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The Borgias
Traces the lives of the famous Italian family, discusses their influence in religion and politics, and looks at period in which they lived
388 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 7, 2016
This book focuses on the lives of Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia) and his illegitimate children, Cesare and Lucrezia. The author states in the introduction that his objective was to humanize the Borgias and relieve their reputations of the rumors and innuendos that have clung to them since the Renaissance.
If that truly was the author's objective, he failed thoroughly to achieve it. The author exonerates Alexander VI of the most egregious single charge against him - that of incest with his daughter Lucrezia. What is left, however, is thoroughly damning. Alexander more or less continuously engaged in simony, fornication (Popes, like other Catholic Priests, are supposed to be celibate), and a host of other sins, and violated every commandment in the Bible, except, perhaps, the obligation to honor one's parents.
Cesare, for his part, was directed to a career in the church (which he detested) and given a Cardinal's hat at a very young age by his father, the Pope. To escape back into lay life, he killed his brother, forcing Alexander to release him from the priesthood in order to have an heir to carry on the family's activities outside the church. For this act of fratricide the Pope, remarkably enough, forgave him completely, and Alexander remained Cesare's patron until Alexander passed away.
Cesare cut a dashing figure, and so impressed Machiavelli that the latter made him the model for "The Prince." After being deprived of Alexander's patronage, however, Cesare failed to survive for long. Other members of the nobility banded together against him and defeated him in battle. Cesare fled to the family's ancestral base in Spain to seek to rally support and raise new troops, and was defeated and killed not long after.
Lucrezia is the only one of the three who comes off moderately well in modern eyes. As was common among the nobility when marriages were used to cement alliances, she found herself a pawn for her father's machinations, and later those of her brother. Eventually, however, she settled into a dignified position as Duchess of Ferrara before dying in 1519 at the age of 39.
The Borgias may have been sophisticated and cultured, but they were devoid of almost all the characteristics that make a good person. Whether the fault was theirs, or they simply were the products of the society they lived in, is a question not considered in this book.
Ironically enough, a member of the Spanish branch of the Borgia family, Francis of Gandia, later found true religion, renounced his life of power and influence and entered the Jesuit order, died in 1572, and was canonized in 1671.
If that truly was the author's objective, he failed thoroughly to achieve it. The author exonerates Alexander VI of the most egregious single charge against him - that of incest with his daughter Lucrezia. What is left, however, is thoroughly damning. Alexander more or less continuously engaged in simony, fornication (Popes, like other Catholic Priests, are supposed to be celibate), and a host of other sins, and violated every commandment in the Bible, except, perhaps, the obligation to honor one's parents.
Cesare, for his part, was directed to a career in the church (which he detested) and given a Cardinal's hat at a very young age by his father, the Pope. To escape back into lay life, he killed his brother, forcing Alexander to release him from the priesthood in order to have an heir to carry on the family's activities outside the church. For this act of fratricide the Pope, remarkably enough, forgave him completely, and Alexander remained Cesare's patron until Alexander passed away.
Cesare cut a dashing figure, and so impressed Machiavelli that the latter made him the model for "The Prince." After being deprived of Alexander's patronage, however, Cesare failed to survive for long. Other members of the nobility banded together against him and defeated him in battle. Cesare fled to the family's ancestral base in Spain to seek to rally support and raise new troops, and was defeated and killed not long after.
Lucrezia is the only one of the three who comes off moderately well in modern eyes. As was common among the nobility when marriages were used to cement alliances, she found herself a pawn for her father's machinations, and later those of her brother. Eventually, however, she settled into a dignified position as Duchess of Ferrara before dying in 1519 at the age of 39.
The Borgias may have been sophisticated and cultured, but they were devoid of almost all the characteristics that make a good person. Whether the fault was theirs, or they simply were the products of the society they lived in, is a question not considered in this book.
Ironically enough, a member of the Spanish branch of the Borgia family, Francis of Gandia, later found true religion, renounced his life of power and influence and entered the Jesuit order, died in 1572, and was canonized in 1671.
October 25, 2022
Well researched book. The Borgias started from fairly lowly beginnings whose progeniture was rewarded as a knight as part of conquering force against the Moors near jativa. The Borgias are interestingly Catalonians who later became involved in the wars in Naples thereby entering into Italian venue. Also occurring around the same time, the French were involved in Italy as well through traditional aiding of the Papacy had led to a series of French Popes centered not in Rome but in Avignon, France. One Alonso de Borja became Cardinal and later Pope Calixtus as a compromise candidate ironically in 1455. Immediately he started to accumlate wealth and lands for the Borgias although due to his age there were time limits to how much he could do. Years later, Rodrigo de Borja became Pope Alexander VI with a convincing win boosted by bribes and promised favors. Once attained he made good on all promises. He started as a corrupt gangster but ended up as a dictator who using his sons first Juan of Gandia as a military catspaw to force compliance with papal mandates. Later after Juan s murder, his second son Cesare , the ex-cardinal, became a willing catspaw who carried out successful military operations throughout Italy in order to land and money. He was at ot average military leader but the The French constantly aided him so his success rate was good due to overwhelming force in his favor. Secondly, the duo loved to attack their own allies since it was unexpected and so their guard was down. In the end when the Pope died, Cesare ineptness militarily became clear and his lesser intellect hurt him. Surprisingly, the Florentine Niccol Machiavelli wrote 'The Prince' in which he described Cesare as a genius but in reality it clearly was the Pope Alexander VI who was the evil genius becoming clear on cesare quick demise after his fathers passing.
Interestinglt, the Borgias evil reputation was offset by a later Francis Borgias who became the Jesuit leader and did many good deeds on behalf of the Church. Weel worth a careful read if you enjoy Italian history.
Interestinglt, the Borgias evil reputation was offset by a later Francis Borgias who became the Jesuit leader and did many good deeds on behalf of the Church. Weel worth a careful read if you enjoy Italian history.
July 29, 2018
Not quite sure what I expected. But I was mildly disappointed. A solid biography. Maybe too solid. Just too many tiny battles.
So, the Borgias came from Spain and the first Pope was Kalixt III. His nephew, Rodrigo became the famous Alexander VI. His son Cesare was a cardinal but decided to rather become a new Cesar. So he killed his brother. Presumably. That has made the Pope rather sad and for a while, a fortnight or so, he thought about reforming the church. Restricting the number of servants of cardinals to 80 for example. It did not last. What I did not know was that all the popes seemed to be more or seriously inclined to finance a new crusade.
Cloulas does not condemn the Borgias. And as far as I understood he does not believe half of what is normally thought about them. No incest, e.g. Well, fratricide is not very nice either. And he seems to really like Lucretia.
Most interesting is that the son of killed brother Juan became a Jesuit general and was declared a Saint a hundred years later.
So, the Borgias came from Spain and the first Pope was Kalixt III. His nephew, Rodrigo became the famous Alexander VI. His son Cesare was a cardinal but decided to rather become a new Cesar. So he killed his brother. Presumably. That has made the Pope rather sad and for a while, a fortnight or so, he thought about reforming the church. Restricting the number of servants of cardinals to 80 for example. It did not last. What I did not know was that all the popes seemed to be more or seriously inclined to finance a new crusade.
Cloulas does not condemn the Borgias. And as far as I understood he does not believe half of what is normally thought about them. No incest, e.g. Well, fratricide is not very nice either. And he seems to really like Lucretia.
Most interesting is that the son of killed brother Juan became a Jesuit general and was declared a Saint a hundred years later.
May 17, 2017
Una lectura muy dinámica sobre una época muy variopinta en la historia de los Estados Pontificios. Se trata de un texto bien informado, que despeja varias dudas y desmitifica varios mitos de la familia Borgia (incluyendo negar varias mentiras asociadas a su nombre... ellos ya eran lo bastante infames por sus acciones como para necesitar que asesinaran su imagen aún más con falsedades). Lo que sí es que el libro se habría beneficiado con algún mapa: dada la naturaleza de la política en las ciudades-estado italianas en esos días, la relación con las potencias vecinas puede hacerse algo enredada.
El último tercio del libro, curiosamente, se enfoca en otro Borgia, San Francisco de Borja, uno con una historia completamente diferente detrás de sí, que a pesar de dar la impresión de un anticlímax otorga un buen contraste al resto del libro.
El último tercio del libro, curiosamente, se enfoca en otro Borgia, San Francisco de Borja, uno con una historia completamente diferente detrás de sí, que a pesar de dar la impresión de un anticlímax otorga un buen contraste al resto del libro.
January 18, 2009
Excellent book. The author doesn't take a side in the Borgia love hate affair that many authors have - resulting in biased work. Cloulas is insightful, informative and takes you through the process to see where and how he comes to his conclusions when challenging/facing many of the myths about this family. Definitely worth a look if your into history.
January 20, 2019
This is a useful book, telling the story of the Borgias from their origins in Spain to the death of St Francis Borgia. Cloulas is quite even-handed in his portrayal of the family, he believes that Cesare killed Juan (I personally think it unlikely) but does not believe in the incest stories, for example. I think that he sometimes portrays Alexander as a little weak in comparison to Cesare and I would have liked more information about Charlotte d'Albret and Louise Borgia after Cesare's death, although perhaps I was expecting more because the author is French. I appreciated the level of detail that he went into though and particularly enjoyed the section of the book dealing with the decline of the family. I will definitely be reading this again.
January 2, 2020
Almost too much information for anyone not versed in Italian politics and history. There were titles and positions that were unknown to me, but those more knowledgeable might not be bothered by the arcane references.
Nonetheless I learned a lot. The politics and religion of the Borgia era in Italy made today’s politics look tame.
There was so much to include that I felt at times I was merely muddling through the book. It didn’t maintain my interest and I took various breaks from reading it to read lighter material.
While it was translated from the original Italian I didn’t sense anything was lost in translation. But it is not a book for a pedestrian American.
Still, I was happy to learn all that I did.
Nonetheless I learned a lot. The politics and religion of the Borgia era in Italy made today’s politics look tame.
There was so much to include that I felt at times I was merely muddling through the book. It didn’t maintain my interest and I took various breaks from reading it to read lighter material.
While it was translated from the original Italian I didn’t sense anything was lost in translation. But it is not a book for a pedestrian American.
Still, I was happy to learn all that I did.
January 1, 2023
This is a minutely researched and even-handed biographical account of one of history’s most notorious families. Although it’s probably not for casual readers, I highly recommend it as a complement to Neil Jordan’s excellent 2011 Showtime series.
July 19, 2023
A fair and nuanced look at the Borgia family.
May 2, 2025
Interesante familia. Creo a pesar de lo que he leído de ellos es mucho de leyenda.
January 3, 2025
Her Holiness, Pope Lucrezia
Please look at the astonishing cover art on the front of the jacket. Silly I know, but this is what first drew me to this biography over the many fine choices available. It is of Lucrezia Borgia reigning in the Vatican in the absence of Pope Alexander VI. Astonishing because the papal court was, and still is, a very peculiar place. It was unlike any other court in Europe in that there was no place for women. There was no place for women in the ceremonies or the official social life of the Vatican. The question becomes, what to do with Lucrezia? She has been much maligned, and I hope in these few notes from the reading of this book to show that she does not deserve to have the inky dark stain of “The Back Legend” splashed upon her and clinging to her reputation.
At the age of 20, when Alexander was touring estates in the South, he left her in the Vatican to open the papal correspondence and confer with the cardinals with all the authority of the pope. I acknowledge, this is as much a testament to her perspicacious abilities as to Alexander’s arrogant loss of touch with the political realities and social decorum of his day. He showed his callous disregard for all when it came to advancing the interests of his family and promoting the success of his children. Fair enough, Lucrezia sitting upon the throne of St. Peter tells us much about Alexander, blind to all else other than his own authority, the advancement of his family and indulgence of his children. However, Lucretia was charming, attractive, vivacious, and intelligent. She was much the model Italian princess and a skilled estate manager. At the end of her life she was known for her great learning, piety, for supporting the Church, for her managerial acumen, her great shrewdness in business and for having the good sense to die in child birth. During the course of her short life, she was more the pawn in the political game of chess played by her father and brother than independent political actor. The stories of her being the queen of poison in the service of Alexander and Cesare are the stuff of the “The Black Legend” propaganda spread by della Rovere (Julius II), enemy of the Borgias and conveniently the successor Pope to Alexander VI.
Still, murder did happen and there was assassination. People were genially afraid of the Borgias, a genuine fear from a genuine menace. The Borgias introduced a new level of fear and intimidation. The fear and intimidation were not new, but the scale was unprecedented and even shocking to the jaded and cynical Italian populace who saw the Borgias as foreign usurpers and interlopers. Their ambitions were indeed endless, yet this was in a time when tyranny and genius existed side by side. I just put Lucrezia on the side of genius, not tyranny. Ironically, she would have made a better Pope than her father, too bad the papacy was not inheritable, at least this one time.
Please look at the astonishing cover art on the front of the jacket. Silly I know, but this is what first drew me to this biography over the many fine choices available. It is of Lucrezia Borgia reigning in the Vatican in the absence of Pope Alexander VI. Astonishing because the papal court was, and still is, a very peculiar place. It was unlike any other court in Europe in that there was no place for women. There was no place for women in the ceremonies or the official social life of the Vatican. The question becomes, what to do with Lucrezia? She has been much maligned, and I hope in these few notes from the reading of this book to show that she does not deserve to have the inky dark stain of “The Back Legend” splashed upon her and clinging to her reputation.
At the age of 20, when Alexander was touring estates in the South, he left her in the Vatican to open the papal correspondence and confer with the cardinals with all the authority of the pope. I acknowledge, this is as much a testament to her perspicacious abilities as to Alexander’s arrogant loss of touch with the political realities and social decorum of his day. He showed his callous disregard for all when it came to advancing the interests of his family and promoting the success of his children. Fair enough, Lucrezia sitting upon the throne of St. Peter tells us much about Alexander, blind to all else other than his own authority, the advancement of his family and indulgence of his children. However, Lucretia was charming, attractive, vivacious, and intelligent. She was much the model Italian princess and a skilled estate manager. At the end of her life she was known for her great learning, piety, for supporting the Church, for her managerial acumen, her great shrewdness in business and for having the good sense to die in child birth. During the course of her short life, she was more the pawn in the political game of chess played by her father and brother than independent political actor. The stories of her being the queen of poison in the service of Alexander and Cesare are the stuff of the “The Black Legend” propaganda spread by della Rovere (Julius II), enemy of the Borgias and conveniently the successor Pope to Alexander VI.
Still, murder did happen and there was assassination. People were genially afraid of the Borgias, a genuine fear from a genuine menace. The Borgias introduced a new level of fear and intimidation. The fear and intimidation were not new, but the scale was unprecedented and even shocking to the jaded and cynical Italian populace who saw the Borgias as foreign usurpers and interlopers. Their ambitions were indeed endless, yet this was in a time when tyranny and genius existed side by side. I just put Lucrezia on the side of genius, not tyranny. Ironically, she would have made a better Pope than her father, too bad the papacy was not inheritable, at least this one time.
May 22, 2011
OK, I confess that I read it to get some idea how far "The Borgias" television series wanders from the truth. (Answer: VERY far!) It does a satisfactory job in the "just the facts" tradition, but even within those limits I have complaints:
1. No maps, no not one. A serious lack in a book that mentions many very minor places in both Italy and Spain. And unless you're a specialist in the era, you probably have, as I did, no more than a vague idea of the shifting boundaries of the duchies of Milan and Urbino, the republics of Florence and Venice, and at least 20 more frequently-mentioned political entities that come and go. Don't set out without a decent historical atlas!
2. No family tree/genealogy. The book covers at least five generations of Borgias and their spouses and lovers and children legitimate and otherwise. Titles of some of them change several times. A graphic representation would have been very helpful.
There must be something better out there.
1. No maps, no not one. A serious lack in a book that mentions many very minor places in both Italy and Spain. And unless you're a specialist in the era, you probably have, as I did, no more than a vague idea of the shifting boundaries of the duchies of Milan and Urbino, the republics of Florence and Venice, and at least 20 more frequently-mentioned political entities that come and go. Don't set out without a decent historical atlas!
2. No family tree/genealogy. The book covers at least five generations of Borgias and their spouses and lovers and children legitimate and otherwise. Titles of some of them change several times. A graphic representation would have been very helpful.
There must be something better out there.
September 4, 2009
Pope Alexander VI, his children, Lucrece and Cesar (model for Machiavelli's THE PRINCE, - what to make of them? Were they the hopelessly corrupt villains that history has often made them out to be, or were they products of a tumultuous 16th century Renaissance and no better and no worse than most of their contemporaries? This historical study, written in French, guardedly finds elements of both villainy and contemporaneity in them. the author concentrates much more on the political and military infighting of the time than upon any personal orgies. If you're interested in the Borgias,worth reading.
November 7, 2014
The lives of Rodrigo, Lucrezia, and Chez-array were absolutely riveting. I got a new perspective on the family. The huge number of characters, made for some confusion. I didn't know until I read this book that Machievelli's "The Prince" was based at least in part on the life of Cesare. I also did not know that Leonardo da Vinci did some engineering work for Cesare. The political and ecclesiastical intrigue of that time was almost unbelievable. What I found most amazing is that the records of that period have been preserved.
April 17, 2011
Read to make watching "The Borgias on TV more interesting.
May 26, 2012
It was pretty interesting at first, but near the end I just got really bored with it. Nothing much else to say.
October 25, 2011
Although there were some issues with the translation, I really enjoyed this book. The author handled an infamous family with remarkable delicacy, and gave us an unbiased look at their lives.
Want to read
August 3, 2008I have the French language version loaned to me by M. Andrade.
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