[MR] Wikipedia: Happy Birthday Lucrezia Borgia

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

Today is the birthday of one of the most maligned women in medieval
history, Lucrezia Borgia.

Lucrezia was born on this day in 1480. Her father was Roderic Llancol i di
Borja, then Cardinal Bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina. He later became Pope
Alexander VI, one of the true monsters of the Catholic Church. Her mother
was one of her father's many mistresses, Vannozza dei Cattanei. It didn't
help that her brother was the (later) notorious Cesare Borgia.

Lucrezia was always the pawn of her scheming father and brother, and like
many noble medieval women was married off to form political alliances. Her
first husband, Giovanni Saforza, was forced into an annulment when the
Saforza family was no longer useful to Pope Alexander.

Next she was wed to Alfonso of Aragon. Papal alliances shifted, and Alfonso
became a liability. He was wounded by assassins likely in the pay of the
Pope Alexander or Cesare. When Alfonso rather impolitely refused to die of
his wounds, more assassins stormed his bedchamber and Lucrezia's second
husband was finished off by strangulation.

Her third and final husband was another Alfonso, Alfonso I, Duke of Este.
It was apparently not a particularly happy marriage, as both had numerous
and well documented affairs. This union lasted 17 years until Lucrezia died
during childbirth in 1519.

There is no doubt Lucrezia had many lovers, and several of her nine known
children are thought to have been conceived on the wrong side of the
sheets. However, her reputation as a poisoner and many other unsavory tales
was probably what we call "fake news" today -- rumors spread by her father
and brother's enemies.

So no matter what we may think of her, let's raise a toast today to one of
the most interesting women of the Italian Renaissance, Lucrezia Borgia.

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆