The Renaissance Times

In 1419, a couple of years after he lost his papal secretary job and discovered Lucretius, Poggio did what everyone does when they are shit out luck and scraping the bottom of the barrel. He moved to England. He accepted the post of secretary to Henry Beaufort, bishop of Winchester and uncle of Henry V. Poggio hoped to find some intelligent life in England and maybe a valuable ancient manuscript....

Nicky the Nickster was one of the most influential people in Florence in the early 1400s. He was the unofficial minister of culture and probably the guy who influenced Cosimo de Medici to support the humanists and artists. Obsessed with antiquity, he spent his entire family fortune on buying ancient manuscripts, sculptures and other artefacts. He was also a master of Latin and quite the dilettante...

When Christians banned other religions and philosophies in the late 4th century, Plato and Aristotle, pagans who believed in the immortality of the soul, could ultimately be accommodated by Christianity; but Epicureanism could not. The Epicureans believed life was about seeking pleasure and, if there was pain, it would end with death. Christians, on the other hand, thought life should be difficult...

Let’s get deep into some Lucretius, the Roman Epicurean philosopher poet. Today I want to read from “On the Nature of Things”.   The post #57 Lucretius “On The Nature Of Things” appeared first on The Renaissance Times .

In 1417, Poggio made the greatest discovery of his career – Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura, aka “On The Nature Of Things”, the last surviving copy of his five-book epic attempt to explain Epicurean philosophy to a Roman audience in poem. Little did Poggio realise the impact this book would have on the world. * Scholars aren’t exactly sure where he made it. * Because he kept it...

So back to January 1417. Poggio made a number of book hunting trips that winter. So he must have had a lot of funding from back home. Here’s a short clip from today’s episode:   Bruni wrote to him, saying “keep going, don’t worry about the cost, I’ll cover them all, just find more books” On this trip, he had with him a companion, another apostolic secretary from Constance, B...

Poggio had to use all of his talents to talk his way into monastery libraries. In some he had to be super serious. In others, he would tell wild stories about stupid peasants, or sexy housewives and rapey priests. Whatever it takes to get his hands on their books. The post #54 Poggio Bracciolini Part 2 appeared first on The Renaissance Times .

In the year 1417, 17 years before Cosimo De Medici took control of Florence, a man called Gian Francesco Poggio Bracciolini went hunting in the middle of Germany. Hunting for manuscripts. Thanks to Poggio, we have today several masterpieces of Roman literature, including Quintilian’s Institutio Oratoria, Vitruvius’ De Architectura, and Lucretius’ On The Nature Of Things.   T...

The return of Cosimo de Medici! On 5 October, 1434, Cosimo arrived at his villa outside Florence and stopped for some food. The Signoria sent him a message begging him NOT to arrive that day, because they thought it would cause a riot. So he sneaks in at night and goes straight to visit the Pope. Rinaldo degli Albizzi, his sons and descendants were all banished from Florence, as were many families...

By April 1434, six months after Cosimo de Medici’s banishment, the people were turning against Rinaldo degli Albizzi.  Even the banking families weren’t supporting him, not sure he could be around much longer. According to Cosimo, nobody could be persuaded to fill the city treasury ‘with so much as a pistachio nut’. He was so unpopular, that supporters of Cosimo were elected to all 8 seats o...

So Cosimo de Medici is sent into exile by his enemies. As is the rest of the family. But at least he’s alive. And the business survived. So he’s still FILTHY rich.  It could have been a lot worse. He ends up living at the San Giorgio Maggiore monastery in Venice. Florence is in the control of the Albizzi and the old oligarchy. But the Medici money spigot has been turned off. They aren’t around to...

Albizzi tries to get the Signoria to pass the death sentence on Cosimo. Meanwhile, Cosimo waits nervously for his brother Lorenzo, Niccolo da Tolentino and his mercenaries to rescue him from his cell, while expecting his execution to come at any time.   The post #49 The Rise Of The Medici (part 11) appeared first on The Renaissance Times .

Florence’s war with Lucca was like the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. It set off a string of conflicts across northern Italy. When Cosimo gets back to the city, he finds it in chaos and broke. So he bails it out. And then he gets arrested.   The post #48 The Rise Of The Medici (part 10) appeared first on The Renaissance Times .

When the Florentines attack the town of Lucca in 1430, Milan sends mercenary Francesco Sforza to their defense. The Florentines, outmatched militarily, do what rich people always do when they get in trouble – they bribe their way out of it. The post #47 The Rise Of The Medici (part 9) appeared first on The Renaissance Times .

While in Rome, Cosimo gets himself a sexy slave girl – Maddalena. And when Papa Joe dies, Cosi took over as head of the family. He decided the Medici should have a genuine palazzo of their own and commissioned old mate Bruno to design something nice. And he also commissioned sculptor Donatello to produce a bronze statue of David. Then Rinaldo degli Albizzi, the leader of the old oligarchy fa...

Papa Joe Medici dies, leaving control of the Medici Bank and the family fortune – now the largest in Italy – to his son, Cosimo Di Giovanni de Medici. The post #45 The Rise Of The Medici (part 7) appeared first on The Renaissance Times .

The Medici continue their rise to power. In 1421, Papa Joe became gonfaloniere. Around the same time, Pope Marty finally appointed the Medici as the papal bankers. And Papa Joe retires and hands over control of the bank to his two sons – Cosimo and Lorenzo. Then in 1422, Florence gets involved in a costly war with Milan, which bankrupts the city and gives rise to the castato taxation system...

So Ziggy declared John XXIII was deposed and thrown in jail. The other popes were encouraged – by showing them a stake with wood stacked around it no doubt – to drop their claims to the title. And the Great Schism was finally healed – but electing an entirely NEW pope in 1417 – Martin V. Possibly the fattest and ugliest pope ever. But Ziggy is keeping ol’ Baldy a pris...

In 1414, the future Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund (aka Ziggy Stardust) suggested to Mr Baldy (aka Baldassare Cossa aka Pope John XXIII) that he should get all of the active Popes – John XXIII, Gregory XII and Benedict XIII – together for a big party to work out the pope situation.  Baldy said…. sure, Okay, I’ve heard Cam & Ray say NEVER GO TO PARTIES, but I’m game as long as y...

Our guest today is friend of the show, one of our favourite people – artist Alex Kynaston. She was with us in Durham NC while we shot the Jesus film and was also on our inaugural European tour. She and Cameron (and her dad Tony) smoked stogies and caught some jazz in NYC and have hung out in Toronto. She’s known Cameron since she was 10 years old – and has been listening our to o...

THE MEDICI FAMILY fortunes eventually passed into the hands of Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici, head of the Cafaggiolo branch of the family, so called because it retained property in the Medici’s home village in the Mugello. Things started to really turn around for Giovanni in 1402 because of his relationship with a dodgy bloke called Baldassare Cossa, whom Giovanni befriended during his spell at the...

The rise of the Medici included a few false starts, due to a failed military campaign and a working class revolution. Meanwhile Florence prospered, in part because of the integrity of their coinage – the florin. The post #39 The Rise Of The Medici (part 2) appeared first on The Renaissance Times .

One of the one of the most powerful and influential families of the Renaissance – the Medici – took centuries to rise to power. But when they did, they changed the world.   The post #38 The Rise Of The Medici (part 1) appeared first on The Renaissance Times .

Against complaints about how much they were demanding, the popes said “hey looking this good isn’t easy!” Clement VI had been forced to lend Philip VI of France 592,000 gold florins – $135 million. And 3,517,000 more to King John II, Philip’s son and heir. Roughly $800 million. Quick quiz – how long did the Hundred Years’ War last? 116 years. Fought from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Pl...

After the death of Clement V, Dante wrote to the Italian cardinals and urged them to hold out for an Italian pope who would return the papacy to Rome. But only six of the 23 cardinals were Italian. And when they met just outside Avignon in their conclave to decide the new Pope, there were people outside shouting “Death to the Italian cardinals!” And then the mob set fire to the building where the...