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[Illustration: Bianca Sforza by Ambrogio de Predis. (Ambrosiana)]
BEATRICE D'ESTE
DUCHESS OF MILAN
1475-1497
_A STUDY OF THE RENAISSANCE_
BY
JULIA CARTWRIGHT
(MRS HENRY ADY)
_Author of_ "_Madame_," "_Sacharissa_," "_J. F. Millet_"
[Illustration]
1910
LONDON: J. M. DENT & SONS, LTD.
NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON & CO.
_First Edition, November, 1899_
_Second Edition, June, 1903_
_Third Edition, November, 1903_
_Fourth Edition February, 1905_
_Fifth Edition, July, 1908_
_Sixth Edition, May, 1910_
_All rights reserved_
PREFACE
During the last twenty years the patient researches of successive
students in the archives of North Italian cities have been richly
rewarded. The State papers of Milan and Venice, of Ferrara and Modena,
have yielded up their treasures; the correspondence of Isabella d'Este,
in the Gonzaga archives at Mantua, has proved a source of inexhaustible
wealth and knowledge. A flood of light has been thrown on the history of
Italy in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; public events and
personages have been placed in a new aspect; the judgments of posterity
have been modified and, in some instances, reversed.
We see now, more clearly than ever before, what manner of men and women
these Estes and Gonzagas, these Sforzas and Viscontis, were. We gain
fresh insight into their characters and aims, their secret motives and
private wishes. We see them in their daily occupations and amusements,
at their work and at their play. We follow them from the battle-field
and council chamber, from the chase and tournament, to the privacy of
domestic life and the intimate scenes of the family circle. And we
realize how, in spite of the tragic stories or bloodshed and strife that
darkened their lives, in spite, too, of the low standard of morals and
of the crimes and vices that we are accustomed to associate with
Renaissance princes, there was a rare measure of beauty and goodness, of
culture and refinement, of love of justice and zeal for truth, among
them. As the latest historian of the Papacy, Dr. Pastor, has wisely
remarked, we must take care not to paint the state of morals during the
Italian Renaissance blacker than it really was. Virtue goes quietly on
her way, while vice is noisy and uproarious; the criminal forces
himself upon the public attention, while the honest man does his duty in
silence, and no one hears of him. This is especially the case with the
women of the Renaissance. They had their faults and their weaknesses,
but the great majority among them led pure and irreproachable lives, and
trained their children in the paths of truth and duty. Even Lucrezia
Borgia, although she may not have been altogether immaculate, was not
the foul creature that we once believed. And the more closely we study
these newly discovered documents, the more we become convinced that this
age produced some of the most admirable types of womanhood that the
world has ever seen. When Castiglione painted his ideal woman in the
pages of the "Cortigiano," he had no need to draw on his imagination.
Elizabeth Gonzaga, Duchess of Urbino, and Isabella d'Este, Marchioness
of Mantua, were both of them women of great intellect and stainless
virtue, whose genuine love of art and letters attracted the choicest
spirits to their court, and exerted the most beneficial influence on the
thought of the day. Isabella, whose vast correspondence with the
foremost painters and scholars of the age has been preserved almost
intact, was probably the most remarkable lady of the Renaissance. The
story of her long and eventful life--a theme of absorbing interest--yet
remains to be written. The present work is devoted to the history of her
younger sister, Beatrice, Duchess of Milan, who, as the wife of Lodovico
Sforza, reigned during six years over the most splendid court of Italy.
The charm of her personality, the important part which she played in
political life at a critical moment of Italian history, her love of
music and poetry, and the fine taste which she inherited, in common with
every princess of the house of Este, all help to make Beatrice
singularly attractive, while the interest which she inspires is deepened
by the pathos of her sudden and early death.
If in Isabella we have the supreme representative of Renaissance culture
in its highest and most intellectual phase, Beatrice is the type of that
new-found joy in life, that intoxicating rapture in the actual sense of
existence, that was the heritage of her generation, and found
expression in the words of a contemporary novelist, Matteo
Bandello--himself of Lombard birth--when with his last breath he bade
his companions live joyously, "_Vivete lieti!_" We see this bride of
sixteen summers flinging herself with passionate delight into every
amusement, singing gay songs with her courtiers, dancing and hunting
through the livelong day, outstripping all her companions in the chase,
and laughing in the face of danger. We see her holding her court in the
famous Castello of Porta Giovia or in the summer palaces of Vigevano and
Cussago, in these golden days when Milan was called the new Athens, when
Leonardo and Bramante decorated palaces or arranged masquerades at the
duke's bidding, when Gaspare Visconti wrote sonnets in illuminated
books, and Lorenzo da Pavia constructed organs or viols as perfect and
beautiful to see as to hear, for the pleasure of the youthful duchess.
Scholars and poets, painters and writers, gallant soldiers and
accomplished cavaliers, we see them all at Beatrice's feet, striving how
best they may gratify her fancies and win her smiles. Young and old,
they were alike devoted to her service, from Galeazzo di Sanseverino,
the valiant captain who became her willing slave and chosen companion,
to Niccolo da Correggio, that all-accomplished gentleman who laid down
his pen and sword to design elaborate devices for his mistress's new
gowns. We read her merry letters to her husband and sister, letters
sparkling with wit and gaiety and overflowing with simple and natural
affection. We see her rejoicing with all a young mother's proud delight
over her first-born son, repeating, as mothers will, marvellous tales of
his size and growth, and framing tender phrases for his infant lips. And
we catch glimpses of her, too, in sadder moods, mourning her mother's
loss or wounded by neglect and unkindness. We note how keenly her proud
spirit resents wrong and injustice, and how in her turn she is not
always careful of the rights and feelings of her rivals. But whatever
her faults and mistakes may have been, she is always kindly and
generous, human and lovable. A year or two passes, and we see her,
royally arrayed in brocade and jewels, standing up in the great council
hall of Venice, to plead her husband's cause before the Doge and
Senate. Later on we find her sharing her lord's counsels in court and
camp, receiving king and emperor at Pavia or Vigevano, fascinating the
susceptible heart of Charles VIII. by her charms, and amazing Kaiser
Maximilian by her wisdom and judgment in affairs of state. And then
suddenly the music and dancing, the feasting and travelling, cease, and
the richly coloured and animated pageant is brought to an abrupt close.
Beatrice dies, without a moment's warning, in the flower of youth and
beauty, and the young duchess is borne to her grave in S. Maria delle
Grazie amid the tears and lamentations of all Milan. And with her death,
the whole Milanese state, that fabric which Lodovico Sforza had built up
at such infinite cost and pains, crumbles into ruin. Fortune, which till
that hour had smiled so kindly on the Moro and had raised him to giddy
heights of prosperity, now turned her back upon him. In three short
years he had lost everything--crown, home, and liberty--and was left to
drag out a miserable existence in the dungeons of Berry and Touraine.
"And when Duchess Beatrice died," wrote the poet, Vincenzo Calmeta,
"everything fell into ruin, and that court, which had been a joyous
paradise, was changed into a black Inferno."
Then Milan and her people become a prey to the rude outrages of French
soldiery. Leonardo's great horse was broken in pieces by Gascon archers,
and the Castello, "which had once held the finest flower of the whole
world, became," in Castiglione's words, "a place of drinking-booths and
dung-hills." The treasures of art and beauty stored up within its walls
were destroyed by barbarous hands, and all that brilliant company was
dispersed and scattered abroad. Artists and poets, knights and
scholars--Leonardo and Bramante, Galeazzo and Niccolo--were driven out,
and went their way each in a different direction, to seek new homes and
other patrons. But the memory of the young duchess--the _Donna beata_ of
Pistoja and Visconti's song--lived for many a year in the hearts of her
loyal servants, Castiglione enshrined her name in his immortal pages,
Ariosto celebrated her virtues in the cantos of his "Orlando Furioso,"
and far on in the new century, grey-headed scholars spoke of her as
"_la più zentil Donna d'Italia_"--the sweetest lady in all Italy.
And to-day, as we pace the dim aisles of the great Certosa, we may look
on the marble effigy of Duchess Beatrice and see the lovely face with
the curling locks and child-like features which the Lombard sculptor
carved, and which still bears witness to the love of Lodovico Sforza for
his young wife.
* * * * *
In conclusion, I must acknowledge how deeply I am indebted to Signor
Luzio, keeper of the Gonzaga archives at Mantua, and to his able
colleague, Signor Renier, for the assistance which they have lent to my
researches, as well as for the help afforded by their own publications,
in which many of Isabella and Beatrice d'Este's most interesting letters
have already been given to the world. The State archives of Milan and
Mantua are the principal sources from which the information contained in
the present volume is drawn, and a list of the other authorities which
have been consulted is given below.
ITALIAN.
Archivio di Stato di Milano, _Beatrice d'Este, Potenze
estere_, etc.
Archivio Gonzaga Mantova, _Copia lettera d'Isabella d'Este_,
etc.
A. Luzio and R. Renier, _Delle Relazioni di Isabella d'Este
Gonzaga con Ludovico and Beatrice Sforza_. Archivio Storico
lombardo, xvii.
T. Chalcus, _Residua_. Milano, 1644.
Archivio Storico Italiano, serie i. vol. iii.; Cronache
Milanesi di G. A. Prato, G. P. Cagnola, G. M. Burigozzo, etc.;
Serie iii. vol. xii., Serie v. vol. vi., Serie vii. vol. i.
L. A. Muratori, _Italicarum Rerum Scriptores_, vol. xxiv.
F. Muralti, _Annalia_.
Paolo Giovio, _Storia di suoi Tempi_.
Marino Sanuto, _Diarii, De Bello Gallico_, etc.
Bernardino Corio, _Historie Milanese_.
Rosmini, _Storia di Milano_.
Fr. Guicciardini, _Storia a'Italia_. Rendered into English by
G. Fenton. 1618.
F. Frizzi, _Storia di Ferrara_, vols. iv. and v.
P. Verri, _Storia di Milano_.
Baldassare Castiglione, _Lettere_. Edizione Serassi.
R. Renier, _Sonetti di Pistoia_.
Giornale Storico di Letteratura Italiano, vols. v. and vi.
Archivio Storico dell' Arte, vols. i. and ii.
Renier, _Canzoniere di Niccolo da Correggio_.
A. Campo Ghisolfo, _Storia delle Duchesse di Milano_. 1542.
Rivista Storica Mantovana.
Carlo Magenta, _I Visconti e Sforza nel Castello di Pavia_.
F. Calvi, _Bianca Maria Sforza Visconti, Regina dei Romani,
Imperatrice di Germania_.
Marchese d'Adda, _Indagini sulla Liberia Visconti Sforzesca
del Castello di Pavia_.
Malipiero, _Annali Veneti_.
Romanini, _Storia di Venezia_, vols. v. and vi.
Imhoff, _Historia Genealogica Italiæ_.
G. Uzielli, _Ricerche intorno a Leonardo da Vinci_.
G. Uzielli, _Leonardo da Vinci e Tre Gentil donne Milanesi_.
G. d'Adda, _Lodovico Maria Sforza_.
L. Beltrami, _Il Castello di Milano, sotto il dominio degli
Sforza_. 1450-1535.
L. Beltrami, _Bramante poeta_.
Padre Pino, _Storia genuina del Cenacolo_. 1796.
B. Bellincioni, _Le Rime annotate da P. Fanfani_. Bologna.
G. Tiraboschi, _Storia della Letteratura Italiana_, vols. vi.
and vii.
P. Molmenti, _La Vita Privata di Venezia_.
A. Rusconi, _Lodovico il Moro a Novara_.
F. Gabotto, _Girolamo Tuttavilla_.
G. L. Calvi, _Notizie dei principali Professori di Belle Arti
che fiorivano in Milano_.
G. Mongeri, _L'Arte in Milano_.
C. Amoretti, _Memorie Storiche sulla vita gli studi e le opere
di Leonardo da Vinci_.
Brigola, _Annali della Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano_.
Carlo dell'Acqua, _Lorenza Gusnasco di Pavia_.
P. Pasolini, _Caterina Sforza_.
FRENCH.
Manuscrits Italiens, _Affaires d'état_. Bibliothèque
Nationale.
Pasquier le Moine, _MS. La Conquête du Duché de Milan_.
Bibliothèque Nationale.
Jean d'Auton, _Chroniques de Louis XII_. Edition publiée pour
la Société de l'Histoire de France, par R. de Maulde La
Claviere. 4 vols.
Philippe de Commines, _Memoires_. Nouvelle edition publiée par
la Société de l'Histoire de France.
Vicomte Delaborde, _L'Expédition de Charles VIII. en Italie_.
M. Eugène Müntz, _La Renaissance en Italie et en France à
l'époque de Charles VIII_.
M. Eugène Müntz, _Musée du Capitole_.
M. Eugène Müntz, _Leonardo da Vinci_.
C. de Cherrier, _Histoire de Charles VIII, Roi de France,
d'après des documents diplomatiques inédits_.
Louis Pélissier, _Louis XII. et Lodovico Sforza_. Recherches
dans les Archives Italiennes.
Louis Pélissier, _Notes Italiennes_.
Louis Pélissier, _Les amies de Lodovico Sforza_. (Revue
historique.)
Edmond Gaultier, _Étude historique sur Loches_.
Paravicini, _Architecture de la Renaissance en Italie_.
Aldo Manuzio, _Lettres et Documents_. Armand Baschet.
_Gazette des Beaux Arts_, vol. xvi.
GERMAN.
Dr. Ludwig Pastor, _Geschichte der Päpste_, vols. v. and vi.
Jacob Burckhardt, _Die Cultur der Renaissance in Italien_.
Dr. W. Bode, Dr. Müller-Walde, _Jahrbuch der K. Preuss.
Kunstsammlungen_. Vols. ix., x., and xviii.
K. Kindt, _Die Katastrophe Lodovico Moro in Novara_.
Dr. Müller-Walde, _Leonardo da Vinci_.
ENGLISH.
_History of the Papacy_, by Dr. Creighton, Bishop of London.
Vols. iv. and v.
_The End of the Middle Ages_, by Madame James Darmetester.
_The Renaissance in Italy_. J. A. Symonds.
_Old Touraine_. T. Cook
CONTENTS
PAGE
CHAPTER I
1471-1480
The Castello of Ferrara--The House of Este--Accession of Duke
Ercole I.--His marriage to Leonora of Aragon--Birth of Isabella
and Beatrice d'Este--Plot of Niccolo d'Este--Visit of Leonora to
Naples--The court of King Ferrante--Betrothal of Beatrice d'Este
to Lodovico Sforza, Duke of Bari--And of Isabella d'Este to
Francesco Gonzaga 1
CHAPTER II
1451-1582
Lodovico Sforza--Known as Il Moro--His birth and childhood--Murder
of Duke Galeazzo Maria--Regency of Duchess Bona--Exile of the
Sforza brothers--Lodovico at Pisa--His invasion of Lombardy and
return to Milan--Death of Cecco Simonetta--Flight of Duchess
Bona--Lodovico Regent of Milan 11
CHAPTER III
1482-1490
Wars of Venice and Ferrara--Invasion of Ferrara--Lodovico Sforza and
Alfonso of Calabria come to the help of Ercole d'Este--Peace of
Bagnolo--Prosperity of Ferrara, and cultivation of art and learning
at Ercole's court--Guarino and Aldo Manuzio--Strozzi and Boiardo--
Architecture and painting--The frescoes of the Schifanoia--Music and
the drama--Education of Isabella and Beatrice d'Este 27
CHAPTER IV
1485-1490
Isabella d'Este--Lodovico Sforza delays his wedding--Plot against
his life--Submission of Genoa--Duke Gian Galeazzo--The Sanseverini
brothers--Messer Galeazzo made Captain-General of the Milanese
armies--His marriage to Bianca Sforza--Marriage of Gian Galeazzo
to Isabella of Aragon--Wedding festivities at Milan--Lodovico
draws up his marriage contract with Beatrice d'Este 40
CHAPTER V
1490-1491
Marriage of Isabella d'Este--Lodovico puts off his wedding--Cecilia
Gallerani--Her portrait by Leonardo da Vinci--Mission of Galeazzo
Visconti to Ferrara--Preparations for Beatrice's wedding--Cristoforo
Romano's bust--Duchess Leonora and her daughters travel to Piacenza
and Pavia--Their reception at Pavia by Lodovico 50
CHAPTER VI
1491
City and University of Pavia--Duomo and Castello--The library of the
Castello--Wedding of Lodovico Sforza, Duke of Bari, and Beatrice
d'Este, in the chapel of the Castello of Pavia--Galeazzo di San
Severino and Orlando--Reception of the bride in Milan--Tournaments
and festivities at the Castello--Visit of Duchess Leonora to the
Certosa of Pavia 60
CHAPTER VII
1491
Beatrice Duchess of Bari--Her popularity at the court of Milan--
Giangaleazzo and Isabella of Aragon--Lodovico's first impressions--
His growing affection for his wife--His letters to Isabella d'Este
--Hunting and fishing parties--Cussago and Vigevano--Controversy on
Orlando and Rinaldo--Bellincioni's sonnets 75
CHAPTER VIII
1491
Relations between Lodovico and Beatrice--Cecilia Gallerani--Birth of
her son Cesare--Her marriage to Count Bergamini--Beatrice at Villa
Nova and Vigevano--The Sforzesca and Pecorara--Lodovico's system of
irrigation in the Lomellina--Leonardo at Vigevano--Hunting-parties
and country life--Letters to Isabella d'Este 88
CHAPTER IX
1491-1492
Isabella of Aragon and Beatrice d'Este--Ambrogio Borgognone and
Giovanni Antonio Amadeo--Cristoforo Romano and his works at Pavia
and Cremona--The Certosa of Pavia--Illness of Beatrice--Her journey
to Genoa--Correspondence between Isabella and Lodovico Sforza--Visit
of the Marquis of Mantua to Milan 99
CHAPTER X
1491
Claims of Charles VIII. to Naples--Of the Duke of Orleans to Milan
--Intrigues of the Venetian Senate, of Pope Innocent VIII., and of
Ferrante and Alfonso of Naples--Visit of the French ambassadors to
Milan--Treasures of the Castello--Jewels of Lodovico Sforza--Isabella
of Aragon and her father--An embassy to the French court proposed--
Secret instructions of the Count of Caiazzo--_Fête_ at Vigevano
--Tournament of Pavia 112
CHAPTER XI
1492
Intellectual and artistic revival in Lombardy--Lodovico and his
secretaries--Building of the new University of Pavia--Reforms and
extension of the University--The library of the Castello remodelled
--Poliziano and Merula--Lodovico founds new schools at Milan--
Equestrian statue of Francesco Sforza--Leonardo's paintings at
Milan--Lodovico as a patron of art and learning 125
CHAPTER XII
1492
Beatrice d'Este as a patron of learning and poetry--Vincenzo
Calmeta, her secretary--Serafino d'Aquila--Rivalry of Lombard and
Tuscan poets--Gaspare Visconti's works--Poetic jousts with Bramante
--Niccolo da Correggio and other poets--Dramatic art and music at
the court of Milan--Gaffuri and Testagrossa--Lorenzo Gusnasco of
Pavia 141
CHAPTER XIII
1492
Visit of Duke Ercole to Milan, and of Isabella d'Este--Election of
Pope Alexander VI.--Bribery of the Cardinals--Influence of Ascanio
Sforza over the new Pope, and satisfaction of Lodovico--Hunting-
parties at Pavia and Vigevano--_Fêtes_ at Milan--Visit of Isabella
to Genoa--Lodovico's letters--Piero de Medici--King Ferrante's
jealousy of the alliance between Rome and Milan 155
CHAPTER XIV
1493
Birth of Beatrice's first-born son--The Duchess of Ferrara at Milan
--_Fêtes_ and rejoicings at court and in the Castello--The court
moves to Vigevano--Beatrice's wardrobe--Her son's portrait--Letters
to her mother and sister--Lodovico's plans for a visit to Ferrara
and Venice 166
CHAPTER XV
1493
Lodovico's ambitious designs--Isabella of Aragon appeals to her
father--Breach between Naples and Milan--Alliance between the Pope,
Venice, and Milan proclaimed--Mission of Erasmo Brasca to the king
of the Romans--Journey of Lodovico and Beatrice to Ferrara--_Fêtes_
and tournaments--Visit to Belriguardo, and return of Lodovico to
Milan--Arrival of Belgiojoso from France 176
CHAPTER XVI
1493
Visit of Beatrice and her mother to Venice--Letters of Lodovico to
his wife--Reception of the duchesses by the doge at S. Clemente--
Their triumphal entry--Procession and _fêtes_ in the Grand Canal--
Letter of Beatrice to her husband--The palace of the Dukes of
Ferrara in Venice 185
CHAPTER XVII
1493
_Fêtes_ at Venice in honour of the Duchess of Ferrara and Duchess of
Bari--Beatrice d'Este has an audience with the doge and Signory--
Explains Lodovico's position and his treaties with France and
Germany--Visit to St. Mark's and the Treasury--_Fête_ in the
ducal palace--The Duchess visits the Great Council--Takes leave of
the doge--Return to Ferrara 195
CHAPTER XVIII
1493
Return of Beatrice to Milan--Visit of Duke Ercole and Alfonso to
Pavia--Death of Duchess Leonora--Beatrice's _camora_ and
Niccolo da Correggio's _fantasia dei vinci_--Marriage of Bianca
Maria Sforza to Maximilian, King of the Romans, celebrated at Milan
--Letter of Beatrice to Isabella d'Este--Wedding _fêtes_ and journey
of the bride to Innsbrück--Maximilian's relations with his wife--
Bianca's future life 205
CHAPTER XIX
1493-1494
State of political affairs in Italy--Vacillating policy of Lodovico
Sforza--Death of King Ferrante of Naples--Alliance between his
successor Alfonso and Pope Alexander VI.--Lodovico urges Charles
VIII. to invade Naples--Sends Galeazzo di Sanseverino to Lyons--
Cardinal della Rovere's flight from Rome--Alfonso of Naples declares
war--Beatrice of Vigevano--The Gonzagas and the Moro--Duchess
Isabella and her husband at Pavia 221
CHAPTER XX
1494
Arrival of the Duke of Orleans at Asti--The Neapolitan fleet sent
against Genoa--The forces of Naples repulsed at Rapallo--Charles
VIII. at Asti--Beatrice d'Este entertains him at Annona--The king's
illness--His visit to Vigevano and Pavia--His interview with the
Duke and Duchess of Milan--Last illness and death of Giangaleazzo
Sforza--Lodovico proclaimed Duke at Milan--Mission of Maffeo
Pirovano to Maximilian 231
CHAPTER XXI
1494
Lodovico joins Charles VIII. at Sarzana--Suspicious rumours as to the
late duke's death--Piero de' Medici surrenders the six fortresses of
Tuscany to Charles VIII.--Lodovico retires in disgust from the camp
--Congratulations of all the Italian States on his accession--Grief
of Duchess Isabella--Her return to Milan--Mission of Maffeo Pirovano
to Antwerp--His interviews with Maximilian and Bianca--Letter to
Lodovico to the Bishop of Brixen--Charles VIII. enters Rome--His
treaty with Alexander VI. and departure for Naples 246
CHAPTER XXII
1495
Visit of Isabella d'Este to Milan--Birth of Beatrice's son, Francesco
Sforza--_Fêtes_ and comedies at the Milanese Court--Works of
Leonardo and of Lorenzo di Pavia--Mission of Caradosso to Florence
and Rome in search of antiques--Fall of Naples--Entry of King Charles
VIII. and flight of Ferrante II.--Consternation in Milan--Departure
of Isabella d'Este 258
CHAPTER XXIII
1495
Proclamation of the new league against France at Venice--Charles
VIII. at Naples--Demoralization of the victors--Charles leaves
Naples and returns to Rome--The Duke of Orleans refuses to give
up Asti--Arrival of the imperial ambassadors at Milan--Lodovico
presented with the ducal insignia--_Fêtes_ in the Castello--
The Duke of Orleans seizes Novara--Terror of Lodovico--Battle of
Fornovo--Victory claimed by both parties--The French reach Asti--
Isabella's trophies restored by Beatrice 266
CHAPTER XXIV
1495
Ferrante II. recovers Naples--Siege of Novara by the army of the
League--Review of the army by the Duke and Duchess of Milan--Charles
VIII. visits Turin and comes to Vercelli--Negotiations for peace--
Lodovico and Beatrice at the camp--Treaty of Vercelli concluded
between France and Milan--Jealousy of the other powers--Commines at
Vigevano--Zenale's altar-piece in the Brera 277
CHAPTER XXV
1496
The war of Pisa--Venice defends the liberties of Pisa against
Florence--Lodovico invites Maximilian to enter Italy and succour
the Pisans--The Duke and Duchess of Milan go to meet the emperor
at Bormio--Maximilian crosses the Alps and comes to Vigevano--His
interview with the Venetian envoys--His expedition to Pisa 287
CHAPTER XXVI
1496
Isabella d'Este joins her husband in Naples--Works of Bramante and
Leonardo in the Castello of Milan--The Cenacolo--Lodovico sends for
Perugino--His passion for Lucrezia Crivelli--Grief of Beatrice--
Death of Bianca Sforza--The Emperor Maximilian at Pisa--The Duke
and Duchess return to Milan--Last days and sudden death of Beatrice
d'Este 298
CHAPTER XXVII
1497
Grief of the Duke of Milan--His letters to Mantua and Pavia--
Interview with Costabili--Funeral of Duchess Beatrice--Mourning of
her husband--Letters of the Emperor Maximilian and Chiara Gonzaga--
Tomb of Beatrice in Santa Maria delle Grazie--Leonardo's Cenacolo,
and portraits of the duke and duchess--Lucrezia Crivelli 307
CHAPTER XXVIII
1497-1498
The Marquis of Mantua dismissed by the Venetians--He incurs Duke
Lodovico's displeasure by his intrigues--Isabella d'Este's
correspondence with the Duke of Milan--Leonardo in the Castello--
Death of Charles VIII.--Visit of Lodovico to Mantua--Francesco
Gonzaga appointed captain of the imperial forces--Isabella of
Aragon and Isabella d'Este--Chiara Gonzaga and Caterina Sforza--
Lodovico's will 322
CHAPTER XXIX
1499
Treaty of Blois--Alliance between France, Venice, and the Borgias--
Lodovico appeals to Maximilian--His gift to Leonardo and letter to
the Certosa--The French and the Venetians invade the Milanese--
Desertion of Gonzaga and treachery of Milanese captains--Loss of
Alessandria--Panic and flight of Duke Lodovico--Surrender of Pavia
and Milan to the French--Treachery of Bernardino da Corte and
surrender of the Castello--Triumphal entry of Louis XII 337
CHAPTER XXX
1499-1500
Louis XII. in Milan--Hatred of the French rule--Return of Duke
Lodovico--His march to Como and triumphal entry into Milan--Trivulzio
and the French retire to Mortara--Surrender of the Castello of Milan,
of Pavia and Novara, to the Moro--His want of men and money--Arrival
of La Trémouille's army--Lodovico besieged in Novara and betrayed to
the French king by the Swiss--Rejoicings at Rome and Venice--Triumph
of the Borgias--Sufferings of the Milanese--Leonardo's letter 352
CHAPTER XXXI
1500-1508
Lodovico Sforza enters Lyons as a captive--His imprisonment at
Pierre-Encise and Lys Saint-Georges--Laments over Il Moro in the
popular poetry of France and Italy--Efforts of the Emperor Maximilian
to obtain his release--Ascanio and Ermes Sforza released--Lodovico
removed to Loches--Paolo Giovio's account of his captivity--His
attempt to escape--Dungeon at Loches--Death of Lodovico Sforza--His
burial in S. Maria delle Grazie 367
CHAPTER XXXII
1500-1564
The Milanese exiles at Innsbrück--Galeazzo di Sanseverino becomes
Grand Ecuyer of France--Is slain at Pavia--Maximilian Sforza made
Duke of Milan in 1512--Forced to abdicate by Francis I. in 1515--
Reign of Francesco Sforza--Wars of France and Germany--Siege of
Milan by the Imperialists--Duke Francesco restored by Charles V.--
His marriage and death in 1535--Removal of Lodovico and Beatrice's
effigies to the Certosa 375
INDEX 381
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
BIANCA SFORZA, BY AMBROGIO DE PREDIS _Frontispiece_
_From a photograph by_ SIGNOR D. ANDERSON, of Rome.
SFORZA MS. ILLUMINATED _To face p. 83_
_From a private photograph._
ALTAR-PIECE, ASCRIBED TO ZENALE, WITH PORTRAITS OF
LODOVICO SFORZA, BEATRICE D'ESTE AND THEIR SONS _To face p. 284_
_From a photograph by_ SIGNOR D. ANDERSON, of Rome.
GALEAZZO DI SANSEVERINO, BY AMBROGIO DE PREDIS _To face p. 304_
_From a photograph by_ SIGNOR D. ANDERSON, of Rome.
TOMB OF LODOVICO SFORZA AND BEATRICE D'ESTE IN THE
CERTOSA OF PAVIA _To face p. 389_
_From a photograph by_ FRATELLI ALINARI, of Florence.
BEATRICE D'ESTE
CHAPTER I
The Castello of Ferrara--The House of Este--Accession of Duke Ercole
I.--His marriage to Leonora of Aragon--Birth of Isabella and Beatrice
d'Este--Plot of Niccolo d'Este--Visit of Leonora to Naples--The court of
King Ferrante--Betrothal of Beatrice d'Este to Lodovico Sforza, Duke of
Bari--And of Isabella d'Este to Francesco Gonzaga.
1471-1480
In the heart of old Ferrara stands the Castello of the Este princes. All
the great story of the past, all the romance of medieval chivalry, seems
to live again in that picturesque, irregular pile with the crenellated
towers and dusky red-brick walls, overhanging the sleepy waters of the
ancient moat. The song of Boiardo and Ariosto still lingers in the air
about the ruddy pinnacles; the spacious courts and broad piazza recall
the tournaments and pageants of olden time. Once more the sound of
clanging trumpets or merry hunting-horn awakes the echoes, as the joyous
train of lords and ladies sweep out through the castle gates in the
summer morning; once more, under vaulted loggias and high-arched
balconies, we see the courtly scholar bending earnestly over some
classic page, or catch the voice of high-born maiden singing Petrarch's
sonnets to her lute.
St. George was the champion of Ferrara and the patron saint of the house
of Este. There year by year his festival was celebrated with great
rejoicings, and vast crowds thronged the piazza before the Castello to
see the famous races for the _pallium_. It is St. George who rides full
tilt at the dragon in the rude sculptures on the portal of the
Romanesque Cathedral hard by; it is the same warrior-saint who, in his
gleaming armour, looks down from the painted fresco above the portcullis
of the castle drawbridge. And all the masters who worked for the Este
dukes, whether they were men of native or foreign birth--Vittore
Pisanello and Jacopo Bellini, Cosimo Tura and Dosso Dossi--took delight
in the old story, and painted the legend of St. George and Princess
Sabra in the frescoes or altar-pieces with which they adorned the
churches and castle halls.
The Estes, who took St. George for their patron, and fought and died
under his banner, were themselves a chivalrous and splendour-loving
race, ever ready to ride out in quest of fresh adventure in the chase or
battle-field. Men and women alike were renowned, even among the princely
houses of Italy in Renaissance time, for their rare culture and genuine
love of art and letters. And they were justly proud of their ancient
lineage and of the love and loyalty which their subjects bore them. The
Sforzas of Milan, the Medici of Florence, the Riarios or the Della
Roveres, were but low-born upstarts by the side of this illustrious race
which had reigned on the banks of the Po during the last two hundred
years. In spite of wars and bloodshed, in spite of occasional
conspiracies and tumults, chiefly stirred up by members of the reigning
family, the people of Ferrara loved their rulers well, and never showed
any wish to change the house of Este for another. The citizens took a
personal interest in their own duke and duchess and in all that belonged
to them, and chronicled their doings with minute attention. They shared
their sorrows and rejoiced in their joys, they lamented their departure
and hailed their return with acclamation, they followed the fortunes of
their children with keen interest, and welcomed the return of the
youthful bride with acclamations, or wept bitter tears over her untimely
end.
Of all the Estes who held sway at Ferrara, the most illustrious and most
beloved was Duke Ercole I., the father of Beatrice. During the
thirty-four years that he reigned in Ferrara, the duchy enjoyed a degree
of material prosperity which it had never attained before, and rose to
the foremost rank among the states of North Italy. And in the troubled
times of the next century, his people looked back on the days of Duke
Ercole and his good duchess as the golden age of Ferrara. After the
death of his father, the able and learned Niccolo III., who first
established his throne on sure and safe foundations, Ercole's two elder
half-brothers, Leonello and Borso, reigned in succession over Ferrara,
and kept up the proud traditions of the house of Este, both in war and
peace. Both were bastards, but in the Este family this was never held to
be a bar to the succession. "In Italy," as Commines wrote, "they make
little difference between legitimate and illegitimate children." But
when the last of the two, Duke Borso, died on the 27th of May, 1471, of
malarial fever caught on his journey to Rome, to receive the investiture
of his duchy from the Pope, Niccolo's eldest legitimate son Ercole
successfully asserted his claim to the throne, and entered peacefully
upon his heritage. Two years later, the next duke, who was already
thirty-eight years of age, obtained the hand of Leonora of Aragon,
daughter of Ferrante, King of Naples, and sent his brother Sigismondo at
the head of a splendid retinue to bring home his royal bride. After a
visit to Rome, where Pope Sixtus IV. entertained her at a series of
magnificent banquets and theatrical representations, the young duchess
entered Ferrara in state. On a bright June morning she rode through the
streets in a robe glittering with jewels, with a stately canopy over her
head and a gold crown on her flowing hair. Latin orations, orchestral
music, and theatrical displays, for which Ferrara was already famous,
greeted the bridal procession at every point. The houses were hung with
tapestries and cloth of gold, avenues of flowering shrubs were planted
along the broad white streets, and ringing shouts greeted the coming of
the fair princess who was to make her home in Ferrara. The happy event
was commemorated by a noble medal, designed by the Mantuan Sperandio,
the most illustrious of a school of medallists employed at Ferrara in
Duke Borso's time, while Leonora's refined features and expressive face
are preserved in a well-known bas-relief, now in Paris. Ercole and his
bride took up their abode in the Este palace, a stately Renaissance
structure opposite the old Lombard Duomo, a few steps from the Castello,
with which it was connected by a covered passage.
The charm and goodness of the young duchess soon won the heart of her
subjects. From the first she entered eagerly into Ercole's schemes for
ordering his capital and encouraging art, and brought a new and gentler
influence to bear on the society of her husband's court. There, too, she
found a congenial spirit in the duke's accomplished sister, Bianca, that
Virgin of Este, who was the subject of Tito Strozzi's impassioned
eulogy, and whose Latin and Greek prose excited the admiration of all
her contemporaries. This cultivated princess had been originally
betrothed to the eldest son of Federigo, Duke of Urbino, but his early
death put an end to these hopes, and in 1468 she married Galeotto della
Mirandola, a prince of the house of Carpi, who lived, at Ferrara some
years, and afterwards entered the service of Lodovico Sforza and served
as captain in his wars.
On the 18th of May, 1474, the duchess gave birth to a daughter, who
received the name of Isabella, always a favourite in the house of
Aragon, and was destined to become the most celebrated lady of the
Renaissance. A year later, on the 29th of June, 1475, a second daughter
saw the light. Her appearance, however, proved no cause of rejoicing, as
we learn from the contemporary chronicle published by Muratori--
"A daughter was born this day to Duke Ercole, and received the name of
Beatrice, being the child of Madonna Leonora his wife. And there were no
rejoicings, because every one wished for a boy."
No one in Ferrara then dreamt that the babe who received so cold a
welcome would one day reign over the Milanese, as the wife of Lodovico
Sforza, the most powerful of Italian princes, and would herself be
remembered by posterity as "la più zentil donna in Italia"--the sweetest
lady in all Italy. At least the name bestowed upon her was a good omen.
She was called Beatrice after two favourite relatives of her parents.
One of these was Leonora's only sister, Beatrice of Aragon, who in that
same year passed through Ferrara on her way to join her husband,
Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary, and whose presence, we are told by
the diarist, gave great pleasure to both duke and duchess. The other
Beatrice was Ercole's half-sister, the elder daughter of Niccolo III.,
who had long been the ornament of her father's court, when she had been
known as the Queen of Feasts, and it had become a common proverb that to
see Madonna Beatrice dance was to find Paradise upon earth. In 1448, at
the age of twenty-one, this brilliant lady had wedded Borso da
Correggio, a brother of the reigning prince of that city, and, after her
first husband's early death, had become the wife of Tristan Sforza, an
illegitimate son of the great Condottiere Francesco Sforza, Duke of
Milan. Although her home was now in Lombardy, Beatrice d'Este remained
on intimate terms with her own family, and her son Niccolo da Correggio
was known as the handsomest and most accomplished cavalier at the court
of Ferrara. He had accompanied his uncle Duke Borso on his journey to
Rome, and had been one of the escort sent to conduct Duchess Leonora
from Naples.
In the summer of the year following Beatrice's birth, the hopes of the
loyal Ferrarese were at length fulfilled, and a son was born to the duke
and duchess on the 21st of July, 1476. This time the citizens abandoned
themselves to demonstrations of enthusiastic delight. The bells were
rung and the shops closed during three whole days, and the child was
baptized with great pomp in the Chapel of the Vescovado, close to the
Duomo. The infant received the name of Alfonso, after his grandfather,
the great King of Naples, and a "beautiful fête," to quote one
chronicler's words, "was held in honour of the auspicious event in the
Sala Grande of the Schifanoia Villa." On this occasion a concert was
given by a hundred trumpeters, pipers, and tambourine-players in the
frescoed hall of this favourite summer palace, and a sumptuous banquet
was prepared after the fashion of the times, with an immense number of
_confetti_, representing lords and ladies, animals, trees, and castles,
all made of gilt and coloured sugar, which our friend the diarist tells
us were carried off or eaten by the people as soon as the doors were
opened.
But a few days afterwards, while Duke Ercole was away from Ferrara, his
wife was surprised by a sudden rising, the result of a deep-laid
conspiracy, secretly planned by his nephew, Niccolo, a bastard son of
Leonello d'Este. Niccolo's first endeavour was to seize on the person of
the duchess and her young children, an attempt which almost proved
successful, but was fortunately defeated by Leonora's own courage and
presence of mind. The palace was already surrounded by armed men, when
the alarm reached the ears of the duchess, and, springing out of bed
with her infant son in her arms, followed by her two little daughters
and a few faithful servants, she fled by the covered way to the
Castello. Hardly had she left her room, when the conspirators rushed in
and sacked the palace, killing all who tried to offer resistance. The
people of Ferrara, however, were loyal to their beloved duke and
duchess. After a few days of anxious suspense, Ercole returned, and soon
quelled the tumult and restored order in the city. That evening he
appeared on the balcony of the Castello, and publicly embraced his wife
and children amid the shouts and applause of the whole city. The next
day the whole ducal family went in solemn procession to the Cathedral,
and there gave public thanks for their marvellous deliverance. A
terrible list of cruel reprisals followed upon this rebellion, and
Niccolo d'Este himself, with two hundred of his partisans, were put to
death after the bloody fashion of the times.
A year later, when the danger was over and tranquillity had been
completely restored, Leonora and her two little daughters set out for
Naples, under the escort of Niccolo da Correggio, to be present at her
father King Ferrante's second marriage with the young Princess Joan of
Aragon, a sister of Ferdinand the Catholic. The duchess and her children
travelled by land to Pisa, where galleys were waiting to conduct them to
Naples, and reached her father's court on the 1st of June, 1477. Here
Leonora spent the next four months, and in September, gave birth to a
second son, who was named Ferrante, after his royal grandfather. But
soon news reached Naples that war had broken out in Northern Italy, and
that Duke Ercole had been chosen Captain-general of the Florentine
armies. In his absence the presence of the duchess was absolutely
necessary at Ferrara, and early in November Leonora left Naples and
hastened home to take up the reins of government and administer the
state in her lord's stead. She took her elder daughter Isabella with
her, but left her new-born son at Naples, together with his little
sister Beatrice, from whom the old King Ferrante refused to part. This
bright-eyed child, who had won her grandfather's affections at this
early age, remained at Naples for the next eight years, and grew up in
the royal palace on the terraced steps of that enchanted shore, where
even then Sannazzaro was dreaming of Arcadia, and where Lorenzo de'
Medici loved to talk over books and poetry with his learned friend the
Duchess Ippolita. Beatrice was too young to realize the rare degree of
culture which had made Alfonso's and Ferrante's court the favourite
abode of the Greek and Latin scholars of the age, too innocent to be
aware of the dark deeds which threw a shadow over these sunny regions,
where the strange medley of luxury and vice, of refinement and cruelty,
recalled the days of Imperial Rome. But the balmy breath of these
Southern climes, the soft luxuriant spell of blue seas and groves of
palm and cassia, sank deep into the child's being, and something of the
fire and passion, the mirth and gaiety, of the dwellers in this
delicious land passed into her soul, and helped to mould her nature
during these years that she spent far from mother and sister at King
Ferrante's court.
In these early days many personages with whom she was to be closely
associated in after-years were living at Naples. There were scholars and
poets whom she was to meet again in Milan at her husband's court, and
who would be glad to remind her that they had known her as a child in
her grandfather's palace. There was Pontano, the founder of the Academy
of Naples, who was busy writing his Latin eclogues on the myrtle bowers
of Baiae and the orange groves of Sorrento. There was her aunt, the
accomplished Ippolita Sforza, Duchess of Calabria, who had learnt Greek
of the great teacher Lascaris in her young days at Milan, and whose
wedding had brought the magnificent Lorenzo to the court of the Sforzas.
And for playmates the little Beatrice had Ippolita's children: the boy
Ferrante, whose chivalrous nature endeared him to his Este cousins, even
when their husbands joined with the French invaders to drive him from
his father's throne; and the girl Isabella, who was already affianced to
the young Duke Giangaleazzo, who was in future years to become her
companion and rival at the court of Milan. Here, too, in the summer of
1479, came a new visitor in the shape of Duchess Ippolita's brother,
Lodovico Sforza, surnamed _Il Moro_, himself the younger son of the
great Duke Francesco. On his elder brother Sforza's death, the King of
Naples had invested him with the duchy of Bari, and now he promised him
men and money with which to assert his claims against his sister-in-law,
the widowed Duchess Bona and the minions who had driven him and his
brothers out of their native land. In June, 1477, only a few days after
Leonora and her children left Ferrara, the exiled prince had arrived
there on his way to Pisa, and had been courteously entertained by Duke
Ercole in the Schifanoia Palace. Since then he had spent two dreary
years in exile at Pisa, fretting out his heart in his enforced idleness,
and pining for the hour of release. That hour was now at hand. Before
the end of the year, Lodovico Sforza had, by a succession of bold
manoeuvres, driven out his rivals and was virtually supreme in Milan.
The first step which the new regent took was to ally himself with the
Duke of Ferrara. The houses of Sforza and Este had always been on
friendly terms, and Ercole's father Niccolo had presented Francesco
Sforza with a famous diamond in acknowledgment of the services rendered
him by the great Condottiere. When Francesco's son and successor, Duke
Galeazzo Maria, was murdered in 1476, his widow, Duchess Bona, had
renewed the old alliance with Ferrara, and a marriage had been arranged
between her infant daughter Anna Sforza and Duke Ercole's new-born son
and heir Alfonso. In May, 1477, this betrothal was proclaimed in Milan,
and a fortnight later the nuptial contract was signed at Ferrara. The
union of the two houses was celebrated by solemn processions and
thanksgivings throughout the duchy, and the infant bridegroom was
carried in the arms of his chamberlain to meet the Milanese ambassador,
who appeared on behalf of the little three-year-old bride. Seven years
afterwards, Duchess Leonora sent a magnificent doll with a trousseau of
clothes designed by the best artists in Ferrara, as a gift to the little
daughter-in-law whom she had not yet seen.
In 1480, Lodovico Sforza formally asked Ercole to give him the hand of
his elder daughter Isabella, then a child of six. Lodovico himself was
twenty-nine, and besides being a man of remarkable abilities and
singularly handsome presence, had the reputation of being the richest
prince in Italy. Duke Ercole further saw the great importance of
strengthening the alliance with Milan at a time when Ferrara was again
threatened by her hereditary enemies, the Pope and Venice.
Unfortunately, his youthful daughter had already been sought in marriage
by Federico, Marquis of Mantua, on behalf of his elder son, Giovanni
Francesco; and Ercole, unwilling to offend so near a neighbour, and yet
reluctant to lose the chance of a second desirable alliance, offered
Lodovico Sforza the hand of his younger daughter, Beatrice. The Duke of
Bari made no objection to this arrangement, and on St. George's Day,
Ercole addressed the following letter to his old ally, Marquis
Federico:--
"MOST ILLUSTRIOUS LORD AND DEAREST BROTHER,
"This is to inform you that the most illustrious Madonna Duchess of
Milan and His Illustrious Highness Lodovico Sforza have sent their
ambassador, M. Gabriele Tassino, to ask for our daughter Madonna
Isabella on behalf of Signor Lodovico. We have replied that to our
regret this marriage was no longer possible, since we had already
entered into negotiations on the subject with your Highness and your
eldest son. But since we have another daughter at Naples, who is only
about a year younger, and who has been adopted by his Majesty the King
of Naples as his own child, we have written to acquaint His Serene
Majesty with the wish of these illustrious Persons, and have asked him
if he will consent to accept the said Signor Lodovico as his kinsman,
since without his leave we were unable to dispose of our daughter
Beatrice's hand. The said Persons having expressed themselves as well
content with the proceeding, out of respect for the King's Majesty he
has now declared his approval of this marriage, to which we have
accordingly signified our consent. We are sure that you will rejoice
with us, seeing the close union and alliance that has long existed
between us, and beg your Illustrious Highness to keep the matter secret
for the present.
"HERCULES, DUX FERR., ETC.[1]
_Ferrara, 23rd April, 1480._"
It is curious to reflect on the possible changes in the course of
events in Italian history during the next thirty years, if Lodovico
Sforza's proposals had reached Ferrara a few months earlier, and
Isabella d'Este, instead of her sister Beatrice, had become his wife.
Would the rare prudence and self-control of the elder princess have led
her to play a different part in the difficult circumstances which
surrounded her position at the court of Milan as the Moro's wife? Would
Isabella's calmer temperament and wise and far-seeing intellect have
been able to restrain Lodovico's ambitious dreams and avert his ruin?
The cordial relations that were afterwards to exist between Lodovico and
his gifted sister-in-law, the Moro's keen appreciation of Isabella's
character, incline us to believe that she would have acquired great
influence over her lord; and that so remarkable a woman would have
played a very important part on this larger stage. But the Fates had
willed otherwise, and Beatrice d'Este became the bride of Lodovico
Sforza. Her royal grandfather, old King Ferrante, gave his sanction to
the proposed marriage, although he refused to part from his little
grandchild at present, and when, five years later, Beatrice returned to
Ferrara, she assumed the title and estate of Duchess of Bari, and was
publicly recognized as Lodovico's promised wife. She had by this time
reached the age of ten, and her espoused husband was exactly
thirty-four.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Luzio-Renier in Archivio Storico Lombardo, xvii. 77.