Cesare Borgia (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
maleborgia) wrote2012-12-04 10:44 pm
maleborgia) wrote2012-12-04 10:44 pm
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History may always be ironic...
I'm looking at constructions of memory and history for school and one of the semi-tangental things this is leading to is a neat little collection of historical ironies from Spanish sources about Cesare's life/death. These are all factually true, as far as I can tell, which is... actually kind of funny after a while.
Las irónias
- Cesare was named for Julius Caesar and when Cardinal Della Rovere, his father's old enemy and the driving force behind the loss of his lands and his expulsion to Spain, took the papal throne he also took the name Julius II.
- As a corollary to that, Cesare's father took the name Alexander VI, after another famous conqueror.
- Not as an irony, but as a note on gender roles since we're talking about names, Lucrezia was a Roman woman who got sainted for her decision to kill herself rather than be forced upon, at some point around the start of the 16th century the name becomes novelistic shorthand in at least Spanish and I think also Italian literature to show that the character is a prostitute.
- Cesare became bishop of Pamplona in 1491 when he was 16 and died in 1507, 16 years later.
- To make that more interesting, Cesare died shortly after arriving in Viana, a city in the Kingdom of Navarra whose capital is Pamplona. It's often said that Viana is actually part of Pamplona's bishopric, but it wasn't at that time.
- Although notable for being of Spanish heritage, Cesare's first voyage to Spain was his last and he was never employed by los reyes católicos although he did work for Navarra, the Papacy and France (and was in the process of joining up with the Holy Roman Empire)--all of which were at various times Not On Good Terms with them.
- Cesare died in the very early morning of March 12th, three days before March 15th--the Ides of March and famous death date of Julius Caesar.
- Local church history has it that the 12th of March 1507 was the same saint's day as the date that Cesare received the bishopric, but I can't say either way.
- Canon doesn't lie. Cesare and Machiavelli actually were classmates.
- Cesare's death has been used as propaganda by both the nationalists and the republicans (and by separatist groups).
And a couple of non-ironies that pertain to me in particular:
- Cesare's earliest biographer appears to have been a man named Alesón.
- Cesare got married on May 10th.
Las irónias
- Cesare was named for Julius Caesar and when Cardinal Della Rovere, his father's old enemy and the driving force behind the loss of his lands and his expulsion to Spain, took the papal throne he also took the name Julius II.
- As a corollary to that, Cesare's father took the name Alexander VI, after another famous conqueror.
- Not as an irony, but as a note on gender roles since we're talking about names, Lucrezia was a Roman woman who got sainted for her decision to kill herself rather than be forced upon, at some point around the start of the 16th century the name becomes novelistic shorthand in at least Spanish and I think also Italian literature to show that the character is a prostitute.
- Cesare became bishop of Pamplona in 1491 when he was 16 and died in 1507, 16 years later.
- To make that more interesting, Cesare died shortly after arriving in Viana, a city in the Kingdom of Navarra whose capital is Pamplona. It's often said that Viana is actually part of Pamplona's bishopric, but it wasn't at that time.
- Although notable for being of Spanish heritage, Cesare's first voyage to Spain was his last and he was never employed by los reyes católicos although he did work for Navarra, the Papacy and France (and was in the process of joining up with the Holy Roman Empire)--all of which were at various times Not On Good Terms with them.
- Cesare died in the very early morning of March 12th, three days before March 15th--the Ides of March and famous death date of Julius Caesar.
- Local church history has it that the 12th of March 1507 was the same saint's day as the date that Cesare received the bishopric, but I can't say either way.
- Canon doesn't lie. Cesare and Machiavelli actually were classmates.
- Cesare's death has been used as propaganda by both the nationalists and the republicans (and by separatist groups).
And a couple of non-ironies that pertain to me in particular:
- Cesare's earliest biographer appears to have been a man named Alesón.
- Cesare got married on May 10th.