When it comes to the Medici family, the Renaissance is inseparable. The Renaissance, as the name suggests, is the revival of classical culture. The representative and glorious civilizations of ancient Europe include ancient Greece and ancient Rome. However, the Roman Empire eventually collapsed due to multiple factors, among which the Western Roman Empire in Western Europe was destroyed by barbarians in 476. Although the Eastern Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, had a revival, it had little impact on Western Europe due to its remote location.
After the disappearance of the Western Roman Empire, Western Europe entered the dark Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries). During this period, the church thought decayed, the kingship declined, the city declined, and the economy regressed. People's spiritual culture was more closed and conservative than before.
For example, in ancient Greece, there were many well-known thinkers such as Plato and Aristotle, and it was very common to be open-minded to homosexuality. Alexander the Great had rumors of homosexuality. However, due to the existence of the church in the Middle Ages, many ideas in the Middle Ages were regarded as heretical, which hindered the further development of human civilization.
In the 13th century, with the development of productivity in Western Europe, grain output increased, and handicrafts and commerce became active. As a result, cities sprang up, and in order to meet the cultural needs of these emerging bourgeoisie, such as basic arithmetic and business operations, universities also broke away from the church and began to offer more courses.
In 1453, the Eastern Roman Empire fell. Many scholars fled to Europe, bringing with them a lot of ancient Roman and ancient Greek classics, coupled with the economic development of Western Europe, the Renaissance was vigorously carried out with the support of the secular class.
Florence is the birthplace of the Renaissance. From the 14th to the 17th century, it existed in Italy and even Europe as a cultural center for a long time. As a prominent family that has been active in the political and economic fields of Florence since the 13th century, the Medici family naturally had a pivotal impact on the Renaissance.
Florence was originally ruled by the feudal aristocracy. With the urban self-government movement in Western Europe, an independent city republic was established in the late 12th century, ruled by a council of nine, and the leader was the chief executive. This series of changes allowed the Republic of Florence to initially establish the capitalist mode of production and the dominance of the commodity economy, and the Medici family was the aristocrat who relied on industry and commerce to make a fortune and took control of the actual power by virtue of economic power and popular prestige during this period.
Throughout the history of the Medici family, it can be roughly divided into several stages, which are closely related to the following representative figures, and these figures will become the main sponsors of the Renaissance for various purposes in the future.
At first, the Medici family took advantage of the blankness of the banking industry in Florence after relying on the benefits brought by the commodity economy. Became the early strength of the family.
Taking this as a stepping stone, some members of the family, such as Salvestero de' Medici, gradually became associated with politics and became chief executives. However, due to the political turmoil within Florence at this time, the first political experience of the Medici family soon came to an end. Since then, the Medici family, under the management of Virgil de Medici, focused on developing the economy and succeeded in getting the business out of Florence.
At the end of the 14th century, Veril's business and family fortune passed to Giovanni de' Medici, a man of political and economic success. The one who died at the beginning of the film.
On the one hand, Giovanni raised funds to establish the head office of many branches, that is, the Medici Bank, on the other hand, he became the chief executive for a period of time against the opposition of the hostile family. It can be said that Giovanni laid a broad and solid foundation for the wealth of the Medici family, showing the political influence of the Medici family and revitalizing the family during this period.
Followed by Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici, Giovanni's son, who starred in Teen Wolf, further expanded the Medici family. He took over the Medici Bank and made the family an important pillar of the Florentine Republic through policies such as tithing in various countries in place of the Holy See. Although there was a period of power struggle with the Albizzi family during this period. The first episode of the film deeply depicts the conflict between the two families.
Here's a word, the first episode also touches on the background of a great schism in the Catholic Church. After the demise of the Western Roman Empire, the Germans established the Frankish kingdom and continued the Christian faith. The Frankish Kingdom (481-843) also experienced several dynastic changes with the change of the ruling family, first the Merovingian Dynasty, then the Carolingian Dynasty (751-843), the latter was founded by the Merovingian Dynasty The son of the palace minister of the dynasty is actually a usurper of the throne by a powerful minister.
In order to obtain nominal legality, today's Vatican City was given to the Catholic Church as the Papal State, so the bishops at that time had their own Papal State and their powers were further increased.
At the end of the 13th century, the Holy See had become the largest political and economic group in Europe, especially the power of the Pope. The emperor of the Holy Roman Empire spent three days and three nights barefoot in the snow because he offended the Pope.
However, with the development of the economy, people began to feel that the church was a hindrance, the secular class could not do this and that could not be done, and the Holy See itself was corrupt. At this time, the powerful French king, as the leader of the secular regime, had an irreconcilable conflict with the then religious leader, the Pope, for his own benefit.
The final outcome ended with Philip IV beating the Pope and establishing a new French bishop. The Holy See was also moved from Rome to Avignon, a city close to the French border, and the papal power was greatly impacted. Later historians refer to the Pope at this time as the "Prisoner of Avignon".
In 1377, Pope Gregory XI of France returned to Rome from Avignon and died in March the following year. With the support of the Italian and French secular feudal rulers, the church elected two popes successively, stationed in Rome and Avignon. They each claim to be orthodox, swearing that they are not at odds with each other. In order to bridge the divide, the Pisa conference was convened in 1409 to mediate, and this is the background in which the first episode takes place. In the end, the third pope was elected. It was not until 1417 that the Council of Constance elected a new Pope, Martin V, to be stationed in Rome, which ended the split.
Although Cosimo was once exiled to Venice by a hostile family, but because the Medici family cared about the people and supported various activities of the secular class, it was very popular. Cosimo was finally welcomed back to Florence and successfully established a tyrant in 1434. Politics, which established the cornerstone of Medici rule in Florence.
The first season is almost over here. In fact, in addition to these all-powerful family rulers, there are also some people in the Medici family who have also influenced history in addition to the family rulers. Queen Catherine Medici of France is one of them.
Since Catherine's three sons were short-lived and had no heirs, the position of the next French king fell to a collateral line of the Loireau dynasty, that is, her daughter's husband. Her daughter became queen again, but her marriage was unhappy. That's another story, you can watch the movie Queen Margot.
At the same time, Catherine is also the mother-in-law of James I's mother who completed the political unification of England and Scotland by blood (the two are not related by blood, James I was born to Mary and her later husband).
There is a funny thing here. Mary and Elizabeth I are also relatives. Mary is the Queen of Scots and Elizabeth is the Queen of England. They are actually rivals due to political issues. Elizabeth I's mother was Henry VIII's second wife. But the Catholic Church does not allow divorce, not to mention that Henry VIII's first wife was a Spanish princess, and Spain was a faithful believer in the Catholic Church at the time. The Roman Church faced Henry VIII who wanted to divorce his wife for a long time, and the Pope at that time was also a member of the Medici family.
It can be seen that the Medici family is active in various fields in Western Europe, and at the same time participates in the changes of some Western European powers.
The text after that has little to do with this season. Cosimo's son Piero di Cosimo de' Medici (Piero suffering from gout) was in power for a while, but he himself soon died of illness, and his son "The Luxurious" "Lorenzo de' Medici (Lorenzo the Great) succeeded. During the reign of Lorenzo the "Luxury", it was not only the most glorious period of the Medici family, but also the golden age of the Renaissance. He further stabilized the tyranny established by Cosimo, making Florence an important country in Italy and Europe at that time, with great economic and cultural achievements.
At the end of the 15th century, although the rule of the Medici family was interrupted in Florence due to the opposition of foreign forces, its power was generally on the rise. During this time, Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici (Leo X), the second son of the "Luxurious" Lorenzo, went from cardinal to pope step by step, relying on the Spanish army from France to He regained the dominion of Florence that the Medici family had lost in the time of his brother Piero di Lorenzo de' Medici.
After that, Leo X's cousin, Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici (Clement VII), who took over the regime, also obtained the right to rule Florence as a pope. The difference is that, Florence under his leadership was again invaded by the French, and he was unable to reverse the occupation of Florence for a long time. Later, it was only possible to restore rule in Florence through an alliance with the Holy Roman Empire. However, during his reign, the Medici family became a French royal family through marriage in order to ease relations with France, laying the foundation for the family's prosperity in the future.
Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici (Leo XI) was the illegitimate son of Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino (one said to be the illegitimate son of Clement VII himself), Appointed to rule after Clement VII recaptured Florence. In 1532, under the appointment of Clement VII, he officially became the hereditary duke of Florence, and the republic became a grand duchy. So far, through the joint efforts of the members of the church and the secular power, the Medici rule over Florence has once again experienced consolidation.
Unfortunately, Alessandro was assassinated, and the young Cosimo I de' Medici (the 1st Grand Duke of Tuscany) came to power in the chaos. Fortunately, the resolute character of Cosimo I, with the help of wars and covenants, established the leadership of Florence, and once again reorganized the rule of the Medici family in Florence. Since then, the Medici family has been in the name of the Grand Duke of Tuscany for a long time, and the rule of Florence has been maintained smoothly until Gian Gastone de Medici. But due to extinction, after his death, the power of Florence fell.
In the actual rule of the Medici family over Florence, whether they used the economy as a bargaining chip to develop politics or used the clergy to consolidate their rule, the members of the Medici family were in various capacities and to varying degrees. make a contribution.
Among them, Cosimo the Elder made many efforts to promote the revival of New Humanism in Florence, and played an important role in the Renaissance, the great Lorenzo's funding of art would reach an unprecedented scale, Leo X And Clement VII adopted a protection policy for literati and artists, and Cosimo I provided strong financial support for the Medici family who always advocated art to fund and protect literati and artists. Members of the Qi family favored humanists in policy, economics, and honor, and funded the learning and creation of young humanist scholars and artists. Apart from these male members, Catrina Maria Romora di Lorenzo de' Medici, the wife of Henry II of the Valois dynasty of France, the Queen of France, was outside her hometown, because His own pursuit of fashion has also funded some Renaissance people.
These Renaissance sponsors from the Medici family provided Galileo, Donatello and many other famous Renaissance people with a stage to show their talents.
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