Lucrezia Borgia
Lucrezia Borgia April 18, 1480 - June 24, 1519) was the daughter of Rodrigo Borgia, the powerful Renaissance Valencian who later became Pope Alexander VI, and Vannozza dei Cattanei. Her brothers included Cesare Borgia, Giovanni Borgia, and Gioffre Borgia.[1]
Lucrezia's family later came to epitomize the ruthless Machiavellian politics and sexual corruption alleged to be characteristic of the Renaissance Papacy in stories casting Lucrezia as the femme fatale, portrayed later and variously through artwork, novels and films.
No authentic portrait of Lucrezia is known, though several paintings, such as Bartolomeo Veneziano's fanciful portrait (see illustration) have been said to depict her. Often these images are simply part of Lucrezia's myth.
Not enough is known about the historical Lucrezia to be certain whether any of the stories about her active involvement in her father's and brother's crimes are true. Her father and/or brother certainly arranged several marriages for her to important or powerful men, in order to advance their own political ambitions. Lucrezia was married to Giovanni Sforza (Lord of Pesaro), Alfonso of Aragon, Duke of Bisceglie, and Alphonso d'Este (Prince of Ferrara). Rumor has it that Alfonso of Aragon was an illegitimate son of the King of Naples and that Cesare may have had him murdered after his political value waned. It has also been rumored that Lucrezia was in possession of a hollow ring that she used frequently to poison drinks at the family's elaborate dinner-parties. [2]
An early 20th-century painting by Cadogan Cowper that hangs in the London art gallery Tate Britain portrays Lucrezia taking the place of her father, Alexander VI at an official Vatican meeting. This apparently documents an actual event, although the precise moment depicted, (a Franciscan friar kissing Lucrezia's feet), was invented by the artist. [3]
Giovanni Sforza - The Unconsummated Marriage
By the time she was thirteen, Lucrezia had been betrothed twice, but both times her father had called off the engagements.
After Rodrigo became Pope Alexander VI, he had Lucrezia marry Giovanni Sforza to establish an alliance with that powerful Milanese family. The wedding was considered a scandalous event by some, but, in actuality, was not much more extravagant than many other Renaissance celebrations.
Before long, it appears that the Borgia family no longer needed the Sforzas, and the presence of Giovanni Sforza in the papal court was considered superfluous. The Pope sought more advantageous political alliances and thus, quietly ordered the execution of Giovanni. The generally accepted version is that Lucrezia was informed of this by her brother Cesare, and that she warned her husband who then fled Rome. It is possible that Pope Alexander (her father) never made such an order, and that it was simply a plot on the part of Cesare and Lucrezia. Wherever the truth lies, for Alexander and Cesare it was a new opportunity for arranging another advantageous marriage for Lucrezia.
After a further series of events, Alexander asked Giovanni's uncle, Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, to persuade Giovanni to agree to a divorce. Giovanni refused and accused Lucrezia of paternal and fraternal incest. Since the marriage had supposedly not been consummated, the Pope declared that the marriage was not valid. He offered Giovanni all of Lucrezia's dowry to seal the agreement. The Sforza family threatened to withdraw their protection of Giovanni if he refused Alexander's offer. Having no choice, Giovanni Sforza signed both a confession of impotence and the documents of annulment before witnesses.
Affair with Perotto
There has been speculation that during the prolonged process of the annulment, Lucrezia consummated a relationship with someone, probably Alexander's messenger Perotto. The result was that she was actually pregnant when her marriage was annulled, despite it having never been consummated. This is one of the facts that her detractors have cited to support their derogatory view (and rumors) surrounding her character. The child, named Giovanni but known to historians as the Roman Infante, was born in secret (1498) before Lucrezia's marriage to Alfonso of Aragon.
Some believe that the child was her brother Cesare's, but that Perotto, due to his fondness for Lucrezia, claimed that it was his. During her pregnancy she stayed away from Rome at a convent, so no one would know of her state, and Perotto would bring her messages from her father in Rome. Cesare at the time was a cardinal of the Holy Church.
In 1501, two papal bulls were issued concerning Giovanni Borgia. In the first, he was recognized as Cesare's child from an affair before his marriage. The second bull recognized him as the son of Alexander VI. Lucrezia's name is not mentioned in either, and rumours that she was his mother have never been proven. The second bull was kept a secret for many years, and Giovanni was presumed to be Cesare's son. This is supported by the fact that in 1502, he became Duke of Camerino, one of Cesare's recent conquests, hence the natural inheritance of the Duke of Romagna's oldest son. However, some time after Alexander's death, Giovanni went to stay with Lucrezia in Ferrara, where he was accepted as her half-brother.
Alfonso of Aragon (Duke of Bisceglie)
Though at his first meeting with Alfonso, before the marriage took place, Cesare was very impressed by his good looks and nature, this soon changed to jealousy and hatred. It was said that Cesare did not like Alfonso because Lucrezia was very happy with him and had, since her marriage to him, stopped giving Cesare as much attention. Also, Cesare himself had a bout of syphilis and a lot of scars remained on his face, even after recovery. This made him very conscious of his appearance, and so he started wearing masks and dressing in black. His own condition is said to have made him hate Alfonso of Aragon all the more, and once when the prince was paying them a visit in Rome, Cesare's men had attacked him during the night. To retaliate, Alfonso's men shot arrows at Cesare one day while he strolled in the garden. This infuriated Cesare, and he had his servant(s) strangle Alfonso while in the recovery room. Lucrezia and Alfonso had only one child, Rodrigo, who was destined to die before his mother in August 1512 at the age of thirteen.
While the reason for Alfonso's murder might have also been jealousy, it did have a political background. Just like Lucrezia's first marriage, the second one soon became a useless alliance and a reason for embarrassment for the Pope and his son. Cesare had just allied himself with the king of France Louis XII, who claimed the duchy of Naples, which was in the hands of Alfonso's family at the time. Whatever the reasons for his murder, Lucrezia was genuinely fond of her husband and broken–hearted upon his death.
Alphonso d'Este (Prince of Ferrara)
After the death of her second husband, Lucrezia's father, Pope Alexander VI, arranged a third marriage for her. She was subsequently married to Alphonso d'Este (Prince of Ferrara). She gave her third husband a number of children and proved to be a respectable and accomplished Renaissance duchess, effectively rising above her questionable past and surviving the fall of the Borgias following her father's death. During her marriage to Alphonso she embarked on a love affair with the poet Pietro Bembo. She died on 24th June 1519 after a difficult pregnancy and childbirth.
Children
Lucrezia was mother to eight children:
- Giovanni Borgia, "infans Romanus" ("Child of Rome," c. 1498 - 1548). Paternity acknowledged by Perotto; however Alexander and Cesare have also been identified as the father.
- Rodrigo Borgia of Aragon (November 1, 1499 - August, 1512). Son by Alfonso of Aragon.
- Ercole II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara (April 5, 1508 - October 3, 1559).
- Ippolito II d'Este (August 25, 1509 - December 1, 1572). Archbishop of Milan and later Cardinal.
- Alessandro d'Este (1514 - 1516).
- Leonora d'Este (July 3, 1515 - July 15, 1575). A nun.
- Francesco d'Este, Marchese di Massalombarda (November 1, 1516 - February 2, 1578).
- Isabella Maria d'Este (Born and deceased on June 14, 1519). Complications at birth caused the death of Lucrezia ten days later.
Notes
- ↑ The Borgias by Ivan Cloulas page 52
- ↑ Renaissance villain given a makeover A Brief History of Poisoning
- ↑ Lucretia Borgia Reigns in the Vatican in the Absence of Pope Alexander VI 1908-14 by Frank Cadogan Cowper
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Bradford, Sarah. Lucrezia Borgia - Life, Love And Death In Renaissance Italy. Penguin (Non-Classics) (November 1, 2005). ISBN 978-0143035954.
- Cloulas. Ivan. The Borgias. Franklin Watts (March 1989). ISBN 978-0531151013.
- Erlanger, Rachel. Lucrezia Borgia: A Biography. Dutton Adult (June 3, 1985). ISBN 978-0801547256.
- Faunce, John. Lucrezia Borgia: A Novel. Three Rivers Press (March 23, 2004). ISBN 978-1400051229.
- Mallett, Michael Edward. The Borgias: The Rise and Fall of a Renaissance Dynasty. Academy Chicago Publishers (June 1987). ISBN 978-0897332385.
External Links
- On-line biography
- Lucrezia Borgia - An Opera by Gaetano Donizetti - Synopsis
- Lucrezia Borgia An Essay by Marguerite L. M. Wolf.
- Lucrezia Borgia, infamous murderess or political pawn?
- Lucrezia Borgia Biographia - Cronologia (Italian) by Anna Jannello
- Lucrezia Borgia About.com European History
Films
- Lucrezia Borgia (1922) a silent movie with Liane Haid, directed by Richard Oswald.
- Don Juan (1926), one of the first Vitaphone/Silent films starring John Barrymore features the Borgia as villains.
- Lucrèce Borgia (1935), a French film version with Edwige Feuillère, directed by Abel Gance.
- Lucrezia Borgia (1940), an Italian film with Isa Pola, directed by Hans Hinrich.
- Bride of Vengeance or A Mask for Lucretia (1949) starred Paulette Goddard as Lucretia (and Macdonald Carey as Cesare).
- Lucrèce Borgia (1953), a French movie with Martine Carol, directed by Christian-Jaque.
- Le Notti segrete di Lucrezia Borgia (1982), a Spanish-Italian film with Finnish actress Sirpa Lane as Lucrezia, directed by Roberto Bianchi Montero.
- Los Borgia (2006), a Spanish-Italian film with María Valverde as Lucrezia.
