Was Lucrezia Borgia Really As Scandalous in Reality As She Was Portrayed?

Lucrezia’s life has been portrayed as one of sex, scandal and scrutiny. However, many people believe this to be just a facade and rumors of the time to blacklist the Borgia Dynasty. With her being called a “pawn” in her fathers gain in power; these accusations could be discounted on the basis of her father’s actions. Was she really as scandoulous in reality is what I will investigate.

Lucrezia was born on the 14th April 1480, and was he only daughter to be born by Rodrigo and Vannozza Cattanei.

From the start, lucrezia was a highly contoversial figure in the Vatican as she was openly displayed as the illegitamet bastard along side her brothers. Furthermore, the being named Lucretia, symbolising female chastity, heightened the mockery towards her both due to her actions later in her life and her beginings.

Lucrezia was a highly educated individual. Being educated in Dominican Convent of San Sisto, she could speak fluently in “Italian Catalan, French and Latin’ and could understand basic greek.

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However, these skills could not overcome the patriarchal system of the time, with men having complete control of political and family power. Women at the time were merely intelligent objects of disposal for the men in the families, merely used as a tool to gain power for families. It was was common practise for families to marry their daughters off in order to gain money or political ties for their own personal gain.

After Rodrigo Borgia became Pope Alexander VI, the status of the Borgia family was heightened and Lucrezia Borgia’s elegibility was seen as a great advantage for her father.

At the young age of 13, on the 2 Feb 1493, lucrezia was betrothal was signed Giovanni Sforza. The betrothal was used by the Pope in order to reprensent an alliance between the Borgias and Sforza against the enemy, the King of Naples. This power play brought the young lucrezia directly into the firing line of Rodrigos political decisions.

This however coincided with another marital scandal. Procida, the man Lucrezia was previously betrothed to came back to Rome to be wed to his fiance. He was payed off with an unknown sum by Alexander and quietly dissapeared from Rome. However, the lasting effect of how Lucrezia was treated did not. Even as a child, Lucrezia was merely an innocent victim being pushed around at her fathers will to different Betrothals without consent.

This continued even into her marriage with Giovanni Sforza, as it was suddenly annulled on the basis of Sforza being impotent. However, the reality was that it wass anulled for the purposes of remarrying lucrezia in the future to a more powerful individual. This anullment in marriage had a negative impact on Lucrezia Borgia’s public image. The first was the basis of the break being declared by Pope Alexander VI to be due to the couple not consumating their marriage as Sforza was impotent. Lucrezia had no say in the popes accusations, but had to stand behind him in order to be divorced. This accusation enraged Giovanni Sforza and led him to publicly claim that Lucrezia was “the greatest whore therever was in Rome”.

The reputation and scandals were true due to her conrinual affairs she had in between and during her marriages. This is due to her alleged affair with Rodrigo Borgias. This happened just after lucrezias divorce from her first husband, Giovanni Sforza with Pedro Caulderon.

The closeness of the Borgias was one of the main reasons, as it sparked the rumours that the Borgia family were incestuous in nature. Their closeness stemmed from them being an outsider Catalan family. With members of the family, such as Rodrigo Borgia surviving the ‘Purge of the Catalans’ in 1458, after calixtus’s death meant that the feeling of detachment from fellow Romans and unity and dependence imbedded within the members on each other grew. This detachment from others created interest and lack of understanding towards the Borgias, thus catalysing the rumors surrounding them. The love that Pope Alexander had for his children created rumors too. Lucrezia Borgia was accused of incest by Sforza himself with her father just after their divorce.