i d tha t i c, . in the receiving Of th s reli three points should be considered , namely , the gift, the recipient ,

who the o f and the giver, is a rch enemy our faith , a n d that it would be mo re natural to suppose that i e th s was don in a spirit Of mockery and derision , than from any other motive . All the se and many other remarks upon the sub j e ct were duly considered an d the maj ority o f the cardinal - p riests inclined t o the Opinion that the spear - head afores ai d should be received by our Most Holy Lord from the Turkish ambassador without any in solemnity , and that the truth should then be N quired into , at uremberg or at Paris , as to whether

- o it were the true spear he a d r some other . Then , if i this fact should be satisfactor ly settled , it could be announced, and the relic conveyed in procession with o all veneration and solemnity t some church , at the O f our o n pleasure Most Holy Lord ; while, the other i S hand , if perhaps th s relic hould be received in a a n d r solemn manner, it were afterwards discove ed

- that the true spear head was elsewhere , the Apostolic

S e e might be involved in contumely or confusion . LAST YEARS OF I NNOC EN T VIII 4 7

v our L or Howe er , Most Holy ord determined and n or dained that the relic be solem ly received . And f r e N this p u pose he deput d Lord icola Cibo , Arch o f o his bishop Arles , the Bishop of Folign and t o o o domestic clergy g t Ancona , and there receive o f the relic from the hands the Turkish ambassador, and bring it thence to Rome with a procession drawn from t he several states and territories lying along the route . That this might be the more conveniently e o f m don , they were given a casket crystal fro the ’ r a Pope s sacristy and a ho se, together with covered chest and other trappings in which the Host is borne on t ifi al s a when the Pope rides out in full p c , with r lantern to carry a light pe petually before it . On 2 th o f 1 4 2 the 9 May , 9 , about the hour Of o f of Vespers , the Count Pitigliano , captain the ’ s on Church , Francesco Cibo , the Pope s , and the Roman n obles left the city by the Porta Virida rii and hastened by way of the meadows towards the o Ponte Milvi to meet the Turkish ambassador, but he in the meantime h a d crossed the bridge aforesaid and was riding towards the Porta del Popolo . ’ I s aw I d When the captain s mistake , ma e the ambassador wait halfway between the bridge and the an d i gate aforesaid , the captain and Francesco , w th e the their nobles , came up from behind and welcom d “ a ai . O amb a ss dor , the capt n saying, Welcome ur Lord and the cardinals send their households to do ” you honor . Welcome . 4 8 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT

The households o f the cardinals were scattered in s s o a e both direction , that the amb ssador could not s e them at the time, but he overtook them and they each j oined hi s train but said nothing to him . had l The ambassado r on y five retainers , and with

was B uc cia rdo o f him the Lord Giorgio , cousin the

Bishop Of Arles , also his interpreter with two serv ’ o ants . This Giorgi repeated the captain s words to

a a the amb ss dor , and then replied in his name . The

on ambassador rode between the captain his right , ’ hi s r and the Pope s son on left , from the afo esaid

is o f al o place to h place entertainment . There s went outside the ga te to meet the ambassador the lay

o f ambassadors of the King of Poland , the Seignory of O F Venice , and of the Dukes Of Milan , f lorence and Siena . Du ring these past days I was summoned to the Lord Car dinals Of Benevento a n d Santa Anastasia

a o f l to arr nge for the reception the said re ic , and

I found there with them Giovanni Pietro , Lord i r Bishop o f Urbino . Many th ngs relative to the ce e

on mony were spoken of , among others that account o f the ill health of our Most Holy Lord the spe a r head should be conveyed by way O f the meadows to the palace of the Spinell i out s ide O f the Porta Viri darii and should be hom e thence in proce ssion by

t o way Of the aforesaid gate the castle . This would be the mos t conveni ent route for the pro cession in the extreme he a t of this season or in the c as e of mud LAST YEARS OF INNO CEN T VIII 4 9 if the ra in fa ll s on that day as it ha s for many days pas t . d o f 1 4 2 On Sunday , the thir June, 9 , in the first chamber beyond the hall of the Pontiff s above the garden a low chair o f gold brocad e was placed re a dy the on e to against wall with step leading up it , and

o n wa s above it a g lde canop y spread , and around the chair on either side m a ny velvet - covered stools were ’ set in preparation for the marriage o f the Pope s nephew which was to b e celebrated there . As the

a t two n hour drew near about in the after oon , the Cardinals Of Benevento and Santa Anastasia accord ing t o the instructions of our Most Holy Lo rd went to the Prince of Capu a and escorte d him between them from his apartments into the presence Of the Pon tiff who was accompanied by his princes and ff barons . When he had come to the Ponti , the ladies e e f w re await d , and after their coming the Pontif came out t o the ch a mber aforesaid and took his seat upon the said chai r . On his right were the Lord Cardinals Of Sa n Pietro a on in Vincoli and Santa An stasia , his left Benevento ,

t o N and next him the Prince of Capu a . ext to Santa Anastasia with a moderate space between upon ’ t he t similar stools sat Teodorina, Pope s daugh er , t and Peretta , her daughter , Ba tistina , the bride, also r her daughter Maddalena , the daughte of the late ’ ’ Lorenzo de Medici , wife Of the Pope s son , and many N t o of ladies after her . ext the Prince Capua , that 50 POPE ALEXANDER VI AND HIS COURT is on O f Al o sio o f to say , the left the Pope, stood y

Aragon , Marquis of Gerace , the bridegroom , the ’ o f f C Duke Amal i , Francesco ibo , the Pope s son , and

o many other nobles to the number f about forty . n e After silence had bee secur d , the R everend Lord

o f Giovanni , Archbishop R agusa , the Datary , kneel in g before our Most Holy Lo rd at a p roper distance o f two cannes o r thereabout s made a brief oration in which he expounded the institution of the sacrament it s di Of matrimony and gnity .

o Thereupon he rose and sto d in the same place, and turning to the Illustrious Lord Alfons o o f

o - the r O f Arag n , the half brother of P ince Capua , spoke these or similar wo rds : Most Illustrious Lord i Luigi Of Aragon , w ll you take the most Illustrious a L dy Battistina Cibo , here p resent , to be your lawful o ? e I sp use and wife And he straightway repli d , ” . nin to will Then , tur g Battistina , the archbishop a : s id Most Illustrious Lady, will you take the Most Il Lo of lustrious rd Luigi Aragon , here present , to be your lawful spouse and husband ? To these words she re made no reply , but after the archbishop had ” e a t ed She . p the words , replied , I will The bride r f and bridegroom then app o ached the Pontif , and kneeling before him , the bridegroom placed the wed ’ ding - ring upon the third finger of the bride s left d r hand, an then many rings upon the other finge s Of that hand , and upon the other, the right hand of the Fa n t an o bride, which Giovanni , the chief secretary

52 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COU RT

with the Cardinal of San Pietro in Vincoli , c a me with many other barons and R oman citizens to the

of ad palace the conservators , and stated and m e

o known t the said Officials and citizens that they , the

o f on e barons , were mind with the Roman people d n d O f whom they dearly love , a forthwith they f ered themselves and their castles and their goods to the w Roman people for their welfare and good ill , and

o f f asked them , if the death the Pontif should chance to come , that they would j oin with them for their aid ; on their part the conservators and citiz ens O f fe red f them whatever could be Of ered . ’ 5t o 1 4 2 2 f . On the h July, 9 , St James day , about ’ S I n n ix or seven O clock in the morning, Pope n oce t VI his r ! II died . May soul est in peace THE ACCE S SIO N OF ALE! ANDER VI

N o f 1 492 on I the year the Lord , Saturday, the 1 1 th of August , at noon , R oderigo Borgia , vice c O f re hancellor and the nephew Calixtus III , was c ated Pope and named Alexander VI . On the 2 7th of August Alexander was crowned in ’ St . Peter s . Then he went in the customary manner to the Church of St . John Lateran while the greatest honor was done to him throughout the city by the Roman people with triumphal arches and with more than there was ever done to other Popes .

And in the first consistory he held , he created the o f S Archbishop Mount Royal , his nephew from a is ter , a cardinal . After his coronation it was brought to his knowl edge that from the day O f the last illness of Inn ocent until his coronation more than two hundred and t wenty men had been assassinated in various places

‘ wa s and at various times . It also brought to his knowledge who the murderers were a n d the reasons a n d success they had had . Of all this that had gone on in Rome he received full knowledge . On the 3d Of September of the year 1 492 Salva 53 54 POPE ALE! ANDE R VI AND HIS COU RT

Tutio tor, the son of del Rosso , insulted Domenico

B en e a c ce dut o his on , enemy , the Campo dei Fiori , with whom he was under a pledge of five hundred t o ducats keep the peace . He stabbed him twice t with a dagger, inflicting a mor al wound of which 4 t he died forthwith . On the h the pope dispatched his vice - Chamberlain with the magistrates who pro ce eded thither attended by a throng to destroy his

wa s . O house, which done n the same day the

the a on e brother of afores id Salvator, Hieronymus ,

O f i was hanged on the instigation Domen co . Thus l assuredly by the wil Of God , on a single day j ustice

fin e was o was accomplished . The collected fr m the guarantors by the Pope . In the same month Al exander appointed prison inspecto rs in addition to four commissaries to hear complaint s in Ro me . Furthermore he appointed his

f t m a O ficials for he ad inistration of Vignol , fixed an

o r audien c e f Wednesday for all citizens , men as well a s women , received the complaints himself and began to administer j ustice in an admirable way .

l 0th c 1 4 2 On Monday , the Of D e ember, 9 , I rode at daybreak t o Marino to instruct the noble Lord

s on Federigo of Aragon , Prince of Altamura , second r i re Of King Fe dinand of Sicily and Jerusalem , w th gard to the ceremonies at his reception befo re his arrival in Rome . The royal ambassador in Rome, r Giacomo Pontano , who declared that he had eceived i a special le tter abo ut thi s matter from h s master, THE ACCESSION OF ALE! ANDE R VI 55 had asked for me the evening before at abo ut eleven ’ o clock . I found there the p rince whom I inst ructed in det ail with reference t o the order and arr angement of the entry and reception as well as of his own de meano r . 1 1 th of 1 4 2 On Tuesday , the December, 9 , about ’ two o clock in t he afternoon the cardinals Carafa and Piccolomini went out beyond the second mile stone before R ome in order to meet the prince as their special friend . They greeted him with the usual h onors a n d he rode then between them until they came t o the road that leads through the Porta

o . Latina , where the cardinals t ok leave of him The prince continued on his way with his suite until he

a n d reached the Church o f St . John Lateran its main portal , firstly , in order to avoid the mud , and then because two cardinals who were to meet him at the

n ot a . gate o f St . John Lateran had yet rrived In the meantime the suites of all the cardinals and princely ambassadors in R ome came to m eet him ;

on e O further , after the other , Giulio rsini , the

' f O U s odima re DO brother o Cardinal rsini , Gerardo , menico Doria and other noblemen who dismounted from their horses and were for making Obeisance to the prince . He did not allow it , however , until they i had remounted their horses . The pr nce waited about an hour before the portal of the a f o re men t ion ed basilica for the arrival of the two cardinals who had been despatched an d Who arrived finally 56 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT

’ after six o clock , namely Juan Borgi a and Ascanio

Sforza . They received him in the usual way and escorted him in their midst . After the arrival at the place of San Giovanni in Laterano where one sees the bronze statue of a horseman there c a me the p relates of the palace with the suite o f the Pope which also greeted the prince

o — in the usual way , alth ugh the maj or domo of the ha d Apostolic palace , Bartolommeo Marti , made his speech as a prelate . Together with the prince seven other ambassadors had been sent to swear the oath o f I loyalty to the Pope . assigned every o n e his place in due order of precedence and in this order we rode straight on passing to the right o f the col

‘ t o r N a iseum Santa Ma ia uov , along by the Hospital o f s the Con olation and the house of the Savelli , r through the Peschiera , the squa e of the Jews , the dei Fiore meadows to the Apostolic palace near St . ’ I Peter s . assume that the reason that the cardinal s were so late was that the Pope endeavored in this way to prevent the prince from continuing on the same day to the p alace and t o divert him to the inn Ad Apostolos where he was supposed to take his the quarters . Behind the barons , nobles and whole retinue of the prince rode the shield - bearers of the

Pope and our barons with the captain o f the palace . There were two pages before the armed men o f the prince and s ix before those of ' the Pope : The first with cross - bow and quiver of gilded silver in French THE ACCESSION OF ALEXANDE R VI 57

a n n dress d o a French horse , the second in Turkish

on dress a Berber horse , the third clad in Spanish

a fashion with a long lance on a sm ll Spanish hack ,

- hi s the fourth with the rain coat of master, the fifth with a valise of a crimson color , the sixth with a sword sheathed in its scabbard with a handle studded with pearls and precious stones estimated at s ix thousand ducats in value . There were several rid

on ers mounted very magnificent horses , dressed in gold brocade and wearing j ewels of great value on their breasts and in their hats and barrets . The

e o f o prince wore a garm nt violet velvet, a chain f pearls and j ewels , wo rth six thousand ducats , and a belt with a sw ord of the same value . His bridle was studded all over with pearls and precious stones ,

r worth three thousand ducats , and the whole ha ness was gilded before and behind . The suite was preceded by two hundred sumpters all covered with red cloth and the whole suite in

a s I cluded seven or eight hundred people was told .

When we passed through a somewhat narrow alley,

Cardinal Juan Borgia rode first , followed by the prince, and after him came Ascanio Sforza , which

The a a was improper . other two C rdinals , Caraf a n d ff m Piccolomini , behaved di erently , for in the sa e

e i alley they stay d beh nd him , which was more proper . Having arrived at the palace they went up to the Pope who awaited the prin ce in the last of the nine 58 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT

h e e c amb rs b sides the secret chamber . Five cardi n als o were with him , namely Carafa , Domenic delle

e An t on iot t o Rover , Gentile Pallavicini , the Cham i t b e rla n Orsini and Piccolomini . After he prince there entered the afore mention ed ambassadors a n d

of all barons and nobles the suite of the prince . After Federigo had bee n permitted by the Pope to his kiss his foot , his hand and mouth , they too kissed the foot of the Pope while the prince was kneeling on of For a cushion at the left the Pope . the Cardi nal Ascanio Sforza had decided that the prince should be allowed to sit down only after all of the cardinals had taken their seats , while I more cau t iously preferred tha t he should wait kn eeling there instead o f taking a seat that was not proper for

ad him . For he should have h a seat after the last deacon - cardinal if not further to the front and be

of fore most the deacons . Sforza , however , wanted to place him even behind the cardinals in order to favor his own duke of Milan .

After this reception the prince , accompanied by

Car a fa and Piccolomini , rode to the inn Ad Apos tolos and t o the palace of Cardinal Giuliano delle

Rovere where he was to take up his quarters . After o f him came the prelates the palace , the ambassa o dors , and the ther prelates in the same order as they had come from the Lateran church to the Apos f o f the tolic palace . Be ore the portal the palace prince wa s a bout t o take leave of the cardin als with

6 0 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT

to Th e from there the Pope . same p rocedure there i i e fore m ght be followed th s tim , although not quite fittin gly because such escort was not customary for those who had been sent t o swear all egiance but on other occasions only for sons of kings and great o princ es . As for the second p int the seat before the

- a i l a second last deacon c rd na , n mely Francesco Sev t o im erino , was to be assigned h .

The Pope added to this that Federigo had indeed , a s n of R ome ha d the Gover or had recalled to him , his seat when he was in the city in the times of Paul

e f II ; before the d ceased cardinal o Mantua , who

- n then was the last deacon cardinal . Concer ing my answer the Pope asked for the opinions o f the cardi n a ls standing around him while we were kneeling down befo re the Pope in their midst . The cardinals

a n ni Mich eli , Pallavici i , Orsi and Sforza declared ex pressly that as far as they could remember Fran

o f h ad cesco , the brother Federigo , had his seat a - fter all the deacon cardinals . I considered this an

s a h . error but did not y anyt ing They obj ected , a r however, saying that Fr ncisco had been the fou th s o w s n while Federigo a the second , and that there was therefore a great diff erence between the two . Ascanio Sforza asked whether Federigo or the Duke o f a o Milan was higher in rank . I answered that cordin g to our ce remonies Federigo wa s much higher in rank than the Duke for as the s on of a king he had precedence not onl y over the Duke of Milan but THE ACCESSION OF ALEXANDE R VI 6 1

al so over the electors . Cardinal Zeno before giving his vote remarked that this ought not t o be done in our presence . But when the Pope answered that we o r ought to hear it because it con ce rned u duties , he voted that he would accept the decision of Agostino

f o r Patrizzi , and he sent him but he could not come as the Cardinal Piccolomini ha d sent him to aecom N pany Federigo . evertheless Zeno did not want to forestall him with his vote and declared that he would not vote . Fin ally the Pope decided on the basis of a mere maj ority o f votes that the two younger deacon cardinals should accompany Federigo to the pres ence o f the Pope and that the seat before the last

- t o him deacon cardinal should be assigned , because

b e he had had the same seat once before, and also cause on this day he ought not to sit with the cardi n als on o f account swearing allegiance, but ought to stand together with those who had been sent with him behind the cardinal - presbyters at the usual place . N ede ri o ow when F g came to the palace , in order e not to lose any time , there w nt out to meet him as far a s the staircase of the floor of the Apostolic

f or his e - chamber those assigned escort , the vic chan c ellor Ascanio Sforza , San Severino and the two last deacon - cardinals a s well a s several assistants o f the

Pope . a s The p rince w first permitted to kiss the foot , 6 2 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT

o f hand and mouth the Pope, and after him the eight others who had been delegated with him . Then the prince submitted the credentials from his father, the

o f N his King aples , with the remark that illustrious father was laying himself humbly at the fee t of his

Holiness . Then they took up their places again while the two cardinals accompanied the prince to the end but not be yond the benches of the cardinals . Paulus de Planca made his speech and the Pope a n w d s e re .

Then Cardinal Podoca t oro read the royal letter

i his which said that he , the k ng, sent dearest son , of the illustrious Duke of Andria , Prince Altamura

o f a ll and Admiral the Kingdom , together with his

c o- am t o other bassadors swear allegiance . Zeno ,

l . the bishop of San Marco , de ivered the oration

ed c the e of The consistory end , the prin e carried dge

o f the posterior end the papal pluviale . The cardi n als Piccolomini and Orsini assisted the Pope during the entire time . Also they stood up during the whole reception taking seats only afterward on their bench . Laying off his robes the Pope ordered the cardi n al s Cibo and Colonn a to e scort the p rince between ” them in the usual way to the inn Ad Apostolos , which was done . Where the way narrowed down , they let the prince precede and quite correctly , for b e this was the proper way , even if Ascanio Sforza haved diff eren tly with San Severino and the other THE ACCESSION OF ALE! ANDE R VI 6 3

da w r i od . y ith Juan Borgia , g atify ng his special mo Lord Federigo came to - day to the palace in great is e in magnificence with h whole r tinue, three pages n German dress , crimson colored and ador ed with gorgeous pearls and j ewels ridin g t e fore on horses that had been bridled in the German way . During the pre vious days the several cardinals had made their calls upon Federigo which he a n swe re d - on I to day and the following days . t would

o f have been more proper , course, if the calls had been made and returned after allegiance had been

a s sworn , but since Carafa and Piccolomini per sonal friends of the prince , as I believe , had called on him immediately after his arrival and together suc with them Rovere, Cibo and Colonna , they all umbe d c to the same mistake . 2 4th D b e On Monday, the of ecember, the day fore Christmas , the Pope who had been adorn ed with

in i o f n ew the usual robes the th rd the chambers , n we t through the two halls , the new one and the old i large one , and down the sta rs into the court where the cardinals usually dismount from their horses . Fr om there he proceeded by way o f the in St . Basilica to Peter , the cardinals going before their usual dres s and the Suite o f prelates also in i their customary coats . In the Basilica the card nals and prelates after having m ade their Obeisance put on their robe s in unseemly disorder and without wait all o e n ing until had c mplet d the Obeisa ce, for only 6 4 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT then were they suppo s e d to robe themselves a s were o d th se of the elder eacons who were to assist them . At the request o f the Pope our sacristan had hung old Greek paintings around be low the tribune on l three sides above the main a tar of the Basilica , as i was the custom in the t mes of Paul II . Two large

r crystal lamps we e also hung at the entrance . After the vespers were ended the Pope was borne back in the customary way t o the palace passing

t o the Pa a alli through the old halls Camera p g , where he laid off the blessed ga rments and assigned the new chambers to the prince to retire there for

ma ifi the night . The chambers were adorned g n cen tl y , the third , fourth and fifth being hung with Alexandrine velvet in cerulean blue with curtains of gold brocade while in the se cond chamber stood the bed of crimson colored velvet . 2 th 1 4 2 . The 7 of December, 9 About ten days ago the news came from B arcelona that King Ferdi n and o f Spain had been severely wounded in his n eck by a peasant on the steps o f his palace on the 7th of

D s o six t o . ecember, that stitches had be applied The criminal had received two wounds from the men

f e w o f the King and had been seized . A days later the additional news arrived that the King wa s o ut o f danger and that the peasant had acted under a vision from the devil . The devil had appeared to him twenty years ago in the form o f an angel and THE ACCESSION OF ALEXANDE R VI 6 5 had commanded him to kill the King in order to b e

i h a d l come king h mself, but he forbidden him to te l

o t o anybody f this . After that he had appeared e him again and again urging him on . The p asant had been forced to a confession by the promise of

n reward . The the scales fell from his eyes as it were , and he had repented immediately from the depth of his heart and considered himself worthy o f the most cru el death . Whereupon he was con n r de mn ed to be executed after the following man e ,

a al l o r n mely , that his limbs extremities of every limb should be cut off one after the other and at inter vals of time but on one and the same day . In order, n r however , that he should not be drive to despai he was given at the beginning a he a vy blow on the head by order o f the queen s o that he might die more quickly and would suff er less while his limbs were b e

o ff s o s o n in ing cut by hi c n ci us es s b e g dimmed . All this was made known t o the Pope on the 27th o f December through a royal letter that wa s brought to him by the bishops of B a j a doz and Astorga as s t s ambassador . The Pope decided o have a mas said in honor of the glorious Virgin Mary for the

on 2 th recovery of the King Saturday, the 9 of De ce mb e r , in the chapel of Maria delle Febbri besides rw of the Basilica of St . Peter . Afte ards the face Our Lord and the spear should be shown to the people and the day should be celebra ted as a feast 66 POPE ALE! ANDE R VI AND HIS COURT

all e day by craftsm n and othe rs . And he ordered that all this ought to be proclaime d in public an d he made known through placards in the various o f ters the city .

6 8 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT

proper that the Pope should ride during Le nt in a. w r hite cowl and an ado ned surplice, but rather in a red cowl and a violet surpli ce . He answered that he ha d decided that the cardin al s should ride before t him him and not af er , also that he intended to wear a whi te and n ot a red cowl and not a violet surplice e but a gorgeous one adorn d with pearls . Accord ing to his decision b e wa s adorned in his private

Pa a a lli chamber and went then to the Camera p g , ’ o on e where he held a c nsistory o f hour s duration . Then he moun ted a white horse covered with cloth d and a orned with crimson velvet . Preceded by the cross and the cardin al s and followed as usual by the r a p ivy ch mberlains , the assistants and prelates , he went through the Campo dei Fiori and the Squ a re of the Jews and passed the house of Cardinal Sav

o f r e elli , the church Santa Ma ia de Consolazion and i a St . Adr an an d went then to Santa Mari Mag giore where he wa s received at the portal by the clergy in p rocession .

r n The arch p iest of the Basilica , Cardi al Savelli , gave him the cro ss to kiss and the clergy sang

E cce s a ce rd s ma ma s o g , etc . The Pope pronounced a prayer on the folding- chair before the altar an d i then stepped up to the altar and k ssed it , deposit in g thereon ten gold ducats as I had reminded him the to do . Then , turning to the crowd , he blessed do D the e people as he had decided to . uring c re mony the cross was held lower than is the custom in CORONATION OF KING OF NAPLES 6 9

’ u St . Peter s . Then he went p to the palace saying a prayer before the image of the Virgi n Mary an d the picture of St . Luke . He inspected the work that had been done , returning afterward to the Bas ilica . Then he went home on horseback , passing St . a n d Pollicia ria B asilius San Marco , through the Via near the Casa M a ssimi and the palace o f Cardinal

P a rion e Carafa , and thence through the Square to the palace . An extrao rdinarily large number o f armed men took part in this mounted procession which was not

o r ro ce s exactly approved by everybody . For u p o f sion , that is to say , the baggage the cardinals , wa s preceded by several crossbow - beare rs and bands of soldiers and in the same way several men with w lances and in full armor follo ed , the prelates rid ing behind the Pope . The governor of the city with the magistrates and a f e w of the district - wardens 1 and the Bargell o and many men on horseback and on foot p resented themselves to the Pope at various corners and places . He ordered therefore that the captains of the Church and o f the portal of the pal ace should proceed between him and the cardinals , and that the Lords of Serm oneta and Corrigia and many other leaders of the soldiers should follow him after the physicians and before the assisting p re e lat s , as was done while they passed over the whole f square of St . Peter as far as about the house o

1 e ch e f of ol ce Th i p i . 70 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AN D HIS COURT

v o r Cardinal S ode rini . When I noticed the in erted um der , I told the Pope that this would be quite seemly and tried to persuade him to permit me t o as l sign them their places . He answered me I shou d arrange them before the captains and after all the i cardinals . But when he heard that th s would be most obj ectionable to the cardinals , he ordered me to place them before the cross after the armed men on f oo t who marched along in quite extraordinary large numbers with long lances , bare swords , cross bows and other a rms . This I did .

l 0th o f 1 4 3 th e s on On the June , 9 , Alexander , o f r d the Lord of Pesaro , a rive in R ome with a large

on o f suite of bishops , and the very day his arrival was b e throthed to the illegitimate daughter of Pope i ll r t he Alexander . Wh le sti a ca dinal , Pope had

r t o a . ma ried her a Sp niard As Pope , however , he wished to improve the position o f his daughter and r e therefore dissolved the ma riage , bestowing thr e thous a nd ducats upon the Spaniard as compensa tion . Now he married her t o the afore mentioned 1 wa s i the Lord , while her first husband still liv ng, but latter kept his mouth shut on account of the money and yielded . th f 1 4 4 On Wednesday, the 7 o May, 9 , a marriage

c b w Gofredo s on o f A was contra ted et een Borgia , lex o f i i ander VI , and Sancia Aragon , the llegit mate daughter of King Alphonso II o f Sicily .

l His re al n ame was Giovann i Sforz a .

72 POPE ALEXANDER V I AND HIS COURT before the altar in the middle he was approached by n t ni order of the Ki g by his secre ary, Giovan Pon

o a d of tan , n another who stated that the kings Aragon did not u sually kneel down while they were

a o receiving the royal insigni , als that it was not the custom that they swore o r read personally the oath during their coronation and installation , but that so me o n e else did this in their name . Only after the oath had been read woul d they swear it them n selves o their knees . Although they had heard from me that the King ha d to kneel down duri n g the

w t o a t was s earing in and had re d personally , Pon ano f o r reading the oath in the presence of the King as

was a u o he se ted , where p n the King would rise , kneel

on h n n on E down a cus io , and with his ha d the van giles would swear to keep wh a t had been read . The legate called me nearer and I s a id that the procedure ought not to be in any case as suggeste d but that it wa s customary that the on e who kneeled down should swe ar hi s oath into the hands of the

o f legate as the deputy the Holy Roman Church , the

a n d His Apostolic See Holiness , the Pope , and that

h a d im the King to swear it h self . The legate ag reed o a uc with me . In rder not to ppear completely un s c e ss f ul e a in their end avors , Pont no and the other secretary ask ed the legate to grant that the King should at least kneel down on a cushion and that the secretary should read be fo re the King from the bo ok and that the King should repeat it . This wa s per CORONATION OF KING OF NAPLES 73 mitt ed by the legate because we explained that it would n ot be in contr a ction with the usual ceremonies e o a n d that it only r quired m re time . ’ About eleven o clock , while it was still raining, the King appe a red in the church with his courtiers

e o a - fittin and barons . He wor ver close g garmen t of black satin a larger one of crimson colored bro floun ce s e e cade, lined with of rmin and with this a barret with a pendant of three pearls and one pre~

io c us stone worth about ten thousan d ducats . He kept the barret on his head until he rece ived the

n e f a r - of crow . He p roce ded as as the middle the t h o f choir of e canons . There the Archbishop Naples and the Patriarch o f Antiochia came forward

me . e e to et him They salut d and scorted him , the prelates rising to salute him while the King himself b ow made a and then he took his seat . After the bull had been read by Stephanus de N arn i a the King knelt down on a cus hion before the legate . At his left knelt his secretary , Giovanni a is Pont no , who held in writing in h hands the oath to be swo rn by the King and re ad it . King Alphonso repeated it word for word . After he had spoken the

E t ha e c s a/n c t a Dei e van e lia words , g , the legate took t he opened missal and held it s o on his knees that he had the image of the Crucifie d at his right before t he ad a him . At left side I h had laid a ch rt with Ev n ile s the beginning words of the four a g . The King then l a id his right han d o n the Eva n gile s and 74s POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT

t on Cru cified o r r his lef the and sw e the oath. The e upon the lega te i n ve sted the King by handing him over the banner a n d introduced him int o its posses sion with the words : By virtue o f Apostolic author ” r h ad i o ity . The e been a long d scussi n about these words the day before . After h aving be en invested t he King handed the

o f the wh o banner over to the chan cellor kingdom ,

o d e st o prepared to receive it , betwe n his two assist in e N g pr lates . The notary Stephanus de arnia called upon those standing around to be witnesses o f r r e the investitu e , but the t asurer of the King said

o t i . n in i the n h ng Whe the legate , read ng litany, c ame to the royal blessing, he pronounced twice by inattention in the tune o f the litany : u t hun c e le c t um

i i n tu re in reg e m c oron adwm ben e d ce re d g e r. He e a t ed h : p , therefore, and added at the t ird time at

c n s e cra re . All s o r o prayers , and forth , we e read by the legate with the proper voice .

i e e f o f Wh l the legat a ter the blessing the King, was confessing with his assistants , the deacon and

o e l - r subdeac n , the King knelt befor his fo ding chai turning with the footstool toward the corne r o f the t wo Evan g ile s o f the altar . He confessed with his chief chaplains a nd remained on his knees until the lega te had censed the altar and read near his folding chair the introitus and the epistle and had sat down arrangement I had made in o rder to be able to be of greater assistance to the King .

76 POPE ALEXANDER VI AND HIS COURT

due to me a s a gift . But out of modesty I did not ask for the small one a n d did not want to resist the s t o a request of the legate . He al o told me h ve

' presented t o him as a due gift the barret of the

e King wi th the pendant . I answer d that it would i certa nly be modest if I requested it for myself, but

w he . that if he insisted , I ould do as wished I did not do so , however . The King was then crown ed in the proper order and the ro val insignia were handed over t o him as

o af remention ed . But neither during this ce remony nor before during the anointment coul d all the pre lates form the prescribed circle behind the King on account of the great throng o f people comp o sing the ro a l l the r v and prince y suites , barons , courtie s , and i ambassadors , who crowded the prelates by push ng forward . After the coronation the King stepped up to the seat of the throne and sat down while the populace cheered repeatedly sho uting : Viva re Alphons o ! KING CHARLE S VIII IN ROME

N t l 0t of D 1 4 4 the he h ecember, 9 , ambassa dors of the King of France who had repeatedly demanded an open letter fro m the Pope during these days in regard to the passage through hi s territory e and concerning supplies , again made r presentations t on o his Holiness this matter . The Pope replied to them aft er the consistory that in no case would he grant free passage and supplies to the King and t hat they could info rm t he King of this according to r thei pleasure . O a 1 8 o f D n Thursd y, the th ecember , all the pos sessions of the Pope were packed up for departure with the exception o f the bed and the ordinary side n t he o f board . In additio paraments the sacristy of the Apostolic chapel and the whole furn ishings o f the palace an d other papal be longings were sent to the castle San Angelo . All the cardinals were pre pared for departure with freshly shod horses and in mules readiness .

In former days as well as at this time, that is , o n 1 th 2 1 s t 22 n d 2 3 rd D the 9 , , and of ecember , the men of the French King organized raids o ver the 77 78 POPE ALEXANDER VI AN D HIS COURT

Monte Mario a s f a r a s San L azaro and the a dj oining m of a t o eadow San Angelo. They lso decided fall on on f upon the city by stealth e o these nights , the French through o ne gate a n d the Colonn e se through t he other . Fo r a id a n d assistan c e a thousand m e t o O French en wer come up by ship from stia . But the wind r os e so str ongly against them that c l h ir they ou d not complete t e program . Otherwise they would have carried their evil designs and

o r broken int the city through the Po ta San Paolo ,

l . setting fire, pi laging and doing much mischief Some pointed out a s the a uthor o f this plan the e Cardinal de Gurek who had com , as the report went , in his own person to the vicinity of the city gate r a du ing that night , but had withdrawn ag in as the

l e resu t of the advers wind . In any case he was the main cause f or the advance o f Fo r the King against Rome . he had caused the inha bitants of Aquapendente a n d o f other lands o f the Church t o admit the King of France by praising to the skies the honesty and worth of himself a n d his men with the assurance that they would pay in full and in coin for every fowl and every egg or even e s for the sm all st trifle . He asserted al o the Pope himself had p romise d him access to and p as sage through the lands of the Church. In this way he induced the population to let in the King and his PO e i men against the decided will of the p . And n order to win over also the curials of Germ a n nation

80 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT

’ replied to hi s Holiness th a t for God s sake he should

e n not get excit d as I now k ew his intentions , and would not say anything mo re t o them wherever they f l . O 3 1 st o D shou d stand n Wednesday, the ecem 1 4 4 ro out o f ber, 9 , I de by order the Pope quite early in the morning to meet the King of France in order to expl a in to him t he arran gements of the reception acco rding t o the ceremonial and to receive ’ r o t i r his decision and car y u h s Maj esty s orde s . ’ N s o me t ear Galera , after two mile j urney , we the r n Ca dinals Giulia o delle R overe , Gurek and Savelli , to whom I made obeis a nce wi thout dismoun ting from my horse . Soon afterwards came the King, to whom we also made o ur obeisance without dismounting on account of the dirt and the rain as well as his fast approach . The Bishop of N epi execute d the com mission with which he h ad been charged by the Pope c n of n oncer ing the reception the Ki g, and I also explained t o his Maj esty wha t I had been charged to with by the Pope . The King replied he wished come to R ome without any display whatever . I received his answer and after me Hieronymus Porca rius , in the name of the Roman authorities , placed the citizens and their possessions at the disposal of t the King . The King replied in a few words wi hout e ente ring in to this matter . The R om a ns withdr w an d r e and the King called me at his side , conve s d with me for about four miles continuously , asking me o of PO e ab ut the ceremonies , the condition the p , the KING CHARLES VIII IN ROME 8 1

a n d f rank position o Cesare Borgia , and a number s o of other things , that I found it almost impossible to give proper answers to every particular question . Near Borghetto two ambassadors of Venice came to meet the King . They dismounted and kissed their o ff wn hands before they o ered them to the King .

a of . They did not kiss the h nd the King, however

Behind them came Cardinal Sforza , who greeted the

e King barehead d without dismounting from his mule . The King too bared his head and greeted the car dinal . Then they covered their heads and Sforza , of riding at the left the King, escorted him into the city over the Ponte Molle as far as the Palace

o . San Marc , the usual residence of the Cardinal Cibo

a d The whole way to the palace was one mud n puddle . In all the streets from the palace of the Cardinal Costa near the Church San Lorenzo in Luzina as far a s San Marco there wa s an illumination o f fires ’ and torches at eleven o clock in the evening a n d all shouted : Fran cia ! Franc ia ! C olon na ! Colon/rm! Vin cu' la ! Vin cul a ! When we had arrived before the

Palace San Mar co , Cardinal Sforza did not dis mount from his mule but baring his head took leave s m e u from the King, with hi per ission , before he t e red t N or v e an the por al . did delle Ro er nor y o To other f the cardinals accompany the King . day before the entry of the King into Rome the

t o of Virida rii o f o f keys the gates the , Belvedere , the middl e gate a n d of all other gates of the city 82 POPE ALEXANDER VI AND HIS COURT

— of were entrusted to the grand marshal France , the

- m o f above mentioned a bassador the King, upon his

o For request and with the consent f the Pope . the Frenchmen said and this was true that the keys had been surrendere d the other day to the Duke of Calabria when he was in Rome and that the King o f

France was not inferior to him . 1 2 1 4 5 On Monday , the th of January , 9 , the King sights . He was accompanied only by the Cardinal of France rode alone through the city to s e e the

l a e . D l G ros of St enis , Jean de Vil iers de la y , who rode with a few nobles at a distance behind the King. Between him and the King there rode a captain o f the body - gu ard that marched with the King looking after the men as they marched along . The cardinal followed them with the other nobles . 2 th o f 1 4 5 On Thursday , the 9 January , 9 , there arrived from France ducats in barrels on mules f o r the French King and on the next day 4 000 more were brought for the expenses that the King o and th se with him had every day . r 30t h o f 1 4 5 On F iday , the Ja nuary , 9 , it was reported t o the Pope that Cesare h a d fled from

Velletri in the disguise of a royal groom . He had left the King already before arriving there and had slept during that night in the house of the auditor

o t o of the R ta , Antonio Flores . When he departed gether with the King, Cesare had taken along with

84 POPE ALEXANDER VI AND HIS COURT

Performan ces were given before him by his men with French humor of tragedies and comedies representing s the Pope , the King of Spain and the Doge of Venice a s concluding a league and alliance with each other . ALE X ANDER AND HIS FAMILY

N 2 0th 1 4 ’ Friday , the of May , 96 , at six o clock in the afternoon an entry was made into R ome through the Lateran gate by on e G o f redo Borgia o f of ol Aragon , a son the Pope , about fourteen years d i of six and his w fe , Sancia Aragon , with about ladies out o f her household . There went to meet them the — the w - a t captain of squadron ith his men arms , about of of two hundred them , the suites all the cardinals and the papal prelates . For every single cardinal had been requested that morn ing by papal runners at the instigation o f Cesare to send their chaplain

- a t - G of re do and men arms to meet his brother , upon his entry into the city . This they all did and dis p atched their men as far as beyond the a f ore men ion e e d u h t d gate , and here Lucr tia Sforza , also a a g of ter of the Pope , and wife Giovanni Sforza , Lord of Pesaro and sister of G ofre do met them with twelve two other women . Two pages preceded her bearing cloaks and riding on two horses one of which was covered with precious gold brocade , the other with

is crimson velvet . She greeted her brother a nd h wife with aff ection . 86 POPE ALEXANDER VI AND HIS COURT

When we had come to the palace , the Pope went to the hall of the Pontiff s and sat down on an ele va t ed seat that had been prepared for him the re in the center of the left wall with a green carpet before it on which was depicted the Savior laying His

on f . fingers the side o St Thomas . Another similar was E carpet laid over the seat . leven cardinals w t t ere s anding around in their co ats . We en ered h the h a ll t rough the three ordinary halls , the cham

of am P a a a lli ber paraments , the C era p g and the the o others . Before the footstool of Pope there sto d

on a small stool which lay a cushion of brocade , and before it four larger cushions o f crimson velvet cross

n G of redo wise o the floor. made obeisance to the Pope in the customary way and kiss ed his foot and

o f G of re do w ha nd . The Pope took the head bet een bo th his hands bowing his he ad over him but without

k . who issing him There followed Sancia , in the same way kissed the foot and h a nd of the P ope and whose head he took in the same way between his hands .

Also Lucretia was thus received by the Pope . After this Gof re do approached every cardinal begin ning l a n d with Pal avicini kissed their hands , whereupon each of them gave him a kiss upon the mouth . Sancia too kissed the hands of the cardinals and these took her head between their hands as if they t he w a nted to kiss it . During this the daughter of Gof re do Pope st ood before her father . Then placed himself be tween the cardin als Sanseverino and Cesare

88 X N T POPE ALE A DER VI AN D HIS . COUR occupied the whole stairway and the floor around it which aroused great disgust and scandal among us and the populace . 1 4 1 4 On Wednesday , the th of June , 97, Cesare

Borgia and Juan Borgia , Duke of Aragon , the Cap

o f a o tain General the gu rds , the favorite sons f the

V n oz z a Pope, dined at the house of Donna a , their

o f mother , who lived in the neighborhood the Church

in of Saint Peter Chains . Their mother and various other people were present at the dinner . After the

r meal , when night had fallen , Cesa e urged his brother to return to the Apostolic p alace . And s o they both

d or f e w mounte the horses mules with a attendants , a s n ot d they had many servants with them , and ro e together until they approached the neighborhood of

o f - the palace the Vice chancellor Ascanio Sforza , which the Po pe had erected and usually occupied

i o f - during his tenure of the off ce Vice chancellor . At this point the duke declared that he would like t o find entertainment somewhere and took leave of his

o . br ther , the Cardinal He dismissed all his servants except o n e and retain e d further a masked man who had al ready presented himself before the dinner and had visited him in the Apostolic palace almost every

The day for a month . duke took him up behind him on his o f mule and rode to the Square the Jews , where he dismissed the on e groom and sen t him back

n c to the palace . He i stru ted him , however , that he should wait for him about eight o ’ clock in the ALEXANDE R AND HIS FAMILY 89

n o square , and if he had t appeared at the end of an r t o hour he should retu n the palace . Thereupon the duke departed from the groom with the masked man behind him on the back of the mule and rode

no one knows whither and was murdered . The corp s e was thrown int o the river at the point besides the fountain where the refuse of the streets

is usually dumped into the water, near or beside the Hospital of Saint Hieronymus of the Slavonians on ’ the road which runs from the Angel s Bridge straight o he to the Church f Santa Maria del Popolo . T groom who had been dismissed on the Square of the

Jews was hurt seriously and wounded unto death . He was mercifully taken into the house of some on e o r U unknown to me and cared f . nconscious as he was he could tell nothing about his instructions and

the expedition of his master . When the duke did not return to the palace on the w i 1 5 o f next morning, h ch was Thursday , the th v June, his trusted ser ants became uneasy and one of them carried to the Pope the news of the late expedition of the duke and Cesare and the vain watch o for the return f the former . The Pope was much disturbed at the news , but tried to persuade himself that the duke was enj oying himself somewhere with a girl and was embarrassed for that rea son at leaving a he her house in bro d daylight , and clung to the hope that he might return at any rate in the evening .

PO e When this hope was not fulfilled, the p was 9 0 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT stricken with deadl y terror and s e t on foot all pos of sible inquiries through a few his trusted men . Am ong those who were questioned was a Slavonian

o f un dealer in wood by the name Georgio , who had lo a ded his wood o u the bank of the Tibe r near the above - mentioned fountain and who had spent the night on hi s boat guarding his wood to prevent it m being stolen . The question was put to hi whether he had seen anything thrown into the river during

o f the middle the night just past , to which he made ’ answer that at about t wo o clock in the morning two men came out of a lane by the hospital on to the public r o ad along the river . They looked about cautiously to see whether any o n e was passing and vhen they did not see anybody they disappeared again in the lane . After a little while two others came o t o f u the lane , looked about in the same way and made a sign to their companion s when they dis

h e on covered nobody . T ereupon a rider appear d a white horse who had a corpse behind him with the head and arms hanging down on one side a n d the legs on the other and supported on both sides by the two w a d m e n ho had first appeared . The p rocession va n ce d to the place where the refuse is thrown into the river . At the bank they came to a halt and tu rned t he horse with its tail to the river . Then

e they lift d the corpse, one holding it by its hands and w arms , the other by the legs and feet , dragged it do n

9 2 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT

It wa s j ust before vespers when they found the duke still fully clad , with his stockings , shoes , coat , waist

is coat and cloak , and in h belt there was his purse

. n on e with thirty ducats He had nine wou ds , in the neck through the throat , the other eight in the head, body and legs . The duke was laid in a boat and was o f his carried into the castle San Angelo , where cloth ing was removed . The corpse was then washed and

e E wa s don e cloth d in princely raiment . verything utie ri at the order of my colleague, Bernardino G ,

o cleric in charge f ceremonies . ’ o f On the evening this day, at nine o clock the co rpse o f the duke was brought by his noble retain

o f S a n ers , if I remember rightly , from the castle

o f S Angelo to the church anta Maria del Popolo , preceded by 1 2 0 torchbearers and all the prelates of the palace , together with the papal servitors and pages . With loud lamentations and weeping they n proceeded without a y orderly formation . The corpse wa s borne upon a bier with pomp and cere mony in public view and looked more as if sleeping t he n r wa s than dead . In aforeme tioned chu ch it e it consign d to the vault, where reposes up to the present day . When the Pope was informed that the duke had been murdered and thrown into the river like refuse him and there discovered , violent grief overcame , and in his deep sorrow b e locked himself in his chambers

“ . O l a e r 6 1 and wept bitterly n y ft long pleading, P ALEXANDE R AND HIS FAMILY 9 3

suasion and solicita tion before his d oo r did the Ca r dinal Bartolommeo Marti finally succeed a fter several i t hours in being adm ted with a few attendants . The Pope took n o food o r drink from the evening o f 1 4 o f n Wednesday , the th June, until the followi g r an d n o e Satu day , he let sl ep come to his eyes from

the morning o f Thursday until the next Sunday . Up on varied and ceaseless appeals o f his trusted friends he admitted himself t o be won over an d

finally began to conquer his grief as well as he could . This he did als o out of co n sideratio n for the risk and a t o d nger his own person .

96 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT

given a breviary , a Bible, and the letters of S a int e r Peter. Furth rmo e he received a keg of water,

l a o f o f o three o ves bread , a cup oil and a lamp f r w lighting . There he a s incarcerated for the te rm o f his life .

w as ha s o The Pope , as I told, given the rder that the warden o f the c a s tle o r his deputy shoul d vis i t the prisoner every day o r every three days and that bre ad an d water should be portioned out to him fo r i oil his ma ntenance and for his light . May Almighty God in all his me rcy and loving kindness bestow upon this most m iserable man the gift of patience and grant him grace that he may save his s oul . The report was that before this the Pope had daily dispatched to the imp ris oned Florido in the castle o f f San Angelo the suf raga n bishop of Toul , John

M a ra de s B a chis , the archdeacon de c , Petrus de Solis , and a few others of his trusted servants to play dice and chess with him an d to lead him through proper pe rsuas ion to the confession that he h ad drawn up vario us brave s without the order o f the

For t he e s a f or Pope . Pop thought thu to obt in given e s s for other brew s that had been drawn upo n hi s order and had off ended the King and ! ueen o f Spain on the plea that they h ad bee n issued without his lor do dm foreknowledge . If F i would a it this , the Pope would ra ise his rank an d reward him with e o e d a had high r ffic s . At their repeate instig tion he LIFE IN ROME UNDER THE BORGIAS 9 7

s e confe s d , and thereafter neither M a rade s n or the others had ever visited him again . ’ a 2 9th 1 1 On Sund y, the of October , at o clock in n w the mor ing, the main to er of the c a stle of San Angel o was stru ck by lightning where the powder o f for the defense the castle was stored . The ex plosion scattered far and wide the whole upper part of the tower together with the walls and the great m o f h arble angel , part w ich fell near t he house of Cardin a l Michaeli beside the church o f Saint Celsus and the near the house o f the merchants Spannocchi .

e o f About fifte n guards the castle were inj ured , but

o f e none th m mort al ly . 1 4 14 98 r On Wednesday , the th of February , , the e was found in the river the papal gro om of the cha m u l Pe rit t o ber , Petr s Ca des , with the surname , who had fallen involuntarily into the Tiber on Thursday 8 th last , the of February , during the night , an event which aroused much comment in Rome .

e 2 l s t On W dnesday , the of February , the car din a ls and Cesare Borgi a rode for their pleasure in ’ French layman s garments from Rome to Ostia on of t e the mouth the Tiber, and re urned to Rom in 2 4 the s a me garmen ts on the th . At the carn ival of this year no feast or public a musement was held in Rome o r in Agone o r in

Te s t c cio r . a , nor did any masked p ocession take place

th e 1 8th to Last Sunday , , Giulio Vitelli of Corne , v e a servant of Cardinal Domenico delle Ro er , was 9 8 POPE ALEXANDER VI AND HIS COURT j ust attending m a ss in the conven t church o f the D r ominican s sopra Mine va , when s ome one entered the church with about ten comp a nion s in arms carry in g conceal e d crossbows and bearing long and short n r swords , la ces and round shields . They ushed into i w l o the Chapel of Crucifix on , to ard Giu i and his

r e o f brothe s and wound d them , and these wounds Giuli o a nd two o f his brothers died within a few days . After breakfast time on Sunday the governor rode with a large suite to the house o f the aforesaid . O es 2 8th of r 1 498 n Ash Wedn day , the Februa y , , the Pope pronounced the benediction over the ashes in o offici the main chapel f the palace . First the n ating Ca rdinal G ro sl a y e strewed ashes upon him , the

a n d he on the cardinal , then on the others in the

o f accustomed manner . Guglielmo Serra the order o f the Minorites in surplice and pluviale without a m a nd d of itre , preached the sermon , kisse the foot the Pope because he was n o t yet an ordained bishop . The rest of the ceremony proceeded in the usu al manner . Ca rdinal Cesare Borgia did not atten d the mass r in re and se vice . After the mass response to my t quest the Pope granted to us , the mas ers of cere r mony, to all the singers and to the othe members o f the papal c hapel the permission f o r every on e of us to choose a confessor t o absolve u s from all

1 00 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT

Torre di Nona t ogether with two other b rigands with a S birre riding before them on a n a s s carrying on h the point of a stick two testicles , w ich had been cut o ut from a Jew because he h a d had intercourse with a Christian woman . They were brought to the Flora a field where the two brig nds were hanged . The

was d o n i od Moor place a p le of wo , and was killed of l e on the pole the ga lows , a rope being ti d about his neck whereby he was strung fast to the pole . Then

e n a o f w the pile was light d , but o ccount a do npour of rain it did n o t burn well and only his legs were charred .

2 l st o f 1 4 8 v On the April , 9 , in the e ening or during the night the maj or- domo o f the Apostolic of e palace , the Bishop Calahorr a , P trus de Aranda , was locked up in his chamber in the palace and a guard was placed before hi s door until the 26 th o f

l on e Apri , which day he was conduct d before the w Pope . After a conversation ith him he was brought into the chambers between the two secret ga rdens o f n o m t h the Pope, t far fro e covered walk that

o leads fro m the palace to the cas tle f San Angelo . There he was g uarded carefully by the grooms o f the

Pope and others until about the middle of September . The reason for his imprison ment wa s that the bishop s t was being su pec ed of heresy , being a marano , and m f si ilar of enses . t o f l 1 4 8 On Sunday , the 29 h Ju y , 9 , a large and spacious platform wa s erected before two porticos LIFE IN ROME UNDER THE BORGIAS 1 0 1

’ - - C . u of St . Peter s hurch There a h ndred and eighty 1 ma ra noe s were admitted in o rder to be reconciled e w to the faith . There they wer co ering down on the floor in their everyday garments and there s a t also the Archbishop of R eggio a n d Governor o f

R ome I sua li the , Pietro g , the ambassador of King o f n and ! ueen Spain , Jua Ruiz de Medina , the e of Bishop Octavius de Monte Marano , r ferendary J a cob a tius the Pope, the auditors Dominicus and

a cob us Dra n a tius J g , the professors of theology , Paul i e J o de Mod a of the order of the Pr dicants , and

de M a l on e o f the hannes c the order of Minorites , ’ both papal pen itentiaries in St . Peter s church for

in t . the Spanish nation , also heir everyday garments A master o f theology of the o rder of the Predicants preached a sermon on the faith in It alian and re

ro a che d ma ra no e s p the , who were all Spaniards , among them a Franciscan monk , for their errors

r m . t in faith , reprimanding and inst ucting the Af er the sermon the ma ra noes a ske d for a remission o f sins a M n di and absolution . Thereupon P ul de o a admon ished them in a Latin address to adhere to the right o f faith and to lead a righteous life, and told them

r o the punishment they all dese ved . This adm nition in r he explained to them a few wo ds in Spanish .

n Then while they were all dow on their knees , he

l M aran oe s e re ca e d those J e ws a n d M r who dur n w ll oo s , i g the e rse cut on the S a n sh In u s t on rofe sse d t o b e p i by p i q i i i , p athol cs h le se cre adhe r n t o he own re on C i w i tly i g t ir ligi . ' 1 02 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT

i pronoun ced the pun shment upon them , namely, that they should walk two and two to the church of St . Peter in a garment pre s cribed and worn for this

r l purpose . The e they shou d pray and then go in the same order to the church of the convent o f Santa r r Ma ria sopra Minerva , whe e eve y one of them might lay down the garment and retu rn t o his home . The magisters Paul and John anno unce d the absolution

r o n to all , whe eupon they started their way to the

o church . The Pope bserved all that was going on from the new chambers and gave them the benedic tion . Th e ga rm ent in which the ma ra n oes were clad looked as follows : over their every day clothes they wore cove rings of red and pea c ock - blue cloth which were hung down over the shoulders up o n the breast and down to the legs behind , with a yellow cross four B e fingers in width and o f the length of the clo th . fore the altar in Santa Mari a s opra Minerva every on e hi s k put down cloth . The mon s then hung up r the cloth in the chu ch in memory of the event .

I i 1 4 o f m n n th s year, 99 , all the feasts the Ro a r carnival we e celebrated . On Sunday in Lent , the 3 rd u of Febr ary, the Jews held their race from the Campo dei Fiori t o the castle San Angel o near the o— Borg Gate for the price of a red cloth , which , how n a s a ever, was not ha ded over on that day the st rt

w b ad h a r t . as , as s been epo r ed

1 04 POPE ALEXANDER VI AND HIS COURT

c ula t e d for three days . May Almighty God in His eternal kindness preserve me fro m such and all other dangers ! 8 of 14 On Friday , the th February , 99, the bulls were caught and dist ributed over the various dis t ric t s on n of the city , and Saturday eve ing they were brought in the usual way t o the Capitol . l 0th On Sunday , the of February , there was held r a race of the Berbe steeds , the Spanish saddle horses and the mares after dinner in Te st a c cio for the usual prizes . The first and third Cardinal Sanseverino a received , and he would lso have won the second had n d w e re not a rider falle o n . The s cond prize was e ive i c d by John Fra n c sc us Mutus . Then the feast o f the bulls and pigs was celebrated in the customary way and without uproar and scandal . 1 1 th of On Monday , the , after dinner the race the

o wa s a d nkeys held , with sky blue cloth as a prize , o fr m the Camp o dei Fiori to the Place o f St . Peter, 1 2 th and Shrove Tuesday , the , in the same way the a race of the buff loes for a red cloth. THE AGGRANDIZEMENT OF THE BORGIAS

STERDAY the l th o f 1 4 E , 6 February , 99 ,

D a o f e onn Lucretia , the daughter the Pop , w went for walk in the arbor, fell do n in a faint and as a result had a miscarriage of a female child wi th which she was pregnant . 2 0th o f i 1 4 o On Saturday , the Apr l , 99, the P pe received a letter from France advising him that the marriage contract had been concluded by the fo rmer ’ Cardinal Cesare Borgia and the Lord d Alb re t in b the name of his daughter, y which , as was reported, it t w and as was in fac set do n in the contract , the u Pope was to give a dowry of d cats , and the m a rriage was not t o be performed until his Holiness had nominated the brother of the bride a cardinal . 2 3 rd o f 14 99 m On the May, , a courier arrived fro France with the report for the Pope that his s on

Cesare , the former cardinal , had contracted the mar ’ ria e -d Alb re t on 1 2 g with the Lady , Sunday , the th o f May , and had perfo rmed it and did take her eight

~ times , one after the other . Another messenger a n 1 05 1 06 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT

ed i n oun c , the K ng of France had received the duke on 1 t h Pentecost , the 9 of May , into the Fraternity a of St . Michael which is roy l and very glorio us . Therefore by the order of the Pope numerous fires were lighted in the city on the evening of the 23 rd o f May , namely before the houses of the Cardinals

Gro sla e Orsini and y , of Lucretia and many Span ia rds o f o , as a sign j y , but a great shame and scan dal for the Pope and the Holy See . ’ 20th in On Saturday , the of July , at eight o clock the evening, the Pope received a report, that the

- o f maj or domo Cesare Borgia , Jacobus , who on Fri

1 2 th o f l i day , the July , had wa ked apparently qu te unconcerned through the halls of the palace while

c wa s the se ret consistory being held , and who had secretly mounted his horse after the consistory wa s over in o rder to betake himself a s fast as possible through the gates in the name o f the Pope with

e secret m ssages for his master, had been seized and searched by the Duke o f Mil an a n d all his secre t despatches surrendered . The Pope , frightened at e o f the news , had the gat s the city closed and

a n d o n e o guarded , no was let ut without the per r missio n of the governo . The servants of the Vice

o f chancellor Ascanio Sforza , and the ambassador

of e o f the Duke Milan had be n informed this , how

o f e ever , through a letter the duke that had arriv d a ll in the morning . Therefore his servants and the

- prelates fled from the house of the Vic e chancellor .

1 08 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT

of under detention in the room the D atary Ferrari ,

o f Bishop Modena , and guarded by the datary him

l on self . Fina ly Sunday after dinner he set him free him and sent back to his house . On the same Sunday in the morning the governor went by order of the

Pope with all his men to the house of the Vice- chan c ell or and searched it . After about two hours he went away again without having disturbed anything there . On the same Saturday evening before seven o ’ clock

B uff a llus e the Bishop of Aquina , Baptista , was r turning home on horseback from the house of the

o n e o f e Cardinal Orsini , when his enemies assault d him n o t far from Mon te Gio rgda n o and wounded wa s him with his sword . It rumored , thereupon , that the bishop had been killed . He finally arrived , how

own . ever , only slightly hurt , at his house 23 rd 1 4 On Tuesday , the of July , 99, the Vice chancellor , Cardinal Ascanio , boarded at the Colon nese Neptuno Castro a ship of King Federigo o f N f or aples , which was lying ready him there and under the escort o f three other royal s hips set his course for Piombino in order to go to Milan . He then left the ship in the territory of Siena and wrote from there to the Pope and the Holy colleague ask ing for leave and stating the reasons o f his de partu re . 2 n d 1 4 r On Friday, the of August , 99, befo e day

o f D break, Alphonso Aragon, uke of Bisceglia , the AGGRANDIZEME NT OF THE BORG IAS 1 09

of t d husband Lucretia Borgia , depar e secretly from

Rome in order to reach the Colonnese territory .

From there he went to the King of Naples , and this without the permission , knowledge or consent of the

Pope . 8 of 1 4 On Thursday , the th August , 99, Lucretia Borgia departed from the city through the Porta del

t o she Popolo , to go the Castle of Spoleto , of which

P O e had been appointed governor by the p . She was

G of r o accompanied by Don ed Borgia of Aragon , her

n brother, who rode at her left , and sent many lade sumpters in advance which the Pope inspected from

s e the loggia . When h and her brother had mounted their h orses or mules in the place of St . Peter at the foot of the steps of the church , they made a very reverential obeisance from their horses to the Pope , who stood above , and took their last leave of him . After the Pope had blessed them from the window for the third time they rode away . Before them there marched in good order the whol e palace guard o o f the Pope and the g vernor of Rome with his men . In the train was also a mule which h ad been laden

a n d r with a stretcher mattress , a c imson cover w w o f stre n with flo ers , two pillows white damask and a beautiful canopy so that Donna Lucreti a could rest there in case she was tired from riding . Another mule bore a saddle upon which was erected a silk — cove re d and magnificently adorned arm chair with r back and footstool , in o der that Donna Lucretia 1 1 0 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT might sit in it from time to time and travel more com f ort ably . From the place of St . Peter as far as the bridge of San An gelo she was escorted on her right by the ambassador of the Kin g o f Naples and later o f i by the governor R ome, wh le there followed after , two by two , the prelates and a large crowd in honor of and praise the Holy See . ’ 1 s t of 1 4 ix On the November, 99, at s o clock in the D morning, onna Lucretia was d elivered of a boy . This was announced by order o f the Pope to a ll the cardinals and ambassadors and to hi s o ther friends even before daybreak in their residences . The mes s en g e rs received for this from every cardinal and ambassador two ducats , more or less , according to the mood o f the giver . 1 1 th of On the feast of St . Martin , Monday , the

N ovember , the son of Lucretia , Rodrigo , was chris tened by Cardinal Carafa in the chapel o f Pope ’ Sixtus IV in St . Peter s . On the day before the ’ n chapel of the Cardinal Zeno in St . Peter s had bee put in readiness for the event and adorned with two large rugs which covered the wall at the right and left as well as the bench and floor before the bench .

The altar had no decoration , only a plain and rather soiled and tattered cover . In this chapel gathered all the cardinals present in Rome , sixteen in number .

The house of Cardinal Zeno , where the lady in

i wa s : ch ldbed resided , also adorned magnificently the i c two portals were completely g lded , the whole ourt

1 1 2 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT a towel ; the othe r on e at the left carried a large e n candle of whit wax , weighing about thirteen pou ds adorned with gold and very magn ificent workman n ship . These were followed by Juan Ce rvillo of

Catalonia , formerly captain of the papal soldiers , i r who carried the ch ld on his ight arm . It was covered with brocade lined with ermine a s on e usually covers children to be christened . At the right walked the governo r o f Rome and at the left the

Philib e rt u s Imperial Ambassado r all two by two , and w e n a numerous cro d closed the procession . At the trance of the Sixtine chapel Juan Ce rvillon handed over the child to the Archbishop o f Cosenza , Fran

o n cesco Borgia , who took him his right arm that is in the silken cloth magnificently interwoven with gold which Juan h a d carried slung around his neck . Cardinal Juan Carafa came to the entrance of the chapel a n d catechized the child and then had it brought into the chapel to the space between the altar and the monument o f Sixtus IV . There in the center on a stool covered with a rug stood the large

. O Sixtine baptismal vessel of silver , partly gilded n this spot the afore- mentioned silk cloth was p ut around the shoulders of the governor of R ome , who thereupon took the child to be christen ed upon his right arm from the hands o f the Archbishop o f

a Cosenza . The c rdinal moistened the head of the chil d and baptized it and did everything in the usual way while the s ecretary Podoca t oro and the Datary AGGRANDIZE ME NT OF THE BORG IAS 1 1 3

Ferrari held their hands ove r the child a s god

fathers . After the child had been baptized and the Cardinal Carafa and the godfathers had washed their hands o as usual , Paol Orsini put the silk cloth around his neck and took over the child from the governor upon his right a rm and return ed with it to the house o f Cardinal E Zeno . ven before he had come to the entrance

of the chapel the child began to cry miserably , while t ’ before his , from its mother s bed to the chapel and throughout the baptismal ceremonies it had patiently d submitte to everything without showing displeasure . r On the returning from the church , however, the e was such a noise fro m tru mpets and other in st ru ments that on e could not even hear t he sound of his own voice . urn e They ret d in the same order as they had come .

a After them the c rdinals also left the church , mounted their mules at the foot o f the stairs of the

church and returned ho me . On the way to the

old christening a crowd of Roman women , men , young men and maidens gathered and followed behind the prelates who sat down here and there in the Sixtine h c apel on the seats higher up .

1' 8th N 1 4 On Monday , the of ovember, 99, Cesare Borgi a return ed secretly through the Porta Caval legie ri to Rome with a chamberlain and the brother of the deceased John M a ra de s and stayed with the

PO e in 2 1 s t O p the palace until Thursday , the . n 114 POPE ALE! ANDER VI AND HIS COURT the morning of this day he departed and rode away secretly with an escort of papal soldiers to the city o f o r Imola , which he t ok over soon afte ward by force

e . o f tog ther with the castle The Lords the city, the

e R ia rio sons of the deceas d Count Girolamo , nephew o R i o l f a ri . Cardinal , were robbed with vio ence On the same Thursday after dinner the Cardinal

Ria rio rode out with his household to hunt . When he was near the castrum Jub ile i he sent his cham be rl a in Ca rdilla back to Rome with the greater num

o f he on ber his suite , while himself rode with a few attendants to Monte Rotondo .

o f In the evening the same day a papal musician , of Thomasins Forli , was arrested with his aecom i pl ce s and incarcerated in the castle o f San Angelo . This Thomasins had come to R ome with a poisoned

he letter which put into a reed to give it to the Pope, pretending that he came from the community of

a w Forli which wanted n agreement ith the Pope .

Had the Pope accepted the letter , he would have been poisoned an d would have fallen down dead within a f e w days or hours . In order to obtain access to

n the Pope , he app roached a friend , Thomasi s of s o f of Forli , a mu ician Juan Borgia , the prince

Squillace , and then bribed a guard of the portal of the papal palace , whom he initiated into his under taking . This came to the knowledge of the Pope and they were impris oned by his orders as has been told . When questioned they immediately admitted

1 1 6 POPE ALEXANDER VI AND HIS COURT

o a before the meal in the house f Cardinal Carv j al , who knew much about his feuds and admonished him in a fatherly way that he should not leave more his

s house this evening . Also he ordered hi servants il s o e rv lon . N a they should not let ut C evertheless , him Pignatello , who was waiting for , had sent for w ’ him several times up to t elve o clock , he left the o f house Cardinal Carvaj al at about that hour, and

e th e of . repair d to house Pignatello , where he ate t e rvil on In addition o these two , C l and Pignatello ,

of Ce rvill on there partook of the meal a nephew , one

o f . their friends , and a lady of the papal court After the meal Ce rvill on was for leaving the house again but Pignatello obj ected with all his might . When he fo und that all his arts of persuasion were o f no avail he besought him that at least his nephew , of who was armed , and a few his servants should Ce rvillon escort him , but firmly declined and said that he desired no escort . They urged him to per mit at least that some on e should go out before him to look around and se e if there was any suspicious E person passing or lying in wait . ven this he would not permit but he wanted t o g o o ut fre e and un S o accompanied . he fared forth from the house ’ on e about o clock in the night , armed only with his As sword and paused not far from the entrance . he stood there , two men approached him and asked ” ” Who goes there ? He an swered Good friend ! When they asked in a more pressing mann er : What AGGRANDIZEMEN T OF THE BORG IAS 1 1 7

” ? Ce rvillon . good friend he added , Juan As soon as he had said this they j umped at him and on e

on e sword while the other severed his head with blow , and both escaped . When the nephew and the others within the house

e vil on of heard the voice of C r l and the clash swords , they ran out to see what had happened . They found Juan Ce rvillon lying on the wall and his head a short distance off on the ground but no trace of those who had committed the deed . On the following morning the incident was reported to the Pope by the gover

o on n nor f Rome , who the very ight of the murder o f Ce rvillon had displayed the greatest energy upon receiving the news and had questioned Pignatello as well a s all the other inhabitants of the house with the greatest care about everything that had hap pened . This he reported to the Pope in my presence and added that when the nephew and the others had rushed out and had found Ce rvillon dead and no on e in the street , they had hurried farther along the street and had presently met a boy of whom they inquired if he had seen anybody . He answered , no , only two men , who had walked through the alley and had fled over the large open place before the stable

- of the Vice chancellor . Thus ended poor Ce rvillon with a bitter death . His body was soon afterward brought by his servants to the church of Santa Maria a n s on tin Tr p a and there buried without pomp .

1 2 0 POPE ALEXANDER VI AND HIS COURT

own for their advantage , and that there was no hell o r purgatory but only paradise, and many other things . 2 5th 1 500 On the of February, , a papal letter ’ was posted at the doors o f St . Peter s and the Lat eran Church which stated that the roads and inns for the pilgrims to R ome ought t o be safeguarded dur ing the year of the j ubilee and that the vassals o f the Church would be held responsible for damage sus t a in e d and that reprisals would be made against them . 2 th of 1 500 On Monday , the 6 February, , by order of the Pope it was urged upon all the cardinals that they should send their suites on this day at four o ’ clock in the afternoon out to the Porta Santa Maria del Popolo to meet Cesare Borgia a s he a p proa ched the city and furthermore upon all ambassa

a s l a s dors , conservators and officials of Rome we l

. of upon the abbreviators , clerics , etc , the Roman

ou Curia that they should go t personally to meet him .

2 1 s t On the previous Friday , the , Cardinal Orsini had gone to meet the Duke Cesare as far as Castello ; a n d on 22 md there followed him Saturday , the , the

Cardinal Farnese . On this morning the Cardinal o t Lopez , with my colleague in his suite , went u to meet him about three to four miles beyond the Ponte

o t Molle . All the ambassadors also rode u beyond the bridge a s far as the meadows t o awa it the duk e there . When it had sounded the hou r of four Car THE YEAR or THE J UBILEE 1 2 1

dinal Pallavicini went on horseback from the palace to the residence of Cardinal Orsini who awaited him

there outside on his mul e . They rode together to the church of Santa Maria del Popolo to receive the

duke there . He entered through the gate between ’ s even and eight o clock and was greeted by all the f of ambassadors , retainers and of icials the said car d inal . When they heard that the duke was outside

the gate , they mounted their mules and awaited him

at the said place before the gate , where they saluted him with bared heads while he thanked them also in

the same manner . Then he rode between them to the

Vatican . In the train of the duke there came first in good order a hundred sumpters provided with new black

covers and then about fifty others without any order . I coul d n ot arrange the escort in proper order as n there were about a thousand ducal soldiers o foot,

Swiss and Gascons , who marched in their own order in five sections and under five banners with the

n o our . ducal arms , and took heed of order There were also papal soldiers marching on foot to meet

the duke and lansquenets with the flag of St . Andrew . The Swiss wanted the lansquenets to roll up their banner but they woul d n ot consent and a great quarrel started among them . But the conflict was ff settled by the duke with little e ort . The Swiss b e and Gascons marched first with their banners , i h nd them came the lansquenets with theirs , and 1 2 2 POPE ALEXANDER VI AND HIS COURT

then about fifty noblemen of the duke . He himself had a hundred men around him of whom every on e bore a new halberd and wore a coat of black velvet and shoes of black cloth . He ha d also many trumpeters wearing his arms as well a s two heralds of his own and on e of the King o f France , who wanted to march under all conditions

. a behind the soldiers The duke , however , when p pealed to , decided that he ought to precede them , which he did only with great reluctance . By order of the duke the t rumpeters and the other musicians did not play . Behind them rode the Duke of Bisceglia at the

the f s on right and Prince o Squillace , the of the

Pope, at the left . Then came the duke between the a forementioned cardinals , behind them the Arch of bishop Ragusa , de Sachis , at the right and the e Guibé of Bishop of Tr guier , Robert , Ambassador the King of France , at the left , the Bishop of Zamora at the right and the a mbassador of the King of Spain on at the left , and so , the others according to their

of the o f N rank . Two ambassadors King avarre got into a quarrel with the ambassadors o f the Kings of N o f E aples and ngland , who retorted in a very hot headed manner . The two ambassadors of Navarre had to give in and dep arted . There were also pres ent the ambassadors of Florence , Venice , Savoy , and others . Behind them followed a large crowd in such confusion that the prelates were n ot able to take their

1 2 4 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT

chariot . All these chariots were taken to the palace and back again with the exception of the last one

l e i i . with Ju ius Ca sar , wh ch rema ned there The duke rode from the palace to the Agone where the festivi o f m ties the Ro ans were held in the customary way . 5th On Thursday , the of March , Cesare Borgia began with his calls on the cardinals . He had no bishop or prelate with him but was only a ccompanied

on e of e on i by his retainers . Wh n calling Card nal Piccolomini he went with him from the chamber down

o o n his to the foot f the stairs walking left side , as he did not want to take the right one in any case , although the cardinal off ered it to him with eager insistency . As I hear , he did the same with the other cardinals but I do not know how far the car din al s went to meet him when he arrived and there fore I could n ot put it down .

O of n the fourth Sunday Lent the Pope , with the intention of making Cesare Borgia Captain - General of and Gonfaloniere the R oman Church , decided to 1 bestow upon him the Golden R ose . On Sunday of 2 9th Laetare , therefore , the fourth Lent and the of 1 500 the e March , , Pope had com into the small audience room in the morning at the usual hour with the cardinals , who had assembled in the Camera

P a a alli p g , and decided with their consent to bestow D the aforesaid Rose on Cesare Borgia of France , uke o f V a le n tin ois son him , his dearest , and to nominate 1 See pa ge 19. THE YEAR OF THE JUBILEE 1 2 5

Captain - General and Gonfaloniere of the Holy Roman

Church . From there the Pope went with the car

n di als into the chamber, blessed the Rose in the cus t om r on a y way , and went in procession his portable chair with the Rose in his left hand to the church of him St . Peter . Immediately before walked a papal shield - bearer in a garment of frilled brocade which came down to his knees . He walked before the cham i b e rla n s and carried over his arm a new garment , that is a coat and barret , the insignia of the dignity

o . f a Gonfaloniere The barret was of crimson , two spans high , and lined with ermine . In the middle there was a small piece of gold brocade with four a of o f large buttons , that is to s y pearls the size ordinary nuts . At the four corners and inside there was a stripe of ermine fur about five fingers broad and above there wa s attached a dove composed of pearls , four fingers wide and adorned with many

wa s pearls . While the Pope still sitting in his por

bo offic table chair , Cardinal Ci appeared , who was ia tin m a s u g in the church , and dressed hi self us al r in the sandals and the holy garments . Afte arriv ing at the main altar the Pope took down the mitre and prayed in his folding- chair ; then he made the of confession faith together with the celebrant . In the meantime the duke stepped U p to the papal throne and placed himself at the right side . After the obeisance of the cardinals the duke in his short tunic stepped before the Pope and kneeled down 1 2 6 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT

e before him at the last step above . He was j oin d by the Cardinal delle Rovere as an assistant of the n o w his Pope , who with the mitre in hand rose and said : Our assistance in the name o f the Lord who made heaven and earth . The Lord be with you and

t — : with your spiri Let us pray God , who Thou has promised to be an aid to Thy servants assembled our in Thy name , grant to this Thy servant Cesare, e Gonfaloniere , the mercy that has b en granted to ff his Abraham at the burnt o ering, to Moses with

E t o legions , to lia in the desert , Samuel in the tem

. 0 ple Give , Lord , the unity , that Thou gavest to the patriarchs , that Thou hast preached to the peoples , that Thou hast handed down to the

Apostles , that Thou hast ordered to the victors .

L a sk o ur Bless , O ord , we Thee , this Gonfaloniere , who has been given to us certainly for the welfare of

o ur . people Let him grow rich in years , let him be blooming and healthy in vigor of body until a ripe old age and let him arrive finally at a blessed end . May the trust remain with us that he will receive the same compassion in favor of his people that E Aaron received in the sanctuary , lisha by the E stream , zekiel on his bed and the old Zachary in the temple . May the force and power of dominion be granted to him as Joshua possessed it in the camp and Gideon in battle , and as Peter received it with the keys and Paul used it in doctrine . Thus the

1 2 8 POPE ALEXANDER VI AN D HIS COURT

u ou That success may be tr e to y , may be granted to you mercifully by Him that is blessed in all ” eternity . A cleric o f the Camera brought the R ose from the

of altar , and the Pope took it from the hands the Cardinal delle Rovere and handed it over to the duke who knelt before him with the following words

our un Receive from hands as we are , although ’ d on deserve ly God s representative earth , as a symbol o f the j oy of Jerusalem triumphant as well as o f the i t church m li ant . To all who believe in Christ it means the most precious flower as it is the j oy and

a ll - crown of saints . Receive it , my most beloved ‘ son , you who are of secular nobi . . y , powerful and

r rich in virtue , in order that you may win furthe more

o f the nobility every virtue in Christ , the Lord , simi lar to the R ose that has been planted on the bank o f many waters . This favor may grant you in its overflowing kindness t he One who is the triune in ” eternity . Amen . The duke took the Rose in his right hand and kissed first the hand then the foot of the Pope .

Both rose, the duke covered himself with the barret , i and w th the R ose in his right hand , walked , for the

t m . The entire i e , before the Pope holy handkerchief was shown as usual and the cardinals besides the duke accompanied the Pope as far as the courtyard , where the cardinals usually ride away . From there the Pope went up to his pala ce after he had dis THE YEAR OF THE JUBILEE 1 2 9

e ll miss d the duke and the cardinals , who then a mounted their horses . The older cardinals rode first

d o i Ce s a rin i an last between Picc lom ni and , the duke still wearing t he barret of the Gonfaloniere on his

. R his head The ose , however, he did not bear in

al l i of hand the way , but he had it carr ed most the

his o way by one of servants , f whom he had only six o r eight around himself while the others followed . i In rid ng back the usual order was observed , the banners were carried by those two a rmed men on

of . horseback , both Spaniards the lower class They rode behind all the ambassadors , preceded by eight trumpeters and before these four drummers . After the trumpeters there came three heralds , after these the armed men , then all the cardinals and among the

~ last o f these the cardinal with all his servants . There followed the prelates and the men of the duke in a crowd as this could not be helped . In this order

S cla fe n a t a we rode to the residence o f Cardinal ,

t o where the duke intended have dinner . Before the entrance the duke thanked with bared head every o n e

of l . the cardina s , who had stopped here and there Finally he turned around once agai n before the door to the cardinals who then departed . 1 2 o f 1 500 On Tuesday , the th May, , a certain ’ é d A rimon t Baron Ren g , ambassador of the King of on France , while his way to Rome with his sumpters and about thirt een horses and servants was robbed completely by twenty- two highwaymen an d brigands 1 80 POPE ALEXANDER VI AND HIS COURT in hi the moun tains of Viterbo . One of s noblemen together with a servant was wounded severely . The ambassador entered Rome on the 1 3th May without pomp and escorte d only by his men . The

Pope , indignant at the incident , sent out the d Bargello to capture the malefactors , an wrote m b rew s nu erous to Fabrizio Colonna , from whose territory the brigands had come, and to oth ers in order that they should send the highwaymen o f ‘ to the city . Fifteen them were apprehended and brought t o Rome . 2 th 1 500 On Wednesday, 7 May , , the day before

Assumption , eighteen men were hanged at noon while of the cardinals passed over the bridge San Angelo , nine o n each side o f the bridge . The hanged men fell down with the gallows on the bridge but were immediately set up again so that the cardinals when they returned from the palace coul d see a ll o f them hanged .

The first of the eighteen was a doctor of medicine , h physician and surgeon t o the hospital of St . Jo n

Lateran , who had left the hospital every day early in the morning in a short tunic and with a crossbow and had sh ot every on e who happened to cross his path and pocketed his money . It was also said that the confessor of the hospital communicated with the physician when a patient confided to him during confession that he possessed any money , whereupon he gave an efficacious remedy to the patient and they

1 32 POPE ALEXANDER VI AND HIS COURT j uries to the new tower above the papal cellar in the o f main garden the Vatican , and had been carefully ’ guarded , was strangled in his bed at four o clock in

o f . I the afternoon , as he did not die his wounds n ’ the evening at ten o clock the body w a s carried to the church o f St . Peter a n d buried in the chapel of

o f Maria delle Febbri . The archbishop Cosenza ,

o f Francesco Borgia , the treasurer the Pope , aecom

a ie p n d the body with their suites . The physici a ns o f the deceased and a hunchback who had nursed him almost all the time were ar rested an d brought to the castle o f San Angelo where an investigation was started against them . They were set free later on as they were found not a guilty , a f ct that was very well known to those “ - who had made out the W E R E? The same day and almost at t he same hour Lucas

Dul ib us o f R o de c , the chamberlain Cardinal delle

of vere and master of the Register Papal D ecrees , was wounded t o death on the back of his mule before the house of the Roman citizen Domenico de Mas

t off simi , and his membrum virile was c u by a man of R e it i whose wife he had kept as a concubine . He was brought into the house of the said Domenico where he died after three o r four hours . In the i evening he was carried to the church of Maria

r n 5 on tin a T a p and the next morning, Wednesday , the 1 th n r 9 , the body was tra sfer ed to the church of Santa Maria del Popolo with the suite of the Car THE YEAR OF THE JUBILEE 1 3 3 dinal delle Rovere and many others in the funeral procession . May he rest in peace . 2 3d 1 500 On Sunday , August , , there arrived in

R ome, Lord Lucas de Villeneuve , Baron de Trans , chamberlain of the King of France and his ambas A v i . t t a an t sador To the inn of Domenico , where

d o f the ambassador staye , near the hospital St . Laz u ar s , a masked rider came in great haste, aecom

a n ie d on p by a man foot . He dismounted , embraced the ambassador with the mask over his face a n d ha d a conversation with him . After a short while the mas ked person returned to the city . It has been said that it was Cesare Borgia . The ambassador mounted his horse and rode to the city . The suite of the Pope and of all the car din als present in Rome went to meet him as well as o f N the ambassadors the Kings of Spain and aples , who said to him : Be welcome ! I asked them if a n they wanted to s a y anything more . They

s we r d : o . e N The ambassador who head this , added : Who does not want to s a y anything else does not expect an answer . He rode then between of the Archbishop of Cosenza , the governor the city, and the Archbishop o f Ragusa through the Via Papac to the inn o f the Holy Apostles where he took up his quarters .

l s t o f 1 500 On Monday , S August , , Lucretia , once

o f o f Aragon , the daughter the Pope , betook herself from the city to Nepi accompani ed by s ix hundred 1 34 POPE ALEXANDER VI AND HIS COURT on horseback in order to find some consolation and rest after the grief and consternation in which she had been thrown by the recent death of her husband ,

Alphonse of Aragon . 2 oth D 1 500 On ecember , , a bull was posted on the

o f . doors St Peter, concerning the prolongation of the jubilee year until the coming feast of Epiphany in favor of those abroad . The Pope granted to Italy the unlimited indulgence until the next feast o f Pentecost and nomin ated for this purpose as commissaries the Mino rities o f the strict observance through an Apostolic letter . After the beginning o f the last year of the j ubilee

s a w the penitentiaries of St . Peter from cases that came before them in confessi on that the rights o f in

ul e n ce m d g granted to the were not broad enough . In the course of a conversation I had with one of them I asked him to let me hear some o f the cases that were submitted daily to his colleagues . He told me that there were varied and curious cases reported to them but that he could not retain all o f his them in memory . He told me , however , a few he remembered . Some on e had concluded matrimony with a virgin and after he had slept with her and had had inter course with her for a certain time , he had deserted her in order to contract a marriage with a second m on e and a third one . The sa e he did with a fourth and had thus four wives living at t he same time .

1 36 POPE ALEXANDER VI AND HIS COURT contracted a marriage with a married woman whom

s N he he later deserted after intercour e . ow entered another order which he left within the probationary year in order to contract ‘ a marriage with another married woman . When he heard after cohabitation with her that she was the wife o f some one else he left her and married another free woman with whom

on e he also cohabited. He ran away from this too and married a fourth on e with whom he also c c habited . Finally he deserted the fourth one also and entered the order o f Santa M aria o f the Teu i t o o f . tons , wh ch he confessed be a member When the fourth on e heard o f this she went to the convent in the belief that he was her husband and demanded his surrender . He fled before the imminent danger and came to Rome with the request to render him a appropriate aid . It w s said that the case was known in Strasburg .

e o f Th two principals a merchant firm in Provins ,

Pierre and Jean , had both beautiful wives . Pierre, acting on information from his servants , told his wife , that he would go on a certain day to Bruges s o that she could make an appointment with Jean . On that day Pierre pretended to s e t forth on a j ourney but went instead to the house o f a friend and arranged with his serv an t s that they should let him know as soon as Jean had shut up himself with his wife . This they faithfully did . Pierre then went to his house and knocked violently at the door . THE YEAR OF THE JUBILEE 1 3 7

The frightened wife locked the naked Jean into a chest in her room . Pierre was admitted , went to his ’ ’ wife s chamber and sent immediately for Jean s wife , t who appeared soon afterwards . He asked her abou her husband and she answered she did not kno w the where he was . He often left house early in the morning and returned in t he late evening . Often he

on e o would stay away for r two days . Pierre said Your husband is locked up in this chest here and

m a he has often slept with y wife, lthough you are ou much more beautiful than she is . I give y the choice, either you surrender yourself to me on the top o f this chest o r you will s e e your husband cruelly ” murdered . The woman asked her husband in the

do chest what she should . He answered from the chest that one could more easily compromise with ’ decency than with death . So Pierre took Jean s

t 0 him a n d wife on the p of the chest , then he let out e they were the best friends . The incident had b en kept secret for years .

A similar case happened in Lubeck . Philip had a very beautiful sister, and Anton whom she loved very much slept with her . She climbed through the win dow o f her chamber over the roof and went to the

o f Phili oun d room her lover . When p f out that his sister had gone to Anton he sent for the sister of

Anton who came to his room without any hesitation . “ Philip said to her : Your brother Anton has often slept with my sister and now they are lying together 1 3 8 POPE ALEXANDER VI AND HIS COURT

again . I decided to lie with you or your brother will die an evil death She consented in order to i free her brother . After he had la n with her , he sent he r back to her house through the window over the roof the same way by which his sister usually re

. o f turned When Anton heard it , he came to an understanding with Philip that the matter should be kept secret . Nevertheless it came finally to our knowledge . b e When Angelo went through a church at noon , cast a glance into the chapel of St . Florence situated in a corner . There he saw how Grada was lying under Paolo and how they amused themselves t o Fo r gether . this Angelo later on reproached Paolo in public . Paolo denied the incident stubbornly ,

ot his and as Angelo did n cease pointed remarks , he

f o r sued him libel before the magistrate . Proceed ings were started against Angelo and his insults were proven while he could n ot j ustify his accusa n tion . Judgme t was rendered therefore against Angelo that he had to recant his abuse and libellous speeches publiclvin the church from the pulpit and

n to restore the good reputation of Paolo . Whe o f therefore , on a Sunday , the principal the church came down from the pulpit after the sermon , Angelo stepped up and told before all the people of his trial before the magistrate and of the decision rendered and recanted the abuse and libellous speeches by a d

s . mitting his error in appropriate word Then , how

1 40 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT

. o f Vatican The procession the brethren , however , pas sed through the railing and around the main a l tar between the cardinal who was officia ting and the

o t other bishops and cardinals . Then they passed u through the side door towards the Vatican . Many of the brethren threw themselves down between the

a alt r and the Pope and , turning towards the latter , they kissed the floor after the manner o f the Turks .

As I considered this improper, I intervened in order to prevent the others from doing s o . The Pope however disapproved of my intervention and ordere d that I should let them kiss the floor , which I did . The new general o f the Predica nts together with many provincial brethren of his order went up to the

re c om Pope , and with him Cardinal Carafa , who t o mended his cause the Pope . All the brethren kissed the foot of the Pope and then j oined the pro

e n ot c ssion again , the remainder of which did pass through the railing after the general but turned to ward the Vatican . n In the meanwhile Petrus of Vice za , auditor of the Camera and Bishop of Cesena , donned a red pluviale and the plain mitre and went up to the altar to the Pope and kissed his knees . He asked , with o ut in mentioning the benediction , for the plenary dulgen ce which the Pope granted to a ll those p re ent . After having received the indulgence he mounted the pulpit and announced in an oration the alliance between the Pope , the King of Hungary and THE YEAR OF THE JUBILEE 1 4 1

of the Signory Venice against the Turks . He did a n not enter , however , into a specification and n o n ce e t f o a f u m n o the vari us points . Immediately ter this oration he announced the indulgence oh t a in e d e from the Pope . The latter ros immediately from his throne and began without the mitre Te Deum la uda mus in a clear voice which wa s continued to the end by the choir . ’ Then the Pope , still standing, recited the Lord s p rayer as well as the verses and two prayers that have been provided for in the ceremonial at the a n n oun e m t n fi l c en of an alliance against the i de s . Then he administered t he benediction to the people as usual , stepped down and after a prayer before the altar took up the tiara and left the railing . He looked at the iron of the spear o f Christ and then ’ at the Lord s image and retu rned as usual to the palace . In the evening the main hell of the Capitol was ru ng and bonfires were lighted throughout the city . By order o f the Pope it was announced publicly in the city on the 3 rd or 4th of June that all bandits and those outlawed on account of murder , theft , or other crimes could enter the city free and without punishment .

1 4 4 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AN D HIS COURT him as he was and went away before Cardin al Lopez

a off came to him . In the me dows we took from the cardinal the cape and the violet cloak of rather thick cloth which we appropriated for ourselves a s usual . ’ On the same evening, about twelve o clock in the

t o night , Cesare Borgia came secretly Rome and took up his quart ers in the Vatican without being no ticed by anybody . i 1 3 1 501 e t On the following Fr day , th Jun e , , I w n quite early in the morning to Santa Maria del Po wa s polo , and as the chapel in the convent too damp and close , I decorated the chapter before the chapel w with a fe orange branches as well as I could . For the stewards had not sent anything although they of had been requested to . The cardinals the palace appeared first , and when all had assembled , Carafa desired that we should start immediately which wa s done accordingly and we mounted our hors e s . There appeared still the Cardinals Orsini and

Medici , and when we had reached the hospital of the e Slavonians , Cardinal Sans verino . Cardinal Castro was with the Pope in the palace . The new cardinal had come a lone in a coat of crimson - colored camlet while all the others were in violet ones . He rode in the last rank between Piccolomini at the right and

Medici at the left . I did not send the two deacons in advance t o the Pope to dress him because I re doubted that he had arisen . The new cardinal FEASTS AND FEUDS IN ROME 1 4 5 mained with Piccol omini and Farnese in the little chapel which was decorated with tapestry but had

on no carpets the floor . When the Pope came from his chamber in the Camera Pa p a g a lli to don the paraments , he reproached me for having come with the others in such a hurry from Maria del Popolo . ’ I answered truly that it was after nine o clock . The POpe in his robes appeared at the public con e s is t ory which was held in the third hall . Four r v ports were gi en , the first by Justinus , the second o n e by Burg un dus . D uring this I conducted the Cardinal Medici to the small chapel and sent Far b e nese back to the consistory . The latter bowed fore the Pope and took his seat . Soon afterwards appeared the n e w one with the two old cardinals at the session . First Piccolomini , behind him the new u c a rdinal , rendered to the Pope the sual obeisance .

o Medici remained below before the throne f the Pope . Piccolomini and the n e w cardinal then stepped down again , and the new one was greeted by all the cardi n a ls on with the kiss the mouth . He took his seat Bur un dus t behind Farnese . g continued his repor , then Alphonsus Rice n a s made the third and Fran eisens Gerona the fourth on e . After this the two assisting cardinals went up again with the new one to the Pope , who received also the retainers of the new cardinal in the ceremony of kissing his foot , while all the cardinals and prelates were sitting around in their seats as before . Then the Pope rose 1 4 6 POPE ALEXANDER VI AND HIS COURT and returned to the Camera Pa p a g alli where he laid o ff the sacred robes . On this occasion the Cardi n al Pallavicini asked me in the circle why the new cardinal alone was wearing the re d coat and I a n swe re d that he did s o in order not to look as if he For were of a religious order . Cardinal Borgia is a

o f . i kn ight St . John Carafa and Pallav cini smiled a s they knew about this . Finally all the cardinals accompanied the new cardinal to the room of the m t re asurer prepared for him and took leave of hi . On the same day after dinner it was announced in Rome : that under penalty o f a fine of a hundred ducats all orders o f the twenty - s ix s o - called pro visors appointed by the Pope had to be obeyed . Their task was to procure supplies for the French soldiers who ha d come to conquer the kingdom of

Naples and had been quartered outside the walls . Whoever had carts o r sumpters or mules must notify the governor of Rome in order that they could be o f used to transport these supplies . Under penalty t wo hundred ducats and forfeiture o f the obj ect no on e should dare to buy anything from the soldiers . This was done because the latter during their a d vance had stolen horses , donkeys , corn and grain and anything they could lay hands to . 1 1 501 a n On the following Saturday, 9th June , , other proclamation was issued in Rome according to f which all the men of the King o France , who did not receive pay from him or the Pope or from Cesare

1 4 8 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT tory o f the Colonna in order to take possession o f R occa di Papa and all the l a nds and castles of the

Colonna in the name of the Pope . He had Papal commissaries and soldiers wi th him and took posses sion of everythi n g without any protest o r resistance . 23 rd 1 501 On Wednesday , the of June , , the Arch

of Luce n tin us a t deacon Aquila , Franciscus , was tacked near Pellegrino and mortally wounde d by

e n o f Hie rn o mus G a lioffi of h s four m y g Aquila , i mor t al on enemy , of whom e had himself warned Fran eis e ns a few days before that he would slay him with hi s associates if it had to be even in the house o f

o Cardinal Piccol mini . There the dying man was brought on the same day and expired after vespers . In the evening he was carried to the church of the Saint Maria de Consolazione where he had desired to be buried and there he was interred . May he rest in peace . Amen ! On the same day the Knight Be ra uld Stuart ’ d Aubi n of d g y , Captain the French sol iers made his entry into Rome from the direction o f the meadows and was greeted in the usual way by the suites of

of t e the Pope and all h cardinals . He rode between the Bishops Va ldoes of Z a mora and Pistachio of Conversano straight to the Vatican where he met

P a a a lli the Pope in the Camera p g , together with the Pa lla vi in ia Cardinals c , San Giorgio , Lopez , Fer e rari and the referendaries . There he was admitt d by the Pope to th e ceremony o f kissing his foot and FEASTS AND FEUDS IN ROME 1 49

w after him ten or t elve of his suite . The Pope j es ted with him for a short while and dismissed him b e then whereupon , accompanied by Archbishop Sac chis of R agusa and the Bishop V aldoes and the oth e rs who had received him , rode back to the house of the Vice - chancellor where quarters ha d been pro vided f or him. There were also present the French

Gubé o f e E ambassador, Bishop Tr guier , the nglish of of ambassador, and the ambassadors the duke Savoy and o f Venice a n d Florence who kept n o or der as the Savoyard who rode at the left of the English ambassador was quarreling with the Ve n i n et ia n who rode at his right . I did ot want to n t e rve n e and everything else was a s usual . O 2 5th o r 2 t h of 1 5 1 n the 6 June , 0 , in the early mo rning it was publicly p roclaimed in t he city by order of the Pope o r the governor that all those who of the o r were not in pay Pope, the King of Fran ce , of Cesare Borgia should leave the city within three hours and should not enter again . There was fur t he rmore a proclamation issued in the name of the ’ d Aubi n Lord Captain g y , that all soldiers under the command of the King of Fr a nce should stay during the whole day in the camp assigned to them near

Aqua Traversa under penalty . 28th of 1 501 sol On Monday , the June, , all the diers camping near Aqua Traversa marched through the meadows into the Borgo Petri by order of the

Pope . There they met with all the other soldiers of 1 50 POPE ALEXANDER VI AND HIS COURT the King of France in R ome and when all were to gether they marched in rank and file over the bridge o f San Angelo towards Naples in execution of their

o f orders . The Pope was in the castle San Angelo in the rooms adj oining the garden or in the loggia from which he viewed them with great pleasure while they marched past . Those on foot were twelve thousand men strong, the cavalry , two thousand .

After the soldiers there came twenty - six carriages

- s ix o with thirty b mbards .

th o f 1 501 On Tuesday , the 6 July , , a Spanish who n prostitute , Ludovica , had her quarters ear the

wa s t o S a White Fountain , arrested , brought the bellia n j ail where she was immediately subj ected to torture and strung up within an hour . She had robbed her visitors as best she could and h a d had wa s several stabbed to death . She arrested because a Frenchman from whom she had stolen twelve Scudi quarreled with her in public on that account j ust as the governor was passing and complained about

n her to the gover or . 2 t 1 501 On the 6 h of July, , about the fifth hour of the night the Pope received the news of the capture o V e i oi f Capua by the Duke of a l n t n s . The capture of this city wa s achieved through treason by a cer i it tain Fabr zio , a c izen of Capua , who let the men a riz i of the Duke enter in secret . But F b o himself wa s the first on e to be killed by them and after him there were about three thous and soldiers on foot and

1 52 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT

papal rooms during his absence . He charged her in also to open the letters sent him , and , case any ffi l di culty should arise , to consu t Cardinal Costa and the other cardina ls whom she might call upon for that purpose . It is said that at one occasion Lucretia sent f or Costa and explained the order of the Pope and a

e n a s e p nding case . Costa co sidered the c as being without importance and said to Lucretia that when the Pope brought up these aff airs before the c on sis tory there was the Vice - chancellor or another cardi i nal who kept the record for h m. It would be proper therefore if there were some one present who a n would note down the conversation . Lucretia ” s we red I understand quite well how to write ! Costa asked : Where is your pen ? Lucretia un de rst ood the meaning and j oke of the cardinal . She smiled and they brought the conversation to an end o I wa s l in g od humor . not consu ted about these matters . 1 3 1 5 1 the On Friday , the th of August , 0 , early in morning a placard was hung upon the statue of Master Pasquino at the corner of the house of Carafa a nnouncing the death of the Pope if he should leave the city . This spread immediately throughout Rome and the same morning similar posters were hung up in various p arts of the city containin g the following words FEASTS AND FEUDS IN ROME 1 53

a d 0 o ox I s i to you before , P pe, you were an ; l die o out I tel you now, you , if you g ; 1 who x The wheel will follow him drove the o .

4 th o f 1 501 On Saturday , the September, , about vespers the news came from Ferrara of the conclu a t sion of the marri ge contrac between Alphonso , the

firs t - born of the Duke of Ferrara and Lucretia Bor gia . Therefore bombards were se t o ff continuously from the castle of San Angelo from then until into the night . On the following Sunday after break fast Lucreti a rode from the palace where she resided to the church Santa Maria del Popolo , dressed in a robe of golden brocade accompanied by about three hundred on horseback . Before her rode four

Po rc a rris bishops , namely Hieronymus de , Vincenz

Pistachio , Petrus Gamboa , and Antonio Flores , two by two . Then followed Lucretia alone and after her she re her suite and servants . In the same way turned to the palace . On the same day the main bell of the Capitol was rung from the hour of supper until the thi rd hour in the night . Numerous fires were lighted in the castle f o San Angelo and over the whole city . The tow ers o f the castle and the Capitol a nd others were il l umin a t e d in order to excite everybody to j oy, though shame would ha ve been more fitting .

1 The ox is a n a us on t the B or a a rms a ul a sa n t n a ll i o gi , b l p o

field an d he whee l t o the m of the C ardin al of L s on . , t a r s i b 1 54 POPE ALEXANDER VI AND HIS COURT

o n e o f On the following Monday two j ugglers , to whom on horseback Donna Lucretia had given her new robe o f brocade worn only once on the previous ed day and worth three hundr ducats , went through all th e main streets and alleys of Rome with the loud

: D o f cry Long live the noble uchess Ferrara , ! ” long live Pope Alexander Long may they live . And then the other o n e on foot t o whom Donna Ln c re tia had also given a robe went along with the same cry .

O t of e 1 5 1 n Thursday , the 9 h Septemb r, 0 , there was hun g at the wall of the Torre di Nona a woman who had stabbed her husband to death with a knife durin g the previous night . O 25th o f n Saturday , the September , the Pope N went early in the morning to epi , Civita Castellana , and to the other places in the neighborhood , and with him Cesare Borgia and the Cardinals Serra ,

Francesco and Ludovico Borgia with a small suite . Donna Lucretia remained in the chamber of the Pope in order to guard it and with the same orders as

re upon the previous absence o f the Pope . He 2 3 rd o f O turned to Rome on Saturday , the ctober,

1 501 .

of 1 501 On the evening of the last day October , , Cesare Borgia a rran ged a banquet in his chambers in the Vatican with fifty honest prostitutes , called d a t courtesans , who dance after the dinner with the t en da n t s a n d the others who were present, at first in

CLOSING YE ARS OF ALE! ANDER ’ S REIGN

N o 5th 1 502 I the evening f the of January, , as

! hun have been told , the Pope counted out a dred thousand ducats in minted gold in the presence o f f o d an d the brothers o the bridegro m , Fer inand D o n Sigismund , as a dowry for n a Lucretia , which he paid over to them in coined money . While count ing out the money he received a letter from France according to which the French King had restored full liberty to the cardinal Ascanio Sforza .

To - on th o f r day , the 6 Janua y , D onna Lucretia started on her j ou rney from the Vatican t o her hus band in Ferrara . She rode strai ghtway to the

S an r m t o Bridge of Angelo , f o there the left past the house of the fo rmer Cardinal of Parma through

she the Porta del Popolo . In her retinue had about ix a s nd . horses , she wore no luxurious garments The order o f the outriders wa s the usual on e includ e i ing the arm d guards . Beh nd them rode the Car dinal Francesco Borgia whom the Pope had recently named papal legate de la tere in order t o conduct Donna Lucretia through the te rritory of the

Church . He rode betwee n Don Ferdinand a t the 157 1 58 POPE ALEXANDER VI AND HIS COURT

i Don r ght and Sigismund at the left . Then came ’ D onna Lucretia between the Cardinal d E st e at the right and Cesare Borgia at the left , and behi nd them their men in rank and file . There was no bishop , prothonotary or abbot in the train , but instead the

- b a a n d papal shield e rers R oman nobles , who aecom

a nied p Lucretia on their own account . They all had on n ew garments of gold and silver brocades i f ur and d vers silken stuf s made for the occasion . F t he rmo re the Pope had during these days requested the cardinals through my colleagu e that each of them should lend three hors es o r mules and he had

s also asked many bishop , more than twenty in num

on e ber , that they should each put stallion or one steed at the disposal o f the escort o f Lucretia to

Ferrara which they did . A few cardinals , however, contributed only a single horse or mule and none o f the borrowed animals was ever returned . ’ t d E s t e The o her day , before the Cardinal came

Home s of to with his uite , the Pope bethought him his own will to honor those who had appeared with him in addition to his servants , and were to make a n d the j ourney to Ferrara with Donna Lucretia , distributed the n e w arrivals with their attendants among the houses of those who belonged to the cu ria . To each cleric of the Camera he assigned twelve per sons and twelve horses and the same number to the

o f l clerics the col egium , and to the other officials a E certain number, to each alike . very one had to

1 6 0 POPE ALEXANDER VI AND HIS COURT

for the reason that he for whom they petitioned had o f already been disposed . For according to report he had been strangl ed as the Pope ca me back to

R ome and thrown into the Tiber . l s t 1 502 On the of March , , the Pope and his s on , i Cesare Borg a , had gone on a pleasure trip , each on his o wn ship with his suite .

5th o f On Sunday, the March , the two ships con tinned their j ourney in spite of the stormy sea and weather to Corneto in the neighborhood of which

he t . i y put in The Duke , apprehend ng greater dan

ger , left the ship at the dinner hour , entered a small

boat and rowed for the shore . There he sent to

r . Corneto for ho ses and rode to the city The Pope , wa s s however, not able to make the harbor with hi

W on ship , hereupon all boa rd were stricken with fear , and frightened by the stormy s e a cast themselves

down here and there on the floor of the boat . The Pope alone remained sitting firm and um afraid in his armchair on the quarterdeck and looked e on at everything, and when the wild seas dash d i ! ” against the ship , he sa d Jesus and crossed i himself . He frequently addressed the sa lors , order

ing them to prepare food for the meal . But they ex cus e d themselves on the plea that they were unable to make any fire on accoun t of the disturbed sea and s e a the continuous tempest . When after a time the had subsided somewhat they fried fishes which the v Pope ate . On the e ening of this Saturday the Pope CLOSING YE ARS 1 6 1 returned by ship with his whole retinue to Porto E rcole and sent the same night to Corneto for riding accommodations which arr ived on the following Sun day . th o f n 1 502 On Thursday, the 9 Ju e, , there was found in the Tiber strangled with a cross - bow a round his of of neck the Signor Faenza , a young man about 1 8 of years , and such handsome figure and appear ance that his like could hardly have been found among a thousand young men of his age . There were also fo und two young people bound t o each o n e o f other by the arms , the fifteen years age and

w - five a d the other t enty years , n with them a woman and many others . 3 rd l 1 502 On Sunday , the of Ju y , , a strong rope was stretched in that court of the Vatican where the o Cardinals usually dism unt from their horses , four or five rods above the ground and ten to twelve rods — - t long . Upon this rope a man a arms of Alphonso ’ d E s t e o , the husband of Lucretia , gave a perf rmance carrying a boy on his shoulders and exhibited vari o us - other feats of rope dancing . The Pope looked on with many cardinals , prelates and others as spec

t a t ors .

“ ’ On the same Sunday at about seven o clock there passed away in the convent of Mine rva at the age o f r Ale ma n s of almost hundred years a fria , George u S o f i o D teiermark , the th rd o rder f the ominicans . The monks give numero us examples of his praise 1 6 2 POPE ALEXANDER VI AND HIS COURT

u worthy and religio s life , asserting that he went

on straight to heaven . They laid him in his cowl a bier before the high altar of the church of the con vent . And there he lay stretched out straight while during his lifetime he had gone around bowed over and very bent . He lay in this state the following Monday and Tuesday until vespers when he was lifted up on the bier before the altar . The people trooped by in masses and there was a mighty throng . Many friars stood near the bier around the altar as

s a w . a guard against the crowd . I also him He was well preserved and had no odor of putrefaction . Many miracles are said to have been worked on the lame and the sick , whom he restored to health , but I could not disco ver anything reliable . When the Pope heard o f the matter he m him to be buried during the night of Wednesday , which took

o place in the presence of the ba rg ello f the city . O th o f 1 502 n Wednesday , the 6 July , , at nine ’ o clock in the mo rning a cleric of the diocese of Basle by the name of Hieronymus was placed with the cap of infamy on his head o n a wooden ladder which was propped against the columns o f ben ediction on the steps o f Saint Peter before the place o f audience . He had confessed that he had sign ed and dated eleven petitions with the name o f the Cardinals Pa llvicini and San Giorgio and with the inscription ” o n : m the back Registrata , and further ore with the book and page of the register of promotions for

1 64 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT

rist . On this da y a fever resulting from two in t e rmitt e n t fevers which was very violent and which h e had in addition to his constant fever , stopped and l t only appeared again on Saturday, the 6 h. He had several capable physicians who visited him con s t a n tly but they coul d not persuade him to take any

e n 1 on e~ m dicine until Su day , the 7th , when he took sixth or eighth of the medicine prescribed which only served to hurt more than help him. Nor did he want to make any will o r choose any burial place o r i make any bequests o r gifts to h s servants . On

hi s the morning before death , perhaps in the de lirium , he complaine d that somebody with whom he had made arrangements for a petition had cheated him to the extent o f ten ducats . Two monks were present who remarked this . They brought him back to consciousness , held the crucifix before him and “ : said Venerable Lord , do not worry about ar rangements , but take your refuge to this , entrust yourself to Him who will redeem you from all fraud ” and deception . Thereupon he kissed the crucifix, touched his lip and made the sign of contrition .

Soon afte rwards he breathed forth his spirit . May he rest in peace ! on sist orium The same morning a secret c was held , at which the Pope transferred the ch urch of Capua which had become vacant through the death of Fer ’ of rari to the Cardinal d E s t e . As the head the church of Moden a he appointed the brother of the CLOSING YEARS 1 6 5

D n o deceased , on Francesco de Ferrari , an u c uth ma M on n and a layman , who had come to Rome on

1 8 th o f l of his day, the , at the news the i lness brother, the Cardinal . In order to receive the church of the deceas ed Cardinal he had spent all his own money in bribery for this purp ose and had also renounced the whole estate of his brother . m The elected was clothed , i mediately after the

c on sis t orium conclusion of the , in the ecclesiastical robes in which he appeared to us like a monster . On account of my former acquaintance with him I gave him my hand in order to congratulate him . He took it and was for kissing it if I had not withd rawn my hand . The Pope charged my colleague and ordered that the same arrangements should be made for his f u neral as had bee n made upon the death of the Cardi f 1 5 of nal o Capua , who had died on the th of August the previous year . In his anteroom we prepared a h ’ bier, on w ich we laid the dead at six o clock adorned with all the priestly vestments which had been newly

f or o f made him fr m violet taf eta . At the right and s ix the left torches were set up . Here he lay until ’ nine o clock . Neither the Cardinals nor their suites w nor other clerics ere invited into the palace . The ’ clergy o f Saint Peter s awaited him with the cross in

‘ Th e o f the outer hall of the church . beneficiaries ’ Saint Peter s bore the dead from his chamber to the

of b ri l - place the u a , preceded by thirty torch bear 1 6 6 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT

e rs . The Responsorium was sung in the cust omary manner in the center of the church . He was then carried to the chapel of Santa Maria dell e Febbri wa s e where he to be interr d . All torches were taken away and I retained but on e iff of with d iculty to lighten the funeral . One his confi dential men threw himself upon the corpse w off d and dre a ring his hand , which the de a d Car i nal had bought for two carlines . He also took an old wallet from him which was worth hardly two carlines and which the same confidential man had received from the papal sacristy with the promise to give it back again . The coffin was somewhat too small ; therefore a carpenter kneeled o n the corpse to force it in . He was buried barely two spans dee p below the floor be sides the wall and the outer pavem ent between the altar of Santa Ma ria delle Febbri and the altar o f

Pope Calixtus III . For a few days the place of burial was without a sign nor were there any torches placed on it a s was the custom with cardinals . Finally this was done by the beneficiaries of Saint ’ l Peter s , to whom fifty car ines were paid according to agreement for carrying the corpse . The tomb looked for a few days like the grave o f on e who had been hanged , for some rascals had scratched two gal lows o n it and had engraved above the on e from “ n which a rope hung dow , the words The Lord will demand the intercessions from your hands and

1 6 8 POPE ALEXANDER VI AND HIS COURT

” “ n : ter the realm o f God . Mode a ans wered I ” have no money . Thereupon Peter Then give

” ! me five hund red . The answer was I have neither thousand nor five hundred . Poor I departed

o f from life , robbed all my possessions , livings , m money , gold and silver vessels , and all y riches have been taken by the Pope . Naked I come ; in the name ” o f God have pity upo n me . Peter went down step

on e by step from five hundred to ducat , which he

a m wante d to levy s admission from hi . But when Ferrari continued to advance the pretext of his

him : an poverty , Peter told If you c not even pay on e o l s ducat , g to the devi and tay poor with him to ” all eternity . The Frenchman thus alluded t o the life and con duct of Ferrari who extorted money from the poor with great cruelty . He had pity for none , but sent w t the poor al ays to the devil , o enj oy eternal pov r e ty with him. That is also why Peter above con sign ed him to the etern al fire o f hell . So Ferrari comes to hell and knocks there . The doorkeeper “ : asks who knocks . He re ceives the answer He ” h . fro m Moden a . T e doorkeeper bargains in the b same way a out the price . And as Ferrari was not

d a s rea y to pay anything, he drove him away and sign ed him a place aside where he should be tor m e n t ed with eternal punishment . I feel deeply grieve d in soul that he had been so cruel to the poo r and had bethought himself s o little CLOSING YEARS 1 6 9

o f of the welfare his soul , while he showed toward me

mun ific e n c e . only , generosity and appreciation

May Almighty God have mercy upon his soul . He is repo rted to have left thirty thousand double ducats in coined money , ten thousand in other coin , and gold and silver vessels to the value of ten tho u

s o sand ducats . That he left many ducats , I hardly believe . of 1 502 On the first day Christmas , , thirty masked men with long thick noses in t he form o f enormou s phalli p re ceded after dinne r to the pl a ce of Saint ’ m o Peter . Before the a cardinal s chest was b rne” to which was affixed a shield with three di c e . Then came the masked fellows a n d behind them some one i ’ rode in a long coat and an old card nal s hat . The

On fellows rode also on donkeys , some of them such small on e s th a t their feet touche d the ground and that they walked thus astride togethe r with the don

l c keys . They went up to the little p a e between the l porta of the palace and the hall of audience , where they showed the mselves to the Pope wh o stood at the w windo above the portal in the Loggia Paulina .

Then they made a procession through the whole city . ’ At two o clock on the night o f the 3 rd of Janu

1 503 a ary , , the Pope m de known to the Cardinal Orsini and to Ja cobus de Santa Croce that Cesa re

a n ow o i i lia Borgi had taken the Castle f S n g a g .

t o Therefore, in order congratulate the Pope, the

o cardinal rode in the morning t the Vatican , and 1 70 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT wit him h . the governor of the city who made as if im i b e accompanied h by accident . After the card nal had alighted in the palace , all his horses and mules were brought to the papal stables and he found him self suddenly surrounded by a rmed men in the

Camera Pa pa g a lli and fainted . He was brought di N i mediately to the Torre ona prison , beh nd the garden o r arbor of the Pope into the room of the Bishop Gamboa and with him afterwards the P ro t o n ot a r s y Orsini , Jacobu de Santa Croce , and the Abbot Bernardo de Alvino who were all kept there in confinement . o f i The secretary and treasurer the Pope , Adr ano

l r c Castel i , who had on the p e eding night read the let ter of Cesa re to the Pope in which he notified the Pope that he should arrest the Cardinal Orsini a nd

the Jacobus in morning , did not want to leave the papal chamber that night s o that if the Cardinal e Orsini should be warned , the Pope might not susp ct that he had done it .

t he R in The , same Adriano sent for Archbishop aldo Orsini o f Florence on the morning that the cardinal rode to the Vatican and had him arrested and placed under guard in his room in the Va tican . After the arre s t of the cardinal the governor rode s with all his men to hi house on the Monte Giordano , d locked it , place guards before it and took up his i s h was i res idence there h m elf . While t is happen ng

1 72 POPE ALEXANDER VI AND HIS COURT tary and the abbott were brought there soon after the

a c ob us arrest . J de Santa Croce was kept a prisoner in the Vatican . Cesare Borgia had seized the prisoners mentioned

i be above in the follow ng way . When he was lying

o f Sin i a lia Vit el oz z o fore the Castle g g with , Paolo and the others he pretended that he did not want yet to advance against the castle, but preferr e d rather to take a meal first and he invited those men t io n m ed to partake with hi . The Duke entered the d house followed by Paolo , to whom he had extende a

. Vit eloz z o special invitation Then came , whom

Paolo had caused to be called , and the others came behind them . When they were all within the court

o n e yard , the Duke went into of the rooms , where upon M ichel o t t o and many others s urrounded Vi “ t eloz z o l w as we l as Paolo , ith the words You ” a s Viteloz z o re under arre t . Thereupon snatched o ut his dagge r and wounded several who had thrown themselves upon him . This was in vain , for he and others were put into prison and treated as ha s been told . 4th o f On Wednesday , the January , Jacobus de Santa Croce engage d himself t o the Pope to report at any time and place that he should desire . For this he pledged himself and his property as a bond n f or the fines of the papal chamber . Several citize s took a guaranty o f twenty thousand ducats upon t hemselves a nd he was set at liberty on the same day CLOSING YEARS 1 73

and return e d t o his residence soon after vespers . In the even ing of the same day the governor stayed in the apart ment o f the Archbishop Orsini of Florence and after dinner he had al l poss essions o f the Car dinal O rsini and of the Archbishop brought in their carriages and other vehicles to the Vatican or t o his ow o n house acc rding to his pleasu re . Many things were also taken by the s oldiers a n d others and car ried away . a 5th 1 503 On Thursd y , the of January, , the sun shone through the clouds early in the morning an d

e then retir d behind them . It did not rain until ves

n d pers , but then rai fell uring the whole night and the next day . The same morning Jacobus de Santa Croce rode

' ff s on with Prince Go redo , the of the Pope, to Monte R o t on c a and in the name of the Pope took posses sion of it as well a s of all land of the Orsini and also of the Abbey o f Farfa . At the usual hour the papal vespers were said in the main chapel . Mass was conducted with the

S a n Cardinal Giorgio officiating . The Pope was not p resent . After this the cardinals went to the Pope t to in ercede for the Cardinal Orsini . The Pope told

co Vit eloz z o o f n them of the nspiracy of , the Orsi i , o f Baglioni and Pandolfo and their accomplices for

n r the assassinatio of Cesa e Borgia , who wanted to of take revenge on them . Their intercession was no avail . 1 74 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AN D HIS COURT

The same da y the city of Perugia surrendered to n i the Pope . Its tyrant Giova n Paolo had previously

fled to Pandolfo in Siena .

th o f 1 503 On the 6 January , , after dinner the gov e rn or rode to the residence of the auditor of the

n of camera , Bishop Petro Me zi Cesena , summoned him s ick a s to his presence , he was , and brought him to the Castle San Angel o where he had him locked up and placed un der guard . Then he went to the Vatica n and from there to the residence of An drea

o f o f Spiriti Viterbo , prothonotary the Apostolic o f See and cleric the papal camera , with whom he proceeded as he had done with Menzi . When the e p rothonotary realized that he had been arrest d , he threw the keys o f his library and his money chest

do w . into the sewer, for what reason I not kno The following Saturday the governor ordered all the possessions o f the bishop auditor as well as of the prothonotary to be carried from hi s residence to the Vatican . It was said that only very little had been fo und in the house o f the prothonotary . Alarmed by the arrest o f the auditor and the

rothon t a r Sin oflo p y , Spiriti , the Bishop of Chiusi , of

Castle Lotario , cleric of the Apostolic camera and his papal Secretary , contracted the fever and made

l 4 th o f e xecu wi l on Saturday , the January , and as tors he designed the Cardinals Pall avicini and Pie u c olomin i. To the Pope he bequeathed a h ndred

1 76 POPE ALEXANDER VI AND HIS COURT

v n torture . The illai ous band tore the roofs from s the houses , the beams , window , doors , chests and barrels , from which they had let the wine run out, fi h and set re to everyt ing . They took with them whatever they could plunder in the places they a s passed through , well as in Aquapendente , Monte

fia s con e . , Viterbo , and everywhere else

of l s t of 1 5 3 In the evening the February , 0 , a corpse wa s found in the river near the Ponte N uovo without clothing and with scarlet stockings . Dur ing these days Antonio de Pis t o rio and his associate were forbidden to see the Cardinal Orsini to whom they were accustomed to bring every day the food a n d n a s drinks se t by his mother . This was done , it

t he ha d has been said , because Pope requested from the ca rdinal two thousand ducats which a relative of the cardinal ha d deposited for the sale o f a large pearl to him . The pearl had been bought by the cardinal himself for the price o f two thousand ducats from a certain Virgilio Orsini or his heirs . In order t o o f s on o f come to the assistance her , the mother the cardinal , when she heard of it , paid the Pope the two thousand ducats , and the mistress of the cardi e nal , who had the said pearl , procur d admission to the Pope in male attire and presented him the pearl .

Possessed of the pearl and the money , the Pope gave the order that the two should be allowed again as b e fore to bring the cardinal food and drink . The v cardinal had , howe er, in the meantime , as the people CLOSING YEARS 1 77

e f or said , emptied the cup that had been prepar d him o f by order a n d direction the Pope . 2 n d of 1 503 On Thursday , the February, , the

e a n d feast of Purification , the Pope bl ssed dis tributed the candles in the main chapel without any t m crowdi n g . Never heless he had around hi self the

Two wooden railing . conservators held the candles C for the Pope . Cardinal astro celebrated the sol e mn wa s mass in the chapel . All this done in the usual and customary m anner .

1 3 .of 1 503 On Monday , the th February , , it was Gia n iorda n o s ur said in R ome , that g Orsini had rendered to the Pope and Cesa re without any condi of a tion , that furthermore , Pandolfo Petrucci Sien and Gian Paolo Baglioni o f Perugia had been taken l prisoners on F orentine territory .

‘ 1 5 o f 1 503 On Wednesday , the th February , , the ’ Cardinal d E st e departed from R ome after the con s ist or n re y in which he had take part , in order to turn to Ferrara on account of the resentment Cesare Borgia bore toward him because he loved the princely sister - in - l a w of Cesare and had h ad intercourse with h ad her as also had Cesare .

a l th of On Thursd y , the 6 February , the Pope sent bombards to Cesare from the Castle San Angelo

in to aid in reduc g Bracciano .

20th o f On Monday , the February , a secret con s is t o ry was held during which the Pope told the cardinals that the Orsini were planning to inv a de 1 78 POPE ALEXANDER VI AND HIS COURT

Home by stealth a nd to pillage the houses o f the cardinals . He , therefore , warned the cardinals that every on e of them should lay in a store o f provisions t for himself in his house and protec it with artillery . He complained of Cesare that hitherto he had n ot been willing to obey his orders concerning the con quest o f Bracciano and the other strongholds of the

Orsini , but that he preferred to listen to the King of

o f . France , although he was captain the church He declared he would insist in any case on the capture

o f . Bracciano and the other places Furthermore , Cardinal Orsini had offered him ducats for his release . He had consoled and admonished him to be o f go od cheer and before a ll to take good care o f his o f health , since everything was secondary importance , and he had ordered all the physicians to take the greatest care o f the welfare o f the ca r dinal .

22 nd o f On Wednesday , the February , the Car dinal Orsini died in the Castle o f San Angelo . May his soul rest in peace ! Amen ! m The Pope co manded my colleague , Bernardino

Gut t e rii , to arrange the funeral of the deceased . I will not , therefore , attend the ceremony myself nor n I have anythi g to do with it, as have no wish to learn 1 aught tha t does not concern me .

1 It is highly prob able that t he c ardin al wa s poison e d by o rde r f the B r ias o o g .

1 80 POPE ALEXANDER VI AND HIS COURT all doors a t the entrance t o the residence of the f Pope . One o them drew a dagger and threatened him Cardinal Casanova , if he did not give the keys and the money of the Pope , he would stab him and out o f i throw him the w ndow, whereupon the fright ened cardinal surrendered the keys to him . One after the other they entered the room behind the chamber of the Pope and took all the silver they could

find as well as two chests with ducats each . ’ At eight o clock they opened the doors again an d o f the death the Pope became known . In the mean time his servants had appropriated whatever was left in the wa rdrobes and they left nothing but the papal o n a rmchairs , a few cushions , and the rugs the i walls . Cesare d d not appear during the whole ill o ness f the Pope and not even at his death . Nor did o the Pope mention him r Lucretia with on e word . After seven o ’ clock my colleague arrived at the d Vatican , and was recognized and a mitted . He found the Pope dead and had him washed by the o f servant the sacristy , Balthasar , and a papal serv

ut on ant . Then they p him all his everyday gar ments a n d a white coat without a train which he

~ i had never worn wh le alive . Over this they put a on r surplice . And thus they laid him a bie in the

- of ante chamber the hall , where he had died , with a crimson silk and a beautiful carpet over him . After eight o ’ clock my colleague sent for me and I i in re came . The card nals the city had not yet THE FUNERAL O F ALEXANDER 1 8 1

i e n I ce vd any announcement , but duri g the time that went to the Vatican , it was communicated to them . But none of them made any move nor did they meet anywhere else . I suggested to Carafa that he ought to prepare f or imminent dangers a n d afte r nine ’ t s e c o clock he notified all the cardinals , hrough his

e t r r a y , that they should deign to appear the next m n or ing in Santa Maria Minerva . There , in the l midd e of the sacristy , four benches were placed for the cardinals in a quadrangle . When I came to the red Pope I dressed him in robes all of brocade , with a short fanon , a beautiful chasuble , and with stock

o n ings . And as there was no cross the shoes , I put on instead his daily slippers o f crimson velvet with the golden cross which I bound with two strings to the b a ck o f the heels . His ring was missing and I could not recover it . Thereupon we carried him ff through the two rooms , the hall of the Ponti s ,

a P a a a lli and the udience room , to the Camera p g , where we prepared a beautiful table of on e rod in length with a crimson c over and a beautiful rug over it . We obtained four cushions o f brocade and

o f e on e o f old o n e crimson velv t . The crimson vel

on e vet we did not use , but of the others we laid under the shoulders of the Pope , two besides and one beneath the he a d and over this an old carpet . And s o n he lay throughout the ight with two torches , quite alone , although the prothonotaries had been vi t o in ted read the burial service . 1 82 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT

n r I retur ed to the city du ing the night , after ’ - twelve o clock , accompanied by eight palace guards .

In the name o f the Vic e - chancellor I ordered the run ner Carlo , together with his companions , under pen hi s alty of the loss of office , to inform the whole

of b a n d clergy Rome, oth regular secular , that they should be at the Vatican on the morrow at nine ’ o clock in the morning to escort the b ody from the ’ main chapel to St . Peter s . Two hundred torches were prepared f o r the escort of the Pope .

i 1 o f On the follow ng Monday , the 9th August , 1 503 t t o , I had the coffin brough the Camera Papa galli and laid the body in it . The subdeacon , in his cloak , stood ready to carry the cross , but we could

- not find the papal cross . The shield bearers and a f e w servants of the chamber were called together to

- bear forty three torches a s well as four penitentiaries , o f M ilo o ta mo i namely the Bishop p , Claud us , Cata Bedie tt o leni , Andreas Frisner, and Arnold de of the

o D order f the Minorites . uring the night they sung

on - the requiem , sitting the window bench and laying on their hands the bier of the Pope , which was then carried by the poor who stood aro und in order to s e e the Pope . I then put a double mattress into ’ the coffin and over it a beautiful n ew bishop s cloak o f brocade o f pa le mauve with two new veils on which were embroidered the arms of Pope Al exander . I then laid the Pope o n this an d covered him with an old rug and placing a n old pillow beneath his

1 84 POPE ALEXANDE R VI AND HIS COURT

When the coffin w a s deposit e d in the center of the

N on in t re s i/n. udicium . church , the j , etc , should have i been recited , but there was no book there . Wh le we were waiting for it in va in , the clergy intonated

r : Lib e o me D mine r . the responso ium , o During the singing some soldiers o f the pal a ce- gu ard attempted

o to appr p riate several torches . The clergy de fended itself aga inst t hem and the soldiers tu rned

o s who their weap n against the clergy , left their An d singing and fled to the sacristy . the Pope was

i al o left ly ng there al most one . I to k up the bier together with three others and we carried him up to the main altar and the papal throne and placed t him with the head owards the altar , closing the choir d fin behin the cof . The bishop of Sessa feared that if

a d r b e the people c me near to the .dea , the e might a s a o on e o ad ha d c ndal , that is , s me wh m the de inj ured might tak e revenge upon him. Therefore he had the coffin t a ken away again and had it deposited at n o f h a the entra ce the c apel between the st irs , the feet s o near to the rails and the door that on e coul d touch them eas ily with the hand through the railing . There it remained the whol e day thro ugh behind the

- well closed railing . In the meantime sixteen cardinals had ass embl ed ’ . a r in Sta M ria Mine va after nine o clock . They appoin ted Archbishop Sachis o f Ra gusa as govern or o f Rom e and a ssigned two hundred soldiers to him. The office of the chamberlain they handed over to THE FUNERAL O F ALEXANDER 1 8 5

wo Cardinal Vera . And to these t they entrusted the supervision o f the gates of R ome and of the A populace and the clergy . The leaden seal of lex ander VI was broken be fore them in their presence

l umb a t o rs e by the p , and they order d that the papal t o ring should be handed over the datary , which rd v i i was done by Ca inal Casano a , wh le Pallavicin and Borgia charged themselves with the task of tak ing an inventory of the possessions of the Pope in o his chamber . The c ngregation ended about three ’ o clock . n After dinner the cardi als before named , together

of t o f with the clerics the Camera , ook an inventory the silver and c ostly fu rnishings . They found the e papal crown and two pr cious tiaras , all the rings

a nd t he which the Pope used at the mass , whole f service of vessels used by the Pope when o ficiating, as m uch as could be packed into eight large chests . There were furthermore s ilver vessels in the first l chamber behind the papal apartment , which Miche N r otto eri had ove looked , and a box of cyprus wood which was covered with a green clo th and had also not been discovered . In this box were precious stones and rings to the value of about twenty - five

a thousand ducats , many papers , among them the o th o f d l o f the car ina s , the bull of investiture the king m do of N aples and various other docum ents .

o f on z e t t o The cleric the chamber, Fernando P , made arrangements during my absence with the car 1 86 POPE ALEXANDER VI AND HIS COURT

en t e rs an d p , Michaele Buccio , for a catafalque in o o f the middle f the church St. Peter fifteen spans in a length, twelve sp ns in width and six sp ans in height ;

the t he furthermore , for a r ailing in aisle, besides catafalque to hold fifty torches and a hundred - and

t orchh olde rs a b e n che s n fifty , lso for for the mour ers — a n d a hundred prelates everything for the p rice o f - - fi t ee a a hundred and f n duc ts , the ducat at ten

o t he carline s . He als arr an ged for a credence for celebrant and that they should execute the catafalque and everything else during the whole of the follow ing day .

h a s Meanwhile the Pope, as been told before , stood between the rail s o f the main alta r and beside him t there burned four torches . The decomposi ion and blackness of his face increased constantly s o that ’ s a w him he looked at eight o clock , when I , like the o r r blackest cloth the darkest neg o , completely i spotted , the nose swollen , the mouth qu te large, the w l s o of t ongue s ol en up , doubled that it started out

so his lips , the mouth open , in short horrible that no on e ever sa w anything simil a r or declared to know o f it . In the evening after nine o ’ clock he was brought from there to the chapel of Santa Maria delle Febbri and deposited in the corn er on the wall at the left of the altar by six porters who made j okes and allu r sions to the Pope all the while . The two ca penters ffi t o had made the co n o narrow and too short . They

APPENDIX

HAR LE S . de o C VIII Philip Comines , a c ntemporary o f d b him n in in t ell i the French King, escri es as lacki g a n d n a n d fl d gence, as bei g capricious easily in uence , G uicca rdin i a o a h a d h while , lso a contemp r ry, a muc him w a s a better opinion of . Charles short of st ture a n d - d h a a - l m short necke , wit p rrot ike nose of enor ous d o - ma a o d hi s e e a n d imensi ns, a fiery birth rk r un left y , dd d twelve toes on his feet, hi en in splaye shoes , which set the fa shion in foot- gear for the en d of the fifteenth century in Italy . N N C E N — A d d c I O T VIII . goo es ription of Innocent is conta ined in a report of the ambassador of Florenc e “ ” : He d to his g overnment is a man, the ambassa or “ a r a e d a writes, of r ther mo e th n m ium height, of f ir r a a n d d d a a cultu e, pleas nt kin ly as a car in l, more so th n the dignity of a cardin a l requires ; he appea rs to be a d do man of peaceable isposition, but I ubt whether, in m f n o a m d. a ti e, his fice may not ch nge his in He has l m s on n ow m a n il egiti ate , who is at Naples , a of more a a e a n d m a d d th n twenty years of g , so e m rrie aughters, who themselves have sons ; he has a brother a n d nephews ’ d on e m o a . besi es, of who is a priest, a c n n of St Peter s , a n d u a Messer Lorenzo by name, it is tho ght th t he will him d al his o make a car in at first electi n of cardinals . o di a s Filipp Nerone has a niece of his his mistress, St oldo Al t ovit e a n d who was the wife of , when the Pon 189 1 90 POPE ALEXANDER VI AND HIS COURT

im m ti ff w a s a cardina l he held h in high estee . He is

l t fift - e e a e natura ly rather s out, y thre y ars of g , very ” d a i of a d a n d . prosperous , an m rer le rne men

m r In fe ssura ha s Another conte porary, the histo ian , this of him to s a y : The vicar of the Pope in Rome a n d o d floc a n neighb rhoo , watchful of his k as befits a m a n l d e d ddi honor ble , pub ishe an ict forbi ng clergy as

a a o well as l ics, wh tever their positi n might be, to keep i r The m stresses either openly or in sec et . penalty for s o doing would be excommunica tion a n d confisca tion of be n e fice s w a s a d d d their , for it a pr ctice which re oun e to the discredit of priestly dignity a n d divine law . W d b e d a n d hen the Pope hear this , summone the vicar

d d a d a a th e a comman e him to nnul the e ict, s ying th t pr e

dd An d d d l tice was not forbi en . in ee , such was the ife le d by the clergy that there w a s hardly one who did not

r keep a mistress . The number of ha lots a t that time l in a d t o 6 800 iving Rome mounte , not counting those who practiced their n efarious trade under the cloa k of concubina ge a n d those who exercised their arts in ” c se ret . Z rz m (or D J E M ) . He was the younger son of Ma a n d d d B a a z e t bomet II was efeate by his brother, j , a m o r him m when he tte pted t d ive fro the throne . He o u a then to k refuge with the knights at Rhodes . S lt n B a j a z e t used in turn both p romises a n d threa ts to ge t For im the fugitive into his power . greater safety Ziz t o a h r un d went Fr nce, w e e the Bishop of Aubusson er t ou d t d ook, consi era ion of a pension of ucats d on t o of gol , payable the first of August in each year, ’ d a a ll n e s a n d fl efr y the pri ce s xpen es , prevent his ight