The Black Prince of Florence: The Spectacular Life and Treacherous World of Alessandro de' Medici

by Catherine Fletcher

Ruler of Florence for seven bloody years, 1531 to 1537, Alessandro de' Medici was arguably the first person of color to serve as a head of state in the Western world. Born out of wedlock to a dark-skinned maid and Lorenzo de' Medici, he was the last legitimate heir to the line of Lorenzo the Magnificent. When Alessandro's noble father died of syphilis, the family looked to him. Groomed for power, he carved a path through the backstabbing world of Italian politics in a time when cardinals, popes, and princes vied for wealth and advantage. By the age of nineteen, he was prince of Florence, inheritor of the legacy of the grandest dynasty of the Italian Renaissance.

Alessandro faced down family rivalry and enormous resistance from Florence's oligarchs, who called him a womanizer-which he undoubtedly was--and a tyrant. Yet this real-life counterpart to Machiavelli's Prince kept his grip on power until he was assassinated at the age of 26 during a late-night tryst arranged by his scheming cousins. After his death, his brief but colorful reign was criticized by those who had murdered him in a failed attempt to restore the Florentine republic. For the first time, the true story is told in The Black Prince of Florence .

Catherine Fletcher tells the riveting tale of Alessandro's unexpected rise and spectacular fall, unraveling centuries-old mysteries, exposing forgeries, and bringing to life the epic personalities of the Medicis, Borgias, and others as they waged sordid campaigns to rise to the top. Drawing on new research and first-hand sources, this biography of a most intriguing Renaissance figure combines archival scholarship with discussions of race and class that are still relevant today.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Italy, Renaissance, 16th Century, Politics

338 pages, Hardcover

First published April 7, 2016

About the author

Catherine Fletcher holds a PhD in history from the University of London. She is the recipient of many awards and fellowships at the British School at Rome and the European University Institute in Florence and takes up a position as a Teaching Fellow in History at the University of London in the Fall. Divorce of Henry VIII is her first book.

Reviews

[Roman Clodia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alessandro’s story reminds us that Renaissance men may not always have been white

While Fletcher’s intention of writing racial diversity back into our understanding of Renaissance history and culture is admirable, in actuality this book does little more than re-tell the story of the Medici in Florence from a slightly different angle. This isn’t necessarily Fletcher’s fault given the sources that are available, but it does make this book more familiar, less revelatory than we might expect.

The most interesting section is actually the afterword where Fletcher briefly discusses the ways in which Alessandro de’ Medici, the illegitimate son of Lorenzo and a slave or servant woman of African origin or descent, is portrayed in the sources and the way historicised modes of representing, constructing and mediating race affect his portrayal. A book exploring the receptions of Alessandro in this manner would have been more original and more illuminating.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Catherine Fletcher sifted through what must be every primary and early interpretive source to relate what could be all we’ll ever know about the short life and reign of Alessandro de Medici. He came to be the Duke of Florence by being the one of the last two male heirs of the Medici’s main line despite his illegitimate birth and his race.

Fletcher shows the political changes of 1500’s where Florence, once a local republic, could now be controlled by outside powers. Alessandro came to be Duke through the influence Rome, (his connected uncle, later Pope, who may actually have been his father) and the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V.

It was not smooth sailing. As was the custom of the times, a royal marriage was needed to help stem opposition which came from the many enemies of the Medici, supporters of the republic and those who objected to Alessandro’s illegitimacy and/or race. There was a jealous cousin, also illegitimate, who rebelled against his placement in the clergy for which he was most unsuited.

Alessandro seems to have the role of the Duke down. He knew to make the appearances, hunt, appear generous and provide entertainments. There is a lot on the pomp related to his betrothal and wedding to Charles V’s daughter, Margaret of Austria. While he took a strong role against opponents, this was expected of a prince. But for the scheming aristocrats and exiles, Florence seemed to be at peace during his reign.

In essence, this is a story of palace intrigue. This particular palace intrigue is significant for what is says and implies about race in Renaissance Italy.

The publisher is generous with color photographs. The index worked when I needed it.

[Carlos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a lot of information on this one , it mostly focuses on the political aspects of medieval city state in Italy (a tall order indeed ). Alessandro life is seem through all the political changes but there is not a focus on his personal life, it migth be that there are not many sources about his life or that the author wanted to focus on historical progression. The Medici history is always a complex one and this one is no different. I would like to read a more thorough book about Alessandro Medici in the future.

[Andrew Reece · Rating 5 out of 5]

Catherine Fletcher Studies The Life & Times Of Alessandro de'Medici, First Duke Of Florence.

Professor Catherine Fletcher is an historian specializing in the Renaissance & Early Modern periods in European history who has also written several books, among them : Diplomacy In Renaissance Rome: The Rise Of The Resident Ambassador, The Beauty & The Terror: The Italian Renaissance & The Rise Of The West, The Divorce Of Henry VIII: The Untold Story From Inside The Vatican, & the soon-to-be-published The Roads To Rome: A History Of Imperial Expansion. She has taught previously at the University of Huddersfield & at Royal Holloway at the University of London, having also held fellowships at the British School at Rome & the European University Institute.

Originally published in 2016, The Black Prince Of Florence: The Spectacular Life & Treacherous World Of Alessandro de' Medici is an exceptionally-written biography on an oft-overlooked member of the Medici clan which stands in esteemed company amongst an array of high-quality scholastic studies on similarly-neglected figures such as Alison Brown's 2020 Piero di Lorenzo de' Medici & The Crisis of Renaissance Italy, Stafano Dall'Aglio's 2015 The Duke's Assassin : Exile and Death of Lorenzino de' Medici, & Josephine Jungić's Giuliano de' Medici: Machiavelli's Prince in Life and Art, published posthumously in 2018. The study's main text is 260 pages in length & its 32 easily digestible chapters are divided into 3 stylishly-entitled parts -- The Bastard Son, The Obedient Nephew, & The Prince Alone. There are also detailed family trees of the Cafaggiolo & Popolano Medici branches as well as a glossary of names appearing in the study, all of which are immensely useful for the reader as he or she follows the myriad political machinations & double-dealing that occur throughout the course of the narrative in this exciting political biography of the first legitimate Duke of Florence.

In the early portions of the study Professor Fletcher references Alessandro's deep love of hunting & gaming as well as his considerable collection of arms & armor, & these sequences are often accompanied with an artfully chosen excerpt from Niccolò Machiavelli's treatise on statecraft & autocratic rule, The Prince. In a letter written to the Marquis of Mantua by Giovanni Antonio Buglio, baron del Burgio & a Sicilian nobleman, Buglio entreats the Marquis to provide Alessandro & his cousin Ippolito with hunting animals at their Parma estate : "Having returned to Parma, we thought it our duty to send this servant to make our reverence to Your Excellency, so that you would know where your most affectionate servants are. And as, Illustrious Lord, we have found this area quite devoid of dogs, we are forced to beg Your Excellency to deign to send us a pair of greyhounds & a pair of beagles, so that in our daily exercise we might enjoy your beneficence." Alessandro's cousin, the Cardinal Ippolito de'Medici, was an avid hunter as well, & an excerpt from his heartfelt letter of thanks to the Marquis is expertly integrated by Fletcher into the narrative : "Every time that Your Excellency has deigned to honour me with presents of horses, hounds & hawks, I have taken the appropriate consolation at being cherished by such a benevolent prince. Nonetheless I have never had a gift that more contented me, nor was more fitted for the occasion, than the two beautiful dogs for big game hunting, newly sent to me by Your Excellency. Next Sunday I have ordered a wolf-hunt in the mountain woods."

Alessandro did not actually become the Duke of Florence until 5 July 1532 after participating in an elaborate ceremony where he received the keys to the city's fortresses & delivered a lengthy speech. The musings & reminiscences of the renowned goldsmith & sculptor Benevenuto Cellini of Alessandro's regime many years after his death are aptly chosen by Fletcher as the preface to Part II, The Obedient Nephew: "Those men of Florence have set a young man upon a mettlesome horse; next they have buckled spurs upon his heels, & put the bridle freely in his hands, & turned him out upon a magnificent field, full of flowers & fruits & all delightful things; next they have bidden not to cross certain indicated limits: now tell me, you, who there is that can hold him back whenever he has but the mind to cross them? Laws cannot be imposed on him who is the master of the law."

In the study's third part, The Duke Alone, Professor Fletcher discusses Duke Alessandro's unique choice for his personal coat-of-arms while providing an excerpt from a piece of artfully-worded correspondence written by Paolo Giovio, a member of the ducal staff, that provides an excellent glimpse into Alessandro's character : "Finding himself strong & powerful of person, he desired to become distinguished in warfare, saying that in order to acquire glory -- & for the Imperial faction he would have boldly entered into any difficult enterprise -- he thought to win, or to die. One day he asked me with great insistence if I might find him a pleasing emblem for his surcoats with this meaning. And I chose for him that proud animal, which is called a Rhinoceros, capital enemy of the elephant." Such was Alessandro's satisfaction with Giovio's choice that he had the Rhinoceros emblazoned upon the breastplate of his armor, & he also ordered it embroidered onto the livery of his barbary race horses which were kept in Rome alongside his own personal motto, written in Spanish : "No buelvo sin vencer." It means, "I shall not return without victory." Fletcher's biography is rife with stylish, flamboyant dialogue reinforced by a high quality of scholarship which are seldom found in the same place & let alone accomplished as well as can be found here.

Most historians are of the consensus that Alessandro de'Medici was born the illegitimate son of Lorenzo II de'Medici, the Duke of Urbino, & a serving woman known only as Simunetta. Despite unimaginably remote odds he not only rose to hold a powerful position but he reigned as the first Duke of Florence for 5 years from his coronation on 6 July 1532 at the Feast of Saint Romulus of Fiesole until his assassination on 6 January 1537 at the hand of his cousin & trusted confidante, Lorenzino de'Medici 'il Popolano'. Professor Catherine Fletcher's eloquently written biography of Alessandro is full of dramatic scenes narrated by the florid correspondence of contemporary witnesses who were present when they occurred, & analyzed with as her own unique blend of exceptional detective work & compelling narrative that is difficult to surpass. The Black Prince Of Florence: The Spectacular Life & Treacherous World Of Alessandro de' Medici serves as an excellent companion piece to Stafano Dall'Aglio's The Duke's Assassin: Exile and Death of Lorenzino de' Medici for those readers who are curious to learn more about Alessandro's cousin Lorenzino de'Medici 'il Popolano' & would like to acclimate themselves with the period following the end of Alessandro's reign in 1537. Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed the review!

[Melisende · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of Alessandro de Medici, Duke of Florence (r.1532 - 1537).

Having read much about the de Medici, I was instinctively drawn to this tome about one of the more obtuse characters and another case of where fact far outstrips fiction.

Born on the wrong side of the blanket, Alessandro emerged on the tempestuous political scene of Renaissance Florence at the same time as another incorragable character - his kinsman and bitter rival, Ippolito.

Florentine politics was dominated by family, money and the Church - these were the main avenues of power, and the de Medici had all three in spades. And it was against this backdrop that bitter and bloody family rivalries were played out along side the scheming intrigues of the city's oligarchs, who strove to keep power out of the hands of the de Medici.

The de Medici, however, were favoured by the Church - the illegitimate Guilio de Medici sat upon the papal throne as Pope Clement VII - he was able to obtain a cardinal's hat for Ippolito (much to his chagrin for he also wanted to rule Florence). Add to this, Alessandro's marriage to the all power Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and what we have is a powerful ruler, whose illegitimacy in no way proved a barrier.

From extensive research, Fletcher successfully debunks many of the myths surrounding this engmatic man. We find that Alessandro, far from being a fool, a cruel tyrant, a murderer (as his was often portrayed), was scholarly, engrossing, charming, and a patron of the arts. We also find that the colour of his skin was in no way an issue during his own lifetime for his friend and foes alike - that came much later. His life was indeed full of feuds, assassinations, duplicity, jealousy and betrayal - that merely was the norm of the day, and was no different from other parts of Renaissance Europe.

Fletcher provides a sympathetic work of a forgotten and much maligned prince. The writing is dramatic, yet entertaining, dramatic, suspenseful, and accessible. A worthy addition to anyone's personal library.

[V · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average given the content the author had to work with. Felt more like an academic work at times.

That said, Florentian politics is always fascinating, must find books on others from the Medici family, especially on Lorenzo.

[Matt McCormick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catherine Fletcher did an admirable job presenting a brief but important period of Renaissance history. This 260 page book primarily covers the period 1523 to 1537 with quick look-backs into the Medici history.

In 1523 when Giulio de Medici obtains the papacy and becomes Clement VII he finds himself needing to solidify the family hold on Florence and to bring some balance with the world powers jockeying to control Italy. For all the faults ( and oh there are so-so many) of this second Medici Pope, he did play a masterful game of diplomacy when it came to his family. Clement was the nephew of Lorenzo the Magnificent and the head of the Medici family and the family's lead voice in Florence while Cardinal. He had two options when looking for a successor to run Florence while he ran the Roman Catholic Church - both grandson's of The Magnificent. Ippolito was made a Cardinal and secured all the spoils of nepotism that entailed. For Alessandro he engineered much more - marriage to the daughter of Charles V - the Hapsburg Holy Roman Emperor - and the position as the first Duke of Florence. Oh, and Clement also married off his niece Catherine to the duke of Orleans thus leading to the first Medici Queen of France. Quite a maneuverer that Clement.

The story is all the more interesting given what Alessandro himself had to engineer to obtain the duchy. As a bastard son of Medici he was disadvantaged. As the son of a peasant woman of color he was twice downsized. Then of course he had to rule with a host of adversaries (not least Cardinal Ippolito) wanting him dead. The enemies of Alessandro got what they wanted when he was murdered in early 1537. He was the last of his branch of the Medici to rule dying without a legitimate heir or the strength of family to place his illegitimate son in power through a regency. What Alessandro's enemies had thought of was how to take power when he was killed. Alessandro was followed by Cosimo I of the cadet branch of the family who would gain the title Grand Duke of Tuscany and rule for decades. I am very surprised that there isn't a biography of Cosimo I and his wife Eleanora di Toledo.
Fletcher tells the story well and gives the reader wonderful insight into a microcosm of Florentine and Medici history. My only criticism is that she spends too much effort on detailing fashion and textiles and not any describing what Cosimo was doing during his relative's rule.
All-in-all this is a good read.

[Irka · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's quite interesting, however some thesis are based on modern interpretation of some words so... maybe not quite accurate, but it's a good and fast read.
------
Książka ciekawa, aczkolwiek niektóre tezy są oparte na współczesnej interpretacji niektórych słów. Na plus niewątpliwie fakt że dobrze i w miarę szybko się czyta.

[Alex Sarll]

The politics of Renaissance Italy are one of those stretches where history really is just one damn thing after another - a gaggle of basically interchangeable dynasties of rich bastards jockeying for power both between each other and within themselves. As with the bickering between Charlemagne's descendants, it can be very hard to keep clear, just as today's struggles between our corporate overlords will doubtless test the patience and memory of scholars centuries hence (the level of inequality between the princes and serfs is comparable, too). The fault is not with Fletcher's telling; it's simply the sort of information that slides off my brain. But oh, the atmosphere! That heady mix of poison, treachery, licentiousness, slighted honour...it's no wonder Shakespeare loved it as a setting. And here's a story with which he (or Fletcher, or whoever wrote The Revenger's Tragedy) could have had a ball. Indeed, perhaps he did touch on it, given Alessandro de' Medici's mother was sometimes said to be Moorish and his life was dogged by the murderous envy of someone passed over for promotion. No mere subordinate, either, but a cousin and fellow-bastard, Ippolito, who was older and thus had a better claim to Florence. But their papal uncle had made Ippolito a cardinal (which, as getting screwed over goes, was not really that harsh - remember, this was an era when it was still fine for Catholic clergy to fuck women of legal age and generally roister-doister with the best of 'em), and so the vendetta begins. A vendetta generally characterised by ineptitude as much as malignity on Ippolito's part - he was more Don John than Iago - and which sees him replaced in the final act by a different jealous cousin* in much the same way as Gaveston suffers a late substitution in Marlowe's Edward II. Fletcher was an adviser on the BBC's dreary, rushed and historically-compromised Wolf Hall, but we shouldn't hold that against her; she's keenly aware of the significance of clothing in the era, so was doubtless overruled by execs bent on the misguided pursuit of pseudo-authentic drabness. She's equally alert to the significance of race back then - while also making sure to remind us that modern categories don't map back exactly to a time before the triangular trade and 'scientific' racism. And in the duke who, if only fleetingly, united the Habsburgs and (admittedly past their peak) Medicis she has a fruitful subject - if one who necessarily remains a somewhat shadowy presence when so little reliable evidence survives and she's constrained by being a conscientious modern historian rather than a freewheeling Jacobean hack. Though once again, I've ended up reading a press copy with no pictures (or maps, or family tree) which may have contributed a little to that sense of absence.

*About whom, by sheer chance, the author of the next book on my To Read pile wrote a play!

[Shoshana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Catherine Fletcher, in "The Black Prince of Florence," brings sixteenth-century Italy to life, while at the same time raising pertinent questions for the twenty-first century on the immutability of race.

Alessandro di Medici was the illegitimate son of the last of the line of Lorenzo the Magnificent. When his father died of syphilis at the age of twenty-six, Alessandro and a cousin from a cadet branch of the family were raised out of obscurity by powerful relatives (two of them Popes) to be groomed to take over the family's leading role in the Florentine Republic. Alessandro, being the younger, was destined for the Church, but his cousin was made a cardinal in his place, and the task of governing Florence fell to Alessandro.

Alessandro's life was short, like his father he died at twenty-six although in his case Alessandro was murdered by a jealous cousin, but magnificent. He became the Duke of Florence, married the daughter of Charles V, the Hapsburg Holy Roman Emperor, and enjoyed wealth and power, plus a close connection to the Holy See. Looked at through the lens of the twenty-first century it seems incredible that a black man, reportedly the child of a slave or servant, could have risen so high in Renaissance society.

One of the most intriguing things about this book is Fletcher's discussion of Alessandro's heritage. In Renaissance Italy race did not have the same impact which we know. Alessandro's low birth was much more important, and in the scheme of things not that important once his family decided to back him, than his race. It seems that race, although noticed, had not yet become the significant marker which it carries in our own day. Fletcher's insightful musings on this topic make for one of the most interesting parts of this history.

"The Black Prince of Florence" is well worth reading, you won't look at Renaissance Italy in quite the same way as you did before.

I received an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley for my honest opinion.

[Fionnuala · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid work. I admit I found the language a little dry at times, but overall it was a decently straightforward read -- quite remarkable when you consider how many people there are, half of them called Lorenzo. There is a cast of characters listed, but I actually didn't have to refer to it. Fletcher is clear and consice with her writing, and gives a decent overview without getting too deeply into anything. Perhaps not the best book for somebody already well-versed in the histories and personalities it covered, but for somebody like me who doesn't really know much at all, it was a good introduction and easy to follow.

I do think that the marketing has misrepresented it: from the comments on the cover you'd expect it was about one of those diabolical princes of the time, murdering everyone and sleeping his way around Florence and all that good stuff. Alessandro de' Medici was certainly accused of all those things, and his friends and members of his household were certainly dabbling, but the book is mostly a defence of de' Medici, outlining how many of the things said about his tyrannical rule were mentioned after his assassination, and therefore there was an interest in making him look bad. It's no bad thing to clear a name, and it didn't overly bother me, but I can see how people might be expecting something else.

There is a decent amount of murder and scandal in this book, as well as a solid political and cultural history; Fletcher deals well with the sheer amount of information available, though I do think parts of it could have been better utilised. Many of the most dramatic parts are skipped over or broken up, and there's no sense of lingering on the importance of them in a cultural context. The changes that follow these deaths are listed, but I felt that sometimes it was all quite sudden and surely there's more that could be said. Sources from this time can sometimes be difficult to come by, but it seemed this wasn't much of an issue, so who knows. Maybe I just want more gory details than those offered.

The afterword, focusing directly on de' Medici's race, was very interesting. I would love to see more of it, but I recognise there's only so much that can be said there. Race is a difficult subject at the best of times, and even more so when we're talking about a time period where ideas of race were totally different to what we now assume.

[Edith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A densely researched biography of the first Duke of Florence, but the last of the senior line of the Medici family. He may have been (and probably was, to judge by his very consistent portraiture), a man of mixed race--he was certainly illegitimate. A paucity of legitimate Medici heirs in the early decades of the 16th century, led to a state of constant rivalry between Alessandro and his (equally illegitimate) cousin Ippolito de' Medici for the leadership of Florence. Alexander, who won the favor of his (illegitimate) cousin Pope Clement VII and the hand of Margaret of Austria, the (illegitimate) daughter of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, won the dukedom, but he did not live to enjoy it long. He was assassinated at the age of 26, less than a year after his marriage. (His assassin, a cousin named Lorenzino was in turn assassinated by Charles V.)

If you are getting the idea that race and illegitimacy were regarded somewhat differently in early 16th century Italy than they were even a few decades later, you are right. Catherine Fletcher discusses these issues early in the book, and then at more length in the Afterword that follows. Though race and illegitimacy were issues that led to disparagement and criticism, they were not the complete bar to public success they later became. The paucity of information about Alessandro's early years makes it very difficult to say exactly what his background was, or whether his mother was slave or servant.

Violence and intrigue were the order of the day, and Alessandro was not immune to its effects, nor was he guiltless of participation himself. He almost certainly was behind the poisoning of his cousin Ippolito, his lifetime rival, and may well have poisoned his mother. However, Fletcher is extremely evenhanded in her treatment of her subject and marshals all the evidence she can find on either side. Alessandro was the victim of a post-mortem attack on his reputation which has persisted to this day, and the author assesses carefully how many of the tales about the black prince might have been false.

There is a lot of information here, and you certainly finish the book with a more complete understanding of what life was like in Italy and elsewhere in Europe. It definitely helped me connect several strains of European history, art, and culture. Giorgio Vasari, Benvenuto Cellini, and many other artists of note make frequent appearances; the papacy (held by two Medici in Alessandro's lifetime) and the structure and nature of the church is of great importance in the story; and the growth and development of the Holy Roman Empire (and its combat with the Turks) are integral to Alessandro's story.

That said, it is hard, perhaps not unnaturally, to get an idea of Alessandro was really like. We hear his voice occasionally in letters; he was a man of great charm and suavity. But somehow he seems to elude us. Perhaps this is a fault of mine, and history's, and not the author's, though sometimes I did feel that she has occluded her protagonist with details of the magnificence of his life. The writing is occasionally clunky, but Ms. Fletcher writes serviceably enough. I think anyone who has an interest in the Italian city states of the time, the Medici family, the history of the papacy, or the high Renaissance will find this book satisfying.

P.S. Here is an really excellent review of this book, even better than mine! :-) https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/w...#!

[K.S. Trenten · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful ruling duke, too often villified in literature, steps out of the shadows, brought into a more complex light by his many contemporaries. The pomp, pageantry, and intrigue which dogged the steps of Alessandro de Medici, dragging him to his life fill the pages of this book, beginning with his fall before tracing his rise. Alessandro’s enemies and allies help complete his picture, making it more three-dimensional.

I knew very little of Alessandro other than in passing mention of other historical accounts. I’ve never read the literature which villified him. This account adds yet another piece to Florentine Renaissance history, showing the opportunity open for advancement, along with the risk in this complex time of rising and falling fortunes, various powerful popes and nobles offering those opportunities even while adversaries try to snatch them away. I’ve wondered, given Florence’s position as a cultural hub if the players in those game might not be a lot more diverse than past histories I’ve read hinted they might be. Alessandro’s biography expands upon those hints, suggesting possibilities which have yet to be proved in a lively, thought-provoking medium. If you’re looking for the excess, intrigue, and mystery which often circulates the flamboyant personalities of the Italian Renaissance, pick up this book.

[Degenerate Chemist · Rating 3 out of 5]

So This book was dull when you get right down to it. It is a very typical tale of Medici politics in Renaissance Italy. I am not a huge fan of Renaissance history to begin with (maybe I just never had the right teacher). That is not necessarily the authors fault given that she did not have the primary sources to work with. I am torn, because this biography needed to be written, but at the same time this is a very surface level analysis.

The most interesting part of the book was the afterward when Fletcher starts to discuss how our modern understanding of race came to play a apart in this story and how Alessandro's life was rewritten and reanalyzed to suit racist conjecture. Now, that is the book I want to read. That is not what this book is.

[Samantha Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I found a copy of Catherine Fletcher’s “The Black Prince of Florence” under the tree on Christmas morning, I have to admit that I may have squealed a bit. I’d wanted a copy of this book since I’d heard that it was coming out – my poor other half often has to put up with my quite frankly over zealous enthusiasm about the Italian Renaissance, so I’m sure he was probably prepared for my excitement over this book. The later Medici aren’t something I have read into all that much, so I was intrigued to get started on Fletcher’s book about Alessandro de’ Medici – I certainly was not disappointed.

From the very first page, I found myself immersed in the treacherous world of Renaissance Florence. What intrigued me the most was how still, even after the debacle that was the flight of the Medici during Savonarola’s time, there were still those within Florence who despised the family and believed them to be tyrants. Being accused of tyranny was certainly something that the Medici could not escape.

Fletcher’s work tells the story of Alessandro de’ Medici, an illegitimate son of Lorenzo II de’ Medici. Alessandro was dark-skinned, likely the son of one of Lorenzo’s slaves or servants. But to start with, Alessandro was never meant to rise to the top of Florentine politics and become the city’s Duke – that was the role originally meant for his cousin, Ippolito. However, Pope Clement VII decided that Ippolito was better off in the Church and Alessandro should lead Florence.

It struck me throughout that there is a massive similarity between the relationship of Alessandro and Ippolito, and the Borgia siblings Cesare and Juan. It was also a similarity brought up by Fletcher throughout the book. Indeed, Cesare was originally a churchman who threw off his Crimson robes in order to become the soldier that his murdered brother had been. He had wanted to be a soldier from an early age and despised his role in the church – jealousy was rife between him and his brother, Juan, who was viciously murdered in 1497. Rumours began a year later in Venice, whispers that Cesare had been the one to murder his brother in order to gain the military standing that Juan had been given by their father, Pope Alexander VI. Although they were cousins, Alessandro and Ippolito’s relationship was chock full of jealousy in just the same way as Cesare and Juan’s had been. Ippolito even tried to follow Cesare’s footsteps and leave the college of Cardianals. But unlike Cesare, he failed.

Alessandro was ultimately assassinated by another of his cousins, Lorenzino de’ Medici, who lured Alessandro to his demise with a promise that he could sleep with Lorenzino’s sister. Lorenzino later stated that he had murdered his cousin for the state of the Republic and to end his cousin’s tyrannical rule. Alessandro’s body was found wrapped in a carpet – a sad end for a man who had ruled the Republic of Florence and whose name went alongside his great forefathers.

This book was an absolutely fantastic read. Fletcher’s research into Alessandro’s life and times is beyond first class, and her writing style made this biography so easy to read. I look forward to reading more from Catherine Fletcher – her work is an inspiration and one day I can only hope to be half the historian she is. Ten out of ten, would recommend.

[Shrike58 · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this examination of the first Medici Duke of Florence the author is rather less concerned with the ethnicity of Alessandro than one might think (though it's just possible that he was the real-life inspiration for "Othello"). The real story here is one of intramural conflict between the various branches of the Medici clan and how, at the end of the day, Alessandro may well have been a competent prince of Florence and its possessions, but it was convenient to allow him, in the wake of his murder, to take the fall for doing the hard work of formally imposing a Medici dynasty on the city as its ruling house. That his wife Margaret of Austria appeared to think well of the man long after his death is suggestive.

Originally written: September 26, 2019.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating read. The Afterword and Bibliography alone were worth the price of the book. Two minor caveats: The plethora of names can be overwhelming, and the detailed lists of clothing and artwork sometimes get in the way of the story. But overall, a fine biography of a much-maligned prince, one of the important figures in Renaissance Italy.

[JoAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me preface this review by saying that I believe academic scholarship should always be written with a priority for accessibility: the language should be evocative and immersive, perhaps even bordering on fiction, without sacrificing nuance and academic details. Histories in particular are tasked with chronological transport; it is my belief that they should do this without requiring a maximal effort on the part of the reader.

Fletcher’s The Black Prince does all this, and with an ease that belies the hard work of writing. The Black Prince sends the reader back in time so effortlessly; the reader can feel the tension of the Florentine court, the potential for danger at every meal (poison) and around every corner (gangs of rich young men armed with daggers and arrogant tempers).

The Black Prince is academic writing for a general audience done right.

The Black Prince ostensibly revolves around Alessandro de’ Medici, the half African, half Florentine illegitimate son of a Medici scion (though which one is a matter of debate in this work); however, it also about much more than that. This history offers the reader a velvet texture of Renaissance Europe through vivid accounts of the intricate Habsburg, Vatican, French, and Florentine connections via marriage, money, and ambition.

That said, race is less of a category of analysis here than is class, religion, or aristocratic birth. This is no shade on Fletcher’s work; The Black Prince makes the profound point that race — as we understand it — was not an analogous factor in this period of time, in this Renaissance world. Indeed, it was class, religion, aristocratic birth, wealth, and connections which were the more influential factors in matrices of power. “Race” did exist, but functioned and featured in aristocratic society very differently than it would a hundred, two hundred, three hundred years later.

Fletcher does take us through the span of Alessandro’s life; the book is bookended by his birth and death and includes all the major events of his life and that of his domain, Florence, in his lifetime; but this is a work about the Renaissance and the politics of the Apennine peninsula in this period.

[Alana White · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the Historical Novel Society: my feature article (rather than a review) on "The Black Prince." British author Catherine Fletcher has said that while she is an historian specializing in Renaissance and early modern Europe—the world of the Tudors, the Medici and the Borgias—she is not “exclusively interested in the glitzy people at the top.” Her first nonfiction book, The Divorce of Henry VIII: The Untold Story from Inside the Vatican, explored the diplomacy behind Henry’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon. Fletcher’s focus then was King Henry’s man in Rome, Italian diplomat Gregorio Casali, a relatively unknown key player in one of history’s great events. Research for that book involved Pope Clement VII, the Medici pope who refused to end Henry’s marriage. This led Fletcher to the shadowy figure of Alessandro de’ Medici, the “black prince,” who was a papal nephew. Her interest in Alessandro deepened when she became involved in a proposed production of Othello in Florence. “The show didn’t go ahead, but it did prompt me to read around the literature on early modern race and ethnicity, which is an important part of Alessandro’s story . . . (along with) the tradition he was of African descent.” Thus was born The Black Prince of Florence, wherein Fletcher, Associate Professor in History and Heritage at Swansea University, turns her spotlight on the rise and fall of the dark-skinned youth named the first hereditary duke of Florence when he was nineteen, and who was assassinated six years later during an adulterous midnight assignation arranged by his treacherous young cousins.

Born in 1511/12, Alessandro was the by-blow of a Medici duke and a maid or slave rumored to be a Moor or a “half-Negro” woman. Given the circumstances—Alessandro was a bastard, but he was a Medici bastard—a privileged boy who might have been lost to history but for a remarkable series of events. In 1519, his father—the duke of Urbino and the de facto, or behind-the-scenes, ruler of Florence—died, leaving no legitimate male heir and a yawning void in the leadership of Florence. Ironically, the fate of the Medici dynasty now lay with Alessandro and another Medici boy, both born on the wrong side of the blanket. (Since Alessandro’s legitimate half-sister, Catherine de’ Medici, was female, she did not qualify to “rule.”) Alessandro’s cousin Ippolito de’ Medici, whose father also was dead, trumped Alessandro in two ways: Ippolito was one year older and his mother a noblewoman. How then did Alessandro come to ride into Florence and accept the keys to the city when he was still a teen (July 1531), besting a host of oligarchs and family rivals?

Writing in an entertaining style that contains a wealth of scholarly research, Fletcher fills in the details, painting a sweeping portrait not only of Alessandro, but also of his family, whose power and survival always seemed to hang in the balance between magnificence and vile deeds. Because after his assassination many of Alessandro’s personal documents were destroyed, and since until now he has received little serious attention, Fletcher had to dig deep for her story. “Some intriguing material came from Mantua rather than from the archives and libraries in Florence,” she said when asked about her research. In Mantua, “there’s a marvellously gossipy set of letters from a secretary in the household of Alessandro’s chief minister.”

Regarding Alessandro’s controversial reputation, Fletcher writes it was his misfortune to be “assassinated twice: first with a sword, then with a pen.” After the twenty-five-year-old duke’s murder at the hands of his cousin Lorenzaccio (“Bad Lorenzo”) de’ Medici in 1537, Alessandro’s enemies labeled Alessandro a depraved tyrant. Yet, while Lorenzino claimed he had killed his cousin for the sake of the Florentine Republic, the anti-Medici faction failed to rise. Was Alessandro an oppressive ruler, or was he a youth who reveled in parties and sporting events, preferring, in the main, to leave political shennigans to others? In weighing the evidence, Catherine Fletcher has written a complex biographical narrative, one sympathetic but honest in relating the strengths and weaknesses of the last member of the senior branch of the Medici family dynasty to rule Florence.

Fletcher details the duke’s racial heritage with grace in both her prologue and in her afterword, “Alessandro’s Ethnicity: Historical Sources and Debates.” His contemporaries did not consider his parentage overmuch. In Renaissance Italy, “The color of one’s skin meant little but the strength of one’s allegiances meant everything.” Only in the years and centuries after Alessandro’s death did his roots become a focus, “first by those who wanted to emphasize his ‘savagery’ to justify his murder, and later to argue his case as the first ruler of color in the Western world.” Fletcher comes nicely full circle at the end of The Black Prince of Florence, writing, “Only in the 21st century has the question of Alessandro’s race begun to attract more serious scholarly interest. With a fuller account of his life now at hand, perhaps we may put paid to . . . ill-informed comment(s).”

Fletcher completed her PhD in History at Royal Holloway, University of London. In 2015, she was a historical advisor on the BBC’s television adaption of Hilary Mantel’s books, Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. Asked how she organized her research for The Black Prince, she said, “This was the first project where I really got into using technology for organising my work. I had Zotero, which is free open-source bibliographic software designed for historians, to keep all my book and article references in order. And I used Scrivener to write the book, along with Simplenote on the iPad. It’s so much easier than trying to write with a traditional word-processing package, and I highly recommend it.”

In future, she says, “I’m sticking with the period of the Italian Wars, 1494-1559, and I have a new research project on handguns. The 16th century was the first time portable firearms came into wide use. I’ve been reading debates about gun control then and there are some staggering parallels with arguments in the USA today. So the next book will tie into that in some way—perhaps not directly but I’m finding it fascinating getting into the new material.”

[Sam Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Catherine Fletcher has done some incredible research to put this book together - the notes section is worth reading, in some ways, because of the effort she put in. If I had to grade the research, I would certainly give this book five stars. That being said, I found that the book lacked a real sense of organization. It read more as a collection of facts and anecdotes on the life of Alessandro and the period he lived in, rather than a coherent history of the man. I must admit that I was also looking for something that the book never intended to provide, and perhaps could not have provided; an analysis of Alessandro and his perceived blackness as it related to notions of blackness and "the other" during the Renaissance. This, to be fair, was not Fletcher's project. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and found it quite informative. If you are a student of the Renaissance period, I highly recommend it. If you are interested, as I am, in visions of blackness in Europe, it brings up more questions than it answers.

[Vicki Kondelik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historian Catherine Fletcher tells the fascinating story of Alessandro de' Medici (1511 or 1512-1537), the first Duke of Florence and arguably the first person of African descent to rule a European state. Alessandro was the illegitimate son of Lorenzo II de' Medici, grandson of the more famous Lorenzo, and a servant woman, possibly an African slave, named Simunetta. The identity, and ethnicity, of his mother has been debated, and even his paternity has been questioned. Fletcher favors the most common theory, that Lorenzo was his father, but others believe his father was Lorenzo's relative, Pope Clement VII. Lorenzo died when Alessandro was a child, and Alessandro grew up outside Florence. There is evidence that he was not accepted as part of the family at first, but after all of Pope Clement's legitimate male heirs died out, Clement was left with no choice but to acknowledge him. Lorenzo had one legitimate child, Catherine, but the people of Florence did not want a female ruler. Catherine eventually became Queen of France.

Instead, there were two male heirs, both illegitimate: Alessandro and his slightly older cousin Ippolito. At first Ippolito was favored because his mother was of a higher social status than Alessandro's. But Clement decided he wanted Ippolito to be a cardinal, with hopes of his eventually becoming pope. That left Alessandro to rule Florence. During the wars between France and Charles V's Holy Roman Empire for control over the various Italian states, the enemies of the Medici family, who believed they were tyrants, exiled them from Florence, and so Alessandro spent time at the papal court in Rome. As part of a treaty between Pope Clement and Charles V which ended that particular phase of the Italian wars, the Medici returned to Florence with Alessandro, at only nineteen, as duke. He was betrothed to Charles V's illegitimate daughter, Margaret of Austria.

The jealous Ippolito was furious that Alessandro was chosen to be duke. He never wanted a career in the Church, and tried to leave the College of Cardinals, as Cesare Borgia had done before him, but he did not succeed. He plotted several times to have Alessandro killed and replace him as duke. Ippolito died under mysterious circumstances, probably by poison, even though we will never know if Alessandro had anything to do with his death, as has been rumored.

Alessandro's rule in Florence has been described as tyrannical, but most of the accounts were written by his enemies. Fletcher paints a balanced portrait. It's true that Alessandro had several of his enemies executed, and even more sent into exile, and it's likely he was involved in the death of at least one family member, but he also expressed sympathy for the common people, even slaves. He was also a patron of artists such as Benvenuto Cellini and Giorgio Vasari. Alessandro also had a reputation as a womanizer, which may be exaggerated. He had a stable relationship, and two children, with a mistress, and he seems to have been genuinely affectionate toward his child bride, Margaret. In 1537, he was assassinated by a distant relative, Lorenzino, who arranged for a tryst between Alessandro and a famous Florentine beauty, and then stabbed him in bed.

Fletcher writes entertainingly of the splendor of Alessandro's court, with its banquets, jousts, and hunts, and his wardrobe and collections of swords and guns. Alessandro was more of an athlete and hunter than an intellectual, but he certainly did appreciate the arts. In a fascinating afterword, Fletcher discusses Alessandro's ethnicity, which seems more significant today than in his own time. The modern concept of race did not exist in Renaissance Italy. The color of Alessandro's skin did matter to his contemporaries, but the social status of his parents, and whether or not he had noble blood, mattered more. After Alessandro's assassination, there were attempts to suppress his memory. Fletcher brings his world brilliantly to life and, hopefully, his story will become more widely known.

[Lillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

What if all that you knew about Italy and especially Ancient Rome was just about what you either saw in a movie or read in your possibly biased history textbooks in school? And that also some of the members of the Roman Aristocracy were white? This book will turn you on your head as it is the true story of Prince Alessandro de' Medici who was the possibly first mixed-race person to become a ruler during the Renaissance. The book by historian Fletcher is a fast-paced read and outlines and describes what it was like to be both Black and Italian royalty during one of the most volatile of times in Mediterranean History. Although Alessandro has become a favorite of mine he does have some concerns and this leads to his death at a young age. Recommended for 10th grade to adult readers for the strong information and messages that it sends. LJ Steele,MA

[Yasmin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very fascinating account of Alessandro de'Medici, race and the politics of sixteenth century Europe. Normally I'm not interested in European history that far back nor about the European elite, but Fletcher made it very interesting. Indeed, I was eager to turn each page and reach the conclusion of the book. I would like to to think others would be inspired by her book to write about Alessandro and his times. It almost seems incredible to think a Black man of that time and in that place would have been as powerful as Alessandro was, albeit for a short time, but here Fletcher has the proof the matter. A very engaging and wonderful book.

[Terrence Takor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Felt bogged down by the number of characters that were part of Alessandro de' Medici's life, as well as the level of detail that was explored. But this book was a great insight into the Principality of Florence and the politics that pitted families against each other, leading to death, more often than not. The author also pays particular attention to the perception of Alessandro's race throughout history and during his reign as the Prince of Florence. Good read for those who are interested in Italian history, the Medici, and the influence of slavery in the courts of European royalty.

[Octavia Pearce · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plenty of interesting content, but the writing style and overall flow were poor. Many very minor people are referred to without really adding much to the story, sometimes when they don't really seem relevant to the rest of the chapter so it becomes a collection of people and facts. I'm not interested in the Duke of mantua's horses after the first time they were mentioned. Also quite a lot of chapters were bulked by lists of what was found in the wardrobe, sometimes that added to the atmosphere but most of the time was just another set of things to add to the collection of that chapter.

[James Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating account of the life of Alessandro de Medici, the first Duke of Florence. The author makes careful use of the limited sources which are available to her, taking care not to exceed what is available to her (which given their brevity must have been a casques of frustration to her). Fletcher paints as detailed a picture as it is possible to do, providing much context on Duke Alessandro’s brief life before us. This is a fascinating book, and provides a valuable picture of one of the lesser figures in renaissance Firenze.

[Kathy Piselli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating look at turbulent 16th century Florence, the tensions between popes and kings and dukes. I'm always interested in sources, so I liked that Fletcher took trouble to explain how we know what we know, what might need context, what is probably invention. The color plates I thought were well chosen and fascinating. Though the facts are inconclusive, I was interested in the place of Alessandro's mother in the Medici world. And the deadly tension between those bastards Ippolito and Alessandro. Hard to believe not a single Medici is left.

[David Findlay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting narrative history

Less well known than his illustrious predecessor Lorenzo, Alessandro is nevertheless a fascinating character as detailed in this engaging biography by Catherine Fletcher. Notable for its detail on the Medici court this is enjoyable biography containing excellent narrative history and a wider political context. You can smell the streets of Florence in this excellent book

[Irma Suggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw a movie named Reign and it was more about the Mary Queen of Scots and her life living in France with Catherine de Medici who were the two main characters in the movie. I decided to research the de Medici more and came upon this book. Doing more research, I found a lot of history we just don't see on the screen depicting characters like Alessandro in his true likeness. I enjoyed the book very much and highly recommend it be read.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book, full of fascinating historical record. It gets a bit hard to remember who's who at times, based on the sheer amounts of information and the practice of taking a new name when assuming a new title. I was a bit let down by the conclusion however. I read hundreds of pages about Alessandro's live only to find his death and subsequent legacy crammed into a few pages. Still, an engrossing read into the history of one of the worlds most powerful families.