We think we know all about the Medicis, the family that governed and ruled as queens, Popes and dukes during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. But do you know Cosimo de Medici and his wife, Contessina de Bardi? They were the fifteenth-century duo that sparked the family's famous rise into politics and as patrons of the arts. And they had ties to England, too.
Cosimo and Contessina were born in the late fourteenth century into wealthy banking families of Italy. Cosimo's father was a well-known figure in local government in Florence and a wealthy merchant, passing his knowledge and business to Cosimo on his death. Contessina was also from a banking family, the Bardis. They were well-known for lending money to the English kings, in particular to Edward III, helping to bankroll his many wars and military expeditions. Tight of cash, Edward began to default on his huge loans to the Bardis, and the family bank collapsed. To save the business, and combine the forces of these influential Florentine families, a wedding was agreed between Cosimo de Medici and Contessina de Bardi.
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| Depiction of Contessina de Bardi, National Gallery of Art, Public Domain |
There is plenty of evidence that both newlyweds had been brought up with knowledge of banking and the family businesses. The match was discussed in England and was of obvious interest to merchants and others in trade and commerce. The couple, with Cosimo as its business leader, soon established a financial support system across Europe. But Contessina pushed the wealth forwards. She urged her children to become involved in the business from a young age, perhaps mirroring her own childhood experiences, and maintained relationships with other Florentine families, retaining allies and beneficial friendships. As her sons grew up, she also ensured their wives were happy and organised family gatherings at their villa or town house. Many of Contessina's letters survive, providing us with a real glimpse of this important matriarch.
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| Cosimo de Medici, Rijksmuseum, Public Domain |
The Medicis grew incredibly wealthy through their ties with merchants, including the trade in wool which was sent from England to Calais and on to other parts of the continent. The industry was so crucial that it almost started a diplomatic crisis in 1489 when shipments of English wool were stopped from entering Milan. Pragmatic and proactive, Cosimo and Contessina also recognised the importance of public image and contributing wealth back into the state, and were patrons of key Renaissance artists such as Donatello. Cosimo knew Brunelleschi personally, and was in office while the famous dome of the cathedral was created. He also paid for a library of ancient texts to be built and translated, so that they could be read and learned from, and it is through his work that English courtiers like John Tiptoft Earl of Worcester, during the reign of Edward IV, gained learning while in Florence. Tiptoft later brought back cultural and legal ideas from his time in Italy, which was ultimately supported by the work of Cosimo and Contessina Medici.
Without them, there would be no Catherine de Medici, Pope Leo X or Lorenzo de Medici. Their descendants continued their work as popes, queens, kings and princes of Renaissance Europe. Often forgotten, but crucial to the creation of later Renaissance Europe, we must remember Cosimo and Contessina for their contribution to history.
Find out more about this Medici couple in my book Power Couples of the Renaissance. It features relationship dynamics that went against accepted norms of the period and power-hungry couples who ruled, fought and spread the patronage of art, science and culture across the globe during one of the most tumultuous periods of history. Find it on the Pen and Sword Books website.
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