Lucretia Borgia Part 22

Sunday, February 6th, there was a magnificent ceremony in the church; one of the Pope's chamberlains in the name of his Holiness presented Don Alfonso with a hat and also a sword which the Holy Father had blessed, and which the archbishop girded on him at the altar. In the afternoon the princes and the princesses of the house of Este went to Lucretia's apartments to fetch her to the banquet hall. They danced for two hours; Lucretia herself, with one of her ladies-in-waiting, taking part in some French dances. In the evening the _Miles Gloriosus_ was presented; it was followed by a _moresca_ in which ten shepherds with horns on their heads fought with each other.

February 7th there was a tourney in the piazza before the church between two mounted knights, one of whom was a native of Bologna and the other a citizen of Imola. No blood was shed. In the evening the _Asinaria_ was presented, together with a wonderful _moresca_ in which appeared fourteen satyrs, one of which carried a silvered a.s.s's head in his hands, in which there was a music-box, to the strains of which the clowns danced. This play of the satyrs was followed by an interlude performed by sixteen vocalists,--men and women,--and a virtuoso from Mantua who played on three lutes. In conclusion there was a _moresca_ in which was simulated the agricultural work of the peasants. The fields were prepared, the seed sown, the grain cut and threshed, and the harvest feast followed. Finally a native dance to the accompaniment of the bagpipe was executed.

The last day of the festivities, February 8th, also marked the end of the carnival. The amba.s.sadors, who were soon to depart, presented the bride with costly gifts consisting of beautiful stuffs and silverware.

The most remarkable present was brought by the representatives of Venice. The Republic at its own expense had sent two n.o.blemen to the festivities, Niccol Dolfini and Andrea Foscolo, both of whom were magnificently clothed. In those days dress was as costly as it was beautiful, and the artists who made the clothes for the men and women of the Renaissance would look with contempt upon those of the present time, for in that aesthetic age their productions were works of art. The most magnificent stuffs, velvet, silk, and gold embroidery were used, and painters did not scorn to design the color schemes and the shapes and folds of the garments. Dress, therefore, was a most weighty consideration, and one to which great value was attached, as it indicated the importance of the wearer. All who have left accounts of the festivities in Ferrara describe in detail the costumes worn on each occasion by Donna Lucretia and the other prominent women, and even those of the men. The reports which the Venetians sent home and the description in the diary of Marino Sanuto show how great was the importance attached to these matters. The following is even more striking evidence: before the two amba.s.sadors of Venice set out for Ferrara they were required to appear before the whole senate in their robes of crimson velvet trimmed with fur, and wearing capes of similar material. More than four thousand persons were present in the great council hall, and the Piazza of S. Marco was crowded with people who gazed with wonder on these strange creatures. One of these robes contained thirty-two and the other twenty-eight yards of velvet.[170]

Following the instructions of the Seignory of Venice, the amba.s.sadors sent their robes to d.u.c.h.ess Lucretia as a bridal gift.[171] This wonderful gift was presented in the most naive way imaginable. One of the n.o.ble gentlemen delivered a Latin oration, and the other followed with a long discourse in Italian; thereupon they retired to an adjoining room, removed their magnificent robes, and sent them to the bride. This present and the pedantry of the two Venetians excited the greatest mirth at the Ferrarese court.[172]

In the evening they danced for the last time, and attended the final theatrical performance, the _Casina_. Before the comedy began, music composed by Rombonzino was rendered, and songs in honor of the young couple were sung. Everywhere throughout the _Casina_, musical interludes were introduced. During the intermission six violinists, among them Don Alfonso, the hereditary prince, who was a magnificent amateur performer, played. The violin seems to have been held in great esteem in Ferrara, for when Caesar Borgia was about to set out for France he asked Duke Ercole for a violin player to accompany him, as they were much sought after in that country.[173]

The ballet which followed was a dance of savages contending for the possession of a beautiful woman. Suddenly the G.o.d of love appeared, accompanied by musicians, and set her free. Hereupon the spectators discovered a great globe which suddenly split in halves and began to give forth beautiful strains. In conclusion twelve Swiss armed with halberds and wearing their national colors entered, and executed an artistic dance, fencing the while.

If this scene, as Cagnolo says, ended the dramatic performances we are forced to conclude that they were exceedingly dull and spiritless. The _moresca_ partook of the character of both the opera and ballet. It was the only new form of spectacle offered during all the festivities.

Compared with those which were given in Rome on the occasion of Lucretia's betrothal, they were much inferior. Among the former we noticed several pastoral comedies with allegorical allusions to Lucretia, Ferrara, Caesar, and Alexander.

In spite of the outlay the duke had made, his entertainments lacked novelty and variety, although they probably pleased most of those present. Isabella, however, did not hesitate to mention the fact that she was bored. "In truth," so she wrote her husband, "the wedding was a very cold affair. It seems a thousand years before I shall be in Mantua again, I am so anxious to see your Majesty and my son, and also to get away from this place where I find absolutely no pleasure. Your Excellency, therefore, need not envy me my presence at this wedding; it is so stiff I have much more cause to envy those who remained in Mantua." Apparently the n.o.ble lady's opinion was influenced by the displeasure she still felt on account of her brother's marriage with Lucretia, but it may also have been due partly to the character of the festivities themselves, for the marchesa in all her letters complains of their being tiresome.[174]

Soon after the conclusion of the festivities the marchioness returned to Mantua; her last letter from Ferrara to her husband is dated February 9th. Her first letter from Mantua to her sister-in-law, which was written February 18th, is as follows:

ILl.u.s.tRIOUS LADY: The love which I feel for your Majesty, and my hope that you continue in the same good health in which you were at the time of my departure, cause me to believe that you have the same feelings for me; therefore I inform you--hoping that it will be pleasant news to you--that I returned to this city on Monday in the best of health, and that I found my ill.u.s.trious consort also well. There is nothing more for me to write but to ask your Majesty to tell me how you are, for I rejoice like an own sister in your welfare. Although I regard it as superfluous to offer you what belongs to you, I will remind you once for all, I and mine are ever at your disposal. I am also much beholden to you, and I ask you to remember me to your ill.u.s.trious consort, my most honored brother.

Lucretia replied to the marchioness's letter as follows:

MY ILl.u.s.tRIOUS LADY, SISTER-IN-LAW, AND MOST HONORED SISTER: Although it was my duty to antic.i.p.ate your Excellency in the proof of affection which you have given me, this neglect on my part only makes me all the more beholden to you. I can never tell you with what pleasure and relief I learned that you had reached Mantua safely and had found your ill.u.s.trious husband well.

May he and your Majesty, with G.o.d's help, continue to enjoy all happiness, and the increase of all good things, according to your desires. In obedience to your Majesty's commands I am compelled, and I also desire, to let you know that I, by G.o.d's mercy, am well, and shall ever be disposed to serve you.

Your devoted sister, who is anxious to serve you,

LUCREZIA ESTENSIS DE BORGIA.[175]

FERRARA, _February 22, 1502_.

These letters, written with diplomatic cunning, are the beginning of the correspondence of these two famous women which was carried on for seventeen years, and which shows that Isabella's displeasure gradually pa.s.sed away, and that she became a real friend of her sister-in-law.

The duke was heartily glad when his guests finally departed. Madonna Adriana, Girolama, and the woman described simply as "an Orsini" seemed in no haste to return to Rome. Alexander had instructed them to remain until Caesar's wife arrived. They were to wait for her in Lombardy, and then accompany her to Rome. The d.u.c.h.ess of Romagna, however, in spite of the urgent requests of the nuncio, refused to leave France. Her brother, Cardinal d'Albret, reached Ferrara February 6th, and shortly afterwards set out for Rome.

Adriana, as a near connection of the Pope and Lucretia, had been treated with the highest respect at Ercole's court, where she had enjoyed a close intimacy with the Marchioness Isabella, as is shown by a letter which the latter addressed to Adriana, February 18th, the same day on which she wrote Lucretia. It is regarding a certain person whom Adriana while in Ferrara had recommended to her in her own name and also in that of Donna Giulia. It, therefore, appears that the anonymous Orsini was not Giulia Farnese.

Ercole was exceedingly anxious for the women to leave. In a letter, dated February 14th, to his amba.s.sador in Rome, Costabili, he complains bitterly about their "useless" stay at his court. "I tell you," so he wrote, "that these women by remaining here cause a large number of other persons, men as well as women, to linger, for all wish to depart at the same time, and it is a great burden and causes heavy expense. The retinue of these ladies, taken into consideration with the other people, numbers not far from four hundred and fifty persons and three hundred and fifty horses." Ercole instructed his amba.s.sador to inform the Pope of this, also to tell him that the supplies were about exhausted, and that the d.u.c.h.ess of Romagna would not arrive before Easter, and that he could stand the expense no longer, as the wedding festivities had already cost twenty-five thousand ducats. The Pope should therefore direct the ladies to return. In a postscript to the same letter the duke says: "After the n.o.ble ladies of the d.u.c.h.ess of Romagna had been here twelve days, I sent them away because they were impertinent, and because their presence would not do his Holiness or the d.u.c.h.ess any good."[176]

The troublesome women finally departed. There is a despatch of the orator Girardo Saraceni, dated Rome, May 4th, in which he informs the duke that Monsignor Venosa and Donna Adriana had returned from Ferrara, and had expressed to the Pope their grat.i.tude for the affectionate reception which had been accorded them.

February 14th Ercole wrote the Pope a letter whose meaning is perfectly clear, if we eliminate one or two phrases.

HOLY FATHER AND MASTER: Before the ill.u.s.trious d.u.c.h.ess, our daughter, came here, it was my firm determination to receive her, as was meet, with all friendliness and honor, and to show her in every way how great was the affection I felt for her. Now that her Majesty is here, I am so pleased with her on account of the virtues and good qualities which I have discovered in her that I am not only strengthened in that determination, but also am resolved to do even more than I had intended, and all the more because your Holiness has asked me to do so in the autographic letter which you wrote me. Your Holiness need have no fears, for I shall treat the d.u.c.h.ess in such a way that your Holiness will see that I regard her as the most precious jewel I have in the world.

FOOTNOTES:

[167] Isabella's remarkable letters regarding the marriage festivities in Ferrara are printed in the Notizie di Isabella Estense by Carlo d'Arco. Archivio Storico Ital. App. ii. 223, sq. The letter of the Marchesa of Cotrone of February 1st is in the library of Mantua, and there are several other letters in the archives of that city written by her to Gonzaga regarding the festivities.

[168] Qual Madama Sposa danz molte danze al suono delli suoi Tamburini alla Romanesca e Spagnuola: report of Niccol Gagnolo of Parma, who had accompanied the French amba.s.sador to Ferrara. Zambotto used this description of the wedding festivities in his chronicle, and it was subsequently reprinted in Lucrezia Borgia in Ferrara, etc.

[169] The Ca.s.saria was first produced in 1508, and the Suppositi in 1509. Giuseppe Campori, Notizie per la vita di Lod. Ariosto, 2d ed.

Modena, 1871, p. 67.

[170] Despatch of the Ferrarese orator, Bartolomeo Cartari, to Ercole, Venice, January 25, 1502. Archives of Modena.

[171] Cartari says in the same despatch that the robes he had described were intended for presents. Li Ambasciatori Veneziani le presentarono due vesti grandi in forma di palii velluto Cremesino foderati di ermelini, quali levatesi di sopra loro le presentarono. Cagnolo.

[172] Ano dato materia di ridere ad hogni h.o.m.o c.u.m suo presente. The Marchesana of Cotrone to the Marquis of Mantua, Ferrara, February 8th.

[173] Violas arcu pulsantes. Caesar Borgia to Ercole, Rome, September 3, 1498.

[174] See Isabella's letters of February 3d and 5th.

[175] Zuccheti reproduces the letter.

[176] P.S. Li gentilhomini de lo Illmo. Sig. Duca de Romagna poiche sono stati qui XII giorni sono stati da me licentiate per essere impertinente e senza fructo alcuno a la Sant.i.ta de N.S. et allo Illmo.

Sig. Duca de Romagna. Minute Ducali a Costabili Beltrando, February 14, 1502.

CHAPTER IV

THE ESTE DYNASTY--DESCRIPTION OF FERRARA

On entering the castle of the Este, Lucretia found a new environment, new interests--one might almost say a new world. She was a princess in one of the most important Italian States, and in a strange city, which, during the latter half of the century, had a.s.sumed a place of the first importance, for the spirit of Italian culture had there developed new forms. She had been received with the highest honors into a family famous and princely; one of the oldest and most brilliant in the peninsula. It was a piece of supreme good fortune that had brought her to this house, and now she would endeavor to make herself worthy of it.

The family of Este, next to that of Savoy, was the oldest and most ill.u.s.trious in Italy, and it forced the latter into the background by a.s.suming the important position which the State of Ferrara, owing to its geographical position, afforded it.

The history of the Este is briefly as follows:

These lords, whose name is derived from a small castle between Padua and Ferrara, and who first appeared about the time of the Lombard invasion, were descended from a family whose remote ancestor was one Albert. The names Adalbert and Albert a.s.sume in Italian the form Oberto, from which we have the diminutives Obizzo and Azzo. In the tenth century there appears a Marquis Oberto who was first a retainer of King Berengar and later of Otto the Great. It is not known from what domain he and his immediate successors derived their t.i.tle of marquis; they were, however, powerful lords in Lombardy as well as in Tuscany. One of Oberto's ancestors, Alberto Azzo II, who is originally mentioned as Marchio de Longobardia, governed the territory from Mantua to the Adriatic and the region about the Po, where he owned Este and Rovigo. He married Kunigunde, sister of Count Guelf III of Swabia, and in this way the famous German family of Guelf became connected with the Oberti and drawn into Italian politics. When Alberto Azzo died in the year 1096--more than a hundred years old--he left two sons, Guelf and Folco, who were the founders of the house of Este in Italy and the Guelf house of Braunschweig in Germany, for Guelf inherited the property of his maternal grandfather, Guelf III, in whom the male line of the house became extinct in the year 1055. He went to Germany, where he became Duke of Bavaria and founded the Guelf line.

Folco inherited his father's Italian possessions, and in the great struggle of the German emperor with the papacy, the Margraves of Este were aggressive and determined soldiers. At first they were simply members of the Guelf faction, but subsequently they became its leaders, and thus were able to establish their power in Ferrara.

The origin of the city is lost in the mists of antiquity. By the gift of Pipin and Charles it pa.s.sed to the Church. It was also included in the deed of Matilda. In the war between the Pope and the Emperor, occasioned by this gift of Matilda, Ferrara succeeded in regaining its independence as a republic.

The Este first appeared there about the end of the twelfth century.

Folco's grandson, Azzo V, married Marchesella Adelardi, who was the heir of the leader of the Guelfs in that city, where Salinguerra was the head of the Ghibellines. From that time the Margraves of Este possessed great influence in Ferrara. They were likewise leaders of the Guelf party in the north of Italy.

In the year 1208 Azzo VI succeeded in driving Salinguerra out of Ferrara, and the city having wearied of the long feud made the victor its hereditary Podesta. This is the first example of a free republic voluntarily submitting to a lord. In this way the Este established the first tyranny on the ruins of a commune. The brave Salinguerra, one of the greatest captains of Italy in the time of the Hohenstaufen, repeatedly drove Azzo VI and his successor, Azzo VII, from Ferrara, but he himself was finally defeated in 1240 and cast into prison, where he died. Thenceforth the Este ruled Ferrara.

About the time of the removal of the papacy to Avignon they were expelled from the city by the Church, but they returned on the invitation of the citizens who had risen against the papal legate. John XXII issued a diploma of invest.i.ture by the terms of which they were to hold Ferrara as a fief of the Church on payment of an annual tribute of ten thousand gold ducats. The Este now set themselves up as tyrants in Ferrara, and in spite of numerous wars maintained the dynasty for a great many years. This dominion was not, like that in many other Italian States, due to a lucky stroke on the part of an upstart, but it was ancient, hereditary, and firmly established.

It was due to a succession of remarkable princes, beginning with Aldobrandino, Lord of Ferrara, Modena, Rovigo, and Comacchio, that Ferrara succeeded in winning the important position she held at the beginning of the sixteenth century. Aldobrandino was followed by his brothers, Niccol, from 1361 to 1388, and Alberto until 1393. After that his son Niccol III, a powerful and bellicose man, ruled until the year 1441. As his legitimate children Ercole and Sigismondo were minors, he was succeeded by his natural son Lionello. This prince not only continued the work begun by his father, but also beautified Ferrara. In the year 1444 the great Alfonso of Naples gave him his daughter Maria as wife, and the Este thus entered into close relations with the royal house of Aragon. Lionello was intelligent and liberal, a patron of all the arts and sciences, a "prince of immortal name." In the year 1450 he was succeeded by his brother Borso, illegitimate like himself, as an effort was being made to displace the legitimate sons of Niccol II.