Chronicles of the house of Borgia by Frederick Rolfe
QR code
"Chronicles of the house of Borgia" by Frederick Rolfe is a historical account written in the early 20th century. It reassesses the Borgia dynasty within the tumultuous world of the Italian Renaissance and papal power, challenging lurid legends and arguing from close scrutiny of sources as it traces the family’s rise from Spain to Rome, especially under Popes Calixtus III and Alexander VI. The opening of the book sets out Rolfe’s stance:
great houses rise and fall swiftly, the Borgias have been used as a canvas for exaggeration, and many chroniclers are biased, so the narrative will weigh testimony and strip away calumny. The story then begins in 1455, amid the shock of Constantinople’s fall and the influx of Greek learning into Italy, contrasting Nicholas V’s cultural flowering with Rome’s alarm at the Turkish threat. Rolfe details the conclave after Nicholas’s death: factions led by Colonna and Orsini, the near-choice of Bessarion, and the compromise election of the Spanish canonist Alonso de Borja as Calixtus III. A concise genealogy introduces the Borja roots in Valencia, explains contemporary norms about legitimacy, and sketches Alonso’s service to King Alfonso of Aragon and his diplomatic skill in ending schisms. The narrative dramatizes Calixtus’s coronation and the Orsini-led riot at the Lateran, then portrays him as austere, legally minded, and focused on a crusade rather than arts—refuting the tale that he dispersed the Vatican library and illustrating his patronage through the Lorenzo Valla episode. It closes with his firm handling of Emperor Frederick’s envoys and his public vow to wage relentless war against the Turks. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Download for free
For your e-reader or reading app — Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, Calibre etc.
Kindle → Use Send-to-Kindle
- Download the EPUB3 file above
- Upload it on the Amazon site your Kindle is registered with: amazon.com/sendtokindle for the US, amazon.co.uk/sendtokindle for the UK etc.
- It appears on your Kindle and in the Kindle app
Kobo, Nook etc. → Transfer via USB
- Download the EPUB3 file on your computer
- Connect your e-reader by USB and tap "Connect" on its screen
- Drag the file onto the e-reader drive
Phone, Tablet or Computer → Online or Reading App
Easiest: read online in your browser. Nothing to install.
Or use a reading app:
- Find and install one you like, for example Apple Books, ReadEra or Thorium Reader
- Download the EPUB3 file above
- Open it in the app
More help: iPhone / iPad · Android · Computer
Other formats & older devices
There may be more files related to this item.
About this eBook
| Author | Rolfe, Frederick, 1860-1913 |
|---|---|
| LoC No. | 02009217 |
| Title | Chronicles of the house of Borgia |
| Original Publication | London: Grant Richards, 1901. |
| Credits | Richard Tonsing, Hannah Wilson, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | DG: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: Italy, Vatican City, Malta |
| Subject | Italy -- History -- 1492-1559 |
| Subject | Borgia family |
| Subject | Borja, Francisco de, Saint, 1510-1572 |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 77105 |
| ISBN (HTML) | 979-8-238-77105-2 |
| Release Date | Oct 21, 2025 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 870 downloads in the last 30 days. |
Project Gutenberg eBooks are always free!