 Section 0 of the Medici Volume 1. This is a LibriVox recording, or LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Adrian Stevens. The Medici Volume 1 by GF Young. Section 0. Preface and Prolog. Preface. There are in English several histories of three or four of the more important members of the Medici family, but there is none either in Italian or English of that family as a whole, the history of no less than nine out of thirteen generations having remained hitherto unwritten. The history of the Medici is a deeply interesting story, while beside its intrinsic interest it helps us to acquire much knowledge about the rebirth of learning and art, about the history of Europe in perhaps its most important period, about the birth of science and about the great collections of art possessed by Florence, for without referring largely to all these subjects, no true picture of the Medici can be given. My aim has been to write of them as a family, their rise, their course upon the mountaintops of power and their decline and end, and to keep the parts always in subordination to the whole. It may perhaps be thought that more might have been said in the case of one or two members of the family, but to have gone into greater detail regarding individuals would have had the effect of obscuring the general view, besides making the book far too long. This history takes a somewhat different view of the Medici from that which has hitherto generally obtained. It is a strange fact that in their case the violent partisanship which swayed the historians of their time has been carried on into our own, and writers about them, whether belonging to their age or ours, are banded into two furiously opposing camps, making it very difficult to arrive to true estimate. Those on the one side can see no faults, and give a picture which one feels to be untrue to life by reason of successive eulogy, while to those on the other the name of Medici appears to act like an intoxicant, rendering them incapable of seeing what the very facts recorded by themselves demonstrate, and making even facts telling strongly in favour of those concerned appear to such writers only to show a subtle policy towards an affair is end. And it is those of the latter type who have been best known, and have consequently been followed by writers, who, in guidebooks on the art and history of Florence, have had occasion to allude to the Medici. There have been Florentines, of note now passed away, well read in the archives of their country, who have said that if only the world at large could study those archives, it would discover that the time-honoured view of the Medici which has thus grown up was to a very large extent unjust, and far from the truth, but their voices have not been generally heard. To whitewash historical characters is as great an offence to history as to reduce them, and the view to which I have gradually been led regarding the Medici has not been due to any original bias in their favour. On the contrary, I began the study entirely imbued with the time-honoured theory I have mentioned, and was only brought by degrees to a different opinion by coming to see that the admitted facts refused over and over again to square with the view of this family usually presented to us. I have therefore preferred to judge those concerned by their acknowledged deeds, rather than by comments thereon which, emanating from writers violently biased against them, are found uniformly attributing good actions to ignoble motives, or distorting those actions until they become full of impossibilities. Avoiding any attempt to make out the Medici as either this or that, I have endeavoured eschewing all legends to detail simply the facts for which we have evidence. No crimes attributed to them have been omitted or slurred over. If the result is to show the Medici in a better light than hitherto has been the case, that is not due to any desire to whitewash them, but is simply the consequence of a want of any evidence for a large proportion of those crimes, which have furnished the darker shades in the traditional picture of this family. I have also endeavoured to leave the facts to speak for themselves as far as possible, to narrate rather than to explain, leaving readers to form their own conclusions, as I am confident that in this way what the Medici were and did is likely to be more forcibly appreciated. As regards the elder branch of the family, this book relates for the first time the histories of Giovanni De Bici, Piero Ilgotoso, and Lorenzo Duke of Urbino. Brings to notice certain points not previously known with reference to Cosimo, Pata, Patriae. The manner in which that title was given to him and his singular tomb and throws some new light on the character and deeds of Lorenzo the Magnificent. It takes a different view from that hitherto held regarding Pope Leo X, Catherine de Medici and Pietro the Unfortunate, and it discloses for the first time the inner history of Pope Clement VII. The scheme which he formed, the manner in which he carried it out, and the motives underlying his hitherto imperfectly understood political manoeuvres with Charles V, Francis I and Henry VIII. As regards the younger branch of the family, this history is the first that has been written. In this portion of the subject the most notable points are the various important achievements of Cosimo I and Ferdinand I, the character and importance of Eleonora di Toledo, the history of Anna Maria Ludoviccia, a member of the family who has been practically unknown, though most deserving of record, the solution of a problem long unsolved connected with the feeling regarding the Medici in their own city, the unveiling, through the results of recent research, of many misconceptions regarding Cosimo I and his sons, the exposure of such errors as the common one of supposing that the palace known as the Piti Palace was built by that family instead of by the Medici, the demonstration of the unique connection of the Medici with the birth of modern science, and the disclosure of the immense gift made by the last of the Medici to Florence. In the absence of any history of this portion of the family it has not been recognised that the deeds of the younger branch in the domain of literature, art and science were, though different in character, of scarcely less importance than those of the elder branch. The elder branch advanced learning and art by the liberal expenditure of their wealth in that cause, their enlightened patronage and their artistic taste, their art collections however being swept away. The younger branch did for science what the elder branch had done for learning, while it was they who collected all those artistic treasures which now form the attraction of Florence. Thus this portion of the history necessarily furnishes a large amount of information which was hitherto entirely wanting regarding the artistic possessions of Florence. Lastly, as regards art, this book explains for the first time the meaning of certain pictures hitherto misunderstood, but whose true meaning a complete study of the Medici history reveals. The chief of these are Gasoli's frescoes in the Riccardi Palace, the Medici Palace, to which frescoes an entire chapter has been devoted, and the true meaning of Botticelli's pictures, the adoration of the magi, fortitude, the birth of Venus, the Primavera and Calumne. It also brings to notice a hitherto unknown statue by Gian da Bologna called the Genius of the Medici, a hitherto unknown portrait of the celebrated Claristrazzi of whom it had been supposed that no portrait existed, and a hitherto unknown portrait of the Princess Violante Beatrice of whom it had been supposed that no portrait existed, and gives the first reproduction of a lost portrait of Madeline, eldest daughter of Lorenzo the Magnificent, of the recently discovered portrait by Raphael of Gioleanno, third son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, which had been lost for 350 years, and of nine other portraits of members of the Medici family which have not previously been known. And it demonstrates that the recent theories put forward regarding several of Botticelli's most important pictures are erroneous. In the chapters relating to the earlier members of the family, short notices have been introduced of the prominent artists of the time, not merely in order to show to how large an extent the Medici were concerned in their steady advancement to greater achievements, but still more because this is essential if the Medici are to be shown in their proper setting. The favourite method of separating the history of the time from the history of its art would in this case have been exceptionally destructive, for it would have excluded from the biographical sketch of each head of the family that which in the case of many of them was their chief interest in life. And even to place such notices at the end of the chapter would have caused a similar separation. The course adopted preserves better that close touch with the world of art which is here essential, while it also assists to maintain the due sequence of events in regard to art. These notices cease after the time of the interregnum, 1494 to 1512, to have continued them beyond that point when the Tuscan school which so long led the way began to merge into the larger field of Italy would have had the effect of obscuring the history of the Medici with matters in which they had ceased to be any longer an important factor. In the earlier chapters short abstracts have been given from time to time of contemporary events taking place in other countries, as this course though unusual is I think in the case of a history of this kind helpful by keeping it in touch with general history as it proceeds. The need for such abstracts gradually decreases as the history of the family advances. In regard to the vexed question of references to authorities I have endeavoured to steer a middle course between quoting chapter and verse for every statement a method as much loathed by the general reader as it is liked by scholars and quoting no authorities at all. Either method is, of course, open to criticism from one side or the other but I think the middle course adopted is that likely to be preferred by most readers. In the notices on contemporary artists I freely used extracts from other writers in detailing the special characteristics of the art of various painters and sculptors as on such a subject it has seemed to me preferable to quote the words of others whose opinion must necessarily have far greater weight than my own. I desire specially to acknowledge my indebtedness to Mr. F. A. Hyatt's Florence in regard to the characters of Cosimo Pata Patriae and Lorenzo the Magnificent to Mr. E. Armstrong's chapter in volume 3 of the Cambridge Modern History in regard to the administration of Tuscany under Cosimo I to his Lorenzo de' Medici in regard to the character and writings of the latter and to Count Pasolini's life of Catherine Svotze in regard to that remarkable ancestress of the later generations of the Medici also to Miss Hope Reyes Donatello, Mrs. Aides Fra Angelico Mr. Langton Douglas' Fra Angelico and D. Williamson's Perugino in regard to the art of those masters. Original research has been carried out chiefly though of course not entirely with regard to that portion of the history relating to the last six generations of the family and here a very large part of the information has even more than from books and manuscripts being gathered from what buildings and tombs, pictures, statues and monuments have to tell these having proved as valuable a mine of information as the records of the archives added to this I am also indebted to the researches of the late professor G. E. Saltini much valuable information in regard to this portion of the history of the family this book is written primarily for the general reader but not exclusively so and I trust that scholars may find in it not a little that is new to them both in the domain of history and of art at the same time it does not pretend to be more than a very inadequate memorial of this interesting family no its imperfections so well as myself G. F. Y. Florence 12th of October 1910 The Medici prologue in the fifth century storm upon storm out of the dark north swept away in a great deluge of barbarism all the civilization of the western half of the Roman Empire from the Atlantic to Constantinople and from the Rhine and Danube to the deserts of Africa all that was learned and cultivated all that was artistic and beautiful was overwhelmed in an avalanche of ruin in which not only the triumphs of architecture, literature and art produced by many centuries of a high civilization but also those who could create such things afresh were involved in one general destruction then after a night of thick darkness obscuring everything in western Europe for two hundred years during which these barbarian races are battling over the dead corpse of the Roman Empire comes in the eighth century, Charlemagne creating a brief light for forty years but on his death the darkness settles down again wrapping all in gloom and again we read barbarism and confusion reign throughout western Europe for a hundred and fifty years meanwhile from Arabia another deluge that of the Muhammedans sweeps in succession over the fair countries forming the eastern half of the empire creating there also a similar desolation gradually all that is left of the art and letters of the Roman Empire takes refuge in Constantinople where it remains shut up surrounded west, north, east and south by the barbarian flood at length in the twelfth century the re-civilization of the west is begun by the discovery in Italy of the Code of the Roman Law then come in the thirteenth century Niccolò Pisanno and in the fourteenth century Dante, Giotto and Petrarch to arouse men again to a sense of the beautiful and the cultivated and art and literature begin to flow back to their long-deserted western home and so out of the very grave of that old civilization of Rome buried deep nine centuries before comes the new inspiration the rebirth but as yet there was none with power to make these efforts produce their full fruit none with the power to unearth the treasures so long buried to spread a knowledge of them throughout the west and to make the voices of those long dead begin again to speak while after these four fathers of the Renaissance had passed away art and literature threatened again to die and the movement thus inaugurated to become but local and temporary and then in the city which had produced three of these men arose a family who with the power of wealth and with a great love for these things lifted learning from its grave spread a knowledge of it throughout Europe gave art the encouragement it needed in order to advance to its highest achievements and made that city the Athens of the west End of section 0 Section 1 of the Medici Volume 1 This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org The Medici Volume 1 by G. F. Young Chapter 1 Florence O foster nurse of man's abandoned glory Since Athens its great mother sank in splendor Thou shadowest forth that mighty shape in history As ocean its rectifying severe yet tender The light-invested angel was he who was drawn from the dim world to open the shelling standing on the hill of San Miniatto and looking down from vents as so many belonging to bygone generations have done at the city spread out at our feet we see before us a city such as none other ever can be to a large portion of mankind one in which things have had their birth which now form the lifeblood of all the intellectual existence of Europe as Iriarty says we must dearly love Florence for she is the mother of all those who live by thought her outward beauty is palpable to all the domes and spires of a smokeless city bathed in sunshine the slopes of the Apennines extending almost to its walls covered with vineyards, olive plantations, gardens and numberless luxurious villas the silver thread of the river aren't a winding away in the distance through the beautiful Val d'Arno the tender coloring which in Tuscany is so marked the feature of the distant landscape all these together make up a whole which is a dream of beauty but there is more to be seen than this Florence's charms are not confined to her outward beauty for this is the city which produced the Renaissance an achievement which will ever surround Florence with an unfading glory the influence she has thus exercised has secured for her a worldwide interest undoubtedly the main attraction of Florence in the modern world is a place where there breathes a stiller higher atmosphere than that of the hurrying striving 20th century a place where if we will the history of the past is made to rise before us where the masterpieces of art strive to draw the mind upwards from the low level of the trivial the ignoble and the commonplace it has been said that the arts are the avenues by which the mind of man soars to its highest limits be so than in Florence if anywhere in the world must the truth of those words be felt for in the city of Dante and Petrarch of Ghiberti, Brunelleschi, Donatello and Michelangelo of Giotto, Parcania, Massaccio, Fra Angelico, Botticelli and Leonardo da Vinci not only one of those avenues but no less than four of them have been followed as far as the mind of man is ever penetrated along them we are going for a little while to be occupied in this scene's instinct with the spirit of these men therefore looking at beautiful Florence let us try to think chiefly not of her outward beauty but rather of all the deep interest which she is able to unfold to us in art and history and literature bound up with the name of Florence for all time to consider the high soul thoughts which gave the birth to all that we go there to see produced by minds which were able to make their city preeminent among all cities in painting and sculpture and architecture and in poetry and at the same time preeminent also in learning and in the science of their age thus as we look down upon Florence from San Miniatto we shall be drawn to think of the high aspirations of those who first planned to build that mighty dome and who directed their cathedral to be designed so as to be worthy of a heart expanded to much greatness to think of the conceptions of him who while he was the father of all painting could also be so great in architecture as to design that beautiful bell tower by its side of the strong character of those freedom loving Florentines who erected that solidly built city fortress to guard their supreme council from the effects of their own turbulent spirit of all that lies collected under that small pointed spire in the background telling of the dawn of the Renaissance of art or again of what a world of high soul thought is represented in that line of statues in that colonnade Florence's Valhalla extending from the river to the fortress that galaxy of the great in poetry and art and learning and in science all produced by this single city and containing even though Bruno Lecce Giberto, Massaccio, Fra Angelico and Botticelli are not there at least 12 great names of which anyone would suffice to make any other city famous and as they look down upon us from their niches they invite us to walk their streets in spirit with them with Dante and Giotto and Arcana and Donatello and Leonardo and Michelangelo and Galileo and to be uplifted into the world where their thoughts dwelt so that we too may be if but for a moment among the mortals lastly we shall be drawn to think of that family who for so many generations took a cheap part in all that interests us in Florence whose care for learning and art produced such wide effects reserved to the world most of those treasures of art which we now visit Florence to see and who all lie buried in that church of San Lorenzo which is marked by the smaller dome in the distance whereas their line came near its end they erected tombs which are those of crowned heads tombs visited by all the world for their masterpieces of art and their magnificence the city is what those who once lived in it have made it and as we look at the memorials of themselves left behind them and which still belong to their descendants we must not omit all thought of the race which made these men what they were for this is a Peruvia a country which has always from the earliest time led the way in Italy and from whence in the middle ages there came forth as leaders of the movement which we call the Renaissance a great secession of men of whom it has been said the dazzling light of their genius shines on through the centuries generations what man can be and do so that these memorials of Florence's past are no dead records of a bygone time but afford the strongest inspiration to us of the present day and since the signoria of Florence when starting at the end of the 13th century to build their cathedral declared in the document conveying their instructions to its architect Armolfo de Cambio that the desire which animated them was that it should be designed worthy of a heart expanded to such greatness corresponding to the noble city soul which is composed of the soul of all its citizens the great dome of Florence whose construction was thus inspired by an aim so different from that which later on called into being its rival at Rome may well whenever from far and near it strikes upon the eye act as a clarion called high in noble aims the men who in a mere government document ordering a great public work could reach such a level were no common men and in commenting on their words Mr. Walter Skyfeed justly asked has the much vaunted progress of civilization during the six centuries that have since passed carried us so far beyond either the sentiments or the work of these men but there is yet another attraction which Florence possesses for the modern world and that is the vividness with which the past is there made to live before us the way in which the 20th century was able to look at the 15th even with the outward eye and as if four swiftly flowing centuries that have intervened were rolled back the massive strength of the Bargello of the Palazzo Vacchio and even of the ordinary buildings in every direction forces upon us the recollection of the fierce fighting which these narrow streets have time after time witnessed and while other cities have preserved little around which interest connected with literature or art who pest their lives there can gather Florence which has held a leadership in art and letters equaled by no other city except Athens teams with memorials of those who gave her that leadership the Doma the Cathedral brings to our minds Brunelleschi its navery echoes with a thundering eloquence of Savrona Rola its beautiful Campanile recalls to Asciotto the Logia de Lanzi reminds us of Magna the Baptistry bears record of Gilberte the Torre del Gallo still keeps alive the memory of the starry Galileo we see the house where Dante lived we pass the shops where Giotto Botticelli and Andrea del Sarto worked we follow the same streets by which Verrocchio, Ghirlandaigio and Michelangelo went to their daily tasks we stand before church doorways made beautiful by the art of Luca della Robia we listen to Donatello's voice as we gaze at the statues surrounding Or San Michele we paste the corridors in cloisters of San Marco accompanied by the spirits of Fra Angelico and Savrona Rola and in many an old fresco the faces dress in manner of life of the men and women of the Renaissance are brought before us with startling vividness but the full effect of this vivid realization of the past which Florence forces upon us best seen by comparing her with her great rival Venice Mrs. Oliphant speaking of Venice says after the bewitchment of the first vision a chill falls upon the inquirer where is the poet where the prophet where the princes the scholars the men whom could we see we should recognize wherever we met them with whom the whole world is acquainted they are not here in the sunshine of the piazza and the glorious gloom of San Marco and the great council chambers of the Ducal Palace once so full of busy statesmen and great interests there is scarcely a figure recognizable of all to be met with in the spirit no one for traces of whom we look as we walk or whose individual footsteps are traceable instead of the men who made her what she was and who ruled her was so high a hand we find everywhere the great image of Venice herself in her records the city is everything the individual nothing Venice is the outcome not great names of individual Venetians Mrs. Oliphant's subsequent remark show that the root of a reason why Venice produced no prominent men was the inordinate love of money a race with whom money making and money spending is the one serious interest cannot penetrate those avenues by which the mind soars to its highest limits Florence also loved money but it was not her chief interest and so we have this significant result Florence with art and learning as her passion and with her long line of immortal names in every branch of these the city which led the way in producing the civilization of Europe and on the other hand Venice producing next to nothing of the kind no great poet no great scholar no great sculptor no great statesman known to all the world no great painter even until her rival had been leading the way in that particular for 150 years and had produced a host of such and leaving nothing behind her but her own exalted name nothing still able to elevate mankind after her glory had passed away it is a great contrast and just as it is the lack of human interest in the case of Venice that causes that chill to fall upon the inquirer so on the other hand it is the abundant possession of the human interest that gives Florence her great attraction the seed from which the fruit grew was in the one case the love of money in the other the love of art and of section number one section two of the Medici volume one this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Avahi in February 2020 the Medici volume one by G. F. Young chapter two the Medici we turn from this glimpse of the city to those who were for over 300 years its most prominent citizens the history of the Medici covers three and a half centuries 1400 to 1743 two of those centuries the 15th and 16th being the most interesting period of any both in history and in art it is a period which covers the change from medieval to modern history which may be held to commence with the long triangular duel between Francis I, Charles V and Henry VIII it covers the time when the conditions change from those consequent on the feudal system and small isolated states to those brought about by regular armies and powerful countries with clashing interests it covers the time when the chief political power in Europe shifted from the great independent states of Italy, Venice, Milan Florence and Naples to the northern countries France, England and Germany it embraces the reformation with all that brought it about and followed from it and it includes the extinction of the Christian eastern empire and establishment of the Mohammedan Turkish empire in its place the discovery of a new world in America, the expulsion of the Moors from Spain and in general the settlement of the different nations of Europe after centuries of transition in the localities they now occupy the world's art the period is even more important for with the year 1400 there began that wonderful 15th century which saw the birth of the renaissance in art and produced a galaxy of great men in every branch of art such as the world had never seen before and is never likely to see again the gradual rise of the Medici from comparative obscurity and not by conquests to so high an eminence is one of the most remarkable things in history from simple bankers and merchants they rose in spite of much opposition and many vicissitudes until they became the most powerful family in Europe and indeed until there was a Medici on the throne of nearly every principal country they are interesting from several very different points of view the important place which they took in history makes their story at times almost that of Europe Cosimo Pata Patrie Lorenzo the Magnificent Pope Leo X Pope Clement VII and Catherine the Medici not to mention others have made the name of Medici occupy a larger place in history than was probably ever taken by any other family their patronage of learning and art in this domain the Medici have never been approached by any others among the rulers of mankind the road shields of their time their immense wealth was lavishly expended on the revival of learning and the encouragement of art in painting in painting in painting in painting Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael in sculpture Ghiberti, Donatello Verocio and Michelangelo in architecture Brunelleschi, Michelozzo and Bramante with a host of lesser names all owed much to their assistance as regards painting this had especially important results and just as the age of Pericles in Athens became the classic period or period of highest development of the art of sculpture so the age of the Medici has become the classic period of the art of painting their connection with the reformation in this great movement which convulsed all Europe throughout the greater part of the 16th century the two popes who belonged to this family were those chiefly concerned namely Leo the 10th great anthagonist and Clement the 7th the pope in whose pontificate England repudiated the claim of the church of Rome to exercise supremacy over the church of England naturally this again adds much interest to the story of the Medici lastly owing to an exceptional many-sidedness they touched life at so many points in statesmanship and financial capacity in learning and artistic taste in civil administration and sympathy with the feelings of the people in knowledge of commerce and agriculture in all these different directions that the Medici evinced an unusual ability and this was joined to qualities of courtesy agreeableness of manner absence of arrogance and a free and generous disposition which much enhanced their power of influencing those which whom they were brought in contact they were not however assisted by any attractions of personal appearance their portraits showing that they were by no means a handsome family their only good feature being their fine eyes which were proverbial these various characteristics make them an interesting family apart from the other aspects of their history two grave charges have been preferred against them first that they by a long course of duplicity deprived their country of its liberty and exalted themselves into despots over it and second that there is to be attributed to them an evil preeminence in crimes of murder how far these charges are just will be best seen as we follow the course of their history but regarding the second some general remarks are called for the charge is a strange one in view of the contemporary history of other countries for the history of this family embraces 13 generations and out of this number there are no less than 10 generations to whom no such crimes have been even attributed it is not until we reach the 7th generation that we have the first murder committed by a midici and even that was committed by one who had no legitimate right to the name while it is not until we reach the 8th and 9th generations that we meet with that series of these accusations which has been the main cause of the reputation which has been given to the family such a charge against the whole family involves comparison and when we compare even the whole of the cases attributed to the midici with those authenticated committed by other contemporary ruling families not only in Italy but also in France, England and Spain it becomes evident that the popular belief ascribing to the midici and evil preeminence in such crimes can only be due to a lack either of information or of the sense of proportion among ruling families of the time there are few to whom there have not been attributed more crimes of this nature than to the midici nor do we stigmatize the whole line of the sovereigns of England or France because three out of 13 generations may have committed crimes of this character some writers while admitting the injustice of this graver charge and while ready to allow that the midici were capable, intellectual and patriotic assert that nevertheless they were grasping, cruel, intriguing and stained with vices which were rampant in their times it is hoped that this history will demonstrate convincingly that the midici were decidedly not either grasping or cruel to say that they were intriguing is merely to say that they were men of their age regarding the fourth point while they certainly were not free from the vices rampant in their times the indictment in the manner it is made is an exaggeration implying as it does that the midici were worse than others whereas all evidence tends to show that they were distinctly better in this respect than other contemporary families this general statement on a point to which modern histories do not consider it necessary to allude except in general terms will perhaps suffice but it will be found to be borne out by various facts in the lives of many members of the family as these are followed Simons makes a complaint against the midici that they were bourgeois of course they were bourgeois it is the very pith of their story and instead of giving ground for a guy to be cast at them it contributes much to their honour it is the essence of their history that they belonged entirely to the people that their rise began from their championship of the letter against the nobles and that theirs was an aristocracy not of birth but of talent and culture they present to us in following their story the most opposite extremes both of conduct and of fortune marvellous as to their rise pathetic as to their vicissitudes magnificent as to their liberality towards objects for the lasting benefit of mankind tragic as to many episodes of their career despicable as to their ignoble decline and end except for one last act worthy to rank with those of their best days their history is like a great drama extending over 300 years and played out on the widest of stages end of section 2 section 3 of the mere didgy volume 1 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org the mere didgy volume 1 by G.F. Young chapter 3 Giovanni de Bici part 1 born 1360 died 1428 1428 in the year 1400 the mere didgy were an ordinary middle class family in Florence the family can be traced back as far as the year 1201 when Chiarissimo, eldest son of Giambuono de mere didgy and a member of the town council is noted as being the owner of various houses and towers in the Makato Vecchio but the only branch of it with which we are concerned is that which made so great a name in history and was destined to run an eventful course of nearly 350 years of this branch Giovanni de mere didgy was at this time the head for some reason or other his father Avarado de mere didgy was nicknamed by his companions Bici among the mere didgy names recurs so frequently that each is in history known by some addition or sobriquet and Giovanni the founder of the historic branch of the family is always known as Giovanni de Bici i.e. Giovanni the son of Bici he was at this time a man of 40 years of age and highly respected for his character and business ability the family were bankers and already possessed of considerable wealth which Giovanni by his financial ability increased several of his ancestors had taken part in public affairs his great grandfather Avarado who had begun the prosperity of the family by successful trading operations had been gonfalonier in 1314 his grandfather Salvestro had been one of the envoys of the Republic deputed to conclude the treaty with Venice in 1336 and two of his father's first cousins had been gonfalonier in, respectively 1349 and 1354 but Giovanni de Bici de mere didgy came of a family which had signalised themselves in another way than this for they had on several occasions took part in the struggles of the people against the nobles Grandi a distant cousin of his father also named Giovanni had in 1343 been seized and put to death by the tyrant of Florence Walter de Brienne Duke of Athens as one of the most dangerous of the citizens of Bologna and when Giovanni de Bici was 18 years old he had seen in 1378 a distant cousin of his grandfather another Salvestro by his powerful words in the Signoria bring about the riot known as that of the chumpie the weavers, diers and minor workmen of the guild of wool which riot, we are told broke the power of the nobles and destroyed the oligarchy of the Pate Gualfa while another cousin of his father Vieri had pacified the rebellion of 1393 thus the family had as its tradition antagonism to the nobles and championship of the cause of the people Giovanni de Bici was destined to go far in the same course as well as to found a family whose influence was to spread far beyond the sphere of the Pate politics of Florence let us first see what in this year 1400 were the conditions surrounding him one in his own city and two in the larger world beyond it Florence after fierce struggles between rival factions for 150 years had at last settled down with the most democratic government on record in 1260 the banished Ghiberliens under Ferenata de Iuberti had at the battle of Montea Perto defeated the Guelphs and re-entered Florence in triumph the Ghiberliens had there upon proposed to raise Florence to the ground against this Ferenata de Iuberti had raised his single voice and prevailed for which act he has obtained lasting honour in Florence and his statue the only Ghiberlien one has received a place among those of Florence's greatest men in the Uffizi Colonnade then had succeeded in 1289 the battle of Camp Haldino giving the final victory to the Guelphs where upon the community had been divided into guilds Arti whose representatives formed the governing body the Signoria in 1298 had begun the building of the cathedral and of the Palazzo della Signoria the order for the latter to Arnolfo Decambio the architect stating that it was required for the greater security of the Signoria in this city so given to sudden and violent tumults but the in turn a scene of strife did not cease even though the Ghiberliens had been driven out the same fierce conflicts as before broke out under new names Ciacci versus Donati white Guelphs versus black Guelphs and so on at length in 1343 Walter de Brienne a foreigner whom the city had made its governor was driven out when a time of anarchy and frequent revolutions followed during which occurred in 1348 the great plague described by Boccaccio and in 1378 the above mentioned riot of the Giampi as a result the Signoria was reconstituted and composed of representatives priors from each of the 21 guilds instead of from the more important ones only these were directed to be chosen every two months afterwards extended to a longer period while it was ruled that no noble should be eligible as a member of the Signoria the president of the latter body was the gonfalonier chosen from among the members of the Signoria and elected for a similar short period lauded even this satisfy Florence's fiercely democratic instincts although all power was vested in the representatives of the various guilds yet on any large question the great bell in the tower of the palazzo della Signoria summoned the whole male population into the square below when the question was decided ostensibly at any rate by popular acclamation this form of government continued for 150 years it had been established about 20 years at the time our story begins passionately indeed was Florence an amour of freedom in a struggle of some 200 years she had first gradually shaken herself free from subordination to the emperors then fought against and thrown off the power of the nobles and lastly had established the most republican republic the world has ever seen and in deep dread of being brought again under the yoke she had developed so great a jealousy of any action either by an individual or a family tending however remotely to threaten her independence that this feeling had become a mania there was a very short in Florence for anyone suspected of harboring an intention of exalting himself into any position of authority above that of an ordinary citizen Florence was at this time at a high level of power over various subject cities and constantly increasing her territory by little wars with neighbouring states republics such as Florence were of a peculiar kind since only the citizens of the capital city possessed any political power none others were allowed any voice in the policy of the state this complete subjection to the capital city accounts for the fear struggles of pisa Prato, Pistoia, Volterra and other cities gradually conquered by Florence against being subdued by her it is also no doubt the reason why history at this period always speaks of Florence to denote that state which at a later period we speak of as Tuscany as regards trade and commerce Florence was at this time the most flourishing state in Europe her citizens owned banks in all countries and the golden florin had become the general european standard of value marking the leading position in commerce held by Florence McCullough speaking of the revenue about this time says quote the revenue of the republic amounted to 300,000 florins a sum which allowing for the depreciation of precious metals was at least equivalent to 600,000 pounds sterling a larger sum than England and Ireland two centuries later yielded to Elizabeth the chief trade was in wool and woolen cloth both that produced by Florence itself and that sent there from other countries to be died and refined by a secret process and re-exported a trade memorialised existing names of two celebrated streets in Florence Calimara and the Pelle Cheria and the guild of the wool merchants was the most important in Florence so much so that to this guild was committed the work of building the cathedral the principal part of the trade of Florence was with England two turning now to the larger world outside Florence we find the other states in Europe situated as follows Venice a republic of a very different kind and ruled by an oligarchy of nobles was rapidly advancing to the height of her power having in 1380 crushed her maritime rival Genoa and was year by year extending her territories by fresh conquests Milan an imperial duchy was under the rule of her great duke Gian Galliazzo Visconti the most capable of that family the builder of the cathedral of Milan and the Sertosa of Pavia he had conquered almost all northern Italy extending his dominions even as far as Perugia and Spoleto was at this time only resisted by Florence and was in full expectation of short lists of during Florence also when he would make himself king of Italy Naples and Sicily a kingdom but of the feeblest kind was in its usual state of anarchy the bone of contention between the rival houses of Angus and Aragon as it had been for 150 years the papacy the situation of the papacy at this time was most deplorable there had in 1378 begun the great schism with rival popes at Avignon and Rhone a state of things which had brought down the papacy to the very dust for there was here no case of an anti-pope both popes had been duly elected and each had an equal right to be considered the true pope on the side of the French pope were France, Scotland Spain, Portugal Savoy and Lorraine on the side of the Italian pope were England, Germany Italy, Denmark, Sweden and Poland whereas salvation was held to depend on being in communion with the true pope none during all this period could feel sure that he was so while it was at any rate certain that one half of Europe was not the position was intolerable and its results during the 40 years that lasted were such as to degrade the papacy to the utmost depth of humiliation as regards the remaining countries of Europe in England Henry IV had just usurped the kingdom from Richard II whom he had murdered in France Charles VI was king but was mad and the country in the greatest disorder Germany was a massive insignificant states and the emperor almost a cipher the seven princely electors invariably choosing as emperor some prince of small dominions and power who would be unable to oppose their own assumption of independence in the eastern empire Constantinople was being closely pressed by the Ottoman Turks Spain was not a yet one country Aragon and Castile being still petty independent kingdoms while all the southern half of Spain was held by the Ceresans or as they were called the Moors the above is an outline of the general state of Europe before those great changes began in which the Medici were to play so large a part the Florence in which Giovanni de Bici passed his life though very different in aspect from that with which we are acquainted nevertheless contained a good deal which we should still recognise history then already many hundred years old was much the same as now so also the Bargello built about a hundred and fifty years before this time and close to it the Bardia built in 1330 the Palazzo della Signoria known to us as the Palazzo Vecchio built in 1298 was as to the front portion much as we see it extended the back down the Via de Gondi while along the front ran a raised platform the Ringhiera from which proclamations were made the Loggia dell'Anzi had lately been completed the Cathedral which had been building for over a hundred years was still unfinished and its great dome had not even been begun while many doubted whether so vast a space could ever be covered in this way its beautiful Campanile Giotto's tower was finished the Ponte Vecchio with its shops though not the Injeuler's shops was as now except of course for the Passaggio on the roof of the shops constructed long afterwards of the two chief's churches Santa Croce and Santa Maria Novella the latter was completed except for its façade while Santa Croce was approaching completion the city was surrounded by its ancient and picturesque walls which are now gone but its main streets still follow the same course as then and many of them present much the same general appearance Orsanmichele the curious square church built by the guild of the Wool merchants was nearly finished and behind it stood as now the guild house of this celebrated Arte della Lana as we look at this old house of the great guild of Wool with their emblem of the lamb over the door and think of the many works in which this guild were then occupied in Florence we cannot but be impressed with the thought of how many other things besides money making of this enlightened body of merchants and of how much in Florence's afterglory has had its birth in that now little noticed old building and it was in connection with these things that a movement was about to begin which was soon to be the paramount question in Florence for in our review of the Florence of 1400 we have also to think of the existing state of things in regard to art and loon these though in the previous century roused from their long sleep by Dante Giotto and Petra appeared to have sunk back again into slumber Dante whose swan-like dirge of the departing middle ages had inspired all mankind for a time had died 80 years before and no successor to him had a reason Giotto the shepherd boy whose kiss had aroused the sleeping beauty art from her nine centuries of slumber in her Byzantine palace had died 63 years before his great pupil Orcania had died 32 years before and the painters of the time had no idea beyond that of a slavish copying of Giotto and so had sunk into a conventionalism almost as complete as that Byzantine tradition from which Giotto had rescued art lastly Petra the great scholar who had led men to study the long-buried writings of the classic age had passed away 26 years before and no other like him had a reason thus when the year 1400 dawned it seemed as though the movement which had begun in the time of Dante and Giotto was merely a passing phase already moribund if not defunt it was however not so there was soon to be a fresh movement destined far to surpass all that had gone before and the latter half of Giovanni de Bici's life with which we have to do the period from 1400 to 1428 is the time of this morning of the Renaissance of that extraordinary outburst of art in every branch which felt in some degree in other cities of Italy also at this time seemed in Florence to permeate the whole people with its throbbing life producing results the influence of which was before another hundred years were over to be felt to the utmost bounds of Europe section 3 read by Joan Bennett section 4 of the Medici volume 1 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org the Medici volume 1 by GF Young chapter 3 Giovanni de Bici part 2 Giovanni de Bici 1400 to 1418 Giovanni de Bici with his wife Piccardo Boeri and his two sons Cosimo and Lorenzo who in the year 1400 were boys of 11 and 5 lived first in an old house in the Via Laga and then in one which still stands in the Piazza del Duomo and the familiar view which daily met Giovanni's eye from the windows of his house must have been that of the slowly rising walls and dome of the cathedral begun so long before and intended by Florence to be grander than any yet built by the year 1400 Giovanni de Bici was a man in middle age gracious in manner retiring in disposition and much respected by all around him he has received very little notice from historians but he was the author of various important works for the benefit of his countrymen and for the encouragement of art he was distinguished for his ability as a financier and for his prudence the quality always specially admired by the Florentines and had made himself highly popular with the people by the liberal way in which he spent his wealth for the public benefit and by his constant readiness to be their champion in the never ceasing struggle against the nobles being regardless of fame or notoriety it is only here and there in the history of the time that notice of him is to be found moreover during his lifetime the chief influence in Florence was possessed by the Alpizzi family who notwithstanding the law affecting the nobles managed, chiefly by influencing the elections still to exercise power meanwhile Giovanni was laying the foundations of a family which was ere long to obliterate all memory of the sway of the Alpizzi the first occasion when we find him specially mentioned is in the year 1401 in the picture of the Florence of that age one point has still to be noted without which that picture would not be complete namely the terrible outbreaks of the plague which again and again devastated the city in those days keeping the thought of death and the hereafter ever present in the minds of all men and our story opens in the midst of one of these awful visitations and again as in 1348 and so many other occasions large numbers of all classes were being daily carried off by this terrible disease in this distress Florence determined on a costly votive offering to be placed in her oldest and most highly venerated church San Giovanni Battista better known as the Battistory and that this offering should take the form of two pairs of very elaborate bronze doors an international competition was instituted to settle who should execute this work and Giovanni de Bici as a leading citizen and a great patron of art was appointed one of the judges in this competition it is an interesting and significant coincidence that the first mention we have of the first of the Medici should be his taking a prominent part in an event which has always been held as the birthday of the Renaissance in art. During the next 17 years 1402 to 1418 the chief notices which we have of Giovanni are those showing his quiet but steady advancement in public affairs. In 1402 we find him elected by his guilt that of the bankers Arte del Cambio as its prior which made him a member of the government and we find him again thus elected in 1408 and in 1411 it is specially recorded that he kept aloof from the many political intrigues at the time and that these and subsequent higher honors were forced upon him unsought. In 1417 Florence suffered another of those terrible visitations of the plague which afflicted her on so many occasions this time it carried off 16,000 of the inhabitants. Giovanni did his utmost to relieve the many sufferings of the people while we are told that he did not confine his help only to the poor but was no less ready to alleviate the misfortunes of the rich. He must now glance at what had been going on in Europe during those 18 years. Contemporary historical events 1400 to 1418 the first 18 years of the 15th century were years of various great events in Europe all of which closely affected Florence and its signoria. In 1400 the Emperor Vincis Laos was deposed by the electors for his worthless, savage and drunken character. In his place they chose Rupert, Count Palatine of the Rhine. In 1401 the Turks under Bacchusier having at last come to the final stage of the long campaign against the eastern half of the Roman Empire and having reached and begun to besiege the capital itself Constantinople the eastern emperor Manuel Palaeologus who had in 1391 succeeded his father John Palaeologus John VI like him visited Italy Germany, France and England to try to rouse them to aid in saving Constantinople and to prevent such a dire calamity to all Europe as it's fall into the hands of the Turks. He was received everywhere with imperial honours and much sympathy but as regards Italy the papacy was paralysed by the great schism and also would do nothing unless the eastern church would agree to acknowledge the supremacy of the Church of Rome and other Italian states were at almost constant war and threatened at the moment with extinction by Milan Germany was in chaos the emperor having just been deposed in France the king was out of his mind and the country in the utmost confusion and in England the king was a usoper threatened with civil war so the emperor Manuel Palaeologus had to return as un-successful as his father had been Help however came to Constantinople from unexpected quarter the turkish dominions were suddenly invaded by the Tatars under Timor or Tamalain which called away the Sultan Bacchasi from his attack on Constantinople and at the battle of Angora in the following year he was defeated and taken prisoner by Timor this defeat shattered for a time the power of the Ottoman Turks and gave Constantinople a last lease of life for another 50 years in 1402 Gian Galeazzo Visconti Duke of Milan suddenly died in the midst of his schemes of conquest relieving Florence of her most formidable enemy and enabling her four years later to conquer and annex a part of his dominions Pisa this conquest of Pisa extended Florence's territory to the coast and gave her a seaport in 1409 in Florence's new subject city took place the council of Pisa the effects of the great schism with half the countries of Europe recognising one pope and the other half another became at length so intolerable that all Europe began to pry out for a reformation of the church in head and members a phrase constantly on men's lips all through this 15th century and this was the first of three attempts to that end the cardinals of both the rival parties deserted their popes and summoned a council of the whole western church at Pisa to solve the difficulty to this council there came about 200 bishops nearly 300 abbots over 400 doctors of theology and the representatives of most of the sovereigns of Europe the primary point to be fought out was whether a council was supreme over a pope and therefore able to reform errors in the papacy or whether a pope was above a council the sixth century would have been amazed that such a question could be debated the supreme authority in the church throughout the early centuries having been a general council of equal and independent bishops each himself under the authority of such a council but since then one bishop had exalted himself step by step until the time had come that such a question could be debated however the council by the mere fact of assembling on its own authority and in defiance of two popes virtually declared itself the highest power in the church moreover it at once proceeded formally to lay down the same and this done it deposed both the rival popes for their crimes then the council made the mistake which nullified all its work instead of proceeding to reform the abuses in the church and only after this had been done electing a fresh pope it elected a pope Alexander the fifth before attempting to carry out reforms a natural result followed Alexander the fifth promptly found means to adjourn the council nominally for three years practically for an indefinite period this futile conclusion of the first attempt to reform the church left matters worse than before the two deposed popes refused to accept the sentence of the council so that the only result was that there were now three rival popes instead of two and so the great schism continued Florence for allowing that detested thinger council to assemble in one of her subject cities was on behalf of one of the three popes Gregory the 12th attacked by King Lattice of Naples and while the council was sitting had to protect its deliberations and her own territory by force of arms with the result that the Florentine army captured Rome in 1410 Pope Alexander the fifth died and was succeeded by Pope John the 23rd and in the same year King of Bohemia the younger brother of Wenceslaus was elected emperor in 1413 in England Henry the fourth died and was succeeded by his brilliant son Henry the fifth and in 1450 in the latter invaded France because that country would not give him Catherine the king's third daughter and with her Normandy Maine and Aum Choux then followed the great battle of Agincourt with its crushing defeat for France in the same year as this great battle between France and England there took place the council of Constance the second attempt to reform the church this council was summoned by the emperor Sigismund that holder of the imperial dignity whom Carlisle sarcastically calls Sigismund super grammaticam the widely representative and authoritative character of this council may be judged by the list of those who composed it it included 27 archbishops 300 bishops 20 cardinals 300 abbots and doctors of theology and 14 deputies of various universities while they also attended its deliberations 26 princes 140 counts and about 4,000 priests it sat for over three years at Constance whose chief fame it has made it was purposely held out of Italy whose bishops could not be depended upon to give an independent opinion and since these latter outnumbered those of all other countries put together it was ruled that to prevent their having an undue preponderance the voting should be by nations this council put an end to the great schism which for more than a generation had been the scandal of Christendom having met and appointed the emperor's Sigismund to preside and having formally declared its authority over all ecclesiastics the pope included it deposed all the three rival popes and this time they were unable to refuse obedience Pope John the 23rd was in addition on account of his crimes imprisoned for three years in the castle of Heidelberg but the council then made the same mistake as that of Peter and before proceeding to reform the abuses in the church elected a fresh pope Martin V he at once used all his power to prevent any real reforms being passed concluded separate concord us with each national party and terminated the council as soon as possible and so this council, like the former one, failed to achieve that reformation of the church which all good men throughout Europe desired one other thing this council did which has brought upon it and the emperor's Sigismund asking in for me this was the burning of John Huth and Jerome of Prague for teaching the opinions of Wycliffe in Bohemia and notwithstanding that they were at the council under the emperor's own written safe conduct the disgraceful and only too well known argument was employed here perhaps for the first time that faith need not be kept with those who were retics Sigismund thus dishonoured his word because he feared that otherwise the council to bring about which he had laboured earnestly would break up they were burned at Constance 1416 with every circumstance of odious cruelty and all else achieved by this council is forever blackened by this detestable deed this action provoked such indignation in Bohemia that it caused a furious war in which priests were burned in pitch, whole towns destroyed commerce ruined the death of King Wenceslaus caused and the emperor's Sigismund three times defeated and finally driven out of the country these years 1400 to 1418 are also those of the extensive conquests made by Florence's powerful rival, Venice between 1400 and 1414 Venice conquered Verona, Padua Vicenza, Belluno and Feltre also La Panto and Patras also Guastalla, Castle Maggiore and Bressello in 1416, Venice gained a great naval victory over the Turkish fleet at Gallipoli and in the next few years subdued all the towns on the Dalmatian coast besides waging successful war against Hungary Venice was at this time at the height of her glory growing richer and more powerful every year with annual exports valued at 10 million ducats while the wealth and magnificence of her governing class was unbounded Art 1400 to 1418 Meanwhile Florence was in these years laying the basis of a very different kind of glory the results of which were to be of much more permanent importance to the world at large and this wondrous morning of the Renaissance in art which shone forth in his time and with which he was intimately connected must ever be the main interest in looking at the life of this first of the Medici especially since owing to his retiring disposition we only see occasional glimpses of him among events at that time forming all the principal life of Florence the 15th century started from the very beginning on its wonderful career in this respect in the first year of the new century occurred that event already mentioned the competition for the execution of the bronze doors of the baptized history the work being a votive offering on the part of the entire city was intended to be of the very best description for which reason this competition to determine by whom it should be executed was instituted among artists of every country the subject fixed was a bronze panel representing the sacrifice of Isaac it is impossible to describe the rivalry and enthusiasm called forth by this competition it was a time when the stirrings of art were felt throughout the entire population of Florence and the excitement over the matter was intense when the models were sent in three of them were considered superior to each other those of Ghiberti Brunellesi and Jacopo de la Cuercia the two former being Florentines and the third a native of Siena they were all quite young men Jacopo de la Cuercia being 27 Ghiberti 23 and Brunellesi 22 after further consultation Ghiberti was judged the best and the construction of the bronze doors was given to him the models by Ghiberti and Brunellesi are preserved in the museum of the Bargello and there is no doubt that the decision of the judges was correct Brunellesi in disgust went off to Rome declaring that he would learn in which Ghiberti should not be able to excel him yes he did and became the great architect of his time Ghiberti Ghiberti began his work at once and was occupied on the first pair of doors which represent scenes in the life of Christ for the next 22 years the labour expended on this work which was more perfect than anything seen in art up to that time which to this day has never been surpassed was incalculable again and again the panels were recast Ghiberti always striving after something more perfect and his patience and determination being so great that he again and again destroyed the results he achieved being resolved not to desist from his labours until he attained the ideal after which he strove and very wonderful was the aim which he set before himself in Ghiberti's hands bronze reliefs became in reality pictures in bronze even the clouds being represented and the effect of distance being marvelously rendered Ghiberti himself tells us and what he says while simple to what's all now is most interesting when we remember that this is in the early days of art as follows in modelling these reliefs I strove to imitate nature to the utmost I sought to understand how forms strike upon the eye and how the theoretical part of sculptural and pictorial art should be managed working with the utmost care and diligence I introduced into some of my panels as many as a hundred figures these I modelled upon different planes so that those nearest to the eye might appear larger and those more remote smaller in proportion as this work proceeded its influence on art in general was extraordinary Ghiberti had to employ a number of assistants and these pictures in bronze with their life-like figures and excellent relief became, as the details of their execution were followed out a perfect school of art in which all who had either the sculptors or the painters instinct learnt valuable lessons besides the effect thus produced on the art world generally to at least of the assistants employed by Ghiberti in this work learnt therein that which enabled them afterwards to attain fame exceeding even his the painter Massaccio and the sculptor Donatello then followed in 1412 while the above work was still in progress another event likewise contributing to help forward the outburst in art this was the completion of the Guild of the Wool merchants of their church of Or San Michele and the decision to adorn the outside of the walls with statues of apostles and saints each statue to be given by one of the principal guilds hence fresh emulation each guild desiring its statue to be the finest and all the best sculptors vying with each other in the production of these statues Or San Michele thus becoming another centre of art inspiration in this way there were produced during the next few years in 1412 Donatello's statue of Saint Peter in 1413 Donatello's statue of Saint Mark In 1414 Ghiberti's statue of in 1415 Ghiberti's statue of Saint Stephen in 1416 Donatello's celebrated statue of Saint George in 1418 Ghiberti's statue of Saint Matthew statues by other masters followed in the subsequent years end of section 4