Sublime

Cesare Borgia was the son of the Spanish-Italian cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, soon to become Pope Alexander VI, who vies for the hotly contested title of most libertine Renaissance pope. “He had in the fullest measure all the vices of the flesh and of the spirit,” the pope’s contemporary Francesco Guicciardini wrote. He was the first pope to recognize

King Francis I was six feet tall, had broad shoulders, and displayed the charisma and courage that appealed to Leonardo. He loved leading his troops into battle. With his standard flying high, he would ride directly to the front lines. He was also, unlike Borgia and some of Leonardo’s previous patrons, a civilized and decent man. When Francis

He remembers how Arthur was, in the last few years of his reign. He remembers how things ended.