The Borgias (71 page)

  
3.
The scholarly diplomat Enea … :
Piccolomini’s words about the newly appointed Cardinal Rodrigo are in Ferrara,
Borgia Pope
, p. 40.

  
4.
Alfonso V, always happy … :
The dispute between pope and king over the March of Ancona and other properties is in Pius II,
Memoirs
, p. 95.

  
5.
Calixtus was prodded into action … :
The story of Rodrigo’s subduing of Josias in Ascola appears in abbreviated form in Ferrara,
Borgia Pope
, p. 38.

Background: The Men in the Red Hats

  
1.
Typically, the cardinals pledged … :
The emergence and intent of capitulations is detailed in Hay,
Europe
, p. 278.

  
2.
Most of them had charge … :
Majanlahti,
Families
, p. 53, describes in detail the structure and responsibilities of the Curial bureaucracy. Mallett,
Borgias
, p. 49, is also helpful on the subject.

  
3.
Of the fifteen cardinals … :
The national origins of cardinals present at various conclaves are in Hay,
Church in Italy
, p. 41.

  
4.
The complex ironies of the situation … :
Gonzaga’s advice to his son the cardinal appears in Martines,
Power and Imagination
, p. 306.

Chapter 5: The End of the Beginning

  
1.
“Would to God …”:
The translation of Cardinal Piccolomini’s letter to Rodrigo Borgia appears in De Roo,
Material
, p. 2:67.

  
2.
He was to report to Rome … :
The position of vice-chancellor and its place in the papal bureaucracy are detailed in Majanlahti,
Families
, p. 77.

  
3.
No one was more delighted … :
Calixtus’s words are in Johnson,
Borgias
, p. 51.

  
4.
No less significantly … :
Illegitimacy as a barrier to inheritance of a crown is explained in De Roo,
Material
, p. 1:175.

  
5.
He pledged to “do my utmost …”:
Woodward,
Cesare Borgia
, p. 7, and Johnson,
Borgias
, p. 48.

PART TWO
:
Rodrigo
A Long Apprenticeship

The three and a half decades when Rodrigo Borgia served as vice-chancellor of the Roman Catholic Church kept him at the center of the reigns of five popes and so of Italian and European affairs. Therefore his public career through all these years is thoroughly documented, and the fact that his private life generated nearly no comment in spite of his prominence is curious if his posthumous reputation for scandalous behavior is deserved.

Chapter 6: Surviving

  
1.
Attention now turned … :
Exceptionally detailed accounts of the conclave of 1455 are in Gregorovius,
History of Rome
, p. 7:166, and Mallett,
Borgias
, p. 68.

  
2.
What happened next … :
Cardinal Piccolomini’s own account of his exchange with Rodrigo Borgia and subsequent election is in Pius II,
Memoirs
, p. 80.

  
3.
The new pope was a remarkable man … :
Piccolomini’s life story is in Ady,
Humanist Pope
, and in Mitchell,
Laurels and Tiara
.

  
4.
When on September 26 … :
Woodward,
Cesare Borgia
, p. 12, gives the cause of death as malaria without qualification, but his certainty on the point is not explained.

  
5.
As conceived by Pius … :
The innovative character of the Mantua conference is explained in Gregorovius,
History of Rome
, p. 7:182.

  
6.
One was a proclamation … :
Ibid., p. 7:183.

  
7.
It was prompted … :
For the significance of the Pragmatic Sanction, see Barraclough,
Medieval Papacy
, pp. 183, 187.

Background: The Eternal City, Eternally Reborn

  
1.
The Rome of Pius II’s time … :
As a source of information about and insight into its subject, nothing surpasses Stinger,
Renaissance in Rome
.

  
2.
“The city is for the most part …”:
Latour,
Borgias
, p. 15.

  
3.
As the historian Theodor Mommsen … :
Mallett,
Borgias
, p. 36.

  
4.
A chronicler described … :
Majanlahti,
Families
, p. 42.

Chapter 7: Pius II: Troubles Rumored and Real

  
1.
Beloved Son, We have learned … :
Translations of both of Pius II’s letters to Cardinal Rodrigo about the Siena affair are in Ferrara,
Borgia Pope
, p. 56.

  
2.
There has probably never been … :
Gaspar of Verona’s description of Cardinal Rodrigo appears in Gregorovius,
Lucretia Borgia
, p. 9.

  
3.
He was rather stolidly … :
Alexander’s religious conservatism is discussed in Mallett,
Borgias
, p. 240.

  
4.
His reputation has suffered … :
The slanderous pamphlet is discussed by Pastor,
History of Popes
, p. 6:114.

  
5.
This encouraged further … :
Guicciardini’s claim that Rodrigo Borgia was “mightily lustful of both” appears in Deiss,
Captains of Fortune
, p. 23.

  
6.
Pius II in his
Memoirs …
:
Pius II,
Memoirs
, p. 254.

  
7.
The fare was so plain … :
Mallett,
Borgias
, p. 229.

  
8.
The German Ludwig Pastor … :
Pastor,
History of Popes
, p. 5:386.

  
9.
A twentieth-century historian … :
Mallett,
Borgias
, p. 82.

  
10.
Even Guicciardini conceded … :
De la Bedoyere,
Meddlesome Friar
, p. 65.

  
11.
It may have been bafflement … :
Mallett,
Borgias
, p. 82.

  
12.
There was a continuing war in Naples … :
For the story of Ferrante saving his throne with the help of the pope and the Sforzas, see Gregorovius,
History of Rome
, pp. 7:185, 197. Ady,
Humanist Pope
, p. 103, is good on the troubles in Rome that obliged Pius to return from Tuscany.

  
13.
As the rebellious barons … :
Ferrante’s dark side is illuminated in perhaps excessively lurid detail in Prescott,
Princes
, p. 65.

  
14.
In 1462, unable … :
De Roo,
Material
, p. 3:71.

  
15.
It was the discovery … :
Gregorovius,
History of Rome
, p. 7:209.

  
16.
He hurried to Rome … :
Castro’s words are in Pius II,
Memoirs
, p. 233.

  
17.
He died the next day … :
The aborting of Pius’s crusade is in Norwich,
History of Venice
, p. 343.

Background: Il Papa

  
1.
The story of the popes … :
See Barraclough,
Medieval Papacy
, for the story of the medieval popes, and Pastor,
History of Popes
, for the Renaissance papacy.

Chapter 8: Paul II: The Poisoned Chalice

  
1.
The conclave that followed … :
Gregorovius,
History of Rome
, p. 7:218.

  
2.
Therefore they made it … :
For the capitulations of 1464, ibid., p. 7:221.

  
3.
(If betrayal it was …):
Stinger,
Renaissance in Rome
, p. 162.

  
4.
Even as a young man … :
Paul II’s life story is in Gregorovius,
History of Rome
, p. 7:218, with much additional detail in Robertson,
Tyranny
.

  
5.
But when he demanded reforms … :
See Robertson,
Tyranny
, p. 68, for detail on how Paul’s settlement with Bologna strengthened the Bentivoglii.

  
6.
Most humiliating of all … :
The revolt of the abbreviators and the slanders of Bartolomeo Platina are in Symonds,
Renaissance in Italy
, p. 297.

  
7.
Negropont was a key Venetian stronghold … :
The fall of Negropont and its importance are in Norwich,
History of Venice
, p. 347.

Background: The Inextinguishable Evil-Heads

  
1.
Malatesta:
the word translates … :
For more on the Malatestas, see Jones,
Malatesta of Rimini
, and Prescott,
Princes
, the three chapters beginning on p. 278.