ib_lange

**__ Internal Assessment __** **__ Axel Lange __** **__ Table of Contents: __**
 * __ How accurate is the representation of Rodrigo Borgia in the video game “Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood”? __**
 * Section A: Plan of Investigation
 * Section B: Summary of Evidence
 * Section C: Evaluation of sources
 * Section D: Analysis
 * Section E: Conclusion
 * Section F: List of Sources

This study will seek to answer the question “how accurate is the representation of Rodrigo Borgia in the video game Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood?” I chose this question not only because I love the game, but also because Renaissance Italy is infamous for its tyrannical ruling families, amongst which the Borgia is the most notorious. I wanted to find out just how accurate was the representation the Borgia, paying particular attention to Rodrigo Borgia. To answer this question, I have shaped my study along the following lines: using the video game and other sources, I will describe Rodrigo Borgia in his worst light, as a notorious, incestuous, power hungry madman. I will show that assumption to not only be false but grossly so, by using reliable sources such as books [1], a diary [2] and the videogame [3]. I will structure my analysis first by looking at the different interpretations of the information regarding Rodrigo Borgia. I will compare the points of view held by the game and Johann Burchard, accompanied with the opinions of two modern historians, C. Hibbert and G.J. Meyer. I will then critically analyse the values of their claims on the subject of his supposed wealth, corruption, murders and sexual depravity. Two other sources [4] are mentioned and used, but through another main source [5]. This is due to their non-republication and difficulty to find. // Words: 223 // **__ Section B: Summary of evidence __** The Borgia story starts with the election of the first Borgia pope, Cardinal Alonso de Borja [6], in 1455. From wealthy origins as Bishop of Valencia, Alonso de Borgia had arrived in Rome as a secretary to the King of Naples [7]. Already a churchman, he made a profound impression on the pope, who promoted him to Cardinal [8]. When Pope Nicholas died in 1455, Alonso Borgia was still considered an outsider, a Spaniard of little importance. However, the cardinals were split and could not decide who to choose, and so had to come to a compromise, who turned out to be Alonso Borgia, now to be known as pope Calixtus III. Calixtus would have an eventful reign, but his actions that concern this study are all focused on the appointment of his nephew, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja [9], to the Sacred College in 1457. This nepotism, although frowned upon in later centuries, was common practice in Renaissance Italy and Rodrigo had already proven himself by occupying highly-placed positions in the Church. Rodrigo Borgia, now that he was cardinal, would become one of the most influential men of his era. Rodrigo was also a Spaniard, yet he was described by other cardinals and many others as a man of many talents, who was very responsible and mature despite his young age [10]. For example, the diplomat and cardinal Enea Piccolomini, a respected man who was to become pope himself (thanks to Rodrigo’s help [11] ) described Rodrigo with the words “Cardinal Rodrigo is young, it is true, but his conduct and good sense add years to his age” [12]. After having spent 35 years in the service of three popes, managing to maintain his positions and have an important voice in the conclaves that would elect popes Sixtus IV and Innocent VIII, Rodrigo Borgia, now a veteran of papal politics, was elected to the Papal throne as Pope Alexander VI. As pope, Rodrigo Borgia would be famous for pioneering the use ambassadors to try and calm the tempers of the three most powerful leaders in Europe, the King of France and the King and Queen of Spain. He also, through his nephew Cesare, managed to regain most of the city states that had rebelled against their papal overlord [13]. However, he is also infamous for many other things, many of which simply aren’t true. In the game, it is stated outright in his biography that the pope was guilty of incest with his daughter Lucrezia. This is impossible for the simple reason that Lucrezia was already married [14] and spent most of her time with her husband. like her brothers Juan, Cesare and Jofre were the children of a Spanish woman named Vanozza Borgia and a Lanzol [15]. This is arguable as there are no traces of Rodrigo ever having affairs [16]. If he had, there would have been stories told around the papal court, rumors that could reach far. The fact that there are no contemporary sources that indicate this, as well as there being no trace of illegitimate children, it seems hard to believe Rodrigo was a lustful maniac. The game goes on to say Rodrigo Borgia used poison to get rid of his enemies, with stories sprouting of the Borgias holding the secret of a poison that could be activated at will, meaning a person could die two weeks after ingestion. Another more probable example is that these victims were infected with malaria, a disease rampant at that time. In fact most of what the game claims is untrue for the simple reason the dates are wrong and Rodrigo could not possibly have done what the game claims he did. // Words: 604 //
 * __ Section A: Plan of investigation __**

//__ Source A: Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood __// The origin of this source is in a historically focused game series, taking place over different time periods. This installment, the third of the franchise, focuses on the Italian Renaissance, specifically about the adventures of Ezio Auditore and his fight against the Borgia family. From this we can deduce that the purpose of this source is more to entertain than to inform, yet it is important to note that the game developers have strived at maintaining a level of historical accuracy by employing a historian to monitor the storyline and in-game architecture, as well as writing the in-game encyclopedia. On this basis, this source provides a clear overview of the worst deeds the Borgias are thought to have committed whilst maintaining a degree of historical accuracy. Nevertheless, the main limitation of this source is that it is a game “inspired by historical events and characters”[17]. This means that the developers may have tweaked raw data to make the Borgias seem worse than they were. After all, the Borgias are the evil faction in the game and cannot outshine the “good” faction. For the same reason, the “good” faction’s actions may seem more moral than that of the Borgias. // Words: 198 // //__ Source B: At the Court of the Borgia, being an account of the Reign of Pope Alexander VI, written by his Master of Ceremonies Johann Burchard, edited and translated by Geoffrey Parker __// The origin of this source is a diary, written by one of Rodrigo Borgia’s contemporaries. As such, we can deduce that its purpose is to record Johann Burchard’s thoughts and opinions as he went about his work, which was very close to the pope’s. The value of this source is that not only was it written by a contemporary of Alexander VI, it was written by a very close contemporary, a man who would meet with the Pope daily and who formed a large part of his public life. As Master of Ceremonies, Johann Burchard organized every one of the pope’s outings, went with him on trips and was present during some of the more momentous events in the pope’s reign. However, therein lies the main limitation of this source. As master of ceremonies, Johann Burchard concentrated more on the respect of protocol and tradition than he did on rumours and gossip about his employer. This means that when writing about the events that happened, he would write about the riding order in the processions more often than he would discuss the pope’s dealings. // Words: 184 // **__ Section D: Analysis __** //__ Different Interpretations: __// The game Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood contends that Rodrigo Borgia was a rich, power hungry maniac, willing to stop at nothing to get his way. The game also claims that not only were Juan, Cesare, Lucrezia and Jofre his illegitimate children, he maintained relations with their mother and other mistresses, leading a life of sexual depravity. Furthermore, it claims that he bought his offices with money and promises, duping and buying his fellow cardinals. Although it is probably true that Rodrigo Borgia desired power (as did almost every pope in the Renaissance period), it is very unlikely that those were the means he used to achieve this power. However, it is understandable to see why the game states this. It is backed up by several notable historians, such as C. Hibbert or F. Gucciardini. This is worrying because it means serious historians have staked credibility on the story of Rodrigo Borgia being nothing more than a vicious bully. As T. Stanley puts it “This trend is worrying because it seeks to personalise history to the point of sordid anecdote”[18]. By using Johann Burchard’s diar and G.J. Meyer, I will make it clear just how unlikely it is that Rodrigo Borgia bought his offices, poisoned his enemies and had incestuous relations with his daughter. // Words: 212 // //__ Critical Analysis: __// If we look closely at the videogame, it quickly becomes apparent that the developers tried their best to remain historically accurate. A lot of the dates match and key events are represented. The problem lies with the game’s storyline. The Assassin’s Creed series is based on a secret war, dating back to the Crusades, between Templars and a shadowy group called Assassins. In Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, you play an assassin, tasked with killing Rodrigo Borgia, leader of the Templars. This story means that the developers had to tamper with some facts in order to make their story slightly more believable. However, some of the facts they tampered with make Rodrigo Borgia look like a depraved maniac, killing everyone in his way. Doubtless there were some murders happening around the Pope, something that people are quick to notice, but most forget that Renaissance Italy was a dangerous time to live in. In the game, it is only the Borgia family that is accused with murder and fratricide. In fact, the in-game “encyclopedia” claims that Cesare Borgia killed his brother Juan. What it does not mention is that many other families were doing this if not worse things[19]. In the 21st century, many people are shocked by this kind of behavior but in Renaissance Italy, political murder was the norm. In reality, no murders can be traced back to a command issued by Rodrigo[20], whereas his opponents the Colonna and the Orsini did not shy away. Furthermore, the stories of how he managed to poison his enemies so that they would die a certain amount of time later are fanciful at best. Renaissance Rome was surrounded by a swampland, meaning that deaths that exhibited malaria symptoms were wrongly attributed to poison by people seeking to blacken the Borgia name, such as Giuliano Della Rovere. As for Rodrigo corrupting his fellow cardinals in order to make himself pope, it is a financial impossibility that he was able to do so. Until reaching papal status, Rodrigo was supposed to run his office as secretary to the pope with his own money. His love of glamorous events meant he spent more than he had and had to convince the pope to postpone his mortgage payments. Any man in that financial state could not possibly have bought out 26 Cardinals. Finally, the rumour in which he abandoned himself to sexual depravity with his mistresses, Vannozza and Giulia. This is highly unlikely for two reasons: the first is that Vanozza was Cesare and Lucrezia’s mother and only came to Italy after they had been born. She was one of Rodrigo’s sister in-laws, of which, due to the large families and many marriages,he had many. A relationship with Vanozza would have been the talk of the town and no traces of it appear until after the pope’s death. A relationship with Giulia Farnese is unlikely simply because when he died in 1503, she was 15. // Words: 563 //
 * __ Section C: Evaluation of sources __**

To conclude, this study has shown that the Rodrigo Borgia shown in Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood and the Rodrigo Borgia shown to us by history are vastly different people. The real Rodrigo Borgia was in all likelihood a man dedicated to his work as pontiff, far too busy to defend himself against petty and weightless accusations, instead devoting his time to stopping invasions and walking a delicate tightrope between the two European superpowers, Spain and France. Despite this, he was known as “friendly, with a boisterous sense of humour” [21], a man who had time for others and loved his family. Throughout his papal reign, he even kept a whole day for Romans to come to him with their requests [22]. For the author, this shows a man obsessed, not with power, but rather the safety and good conduct of his realm. This study shows that to understand history, it is vitally important to research it thoroughly. In the case of Rodrigo Borgia, the fact that he was cast as one of the main characters in a hugely popular videogame shows that the reputation of the Borgias has reached popular audiences, yet the description of this character and his actions are hugely inconsistent to the truth. Rodrigo Borgia was a strong pontiff, head of an even stronger family and perhaps one of the best leaders Italy could have had in that time period. Yet he is remembered as a sexually depraved monster, obsessed with power. Historical accuracy is hugely necessary in showing the world today that those we remember as one thing might have been something completely other. // Words: 280 //
 * __ Section E: Conclusion __**

__ Literary sources: __ = __ Non-literary sources: __ = = · Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. Developed by Ubisoft Montreal, released in November 2010. = = = __ Appendix A: __ Extract from the diary of Enea Piccolomini, Cardinal of Siena: “//Enea went at daybreak to Rodrigo, the vice-chancello, and asked whether he had sold himself to Rouen. ‘What would you have me do?’ he answered. ‘The thing is settled. Many of the cardinals have met in the privies and decided to elect him. It is not for my advantage to remain with a small minority out of favor with the new pope. I am joining the majority and I have looked out for my own interests. I shall not lose the chancellorship; I have a note from Rouen assuring me of that. If I do not vote for him, the others will elect him anyway and I shall be stripped of my office.’ Enea said to him, ‘you young fool! Will you then put an enemy of your nation in the Apostle’s chair? And will you put faith in the note of a man who is faithless? You will have the note; Avignon will have the chancellorship. For what has been promised to you has been promised to him also and solemnly affirmed. Will faith be kept with him or with you? Will a Frenchman be more friendly to a Frenchman or a Catalan? Will he be more concerned for a foreigner or for his own countryman? Take care, you inexperienced boy! Take care, you fool! And if you have no regard for the Christian religion and despise God, for whom you are such a vicar, at least take thought for yourself, for you will find yourself among the hindmost, if a Frenchman is pope.”// __ Appendix B: __ “//The Papal states covered a large area in northern and central Italy, stretching down the Adriatic coast from Bologna and Ravenna to Ancona and across the Apennines into the Tiber valley to include Lazio and the countryside around Rome. It was a mosaic of small states, each belonging to the church, bordered to the north by the Duchy of Ferrara and to the south by that of Urbino, both of papal fiefs, and to the west by the independent Republic of Florence. Some of these states were administered directly from Rome, like Spoleto, where Lucrezia was governor; others were ruled by quasi-autonomous lords, known as vicars. As Niccolo Machiavelli observed without excessive exaggeration, these lands were ‘a nursery of all the worst crimes, of outbreaks of rapine and murder, resulting from the wickedness of local lords and not, as these lords maintained, from the disposition of their subjects. For these lords were poor, yet endeavouring to live as though they were rich, they resorted to innumerable cruelties. And passed laws prohibiting certain acts only to give occasion for breaking them… and punishing offenders by imposing heavy fines which they collected.’ The area might have been intermittently lawless, but much of it was highly fertile, especially in the north; where agriculture flourished on the alluvial soils of the Po plain. It was also of enormous strategic potential, offering the possibility, once firmly unified, of a state as considerable as those of Naples, Venice or Florence.”//
 * __ Section F: List of Sources __**
 * G.J Meyer. //The Borgias: The Hidden History,// 2013. Bantam Books, New York. ISBN-10: 0345526910. ISBN-13: 978-0345526915
 * C. Hibbert. //The Borgias And Their Enemies,// 2008. Mariner Books, New York. ISBN-10: 0547247818. ISBN-13: 978-0547247816
 * J.Burchard, //At the court of the Borgia, being an account of the Reign of Pope Alexander VI written by his Master of Ceremonies.// Edited and translated by Geoffrey Parker, 1963. The Folio Society, London. No ISBN, ASIN: B0000CLOLM
 * M. Johnson, //The Borgias,// 1981. Macdonald Futura Publishers, Great Britain. ISBN-10: 0354047914. ISBN-13: 978-0354047913
 * P. De Roo, //Material for a history of Pope Alexander VI, His Relatives and His Time,// 1924. Desclée, De Brouwer and co., Italy. Extracts taken from G.J Meyer’s //The Borgias: The Hidden History//. ibid
 * F. Guicciardini, //History of Italy and History of Florence.// Translated by Cecil Grayson, 1964. Twayne, New York. Extracts taken from G.J Meyer’s //The Borgias: The Hidden History.// Ibid
 * T. Stanley, //The Contrarian: Give the Borgias a Break.// History Today, volume 61. Issue 2.

[1] G.J Meyer. //The Borgias: The Hidden History,// 2013. Bantam Books, New York. ISBN-10: 0345526910. ISBN-13: 978-0345526915. C. Hibbert. //The Borgias And Their Enemies,// 2008. Mariner Books, New York. ISBN-10: 0547247818. ISBN-13: 978-0547247816. M. Johnson, //The Borgias,// 1981. Macdonald Futura Publishers, Great Britain. ISBN-10: 0354047914. ISBN-13: 978-0354047913 [2] J.Burchard, //At the court of the Borgia, being an account of the Reign of Pope Alexander VI written by his Master of Ceremonies.// Edited and translated by Geoffrey Parker, 1963. The Folio Society, London. No ISBN, ASIN: B0000CLOLM. [3] Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, released November 2010 by Ubisoft Montréal. [4] P. De Roo, //Material for a history of Pope Alexander VI, His Relatives and His Time,// 1924. Desclée, De Brouwer and co., Italy. Extracts taken from G.J Meyer’s //The Borgias: The Hidden History//. Ibid. F. Guicciardini, //History of Italy and History of Florence.// Translated by Cecil Grayson, 1964. Twayne, New York. Extracts taken from G.J Meyer’s //The Borgias: The Hidden History.// Ibid. [5] G.J Meyer, //The Borgias: The Hidden History.// ibid [6] The Spanish name “De Borja” quickly became Borgia. C. Hibbert, //The Borgias and their enemies, ibid.// page 12 “The Borjas, or Borgias as they were known in Italy”. [7] ,3 Alfonso was recognized for his skills in diplomacy and administration. As such, he was sent to Rome by Alfonso to be his ambassador. G.J. Meyer, //The Borgias: the Hidden History, ibid//. page27 “In 1445 Borja took up residence in Rome. Presumably he was expected to serve as Alfonso’s representative at the papal court.”

[9] Now that a Borgia was pope, many of his close and distant family made the trip from Spain to Rome to benefit from this newfound source of power, thus abandoning their other names, often Guillen and Lanzol, to use the now very powerful De Borja, or Borgia. G.J. Meyer, //The Borgias: the hidden history,// page 53: “The Italy for which Alonso de Borja left Spain in the 1440s, and to which many of his relatives later began migrating in hopes of benifiting from his exalted position, was a place that lightning had struck twice”. [10] This is shown by his appointment to many very important positions, such as vice-chancellor of the Vatican and commissary of the papal armies, effectively giving him control of the Sacred College and the papal army. His popularity within the Sacred College is shown by the fact that there are no traces of opposition to these appointments, despite the fact that the post had been empty for two decades. [11] Cardinal Enea Silvo Piccolomini secured Rodrigo’s votes by convincing him of what would happen if another was elected. See appendix A [12] From the diary of Cardinal Enea Silvo Piccolomini. [13] Most of the papal states had been nearly abandoned by the previous popes, too busy concentrating on wars with the Turks or internal conflict to take care of their lands. As a result they fell to many tyrannical warlords and their families, creating hundreds of city states that often waged war on each other. C. Hibbert, //The Borgias and Their Enemies, ibid.// page 142: The Papal States covered a large area in northern and central Italy,…. It was a mosaic of small states. For a more detailed explanation, see Appendix B. [14] It is highly improbable that her husband, Alfonso of Aragon, Duke of Bisceglia, would have consented to marriage if incest was suspected. See appendix C for Johan Burchard’s (Rodrigo’s master of ceremonies) account of the wedding. [15] M. Johnson ‘s research shows that Rodrigo was in Rome two years before the birth of Cesare. He never left the country again, his occupations in the papal government too time-consuming. M. Johnson, //The Borgias, ibid.// page 72: “Rodrigo returned to Rome in 1473”. G.J Meyer confirms the impossibility of Rodrigo fathering Cesare and Juan. In his //The Borgias: The hidden history’s// timeline, he shows that Cesare was born in 1475 and Juan in 1476. [16] The only stories that corroborate this tale were written by two famed satirists, Sannarazzo and Materazzo. These two writers were heavily encouraged by the pope that followed Rodrigo, Giuliano Della Rovere. Giuliano had been Rodrigo’s political opponent for more than 30 years and hated the man. He also encouraged a notable historian,Francesco Guicciardini, to attack the family. The only problem with this is that when Rodrigo died, Francesco was 9 years old. When he wrote his slanderous texts thirty years after that, there was no-one to confront him or tell him otherwise. He is the man who came up with the colorful account of Rodrigo’s relationship with Giulia Farnese, when he was sixty and she was fifteen. See Appendix D for more detail. [17] Disclaimer shown before reaching the game menu in all Assassin’s Creed games. [18] T. Stanley, //The Contrarian: Give the Borgias a Break,// published in History Today: volume 61, issue 2 [19] For example, Fabio Orsini notoriously had seven elder brothers killed in order to access the family inheritance. Because Italy was composed of city states, many of them were held by warriors (condottieri). This meant that there was always a war to be fought between two condottieri who wanted more land. This in turn led to an almost medieval situation were tactical marriages, nepotism and political assassinations were commonplace and about as shocking as a divorce. [20] Of the few murders supposedly linked to the Borgias, most are linked to Cesare, a man known for a quick temper and murderous associates. [21] Written by a Florentine ambassador in 1494. [22] Found in “The Borgias” by G.J Meyer