Hello everyone, Robius here and today I’m
happy to present the sixth episode in the
Assassin’s Creed the Real History revival
series.
The purpose of these videos is to walk through
the representations of characters within the
Assassin’s Creed franchise and compare their
depictions in the games to the historical
source material that inspired this portrayal.
Please be warned of impending spoilers for
the remainder of the video.
In this episode I’ll be covering one of
the most interesting noblemen and military
leaders to have lived throughout the Italian
Renaissance, Cesare Borgia, a man who we all
met during the events of Assassin’s Creed
Brotherhood.
Before I start, please note that many portions
of this individual’s life are heavily debated,
with the main argument being that his family
was the subject of historical propaganda spread
by their enemies.
In this video I’ll be covering his agreed-upon
history while also sharing these points of
contention, and identifying them as they arise.
Therefore, to begin the video, let’s discuss
Cesare’s early years prior to his appearance
in the game.
Interestingly enough, his birth is said to
have either been in September of 1475, or
April of 1476.
Cesare was the illegitimate son of the then-cardinal
Rodrigo Borgia and his mistress Vannozza dei
Cattanei.
Although he had multiple siblings through
his father, Cesare’s immediate siblings
were Juan, or Giovanni Borgia as he was also
known, Lucrezia Borgia and Goffredo Borgia.
Another debated point is the identity of the
eldest child among the four, with the majority
stating it was Cesare, but with a few other
sources believing it may have actually been
Giovanni.
In 1480, using his connections to Pope Sixtus
IV, Rodrigo succeeded in having his children’s
illegitimacy overlooked, thus allowing Cesare
to follow in his footsteps by joining the
Church, under the guise of his nephew.
It is important to understand that Rodrigo
Borgia had large plans for his family’s
future, which involved putting his children
in various positions of power.
While his older half-brother, Pedro Luis,
was expected to pursue a military career,
and was accordingly granted all of the Borgia
titles and estates in Spain, Cesare, the supposed
second-eldest was instead meant to attain
a high ranking position in the church.
For that reason, Cesare received a strong
education, leading him to eventually achieve
a degree in law.
Through his father’s connections and acts
of nepotism, he quickly rose in the church’s
hierarchy, becoming a bishop at age 15, an
archbishop at 17 and eventually a Cardinal
at 18, following his father’s ascension
to the papacy in 1492, at which point Rodrigo
became Pope Alexander VI.
Following the death of Pedro Luis in either
1488 or 1491, a replacement was necessary
to maintain the Borgias’ familial titles
and estates, while also being their military
representative.
With Cesare already in a position of power
within the church, his brother Giovanni
was instead chosen to fill this role.
Consequently, as their father was elected
pontiff, Giovanni was made Captain-General
of the Papal Armies, a role Cesare envied.
In 1494, King Charles VIII, supported by Italian
allies, led a French invasion of Italy, and
attempted to conquer Naples but was eventually
forced to flee in 1497 when faced by the Holy
League, an alliance of opposing factions organized
by the Borgia pope.
During this period, there are a few historical
points of contention to address.
Certain sources believe that around this time
Cesare contracted syphilis, possibly from
a prostitute.
These accounts claim he sought exploratory
treatments for his condition, but eventually
resorted to wearing a partial mask to hide
the affect portion of his face, although this
concept is sometimes argued.
Another vague point is Cesare’s degree of
involvement in the Pope’s conflict with
the preacher Girolamo Savonarola, who operated
in Florence.
The main argument lies in whether or not Cesare
was instrumental in acquiring a forced confession
of heresy from the friar, to further justify
his excommunication by the pope.
In June of 1497 Giovanni Borgia was murdered
and his body dumped in the river.
Although he had many enemies who could have
orchestrated his murder, one theory proposed
that Cesare killed his brother.
This suspicion was never proven, but had been
suggested because his death cleared the way
for Cesare to become Captain-General, a position
some felt his brother was wasting.
Within the Assassin’s Creed lore, Cesare
organized his brother’s assassination by
having a courtesan allied with the Templars
kill him.
Around this time, Lucrezia Borgia was accused
of having an incestuous relationship with
her brother Cesare.
Although it could be possible, with many records
stating the sibling were very close, there
has yet to be any solid proof that such an
affair occurred.
Many sources attribute this claim as being
a piece of anti-Borgia propaganda spread by
Lucrezia’s spiteful first husband.
Historically, although Cesare sought to become
the pope’s military commander, his efforts
were stymied by the King of Spain, who opposed
the idea of a cardinal leaving his post for
political reasons.
However, following a truce between France
and Spain concerning the shared ownership
of Naples, the Pope negotiated with the new
French King, Louis XII to organize Cesare’s
release from his cardinal duties.
Their deal had the pope annul the King’s
marriage for his support, making Cesare among
the first individuals to resign his cardinalship
on August 17th 1498.
Immediately after, King Louis XII made him
the Duke of Valentinois.
By 1499, Cesare was married to Charlotte d’Albret,
sister of Navarre’s King, thus further solidifying
a Borgia alliance with the French.
Together they had a daughter, Cesare’s only
officially recognized child, despite having
likely fathered over 11 illegitimate children.
Later that year, when King Louis XII began
his invasion of Italian states to which he
held a paternal claim, he was joined by Cesare
who led some of his attacks.
Capitalizing on the chaos introduced by the
French invasion, Pope Alexander VI deposed
all of his independent representatives who
ruled cities in Romagna and Marche.
Some of these were thereafter invaded by Cesare,
who established his own rule and was often
preferred by the citizens.
At this point we can move on to Chapter II
in which we discuss Cesare’s appearance
in the games.
Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood has his first
appearance occurring during the fictional
siege of Monteriggioni in January of 1500.
This invented confrontation saw him kill Mario,
have Ezio shot, steal the Apple of Eden and
kidnap Caterina Sforza.
Although this was all fictionalized, keep
in mind the portion of Caterina as it will
be discussed further in a moment.
Historically, for his successes, Cesare was
rewarded with full command of the Papal Army,
which he bolstered with French troops and
Italian mercenaries.
His first actions were seize the cities of
Imola and Forlì, ousting their ruler Caterina
Sforza who was eventually captured and later
imprisoned in the Castel Sant’Angelo.
Pleased with this progress, the Pope made
Cesare Gonfalonier of the Church and funded
an army of Italian mercenaries by creating
twelve new Cardinal positions in 1500.
Before advancing, Cesare trusted his captured
cities to a few lieutenants, among which was
likely his most loyal soldier, a man generally
referred to as Micheletto Corella, who would
historically come to be known as Cesare’s
butcher.
Nevertheless, with this increased force, the
duke assigned multiple officers to put his
commands into effect and manage his conquered
lands.
Despite never being fully proven, Cesare is
believed to have played a role in murdering
his sister’s second husband, Alfonso of
Aragon in August, 1500.
These accounts claim that he had Michelotto
Corella and some of his men kill Alfonso as
a way to solidify his alliance with France
against Naples, thus severing his ties to
Spain.
Other propaganda-based sources said he did
it out of romantic jealousy.
Assassin’s Creed further propagated this
unconfirmed narrative by having Ezio spy on
Cesare in 1501, first seeing him speak with
his generals and later confirming his romantic
interests in Lucrezia, who he used as a tool
against his father.
With a French-supported army, Cesare captured
many regional cities until he was declared
duke of Romagna in May of 1501.
After aiding the French in taking Naples,
Cesare expanded his conquest to the neighboring
regions until the end of 1502.
It was throughout these final conquests that
he was joined by Niccolò Machiavelli, a Florentine
ambassador who studied the young commander
and used him as an inspiration for some content
found in his infamous treatise named “The
Prince”.
Whether his depiction of Cesare was positive
or negative is still debated by historians
to this day, with some reading honest admiration
in the text, while other simply see satire.
In this period, Cesare was betrayed by some
of his officers who plotted to overthrow him,
in what came to be known as the Magione conspiracy.
He successfully managed the political front
and kept a strong influence, eventually de-stabilizing
this alliance of enemies.
He then offered the plotters a chance at reconciliation
however, when they met Cesare he had them
imprisoned and then strangled, with some records
stating Micheletto assisted him in this task.
Although not directly represented in the game,
these events are alluded to in the Assassin’s
Creed lore.
It’s worth mentioning that during this period,
Cesare Borgia employed Leonardo da Vinci as
his chief military architect and engineer
for his campaigns.
However, it’s important to note that although
da Vinci never created plans for a variety
of war machines, as seen in Brotherhood, he
did in fact produce strategic maps and designs
which were used to improve the Borgia fortifications
in captured cities.
In addition, claims have been made that da
Vinci used Cesare, considered among the most
handsome men of his period, as an inspiration
when painting Jesus in some portraits, however
this was never confirmed and remains an extremely
debated topic.
In 1503, an incident occurred involving Francesco
Troche, one of the pope’s chamberlains.
Despite the details being ambiguous, certain
sources state he had either recently betrayed
or failed the Borgias in a significant way
and was suddenly found dead soon after.
Conflicting reports say he either committed
suicide by drowning or was strangled and dumped
in the river.
In Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood’s interpretation
of the history, the latter proved to be the
case when Cesare had Micheletto kill the man
as they saw him as a liability.
In the following in-game segments in 1503,
Cesare can be seen attending a pagan orgy
party of sorts, and making a speech about
unifying Italy.
Again, although certain texts state he took
part in such events, other sources believe
this to be defamatory propaganda.
Historically, the following months of 1503
proved incredibly difficult for Cesare as
his French allies were defeated in Naples
by the Spanish.
This was worsened in Brotherhood as the assassins
weakened his force in Rome.
The game then has Cesare confronting the Pope about
his limited funds, leading the men to argue
about his behavior and desire for power.
Lucrezia suddenly arrives, revealing Cesare
has been poisoned by the pope, to which he
responds by chocking the pontiff with his
own tainted apple.
Cesare: "I control all of this."
Cesare: "If I want to live, I live. If I want to take, I take. If I want you to die, you die!"
In reality, a few days after dining with his
father on August 6th both men became seriously
ill.
Cesare barely succeeded in overcoming the
violent illness, but the Pontiff was not as
lucky and died from it on the 18th.
Assassin’s Creed justified this sickness
as being caused by the lesser dose of poison
he ingested.
Historically, as he recovered from his sickness,
Cesare got a short reprieve when Pope Pius
III, a man who’d supported the Borgia’s
past efforts, was elected as pontiff.
Unfortunately, Pius’ sudden death just 26
days later left the papacy open once again.
In desperation, Cesare was tricked with promises
of financial and military support by Cardinal
Della Rovere, a man who had strongly opposed
the Borgias in the past, into supporting his
bid to become pope.
This manipulation proved successful and Della
Rovere became Pope Julius II, subsequently
reneging on his promises, demanding ownership
of Romagna and ordering the arrest of Cesare.
The game showed this sequence slightly differently,
with Cesare losing the piece of Eden to Ezio,
attempting to gather his remaining forces
and ultimately failing when the Papal Guard,
sent by Julius II arrived to arrest him.
Historical records indicate that the Borgia
noble was successful in delaying his arrest
by surrendering multiple cities to the new
pontiff, however upon his arrival in Naples
in mid-1504 he was arrested by the Spanish
viceroy and his remaining holdings were confiscated
by the Pope.
By August, Cesare had been imprisoned in Spain
and was moved to a more fortified positioned
after a failed escape attempt.
With external assistance, Cesare eventually
succeeded in escaping his Spanish prison in
1506 and ultimately reached his brother-in-law,
King John III of Navarre in December of the
same year.
Upon arriving, he joined the King’s efforts
to consolidate his control in Navarre.
This sequence was briefly reflected in Assassin’s
Creed Brotherhood with Ezio using the Apple
of Eden to discover that Cesare had in fact
escaped, and acquire his location.
Historically, Cesare led the King’s forces
and succeeded in capturing the city of Viana,
however he was incapable of taking its castle.
His troops laid siege to the fortress.
In the game, the assassin met him on the battlefield,
they fought and later reached the castle where
Ezio was victorious and dropped Cesare off
the wall.
In reality, although the 1507 date is debated
as either being March 11th or 12th, in the
midst of a storm the knights within the castle
attempted an escape.
Their timing allowed them to successfully
bypass their attackers, but it is said Cesare
chased them and was eventually ambushed, outnumbered
and killed by the knights.
Many records state he was stripped of all
of his possessions, including his clothing,
and his weapons and was left nearly naked
on the ground to later be found by his soldiers.
Having reached the conclusion of Cesare’s
life, let’s proceed to the final chapter
of the video where we’ll review everything
we’ve learned so far and compare his depiction
in the game to his documented history.
As always, I’d like to start with a quick
list, jotting down the definitively fictional
portions of his portrayal.
First, and I know this is ridiculous obvious
but I’ll say it anyways, Cesare Borgia was
not a member of the Templar Order and did
not seek a Piece of Eden.
Next, there was no siege of Monteriggioni
perpetrated by Borgia and the capturing of
Caterina Sforza which happened therein actually
occurred while she defended her city of Forlì.
It can also be said that although Leonardo
da Vinci did work for Cesare for a time, he
never designed and built him war machines.
Lastly, Cesare’s arrest did not occur after
fighting the assassins in Rome, nor did his
death come at the hands of Ezio Auditore while
on the castle walls of Viana.
With these clear ideas in mind, I’d like
to now mention the major points of contention
where the game took a stand on a debated topic
that some sources agree with, but other vehemently
deny.
These would include his involvement in his
brother’s death, his incestuous relationship
with Lucrezia, his involvement in Francesco
Troche’s death, his participation in pagan
parties and his potential role in the Pope’s
death.
As I mentioned earlier, the game’s interpretation
in these cases represents some of the popular
opinions, but are fundamentally based on unconfirmed
data that many claim to have originated from
anti-Borgia propaganda created by their adversaries
both during and after their rise to power.
When discussing the elements the game got
right, I’ll be sticking to the confirmed
historical instances.
To begin, I liked the way his relationship
with the French military was nicely depicted
in the game, with them supporting his campaigns
in Italy.
The subsequent mentions of how he quelled
the rebellion within his ranks was also a
proper nod to the history.
Then, although his exact involvement was altered,
I did like how da Vinci was depicted as being
under Cesare’s employ at the proper historical
interval.
In addition, his constant use of Micheletto
Corella as a trusted officer was well depicted.
Lastly, although the circumstances did vary
from history, his sickness around the time
of his arrest and the period in which he died
were properly demonstrated.
Now that we are armed with all of this information,
let’s face the difficult question of whether
Cesare Borgia was fairly represented in Assassin’s
Creed Brotherhood.
To put it simply, it depends on your historical
perspective.
Like I said at the beginning of the video,
the Borgia family evokes very polarizing interpretations,
with some claiming they were the worst, most
corrupt, infamous and dangerous family of
the period, while others state they really
weren’t all that different from their contemporaries
and have just been further demonized by those
they had wronged during their rise to power
in an ultimate example of the quote; “History
is written by the victors”.
If we are talking about the purely factual,
predominantly-undeniable facts about the Borgia,
it could be said that Cesare’s depiction
in the game was unfair and biased, making
him into the stereotypical villain.
However, since so much of his history is drenched
in controversy and debate, it is fair to say
that his representation in the game was more
indicative of the popular perception of the
Borgia family, as opposed to the completely
fact-based interpretation.
All the same, it’s important to note that
had the game stuck solely to the un-arguable
facts, there wouldn’t be a whole lot to
cover about Cesare in the story.
As the usual methodology of the Assassin’s
Creed writers is to use historical omissions
to add in the game’s fictional narrative,
in this case it was just brought a bit further
by tying it into much of the unconfirmed speculations
about the individual’s history.
Although I may not completely agree with the
game’s large reliance on speculated portions
of Cesare’s life, I understand its importance
for pushing the narrative of the Borgia as
the villains in Brotherhood.
However, for me personally, my biggest qualm
with his story was when Cesare killed the
Pope.
Despite this having been proposed by certain
sources, it seemed incredibly unlikely as it
meant a probable loss of papal favor, which
was eventually the case, however I suppose
the game could counter this by stating he
wouldn’t need anything but the Apple of
Eden to rule.
Nevertheless, at its core, Assassin’s Creed
Brotherhood’s story still shows us the rise
of the Borgia family, with its coordination
of Pope Alexander VI as the politician who
had his military efforts supported by his
ambitious and ruthless son Cesare, leading
to the growth and then sudden fall of their
power base in Rome.
It is filled with historical references of
nepotism, clever political maneuvers and a
display of how Cesare succeeded in establishing
his own Italian state in just three years.
As a quick final point, in spite of the game
excluding any mentions of his possible dealings
with syphilis and the idea that he wore a
mask to hide it, I’d like to think that
his erratic behavior in his final years, perhaps
best demonstrated in his final battle with
Ezio where he stated that “no man can murder
me” were potential nods to his mental deterioration
caused by the disease, which some historians
have pointed at as a possibility.
And with that, we’ve finished what I imagine
was another heavy episode of Assassin’s
Creed the Real History.
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Thanks for watching.
