Pope Alexander VI
Alexander VI Valentinus ("The Valencian")[1] | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Rome | |
Portrait attributed to Pedro Berruguete (c. 1495, oil on canvas, Vatican Museums) | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Papacy began | 11 August 1492 |
| Papacy ended | 18 August 1503 |
| Predecessor | Innocent VIII |
| Successor | Pius III |
| Previous post(s) |
|
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1468[2] |
| Consecration | 30 October 1471 |
| Created cardinal | 17 September 1456 by Callixtus III |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Roderic de Borja c. 1431 Xàtiva, Kingdom of Valencia, Crown of Aragon (now Spain) |
| Died | 18 August 1503 (aged 71–72) Rome, Papal States |
| Buried | Santa Maria in Monserrato degli Spagnoli, Rome |
| Nationality | Valencian, Aragonese |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Parents |
|
| Partner | Vannozza dei Cattanei |
| Children | [Note 1] |
| Education | University of Bologna |
| Coat of arms | |
| Other popes named Alexander | |
| Papal styles of Pope Alexander VI | |
|---|---|
| Reference style | His Holiness |
| Spoken style | Your Holiness |
| Religious style | Holy Father |
| Posthumous style | None |
Pope Alexander VI (Italian: Alessandro VI, Valencian: Alexandre VI, Spanish: Alejandro VI; born Roderic Llançol i de Borja;[Note 2] epithet: Valentinus ("The Valencian");[6] c. 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death in 1503.
Born into the prominent Borja family in Xàtiva in the Kingdom of Valencia under the Crown of Aragon (in present-day Spain), he was known as Roderic de Borja, and he is commonly referred to by the Italianized form as Rodrigo Borgia. He studied law at the University of Bologna. He was ordained deacon and made a cardinal in 1456 after the election of his uncle as Pope Callixtus III, and a year later he became vice-chancellor of the Catholic Church. He proceeded to serve in the Roman Curia under the next four popes, acquiring significant influence and wealth in the process. In 1492, Rodrigo was elected pope, taking the name Alexander VI.
Alexander's papal bulls of 1493 confirmed or reconfirmed the rights of the Spanish crown in the New World following the finds of Christopher Columbus in 1492. During the second Italian war, Alexander VI supported his son Cesare Borgia as a condottiero for the French king. The scope of his foreign policy was to gain the most advantageous terms for his family.[7][8]
Alexander is one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes, partly because he acknowledged fathering several children by his mistresses. As a result, his Italianized Valencian surname, Borgia, became a byword for libertinism and nepotism, which are traditionally considered as characterizing his pontificate.
- ^ See inscription on 5 Ducat piece File:Roma, alessandro VI, 5 ducati, 1492-1503.jpg "Alexander VI Pontifex Maximus Borgia Valentinus" ("The Valencian", his epithet indicating his birth in Xàtiva in the Kingdom of Valencia under the Crown of Aragon (now Spain)
- ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Pope Alexander VI". www.newadvent.org.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Meyerwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Hibbert (2008)
- ^ Ferdinand Gregorovius (1900). History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages. Vol. 7, Part 1. London: George Bell. p. 353. ISBN 978-1-108-01509-7.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) - ^ See inscription on 5 Ducat piece File:Roma, alessandro VI, 5 ducati, 1492-1503.jpg "Alexander VI Pontifex Maximus Borgia Valentinus" ("The Valencian", his epithet indicating his birth in Xàtiva in the Kingdom of Valencia under the Crown of Aragon (now Spain)
- ^ Weckman-Muñoz, Luis."The Alexandrine Bulls of 1493" in First Images of America: The Impact of the New World on the Old. Edited by Fredi Chiappelli. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press 1976, pp. 201–210.
- ^ Batllori, Miguel, S.J. "The Papal Division of the World and its Consequences" in First Images of America: The Impact of the New World on the Old. Edited by Fredi Chiappelli. pp. 211–220.
Cite error: There are <ref group=Note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=Note}} template (see the help page).