The Diary of John Burchard

The Diary John Burchard of Strasburg Bishop Oi" Or'ia and Civi'i'a Castellana Ion'iii-Ical Master of Cerimonies to Thiir Holinesses Sixtus, P. P. IV.; Innocent, P. P. VIII.; Alexander, P. P. Vi.; Pius, P. P. III MM Julius, P. P. II. A. DJO HN B U R C HA R D
O F S T R A S B U R G
B I S HO P O I" O R '
I ‘A A ND C IV I
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I I- ‘
I C A L M A S TE R O F C E R I’MO NI E S TO THI’I R
HO L INE S S E S
S IXTU S , P .P. IV . ; INNO CENT, P. P . V I I I . ;
A LEXANDER , P.P . VI . ; PIU S , P. P . I I I
m m JUL IU S , P. P . I I .
A .D . 1483 —15 06
Translate/1fi '
published in Par is w ith Notes and Appendices,
B Y TH E R IGHT R E V.
AR NO LD HARR I S MATHE W , D .D .
VO LUME 1
w .c .
INTR O DUC T IO N
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B ur chard, one of the most trustw orthy and the best abuseqo f thei r chron i clers. Biassed authors have rash ly and w an tonly accused th i s exac t and method i cal a‘
i '
tvno nizn ‘ius of adopti ng the role of I’r o c opius, who , i n h i s A m'
rdom, exposed the gross v i l lai n i es of the Court of Just i n ian . S o fal se
an esti mate of the val ue of B ishop Burchard’s record has necessi t ated the publ i cation of h i s D i ary i n i ts ent i rety , i n order that i ts val ue may be more |ustly appreciated .
Burchard was a preci se, pedanti c, automati c and i mpassi ve clerk o f the
Pontifical Court , an i rreproachabl e rubri cian and litur giu t l scholar, who
car eful ly recorded from day to day , w i th no expressi on of sent iment , every thi ng that came under h i s observati on .
I n h i m the characteri st i cs of a Macaulay w ere absent , and i n th i s respect he d iffered from I nfessura, h i s contemporary and perhaps h i s fr i end , w i th whom he has O ften been confused . I nfessura, the enemy of the popes and of the ci v i l authori ty , pours forth on every page the burn i ng i nd ignation experi enced by an I tal ian and a patri ot ; and even w hen , as i n h i s b i tter cri ti ci sms , h i s v i olen t passi on defeats i ts o wn purpose, one i s ready to excuse h i m and to recogni z e i n h im the last surv i vor of the fr ee repub l i can trad i t i on s of Rome. The German , Burchard , i s of an al together different type, and i s left und isturbed by any such impulses . The absence of passi on from h i s w ork , how ever, need not be regretted , i n that i t i s, i n a sense, a guarantee of h i s absolute impartial i ty.
John Burchard was born at Haslach , near Strasburg, i n the m iddl e of the fifteenth century. Intended for the Chur ch , he was educated , from ear l i est ch i ldhood , am idst eccles iast i cal surroun d i ngs. But i nstead of fol low i ng a course of theology— whi ch then requi red ten years’ close study to obtai n the Doctor’s degree— Burchard , pract i cal man that he was , chose to fol low the path w h i ch w ould l ead h im to the same goal w i th a sure hope of honour and fortune, w i th i n four ears . Hav i ng recei ved h i s Doctor
’s cap , he purchased , on June 4th, 1477, h i s r ights as a ci t izen of Strasburg.
He was certai nly at th i s per iod sol i ci t i ng Rome for a canon i cal pre bendar y ship i n the Chapter of St . Thomas at Strasbur g, and w e know that al l foreign students who w ished to enj oy the patronage of the mayor of th i s tow n w ere obl iged to become ci ti zen s. O n September 9th, 1479, Johann Adolph Melbr ugge, who had been a canon of St . Thomas ’s, Strasbur g, for s i xty - tw o years, d ied ; and Burchard was appointed h i s successor by Apostol i c prov i s i on on the S l st of the fol low i ng O ctober. Burchard was recei ved by h i s new col l eagues w i thout any d issent i en t voi ce, whi ch was not O ften the case . Nevertheless he was ob liged to conform to the Statutes of the Chapter
, and to go before the ep i scopal j udge, aecom
”
These sru'
et ies w ere Conrad Stenge ; John Mo n schin the elder, chaplai n o f
V
vi I NTRO DUCT IO N
St . Nicho las's Chapel at Strasburg ; Ni cholas Brun , c i tizen : and Mar c o f Heimburge , a draper. Bu rchard l i ved at Strasburg unti l about the month of O ctober,
“
w rote on the 9th of September to h i s friend Vi tus Mo eler , sol i ci tor of the Apostol i c Letters at Rome , to beg h im to use hi s i nfl uence to obtai n a benetice at Strasburg for a poor scholar i n w hom he was i n terested .
\V i th th i s end i n v i ew , he fo rwarde d to h i m sixteen golden flor i ns , w hich w ere put dow n t o Burchard’s account . Thi s comm issi on , which was renewed i n tw o l etters dated respecti vely O ctober 15 th and November 2nd o f the same year , places the time of Burchard
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servile Teuton s gradually obtai ned posi t i ons i n the serv ice of great personages, or w ormed themselves i nto the confidence of h igh d ign i tari es of the Church : thus establ i shed close to the foun tai n - head o f favours, they aimed conti nuously at the attai nment of l i v i ngs , pr ebendar y ships or some hoped - for favours . O thers, l i ke Burchard , bought a posi t i on at the Roman Court , or entered the offices of admi n i strat ion i n the Curi a, and ma de themselves acquainted w i th all the Ital i an and foreign cand idates for favour . In the numberless law su i ts w hich w ere i ncessantly goi ng on i n the
E ccles iasti cal court s, advocates foun d a l ucrat i ve source of i ncome— for th i s hunt for benefi t -es gave rise to numerous act s of i nj usti ce, and owners turned out of thei r rightf ul po sses si ons d id not gi ve them up w i thout
p ro test . Young Wol f, i n age about seven years, a nephew of the famous umanis t of that name, came i nto po ssessi on of a canonry at the Church of St . Tho mas O f S t rasbur r
, through the resign ation of i ts ow ner, James Hagen . But h i s o w ner s
i hip of thi s canonry was contested b E ngelhard
Funk o f Schwabach i n Francon ia , an advocate at Rome and t e substi tute of Henry S cho nleben . Thomas Wol f took up the cudgel s on hi s nephew ’s behal f, and entr usted the case to Burchard , the Apostol i c protonotary . At the same time, young WO lf
”s god father, Peter Schott , canon of St. P i erre le -Jeune , w arm ly espo used hi s w ard’s cause i n hi s letters to h i s fri end Vi tus Mo eler , A t the end of a trial w hi ch lasted no less than fiveye ars , Burchard w o n the case, and young Wol f entered i n to possession of i is canonry . We find that Burc ard , i n sp i t e of hold i ng a l i ving at Strasburg, and the offi ce O f Apostol i c pro tonotary , followed an advocate
’s pro fessi on , and gave i t up only w hen he bo ught the appoi ntmen t of Master o f the Ceremon ies at the Co ur t of Rome , as soon as i ts vacancy made thi s po ssibl e . He had con sequently been able for some time prev i ously t o
acqu i re the neces sary know ledge ; for money was not suffici en t for the new posi t i on w hi ch he asp i red to fi l l ; the cand idate for th i s must, perfo rce , offer all the requi si te qual ificati ons . I t i s probabl e that he revealed hi s i ntent ion , i n part , to h i s friend Agost ino Patrizz i , and that i t was w i th hi s co ncu rrence , perhaps even at hi s i nst igati o n , that Burchard prepared to enter upon the new career thrown open to hi m .
A o sti no Patr izz i , a r ies t of the Papal Chapel , and assi stant—o r
“ t ituiil r ” as i t i s n o w cal ed— Master o f the Ceremon i es, w eari ed w i th a l i fe of toi l , longed to reti re . Hav i ng fi rst served Pi us I I . i n 1460, he w ent
INTRO DUC TIO N vii
later to Card i nal Francesc o l 'ic eo lo m in i, who m he acco mpan ied i n l ‘t-7l
as secretary on an embassy to Germany , duri ng the papacy o f l 'aul l l . Nom i nated Mas ter of Ceremo n ies under the po n t i fic ate o f the s aid l ’o pe ,
lie filled th i s o tlice at the time o f the l ‘in lper o r Frederi ck ”Ids sec o nd en try i n to Ro me in 1468 . He c o nti nued t o perfo rm the same duties unde r S i xtus IV . ,
shortly before w ho se death he resigned , w hen he fo und that
,
” a ti t l e Burchard defin i tely fix es h im under date January 6th, 1485 .
l 483—4. — Backed by l’at r iz z i’s recommendation , i t was an eas matter fo r
Burchard to obtai n the l’o n t iff"s co nsent , and , o n the 21s t o f f /
Decembe r , 1483 , he was admit.ted as a C lerk of the Ceremon ies . The same day h is name was i nscr ibed on the rol ls of the Palace , by the Superio r of the lay - clerks of the Papal Chapel ; bu t although hi s bul l dated as far bac k as November 29th, 1483, he on ly entered upon h is duti es on January 26th of the fol low i ng year . Burchard was obl iged to pay h i s predecessor the sum of four hundred and fi fty golden ducats , to obtai n h i s hull of i nvesti ture . As soon as he entered upon offi ce, Burchard , t r ue to the method i cal
i nst i ncts of h i s nat ion , resolved to note dow n al l detai ls relat i ng to hi s duti es , i n order the more easi ly to render an accoun t of h i s charge . Th notes
, entered from day to day , w ere very valuabl e to h i m , as he could
refer to them i n cases of d ifficul ty, and could fi nd precedents of conduct therei n . Burchard began h i s D i ary on the fourth Sunday i n Advent , December 21st . A t fi rst he confined h i msel f to enter i ng notes of l i ttle i nterest . Then , seei ng ho w much benefi t he could deri ve ,
from ful ler accounts, he expanded h i s D i ary, and , as he h im sel f says , i t real ly begins i n the August of the year 1484. But , before foll ow i ng B iu‘
chard i n the performance of h i s new duti es, i t w i l l be as w el l to find out what they w ere . A w ork w h ich he produced i n common w i th h i s predecessor Agost i no
Patri zz i , recounts the man i fold occupat ions of the Master of the Cere mon i es, some of w h ich w ere so d ifficult and comp l ex , that Patrizz i declares that he never real ly learnt them accurately unt i l h i s career was ended .
“ The Cl erks of the Ceremon ies hold themsel ves i n read i ness near the al tar, close to the credence - table, and are upon the alert as to every t h i ng w hich goes on i n the chapel . They ought alw ays to be ready to see and to be able to do w hat i s necessary
, to act promptly, sw i ftly and from
memory, and , i n short , t o fi l l thei r offi ce w i th tact and decorum .
” It i s no smal l task for clerks of the ceremon ies to be ready for everyth i ng w h ich passes i n the church , and to be respon s ib le for every m i stake. but such i s thei r bus i ness . The duty of the one, dur i ng the serv i ces, i s to w ai t attent i vely upon the Pope, to be ready to obey h i s commands at a moment’s not i ce, and to be, l i kew i se, at the d i sposal of the other papal ass ista nts, so that the prelates, preachers, orators and al l other person s keep thei r proper places, and only move to gi ve the Clerk of the Ceremon ies someth ing to do. He could not address the Pope w i thout very good reason , or un less the latter requi red him to do so, and i n e i ther case he had to show every conventi onal mark of deference . Moreover , he was requi red to use s i m i lar deference and decorum i f he found i t necessary to address the card i nals . The duty of the other C lerk of the Ceremon ies was to be i n read i ness at the altar and to attend the celebrant and the other offi ci ati ng pr iests . Both of them had to be w atchful and alert , ready for
vi i i lNTRODUC T lON
any emergency , and able t o repai r l i r o mpt ly any mi stake which might be
,
and y i elde d t o him the fi rst ran k the elder treated h i s younger col league , who was st i l l a nov ice , as a brother and an i n timate . I f there w ere a th i rd Clerk , the acte d to gether i n the same way .
“ I f they agree among themse l ves , and ,
show the mutual con s iderat ion wh ich they ou ht , their task w i l l b e eas i er and l ighte r . I f they cannot agree , i t w ould 0 better that there should be o nly o ne C lerk of the Ce remon i es . When they are attend i ng prelates laymen t o o r from the place assigned to them
, or when
w a i t i ng upon them i n the perfo rmance of certai n acts , they must conduct themsel ves w i th humi l i ty and deference , n ever om i tti ng to genufl ect and b ow to the i r iests o ffic i ati ng at the al ta r , and engaged i n performi ng any ce remon ia l duty . B ut a l l , both great and sma l l , a re sub '
eet to the Master o f the Ceremon i es ; and he must rule them q uietly andI unostentati ously, and guide and hel p them w i thout hu rry i ng o r push i ng or dragging— as I have som et i m es seen done .” “ A l l ceremon i es , part i cularly those which re late to the po n t ifical mass and to the pe rson of the Pope, must be per for med by each w i th due sol emn i ty , humi l i ty and preci si on , so that th e ass i stants may be i n spi red w i th greater devotion and reverence . ”
”
A s w e have seen , Bu rchard at fi rst confi ned h imsel f merely to j otti ng do w n no tes i n h i s Journal , wh ich he heads w i th the l i st of the card i nal s, md the nam es of h i s col league , A n to n i o R ebio li, and h is supe rnumerary, G i o vann i Mar ia de Po d i o . Thi s last, accord i ng to cu stom ,
was at that ti me accompany i ng th e Card i nal o f S an Cl emen te
, Domen i co del la R overe,
nephew to th e Po pe , on h i s embas sy to Pi edmon t . martyr t o go ut , and w o rn o ut w i th rage at the new s of the Peace w hi ch
had been made w i thou t h i s con sen t , betw een the Duke of Ferrara and the Venetians
, S i x tus IV . d i ed o n A ugust 12th, 1484, at the age of seventy .
Burchard , who was charged w i th the a r rangemen t o f the funeral r i tes of the
dec eased , repa i red to th e Vati can , togethe r w i th h i s col league G iovann i Maria
dc l’o di o . He ha s gi ven u s a st r i k i ng ac co un t of th i s d ramati c i ncid ent , in w hi ch he played the tw o - fo ld
(p ar t of actor and spectato r . We see
, the old
man l eft 1 °
ng dead and nake upo n a tabl e , w h i l st the offi c ial s and servants o f hi s alirc e are plunderi ng the apa rtments and ca rry i ng o ff everyth i ng upo n w i ch they can lay thei r hands . In va i n Burchard appeal s to those who ar e unde r mo st obl igat ion t o the Pope, and begs them to hel p h im i n hi s
INTRO DUC T IO N i x
urgent duty ; he can ba re ly o bta i n sn tlic ien t. water and l i n en W i l l i wh ich to wash and clo th e the co rpse . A fter fo ur ho urs have e lapsed , a co o k br i ngsso me warm water i n a la rge vesse l w h i ch was used fo r washi ng up the d i sh es , and the barbe r o f the d ec eased l
' o n t itl
' sends fo r a bas i n fro m h is sho p .
B u r chard was thus enabl ed to wash - the bo dy , and as h e had no l i n e n , he was obl iged to tear up the sh i r t. fo r a to w el . He the n c l o th ed the d eceased in h i s po nti fi ca l robes , and pu t. o n h i s l i nge r a ri ng wor th three hund red ducats . A s a protection aga i n s t th i eves , guard s w e re s t ati o n ed n ea r the co rpse of S i x tus IV . ,
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e wh ich th e Po pe h imse l f had chosen . No tw ith
stand i ng hi s natural coo l n ess , Bu rchard o w ns that , ove rpow e red b em o ti o n at s igh t of such greatn ess dest i n ed to undergo al l the reve rses o fo rtun e ,“ he made a bl under ; for S ix tu s IV . had formerly bel o nged to the l i'ran c ism n
O r der, and he ough t to have been buri ed i n that habi t, as in th e case o f
A lexander V.
When the Pope was dead , every one was eager to know who w ould be chosen by the Sacred Col lege to succeed h im. Burchard , who attended the card i nal s to the conclave
, menti on s amongst m i nor deta i l s the s c c ial
f eatures of the meet ings . O n the 99th of August, Card i na l Mo l lfet t a,
G i ovann i - Batti sta C ibo, a Genoese by b i rth , was pro cla i med Pope , under the name of Innocent V I I I . The new Pontiff was at once bombarded w i th pet i t i ons from the
card i nal s who had gi ven h i m thei rvotes . Innocent V I I I . signed everyth i ng w i thout questi on— and i n th i s wholesale d i stributi on of grants and favours, Burchard took care that he was not overlooked . He asked and obta i ned the Provostsh ip of the Church of St . Mary and St . Gango lf at Teuer stat t , then vacant by reason of Berthold
, Coun t of Henneber g
’
s appoi ntmen t to the Archb i shopri c of Mayence
, he havi ng held the ti tle of Dean si nce
1479. Burchard also requested the Pope to i nclude h im amongst h i s chamberlai ns cwtm cameram ; but the latter, al though he d id not gi ve a d i rect ref usal , asked for t i me to consider ; and , as Burchard d id not renew h i s request, there was no further reference to the sub j ect . The less i mportan t detai l s of the Coronati on festiv i t i es w h ich fol low ed the elect ion of Innocent V I I I . are noted dow n i n the D i ary. Burchard om its none of the detai l s of the ceremony
, even deal i ng at some length with the sanct i on
to the Mosai c Law asked of the new Pope by the Jew s dur i ng the Processi on to the basi l i ca of the Lateran ; w i th the al legory of the stercorary cha i r ; and w i th the burn ing of the pi ece of t o w before the Holy Father after h i s return to the Vati can .
l 484—5 . —The arri val at R ome of numerous embassi es to take the oath
of fealty to the sovereign Pont iff, and notab ly the embassy of Charles V I I I . , K i ng of France, at the head of w h i ch was the Count of Dauphine, Gilber de Montpensier, gave ri se to en d less d i scussi ons as to precedence , w hi ch Burchard settled by reference to d i plomati c precedents . The appointment of R obert of San Sever i no to the post of standard
bearer of the Holy R oman Church , gi ves Burchard an opportun ity to
descr ibe the order of the ceremony , and also the substan ce of the oath ,
which the gonfaloniere repeated w ord for w ord after the Card i nal of M i lan , who read i t , in a loud voi ce, from the P on tificale R omam mz. Thi s w ork had been corrected and revi sed i n part , at the Pope
’s command, by Agosti no Patri z z i i n col laborat ion w i th Bur chard
, w hose name figures on
the t i tle - page . Bur chard i s there described as hold i ng the doubl e t i tl e of provost and canon of the col legiate chur ch of St . Floren ce of Haslach .
We see that i f he d id not desp i se temporal pow er , and thus j ust ified
I NTRODUCT IO N
the cri t ic i sms of W imphc ling against the devourers of the Church’s w ealth ,
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s peace - l ovi ng d i sposi t i on , h i s aversion to w ars and po l i t i cal r espo nsibilit led h im to devote h imsel f al most w hol ly to the deta i ls o f admi n i s tration and the i nterests of the Curia . Burchard’s D i ary, w h ich depi cts th i s bi as of character i n the Po n t itf, i s a k i nd of ceremon ial boo k , h ere and there en l i v ened by noti ce of pol i t i cal events of i nterest . There are , how ever, detai ls wh ich , al though of l i ttle i mportance i n themselves , are w o rth y of no te , as they provide a w elcome i nsight i nto th e hi sto ry o f th e ti m e . If Burcha rd d i sm isses i n a few sen tences the concl usi on of the Peace
betw een the Holy S ee and the K i ng of Naples, an event w h ich i s described at length by con tempora r y hi storians , h e describes minutely i ts attendant c i rcumstances . This w eal th of deta i l concern i ng acts and custom s , founded on pe rso nal o bsew at io n , and omi tted by the h i stori ans of the t ime, compl e tes the ac coun ts they have gi ven of th i s peri od , and leads us to app reciate mo re ful ly the D iary i tsel f.
1486—8 . — Bu rchard , who had c o - operated w i th Patri z z i i n revi s ing the
P o n tificalc I i ’ mnan um , conti n ued w ork ing w i th the latter i n reform i ng
the ce rem o n ial . O n March 4th, 1486, th e Pope placed i n the hands of the t w o col labo rators eight books of anci en t ceremony , wh ich they w ere tostudy and use i n the )roduct i o n of the n ew w ork wh ich he had entrusted to Patri z z i . Bu rchardundertook the more d i fficul t and more thankless part of th e task . He col lected al l the various read i ngs , compared and annotated them , and ( l id hi s w ork so w el l that Patriz z i had then only to w r i te the bo o k , and give i t the fi n i shi ng touches . In ded i cati ng i t to Innocen t V I I I . Patri z z i pays due honour to the val uabl e help w hi ch B ln '
chard had rendered . The man uscri pt was handed to the Pope on February 29th, 1488 , but i t was not un ti l afte r the death of i ts compi lers that i t was publ i sh ed , at Ven i ce , i n 15 16, by Chri stopher Marcel lo , A rchb i sho p of Co rfu . Its publ i cati on gave ri se to t roubl e i nstigated by Pari s dc Grassi s , Burchard’s fo rmer col league ; but i t was soon d i sposed of, thanks to the goo d sense of Po pe Leo X . Upo n the appearance of the book , Pari s de G rass-i s a t once deno unced to the so vere ign Po n t ifi ' the “ i n famous sacri lege ”
co mmi tted by Marcel lo , and i mpl o red the fo rmer not to al l ow the ceremoni es of the Holy A )O st ( )lic See , w h ich , unti l then , had been kept from the w orld i n the Vati can Library , t o be o lluted by publ i cati on and he asked nothi ng l ess than the bum ing o f t e bo o k . Leo X . ,
before gi v i ng h i s dec i si on , fo rmed a comm iss i on of three ca rd i nal s
, o ne of w hom was A ch i l le de
G rass i s , a broth er of the p rosecuto r , to make i nqu i ri es concern i ng the accused w ork . Thei r verd i ct d ecided that i t was enti rely blameless. And its sal e, wh ich had been sus iended du r i ng the i nqu i ry, was then resumed i n the presence of the en ragedPari s dc G rassi s . Three months after the MS . of the Ceremon ia l had been submi tted
to I nnoc en t V I I I . , Burchard asked the Pope for l eave to v i si t Strasburg ; and , l eavi ng R ome on June 30th, he d id not resume h i s duties unti l O cto ber 23 rd. A few notes relati ng to occurrences duri ng h i s absence , wh ich are i ncl uded i n h is D ia ry , w ere fu r ni shed on h i s return by one of h i s col l eagues . They comp r ise l i ttle el se than dates, and seem only to have been i nse r ted i n order to avoid d i fficul ties i n understand i ng matters to which he refers later.
INTRO DUC T IO N x i
A sc epl ic wi th regard t o eve ry th i ng o uts ide h i s o w n o lliee , Bur chard showed
, in h i s o bse r vanc e o f the C erem o n ial fo r wh i ch he was respo n si ble, all the pass i o n o f an ar t i st . Lapses i n etiq uette c aused h i m ac ute anno yan ce , and he seldom fai led t o repai r h i s o w n m i stakes o r tho se c o m
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(Jar r e t to o n Nov'em l l w r l (i th , 1488 ,
liulies were admi tted to the l’o pe's presen c e at the entertai nmen t wh i ch I '
o llo wed the nupt ial c eremon i es . I was no t i r esen t mysel f, “ says
B urchar d , “ bu t when Gugl ielmo , the pri vate chamlJe r lain , r e io r ted i t t o
me , I made a note o f i t, because i t was co ntrary to the prescribed ru les o f
our c eremo n i es, which ex r c ssly fo r bid women t o s i t at t abl e w i th the Po And Burchard— t i o ugh neve r a Boswel l be cause never a su ffi c i ently ar cii‘n t hero - worsh ipper and never su llic ien t ly loquaci o us— has ever the note - book at hand .
1489. —'I ‘
he lollo w ing year was remarkabl e fo r an ex traord i nary even t
, v i z . the entrance i n to Rome of Dj em , br other to Sul tan Bajaz e t .
Th i s unhappy pri nce , after spend i ng seven years i n France as a p r i so ne r
’
A ubusso n , who arranged thi s afl '
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, form o ne o f the most curi ous and v i vid p i ctures that Burchard has drawn .
A vacancy hav i ng oc c u r red in the Has lach C han try , and a chaplai ncy b e i ng also vacant at the same time— through the death of the i ncumbent
- Burchard promptly took the opportun i ty to sol i c i t the Pope for these benefices. I nnocen t V I I I . had al ready d i sposed o f them el sewhere , but , express i ng regret that i t was n o t i n h i s power to comply w i th the request , wh ich had been suppor ted by four card i nals , he prom i sed to compensate Burchard b bestowing upon h im some far more valuabl e benefices. The Pope ha doubtless i n h i s m i nd the deanery o f St . Thomas of Strasburg, wh ich the i ncumbent , John S i m ler, had j ust vol untari ly resigned . The tri ckery wh ich Burchard pract i sed upon S i m ler may have had someth i ng to do w i th th i s resignat ion
, i f we are to bel i eveW impheling .
However that may be , Burchard succeeded S i m ler, as we lear n from the
regi ster o f the chapter- house . I t i s cur ious that the Master o f the C eremon i es says n o t a word o n the subj ect o f the new benefice, wh ich surpas sed i n value and i mportance al l others he had h i therto acqu i red .
l 490—3 . —A few months later, he bought the office o f Master o f
’
leave, and retu r ned to Germany to coll ect the revenues o f h i s numerou s benefices.
The Pope had, moreover, comm i ss i oned h i m to settle certai n d ifficul t i es relat i ng to a loan made by the monastery o f Hohenbur g, in the diocese o f
Strasburg, to a layman , without the sanct ion o f the Roman C ourt , to whose j ur i sd i ct i on the monastery belonged . Part o f the monastery had been destroyed by fir e, and i n order to restore i t , the monks had been obl iged to borr ow large sum s o f money, and to gi ve success i vely as securi ty thei r goods, furn i ture, fixtures, rents and t i thes . The kn ight , John of S ichengen , of the d i ocese o fWorms , undertook to
pay the debts o f the commun i ty, amounti ng to Rhen i sh florims, r ece i v i ng a mort gage on the revenues o f the monastery : the amount bo rrowed to be returned at the rate o f 315 flo r ins per annum . This contract , whi ch had been approved by A lbert B i shop o f Strasbur g, was
x ii INTRO DUC T IO N
now c ondemned as i n val id . As the mo nastery was d i re c tly subject to the Ho ly S ee, n o contract could be made between the monks and a ayman w i thout the san c t i o n of the Apo sto l i c C ounci l . Bu r chard authori zed the monks to borro w the flo r ins from the Strasburg C hapter, with whi ch t o repay the Kn ight o f S iehengen ; and to repay the C hapter at the rate o f 815 flo r ins annual ly , gi v i ng a mor tgage on the possess i on s o f the mo naster Th i s transact ion was s igned on September 13th, 1490, between the m o ngs of Ho henbu rg and the C hapter o f S t . Thomas of Strasburg, represented by John Bu r chard ; i ts Dean .
A ft e r the expi r at io n o f h i s hol iday at A l l Sai nts , at w h i ch ti me he was just r eturn i ng t o Ro me , Bu r char d do es not resume hi s D iar y unti l August 8th . 1491, thus leav ing a gap of fou r teen months . No document states whether he obta ined an extens i on o f h i s ho l iday , or w hether, i f he returned to I taly at the appo i n ted t i me , he r esumed h is duties at the C ourt o f
I nno cent VI I I . The latte r , who had been ai l i ng i n health fo r more than tw o years , grew w eake r eve ry day . He sustai ned a seve r e sho c k at the news o f the death— o u Apri l 8th , 1492— o f h i s friend , Lo ren z o de
’ Med i c i , who s e yo ungest so n , Giovann i , nom inated a card i nal on March 9th, 1489, at the age o f th i rteen
, had j ust prev iously taken h i s seat amongst h i s
c o l leagues . Bur char d had been char ged by the Pope to i nstruct the boy i n rll that he had to say and do on th i s solemn o ccas i on and he dwel ls wi th evident pleasur e on al l the ceremon ial detai ls , not omi tt i ng the smal lest par ti cular. O n Apri l 14th , 1492, a mass was c elebrated at Sta . Maria sop r a -M i nerva for the i n tent i o ns of Lo renzo dc" M ed i c i . The fol lowi ng day Giovann i retur ned t o Flor ence . A short t i me after h i s departure , Ferd i nand , the son of A l bo nso , Duke o f C alabria, havi ng been reconci led to the Holy S ee, to whic he had bo und h imsel f to pay an annual qu i t rent , came to Rome to render homage to the sovereign Po n t ih". During h i s so j ou r n i n the C it be ass i sted at the C e r emo ny of the Recept ion of the Sacred Spear - head , wliich the Sultan , Bajaz et I I . , offe r ed to the Pope to p r opi tiate h i m . Doubts were rai se d as to the authenti c i ty o f the Rel i c , and o pi n i on was d i vided as to whether o r n o t i t should be recei ved wi th due c erem o ny , as i n the even t of i ts bei ng p r oved not to be genu i ne , the Papal cou r t would be held up to r id i cul e . I t was even suggested that i t was merely an o rd i nary spear - head , del iberately sent by Bajaz et i n or der t o br i ng C hr is t ian it i n to d i srepute . Fi nal ly , ho wever, i t was decided that the Rel i c should e re c ei ved wi th honou r , and some of the card i nal s wi shed to p r o clai m a publ i c fast on the da o f i ts arr i val . But Burchard , true Germ an that he was , made a t o tall iffer en t propo sal . He fel t that a fast would anger the publ i c , who W ( ) l l l( “ blaspheme Grod’
s holy name i nstead o f hal lo wi ng i t ,
” and that some would “ blaspheme i nstead o f
sho wing devotion .
'
o ic ing , fountai ns of wi ne sho u ld be placed alon r the route to lie taken tiy the p r ocess i on . H i s p r o po sal was subm it te to the Holy Father, and rece i ved h i s sancti o n and the C eremony was conducted acco rd i ng t o Burchar d’s arr angement . Th i s was the last event of i mpo r tan c e to war d s the close o f the
ponti fi cate of Innocent VI I I . Two mo nths later he d i ed of decl i ne . H i s death i s not entered i n the D iary , wh ich stops short at June 14th , 1492.
Whatever i nte r est and value i t may po ssess for the hi storian , that part o f the Dia which deals wi th the rule of Inno c ent VI I I . would scar cely have r esc uc
l
d ,
the name of it s autho r from obscu r i ty i f he had not also re c o rded the po ntificate of A lexander VI . , who was elected Po )e on Aug ust 11th, 1492. A lexander’s character and h i s knowledge o f the world , no
INTRO DUC T IO N x i i i
less than the s i mo n ia cal me tho ds whi ch he emplo yed , c o mmended him to
the choi c e o f the Sa c r ed C o l lege . I‘lssen t iall a po l i t i cal I’o pe , rel igi o n was fo r h im o nly a means o f i nc reas i ng h i s i n!nc nce and strengthen i ng h i s au tho ri ty .
The po n t iIicate o f A le x ande r VI . su r p assed tha t o f I nn o c en t VI I I . in
length . A co r respond i ng change takes p ac e i n llu r chard‘
s Dia ry , whi ch fai thfully refle c ts the c o urse o f even ts fr o m day to day . Under the rule of I nno c en t VI I I . , Bur chard i n te r ests himsel f i n tho ro ughly resto ri ng the ceremon i al
, no t i ng po lit ical fac ts o nly when they se r ve to th ro w l ight
o n matter s w h ich he wi shes to make c l ear. Under the po n t ilieate o f
A l ex ander VI . , he devo tes so me atten ti o n to po lit ical and ane cdo t al a c c o unts of the t i me : i n th i s way vas t ly a dd i ng to the i n terest o f h i s D ia ry .
Hen c e h i storians have repeated ly caused o n ly the latter p art o f
hi s w o r k to be publ i shed , and have igno r ed the fi rst part wh i ch dea s wi th the a'cced i ng Pope’s reign . By reaso n of a fresh g
atp i n the MS . , fo r
wh i chno documents of wh i ch we have any knowle ge could po ss ibly account
, that part of the D iary which was wri tten duri ng the po n t ih '
eate o f
A l ex ander does not commence unti l December 2nd, 1492, on the fi rst Sunday in Advent . The account o f the C onclave , the pract i ces o f the card i nals , the first acts of the new Pope , and C ard i nal G i ul iano del la R ove r e’
s
’
s D ia
the entries i n wh ich stop at the Ap r i l of 1494. They have been at some pai ns
, moreover
, to note i n the margi n the name o f the autho r t o
whom they have had recourse . The passages i ntrodu c ed by copy i sts i n to Burchard’s text are recorded , and are treated of i n notes . Some of the later copy i sts have republ i shed them , others have om i tted them , accord i ng as they have endeavoured to gi ve a complete p i cture o f the reign of A lexander VI . , or on ly B iu'
chard ’
s accoun t . C onti nu i ng the method he emp loyed at the begi nn i ng o f h i s D iary ,
o f noting dow n every detai l of h i s funct ions, Burchard devotes a great part o f Vols . I I . and I I I . to relat i ng anecdotes and h i stori cal events o f the t i me— not at al l
, as some o ne has said , i n a b i tter or env i ous sp i r i t ,
but s i mply to gi ve a trustworthy descri pt i on of h i s hero , the Pope , who was much more the temporal pr ince than the spi ri tual head and ruler o f the C hurch ; and i t i s a matter o f aston i shment to the reader to find A lexander V I . , who was i n volved i n ever y State i ntrigue, and p layed the ch i ef part in E uropean pol i t i cs o f the fi fteenth century, at the same ti me tak ing the keenest i nterest i n every detai l o f worsh ip , settling a poi nt o f
law , and d i scussi ng the posi t i on o f a p relate in chapel , o r the colour o f a
stole . I t i s by the help o f B ur clrard ’
s minute descr ipt i ons that we are able to reconci le al l the contrad i ctory elements in th i s many - s ided character, in i ts relat i on s w i th pol i t i cs, war , gover nment , love and rel igion , never los i ng its v igour throughout the w hole po n t ificat e o f eleven years , begun at the age o f s i x ty - si x .
1494. —The House of Aragon had been reconci led t o the Holy See .
The Pope appointed h i s nephew , the C ard i nal o f Mon reale, as h i s legate at the coronat ion of the K i ng o f Naples, A lphonso I I . , t o i n vest the latter with royal authori ty. Burchard , attended by seven ser vants, was chosen by the Pope to accompany the legate , Juan Borgia ; and the embassy set o ut fr om Rome on Apri l 20th. 1494, o n its j ourney to Naples . H i s account, wh i ch i s of the utmost i nterest to the h i storian , the
archaeologi st and the student of ceremon ial , contai ns a descript i on o f an excursi on wh i ch the Master o f the C eremon i es made i n the neighbourhood
x iv INTRO DUC TIO N
o f Naples . Burchar d v i s i ted i n success i o n Agnano , Lumera , LaSol fatara,
,
was co mpletely destroyed i n the gene r al rui n o f the d i st r i ct caused by the sudden upheaval o f the Monte - Nuo vo i n the centre of the Lago Lucrino .
O n h i s retu r n to Rome i n the foll ow i ng May , Burchard wrote a short summar by the aid o f one of h i s c o l leagues notes , of the events which had taken p ace du ri ng hi s absen c e . He fo und every one preoc c up i ed by rumours o f a Fre n ch i nvas i on , and s i x weeks later he himsel f attended at the i ntervi ew between the Pope andA l phonso I I . , at Vi co varo , for the purpose of d i scuss i ng the best measu r es to be taken i n defen c e of the ki ngdom of Naples agai nst the Fre nch K i ng’s attacks .
C har les VII I . , unabashed by the Pope ‘ s threats , and the hosti le prepara
t i o ns o f A l houso , advanced t ri umphantly w i thout i mped i ment across Italy.
He too k F o re nce o n Novem 17th , and i ssued a man i festo i n wh ich he gave h is reaso ns for atta c k i ng the Ho use of A ragon , and at the same ti me avo wed h i s loyalty t o the Holy See . But thi s explanati on d id not al lay the Po pe's keen an x iet whi ch was begi nn i ng to gi ve plac e t o despai r when hi s hopes w ere revi vedy by the Duke o f C alabri a’s arri val at Rome . H i s co nfiden c e thus r estor ed , he i n formed the ambassador s o f hi s refusal t o grant the K i ng ei ther a right of way through e c cles i ast i cal terri tory , or pe rmi ss i o n to pu r chase su pl i es therei n for h i s troo s .
,
a Fren chman by b i r th , who had been made C ard i nal of Gurk “ at the reco mmendation of the K i ng o f Ro me , h i s son , and the electors o f the E mpi r e ,
” add r essed “ To h i s “ el l - belo ved brothers and fri ends and the o ther membe r s o f the C uria, o f German national i ty, who dw el l at Rome the subj ects o f hi s i l l ust ri ous higlmess the A rchduke Ph i l i The card i nal therei n s tated that i f a good under stam i ng between the
Pope and the K i ng of Fr ance were lack i ng, i t was through no faul t of the latter . He added fu r ther that “ the k i ng had O
‘ iven stri ngent order s that the Ge r man s l i v i ng i n Rome w ere not to be lo oked upo n as enem ies . ” And he threw o pen hi s palace to them i n the event of thei r bei ng forced to seek fo r safety .
The C ard i nal o f Gu r k offered t o grant Burchard h i s own church , wi th cer tai n restri ct i ons . I t i s probabl e that Burchard found these somewhat bu rdenso me , as he decided not t o accept the offer from pecun iary c o ns ide r ati ons ” and not , as he remarks, because of h i s o w n i ncompetence . A ffai rs were hasten i ng t o a c r i s i s . K i ng C harles marched o n Rome .
B ur chrm l was commanded by the Pope to i n ter v i ew H i s Maj esty i n order t o make a r r angements fo r the ent ry of the French t r oo ps i n to the E ter nal C i ty .
“ ( In “fednesday , Dec . 31st , ” he w ri tes , i n compl i ance wi th the
c o mmands o f o u r Ho ly Father, the Po pe , I r ode i nto the camp of the K i ng o f Fr an ce , i n o rde r t o a cq uai n t h i m wi th the cer emon i al o f h i s r ecepti on ; and at the same ti me to r ece i ve and carry o ut h i s i nstruo t i o ns. I was accompan ied by the Rev . Father i n God , Bartholomew , B ishop o f Nepi , the Po pe
’s secreta ry ; Jerome l’o r car i, Aud i tor o f the C ou r t o f Rome ; Dean C o ro nato de Planca ; Mari o Mellin i ; C hri stopher Bufalo
, C hance l lor o f the C i ty ; and James S i n ibald i— al l Roman cit i zens . '
l '
w o mi les from l lome , near Gale r a, we met the Very Rev . Lords the C ard i nal o f S . P i etro i n Vinco l i and the C ard i nal of Sevi l le, both of
INTRO DUC TIO N xv
who m I a ckno wledged w i tho u t d ism o unti ng . S o o n afte r the K i ng h im se l f came to mee t us , who m w e all de li-r en t ially salu ted, l i kew i se wi tho u t. d i smoun t i ng , o n ac c o un t o f the anal and the r ai n , and H i s Maj esty’s rapid p r o g r ess . The Il isho p o f Nepi i mpa r ted to the K i ng the m essage o f o ur
Ho ly Fathe r c o n c ern i ng H i s Maj es ty’s rec epti o n . I l i kewi se d i s cha rged m y m i ss io n . The K i ng made answe r tha t he w i shed t o en te r Ho m e at o nc e w i tho ut ceremony . I Iunan expressed assen t ; am t I .o rd Je r o me I'o r car i then swore absol ute al legian c e o n behal f o f hi msel f and eve ry It o nmn . The
mo nar ch said a few w o rds i n r eply , wi tho ut r efe r r i ng to the o ffe r whi ch had been made h im . The depu tati o n w i thd re w—and the K i ng , summ o n i ng me to h i s presen c e , c o n tcr r ed wi th me fo r the spa c e o f abo ut. fo u r ho u rs q uesti o n ing me c o n c e r n i ng the C e r emo n ies, the cha r ac te r o f the Po pe
, the
“
1495 . — C o nt i nu i ng h i s a ccoun t in mi nute detai l , Bur chard bet r ays
hi s d i sl i ke of French supremacy and h i s atti tude i s i n st r o ng co n trast t o the ext r avagan t p r ai se voi ced by Jal igny , And rew del la Vigna , Peter Defr ey , John Ii o uchet , and o the r s . Fr om the o flic ial no ti c es glo rify i ng the French K i ng’s suc c ess , it i s refr esh ing t o turn to an enemy
’s a c co unt ,
even though the b i tterness i s careful ly vei led .
Burchard’s h igh o sit io n at. the Itoman C o u r t d id not alto gethe r shelter h i m fr om the draw lliac k s o f the i n vas i on . Fo r example , one day, on h i s retu r n from the S i st i ne C hapel, he fo und h i s house fi l l ed wi th French messengers sent by the governor of the d i stri ct , and saw h i s horses and mules dri ven o u t of thei r stal ls , and the steeds of the new - corn ers put i n thei r place. He hastened to the K i ng to protest agai nst th i s t r eatment , and the monarch referred h im to the Marshal of Gie. The latter favou r ably recei ved h i s pet i t i on , wh ich was backed by three cardinals , among whom was the C ard i nal o f St . Den i s, and ass igned another dw el l i ng pIace to the i ntruders. I n spi te of the K i ng’s express command , h i s men -at - arms— and more
especial ly the Swiss - acted as though they were i n an acti vely host i l e land.
Houses w ere sacked , ci t i zens slai n , and Jews massacred ; even the house of Vano z za, the P ope
’s mi stress, was not spared . I n consequence o f th i s treatment, the att i tude o f the peop l e, wh ich had been favourable to the French cause, changed to d i scontent .
O ffi c i al not i ces then , as at the present t i me, gave no detai ls but w e find these i n various letters, as i n that wri tten by the B ishop of St . Malo , W i l l i am B r ieo nn et , to Q ueen Anne o f Brittany.
C har les VI I I . , hav i ng gai ned the Pope ’s submi ss i on , agreed to render
h im fi l i al obed i ence . Thi s he formally expressed on Ja nuary 19th, but
wi thout pay i ng any attent i on to Burchard’s i nstruct i ons . On the fol lowi ng day the Pope celebrated a solemn mass in the Bas i l i ca
of St . Peter, i n honour of the K i ng. Bur chard tell s us of h i s inab i l i ty to sat isfy the K i ng’s curios i ty concern i ng the ceremon ial used at the mass . The K i ng’s constant query was “ Why ? Why ? ” to every exp lanat i on the Master o f the C eremon i es attempted to make .
C harles VI I I . qui tted Rome a month after he had entered i t, and conti nued h i s march towards Nap les , wh ich he took o n Februar y 22nd.
Soon aft erwards he returned to France , after comp letely rout in g the I talian rebels. H eari ng that Ferd i nand I I . had retur ned to Spai n
, C harles determined to make another onslaught o n I taly . But the Peninsular States and the other E ur opean powers were resolved to frustrate another attempt . They were strengthened i n thei r determinat i on by the hopeless pos i t i on of
vOL. I .
xvi INTRO DUC T IO N
the Fr ench garri son at Naples , wh i ch had been left unsupported through C harles
‘ s c ulpabl e neglect . 1496—011 July l6th, an al l i a nce was formed between the E m er o r o f
German the K i ng o f Spai n , the Po e , and the States o f Ven i ce and )
MiIan , o f whicfithe o bj e c t was to expel t 0 French from Naples , to oppose the i nvas i ons o f C har les VI I I . , and to prevent Pi sa from fal l i ng agai n under the yoke o f Floren c e , an al ly o f Fran c e . O n the 29th day o f the same month the Span ish C a r d i nal o f Sai n t - C r oix , Bernard o f C arvajal , “ an ambassador o f the Holy See to the C o u r t of Italy , Germany, and any other C ourt to wh ich i t m ight be necessar y to send h im , left Rome on an embassy t o the Ger man E mperor. The fol lowi ng day Burchard j oi ned h i m at O tri col i . Tw o months later he retu rn ed t o Rome , after a v iolen t d i spute w i th the car d i nal , oc cas i o ned by the latter
,
aft er a general summary of the events wh ich had taken place at Rome du ri ng h i s absence . He conti nued h i s entries to the end of the year 1496 w h i ch completes the second volume of the origi nal MS . , as i nd i cated by the s ignature r eproduced o n several of the copi es .
I 497. — A n o te- bo o k i s begu n . Thi s note - book , as Burchard cal ls i t,
”
He begi ns by enumerati ng h i s q ual ificat ions and the d ign i t i es which he had acqu i red duri ng h i s ter m of office . They reveal the ardour w i th wh ich he sought world ly weal th . Bes ides h i s earl benefices, he afterwards acqu i re d the deanery o f St . Fl or ence o f Hasfach, h i s nati ve town ; the r ovo st ships of St . Mart i n of C olmar, St . Mary, St . Germain , and St . litan rdoald of Granval as wel l as the d i o ceses of Strasburg and Basl e . H i s wealth was great , for although the benefices were no t al l o f equal
,
even i f i t produced only an i nco me o f a few ducats, and they wo uld cheer fu lly reply to any who r eproved thei r gr eed This o r that fienafice w ill pay fo r mustar d, o r sauce/mas, o r br o oms
Li ke the majo ri ty o f the German functionaries at the Roman C ourt , Bu r char d l i ved at the Bo rgo . H i s house was s i tuated near the C hurch o f St . Mary no t far fr om the Hosp i tal o f the Holy Sp i ri t i n Sass ia
, which latte r was r estored by S i xtus I V . H i s reti nue was that of a
h igh d ign i tary o f the C hu r ch , and of one who appreciated comfor t and l uxu ry . Bur char d share dwith h i s cou ntry men thei r proverb i al weakness fo r good l i vi ng, and espec ial ly fo r go od wine . Pari s de Grass i s has not con c ealed th i s ve decided weakness of Burchard’s, which produced the gout that eventually caused h i s death . B ut , on the other hand , Grass i s i s unable t o assai l Bu r cha rd’s mo ral i ty, whi ch so bi tter an enemy would cer tai n ly have d o ne had the r e been the sl ightest j ustifi cati on .
As i n the D i ary o f the
p r e ced i ng years, the detai ls o f the ceremon i al
’
s assass i nat ion i s decided ly the most i mpo rtant. Bur char d h imsel f seems to have been i nspi red by the horror o f th i s occu rrence , wh ich he describes wi th a s impl i c i ty amounting to eloquence . There i s i n the D iary another gap of about two month s ; and the entri es recommen c e on Monday, A u r ust 7th, wi th a note o n the funeral o f C ardi nal de Luna . Th i s gap may
i fs . due , as Gr ego r ovius seem s
t o th in k , to Burchard ’s havi ng i ntenti onal ly i n terrupted h i s D i ary after h i s
INTRO DUC T IO N xvi i
ac c o un t o f I lro Ic r r iblc deed perpetrated o n I lre n ight o f June M th ; o r
perhaps the lacunaw hic h appears in all the MSS . d o es n o t e x is t at all in the origi nal . Moreover, it was at that da te that Burchard was putti ng the fi n i sh i ng Io uc lrc s to the Lihc r l ’oalf/icalis , whi ch Ire had rev i sed wi th the helpo f Jacob dc Lu tiis.
H is new wo r k was no other than I Ire l’o nfif/fca/aI r ’ ommmm
, wh i ch Ire and
Patri z z i had al r eady c o mp i led . I t n o w appear ed , wi th cer t ai n alte r ati o n s j udged necessar by the autho r s , who i nserted at the heg inn in r o f th i s second vers i on , Pal r iz z i's ded i cati on to I nno cen t VI I I . Patr i z z i lard d i ed i n the pre c ed i ng January.
I 4«98. —Tlre car 1498 was rrrade memo rable by the death o f
C har les VI I I . , fo l owed by the executi o n o f Savo narola . Th i s latter even t furn i shed Burchard wi th an ex cuse fo r restati ng the reasons fo r the t r ial of Savonarola , and for reproduci ng conversati ons wh i ch he had overheard .
,
wh i ch fully agrees w i th that o f the Roman prelates and the Pope i n c o rrdenrrrirrg the Domi n i can .
I n the narrat i ve o f the Master of the C eremon i es we find the san re calu rnn ies wh i ch the Augusti n ian friar and the part i san s of the Med i c i had c i rcu lated throughout Rome ; al so the sarrre absurd susp i c i on s rai sed by the preacher Mariano de Genazzano , whose outrageous exaggerat ions had estran ged several members o f the Sacred C ol lege who had been n ro st
favourably d i sposed towards A l ex ander VI . Here , as elsewhere, Burchard avoids any d i scuss i on o r any express i on o f pri vate op i n i on .
Busi ness affai rs requ i ri ng h i s presence i n Germany, he obta i ned l eave , and set o ut from Rome on June 31st , n o t return i ng unti l O ctober 30th.
l 499—l 5 00. -The last months o f the year 1499 were occup i ed wi th
preparat ions fo r the Jub i l ee celebrat ion , whi ch was to commence i n the followi ng year ; and fo r wh ich the Pope partly rev i sed the ceremon ial . Accord i ng to Bm '
’
s Glo ssmy by the new ed i tors . The Jub i lee fi lled the coffers o f the Holy See to overflowing, and was an immense success, as i t furthered the po lit ical schemes o f the Pope and h i s so n i n the war wh i ch the latter was waging against the petty potentates o f Romagna. The tak i ng o f Forl i and the defeat o f C atherine Sforza overwhelmed the Pope wi th jo y ; and he prepared fo r C wsar a tri umphal entry i n to Rome. He also rewarded h im by mak ing h i m gonfalon i ere o f the Holy Roman C hurch and captai n o f the army o f the Holy See, and bestowed upon h i m the Golden Rose . The bacchanal ian fest i v i t i es celebrated at Rome i n h i s honour aroused l i ttl e wonder in the m i nds o f the foreigners gathered together from every part o f E urope t o gain the Jubilee Indulgences . But surpri ses awai ted them .
,
i ncrease the d ign i ty o f the religious ceremonies wh i ch took p lace each day .
I t was al so necessary fo r all functi onaries and official s o f the C ur i a to be presen t . Burchard’s posi t i on as Master o f the C eremon i es made i t o f the
xvi ii INTR O DUCT IO N
ut m o s t i m po rtance fo r h i m t o be i n Ro m e th is part i cular year. H i s D iary re veals ho w i ncessant hi s dut ies w ere .
O n August 23 rd , he acco m pan ied the ho useho lds o f the Po pe and the
card i nals t o m eet the French am bassado r, Lo uis de Vi l leneu ve, Baro n o f
Trans . The S pan ish and Neapo l i tan am bassado rs acco m pan ied the Master o f the Cere m o n ies . \Vhen they had co m e i nto the presence o f the French ambassm lo r , they saluted h i m w i th these w o rds o nly S iate il hen venuto Burchard i nqu i red w hether the y had anythi ng further t o say , and they r ep l ied i n the negat i ve . Upo n w hi ch the French am bassado r m ade answer : Q u i n o n c ul t ( I liad (lic c r c , n o n c u lt r espo nmcm ; and he ro de o n h i s way , ac co m pan ied by h is esco rt , t o h is res i dence at the S ant i Apo sto l i .
Bu rchard 's nam e figures i n an Act w h i ch was passed three days after,
o n August 26th. at the Chapter o f S t . Tho m as o f S trasbu rg , w hi ch had
me t t o arrange the o rde r o f n o m i nat io n t o vacan t cures . The seal o f the Maste r o f the Cere m o n ies , who was Dean o f the Chapter, i s affixed w i th that o f the w i tnesses o f the Act . Th i s leads us t o th i nk that i n certai n cases o f i m po rtan ce ,
w here o p i n i o n was d i v ided am o ngst the m e m bers o f the Chapter w i th regard t o w hat m easures ar e t o be taken
, the absen t m e m bers w e re al l o w ed t o send thei r v o te i n w ri t i ng .
15 0] — '
l '
he large n u m ber o f p i lg ri m s dec ided the Po pe t o pro l o ng the Jub i lee , and to po stpo ne the cl o s i ng o f the go lden do o rs o f the fo u r anc ient bas i l i cas, unt i l the E ve o f the Ep iphany . The ri tual w h i ch acco m pan ied th i s cere m o ny at S t . Peter’s i s careful ly reco rded by Burchard , and h i s acco unt is o f i nterest , as he has ass igned the precedi ng year fo r the clo s i ng o f the d o o rs . In h is acco un t, Burchard repeats aco n versat io n w hi ch he had w i th o ne o f the pen i tent iaries o f the Bas i l i cao f S t . Peter regard i ng ce r tai n co nfess i o ns w h ich the latter had recei ved i n h i s o ffic ial capac i ty .
They ar e far fro m ed i f ing— hut the sto l id Master o f the Cere m o n ies repeats the fac t s w i th ac o mpi
lac ency that cann o t he d i sturbed .
’
E ste, she
had behaved w i th gr eat cautio n . There i s , ho w ever, n o do ubt that an o rgy d id take p lace at the Vatican o n S unday even i ng , O cto ber 31st .
The Flo ren t i ne o rato r, Capel lo , bo r e w i tness t o the fact i n aletteraddressed t o the S e ig no ry a few days afterwards , as fo l lo w s : The Po pe has n o t.
been t o S t . Peter’s o f late, fo r the feast o f A l l S ai n ts , n o r fo r A ll S o uls , n o r t o the chapel . They say that he has taken co ld , —hu t that fact ( l id n o t
“
There is no m en tio n o f Lucrez ia i n th is letter . A s Burchard has no t stated that he h i m se l f was presen t at th i s debauch , n o r that he h i m sel f saw Lucrez iai n the co m pany o f her father and bro ther, w e may g i ve her the benefi t. o f the d o ubt i n the abse nce o f m o re trustw o rth y i n fo r m ati o n fro m unassai lable w i tnesses . Apar t fro m the descript i o n o f the scene i n wh ich stal l io ns w ere le t lo ose upo n m ares , th is passage i s the o nly o ne i n the D iary i n wh ich
xx INTRODUCT ION
Bar tho lo m ew Flo rido , havi ng been fo und gu i l ty o f fo rgery, was thro w n i nto adlmgeo n o f the Castle o f S t . A ngelo , there t o end h i s da 3 in pan e do lo r is c t aqua t r id it ic , Burchard addresses th is prayer t o G0 May the A l m ighty i n H i s i nfin i te p i ty , l o ve and m ercy , deign t o endue th is unhappy w r etch w i th r es ignatio n and grat i tude, fo r that he may no w save h i s so u l And i n relat i ng the death o f the Car d i nal o f Mo dena, Gio vann i
'
so r ely t o th i nk o f h i s cruel ty to wards the po o r , and h is i nd i fference co ncern i ng h i s o w n sal vat io n . Fo r
he always treated me w i th genero s i ty and k i ndness . May the A l m ighty have p i t o n h i s so ul . ”
Burchard sho w ed the sam e i ndu lgence when he was h i m sel f the v i cti m o f an o ther's i l l - do i ng . Three w eeks befo re h i s death , ath ief was bro ught to h i m who had been caught i n the ac t o f ro bbery by aservan t , as he was abo ut t o decam p w i th ar i ch bo o ty o f m o ney, j ew els and clo thes. In stead o f hand i ng h i m o ver t o j usti ce, Burchard m erely reappro pr iated h is po ssess io ns , and dro ve the th ief away, “ send ing h i m t o the Dev i l t o be rewarded as he deserves . ” A few day s after the Caxd inal o f M o dena‘s death , w h i ch event caused
the u t m o st sat i sfact io n , Burchard to o k ho rse in namin g Domi/m '
, t o go t o
S trasburg , He return ed t o Ro m e o n No ve m ber 12th. Rely i ng o n the
n o tes o f h i s co l league Gut ter i fo r the pr i nc ipal even ts w h i ch had o ccurred duri ng h i s absence—as was h i s custo m w hen he had been away fro m Ro m e — he wr o te a few sentences w h ich sho w the car e w i th w h i ch he repo rted every ci rcu m stance w h i ch related t o the cere m o n ial , and the i m po rtance he at tache d t o eve detai l o f h is o ffice . O n August 26th, the Card i nal o f A gr igen t um cele rated a so le m n m ass i n the S i st i ne Chapel i n ho no ur o f the Pope
’s ann i versary . He was ass isted by the B i sho p - elect o f B elluna, Bartho lo m ew Trevi san (nephew t o the Card i nal o f S t . A ngelo ), w ho m Gu t ter i, the Master o f the Cere m o n ies , placed after the B isho p o f
Herefo rd , Ad rian o dc Castel lo , al tho ugh the B i sho p o f B elluna was o f
o lder stand i ng than h i s co l league “ Upo n m retur n t o Ro m e,
” says Burchard , “ I drew Gut t er i s
attent io n t o t e m is take w h ich he had m ade. He rep l ied that he had i n his m i nd the o rder o f ass istan t pro m o t io n , and n o t o f ep i sco pal p ro m o t i o n that i f he had l i stened t o the adv i ce o f the B i sho p o f Bel lana, he w o u ld have been o b l iged , t o h i s sham e, t o ackno w ledge h i s erro r . He
had therefo re eis isted i n i t . I was unw i l l i ng t o sho w severity o n th i s o ccas i o n , as I '
new that Adriano was n o t lo ng t o co n ti nue a b i sho p, but was sho rtly t o be m ade a card i nal . ”
’
s
po ntifi cate, was re m arkable fo r the ext i nctio n o f the petty po tentates o f Ro m agna. The Po pe war mly suppo rted h i s so n , and o u td id h i m i n assass i nat i o n . The sam e bl i nd co nfidence w h ich had caused the al l ies t o p lace the m se l ves i n the hands o f the Po to o k po ssess io n o f Card i nal O r s i n i . A l tho ugh he had been warned y m any peo p le, and even by so m e ch i ldren , n o t t o rely o n the Po pe’s w o rd , and t o d i stru st h i s w i les , he w o uld pay n o atten ti o n to these friendly co unsels, but m erely boasted that h i s quarrels w i th the Po e hadalways tu r ned to h i s o wn advan tage.
Th is co nfidence was i s ru i n . O n January 3rd he was arrested .at the Vatican , w h i ther he had repai red t o co ng ratu late A lexander V I . o n the
v i cto ry gai ned by Caesar, and was i m pri so ned i n To rre d i No na. A t that t i m e, R i naldo O r s i n i , A rchb isho p o f Flo r ence, the secretary O r s i n i ,
INTRO DUC T IO N x x i
Ja copo da San ta - C ro c e and lle r nard d‘
A lviun o , w e re all in nn u r ed in the
same ci tadel . O n Februa ry 532ml , C a rd i nal O r s i n i d i ed in the C as tle o f
S t . Angelo . Burc hard cau t i o usly anno un ces lhis cven l. wi tho u t fu r the r c o nn nc n t o r de tai l l lo l Fa ther co mmanded Berna rd G u t te r i, my c o l league , to ar ran 're the fune ral
y o f the dc c cascd. I mysel f wi l l n o t attend
the c e r emo n n o r Hw t ‘ any thi ng to do wi th i t, as I have no wi sh to lea r n
aught. that do es not. concern me.
“
The. Di ary here c nds, fo r the ti me bei ng, and i s n o t r esmncd un ti l A ugus t l ll l , thus l eav i ng a gap of li ve am i a hal f m o n ths .
A t the t ime of ( h'
sin i ’
s fune r al , the Po pe was at the po i n t o f death .
O n Augus t 18th he expi red , afte r hav i ng r ecei ved extrem e unctio n at the hands of l’iet r o ( l amboa , B i sho p o f Car igno la. Throughout h i s i l l ness , A lexander never once uttered the names of h i s daughter Lucrez i a and h i s so n Caesar , both of whom he had dearly l oved . Burchard super in tendu l
the funeral ri tes of the deceased Pope, who was fi rst atti red i n h i s ponti fi cal r o bes and l aid i n state at S t. Peter’s i n the C hapel of Fevers . A mo n th later, the C ard i nal o f S i ena was elected Pope , i n place of A l exander VI under the. ti tl e o f Pi us I I I . Shortly afterwards he prom i sed Burchard the B ishopri c of O rta . C ard i nal Ascan i o, who was ver fr i end ly to the Master o f the C eremon ies, would have l i ked h i m to have liad the r i cher bi shopri c o f Ne i , and spoke to the Po e to that effect ; but the Ponti ff rep l i ed that he hasappoi n ted Anton i o A beri ci to be B i shop of Nepi . Tw o days later Pi u s I I I . favoured Burchard wi th an i nterv i ew , and nomi nated h i m to the See o f O rta, authori z i ng h im to conti nue, i f he w i shed to do so, i n h i s offi ce o f Master o f the C eremon i es, o r to ex change i t for some benefices, but forb idd i ng h im t o sel l i t . A few days later, Pi us I I I . d i ed , and o n
O ctober 81st , C ard i nal G i ul iano del la Rovere was elected h i s successor, under t he t i tle o f Jul i u s I I . Th i s Pope rat ified Burchard’s nomi nat ion to the B i shopri c o f O rta, promi si ng h i m a harnessed mule, a cope, and a rochet . I n the secret counci l o f November 29th, Jul i us created four new card i nal s, appoi nted Burchard Bi shop o f O rta and C i v i ta C astel lana, and sancti oned h i s cont i nuance i n h i s benefi ces and i n h i s office o f Master o f the C eremon ies . A fter the c ounci l , Burchard repai red t o the Vatican . The Pope pre
sented h im wi th a magn ificent cope o f pur p l e ca ml et and a rochet . He commanded , moreover , that the capari soned mule should be led t o Burchard
’s house, and enj oi ned the B i shop to come t o the Vati can i n h i s robes the nex t day, to acknowledge his appoi n tment at the hands o f H i s Hol i ness . On retur n i ng t o h i s own home, Burchard was tonsured . The follow i ng day he rode t o the palace
, accompan i ed by Lucas Rinald i , the E mperor
’s ambassador, and the B i shop o f C astro ; the former ridi ng o n h i s right , the latter o n h i s left. He was al so attended by prelates , by orators from Bamberg and by many o f h i s fri ends . A few days after he was agai n the recip ient o f the Pope’s bounty. A t Bur chard’s request, the Pope grac iously al lowed h im t o wear his surp l i ce over the rochet before he was ordai ned ; commanded the maj or - domo t o i ncl ude him amongst the prelates o f the palace ; and also generously paid the ex penses o f h i s bul l s , bes ides gr anting h im other favour s.
l 5 04. — Such was the esteem i n wh i ch Burchard was held as Master o f the
C eremon i es t o Ju l i us I I . , that he was emboldened to break h i s prom i se to make JamesWimpheling summ isar iat at St. Thomas’s C hur ch at Strasburg .
Al though tw o Popes i n thei r turn had prom ised this l i ttle benefice t o W impheling, and al though W impheling had fr i ends in the Roman C our t i tself, he had perforce to wi thdraw hi s clai ms i n favour o f a cert ain Leonard
x x i i INTRO DU C T IO N
Bellendin , a pr otege o f Bu r chard’s . Thi s B ellendin was a natural son of a r iest . the C ano n o f St . P i e rr e - le- Vieux at Strasbu rg , and was d i squal ifie d y the st igma o n h i s name from ho ld i ng any benc fice. Burchard had no s c ruples , ho weve r , i n furtheri ng the i nterests o f th i s “ benefi c e - hun t c r
“ at the e x pense o f the upright and learn ed W impheling and i n d i rect oppos i ti o n t o the wishes o f the C hapte r o f St . Tho mas . In spi te of the C hapter’s suppo rt , the gentle scholar was o usted
, and wi thd r ew fr om further confl i ct ,
”
Bu r chard was n o t content wi th thi s flagr ant a c t o f i njust i c e , but o btai ned senten ce o f excommun i cati o n against those in embe r s of the C hapter who had o ppo sed Leo nard B ellendin ’
s elect i o n . Thi s senten c e was not w i th d r awn un t i l eight 'ea r s aft er , i n 15 12. We cannot excuse Bu r chard"s con du c t i n th i s case , fo r he o nly consul ted h i s o w n i n terests ; and , i n order to c o n c i l i ate the l’o pe, wi th whom B ellendin was a favo ur i te , he d id not sh r i n k fr o m c o mmi tt i ng a two fold i nj ust i ce— even when about to enter upon the sac r ed o ffi c e o f a b i shop . He was co nsecrated i n the fol low i ng Apri l , together w i th fi ve o the r pr elates , i n the S i sti ne C hapel, by the C ard i nal o f B eneven t um .
He dwel ls w i th evident pleas ure on the c eremony , at the end of wh i ch
’
’
s plac e i n the fol lowi ng May , subj ect t o certai n cond i ti ons . 0 11
the 25 th o f the same mo nth be commenced d i scharging h i s functi ons at St . Peter ’s , and o n the 28 th the Pope confi rmed h i s nomi natio n .
Bur char d , havi ng spent mor e than t w o w eeks at h i s bi sho r ic o f ( )r ta and C ivitaCastelIana, retu r ned to Rome o n June 27th, t o atten t the funeral o f Card i nal Casanova . He set o ut agai n o n July 4th fo r h i s ep i scopal chu r ch , whenc e he agai n retu r ned to Ro me o n August 15 th to be present at the annual mass fo r the r epose o f the so ul o f A lexander VI . R i ht day s after
, we fi nd him agai n at C i v i t aCastel lana , where he remainedover a
m o nth . He reappeared at Ro me o n T uesday , O ctober 8th . Jul i us had been ai l i ng fo r so me t ime
, bu t h i s strong consti tuti on had prevai led agai nst the d i seas e ; and o n the fo llo w in Thursday Burchar d v i s i ted the Po pe
, who rec e i ved h im favou r ably and i nstructed h i m to prepare a
thanksg i v i ng mass i n acknowledgment of h i s recove r y . Burchard imme diately se t t o work . He adde d to the Missal the mass whi ch H i s Hol i ness had c o mmanded ; and i t was celebrated by the Holy Father, after i t had been submi tted fo r h i s appro val .
I 5 O5 .
— A n attack o f gou t obl ige d Burchard to keep to h i s room .
Fr om th i s t i me forth , h i s fai l i ng health fo rces h i m to t r an sfer the cares of his o ffice t o h i s col leagues . H i s Di a ry beco mes more conden sed there are
INTRO DUC T IO N x x i ii
few o f thc d ig r ess i o ns i n to hi sto ry and anec d o te , wi th whi ch it. had
abo unded. He agai n vi s i ted h i s chu r ch at ( ‘
ivila ( Iaw te llana, where he s tayed fo r tw o m o n ths, am l was ho n o u red h a vi s i t. fr o m the Po pe , who r ema i ned fo r eigh t. days in the o ld c i ty . l u r chu rd c o uld c e r r es t idle fo r an leng th o f t i me , and altho ugh so c r i by g o al. that. he c o u ld n o t
leave fiis c hai r, o n Sunday , Septembe r l ’l l. I , he i n s i s ted , afte r h igh mas s , o n heing car r icd to the c i tadel whe r e the Po pe and h i s reti nue res ided and the r e sol i c i ted the Ho ly Fathe r fo r the vac an t. po st. o f w r i te r . B u t. the
Pope r efused to grant; h i s r eq uest o n th i s o c cas i o n , in spi te o f the tan »
tho usam l ducats whi ch Bu r cha rd offe r ed . J ul ius I I . c o n ti nued h i s j o u r ney , am t d id not retu rn t o Rome un t i l O c to be r 19th. B urc ha rd so o n fo l lo wed hi m thi the r .
O n Novembe r l tith be w i tnessed the ma r r i age o f Laura O r s i n i , the daughter of Jul i a Fa r nese am l Po e A lexande r , wi th Nicho las della It ove r c ,
nephew to the. Holy Father. T i i s un ion d id n o t fai l to su r pri se Ro m e , and Italy as a whole , fo r the Pope
’s hat r ed o f the B o rg ias was well kno wn and people had not y e t fo rgotten that i n the prev i o us year H i s Ho l i ness had i nsulted the memory of A l exander VI . , by i ssu i ng a bul l wh i ch r e- establ ished Gugl ielmo Gaetan i as r uler o f Sermo neta, a fo rmer dependen cy of Lucrez i a Bor gia and her eldest. so n Rod r igo .
“ The adulterous wi fe , ” says Pari s de Grass i s , the mi stress of Po pe
A lexander VI . , the butt of al l the sat i r i sts o f Rom e and I taly , now
entered the Vati can as the most d i sti ngu i shed woman i n the R o man ari sto c ra cy , for the purpose o f un i ti ng her daughter wi th the Pope’s nephew . The late Pope seemed thereby absolved from all h i s forme r crimes . ” Burchard describes i n ful l the un ion , whi ch had taken place at the Vat ican . The notary , C ami l lo B eneimbene, an o ld fr i end o f the B o rgias , had d r awn up the settlement . Among the vari ous gi fts made to the young bride , was the C astle o f Basanello , s i tuated wi th i n the d i ocese o f O r ta . Thi s may account fo r Burchard’s signature appeari ng i n the marriage contract . O n December 30th, the V i ce—C hancel lor i n v i ted to d i nner the young married couple
, four card i nals, and fi ve lad i es ,
amongst whom were the beaut i f ul Ju l i a , and Fel i ci a del la R ever e
, a
natur al daughter o f Pope Jul i us I I . The fol lowi ng year Fel i c i a marr i ed Giovan n i O rs i n i .
Jul i us I I . cont i nued fr i end ly to Burchard , and soon gave h i m further token s o f h i s confidence and fri endsh ip . I n December , he en trusted h i m wi th h i s seal , and sent h im t o the C astle o f St . Angelo to s i g n documents i n his name . A few days later Burchard d i ned wi th the Pope , but at a separate table— wh ich fact he was carefu l t o state—and Ju l i us assur ed hi m o f h i s affecti on , and prom i sed to grant h i m other favours .
15 06. —Ou March 23rd, Burchard went to V i terbo t o take the waters ,
probab ly at the famous spri ng o f Bul i came menti oned by Dante i n h i s I nfer no
Quale del B u licame esce ’
l maze/lo Che par ton po i tra [o r lapec cat r ic i .
,
” as Burchar d ter ms
them i n his D iary. Bur char d was soon forced t o qu i t this attracti ve p lace , i n order to superi ntend the ceremony o f layi ng the foundat ion - stone o f the Basi l i ca o f St . Peter. A fter Jul i us I I . had blessed the stone
, mas on s
x x iv INTRODUC T IO N
placed beneath i t a vase contai n i ng two gold and several br onze medal s, with a repr esentat io n of the Pope on o ne s ide , and on the other a plan o f
the bu i ld ing .
Burchar d re c ei ve d one of these medals . Possessed by env i ous hatred agai nst h i s col league , Par i s de G l
‘assis declar ed that he had stolen i t . In spi te o f th i s un fo unded a ccusat i on , Bu r chard c o nti nued i n the Pope
’s favour, o f which he was soo n to r e c ei ve a fresh token . A post as abbr eviator hadbeco me vacant , and the Ho ly Father was so anx i ous that Bu r chard should fil l i t that he affixed h i s s ignature to the deed o f gift without payment and defr ayed the expenses of the bull and fur ther s ignature bes ides .
But the newly - appoi nted i ncumbent d id not lo ng enj oy the benefits o f h i s new o ffi ce , as , i n less than a month after h i s nomination , he d i ed o n
Saturday , May l 6th, 15 06. H i s end was melancholy — i s the comment o f the fr i end who added a few l i nes to the D iary, wh i ch was left unfi n i shed at an entry made on Apr il 27th o f that year.
O n May 17th , Bur char d ’s body was removed to the Monastery o f Sta .
Maria del Popo lo , where i t was buri e d i n the C ard i nal o f Salerno ’s chapel .
Ra p hael Li
p p i Bran dol i n i , who was o n e of the numerous company o f
pre ates , an a fr i end of the deceased , preached the funeral orat i on in
memory of that Master of the C eremon i es, o f whose death and burial we know noth i ng fu r ther. H i s D i ary , however, remai ns, and i s the most valuable record we possess
o f the h i sto ry of the Popes from the end of the fifteenth century to the begi nn i ng of the s i xteenth . Rinald i cons tantly quotes from i t, and considers i t a h i sto ry of undoubted meri t and val ue .” Moreover
, the eccles i asti cal
w r i ters o f the s i xteenth , seventeenth and eighteenth centuri es use i t as the bas i s of thei r i nformati o n .
Burchard’s detrac tors, followi ng the o pin i on expressed i n an ambiguous documen t by Le ibn i tz , pe r s i st i n rank i ng h i m as a mere scandalmonger wi sh ing t o wr eak vengeance on h i s masters by secret cal umny . I t i s easy to see the absurd i ty o f these accusati ons. Burchard’s Diary w ill always remai n the autho r i ty fo r all serious research i nto the h i story of the Papacy at the dawn of the Renai ssance . A Li fe o f A l exander VI . has yet to be wri tten , for the absurd
sketches of h i s character whi ch have been publ i shed can hard ly be regarded as serious works . As to the l i terary styl e o f the Journal , i t i s wri tten i n barbarous Lat i n ;
but the rugged s i mpl i ci ty of the language lends to i t a cer tai n charm ,
wh ich occas i o nal ly amounts to eloquence ; as, for examp le , i n the passages describi ng the murder o f the Duke of Gand i a, th e i llness o f C ard i nal Ferr ari , and the gri e f and the death of A l exander VI .
B es ides the D i ary and some publ i shed works wri tten i n col laboration , wh i ch have al ready been menti oned
, Bu r chard i s the author o f a Book o f
C eremon ies , t o wh ich he constantly refers i n h i s D i ary . A t the present ti me , i t may be fo und amongst the records kept i n the Vati can ; and there , as I‘Ic card states when wri ti ng i n 1743, i t w i l l probably always rema in .
I f we are to bel ieve Father Leonetti , Burchard ’s origi nal MS . i s no t i n
the Vati can at all, and , he adds fu r ther, “ i t would be un fai r to accuse the clergy of havi ng destroyed i t . ” The copi es wh ich were made o f Burchard’s D i ar y i n the s i x teenth and seven teenth centu ri es were prepared rather for the urpo se of studying the ceremo n i al , accord i ng to Roman rule, than for servmg as add i t i onal wi tness to the h i sto ry of the Papacy duri ng the years
INTRO DUC T IO N x xv
wi th wh ic h it. deals . l 'anvin io h i msel f c o pi ed i n to fo u r teen fo l i o Vo lum es
the o ld c eremo n ial bo o ks and the d iaries kep t. b the Maste r s o f the
C eremo n ies, that. he m igh t; fo rm , as he said , a un i fo rm series . In France , llaluz e, who was deeply i n terested in the h isto ry and
ch r o n o l ogy o f the l 'opes , bo ught fo r h imsel f o r fo r C o lber t , several se r ies o f
the manus c r i p ts enumerated belo w . Mahillo n and Mo n tfau c o n d id the
same w i th regard to Burchard .
'I.‘b i s zeal in l ransc r ibing a c c o un ts fo r the fac t that. Burchard’s l )iar i s s ca r c ely ever fo und by i tsel f. I t i s as fr equen tly preceded by I n lessu ral s l )iar y , as it i s fo l lo wed and c o mpleted b that. of Par i s de ( l rass is . M o reo ver, o nly that. part o f i t i s c o pied w i i ch deals w ith the peri od between the years 1483 and 1492. O fte n th i s i s r egarded s i mply as the preface t o the D iar y o f Pari s de ( i rass is , whi ch compri ses the events of the peri o d between 1492 and 15 06.
The Lati n ed i ti on publ i shed by M . I Thuasne i n Pari s (1883—1885 ) i s taken from a MS . co ) ied by C h igi at the request of Pope A l exander Vl l . ,
A . I) . 165 5—1677, sn ip
l lem c n ted by the MSS . in Florence and in Pari s . The
Muni ch MS . , copi er i n 15 65 by I’anvin io from the origi nal i n the Vati c an , c on tai ns all the blanks and debated passages o f the p r esen t tex t . The Pari s MSS . i n the Nati onal Library are ful ly described by Brequ igny and Fo ncemagne. I t w i l l therefore be suffi ci en t to enumerate them i n the fol lowi ng classes and order :
C lass 1, i ncl ud i ng MSS . covering the peri od between 1483 and 1492.
2, 1492 15 03 .
3 , 1497 15 03 .
5 , 1483 15 06.
There appear to have been two series o f B ur chard’
s original MSS . The fi rst compri ses the MSS . wh i ch cover the years between 1483 and 1492, i . e.
the end o f the reign o f S i x tus I V . , and the pontifi cate o f I nnocen t VI I I . The second i ncl udes the MSS . deal i ng w i th the per iod between 1483 and 1492, and conti nu i ng from 1492 to 15 06, —al l o f wh ich are comp lete . A few scholars have copi ed that part o f the work wh i ch records the
po n t ificat e o f A lex an der V I . (1492 to and that wh i ch contai ns the entri es dati ng from 1497 to 15 03, and refers to Caesar Borgia . O thers have cop i ed the porti on wh i ch compri ses the peri od between 15 00 and 15 03, describ i ng the i ntercour se between Caesar Borgia and Louis X I I . Fi nal ly, there are endless ex tracts, outl i nes and ep i tomes , wh i ch have no l i terary value whatever .
C LASS 1(1483 R ome. Vatican Librar y : Burchard’s origi nal MS . One fol i o volume,
bound i n worn leather. NO number. On the cover i s inscribed i n gi l t letters
O n the back , below , i n i n k , the figure 9, to designate the order .
INTRO DUC T IO N
The fi r st page i s blank . O n the sec ond page i s wri tten i n a back hand
A 1111111 1484 “war 11d
1485
1486
1487
1488
1489
1490
'
11 .1t11v$ 1111 111111111 11111 m e 11111111 111lfo l . 4.
11111111111114 11111111111 111111111 11dfo l 28 .
V111. 1’111111/1 '
in c ipit die 21 “ 1484 11s11111
'
P1111]? 1111111111111 Ji ng lst r i S . D . N . )
It nmst be mentio ned that the abo ve numbers , atta ched t o the fol i os , ar e n o t a c c ur ate . They r un corre c tly fr om fol i o 1 to fo l i o 199 i ncl us i ve . Then c e o nwa rds t o the last , w h i ch has been al te r ed fro m 227 to 237, there are i na c cur a c i es . The wri ti ng i n the MS . i s fi rm ,
close and legibl e . Notes o n the tex t ar e w r i tten i n the margi n .
’
s pontifi cate appear i n thi s MS , fr o m w hi ch the p r esent text i s a translati on .
Home. Vat ican No . 7838 . Bu r cha rd’s l )iar y . Not menti oned by Fo r c el la .
"
fds : Mo r eau , 1267, fo l i o 193 .
'
'
I bey then passed i nto the
K i ng s Li br a ry , and we r e m nnbc r ed '
1hi s MS . was p r e c eded by the o ne by I n tessu ra, which i n C o lbe i t s C atalo gue was numb e r ed 5 309. I t ex tended fr o m the yea r 1483 t o 1492.
fds : Iat : I n the catal o gu e whi ch was r ea r r an g ed by Baluz c fo r C olbe r t
'
1he notes of John Bu r cha rd , the Maste r of the Aposto l i c C eremon ies o f the C i ty undei the Po n ti fi cate o f Inno c en t VI I I . , extend i ng fr om the year 1483 to 1492. Num be r ed 23 5 i n C olbe r t s C atalo gue , i n the K i ng s The MS . was c o pied in 1668. I t i s p r e ceded by I n fessuras, numbered 234 i n Baluz e’
s Catalo gue . I ts reco r ds end in the r e ign o f A l ex ande r VI .
Par is. Nat ional fds : lat : 5 15 8 . C edar 1111111110111111 o lim
lflaz n n '
famm. Libdaer wmm iek ?) [ 1111111111111 V111. (1483 Th i s MS . appear s t o bel ong t o the s i xteenth centu ry .
xxvi i i I NTRO DUCT IO N
Vo l . L. i , x n . 1497 r isque: ad annum. 1499. (Com ri si ng fo l i os 1 to 433, besides an i ndex fi l l i ng fol i os 435 to
Vol . IV. , L. i , x i i i . A n no Jubih'i 15 00.
Vol . V. , L. i , x iv. A rmo 15 01argue ad 30 maii 15 06. (Compri si ng fol io s 1to 198 the pages are numbered afresh from fol io 1to 230.
There i s no i ndex . ) Flo r enr e. Nat io nal Librar y : 6 fol i o vol um es, w ri tten i n the seventeenth
centu ry .
'
uar ii 1488 ad 14ju7m 1492 (the same i nd i cati on as above).
149. A die 2 deeembr is 1492 ad 27deemnbr is 1496. In fol io 348, at the foo t of the page, one fi nds w ri tten i n the same hand , Orig inale ex t 0 Ld R mm n . D . car dinalem S . A ng eli . The same remark i s fo nmfin th e R o man MS . No . 5 629, fol i o 15 5 , and i n the Pari s MS . ,
fol i os 160 and 271. (See Vol . I I . , p . 346, note 15 0. A die 1 januari i 1497 ad 5 j uhi 15 00. Fu it A n ton zi
"
( era9j u lii 15 00) ad 22febmar ii 15 03 . Fu it An ton i i Illag liabcehii .
15 2. A die 12 augu sti 15 03 t ld 30 man 15 06. Fu it A n tom i
xliag liabeehii . A l so the fol low i ng note , w ri tten i n the same hand fol . 222 r ecto n o tatn r mo r e auc tmis Jean n ie B u r char di, quaeaccidit die 16 maii 15 06. Desin it itaque B u r char di (liar i um die 27
apr ilis , r eligua qnae mort em ipsius et (I liapaura ad 30 maii r mr r un t ,jbr taseeaB er nar din o Gu t ter io .wfr iptaaun t ; de quo Mar i/me?
A uc u ux r m PO NT I F IC I I , t . I I . , p . 260, n o ta7. I dem Mar i/nu s ibidem no ta 3 abau to r ean o ny mo D iar ii mo r tem B ur char di nar r atamfu i s'ee (eadem cer tephras i sati s’ lamen tabiliter ) nar rat , sed de o ratio ne j im eln i habita aRap/mete Liqrpio , d ain f
n o str o codice men tio habetu r .
Lo ndon . B r it ish Jim enez - 7 (aban no 1483 argue ad ammm Al um/ich. R oy al A r eh. 135
, 136, 137, 138. A very ful l summaly i s gi ven
of these MSS . i n th e Catalo gu e codieum JI S S . biblio thecae r eg iae IWo nacm wis, I I 25 , 26. These MSS . form pad of the col lect i on copied at Home by Panvin io , i n fou rt een fol i o volumes (132 under the gene ral ti tl e o f z— Libr i m er emo n iar um Cu r iae R o rnanae
z retm tio r es, itemD iar iawmg istr o r mn caer emm tiam m . C o lleg it et tomis
'
zw tin i.
Deni s Godfrey publ i shed i n 1649 some extracts from Burchard’s D i ary relati ng to Savonarola , al ong w i th the ev idence i n Com i nes" fil e'nw ir e.
H i s son publ i she d, i n h i s Observatio ns o n the Hi stor y o
f the R eig n of
C har les VI I I . , a long passage from i t , whi ch r efen '
cd to t e k i ng’s entry i nto Ho me and hi s treaty w i th the Pope . The ex tract i n q uest i on came u nd er th e fol l o w i ng head i ng : “ An accoun t of Charles VI I I .
’ s deeds i n
R o me . Th e agreement mad e betw een the latter and Pope A l exander VI . , c o n cer n in Dj em Sul tan , the bro th er of the (i rand- Seign eur. The i n terv i ew bet w een t e K i ng and the Pope and the ceremon i es performed by the Pope i n appoi nti ng Card i nal W i l l iam B r ico n net , Bishop of St . Malo.
” E x t rac t
f r om the Diary of a Al e r ter (
i f the C er emo n ies at the R oma/ n C our t
(p . R i na ld i bo rrow e dfree y from Burchard to enri ch h i s seri es o f the
I NTRO DUCT I O N xx i x
A n na/c s I 'icch'
s iast ic i h Card i nal liar o uius . S o o n afte r , l A 'llN I il 'I . mhlished
fro m o ne o f li ur chard’s MSS . whi c h he had fo u nd in the Library at VVo lli ‘nbu t te l, so m e ext racts re lat i ng to the po n t iiicate o f A l exand e r VI . , und er the d es ignati on o f: S pec imen H is to r ian A r caaac , .viw ' au c'cdo tadc vita A1c .ram1r i VI . Pamc seacwcc rptacw l ) iar io Johan n
'is I tar chan l i Amm ct im 'as ia,
Mar t i. l ’almc ( ‘h'
r ic i C c r cmoaiaram i ll l tg iwt r i. I lan ove r , 1696,
quarto vo l um e o f 108 pages , co nta i n i ng La t i n , I ta l ian , and Fre n c h ext racts . A s th i s w o rk was v ery fragm enta ry , i n tend ed publ i sh i ng a se l ecti on from I ta l ian w ri te rs on ly , i ncl ud i ng lhu'
chard ’
s enti re l )iar y .
tak en from a MS . hi s fr i end I n C ro z e had d i sc o ve r ed i n Be rl i n . H e was
unabl e t o carry out h i s plan ; bu t I ‘lc card publ i sh ed the MS . in Vo l um e I I . of hi s C or/ms [ l is to r ic um referri ng, i n h i s arrangem e n t o f th e w o rk , to the Wol fenbuttel MS . (preface x v i i i). Th ese u nfin i sh ed and im )C l
‘ fL‘C t
MSS . can o nl be the w ork of very i n feri or scho la rship. A t the close o f
the eighteen t i century , Fo n cemagne w rote a descri pt ion o f th e MSS . o f
Burchard and Brequigny , p reserved in the Chigi Palace ; and gave a very i nte resti ng accoun t of the MSS . of the D iary in the K i ng’s Library .
I n 185 4, Ach i l l e (i ennar elli publ i shed i n Florence an account of the pont ifi cate of Innocent V I I I . , and the fi rst t w o years of that of A lexander V I . , taken from the MSS . iu the Library of the said ci ty. But the obstacles placed i n h i s way by the G rand Duke of Tuscan ”s govern ment , and the an n oyances to w hi ch he was subj ected , o bliget h i m to abandon the publ i cat i on of the D i ary, wh i ch had been copi ed as far as May 15 th , 1494.
The val ue of the matte r w hi ch Burchard’s Journal con tai ns fo r the h i stori an ,
the l i turgi ologi st , an d the archaeologi st , i nduced M . Thuasne to undertake the d ifficul t task of publ i sh i ng i t i n i ts complete form . The translator
’
s text , w i l l be
rewarded i f the reader finds therei n matter of i nterest and study , i n sp i te of the many defects i n h i s w ork .
Here and there, more especi ally i n the second and th i rd volumes , a few passages have been left i n the origi nal , as they w ould not admit of translat i on i nto the vernacular, for reasons suffici ently obv i ous. I n the Append i ces a few add i t i ons have been made : t w o of h i stori cal
i mportance have not , so far as the translator i s aw are
, been observed or
publ i shed previ ously , viz . the ex tracts from the B allar ium and the R eg esta
’
s tenth ch i ld ,
born duri ng the final year of h i s po n t ificate. These i mportant documents have been ignored , i f know n at al l , by those who have attempted the rehab i l i tat ion of A lexander VI .
, for ex ample Pere O l l ivier, O .P
Padre Leonett i ; the Abbe ’ C le’ment ; and Fr eder iek Baron Corvo .
The documents appended to each of the thr ee volumes of the D i ar y suffice to establ i sh the accuracy of such statements i n i t as have been quest ioned by admirers of the House of Borgia .
Some un i nteresti ng deta i l s , such as long l i sts of names, repet i t i ons in po n t ifical and legal documents, and the like, have been om i tted .
The text is part i cularly corrupt i n Vol . I I I . , w here a few un i ntel ligib l e sentences have been deleted .
I t remain s to add that th i s Introduct ion i s substant ial ly a translat ion of that of M . Thuasne.
S YNO PS I S
1483 .
December . - B urchard is i nstal l ed as a Master o f the ( ‘
er emo n ies — E n umc ra
t io n o f ( ‘
ardinals and Masters o f the C eremo n ies 1484.
Marcia—Mass fo r the so ul o f G i ovann i , C ard i nal To f A utun —S ixtus IV .
appo i nts A scanio Maria , V isco un t S fo r ra, Deputy [o f the A po sto l ic S ee and I’r o t o n o tar y o f the H o l y Roman Church —G io rgio
, Card i nal o f Lisbo n ,
is appo i nted ambassado r t o th e —Mass fo r th e so u l o f Frau cesco , Card i nal o fMan tua —'
l '
he C ard i nal o f Lisbo n sets o ut fo r Ven ice —Mass fo r th e so u l o f T h eo do re , Card i nal o f Mo n t ifer rat o (30)
July —Death o f E l ias, Card i nal o f T o urs (5 ) A ug ust —Death o f S ix tus IV . (MA
— Burial — Masses fo r th e so ul o f th e Po pe (17 — Bu i l d i ng o f the all fo r th e Co nclave (Z3).—G i ro lamo R iar io surrenders the Cas t l e o f S t . Angelo — A rr ival o f Ascan io Maria
May ; June ; Jata. - Revert i ng t o th e even ts o f May , June and Ju l y : G i ro lam o R iar io and Vir g in io O rs i n i lay s i ege t o th e h o use o f Cardinal C o lo nna ; the pro to no tar Lo renzo Co l o nna, is taken pr iso ner (May — Lo renzo Co lo nna i