Arms of the House of Medici Blazon:Or, five balls in orle gules, in chief a larger one of the arms of France (viz.Azure, three fleurs-de-lis or), the incorporation of the arms of France being granted byLouis XI in 1465[1]
The Medicis' wealth and influence was initially derived from the textile trade guided by the wool guild of Florence, theArte della Lana. Like other families ruling in Italiansignorie, the Medici dominated their city's government, were able to bring Florence under their family's power, and created an environment in which art andhumanism flourished. TheItalian Renaissance was inspired by the Medici along with other families of Italy, such as theVisconti andSforza inMilan, theEste inFerrara, theBorgia andDella Rovere inRome, and theGonzaga inMantua.
The Medici Bank, from when it was created in 1397 to its fall in 1494, was one of the most prosperous and respected institutions in Europe, and the Medici family was considered the wealthiest in Europe for a time. From this base, they acquired political power initially in Florence and later in wider Italy and Europe. They were among the earliest businesses to use thegeneral ledger system of accounting through the development of thedouble-entry bookkeeping system for tracking credits and debits.
The Medici family came from the agriculturalMugello region[9] north of Florence, and they are first mentioned in a document of 1230.[10] The origin of the name is uncertain.Medici is the plural ofmedico, meaning "medical doctor".[11] The dynasty began with the founding of theMedici Bank in Florence in 1397.
For most of the 13th century, the leading banking centre in Italy wasSiena. But in 1298, one of the leading banking families of Europe, theBonsignoris, went bankrupt, and the city of Siena lost its status as the banking centre of Italy to Florence.[12] Until the late 14th century, the leading family of Florence was theHouse of Albizzi. In 1293, theOrdinances of Justice were enacted; effectively, they became the constitution of theRepublic of Florence throughout the Italian Renaissance.[13] The city's numerous luxuriouspalazzi were becoming surrounded bytownhouses built by the prospering merchant class.[14]
The main challengers to the Albizzi family were the Medici, first underGiovanni di Bicci de' Medici, later under his sonCosimo di Giovanni de' Medici and great-grandson,Lorenzo de' Medici. The Medici controlled the Medici Bank—then Europe's largest bank—and an array of other enterprises in Florence and elsewhere. In 1433, the Albizzi managed to have Cosimo exiled.[15] The next year, however, a pro-MediciSignoria (civic government) led by Tommaso Soderini, Oddo Altoviti and Lucca Pitti was elected and Cosimo returned. The Medici became the city's leading family, a position they would hold for the next three centuries. Florence remained a republic until 1537, traditionally marking the end of the High Renaissance in Florence, but the instruments of republican government were firmly under the control of the Medici and their allies, save during intervals after 1494 and 1527. Cosimo and Lorenzo rarely held official posts but were the unquestioned leaders.
The Medici family was connected to most other elite families of the time throughmarriages of convenience, partnerships, or employment, so the family had a central position in thesocial network: several families had systematic access to the rest of the elite families only through the Medici, perhaps similar to banking relationships. Some examples of these families include theBardi,Altoviti, Ridolfi, Cavalcanti and the Tornabuoni. This has been suggested as a reason for the rise of the Medici family.[16]
Members of the family rose to some prominence in the early 14th century in the wool trade, especially withFrance andSpain. Despite the presence of some Medici in the city's governmentinstitutions, they were still far less notable than other outstanding families such as theAlbizzi or theStrozzi. OneSalvestro de' Medici was speaker of the woolmakers'guild during theCiompi revolt of 1378–1382, and one Antonio de' Medici was exiled from Florence in 1396.[17] Involvement in another plot in 1400 caused all branches of the family to be banned from Florentine politics for twenty years, with the exception of two.
Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici (c. 1360–1429), son ofAverardo de' Medici (1320–1363), increased the wealth of the family through his creation of the Medici Bank, and became one of the richest men in the city of Florence. Although he never held any political office, he gained strong popular support for the family through his support for the introduction of aproportional system of taxation. Giovanni's sonCosimo the Elder,Pater Patriae (father of the country), took over in 1434 asgran maestro (the unofficial head of the Florentine Republic).[18]
CosimoPater patriae, Uffizi Gallery, Florence
The Medici additionally benefited from the discovery of vast deposits ofalum inTolfa in 1461. Alum is essential as amordant in the dyeing of certain cloths and was used extensively in Florence, where the main industry was textile manufacturing. Before the Medici, the Turks were the only exporters of alum, so Europe was forced to buy from them until the discovery in Tolfa.Pius II granted the Medici family a monopoly on the mining there, making them the primary producers of alum in Europe.[19]
Three successive generations of the Medici—Cosimo, Piero, and Lorenzo—ruled over Florence through the greater part of the 15th century. They clearly dominated Florentinerepresentative government without abolishing it altogether.[20] These three members of the Medici family had great skills in the management of so "restive and independent a city" as Florence. When Lorenzo died in 1492, however, his son Piero proved quite incapable of responding successfully to challenges caused by theFrench invasion of Italy in 1492, and within two years, he and his supporters were forced into exile and replaced with a republican government.[20]
Piero de' Medici (1416–1469), Cosimo's son, was only in power for five years (1464–1469). He was called "Piero the Gouty" because of thegout that pained his foot and led to his death. Unlike his father, Piero had little interest in the arts. Due to his illness, he mostly stayed at home bedridden, and therefore did little to further the Medici control of Florence while in power. As such, Medici rule stagnated until the next generation, when Piero's son Lorenzo took over.[21]
Lorenzo de' Medici (1449–1492), called "the Magnificent", was more capable of leading and ruling a city, but he neglected the family banking business, which led to its ultimate ruin. To ensure the continuance of his family's success, Lorenzo planned his children's future careers for them. He groomed the headstrongPiero II to follow as his successor in civil leadership; Giovanni[22] (futurePope Leo X) was placed in the church at an early age; and his daughterMaddalena was provided with a sumptuous dowry to make a politically advantageous marriage to a son ofPope Innocent VIII that cemented the alliance between the Medici and the Roman branches of theCybo andAltoviti families.[23]
ThePazzi conspiracy of 1478 was an attempt to depose the Medici family by killing Lorenzo with his younger brotherGiuliano during Easter services; the assassination attempt ended with the death of Giuliano and an injured Lorenzo. The conspiracy involved thePazzi andSalviati families, both rival banking families seeking to end the influence of the Medici, as well as the priest presiding over the church services, theArchbishop of Pisa, and evenPope Sixtus IV to a degree. The conspirators approached Sixtus IV in the hopes of gaining his approval, as he and the Medici had a long rivalry themselves, but the pope gave no official sanction to the plan. Despite his refusal of official approval, the pope nonetheless allowed the plot to proceed without interfering, and, after the failed assassination of Lorenzo, also gavedispensation for crimes done in the service of the church. After this, Lorenzo adopted his brother's illegitimate son Giulio de' Medici (1478–1535), the future PopeClement VII. Lorenzo's son Piero II took over as the head of Florence after Lorenzo's death. The Medici were expelled from Florence from 1494 to 1512 after Piero acceded to all of the demands of invaderCharles VIII of France.[24]
In the dangerous circumstances in which our city is placed, the time for deliberation is past. Action must be taken... I have decided, with your approval, to sail for Naples immediately, believing that as I am the person against whom the activities of our enemies are chiefly directed, I may, perhaps, by delivering myself into their hands, be the means of restoring peace to our fellow-citizens. As I have had more honour and responsibility among you than any private citizen has had in our day, I am more bound than any other person to serve our country, even at the risk of my life. With this intention I now go. Perhaps God wills that this war, which began in the blood of my brother and of myself, should be ended by any means. My desire is that by my life or my death, my misfortune or my prosperity, I may contribute to the welfare of our city... I go full of hope, praying to God to give me grace to perform what every citizen should at all times be ready to perform for his country.
The exile of the Medici lasted until 1512, after which the "senior" branch of the family—those descended from Cosimo the Elder—were able to rule until the assassination ofAlessandro de' Medici, firstDuke of Florence, in 1537. This century-long rule was interrupted only on two occasions (between 1494–1512 and 1527–1530), when anti-Medici factions took control of Florence. Following the assassination of Duke Alessandro, power passed to the "junior" Medici branch—those descended fromLorenzo the Elder, the youngest son of Giovanni di Bicci, starting with his great-great-grandsonCosimo I "the Great".[citation needed]
Cosimo the Elder and his father started the Medici foundations in banking and manufacturing—including a form offranchises. The family's influence grew with its patronage of wealth, art, and culture. Ultimately, it reached its zenith in thepapacy and continued to flourish for centuries afterward as Dukes of Florence and Tuscany. At least half, probably more, of Florence's people were employed by the Medici and their foundational branches in business.[citation needed]
Clement VII's tumultuous pontificate was dominated by a rapid succession of political crises—many long in the making—that resulted in thesack of Rome by the armies ofHoly Roman Emperor Charles V in 1527 and rise of the Salviati, Altoviti and Strozzi as the leading bankers of theRoman Curia. From the time of Clement's election as pope in 1523 until the sack of Rome, Florence was governed by the youngIppolito de' Medici (future cardinal and vice-chancellor of the Holy Roman Church),Alessandro de' Medici (future duke of Florence), and their guardians. In 1530, after allying himself with Charles V, Pope Clement VII succeeded in securing the engagement of Charles V's daughterMargeret of Austria to his illegitimate nephew (reputedly his son)Alessandro de' Medici. Clement also convinced Charles V to name Alessandro as Duke of Florence. Thus began the reign of Medici monarchs in Florence, which lasted two centuries.[citation needed]
In 1534, following a lengthy illness, Pope Clement VII died—and with him the stability of the Medici's "senior" branch. In 1535, Ippolito Cardinal de' Medici died under mysterious circumstances. In 1536, Alessandro de' Medici married Charles V's daughter, Margaret of Austria; however, the following year he was assassinated by a resentful cousin,Lorenzino de' Medici. The deaths of Alessandro and Ippolito enabled the Medici's "junior" branch to lead Florence.[citation needed]
Another outstanding figure of the 16th-century Medici family was Cosimo I, who rose from relatively modest beginnings in theMugello to attain supremacy over the whole ofTuscany. Against the opposition ofCatherine de' Medici,Pope Paul III and their allies, he prevailed in various battles to conquer Florence's hated rivalSiena and found the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Cosimo purchased a portion of the island ofElba from theRepublic of Genoa and based the Tuscan navy there. He died in 1574, succeeded by his eldest surviving sonFrancesco, whose death without male heirs led to the succession of his younger brother,Ferdinando, in 1587. Francesco marriedJohanna of Austria, and with his consort producedEleonora de' Medici, Duchess of Mantua, andMarie de' Medici, Queen of France and Navarre. Through Marie, all succeeding French monarchs (bar theNapoleons) were descended from Francesco.[citation needed]
Ferdinando eagerly assumed the government of Tuscany. He commanded the draining of the Tuscan marshlands, built a road network in southern Tuscany and cultivated trade inLivorno.[26] To augment the Tuscan silk industry, he oversaw the planting ofmulberry trees along the major roads (silk worms feed on mulberry leaves).[27] In foreign affairs, he shifted Tuscany away from Habsburg[28]hegemony by marrying the first non-Habsburg marriage candidate since Alessandro,Christina of Lorraine, a granddaughter of Catherine de' Medici. The Spanish reaction was to construct acitadel on their portion of the island of Elba.[26] To strengthen the new Franco-Tuscan alliance, he married his niece, Marie, toHenry IV of France. Henry explicitly stated that he would defend Tuscany from Spanish aggression, but later reneged, after which Ferdinando was forced to marry his heir, Cosimo, toMaria Maddalena of Austria to assuage Spain (where Maria Maddalena's sisterMargaret was the incumbent Queen consort). Ferdinando also sponsored a Tuscan expedition to theNew World with the intention of establishing a Tuscan colony, an enterprise that brought no result for permanent colonial acquisitions.[citation needed]
Despite all of these incentives for economic growth and prosperity, the population of Florence at the dawn of the 17th century was a mere 75,000, far smaller than the other capitals of Italy (i.e., Rome, Milan, Venice, Palermo, and Naples).[29] Francesco and Ferdinando, due to lax distinction between Medici and Tuscan state property, are thought to have been wealthier than their ancestor, Cosimo de' Medici, the founder of the dynasty.[30] The Grand Duke alone had the prerogative to exploit the state's mineral and salt resources, and the fortunes of the Medici were directly tied to the Tuscan economy.[30]
Ferdinando, although no longer a cardinal, exercised much influence at successive conclaves. In 1605, Ferdinando succeeded in getting his candidate, Alessandro de' Medici, electedPope Leo XI. He died the same month, but his successor,Pope Paul V, was also pro-Medici.[31] Ferdinando's pro-papal foreign policy, however, had drawbacks. Tuscany was overrun with religious orders, not all of whom were obliged to pay taxes. Ferdinando died in 1609, leaving an affluent realm; his inaction in international affairs, however, would have long-reaching consequences down the line.
In France, Marie de' Medici was acting as regent for her son,Louis XIII. Louis repudiated her pro-Habsburg policy in 1617. She lived the rest of her life deprived of any political influence.
Cosimo's elder son, Ferdinando, was not yet of legal maturity to succeed him, thus Maria Maddalena and his grandmother, Christina of Lorraine, acted as regents. Their collective regency is known as theTurtici. Maria Maddelana's temperament was analogous to Christina's, and together they aligned Tuscany with thepapacy, re-doubled the Tuscan clergy, and allowed theheresy trial of Galileo Galilei to occur.[34] Upon the death of the lastDuke of Urbino (Francesco Maria II), instead of claiming the duchy for Ferdinando, who was married to the Duke of Urbino's granddaughter and heiress,Vittoria della Rovere, they permitted it to be annexed byPope Urban VIII. In 1626, they banned any Tuscan subject from being educated outside the Grand Duchy, a law later overturned, but resurrected by Maria Maddalena's grandson,Cosimo III.[35]Harold Acton, an Anglo-Italian historian, ascribed the decline of Tuscany to theTurtici regency.[35]
Grand Duke Ferdinado was obsessed with new technology, and had a variety of hygrometers, barometers, thermometers, and telescopes installed in thePalazzo Pitti.[36] In 1657,Leopoldo de' Medici, the Grand Duke's youngest brother, established theAccademia del Cimento, organized to attract scientists to Florence from all over Tuscany for mutual study.[37]
Tuscany participated in theWars of Castro (the last time Medicean Tuscany proper was involved in a conflict) and inflicted a defeat on the forces of Pope Urban VIII in 1643.[38] The war effort was costly and the treasury so empty because of it that when the Castro mercenaries were paid for, the state could no longer afford to pay interest on government bonds, with the result that the interest rate was lowered by 0.75%.[39] At that time, the economy was so decrepit thatbarter trade became prevalent in rural market places.[38]
Ferdinando died on 23 May 1670 afflicted byapoplexy anddropsy. He was interred in theBasilica of San Lorenzo, the Medici's necropolis.[40] At the time of his death, the population of the grand duchy was 730,594; the streets were lined with grass and the buildings on the verge of collapse inPisa.[41]
Cosimo III, the Medicean grand duke, in grand ducal regaliaAnna Maria Luisa de' Medici, the last of the grand ducal line, inMinerva, Merkur und Plutus huldigen der Kurfürstin Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici (English:Minerva, Mercury and Pluto pay homage to the Electress Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici) afterAntonio Bellucci, 1706
Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine, Anna Maria Luisa's spouse, successfully requisitioned the dignityRoyal Highness for the Grand Duke and his family in 1691, despite the fact that they had no claim to any kingdom.[42] Cosimo frequently paid the Holy Roman Emperor, his nominal feudal overlord, exorbitant dues,[43] and he sent munitions to the emperor during theBattle of Vienna.
The Medici lacked male heirs, and by 1705, the grand ducal treasury was virtually bankrupt. In comparison to the 17th century, the population of Florence declined by 50%, and the population of the grand duchy as a whole declined by an estimated 40%.[44] Cosimo desperately tried to reach a settlement with the European powers, but Tuscany's legal status was very complicated: the area of the grand duchy formerly comprising theRepublic of Siena was technically a Spanish fief, while the territory of the oldRepublic of Florence was thought to be under imperialsuzerainty. Upon the death of his first son, Cosimo contemplated restoring the Florentine republic, either upon Anna Maria Luisa's death, or on his own, if he predeceased her. The restoration of the republic would entail resigning Siena to the Holy Roman Empire, but, regardless, it was vehemently endorsed by his government. Europe largely ignored Cosimo's plan. Only Great Britain and theDutch Republic gave any credence to it, and the plan ultimately died with Cosimo III in 1723.[45]
On 4 April 1718, Great Britain, France and the Dutch Republic (also later, Austria) selectedDon Carlos of Spain, the elder child ofElisabeth Farnese andPhilip V of Spain, as the Tuscan heir. By 1722, the electress was not even acknowledged as heiress, and Cosimo was reduced to spectator at the conferences for Tuscany's future.[46] On 25 October 1723, six days before his death, Grand Duke Cosimo disseminated a final proclamation commanding that Tuscany stay independent: Anna Maria Luisa would succeed uninhibited to Tuscany after Gian Gastone, and the grand duke reserved the right to choose his successor. However, these portions of his proclamation were completely ignored, and he died a few days later.
Gian Gastone despised the electress for engineering his catastrophic marriage toAnna Maria Franziska of Saxe-Lauenburg; while she abhorred her brother's liberal policies, he repealed all of his father's anti-Semitic statutes. Gian Gastone revelled in upsetting her.[47] On 25 October 1731, a Spanish detachment occupied Florence on behalf of Don Carlos, who disembarked in Tuscany in December of the same year.TheRuspanti, Gian Gastone's decrepit entourage, loathed the electress, and she them. DuchessViolante of Bavaria, Gian Gastone's sister-in-law, tried to withdraw the grand duke from the sphere of influence of theRuspanti by organising banquets. His conduct at the banquets was less than regal; he often vomited repeatedly into his napkin, belched, and regaled those present with socially inappropriate jokes.[48] Following a sprained ankle in 1731, he remained confined to his bed for the rest of his life. The bed, often smelling offaeces, was occasionally cleaned by Violante.
In 1736, following theWar of the Polish Succession, Don Carlos was disbarred from Tuscany, andFrancis III of Lorraine was made heir in his stead.[49] In January 1737, the Spanish troops withdrew from Tuscany, and were replaced by Austrians.
Gian Gastone died on 9 July 1737, surrounded by prelates and his sister. Anna Maria Luisa was offered a nominalregency by the Prince de Craon until the new grand duke could peregrinate to Tuscany, but declined.[50] Upon her brother's death, she received all the House of Medici's allodial possessions.
Anna Maria Luisa signed thePatto di Famiglia ("family pact") on 31 October 1737. In collaboration with the Holy Roman Emperor and Grand Duke Francis of Lorraine, shewilled all the personal property of the Medici to the Tuscan state, provided that nothing was ever removed from Florence.[51]
The "Lorrainers", as the occupying forces were called, were popularly loathed, but the regent, the Prince de Craon, allowed the electress to live unperturbed in thePalazzo Pitti. She occupied herself with financing and overseeing the construction of theBasilica of San Lorenzo, started in 1604 byFerdinando I, at a cost to the state of 1,000 crowns per week.[52]
The electress donated much of her fortune to charity: £4,000 a month.[53] On 19 February 1743, she died, and the grand ducal line of the House of Medici died with her. The Florentines grieved her,[54] and she was interred in the crypt that she helped to complete, San Lorenzo.
The extinction of the main Medici dynasty and the accession in 1737 ofFrancis Stephen,Duke of Lorraine and husband ofMaria Theresa of Austria, led to Tuscany's temporary inclusion in the territories of theAustrian crown. The line of thePrinces of Ottajano, an extant branch of the House of Medici who were eligible to inherit the grand duchy of Tuscany when the last male of the senior branch died in 1737, could have carried on as Medici sovereigns but for the intervention of Europe's major powers, which allocated the sovereignty of Florence elsewhere.
As a consequence, the grand duchy expired and the territory became asecundogeniture of theHabsburg-Lorraine dynasty. The first grand duke of the new dynasty, Francis I, was a great-great-great-grandson of Francesco I de' Medici, thus he continued the Medicean Dynasty on the throne of Tuscany through the female line. The Habsburgs were deposed in favor of theHouse of Bourbon-Parma in 1801 (themselves deposed in 1807), but were later restored at theCongress of Vienna. Tuscany became a province of the United Kingdom of Italy in 1861. However, several extant branches of the House of Medici survive, including thePrinces of Ottajano,[55] the Medici Tornaquinci,[56][55] and the Verona Medici Counts of Caprara andGavardo.[57] (seeMedici family tree)
The greatest accomplishments of the Medici were in the sponsorship ofart andarchitecture, mainlyearly andHigh Renaissance art and architecture. The Medici were responsible for a high proportion of the major Florentine works of art created during their period of rule. Their support was critical, since artists generally began work on their projects only after they had received commissions. Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici, the first patron of the arts in the family, aidedMasaccio and commissionedFilippo Brunelleschi for the reconstruction of theBasilica of San Lorenzo, Florence in 1419. Cosimo the Elder's notable artistic associates wereDonatello andFra Angelico. In later years the most significantprotégé of the Medici family wasMichelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564), who produced work for a number of family members, beginning with Lorenzo the Magnificent, who was said to be extremely fond of the young Michelangelo and invited him to study the family collection of antique sculpture.[58] Lorenzo also served as patron toLeonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) for seven years. Indeed, Lorenzo was an artist in his own right and an author of poetry and song; his support of the arts and letters is seen as a high point in Medici patronage.[citation needed]
Medici family members placed allegorically in the entourage of a king from theThree Wise Men in the Tuscan countryside in aBenozzo Gozzoli fresco (c. 1459).
After Lorenzo's death the puritanical Dominican friarGirolamo Savonarola rose to prominence, warning Florentines against excessive luxury. Under Savonarola's fanatical leadership many great works were "voluntarily" destroyed in theBonfire of the Vanities (February 7, 1497). The following year, on 23 May 1498, Savonarola and two young supporters were burned at the stake in the Piazza della Signoria, the same location as his bonfire. In addition to commissions for art and architecture, the Medici were prolific collectors and today their acquisitions form the core of the Uffizi museum in Florence. In architecture, the Medici were responsible for some notable features of Florence, including theUffizi Gallery, theBoboli Gardens, theBelvedere, theMedici Chapel and thePalazzo Medici.[59]
Although none of the Medici themselves were scientists, the family is well known to have been the patrons of the famousGalileo Galilei, who tutored multiple generations of Medici children and was an important figurehead for his patron's quest for power. Galileo's patronage was eventually abandoned byFerdinando II, when theInquisition accused Galileo of heresy. However, the Medici family did afford the scientist a safe haven for many years. Galileo named thefour largest moons ofJupiter after four Medici children he tutored, although the names Galileo used are not the names currently used.[citation needed]
This extract shows the branch that gave rise to the celebrated branch of the Medici descending from Giovanni "di Bicci", who founded the Medici fortunes:
Cousin of Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino, son ofGiuliano de' Medici who was the brother of Lorenzo the Magnificent. Elected to the Papacy, becomingPope Clement VII.
Cousin of Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici, illegitimate son of Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino or Pope Clement VII. Actingsignore during imperialSiege of Florence, made Duke in 1531.
Distant cousin of Alessandro de' Medici, Son ofGiovanni dalle Bande Nere.dei Popolani line descended fromLorenzo the Elder, Brother of Cosimo de' Medici; also great-grandson of Lorenzo the Magnificent through his mother, Maria Salviati, and his grandmother, Lucrezia de' Medici. 1569, he was made Grand Duke of Tuscany.
The origin of the Medici coat of arms is not recorded. One unproven story traces their ancestry to a knight of Charlemagne's, Averardo, who defeated a giant, Mugello. In reward, Charlemagne is said to have rewarded Averardo with the shield mauled by the giant, with the dents in the shape of balls, and the giant's lands in Mugello.
Florentine Guild Arms with the Moneychangers in top row 3rd.Here seen sliced in half, an art historian suggests that whole blood oranges could be the imagery in the Medici coats of arms
The simplest, though also unproven, theory suggests that the balls represented coins copied from the coat of arms of the Guild of Moneychangers (Arte del Cambio) to which the Medici belonged. That shield was red strewn with Byzantine coins (bezants).[73][74] The number of balls also varied with time, as shown below. It has also been argued that these coins referenced the three coins or golden balls associated withSt. Nicholas, particularly as the saint was invoked by Italian bankers as they took oaths.[75]
As an Italian vocabulary word, "medici" means "medical doctors" and identifications with the family members as physicians may be found among their names as early as the eleventh century. Fanciful stories depict the images as pills or cupping glasses, a late-medieval medical instrument used to draw blood. Pills did not exist until much later and bloodletting was not a common practice at the time of the first Medici coat of arms. Art historian Rocky Ruggiero suggests plausibly however, that the images may represent whole ripeblood oranges that typically are grown in Italy. Although knowledge of vitamins did not exist at the time, the benefit of oranges for certain diseases was recognized and their association with recommendations by medical doctors suggests to Ruggiero that this likely is the imagery intended in the coats of arms for the Medici family.[76]
Alternatively, it has been suggested that the Medici coat of arms was initially inspired by symbols drawn from Etruscan votive sculpture, examples of which feature an oval dome with balls (echoing the forms of the Medici shield), as well as six balls within a triangle (as found in the alternative, triangular version of the Medici emblem).[77] This particular influence offers an explanation for the red hue of the Medici balls, the colour of the terracotta sculpture. It would also have reflected the family's interest in Etruscan art and culture.[78] In addition, the notion of Etruscan votive sculpture would have chimed with the participation of the Medici in the religious custom of offering up votive statues, a practice that recalled the ancient Etruscan convention of donating sculptures in the hope of, or gratitude for, divine favour.[79] Such favours would have included the wish for a strong and healthy family, both for the supplicant and their descendants.[80]
Old coat of arms of the Medici used by Giovanni di Bicci and Cosimo the Elder
The intermediate coat of arms of the Medici,Or, six balls in orle gules
The "augmented coat of arms of the Medici,Or, five balls in orle gules, in chief a larger one of the arms of France (viz.Azure, three fleurs-de-lis or) was granted byLouis XI in 1465.[1]
Great coat of arms of Medici of Ottajano
Coat of Arms of the Grand-Duke of Tuscany
Coat of arms of Medici popes
Coat of arms of the Medici Cardinals
Coat of Arms of Catherine of Medici, as Queen of France
Coat of Arms of Maria of Medici, as Queen of France
^The family of Pius IV, the Medici ofMilan, considered itself a branch of the House of Medici and was recognized as such by the FlorentinePope Clement VII and by Cosimo I 'de Medici in the early 16th century. Historians have found no proof of an actual connection between the Medici of Milan and the Medici of Florence, but this belief was widespread during the life of Pius IV and the Medici of Florence allowed the Medici of Milan to use theircoat of arms.
^Crum, Roger J.Severing the Neck of Pride: Donatello's "Judith and Holofernes" and the Recollection of Albizzi Shame in Medicean Florence. Artibus et Historiae, Volume 22, Edit 44, 2001. pp. 23–29.
^abThe PrinceNiccolò Machiavelli. A Norton Critical Edition. Translated and edited by Rober M. Adams. New York. W.W. Norton and Company, 1977. p. viii (Historical Introduction)
^Official site of theAccademia delle Arti del Disegno of Florence, Brief History (it. leng.)"Accademia delle Arti del Disegno". Archived fromthe original on 2009-06-03. Retrieved2009-06-01.
^Three more sons:Talento (?–?), he had a son,Mario died in 1369, Mario had few unremarkable later generations;Jacopo (?–1340) who had a son,Averardo (fl. 1363);Francesco (?–?), who had a son,Malatesta died in 1367.
^One son,Coppo, (?–?). Cfr.Mecatti, Giuseppe Maria; Muratori, Lodovico Antonio (1755).Storia cronologica della città di Firenze (in Italian). Vol. Parte prima. Naples: Stamperia Simoniana. p. 157. RetrievedMarch 28, 2016.
^Jelbert, Rebeca (2020). "The Medici Coat of Arms and Etruscan Votive Sculpture".The Coat of Arms: Journal for the Heraldry Society (UK).3:190–208.
^Gáldy, Andrea (2009).Cosimo I de' Medici as Collector: Antiquities and Archaeology in Sixteenth-century Florence. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 46–47, 58.
^Kent, Francis (2007).Lorenzo de'Medici and the Art of Magnificence. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 76.
^Scopacasa, Rafael (2015). "Moulding Cultural Change: A Contextual Approach to Anatomical Votive Terracottas in Central Italy, Fourth-Second Centuries BC".Papers of the British School at Rome.83:1–27,343–344.doi:10.1017/S0068246215000021.S2CID163129780.
Miles J. Unger,Magnifico: The Brilliant Life and Violent Times of Lorenzo de Medici, (Simon and Schuster 2008) is a vividly colorful biography of this true "renaissance man", the uncrowned ruler of Florence during its golden age
Ferdinand Schevill,History of Florence: From the Founding of the City Through the Renaissance (Frederick Ungar, 1936) is the standard overall history of Florence
Cecily Booth,Cosimo I, Duke of Florence, 1921, University Press
Paul Strathern,The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance (Pimlico, 2005) is an informative and lively account of the Medici family, their finesse and foibles—extremely readable, though with a few factual and typographical errors.
Lauro Martines,April Blood: Florence and the Plot Against the Medici (Oxford University Press 2003) a detailed account of the Pazzi Conspiracy, the players, the politics of the day, and the fallout of the assassination plot. Though accurate in historic details, Martines writes with an anti-Medici tone.
Jonathan Zophy,A Short History of Renaissance and Reformation Europe, Dances over Fire and Water. 1996. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2003.
.jpg)
.jpg)
_Pope_Clement_VII.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
_-_Gian_Gastone_de%2527_Medici.jpg)
.svg)
_-_type_2.svg)
