Taking a Look at Pope Alexander VI

7/30/2019 Taking a Look at Pope Alexander VI

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Matthew Olson

World Civ 1

May 1, 2013

Pope Alexander VI was born Rodrigo Borgia in Spain on January 1, 1431.

After Rodrigo received his degree in canon law from Bologna University, his uncle, Pope Calixtus

III, made him a cardinal at the age of twenty-five. His uncle later appointed him vice-chancellor of the

Holy See, which was, at that time, the most influential office in the government of the Church, second

only to the Pope.1

In his years as a cardinal, Rodrigo was seen to be particularly tactful and efficient, especially in

political and diplomatic matters. Pope Pius II, the second pope under which Rodrigo served,

appreciatively stated that Rodrigo was an extraordinarily able man.2Giacomo Volterra described him

as a man with a mind apt for all things, of great intelligence, an eloquent speaker, and shrewd and

wonderfully skilled in the conduct of affairs.3

Rodrigo was later given a new title: camerlingo (treasurer) of the Sacred College of Cardinals.4 He

also later served as dean of the Sacred College. Additionally, he served as a legate on occasions, putting

his considerable political skills to use.5

Despite his talent, Rodrigo had a weakness: his notorious sexual licentiousness. Gaspare da Verona

wrote, His conversation excites the weaker sex in a strange manner, more powerfully than iron is

drawn to a magnet. Yet he skillfully hides his conquests, so that no one knows how many have

succumbed to him.6 Johann Burchard, who was Rodrigo's master of ceremonies after Rodrigo became

pope, cautiously commented that Rodrigo was a man of endless virility.7

Pius II once scolded Rodrigo about his behavior, saying, I should blush to record all that I have been

1 Christopher Hibbert, The Borgias and their Enemies, (Harcourt, Inc., 2008), p. 14 & 20.

2 Christopher Hibbert, The Borgias and their Enemies, (Harcourt, Inc., 2008), p. 20.3 Ivan Cloulas (translated by Gilda Roberts), The Borgias, (New York: Franklin Watts, Inc., 1989), p. 62-63.

4 Ivan Cloulas (translated by Gilda Roberts), The Borgias, (New York: Franklin Watts, Inc., 1989), p. 45.5 Ivan Cloulas (translated by Gilda Roberts), The Borgias, (New York: Franklin Watts, Inc., 1989), p. 53.

6 Ivan Cloulas (translated by Gilda Roberts), The Borgias, (New York: Franklin Watts, Inc., 1989), p. 36.

7 Christopher Hibbert, The Borgias and their Enemies, (Harcourt, Inc., 2008), p. 21.


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Matthew Olson

World Civ 1

May 1, 2013

told. The mere mention of such things is a dishonor to the office you hold. .. We are more angry than

we can say. .. The Vicar of Christ himself is an object of scorn because it is believed he closes his eyes

to these excesses. .. Your faults reflect upon us, and upon Calixtus, your uncle of happy memory, who

is accused of a grave fault of judgment for having laden you with undeserved honors. Let your

Eminence then decide to put an end to these frivolities.8

Despite his licentiousness, it seems that Rodrigo never actually threw the infamous Banquet of

Chestnuts when he was pope. According to Monsignor Peter de Roo (18391926), the primary

account of the event, which was allegedly recorded by Johann Burchard in his diary, seems inconsistent

with Burchard's writing style. It is also contrary to the majority consensus of historians.9

After the death of Pope Innocent VIII, the primary contenders to succeed him quickly became

obvious: Rodrigo, Ascanio Sforza, and Giuliano della Rovere (who later became Pope Julius II). From

the start, Rodrigo appeared to be in the lead. After only a few ballots, Rodrigo was elected.

Rodrigo took the name of Alexander, after Pope Alexander III and likely after Alexander the Great,

the great conqueror, becoming Pope Alexander VI.10

In May 1493, two months after Christopher Columbus returned from the New World he had just

discovered and less than a year into Alexander VI's papacy, Alexander VI published a papal bull

marking the boundaries of the territories of Spain and Portugal, entrusting the Americas to Spain. This

is sometimes called the papal line of demarcation.

In his bull, Alexander VI wrote, In these unknown lands where Christopher Columbus has stepped,

lives a people, naked, vegetarian, who believe in one God and ask but to be taught to believe in Jesus

Christ.

8 Christopher Hibbert, The Borgias and their Enemies, (Harcourt, Inc., 2008), p. 21-23.9 Peter de Roo, "Material for a History of Pope Alexander VI, His Relatives and His Time," Vol. 5, (Bruges, Descle, De

Brouwer, 1924).

10 Ivan Cloulas (translated by Gilda Roberts), The Borgias, (New York: Franklin Watts, Inc., 1989), p. 67-68.


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Matthew Olson

World Civ 1

May 1, 2013

The papal line of demarcation was left largely unchanged, only receiving a modification in 1494, due

to the Treaty of Tordesillas.

11

Alexander VI's line of demarcation would have a profound impact on the world. Today, an estimated

48.6% of Catholics worldwide live in the Americas.12

After Spain's mistreatment of Jews, Alexander VI risked Spain's irritation by warmly welcoming Jews

into Rome. He allowed Spain to tax churches in its territory in response to Spain's complaints about

expenses incurred from its incentivized conversions of infidels to Christianity. However, he refused

to back down when it came to treating people of other faiths with Christian charity.13

During Alexander VI's papacy, tensions with France were high. When he first became pope, he

anticipated the inevitable French attack and ordered that Rome's fortifications be enforced. In

December 1494, when he learned that the French king, Charles VIII, had left Viterbo and was moving

dangerously close to Rome, he moved all the treasures of the Holy See to the Castel Sant'Angelo, the

traditional Roman safe haven for the Papacy.14

Alexander VI and King Charles VIII quickly reached an agreement, the first clause of which read,

Our Holy Father shall remain the king's good father, and the king shall remain a good and devoted son

of Our Holy Father.15

After much clever maneuvering, Alexander VI finally won the political battle against King Charles

VIII, giving him mostly minor concessions and receiving the king's promise of obedience in return.

Aside from his diplomatic brilliance, Alexander VI was also known for his patronage of education

and the arts. He commissioned Pinturicchio to paint a suite of rooms in the Apostolic Palace in the

11 Ivan Cloulas (translated by Gilda Roberts), The Borgias, (New York: Franklin Watts, Inc., 1989), p. 78-79.12 "How many Roman Catholics are there in the world?."BBC, March 14, 2013. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-

21443313 (accessed April 30, 2013).13 Ivan Cloulas (translated by Gilda Roberts), The Borgias, (New York: Franklin Watts, Inc., 1989), p. 79-80.

14 Ivan Cloulas (translated by Gilda Roberts), The Borgias, (New York: Franklin Watts, Inc., 1989), p. 101-102.

15 Ivan Cloulas (translated by Gilda Roberts), The Borgias, (New York: Franklin Watts, Inc., 1989), p. 108.


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Matthew Olson

World Civ 1

May 1, 2013

Vatican, which are known as the Borgia Apartments. He also founded King's College, Aberdeen.

The pope died on August 18, 1503.

Pope Alexander VI is certainly one of the most influential popes in history, at least in the realm of

temporal affairs. Perhaps, though, his greatest legacy may reside in the canonization of his great-

grandson, St. Francis Borgia.

Taking a Look at Pope Alexander VI

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