Chronicles of the House of Borgia

by Frederick Rolfe

The author of this unusual work was one of the most enigmatic, eccentric of English writers. He lived and died in poverty, and was as unscrupulous in grasping for money as were the Borgias he wrote about in their grasping for power. He spent his adult life eluding bill collectors and landlords, begging money from friends or strangers, composing fanatically belligerent notes to publishers demanding funds they had allegedly promised him, and extorting money from hapless benefactors whose faith in him proved most often to be unfounded. Nevertheless, he produced several books of superior quality which are sui generis in their vitality, color, and individuality. The present work is an example. It is by no means a work of objective, rigorously documented scholarship; it teems with Corvo's personal hypotheses, prejudices, and grudges. It steadfastly examines every accusation that has ever been made against the Borgias. Yet it conjures up a picture of Renaissance Italy which may not be historically accurate in every detail, but which vibrates with the spirit of the age. The book is broad in scope, relating to the movements of the Borgia Family during the whole of its career as the ruling house of Italy. In a style that is by turn lyric, dramatic, humorous, sonorous and epigrammatic, Corvo traces the lives of Alonso Borgia (who became Pope Calixtus III), Roderigo Borgia (later Pope Alexander VI), the redoubtable Cesare Borgia and his heralded sister Lucrezia, and other lesser known but equally interesting figures of the Borgia clan. The narrative is spiced with illuminating anecdotes, curious lore, and little-known sidelights in connection with the people and events of that incomparable era. Some of the most absorbing passages are those in which Corvo interrupts the narrative to reflect on such matters as calumny (all charges against the Borgias come under this heading), the loneliness of the popes, the classic learning of the Renaissance, the superiority of the 16th-century methods and mores to 20th-century ones, and many other subjects he feels constrained to remark upon. Perhaps the most engrossing chapter of all is the one which examines the matter of poisoning in the light of the superstitions that were still alive during the Borgia era.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction

416 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1901

About the author

English writer, novelist, artist, fantasist and eccentric. Rolfe is also known as Baron Corvo. His best known work is the novel Hadrian the Seventh.

Reviews

[Anna Prejanò · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nevrotico, eccessivo, afflitto da manie di persecuzione, orgoglioso ma servile con chi poteva essergli utile, prete mancato, eminente vittoriano finito in miseria a Venezia. La vita di Frederick Rolfe è più interessante della sua opera, che mi lascia sempre un senso d’incompiuto se non di talento buttato alle ortiche. I suoi libri richiedono una lettura lenta e sono ad (ampi) tratti farraginosi, ma la fatica è premiata da squarci di luce sorprendente.
Libro bizzarro e decisamente poco canonico per la struttura e il taglio, questa storia dei Borgia è certamente consigliata solo agli amatori (di Rolfe più che dei Borgia). L’ossessione genealogica che raggiunge il parossismo nel finale e si spegne come l’ultimo discendente senza prole è quasi commovente.

[Max Renn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books. To my young self it was a revelation along with Carlyle's 'French Revolution' that all those stuffy sounding classics were classics for a reason. That history was not only edifying but mind-blowingly entertaining as well especially when filtered through a sensibility as perceptive and unique as Baron Corvo's.

[P.J. Sullivan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Baron Corvo was an apologist for the Borgias, not to be taken too seriously. He thinks their crimes too monstrously inhuman to be true. The murders attributed to Cesare and Rodrigo Borgia (Pope Alexander VI) fail of proof, he argues. If they happened at all they were committed by someone else. He thinks the pope was too busy to find time for the murders. He admits that Cesare Borgia ordered the murder of Lucretia's second husband, but excuses it as self defense. This is preposterous, according to contemporary accounts; the victim was convalescing in bed when he was strangled!

Baron Corvo admits that Pope Alexander fathered at least seven bastard children but this was permissible, he says, according to the moral standards of the day. The pope was a great man and beyond reproach, who did not cause the failure of Lucretia Borgia's first marriage. Corvo argues that Cesare Borgia brought law, order, and prosperity to the Papal States. That simony also was the norm. Why not leave the sins of the Borgias to the recording angel? he asks. Why should we?

The Borgias were probably worse than they are portrayed in the history books because the histories draw on Johann Burchard, whose sacristan’s book was accessible to the Borgias. Thus it is likely that Burchard self-censored their worst crimes.

Much is unknown and disputed about the Borgias, but this book is an unreliable source. It is heavily biased and conflicts with most other histories of this family, in dates and in more important matters. At times it is racist. Baron Corvo was not contemporary with the Borgias and had no special access to their private papers.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is probably mostly worth reading if you're interested as rolfe as a writer, since he's not really a historian. it's sometimes surprisingly modern and reasonable sounding when he's saying that we shouldn't judge a historical period by the moral standards of today, or when he's pointing out the lack of verification of the borgia use of poison by primary sources. on the other hand he will also say silly reactionary stuff sometimes, like that the spanish inquisition was particularly brutal and violent because of the presence of african blood in the spaniards. there is also some quite nice writing, although nothing really as striking as you find in his fiction with maybe a few exceptions here and there.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

For an author with such a colorful life, I'd expect a no less colorful history. However, Corvo is dedicated to disproving many of the outlandish legends of the Borgias. He's actually quite fond of them, from Pope Alexander VI to Lucrezia Duke Cesare to St. Francis Borgia SJ. How accurate he is in recounting facts and anecdotes doesn't really concern me as I'm here more for the story he tells.

[lucrecia · Rating 3 out of 5]

È scritto molto bene, ma purtroppo ha degli errori storici pazzeschi e immotivati. Tra l’altro l’autore sostiene con forza queste teorie false. Sarebbe un bel libro.