The Tragedies of the Medici Part 1

The Tragedies of the Medici.

by Edgc.u.mbe Staley.

PREFACE

When Alexandre Dumas wrote his _Crimes of the Borgias_--and other "Crimes"--he fully intended to compile a companion volume, treating of episodes in the great family of the Medici. With this project in view, he collected much material, and actually published, tentatively, two interesting brochures: _Une Annee a Florence_--in 1841, and _Les Galeries de Florence_--in 1842.

Nothing, however, came of his more ambitious "idea," and, until to-day, no one has taken in hand to write _The Tragedies of the Medici_. My attention was first directed to the omission during the preparation of my _Guilds of Florence_, published in 1906; and I determined to address myself to the forging of that lurid link in the catena of Florentine romance.

In the following pages my readers will see that I have entirely departed from the conventional conceits of the ordinary historian. I have sought to set out the whole truth--not a garbled version--whilst I have fearlessly added decorative features where facts were absent or were too prosaic.

The short "Introduction," dealing with the rise and progress of the house of Medici, will be useful to my public, and the "Chart of the Tragedies" will a.s.sist students and others in their appreciation of my enterprise--it is my own compilation and as complete as possible.

The "Bibliography" will help serious readers to a wider reading of my authorities, and the Ill.u.s.trations--the best procurable--will fix in all my readers' minds something of the actual personalities of my "Tyrants"

and my "Victims."

EDGc.u.mBE STALEY.

INTRODUCTION

The origin of the Medici family is lost in the mists of the Middle Ages, and, only here and there, can the historian gain glimpses of the lives of early forbears. Still, there is sufficient data, to be had for the digging, upon which to transcribe, inferentially at least, an interesting narrative.

Away towards the end of the twelfth century,--exact dates are wholly beside the mark--there dwelt, under the shadow of one of the rugged castles of the robber-captains of the Mugello in Tuscany, a hard-working and trustworthy bonds-man--one Chiarissimo--"Old Honesty," as we may call him. He was married to an excellent helpmeet, and was by his lord permitted to till a small piece of land and rear his family.

In addition to intelligence in agriculture, it would seem that he, or perhaps his wife, possessed some knowledge of the virtues of roots and herbs, for, in one corner of his _podere_, he had a garden of "simples."

The few peaceable inhabitants of that warlike valley, and also many a wounded man-at-arms, sought "Old Honesty" and his wise mate for what we now call "kitchen remedies."

Those, indeed, were happy days with respect to suffering human nature.

"Kill or Cure" might have been the character of the healing art, but certainly specialists had not invented our appendicitis and other fas.h.i.+onable twentieth-century physical fas.h.i.+ons! A little medical knowledge sufficed, and decoctions, pillules, poultices, and bleedings made up the simple pharmacopoeia.

All the same, the satirical rhyme, which an old chronicler put into the mouths of many a despairing patient, in later days, may have been true also of "Old Honesty" and his nostrums:

"There's not a herb nor a root Nor any remedy to boot Which can stave death off by a foot!"

Of that good couple's family only one name has been preserved--Gianbuono, "Good John." Pa.s.serini says he was a priest--probably he means a hermit. Anyhow, he acquired more property in the Valle della Sieve and founded a church--Santa Maria dell'

a.s.sunta--possibly the enlargement of his cell--upon Monte Senario, between the valley of the Arno and that of the Sieve.

Ser Gianbuono--ecclesiastic or not--had two sons--Bonagiunto, "Lucky Lad," and Chiarissimo II. In those primitive times n.o.body troubled about surnames--idiosyncrasy of any kind was a sufficient indication of individuality. The brothers were enterprising fellows, and both made tracks for Florence, which--risen Phoenix-like from barbarian ashes--was thriving marvellously as a mart for art and craft.

Ser Bonagiunto, in the first decade of the thirteenth century, was living in the Sestiere di Porta del Duomo, and working busily in wood and stone, the stalwart parent of a vigorous progeny. It was his great-grandson, Ardingo--a famous athlete in the _giostre_ and a soldier of renown--who first of his family attained the rank of _Signore_.

Ser Chiarissimo, between 1201-1210, owned a tower near San Tommaso, at the north-east angle of the Mercato Vecchio--later, the family church of the Medici--and under it a _bottega_, or _canova_, for the sale of his grandmother's recipes. Over the door he put up his sign--seven golden _Pillole di Speziale_--pills or b.a.l.l.s, which were emblazoned upon the proud escutcheon of his descendants. He was called "_il Medico_"--"the doctor"--hence the family name "Medici."

These were the days when the foundations of the fortunes of many great Florentine families were laid. The loaning of money was the royal road to affluence, and everybody who, by chance, had a spare gold florin or two, became _ipso facto_ a "_Presto_" or bank. Next, after lending to one another with a moderate profit--a _dono di tempo_ or a _merito_--"quick returns," came the ambitious system of State loans, with the regulated _interesso_ and the speculative dealings in _Cambio_--on 'Change--with _boroccolo_--"unexpected gain," and _ritravgola_--"sly advantage," or, as we say, "sharp practice."

Ser Filippo, or "Lippo"--the twin son, as the name implies, of Ser Chiarissimo II.--what happened to the other twin we do not know--was probably the first of his family of doctor-apothecaries to deliberately abandon his less lucrative profession and establish himself as a banker in the Mercato Nuovo. Anyhow, his two sons were born and baptised under the happy auspices of plenty of money!

The elder, the prosperous doctor-banker, was jubilantly called Averardo--"Blessed with good means," and the younger was christened Chiarissimo III., to mark quite sententiously that, whilst his bank-balance was considerable, it had been acc.u.mulated by honest dealing!

True to the variable law of vicissitude, this Averardo I. failed to make any very great name for himself, as might have been expected in a lad of so much promise. He was shadowed doubtless by his more strenuous parent. Still, he added to the family possessions by acquiring the lay-patronage of the churches of San Pietro a Sieve and San Bartolommeo di Petrone. Near the latter he built a _castello_, or fortress, which was then considered a t.i.tle to n.o.bility. He made also a prosperous marriage with Donna Benricevuta de' Sizi.

Messer Averardo's son, Averardo II., was, in the crisscross nature of things, a man of stronger grit than his father. He came to great honour as well as to great riches. Elected Prior in 1304, he was chosen as _Gonfaloniere di Giustizia_ in 1314, and, between these dates, in 1311, Ser Teghia de' Sizi, his mother's brother, made him his heir, and gave him, besides full money-bags, much valuable property and ecclesiastical patronage. To his surname of Medici he added that of Sizi: he was the wealthiest citizen of his day in Florence. His wife, Donna Mandina di Filippo de' Arrigucci of Fiesole, gave him six sons--Giacopo, Giovenco, Francesco, Salvestro, Talento, and Conte. All of them rose to eminence in the State, but of one only can the story be told here--Salvestro.

Messer Salvestro de' Medici--who must not be confounded with his celebrated namesake and kinsman, the "Grand" Salvestro--married Donna Lisa de' Donati, of which union three sons were the issue--Talento, Giovenco, and Averardo III. Salvestro di Averardo II. bore another Christian name--Chiarissimo--the old-world cognomen of his family.

Possibly his father thought it wise to stand well with the world and parade his honesty; for whatever ill-gotten gains other bankers acquired, he, at least, was an upright man, and his profits were just!

Anyhow, Messer Salvestro became popular for rect.i.tude in his private life, and for his unselfish discharge of public duties. He was chosen to fill many responsible offices of State, and reached the goal of personal ambition as amba.s.sador to Venice, in 1336. His youngest son, Averardo III., acquired the sobriquet of "Bicci"--the exact meaning of which is problematical--it may mean a "worthless fellow" or "one who lives in a castle!" Nothing indeed is related of him, but, perhaps, like Brer Fox, of a later epoch, he was content "to lie low" and enjoy, without much exertion, the good things his ancestors had provided for him.

Messer Averardo married twice--Giovanna de' Cavallini and Giovanna de'

Spini. By the first he became the father of one of the very greatest of the Medici--Giovanni, the parent of a still more famous son--Cosimo.

At this period Florence was ruled by Whalter von Brienne--the so-called Duke of Athens--sagacious, treacherous and depraved. He sought to make himself Lord of Florence by skilfully playing the various political parties one against the other. The _Grandi_ he kept in check by the _Popolo Minuto_, but ignored the _Popolo Gra.s.so_, to which the Medici belonged. Under Giovanni de' Medici, Guglielmo degli Altoviti, and Bernardo de' Rucellai, the middle cla.s.s rose against the usurper; but their plans miscarried, and the leaders were imprisoned and fined.

A Giovanni de' Medici was beheaded in 1342--the first recorded "Tragedy of the Medici." As to who this unfortunate man was, it is difficult to say. He is called "the son of Bernardo de' Medici," but no such name appears in the early records of the family. He was probably a descendant of Bonagiunto, a son of Ardingo de' Medici, who was a violent enemy of the Ghibellines, and _Gonfaloniere di Giustizia_, in 1296 and 1307, and brother of Francesco, Captain of Pistoja in 1338, and one of the princ.i.p.al partic.i.p.ants in the expulsion of the hated Duke.

The first of the "Grand" Medici was Salvestro, son of Alamanno, of the line of Chiarissimo III., called "The German," because of his alien Teutonic mother. Great-great-grandson of Ser Filippo, the last of the doctor-apothecaries, Salvestro does not appear to have gone in for the steady, unromantic life of a banker, but to have addressed his energies to the profession of arms. Nevertheless, he was chosen Prior in 1318, and contributed, during peace, to the advancement of his city's interest. Upon the outbreak of war with the Visconti of Milan, in 1351, he was appointed commander of the Florentine forces.

His sterling grit made itself apparent in the vigour with which at the head of no more than one hundred men he relieved the town and fortress of Scarperia, on the Mugello hills, besieged by the invaders. For his bravery he was knighted by the _Signoria_. Cavaliere Salvestro de'

Medici sided with the aristocratic party, and proclaimed himself a Ghibelline--consorting with the n.o.ble families of Albizzi, Ricci, and Strozzi. Their aim was to convert the Republic into an oligarchy under Piero degli Albizzi.

The _Popolo Minuto_, thoroughly alarmed at this menace of liberty and popular government, appointed leaders, who approached Cavaliere Salvestro, in 1370, when he held the supreme office of _Gonfaloniere di Giustizia_, to safeguard the interests of the tradespeople and lower cla.s.ses. He gave heed to their representations, for he cunningly perceived that he might ride into the undisputed leaders.h.i.+p of the great popular party, the Guelphs, and so checkmate his other allies, the aristocrats! As head of a powerful branch of the rising family of Medici, members of the _Popolo Gra.s.so_, or wealthy middle cla.s.s, Cavaliere Salvestro became the champion of the people. All round his popularity was established, for people said, "He was born for the safety of the Republic." He was tactful enough to conceal the personal bent of his policy, and acted upon the maxim, which he was never tired of repeating: "Never make a show before the people!" As _Gonfaloniere_ he summoned a Parliament of representatives of all parties and cla.s.ses at the Palazzo Vecchio, with a view to the composition of differences and the maintenance of public order.

The Ghibellines would have none of his proposals, but privately they were divided amongst themselves, seeing which, the Cavaliere astutely announced the resignation of his office. This had the effect he expected--the Palazzo and the Piazza outside rang with the old cry--"_Liberta!_" "_Liberta!_" "_Evviva il Popolo!_" "_Evviva il Gonfaloniere!_" Salvestro de' Medici was master of the situation--the first of his family to attain the virtual, if not the real, control of the State.

The revolution spread through the city; the palaces of the Ghibelline n.o.bles were sacked and burnt. A period of discord and disaster followed, but, with the firm hand of Salvestro de' Medici upon the helm of the s.h.i.+p of the Republic, matters settled. In 1376 he was unanimously chosen _Capitano della Parte Guelfa_--an office of still more personal influence than the Gonfaloniers.h.i.+p. No one questioned his authority. He was, as the historian, Michaele Bruto, has recorded, "The first of his family to show his successors how that by conciliating the middle and lower cla.s.ses they could make their way to sovereignty."

Another crisis in the history of Florence arose in 1378, during Cavaliere Salvestro de' Medici's second Gonfaloniers.h.i.+p, when the _Ciompi_--"Wooden Shoes" they were called in derision--the wool-workers--rose _en ma.s.se_, and besieged the _Signoria_ sitting at the Palazzo Vecchio. They claimed to rule the city and to abolish the n.o.bles, and a second time Salvestro was "the man of the hour!"

Acting upon his advice, terms were arranged with the revolutionaries, and Michaele Lando--a common woolcarder by trade, but a born leader of men--was elected _Gonfaloniere di Giustizia_, and a new government was set up. Upon Salvestro, "the Champion of the People," was again conferred by public acclamation the accolade of knighthood; moreover, as a further mark of popular estimation, to him were allocated the rents of the shops upon the Ponte Vecchio and other prerogatives.

The public spirit displayed by Cavaliere Salvestro gained for him not only personal distinction and reward, but obtained for his family recognition as the first in Florence. He married Donna Bartolommea, the daughter of Messer Oddo degli Altoviti, by whom he had many children.

None of his sons seem to have added laurels to the family fame, but to have lived peacefully in the glamour of their father's renown. The Cavaliere retired into private life in 1380, and his death, which occurred in 1388, marked the establishment of Medicean domination in the affairs of Florence.

The second of the "Grand" Medici was Giovanni, the son of Averardo III.--called "Bicci"--and his first wife, Donna Giovanna de' Cavallini, born in 1360. He was just twenty-eight years of age when his popular relative, Cavaliere Salvestro de' Medici, died. His young manhood found him in the very forefront of party strife, and from the first he held unswervingly with the Guelphs.

Married, in 1384, to Donna Piccarda, daughter of Messer Odoardo de'

Bueri, he was the father of four sons--Antonio, Damiano, Cosimo, and Lorenzo--the two former died in childhood. The choice of names for two of the boys is significant of the value Messer Giovanni placed upon his family's origin--Saints Damiano and Cosimo, of course, were patrons of doctors and apothecaries. Hence he was not ashamed of the golden pillules of his armorial bearings!

Messer Giovanni developed extraordinary strength of character; he was a born ruler of men, and a pa.s.sionate patriot. He gained the goodwill of his fellow-citizens by his unselfishness and generosity--truly not too common in the bearing of men of his time. He served the office of Prior in 1402, 1408, 1411; he was amba.s.sador to Naples in 1406, and to Pope Alessandro V. in 1409; and, in 1407, he held the lucrative post of Podesta of Pistoja.

In 1421 Messer Giovanni de' Medici was elected _Gonfaloniere di Giustizia_, as the representative of the middle cla.s.ses, and in opposition to Messeri Rinaldo degli Albizzi and Niccolo da Uzzano, the Ghibelline nominees. The Republic sighed for peace, the crafts for quietness; but the immense liabilities incurred by many costly military enterprises had to be met. Messer Giovanni proposed, in 1427, a tax which should not weigh too heavily upon anybody. Each citizen who was possessed of a capital of one hundred gold florins, or more, was mulcted in a payment to the State of half a gold florin (ten s.h.i.+llings _circa_).

This tax, which was called "_Il Catasto_" was unanimously accepted--"it pleased the common people greatly." Messer Giovanni was taxed as heavily as anyone, namely, three hundred gold florins--indicative, incidentally, of his wealth and honesty.