The Borgias (70 page)

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

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

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

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

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

The Borgia Problem: An Introduction

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

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

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

Prologue: One Whom All Did Fear

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

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

PART ONE
:
Alonso
From Out of Nowhere

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

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

Chapter 1: A Most Improbable Pope

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

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

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

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

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

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

Background: The Road to Rome

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chapter 2: Surprises, Disappointments, Hope

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

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

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

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

Background: Il Regno—
The
Kingdom

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

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

Chapter 3: Pope and King, Friends No More

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

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

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

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

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

Background: Amazing Italy

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

Chapter 4: Family Matters

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

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