The Borgias and Their Enemies: 1431-1519

Ignorance Confession: Before I read this book, I had absolutely no idea what or who the “Borgias” were. I love history, but the majority of my knowledge is geared towards my home country (U.S.) and really doesn’t stretch more than 250 years ago when, not coincidentally, was when my home country was established. I am, however, always keen to learn more about history everywhere, so when this book showed up as a bargain on Amazon, I cautiously snapped it up. 300 pages later, this was a journey well-taken. I enjoyed the book, and now know who the Borgias were!Without going into too much detail of who this family was, let’s just say that they were a very powerful Italian family during the years mentioned in the title of this book. The head of the family was Rodrigo Borgia, who may or may not be better known as Pope Alexander VI. For those not too familiar with the Catholic Church, it wasn’t always led by holy, philanthropic, celibate men. Oh no. The position of “Pope” was sadly seen in a much different vein in the times before Luther and the Protestant Reformation. Quite often, those highest in the church were some of the most unscrupulous greedy men in history. Their view of the scriptures was often quite twisted, and the fact that they were a sort of ‘officer’ of the church meant that they could pretty much do and say whatever they wanted, while the humble subjects simply bowed in obedience and reverence. Side note: Most of these humble subjects never learned how to read. So they knew what the Bible was, but really didn’t know what it said.So as our book starts, we get a bit of a background of Rome during the time and many of the key individuals. Rodrigo Borgia is one such individual. Is Rodrigo an evil man? Well, this book never explicitly states so. We know he’s a politician and he has to make several unscrupulous deals ‘under the table’ as well as manipulate many of his enemies, but, hey, are politicians today much different? So, yes, today it’s hard to imagine that someone that holds the position of Pope could be so sleazy, but we must remember to keep the narrative in context of the times.Rodrigo has several children as well (yes, Popes had wives, children, and mistresses) and by the time he is Alexander VI, his children are somewhat grown. We read about their comings and goings as well. Some, like daughter Lucrezia, have a host of husbands and lovers and are followed by the population insatiably as if they were reading the National Enquirer. His son Cesare, however, seems to have a sadistic streak that puts fear into the entire nation. This is a prime example of a rich spoiled kid who can do whatever he wants since his daddy is the big boss. His treacherous behavior is indeed scary. In fact, it seems like most of the book really centers on these two children as they have such ‘interesting’ lives. There are a host of other children and family members, yet their sins and sensuality don’t compare to Lucrezia and Cesare, so they don’t warrant as much space in this narrative.This leads me to my only gripe of this book. There are simply too many people to keep track. All of the different (mostly Italian sounding) names packed into this book will make your head spin. It might be a good idea to take some notes while reading. I know, you shouldn’t feel like you’re back in school when reading something for enjoyment, but it’s probably worth the trouble. I wish this book would have included pictures (i.e. illustrations/paintings) of some of the key figures for ease of reference. A family tree or two would have been majorly helpful as well. Again, way too many mistresses, marriages, cousins, and allegiances between countries for the average brain to assimilate. There is also tons of descriptions of weddings, festivities, and ceremonies as people enter and conquer cities. I guess one must include such things if it was well known since ‘real’ history might be a tad scant from 500 years ago.Still, a great beginner’s guide to a famous family. With a length of 300 pages, there really isn’t too much detail to overwhelm you and get you completely lost. I also now have a desire to learn more about this family, as well as the people and places that occupied this place and time in history. And really, isn’t that what a good history book is supposed to do?Note: I should point out that the Borgia family are lead characters of the popular video game Assassin’s Creed II. This is one of my favorite games of all time. Although I’ve played through the game several times, I never pay attention to “story” lines in video games. I’m one of those grouchy old gamers who doesn’t give a rip about a story. I play games to DO, not to LEARN. But if, like me, you loved Assassin’s Creed II, this is probably a good primer to the real comings and goings of the family.

This book is a treasure for any enthusiast of the political struggles that were a signature of the Italian Renaissance. Much like the Greek city-states during antiquity, Italian history during this time was dominated by the economics and political dynamics of Florence, Milan and Italian states ruled by their own established political dynasties. Florence had the de' Medici, Milan had the Sforza: given this backdrop, the book shows how the Borgia family, rising from Spanish roots, made their way into Italian history.Instance after instance, I enjoyed how the author managed to balance fact with legend, tracing historical trajectory while using sources to tell us how the scholars and public percieved the driving personalities. Instead of jumping straight into the career of Pope Alexander VI, who became cardinal at 25, we're given a summary of then-recent Papal history to give context to the realities that Rodrigo Borgia exploited to navigate his way into the papacy. Horse-trading amongst cardinals, promises of posts and land were not unusual and Borgia merely mastered the art. The way he is described is not far removed from what is expected from popular depictions, "he well knew how to dominate, how to shine in conversation and how to impose his will on other men..." Instead of taking the oft-taken one-sided stance of dismissing his entire tenure as corrupt, Hibbert is more realistic: "...guilty as he may well have been of simony, bribery and sexual incontinence, Alexander VI was both conscientious and competent in the discharge of his duties. Approachable, affable and good-natured...".Given the giant mish-mash that is family politics, with family disputes, political alliances and marriages - the author captures a single dimension at a time so that the reader doesn't get overwhelmed or lost in the trivialities of learning family trees. The chapters are short so that the book doesn't read like a drag-on history book littered by facts and dates, the commentary is what is given its due importance.The Rome the Borgias inherited was struck by poverty, far removed from the grandeur of Imperial Rome. Alexander VI managed to balance the papal budget using income from aluminum mines, on the political level he managed to escape the insecurity of the College of Cardinal's calling council to dispose him and diplomatically, he gave a relatively minor concession to the French of allowing access through the papal states whilst avoiding an inevitable defeat had they gone to war against French canons. A good observer would notice the creation of the marks of Borgia opulence that lie to this date, decorated churches and palaces marked with great works of art.Cesare, unlike his father who, at least outside prided himself on following Christian rituals carried himself in "clothes that were the doublets and hose of a secular prince, not a man in holy orders". The book makes a swift turn from documenting the life of Rodrigo, his daughter Lucrezia (a chief tool in securing alliances through marriage) and Cesare's relatively incompetent brother Juan to Cesare's campaigns and successes. It is not difficult to notice that major parts of history are compressed into small paragraphs, such as the detailed histories of de' Medici, Sforza, the rise and fall of Savonarola - but the beauty of this book lies in this incompleteness. Firstly, the book avoids going on tangents, sticking to the facts that are relevant to Borgia history. Secondly, given that we are accustomed to dramatizations that fill in gaps where there is otherwise speculation and uncertainty, the relative dearth of information has the indirect effect of shocking us about the extent of creative license taken by authors and directors.The author does great service to Cesare's myth, while also bursting his aura of infallibility. From the Borgia nemeses Cardinal della Rovere, "the Duke is so endowed with prudence, ability and every virtue of mind and body that he has conquered everybody". The author wisely includes the famous assessments of Machiavelli in echoing the same views about his competence at realpolitik, giving weight to the view that Cesare was the person in mind when writing the Prince to reseek the favor of the Medici's. While Cesare fought "for the sake of glory of acquiring lands...acknowledging no fatigue or danger", the downside of this ability to annex lands in his campaign meant that he was "more eager to seize states than to administer them". To the author, history isn't a list of conquests but the ability to make good use of those conquests. At no point does the author seem to dive into describing campaigns without telling the reader about the monetary costs of the conflict and how the money was raised - giving a realistic and complete account of the nature of warfare as an economic enterprise, not merely a display of traditional heroism.Any Borgia fan would love the life-bringing descriptions of all dimensions of the family and their politics: Lucrezia and her three marriages, Cesare and his involvement with the French, Cesare's response to the Orsini revolt in Urbino, his diplomatic success with securing his French bride Charlotte d' Albert, the French claim to Naples as a source of constant dilemma's to the Borgia's who were allied to Naples's incumbents. The romantic affair with Cesare's life ends with the failure of his contingency plan upon the death of his father owing to his own illness and his fatal and poorly calculated mistake of helping della Rovere be elected, foolishly thinking that he would forget his long-standing enmity against the Borgia family and keep him as the head of the papal armies and maintain his hold on the Romagna. Lucrezia's last moments at the court are also explored, living her life as an obsolete political commodity until her death.A glance at the primary and secondary sources in the book give a good idea of how much material is taken from sources that describe the Italian Renaissance in its totality and not Borgia history isolation. This perhaps gives the best example of the undeniable influence that the Borgia's had on art and culture. Anyone who liked this book should grab a book on the history of the de' Medici and Sforza to get a broader picture of intra-city state politics.The book presents itself almost as a live show, a great summary - but by no means a concise history.A gripping read.

Exquisito libro, de muy rápida lectura, el autor realiza el libro a manera de narrativa con base en diarios, cartas o descripciones, de esa época, muy entretenidoIdioma Inglés

Boring. Tedious. Pompous.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this well written and entertaining account of the Borgia's: Rodrigo who became Pope Alexander VI, and his children of whom the most famous were his son Cesare, and his daughter Lucretia.As well as providing a fascinating account of the Borgia family, their pursuit of power and extravagant lifestyles, Christopher Hibbert almost brings to life through his writing the wider elite of Renaissance Italy; decadence, the patronage of outstanding art, treachery, corruption, religious devotion and the exploitation of the faithful were frequent features of the life of the powerful of the time The misuse of high religious office for the pursuit of wealth and earthly power is a constant theme - although many of the same people also undertook good works, particularly patronage of the arts, which we continue to benefit from to this dayAs well as the Borgias this era (and these pages) includes Michelangelo, Raphael, Da Vinci, Machiavelli, Erasmus....these were fascinating times, which are beautiful described in this very enjoyable book.However, the book is not perfect - it is quite short at just over 300 pages but the line spacing is what gets it there - it would be more like 200 pages otherwise, and the last two chapters which outline what happened to the Borgia family lines after the death of the main characters seem rushed and certainly lack the colour of the previous chapters.Worth reading though

It needs to said at the start what sort of book this is and what it is not. It is a narrative, told very much in bitesize chunks, scattered with quotations from the original sources. It is not an analytical review of the period. It details the corruption in the catholic church during the late 15 and early 16th centuries, though never in a polemic way. Hibbert is always measured in his approach and where events are disputed or appear to have been created out of speculation, he is quick to say so and does not draw judgement on their veracity; this is mainly in relation to the rumours of incest. Though even if we set those aside, there is no room for doubt left that the reign of the Borgias was nepotistic, bloody, ruthless and fuelled by greed and lust.The story is told in roughly chronological order, though as each chapter focuses on a different aspect of the history, there is a little jumping around, so there is no single timeline running throughout. Hibbert's scholarship is evident, though not totally transparent; while he states certain facts and at the end gives a list of further reading, the two are not married up, so that I was left frequently asking "where's the justification or the evidence for that statement" and Hibbert doesn't provide the answer. There is also a seeming lack of questions being asked. I was expecting more context and at attempt to understand the importance of the Borgias both at the time and their lasting on impact on catholicism, italian politics and the wider world; unfortunately there was none of this.Instead, what we have is a step by step case of "this happened. Then this happened. Then this happened. And then this happened" whilst all the time leaving the reader to do all the analysis with only the narrative as a guide. So if you want a dispassionate narrative then this is the book for you. If you are interested in the impact and importance of the Borgias, then you are better off reading Machiavelli's The Prince. That said, this is a valuable resource and I would recommend it as part of any thorough reading of the history of the family and the period.

Not the best book by Christopher Hibbert. There is too much description of clothes, pageantry and cavalcades, which seem to facinate the author, and too little about the context of what happened to this incredible family. Quite disappointing after reading the book on the Medici. Nevertheless, it is well written and agreeable.