ABSTRACT
Ambitious men and ambitious mothers, an aged licentious pope and a young beautiful girl, the victim of the relentless pursuit of power; the history of the Borgia and Farnese connections is one of mythological proportions shaped through gendered narratives of sexual voracity and patriarchal and matriarchal aspirations. Indeed, the recurrence throughout literature and historical works of such narratives should alert the historian that they function as moral explanations on an all-together different plane than the historical. Nonetheless, such narratives have become powerful and convincing enough to obtain an explanatory force and have ended up in historical accounts. This chapter will present a powerful critique of the existing record, deconstructing gendered tropes in the narrative and showing the reasons behind their acceptance at face value by historians. Subsequently, a reconstruction on the basis of the existing source material will provide a contrasting view on Borgia and Farnese family relations. On the basis of this interpretation, suggestions will be made on how nobles interacted and engaged in the creation of alliances at the papal court, the central role of cardinals within such networks, and their repercussions for the political history of Renaissance Rome.
