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40 Facts About the Borgias, One of History’s More Scandalous Dynasties

Tim Flight October 27, 2019 26 min

Jeremy Irons - The Borgias — Jeremy Irons as Pope Alexander VI in the TV series, The Borgias. The Hollywood Review

32. Incredibly, Rodrigo was elected Pope Alexander VI in 1492, allegedly through bribery

16th-century portrait of Pope Alexander VI, aka Rodrigo Borgia, by Cristofano dell’Altissimo. Wikimedia Commons

Despite his appalling corruption and disdain for the office of Cardinal, Rodrigo was soon in the running to become Pope. He failed to succeed Sixtus IV, but when Innocent VIII died in 1492, the 61-year-old Rodrigo seized his chance. As a Spaniard, and a notoriously corrupt one, he was a rank outsider, but he was also very rich. According to most historians and contemporaries, Rodrigo paid dozens of bribes left, right, and center. He even paid his main rival to drop out of the race. Rodrigo became Pope Alexander VI.

Written by

Tim Flight

I am a freelance historical and literary writer based in West Yorkshire, UK. I read for a funded PhD in English at the University of Oxford (Magdalen College) and graduated in 2016. I am a former lecturer in Medieval English Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London. My publications include peer-reviewed articles in academic publications, and pieces in mainstream magazines such as History Today and Fortean Times. For more information, please see www.drflight.co.uk