Dans le secret des Borgia : Journal du maître des cérémonies du pape Alexandre VI (1492-1503)
[The Secrets of the Borgias: Diary of the ceremonial master to Pope Alexandre VI (1492 – 1503)]
By Johannes Burchard. Translated by Joseph Turmel, Vito Castiglione Minischetti and Ivan Cloulas
The Borgia family, during the pontificate of Alexander (1492-1503)is central to the writings in the diary of Johannes Burchard (1450-1506), who was master of ceremonies at the Vatican from 1483 to his death. In it he carefully noted the pomp and circumstances of this family, which reached the summit of temporal and spiritual power. Her we can read about bodies recovered in the Tiber, cardinals troubled by courtesans, obscene Roman Carnival masks, fighting bulls in the square in front of St. Peter, and a banquet where fifty courtesans were presented to the Vatican in the presence of the pontiff. Ivan Cloulas and Vito Castiglione Minischetti have chosen and commented on the most significant passages of the text, delivering a fascinating chronicle. With more than 1500 pages and in Latin the text is here made available in shorter version and in French.
Here the reader may discover the true source to the legend about the foibles and intelligence of Alexander VI, the marital woes of Lucrecia, the murder of Juan, Duke of Gandia and the brutality and the genius of Caesar, the “Prince” of Machiavelli.
Ivan Cloulas is a historian specializing in the Renaissance and the Borgia family, who has already drawn a faithful portrait of one of the members in the book on Cesare Borgia (Tallandier, 2005). Vito Castiglione Minischetti is curator at the Bibliothèque nationale de France. He is the author of the Commentaries of Pius II under the title Memoirs of a Renaissance Pope.
Dans le secret des Borgia : Journal du maître des cérémonies du pape Alexandre VI (1492-1503)
Johannes Burkhard.Translated by Joseph Turmel, Vito Castiglione Minischetti and Ivan Cloulas
Paperback: 516 pages
Publisher: Tallandier (7 March 2013)
Language: French
ISBN-10: 2847349626
ISBN-13: 978-2847349627
€ 24.90