A Historiography of Lucrezia Borgia • Introductory paragraph: The name Borgia has become synonymous with corruption, lust, and sinful deeds since the papal reign of Rodrigo Borgia, otherwise known as Alexander VI, and his bastard children Lucrezia, Cesare, and Juan. Some historians depict Lucrezia Borgia as being known for her beauty, and good nature during her life in Rome. Others depict her as a murderous, blood-thirsty monster who openly engaged in acts of incest, and political assassination. It is possible that this young woman exhibited some of the qualities of each account. Lucrezia portrays characteristics of a Machiavellian villain, and also the characteristics of a woman using her means to secure her place in a male dominated society. The multiple marriages, assassination of Alfonso of Aragon, and charges of incest within her family. o Lucrezia’s personal writings in love letters depicting her own character. • Historical opinion of Lucrezia in the 16th Century o Lucrezia as depicted by papal records in the diary of Johannes Buchardus. Mostly factual information with some reference to scandals as they occurred. Becomes the bible of historical writings about the Borgia. o Francesco Guicciardini, The History of Italy (1537), writings about Lucrezia heavily influenced by the Anti-Borgia opinion. o Gender roles and expectations of women in 16th century Italy. o Depictions of corrupt deeds, however reputation has not become extremely villainous. • Historical opinion of Lucrezia in the 17th and 18th Centuries o 1696, Specimen Historiae Arcanae, sive anecdotae de vita Alexandri VI Papae by Leibnitz wrote of the shamefulness, treachery, and cruelty exhibited by the Borgias. o Alexander Gordon, Lives of Pope Alexaner VI and his Son Cesare Borgia (1729), depicts Lucrezia as a symbol for lust and lewdness solidifying the sexual claims that had been brought against her Gives reasoning’s and explanations behind the accusations of murder, poison, and incest. Also deviates from Gregorovious’s idea that Lucrezia is weak, instead portraying her as an intelligent and tragic woman. o Portrayals of Lucrezia in movies and art begins to change and popular opinion shifts to that of Bellonci. o The Bellonci view continues on with historians such as Rachel Erlanger in 1978, which depicts Lucrezia as a political pawn of her father’s, and Ivan Cloulas in 1989. • Historical opinion of Lucrezia in the 21st Century o Most historians in the 21st century continue to portray Lucrezia as a sympathetic figure and political pawn such as Sarah Bradford in 2005. o Television, and literature depict Lucrezia mostly in a sympathetic light. However, some instances do play on the accusations of murder and incest. One such example is Gregory Maguire’s fictional work Mirror, Mirror (2003), in which she is portrayed as an incestuous poisoner in a retelling of snow
In Titus Livius’ The Early History of Rome, Livy recollects infamous incidents throughout Rome’s history that helped develop the political and social values for the citizens in Rome. Livy was able to accomplish a didactic function of story-telling by craftily introducing two essential female heroines from Roman history. These two women were incredibly influential because they were able to help formulate and embodied many of the fundamental values in Rome. Some of the core Roman principles included: courageously facing death to uphold honour and valour, piety and chastity among its people, and banding together against tyrannical kings or individuals of immoral ethics; all deeply revered elements of an individual’s character that were praised by the Romans. In both of Livy’s tale about the female heroics of Lucretia and Verginia, the similar story elements and circumstances found in both heroines stories are astounding. The rape, and subsequent deaths of both Lucretia and Verginia ultimately helped unite the common people of Rome, created social and moral expectations of all women living in Rome, and represented the romanticized Roman idea of bravely facing death to retain or restore an individuals honour and reputation in Roman society. Without the significant sacrifices from both of these noble, heroic women, many of the traditional Roman values during this period in history, and even in today’s society, would be unfounded.
Ginsborg P (1990). ‘A History of Contemporary Italy: Society and Politics: 1943-1980’ Published by Penguin; Reprint edition (27 Sep 1990).
In equation with the Elizabethan era, Shakespeare offers us a male dominated society in his renowned tragedy, Othello. Consequently, this definitely persuades a negative attitude and demeanor towards the women of the times. The female characters in the play: Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca; play relevant roles in contributing to one’s understanding of this exhausted Elizabethan view. In contrast to the larger portion of the play, Emilia, spouse to the scandalous Iago, takes an opinionated stand for Desdemona in relation to her wholesome gone sour relationship with the Moor of Venice, Othello. I recognize Emilia’s “Betrayal lecture” as a justified outlook in accordance with today’s period and events surrounding Desdemona’s and Othello’s fatal misunderstanding.
Lucretia and Dido are both viewed as ideal Roman women. The story of Lucretia is found in Livy’s Early History of Rome, while Dido is written about in The Aeneid by Virgil. By looking at Roman values, the story of Lucretia, the story of Dido, their similarities and differences, a background of Livy and Virgil, as well as the similarities and differences of Virgil and Livy’s views toward them, Dido and Lucretia can be seen as exemplary Roman women.
After five hundred years, Niccolo Machiavelli the man has ceased to exist. In his place is merely an entity, one that is human, but also something that is far above one. The debate over his political ideologies and theories has elevated him to a mythical status summed up in one word: Machiavelli. His family name has evolved into an adjective in the English language in its various forms. Writers and pundit’s bandy about this new adjective in such ways as, “He is a Machiavelli,” “They are Machiavelli’s,” “This is suitable for a Machiavelli.” These phrases are almost always the words of a person that understands more about Niccolo’s reputation than the man himself. Forgotten is that Machiavelli is not an adequate example of the ruler he is credited with describing; a more accurate statement would be to call someone a “Borgia” or a “Valentino.” Most of the time they are grossly mistaken in their references. All these words accomplish is to add to the legend, and the misinterpretation, of the true nature of Niccolo Machiavelli.
U Mcllvenna, Scandal and Reputation at the Court of Catherine de Medici, University of Sydney
The time is the sixth century, the place is Rome and the person is Lucretia, a woman who contributed to one of the biggest parts of Roman history: the creation of the Roman republic. The rape of the virtuous Lucretia by Sextus Tarquinius, the son of Tarquinius Superbus' (an Etruscan king) was the final straw for the Roman people and pushed them to want to change from a monarchy to a republic. From the accounts of the rape of Lucretia from ancient historians like Livy, Cicero and Dionysius, it is clear that Lucretias rape not only spurred the roman people to want to get rid of the Etruscan King and his family, but also revealed the important role of virtue in women in roman society.
In the book, Giovanni and Lusanna, by Gene Bucker, he discusses the scandalous actions of a Florentine woman taking a wealthy high status man to court over the legality of their marriage. Published in 1988, the book explains the legal action taken for and against Lusanna and Giovanni, the social affects placed on both persons throughout their trial, and the roles of both men and women during the time. From the long and complicated trial, it can be inferred that women’s places within Florentine society were limited compared to their male counterparts and that women’s affairs should remain in the home. In this paper, I will examine the legal and societal place of women in Florentine society during the Renaissance. Here, I will argue that women were the “merchandise” of humanity and their main objective was to produce sons.
Any examination of women in Livy’s writing demands not only a literal interpretation of their character development and values, but also must account for their symbolic importance—thus creating a much more complex representation. Livy, an ancient historian, authored The Early History of Rome to be an exploration of Rome from its foundation, focusing on historical events and societal organization. In it, he examines the patriarchal society that stabilized Rome throughout its dominance. However, as a result of this explicitly defined hierarchy in Rome, women were seen as secondary figures in society. Most were viewed as submissive and passive, and it was well within the rights of men to assert their dominance—many women even agreed with these values. This can be seen in Livy’s portrayals of such women as the Sabine women, Horatia, and Lucretia. Yet Lucretia provides an interesting complexity to the exempla of women. On a symbolic level, Lucretia is an important catalyst in affecting the political organization of Rome. This representation is furthered with Livy’s descriptions of Lavinia, Rhea Silvia, and Verginia. Despite the work of Livy to create an accurate portrayal of women in ancient Rome, other authors showed women to actively defy this patriarchal society he describes. However, Livy’s effort to create the most accurate explanation of early Rome through a historical representation drives this discrepancy in characterization through genre. Therefore, Livy’s work serves as both an accurate and complex examination of the role of women in ancient Rome. According to Livy, a woman’s role was defined by her sacrifice; culturally, women were to be subordinate to men in the patriarchal structure of society, but also served as important...
Schauer, Julie. "Artventures." : Caravaggio and the Moment of Mary Magdalen. N.P., 5 Dec. 2011. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.
Barbara Strozzi never married, but, by 1651, she had four children, three reputedly fathered by Giovanni Paolo Vidman, a friend of her father. Strozzi’s last published volume appeared in 1664. The following year she produced a group of songs for Carlo II, Duke of Mantua. Thereafter, little is known of her life. She remained in Venice until May 1677, when she moved to Padua, where, after a short illness, she died in November at the age of 58. (Schwartz, Davis.
Gregorio Dati, Diary, in Gene Brucker (ed), Two Memoirs of Renaissance Florence (Waveland Press, 1991) p. 107
Harbison, Craig. "Sexuality and Social Standing in Arnolfini's Double Portrait". Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 43, No. 2 (Summer, 1990), pp. 249–291
Suzanne G. Cusick, who considers herself a speicialist in the life and works of Francesca Caccini, argues that Francesca was a proto-feminist and the music she composed for the Medici court contributed to the career of the Grand Duchess Christine de Lorraine of Tuscany. She therefore claims that through her works, Caccini encourages the sexuality and political aims of women in the early seventeenth century.1
Livy’s narration of the rape is different from Ovid’s as it clearly describes the effort put forth by Romulus to appease the women that were taken. Livy is able to develop the significance of the women taken by showing how his treatment of the gender roles is a direct reflection of what is acceptable in Rome, and that his narrative is not simply marital based but also has themes in the political and social realms. In the world today western culture recognizes persecution and oppression. Yet, the allegorical characterization of victims is not identified or taken as seriously. The Sabine woman are not viewed as victims for sexual innuendos in Livy’s tale. Instead they take the role of a counterfeit desire that seems ...