election of giuliano della rovere—julius ii. and caesar borgia—caesar leaves rome—machiavelli and caesar—arrest of caesar—victory of gonsalvo de cordova at the garigliano—caesar goes to naples—gonsalvo seizes valentino and sends him to spain—caesar imprisoned in the castle of chinchilla—jeanne la folle and philippe le beau—caesar is transferred to the castle of medina del campo—his escape.
the last day of october the cardinals entered into conclave, and november 1, 1503, giuliano della rovere, cardinal of san pietro ad vincola, was elected pope on the first scrutiny. thus the nephew of sixtus iv., after nineteen years of waiting, aspiring, scheming, years of exile, of strife, of hopes and fears, realised the ambition of his life.
at the fifteenth hour the window was thrown open, the cross held out, and the announcement made that the most reverend cardinal of san pietro ad vincola had been elected supreme head of the christian church. the new pope was pleased to assume the name julius ii.
giustinian conceives that venice will profit by the election of della rovere, who was reputed to be a man of his word. he was sixty years of age and had no nephews for whom it would be necessary to find places. caesar therefore felt sure of the new pontiff’s favour.
267 almost immediately after della rovere’s election chambers over the audience-hall were, by the pope’s orders, placed at valentino’s disposal, and there he took up his residence.
the venetian orator had heard that the new pope had dispatched briefs to romagna of the same tenor as those which pius iii. had issued in the interests of valentino, and he went to the pontiff and asked whether the report was true, to which his holiness replied: “ambassador, do not for a moment think that i will fail in anything i have promised you; i give you my word that i have written no such briefs, and i do not intend to do so, and” he added, “even if i had written them you know i would at the same time have taken steps to prevent them from doing any harm”—that is, he would have given those to whom they were sent to understand that they were not to be observed—modern politics has made but little advance in duplicity. “it is true agapito has asked me to write them, but i will do nothing. ambassador, it is not necessary for you to remind me that we should not favour the duke in the affairs of romagna, because this is our office, this territory being ours, mediate vel immediate; therefore whoever holds it holds it as a vicar or feudatory of the church.”
the pope’s coronation was set for november 19th, and as early as the 3rd giustinian was informed that julius had written guidobaldo di montefeltre, duke of urbino, requesting him to be present at the ceremony. this special invitation shows that the new pope was on the side of caesar’s enemies. although the cardinal of san giorgio268 feared that if guidobaldo absented himself from his state it would afford caesar a chance to injure him, it can hardly be supposed that the pope invited the duke of urbino to rome simply to give valentino an opportunity to destroy him or attack his capital city.
it is difficult to see how caesar, himself a past-master in duplicity and cunning, could have placed any dependence upon the promises della rovere had made to him to secure his elevation to the papacy. just what were the terms of the bargain is not known; the cardinal had but one end in view—the assuring of his own election; and once elected, he would not hesitate to break the agreement he had made. it is true he carried out some of the stipulations by appointing valentino captain-general of the church and guaranteeing him the nominal possession of romagna, but the very day of his election he began to aid and encourage the duke’s enemies.
alexander vi. had urged the sacred college never to make giuliano della rovere pope, and he was correct in regarding him as an implacable enemy of his house. caesar himself almost immediately discovered that he had made a mistake and was on his guard. november 12th the pope formally took possession of the castle of st. angelo, placing the bishop of sinigaglia in command of it.
the following day a council was held by the pope, amboise, soderini, the cardinal of ferrara, the spanish cardinals, and caesar, regarding the departure of valentino, and it was agreed that he should at once go to ferrara and his troops to imola, which was still held by his lieutenants. the269 duke, however, seemed suspicious and irresolute—perhaps owing to a sort of stupor into which he had been thrown by the reverses he had suffered—for he was neither accustomed to misfortunes nor able to bear them.
giustinian writes november 6th: “the duke is still in the palace but has little reputation; he made every effort to obtain an audience with his holiness but failed. he is very submissive and has repeatedly sent to ask me to come and confer with him regarding his affairs, but i declined, for various reasons, among them being the fact that he quite ignored the republic during his days of prosperity.” caesar continued to enlist troops but with what end in view is not clear.
the cardinal of cosenza told the orator that his holiness was considering an alliance between one of his great-nieces and the little duke of camerino. it was also reported that the pope intended to give caesar the strong castle of civita castellana for his residence, but this statement was not confirmed.
it was even arranged that when the proposal should be made in consistory to give the office of gonfalonier of the church to valentino it should be merely for form’s sake to satisfy him. about the middle of november it became known that cesena desired to be freed from caesar’s authority and return to that of the church. the pope’s coronation was postponed for a week “on the advice of the astrologers, who stated that the stars would be more propitious for his holiness that day.”
“the pope is most harshly disposed towards the270 duke, and it is said has ordered pandolfo petrucci to treat him as an enemy; his holiness looks for caesar’s destruction, but does not want it to appear that he has any part in it.”
julius ii. had conceived the idea of recovering the strongholds in the romagna for himself, and he soon discovered that caesar actually expected to retain them. the borgia, shrewd as he was, was no match for the della rovere in cunning; the pope outwitted him at every turn, and he did not hesitate to tell giustinian that “the duke shall never have so much as a single tower of my fortresses. all i owe him is to save his life and protect his property—in interceding for him with the florentines it was really to save romagna for the church.” the pope told the orator that as soon as he had secured possession of the castles he would send caesar away. clearly his holiness did not want to be compelled to use force to get possession of the strongholds; he was trying to delude caesar into giving them up, and then he would cast him aside.
the orator confesses that the pope’s mind is “ambiguous” to him—me ambigua—but he promptly discovered that he wanted to crush the duke, and this view was confirmed by many of those in the pope’s confidence; some, however, maintained that he was well disposed toward valentino.
november 19th occurred the event to which all had been eagerly looking forward—caesar’s departure from rome. he went to ostia, where he was met by mottino with two galleys to take him to tuscany. there were various rumours regarding271 the place where he intended to disembark; the venetian orator was told that viareggio, a town belonging to the duke of ferrara, was his destination. he had with him about 160 horse.
valentino was greatly changed when machiavelli saw him in rome, and both he and giustinian regarded caesar as lost; the latter saw him “fearful and terrified,” while machiavelli wrote: “the duke allows himself to be carried away by his confident mind”; he also said valentino was “changeable, irresolute, and suspicious.”
worn out by his reverses, he had at first thought of going to romagna. but when he embarked he had decided to go either to livorno or genoa and thence to ferrara. machiavelli, who had assured him that florence would grant him a safe conduct, said that if the signory failed him “caesar would make a compact with the venetians and the devil and would go to pisa and devote all the money, forces, and allies that remained to him to injuring the republic.”
the 18th, the very day that caesar left the palace, julius ii. dispatched briefs to romagna in which he said he had disapproved of the bestowal of the vicariate upon valentino by alexander vi., and he exhorted the people to raise the standard of the church, in whose possession he intended romagna should remain. a few days later he told cardinal soderini that it would have been wiser, he thought, to have placed the strongholds of romagna under caesar’s command, as it would be better for him than for the venetians to have them. soderini went to ostia and made certain proposals to caesar, which were rejected. november272 24th the pope ordered mottino to hold valentino, and at the same time he arranged with soderini to impede the progress of michelotto, who had started forward with the duke’s cavalry. the same day he appointed the bishop of ragusa, giovanni sacchi, governor of romagna and bologna, and directed him to take possession of the province in the name of the church, and he again called upon the cities to raise the papal standard.
the general opinion in rome was that julius ii. was only waiting for a more favourable opportunity to give caesar the final blow, and the joy felt at his departure was wellnigh universal. agapito and romolino, his two closest friends, men whose names had been connected with some of his most atrocious crimes, had refused to accompany him and remained in rome.
the pope had also instructed soderini to demand the surrender of the citadel of forli, and caesar’s refusal to comply was what caused his holiness to seize him and hold him prisoner.
machiavelli reported to his government the rumours which filled rome when caesar’s arrest became known; it was even said that his holiness had ordered him to be flung into the tiber, and he adds: “if this has not been done it will be done shortly, in my opinion; we see that the pope has commenced to pay his debts very honourably; his pen and ink are all that are necessary—nevertheless his praise is in all men’s mouths!”
the night of november 27th the papal guard set out for ostia to arrest caesar, but they did not have to proceed far, for, searching the boats they chanced to come upon, they found him on a273 little craft on the tiber about two miles from rome.
the troops he had embarked at ostia, finding themselves without a head, left the galleys and went back to rome, while the gentlemen of his suite returned to their estates.
at first the pope had caesar taken to magliano, a place about seven miles from rome, where he was closely guarded, but not treated harshly. julius undoubtedly wished to avoid the use of force with caesar as far as possible and to secure his own ends peaceably if it could be done. he may have feared that if he too openly disclosed his real purpose valentino’s lieutenants would surrender the castles they still held to some other power, for several were casting longing eyes upon them. later the pope ordered valentino to be brought back to rome and had him lodged in the vatican.
giustinian informs his government, november 28th, that the pontiff, to justify himself for arresting caesar, especially in the eyes of the spanish cardinals, held a convocation, which was attended by fifteen cardinals, to whom he explained that as venice had been active in romagna, not against the church or the holy see, but only against valentino, and also to restrain the florentines, who appeared to have designs upon the same territory, he had decided to remove the cause, in order that the republic would have no pretext for going any farther. therefore he had given the duke to understand that he must surrender the territory now in his possession into the hands of the pope and must give the countersigns of the fortresses; but for fear that he would not give274 the true countersigns it seemed advisable to his holiness to have the duke brought to rome and kept in a safe place until their correctness could be verified. this done, the duke could go whithersoever he wished. all seemed satisfied. the 29th valentino was brought back to rome and lodged in the chambers of the cardinal of salerno. “the pope says that when he has secured possession of the strongholds he will permit him to depart—but god knows what will become of him,” adds the orator.
the 1st of december news reached rome that michelotto had been captured and all his men slain or dispersed by giampaolo baglioni somewhere between perugia and florence. this was a crushing blow to caesar, who now had little hope left—he was “no longer considered of much importance.”
at this time the cardinal of rouen was making preparations to leave rome for the court of the emperor at florence, and caesar desired to go with him, but to this the cardinal would not consent. before amboise set out the pope commanded valentino to send one of his officers, pedro de oviedo, accompanied by a prelate, to obtain the surrender of the places his supporters were still holding in romagna, but before consenting caesar asked amboise to give him a guarantee in writing that the pope would keep the promises he had made to him before the conclave. amboise, however, refused to do this, and after the cardinal’s departure the duke, finding his last support taken from him, acceded to the pope’s demands. the commandant of caesar, however, thinking or pretending275 to think there was treachery, seized the unfortunate oviedo and hanged him from the battlements forthwith as a traitor to his sovereign.
when he learned of this the pope was beside himself—in fact, as carlo da moncalieri expressed it, he was “mad as the devil”—alterato come il diavolo—and threatened to put caesar in prison for life. believing that he had found some way to tell the commandant to disregard the order he had given, the pope had valentino confined in the borgia tower. he nevertheless continued to treat with him, and again allowed him to go to ostia, this time in charge of the spanish cardinal carvajal, with the understanding that he was to be given his liberty when his officers surrendered the strongholds in romagna.
giustinian records the hanging of oviedo december 20th and caesar’s transfer to the borgia tower, and adds: “terrified by recent events, the cardinal of sorento and cardinal borgia have left the city—possibly to go to the spanish camp. it is believed by many that their flight was due to valentino’s affairs or because they had acquiesced in the poisoning of cardinal sant angelo.” when the cardinals francesco romolino and francesco borgia fled to naples with the little dukes to ask gonsalvo of cordova for protection vannozza and the borgia ilk were trying to save their plunder. much of it was intercepted and seized when they endeavoured to send it from the city to a place of safety. some of the wagons dispatched from rome to ferrara in the name of the cardinal d’este were stopped by the florentines, while others276 from cesena were captured by giovanni bentivoglio.
caesar was wellnigh ruined when an event occurred which immediately restored the waning influence of the spanish cardinals with the pope, who was a french sympathiser, and this was the victory of gonsalvo de cordova at the garigliano, december 31st, which finally assured the regno to the spanish crown.
for some time valentino was partly forgotten, but he was still in the vatican as late as january 15, 1504, and was planning to go to ferrara, although alfonso d’este was by no means anxious to have him. just what was to be done with him was a puzzling question. it was finally decided to send him to civitavecchia in the custody of the cardinal of santa croce, and the pope told the venetian orator that he wished to make one more attempt to reach a settlement in order that he might be able to justify himself in the eyes of the world for the steps he would be compelled to take against valentino if the latter failed to keep the promises he had made to him.
january 18th, through the mediation of don diego de mendoza, the spanish ambassador, it was arranged that caesar should give the countersigns of all the castles still remaining to him, and that he himself should go to ostia in the custody of the cardinal of santa croce and then, when the strongholds were surrendered, he should be allowed to depart for france. there was some delay in carrying out the agreement, due to recent events in forli and imola, but february 14, 1504, the duke set out for ostia, and in taking leave of him277 his holiness “caressed him and promised him his support.”
the pope was suffering from the gout, which appears to have been essentially a papal disease at that time, and had remained in bed the greater part of the day. valentino, accompanied by a few of his own people and francesco del rio, the pope’s treasurer, set out for ostia the same night. according to giustinian, while there he was closely guarded, and consequently greatly annoyed.
the commissioners, who had been furnished the new countersigns, had in the meantime again gone to romagna, but they did not succeed in securing possession of the strongholds, for the warders of cesena and bertinoro, distrusting the pope’s promises, dispatched messengers to rome to tell him they would surrender the strongholds if he would release the duke, but in case he was not willing to set valentino free “they could not honourably relinquish the castles,” on hearing which his holiness fell into a violent passion and shouted at them: “you want to brazen it out. away with you! if you don’t give them up peaceably i will make you. you wanted to surrender them to the venetians, but they would not have them!” and he drove the messengers from the room.
mottino, who was to take caesar to france on one of his galleys, had been directed by the holy father not to leave port, even after the strongholds had been surrendered to the pope’s representatives, until he received specific orders to do so.
the cardinal of santa croce, however, when messengers brought the news that cesena and278 bertinoro had been surrendered, did not wait for definite orders from the pope to set his prisoner free, but let him go february 26th, after obtaining his written promise never to take part in any war against the holy father or any of his kinsmen.
caesar and two of his people took horse, and, following the coast, rode to naples, where he joined gonsalvo de cordova, from whom cardinals borgia and romolino had previously secured a safe-conduct for the duke. at naples several of his family were awaiting him, among them his brother giuffre and his sister-in-law sancia.
about the middle of april giustinian informed his government that the affairs of valentino, so far as the pope was concerned, were settled, and there were no further difficulties to be apprehended.
april 20th the pope received a letter from mottino informing him that caesar had left ostia and was on his way to naples. his holiness was much disturbed by this news and immediately sent a messenger to summon the french ambassador. the cardinal of salerno informed the venetian orator that the cardinal of santa croce, fearing that the pope, even after the strongholds had been surrendered, would on some pretext refuse valentino his liberty, had immediately set him free. the pope was greatly annoyed by santa croce’s action and charged him with breach of faith. the orator adds: “many are pleased by caesar’s departure, but others are greatly displeased. opinions differ as to what valentino will do; some think he will cause the pope trouble.” his holiness evidently had not intended valentino should get away.
279 in a letter to the cardinal of salerno, received in rome may 3rd, caesar said he had not yet had an opportunity to speak to the spanish commander; he also asked the cardinal to supply him with funds, which the prelate promptly did.
when baldassare di scipione arrived in rome from naples he reported that gonsalvo had received caesar in the most cordial manner and had called on him, as all the other spanish officers had done. rome was filled with rumours regarding the coming of caesar by the favour of the spaniards to help the pisans.
when the roman barons in the spanish army at the garigliano learned of the death of piero de’ medici they began to take a lively interest in the affairs of tuscany and decided to send forces there; while the florentines, disturbed by the military preparations about siena, had sent assistance to the lord of piombino, who felt his people were opposed to him. bartolomeo d’alviano was to have had charge of the forces which were to be dispatched to tuscany, but gonsalvo preferred caesar on account of the friends upon whom he could still count in piombino and pisa. early in may active preparations were well under way. in rome baldassare di scipione publicly stated that his lord “would soon return and give his enemies cause to think of him.” the pisans sent an ambassador to caesar and he dispatched ranieri della sassetta with a considerable force to them. giulio degli alberini was waiting in the harbour of naples to transport the cannons and other machines of war; everything was ready and the main body of troops was to start in a few days, when, on the night of280 may 26th, as valentino was coming from a conference with the spanish captains, he was arrested by the castellan, nugnio campeio.
the pope had sent a special envoy to gonsalvo de cordova to urge him not to assist valentino in any way; and there is no doubt whatever that it was at the instigation of the holy father that the duke was finally again seized. the very night that valentino was arrested the pope, thinking that the duke’s treasurer, alessandro di franzo, who was then in rome, and had in his possession about 300,000 ducats, which he was about to remove to naples, might endeavour to leave, had guards stationed at all the gates of the city and allowed no one to depart. all the following day the gates were kept closed and watched by the papal troops. during the night the governor of rome had patrols about the city and all suspected persons were arrested and examined. even the house of madonna vannozza, caesar’s mother, was carefully searched.
may 29th giustinian states that, accompanied by cardinal grimani, he went to the castle of st. angelo to see the pope, who informed them that the bishop of cervia had shown him letters from the great captain, saying that valentino, having in mind certain undertakings which would be harmful to italy, had, by his orders, been confined in the castle, and also requesting that his holiness be informed of the fact.
consalvo di cordova
gonsalvo de cordova.
from an early engraving.
to face p. 280.
281 opinions differed as to the responsibility for caesar’s arrest; some said the pope caused it, others the spanish monarch, and still others that gonsalvo do cordova took the step on his own initiative. some even ascribed the affair to the queen of spain and do?a maria enriquez, widow of giovanni, duke of gandia. the pope made no effort to conceal his pleasure at the arrest and displayed marked evidence of his favour to the spanish ambassador, assuring him of his devotion to his sovereign—“it was judged,” adds the orator, “to induce him to compass the death of the said valentino!”
his brother, the prince of squillace, was also arrested about the same time but almost immediately set at liberty. caesar’s messengers were likewise seized when they chanced to come within reach of the determined julius.
michelotto, who was closely confined in the torre di nona awaiting trial, was subjected to searching examinations regarding the deaths of numerous persons, principal among whom were the duke of gandia; giulio cesare varano, lord of camerino, and his two sons, piero and venanzio, who were captured when camerino surrendered and later were strangled by valentino’s orders; the lord of faenza, astorre manfredi and his illegitimate brother, giovanni evangelista; the duke of bisceglia, lucretia borgia’s second husband; bernardino gaetani da sermoneta, slain by caesar’s orders in 1500, about the same time that alexander caused the death in the castle of st. angelo of giacomo gaetani, the head of the house, seizing their estates and conferring them on his daughter lucretia; and the bishop of cagli, who was hanged in the public square for his brave resistance to valentino’s lieutenants in 1503.
caesar’s arrest so pleased his holiness that he282 spoke of it as un’ opera divina—although it was brought about by himself.
august 20th gonsalvo had caesar taken to spain by sea and by a refinement of cruelty his jailer on the trip was his bitterest enemy, prospero colonna.
valentino was destined never again to see the peninsula, and it is no exaggeration to say that all italy breathed easier when it became known that he was a prisoner on board a galley bound for spain.
the faithful baldassare di scipione, inspired by love for his imprisoned lord, issued a challenge addressed to “any spaniard who might dare to maintain: that the duke valentino had not been made a prisoner in naples in violation of the safe-conduct of king ferdinand and queen isabella, and owing to their utter want of faith, and all to their eternal infamy and everlasting shame”—and the challenge was exposed in public places throughout christendom, and never a spaniard dared reply.
for a long time romagna suffered for want of a strong governing hand; the country was being ruined by rival factions, the cities were deserted, and many there were who regretted the overthrow of valentino.
with caesar’s removal to spain his influence in the affairs of italy became negligible. in fact, since that time the borgia family has been inconspicuous in the history of the peninsula.
about this time an event occurred in the vatican which was duly chronicled by burchard—the betrothal of niccolò della rovere and donna laura, the illegitimate daughter of alexander vi. by giulia farnese. gregorovius remarks that the consent283 of julius ii. to the union of his nephew with his enemy’s natural daughter is one of the most extraordinary facts in the personal history of this pope. it looks like a pledge of reconciliation with the borgia. while these men were his opponents julius had hated them, but his hostility was not based on any moral grounds. he had never felt any contempt for alexander or caesar, but on the contrary, like machiavelli, he had admired their power and ability. they were his enemies because they tried to crush him and frustrate his ambitions, and he retaliated.
july 10th the pope informed the venetian orator that gonsalvo had proposed to aid caesar with men and cannon in his undertaking against the lord of piombino on account of the latter’s opposition to the spaniards, but that, dissatisfied with this, valentino had endeavoured to disarrange the great captain’s plans, and had engaged in his customary scheming—this was the cause of his arrest—and “god had so ordained it on account of his misdeeds—inducing others to do what we were unwilling to do.”
ten days later his holiness informed the venetian ambassador that caesar had been sent to spain carefully guarded and with a single servant. he added that certain cardinals had urged him to write a letter to his catholic majesty in caesar’s behalf and that he had promised to do so, but he feared even if he merely recommended protection for caesar’s life and person, his letter would be misconstrued and the king would show him greater favour than he had intended, and might even undertake to recover for him a part, if not all, of his284 estates, which would be dangerous to himself; he therefore had revoked the order to write the brief, and “i assured his holiness that he was most prudent and circumspect—and with this i took my leave.”
caesar reached valentia about the end of september and thence he was immediately transferred to chinchilla, which is about two leagues from the town of albacete in the province of the same name.
little is known of his sojourn here, but a document now in the archives of pau shows that he was still there as late as may 4, 1505, eight months after his arrival in spain.
abandoned by every one, caesar endeavoured to secure the dowry of 100,000 livres which had been promised by louis xii. on the occasion of his marriage with charlotte d’albret.
in october letters came from spain describing the rigour with which valentino was held prisoner. it was even said that at the instigation of do?a maria enriquez he was to be tried there for the murder of her husband, the duke of gandia, and for that of his brother-in-law, alfonso of bisceglia, with the intention of putting him to death for his crimes. early in 1505 news reached italy that valentino’s brother-in-law, jean d’albret, king of navarre, was endeavouring to secure his release. the cardinals who were still loyal to him believed d’albret would succeed, caesar’s most determined enemy, the queen of spain, having died.
it is recorded that while he was confined in the castle of chinchilla caesar attempted to kill the warder, gabriel guzman. one day valentino, who was lodged in the high tower, asked for an285 interview with don gabriel, and while they were engaged in conversation the duke suddenly seized his gaoler and attempted to hurl him from the window. the governor, however, who was more than a match for caesar in strength, succeeded in throwing him to the floor; whereupon, with the effrontery which never deserted him, the duke laughed and explained that he had heard that the warder was a man of colossal strength and he wanted to test it for himself, and he had found the stories were not exaggerated.
this curious episode undoubtedly was the cause of caesar’s removal to the more secure fortress of medina del campo, in the northern part of spain, which was both a stronghold and a palace and had been used as a royal residence.
it was about this time that lucretia borgia began to exert herself to obtain her brother’s freedom—efforts which have been taken as proof of her affection and devotion to him. requesenz, caesar’s majordomo, interceded for his release with the king of spain, who informed him that while he was not responsible for valentino’s arrest, he would, owing to gonsalvo’s representations, hold him prisoner, but that, should the charges made against him prove false, he would accede to the cardinals’ wishes.
events conspired to aid the prisoner. isabella the catholic, anticipating that her daughter, jeanne la folle, wife of philippe le beau, would never recover her reason, decided to make her husband ferdinand regent of castile on her death. ferdinand was surrounded by enemies, and in the kingdom of naples even the loyalty of gonsalvo286 de cordova was suspected. louis xii., in spite of his defeat at the garigliano, still maintained his right to the regno, while the emperor maximilian, whose son philippe le beau, husband of jeanne la folle, had been excluded from the regency by isabella’s will, feeling himself aggrieved, determined to demand his son’s rights. at this juncture ferdinand suggested to louis xii. that they discontinue their struggle for naples, and that, as evidence of good faith, the french king bestow upon him the hand of his niece, germaine de foix, who was then eighteen years of age, while the king of spain was fifty-four. as dowry she would bring her husband half of the kingdom of naples which had been granted the king of france by the treaty of granada. in addition louis was to aid ferdinand to recover navarre—which on his death was to be returned to the crown of france—for gaston de foix, brother of the betrothed and nephew of louis xii. the treaty of alliance was signed at blois, october 12, 1505, and the marriage was performed march 18, 1506, at due?as.
at the same time the cortes confirmed ferdinand in the possession of castile, disregarding the fact that isabella had willed it to him only on condition that he did not marry again. some of the most powerful members of the court refused their consent and declared themselves in favour of jeanne and her husband, philippe le beau. they elected the count of benavente their leader. the others ranging themselves on ferdinand’s side, under don fabrique de toledo, duke of alva, civil war broke out. at first the king’s party was successful,287 whereupon the emperor maximilian entered into the conflict, and his son, philippe le beau, hastened from flanders and demanded the regency.
the help which the count of benavente later gave caesar and the relations of the latter with maximilian’s ambassadors show that in prison the duke was on the side of philippe, who, as soon as he came to spain, established himself at medina del campo.
in october, 1505, ferdinand, who had already recalled gonsalvo de cordova from naples and decided to supplant him with his own son alfonso of aragon, archbishop of saragossa, determined, owing to his lieutenant’s uncertain attitude, to go to naples himself. the ten days gonsalvo had asked to put the defences in order and arrange his affairs had elapsed and the king’s suspicions were strengthened. it was then that he conceived the idea of using caesar to crush gonsalvo. thereupon he dispatched don pedro de ayala to philippe le beau at medina del campo to demand his prisoner, saying that he intended to confine him in the castle of ejerica until he was ready to go to naples, when he would take him with him to command his troops.
fate apparently was about to afford caesar an exquisite revenge; he was to lead a spanish army against the man who had deceived him and delivered him into the hands of the catholic monarch. philippe le beau, however, had his own plans regarding caesar, and while ferdinand desired to avail himself of his services against gonsalvo and julius ii., maximilian’s son conceived the idea of using him against the catholic288 sovereign himself in case he persisted in claiming the regency. from these circumstances it is clear that caesar’s ability and energy as a military leader were universally recognised.
to lend greater authority to his refusal to surrender caesar, philippe le beau stated that he would first have to refer the matter to the council of castile to determine whether the duke was the prisoner of the king or of queen jeanne. in apprehending him in naples gonsalvo indubitably was acting in the interests of the kingdom of which philippe was regent for his wife, the legitimate heir. moreover, the duke would have to be held a prisoner until the suit instituted by the duchess of gandia was decided. ferdinand did not give up the fight when informed of the council’s decision, but requested don bernardino de cardenas, governor of the province of grenada, to whose care he had committed caesar, to surrender his prisoner. cardenas was disposed to obey, but asked permission of the regent, who absolutely refused to allow caesar to be given up. the governor then explained to the king that even if he freed valentino, philippe would at once seize him again as he did not have a sufficient force to oppose the regent.
ferdinand set sail for naples september 4, 1506, accompanied by his young queen, and having with him the flower of his army. about a month later, october 5th, his son-in-law philippe, the regent of castile, suddenly died. the regent was then only twenty-eight years of age, and he was so strong and active that it was believed that he had been poisoned. his widow had still sufficient289 sense left to ask her father to return to spain, and to her supplications were added those of his subjects, who feared the kingdom might become a prey to the contending factions. ferdinand, however, was making good progress in naples and was anxious to complete his work; he therefore refused to come, and jeanne acted as regent during his absence.
the death of philippe had left caesar’s guardian, don bernardino de cardenas, in a peculiar position; he had directly disobeyed ferdinand’s orders, and now, to save himself from the king’s wrath, he proposed to luis ferrer, the catholic monarch’s ambassador, to send caesar to him in order that he might be transferred to aragon. ferrer, cognisant of the machinations which had been carried on by philippe le beau and maximilian with caesar in prison, promptly accepted the offer in the name of his sovereign, but asked cardenas to keep his prisoner until he could ascertain ferdinand’s wishes regarding him. the spanish monarch, however, was still in naples, and caesar, informed by don bernardino of what he had done, and unwilling to trust himself to him, succeeded in making his escape, october 25, 1506. he arrived at the court of his brother-in-law jean d’albret december 3, 1506, suddenly—“like the devil,” as the chronicler moret says.
the news of his escape caused consternation in italy; julius ii. could never rest as long as valentino was at large; the venetians feared him, and the king of france immediately took steps to defend himself against his machinations. caesar’s290 friends in romagna, however, immediately recovered hope.
the castle of medina del campo was the largest in spain, and for any one to escape from its gloomy walls had been deemed impossible. erected about the middle of the fifteenth century, in 1460 it fell into the hands of fonseca, archbishop of seville, who on his death left it to a cousin. in 1473 it was seized by the first duke of alva.
the count of benavente undoubtedly aided caesar to escape. valentino had been furnished a chaplain, and this man probably was the one who acted as his agent in dealing with the outer world and also the person who furnished the rope by means of which valentino descended from the tower. one of the servants tried the rope first; it was found to be too short, and the unfortunate man fell into the moat, breaking some of his bones; he was left where he fell and later was apprehended, tried, and put to death. caesar had almost reached the end of the rope when, the alarm having been given, it was cut, and he also dropped into the moat. he was injured and had to be carried to the horse which was held in waiting for him by his confederates. putting spurs to their animals, they never stopped until they reached the little town of pozaldez; thence they travelled to villalon, the seat of the count of benavente. caesar was now safe. he had escaped from prison, october 25th, and not until five weeks later did he reach the court of his brother-in-law at pamplona; it had taken nearly all this time for him to recover from his injuries and regain his strength; but he had also had time to renew his machinations with the emperor maximilian’s ambassadors.
291 the records of the investigation which followed his escape are preserved in the archives of simancas and are exceedingly voluminous. the order for his apprehension, which was issued in the name of queen jeanne, reads as follows: “sixteenth december 1506. commission and order is given by the queen [titles] to you, christoval vasquez de acu?a, and to our alcaldes and to all of those to whom this royal letter shall be shown. you are informed that the duke of valentinois, being a prisoner by my order in the castle of medina del campo, the said duke has escaped, and i advise you that i have been informed that he went to the city of santander; that there were two persons mounted on horseback and that they left their horses in the town of castres with the son of pedro gonzales calderon. thence they went to santander where it is said the duke was apprehended by an alcalde of the said town, but that the latter released him on receiving presents from him; once free he looked for some one to conduct him safe and sound to castro-urdiales to take ship from there. i require that the duke be searched for with all possible diligence; that careful inquiry be made regarding the persons who left the said horses in the town of castres; whither they went and where they now are; whether the said alcalde actually had the duke in his hands and who these persons were. if these persons embarked, from what port, on what vessel, and their destination. in a word i wish you to inform us of everything relevant; and you will seize the person of the said duke wherever you may find him, be this in a church or a monastery, or any other place, however privileged292 it may be, and even beyond your jurisdiction, and that, this done, you keep him in your sight with a strong guard until you shall have received further orders. for this purpose i send you the said letter and direct you to begin a searching investigation wherever and among all persons who may be able to give you any information regarding this matter; and that you procure all information concerning the said duke, and that they give you the means of apprehending him, and that the sum that you promise them on my account for this purpose, be paid them in the manner agreed upon. and if any of them conceal him, cause them to understand that they incur the risk of death and that all their goods will be confiscated. and if you learn that the persons who left their horses in the said town of castres were unknown, they must nevertheless be held until it is ascertained what they were doing, why and whither they were travelling.
“to carry out my instructions i give you absolute power with all the warrants, writs and authority necessary; and if any one in any way interferes with you he will be liable to a fine of ten thousand maravedis to be paid into my treasury.
“given in our city of burgos, 14 december 1506.—signed jeanne.”
* * * * *
after leaving villalon caesar’s destination was pamplona, but instead of going there directly he travelled due north to the atlantic coast, probably for the purpose of throwing his pursuers off the track. at santander he took a boat. he had two293 guides, martin de la borda, of los passages, near san sebastian, and miguel de la torre. all three were mounted on horses furnished by the count of benavente. the travellers passed for grain dealers; they stated they had come from medina del campo, where certain moneys had been owing them, which they had placed in a bank, and that they were now on their way to santander, where they expected a boat laden with wheat from france. at santander they learned that the vessel had stopped at bernico, and in order that they might not suffer by a decline in price they had to embark again immediately for this port; thus they explained their haste.
when they reached the outskirts of castres, november 29th, caesar’s horse and that of martin de la borda could go no farther, and the travellers entered the town on foot. at castres they put up at the inn of one ruyz guttierez. here valentino found a vessel-owner with whom he made arrangements to be taken by sea to the port nearest the border of navarre. the witnesses examined twenty-one days after these events even named the dishes the travellers had for luncheon—“three chickens and a large piece of meat.” scarcely had they seated themselves at the table when the arrival was announced of the lieutenant of the corregidor, who had been informed of the coming of the mysterious strangers who had no sooner entered the town than they hurried to francesco gonzales de santiago, a vessel-owner, and offered him an extravagant price to take them by sea to castro-urdiales.
the official was accompanied by a notary and an294 alguazil, and they questioned the three travellers, who told a plausible story, and were allowed to go their ways.
mary gonzales de pertillon, one of the servants about the inn, testified that one of the travellers had spoken little; that he was wrapped in his cloak; that he was a man of medium height, somewhat heavy, his nostrils wide open, his eyes large, and that his hand—doubtless injured—was bound up in a piece of linen.
owing to the high sea the travellers were unable to set sail before sunrise, but they finally reached castro-urdiales, where, being unable to procure horses, they were compelled to remain two days. at last they obtained some mules and continued their journey, and some time between december 1st and 3rd they reached pamplona. the investigation disclosed every move made by caesar and his companions from the time they left castres until they reached the court of navarre.
valentino, informing his friends in italy of his escape, stated that he had arrived at pamplona december 3, 1506.
when the council of castile received the queen’s order to institute an investigation, caesar was entirely safe; in fact, he had been at the court of his brother-in-law nearly two weeks. his two guides, however, martin de la borda and miguel de la torre, were apprehended. it was probably the news of caesar’s arrival at pamplona that caused the investigation to be instituted, although of course his escape was known at once. all along his route witnesses were found, and great was the astonishment when it was learned that the295 mysterious traveller was a prisoner of state, for whose apprehension a reward of ten thousand gold ducats was offered, and the strangest thing of all was the fact that the corregidor of santander had actually had his hands on caesar, had questioned him, and finally had set him free. he evidently had promptly reported the circumstances, but when he was informed who the strangers were the worthy official was dismayed, and he immediately indited the following frank letter to the queen:—
“most powerful lady,—don pedro de mendoza, your corregidor for the four towns on the sea-coast, kisses your majesty’s hand, being informed by a royal rescript that she requires me to explain how one of the alcaldes in my jurisdiction could have apprehended and then set at liberty the duke of valentino.... your majesty already knows everything connected with the arrest of the said duke from a previous report of mine, and from the investigation conducted by the corregidor of the town of bilboa and county of biscay, regarding this subject. i send no further information, having given all the particulars furnished by trustworthy witnesses regarding the persons who conducted the duke to the place of embarkation. your majesty may be sure that, if at the time i had the duke in my power, i or any of my alcaldes, had known of his escape, even had he untold wealth to give us, it would never have entered my head to do anything contrary to faithful service to your majesty, and least of all to set the duke at liberty, knowing or even suspecting that it was he whom296 i had in my hands. at the time i had him in my power, i did not know he had escaped—in fine, i did not so much as remember that such a person existed.
“don pedro de mendoza.”
