Cesare Borgia

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The picture of a nobleman from the museum of the Accademia Carrara is today attributed to Altobello Melone (* 1490/91; † 1543 at the latest) from Cremona. In the 19th century it was considered a portrait of Cesare Borgia by Giorgione .

Cesare Borgia (born September 13, 1475 in Rome or Subiaco ; † March 12, 1507 near Viana , Spain ), 1st Duke of Valentinois (called as such il Valentino ) and Romagna , Prince of Andria and of Venafro, Count of Diois , Lord of Piombino , Camerino and Urbino , Gonfaloniere and captain of the church, was an Italian Renaissance prince, general, cardinal and archbishop. Cesare Borgia was the illegitimate son of Rodrigo Borgia , later Pope Alexander VI.

origin

Cesare Borgia was the first-born son, but only since the murder of his brother Juan Borgia , from June 1497, the leading descendant among the children that Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia had with his long-time lover Vanozza de 'Cattanei , wife of Domenico Giannozzo da Rignano . Officially, the couple were considered Cesare's parents, which spared him the stigma of illegitimate origin. The exact date of Cesare's birth is not known, but historical sources point to both September 15, 1475 and an April day in 1476. His younger siblings were Juan , Lucrezia and Jofré Borgia . Rodrigo Borgia came from the Valencian family of the Borgia . This had come to Italy a few decades earlier and with the election of Rodrigo's uncle Alfonso Borgia as Pope Kalixt III. established alongside the resident Italian noble families as a competitor for the papal dignity. For many Italians, the Borgia were hated upstarts and were often defamatory called Marranos - baptized Spanish Jews who remained true to their faith.

Although Cesare Borgia grew up in Italy, his father's Spanish roots had a strong influence on him. For example, he spoke Spanish to the family, always used the Spanish version of his name - César -, surrounded himself with Spanish servants for a lifetime and, to the amazement of the Italians, mastered bullfighting . A bullfight on St. Peter's Square in 1500 is historically documented:

"The Venetian ambassador Paolo Capello reported that in a bullfight that took place on June 24th in St. Peter's Square, he killed seven wild bulls by fighting on horseback according to Spanish custom and of which he cut off the head with the first blow, which all Rome thought was great. "

Both Juan and Cesare are described as being above average and athletic. They both had a dark complexion and dark hair that was slightly reddish. They were considered to be handsome, but Cesare's face was later disfigured by spots and scars. Most sources cite syphilis as the reason.

Life

Early years and education

Pope Alexander Vi.jpg
Vanozza Cattanei as widow Congr. de la Caritat. Roma.jpg


Rodrigo Borgia and Vanozza de 'Cattanei , Cesare Borgia's parents

As the illegitimate child of a married woman and a high cleric, Cesare Borgia's existence was treated with discretion , and accordingly little is known about his childhood, but he grew up in Rome, well looked after by his father, like the son of a prince.

He probably first lived with his siblings in the mother's household in the palace near the Vatican on Piazza Pizzo di Merlo in Rome, possibly later, like his sister Lucrezia, he was also housed with Adriana de Mila , a daughter of Rodrigo Borgia's cousin Don Pedro de Milà. What is certain is that he shared a household with his brother Juan and received comprehensive, modern training from Spanish tutors such as Spaniolo di Maiorca and later Juan Vera de Ercilla. In addition to music, drawing, arithmetic and Euclidean geometry, this also included studying French, Greek and Latin. Thanks to intensive physical training, he became an exceptionally skilled rider.

Cesare was a brilliant student and showed great talent and thirst for knowledge. In 1488 a textbook ( Syllabica ) was dedicated to him because of his eagerness to study , in which he was praised as the "ornament and hope" of the House of Borgia, which should rise to high dignity. The steward of his father, the humanists Lorenz Beheim , the diverse interests boy once taught also a questionnaire in which he questioned him, among other things cipher writings, toxins and fortifications and wanted to know if it was possible to create an artificial memory, under To breathe water, to make a skull speak, or to invent devices to speak from one castle to another.

Student and bishop

His father planned a church career for Cesare very early on. The first of many ecclesiastical benefices were given to him at the age of seven - in March 1482 he was appointed Apostolic Protonotary of the Church by Pope Sixtus IV , and in the same year he was given a canon in the Cathedral of Valencia .

Cesare began studying law at the University of Perugia around 1489 at the age of about fourteen and received the diocese of Pamplona in Spain from Pope Innocent VIII on September 12, 1491 - much to the indignation of the local population and although he was not yet a priest at that time was consecrated. The church benefices were used as a scholarship for study. In the autumn of 1491 Cesare moved with his two Spanish fellow students and favorites of his father, Francesco Romolini from Ilerda and Juan Vera from Arcilla in the Kingdom of Valencia, to the University of Pisa , where he took advantage of his studies under Fillipo Decio “so much that he taught and discussed the questions of civil and canon law with a deep understanding ”that he was asked when he was awarded his doctorate. Even Paolo Giovio , who was critical of him, was later to praise his excellent abilities in both canonical and civil law . In Pisa, Cesare also made the acquaintance of Giovanni , the second son of Lorenzo de 'Medici , who also studied there and was later to become Pope himself. Cesare was a gifted and avid student, but he also stood out for living luxuriously and wasting money.

Pope's son and cardinal

In 1492 Rodrigo Borgia won the election as Pope, but Cesare, according to his father's wishes, did not attend the coronation ceremonies on August 11th. On August 31, 1492, Cesare was appointed Archbishop of Valencia. The Ferrarese envoy Giandrea Boccaccio reported about Cesare's appearance as archbishop in March 1493:

Cesare Borgia as Roman emperor in the fresco Disputation of St. Katharina von Pinturicchio (1492–1496), Vatican Museums # Appartamento Borgia

“I met Cesare the day before yesterday at home in Trastevere ; he was just going out hunting in quite worldly clothing; ie in silk and armed only with a small Clerica like a simple cleric of tonsure . While riding with him, I talked to him for a while. My acquaintance with him is very familiar. He is of great and excellent genius and of a noble nature; he wears the manner of a great prince's son; he is especially cheerful and cheerful, completely festive. With his great modesty, he looks much better and more excellent than his brother, the Duke of Gandía. He is also very talented. The archbishop was never inclined to clergy. But his benefit earned him more than 16,000 ducats. When that project of the marriage comes about, his benefices will go to another of his brothers (Joffre), who is about 13 years old. "

On September 23, 1493, a year after his father became Pope Alexander VI. had climbed the Holy See , this elevated the 17-year-old Cesare and twelve other favorites to cardinals . Cesare became cardinal deacon of Santa Maria Nuova . These upheavals, especially Cesares, met with great opposition from the cardinals. Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere (later Pope Julius II ) even got one of his notorious fits of anger and refused to take on the ceremonial role he was entitled to at the investiture of the new cardinals.

Since people born out of wedlock were not allowed to hold church offices, Alexander VI issued. on September 20, 1493 a public papal bull in which Cesare was named as the legitimate son of Vannozza and her first husband, Domenico da Rignano. In a second, secret bull, however, Pope Alexander recognized Cesare as his own son. On October 17, 1493, the Pope's son moved into Rome as the new Cardinal of Valencia (a former title of his father). In reference to his rich diocese , Cesare was now called Valentino . The cardinalate was not seen as a spiritual office, but as an administrative post with the right to elect a pope. He thus held the role of a cardinal nephew until his return to the secular state . During his time as a cardinal, he was not ordained a priest, did not attend church services and was not committed to pastoral care . He was also papal administrator of the Cistercian monastery of Valldigna (since August 31, 1492), the Benedictine monastery of Abondance , the diocese of Geneva , of Szent Márton de Pannonie, the diocese of Győr in Hungary, of San Vittore in Milan, the diocese from Nantes in France (from August 9, 1493 to November 4, 1493), from Elne (from January 20, 1495 to September 6, 1499) and from Coria (from 1495 to July 22, 1497).

Hostage of the French king

Cesare lived as a cardinal in the Vatican and, as his father's advisor and confidante, was privy to all important matters. Politically, the Pope became more and more isolated. In 1494, the French King Charles VIII undertook a campaign to Italy to enforce his Anjou claim to the Kingdom of Naples. To this end, he allied himself with Ludovico Sforza , Duke of Milan. So, under the leadership of Charles VIII, the French advanced to Italy with a well-equipped army with many German and Swiss mercenaries. After the French army marched into Rome on December 31, 1494, Alexander and his son withdrew to Castel Sant'Angelo . Alexander's enemies during this period included the influential Colonna and della Rovere families . Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere , who had fled to France and accompanied the French to Rome, and several other cardinals called for a council to remove the Pope because of his simonist election.

Italy around 1494

At a personal meeting between Alexander VI. and Charles VIII, there was a reconciliation under certain conditions, including that Cesare should accompany the French king to Naples as a hostage. After two days at a rest in Velletri , the good rider Cesare escaped, disguised as a groom . It was later revealed that Cesare had loaded the seventeen mules he was carrying with chests filled with sand and bricks. This spectacular escape can be seen as the starting point for his reputation as a cunning and unpredictable tactician . During this time Cesare contracted syphilis , also known as the French or Gallic disease .

After the conquest of Naples by Charles's troops, Pope Alexander VI organized. a military defense alliance, whereby Charles and the French troops were driven out of Italy. After the French withdrew from Italy, Cesare continued to live as a cardinal in the Vatican and enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle:

“He was as attracted to women as his father, with his handsome face and athletic body. At that time he was already known for his extravagance and undoubtedly spent a lot of money on precious fabrics and Berber horses . "

The first signs of syphilis in the form of increased formation of spots and scars on Cesare's body were also mentioned shortly after his return to Rome:

"With the splendid clothes he wanted to distract from his face, which was disfigured by the illness."

Alexander VI. had his son Cesare declared on June 9, 1497 as his deputy in Naples, who should undertake the coronation of Frederick of Aragon in his name . On June 15, 1497, Cesare and Juan were scheduled to leave for Naples to carry out the act of coronation and then to be enfeoffed personally with Neapolitan lordships by the Neapolitan king. On the evening of June 14, 1497, Vannozza held a small festival in her vineyard near the church of San Pietro in Vincoli, in which Cesare, Juan and Cardinal Juan Borgia of Monreale also took part, along with some other guests. After Juan Borgia was dragged out of the Tiber by a fishing net near the church of San Maria del Popolo on the afternoon of June 16, 1497, dead and covered with numerous stab wounds, Cesare was among others complicit in the murder of his brother Juan, the Duke of Benevento and Gandía, accused. In July 1497 Cesare crowned Frederick of Aragon King of Naples as papal legate. He was on August 17, 1498 by Pope Alexander VI. and to free the College of Cardinals from their ecclesiastical offices in order to be able to devote themselves entirely to the reconquest of the Papal States. As a justification he put forward “that from early childhood he was always leaned towards the worldly class with all his soul, but that the father wanted him to devote himself to the spiritual class and that he believed that he should not be allowed to oppose his will. But since his thoughts and aspirations and his inclination are directed towards the worldly life, he ask His Holiness our Lord to condescend himself with special indulgence to grant him a dispensation, so that after he has had spiritual dignity and garb to return to the worldly class and to enter into marriage. He now asks the Venerable Cardinals to willingly give their consent to such a dispensation . ” On October 1, 1498, he came to the French court as papal legate.

Duke of Valentinois

After the death of the French King Charles VIII on April 7, 1498, his successor Louis XII. an alliance against the Duchy of Milan with the Republic of Venice . He also needed the ecclesiastical dispensation to dissolve his childless marriage to Jeanne , the sister of Charles VIII, so that he could then marry his widow Anne de Bretagne . In return for the annulment of the marriage by Alexander VI. Cesare received the enfeoffment with the Duchy of Valentinois in Provence and considerable income in gold francs. Furthermore, he was appointed commander of French troops and a troop of 100 lances (400 men) maintained by the French king was assured. In addition, after the conquest of Milan, Cesare should fall under the rule of Asti and he was accepted into the Order of Michael. Louis XII. In addition, he promised to work for a marriage between Cesare and a French noblewoman. The wives were Cesare Anne de Foix-Candale , daughter of Count Gaston II. De Foix-Candale and cousin of Anne de Bretagne, and Charlotte d'Albret, niece of King Louis XII. and sister of King John of Navarre , with Cesare opting for the latter.

Cesare Borgia as Duke of Valentinois

Cesare finally received the duchy (an old French countryside with the capital Valence ) in 1498 , the French king was divorced from his wife and the Pope ended the alliance with the king of Naples. Although Louis XII. in contract with Alexander VI. had already agreed to a marriage between Cesare and his niece, Cesare was not considered equal by the d'Albret family. During the tough negotiations that lasted until 1499, Cesare stayed at the French court. The marriage contract in April 1499 provided that Charlotte's father Alain d'Albret from Alexander VI. Received 200,000 ducats and Charlotte's brother was promoted to cardinal. On May 12, 1499 the marriage was concluded and consummated, with the consummation of the marriage in the afternoon and evening being impressively described:

“Couriers on horseback were waiting in the castle at Blois to announce Cesare's glorious deeds in the bed of his beautiful wife as quickly as possible to the courts of Italy, France and Spain, on the one hand because the consummated marriage could no longer simply be declared null and void; on the other hand, because the achievements of male fertility benefited the personal reputation of the hero immensely. "

A special French courier reported the marriage to the Vatican on May 23. Cesare spent a few weeks with his wife during which Charlotte became pregnant with his legitimate daughter Luisa. After his return to Italy he had several relationships with various women, including Dorothea Carracciolo and the famous courtesan Fiammetta de 'Michelis, and fathered the two illegitimate children Camilla and Gerolamo. In France, the French king appointed Cesare Count of Diois and Lord of Issoudun and accepted him into the Order of Michael , the highest French order. Louis XII. Cesare promised to provide him with enough troops for his own plans to conquer Romagna after the conquest of Milan. As early as mid-July 1499, Ludwig and Cesare at his side, with French and Swiss troops, advanced across the Alps to Italy in order to enforce the alleged rights of the French crown on Milan. Ludovico il Moro was completely isolated militarily and politically, as Venice, Genoa , Florence and the Papal States were allied with France and the other great principalities and city-states of northern Italy gradually joined this alliance. Machiavelli noted:

“Genoa surrendered; the Florentines became his friends, the Marchese of Mantua, the Duke of Ferrara, Bentivoglio, the mistress of Forlì, the lords of Faenza, Pesaro, Rimini, Camerino, Piombino, the republics of Lucca , Pisa , Siena , they were all directed to gain his friendship. "

On October 6, 1499, Ludwig XII. entered Milan without a fight because Ludovico and Ascanio Sforza had fled to Austria in exile and the Milanese swore their oath of allegiance to him. After the rapid capture of Milan, Ludwig returned to France and placed Milan under his condottiere Gian Giacomo Trivulzio . In addition, he commissioned Stuart d'Aubigny with the conquest of Naples and gave Cesare a force of 400 lances to establish his own feudal rule in Romagna, on the condition that his conquests should not affect the alliance between Venice and France.

General in Romagna (1499–1502)

Cesare Borgias coat of arms as Duke of Valentinois, Duke of Romagna and Gonfalonier of the Church

Objective of the campaigns

On November 21, 1499, Cesare, at the head of French and papal troops, began the first of a total of three campaigns to Italy and recaptured lost territories of the Papal States, whereby he set up a united kingdom in central Italy, consisting of his father's Papal State and other conquests, aspired to. On his further campaigns of conquest from October 1, 1500 he occupied the cities of Pesaro , Rimini , Faenza , the Principality of Piombino in central Italy and the island of Elba , parts of the Marche and Umbria with 10,000 men and took the title of Count of Urbino , of Camerino and Piombino on. However , he could not take Bologna and Florence . The aim of Cesare's campaigns from 1500 onwards was to bring the Duchy of Romagna, newly formed from various papal fiefs, into family ownership, whereby the feudal relationship between the cities and their rulers and the Pope as their liege lord in the Papal States were to be restored and the tribute payments were to be demanded. Little by little he overthrew the city lords in the individual conquered cities through treason or military action (including Pandolfo Malatesta in Rimini in 1500, Giovanni Sforza in Pesaro in 1500, Astorre Manfredi in Faenza in 1501, Guidobaldo da Montefeltro and Elisabetta da Montefeltro in Urbino on June 21, 1502 and Giulio Cesare da Varano in Camerino in the Marche on July 20, 1502), expropriated them and reorganized the administration.

First Romagna campaign

A Venetian account of a conversation between Juan Borgia , Cardinal of Monreale, and a representative of Venice describes Cesare's plans for the conquest of Romagna:

Map of the city of Imola drawn by Leonardo da Vinci in 1502 for Cesare Borgia, Royal Library, Windsor

“The Legate said that he had an encrypted letter from the Duke of Valence saying that he did not want Ferrara because it was a large state and its master was old and popular with the people and he had three sons who took him over would not leave in peace if he were Lord of Ferrara. However, he wanted Imola and Forlì and Pesaro or Siena and Piombino, as our Signora always meant, and he wanted to drive Messer Giovanni Bentivoglio out of Bologna and give this city back to the Church. "

Although Imola and Forlì were part of the Papal States, the local feudal lords ruling there seemed to have been failing to fulfill their feudal duties towards the Pope as their feudal lords for a long time. After Pope Alexander VI. In March 1499 the Vicariate of Sforza-Riario in Forlì and Imola had declared dead, he gave it to Cesare. In November 1499, Cesare attacked the two cities with a force of 10,000 men after his French and Swiss contingents had united at Cesena with his Italian-Spanish troops. Imola surrendered without a fight on November 27, 1499 and Forlì was taken after two months of siege on January 12, 1500, whereby the Vicaress of Forlì, Caterina Sforza , was taken prisoner. On January 26, 1500, Cesare had to break off his first campaign, as most of his troops, led by Yves de'Allegre and Bailli of Dijon, marched back to Milan in support of the French troops in the north. After the conquest of Imola and Forlì, he entered Rome as prisoners on February 26th 1500 with Caterina Sforza, the widow Girolamo Riario and niece Ludovico Sforzas. On Sunday, March 29, 1500 he was appointed by Pope Alexander VI. appointed gonfalonier and supreme commander of the papal troops.

Second Romagna campaign

Cesare was now the gonfalonier of the papal troops, Duke of Valence, Count of Diois , Lord of Issodoun , Forlì and Imola and a member of the Order of Michael . After an unsuccessful attempt to regain his rule over Milan , Ludovico Sforza was captured by the French on April 10, 1500 through treason . Since the Pope and Cesare Borgia had allied themselves with the French against Spain and Naples, there were serious conflicts with the son-in-law and brother-in-law. Alfonso of Aragon , Duke of Bisceglie and second husband of Lucrezia Borgia, was finally after an unsuccessful assassination attempt on him on July 15, 1500 between St. Peter's Square and the Palazzo Santa Maria in Portico , on August 18, 1500, probably by Micheletto Corella on behalf of Cesare or strangled by the Pope. After Venice had given up its resistance to Cesare's second campaign in Romagna, Cesare set out on October 1, 1500 with more than 10,000 men and moved from Nepi via Fano to Pesaro . After Giovanni Sforza fled Pesaro and Pandolfaccio Malatesta from Rimini , Cesare moved into the two cities in October 1500. On November 7, 1500, Cesare achieved another success when the di Naldo family, who were wealthy in Val di Lamone , joined Cesare and made their eleven castles available to him. Cesare meanwhile marched on along the Via Flaminia from Rimini via Fano to Faenza .

While Pesaro and Rimini fell into the hands of Cesare without resistance, the Manfredi did not want to give up without a fight. As a troop leader, Cesare was therefore forced to besiege a city for the first time. After three days of bombardment of the city, part of the city walls collapsed and mercenaries were able to penetrate through the breach in Faenza. The citizens of Faenzas, however, repulsed the mercenaries and caused Cesare's troops considerable losses. The siege had to be interrupted in winter and did not lead to success until the following spring. Cesare Borgia took up a suggestion from Leonardo da Vinci , who briefly advised him, and had a huge ramp tower built. The besieged hastily piled more stones on the top of the wall, overloading the foundation walls that were not reinforced. So Cesare was able to blow a gap in the fortification. On April 25, 1501 , the population of Faenza surrendered , weakened by the blockade in winter and the continuous fire from Cesare's artillery. There was no revenge, no executions, no looting and no contributions to the population. Contrary to the surrender agreements, Cesare Astorre had Manfredi and his older half-brother Ottaviano, who had been promised safe conduct, arrested in 1501 and detained in Castel Sant'Angelo . The following year the two were strangled and pulled out of the Tiber . Johannes Burchard recorded their fate in his Liber notarum :

"On Thursday, June 9th, they found Mr. von Faenza, a young man of about 18 years of age, so beautiful in appearance and form that one could not have found his equal among 1,000 contemporaries, suffocated and dead in the Tiber, also two young people who were tied together with their arms, one of 15, the other of 25, with them a woman and many others. "

Immediately after conquering Faenza, Cesare had part of his troops march north under the leadership of Vitellozzo Vitelli and Paolo Orsini. Your first destination was the mighty Castel Bolognese , which was an enclave between Imola and Faenza. Although Bologna was de jure papal fiefdom and part of the Papal States, Giovanni Bentivoglio , the ruler of Bologna, was under the special protection of the French king. After Giovanni Bentivoglio of Bologna had come to an agreement with Cesare, Paolo Orsini was able to take possession of the castle for Cesare on April 28, 1501. In addition, Bentivoglio committed to provide Cesare with 100 lances for a period of three years. In return, Cesare contractually agreed not to assert any further claims against Bentivoglio, whereby Vitellozzo Vitelli as well as Paolo and Giulio Orsino also signed this contract. On May 15, Cesare was by Pope Alexander VI. appointed Duke of Romagna and thus hereditary ruler over the territories conquered by him, which initiated the secularization of the Papal State .

After the conclusion of the contract with Bentivoglio, Cesare marched through Tuscany to Florence, which was actually under the protection of the French king. In the Treaty of Campi of May 15, 1501, the people of Florence granted Cesare a condotta with a payment of 36,000 gold ducats and undertook not to prevent Cesare from conquering Piombino, which was previously under their protection, and to provide him with 300 lances in support. When Cesare received the order from the French king to leave Tuscany, he was already on the way to Piombino on the Tyrrhenian Sea . Cesare left his troops encamped in front of Piombino under the command of Gian Paolo Bagnoli and appeared in Rome on June 17, 1501 after his father had asked him to return. As a French duke he was obliged to support the French king when the city ​​of Capua , defended by Fabrizio and Prospero Colonna on behalf of the Neapolitan king, under the leadership of the French captains d'Aubigny and d'Allegre, was shelled with artillery and finally stormed. Alexander eventually outlawed the Colonna , Savelli and Gaetani families , confiscated their goods and distributed them to the youngest Borgia descendants. Lucrezia's eldest son Rodrigo received the duchies of Sermoneta , Albano , Nettuno , Ardea , Ninfa and Norma, and Giovanni Borgia was given the duchies of Nepi and Palestrina . Jacopo d'Appiano was expelled from Piombino and the city immediately made a bishopric.

Third Romagna campaign

Within just under three years, Alexander and Cesare had usurped the goods of the Roman barons - with the exception of the Orsini - as well as the rule over Imola, Castell Bolognese, Faenza, Forli, Cesena, Rimini, Pesaro and Piombino. However, the Borgia did not yet rule over Bologna, Urbino, Camerino and Senigallia or the areas ruled by Cesares Condottieri within the Papal States. At the beginning of June 1502 Cesare began his third and last campaign in Romagna, initially with 10,000 men and his excellent artillery up the old Via Flaminia via Spoleto to Foligno . On June 20, 1502, however, Cesare suddenly turned with 2,000 men from the Via Flaminia in the direction of Urbino to the fortress of San Leo and at the same time further contingents of Cesare marched into the duchy from San Marino in the north and Fano in the east, around Guidobaldo von Montefeltro Cut off escape routes. Shortly after the Duke of Urbino was driven out, Camerino was also conquered for the Borgia by Cesares Condottieri Oliverotto Effreducci and Francesco Orsini. Giulio Cesare Varano, the previous master of Camerino, was captured. He was strangled two and a half months later - presumably by Michelotto.

Head studies of a man by Leonardo da Vinci; presumably it is a representation of Cesare Borgia

With his second and third campaigns in Romagna, where he again with a small army of mercenaries drove or murdered the feudal lords of the Papal States in a short time, he achieved military successes and considerable power. Appointed hereditary Duke of Romagna by his father in May 1501, he gained full control over the region between the Apennines and the Adriatic Sea, but only in 1502 after taking the cities of Urbino on June 21, 1502 and Camerino in the Marches on July 20, 1502 and the expulsion of the previous regents Guidobaldo da Montefeltro and Elisabetta da Montefeltro from Urbino and Giulio Cesare da Varano from Camerino.

The court of Montefeltre in Urbino, where Cesare stayed, became a meeting place for famous people. In Cesare's entourage was Leonardo da Vinci, who had entered Cesare's service in 1500 or 1501 and in May 1501 had drafted plans for Cesare to drain the marshes near Piombino. In July he supported Cesares Condottieri in an uprising against Florence instigated in Arezzo with maps, some of which are now in the Royal Library of Windsor. However, it is controversial whether Leonardo's chalk study of a head in three views in Turin represents Cesare Borgia. In Urbino, Leonardo made the acquaintance of Niccolo Machiavelli, who had come to Cesare's court as envoy from Florence. On August 18, 1502, he succeeded in hiring Leonardo da Vinci , who was plagued by money, for ten months as a military engineer in his army. Leonardo then traveled to the Marche and Romagna as an architect and general engineer, devoting himself to the study of fortifications and the defense of the territory. During this time he drew maps of the city of Imola as well as Tuscany and the Chiana Valley for Cesare Borgia.

Map of Tuscany and the Chiana Valley drawn by Leonardo da Vinci in 1502 for Cesare Borgia, Royal Library, Windsor
A handwritten letter from Cesare Borgia dated June 12, 1502 to Isabella d'Este . Mantua, Archivio di Stato, Autografi, busta 5, c. 133

After Cesares Condottieri Baglioni and Oliverotto had upset the whole of Tuscany from the Chiana Valley and turned against Florence, Cesare justified himself to the Florentine ambassadors Machiavelli and Piero Soderini by stating that Florence had not kept the Treaty of Forno di Campi. The threatening fear of Cesare's invasion of Florence only ended when the French king of Asti sent auxiliary troops to Florence. Emissaries from Venice and the della Rovere, a son of Bentivoglio from Bologna, Francesco Gonzaga from Mantua , Giovanni Sforza from Pesaro and Guidobaldo from Montefeltre visited Ludwig and complained about Cesare's conquests. After Cesare had secretly left Fermignano disguised as a Knight of the Order of St. John , he arrived at the French court in Milan on August 5, 1502, after brief stays in Forli and at the court of Ferrara. An envoy reported on his reception:

“The Most Christian King greeted and embraced him with great joy and led him to the castle, where he placed him in the room closest to his own, and gave instructions for dinner and selected various dishes, and that evening left he three or four times when it was time to go to bed to see Cesare in shirt sleeves in his room. And yesterday he ordered him to put on his own shirts, underclothes, and robes, for Duke Valentino hadn't brought any chariots with him, only horses. In short, he couldn't have done more for a son or brother. "

The results of the friendly negotiations were that Cesare should withdraw from Florence and recall his Condottieri Baglioni and Vitellozzo from Tuscany. Cesare had to give up Tuscany, but was able to keep the Duchy of Urbino. In addition, Bentivoglio of Bologna was no longer under the protection of the French king.

Revolt of the Condottieri

The fear of the other feudal lords of central Italy about the conquest of the Borgia grew after the expulsion of the Duke of Urbino and the destruction of the Varanos of Camerino. While Cesare Borgia drew the French king back to the Pope's side in the summer of 1502, opponents of the Borgia conspired in Magione on Lake Trasimeno in autumn 1502 . In addition to the five Condottieri Cesares (Francesco Orsini, Duke of Gravina , Paolo Orsini, Count of Palombara , and the artillery specialists Vitelli, Fermo and Baglioni), envoys from the Duke of Urbino, Bentivoglios of Bologna and Pandolfo Petrucci , Lord of Siena also attended , attended the meeting in October 1502. After a week, the meeting on La Magione ended on October 9th without the people involved having agreed on a common strategy. However, those involved concluded a kind of assistance pact in which mutual aid was guaranteed in the event of an attack.

Sign at the place in Senigallia, where the Condottieri Vitellozzo Vitelli and Oliverotto da Fermo were strangled on the night of December 31, 1502 to January 1, 1503

After initial success, they were forced to surrender by Cesare's mercenary troops. On December 31, 1502, Cesare met with some members of the conspiracy, the four condottiere Vitellozzo Vitelli, Oliverotto of Fermo and Paolo and Francesco Orsini , in Senigallia on the pretext of reconciliation . Cesare had the conspirators Oliverotto von Fermo and Vitellozzo Vitelli as well as Cardinal Giovanni Battista Orsini and his brothers Paolo and Francesco Orsini arrested by surprise. Vitellozzo Vitelli and Oliverotto von Fermo were murdered that same night. The Orsini brothers were strangled on January 18, 1503 in the Castello della Pieve by Michelotto and Marco Romano on behalf of Cesare, two weeks after the arrest of Cardinal Giovanni Battista Orsini on January 3, 1503. The cardinal finally died on February 22, 1503 in dungeon of the Castello Sant'Angelo , where a poison attack was suspected as the cause of death. After the execution of Oliverotto and Vitellozzo, Cesare submitted to their cities Fermo and Città di Castello . On January 5th, 1503, Cesare took the city of Perugia without a fight, which Gian Paolo Baglioni had left before Cesare's arrival.

At the beginning of 1503 the Borgia ruled Romagna, Marche , Umbria and Latium . The Borgia had conquered the powerful Roman noble families of Colonna, Savelli and Gaetani. The most important heads of the Orsini such as Cardinal Giambattista and the Condottieri Paolo as well as the Duke of Gravina were in the power of the Borgia and would not live long. After the murder of the most important members of the House of Varano by Camerino and Oliverotto da Fermo, the brands were owned by the Borgia. After the assassination of Vitellozzo and the expulsion of the Montefeltre from Urbino and the Baglioni from Perugia, Umbria was now also under the control of the Borgia. In Romagna and along the Adriatic coast , the Borgia murdered the Manfredi from Faenza, captured the Sforza cities in Imola, Forli and Pesaro and expelled the Malatesta from Rimini. On January 1, 1503, Senigallia also surrendered. The areas on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Principality of Piombino and the island of Elba, were already ruled by the Borgia and only Ferrara, where Lucrezia Borgia was married to the Duke's eldest son, and Bologna were able to maintain their independent position in the Papal States. The position of the papacy outside the papal state was critical, however, as only the four Italian powers (the duchy of Milan, the republics of Venice and Florence in the north, and the kingdom of Naples in the south), which, along with the papal state, had determined the Italian balance of power Venice existed as a real power. After the Treaty of Granada , Naples ceased to be an independent kingdom and was now under the influence of France and Spain. Milan and Florence were dependent on French politics.

As part of his further plans to conquer Tuscany, the conquest of Siena and the expulsion of Pandolfo Petrucci in January 1503 led to conflicts with the French king, who expressed his own interest in Tuscany and did not support another violation of Cesare's in Tuscany wanted to. Shortly after taking the cities of Sinigallia, Perugia , Chiusi , Acquapendente and Orvieto , Cesare arrived in Rome in February 1503. During this time, Leonardo da Vinci left Cesare's entourage and returned to Florence. After several fights between the Borgia and members of the Orsini family who wanted to recapture their lost territories, a treaty between the Borgia and the Orsini was concluded on April 8, 1503 in the presence of French mediators. The provisions contained therein clearly restricted the power of the Orsini in the Campagna di Roma , but did not lead to the result of the annihilation of the sexes hoped for in the Borgia. On May 31, 1503 it came in the course of cardinal elevation of several Spanish cardinals by Pope Alexander VI. to a rapprochement between the Borgia and the Spanish Crown.

Disempowerment

On August 12, 1503, Alexander and Cesare fell ill with a mysterious illness almost simultaneously, and a poison attack was suspected. At the heart of this rumor is a feast that Cardinal Adriano Castello de Corneto gave on August 5th or 6th in one of his vineyards and in which Alexander and Cesare also took part in addition to numerous cardinals. Current research results also increasingly cite an infection with malaria as the reason for the sudden illness of father and son. While Cesare recovered, Alexander's health deteriorated after a brief period of improvement.

Handwritten letter from Cesare Borgia to Isabelle d'Este between 1500 and 1504, signed "Cesar", the Spanish version of his name

He finally died on August 18, 1503, with Burchard reporting the events immediately after Alexander's death:

“Cesare, who was sick, sent Michelotto with a large crew who locked all the doors to the exit and the Pope's apartment. One of them pulled out a dagger and threatened Cardinal Casanova: If he does not give him the keys and the Pope's money, he will stab him and throw him out the window. The startled cardinal handed over the keys. One after the other, they entered the room behind the Pope's room and took all the silver they found, as well as two coffers with around 100,000 ducats. At eight o'clock in the evening they opened the doors again and the death of the Pope became known. In the meantime the servants had taken what was left in the cloakrooms and in the room and left nothing but the papal armchairs, a few boxes and the carpets on the walls. Cesare did not appear to the Pope during the entire illness or at death, and even during the illness he did not think of Cesares or Lucrezias with the smallest word. "

On August 22, 1503, he swore the oath of obedience to the Holy College of Cardinals and was confirmed as Captain General. Although Cesare Borgia had gained experience both as a statesman and as a general, he did not manage to maintain his rule until the death of his father and patron, Pope Alexander VI. fully secured on August 18, 1503. Many of the disempowered city lords, including Gian Paolo Baglioni in Perugia, Jacopo de'Appiano in Piombino, the nephews of Vitellozzo who was murdered by Cesare in Città de Castello, and members of the Varano family in Camerino, took control of the conquered areas again, and in Rome there were revolts of the Colonna and Orsini families. After Cesare locked himself in with other members of the Borgia family and all the cardinals in the heavily fortified Vatican, an agreement was reached on September 1st. Cesare and the Colonna and Orsini families pledged to leave Rome within three days and to stay away from the city until a new pope was elected. The ambassadors of Spain and Maximilian vouched for the keeping of this promise for Cesare and the Colonna and the ambassadors of France and Venice for the Orsini.

Handwritten letter from Cesare Borgia to Ippolito d'Este dated December 7th 1506 from his exile in Pamplona

On the same day, however, Cesare signed a secret treaty with the French ambassador de Trans with the obligation to support France both in the papal election and with its mercenaries in the fight against Spain. In return, the French king promised to protect Cesare and the other members of the Borgia family as well as the return or recapture of all areas ruled by Cesare at the death of Alexander. Cesare's position of power was based on the fact that Cesare had the loyalty and votes of the twelve Spanish cardinals. On the run from his opponents, who had already united under Gian Paolo Baglioni in Perugia in mid-September, Cesare came after a short stay in the fortress of Nepi with the approval of the new Pope Pius III. returned to Rome on October 3, 1503 with 1,000 men. Cesare, who was in poor health, holed up in the Castel Sant'Angelo and was besieged by his enemies there. The attempt of the Spanish cardinals to help Cesare to escape disguised as a monk on October 15, 1503, failed.

After the short pontificate of Pius III. the ambitious Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere wanted to become Pope and turned to Cesare to get the twelve Spanish cardinals to vote in his favor. Cesare agreed with him on October 29, 1503 that the Spanish cardinals should vote for della Rovere in the conclave and that he himself could remain ruler in Romagna and papal general in return. During the days of the papal election, Cesare also met with Niccolò Machiavelli, who had already visited Cesare's court as Florentine envoy between October 7, 1502 and January 18, 1503. Although Machiavelli saw in Cesare a capable military leader and modern politician, he assessed the naive belief in the promise of the new Pope as a fundamental mistake. He wrote in the 7th chapter of Il Principe :

“Only with regard to the election of Pope Julius II can he be accused of making a wrong decision. So the Duke made a mistake in this choice and caused his downfall. "

After his successful election as Pope, Julius II succeeded in disempowering Cesare Borgia, who with French support had conquered a closed territory in Romagna and central Italy, and strengthened the Papal State by taking this area. Cesare first fled to Ostia on November 19, 1503 after the new Pope had deprived him of the title of Gonfaloniere. Since Cesare refused to hand over the four fortresses Forlì, Cesena , Forlimpopoli and Bertinoro Julius II, he had to return to Rome. There Cesare was deprived of all his offices and powers and he was imprisoned in the Vatican until he had surrendered all castles and waived all claims from the duchy. This led to a break between the Pope and the French King Louis XII, who had conquered Milan and other northern Italian cities and thus gained a position of power.

As a result of the agreement between Cesare and the Pope, which had been concluded on January 24, 1504, he was placed in Ostia under the supervision of Cardinal Bernardino López de Carvajal .

Banishment and end

Santa María Church in Viana

After Cesare fled to Naples on April 19, 1504, he was imprisoned as a guest of the Spanish regent Gonsalvo de Córdoba under pressure from King Ferdinand and Julius II, tortured and exiled to Spain on May 27, 1504, where he spent one year spent in solitary confinement in the Castillo de Chinchilla de Montearagón .

After he was transferred to the Spanish prison Castillo de La Mota in Medina del Campo , in October 1506 he managed the spectacular escape from the prison tower with the help of a silk cord. He was able to travel unrecognized to his brother-in-law Jean d'Albret , King of Navarre , in Pamplona , where he allied himself with him. As a soldier in the service of Navarre, on March 11, 1507, during the siege of the fortress of Viana , he was caught in an ambush he recognized, but ignored, and was killed in a hopeless battle with twenty armed riders.

burial

Cesare was first buried in the church of Santa María in Viana in a marble tomb in front of the high altar. The original inscription read: "Here in less earth rests one who was feared by all, who held war and peace in his hands." In 1527, the tomb was destroyed on the instructions of Alonso de Castilla Zúniga, the Bishop of Calahorra . Cesare's remains were taken to an unconsecrated place outside the church, where his body was to be "trampled on by humans and animals" to pay for his sins.

His skeleton was accidentally exhumed during renovation work in 1945 and was stored in a silver box in the town hall until he was buried again in front of the church in 1953. In 1965 a bronze bust of Cesare was placed near the Santa María Church. It was not until 2007 that Fernando Sebastián Aguilar , the Archbishop of Pamplona , allowed Cesare to be buried again in the Church of Santa María five hundred years after his death.

His sword, which he had made for himself when crossing the Rubicon near Rimini, bears the Latin engravings: Cum nomine Cesaris omen - iacta est alea - aut Caesar aut nihil (“With Caesar's name as an omen - the die has been cast - Either Caesar or nothing at all ”). It is now on display in the British Museum in London.

Aftermath

Cesare Borgia in 19th Century Philosophy and Art

Proponents of an amoral aestheticism have often seen in Borgia the representative of a type of person who, despite being a cold-blooded power man, achieves aesthetic greatness. Friedrich Nietzsche wrote in his book Ecce homo that one should think of the superman as Cesare Borgia rather than Parsifal . In Oscar Wilde's novel The Portrait of Dorian Gray , he is mentioned as one of the historical figures whose misdeeds Dorian Gray reads with enthusiasm. This romantic transfiguration largely disregards historical reality.

Today's consideration

Possible portrait of Cesare Borgia by Dosso Dossi

Cesare Borgia was widely regarded by his contemporaries as a tyrant who was notorious for his unscrupulousness in dealing with his opponents. His brother-in-law, Alfonso of Aragon and Duke of Bisceglie, on August 18, 1500, and the four condottiers Vitellozzo Vitelli, Oliverotto of Fermo and Paolo and Francesco Orsini , who met with other men in La Magione on Lake Trasimeno in the autumn of 1502, are said to have failed had conspired against him, were murdered in January 1503 on his behalf by his captain Micheletto Corella , among others . In his treatise The Prince ( Il Principe ), Niccolò Machiavelli discussed the sole rule of Borgia and described it as a model for the government of a prince who wants to achieve his political goals. He explained how little a ruler has to be squeamish if he wants to conquer territories and secure them in the long term. Machiavelli's unemotional descriptions of Cesare's actions earned him a reputation for extraordinary cold-heartedness and unscrupulousness.

The image that posterity has of the relationship between Alexander and Cesare today is largely shaped by the descriptions of Jacob Burckhardt:

“But when in time the Pope came under the rule of his son, the means of violence took on that completely satanic character, which necessarily affects the ends. What happened in the struggle against the Roman greats and against the Romagna dynasties, in the area of ​​infidelity and cruelty, even exceeded the level to which z. B. the Aragonese of Naples had already got used to the world, and the talent of deception was greater. The manner in which Cesare isolates his father by murdering his brother, brother-in-law and other relatives and courtiers as soon as their favor with the Pope or their position becomes uncomfortable is absolutely horrific. Alexander had to give his consent to the murder of his most beloved son, the Duca di Gandia , because he himself trembled every hour before Cesare. "

Borgia's reputation and reputation are viewed in a differentiated manner in today's historical research. Historical documents suggest that his bad reputation is partly due to the exaggeration of his enemies. Evidence for this can be found in the generally poor reputation that the Borgia had in the eyes of long-established Italian families due to their Spanish origins. The Borgia were seen as a kind of mafia , as they bought their way into offices and hierarchies and systematically brought their own relatives into important positions ( nepotism ). The accusations of favoritism, sexual debauchery and cruelty brought against Cesare were typical forms of feudal rule in the Renaissance and were not confined to the Borgia family. Another reason for the propaganda against Cesare Borgia were probably the military successes of Cesare, who, with the support of his papal father, set out to take Romagna, other parts of the Papal States and neighboring areas, and made many princes fear for their possessions. However, historians agree that Cesare Borgia's rule in Romagna also had a positive impact. During his reign, Romagna, which was marked by anomie , was unified, the administration ordered and a legal system established so that peace and devotion prevailed. The actions of Cesare and his father's politics in Romagna were already rated positively by Machiavelli in the Discorsi and can be interpreted as the basis for the later development of an Italian idea of ​​the nation state:

“Romagna was before Alexander VI. eliminated the little rulers who ruled this land, a model for vicious life; on the slightest occasion the worst acts of robbery and murder occurred. This was a consequence of the depravity of those in power, not a consequence of the depraved nature of people as they claimed. "

This respect for the Romagna politics of the Borgia was also shared by the inhabitants of Romagna, who remained loyal to him when he had already been ousted. So Forlì still stood by him when he was captured in Naples and refused to open the gates to Julius II's troops. Finally, under torture, Cesare ordered his city commander Mirafuente to surrender. Cesare secured the goodwill of the people of Faenza by holding back his men, who had to set up camp because of the onset of winter, from the pillage and allowing the inhabitants no harm.

progeny

From the marriage with Charlotte d'Albret (* 1480 - 11 May 1514), dame de Chalus, daughter of Alain I. d'Albret, Count of Albret, and Françoise de Châtillon-Limoges (also Françoise de Blois-Bretagne, Comtesse de Périgord):

  • Luisa Borgia (May 17, 1500; † 1553), dame de Chalus, dame de La Mothe-Feuilly, dame de Vaires et Neves, Comtesse de Diois and second Duchess of Valentinois. She married Louis de la Trémouille , Prince de Talmond, Seigneur de La Tremoïlle, Viscount de Thouars, Comte de Guines and de Benaon, Baron de Sully, de Craon, de Montagu, de L ' on April 7, 1517 in Paris. Isle-Bouchard and de Mauléon, Seigneur de L'Ile de Ré and de Marans. Born on September 20, 1460 as the son of Louis I, Seigneur de La Tremoïlle (1431–1483), and Marguerite d'Amboise, Viscountess de Thouars, he died as Admiral de Guyenne and de Bretagne in the Battle of Pavia on September 24. February 1525. Her second marriage was on February 3, 1530 in St. Germain en Laye Philippe de Bourbon, Baron de Busset and Governor de Carlat et Murat. Born in 1499 to Pierre de Bourbon, Seigneur de L'Isle, and Marguerite de Tourzel d'Alègre, Dame de Busset, he died on August 10, 1557 at the Battle of St. Quentin. Luisa, who was seven years old when he died, never met her father. The following six children were from her second marriage:
  1. Claude de Bourbon Busset, Comte de Busset since 1558, Baron de Chalus, de Puysagut and de Saint Priest de Bramesan (* October 18, 1531 - † June 17, 1588). He was married to Marguerite de La Rochefoucauld-Barbezieux, Dame de Barbezieux, since May 7, 1554, with whom he had descendants. His children were César de Bourbon Busset, Comte de Busset (1565–1630), Louise de Bourbon Busset (1566–1596), Jean de Bourbon Busset (1567–1590) and Diane de Bourbon Busset (1569–1627). His eldest son César de Bourbon Busset married his first marriage on April 12, 1584 in Bordeaux Marguerite de Pontac and his second marriage on June 21, 1588 in Busset Louise de Montmorillon, Baronne de Saint Martin du Puit (1570-1648), with the he had seven children.
  2. Marguerite de Bourbon Busset (October 10, 1532 - September 8, 1591). She was married to Jean, Baron de Pierre-Buffière since June 25, 1551 and had the children Philippe, Baron de Pierre-Buffière, Jeanne de Pierre-Buffière, Suzanne de Pierre-Buffière, Marthe de Pierre-Buffière and Anne de Pierre -Buffière.
  3. Henri de Bourbon Busset (September 21, 1533 - March 7, 1534). He died at the age of five months.
  4. Catherine de Bourbon Busset (14 October 1534 - 1588). She was not married and had no offspring.
  5. Jean de Bourbon Busset, Seigneur de La Mothe-Feuilly, du Montet, du Fay and de Nères (born September 2, 1537, † 1570). He was married to Euchariste de La Brosse-Morlet since September 10, 1566 and had the children Gilberte de Bourbon Busset (1568–1599) and Jeanne de Bourbon Busset (1570)
  6. Jérôme de Bourbon Busset, Seigneur du Montet (born October 19, 1543; † before 1619). He was married to Jeanne de Rollat ​​between 1581 and 1584. The marriage was childless.

Luisa was Cesare Borgia's only legitimate child, but up to eleven other illegitimate children from unknown mothers are and have been ascribed to him. Two of them were recognized by Cesare:

  • Gerolamo Borgia (* around 1501/02). He first grew up with his aunt Lucrezia Borgia in Ferrara. In June 1505 Alberto Pio, Count of Carpi , became his guardian. On January 31, 1537 he married Isabella Pizzabernari in his first marriage and on March 4, 1545 in his second marriage Isabella, Countess of Carpi and daughter of Alberto Pio. He had two daughters, Lucrezia and Ippolita.
  • Camilla Lucrezia Borgia (* around 1501/02; † 1573), legitimized in a document dated August 8, 1509 and referred to as Cesare's daughter with a married woman; grew up under the tutelage of her aunt Lucrezia Borgia in the convent Corpo di Christo in Ferrara and became a nun in 1516 as "Sister Lucrezia" and finally abbess.

Also worth mentioning is Giovanni Borgia , who was born in 1498 , called Infans Romanus (the child of Rome), whose unexplained origin has been the subject of much speculation , as it is not clearly known who his parents are. On September 1, 1501, two papal bulls were issued, a public one in which Giovanni was named Cesare's son with an unmarried woman, and a secret one in which the Pope himself admitted paternity. Since it was reported at the time of his birth that Lucrezia Borgia allegedly gave birth to a child, this led to later speculation that Giovanni may have arisen from an incestuous relationship between her and Cesare.

Trivia

The figure of Machiavelli's principe nuovo had a successor and an application in the ascent and securing of rule from Napoleon Bonaparte . In fact, Napoleon's legacy includes a copy of Il Principe with handwritten marginal notes.

See also

literature

Primary sources
  • Martin Müller (ed.): Church princes and intriguers: unusual court news from the diary of Johannes Burcardus, papal master of ceremonies to Alexander VI. Borgia. Artemis, Munich / Zurich 1985, ISBN 3-7608-0654-6 .
  • Johann Ziegler (ed.): The Prince, the smaller political writings and embassy with the Duke of Valentinois. By Niccolo Machiavelli (= Niccolò Machiavelli's Complete Works. Vol. 2). Groos, Karlsruhe 1833.
  • Dirk Hoeges: Niccolo Machiavelli. The power and the appearance. Beck, Munich 2000, ISBN 978-3-406-45864-4 .
Biographies
  • Sarah Bradford: Cesare Borgia. A life in the Renaissance. (German by Joachim A. Frank), geb. First edition, Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1979, ISBN 3-455-08898-8 ; Original title: Cesare Borgia. His Life and Times. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London 1976.
  • Uwe Neumahr: Cesare Borgia. The Prince and the Italian Renaissance. Piper, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-492-04854-5 (partly fictionalized, novel-like narrated biography).
  • Rafael Sabatini: The life of Caesar Borgia, Duke of Valentinois and Romagna, Princes of Andria and Venafri, Counts of Dyois, Lords of Piombino, Camerino and Urbino, standard bearers and captain of the Church. Stuttgart 1925, original title: The Life of Cesare Borgia. 1912 ( read online ).
Others
  • Niccolò Machiavelli, Cesare Borgia. How the Duke of Valentinois proceeded in the murder of Vitellozzo Vitelli, Oliverotto da Fermo, Mr. Pagolo and the Duke of Gravina Orsini. Detective novella. Translated and commented by Dirk Hoeges machiavelli edition, Cologne 2018, ISBN 978-3-9815560-4-9 .
  • Bernd Rill: Power struggle for Italy. Cesare Borgia. (= History 3/2007). ISSN  1617-9412 , pp. 58-61.
  • Joachim Brambach: The Borgia. Fascination of a Renaissance family. 3rd edition, Callwey, Munich 1988, ISBN 3-424-01257-2 .
  • Susanne Schüller-Piroli: The Borgia Dynasty: Legend u. History. Oldenbourg, Munich 1982, ISBN 3-486-49941-6 .
  • Christopher Hibbert: The Borgias and their enemies. 1431-1519. Harcourt, Orlando 2008, ISBN 0-547-24781-8 (English).
  • Alois Uhl: Pope children. Life pictures from the time of the Renaissance. Piper, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-492-24891-4 .
  • Otto Krabs: We by God's grace. Splendor and misery of the courtly world. Beck, Munich 1996, ISBN 978-3-406-41070-3 .
  • Marion Hermann-Röttgen : The Borgia family: history of a legend. Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 1992, ISBN 978-3-476-00870-1 .

Web links

Commons : Cesare Borgia  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikiquote: Cesare Borgia  - Quotes
Wikisource: Der Fürst  - Sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Giovanni Lochis: La Pinacoteca e la Villa Lochis alla Crocetta di Mozzo presso Bergamo. Arnaldo Forni Editore, Seconda Editione Bergamo 1858, p. 22 books.google.de .
  2. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. P. 93
  3. ^ Alois Uhl: Pope children. Life pictures from the time of the Renaissance. P. 80
  4. ^ Ferdinand Gregorovius : Lucrezia Borgia. tredition, Hamburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-8424-1958-2 , p. 23 limited preview in the Google book search
  5. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. P. 11.
  6. ^ A b Sarah Bradford: Cesare Borgia. His Life and Times. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London 1976, p. 20
  7. ^ Sarah Bradford: Cesare Borgia. His Life and Times. P. 158.
  8. ^ A b Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. P. 95.
  9. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. P. 94.
  10. ↑ Susanne Schuller-Piroli: The Borgia Dynasty. P. 39f.
  11. ↑ Susanne Schuller-Piroli: The Borgia Dynasty. P. 41.
  12. ^ A b Ferdinand Gregorovius: Lucrezia Borgia p. 46, limited preview in the Google book search
  13. ↑ a b c d e Grandes de España-Gandía (Spanish) at grandesp.org.uk
  14. ^ Sarah Bradford: Cesare Borgia. His Life and Times. P. 23f.
  15. ^ Alois Uhl: Pope children. Life pictures from the time of the Renaissance. P. 81.
  16. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. Pp. 94-95.
  17. ↑ http://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/de/collezioni/musei/appartamento-borgia/sala-dei-santi/disputa-di-santa-caterina-d-alessandria.html
  18. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. Pp. 95-96.
  19. ↑ Christopher Hibbert: The Borgias and their enemies. 1431-1519. P. 51.
  20. ^ Alois Uhl: Pope children. Life pictures from the time of the Renaissance. P. 82.
  21. ^ Alois Uhl: Pope children. Life pictures from the time of the Renaissance. P. 84.
  22. ^ Sarah Bradford: Cesare Borgia. His Life and Times. P. 93.
  23. ^ Sarah Bradford: Cesare Borgia. His Life and Times. P. 110.
  24. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. P. 139.
  25. ↑ Maike Vogt-Lüerssen: Lucrezia Borgia: the life of a papal daughter in the Renaissance. P. 33 limited preview in Google Book search
  26. ^ Sarah Bradford: Cesare Borgia. His Life and Times. P. 104.
  27. ^ Sarah Bradford: Cesare Borgia. His Life and Times. P. 103.
  28. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. P. 170.
  29. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. P. 172.
  30. ↑ Otto Krabs: We by God's grace. Splendor and misery of the courtly world , CH Beck, Munich 1996, p. 97.
  31. ^ Alois Uhl: Pope children. Life pictures from the time of the Renaissance. Pp. 86-87.
  32. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. Pp. 174-175.
  33. ↑ Volker Reinhardt: The uncanny Pope: Alexander VI. Borgia 1431-1503. 1st edition, CH Beck, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-62694-4 , p. 182.
  34. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. P. 175.
  35. ↑ Uwe Neumahr: Cesare Borgia - The Prince and the Italian Renaissance. P. 181.
  36. ↑ a b Alois Uhl: Pope's children. Life pictures from the time of the Renaissance. P. 87.
  37. ^ Sarah Bradford: Cesare Borgia. His Life and Times. P. 139.
  38. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. Pp. 181-188.
  39. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia: fascination of a Renaissance family. Pp. 194-195.
  40. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. Pp. 197-198.
  41. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. Pp. 197-201.
  42. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. P. 201 - Heinrich Schmitt : Beyond the Laws. Munich 1966. p. 128.
  43. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. Pp. 201-202.
  44. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. Pp. 202-208.
  45. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. Pp. 235-236.
  46. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. Pp. 236-237.
  47. ↑ Martin Kemp : Leonardo. Munich 2006.
  48. ^ Franz-Joachim Verspohl: Michelangelo Buonarroti and Leonardo da Vinci - Everyday republican life and artist competition in Florence between 1501 and 1505. p. 161.
  49. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. Pp. 237-242.
  50. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. P. 242.
  51. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. Pp. 242-243.
  52. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. Pp. 244-260.
  53. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. P. 261.
  54. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. P. 262.
  55. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. Pp. 264-265.
  56. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. P. 270.
  57. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. P. 271.
  58. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. P. 274.
  59. ↑ Bernd Ingmar Gutberlet: The 50 greatest lies and legends in world history. P. 113.
  60. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. Pp. 272-273 - Alexander VI. and his court. According to the diary of his master of ceremonies Burcardus, edited by Ludwig Geiger, Stuttgart 1900, p. 349 f.
  61. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. P. 283.
  62. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. Pp. 284-286.
  63. ↑ Joachim Brambach: The Borgia - fascination of a Renaissance family. P. 287.
  64. ^ Alois Uhl: Pope children. Life pictures from the time of the Renaissance. P. 88.
  65. ^ Quote from Dirk Hoeges: Niccolò Machiavelli: The power and the appearance. Munich 2000, p. 174.
  66. ↑ a b c Alois Uhl: Pope children. Life pictures from the time of the Renaissance. P. 89.
  67. ↑ a b c The rehabilitation of Cesare Borgia at telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1540315/The-rehabilitation-of-Cesare-Borgia.html
  68. ^ Alois Uhl: Pope children. Life pictures from the time of the Renaissance. P. 186.
  69. ↑ Marion Hermann-Röttgen: The Borgia family: history of a legend. Metzler, Stuttgart - Weimar 1992, p. 181.
  70. ↑ http://www.zeno.org/nid/20009256954
  71. ^ Jacob Burckhardt: The culture of the Renaissance in Italy. One try. Stuttgart 1976, p. 104; Basel 1860, p. 113 f. books.google.de
  72. ↑ Ernst Probst: Lucrezia Borgia - The beautiful daughter of a Pope. GRIN, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-640-90034-3 , p. 35, limited preview in the Google book search
  73. ^ Niccolò Machiavelli: Discorsi: State and Politics. Stuttgart 1977, p. 364.
  74. ^ Sarah Bradford: Cesare Borgia. His Life and Times. P. 338.
  75. ↑ a b c d e f g h i family tree of Charlotte d'Albret at gw1.geneanet.org
  76. ^ A b Antonio Castejón: Borja o Borgia. Ascendientes y descendientes de un Papa, de un Santo, de un Valido (el de Lerma), etc .; Genealogy at euskalnet.net
  77. ↑ a b Genealogy of the Borgia / Borja (English) at genealogy.euweb.cz
  78. ^ Genealogy of the Bourbons Busset. (French) at vexilla-regis.com
  79. ↑ Family table Casare Borgia In: Susanne Schüller-Piroli: The Borgia Dynasty. Legend and history.
  80. ^ Sarah Bradford: Cesare Borgia. His Life and Times. Pp. 72, 161 and 295f.
predecessor Office successor
Rodrigo de Borja Archbishop of Valencia
1492–1498 		Juan de Borja
personal data
SURNAME Borgia, Cesare
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian Renaissance ruler
DATE OF BIRTH September 13, 1475
PLACE OF BIRTH Rome or Subiaco
DATE OF DEATH March 12, 1507
Place of death near Viana , Spain