Machiavelli And The Medici
They were connected by deep personal and political ties
Niccolo Machiavelli has a well-earned reputation as a political thinker and strategist, but throughout his life it would seem that the Medici family often held the upper hand over him. In fact his numerous interactions with them, directly or indirectly, could be said to have shaped much of his political writing and theory.
Machiavelli actually grew up being friends with Giuliano di Lorenzo, son of Lorenzo il Magnifico, but when the French invasion of Florence saw the Medici family exiled, he took up a job with the new republican government under the Great Council. This seems to have been a political project, with a truly independent Florence, that Machiavelli truly believed in. When the Medicis led a force to take back Florence on behalf of Pope Julius II, it was Machiavelli who was charged with organising the defence of the city.
His attempts failed, however, and in 1512 the Medicis were back in control of Florence and while he petitioned for a position in their new regime (ever the pragmatist), he was ultimately imprisoned, tortured and then exiled for his suspected participation in the Boscoli conspiracy against the family. He appealed to his old friend Giuliano for release, but to no avail.
Still, his most famous works in the years that followed were deeply tied to the Medici. The Prince was first dedicated to Giuliano and later to Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino, and tackled how young rulers should conduct themselves and wield power. He later looked for Medici patronage in writing the Florentine
Histories, appealing to then Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici (later Pope Clement VII).
In his works he began to explore the strengths and weaknesses of building a government around the virtues and administrative skills of a single person as well as the inherent weaknesses that had existed in Florentine politics that had allowed then Medicis to rise to power. By the time he wrote
Histories, it appears he had very much turned against the Medici control of Florence, although he still praised individual leaders. This experience changed his view of the role of ‘the prince’ as a single ruler who could change the system to someone who was ultimately created and influenced by the system instead.
The experience of Machiavelli with the Medicis reflects the relationship between Florence and the family; friend and foe at different times, impossible to ignore or avoid, dangerous to associate with.