Alexander borgia biography
Renaissance Men: Cesare Borgia & Pope Alexander VI.
This father-son partnership briefly created one of Renaissance Italy’s most magnificent demonstrations of Machiavellian power-wielding — as documented by Machiavelli himself.
Two books you’re certain to find in the libraries of Type A corporate power-mongers are Sun Tzu’s The Art of War (“Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak”) and Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince (“Never attempt to win by force what can be won by deception”).
The latter master manipulator — an Italian Renaissance-era diplomat, historian, politician, philosopher and author, whose name has come to be synonymous with ruthless scheming — devotes a significant portion of his best-known work to examining the rise and fall of a contemporary he much admired, Cesare Borgia.
Cesare was the bastard (perhaps in both senses of the word) son of Pope Alexander VI and his longterm mistress, Roman aristocrat Vanozza Dei Cattanei. Born into a wealthy, well-connected family in Valencia in 1431, the future pope rose rapidly through church ranks following his uncle’s elevation to the papacy in 1455, eventually taking the top job himself in 1492. As one might gather from Pope Alexander’s fatherhood of Cesare — one of at least nine children he sired with various mistresses — the pontiff approached his vows of chastity rather casually. As for the vow of poverty… Said to be lacking almost entirely in religious sentiment, Pope Alexander made no bones about seeing his office primarily as a means of increasing the Borgia family’s power, wealth and holdings. Which he did with gusto.
His eldest son Cesare (who, along with his three other children by Vanozza — Giovanni, Lucrezia and Gioffre — he legitimised after taking the papacy) was the primary tool Pope Alexander used to achieve his worldly ends. Cesare was first groomed to be Alexander’s successor in the church, but when military-focused younger son Giovanni was murde
Pope Alexander VI
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Rodrigo Borgia, born at Xativa, near Valencia, in Spain, 1 January, 1431; died in Rome, 18 August, 1503. His parents were Jofre Lançol and Isabella Borja, sister of Cardinal Alfonso Borja, later Pope Callixtus III.
The young Rodrigo had not yet definitely chosen his profession when the elevation of his uncle to the papacy (1455) opened up new prospects to his ambition. He was adopted into the immediate family of Callixtus and was known henceforward to the Italians as Rodrigo Borgia. Like so many other princely cadets, he was obtruded upon the Church, the question of a clerical vocation being left completely out of consideration. After conferring several rich benefices on him, his uncle sent him for a short year to study law at the University of Bologna. In 1456, at the age of twenty-five, he was made Cardinal Deacon of St. Nicolo in Carcere, and held that title until 1471, when he became Cardinal-Bishop of Albano; in 1476 he was made Cardinal-Bishop of Porto and Dean of the Sacred College (Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica, II, 12). His official position in the Curia after 1457 was that of Vice-Chancellor of the Roman Church, and though many envied him this lucrative office he seems in his long administration of the Papal Chancery to have given general satisfaction. Even Guicciardini admits that "in him were combined rare prudence and vigilance mature reflection, marvellous power of persuasion, skill and capacity for the conduct of the most difficult affairs". On the other hand, the list of archbishoprics, bishoprics, abbacies, and other dignities held by him, as enumerated by the Bishop of Modena in a letter to the Duchess of Ferrara (Pastor, History of the Popes, V, 533, English tr.) reads like the famous catalogue of Lep Head of the Catholic Church from 1492 to 1503 "Rodrigo de Borja" redirects here. For the Spanish nobleman, see Rodrigo de Borja (Spanish noble). Pope Alexander VI (born Rodrigo de Borja;; epithet: Valentinus ("The Valencian");c. 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death in 1503. Born into the prominent Borgia family in Xàtiva in the Kingdom of Valencia under the Crown of Aragon, Rodrigo studied law at the University of Bologna. He was ordained deacon and made a cardinal in 1456 after the election of his uncle as Pope Callixtus III, and a year later he became vice-chancellor of the Catholic Church. He proceeded to serve in the Curia under the next four popes, acquiring significant influence and wealth in the process. In 1492, Rodrigo was elected pope, taking the name Alexander VI. Alexander's papal bulls of 1493 confirmed or reconfirmed the rights of the Spanish crown in the New World following the finds of Christopher Columbus in 1492. During the second Italian war, Alexander VI supported his son Cesare Borgia as a condottiero for the French king. The scope of his foreign policy was to gain the most advantageous terms for his family. Alexander is one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes, partly because he acknowledged fathering several children by his mistresses. As a result, his Italianized Valencian surname, Borgia, became a byword for libertinism and nepotism, which are traditionally considered as characterizing his pontificate. Rodrigo de Borja was born c. 1431, in the town of Xàtiva near Valencia, one of the component realms of the Crown of Aragon, in what is now Spain. He was named for his paternal grandfather, Rodrigo Gil de Borja y Fennolet. His parents were Jofré Llançol i Escrivà (died bef. 24 March 1437) and his A As the nephew of Pope Callistus III,Pope Alexander VI (1431-1503) was the second member of the Borgia family of Spain to become pope. Rodrigo, whose surname was originally Lançol/Llançol, was born in Játiva, near Valencia, in Spain. Rodrigo came to Italy with his uncle Alonso de Borja (Borgia in Italian), who was Bishop of Valencia and a secretary to the King of Aragon. In Italy, his uncle was made a cardinal in 1443 and elected Pope Callistus III in 1455. After his uncle's election, Rodrigo changed his surname to "Borgia" and studied canon law for a year at the university in Bologna. In 1456, when Rodrigo was 25 years old, the pope made him a cardinal. The following year he made him Vice Chancellor, a position that brought both a high income and a great deal of political power within the Church. Through political prowess and skillful handling of the job, Rodrigo retained this position through the four pontificates between his and his uncle's terms. Like that of his predecessor, Innocent VIII, Rodrigo's election as pope was the result of bribery by the candidates and other interested parties. Other competitors for the papal throne included Giuliano della Rovere,who was supported by King Charles VIII of France, and Cardinal Ascanio Sforza. Although some cardinals were prejudiced against him because of his Spanish nationality, Rodrigo's political skill, years of experience, and wealth enabled him to succeed in winning the papal throne. In licentious behavior, Alexander's excesses exceeded those of his predecessor Innocent VIII, who kept mistresses at the Vatican and conducted weddings for his children there. As Cardinal, Rodr
Pope Alexander VI
Birth and family
Alexander VI
August 11, 1492 - August 18, 1503
BACKGROUND
Pre-Clerical Period
Period after His Uncle Became Pope
CHARACTER AS POPE
Bribery to Become Pope
Licentious Behavior