Sparks Commentary: A review of “The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance” (PBS Empires)

“To the Magnificent Lorenzo Di Piero De' Medici:

Those who strive to obtain the good graces of a prince are accustomed to come before him with such things as they hold most precious, or in which they see him take most delight; whence one often sees horses, arms, cloth of gold, precious stones, and similar ornaments presented to princes, worthy of their greatness. Desiring therefore to present myself to your Magnificence with some testimony of my devotion towards you, I have not found among my possessions anything which I hold more dear than, or value so much as, the knowledge of the actions of great men, acquired by long experience in contemporary affairs, and a continual study of antiquity; which, having reflected upon it with great and prolonged diligence, I now send, digested into a little volume, to your Magnificence.”

– Dedication of Niccolò Machiavelli's “The Prince” (1532)

When people today think of the “Italian Renaissance,” they usually think of accomplishments in the arts and sciences – or sometimes, philosophy. They would not often think of power politics, or the squabbling among the Italian city-states of the time. But this era was marked by ferocious power politics in Italy, which created great turmoil on the Italian peninsula. Niccolò Machiavelli's “The Prince” was the product of this time, and so was its disturbing view of ethics and politics. There was much to fear for Italians of this time.

The rise of the Medici family owed much to the economic strength that they gained from banking

During this time, one family in particular rose to prominence in Italy – and more specifically, in Florence. In its heyday, this family produced kings, queens, and even three popes. That family was, of course, the Medici; but it did not start out as a royal family. Rather, it made its name through banking; and amassing wealth by means of the private sector. The rise of the Medici family owed much to the economic strength that they gained in this way. They actually started out their ascendancy as a family of Italian merchant-bankers, and continued to be such even during their political rule. They were among the earliest bankers in Europe, and were great pioneers in the banking industry. Their depositors stored their money in the “Medici Bank,” and the Medici then loaned out this money to people who needed it. The interest from these loans actually brought great wealth to the Medici family, and allowed them to pay some small interest to their depositors as well. It helped to create the family fortune, which brought them to political prominence in Italy. Money was often the greatest weapon in the Medici arsenal, and was a great driver of the politics of the Renaissance (as it was for every other era of human history).

Cosimo de Medici, the Italian banker who became the first of the Medici dynasty

Niccolò Machiavelli wrote “The Prince” in an attempt to curry favor with the Medici rulers

I mentioned Niccolò Machiavelli's “The Prince” being written during this time. As you may know, this infamous book discusses how to gain political power, and how to retain power once one has it. The methods that Machiavelli advocated were unapologetically dictatorial, and he is rightly identified today with totalitarianism. Curiously, Machiavelli did not even deny that his methods were sometimes unethical. On the contrary, he said that it was sometimes good for rulers to be moral, and it was sometimes better for them not to be moral. He did, however, think it generally best to appear moral to the public. To quote an oft-cited paraphrase of Machiavelli's “The Prince,” “the ends justify the means.” (See the footnote to this blog post, for some of his actual words on this particular subject.) His view of politics fit in well with that of the Medici family, but he was curiously viewed as an enemy by the Medici themselves. This may have been because he was part of an older regime that was being displaced by the Medici, and the Medici were somewhat suspicious of his loyalties. When he was stripped of political power after the collapse of the older regime, he wrote “The Prince” in an attempt to curry favor with the Medici family. He was the kind of man who preferred to do politics, rather than write about them; and he probably wanted to return to power with this book. But the Medici family was not interested in his work, and so his book didn't have much influence on them. But his infamous book lives on as a defense of totalitarianism; which deserves its unpopular reputation today.

Niccolò Machiavelli, political philosopher

The Medici patronized Renaissance art, and the art served as propaganda for them

There's a reason that people today tend to identify the Renaissance period with the arts. The reason is that it produced a number of artistic geniuses, including Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. The arts could be very useful as propaganda pieces, as it turned out; and the paintings and architecture of the Renaissance era were often patronized by the Medici family. They knew its value as propaganda, and commissioned many architectural masterpieces on this account. Thus, much of the Renaissance art was financed by the Medici family, and owed its existence to their patronage. This is not to credit the Medici with everything that ever happened during the Renaissance, of course, since these accomplishments owed much to the talents of individual artists as well. But the Medici family played a crucial role in the Renaissance art history; and its effects are still felt in the architecture, sculpture, and paintings of today. The architectural coverage by PBS includes state-of-the-art computer animation, which helps to dramatize the process of the construction. This was one of the highlights of the series for me. Their coverage of the power politics is also quite fascinating, of course.

Michelangelo, artist

Leonardo da Vinci, artist and polymath

“Renaissance” is the French word for “rebirth,” and refers to the rebirth of classical learning

The word “renaissance” is the French word for “rebirth,” and it refers in this context to the rebirth of classical learning. This is the source of this period's name; although the term “Renaissance” is now used to refer to the period as a whole, and not just things directly related to classical learning being reborn. The rebirth had dramatic effects on science and philosophy. For many years, the classical learning of Ancient Greece and Rome had lain dormant in various archives, in Europe and the faraway Middle East. Some of them had previously been known only through the Arabic world, who had kept the Greek and Latin learning alive in translation. At this time, these works were rediscovered in their original language in continental Europe; and added much to the European learning of the day. There was a major craze for all things Greek and Roman at this time, and for ancient philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, whose original language had long since been forgotten. It is also still customary today to speak of those who are proficient in many subjects as “Renaissance men” and “Renaissance women.” Even when the person is someone not born during the Renaissance, many people still use this term today; although they sometimes instead opt for the term “polymath” to describe this. The rebirth of classical learning had a lasting effect on Western civilization, which had many benefits for the Western world.

Raphael's 16th-century fresco “The School of Athens,” which shows Plato and Aristotle

Galileo's theory of a Sun-centered universe caused controversy with the Catholic Church

One of the greatest scientists of this period was Galileo Galilei, better known simply as “Galileo.” He was a great astronomer, who was a follower of Nicolaus Copernicus. It was Copernicus who first published a theory of a heliocentric (or “Sun-centered”) universe, which had become controversial among parts of the Catholic establishment at this time. At that time, most Catholic authorities believed in an Earth-centered universe, and believed the Copernican model to be a threat to their beliefs. Galileo argued that the Sun-centered universe was actually consistent with scripture, but was eventually tried by the Roman Inquisition despite this. They found him to be “vehemently suspect of heresy,” and forced him to recant his views. Of course, Galileo did not actually change his views; but only pretended to do so, in order to save his life. For the rest of his life, he was placed under house arrest; but wrote some additional works during this period. I have no desire to attack the Catholic Church for its now-unpopular response to Galileo, since the Catholic Church would later endorse the idea of a Sun-centered universe after Galileo's death. But at this time, the Galileo affair had the effect of stifling free thought throughout Italy, and the science of the Renaissance paid dearly as a result. As a consequence of this, the center of the scientific world instead moved further north, to countries like England, Holland, and France. This was where the future of European science would be.

Galileo Galilei, astronomer

Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici became “Pope Leo X,” the nemesis of Martin Luther …

I mentioned earlier that three popes came from the Medici family. What I did not mention was that the first of them was Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, the man who would become Pope Leo X. At one point in his papal career, Pope Leo X had some slight financial problems. He thus decided to consider some unusual methods for raising money. One of them in particular was only available to the Pope himself. Pope Leo X began to sell “indulgences,” you see, which were promises to the buyer of less time in purgatory after death. They were usually obtained on behalf of the buyer, but could sometimes be obtained on behalf of the dead (such as dead relatives). When the Protestant Reformer Martin Luther later did battle with the Catholic Church, he published many attacks on this hated practice, and even some attacks on the current Pope himself. That Pope was none other than Pope Leo X (his contemporary), the first of the Medici Popes. This is why the Medici family was so important in the religious history of Europe. Whatever one thinks of indulgences, they had a great influence on future world history, and on the future course of the Protestant Reformation as well.

Pope Leo X, the first of the Medici Popes

“The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance” gives great coverage of these things

“The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance” may be the definitive television history of this period. It covers the economic roots of their rise to power, as well as the power politics that characterized their reign. They also talk about the Renaissance art that they patronized, and how the Medici used it to further their agendas. They also cover Galileo (as mentioned earlier), and the effects of his trial on the history of science. But the focus of the film is still on power politics, and on the cutthroat competition between the city-states. This is a remarkable introduction to the politics of the Renaissance, and among the most interesting films made by PBS.

Footnote to this blog post:

Earlier, I mentioned that the philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli did not even deny that his methods were sometimes unethical. Here is a quotation from his work “The Prince” which I submit as evidence that he did indeed believe this: “And here it should be noted that hatred is acquired as much by good works as by bad ones, therefore, as I said before, a prince wishing to keep his state is very often forced to do evil; for when that body is corrupt whom you think you have need of to maintain yourself—it may be either the people or the soldiers or the nobles—you have to submit to its humours and to gratify them, and then good works will do you harm.” (Source: Niccolò Machiavelli's “The Prince” (1532), Chapter XIX)

Thus, it seems quite clear to me that Machiavelli rejected traditional ethics (if not all ethics), and entirely separated them from politics in the process.

DVD at Amazon

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A review of Kenneth Clark's “Civilisation”

A review of PBS Empires “Martin Luther”

A review of David Starkey's “The Six Wives of Henry VIII”

A review of PBS Empires “Napoleon”

Actually, Machiavelli WAS pro-dictatorship (and Rousseau was wrong about him)

Part of the series

PBS Empires

Egypt's Golden Empire
Kingdom of David: The Saga of the Israelites
The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization
Peter, Paul, and the Christian Revolution
The Roman Empire in the First Century
Islam: Empire of Faith

The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance

Martin Luther
Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire
Napoleon
Queen Victoria's Empire

Part of another series about

European history

Ancient Greece

The Spartans

Athenian Democracy

The Trial of Socrates

Greek and Roman Art