Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia) (1431–1503) Pope
(1492–1503)
He was born at Xativa, Spain, studied law at Bologna, and
was first advanced in the papal service by his uncle Al-
fonso Borgia, Pope Calixtus III, under whom he became
head of papal administration, a post which he held ably
for 35 years (1457–92). Political corruption and immoral-
ity in the Vatican reached their height under Alexander,
deeply involved as he was in the struggle between the
leading Italian families for power and wealth (see BORGIA
FAMILY). His contribution to the secularization of the
Curia probably enhanced the spreading popularity
throughout Italy of preaching friars who condemned the
papacy and called upon clergy and laity to repent.
Alexander’s pontificate was set against the back-
ground of the Wars of ITALY. When CHARLES VIIIof France
invaded Italy (1494), seizing Rome and Naples, Alexander
helped organize the League of Venice, an alliance between
Milan, Venice, Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire, which
was successful in forcing Charles to leave Italy. However,
in the interests of the Borgias, particularly of his son Ce-
sare, he later adopted a pro-French policy and aided the
French invasion that led to their occupation of Milan in
- Monies from the jubilee year, proclaimed by
Alexander in 1500, were diverted to Cesare to help him fi-
nally crush the Orsini and Colonna families. The mar-
riages of Alexander’s daughter Lucrezia BORGIAwere also
directed towards political ends.
During Alexander’s pontificate Spain laid claim to the
New World, following the discoveries of COLUMBUS, and it
was Alexander who determined the Spanish and Por-
tuguese spheres of influence there (see TORDESILLAS,
TREATY OF). He is also remembered as a patron of artists
and architects, including BRAMANTEand PINTURICCHIO.
The diary of Johann Burchard (died 1506), Alexander’s
master of ceremonies, gives an intimate account of life
close to this most notorious pope; it was published under
the title Historia arcana (1597) and in an English version
as At the Court of the Borgia (1963).
Alfonsine Tables See ASTRONOMY
Alfonso I (1395–1458) King of Naples (1442–58) and (as
Alfonso V) king of Aragon (1416–58)
Known as Alfonso the Magnanimous, he was admired as a
model prince and a devout Christian. The son of a Castil-
ian prince, who became Ferdinand I of Aragon in 1412,
and of Leonor of Albuquerque, he was brought up in
Castile and moved to Aragon in 1412. In 1415 he married
Maria of Castile; their marriage was unhappy and child-
less. After succeeding to Aragon in 1416 Alfonso angered
his subjects by relying on Castilian advisers, but he did
follow the Aragonese tradition of expansion in the
Mediterranean. In 1420 he set out to pacify his Sicilian
and Sardinian subjects and to attack the Genoese in Cor-
sica. He arrived in Naples in 1421 and persuaded Queen
Joanna (Giovanna) II to adopt him as her son and heir in
exchange for his help against the Angevin claimant to the
throne of Naples. After quarreling with Joanna in 1423 he
returned to Spain and busied himself with Spanish prob-
lems until her death in 1435. Alfonso then returned to
Naples to claim his throne and succeeded in driving out
his main rival, RENÉ OF ANJOU, after seven years of strug-
gle. He left the government of his other territories to
viceroys and settled permanently in Naples from 1443. He
reorganized its finances and administration and made his
court at Naples a brilliant center of learning and the arts.
Understanding the importance of presenting himself as a
Renaissance prince, Alfonso employed some major hu-
manist figures about his court: Lorenzo VALLAwrote sev-
eral of his most significant works during his decade in
Naples, while Antonio BECCADELLIand Bartolomeo Facio
(or Fazio; c. 1400–47) combined work in Alfonso’s secre-
tariat with writing accounts of his reign. The triumphal
arch at the Castel Nuovo in Naples (built 1453–66) com-
memorates Alfonso’s grand entry into the city in 1443. He
died in battle against Genoa, leaving Naples to his illegit-
imate son, Ferrante (FERDINAND I); his other domains
passed to his brother John.Alfonso II (1448–1495) King of Naples (1494–95)
The son of FERDINAND I(Ferrante) and Isabella of Naples,
Alfonso, who was cowardly and cruel, was very unpopu-
lar. Before succeeding his father, he was associated with
and blamed for much of his father’s misrule. Through his
marriage to Lodovico Sforza’s sister, Ippolita, and through
his sister’s marriage to Ercole d’Este of Ferrara, Alfonso
was involved in various Italian conflicts. He defeated Flo-
rence at Poggio (1479) and the Turks at Otranto (1481).
When CHARLES VIIIof France was advancing on Naples
early in 1495 Alfonso abdicated in favor of his son, Ferdi-
nand II (Ferrantino), and died later the same year.
Further reading: George L. Hersey, AIfonso II and the
Artistic Renewal of Naples, 1485–95 (New Haven, Conn.:
Yale University Press, 1969).algebra While ancient mathematicians made enormous
contributions to GEOMETRYand ARITHMETIC, their achieve-
ments in algebra were less impressive. A tendency to solve
problems geometrically, and the failure to develop a
convenient symbolism, had led the Greeks in a different
direction, but the subject was developed by Indian and
Muslim mathematicians, who bequeathed to the Ren-
aissance a number of simple rules for the solution of
equations. While Renaissance mathematicians made sig-
nificant advances in the theory of equations, they proved
less successful in developing an adequate symbolism.
There was little uniformity of symbolism, and notation
was cumbersome and unhelpful. The simple equationaallggeebbrraa 1111