The History of the Medici Family - Essay Example

The Medici Family from 1434 to 1737

The Medici family was a family of bourgeoisies in Italy that ruled Florence and Tuscany in the period ranging from 1434 to 1737. However, there are brief periods between 1434 and 1737 during which the leadership of Florence was not in the hands of the Medici family. The Medici family is credited for advancing Art, architecture, and science and for various achievements. This paper discusses notable members of the Medici family and their accomplishments and failures in the period ranging from 1500 to 1737.

Cosimo I

Cosimo I De Medici was the nephew of Ottaviano de Medici. His father was a professional soldier called Giovanni Delle Bande Nere. Cosimo succeeded the Duke of Florence, Alessandro de Medici after Lorenzino de Medici killed him in 15 37. Part of the reason Cosimo became the Duke of Florence in 1537 is that he had won the Battle of Montemurlo. In 1569, he became the Duke of Tuscany. Emerging victorious at the Battle of Montemurno gave Cosimo more powers, which he used to advance many of his ambitions. For example, he restored Palazzo Medici which had been plundered. He also reassembled the library, Biblioteca Laurenziano.

It is reported that Cosimo was passionate about efficiency, a trait that helped him succeed in various aspects. First, he managed to consolidate himself in power by having total control of Florence and Tuscany. As part of his plan to improve efficiency, Cosimo had all public service activities undertaken in one building called Uffizi (office). This idea was considered quite advanced at the time. With all public service being under one building, supervision and collaboration of the various public service workers became more efficient. Giorgio Vasari designed most buildings commissioned during his rule. Indeed, Cosimo made Vasari his building superintendent. With Vasari’s help, Cosimo redecorated the interior of the Palazzo Vecchio. Cosimo also made the Pitti Palace his official residence. In this case, he heavily relied on the services of Bartolomeo Ammanati, a renowned architect and sculptor at the time to enlarge and decorate the palace. In 1564, Cosimo had Vasari build him a gallery that made it possible and convenient for one to move from one palace to the other.

Cosimo’s love for arts cannot be underestimated. Indeed, he is one of the Medici family members who significantly advanced the family tradition of patronizing artists. Cosimo himself was considered an archaeologist. He also valued the artists who were his close confidants. For example, in 1564, he brought back the body of Michelangelo, who had left Florence for Rome in 1534, and buried it himself (James and Oliver 252). Cosimo also did his best to retain two of his trusted artists: Bronzino and Jacopo Pontormo. Both were his official court portraitists at the time. Despite his tenure witnessing extensive transformation in architecture, Cosimo experienced many setbacks. For instance, in the period ranging from 1557 to 1562, Cosimo lost his wife, two sons, and two daughters. This misfortune was extensively exploited by his enemies for slander. Cosimo resigned from the government of the city but retained certain responsibilities in 1565. He had his son take over the duties of which he had relieved himself.

Marie de Medici

As the regent of her son, King Louis XIII, Marie exercised her authorities in ways that elicited rebellion in the kingdom. For example, she squandered the revenue of the state. Besides, in September 1614, her son came of age and was supposed to start ruling as the king. However, Marie, in collaboration with her close confidant, Ancre, violated the tradition and continued ruling instead. Ancre was assassinated in on April 24, 1617. Consequently, Marie went into exile in Blois but started a rebellion in February 1619. A peace deal, which allowed Marie to set up her court at Angers, was struck. The deal was negotiated by Cardinal de Richelieu, Marie’s chief advisor. Marie was readmitted to the King’s council in 1622 following further negotiations. She rewarded Richelieu by having him appointed the chief minister in August 1624. However, Richelieu systematically rebelled against Marie such that by 1628, Marie was his worst enemy. Some of the instances in which he defied Marie was when he rejected the alliance between Spain and France. On November 10, 1630, the relationship between Marie and Richelieu reached the lowest point. On this day, she demanded that the king dismisses Richelieu, but the king refused. Instead, he sent Marie away to Compiegne. On July 1631, Marie fled to Brussels and died 11 years later. It is also important to point out that other than the tribulations she encountered in her life as a leader; she also experienced problems in her marriage with Henry IV. For example, the couple would constantly quarrel over Henry’s seemingly endless infidelity.

Pope Leo X

Pope Leo X was originally called Giovanni de’ Medici. He was born on December 11, 1475, in Florence, Italy and died on December 1, 1521. He reigned as pope from March 9, 1513, to 1521, when he died. Leo X was the son of Lorenzo the Magnificent. At the age of seven, Leo received the tonsure before later becoming the Santa Maria cardinal deacon in Dominica. Leo was privileged considering that his father was a notable member of the Medici family who harbored tremendous economic capability. Consequently, he received the best education one could ever get in Europe at the time. Indeed, Pico Della Mirandola, one of the renowned philosophers at the time, was one of his several tutors. Leo X studied canon law and theology at the University of Pisa in the period ranging from 1489 to 1491 (Fell 207). He joined the membership of the Sacred College of Cardinals in 1492. He went back to Florence later in the same year to live with his brother, Piero following the death of his father.

As pope, Leo X is remembered for various events. For example, in 1521, he excommunicated Martin Luther. Martin Luther was a thorn in the flesh of the reign of Pope Leo. The conflict with Luther started when Luther began circulating his Ninety-five Theses. Luther’s ideas spread fast such that by 1518, they had reached Rome. Leo X learned of Luther’s ideas and ordered the silencing of Luther by the head of the Augustinian order. Luther was a member of the Augustinian order at the time (Dan, Green, and Pattison 11). Leo’s attempts to have Luther silenced failed. However, he did not give up yet. He tried an alternative. This time round he decided to use the Fredrick of Saxony. This attempt also failed. Consequently, Leo took a radical action on June 15, 1520, in which he issued a papal bull, Exsurge Domini. In the letter, he charged Luther with the offense of being a heretic since he deviated from the teaching and practice of the Roman church. Precisely, he accused Luther of deviating from the church’s doctrines in 41 occasions. Luther was given 60 days to recant failure to which he was bound to be excommunicated. By this time, Luther was enjoying substantial support from influential personalities in Germany. This gave him the courage to stand his ground. Consequently, he defied the pope and refused to recant as ordered in the papal bull issued by Leo. Left with no alternative, Leo issued the papal bull, Decet Romanum Pontificem on January 3, 1521. This directive eventually led to the excommunication of Martin Luther.

Pope Leo X had several responsibilities other than being the Christian church. For example, he was the head of the Medici family and also the ruler of the Papal States. Exercising these responsibilities proved challenging to the pope. Consequently, he failed in several instances. For example, he grossly exercised nepotism. Some of the key personalities that benefited from his nepotistic tendencies include his cousin, Giulio de’Medici who would later become Pope Clement VII. Giulio was appointed to the archbishop of Florence, a highly influential body at the time. Other beneficiaries of nepotism in Leo’s leadership were Lorenzo and Giuliano, both being Le’s close relatives whom he appointed to be Roman patricians. While Giuliano was the Pope Leo’s younger brother, Lorenzo was his nephew. Leo was also planning to create a central Kingdom in Italy and have Giuliano head it. However, this plan did not materialize since Giuliano died prematurely in 1516.

Leo’s reign was also characterized by many attempts to dominate Italy. Leo encountered resistance from Spain and France in many instances. For example, in 1515, a battle pitting England, Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire against France headed by Francis 1, the coalition lost to Francis 1. The ballet was known as the ballet of Marignano and t occurred on September 14, 1515. Following the loss, Pope Leo made peace with France. On August 18, 1516, an agreement reached between Leo and Francis 1, Concordat of Bologna, was promulgated. This agreement sought to regulate the relations between the church and the state in France for the following 275 years. The agreement provided that the French Kings hold the authority to nominate priors, bishops, and abbots. The popes, on the other hand, retained certain powers such as the power to veto nominations made by the king. There is no doubt that the Kings in France had significant control over the church. This partly explains why the church did not demonstrate an adequate level of motivation to deal with Protestantism in the 16th century.

The signing of Concordat of Bologna was intended to mark the end of Leo’s engagement in conflict with French Kings. However, in years following the signing of this agreement, significant events transpired in the region, and they led to further conflicts. For example, when Charles 1 of Spain was elected as Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire, war erupted between Spain and France. Francis 1 later invaded Italy, and this prompted Leo to support Charles 1 (the new emperor of the Holy Roman Empire). Considering some aspects of his leadership style, several people disapproved of Leo’s leadership styles. As a result, at attempt was made on his life on one occasion. Consequently, on July 1, 1517, he appointed 31 new cardinals with the intention of winning the support of the College of Cardinals. Several cardinals were implicated in Leo’s assassination plot. As a result, they were imprisoned and executed. One of these cardinals was a notable figure named Alfonso Petrucci. Petrucci was executed by strangling following his implication in the assassination plot. Overall, Pope Leo failed to exercise leadership effectively and faced many challenges as a result.

Catherine de' Medici

Catherine de’ Medici, otherwise known as Caterina Maria Romola di Lorenzo de Medici, was born on April 13, 1519, in Florence to Lorenzo de’ Medici, the then ruler of Florence and Duke of Urbino, and Madeleine de la Tour d'Auvergne (Graham and Bauval 262). Madeleine was a cousin to Francis 1, King of France. Two weeks after her birth, her mother passed on. She did not live long enough with her father since he too died not long after Catherine’s mom’s death. Catherine married the Duke of Orleans when she was 14 years old. The preliminary years of her marriage to the Duke were turbulent due to her husband’s affair with Diane de Poitiers. This relationship continued for the next 25 years and brought sorrow to Catherine since she was sidelined because of the affair. Catherine gave birth for the first time ten years following their marriage. Overall, Catherine gave birth to seven children who survived. Catherine’s husband, the Duke of Orleans, assumed the throne as the king of France in 1536 and was crowned Henry II of France eleven years later.

In 1559, Catherine's husband died in an accident prompting his son, Francis to be proclaimed the king. He too passed away in the same year prompting Catherine to act as the regent for Charles, her second son. As the regent for her son, Catherine presided over various affairs of the kingdom. For example, in the preliminary periods of her reign the regent, her policy towards the French Protestants (Huguenots) was lenient. The year 156 marked the beginning of a series of civil conflicts in France. These conflicts were known as the French Wars of Religion. Catherine made several attempts to reconcile the warring factions. In 1572, she arranged a wedding ceremony between her daughter, Marguerite, and Henry, King of Navarre. The wedding celebration, which took place in Paris, did not end well since the leader of Huguenots was killed alongside several followers. The event came to be known as St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre. Catherine was accused of involvement in the massacre. Following these developments, the reconciliation efforts made by Catherin became difficult. Catherine dominated her son throughout his son until his death in 1574. Henry, his younger brother, succeeded him. Henry became Henry III of France. He was Catherine’s favorite son. On January 5, 1589, Catherine died and was buried in the church of St. Denis in Paris beside her husband.

Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici

Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici was the only daughter of Cosimo III (De, Montebello and John P. O'Neill 22). Vittoria Della Rovere, her paternal grandmother, raised her after being abandoned by her mother, Marguerite Louise d’ Orleans, at a young age. In 1691, she got married to the Elector Palatine, John William, and became Electress of Palatine. Ann and her husband had a harmonious marriage even though she did not give birth. When her husband died in 1717, she returned to Florence. Ann also remained the only Medici in 1737.

Ann had a deep interest in art, just like several other Medici members. Her love for arts is demonstrated through some of the activities she actively engaged in as an Electress Palatine. For example, she is credited to have facilitated the exchange of artistic works between the German city of Düsseldorf and Florence. Some of the works exchanged between the two cities include the works by Andrea del Sarto, Federico Barocci, and Raphael among others. Ann also patronized several artists in Florence. Her jewelry collections from Germany are considered one of the richest collections of all times.

Overall, the Medici family significantly shaped the political, economic, and religious setting of Italy and the entire Europe in the period ranging from 1500 to 1737. Architecture, for example, thrived during this time. Many milestones in politics and religion were also covered during this time. Indeed, this period gave way to many successive events that influenced the current status of Europe. Some of the principal members of the Medici family who featured prominently during this time include Cosimo I, Marie de Medici, Pope Leo X, Catherine de' Medici, Catherine de' Medici, and Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici. Each member contributed to the society differently. They have different shares of success and failures in their roles.