The Borgia family have become a byword for evil. Corruption, incest, ruthless megalomania, avarice and vicious cruelty—all have been associated with their name. And yet, paradoxically, this family lived when the Renaissance was coming into its full flowering in Italy. Examples of infamy flourished alongside some of the finest art produced in western history.This is but one of several paradoxes associated with the Borgia family. For the family which produced corrupt popes, depraved princes and poisoners, would also produce a saint. Previously history has tended to condemn, or attempt in part to exonerate, this remarkable family. Yet in order to understand the Borgias, the Borgias must be related to their time, together with the world which enabled them to flourish. Within this context the Renaissance itself takes on a very different aspect. Was the corruption part of the creation, or vice versa? Would one have been possible without the other?The powerful forces which first played out in the amphitheaters of ancient Greece: hubris, incest, murder, rivalries and doomed families, treacheries of political power, twists of fate—they are all here. Along with the final, tragic downfall. All these elements are played out in full in the glorious and infamous history of the Borgia family.
- 400 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
The Borgias
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Table of contents
- Cover
- Title
- Contents
- Maps
- Abbreviated Borgia Family Tree
- Dramatis Personae
- Prologue: The Crowning Moment
- 1. Origins of a Dynasty
- 2. The Young Rodrigo
- 3. Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia Emerges in His True Colours
- 4. The Way to the Top
- 5. A New Pope in a New Era
- 6. ‘The Scourge of God’
- 7. The Best of Plans . . .
- 8. A Crucial Realignment
- 9. A Royal Connection
- 10. Il Valentino’s Campaign
- 11. Biding Time
- 12. The Second Romagna Campaign
- 13. The Borgias in excelsis
- 14. Cesare Strikes Out
- 15. Changing Fortunes
- 16. Cesare Survives
- 17. Borgia’s ‘Reconciliation’
- 18. Lucrezia in Ferrara
- 19. The Unforeseen
- 20. Desperate Fortune
- Epilogue
- Illustrations Insert
- Acknowledgements
- Sources
- Illustrations Credits
- Index
- Also by Paul Strathern
- A Note About the Author
- Copyright
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Yes, you can access The Borgias by Paul Strathern in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & European History. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.