César Borgia

César Borgia , known as Valentinois ( It Valentino ), (born the September 13rd 1475 with Rome - died the March 12th 1507 with Viana, in Navarre, Spain) was a prince Italy N of the Renaissance, general and statesman, wire of the pope Alexandre VI, which was all at the same time soldier, Politician, adventurer and condottieri. There remained famous to have inspired the figure of the Prince with Machiavel.

Biography

Wire naturalness of the cardinal of Valencian origin Rodrigo Borgia (future Pope Alexandre VI) and of Vanozza Catanei, a Roman patrician, César Borgia had two brothers, Jean ( Joan or Giovanni ) and Jofre, and a sister, Lucrèce Borgia with which it would have had a child (a girl?).

His/her father envisages a future in the Church to him, the temporal businesses returning to his elder Jean, named general Capitaine of the Church and made duke of Gandie. At seven years, he is crowned Protonotaire Papauté, at 17 years bishop of Pampelune and archbishop of Valence, in Spain, and at 18 years cardinal.

He then gives up the ecclesiastical career for which he has little taste (one lends the assassination of his Jean brother to him to take his place). Created duke of Valentinois in 1498 by the king de France Louis XII, which wanted to make of the pope an ally, it obtained the hand of a girl of Jean d' Albret, king de Navarre, Charlotte d' Albret, which by no means prevented it from keeping its nice with its service. One also lends to him the rape of the young bishop of Faenza.

Calculator and violent one, it tried thanks to the support of his father to constitute a principality in Romagna to be started, in 1499, by the town of Forlì, directed by Catherine Sforza. It made perish by iron, the cord or the poison the majority of the small princes who reigned in this area and was made invest in 1501 title of duke of Romagna.

In 1502, Léonard de Vinci enters to its service, a spot in the CV of the artist, because César Borgia was machiavelic before the hour. It will remain with its service hardly 2 years.

The December 31st 1502, to get rid of its principal enemies, it did not hesitate to invite them to the castle of Senigallia for then making them assassinate. After the death of his/her father in 1503, it was imprisoned by the pope Jules II which forced it to deliver all its fortresses; hardly left prison, it was stopped again by Gonzalve de Cordoue and was sent to the king d' Espagne which had objections against him. It took refuge near the king of Navarre, his brother-in-law and accompanied it in a forwarding against the Spain; it was killed with the seat of Viana in 1507.

César Borgia was used as model with the Prince of Machiavel. It presents it like the model of the tyrant: in addition to his political crimes, of which it was made a play, one shows it to have made assassinate his older brother, the Duc of Gandie of which it was jealous, and to have maintained a incestueux trade with Lucrèce Borgia, his sister. Its reputation was learnedly tarnished by the adversaries of his/her father, the first of which the cardinal Giuliano della Rovere, future pope Jules II. If César were a violent character, ambitious and without scruple, it is however not very probable that it assassinated itself his brother or raped his sister.

Its currency remained famous: “ Aut Caesar aut nihil ” (“Either Emperor, or nothing. ”)

Bibliographical sources

Manual Vázquez Montalbán, Or César or nothing , a largely fictionalized biography of César Borgia.
Ivan Cloulas, César Borgia: Wire of pope, prince and adventurous , Tallandier, Paris, 2005. 287 p. - p. of pl.
Alexandre Dumas, Borgia , novel, 2005

External bonds

Emblems of Borgia, on the Heraldic site European

Partial source

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