machiavellian chronicles

Machiavellian

Chronicles

Written and

Illustrated

by Macy

Abad

Machiavellian Chronicles 2

Chapter 1: The Beginning


Niccolò Bernardo dei Machiavelli was born on 3 May 1469 to his mother Bartolomea di Stefano Nelli and his father Bernardo (Honeycutt, n.d.). Honeycutt

also wrote that Machiavelli was born and raised in a district in Florence called Santo Spirito. He further writes that Machiavelli’s three siblings were Primavera,

Margherita, and Totto.


The Machiavelli family was generally regarded as wealthy and prominent, with Niccolò’s father being the poorest of the Machiavelli line (Mansfield,

2020). Bernardo was a Doctor of Laws who got small jobs here and there. He owned a small area of land and earned money from its rent.

Niccolò’s Father: Bernardo


Even with his father’s limited wealth, the family still

had a rich library in their home (Mansfield, 2020).

Throughout his youth, he read the works of Latin, Italian,

and Greek authors (Honeycutt, n.d.). It is unknown if

Machiavelli knew Greek, so it is generally said that he

read the works of Greek authors through translation.

Among Machiavelli’s favorite authors were Dante

(Italian), Livy (Latin), and Thucydides (Greek)

(Honeycutt, n.d.). Honeycutt stated that Machiavelli

also translated works from Latin into Italian in his youth. Young Niccolò


His first teacher was Paolo da Ronciglione, who

was a well-known teacher of humanists (Nederman,

2019). Machiavelli learned Latin from him. He was said

to have gone to the University of Florence at the age

of fourteen (Nederman, 2019). It was here that he got

his humanist education. He also attended the lectures

of Marcello Virgilio Adriani (Mansfield, 2020). Adriani

was the head of the Studio Florentino. He attended the

sermons of Girolamo Savanrola in 1498 (Mansfield,

2020). It was from him that he learned to oppose the

Italian government, clergy, and pope.

The University of Florence


He married Marietta di Ludovico Corsini on August of 1501 (Honeycutt, n.d.). The couple had several children. They were Bernardo, Poimerana (died

young), unnamed daughter (died young), Baccina, Ludovico, Piero, Guido, and Totto.

Marietta di Ludovico Corsini


Chapter 2: The Diplomat


He documented many of the letters that he

wrote (Honeycutt, n.d.). First was “Legations” (from

1498 to 1512), which was a series of letters that he

wrote while in government. Second were his

personal letters (from 1497 to 1527). Among these

letters are two notable ones. First is Ghiribizzi al

Soderini (Musings to Soderini), which was written

from 13 to 21 September 1506 to Giovanbattista

Soderini. Second is his 10 December 1513 letter to

Francesco Vettori, which described his days in exile

along with the first mention of him working on The

Prince.


In 19 June 1498, at the age of 29 years old,

he was made the Second Chancellor of the

Republic of Florence (Nederman, 2019). He was

known as the youngest man to have held this

position during his time. He travelled to different

parts of Europe to negotiate with other

governments.


After the Medici family was ousted from

Florence, Piero Soderini came to be Machiavelli’s

superior. He allowed Machiavelli to create and

head the Florentine militia after much insistence

by the latter to create one (Mansfield, 2020).

Mansfield wrote that this militia was defeated in

1512 when the Medicis came back to power. Piero Soderini

Note: This is likely not the Italian insignia for the militia, but it does symbolize a militia.


He held the position for fourteen years. He was removed from this position in 7 November 1512. This was when the Medici family came back into power.

He was then arrested and tortured using the strappado (dislocation of shoulders) method (Honeycutt, n.d.). Honeycutt further wrote that Machiavelli was then

exiled to Sant’Andrea in Percussina in southern Florence, which was one of his father’s properties.

Niccolò Machiavelli: The Prisoner


Chapter 3: The Philosopher


Upon being placed in exile, he started to write. He wrote The

Prince from late 1513 to early 1514. This was dedicated to Lorenzo

de’Medici, but he did not read it until 1516 (Nederman, 2019). Even

when he did read it, he did not actually take on any of Machiavelli’s

advice (Harrison, 2011). This piece of work covers the characteristics

that Machiavelli thought a good prince should have. He then wrote

Discourses on Livy from 1514/1515 to 1518/1519. This piece of work

was really about Machiavelli’s opinions on Florentine rule, but he

disguised it as critiquing the work of the Latin author Livy (Nederman,

2019). Both were published posthumously in 1532 and 1531,

respectively.

Sant’Andrea Lorenzo de’Medici


Two other notable works of his, although

significantly less popular than the previous two, are Art

of War and Florentine Histories. Art of War is divided

into seven books and is in the form of a dialogue

among Machiavelli, Guicciardini, and the members

of the Ficino’s Platonic Academy during a dinner at

the Orti Oricellari. Here, they discuss the many

components of war and various strategies to win one.

Florentine Histories covered the history of Florence

from the decline of the Roman Empire to the death of

Lorenzo the Magnificent (1434). This was also divided

into seven books.

Guicciardini

Orti Oricellari


Machiavelli wrote three plays in his time. These are Le Maschere (The Masks), L’Andria (The Girl from Andros), and Mandragola (The Mandrake). These

were performed during his time, but are no longer in production today. If there are present productions, these are very rarely done.

Plays from left to right: L’Andria, Le Maschere, Mandragola


His other notable works are reports and

speeches from the early 1500s (written while he was

in office), The Life of Castruccio Castracani (1520),

Discourse on Florentine Affairs (1520), and On the

Natures of Florentine Men.


Chapter 4: Philosophical Thoughts


There are three prevalent philosophical themes

throughout his body of work. First is virtû. Machiavellian

virtû does not translate to the English “virtue”. According

to Machiavelli, virtû pertains to a leader’s ability to adapt

and make decisions depending on the circumstance

that they are in. Machiavellian power pertains to being

cruel to the public when needed, but generally being

merciful. According to Machiavelli, it was acceptable to

use force on the citizens if the leader thought this was

necessary. Machiavellian fortuna pertains to the English

“fortune”. According to Machiavelli, riches bring about

the demise of leaders, and as such they should rule with

minimal finances.


Chapter 5: Opposing Opinions


Machiavelli did not agree with the belief that

religion dictates all. The rulers of Florence during his

time greatly relied on religion to help them with

decision making, which Machiavelli did not agree

with. He though the church was evil, and that

Christianity taught the citizens nothing but the

ability to lie.


Machiavelli supported having a

republican form of government for

Italy. He wanted Italy to be a united

country, and not separated by

principalities.


Chapter 6: The End


In 1527, the Medici family was overthrown and lost their power. Machiavelli tried to get a position in government again, but the new regime denied

him this because of the work he had done for the Medicis (Mansfield, 2020), On 21 June 1527, shortly after he was denied the position in office, Machiavelli

fell ill and passed away. Niccolò Machiavelli was 58 years old.

Although there are no images of his funeral, this was a standard coffin that people during the 16th Century were buried in, and

as such can be presumed that he was buried in one as well.


Sources:

Biography.com Editors. (2020, June 16). Niccolò Machiavelli. Biography.com. https://www.biography.com/scholar/niccolo-

machiavelli.

Harrison, R. P. (2011, January 1). What can you learn from Machiavelli? Yale Insights.

https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/what-can-you-learn-machiavelli.

History.com Editors. (2009, November 24). Niccolo Machiavelli Is Born. History.com. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-

history/niccolo-machiavelli-born.

Honeycutt, K. Niccolò Machiavelli (1469—1527). Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://iep.utm.edu/machiave/.

Mansfield, H. (2020, June 17). Niccolò Machiavelli. Encyclopædia Britannica.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Niccolo-Machiavelli.

Nederman, C. (2019, May 28). Niccolò Machiavelli. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/machiavelli/.

https://www.biography.com/scholar/niccolo-machiavelli

https://www.biography.com/scholar/niccolo-machiavelli

https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/what-can-you-learn-machiavelli

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/niccolo-machiavelli-born

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/niccolo-machiavelli-born

https://iep.utm.edu/machiave/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Niccolo-Machiavelli

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/machiavelli/


Macy Abad

Macy is a 12th grade student at the Community of Learners School

for Children. She is in the Arts and Design strand under the Music

Production track. She maintains her love for writing and literature

even if she is in Music Production. She loves dogs, otters, classic

books, and painfully funny sitcoms (the ones that make you laugh

until you are crying).

About the Author

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