Summary of G. J. Meyer's The Borgias

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The death of Pope Nicholas V, which took place in 1455, was a deeply worrisome thing. The cardinals were assembled in Rome because ten days had passed since the pope’s death. The conclave of 1455 was officially in session.

#2 The process of choosing a pope is governed by simple rules that have evolved over a millennium and a half. The election process is always complicated, though, because many competing forces always come into play.

#3 The problems facing the cardinals go much deeper than anything Nicholas did or failed to do. They are the residue of the century and a half of discord that preceded his reign. The election of Nicholas was only four years after the return of the last exiled pope to Rome, and it was not until two years after his election that the last antipope abandoned his claim to the throne.

#4 The fall of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, was a world-changing event. It was a tragedy for the East, but the West was not shocked because they had stood by passively through the years when the Turks drew closer to Constantinople.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jun 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822526242

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Insights on G. J. Meyer's The Borgias

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The death of Pope Nicholas V, which took place in 1455, was a deeply worrisome thing. The cardinals were assembled in Rome because ten days had passed since the pope’s death. The conclave of 1455 was officially in session.

#2

The process of choosing a pope is governed by simple rules that have evolved over a millennium and a half. The election process is always complicated, though, because many competing forces always come into play.

#3

The problems facing the cardinals go much deeper than anything Nicholas did or failed to do. They are the residue of the century and a half of discord that preceded his reign. The election of Nicholas was only four years after the return of the last exiled pope to Rome, and it was not until two years after his election that the last antipope abandoned his claim to the throne.

#4

The fall of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, was a world-changing event. It was a tragedy for the East, but the West was not shocked because they had stood by passively through the years when the Turks drew closer to Constantinople.

#5

The election of an Italian is going to be difficult at best, because the people of Rome take their idea of a pope being Roman very seriously. The cardinals know that the election of an outsider would bring angry crowds into the streets, and that the election of someone from outside of Italy would be certain to do so.

#6

The Italians cannot be unified because of the presence of two of the Sacred College’s most formidable members, Latino Orsini and Cardinal Prospero Colonna. They are both Roman nobles, and both able to draw on enormous reserves of political, financial, and even military power.

#7

The Colonna had been enemies of the Orsini for many years, and they treated Capranica and Latino Orsini very differently. Because of this, there was no hope of electing Capranica. Barbo, the nephew of Pope Eugenius IV, was put forward as a compromise candidate.

#8

The cardinals were looking for a compromise, and they found one in a man named Basilios Bessarion. He was a scholar who had two doctorates in law and was known for his peacemaking abilities. He was not affiliated with any of the factions at the conclave, and was free of politics.

#9

Alonso de Borja was a lawyer more than a churchman, and he was chosen as the diocese of Lérida’s representative at the Council of Constance. He was not an intellectual, and he showed no interest in the revival of classical learning.

#10

Alonso de Borja was a loyal subject of Aragon and a junior member of its clergy. He had always been disposed to follow the lead of its rulers, and Benedict like him was a respected legal scholar.

#11

The war between Spain and France continued for years, and it seemed like it might never end. In 1423, Alfonso had to return to Spain to deal with an outbreak of hostilities between his brother Juan king of Navarre and his brother-in-law Juan king of Castile.

#12

The pope who followed Martin, Eugenius IV, was a wealthy and handsomely aristocratic cardinal who had little political experience. He began making mistakes almost immediately after becoming pope.

#13

The war for Naples ended in disaster for Alfonso in the mid-1430s, when he was prisoner of Milan’s vicious Duke Filippo Maria Visconti. He talked the duke into releasing him by arguing that it would be better for Milan if he became king of Naples and the Angevins were expelled.

#14

The Treaty of Terracina in 1444 reunited the Western Church and made Cardinal Borja a pope. He appointed Ferrante as king of Naples, but the legitimization was not accepted by everyone. There were old and widespread doubts about whether legitimization brought with it a right of succession.

#15

In 1445, Borja took up residence in Rome. He was expected to serve as Alfonso’s representative at the papal court, but he felt he had done enough for an insatiably ambitious king, and he was weary of being asked to untangle