Caterina Sforza
I just began reading a biography of Caterina. Here are some fun little tidbits I've learned so far.
1) Caterina, as a powerful woman, attracted much negative attention (as in fact all powerful people do). There are 2 primary sources for lurid tales about her and one of them was the writings of Niccolo Machiavelli. He apparently had some direct dealings with her where he ended up on the losing end. The author believes his scandal-mongering was mainly motivated by revenge.
2) Sforza was not the original name of the family. Caterina's great-grandfather, who was the first of the family to climb out of the ranks of the peasants by becoming a condottiere, was named Muzio Attendolo. His prowess on the battlefield earned him the nickname "Sforza" meaning strength. His (illegimate) son Francesco adopted the nickname as his family name.
3) Caterina grew up at her father the Duke's court in Milan. Milan at the time was famous for its production of superior armor, much sought after throughout Europe. The most famous family producing this armor was named Missaglia. So, props to Ubisoft for including this detail as one of Ezio's better suits of armor.
She was always my favorite love interest for Ezio Auditore. It's nice to see that, like the Auditores, the Sforzas come from lower class and worked their way to the top, as it were.
“Force has no place where there is need of skill." Herodotus
Really cool about the heads-up on Ezio's armor history. If only there was one for Roman, Rondelle, and Seusenhofer (though this one sounds German).
Really cool about the heads-up on Ezio's armor history. If only there was one for Roman, Rondelle, and Seusenhofer (though this one sounds German).
Both armorers were contemporaries of Ezio.
Konrad Seusenhofer:
http://www.answers.com/topic/seusenhofer-family
http://wallacelive.wallacecollection.org/eMuseumPlus?service=ExternalInt...
Martin Rondelle:
bullet 9 - last paragraph: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/aams/hd_aams.htm
this page too: http://www.antiquesatoz.com/sgfleece/armor.htm
“Force has no place where there is need of skill." Herodotus
Here are a couple more fun facts.
1) Caterina's son Ottaviano Riario, who we met in AC2, had as one of his godfathers Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia.
2) The Orsi brothers, Ludovico and Checco, were indeed the murderers of her husband Girolamo Riario. However, she did not hire them. She and all her children (6 of them) were targets for assassination as well, as urged by the Orsi brothers' father (who was later executed extremely gruesomely for his part in the plot). She and her children were captured and imprisoned instead. The brothers needed her to remove the commandant of the Ravaldino fortress, who was an appointee of the Riario family. So they dragged her to the fortress to force her to order the captain, Tommaso Feo, to depart so they could occupy it.
Tommaso Feo refused to turn over the fortress to the Orsi and reminded them that Caterina's brother, the Duke of Milan, would not countenance them dispossessing or harming Ottaviano who was now the count of Forli. The Orsi had walked into a trap of their own making. If any harm came to any of the family, the army of Milan would crush them. They had no troops of their own, nor did they have allies that they could call upon either, since none of the other powerful states, such as Florence, had any interest in going to war against Milan on behalf of the Orsi. The Pope had claimed Forli for himself, but had neglected to send troops to subdue the town, sending only a Bishop Savelli to negotiate a surrender.
So Tommaso Feo and Caterina cooked up a plan, using a servant to smuggle messages back and forth. Feo announced that he was ready to evacuate the fortress, provided Caterina paid his back wages and gave him a letter of recommendation so no-one would think he surrendered out of cowardice. When the Orsi brought her there to deliver these things, he demanded that he be able to read the letter himself before she signed it. He told the Orsi to let Caterina enter the fort, but alone - since the Orsi were known murderers and he didn't trust them. Bishop Savelli, trying to keep the peace, persuaded them to give her a 3-hour time limit to enter and confer with Tommaso Feo.
So Caterina crossed over the drawbridge and just before she entered the fortress, she turned and raised her middle finger to the crowd watching from the other side before she disappeared inside.
Then began a desperate waiting game. The Orsi were waiting for Papal troops while Caterina was waiting for her brother the Duke of Milan's army to arrive. The famous event where she supposedly raised her skirt to taunt (historical accounts differ) occurred at this time. After 2 weeks of waiting, Milan got there first.
2) Sforza was not the original name of the family. Caterina's great-grandfather, who was the first of the family to climb out of the ranks of the peasants by becoming a condottiere, was named Muzio Attendolo. His prowess on the battlefield earned him the nickname "Sforza" meaning strength. His (illegimate) son Francesco adopted the nickname as his family name.
That explains why her daughter Bianca says, "We sforza women are no wilting flower".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=P7jnmbfK78w#t=260s