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NEW DOCUMENT SUGGESTS FAMOUS RENAISSANCE FIGURE WAS A TRAITOR TO MEDICI REGIME IN FLORENCE
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Was one of the leading figures of the Italian Renaissance a traitor? Arthur Field, associate professor of history at Indiana University, has uncovered a new document in Milan, Italy, that implicates classical scholar, "civic humanist" and Florentine Chancellor Leonardo Bruni (1370-1444) in a conspiracy to overthrow the Medici regime that controlled Florence during his term in office.
"For Italians of that era, it would have been the equivalent of discovering that Great Britain's Winston Churchill was secretly allied with the Axis powers during World War II and was conspiring to throw his own government into disarray," Field explained.
During the early 15th century, when Florence was nearly swallowed up by the expanding state centered in Milan, Bruni emerged as a champion of Florentine independence, arguing that Florence's republican government was the source of her political and cultural strength. He contended that this strength derived, ultimately, from Florence's founding in antiquity during the republican period of classical Rome, before the age of the emperors.
Later, Bruni became chancellor of Florence and the city's official historian. On his famous tomb designed by Bernardo Rossellino in the Church of Santa Croce, he is sculpted holding a copy of his History of Florence.
Florence was in the midst of domestic turmoil when Bruni was elected chancellor in 1427. The Florentine government was divided into two great factions: one, traditional and oligarchical, had dominated politics for nearly 50 years; the other, led by the Medici family, was somewhat more popular and open to new people. Bruni was elected as a candidate acceptable to both sides. He maintained his office and influence even as the balance of power swung back and forth between the oligarchs and the Medici, establishing his legacy as a patriotic servant of his country who could adapt to any regime.
But a number of scholars, especially in Italy, have doubted Bruni's true loyalty to the Medici regime. Some have argued that he was closer to the oligarchs in ideology and patronage. Most telling, in an age of political marriages, is that Bruni's only son was married into a prominent oligarchic family.
Yet, until Field's discovery, there had been no evidence that Bruni had actually tried to undermine the Medici once they took over.
Now, Field is sharing with the world of Renaissance scholars a document that implicates Bruni in a conspiracy to destroy the Medici regime. The anonymous report, dated 1437 and apparently drafted in the chancery in Milan, outlines a plot for Arezzo, a town subject to Florence since 1384, to free itself from Florentine dominion. The document describes a plan to take the citadel of Arezzo and end Florentine rule, with the support of Milan and the free Tuscan states of Siena and Lucca -- which feared Florentine domination. The document states that Leonardo Bruni (originally from Arezzo) and other Aretines in Florence support the plan and will move to Arezzo when it is successful. The document goes on to state that Bruni has revealed the identity of a Florentine spy who was positioned as a key government official in Lucca.
Thus, the document portrays Leonardo Bruni as a fifth columnist for Arezzo in Florence, not only by supporting the rebellion but also by naming Florentine agents in enemy territory. And with the involvement of Siena and Lucca, Milan was clearly looking beyond the mere liberation of Arezzo to what the document promises would "immediately follow," namely, the "destruction and ruin of the Florentines."
Field presented his finding this spring at the annual convention of the Renaissance Society of America, where he also presented an array of evidence that Bruni was alienated from Medicean Florence. The document from Milan will be published along with an article by Field in a future issue of Renaissance Quarterly.
"Professor Field's discovery created excitement and heated discussion at the conference," said John Monfasani, professor of history at the State University of New York- Albany and executive director of the Renaissance Society of America.
Field concedes that the document does not actually prove that Bruni was involved in a rebellious plot, but it is certainly authentic in the sense that it is a contemporary document and not a forgery. However, it could have been written as part of a disinformation campaign designed to either encourage Milan's support of the revolt by falsely portraying Florentine officials as accomplices, or to throw confusion into the Florentine ranks.
"It indeed seems odd that this patriot of Florence would become her traitor," Field said. "But if Bruni truly despised the Medici, it is perhaps not so strange that he would support a rebellion against them."
(Jeff Austin, 812-855-0084 or 812-855-3911, jeaustin@indiana.edu)