Second Draft

Rodrigo Borgia was both a famous and infamous Italian Renaissance Pope who ruled from 1492 up until his death in 1503. My main purpose is to evaluate the papacy of Rodrigo Borgia. In order to do this it is necessary to analyse the specific sources and from those sources extract content relating to Rodrigo’s life, his rise to the Papacy, actions made during his reign and most significantly, the varying views of his Papacy.

Rodrigo was a young Spaniard who was destined to have a life in the church. Early on he studied canon law at the University of Bologna. His Uncle Calixtus III rose to the Papacy in 1455. In 1456, Rodrigo became a Cardinal at the young age of 25 and in the following year he attained the post of vice-chancellorship of the Holy See from his uncle. Over the years Rodrigo’s scandalous life included that of mistresses most notably Giulia Farnese. This was a claim that was no doubt true and it was the first of many scandals that plagued Rodrigo’s life and reputation. He was seen as a character full of ‘sexual appetite’. Marion Johnson in her book “The Borgia’s”, which focuses on a narrative of Alexander’s life, mentions that
“Rodrigo progressed from paternal affection to a lover’s passion. Giulia, most scandalously for one so young, became his mistress and the love of his late years”
Tuchman acknowledges what effect this had on Rodrigo and Mallett also acknowledges this.
“Made the subject of lewd jokes, it helped tarnish Borgia’s reputation”.
Throughout his time as Vice-Chancellor, Rodrigo garnered a reputation and an accumulation of wealth and eventually developed an admiration for the position of Pope.

In July 1492 Innocent VIII died. At this time Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia was very much in the public eye and had attracted some interest in Rome.

The Cardinals went into the Vatican on the 6^th of August to elect Innocent’s successor. Michael Mallett states
“This set the scene for one of the most dramatic and one of the most controversial of all Papal elections”.
In this election Rodrigo seemed to be against two top contenders, Cardinals della Rovere and Ascanio Sforza. Guiliano della Rovere had been Rodrigo’s bitter rival for quite some time and was a pro-French candidate.
The whole process lasted four days with four scrutinies. During this time Ascanio realized his chances were becoming slim and he switched his vote to Rodrigo. This gave Rodrigo the required two thirds majority vote.  On the morning of the 11^th of August, 1492, Rodrigo Borgia was announced as the new Pope and later became known as Alexander VI.
There were many alleged allegations that occurred even when Alexander himself first became Pope in 1492 and this is one of the main controversial highlights in Rodrigo’s career. Many accused him of simply buying out the Papacy, with bribes and offers of both wealth and positions in various offices/roles throughout the Church.
Barbara Tuchman, who wrote “The March of Folly” works against Rodrigo and sides with the idea that he simply bought out the Papacy
“He simply bought the Papacy outright over his two chief rivals, Cardinal della Rovere and Ascanio Sforza. The latter, who preferred coin to promises, was brought round by four mule-loads of bullion that were dispatched from Rodrigo’s palace.”
This is also depicted in the television series “The Borgia’s”.

However, there was no solid conclusive evidence to suggest this and because of that fact the allegation is considered false by most or at the very least inconclusive. By contrast Michael Mallett writes that Rodrigo was in the lead, voting wise, from the beginning and had no need to buy out his rivals
“… the full details of the first three scrutinies of this conclave had finally been found and published. The implications of these scrutiny lists have been very fully discussed by several historians but have never been fully assimilated into the stream of popular Borgia historiography. These lists reveal that Rodrigo Borgia was one of the leading candidate’s from the first scrutiny onwards” (referring to the election)
Mallett also strongly discredits the allegation of Simony, due to the lack of appropriate evidence. He makes reference to opposing Cardinals and how these Cardinals had no need for Rodrigo’s offers as there were wealthy figures at the time and that there was no evidence to sustain this claim, their vote was purely their choice, according to Mallett.
Tuchman and Mallett have complete opposing views to what actually occurred. Whatever the answer is cannot be officially determined, what is known is Rodrigo made his way there and became Pope.

 Residents warmed to Alexander’s new position as he had already lived a long life in Rome. At first, he focused on a more strict administration of justice, orderly government and he focused on his position and the problems current throughout Rome. However, there was an inevitable pull from his family and eventually his relatives were soon established in different positions throughout the Italian aristocracy and the church. Cesare, Rodrigo’s eldest son, became a Cardinal and Archbishop of Valencia; Giovanni (Juan) received the Spanish Dukedom of Gandia.

 Rodrigo at this time sought further allies. He had his daughter, Lucrezia, marry Giovanni Sforza and  his youngest son Jofre, marry the granddaughter of Naples. This would strengthen ties and give Rodrigo political advantages, but would also prove to be controversial later.

During this time the French devised plans for invasion to conquer Naples. A march through the Papal States was declared and to be led by Charles VIII. Charles aimed to claim the throne of Naples and the French planned to use Naples as a base for a potential crusade against the Turks. Charles moved on unresisted and reached Rome.
Alexander held firm against demands and ultimately Charles and his army left to continue on to Naples without meeting any combat. Rome was free of the French, for now.

With this threat King Alfonso II fled from Naples to Sicily. The French took Naples and their journey had met little combat.

Charles however, was unable to obtain Neapolitan support and so the French army turned its direction back to Rome. Alexander had no choice but to escape northwards with most of the Cardinals. Pursuit became futile and Charles, once again, passed onwards back home.

Alexander, in the following months worked on Italian unity to prevent another danger like this from arising and worked on an Italian power base.
A campaign was then established against the Orsini, after Virginio Orsini betrayed Alexander by siding with the French, with the hopes of benefits. Alexander made Juan, Duke of Gandia command the army. The papal army claimed a number of Orsini castles, but the Orsini clan held out and soon defeated the army. A deal was made between the two sides for the return of their castles.

On the 14^th of June another tragedy occurred with Juan, Duke of Gandia found stabbed to death in the Tiber. Upon hearing this Alexander locked himself in his room with grief and wept. Juan was noted as having a long line of enemies, owing to papal property given to him by the Pope. There were a long list of potential suspects including the Orsini, Giovanni Sforza, the Duke of Urbino and even Cesare eventually became listed as a suspect.
While it may be questioned why Cesare was a suspect, Hibbert identifies potential motives
“Juan’s failure at Bracciano and his seduction of Sancia, Cesare’s mistress, had infuriated Cesare, fuelling his dislike of Juan as the obvious favourite (of Rodrigo’s sons), though unworthy and conceited second son”.
No one ended up being identified as the killer. Cesare has since been absolved of the murder, but debate still lingers. This is another example of the deceit and suspicion that followed the Borgia’s.

 It was in this year that Alexander annulled the marriage of his daughter to Giovanni Sforza in order for her to marry Alfonso the Neapolitan heir (He had interest in creating ties with the royal family of Naples). Sforza had been married to Lucrezia, to strengthen ties with Milan.  

There were claims made against Sforza that he was impotent after the decision to annul the marriage. Giovanni, outraged, denied the charge of 'non-consummation' and accused the Pope of Incest. He made allegations that the family (Rodrigo, Cesare, Juan) had intimate relations with Lucrezia. This is another example of claims and allegations made against Rodrigo. Sforza’ claim of incest is also considered to be one of the most provocative of the list of accusations that accumulated against the Borgia’s over time.
Christopher Hibbert acknowledges how these claims seemed to spread and stick within society from an angered and mistreated Sforza
“The rumours of incest, a sin as offensive then as it is now, spread like wildfire through Rome and all of Italy. Born out of Giovanni’s desire for revenge on the family who were taunting him so unfairly, the story stuck”
These claims were considered to be simply fabricated by Sforza who wanted to get back at the Borgia’s for the humiliation he received. They were dismissed as there was no evidence to hint at this, but these rumours carried on and spread as many of the Borgia enemies continued adding to this negative view of them.
"The accusations on both sides seem to have been rooted in a particularly nasty divorce rather than in reality but the incest charges were picked up by the Borgia’s’ enemies and made to stick"

 Another character of interest at this time was Girolamo Savonarola, a Dominican Friar who preached in Florence. Savonarola had great influence (even politically concerning pro-French Policy) to those who listened. For this reason and well as personal attacks on Alexander, Savonarola was eventually imprisoned and later executed.  

Savonarola, the Dominican Friar, was executed on Alexander’s orders, after his public speeches attacking the Borgia’s became too much.  The Borgia’s were accused on numerous occasions (this being an example) of murder/poison to suppress their enemies. It’s generally believed this did occur whenever a threat arose. Micheletto Corella was a Borgia bodyguard that was reportedly requested by Cesare to assassinate certain enemies and it’s believed that Cesare/Juan also played a part in certain murders. So the answers to murder more than likely point toward yes, but to what extent and how many were suppressed by them cannot be answered.
It’s often reported they preferred more unsubtle methods. The use of murder by both Cesare and Juan is depicted throughout the television series and Tuchman describes Alexander’s Papacy as one full of “Continuous violence, murders in churches, bodies in the Tiber, fighting of factions, burnings and lootings, arrests, tortures and executions, combined with scandal, frivolities and continuous ceremony”.
Even though Tuchman can be biased at times she states that she bases this claim on the tone of Burchard’s diary. Burchard was a renaissance chronicler who many Borgia historians used, including Hibbert.

In 1499, King Louis XII sought an early alliance with the Borgia Pope. Louis needed help to revive French claim to Naples (which Charles had failed to do) and for his marriage to be annulled. Against public opinion, Alexander saw this as an opportunity and as a window of advancement for Cesare, who had recently resigned his role as Cardinal. Alexander granted Louis' annulment and Cesare became the Duke of Valence and the King even gave him command of a large body of French lancers. This deal turned into an alliance with France in early 1499, an alliance that angered many including the rulers of Naples, the Sforza’s and even Spain. The Pope was creating enemies by progressing with this alliance.

 In the middle of 1499, Louis gathered troops for his Italian military campaign, to reclaim Milan and Naples. 1500 became Jubilee year; Cesare had a full military career, aiming to regain control of certain Papal States.

Alexander continued to help fund Cesare for his journey. His expenses emptied the treasury. Cesare and the French continued their campaign as enemies rose, while Alexander monitored the situation carefully.
The Orsini were fighting Cesare and the Spanish were fighting the French for Naples. The Pope was caught in the middle, ready to ally himself with whichever power promised the most at any period.
In August 1503 Alexander became gravely ill and eventually died aged seventy three. The reason for his death was originally thought to be poison (as he had many enemies and poison was also known as an art much practised all over Italy and often used), but was in fact natural causes.

Rodrigo Borgia led an intriguing life as Pope Alexander VI. There was a vast range of views and opinions concerning his status both from the time of the Italian Renaissance and throughout history up until modern times from an array of historians and people alike. Borgia historiography is the subject of much debate, mostly concerning the claims, allegations and events that occurred during that specific period.  

The allegations can be explained by rumours. During the Renaissance many have considered Rome as a centre for gossip. Most will acknowledge this, as Barbara Tuchman famously quotes:
“In the bubbling stew of Rome's rumors”

There have been many allegations/claims all made against the Borgia’s. Most of these however have remained unsubstantiated or unknown due to the lack of evidence present or the fact that the evidence proves the action didn’t occur at all. However, the question further alludes to what brought out these rumours and what influenced these claims. Aside from his power gain and the rumours that went along with it, his offspring has been one factor of interest.

Rodrigo’s offspring may have been the subject of further allegations and views of vindictiveness. A good example of this was Cesare’s military campaign in which he instilled fear within the French. This behaviour could easily be the result of Rodrigo’s influence and cause a more negative image of the family being that his military position was furthered by Rodrigo himself. It can be said that the various positions Rodrigo put his offspring in could have attributed to the negativity. Overall Rodrigo’s actions and decisions he made somewhat furthered this concept. His offspring (namely Cesare and Lucrezia) did concrete this ill view of the family, but the infamy Rodrigo attained in his life through his choices and deeds (including decisions about his offspring) marked the Borgia family more extensively. 

 There have been varied opinions on Rodrigo, with a negative view being the more popular one throughout history’s course (e.g. his character was illustrated as one of corruptedness, lies, cheating etc).

Michael Mallett, in his book “The Borgia’s :The rise and fall of the most infamous family in history”, writes much to clear Rodrigo’s name, but when discussing his main intentions for his book he does acknowledge the status and reputation of Rodrigo within society early on and up until this day:
“It is my intention therefore in this book to present as wide a spectrum as possible of recent views about the Borgia’s in an attempt not to rehabilitate them but to explain them. To explain why they were so hated, so feared and so maligned; to explain what they were doing which so upset the Renaissance Italians as to bring down the whole weight of contemporary humanistic and later historical censure upon them”.

It is only in much more modern times where the stance on Rodrigo has been slightly more varied. Many either held a similar view, (such as Tuchman who withheld the negative view,) or slightly differed due to the new stance historians are now taking on his character.
Christopher Hibbert’s “The Borgias and Their Enemies” for example, utilises many modern based sources and content from contemporary writers, but throughout his work he aims for complete objectivity. Hibbert neither condemns nor praises Rodrigo, instead he tries to aim for the total truth through what ever official evidence he can extract from his list of contemporary sources and accounts from that time. Hibbert writes a narrative and aside from his contemporary sources uses characters such as Johannes Burchard (1450-1506), an Italian Renaissance chronicler, who lived during Rodrigo’s time and recorded different events, to provide further evidence
The question of, was he really the most controversial, is difficult to determine. He definitely was one of the most controversial Renaissance Popes; however, he was not the only one that attracted immense controversy and harsh allegations. There were many other religious figures who attracted similar attention, possibly even more controversy including Stephen VI, John XII, Innocent VIII, Leo X to name a few. It’s often been stated that:
“Alexander VI may have been no worse then any other religious man at the time”.
Even though he was one of the most controversial, it’s difficult to state whether he was the most controversial as there have many religious figures who have been accused in a similar fashion.

While being weighed up as either completely villainous or justified, it should be said a true judgement cannot be fully reached. While, there is insufficient evidence to suggest Rodrigo was completely vindictive he was nowhere near honourable. During his reign as Pope he did achieve some good for Rome and the general society (Patronage of the arts, saved Rome from the French, added strength/made alliances to neighbouring Papal States, brought a new liveliness to Rome).

Marion Johnson in her book “The Borgia’s” forms more of a narrative on Alexander’s life and agrees with his achievements through the course of his Papacy
“But Alexander also did good work knowingly for the papacy and for Rome, since he was fully conscious of his duties as a Renaissance patron”.

However, the evidence of what he and his family have done and what they were accused of doing, has almost negated those few good deeds and their name has become one associated on a darker note. Even though Rodrigo cannot be measured at one end, his name has been seemingly imprinted throughout history as one for corruption; it is only in recent times where Rodrigo has been depicted on a slightly lighter note.