Early Modern History Winter 2024

Many aspects of Early Modern European society were built upon hereditary systems. Sons would inherit the land that their fathers farmed and nobility were given land when born into a noble family. The Medicis represent all of those traits in Europe but more. They had a knack for gaining power and an enlightened appreciation for the arts. Medicis became Grand Dukes, Queens and even Popes. Their reach went beyond Italy into France and the Holy Roman Empire. The Medicis were so integral to the history of Modern Europe that their place has been embedded within it.

The Medici family is generally divided into three branches in order to better understand this complex family. These branches are the minor branch, the principate, and the grand duchy respectively. The minor branch of Chiarissimo II is a failed attempt by the Medicis to maintain power. After a 1340s economic depression, the Medicis’ seized the opportunity to “consolidate their position by controlling the government” (Britannica). This powerful position, however, spelled misfortune for the Medici family because of insurrections, causing the minor branch to end in beheadings and exile. The principate branch is easily the most recognizable Medici line. This line was founded by Cosimo the Elder, who served on the Florentine board of war, and then continued by the revered Lorenzo the Magnificent. His patronage for the arts became a defining characteristic of the Medicis. The principate branch was later furthered by notable names like Catherine de Medici, who birthed 4 future kings of France, or Giovanni, who became Pope Leo X. Finally, the grand duchy Medici branch came from Cosimo the First, who was a descendant of Lorenzo. He created a dynasty of Medicis, all possessing the name of the Grand Duke. Notable Grand Dukes include Francis, son of Cosimo who “nearly ruined the nation’s economy”, and Ferdinand I, “who brought Tuscany to new heights of stability and prosperity.” (Britannica). The Medici family was thoroughly embedded throughout several high-ranking European political positions during Early Modern Europe across generations, a dynastic achievement that made the Medicis indispensable to history.

Catherine de Medici:

This painting, by German Le Mannier, who painted several members of the French royal family, depicts Catherine de’ Medici sometime between the years of 1547 and 1559. She was originally married to Henri II, after his death as well as the death of her first son, Francis II, she ruled as regent for her son Charles IX (Oxford Dictionary). She was notoriously known as the “scheming power behind the throne” (Diefendorf 33), an image perpetuated by her opponents (particularly the Huguenots) based on her dual status as a powerful woman and an Italian. In addition, there was much debate during this period on female monarchs, and whether their birth and upbringing could supersede their gender, with some stating that the very fact that a monarch was female was reason enough to rebel against the crown (Wiesner-Hanks, 145).  Catherine de Medici also has been accused of plotting the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, an event in which Catholic troops in Paris slaughtered two to three thousand French Protestants. The violence later spread to other areas of France, leading to the deaths of five to six thousand people (Diefendorf 1, 37).

Lorenzo de Medici was one of the greatest of the Medici family, even by the high standards set by his predecessors. While Lorenzo was an effective ruler, he is most well known for his affinity for the arts. Lorenzo’s relations with humanists and various artists were a staple during his reign. The young artist Michelangelo and the Humanist Poliziano were also regulars in Lorenzo’s circle of poets made to stimulate intellectual thinking (Wiesner-Hanks 152). Lorenzo’s affinity for the arts was also not random. Cosimo the Elder, Lorenzo’s grandfather, supported the Platonic Academy (a social group of Florence’s cultural elite) and oversaw the translation of Plato’s Dialogues from Greek into Latin (Wiesner-Hanks 146). However, Lorenzo the Magnificent is the one who solidifies the artistic identity of the Medici family.

Sandro Boticelli’s *Adoration of the Magi* (1475) is an example of the influence of the individual–albeit the elite individual–on art, as evidenced by Boticelli’s placement of members of the Medici family in this scene. The Medicis, as with other noble families of the time, were major patrons of the arts and exercised a fair amount of influence over Renaissance artists, because in paintings, they could be depicted however they wanted society to see them. This particular artwork depicts the three Magi as three members of the Medici family: Cosimo the Elder, Pietro and Giovanni. Baby Jesus is seen to be blessing Cosimo the Elder, which is likely a reference to the Bible where three magi journey to find Jesus. This divine symbolism commissioned by the Medicis serves to legitimize their dynastic rule through religious means.

Zachary Hill