Lucretia Borgia Part 25

He, therefore, sent Pandolfo Collenuccio thither to urge the people to remain true to their lord. To his amba.s.sador in Rome he confided his joy that Caesar was on the road to recovery.[186]

With the exception of the Romagna, the empire of Alexander's son at once began to crumble away. The tyrants he had expelled returned to their cities. Guidobaldo and Elisabetta hastened from Venice to Urbino and were received with open arms. Still more promptly Giovanni Sforza had returned from Mantua to Pesaro. The Marquis Gonzaga had sent him the first news of Alexander's death and of Caesar's illness, and Sforza thanked him in the following letter:

ILl.u.s.tRIOUS SIR AND HONORED BROTHER: I thank your Excellency for the good news which you have given me in your letter, especially regarding the condition of Valentino. My joy is great because I believe my misfortunes are now at an end. I a.s.sure you that if I return to my country, I shall regard myself as your Excellency's creature, and you may dispose of my person and my property as you will. I ask you, in case you learn anything more regarding Valentino, and especially of his death, that you will send me the news, for by so doing you will afford me great joy. I commend myself to you at all times.

MANTUA, _August 25, 1503_.

As early as September 3d, Sforza was able to inform the Marquis that he had entered Pesaro amid the acclamations of the people. He immediately had a medal struck in commemoration of the happy event. On one side is his bust and on the other a broken yoke with the words PATRIA RECEPTA.[187] Filled with the desire for revenge he punished the rebels of Pesaro by confiscating their property, casting them into prison, or by putting them to death. He had a number of the burghers hanged at the windows of his castle. Even Collenuccio, who had placed himself under the protection of Lucretia and the duke, in Ferrara, was soon to fall into his hands. With flattering promises Giovanni induced him to come to Pesaro, and then on the ground of the complaint he had addressed to Caesar Borgia, which Sforza claimed he had only just discovered, he cast him into prison. Collenuccio, not wholly guiltless as far as his former master and friend was concerned, resigned himself to his fate and died in July, 1504.[188]

Meanwhile Lucretia was anxiously following the course of events in Rome.

None of her letters to Caesar written at this time are preserved, nor are any of Caesar's to her. The only ones we have are those which he exchanged with the Duke of Ferrara, who continued to write him.

September 13th Ercole wrote congratulating him on his recovery, and informing him that he had sent a messenger to the people of Romagna urging them to remain true to him.

Caesar was in Nepi when he received this letter, having gone there September 2d after he had arranged with the French amba.s.sador in Rome, on the suggestion of the cardinal, to place himself under the protection of France. He was accompanied by his mother, Vannozza, his brother Giuffre, and, doubtless, also by his little daughter Luisa and the two children Rodrigo and Giovanni, the latter of whom was Duke of Nepi.

There he was safe, as the French army was camped in the neighborhood.

Just as if nothing had happened, he wrote letters to the Marquis Gonzaga, who was then at his headquarters in Campagnano. He even sent him some hunting dogs as a present. There is also in existence a letter written by Giuffre to the same Gonzaga, dated Nepi, September 18th.

While here Caesar learned that his protector and friend, Amboise, had not been elected pope as he had hoped, but that Piccolomini had been chosen. September 22d this cardinal, senile and moribund, ascended the papal throne, a.s.suming the name Pius III. He was the happy father of no less than twelve children, boys and girls, who would have been brought up in the Vatican as princes but for his early death. He permitted Caesar to return to Rome and even showed him some favor; but scarcely had the Borgia appeared--October 3d--when the Orsini rose in their wrath and clamored for the death of their enemy. He and the two children took refuge in Castle S. Angelo, and October 18th Piccolomini died.

The two children now had no protector but Caesar and the cardinals whom Alexander had appointed as their guardians. On the death of the Pope their duchies crumbled away. The Gaetani returned from Mantua and again took possession of Sermoneta and all the other estates which had been bestowed upon the little Rodrigo. Ascanio Sforza demanded either Nepi or the position of chamberlain, and the last Varano again secured Camerino.

Rodrigo was Duke of Biselli, and as such under the protection of Spain, Alexander having succeeded in obtaining, May 20, 1502, from Ferdinand and Isabella of Castile, a diploma by virtue of which the royal house of Spain confirmed the Borgia family in the possession of all their Neapolitan estates. In this act Caesar and his heirs, Don Giuffre of Squillace; Don Juan, son of the murdered Gandia; Lucretia, as d.u.c.h.ess of Biselli, and her son and heir Rodrigo are explicitly named.[189] There is likewise in the Este archives an instrument which was drawn up in Lucretia's chancellery, referring to the control of Rodrigo's property, and also others regarding the little Giovanni.[190] The two children, Rodrigo and Giovanni, during their early years were reared together.

Lucretia provided for them from Ferrara, as is shown by the record of her household expenses in 1502 and 1503. There are numerous entries for velvet and silk and gold brocade which she bought for the purpose of clothing the children.[191]

In spite of the protection of Spain, Lucretia's son's life was in danger in Rome, and it was her duty to have the child brought to her; but this she neglected to do, either because she did not dare to do so, or she was not strong enough to bring it about, or because she perhaps feared that the child would be in still greater danger in Ferrara. The Cardinal of Cosenza, Rodrigo's guardian, suggested to her that she sell all his personal property and send him to Spain, where he would be safe. In a letter she informed her father-in-law of this, and he replied as follows:

ILl.u.s.tRIOUS LADY, OUR DEAREST DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AND DAUGHTER: We have received your Majesty's letter, and also the one which his Eminence the Cardinal of Cosenza addressed to you and which you sent us; this we return to you with our letter; no one but ourselves read it. We note the unanimity with which your Majesty and the cardinal write. His advice shows such solicitude that it is at once apparent that it is due to his affection and wisdom. We have considered everything carefully, and it seems to us that your Majesty can and ought to do what the worthy monsignor suggests. In fact I think your Majesty is bound to do as he advises on account of the affection which he displays for you and the ill.u.s.trious Don Rodrigo, your son, who, I am told, owes his life to the cardinal. Although Don Rodrigo will be at a distance from you, it is better for him to be away and safe than for him to be near and in danger, as the cardinal thinks he would be. Your mutual love would in no way suffer by this separation. When he grows up he can decide, according to circ.u.mstances, whether it is best for him to return to Italy or remain away. The cardinal's suggestion to convert his personal property into money to provide for his support and to increase his income--as he states he is anxious to do--is a good idea. In brief, as we have said, it seems to us that you had best consent. Nevertheless, if your Majesty, who is perfectly competent to decide this, determine otherwise, we are perfectly willing. Farewell.

HERCULES, Duke of Ferrara, etc.

CODEGORIO, _October 4, 1503_.

In the meantime, November 1, 1503, Della Rovere ascended the papal throne as Julius II. The Rovere, the Borgias, and the Medici, each gave the Church two popes, and they impressed upon the papacy the political form of the modern state. In the entire annals of the Church there are no other families which have so deeply affected the course of history.

Their names suggest innumerable political and moral revolutions. Della Rovere now released Caesar, whose bitterest enemy he had once been. It was apparent that Valentino's destruction was imminent.

Elsewhere we may read how Julius II first used Caesar for the purpose of a.s.suring his election by means of his influence on the Spanish cardinals, and how he subsequently--after the surrender of the fortresses in the Romagna--cast him aside. Caesar threw himself into the arms of Spain, going from Ostia to Naples in October, 1504, where the great Captain Gonsalvo represented Ferdinand the Catholic. Don Giuffre accompanied him. Cardinals Francesco Remolini of Sorrento and Ludovico Borgia had preceded him to Naples to escape a prosecution with which they were threatened. There Gonsalvo broke the safe-conduct which he had given Caesar. May 27th he seized him in the name of King Ferdinand and confined him in the castle of Ischia.

[Ill.u.s.tration: JULIUS II.

From an engraving published in 1580.]

We hear nothing of the fate of the Borgia children; apparently they remained under the protection of the Spanish cardinals in Rome or Naples. Caesar, saving nothing, and barely escaping with his life, set out for Spain. He had previously placed his valuables in the hands of his friends in Rome to keep for him or to send to Ferrara. December 31, 1503, Duke Ercole wrote his amba.s.sador in Rome to take charge of Caesar's chests when the Cardinal of Sorrento should send them to him, and forward them to Ferrara as the property of the Cardinal d'Este.[192]

Cardinal Remolini died in May, 1507, and Julius II confiscated in his house twelve chests and eighty-four bales which contained tapestries, rich stuffs, and other property belonging to Caesar.[193] The Pope ordered the Florentines to return certain other property of Caesar's consisting of gold, silver, and similar valuables which he had sent to their city. The Florentine Signory,[194] however, stated that they would have nothing to do with the matter.

The removal of Caesar to Spain caused great excitement. No one, neither Gonsalvo, the Pope, nor King Ferdinand was willing to a.s.sume the responsibility for it. It was even stated that it was due to Gandia's widow, who was at the Castilian court endeavoring to secure the arrest of her husband's murderer.[195] The Spanish cardinals and Lucretia exerted themselves to obtain Caesar's release. The first news of him came from Spain in October, 1504. Costabili wrote to Ferrara: "The affairs of the Duke of Valentino do not appear to be in such a desperate condition as has been represented, for the Cardinal of Salerno has a letter of the third instant from Requesenz, the duke's majordomo, which his Majesty despatched before he reached there, and letters from several cardinals to his Majesty of Spain. Requesenz writes that the duke was confined with one servant in the castle of Seville, which, although very strong, is roomy. He was soon furnished with eight servants. He also writes that he has spoken to the king regarding freeing Caesar, and that his Majesty stated that he had not ordered the duke's confinement but had given instructions for him to be brought to Spain on account of certain charges which Gonsalvo had made against him. If these were found to be untrue he would do as the cardinal requested concerning Caesar. However, nothing could be done until the queen recovered. He made the same answer to the amba.s.sador of the King and Queen of Navarre, who endeavored to secure the duke's release, and consequently Requesenz hoped that he would soon be set free."[196]

From this letter of Requesenz it appears that Caesar was first taken to Seville and from there was sent to the castle of Medina del Campo in Castile. The King of France turned a deaf ear to his pet.i.tions. No one in Italy wanted him set free. His sister was the only person in the peninsula who took any interest in the overthrown upstart, and her appeals found little support among the Este. It was well known that if Caesar returned to Italy he would only cause uneasiness at the court of Ferrara, and would in all probability make it the center of his intrigues. The Gonzaga alone appeared not to have entirely withdrawn their favor from him, although, instead of wis.h.i.+ng, as they once had done, to establish a matrimonial alliance with him, they now connected themselves with the Rovere, the Marquis of Mantua marrying his young daughter Leonora to Julius's nephew, Francesco Maria della Rovere, heir of Urbino, April 9, 1505.[197] It was especially Isabella who, owing to her affection for her sister-in-law Lucretia, seconded her appeals to her husband. In the archives of the house of Gonzaga are several letters written by Lucretia to the marquis in the interests of her brother.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Reduced facsimile of a letter written by Lucretia Borgia to Marchese Gonzaga.]

August 18, 1505, she wrote him from Reggio that she had taken steps in Rome to induce the Pope to permit Cardinal Petro Isualles to go to the Spanish court to endeavor to secure Caesar's freedom, and she hoped to succeed. She, therefore, asked the marquis himself to request the Pope to allow the cardinal to undertake this mission. She wrote to him again from Belriguardo thanking him for his promise to despatch an agent to Spain, and she sent him a letter for King Ferdinand and another for her brother. It is not known whether the cardinal actually undertook this journey to Madrid, but it is hardly likely that Julius would have allowed him to do so.

FOOTNOTES:

[186] Minute Ducali a Costabili Beltrando, Ferrara, August 28, 1503.

[187] One of these medals is preserved in the cabinet of the Oliveriana in Pesaro. It is reproduced in the Nuova Raccolta delle Monete e Zecche d'Italia di Guidantonio Zanetti, p. 1.

[188] See Giulio Perticari, Op. Bol. 1839, vol. ii. Intorno la morte di Pandolfo Collenuccio. Perticari's opinion is too one-sided and optimistic. The beautiful elegy which he states Collenuccio wrote shortly before his death was written at a much happier time.

[189] The doc.u.ment is in the Este archives.

[190] This is the record already mentioned, Liber Arrendamentorum terrarum ad IIImos Dominos Roderic.u.m Borgiam de Aragonia, Sermoneti, etc., et Johannem Borgiam Nepesini Duces, infantes spectantium. Biselli, 1502

[191] Raxo pavonazo trovato in Guardaroba. De dito raso se ne fodrato dui ziponi e dui boniti per Don Rodrigo e Don Joanne (Braccia 6). De dito raso se ne posto in la capa de Don Rodrigo--Tela d'oro. De dita tela se ne posto a fodrare due cape de raxo pavonazo per Don Rodrigo e Don Joane--braza 12. Dite peze de f.u.xo doro tirato se ne pose per commission de la Signora nei saioni de Don Rodrigo e Don Joanne, etc.

Estratti dall' inventario di roba di Lucrezia Borgia, 1502-1503.

Archives of Modena.

[192] Ercole to his amba.s.sador in Rome, December 31, 1503.

[193] Costabili to Ercole, May 6, 1507.

[194] Manfredo Manfredi's despatch to Ercole, Florence, August 20, 1504.

[195] Perche la mogliera del Duca di Candia, che fu morto dal Duca Valentino ha procurato questo acto de tencione et vendicta et che Lei e parente del Re di Spagna. Letter of Giovanni Alberto della Pigna to Ercole, Venice, June 18, 1504.

[196] Costabili's despatch to Duke Ercole, Rome, October 27, 1504.

[197] The contract is in Beneimbene's protocol-book.

CHAPTER VII

COURT POETS--GIULIA BELLA AND JULIUS II--THE ESTE DYNASTY ENDANGERED

During the year, when Lucretia, filled with a sister's love, was grieving over the fate of her terrible brother, a great change occurred in her own circ.u.mstances, she having become d.u.c.h.ess of Ferrara, January 25, 1505. Her husband, Alfonso, in compliance with his father's wishes, had undertaken a journey to France, Flanders, and England for the purpose of becoming acquainted with the courts of those countries. He was to return to Italy by way of Spain, but while he was at the court of Henry VII of England he received despatches informing him that his father was sick. He hastened back to Ferrara, and Ercole died shortly after his return.

Alfonso ascended the ducal throne at a time when a strong hand and high intelligence were required to save his State from the dangers which threatened it. The Republic of Venice had already secured possession of a part of Romagna, and was planning to cut Ferrara off from the mouth of the Po; at the same time Julius II was scheming to take Bologna, and if he succeeded in this he would doubtless also attack Ferrara. In view of these circ.u.mstances it was a fortunate thing for the State that its chief was a practical, cool-headed man like Alfonso. He was neither extravagant nor fond of display, and he cared nothing for a brilliant court. He was indifferent to externals, even to his own clothing. His chief concern was to increase the efficiency of the army, build fortresses, and cast cannon. When the affairs of state left him any leisure he amused himself at a turning-lathe which he had set up, and also in painting majolica vases, in which art he was exceedingly skilful. He had no inclination for the higher culture--this he left to his wife.

The small collection of books which Lucretia brought with her from Rome shows that she possessed some education and an inclination to take part in the intellectual movement of Ferrara. We have a catalogue of these books, of the years 1502 and 1503, which shows what were Lucretia's tastes. According to this list she possessed a number of books, many of which were beautifully bound in purple velvet, with gold and silver mountings: a breviary; a book with the seven psalms and other prayers; a parchment with miniatures in gold, called _De Coppelle ala Spagnola_; the printed letters of Saint Catharine of Siena; the Epistles and Gospels in the vulgar tongue; a religious work in Castilian; a ma.n.u.script collection of Spanish canzone with the proverbs of Domenico Lopez; a printed work ent.i.tled _Aquilla Volante_; another, called _Supplement of Chronicles_, in the vulgar tongue; the _Mirror of Faith_, in Italian; a printed copy of Dante, with a commentary; a work in Italian, on philosophy; the _Legend of the Saints_ in the vulgar tongue; an old work, _De Ventura_; a _Donatus_; a _Life of Christ_ in Spanish; a ma.n.u.script of Petrarch on parchment, in duodecimo. From this catalogue it is evident that Lucretia's studies were not very profound. Her books were confined to religious works and belles-lettres.[198]

[Ill.u.s.tration: ALPHONSO D'ESTE, DUKE OF FERRARA.]

Lucretia established her ducal court in accordance with the dictates of her own fancy. She was now the soul and center of the intellectual life of Ferrara. Her cultivated intellect, her beauty, and the irresistible joyousness of her being charmed all who came into her presence. The opposition which the members of the house of Este at first had shown her had disappeared, and, especially in the case of Isabella Gonzaga, had changed into affection, as is proved by the extensive correspondence which the two women maintained up to the time of Lucretia's death. In the archives of the house of Gonzaga there are several hundred of her letters to the Marchesa of Mantua.

Her relations with the house of Urbino were no less pleasant, and they continued so even after the death of Guidobaldo in April, 1508, for his successor was Francesco Maria della Rovere, son-in-law of Isabella Gonzaga. She was frequently visited by these princes, and she enjoyed the friends.h.i.+p of a number of remarkable men--Balda.s.sar Castiglione, Ottaviano Fregoso, Aldus Manutius, and Bembo.