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Alexander VI (Renaissance & Reformation)

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  1. Introduction
  2. There were two Spanish popes during the Renaissance period: Calixtus III (r. 1455–1458) and his nephew Alexander VI (r. 1492–1503). The latter was born in Xàtiva (Játiva), near Valencia, but spent most of his life in Italy and tends to be known as Rodrigo Borgia the Italian version of his name. Calixtus made him a cardinal in 1456. He served as vice-chancellor of the Church from 1457 through to his papal election in 1492, and some effort is made in this article to balance the achievements of his time as a cardinal with the events that dictated his actions as pope. Summaries of his life and career can be found in numerous Reference Works, though Journals tend to be less rewarding. Such is the reputation of Alexander and his children—principally, Cesare and Lucrezia—that numerous relevant Primary Sources have been made available in print, though perhaps the most remarkable feature of this article is the sheer quantity of Collections of Papers published to mark the fifth centenary of the second Borgia pontificate. In other Oxford Bibliographies articles, one or two such collections might be dissected, with certain pieces being selected for more detailed examination. In this instance there are so many volumes of essays that it would be unfair to single out a handful of contributions. Not only that, but there are so many collections of papers that the genre even spills over into other sections of the article. More restrained are the Lives and Times, the standard works on Alexander and his pontificate. Renaissance popes did not compartmentalize their lives and responsibilities, though the present format requires that we do precisely that, making for some artificial divisions between Ecclesiastical Responsibilities and Relations with Secular Powers. Easier to distinguish is Cultural Patronage. The article acknowledges the remarkably rich afterlife of Alexander VI with a section tracing his posthumous evolution From Man to Myth.
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  4. Reference Works
  5. Eubel 1913 is the most venerable work in this selection and has been an inspiration to many historians of the papacy, cardinalate, and episcopate in the Renaissance period. Its most direct descendant is Catholic Hierarchy, which has an advantage in terms of flexibility, though Eubel 1913 retains a scholarly edge because all appointments are supported by archival references. The other reference works all provide variations on the theme of a potted biography of Alexander VI, the model being established by the Dizionario biografico degli italiani, which includes him because of the eminence he achieved in Italy, overriding his non-Italian birth. The Diccionario de historia eclesiástica de España provides similar coverage, though it should be noted that the entry on Alexander VI is by a prolific historian of the Borgia/Borja whose name can appear variously as Miguel or Miquel Batllori, depending on whether the publication is in (Castilian) Spanish or the author’s native Catalan. The most accessible potted biography in English is to be found in Kelly and Walsh 2010. The Internet being more immediately accessible for many students than any library book, Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church is superficially attractive, but needs to be treated with some caution, because it lists names, titles, appointments, events, and sources without any attempt to differentiate between them in terms of significance. The Enciclopedia dei papi is much more discerning, combining the erudition of the long-deceased Giovanni Battista Picotti, one of the most prolific historians of Alexander’s pontificate, with the advantages of recent updating. In direct competition is Levillain 2002, which has to provide more than potted biographies of popes and does so with impressive and reliable consequences.
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  7. Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church.
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  11. This website is omnivorous in its acquisition of information about all cardinals past and present, each of whom comes with a bibliography and some of whom merit a webography. Alexander’s personal entry has similar coverage of each of the cardinals he created, together with accounts of the five conclaves in which he participated.
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  16. Catholic Hierarchy.
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  18. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
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  20. Essentially a more flexible but less scholarly version of Eubel 1913 and the other tomes in the nine-volume Hierarchia catholica series. Information about Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander can be accessed via the “structured view” of dioceses, the list of deceased bishops (as “de Borja”), “events by year,” “consistories” (for the creation of cardinals), and “conclaves.”
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  25. Diccionario de historia eclesiástica de España. 4 vols. Madrid: Instituto Enrique Flórez, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1972–1975.
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  29. The entry on “Alejandro VI” (1: 36–39) is by the veteran Catalan historian of Borgia-centered Italo-Spanish relations, Miguel Batllori. It provides a good summary of his career, emphasizing the years 1492–1503, including the vicissitudes of the Italian Wars and Alexander’s dealings with Savonarola. Cultural patronage is not a priority. Supplement published in 1987.
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  34. Dizionario biografico degli italiani. Rome: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, 1960–.
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  38. The Dizionario biografico degli italiani is the standard reference work for all major historical figures associated with the peninsula. Volumes appear in strictly alphabetical order, which means that Giovanni Battista Picotti’s entry on Alexander (2: 196–205) is one of the earliest and, bibliographically, most out of date. Some compensation can be found in the entry for the pope’s daughter Lucrezia, which was not published until 2006. All entries including that for Alexander are also available online.
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  43. Enciclopedia dei papi. 3 vols. Rome: Istituto della Enciclopedia italiana, 2000.
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  47. The entry on Alexander VI (3: 13–22) was originally written by Giovanni Battista Picotti and was updated for the 2000 edition by Matteo Sanfilippo. Citing Mallett 1969 (cited under Lives and Times) as a turning point in appreciation of Alexander and his kin, Sanfilippo explains that the “Borgia excesses” identified by previous generations are now accepted as behavior typical of their era.
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  52. Eubel, Konrad. Hierarchia catholica medii aevi. Vol. 2 (1431–1503). 2d ed. Münster, Germany: Sumptibus et typis librariae Regensbergianae, 1913.
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  56. Details all cardinalitial and episcopal appointments. Rodrigo Borgia therefore appears as cardinal deacon of San Nicola in Carcere (1456–1484), cardinal bishop of Albano (1471–1476) and of Porto and Santa Rufina (1476–1492), administrator of the bishoprics of Gerona (1457–1458), Valencia (1458–1492; elevated to archbishopric, 1492), Cartagena (1482–1492), Mallorca (1489–1492), and Eger (1491–1492).
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  61. Kelly, John N. D., and Michael J. Walsh. The Oxford Dictionary of Popes. 2d rev. ed. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.
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  63. DOI: 10.1093/acref/9780199295814.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
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  65. Kelly’s original text was published in 1986 and included the entry on Alexander (255–257). Walsh added entries on the most recent popes and updated the bibliographies for each of Kelly’s pieces. This is the most easily accessible of the books in this selection, though the others are to be preferred for more specialist treatment of each pope.
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  70. Levillain, Philippe, ed. The Papacy: An Encyclopedia. 3 vols. New York and London: Routledge, 2002.
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  73.  
  74. The entry on Alexander (1: 25–28) is by Alonso Justo Fernandez. The advantage of this publication over rival works lies in the range of its alphabetically listed topics, which extend far beyond the lives and times of individual popes, relevant entries including “Castel Sant’Angelo,” “Donation of Constantine,” “Feasts of Papal Rome,” “Holy Year,” “Rome,” and “St Peter’s Basilica.”
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  79. Journals
  80. Journals devoted to Renaissance history and culture are obvious places to look for papers on Alexander VI, but yield surprisingly few results for a figure of such fame or, indeed, infamy. That leaves Revista Borja, published in alternate years by the Valencia-based Institut Internacional d’Estudis Borgians and available via the institute’s website. The site itself is fast becoming an essential resource for a wide variety of information about the Borgia dynasty, whether they lived in Spain or in Italy, and includes a bibliography and filmography, details of relevant archives in the Vatican, and guides to the cities most directly associated with the family, including Rome.
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  82. Revista Borja.
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  86. This journal has appeared in alternate years since 2006–2007. The standard format consists of articles, documents, and reviews. Alexander is the main subject of relatively few articles but, as a pivotal figure in the dynasty’s fortunes, he is an abiding presence. The website is a model of flexibility, making it easy to locate relevant material by a number of routes.
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  91. Primary Sources
  92. Many of the most useful primary sources are diaries kept by Alexander VI’s contemporaries, their significance being measured by the length of time that they have been available in print. Infessura 1890 is by a diarist whose career was in the municipal government of Rome and whose loyalty to the Colonna family was matched by his hostility toward the papacy as a presence in Rome. That was presumably a minority view among the city’s literate population, who were there precisely because the papal administration provided them with employment. Conti 2015 is the history of one curialist’s own times, spanning the years 1475 to 1510, so includes Alexander’s pontificate in its entirety. The Roman diary most readily associated with that pontificate was kept by Johannes Burchard, the papal master of ceremonies: the standard edition, Burchard 1907–1942, is a mine of useful information. Even the extracts available in English translation—Burchard 1963—are sufficiently detailed to be valuable to the student, though they should be accompanied by some research into the author’s career and opinions. Aside from diaries, ambassadorial dispatches are among the most valuable sources for this period, though only a small fraction of them are available in print. Giustiniani 1876 gives a flavor of the greater whole and the possibilities they offer for more advanced research. Correspondence of a different sort is made available by two of the other works in this section: Batllori 1998 selects letters sent to Alexander from his native Spain, and Carboni 2009 focuses on communications to the pope from the women with whom he is most frequently associated. For a more fully-rounded picture of the Borgia pope, derived from a wide variety of sources, there is no substitute for the classic resource that is Roo 1924.
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  94. Batllori, Miquel, ed. De València a Roma: Cartes Triades dels Borja. Barcelona: Quaderns Crema, 1998.
  95.  
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  97.  
  98. This edition contains sixty-four letters, the majority of which were sent in 1493–1494, from Barcelona, Valencia, and elsewhere in the kingdom of Aragon, generally to Alexander. The senders included the pope’s sons—appearing under their Catalan names Cèsar, Joan, and Jofré—some of his nipoti, and the future cardinal Jaume Serra. Individuals and contexts are introduced by Modest Prats.
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  102.  
  103. Burchard, Johann. Liber notarum: Ab anno MCCCCLXXXIII usque ad annum MDVI. 2 vols. Edited by Enrico Celani. Rerum italicarum scriptores 32. Città di Castello, Italy: S. Lapi, 1907–1942.
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  106.  
  107. From 1481 until his death in 1506, the Alsatian Johann(es) Burckard served as papal master of ceremonies. He kept a liturgical diary, so that practices could be accurately repeated each year. In Volume 1 of this edition Rodrigo Borgia is dean of the Sacred College, officiating on the most significant occasions; Volume 2 is principally devoted to Alexander’s pontificate.
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  112. Burchard, Johann. At the Court of the Borgia: Being an Account of the Reign of Pope Alexander VI. Edited and translated by Geoffrey Parker. London: Folio Society, 1963.
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  115.  
  116. In its coverage of Alexander’s pontificate, Burchard allowed his diary to venture beyond purely liturgical concerns, even including a brief account of a supper party hosted by Cesare Borgia and attended by Alexander on 30 October 1501, with guests including fifty Roman courtesans. Burchard’s knowledge of the family’s private life has been doubted, including by Mallett 1969 (Lives and Times).
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  121. Carboni, Luca. Alexander VI. und die Frauen, 1494. Braunschweig, Germany: Archiv Verlag, 2009.
  122.  
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  124.  
  125. A facsimile edition of three short letters written to Alexander by the most significant women in his life, all in 1494: from his mistress Giulia Farnese at Pesaro; from his daughter Lucrezia at her marital home in Pesaro; and from Lucrezia’s mother, Vannozza Cattanei, in Rome. Its brevity reflects the limited nature of information on elite women of this period.
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  129.  
  130. Conti, Sigismondo dei. Le storie de’ suoi tempi, dal 1475 al 1510. 2 vols. Foligno, Italy: Accademia fulginia di lettere, scienze e arti, 2015.
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  133.  
  134. Conti entered papal service in c. 1470; by the time of his death in 1512 he was one of Julius II’s secretaries. His history is therefore as favorable to the papacy as Infessura 1890 is critical. It has long been available in print, but this edition is the first to contain both the Latin original and an Italian translation.
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  138.  
  139. Giustiniani, Antonio. Dispacci di Antonio Giustinian: Ambasciatore veneto in Roma dal 1502 al 1505. Edited by Pasquale Villari. Florence: Successori le Monnier, 1876.
  140.  
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  142.  
  143. Ambassadorial dispatches are invariably excellent sources for reconstructing the political life of Renaissance Italy, but relatively few of these copious records are available in print. A flavor of the greater whole can be gained from Giustiniani’s dispatches in the final year of Alexander’s life, when opposition to the Borgia was mounting, aided in some measure by the Venetian envoy himself.
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  148. Infessura, Stefano. Diario della città di Roma. Edited by Oreste Tommasini. Rome: Forzani, 1890.
  149.  
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  151.  
  152. Infessura’s diary is a valuable, if partial, source for Roman history during the pontificates of Paul II, Sixtus IV, and Innocent VIII, when Rodrigo Borgia was at the heart of papal government. It ends in the summer of 1494, so covers the conclave of 1492 and a fraction of Alexander’s reign.
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  157. Roo, Peter de. Material for a History of Pope Alexander VI: His Relatives and His Time. 5 vols. Bruges, Belgium: Desclée de Brouwer, 1924.
  158.  
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  160.  
  161. A remarkable achievement, even if aspects of the work are now obviously dated. A wealth of sources are provided for Borgia family members (Volume 1); Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia and his papal election (Volume 2); Alexander’s leadership in matters of faith (Volume 3); Rome, the Papal States, secular powers, and promotion of learning (Volume 4); nepotism and (refuted) accusations of deceit, murder, and immorality (Volume 5).
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  166. Collections of Papers
  167. Giovanni Soranzo was among the most prolific of authors on subjects relating to the life and times of Alexander VI. His contribution to the field can be appreciated in two volumes of essays, Soranzo 1950 and Soranzo 1960, both of which are characterized by an accessible format and clarity of purpose and expression. As Soranzo’s career was reaching its conclusion in Italy, the Catalan Jesuit Miguel Batllori was committing his to study of the Borja/Borgia from an Iberian perspective. The results can be found throughout this article, with Batllori and Schraut 1992 as one example among many. Batllori was able to celebrate the fifth centenary of Rodrigo Borgia’s papal election and subsequent pontificate, which was marked by various publications in Spain and Italy. The Italian celebrations were coordinated by the Ministero per i beni e le attività culturali, Comitato nazionale incontri di studio per il V centenario del pontificato di Alessandro VI (1492–1503); the conference papers were duly published by Roma nel Rinascimento. Of these Chiabò, et al. 2001 was the first and most extensive, setting the standard for what followed. Subsequent collections of papers tended to be more thematic in nature, such as Chiabò and Gargano 2003 on the fortifications with which Alexander was associated, and Chiabò, et al. 2004 on the Mediterranean and Atlantic worlds during his pontificate. Other collections in the series are Capitani, et al. 2005 (From Man to Myth) and Canfora, et al. 2002 (Cultural Patronage). Even at the Roman end, demand for fifth-centenary publications could not be satisfied by Roma nel Rinascimento, as is confirmed in Frova and Nico Ottaviani 2003, a collection of papers on the Papal States. Meanwhile, Spain experienced its own fifth-centenary celebrations, including a conference inspired by the holy year in 1500, the papers from which were published as Iradiel and Cruselles 2006.
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  169. Batllori, Miguel, and Elisabeth Schraut, eds. Die Renaissancefamilie Borgia: Geschichte und Legende. Sigmaringen, Germany: Thorbecke, 1992.
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  172.  
  173. This is the catalogue for an exhibition held at the Hällisch-Frankisches Museum in Schwäbisch Hall to mark the fifth centenary of Alexander’s papal election. The essays include Batllori’s overview of Alexander’s pontificate, Sabine Poeschel on the Appartamento Borgia, Herwarth Röttgen on Alexander’s cultural patronage (illustrated with some excellent 19th-century history paintings), and Ulrich Klein on coins and medallions.
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  178. Chiabò, Myriam, and Maurizio Gargano, eds. Le rocche alessandrine e la rocca di Civita Castellana: Atti del convegno (Viterbo, 19–20 marzo 2001). Rome: Roma nel Rinascimento, 2003.
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  181.  
  182. Following studies of the defense of the Papal States and military architecture from the pontificate of Sixtus IV to that of Alexander, the emphasis among the dozen papers in this amply illustrated collection is on the rocca at Civita Castellana, to the north of Rome, which was begun for Alexander by Antonio da Sangallo. Christoph Luitpold Frommel is among the contributors.
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  187. Chiabò, Myriam, Silvia Maddalo, Massimo Miglio, and Anna Maria Oliva, eds. Roma di fronte all’Europa al tempo di Alessandro VI: Atti del convegno, Città del Vaticano-Roma, 1–4 dicembre 1999. 3 vols. Rome: Roma nel Rinascimento, 2001.
  188.  
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  190.  
  191. The largest of all the fifth-centenary collections, these conference papers range widely over historiographical, ecclesiastical, and cultural topics, with contributors including Massimo Miglio, Concetta Bianca, Anna Modigliani, and Franco Cardini. Among the more substantial papers are those of Francesco Somaini on Rodrigo Borgia in the conclave of 1484 and Annibale Ilari on Burchard’s Liber notarum (Burchard 1907–1942, cited under Primary Sources), with an appendix of Alexander’s familiars.
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  196. Chiabò, Myriam, Anna Maria Oliva, and Olivetta Schena, eds. Alessandro VI dal Mediterraneo all’Atlantico: Atti del convegno, Cagliari, 17–19 maggio 2001. Rome: Roma nel Rinascimento, 2004.
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  199.  
  200. Among the nineteen papers in this collection, those representing the Mediterranean include David Abulafia on the region’s economy, Anna Maria Oliva and Olivetta Schena on a family of doctors who practiced in various locations, and Roberto Bonfil on Iberian Jews in Italy. Aspects of Atlantic history are found in essays by Consuelo Varela on Columbus, and Giuseppe Bellini on European acculturation in the Americas.
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  205. Frova, Carla, and Maria Grazia Nico Ottaviani, eds. Alessandro VI e lo stato della Chiesa: Atti del convegno, Perugia, 13–15 marzo 2000. Rome: Ministero per i beni e le attività culturali, Direzione generale per gli archivi, 2003.
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  208.  
  209. This is essentially a tour of the Papal States during Alexander’s pontificate, with individual papers on the March of Ancona, Bologna, Camerino, Perugia, the Romagna, and Umbria, together with Benevento. Otherwise, there is more general material on aspects of papal government, such as Peter Partner’s paper on the Camera Apostolica. The volume concludes with Paolo Prodi on Alexander and papal sovereignty.
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  214. Iradiel, Paulino, and José Maria Cruselles, eds. De València a Roma a través dels Borja: Congrés conmemoratiu del 500 aniversari de l’any jubilar d’Alexandre VI (València, 23–26 de febrer de 2000). Valencia, Spain: Generalitat Valenciana, Conselleri de Cultura, Educació i Esport, 2006.
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  217.  
  218. The fifth centenary of Alexander’s holy year provided the spur for these fifteen papers, including those of Miguel Navarro Sorní on Rodrigo Borgia’s ecclesiastical promotions; Anna Maria Oliva on Spaniards at Alexander’s court; David Igual Luis on Ambrogio Spannocchi; and Santiago la Parra López on the first two dukes of Gandia, both of whom were the pope’s sons.
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  222.  
  223. Soranzo, Giovanni. Studi intorno a papa Alessandro VI (Borgia). Milan: Vita e Pensiero, 1950.
  224.  
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  226.  
  227. A collection of five independent studies: (1) an analysis of the conclave of 1492; (2) an examination of Burchard’s Liber notarum (Burchard 1907–1942, cited under Primary Sources); (3) an introduction to a collection of Alexander’s correspondence; (4) snippets of information about Alexander’s mistress Giulia Farnese; and (5) a study of papal policy in relation to secular powers, not merely those that sent armies into Italy.
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  231.  
  232. Soranzo, Giovanni. Il tempo di Alessandro VI Papa e di Fra Girolamo Savonarola. Milan: Vita e Pensiero, 1960.
  233.  
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  235.  
  236. Four more free-standing studies in the pattern established by Soranzo 1950: (1) the Camaldolese general Pietro Dolfin, Cardinal Francesco Todeschini-Piccolomini (the future Pius III), and Pietro Barozzi, bishop of Padua, as anti-Borgia and anti-Savonarolan figures; (2) Alexander and the descent of Charles VIII into Italy; (3) Alexander and Savonarola; and (4) Alexander and Giuliano della Rovere (the future Julius II).
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  240.  
  241. Lives and Times
  242. Alexander VI has not attracted as much interest from biographers as have his children Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia. Consequently, this selection of works contains only two biographies in the strictest sense of the term. Ferrara 1942 was originally published in French in 1939 and developed out of the author’s earlier interest in Machiavelli. It is perfectly readable, but not the most useful of works for the modern student. The more recent biography is Reinhardt 2005. Another biography listed here is not of Alexander at all, but of Ascanio Maria Sforza, a cleric whose career became intimately bound up with that of the second Borgia pope. Pellegrini 2002 has been included in part for the light it sheds on Alexander, but also because it illustrates what might be possible if a new biography of the pope, firmly based on archival sources, was to be written. There is, however, a healthy tradition of authors looking beyond Alexander himself and writing histories of the Borgia family in the Renaissance period. Rolfe 1901 has been compulsive reading for all subsequent authors on this subject, but is probably not the wisest choice for the student whose time is limited by an impending essay deadline. Mallett 1969 is to be preferred by anyone who requires a clear history of politics, diplomacy, and warfare, particularly in the period 1492–1503. Mallett subsequently rated Schüller-Piroli 1980 as the most complete modern work on the Borgia, though admitted that it is not without limitations. Beyond the biographies and family histories are wider accounts of the period in which Alexander lived: Guicciardini 1969 and Pastor 1898–1953. The Florentine patrician Francesco Guicciardini was still a young man when Alexander VI died, but so thorough was his research into the history of his own times that he remains the greatest contemporary authority on the opening phases of the Italian Wars. Guicciardini 1969 was written in 1537–1540 and first published (posthumously) in 1561. Pastor 1898–1953 is the English translation of the German historian’s monumental history of the papacy, which starts with Clement V in 1305 and follows its epic story through to the death of Pius VI in 1799. It remains essential reading for anyone seeking a solid overview of the Renaissance popes.
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  244. Ferrara, Orestes. The Borgia Pope: Alexander the Sixth. Translated by Francis J. Sheed. London: Sheed and Ward, 1942.
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  247.  
  248. The author states that his intention is to study the reality of the pope’s life from original sources. The result is an accessible biography that places greater emphasis on the women and children in Alexander’s life than on relations between states. Minor errors crept into the translation, of which “Louis XVIII” for “Louis XII” is the most prominent.
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  252.  
  253. Guicciardini, Francesco. The History of Italy. Translated and edited by Sidney Alexander. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1969.
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  256.  
  257. One of the more accessible editions of Guicciardini’s epic work. Alexander features in the first six of its twenty books: he is elected pope (1), responds to the first French invasion of Italy (1–2), confiscates the Orsini estates and sees his son assassinated (3), announces the holy year of 1500 (4), supports Cesare’s military campaigns in the Romagna (5), and dies (6).
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  261.  
  262. Mallett, Michael. The Borgias: The Rise and Fall of a Renaissance Dynasty. London: Bodley Head, 1969.
  263.  
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  265.  
  266. The diplomacy and warfare of Alexander’s pontificate form the core of this solid and unsensational account, which also traces the family’s fortunes throughout the 15th century and sketches those of the pope’s descendants. Rather than evolving out of Mallett’s teaching, it went on to inspire his special subject course and has proved its worth for undergraduate teaching and learning.
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  270.  
  271. Pastor, Ludwig von. The History of the Popes, from the Close of the Middle Ages. 40 vols. Edited by Frederick Ignatius Antrobus, Ralph K. Kerr, Ernest Graf, and E. F. Peeler. London: Kegan Paul, 1898–1953.
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  274.  
  275. Rodrigo Borgia’s career up to 1492 can be traced in Volumes 2–5. Volume 5 also covers Alexander’s election and the onset of the Italian Wars. Other aspects of his pontificate, including dealings with Savonarola, government of the Papal States, and cultural patronage, are in Volume 6. Antrobus translated Volumes 1–6 from the German original.
  276.  
  277. Find this resource:
  278.  
  279.  
  280. Pellegrini, Marco. Ascanio Maria Sforza: La parabola politica di un cardinale-principe del Rinascimento. Rome: Istituto storico italiano per il medio evo, 2002.
  281.  
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  283.  
  284. Ascanio Maria Sforza was a prince who became a cardinal, Rodrigo Borgia a cardinal who dealt effortlessly with princes; in 1492 Ascanio was Alexander’s choice to succeed him as vice-chancellor of the Church. The political and ecclesiastical detail in this biography makes it superior to many books on the Borgia, which dwell too readily on the scandalous and the picturesque.
  285.  
  286. Find this resource:
  287.  
  288.  
  289. Reinhardt, Volker. Der unheimliche Papst: Alexander VI. Borgia, 1431–1503. Munich: C. H. Beck, 2005.
  290.  
  291. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  292.  
  293. This is the only biography of Alexander to be inspired by the fifth centenary of his pontificate. In that Reinhardt has published studies of the Borgia and Medici dynasties and of Pope Pius II, it forms part of a larger body of work. There are no references, but there is a useful chronology and one of the most recent bibliographies.
  294.  
  295. Find this resource:
  296.  
  297.  
  298. Rolfe, Frederick William. Chronicles of the House of Borgia by Frederick, Baron Corvo. London: Grant Richard, 1901.
  299.  
  300. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  301.  
  302. Although this highly idiosyncratic work is probably of most interest for the light it sheds on its egotistical author, there is some substance behind the purple prose. More impressionable undergraduates should be steered elsewhere; others can be encouraged to revel in it. This is merely the first of various editions, including under the title A History of the Borgias.
  303.  
  304. Find this resource:
  305.  
  306.  
  307. Schüller-Piroli, Susanne. Die Borgia Päpste Kalixt III. und Alexander VI. Munich: R. Oldenbourg Verlag, 1980.
  308.  
  309. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  310.  
  311. A substantial study of the two Borgia pontificates, building on the author’s previous general history of the family. However, that substance is largely derived from contextual material, so the volume does not represent much of an advance on any previous study. Although there are no references, the bibliography is useful and the genealogy more informative than that in Mallett 1969.
  312.  
  313. Find this resource:
  314.  
  315.  
  316. Ecclesiastical Responsibilities
  317. Rodrigo Borgia was vice-chancellor for thirty-three years and pope for eleven, so most of his ecclesiastical experience was as a cardinal and as the Church’s senior administrator. Thus it is appropriate to highlight those publications that shed light on that larger portion of his career. Dendorfer and Lützelschwab 2011 provides a suitable point of departure, because Cardinal Borgia is viewed as one member—however senior—of the Sacred College, his work complementing that of his fellow cardinals. A cardinal’s influence can be measured by the number of familiars he attracted, and Borgia became the most popular Roman patron of his generation, as can be seen in Vaquero Piñeiro 2001. His influence extended well beyond the Spaniards who flocked to his household, for the Roman curia employed men from throughout and beyond Italy, and Borgia was one of its pivotal figures. Thus Frenz 1986 is a valuable source of information about the careers of the men who looked to him as a source of patronage, including those whose loyalty to him was rewarded after his papal election in 1492. The story of that election has been told and retold many times, but never more effectively than in La Torre 1933, which details how each individual vote was cast, effectively disproving some of the more sensational myths that had emerged regarding this episode. As pope, Alexander relied on the support of his cardinals as he had supported the five previous pontiffs, so it is useful to compare Pellegrini 2002 with the same author’s later contribution to Dendorfer and Lützelschwab 2011. Some cardinals did betray Alexander, but the effectiveness of any opposition was determined by command of the preached and printed word, and of that the Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola proved to be the master. The texts at the heart of his dispute with the Borgia pope are conveniently brought together in Scaltriti 1976. Savonarola’s contemporary influence was confined to Florence; elsewhere there was traditional deference to the papacy as the ultimate source of law and order, and arbiter of disputes. One notable development to which Alexander was obliged to respond was the discovery of the New World, which he did in the bull Inter caetera (4 May 1493), defining the geographical limits of Spanish and Portuguese influence. Muldoon 1978 examines aspects of the bull relating to the inhabitants of the new-found lands, and Avalos 2014 continues the story through to Alexander’s later intervention on the subject.
  318.  
  319. Avalos, Hector. “Pope Alexander VI, Slavery and Voluntary Subjection: ‘Ineffabilis et Summi Patris’ in Context.” Journal of Ecclesiastical History 65.4 (October 2014): 738–760.
  320.  
  321. DOI: 10.1017/S002204691400122Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  322.  
  323. Following the bull Inter caetera, King Manuel I of Portugal sought clarification about the authority of the Iberian monarchs over the peoples of newly conquered lands. Avalos argues that Alexander’s reply, Ineffabilis et summi patris (1 June 1497), continued a legal tradition of interpreting voluntary subjection as a form of enslavement. The text of the papal letter appears in an appendix.
  324.  
  325. Find this resource:
  326.  
  327.  
  328. Dendorfer, Jürgen, and Ralf Lützelschwab, eds. Geschichte des Kardinalats im Mittelalter. Päpste und Papsttum 39. Stuttgart: Anton Hiersemann, 2011.
  329.  
  330. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  331.  
  332. The only relevant contribution is that by Marco Pellegrini, whose wide-ranging survey of cardinals’ careers during the pontificates of Sixtus IV (1471–1484), Innocent VIII (1484–1492), and Alexander VI (1492–1503) contains information relating to Rodrigo Borgia as a cardinal and as a pope who, in turn, created further cardinals. The latter are listed on pp. 503–505.
  333.  
  334. Find this resource:
  335.  
  336.  
  337. Frenz, Thomas. Die Kanzlei der Päpste der Hochrenaissance (1471–1527). Tübingen, Germany: Max Niemeyer, 1986.
  338.  
  339. DOI: 10.1515/9783110933475Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  340.  
  341. For the first twenty-one years of this study, Rodrigo Borgia headed the papal chancery, with Cardinal Ascanio Maria Sforza succeeding him as vice-chancellor in 1492. Frenz describes the work of the Chancery and other branches of the Roman curia, analyzes the turnover of personnel, and provides a prosopographical guide to over two thousand curialists, many of whom served under Borgia/Alexander.
  342.  
  343. Find this resource:
  344.  
  345.  
  346. La Torre, Ferdinando. Del conclave di Alessandro VI, papa Borgia. Florence, Genoa, and Rome, Italy: Olschki, 1933.
  347.  
  348. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  349.  
  350. La Torre’s analysis of votes given and received in the three scrutinies held during the conclave of 1492 demonstrates that only Rodrigo Borgia could break the deadlock between two politically motivated factions. He concludes that Alexander’s election was not determined by simony and that the deals done were not exceptional when compared with those made in other conclaves.
  351.  
  352. Find this resource:
  353.  
  354.  
  355. Muldoon, James. “Papal Responsibility for the Infidel: Another Look at Alexander VI’s Inter caetera.” Catholic Historical Review 64.2 (1978): 168–184.
  356.  
  357. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  358.  
  359. Setting aside essentially secular interests in the delineation of Spanish and Portuguese spheres of influence, Muldoon focuses on the bull Inter caetera as part of a long tradition in canon law concerning responsibility to protect infidels and convert them to Christianity, which he traces back to Gratian’s Decretum (c. 1140), by way of 15th-century Portuguese requests for guidance in encounters with Muslims.
  360.  
  361. Find this resource:
  362.  
  363.  
  364. Pellegrini, Marco. “A Turning-Point in the History of the Factional System in the Sacred College: The Power of Pope and Cardinals in the Age of Alexander VI.” In Court and Politics in Papal Rome 1492–1700. Edited by Gian Vittorio Signorotto and Maria Antonietta Visceglia, 8–30. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
  365.  
  366. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  367.  
  368. Drawing on a wealth of studies of individual late-15th- and early-16th-century cardinals, including his own work on Ascanio Maria Sforza, Pellegrini paints a portrait of the fortunes and responsibilities of curial cardinals in that era. A briefer version of the same author’s essay in Chiabò, et al. 2001 (Collections of Papers).
  369.  
  370. Find this resource:
  371.  
  372.  
  373. Scaltriti, Giacinto Arturo. L’ultimo Savonarola: Esame giuridico-teologico del carteggio (brevi e lettere) intercorsi [sic] tra papa Alessandro VI e il frate Girolamo Savonarola. Rome: Edizioni paoline, 1976.
  374.  
  375. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  376.  
  377. Each of Scaltriti’s chapters is based on one or more sources. From the Roman side there are a dozen papal briefs, including that ordering Savonarola to go to Rome (July 1495), his suspension from preaching (September 1495), his excommunication (May 1497), and the order for his arrest (February 1498). The letters include those sent by Savonarola to Alexander between 1495 and 1498.
  378.  
  379. Find this resource:
  380.  
  381.  
  382. Vaquero Piñeiro, Manuel. “Valencianos en Roma durante el siglo XV: Una presencia en torno a los Borja.” In El Hogar de los Borja. Edited by Mariano González Baldoví and Vicente Pons Alòs, 185–199. Valencia, Spain: Generalitat Valenciana, 2001.
  383.  
  384. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  385.  
  386. Reproduces lists of Rodrigo Borgia’s familiars made between 1470 and 1481, including that of 1 January 1472, when his 139 familiars easily dwarfed the numbers presented by the other cardinals. A total of 220 individuals can be identified, including those who had previously served Calixtus III. The number of Spaniards increased after his Spanish legation in 1472–1473.
  387.  
  388. Find this resource:
  389.  
  390.  
  391. Relations with Secular Powers
  392. This theme can be traced easily enough in any of the works featured in Lives and Times. The fact that those works can be supplemented by the ones listed in this section reflects the number of times that the opening phases of the Italian Wars have been related. Pepe 1945 is included here as a reminder that each generation has retold the story, and it illustrates the sort of account on which more recent authors cut their teeth and against which they have reacted. The three articles by Christine Shaw all deal with Italian princely or noble elites and could easily be regarded as preparatory work for a monograph on the Borgia or perhaps a biography of Alexander himself. The earliest—Shaw 1981—analyzes relations between Alexander and his son Cesare, on the one hand, and the Roman baronial family of Orsini on the other. It can be read in conjunction with the paper by Andreas Rehberg in Chiabò, et al. 2001 (Collections of Papers) on Alexander and the Colonna, who were the great rivals of the Orsini. The role of both families in the events of 1494–1495 is examined in Shaw 1995. As the fifth centenary of Alexander’s pontificate progressed, Shaw turned her attention to the pope’s daughter Lucrezia, steering clear of the romanticizing to which that character has too often been subject. Instead, Shaw 2005 is a suitably serious analysis of Lucrezia’s marriage to Alfonso d’Este of Ferrara in 1501. Italian states such as Ferrara were of relatively little importance in a period when the peninsula’s fate was dictated by larger, extra-peninsular powers. Even though Spanish infantry tended to get the better of French cavalry on Italian battlefields, France remained a constant threat that required neutralizing in ways only available to the pope. Monaco 1988 sheds light on the Franco-papal relationship, with particular reference to papal diplomats in France. It can be read in conjunction with Tacchella 1994, which examines the career of a papal representative in Alexander’s native Spain. The Hispano-papal relationship personified by Alexander was a lifelong interest of the prolific Catalan historian Miquel/Miguel Batllori, as is illustrated by the selection of pieces in Batllori 1999. However, the most comprehensive examination of that relationship is the multifaceted Fernández de Córdova Miralles 2005, which can be studied for its coverage of diplomatic relations no less than for its examination of ecclesiastical contacts across the western Mediterranean.
  393.  
  394. Batllori, Miguel. La familia de los Borjas. Edited and translated by Jerónimo Miguel. Madrid: Real Academia de la Historia, 1999.
  395.  
  396. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  397.  
  398. Including sections on the Borgia family, Catalan as the language of the papal court during the two Borgia pontificates, and Alexander’s relations with the ruling house of Aragon in Spain and Naples, this is a selection from Batllori’s complete works, translated from the original Catalan. As ever with his scholarship, the texts are generously supplemented by primary sources.
  399.  
  400. Find this resource:
  401.  
  402.  
  403. Fernández de Córdova Miralles, Alvaro. Alejandro VI y los reyes católicos: Relaciones político-eclesiásticas, 1492–1503. Rome: Edizioni Università della Santa Croce, 2005.
  404.  
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  406.  
  407. A monumental work that covers all aspects of its subject: papal and royal agents, Spanish contributions to Roman ceremonials, and the crown’s cultural patronage in the city (1); political relations, including Rodrigo Borgia’s Spanish legation and the Italian Wars up to 1503 (2); ecclesiastical relations, including appointments to benefices, conflicts of jurisdiction, reform, and the Spanish Inquisition (3).
  408.  
  409. Find this resource:
  410.  
  411.  
  412. Monaco, Michele. “The Instructions of Alexander VI to His Ambassadors Sent to Louis XII in 1498.” Renaissance Studies 2.2 (1988): 251–257.
  413.  
  414. DOI: 10.1111/j.1477-4658.1988.tb00154.xSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  415.  
  416. The three ambassadors left Rome on 4 June. Their instructions of the same date survive in various manuscripts and published collections. Monaco compares them with further instructions, dated 14 June, and publishes this later text in an appendix. From both sets it is clear that Alexander’s priority was to prevent the new French king making good his claim to Milan.
  417.  
  418. Find this resource:
  419.  
  420.  
  421. Pepe, Gabriele. La politica dei Borgia. Naples, Italy: Riccardo Ricciardi, 1945.
  422.  
  423. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  424.  
  425. The Borgia in question are Alexander and his son Cesare. The bulk of the text is devoted to events from Charles VIII’s invasion of Italy onward, though there is also coverage of Alexander’s dealings with Savonarola and reform initiatives after the murder of the duke of Gandia. Although the historical content is solid, the tone is unsympathetic toward its subject.
  426.  
  427. Find this resource:
  428.  
  429.  
  430. Shaw, Christine. “Alexander VI, Cesare Borgia and the Orsini.” European History Quarterly/European Studies Review 11 (1981): 1–23.
  431.  
  432. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  433.  
  434. Drawing on material from the Archivio Orsini in Rome’s Archivio Capitolino and on the dispatches of Florentine and Venetian ambassadors in Rome, Shaw reexamines the political history of Alexander’s pontificate with an emphasis on the Orsini family, who had close dynastic links to the Medici of Florence and whose estates gave them interests throughout Naples and the Papal States.
  435.  
  436. Find this resource:
  437.  
  438.  
  439. Shaw, Christine. “The Roman Barons and the French Descent into Italy.” In The French Descent into Italy, 1494–95: Antecedents and Effects. Edited by David Abulafia, 249–261. Aldershot, UK: Variorum, 1995.
  440.  
  441. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  442.  
  443. Shaw’s essay is the product of her long-standing interest in the Orsini family and is worth singling out because it is the only overtly Roman topic in a collection of nineteen papers dealing with some of the most significant political and military episodes of Alexander’s pontificate. Naples and Milan are better represented in the volume.
  444.  
  445. Find this resource:
  446.  
  447.  
  448. Shaw, Christine. “Alexander VI, Lucrezia Borgia and her Marriage to Alfonso d’Este.” Jacobus 19–20 (2005): 119–240.
  449.  
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  451.  
  452. Alexander’s role in the marriage negotiations is set against that of the bride herself, whose knowledge of public affairs was encouraged by her father. Aside from the pope’s admission of her influence over him, there is little solid information about their family life. Shaw compensates for this with illustrations from the careers of other papal families of the Renaissance period.
  453.  
  454. Find this resource:
  455.  
  456.  
  457. Tacchella, Lorenzo. Alessandro VI e la nunziatura in Spagna di Francesco des Prats (1492–1503). Genoa, Italy: Università degli studi di Genova, 1994.
  458.  
  459. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  460.  
  461. With the election of a Spanish pope in 1492, no diplomatic role was more significant than that entrusted to Rodrigo Borgia’s fellow-countryman and long-time familiar Francisco Desprats, who became the permanent nuncio to Aragon and Castile, generating the correspondence on which this study is based. Upon the conclusion of his mission, he was among the last cardinals created by Alexander.
  462.  
  463. Find this resource:
  464.  
  465.  
  466. Cultural Patronage
  467. Stinger 1985 is a highly authoritative introduction to this field. Systematic coverage of Alexander VI’s patronage of art and architecture, drawn from primary sources, has been available in print since the late 19th century and was surely kept to hand by all recent writers on the subject. Company i Climent 2002 is effectively an illustrated version of the 19th-century list. In chronological order, the earliest work in the present selection is Jacks 1985. This effectively anticipated interest in both the fifth centenary of Alexander’s papal election and that of Columbus’s first voyage to the New World, both of which occurred in 1492. The publication of Guidoni and Petrucci 1997 certainly anticipated Pope John Paul II’s holy year in 2000, which doubled up as the five hundredth anniversary of Alexander’s year of jubilee. That most of the other publications in this section followed in quick succession is surely no accident: interest in Alexander was bound to wane once the anniversary of his death had passed: I Borgia and the exhibition it accompanied could hardly have been timed any later than they were. The best known example of Alexander’s cultural patronage is the Vatican’s Appartamento Borgia, decorated by Pinturicchio. Poeschel 1999 is among the most detailed studies of these rooms. Less obviously connected with Alexander is Michelangelo’s Pietà in St Peter’s Basilica, even though it dates from the second Borgia pontificate. Voci 2001 puts that sculpture into a number of interlocking contexts. For Jong 2013 the relevant context is the French invasion of Italy in 1494–1495, though the works it inspired—more frescoes by Pinturicchio—have since been lost. In terms of literary culture, it was again the holy year of 2000 that caused scholars to think back five hundred years, the result being Canfora, et al. 2002, a collection of papers that manages to weave in many examples of the poetry and prose produced during Alexander’s pontificate.
  468.  
  469. I Borgia. Milan: Electa, 2002.
  470.  
  471. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  472.  
  473. In 2002–2003 Rome celebrated the fifth centenary of Alexander’s pontificate with an exhibition organized by the Fondazione Memmo at the Palazzo Ruspoli. This is the heavily illustrated exhibition catalogue. Contributors include Miquel Batllori on the family’s origins, Massimo Miglio and Anna Maria Oliva on Alexander and his reputation, and Felipe V. Garin Llombart on Roman culture during Alexander’s pontificate.
  474.  
  475. Find this resource:
  476.  
  477.  
  478. Canfora, Davide, Myriam Chiabò, and Mauro de Nichilo, eds. Principato ecclesiastico e riuso dei classici: Gli umanisti e Alessandro VI; Atti del convegno (Bari-Monte Sant’Angelo, 22–24 maggio 2000). Rome: Roma nel Rinascimento, 2002.
  479.  
  480. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  481.  
  482. Among the seventeen contributions in this volume, those with more direct connections to Alexander include Maria Grazia Blasio on Michele Ferro’s account of his election, Mauro de Nichilo on humanists from southern Italy (with extensive quotation from the sources), Sebastiano Valerio on Alexander in an allegory by Antonio Galateo, and Davide Canfora on a dedication by Pietro Martire d’Anghiera.
  483.  
  484. Find this resource:
  485.  
  486.  
  487. Company i Climent, Ximo. Alexandre VI i Roma: Les empreses artístiques de Roderic de Borja a Itàlia. Valencia, Spain: Edicions 3 i 4, 2002.
  488.  
  489. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  490.  
  491. A large, extremely thorough, and generously illustrated study of Alexander’s impact on the city of Rome and its environs, separating his patronage as a cardinal (including the Cancelleria Vecchia, titular churches, and fortifications) from that as pope (including the Torre Borgia, Appartamento Borgia, and Castel Sant’Angelo), with a chapter on the papal coronation of 26 August 1492 in between.
  492.  
  493. Find this resource:
  494.  
  495.  
  496. Guidoni, Enrico, and Giulia Petrucci. Urbanistica per i giubilei: Roma, Via Alessandrina; Una strada “tra due fondali” nell’Italia delle corti, 1492–1499. Rome: Edizioni Kappa, 1997.
  497.  
  498. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  499.  
  500. Alexander may have inspired and given his name to the creation of a new street between Castel Sant’Angelo and the Vatican to facilitate the movement of pilgrims during the holy year of 1500, but this study goes well beyond that papal connection, tracing the ownership of each individual property alongside the road and through which the thoroughfare was built.
  501.  
  502. Find this resource:
  503.  
  504.  
  505. Jacks, Philip J. “Alexander VI’s Ceiling for S. Maria Maggiore in Rome.” Römisches Jahrbuch für Kunstgeschichte 22 (1985): 67–90.
  506.  
  507. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  508.  
  509. Rodrigo Borgia was archpriest of Santa Maria Maggiore from 1483. As pope he allegedly had the coffered ceiling decorated with gold from the New World. Calixtus III has generally been credited with initiating the ceiling, leaving his nephew’s contribution as imperfectly understood. Jacks concludes that Alexander spared no expense on the church after 1492, perhaps in tribute to Calixtus.
  510.  
  511. Find this resource:
  512.  
  513.  
  514. Jong, Jan L. de. The Power and the Glorification: Papal Pretensions and the Art of Propaganda in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries. University Park, PA: Penn State Press, 2013.
  515.  
  516. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  517.  
  518. One chapter, “The Pope and the King” (pp. 28–43), deals with the cultural impact of Charles VIII’s time in Rome in January 1495, which was the subject of a (lost) fresco by Pinturicchio at Castel Sant’Angelo. By this means, Alexander sought to create the impression that Charles had demonstrated greater subservience to the papacy than had actually been the case.
  519.  
  520. Find this resource:
  521.  
  522.  
  523. Poeschel, Sabine. Alexander Maximus: Das Bildprogramm des Appartamento Borgia im Vatikan. Weimar, Germany: Verlag und Datenbank für Geisteswissenschaften, 1999.
  524.  
  525. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  526.  
  527. Following chapters on the context in which the Appartamento Borgia was created, the career of Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI, the artist and the dating of his work, the bulk of this substantial and amply illustrated work is devoted to an analysis of Pinturicchio’s contributions in each room, including the Sala dei Misteri, where Alexander’s profile portrait is to be found.
  528.  
  529. Find this resource:
  530.  
  531.  
  532. Stinger, Charles L. The Renaissance in Rome. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1985.
  533.  
  534. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  535.  
  536. This survey of literary and material culture in Renaissance Rome is fascinating at any level, so worth reading in order to compare and contrast the cultural patronage of Alexander and the other popes of the 15th and early 16th centuries. Consult the index for information on topics as diverse as Alexander’s choice of papal name and his pardon for the highly controversial scholar Giovanni Pico.
  537.  
  538. Find this resource:
  539.  
  540.  
  541. Voci, Anna Maria. Il figlio prediletto del Papa: Alessandro VI, il duca di Gandia e la pietà di Michelangelo in Vaticano: Committenza e destino di un capolavoro. Rome: Istituto storico italiano per l’età moderna e contemporanea, 2001.
  542.  
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  544.  
  545. A highly original essay in which the author entwines two stories that would otherwise be told independently of one another: that of the murder of the second duke of Gandia in mid June 1497 and Alexander’s subsequent contrition, and that of the commissioning of Michelangelo’s Pietà by Cardinal Jean de Bilhères de Lagraulas, the contract for which was signed on 27 August 1498.
  546.  
  547. Find this resource:
  548.  
  549.  
  550. From Man to Myth
  551. Hardly had Alexander VI breathed his last than rumors started circulating about his supposed crimes and general immorality. They were positively encouraged by his papal successor-but-one Julius II. In subsequent generations the anti-Borgia flames were fanned by Protestant writers looking to convince their readers of papal iniquities. Bale 1574 provides a case in point. The entire process by which the reputation of the Borgia was deliberately blackened in the 16th century is traced in the masterful essay that is Hillgarth 1996. Hillgarth follows the story through to Alexander’s first appearance on an English stage, the text of which is Barnes 1980, though in this edition the play itself is more informative than the accompanying notes. Moving into another literary genre, although Dumas 2002 is not a novel, it is all too clearly the work of a novelist and helped to inspire fictional treatments of Alexander and his children that are much too numerous to mention. English-language versions of the Borgia story multiplied during the 19th century, thereby constituting one aspect of a general renaissance of interest in the history of Renaissance Italy. The serious history and its fictional parallel could be said to have met in 1905 with the two publications featured here: Field 1905, a play of epic proportions that constitutes a serious attempt to dramatize historical events, and Rolfe 1905, which derived from the author’s own history of the Borgia (Lives and Times) and counters the mythmakers by making Alexander an oddly heroic figure. Representing one language in a single year, Field 1905 and Rolfe 1905 form a small fraction of a considerably greater cultural whole. That phenomenon now includes plays and novels, films and television dramas, Japanese manga comics, and one of the Assassin’s Creed video games. As each new medium uses and abuses the Borgia, it presents opportunities for commentary by writers familiar with the history of Renaissance Italy. For inspiration such commentators can consult Capitani, et al. 2005, which examines treatment of Alexander and his family by distinguished writers across the centuries. A parallel industry has been generated by the life and works of Niccolò Machiavelli, who observed Cesare Borgia as a military operator and admired what he saw. Alexander features in Machiavelli’s most famous treatise, Il principe, which was published posthumously in 1532 and has been subjected to extensive analysis.
  552.  
  553. Bale, John. The Pageant of Popes. Translated by John Studley. London: Thomas Marshe, 1574.
  554.  
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  556.  
  557. This is the English translation of Bale’s Latin original, which was published at Basel in 1558. It observes the traditional pontificate-by-pontificate structure for lives of the popes, with Alexander appearing in Book 6. Bale’s sources for Alexander include the Commentariorum of Raffaele Maffei, first published during the pontificate of Julius II and hostile in its coverage of Alexander.
  558.  
  559. Find this resource:
  560.  
  561.  
  562. Barnes, Barnabe. The Devil’s Charter. Edited by Jim C. Pogue. New York: Garland, 1980.
  563.  
  564. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  565.  
  566. Barnes’s only published play, The Divils Charter, a Tragedy: Conteining the Life and Death of Pope Alexander the Sixt, was performed before King James VI and I at Candlemas 1607. Barnes inherited the association of Alexander with necromancy from numerous Protestant authors, the emphasis on poison had a precedent in Bale 1574, and sodomy he included as typically Italianate behavior.
  567.  
  568. Find this resource:
  569.  
  570.  
  571. Capitani, Ovidio, Myriam Chiabò, Maria Consiglia De Matteis, and Anna Maria Oliva, eds. La fortuna dei Borgia: Atti del convegno (Bologna, 29–31 ottobre 2000). Rome: Roma nel Rinascimento, 2005.
  572.  
  573. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  574.  
  575. A collection devoted to posthumous reputations, including those of Alexander, as found in 16th-century French political writing (by Diego Quaglioni), in modern and contemporary literary historiography (Pasquale Corsi), from the Renaissance to the 19th century (Luca d’Ascia), and in the works of Burckhardt, Gregorovius, and Pastor (Giuseppe Lombardi). A secondary theme is Alexander’s relations with universities, particularly those at Bologna and Alcalá.
  576.  
  577. Find this resource:
  578.  
  579.  
  580. Dumas, Alexandre. Crimes célèbres. Edited by Robert Scrick. Paris: Phébus, 2002.
  581.  
  582. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  583.  
  584. The eighteen Crimes célèbres were originally published in 1839–1841, with those of the Borgia treated first. Many editions and translations are available, of which this is merely a recent example. The overall effect is that of a historical novel, though dialogue is subordinated to narrative, and Alexander is found among a sizeable cast of characters.
  585.  
  586. Find this resource:
  587.  
  588.  
  589. Field, Michael. Borgia, a Period Play. London: A. H. Bullen, 1905.
  590.  
  591. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  592.  
  593. Katharine Bradley and her niece Edith Cooper concealed their identities behind the pseudonym Michael Field. With a cast of over forty named characters, their play seeks to incorporate every twist and turn of the Borgia family’s fortunes, however succinctly. Alexander is a fond father, seeing the murdered duke of Gandia in Paradise; he is also under the sway of Cesare.
  594.  
  595. Find this resource:
  596.  
  597.  
  598. Hillgarth, J N. “The Image of Alexander VI and Cesare Borgia in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries.” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 59 (1996): 119–129.
  599.  
  600. DOI: 10.2307/751400Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  601.  
  602. Admitting that early modern writers had more to say about Cesare, Hillgarth nevertheless traces the blackening of Alexander’s reputation from contemporary Italian accusations that he was a marrano, a baptized Jew, and immediate reactions to his death, through to the works of Protestant authors, who made much of the assertion that Alexander had entered into a pact with the devil.
  603.  
  604. Find this resource:
  605.  
  606.  
  607. Rolfe, Frederick William. Don Tarquinio: A Kataleptic Phantasmatic Romance. London: Chatto and Windus, 1905.
  608.  
  609. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  610.  
  611. Following the factual history that is Chronicles of the House of Borgia (Rolfe 1901, Lives and Times), Rolfe’s fictional romance is set in and around Rome in 1495. Even while confined to Castel Sant’Angelo and deserted by most of the Roman baronial families, Alexander is portrayed as a heroic figure, “magnificent,” “invincible,” and “incomparable.”
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