Borgias
Infamous papal dynasty
The Borgias were a powerful Spanish-Italian family notorious for corruption, murder, and intrigue during the Renaissance papacy.
Rodrigo Borgia became Pope Alexander VI; his children Cesare and Lucrezia became bywords for ruthless ambition and alleged poisonings.
The name evokes scheming, amoral power: a family of Borgias running the corporation.
European cultural reawakening
- papalof the pontiff
- VaticanPapal city-state
- cardinalsPope-electing prelates or finches
- nobilityTitled ruling class
Rodrigo · lineage · succession · illegitimate · Spanish · nepotism · patrimony · heirs
Human creative expression
- RenaissanceEuropean cultural reawakening
- MichelangeloFlorentine sculptor and painter
- commissionsPayments for services rendered
- frescoWet plaster painting technique
architecture · cultural · collectors · sponsorship · artists · humanists · courtly · magnificence
Pope's office and authority
- dominionAuthority to rule
- conquestDefeating and seizing control
- allianceFormal union of parties
- territoriesAreas under jurisdiction
influence · control · sovereignty · throne · military · statecraft · diplomacy · expansion
Harmful ingested substance
- assassinationMurder of a prominent figure
- conspiracyClandestine coordinated scheming
- treacheryDeliberate violation of trust
- machinationCrafty scheming, often hostile
scheming · betrayal · manipulation · murder · plotting · deception · rivals · enemies
Relations between kin
- corruptionDishonest abuse of power
- debaucheryExtreme indulgence in vices
- rumorsUnconfirmed circulating stories
- infamyExtreme public disgrace
libertine · orgies · simony · mistresses · illegitimacy · decadence · notoriety · vice
Paramount's premium cable network
- televisionBroadcast viewing device
- dramatizationConverting events to performance
- Assassins CreedHistorical stealth video game
- novelsExtended prose fiction
villains · characters · adaptation · HBO · Machiavellian · historical fiction · entertainment · portrayal
Renaissance
European cultural reawakening
Rodrigo · nobility · lineage · succession · illegitimate · Spanish · nepotism · patrimony · heirs · bloodline
art
Human creative expression
- RenaissanceEuropean cultural reawakening
- MichelangeloFlorentine sculptor and painter
- commissionsPayments for services rendered
fresco · architecture · cultural · collectors · sponsorship · artists · humanists · courtly · magnificence · chapel
papacy
Pope's office and authority
territories · influence · control · sovereignty · throne · military · statecraft · diplomacy · expansion · Machiavelli
poison
Harmful ingested substance
- assassinationMurder of a prominent figure
- conspiracyClandestine coordinated scheming
- treacheryDeliberate violation of trust
machination · scheming · betrayal · manipulation · murder · plotting · deception · rivals · enemies · duplicity
incest
Relations between kin
- corruptionDishonest abuse of power
- debaucheryExtreme indulgence in vices
- rumorsUnconfirmed circulating stories
infamy · libertine · orgies · simony · mistresses · illegitimacy · decadence · notoriety · vice · immorality
Showtime
Paramount's premium cable network
- televisionBroadcast viewing device
- dramatizationConverting events to performance
- Assassins CreedHistorical stealth video game
novels · villains · characters · adaptation · HBO · Machiavellian · historical fiction · entertainment · portrayal · Jeremy Irons
- Famous FamiliesKennedys, Rothschilds, Bushes, Rockefellers, Vanderbilts
- Renaissance ItaliansLeonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Raphael, Michelangelo, Machiavelli
- Renaissance ItalyLeonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa, Last Supper, Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo
- Royal Courtscaliph, French court, courtier, vizier, courtiers
- Catholic historypapacy, Vatican, Pope, dioceses, Catholic Church
- poisonsarsenic, cyanide, hemlock, strychnine, belladonna
- The BorgiasCorrupt Renaissance papal clan