Lucretia Borgia Part 21

Another Ferrarese poet makes his appearance on this occasion, a man of whom much was expected, Ariosto, who was then twenty-seven years old, and already known at the court of the Este and in the cultivated circles of Italy as a Latinist and a writer of comedies. He also wrote an epithalamium addressed to Lucretia. It is graceful, and not burdened with mythological pedantry, but it lacks invention. The poet congratulates Ferrara,--which will henceforth be the envy of all other cities,--for having won an incomparable jewel. He sympathizes with Rome for the loss of Lucretia, saying that it has again fallen into ruins.[163] He describes the young princess as "pulcherrima virgo," and refers to Lucretia of ancient times.

On the conclusion of the festivities which greeted her on her arrival, the duke accompanied Lucretia to the apartments which had been prepared for her. She must have been pleased with her reception by the house of Este, and the impression made by her own personality was most favorable.

The chronicler Bernardino Zambotto speaks of her as follows: "The bride is twenty-four years of age (this is incorrect); she has a beautiful countenance, sparkling and animated eyes; a slender figure; she is keen and intellectual, joyous and human, and possesses good reasoning powers.

She pleased the people so greatly that they are perfectly satisfied with her, and they look to her Majesty for protection and good government.

They are truly delighted, for they think that the city will greatly profit through her, especially as the Pope will refuse her nothing, as is shown by the portion he gave her, and by presenting Don Alfonso with certain cities."

Lucretia's face, judging by the medal, must have been fascinating.

Cagnolo of Parma describes her as follows: "She is of medium height and slender figure. Her face is long, the nose well defined and beautiful; her hair a bright gold, and her eyes blue; her mouth is somewhat large, the teeth dazzlingly white; her neck white and slender, but at the same time well rounded. She is always cheerful and good-humored."[164]

To indicate the color of the eyes, Cagnolo uses the word "bianco," which in the language of the people still means blue. In the folk songs of Tuscany collected by Tigri, there is frequent mention of _occhi bianchi_,--that is, "blue eyes." The Florentine Firenzuola, in his work on "the perfect beauty of woman," says she must have blond hair and blue eyes, with the pupil not quite black, although the Greeks and Italians preferred it so. The most beautiful color for the eyes, according to this writer, is tane.[165] The poets of Ferrara, who immediately began to sing the dazzling power of the eyes of their beautiful d.u.c.h.ess, did not mention their color.

This remarkable woman charmed all beholders with her indescribable grace, to which there was added something of mystery, and not by any cla.s.sic beauty or dignity. Vivacity, gentleness, and amiability are the qualities which all Lucretia's contemporaries discovered in her.[166]

This animated and delicate face, with large blue eyes, and surrounded with golden hair, suggests the ethereal beauty of Shakespeare's Imogene.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ARIOSTO.

From a painting by t.i.tian.]

FOOTNOTES:

[156] Isabella Gonzaga, who watched the parade from a window of the palace, describes this scene to the duke. Letter to her husband, Ferrara, February 2d, in the Archivio Storico Ital. App. ii, 305. Her report excels in some particulars the picture given by Marino Sanuo (Diar. vol. iv, fol. 104, sq.). Ordine di le pompe e spectaculi di le noze de mad. Lucretia Borgia. Reprinted in Rawdon Brown's Ragguaglio sulla vita e le opere di M. Sanudo, ii, 197, sq.

[157] Letters in the archives of Modena.

[158] This is according to Isabella Gonzaga; Cagnolo's report mentioned, instead of this woman, another Adriana, the wife of Francesco Colonna of Palestrina.

[159] Ms. chronicle of Mario Equicola in the library of Ferrara, in the University, formerly the Paradiso.

[160] Paolo Zerbinati, Memorie, Ms. in the library of Ferrara, p. 3.

[161] The Ms. is in the library of Ferrara: Nicolai Marii Paniciati ferrariensis, Borgias. Ad. Excell. D. Lucretiam Borgiarm III. Alphonsi Estensis Sponsam celeber MDII. One epigram is as follows:

Tyndaridem jactant Heroica secula cujus Armavit varies forma superba Duces, Haec collata tibi, merito Luoretia cedit, Nam tuus omne Helenes lumen ob.u.mbrat honor: Illa neces populis, diuturnaque bella paravit: Tu bona tranquillae pacis opima refers.

Moribus illa suis speciem temeravit honestam: Innumeris speciem dotibus ipsa colis: Ore deam praestas: virtute venustior alma: Foeda Helenae facies aequiparata tuae.

[162] Caelii Calcagnini Ferrariensis. In Ill.u.s.triss. Divi Alphonsi Primogeniti Herculis Ducis Ferr. ac Divae Lucretiae Borgiae Nuptias Epithalamium. Laurentius de Valentia Imprimebat Ferrariae Deo Opt. Max.

Favente. Calend. Febr. MDII.

[163]

Est levis haec jactura tamen, ruat hoc quoque quicquid Est reliquum, juvet et nudis habitare sub antris, Vivere dura liceat tec.u.m pulcherrima virgo.

Ludovici Areosti Ferrariensis Epithalamion, in vol. i of Carmina Ill.u.s.trium Poetarum Italorum, p. 342-346.

[164] Di mediocre statura, gracile in aspetto, di faccia alquanto lunga, il naso profilato e bello, li capelli aurei, gli occhi bianchi, la bocca alquanto grande con li denti candidissimi; la gola schietta e bianca ornata con decente valore, ed in essere continuamente allegra e ridente.

See Lucrezia Borgia in Ferrara. Ferrara, 1867.

[165] Agnolo Firenzuola, vol. i. Della perfetto bellezza di una donna.

[166] Fu essa Lucrezia di venusto e mansueto aspetto, prudente, di gratissime maniere negli atti, e nel parlare di molta grazia e allegrezza, says Alfonso's secretary, Bonaventura Pistofilo, in his Vita di Alfonso I d'Este. The epithets venusta, gentile, graziosa, amabile, are conferred upon her by all her contemporaries.

CHAPTER III

FeTES GIVEN IN LUCRETIA'S HONOR

The wedding festivities in Ferrara continued for six days during the carnival. At the period of the Renaissance, court functions and festivities, so far as the intellectual part is concerned, were not unlike those of the present day; but the magnificent costumes, the highly developed sense of material beauty, and the more elaborate etiquette of the age which gave birth to Castiglione's _Cortegiano_ lent these festivities a higher character.

The sixteenth century was far behind our own in many of its productions--theatrical performances, displays of fireworks, and concert music. There were illuminations, and mounted torchlight processions; and rockets were frequently used; but an illuminated garden fete such as the Emperor of Austria gave for the Shah of Persia at Schonbrunn would at that time have been impossible. The same might be said of certain forms of musical entertainment; for example, concerts. Society in that age would have shuddered at the orchestral music of to-day, and the ear-splitting drums would have appeared barbarous to the Italians of the Renaissance, just as would the military parades, which are still among the favorite spectacles with which distinguished guests are either honored or intimidated at the great courts of Europe. Even then tourneys were rare, although there were occasional combats of gladiators, whose costumes were greatly admired.

The duke and his master of ceremonies had spent weeks in preparing the program for the wedding festivities, although these did not admit of any great variety, being limited as they are now to banquets, b.a.l.l.s, and theatrical productions. It was from the last-named form of entertainment that Ercole promised himself the most, and which, he expected, would win for him the applause of the cultivated world.

He was one of the most active patrons of the theater during the Renaissance. Several years before he had commissioned the poets at his court to translate some of the plays of Plautus and Terence into _terza rima_, and had produced them. Guarino, Berardo, Collenuccio, and even Bojordo had been employed in this work by him. As early as 1486 an Italian version of the _Menaechmi_, the favorite play of Plautus, had been produced in Ferrara. In February, 1491, when Ercole, with most brilliant festivities, celebrated the betrothal of his son Alfonso and Anna Sforza, the _Menaechmi_ and one of the comedies of Terence were given. The _Amphitryon_, which Cagnolo had prepared for the stage, was also played.

There was no permanent theater in Ferrara, but a temporary one had been erected which served for the production of plays which were given only during the carnival and on other important occasions. Ercole had arranged a salon in the palace of the Podesta--a Gothic building opposite the church--which is still standing and is known as the Palazzo della Ragione. The salon was connected with the palace itself by a pa.s.sage way.

A raised stage called the tribune was erected. It was about one hundred and twenty feet long and a hundred and fifty feet wide. It had houses of painted wood, and whatever was necessary in the way of scenery, rocks, trees, etc. It was separated from the audience by a wooden part.i.tion in which was a sheet-metal curtain. On the forward part of the stage--the orchestra--sat the princes and other important personages, and in the amphitheater were thirteen rows of cushioned seats, those in the middle being occupied by the women, and those at the sides by the men. This s.p.a.ce accommodated about three thousand people.

According to Strozzi, Ariosto, Calcagnini, and other humanists of Ferrara, it was Ercole himself who constructed this theatre. They and other academicians probably took part in the performances, but the duke also brought actors from abroad, from Mantua, Siena, and Rome. They numbered in all no less than a hundred and ten persons, and it was necessary to build a new dressing-room for them. The theatrical performances on this brilliant occasion must, therefore, have aroused great expectations.

The festivities began February 3d, and it was soon apparent that the chief attraction would be the beauty of three famous women--Lucretia, Isabella, and the d.u.c.h.ess of Urbino. They were regarded as the three handsomest women of the age, and it was difficult to decide which was the fairer, Isabella or Lucretia. The d.u.c.h.ess of Mantua was six years older than her sister-in-law, but a most beautiful woman, and with feminine curiosity she studied Lucretia's appearance. In the letters which she daily wrote to her husband in Mantua, she carefully described the dress of her rival, but said not a word regarding her personal charms. "Concerning Donna Lucretia's figure," so she wrote February 1st, "I shall say nothing, for I am aware that your Majesty knows her by sight." She was unable to conceal her vanity, and in another letter, written February 3d, she gave her husband to understand that she hoped, so far as her own personality and her retinue were concerned, to be able to stand comparison with any of the others and even to bear away the prize. One of the ladies of her suite, the Marchesana of Cotrone, wrote the duke, saying, "The bride is not especially handsome, but she has an animated face, and in spite of her having such a large number of ladies with her, and notwithstanding the presence of the ill.u.s.trious lady of Urbino, who is very beautiful, and who clearly shows that she is your Excellency's sister, my ill.u.s.trious mistress Isabella, according to our opinion and of those who came with the d.u.c.h.ess of Ferrara, is the most beautiful of all. There is no doubt about this; compared with her Majesty, all the others are as nothing. Therefore we shall bring the prize home to the house of our mistress."[167]

The first evening of the festivities a ball was given in the great salon of the palace at which the attendance was so large that many were unable to gain admission. Lucretia was enthroned upon a tribune, and near her were the princesses of Mantua and Urbino. Other prominent ladies and the amba.s.sadors also came and took up a position near her. The guests, therefore, in spite of the crowd, had a chance to admire the beautiful women, and their gowns and jewels. During the Renaissance, b.a.l.l.s were less formal than they are now. Pleasures then were more natural and simple; frequently the ladies danced with each other, and sometimes even alone. The dances were almost exclusively French, for even at that time France had begun to impose her customs on all the rest of the world; still there were some Spanish and Italian ones. Lucretia was a graceful dancer, and she was always ready to display her skill. She frequently descended from the tribune and executed Spanish and Roman dances to the sound of the tambourine.[168]

The following day the eagerly expected dramatic performances were given.

First the duke had the actors appear in masks and costumes for the purpose of reviewing them. The director of the troop then came forward in the character of Plautus and read the program and the argument of each piece which was to be rendered during the five evenings. The selection of comedies by living dramatists in the year 1502 could not have cost the duke much thought, for there were none of any special importance. The _Calandra_ of Dovizi, which a few years later caused such a sensation, was not yet written. It is true Ariosto had already composed his _Ca.s.saria_ and the _Suppositi_, but he had not yet won sufficient renown for him to be honored by their presentation at the wedding festivities.[169] Moreover, the duke would have none but cla.s.sic productions. He wanted to set all the world talking; and, in truth, Italy had never seen any theatrical performances equal to these. We possess careful descriptions of them which have not yet been incorporated in the history of the stage. They show more clearly than do the reports regarding the Vatican theater in the time of Leo X what was the real nature of theatrical performances during the Renaissance; consequently, they const.i.tute a valuable picture of the times.

If one could follow the reports of Gagnolo, Zambotto, and Isabella, and reproduce in imagination the brilliant wedding and the guests in their rich costumes seated in rows, he would behold one of the fairest and most ill.u.s.trious gatherings of the Renaissance. This scene, rich in form and color, taken in conjunction with the stage, and the performances of the comedies of Plautus, and with the pantomimes and the _moresche_ which occupied the time between the acts, is so romantic that we might imagine ourselves translated to Shakespeare's _Midsummer-Night's Dream_, and that Duke Ercole had changed places with Theseus, Duke of Athens, and that the comedies were being performed before him and the happy bridal pair.

According to the program, from February 3d to February 8th--with the exception of one evening--five of the plays of Plautus were to be given.

The intermissions were to be devoted to music and _moresche_. The _moresca_ resembled the modern ballet; that is, a pantomime dance. It is of very ancient origin, and traces of it appear in the Middle Ages. At first it was a war dance in costume, which character it preserved for a long time. The name is, I believe, derived from the fact that in all the Latin countries which suffered from the invasions of the Saracens, dances in which the partic.i.p.ants were armed and which simulated the battles of the Moor and Christian were executed. The Moors, for the sake of contrast, were represented as black. Subsequently the meaning of the term _moresca_ was extended to include the ballet in general, and all sorts of scenes in which dances accompanied by flutes and violins were introduced. The subjects were derived from mythology, the age of chivalry, and everyday life.

There were also comic dances performed by fantastic monsters, peasants, clowns, wild animals, and satyrs, during which blows were freely dealt right and left. The cla.s.sico-romantic ballet appears to have reached a high development in Ferrara, which was the home of the romantic epics--the _Mambriano_ and the _Orlando_. It is needless to say that the ballet possessed great attraction for the public in those days, just as it now does. The presentation of the comedies of Plautus would have no more effect upon people of this age than would a puppet show. They lasted from four to five hours--from six in the evening until midnight.

The first evening the duke conducted his guests into the theater, and when they had taken their seats, Plautus appeared before the bridal couple and addressed some complimentary verses to them. After this the _Epidicus_ was presented. Each act was followed by a ballet, and five beautiful _moresche_ were given during the interludes of the play. First entered ten armed gladiators, who danced to the sound of tambourines; then followed a mimic battle between twelve people in different costumes; the third _moresca_ was led by a young woman upon a car which was drawn by a unicorn, and upon it were several persons bound to the trunk of a tree, while seated under the bushes were four lute players.

The young woman loosed the bonds of the captives, who immediately descended and danced while the lute players sang beautiful canzone--at least so says Gagnolo; the cultured d.u.c.h.ess of Mantua, however, wrote that the music was so doleful that it was scarcely worth listening to.

Isabella, however, judging by her remarkable letters, was a severe critic, not only of the plays but of all the festivities. The fourth _moresca_ was danced by ten Moors holding burning tapers in their mouths. In the fifth there were ten fantastically dressed men with feathers on their heads, and bearing lances with small lighted torches at their tips. On the conclusion of the _Epidicus_ there was a performance by several jugglers.

Friday, February 4th, Lucretia did not appear until the afternoon. In the morning the duke showed his guests about the city, and they went to see a famous saint, Sister Lucia of Viterbo, whom the devout Ercole had brought to Ferrara as a great attraction. Every Friday the five wounds of Christ appeared on the body of this saint. She presented the amba.s.sador of France with a rag with which she had touched her scars, and which Monseigneur Rocca Berti received with great respect. At the castle the duke showed his guests the artillery, to the study of which his son Alfonso was eagerly devoted. Here they waited for Lucretia, who, accompanied by all the amba.s.sadors, soon appeared in the great salon. A dance was given which lasted until six in the evening. Then followed a presentation of the _Bacchides_ which required five hours. Isabella found these performances excessively long and tiresome. Ballets similar to those which accompanied the _Epidicus_ were given; men dressed in flesh-colored tights with torches in their hands, which diffused agreeable odors, danced fantastic figures, and engaged in a battle with a dragon.

The following day Lucretia did not appear, as she was engaged in writing letters and in washing her hair, and the guests amused themselves by wandering about the city. No entertainments were given for the populace.

The French amba.s.sador, in the name of the King of France, sent presents to the princes of the house. The duke received a golden shield with a picture of S. Francis in enamel, the work of a Parisian artist, which was highly valued; to the hereditary Prince Alfonso was given a similar shield with a portrait of Mary of Magdala, the amba.s.sador remarking that his Majesty had chosen a wife who resembled the Magdalene in character: _Quae multum meruit, quia multum credidit._ Perhaps presenting Alfonso with a gift suggestive of the Magdalene was an intentional bit of irony on the part of the French king. In addition to this he received a written description of a process for casting cannon. A golden shield was likewise presented to Don Ferrante. Lucretia's gift was a string of gold beads filled with musk, while her charming maid of honor, Angela, was honored with a costly chain.

Everything was done to flatter the French amba.s.sador. He was invited to dinner in the evening by the Marchioness of Mantua, and was placed between his hostess and the d.u.c.h.ess of Urbino. The evening was pa.s.sed, according to Gagnolo, in gallant and cultivated conversation. On leaving the table the marchioness sang the most beautiful songs to the accompaniment of the lute, for the entertainment of the French amba.s.sador. After this she conducted him to her chamber, where, in the presence of two of her ladies-in-waiting, they held an animated conversation for almost an hour, at the conclusion of which she drew off her gloves and presented them to him, "and the amba.s.sador received them with a.s.surances of his loyalty and his love, as they came from such a charming source; he told her that he would preserve them until the end of time, as a precious relic." We may believe Gagnolo, for doubtless the fortunate amba.s.sador regarded this memento of a beautiful woman as no less precious than the rag poor Saint Lucia had given him.