Pope Alexander VI

There were two Spanish popes during the Renaissance period: Calixtus III (r. 1455–1458) and his nephew Alexander VI (r. 1492–1503). The latter was born in Xàtiva (Játiva), near Valencia, but spent most of his life in Italy and tends to be known as Rodrigo Borgia, the Italian version of his name. Calixtus made him a cardinal in 1456. He served as vice-chancellor of the Church from 1457 through to his papal election in 1492, and some effort is made in this article to balance the achievements of his time as a cardinal with the events that dictated his actions as pope. Summaries of his life and career can be found in numerous Reference Works and in some Overviews, though Journals tend to be less rewarding. Such is the reputation of Alexander and his children—principally, Cesare and Lucrezia (see Oxford Bibliographies in Renaissance and Reformation articles Cesare Borgia and Lucretia Borgia—that numerous relevant Primary Sources have been made available in print, though perhaps the most remarkable feature of this article is the sheer quantity of Collections of Papers published to mark the fifth centenary of the second Borgia pontificate. In other Oxford Bibliographies articles, one or two such collections might be dissected, with certain pieces being selected for more detailed examination. In this instance, there are so many volumes of essays that it would be unfair to single out a handful of contributions. Not only that, but there are so many collections of papers that the genre even spills over into other sections of the article. More restrained are the Lives and Times, the standard works on Alexander and his pontificate. Renaissance popes did not compartmentalize their lives and responsibilities, though the present format requires that we do precisely that, making for some artificial divisions between Ecclesiastical Responsibilities and Relations with Secular Powers. Easier to distinguish is Cultural Patronage. The article acknowledges the remarkably rich afterlife of Alexander VI with a section tracing his posthumous evolution From Man to Myth.