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Student no 42779006
Callum Craigie
MHIS322 Culture and Power in Renaissance Europe: Research Paper
The Rise of the Merchant class:
How did the Medici family of the merchant class, rise to power within Florentine
Renaissance society?
The increase in the wealth of the merchant class in Florentine society during the
renaissance eroded the existing political structure and shifted power from the old
nobility into the hands of the merchant class which was uninhibited and unconstrained
in its desire to exhibit wealth. The conspicuous display of magnificence gave enormous
influence to its members. The Medicis were highly successful banking family who owned
the largest bank in 15th century Europe and at the time of Cosimo de Medici managed
the papal finances. The family eventually rose to being Grand Dukes of Tuscany and also
produced four popes. The Medicis displayed their magnificence through commissioned
humanist works such as art, literature, scientific discovery and invention. The exhibition
of their wealth by using it to pursue magnificence as a civic virtue was regarded with
great favour by a society with an increasing influential humanist thread. This
magnificence and the sheer power of their wealth and ownership of the Medici Bank
made the family's rise through Cosimo Medici possible when coupled with his image as

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prominent humanist. The Medicis also gained influence by intermarriage with the old
Italian nobility. The women they married themselves made a significant contribution to
the political power of the family. The sexual behaviour of the male members of the
Medici family may well have affected their ability to wield and increase their power.
The humanist ideals which gained popularity in Florentine society during the
renaissance provided justification for private and conspicuous wealth Mark Jurdjevic is
his article ‘Civic Humanism and the Rise of the Medici’ quotes humanist scholar
Leonardo Bruni's Panegyric to Florence 1402 in this context1. “Bruni's Panegyric
exalted the magnificence of Florentine citizens' lifestyles likening their role in the city to
that of blood in the human body”. Jurdjevic also quotes from Florentine humanist
scholar, philosopher and architect Leon Battista Alberti writing in the 1430s as praising
wealth as crucial for helping the needy and for assisting men to “great and noble deeds”
and particularly as being essential for the defence during state emergencies. The
magnificence with which the renaissance in Florence is synonymous, derived it power
from a virtue elucidated and disseminated by influential preachers as early as the 1420s.
Sant' Antonio Pierozzi was a preacher, reformer and archbishop of Florenceand
confidant of Cosimo I de' Medici. Pierozzi as archbishop adapted the language of Sir
Thomas Aquinas, the Dominican theologian and others to forge a public theology of
magnificence apposite to the needs of the city of Florence and its republican values2.
Cosimo, (1389 -1464) son of Giovanni di Bicci de Medici the founder of the Medici Bank
is the first example of the Medici family pursuit of magnificence as civic virtue gaining
1 Jurdjevic. M, ‘Civic Humanism and the Rise of the Medici’, Renaissance Quarterly, Vol.
52, No. 4, The University of Chicago Press, Winter, 1999, p. 1005.
2 ‘Preaching Magnificence in Renaissance Florence’, The Renaissance Quarterly, 2008,
Vol. 61, no. 2, p.325-369.

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the family status in Florentine social and political life. Unlike his father he was educated
and influenced by humanism3. He married Contessina de' Bardi giving the merchant
family of Medici the respectability and cache of nobility or at least noble connections.
Cosimo's apparent embodiment of humanist convictions made him popular with other
members of the governing classes and may explain why they did not early in his career
seek to restrain him and maintain the balance of power in the Florentine oligarchy4. His
immense wealth allowed him to be an extremely generous patron of the arts and secular
and religious architecture enabled this embodiment5. This brought him into favour with
popes and princes6. He financed numerous original writings and translations many of
which were dedicated to him and in the area of architecture he contributed more than
his famous grandson Lorenzo. This included the rebuilding of the sacristy and chapel of
San Lorenzo and contributing greatly to the building and upgrading of the Fiesolan
Badia, S. Annunziat and S. Croce. He also rebuilt the convent of San Marco including a
library. The bookseller, humanist and advisor to Cosimo, Vespasiano da Bisticci in his
biography of Cosimo claims that Cosimo spent 193000 gold florins on building. This also
provided jobs and contributed to the health of the Florentine economy7.
Cosimo 's close association and support from the leading humanists of the time like
3 ‘Preaching Magnificence in Renaissance Florence’, 2008, p.325-369.
4 Jurdjevic. M, 1999, p. 1009.
5 Jurdjevic. M, 1999, p. 1008.
6 Jurdjevic. M, 1999, p. 1009.
7 Jurdjevic. M, 1999, p. 1010.

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Bruni brought him prestige, which contributed to his ability to wield power8. Cosimo
managed to do this without actually holding political office. Aeneas Silvius de'
Piccolomini, Bishop of Siena and later Pope Pius II said of Cosimo; “Political questions
are settled at his [Cosimo's] house. The man he chooses holds office...He it is who
decides peace and war and controls the laws. He is king in everything but name”9. When
in 1433 Cosimo was exiled having been arrested by political rivals he took his bank and
a number of supporters with him. The flight of capital from the city caused the exile to be
revoked such was extent of his monetary power and political influence. Cosimo was held
in such high esteem that he was after his death the Signoria of Florence gave him the
title given by the Romans to Cicero of Pater Patriae (Father of his country)10.
Cosimo was after a brief period of rule by son Piero succeeded by his grandson Lorenzo
who continued the Medici tradition of magnificence He was in fact known as “il
Magnifico”. The humanist creations of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarroti
and Botticelli are part of his legacy. Michelangelo's sculpture,“ Battle of the Centaurs” is
very significant as an example of Lorenzo as a patron of the arts11. The sculpture is one
of Michelangelo's earliest creations and depicts the influence of ancient Greek culture
significant to the humanist revival of ancient culture. Lorenzo also married in a way that
strengthened the Medici family's power. He married Clarice Orsini from an old
established noble family who became a powerful figure in her own right. Florence
8 Jurdjevic. M, 1999, p. 102.
9 Hibbert. C, ‘The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici’, Kindle digital copy, Penguin,
1979, p. 1044.
10 Hibbert. C, 1979, p. 1044.
11 Michelangelo de Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, ‘Battle of the Centaurs’ sculpture, 1490-
1491, Florence, sourced 02/10/2014, url:
http://www.artsjournal.com/culturegrrl/2009/11/truth-in-advertising_alert_for.html

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continued to flourish under Lorenzo in spite of pressure from anti Medici forces.
The Medici family gradually progressed over the generations with their accumulation of
wealth and patronage of the arts and architecture to display their magnificence with
greater effect and political influence. According to Kent, an analysis of the Medici family
in the conducting of their civic virtues reveals that the more contributed by each
generation, the more influential the family became. Kent argues that in the quest for
magnificence significant works such as the renovation by Cosimo of “San Marco” and
the “ Battle of the Centaurs” commissioned by Lorenzo are prime examples of
this. .Furthermore Kent argues that the influence of the Medici's magnificence was not
only political but religious12. As power and influence shifted away from the papacy and
the nobility in the renaissance the merchant class which took over was unhampered by
their social prejudice and constraints. Smith supports Kent's argument in his
examination of the Florentine art of the renaissance and his view that architecture is a
creation of magnificence. Smith illustrates that the Church was used in the
implementation of magnificence. Acts of patronage by the Medici family both secular and
religious allowed the accomplishment of political will and authority13.
The women Medici family are of particular relevance to the family's political influence.
Natalie Tomas conceptualizes the Medici women to have been fundamental in the rise to
political power and influence of the family14. Tomas describes how as power shifted
12 Kent. D, ‘Cosimo de’ Medici and the Florentine Renaissance: the patrons oeuvre’, New
Haven Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2000.
13 Smith. P, ed. Ames- Lewis. F, ‘Florence’, Cambridge; New York; Cambridge University
Press, 2012.
14 Tomas. N. R, ‘The Medici women: gender and power in Renaissance Florence’, Ch. 1,
Burlington, VT, Ashgate, 2003.

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away from the government palace to the Medici palace during the last part of the rule of
Cosimo, women who were traditionally not allowed to participate in public affairs were
able to be more influential. Most of this influence was in the form patronage through
networking. The women took on power earlier with each succeeding generation, the
older women training up the younger15. Tomas was particularly impressed with
Lucrezia Tornabuon mother of Lorenzo, 'Lucrezia had become, by virtue of her
reputation as a mother and saint, a key element in the Medici's own story of their
dynastic success as Florence's ruling family'16.
Tomas highlights how in spite of the Medici family going through periods of political
uncertainty the Medici women were able to indefinitely maintain a presence in
Florentine society throughout the renaissance. Tomas particularly describes two
periods in which the Medici male line were in absentia, and Medici women maintaining
the political power base. The Medici women were left in Florence during the two exiles
in 1494-1512 and 1527 -1530 and maintained a power base for the men17. The sisters of
Pope Leo X were even involved in the papal court and Lorenzo's daughter Lucrezia
Salviati and her daughter Maria were closely tied to the court of Lucrezia's cousin Pope
Clement VII18.
To be virtuous in Italian Renaissance society was to possess masculinity. Baker in
‘Power and Passion in Sixteenth-Century Florence’ assesses the deeply unpopular
15 Tomas. N. R, Ch. 2, 2003.
16 Tomas. N. R, 2003, p. 67.
17 Tomas. N. R, Ch. 4, 2003.
18 Tomas. N. R, Ch. 5, 2003.

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Alessandro de' Medici Duke of Florence who was assassinated in 1537 and Cosimo I
Grand Duke of Tuscany who succeeded him and is credited with restoring the Medici
family's position with regard to the way in which their sexuality and virtue contrasted
with political power. It is highlighted by Baker within that Renaissance society the
physicality of the male was irrelevant. Masculinity in Renaissance society meant one was
to be perfect, rational and possess self-control. Masculinity itself was thought to be
virtuous, as it was a gendered trait. According to Baker “virtue in sixteenth century Italy
did not possess a moral or ethical sense. Rather, it was an explicitly gendered construct,
a masculine trait, traced etymologically to the Latin root “vir” (man), that referred to the
ability to control oneself, to do things well, and so to determine one’s future”19. Virtuous
men in Renaissance Italy preferred the company of men and to socialise primarily with
males. It was expected virtuous men should be sexually inclined towards women,
however it was considered emasculating to spend excessive time with female
companions. To indulge in excessive sexual activity was considered emasculating as it
proved one had little self-control20.
The Medici family's political influence is linked with the sexuality of its members.
According to Baker “implicit in this recognition lies an acknowledgement of the close
relationship between sex and power, between the political and the sexual, inherent in
European societies and cultures”21. Alessandro and Cosimo I are of particular relevance
19 Jurdjevic. M, ‘Virtue, Commerce, and the Enduring Florentine Republican Moment:
Reintegrating Italy into the Adandc Repubilican Debate’, Journal of the History of Ideas
62, no. 4, 2001. Cited Baker. N. S, ‘Power and Passion in Sixteenth-Century Florence: The
Sexual and Political Reputations of Alessandro and Cosimo I de’ Medici’, Journal of
History of sexuality, University of Texas Press, 2010, Vol. 19, p. 436.
20 Bray. A, ‘The Friend’, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 2003. Cited Baker. N. S,
2010, Vol. 19, p. 437.
21 Baker. N. S, ‘Power and Passion in Sixteenth-Century Florence: The Sexual and Political

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in the definition of the close relationship of sexuality in political power and influence.
“The political reputations of the two Medici dukes became intimately linked to their
sexual reputations”22.
Cosimo I according to Vincent Fidele a 16th century Venetian ambassador, was an
exemplary duke who behaved honorably to the ladies23. Cosimo I as elected duke of
Florence was a welcomed and praised as a honourable leader after Alessandro24.
According to Baker; “these depictions of Cosimo as a good ruler corresponded to
descriptions that praised the duke's behaviour, particularly his monogamous marriage
to Eleonora di Toledo and his respect for the honour of women more generally”25.
Furthermore Baker notes Giovanbattista Adriani who wrote the 1575 biography of
Cosimo I, where it is revealed Cosimo I lived with his wife in a loving relationship of
celibacy outside of marriage taking no another partner until his wife was dead26. He
embodied the ideal of masculinity as a virtue. Alessandro proves to be lacking the
masculinity of Cosimo I and therefore the virtue. Predecessor to Cosimo I he is depicted
by Franciscan chronicler Fra Giuliano Ughi as having had excessive sexual lust for
Reputations of Alessandro and Cosimo I de’ Medici’, Journal of History of sexuality,
University of Texas Press, 2010, Vol. 19, p. 432.
22 Baker. N. S, 2010, Vol. 19, p. 434.
23 Fidele. Vincenzo, ‘Relazione de messer Vincenzo Fideli segretario dell’ I Uustrissium
Signoria di Venezia tomata duca di Fiorenzo nel 1561’, in Relazioni degli ambasciatori
veneti al Senato, ed. Angelo Venture, Vol. 2, Rome, Laterzo, 1976, p. 233. Cited Baker. N.
S, 2010, Vol. 19, p. 434.
24 G. B. Adriani and Marcello Adriani, ‘Scritti varii editi e inediti di G. B. Ardiani e di
Mareello sue figliuolo’, ed. Adolfo Bartoli, Bologna: Commissione per I testi di lingua,
1968, p. 19, 113. Cited Baker. N. S, 2010, Vol. 19, p. 444.
25 Baker. N. S, 2010, Vol. 19, p. 443.
26 G. B. Adriani and Marcello Adriani, 1968, p. 19, 113. Cited Baker. N. S, 2010, Vol. 19, p.
444.

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women making him hated and feared27. Alessandro unlike Cosimo I was not elected but
by siege took Florence in 1530 after three years of the Medici family living in exile28.
According to Baker; “Alessandro de' Medici's reputation as a bad ruler and a tyrant owed
as much or more to his sexual incontinence, which made him effeminate in the eyes of
contemporaries, than it did to the nature of his government”29. According to Ughi; “he
began to profane and dishonour convents and women both noble and plebeian”30.
Furthermore Alessandro was led away from bodyguards and murdered by Lorenzo di
Pierfrancesco, manipulating Alessandro with the promise of sex31. Alessandro unlike
Cosimo I lacked the masculinity and therefore the virtue to remain in power.
The growing interest in humanist philosophy in early 15th century Florence by making
wealth and magnificence virtues provided Cosmio de Medici with a way to increase the
political power of his already wealthy and influential banking family by winning the
favour of Florentine society. He was seen to be living out the ideals of humanism and in a
way that benefited Florence. Cosmio's personal interest in humanism and his association
with the leading scholars of the time increased the respect in which he was held and
thus his political influence. Other Medicis followed in his footsteps in particular in his
grandson Lorenzo. The women of the Medici family also wielded power through
27 Ughi. Fra Giuliano, ‘Cronica di Firenze o compendio delie cose di Firenze dall’anno MDI
al MDXL VI’, ed. Francesco Frediani, Arehivio storieo italiano, Appendice 7, 1849, p. 181.
Cited Baker. N. S, 2010, Vol. 19, p. 434.
28 Butters. H. C, ‘Governors and Government in Early Sixteenth-Century Florence’, 1502-
1519, Oxford University Press, 1985.
29 Baker. N. S, 2010, Vol. 19, p. 436.
30 Ughi. Fra Giuliano, 1849, p. 180.
31 Erspamer. F, Lorenzo de’ Medici, ‘Apologia e lettere’, Rome, Salerno, 1991, p. 38, 42.

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networking and patronage. The extent to which the male members of the family
conducted themselves according to the Renaissance ideal of virtuous masculinity may
well have affected their ability to maintain and increase their power.

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Bibliography:
Articles:
Baker. N. S, ‘Power and Passion in Sixteenth-Century Florence: The Sexual and Political
Reputations of Alessandro and Cosimo I de’ Medici’, Journal of History of sexuality,
University of Texas Press, Vol. 19, 2010.
Jurdjevic. M, ‘Civic Humanism and the Rise of the Medici’, Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 52,
No. 4, The University of Chicago Press, Winter, 1999
Jurdjevic. M, ‘Virtue, Commerce, and the Enduring Florentine Republican Moment:
Reintegrating Italy into the Adandc Repubilican Debate’, Journal of the History of Ideas
62, no. 4, 2001.
‘Preaching Magnificence in Renaissance Florence’, The Renaissance Quarterly, 2008, Vol.
61, no. 2, p.325-369.
Books:
G. B. Adriani and Marcello Adriani, ‘Scritti varii editi e inediti di G. B. Ardiani e di
Mareello sue figliuolo’, ed. Adolfo Bartoli, Bologna: Commissione per I testi di lingua,
1968.
Bray. A, ‘The Friend’, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 2003.

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Butters. H. C, ‘Governors and Government in Early Sixteenth-Century Florence’, 1502-
1519, Oxford University Press, 1985.
Erspamer. F, Lorenzo de’ Medici, ‘Apologia e lettere’, Rome, Salerno, 1991.
Fidele. Vincenzo, ‘Relazione de messer Vincenzo Fideli segretario dell’ I Uustrissium
Signoria di Venezia tomata duca di Fiorenzo nel 1561’, in Relazioni degli ambasciatori
veneti al Senato, ed. Angelo Venture, Vol. 2, Rome, Laterzo, 1976.
Hibbert. C, ‘The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici’, Kindle digital copy, Penguin, 1979.
Kent. D, ‘Cosimo de’ Medici and the Florentine Renaissance: the patrons oeuvre’, New
Haven Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2000.
Smith. P, ed. Ames- Lewis. F, ‘Florence’, Cambridge; New York; Cambridge University
Press, 2012.
Tomas. N. R, ‘The Medici women: gender and power in Renaissance Florence’, Ch. 1,
Burlington, VT, Ashgate, 2003.
Ughi. Fra Giuliano, ‘Cronica di Firenze o compendio delie cose di Firenze dall’anno MDI
al MDXL VI’, ed. Francesco Frediani, Arehivio storieo italiano, Appendice 7, 1849.

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Websites:
Michelangelo de Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, ‘Battle of the Centaurs’ sculpture, 1490-
1491, Florence, sourced 02/10/2014, url:
http://www.artsjournal.com/culturegrrl/2009/11/truth-in-advertising_alert_for.html
MHIS322 Self-Assessment – Research Paper
This self-assessment sheet is designed to help you check whether your expectations and
standards align with those of this unit. Copy-and-paste it in a new page at the end of
your Research Paper and complete it before you submit the Paper.
For each of the following eleven questions give yourself a letter grade from F to HD.
Understanding:
1. Did I consult the Research Paper assessment task and the unit convener to make sure
I understood what was required in this assignment? HD
2. Did my work remain focused on the task? HD
Choice of research material:
3. Did I learn about the background to this topic so that my research would be directed
and focused? Did I do a proper search of library catalogues, databases and journals? Did
I find relevant primary sources? HD
Knowledge of content
4. Did I read through enough material I could construct informed arguments for my
project? HD
Argument

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5. Does my essay have a clear, specific thesis? Is this argument outlined in the
introduction of the essay? Is the thesis reinforced in each paragraph? Have I moved
beyond description to offer analysis and evaluation of the work of others in my
discussion? Do I comment on, and analyze, my primary sources? HD
Judgment
6. Is the evidence and material that I present in the project well-considered and
justified? HD
Communication
7. Is my grammar correct? Is my spelling correct? Are my sentences too longwinded and
complex for clear communication? Have I used my own words to construct my argument
rather than simply quoting other historians? Have I kept jargon to a minimum? Have I
waffled on too much and used obtuse language in the mistaken belief that this will make
me appear intellectual and scholarly? Have I expressed my ideas clearly and accessibly
enough for the average educated reader? HD
Referencing and Ethical Use of Materials
8. Am I familiar with what the Modern History requires in terms of referencing? Do I
understand the Chicago Style system used by Modern History? C
9. Does my bibliography conform to the style of bibliography required by Modern
History? Have I provided references wherever necessary? HD
Presentation
10. Have I used 12-point font so that my marker doesn’t go blind squinting at my work?
Have I double-spaced my work and left at least 1 inch or 2.54cm margins for comments?
HD
11. Is the assignment in order (i.e. no missing pages, all pages in the correct numerical
order)? Are all the pages numbered? Have I proofread my work and checked for
typographical errors? HD

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What mark would I give myself out of 100? 83

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