Who Were the Borgias?

00:14:46
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK6t8VpuFQg

Summary

TLDRThe video provides an in-depth look at the infamous Borgia family, a prominent force during the Renaissance period of the papacy. Originating from Spain's kingdom of Aragon, the Borgias became a powerful family in Italy. Known for their controversial legacy, they are often accused of murder, incest, and power abuse. Pope Alexander VI, a Borgia, was infamous for his luxurious lifestyle and questionable decisions, including relaxing laws on slavery, which affected the New World. His reign marked a shift from spiritual papal functions to secular political involvement. The video examines the Borgia influence, suggesting their notoriety might be somewhat exaggerated; they were a reflection of the Renaissance papacy rather than its sole corruptors. The Borgias contributed to the arts, commissioned grand architecture, and engaged in political maneuverings. However, their actions partly fueled the Reformation. Despite the infamous reputation, the video suggests they are a scapegoat, highlighting larger issues within the Catholic Church during that era.

Takeaways

  • 🔍 The Borgias are a significant yet infamous family known for their influence during the Renaissance period.
  • 📜 They are often linked with negative acts like murder and corruption, though many stories are exaggerated.
  • 🌍 Pope Alexander VI's decisions impacted globalization, including the colonization impact on the New World.
  • 🎨 The family supported significant art projects, including commissioning Michelangelo.
  • 👑 The Borgia papacy was characterized by political maneuvering and secular involvement.
  • 🤔 They remain a subject of fascination due to the blend of reality and myth surrounding their legacy.
  • 📚 Their story highlights broader issues in the Catholic Church leading to the Reformation.
  • ⚖️ The Borgia narrative is sometimes used to exemplify Renaissance Church opulence and decay.
  • 🧬 Connections to other powerful entities, showing a mix of politics and personal relations.
  • 🗺️ Notable for drawing a line dividing Spanish and Portuguese territories in the New World.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    The video explores the Borgia family's significant and controversial role during the Renaissance papacy. It debunks myths around their notoriety in poisoning, murder, and incest, while emphasizing how their influence altered the Church's spiritual seriousness into a more secular lordship. The background of the Borgias, originating from Spain and rising in influence within Italy's fragmented principalities, is outlined. Key figures include Calixtus III, who focused on a crusade against the Ottoman Turks and revisited Joan of Arc's case, and Pope Alexander VI, known for his controversial relaxation of anti-slavery laws and involvement in secular affairs, sparking debate within the Vatican today. Although Alexander's actions, such as drawing a line dividing new world territories between Spain and Portugal, ushered in a new era, it's also linked to the increased secularization and financial opulence of the papacy, significant in Renaissance art patronage.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:14:46

    Pope Alexander VI's reign marks a pivotal shift where secular interests overshadow spiritual ones, evidenced by increased financial endeavors and opulence in the papal court. This shift leads to criticism from reformers like Savonarola, who condemns the papacy's luxury, and eventually faces execution for his opposition. Alexander's moral breaches, such as breaking celibacy vows and engendering powerful offspring like Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia, add to the family's notorious legacy. Their story, often paralleled to a Mafia family due to political intrigue and influence, is notably portrayed in popular culture. The Borgia legacy, while tarnished by personal scandals and power struggles within the papacy, is also reflective of wider ecclesiastical issues prevailing during the Renaissance, contributing to the momentum towards the Reformation. The video argues that the Borgias, while infamous, were not entirely atypical of the Renaissance papacy's broader corruption and duplicity.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • Who were the Borgias?

    The Borgias were a powerful and influential family during the Renaissance, originally from Spain's kingdom of Aragon.

  • What are some infamous myths about the Borgia family?

    The Borgia family is often associated with poisoning, murder, and incest, although these claims are often exaggerated or based on myths.

  • How did the Borgias influence the papacy?

    Under Pope Alexander VI, the Borgia family embodied many criticisms of the Renaissance papacy, emphasizing opulence and power, shifting away from spiritual values.

  • What was the Borgia’s influence on the New World?

    Pope Alexander VI relaxed laws against slavery, inadvertently opening the door to the enslavement of natives in the New World.

  • What role did Cesare Borgia play in the family?

    Cesare Borgia was a significant figure in the family's power dynamics, exerting control and influence even without being Pope.

  • Why are the Borgias considered infamous compared to other families?

    Their combination of power, scandal, and influence, along with numerous myths, have made them a symbol of excess and corruption in the papacy.

  • Did the Borgias contribute to the arts?

    Yes, under Pope Alexander VI, the Borgia papacy financed significant Renaissance artists like Michelangelo, contributing to opulence in the artistic realm.

  • What happened after Alexander VI's death?

    After Alexander VI’s death, the Borgia's influence waned, and the papacy of Julius II followed, maintaining some opulence but being an enemy of the Borgias.

  • How did the Borgias relate to the Reformation?

    The Borgias' actions, particularly those of Alexander VI, were a point of criticism during the Reformation, highlighting the need for reform in the Catholic Church.

  • Are all the stories about the Borgias exaggerated?

    Many stories are certainly exaggerated or mythologized, fitting the narrative of them being a scapegoat for broader Renaissance papal issues.

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  • 00:00:00
    Today we're looking at the Borgias one
  • 00:00:07
    of the most influential and in fact
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    infamous families from what we would
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    today call the Renaissance papacy and
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    we're looking at them in part of course
  • 00:00:15
    because they are quite famous even today
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    needless to say if you get a Showtime
  • 00:00:20
    show named after you the tales of the
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    exploits of your dynasty are certainly
  • 00:00:26
    well-known so the goal here is to unpack
  • 00:00:28
    myth from fact and tell what we do know
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    about this dynasty and to say a few
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    things about its place in history and we
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    can begin with a couple of the myths at
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    least the popular understanding of the
  • 00:00:40
    Borgias of course poisoning and murder
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    and incest and all kinds of things are
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    alleged to be part of this family
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    dynasty this is one of those times when
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    the papacy particularly when it's under
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    the pores of rule seems to be without
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    any spiritual fervor or seriousness at
  • 00:00:58
    times it seems as if it's a lordship
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    like any other in medieval Europe and
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    hence the legacy now the problem here of
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    course is the way the story always grows
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    with the telling this tends to happen
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    whenever someone is infamous
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    particularly when it is centuries ago
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    the story seems to discontinue to get
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    larger and larger and all the rumors
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    that were ever written down become
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    recorded in the modern world as mere
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    fact so in this case the story of the
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    Pope from the Borgia family Alexander
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    the six the fact that he is known to
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    have had mistresses and sexual liaisons
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    has come down to us today with the story
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    that he hosted regular orgies there in
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    the papal apartments some of these
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    claims are certainly true but again
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    telling which ones are true and which
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    ones are false or which ones are merely
  • 00:01:46
    embellished about 500 years later can be
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    quite a task one of the interesting
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    things about this though is the Borges
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    when they get control of the papacy or
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    whenever they get enormous influence in
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    the papacy become synonymous with the
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    many things they were considered to be
  • 00:02:03
    wrong with the papacy during the
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    Renaissance in fact Alexander the six
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    himself is in part one of the central
  • 00:02:10
    targets for Luther's condemnation of the
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    papacy
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    now he had ceased to be Pope before the
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    Reformation began but you might say that
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    during Luthor's time in the monastery as
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    he was coming under some serious doubt
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    and as he was beginning to question some
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    of the central tenets of the Catholic
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    Church it didn't help that the man who
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    was notoriously the leader of that
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    Catholic Church was rumored even in his
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    own day to be wantin and full of all
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    kinds of vices but who were the Borgias
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    well the family comes from what we call
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    today Spain they come from the area that
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    was known as the kingdom of Aragon and
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    they had migrated over to the area of
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    what we do they call Italy which was in
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    this day and age more or less a
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    conglomeration of various principalities
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    and duchies and other types of things it
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    really had sort of carved up into
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    different regions and the Borgia
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    influence as a family begins to rise
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    during the time of the Renaissance now
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    the Renaissance is remembered for a lot
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    of good things it's remembered for a
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    wonderful turn in art people like
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    Michelangelo da Vinci it's a return to
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    letters and the humanities things we
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    still take for granted today as central
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    parts of education but the Renaissance
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    you might say when it touched the papacy
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    began to lead to all kinds of flowering
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    of new ideas about how the Pope ought to
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    carry himself in the modern world as the
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    modern world at least in their day not
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    the modern world in ours the idea here
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    was is that the Pope was to be seen more
  • 00:03:40
    lordly than spiritual leader and the
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    Borgia fit hand in glove with in this
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    model the first to take the throne from
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    the Borgia family is a man who will
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    become calixta the third he ruled from
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    1455 to 1458 not very long he is
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    actually not by the way featured in the
  • 00:03:59
    show if you're a fan of that show he is
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    the uncle to the future Pope Alexander
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    the six he made Alexander and another of
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    his nephews Cardinals and as one
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    historian has said the two of them
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    together might have come up to the age
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    in the experience level to make one
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    Cardinal but they were both made
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    Cardinals calixta is not remembered as
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    much for the boers dynasty the main
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    things he is involved with is an
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    attempted crew
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    Sade on the Ottoman Turks which is
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    really almost an overriding
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    preoccupation for him as well as in 1455
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    he reopened the case of Joan of Arc and
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    actually had her declared innocent just
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    a bit too late you might say the real
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    story that many are familiar with comes
  • 00:04:41
    with the rise of alexander the six to
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    the papacy alexander is in the show by
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    the way he is Jeremy Irons character his
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    birth name is Rodrigo it is under
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    Alexander that some monumental things
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    begin to happen for example columbus
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    sailed the ocean blue right as he took
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    the throne in 1492 this is going to have
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    some pretty controversial impact on the
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    west and the new world you see prior to
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    Alexander there had been some
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    legislation some papal bulls that had
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    outlawed and condemned slavery Alexander
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    you might say relaxed some of these laws
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    he pitched it as conversion of the
  • 00:05:20
    natives but what he managed to do was at
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    least crack the door and some would say
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    kick the door wide open to the
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    enslavement of those in the new world
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    particularly in South America this is by
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    the way still a controversy in Catholic
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    scholarship today as to what extent did
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    Alexander allow this or not allow this
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    by and large the consensus at least the
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    majority consensus within the Vatican
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    today is that Alexander did in fact make
  • 00:05:45
    too much allowance for abuses to occur
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    and that the enslavement of natives in
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    the new world was a result of that again
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    it all depends on how severe you want to
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    put the blame on Alexander or not
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    whether or not it was those who misread
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    or conveniently overlooked some of the
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    things that Alexander had legislated or
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    not or whether Alexander was doing this
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    knowing that folks would go the extra
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    mile you might say with the enslavement
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    and forced conversion of natives in
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    either case he is vital for the new
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    world in fact in 1494 this Pope
  • 00:06:21
    Alexander drew a line right down the
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    middle of the globe at least a known
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    globe in which he divided up the lands
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    between the Portuguese and the Spanish
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    and that's a line that is still in
  • 00:06:32
    effect you might say today when you look
  • 00:06:34
    at the differences of Portuguese
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    speaking Brazil and the rest of South
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    America being predominantly
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    Anna speaking that line was drawn by
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    Alexander himself by Rodrigo the big
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    thing about Alexander's rain though is
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    that you see a real pivot and you see it
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    in a number of different ways the monies
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    that were brought in to sustain the
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    papacy during his reign actually began
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    to shift away from monies gained by
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    spiritual things like tithes and alms to
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    now more what we would call today
  • 00:07:01
    secular aims money has gotten through
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    treaties and trades and other types of
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    things like this you also see an
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    increase beyond even what we saw in
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    Middle Ages of papal involvement in
  • 00:07:12
    secular or political enterprise many
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    remember of course that Alexander is the
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    first to contract Michelangelo to draw
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    up plans for new st. Peters of course
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    there have been old st. Peter's that had
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    stood since the time of Constantine and
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    there began in the Renaissance during
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    this time first the plans drawn up and
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    then the building of what would be new
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    st. Peter's which is still there today
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    it won't be completed for some time but
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    nonetheless it is under Alexander that
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    this begins to happen he is also
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    responsible for the creation of the
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    so-called Borgia apartments that are
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    there today in the Vatican one of the
  • 00:07:48
    more testing things though is that the
  • 00:07:49
    papacy under Alexander really pours a
  • 00:07:51
    lot of money into the arts again this is
  • 00:07:54
    the tension that people have they're so
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    thankful for the supply the financing of
  • 00:07:59
    people like Michelangelo and others of
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    Rafael and all the wonderful Renaissance
  • 00:08:04
    art that we still enjoy today however
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    what you see is a real increase in
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    opulence that goes hand in glove with
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    the way the Borgias styled themselves at
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    least in the case of Alexander when it
  • 00:08:16
    came to being Pope and this leads to one
  • 00:08:19
    of the more infamous stories which is
  • 00:08:20
    the story of seven Rolla and we're going
  • 00:08:22
    to have a video on savonarola in his
  • 00:08:24
    critique of the Renaissance papacy later
  • 00:08:27
    but for now you need to know that
  • 00:08:28
    savonarola was a preacher in the city of
  • 00:08:30
    Florence who condemned the opulence
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    condemned the luxury that he saw in in
  • 00:08:36
    particular the papacy and the central
  • 00:08:38
    courts in Rome and of course he himself
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    comes under fire and he comes under fire
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    by the Pope by Alexander and he is
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    eventually himself condemned and burned
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    but this is part of the broader
  • 00:08:49
    Reformation movement within the church
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    savonarola is probably the
  • 00:08:53
    no an example of this that is responding
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    to the Borgias and others when they see
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    this new style of renaissance papacy and
  • 00:09:01
    it does this in there Alexander also
  • 00:09:03
    broke frankly all kinds of rules when it
  • 00:09:06
    came to the valve celibacy no small
  • 00:09:09
    thing for the Catholic Church when it
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    comes to priests in general and
  • 00:09:12
    certainly not a beloved trade of any
  • 00:09:14
    Pope throughout history the Alexander is
  • 00:09:17
    known to have had multiple mistresses at
  • 00:09:19
    least two while he was Pope and he has a
  • 00:09:22
    total of nine children one of his sons
  • 00:09:24
    cheese Airy will live in to become
  • 00:09:26
    Cardinal mo also be one of the infamous
  • 00:09:28
    family members of the Porsches more
  • 00:09:31
    ruling from behind the scenes that
  • 00:09:33
    anything else he won't himself become
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    Pope but he has just as much influence
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    you might say as his father also
  • 00:09:38
    Alexander's daughter Lucrezia married
  • 00:09:41
    three times all too powerful influential
  • 00:09:44
    people is known as a very very vital and
  • 00:09:47
    influential figure in this dynasty she
  • 00:09:50
    as well featured very largely in the
  • 00:09:52
    Showtime series for that reason really
  • 00:09:54
    this is a family tree of influence it
  • 00:09:56
    feels a bit like a Mafia family the
  • 00:09:58
    family ties the lineages of all these
  • 00:10:02
    folks one great example of this in fact
  • 00:10:04
    is for those of you who are video game
  • 00:10:06
    pants Giovanni Borgia it was actually
  • 00:10:09
    murdered in 1497 he actually appears in
  • 00:10:11
    the Assassin's Creed video games as a
  • 00:10:13
    result in fact in general I don't know
  • 00:10:16
    for sure but I think all of the scenes
  • 00:10:18
    that are set in Italy during those games
  • 00:10:21
    are based around this time in the
  • 00:10:23
    Renaissance papacy with lots of
  • 00:10:24
    intrigues and families in this type of
  • 00:10:27
    thing after the death of Alexander in
  • 00:10:29
    1503 you have a real tide turn with the
  • 00:10:33
    Borgia family there is Pius the third he
  • 00:10:36
    was elected in large part by the
  • 00:10:38
    influence of Cesare he lasts on the
  • 00:10:40
    throw in a matter of weeks in fact it
  • 00:10:42
    really is only about a month he's one of
  • 00:10:44
    the shortest-lived Pope's in all of
  • 00:10:46
    papal history the man to come to the
  • 00:10:48
    throne after though is Julius the second
  • 00:10:50
    not a Borgia but a man himself who is
  • 00:10:53
    actually an enemy of the Borgias a man
  • 00:10:55
    willing to style himself as one of these
  • 00:10:57
    more ostentatious pokes it's julie's the
  • 00:11:01
    second for example who contracts
  • 00:11:03
    Michelangelo for the Sistine Chapel
  • 00:11:04
    ceiling he actually mount san
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    army himself later and we'll go and
  • 00:11:09
    recapture Bologna at the head of that
  • 00:11:11
    army in 1506 and it is julie's the
  • 00:11:14
    second after the reign of the Borgias
  • 00:11:16
    who will be the Pope in Rome when Martin
  • 00:11:19
    Luther comes for his pilgrimage there in
  • 00:11:21
    15 10 now the borders didn't tuck their
  • 00:11:24
    tail and ron francis borgia another one
  • 00:11:27
    of the family becomes eventually the
  • 00:11:29
    general of the Jesuit Order the new
  • 00:11:32
    fashioned Jesuit Order that was just
  • 00:11:34
    coming into being in the 16th century he
  • 00:11:37
    has canonized himself by the way in 1670
  • 00:11:39
    and several other the family members
  • 00:11:41
    will be made Cardinals later in the 16th
  • 00:11:43
    century now the big question is why the
  • 00:11:46
    portions is it just a salacious sexy
  • 00:11:50
    tale of wanton aggression and power and
  • 00:11:53
    sex and money well I'm sure that's part
  • 00:11:55
    of it this is the reason why we still
  • 00:11:57
    know the story of into the eighth and
  • 00:11:58
    others whenever there is a tale that
  • 00:12:00
    seems to indicate people of power
  • 00:12:03
    bypassing all the normal rules of
  • 00:12:05
    society and really pivoting things in a
  • 00:12:08
    new direction it does always raise the
  • 00:12:10
    question of how we were to understand
  • 00:12:12
    this the boers is you might say just to
  • 00:12:15
    put it in a nutshell we're a powerful
  • 00:12:17
    family during the time of the
  • 00:12:18
    Renaissance however the Borgias are not
  • 00:12:21
    actually the worst per se of this entire
  • 00:12:25
    era and here I'm actually reflecting on
  • 00:12:28
    an article that was in history today
  • 00:12:29
    actually this month April 2017 I'll put
  • 00:12:33
    a link in the description below it says
  • 00:12:35
    give the boers as a break was the title
  • 00:12:37
    of this article and it's a fair enough
  • 00:12:38
    article because what the point of it is
  • 00:12:41
    is it saying the Borgias are using one
  • 00:12:43
    of these scapegoat families where it
  • 00:12:45
    seems as if all the problems of a
  • 00:12:48
    multitude of folks throughout multiple
  • 00:12:50
    decades or if not centuries get stacked
  • 00:12:53
    up on one or two individuals as the only
  • 00:12:57
    example of this type of abuse the fact
  • 00:13:00
    is is when it comes to the problems of
  • 00:13:02
    the Renaissance papacy the Borgias are
  • 00:13:04
    more of a serious case in point than
  • 00:13:07
    they are a problem of just this one
  • 00:13:10
    family and in fact given its dovetailing
  • 00:13:13
    with the Reformation giving its
  • 00:13:15
    dovetailing with the way Luther will
  • 00:13:17
    actually site and at least have in mind
  • 00:13:20
    very often
  • 00:13:21
    a pope like Alexander the sixth it can
  • 00:13:23
    be all too easy to stand everything up
  • 00:13:25
    on this one family but again as this
  • 00:13:28
    article says the Borgias and their
  • 00:13:30
    influence was not all that out of sync
  • 00:13:33
    with what you're seeing in the wider
  • 00:13:35
    world of the Catholic leadership there
  • 00:13:38
    in the city of Rome families of this
  • 00:13:41
    kind had taken over in their fights and
  • 00:13:44
    their struggles and their turmoils
  • 00:13:45
    became synonymous with the Pope himself
  • 00:13:48
    and to the Porsches not a great family
  • 00:13:51
    not to be remembered as Saints by any
  • 00:13:54
    means but when we understand who the
  • 00:13:56
    Borgias are we realize that they are the
  • 00:13:59
    epitome of the Renaissance papacy and
  • 00:14:01
    why there was such a strong call for a
  • 00:14:05
    reformation
  • 00:14:17
    you
Tags
  • Borgia
  • Renaissance
  • Papacy
  • Alexander VI
  • Corruption
  • Reformation
  • Art
  • Slavery
  • Spain
  • Italy