The Red Lily Crown (43 page)

Those marked with an asterisk are fictional.

THE NERINI, BOOKSELLERS OF FLORENCE, AND THEIR CONNECTIONS:

*Carlo Nerini, called Babbo, member of the Booksellers' Guild and sometime alchemist, killed in an explosion before the story begins.

*Agnesa Baldesi Nerini, called Nonna, his mother and the children's grandmother.

*Gian Nerini, his son and heir, killed in a street accident before the story begins.

*Chiara Nerini, his eldest daughter, who entertains ambitions of her own.

*Lucia and Mattea Nerini, his two younger daughters.

*Giacinto Garzi, a bookseller's son from Pistoia.

THE MEDICI AND THEIR DIRECT CONNECTIONS:

Cosimo de' Medici, Duke of Florence and later the first Grand Duke of Tuscany, creator of the red lily crown.

Eleonora of Toledo, his wife, long dead when the story begins.

Cammilla Martelli, Duke Cosimo's morganatic second wife.

Francesco de' Medici, Prince of Florence and dedicated alchemist, Duke Cosimo's eldest son and heir.

Giovanna of Austria, Imperial archduchess and wife of Francesco de' Medici.

The children of Francesco de' Medici and Giovanna of Austria who survived infancy:

Eleonora de' Medici, later married to Vincenzo I Gonzaga and Duchess of Mantua.

Anna de' Medici, died unmarried at the age of fourteen.

Maria de' Medici, later the wife of Henri IV and Queen of France as Marie de Médicis.

Filippo de' Medici, the longed-for male heir.

Isabella de' Medici, Princess of Florence and Duchess of Bracciano, Duke Cosimo's daughter.

Paolo Giordano Orsini, Duke of Bracciano, husband of Isabella de' Medici.

Ferdinando de' Medici, a cardinal since the age of fourteen, Duke Cosimo's middle son.

Pietro de' Medici, Duke Cosimo's youngest son.

Eleonora di Garzia di Toledo, called Dianora, first cousin and wife of Pietro de' Medici.

AT THE MEDICI COURT:

*Donna Jimena Osorio, a distant cousin of Eleonora of Toledo, childhood nurse and companion of Isabella de' Medici.

Bianca Cappello, a noblewoman of Venice. Francesco de' Medici's long-time mistress.

Antonio de' Medici, a boy of uncertain parentage, claimed by Bianca Cappello and Francesco de' Medici as their son.

Pietro Buonaventuri, Bianca Cappello's first husband, murdered before the story begins.

Orazio Pucci, anti-Medici conspirator and one of Donna Dianora's supposed lovers.

Pierino Ridolfi, anti-Medici conspirator and another of Donna Dianora's supposed lovers.

Troilo Orsini, Donna Isabella's lover.

Various physicians, priests, courtiers, conspirators and guardsmen.

IN THE EMPLOY OF THE MEDICI:

*Tommaso Vasari, an alchemist in Grand Duke Cosimo's household, who disappeared mysteriously with all his books and alchemical equipment around the time of Carnival in 1566.

*Johan Ziegler, the Hungarian master of the Medici silver mine at Bottino.

*Caterina Donati, childhood nurse and later trusted serving-woman of Bianca Cappello.

*Gianna Santi, musician and serving-woman of Bianca Cappello.

SCIENTISTS AND ALCHEMISTS:

Nicolas Flamel, a Frenchman celebrated in various writings as an alchemist.

Perenelle Flamel, his wife and
soror mystica
, or sister in the art of alchemy.

Georg Pawer, called in Latin Georgius Agricola, a German scientist and metallurgist, author of
De Re Metallica
.

*Konrad Pawer, called in Latin Conradus Agricola, Georg Pawer's nephew, a charlatan who trades on his uncle's famous name.

Dr. John Dee, astrologer, alchemist, and courtier to Elizabeth I.

THE CORNISH AND ENGLISH:

*Ruan Pencarrow of Milhyntall, in Italy called Ruanno dell' Inghilterra, a metallurgist and alchemist.

*Mark Pencarrow of Milhyntall, his father, killed in the Prayer Book Uprising of 1549.

*Carenza Pencarrow of Milhyntall, his mother, dead of privation and a broken heart when Ruan was six.

*Jago Warne, Ruan's foster brother and later mine manager at Wheal Loer.

*Andrew Lovell, an Englishman who took possession of the Milhyntall estate when it was confiscated by the English after the Prayer Book Uprising.

THE PARTI-COLORED HOUNDS:

*Tristo and Isa, the foundation sire and dam of the famous Ferrara beagles, sent to Duchess Barbara of Ferrara as a wedding gift by Queen Elizabeth I.

*Rostig and Seiden, two puppies from a Tristo/Isa litter, sent to Duchess Giovanna as a Christmas gift by her sister Barbara, Duchess of Ferrara.

*Rina and Leia, two puppies from a Rostig/Seiden litter.

*Vivi, Chiara's own beloved companion, a daughter of Rina crossed back to her sire Rostig.

*Rudhloes and Owrlin, two puppies from the original line of Ferrara beagles, sent as a gift to Chiara in Cornwall.

T
he intertwined stories of Francesco de' Medici, Giovanna of Austria, and Bianca Cappello have fascinated historians for over four hundred years.

In letters and documents of the day, Francesco is universally described as melancholy, introverted, and obsessed with alchemy. He had laboratories in the Casino di San Marco, the Villa di Pratolino, and other palaces; he was the first European to successfully reproduce Chinese-style porcelain, and a few examples of this blue-and-white “Medici porcelain” still exist today. His golden studiolo in the Palazzo Vecchio, which was dismantled after his death, has been reconstructed at its original site, with its many paintings, hidden cubbyholes, and secret doors.

One of the paintings in the studiolo,
Il Laboratorio dell' Alchimista
by Giovanni Stradano, is the basis for my creation of Francesco's alter ego Franco. In the painting the master alchemist is seated, wearing his academic gown and cap (and spectacles!), surrounded by apprentices and workmen who are doing the actual work of alchemy. In the lower right corner, wearing a plain doublet and hose, his sleeves rolled up as he stirs a concoction under the alchemist's direction, is a workman clearly painted to represent Francesco de' Medici. Is this how Francesco saw himself, in his secret heart? It makes sense, given his actions throughout his life, and opens fascinating vistas of speculation.

One letter Duke Cosimo wrote to Francesco when Francesco was a young man expressed concern for Francesco's disrespect and ingratitude toward his mother. Other letters repeatedly show that Francesco believed himself to be less well-loved by his father and mother than his brothers and sisters. I have combined these pieces of information with the generally harsh child-rearing practices of the day to postulate some of Francesco's emotional issues.

As part of the scientific and anthropological Medici Project, many of the tombs of the Medici have recently been opened and their remains examined with modern biomedical imaging techniques. Francesco's strokes of apoplexy in his later years have been confirmed by evidence of facial droop, a clawlike contraction of his right hand, and an orthopedic shoe found in the coffin. The exact cause of his death remains uncertain. The official report of the day indicated that he died of tertian fever (malaria), although gossip raged from the very beginning that he had been poisoned. Tests run in the present day show in Francesco's bone tissue the presence of
plasmodium falciparum
, the parasite that causes malaria, as well as toxic concentrations of arsenic, which may or may not have been introduced as part of the embalming process or accumulated over Francesco's years of alchemical experiments. It seems to me that these two findings need not be exclusive of each other, and so I have given Francesco a severe case of malaria at the end of his life, and poisoned him as well.

Bianca Cappello's body was not entombed with the Medici, and her burial place is unknown. There is a document hinting that her viscera (and Francesco's) were buried in terra-cotta jars in the crypt of a church near the villa in Poggio a Caiano; at the time it wasn't unusual for internal organs to be buried separately from embalmed bodies. In the mid-2000s samples were collected from broken terra-cotta jars in the crypt indicated. The tissues were much degraded, but DNA testing showed that some of the tissue was reasonably consistent with Francesco's known DNA. The other tissues, although female, could not be conclusively identified as Bianca Cappello's. All the tissue showed toxic concentrations of arsenic, although again it's possible that the arsenic was the product of the embalming process. I've chosen to have Bianca murdered, but not by poison; at the time I write this there is simply no way to know for certain how she died. It is true, however, that she and Francesco died suddenly and mysteriously, within a few hours of each other, and that Ferdinando de' Medici was present in their villa at the time.

Bianca in life was romantic and impulsive; at the age of fifteen or sixteen she eloped from Venice with a banker's clerk named Pietro Buonaventuri, according to some versions of the story stealing a cache of her family's jewels as she went. In Florence she was much disappointed to find Pietro had lied to her about his grand connections. Many romantic tales are told about how she met Francesco, each more improbable than the last, but it appears that she did become Francesco's mistress not long after he married Giovanna of Austria. Somehow she held his affections as a mistress for twelve years, and historically he did marry her secretly only a few weeks after Giovanna's death.

I've always wondered how royal mistresses managed to hang on to their princes and kings and grand dukes—Diane de Poitiers, Anne Boleyn, Bianca Cappello—in the face of social pressure and courts full of other beautiful ladies. Given Bianca's ambition, determination and romantic heart, I think she would have gladly joined in Prince Francesco's play-acting, and in fact the Ferrarese ambassador commented that they played like children together. I suspect Bianca would have taken a great deal of pride in her secret power, and once caught up in it, been unable to extricate herself even when it took a dark turn.

No one knows with any certainty if the boy called Antonio de' Medici was actually Bianca's, Francesco's, both of theirs, or neither of theirs. What is known is that when Ferdinando de' Medici assumed the grand ducal title, he convinced the boy he was not the legitimate heir, gave him a large amount of property, and eventually arranged for him to join the Knights of Malta. All sorts of lurid tales have been told down through the centuries about Prince Antonio's birth, and the version I've chosen is one possibility.

Giovanna of Austria was the youngest daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I, and thus the younger sister of Barbara of Austria, the Duchess of Ferrara, the heroine of my novel
The Second Duchess
. Her remains have been exhumed and analyzed along with those of her husband, and the pictures one can examine of her poor spine confirm the marked scoliosis she suffered. How on earth did she manage to carry seven—almost eight—pregnancies to term? The pain she must have suffered, and her courage in the face of it, are truly amazing.

As with Francesco and Bianca, the circumstances of her death are uncertain. It is known that she was heavily pregnant with her eighth child, which was stillborn; she most likely died of a ruptured uterus. Most sources tell some story of a fall, in varying circumstances. Since Francesco and Bianca married hastily and secretly just a few weeks after her death, of course there were whispers of poison. I've chosen my version of her death as one that incorporates the known facts, and might well have happened, given the circumstances and the personalities of those involved.

Only two of Francesco and Giovanna's children lived to adulthood, both daughters. Eleonora, their oldest, married the Duke of Mantua. Maria, the sixth child, married Henry IV of France and became queen of France as Marie de Médicis. Through her, Francesco and Giovanna's bloodlines were carried down into the royal houses of France and England. Louis XIV, the Sun King, was their great-grandson. Queen Henrietta Maria of England was their granddaughter, and thus Charles II, the Merry Monarch, was their great-grandson as well.

The murder of Isabella de' Medici, and the horrifying abuse of her body afterward, is taken from a letter sent in code to the Duke of Ferrara by his Florentine ambassador Ercole Cortile, who knew all the gossip and was in a good position to know any truths the Medici wished to hide. Details are corroborated in other letters and diaries. Sometimes the truth is more awful than any story a fiction writer can create.

•   •   •

There really was a red lily crown. In fact, there was a series of them. The first has been described as a circlet with open rays, with the red fleur-de-lis of Florence in the front, probably comprised of rubies or other red gems and/or enamelwork, and more red lilies on the tips of the jeweled rays. Cosimo de' Medici had it made for his coronation as Grand Duke of Tuscany, his previous crown as Duke of Florence apparently not being elaborate enough to satisfy him. Portraits exist showing Cosimo, Francesco, Ferdinando, and subsequent Medici grand dukes either wearing the crown, or with the crown resting symbolically on a table beside them.

Sadly none of these crowns survives today; possibly they were appropriated and melted down for their gold and jewels by Napoleon's troops at the end of the eighteenth century.

•   •   •

Tommaso Vasari (readers of
The Second Duchess
may recognize the name) and the mithridate/poison
sonnodolce
are fictional creations. Tales of mithridates go back to Mithridates VI of Pontus in the first century
BCE
, who supposedly made himself invulnerable to poison by taking a tiny daily dose of a combination of poisons. I remember reading A.E. Housman's
A Shropshire Lad
in high school, and being particularly struck by the verse in “Terence, This Is Stupid Stuff” about Mithridates, ending:

—I tell the tale that I heard told.

Mithridates, he died old.

One of those memorized couplets that remain with one for a lifetime! I combined this semi-legendary story (semi- because through the centuries people really did try to concoct universal antidotes) with the stories told of cantarella, the poison of the Borgias.

In the sixteenth century, alchemy, like astrology, was still considered a science. Its division into magic on the one hand, and chemistry, metallurgy and other sciences on the other, was just beginning to take place. Some practitioners, like Chiara, continued to believe in the magical elements; others, like Ruan, were beginning to apply the scientific method and using alchemy to learn about the elements of the natural world.

Nicolas Flamel and his wife Perenelle were historical personages, although their reputations as alchemists were mostly a posthumous fictionalization.

•   •   •

The poison maze in the Boboli Gardens is, of course, fictional. At the time of Francesco I, the gardens were considerably smaller than they are today. In
La Descrizione dell'imperiale giardino di Boboli
, published in 1757, Gaetano Cambiagi describes a “fine labyrinth,” now lost, in approximately the spot where I've placed Francesco's labyrinth.

•   •   •

The Prayer Book Rebellion in 1549 was a bloody uprising sparked by the boy king Edward VI's imposition of the new Protestant Book of Common Prayer on Catholic Cornwall and Devon. Thousands of Catholic rebels were massacred by an English army that incorporated mercenaries as well as English soldiers. During the fighting the working men turned on the gentry with the cry, “Kill all the gentlemen.”

Many of the Cornish Catholic gentry and their families were besieged (some, like Ruan's family, in St. Michael's Mount) and later imprisoned, suspected of supporting the rebels. When the rebellion was crushed, the English Council issued a proclamation permitting the appropriation of the rebels' properties, which applied to the great nobles and those who supported them; for a while there was considerable looting and confiscation. It is in this setting that my fictional Pencarrows lost their estates and mine holdings to an equally fictional Englishman.

•   •   •

I consulted many books, papers, articles and documents in the course of writing
The Red Lily Crown
. I was also most kindly aided by historians, authors, librarians and other experts. Whatever errors and misinterpretations that have made their way into my fictionalized version of the story are entirely upon my own head.