Monday, January 5, 2015

Occupation of Rome Breeds Insecurity Despite Promises: Johann Burchard: up to January 6, 1495


As the French poured through the city of Rome after Christmas week, Johann Burchard found himself in the middle of the action. As the numbers of Frenchmen grew and more crimes were reported, Pope Alexander VI tried to accomodate, but found his attempts at conciliation thwarted, or even, outside of his sizable control. Whether in trying to mold the nature of negotiations swirling about the actual entrance of the French King into the city, or in receiving the many French guests to meet the pope, matters had grown increasingly chaotic.

Before Vespers and after, at the Sala del Papagallo in the Vatican and at the papal throne, Monday, January 5, 1495, many Frenchmen came and kissed the foot of the pope. They thronged says Burchard, 'in great numbers, excitedly and in great disorder, for an hour, at the throne.' Something similar happened again when the pope returned again to the Sala del Pappagallo.

Some eleven days before, on Christmas, and earlier in that day, this pope Alexander VI had formerly named the captain from Naples, Ferrante as the duke of Calabria. After a touching scene where the pope in his vestments received the kiss from the new duke 'in full body armor with both sword and dagger', the duke took his leave along with several cardinals, to return to the forces of Naples. They were unable to help the situation much.

But as the night of Christmas came upon them, ("On the preceding night" to the Feast of St Stephen, according to Burchard), some lay French envoys had arrived 'on the steps of the papal throne' along with a swelling number of attendants. Two envoys from Naples then withdrew and then returned upon specific directions from the pope, as delivered, by Burchard himself.

"A great many other Frenchmen also entered with these envoys, many of them sitting down quite indiscriminately next to the ecclesiastics on their benches. I moved them away and assigned them more suitable seats, but the pope disliked this and summoned me angrily to say that it would destroy all his work, and that I was to allow the French to stand where they wanted to quite freely. I answered His Holiness soothingly, saying that before God he was not to upset himself over the matter since I knew what his wishes were and would not say another word to the Frenchmen, whatever places they occupied in the chapel." [p 102]

On Wednesday, 31 December, the date of arrival for the king, Burchard himself rode out, he says, to give the king instructions on how to make his royal entrance into the city. These were instructions detailed by the pope, and based on the pope's wishes, of course. Despite these entreaties, they were ignored as the massed hordes of soldiers and attendants arrived. The king himself continued to say he wanted to enter Rome without any pomp.

Yet, Burchard says, he rode on horseback for four miles discussing these matters alongside the French king himself. In that day's rain and mud, along the way he was peppered with questions from the young foreign monarch. What ceremonies did the pope want, Burchard has the King ask, how was this pope's health and what of the power and rank of young Cardinal Cesare Borgia of Valencia (Borgia's son)? Burchard said he was "... scarcely able to give appropriate answers."  [p, 103]

Beginning on new year's day and for the days following says Burchard, 'all the cardinals in Rome paid visits in turn, to the French King'. The French continued to arrive en masse in all parts of the city.

"On Friday, January 2nd, the Colonna seized two horses outside Cardinal Sanseverino's house, two more belonging to Geremia Contugi above the Ponte Sant' Angelo, and yet another horse that was the property of Cardinal Riario; their riders were roughly thrown down on the public paths. Other horses were seized ... where many Frenchmen had their quarters." [p. 104]

By the next day the French and the Colonna had moved on from horses to houses. They were capturing and sacking the houses of still more notables, and even that of the pope's chamberlain, Don Bartolomeo de Luna. Succeeding days saw even more personally awkward inconvenience and affrontery as well as destruction of property. On January 6, Burchard lost 'seven out of eight of the horses & mules at his own house' and found Frenchmen staying there instead. All manner of rumor and hearsay ran wild all over the city. It was too late to secure valuables and many notable people had already fled.

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quotes and pagination from Johann Burchard: At The Court of the Borgia translated for english, with introduction by Geoffrey Parker, The Folio Society, Ltd, 1963


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