Page numbers in italics refer to illustrations.
abaci, 37
“About Famous Women” (Boccaccio), 55–57
Acciaiuoli, Agnolo, 154–56, 157, 163, 167, 192
Acciaiuoli, Donato di Neri, 160
Acciaiuoli, Lorenzo, 154
accoppiatori, 139–40, 142, 147, 156, 160, 165, 167, 199–200
accounting:
imaginary currency invented for, 36–37
Adoration of the Magi (Gozzoli), 128–29, 129, 169
Adoration of the Shepherds (Goes), 178
Agamemnon, 11–12
Agazzari, Filippo degli, 10
Alberti, Leon Battista, 19, 26
Albizzi, Rinaldo degli, 81, 86, 89–91, 104, 116, 154
Cosimo de’ Medici’s exile and, 92–98
exile of, 100
Albizzi family, 73, 77, 78, 81, 118, 120, 137, 139, 141
power struggle between Medici family and, 88–98
Alfonso of Aragon, 141
alum, 22, 39, 188, 192–99, 204, 233
collapse of market in, 197–99
main markets for, 196
Medici bank’s monopoly on, 190, 193, 195–96, 200, 205
uses and importance of, 188, 190, 192, 194
value of market in, 194
Volterra and, 199–203
Ancona, Medici bank branch in, 116, 117
Angel Appearing to Zacharias, The (Ghirlandaio), 168
Angelico, Fra, 124–25, 126, 128, 133
Angevin family, 68, 71, 116, 141, 218
Anghiari, Battle of, 140
Anjou, Prince Jean d’, 189
Annunciation (Angelico), 125
Antonio of Florence, Archbishop (later Saint), 24, 33, 63, 109, 123–24, 148, 151, 241
Aragon family, 116
Arena Chapel, 10
Lorenzo de’ Medici’s aspirations to, 4, 203, 221–22
Medici as, 160–61, 170, 178, 246
see also nobility
Aristotle, 14
Arnolfini, Giovanni, 176
art:
collecting habit and, 5
Cosimo de’ Medici’s commissions in architecture and, 3, 56, 58–59, 62, 84, 104, 105, 108, 121–22, 124–30, 126, 129, 151, 186, 225, 246
humanism’s affect on, 130
Lorenzo de’ Medici’s patronage of, 187
money and political power tied to, 2, 9, 10, 17–19, 124, 158–59, 161
morality and patronage and, 186–88
patrons portrayed in, 125–27, 126, 129–30, 129, 136, 151, 166, 168–70, 178, 211, 230, 231
religion and patronage and, 127–34
religious purpose of, 124–25
Arte di Calimala (Merchants’ Guild), 33, 58
Arte di Cambio, see Exchangers’ Guild
Arte di Por San Maria (Clothmakers’ Guild), 33
Augustine, Saint, 207
Avignon, 51
Medici bank branch in, 170, 232
Badia di Fiesole, 127
balia, 141, 142, 149, 158, 192, 199
Cosimo de’ Medici exiled by, 95–98
banca grossa, 32
banche a minuto, 31–34
bank, etymology of term, 29
banking:
by banche a minuto, 31–34
collecting habit and, 5
Cosimo de’ Medici’s love of, 62, 188
currency exchange deals and, 40–46, 91–92, 174
discretionary deposits and, 22–25
Florence’s neighborhood for, 29
holding system and, 48–49
Italian monopoly on, 21
language used as camouflage in, 24, 31
moral law and, 11–15
by pawnbrokers, 30–31
political power and, 17
pre-Medici innovations in, 5–6
trade and, 22–23, 39–40, 46–47, 240
Tuscans and, 28
see also accounting
banks, falling trade and failures of, 173
Bardi, Alessandro, 168
Bardi, Bartolomeo de’, 83, 111
Bardi, Benedetto di Lippaccio de’, 38, 47
Bardi, Gualterotto de’, 111
Bardi, Ilarione di Lippaccio de’, 39, 47, 52, 83, 111
Bardi, Ubertino de’, 42, 83, 111
Giovanni de’ Medici and, 6
as partners in Medici bank, 38–39, 83
removed from Medici bank, 111
Baroncelli, Bernardo di Bandini, 214, 216–17, 229
Baroncelli, Pierantonio di Bandini, 214
barons, 49
Basle, 116
Medici bank branch in, 113
Beaufort, Henry, 24
Becchi, Gentile, 188
Benci, Giovanni d’Amerigo, 64, 66, 76–77, 112, 115, 116, 149, 170, 198, 242
Benedict XIII, Pope, 51
Bernardino di Siena, 103, 116, 131
Bernardino of Feltre, 13
Bible, 93
bills of exchange (cambiale), 5–6, 48
description of, 40–41
in exchange deals, 40–46
stare sugli avvisi and, 47
Birth of John the Baptist (Ghirlandaio), 166, 169
Bisticci, Vespasiano da, 122, 127, 140
blasphemers, 14
Boccaccio, Giovanni, 7–8, 10, 51, 55–57
Boni, Gentile di Baldassarre, 38
bookkeeping, see accounting
Borromei, Carlo, 205
Borromei family, 205
Botticelli, Sandro, 186, 187, 209, 218, 225
Bracciolini, Poggio, 55, 119–20, 121
Brancacci, Felice, 74
British Empire, 121
Bronzino, Agnolo, 27
Bruges, 20–21, 25, 44, 72, 110–11, 113, 118, 204, 214
Medici bank branch in, 114, 116, 120, 135, 174–77, 179, 197, 198, 213, 220, 228, 229, 231–32
Brunelleschi, Filippo, 5, 85, 89, 122–23, 124
Bueri family, 162
burial, denied to usurers, 10
Calderoni, Anselmo, 106–7
cambiale, see bills of exchange
cambio secco (dry exchanges), 45–46
Canigiani, Gherardo, 181–82, 213–14
Carmignuola, Francesco, 79, 84
Carnival, Lorenzo de’ Medici’s bawdy songs composed for, 209–10, 239
Castagno, Andrea del, 218
Castro, Giovanni da, 195
catasto (wealth tax), 73, 81–83, 85
Cavalcanti family, 83
Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, 175–77, 178, 182–83, 197, 214–15, 229
Charles VIII, King of France, 244–45
children, illegitimate, 64–65
Christian gentleman, 121
Christianity:
East-West schism in, 116, 134–35
fundamentalism in, 234–36
humanism’s relationship to, 57, 92–93
political patronage and, 124
purpose of art in, 124–25
see also Eastern Church; religious confraternities; Roman Church
Christians, banned from pawnbroking, 31
Cicero, Marcus Tullius, 55, 62, 116, 159, 172
Città di Castello, 203
Clothmakers’ Guild (Arte di Por San Maria), 33
coinage:
quattrino bianco, 226
trimming of, 43
see also florins, Florentine; piccioli
collecting habit, psychology of, 5
Commentary on My Sonnets (Medici), 241
compromisers, fundamentalists and, 23
condottieri (mercenary warlords), 78–79, 84, 86, 89, 116, 164, 220, 223
function of, 72–73
Constance Church Council (1414), 51–52, 55
Constantine the Great, 93
Constantinople, 21, 73, 135, 147, 229
Coronation of the Virgin, The (Angelico), 125, 126
Cosimo de’ Medici and the Florentine Renaissance (Kent), 108
Cosma, Saint, 91, 125, 126, 133
Cossa, Baldassarre, see Giovanni XXIII, Pope
Councils:
of the Commune, 95, 96, 137, 139, 141, 143, 145, 147–48, 200, 212
of the People, 95, 96, 137, 139, 141, 143, 145, 147–48, 200, 212
Counter-Reformation, 9, 243, 246
credit:
Florence as center of international web of, 2
letters of, 6, 21, 25, 111, 135–36, 229–31
Curia, see popes
currency:
for accounting, 36–37
for international exchange deals, 113
intrinsic value and, 12–13, 32
currency exchange:
banking profits derived from, 40–46, 91–92, 174
between florins and piccioli, 31–35
Geneva as center for, 112–13
as source of Medici family’s wealth, 40, 44, 91–92
warnings and, 47
Damiano, Saint, 91
Dante Alighieri, 5, 13–14, 15, 26, 59, 83, 207
daughters, nephews given hereditary precedent over, 205–6
Davanzati, Riccardo, 135
debt bonds, 80–81
Decameron (Boccaccio), 10, 51, 53–54
Della famiglia (Alberti), 26
democracy, 162
consensus and persuasion and, 88–89
money and, 159
official vs. unofficial shifts of power in, 91
pretense and, 138, 142, 143, 149, 200
referendums and, 95
two-party, 149
see also political power
De mulieribus claris (Boccaccio), 55
denari a fiorino, 37
deposit accounts, 6
Depositary of the Papal Chamber, 47
Dialogue on Liberty (Rinuccini), 227
discretionary deposits, 50, 79, 171
description of, 22–25
Divina commedia (Dante), 13–14, 26, 59, 207
doge, of Venice, 87
Dominican order, 80–81, 122–24, 134
Donatello, 56, 58–59, 85, 102, 103, 116, 131, 132, 133
Donati, Lucrezia, 189–90, 193, 201, 209, 241
Donation of Constantine, 93
double-entry bookkeeping, 5, 33–34, 37
dowries, 9, 19–20, 154, 161–62
dry exchanges (cambio secco), 45–46, 104
duomo, 8, 29, 85, 89, 104, 122–23, 124, 206, 214–17, 242
Dwerg, Hermann, 24
Eastern Church, 116, 134–35, 140
education, 158–60
Edward III, King of England, 6
Edward IV, King of England, 179–83, 214
Eight of the Guard, see otto di guardia
England, usury legalized in, 243
English Cotswolds, see Cotswolds
Este, Borso d’, 163–64
Eugenius IV, Pope, 93, 97, 98, 100, 113, 116, 122, 123, 125, 127
exchange, see bills of exchange; currency exchange
Exchangers’ Guild (Arte di Cambio):
grounds for expulsion from, 30, 43
maximum time for exchange deals set by, 41–42
pawnbrokers barred from, 31
reputation of, 11
written transactions as rule of, 29–30
of Lorenzo de’ Medici, 218
as threat, 20, 104, 113, 148, 195, 196–97, 205
Eyck, Jan van, 176
Faenza, lord of, 78
family, as social unit, 26–28
Ferrante, King of Naples, 190, 205, 222–23, 245
Ferrara, marquis of, 97
Ficino, Marsilio, 185, 206–9, 210–11, 236
fiorino di suggello, 43
Flanders grossi, 114
Florence:
advisory bodies of, 94–95, 137
artists of, 225
banking authority in, see Exchangers’ Guild
banking neighborhood of, 29
Cosimo de’ Medici exiled from, 3, 94–100
Cosimo de’ Medici’s political power in, 3, 86–87, 106, 107–8, 137, 139–41, 143, 153–55
daily toil in, 37–38
dominions of, 67, 70, 71, 77, 79, 85–86, 200, 205, 226
dry exchanges banned in, 46
duomo of, see duomo
emblem of, 17
French invasion of, 4, 9, 244–45
galley ships of, 118, 178–79, 198
Giovanni de’ Medici elected gonfaloniere of, 62
gold currency of, see florins, Florentine
government debt bonds in, 80–81
as international center of credit and art, 2
in Italy’s internal wars, 66–79, 84, 88–90, 99–100, 106, 116–18, 141, 146–47, 150, 218, 221, 244
Lorenzo de’ Medici’s political power in, 4, 199–200, 209, 225–27
Lorenzo de’ Medici’s political reform of, 226
Lorenzo de’ Medici’s proprietary view of, 208
Lorenzo de’ Medici’s taking of money directly from, 220
Medici-Albizzi power struggle in, 88–98
Medici bank branch in, 49, 81, 83, 91, 94, 112, 171, 180, 217, 231, 232
Medici family’s expulsion from, 234, 246
Medici family’s roots in, 28
Medici political power in, 117–18, 143–45, 148–49, 167, 200, 204, 217, 223
in “Most Holy League,” 147
nobility excluded from government of, 77, 162
Orsanmichele neighborhood of, 29
pawnbrokers fined or licensed in, 31
Piero de’ Medici’s flight from, 4, 9, 245
Piero de’ Medici’s political power in, 3, 155, 160, 163–67
political parties banned in, 84, 137
political structure of, see balia; Councils; gonfaloniere della giustizia; parliament, of Florence; priors; signoria
population of, 7
post-Cosimo de’ Medici power struggle in, 153–57, 163–67
pre- and post-Medici upheavals in, 6–9
property and wealth register in, 73, 81–83, 85
property tax in, 147–48
republican constitution of, 6, 88, 137, 148, 154, 158, 159
“secret things of,” 136–38, 151, 209
silver currency of, see piccioli
smells of, 37
tax assessments in, 33
Ten of War committee of, 86, 89, 90
textile industry in, 82
towers built by nobles in, 16
two ideal self-images of, 121, 127
Volterran tax rebellion against, 85–86
Florentine Histories (Machiavelli), 74–76, 78–79, 86–87, 90, 140, 147, 157
florins, Florentine, 17, 79–80, 90, 92
description of, 17
exchange between piccioli and, 31–35
as indivisible unit of currency, 36
sealed, 43
worth of, 34–37
florins, Roman, 43
Fortebraccio, Niccolò, 85–86
Italy invaded by, 4, 9, 244–45
Franciscan order, 81
Frescobaldi, Castellano di Tommaso, 50
fundamentalists, compromisers and, 23
galley ships, 118, 178–79, 198
gambling, banned for Medici bank employees, 63
General Church Council of Lyon, 10
Genesis, 236
as currency center, 112–13
Medici bank branch in, 76–77, 91, 112–13, 115, 170, 175
Genevan golden mark, 43
Genoa, 67–68, 77, 195–96, 198, 226
Ghibellines, 16
Ghiberti, Lorenzo, 8, 13, 62, 131
Ghirlandaio, Domenico, 166, 168–69, 170, 225
Giotto di Bondone, 5, 10, 14, 123
Giovanni XXIII, Pope (Baldassarre Cossa), 55
Giovanni de’ Medici and, 47–48, 51, 57
struggle for papacy lost by, 51–52
tomb of, 53, 56, 57–59, 121, 125, 242
God, Florence as city of, 121, 127, 136
Goes, Ugo van der, 178
gold coins, of Florence, see florins, Florentine
gonfaloniere della giustizia, 106, 143, 155, 156, 160, 216
Cosimo de’ Medici elected as, 140
description of position, 62
election of, 87–88
Giovanni de’ Medici elected as, 62
length of term served by, 87
Gonzaga, Federico, 238
Good Men of San Martino, 108–9, 127
gout, 5
description of, 3
suffered by Cosimo de’ Medici, 119, 127, 150
suffered by Lorenzo de’ Medici, 4, 226, 240
suffered by Piero de’ Medici, 3, 151, 157
Government of Florence Under the Medici, The (Rubinstein), 107–8
Gozzoli, Benozzo, 128–29, 129, 151, 168, 169
Greece, 147
Greece, ancient, 57
Greek language and philosophy, 185
Gregory XII, Pope, 51
grossi, 114
Guadagni, Antonio, 100
Guadagni, Bernardo, 97–98, 100
Guelfs, 16
Guicciardini, Francesco, 6–7, 8–9, 193, 203, 222, 225, 226, 239, 243–44
Guidetti, Tommaso, 231
see also Exchangers’ Guild
Guinigi, Pagolo, 90
blasphemers in, 14
sodomites in, 13–14
usurers in, 13–14
Henry IV, King of England, 24
Henry VI, King of England, 136
Hermaphroditus, 103
Hibbert, Christopher, 92
Histoire de la Peinture en Italie (Stendhal), 223
holding system, introduction of, 48–49
Holy Sepulchre, Church of, 127
homosexuals:
Cosimo de’ Medici accused of having sympathy for, 102, 103
viewed as sinners, 13–14
humanism, 19, 116, 172, 184, 211
art affected by, 130
Cosimo de’ Medici’s education in, 55, 159
Cosimo de’ Medici’s relationship with, 92–93, 108, 119, 121, 185–86
and justification of leaders, 238
Lorenzo de’ Medici’s relationship with, 206, 208
Lorenzo di Giovanni de’ Medici’s education in, 55
middle ages dismissed by, 206–8
philosophical breakthrough of, 57
prominent early figures in, 55
Savonarola’s fundamentalism as reaction to, 235
secularization of the West begun by, 92–93
Hundred Years’ War, 174
Iliad (Homer), 11–12
illustrissima, 65
indulgences, 20, 123, 125, 203
Innocent VIII, Pope, 225, 226, 228, 234, 241, 244
insurance, shipping and, 40
interest:
banche a minuto and, 31
discretionary deposits and, 23–24
on exchange deals, 44–45
exchange transformed by, 13
fifteenth-century vs. contemporary views of, 15
on tax loans, 80–81
see also usury
Italian language, 225
Italy:
French invasion of, 4, 9, 244–45
illegitimacy and etiquette in, 64–65
Lorenzo de’ Medici’s political power in, 225
loss of independence of, 9
monopoly on European finance held by, 5, 21
political factions and warfare in, 6, 15–17, 66–79, 84, 88–90, 99–100, 106, 116–18, 141–42, 146–47, 150, 218, 221, 225, 244
political map of, 69
protective figures in, 66
Turkish invasion of, 223
united against Ottoman Turks, 147
Izmir, Gulf of, 195
Jerome, Saint, 64
Jerusalem, 127
Jesus Christ, 25, 74, 75, 116, 124, 130, 131, 238, 246
Jews, 116
Cosimo de’ Medici and, 103
as Florence’s only legal pawnbrokers, 31, 103
wearing of yellow circle required of, 103
John the Baptist, 53
Journey of the Three Kings (Gozzoli), 151
Kent, Dale, 108
kings:
monetary exchange governed by, 12
Koran, 14
language, used as legal or moral camouflage, 24, 31
Last Judgment (in Baptistery), 54
Last Judgment (Memling), 179, 230, 231
Last Judgment (Traini), 19
Lateran Church Council (1179), 10
Latin language, 185, 208–9, 221
Leo X, Pope (Giovanni di Lorenzo de’ Medici), 221, 233–34, 236, 240, 243
Le Pin, Abbey of, 233
letters of credit, 6, 21, 25, 111, 135–36, 229–31
Life of Hannibal and Scipio Africanus (Acciaiuoli), 160
lily, as emblem of Florence, 17
lira a fiorino, 36–37
literacy, 30
Lodi, Peace of (1454), 147
Logiati, Girolamo, 211
Lombardy, 142
London, 83, 113, 118, 197, 204
exchange deals between Italy and, 40–44
Medici bank branch in, 110–11, 114, 120, 179–83, 198, 232
population of, 7
trade between Italy and, 21–22
Lorraine, duke of, 244
Louis XI, King of France, 218, 229
Luke, Saint, 11
Lyon, Medici bank branch in, 229–31, 232, 233, 239
Machiavelli, Girolamo, 104–6, 153
Machiavelli, Niccolò, 71–76, 78–79, 85–87, 90, 100, 140, 147, 157, 163, 193, 206, 224
Machiavelli, Totto, 42
Madonna, 130
Magi, 116, 121, 128–30, 129, 151, 168
magic:
art and, 130–31
money and, 34
“manifest usurers,” 31
Marco, Saint, 125
Martelli, Ugolino, 120
Martin V, Pope, 24, 25, 52–53, 59, 61, 67–68, 93
Masi, Matteo, 120
Mazzei, Lapo, 8
Medici, Antonio de’, 229
Medici, Averardo “Bicci” de’, 3, 8, 9–10
Medici, Averardo di Francesco de’, 83, 84, 98, 109, 111
Medici, Cambio d’Antonio de’, 8
Medici, Clarice Orsini, 167, 178, 192–93, 201, 220–21, 239
Medici, Contessina de’ Bardi, 6, 52, 61, 111, 116, 162
Medici, Cosimo di Giovanni de’, 5, 6, 9, 17, 20, 24, 46, 61–152, 184, 185, 241, 242
as ambiguous figure, 86, 92, 103–9, 119–20, 121, 187–88, 246
arrest, exile, and return of, 94–100, 137, 138, 140
art and architecture commissioned by, 3, 56, 58–59, 62, 84, 104, 105, 108, 121–22, 124–30, 126, 129, 151, 186, 225, 246
birth of, 3
Calderoni’s poem addressed to, 106–7
as collector, 119, 120, 232–33
education of sons of, 159–60
as gonfaloniere della giustizia, 140
gout suffered by, 119, 127, 150
humanist education of, 55, 159
humanists’ relationships with, 92–93, 108, 119, 121, 185–86
illegitimate child of, 63–64
imprisonment and exile of, 3
Medici bank headed by, 61, 64, 66, 73, 83, 91–92, 107–20, 149–50, 171–72
motto of, 63
name saint of, see Cosma, Saint
official cleansing of sins of, 11, 128
as partner in Medici bank, 39
personality of, 61–62, 108, 119
physical appearance of, 106
political power of, 3, 86–87, 106, 107–8, 137, 139–41, 143, 153–55
portrayed in religious paintings, 129, 129, 151
princely ambitions of, 106, 160
as protective figure, 66
religious confraternities and, 62, 108–9, 116, 121
Rinaldo degli Albizzi’s victory over, 92–98
in Ten of War committee, 86, 89, 90
title Pater Patriae awarded to, 3, 107
tomb of, 152
Medici, Damiano di Giovanni de’, 62, 91, 127
Medici, Filippo de’, 154
Medici, Francesco di Bicci, 20
Medici, Giovanni di Bicci de’, 2–3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 15, 19–20, 36, 54–55, 92, 159, 242
Albizzi family’s planned coup stopped by, 78
amount of bank profits taken by, 39
antiwar position of, 77
Bardi family and, 6
Bronzino’s portrait of, 27
death of, 84–85
early banking career of, 20, 22–23, 26, 55
elected head of Florentine government, 62
Giovanni XXIII and, 47–48, 51, 57
Medici bank founded by, 2–3, 11, 26, 38
Medici bank structured by, 48–51
sons’ education and, 55
“stay out of the public eye” advice of, 3, 4, 27, 28
Medici, Giovanni di Cosimo de’, 61, 64, 125, 149, 150–52, 159–60, 168, 169, 171
Medici, Giovanni di Lorenzo, see Leo X, Pope
Medici, Giovanni di Pierfrancesco, 219–20
Medici, Giuliano di Piero, 205–6, 211, 214–16, 229
Medici, Laudamia Acciaiuoli, 156, 157
Medici, Lorenzo di Giovanni, 20, 97, 156
death of, 125
exile of, 98
humanist education of, 55
as Medici bank partner and director, 39, 83
on political power, 87
Medici, Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’, 219–20
Medici, Lorenzo Il Magnifico de’, 5, 9, 165, 175, 180, 183–243
alum and, 190, 193, 198–99, 233
aristocratic aspirations of, 4, 203, 221–22
as art patron, 187
assassination plot against Giuliano di Piero Medici and, 206, 211–17, 219
birth of, 163
church incomes and, 233
as collector, 225
excommunication and absolution of, 218, 223
Florence viewed as own personal work of art by, 208
ignorance of banking declared by, 177
Il Magnifico title awarded to, 224
marriage of, 163, 167, 178, 192–93
Medici bank’s decline under, 4, 208, 213, 215, 218–20, 228–33
personality of, 203
physical appearance of, 189
as poet, 4, 184, 189–90, 191, 193, 201, 209–10, 239, 241
political power of, 4, 199–200, 209, 225–27
role of prince played by, 183–84
Volterra sacked by, 201–3
Medici, Lucrezia de’, 201
Medici, Lucrezia Tornabuoni de’, 162–63, 166, 167, 168, 202
Medici, Maddalena de’, 208, 226, 233
Medici, Piccarda Bueri de’, 20, 162
Medici, Pierfrancesco de’, 156, 157, 164, 219, 231
Medici, Piero di Cosimo de’, 3–4, 61, 64, 125, 129, 153, 165, 167, 190, 191
children of, 162–63
ill health of, 3, 150, 151, 157, 163, 177
Medici bank headed by, 156, 172–75
nickname of, 3
personal emblem of, 160
political education of, 159–60
political power of, 3, 155, 160, 163–67
principle of succession established by, 3, 153
Medici, Piero di Lorenzo de’, 243–45
birth of, 201
death of, 4
as “dumb son,” 243
flight from Florence of, 4, 9, 245
nickname of, 4
Medici, Vieri di Cambio de’, 20, 26
Medici bank:
alum affair and, see alum
Basle branch of, 113
branch directors of, 49–50, 170–71, 175, 177, 228
branch staffs of, 49
Bruges branch of, 114, 116, 120, 135, 174–77, 179, 197, 198, 213, 220, 228, 229, 231–32
condottiere and, 79
under Cosimo de’ Medici, 3, 61, 64, 66, 73, 83, 91–92, 107–20, 149–50, 171–72
debt bonds and, 81
decline and collapse of, 2, 4–5, 110, 167, 170–83, 208, 213, 215, 218–20, 228–33, 246–47
dry exchanges and, 46
Florence branch of, 49, 81, 83, 91, 94, 112, 171, 180, 217, 231, 232
foreign correspondents of, 42, 110, 114
Geneva branch of, 76–77, 91, 112–13, 115, 170, 175
under Giovanni de’ Medici, 2–3, 38–39, 47–51
Giovanni XXIII and, 47–48, 51–53
Good Men of San Martino and, 108
holding office of, 6, 48–49, 114, 115, 120, 149, 168, 169, 170, 239
London branch of, 110–11, 114, 120, 179–83, 198, 232
under Lorenzo de’Medici, 4, 208, 213, 215, 218–20, 228–33
Lyon branch of, 229–31, 232, 233, 239
Milan branch of, 150, 172–73, 175, 181, 190, 220, 232
Naples branch of, 48, 50, 201, 219, 232
partners in, 38–39, 83, 111–12, 120
under Piero de’ Medici, 3–4, 156–57, 172–75
Pisa branch of, 118, 119, 120, 232
political power and, 83–84, 117–18
premises of, 34
profits made by, 38–39, 91, 99
registering of new branches of, 120
restructuring of, 170–71
Roman Church and, 47–48, 51–52, 91, 92, 93, 97, 113, 169, 224, 242
Rome branch of, 47–48, 52, 61, 64, 83, 91, 92, 110–11, 167, 168, 169, 172, 175, 180, 190, 198, 219, 224, 232
rules for branches of, 49–50, 63
St. Cosma’s Day holiday observed by, 133
Sassetti as general manager of, 170–71, 180–81, 228, 232
“secret books” of, 50
Sforza and, 106, 117–18, 146, 150
Venice branch of, 48, 50–51, 63, 83, 91, 96, 98, 112, 116, 135, 146, 172, 201, 231, 232
Medici family, 2–5
Albizzi family’s political struggle with, 88–98
amount of bank profits taken by, 39
aristocratic presumptions of, 160–61, 170, 178, 246
church of, see San Lorenzo, Church of
common traits found in, 5
confiscation of wealth of, 4
currency exchange as source of wealth of, 40, 44
as dukes, 246
expulsion from Florence of, 234, 246
Florence warehouse of, 40
Florentine roots of, 28
manipulative genius of, 48–49, 50
as merchants, 39–40
palazzo of, see Palazzo Medici political and financial power of, 83–84, 88, 117–18, 143–45, 148–49, 167, 200, 204, 217, 223
as priors of Florence, 19
puns made on name of, 91
status of, 62
textile factories owned by, 82
upheavals in periods preceding and following, 5–9
villas owned by, 82–83, 97, 163, 186, 231
warehouse of, 40
Memling, Hans, 178–79, 230, 231
“mental usury,” 24
mercenaries, 77, 80, 86, 89, 98
warlord leaders of, see condottieri
Merchants’ Guild (Arte di Calimala), 33, 58
Merchants of the Staple, 114
metaphysics:
as basis of moral law, 15
money and, 124
Michelangelo Buonarroti, 5, 13
Michelozzo di Bartolomeo, 56, 58–59, 99, 104, 124, 172
in Italy’s internal wars, 67–68, 71–73, 76–79, 84, 88, 90, 99–100, 106, 116–18, 141, 146, 150, 218, 221
Medici bank branch in, 150, 172–73, 175, 181, 190, 220, 232
in “Most Holy League,” 147
as republic, 141
Sforza’s taking of, 146
Milanese silver imperial, 43
Mirandola, Pico della, 209, 240
Monastic Institutes, 62
money:
amorality of, 238
art patronage and morality and, 186–88
dangers of transportation of, 21, 22, 110, 114
fourteenth-century poem about, 17–18
intrinsic value and, 12–13
magic and, 34
moral law and exchange of, 11–15
political power tied to art and, 2, 9, 10, 15, 17–19, 87–89, 93, 100, 108, 117–18, 124, 145, 158–59, 161, 164–65, 212
religious patronage and, 124
ritual and, 30
Roman Church and international flow of, 20–22
speed of profit or loss of deals in, 51
see also banking; currency; usury
monopolies:
viewed as sin, 193–94
Montesecco, Count, 215–16
moral law:
banking and, 11–15
metaphysical basis of, 15
mortal sins, 24
“Most Holy League,” 147
Muhammad, 14
Murate, 64
myth, 209
name saints, 169
claimant to papacy in, 51
in Italy’s internal wars, 67–68, 76, 146, 218, 221, 225, 244
Lorenzo de’ Medici’s diplomatic trip to, 222–23
Medici bank branch in, 48, 50, 201, 219, 232
in “Most Holy League,” 147
ruling families of, 68, 116, 141, 218
siege of, 9
Nasi, Bartolomea de’, 239
nature:
monopolies viewed as violation of, 193–94
usury viewed as violation of, 13–15
nephews, given hereditary precedent over daughters, 205–6
Neroni, Dietisalvi, 154, 157, 167
see also aristocracy
Nori, Francesco, 173, 182, 217
North Africa, as source of slaves, 10, 63
Officers of the Night, 36, 103, 178
On Oratory (Cicero), 62
“On Republican Education” (Patrizi), 238
“On the Kingdom and Education of Kings” (Patrizi), 238
“On the Prince” or “On the Citizen” (Bartolomeo), 238
Orsini, Rinaldo, 204
otto di guardia, 139, 156, 165, 167
Ottoman Turks, 67, 134–35, 147, 176, 194–95, 197, 223, 244
Palazzo della Signoria, 88, 94, 95, 97, 118, 138, 145, 192, 216, 217, 218, 226, 241
Palazzo Medici, 102, 104, 105, 114–15, 122, 145, 151, 154, 157, 159, 164, 168, 174, 208, 215, 245
Papal Chamber, Depositary of, 47
Papal States, 16, 116, 145, 203, 213
in Italy’s internal wars, 67, 99–100, 218
see also Rome
Paris, 112
parliament, of Florence, 94–96, 155
balia and, 95–96
Council of 100 formed by, 148–49, 158
Piero de’ Medici’s power and, 165–67
Patrizi, Francesco, 238
Paul II, Pope, 180, 194–98, 201
Pazzi, Beatrice Borromei, 205
Pazzi, Bianca de’ Medici, 163, 205
Pazzi, Francesco, 212–17
Pazzi, Giovanni, 205
Pazzi, Guglielmo, 205, 213, 217
Pazzi bank, 204, 212, 214, 227
Pazzi family, 218
and assassination plot against Lorenzo de’ Medici, 211–17, 219
Lorenzo de’ Medici’s dispute with, 204–6
Perugino, Il, 225
Petrarch, 57
Petrucci, Cesare, 216
Piccinino, Iacopo, 223
Piccinino, Niccolò, 78–79, 90, 100, 116, 118, 223
exchange between florins and, 31–35
silver content of, 33
workers’ salaries paid in, 32, 34
Piccolomini, Enea Silvio, see Pius II, Pope
pirates, 178
Pisa, 19, 67, 71, 90, 118, 154, 204–5, 222
Medici bank branch in, 118, 119, 120, 232
Pitti, Luca, 155, 157, 163, 165, 167, 168, 192
Pius II, Pope, 15, 176, 189, 195
plague, 7–8, 9, 13, 37, 63, 134, 147, 220
Plato, Platonism, 151, 185–88, 207, 210, 236
function of, 137
Poggio Imperiale, 221
political parties:
two-party system of, 149
political policy, utile vs. riputazione and, 74–76
political power:
of Cosimo de’ Medici, 3, 86–87
Lorenzo de’ Medici on, 87
of Medici bank, 83–84
money and art tied to, 2, 9, 10, 15, 17–19, 87–89, 93, 100, 108, 117–18, 124, 145, 158–59, 161, 164–65, 212
unofficial, 91
see also democracy
Poliziano, Angelo, 219, 220–21, 225
Pollaiuolo, Antonio, 225
poor, poverty:
Church teachings and, 18–19
cost of warfare and, 77
Good Men of San Martino and, 108–9
picciolo as currency of, 32
sumptuary laws and, 35–36
taxes and, 33, 77, 79–80, 226, 246
Third World, 15
usury and, 11
Church wealth and, 25–26
cost of bureaucracy of, 169
discretionary deposits and, 23–24
dispute over authority of, 113, 134–35
failure to pay debts owed to, 33
three simultaneous claimants as, 51–52
tributes paid to, 20–21
see also specific popes
Portinari, Accerito, 112, 171–73, 182, 217
Portinari, Beatrice, 83
Portinari, Bernardo, 112–14, 174
Portinari, Giovanni d’Adovardo, 83, 112
Portinari, Maria di Francesco di Bandini Baroncelli, 178, 214
Portinari, Pigello, 112, 171–73
Portinari, Tommaso, 112, 125, 171, 173–79, 182, 196, 197, 211, 213–14, 220, 228, 230, 231–32
Portinari family, 83, 112, 171
printing press, 219
priors, 99, 138–40, 143, 160, 192, 216
Cosimo de’ Medici invited back to Florence by, 100
election of, 87–88
length of term served by, 87, 145
political favors and, 143–44
referendums, 95
religious confraternities, 62, 84, 108–9, 116, 121
Renaissance:
forward vs. backward-looking views of, 5
as product of money and political power, 2
Republic, The (Plato), 207
Riario, Girolamo, 204, 212–13, 215, 217
Riario, Pietro, 211
Riario, Raffaele, 215
ribellione dei ciompi, 6–7
Ridolfi, Antonio, 164
Rinuccini, Alamanno, 227
riputazione, 74–76
Rise and Decline of the Medici Bank, The (Roover), 107
discretionary deposits and, 23–24
excommunication from, see excommunication
fundamentalists vs. compromisers in, 23
international cash flow and trade and, 20–22, 109–10
Medici bank and, 47–48, 51–52, 91, 92, 93, 97, 113, 169, 224, 242
monopolies viewed as unnatural by, 193–94
price of official positions in, 20
as religion of the establishment and the rich, 18–19
schism between Eastern Church and, 116, 134–35
transfers of wealth of, 25
usury viewed as sin by, 1–2, 10–11, 13–15, 23–24, 45–46
see also popes
Roman florin, 43
Roman numerals, used in written banking transactions, 30
Rome, 6, 28, 87, 127, 149, 193, 201
alum deposit discovered near, 195
Cosimo de’ Medici in, 61, 63–64, 76
credit denied to merchants from, 49
Donation of Constantine and, 93
international trade and, 20–22, 109–11
in Italy’s internal wars, 67–71, 76, 84, 244
Medici bank branch in, 47–48, 52, 61, 64, 83, 91, 110–11, 167, 168, 169, 172, 175, 180, 190, 198, 219, 224, 232
in “Most Holy League,” 147
as “pit of iniquity,” 236
as political and economic center, 20–22
sacking of, 9
see also Papal States
Roover, Raymond de, 24, 73, 107
Roses, War of the, 181
Rossi, Lionetto di Benedetto d’Antonio de’, 175, 229, 231
Rossi, Maria de’ Medici de’, 162, 175
Rossi, Roberto de’, 55
Rossore, San, Donatello’s bust of, 132, 133
round ships, 40
Rubinstein, Nicolai, 107–8
Rushdie, Salman, 14
Saint Gemme, priory of, 233
Salviati, Francesco, 204–5, 211, 212, 216, 217
San Giorgio Maggiore Monastery, 99
San Giovanni Battista, Church of, 8
San Lorenzo, Church of, 85, 127
Cosimo de’ Medici’s tomb in, 152
San Marco, Monastery of, 92, 123, 133–34, 169
Cosimo de’ Medici’s paying for restoration of, 11, 122, 124–28, 126
Cosimo de’ Medici’s private prayer cell in, 114, 128, 210, 241
Savonarola at, 240–41
San Miniato al Monte, Monastery of, 92
Santa Maria del Carmine, Church of, 74, 75
Santa Maria Novella, 127, 166, 168
Sant’Antonio, Convent of, 183
Santa Trinità, Church of, 170
Santissima Annunziata, 127
Santo Spirito, Church of, 201
Sassetti, Francesco, 125, 149–50, 165, 169–71, 180–81, 220, 228, 232, 240
Savonarola, Girolamo, 234–38, 240–43, 245
Apocalypse sermons of, 240
background of, 236
birth of, 136
execution of, 246
fundamentalist preaching of, 234–35
portrait of, 237
as prior of San Marco, 241
Scrovegni, Arrigo degli, 10
Scrovegni, Reginaldo degli, 10, 14
scrutinies, 137, 139, 142, 143, 148, 204
Second Coming, 18–19
“secret books,” 50
“secret things of our town,” 136–38, 142, 151, 209
seduto, 144
“semper,” as Cosimo de’ Medici’s motto, 63
Sforza, Francesco, 141–42, 148, 151, 154–55, 172
as condottiere, 90, 116, 120, 146
as duke of Milan, 65, 106, 146, 150
illegitimate background of, 65
Medici bank and, 106, 117–18, 146, 150
Sforza, Galeazzo, 151, 159, 184, 189, 201, 205, 211–12, 214, 219
Sforza, Ippolita, 190
ships:
round, 40
signoria, 88, 89, 97, 143, 147–48, 157, 165, 199, 216, 222, 224, 240
composition and function of, 94–95, 96, 137
power of Council of 100 over, 200
silver-based currencies, 43
of Florence, see piccioli
silver imperial, 43
Silvestrine order, 122–23
sin:
blasphemy viewed as, 14
clarity and, 54
Islamic view of, 14
monopolies viewed as, 193–94, 197
mortal, 24
sodomy viewed as, 13–14
usury viewed as, 1–2, 10–11, 13–15, 23–24, 45–46, 188
Sixteen Standard Bearers, 95, 137
Sixtus IV, Pope, 201, 203–5, 210–11, 212, 217–18, 223–24, 241
slaves, 10, 11, 34, 63–64, 86, 149, 152
Slavic countries, as source of slaves, 10, 63
social order:
currency and, 32–34
money as means of change in, 15, 18, 158
sumptuary laws and, 34–35
taxation and, 80
Soderini, Niccolò, 155, 156, 164, 167, 192, 202, 206
sodomites, in Dante’s hell, 13–14
soldi a fiorino, 37
Soliloquia (Augustine), 207
“Song of the Bakers” (Medici), 209–10
“Song of the Peasants” (Medici), 210
sovrabbondanza, 81
Spinelli, Lorenzo, 229, 239, 240
stare sugli avvisi, 47
Stendhal, 223
Storie fiorentine (Guicciardini), 222
Strozzi, Alessandro, 143
Strozzi, Palla, 96, 98, 100, 107, 111, 153, 158
Strozzi family, 164
sumptuary laws, 35–36
Supreme Good, The (Medici), 210
Switzerland, 9
Sylvester, Pope, 93
Symposium (Medici), 201
Tani, Agnolo, 175, 177, 179–82
evasion of, 9, 73–74, 75, 82, 104, 109, 177
on the poor, 33, 77, 79–80, 226, 246
property, 147–48
quattrino bianco and, 226, 246
tax loans, 80–81
Ten of War committee, 86, 89, 90
Third World poverty, 15
Tolentino, Niccolò da, 97–98
Tornabuoni, Francesca Pitti, 165, 167
Tornabuoni, Giovanni, 125, 166, 167, 168–69, 175, 178, 179–80, 196, 198–99, 211, 224, 228, 229, 232, 240
Tornabuoni family, 162
Tornaquinci, Neri di Cipriano, 50–51
trade:
bankers and, 22–23, 39–40, 46–47
currency exchange and, 40–46
florin as currency of, 32
galley ships rented for, 118
imbalance in, 109–11, 112–14, 135–36
risks involved in, 39–40
triangular movements in, 22, 135–36, 174
Traini, 19
Traversari, Ambrogio, 55
triangular trade movements, 22, 135–36, 174
Tribute Money, The (Masaccio), 74, 75, 80
Turks, Ottoman, 67, 134–35, 147, 176, 194–95, 197, 223, 244
Tuscan language, 225
Tuscans, as bankers, 28
Twelve Good Men, 94–95, 137, 143
usura, 1–2
Dante’s hell and, 13–14
debt bonds viewed as, 80–81
discretionary deposits as means of avoiding, 23–24
exchange deals as, 45–46
legalized in Protestant England, 243
“manifest,” 31
“mental,” 24
modern definition of, 1
Pound on, 1–2
standard provision in wills made for, 9–10
viewed as sin, 1–2, 10–11, 13–15, 23–24, 45–46, 188
see also interest; money
utile, 74
Uzzano, Niccolò da, 81, 86–87, 90
Valla, Lorenzo, 93
Vasari, Giorgio, 218
veduto, 143–44
Venetian-style bookkeeping, 33–34
Venice, 22
alum and, 196–98
Cosimo de’ Medici in, 98
doge of, 87
in Italy’s internal wars, 67–68, 71, 76, 79, 84, 99–100, 106, 117, 141, 146–47, 150, 218, 221, 225, 244
Lorenzo di Giovanni de’ Medici exiled to, 98
Medici bank branch in, 48, 50–51, 63, 83, 91, 96, 99, 112, 116, 135, 146, 172, 201, 231, 232
in “Most Holy League,” 147
Venturi, Giovanni, 135
Vernacci, Leonardo, 168, 175, 182
Verrocchio, Andrea del, 191, 219, 225
Virgil, 14–15
Visconti, Filippo, 67–68, 71, 77, 79, 84, 90, 116, 141
alum and, 199–203
sacking of, 201–3
wealth tax (catasto), 73, 81–83, 85
women:
Boccaccio’s writing on, 55–57
clothing regulations and, 36, 103, 178
dowries and, 9, 19–20, 154, 161–62
wool trade, 44, 179–80, 213–14, 228
anti-Italian sentiment of English in, 114
bookkeeping and, 34
English export restrictions on, 111, 114
triangular movements in, 22, 135–36
see also alum
woolworkers:
association of, 194
workers’ unions, 194