The Tragedies of the Medici - Edgcumbe Staley
THE TRAGEDIES OF THE MEDICI
BY EDGCUMBE STALEY
AUTHOR OF "THE GUILDS OF FLORENCE," "RAPHAEL," "FRA ANGELICO," ETC.
ILLUSTRATED
TO THE MEMORY OF MY FATHER THOMAS 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 assist 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 Illustrations--the best procurable--will fix in all
my readers' minds something of the actual personalities of my "Tyrants"
and my "Victims."
EDGCUMBE STALEY.
CONTENTS
PREFACE
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER I
_The Pazzi Conspiracy_--Lorenzo, "_Il Magnifico_"--Giuliano, "_Il
Pensieroso_".
CHAPTER II
_The First Tyrannicide_--Ippolito, "_Il Cardinale_"--Alessandro, "_Il
Negro_"--Lorenzino, "_Il Terribile_".
CHAPTER III
_A Father's Vengeance_--Maria, Giovanni, and Garzia de'
Medici--Malatesta de' Malatesti.
CHAPTER IV
_Three Murdered Princesses_--Lucrezia, Duchess of Ferrara and Creole de'
Contrari--Eleanora Garzia, wife of Piero de Medici, Alessandro Gaci, and
Bernardino degl' Antinori--Isabella, Duchess of Bracciano--Troilo
d'Orsini and Lelio Torello.
CHAPTER V
_True and False Lovers_--Francesco, "_Il Virtuoso_"--Bianca Cappello,
"_La Figlia di Venezia_"--Pietro Buonaventuri--Cassandra de'
Borghiani--Pellegrina Buonaventuri, wife of Ulisse Bentivoglio--Antonio
Riario.
CHAPTER VI
_Pathetic Victims of Fateful Passion_--Eleanora degli Albizzi and Sforza
Almeni--Cammilla de' Martelli--Virginia de' Medici e d'Este--Cardinal
Ferdinando de' Medici.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
CHART OF THE TRAGEDIES
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Bianca Cappello-Buonaventuri
Giovanni d'Averardo de' Medici
"Journey of the Magi" (Medici)
"Adoration of the Magi" (Medici)
Lucrezia de' Medici
Lorenzo Il Magnifico
Giuliano Il Pensieroso
Ippolito--Cardinal
Alessandro--First Duke of Florence
Giovanni--"Delle Bande Nere"
Eleanora de' Medici
Maria Lucrezia de' Medici
Giovanni--Cardinal
Garzia de' Medici
Lucrezia--Duchess of Ferrara
Eleanora--Wife of Piero de' Medici
Piero de' Medici
Isabella--Duchess of Bracciano
Francesco--Grand Duke of Tuscany
Giovanna de' Medici
Don Antonio "de' Medici"
Pellegrina Buonaventuri-Bentivoglio
Cosimo I--"Tyrant of Tyrants"
Cammilla de' Medici
Ferdinando de' Medici--Cardinal
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
fashionable twentieth-century physical fashions! 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." Passerini 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'
Assunta--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 nobody 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 balls, 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 accumulated 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 title to nobility. 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 rectitude 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 ambassador 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 Grasso_, to which the Medici
belonged. Under Giovanni de' Medici, Guglielmo degli Altoviti, and
Bernardo de' Rucellai, the middle class 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
principal participants 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 noble 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
classes. He gave heed to their representations, for he cunningly
perceived that he might ride into the undisputed leadership 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 Grasso_, or wealthy middle class,
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 classes 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
nobles 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
ship of the Republic, matters settled. In 1376 he was unanimously chosen
_Capitano della Parte Guelfa_--an office of still more personal
influence than the Gonfaloniership. 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 classes they could make their way to sovereignty."
Another crisis in the history of Florence arose in 1378, during
Cavaliere Salvestro de' Medici's second Gonfaloniership, when the
_Ciompi_--"Wooden Shoes" they were called in derision--the
wool-workers--rose _en masse_, and besieged the _Signoria_ sitting at
the Palazzo Vecchio. They claimed to rule the city and to abolish the
nobles, 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 passionate 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 ambassador 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 classes, 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 shillings _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.
Giovanni associated with himself another prominent man, Messer Agnolo
de' Pandolfini, the leader of the "Peace-at-any-Price" party, who is
remembered in the annals of Florence as "The Peaceful Citizen." The main
points of their policy were:--(1) Peace abroad; (2) Prosperity at home;
(3) Low taxation.
No combination of his opponents--and they were many and
unscrupulous--was able to damage Messer Giovanni's reputation and power.
He could, had he wished it, have proclaimed himself sole ruler of
Florence and her territory; but self-control and prudence--which were so
characteristic of the men of his family--never forsook him. He died
universally regretted in 1429, and was buried in the church of San
Lorenzo, which he, along with the Martelli, had restored and endowed.
Giovanni di Averardo de' Medici was looked upon as the first banker in
Italy, the controller of the credit of Florence and the prince of
financiers. Cavalcanti, Macchiavelli, Ammirato, and almost all other
historians, describe him as "Large-hearted, liberal-minded, courteous
and charitable, dispensing munificent alms with delicate consideration
of the feelings and wants of those whom he assisted. Never suing for
honours, he gained them all. Hostile to public peculations he strove
disinterestedly for the public good. He died rich in this world's goods,
but richer still in the goodwill of his fellow citizens."
Many have sought, nevertheless, to belittle Messer Giovanni's
reputation--attributing to him a motive for all his urbanity--that of
the permanent domination of his house in the government of the
Republic--not surely a fault. His old rival in the arena of politics,
Niccolo da Uzzano, ever spoke of him after his death with unstinted
praise and admiration.
Messer Giovanni shares with Cavaliere Salvestro the undying fame of
having raised, upon the excellent foundation laid by their ancestors,
the massive supporting walls of that superb edifice, of which his son,
Cosimo, formed the cupola, and his great-grandson, Lorenzo--the
lantern--"the Light of Italy."
The third and fourth "Grand" Medici were, of course, Cosimo, "_Il Padre
della Patria_," and Lorenzo, "_Il Magnifico_." The stories of their
lives and exploits are to be read in the stories, the literature and the
arts of Florence. Of Cosimo, Niccolo Macchiavelli wrote as follows:
"He applied himself so strenuously to increase the political power of
his house, that those who had rejoiced at Giovanni's death now regretted
it, perceiving what manner of man Cosimo was. Of consummate prudence,
staid yet agreeable presence, he was liberal and humane. He never worked
against his own party, or against the State, and was prompt in giving
aid to all. His liberality gained him many partisans among the
citizens."
Born in 1389, he early evinced mercantile proclivities, and when a lad
of no more than seventeen Messer Giovanni, his father, placed him in
charge successively of several of the foreign agencies of the Medici
bank. Young Cosimo used his opportunities so well that he was looked
upon as a successful financier, and came to be called "The Great
Merchant of Florence!"
He was jokingly wont to say: "Two yards of scarlet cloth are enough to
make a citizen!" Nevertheless he had a deep regard for the opinions and
privileges of his fellow Florentines. One of his constant sayings was:
"One must always consult the will of the people"--and "the people"
replied by acclaiming him "_Il Padre della Patria_."
Cosimo has been called "a great merchant and a grand party-leader: the
first of Florentines by birth and the first of Italians by culture." He
died in 1464. His father left in cash a fortune of nearly 180,000 gold
florins, but Cosimo's estate totalled upwards of 230,000--_circa_
L100,000--a vast amount in those days!
After the strong personality of Cosimo and his masterful manipulation of
commercial and political affairs, perhaps the unambitious rule of his
son Piero was a necessary and healthful corollary. Piero de' Medici
maintained the ground his father had made his own, and gave away nothing
of the predominance of his family, and he made way, after a brief
exercise of authority, for his brilliant son, Lorenzo.
Piero's character and career again prove the truth of the adage:
"Ability rarely runs in two successive generations." All the same, he
died in 1409, leaving his sons the heirs to nearly 300,000 gold florins!
Lorenzo, "_Il Magnifico_," was the first of the "Grand" Medici to give
up entirely all connection with commercial pursuits and banking
interests. His tenure of office, by a curious paradox, marks the
termination of the financial liberties of Florence! He was an all-round
genius--there was nothing he could not do--and do well! "Whatever is
worth doing at all," he was wont to say, "is worth doing well."
With his death, in 1492, as Benedetto Dei said, "The Splendour, not of
Tuscany only, but of all Italy, disappeared."
With the beginning of the sixteenth century dawned a new era.
Preliminary signs had appeared in the growth of wealth, in
enfranchisement from primitive methods, and in the evolution of
individualism. Love of country and the ties of family life were loosened
by the universal craving for self-indulgence and personal distinction.
Idleness, sensuality, and scepticism--three baneful sisters--gained the
mastery, weakening the fabric of society, and leading on to the evil
courses of tyrannicide.
"The gradual extinction of public spirit; the general deterioration of
private character, and the exercise of unbridled lust and passion, are
the livid hues which tinge with the purple of melancholy and the scarlet
of tragedy the later pages of Florentine story."
* * * * *
The direct line of Cosimo, "_Il Padre della Patria_," the elder
surviving son of Messer Giovanni di Averardo "Bicci" de' Medici, ended
with Caterina, Queen of France, the only legitimate child of Lorenzo,
Duke of Urbino, and last _Capo della Repubblica_ of Florence; and
Alessandro the Bastard, first Duke of Florence, the illegitimate son of
Pope Clement VII.
The sovereignty of the Medici was maintained in the person of Cosimo,
the only son of Condottiere Giovanni, "delle Bande Nere," the
great-grandson of Lorenzo, the younger of the two surviving sons of
Messer Giovanni di Averardo "Bicci" de' Medici. The rule of the Medici
Grand Dukes of Tuscany was carried on from Cosimo I. to Gian Gastone,
seventh Grand Duke and last of his line, who died in 1737.