House of Borgia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Borgias or Borjas were a Valencian-Italian noble family who became prominent during the Renaissance. They are remembered today for their corrupt rule when one of them was Pope. The Borgias have been accused of many different crimes, generally on considerable evidence, including adultery, simony, theft, rape, bribery, incest, and murder (especially murder by poison).[1]
The Borgias were originally from Valencia. Cardinal Alfonso de Borja (1378-1458), who had been a diplomat for the Kingdom of Aragon, became Pope in 1453. He made his nephew Rodrigo (1431-1503) a cardinal, despite Rodrigo's libertine private life. Rodrigo "became a bishop, cardinal and vice-chancellor of the church."[2]
Rodrigo, a cunning intriguer, was elected Pope in 1492, taking the name Alexander VI. He had several acknowledged children, of which Lucrezia and Cesare were best known.
Cesare, with his father's backing, tried to become the ruler of Italy. His ruthlessness is thought to have inspired Macchiavelli's famous work of political philosophy, The Prince. But in 1503, Pope Alexander died suddenly. (It was said that he and Cesare accidentally drank a bottle of their own poisoned wine.) Cesare's intrigues collapsed, and he went off to Spain.
Lucrezia was also rumored to be a notorious poisoner. Later historians have thought she was her family's tool and victim, though. She married three times, and after the fall of her father and brother, remained the respected consort of the Duke of Ferrara.
Saint Francis Borgia was a grandson of Rodrigo through another son, Giovanni. After a career in the service of the kings of Spain, he entered the priesthood and became a Jesuit. He eventually rose to be the third Father General of the order.
 Cesare Borgia. Portrait by Altobello Melone. Bergamo |
 Giovanni de Candia Borgia, 2nd Duke of Gandia. |
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[edit] Members of the family
- Alfonso de Borja (Pope Calixtus III)
- Cesare Borgia
- Saint Francis Borgia
- Gaspar Cardinal de Borja y Velasco
- Gioffre Borgia
- Giovanni Borgia (1474)
- Giovanni Borgia (1498)
- Lucrezia Borgia
- Rodrigo Borgia (Pope Alexander VI)
[edit] In popular culture
The Borgias were infamous in their time, and their lurid career has inspired numerous novels, plays, operas, and films. References to the Borgias in popular culture are innumerable.
[edit] Novels
- Prince of Foxes (1947) by Samuel Shellabarger
- The Shame of Motley by Raphael Sabatini
- The Family by Mario Puzo
- Mirror, Mirror by Gregory Maguire
- The Antipope by Robert Rankin
- Borgia, the novel of a family by Klabund
- The Borgia Bride by Jeanne Kalogridis
- The Medici Seal by Theresa Breslin
- De scharlaken stad (The Scarlet City; 1952) by Hella Haasse
- Borja Papa (The Borgia Pope), by Joan Francesc Mira, is a fictional autobiography of Alexander VI.
[edit] Graphic Novels
- I Borgia: La conquista del papato (Borgia 1: Blood for the Pope; 2004) by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Milo Manara
- I Borgia: Il potere e l'incesto (Borgia 2: Power and Incest; 2006) by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Milo Manara
- Cantarella by You Higuri (manga)
- Cesare by Souryo Fuyumi (manga)
[edit] Plays
- Lucrezia Borgia, by Victor Hugo
- The Tyrant: An Episode in the Career of Cesare Borgia, a Play in Four Acts (1925), by Raphael Sabatini
[edit] Operas
- Lucrezia Borgia (1833), by Gaetano Donizetti
[edit] Films
- Prince of Foxes (1949), directed by Orson Welles
- Los Borgia (2006)
- The Borgias (1981), BBC miniseries
