Youth of Duke Francesco Maria I.--The League of
Cambray--His marriage--His first military service--The
Cardinal of Pavia's treachery--Julius II. takes the field.
To the family della Rovere, whom we have traced in the preceding
chapter, an heir was born on the 25th of March, 1490. His father,
the Lord Prefect, acknowledged his arrival to be a divine blessing,
and, as then usual, testified gratitude by the selection of his
baptismal names. St. Francis was the established tutelary saint of
the family, under whose guidance Sixtus IV. believed himself to have
obtained the tiara, and to whom his brother the Prefect addressed his
orisons for a male child. It came into the world on the fête of the
Annunciation, and was immediately christened Francesco Maria,[*230]
in honour of the saint and of the Madonna. In this, his only male
offspring, centred the hopes and interests of the Lord of Sinigaglia;
and after his death, in 1501, the boy was carried to the court of
Urbino, where his progress was watched with almost paternal anxiety
by Duke Guidobaldo. His mother occasionally visited there after her
widowhood, although from motives of perhaps misplaced delicacy,
she resided chiefly on her husband's fiefs of Sora and Arci in the
Neapolitan territory.
[Footnote *230: See MARCUCCI: _Francesco Maria I. della
Rovere_ (Sinigaglia, 1903).]
The first care of his uncle Guidobaldo was to obtain for him a
renewal of the prefecture of Rome, which his father had held; and as
that appointment was in the hands of Alexander VI., an enemy of the
della Rovere, the Duke of Urbino had recourse to the influence of
Louis XII. with the Pontiff. This application was warmly seconded in
the same quarter by the Cardinal of S. Pietro in Vinculis, paternal
uncle of Francesco Maria, and an adherent of the French interests.
The readiness wherewith his Holiness accorded this dignity, and even
held out hopes of marrying his niece, Angela Borgia, to the young
Prefect, induced his uncles to hint at their project of adopting him
as heir to the dukedom, a step which required the papal sanction. But
they were met by temporising answers, and found, ere long, that the
apparent frankness of Alexander was but a cover to that deep-laid
plot of destruction, involving both Guidobaldo and his nephew, which
we have already developed.
Meanwhile, Francesco Maria's education advanced in letters and arms,
with every aid which books, talented preceptors, and distinguished
society could afford. His earliest instructor had been Antonio
Crastini of Sassoferrato, a man of excellent judgment, and well
skilled in theology and philosophy, to whom his father had entrusted
the command of Sinigaglia, and whose services were eventually
rewarded by Julius II. with the sees of Cagli and Montefeltro.
Ludovico Odasio still resided at the court of his former pupil
Duke Guidobaldo, who placed under his superintendence his youthful
relation. The lad, though small in stature for his years, was
remarkable for strength and activity, as well as for an active
temperament and lively talents. He was liberal, and even careless,
of money; but all his pleasure was in the military art, all his
ambition centred in martial glory, for Nicolò of Fossombrone,
and another famous astrologer, had predicted from his horoscope
high deeds of arms. After passing hours in the study of history
and classical literature, and of those sciences wherein princes
then sought pre-eminence, he found relaxation in horsemanship and
martial exercises, under the eye of such honoured veterans of Duke
Federigo as still wore their well-won laurels in the palace of
his son. Thus was his youthful mind moulded to the noblest forms of
chivalry, without those idle appendages which the affectation of
other times has exaggerated into caricature.
[Illustration: _Alinari_
FRANCESCO MARIA I DELLA ROVERE
_After the picture by Titian in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence_
_(From the Ducal Collection)_]
The whirlwind that broke in upon this calm, and sent the Lords of
Urbino and Sinigaglia into houseless exile, has been described in
the eighteenth chapter of these memoirs. Francesco Maria, after
accompanying his uncle's midnight flight as far as Sta. Agata,
reached Bologna through mountain paths; and, having by great prudence
escaped the attempts of Giovanni Bentivoglio to apprehend him, in
compliance with Valentino's orders, he made his way by Genoa to
Savona, where his uncle, the Cardinal della Rovere, resided. But
the latter, not satisfied of his security, and anxious to place him
where he would have better means of improvement, sent him to his see
of Avignon, and thence recommended him to Louis XII., who received
him with high favour. In the court then established at Lyons he
resumed his education, especially in those military and personal
accomplishments for which it was distinguished, and quickly acquired
great proficiency in the French language. There he attached himself
much to the youthful Gaston de Foix, acting as his page of honour,
and gained some notice from the King, who bore testimony to his
precocious attainments in chivalry, by bestowing upon him the order
of St. Michael ere he had completed his thirteenth year.
The events already recorded in connection with the death of Alexander
VI., restored Francesco Maria to his rights unquestioned; but his
first care was to obey a summons of his cardinal uncle, who had been
elected to the tiara. Travelling from France with his cousin-german
Galeotto Franciotti, whom Julius had named to the hat just vacated by
himself, he reached Rome amid public rejoicings on the 2nd of March,
1504. He immediately received the command of a hundred men-at-arms,
and steps were promptly taken for his public recognition as
heir-apparent of Urbino. Accompanying Guidobaldo into the Marca, he
was welcomed at Sinigaglia, on the 17th of June, by the unanimous
voice of his people. On the 18th of September he was invested with
the dukedom of Urbino in reversion, when he received the homage of
his future subjects with a ceremonial which we have described at p.
37, and which was attended by delegates from all parts of the state,
to adhibit the consent of their constituents. As a finishing stroke
to these measures for consolidating the della Rovere sovereignty, a
marriage was about the same time contracted between the Prefect and
Leonora Gonzaga, daughter of Francesco Marquis of Mantua. To this
arrangement, which turned out in all respects fortunate, the wishes
of her aunt, the Duchess Elisabetta of Urbino,[*231] were mainly
conducive; and preliminaries were negotiated by Count Castiglione,
whose high favour with both contracting parties, as well as his
diplomatic address, well qualified him for the mission. It was
announced in January, 1505, but the ceremony was postponed for
four years, on account of their youth. To the charms of the bride,
Castiglione bears this tribute: "If ever there were united wisdom,
grace, beauty, genius, courtesy, gentleness, and refined manners,
it was in her person, where these combined qualities form a chain
adorning her every movement."
[Footnote *231: She was betrothed in the same month in which her
father died. The marriage had long been desired by Elisabetta.
Giustiniani mentions a report of it in his Despatches (_Dispacci_,
vol. II., p. 359) even in 1503. Mrs. ADY (_Isabella d'Este_,
vol. I., p. 267) says the Marquis of Mantua desired it "as a means of
obtaining the Cardinalate which he had been striving to obtain for
his brother during the last fifteen years."]
[Illustration: _Anderson_
VENETIAN WEDDING-DRESS IN SIXTEENTH CENTURY
_After the picture called "La Flora" by Titian in the Uffizi Gallery,
Florence_]
But although too young for matrimony, the Prefettino was allowed to
flesh his maiden sword under his future father-in-law's command, in
the expedition undertaken by Julius against the lords of Perugia and
Bologna. In a military view the campaign was totally uninteresting;
but in some skirmishes before Castel S. Pietro, Francesco Maria
gained his general's approbation, and thus favourably entered upon
the career wherein he was destined to high distinction. The greater
part of his time was spent at Urbino, acquainting himself with the
people over whom he was to reign, and with the duties that awaited
him. Its limited court was rich in merit, and beneath an exterior
of elegance and high polish, learning and accomplishments of every
sort were cultivated and honoured to a degree elsewhere unknown.
The laxity of morals which, notwithstanding the example of both
sovereigns, accompanied that refinement, may be estimated from an
anecdote sadly instancing the failing in Francesco Maria's character,
which proved the bane of his whole life. We shall narrate it in the
words of an anonymous diary, already largely drawn upon for the reign
of Guidobaldo I.[232] "The Duke, [Guidobaldo] having brought up about
his person one Giovanni Andrea, a bravo of Verona, he made him his
favourite, and conferred upon him the order of the Golden Spur, as
well as the fief of Sasso-Corbaro, and some mills on the Foglia. He
was extremely handsome and generally liked; and it happened that
Madama Maria, daughter of the late Prefect Giovanna of Sinigaglia,
and widow of Venanzio of Camerino, who had been slain by Cesare
Borgia, was residing in Urbino with her son. Being still young, she
fell in love with this Giovanni Andrea, and was reported to have
borne him a son. Whereupon her brother, the Prefect, sent for him one
Saturday evening, and in the ducal chamber beset him with his people,
and assassinated him with twenty-four blows. At the same moment,
one of his attendants went out and slew a servant of Madama Maria,
who was said to have delivered their messages. On the following
evening, being Sunday, the body was carried to the cathedral with
distinguished honours, accompanied by all the gentlemen of the ducal
household, and by a concourse of the citizens, for he was generally
lamented by persons of every rank, and no one had died for a length
of time more regretted. And this occurred on the 6th of October,
1507."
[Footnote 232: Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 904, f. 89.]
* * * * *
We have elsewhere endeavoured to sketch the brilliant society in
which the Prefect's youthful mind was developed; in due time we shall
find several of its prominent members crossing him in the tangled
weft of human destiny, as friends or foes, according to their several
interests. We have also noticed the affectionate duty he continued to
interchange with the Duke and Duchess, and the circumstances in which
he succeeded to their state. Guidobaldo closed his life of suffering
on the 11th of April, 1508, and on the 14th Francesco Maria, after
high mass in the cathedral, produced the will naming him heir of the
duchy and dignities.[*233] The gonfaloniere of Urbino then presented
to him the city keys in a great silver basin, and also its standard,
accompanied with a complimentary address. He next was arrayed in the
ducal mantle of white satin doubled with gold brocade, and a cap
faced with ermine, over which was placed the coronet; then mounting a
superb charger richly housed, he was escorted through the principal
streets by an enthusiastic multitude shouting "ROVERE and
FELTRO, DUKE and PREFECT!" in whose joyous hurrahs it would have been
difficult to identify the disconsolate populace who not many hours
before had raised their coronach over Guidobaldo's mortal remains. On
returning, his horse was seized as their perquisite, and his mantle
torn into shreds, which were scrambled for as relics to be treasured
in memory of the day.
[Footnote *233: Cf. LUZIO E RENIER, _Mantova ed Urbino_
(Torino, 1893), p. 182.]
This spontaneous loyalty, and their satisfaction at the maintenance
of their national independence, did not, however, prevent the
citizens from recollecting their interests. On the new Duke's first
appearance at Urbino the authorities had gathered round his horse to
kiss his hands and knees, and to beseech attention to their wishes.
Pleading recent fatigues, he declined entering then upon business,
and the gonfaloniere, readily accepting the excuse, summoned a sort
of parliament of the principal inhabitants to decide what favours
and privileges should be asked as a preliminary to their homage.
Estimating this movement at its actual value, rather than by its
bearing upon any theories of self-government, Baldi has entered into
no details of these demands: their object may, however, be guessed
at from the municipal concessions made by Francesco Maria on the
31st of May, whereby precedence was granted to the gonfaloniere over
the podestà; and the salaries of the city physician, lawyer, and
schoolmaster were undertaken by the sovereign, who also consented to
a modification of the imposts on agricultural produce.[*234]
[Footnote *234: The document is printed by LUZZATTO, _Comune
e principato in Urbino nei secc. xv. e xvi._, in _Le Marche_ (1905),
An. v., p. 196 _et seq._]
Although the popularity both of the extinguished dynasty and of the
youth who was destined to replace it, together with an absence of
all conflicting claims, rendered the succession safe and certain,
every measure which prudence could suggest had been taken by the
Pope to secure its being peacefully effected. A few excitable
spirits having assumed arms, in apprehension of some revolutionary
movement, a proclamation was issued on the morning subsequent to
the Duke's decease, commanding all to lay them down. On the 17th a
papal brief was addressed to the people, condoling with them on their
bereavement, and applauding their dutiful and orderly reception of
Francesco Maria. An envoy, deputed by the community to present their
answer, returned on the 30th, delighted with the gracious reception
he had met with, and with the Pontiff's flattering assurances. The
ceremony of swearing allegiance was out of delicacy postponed until
the 3rd of May, the day subsequent to his respected predecessor's
funeral. Summonses for both solemnities were issued to the various
communities in the following terms:--
"Right well-beloved,
"On the second of the ensuing month will be celebrated the
obsequies of the illustrious Lord Duke, our father of happy
memory, for which it behoves you to send here in good time
as many as possible of your well-qualified fellow-citizens,
suitably dressed for the occasion. And to such of them
as you shall please to choose, you shall give a special
mandate for adhibiting the oath of fidelity to us in name
of your community, taking care that it be in regular form
as a public instrument. From Urbino, this 25th of April,
1508.
"FRANCISCUS MARIA DUX URBINI, ALMÆ URBIS
PRÆFECTUS."
The deputations willingly rendered the required homage, for they
considered this perpetuation of their independence as a boon doubly
grateful in the person of a sovereign representing their old and
loved dynasty, whose opening character promised no unworthy successor
to his esteemed uncle and father. During some days the Duke attended
to various demands and representations of the commissioners, and, by
well-timed favours to their different cities, quickly established
himself in the good graces of his new subjects. The Duchess Regent
proved a kind and prudent counsellor until he came of age, and long
continued her assistance in his affairs of state, residing at his
court while he had a home to share with her. The great discretion
and good feeling he now manifested towards her, and the scrupulous
anxiety he testified to retain around him all Guidobaldo's tried
friends and servants, quickly ripened the popularity which his
fortunate position had sown, and which eventually enabled him
to recover and maintain his sovereignty in circumstances nearly
desperate.
[Illustration: _Anderson_
DETAIL OF THE URBINO VENUS
_Supposed portrait of Duchess Leonora, from the picture by Titian in
the Uffizi Gallery, Florence_]
The restless spirit of Julius fretted against the resistance still
offered by the Venetians to his incorporating with the papal states
those places in Romagna which they had seized, upon the fall of
Valentino, nor would he accept the compromise which they proposed,
of surrendering Rimini, on receiving from him a formal investiture
of Faenza. They were also suspected of irritating by their intrigues
the feverish state of that district, and of undermining the
preponderating influence which it was his policy there to establish.
On pretext of crowning Maximilian, whose title to the imperial
dignity had not been completed by that formality, the Pontiff invited
him to march into Italy, and support his views. The Emperor, in
accepting the proposal, demanded free passage through the Venetian
territories, with a threat of forcing his way, if obstructed.
Assured of support from their ally of France, the Signory offered
compliance, on condition of his going unarmed: but, spurning such
terms, he, in February, moved with an army upon the valley of Trent.
He was, however, effectually held in check by the Venetian generals,
Nicolò da Petigliano and Bartolomeo d'Alviano; whilst Louis, besides
sending Gian Giacomo Trivulzio to their support, instigated the Duke
of Gueldres to carry fire and sword into Lower Germany. Maximilian,
finding his hands full, made a hasty truce with the Venetians in
May, and turned to punish Gueldres. The Venetian and French armies
being thereupon disbanded, the moment seemed to Julius favourable
for renewing his designs upon Romagna, and in the following November
he sent the Cardinal of Sta. Croce to take part in negotiations,
which had been opened at Cambray, for reconciliation of the Emperor
and the French monarch. Maximilian readily lent himself to any
measures calculated to efface his recent disgrace in the Alpine
valleys, and to recover some places in Friuli which had remained
in the enemy's hands; Louis was induced to accede, in order to
wrest from Venice such portions of the old Visconti duchy as owned
her sway; and Ferdinand joined the coalition in hopes of regaining
several Neapolitan sea-ports, over which the Lion of St. Mark still
waved in security of certain advances by the Republic for the wars
of Lower Italy. Out of these elements there was concluded, on the
10th of December, a famous treaty, which denounced the Venetians as
ambitious perturbators of Italy and all Christian lands, and declared
war against them as the common enemies of the allies, who pledged
themselves to take the field before April, for recovery of Ravenna,
Cervia, Rimini, and Faenza to the Holy See, and of the territories
respectively claimed by the other contracting powers in Austria,
Lombardy, and Calabria. A subsidiary article took Francesco Maria
under their special protection, and guaranteed his states; whilst
by another the Duke of Ferrara was left free to become a party, on
payment to the Emperor of a sum of money in dispute between them.
Such was the notable League of Cambray, misnamed holy, on the vague
pretext that the maritime Republic, by retaining Ravenna and Cervia,
impeded the pacification of Christendom, and a general armament
against the Turks. Not only was it an innovation upon the established
custom of pitting the German and French interests against each
other, and settling their differences on the blood-stained plains
of Lombardy, but, as the first great coalition of European powers
for one common political object, it may be regarded as founding the
modern system of diplomacy.
Yet, though this formidable confederation was the child of his
own brain, matured by the address of his legate, Julius shrank
before the Promethean monster, and paused ere he animated it by his
ratification. Well might it startle him to find that his labours
for the ulterior emancipation of Italy from foreign yoke were
about to divide one of her finest states among her most formidable
ultramontane foes. Had Duke Guidobaldo been spared a little longer,
his cool head and pacific disposition, as well as his friendship for
the Signory and his influence with the Pope, might have counteracted
the unnatural combination; but the die was cast, and the Pontiff had
only to await the course of events for an opportunity of undoing his
present work.[*235]
[Footnote *235: The league of Cambrai is one of the great crimes of
history. The man who devised it and urged it upon Europe was the
head of European Christianity, Pope Julius II. Beside this, the
sensualities and murders of the Borgia go for nothing. His policy,
created by hate, succeeded in so far as it established the States of
the Church and murdered Italy. Yet looking back now, we may judge
of the price that has been required of the Church for that treason.
Beggared of her possessions, at the mercy of the new Italian kingdom,
he who sits in the seat of Julius is a prisoner in the Vatican--the
prisoner of history.]
Unable to hold a military command, which would have better suited
his talents and tastes than the duties of Christ's vicegerent upon
earth, Julius gratified his family predilections by appointing his
nephew Francesco Maria to be captain-general of the ecclesiastical
troops. His investiture took place in the church of S. Petronio, at
Bologna, on the 4th of October, 1508, when he received the pontifical
baton from the Cardinal of Pavia, a prelate whose destiny we shall
find, ere long, fatally bound up in his own. But the time for active
service not being yet arrived, he contented himself with a review
of the forces thus placed under his charge. Being considered equal
to such a command, it is not surprising he should think it time to
celebrate his long-projected nuptials.[*236] On the 5th of November,
Julius wrote to the Duchess Elisabetta, to send a _lettiga_ or
litter, with three horses, in order to bring his bride on a visit to
Urbino, where the ceremony took place on Christmas Eve, 1508.[*237]
The letters, addressed to Federigo Fregoso by Bembo, who arrived on
the 19th, unveil some proofs of the bridegroom's felicity which it
were more decorous to pass over; but its revelations throw light
upon the contrasted feelings of the still mourning court. "Our
reception was truly chilling: no joy or hilarity in the palace; even
in the city its wonted aspect; our happy youth himself quite frigid;
but there is hope that he will become more ardent...." Writing a
week after the marriage, he says that as soon as it was over, the
Duke manifested the most unbounded affection, which became daily
more passionate; and declares that he had never met with a more
comely, merry, or sweet girl, who, to a most amiable disposition,
added a surprisingly precocious judgment, which gained for her
general admiration.[238] This event was hailed at Urbino with great
public rejoicings and sumptuous fêtes, and the triumphal arches,
theatres, and other architectural and pictorial works required for
the occasion, were executed under the direction of Timoteo Vite and
Girolamo Genga. In 1843 I saw, in the hands of Padre Cellani, at
the Augustine convent in Pesaro, an interesting memorial of this
marriage. It is a small MS. psalter, with a frontispiece illuminated
in the manner of the Veronese limners, representing Nathan rebuking
David, whose crown and sceptre are fallen to the ground--a singular
theme for a bridal present, which, from the legend "LIONOR GOZAGA
URBINI DUCISSA," with the impaled arms of the two families,
it may have been. The Lady Leonora was about his own age, and,
although neither her beauty nor accomplishments have met with the
same celebration as those of her aunt the Duchess Elisabetta, we
shall have ample opportunity of observing in her character much
energy and good sense, with undeviating affection to her husband;
whilst the pencil of Titian has preserved to us a person which in a
sovereign must have been lauded as handsome.
[Footnote *236: On the 25th of August, Francesco Maria had paid a
visit to Mantua to see his betrothed. "Come," said Leonora's uncle
to him, "and when you have seen Madonna Leonora and the Marchese's
horses you will have seen the two finest things in the world."
Francesco Maria spent two days there travelling incognito with but
four persons. Cf. JULIA CARTWRIGHT, _op. cit._, vol. I., p.
310. An amusing letter from Federico Cattaneo to Isabella d'Este, who
was absent, describes the meeting of Francesco Maria and his future
bride. Leonora was fourteen, and they were married at Christmas.]
[Footnote *237: Cf. LUZIO E RENIER, _op. cit._; p. 195, for
the entry of the Duchess into Urbino.]
[Footnote 238: It is difficult to reconcile with these details of an
eye-witness the statement of Leoni, followed by Riposati and others,
that the marriage was privately performed at Mantua in February,
1509. In May of that year the Duke was unanimously chosen a Knight
of the Garter at a chapter of that order, but for reasons which it
is now too late to investigate, the nomination was not confirmed by
Henry VIII. At next election he had but one vote out of ten, and his
name does not again occur in the record preserved by Anstis.]
[Illustration: _Franz Hanfstaengl_
THE GIRL IN THE FUR-CLOAK
_Possibly a portrait of Duchess Leonora of Urbino. After the picture
by Titian in the Imperial Gallery, Vienna_]
From his honeymoon happiness the boy-bridegroom was speedily summoned
to the field. After issuing a preparatory apostolic admonition to
the Signory, on the 27th of April, 1509, Julius ordered his nephew
to assume offensive operations against Romagna, supported by the
Baglioni, Vitelli, and other vassals of the Church. The Duke was
already on foot, and after some skirmishes before Rimini, he attacked
Brisghella on the 4th of May; the place speedily surrendering, he
occupied himself in saving its inhabitants, so far as possible,
from the miseries of a sack, which Muratori denounces as worthy of
the Turks, and which Roscoe unwarrantably imputes to him as an act
of wanton cruelty. Following up this success, he, with youthful
enthusiasm, adopted various expedients for harassing the enemy, but
obtained still more credit for the judgment displayed in a singular
dilemma, which might have disconcerted a more experienced commander.
There existed between some bands of Spanish and Italian soldiery
in his camp, various heart-burnings ready to kindle at a spark.
Ramocciotto, an Italian captain, having been sent upon secret duty,
as evening approached his men were seized with a vague impression
that he had met with foul play from the Spaniards. Just then, during
a wrangle among some camp-followers about a baggage-mule, one of them
called out in stentorian voice, "_Taglia! taglia!_" meaning that
the packing-cords should be cut. These words, which rang through
the stilly air, were mistaken for "_Italia! Italia!_" and were
caught up by the feverish followers of Ramocciotto as a watchword,
which they loudly echoed, and rushed to arms. Their cry and action
were repeated by most of the troops, who had just finished their
evening meal, and in a moment the camp was a scene of inexplicable
confusion, the fury of some and the consternation of others combining
to produce a general panic. Francesco Maria and his officers were
taken by surprise, but with great presence of mind he ordered an
advance upon Faenza as the readiest means of restoring order. The
gloom of twilight now settled down upon the camp, augmenting the
embarrassment, and ere the troops evacuated it, a good many Spaniards
had been cut down in the _mêlée_. Military discipline at length
prevailed, and the Duke, finding the town on its guard, returned to
quarters. Ramocciotto's reappearance appeased the originators of the
tumult, but it was not till next day that a stern inquiry detected
its casual origin. Thus did the promptitude and prudence of the
juvenile general save his character from compromise, and his little
army from disaster.[239]
[Footnote 239: Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 489. This is but a fragment of the
life of Francesco Maria by Urbano Urbani, who was his secretary at
this time. Our account of the League of Cambray has been taken from
it, collated with many published authorities. Urbani's full work,
which I have not discovered, has been largely drawn upon by Leoni,
Baldi, and other biographers.]
The ecclesiastical army consisted of eight thousand infantry and
one thousand six hundred horse, a force by no means adequate for
the service it was called upon to perform. The Pontiff, with fatal
partiality, had entrusted the entire control of the commissariat and
stores for the campaign to the Cardinal of Pavia, of whom the remark
passed into a proverb, that whoever would make up a jerkin of every
colour should employ the words and actions of the Legate of Bologna.
Francesco Alidosio was second son of the Lord of Castel del Rio, an
inconsiderable mountain fief adjoining the state of Imola, which
latter, after being long held in sovereignty by his family, had been
bought or wrested from his grandfather by Sixtus IV. and the Sforza.
Having been educated for the Church, he attached himself on the death
of that Pontiff to Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere, whose entire
favour and confidence he won, not only by long personal service,
but by firmly withstanding various offers made him by the Borgia to
dispose of his master by poison. As soon as his patron was placed
in the chair of St. Peter, his services were rewarded by a scarlet
hat, followed by the see of Pavia, the rich office of Datario, and
other valuable preferments. But his character had been regarded as so
questionable, in the scandalous pontificate of Alexander, that many
objections were raised in the consistory to his promotion, and even
the silver-tongued Jovius attributes his rapid advancement to the
advantages of a fine person and an unscrupulous pliancy of principle.
The influence he had obtained over the open-hearted Julius was
maintained by his facility in accommodating himself to the outbreaks
of his patron's impetuous temper; and it entirely blinded the Pope to
the danger of reposing implicit confidence in such a counsellor. But
the Cardinal, not satisfied to share these favours with another, did
all in his power to obtain an undivided mastery over his affections,
and especially to supplant his nephew in his regards. The means which
he adopted to effect this were, as we shall soon see, to thwart all
the Duke's plans, and throw upon him the blame of their failure. But
the mainspring of his hopes and intrigues was the restoration of
Imola to himself or his brother; and as the policy of Julius rendered
him deaf to such a request, even from a favourite, the latter
scrupled not to purchase his object from the French, by betraying to
them those interests with which as legate of Bologna he was entrusted.
Francesco Maria accordingly found his movements hampered at every
turn by the scarcity of supplies, and, in answer to unceasing
remonstrances, had from the Legate abundance of fair words and
sounding promises leading to no result whatever. This was the more
provoking, as sound policy required a speedy conclusion to operations
carried on in a province that, though in hostile hands for the time,
was eventually destined to remain under the papal sway, towards which
it was therefore of importance to conciliate the population, rather
than to oppress them by military exactions. Notwithstanding these
difficulties, the Duke reduced the castles of Granaruolo and Roscio,
Faenza surrendered, and the siege of Ravenna seemed approaching a
favourable conclusion, when the Venetians, panic-stricken by the
French successes in Lombardy, and especially by the rout they had
sustained on the 14th of May, at Vaila in the Ghiaradadda, sued for
peace. They hoped, by offering to the Pope, the Emperor, and the
Spaniard, all the places occupied on their respective territories,
to conciliate these powers, and so be enabled to maintain themselves
against French aggression. Their envoy addressed himself to arrange
with the Legate a suspension of arms, whilst he should forward to the
Pope a formal renunciation of the disputed towns in Romagna; but the
wily Cardinal, who, whether from inherent dishonesty, or with some
selfish end in view, seems to have acted with invariable bad faith,
urged him to resign these places directly into his own hands, and,
when the agent persisted in adhering to his instructions, he was
thrown into irons and threatened with a halter. Nor was this the only
manifest instance of the Legate's treachery; for besides thwarting
the Duke on every occasion, and keeping him in the dark as to most
important arrangements, he sent some of his own adherents to attack
and pillage the garrison of Faenza, as it quitted the city upon a
capitulation accorded by himself. Francesco Maria, disgusted with
his duplicity, of his own authority liberated the envoy, and so was
brought into angry collision with the Cardinal, thus aggravating a
quarrel ere long to end in blood.
[Illustration: _Brogi_
DUCHESS OF URBINO, EITHER ELEONORA OR GIULIA VARANA
_After the picture by Titian in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence_]
The difficulties of the youthful commander were increased by the
inopportune arrival of four thousand Swiss mercenaries, who, finding
matters in train for a pacification which would dash their hopes of
booty, could scarcely be restrained from an immediate assault upon
Ravenna. Their ruffianly intentions being insidiously encouraged by
the Legate, it was only by great prudence and decision that the Duke
prevented them from sacking that city, when evacuated on honourable
terms by the Venetian authorities. This conciliatory policy was
rewarded by a speedy surrender of Cervia, followed on the 11th of
June by that of Rimini, the last of the towns claimed by Julius,
upon which Francesco Maria lost no time in disbanding his army and
returning home. As soon as he was gone, the Cardinal, steady only to
his duplicity, imprisoned the Venetian officers who had imprudently
lingered within his reach. Although this campaign lasted but six
weeks, and produced no considerable engagement, it afforded to the
young Duke an insight into mankind, as well as a lesson in military
affairs, which enabled him to pass at once from boyhood to the
experience, as well as the reputation, of an able commander.
As soon as Francesco Maria was liberated from camp duties, he sent
to Mantua for his bride, and at his uncle's desire carried her to
visit Rome. The Roman citizens, ever devoted to festivity, received
him with distinction, due not less to his personal merit than to
his high rank and near relationship to the Pope. Among the pageants
exhibited in honour of his marriage were tilting in the Piazza
Navona, and a masque celebrating his successes in Romagna, after the
manner of those triumphs which that capital used to witness some
fifteen centuries before. He carried Giuliano de' Medici with him to
the papal court, and effected his reconciliation with Julius, who,
suspecting him of some intrigues at Bologna, had given orders for his
imprisonment; thus swelling that debt of the Medici to his family,
which Leo X. subsequently and most ungratefully expunged.
The Duke also used his influence for removal of the interdict from
Venice, the tried ally of his house; and this the Pontiff more
readily granted, having now gained all he hoped from the compact of
Cambray, and being ready for any new coalition that might tend either
to aggrandise the Holy See or to liberate Italy from foreign yoke.
He therefore cared not for the remonstrances of his late coadjutors
against his abrupt secession from their common policy; and, aware
how little signified Maximilian's languid operations, he only sought
an apology for putting himself in direct opposition to the French,
whose successes in Lombardy were assuming a serious aspect. This was
soon afforded by the hollow counsels of the Cardinal of Pavia, whom
he had despatched to the camp of Louis on pretence of congratulating
him upon his victory at Vaila, but in fact to watch his intentions.
In this monarch the Legate found one as ambitious as his master, and
not more scrupulous than himself; he therefore with characteristic
treason encouraged the projects he had shrewdly penetrated,
stipulating in return for the sovereignty of Imola, as soon as
Louis should, by his secret aid, add Bologna and Romagna to his
Milanese possessions. As an underplot in this drama of ingratitude
and treachery, the Cardinal of Rouen proposed that Julius should be
deposed by a general council, with a view to securing for himself the
tiara. Such at least were the ends which the French King soon after
openly pursued; and those historians who seek to establish a case
against the Cardinal of Pavia, explanatory of his subsequent conduct,
charge him with thus early selling himself to Louis, and betraying
his partial and confiding patron the Pope.
The Legate, therefore, on his return to Rome, warmly seconded the
Pontiff's views. A rupture with France was the preliminary move in
the game he had arranged with Louis, and his zeal in promoting it
seemed the surest disguise of his ulterior designs. Florence and
Ferrara were bound to the French interests, while Venice was their
determined foe; so it only remained for the Pope to join stakes with
the Signory, and the party was made up. His intrigues to secure the
support of Spain, Austria, and England, and to retain the Swiss in
his service, do not require our particular notice.
Unwarned by recent events in Romagna, and blinded by affection for
his nephew, and for the Cardinal of Pavia, to the character of the
latter, and to the insuperable antipathy which had grown up between
them, the Pope, unfortunately, again delegated to them the joint
conduct of the war. The first advance was made against Ferrara,
with the view, doubtless, of restoring the Polesine to Venice, and
extending the temporal sway of the Keys to the banks of the Po.
Francesco Maria, who, after wintering in Rome, had returned home
with his Duchess in May, entered the Ferrarese ere July was over,
at the head of six thousand infantry, and one thousand five hundred
horse, and quickly became master of a great part of that duchy. But
this army was unequal to operations against the city of Ferrara,
strong in its surrounding marshes; and an expected contingent of
ten thousand Swiss were intercepted by Chaumont, the French general
(called Ciamonte by Guicciardini,) and sent back to their mountains
by the combined means of force and gold. The naval armament against
Genoa, then in the hands of Louis, proving also a failure, and the
Cardinal Legate conducting his department as unsatisfactorily as
before, the Duke of Urbino heard with joy that the Pontiff was on
his way to the scene of operations. On the 15th of September he
passed through Pesaro, leaving the Apostolic benediction, and various
indulgences, in acknowledgment of his enthusiastic reception. When
he reached Bologna, he found Modena, which had lately surrendered to
his army, threatened by Chaumont in person, and a strong feeling
abroad among the ecclesiastical officers, that they had been deluded
by the Legate, who prevented them from clenching their success by the
capture of Reggio, and had wiled them to a fruitless demonstration
before Ferrara, thereby not only wasting precious time, but exposing
the army to great hazard, and leaving Modena and Bologna uncovered.
The Pope immediately directed his nephew to send the Cardinal, under
arrest, to Bologna, which he did, with every mark of consideration;
but the extraordinary influence which that sneaking spirit exercised
over the frank and open-hearted Julius, diverted his suspicions, and
was rewarded with new favours.
The unpromising aspect of his affairs, which brought the Pontiff in
person to Bologna, did not improve. Disappointed of the assistance
he looked for from Switzerland and Naples, feebly supported by his
allies of Venice and Mantua, his troops were reduced to a defensive
position, fatal to the prestige which had attended their first
successes. Encouraged by this state of matters, and by the approach
of Chaumont's powerful army, the friends of the exiled Bentivoglii
began to agitate for their restoration to the sovereignty of Bologna.
Nor were these the worst mortifications awaiting the proud spirit
of Julius. The clergy of France had met at Lyons, and decided upon
convoking a general council at Pisa, to sit in judgment upon his
conduct, a movement already openly supported by Louis, the Emperor,
and Florence, and by five members of the Sacred College. These
anxieties fretted his fractious temperament into an illness, so
serious at his advanced age, as to threaten a fatal termination;
and in the prospect of thus losing the mainspring of the war, his
confederates were little inclined to compromise themselves by fresh
exertions. His courtiers, too, alarmed at the prospect of clinging to
a falling cause, beset him with persuasions to obtain a truce on any
terms. But they mistook the character with whom they had to deal.
In deference to their representations, he opened a negotiation with
the French general, wherein, far from assuming a suppliant air, he
prescribed as a preliminary stipulation, the sacrifice of the Duke of
Ferrara to his vengeance, as a rebellious vassal. Thus passing
"Out of the speech of peace that bears such grace
Into the harsh and boisterous tongue of war,"
he sent a summary threat to his Venetian allies, and to the Marquis
of Mantua, that unless their promised contingents instantly marched
to his support, he would arrange matters with the French King for
their extermination.
The moral influence of this indomitable courage retrieved his
affairs. The Venetian, Mantuan, and Neapolitan succours successfully
and quickly arrived; many small free companies flocked to his
standard; and the Bolognese factions postponed their movement till a
fitter moment. Breaking off all negotiations, he thundered censures
against Chaumont and the Duke of Ferrara, and ordered his now ample
army to assume offensive operations. His physical energy was at the
same time restored, and the threatened eclipse proved but a passing
cloud, from which his indomitable genius burst forth with renewed
brilliancy.