FLORENTINE
REPUBLIC OF 1494-1512
Restoration of the Republic (1494-1512)
Context French invasion of
1494: Valois King Charles VIII
called in by
Ludovico il Moro (Sforza) Duke of Milan, claims Naples
Girolamo Savonarola, prior of Convent of San Marco
invited to Florence by Lorenzo as
Lenten preacher
moral reformer; opposed to corruption
and luxury;
organizes youth confraternities,
"bonfires of vanities"
role as prophet: sermons on God’s
punishment of
Florence for wealth, vices, especially sodomy
1494
French invasion as God's wrath against Medici
political position:
Christian republican government: higher standards of civic virtue
institutions on Venetian model:
lifetime executive (like Doge); Great Council, Council of Ten
1494-98 political power but no office;
followers called piagnoni
(weepers)
fall of Savonarola: conflict with Borgia Pope Alexander
VI: his son
Cesare Borgia (Duke
Valentino) is head of papal army
Lucrezia Borgia,
daughter of Pope,
married from the Vatican
to Este Duke of Ferrara
1497 excommunicated by Alexander VI
1498 interdict issued against
Florence by Pope
Savonarola arrested,
tortured, confesses to fraud
executed by Republic,
burned in central piazza
Machiavelli (1469-1527)
Career under Republic: 1498 - 1512
Second Chancellor & Secretary to Council of
Ten (foreign policy)
Diplomatic experience: envoy to French
King, Cesare Borgia,
Pope
Julius II, Emperor Maximilian
Military experience: Florentine militias,
opposed to mercenaries
1512 Restoration of Medici:
imprisoned, tortured, exiled
begins to write, still hoping for employment by Medici
1512-13 The Prince: how a
"new prince" can maintain his state
1513 Discourses
on Livy: on republican government
1520 Art of
War centrality of military force to history
1520-25 History of Florence =
humanist historian
Sources of
Machiavelli’s thought: Bible: OT
Humanist: draws on Roman history, Livy
Republic
Political experience as Chancellor for
Florentine Republic
lives through the invasions of Italy by French: 1494, 1499, 1515
and the Habsburg-Valois Wars
Goals: realism (understanding “the way
things are”),
utility of knowledge: practical, useful knowledge
what kind of knowledge is useful in early
16th C. Italy?
Conclusions
drawn from political events of 1494-1512:
Stability
of the state is the central goal of politics
experience of
absence of stability teaches its importance
Central role of force in
achievement of goals
invasions
of Italy, wars between city states, military issues
Which form of governemnt best serves security of state?
Republic: Discourses
on Livy examples of Roman Republic
Princely state:
The Prince effort at Medici employment
How to reconcile Machiavelli's Republican ideas & The Prince??