Election of Giuliano della Rovere—Julius II. and Caesar Borgia—Caesar leaves Rome—Machiavelli and Caesar—Arrest of Caesar—Victory of Gonsalvo de Cordova at the Garigliano—Caesar goes to Naples—Gonsalvo seizes Valentino and sends him to Spain—Caesar imprisoned in the Castle of Chinchilla—Jeanne la Folle and Philippe le Beau—Caesar is transferred to the Castle of Medina del Campo—His escape.
The last day of October the cardinals entered into conclave, and November 1, 1503, Giuliano della Rovere, Cardinal of San Pietro ad Vincola, was elected Pope on the first scrutiny. Thus the nephew of Sixtus IV., after nineteen years of waiting, aspiring, scheming, years of exile, of strife, of hopes and fears, realised the ambition of his life.
At the fifteenth hour the window was thrown open, the cross held out, and the announcement made that the most reverend Cardinal of San Pietro ad Vincola had been elected supreme head of the Christian Church. The new Pope was pleased to assume the name Julius II.
Giustinian conceives that Venice will profit by the election of Della Rovere, who was reputed to be a man of his word. He was sixty years of age and had no nephews for whom it would be necessary to find places. Caesar therefore felt sure of the new Pontiff’s favour.
267 Almost immediately after Della Rovere’s election chambers over the audience-hall were, by the Pope’s orders, placed at Valentino’s disposal, and there he took up his residence.
The Venetian orator had heard that the new Pope had dispatched briefs to Romagna of the same tenor as those which Pius III. had issued in the interests of Valentino, and he went to the Pontiff and asked whether the report was true, to which his Holiness replied: “Ambassador, do not for a moment think that I will fail in anything I have promised you; I give you my word that I have written no such briefs, and I do not intend to do so, and” he added, “even if I had written them you know I would at the same time have taken steps to prevent them from doing any harm”—that is, he would have given those to whom they were sent to understand that they were not to be observed—modern politics has made but little advance in duplicity. “It is true Agapito has asked me to write them, but I will do nothing. Ambassador, it is not necessary for you to remind me that we should not favour the Duke in the affairs of Romagna, because this is our office, this territory being ours, mediate vel immediate; therefore whoever holds it holds it as a vicar or feudatory of the Church.”
The Pope’s coronation was set for November 19th, and as early as the 3rd Giustinian was informed that Julius had written Guidobaldo di Montefeltre, Duke of Urbino, requesting him to be present at the ceremony. This special invitation shows that the new Pope was on the side of Caesar’s enemies. Although the Cardinal of San Giorgio268 feared that if Guidobaldo absented himself from his State it would afford Caesar a chance to injure him, it can hardly be supposed that the Pope invited the Duke of Urbino to Rome simply to give Valentino an opportunity to destroy him or attack his capital city.
It is difficult to see how Caesar, himself a past-master in duplicity and cunning, could have placed any dependence upon the promises Della Rovere had made to him to secure his elevation to the Papacy. Just what were the terms of the bargain is not known; the cardinal had but one end in view—the assuring of his own election; and once elected, he would not hesitate to break the agreement he had made. It is true he carried out some of the stipulations by appointing Valentino Captain-General of the Church and guaranteeing him the nominal possession of Romagna, but the very day of his election he began to aid and encourage the Duke’s enemies.
Alexander VI. had urged the Sacred College never to make Giuliano della Rovere pope, and he was correct in regarding him as an implacable enemy of his House. Caesar himself almost immediately discovered that he had made a mistake and was on his guard. November 12th the Pope formally took possession of the Castle of St. Angelo, placing the Bishop of Sinigaglia in command of it.
The following day a council was held by the Pope, Amboise, Soderini, the Cardinal of Ferrara, the Spanish cardinals, and Caesar, regarding the departure of Valentino, and it was agreed that he should at once go to Ferrara and his troops to Imola, which was still held by his lieutenants. The269 Duke, however, seemed suspicious and irresolute—perhaps owing to a sort of stupor into which he had been thrown by the reverses he had suffered—for he was neither accustomed to misfortunes nor able to bear them.
Giustinian writes November 6th: “The Duke is still in the palace but has little reputation; he made every effort to obtain an audience with his Holiness but failed. He is very submissive and has repeatedly sent to ask me to come and confer with him regarding his affairs, but I declined, for various reasons, among them being the fact that he quite ignored the Republic during his days of prosperity.” Caesar continued to enlist troops but with what end in view is not clear.
The Cardinal of Cosenza told the orator that his Holiness was considering an alliance between one of his great-nieces and the little Duke of Camerino. It was also reported that the Pope intended to give Caesar the strong Castle of Civita Castellana for his residence, but this statement was not confirmed.
It was even arranged that when the proposal should be made in consistory to give the office of Gonfalonier of the Church to Valentino it should be merely for form’s sake to satisfy him. About the middle of November it became known that Cesena desired to be freed from Caesar’s authority and return to that of the Church. The Pope’s coronation was postponed for a week “on the advice of the astrologers, who stated that the stars would be more propitious for his Holiness that day.”
“The Pope is most harshly disposed towards the270 Duke, and it is said has ordered Pandolfo Petrucci to treat him as an enemy; his Holiness looks for Caesar’s destruction, but does not want it to appear that he has any part in it.”
Julius II. had conceived the idea of recovering the strongholds in the Romagna for himself, and he soon discovered that Caesar actually expected to retain them. The Borgia, shrewd as he was, was no match for the Della Rovere in cunning; the Pope outwitted him at every turn, and he did not hesitate to tell Giustinian that “the Duke shall never have so much as a single tower of my fortresses. All I owe him is to save his life and protect his property—in interceding for him with the Florentines it was really to save Romagna for the Church.” The Pope told the orator that as soon as he had secured possession of the castles he would send Caesar away. Clearly his Holiness did not want to be compelled to use force to get possession of the strongholds; he was trying to delude Caesar into giving them up, and then he would cast him aside.
The orator confesses that the Pope’s mind is “ambiguous” to him—me ambigua—but he promptly discovered that he wanted to crush the Duke, and this view was confirmed by many of those in the Pope’s confidence; some, however, maintained that he was well disposed toward Valentino.
November 19th occurred the event to which all had been eagerly looking forward—Caesar’s departure from Rome. He went to Ostia, where he was met by Mottino with two galleys to take him to Tuscany. There were various rumours regarding271 the place where he intended to disembark; the Venetian orator was told that Viareggio, a town belonging to the Duke of Ferrara, was his destination. He had with him about 160 horse.
Valentino was greatly changed when Machiavelli saw him in Rome, and both he and Giustinian regarded Caesar as lost; the latter saw him “fearful and terrified,” while Machiavelli wrote: “The Duke allows himself to be carried away by his confident mind”; he also said Valentino was “changeable, irresolute, and suspicious.”
Worn out by his reverses, he had at first thought of going to Romagna. But when he embarked he had decided to go either to Livorno or Genoa and thence to Ferrara. Machiavelli, who had assured him that Florence would grant him a safe conduct, said that if the Signory failed him “Caesar would make a compact with the Venetians and the devil and would go to Pisa and devote all the money, forces, and allies that remained to him to injuring the Republic.”
The 18th, the very day that Caesar left the Palace, Julius II. dispatched briefs to Romagna in which he said he had disapproved of the bestowal of the vicariate upon Valentino by Alexander VI., and he exhorted the people to raise the standard of the Church, in whose possession he intended Romagna should remain. A few days later he told Cardinal Soderini that it would have been wiser, he thought, to have placed the strongholds of Romagna under Caesar’s command, as it would be better for him than for the Venetians to have them. Soderini went to Ostia and made certain proposals to Caesar, which were rejected. November272 24th the Pope ordered Mottino to hold Valentino, and at the same time he arranged with Soderini to impede the progress of Michelotto, who had started forward with the Duke’s cavalry. The same day he appointed the Bishop of Ragusa, Giovanni Sacchi, Governor of Romagna and Bologna, and directed him to take possession of the province in the name of the Church, and he again called upon the cities to raise the papal standard.
The general opinion in Rome was that Julius II. was only waiting for a more favourable opportunity to give Caesar the final blow, and the joy felt at his departure was wellnigh universal. Agapito and Romolino, his two closest friends, men whose names had been connected with some of his most atrocious crimes, had refused to accompany him and remained in Rome.
The Pope had also instructed Soderini to demand the surrender of the citadel of Forli, and Caesar’s refusal to comply was what caused his Holiness to seize him and hold him prisoner.
Machiavelli reported to his Government the rumours which filled Rome when Caesar’s arrest became known; it was even said that his Holiness had ordered him to be flung into the Tiber, and he adds: “If this has not been done it will be done shortly, in my opinion; we see that the Pope has commenced to pay his debts very honourably; his pen and ink are all that are necessary—nevertheless his praise is in all men’s mouths!”
The night of November 27th the papal guard set out for Ostia to arrest Caesar, but they did not have to proceed far, for, searching the boats they chanced to come upon, they found him on a273 little craft on the Tiber about two miles from Rome.
The troops he had embarked at Ostia, finding themselves without a head, left the galleys and went back to Rome, while the gentlemen of his suite returned to their estates.
At first the Pope had Caesar taken to Magliano, a place about seven miles from Rome, where he was closely guarded, but not treated harshly. Julius undoubtedly wished to avoid the use of force with Caesar as far as possible and to secure his own ends peaceably if it could be done. He may have feared that if he too openly disclosed his real purpose Valentino’s lieutenants would surrender the castles they still held to some other power, for several were casting longing eyes upon them. Later the Pope ordered Valentino to be brought back to Rome and had him lodged in the Vatican.
Giustinian informs his Government, November 28th, that the Pontiff, to justify himself for arresting Caesar, especially in the eyes of the Spanish cardinals, held a convocation, which was attended by fifteen cardinals, to whom he explained that as Venice had been active in Romagna, not against the Church or the Holy See, but only against Valentino, and also to restrain the Florentines, who appeared to have designs upon the same territory, he had decided to remove the cause, in order that the Republic would have no pretext for going any farther. Therefore he had given the Duke to understand that he must surrender the territory now in his possession into the hands of the Pope and must give the countersigns of the fortresses; but for fear that he would not give274 the true countersigns it seemed advisable to his Holiness to have the Duke brought to Rome and kept in a safe place until their correctness could be verified. This done, the Duke could go whithersoever he wished. All seemed satisfied. The 29th Valentino was brought back to Rome and lodged in the chambers of the Cardinal of Salerno. “The Pope says that when he has secured possession of the strongholds he will permit him to depart—but God knows what will become of him,” adds the orator.
The 1st of December news reached Rome that Michelotto had been captured and all his men slain or dispersed by Giampaolo Baglioni somewhere between Perugia and Florence. This was a crushing blow to Caesar, who now had little hope left—he was “no longer considered of much importance.”
At this time the Cardinal of Rouen was making preparations to leave Rome for the Court of the Emperor at Florence, and Caesar desired to go with him, but to this the cardinal would not consent. Before Amboise set out the Pope commanded Valentino to send one of his officers, Pedro de Oviedo, accompanied by a prelate, to obtain the surrender of the places his supporters were still holding in Romagna, but before consenting Caesar asked Amboise to give him a guarantee in writing that the Pope would keep the promises he had made to him before the conclave. Amboise, however, refused to do this, and after the Cardinal’s departure the Duke, finding his last support taken from him, acceded to the Pope’s demands. The commandant of Caesar, however, thinking or pretending275 to think there was treachery, seized the unfortunate Oviedo and hanged him from the battlements forthwith as a traitor to his sovereign.
When he learned of this the Pope was beside himself—in fact, as Carlo da Moncalieri expressed it, he was “mad as the devil”—alterato come il diavolo—and threatened to put Caesar in prison for life. Believing that he had found some way to tell the commandant to disregard the order he had given, the Pope had Valentino confined in the Borgia Tower. He nevertheless continued to treat with him, and again allowed him to go to Ostia, this time in charge of the Spanish Cardinal Carvajal, with the understanding that he was to be given his liberty when his officers surrendered the strongholds in Romagna.
Giustinian records the hanging of Oviedo December 20th and Caesar’s transfer to the Borgia Tower, and adds: “Terrified by recent events, the Cardinal of Sorento and Cardinal Borgia have left the city—possibly to go to the Spanish camp. It is believed by many that their flight was due to Valentino’s affairs or because they had acquiesced in the poisoning of Cardinal Sant Angelo.” When the Cardinals Francesco Romolino and Francesco Borgia fled to Naples with the little Dukes to ask Gonsalvo of Cordova for protection Vannozza and the Borgia ilk were trying to save their plunder. Much of it was intercepted and seized when they endeavoured to send it from the city to a place of safety. Some of the wagons dispatched from Rome to Ferrara in the name of the Cardinal d’Este were stopped by the Florentines, while others276 from Cesena were captured by Giovanni Bentivoglio.
Caesar was wellnigh ruined when an event occurred which immediately restored the waning influence of the Spanish cardinals with the Pope, who was a French sympathiser, and this was the victory of Gonsalvo de Cordova at the Garigliano, December 31st, which finally assured the Regno to the Spanish crown.
For some time Valentino was partly forgotten, but he was still in the Vatican as late as January 15, 1504, and was planning to go to Ferrara, although Alfonso d’Este was by no means anxious to have him. Just what was to be done with him was a puzzling question. It was finally decided to send him to Civitavecchia in the custody of the Cardinal of Santa Croce, and the Pope told the Venetian orator that he wished to make one more attempt to reach a settlement in order that he might be able to justify himself in the eyes of the world for the steps he would be compelled to take against Valentino if the latter failed to keep the promises he had made to him.
January 18th, through the mediation of Don Diego de Mendoza, the Spanish ambassador, it was arranged that Caesar should give the countersigns of all the castles still remaining to him, and that he himself should go to Ostia in the custody of the Cardinal of Santa Croce and then, when the strongholds were surrendered, he should be allowed to depart for France. There was some delay in carrying out the agreement, due to recent events in Forli and Imola, but February 14, 1504, the Duke set out for Ostia, and in taking leave of him277 his Holiness “caressed him and promised him his support.”
The Pope was suffering from the gout, which appears to have been essentially a papal disease at that time, and had remained in bed the greater part of the day. Valentino, accompanied by a few of his own people and Francesco del Rio, the Pope’s treasurer, set out for Ostia the same night. According to Giustinian, while there he was closely guarded, and consequently greatly annoyed.
The commissioners, who had been furnished the new countersigns, had in the meantime again gone to Romagna, but they did not succeed in securing possession of the strongholds, for the warders of Cesena and Bertinoro, distrusting the Pope’s promises, dispatched messengers to Rome to tell him they would surrender the strongholds if he would release the Duke, but in case he was not willing to set Valentino free “they could not honourably relinquish the castles,” on hearing which his Holiness fell into a violent passion and shouted at them: “You want to brazen it out. Away with you! If you don’t give them up peaceably I will make you. You wanted to surrender them to the Venetians, but they would not have them!” And he drove the messengers from the room.
Mottino, who was to take Caesar to France on one of his galleys, had been directed by the Holy Father not to leave port, even after the strongholds had been surrendered to the Pope’s representatives, until he received specific orders to do so.
The Cardinal of Santa Croce, however, when messengers brought the news that Cesena and278 Bertinoro had been surrendered, did not wait for definite orders from the Pope to set his prisoner free, but let him go February 26th, after obtaining his written promise never to take part in any war against the Holy Father or any of his kinsmen.
Caesar and two of his people took horse, and, following the coast, rode to Naples, where he joined Gonsalvo de Cordova, from whom Cardinals Borgia and Romolino had previously secured a safe-conduct for the Duke. At Naples several of his family were awaiting him, among them his brother Giuffre and his sister-in-law Sancia.
About the middle of April Giustinian informed his Government that the affairs of Valentino, so far as the Pope was concerned, were settled, and there were no further difficulties to be apprehended.
April 20th the Pope received a letter from Mottino informing him that Caesar had left Ostia and was on his way to Naples. His Holiness was much disturbed by this news and immediately sent a messenger to summon the French ambassador. The Cardinal of Salerno informed the Venetian orator that the Cardinal of Santa Croce, fearing that the Pope, even after the strongholds had been surrendered, would on some pretext refuse Valentino his liberty, had immediately set him free. The Pope was greatly annoyed by Santa Croce’s action and charged him with breach of faith. The orator adds: “Many are pleased by Caesar’s departure, but others are greatly displeased. Opinions differ as to what Valentino will do; some think he will cause the Pope trouble.” His Holiness evidently had not intended Valentino should get away.
279 In a letter to the Cardinal of Salerno, received in Rome May 3rd, Caesar said he had not yet had an opportunity to speak to the Spanish commander; he also asked the cardinal to supply him with funds, which the prelate promptly did.
When Baldassare di Scipione arrived in Rome from Naples he reported that Gonsalvo had received Caesar in the most cordial manner and had called on him, as all the other Spanish officers had done. Rome was filled with rumours regarding the coming of Caesar by the favour of the Spaniards to help the Pisans.
When the Roman barons in the Spanish army at the Garigliano learned of the death of Piero de’ Medici they began to take a lively interest in the affairs of Tuscany and decided to send forces there; while the Florentines, disturbed by the military preparations about Siena, had sent assistance to the Lord of Piombino, who felt his people were opposed to him. Bartolomeo d’Alviano was to have had charge of the forces which were to be dispatched to Tuscany, but Gonsalvo preferred Caesar on account of the friends upon whom he could still count in Piombino and Pisa. Early in May active preparations were well under way. In Rome Baldassare di Scipione publicly stated that his lord “would soon return and give his enemies cause to think of him.” The Pisans sent an ambassador to Caesar and he dispatched Ranieri della Sassetta with a considerable force to them. Giulio degli Alberini was waiting in the harbour of Naples to transport the cannons and other machines of war; everything was ready and the main body of troops was to start in a few days, when, on the night of280 May 26th, as Valentino was coming from a conference with the Spanish captains, he was arrested by the castellan, Nugnio Campeio.
The Pope had sent a special envoy to Gonsalvo de Cordova to urge him not to assist Valentino in any way; and there is no doubt whatever that it was at the instigation of the Holy Father that the Duke was finally again seized. The very night that Valentino was arrested the Pope, thinking that the Duke’s treasurer, Alessandro di Franzo, who was then in Rome, and had in his possession about 300,000 ducats, which he was about to remove to Naples, might endeavour to leave, had guards stationed at all the gates of the city and allowed no one to depart. All the following day the gates were kept closed and watched by the papal troops. During the night the Governor of Rome had patrols about the city and all suspected persons were arrested and examined. Even the house of Madonna Vannozza, Caesar’s mother, was carefully searched.
May 29th Giustinian states that, accompanied by Cardinal Grimani, he went to the Castle of St. Angelo to see the Pope, who informed them that the Bishop of Cervia had shown him letters from the Great Captain, saying that Valentino, having in mind certain undertakings which would be harmful to Italy, had, by his orders, been confined in the castle, and also requesting that his Holiness be informed of the fact.
CONSALVO DI CORDOVA
GONSALVO DE CORDOVA.
From an early engraving.
To face p. 280.
281 Opinions differed as to the responsibility for Caesar’s arrest; some said the Pope caused it, others the Spanish monarch, and still others that Gonsalvo do Cordova took the step on his own initiative. Some even ascribed the affair to the Queen of Spain and Do?a Maria Enriquez, widow of Giovanni, Duke of Gandia. The Pope made no ............