Papal Favorite Bartolomeo Flores Replaced: October 14, 1497

There had been reports at the Vatican that one of Pope Alexander VI's secretaries, now Archbishop of Consenza, Don Bartolomeo Flores, had been helping to reward himself through his position. In September, the pope at last relented and the order went out that Flores should be arrested along with his counsel and some secretaries. Just one of many glimpses at the inner workings of this Borgia papacy, here the story is its' own censorious responses to accusations of corruption aimed at this pope's own appointments. Again we are informed by Johann Burchard, from his voluminous chronici.

Flores was arrested in mid September, and he and his servants were taken to the Castel Sant' Angelo.

"Don Bartolomeo himself was escorted along the passage in the wall joining the castle and the palace by the prison captain and his men, and lodged under careful guard in the castle.  The pope had learned that his secretary had sent out many false and harmful papal briefs, forging their contents and instructions against His Holiness's wish or without his knowledge, and issuing them through his servants. Amongst these briefs was one dispensation by which a Portuguese nun, a legitimate member of the royal family, could lay aside her religious habit and vows and could contract a marriage with the natural and illegitimate son of the late king; another allowed that a person in subdeacon's orders could marry; whilst further briefs in great numbers, amounting in all it was said to around three thousand, authorized changes in the collation of expectancies, provided dispensations for ecclesiastical preferment, and gave exemptions from the jurisdiction of Ordinaries." [p. 149]

These last three examples give a great deal of insight to the mechanisms of power and its uses in eccesiastical realms of the time, and crucially what had to be recognized - at the highest levels - as clear abuses of that power. The 'collation of expectancies', reordering how money came in, in order to lead how it might be allocated could funnel all sorts of monies and projects. The 'providing of dispensations for preferment' was a widespread practice across Christendom, but so was the wait before a seat, or office could be authorized from Rome. Taking it upon himself to make such authorizations and the consequent complaints brought the spotlight on him.

"A secret consistory was held Monday, October 9th," while the man himself stayed locked in Castel San' Angelo in Rome. After the meeting where evidence was read and decided on, Flores was denied his post (by papal writ on 13 October), and all the other benefices he had set up. It was also decided for Flores to lose his office and orders, and be delivered to the secular authorties. This meant being handed over to the City Bargello, like a Chief of Police. But immediately, the pope's private chanberlain and a bishop-elect came to the Castle to ask the Bargello to keep him confined in the cell there. This was done and allowed.

"On the same day, after dinner and following these proceedings, all Don Bartolomeo's possessions were, on the pope's orders, carried from the apartment which he had become accustomed to use in the Vatican Palace and set down in the papal store-room by His Holiness's private servant." p. 150

Next day, the 14th, the pope had chosen another secretary and then a couple days later, another archbishop was appointed to Consenza, thereby splitting the 'duties' of Don Bartolomeo into separate domains. By the end of the month, Flores was further reduced and assigned to 'another more squalid dungeon,' in Gadrian's sepulchre called San Marocco. He was also

"... made to put on over his shirt a gown of coarse white cloth which fell in  heavy folds to just above the knees, and was provided with a pair of shoes of coarse leather, a loose cloak of rough green cloth that reached to the ground, and a white cap." p.151

Given three loaves of bread, a cask of water and a jug of oil, a Bible, a Breviary, and a copy of the epistle of Peter, a castellan was also assigned to bring him food and water once a day and there he was incarcerated for the rest of his life.He died there the following July. This Borgia pope, in addition to confiscating the property of Flores alos had his letters seized and used these as evidence to show how Flores had acted without the Pope's authorization, in settling a dispute with the the Monarchs of Spain and which is another story.
_______________________________________
pp. 148-51, Johann Burchard: At The Court of the Borgia translated for english, with introduction by Geoffrey Parker, The Folio Society, Ltd, 1963