#Pazzi conspiracy

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

Pazzi Conspiracy mood-board because 15th century Florence is best described as a bunch of complete maniacs shoved onto a tricycle going down hill at top speed with no breaks

[sapplejack]

Still mad 546 years later...

Every time I go back to read about the Pazzi Conspiracy, I can't help feeling so sad for both Lorenzo and Giuliano. Giuliano was an all around good guy, wasn't really involved in politics (maybe bc Lorenzo was worried he wouldn't be able to handle it), kind-hearted, and friendly to everyone around him. He didn't have to die in such a brutal way. Lorenzo, I can kind of understand why (don't support it tho), since most of the diplomacy and dealings were through/with him. But just imagine Lorenzo finding out that his little brother who was largely the most innocent of them, was the one killed; not him (even though, he, as the older sibling, should have protected Giuliano).

I can't imagine the survivor's guilt Lorenzo had after the whole thing. And don't get me started on how Giuliano's killers (his so-called "friends" Bernardo and Francesco) personally went to get him to come to church and even hugged/joked with him as friends do to check if he was wearing armor and to let his guard down. I mean, no shit, he thought you guys were his friends! The Medici must have known there were ppl who had a grudge against them, but Giuliano never judged those guys and still trusted them wtf

[tobaitfishwith]

Coffin of power.

[katemartinismywife]

pazzi added to tomorrow's list ☺︎

[castelled-away]

(Spoiler for Medici: The Magnificent s1 finale)

Giuliano to Francesco: Is that a knife in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

*Fast-forward to Giuliano dying bc of stabbing*

Francesco: It was a knife.

[vesseloftherevolution]

Balancing Acts: Power in the Middle Ages

Something I have noticed a lot in my reading around the Middle Ages, and into the Renaissance, is how much of a rulers business is maintaining the balance of power, be it between the Church and State, the Nobles and the Commons, and even between the private and public aspects of a ruler’s personality.

Church and State:

During the Middle Ages, the Church rose from a position of a purely spiritual force across Europe to one of the greatest landholders, and a major political power, almost acting as its own city state, with authority coming directly from the Vatican (apart from during the Great Schism, when the church somewhat fell apart thanks to the Avignon Papacy).

For the rulers of Europe, this posed a problem. There was a major part of their country and populace who were not directly under their governance, and could cause major disruption without immediate and severe ramifications. And so, over the Middle Ages, there is a constant flow of power between the secular and spiritual aspects of a state, and the monarch is expected to keep the balance.

One of the first examples that comes to mind is the conflict between Thomas Becket and Henry II. Although Becket was Henry’s loyal friend and advisor, his allegiance automatically switched to the Church once he was ordained. Henry realised that the power balance had shifted dramatically, as shown by the support of the populace for Becket, and ended up taking drastic measures to grab the reins again. However, the Church still demanded that he make public penance for the murder of an Archbishop, placing the King in a position of less power, despite the fact he was one of the foremost leaders in Europe at the time.

Nobles and Commons:

This balancing act is one that is harder to get wrong, thanks to the ingrained structure of the feudal system in most of Medieval society. The Commons are mostly working in agriculture for a liege Lord, be that a Noble, or the King himself, and the bureaucracy of government makes it very clear what exactly is owed to whom. The Lords offer protection, accommodation and a place to grow food, and in return the labourers work the noble’s land, fight in his armies, and pay taxes to use certain equipment.

However, with the advent of the Black Death, thé working population is hit hard. The number of labourers available to work the land is much lower, and Lords start offering payed wages if tenants will desert their lords and join them. The working classes gain a new sense of freedom, and demand specific privileges from their lords. When the lords disagree, and attempt to reinstate the more formal system that was in place before the pandemic, the peasants revolt, as was the case early in Richard II’s reign.

The fourteen year old Richard II was faced with a rather difficult choice. If he were to side with the commons, then he could well turn influential nobles against him, and so damage his fledgling rule. On the other hand, going against the people could prove to mean immediate death, given the fact that he was confronted with a mass of rather angry men with pikes. The decision he made, to agree on a face level with the commons, then to revoke the rights granted, is a decision that can be seen as tyrannical, but given the complications of being a child ruler, I think that keeping closer to the nobles until you have enough self assurance of power is vital.

Public and Private:

As Shakespeare so brilliantly states in Henry V, Act 4 Scene 1:

We must bear all. O hard condition,

Twin-born with greatness, subject to the breath

Of every fool whose sense no more can feel

But his own wringing! What infinite heart’s ease

Must kings neglect, that private men enjoy!

And what have kings, that privates have not too,

Save ceremony, save general ceremony?

The majesty of a king, with all its trappings of charisma, charm, and the glittering splendour of wealth, is all an illusion constructed around a man. And one of the most complicated balancing acts a ruler has to face is that between his personal emotions and motivations, and the way he acts for the good is the state.

The example I am going to give is the aftermath of the Pazzi conspiracy in Renaissance Florence, where there was an attempt against the lives of Lorenzo and Guiliano de Medici, who were the de facto rulers of Florence. During Easter Mass on 26 April 1478, priests and members of the Pazzi family tried to kill the brothers. Lorenzo escaped with a slash to the neck, thanks to the imbecilic priest putting a hand on his shoulder before stabbing him. Guiliano wasn’t so lucky, and was stabbed multiple times in the chest.

Despite the fact that his younger brother had just been murdered in front of him, and the inevitable shock and grief that must have been numbing his mind, Lorenzo had to try and stop the angry Florentine mob from lynching several important political figures associated with the conspiracy. Immediately afterwards, Florence was placed under an interdict, and was at war with half of Italy. Lorenzo had to lay aside any personal feelings, and take the risk of visiting the sadistic and unstable King of Naples, in an attempt to cease hostilities. It was months before he could properly give time to the personal tragedy of his brother dying.

The job of a ruler in the Middle Ages was taxing on many levels, and in many ways. I think it’s interesting how many things they had to balance at once, on top of ordinary finance, and the day to day politics of ruling.

(If there is anything I have got wrong, or something that could be added, please do say.)

[fledermavs]

wait a second. I did some maths and uh. if francesco de' pazzi was 34 when he died, that means he was FIFTEEN when vieri was born??? ubisoft...

[the-forgotten-lily]

Something about the Pazzi conspiracy never fails to rattle me. The way it was planned. The way they chose the church. The spot. The way the younger Medici was assassinated. It never fails to make me afraid of humans and the harsh reality.

Giuliano de Medici was too young to die. The way they were subjected to assassination.....in their own church...in the midst of a mass.....stabbed to death and yet left to live and suffer a slow painful drawn out death and then being discovered by the family and especially Lorenzo...

I think ghosts and spirits get a bad name and reputation in vain while the actual horror is done by mere mortal humans

Tintype of what appears to be a light-hearted spot of stabbing between friends, circa 1880

[thou-babbling-brook]

Ubisoft try to portray characters as their actual ages challenge: level impossible

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

Not the best pics - but here is the Pazzi Chapel at Santa Croce - left unfinished because of the Pazzi conspiracy and subsequent fallout. The entire thing has such a strong feeling of “this is the mausoleum for a family and their legacy” and “a reminder to all who come after: don’t fuck with the Medici.”

All the walls were intended to be frescoed and it would have been an absolute work of art. Alas, 1478 happened.

The outside of it is equally bleak and sepulcher-ish

[all-that-is-gold-is-now-gone]

Um so Happy Pazzi Conspiracy day!!!!

546 years ago, the Pazzi attacked Lorenzo and Giuliano de Medici in the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. On the Sabbath, in the middle of mass.

Giuliano was killed, being stabbed 19 times by Francesco Pazzi, and died that day.

Lorenzo survived and then hunted down the conspirators and hung Francesco Pazzi, Jacopo Pazzi and the Archbishop Francesco Salviati from the Palazzo Vecchio.

The Pazzi conspiracy by Stefano Ussi

[jessfandrawer]

IH & RR AU Week, Day 4: Historical AU

Renaissance Italy

This is one of the rare occasions I've drawn someone completely shirtless. How did I do? And hey, I can still kind of draw chibi's.

Some notes:

European men of this time period did not typically have tattoos, but it seemed wrong to have Renji without his tattoos. I ended up giving Renji normal eyebrows so the tattoos could be interpreted as permanent or temporary body art.

Rukia's dress in the main piece is not totally accurate to the time/region. I ended up choosing Italy when I realized the Shinigami, Espadas, and Quincies (spelling?) could be feuding families/rival city states. By that point I was too far into the drawing to change the dress, though.🙃

I referenced An Artist with a Model in his Studio by Cornelis Dusart, and Statue of a River Deity from the National Archeological Museum of Naples, as well as some historical costume books.

[sforzesco]

THE APRIL PLOT 26 April 1478

Lorenzo, flushed with youth and power, would assume the direction of everything, and resolved that all transactions should bear an impress of his influence. The Pazzi, with their nobility and wealth unable to endure so many affronts, began to devise some means of vengeance. The first who spoke of any attempt against the Medici, was Francesco, who, being more sensitive and resolute than the others, determined either to obtain what was withheld from him, or lose what he still possessed.

Machiavelli’s Florentine Histories

francesco de' pazzi should've gotten to stab lorenzo de' medici twice over tbh 😔ALAS

April Blood, Lauro Martines

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[dearest-lady-disdain]

finance bros don't murder each other in cathedrals during the high mass at easter like they used to :(

[all-that-is-gold-is-now-gone]

THE PAZZI BROTHERS DESERVED BETTER AND I WILL NEVER FORGIVE JACOPO FOR WHAT HE DID TO THEM

[woodsteingirl]

??????????